Leo is 1

Yes..they make special birthday treats for dogs on their special day.

And we are the kind of suckers who buy those treats.

Because we LOVE our dogs!

Happy First Birthday, Leonidas.  

Piano man...

THIS boy loves to to sing and he LOVES to 

play our piano.  We love to watch and listen because it

means endless baby giggles.  And there is nothing

sweeter than baby giggles.

We love you, Zekers!

Pumpkin guts.....

Always a good time.  This year we didn't get a photo of the finished product.

Cassidy's looked like Jack Skellington, Brogan's was a Creeper from Mind Craft

and Kayla went with a ghost, which was promptly RIPPED from the pumpkin

by a very hungry squirrel...so it looked like a pumpkin with one big hole in it.

Carving was the fun part anyway.

Another New England Fall

Fall in New England means trips to Carter Hill!

Apples, cider, pumpkins, color, and BEST of all...CIDER DONUTS!

We love New England in the Fall.

Picture Day

 Just in case the school photos don't turn out this year.......

Cute kids BEFORE they head to school for the day.

KK is 9!

How did this happen?  NINE!?!?!  She's 9!

She is everything we dreamed she would be.  And more.

1st day of school 2013

First day of Middle School.  First day of 4th Grade.  First day of Kindergarten.

Equals one emotional mommy.

And 3 very excited children who are growing up too quickly.

Cassidy is 11

Time flies when you're having fun, right?

11 years of laughter, smiles and love.

Here's to many many more moments just like this.

We love you, sweet girl!

4th of July

We have a new tradition.

For the 2nd year in a row, I have taken the kids to Canobie Lake Park 

for the 4th of July.

 Brogan, Cassidy, Zoey, and Kayla are ready to go and we are joined by

The Sutkus Family: Dom, Cody and Blake

 Our first ride...it's easy going but the breeze is so appreciated

especially on a HOT day, such as this one was.

 These kids are great at hamming it up.  Zoey did a particularly good job looking scared for the camera.

The ride isn't even moving yet, but they are convincing, aren't they?

 Brogan and Zoey took a moment to chill our in these fabulous chairs.

Don't they look like they belong on a set of a Dr. Seuss movie?

Love 'em.  Want 'em.

 Another favorite way to cool down it to stand in the spash path of the Boston Tea Party ride.

Everyone gets wet...on it or around it. 

Always crowded on a hot day.

This may have ben Zoey's favorite spot of the day.

 For whatever reason, this ride is always one of my kids' favorites.

Some day they will be tall enough to ride the "big kid" version.

Thanks for another wonderful year!  Hope to see you again in 2014!

Swim Lessons

 Brogan and Zoey took swim lessons together this year.

 Zoey was focused and realllllly did well!  Star pupil, for sure!

Brogan had fun but was a little LESS focused....

unless he was asked to collect the "gold bricks".  

THEN he was a star!

Grandma Visits!

  We love it when Grandma comes to visit!

Not only do we get to spend time with one of our favorite ladies...

She successfully made 3 dresses, 2 pairs of pajamas, and a special new blanket...

and, she went home with even more projects to sew.

What a talented Grandma we have!

Thank you, Grandma!  

We look forward to seeing you in December!

Stormy Days

We've had some crazy storms this year!  The most recent one resulted in the loss of one of the kids' favorite climbing trees.  Fortunately, it missed the house...barely.

Camp Chateaugay!

Cassidy and Kayla are at Camp Chateaugay!

They love every minute of every day they spend here.  Everything from climbing the rope corse in the trees, to cooking classes, arts and crafts, swimming, fishing, dancing, evening activities (lip sync, skits, etc), friend, kayaking, horse back riding, gymnastics, and MORE.

 But this MOM sure will miss her Babies!

 This year KK gets to go for 3 1/2 weeks and Cassidy will be there for 2 weeks (she has a dance camp she will be attending instead).  Already looking forward to the notes and stories that will come.

Brace yourself

It's a right of passage...or, at least, that's what THIS girl thinks.

She got braces today.

Thanks to a late night sleepover, she was so tired she fell asleep while having them put on.

And slept the entire 2 hours.  

We were told as we were leaving that "I've never seen someone so happy to get braces."

And they are right.

She is positively giddy.

Lamenting only the fact that her favorite candy (starbursts) is now on the "DO NOT EAT" list.

It's gonna be a long 20 months.

13 years

Thank you for every moment of every day of everything.

13 years and still giddy.

I love you!

Off to see the Wiz...

Cassidy danced in The Wizard of Oz

She was:

A munchkin

 A Monkey

 An Emerald City Dancer

 A lucky girl to have the support of Family

Bravo!

Birthday Praty

We were honored to have Zoey celebrate her Birthday at our house this year.

Just look at all these cute girlies!

2 hours and more games, giggles, and fun than you could imagine.

Hint:  A minute to win it games are a HUGE hit with all ages

Flower cup cakes and a song to share.

Happy Birthday, to you!

Graduation

 This blue eyed boy has graduated from Preschool.

He learned a lot.

Like how to be a good friend.  How to build with blocks.

How to paint (and NOT get it on your clothes).  What it means to sit in circle time.

How to interrupt appropriately.  How to express emotion without hurting another person.

How to share.  How to listen.  How to follow directions (mostly).  How to have fun.

How to make friends.  How to communicate.

All in all...a successful adventure.

Ready to move on to Kindergarten.

Field Trip

What is it about Nature Walks as Field trips?

With preschoolers?

Bug bites.  Muddy Shoes.  Frogs.  Flora and Fauna identification?

Good thing I had THIS cute face to keep me company

 How many preschoolers does it take to go around the tree?

How long did it take to get said preschoolers to all hold hand to fit around the tree?

We don't know.  They lost interest.

Romance

A card my Sweets made for me for Valentine's Day.

SWOOOOON!

Xx