The Marcucci Family

Cousins

Summer is about cousins. It just is.

I had the fortune of having one of my cousins drive 12 hours with four of her five children to visit with my family for a few days, and we loved it (with the exception of R's pretty bad sunburn! Ouch!).

The two of us, along with six or so other cousins at a time, would congregate at our grandma's house when we were kids and swim in the pool until day turned to night and weeks turned to months and before we knew it summer was gone.

But it was this cousin who visited me this week who a very long time ago taught me how to drive. (A little before the driving age!)

And this cousin was the one I spied on when dates would drop her off at the doorstep and they'd exchange a goodnight kiss!

And this is the same cousin who would usually take me with her wherever she was going.

There's hardly a time when the cousins get together that one of us doesn't mention those days.

Thank you, Pami! ---SM

[Above: Pami and Lennox try to work my can opener]

[Above: Grant on the slip n slide]

[Above: C on the slip n slide]

[Above: E and L in the pool]

[Above: Cousins in the pool]

[Above: Cousins at Natural Bridges beach]

]Above: Kellen and C with their sandwiches]

[Above: Lennox and C at the beach]

[Above: Steph and G at the beach]

[Above: Lennox and Mom coming back from the beach]

[Above: Together for a family BBQ]

Just What I Need

Girls' Trip. Relaxation. Enough said.

There are times when my husband, mom, dad, and sister (who watched my boys while I was "resting" my soul) know a girls' trip is just what I need.

There are times when going to the Lilith Fair and singing with Sarah McLaughlin while I stand barefoot with my friends on the beach at Mandalay is just what I need.

There are times when floating down a lazy river on a brightly colored inner tube while holding onto a friend's tube and talking for hours is just what I need. ---SM

Independence Day

[Above: Sarah saved our hides. Not sure how we forgot to buy fireworks for July 4, but Sarah pulled thru with sparklers and more. Whew!]

At the Pool

Good friends and fun. These are the days... ---SM

Natural Bridges

In case anyone was wondering, there's never a time when I think I'm bored. In fact, my kids hear that blasted "b" word on cartoons sometimes, and when they do, we talk about why it isn't a nice word to say. We don't have to look very far to figure out possibilities to appease our wonderment. Trade in about 30 minutes of drive time and voila, we're at the beach where the boys can dig, run, and get wet without having to ask permission.

I say, forget it all, get myself out there, and bring a friend or two along if I can. And the best part is that our Northern Cali beaches, like Natural Bridges, offer up a wide variety of weather patterns so as not to be too "bored" with the sun, either! LOL.

Just don't forget to bring a bucket or two (or Costco-sized cottage cheese containers which are real charmers 'cause when they break they came at no additional cost to the pocketbook). And the sand trucks are a nice touch, too. ---SM

[Above: Thanks to M and Z for adding to our fun today!]

After Church

Daddy Donut Day

If you've ever heard the song "Saturday is a special day..." my version goes a little like this:

Saturday is a special day
It's the day I sleep in
It's Daddy Donut Day!
I always wake up
To a chocolate round
And I call it the "don't worry about breakfast dishes day"!

Today Justin took all five kids (in the bus of course) by himself to the donut store. Sounds to me a little like a bunch of kids in a candy shop! He said their eyes were big, as they should have been, and they each picked out their own flavors.

White frosting with sprinkles anyone? ---SM

Grant

Maggie

Kellen

Ben

Lennox

[Above: In the bus]

[Above: Five children in car seats!]

Buds

There was a time when our family could have been a set of triplets and then a set of twins. While that didn't happen, we do have a set of seriously amazing friends who are as close as family can be. They let us borrow them for a few days while their parents went house hunting, and boy did we party as hard as three 4-year-olds and two 2-year-olds can do!

We started the morning with entertainment brought to us by the weekly garbage and recycling trucks. Next, we took a jaunt to the park "en bicyclette," we ALL napped (whew!), and we're looking forward to a full tomorrow! ---SM

Happy Hollow

We've been to Happy Hollow plenty of times before today, but it was the first time (a) the boys rode a roller coaster, (b) actually got on the animals on the carousel (instead of the sleigh so that they could all sit next to each other), and (c) that my mom and sister came. We couldn't have asked for a better day! ---SM

[Above: Three boys eagerly await Danny the Dragon ride]

[Above: No, this is not the roller coaster, but it is proof that L loves to go on rides by himself, thank you. G was in the car in front and K was not interested at all.]

[Above: My mom and G on the carousel]

Happy Father's Day

Third Lesson

Lesson number three of the season and the twins are motoring along. They are practicing on their breathing while L is not ready, but he's willing, because as Britany asks, "Who's in charge?" and L answers, "Bi-ney."

Yes, she's that good!---SM

[Above: "No way."]

[Above: "I'll trust you."]

[Above: "Warm at last."]

After Church

After church today the boys wore the Father's Day ties they made for their dad one week early. We have stake conference next week, so they won't have the opportunity to make their crafts then. They were in their element, as usual, after three hours of church, so asking them to sit on the stairs while I snapped their pictures didn't last long, as you may be able to tell. ---SM

Swimming

Let the lessons begin!

The twins are on their third summer of lessons---hard to believe. And L started his very first, which consisted mostly of screams, but he calmed down enough to get through it without swallowing too much water.

(Too bad it was a cold and overcast morning, but better luck next time!) ---SM

[Above: Kellen wrapped warmly in his towel after his lesson]

The Doctor Is In!

A quick trip to Chicago found us at a long-awaited graduation for Jared, who is officially a D.R. (Wait! Make that an M.D.)!

Proud of you, Jared! ---SM

[Above: The sign friends made for Jared on the day of his graduation. This was on the front door and balloons of surgical gloves hung from the tree branches.]

[Above: The award ceremonies, the day before graduation commencement.]

[Above: On the bridge over the Chicago river, outside the Opera House]

[Above: Ivy and her dad]

[Above: A very proud family!]

[Above: Steph, Jared, and Justin]

[Above: Grandpa, Ivy, and Mazzy downtown]

[Above: The future missionaries to Italy in a few weeks]

[Above: Mazzy and Ivy after their soccer games]

Four-Year-Old-Check-Up

Two clean bills of health.

The four-year-old check-up went great as the boys read the books the doctor gave to them and answered questions routine to the visit. If only the scene had stayed this serene in the inoculations clinic where I actually video taped them getting shots and the dialogue that ensued between my mom and Grant had the nurse making the funniest expression. I wouldn't post it because that would just be mean to let other people watch my 4-year-old cry, but we have it for posterity, anyway. ---SM

Hip Hop

Think of hip hop dance and you probably start to feel a pulsating beat you can really move your body to. Then think of hip hop dance for four- to seven-year-olds and you may think of little bodies actually hopping, forgetting whatever "hip" should be involved, be it the stylishness of the dance or the body part itself.

Still, they have a style all their own, and so goes the final class/dance recital of the twins' hip hop class they've taken for the last 8 weeks. For a while they were the only boys, then another one showed up one day amidst about 9 other girls. We've had a great run for the boys' first dance class, including

1. the hours we had to prepare them just to put their very stylish shoes on

2. the one dance day when their teacher told me as I picked them up from class that they "decided not to dance today." When I asked her what that meant, she said that Grant had claimed a leg cramp and Kellen was with his brother, so they stood in the middle of the room like little statues. We had an entire family council on this and began practicing our moves like crazy. We didn't encounter that again!

3. the time when Gram watched all three boys for a few days and even had the energy to take the boys to hip hop, too!

4. the way Lennox watched the boys during the entire first class and boogied along with him while I held him, and

5. the discussion between Justin and myself about when we'll be enrolling them in a sports class (!), and then I assured him ballet was definitely next on the list (hee...hee...).

I'm not sure if my boys will be dancers, but I secretly hope so, even if it's just catching a groove while listening to the radio in the car! ---SM

[Above: The shoes]

[Above: The twins]

[Above: The class]

[Above: The spectators: Gram, Auntie Staci, Lennox, me, and Dad (latter two not pictured)

[Above: The solos.]

[Above: The first half of the dance.]