Vintage

Off to Fishkill for Mary Ellen's bridal shower and we decided to dress Emily in a vintage dress circa 1982-3. Yes, this is my dress from when I was growing up and doesn't Emily just look adorable.

Meredith had an instant buddy for the entire day.

Emily enjoying her time at the shower. So cute!!!

2011: First Day of School

Every year I feel the same way - where did the summer go? I know we had a fun and busy summer but it is still overwhelming to think it is almost fall. With the start of September comes the beginning of school.

The first to head off to school was Garrett who was ready and excited to head back to preschool. Garrett is lucky this year because he knows his teachers from last year and 13 of the 20 kids in his class were in his class last year. As you can see, Garrett was ready to go.
Just another example of the many faces of Garrett.
Emily was excited to get into the action as well. Emily started class at a school nearby which gets one year olds together to sing songs and just have fun. Although Emily still had to eat breakfast, she was already planning what shoes to wear.
When Monday rolled around, Connor was ready to start school. This is his big year - off to Kindergarten. I will be honest and tell you it was hard for Mommy to think of her big boy going off to school. I just want you to be happy - so I was just hoping everything went well. Connor was ready to head off.

The Boys!

Goofy as Always!

Let's Go!

It is with great pride that I get to report that the boys absolutely loved school. Both boys went in confident and happy and came beaming out of school with huge smiles on their faces. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and love hearing all the new stories you have to tell.

Labor Day Weekend

About a week before Labor Day, we were psyched to hear that our friends were coming to visit for the weekend. We are always excited when anyone is willing to drive the five hours to see us. However, the boys especially love playing with Luka and Aidan so the weekend couldn't come fast enough.

The boys spent Saturday morning running around the house playing with every toy and leaving no corner unturned. We decided it would be best for everyone's sanity to get outside and enjoy what turned out to be a beautiful day. Since it is peach and plum season, we headed over to LookOut Farm for some fruit picking and fun. All aboard the train so we can venture into the orchard.
There is a play area with lots to do - playground, pony rides, haystacks, bouncy house, maze and camel rides. We headed there to let the kids run wild. They all jumped onto the caterpillar for a spin around the area.
After lots of play time, we headed back to the train so we could go find some good fruit. Look at Emily and Aunt Jenn ready to hit the orchard.

The boys were very serious about fruit picking - I think we picked enough fruit to feed an entire army. Thank goodness Aunt Jenn was willing to make a peach cobbler and an apple crisp. (Did I say how much I love having visitors who bake?)

I got some cuddle time on the train too.

The next day we headed off to the pool to let the kids swim and play. After a couple hours in the pool, I don't know how anyone had any energy. But guess what - we all did. We headed out for a hike a couple minutes from our house. The kids were totally into it. Look at them following the red dots and running ahead.

They all held tough and walked the entire time. They even let me have a photo-op on the way back.

Look at these trouble makers.Monday came too fast for everyone and the boys were so sad to say goodbye but it was time for them all to start school. Before they left, they did manage to play for every last second.