Bowling Birthday Party

Tonight was a birthday party our whole family got to attend.  Our beloved friend, Joshua Kimball, turned 14 just a few days ago and wanted to have a party.  His Mom graciously invited our whole family as we have known them for 15 years!!!  And what a great time we all had.  Got to see a person we have not seen in 7 years!   All the children that were there we very well-behaved and all seemed to have a great time.  But two hours goes fast when you have 6 lanes of bowlers!!!!

Abigail waiting her turn!

David Kimball and Stephen

Joshua Kimball

Love my kiddos!

When we go out of the home for anything, I am always reminded how much I love my children.  I run a tight ship and I must say I am really thrilled at the results.  I have stressed certain behavior so much that even my kids can't tolerate it when others are not acting the way in which they think.

It is a great sunny day and my children have been outside soaking up the sun rays.  While I am not a fan of Mondays any longer.  One could even say, I hate them! (STRONG Word, I know.) It is a great way for the kids to get outdoors easy and run free.

On a side note - the young ones have had such little exercise that Saturday wore them out.  I mean they were even hurting due to all the running around at The Kimballs they did!!    I think I may have to sign them up for some gym class.  Or better yet I must start taking them over to parks for some hiking.  That sounds better as we will be able to see all the new flora and fauna with spring looming at our doorstep.  

Fun with Friends

We had the opportunity to gather with our friends, The Kimballs.   We have known this family for several years, for over 15 years.   This is the family we go to Disney with.  We love them and we have such a wonderful time when we get together.   Yesterday was no exception to this!   We spent over 9 hours together and still wanted more that we were looking at the calendars to see when we could hang out again.   What a blessing!!!

It was great to see and hear the kids having such a great time.  The fun thing is we seldom see the children. They go about doing their things while we sit and do ours.   I often wonder if my kids even went to the bathroom the entire time, since I really don't see them.  We occasionally get glimpses when they are looking for food.

Great time, great food, great people!!!!

Friends, friends, and more friends!

Our day began with us having to pick up Stephen from the Kimballs as he had a sleepover from Monday to Tuesday.  Since I knew our day was full I told him that it might be better to do the sleepover another day this week as there were not the same time constraints, but the boys would have none of that.  The sooner the better was the overall feeling.   (I could not get him there until around 3 pm on Monday as I had errands to take care of!

So with me getting delayed here for the pickup time we were very crunched in our schedule.  We had to rush back here as Barb and two of her kids were coming by so that we could have some bonding time together.  I offered up here as I knew it would be very hot and this place has a community pool we can attend.   They were able to get about 2 hours of swimming before it was time for them to make the trek home.  At those hours it is never fun traveling on the roads by the apartment.   

We had just a half hour before we were heading out the door again for a dinner with our friends the Simpsons!  Unfortunately they don't have anyone Stephen's age so I could see him getting ansy.  He did try to play with the young ones but that did not last too long as they were all paired off or all 4 were playing together.  The food and fellowship was great!  We could be their future neighbors has a house about 5 doors down is going on the market in a week or so!  It is a nice place to live as there is a huge park directly across the street that the kids could just go over and play at!  How fabulous would that be?!  We have to wait a little longer to see if it has all the right amenities we are looking for.   

Before we knew it it was 9:25 pm and time to get going as we were sitting outside getting a bit eaten up by the buggies!   Plus we did have some very cranky ornery children as this stage.  (Mine not theirs!)   Sleepovers are fun but they really can mess with the next days plans! 

The Kimballs

It has been quite some time since we have seen our good friends. We love this family so very much that our children call them aunt and uncle. Our Stephen especially enjoys his time with them as they have 4 boys all around his age. I think it has been over 5 months since we last visited with them. (Where does the time go?) We have gone on many a Disney vacation with this family and have had some really wonderful moments together.

We arrived shortly after lunch time and did not leave until 11:15 pm. And I know had it not been that late we would've stayed even longer. They have a wonderful home and I don't even think I spoke more than 10 words to all my children the entire time we were there. It is such a blessing to have such a family to fellowship with.

Here are some photos:

David and Abigail

Ping Pong

Matthew

Joshua Kimball

dessert

Stephen Kimball and Joshua Shea

Look at the smile on his face!

Our Abigail is the only girl but they are all so good and accommodating that she really doesn't miss it. She has problems with her brother (Stephen) as he really doesn't want her around the stuff he does with the boys (I really should be calling them guys, um, young men). All in all a great and wonderful time.