Slip 'n' Slide

Jack Singing

Here's Jack singing "I Am a Child of God."

Final AZ Photos

Here's a mishmash of a few other photos we took in AZ.

Jack begged to sit on the motorcycle with Papa.

The cousins at another fire station visit.

At the famous Organ Stop Pizza. Ice cream + crazy organ music + strange moth-eaten cat puppets = Total Blast!

Visit to the splashpark #2.

Tea Party

While we were in AZ, Grandma Debi hosted a lovely tea party for Amelia and her cousins. It was amazing, and Amelia loved every second of it!

The beautiful table setting- we all (girls included) used real china. The tulle at each chair is actually a shawl.

Each girl got to make a headband to wear during tea.

The girls all dressed up.

Evie thinks nothing of tea cups. She infinitely prefers to drink from tiny vases (once the flowers have been removed).

The party ended with some spontaneous dancing.

The happy girls after the party.

Jack's Birthday

For Jack's birthday we had berry pie. Jack loved blowing out the candles, but he refused to try the pie until Mike left a blob of it on the table for him to test out! After he tried it, he willingly polished off two small slices!

Colin's Birthday

Since I missed Colin's birthday while I was at camp (Mike had a lovely celebration for him on the actual day), we celebrated again when I got home. Colin specifically asked for chocolate chip cookies baked by Dad, so that is exactly what he got!

Splash Park

This is the first post of many to come with photos from our visit to AZ. We stayed two weeks, which in some ways wasn't nearly long enough. These photos are from our visit to the Splash Park with G.G., Jim, and Mike's cousin and her kids. It was more fun than ever this year, and all the kids loved the water and getting wet.

Girls Camp

I spent last week as a cook at our church's girls camp. I had a great time hanging out in the kitchen with wonderful ladies, and an even better time hanging out with the girls from our ward and getting to know them better. They are such a great group!

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!