Happy Birthday Max!

My little Maxy is 4.  How did that happen?! 

 

We celebrated at home with Grandma & Grandpa and all of his favorites.  Brisket, ice cream cake and a dance party. 

He got a big box full of dress up clothes from Opa & Nana, and a cool helicopter Lego set and clothes from Grandma & Grandpa.  Daddy & I gave him a SpongeBob Book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Book, some pajamas and another Lego set. 

Here's Sam & Max all dressed up. 

I so wish I had pictures of the dance party but they were insistent on having all the lights out so picture taking was not ideal.  But Sam & Max were hil-arious!  Absolutely hilarious!!  Cartwheels, scissor kicks, fast knees, floor spins, spaztastic movements to the beat.  They had all the moves and wore us all out just watching them.  It was awesome.

Moose Camp

Wes did not get a moose this year (sniff sniff) but he did camp with guns for a week up in the White Mountains with his dad.  They had a moose camp set up but once the season was over, it all had to be packed out.  So Sunday afternoon we loaded up the boys and went with him to help.  Well, "help" may not be the right word, but we did go with him.

It was a beautiful day to be outside.  I just wish I had taken more pictures.

 Bo & Sam (and no, Bo did not drive.  He's just posing)

 Wes & Sam picking blueberries

 Sam's loot

 Mmmmmmm....

Where camp once was

Dirt Bike Boys

Bo & Devon love to ride dirt bikes and we finally arranged for them to ride together.  We met up at the Birch Hill parking lot and turned them loose.  They had a blast.

Bo on the left, Devon on the right

Max's First Day of Preschool

It's hard to believe but #3 started school today.  He is going to the same preschool Bo & Sam went to, Bright Beginnings, and I still love everything about it.  I love that he will have the same teacher, be in the same room, and do all the same things as his brothers.  I find peace in that and it's so neat to hear Bo & Sam talking to him about their experiences and what they remember.  This morning at breakfast they were getting him all excited about the gym and the castle and the Legos.  It melted my heart. 

Unfortunately the excitement wore off by the time we got to school and he realized that I wasn't staying the entire time.  He joined the class well while I was still in the building filling out paper work and such but when I went to tell him I was leaving, the flood gates opened.  He was borderline hysterical.  It wasn't that he didn't want to stay, he just didn't want me to go.  He's always been my little buddy and he wanted so badly to go with me.  I knew he would be fine and on the count of 3 I handed him over to Mrs. Dupont and walked away. 

I took a deep breath and after putingt my heart back in my chest, I went shopping. 

When I picked him up, he was all smiles.  Mrs. Dupont said he took about 10 minutes to join the group once I left.  They were in the gym.  Max was watching while all the kids were getting chased by the aide when Mrs. Dupont heard him mumble under his breath, "she can't catch me". So she told the aide while looking at Max that someone thinks he can't be caught and he instantly lit up with an ear to ear grin and took off running.   That was that.  He then had a little trouble with the transition from the gym to snack time (screamed at the teacher that he WAS NOT EATING and DID NOT WANT TO EAT SNACK) but after that, he was great!

Here are a few pics from when I picked him up.  He was not in the mood when I dropped him off. 

 up in the castle

Sammy Says

While out on a bike ride yesterday we saw a sign that had a gun on it that said, "We don't call 911".  Sam asked what that meant so I started to explain to him that if someone came on their property to steal something like a tv or . . .and then he inteupted me.  "Mom, that's what Nationwide is for.  If you lose something or have somthing stolen, they replace it."    Then he sang it, "Nationwide is on your side"

Proof positive that marketing works and that I better keep Sam away from the toy commercials.. 

Sam's First Day of Kindergarten

My little Sammy is going to school!  How is this possible?!  He is so excited for his first day. 

Valdez

We were invited out for a weekend on the Snoopy again this year with our friends, Buzz & Rene Otis.  The weather was not great, or the fishing for that matter, but we still had a good time and came home with a cooler full of shrimp.  Here's a wrap up of our trip in pictures:

 

We stopped at a couple of waterfalls just north of Valdez on our drive down.  The boys were in crazy moods and could not take a "normal" picture. 

 

On our way our of port



 Sam at the helm with Mr. Buzz

 

Wes & the boys on the skiff, Woodstock, coming back from shore 

 

Sam & Max loved playing with the herring (bait)

 

and making their eyes pop out of their head.

Me, Sam & Max on Woodstock in Jack's Bay

 

Wes & Buzz rigging up the shrimp pots

Crabs came up in the shrimp pots

 and a sea star

 

Out on the Woodstock looking for Salmon

Time to clean all the shrimp. They were huge! 

Back at the docks.  What a great trip but so thankful to be off the boat and on dry ground.