Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam!

Tonight we went over to Nana and Poppy's house for an early birthday surprise for Ryan. Two months ago, unbeknown to any of us, Nana and Poppy bought two tickets for this huge event -- one for Ryan and one for Rob. It's for tomorrow night. Emily and I met Rob and Ryan over at their house, once Ryan finished skating. We sat around for a little bit and Nana asked Ryan to go and sit with Poppy. Ryan was a little unsure about it, but went anyway. haha! Poppy gave him the envelope and when Ryan saw what it was -- he was so excited!! He has been wanting to go so badly and every time he asks Rob, he would say, "we'll see!" So, this will be so much fun for them. Kelli and Hunter are going to ride along with them. I'm looking forward to seeing all the pictures. Emily and I will do something special -- just the two of us, while they are at their Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam!!!

Poppy and Ryan ~~~

Poppy reading to Ryan about all the things that are allowed and not allowed in the arena. Ryan just got back from skating, that's why his hair is a mess! hehehehe!

Poppy and Ryan ~~

Family Day!

We another fun day at the pool. It seems like that is our entertainment of choice, these days! Well, with the price of gas, and with Rob's parents having a pool, and living so close to us, it just seems the natural thing to do. We all love the water. Also, after all the yard work that the boys did, a refreshing dip in the pool, was just perfect. Emily still has to keep her head above the water. And, for a child who is the first one, of the season, to get into the pool and is always in the longest out of everybody, she is doing a great job with self-control. I really thought that she would have "accidentally" slipped under by now, but she hasn't. I'm so proud of her. Emily and Ryan got out all the fake food, pots, pans, cups, and plates from the garage and played "restaurant." They cooked Rob and I some yummy food. Then, Rob got out Poppy's remote control boats and they played with them. It was a lot of fun. We had a great family day!

Ryan helping Daddy!

Yard work -- and what a ton of it we had!! Rob and Ryan did so much work this morning. Our grass and front flower beds look so pretty now. Thanks for all the hard work, boys!! You both are the best! I love you so much.

Pool Fun and Cooking Out!

Yesterday, we went to Nana and Poppy's pool, again, because it was so hot! Before we got into the pool, Emily and Ryan fed the fish in the pond. Nana and Poppy went out of town and left food for the kids to feed the fish.

The fish swimming to the top of the pond. They are hungry!

Emily feeding them!

Ryan feeding them!

Look how hungry those fish are!

My sweet babies -- Emily and Ryan!


Since Emily still has swimmers ear, she couldn't go under water. So, my precious girl just floated around all day and stayed in the shallow end. She did go off the diving board once, in a big float, but she almost went under water, so she couldn't do that again. Ryan stayed inside for a little bit playing a video game. Then, he joined us later.

Emily, keeping hydrated, on the float!

Ryan playing video games!

Ryan finally getting in the pool!

Self-portrait of me, before I got in the pool!


After Rob got off work, he came over and went swimming with us. It was a wonderful day. I ran home later and got food so that we could cook-out. The weather was so nice that we decided to stay at Nana and Poppy's, for dinner. They don't mind that we "borrow" their house, while they are gone. They are sweet like that! LOL! After we watched the Avatar movie (a Nickelodeon animation that Rob LOVES -- hehehehe), we went home for the night.

Kit Kittredge Movie and Ice Skating!

Sunday, July 6, 2008:

Today, my Mom treated Emily, Caitlynn, and I to the movies!! We saw, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery." Emily got this doll for Christmas, from Santa. Emily brought Kit to the movies; and, Caitlynn brought Nicki! It was such a good movie and it was great to spend some time with Nana/my Mom! After the movie, she treated us to Sam and Steve's. This is one of Emily's favorite places to eat! Here are some pictures, before the movie!

The girls, and their dolls, outside of the movie theater!

Emily and Kit, waiting for the first movie to end, so that we can go in.

Nana and the girls, heading up to our seats!

Caitlynn, the American Girls, and Emily. They are all waiting patiently for the movie to begin!


After our late lunch, Rob took Emily, Sarah, Jamie, and Alban to the IcePlex to skate! They all seemed to have fun. Alban didn't skate at all and Jamie didn't skate for long. But, Emily and Sarah were real troopers! Here are the pictures of the evening!

Emily!

Sarah!

Emily, Sarah, and Jamie!

Emily, taking a break with an ice cold icee! Brrr!!!

Sarah, taking a break with some hot chocolate!

First Day of Summer!

Happy First Day of Summer! First, I will just say that I really miss being able to post pictures to my blog. We still haven't fixed our memory problem on our computer. So, I haven't been able to download any pictures from my camera. I have over 300 pictures and about 6 videos just waiting to be set free!!! LOL! I have so many picture folders on my hard drive and that is what is taking up so much room. Rob thinks that we need to add an external hard drive and send all the pictures there, as we download. It's so frustrating!

I really thought that I was going to be able to blog last night, since both children had friends spend the night. However, they were a little wild and I didn't have the free time that I thought I would. LOL! But, it was fun and they were all really good, so I am not complaining. They didn't fall asleep until way after midnight and were up by 7-ish today. My sweet husband took them all swimming from 10:00 - 12:00, so I was able to have a couple of hours to myself. He had to go to work after he got home. He is always so sweet to spend every second of free time with our family. He won't get off work until midnight tonight.

So, what else did we do for the first day of summer??? Well, I got "blonded-up" again. That was something that Emily made up and it's key for: my roots are really bad!! LOL! A few years ago she would say, "Mommy, it's time to get blonded-up again!" So, that is the term I use when I am getting ready to go to Nana's shop. I so fortunate to have a mother-in-law, who does hair. She owns a shop and does all of our hair, free-of-charge! With the cost of hair foiling, I can guarantee that I would be my natural, dark brunette, if I would have to pay for my cut and color. While I was getting my hair done, Poppy watched Emily and Ryan. Sarah was also there, because Vickie was getting blonded up, too! LOL! So, they all played together, swam, and had fun.

Well, that was pretty much our day. Too bad that I'm not able to share any pictures with you. This is where I would be posting them. :-( That is definitely a "sad" face because I really don't like the way my blog looks without any pictures. Hopefully, we will get our little problem fixed very soon.

Oh, and one more thing: The skate park yesterday was so much fun! The boys (Ryan and his friend, Nick) had so much fun on the ramps. It was clean, safe, and taken care of. The City of Chesapeake did a great job with this park, that's for sure. It also had "Fun Forest," a huge playground with tons of areas for the children to play. It had a fence around the entire play area. What was also very impressive was the fact that there was only one way in and one way out! So, Brandon and Joshy couldn't escape, or any child, for that matter! The skate park was right beside the playground and it was fenced, as well! Ryan can't wait to take Hunter with him, when he is home from Tennessee. Emily feels the same way and can't wait to play on the playground with Caitlynn. We sure do miss them!! At least we are talking to them everyday, though. In fact, Emily is talking to Caitlynn right now. They are talking, during the commercials, while watching Camp Rock (a Disney movie). Well, that's it for now. I really am signing off now! Good night!

Happy Father's Day!

Today was a day for celebrating "Dad's." Or, as the one in our house is called --"Daddy!" We went over to Nana and Poppy's this morning for a delicious breakfast, prepared by the children and Nana. We had lots of yummy food. They had made: scrambled eggs (prepared by Sarah), pancakes (prepared by Ryan, that he put in the toaster and buttered himself), biscuits (prepared by Emily), hashbrowns, bacon, sausage links (all prepared by Nana, with help from the kids), and a variety of drinks. Here are a few of the pictures, before we sat down to eat.

Ryan, on pancake duty ~

Emily, getting ready to check her biscuits ~

Ryan taking Poppy's drink order (check out his little notebook) ~

Emily, taking Daddy's drink order (she has her little notebook, too) ~

Sarah, Poppy, Aunt Vickie (Rob's sister), Emily, Rob, Ryan (they are all looking at Nana's camera) ~


After the children took the drink orders, we all went up to the dining room, where we were greeted by a festively decorated table, with name placards, and a sign that Emily had made. There are only six place settings, because Emily, Ryan, and Sarah decided to sit at the coffee table, behind us.



It was really sweet to have the children serve us and they LOVED it! They were so proud of themselves, you could see it on their faces. Everything was so delicious and we really enjoyed it. We all made sure to compliment EVERY bit of food. The breakfast conversation went something like this, "Sarah, these eggs are so good; Ryan, you did such a good job on the pancakes, they are so delicious; Emily, these biscuits taste great ....."





After we got home, Rob layed down for a little while. He was so exhausted, you can see it in his eyes. He is just so tired. He's been working so hard lately and isn't getting a lot of rest. Before he fell asleep, I gave him my card and gift. I wasn't really that original this year, as I only gave him some cash. I know that it seems very impersonal, but he does so little for himself and spends most of all of our money on the children and I. Luckily, I had watched my nephews three times this past week and had my "play" money. The only thing he asked for was a pair of chums, for his sunglasses (which only cost $5.99). The pair that he has are old and worn-out, and have begun to leave a black mark behind his ears. For those who know Rob, you know that he takes his personal hygiene very seriously and didn't want anyone to think that the black mark, behind his ears, was actually dirt!! he/he/he!! So, Emily and Ryan gave him his "Chums" and he was very happy with that. We also made him a chocolate pudding pie, on a graham cracker crust -- one of his favorites! Here are some pictures. You can see it in my sweet husband's eyes, how tired he is. He's going to be in bed EARLY tonight.





This evening, we had my Dad over for a little cook-out. My sister and brother took him to breakfast this morning and I wasn't able to make it, since we were having our wonderfully delicious breakfast at Nana and Poppy's. It was nice spending some time with him. Rob actually cooked -- I am lucky, I tell you -- all my friends know it and I am so blessed to have my sweet husband. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I have NEVER cooked on the grill. Rob does ALL of the grilled foods. So, he cooked some delicious hamburgers and hot dogs. In fact, his burgers are the talk of my side of the family. They all love to eat a "Rob burger," as they so affectionately call it. He must take after his Dad, because our niece (Sarah) will rarely eat any other burger, except for Poppy's! LOL! Here's a picture of me, and my children, with my sweet Dad!
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As the day comes to an end, I am, again, so thankful for this incredibly blessed life that I have been given. Rob is such an amazing Daddy to Emily and Ryan. He is actively involved in every aspect of their lives. He works so hard to provide for us. He is fiercely protective and would do anything in the world for any one of us. Emily and Ryan ADORE their Daddy and I love watching their faces "light-up" when Rob gets home. They eagerly wait for him to come home, from work, so that they can share their day with him. He listens to everything they have to say and gives them his full attention.

Since today is Father's Day, I would like to end my blog tonight with some memories and "thank-you's." When I was a little girl, I would always love to watch my Dad get ready for work. He was a Police Officer and I loved watching him put all of his "things" onto his belt. For some reason, I always loved the noise that the belt keepers would make, when he was snapping them on. I was always so proud to have him for my Dad. When I was in school, he would come to my class each year and talk about his job. All of my friends loved him, too. My parents were (and are) so young and all my friends would talk about how handsome my Dad was and how beautiful my Mom was. I loved it. I have so many memories of my childhood that I will eventually share, but today, I am just focusing on a few things. I am so thankful that I had a very involved and loving Dad. He was my first love and I am so lucky that I have found a man, who loves us, provides for us, and is just a wonderful Dad to our children, as my Dad was (and is) to me, my sister, and brother. Thanks, Dad!! I also want to thank Rob's Dad, for molding him into the man that he is today. You and Fe did a remarkable job raising your son; he's amazing!!

Now, onto my Rob, who I like to call, "Sweets!" Thank you so much for all that you do. You are the best Daddy in the world, to our babies. My heart melts when I see you all together. You are such a perfect example, to Emily and Ryan, as to what a husband and Daddy should be. They say that you fall in love with someone who is like your own father and I will pray that Emily ends up with someone like you. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for making all of my dreams come true. Happy Father's Day, Sweets!! You are and always will be the love of my life! Thank you for being you!

Saturday and Date Night!

Today ended up being a busy day. My friend called me this morning and told me that the two guys, who were going to help her move, did not show up. This left her with only her Dad and boyfriend to disassemble and move the heavy furniture. Emily had spent the night with them last night, because this was their last night in the house, before moving. So, my precious husband got up and went right over, BEFORE he had to work, to help them out. This is just one more of the reasons why I love this man!! You can always count on him to help out with anything that he can. He would literally give you the shirt off his back. I love him so much. He is definitely one of the most giving people I have ever known. Anyway, after I got Ryan up, we went over to help move the smaller items. After the moving truck was loaded, we went home.

Rob went to work in the afternoon and the children and I ran some errands. We hadn't done anything for Father's Day, yet. Yes, we waited for the LAST minute. Luckily, there were still some good cards left! LOL!! I always worry about the "good ones" being gone, by waiting until the day before.

After Rob got home from work, he ran Emily and Ryan over to his parent's house. They had invited our children and Sarah (our niece) to spend the night, so that they could make breakfast for Poppy, Rob, and Uncle Jon tomorrow. We weren't sure if Ryan would stay, since he still prefers to be home, but he wanted to spend the night. We really thought that we'd be picking him up after dinner. But, he has proven us wrong. He is definitely getting better about being away from home and Rob and I. Our baby is certainly spreading his little wings.

That brings me to "Date Night." We had a lovely dinner at Outback. It was so yummy. I loved being there with just Rob and spending some time alone together. It's nice to just be able to talk and not censor what you are saying because you have "little ears" around. I just love being with my sweet husband. After dinner, we did the ever-romantic grocery shopping!! LOL!! Rob usually does the grocery shopping, so he enjoyed my company tonight and I enjoyed going. It was actually fun. I'll tell you what, he definitely knows his way around the grocery store. He also impressed me with the way he packed the cart and the way he unloaded the groceries on the conveyor belt. I kind of stood back and tried to get into his groove of unloading, but kept putting the wrong foods together! LOL! Finally, after we paid and the cart was being loaded with the bags, it suddenly "clicked" as to why he put them in the order that he did. My gosh, if I would have done it, the kiwi, cherries, bread and other softer items, would have been squished by our Diet Pepsi and frozen food items! LOL!! What can I say? He is definitely the KING of shopping!!

Well, that was our day! Let me run and spend some more time with Rob. Goodnight!

Ryan's Day with Daddy~

Yesterday, we actually let Ryan stay home and have a day off from school, to have a special day with Daddy. We did this with Emily about a month ago, but have no pictures of it, because she went to lunch and out shopping. Emily's day off started as a "sick" day, when she was supposedly feeling awful and couldn't make it to school. About an hour into our morning, she had a miraculous recovery and ended up spending time with Daddy. I had Brandon and Joshy, so I stayed home with them. Anyway, we let Ryan have his day yesterday. We were running out of time because they start their benchmark testing next week, and then the end of the year will be here before we know it! Here are where their travels took them yesterday: They went to the skate park, at Mount Trashmore, in Virginia Beach. I have taken the children there several times and Rob has always been working, so it was nice for him to actually see this HUGE park, as opposed to just seeing pictures. Since everyone is still in school, Ryan had the park, basically, to himself. Then, they went to Mike's, the indoor skate park, in our city. After lunch, at Red Robin, they went to play Putt-Putt. They were home shortly after I got home with the children from school. Here are the pictures from both of the skate parks. Enjoy!!! I'm also going to try to post a video of him skating at Mount Trashmore.

Pictures from Skate Park at Mount Trashmore ~~


Video of Ryan at Mount Trashmore ~~


Pictures, from Mike's Skate Shop (he was the only one there) ~~