Our trip to Memphis

At the end of September, we went to Memphis to visit Jess, Adam and the kids. We rode the monorail over to Mud Island. Kaitlyn was thrilled to be riding a "train" that went through the air. It's amazing what joy kids get out of such simple things. (By the way, thanks to Jess for most of these pictures!)

Mud Island has a scaled replica of the entire Mississippi River, culminating in a large wading pool that represents the delta. As you can see below, it's very shallow, so we had no problem at all with Kaitlyn and Noah wading around and splashing a bit...

...until they got the bright idea to lay down and roll around in the wading pool!! Both kids were soaked from head to toe and not a change of clothes or a towel in sight! We never dreamed that the kids would get so wet. Silly us! Since there's nothing we could do about it at that point, we just let them have their fun. Below is a picture of Kaitlyn, Eli and Ethan. Noah was a little camera shy at that moment.

We came home, got the kids cleaned up and had some more playtime in the backyard. There's an awesome tire swing in the back yard that just begs you to swing on it.

And slides...

And plenty of room to just roam around and be a kid.

Eli and Ethan are going to be good buddies growing up.

And Kaitlyn thinks Noah is pretty cool, especially since he was willing to share his train set! I love how both sets of kids are so close in age. I see lots of fun family gatherings in our future!

Finally a picture with all four cousins and no one is crying! A pretty miraculous feat!

The Lincoln County Fair

Time to catch up on the blog! I've been so busy with grad school that I haven't had time for "leisure" activities such as blogging. So I'll attempt to catch up on the past six weeks...for the three of you out there that still read :)

Last month, we trekked down to my hometown of Fayetteville for the annual Lincoln County Fair. Rides, games, prizes, food, farm animals and tractors. What more could a kid ask for?? Ethan rode his very first carnival ride and wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. I don't think he cracked a smile during the whole ride. Kaitlyn on the other hand was gleefully cackling the whole time.

Ethan didn't hesitate to getup close and personal with the animals.

Kaitlyn was big enough to ride all by herself!

Our trip to the Lake

This past weekend, we flew up to Canandaigua, NY to spend time with Jeff's parents and grandparents. His grandparents have a summer house on the lake and Jeff has so many fond childhood memories there. So we were very excited about seeing this beloved place through the eyes of our little ones. Warning: lots of pictures below...may only be of interest to family members :)

For the first two days, we had gorgeous weather. Bright sun and perfect temperatures. We made sure to get all of our boating in while we could!

Ethan looking stylish in his Snoopy life jacket and shades.

Excited but nervous about her first boat ride

She insisted on riding in someone's lap when we went fast

She was thrilled to be "driving" the boat.

With Papa Greg


On the row boat with Daddy

The kids also loved playing on the dock and the "beach."

Ethan turning the hoist with Papa Greg

Kaitlyn and Ethan on the beach

Ethan wasn't too thrilled at the idea of getting wet--he went to
great lengths to keep his feet out of the water!

And of course, we enjoyed a lot of quality family time!

Mimi, Kaitlyn and Gigi


Mimi and Ethan


Gigi and Kaitlyn searching for shells and other treasures on the beach.

Kaitlyn's new best friend--the neighbor's cat!

Ethan exploring a much-loved lake classic!

While we were there, a cold front moved in and created some windy and chilly weather. Fortunately, Mimi and Papa had the foresight to bring some toys with them from NJ, so the kids were easily entertained inside.

Gigi and Ethan playing with his favorite toy--magnetic letters!


Gigi, Bobby and the kids


Crafts with Mimi


The weather didn't deter the kids at all!


Our family

Thanks, Gigi and Bobby, for the wonderful hospitality, food and pies! Can't wait to do it again!!

Through Kaitlyn's Eyes

I downloaded pictures from Kaitlyn's digital camera this morning. It's interesting to see what a 3-year old finds picture worthy. I deleted the vast majority of them because they were blurry, repeats, etc. But there were a few that were in focus and/or cute. So here is a glimpse into Kaitlyn's world through her eyes.

Her attempt at a self-portrait

Her beloved Doggie showed up in numerous shots...always in this same pose.

A nicely focused picture of the lawnmower--the outdoor pictures are the least blurry.


A "fascinating" picture of the grass--she took several of these shots.


Obviously excited to see that both Mommy and Daddy were home.


Upside down pictures of books


Apparently one shoe makes a better picture than a pair of shoes.


Again, a popular subject of hers--our patient dog Kasha.

And now for some "location" shots...

View of downtown from the Renaissance Hotel.


Bicentennial Park as seen from the Capitol

Her first downtown sunset picture.

Fun in the Sun

Last week, Mimi and Papa were in TN to visit the grandkids. It was oppressively hot, but we braved the heat one morning and headed downtown to cool off in the fountains of the public square. The kids loved splashing around in this little wading pool. It was just their speed.

The fountains, on the other hand, were NOT. Both kids wanted nothing to do with the shooting streams of water. Couldn't even coax them close enough to get a little wet from the splashing. Oh well, maybe when they're older...

In other news, Kaitlyn is about to start her second year of preschool. She went to Snoopy Day last week to meet her new teacher. She is SO excited. And I am much less nervous than this time last year! The picture below is before we went to Snoopy Day.

Since I haven't been working for the past few weeks, we've all been hanging around the house a lot. Sadly, the heat has kept us mostly indoors, and that has led to an increase in squabbles over toys and personal space. But occasionally they're on good terms, like in the picture below!

And when Ethan naps, I sometimes bust out the art supplies and let Kaitlyn create to her heart's content. Here, she is exploring with watercolors.

Kaitlyn starts school tomorrow, I start school next week, and Ethan starts a Mother's Day Out program the following week. Busy time for us all!

Gran's House

This past weekend, we all went down to Fayetteville to spend the weekend with my mom. We were spoiled with lots of great cooking, and we even made homemade ice cream! Kaitlyn was SO excited to see the ice cream being made...and even more excited about eating it! In the picture below, she is watching the canister spin while munching on homegrown cherry tomatoes. Summer doesn't get much better than this!

My mom has a large yard compared to ours, so the kids had a blast exploring outside (when it wasn't unbearably hot!). Ethan kept making a beeline for the road, so he kept us on our toes at all times. Kaitlyn picked little green apples and peaches from mom's trees, and we watched a praying mantis on a tree for a long time (those things look weird!!). Kaitlyn spent some time riding my old tricycle. Apparently, it's more fun to ride the tricycle in the grass instead of on the driveway. Thanks for a great weekend, mom!

Kids and Dishwashers

What is it about kids and dishwashers? Or maybe it's just MY kids and dishwashers.

Here's Ethan at 16 months (with drool and unruly, curly hair).

And Kaitlyn at 14 months (no drool and neat hair).