A Weekend With Friends

You cannot beat the beautiful weather that we have been having, sunny and warm, perfect to get out and play.  Saturday Bobby was invited to Joey's 7th birthday party.  We opted to skip the first hour of the party which was basketball and a couple of other activities because I didn't think that Bobby would be too interested which can cause his behavior to be problematic.  We did go to the second hour of the party, which was swimming in the Lakeview Fitness Center pool.  Bobby had a great time.

It takes Bobby close to 10 minutes to get into a pool that he has never been or one that he hasn't been in a long time.  He hadn't been here for a couple of years.  I just give him his time and he gets on in and has fun.

 The birthday boy.  I still can't believe that he is 7 years old.  It just seems like yesterday that Shelly carried him into my house in his baby carseat carrier.

 Sonny loves this hot tub.

 Joey and his friend having a sword fight.  Better watch out, those noodles are deadly!!

 All right Joey, we know that she is very pretty, but can we have a smile!!

 Bobby got two pool noodles of his own to sit on and float around the pool.

When we got home after the birthday party, Daddy was outside washing the car.  Bobby thought that he could be of some help.

 Yes, he got that sponge washed out extremely well....such a big help!!

 Zoi found some shade to relax in, too hot when you are wearing a fur coat.

 Do you see what I see??  Yes, the leaves are changing, autumn is here!

I usually love autumn and can't wait to get my decorations out.  This year, however, our late vacation has made me want summer to stay.  Obviously I love the beach much more than autumn!!  There are NO stinkbugs at the beach!!!!  Bobby and I have no fall allergies at the beach!!!  I finally succumbed and went into the storage area and found my friends, Mr. Scarecrow, Mr. Pumpkin, Mr. Turkey and Mr. Autumn Decorated Pencil Tree.  They were happy to see me and wondered where I had been. After we caught up, I brought them upstairs and put them on display.

 Above the hutch in the dining room and an open shelf that is also in the dining room.

 The rest of my friends went to the back porch.

We had another picture perfect weather day on Sunday so we met some of our friends at the Stepping Stones Miracle Field.  We brought some balls to kick into the soccer net and we also brought Bobby's EZYroller for the kids to ride.

 Bobby got right onto the riding toy and off he went.

 Daddy kicked some balls to Bobby and he actually kicked them back.

 Sonny and Joey both wanted on the riding toy too so they took turns.

 Sonny's taking a break in the dugout.

 Sonny hanging out on the ground!!

 Does Natalie catch the ball that is in the air???

 Of course she does!!!  By the look of that smile on her face, she is pretty proud!

 Looks like Natalie is having a great time!

 Joey finally got his turn on the EZYroller.

Now it is time to unwind and get ready for Monday morning, or if you're Bob, it's time to patiently wait for the Breaking Bad series finally!  Will Walt die??  In a few more hours the world will know.

Let The Play Dates Begin

A few weeks ago my friend Shelly went back to work.  I know, what was she thinking!!!  For the past couple of years every school day after our boys were safely in the hands of the Mon Co school system we met at the Morgantown Mall to walk.  A little exercise mixed in with a whole lot of talking.  We had morning "therapy" sessions in which we delved deep into parenting a child with autism.  We discussed the real nitty gritty of autism behaviors, not the fun stuff that we share with the rest of the world, but the down and dirty truth.   Now that she has been working guess what I have been doing when I drop Bobby off at school....painting.  Blah!  Who wants to paint walls.

Shelly called me yesterday, we had some major issues to discuss....the changing regulations for behavior plans with the Title XIX waiver program.  I know, can you believe it.  Only a few even know what the heck we are talking about let alone want to discuss these types of things.  After we got the business out of the way, we started talking about the fun things.  I ended up saying just come over here and the boys can jump together in the trampoline.  So a play date it is!!!

Zoi and Bobby waiting for the guests to arrive.

Bob has a big surprise for Bobby today, so he hitched the trailer to the car to get ready.  To Bobby that crazy trailer brings hours of fun.

It's like he doesn't realize that he has a real (and much longer) sliding board just feet away!!!

Yay!!  There here!!  Joey gets right in the trailer with Bobby.

Sonny's taking a little break before he decided to play.  

Grandma Carolyn got Bobby a riding toy for Christmas and it was a big hit with all of the boys...

Joey probably needs the EZRoller Jr. instead of the larger EZRoller, but he figured it out, he just slouched down in the seat a little more so that his feet would reach.  All they have to do it move their feet from side to side and the things starts rolling.

Sonny immediately wanted to take his turn and rode like a pro.

Bobby came over and took his turn too.  They all seem to love it.  The only problem is that they all wanted to ride it out of the garage and down the hill.  We don't think so boys!!!!

Oh Joey, you take some super cute photos young man.  Snack time!!!!

Zoi even gets some snacks...

Super Daddy to the rescue!!  He got out his remote control truck to have some boy fun and the boys indeed LOVED it!

Bobby is literally jumping for joy.  Can you imagine jumping like this on pavement??

Daddy drove the truck up and down the trailer.

And then the chasing of the truck began...

Daddy flipped the truck so Bobby had to pick it up and turn it over...

Finally it is time to jump in the trampoline!!!  Poor Shelly...not sure why she got in there in the first place.

Come on Shelly, get up...

Look, I can sit down in the air...

Is it time for prayer circle??  No, Shelly is trying to get the boys to jump sitting down.  I think they wore her out.  Pretty sure this trick isn't going to work on Bobby!!

Shelly finally got out and the boys were on their own.

Bobby and Sonny played together more in the trampoline than they have played together total in the 5 1/2 years that they have known each other!!!  Boy their mamma's were proud (and happy)!!!

Break time...

Joey played on the monkey bars while the boys jumped...

But then came back to jumping...

They were all finally worn out and the other Smith family went home.  We went inside to get ready because Grandma Carolyn came over so that Bob and I could go out for date night.  That's right...Mr. & Mrs. Smith went out and got all wild at Applebee's!!  We stayed out until 9 pm!!  I know, you're jealous that you aren't as fun and hip as Bob and Cheri!!!

Guess what we did after our Applebee's extravaganza.  Did we:

1)  Go out clubbing??  Bob and Cheri getting their dance freak on at 80's night??  Since we were home by 9 and the clubs don't start "jumping" until a little later than that I'm gonna say NO.

2)  Go out parking on a deserted road?  Hummm.  At our age you would probably hear a lot more Ooouuucchh than Oh's and Ah's coming from the backseat, I'm gonna say NO.

3)  Go to Barnes and Noble and share a big Reese's peanut butter cookie at a corner table and then look through all of the shelves of beautiful books??  Ding, ding, CORRECT!!!

Yes, we still know how to party!!  Honestly, we needed to get a good night's sleep because Bob had big fun plans for Bobby today.  They left this morning to have a father/son day riding the Rhino in Preston Co.  Bobby couldn't wait to get in the car and go...

He wore his new big boy hat!!!

Bye boys.  Have fun.  I love you!!!