Day Out with Thomas...

So Chase is really into choo-choo's and Thomas right now (I think most 2 year old boys are?) and we watch a lot of the show, so Audrey is pretty into it too (she knows all the trains names, I still don't know how, they all look the same to me). I found out a couple weeks ago that there was a "Day out with Thomas" event at a local place and knew we had to go. They had it at a place call Edaville Railroad, which we had been to last Christmas to see the lights and knew the kids would love it.

Audrey really surprised both Charlie and I and was really into all of the rides. They have a ton of the old school fair type rides and she wanted to go on everything and had no problem waiting in lines. Chase on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the rides for the first hour we were there.

Then we went on the train ride, which both kids loved. They had a "thomas" at the front of the train and you go for 20 minutes or so around cranberry bogs and stuff, it is pretty neat.

After that Chase must have gotten a second wind because he finally decided he wanted to go on the rides. Or kind of. This was him eagerly waiting to go on the ride...

And this is him during the ride, scared stiff...

But he got on another one with Audrey this time...

Big truck, always a hit...

We are planning on heading back in December, they have a Polar Express event this year which I think will be a lot of fun.

Seven Years...

Charlie and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary yesterday, how crazy is that??? It was an unusually warm day just like our wedding day which was kind of odd (80 degrees, where is the fall weather I have been waiting for???). I have to say we didn't do much in the way of celebrating this year, but we did have an awesome family day with our 2 favorite little people. We went to Castle Island in the morning and watched airplanes take off and land over our heads, watched huge ships come to dock (and small boats enjoying the gorgeous day), played on the play ground and enjoyed some yummy hot dogs and fries. We weren't able to get a sitter so we had planned on going out as a family but that didn't end up panning out (2 cranky kids = not a fun dining out experience) so we cut our losses, ate at home and went out for ice cream.Worked for me. We may just have to go out while my mom is in town in a couple of weeks for a belated adult night out...

Here's to many more years of happy marriage with never a dull moment... Can't believe how close we are getting to the 10 year mark! Can't wait for that celebration :)

(Pre) School Year 2011 has Begun....

Audrey has been waiting all summer to go back to school and this week was finally the first week back... It has definitely been an adjustment week for all... Audrey is going full day this year 3 days a week and has been absolutely exhausted when she gets home, Chase is adjusting to Audrey going to school and him going to Nancy's (which he is not happy about) and Charlie and I are adjusting to the new schedule of dropping and picking the kids up from different places.

The first day went well for Audrey and horrible for Chase, something I wasn't quite prepared for... Audrey was almost peeing her pants from the moment she got up til the moment I left her at school. She is thrilled to be bringing her lunch this year (something I must admit I am not so thrilled about, packing a lunch already is not so fun) and has a new back pack which she loves. Chase on the other hand is NOT happy that he is not going to school with Audrey. He knows he is missing out and broke my heart Monday morning expressing his disappointment. He has a backpack now (thanks to the Garrity's!) that he brings to Nancy's which he loves and I am hoping makes him feel like he is going to school too... Audrey of course is so reassuring " Chase don't worry, you can go to school NEXT year"... He made quite a scene being dropped off at Nancy's Monday but has been much better since so I have my fingers crossed that was a 1 time event...

I'm excited to see what all Audrey does and learns this year. I have already been reminded how little info she gives out about her day (me: Audrey - what did you do today? audrey: I love pasta! (or insert some other random comment)" so I need to be better about asking her teachers what she is doing...

End of Summer 2011...

Well Labor Day weekend has flown by, which is just unbelievable... On one hand I am ready for the crisp fall mornings and football season to start, but I am also sad that summer is all but gone... We had a laid back weekend which was much needed... We spent most of the weekend at home, but did make a trip into the "see-tee" on Sunday (city for those that don't know Chase speak). We have gave the kids the option of going to the beach or going into the city and they both wanted to head downtown so we got in the car and went. We hadn't been in awhile which always makes me sad because the kids love it there, as do I... We went to the Common and Public Gardens this trip and found lots to do... Audrey enjoyed the carousel ride...

We went to the playground, then had a picnic lunch and then went and splashed around at Frog Pond.

We walked over to the Gardens and saw the ducklings (real and statues) and also some swans...

The kids got balloon flowers from a nice man on the bridge and humored us parents with some pictures...

We ended the day with ice cream from Charles Street, yummy... I'm hoping to get back soon. We saw tons of Duck Boats all day and I want to do that with the kids on the next trip, I think they will love them...

Happy Labor Day to you all! Hope you had a wonderful weekend with your friends and family...

Hilton Head...

I've been totally MIA from the blog world this summer... It has been a busy one, with lots of fun times and beach days. We capped off the summer with a week long vacation to Hilton Head with our good friends the Meisbergers and had a blast! We decided to drive down there, since we figured we needed all of our beach gear and it would be fairly expensive to fly. I dreaded the drive, about 18 hours, with a 2 and a 4 year old and having the spend 2 days each way on the road. Surprisingly the drive wasn't too bad... We hit some traffic but the kids were troopers, though they both had their moments, Audrey needing to poop immediately while we were stuck in 4 lanes of NYC traffic and Chase eating a crayon and promptly throwing up all over himself and anything near by.

But we got there, and once we did it was amazing! Hilton Head is gorgeous and the house we stayed at was amazing. We were a very short walk to the beach which was perfect with the 4 kids under 5 years old... It was really my ideal vacation, we woke up every morning and went to the beach. The kids were actually on board with that plan which made life easier, I was waiting for them mid-week to hate the beach but they seemed to find something to do everyday...

Audrey and Kiersten were big into boogy boarding...

Charlie made a massive sand castle one day which the kids had a lot of fun helping build and playing in...

The "2 year olds"...

Audrey & Kiersten, aka "the big girls"...

Sibling Love...

Our attempt at a family photo. One of these days we will get one with all 4 looking 1/2 decent. I can't wait to have 5 people to try and take a picture of...

Picture Perfect...

So Charlie's mother asked for a picture of the 2 kids together this week, and I laughed at the request. I think I actually said sure, as long as hell freezes over. It is tough enough to get one of them to look good in a picture and it is impossible to get a picture of both kids actually looking at the camera. Well, yesterday we were at the beach and they were sitting in the back of the car and we took out the camera and guess what? We got one! I had to share... This should hold everyone over for a couple of months and may even end up on one of my walls... Then hell would have officially frozen over (not my strong suit for those of you that don't know, lots of pictures, but NONE in my house!)...

Audrey's Once Upon A Time Rainbow Party...

Well, Audrey's 4th birthday party has come and gone, and hopefully it was worth the wait for her! Many of you know that we have been talking about her party for months, I bet since right after Christmas. She was changing the theme she wanted on a daily basis and driving me a little batty (yes, I kept asking her, that part was my fault)... She was in between a pirate, princess, ballerina, you name it theme and one day announced she wanted a rainbow party as well. So, we ended up with a Once Upon a Time with a Rainbow Color scheme. Wasn't sure how I was going to pull that one off but it came together pretty well. She had a girls only party again which I think all of her friends enjoy. There were 11 of them all in party dresses, too cute. The only down side of the party was the weather, it rained on and off the entire party. But I set everything up inside and it worked alright. It stopped raining long enough for us to do a scavenger hunt outside which was nice and the girls had a lot of fun with. The party ended with cupcakes and tons of other sugary treats (marshmallow pops, oreo balls, ice cream, etc), the best part of a party right? Now I get a couple of months off before we need to start talking about her next party... Thank goodness we have a couple of holidays in between...

Birthday Week...

So we just finished with Audrey's "birthday week" and I have to tell you I am exhausted! It was a lot of fun but all good things must come to an end and I am not overly upset about it... She had a fabulous week, got a ton of awesome gifts (thank you everyone!) and consumed more sugar than I care to admit. Her party was yesterday and other than it raining, I think it was a success... I'm working on the pictures from it, I will post soon. You can probably see there was a rainbow theme going on this year:)

She got a big girl bike from mom and dad (and cute dress from Grammy & Pappa:)... Can someone tell me why they can't make a bike that is just plain pink or purple or whatever? Why does there need to be all the crap all over all of the little girl bikes???

4 Years Old...

Somehow my baby girl turned 4 years old yesterday, where on earth does the time go???? As many of you know, Audrey has been talking about her birthday since after Christmas, so there was a bit of lead up to the actual day. She had a day full of parties and sugar - what more could you ask for?? She started off with her last day of pre-school, then had a party at daycare then came home open more gifts and have cake and ice cream with her good friend Izzie and her family. She went to bed last night asking if tomorrow is her birthday too... I had to break the news that it is over (thank god!) but that her party is on Saturday... Should be a lot of fun!

Happy Birthday Audrey Elizabeth! May you look forward to every birthday like this one!