So much has happened since we last spoke.

 Ben and I made a TON of lightsabers out of pool noodles for Jack's birthday party.

 Dorothy and Cooper celebrated hat day at preschool.

 Seriously, you guys.  A TON of lightsabers.

 The kids and I attended a picnic on random no-school Friday with Dorothy's class, and it was predictably darling.

 JACK HAD HIS EIGHTH BIRTHDAY PARTY and there were around 40 kids there.  In retrospect, it would have been good to know exactly how many kids we had because I had a few panicky minutes before the parents came back where I worried that we had lost a few.  BUT WE DIDN'T!  (We did almost lose Dorothy, but luckily she was trapped at the very top of this big hamster cage looking climbing castle and couldn't figure out how to get down the slide.)

 Ben and I wasted approximately NO TIME jumping on the Pogo Balls.  I mean, seriously.  POGO BALLS?!

 The kids loved throwing themselves off this huge jumping platform and making me take pictures.

 Chaos ensued when we proffered the lightsabers.

 Ben thought he was General Grievous.

 Of course Cooper put a sword in his pants.  I mean.

 Who had more fun?  Ben?

 Or the birthday boy?  (In a BB8 shirt.  Get it?  Because he turned 8?)

 Dorothy was totes ready for some cake.

 Some of the boys didn't even eat dinner becaus thye were glued to the video game screens.  Oops.

 Basically, all she did was climb on things and scream "Ta Da!"

 We tired to take a group shot, but there were so many swords.

 CAKE!

 The next morning was Jack;s actual 8th birthday.  We had breakfast donuts at our favorite bakery.

 Then Jack had a baseball scrimmage, Dorothy had dance, and I had to run home and frost some more CAKE.

 The grandparents all came over for lunch and general chaos.

 My brother brought rockets to launch, and the kids used binoculars to watch the launch and track the rocket to retrieve it because they take rocketry super seriously.  As you can tell by Cooper's penchant for LOOKING THE WRONG WAY through the binoculars.

 Grandparents!

 You guys!  Baby Henry can WALK now!

 We went out with my parents after the kids went to bed.

 And the next morning everyone convened at their hotel to swim before BOTH BIG BOYS had Little League scrimmage games.  Which lasted the rest of the damn day.

Harry took a quick hot tub before suiting up for baseball.

 Cooper freaking loves this pool.  I would totally buy a winter membership if such a thing existed.

 SO CUTE in that pristine uniform.

 I really am having a hard time believing he is 8.

 Ben and Henry share a smile,

 Seriously.  EIGHT!?!

 My dad wheeled the kids upstairs to change.

 Harry and I watched Jack's game while the little kids and Ben hung out at the playground.

 Jack scored!

 Then he came home to begin his arduous talk of writing one million thank you notes and putting together his star student poster board.

 We finished the weekend with a barbecue with friends.

 And unicorns, which are the perfect metaphor for spring in Wisconsin.