Today was the first day of our summer vacation. Seth finished up kindergarten on Friday, and Evan finished up daycare. I do have a mega-post in the the works dedicated to the babies' development over the last year, but it might take me a little bit, so in the meantime, I want to blog little snippets of our summer, even if they are short.

Today was a perfect first day of summer. Jason works during the summer, so I am lucky enough to have our friend Liz helping me again in the mornings with the kiddos, like last summer. This summer, the big difference is that the babies are now little people - they don't just sleep all the time (thought I loved the cuddles last summer for sure!). They are part of our daily activities, which is great!

When Liz arrived, I started my new summer exercise routine. I couldn't live any closer to the track - right across the street. While Liz finished up breakfast with the kiddos, I went out and ran a mile - four times around the track! This will be the summer of getting back in shape. Then, time to shower! Did some laundry. Babies down for a nap. Evan stayed with Liz, and I took Seth for some one-on-one time to the grocery store. Got groceries for the week, and we had a project today - making a "happy summer" cake. Seth helped me pick out the cake mix (marble), the frosting (vanilla), and colors for the decorations (pink, blue, and orange). Back home, and the babies woke up from their nap and played with Liz while they boys and I mixed the cake and got it in the oven.

Then we all had lunch together and got cleaned up. I gave Maya a bath - Nora will be tomorrow. Got the boys settled watching the end of Mary Poppins and Liz headed home. I played with the babies and then put them down for their afternoon nap. After Mary Poppins was over, we had snack and then the exciting event finally occurred - the frosting and decorating of the "happy summer" cake. Frenzy and frosting abounded.

Then, while the babies were still sleeping, we put the finishing touches on Daddy's Father's Day presents, which had been delayed as our UPS driver was not able to locate our house on Friday (hmmpff).

The boys greeted Daddy excitedly before he could remove his shoes, and he was just as happy to get his presents today as he would have been yesterday. Highlights included a book called Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown, and a t-shirt that says "Best Dad Ever."

Daddy took Evan to the pool to work on his swimming skills - Seth will get to go tomorrow. I stayed home with the other kiddos and got dinner ready. Had a yummy dinner, and then the eating of the much-anticipated Happy Summer Cake.

It did not disappoint. I discovered I made way too much pasta, so I whipped the extras into a quick baked mac and cheese and got that in the oven.

Jason had worked tirelessly last weekend to clean up our deck and install a gate on the stairs, so all six of us headed outside. The boys activity of the night was using squirtguns, which they insisted on using to spray the house and outdoor furniture, even though we told them they could spray each other. The girls had fun exploring the deck - sweet freedom! Then back inside for bath and bed.

I couldn't think of a better way to start off our summer! Here's to many more days like these!