weekend recap...

thursday night, we discovered that this old birdhouse on the fence between our yard & our neighbor's had some babies in it...we could really only hear them - they were down in the bottom of the house...then i saw a tiny head pop up & caught a pic of it

u could see mama was close by - keeping her eye on us (she's perched on the fence)

friday morning, we came outside 2 load up the truck & take the kiddos 2 school & found that they were on their way out of the house...the babies were ready 2 learn 2 fly!

i took the kiddos 2 school, & came back home 2 find 3 of them on the ground near our patio

it was sweet 2 hear them chirping back & forth 2 each other!

see? there r 2 sitting on the rocks, on either side of the kiddos' cow skull ~lol~

they were hopping along our yard 4 quite some time...u could hear mama nearby & eventually there were 5 babies out of the house, trying 2 fly! i was nervous because of the cats in our neighborhood, but luckily i didn't see any around that morning...after getting these pics & some video, i went 2 the back yard 2 work in my garden...1 of the babies ended up hopping around the house 2 where i was, but later i couldn't find any of them - i'm hoping & praying they all flew away safely!



oh, & here's what the kiddos looked like that morning - they were allowed 2 wear sunglasses & hats 2 school that day

& speaking of my garden, here's what it looked like all finished


i've got cucumbers, squash, tomatoes (big boy & cherry), green & red peppers, onions, lettuce & a few herbs...the trellis at the end will b 4 the cucumbers once they start growing well enuff 2 train the vines 2 grow up it...well, hopefully things will grow well - remember, this is my 1st attempt at gardening! ;0)

friday evening, we decided 2 go to northern VA 2 visit Curtis' folks...we picked the kiddos up from school & surprised em with the trip - they were psyched!

their absolute favorite thing 2 do at Grandma & Grandpa's is blow bubbles off their 11th floor balcony! Grandma always gets em bubble guns 4 when they visit

& Jaden goes straight 4 Grandpa's binoculars 2 check out the view

they also got 2 play Wii 4 the 1st time...Grandpa beat them all in a game of bowling...

but Corinn came in a close 2nd - she was barely even trying too! ;0)

then, we got 2 have ice cream cake 2 celebrate Grandpa's birthday

we had a great time!

saturday, the kiddos had a birthday party 2 attend...the youngest of my good friend's kiddos was turning 2...here's all 3 of her boys

Jaden & Manuel r good friends

Jiomar has the cutest curls!

& NEVER sits still!

he really reminds me a lot of another cutie with curls i know ;0)

my girls had a good time climbing the trees with Jowan & some other girls at the party

& then someone showed up with a puppy! the poor thing was passed around so much - each kiddo had 2 have a turn holding him!

it was soooo hot that day! so on our way home, we decided 2 stop 4 ice cream at our fav local spot!

b4 the party, we had gone 2 walmart 2 pick up a gift 4 Jiomar...while there, Jaden spotted a 5-headed dragon sculpture that he HAD 2 have! he had some money saved up at home, so i told him i'd buy it 4 him & he could pay me back with his money when we got home (it was only $9)...we didn't realize until we got home that the sculpture was actually an incense burner! the coolness factor went waaaay up after i showed him what it could do! ;0)

sunday, we had a wedding reception 2 attend...my brother's wife's mother (Brenda) just married my dad's step-brother (Ken) on the beach in Hawaii (i know, we're keeping it in the family! ~lol~)...since they had a small private wedding in Hawaii, they decided 2 have a reception 4 all the family once they returned...i made these cupcakes 4 the kiddos at the party (someone from their church already jumped at making the cake...so they asked me 2 cover the kiddos)

they're funfetti cake, iced in cream cheese icing...i used a graham cracker/brown sugar mixture 4 the "sand"...& i made all the sea shells from fondant - dusting them with edible dusts 2 make them look realistic

the kiddos had a great time playing


then yesterday, we were hanging out in the house...Corinn & i were watching the Jon & Kate plus 8 marathon (Corinn LOVES that show!)...on 1 episode, Joel starts riding his bike without training wheels...Corinn says "that 4 year old boy doesn't need training wheels?!"...she immediately asked daddy 2 take her's off...sure enuff, Curtis went out with her & didn't even need 2 do any running beside her - she totally took off on her own like she already knew how 2 do it! so he took all 3 kiddos 2 the park 2 get in some more practice...unfortunately, i had 2 stay at home cause the service tech was 2 show up at any time 2 fix my internet connection...but i sent the camera with Curtis & he took a few pics/vids

it's so nice 2 see all 3 riding on their own - no more training wheels!!!

later that evening, we were 2 go over to Nana & Grandpa's 4 a cook-out...unfortunately, it started raining - & since the sprinkles were lingering, we moved everything over 2 my brother's big front porch

we had a bunch of yummy food (& i was actually able 2 eat!) & the kiddos had a blast riding 4-wheelers & playing with CJ's new puppy, Molly


i'm back at work 2day...still pretty horse - especially in the morning - i wake up barely able 2 speak & it loosens up as the day goes on...my throat is still sore, so i'm still taking the Roxicet in order 2 eat - but it's no where near as bad as it was last week!

i hope u guys had a great holiday weekend too! & hey, only 4 more days until the next weekend is here! ;0)