Happy Father's Day!

We actually had a really enjoyable Father's Day even with all of this rain!  Brendan stayed over at his brother Ethan's house last night, having been out to the wee hours with Ethan and (my brother) Jay to enjoy some of bike week up in Laconia.  So this morning, Cole had crawled into bed with Charlotte and I at about 5am and we woke up without being crowded (but still missing Brendan of course!) and everyone was all smiles because of a very good night's sleep!  Then we went to Mimi and Grandpa's for  pancakes. Cole practiced putting with Grandpa and watched some Tiger Woods footage on the Golf Channel. It's cute how much Cole is recognizing this game and the players now!  We had a lot of fun there. 

When Brendan came back home we went back to meet him. Our original  plan was to go to Ribfest in Merrimack since the BBQ is amazing and there are a lot of fun things for the kids to do, but the rain was just too miserable. We actually started to go since it was only slightly drizzling and knowing that Jake and Dianna were going, but after we stopped to get gas the rain came down hard and we called it quits.  We decided to go to the mall and just bop around. Cole loves going on the spinning teacup and we had a nice snack of ice cream.  Brendan looked into getting an IPhone (supposed to be his Father's Day present but I wasn't able to get out last night to pick it up) and then we went home. The kids fell asleep on the way home so when we got home we all snuggled on the couch and all fell asleep. So nice!

Then we had a yummy dinner of ribeye steak and then I had made Brendan's fav pie...lemon meringue!  So good. 

Well, those are the details of our day....but what I most loved about our day was celebrating Brendan as a Dad. He really is such a good dad and Cole and Charlotte love him very much.  Whenever Charlotte realized Brendan was gone last night and this morning she would stop and yell "Da-da!!" and wait for him to reply.  I love you Brendan!!

At the end of the day we had fun goofing around in Cole's room. Cole wanted to sing and act out "Veggie Tales" which is a silly cartoon that I love because it makes me laugh out loud and it also has good lessons about God and his message.  I highly recommend it!

Charlotte love to tackle Cole and hug him. So cute!

Oh, there are just so many good photos...I love them all!!

I published a lot this evening...be sure to check out the Strawberry fields post and the Poor Charlotte post too!

Strawberry Fields

AT LAST!! I so look forward to strawberry picking each year!  The season is so short that I jumped at the chance to go during the beautiful weather on Saturday.  I could not believe how perfect and abundant the strawberries are this year. It took me no time at all to pick 10 lbs...with Cole's help!!

Caden and Lisa met us there and Caden was very proud of each one that he picked! ; )

Cole said "no pictures Mommy!"

Look at that!  Wonderfully yummy....

While I finished up picking Cole, Charlotte and Brendan sat in the car and went to town on the berries Cole had picked.  Look at that juice stained hand!

Two kids who very much enjoy their strawberries!!

Look out! It's the strawberry monster!

Oh no! What happened?? Oh wait...that's just strawberry juice..phew!

Poor Charlotte??

On Wednesday Charlotte woke up with a fever of 99 and change. I know her molars are coming through so I gave her some Motrin and sent her to school. (Bad Mommy!)  I got a call, of course, at about 10 and I was told Charlotte's fever was higher and I so I left work and went to pick her up. We had a very nice day together! In the above pic she doesn't look sick at all, does she?  I think she  pulled a Ferris Buller on me.... : )

Actually that night and the next day her fever was quite high but after taking her to the doctor they declared it just a virus and she began to improve on Thursday afternoon. 

I'm blaming this one on the rain.... : )

Wednesday and Thursday night Charlotte was sick so I just put her to bed in Brendan's and my bed and she slept so soundly! She loves it there!  I just love how she is cuddling with "baby".  The original two she was pulling around have now become five. She loves them all!

Ice Ice Baby

I think the temperature of our pool was maybe 65 degrees when Brendan and Cole finally decided to brave the weather and jump in.  It's been so rainy here that our pool has not had the chance to warm up and our pool is just sitting in the background taunting us!!  Brendan decided last weekend that enough was enough and he was just going to (literally) jump in and use the pool he works so hard to open and maintain!  Cole of course could not resist going in either! It a only took him 10 minutes to get to a point where he would jump in and then he was ok once he got in.  This year we are forgoing the life preserver and using the tube instead. He can maneuver through the water so much better this way and he can be by himself which is more fun for everyone!  Cole enticed Brendan to go in last night too but Charlotte and I have yet to do more than just dip our feet in the ice...ahem...I mean water.

Off he goes into the sunset...or at least to the other edge of the pool.

Charlotte was pretty content at the edge splashing her feet.

Love this photo.

Another good one. : )

Summer...summer...where are you???

Some favorite things….

I really do have so many pictures to post…from my Grandma Gertie’s trip last week…from Brendan and Cole’s first time in the (freezing cold!) pool…and just random cute photos.. I’ve been either been falling asleep at 8 o’clock (and really there is just no waking me up once I’m off to dreamland) or have been busy returning to de-wallpapering the bathroom (yes! I’ve re-started that project I began in March!) or watching So You Think You Can Dance (the dancing is wonderful!!).

But for now I’ll leave you with links to some really super things I’ve found lately…

Chess in Concert. Here is a link to the preview on Amazon. The music is amazing…Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) is one of the leads, as is Adam Pascal (Rent, Aida, Last Five Years) and Josh Groban (LOVE HIM!!). The concert was just on PBS (Great Peformances) for the first time this past Wednesday. I’m sure they will reply it if you want to record it! If you like the preview or love Broadway, I’ll make you a copy of the cd if you’d like. The music is really, really beautiful. I’ve been listening to it on my ipod at work and have to force myself not to burst into song. Ha-ha- I hope that image made you laugh.

I always enjoy a good brain teaser and I like learning new facts as well. Found this website while searching for my some material for a group meeting. They post an update every Tuesday and it is filled with a really positive message and interesting tid-bits.

I follow political, domestic and international, news very closely (gasp! You do, Kelly? I had no idea! That would be sarcasm for those of you who already know that!) I love the columnist Mark Steyn...his writing is very insightful and witty. If you’d like to read his articles you can get most of them here.

The other night I found myself reading blog after blog of the entries for this week’s challenge over at I Heart Faces. It is a wonderful site and I’ve become a follower of the two blogs of the woman who created the site. I always look to learn from others’ photography and see things in the perspectives they have taken images in. If you ever want to suck some time out of your life and never get it back, I highly recommend reading the blogs of people you never met. Ha-ha.

So, if you chose to visit any or all of those sites…enjoy! I’ll post some new pics tonight or tomorrow night…if I decide to again put off the bathroom project. He-he. I rather like the look of peeling, chipped drywall, don’t you?!

Little friends..

We have new friends in the hedges by the pool. Brendan discovered them on Saturday. They are four baby robins in a perfectly built nest. I worried about them during the torrential downpours the past couple days but we went back out today and there they are, stronger than they were a couple days ago and fluffier even! So I am reminded of one of my favorite verses...

"Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow or reap or store up in barns, but your Heavenly Father feeds them: are not you of much greater value than they?"

God is here to take care of the baby robins and he is here to take care of us.... : )

17 months...

It's hard to believe Charlotte is 17 months old (tomorrow).  I haven't been doing updates as her months have rolled by but the past month or two we have just seen an explosion of personality and learning and interests in Charlotte.  

She is such a little mama. She loves the real babies at school....loving them and being so gentle with them. At home, she has two very special babies which collectively are her "babies"...she needs them both to snuggle with and love around the house but now especially at night. She'll give them them kisses, tuck them under a blanket or just carry them around. 

She says so many words now...many things are only distinguishable if you are engaging in conversation with her and she tries to repeat what you say to her. For instance the other day we had a special treat and announced we were going to Dunkin Donuts to which Charlotte  promptly repeated and became very excited! (I guess it wasn't so special if she is familiar with it!)

She loves Cole....following him, kissing him, imitating him.  And likewise, he is wonderful with her.

She is playing with her toys in a more child-like fashion now. This evening we set up the barn area together and she laid the animals down and said "shhhh" and pretended they were asleep.

She still loves her Mama best (can't say I'm complaining!), is still very reserved around people/places she is not familiar with, but is a very big goof and very social with the ones she is familiar with.

The year between 1 and 2 years old will always be my favorite!!

Fascinated with the spinning egg...

Doing the goofy face with Mimi...

Being silly....

Good times, good times...

This past Sunday Dianna and Jake invited us to visit them while they were camping at Pawtuckaway State Park. What a little gem this park is!! I loved it! It almost made me want to go camping...almost.  For now, I am fine visiting other people's campers. Well, not people I don't know...visiting them randomly...you know, just walking up and saying hi... I mean visiting people I know...and only when I am invited!! : )  Lucky for us, that is what happened this past weekend! he-he.  

Mason and Charlotte are in the infant room together and Zachary and Cole are in Preschool II.  Oh my gosh- the cuteness factor with Charlotte and Mason was just off the charts.  And Zach and Cole play so well together...I just love it. We all had a great time!!

Love it

Kerry came over on Saturday evening to come play and then watch 3 hours of "So You Think You Can Dance" with me. I LOVE this show- the dancing is amazing! Now I am counting the days until Charlotte can start dance class. : )

In this photo, Cole is settling down for the night and watching "Berenstein Bears" (I think). Once the TV is on there is no grabbing his attention!

Cole loves his Aunt Kerry and now that she is back from school and we see her more often Charlotte is warming up to her and loving her as well.   So great....

What weekend?

Our weekend flew by!! We had so much fun and were so busy but from Friday evening to now seems like a blur. I'll post pics soon but for now I'll leave you with this one. I saw a similar picture on McMama's blog and remembered that I had bought a similar hat for Charlotte a couple months ago off of where else, but Etsy.  Charlotte LOVES hats and did not want to take this off!

Just a little hike...

I'm sorry folks, but I just do not have the ability to whittle down my photographs down to just several! I love them all. : )

Last weekend we went to the Flume and Canon. I have been going to the Flume since I was a little girl but every time I go it is so breathtaking and beautiful. I absolutely love it there. Believe it or not, having grown up in NH, I do not think I had ever taken the ride up Canon until I met Brendan!  Since then we have been up (and down!) several times.  

It is wonderful to experience this again and have our children go through the same wonders as I did (and still do)!

We stopped for a nice picnic for lunch. Aidyn and Cole were much more interested in the big sticks and impressing us all with their strength!

Cole loved the rushing water! He had no problem sticking his hand in the river and then taking off his shoes and getting his feet wet! I can't wait to take him to the Kanc (not even going to try to spell it!) and go to that section where you can slide down the rocks into the big pool!

Poor Charlotte...so tired!

Love this picture.  Cole is so good with Aidyn and Aidyn seems to just adore Cole. 

Cole did a good amount of walking but was definitely tired toward the end of it!

Beautiful scenery!

Aidyn is so goofy. He was playing peek a boo with me. 

Charlotte was very agreeable for half of the ride back to Laconia but then decided to scream for the second half. Lovely.

Overall we had a wonderful time with everyone; it was such a nice day!  Looking forward to lots more day trips this summer.