Heros Among Us

Here are some cute pictures of my superheros at the park!

Happy Danny


More Happy Danny (because, really, who can get enough?)


Half superhero... half wild, climbing monkey. (These guys have yet to meet a piece of playground equipment they can't conquer!)



...And a Halloween preview :) Here are my little heroes loving their Great Aunt Pat

I Wonder When It Was (Exactly) That I Lost My Mind...

It must have been recently. I know I used to be a very reasonable person... but in the last 24 hours I have caught myself saying (maybe yelling...) the following things:

"We do NOT run around the house with the doorbell! Put that doorbell DOWN!"

"Bad wall! No hurting my Danny! Naughty, naughty wall!"

"I don't know if God sneezes. Probably not... Oh, okay, then He probably does. Honey I don't know... I told you I don't know... I don't think so... Why don't you go pray and ask Him!"

"STOP putting peanut butter and jelly on your feet!"

"You're a monkey? Oh good, because monkeys listen to their mommies... Yes, they do... yes, they do... YES, they do... I PROMISE. They DO..."


(Not the ramblings of a sane woman.)

Livin' the Good Life

My happy Danny

Touch-A-Truck

While Kirsten is off celebrating Aunt Maureen's birthday at Sea World, we brought the boys to the local firehouse for the annual Touch-A-Truck day.



Firetrucks and COOKIES? What could be better?!


I think the caption for this picture should be "Fake Fall". It LOOKS like October doesn't it? The leaves, the firetruck, the lighting... You wouldn't expect the "feels like" temperature to be 100 degrees. But it is! We were outside for 15 minutes and covered in sweat. It was pretty disgusting.


As soon as we were finished exploring the trucks Danny took off for the nearby playground. The boys seem so big these days... I treasure the moments when they look tiny exploring their huge world :)


The boys never pass up a playground opportunity, but it was too hot to really play. They tried but gave up very quickly.

Pumpkin Palooza

Saturday we hit the annual Pumpkin Palooza. This is a favorite fall festival that we attend every year. I can't believe it's the third time I've brought the boys to this event! We had a great time, just like we always do. What a great way to kickoff my favorite month of the year!

The boys are so cute these days. They are very excited about scarecrows and talked about them a lot this week ...and Danny has become the biggest lollipop addict I've ever known. Lucky for him, the way he says, "Loll-a-bop" is the cutest thing I've ever heard... so I keep feeding them to him so he'll keep saying it :)


Here is Matt playing a little fishing game. Super-cute. One of the things I love about this festival is how many great, age appropriate activities they have for the little ones.


I think the caption for this photo should be "Monkey on the Bars".


I know I give a lot of attention to Matt's dimples, but I can't tell you enough how much I LOVE Danny's big, joyful grin.


The boys enjoyed some quality time in a bouncy house


Kirsten loves the bouncy houses but she really, really, really loves when there is an obstacle course in the bouncy house!


The end to an awesome day :)

Good for the Soul

Great friends, great weather, and great fun outdoors... it does my soul good. We had a great play date with Charlotte and Santi this week (and we really needed it! Work has been rough, the weather has been ridiculously hot, and I've been sick forever). It was so much fun :)

Danny just loves hangin' out at the park


Matt (Mr. Easy Going) trying to figure out what to do next


This pictures makes me laugh out loud. Santi, who is five days older than the twins, has very advanced language skills... just like my boys have very advanced gross motor skills... that makes for a funny combination.
As Danny was climbing up the ladder to the top of this platform, Santi kept yelling warnings to him, "Danny! No Danny! This is dangerous. DANGER Danny!". It was hysterical. Danny looked at him like he was crazy and kept climbing. I love how this picture shows Danny thinking "See it was no sweat!" and Santi thinking, "HOW did he do that??"

Homecoming 2009

Last night we packed up the mini-van and took the kids to the Homecoming game at Lakewood High (Brian's school). Homecoming has certainly taken on a different meaning then it had during the "glory days" at UF, but we had a great time.



"I love the coach!" (That is the caption I had in mind when I staged this photo... I thought it was pretty funny when I looked at it later and realized that all 3 kids were totally distraced. There was a lot to look at!)


The boys were very interested in everything. I thought they would love the band... after the opening song the boys both clapped and cheered loudly. Then Danny said, "Yea! No more loud!" ... maybe that wasn't their favorite part :)

Kirsten loved EVERYTHING about it. She was so excited to see the Homecoming court. We had lots of fun discussing all the beautiful gowns.


"I wish I was in high school!"


This was my view for most of the night :) I think Danny would have enjoyed sitting and watching the game, shaking his pompom, and cheering with the crowd IF Matt hadn't been so intent on exploring. Danny couldn't let him explore alone! So the boys and I did a lot of walking around and checking things out.


Who knew football could be so exhausting?! (This was taken in Brian's classroom at the end of the night as we changed the boys and got ready to head out.) We left during the second quarter. Those games don't start until 7:30!! We arrived nice and early to check things out so by 8:30 it was time to head out.


... And this photo is exactly why I am usually a bedtime tyrant (and why we don't make it to many games.) As I was editing photos at 10:00 this is what Matt was doing...

We might get 1 little one to adjust to a schedule change... if we're lucky 2 of our kiddos cooperate... I think I've yet to experience an easy bedtime for all 3 kids after a big night! Oh well, he's crazy today but it was totally worth it :)

Breakfast of Champions

Grammy and Grandpa are out of town. I know I say all the time how lucky we are to have so much help with the kids but seriously... it needs repeating... we are SO LUCKY to have so much help! Not only does my dad watch the twins two full days each week, join me to help at all doctor appointments, and do more "spur of the moment" babysitting then a twelve year old girl... BUT he (and my mom!!) also take Kirsten to school each day. That means that they have grandchildren (1-3 depending on the day) being dropped off at their house at seven am FIVE DAYS A WEEK. Again, I'm SO LUCKY. I know this everyday but I especially appreciate it on days like today.

Since they are out of town it is truly "taking a village" to fill the gap. Brian is taking off work, his parents are helping with dropping off Kirsten, and the twins' teacher is even helping out in the mornings (by accepting children at her HOME so I can get to work on time). We are blessed.

SO... while I felt pretty awesome having three children dressed, washed, and loaded into the car at 6:32 am this morning, I did NOT feel awesome about feeding them Pop Tarts in the car. (My big eaters like a hot breakfast. They usually have waffles, sausages, and fruit each morning and then beg Grammy for more food.)



Ironically, this plan did not save me any time. While we got Kirsten dropped off on time, and arrived at the twins' school nice and early, the time it took me to wash their faces and hands (and even change Danny's shirt!)before walking them into their classroom more than made up for my timeliness. Oh well... lesson learned :)