Spotty

Nearly a year ago, Spotty and Goldie joined our family after several successful winning at the "throw the ping pong ball into the fish bowl" game at the Cabarrus County fair.

Knowing that fish won at these types of fairs typically don't last too long we spent lots of time preparing the kids that the fish probably wouldn't live more than a few days, weeks if they were lucky. Well we almost made it to the 1 year mark--- until Tuesday night when we had to say goodbye to Spotty. Spotty has had several close calls over this past year. It was not unusual to find him floating upside down in the tank, struggling to right himself again. Or other times finding him swimming on his side. Google to the rescue and we were able to learn that peas are the magical food for fancy goldfish. After a few days he would be back to normal. Not so this week. I felt like I had stepped into a Cosby show episode as we had our goodbye ceremony before sending Spotty on to fish heaven.

Katelyn was pretty upset about losing her fish, so we decided to take her to the pet store to get a new fish. As we were getting ready to go Lindsay asks if she can flush Goldie too? Katelyn was mortified that Lindsay was so willing to get rid of Goldie -- Lindsay just wanted the opportunity to pick out a new fish. At the pet store Lindsay looks at me with a little gleam in her eye and says, "Mommy, I don't think my fish is swimming anymore we better get a new one." Two very different children I have!

Somehow we managed to come home from the pet store with 2 new fish. Meet the Goldie's new roommates....Sunkist and Elmo :)

8472

Give or take one or two and that's the number of times I heard "Mom, are we almost there?" on our recent road trip home from New York!

We just got back from our annual August trip to Endicott. We had a great time visiting family. Mike and Jeff finished first in their flight at the Binghamton Country Club member guest. I was able to work in a visit to my corporate office and I survived driving all the way home with the girls. I'd say the trip was a success!

Blueberry picking has definitely become a favorite tradition. I think Lindsay may have eaten her weight in berries!

We spent a day at the cottage, where the girls had fun fishing in the row boat, swimming, hunting for berries, and making "fern flowers". We managed to catch just a few fish and had to call it quits after Lindsay ate most of the bait. Yes, she ate the bait...luckily we were using canned corn!

We made several trips to Syracuse to visit Dziadzi (my grandfather) who is recovering from a stroke in early July. Seeing his face light up when he saw Katelyn and Lindsay was so special. I'm so glad we were able to see him and help brighten his day.

While I was away at work, the girls kept my parents and aunts busy with a trip to the midway at Sylvan Beach, countless trips to the park - in fact they completed the Broome County Carousel circuit, school shopping, visits to the book store, the zoo, the Discovery Center, and more.

Unfortunately, Nick's/Tony's was closed, but we managed to get our fill of Nirchi's and Roma's pizza, Consol's, Joey's Italian ice, Lupo's and even squeezed in a trip to the Cider Mill Saturday morning before we left. (I had no idea how many memories of childhood were centered around food until I moved away!)

Since Mike was already back home, the girls and I set out on our 2 day trek home on Saturday. With the benefits of modern technology - namely the dual-screen dvd player that strapped to the car headrests - we set off around 12:30. Before we could make it to PA, we made our first stop at Wendy's. 2 more stops followed in the next 2 hours and I began to wonder if we were going to make it to our hotel stopping point in daylight. We managed to make it to the hotel where Lindsay enjoyed yet another playground and tried to convince Katelyn and I that the pool was really warm enough to swim in --- it wasn't. Either VA has been getting some REALLY cold nights lately or we're truly becoming southerners! We set out the next morning, managed to find a McDonald's playland along the way and finally made it home around 3:00. Long gone are the days where Mike and I could make the trip in 10 hours with a single stop!

Beach Vacation

4 families, 8 kids between the ages of 3 and 7, 7 days, 1 huge beach house ....priceless


Well, I wish it was priceless, because I think we could actually live at the beach. I always get a little nervous that it's going to be too chaotic with so many people, that it won't be a relaxing vacation, but it works out wonderfully every time. Thanks to beautiful weather we were at the beach everyday. The house we rented was fantastic. Super easy access to the beach (which was important due to the number of potty trips back to house) plus we had our own pool and hot tub. Talk about spoiled!

Katelyn learned to ride the waves on a body board.




Lindsay had a blast playing in the "little waves", but by the end of the week was out with us in the deeper water.


Making sandcastles and digging giant holes that would fill with water as the tide came in occupied them for hours!







Being on vacation with such great friends makes it fun not just for the kids, but for the grownups too. The guys did some golfing, the ladies hit the outlets and we managed to have 2 HUGE seafood nights. Who would've thought that 8 adults could eat 16 lbs of shrimp, 400 clams, 10 lbs of crab legs and scallops?? (Sorry no pictures...too busy eating :))

Here are a few pictures highlighting some of fun memories of the trip:
Alligator Adventure

Ok, so she caved in and took a nap one day this week!

The teacups at Broadway at the Beach

Our little daredevil, who barely met the minimum weight requirement! She even managed to do 3 backflips --- She's been asking to take gymnastics classes for awhile now...I think it might be time to sign her up!

Camp Grandparents

Last week Katelyn and Lindsay were at "Camp Grandparents". It was very reasonably priced and was one of the very few camps that you didn't need to register and send in a security deposit in early February. The girls had lots of fun spending time with Grandma and Grandpa. They went to the park everyday, practiced golfing at the driving range, managed a take trip to McDonalds playland, and LOVED going to the "beach" (really the state park nearby, but we won't focus on small details). Well, Lindsay actually refers to the pool in our neighborhood as the beach too, so I guess she got TWO beach trips in one week.

They also managed to plant flowers out front, clean out my car (apparently there were enough crumbs to feed a small nation), weed out the stone walkway in the backyard and trim a number of tree limbs. I know the kids and the grandparents enjoyed spending time together, but I think we lucked out. Katelyn certainly enjoyed Gardening camp and Camp Invention, but neither of those camps had counselors who helped out so much around the house! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

My brother Tom came into town to enjoy a relaxing weekend at the lake. We did some fishing, lots of swimming and even took the girls canoeing in Tom's canoe.



Growing up, my brothers and I spent lots of time in the summer at our own family cottage on a lake. Those memories played a huge part in our decision to invest in our own lakehouse. I loved the idea of Katelyn and Lindsay having as much fun as I did enjoying the relaxing lake atmosphere, playing outside - more with rocks and sticks than with the toys that invade our everyday lives. I watch in wonder as they creatively invent their own games - crushing rocks, building waterfalls, catching bugs. But this weekend, my memories of childhood collided with present reality. Tom taught Katelyn a game we used to play as kids - Rainbow Rapids. Here are a few shots of Tom and Kate trying to balance standing on inflatable tubes seeing who can stay up longer while rocking the tube from side to side. Quite a sight!



While the visit was wonderful, it was cut short as my Mom flew home early after hearing my grandfather suffered another stroke. He's made significant recovery since this weekend, but still is in need of lots of prayers. Please keep him in yours!

At the Lakehouse

With this year being the 3rd year in a row, we can officially say that Jeff, Christine, Ryan and Emily coming to visit for the 4th of July is a tradition that we all look forward to each year. The kids get along great and it's just so nice to catch up and visit. The guys manage to squeeze in at least a round of golf, we usually take a day trip one day and then spend the rest of the time in the water. This year was no different.

Water balloons were a big hit this year. Here all 4 of them are preparing for a sneak attack on Mike attempting to nap out on the raft.

"Just the girls"

Yeah, Katelyn's been cleared to ride the Sea-Doo again!

The only disappointment was that the kids were so looking forward to a Fourth of July "firecamp" (as Lindsay calls it) and fireworks which were both washed out by a pretty good thunderstorm. We got another storm the next day, but it stopped early enough to shoot off some fireworks, so Happy Fifth of July!!

Here they are waiting for the show to start:

Lindsay enjoying some sparklers

The past 2 years we've gone to the zoo. This year we discovered a cute little park. Actually Katelyn had already been once before when Ruth took her and Ally, but she raved about it so much we decided to give it a try. The kids rode a train, a carosel, played mini-golf, went through a reptile aquarium, played on the playground, and best of all hunted for gems. Here's a shot of them sifting through sand for their gems:

And how can I leave out the highlight of Lindsay's day -- lollipops from the concession stand!

Last year when we first bought the lakehouse, Jeff commented that everything sounded better when you followed it with "at the lakehouse". We're going swimming 'at the lakehouse.' We're going fishing 'at the lakehouse.' So far it holds true! We had a great time like always, so thanks so much for making the looooong drive and coming to visit us 'at the lakehouse!'

Lindsay Nicole

I dare say that there isn't a parent that hasn't called their child by their first and middle names when they are misbehaving or need to really get their attention. I'm no different. Well this evening we were just sitting on the floor playing a game and my mom just happened to say "Lindsay Nicole".

Lindsay's reaction? "I'm bad"

Now for a split second, I'll admit I thought, "hmmm, well sometimes", but like a good mom, I very quickly replied "You're not bad. You're a good girl." To which Lindsay answers very nonchalantly with, "Yeah, I just don't listen."

What could I do but laugh? She does have a point! :)

Catching up

Once again I haven't been updating my blog in awhile, so let me try to catch up a little.

On the last day of school, Katelyn traded in her full leg cast for a lovely below-the-knee model - in flourescent pink of course. Bending her knee was tough at first and she had great tan lines, but was definitely glad to be able to move her leg a bit more. After a week in the short cast she was able to put on a special shoe so she could walk on it. That took some practice, but it didn't take too long until she was practically skipping. The best part though was the amazing Xerosox which let her swim with her cast on -- not just carefully floating on a raft, but jumping into the water swimming. What a life-saver for the summer! Last Tuesday, her short cast was removed and she was cleared to walk all on her own. She will likely be limping for another week or so, but it's so nice to see 'normal' on the horizon again.

With Katelyn able to swim we've been enjoying much more time at the lake. Here are a few pictures from when our friends - Matt, Becky, Caroline and Madi spent the weekend.

Katelyn modeling her Xerosox

Doesn't look like the kids were having any fun, does it?

What can be better than one of your best buddies coming out in a matching princess swimsuit??

stay tuned...more to come