Finally the rest of our vacation

Alright I am FINALLY getting around to posting these last vacation pictures. I figured if I did not do it by October they would never get done. I still think about this wonderful trip and all the memories we created for our family. It was a really awesome time.

One of the things that Pumpkin requested and talked about with going to Boston was going to see these duck statues. There is a great book written about the swan boats and these ducks. We had been reading it and she really wanted to go. Unfortunately, the day we chose ended up being in the mid-90s, which for Boston is REALLY hot. The kids did not make it very long. We got to the park, saw these bronze ducks, I took Pumpkin on the swan boats, and then we left. We drove around for a little while and then went back to my aunt and uncle's house. If it were a little cooler we would have lasted longer, but it was still a great time. Pumpkin still talks about these ducks and the boats. It was a short, but nice time!
Aren't they cute!

The famous swan boats.

A fun, but sweaty and hot, mommy and daughter moment!

I could not resist this picture of Pumpkin and my mom while she was eating lobster. Pumpkin had never tried it before. My cousin gave her a piece, but she was not a fan. She just was so weirded out by the lobster, it was REALLY funny! :)

Background on this picture....my aunt LOVES shoes. I mean, really she loves shoes. So the last night we were staying there Pumpkin, my mom and my aunt had a shoe fashion show. It was really cute. Pumpkin loved all of my aunt's "fancy" shoes. I do not have many fancy shoes with staying home. I do know where they would go if I had them...onto Pumpkins feet!

It was a TOUGH trip home. We were supposed to leave at 5:30, get a connecting flight at 8 and land home at 11:30 at night. Well...there was trouble with the first flight being delayed an hour and a half. SO.....they needed to switch our flights. They thought that switching us to the next morning at 10am would be great, so we agreed. After everything was done, I realized they only gave us a 30 minute window to connect to our flight home. Yeah with two kids that was not going to work. So...we got switched to another airline. However, since it was so late we had to stay at a hotel for the night. Luckily we got a huge discount on a really nice hotel. The kids had a hard time falling asleep though. I finally got Critter to sleep and then Pumpkin had to fall asleep with him. This is how they slept for about half the night. It was really cute and sweet.

I had to document finally going home. We ended up landing 12 1/2 hours after we were supposed to. It was a LONG trip home. We had such a great time on the trip and we really want to get back to the East Coast more often.

At least I now feel a little more caught up! :)

Happy Anniversary

Seven years ago today I said "I Do" to my wonderful husband. Right about now we were leaving the church and heading to the reception, it was the first moment of quiet for the two of us all day. I don't know if we have had many moments of quiet since then either! :) I can not believe these memories happened 7 years ago. We have gone through so much in that time and life has changed quite a bit. Yet....I still love you as much if not more than that day 7 years ago. I am where I am supposed to be in this world. Life might have its hard days but they are made better by sharing them with you. Without you I would not have these two amazing children and a happiness that comes from deep within. With all the chaos in our lives, it is nice to remember it started with you and me. We will always have our to-do lists, house repairs to make, errands to run, and things to get done. It is nice to stop and remember why we do everything we do and enjoy where we are. I love you and the memories of the past. I look forward to the new memories of the future.

I love you dear husband, Happy Anniversary!

Vacation, Part 2

Here is more about our fabulous vacation! I think by the time I get all these stories out it will be wintertime! :)

We had a GREAT time at my aunt and uncle's house in MA. They live on a lake and so many of my childhood memories are from their house. Their son is my "baby" cousin, now 24! He is the one I lived close to and used to "mother" growing up. He is now a grown man, out of college and in the real world. Pumpkin and Critter just adored him. Pumpkin is still telling stories about him. The first day we were there Pumpkin loved being outside and on the boat, but did not really want to get into the water. We finally got her in the water near the end of the day...and then she did not want to get out! Critter was not a big fan of the water, but loved playing on the dock. It was so neat for me to show the kids where I grew up. We also got to go by my grandparents home and the town they lived. We walked around and showed them the old church and other places I remember. This is just the first batch of pictures from MA, I have a bunch more!

This is our attempt to get Pumpkin in the water...we were not successful yet! :)
Pumpkin and Cousin J. She loved these rafts, especially before she went into the water. She would follow J anywhere around that lake!

Critter was happy for a few minutes on the raft with Daddy. All of the vacation he was Daddy's boy, unlike the Momma's boy at home! If Daddy went out of sight, he sort of freaked out. It was sweet, yet very tiring. They had a great time together though.

He was SO HOT after a boat ride and being in his shirt and life vest. We had to cool him down and he did not want to get into the water. So...we brought the water to him! He loved pouring the water on himself too. It was so cute and it cooled him down.

Pumpkin finally wanted to get in the water. She did not want to take the life vest off, but at least she was having a blast.

I have many childhood memories jumping off this same dock. My cousins and I would make up games and just be kids. It was so much fun to see her doing the same things I did way back then.

This is my grandparents old church. It is a beautiful old Catholic church. It was open the day we stopped by and we got to go in, and get out of the heat. It was as beautiful as I remember it being as a child.

This was probably the most emotional time of the trip for me. I lost my grandparents about 7 years ago. Neither of my kids got to meet them in this life. However, Pumpkin is named after my grandmother. She knows about all of the people who are no longer on this earth and we tell stories about them often. We went by Hubby's grandparents cemetery, but did not get pictures. We did get some here. Pumpkin recognized her name and we told a few stories about them. It was a very special moment for me to share this with my kids.

Critter has a heart full of love and understanding. The first thing he did when walking up to the headstone, was to touch their names. It just was amazing.

If you see those little specks on the top of the picture in the water...that would be Hubby and Pumpkin. This was not even as far as she went. Once she started swimming she did not want to stop. She did have her life vest on, but still I was a little nervous. Hubby finally got her to come back when two boats came between them and the shore. She had such a great time.

I have so many more stories with even more pictures. We have decided that we can not wait 4 years to head back East. We need to do it more often. Maybe next time in the fall to see the changing colors though. More stories and pictures to come....

First Day of School

Pumpkin (finally) started back at school yesterday. Since she is not in public school yet, they start MUCH later than other schools around here. It was a long month of August waiting between summer camp and school. She is going M/W/F this year and it is just what she needs, but I am going to miss her! It is my second step in "letting go". Since she was 9 months old she and I have gone to my MOMS Club activities almost every Wednesday together. When Critter was born, those activities helped me get out of the house. Now...she is going to miss those activities. She will be learning and having fun at school. I think it is a bigger transition for me than her.

I have been taking a step back lately and seeing who Pumpkin is growing up to be. It really is an amazing sight. She is so caring, loving and generous. She has a fiery streak in her for sure, but still wants to be held, hugged and loved upon. She is like her mother, once you are in her heart she holds onto you with a fierce love.
The two of these guys light up my world. They balance each other so well. He already is missing her on school days, but he and I will get some great time together.

Happy start to your school year Pumpkin. We love you and are so proud of who you are. Enjoy this time and spread your wings (just a little!) but know that we are here to hug you when you return.

Our Vacation, part 1

I am finally getting around to going through our vacation pictures. Here is the first half of our trip in CT. It was a great trip visiting wonderful friends.

The plane ride out went surprisingly well. I think a bit of that had to do with excitement for the trip and the fact that my mom flew with us and occupied Pumpkin pretty much the whole day. (I know I thanked you mom, but again THANKS for flying out with us...it was a huge help!) Luckily we had a lay-over after the first flight and the kids just ran around. The airport was pretty empty so we were not bothering too many people. The second flight was short and on a tiny plane. I got to sit without either of the kids and actually read a magazine! It was nice. The hardest part of the trip was the 2 hour drive from the airport to my friends house. We had to stop more times than I can count for the potty. Pumpkin still struggles with the whole needing notice thing for finding a bathroom. We made it work though.

The kids at the airport. This was between flights and they were still happy! :)
We drove from my friends house about 45 minutes to Hubby's home town. We stopped by his house he grew up in and the people his parents sold the house to still lived there! They let Hubby and Pumpkin walk around the yard and take some pictures. She thought it was really fun to see where daddy lived when he was her age. Since Hubby and his brothers were such baseball kids, they had this pitching plate in the backyard. It was neat for Hubby to take a picture of Pumpkin standing next to it. Memories....

While in that town, we also stopped by the police station to get some pictures. Hubby went in to let them know what we were doing and the Sergeant who was working happened to know Hubby's dad. He has been retired now for 21 years, so there are not many still in the department who know him. This guy was really nice and saw the kids needed a little break. He asked if we wanted to come around back and he brought out a motorcycle for the kids to see and play with. It was so neat and the kids just had a blast!

My friend's Hubby took Friday off from work so we all headed out to an aquarium. It was really neat for our kids since they really don't see many ocean animals out in the desert! They could pet sting rays at one exhibit. Critter walked right up and stuck his hand in the water. He was quite surprised when he actually touched one though! It was a look of surprise and laughter, quite adorable

This again is Hubby's hometown. We went back after the aquarium to meet up with some other friends for a late lunch. After we went to a gorgeous park and I just could not resist taking some pictures of Pumpkin. I forgot how green the East Coast is, especially with all the rain they have gotten this summer.

I think this is one of the first pictures of me and the kids and it was 2 days into the vacation! I need to get better about having other people take pictures for me and of me, especially with the kids.

Isn't this pond and area beautiful.

Pumpkin was in seventh heaven having two kids who wanted to follow her and do whatever she wanted! My friend's son L is going to be 3 in November and just loved playing with Pumpkin and she loved playing with him too! It made the vacation that much more special.

Okay, this is at that grocery store I was talking about. There is a little farm in the parking lot. No kidding, an actual farm. It was so cool! :)

Pumpkin and I both loved this sunflower at the grocery store farm. I just LOVE sunflowers!

The last day we were in CT we went to this really cool park with all wood structures. There were forts and climbing places, all made of wood. It was really neat and very different than what we have here at home. The kids loved it.

What a great visit with my friend. It was so nice visiting and being able to hang out with our kids. We have known each other now for 29 years! Even though we can not see each other as often as we would like, the friendship will never fade. I miss her and her family terribly and can not wait until we get to see each other again.

Just a sweet one of my boy before we left CT.

I love the green! Plus, her hair got to be braided again by my friends mom and it just made her day. It was so much fun going back and see so many places with memories.

I will get through more pictures soon from the second half of the trip. But, so many memories and stories to come! :)

Finally getting back to normal

I am still trying to catch up over here, which is why the lack of posting lately. I have SO MANY stories to tell and more pictures to go through than I care to admit. Well, I will admit I took over 800 pictures on our one week vacation. I think I get a little shutter happy :)

Our week long vacation to CT and MA was just amazing. I got to spend some quality time with the friend I have known since we were 2. We were sitting there watching the 4 of our children (2 hers, 2 mine) play together and realized we have known each other since we were their age! It was crazy. her husband is an AMAZING cook and made dinner and breakfast each day. He made a semi-traditional English breakfast on Saturday morning and I did not know baked beans for breakfast could take so good. We drove around CT going to where Hubby grew up, to one of the best pizza places I have ever been to, going to the Aquarium and a beyond amazing grocery store. Yes, I know I mentioned grocery store...but they have a little farm in the parking lot! That would just not be possible out here. The kids had such a fun time playing together.

Our time in MA was full of so many adventures and memories for me. We got to go see my grandparents house, the places I grew up, head downtown on a hot/humid day, and spend a lot of time at my aunt and uncle's house. When we got to MA they started having a heat wave. Now...we are used to heat but not humidity. Luckily, they live on a lake and we found it very lovely! Pumpkin became an even bigger fish while there. Once she got over her fear of the water, she just wanted to keep swimming. Wait until I post the pictures! I also got to hang out with my "baby" cousin who is now 24. It was so cool to just hang out and relax with my family.

I have so many stories to share and a bunch of pictures. But... I still do not have Internet hooked up to my laptop and I put my pictures on there, yes I know it has been over a year....but this is the way I am doing things! Once I can get my head in order I will post a bunch of pictures.

Until then, we are getting ready for Pumpkin to go back to school on Monday. We are all really excited. She has missed it terribly. But, I can not wrap my brain around the fact that this is her last year before Kindergarten. Critter is in his stage of imitating every word he hears and trying to talk up a storm. We are still waiting for him to say Nanny and Nana though...much to the grandmother's dismay. I will update more soon, but wanted to get the stories started :)

Saying "good-bye" to a special place

Today a very special business closed and I felt the need to dedicate a few minutes to it. Our FAVORITE place closed its doors today. It is the gym that I often talk about. It is where Pumpkin had her 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthday parties. It is where she and Critter both took classes. It is where she went to Summer Camp for 2 summers. It was a HUGE part of our lives. There were often times Pumpkin would spend more time there on a Tuesday than she would at home.

My children have grown so much since going to this gym. It was really a home away from home. I met some amazing people and it was a great meeting place for our friends. I feel fortunate to have become friends with the owner, a truly amazing woman.

We will feel the absence of this place in our hearts. We have so many memories which will stay with us forever. Thank you Miss K for being such a wonderful influence in both Pumpkin and Critter's lives. We love you and wish you luck on your next adventures. We will be here supporting you in every way that we can. I am so thankful we have become friends and look forward to the future. Thank you for all you have done for our family and so many others.

These pictures are from Critter's last class and a very special play date before they closed.

I have almost the same picture of Pumpkin at the same age. It is really cute!

I will miss scrubbing the stamps off feet, hands and bellies each week!

Man, this girl loved the rings and bars. Always our little monkey!

We will miss RP, but know that the memory will live in our hearts.