taste the fun

grammy gave us all a little "fair money" and told us to spend it all and so we did. we tasted our way through the fair... chicken, french fries, cinnamon rolls and donuts. we enjoyed every last bite! we even stopped to take our annual family photo booth shots. we had to take it twice since i failed to include ryder in the first pic of the first set.

i think it's safe to say that ketchup is our family's favorite condiment.

chocolate milk

it was love at first taste

a visit from tulsa

heidi and kyle were visiting from tulsa. it was so great to see them and hear about life in OK. our boys loved playing with the turner kids and showing off for aunt heidi and uncle kyle. we all ate well (carne asada-thanks chris and alan!), played hard and laughed plenty.

hello weekend

i love lazy mornings where we are all home, watching cartoons, building train tracks and jumping on the couch. saturday morning bliss!

friday night we celebrated judi's birthday. it was a perfect end to a long, but fun week of kids games for stew. my great mom offered to take the boys while we enjoyed their backyard (thanks mom and dad!). that's always a treat!

two funny characters

who's your daddy?

the two coolest kids a dad could ever ask for

grandpa made it to church with them today (so did grammy)

ryder was thrilled

starbucks on the way home for breakfast sandwhiches (isaac says food tastes better when in the reclining position)

after naps it was off to grandma chris' and grandpa alan's for cousin addie's second birthday party

the swings were a hit

addie loved the pool

the boys with great grandpa herold

isaac loves handing out the cards

then to the menconi's for more celebration

the boys made awesome paintings (with a little help from mom)

admiring their work

the motley crue

mouth full of food, belly covered in watermelon juice

just another day at the office

ice cream= good, messy summer fun

a little mistake in the seating chart

ryder is undeterred

somebody take his keys

-------------------------------------------

"which of you if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake? if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! so in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

matthew 7:9-12

ever since having my boys, these verses have challenged me on a very fundamental level, not b/c i am apt to give stones and snakes, but b/c i find it so hard to receive bread and fish. yet as flawed as i am, there is something deep within me that wants good things for my sons, just b/c they are mine. they are helping me to heal, to begin to trust that the Father wants good things for me, and that b/c it is with him that i am at home i can treat others with grace and patience and kindness. happy father's day indeed.

- stew

summer days

last sunday auntie bonnie came down to see the boys. she's like your local celebrity in this household. the boys go nuts when she arrives!

catherine was down for a few days and what a sweet time to be with her. the best part was celebrating her birthday, surprise style. the kids were allowed to be there for the surprise and they were loving it.

auntie was back on friday and so sea world was our place to be.

while auntie is in town, stew and i also know we get a date night(we know we are spoiled to have such great families that continue to make our nights out a possibility... thank you!). since both my mom and aunt were watching the boys at our place we headed back to my parents place to drink their beer(thanks dad!) and play some cards. there was no way we were going home before bedtime.

saturday we worked on father's day gifts. a little ice cream bribery goes a long way with the montgomery boys.

isaac is a huge fan of sharing other people's ice cream. don't even think of touching his cup.

a warm saturday night+ kiddie pool+ 3 hunky boys+ sean's margaritas= a wonderful night with the mattinglys

the boys LOVE water and there will be plenty of water loving this summer.

bradley is getting so big!

all the fun

my parents had us over for dinner before heading out on their week long vacation. they enjoyed napa for a few days and are currently heading to the american river for a couple of days of white water rapids. i guess 60 is the new 30. too bad the new 30 doesn't take their old children with them.

a little time on the home front

everyone wants a piece of daddy, including mommy;)

these three ran, tackled and played their way through legoland.

our friend juliana(center) turned 4 this week. it was great to celebrate her over donuts at the park. she spent her actual birthday at disneyland with her grandma and mom. check out who they ran into...jake and vienna

friday night as stew and i were kissing the boys goodnight we found ryder had other plans for his sleeping attire.