Wordless Wednesday

Father's Day

This Father's Day was extra special, because being up in NJ meant that we could see all the "dads" in our lives.

We started out in the morning having Brunch with Grandma Peg & Grandpa Neil. But, not before they took the boys on an outing to the toy store!

In the afternoon, we went back to Mom & Dad's house and had lots of outdoor fun with Gill and Pop Pop.

The boys painted birdhouses...

Ran through the sprinklers...

played in the water, and did everything possible to get PopPop wet!

My boys are so lucky to have such wonderful Dads in their life. Happy Father's Day!

Ciao!

After a few days in NJ, it was time to go to the airport and pickup

Aunt Snooze and Uncle Paolo, as they flew in from Milan.

Bright and early the next morning, poor Uncle Paolo was brought to the kitchen

to make smoothies with the boys - it's tradition after all!

Suzy and Paolo spoiled the boys with all kinds of treats.

The boys especially loved the kinder eggs. Patrick and Finn really enjoyed opening the eggs, finding the toys and assembling them. Sully loved going around and eating all the chocolate eggs while his brothers weren't looking!

Adventures with Nannie and Pop Pop

For the first few days of our visit to New Jersey, it was just us with Nannie and Pop Pop.

They welcomed the boys with open arms - there were surprises waiting for them,

the fridge stocked with their favorite food and adventures planned!

Mom and Dad scoped out a train museum right down the street from their house.

It was fantastic, the model trains were all running around and through the giant mountain

and we got a personal tour from the "engineer".

The following day, the boys had a first - Bowling!!

Patrick and Finn loved bowling with their grandparents.

And, even though we had bumpers, they kept cheering "GUTTER BALL!"

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the great adventures!

Road Trip

Last night, we put the boys to sleep in their clothes. Why?

Because I was going to be waking them up at 5:45am to load them into the car to drive to NJ. By myself.That's right, 660 miles, just me and my little boys.

And, as prompt as could be, we got on the road at 6:00am.

The Big Guys were fired up for the trip. I had picked out all kinds of things to keep them occupied and many exciting stops along the way.

Our first stop did not go as planned. We stopped at a Chic-Fil-A 40 miles north of charlotte. Now, I realize that we weren't in the car very long, but this was planned. I needed to head out early to get through Charlotte before rush-hour traffic and then stop for breakfast. I stopped at this particular restaurant because it had a children's playcenter and the kids could stretch their legs. Food was yummy - biscuits, fruit salad, yogurt parfaits and coffee for mom. But, I didn't plan on Finn getting stuck at the top of the climbing structure and mommy having to wedge herself up to get him down. hehe

45 minutes for breakfast, play and rescue and we were back on the road.

Our next stop was awesome. 310 miles north of Charlotte we stopped in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I took the boys to the new Children's museum that had just opened in the city. We had so much fun.

Patrick and Finn played with a giant operation game...

and drove in an ambulance.

Sully practiced changing a tire

(luckily we didn't need his expertise when we got back on the road)

and we all had a blast playing together. After we finished 1 hour of play,

we had a picnic lunch that I packed and we got back in the car.

New toys, new games, new videos - doing great!

Don't get me wrong, I love our country, but, man, do I HATE driving through Pennsylvania. It goes on and on with literally no end in sight. So, with all of us getting a bit stir-crazy and mommy craving some candy, we made an unscheduled stop at Cracker Barrel. My new favorite place. Not only were the able to ease my need for sugar, but the staff was SOO nice. One lady spent 10 minutes entertaining the boys and racing cars up and down the aisles. Yes, I gave in and let them each pick a treat, but when the CB Associate noticed they were picking out $12 airplanes (gulp) she gently steered them towards the $3 race cars. What a fantastic place!

Finally, we made it to NJ. At 7:30pm. That's right, what usually takes Gill and I 10 hours to do, took mommy 13.5 hours. But, we all arrived safe, sound and exhausted and that's all that matters, right?!

Through the eyes of a teacher

As an end of the year gift from Ms. Hanaa, she gave us photos of the boys taken throughout the year. It was such an amazing gift to see the preschool experiences that I wasn't able to witness first hand.

Officer Friendly

Preparing for Muffins for Moms

Visit from the Firefighters

Preparing for the Christmas Pageant

Chapel

Science Fun

Playtime

Silly Hat Day

Thank you, Ms. Hanaa, for such an incredible gift and for the most wonderful school year.

F is for...

This summer, a bunch of freckles have appeared on both Patrick and Finn's faces. They are so cute and scattered all over their faces but there is one prominent freckle that has made a home under Finnegan's left eye. While I think that their voices, personalities, hair, attitude and all around appearance differentiate the brothers, those of you that may have difficulty identifying them can now remember....

F is for Finnegan and for Freckle!

Wordless Wednesday