Family brunch and a birthday

I have awesome friends that I consider family but we know life gets in the way and everyone lives so far. In order to actually spend time together and ensure that our kids grow up knowing each other, we've instituted "family dinners". Basically we make time every month to get together with our kids and catch up on life. It has been the best idea ever because we all get to hang out and catch up. despite life being hectic, we are still connected. Sometimes they end up being family lunches or family brunches but no matter what they are, we get to hang out every month.

We met up with our friend at their place. It's cheaper and more relaxed when we hang out at home. We can let the kids run wild without worrying so much about them. We usually make a dish and share with everyone. Since the weather is awesome and the kids love water, we set up the sprinkler and a water table in the yard and let them loose. Best plan ever, I swear I am going to do this 2 to 3 times a week in the Summer. It's hours of fun for the kids while keeping them cool and watering the grass, win win win :).

Well hello there handsome Bean. We found out exactly a year ago that this sweet face was going to join our family and now he is here, what a blessing.

We took the big kids outside for some play time. My Tman and water I tell you

Jbird of course always joins in on the fun

My boys doing their thing

The grown up watching the big kids play. My mom and niece came with us and hubby was holding the baby so that I could chase the big boys around

Front yard fun times with a sprinkler :)

Hubby and Bean chilling on the sidelines

After water play we went back inside. The grown ups let the big kids play with guitars

Rockstars in the making what up

After the brunch, we went to my niece's birthday party. Not the new baby niece, but my 21-year old niece. My mom married my stepdad (her grandfather) and we moved to America when she was a mere 3 years old. I can't even believe that she just turned 21. My brothers and grandma were at the party already

Me and the baby niece looking cute

The boys running around outside

We of course had to attempt a photo op with the kids. We weren't really successful but man it's hard to get 4 little kids to look at the camera at the same time

And yes my boys always match because I seriously love it and to be honest it makes my life easy. It's like putting them in a uniform. I love it even more that Bean is big enough to fit in big clothes so he can match that much sooner with his brothers.

My grandma was there too

My brother J and my dad. Bean was so hungry I had to feed him :)

The boys all packed up in the car after a day of fun hanging out in the sun

What a great weekend and a great Sunday. I love spending time with my friends and family and I love it even more that the boys recognize these important people in our lives because they spend time with them.

Weekend fun - a trip to the mall

We had such a great weekend filled with fun activities and some not so fun ones. Since I am all about documenting every event of my kids life, I take a million pictures so I have to break the story into two posts.

Before I tell you about the weekend, let me brag about my Tman for a bit. In May, Tman's school was doing a read-a-thon. Tman's class did so well that they won the contest, wooohooo. Well, unbeknownst to me, the local paper decided to feature his class and highlight the kids accomplishment. I can't even tell you how proud and excited I was when I saw my sweet boy's face with a book in his hand in the paper. Best of all, they took the picture the day he was wearing his Cameroonian jersey :)

Tman (bottom left first row) and his class. I am so proud of my baby. You know this will be framed and displayed in our house for years to come :)

Speaking of baby, look who is in the jumperoo now and loving it. All my boys love this contraption I tell you. Best investment in a toy

 Of course his big brothers flock to him the minute he is in there. I so love this

My favorite pic from the week of Bean with his grandma

 And with his granddad too. He is so lucky to have them here with him full time

I also love this picture of the boys because it shows their personalities so well; Jbird is in the smile big on demand phase and Tman is in the happy smile phase because he actually wants to pose for his mommy :). My big boys posing, love these boys of mine

On  Saturday we made the mistake of taking the boys to the mall. Hubby needed some belts and a few things and I needed some shoes and pants for work. It is so hard to shop for those online when your size is changing so we decided to brave the mall with the kids.

The plan was to do some shopping, let the boys run around for a bit, finish shopping then go home. You know what happens to best laid plans right, they never quite turn out the way you envision them. I carried Bean while hubby shopped, then we switched so that I could chase the boys.

Hubby trying on belts with the boys in tow

I find it so sexy when he carries the baby around in the bjorn, sorry ladies, he is taken ;)

Me and my big boys goofing around. Jbird was ready to get out of the stroller at this point

So of course we let them run around for a bit then we did the car rides which they love.

 Happy faces all around :)

Then it was back in the stroller so that we could finish shopping. The boys were not having it, all they wanted to do was get out. Oh boy. I so love this picture of all my boys before the screaming competition started :)

I had to let them out for a bit to calm them down because they were so loud. They were crazy I tell you. We knew it was time to go. Check out Jbird trying to get away here, my little wiggly worm

I am smiling here but it was chaotic. Hey there Bean,I know you can't wait to join our crazy crew

We ended the shopping trip with some ice cream. The boys definitely chilled once they got their ice cream, I am all about bribery :)

We were worn out after all that shopping and took a 2 hour family nap when we got home. It was glorious. When I tell you the boys love on Bean all the time I am not kidding. Check them out here with the Beanie man, so much love for their baby brother.

 My 3 sons, love these boys of mine

First trip to the mall with all 3 kids was a mild disaster but I think with time we'll get a handle of that business and if we don't, we'll just leave the kids at home with grandma next time :) (Some of us have options and we are not afraid to use them). Hope you had a great weekend too.

Weekend fun - the father's day edition

We had an awesome father's day weekend around here. We were busy running around but it was awesome because the boys had an awesome time. On Saturday we went to a party, they had a sprinkler and we brought the water gun with us; that was a recipe for a successful Saturday. On Sunday we enjoyed some brunch at home then met up with a friend before going to see my mom and grandma.

Let me tell you about my hubby, all he wanted to do all weekend was watch his soccer games since the World Cup just started. Since it was Father's day weekend, I indulged but let me tell you how annoying it is to have to rearrange all of our schedules around this world cup business. I didn't really fight him this weekend but I won't be going down without a fight. On Saturday, I took the big boys with me to the party while hubby stayed at home with Bean. Divide and conquer is still our best practice.

Me and my Jbird before we left for the party, he is still attached to my hip like a baby (I guess he is still my little baby after all)

 I bribed Tman to get in on the picture. Me and my big boys

Jbird always makes crazy faces, I was going in for a big kiss here and I am so happy hubby captured this sweet moment with my Jbird.

The birthday party was awesome. My friends have this huge backyard, they set up a little sprinkler system and just let the kids run around. All the kids played around the sprinkler and enjoyed every minute of it.

 Tman had a water gun and did not wait to put it to good use

 My boys playing around

After all the water play, we changed the kids into some dry clothes but all they wanted to do was continue to run around outside. Hard not to indulge with such an awesome backyard

The moms hanging out in the backyard. Check out my friend K who is ready to pop, she is probably giving birth to her precious daughter (4th child) as we speak.

 The kids created their own game like this one using shields.

 My Tman is hilarious I tell you

The birthday party was awesome. I am glad that I took the big boys and did not stress hubby to come with us. Father's day was another busy day, I swear I don't know how not to be busy running around. I asked hubby what he wanted and he said just a chill day watching the world cup games. Easy enough if you ask me. I tried to take a photo op of him and the kids and he said all he wanted is not to have to pose for pics, get dressed up and all that. Thank goodness it's not Father's day every day :).

So here we are, no prep, no makeup, no hair done, just us and our little Bean selfie style at my hubby's request. I must say I really love this pic

We had brunch with hubby's parents and the boys. After that I went to meet up with my friend C who was in town with her newest addition.She lives in Indianapolis so we don't get to see her that often so any chances I get I take. It was so nice to catch up and spend some time together.

Me and C with our littlest blessings 3.5 months and 2 months; We have been making babies together since 2010 :)

We attempted to take a picture with all the kids and C's sister who is pregnant with her 1st baby but it was a total fail. I just love that all the kids were so not interested in our photo op I mean Jbird is riding a car on my face.

After hanging out with C, I took the kids to my parents house. I always make an effort to go to my parents house every Sunday so that my mom and grandma can hang out with the kids. We got this awesome pic with everyone (except my grandma). Good time, good times.

Well, that was our Father's day weekend in a nutshell. We had loads of fun and a great time hanging out with everyone. I hope you had a great Father's day celebration.