Seth's First Sleep Over

Seth had his first ever sleep over this week and I'm sure you can guess who the lucky boy was...Jake! The boys tired Uncle J out in the pool for over an hour before working their way into many of the other nightly activities.

We broke out croquet for the first time in years and the boys loved it.

We also had a camp fire and cooked Jiffy Pop over it.

After stuffing their faces they decided to play hide the glow stick in the dark. It was actually really fun.

Last, but not least after a good cold shower the boys snuggled in their bed under a blanket fort that they created. Thank goodness they slept right straight through until 7am. That was a successful sleep over.

Seth has requested to have Sophia and Maya at his next sleep over. I guess we better do this soon since a boy/girl sleep over would be frowned on in the future.

Savoring Our Final Moments with Uncle J

 Less than two weeks to go until school starts and less than a week until Uncle J heads back to Florida so we are trying to cram as much fun in as possible. We headed to the Syracuse zoo yesterday since we hadn't gone in a couple of years. It was the perfect temperature and we saw tons of animals.

 The penguins were a hoot and the kids laughed so much watching them.

 Pick me up Uncle J I can't see!

 My two cute kiddos

 The tiger was chilling out right by the glass, it was so neat!

We sat and watched the elephants for a while too, they were great.

Another day flew by... :(

Seth's Special Overnighter

 Aunt Sheryl called last week and really wanted to have Seth for a over night. It worked out really well since I was headed to the outlets back to school shopping for the kids so she met me there and we swapped. She took him mini golfing, to the arcade and to a minor league baseball game. He had a blast and did not want to come home. At the game he was able to meet the mascot and run the bases and Aunt Sheryl even bought him a special shirt. The next day Seth was able to go to work with Aunt Sheryl and help out with the team. He felt pretty darn special. She also kept us up to date with hourly pictures which was fun.

 Seth with the mascots

On the field after he ran the bases

 

A great big thank you to Aunt Sheryl for taking time out of her busy schedule to make Seth feel so loved and special. He can't wait until next time!

Pirate Day '12

 We decided to let Leah nap with Poppy while we took Seth to Pirate Days in the Bay again this year. We took Seth for the first time last year and he loved it so we really wanted to take him again. He got some new pirate gear this year and away we went. We were able to make it onto the island and we had a great view of the ship as it came in for its attack.

It surprised us, but Seth was super timid and did not want to tour the ship. We kept telling him they were actors, but he was having a hard time believing it. It was a great way to spend a beautiful summer afternoon with our little guy though.

Beaver Camp Week

 Last week was, as Seth would call it, "The Best Week of the Summer!" We decided to send him to Beaver Camp in Lowville for day camp and he LOVED every single minute of it. Thanks to the help of my wonderful girlies, we carpooled every day and I was even able to spend some time with my grandma in Lowville on my carpool days. At camp Seth was able to swim, use the aqua jump, the ropes course, he was engaged in various obstacle challenges, they had group time, singing and all sorts of other amazing activities. They never did the same thing twice. We have nothing but wonderful things to say and next year he is going for the mini over nighter for two nights away and then the full week of day camp. He can't wait!

 He was in the boys cabin Red Pine.

 Luckily his BFF was in his cabin too.

 Our carpool crew; Jake, Seth, MJ and Annabelle

 On the final day of camp the parents were invited to come and see the camp and watch a little show the kids put on. It brought tears to my eyes and we had to make Seth leave. He did not want to come home. I think we were one of the last to leave.

 This is Carlton, one of Seth's counselor's and ironically a former student of mine from TI.

 This is Ben, Seth's second counselor.

Seth playing an Israeli game called "Ga Ga".

Surprise Smash

Ten years ago we were pretty tame with each other in the cake smashing cutting portion of the festivities. I was much kinder to Roland than he was to me, but who is keeping track right? This time around I was out for blood. I somehow forgot that he is 1. tall and strong and I am 2. short and not always so quick. I gave it the old college try, but I think once again he got me much worse. Here is the amazing play by play thanks to Jen Voss our wonderful anniversary photographer. 

 Anticipation as we cut the cake...

 Who is going to make the first move?

 Let's at least taste it before we smash it in each others faces.

 Yummo, great work Sandi, the cake tastes delicious.

 Now let's get this party started.

 "Jen, be nice now!"

 "No way, no how I'm going to cover you in cake!"

 "Damn Ro you are quick and strong, I can't even breathe with all this cake up my nose."

 "I can't breathe, but I'm not letting you get away unscathed."

 Up the nose and covering the face.

 Caked into the ear.

 Not done with me quite yet, always has to have the last word or in this case, the last smash of cake.

Notice: Leah is traumatized in the background.

 The audience is pleased though. We put on a great show.

 I had so much frosting lodged in my nostril that I was coughing and I couldn't stop.

A HUGE Thank you to our friends for surprising us with this truly memorable evening. You remembered every single thing and we had so much fun. We will definitely always remember this anniversary. For our 20th we are going to a tropical island to lay in the sun!

Thank you also to everyone to sent cards, gifts and for the kids sleepover gift to us. We appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness very much!

Surprise 10th Anniversary Party

 Saturday night we intended on having our annual shrimp boil, but it turned into so much more than we ever dreamed of. We invited the normal crew and at around 4pm we were told to come out front. My Mom, Tom and Justin stopped by unexpectedly and as I was getting the kids ready for the party there was quite a commotion out front. I had no idea what was going on until I reached the front porch and saw our friends parading down the street. The girls were all wearing blue dresses (my bridesmaids wore blue dresses in our wedding 10 years ago), the guys had bow ties on carrying Roland's favorite beer, all the kids were carrying flowers, Sophia made a sign and they had a replica wedding cake in the wagon. We were in such shock and awe that our amazing friends went to so much trouble to study our wedding pictures and were so creative to put this all together. I still can't get over the whole thing and we feel so blessed to have these wonderful people in our lives.

 Our annual girls picture and the best girls I could ask for.

 Let the party begin; pool, water table and water slide

 Shrimp Boil Master Chef

 Dance Party

 Seth lost his flip flop so they were looking over the fence for it.

Lisa and Zeke breaking it down.

Stay tuned for the cutting of the cake and the major smash!