Retirement Send Off

It is known that I do not have a poker face, can't lie and break out in a red blotchy rash when I get nervous. So to plan and implement a surprise party was quite a big deal. When my mom decided to retire I decided that I wanted to do something special for her in celebration. About two months ago I hacked into her email and stole the addresses of her closest friends plus my two closest friends and planned a surprise cocktail party. It was supposed to be outside on the deck in the warm sun, but who am I kidding, we live in Watertown, NY. The weather never cooperates when it is supposed to, so plan b had to be put into place.
I made all sorts of appetizers, desserts and we had wine and whiskey sours. All of the ladies loved the food and the night turned out even better than I had planned, plus my mom was super surprised which made the whole night perfect.

Big thanks to Kristen and Jen for all of their help!

Mom was given some very special gifts which of course made her cry!

Great friends!

1 Step Closer to Kindergarten

Today was a day that I put off for as long as I could for the simple fact that I hate seeing my kids in pain and I knew that Seth was in for some shots. Not just one, but four! He was a trooper. He weighs in at 51lbs. and is 45 and 1/4 inches tall. He passed all tests with flying colors and tolerated three shots in his arms and one in the booty with minimal tears. He was then rewarded with a goody bag and a trip to the Farmer's Market.
Let's also clarify that he is in no way shy, he chatted with Dr. O on any and every subject and the laugh of the day was when I had to help him give a clean catch urine sample. The giggles coming out of the bathroom were sure to make the nurses smile.
He also got bonus points for writing not only his first, but his last name for the doctor too. Our little over achiever. We are so proud.

Complete

The kitchen is complete and our projects are done for the summer.
We couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Thank you Bruce and Ron!

Happy 85th Gramp!

We LOVE You!

S'more Wars

After all of the extended family left we got out of our dressy clothes, put on our comfies and kicked back on the patio. We cooked kielbasa, hot dogs and s'mores.
Seth is in love with my cousin Molly so they hung out up top and ran some races.

Go Seth Go!

I gave my Uncle Gary the "Most Fashionable" Award...NOT!

I bought all the fixings for s'mores and even bought the GIANT campfire marshmallows. Aunt Jackie was the first to try one.

Uncle David found them a bit messy too!

Then, simple s'more fun turned into all out WAR!

Aunt Jody was first. We thought it would end with her, but Molly was out for blood or should I say marshmallow.

When she s'mored my mom I literally almost peed my pants laughing.

Leah stood there pointing and saying, "Ut oh Mommy, ut oh!"

I thought they would spare Rachael because she had a dress on, but no one was safe.

Then Rachael went after my cousin Chris.

What goes around comes around because in the end Molly got it ten fold and her hair was completely covered.

Age was not a discriminating factor either because first they got Gram and finally they got Gramp. I will have to post his pic later because it doesn't want to upload right now ugh!

Gramp's Semi Surprise 85th Bash

The day that we had planned for finally came and it was quite a day. It was the first time in a very long time that my entire family had been together. Usually we are missing someone since everyone is so spread out nowadays. My grandfather was not surprised in the least. Just because he has hearing aides does not mean he is completely deaf and as much as my Gram tried to keep things under wraps, he found out. He was so thrilled to have our whole immediate family together as well as extended members too.
We started the party in the summer room and eventually moved into the house.

The beer, wine and whiskey sours were flowing.

Gram is 83 and Gramp is now 85.

My cousin Emily put in a jazz CD at one point and my grandparents danced for us all. They have some serious moves and I hope to move like they do when I am 85.

Any chance to put a dress on Leah and I am on it.

Tears of happiness.

Stay tuned for pictures from our first ever S'more War!

See You Soon Uncle J

Saturday was a very bittersweet day. We celebrated the life of our wonderful 85 year old grandpa, but we also had to say "see you soon" to Justin. Luckily for Mom and I, we are planning a trip to see him in September.
Long hugs and tears were shed.

We will miss you tons and tons and we had the best time with you over the past two months. Have a fantastic summer!

Mt. Carmel Feast

Last night started the Mt. Carmel Feast at our church St. Anthony's. It is a yearly tradition that we try not to miss and a little rain doesn't stop us from the fried dough, Rollo, taffy and rides. Last night was no exception and we all had so much fun, plus The Widrick's are in town for my Gramp's 85th birthday so we were able to celebrate the start of summer with some very special family.

Leah had her first taste of taffy and by the looks of this she liked it.
Seth LOVES my cousins Emily and Molly. They play rough with him and he eats it up.

I explained Rollo to them like this...it's like playing Bingo without letters and numbers. It took a little bit, but we finally got 7 seats together in the Rollo trailer.

It was another first for Leah too.

Leah's third first of the night was trying the homemade fried dough. I was surprised, but she ate it all and probably part of the napkin too.

Seth was most excited because he won his very own fish and Daddy won Rollo and gave the prize token to Seth so he got to pick out a new car. He was all smiles on the ride home.

Spending Time with Uncle J

Sadly enough our time with Justin is coming to an end, but that is not to say that we have not had tons and tons of great times with him over the past two months. We have spent more time together as a family in the past two months then we have in the past two years so we are truly grateful. I made one last home cooked meal for him this week and then we played outside and went for a bike ride. It is always a jammed packed night when we get together. I will miss our weekly dinners so much, but I am ready for him to cook for me on his own turf in September.
I think that Seth will miss him the MOST because they have had many special days together during this trip. Justin spent a belated birthday day with Seth and many afternoons at the pool, just the boys. Seth loves his Uncle J to pieces.

I would like to hire Justin for the summer to hang out and play with Seth. They are such buddies, always playing Power Rangers, wrestling and playing monster trucks.

We will miss you tons and tons, but will see you in three months! Love you!