Weekend Swimming!

After our trolley ride and fun at the park, we took a break at home to cool off and rest a bit.  The pool was the best way to end the afternoon.  Lincoln was a diving board maniac!! 

He later abandoned the motorboat (pool noodle floatie) and was doing crazy twists off the diving board.  That reserved little kid of a few weeks ago who would barely and carefully jump off the diving board with so much caution has totally changed!!!  Love his swimming spirit! 

There was a noddle race of boys vs. girls later in the afternoon, and Lincoln volunteered for the boys team.  He swam his little heart out! 

Our cabana was a little crowded, so the boys decided to have their dinner at the pool bar.  They chatted with Mr. Gage (their swim coach) while they ate.  Oh man . . . this is the life!!!! 

We had our regular Sunday morning stuff then went to Jonathan's house for a pool party in the afternoon.  The boys had a great time playing together, and the moms really enjoyed just visiting. 

Pool time wasn't over yet for Sunday . . . we hosted the cabana for the evening for our swimming friends.  We had so much fun and ended up with lots of burgers and fries to end the night.   

Daddy went for an Emergency 9 holes of golf with Mr. Josh, and Mommy and the boys came home to get all cleaned up.  While the boys were watching the latest episode of Battlebots, Mommy made yummy breakfast tacos to freeze.  Daddy had to sample one when he got home, and the verdict was yummy!!   

What a great weekend!  We had a great time with lots of friends and got to share lots of laughs and tons of swimming.  Monday will get us back to normal, and we should all sleep well!

Trolley Ride and Klyde Warren Park with Friends

A club patio plan was hatched a couple of weeks ago when Mrs. Blake had the idea of our families taking the trolley to the Klyde Warren Park in downtown Dallas for the morning.  We got to the trolley stop at 10:00 on Saturday morning to wait for our friends.  So excited to ride the trolley . . . wait, the definition of a trolley wasn't clear for Lincoln and Beau.  They couldn't wait to find out!

We happily boarded the trolley and the kiddos chose their seats.  Both Lincoln and Beau wanted a window, so Shayne sweetly offered for Lincoln to sit with her and take the window seat.  Beau was happy to have his own row!  Addy was the happiest girl in the world standing up in her seat as the trolley rolled along!   

Once we got to the park, we quickly headed to the children's play area.  The boys found this "super spiderman climbing thing" and beasted up to the top!  They were so proud of their climbing skills.  They then took turns hanging upside down and Shayne joined Beau for a bit. 

After lots of playing and climbing, we took a break to check out a few other things going on at the park.  They have tons of events going on for kids all the time.  Mrs. Blake saw a fun Art in the Park for kids, and we all grabbed paints, brushes, water cups and found a few easels.  About 5 minutes into the kids painting, we discovered that Art in the Park was a private birthday party for a sweet little boy!  We crashed his party!!!!!!  We quickly had the kids finish their painting, apologized profusely to the mom, returned our paints/brushes/water, and forced her to take a bit of cash because we were so incredibly sorry that we were so forward and crashed their party.  She was incredibly gracious, but we left so embarrassed!   

The food trucks were out, and we carefully selected lunch.  Lincoln wanted a grilled ham and cheese from the Ruthie's truck.  Beau wanted a cheese pizza from Romano's.  They each got what they wanted, and Mommy stole a few bites of each.  Daddy found a great hot dog truck for his lunch.  The kids all chose the snow cone cart for dessert, but Daddy and Mommy knew the real treat was Cool Haus for homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches.  Delicious!  It was getting pretty hot early in the afternoon, but the kids had one more children's play area to check out.  Lincoln climbed to the top of this tall obstacle in seconds.  So athletic! 

Beau ran lots of laps around this super cool tree house while Lincoln was climbing.   

Up the tree house they went!  It was cooler in the shade at the top! 

It was a great time riding the trolley, playing at the downtown park, and having lunch and treats from the food trucks.  Good friends to go on little adventures with is always fun!

The 4th of July

We joined our friends in the neighborhood 4th of July Parade in the morning.  Beau and Case spent some time comparing their candy! 

When we got to Bowie, the boys found the activity table with tattoos, bubbles, necklaces, and more fun treats!! 

Pretty soon, it got pretty hot!  Ready to go, guys? 

We met up with our friends at the club after lunch to spend the day playing in the pool.  Daddy and Beau had a hug . . . after Beau had a blue snow cone!!!!  There is no more photographic evidence, but all had a great time.  We had a cabana and an extra umbrella table, so everyone had a home base to eat and chill out between swimming.  The kids did so much sliding and jumping off the diving board, and playing with the Moms in the shallow end.  And we all took lots of snack/ice cream/snow cone breaks!!! 

If we didn't have enough fun on Saturday, we needed to hit up the club pool again on Sunday afternoon.  Lots more sliding and jumping, and then a chip snack was necessary for Beau! 

Lincoln took a pretzel break then had a few more hours of swimming to go! 

Mommy was the "jump mom" on this day (and on most days!!!!).  The boys (and Shayne) love to jump in the pool to Mom.  What better excuse to get totally doused?!?! 

Super 4th of July Weekend!  Summer is really getting heated up, and the pool is a luxury and a necessity!!

Friday Night Lights (Fireworks!!!)

Friday was a fun day!  We were home from work/school, so we had the whole day to begin the celebration.  We met some friends at the pool, and Daddy played golf with his regular group.  The boys decided that instead of going down the slide together, they would take turns high-fiving each other at the end.  It was super funny!

We met up with the Katsoulis family for BBQ after the pool, and we had a great time at Dickey's!  Our neighborhood friends planned to watch the Addison Kaboomtown fireworks from the pavilion at Bowie.  The kids had so much fun playing while the sun was setting, and the parents enjoyed some grown up talking!  Around 9:30 it was time for the show to start . . . all of the kids were wearing various glow jewelry!!!   

The fireworks were distant, but the kids had more fun just being together.  And we didn't have to deal with the traffic of 400,000 people trying to get out of Addison at the end of the show.  It was definitely a win!!!

Life Lately (and a Look Back)

It wasn't too hot after dinner on Monday, so we went on our favorite neighborhood stroll.  Love running around with these guys!

(I didn't take a picture on Tuesday - shock!!  We went on another bike ride after dinner, and Kevin was in Chicago for work.) 

The boys had a swimming lesson with Mr. Gage at the club after school on Wednesday.  Nana, Pops, and Mommy were all impressed with their tune up of swimming skills.  Lincoln had fun on the slide after they finished up. 

Most nights, Lincoln wants to stay up and watch a little Rangers baseball with Mommy (or occasionally The Bachelorette - shhh).  We make sure Beau is safely in bed then have a little quiet bonding time, and it's a great way to end the day.  Some times (but really rarely) he is just too tired and has to crash out on the couch. 

 

Mommy took a moment to remember when this skinny legged 6 year old was just a tiny baby and could fit in a swaddle blanket so tightly cuddled up.  I couldn't find a picture of him swaddled on the couch, which is weird.  I swaddled him in that exact spot on the couch for 4 months then carried him to his crib.  The below screen shots are from when he was 5 weeks old.  I got a little teary that he's grown so much and not that little baby and that it happened so quickly!  

 

Help!!! I'm lost in the polka dots!

(This is our favorite swaddle blanket, and luckily the dot colors are different than our sheets and bumper pads or we'd never find him!)

I mean . . . how cute is little Linky as a baby!!  His stretches were always some of my favorites!  It was fun to remember life at that time.  Such a difference a few years makes!  Fourth of July fun is up next . . . stay tuned.

Weekend Update

The weekend began with a wild storm on Friday night!  Our Friday night group did our best to hang on the patio and stay dry . . . well, the boys decided to run in the rain a bit.  It was crazy fun!

Saturday was a lovely day, and the kids discovered they could go down the slide three at a time! 

Lincoln, Beau, and Shayne went down together at least 50 times!  They never tired of climbing those tall steps and took turns being front/middle/back.  Such sweet friends!

Mommy and Mrs. Blake (Shayne's mom) stayed in the water near the end of the slide to help untangle the kids when they all landed on top of each other!  We both got a major workout of treading water and towing kids for several hours.   

After dinner, the Saugier's hosted an ice cream party at Bowie for neighborhood friends.  Everyone we love from Bowie was there, and parents and kids had a great time! 

After ice cream, the kids ran wild on the playgrounds.  Lincoln was climbing while Beau was manning his "order window". 

Beau took a turn climbing too.  Lincoln was backing him up! 

The boys grabbed our soccer ball for a wild game of gogoball.  (I'm not really sure if it's called gogoball, or of the rules, or if any of the kids knew the rules . . . but they had fun as the sun went down!) 

We had fun at the pool again on Sunday and had dinner at Mi Cocina with the Sadler's.  (Forgot to take a picture.)  Lincoln and Beau convinced Mommy that they needed ice cream from Braum's on the way home . . . why not?!?! 

Since they bathed right when we got home, they got to watch a movie in pjs (with apple slices) before bed.  Two happy guys!!! 

Summer nights are the best!!!!  Fun swimming, lots of friend time, ice cream, staying up late . . . we are living the summer life!!!

Pine Cove - Lincoln's 1st Year

Lincoln's week at Pine Cove Camp in the City was so great!  He really loved the whole experience, and the staff made everything so fun.  He's been teaching us songs he learned, and Beau loves to hear about it.  Some of the Kinders (oh, wait . . . are they 1st graders now????) posed for a picture with their counselors.  There were almost 20 Bowie boys there, and several made into this pic.  It was great that even in a new environment (Dallas Bible Church was the location for Pine Cove in our neighborhood), they all were comfortable with their school friends.

Lincoln's cabin mates were William, other Lincoln, and Canon, and two boys from a different school.  They were such a great group!  Silly faces with Folda Fett aka Counselor Samuel.   

Mommy and Beau surprised the boys at lunchtime on Friday and stopped in for a visit.  Lincoln and Canon were happily eating lunch together of course.  They have missed dining together . . . they ate lunch together every day of Kindergarten!

Beau went to check on the other side of the lunch circle, and it was wild!  Nick, Jonathan, and William were happy to see Beau and have their picture taken! 

We went to the closing ceremony on Friday afternoon, and we were so happy to see what the kids had been up to all week.  They recited memory verses, sang songs, demonstrated their morning warm-up, and then got together in their cabin groups for a final meeting with their counselor.  Folda Fett made the following remarks after spending a week with Lincoln:

"Lincoln is eager, showing excitement for new things.  He is teachable, taking meaning from instruction.  Lincoln is expressive with his words and actions.  Lincoln is joyful and a joy to be around."

We couldn't agree more with this assessment of Lincoln.  He is eager, teachable, expressive, and joyful for sure! 

It was such a great week at Pine Cove, and we are already sure to sign up again next year. 

Weeknight Adventures

Time to get back to our weekly adventures!  Lincoln went to Pine Cove Camp in the City all week during the day, and he had the best time!  (Another post will be dedicated to that with pictures.)  In the evenings we stayed busy playing.  One night was water balloons!  We (Mommy) filled up a few tubs with water balloons with a new filling mechanism that is way better than the hose or faucet.  The boys used their ninja swords to slay the incoming balloons!

Such happy faces! Love them so!

One evening was Ben's birthday party, and the boys couldn't wait to go!  It was in Ben's backyard, and they had all sorts of water activities.  Sprayers, soakers, balloons, a hose on the trampoline, and more.   

Little brothers love to tag along to birthday parties!  Case and Beau worked on filling up their balloons.   

Daddy played 2nd base in this week's softball game, and he did great.  It's so fun to watch the Dads out there hustling to make plays! 

Batter up, Daddy!  Lincoln and Beau stopped running around with their friends long enough to watch Daddy bat. 

Team meeting in the parking lot to share a cold beverage!  What a fun group! 

Busy week; pictures of Pine Cove to come.  (And the Belgium ones too.)

Father's Day Weekend

Friday morning was the last VBS class, and the kids had a sang a few songs on stage.  Nana and Pops and Beau watched, and Lincoln had fun singing.  It was a great week at VBS!  They had plans for tons of fun activities on Friday afternoon.

Minnie and Bubbles came to visit on Friday night!!!  We were so glad they could come for Father's Day weekend!  They came in time to play a little then go to Anamia's for dinner.  We spent all Saturday morning playing (well, Mommy got to go for a run!) and had lunch (a really s-l-o-w lunch at Super Chix) before William's birthday party.  The boys were so excited to help William celebrate his 6th birthday.  The party was at Lil Ninjas, and the kids all had a blast working their way through the ninja obstacle courses.  The pictures speak for themselves, and it was a real workout! 

Time for cupcakes and singing!  It was fun to get together with school friends in the summer! 

Three ninjas in the car . . . we had Canon with us on the way home.  The swords and masks made us all make crazy faces (then laugh)!

After the party, we changed into our suits and hit up the pool to meet Nana and Pops and to show Minnie and Bubbles our new slide.  Lincoln has been loving it, but Beau hasn't really been sold yet.  He went down with Mommy twice, but he didn't love it.  With the motorboat/floatie things, he decided he want to try it with Lincoln.  Bubbles caught these shots, and their faces are hilarious!!   

I mean, seriously!!!  These are some of my most favorite pictures of the boys EVER!  Thanks Bubbles. 

We had a yummy burger dinner at Shady's and shaved ice at Sweet Firefly in the courtyard.  What a busy and fun day! 

We all met up for brunch at the club for Father's Day, and it was delicious!  The boys posed with the Grandfather's after we ate.  It was so special to be with Pops and Bubbles on Father's Day for the first time!  These boys are lucky to have such great guys to look up to, have fun with, and be loved by.   

Daddy surprised the boys on Sunday afternoon by returning from Belgium!!!  We spent a few minutes checking out the boys' souvenirs, had a quick dinner at Manny's, and then headed to the golf course!  We knew Daddy would want to spend his Father's Day playing golf with his best guys . . . even if he had been up since 5:00 AM Belgium time.   

An entire post about Daddy's trip is coming soon.  We were happy to have him home, and he was glad to be back.