May 2013.

Other than our cruise and some visitors early in the month, we had a fairly laid back month.  

I sure took a lot of pictures of nothing then.  

But honestly, when you have subjects this cute, how can you not take photos of them?!

Brennan and Kiernan had a day of fun running through the sprinklers.  Mr Beckett wasn't a big fan of the sprinkler and had his own fun climbing and digging and eating gravel.  I didn't post any photos of Kiernan because he was naked the entire time.  Apparently he was in a nudie mood.  

Aunt Jen & Uncle Brian came to FL in early May.  Amid all of their visits to friends and family they stopped to say hello and took a trip to the park.  The boys enjoyed playing with Uncle Brian and had fun wading through the water with Aunt Jen and I when they got overly hot and sweaty.  Why their Daddy put the Brothers in long sleeve black shirts to go play at the park in the Florida sun (and why their Mommy didn't catch it before they walked out the door) remains to be seen.  

Early May weather is pretty awesome.  Hot, but not too hot, and the rainy season hasn't started to kick in too much yet.  Perfect weather for spending lots of time outside.  And so we did.  Baseball.  Sprinklers.  All of that good All-American stuff.  

We don't take advantage of living near the beach as much as we should.  Admittedly, it has been more of a production in the past.  But now that the boys are a bit older, stopping by to play in the sand or walk on the beach for a few minutes isn't too much trouble.  It's almost peaceful.  Almost.  

On Cinco de Mayo, we headed to Uncle Brian's Mom's house to spend the day with Jen & Brian while they were still in the state.  The boys loved running around the yard and playing all kinds of sports with Uncle Brian.  

They live on the water, so we were able to enjoy a semi-relaxing afternoon on the dock enjoying the scenery.  I mean, as relaxing as you can get while combining small children and a dock.  Brennan had a blast kayaking with Aunt Jen and Uncle Brian though!  We were sad to say goodbye to them, but they were heading to the Galapagos Islands.  Seriously.  They travel to the coolest places.  

Of course, the following weekend we headed out on our cruise.  We returned on Mother's Day and had a nice, laid back day.  Part of my Mother's Day gift was 3 picture frames with mats.  After I opened them, Brian explained that the boys were going to color them and then we'd take photos of their faces inside the mats to put inside the frames.  Super super super cute.  

Brian works on the weekends occasionally, and when he does, we sometimes go to visit him.  Actually, we often go to visit him during the week too.  His office is like little boy heaven ... cars everywhere.  One Sunday we went to visit and the guys were doing the majority of their work outside.  Brian's boss' fiance (my friend Meagan) had recently picked up their new puppy, so the boys got to run around in the trucks outside and play with the puppy.  It was like heaven on earth.  I love that my hubby's company is so family friendly.  

When Brian came home from work later that day, he and Brennan busted out their new Green Lantern kite.  Brennan was in heaven.  Life seems so wonderful and so .... simple when you see joy like this on a child's face.  And knowing that his Daddy made it happen melts my heart even more.  He may only want his Mommy to snuggle at bedtime, but his Daddy is a superhero in his eyes.  I love it.

This boy.  He is so full of excitement and love and happiness.  And my goodness, he is handsome.  I love him just a little bit.

And I love the Zilla too.  I sits quietly in the bushes, just making sure that everything is OK.  He's happiest when he's in the front yard with his Daddy.

Later that week, the boys decided to take the Camero for a drive.  Mr Beckett was elected the driver and holy bananas is he a natural.  He is a true car guy, cruising around the cul-de-sac with one hand on the wheel and big bro riding on the back.  Oh my heart.  I'm in trouble.  

Of course we do spend a little time indoors.  Brennan loves to paint, and the Brothers love to eat paint, so it works out.  Thank goodness for Crayola's non-toxic products.

Taking walks to the park near our house is always a fun thing for us to do.  It's good exercise for all of us and it sure does tire out the boys very well.  And now that they're getting older, it's not quite as stressful.  We can stand back a tiny bit and let them explore.  As always, Kiernan climbs everything in sight, Beckett sticks to the slides, and Brennan likes to try to play with the other kids.  

For the first time in a few months, Brian didn't have any business trips this month.  It was nice to have him home a little more.  The Brothers are starting to love to help him around the house as much as Brennan has loved it for awhile now, and being the super-dad that he is, Brian just takes it in stride.  He and Brennan camped out in their tent in our backyard for a night too.  We roasted marshmallows in our fire pit before bed and Brennan thought it was the coolest night ever.

I really enjoyed May.  Of course, I had the normal challenges of dealing with a 3 year old, getting the Brothers transitioned out of their cribs, and trying to keep up around the house with ... barnacles on my back.  But it was a pretty refreshing month.  I took a painting class that my friend Lisa teaches and found it incredibly relaxing and fulfilling.  I'd love for it to be something that I can do more of!  And Bri and I were able to enjoy a date night while Jen & Brian were in town.  That was the first night that Kiernan actually climbed out of his crib and poor Jen just took it in stride all night until she got him to go to sleep and stay asleep so that Bri and I could enjoy a nice evening together.  It was refreshing to spend some time together outside of the house without kids!