Springtime Fun!

I was supposed to go on a hike with friends and I had asked one of my piano students to come along with me last Saturday (April 24th) .  I was looking forward to this trip all week, and I had made preparations and homemade snacks.  I was devastated to find the trip had been canceled at the last minute and I was left on a sunshiney Saturday with no plans.  I felt down in the dumps for maybe half an hour when I decided we were going to make the best of the day and the warm weather.  I pumped up the pool and sat back in my lounge chair as I watched the boys splash and slide in our little kiddie pool in the backyard.  We may not have much right now, but we have enough to keep smiles on our faces.  And we're thankful for all that we have -including eachother!

 You should probably know Sam was only upset because I wouldn't let him touch the lens on the camera.  Otherwise he was a happy guy.  Especially when I give him treats like this..

All in all a very productive and fun prelude to summer-type day.

New battery in the camera!

Notice.. his hair flies as high as he does!

The following two pictures are flowers from my front yard.  I'm really just playing around with the camera and was quite impressed by how much color and detail catches my eye.  I'm not a photographer, but I do like a good pic.

And back to Tyler.. I was watering the lawn and immediately he wanted to run through the sprinkler.  It's only 70-75 today so I told him to stay in the sunshine.  You can't keep this kid down..

Just me and Ty and Sam now

Sam had his first debut in the double stroller last Friday. Now that Jonah is in school I get to bond with the younger ones without feeling overwhelmed.
We enjoyed a marvelous day at the Oakland Zoo where we all got to see the giraffes and elephants and ride the rides afterward.

Junior SJ Sharks!

I've gone and done something amazing!  Today I went to Big 5 in search of a soccer goal so the kids could practice kicking into something besides the side of the house.  I picked up a tee ball set where the ball is attached to the plate so when its hit it can't go more than 30ft before bouncing back.  I also picked up a $30 pop-up goal given two options.. that one or the expensive hockey goal for twice the price.  We are kinda strapped for cash right now so I went ahead and bought the cheaper one.. I don't like investing in something that will only collect dust in the garage.  I came home and Tyler wasn't happy.. he wanted "...the hockey goal!"  -He had come with me when we made the purchase.  After much deliberation I went back to the store and returned the cheaper pop-up goal for the hockey goal that can double as a soccer goal.  It also folds up for storage.  Since it was a hockey goal I decided since I'm also spending money that hey.. why not spend even more! I went over to the hockey section and picked up the goal and two junior hockey starter sets complete with stick, ball, and puck for street hockey.  I came home and, to my surprise, my two boys greeted me with stars in their eyes.  We played in our drive-way for 2 hours straight.. with threats of rain the entire time.  Sam got dinged a couple times.. but even Ben and I love playing!  I told him I was done shopping -he was going to have to go back and get sticks for us since he kept stealing Jonah's and Tyler kept letting me play (yes, I had to beg.. ).  Yay for us!! A new family sport!