Maine trip

We took our annual road trip to Maine about 2 weeks ago. It was beautiful, stressful, and fun all rolled into one bundle of trip. Stephen, Scott and I were joined by my sister, Steph and her son, Marc (4 1/2 months old) for the long trek up through Pennsylvania, Mass, Conneticut, New York, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Maryland and Maine. It took around 15 hours with Steph and I switching back and forth who was driving and who was tending to the kids. We decided to try and drive through the night to help with car time hoping that they would sleep most of the ride. I must say that it worked well, at least for Stephen and... Marc! They did well sleeping in the car but Scottie on the other hand wanted to be out of his seat and not be quiet or sleep most of the night. He was happy most of the time just to hold his Mommy's hand but it was a long drive until he fell asleep most of the end of the trip.We enjoyed time at the "Lakehouse" fishing, boating and throwing rocks in the water. Scott and Marc enjoyed seeing fish that were caught, Stephen and Scottie even tried their hand at fishing. We had a great time playing games, learning a newcard game, Pitch, and playing lots of Greed.

Next we headed up to Presque Isle where Mom and Tim live. The garden was beautiful like always and we were shown somenew verities of veggies. We also went to the Northern Maine Fair and had a great time on the merry- go-round. Mom and Tim served ice cream as a fund raiser for their church.

We did a lot of snuggling Marc on the trip as it was the first week that Steph was without Jarrod full time. She also got sick so to try and keep him healthy Mom and I watched him as much as possible. We had great times making up soothing songs to sing to him while swinging on their porch swing. We were able to celebrate Steph's birthday even though she was just starting to recover from the sickness. Jarrod suprised her with some flowers and I made her a cake!Stephen and Scott took to their Uncle Cameron, Uncle Jeremy, and Aunt Kristen like they saw them every day. Stephen especially loved playing with Uncle Jeremy cause he got lots of video game time with him (Jeremy introduced him to his new favorite game, Pokemon). He also taught him a little about his favorite sport, hockey. It was fun to dress the kids up in his old stuff and watch him teach them about something he is passionate about.

We also took the kids blueberry picking. I love Maine blueberries and so did the boys. They ate handful after handful so it took a little extra time picking. Scottie even ended up with a diaper full of blueberries and a fun diaper rash too! It was a great experience to share with the boys. Mom and I look forward to the time together each year and it was fun to share it with the kids. All in all we had a great time. Steph and I headed back home with the three boys Saturday. We had a great road trip with lots of girl time!

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

I took Steph and Marc to the airport yesterday and sent her back to Seoul, South Korea for another 10 months. I had a great time with my sister while she was here and bonded with Marc over the time we were together. Marc and I hit it off, kinda like he remembered me from the week I was able to spend with him when he was just a month old. While Jarrod was back in Korea about 2 weeks earlier than Steph, I was able to help her out taking care of him and giving her some much needed breaks. Sometimes Marc would be so fussy and within minutes of me singing and rocking him, he would fall asleep in my arms! It was precious! I am so thankful to have this special time with him. I am going to miss the late night singing, card playing, and special sister time with Steph. It was great to see my little sister being such a great Mommy, and sharing the moments of this summer with her. I can't wait to see the changes in my little nephew, him growing, learning to walk, talk, eat and be a little man! I know that Steph andJarrod will do their best by him and lean on God to grow him to the full man he will become! I am so excited to see the changes but a little sad not to be able to witness them myself... Scottand Stephen also are going through a little Marc and Steph withdrawal. Today when we got up and went to the farmers Market, they wondered if Steph and Marc would be coming too. I reminded them we took them to the airport yesterday and with a little sad look they remembered. Steph and Stephen really hit it off and Scott loved Marc to the fullest, even having tantrums when he wasn't allowed to get close as not to give his fever to Marc. I know that even though there are many miles between us, the love our family has for Uncle, Aunt T, and Marc will span the distance many times over.

Thanks for the fun memories and I look forward to next summer with great anticipation for the memories to come. You guys have left great impressions on our family.

We have had a busy July!! Stephen started and completed Level 1 swimming lessons. He did really well. He has gotten over his fear of water in his face and even puts it into the water without being told now! That is a drastic improvement. Next time he will be in the next level I think. Now just to get the security belt off him....

We then took a family trip to Cancun, Mexico! Yes, Folks. That's right. My husband took us to Mexico (even though he swore he never would). While there we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We were able to go out on a dinner cruise, Peter dived 2 times, Stephen and Peter swam with dolphins, Peter played a couple rounds of golf, and I got some spa time. I had a great time with the kids at the pool. Scottie went under a couple of times but didn't mind it since mom pulled him right out. He will be swimming next summer I am sure so he can keep up with is brother. Stephen also got to do the Kid's Club, where he played in the arcade, air hockey, did some crafts, got his face painted like Spiderman, and broke a pinata. We enjoyed the all you can eat and drink too! The food was good, and the boys loved to be able to swim up to the bar in the pool and get "strawberry smoothies" (AKA virgin strawberry daiquiris). They thought they were big stuff! We saw some fun animals too... Peter saw a coita, I saw (and was chased by one) lots of iguanas, a frog, a couple of lizards and some other birds. All in all, we had a good time.

Now we will be off to Maine. Post again once I am back.

A great Birthday surprise

I not only have the best friends ever, a great husband and sweet kids, but an amazing sister too! I was so blessed this year for my birthday. I thought that it was going to be nothing special or out of the ordinary but then, after my appointment that morning, I was able to have a great lunch and special time with my dad at his place in Woodstock. We had lunch on the deck and Scott and I enjoyed some good conversation with him. Then I took the boys home for a little nap and had plans to have dinner for the kids and play time with one of my friends who was going to watch the boys so Peter and I could go out to a movie that night. Little did I know that when I showed up to her house I would have a surprise party waiting for me with some of my closest friends! It was great... lovely weather, good food, and a birthday cake and all!

That night Peter and I took off on a night out alone! It was the first one in a long time. We rode his motorcycle (which was quite fun) and then had dinner and watched Grown Ups at Alamo Draft house. It was a good evening with my number one man.

Then we had a get-together at our house on Sunday for the 4th of July and I asked my sis to help me out and bring a dessert. She and Jarrod showed up to the house and had a birthday cake! Twice in one year I was surprised! I love you very much and am so thankful for you, Steph!

Stephen Started Swimming lessons!

We thought it would be good to have Stephen swimming when we take our vacation to Cancun soon so we signed Stephen up for swimming lessons. He had his first swimming lesson today. He did so well. I was so proud of him. He hates to put his face in the water and have his eyes get wet but by the end of the lesson he jumped off the side of the pool into the arms of his teacher and got his face all wet. Tomorrow she said they were all going to get their heads in the water so we will see how it goes. I think that by the end of the session we will have a little fish on our hands!! Bottom's up!

Where does the time go?

Man how the summer is flying by! It seems as though every time I look at writing a blog, it has been so long since the last that I have so much to catch every one up on. Well, maybe some time I will catch you up, but for now we are going to stay in the present. We have been enjoying going to the pool every night and many times during the day. My boys are water babies! Stephen has decided that water is now his friend (although he still is nervous about putting his face in) and Scott is a little dare devil. It is amazing how having friends around that swim will get the boys doing things I couldn't coax them to do on my own.

Other things we enjoyed the past several weeks are visits from a close friend from San Antonio, another friend moving to Maryland that we have kept in touch with from San Antonio, big truck day, Father's day, camping over Memorial day, picnics at the park, Grammy and Granddad's 60th wedding anniversary and celebrations with family, Steph and Jarrod along with their son, Marc returning home for the summer from Korea, and I've enjoyed getting back into running (even if it is at 0' dark 30 in the morning!) I hope to write about each one of these when time allows but until then, I will let you know that I will do my best at keeping up but spending this precious time with my children is high on my priority scale. I will be more diligent when the fall comes and less daylight to play with my kiddos for time with them is precious. Enjoy some pics of our time these past few weeks!

Scottie is now enamored by babies!! It was great to see our friend, Natalia, when she came up for Steph and Jarrod's homecoming!

So much has gone on in the past 3 weeks or so... We play at friend's houses, gone garage saleing (one of my favorite summer activities) went camping, climbed up falls, got sick with stomach bugs, went swimming for the first time this summer, picked up my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew from Korea home for a visit, saw lots of family and that just starts the list. Now you can see why I am overwhelmed when thinking about writing this post. So there it is. I just laid it out on paper so I can not feel the block. I need to be like my friend, Katie, and post almost every day. Maybe one day I will get there. Maybe not. But this record of our lives is important and special to me so I am glad I do it, even if it isn't as often as I would like. Pictures and more posts are to come.... we have a very busy summer and June!