P's Birthday Party

We had a wonderful time celebrating P's birthday with our families on the 21st. P had so much fun with his cousins. Aunt KiKi came out a few days early to lend a hand (much appreciated) and spend some fun time at the pool! Then Grandma and Grandpa Lynch and Aunt Diane and the kids arrived on Friday afternoon. Aunt Marcia and crew arrived on Friday night, too. Grandma and Papa, Uncle Johnny, and Uncle Anthony came on Sat. with a big surprise for P. His cousin Emma came with them! She rode up to the pool and we told P there was something in the car for him to play with in the water and when he came by the car, she popped out and yelled, "Surprise"! He was so shocked he couldn't say anything for a minute and then he gave her a huge hug and they ran into the pool. He said it was the best surprise of his life.

The party on Saturday was a lot of fun. We had a Scooby-Doo theme and once again I was sure I could make his cake. Thanks to Aunt KiKi for the help...without her it would have looked more like a minivan and not a thing like the mystery machine.

P. loved his gifts, but was in for one more big surprise! Kevin and I and my family chipped in and got him a ride on Dodge Viper. We had it hidden in the garage with a tarp over it. We took P into the garage and everyone was waiting for him out there. He took the tarp off and fell to the ground. Then he started jumping up and down and cheering. This gave way to tears. It was too precious! HE was so excited and kept saying over and over, "I never thought I'd get one of these". Anthony has video of this that I need to post!

I have found him sitting in his car in the garage a few times this week. Just sitting there in the car. He loves it!

Thanks to everyone who came to the party and made it such fun!

The Fisherman Returns

Kevin and the boys surprised the wives by returning a day early from the fishing trip. The weather was a bit chilly and the fishing was the worst the resort had seen in 8 years, so they packed it in on Friday and came home. It was a great surprise! K. woke up to find Daddy in the bed and she was so shocked. She said, "Is that my daddy? What?! WHAT?!?!?!" And then he got the biggest hug I've ever seen. It was pretty cute. P. was equally excited to have his "fishing buddy" back.
The guys managed to catch a few and JD actually caught the biggest fish of the week for the entire resort. If it weren't for him and his 42 inch Northern, the guys would have been hurting, as this was enough for dinner for two nights. Kevin said they all had a great time and they are looking forward to it again next year.
The kids had fun at Grandma and Papa's. They went swimming several times and P. even tried the diving board. Kevin was amazed at how he would just whip himself off the dive with no one to catch him. (His new bubble belt has helped a lot with his confidence in deeper water). He and Emma must have spent at least an hour creating new jumps off the dive. It reminded Kristen and I that we used to do the same thing with JD, Jordan, and Justin. Needless to say, around 8 o'clock that night, all the kids were bleary eyed and went to bed early!
The parade on Saturday was fun, and even more so because the boys were home to go with us. We got to see Grandma on a float and the kids thought it was cool to see her up there! K. danced with the LHS pompon girls and a few other dance troops. Several other parade onlookers mentioned that she might need to get signed up for dance class!
John made the most amazing dinner I think I have ever eaten. It was an affair that lasted several hours, much like they do in Italy. His sisters were his assistants and we all had a great time helping him cook and eating the food. Several bottles of wine and several courses of food later, we were a very happy group!
Kristen is going to be the most beautiful bride. She has narrowed her dress choice down to two gowns and I don't know how she is going to choose. She looks like she belongs in Vogue in both of them! They are distinctly different, but both are beautiful and she makes them look even more so. We had a great time trying on the dresses and drinking champagne. Evan thoroughly enjoyed himself, too as he had a front row seat for the "peep show". His eyes got as wide as saucers every time a dress came off of Kristen! It was hilarious!!
P. is looking forward to his b-day party this Sat. with the families coming into town. We also are going to celebrate M.'s baptism on Sunday. K. is excited for the baptism as she heard me ordering the cakes from Le Bonne Bouche yesterday. A woman after my own heart!
My parents have so graciously agreed to stay the following week and help us paint the few rooms we have left to paint. I am excited to see it all complete! I need to get some more pics up, but I imagine I will put some up next week after the b-day.

Quick Post

The kids and I had a great weekend. Kevin left on Friday night for his fishing trip so it has been me and the small, yet demanding army of three. M. is rolling over now, so gone are the days where you could sit her somewhere and feel secure in knowing that she would be right where you left her when you got back. (With the exception of her possibly being moved by one of the other two). However, she is now going on her own and it happens this minute you lay her flat on her back. SHe starts rolling over instantly! She is so proud of herself too, as evidenced by the big grin she has on her face when she finally heaves herself over.

P. and K. spent their entire weekend at the pool. No surprise there. We went up after lunch and came home at naptime. Then we ate dinner and went back up after dinner, too. It was so much fun to watch them swim around with their friends....not to mention how nice it was to have them REALLY sleepy later that night. I think P. was asleep before his head even hit the pillow these last two nights.

Kevin called after his first day of fishing last night and he hadn't caught much, but he sounded more relaxed than I have heard him sound in quite some time. I suppose an entire day on the lake could do that for a person! He said the bass he caught were a tad bigger than the bait they were using and the pike he caught were below the limit for keeping too. Hopefully, he will get something bigger today, as they were counting on eating their catch a few nights!

The kids and I are going to spend today either at the pool or at an indoor bounce house play area (depends on the weather) and tomorrow is the last pool day before we head to mom and dad's house again. We will be there to meet Daddy on his return from his fishing trip and to see Uncle J. as we have not seen him since his return from Rome. We will be hitting the town fair and parade, as well as doing a little shopping (of course). I have the privilege of helping my sister, K., shop for her wedding dress!! (Sans kiddos, as she even thought to get a sitter for them, too.) We are also celebrating her engagement with a family BBQ on Saturday. All in all, it should be a great time for the kids (and me, too).

Father's Day Gift Guide

At breakfast this morning we were talking about what to get Daddy for Father's Day. P asked how you know what gifts to get people and I explained that one way to do it is to think about what things people like to do. He thought about it for a second and between he and K. the following is a list of things they would like to get for Kevin:

• a pink shirt and pink pants to go with his pink tie
• a jar of his favorite wine
• Bud Select and Boulevard beer
• a Backyardigans book
• Chocolate milk and oreos
• Man recipes written on napkins and not on flower utensil cards like mom has
  

First Swim

We were able to get to the pool today without incident. The last two attempts were thwarted by 1) a broken pipe and 2) no lifeguard ; however, today we were there in full force! I was laughing at the amount of stuff we lugged up there...a cooler, a towel bag, a toy bag, and a diaper bag. M. liked to watch all of the kids play and even had her feet in for a second, but she spent most of her time under the big umbrella with mom. P. was all over the place with his friends and really had a good time. He seems to have no fear of the water this year, as he was diving under and everything. Our resident water child was in before we could get her Crocs off! K. swam the entire time and did a great job. I think we will try and get her some swimming lessons this summer.

P. had a make-up soccer game today and he did a great job! He was awesome on defense with a few saves, and he managed to score a goal. He has one more game next Saturday and then his first soccer season will come to an end. He has has a really great time and has improved dramatically from his first little soccer clinic he did almost two years ago. K. cannot wait to play on her own soccer team. (She asks every time we go to one of P's games.)

Our new furniture arrives on Tuesday and I am very excited (not sure anyone else is all that fired up about it). Tomorrow night I will be borrowing some neighbor husbands to help move the old stuff out, since Kevin is still on resticted lifting duty. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!

K. helped me make some strawberry jam this morning and we got two batches made before we ran out of containers to put it in. I am wondering how long 8 containers of jam will last with this crew. I am betting that we will be out by January, but I am not going to make anymore this time around, as I am running out of freezer room and still have corn and peaches left to freeze.

Almost done with K.'s bedroom furniture, too. I have one coat left to paint on the headboard and then two quick coats on the side rails and we will be done. I should have that done tomorrow and then we can put it together later in the week. She is so excited to finally have her own big girl bed like her brother. Up until now we have had her matress on the floor to prevent rolling out, so we will see how she does with this next step!

We are hoping for better weather this week so we can continue to go to the pool. It is so nice to be able to get everyone outside and run the "stink off" as my mom says. It has rained so much these past few weeks. P. asked me last week if he could go outside at one point and I replied, "When it stops raining." To which he replied, "It has to stop eventually. I don't think God ordered another flood." I just laughed and told him I didn't think there was another flood coming, but it sure did seem like it might!