surprises from the "mailman"

the boys all collect 'yu-gi-oh!' cards and 'duel' each other.
this summer the cards served as payment to them for mowing the yards.
a couple times, they ordered them off amazon.

christopher had the idea of rewrapping the cards he didn't want for john.
he would wrap them in the original packaging, tape it together, and put them in the mailbox.
then, he would tell john that the mailman had left him something.

john john would get so excited, and run out to see what was waiting for him in the mailbox.
it absolutely made his day.
then christopher would continue to do it over and over, as it made john so happy.

after learning this sweet example from his older brother, john did the same to andrew.
one day this summer he started wrapping up cards for andrew to retrieve from the mailbox.

he was so happy and excited to do this for his older brother.

he would go and hide, wrap and tape them all up, then run and put them in the mailbox.
he couldn't wait for andrew to see what he had packed up for him.

it was so cute to see this go on over the summer on a couple different days.
they were so determined to place these surprises out in the mailbox for each other.
and so excited to receive them too!

pool time

some fun shots of the kids and chris in the pool this summer.
for years they have loved having him throw them up into the air.
and this summer little john john got into it too...

towards the end of the summer, andrew resurrected his flip off the diving board.
i was nervous watching him do it again for the first time since last summer.
but he flipped himself around just fine.

and even a 12 year old still likes getting thrown up into the air by his strong dad.
he planned this throw up and turn around to wave to me while i take the picture shot.

it turned out perfect, thanks to my mastery of timing with the camera :)

another fun pool activity that chris introduced the kids to this summer was relay races.
they had a great time with it, and had the olympics as their resource too.

it is really amazing how much little john can keep up with the older kids
he is right in there with them in all that they do, and my oh my, he is a good little athlete.

then there was the toss the part of the pool noodle that broke off to john,
while dad throws him up into the air to see if he can catch it...

we feel so blessed to have a pool, really gets you through the scorching summer with kids.
not to mention great exercise and a fun summer activity for the whole family.

i will still be posting on summer stuff (or things from the past in general) for awhile,
as i cannot find my cable cord to download pictures from my camera to my computer :(
i better start praying to st. anthony...

first day of school

was tuesday.
and here they are in their annual 1st day of school picture by the front door...

this summer was so busy with the house remodel and move (almost!),
and i have not yet fully completed the summer snapshot series posts.
but was able to do most of them before things got really crazy these last couple weeks.

we took the kids to brunch on monday to celebrate their last day of summer...

dad even came and met us from work.
then the kids went and hung out with friends before we headed to the dr. for check-ups.

in other news, john john asked if he could make his own pb&j this week...

and the kitchen remodel/addition is coming along beautifully...

just wait until you see the before pictures.
things are wrapping up over there,
and we are living amongst boxes getting ready for the big move.
can't wait to get in and get settled, perfect timing with school starting and
football try-outs starting next week - for 2 of my kids this year!

summer snapshot - week 9

we went up to my dear friend, lori's cabin this week.

she and i have been going every summer with our kids for the last seven years.

we only missed one summer due to scheduling conflicts.

we were bound and determined to make it up there and keep the tradition going.

the kids have gotten along so well over the years, they are all great friends.

they do so much outside when we're there, which is wonderful since it's so hot at home.

we brought a bead kit and the girls got going on it right away.

and the boys and juliana got into the tripoly game right away.
they had so much fun with it last year on our last days there, they couldn't wait to play.

there is always a lot of game playing that goes on between everyone.
lori and i get in on it a bit too, when we're not busy cooking for everyone!
actually, it's the first time i've been able to sit and read a book in a long time.

i brought the diary of anne frank, ella asked to read it when we came across at home.
so, i thought i should read it again first.
my mom had given it to me when i was 10, can't believe i've had it that long.
she still has a couple years to go.
it's really a great book, amazing story -  it's so incredible what people have gone through.

so, back to the game playing - a lot of it always goes on at the cabin...

meal time - lori and i take turns making dinner and make breakfast and lunch together.

all the kids can fit at the big table out on the front porch, barely!

we always go on walks and hikes together, always making it to 'frog pond'.
we can walk there from the cabin and the kids have so much fun there every year.

 this year, they found a cool cave they were pretty excited about...

john and paolo kept hiking around a pretty tough part over and over.
it made me a little nervous but john made it across every single time.
and that made him so proud and happy, and me too.

we seem to get some good storms every year.
playing out in the rain is so much fun, no matter how old you are.
the kids (can i still call the jr. high ones that?:) all played a 'lord of the rings' game.
they played it everyday -
they would collect sticks and pretend they were different characters in the story...

we went to 'woody's pizza' on one of the nights it rained.
this has also become a tradition, usually on the last night. this year it was the 2nd to last.
it was raining so hard we couldn't sit on the porch like we normally do.
but luckily we got there early enough to get a seat inside, it's super tiny in there.

the olympics started while we were there.
so, there was a lot of watching swimming and gymnastics together.

i just love how cozy they are with each other, pretty sweet.

we always spend an afternoon at the playground by the country club.
it's beautiful and the kids always have a good time there.

this summer, this group started digging while sitting in a circle together.
which led to more digging and then burring of arms.
and then asking the moms to burry their legs too (no picture of that).

they had many races along the perimeter of the big grassy area of the park.
it was really fun to watch them all race together and cheer on the little ones.
they would give them a head start, but of course they always got passed by.

new this summer was their creation of their own 'american ninja warrior' obstacle course.
they had made one up at the cabin too - complete with push ups, running up/down stairs.
they each got timed, and the fasted one was the winner.
they made one up at the park too, here they are all doing it together...

and these two, i'm happy to report are still the sweetest best friends around.
who like to dress alike just as i did with my best friend at that age.

and here are their moms, in all of our 'al natural' beauty of being at the cabin.
i am so happy we made this trip happen during this crazy summer -
and that our children will have another year of summer memories together to look back on.

here is our crew- all 9 of them in our annual picture on the front porch steps on the last day.
another great summer with our good friends,
and a big thank you to them for sharing their wonderful cabin with us,
and inviting us year after year.

to see the post on last year's trip to the cabin click here.

at the end of that post is a link to see the year before that :)

summer snapshot - week 8

hearing the ice cream truck on our street while in the pool.
grabbing towels and our jar of coins to buy some treats from the truck.
very fun and unexpected surprise on an average summer day :)




building forts in the family room.
eating mac n' cheese in the fort, a tradition started unknowingly a couple of years ago.
every time we build a fort, john john wants to eat mac n' cheese in it.
and he gets very excited about it every.single.time. - i just love it!

in cleaning out the house, i found the christmas gift andrew picked out for ella.
he/we were so excited since i had hid it when he brought it home from school,
and then couldn't find it weeks later when christmas came around.
she loved it - a little stuffed webkin dog that looks just like our dog, lady.


so, i am very behind on my summer snapshot posts.
but things are so busy right now, there's not a whole lot i can do about it.
hopefully i'll find the time to do another one sooner rather than later...