my big fat greek family

Sunday was the first Giannios family reunion! Everyone met at a pavilion at the Ty Warner park in Westmont. Charlie and I brought the boys. Lots of people got to meet them for the first time and they got to meet quite a few other little kiddos - it's amazing how many little boys our family has altogether! The weather was drizzly on and off and the sun only peeked out occasionally, but overall it was a pretty good day. Being together with family was all that mattered!

Carter and Logan got along pretty well with all the other little kids. They played at the park, in the giant sandbox (volleyball court!), played tug-of-war, raced in potato sacks and shivered in the sprinkler park. And they ate! Boy oh boy did everyone eat! The boys ate Doritos, popcorn, cookies, cupcakes, carrots and fruit (thank goodness for the carrots and fruit!). There was real food - chicken, pasta salads, meatballs, mmmmmmm! Natalie's right - next year we need to pass on some recipes!

It was nice to see (and in some instances meet!) family we haven't seen for so many years. I was surprised at how many people could figure out which of Jimmy's daughters was which. I'm sad that Mom and Dad couldn't come out - they are after all the last named Giannios! Dad would have loved to see and talk to everyone, but we stopped by their house with the girls and the Bobbitts before going home and let Dad know who we saw and passed along lots of hellos and thoughts. What a great afternoon!

Lots of pictures ahead...

carter's cheesy smile

logan, he's a dorito lover

brothers!

i hope the photographer got a better shot of our little family than this!

thanks natalie, this was the best of 6 takes!

goose watching

more goose watching

upside-down boy

jamie and evan

natalie and carter

giant sandbox

potato sack races

tug-of-war

a shivering carter at the sprinkler parklogan
carter spraying logan

no news

Not a whole lot is new or exciting around here and that's probably a good thing! This week was the first week of Extended School Year for me. Yep, teaching summer school again! The boys get to be at Gayle's in the morning -- it's fun for them to see their buddies Trevor and Dylan especially since they'll be moving sometime before the fall. I pick them up a little after noon, so it's a short day. We have lunch and play a bit and put Logan down for a nap around 1:30. Then Carter and I spend some time together if he's not into doing any quiet time. Come 2:30 or 3:00 we've been playing in sprinklers and pools with the neighbor boys while we Mommies watch and work on our tans! Some eventful weekends are coming up with Austin's and Becca's baptism, our first Giannios family reunion, 4th of July, Charlie's family reunion out in Ohio, Logan's second birthday, and a wedding. I'm anxiously awaiting a get-together with my teammates, playdates with some friends, a baby any day now (Becky & Cort!) and much much more! So check in to see if I've got any shots of the boys from our upcoming busy weekends.

father's day

I hope all you dad's had a fantastic Father's Day! I know I loved every minute of our day with Daddy at the zoo and seeing my own Dad later in the afternoon. To two of the best dads ever!

go cubs

My nephew Evan is a Cubs fan and so is his daddy - Happy First Father's Day, Matt!

and my favorite...thumbs up, go cubs!

splish splash

Last Saturday was "The Last Fling" for Charlie and his co-workers since Elher's has been sold. This week, they are offically Hogan Walker John Deere. Ron and Lynn had everyone over for the best barbeque (steaks, yumm-o!) and we were able to take the boys in the pool. Clouds were rolling in so we decided to jump into the pool before dinner. The boys had fun - Carter could touch the bottom on the shallow end even though he insisted on using baby floating devices! Logan swam a bit with Charlie then laughed as he was pushed around on a raft, sometimes he seems to have no fear at all!

it is truely impossible to get a good photo of these two boys together!

Then on Monday, a wonderful co-worker opened up her Michigan cottage with an invitation to staff to get together for our annual Babies at the Beach! Carter, Logan and I drove out to Sawyer, MI to spend the day at Bethany Beach with some other kiddos from school. Unfortunately we didn't have the brightest or sunniest of days (again!), but the temperature was relatively comfortable and we only got drizzled on once or twice. We left first thing after breakfast and arrived around 11 or so, stopped briefly at the cottage and then hit the beach! This was Logan's first enormous sandbox experience and he enjoyed every minute of it digging and pushing sand about with his shovel and trucks. Carter on the other hand is my water boy! He headed straight for "the sea" (ahem, lake) for a swim and explored every rock looking for the best ones to throw into the water. The rain came rolling in so we didn't stay for the planned cookout on the beach and bonfire - maybe next year. A block from the cottage, both the boys were o-u-t, out! We were home after 7 and as it turns out brought lots of sand with us!

school's out!

Yahoo! Today is offically my first day of summer! Yesterday was my last day and boy oh boy was it HOT and STICKY! Not only am I moving to second grade in the fall, but I had to pack up to move to a room upstairs AND move my storage closet! It was exhausting, but I got report cards passed out, said my goodbyes, and packed--everything was done by 12:45 (only one or two bouts of shedding tears--I will miss my teammates so so much!) I even got to enjoy a much needed cocktail and peaceful lunch with two of the bestest school friends ever! Thanks Tricia and Andrea! I've got a couple weeks before summer school starts so I plan on soaking up every bit of sunshine and enjoying every minute home with the boys. Monday, we're hitting the beach!