A weekend

Saturday

Max wasn't feeling too well, can you tell?

Morning spent with our buddies Liam and Kippy.
In my head I call this our secret spot...even though it isn't really secret.
 This area has the small town feel, and the perfect triangle of park, coffee shop (not Starbucks!), and ice cream parlor. 

We watch as our little band of roving boys gets some of that limitless energy out. 

Liam and Kippy ride their bikes so far away that we lose sight of them...but Darren and Laura are confident they will return. I just take mental notes, there is much to learn in mothering these brothers, like "it might be okay to let them out of my sight", most likely they will return unscathed. 

Liam and Kippy do in fact return, proud of their adventure and hungry for ice cream. 

But I need another coffee first. 

For a minute it feels like we are in another era as the boys ride bikes down Main Street and we slip into a coffee house without that beloved green mermaid. 

In the little coffee shop we talk about big things like God, more kids (if/when), and the places we'd like to go if it wasn't so hard to travel. 

Pleasantly re-caffeinated, we answered the pleas for ice cream. 

When we asked Max which flavor he wanted he said "same as Liam."

after a couple of days out in the sun Eli is super tan!

The boys are remarkably quiet and still as they enjoy this sweet treat. 

Energized by a string of sunny days we plan summer camping trips and wonder if one of the boys will get up on water skis this summer. 

Darren, my friend since second grade, who never stops teasing my about my prolific picture taking, snaps this picture. 

A new favorite.

I'm not sure Saturday morning get much better than that. 

In the afternoon, I leave Julian in charge of the little boys while I venture out to yet another coffee shop (with the mermaid this time). 

My friend Nicole patiently teaches me how to crochet a new project as I've proven myself incapable of following printed directions. 

Stitch by stitch, and word by word we make progress, on baby booties and our souls. 

Sunday  

We scrubbed the house from top to bottom, tackled the yard and car too. 

I am one of those odd people who enjoys cleaning house, especially the finished product. 

The to-do list shrank considerably, but there was also time for things like watching Eli dance in the sunshine and letting Max fall asleep next to Julian on the couch. 

Our weekend ended with a healthy dinner and wine to celebrate Julian's new job.

This new position comes with many practical benefits including a much shorter commute; more importantly it is his dream job. 

He is officially a rocket scientist. 

We are grateful for our many blessings, cheers to a lovely weekend!