Ultimate relaxation and Undies

After a gorgeous morning at the park, I found my little guy like this when I went to let him know it was time to get up from nap. So sweet!

This is also his first day to wear big boy undies. He has been in pull-ups for almost 3 weeks with only 2 accidents! So proud of our big boy. And what a gift to have him potty trained before baby arrives. I wasn't even planning to try, but he was ready!

Aquinasfest Weekend!

We had our big parish festival this weekend. Lito usually joins us but was unable to come at the last minute. The kids were so sad, and we definitely missed him. But we were able to eek some fun out of the weekend anyway. ;)

Daddy got suckered into Bingo night in Lito's absence. The kids enjoyed playing/helping!

We decided to skip the dinner/dance this year (Austin is recovering from illness, and I am just always pooped!) and took Pawpaw out to an early birthday dinner after evening mass instead. This guy ate chips and salsa the whole time. He actually tried and liked the "infierno" salsa...the really hot one. The waitress noticed and even brought him his own bowl! He didn't eat his dinner, but we didn't care. It was such a joy to see him enjoying himself so much.

 Sunday was the big festival. The older girls and I baked cakes for the cake wheel, and Allia acutally signed up to help out this year. She really enjoyed that. The little ones rode the horses.

 They played lots of games, won lots of little prizes, jumped in the bounce houses and had lots of fun. The cotton candy started out a little too expensive for the kids (though they really wanted some), but then they lowered the price so the kids all went to get some after we ate lunch.

Then we were invited to the house blessing of some dear friends that evening. It was a lovely time, and they have a beautiful new home to enjoy with their growing family. We are so happy for them and thankful for such a great weekend!

Stephen's First Soccer Game

Stephen had his first real soccer game today. He seemed to really enjoy it and played well. It was crazy hot, but the whole family went to watch him and cheer him on. Luckily we had a big umbrella and a picnic lunch complete with popsicles to distract us from the heat.

Happy 11th Birthday Mariana! (and me...won't say my #!)

Mariana had her party Saturday afternoon which began ice skating with friends and ended with pizza, cake and games at our house. She had a great time. I loved seeing her beautiful smile so much! She had such a sweet group of girls to celebrate with, and I really enjoyed cooling off in the rink watching them skate...I have been so hot this pregnancy!

 Strawberry/raspberry cake with strawberry frosting...her request, made from scratch by me! It was yummy!

We had a nice day together yesterday, although a busy one. It started with mass and RE. We swung by the grocery store on our way home to pick up some of our favorite treats...Sushi for her, and sour cream doughnuts for me. Daddy made us an amazing lunch. After some down time, some of the kids went to a birthday party and we finished up with a meal out with Pawpaw and Manah. So fun to celebrate with a birthday buddy. I am so thankful for our sweet Mariana!

Happy 13th Birthday!

I have a teenager! :0

We had Allia's party Friday night. She wanted a low-key late-over. So we started out at U-Paint It with a few friends. Then we went back home for breakfast for dinner, cookie cake and a private movie and popcorn (the younger ones stayed upstairs). So her friends got to stay late but not so late that Austin and I were too tired the next day! It worked out great, and she really enjoyed it.

We went to the vigil mass yesterday and then were treated to a meal out by Pawpaw and Manah in honor of her birthday. Then we were able to enjoy a little time at home this morning before the start of RE classes. Austin and Stephen went on a run and picked up doughnuts on the way home. She had lots of little family gifts to open. (Her big gift from us was the room makeover while she was at camp in June!).

(Watching Austin sing his dramatic rendition of Happy Birthday)

We had a family birthday dinner at home to round out the day. What a nice day to celebrate our teen!

K family Visit

We had our annual visit from our dear friends, the K family this weekend. It was long overdue after a summer with random illnesses in both our families and then an somewhat unexpected move to a bigger home for them. But they finally made it, and we all had a great time!

Sharing a movie together...we adults escaped mid-movie for a double date all planned, with babysitting, by my amazing hubby. :)

 These two were such cute buddies, holding hands to and from mass and insisting on sitting by each other.

 Mariana kept trying to charm baby Sarah. She was a tough customer, but Mariana managed to get some happy baby time with her.

 Sunday afternoon the kids planned and executed their own "festival" complete with water balloon fight, magic show, snacks, face painting and bowling. They even baked cookies for the occasion!

We can't wait to see them again!

Swim Team

Allia made the decision to join the swim team this fall instead of continuing with soccer. It was tough for her because she loves playing soccer, but the options for her age were just not very many or very good overall. I think swimming will be great for her, as she has always been a good swimmer. She even practiced at our pool/play date this morning!

Stephen starts piano!

Stephen had his first piano lesson yesterday. More than the girls, he tends to be a bit of a homebody and is not especially excited to try new things. So I was a little concerned. But the promise of a reward if he did a good job helped improve his attitude. And Miss Amy is such a great teacher. He came home excited to practice his music. The girls said he was smiling most of the lesson! He even told Miss Amy after his lesson, "I thought you were going to be creepy but you are really nice." Ha! I can't believe he said that! I had a good laugh over that one.