New Hampshire 2010 Part 2

The following day we went back to Storyland to continue the fun. Connor had a map of the amusement park and he plotted out our path the night before. Our first stop was the antique cars which I think is every kids favorite ride.
Garrett was ready to ride. I had to help just a little bit by pressing the gas pedal since he was just a little bit too short.

This year was so much fun because the boys tried rides that they would have just shied away from last year. Here they are on the Whirling Whale - Garrett is there peaking out past daddy.

The boys both remembered this ride because we have a family tradition of always taking a picture on this ride. From each trip, we always buy the ride photo and it is fantastic to see the progession of our family through the past four years.

A little after lunchtime, a huge thunderstorm rolled in. We took cover in the ball pit zone and the boys had a blast filling guns with balls and shooting the people down below. We took a break on a bench and Garrett even fell asleep in my arms which is a wonderful feeling.

NEXT STOP: SANTA'S VILLAGE
At the entrance to Santa's Village, there sits Rudolph who when spoken too actually responds. I think this knocked Garrett for a loop because he made me come back during the day to check it out again. I continued to ask Rudolph questions and he just stood there amazed...he did manage to eventually say hello.

The picture below is the first ride that the boys have ever taken together without mommy and daddy. Look how happy they are and how they look to one another.

This was my favorite ride which I wasn't allowed to ride because I was pregnant. My little firefighters came off this ride soaking wet and all smiles. (this included daddy getting drenched)

The race is on. Look at Garrett working his aerodynamics.Sometimes you laugh as a parent because your kids find the strangest things amusing. The boys loved these cupcakes and had me take their picture in all of the ones around the park.

I know what you are thinking - this is the perfect Christmas card photo. I thought the same thing for one brief moment and then realized that we were missing our new addition. Look at how handsome the boys look.

Next it was time to visit the reindeer and the boys got such a kick out of feeding them.

Garrett's favorite ride.
Hey there!

This year the boys graduated from the frog slide to the big blue slide. After a few practice runs down the frog slide, they were headed to the big slide.

We have two little daredevils because they came down this slide backwards, on their stomachs and any which way you could imagine - it definitely kept Brian and I on our toes...especially since the boys still need to learn how to swim.

Its raining Its pouring...

Our little get away seemed to fly by and we had a great time. Time to get back to the daily routine and get ready for our next adventure.

New Hampshire in June

What do you do with your family when you are basically nine months pregnant? Go to amusement parks in 80-90 degree weather...that's right!!!! Since we are expecting our little girl to arrive anytime around mid-July, we headed off for our annual trip to New Hampshire a little early from June 18-21. As you can imagine, the boys were so excited especially since they remember most of it from last year. First, we had to measure ourselves to see what rides the boys were tall enough to go on.
One of our first stops was the carousel - look at those smiles.

Then to the swan boats. This was actually Brian's favorite ride because the boys were able to each drive a swan boat and we were able to sit back and relax. Connor was a superb driver who did like to bump into other boats and Garrett was hysterical since he made us do donuts the whole time we were out on the pond.

As described...

Here is the Captain of my boat.

The first day was quite a long day - we drove all the way to our hotel, unpacked, headed right to Storyland and closed the park. On our way home, we stopped for some food and the kids were psyched that a little ice cream store was right next door. The perfect ending to a hot day - they even had a little table just their size.

Day one a success!

All Work and No Play

Papa arrived at our house and was given a laundry list of projects that needed to be done. Some in preparation for the baby and others just general upkeep. The list was so comprehensive and the fact that he kept adding new items, I thought that in the few days that he was here he was never going to sleep. He almost didn't. We did manage a miracle because we couldn't let him work the entire time he was here. He went with all of us to a Touch-a-truck event in Boston. Thus, he was the perfect person to show the boys how to work most of the construction/digging equipment. They were all very intent on figuring out how to get this digger to work.

Reliving his days in the Army - he popped right into the truck and was ready to roll.

Our little firemen - I can't explain how heavy fire hats are...these are the real deal and I could barely lift the hats up to put it on their heads. They thought it was so cool to be in the back of a fire truck and to be able to touch everything.

Can you believe it - I got a picture of mom and dad together without complaints. I know the background is not the best but you have to treasure moments like this when they are so rare.

So the next big attraction was the police car which you could punch all the buttons to set off the siren and all the other noises. I have to hand it to Garrett for being so smart. While he was waiting on line to take his turn, he popped into the back of the cruiser. He watched as all the other boys and girls took their turns. When it was finally his turn, he jumped over the middle console and went right to work. He had studied all the buttons and knobs so he knew exactly what he wanted to do. The police officer was quite impressed.

We are praying this is the only time we see Garrett in the back of a police car. :)

Connor also made short work of charming the police officer so they got a little extra time.

It was a great event and one of the biggest hits was the moving truck which was lined with bubble wrap so you could jump around and pop all the bubbles. It was nice to get Papa out of the house for a few hours so he could relax a little bit. Once we got home, he convinced us to buy a new tree which was huge and then Brian and Dad set out to dig a hole in our yard which is completely rock. It was quite a task considering the terrain and the heat. Needless to say the tree has been flourishing ever since. Thanks to Papa who managed to transform our house in less than three days...Thank you!

Major Changes

The first weekend in June brought us big changes. The boys are now sharing a room because their brand new beds have arrived. (In the future, these can become bunk beds which they are very excited about.)
We are happy to report that the transition was seamless and it has actually brought our boys closer together. Even though Garrett loves the new found freedom of getting out of his own bed, he fell fast asleep the first night.

Connor has taken to sleeping in his bed upside down - apparently that is much more comfortable.

One of the first nights in their room together, Brian and I listened to them over the monitor. They were singing songs and suddenly started singing the theme music to Star Wars. I actually took video tape of the monitor because it was so cute. You never know how your child is going to deal with transition. I am so lucky that they are now cohorts in crime and their conversations at night just prove to be priceless.

Last Day of School

How can it be true? Connor's last day of nursery school is here already. How did an entire school year go by so fast? The last day of school is a picnic inclusive of a performance by Violet the clown and a pizza party. Connor was so excited and he even posed for a picture for me. The best part of the picnic is that the younger siblings were allowed to attend. Since Garrett has gotten to know all of Connor's classmates, he feels like part of the class.

Look at Garrett and Katie playing on the see-saw.

Connor, Katie and Garrett ran around the playground together. Connor and Katie were both up to no good jumping off the metal structure into the sandbox.

At 10:30, Violet the clown came to perform and as you can see the kids loved it. The kids were mesmerized the entire time and love the performance.

Violet the Clown.

Here are the boys laughing at one of her jokes.

Then, it was pizza time and the kids sat and gobbled up the pizza in record time. All the running around the park made them hungry.

I know the boys had such a good time at the school picnic and Connor can't wait for September.

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.