Summer Vacation Highlights

So, it's Labor Day and there is officially one more day left to the kids summer vacation, so I thought I would finally post an update.

I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I remembering being worried on Day 1 as I kept hearing how bored they were and what were we going to do.....at that point, we made a list of things we wanted to do this summer, so if we ever had a time when we didn't know what to do, we could look back and get some ideas. I'm happy to say, we got through pretty much everything.

July Highlights:

• 4th of July weekend there was a barbeque at the Klix/Allen cottage. It was a gorgeous day and Emily tried jet-skiing. Of course, she LOVED it!! There was also the annual party for our friend's daughter's birthday at Keuka Lake. Another gorgeous day, with swimming in the lake and lots of fun.





• We did our 1st annual cousins camping trip. My family was going to have a picnic in Stoney Brook, so we decided to camp there for the weekend. Erin, Kory, Kris, Ryan, Donna and all the kids camped together. It started out a little rough - it was pouring rain on the way down and then when we were setting up the tents, Paul realized he didn't have poles for our (brand new, used once) tent. We had told Kris & Ryan they could use our other 4 person tent, but thank goodness Erin & Kory had an extra tent with them so that we were all able to have a a place to sleep. The rest of the weekend went much better. The seven of us had fun hanging out at the campfire after the kids were in bed - we even got a warning from the camp rangers - made this thirty something year old mom feel like a teenager again.
  

• The girls did Vacation Bible School again this year and loved it. They were so disapppointed when it was over after just 1 week. The church really does a nice job putting it together.


• Jen headed to Toledo for a scrapbooking weekend with some friends. We had lots of fun hanging out, shopping and of course, scrapbooking.




• We headed to the Adirondacks with Paul's parents and his sister for a 3 day vacation. Our friend Chris was nice enough to let us use his cabin. The weather wasn't that great, but we did manage to rent a party boat one day and cruise up and down the Fulton Chain of Lakes and do some fishing. Paul and I also took the girls kayaking on this little secluded lake by the cabin. And of course, it wouldn't be a visit to Inlet without a visit to the bears for a picture.

• Paul stayed an extra few days in the Adirondacks for a guys weekend at the cabin. Chris, Rob, Jason, Pete, Todd, Greg and John hung out for the weekend playing golf and kayaking.






• My mom, sister and I went to the American Idol concert again this year. That has become a fun tradition. I loved seeing David Cook.






• I had my first business trip in YEARS. I had to fly to Chicago for some training and was supposed to travel with someone from the office, but at the last minute he couldn't make it. I was so nervous - it had been quite a while since we'd flown anywhere as a family let alone traveled for work. It was a LONG day, but I made it through.
  


• And of course...... lots of swimming

August Highlights

• The girls did an art camp for a week. They love all things arts & crafts, so I knew this would be something they would enjoy and they really did. They got to do painting, make sculptures out of clay, did glass painting, made masks. At the end of every class they got to do face (body) painting. When I would get there, they would both be covered from head to toe with designs.





• W had our annual visit to Faun Lake.
  
  
  


• I had my 2nd business trip - this time to South Bend. I felt a little more comfortable now as I had that first trip under my belt.
  
• Unfortunately, while I was away, I found out my Grandpa Farrell had passed away. He was the biggest Notre Dame fan I know, so I felt some comfort in being in South Bend when I heard the news. After getting back from training, Paul, the kids and I went down to Long Island for the wake and funeral.
  
• One good thing from this time, was that my brother Brian and his family came from Wisconsin for the funeral and ended up staying at my parent's house for an extended visit for over a week. The kids had fun playing with their cousins. It was nice being able to visit with them - it had been quite a while.

• We made a trip to the Rochester Museum & Science Center. The girls had both been there on field trips last year and wanted to go again. We had so much fun and didn't even get to see all of the museum, so we'll definitely being going back.


• Seabreeze - summer wouldn't be complete without a trip to Seabreeze. This was Joey's first time and he loved all the rides. Emily was big enough now to go on all the rides and, of course, being the dare devil that she is, went on everything - roller coaster, upside down rides, you name it. Paul and I are trying to figure out where she comes from since neither of us were like that at her age (who am I kidding, I'm still not like that).


• And we've been closing up our last weekend of summer with a trip to the zoo, a Red Wings game and a the Klix / Allen cottage for Uncle Charlie's Birthday.
  

It was a fun-filled summer with lots of great memories - I just wish it hadn't gone by so fast!!

Give me your tired, your poor......

Thursday night we drove down to Long Island for the big Belmont Stakes weekend. Early the next morning. we caught the 7:44 am train into the city to see the Statue of Liberty with mom, dad, Kris, Ryan, Aidan & Brian. We were worried about the kids after getting in pretty late the night before, but, thankfully, the kids were GREAT. Joey really seemed to enjoy his 1st train ride pointing out the other trains to us - "mo trains, momma.... mo trains, mamaw...." we heard that phrase over and over :)

The morning was very overcast so I was a little disappointed because the pictures weren't as great as I had hoped - I was really hoping for a beautiful blue sky background. It was still amazing.

We walked around the grounds and took a bunch of pictures:

Here's a picture of all us (except my sis Kristen - she took the picture) - we took it right after getting off the boat and unfortunately the statue is facing the opposite direction:






Here are the kids and me in front of the statue





After walking around for a bit, we headed in to the museum and pedestal observation deck (it's the highest level you can get to since 9/11). There was a ton of security - two different checkpoints actually and, unfortunately, for the one to get into the museum and observation deck there was this air blowing part that just freaked Alli out and she wanted no part of it. So, Paul took her out and just walked around the grounds with her - they actually spotted us and waved when we were outside.

The museum had life size replicas of the torch and Lady Liberty's face and foot. Here are some pictures with my little model Emily:

Then we climbed 156 stairs - boy that was a little tougher than I thought - especially having to carry an extra 30lbs (Joey). Thankfully for me though, mom and Brian offered to take turns carrying him. We were all huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. At the top, we could look all the way up into the statue - it was really cool.

Walking outside, we could see the Manhattan skyline and the grounds. Looking up was cool, but it didn't give you the best angle to see.

After we got back down, we found out my brother in law Ryan was going to be interviewed by FOX news about what it meant to him to be an American and what freedom meant to him. Unfortunately since we don't live down here, we won't be able to see if he actually makes it on tv, but they said it would be on their website after July 1st.

After his interview was done, we headed back on the ferry. Joey conked out in his stroller which was good since he was missing his usual nap.




Since we missed tne train back by just a couple of minutes (and had an hour to wait for the next one) Paul and the kids and I walked down to Times Square and went into the enormous Toys R Us there.



To end the day, Paul, my dad, Brian & Ryan headed to a Yankees game. Paul was looking forward to this all day - he's a huge Yankees fan. It was too bad they lost, but they still had a great time.

Our little guy is 2

I can't believe our baby is two! We had a party over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate with family. It was a beautiful day, the only downside was that it wasn't quite warm enough for swimming (Paul, Katie, Em, Alli & Josh braved the pool for a bit though). We had a cars theme party - Joey loves pointing out all the cars and trucks on the road and their color, so I thought it was perfect. We got the cutest Cars cake from Wegmans too.

Joey loved the cake, but couldn't have cared less about opening the presents - he doesn't get it quite yet. Thankfully Alli & Josh were more than happy to help him open them. Emily's past that now, I guess, when the presents aren't for her :) Once he saw the toys, he was excited and wanted daddy to open every one right away.

Here are some pictures of our little guy:

A Month (plus some) in review

Ok, so when we first decided to start this blog, I had high hopes of updating every couple of days, but obviously, that hasn't happened. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post. Time is flying by - how are we half way through May already???

Anyway, in order to try and start blogging again, I thought I'd do a month (and a half) in review and then try and post more often.

Since my last post on Easter.....

We became Godparents for our nephew Aidan. Kristen & Ryan had asked us both and we felt so honored - it's so nice that we're able to share this. I had gotten the flu days before the baptism (sicker than I have been in YEARS). I was so nervous that I wouldn't be able to be there, but thanks to the wonders of theraflu, I was able to make it. That really worked wonders on me. Here's a picture of sweet baby Aidan, my sis and brother in law and Paul and I...

We went on our annual trip to Myrtle Beach with my family for April break. The weather was sunny, but not so warm the beginning part of the week. Thankfully, it warmed up by midweek and we were able to get a couple of good beach days in. We always have fun though no matter what the weather. The guys and Donna played lots of poker and Erin brought a new game for the girls - Apples to Apples. Highlights from the week include, making homemade ice cream, mini golf, Broadway at the Beach, and the beach (of course).

I turned 35 - as my Aunt Maureen likes to remind me, I'm now 1/2 way to 70 - Yikes!! Time is flying by way to quickly! Didn't I just turn 30??? Since we had a busy day on my actual birthday with both of us working and brownies in the evening, we celebrated the night before by going to my favorite restaurant, the Plum Garden. The food there is so delicious. The girls seemed to like the chef cooking right in front of us, but Joey HATED his firey tricks - like the volcano, etc. I can't say that I blame him.



On April 26th, we went to the annual sheep shearing festival at Springdale Farms. I've been wanting to take the kids to this for years (for me as well as them) and we were finally able to go this year. We met up with my friend Kelly and her kids and walked around the grounds - it's such a nice farm. The girls got their faces/hands painted - Emily had a flower painted all across her face - it was really cool. It was amazing to see how fast they shear the sheep and how still they sit for it. It was actually about 80 degrees here that day, so they were probably happy to have all that fur/wool off of them.



Paul built this awesome rock landscape wall at the entrance to our pool and also expanded our patio some. He also built some stairs for the pool. He did a great job and did it so fast!! It really looks amazing. We also got the pool opened for the season and can't wait to get some warm weather so we can actually go swimming.



Alli's preschool class did a little play for the moms in honor of Mother's Day. Her teacher read "The Mommy" book and the kids took turns acting out each page. Below is a picture of Alli and her friend Lauren for the page - some mommy's like to dress up. Her teacher, Mrs. Dewey is in the background.



Afterwards, they had tables set up with cookies and lemonade for us - it was so sweet. They also had put together a recipe book for us - always love new recipes to try.




In May, Emily began playing softball with Paul as one of her coaches. Her friend Elizabeth from our old neighborhood is on the same team and her dad Mike is a coach too. Emily seems to really enjoy it so far. She's on the Grizzlies. They do an hour of drills/teaching and then play a 3 inning game.



I had such a nice Mother's Day. We went to brunch at this really cute place (Patti's Pantry) with Paul's mom, dad & sister. The food was delicious! During the afternoon, Paul let me have a couple of hours to myself - so of course, I did some scrapbooking. After Joey's nap, we spent dinner with my parents - unfortunately, my sister was really sick for her 1st Mother's Day.

Well, that brings us up to date. Hopefully I can stay on top of this more, but knowing me, I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these catch up posts in the future. :)