So we’ve been dealing with swallowing issues with Carlos for about a year now…not quite sure when it started but it was around the time he swallowed the dime. Let’s just be clear for a second here, there was NO trauma when he did it…he was proud if nothing else. But we got some cool xrays of Carlos just to be sure he didn’t still have the dime hanging out inside him. All clear. A year later he’s still having issues with swallowing mushy or chunky types of foods (mashed potatoes, pudding, scrambled eggs, applesauce, you get the idea). Anything that he can’t control the chewing of or just swallow, he refuses to eat and says it will make him throw up. When we had a strep scare we noticed that one of his tonsils is almost touching his uvula, you know, the little dangly thing in the middle of your throat. I’ve always wanted to blog that word. LOL So we’ve got an appt with an ear, nose and throat specialist at Children’s Hospital in July. Keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts for Carlos’ uvula!

Started the day with me taking the boys (and Abbie) to play on the beach while we waited for Dee to come back from a quick trip to Poulsbo. We had fun just throwing the ball into the water for Abbie and digging in the dirt. Levi couldn’t wait to pee so he did the boy thing and went in the water. He’ll love this picture when he’s older. Chalk one point up for Mama K.

We met Margaret and Peggy for coffee at T&C then let the kids play in the park for awhile. It’s always fun to hang out with Margaret and Peggy, we’ve missed our Sunday morning coffee dates.

Back home, the boys ate a picnic lunch outside then took a short nap before we headed back outside. While they were sleeping, I filled up the water table so it would warm up a little by the time they were ready to play. Some “big kids” from up the road came to play with them and it turned into a huge water fight. Our boys couldn’t have been happier!

We did our celebrating last night, but we wanted to stop in and give hugs and cards. Papa even filled his pocket with a treat for the boys!

Busy but productive day today starting with a visit to the Farmer’s market where we got some Loganberries to add to our garden. Came back home and did some work in the yard before I took the big boys to Colby’s birthday party and Dee took Trey to Gramma Patti and Gramma Jeanie’s for a visit and a trip to the dump.

We picked up Nana and Papa for an evening at the Kitsap Bluejackets game to celebrate Father’s Day. The boys did just ok, it was chilly and they had a hard time focusing on the game at all. We stopped at Dairy Queen for a sweet treat and headed home. The boys are still awake, giggling and goofing around and it’s 11:30….tomorrow should be fun. NOT!

Tonight we had a close-to-the-best family dinner ever with Mary and Alice. I was thinking it was the all time best, but Mary reminded me of the “post bee stings and a dose of Benadryl all around dinner” that happened about a year ago. Yup, that was better. True, they were all zombie-like but they just ate, with no reminders, and then wanted to go to bed. Tonight everyone ate without complaints or reminders about elbows on the table or us begging them to eat their food. They ate, they chatted (without their mouths full) and it was truly enjoyable. The going to bed part…that’s another story.

The day started out with our last MNMs meeting of the year. So sad! Also, it was Bev’s last day so it made it so much harder, lots of tears by lots of mamas. Bev’s such an inspiration to us all and seems to really be able to connect and understand the motherhood journey and even if it’s just for those couple hours you get centered and grounded and all seems not so overwhelming. IAnyhow, it was nice to hear moms, past and present, tell their stories and how MNMs has been important to them. I wanted to get up and talk, but that’s just not my style…

Came home and did lunch and naps then played outside for the afternoon. We actually had SUNSHINE and the boys got to wear shorts again. Carlos is a huge baseball fan and will spend the day hitting the ball if someone would keep pitching to him. He’s good at it, too! Levi’s got an amazing throwing arm so if we can just work on his acuracy then we’d be set.

Trey ran around with Jefferson and Alice with a few pitstops in the sandbox to rearrange his Rescue Heroes.

Then it was off to the Babe Ruth championship game, which both our neighbor boys below us were in. The guys thought it was cool to see them in their uniforms but I think they liked rolling down the hill over, and over, and over again the best.

Carlos has a doctor’s appt (he’s still got the weird swallowing issues going on that we are trying to figure out) then Aikido tomorrow and a much anticipated trip to Home Depot, too. We are hoping to get a few more starts for the garden and the boys have been asking to go to Home Depot (don’t ask me why but they love it there!) for awhile now.

The boys have their stars and stripes shorts and their flag tees all ready to go, it’s that time of year again! Here’s the evite for our 4th of July party…it’s always a good time and you are invited! We’re going to the parade in Winslow and then it’s home to throw some food on the barbie and hang out with our friends. The kids have a ball playing in the yard and we goof around until it’s time for the fireworks. We can see the Seattle show from the yard and our neighbors have a huge party and set off some great fireworks, too.

Bring your family and friends, but be sure to RSVP if you wanna come. We’d love to see you!

The Kid’s Museum here changed it’s exhibit and now is all about sound and the Blue Man Group. It was cool, they played some neat instruments and listened to some interesting sounds. The exhibit on the whole was a little old for our crew, but there was plenty for them to do and enjoy. They spent the majority of their time downstairs in the new pirate display. How fun to dress up, steer the boat and live the pirate life.