New Hampshire Vacation

The next several posts are going to be from our vacation to New Hampshire which we took in the middle of July.  We headed up to Conway New Hampshire and enjoyed beautiful scenery, lots of woods, river fun, and letter boxing.  There was a little shopping thrown in there too.  It was a great week and everyone wants to go back again next year.

Day 1

On the road, Natalie's desperately trying to stay awake

CJ in the car and super excited

The mountains as we were driving in.

We're there and having a little lunch before we explore

Natalie not happy with me

Taking a picture of Kaitlyn taking a picture

CJ found toys to play with

The Saco River a short walk from the house we stayed in.

CJ sitting by the river

CJ and Natalie getting their feet wet

The water was cold

Heading back to the house

Natalie doing a little target practice with her new hobby

What great form

Joe teaching CJ how to shoot his pellet gun

Kaitlyn's turn

Shooting the can

Alyssa playing in the canoe

In the house this cute little chair was a favorite of Alyssa's

There was a lot jam packed into that first day.  Including numerous trips by Alyssa up the stairs.  She was real fast by the time we left.  Check back later for day 3 pictures (I didn't get any pictures on day 2).

The Drive In

We try to head out to the drive in every summer.  I think we missed out on it last summer, but we jumped at it this year.  Fourth of July fireworks had been canceled on the 4th because of some expected bad weather which of course never happened.  So we ended up with a low key 4th with our neighbor and our own fireworks.  And then the next day instead of going to the fireworks we normally go to on the 4th we headed to the drive in to see Spider Man and Brave.  It was a fun night with lots of excitement because our vans battery died and we had a heck of a time getting it jump started with the help of some kind strangers.  You don't want to know what everyones face looked like by the end of the night, but here were some pictures before the movies started.

CJ hanging out in the car.

Natalie hanging out

Goofy Kaitlyn

Giddy Lissy

Alyssa

Kaitlyn

What ya doin' CJ?

Pretty Natalie

Me and my girl

CJ drinking a juice

CJ next to an old speaker box at the drive in

Deer caught in the headlights

Kaitlyn hanging in the car

Gremlin CJ

Say cheese

Cuddling up to watch the movie

So in spite of the crazy end of the night we had tons of fun.  Looks like that might be the only time we get out to the drive in this summer too.

Swimming And Fishing

Continuing on with the picture updates of our summer.  The end of June we went to a local pond where the kids did a little swimming and a little fishing.

3 little swimmers

CJ loves his big sister

Teaching him to swim

Kick your feet

Sleepy baby

CJ trying out Alyssa's swim trainer

He had so much fun in it swimming after everyone

Then he went fishing

Caught this trout that was as big as his arm

It doesn't get much better than this.  What a fun day with the kids.

Last Day Of School

As I said, on the last day of school I surprised the kids with ice cream for dinner.  What a great way to start out the summer.

The spread

Icecream, chocolate syrup, bananas, sprinkles, waffle bowls, and whipped cream

What is mom up to now?

Are we really having ice cream for dinner?

I can't believe we're getting ice cream for dinner!

As you can see they were in a little disbelief about the whole thing.  They were expecting a mixture of their favorite meals I think.  I totally just became the cool mom, at least in that moment.

Long Time No Post

Wow, I am so bad.  How has it been 2 months since I last updated here?  Okay, well I could use summer as an excuse, but we haven't been super busy.  Let me recap and over the next few days I will share pictures from our summer.

So the kids got out of school the end of June.  We had a special dinner of ice cream on the last day of school.  Total surprise to the kids.  They want me to do it for the first day of school too.  Ha, not happening.

Kaitlyn had a few sleepovers and play dates with her best friend after school let out.  We have been going to the library and reading a lot. 

In July we took a family vacation to New Hampshire for a week.  We rented a house in the middle of the woods and just enjoyed some peaceful times with lots of bug bites.  It went much too fast.

Since we came back it has just been more of the same old with the library and playing outside when the weather allows.  It has been a lazy summer really. 

We went to a friend's house who has a little boy CJ's age.  We're hoping they are in the same class.  They get along pretty well.  

The kids go back to school in two weeks.  We still don't know who their teachers are.  Well, Natalie got her team assignment, but we already knew it anyways.  We know that CJ is morning Kindergarten.  It seems that Kaitlyn is not going to get the teacher she was hoping for in 5th grade.  How did she get to be in her last year of elementary school?  And Natalie in her last year of middle school.

It's going to be a crazy but good year ahead I'm sure.  But that is my small update.

A Tribute To The Fathers In My Life

Father's Day is almost over and I have been giving a lot of thought to the men in my life who are fathers.  My own father and my husband, the father of my children. 

I was fortunate growing up to have a dad who was there.  He was involved.  He took me to baseball games and Def Leppard and Tiffany concerts.  He put me on his shoulders so I could see the concert better.  He pushed his way through a crowd of people to get a baseball signed by Mookie Wilson for me.  He spent hours when I was in 4th grade trying to comb the fun tack out of my hair so we didn't have to cut my hair.  When I finally wanted to learn a musical instrument that required me to learn how to read music he took the time to teach me.  He set the bar pretty high for what a father should be, right?  Yup he sure did.

I can happily say I found a man who could give all of that and then some to his children.  Joe is there day in and day out with the kids.  Right there in the trenches with me.  When CJ fell the other day on a walk with our neighbor's dog Joe carried him all the way home and patched him right up.  He takes his pain and flushes it right away.

Natalie has discovered an interest in archery.  She expressed to Joe that she would like him to teach her how to use a bow and arrow.  And Joe happily obliged.  Okay, so he has been waiting for one of his children to show some sort of interest in these sort of hunting sports so needless to say he was over the moon that she asked him for this.  And he immediately began searching for the internet for just the right bow and arrow for her and he found it.  So now they spend a lot of time in the basement practicing their aim.

Kaitlyn had to do her state project on New Hampshire this year.  Joe helped her research information on the internet and he even helped her paint her project.  And he has been trying to help her with the drop the egg and don't let it break experiment they are going to be doing at school this week, but Kaitlyn has her own ideas.

Alyssa has Daddy wrapped around her little finger.  All she has to do is bring him a cup and he gets her a drink.  If he's eating something, she's right there next to him getting her share of it.  And when she's tired and daddy scoops her up into his arms she cuddles up and lays her head down on his shoulder and snuggles in.  It is so sweet watching them together.

So to the fathers in my life I just want to say thank you.  Thank you to my dad for always going that extra mile for me and thank you to my husband for giving our children everything they could ever need or want.  Setting the bar high for what fatherhood should look like for our children.

Happy Father's Day!

School is finally coming to an end around here. Yes, it's late, but this is the North East for you. They start the end of August and usually go until about mid June. But thanks to that freak October snow storm we had 5 snow days early on in the year. But since we didn't get anymore they just tacked them on like usual to the end of the school year. So the big kids don't get out until Thursday and they are so ready to be done. Honestly, I am too.

But today was CJ's last day of preschool. He is on to Kindergarten in the fall and will be at school with Kaitlyn. This was just a little preview of the sheer emotions that I am going to be experiencing next year when Natalie graduates from middle school, Kaitlyn graduates from elementary school, and CJ graduates from Kindergarten. Next June I am going to be a mess if today is any indication because the moment I saw my boy up on stage I began to tear up. And then when they began to sing that was it I was gone.

So they performed a few songs, then received their diplomas, and ended with a slideshow from the year. That just about killed me. I'm just happy they let the kids come down and sit with their parents at that point because I got to hold my baby boy tight to watch those pictures from the year with him.

I don't think he realizes exactly what's going on. He'll probably wake up Monday morning wanting to get ready to get on the bus. It should get easier when his sisters finish school next week. But it's official, CJ is a Kindergartner. That teeny tiny baby that had so many problems starting out in his first year of life is going on to Kindergarten.

I am beyond proud of my baby boy. He is growing up so fast!