Soo as I have mentioned in previous posts, we have family coming up and over from Florida and California for the next 2 weeks. They are staying with my in laws so they aren't house guests of ours but it sure has kept us busy regardless. We have done a lot! My housework has suffered due to us barely being home, just to sleep for the most part. Today I am staying in and doing laundry and catching up with a quiet day at home. This post is covering the first week of our visits- it's pic heavy! Sunday, I hosted dinner at our place to help out a bit. It was our niece Naomi's 4th birthday as well so I made sure to have her gift ready and made Hello Kitty cupcakes for after dinner. We had a ton of farm fresh corn, my chicken taco chili with tortilla bowls, my famous pulled pork, and some salads and otehr stuff too. My house was smelling amazing.
The cupcakes had dyed pink pudding inside, but surprisingly, I don't have a photo of that! Naomi loved her cakes and gifts.
I got a sand pail since they live in Florida really close to the beach... I wrote her name on it in Sharpie marker and filled it with various road trip friendly toys - being that they drove here from FL.... I figured some new toys would be a great help :)
Here is the group shot minus brother Ryan - he had to work.
Uncle Chris and Uncle Rob participated in the water fight :) It really went smoothly. I wish so badly that I had the space to entertain more... bc I WOULD! I love making thigns and throwing parties and cooking/baking... sigh... one day
The next day, we just hung out at Jim's parents. The cousins got better acquainted and played outside in the pool (the heat wave was still in full effect)
Maris and her "super jumps"! she is a kamikaze I swear. I love it.
We finally got to meet baby Ava! She is so precious :)
Ava!
Then there was the fourth of July... I got the kids these peace sign america flag shirts due to both their obsessions with america flags (thats what they say) and Maris' love of peace signs. They are so patriotic without even really understanding it haha
We went to a local golf course to watch fireworks with most of the family in tow. My sis in law Angela and the baby Ava both had summer colds (we later found out was Coxsackie virus) so they stayed in. I made rice crispie treats with red and blue M&ms (that quickly melted... HEAT WAVE!) and got the kids these really cute blinky wands for when it got dark.
Jackson the Goob LOVED LOVED LOVED the fireworks. He tends to be a quite unpredictable child when it comes to likes and dislikes and his moods, but he had the best time. He really needs a friend thats a boy since he does get shunned by "girls only" stuff by his sister... but thats a typical thing. He kept yelling what shapes the fireworks look like and what colors they are and dancing and laughing... he was great. So was Maris :) chanting her USA USA and dancing around with her wands :)
ThHEN! We went to the Bronx Zoo as a caravan of 12 people... it was incredibly hot out, but it really was fun. My kids love animals...
the 4D theater of Dora and Diego adventure was really cute. Even Ava made it through. and the water misting felt amaaazing.
baby Ava sleeping away her zoo trip :) She was awake for the mouse house - it was really dark in there so I didnt take many pics - but Jim was holding her and she was loving watching the little critters run around :)
no trip to the zoo is complete without a spin on the bug carousel. Jim had Goob and of course he picked the dung beetle with poo pile in the other side of the ride... he is such a weird kid sometimes... haha
Uncle Ryan was a trooper pulling the kids most of the day so he got a free ride for a minute :)
the children's zoo wasnt very crowded so it was nice to get to enjoy it all without the hordes of people (I hate hate CROWDS)
FUNNY STORY ABOUT THIS SHIRT... I really really wanted it, but didn;t buy it.. I rarely spend money on myself and I am used to just walking by things I want... but how awesome is this? haha Without me knowing it, my bro in law Rob sneaked back and bought it for me :) yay!
explanation: I am rather fascinated by taking photos of reflections... this ball was calling to me (I had to run across stay of the grass signs to get to it.. but thats mean to keep it out of my reach!) What can I say, Im a rebel... :p
oh, dippin dots, how I love you... I got mini m and ms for my littles to share with me. so good.
so normally I despise birds being anywhere near me, but I made an exception in this case. I have a near phobia.... I think it has something to do with seeing Hitchcock's The Birds at Universal in 3D when I was about 8 yrs old... haha but thats another story entirely. While going through the kids zoo section, a momma peacock and her babies ran right under us! they were so cute!
My husband a while back started this "You are going to live with the wild boys" thing with Jackson in a fit of frustration. Funny thing is it works. He tells him that bad kids get set free and live in the wild and they are the "wild boys"... I wasnt sure if I agreed with this method, but with our desperation of making him calm down at times, I let it slide. Now it actually is quite funny. You say, Jackson, you are going to live with the wild boys! and he goes nooo I don't want to live with the wild boys! and pretty much ceases what he is doing :) We all cracked up seeing this photo at the zoo. ITS a blonde Goob-y wild boy!!! hahaha
the zoo was quite a success and we stayed until closing. It was great. I was sooo glad I didn't have to work after since I was BEAT. We even grabbed fast food on the way home and had a very early night - everyone passed out.
Saturday was Naomi's Hello Kitty Birthday party. Being that it was out of state for her, the kids were limited, but a few came - Angela's friend from school up here and her kids. Check out the awesome cake my mother in law made. It was half chocolate and half vanilla.
Hello Kitty madness and the debut of the photo wall.
it was a hit!
whoa. Anyone who has never heard of lumpia is missing out! it is a filipino food similar to a spring roll *but better* and some other yummy food. (Jim's visiting bro and sis are half filipino) He coined the lumpia as being filipino crack. oh it is. and there is a garlic di[[ing sauce that I was putting on everything and will be making for my house!
Chris ended up punching the invincible pinata and the kids finally got some candy!
Rob and his girlfriend made mai tais and wow they were good.
water fights :)
goob and grandpa working on a puzzle... so sweet.
photo wall fun!
the girls were doing dance parties and putting on plays and shows in front of the wall and continued to color it days after the party. A project well used... and I cant wait to revamp it for Maris' HK party next month!
It has been quite a week. I wish Maris and Naomi could see each other more often. They took to each other so well, its adorable.
WOW WHat a busy few weeks you all have had!
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