Memorial Day 2010

It is the end of May already and we are happy to report we had the best Memorial Day weekend - thanks to our visitors. On Friday, Andro, Jenn, Luka and Aidan made it all the way from New Jersey. As frequent travelers ourselves, we understand what a big deal it is to travel. So we are so thankful when we have visitors. We had a little pizza party upon their arrival and the boys were so excited because it was Luka's birthday. Of course, we had an ice cream cake to celebrate.
All the boys got into the action and had to help blow out the candles.

The next day we thought we would go on an outing. We went to the Franklin Park Zoo fully equipped with strollers and excited kids. As you can see, we all had our hands full.

Of course, we saw the gorillas, tigers, monkeys, leopards, zebras and so much more. I think we were all thrilled that the Lion was actually awake and roaring...it was so surreal that we actually thought it sounded like a tape recording. However, once we saw it for ourselves there was no denying that it was real.

Part of the zoo is a little petting farm and Aunt Jenn was there to help Garrett feed the goats.

I think Luka and Aidan need a pony - they are ready to learn to ride.

Look closely and all the kids are actually in this picture, including Andro. Connor is the cow in the upper left hand corner, Aidan is the rooster in the bottom left hand corner, Luka is the goat in the middle, Garrett is the cat in the lower right hand corner and Andro is the old wise owl in the upper right hand corner.

We just couldn't stay home during the weekend. Sunday, we took off for Boston and a duck boat tour. All the kids received a quacking whistle which they took full advantage. It is always nice to learn a little history during the tours - poor Connor and Garrett were so tired that they fell asleep. Connor couldn't understand why the boat never went into the water. He wanted to immediately get back on because he was so upset that he missed the water portion of the tour.

We then headed to a small sandwich shop for lunch. A squirrel gave the kids so much enjoyment. There was a squirrel which was camped out in the garbage can outside the cafe which kept poking its head out. The kids loved watching the squirrel and thank goodness the kids were smart enough to keep their distance. This pole was right near the garbage can and the kids had a blast climbing and running around it.

Once we got home, we went to the Japanese restaurant which seems to be a favorite for all four boys. From across the grill, how cute are they!

It was such a fun weekend and we can't wait to plan our trip back to New Jersey.

So Proud of My Accomplishment

I am not one who is crafty or really ever follows through on a long term personal projects, so I must admit that I am very proud of myself -pat pat pat! The reason I started this blog was to keep in touch with people but the more I write the more I realize it is a great chronicle for the kids to have when they grow up. So, I used one of the associated sites to turn each year of my blog (so far 2008 and 2009) into hard covered, bound books.
The books arrived as my boys were getting ready for bath and when they saw me so excited they just had to see what I was looking at.

As you can see, they are just as excited to read about themselves and all the fun things we have accomplished in such a short period of time.

To Connor and Garrett - I am sorry this post has you in your underwear but as your mother I think you are absolutely adorable.

Play Time in Fishkill

It had been a while since we were in Fishkill so we definitely made the most of our stay. The next day we headed out to the playground to take advantage of the nice weather and it was so nice that everyone was having fun. Come on Uncle Kevin - you can go higher than that on the swing.

During our visit, Connor was still in t-ball season so Daddy and Connor took some time out to hit the field and practice. See them - they are the tiny dots in the middle of the field. I wasn't allowed to go too close because I am known to be a distraction.

In the meantime, Garrett and I climbed every jungle gym, rock wall and even played some hoops. When Connor was back, he was working on his Michael Jordan impersonation - with Uncle Kevin's help he looked like he was running in the air with full extension of the arm and even the tongue sticking out.

All the spectators were cheering them on.

Thanks to Nana and Aunt Ellen for putting up with us all weekend - we had a blast!

School & Fishkill Fun

As the school year was coming to a close, the school put on a parent-child lunch. So May 20th, I was honored to be able to go to Connor's school where they had prepared snacks for us. They did all the table settings and even made place mats. I was a little early so I took a quick picture of the room before kids exploded through the door and there were people everywhere. Unfortunately, we were so busy talking and eating our snacks that I didn't get a chance to take a picture of all the children together. However, it was a great event and thank you Connor for all your hard work.
The weekend of May 23rd we headed off to Fishkill to visit with everyone. All the kids got together and had a phenomenal time. Here are all the cool boys hanging out on the Jeep.

Connor and Garrett were having a great time on the playground.

They loved making a ton of new friends.

Checking out the bee hive.

Thank you to Rob and Kelly for having us all over. As you can see my boys had an incredible time including riding all the motorized toys.

I am pretty sure they road all the motorized cars/atvs until their batteries started to run out.

After running around for six hours with all the kids, we had some pretty tired boys on our hands. That is how you know they had a great time.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

With the arrival of spring also came the next sport Connor wanted to try. It is t-ball time and he loves it. As you can see, Connor was put on the blue team and he was so excited because his coach was one of the basketball coaches.
Here is his team waiting patiently on the bench for their turn to bat.

Connor's turn - he wasted no time in showing off his power hitting. This hit was actually a home run and he was thrilled to round the bases.

And here he is coming home...

Time for working on their fielding - Connor scooped up the ball and was throwing it to the bucket like coach requested.

High Five from Coach!

Connor is very serious about t-ball and really loves playing. As a parent, the hardest part about t-ball is that it happens on Mondays at 3:30 which is obviously during business hours. So I don't get to see him play every week but Grandma has done a great job documenting each game and the improvement week over week is incredible. Congratulation to my little All-Star who completed a full season and had so much fun. I am just so happy that I got to see him play at least once.

After this particular game, it was bubble time and the kids chased bubbles all over the field for a really long time. Apparently, they weren't tired at all - my little Energizer bunnies.

Garrett was actually better at blowing the bubbles then I was, so I let him take charge.

Traffic Congestion - A good thing!

In May, the traffic to get in and out of Boston seemed to increase 10 fold. In case you are not aware of our schedule, on Friday afternoon's Grandma drives in with the boys, picks me up and then I drop Grandma off at the airport. Then, we head home. On good days this takes an hour and on bad days you just never know. I am lucky enough to have two boys who are fantastic in the car and are very patient with their mother. Back to May - we decided to try to break up the boys long car ride by going to Brian's office after dropping off Grandma. The boys were so excited for the change of pace. We walked along the new Greenway. There is even a carousel in the middle of the Greenway and the boys couldn't wait to ride.

We then ventured into old territory, Faniuel Hall, to try to jog Connor's memory of when he lived in Boston. First stop, the balloon lady who made us a dog and an airplane. The kids ran around with their balloons and had a blast.

We stopped and had a bite to eat. Then, we headed back to the car to finish off our trip. Since this change of pace was such a huge hit, I think we will keep it up for a few weeks until it is summer traffic time.

Garrett's Computer

For over two months now, my little man and his imagination make me laugh everyday. As most of us do these days, Brian and I have a blackberry or iphone for work. Obviously, the kids don't miss a move and know what we are looking at. So about two months ago, Garrett surprised me with his very own handheld computer. Let me explain.

Example: I tell the boys we are going to go upstairs to take a bath. Garrett opens his left hand with his palm up - proceeds to take his right pointer finger and pretends to press buttons on the palm of his left hand while making -beep beep bup noises. He then turns the palm of his left hand so I could see it and tells me that his computer says it was dessert time not bath time.

How can you argue with his personal computer? These are the moments you wish you could replay or freeze forever.