Playing Outside

It was a really cloudy evening, Daddy was fishing, and we were bored so we took battery run Thomas trains outside to play and turned our playyard into a train town.

It was a fun way to pass some time.

Look what I learned to do!

Where's the water?

Just playing.

Bubbles!! One of Adam's favorite outdoor activities.

My sweet boy.




Spill proof bubbles - What a great invention for a 2 year old.

Day Out With Thomas the Tank Engine

Looking out through a LEGO Thomas Train.

Riding the LEGO Thomas Train

"I see Thomas!" Adam was equally excited but because of where they were standing, I could only get one first reaction.

Taking a break for a drink. It was hot and we did a lot of walking.

The boys, MiMi (my Mom) and Me on the train ride.

Nick and I on the Thomas train waiting to depart for our ride.

Patiently waiting.

When the train begain to move, Adam let out a REALLY REALLY loud "All Abooooooard!!"

It was so hard to get them to stand still for this picture. It didn't turned out as good as I hoped, but I'll take what I can get.



Mom and her boys!

We had a wonderful time. Did you wonder where Ray and my Dad were in the Thomas pictures?

For many days before the festival, it rained. That in turn eliminated most of the parking at the event. Police were parking people on the other side of town at the schools. There was terrible traffic and Ray and Dad decided to drop my mom, the boys and I off so we didn't miss the train ride because we had to catch the train at 12:15. Ray called me about 1/2 hour later and said they wouldn't make it back because of the crowd. There was no where left to park and they couldn't even get close to the event. So they went and had lunch, drove around and picked us up later.

It was a little disappointing but we still had a really great time and not too many melt down's since all of this occured near nap time :)

Dutch Wonderland Pictures

One of the boys favorite rides. The Twister.

Taking a Break for a Fruit Smoothy

Bumper Cars - Nick & Pap vs. Adam & Daddy

Hello Down There!




A quick photo before the ride begins.


The Frogger. Ray in the middle and a boy on each side. They loved this and rode it many time.



One of Nick's favorite rides. We had a lot of morning rain on this day so it never opened until mid afternoon. Nick was thrilled since this was the first year he could ride by himself.



This picture turned out so cool. It looks like Adam is feeding the bird whatever is in his hand. Actually, he is standing about a foot away.

All Aboard....

We are leaving tomorrow morning for our first family vacation of the summer. We will be going to Lancaster (about 2 1/2 hours away) to see and ride Thomas the Tank Engine and enjoy the Day Out With Thomas Festival. This is a super fun day with 2 little boys. We are going with my parents since my Dad is a huge train buff and finally has grandsons to enjoy them with.

Saturday is Dutch Wonderland and the Lagoon Water Park. This is a terrific amusement park for little ones as everything is geared towards small children.

We have been going ont his trip since Nick was 2 and we will continue to does this tradition until the boys tell me they are too old (Sigh). I will post many pictures upon our return.

Official T-Ball Pictures

We just received our official team pictures. We were not able to purchase a disk to load on the computer with the pics on it so I used my camera and took a picture of a picture - but I think you can get an idea of how cute the pictures turned out.

Nick's first official baseball card. The flip side of this card has his height, age, weight, etc.

Since Ray is the coach, they took this wonderful picture of father and son.

Weekend Fun

What a terrific weekend. Have you ever had one of those great family weekends when nothing special happened, you were totally relaxed, you didn't really go anywhere - but had a super time? Below are some random pictures of our fun.

This is one of my favorite pictures I've taken of Nick.

He was actually in the mood to be photographed. Isn't cooperation grand?

Especiallly when the end product turns out so darn cute.

Believe it or not - Adam isn't screaming for dear life and Nick isn't trying to throw his brother off of the slide - they are actually laughing and having a really great time.

Anyone reading this who has 2 boys will understand!

As the boys took a long Sunday afternoon nap, I filled 2 baby pools and got out the slipping slide. They awoke to a water wonderland in the backyard. We all had a super time and played for hours. I even got into the baby pool.

Below Adam is taking a rest in the midst of all of the excitement.

After just playing in the sand box, Adam has a seat while I put his sandals back on him. In case I wasn't sure, he is showing me where they go. Neither one of my boys like to walk barefoot in the grass.

As Adam still plays in the water, Nick and I sat on the swing, rested, and he played with his newest Transformer as we both enjoyed the smells of Daddy BBQing dinner.

"Tractor Ride"!! Nothing is better than a tractor ride!! Beside, Adam knew Daddy couldn't mow the whole yard without his help.

ABC's of Me!

I found this on the Beach Bunch blog site and thought it looked like fun - So here it goes!

A - Age: 32

B - Bed size: Queen, and still not big enough!

C - Chore you hate: paying bills, I can think of much better ways to spend that money

D - Dog's name: We don't have a dog but each child has a fish in their aquarium. Nick's fish is Stripey and Adam has a goldfish named Dorothy (in honor of Elmo)

E - Essential start your day item: COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE

F - Favorite color: Green

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Yellow Gold

H - Height: 5'0" Good things come in small packages

I - Instruments you play: Clarinet way back in school - never touched it since

J - Job title: Assistant Director of School Nutrition & Food Service

K - Kid(s): Nick 5 1/2 and Adam 2

L - Living arrangements: A beautiful home with my hubby, 2 kids, 2 fish and lots of toys :)

M - Mom's name: Veryll (pronounced like pearl but with a v sound)

N - Nicknames: Mommy, Mum Mum, Dear, my Mom always called me Princess

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none

P - Pet Peeve: Drivers who don't drive the way I want them to

Q - Quote from a movie: ???? I'm not a movie person

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: None

T - Time you wake up: The kids usually wake me up between 6 - 6:30

U- Underwear: yes!!!! I think they are important :)

V - Vegetable you dislike: Green beans

W - Ways you run late: Trying to straighten up the house before I leave (I hate to come home to a messy house)

X - X-rays you've had: I broke my knee in college, dental x-rays, and my left wrist back in Feb 2009 when I fell on ice and sprained it.

Y - Yummy food you make: I hate to cook but I make really good homemade soups and steamers

Z - Zoo favorite: petting zoo area or the aquatic area

Nick at the Circus With My Dad - "Pap"

A camel ride.

Goats at the petting zoo area.

Enjoying the tigers and laughing with a girl from his class who happened to be there too.

He talked Pap into another camel ride after the show.

My Dad and Nick are inseperable, best buddies. They enjoy spending time together and its not uncommon for the two of them to take off on a Saturday and go somewhere together. I am so glad Nick has the opportunity to make such great memories with his grandparents. Those memories will be enjoyed throughout his lifetime. Once Adam is a little more independant, he will get to enjoy more outing as well. Now he gets a toy from Pap when they come home from the outings or if Mimi (my Mom) goes, she'll take him too.