Super play structure

Saturday night was rough for Matthew, and Sunday was rough for everyone. We did have a nice visit with Nana and Papa today after Mass, but I didn't end up getting to take any pictures of the fun that was had. So, instead of getting into the details of the cranky parts of our day, I thought I would post about the fun new toy in our yard that was made possible by Nana and Papa.

If you've been reading this lately, you've heard mention and seen bits and pieces of the new play structure in our yard. We were a bit reluctant to add such a huge piece of equipment into our tiny yard, but with two super-active kiddos and one chomping-at-the-bit baby we finally gave in and said goodbye to our mostly empty yard and hello to hours of new fun for the boys. And, as it turns out, the structure really doesn't use up too much of the yard. In fact, it sits mostly on the back part of the yard that is usually just dirt since the neighbors' trees don't allow for any sunlight or rain to get in there. We'd been eying this model from Costco for awhile, planning on having it built before Chris left for Minnesota as a fun distraction for the boys, and it turns out we got it just in time: our Costco had the last one in the state (other than the floor model, which we would've had to take apart and reassemble ourselves). So, last weekend was set aside as a work weekend and the boys got to help Daddy, Papa, Uncle Ian, and Uncle Victor put together the structure. The four men worked till midnight the first day, and Daddy and Papa finished it up from 10-5 the next day. They must really love these boys to work so hard for them!

Matthew unpacks wood pieces while Daniel reads off the codes to Uncle Victor and Papa.

 Organizing the pieces.

 Uncle Ian, Daddy and Papa get some help from Jacob, Daniel and Matthew.

Sometime after 10 pm, the part one of the roof goes up.

It fits!

Back to work! Part two of the roof isn't going to build itself!

Day two: Daniel gets to try out the rings.

If you ask which part of the play structure is his favorite, he'll say the whole thing...but it's clear the rings/bar get more attention from Daniel than anything else right now.

 Finished! The boys check it out.

 Matthew loves to climb up top. Getting down is another story.

 Looking awfully ragamuffin-ish, the big boys enjoy their dinner in their new playhouse.

Great job, guys! Thank you Nana and Papa for this wonderful addition to the back yard. Hours of fun will be had here...

Cousin fun

Yesterday we had lots of play time with family. Aunt Bea came over and played with the boys while I made a solo trip to the grocery store. Not quite how I would choose to spend my alone-time, but WAY better than going shopping with all three kiddos. The boys had a picnic lunch on the deck with Bea, then after Matthew went down for his nap, Bea took Daniel on an adventure to her house. He brought me home a very sweet bouquet of flowers he picked in her garden. While he was out with Bea, Uncle Ian and Auntie Robin and cousins Jacob and Karoly came over to play. It was so nice to have time together with them and we shared some delicious food (and dessert!). We're looking forward to spending more time with them next week!

 The cash register is a hit with everyone.

 Karoly and Aaron trying to figure out how this thing works.

 I love that they're all playing in close proximity to but independently of each other.

 The weather finally came around and we were able to get outside. Aaron tries to figure out the squirt gun while Karoly plays with Aaron's pacifier.

 Jacob takes a tour of the new play structure.

 The three big cousins enjoying dessert: ice cream with fresh peaches and homemade hot fudge sauce. (Thanks, Auntie Robin!)

 Karoly lounges in the exersaucer.

 Now that we've had a chance to refuel, it's pool time again!

 Two moms and a fussy baby. :)

 I had just announced that it was bath time. Only one kid was pleased with this.

A tub full of cousins. Even though Karoly isn't looking, this is my favorite picture of the bunch. Too bad Matthew has been hostile at bath time. It would've been cute to get a picture of all of them in there.

Day 2

Yesterday was a crazy weather day--thunder and lightning on and off all day long. Matthew liked to hear the thunder, and was sad when it would stop for awhile. Here are some highlights of our second day without Chis. The pictures are a bit Daniel-centric, since most of our fun happened while Matthew was napping.

 Daniel had fun being a photographer...stay tuned for a selection of his favorite photos. (Also, check out our awesome new play structure! It's so cool it will get its own post, too.)

 Aaron dining al fresco. 

 Treat for the day: fresh grapefruit sodas, made with homemade grapefruit syrup and fresh juice.

 Refreshing!

Daniel loves these superstruct toys. We finally attempted to make the crane. It turned out pretty well!

Fudgesicles and the countdown

Day one of Daddy being gone went pretty well. We had decided to try making our own fudgesicles the day before, so we gave them a try after lunch. They definitely helped to soften the blow of not being able to see Chris for awhile.

 Oh, the excitement!

 Daniel helped to make the fudgesicles, so it was twice as nice for him to taste them.

 Matthew appeared to have trouble holding up the weight of all that fudgey goodness.

 Fudge goatee.

 The aftermath.

 Aaron couldn't enjoy the actual product, but the packaging was sure nice to suck on.

 We also made a calendar so the boys could both count down the days till Daddy gets home, and see ahead of time all of the fun activities we have planned to take our minds of missing Daddy.

One day down, 18 to go.

A post a day while Daddy's away

It's official...Chris is a student again. He left today for Minnesota, where he will be taking part in two weeks of intensive study that is part of a three year Masters in Philanthropy and Development program at St. Mary's University. Though his classes are two weeks, he'll be gone for closer to three weeks, and that means we're left here to fend for ourselves. Actually, we're so busy here the time will probably go much faster for us than it will for him. So, I've decided to try to post every day so that he doesn't feel left out of the goings-on at home. Who knows if I'll actually be able to post every day, but we'll give it a try!

The boys get together for a photo before taking Daddy to the airport. 19 days till we see him again!

Goofballs

These boys are pretty goofy...

 We rarely get a nice smiling photo from Daniel these days. Luckily his silly faces are still cute.

Matthew's post-bath time ritual always includes a good amount of naked time.

 Aaron's latest hangout.

Backyard Bubbles

A couple weeks ago, we tried out a recipe for bubbles that is supposed to make big, strong bubbles. After buying all of the specific ingredients, we were disappointed to find that the solution did not make even normal-sized bubbles. Then I noticed that the dish washing soap I had bought was not just dishwashing soap, but had antibacterial hand soap mixed in. Not wanting to just dump out the solution, we put it in the water table and added lots of extra water creating a bubble table. The boys had a lot of fun playing with the suds, and I was feeling pretty good about not letting the whole activity go to waste....until the next day when I saw that where the water table had been sitting (and where the boys ended up dumping most of the bubbles) was a giant dead patch of grass. "Antibacterial soap: kills germs! And grass!"

 Filling the dump truck with bubbles.

 Wishing he could play with bubbles, too.

 Sports equipment gets involved.

 If only we had known what would happen to that grass...

No activity gets by without a stick coming into play.

Toilet time

Matthew has started to have an interest in the bathroom and sitting on the potty seat, so we've humored him a few times to see what happens. Nothing has happened yet, but we'll keep letting him sit there. Especially if it makes for a cute photo...

Sunny day memories

Remember those four or five random nice days we had over the past couple months? Here's what our outside play looked like then:

Here's what our outside play has looked like the rest of the time:

When is our summer going to come (and stay)?