Quick Trip

I made a quick three day trip to Oklahoma City to stay with my brother so that Cliff could finish packing up our house.  We are moving Thursday and it has been so difficult to get anything done with our three little ones.  It was a hard trip for me to do alone, especially the driving, but probably harder for Cliff to be here by himself packing.  We tried to make the most of it.  We always love some good cousin time.  

Uncle D reading a book to all 6 kiddos.

Aidan got his first viewing!!!!

Lots of swimming!

My $14 dollar present to myself that I made while I was there for my soon to be new kitchen.  Can't wait to start using it!

The Mata Boys

Whenever I am needing my kids to get out some energy I call the MATA BOYS!  If I ever thought that Aidan or Noah were all boy, they are nothing compared to these cuties!  The other day my kids were climbing the walls so I called my friend Debby and invited ourselves over.  She told me to bring our swimsuits.  The three boys spent the majority of their morning making mud puddles.  The Mata boys played in them but Aidan preferred to just add the water when they needed it because he didn't want to get dirty.  I wonder where he gets that from :-)  I will be saving these pics for their graduation slideshow !

Still a Climber

I have never seen a kid climb so much in my life.  During the day I sometimes have to move all the chairs to a bedroom so that he won't get on top of them.  I feel like every second I take my eyes of of him I return to find him on top of the kitchen table.  Unfortunately my first reaction is to laugh which makes him think he is being cute and wants to do it again and again when I put him down, hence, removing of the chairs.  Something for me to work on.  He also just loves when he gets to sit in a big kid chair.  He wants to be just as big as his siblings and absolutely hates it when he is left out.  Luckily the other two adore him and want him around!!

Beautiful!

Too cute for Trouble!

Say Cheese!

These days...

With Aidan not in preschool anymore it seems like we have had a lot more free time on our hands.  In a couple of years it will be fun to venture out into Austin because I hear all the time about the amazing stuff we can go do.  However, right now, I find that very difficult with Noah and Ryla's ages.  I attempted to take them to the pool myself but this was a HUGE disaster.  I learned quickly that the pool was when Cliff could come with me.  There are some amazing parks, rivers, and museums in Austin as well, but again, without Cliff I am pretty sure one of my kids's faces would end up on the side of a milk carton.  So until those fun years come we have been

Watching a little more TV.....They usually only get an hour a day so this has been so fun for them!  I now give them an hour and half...LOL

I took them to the store and told them they could get any toy they wanted to celebrate the beginning of Summer.  I wish I could have gotten the expression on their faces when I told them that!

Doing more quiet play.  Only tricky part is that even though they are all close in age, their cognitive development is very different.

And of course many, many, MANY more playdates and sleepovers!