Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ticonderoga Play Date

A few weeks ago we met our good friends, Julie, Leah and Aaron at one of our favorite places! I am SO glad we "found" this place last year b/c the kids ABSOLUTELY love it and it's open all year round, unlike most of the "farms" around here...you know, the ones with slides, hayrides, and other fun things. And the best part is if we go during the week (or even the weekend really) when there is not a festival, there is NO ONE else there!! We literally have the run of the place and they ask us what time we'd like to go on our hayride!! Here's a look at the fun stuff we did that day. I had my "big lens" on my camera so I couldn't take pics on the hayride and I think Julie has all the pics from the slide, as I was on duty on the top of the hill, helping the kids get situated on their felt mats.

A rare picture of Brady smiling when I'm taking his picture....he's typically not "into" it these days.

monkey see, monkey do!

I'm not really sure what they were looking for, but it was all business!!

Emily wasn't so sure about putting her hands up

But she sure was having fun!

While the big kids did this:

Emily did this!

Brady loves playing these old propane tanks



one of my all time favorites!!!

Emily is VERY into tractors and trucks these days

my handsome boy!

She was watching a bug VERY closely!!! :-)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Hiatus & Summer pics

Guess it's been awhile since I've blogged! I didn't intend to take a hiatus, it just sort of happened and I apologize. I think getting entirely caught up might be a bit overwhelming, so I'm just going to start up with our summer vacation pictures and go forward. So, here goes:

We drove to Florida and got to spend about 3 weeks there in July and August! Alan, the kids and I spent a week in a great beach house where we had so much fun!! At the end of the week, Alan flew back to VA and the kids and I stayed for almost 2 weeks at my parents. At the end of the 2 weeks Alan flew back and we all drove home and I am happy to report we managed to make the drive in one day!! The kids did AWESOME in the car!!

Here's a glimpse of all the fun we had:

We spent LOTS of time in the pool at my parents house




We had a Taiwan play date at my parents house/pool with Shana (from Orlando) and her 3 kiddos and Kathy and Jeff (from Kentucky) and their son. The kids have such a great time together even though we only get together once a year and of course the adults love having the time to catch up!!



We went to the Clearwater Aquarium where we saw "Winter" the dolphin!

We had LOTS of fun on the beach





we went to some really great playgrounds


and we went to the very cool Glazer Children's Museum, which is 100% hands on...the kids LOVED it!




and we attempted a little fishing outing, but it was pretty much a bust....oh well, maybe next time we'll have better luck!


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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Spring Fun

We've had a few nice days weather-wise lately so we've been able to get outside and have some fun! I'm SO OVER the drab and dreary weather that seems to be lingering....I'm hoping the sunshine is here to stay! Anyway, here's some of the fun things we've been doing!



Emily LOVES bubbles!!

my ham...always willing to pose for a picture...with a smile!!!

Artists at work

Emily making some new friends!! :-) She had a nice conversation with them!! LOL

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

"Blog Worthy"

About 2 weeks ago or so, a friend of mine and I were exchanging emails about getting together over Spring Break and at the end of one she asked, "when are you going to update the blog?". My reply to her was something like, 'I feel like we haven't done anything "blog worthy" lately'. WELL, that will be the last time I say that!!! Not 3 days later, we got to spend the night in the hospital with Emily!!! She had been having some looser than usual stools, but at first I didn't worry, as this sometimes happens with her. Then on Saturday, March 26th, we took the kids to see The Blue M@n Group. Well, I had to take Em out somewhere close to the end b/c she was getting fidgety and saying "boop, boop" (poop, poop). So I went and checked that out, which was nothing so we were just about back to our seats and she started saying it again, so back to the bathroom we went. This time she was holding her stomach while saying it and really fussing, to the point that we left the theater altogether, which is when she proceeded to throw up! I was SO thankful we were outside and NOT inside the theater!!! Anyway, I had managed to send a text to Alan that said, 'we need to leave NOW', so luckily he, Brady and my brother were outside pretty quick. At that point I decided we needed to go the hospital. We went back to our house so my brother could get his car and so we could take 2 cars to the hospital. As suspected, Emily was diagnosed with the stomach virus and dehydration and the ER DR. wanted her kept overnight to monitor her.

Getting the IV in Emily was something to watch!!! I have often said that changing her diaper is like wrestling an alligator, well, getting an IV in her is more like wrestling an elephant!!! LOL. I will say, that having 2 nurses comment on how strong she is made me feel a bit better knowing I'm not just some weakling!! (which I know I'm not, but still!!) They ended up having to use something called a "pappoose" (sp?), which is basically a backboard with a straight jacket like jacket attached. In the end she looked like a human burrito!!! Somehow I found the whole thing more comical than sad, which is probably a good thing!! Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for Emily, I did NOT have my camera with me then, so no pictures.

After a long wait in the ER we finally got up to her room around 10 or so. The room was nice.. a recliner, a crib and a bed for me, plus our own bathroom! I had no idea what to expect, so this was far better than I had imagined!! Now, as for sleeping with that IV in...AI YI YI!!! The machine must have gone off a million times. EVERY time she moved, or every time there was the slightest pressure or kink in the cord. I think I finally fell asleep sometime around 2 or so, but I have to say I did sleep well until about 6 when someone came in the room. Brady and Alan came back up in the morning so we basically spent the better part of Sunday at the hospital as a family. Emily was finally back home around 2:30 or so. She's no worse the wear and all back to normal!!! Unfortunately for me, I managed to get whatever it was she had and I was laid up for the better part of 3 days at home!!! I think we've finally escaped the virus at this point!!!

The moral of this story is, I will no long wish/wait for something "blogworthy" to post about!!!


Emily and me lounging

feeling better at this point so she could play with Brady

walking around in my shoes!! That big cast looking thing on her arm is all for the IV!!

Playing in the closet!

just trying to contain her since she was still hooked up to the IV

our room

Monday, February 14, 2011

Brady Turns FOUR!!!

Holy cow! Where does the time go? I cannot believe my sweet boy is already 4 (actual birthday was Feb 5)! He is so much fun (most of the time) and so, so eager to learn....anything and everthing!! He is constantly asking me to spell words and asking me what words mean. The kid is a sponge!! And he is SUCH an awesome big brother!! He really looks after Emily and takes care of her. He loves her so much and I love it!! When they are away from each other for long periods of time, he always says, "I miss Em-i-we"!!! We are so happy and proud to have Brady and be able to call him our son!! We love you, Brady!!!

To celebrate his Birthday we had his party at a bounce place and it was a blast!! There were only 10 kids, but it was nice having the whole place to ourselves!! It was such a stress free party too, I LOVED it!! They took care of EVERYTHING and it was so nice!!! From a parking space, to a cupcake "tree" to writing down who gave Brady which presents, it was AWESOME!!! This might just be the place to have every Birthday!!! LOL



Nyah running around having fun!

Blake at the bottom of the slide

Billy and Emily

Kayla climbing up!

Kyle coming through the maze

Brady and Ewan at the bottom of the maze

Peyton

I know it's not clear, but it's a face of pure joy!!

Billy having some fun!!

Paul and David

Me and Emily

The brothers jousting!!

Nyah and Peyton battling it out!

Ewan and Kyle

Brady and Kayla

The whole gang!! (Kyle, Kayla, Nyah, Ewan Ty, Blake, Peyton, Emily and Brady)


Brady waiting to blow out his candle

The whole group before opening presents


Peyton with purple icing lips

Emily and Blake....Emily's face cracks me up!! LOL

Present time!!! :-) LOTS of legos....which will make Brady AND Alan happy!! LOL


Thanks to all who helped Brady celebrate his birthday!!! We all had a great time!!