So, today was Hella's very first day at beehive all by herself.
No Spike.
No Mommy.
Just Hella.
And, naturally, she rocked!
She started at the cutting table and ended up with a surprise visit to me at work!
Love isn't a big enough word...
So, what, my sister thinks she's the only one that can have posts with pictures of the beach..? Like she's the authority on beach-going..?!? Yeah, didn't think so... I was at the beach every day back when she was wearing Huggies... Though, I don't think they had Huggies back then... Not really sure... Anyway...
Here's Spike Speed at the beach.
Havin' loads of fun outside in the sprinkler!
As you can see in picture #2 I tried to smudge out Royal's penis but am very bad at it... sorry.
Royal has got to be one of the most amazing kids, ever! No joke! ;)
Not everyone can pull of pink shades, but here you see him, doing just that!
Rik's parents sent the kids Toys R Us gift cards, and with hers, Ms. Katchoo bought some play make-up. Doesn't she look gorgeous? *wink wink*
#2. Here's the bread she fed to the birds in our backyard, just this morning. I took a video too, and I'd say I'm going to post it, but we all know what the chances of that really are...
The boys have taken to going to the back of that weird shed structure and building things with the scraps they find. Here you see them sitting in their "ship" which was later transformed into a fort that I naturally, do not have a picture of. (I am a bad mother, I already know...)
Rik and I have been talking about doing a post a week starting tomorrow and ending on Boris' birthday next Saturday. I'm feeling pretty confident it'll happen... :)
Here is Boris' first ever science fair! He made his very own paper (not pictured) that we got to take home! That's him hopping from one craft/experiment table to the next with his best friend Gunnar.
Here he is getting his heart rate monitored!
Hella and Spike went with Robyne to check out the astronaut while I stayed with the boys!
Yummy pizza on the lawn afterwards! 
1 &2: Royal at the park during Hella's be-lated birthday, let's-got-to-the-park-and-ride-scooters celebration!
3: Royal and Hella's wagon ride to a different park on a different day altogether!
4-6: Hella climbing the rope pyramid! (these are for you Sarah, so you can see her in the dress!)
7,8: Spike!
9,10: just 2 really good pictures Robyne took one morning out back! timeless...
The counter top has got to be Royal's very favorite spot in the whole entire house! If he's not up there already, he's pointing to it and insistently babbling until the nearest adult comes up with some random reason to stay in the kitchen and make something for him to "sample."
He's the best!
Words cannot describe how excited Hella is to go to Beehive. I think, in her mind, she's already there! She just jumps right in without any hesitation!
Spike is quite the popular boy! His teachers and several Moms are always coming up to me and telling me that, "Spike is a common name at our house!" And rightly so! He's just so awesome!
Here are two pictures (taken last Sunday) of Boris' very first soccer team right after the final game of the season.
Tomorrow he has try-outs for the fall season!
Rik will be coaching!
*maybe*
Left to right: Noah, Nick, (a friend of one of the boys?), Christian, Boris, Vinnie
row 1 left to right: Noah, Nick, Boris, Christian
row 2: Vinnie
There was one more boy named Luke (not pictured), but he dropped out after the second game.
Soccer Practice
Originally uploaded by xinacoconuts
The whole family has been making the weekly trek to watch Boris refine
his mad soccer skills! He's actually getting really good!
I should take a video...
Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®
I made the kids stand still for me to take a few pictures to use in a project for my color-theory class...it makes a good record of each of our kids at virtually the same moment in time...
So, somehow Christina thought she would get away with making a "Hella's Birthday" post w/out including any pictures of herself...
I think not...
Are you ready for all this Hella..?
We've come to realize that the best gift we can give our kids for their birthday, is an entire day (or a big chunk, at least) with just Mommy and Daddy.
Thanks to Aunt Robyne's gift of babysitting (who also gave her the purse, wristband and rainbow laces!) we were able to do just that!
I cannot tell you how weird it was to be "free."
I am so conditioned to watching the clock.
Every minute of every day is scheduled with pick ups and drop offs and meals, homework, baths, and bedtime that it's hard to shake the feeling of being pulled towards something.
It felt so good to take a deep breath and just enjoy my time with Rik and Hella! This is definitely something I could get used to!
