Fun

On Friday night, we went to a "family fun" night fundraiser for the local center for developmental services.  It's basically the agency that coordinated the girls' early intervention for developmental delays.  In the past, it's always been hot, or raining, or the girls weren't old enough.  But this year, the weather was absolutely perfect - 70, sunny, and dry.

It was held at the baseball stadium, or "baseball player," that we went to for a game a few weeks ago, so the girls recognized it right away.  They kept expecting a game to start.  But there were a whole lot of inflatables, art tables, little games, vendor booths, etc.  In part due to the weather, it was pretty awesome.

We paid a donation to get in, but the vendors were very generous - the girls each got a beanie baby from the Shriner's Hospital (Emma got a bear, of course.  Julie got a little blue teddy bear with snow flakes and a scarf, and Becca got a frog), packages of sidewalk chalk, little inflatable beach balls, yo-yos, stickers, etc.

Becca was all proud of herself - she was the only one who would go up the giant inflatable NASCAR slide.  It had a tunnel up the middle that you had to climb up, and the other two saw the dark tunnel and said "no way."

Emma made bunny ears.

Becca made elephant ears.

Julie made mouse ears.

We ran around bare foot for a little while.

We had hamburgers in the stadium for supper.  They weren't very good, but all three of them ate the whole darn thing.

And then we found another inflatable slide with no scary tunnel.  They kept coming down and saying "just one more time."  That went on for about half an hour.

We got to go down on the field for a little while, but it was getting late, and somehow we had promised ice cream.  I didn't feel like waiting for 3 of them to finish a big thing of ice cream, so they shared.  And they didn't have plain regular cups, so we had to get a waffle cup.  Oh, there were screams.  "I want my own!"  "I want a cup!"  But once they realized there was ice cream in the waffle cup, they were ok.

 They were totally amused that they could eat the bowl when they were done.

We did run into their interventionist, Catie, right as we were sitting down with ice cream.  The girls didn't seem to remember her, but it was great to see her and thank her again.

Show offs

We were so glad that Aunt Jen and Uncle Elliott could come visit us this past weekend, too.  Luckily, the weather cleared up, so it was almost 60 by late afternoon.  We got lots more outside play time in.

Becca, outside, asking Greg for something.

Emma at the end of one of her hula hoop routines.

She'd twirl it around her waist,

do some fancy kicking/dancing,

and then clap for herself.

When she started jumping through the hula hoop with Uncle Elliott, she'd demand that we "clap for me when I jump."  As a result, I didn't get many more pictures.  Oh, she was LOVING all of the attention.

Julie on her bike

We had to go all the way out to the end of the driveway (thereby obeying the letter of the law) for Julie to show me that the moon was up.

Later, Aunt Jen and Uncle Elliott gave the girls some awesome new books for their birthday, and got them both to read to them.  (Have I mentioned how much they love books right now?)

Emma also got Grandma to read to her.  The same book twice.  That's something else they love right now - reading the same book over and over.  As soon as you finish, they say, "again!"

The best kind of chaos.  :)

Summer Vacation, Part 6

Last Friday morning, just over a week and a world ago, we had breakfast with grandma and grandpa, and then were back on the road.

We had to come up with a longer boat ride for the girls on the way back - - long enough to at least get out of the car - - so we took a different ferry across Lake Champlain. It was a gorgeous day.






We survived the drive back to NJ. Just as we were getting to the state line, though, torrential rain hit. It was that kind of rain where you can't see a think - you can't see signs, you can't see lanes. Awful. Plus, traffic backed up, and the last hour of the trip took closer to 2.

Saturday was the big party my parents had been planning. It's kind of sad to think that the girls are 2 1/2 now, and we still have so many family members and friends that haven't met them! It was so great to see everyone, and get a chance to catch up. And, apparently, I set my camera down at the beginning of the party and never picked it up again. No pictures - - can you believe it? But one of my best friends from college was there, my cousin Aimee and her son, some of Greg's (and my!) good friends from college, a friend I made on the first day of kindergarten, my brothers, my cousins on my mom's side that I haven't seen in forever, "aunts" and "uncles," and I'm sure I'm leaving someone out. (For a lot of my posts, I've been relying on photos to remember stories, so without the photos, I'm lost!). Very very thankful for my family, especially those that worked on coordinating getting everyone together.

Saturday was hot, but both Greg and I kept thinking, "it's hot, but it's bearable. you can't say that about very many summer days where we live." It was hot enough that we got in the pool before everyone got to the party. And, I don't remember how this started, but Greg was spraying the girls with the hose and they were loving it. They'd all run over to him, and then run away screaming. And then run right back to him.

E

Oh, and on Saturday morning? Before meeting all those friends and family? Sure enough, Emma slipped (while watching Uncle Steve and Papa cutting the grass out the kitchen window) and hit her eye on the windowsill. Immediately, she had a small blue bump just to the outside of her eye. And, over the course of the day, sure enough, the bruising spread. And she pretty much gave herself a black eye.


We spent Sunday in style - pretty much in or by the pool all day long. Greg and I both commented that we were just starting to relax! We had lunch by the pool, and when we got tired of the pool, we played golf or played in the little pool. Now, *that* is summer.


We were just a little obsessed with the watering cans.

J

E

R

All of the craziness meant no nap on Sunday. We went out to dinner, and, for something different, we went to the Macaroni Grill. It was the first time the girls had been to a restaurant with cloth napkins. And I have to say, it was awful. The girls were out of sorts without their naps. Then, they brought us our salads (and not the girls' mac and cheese) - so everyone was eating but them. That didn't go over too well, either. And the service was just awful. I can't remember the last time I've had such bad service. We're crossing it off the list.

We also couldn't wait to get out of there because we were headed for ... wait for it ... ice cream! Both of my brothers came, and the girls really enjoyed playing with them, and it was nice to have someone else to chase them when they ran off. We ate our ice cream and then the girls ran and ran.

J

R

J flying with uncle Dan

Herding cats

J with uncle Steve

The perfect way to end our vacation.

Summer Vacation, Part 5

On Wednesday afternoon, after we got back from the "party house," some strong storms passed through, and we spent the rest of the day playing inside. By Thursday, we were ready for some fresh (and finally less humid!) air again.

Grandma and Papa busted out the bubbles.

Julie taking the express route to popping bubbles.

We also got the balls out when the girls started to get bored.

Even the balls couldn't keep the girls from the lure of the screened porch. They got to work "cleaning" for grandma.

I think Julie told the goose he had a dirty heinie.

And then we just sat around before lunch, looking cute.

After lunch, we loaded up and headed downtown for another 'venture. There's a big fountain at the pedestrian mall downtown. There's a short path from the fountain down the middle of the pedestrian mall where water runs (less than an inch deep?), and I thought it would be fun for the girls to splash around. Of course, when we got there, the water wasn't running down the mall. And the girls weren't impressed by the fountain itself.

So, to make up for another nearly failed 'venture? Why, ice cream of course. Ben & Jerry's. Makes you forget your failed 'venture in a hurry.

E

J. I'd love this pic even more if there weren't a guy in a yellow shirt in the background. But you take what you can get.

R

Chocolate ice cream + summer day = ice cream milk

ice cream milk = ice cream between the eyes

How can anyone pout with that much chocolate on their face?


Without the anticipated splashing in the fountain session, our 'venture was fairly short-lived. So we headed back home and popped more bubbles.

That's Becca and Julie in the background, playing their "go that way" game with the screen doors.

Greg picked up the bubble wand and Emma flipped out. "No daddy, that papa's bubbles." Of course, she didn't mind when Greg made some huge bubbles for her.

One of my favorite pictures ever.

To keep them entertained until dinner, we started coloring on the driveway with some chalk. Apparently, Becca thought I said "chocolate," because as soon as I gave her a piece, she put it in her mouth.

Coloring her fingers.

And once they got bored of that, they literally started running laps around the house. They kept talking about going up and down the "hill," a slight incline where the driveway met the lawn, up close to the house.

Can you believe that was all in one day? Or that they still didn't go to bed until 10:00?