Happy Times at Morning Vista

Some of our weekend plans were sidelined by a sneaky little medication reaction rash that appeared on Gavin Saturday morning. The poor kid can't catch a break when it comes to rashes and reactions and strange illnesses. You should have seen his legs a few weeks ago...they were covered in mosquito bites that were all red and puffy and inflamed. He said the teachers were talking about it at school. But he's a champ, and he didn't complain at all. Other than cancelling on our trip to Mortimer Farms with some friends, it didn't change things a whole lot. I really was excited to hit the pumpkin patch in some cooler weather, but we might try out one of the local places this coming week. And if not...well, there's always next year.

As far as the past week, it was as typical as they get. Dylan took the boys to the park to meet up with my parents while I worked on Monday. After that, he left on a short three-day trip and made it back just in time to say goodnight to the boys on Thursday night.

We hit up another park that same evening to dog pile with cousins and watch Cruz's soccer practice.

The boys and I put in a long walk on Wednesday evening. Gavin is really starting to test the boundaries with his machine. It's pretty hilarious. He's a cautious guy, so I don't worry too much about them in there. It's fun to see them explore. Both boys love going for rides in the RZR. Before we know it, Graham will be behind the wheel.

I had to pull that thing out of the sand more than a few times.

Graham has really blossomed in the last month or so. He repeats almost any word and says "good morning" to everybody, no matter the time of day. He loves our slide in the backyard and rides this horse and his teeter totter with a lot of gusto. He also takes that blanket with him everywhere, including outside. Today I found it completely submerged in the fountain. It probably goes through the wash four times a week. I've really had to up my laundry game.

Face-timing with Oregon family

Fridays are for relaxing

My little helpers in the kitchen. We were making brownies for the school picnic.

Another photo of Graham, just because he's adorable.

Gavin's rash started showing up on Saturday, but it didn't look too bad, so we headed out to the Scottsdale School picnic. Dylan had been roped into grilling all the hot dogs by the ladies in the front office, so he was off to the grill while the boys and I played with bubbles and ran around with friends. D finished up his duty in time to hang out with all of us on the playground. Graham climbed around like one of the big kids, and Gavin let his friends bury him in sand.

Back at home, I snuck out on my first bike ride of the season. It was fantastic. It's hard to remember how much I love it until I get back out there. We hit the backyard for some (naked) playtime before dinner and baths to round out the day.

Work uniform.

This morning, Graham wanted to eat cereal and milk like his big brother, and he did a great job until he purposely threw his bowl full of milk on the ground. He also overturned the dogs' water bowl and chucked all of Gavin's Lego creations onto the floor, breaking them into a million pieces, in the span of a half hour. Oh, and on Thursday, when we got home from work, he emptied his entire bowl of cottage cheese on the bench at the table and smeared it everywhere. While I was working on cleaning that up, he found a glass vase full of decorative lemons. He broke the vase, poured out the lemons, and began swatting them around the floor with a pair of salad tongs, like he was playing hockey. All while barefoot among broken class. That was a really long day. We call him The Beast for a reason, but he's the sweetest little beast you've ever seen.

Sunday was a day of pass-and-go. Dylan and I saw each other five times in passing, and not really other than that. He got his turn out on the bike trail early this morning with some friends and arrived home in time to go to church with us. Except that Gavin's rash had turned really red and puffy, so G2 and I were the only ones who made it to the service. Graham is conditioned to receive a half donut afterward, so he started yelling "donut!" as soon as I picked him up. It was sweet to spend some one-on-one time with him. We arrived back home, and after D put in some time watching football, he hit the driving range with his new clubs for a couple of hours. After that, I was itching to get outside...and the bike rack was still on the truck. So, off I went. It was 90 degrees, but it still felt great to me. When I pulled back into the garage with my bike, the boys were prepping to go on a Power Wheels ride with Shawn and Luke. They made it back a little while later, we fed the kids and put them to bed, and now here we are. Whew! Gavin was the only one who actually stayed home all day. His rash is looking a little better, and it doesn't seem too itchy anymore.

He had lots of admirers watching him devour a chocolate donut.

Gavin let Graham push him down the slide and thought it was hilarious.

"Cheese!"

Poor little rash guy.

Out of four weeks in a row, we get one week with Dylan at home, and it is the week that is upon us now. It's going to be a busy and fun one!