Blueberry Fest

Blueberry season is here! We trekked back to NJ to harvest 10 pounds for ourselves. Blueberry picking is totally awesome. The bushes are nice and tall, so not a lot of bending over- perfect for a lazy person like myself! I also happen to adore blueberries and all the fabulous baked goods that come with them. The kids are excellent pickers. Amelia liked picking, but did quite a bit of chatting in the field. Colin was diligent. He focused on finding the perfect berry, and he picked for over an hour until he lost interest and spilled his basket. Jack was better than I'd expected, keeping himself busy in the dirt and munching snacks. Overall, an excellent day in NJ. Since I'm going to help at a girls summer camp this week and abandoning the family, we've been cooking and eating as fast as we can. In two and a half days we've managed 2 cobblers, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins, and general snacking. I think our insides will be stained blue permanently.

Bikes!

Amelia and Colin got new bikes for their birthdays, and Jack inherited an old bike. We've taken them out for a spin a couple of times, and it's really fun and really funny. Amelia and Colin are pretty good, but they can't do two things at once, such as steering and braking, or pedaling and steering! This leads to a lot of "wandering" while they bike, and many near misses with parked cars, each other, or a curb. After a good ride back home from a park Colin was really getting the hang of it until he got to our driveway. He started picking up speed and we chased him yelling at him to brake. He cruised right into the bumper of our car, fell right over the side of his bike, and left a big scratch in the bumper. I ran over and picked him us as fast as I could, expecting him to cry, but he just had this goofy grin and said (in a slow, drawn out way that only Colin can do), "Well, it's a good thing I had my helmet on. I was just goin' too fast to brake."

New Outfit

Amelia and her doll got new outfits from Grandma Debi as a birthday gift. Don't they look cute?

Birthday Bonanza

This year we celebrated all three kids' birthdays on the same day. Colin and Amelia got new bikes, and it made more sense to give both of them their bikes together so we could all start riding at the same time. We celebrated the big birthday day by having a cookout outside. Each kid got to choose their favorite birthday cake and no one wanted the same thing, so it was a busy baking day for me! Amelia insisted on a German Chocolate cake, definitely not cupcakes, and Colin wanted coconut cupcakes. Jack wanted chocolate (he loves chocolate).

Colin and Jack checking out their birthday treats.

Amelia getting ready for cake. I have mini cake pans, which really came in handy for this situation.

Chowing down on watermelon.

Blowing their birthday horns. I hate those things. I don't know why I buy them every year.

Boston

Mike officially finished his prelims (big, difficult, nasty, pass/fail, week-long tests) after studying nonstop for months, so to celebrate we hit the road Friday afternoon and headed up to Boston. It is such a cool city! We only stayed two nights, so it was quick, but we had wonderful time being together. Some highlights include: walking the Freedom Trail (Colin made the 5 mile journey without riding in a stroller, amazing!), eating at the Ye Old Oyster House, cruising around Harvard and Cambridge, and enjoying Italian food and pastries in the North End.

Posing at Harvard

Racing up the library steps.

Trapped behind a lovely gate.

Jack's favorite toy of the trip, a room key.

At one point during our trek down the Freedom Trail it started pouring. We had to stop in a gift shop and buy these embarrassing ponchos. The kids thought it was awesome, and Amelia said it was the perfect alien costume. I'm inclined to agree!

Checking out the USS Constitution, or as Amelia calls it, "Old Iron Ship, the USS Consti-tish-on"

Colin was in love with this anchor.

One of the many cool/creepy headstones we saw.

Hanging out with Paul Revere.

Amelia's First Ballet Performance

Tonight was a very special night. Amelia has been in a ballet class for a couple of months at a wonderful studio near us. She loves it with all her heart! The studio put on a performance of Sleeping Beauty, and Amelia got to be a forest fairy. The costumes were unbelievable- better than anything even a fancy-five-year-old could dream up. Amelia did a great job. She has been practicing very hard at home and it paid off! We are so proud of her! We weren't permitted to take photos at the performance, but I was a chaperon for Amelia's age group, so I took photos at the dress rehearsal she had this morning.

Playing in the dressing room waiting for her turn to go onstage.

Getting ready for the curtain to open. She got to hold some lovely flowers for her dance.

Looking beautiful!

Class is in Session

Today at a garage sale I found these two darling vintage metal desks. They are very compact, perfect for my little students! Amelia can't wait to do her homework now!

Steamtown

Here are some photos from our visit to Steamtown, which we thought was pretty darn cool!

This was posted inside our passenger car during our train ride. I don't know why, but I think it's pretty funny.

The train is called "Big Boy" and only a few of them were ever made. They were the biggest and most powerful engines out there. Dad was thrilled to see it in person.

The kids liked this cute little one.

On the bridge overlooking Steamtown.

10 Years!!

Happy 10th anniversary, Mike! Being married to you is even better than I could have imagined. I love you!

Amelia has been very interested in our anniversary this year. This is the card she made us! It says, "I love you Mom. I hope you have a happy annuversrry. This is the last time I'm saying I love you in this sentins. I love you. Love Amelia" There is another card in the works for Mike.

Train Buddies

Mom and Dad came for a visit, and now we affectionately call it The Great Train Dash of 2010. Dad didn't have tons of time here, but we managed to cram in as many locomotives as possible. Colin thinks of himself proudly as Papa's train buddy. Our first stop was New Hope, PA. This turned out to be a little early in the tourist season for live steam, so we had to settle for a diesel. After Dad wiped his tears, we had a lovely ride through the forest.

The boys watching the engine link up with our car.

The train buddies resting their arms on the window, just like the engineer does.

We loved this awesome station with the darling witch's cap.

Mother's Day

As far as I'm concerned, the best thing about Mother's Day the last two years has been the Mother's Tea that the preschool puts on. It is wonderful! The kids get dressed up and drink tea from tea cups. They make us darling cards, and Colin made me a special flower pin out of popsicle sticks. Colin really loves having a special time with just the two of us. At the end of the tea, the kids climb up on risers and sing songs that they have been working on all year. Colin, who had formerly claimed to hate singing, busted out in song! It was amazing! He was probably the loudest singer in the whole group. He has a very low voice and can't hit most of the high notes, but that didn't stop him! He also is a very slow singer, so he was usually two or three words behind. He really tried hard and looked like he was enjoying it. I was sooooo proud!

We're Still Alive

Wow, I've taken quite a hiatus this month but I hope to be back in action now! First off, Colin's preschool took a trip to a cute little farm in April and I got to bring all of the kids along. Amelia went with her class last year, so she felt like quite the veteran. Colin was really excited to see all of the animals and he had a great time on the hayride sitting next to his buddy, Albert.

Jack seemed really interested in holding a chick until I actually gave him one. I guess it's not fun, it's horrifying. Right after I took this he angrily shoved the chick off the chair.

Colin on his first pony ride. It was more of a mozy, really.

Amelia and Colin made me look good by sharing this chick and helping each other right in front of the teachers. Way to go, guys!

Colin really liked feeding this sheep some of the hay on the ground.

Jack saying cheese in front of the goats.

Amelia admired this pony's beautiful hair. We thought it could use a bow of some sort.

Feeding the bunnies.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

This weekend we ventured out to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival with some good friends. Despite it being rather hot and crowded, I had a wonderful time! There was lots of yarn shopping, and I came home with a few skeins of some wonderful stuff. There was also plenty of lamb to eat (strange, I think) and we enjoyed some barbecue lamb ribs that were awesome. The kids like seeing the animals, and watching the experts shear the sheep.

These alpacas were adorable. They are so small and sweet looking, and make cute sounds. I also happen to be a big fan of alpaca yarn.

These alpacas had their fur shaved, and their hairdos match Amelia's!

We all loved checking out the different sheep breeds. This is a heritage breed whose long hair on their faces looks like dreadlocks.

While I was yarn shopping, Mike bought the kids corndogs. Corndogs!? They loved them. Gross.

Colin thought the rams were really cool.