King's Island ~ July 2008

I know I am back-tracking here, but I was looking through some of the pictures that we were able to save (after losing literally HUNDREDS of pictures ~ did I mention that already?!) and these were just too cute not to include. Every summer since we have moved far away (aka 2004) I have travelled back to OH with the kids to spend a week with Mom and Dad. It usually includes a trip to KY to see extended family which is my only opportunity to see them at all. And it also usually includes a trip to Kings Island, the amusement park I grew up going to. The kids love it. This year, Nora Kate really came out as the dare devil of our kids and Samuel looked like quite the scaredy cat next to his little sister who wanted to ride everything! Here she is with Mom riding her first roller coaster, the "Little Bill Coaster".

This year Rachel and Elizabeth, my sister's 2 girls were staying with Mom and Dad a couple of the days that we were there and they got to come along to KI with us, so that was an extra bonus getting to spend some time with them. Here we all are (except for Dad who is taking the picture) on the train at the end of the day. Rachel and Elizabeth are in front, then Mom and me with the kids in the back. You can see that someone is getting a little sleepy, but I won't name any names. The funny part about this is that Dad took the pictures at the last minute before the train was taking off so it had already started to move when he took the last picture. So then, in pure Dad fashion, he disregards the warnings and swings around the outside of the train while it's moving to get back to sit with us. I can't remember if they said anything to him or not, but it was funny!

from the mouths of babes...

First I must say that obviously I have been a bit behind in my blogging and that is unfortunate because during this time that I have been silent and have not been posting pictures, we (Josh) have lost hundreds of our photos while trying to transfer them to a cd. He says they must be somewhere because he did not specifically delete them, but they are nowhere to be found. So, no birthday pics of the kids, no school field trips, no anniversary trip pics, etc. Thankfully, I had uploaded our disney photos to shtterfly, because they are all gone too. Anyway, I wanted to post this funny thing Samuel said yesterday before I forget...

Yesterday afternoon...
Samuel: Mommy, are you skinny?

Me: Well, I wouldn't say that...

Samuel: Well, your legs are.

Me: Yeah.

Samuel: (takes a closer look) Well, maybe just your feet.


Enjoy.

July 11, 2008...has it really been 10 years?

in front of the Biltmore house

my favorite part of the 4 acres of flower gardens

July 11, 1998July 11, 2008

This past weekend on July 11, Josh and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We had planned to take a big trip, but it just wasn't going to happen this year, so we decided we will celebrate 11 years on the 11th next year! We did get a weekend away, which was really nice. We went to Asheville, NC and visited the Biltmore. I can remember wanting to do that when I was little, but we never did. The house was amazing. It was 6 stories with 43 bathrooms and fireplaces larger than some rooms in our house. One of the most interesting things about it was realizing that it was built in the late 1800's and learning how they used horses and railways to bring in all the materials. The property is 8000 acres, and is still owned by the family. The little we learned about the family history was also very interesting. We went there Thursday and Friday (if you buy your ticket after 3pm you can use it for the next day also), then went out to a nice restaurant for our Anniversary on Friday night. A HUGE thanks to Mom and Dad for watching the kids for us (and surviving!). Enjoy the pictures.

father's day weekend

For Father's Day, Josh wanted to do something fun with the kids to create memories rather than getting a present. Since there is a minor league team here he decided last year that it would be fun to go to a baseball game. So, that's what we did last year and again this year. We actually went with a group of neighbors this year. It was a lot of fun. We did have a bit of rain and everyone got pretty wet, but still fun.

typical Nora Kate....

This is what living with our little girl is really like. These are a couple of pictures that really capture her true personality! She likes to wear colorful socks and sleep with her babies and a book and of course her princess blanket.... She almost never goes anywhere without at least 10 of her boppies and of course her purse. She also likes to bring along a toy if she can. This particular day she was still in her princess gown and slippers! (I think we were taking Samuel to school. She doesn't usually go out in public wearing her pj's!) She is such a little bag lady too. She loves bags and purses and fills them with all sorts of stuff she can find! So cute. Still in diapers, she doesn't want to have anything to do with the potty. She was really interested in it until one day we were working on it and she was wearing her big girl panties and went on the floor. She was really upset and since then has wanted nothing to do with it whatsoever. She does not like messes and I think it scared her that that happened. What can I say? She still drinks her milk out of a bottle too. That's right. Just turned 3 and won't drink her milk out of anything but a bottle. I know maybe I should care, but I really don't. I think it's more important for her to get the milk in than to fight it. (believe me, I've tried!) Basically, she's our princess and we love her to pieces and pretty much do whatever she wants! (Is that bad?!!)

end of 1st grade celebrations

Friday, May 30, the entire 1st grade from Samuel's school had a field trip to JellyBeans, the roller rink here. We all 3 skated (yes, even me!) Someone said to me "wow, you are brave!" when they saw me and the 2 kids all in skates. I said, "well, either brave or stupid, I'm not sure which just yet!" It all turned out good. I only almost fell once but saved face. (Unlike the poor Dad from another class who fell and twisted his ankle on the last field trip to Clemmons Forest. Poor guy had to be lifted out of the forest on a stretcher.) Anyway, both of the kids had a great time. Samuel skated and fell a few times, but had fun. Nora Kate didn't care too much for skating on the rink, but liked 'skating' around on the carpet outside of the rink. It was a very cute sight to see her in roller skates (the smallest size they had!) The last day of school was Tuesday, June 3. The first grade had an Awards Chapel at 8am. Josh and I both went. We weren't sure if he would get an award, but we told him even if he didn't it was a good idea to go and cheer on his classmates. As it turned out, he did get an award for A/B Honor Roll, meaning that he got all A's and B's the entire year! We were really proud of him! Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Gordey in the classroom after the awards. (Just a side note.... he has since gotten a haircut -- thank goodness!)

playset is finished

Josh actually finished the playset Memorial Day but I am just now getting around to posting about it. The kids are LOVING it! (In case you can't see), there is a rock wall, rope ladder, 2 regular swings, a disc swing, a slide, and an upper and lower level clubhouse type area. They are playing on it every day and having so much fun, not to mention quite a few of the neighbor kids are enjoying it also! Samuel has learned to swing and can swing about as high as the top of the slide. I was not surprised that he is 7 and didn't know how to swing. How would he? Most of the newer playgrounds these days do not have swings, not to mention that when he was in school in PA he only had recess 3 TIMES the whole year from when school started to when we moved in March. I was irate about that. He does have recess EVERY day here in NC, which I am very grateful for, but no swings. And just to note (from my OT classes), swinging is very good for kids developmentally and neurologically. So, glad to finally have the swings!