{July}

Well it is almost the end of July and the summer is going by rather quickly!  This is the last week of camp for the boys, so I have a feeling August will go by much slower. Although the boys are getting older and it is getting easier to do things with them, the summer heat and the constant being without a place we have to be at (like camp, lessons, etc) can be hard. We tend to have good days or bad. I am usually either super-mom and have things planned and have enough energy to do it all or I am disappointing-mom with little patience and zero energy. I am going to try hard to be super-mom or at least good-mom this month of August as we work through 6 weeks of no school. I have lots on our to do list that I want us to do, so that will help!!

But enough of that...July has been fun!

I have bible study every Tuesday, and some days the boys and I stop by for a breakfast donut right across the street from our church. We also pick up some yummy donut holes for the nursery workers who take care of them while I am in my group too! These two love donuts -- Ben likes anything with icing (and just eats the icing part and then gives me the donut) and Luke loves cinnamon twists. 

That is a donut hole in Ben's mouth. He adds so much spice to our life!

The boys got me an ice cream maker a while back, but the best thing we have used it for is frozen slushies. We just put lemonade or juice in it and within about 10 minutes it is a slushie!  They are delicious especially in this horrible heat that we have. Both boys have learned how to climb up and sit on the counter. I find them on the counter all the time eating snacks or drinking their drink. They are super proud of themselves!!

The boys LOVE seeing their cousin Molly!  This was taken at her house. Someone always seems to be crying, but they always have a high old time. Jack is getting bigger and crawling around now, so it is one more kiddo to add to the mix. We love it!

For Luke's 4th birthday, my sister got him nerf guns. They were for much older kids, so after lots of frustration we put them away for a bit. Well the boys found them last week!  It is amazing how just a few months does so much because Luke can totally do it now by himself.  Ben needs a little help but not that much. So they have been playing like crazy with them!  This was Ben's "tough" face...

Every Saturday we ride our bikes up to Panera for breakfast. It is early enough that it isn't too hot. I really just love our time doing this -- it is our way to regroup and be together after a crazy, hectic week.  Luke loves riding his bike so much so this is an extra treat. Ben rides on the back of Chat's bike, but I am a little concerned. The seat belt barely snaps anymore because he is so tall and he is definitely not ready to ride his own bike, so I am not sure what we are going to do if he continues to shoot up. But for now he loves riding behind Chat!

Oh my little puppy dogs! Luke loves pretending to be "Clifford the Big Red Dog" (this deserves its own post itself!!) and he is always getting into the dog beds or laying under tables since they are his dog house.  These two sillies got in together last week and fit just perfectly.

This past Saturday we had a date night!  We went with our friends Katie and Bryan to Flemings for a fun night out.  I think it has been 5 weeks since our last date night, so it was overdue!  I have to take selfies of us out or I forget that we actually did it. The boys stayed at my parents. Luke was so excited about their 'slumber party' and asked over and over if we were going to leave. He couldn't wait for us to!  My how times have changed.  We reminisced how just a year or so ago we would practically have to sneak out of their house because they were so sad. Ha!  Ben still struggles going to bed at night so when I called to check on them around 10 pm, he was still up. So we went and got him and brought him home. He fell right to sleep once he was in bed!

Oh Ben...speaking of not sleeping well, it is no secret Ben struggles falling asleep at night. He is tired but has trouble recognizing he is tired. So we do a lot of in and out of his room, turn on the hall light, keep the door open, etc. Some nights are better than others. Well his new move to stay away is saying he needs to potty. He is not potty trained yet but he is showing so much interest. I am not in a hurry to do this, but when he asks, I try to encourage it. But it sure is a struggle when it is 10 pm and he is sitting there for 20 minutes doing NOTHING!  Silly boy...

I took Ben to the doctor this week because he has had a cough for weeks now. Turns out he has walking pneumonia so he is now on antibiotics and two inhalers.  I hope he kicks this once and for all!!!  My poor kiddo.

A few funny things I want to remember...

Chat was putting on his work shoes and using his shoe horn. Ben asked what it was and Chat said "its a shoe horn".  Ben goes "oh!" and immediately puts it up to his mouth and blows it like a horn. He was very confused it didn't make a sound!!

I asked the boys the other day what their favorite park was.  Luke said "goodnight park!" and Ben yells "sunset park!".  Luke then goes that is what I said!  I think he associated sunset with the night and that is why he called it goodnight park.  I love when things like this happen!

{Circus Bust}

The boys watched Dumbo when we were at the bay house over July 4th, so when they saw commercials for the circus they were into it!  So I (stupidly) decided to buy tickets for this past weekend...

Family selfie before the show!

It was an okay experience, but I think they were still a little young. They liked it when there was a lot going on or when there were animals performing, but a lot of the entertainment were tight-rope walkers and trapeze artists, etc. That just couldn't quite keep their attention. At one point, Luke got real still and almost looked like he was going to fall asleep during one of those performances. Truly the boys favorite part was the popcorn and sprite that we had to keep them in their seats. Ha!

And I just couldn't get behind seeing elephants and other animals in a setting like this. I know they are treated well, but it just didn't feel right.

So we actually left at intermission. I am glad we gave it a try, but not sure if it is our scene.  As soon as I think the boys are getting to a stage to do a bit more, I get a humbling experience that reminds me they are still two and four and that some things are still better if we give it time. We spent a lot of time making trips to the bathroom and encouraging them to sit still....pretty much impossible for these two!

{A Quiet House}

A quiet house means something is not right...

I am just wondering how much he would have painted had I not walked in when I did!

{Fourth of July -- 2014!}

Our annual trip to the bay over July 4th did not disappoint this year! Going away with the boys is pretty exhausting, but it is so much fun. Here is our trip in a nutshell...

 

We did some fishing...

(unfortunately we didn't catch anything)

 

 

 

Played in the pool...

 

 Went to the beach...(note the rainbow behind them!)

 

 

Ate some yummy treats...

 

 

Made dirt cups for the first time...

Experienced sparklers...
(Ben burnt his finger)

 

 

Watched fireworks...

Got injured...
(a dresser met Ben's face when they were jumping off the beds)

 Took some pictures of the kiddos in matching shirts...

(First picture shows how they felt about it)

 

 And pretty much felt like this at the end of each day... 

I came home worn out, but happy the boys had a great time. They just love the bay house! The mosquitos got bad half way through the trip, so that was a bit of a bummer. We plan to go back in late July, so here is to recovering before then!

{SUMMER!}

Summer is in full swing! We are all finally better (I got sick after my last post!) and making the most of summer these days. It feels so good to be out doing fun things with the boys again. Here is the good time we have been having...

 

1. Playing with cousin Molly! They literally are obsessed with her.

2. We have had lots of birthday parties lately which has been a blast. A few of our friends all went to dinner after one recently. These kiddos found nearby dirt and played their hearts out! Look at all those dirty hands and legs...

3. We got some major rain for a week or two. It made it hard to get out and do things with the boys, so we made the best of it by putting on our rain boots and finding puddles to jump in. 

4. Last week we went to WonderWild with some of our friends and then ate lunch at the Black Walnut. These boys insisted on getting on the red pepper.  They can literally find fun anywhere.

5. That same day we also went to visit the Soto exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.  It was so cool! Unfortunately not much else was kid-friendly so after about 20 minutes of getting the evil-eye from the security there because the kids were running around like crazy, we headed out. 

6. Luke and Ben are such good friends. They still fight a bunch, but they are truly each other's playmate and buddy. It fills my heart so much with joy I can hardly stand it most days. The other day I looked back and they were holding hands in the car.  Of course, I snapped a picture!

 

7.  I had been hearing all about the We {heart} Houston sign and I finally took the boys!  It was extremely overrated and slightly dangerous. It is right off the freeway so cars are flying by us just feet away. So it was hot, scary and not much to do. But it does make a great picture!  So we stayed all of two minutes with the promise of snow cones!

8.  And so we had snow cones!!  The pictures show how much fun this was...

9.  Every year I get Fourth of July shirts from Old Navy and take some pictures. The boys found the shirts early, so guess we they have been sporting all week?!?!

10. Luke won some of these teeth in a vending machine this week and he has been 'scaring' us quite a bit. Ha!

11. It is freaking hot here. Their sweaty heads just show you how much. This was at 9:30 am after about 20 minutes after a park. Needless to say, we cannot skip baths at night. They are a MUST!

12. Several evenings a week, we get out the baby pool and sprinkler till daddy gets home from work.  It gets us through that last hour or so. Luke is starting to get a bit devious because he likes to trick Ben into doing things and squirting him, etc.  It is a bit hard not to show them that I am laughing :).

 

 

We are headed to the bay house for the Fourth so I know I will be back with lots of pictures!  Hallelujah for the sickness to be gone from our house and for summer to be full of fun instead of germs!