End of Summer Kidnastics

Yesterday I was that annoying mom taking pictures of my child's every move at Kidnastics, yes that was me! It was the last class of the summer so I wanted to capture all of Seth's progress.

... And here are the videos, now you can get a real glimpse!

Circle Time

Bubble Time

Closing chant

Kidnastics was wonderful this summer and Seth had a blast with all of his friends. We will be taking a haitus from Kidnastics in the fall in order to get back to swim lessons, but watch out because we will be back in the winter and ready to learn!

Videos from BBQ

As promised, here are the videos from the party as well!

Summer BBQ

We couldn't have asked for a more perefect day to have our BBQ. After a long August of rain rain rain, we had the most beautiful day you could have asked for full of tons of food, great family and friends and the laughter of children!

Waterslide action
Gwen and Elise came all the way from Potsdam and even made some new friends!
Ro had a few too many beers and tried to dry off the slide with his butt for the kids.
The most action the playhouse has gotten all summer.
Our closest family and friends all came out to have some fun!

Some of the little kids and one big kid!
Ro needed an assistant to help with the massive amount of meat.
Bonfire fun!

I'll post some videos of the waterslide fun later today too! Thank you to everyone to made this party possible and for coming to enjoy it with us! We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our life!

Buggy for Books Bash

Yesterday Seth and I went to the end of the summer reading celebration at the library and when I use the expression, "MAD CHAOS" I'm not joking! It was crazy, busy, kid filled madness, BUT Seth had a blast so that is all that matters. Actually, the library staff was very creative and there were lots of activities for the kids to engage in. They had a craft area (Seth used a glue stick for the first time!!), they had a bean bag toss, pin the bug on the web game, bowling and then pizza and a variety of kiddy food for lunch. Here are some of the pics!

Crafty timeIt is the best when you are surrounded by good friends

who you have spent a GREAT summer with!

Older

This morning Seth and I debriefed about his night at Grandma and Poppy's and I swear I'm talking to a miniature man.

I said, "So what did you do at Grandma and Poppy's last night?"
Seth said, "Ate dinner and swam in the pool."
I said, "What did you have for dinner?"
Seth said, "Pasta, meatballs and bread!"
I said, "Did you go in the little pool or the big pool"?
Seth said, "We went in the little pool AND the big pool."
I said, "What did you do after dinner?"
Seth said after a pause to think real hard, "To get ice cream."
I said, "What kind of ice cream did you get?"
Seth said, "Prinkles on it, look at my belly!"

This conversation was utterly priceless and I wished I had it on tape. He was so serious and was thinking so hard as to what they did and what they ate. Our little toddler is growing up at warp speeds!

FYI~ Seth is also giving up his beloved crib next week and giving it to the baby as he says. In all actuality he is getting his very own bunkbeds. Pics and tales of bedtime woes to come, but hopefully the transition will go smoothly!

Challenge

Last night Kristen and Jacob had Seth and I over for dinner while Roland was at golf and during our time outside the boys found a huge box of Ring Pops. The reason for a huge box of Ring Pops is a story for another time, but it got me to thinking about candy from our childhood days. So my challenge for you is to think of some of your favorite childhood candies.
I'll start us out...

* Fun Dip
* Foot long Pixie Sticks
* Nerds

What were your favorite candies in the past?

Fun w/ Poppy

Seth's favorite thing to do now is pick the veggies out of the garden and last night was no exception. We got him a bowl and he picked away!

Today my little, but not so little anymore brother leaves for his final, last and senior year at Cornell! It is very bittersweet for us all. We are happy to go and visit him and we know he loves being at school, but we are sad to see him go. Going to the Big M just isn't the same now without his smiling face their to greet us! We wish him the best of luck for his last year and I can't wait to come and visit in October!

Letterboxing Adventures Pirate Style

Today was the first day in a long time that is wasn't raining so we grabbed some snacks, the stroller and of course Grandma for some letterboxing adventures. I went online and there are 3 new boxes in the Alex Bay area plus it is Pirates Week so it was perfect! We only made it to 2 of the boxes because we got a little sidetracked with pirate boats and a little shopping at my favorite store in the bay, Good Dog Charlies!

The excitement of opening the box!

We are so lucky to live by the river!

Seth was thrilled to be walking over the mini bridge

Seth LOVED seeing the pirate ship (so did I)

I totally forgot to take some shots of the actual stamps in the letterboxes we found. We went to one box that was hidden right in Scenic View Park in the Bay and the stamp was carved of Boldt Castle. The second box was located right by the TI Bridge and it was carved of the bridge itself. They were great searches and it was a GREAT morning!

Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter

Tuesday nights are golf league night for Ro and Tom so my mom and I try to plan dinner together from time to time. Last night she had my grandparents and Seth and I for dinner at her house. Late in the spring Tom and Mom planted a little (or so they thought) garden with Seth. So all summer long we have been waiting patiently for the fruits of their labor to produce and boy have they!

Their little garden massively grew and grew and this is the result!

Seriously, these cukes are HUGE. Huge scary, but delicious!

My grandparents also have a garden at home and apparently it must not be doing as well because my Gram kept saying to my Gramp, "Well, how come our cukes are so small?"

It was an adrenaline rush looking for all the veggies because they seem to hide until that moment when you see them and you are so utterly excited to pick them. I just kept saying, "I found ANOTHER one!" It was so much fun!

Watch out Tiger Woods...

...HERE COMES SETH CHARLTON

Saturday night after our wonderful day on the river we decided to take Seth golfing and what a difference 10 months makes. We took Seth golfing last fall and he liked it, but he was bored and didn't always listen to us. Saturday night he was the BEST! He really had a lot of fun and Ro taught him a little bit along the way. It was a great night with great pictures to remember it by!

Check it OFF the List

At the beginning of the season I had an internal list in my head of things that I wanted to do with Seth this summer. Most of which we have accomplished and a few that we hope to squeeze in in the next 3 weeks before the summer ends and I have to go back to work. I have been bugging bugging Ro to take Seth and I on a boat cruise in the bay all summer and it just hasn't been the right time. Saturday we had no plans so I suggested we go. Ro said there was NO way he was going to the bay on the opening of Pirates Weekend, so I was super bummed, but I respected his feelings. So, Saturday morning we all showered and got ready to go letterboxing or so I thought, but Ro really planned for us to go to the bay and on a boat tour! YIPPEEE! It was the most perfect day, it was warm, but not hot and the tour was amazing.Did I mention that we'd like to be rich and own a house on the an island on the river?? Well, we do!

Zoo Buddies

On Thursday my friend Sarah and I decided not to waste a beautiful day and to take the kiddos to the zoo in town. Seth would go to the zoo every single day if we let him as he loves loves loves animals in any shape and form. He was thrilled! The main priceless moments were when the kids held hands through most of the park. We found if they helf hands, they wouldn't run and fall. It worked out great and they had a blast.
On a side note, I have to say how sad I feel for the animals at this zoo, they all look so sad and their living areas are not well kept. I left feeling horrible for them all.

On a second side note, I have a ton of pics from our wonderful day yesterday, but I still need to upload them, so that will be top on my list for Monday.

On a third side note... Happy Anniversary to US today! We have been married for 6 years! We have know each other for 14 years and been a couple for 12 years. It is crazy how life seems to be speeding up, but no worries with this blog we won't forget a thing! We enjoyed a wonderful anniversary dinner on Thursday night at our favorite restaurant, Ryan's Lookout. Thank you to Mom, Tom & Uncle J for taking care of Seth while we enjoyed our night out! Today we are cooking a big feast and enjoying every minute of our time together!

Walking Boo Boo

I swear at this point in the summer Seth has a cut, scrape or bruise on just about every party of his body. He walks and runs at mock speeds and never never looks where he is going. Thus, the various band-aids all over. Did I mention that he doesn't even like band-aids? He says they hurt! This is the latest!
Don't you just love those chubby legs?? Today, we are headed to the zoo at the park with some friends and then to have a picnic. AHHHHH, summer is so tough!

Serious Fear

Last night we thought it would be fun to take Seth to feed the ducks. He was super excited since we haven't gone since last June. At first we actually couldn't even find any ducks, but when we did they swarmed us. That is when I realized that I'm actually scared of them. If you could have seen me hiding behind my brother you would have died laughing. This HUGE goose/duck not so sure scared me the most because he hissed at us and kept waddling closer and closer.



Seth had a blast and kept saying, "Hi big goose!" Many ducks and geese were happy that we stopped by because they had full bellies when we left!

Making Memories

About 2 months ago our friends Rod and Jen asked us if we would be interested in going on a little mini trip with their family. We were a little hesitant since we had just gone to Burlington with some other friends, but we stuck to our motto of... "You Only Live Once". So we decided to go for it. They were worried that it might get too crazy with all three kiddos and that it would ruin our friendship. Well, we are home now, we had a great trip, they were super easy to travel with and our friendship is well in tact! Here are some of the best pictures of our trip to Toronto and Seth's first time in Canada!

Bedtime stories ala JenExcitementThe butterfly house

Ending the day with some messy messy ice cream!

It was a great trip with great memories we will cherish!