I’m thinking a name for this superhero could be “Afropuff Guy” Trey has since had his summer haircut, but how cute is this?!

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We wrapped up the school year with a great picnic. Both classes got together in the evening at Wilkes and did a potluck. It was a bittersweet event for us for sure, Levi graduated from the developmental preschool (had his IEP dropped) and will move on to mainstream Kindergarten next year. He’s ready, he really is…but it’s still tough. He’d done so well and the teachers are absolutely amazing and patient with all our guys (and so supportive to us). They are truly miracle workers. So I’m excited for Levi and proud that he’s moved on, but also nervous about his future.
Trey has made AMAZING strides this year, I can’t even believe it myself. His behavior at home is so improved with the structure he’s getting in class. We’re going to try to keep it up for the summer so we don’t slip back into the old patterns. The picture of him with his name written in chalk is so cool, the best he’s ever written it, with no help from mamas and before he started at Wilkes, he could hardly write a T. Fun to watch him progress so well. He’s still going to OT once a week and we’re doing a ton of sensory stuff at home to help him with the ADHD but it’s better. Lots better.
Wish us luck this summer!

What happened to Levi’s back? I put the question out on Facebook this afternoon, along with a $5 reward for anyone who guessed it. The picture was taken at the pool, but it didn’t happen there. Lots of scratches…and it turns out that Trey had given Levi a back scratch with a BROOM!
Yeah, boys will be boys.

Had our tball practice yesterday, and there was much more water balloon, squirt gun and plain good times had than any baseball being practiced. The boys were wiped out by the end of practice, but we rallied and went for a nice dinner at Nana and Papa’s house (yum, always a treat!). The picture of Carlos sums up how the evening ended…he was just done.

Saturday is the last “Mariners” game…tball, that is. Saturday at 10:20 at the Ordway field if you want to come cheer them on.
Funny how things come around full circle, her’s a pic of Trey with Steve Hohl (my former softball coach). His grand daughter, Sophie, plays on the Mariner’s team with the boys.

Last week the boys were busy with a couple birthday parties…they LOVE when Guy Sidora (Trey calls him his “Pirate Guy”) shows up. Always an adventure. Apparently Levi liked the chocolate covered strawberries, too!

By now I’m sure you’ve all seen the funny new Spendervention commercials on television. It’s the one where a group of friends get together to convince their buddy that they’re spending too much money at designer boutiques when they could be getting the same or comparable items at a much lesser cost if they only shopped at TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
I was lucky enough to be a part of their gift card giveaway and wanted to be sure to blog about these great stores!

According to TJ Maxx & Mashalls, here are 5 reasons why off-price is the way to shop:

1. Buying Power – Our merchandise strategy can be summed up in two words – opportunistic buying. While other retailers buy merchandise several times a year, our buyers travel to market over forty weeks a year, sourcing from 10,000 vendors in 60 countries. These wide and frequent market trips allow us to buy closer to need and be smarter about trends. Also, because we are making deals closer to need, we are in a good position to negotiate a better price with vendors, and pass those savings along to our customers.
2. Unbelievable Savings – Today more than ever our buyers can negotiate even better prices with vendors due to many factors: department stores planning their inventories much lower, overbuying and then canceling orders, or designers overproducing. All these things allow us to deliver the same merchandise sold in department stores, at the same time, at much lower prices to our customers.
3. Product Quality – At T.J. Maxx and Marshalls our values extend to the important partnerships we have with our vendors. The vast majority of our merchandise is sourced directly from top designers and manufacturers. Over 95% of merchandise at T.J Maxx and Marshalls is the same first quality items that you would find at a department or specialty store at the same time.
4. Fresh Merchandise – While department stores only receive new merchandise seasonally, our stores receive more than 10,000 new items each week. When you shop at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, you’re bound to find a new, differentiated selection of merchandise with every shopping experience.
5. No Sale, Ever – Our reputation has been built on offering our customers an ever-changing selection of brand name family apparel at great values every day. We know customers are bombarded with “sales” and savings messages all the time. We try to keep it simple for them by offering great values every day. There is no need to wait for a sale or clip coupons.

So if you’re looking for great items at an affordable price, check out TJ Maxx & Marshalls. Your wallet will thank you!

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Could it get any better? We had a perfect day with some garden work in the morning, tball in the sunshine and ending with a BBQ in our backyard. Lots of kids, plenty of tasty food and so much fun. It’s looking a lot like summer these days!

This is from the first morning…Carlos had painted his own fingernails the day before but it makes for a cute pic. I did my best to hide myself.

Thought this was just about the cutest picture of Levi, also from the first morning of camping but he doesn’t look like he just got up at all.

Carlos really got into roasting the mini marshmallows (we had bought them because Bill made marshmallow guns out of pvc pipe for all the boys). Turns out they are super tasty, no raw middle just perfectly roasted tasty ball of sugar.

This was about how it went…with 3 babies in camp, someone was always feeding someone. Lots of work, but all in all they did great.

Had many friends come by and share some time around the campfire with us. Always my favorite part!

I’ve been waiting for Melissa to send me some camping pics…ahem!…so I could share with you. I did take a few with my phone, but our camera didn’t make much of an appearance. I’ll post more once I get some!