Mini Vaca...

...to our beloved DC for Daddy's birthday. So first there was this cake which the boys decorated...surprised?



and then this delicious cake...



and then first metro ride for the brothers...




and then a dragon ride...



and then some piloting...



and some much needed running...



followed by some more much needed running...



and then a dance party with our much missed DC pals after a wonderful visit and yummy dinner and oh yes...more cake...



and yes...there's still more...next it's time for crabs...Van and Zak decided to name the crabs before they ate them...yummy...meet Froggy and Crabby...




and then there are prizes from the claw machine...



and finally one happy family...doesn't get much better than this...happy birthday Daddy...we LOVE you!!

August already?!

How can it be August already? Zak's first summer is just flying by. We are continuing to pack in plenty of lazy days and plenty of fun. This week it's Art Camp and Vacation Bible School with our best buddies, Austin and Logan. Lots of rehearsing for their performance on Friday...stay tuned for video of that fun! For now just digging through some photos trying to find some with clothing...here's a funny sequence from the beach. Apparently Daddy's technical skills are rubbing off already. Two sets of headphones...where's that spliter thingy?

Sidewalk chalk...not just for hopscotch anymore

After one exciting foray into the world of face painting, the brothers have decided that any art supply can be used as body art. Ahhh...summertime fun.

Our spontaneous summer

Yes, me the planner, the list maker, the organizer is trying out spontaneous this summer. And so far, I am pretty okay with it and maybe even liking it this way. We had our fabulous beach vacation and we've got a handful of day camps planned but otherwise we are just taking it day by day. Deciding on a whim to head to Busch Gardens or Chucky Cheese or a bounce house or the pool. Trying to let boys be boys and not overschedule their adventures. It's pretty impressive how they can together create their own adventures and entertainment. Today for example all before noon, they solved some mysteries, went on a camping trip complete with a homemade tent in the living room, cooked up some blueberry pancakes for the family and hosted a dance party to the Japanese theme song for the Sonic game...catchy tune I swear!
I am in awe of their imaginations and what they can do to entertain themselves with a flashlight and a kitchen tool or a pile of blocks. Of course their energy, their speed and their volume is equally as impressive. Certainly a summer we will never forget despite the lack of agenda.

New Kitchen Fun-the Zoku

I love spending time in the kitchen...spending time in the kitchen with the boys is sometimes quite a challenge. Since these boys could live on noodles, dumplings, yogurts and sweets, my cooking challenges are limited. So a new kitchen gadget is exactly what we needed this summer. I got a Zoku for my birthday. The Zoku is "my new best friend" according to Daddy. The boys would definitely agree. We are having so much fun measuring, mixing and pouring. Heck, we are even having fun waiting the mere 7 minutes it takes to make these delicious treats! I am enjoying the fact that the recipes call for ingredients that are new to my kitchen...stuff like refined coconut oil and agave nectar. So far, we've tried peach pops, lemonade pops, and mint chocolate chip with the fancy chocolate shell addition. But the best news, Zoku has a blog that includes a "Mommy's little helper" recipe for Mimosa pops. We will be trying those one night after the boy pops are devoured. Ah...summer and ice pops...pure kitchen fun.

Easy like Sunday morning, noon and night

The brothers had a great weekend...great as in no agenda, nowhere we had to go. And they got along all weekend, listened "mostly" all weekend, played together, and slept 12 hours in a row (maybe that's why they were so good!). They are having plenty of together time this summer and not to jinx it but I think we are getting in our groove. We've got some fun day camps coming up and lots more lazy days of summer...here's to enjoying every minute of it.

The brothers form a fan club

In case you haven't noticed, Van and Zak LOVE being brothers. From the moment they first met, they connected in a way that continues to amaze me every day. I always find it amusing when people ask me if they are "real" brothers. This is about as "real" as it gets...they play, they fight, they care, they help each other, they hurt each other and they laugh...alot. And they will always have each other and that means more to me as a mom than anything.
On our amazing vacation, they got to spend an entire week with their 2nd cousin, Kyle and Alec. Oh can you say fan club...Van now pretends to be older brother Kyle and Zak is Alec in all our games around the house. Every morning at the beach, the first thing they wanted to do was wake up the "big brothers". "Where are the big brothers?", "can we go find the big brothers?", "are the big brothers going to the beach/pool/bike ride?" Every time we go somewhere now at home, they ask "will the big brothers be there?". Kyle and Alec...who btw are awesome, kind, funny and caring boys could not be any better role models for our two little imitators. They have a fan club for life.