Memorial Day Weekend 2017

Wow! What a weekend. We did a lot of stuff, had a lot of fun, and now we're paying for it on a lazy, drizzly, back to work/school Tuesday. Did. Not. Want. To. Get. Up. This. Morning. Anddddd....neither did the boys. #grumpykids

So anyway, our weekend of fun began on Friday evening when Thomas and I picked the boys up from school and went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Anita's. We got to sit outside on the patio and there was a fantastic breeze and we were loving life! The boys chowed down on some chips and salsa. I think they get that from me. ;)

Silly boys

Dada and Ryan

William - killing some chips and salsa

William and Stokes

On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for a school mate at the downtown airport and the boys had such a great time playing and watching airplanes. I didn't get any pictures during the party but it was cute and the boys got to play a lot.

Saturday evening we had MaSha over to grill out at our house and have a laid back dinner with us. Thomas made us chicken kabobs and MaSha brought s'mores for dessert. We ate out on the deck and stayed up later than usual. That turned out to be a trend over the course of the weekend!

Ryan REALLY liked his s'more.
It was everywhere!!!!

Sunday morning, I couldn't resist but to begin the red, white and blue attire scheme for church.

The boys with Mama before church

The boys with Dada before church

Side note: we knew that we weren't having Sunday school, but thought that there would be children's church. Children's church is just where the kids start out with us in the sanctuary, through the announcements and a few songs and prayers, but then they get a children's message and leave to go for a special children's worship before the sermon starts. But to our surprise, there wasn't any children's church on Sunday and we weren't prepared. We had a few cars to play with and a few snacks, but I spent a lot of time going back and forth between our seats and the restroom (because the boys kept telling me they needed to go potty - they each went at least twice in the span of one hour.....eye roll.....). I'm sure that we were kind of a distraction to others sitting around us. Anyway....

Washed fruit ready for a salad!

After church, we ate a quick lunch at home and then went over to Jacqui's parent's house to check out their new pool. It was cold...but so, so awesome! This was the boys's first pool trip for this year. It's been torturing them to drive by a pool to and from school each day that we can see from the road. That pool opened up a few weeks ago and the boys couldn't understand why our pool wasn't open. They've asked about it just about every day. I was so excited to tell them that we were going to a POOL!!!!! There were other kids over there playing and the set up is just perfect for entertaining and just hanging out. It was so enjoyable. We spent several hours over there and would have stayed longer, but we had another item on the day's itinerary.

Hot hubby

Ryan loved the horn on this pool toy

Pool selfie

Big Ben - such a cutie!

Hanging out with Ry-Ry

With my bestie, Jacqui

After the pool, we changed back into clothes and met up with our church small group to do a cookout. We were relatively latecomers to the small group, as it started before we were as involved in church as we are now, but even since we've been in the group, it's grown quite a bit, both with new families joining and with new babies being added to the mix. It's fun to get together because we all just collectively watch and keep tabs on all the kids. We were having such a good time visiting with our friends and Stokes and William were running around the yard and trying to keep up with the big kids, and it stays light out later, that we didn't even realize until we got to the car that we stayed until 9 PM.

Kale salad we brought to the cookout

sleep boy fell asleep on Thomas

Our awesome small group!

When we got home, we just brushed teeth, put on pjs and put the boys to bed. They were so tired after the pool, no nap and then the cookout, that they were out like a light within 3 minutes of us closing the door to their room. Want to see what beds of super tired little guys look like the next morning?

Their beds do not usually look like that at all. They literally slept on top of their beds and did not move all night.

Monday was an awesome day, too. We had a patriotic breakfast! Buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake was a first time try. It's pretty good but based on Thomas's reviews and the boys reactions, it's not going to become a new staple at our house. I had to substitute apple sauce for eggs (for Stokes's allergy) and didn't have buttermilk and used the recipe's suggestion of milk + vinegar, so that may be why it wasn't as loved as I anticipated.

We spent all afternoon at our neighborhood pool. I think it's safe to say that the boys once again LOVE the pool. We got pizza and had watermelon and snacks there so we could extend our time. When it was clear that everyone was pooped, we went home and bathed the boys.

"It's too cold!!!"

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

"Ok, now I like it!"

Pizza for lunch

Watermelon time!

Poor guy fell asleep on Dada again!

The pool is literally about 3 minutes from our house. This is what we had when we pulled into our driveway. That's how you know you used A LOT of energy playing!

I made them do a quick photo shoot for me in their adorable red, white and blue Loggerhead Apparel shirts* and then we were off to MaSha's as she invited us to dinner at her house. 

Asleep again on the way to MaSha's!

We played outside for a while when we got there, and went in once we decided that we were hungry and ready to eat. Good timing, too, because it was raining during dinner. Monday was the 3rd day in a row that the boys didn't get a nap, other than (very) short cat naps in the car, and the full days and excitement of the pool was beginning to show. We had some sleepy, grumpy little fellas on our hands. 

MaSha showing William and Stokes
her garden and tomatoes!

MaSha & grandsons

They were, once again, asleep within a few minutes of when we put them down to bed last night. 

All the fun and playtime this weekend made it really hard to get up and out of bed this morning. 

Although it's fun to wear the right colors and go to cookouts and swim at the pool, Memorial Day is about so much more than that. It's such an important day for our country. It makes me sad to think about all the sacrifices that others have made for our country and for our freedom. 

*I love Loggerhead Apparel. I have a few dresses and a long sleeved tee and Thomas and the boys have some shirts. They're so soft and comfortable. And they're made right here in South Carolina. I'll post more details about them soon! Make sure to check them out - http://www.loggerheadapparel.com/

Outtakes:

So tired....and whiny!

*tears*

Ryan got the right idea!