House! House! House!

So for those who have missed all the details of the last few weeks - lucky you! The very short version is that we were supposed to close on June 2, but instead we closed on June 23. My favorite part was how we drove an hour on the 19th to close, and when we were 2 minutes away, they told us they screwed up and we couldn't close that day. Yay! But the point is, today is June 24, which means we closed yesterday! We have a house. Now come help us fix it up. Seriously, its a mess. :o)

Since I know you're all anxious to see, I will give you the grand tour (which does not replace actually coming over to see, it will just tide you over.) For kicks I will start upstairs. The first room on the left is Mya's future room/current guest room (for all you out of state/country folk).

Directly across the hall is our room (don't look directly at it, you will go blind.)

And at the end of the hall is the boys' room, which wins the ugliest wallpaper award (though really, its so hard to choose).

As you come downstairs, you enter the living room. With a favorite of mine, these beautiful windows (yay, light!)

The living room leads into the dining room...

(more on this in a minute:)

And finally that leads into the kitchen, where you should be careful not to blink, or you may miss the cabinets and counter.

The bathroom is off the kitchen, and there is also a small room in the back of the house, where we will lock Luis up to finish his homework. The house also has a wrap around porch on the front, all of which I forgot to take pictures of.

The boys and I went over yesterday afternoon, and got a pleasant surprise when we started peeling the wallpaper in the dining room; it (being the first layer) was so easy to peel, an almost-three-year-old could do it!

The three of us finished the entire room (again, one layer only). They went crazy, I imagine they were in shock at being allowed to destroy the walls. Which is what home improvement is all about! Taye often pulled so hard he landed on his butt when the paper reached the ceiling and came off.

As if that wasn't enough fun, they later decided to 'sweep' it all into a pile...

to jump in!

My proud wrecking crew:

Before we left, we had to take a stroll in the back yard, which looks more like some wild field at this point.

And if you look just beyond the yard, you will notice one of my favorite features. Woods. Like camping. Awesome.

What? I'm purple.

Mya has thrush, which is best treated with Gentian Violet. Which is messy, and stain-y. Which Taye spilled all over the crazy rich lady's floor when Darius was a baby and had thrush (haha!) This is how Mya has been forced to appear in public for the last 2 days. Only one more day...

This week...

has been pretty busy. Lots of appointments (getting caught up from the school year when we never had time to do anything), one huge house frustration, lots of waiting. We had a nice, relaxing Father's Day at home together. I can't get over how fast summer vacation is going, almost halfway there already. And I am so sick of rain. Done. Anyway, since I know you all only come here for the pictures, I won't keep you waiting.

Our homebody week:


She's thinking about it...

Watching the pesky squirrel eat the food the boys left out for her:

Cruisin' - anyone wanna teach our future hockey star to skate? :o)

Mooch...

and last, but not least, the faux-hawk:

More in our backyard...

Who's super now?

I think we all know by now that Daddy is pretty cool. He has super strength, speed, balance, abilities to choose a wife. He does super cool tricks, and is always ready to play. He's a super hero, no doubt.

But, I think it's time I confess - I'm a super hero too. In fact, we're a whole family of Supers! I'd like to see him top this: (ok, not really, 'cause we all know he can!)


Of course, I've never seen Daddy turn an alarming shade of please-let-me-breathe purplish...

Rollin' with the big boys

This has been a frequent scene around here lately. Mya has decided she likes playing cars with the boys. She follows them around, trying to snatch their cars away. They, for the record, are not above taking cars from a baby either. It's all in good fun.

And I thought the blueberries were bad...

(Buppa, you might not want to look!)

Do you think she liked the pasta? I'm not sure...

In our backyard...

This nest has been on our back stairs for years. This is the second time we've found it full of babies. We were lucky enough to see them as eggs, tiny baby birds, and these almost-grown-but-still-baby birds. They've flown away now, but it was fun for us to see them grow.

Party animals

This past weekend we had two parties to attend. Actually, more like three parties, since one was a double birthday party at the mecca of outdoor fun called the Dorsey's house. We started with a nice stroll down to the beach. The weather ended up being a bit nicer than the forecast said, though I'm pretty sure this crew could have fun at the beach in a blizzard (but let's not.)

We enjoyed watching the waves...



playing in them...



and running from them!



We enjoyed visiting...



and relaxing.



Of course, there was sandcastle-making...



and mudhole splashing.



Flying babies...



and tons of cuteness.



When we all had our fill, we made our way back to the house (or more accurately, the yard). It was time for the three P's of a birthday party;

Presents...



Pinatas... (I wish I knew how to put the ~ over the 'n' - it will bug me forever)



and peace cake! ;o)



Of course, there were Hoodsies as well, Mya stole mine, no fair.



OK, ok, I give, it's fair!



Then there was playing in the yard...



and the marsh... (so glad my kids have no interest in the marsh, I will enjoy it while it lasts!)



and lots more cuteness!


As usual, the kids didn't want to leave. I imagine I now know what my parent's went through trying to get us to leave the Carey's house after a visit. I remember they always used to make us little goodie bags of treats to bring in the car when we left. Nothing like a little bribery :o) - and hey, it worked!

Sunday Luis' friend invited us to a BBQ. The boys had fun, and it was nice to finally meet some of these mystery 'school people' he spent so much time with. His friends were very nice, obviously he has good taste (he did pick me, duh!)