a boy. his sister.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

July 4th, in twenty pictures or less

The kids have had one action-packed July 4th weekend, to say the least! Check out all the fun we've had!!!

Kate & Poppy doing laps in the pool

Kate discovered she can kick her legs and actually move!

We see you, Daddy! CHEESE!

Daddy & Brett... almost convinced that he doesn't have to cling onto the nearest adult in the pool!

Independence Day Princess with her Daddy

This princess loves to read

She loves finding the mouse on every page of "Goodnight Moon"

Brett just wants to play cars... aren't you shocked?!

Ack! The tickle monster!

She thinks the tickle monster freed up some cars

but she was clearly mistaken

A quiet moment with Mom (actually, just walking by with a lucky click of the camera)

Walking back up the "big hill" to our seats

Brett's doing sprints up the hill

Family picture, coutesy of the stranger sitting next to us

Brett's pointing out a plane flying overhead (usually you can see them MUCH lower as it's only a few miles from the airport)

Daddy, Brett, Kate, & Poppy watching fireworks

Mommy & Kate - she's completely enthralled!

Brett practiced his magic - 1, 2, 3, POOF! And the fireworks magically appeared in the sky!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Just another Tuesday morning...

***Click on any picture to view larger version***

Sunday, June 28, 2009

4 dads, 8 girls, and a boy

After more than a month of planning, we had a successful girls night "out." And by "out" I really mean "in." The four wives crashed the Mericle's house for a fun night of good food, plenty of wine, and a movie, topped with brownies and ice cream. The guys crashed our house (actually just our yard) with 9 of the 10 kids. Baby Finn was stuck with us :)

I can say from personal experience that the wives all had a great time! From the pictures, I'd say the kids had a great time too... I think the guys now understand what an undertaking it is when we plan a play date with 10 kids and only 4 moms! Whew!

Father's Day

So, this post is only a week late! Here's a little glimpse of our Father's Day. We started the day with church with the Flanagan's and Auntie Erin, followed by our typical Panera brunch, and the grocery store and Target. You know - just a typical Sunday morning :) Then, everyone came over after the kids' nap to celebrate Father's Day and my birthday. We had too much fun to stop and take pictures apparently, so this is all you get!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

we {heart} the playset!

The kids absolutely LOVE their playset, despite the serious frown on Kate's face... that was more related to the taking of the pictures and NOT the actual act of swinging. She would seriously sit in that swing all day if we'd let her. I have yet to get pictures of the funniest part of the playset... Brett takes his wagon full of trucks and cars and brings them up to the fort (actually, gets one of us to put them up there because it's hard to climb with that big wagon) and then zooms them down the slide one by one. It's a trip. I'll get a picture of that too, eventually, but it's even funnier in person!

Race for the Cure

As you might remember, one of my co-workers was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 24th. We decided to organize a team for Race for the Cure and do the 5K together last Saturday. It was an absolute blast, despite the heat and high humidity. It started at Meredith College and wound all through the surrounding neighborhoods. It was an awesome experience to see how the neighbors all come out to cheer everyone along. I know that I'll definitely do it again in the future!

Team Zing, pre-race

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Having fun in the hot NC sun!

We've had a busy, busy week, and the fun just doesn't stop!

First, we rewarded the first poop on the potty with a ride on daddy's tractor and a few M&M's... now he tries to poop anytime he feels like he wants M&M's, but we're certainly not complaining!

We celebrate the Cubs' victories, and mourn their losses

We take a break on really hot days for some rehydration and a little Cars movie

We help Uncle Jeff celebrate his birthday, by opening his presents faster than he can

We spend our Mondays with our favorite 4 mommy, 8 girls, 2 boys combo at a great park, topped with a yummy lunch... even Kate ate... a little bit

We learn to swim with just our swimmies and not holding on to anyone, although he won't do it for mommy, only for Memere and other random moms at a birthday party

We use our floatation device as a teething ring... hopefully it still floats!

And we learn the consequences of a morning at the park, no nap, and an afternoon at the pool - total and complete exhaustion!

That's not all - the week isn't over! It's only Thursday night! Tomorrow, Friday, our playset gets installed... the kids will be so excited, I can't wait to see their faces. Friday night, Auntie Erin is spending the night with us because Todd and I have to be out the door super early on Saturday. Todd has National Marquette Day, working in the NC Food Bank. I am the team captain for our Race for the Cure team at work. For those that don't know, my co-worker was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 24th. She has the MOST amazing attitude about the whole thing. I'm completely impressed. I just hope that our sick guests at the pharmacy don't share their germs with her, because that is NOT what she needs right now! Because this isn't "Fun Friday" (aka chemo day), she and her fiance get to walk with us, so we're super-excited. Please keep her in your thoughts as she battles through this.

Saturday night is Erin's Bachelorette Party downtown! The last Bachelorette party that I went to we won "party table of the night" at Rum Runners. Of course, that was almost 5 years ago. Seeing as how most of our friends are into popping out babies now, I've been more in tune with planning baby showers. Luckily, 2 of Erin's other bridesmaids are completely on top of the bachelorette party. It should be a blast! I can't wait!

Sunday brings us back to our usual... church and brunch with the Flanagans. I love that we have this time to spend with them and catch up every week, even if it is a little chaotic sometimes :) I hope you all have a fantastic weekend... we'll update with pictures again soon!