baby it's cold outside

before spring arrives, i figured i'd better post about the boys' utah trip.
since i wasn't actually on this trip, i don't have personal details to share,
so i asked the boys to tell me about their trip. here's what they said:

finn: we drove to utah in the middle of the night and we didn't get a flat tire or anything
(i sensed a little sadness in his voice about not getting a flat tire.
they had one on a past roadtrip to utah and finn LOVED it.
it was one of the highlights of his trip. seriously!)

scout: i saw where dinosaurs lived back when they were on earth
(c tells me they did drive by a dinosaur park somewhere in utah and he pointed it out to the boys)

finn: we went to the cabin and we went sledding, snowmobiling and we swam in the jacuzzi in the cabin.

scout: i was standing by that cabin and snow fell off the roof on my head.  i didn't like it.
(this indeed happened) *grin*

scout: when i was sledding, i went under a truck
(this too happened. i asked c about this one and he admitted it)
there were cars parked at the bottom of the driveway where the kids
were sledding down and scout sled did go under a car that had a high wheel base. 
luckily he was wearing a helmet and there were no injuries.

finn and scout: we played alot with maya and isaac. they have great toys. 

finn: one day we went to a jump castle place. it was awesome! 

scout: it was REALLY cold!

so there it is - a summary of the boys' utah trip from my children.
and since posts aren't complete without photos, here are a few to help bring their words to life.

did you notice the duct tape around the boys' jacket and pant cuffs?

this is something christopher and trevor started doing a few years back to keep

the snow from getting onto the boys clothes/skin. BRILLIANT!



sundays

sundays are officially our 'family days'.

this is the one day c and i set aside to spend the majority of the day together with the boys.
some sundays we are motivated to go someplace exciting and new, and other days we just
stick close to home. this morning was one of those mornings.

we spent 2 hours doing chores (ugh) and then we all headed to the hilton for some playtime in the pool.
with kids back in school, most of the tourists are gone so we had the pool to ourselves which was very nice.


the boys have come such a long way this past summer with their swimming.
finn's confidence has grown and he's so proud of himself. of course c and i are too.
he is eager to show off his new skills/tricks to all who will take a moment to acknowledge him.
scoutie continues to be fearless around water which is a blessing and a curse. the biggest problem?
he truly thinks he can swim and he can't!  not yet anyway. 
we have to keep arm floaties on him as he will just jump into the pool (anywhere) without them.
the kid is fearless.

here are a few videos i promised finn i'd share with grandma and grandpa.

 








later in the afternoon while the boys napped, maddy and i headed to the mall to do a little shopping.
 i was on a mission to find a dress for todd and heather's upcoming wedding.
generally, i *never* find anything when i'm looking but i got lucky - i found two dresses!

one is a simple lilac tank style dress from banana republic and the other is creme colored tank-style dress, with black embroidered flowers on one side of the bodice from anthropologie. i rarely step foot into this store as it doesn't fit my budget, but on occasion they will have great sales and i'll find something that i love. the dress i found today literally fits me like a glove and i couldn't resist. (i must snap a photo of it and send to christi ) both are spring/summer dresses, but since florida is still generally warm in october, i'm hoping i can wear one of them? i will bring some kind of cover just in case.

i had a wonderful sunday - with my boys and then with maddy.
she was certainly my good luck charm today.

thank you for joining me m. love you! auntie a

to sensational aunties and to sleeping in

because of one sensational auntie, c and i were able to sleep in this morning. i had almost forgotten how great it feels to just sleep in as long as my body called for it. my body was definitely calling for it and it was pure heaven!! so how did this happen? no, we didn't drug the boys, although i have considered it in the past. *laugh*

aunt jen agreed to watch finn and scout overnight at her place - a first for all of them. since she's watched them on and off since they were born, we were all comfortable with the arrangement. jen is in her 20s and having been there (yes a while ago), i am fully aware there are lots of exciting things she could have been doing on a saturday night. she was kind enough, however, to sacrifice one of her weekend evenings to spend time with her nephews and to give her big sis a much needed respite. i don't think there has been a time since finn's birth that i've been able to sleep in with christopher. it was a rare and wonderful treat - it felt like our pre-kid days. ahhhhhh!!!!!

some events of the night/day: dinner (corn on the cob), movie and popcorn, shooting the rocket launcher toy in backyard, and coloring a giant sealife mural. here are a few fun photos jen took of the boys. oh, i should mention when c and i went to pick them up. they both begged to stay. even in scoutie's simple language, it was clear he was telling me to go. he said 'bye mom' and "not all done".

jen - you are the bestest auntie ever! muchas gracias senorita.

summertime

sweet childish days, that were as long as twenty days are now.

- wordsworth

summer is in full swing now and with finn out of pre-school, christi has her hands full with both boys four days a week. as expected, she's handling it so well and they seem to be having lots of fun. they spend their days at the beach, the pool or parks around the city. they are simply enjoying the beautiful san diego summer - sunny and mid 70s!

i get a little bummed being cooped up inside at work instead of enjoying the outdoors. christi has a lovely sister jenny, a recent grad, that has been unable to find work in her field. she has taken up a nanny job in the meantime and it's just a few blocks away. the little boy she cares for is just a month younger than scoutie and the sisters get together almost daily with the 3 boys. it's a great set up for all of them.

oh to be a child again and have summers to look forward to.

i look back on summers with a smile. i was a child of the 70s and 80s and though we had the video game system, atari, my parents didn't allow us to spend our days sitting in front of the television. as soon as we ate breakfast and did our chores, we were outside playing - all day long. we came inside just long enough to grab lunch or a snack. it wasn't forced - it's just where we wanted to be.

it helped that we grew up on a street with lots of kids and that my best friend robin was one of 6 kids. between her large family and mine, we always had enough kids to form teams to play most anything. we also spent alot of time in our backyard pool - mom and dad knew exactly what they were doing when they made that purchase. our friends were over often and it kept us home which allowed mom to keep her eye on us for many summers.

when i think of childhood summers, i think of long and happy days - filled with childhood friends, my brothers, bike riding, touch football and four-square games in the street (yes in the street), neighborhood parades, swimming, lots of kool-aid, pb&j and chasing down the ice cream truck for a sweet treat. oh to be a kid again.

here's to a sweet and sensational summer!!

under the weather

scoutie went to bed saturday night and fussed which is unusual. i
 was hoping he was just overtired but that wasn't the case.
two hours later, he woke up crying and and with a slight fever.
as i held and rocked him in the chair next to his bed, he threw up - all over himself and me.

we showered and the incident repeated itself a few hours later but while he was in his crib.
poor little guy. he spent alot of the night dry heaving as i laid next to him on a pallete i made on his floor.
i didn't put him in my bed fearing he might have another incident and well, i've learned that at least one adult should get a good night sleep because it could last a few days or pass to another child.

sure enough, finn and i both woke up feeling horrible. i couldn't keep breakfast down and finn is lethargic and is running a fever. i can't remember the last night any of us felt this bad - it's no fun! somehow christopher remains unscathed - for now. the bbq that we all planned on going to tomorrow is out as well as my morning run. even if i feel better, i doubt i would have the energy. the little boys and i haven't had more than a few sips of water and even then, scout couldn't keep that down. so much for a fun 3-day weekend.
i hope we crawl out from under this cloud soon.

stay healthy out there.
i'm going to try to catch some zzzzs.

christopher is on duty tonight.