Kicking Off Summer!

Don't we all have those lists of all of the things we want to get done/go do during the summer?  I decided to not wait for any specific time, and to just dive into my list this summer!

 We started by hitting WaterWorks for their awesome little kid playtime Thursday morning!  This is one of my favorite activities to go to with the boys during the summer--only the little kid play area is open, admission is discounted, and the hours are earlier than the rest of the water park--perfect!

 Jackson and I still remember when it took both of us to help Graham go down this slide!  Perfect fit now!

 LOVE these smiles!

 Going down the big slide together!

Friday morning we went to Burke Lake Park, where I've been wanting to take the boys FOREVER!  It's a great park, complete with a carousel, a train ride, a cool playground, mini-golf, an ice cream shop, and a lake!

 We rode the carousel first, and Jackson chose this cool horse!

 Graham rode on this little guy!

 They had such a fun time riding around!

 Then we took the train ride, which was super exciting for everyone!

 Two little passengers

 Posing with the engine

 They had an awesome time!  We can't wait to go back--hopefully it won't take as long to plan a visit!

 I had bought a set of 100 plastic, colorful bears for Graham's Teddy Bear Racecar party, and I got them out for him to play with.  The boys had a great time sending them down the ramps!

 We had such a fun week to summer, but we are all getting excited for our big family vacation to the Northeast later in the summer, so we made a paper chain!  We'll cut a link off each day to help us count down!

Daddy took us on a fun geocaching adventure, and then we picked up pizza and had a picnic at a playground nearby!  It was a super fun end to a great weekend :)

Father's Day 2015!

My dad was here for Father's Day LAST year, and I was so glad his and Mom's visit worked out to be here again this year!  We planned to spend the morning walking around Old Town Alexandria before having lunch and heading home for naptime all around ;)

 It was pretty hot, but we had a good time walking around!  Jackson was checking out the boats just as we started out.

 Updated photo shoot with Mimi and Bampa!

 Three generations :)

 A patriotic Father's Day photo...shortly after this we loaded back up in the cars with Firehouse Subs set as the next destination as we worked our way back south towards home.  Everyone enjoyed their sandwiches, and then we went home.

 During Quiet Time, Mimi taught Jackson how to make a latchhook rug!  This is an activity Larry and I both enjoyed doing when we were younger, and Mimi happened to be working on one herself to give as a gift!  I loved watching my mom teach Jackson something she taught me, and he was so proud of himself once he caught on!

 After naptime, it was time for presents!  

 And, cards!

 We also celebrated belated Mother's Day and birthday for Mimi...

 The boys picked out this pretty windchime for her garden, but I didn't want to send it, so she had to wait to get it in person :)

 A little musical interlude!

 Fun mustache wrapping paper!

 New socks!  Such a strange June gift, but he loves socks!

 Everyone had fun with the mustache paper!

 The boys had early showers and dinner, so the grown-ups could sit down and enjoy a nice dinner at a more leisurely pace.  Josh grilled some delicious steaks on the grill :)

 Finding all of the hidden things in the Umizoomi book!

I believe this is a pirate search and find book they were working on.

I love my dad and I love the dad Josh is to Jackson and Graham, so it has worked out so perfectly to celebrate them both together :)

Last Day of Kindergarten Brings Visitors!

 Jackson got on the bus yesterday morning for the LAST time as a KINDERGARTNER!  I can't believe it's over!

 His first year of school could not have been better!  He was blessed with the most wonderful teacher and a truly great classroom of friends.  There was early dismissal, which worked out perfectly because shortly after the bus did its last drop off of the school year, Mimi and Bampa arrived!!!

 For Jackson's first day of summer, we hit one of our favorite spots--Barnes and Noble!  

 We made sure to pick some good books to bring home and kick off summer reading!

 Mimi likes to make sure the "other" brother feels special too, so she picks out a little present to give him when giving birthday presents to the other one ;)  Jackson got Monopoly Junior, and he LOVED it!  He especially enjoyed playing it for the first time after we went to get smoothies at Tropical Smoothie Cafe for National Flip Flop Day!

 Graham, of course, was excited for another present!

 He has been wanting his very own of this truck for a while, and he was SO excited to unwrap it!  Thanks, Mimi and Bampa!

Popcorn time with Bampa!

SUPER Fun Day!!!

Today probably went down as one of the greatest days in Graham's short little life, since he was welcomed at the special lunch during the last week of school!!!  Mrs. LeBel organized ordering pizza for the class and provided juice pouches and carrots.  There were also cupcakes celebrating someones birthday.  Parents (and siblings) were invited to join for lunch, so, of course, we headed over for lunch.  Graham was VERY excited to carry his OWN lunchbox, but he was also offered pizza since there was extra...and a juice pouch...and a cupcake...  This kid ALWAYS scores extra treats!  We both loved spending time with Jackson and his awesome class, but Graham especially enjoyed the extra attention from Mrs. LeBel and Mrs. Warner :)

 We got to come back to school yesterday for the Premiere Panther Party!!!  This ties in with the school-wide behavior program.  There are requirements for the amount of good behavior needed to attend this special end-of-the-year party, and luckily, these two sweet boys made it!  It was REALLY hot, so thankfully, there were SNOW CONES!  

 It was another great way to spend extra time soaking up all we could from the last days of Kindergarten...sniff, sniff!

 The fun did not end there for the day, since Chick fil a hosted a Super Hero Evening!  We headed over as soon as Josh got home, and we had the best time!  This was the first special event we attended at our new, super-close-to-our-house Chick fil a, and they did an amazing job with the decorating and hosting the whole evening!

 Masks to color while we waited for our food

 My three Super Guys!  We all wore our personalized capes :)

 Super hero poses!

 Adorable photo booth area with great props

 Super G and the original Super J!

 Showing his muscles like the Super Hero Cow!

 This was FINALLY as close as Graham would get to the cow!  The cow makes him nervous, in general, but the cow dressed up was just too much.

 Face paint!

So cool!