Our week off from the kids worked out well. So well, in fact, that we got our house super organized and decided it would be a good idea to host company at our house for almost 3 weeks straight. So, verdict’s still out on whether that was a GOOD idea, but it definitely was fun!

First to arrive was my best friend and college roommate and her three kids. Our kids are all perfectly stair-stepped about 16-18 months apart, with 3 girls at the front and now 2 1/2 boys at the back. It makes life really fun, and the kids get along phenomenally. Somehow, we ended up without any pictures though. Hmmm. But we did get a Girls Night Out while Nick watched the kids, and it was heavenly.

A day or so after their departure, we welcomed Nick’s cousin, her husband and their two kids who stayed with us for about 9 days. Their oldest is just a few months younger than Mylie, and though they hadn’t met until just this summer, we’ve been convinced for quite awhile that they share the same genetic code. It was fascinating to see these two strong-willed little girls in all their tantrum glory being watched by each other. It was as if they both had at least one moment of “Is that what I look like when I do that?” We may have seen some behavior breakthroughs, but only time will tell. But in between tantrums and melt-downs, they both had a lot of fun together. Our saving grace was that we sent them both to 3 hours of Vacation Bible School each morning which got them out of the house and allowed us to have some quality time with the little boys. It was lovely.

Peace and quiet at home (kind of) while the girls are at VBS

Visiting the County Fair

The girls got to be in a Wild West Show at the fair

They played fabulous cows

Each kid got to pick one ride to go on... Nolan was pleased with his choice

The girls opted for the Balloon Ride... Despite our efforts to talk them into something a little less...lame. And yet, they loved it.

We headed to the beach for one chilly evening. The poor Californians nearly froze to death.

But the girls had a great time

And the boys spend most of the time with their heads in the sand. Typical.

After we bid adieu to our family (who we can now call friends as well!), we welcomed my other best friend and college roommate to our home. Luckily, this one came without kids or spouses, so things were a bit calmer. After a few days experiencing Portland and trying to talk her into moving out here from DC, we headed up to Seattle to connect and spend some more quality time with our other roomie and reminisce. It’s funny how you can go five years and so much can change in your life, and yet get together with someone and it seems no time has passed. Gotta love that.

Funny, I don't remember being so short in college.

Girls Night Out with the best dessert you could ever imagine

BFF's. No, I'm not a teenager, but they really are best friends forever.

And with that, Chateau Winters closed up shop. It was a wild ride. Maybe we’ll do it again next year. But maybe next year we’ll uninstall the revolving door space it out a little better. Or maybe not.

We got one of the greatest gifts this week that parents can receive… A week at home with no children!!

How did we manage that, you may ask? Well, it started earlier this spring, when I was supposed to be teaching a Theatre Camp this week. I asked my mom if she might want to come up and stay and watch the kids while I did that. She agreed, but the decided, maybe it would be easier if they came to her house. Didn’t matter much to us, so we thought that would be fine. But then, we ended up having to cancel the Theatre Camp. And we gave Grammie the out, but she decided to take on the munchkins anyway! Which meant that we got to stay home ALL WEEK with no other obligations and no kids underfoot.

I have no pictures from this glorious occasion. And really, I don’t even have many fun stories to tell. We went and worked in a Phone Bank for the Washington County Republican Party. We did some desperately needed yard work. And we had a date night. In the middle of the week. Just because we could. Saw a movie and didn’t care what time we had to be home for the sitter. It. Was. Awesome.

By the end of the week, Grammie had had her fun and was ready for rescue. So we’re hoping for enough amnesia that she’s willing to do it again next year. And maybe the year after that. And the year after….well, you get the picture.

Well Ladies and Gentleman,

Since we are now officially 19 weeks into this mess, I suppose it’s time to let you in on a little secret. We’re preparing a special Thanksgiving treat at our house… slow cooking it to perfection. That’s right, we’re having baby #3. It really hasn’t been much of a secret, since we let Mylie in on it really early on. She just couldn’t figure out why mom was sick and sleeping all the time and it was really starting to bug her. But of course, when you tell a 4-almost-5 year old something like that, you don’t expect it to stay a secret very long. And it didn’t.

But, as is in the job description for every third (or later) child, this baby is already getting neglected. It doesn’t have it’s own web page, gender poll, name poll, or name suggestion app. And it didn’t even get a proper email or blog announcement until just now. Ahh well, as Baby’s Daddy knows… it’s just the lot in life for a third child. Luckily, we have a new fancy-shmancy camera now, so we might actually take some pictures of the kid once it’s born. And since none of our children have true baby books (because we’re those kind of parents), Baby won’t have to feel left out on that front either.

But I digress. We’re thrilled to be having another little person join our family. It’s been tough getting to this spot. It took longer than we’d hoped, and after having a 20 week loss of a baby, I tend to be a nervous wreck (to put it mildly) up until and for a week or two after the ultrasound. But we had said ultrasound today, and baby is alive and kicking… a lot! So, without further ado…

Meet Baby... Already sucking a thumb in utero.

...and... It's a BOY!!!

So, possibly because of the long cold winter, or possibly because of Mom’s fear of the lack-of-schedule that summer brings, we may have overbooked our summer activities just a little bit. You know, like, scheduling Swimming Lessons, Soccer Camp, and Karate Lessons all during the same two first weeks of summer. But, it was nice having something to go do, despite the chill that’s still in the air.

Soccer was just 45 minutes a day for only 5 days… a little chance for the kids to kick the ball and do some drills, and run around. But it was Mylie’s first experience with the sport, and she had a great time.

We headed straight from there to swimming lessons. I can’t take all the blame here for the back-to-back scheduling, because with our swimming sessions, you go Tuesday-Fridays for two weeks, but you don’t find out your time slot until the Sunday or Monday before hand. Luckily they were close in proximity enough that we could fit it in.

Then, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for two weeks we headed to Karate Kids – a small karate class put on by our local Parks & Rec. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I thought it was a bust and totally lame, but Mylie liked it and the price was right.

Poor Nolan mostly got dragged around to these activities, but he and I did get to play some together. Next year he’ll finally be 3 and will have many more things open to him. We’ve also got him scheduled for a gymnastics class and his own swimming lessons later in the summer.

It’s the end of June and… could it be? Could summer finally be here? After one of the longest, wettest, coldest, most grueling winters in recent memory, the Winters Family is ready to ditch our namesake for a warm fun summer. Please say it’s time!