Summer Fun!

My very favorite thing to do in the summer is to spend the day with my whole family ~ swimming at my parents ~ and then cooking out!  It doesn't get any better than that :)

Ya gotta love the Indiana Corn!

Connor will even eat it - now that's sayin' something!

Happy Father's Day to my 2 favorite men!

Father's Day turned out to be a very nice day.  We went to my mom and dad's for a little swimming and cookout.  The boys LOVE when Daddy swims with them...he can sure toss 

them high up in the air!  They had a ball!  After the delicious dinner that mom prepared (I helped a bit too) we played Apples to Apples with my parents and Colleen.  

That was lots of fun too!  Although we missed Rudy this year, it was 

very nice to be together and it ended up being a very enjoyable day!

MY BOYS!!!!!!!

Pop Pop O - We love you 2x!

Look at my Danny Boy! WHOA! 

Crash Landing for Connor!

We Love You and We Miss You

Dad ~ Pop Pop H. ~ Rudy

Tig's father passed away on Saturday, June 20.  He had been battling cancer and was in so much pain.  Although we will miss him, we know that he is in a better place and there is so much relief knowing that he is not suffering anymore.

Rudy was one of the nicest people I knew. From the first day that I met him, he was always so kind, generous and welcoming.  He was also one of the simplest men I knew ~ a good book was enough to make him happy ~ or a visit with his son and grandsons.  Our boys enjoyed his weekend visits and we will miss them.  I will miss his stories about David as a little boy ~ he loved to talk about David growing up (and how mischeivious he was!).  It was very hard to watch him suffer and it was equally as hard to watch Tig.  He spent so many hours

at the nursing home with his dad these past couple of months - he truly was a dedicated son and he will miss his Dad very, very much.

God Bless You, Rudy!

Connor and Daddy's new hobby!

Tig and Connor have spent hours setting up his good guys vs. bad guys in his room.  Tig is in the habit of buying figures for Connor quite often (good thing they are sorta cheap!!!).  I am beginning to think that he is picking them up for himself b/c he seems to enjoy this little game sometimes even more than Con.  It is cute to listen to them talk from down the hall and listen to Tig explain to Connor why this guy goes here or why this guy goes there.  Connor eats it up and always has questions for Daddy.  Sometimes this goes on way past when Mommy thinks Connor should be fast asleep.  But QT with Daddy is priceless!!!

These are the bad guys aiming up at the good guys!

Here is a shot behind the good guys.

Good Guys!

Here is a picture of Connor's room with his birthday decorations hanging above his bed.  The omitrexes (sp) and big picture of Goop protect my little guy while he sleeps!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Happy 3rd Birthday, Danny!

We started off the morning with cinnamon rolls - yum!

This picture was taken on the way to lunch - I was having a chat with Danny about how now that he is 3...we REALLY need to work on giving up the pacifier  - he wasn't having it!

Pizza Hut lunch with the cousins - FUN AND YUM!  Danny got to choose where we went to lunch - he chose Pizza Hut.  Mom Mom O and Aunt Janet were there too!

This is Danny's new "puter" from Aunt Mary Anne - he loves it!

(notice - pacifier STILL in mouth) We'll work on it June 9 - HA!

Danny's 3rd Birthday Bash!

     We celebrated Danny's birthday for the second year in a row at Mom Mom and Pop Pop O's! Danny is such a lucky little guy with the summer birthday, b/c parties at the pool are the most fun!  Danny had such a wonderful time - we had been talking about it for weeks and weeks.  At one point during the party, I happened to be holding him and he looked at me and said, "MOMMY! I'M SO HAPPY!" and then gave me a hug! It was the absolute most precious thing ever...knowing that he was happy at his party was ALL I needed to know!  He also asked me that night as I was tucking him in, "Mom...I will do my party again! OK?"  Just another reassurance that he did indeed have a BALL! Mission accomplished! Thanks to Mom Mom and Pop Pop O for all of your help!

After seeing Connor get the TOP cupcake at his 5th birthday party...one of the things that Danny reminded me over and over the weeks prior to his own party was, "I GET THE TOP, MOM!! I GET THE TOP!" and of course...he got the top :)

When I would ask Danny what he wanted for his birthday - he would tell me that he wanted a Green Goblin Bike.  Well - Green Goblin Bikes don't exist - BUT my good friend and one of Danny's favorite people, Tonya, made him a Green Goblin Bike - annoying horn and all - and it made Danny SO, SO happy! It was his favorite present! It is super cute and watching Danny ride it, is the best!

This bat from Aunt Janet was also a HUGE hit!

ALL the kids had a ball with it  - This is my cousin, Jon, pitching to the birthday boy :)

I LOVE YOU, DANNY BOY!

PARTY PREP for Danny Boy!

We always make cupcakes together for birthday parties.

Connor and Danny love to help and I love to make a big deal out of it!! 

My mom ALWAYS made birthdays over the top special when I was growing up and I try to do the same for my boys!

Do you think he is excited for the big day??

Cracking the eggs is the MOST desirable job! Danny got to crack two since it was his birthday and Connor got to crack one - they are pretty good at it :) Thanks, guys!

Danny was SO careful to do it just right!

YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!

The following morning was SPRINKLE duty! They both did a fabulous job and I only had about 4 million sprinkles on the counter - not bad!