outside

let the boys play in the pool after washing the van.
lots of loud splashing and water throwing.
wish I could remember to take the camera with me... can't leave them to go get it once we are out there. Maybe next time?

Godzilla birthday party

The 5 year old wanted to have a Godzilla birthday, so we played glue the tail on Godzilla, Godzilla says, and Destroy Tokyo. The kids had a great time, and I made Godzilla coloring books for the party favors, by finding black and white clipart online of various Godzilla characters.

We also spent a good deal of time opening gifts and all playing with them. Even the dads helped out; Thanks Dave and De! The kids loved your army setup...

We followed the kids party with a family party, and then a moon bounce in the house, later that night... it was just too wet outside and Billy was too wound up.

word game

for all you word lovers you have to check out this site:
www.freerice.com

*snow*day*

here we are... my boys

and the snow :) [well, the little bit of ice and snow that measured 1/2 inch. Pictures of the "real" snow that came 10+hours later are to come.]

a new train

Since this has been the year of the train [I guess] De's mom bought us a train set for Christmas. I thought it was huge and wouldn't even fit under our tree. Plus, where I decided to put the tree this year didn't have any more space... much like the rest of our house [how do these things happen--you move into a new house with a TON of space, and then just 4 years later you are packed to overflowing. And I have said yes, every time one of the donation pick-up places calls, and we give away boxes of stuff EACH time. I know, I digress.] And I was worried about the "play factor"; you can't play with it. Just watch.

So, today, well after Christmas, we put out the Christmas train. around the coffee table. after some quick clean up to make space. The boys loved it. They were so excited. They loved pushing the buttons to make it stop and go and reverse [we learned some new vocabulary--forward, reverse, mute].

I have some video on my phone... Hope to post that soon.

Have to think about where it will go next year for Christmas... might have to empty out the play room. Or get rid of some furniture.

CARS 2

We just heard and saw that June 24, 2011 is the big day!
We will be at the local theater for sure... where will you be?

gingerbread house

for our first house, it's not too terrible. And it was very appreciated as a fun indoor activity on a pajama-kind-of-day. [where you stay in pajamas all day and don't get dressed.] THANK YOU, Nana Susie!
It was fun. Charlie had his first jelly beans; he likes them a lot! At one point I noticed he was no longer putting them on the roof, but was inserting them, one at a time, in his mouth. I think I caught him on his first or second, but I'm not sure...

see our Shutterfly site for all the photos :)

motorcycle ride

Our motorcycle ride this weekend was great, despite the jolt that made me "get air". We were riding on some road that was to be repaved, and was that grooved stuff, with potholes and sewer pipes sticking up or way down in, ya know? We hit one of those irregular, non-flat sections, and I went up.

[I felt like I was flying off the bike, but I was only jolted upward a foot or so, and then crashed back down on the bike, onto De. A little scary; I have a bruised rear, nothing more.]

We saw some beautiful country side, visited our jeweler, had a nice lunch together, and got ice cream when we were just too hot, and needed a break from the sun. We were glad to have our boys well-cared for too, and got a clean van too, cause the boys washed all the cars at Grandmom and Granddad's house [under close supervision I'm told].

Once we got home, De gave our neighbor and her daughter a quick ride, and then when the babysitters and our children returned, Grandma took a ride, and then Billy had his first motorcycle ride ever! He really wasn't sure, but as you can see was thrilled with the short trip around our street.

Charlie wanted to see too, but didn't get to take a ride, just a sit with Daddy.

playground fun

We've been enjoying some playgrounds with Daddy on the weekends. This photo was taken in May on my cell phone. Today we went to IHOP for dinner and stopped at a different school playground on the way home. Love watching the boys play with Daddy outside!

Labor Day parade

I've wanted to take Billy to a parade, but we couldn't find one... til now. Our neighbors came along, as did some others you'll recognize... Billy loved the fire trucks and marching bands!

pool time

Em and I went to the pool with Billy and the girls one day a while ago and had such a great day!

I was 33 weeks pregnant at this point...

my space

I finally have my own space in our home. Yeah, I know, it's kind of strange to talk about, but De has the basement with the Harley's and I now have a place for my crafts. I found a table and a shelving system, separately, on Craigslist, which De willingly helped me pick up and haul upstairs. As you can see I've already started using the space, making paper crafts and fabric items (bibs and burp clothes at the moment). Everything has a place, and I can reach it all, even in my very pregnant state.

This is so exciting for me, as the previous setup I had was not really workable, though it was very inexpensive (free items from Freecycle); this new solution cost about $50 and I couldn't be happier with the way everything is organized. Even De is happy that the cabinet is the perfect solution for me... and that it takes less space in our bedroom.

Billy's scooter

"Gweat-gwan.ma gave it me" is the first thing you will hear when William shows you his new scooter. My grandmother sends him cards and money all throughout the year and summer is no exception! So, I periodically buy him something with the money, other times I put it in his savings account... this time it was a scooter, since he loves our neighbor's scooter so much. [Now they can go ride together!]

favorite vacation photos

On our trip to Ocean City/Fenwick Island our July vacation at our Bayside condo :)

Our first night on vacation... we went to Subway for dinner and headed off to the beach, since our little guy kept talking about the beach and playing in the sand. So glad we went, since that meant I made it there twice--oh, to be done with this whole-body rash. Just wish I were allowed more steroids!