Nine is Fine...

Kael "Horsepower" Gardner turned NINE.

And according to him it was "just fine"!

He really was so cute and he came into our room Saturday afternoon and told us, 

"I think I just love being NINE the best so far."

We laughed and asked him if he felt different and he said, "Yep.  I just feel good!"  :)

You're lookin' good too, fella.

We do friend parties every other year and this one "took the cake" pun intended.  The big man invited friends over for pizza, whiffle ball in the yard, over-frosted cake and then an outdoor movie.  

"Kael Yeah!" It was a hit and they had such a good time and ate SO DANG MUCH FOOD.  :)

 Kael got a kayak to cruise around the lakes in and all things NY Yankees.  He loves collecting and trading baseball cards and got plenty of those too, but probably the highlight was a new Aaron Judge jersey and a Yankees hat.

 Kaelster, you're quite the kid.  We love you so much and we're so proud of the person you're becoming.  We can't believe it was nine years ago our family began with you, our miracle babe who was 90% cheeks!   You made me a mama and another special someone a mama and that's pretty amazing.  You're a fierce little lion of a human.  You have such a hard working nature and the most fearless soul.  You offer your hands to help and hug.  You climb mountains both literally and figuratively.  You wear your emotions on your sleeve and you try hard to do your best.  

We love you now and forever.  

Happy 9th Birthday to our very own "Judge" who keeps track of every penny and is by far the loudest kid on the field.  We love you like crazy and hope this year continues to "feel good".

XOXO

Bless the U.S.A. & R-Town...

You guys know of my affinity for the Fourth of July in my hometown.

I've spewed out rainbows of red, white and blue every year at this time and here we go again.

Get ready for my Patriotic Pile o' Pictures...

Do you ever see those people who are having their family reunion at the theme park and they're sporting matching t-shirts?  That was us this year.  Grandpa Hooky had t-shirts made up for my little fellers so they could walk the parade route and throw out candy to Grandpa's constituents.

They looked pretty cute and they repped Team Albrecht like pros.

I had my 20 year class reunion.  Which is strange because I DO NOT feel like High School was that long ago.  It was fun to see friends and catch up.  

We visited my friend Ashley's yard.  She has frogs in her back yard underneath her trampoline.  They are "toad-a-ly" huge and disgusting and the boys LOVE them.

And Grandpa rented out the waterslide.  It's tradition after all!  These boys are fearless atop the mighty mound of plastic.  Even Boone climbed to the top and slid til his little legs were too tired to climb again.

The boys braved the crowds at the fish grab.  

All of them caught a fish much to their Daddy-o's dismay.  :)  

Boone will enter "fish grab training" so he'll be ready for next year. 

Then on to the Coin Toss at the pool.  They raked it in.  I would like to submit that Golden dollars are cool no matter how old you are.

And this grin... Says it all.

Happy and Sun Kissed and Flying High on the 4th of July feels.

Hey Baby Let's Go to Vegas...

We took off for that Oasis in the desert known as Las Vegas with our crew.

It was hot.

SO DANG HOT.

But luckily, we had this amazing pool complete with a water slide that was light on rules and heavy on fun.  Even Boone slid down a bajillion times solo.  

 

We would pool, sun, pool, repeat.

Mama even got a surprise Pina Colada courtesy of Daddy-o.

It was virgin.  I think.  :)

And it tasted like Heaven.

We stayed out on Lake Las Vegas so our Vegas experience was more G rated than most. 

It is gorgeous out there and so so fun.

We did find time to take the boys to see the glitz and glam of the strip for approximately 5 hours.  Just enough time to see the M&M factory, the Coke Factory, where they sampled all the float flavors, New York, New York's coaster and arcade and the all-important Bellagio water show.

It was fun and crazy and hot and cool all wrapped up into one sensory overload experience.  The boys were so cute with Boone.  Seriously that baby could barely muster the strength to pull himself out of the pool by the time we were done for the day, but one of his big bros would dutifully climb out, pull him out of the water, then heft him onto their non-existent hips and load him up the flight of stairs to the top of the slide so he could live the dream right along with them.

He was one exhausted little fish.

We visited the Hershey store where we passed on these gigantic chocolate souvenirs but I think Dax still wishes we would have purchased the huge chocolate bar to chip away at for the next year.

I love these crazy expeditions with my boys.  I get that four days with four little boys at prime energy and argumentative ages may sound a bit like hell to some - but my enthusiasm for our road trips rivals only Christmas and Fourth of July.

It makes me giddy to see everything through their lens of childhood and if I'm being completely honest - I don't hate not having to cook or clean for a few days.  :)

Until next time, Vegas.

And yes, I fully plan to redo this picture in a couple years and in twenty years too.  :)