May into June

The end of May brought with it a wonderful surprise from Thailand: My brother, his very pregnant wife and their doll-face daughter arrived a week prior to our anniversary. They stayed with us for a few short days. It was great seeing our three girls spend some much anticipated cousin play time together. What little treasures they all are!

We headed north to celebrate our seventh anniversary, which Nathan still calls our honeymoon. We made a quick stop by the Palace for a memory lane photo. ~ SIGH ~ It was a gorgeous (and quiet) weekend away without the kids. Every conversation we had was completed without interruption. It was so... odd and incredible. Nathan’s job has been very demanding even more so lately as his responsibilities have increased. I know the time away for him was a breath of fresh air.  Our friends rallied as the stand in family that they are to watch our girls and juggle them so that we could have that special time (thank YOU friends!!!)

I have been trying to compile my list of things to do with the kids this summer. It looks something like this: swimming, movies, parks, zoos, reading, games, swimming, hikes/trails, library, cooking, dancing, camping, swimming, farms, aquarium, bike rides, walking, museums, painting, swimming, bowling, beach, videos, projects… Obviously, we will be spending lots of time in the pool swimming. The weather has finally begun to warm and even got hot for a day or two. The girls have been in the pool every day for a week or two now. I think I’ve been in once. I’m such a pansy. I really like the heat. So if it’s not HOT out I am probably not in the pool. That will change soon, I’m sure.  I took the girls bowling last week to see if that was something we could continue on a regular basis throughout the summer. Ari lasted about a half hour before she decided she wanted her own lane. She lost interest fairly quickly but Tej was totally into it which was fun. We’ve had a few beach days so far this year that have been really enjoyable experiences (every time actually).

I took the girls to the movies this morning thinking I would get a great monetary deal since it was morning. Wrong. I ended up at a 3-D showing of “How to Tame a Dragon” which ended up costing me over $40 once the tickets were purchased and goodies at the concession stand (INSANITY) but the girls were thrilled with their first 3-D experience (especially Mateja - she kept telling me how "awesome!" it was). Again Ari sort of petered out before it was time to go but Tej enjoyed every minute of it PLUS we had the entire theater to ourselves. Bonus, especially since Ari started bouncing around and climbing on seats near the end of the movie – you know, during the climactic part of the film!  It was a fantastic date with my girls that falls under the "priceless" category.

Anyway… that’s about it for right now.  You know more will come - eventually!  :)