The Ramos Family

I think Nick was the only one that was really sleeping. I couldn't believe the kids stayed awake until 1:30am!

But it didn't take long in the car 'til they were down for the count!

Lorenzo, on the other hand, was all wide awake after I picked him up from Myra's house (and he was rather happy about that apparently!). He stayed awake the entire ride home (25 mins). Fortunately he went down easily when we did get home.

Lorenzo cracks me up with how excited he gets whenever he sees a ball or a bat - instant smile and he wants to throw the ball or hit it with the bat! Daddy, no doubt, hopes this enthusiasm and love of 'baseball' stays with him since that's daddy's favorite sport! Lorenzo makes me laugh with his little grunt at the end - he actually grunts when he watches the video too! Seriously funny!!!!

We were fortunate enough to have some of our family from Oklahoma visit us again this year for the Fourth of July. While their visit seemed too short and went by all too quickly, it was filled with laughter, fun and lots of family time!! We can't thank them enough for making the 10+ hour trip (overnight this time) so that we could be together! Most of us will be making the trip to Oklahoma in November to spend Thanksgiving with them and can hardly wait. Here are some of the photos from their stay in MN:

Thomas catching a few unexpected Zzzz's after the long road trip

Getting ready to head out for a day of shopping in Albertville!

One of the ten photos taken in an attempt to get all three kids to cooperate. Lorenzo, aka Mr. Firecracker (as noted on his shirt), felt the photo shoot was taking way too long (because it lasted more than five seconds which is the length of his attention span these days).

Maita, Missy, Myra and Juli watching the kids vs. adults wiffle ball game in the front yard.

Kimmy, Missy & Me. We're missing our Suzi Q.

Ashlyn swings for the (imaginary) fence, not sure it made it out of the infield ;o)

Lorenzo getting ready for cleanup duty.

Self portrait!

Love this picture of Lolo - compliments of Bella (who had the camera for awhile).

Miss Emily scootin' around!

Noah and his sparkling personality.....hehehe

Kids waiting for the fireworks to start!

Ashley/Marisa, Rianne/Mena, Ashlyn/Lorenzo - lots of big cousins around to watch the little ones!

One last picture as we said goodbye. Thanks for visiting, we love you and can't wait to be with you in November!!!

This horsey belonged to my niece, Vanessa, when she was a little girl. It has since been repainted and made it through the ranks of our kids. Lorenzo seemed to enjoy it!

A couple of years ago, a co-worker/friend of mine gave us some irises from her mom's garden. They were in full bloom a couple of weeks ago, I love the rich violet color! However, they had to be transplanted to another spot in our yard since they are known to spread and take over an area and we decided we were ready to tackle a vegetable and flower garden.

Paul went to work and put our first perennial in place, a hydrangea. I love the purplish/blue color, which I learned is achieved by adding sulfur to the soil. We'll have to add that in next spring, otherwise we'll end up with pink blooms.


Maria wanted to dig the holes for the flowers so Paul gave her a shot at it.


Here's a shot of the finished product! I can't tell you how much I enjoy looking at our garden everyday. Of course, there are very few weeds at this point so we'll see how much I love it when they start popping up! But I'm excited to see things start growing and look forward to eating freshly grown veggies! Paul has since added mulch to the area and he put a soaker hose in place as well. Makes it so much easier to keep it watered!

Thanks Juli (and Dan) for all of your knowledge, time and guidance! I have no doubt we'd still be staring at a big space of dirt at this point if it wasn't for you!!!!

Some more pics from May:

Bella took this picture of Louie.....look at those baby blues!

Bella likes to help out with whatever it is you're doing.....though she quit shortly after the picture was taken....... she's a work in progress!


Couple of snapshots of Lorenzo playing - wearing this cute plaid hat, courtesy of the FL Jansens!

One thing is certain, this kid can EAT! He had just finished with his own meal but saw daddy sit down with food and decided he just HAD to have some. Food is never safe in his presence!

Just updating with some photos taken over the past few months:

Bella holding baby Max - our friend Tricia & Allen's baby boy, born March 13th. Bella's a baby lover! She couldn't get enough of baby Max :o)

Typical girl - fashion before function. Bella just HAD to wear her little ballerina outfit but then puts on a hat, gloves and blanket cause she was cold!

Renzo being goofy, couldn't find his nuky so used a medicine dropper instead. Very innovative.....hahaha!

Bella posing.......