Days with the Dorans

Back during our summer Logan date, we decided we needed to get together more often so we sat and put a date in our phones for FOWLING (which is a game where you throw footballs at bowling pins). It was a BLAST!! I'm still not feeling the best but Jen said her kiddos were already sick so let's make it happen! I'm glad we did! Of course the grandparents were there too (since they were the first friends). After fowling, the grands treated us to dinner which was so nice. As Papa Larry said, "We've decided to spend your money on you now."  Joe had a blast too and did really well. I found this picture that he posted on Instagram. I allowed he and Al to get accounts. It's interesting to see what they post and what they say. I'm a proud mama. ;-) I'm glad we added a winter funday to our traditional summer date with the Logans/Millers. I think next up we'll need to add a spring fling! Love me lots of Logans!

I was so happy we were able to squeeze in our annual Logan/ Miller/ Drapal/ Doran play date. I was not so happy with the weather. It was chilly but we waited so long we couldn't really change the date. There was no swimming, tubing or boating. Instead we did some fishing and hung by the fire (and didn't take many-or any- pictures at all). Of course we did have to take our annual pics with the 8 kiddos! Even though they are smiling in this picture, the one depicted below is a bit more accurate! This year we already put in our calendars a play date for December! I can't wait!!

 I was so happy that we got our reunion with the Logans in before school started.  We pushed it to the very end of summer though and got together right before Labor Day!  It was a perfect day to get everyone together!  The weather was beautiful! We've seen Papa Larry (who Z adores) and Kyle because they've gone fishing at the lake with Papa and Z.  There was no doubt that they would get out those poles at this gathering too. My folks live at the best place to fish.  The kids literally drop in their lines and up come the fish! After fishing, swimming and a little wave running, we all climbed onto the "Party Boat" aka the pontoon for a ride.  The kids are getting bigger and it's hard to find a place to sit.  The triplets are one year (to the day) older than Sean so I love watching them and imagining what he's going to look like this time next year. We got pizza and bread for the kiddos and yummy chicken Greek salad for us and o...

Summer couldn't come to an end without our annual get-together with our friends, the Logans! Jen's dad and my dad are great friends, so it seems only fitting to have a play date with grandparents, kids and grandkids each summer. Kyle is Z's age and the triplets are all exactly one year older than Seany.  I always love watching them and trying to imagine what next year will be like.  I was especially excited this year to see that Jen is DIAPER FREE in her house... (and I'll admit that  I am extremely jealous!!!). The kids had a blast together playing, swimming and boating.  We had pizza dinner out on the "Party Boat" and the kids became fast friends (again).  We always say we need to do this in the winter... hopefully this is the winter we make it happen.  I didn't snap any pictures (but the one of all the kiddos in the sand), but my mom did get our annual group shot at the end of our time together.  Sean was going commando so I had to ge...

One of the best things about summer is meeting up with old friends! Today we had a great reunion with my parents' good friends (Papa Larry and Grandma Judy) and their daughter (Jen) and LOTS of Logans (Jen's kiddos). When talking about the day, Ali Jane first said she didn't want to go and play with all those boys, but then I reminded her that poor Brooke was also surrounded by 3 brothers so she should go and keep her company. Ali Jane spent a lot of time in the water. She and Joe kept up those skills from up north and it was great to see them swimming and floating on their backs! All of the kids had a great time in the water (and they seemed so independent)! Jen's kids have grown so much in the year and Kyle was not nearly as timid in the water as I remember from years past! Many of the kids went on wave runner rides (Ali Jane went 50mph), and we all had some beverages, snacks and just caught up! I didn't eat too many snacks (and I don't think anyone el...

Last year we had a great play date (the first of a growing tradition I imagine) with our friends, the Logans . (-And the Grandparents!) Jen has triplets (Who will be two on Sean's birthday- or should I say he will be one on their second birthday?) and an (almost) four year old. So between us that makes 8 kiddos and a lot of fun! And as Ali Jane noticed the number of children was not the only thing we had in common. They had "one girl with lots of boys" just like our family... I watched the triplets a little differently this year thinking that Sean will be just like them next summer. And I watched Jen's cautious almost-four year old and remembered a timid Joe from last year and smiled at where he is at this summer. (We can barely keep him out of the water!) Unfortunately, I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to hang out with everyone. We went on a boat ride and Sean was so out-of-sorts... He cried and it seemed impossible to soothe him. He was ...

See if you can follow this... We had a great time playing with my dad's friends' daughter's kids! Jen has a three year old and 10 month old triplets! I know that in a few months we will have the same number of kids at home- but watching her- I could NEVER do what she does. Her children are adorable- and I was amazed at how organized she was during feeding time- etc- I guess you have to be! ;-) We spent a wonderful day on the lake- complete with food, boat rides, sand and water... and perhaps the highlight for the (big) kids... ( and Zach gets to be a 'big' kid in this blog) had to be the wave runner . Surprisingly my kids hadn't been out on it yet this year so Papa took all of them for a ride and they had a blast! My dad took all the kids out, but I think Kyle wasn't too sure about his driving... (I wouldn't ' be either Kyle...) so he was happy when he made it safe back to shore and got to go out with his mom. We ended the day on the pontoo...