Nothing Like a Field Trip

To make you feel like an adult. Today Julia's class went to a local pumpkin patch and I went along to chaperone. Chaperone? That's what adults do! Seriously, am I old enough to be chaperoning anyone? Apparently so. The rule at school is that you must be potty trained to go on field trips, so Julia and I were thrilled to qualify, but a bit sad that Brendan couldn't join us. But, we all had a great time. The kids had a blast, there were no accidents, the weather was perfect, and the chaperones had a great time "de-briefing" at the restaurant/bar down the road after we returned.

Happy Birthday Ruby!

This past weekend "Baby Ruby" turned one! She celebrated with her friends at the soft playroom and enjoyed her first cupcake! Happy Birthday sweet Ruby!

In the Halloween Spirit

Brendan and Julia have had a good amount of fun Halloween clothes to wear this year in anticipation of all of the Halloween fun to come. Here's a photo of Julia in her Halloween dress with her favorite tights and sparkly shoes that are oh so much fun! Brendan is finally happy to wear the "Monster of Rock" shirt that for some reason he refused to wear for weeks. By refuse I mean, I'd get it on him and he'd kick and scream and tug at it until I took it off. No need to fight over clothes now, I'm sure we'll have plenty of disputes later on. :-)

Goalia's Season Begins!

Julia started playing soccer on a team this fall and is having a good time so far. With each practice and each game she gets more and more into it. Here she is before the game with Brendan, then warming up, then chasing the ball. We're trying to figure out how to get her to keep her tongue in her mouth while she runs.

Happy Belated Birthday Grant!

It seems as though I'm a month late in posting things that are happening with us. So, about a month later, here are some photos from Grant's second birthday party. Happy Birthday G!

Corolla 2007

We took our annual trip to Corolla, this time with Grammy and Grandad!! We were there in early September and had a great time. The weather couldn't have been better and the surf was perfect for the kids to get in and really have a great time playing. Each day was a great beach day. We swam, played in the sand, played Frisbee and Julia had a great time flying the kite that Grandad bought for her!

Brendan Turns TWO!

Last weekend Brendan turned two. He has really changed a lot in the last few weeks. His vocabulary has expanded quite a bit which has significantly decreased the level of frustration for him.

He is much happier and now even says things like "yes" and "ok"which is so nice to hear from him!

Now when I tell him that I love him, instead of saying "no" he says "ok" which always makes me laugh. He's also started to say "please, thank you and welcome" which are nice to hear, especially when it involves sharing with his sister.

He had a small party at the "soft playroom" at one of our county Rec Centers. The kids had a great time running around, rolling in the ball pit and just generally being wild things. Though I have to say, I was most surprised that in the end an adult ended up being the only one put in time-out for playing too hard...you know who you are. :-) Thanks to all who celebrated with us and made this even more memorable!!!!

Hershey Park

Late in August we headed up to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania with Cousins Colin and Marcus and Auntie Danette and Uncle Mike.

Other than it being a 3 hour trip it was a great time. Julia and Brendan had never been to such a place before and they loved it!

There were plenty of rides for our little ones and some stomach-twisting ones for us bigger ones.

We had a really good time and I think I melted down before anyone else did.

Brendan walked around all day with our walkie-talking calling it a "shone" for phone and thinking that the interference he was hearing was someone on the other end of the phone. Very cute.
Also, he loooooooves trucks ("guck") so he was particularly happy to drive his own guck.

2007 Labor Day Games

This years games were a lot of fun. The weather couldn't have been better and we had our families there with us too. Here are some photos from the sack races. Cousins Colin & Marcus competed in the Under 6 category and did quite well! Julia and I took a turn and had a lot of fun. We look forward to when the kids are older and we can do the canoe and kayak races together, or against each other.

Happy 4th Birthday to Our Sweet Girl

Julia turned four last week.

I was looking through old photos and can't believe how much she's changed in so many ways. The stories that she tells, the songs that she sings, the compassion she shows, the happiness she shares, her curiosity, her love for her family, her frustration when her brother doesn't understand sharing, her love for him, all of the wonderful things that make her so special to us. It's too much to list.

So I'll post some photos from her actual birthday. She had fallen earlier in the week and scraped her lip. She was so excited to come home after school on her birthday to find a brand new Dora bike, just for her. She had her first fall off the bike today and was "blooding" but got right back up and rode her bike home. That's our girl! Happy Birthday Sweet Julia!