Start to Spring Break Family Fun!

Before the little boys and I fly to Chicago on Monday, we thought we'd have an outing as a family and enjoy the pretty day.  Josh identified a few geocaches we could find, and off hiking we went!  

We explored a new-to-us little park, found a few caches, and got super muddy!  

Evidence of mud

Today we had soccer, and I got a couple shots of Graham that totally explain him during Jackson's games.  This first one exemplifies his moochy personality.  He charms himself into his own of practically every drink and snack the other families bring for the team.  I do have to say, he can drink out of a juice box or juice pouch with more skill than Jackson as this age ;)

This second picture shows just how badly Graham wants to play too :(  He is always trying to get a turn with the ball, and he has this sweet look of hope as Coach Jon scans the sidelines looking for which other FIVE-year old needs a turn. 

Start to Spring Break Fun with Friends!

 We had a picnic lunch and playground fun with some good friends from pre-school after our last day yesterday!  Lillian, Alex and Jackson are three of the bunch who attend school every day, and they have a great friendship, but I really enjoy their moms' friendship :)

 Sliding!

 Being cute

 Jackson climbing--where did those long legs come from?!

 Hi Grahammers!

 And, then these chubby piggies made their appearance for summer :)

 Eating in the Cozy Coupe...

...and eating in the neighbor's chair.  LOVE this kid!

Hodge Podge

 This kid LOVES dip!!!  He definitely was Joe's best friend while he was holding the guac :)

 Date Night: the weather was pretty decent, so we jumped on it and did a bit of geocaching to start the Spring season!  It was a long time coming!

 Soccer FINALLY started!!!  Josh and Jackson warming up before the first game!

 Same team as last year, except for one player swap.  And, the kids opted to rename themselves The Dragons!

 I got to snuggle this sweet guy!

 LOVED lunch with Sam and Grant!

 If there is food left out, Graham will jump on it!  Such a mooch!

 And, Jackson is training for a career at McDonalds!  

This photo was SO staged!  Graham had laid down next to Jackson, but then he hopped right up.  Jackson and I encouraged him to lay down again, so we could get the picture :)

Graham's First Storytime and First Bike!

 On Tuesday, I took Graham to his very first storytime at the library!!!  This fish tank must be every kid's favorite thing to visit while at the library!

 Ready for Book Babies!  This was such a cute storytime!  Jackson was too old when we moved to this area, so I never tried it with him.  It's for 6-24 months, and each baby gets his/her own stack of books.  The storytime is limited in numbers, so that there are enough copies of each title for each baby.  It was so glorious to see those little identical stacks lined up!  We all got to choose a puppet as well.  Graham did pretty well.  He was not interested in doing the motions for any songs of fingerplays, but Jackson never was either.  He started to get antsy towards the end of the pile of books, but all of the babies were, so the wonderful librarian just did them in speed mode.  Then she brought out a huge tub of toys for them to just play!  How fun???  Of course, my child was just about the oldest...and the thrower :/

 Then we headed over to Wegmans for pizza lunch before picking up Jackson!

 Cute lunch date!

 This was a big week for Graham as we also got him his first bicycle helmet and handed down THE red trike to him :)

He looks pretty pumped!

March Madness

One of Josh's FAVORITE things is March Madness!  I met this man during his senior year of college when he used to camp out for days at a time for really good seats to the UVa basketball games.  He definitely bleeds blue and orange :)  He takes the madness very seriously, and loves watching ALL of the games!  Some years we have had things get in the way, like Spring Break vacations, but overall, I am happy to indulge my hubby's love for college basketball.  Over the last few years, I have used those first couple of weeks of MM to take a trip to Illinois, and just leave him to his games.  This year, however, Josh got to GO TO the games in Raleigh with Joe!!!  I was SOOO super excited for him!  We spent the day before he left getting in lots of Daddy time, and the boys were both wearing basketball shirts to get in the spirit :)

Lots of wrestling!

Lots of sweatpant-ed legs flying around!

We sent this picture in and it was included on the Virginia Cavaliers Facebook page for Fan Photo Friday!  The guys left Thursday morning,  but they didn't have tickets until Friday. 

Luckily, they found this relaxing spot to eat, hang out, and watch basketball, of course!

 

On Thursday night, the Hoos held an open practice, and you can be sure Josh was there!

In fact, you can see Josh and Joe in their orange t-shirts right inside Joe Harris's left armpit :)

Friday morning, the guys hung out outside the stadium.  

And, Josh got interviewed!!!  Of course, the link isn't up anymore, but it was a great interview, AND it showed Josh shooting around outside the stadium and making a shot!

Posing with Smokey, the Tennessee mascot

 Here come the Hoos!!!  They played Coastal Carolina in the first round as a ONE SEED!!!  They won, and I was so glad Josh was there to see it!  Their second game, on Sunday, was even better as they beat Memphis!!!  

 Josh was able to relax enough to enjoy these delicious looking pork nachos :)  He said it was so fun to be there, especially since the UVa fans really showed up--he said it was like mini-JPJ stadium!

 I can't believe Susie and I turned these two loose on their own...

 After four days of straight basketball, the guys arrived home!  I had found this cute craft idea, and I hurried around getting supplies and cranked it out just in time for Josh to get home!  

This picture was taken the morning of the Sweet Sixteen game when UVa faced Michigan State.  I have seriously never been so sad about a sporting outcome :(  I really had grown attached to Coach Bennett and this great team of guys.  They played as a true team, and we had such fun watching their March Madness run!  Can't wait until next year...

Graham's First Baking Experience!

 Graham helped me make homemade biscuits!  Clearly, he's excited about this step up in life :)

 SUCH a big boy!

 Working hard

And, then I let him stir...  It actually went ok!  LOL

Touch a Truck

Jackson, Graham and I got to do a super fun activity that has been on my list for a while: Touch a Truck!  I have several friends who have posted pictures at similar events in years past, but I never knew about them happening!  This is totally in Jackson's wheelhouse (and Graham too!), and I knew he would love it!  Low and behold, I found one of these happening while Josh was on his March Madness trip!  It was out in Sterling, which gave us the perfect opportunity to meet up with Kelly and her girls, Kaitlyn and Ashleigh!

Everything went according to plan--I didn't get lost, we got there in plenty of time, and we got there early enough to get the "door prize" of Matchbox cars!  There was a small panic moment when I thought they were only going to take cash, but they had a credit card system set up, thankfully!  Who has cash anymore?

Our first stop?  A hug for the Chick-fil-a cow, of course!  This kid wouldn't go anywhere NEAR this sweet cow even a year ago!  Now, Graham has taken over that position...  Chick-fil-a had a fun wheel to spin and coupons to win.

Jackson trying out the driver's seat in the Martin's Bread truck!

The back of the HUGE truck was totally empty, and they encouraged the kids to climb up there and run around!  So fun!  

They were giving out sunglasses and sandwich bun shaped stress balls!  Who doesn't love a freebie?

We had never seen an ambulance bus!  

Graham wasn't too excited to sit way up high in any of the trucks, so we posed in the stroller.

Looking cool in his shades!

The Fab Four in front of a retro police car!

There was a Karate studio there giving trials--Kaitlyn and Jackson got "kicks" out of breaking a board by themselves!

Trying on the firefighter uniform before sitting in the fire truck!

And, there were fire hats :)

This truck had the longest ladder attached!

Rescue boat

Army tank

Graham DID climb into the daycare bus that was parked!

This truck had the keys in the ignition, and a visitor turned the smokestack on, so they closed the front seats to visitors, but there was this area to climb on the back.

Chick-fil-a was smart giving out those coupons, since there was a Chick-fil-a around the corner.  Easy decision to stop there for lunch and more playing!  We had such a good time with the Bronowicz girls!

We came home, and it was a beautiful day to play outside!  Levi (2 1/2), Graham (2 months shy of 2), and Jackson (5 1/2)--dirt and sticks unites them all!