Finally, Sunshine!!!!

This week has been the first really nice week. I feel like all we've seen is rain and darkness, which is depressing. But, finally this week turned beautiful. Hallelujah! I can't remember the last time I posted on our happeings, but I think it's been awhile. Thursday night, I had a girls night out with my friends from MOPS. Only two gals could make it (in addition to me) but we still had a great time. While I absolutely adore my family and can't imagine life without them, it is nice to get out once in awhile and remember that I'm someone other than just a wife or mommy.

Friday night, since it wasn't pouring, we took the boys to look at three open houses since the Parade of Homes was this past week. It's always fun to see how "the other half" lives in these upscale, impeccably decorated brand new houses. Three was definitely the limit (we were going to just do two, but then three were back-to-back-to-back). Afterward, Shawn treated us to Little Caesar's Pizza. I remember eating it when we were little, and a new shop opened in Lititz. I couldn't believe how cheap it was, and pizzas are ready there for pick-up (you don't have to call ahead and wait). So, we enjoyed dinner as a family that night and after the boys went to bed, we relaxed and watched a new episode of Kings, my favorite TV show on NBC about the life of David (from the Bible).

Saturday, Mom knew how much we had wanted to tour the Parade of Homes, so she volunteered to come over as soon as it started (noon) and watch the boys for us. We finished touring the rest of them in Manheim Township, starting with the one in the millions and working our way down (I would recommend going the other way, if you don't want to feel let down...haaa!). It was a really fun time of being out just me & my hubby (thanks, Mom!). Both boys were down for their naps by the time we got back, and Shawn was exhausted, so I offered to get lunch while he rested. The boys slept past the time we would have needed to leave for church, but Shawn said maybe that was a sign since we've heard of lots of sickness going around in the area, including new cases of Swine Flu as close as Hershey Milton School. Why chance it? We went to Walmart as a family and Joshua insisted on us buying him Flipside crackers, which I did since he was such a good boy while we were there. After we got the boys to bed, we watched the latest episode of Kings (since the night before had been on our TiVo). This one was a little scary, I must admit.

Sunday was Father's Day, and it poured all morning. I asked Shawn what he wanted to do for his special day. He said "NAP!" So, we all did. Afterward he mowed the yard since the rain finally let up for a little while. While he was out there, we caught our neighbors and talked to their daughter about the possibility of babysitting for us and showed her around our house, telling her where things were that she would need and introducing her to the boys. She seems a little shy to me, so I'm not sure how it will work out. But, we love her parents and know that they're good Christian folks who would be right next door if she needed anything.

After she left, Shawn chose to go to Infinito's Pizza Buffet for his special day, which amused me since when we first met he didn't really like pizza. But, they have special pizzas like BBQ Bacon Chicken n' Ranch or something like that that he enjoys, not to mention the chocolate chip pizza. The boys feasted on breadsticks and peas from the salad bar, etc. After we came back, we took Joshua up to the slides for doing well on the potty, and we met another gal there who was really interacting with younger kids and was outgoing enough to talk to us. She was right on top of the kids as they were playing, telling them to be careful and watching where they went, etc. She's starting high school this year, the kids were her siblings, and she babysits and could walk to our house. Sooo, I took her phone number, too. Hopefully one of these gals will work out. Again, we LOVE our kids, but it would be nice to have the opportunity to go on a date here or there with someone reliable watching our children.

On Monday it didn't rain, but it was overcast the whole day. I still took the boys for a nice long walk - we needed the fresh air! I put a pork roast in the crock pot and we ate a delicious dinner at home as a family that night. Tuesday morning, I met my friend Becca and her daughters Alayna & Kyla at Roots. There I bought strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, canteloupe, grapes and apples (and I already had peaches, bananas and an orange at home!). That night while Shawn was pseudo-playing with the boys in the yard (and listening to our neighbor chat with him) I cut up all the fruit, and it has been delicious!!! Shawn polished off the watermelon, I've devoured canteloupe, the boys have gone crazy over the grapes, Caleb has eaten all the blueberries, and we had strawberry shortcake, etc. It's been awesome! I also found another pair of sunglasses (or I should say that Becca spotted them for me - thanks!) since I had broken mine. Roots was PACKED, so we left after we bought all our goodies, and they came back to our house where we enjoyed lunch. Joshua fell apart shortly thereafter, so they headed home and the kids took much-needed naps. I had a headache, so I took advil and simply rested and studied the Bible while the kids napped and waited to work out until last night after the kids were in bed. That night, I made spaghetti for dinner, which Joshua enjoyed but Caleb wasn't so fond about since it's hard to pick up. It was a nice day all-in-all.

Yesterday morning we went to a playdate with our MOPS friends. Renee opened her home once again (she has two kids - Nate who's 3-going-on-4 soon and Lila who will turn 2 a few days before Caleb turns one). Melissa (with Lucas - age 3 - and Owen - almost 2 months) and Becca (with Alayna & Kyla) came. We had a really nice time! I took blueberries & strawberries to share, and Becca brought donuts and Renee baked cookies. We drank coffee and talked while the kids enjoyed playing. Afterward we went for a nice walk in the sunshine. When we got back to her house, I packed the kids in the car and we came home. Last night I made mini-cheddar meatloaves for dinner and afterward we went shopping and to the playground. It was nice. After the boys were in bed, Shawn went out for a few things we needed like milk. When he got home, he had a movie in hand, but since it was already after 10 pm, I asked if we could wait to watch it since I could barely keep my eyes open.

This morning I called my sister Jen and met her & the kids at her house and we walked from there to Stoner Park. The Bean especially had a lot of fun. I let him run with the big kids part of the way there and back, and he was thrilled! Emma took his hand and they had a blast together. Daniel's also now in the action, and it won't be long until Caleb can join in. My youngest cruised from stroller to stroller to the park bench where us moms sat and back again. It was a beautiful day! When it got so warm that the slides were hot to the touch, we went for a walk around the park and then back home for lunch and naps. Tonight we're going to do steaks on the grill, and I'm looking forward to spending time with my hubby and kiddos in the sunshine! :)