daddy's back and the fun continues

daddy's back!  we celebrated with a trip to legoland!  

5 little boys = a lot fun!  these five ran and played for a  couple of hours.  when i put ryder down for his nap, he asked me why his hair was so wet.  i informed him that it was sweat from all the running around!  the fun of friends that come to play.  

thanks for the hand me down shoes, friends!  

extra hands on deck

daddy went to mexico to help build homes and we were left stayed behind;)  fortunately we weren't alone!  my parents jumped in and my aunt came down to help me all weekend long.  funny how an extra pair of hands can make it so much easier!  i am seriously considering getting a nanny.  ok, so that's not true, but it would be awesome!!

auntie brought down some cars cookie cutters along with frosting for decorating.  i am not so good with sugar cookies, but the boys had a blast and ate plenty of sugar!

thanks auntie! 

saturday night we headed over to my parents place for dinner and a family walk.  thank you!  i would be lost without my family. 

sunday night we headed to the little carlsbad airport to watch the airplanes while we threw down plenty of food. 

monday we played at our new favorite park!  the night before we went exploring, in search of a new local park.  we found a gem!  

goodbye training wheels

we LOVE isaac's teachers and class!  the night before his last day of preschool(he will be at a new preschool in the fall), i cried.  i hate change, especially when it's a change from something that is so great.  we have been spoiled with some of the most loving and kind teachers and classmates.  what a sweet experience these past 2 years have been for our family.  we are forever grateful for these relationships. 

ms. brandi(she has been with isaac from the beginning).  when i asked isaac why brandi is a favorite he said, "she changes me when i am wet."  they must play in the water a lot because he comes home in new dry clothes often.  

ms. amanda.  when i asked what he liked about ms. amanda he said, "she's kind."  

ms. justine 

isaac and terje. when i asked isaac what he likes to do with terje he said, "play silly things."  true statement!  these two are silly!

the whole class celebrated the end of the year at a local park.  

isaac asked to ride his friend's bike without training wheels.  i didn't think he was ready to try it, turns out i was wrong.  he rode all over the park by himself and insisted on taking his training wheels off of his own bike once we got home.  way to go big boy!  you constantly surprise me:)   

an extra 100lbs

the weather is heating up...  looks like we're going to be spending some good time at the spray pad this summer.  

every year we run the encinitas 5k as a family.  i accidentally signed up for another race on the same day.   fortunately stew is man enough to handle a little 5k with all three in tow;)  looking good, babe!

while stew was hauling an extra hundred pounds through the streets of encinitas, my booty was desperately trying to act like the 21 year old i think i am, running the ROC race.  it was awesome!  i'll be doing this again and again(if my body permits)!  for the full 3.2 miles, i felt like i was in high school again- invincible!  i miss that feeling. 

we celebrated mother's day a little late with grandma chris!  we sprinted through sea life, showing grandma chris all our favorites!  

flowers, movies and a belly shirt

the friday before mother's day, my boys surprised me with my favorite starbucks drink and a bouquet of flowers.  each boy picked out part of the bouquet:) isaac went for some dark blue flowers, ryder grabbing the orange gerber daisies and asher picking out some sunflowers.  can you guess their favorite colors?!  loved it!

isaac enjoyed a little camera time.

i had promised ryder i would take him to see chimpanzee.  it was their first movie in a theater and we probably won't be returning any time soon.  35 minutes into the very SLOW but good movie they started asking me to go home.  we got a refund and headed out.
*i asked them to get together for a picture and this is what i got.  love when they do the sweet little poses like this for me:)  too bad ryder picked out a belly shirt that morning.  ha!

i figured we'd get a car wash since i got a refund on the movie.  that ended up being the highlight of the afternoon for the boys.  looks like we'll be driving through the car wash more often! 

happy mother's day

mother's day weekend was filled with lots of time to myself(thanks, little!)!  yes, i did get to play with my children, but there was plenty of time to see my MIL speak to a group of single mothers(she was awesome!),  to join my mom, aunt and sister for pedicures, shopping, a movie and dinner (without kids!!).    having three little guys call me mom has been the greatest joy and challenge!  i am constantly reminded what a gift these little ones are, even on the days i am ready to ship them off.  i do miss having time to actually think and run errands all by myself, but it all pales in comparison to the excitement and fun i get to have with my boys.  i've heard it said that being a stay at home mom might not be challenging enough for some.  turns out, parenting has been the MOST challenging and exhausting thing i have ever done.  i have no idea how my mom did it with such patience and grace.  i am hoping that one of these days i'll figure it out:)  until then, i am so grateful for my mom's constant support and encouragement. there's nothing like your own mom, telling you can do it!  believe me, there are days i don't think i am going to make it and then 6pm arrives and i see the light at the end of the tunnel.  here's to the women in my life that have set a great example of love!  happy mother's day mom, auntie, chris and allison!  thank you for loving my family and helping me to be a better mom!

la jolla beach and tennis club

last wednesday we joined our friends at their beach (i might start referring to it as our beach;))for a day of fun!  i sometimes dread the beach with three little ones.  it feels like too much work with all the sand, water and my wild card(asher).  fortunately the beach & tennis club is perfect for our crew.  it feels more contained and less crazy.  i was actually able to keep track of all my boys as they played in the water, ate tons of sand (ok, that was just asher), and burned lots of energy.  thank you friends for a wonderful day!  we felt totally spoiled:)

this character had NO FEAR until a wave got him.  ha!