February 21, 2011...Bowlin' for $

Ok, so we weren't bowling for dollars, but we did take the boys bowling for the first time today.  They grew tired of the whole idea halfway through the game, but we had fun anyway.  I won and Dave was beat by Alex, but I think we all had fun anyway.

January 27, 2011...Moon Dough

Moon Dough.  I'd like to say this stuff is evil.  But I can't.  I want to.  But it just wouldn't be fair.  It's actually kinda cool.  And genius.  And even a little addictive.  I love that it doesn't dry out like Play-doh does, or get EVERYWHERE like Moon Sand does.  Sure, it frustrates me when it flakes apart and sticks to their clothes, but it's relatively easy to clean up...brush off, sweep up, and voila!  Sure, the stuff is 98% disposable at each use but it's cheap to replace so I'm okay with that.  Plus, 45 minutes or more of peace and quiet is TOTALLY worth it!  Thanks, Auntie Pam!

December 11, 2009

We had a slumber party at Aunt Sarah's tonight.  

Home of the Pacifier Napper (a.k.a. my niece, Kensington).

After the kids finally went to sleep (which when having them all in the same room took a while!), Sarah and I cracked into a bottle (or two?) of wine and started crafting.  Here she is making the fleecy tied blanket she gave to Alex for Christmas.

December 10, 2009

We had a very busy day today!  It started with a Christmas Party at Nathaniel's school.  We had cookies and punch and the kids put on a cute little show for us, telling a story in which they each had a part, and singing lots of songs.  After each song Nathaniel stepped forward and yelled "Tank you, Tank you, BEDDY much!  Thee END!".  We were in tears laughing so hard!  Santa came to visit in the classroom and all of the kids got a present (even Alex!)  Here is Nate giving Daddy and I a present he made for us (a pine cone Christmas tree!)

Outside his school:

That night we had tickets to a VIP Meet and Greet with the The Jolly Good Fellow himself at the Strong Museum.  The kids got to play and run and go crazy.  It was nice to finally be there with Daddy instead of all by myself!  We had a nice time.

November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

Good food

Family

Fun

Wine

Naps

and the Sunday paper to peruse the Black Friday ads

A perfect Thanksgiving!

November 13, 2009

It's annual TURKEY RAFFLE time!

I love the turkey raffle!

Where else can you bring the whole family,

get free food (hot dogs and sauerkraut!),

FREE BEER,

and gamble for hours for only $40.

And that included raffle tickets, tips and donations to the fire department, and plenty of fun!

Ok, so we didn't win anything this year, but we had fun trying!

November 5, 2009

Fun with glow sticks.

These things are fabulous fun for the whole family!

I bought a 15 pack of them at Michael's for $1 and have been giving Nate one a night (especially fun since it gets dark at 5 o'clock now!).  He loves to check our bedroom for "the blue monster" and see what he can see in the dark.  Alex is not as big of a fan of dark places, but it keeps Nate occupied for hours (he even sleeps with it in his room for a night light and in the morning they're finally dead!).

November 4, 2009

Nate and I had our first pizza making night.  When I was little this used to be an every weekend thing and I loved being able to make pizza for the family (and snitch all the toppings while I put it together!)  Nate did a great job helping me gather all the ingredients, slopping on the sauce, sprinkling on the cheese and putting on pepperoni.  His "one for me, one for the pizza" technique worked pretty well over all :)  In this photo he was yelling "Yeah, Pizza!"

September 19, 2009

My beloved sister, Sarah, and my niece, Kensington, came to stay with us for a couple days while my brother-in-law did some work on some lead issues in their house. It was the best three days we've spent together in a long time! I loved having her there and it was fun to watch the kids play together! I didn't want her to leave and keep wishing she'd come back!

September 17, 2009

What a beautiful night for a boat ride. We bundled up the kids and headed out after dinner for a quick boat ride. It's getting to be the end of the season so we better take advantage of it while we can!!

September 8, 2009

My little Monster...

September 7, 2009

Nate's favorite pastime is running around nekkid in the sprinkler with his umbrella (Oom Boola) because he "can't get wet"!

September 4, 2009

Finger painting fun...Alex didn't know he wasn't supposed to EAT it...good thing it was non-toxic and WASHABLE!

All was going well until Alex decided he was tired and started rubbing his eyes...

The clean up was fun, though! Splish, splash!

August 31, 2009

The Great NYS Fair! I absolutely love the fair! There's so much to see and do (and so many things to eat and buy!) The boys weren't quite as fascinated as their old Mom always is, but someday hopefully they'll learn to appreciate it as much as I do! Although, after this year we may think twice about going ANNUALLY with the boys in tow (at least until they get a little older) but ask me again next year and I may just have forgotten the "trauma" and be up for another go around!

August 24, 2009

A moment captured between my boys during a session of rough housing.  I sure do love my boys!

August 19, 2009

I love this kid...After a fun-filled evening at the playground, he was SO tired and it was past his bedtime, yet he still gives me this slanted eye grin as I loaded him into the car.

August 13, 2009

What a beautiful night for a sunset boat ride and swim!!

August 12, 2009

Today was a busy day!  I took the day off of work to accompany Nathaniel on his school field trip to the Zoo!  It was a gorgeous day for a zoo trip - I got a ton of photos (I'll post some on my regular blog - here) but thought I'd share one here:

After the Zoo and a failed attempt at getting Nathaniel to nap, we headed down to the beach for one of their Concerts by the Shore.  It didn't quite go as I had planned, but it was a beautiful night to be down by the water, as you can see here:

August 1, 2009

I had a hard time deciding which photo to post for today.  We had a busy and fun-filled day so there were many to choose from.  We started the day heading out on the boat to enjoy one of the few warm and sunny days this summer!  We had a blast swimming off the back of the boat and when we packed it in and headed home, we continued the fun in our backyard with some more water fun!  That's when this photo of Alex was taken.  I love the expression on his face.  Each time he splashed in the water he made this face and it was part surprise, part determination, and part evil!  :)  

July 23, 2009

One of the best things about summer is the local firemen's carnivals.  I love a good parade, carnival food is fabulous, and what better excuse for family fun than to support a local fire department!  Yesterday we went to support Hilton Fire Department (and indirectly, my parents, who were EMTs with Hilton for years!)  I love this shot of Nate standing to watch the goings on.  He looks so grown up and serious!!