The boys had their baseball team pics last weekend. Brian took his camera along

Aiden is in the front row, 2nd from the left

Logan is in the middle row, far right

Brady is a man of many costumes! The other day, he found my scuba gear and dressed up in it for like a week. This is a “shortie” which means that it goes to my knees…actually not a bad fit for him. haha

Cuter with the mask off…

This is the snack the boys made me that I discussed like 3 posts ago. I just got my camera card working again so here it is!

Goofy Aiden and Brady laying on the floor asking me to take their pictures one day:

This coming weekend is our first of 2 annual summer / fall camping trips. During our last outing in October 2011, the zipper on our tent refused to remain closed or on its track so we ordered a new tent. This is the box…er um…BOAT it came in  

While Aiden and Brady were working on their boat, Logan and daddy played catch

If you can hold it and throw it or kick it, Logan wants to do it! He’s our crazy sports nut right now!

So…we’re already into our 4th week of summer, but Brian was updating our computer last week and I just got back on! Our second week of summer fun concluded with the annual Prairie Fest weekend and Father’s Day. The fun continued with baseball which started last week for all three boys (coach pitch for Logan, 1/2 tee-ball and 1/2 coach pitch for Aiden and a little Mighty Mites class for Brady) plus tennis for Aiden per his request. Here are pictures of Prairie Fest and Father’s Day.

On Friday, the 15th, we met up with some good friends to do the “all you can ride for $20”. When we first got there around noon, all the rides were down due to electrical issues. Around 1:30, we got back up and running. The boys rode and rode and rode the rides until around 4:30 when we left and collapsed at home on the couch!

Here is Brady on his favorite, the helicopter ride. Due to his height, he wasn’t able to do many of the “big kid” rides. It worked out well because my friend Lisa took him and her younger son while I took her older son and my boys along with another friend to a different area with much crazier attractions.

 

Like the crazy, spin-you-around-and-then-tilt-you-all-the-way-up “Zero Gravity” that Logan rode at least 10 times and Aiden rode at least 4 times (Aiden was a little gun-shy so he stood aside for a while. Once he got a taste of it though…he was just as hooked as Logan – crazy boys!) This is a view of the back of the ride:

My favs: the swings. I think they all went at least twice on this one.

Brian the gourmet detests the food selection at P-fest (we went on Thursday with just the adults for a concert and he was then set on making his own food for our traditional night with the kids on Saturday). Here he works on 1 of his masterful creations. I can’t remember exact ingredients, but there was a jerk chicken with pineapple coleslaw and a steak with blue cheese and bacon. They were oh-so-good and we had more than enough to share.

The kids played around per usual and there was a nice, big area for a while before the crowd started rolling in. Aiden somehow convinced AJ, Ryan and Ella to lift him up and carry him around.

The Pfest crew minus Kate and Carter (plus 2 that were on vacation)

 

The next day, we celebrated our wonderful and amazing daddy with a ride out to a farmer’s market in Geneva and a walk around the Fabian Forest Preserve that features a Japanese garden amongst other things. I spent a lot of time behind everyone else capturing cute pictures like this one….

…and this one

 

This is the old tea room at the Japanese Garden. I don’t have any other pics because I was too lazy with my iphone :)

After our little adventure, Brian’s dad came over and we had a lovely dinner…complete with some “grill” cupcakes that the boys and (I!) made:

Gummy Crabby Patty burgers, Mike and Ike’s strawberry candies and gummy fruits on the toothpicks. You can’t tell from the picture, but these were the giant cupcakes…like as big as my hand. Very fun to make!

So…I finally got my picture card to read on the computer so I have a few to post. First off, a week ago on Friday the 8th, Brian and I hosted a funny party for the adults in the neighborhood highlighting silly moments we’ve all shared over the past 5+ years of being friends, going on vacations and having parties together. It was a hoot! It took FOREVER to get everything ready, but it was worth it. I think my final slide show was over 120 slides long and included pictures, music (thanks to Brian) and video clips. We ordered trophies, had everyone dress up, put out the red carpet and laughed ourselves silly for 5 hours. Here are some highlight pics:

 

Here are the oscar-esque trophies I ordered.

We called the whole thing “The Litchy Awards”

The read carpet leading from the front door, balloons and twinkle lights on the stairs which you can’t really see because it wasn’t dark yet when I took these pictures

The stars of the show…

I forgot to have someone take a pic of me and Brian – so here is the food setup we did. Brian outdid himself and I painted a big piece of drywall with chalk paint to label all these cool sausages that Brian found on his travels

We pulled out the good china, the crystal and the nice table cloths. Oh ya….we did it up!

Brian giving our opening speech. Oh…and he found his tux from our wedding and dressed up just a bit more than the other guys since we were the hosts (although he ditched the shoes I guess – nothing like a tux and socks)

The “audience” members and nominees

 

Here I am presenting an award. I gave everyone cards and assigned awards to give out. As you can see, Brian gave me a giant wine glass like Jules on Cougar Town for laughs (if you don’t get that reference, you don’t watch the show, but she drinks out of giant wine glasses and gives them names. We named mine Little Carl)

We took breaks in the action to play games that other couples brought. I just love the laughter!

Anne and Jeff show off their trophies before heading home. It was SUCH a fun night!!!

After a 1/2 day of no school last Monday, we were already bouncing off the walls! I had been going through some old pictures and realized that the tadpoles were probably at the local Arboretum right about now! So….we borrowed Memaw and Grandpa’s pass and spent Tuesday morning and early afternoon at one of our favorite summer-time destinations (yes, let’s just jump right into summer the day after school gets out).

I didn’t take my camera along so these are pics from my iphone. We started the day with a “rainbow scavenger hunt” where you find one cool thing for every color of the rainbow. Well, let me tell you – the Arboretum fulfills that request within the first few feet of the entrance so that…um…didn’t take long. Ok – off to the next thing! Aiden was intent on catching a tadpole, of which there were many. However, they all had been scared off under a bridge into a side of the tadpole area where you’re not allowed to enter and walk in the water. He stalked the 10 or so poor creatures who hadn’t vanished under the bridge and would NOT leave that day until he got one (which, thank God, he finally did). We had to go to the tadpole pool like 5 times though!

A quick shot of the boys on the rocks by the fake stream that they have (this is “the grotto” or fake cave source of the fake stream – it’s all super cool and educational if you can read) ;) I did marvel at the ease of this trip. Not that last summer’s weren’t easy, but we’ve been coming to the Arboretum since I was pregnant with Brady. I do love having big kids who don’t run away (although Brady did at one point, but quickly doubled back to find us!)

On Wednesday, we had a fun morning at the park with friends and played at the house with neighborhood friends in the afternoon. Thursday, the boys got to go to the Zoo with Memaw, Aunt Diana and their cousins. What a treat! They actually went all day then straight to one of their last lacrosse games of the season.

On Friday, they got to sleep over at Memaw and Grandpa’s. Saturday was their very last lacrosse game (in which they did AWESOME). They played at the house all afternoon and then got to stay up late making s’mores with our friends down the street. Sunday was the first day of vacation bible school followed by a grill-out with daddy’s yummy steak, dinner on the patio, chocolate dipped strawberries and an early bedtime to make up for all the late nights – phew!

Monday was VBS and then play ALL AFTERNOON at our house with a rotation of neighborhood kids. I counted and, including my own, there were 14 kids in and out all day. I really don’t mind as long as they are all getting along. Better than my kids being bored and playing video games. Just wish someone would take my three off my hands from time to time ;) I also have had the need to instill the following rule: your friends make a mess, you either ask them to help clean before they leave or you guys have to do it. That’s the price you pay for me letting everyone hang out here all day! They honestly did a great job though and I’m hoping this, “I love being at my house – come hang out there,” is going to work to my advantage in the pre-teen and teen years (here’s to hoping they still want to be around me I guess).

In other news, Logan has taken to making stuff in the kitchen (unfortunately, he thinks…and actually can, use a knife…like a real one). Yesterday he and Aiden made me a strawberry and mozzarella ka-bob on a chopstick as a snack. I have a picture of it on my camera, but the card reader on the computer isn’t working so I can’t post it just now. This morning, when I got downstairs after my shower, breakfast was ready for everyone including me, courtesy of “Logan’s Diner” – waffles with butter and chopped up peaches. I have to say it was awesome and seriously yum. Aiden had even turned on the coffee machine (which was set up to brew) so there was coffee waiting as well! Lucky me! Logan said he’s going to make me waffles again tomorrow. sweet!

 

So real quick, back to Vacation Bible School: here is the church sanctuary set up for the kids on the first day. Clouds and kites, hang-gliders, balloons…lots of fun stuff hanging everywhere. The theme is “Sky” and the boys have been having a blast. Logan is in the 2nd grade “Amazing Airplanes” group. Aiden is with the “Colorful Kites” kindergarten group and Bray is in the “Rockin’ Rainbows” preschool group. Brady was a bit hesitant the first day, but he’s in the groove now. It’s Sunday – Thursday so mommy’s been getting a bit of kid-free time in the mornings. Logan is actually staying home tomorrow while the other two go because it’s his 2nd baseball practice and he missed the first one on Monday.

And finally, something totally stupid I did last Thursday: burned myself with a curling iron for the first time since….um…high school maybe!? I usually use a straight iron so I was doing something I usually do with that: trying to reach behind my head and grab a little bunch of hair to curl and BAM – right into my neck (not so much covering on the curling iron as compared to the straight iron). It’s quite the interesting shape too – like a perfect moon. I actually took this picture as a “before” since I’m trying some of my friend’s Rodan + Fields cream to make it heal faster. So far, so good. Everyone keeps asking me what it is. Brian said, “that’s hot – tell everyone I did it” and I’m like, “tell them you did it with what?! crazy boy!”

 

Oh ya, one last thing: today’s project – the summer chore system. This is a picture I took before I attached the chores to the sticks, but it’s designed for the boys to make sure they are taking care of themselves, each other, the family and the house every day. Each morning, the sticks (green for Logan, blue for Aiden, red for Brady and yellow for general chores) will be in their little containers. As things are completed, the sticks get moved to the un-lettered container. I wouldn’t say that these are necessarily “chores” they are more like responsibilities and daily activities: brush teeth am and pm, dress yourself, put cloths in the hamper, pick up the yard at the end of the day, pick up the playroom, read, write, do something kind, do something creative etc with the yellow sticks being things like: wipe down the table, help unload the dishes, help with trash on Monday night etc. I got the general idea from Pinterest, but found an un-finished mini planter at Michael’s yesterday – painted it, added paper and tada! I bought the sticks previously colored as well. The chores are now attached and were printed on some cool paper that I have that looks like faded notebook paper. I modge-podged a lot today! ;0)

 

Aiden and Brady had their last days of preschool over a week ago. We’ve been waiting for Logan’s last day and it’s finally here. He got out at 11:55 today. We did the whole morning walk routine we’ve been doing all year….same pick-up routine as well. Logan suggested that I take an end-of-the-year picture since I took one on the first day of school so I snapped a bunch all along the way….after school too.

Ok…prepare to be amazed at the incredible maturing boy! Here is the first day of school: Logan – 6 & 1/2

And here was this morning: Logan – 7 years and 3 months

Logan and his buddy Sam

This is our daily walk to school: down the street and meet at Sam’s house, gather the troops and continue on

This is the path that runs between some of the houses at the South end of our street. We cut through, turn left and curve around to the entrance of the school (if we cut through our yards, it takes 3 minutes…this walk takes like 10)

The moms all stop near the end of the drive and the kids head on in

Here comes Logan after school! He’s bringing me a super fun little “something” from his teacher – a thanks for helping with classroom stuff this year

These are parents, teachers and administrators all lined up to say good-bye on the last day. This is not our usual route (this is the direction of the “walk through people’s yards we don’t know” route), but that’s where everyone lined up so that’s where we went!

Logan and his teacher!! So long 1st grade! :(

Before he walked in to school today, Logan wanted to know if I was going to have a “surprise” waiting for him on his last day. Some families go out for lunch or dinner or ice cream after the last day of school. Clearly this day was “the bar” against which all other “last days” will be measured. So…..I went with Lunchables (which the boys love and rarely get) WITH the drink and treat PLUS a sour candy thing for each. I asked them all if this was an acceptable “end of school / beginning of summer” celebration and they all shouted “YES!” Sweet. Done! Bar set very, very low ;)

So I was all sad and lamenting to a friend on the way back from school about how fast our kids grow up. Coincidentally, Brady decided to play one of his favorite games this afternoon: baby

Once in a while, your kids give you just what you need. For instance, I realized that the best thing about this “baby” is that he put together his own pack-n-play, has been potty trained for like 2 years, dresses himself, sleeps through the night, is pretty much swimming without a vest (thank you – I can finally sit on the side and watch!) and has HILARIOUS conversations with me. Ok fine….big kids are awesome too.

Daddy is out of town tonight, but we decided to have our first outside family meal of the year. Here are the boys yelling “yeah summer!” while munching on tacos. They played in water and got wet this afternoon so they are all in PJs….seemed like the thing to do at 4:30 when they changed out of bathing suits. I am a full supporter of PJs whenever possible…sometimes even when it’s not appropriate. We also have cool outdoor rock speakers now so Logan put on some tunes for our meals – Yeah summer!

In other news: last week I finally decided to do something about a section of landscaping that has been driving me nuts. This is a Serviceberry tree in our back yard on the side of our patio. The landscaping plan calls for some small weigela and clumps of blue oat grass. We planted both, per the plan, several years ago. The grasses died and the weigela never took off (it remained tiny, but kept coming back…just not growing). I decided I wanted caramel heuchera and some fun grasses. I saw just what I was looking for the other day and snatched them up. This is my new (still in the baby phase, but better than it was) landscaped area:

The grasses I got are fountain grasses called Fireworks. I knew Aiden would love just the name, but they are also super-cool looking. They will get 2-4 feet tall.

Aiden drew a picture of the fireworks grass. His actually shoot off fireworks (clearly labeled in the drawing below with the words “pow!”)

While we’re at it, here are pictures of my front-door planters. I am horrible at keeping these things watered so I suspect they will wither and die within the month, but here they are for now – pretty and brimming with hope (maybe I’ll set an alarm on my phone to remind me to water them…much like I have to remind myself to feed the tiny water frogs that live in my kitchen! <—those belong to Aiden)

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!!!!!!! I’m so happy I don’t have to get out of bed at 7 tomorrow ;)