Hershey chocolate tour

We took a very small (but delicious) detour on our way to New York City. 

We went 10 miles off the highway and followed the sweet smell 

all the way to the Hershey Chocolate Factory!

Inside the factory, we went on a great animate ride of the factory.  

The boys loved seeing how the chocolate was made (and the singing cows, of course!)

It may have been a short visit, but it sure did make our travels sweet!

Visit with Uncle Brendan

Last weekend we had a surprise visit from Uncle Brendan.

He wasn't here long, not even 24 hours, but we made the best of it.

Finn has been begging me to see Brendan so he can do some animation with his Uncle/GodFather.  

Finn's wish came true and on Sunday morning, they worked together on a little cartoon.   Finn designed it, Patrick helped with the sound effects and Uncle Brendan did all the grunt work!

What a fun visit!

Teacher appreciation day

Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day in both schools.  

I arranged for Mrs. Fields students to each bring her a stem of her favorite flower 

and wear her favorite color to school.

Sully brought his teachers rose bushes that he picked out himself.

At lunch time, I delivered lunches to some of the staff at the elementary school.

WE LOVE OUR TEACHERS!

Flashback Friday - Golf Tournament

Last weekend, PopPop and Gill took the boys 

to the Wells Fargo Golf Tournament for the FIFTH year in a row!

2014

2013

 

2012

  

2011

2010

The boys had a blast - everyone loves this family tradition!!

Preschool mothers day brunch

Today was a special Mother's Day brunch at Sully's preschool.

My sweet boy made me a beautiful pot with hand-print flowers, 

a candle holder and gave lots of details all about Mommy!

After a delicious brunch of fruit and donuts, the kids performed a song for us.

The class truly made every mom feel special!

Recycled Art Project

For the second year in a row, Patrick and Finn entered the school's Recycled Art Contest.

The boys collected tons of recycling; from our bin, from the neighborhood and even from friends who dropped off exactly what they needed.

For two weeks, the boys designed and assembled all their pieces 

with no help from mom and dad (except for use of the box cutter!)

Every afternoon after school, the boys would take turns painting pieces of their art.

Even Sully got in on the action!

Using my laptop, Patrick created the master list of all the materials used in their project.

And, after 14 days of hard work, their masterpiece was complete -

LEGO MOVIE Recycled Art!

The blocks on the back of the project said "Recycling is AWESOME" 

(a play on the Lego movie theme song - "Everything is Awesome)

Patrick and Finn did an amazing job - we were so proud of them, and they were proud of themselves.  I won't lie, the boys were disappointed that they did not win this year.  But, they got much praise from their teachers and peers who enjoyed their art.  And, by the following day, they were already planning next year's project.

Great job Finn and Patrick - we think you are AWESOME!

Monkey Joes

We spent the morning bouncing with 

Athena and Sebastian at Monkey Joe's today.

Super Fun way to spend the morning!

Whitewater Center Duck Races

Yesterday we went to the National Whitewater Center 

for the Kindermourn Duck Races.

Over 20,000 Rubber Ducks "swam"in the whitewater 

and the boys loved seeing them.

In addition to watching the ducks, the boys each decorated their own to take home.

After the race, we sat by the water with our picnic dinner 

and watched the whitewater rafters go by.

The boys cheered for the rafters and were fascinated when a couple boats flipped!

The boys found kid-size rock climbing walls and were dare-devils!

Kings of the Mountain!

We sat by the waters edge and really enjoyed the gorgeous day.

Such a fabulous afternoon.

Camping Schmamping

After the soccer and tee ball games were over yesterday, Gill took Patrick and Finn to a Cubscout Campout.  Sully and I had the entire day to ourselves, and while camping may be fun for some - we proved you definitely don't need to do it to have a good time!

First, we went to the Museum of York County for their Earth Day Celebration

Sully rode a pony

and a kayak (sans water)

The Earth Day celebration was fun, but a bit too crowded, so we headed down the street to the Rock Hill Children's Museum for a couple hours of playtime.

When the museum closed, Sully asked me out to dinner.  

How could I refuse dinner at Newks with my favorite guy?

 

We ended our day with a stroll along the river at the Riverwalk.  

We watched the boats and threw rocks into the river

This morning, Sully strolled into my room quite early, 

only to remind me that it was time for donuts!  

Before 7am, we were home from Dunkin Donuts 

and curled up on the couch enjoying the treats.

I'm sure the guys are having a good campout, but we had a great time, too!

Strawberry Picking

Today, Sully and I headed to the strawberry patch for the first pick of the season!

He picked over 4 pounds of bright red berries.  

Sully was VERY careful not to pick any green ones and did 

an awesome job finding the biggest ones he could.

It was an absolutely beautiful day - bright blue sky and cool breeze.  

We met Sully's buddies at the patch.  

Sully and Eli helped each other find the best strawberries while 

sweet Baby Wyatt tried to eat every strawberry he could get his hands on!

After picking, Sully carried around his basket of berries 

while enjoying his 2nd strawberry slushy of the morning.

Sully, Nathan, Eli, Luke and Baby Wyatt

Such a great morning!

Easter Sunday

It must have been the carrot cake that Patrick left out for him, 

but the Easter Bunny left the boys some great baskets on Easter Morning.  

Filled with all things Lego and Ninja Turtles, 

the boys had a great time opening the goodies!

After breakfast, we put on our Sunday best 

and headed to church with MJ and Bernie.

After Mass, we all went to a delicious brunch at Ilios Noche 

and then back to Nannie and PopPop's house 

for an Easter Egg Hunt and dessert.

It was such a special family day.

Happy Easter!