neighborhood party

I'm still helping with the parties for the Moms club even as my kids become the big kids... but they still had fun breaking in the dance floor, munching donuts off a string, and plenty of games and treats!  I took kitschy fun photos for everyone in front of our fun background.

bootique

Mosaic District really has grown over the last few years, and it was such a nice night we couldn't resist heading over to the Bootique to kick off some trick or treating.

little shop of horrors

Our friend's epic Halloween party was again awesome! The Little Shop of Horrors theme was fun even for our boys who hadn't seen the movie. The boys picked alternate costumes that night with the "invisible man" black suit and Harry Potter's green fuzzy pet.  Check out all the blond wigs in action!

cox

Had fun at Cox Farms with the Brennan cousins...

cox 2

Can't beat a whole slide full of Brennan's racing down the slide - Keaton slid the fastest!

natural history 2

The boys learning about different viruses at the Outbreak exhibit (not Aiden's favorite).
Liz's sour face below was when we watched a tarantula feeding - or attempted feeding since the darling didn't want to eat ;)

natural history

Cruised in to check out the Natural History Museum with the cousin buddies...

lego

Happy Early Birthday shopping spree at the Lego Store - thanks Ks!

mosaic

A little blue hair, cheesetique, and dancing cousin buddies at the Mosaic Fall Festival...

supers!

Superheroes!

cousin buddies

Cousin buddies from LB on Vimeo.
Flashbacks to a year ago and Xmas last year:
One year old Aussie Cheese Fries from LB on Vimeo.
Xmas morning 2017 from LB on Vimeo.

buddy bday

Best buddies celebrating C's bday with a really fun lego party with great games!

camp reunion

The boys were pumped to head back to Camp for the night for some Fall fun and even a Halloween costume party! We wanted Keaton to give camp a one night tryout to see if he was ready for the summer. He says it's "too dark to sleep well there" so he wants to wait before going for the full camp experience, but he's glad he tried it out and had fun!

promotion

We had a nice trip into Goergetown for J's full professor promotion ceremony. All the boys looked so sharp and proud!

drama camp

Drama works Camp July 2018 from LB on Vimeo.

hip hop camp

H i p H o p from LB on Vimeo.

auditions

Aiden audition from LB on Vimeo.
Keaton audition from LB on Vimeo.

disneyland

Flashback to our trip to Disneyland:

Disneyland from LB on Vimeo.

road trip to AZ

So much video from our trip that started out of New Years Day - this was after we'd driving through a very large snow storm with a few days in Savannah (at J's nearly cancelled conference) and a bit of time visiting friends in Montgomery, AL:

New Orleans January 2018 from LB on Vimeo.

Driving across Texas January 2018 from LB on Vimeo.

Maybe one of our all time favorite memories - condensed version:

Gypsum sledding! from LB on Vimeo.

Longer version that really gives you a feel for this surreal place:

White Sands! from LB on Vimeo.

road trip home video

Still digging around and organizing so many tidbits from the past summer and our road trip home...
Here are some Quik videos created automatically by the program that do a pretty good job of sharing the memory:
Yellowstone from LB on Vimeo.
Fun in Idaho/Wyoming! from LB on Vimeo.

pacific

Visiting the Pacific Ocean at sunset back in the spring...

Pacific Ocean from LB on Vimeo.

settling in tidbits

The school year is settling in and feeling familiar. The boys both auditioned for drama club and got roles in this year’s musical, Mary Poppins. Aiden will be singing his heart out about precision and order as banker and dad George Banks. Lucky duck Keaton gets to start a year early as an add on kid (because I’m volunteering as costume coordinator, etc) and he’s a bumble bee and a townsperson that gets to sing Spoonful of Sugar. Top left is the cast in their first read through.

Aiden and his bed head are very excited to be a new bus patrol this year ;) The belt is on before the hair is brushed.

He’s also joined the band playing percussion - and that bell kit is louder and bigger than expected ;)

Keaton found his heart in the halls covered in hearts -  Our School has heART!

good list

Closing in on more temperate days for some tennis!

 The boys closed down the pool snack bar with some last slightly melted ring pops of the season ;)

Aiden's early bday present (thanks N and G!) is this awesome lego chess/checkers set. It is getting plenty of action.

The boy's new buddies have a menagerie of animals at their house - I lost track after they introduced us to these adorable fancy mice that charmed the boys.  They were so soft and adorable.

The Santorini game is a big favorite - and I like daydreaming about visiting those blue roofed stacked buildings in person ;)

tidbits

September rolled in with a huge wave and a new routine!  The night before school started the squeaky clean jammie clad brothers giggled it up making the tiny stickman art on their back to school posters. We have made it over to get some Pizzeria Orso plenty of times the past few months... so many variations on these artsy bears over the years. Made it over to Sugar Mama's for some ice cream (which sadly can't even come close to Tucson's Screamery) and J added to the chalk wall with his awesome Gumball (a favorite around here after discovering him on the hotel tvs on our road trip).

roomie

My college roommate made her annual trek to the east coast and it was extra fun to see them this year after the kids had a chance to bond in Wyoming early this year. The boys, especially Keaton, was so pumped to see them and play at Mosaic. Then the adults had fun out at dinner later that night ;)

pool

We spent a ton of time at the pool this summer despite all the thunder rumbles and rain storms that would close it down... It was our go to place nearly every day. Plenty of raft night and the end of the year deck dance party memories!  Until next year!

back to school

What an adventure it has been with these fun-loving brothers the last nine months since they left school! I can't even explain how grateful I am for the extra time with them at age 10 and 7 - I hope the memories last forever. I really felt like our summer was the perfect blend of down time too. As they excitedly hopped off to school, I just hoped they wouldn't miss each other or me too much ;)

bday treats

This last birthday of my thirties the boys absolutely spoiled me rotten! Not only did they agree to another road trip, but it included my unofficial yarn crawl to a grand total of nine yarn shops (two included the cutest shop dogs)!  The boys were so sweet and cooperative. J nailed it on the most delicious homemade boston creme pie before we left - I mean so, so good... Then we found plenty of treats along the way ;)

monticello

We cruised up to Charlottesville (three more yarn shops!) Continuing the history tours, the boys really enjoyed all the Monticello hands out activities. They have a kid friendly tour inside the house that was very well done. These Hamilton lovers liked to hear the bit that related and how Jefferson and Hamilton tolerated each other ;)

greensboro

Headed east out of Asheville through the Black Mountains (another yarn shop!), we hit Greensboro (two more yarn shops!) for lunch. They know how to make some good tacos - and they didn't come out of J's ear ;)

asheville

Downtown Asheville is charming! Another yarn shop stop at a shop full of sock monkeys and other knit fun guys! The old Woolworths has been transformed into a two story art gallery and still has the original sad fountain.

great smoky mts

Just a little bit west of Asheville, the Great Smoky Mountains sprawl from NC into TN. There were so many butterflies on our hike up past the Applachian Trail. The farm and mill were great places to learn a bit about what life was like in the Great Smokies. These junior rangers earned another badge at their 27th park.

biltmore gardens

It was such a fun day spent exploring all the expansive grounds all around the Biltmore. It is an amazing place full of farms and gardens.  We found a statue of the boy's favorite Cedric at the tavern named after him where we enjoyed live music and dinner.

biltmore estate

The Vanderbilt's 250 room mountain retreat was dazzling covered in a special Chiluly glass display. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the kids audio tour hosted by Cedric, the mountain dog.

johnson city

The drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains included these views - serious blue ridges!

We found a highly recommended Tupelo Honey restaurant in Johnson City... Yum, the biscuits!

roanoke pinball

We'd hear about this fun pinball museum - and it delivered on the cool factor. Each row had machines from a different decade. I liked the oldest ones that best... I guess Guitar Hero snuck into this vintage-y place already?!