Memorial Day Weekend

We headed down to the beach last Thursday night. We got there super late, but that didn't stop one certain little 3 year old from getting up at 5:45 am asking for the donut truck. Ha! We literally rolled out of bed (well, I rolled out of bed--Joel stayed in bed) and took them down to Alys to fulfill his donut craving. I took some pics with my iphone, but they are not postable. :) Literally, I still had lines in my arms and face from the bed and the boys hair was sticking straight up! Luckily, we did not run into anyone we knew! There was a lot of Lululemon at the donut truck that morning and we looked a bit out of place!

 

So it was an early day out on the beach for the Reed fam. It was actually a bit chilly out for May, but that didn't stop the boys from getting in the ocean. They were SO ready for the beach!

 

I am not kidding when I say we stayed on the beach for 3 hours. I'm pretty sure that is longer than the total amount of time actually on the beach the entire summer last year. We are making progress here! And best of all, I read a book while they played! Now, I'm not going to say I got a lot of reading in, but it was definitely some (in between the 8,000 trips to the ocean for more water in the bucket!).

Harrison had so much fun. He was not afraid of the water or the sand at all this year.

The boys immediately found some buddies to play with and they spent a long time trying to catch fish in the ocean. The ocean was amazing. It was like a lake the first couple of days and was as clear as I have ever seen it, which is good and bad. Within a couple of hours of being down there, a shark, a turtle, and 2 sting rays had already made their way through the shallow part! It was neat to see, but man, that sure ruined any little swim in the ocean for me!

Obviously there was a trip to the Red Bar mixed in there! Can't go down there without it. And Hudson's favorite band was playing that night, so that made it extra fun!

The boys were more than willing to start their days with a walk on the beach. Such a great start to any day (if you can't start it with the donut truck!).

This is NOT the pool--this is seriously how clear the ocean was!

We did still spend a good portion of time at the pool. The boys would spend all day swimming if they could. They are both little fish in the water! Of course it's always fun when Daddy can throw you a mile in the air!

Even Hudson did a little "light" reading. Mrs. Boyd would be proud! John Grisham in Kindergarten! :)

Harrison took a 4 hour nap one afternoon so Hudson and I went out by ourselves. We had to take a selfie!

By Sunday we finally had some waves in the ocean and Hudson was ready to boogie board!

SIX swimming lessons for Harrison and he is swimming on his own. SIX. And to think we started with him not even being able to get through a lesson without crying.



Now, I would certainly not let him be in the water by himself by any means, but just knowing he can get from A to B is a huge relief.

 Two of the nights, we decided to just stay out on the pool or the beach until around 7 and we didn't really plan anything big for dinner. It was so fun to just let them play and have fun without having to worry about the battle of making them come in to get ready to go out. I almost prefer it this way, although I do love some good seafood!

 Of course we made one last trip to the donut truck on Sunday morning. When did my child get so big!?!?!

 We walked from the condo this time (in our exercise gear mind you!) and so there was definitely a splash pad trip when we got there! We were all hot!!!

 This might be his most very favorite place on the planet...

 And then it was onto a little play time at the playground. We had to work off the chocolate donuts with sprinkles!

 There was even ice cream in Seaside. Ice cream 1, Hudson 0.

Notice the donut truck shirt that Harrison just had to have! Ha!

We had a great time and had to come home way too soon! We already cannot wait to go back in a few weeks.

End of May Fun

Hudson had his Kindergarten class party last week. We did pizza on the playground and the kids pretty much ignored the parents! Ha! We really, really tried to get a class picture, but we couldn't get all the kids to cooperate. They were crazy--bless that sweet teacher (11 boys in one class--yikes!). This is Hudson's sweet buddy, Luke. I know they will miss being in the same class next year!

 Harrison wrapped up baseball last Friday night. His team lost in the tournament...it was a close game and we were all sad to see the season go! It was such a fun time and Hudson has decided he wants to play again in the fall. We headed straight from the baseball game to the Barons baseball game where Haines had his 6th birthday party! The boys had so much fun! I need to get some pictures from Margaret because I did not take a single one!

Harrison wrapped up soccer on Sunday and got his first trophy! He was so proud!

 He really came a long way in 5 games! He would hardly even go out there the first game, but by the end he didn't want to let the other boys play! He wanted to be out there the whole time! Of course his favorite thing about soccer was the snack and drink after the game!

The Hulk Smashers!

Both boys are in swim lessons at the JCC. They have been wonderful. Hudson is doing one last refresher...I just feel like you can never have enough swim lessons. He is a good swimmer though and is ready! Harrison is taking lessons for the first time and well, it's been a struggle. He's come a long way since the beginning--let's just say I can actually be in the pool area now and watch. He cried and cried the first few times as long as I was in there. Now, he's still crying a little bit, but he's staying in the pool and doing what is asked and we're getting there. It has helped that his teacher, Coach John, is pretty tough on him and doesn't put up with whining and crying--Harrison most definitely needs that!

See Ya Later Kindergarten and 2K!

Today is Hudson's last day of Kindergarten! Look at this happy boy!

This was back in August on his first day--my, how he has grown!


August feels like yesterday! I can't believe the year is over. It has seriously flown by. He has had such a great year. His teacher was wonderful and he has made so many new friends. He loves school and it was so fun watching him RUN in every day. He was just so excited. I know it definitely won't always be that way. The funny thing is that he is so ready to be a first grader! I asked him if he was sad that Kindergarten was over and he said of course not! Ha! Well this mama is sad it's over! I am guessing it will be that way at the end of every school year.

And not to leave this guy out, this is his last day of 2K! Yes, 2K...yet he's almost FOUR! He will start 3K in August at our church and I'm already anxious about him being at a new school. I know he'll do great though! 

We are ready for summer! I'm working a VERY reduced summer schedule and I am so ready to have some fun with my boys! And so ready to not have to wake up at 5:45 every.single.morning. :)

Summer is here!!!

Catching Up!

Well here I go again, playing catch up! May has been SO busy! We are on the go all the time with end year school stuff, baseball, soccer, swim lessons, oh and add in 2 jobs...it's crazy! We are having fun though and are ready for SUMMER!

 

So a couple of weeks ago my mom and I headed out to California to visit Carrie. We had so much fun! Rooney is the BEST baby. She does not cry at all...all she does is smile, smile, smile! She sleeps great and generally just goes with the flow. I think Joel was hoping I would come home saying the opposite and that I didn't miss babyhood at all--ha, nope! :)

 

 She is the cutest little girl I have ever seen! We had fun playing dress up with her!

 I look horrid, but we had dinner on the beach one night!

I think Rooney might be a little obsessed with her aunt. She just kept asking me to take her picture!

 Selfie on Balboa Island!

 Our view from lunch in Laguna!

 Rooney got to swing for the first time ever and I think she loved it!

Saturday morning we did a 5k for Melanoma. It just so happened to be the weekend we were out there, so why not! We NEED a cure!

Carrie's melanoma has come back unfortunately and she is having surgery next week and then will do treatment again. It's only in one spot and hasn't spread, so we are hopeful that this time it will go for good! Please pray that all goes well and she has a quick recovery and most of all, that she is cured!

 This is what the boys got from Aunt Carrie. If you can't read it, it's a book called Walter the Farting Dog, and comes complete with an actual farting dog. I keep telling her that her payback will come, but in the meantime, I will enjoy the laughs that we have listened to these past couple of weeks. Boys and potty humor!

 Hudson had his choir concert last week and he did great! They made a major mistake when they put those 3 boys together on the front row though...they were a mess!

 I had Muffins with Mom with Harrison on Friday morning! We got our muffins and sat down, and about 2 minutes later, Harrison told me it was time for me to leave because he was ready to play! I wasn't expecting to have a free morning (Fridays are my days off with Harrison!), but I took full advantage!

 Friday afternoon, the boys begged to go to Irondale. Since we don't live that close anymore, we haven't been as much as we used to and the boys have missed it!

 Saturday, we were up bright and early for the 8:30 baseball game! The Cardinals won! It was the last regular season game. I will be so sad when it is over. Hudson had the cutest team and we all had so much fun. Nerve-wracking, but fun! :)

 Hudson was so proud to get another trophy!

 That afternoon, Harrison had a soccer game. It was HOT!!! Only 3 kids showed up on his team so Harrison had to play the whole time. I was so proud of my buddy! Joel had to take him home the week before because he was throwing such a fit and refused to play, but this week, he was all about it! You just never know with 3 year olds!

And yes, he always looks like a hot mess! This kid is a major sweater!

 And it's perfectly acceptable in 3 year old soccer to play while eating a bomb pop! Hmmm...now that I think about it, maybe that's the reason why he played!

I also had a great Mother's Day on Sunday! It was very low key which was exactly what I wanted! I got to sleep in (well, the boys slept until 8:30 so Joel got lucky and got to sleep in too!). Then I cleaned our bathroom--see, fun stuff on Mother's Day! I tried to guilt Joel into doing it, but he wasn't having it. We got rid of our maid recently because she just wasn't doing that great so I've been the maid and I'm not sure I'm liking it! Then, I went to the grocery store. Jealous anyone?!?! We went out to lunch and then I took a nap! And then it was laundry, laundry, laundry. Do moms really ever get a true break?!!? I wouldn't have it any other way...love my sweet family! And they did shower me with gifts and snuggles so it was wonderful!