A Rainy 4th of July

My Firecrackers!

We started the 4th of July with buckets and buckets of rain. It stopped for a bit in the afternoon and then continued again in time to stop the fireworks show in our home town. We ended up doing a lot of housework today and were able to get a couple of rooms straightened out and shelves hung up. I had to work Saturday night, so Friday we spent our family time together.

We take Fridays off from schoolwork (during the summer) and plan a special activity for the day. This week we went to Grant's Farm with our friends, Melissa and Nate. We have so much fun hanging out with them.

Luca did great feeding the baby goats. He did not freak out at all when they all huddled around him trying to get that little baby bottle from his hands. We were afraid he was going to want to drink it, but he has been baby bottle free for 5 months now and did fine. He was not afraid to pet the snake or touch the nasty hissing cockroaches....ewww, gives me the shivers just thinking of them. (As a matter of fact, just this afternoon, he picked up two dead beetles and brought them to me....great, thanks!!! - at least they were dead...my point, he is not afraid to touch creepy, crawly bugs).

You can see the nasty cockroach in the picture.

Nico had a great time. He kept telling me last night how much fun he had. That is what totally makes my day. It is also great because of the special memories I have of going to Grant's Farm as a kid and then bringing each of my children there. My parent's gave me such special memories and I am blessed to have these three boys in my life to carry on the memories.

This is Luca's first merry-go-round ride! He was in awe of the lights and mirrors. Nico enjoyed making faces at us as he was going around. Melissa managed to snap a photo of it....unknown to her until she looked at the picture.

I had the boys dressed in their red, white, and blue and pose to take photos. Luca is getting into the posing thing. He stands and crosses his arms then gives me 'the look'. Luckily today 'the look' was a BIG smile!

After Grant's Farm we went to Winfield (a little town near us) for a 4th of July carnival and were then going to watch fireworks. However, it started raining so we left after Nico rode the spinning swings for the 6th time in a row!!! (Ugh, I would have been puking after the first.) I think he is gearing up for Disney. We ended up going home and setting off some of the fireworks we had bought earlier in the week.

Am I cute or what????

Mike kept the boys tonight and planned to take them to the firework show in Troy, but when they arrived they found out it was canceled. There were also a ton of people stuck in the mud of the fairgrounds!!!! Mike had his big pick-em up truck but was unable to pull anyone out for fear of getting himself stuck, so homeward bound they went. Mike and Nico finished setting off the few fireworks we had bought. All in all, still a great 4th of July.

Busy, Busy

How can you tell you are in St. Louis? Our beautiful Arch! I took this photo while we were driving on the highway. The first one had a pole smack-dap in the middle of the pic.

Gosh, I thought the regular school year was always busy, but we still haven't stopped! The summer brings so much time outside that I am not in front of the computer much. We have recently put up a new pool that my brother gave us. We have been swimming in it although we can't quite seem to get it sparkling clear. Nico absolutely loves having the pool out the back door. Luca is doing better in it. He loves just laying on a raft floating around, but we had hime doing some swimming the other day. The pics of the filling of the pool are still on the camera. We had to have a 4,000 gallon tanker truck bring water as we are on well water where we live. We didn't want to drain the well and knew it would take DAYS to fill the pool otherwise.

Mike and I went to a wedding a few weeks ago at our beautiful Missouri Botanical Garden. We went early and walked around taking photos and looking at the beautiful flowers in bloom.

Mike and I at the Garden.I couldn't resist taking the photo of this man painting the flowers. I have no idea how to spell the artists name who made all the glass blown features in the Garden so I apologize (Chalui??). They were on display a couple years ago and some of the pieces stayed. this is one of them surrounding the rose garden.

Before we had the pool set up I let the boys play in the sprinkler. I thought Luca would be a little freaked out, but, no worries, he jumped right in! That well water is sooooo cold I don't know how they stood it.

This boy sleeps with a smile on his face! He loves life!

Here's another that is always smiling...not quite as much as Nico, but he is up there! One fearless little boy!

We continue to do school work 3 days a week during the summer. This is so we can take breaks in the winter and still get all the hours we need for the year in, plus to keep Nico up on his skills.

Luca likes to be right next to Nico when we are doing lessons. He imitates big bro so much. Luca brought his paper down to the floor to 'write' like Nico. I LOVE THEIR TOGETHERNESS.

However, we have been trying to schedule Fridays for our fun days. Last week we went the the St. Louis Zoo. It is a FREE Zoo and fun to visit. The big event now is the stingrays. Nico couldn't wait to get in and pet them, however, this compared nothing to swimming with the Ginormous ones in the Grand Caymans when we were on our cruise. (That was Nico's favorite part of the cruise....fearless at 5 yo).

Here are some pics from our Zoo trip and a quick visit to Turtle Park (which is just a little park with a bunch of HUGE turtles to climb on).

Stingrays!

The train ride.

Luca really got into looking at the animals on this visit. Last year we went when he was home only a month or two and he was not so into it.We very rarely get to see the Gorillas close up. This big guy was sleeping right next to the window.

Luca is continuing to say more words and learning more sign language. Nico has learned to sign the alphabet and we are working on spelling words with our hands....so fun! We are also learning word signs. (Much easier to remember than Spanish...but I want them to learn that too..I just can't teach it). Luca now likes to walk up the stairs sometimes he is alternating feet! He still slides down the stairs on his bottom....fine with me! We took the baby gates down and he is doing great.

Brian is also doing well. I haven't seen him in a couple weeks, but we talk at least once a week. I am hoping to see him soon. We are still waiting for the decision on his jaw surgery. I wish they would hurry up, but it seems it is a bit complicated, so we want to make sure they get it right the first time!

Well, I better get off of here and get breakfast started and get my sleepy heads out of bed.

Recital Was Great!

Nico's second dance recital was great. It lasted three hours, which was a bit long, but we made it. His group only had one dance, but all the others were fun to watch. Luca fell asleep right before Nico's performance. Here are a few photos of Nico's dance. He did great. If I could figure out how to upload the video I would, but you'll have to make do with a few blurry photos. We could not use flash and it was hard to get a good, clear shot, but you get the idea. Nico has some great moves and received a lot of hoots and hollers for his solo segment. Of course, everyone did a great job, but I have to brag on my son. I am so proud of him at 7 yo getting in front of an audience and doing his thing. He has so much fun!

The start of his solo segment. He nailed this move - the 'wave like' arm movements of the arms across his body and had his feet in it too.He then proceeded to knee spins, alternating knees.The group then went into the group routine.Nico has practiced this move alot at home. I think his tumbling really helps him out.

Have I Said, "I Love My Boys" today?

Gosh, everyday amazes me with the boys. Today Luca worked a shape puzzle 3 times by himself. Tomorrow we'll get out a new one. Luca is saying more and more words. He is signing and saying the words now with the sign he already knew. Next week we start our sign language curriculum (all of us). Luca enjoyed his first Kindermusik class. He was quiet at first, but got into it when the instruments and parachute came out. I think he will do fine. He loves to dance and tonight came up to me and said, "dance" while moving his arms around. Next week he starts his tumbling and dance classes. I can't wait to see how that all goes. We are having the family celebration of Luca's 2nd birthday on Sunday. Luca has really warmed up to everyone in the family and just loves his Grandpa.

This week I finally got to attend one of Nico's baseball games. He looks so sharp in his uniform. He got 3 foul tips this week. It is coach pitch and unfortunately the coach pitching is not very good. They have some strange rules, but, we attend for fun and exercise. I also finally got to watch Nico's routine for his recital on Sunday. They had dress rehearsal and picture day so parent's were allowed to stay and watch. I loved it. I can't wait to see the live show on Sunday. All the kids looked so adorable in their outfits. We are wrapping up 2nd grade over the next few weeks. Missouri's homeschool year runs July 1-June 30 so we homeschool all year round. We have to keep up with the reading and math. We are also going to be working on language, geography, and Nico's favorite, science....specifically insects (Oh yay!) These are mini lessons and not a full blown schedule. Also, we only work on these 3 days a week. He has done so well. Just today he corrected himself in grammar while he was speaking. I forget specifically what he said, but he ended up saying, "That didn't make any sense." He laughed and corrected the sentence. Gosh, I love homeschooling and love being home with the boys to see them learn.

Brian is coming over to hang out this weekend. I am excited to see him and spend some time with him. I hope he is in a good mood. We need a good few days together. He tells me he is doing well in his online classes and working for the company his dad works for. I worry about him over doing it in the heat, but he is 17 and I have to let him grow up sometime. At least he is with his dad and not haning out with who knows who doing who knows what.

Here are a couple of photos of Nico and Luca. I will get updated ones of Brian this weekend.

Troy Dragons BaseballYeah, I'm too cool to really pose for this baseball photo.

He's the man. I love the fact that Nico likes dancing. I always wanted to take tap lessons, but Mom never let me. I am living through my kids. Luckily they like it. I would never push them to do something they didn't enjoy. He comes out of class every week soaked with sweat. Peace Out!"I can do it too!!!!" Luca was getting his 'hiphop' look on too. I had more photos of him with his 'hiphop' face, but they were all blurry....Ugh, trying to snap photos of a toddler is hard. He loves having his photo taken.

Again, I can't stress how much I love these boys. My life would be so empty without them in it. I am thankful everyday for the unselfishness of their birth mothers and pray every day that they are well. I often wonder how much they think about their boys and what kind of beautiful little boys they are.

Life is good, even though my van is broke down again, the car engine is locked up....I have my wonderful honey, Mike, who is willing to let me use one of his vehicles.....I LOVE MY LIFE AND MY FAMILY!

A Priceless Few Weeks

Wow, we have had a great couple of weeks. The weather in MO has finally warmed up. Although we have had quite a bit of rain, the temperatures are perfect (for me).

After Mother's Day we celebrated my birthday on May 17. Mike was so thoughtful and bought me a little cake and peanut butter cup icecream...YUM...on Friday night (I work Sat-Mon night so we celebrated early). I was really surprised and that was all I needed. Nico made me the cutest card and gave me $2 out of his piggy bank (I snuck it back in there though). I did not want anything else for my birthday as there is nothing I need except for my family.

The following week was Luca's 2nd birthday. Because it fell on a Saturday I decided to wait to have the big family party until June 7 when the family will be coming to the house for a BBQ and to watch Nico's Hip-Hop recital (can't wait~and I get to take a vacation day). However, I did give Luca a couple of his presents and we made cupcakes for him and sang HB to him on his day.

This week, the 31st, is bringing Daddy's (Mike's) Bday. Again, we are both working, so Nico and I are planning on getting a Dairy Queen IceCream Cake on Monday to celebrate during the day (we both work Monday night).

This week, we took a couple of days and went on another camping trip. Once again, we went to Cuivre River State Park. It is very close to our home but we wanted to try out the RV again and make sure things were working properly before we take it on a big trip (the end of July-WI here we come). We found a water leak and one a/c keeps kicking off the breaker. So, the next month, Mike will be doing a few repairs. Thank goodness he is a handy man!

Back to the trip. Melissa, my coworker and very good friend, met us on Friday with her fiance, Nate. We had arrived on Thursday. I had the wonderful experience of driving the RV for the first time as I had to drive it back Saturday on my own since Mike was working during the day. I did fine, but sure was nervous. However, now I know I can do it!!

We had a great time swimming in the lake (well, the boys swam and played in the water), and sitting on the beach. We took a couple of hikes and Luca did soooo good walking most of the 1.5 mile hike. Nico found butterfly wings, frogs, turtles, and all kinds of fungus. I took several pictures and so did Nate. Here is one picture Nate took. He is such a good photographer. I will be enlarging this photo and hanging it on my wall.

I love taking the boys camping and going on trips. It brings back such fun memories of when I was a kid. Two weeks out of the summer we would jump in the camper and hit the road. Mom had the rest stops all planned out and places to visit. I am not that organized and we tend to just wing it most of the time. However, the joy of the great outdoors and such quality family time is so PRICELESS. No TV, no Gameboy or Nintendo DS, just family board games, bike riding, hiking, washers, and sitting around the campfire.

I enjoyed this week so much, when I came into work Saturday night, it seemed like I had been away for quite a while. Those four days off sure were special and we only camped for two nights.

I love my family!

Mother's Day Collage

This is a collage of the photos we took for Mother's Day. These three boys are truley my dream come true! I have always wanted children and having endometriosis kept me from having them on my own. Someone above had other plans for me as these three beautiful children were meant to be mine. We all fit so well together.

Just tonight I was watching and listening to Nico and Luca playing cars. Luca turns 2 on Saturday, May 23, and Nico is 7.5. Luca was lining the cars up and making car noises. Nico decided to not play on the computer and play with his little brother. I loved having siblings and am sure glad I have been blessed with this precious family of mine.

Mother's Day at Our House

Brian posed the boys as such....my "See no Evil, Hear no Evil, and Speak no Evil" monkeys!

Mother's Day was pretty much like any other Sunday here. I worked Saturday night, slept part of Sunday, and off to work again Sunday night. I did get wonderful chocolates and my favorite candy, Swedish Fish! I pretty much celebrated Mother's Day by picking Brian up Thursday evening from his dad's and keeping him until Saturday on my way to work. He enjoyed being able to relax and sleep in for a change. It was nice to have all the boys together. We didn't do anything extra special except spend time together. We had the Lincoln County Homeschool Fair to attend on Friday morning, we went to dinner at our favorite Chinese Restaruant in Troy (only two of those to pick from :-), and just hung out with the beautiful weather. Oh yeah, we also rented and watched "Twilight". Brian and I both read the book so it was fun watching it together and being able to discuss it. Nico joined us in the viewing.
I had Mike snap some photos of the boys and me. I usually hate having my picture taken, but I am actually happy with the photos we took....I think I actually look good in them.

I love wrestling with my boys. I love having them all home. It was such a beautiful day.