Lots of Celebrating

We have been doing lots of celebrating these past few weeks. We just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! 5 years. Felix had to leave town on our anniversary, so he made secret plans to have our friend Kristy come over and watch the kids that morning bright and early so we could sneak away for a quiet breakfast before his trip. He also planned a special surprise for us for this Saturday....I'm excited to see what he has in store. I didn't think of anything super exciting this year for us, so I'm feeling spoiled by him. We have had a wonderful 5 years, better than I could have ever dreamt of, and each day we realize just how perfect we are for each other. Love this man!

We took the kids to the small town circus again this year. This was the first time Felix came with us- and it was much better than last year. I was prepared for a very hot & crowded show, but it turned out completely perfect. The weather was great, and it was much less crowded than last year. The kids had a blast, and as expected- Emma is still talking about the amazing circus acts.

And we really enjoyed Memorial Day. I have this thing about always spending Memorial Day outside in the yard, with the BBQ going. Somehow it has become just what we do- and it never dissapoints. This year was so fun. We had a few good friends over, easy food, and the kids played really well together in the yard. Emma & I spent the afternoon making double chocolate cookies, and we picked out the red & blue mini m&ms from the bag to put on top of our decadent treats for a little festive touch :)

Emma & her little boyfriend Jayin (who started out as Levi's friend), but Levi is completely ignored when E is around!



My boy! Loves a BBQ as much as his mommy!



Lexi keeping baby D safe on the swings

Prepared for summer! There is something about our yard that just makes me want to be outside all day long this time of year. I'm not sure if it is because of the miserable weather in the prior months, or simply the fact that we don't have a garage, and therefore pull up the driveway right alongside the inviting yard. Either way, it screams summer. It makes me feel like we are on vacation- camping in an ultra-convenient campsite! Perhaps it is because Felix is home in the afternoons this time of year that adds to the "vacation" feel.

I push Levi's afternoon nap back a bit &  let them play outside everytime we come home from being out for the day. How can you blame me? Check out my relaxing digs!!

Although, after chasing Levi down the driveway one too many times, we have concluded that a fence is now a necessity and will be looking into that for the near future.



New gazebo for some shade. SO excited for summer!

 We helped Jayin celebrate his 3rd Birthday last night with a fun intimate little party at Chuck-E-Cheese! The kids played in the smaller toddler section, riding the little merry-go-rounds and wild horses. And of course, Levi played the basketball game a few hundred times.

Emma & Jayin. E kept a close eye on that cake!



nervously riding the wild horse



singing happy birthday



Today was a BIG DAY! Emma's last day of preschool-year 1. She still has one more year of preschool before starting kindergarten. Which means, I can hold back tears until next year!
Tuesday was "dress as prince/princess day". She was a little excited about it- high heels, magic wand & more! Today, we joined her as a family for a picnic lunch on the last day of school. I told her about it today, and realized she had no clue this is her last day! She was even a little upset about it- which I think is a good sign :)
Emma & I made a little gift for the teachers after some inspiration from pinterest. A "school supply" cake (similar to the diaper cake concept)! The first layer is 4 rolls of toilet paper, covered in packages of pencils. The 2nd layer is paper plates, with Thank You stickers & pom poms around it. The center is a bottle of disinfectant wipes, surrounded by tubs of playdough, baggies of pom poms, bottles of hand soap and hand sanitizer. And the top is lollipops that are supposed to look like a flower bouquet (not so much....) with a star sign that says "thanks a bunch". Came out much better than I imagined it would!



 




















Above is Emma on her first day of school. And below, is Emma on the 2nd to last day of school- princess style!

For her last day of school today, the teachers prepared a video montage of the school year, filled with pictures of everything they did this year set to music. It was great. And they gave all of us a copy, along with a nice little yearbook filled with pictures. There was one song on there that almost made me cry, but I held it together. G-d help me next year!

 They celebrated with a picnic outside afterwards, a big bouncy house, and they even arranged for the ice cream truck to come to the school and give free ice cream to the kids. What a cool surprise! The whole thing was way beyond my expectations for the afternoon. We are really happy with the school we chose- and we have met some really great people there too. So happy there!

 

Knowing that Emma's school year was coming to an end, I tried to take advantage of some quality one on one time with the L-man. The other day we went on a short little hike together nestled in the back of Patriots Place, and then mosied around Bass Pro Shops checking out the fish and turtle display. He was a little hesitant on the trail when a bug would spook him, but other than that, he had a blast telling me which way to go and picking up sticks along the way.

kissing the camera

 

 

He can't keep his hand out of his pants. We almost need to duck tape his diaper shut!