"You don't have to be the fastest, strongest, you don't have to hold your breath the longest!"

Spoiler Alert! Pictures of new backyard below (night time photos)! First, the last of the VBS shots: 

 I loved our teen leaders - they were very helpful and had unique personal style :)

 Buck working on crafts.

 H-P working on walking. I believe that his sitter (he was assigned a teenaged sitter all week) taught him how to walk. Nice mommy moment because I didn't bring shoes.

 Thunder on stage doing actions to a song.

 Buck doing actions. The VBS has great music and the kids loved the interaction.
Onto 4TH OF JULY FUN:

 The boys' 4th shirts and the matching stances :)

 Red, White and Rock and Roll (Buck acting like statue of liberty).

 Thunder = Mr. Independent. He should wear this shirt everyday. Seriously. Only, I'm Great Britain.

 This is part of our new patio at night along with a ton of fireworks (guess which thing the boys are more excited about)

 BBQ, bar, and dining table in foreground.

 Opposite side - Living area (there is a sectional there now). The arch leads to the patio in front of our bedroom.

 Pool area/spa at night.

 RKZ's favorite addition - double Kegerator. The little bar drainage thing will be added, but our contractor thought it looked cheap so he's looking for a new one. Come have a beer!!

Longest post ever - I know- Next up "Things we do in California when Daddy is away for work":

 San Diego zoo. Galapagos Turtles.

 Making mommy crazy.

 hoarding the water.

 Mommy accidentally bought the worlds largest icees. The boys were thrilled and I love the T-shirt over their heads.

 Polar bear exhibit. This was the play area where the boys could pop up like "Whack a mole"

 After Mass playground time -

 Bolsa Chica (Huntington) Beach:

 It took me about 15 minutes to get all of the sand out of H-P's hair.

 Yesterday was a nice day ...

 It's hard to get pictures of Thunder because he never stops moving.

Daddy is home today - YEAH! Mommy will get a minute to herself! Can't wait for SDJ and H9H to come on Friday and Sunday. I'll try for before and afters of backyard tomorrow! Stay tuned.
Hi to Nicole (YRT) and Karen and Ralph - my most loyal friends. I owe each of you an email. Miss you.

"We will rise! We will soar! Nothing is impossible"

We spent the last week at VBS - "Sky!" It was Buck's 2nd year and Thunder's first. Everything revolved around a flying theme with the tag line - "Everything is possible with God." I was an adult volunteer mostly working with the teen leaders. H-P was in babysitting with his very own teen leader. All of the boys really enjoyed the week. I'm exhausted! 

 Opening session in the gym. 

 My fellow adult leader was "Captain Cloud." Here, the "crews" are wrapping up one of their cremates in toilet paper. 

 Of course Buck volunteered since he had all of that practice with RKZ the other day :)

 The wrapped up kids were Lazarus who was dead in the tomb for 4 days (eww! Stinky)

 One of our crew got to be Jesus

 Dead Lazaruses (Lazaraii?) - great name for a band, by the way - they were raised from the dead by Jesus (except they needed some help with the bandages around their arms).

Thunder was part of the preschool group and we were mostly proud of the fact that he went potty by himself all week with no accidents!!

In more serious news, my mom is in the hospital in Nashville, TN (long story) waiting for tests for blockages in her arteries. Please say a little prayer.