Jungle Animals at the Park

At a nearby park they were offering a show about "Jungle Animals." With my animal loving Diego, I thought this would be a great treat for him. Here are some of the animals:

A Macaw This bird made the all the kids very happy when she decided to go to the bathroom on stage.

A giant Iguana

She also had a centipede and tarantula. The final animal and one that she let the kids touch at the end was a boa constrictor. The boys happily waited in the crowd for their chance to touch it...twice!

The BEACH!!!!

Spending a whole week at the beach is heaven for my boys. Being able to play (what seems like 24/7) with their cousins is the ultimate week in their book. Here are some highlights from our week:

THE ANIMALS Never fails that we find some kind of creature at the beach. This year a man found this dead sting ray floating near shore. He kindly brought it in so everyone could take a closer look. Diego was very excited!

It wouldn't be a beach trip without catching the sand crab!

Diego was very happy to "hold" new cousin Luke. Now that I see the picture, Luke doesn't look like he's in a comfy position but he never fussed. Diego loves being around babies.

The kids love to play baseball at the pool. This year though it always seemed to be ALL the kids vs one adult. Hmm? Anthony got in on the action and was fun to watch.

Me with two of my burned beach bums.

Anthony loved the ocean this year. He always wanted to be out in the water. We did this most of the time we were at the ocean. What happened to him wanting to build in the sand?!

A much needed break...

This year Aunt Monique thought the kids would like making ice cream so we busted out the ziploc bags and the kids got-a-shaking! Some found a partner to throw back and forth with or the shook their bags on their own. The kids had fun.

Anthony learned to swim without floaties this week. He did really well and it was good-bye floaties.

Got a kick out of this as did Anthony. He and Uncle Jason were having a contest of who could reach me first. Thanks Uncle Jason for being such a good sport! This video is after the third or fourth time they had jumping. You'll notice Anthony gets a little head start...

Christian Turns 6!

Here is the birthday boy! Christian has had a good year. He started Kindergarten and liked it. He was an excellent student and learned a lot. It is fun to watch him get excited about the stuff he has learned. He continues to have a love for Star Wars. He could spend a good amount of time playing with all his figures. He likes to be organized and precise with whatever he does. He has a kind heart and can make a friend easily. I'm glad this boy is mine!

End of Spring Sports

Our sports adventures finally came to an end mid June. Notice how there is always a smile on their face when juice-boxes and some kind of treat are involved?!

The team

Here is Christian scoring a goal. He is a quick little guy. I think he has a bright future in soccer.

Diego's baseball season concluded a week later than soccer and his team ended the season with a pool party at the coaches house. Their house was a perfect setup for a party. There was a little bit of excitement at this party. First we had to wait for a passing thunderstorm and then there was the saving of a teammate in the pool. We think he thought the pool was the same depth all throughout. When he jumped in the deep end he began to struggle. His dad ended up jumping in the pool, fully clothed with blackberry clipped to belt, to help him. Not sure why but they looked like they were both struggling so another dad jumped in the pool to help out...and he was fully clothed as well. An exciting way to end the baseball season! Here is a highlight of Diego at bat. He was always excited after getting a hit and would do a little jumping around and giving hi-5's to the base coach at first base...and he'd give us a thumb's up!

Anthony was in heaven

Fourth of July

For the Fourth of July we decided to head to the local park at the last minute. While we were waiting for it to get dark Diego and Christian decided to play volleyball over the fence at the baseball field.

When volleyball lost its appeal, they headed inside the field to play baseball but instead played kickball when another family wanted to join in.

Anthony had a harder time with the rules. He didn't quite understand being "out." Once he was hit he just kept on running. He didn't care. It was too funny. Thankfully these nice people didn't care. (Yes, we didn't know this family. The parents were nice enough to be the outfielders the whole time)

The dad of this family had me laughing. Christian had been stealing bases and the dad was determined to get him out. The video doesn't do it justice but the dad tries to peg Christian as he goes to third base. Thankfully it was a soft ball!

It was now time for the fireworks. Anthony was probably the most excited of the three boys.

Diego's camera work of the fireworks.

Anthony

This kid makes me smile.

Kings Dominion

I have been wanting to take the kids to Kings Dominion for some time now and I finally decided to make the decision and do it. Prices were cheap and time was right. The day ended up being beautiful and the park was not crowded at all. Wasn't sure how the boys would like roller coasters but thankfully they loved them!!! This makes me so happy!! Now the old tradition of going every year can continue on. Leaving Anthony (too young and small) with Nana and having an extra ticket, Aunt Kelli happily agreed to go with us. This was all a surprise for Diego and Christian. In the morning we got ready as if we were going to school but telling them I had to take them to the doctor and then take them to school. After dropping Anthony off I handed the tickets to Diego and asked him to read it. When he did and I said "that's where we're going" it took a few moments for it to register. He kept saying "Today? We're going there now? Are you kidding?" It was too funny. With the boys never riding a coaster before we decided to start out small. We started with a water ride, "The log ride,"not the official name but that's what we call it. Just easing into the water Diego exclaims "this is the best day of my life!" It was going to be a good day. After that we headed over to the kidzville section and they saw a mini-coaster and wanted to try it. Here is the video. Notice the hands up at the end. It was there goal to keep hands up.

Here we are waiting in line for the "Scooby-doo." Notice there is no one else there. Yea, we were able to just walk right up for a lot of the rides...and then ride again without having to get out.

I love this picture. Christians eyes say it all about what he's thinking as he awaits his first real roller coaster!

Bumper Cars!

Lunch

Christian loved getting hit with the mist. He needed to "cool off."

This was another hit--the old fashioned cars.

Getting a little hot we headed to the White Water Canyon. Sticking a wad of toilet paper into Christians shoes helped boost his height just enough so he could get on the ride. This is a definite soaker.

Christian was short by a couple inches for most of the bigger roller coasters. (we are hoping for a growth spurt by next year...Diego too. He wants to go on the ones that go upside down!) I think we rode these cars at least 5 times.

Back at the Scooby-doo these two were feeling pretty adventurous and wanted to sit in the front car! No fear!

Let me explain this video. I was trying to capture their first attempt at sitting in the front. You can hear my sister Kelli trying to scare them but then the roller coaster stops mid-flight up the hill and over the loud speaker you hear "Put the camera down!" I was even watched the next time around. The kids did great by-the-way...even keeping their hands up the whole time!!

At the top of the Eiffel Tower. Notice Christian...he had burned out by now. Walking the park several times and being bummed that he couldn't ride some of the rides finally took its toll. He didn't even want to try a funnel cake! It was such a great day. I'm a happy mom since I have roller coaster loving boys!! We shall see Kings Dominion next year for sure!