The weekend

The boys have been at Greg's for the week.  We sort of switch roles during the summer so I had the boys on the weekend and it was wonderful to catch up with them again.  I must say...this past week I have slept and caught up...and that was a nice bit of a break.   But anyways...  I was the one who was able to let them sleep in and then all weekend we PLAYED PLAYED PLAYED.  I saved all of the laundry and house work until tonight (Sunday evening) when the boys were back in Chicago.  It was a whirlwind and I already miss them -- so here is a brief recap.

1. Friday Night

My dad met the McGuire's half way so the boys were already home on Friday when I arrived.  They had been playing in the sprinkler with the neighbors and learning the game of 4square.  We cooked hamburgers on the grill and stayed up late playing outside.  After Jack was in bed we ate gourmet cupcakes to celebrate the first year of Rouzer Cleaning.  It was a great night.

2. Donuts with Dad

At the last minute I decided we should celebrate Father's Day with Daddy Mike on Saturday morning since we won't be with the boys on the official Father's Day this year.  We carried on the tradition of donuts with dad so I had to wake them up at 8am so we could drive over and pick out our stash.  The boys jumped out of bed but we all decided to stay in our pajamas.  For Father's Day we made Mike cards and then I surprised him with tickets to see Dalai Lama in a few weeks.  **Yes...we had LOTS of sweets in a 12 hour window**

Also I must note that Jack had been up since 445am.  At 630 I decided to take him to Kroger since we were out of milk.  He flipped his shit in Kroger...it was pretty awesome.  Once I got back I took him on a walk in the stroller.  (yes--the rest of the house was still asleep).  He feel asleep in the stroller just in time to head for donuts.  Regardless, it all worked out well and the rest of the day was MUCH smoother.

3. Baseball Game
At 11 the boys had another Tball game.  It was HOT out on Saturday so the coaches decided to skip practice and just have a game.  Cameron was attentive the entire game and even got the game ball.  My parents came with Sawyer and Eloise so Jack was able to play with them in the shade while we watched the craziness on the field.

**This year instead of paying the insane prices for pictures....I took my own. ***

4. Pool Party 

After baseball we headed to my parents to play in their inflatable pool.  It wore us OUT.  Eventually Jack went home with Mike to crash while I was slowly fading into the afternoon.  As we were walking out we realized that Cameron and Owen needed to say goodbye to their cousins before they moved to Denver.  The twins will be in Chicago for the next few weeks so Saturday was the last play date for awhile.  Glad for the impromptu visit!!  

One more note about this afternoon that made me choke up.  Eloise was sitting on my lap cuddling and like I usually do I was telling her memories about Erin.  So that afternoon I said, "you know what song your mom sang to you when you were a baby?"  She said, "no-what?" So I started to sing Edelweiss and rocking her like a baby.  We were being very silly and when I stopped (because I couldn't get through it) she said, "finish the song!!!" So then I held her and cuddled her and sang the song my sister would when she was rocking Eloise to sleep.  It was sweet and warmed my soul while at the same time breaking my heart. 

After we got back from the pool party we had dinner and then enjoyed strawberry shortcake that Celia brought us.  What!!??? You read that correctly -- she brought over fresh picked strawberries that she cleaned and cut, angle food cake AND whipped cream.  WE. ARE. SPOILED.

 5. Sunday Morning
After Mike let me sleep in for an extra hour we started another great day.  Mike mowed the lawn while I headed with the boys to our old stomping grounds --the playground and splash park.  We haven't been there since Jack was tiny and it was crazy to have him walking all over the place and exploring like the twins would at the park.  He enjoyed the swings and HATED the slash park -- extremely predictable.  We endured the heat for a few hours before heading home.

Once we got home we scarfed down some lunch and headed out on another bike ride.  This one I was able to ride my bike and not push Jack in the stroller which was a nice change.  When we got home the twins packed into the car and we headed to meet Greg and his dad.  It was a wonderful weekend with all of my boys.  Super, insanely hot and super, insanely wonderful.

I taught Jack to hold Nash during our walks.  He loves it.  The twins biked ahead -- they are old.