Bubbles & Boys

This is one of the reasons why we got a dog -- for the boys to play with their pup. And who can beat a "BillionsBubbleMachine", two little boys and one puppy popping bubbles?? "Shake your bubbles, anyone?"


(And I apologize in advance for the amateur video, I am new at this thing and tried to pretend I knew what I was doing when I chose just a segment of the 5 minutes from last night to share online ... I have about 30 min of video from our road trip to OH and Niagara Falls that I need to sort through as well.)

Our evening continued with the boys playing fetch with Lilly and Z's technique of getting the toys away from Lilly. Pretty much he acts like a mountain goat and head butts with force (head pushed hard against her head) until she lets go of the squeaker. Mr. R and I got the boys to bed and went back outside to enjoy the evening and playing with the pup, watching her chase moths and enjoying a few brewskies ... I had a few Stellas and she was my friend. It was a lovely evening with my three favorite boys.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!
~Momma and her Boys

Summer, Summer, Summertime

A few recent pictures from our summer here in RI. Finally the sun has been shining and we have been taking full advantage of the warm rays each day ... even Lilly is lovin' the sunshine.

Lilly - Chill-axing outside on her chair under her umbrella by the pool.

The "MillionDollarGarden" is finally growing!!

I broke down and broke out the Slip'nSlide - the boys love it!!
Great Summer Fun!

And great for when you're thirsty too!

~*~ BLUEBERRY PICKING ~*~

Great friends, good times

Yummy blueberries and smiley faces

My first blueberry pie - it was super yummy!

HAPPY SUMMER, SUMMERTIME!

June 12 SundayHappy10

Been a while since I have written out my 'What Makes Me Happy Sunday10." We have been on the go and busy for many, many weeks now and after being gone it's been a great week to be back at home and chill out and hang out, catch up with our friends and just. be. in. our. house. :)

Since we got home late Monday night I was super happy that I had cleaned everything and had caught up on laundry before we left so that when we got home the house would be set and my to-do list not full. I took advantage of that prior cleaning and didn't touch a bathroom sink or counter until this morning; I didn't have to vacuum until Friday morning and was able to get through the week with just a quick grocery shop Tuesday afternoon. It was a relaxing week and we were able to spend time doing what we wanted to and catching up with our friends and the boys' little friends.... and a day at the beach on the Boston shore, a day outside in our backyard and cookouts with friends. Even while the boys and I were entertaining ourselves at home, Mr.R was able to spend some time catching up with some old great friends and got some R&R away from home out on the ocean and down at the casino in CT. (Well, as much R&R allows with copious amounts of alcohol and staying at a casino for 2 nights!)

So, here's my 10 ... in no special order :)

1. LOVE being back home, as if I hadn't said it enough already. We have only lived here 10 months and it was so nice to come back home and have it already really feel like OUR home.
   
2. My Hubby and Our Sweet Boys. As nutty as they sometimes make me, they also make me the happiest & luckiest and most loved Momma in the world. It was a great experience to be "stuck" in the truck with the boys - we had some family bonding, made up silly songs, played some silly games and made some great memories together.
3. Having 2 days of sunshine in a row - seems like it should be everyday given that it's July in New England, but not this summer. We made the most of it and were outside all day, each day soaking in the blue skies and sunny sunshine. And even now, the sun just poked through after a night storm came through with thunder, lightening, and pouring blasting rain. Looks like we will be able to get outside again today!! :)
4. Snuggling with my Z man all night .... he snuck into my bed around 1130 last night and I let him stay. He held my hand (and grinded his teeth) most of the night. When he woke up this morning he showered me with kisses, sleepy hugs and plenty of "I love you, Mom"s to warm my heart all day. He is a super love bug.
5. Listening to Aj sing songs this morning as he was coloring. So sweet.
6. Waking at 630 with Z this morning, sending him downstairs with milk and Blues Clues and getting back into bed for an hour before Aj woke. He went down with Z while I went back to sleep again until 8. Aj came back up to play in the playroom while Z colored in his coloring books at the kitchen table (okay, he was ON the table, but I wasn't going to tell him to get off when he was entertaining himself for an hour and a half!). I got up at 8, cleaned the bathrooms upstairs, got 3 loads of laundry in & folded and taken care of, changed the sheets on our beds, and got so much crossed off my list ... oh, and the dog was STILL sleeping and was out of the way. I was super productive and the boys were AWESOME playing on their own. :) Love, love, love independence on a Sunday morning!
7. Getting to the ocean with our friends on Friday. K and the boys invited us to join them at their family's beach house in Boston and we loaded in all 5 boys with boosters and car seats and headed up to the beach/city. It was a fun adventure and road trip and will definitely do it again. Next time we will stay the night and enjoy more time on the beach. Thanks, K!! :)
8. Doing nothing but enjoying ourselves and our little splash pool (and "waterslide") all day yesterday. From 11-330 we were outside and having fun. Lilly was all set up too outside - with her own chair, umbrella and pool. Such the puppy life!
9. Finding out that the new video camera I bought WILL indeed work with the iMac. We will need to download some updates, but we will be able to open up the videos. Phew. Thought I was in trouble for a while there. I knew Mr.R should have come to Best Buy with me to pick it out! :)
10. Happy to have a list of all the things I have needed to do the last 9 months and hopefully will make time to do them .. like finally file all the paperwork & mail from last summer. Yes, last summer. Oops. Finally figure out and photography software I have for the Mac. Yes, I will, J. Promise. Maybe unpack some boxes from last fall when we moved in. Still. Hopefully get my side of the garage cleaned out so I can park inside again. My truck has been homeless since before we started to get ready for our garage sale that was back in May! Clean off my desk that has been a demolition dropping zone since the day we moved in. I know I have some local baseball tickets somewhere in all this mess! Would be nice to find them before the season is over! I know there are more on my BIG long-term to-do list, but the boys are getting restless as we wait for Mr.R to get home from CT.

Have a great Sunday!
~MommaRitz

6 Words Saturday

Describe your Saturday in Six Words:

Sunshine!!!
Friends!
Cookout!
Running!
Playing!
Relaxing?!
(A flying-solo Momma can dream, right?!)

We are enjoying our SECOND sunny day in a row here in RI and after being up in Boston at the ocean & beach yesterday I want to continue the 'fun in the sun' flow and get outside and play, play, play out in the back yard with the boys and the puppy today ... after I get through a 3 miles run on the treadmill. It'd be a perfect day to be outside for my run today but Mr. R is out and about with friends for the weekend at a bachelor party in Connecticut @ Foxwoods Casino.

My bloggy friend Missy over at TwoLittleMonkeys does this each Saturday and I thought I'd play along today.

Have a super weekend!
Can you describe your Saturday in 6 Words?

Aj's Pics - FX4

TGIF! Welcome to OurRitzyFriday!

We have been on the go and on the road for the last 2 weeks and are finally able to just hang at home, which is such a lovely treat. Here are some highlights from our road trip to Ohio and Niagara Falls ... THRU Aj's EYES!! I let my #1 boy babe take over my #1 toy baby (camera) for a while when he asked and he was able to capture some fun shots of our adventures. Here are a few! Enjoy!

Momma & Z on a boat ride fishing in Ohio.

Daddy: Our Captain and Family Fisherman

"I Love You" from Momma to her Boys

Somewhere on the 90E en route to Niagara Falls

Momma, Daddy & Z at Niagara Falls

And the RitzyRockStarBuddingPhotogragher Himself.
Aj.

Hope you all have a super Friday.
Be sure to head over to CandidCarrie to see what fun others are sharing today!