Father's Day...

This weekend was Father's Day... I've come to love this holiday over the past few years because it reminds me how special I am to have such a loving father to my boys.  I can see his love of the little things in life and his relentless energy in all three of them.  

Before the weekend started, I enjoyed some fun in the sun with the boys while at home with them on Friday.  We were playing outside and it was so hot, I decided to get the hose to cool off.

Cooper always loves this activity.

Here's Coleman helping him fill up the bucket...

...then Cooper getting in...

...then dunking his head...

...now he's all cooled off...time to get out!  

Calvin on the other hand, could care less about the water.  He'd rather take every toy (and non-toy) out of the garage.  

On Saturday, Jay was excited to take Coleman to his first Cardinals game.  They have been singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" almost every night before bed and every day Coleman asks, "Are we going to play baseball today, Daddy?" 

 Then finally the big day came and Coleman put on his Jersey...

...and they both put on their shades.

Coleman had his fill of junk food.  This is him with a hot dog...that was followed by popcorn, cotton candy and soda. 

It was a like 95+ degrees.  The obnoxious (also loud and a bit intoxicated) guy sitting behind them had his shirt off and Coleman kept asking Dad if he could take his off too.

Dad said No, but instead gave him a beer to cool off...great parenting Jay! 

 They hit the batting cages to break up the time...it was a long slow game and unfortunately they only made it to the 5th inning when Coleman looked at Jay and said, "Dad, I'm tired...I just want to go home."   Gotta love it when they know (and tell you) exactly what they want.    

Overall, it was a great day and I think Jay is looking forward to expanding the tradition to Cal and Cooper in the years to come! 

While the boys were at the game, Cooper, Cal and I went to go spend time with my Dad.  

We started off with a picnic...

  ...and discovered a new park for "little tots"nearby, perfect for my munchkins who love to climb right now.  We played until we couldn't stand the heat anymore... 

...then decided to head for cooler temperatures...

...and found a yummy frozen yogurt place, YoGoodness.  I think my Dad love Ice Cream more that the boys!

They now refuse to let me feed them...

...and needless to say they were a sticky mess...but at least they had fun!   

I cherish these moment with my Dad and boys.  Seeing them interact warms my heart and I appreciate him always wanting to spend time with us.  I know he cherishes it as much as we do! 

On Sunday morning, we the woke at 7 am (as usual) and surprised Jay...

...with a Father's Day gift in bed...the boys helped him to open...

...then we made him breakfast.

The rest of the day we spent at the pool swimming.

Coleman's cousin, Merrick joined us.  

They are about 2 months apart, so they have a lot of fun together...

...and Aunt Britton, Uncle Rod and Grandma Murch also joined us.

 Although I love their company, I have to be honest, it's really nice having an extra hand too...especially in the pool!  I actually relaxed a bit and had a drink.  It felt like Mother's day! 

Calvin, of course, wasn't into the pool all that much, but did enjoy the water fountains...

...and after a little snack and lunch...

...it was back to play.  The boys were getting a bit tired, so Coleman thought it would be funny to pull them around in the wagon...

...until he headed straight into the pool and the wagon started to tip over.   (FYI, wagon's don't float well.)

So as we returned home and wrapped up the weekend with the usual (meal planning for the upcoming week and 10 loads of laundry) and I'm running around frantic to get it all done, I think of how lucky I am to have a husband that shares the responsibilities that come with a family of five (and has a lot of fun doing it!).  He surely learned from a good man from whom he shares his name, John Floyd Murchison II, and although he's no longer with us, I see him in Jays' actions every day.  

Happy Father's Day to all of you Dad's who've made a difference in your kids' lives.  We love you! 

Merry Christmas in June...

This past Christmas, a few of us girls had the idea to surprise our husbands with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw tickets to their show at Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City...and this weekend was the show!  

We were super excited to pack up the car and head down for some much needed fun...    

and much needed R&R.

But before I tell you about our how awesome of a time we had in KC, I need to rewind a bit (since I forgot to tell you about last weekend)...

Last weekend, my cousin Laura, her husband Jason and the kids came in for a visit from Columbia.   It was a beautiful sunny day, so we planned to just BBQ and hang out.  

Coleman always loves playing with his older cuz, Evan.  

Did I mention, that I really need to get used to having boys?  I could take some lessons from Laura, she's all about playing and getting dirty...

She had the "great idea" of digging for worms.  The boys thought it was the coolest thing when they found one...

Coleman was so proud to show it to me.  Coleman: "Do you want to hold it Mommy?" Me:  "Ugh...sure honey"...ick! 

Here's Evan sharing his with Cooper...

And Cal trying to figure out what to do with his...

Guess I'll have to do this again with them...thanks Laura! 

Later that day we grilled out...

And drank some of Jason's yummy Margaritas...key ingredient?  Beer and limeade.  Delish! 

Later in the week was the Annual Trike-a-thon at the boys school... 

to benefit the Josie Foundation, supporting pediatric brain cancer research.

The boys are a bit too little for trikes, so they pushed their mowers instead...which is something they love to do right now.

 This is Cal and his friend Ava...who happens to be the daughter of my wonderful friend from HS, Toni (who is expecting baby #2!).

Then around the corner came Coleman and he was so excited to see that I came to cheer him on.  He kept  yelling at his friends and pointing to me saying..."guys, look there's my mommy!" Melts my heart...

Afterwards we got snow cones and push pops...

And Coleman shared with his brothers...such a good big brother!

But it's never enough...they only wanted more after they had the first bite.

Before we left for KC, we had to run errands...

The boys drove the grocery cart...

Then we played outside...

And went inside and played pool.  They don't know how to use the sticks just yet, but love rolling the balls into the pockets.  I just keep praying one isn't going to fly across the room and hit the wall (or worse one of the boys).  I'm sure it's bound to happen!

Grandma Iris, Grandpa and Grandma Murch arrived on Saturday morning to stay with the boys and we headed off to KC...

The city of fountains!

Group picture of Ben and Julie, Jay and me, and Kent and Andra outside our hotel near the Power and Light District...

The happy couple...

We walked the city a bit and found a restaurant we could eat.   Can't go wrong with Hibachi.

And of course Jay order Sake Bombs...

We spent the next several hours sharing stories and a ton of laughs...Julie rode a bull at a Country bar and lasted all of 30 seconds (although she was the only won brave enough to get up there!) and the night ended with a late-night-best-whopper-ever at the Burger King bar. 

We did some shopping on the plaza the next day...(man, could I really do some damage there!) and had lunch at a quaint little cafe named, "The Classic Cup".   

And before we knew it, it was game time...here's Jules and I with our "red solo" cups...

There were some serious tailgaters outside the stadium, we had to take a pic in front of the "Tiki Hut"...

and with our Cowboy boots before heading into Arrowhead...

We had some really great seats, 27 rows off the field, just to the right of the stage...

The opening band was Grace Potter & The Nocturnals ('70ish rock style) and I have to say, we were all impressed...she really rocked it. 

But Tim and Kenny by far throw the best party...

and the party went on well into the night...hey Kent, whatever makes you feel like a Rock Star!

And thanks to navigation (and Julie's excellent driving), we found a great pizza place and ordered 15 minutes before the kitchen closed...whew!   We over ordered and Ben thought it would be funny to slap Jay in the face with the left over pizza...and it, needless to say...it was! 

We headed home on Sunday in time to play with the kids for a bit...

Coleman was happy to see us...

 Then bath and it was time for bed...

This weekend reminded me of how blessed we are to have such good friends to eat, drink and be merry with!  Merry Christmas (in June) Jay...not sure how I'm gonna top this one next year!