Visit at Mammaw & Pappaw's

The boys and I went and hung out at my mom and Floyd's this past Sunday.
The weather was gorgeous. We had sunny, chilly and overcast all in the same day.
It made for a perfect day of just hanging out in their great backyard.
I love going to my mom's to relax. Even if it is with the boys and not always totally relaxing...they just have the best backyard to just chill.
Pappaw had a little garage sale going on in the driveway when we got there.
He pulled out a slot car track he bought at a yard sale when the boys were probably one years old.
He figured they were old enough now to enjoy it and they sure did.
It took a little bit of fixing up and sanding the track a bit so the cars made connection but once it was up and running the boys had a blast.
They had a water fight with Pappaw. It was them with spray bottles versus him with a cup full of water or a squirt gun. Not really a fair fight!

They love wandering around their backyard and checking out the garden and all of the flowers my mom has back there.
It's just beautiful.
I got to lounge in the sun and the boys went swimming in the hot tub.
That's a flashback to my childhood and growing up practically living in my grandparent's hot tub.
Taylor knows he can reach the bottom and really has gotten daring about going from the sides to standing on the bottom and jumping around.
It's good to see him getting so confident in himself.
Callum was a little more leery and not quite ready to let go of Mammaw while they were in there.
He was a little spider monkey and not impressed with his brother trying to egg him on to walk on the bottom with him.

It was a great day.



Pappaw sanding some of the pieces of the slot cars while the boys waited patiently







Time for water fights!









Hot Tub Time!



Callum's very serious face



Mammaw & the boys





Taylor trying to get his brother to see how he can stand in the middle.....didn't go over well

Interviews

I love doing little interviews with the boys and have them tell stories while I record them.
Some of them are just hysterical.
They love performing for me when I have the video turned on, mostly because they want to watch it back right when I'm done recording and they crack up at themselves.

Taylor telling Star Wars Stories



The boys giving me what they call the crazy stares



Trying to ask the boys their names and how old they are

Riding Mower

So even though this makes me extremely nervous the boys love it.
We got a ride on mower a few months back from our friends Kristen and Jesse.
Jesse had rebuilt the engine and we did a trade for it.
It's great to have, it definitely makes mowing our grass more enjoyable.
When Jesse brought it over the first time the boys got to take a ride with him on it and they've been dying to take a ride again.
Daddy mowed the lawn yesterday and when he was done they each got to take a ride for a few circles around the backyard.
They LOVED it.


Daddy & Callum





Daddy & Taylor




Taylor was very serious about his job til the end

1st Day of School PreK

After trying to go through the application process for our local county public pre-k programs we decided for the boys to go back to Kindercare where they had been going for preschool.
The cost was definitely a factor.
Public Pre-K is definitely pricey and we don't qualify for any sort of tuition reduction.
The boys love their little school. They know all the teachers and loved going there.
Yesterday was their first day back from their summer off with Nana.
I am pretty sure Nana was ready for them to go back to school as well!
They were super excited to be going back and seeing all their friends and their favorite teachers.
They said they had a great first day back and met new friends.


Still sleepy



Big PreK boys!

Volcano Making

Besides the copious amounts of Star Wars toys the boys got for their birthday they also got a Volcano kit from our friends Michele & Jason and their kids.
They've been itching to make it since they opened it and we finally did this week.
Nana had it all set up to start when I got home from work the other day.
Callum wasn't nearly as into it as Taylor.
He loved putting on the mad scientist goggles and helped with every part of making it.
Callum checked in on our progress from time to time. But as usual he is a very busy boy and had lots of other things to do.
Nana was kind enough to take some pictures of Taylor and I making the volcano since I am always the one taking pictures and rarely in them.

Taylor's ready to go



Getting started and pouring the mix with Nana





Callum coming to check out what we're doing and doing what he does best....acting like a nut!







He decides to help mix in some water



Taylor mixing



Mommy & Taylor start putting the mix on the volcano mold







It was really messy



Checking out our finished product and waiting for it to dry.



I resorted to the only thing to make Callum look directly at the camera and smile

I told him I was going to toot on him.

Hey, whatever works!



We've had many eruptions from our new volcano this week, but I haven't had the chance to take pictures of that just yet.
To be honest the eruptions are kind of weak.
I think we need to reposition the tube that goes through it that controls the "eruption"
But either way, the boys love it!

Visit with Grandpa John

My dad came to visit us during his annual trip back to the states.
It was a nice visit. We did a lot of relaxing and general loafing about.
Typically our visits are a whirlwind of activity which wasn't lacking totally on this trip with the boys birthday falling on the weekend he was here.
I realized that with all of our laziness that I hadn't taken a picture of him and the boys.
I made sure to grab the camera before he was getting ready to leave for the airport and snap some shots with him and the boys.


That picture proves just how squirelly Callum can be. He's always very busy and has things to do and people to see at all times



Taylor & Grandpa John


Callum trying to be good, but Grandpa John looking the wrong way.

Fourth Birthday!

The boys fourth birthday was this weekend.
We had my dad in town for the weekend too, they were super excited to have Grandpa John in town for their birthday.
We did it at home and rented a bounce house.
We lucked out and found a guy in our neighborhood newsletter that was cheaper than the rest and a super nice guy.
He's a local fireman that runs the business on his own.
The bounce house was more than I could imagine!
Of course the boys picked Star Wars as this years "theme" for their birthday.
I usually try to go light on the themed stuff....I got the Clone Wars napkins, a tablecloth and a banner.
My mom and sister came over early and helped me decorated and get the backyard set up.
The boys had a GREAT time.
We had a pretty good turnout.
We bought way too much pizza and had tons of cake left over.
I baked the cakes Friday and Ashley constructed an R2D2 cake for the boys.
They were really stoked about it.
My sisters were such a huge help at the party, between the cake and helping clean up they were so awesome.
I even had someone ask to adopt my family because they're pretty awesome.
I have to say I did definitely luck out in the sister department.
The boys favorite teacher from their preschool even came by for a little bit. They were so excited to see Miss Sharon stop by.
They had to show her the whole house and their Star Wars room of course.
I can't believe how fast four years have gone by!
Where are my babies?!
They make me proud. They are such great big boys.





the birthday boys playing with balloons before anyone got there



the enormous bounce house!



Callum in the shark pool that sprayed water out of his head



slip n slide



presents!





Miss Sharon watching the boys open presents



The kids all shooting my cousin Justyn. The boys favorite present was definitely the Boba Fett helmets



Taylor with Pappaw Floyd and Mammaw (my mom and stepdad)



Cake time!! The boys were so mad, one of the little girls blew out their candles before they could! lol lovely little meltdown....no biggie, just lit and let them go again. They also refused to let me put holes in their R2 cake so I had to put the little candles in cupcakes! haha



Taylor and Miss Isabella the Noodle



Jumping with Aunt Shannon, my cousin's son Cayden & Taylor



Jesse was doing flips with the kids



Josh going down headfirst



Callum



Taylor sums up the end of the day! lol exhausted and grumpy