Putt Putt Fun

We took the kids to Putt Putt today in High Point. When I was in high school/college, I worked there . . . many fond memories, let me tell you!! ;) The great thing is, Chris (the owner) let us play for free! We have taken all the kids before, but this was the first time the boys were going to be able to participate.

Two little boys, ready to go!

They had a great time hitting all the barriers and trying to move them  . . . or climb on them . . .

Charlie :)

Alex :)

Lucy actually wanted to play. The boys were more interested in carrying their balls and clubs around and then standing where ever Lucy was trying to play through. ;) 

Don't let her weird smile fool you - she was having fun!

This picture cracks me up - they were carrying on a little conversation as they walked along. . . like two little old men out to play the back nine! 

We tried to show the boys how to hit their putters. . . Charlie tried it a couple of times, but Alex was satisfied with just walking around, holding his putter and ball.

We reached the 18th hole and the boys were so confused about where the ball disappeared to!

We went inside to the arcade for a little while. Lucy said she wanted to play some games. . . until it actually time to play them! We would put the coin in and then she would say, "I don't want to!" However, everyone wanted to try ski ball. The boys just simply wanted to run around the arcade holding the ski balls.  One of the ski ball machines was broken, so every time you would finish a game, all you had to do was push the start button and it would begin all over again! Sigh . . .at least they had fun!

We had a lot of fun playing and I'm sure we will be going back more this summer! Next time though, we will go early in the morning so that we can beat the heat!

Sandbox fun

After lunch, the kids wanted to go outside and play with the new sandbox from Grammy and Poppa.

Lucy jumped right in to play!

Charlie, trying to figure out just how to get the sand into the bucket. . . 

Alex wasn't too sure he wanted to be a part of any of this  . . 

But eventually, he joined right in!

Of course, as has been our pattern lately, the boys' favorite game is taking whatever toy the other one has and running away. This game goes back and forth - sometimes Alex is taking a toy from Charlie and sometimes Alex is the one having to chase after Charlie. Either way, it always leads to one grinning and laughing while the other one is screaming . . .sigh . . ..

As you can see, Alex is quite pleased with himself. :)

Our new toy

After school today, Lucy and I went by the Kaplan teacher store. I wanted to get her some handwriting workbooks for this summer. While the boys take their morning nap, she and I are going to have a little school time then. It won't be an every day thing, but hopefully, it will keep her practicing those fine motor skills that she still needs to improve. While we were there, we wandered back to where they have their closeout items for sale. Kaplan makes many of the types of furniture that you see in preschool/elementary classrooms and daycares . . . tables, chairs, cribs,  play kitchens, etc. As we were looking around, we saw this Little Tikes bus. I had seen this bus earlier this year and knew that it would be a great activity for my busy boys. However, it was a bit pricey so I never ordered it. But wouldn't you know - it was on sale!! :) So we are now the proud owners of a little bus in our living room. The kids have had the best time on it this afternoon!

All the kids, sitting in the bus

Charlie, sliding down the back

Alex loves to drive . . . and Lucy loves to just be involved in whatever is going on :)

Alex's turn to slide!

And of course, it makes a great place for two buddies to sit and watch TV together :)

Last day of preschool! Kindergarten, here we come!

Can you believe the day has come? Where does time go? Lucy is officially finished with preschool and on to Kindergarten! Just look at how much she's grown this year -

1st day

Last day

Lucy is so ready for Kindergarten and I have no worries about her being prepared. However, I did not expect myself to be so emotional today! As I told her to have a good last day of preschool, I felt my eyes fill up with tears. It seems like yesterday she was born and now she's finished with preschool and turning five in a few weeks. In August, she'll start Kindergarten and then before we're ready, she'll be graduating. I think it just hit me today how quickly time is moving. Yes, some days and weeks seem like they will never end as we get caught up in the day to day grind of life. But these moments and days are fleeting and all too soon, this stage of life will be gone. I am going to do my best this summer to hold on to those moments - to slow down and savor as much as I can . . .even the moments where the house is a mess, the kids are screaming, and I just want to take a nap. Because the day will come when my house is clean and quiet and I can nap . . .but I can never get these days back. :)

Beginnings of Summer!

It has been WARM here all week long . . . almost as if spring passed us by and summer has arrived. After dinner this evening, we cleaned off the water table and filled it up for our first use this year. We got it last summer, but I know the boys didn't remember it. However, as much as they LOVE splashing in the pool/bathtub, I knew that we were in for a good time! Charlie's little jaw stayed dropped open for the first five minutes of playing . . .he was in awe!!!

So I apologize for all the photos, but my kids are just so cute . . . . .

This occupied their complete attention for about 30 minutes!! AMAZING!!!!! I cannot tell you the last time we had something that kept their attention that long! They stayed right at the table and played . . .didn't try to run off, didn't want to go play with another toy, and everyone was sweet to each other! Woohoo!! It was such a fun evening and I look forward to many more like it in the weeks to come!

Happy May!

So sorry that updates are few and far between these days . . . life definitely is keeping us busy! I hardly get a chance to pick up the camera these days because when we are out playing, one boy is running one way while the other boy is going the other! ;) These boys love to go, go, go!! They do not care for being confined anywhere and do all that they can to escape. In fact, Michael left Charlie in the living room while he went to get Alex out of his crib after his nap. All he did was walk down the hall and back and in that time, Charlie had climbed over the couch and gate, opened the door, gotten down off the porch and went out to play in the backyard! Sigh . . . these boys are going to age me quickly!!


Some of these are pictures from my phone. . . some are from my camera. . . .but here's a glimpse into our life lately!

The kids love to play outside!! Blowing bubbles is a favorite!

We went for a walk in the neighborhood the other day and let the boys out at the end of the road to run around. They took great pleasure in collecting gumballs and bringing them to me with a big smile on their face. Even though they aren't "flowers," I took a picture so I could remember the first "bouquet" my boys ever gave me. :)

We have been trying once a month to have a day with each one of our kids. It gives us a chance to have some quality one on one time with each of our babies. Especially with having twins, it's nice to be able to get to know them individually since they are always together. This month, we had a day with Alex. Charlie went to Grammy's house and Lucy went to Gramma's house so everyone gets to have individual time. I thought that they boys would miss each other but it was quite the opposite. Alex really seemed to enjoy having the run of the house, getting to play with whatever toy he wanted whenever he wanted, having both parents' attention whenever he pleased . . . .in fact, once everyone came back home, it took the evening for him to readjust to not being an only child! ;) Here he is, riding Harry the dragon at Harris Teeter. 

I snapped this picture while the boys were watching Mickey Mouse the other day. I looked up from sitting on the couch and laughed out loud at my view . . .sometimes these guys remind me just how twin-like they are! :)

Sweet boys on the couch

I snapped these pictures in the yard the other day. It's almost impossible right now to get a picture of all three of them together, but this was the first one I snapped and miraculously, they were all looking at the camera! 

Can you believe this girl will be 5 in a month?? What happened to my baby?? I'm going to have to stop blinking or she will be off to college before I know it!

Lucy will sit and smile for a picture, but the boys??? Sitting is not really in their vocabulary . . .this is what you see most of the time. . .

Or this . . . 

At Union, I have been having children's choir for the past 6 weeks and the kids put together a program to sing for Mother's Day. Yes, there are only four kids singing, but it's a small church. They did a good job and while they were small in number, they sang their little hearts out. Hopefully everyone at church enjoyed it. :) I enjoyed having my baby up there singing . . .and a year from now, we'll probably have two more little boys joining in as well!

Every Mother's Day, I always get a picture with my reasons to celebrate. :) Remember how I said it's hard to get them to all look at the camera . . .at least they are still cute! 

We had dinner on Mother's Day with the Flacks. Pappy snapped this picture while we were out playing in the yard and I just love it . . . Charlie's smile (even upside down!) just lights up everything around him. Love this kid!!

We had Lucy's end of the year picnic today at the park. One more week of 4 year old preschool and then she will be a Kindergartener! She's had a good year at school and has grown by leaps and bounds. Academically, I'm not sure how much she learned at school, but socially, I have really seen her mature. I'm not in a rush for August to get here, but I am confident that she will do awesome in Kindergarten!