SUYL - Patio

I'm linking up with Kelly @ Kelly's Korner for Show Us You Life - Patios.  I love lurking and other people's spaces so I figured I'd share our patio. I'm so thankful for the covered outdoor space even though we can only use it for a few weeks before is get too hot and too cold.  If you live in TX, you know what I mean.

Our patio with the outdoor furniture and dining set.

My favorite thing about our yard is that the pool is away from the house - much safer for my 3 rowdy boys. More seating in the pool area.  

Welcomed Storm and Main Event

We finally got some relief from the stifling heat last night.  A huge thunderstorm blew through and I loved very minute of it, even if it kept me up in the middle of the night.  It also knocked the power off for a few minutes so all our clocks need to be reset.  Oh, and the wind also knocked down a large branch off one of our trees in the backyard.

Oh, but the rain made everything look so much cleaner outside. Our pool is filled and our flowers, trees and grass got a much needed soaking. 

Before the storm came in, I took the boys to Main Event yesterday and they had a great time.  Michael was so sweet with Matthew, showing him how to swipe the card to play games.  They got along really well and shared their point to get useless prizes.  

Twenty minutes and $25 later - the loot

I remember going to Chuck E. Cheese's when I was little and remember choosing how to spend my points was THE highlight of the trip.  But back then, they were little paper tickets and you had to keep track of them and if you dropped or lost them - you were out of luck.

Soccer Weekend!

I am exhausted! The soccer tournament went longer than we had planned this weekend.  Our boys did awesome! Because this was their first game ever playing 11 vs 11, we did not expect to make it to the final on Sunday.  Most of us expected that the Saturday afternoon game to be our last game. But the boys surprised us and had shutouts.  They barely lost the last game 2-1, but still made it to the semifinals Sunday afternoon as a wildcard. Then they surprised and delighted us again by winning a game they were expected to lose. In fact, they had another shutout with a score of 4-0.  Go Solar Red.

Unfortunately, they lost the final game 6-1, but they played really, really well and fought hard until the end.  They got 2nd place out of 12 teams - the team we lost to is ranked #2 in the whole DFW area so we are getting better and better!

Needless to say, it was a VERY long weekend in McKinney and it's VERY nice to be home.  I think Marky will agree because he does much better at home.  The 100+ for all the games did not help.  By the end we were all exhausted and my car was filthy! But I had a lot of fun watching Michael play.  M and I couldn't be more proud of him. He was aggressive and played great all four games.  He had 3 goals - 1 in the first, second, and fourth game.

I don't have many pictures because I had to keep Marky entertained, but hopefully, some of the other parents will email pictures out so I can post it on here.

This week is going to be pretty hectic because I have to get ready for our trip to Hawaii.  While I'm very excited to get there, I am not excited about the 8-hour plane ride.  I'm so thankful that we can take Sarah with us.  She will be such a huge help!

M is traveling on business until Wednesday night so I will have to do most of the packing and getting the house prepared. 

SUYL - Table Decorating

I'm linking up with Kelly @ Kelly's Korner for Show Us Your Life - Table decorating. The only table that is really decorated is the dining room table.  We have 2 coffee tables -one in the living room and 1 in the family room, but there's nothing on there because baby #3 currently thinks it's his job to pull everything down that's within reach.  He's very good at his job.

This is our dining room table.  My goal is to change with every season.  This is for fall - I know, it's still summer, but I can't wait for the fall.

This is the buffet table.

This is our little accent table in the corner of our living room.

Thanks for visiting, Hope you all have a great weekend!

High Five for Fridays

Here's to another week! Today, I'm linking up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk. Happy Friday, everyone!

1. Ticket is booked to go back to CA in September for my first nephew's 1-month celebration. For $70 round trip from DFW to SFO - Awesome! Oh, and Ben is awesome too.

2. Matthew got his official membership card for the US Lacrosse Association - He's ready to play for the Carroll Dragons!

3. I got M to hang my cork board in preparation for the upcoming school year. 

4. I scored this little beauty that's perfect by the front door for less than $65. Now the kids will have a place to sit to put on their shoes.

5. Less than a week to go before we leave for MAUI! This is where we will be staying for the first part of our vacation.

Midweek Randoms

1. This morning, Michael and Matthew decided that Marky needed to wear underwear

2. Marky is so CLOSE to walking.  He can stand on his own for a few seconds.

3. Last night, Matty put on some music and they all 3 of them had a dance party in our room! Yes, Marky was shaking his little booty too.

4. I planned a whole week's worth of dinner.  I'm so proud.

5.  We have an busy weekend of soccer! Michael is in a tournament with a game Friday evening and another game at 7 AM on Saturday in McKinney, which is an hour and a half away.  M and I decided that it would be worth getting a hotel room making it a family mini-getaway.

6. Only 8 more days until Maui!

7. Mark is cutting four more teeth - it's gotten pretty bad that we have resorted to giving him Tylenol.  Poor baby!

8. I joined a gym and am actually going to workout consistently. I'm really enjoying it and I feel much more energetic when I workout.  I try to make it there 4 days a week.

9. We've been enjoying watching the Olympics. Michael likes watching the soccer tournament and I love women's gymnastics. Speaking of which - I was a little weirded last night watching Ally Raisman coach kissing her non-stop. I know he's probably like her father and she won the gold and all, but it's still gave my creeps.

10. While we are on the Olympics - Go USA Women's soccer!

Maui Revisited

I am counting the days until our Maui trip.  M and I were there just the two of us three years ago and had an awesome time! This time around, we are taking a few more people - the 3 boys, our nanny, and her fiancé.  My parents, my sister and her boyfriend are meeting us there.  Yay! I just wish my brother and his family could make it too, but it is not possible with little Benjamin just being 11 days old. May be we can meet in Cancun or Cabo next summer...

I thought I'd post some pictures from our last trip to get me even more excited, if that's possible! I'm looking forward to showing to boys the sights.  I'm also excited to see Michael learn to surf.  Matthew is not a strong enough swimmer for surf school yet, but he is looking forward to snorkeling!