Recap on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!

Hello! I just wanted to recap on the past few days, since I haven't blogged. Unfortunately, I am not able to post any pictures because our computer's virtual memory is low right now. Therefore, I am not able to download any pictures at this time. I am taking them, lots of them actually, but they are still right on my camera, just waiting to make their way to their permanent home! LOL!! Anyway, before we head to the Chesapeake City Skate Park, I wanted to quickly post on what we've been up to, the past three days! So, without further ado, here goes:

TUESDAY: Emily, Ryan and I spent our day at Buckroe Beach! It was so much fun. I have tons of wonderful pictures and will post, once our computer issue is fixed. We had only planned on staying for a couple hours, because I hadn't even packed lunch --just drinks and a few snacks. But, we had so much fun, the time got away from us. I mentioned Emily meeting a new friend, in my Ten Things Tuesday post. So, she had fun playing with her, while Ryan skim-boarded! He is getting really good at it. I even got in the water, because there wasn't a jellyfish to be found! We also signed them up for the summer reading at the library! They came home and read, and read, and read!! What a terrific Tuesday!!!

WEDNESDAY: Emily, Ryan, Brandon, Joshy, and I went to Water Country for the second time this summer. We got there right when it opened and were able to just walk right up on the rides, without having to wait in any lines! Apparently, we went in the opposite direction, of most, and hit rides that no one else had made it to, yet!! After we got home and my brother picked Brandon and Joshy up, I took Emily and Ryan to the library again! They had finished all the books they picked out on Tuesday and were ready to replenish! I love to see them reading! What a wonderful Wednesday!!!

THURSDAY: Emily, Ryan, Brandon, Joshy, and I went to Nana and Poppy's pool in the morning. We swam for a couple of hours and came back home to eat lunch. We had "quiet time" with a movie and the little boys fell asleep. While they were sleeping, Emily and Ryan read some more and then went out on a bike ride. That evening, Emily had ice skating lessons and Ryan went to Mike's to skateboard. After lessons, Emily stayed at the public session to skate (they have these during the summer, after lessons, because there isn't any hockey going on). She had fun with a few of her friends and they actually had the ice to themselves. So, it was great! After that, we came home and went to bed! What a tiring (and, terrific) Thursday!!!

We are about to head to the skate park. We are really looking forward to checking this one out. It's about 30-minutes away and we have never been. We are picking up Ryan's friend and Emily and I will play with the boys, while they are on the ramps. Luckily, a huge playground is right beside the skate park. I will post details, after we get home. Emily and Ryan are both having friends sleep over tonight, so they will be busy with them and I will have time to blog! Have a great day!

TEN THINGS TUESDAY!!!

Hello! It's that time again! The time where I reflect on my week and write out what I am "thankful" for. I just love this part of my week. This week, I am thankful for:

1. A wonderful Father's Day! Rob and I are so blessed to have our Dad's (and that they live so close). And, Emily and Ryan are so blessed to have their Daddy. Rob is such a remarkable Daddy and he had a great example growing up, in his Dad.

2. Such a fun 6-days of being out of school. We have had lots of busy, exciting, and fun days. The weather has been gorgeous and we've enjoyed it fully!

3. My niece and nephew's safe travels to Tennessee. They went to visit their grandparents for two weeks. My sister drove half way and met Dianne (Chris's mom) to drop them off. I'm also thankful that Kelli had a safe trip there and back. We sure do miss Caitlynn and Hunter, but love that they are able to spend this time with their "Nana and Pops." They don't get to see them very often since they live so far away.

4. That the beach is so close to us. We had a lot of fun this morning and enjoyed the sun, sand, waves, skim boarding, and meeting new friends.

5. My precious Emily and her ability to make friends wherever we go. When her new friend, who we met at the beach, ran out of the water to get something, Emily said to me, "I am a people person." She said it with the biggest smile and "just out of the blue." I responded by saying, "Yes, you sure are, sweet girl!" She may look exactly like her Daddy, but her personality is ALL me!! I love it!

6. My precious Ryan and his quiet, sweet ways. We had so much fun yesterday -- just the two of us -- while Emily was with Rob's mom and our niece. He is so easy-going and is up for just about anything. We played games, read books, and enjoyed being together. Then, his friend came over and that was the end of the mother/son bonding; however, what we did have, I will cherish!

7. "Date Night" with Rob! We went to dinner on Saturday and it was just the two of us. It doesn't happen very often and I just love when it does. It's so wonderful to reconnect and be able to talk about anything, without little ears around! I love my Rob!

8. The library and the summer reading program. Emily and Ryan love participating in this each year. They get little rewards each week by meeting their goals. We love it. It's close by our house, takes very little gas to get there, and it's free! Gotta love those programs! LOL!

9. Sleeping in; although, my "sleeping in" now-a-days are only until 7:45 - 8:00. My how things change when you have children! :-)

10. Water Country/Busch Gardens Season Passes! We love to visit both of these parks!

Our day ~

Just a little about our day ~~ Emily spent the day with Nana and Sarah, while Poppy was at work. They had a fun day. Ryan spent the day with me and we also had fun. His friend came over this afternoon and they skateboarded, until it was time to pick Emily up for her ice skating lessons. I dropped the boys off, at Mike's, to skate. Then, Emily and I went to IcePlex for her private lesson. After her lesson, we went to Justice for a little bit of shopping. They had a really good sale going on and I had a 20% off coupon. Emily had gift cards to use (Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Alex and Morgan!) and she really loved spending them. They have the cutest clothes and the cutest girly things. The entire store is FILLED with everything GIRL! We had another fun-filled summer day!

Here's what a VERY tired Emily looks like, after a day of ~~ running errands with Nana and Sarah, swimming, ice skating lessons, shopping, and a bike ride after dinner! She fell right into bed tonight and fell asleep immediately. My precious girl is ALWAYS on the go and today was no exception! I'm sure that she will be sleeping in tomorrow morning!


Here's what a JUST walked in the front door, from skateboarding, Ryan looks like! This was actually the third picture that I had taken, because his eyes were closed in the first two. Poor guy, I am always taking pictures and blinding him with my camera! His eyes seem to be WAY more sensitive than Emily's, because she doesn't have half the problems, with my blinding flash, as he does! LOL! He was equally exhausted, too. He had skated two sessions at Mike's, which total 4-hours of skating!! I'm sure that he will be sleeping in tomorrow, too!

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!
\

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!

Water Country!

Today, I took Emily, Ryan, Brandon, and Joshy to Water Country! Kelli and the kids met us up there later, after Caitlynn and Hunter's doctors appointments. It was our first time going this year. But, it was actually Brandon and Joshy's first time EVER! We had so much fun. We got there when it opened and stayed until close. We sure have had a great summer break so far, and this was only day #2!!! We also ran into some of Emily's school friends, as well. So, that was exciting! Brandon is still quite afraid of the water, but I'm hoping that the more we go to the park, the more his confidence will increase. But, I was really proud of him because he did get on some of the rides. Joshy rode everything that he could. I'm determined to have him swimming by the end of the summer. LOL!! Emily rides everything and isn't afraid of anything. She's always been fearless, when it comes to rides! Ryan is not as adventurous, when it come to rides, but he will get on some things. It's so funny to think that he will actually drop in on these HUGE skateboard ramps and is so afraid of big rides. At least he does love the water, though, and is an excellent swimmer. The rides just make him really nervous. Here are some of the pictures of our incredibly fun day! Have I mentioned, yet, how happy we are that it's summer break??? Well, if not, we ARE!!

Our First Day of Summer Break!

We had such a wonderful, first day of summer break!!! I had all the kids today and it was fun. Caitlynn and Emily painted rocks in the morning, while all the boys were playing with tech decks (finger skateboards). I caught up on a little bit of laundry, while they were entertaining themselves. After they were all finished playing inside, I got the sprinkler out. The lawn and flowers needed some watering and it was a good excuse for the kids to run through it. I was a little short on bathing suits because Ryan, Caitlynn, and Hunter left theirs at Nana and Poppy's house. Luckily, Emily had two at home and Caitlynn was able to use one of them. I had to put Brandon in an old pair of Ryan's shorts. Joshy just stayed in the shorts that he had on. And, Ryan just used a pair of his shorts. Hunter didn't play in the sprinkler, though. They all had a blast and I loved watching their excitement. They had so much fun, but I think Joshy was the MOST excited about it. He played in it the longest! After they were done, the girls went in and took a nice, hot, LONG bath.

They also went on a few bike rides around the neighborhood. The temperature was warm, but not too hot. Ryan and Hunter got their skateboards out and did some tricks on the ramp. Brandon loves to be with them. He can't wait until he is older so that he can go to Mike's to skate with his older cousins.

After lunch, we put a movie in and the little boys had "quiet time." They both ended up falling asleep for a little bit. While they were asleep, we had a surprise visit from the Soley's (Suzy, and her boys, Zachary and Connor), who moved to Williamsburg last year. Ryan and Connor have been best buddies since preschool and we have not been able to catch up with them at all! Emily and Zachary have been friends since they were 3-years old and in the same preschool class. They didn't come in, because they were just passing through, on the way to another friend's house. It was wonderful seeing them. We hope to catch up with them over the summer.

After the Soley's left, Rob took Ryan and Hunter to skate, at Mike's. It was a nice surprise for them because they didn't expect to go that early. Rob had planned on taking them at 6:00, for the last session of the day. So, they got to skate two sessions. Then, Rob took Ryan out to eat. This is their Thursday night tradition. Ryan came home exhausted!!!

Emily had ice skating lessons tonight. She is in an "Edge" class for the first half hour, which she loves! They do nothing but practice skating on the inside and outside edges of their skates, spins, and ballet moves. They also have music playing and she is doing such a great job. After Edge class, she has her regular lessons. Then, Emily and I went to Arby's for dinner. This is our Thursday night tradition. It's just the two of us and it's a special time for some mother/daughter bonding. She came home exhausted, as well!!

We ended the night with a family game of Uno! I'll add that I didn't win one hand AT ALL and we played tons!! LOL!!! But, we all had fun and we enjoyed family time together. I love my little family so much!

I'm going to close with some pictures of the kids, playing in the sprinkler. We had a wonderful day and are looking forward to our summer break!! I'm not going to label each picture tonight, as I have a ton. But, I have to say that the one's of the girls, just warm my heart. They are so close and are more like sisters, than cousins. So, as you can imagine, with that closeness comes some serious arguments. It's so beautiful to see the love they have for each other. Enjoy ~~~