Our Trip to DE ~ A Summer Flashback

 Since I took the summer off from blogging was I never able to share all of our wonderful vacation pictures. We went to Fenwick Island, DE and we had the most amazing experience. The community that we stayed in was so amazing that we hardly left. We did manage to go to the ocean a couple of times, to Ocean City, MD and to a few other areas outside out community, but Bayside where we stayed was just so perfect that we never wanted to leave. We had a three story townhouse right across from the community center where there were two pools, a splash park, tennis courts and basketball courts.

 Here are some pictures of the inside of our townhouse.

 One of our days at the beach.

 The Ocean City Boardwalk

 Seth lost his very 1st first tooth on vacation too. It was quite an ordeal, but Uncle Justin came to the rescue and pulled that sucker out finally.

 The kids tried their hand at crabbing, but Uncle J actually caught the largest crab of that day. We also tried kayaking for the first time.

 Our evening at Dead Freddie's was super fun. They had a playground right inside/outside the restaurant so the kids played the whole time while we sat and watched; feet in the sand.

 On one of our last days we played mini golf and did some touristy things.

A great big thank you to Poppy Puccia for all of his generosity on this trip. We all had a blast!

Leah's 1st Trip to the Dome

 We had the BEST family day this past Saturday that you could ever ask for. Seth was in sports heaven from noon until 7pm, we were able to spend time with some friends we only see a few times a year, we ate ourselves silly and Leah made her 1st official trip to the SU Dome. It was the perfect day!

 The men were in grill heaven.

We had kabobs, half hots, kielbasa and so much more. I'm still full thinking about it.

 Leah enjoyed the fruit kabobs the most.

 This is my new favorite picture in the whole world. Matching with my favorite girl.

 Leah was so excited to get inside. She asked over and over when we were going into the Dome.

 Our friends The Riddoch's were able to join us too.

 Go ORANGE.

Saturday basically ROCKED, but we all crashed by about 9pm.

 Fun comes at a price.

Soaking It Up

 We are trying to spend as much time with Justin as he will allow us. It will be a long 10 months before he returns from his worldly travels and we want to soak up our time with him. Friday after school we headed to the cider mill and stocked up on donuts, cider and apples. Funny fact: We bought a dozen donuts and left with 5. I'd say that was a delicious snack.

 Just hadn't been to the cider mill in four years so he was excited to see it again.

 Leah is full on into her pirate unit at school so she came home with some school made goodies that she was very excited to try on.

 Saturday morning we split up. The girls went to the Black River Fall Fest and the boys went golfing.

 Watch out Tiger Woods.

 Saturday night we headed out to celebrate two great guys special 38th birthdays; Lee and Ro.

We even convinced Justin to hang out with us again. Well...free beer was promised.

This week Justin has been convinced to spend three nights with us. We are soaking him up, he leaves in less then two weeks.

We are Back!!

I decided to take the summer off from the blog and it felt GREAT. We had the most amazing summer in the history of summers and I will be sure to post some of the best pictures soon. Today was the day we all dreaded, well...the day that I dreaded and that is the official back to school day. The kids were pumped so Roland and I were thrilled for them as well. Smiling faces are much more pleasant than tears.

 Our traditional back to school picture on the front steps.

 This will be Leah's last year at IHC. It is very bittersweet, but we love Knick so I'm sure she will love it there next year too.

 Leah is in love with Michael and she speaks about him all the time. She says he is her boyfriend, but we correct her and just say friend. No boys yet!

 Leah's teacher rocked her first day wardrobe choice and scores major points for creativity. In actuality they are doing a pirate theme for the first month so she definitely dressed the part.

 It is unbelievable to think that Seth is starting his third year at Knickerbocker. It feels like I was just crying as I dropped in off for kindergarten.

 I wasn't there, but apparently Seth just about pushed Roland out the door. He is too old for us hovering now.

I can't wait to get home to hear all about their first days.

Farewell

 Farewell to Nursery School; Miss Brand and Mrs. Musser we are on to Pre-K.

Farewell 1st grade and Mrs. Morrison, we are on to 2nd grade.

Growing up is very bittersweet and as a very sentimental mom it makes me very teary. We are so lucky that we have amazing kids who love school and are thriving, but this growing up thing is very tough. I'm definitely savouring each and every milestone.

Father's Day Weekend

 On Saturday we headed to the river for some fun in the sun. I wanted to have the kids see The Dock Dogs, the tall ship, The Lynx and the poker boats. We acted like tourists and checked it all out, had hot dogs on the street and stopped into The Scoop for some ice cream. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday.

 In the evening we headed to the lake for pizza and a boat ride.

 Sunday was Father's Day so we spoiled Roland as  much as possible. Sheryl made a surprise trip home for the day and Roland's family had a little reunion at the park so we stopped to see some familiar faces.

Happy Father's Day to all of our favorite dad's, grandpa's, uncles and friends.

Relay for Life '13

 My school team merged with our middle school/high school this year so we were bigger than ever and we renamed our team after the loss of a mother of three of our students. We feared the rain, but someone upstairs was looking out for us all and the weather cooperated for the evening.

 We hitched a ride in the back of a friends pickup truck to get to the top of Coffeen St. for the parade and the kids thought that was the best.

 Thank you to our wonderful sponsors. This was a neat idea to wear a sandwich board with sponsor names on the front and back. Our own personal favorite is the Caprara sponsor. Thanks so much Kia.

Our annual Survivor with Leah picture. Almost three years for Ro now.

Halfway down the parade route we met up with The Castana's, Uncle J and Poppy.

Dedicated Moms

The kids had an utter blast playing in the center field. Seth was super sweaty and he was in his glory.

Survivor lap

We love you Ro.

TI Relay ROCKS