A Welcome Visit

My Aunt Jody and Uncle Gary live in Maryland and only come up this way to visit usually once a year at Christmas time, but now that their two girls are on their own and in college they some times make a special trip up. This weekend was that special trip and we not only got the see them, they were able to meet Miss Leah for the very first time. We had a great evening filled with laughter, games and food!

Poppy was smart and remembered to bring the bat and ball for Seth to play with. The kid can hit, no tee needed!

Uncle Gary even took a turn while Seth caught in the out field.
My aunt couldn't get enough of Leah, but she did have to share her a little with Seth from time to time.It was so great to see you both and we can't wait until Christmas to see you again. By then I am sure Leah will be on the move!

Check it Out!

I am a big girl now, I can sit up on my own and I LOVE it!I also carry on some interesting conversations with my big brother Rocky, he is fascinating!

Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, we have been busy, but not doing anything that interesting, just trying to enjoy the last moments of vacation and summer. It already sounds and is starting to feel like fall. I like fall, but I don't want winter! Anyhow, we are off to Sackets today to walk by the water, try their new playground and then splurge on some Chrissy Beanz. Then tonight we have a play date at the Brownville playground and then a visit with Justin later on. It should be a fun filled day!

Whirlwind Trip

Yesterday we headed out bright and early to visit Sheryl, who we haven't seen in almost 2 months. We aren't too keen on going too far away with Miss Leah at this time because she doesn't love the car, but we made the exception for Sheryl. We had a great day full of letterboxing, a picnic lunch, a boat ride on the Sacandaga and finally some amazing pizza! Thank you Sheryl, Jess and Eric for a wonderful day!

Sheryl printed out a bunch of letterboxing adventures in her area and we decided on 3 that we close by and we were successful with all 3!
It was a good thing that there were 4 adults figuring out the clues because they were a tad tricky!
We did come home with some battle scars though. Seth has a HUGE bug bite on his forehead and Leah has about 3 on the top of her head!
The weather was overcast which I was fine with, but we were able to take a short ride on the boat. Seth loved it, Leah fell asleep and I am completely sold on it so look for our family to be purchasing a boat by next season. I can't wait!
Leah was dead asleep and I was almost there!
If Seth didn't have swimmers ear he would have been in the water in a heartbeat.
Quality time with Aunt Sheryl!

Leah loved the swing at the boat club, she hung out in it for a long time.

Before we left Sheryl ordered two amazing pizzas; one was a white pizza with broccoli on top and the other was a pizza shell with an antipasto on top of it. It had to be the best thing we have ever tasted. So yummy!

It was a great day and well worth the car trip with a screaming baby! Today we are hanging out and getting odds and ends done around the house. I also had my sister cut my hair today and it is a BIG change and I love it! Thanks a ton Dayna!

FYI...Seth just woke up and told me I look like a different person!

Milestones

We have reached and are attempting to reach many milestones at our house. Miss Leah is growing like a weed and moving all over the place. She is working on some teeth and chews on anything; see pic below! Don't worry it was clean and it kept her happy for a long time! She doesn't actually have any teeth yet, but I am hoping they come soon!
Leah has also outgrown the baby tub and is sitting upright in the bath now. She loves it and so does her brother.Seth is in for a rude awakening when she really gets moving. He has already taken some of his toys away from her so I am sure that a "sharing" lecture is on the horizon!

...Where the Fun Never Stopped...

...Until 5pm that is!It was the most perfect day to spend with my little man, his best buddy and one of my closest friends. The weather was perfect, hot, but not too hot and the boys were amazing. No tantrums, just good old FUN! Seth hadn't been to The Enchanted Forest since he was a year and a half so it was all new and he loved it! Plus, he was old enough to do many of the slides all by himself which he thought was great. Last, but not least, Tom got us FREE tickets so we all saved a ton of money. Thanks a ton Tommy, you are the best!

The independent twins on the big slide!
The first couple of times they went down like this, then they started to get fancy and do tricks on their belly by the 20th time!
They even tubed all by themselves!
This is the train ride that we waited for like 30 minutes to get on, but by the end of the day my pregnant friend needed a walking break!
We had the most fabulous day and I couldn't get over how well behaved both boys were. It was a truly memorable day for us all!

Hot Hot Hot!

We are trying to enjoy this warm weather to the fullest so we are engaging in all sorts of water sports at any given time of the day! Saturday we hit my Mom's pool for the greater portion of the morning!

Thank you to Miss Maya and Miss Sophia for the hand-me-down bathing suit for Leah. She loves it and is so stinking cute in it!
No more 1A for my kid, he is a swimming maniac now!Buddies!1 2 3 JUMP!

Thank you to Mom, Tom and Justin for helping us with the boys and inviting us to play at the pool. It is always a BLAST!

Dinner on Wellesley

Last night we all went out to dinner for the first time in a very long time! We went to Joey's TI Club and had a fabulous dinner and lots of laughs. Thank you to Dad and Sue for watching the kiddos, we really appreciate it!

My 2 favorite guys!
It was such a beautiful evening on the river and the food was to die for. It was definitely worth the trip!

Yesterday I went with my Mom and her friend Linda wine tasting. We started at the new winery; Coyote Moon and then worked our way to the TI Winery. We had a lot of laughs, well I laughed that the two "more mature" women a lot as they talked about all sorts of interesting things. Anyhow, it was a beautiful day to spend on the river drinking wine. I highly recommend getting a wine slush from the TI Winery, oh so good!

Checking Each Other Out!

Today we had a little impromptu water slide play date since it is finally summer and hotter than blazes. The older kiddos played in the water and the little kiddos checked each other out. It was so cute!Leah is playing shy while Brady checks out her toys!
Still more interested in Leah's toys than in Leah!
Leah checks Brady out.
Then Brady decides to ditch the toy and pounce!
Once he finally had her in his sights he wanted to play and would not let her go, it was super cute. Leah on the other hand wasn't so appreciative and screamed. Soon, very soon they will be able to play.

Brady also found a way to turn himself completely around in the swing. Unsafe, but oh so stinking cute!

Bring on the Sun!

We caught some rays and enjoyed the pool yesterday afternoon with the whole family! Justin has been working so much this summer that we hardly know he lives here so we enjoyed an afternoon with him, my Mom and Tommy!

Today my Mom, her friend Linda and I are going wine tasting and out to lunch. We are going to try the new winery called Coyote Moon and then go to the TI Winery. It should be a fun fun day.

Leah tried her first biter biscuit and along with all of the other things that she loves in life we can now add this to the list. She had a blast figuring it out. I, on the other hand did not enjoy cleaning her up, but oh well she was happy!

Today we are heading to Seth's nursery school orientation. It is so hard to believe that he will be going to school 2 mornings a week this year. Wasn't he just crawling? After that we are heading to the farmer's market and tonight Kristen and I have our golf lesson. It will probably be the last for the season since she is almost 8 months pregnant and it is getting harder for her to swing. We will pick it back up in the spring!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

Today we celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner on Friday night and talked about old memories, our kids, our wonderful life and what we want in our future (ahem boat!!). We met back in 1994 when I was a lowly sophomore in high school starting a new job at The Super Duper. Roland was going to JCC and it seemed like he was a million years older than me. It was only 3 years, but when one person is in high school and the other is in college there is a big difference. We dated briefly, but at that stage of our lives the age difference was too great and I cowardly ended it after only a month. (story for another time) Who would have predicted that 2 years later in 1996 after I graduated that we would end up at a party together and the rest is history. Roland got me through a very tough first semester at SUNY Potsdam when I just wanted to drop out because I hated being away from home. He would come and see me every Wednesday night in Potsdam to hang out and watch 90210 after he had worked a full day and then drive back to Watertown in the early hours of what was then Thursday to turn around and go back to work. I would look forward to Wednesdays so very much.

Then I came home and spend a year and a half at JCC where we were inseparable. I just couldn't spend enough time with him. Looking back it seems semi-stalkerish! At the end of my sophomore year in college we decided that he was going back to school to finish his degree so why not go away together. We visited a couple of colleges and decided to apply to SUNY Oswego. Luckily we both got in and started making plans to leave. I knew that going away together would be perfect and I would never be homesick with him by my side. WRONG! I disliked being away once again and came home quite often. I went through 2 roommates until we decided that we would like to get a place together. It would just be easier if we lived together. So our second semester as juniors we found an apartment and moved in together. We were the happiest we had ever been and it was a great trial run for us later on in life.

Next we graduated from Oswego and decided to apply for jobs all over northern and central NY. Low and behold after a long summer of teaching interviews I was offered a job in Clayton, NY. I moved home very quickly and started in September. In the meantime, Roland was still working at The Big M in Oswego and looking for a job. In mid fall he was offered a job at VAC in Watertown and we started looking for an apartment in Watertown. We found one and then a better one so we made 2 moves in 4 months. On my birthday during my first year of teaching Roland popped the question and the rest is history.

I had the time of my life planning our wedding and honeymoon. When all was said and done I was so sad to have it all be over. We had fabulous bachelor/bachelorette parties, wedding showers, rehearsal dinner, wedding day and honeymoon. I couldn't have asked for a better husband and best friend!

Now, 7 years later we have 2 beautiful children, great jobs, great family and friends and a beautiful home. I could not have asked for a better life if I had dreamed it up!

I could ramble on and on about the past 13 years but I won't bore you!! Here is to many many more wonderful years together as a family!

Laurie Berkner Rocked!

Yesterday was the long awaited Laurie Berkner concert that Seth has been waiting for. We were so excited that we made 2 huge parenting mistakes. First, we went for a bike ride in the morning which tired Seth right out. Second, while Roland and I showered and got ready we forgot to give Seth lunch. It completely slipped our minds and he never said a word, very unlike him. So when we got to the concert he was super excited and upbeat, but about halfway through he pooped out and sat on Ro's lap. He was exhausted! Nonetheless he LOVED the show and LOVED getting to meet her after the show. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to Poppy Puccia for getting the tickets and the backstage passes. We all had a fabulous time!

Thank you for coming with us Grandma and Poppy!

Dancing in the aisle

After we left Seth said, I want to do that again!

We even got their autographs!

It was such a great day, one for the memory books!