Soccer time.

The kids both started soccer a couple of weeks ago, and they really love it.  Of course it helps that their Dad is the assistant coach on both teams.  Practices are once a week and this Saturday they both had their first games of the season.  I was so proud of both of them, they really worked hard and went for the ball.  They are both #1!  Juliana is on the orange team and Tyler is on the blue team.  This weekend Juliana played the girls blue team and Ty played the boys orange team.

Funny things...

Kids are always saying and doing funny things and mine are not an exception to the rule.  The older they get the funnier they get.  Even when they are fighting, they can sometimes still make us laugh.  Last week we were all outside and Juliana poured a cup of water on Tyler (that's not the funny part), the funny part was he ran over to the sprinkler, picked it up, and aimed it on her!  He got her back, of course she didn't find it funny.


This summer we were driving and the kids were asking what meat you got from a pig.  Then Tyler asked what animal an onion comes from.


Last night we went out for dinner.  I asked Juliana what she wanted from her Auntie Becky for her Birthday, she said, "Money", I said, "What if she wants to buy you something", she said, "a gift card"... "or a savings bond"!  What 7 year old asks for a savings bond!  She cracks me up!

Back in time.

Yesterday we went back to our old neighborhood in Attleboro, Massachusetts to partake in the annual neighborhood block party.  This event has happened every year since the very beginning of the subdivision.  This was our 7th year attending and as always, it was so much fun.  We lived their for 4.5 years, the longest Steve and I have lived in one place together since we've met.  Juliana was only 10 months old when we moved in and at the time was an only child.  Tyler was born there and I can vividly remember the day we brought him home from the hospital.  It is always so exciting to see everyone, and mostly to see how much all the kids have grown.  Many of them weren't even born yet when we moved in, and now all of them are in school, riding bikes without training wheels, and able to hold full conversations with the adults.  


Yesterday Tyler was very proud of his Mom (me) and my cooking.  I made a crab dip and he made sure every single person at the party tried it.  There were many people we did not know, as everyone has different guests there, but that did not deter him.  Of course by the end of the day everyone there knew his name.  I got so many compliments on Juliana and how beautiful she is.  Her hair gets many compliments as well, it's long with a bit of curl and just is "her".


We got home last night around 10:00 and will look forward to next years block party.  I will hopefully remember my camera next year too.

School Days...

On Monday morning the kids officially started school.  Juliana is in third grade, yes, I said THIRD GRADE!  And Tyler is in first grade!  They both woke up ready to go to school, we are lucky thus far that they both really enjoy school and look forward to it everyday.  We had picked out outfits the night before which was exciting because they both got a bunch of new school clothes and shoes.  Their new lunch boxes and backpacks were packed and they were ready to go.  I normally drive them and pick them up from school everyday, but for the first couple of days I let them take the bus on the way there.  Steve made sure he had time in the morning too, so we could walk them to the bus stop together, and then we went to breakfast.  It's sad and exciting to watch them grow up and form new chapters in their lives.  I hope they have a fabulous year in school this year.

I couldn't get a normal smile out of him that morning:

I made cupcakes for them when they came home:

Pets

We are even with people and pets in our house.  Steve and I have always loved pets and now our kids share our love of them.  Juliana is even saying that she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.  Miles our very large cat has taken a liking to sleeping with Juliana, he's 13 years old and just loves to cuddle.  We also have Austin the cat, he's not too fond of the kids, I think they chased him one too many times, so he's usually spending his days hiding from them and comes out at night.  Of course I've mentioned Summer our kitten, he's getting bigger and bigger and is very tolerant of the kids and all that they do to him.  Our one and only dog is Lucy, we call her Lucy Goosey, and she's an adorable oversized beagle mix.  I don't think there's a better dog out there than Lucy.  She never barks, never jumps, never bites.  The kids have done everything to her and she's never showed an ounce of aggression.  Juliana has become quite attached to her lately and spends a lot of time with her.  The other night we were having dinner outside and Lucy was doing her best begging eyes.

Then Juliana decided to dance with Lucy, she spun her around and I got the following picture, isn't she beautiful.

Meanwhile, Tyler found a baby frog to play with.  He's always looking for frogs, toads, and worms.  He was very excited about this little guy, he kept saying how cute he was and walked around with him for a half hour.  I think the frog liked him too, because he never attempted to jump off his hand (perhaps he was a smart frog and didn't want to jump to his death).

Tooth time!

This has been a super exciting week for Tyler, he lost his first tooth!  He's been wiggling it and shaking it for weeks.  Finally last weekend it got really, really loose, but then he couldn't pull it because it hurt.  Sunday morning he was in his room playing Legos and I heard him run out of his room screaming with excitement, "Mommy, my toof fell out"!  He even took me into his room to reenact how it fell out.  He was sitting on his floor playing Legos and saw something fall, he thought it was a Lego, but picked it up and it was his tooth.  He asked all day if it was nighttime yet, starting at 8:30 in the morning.  He went to bed with the tooth and a note under his pillow for the tooth fairy.  I heard him wake up at 5:00 am yelling, "Juliana the tooth fairy left me money"!  Seeing him so excited was just as exciting for me as it was for him to feel that way.

We conquered Chocolate World...again.

So when it came time to start planning our summer vacation I spent hours researching fun and exciting places to go.  Since it is so cold in New England more than half the year, we try to not travel too far in the summer, since it's the best time here.  So that always means, roadtrip!  I was really leaning towards Virginia Beach this year, 5 days of sitting on the beach sounded like bliss to me.  Unfortunately the others in the family didn't seem to agree, and the kids decided they really, really wanted to go to Hershey Pennsylvania, which is where we went last year.  Steve agreed that it was a good place to go, and Mommy was out-voted.  Fortunately I loved it there last year, so the hotel was booked and last week we loaded up the car and headed to Chocolate World.  The drive there was great, no traffic and great weather.  We checked into our hotel and within minutes the kids had their bathing suits on and were ready to hit the pool.  They had both an indoor and outdoor pool, and the kids spent equal time in both.  At the beginning of the summer neither one of them would go past their waste, but after a summer of swim classes, they are both jumping into the deep end and swimming to the edge by themselves.  They even invented a new dive called The Chicken!

The next day we headed to Hershey Park, which is just an amazing amusement park.  The kids came out of their shells a bit and tried a lot of new rides.  Steve spent a fair amount of time searching for vending machines with Hershey candy.  The day was hot and the lines were long, but we still had a fantastic time and fun was had by all.

Our final day was spent at the Hershey Chocolate World Factory.  They have a free ride that shows how chocolate is made and at the end of the ride you get free chocolate.  They also have a huge store with everything chocolate you can think of.  The kids got new shirts and some treats, I got a couple of candy things, and Steve walked out with half the dark chocolate aisle.  All in all it was a fabulous trip, our drive home was full of traffic, but once we were settled in at home that was forgotten and now we have the memories of visiting Hershey Pennsylvania for a second time.

Summer BBQ's.

Is there anything better in the summer than having a bbq in the backyard on a sunny day with family and friends?  We had such a long cold winter in New England this year, and our summer started off to such a soggy start I didn't think we'd ever enjoy the outdoors.  Fortunately August has been spectacular and warm and sunny almost every day.  My Grandmother visited this month and every summer I host a bbq while she's here with family. This year she she didn't want us to mention her birthday, in the past we have always had a cake for her, but if she doesn't want it, then so be it.  So we just had everyone over for a fun and relaxing afternoon.  I know how fortunate I am to have both my grandmothers still with me at age 33.  My children are so lucky to have a fantastic relationship with their three living Great Grandmothers and I know it's something they'll always cherish.  We try to spend time with them whenever possible.  

There's no slowing my Grandmother down, even at the age of 84, you can't tell her not to do something, because guaranteed that will make her do it. She pulled Juliana and her cousin around in the wagon for a long ride, I tried pulling them and they were heavy!

Fun in the sun!

My favorite time at the beach is dinner time.  We went a week and a half ago with my Grammy, she just turned 84 and couldn't remember the last time she went to the beach.  I didn't want her to miss out on how beautiful it is as the sun is setting, so we loaded up the car and headed off.  We had a nice picnic dinner at the picnic tables at the pavilion, and then found a perfect spot on the beach to set up our blanket.  Juliana jumped into the ocean (of course) unfortunately the tide was coming in, and the water was quite dirty and slimy.  So they spent more time in the sand than the water this time.  They tried building a sand castle close to the water, but didn't realize how the incoming tide would affect it, and it was gone pretty quick.  So they moved onto the lifeguard stand and played with some other kids building who knows what on the stand.  I am sure the guards didn't appreciate it when they got to work the next morning, but the kids had so much fun!

We were lucky enough to go see the Patriots practice last night.  The kids have said they'd like to go to a game, but since the cost of tickets is so ridiculous, a free practice makes us all (including our wallets) happy.  The kids enjoyed it for the most part, although they were super tired from a busy day we had.  We went to breakfast with my Grandmother and my sisters family.  After that we went to swim class, and then to our old neighborhood to hang out and swim with our friends Raylene, Mia, and Erik.  By the time we got to Gillette Stadium the kids were tuckered out, but still loved seeing the players.  Tyler was very interested in the cotton candy, and jumped out of his seat to stop the guy that was selling it from walking by, it was so cute.  

To top it off not only did we get to see the players at the stadium, but earlier in the evening we had figured out they were all staying at our hotel as well.