Fourth of July 2013

Well, I can't believe that it was time for the 4th of July already....let alone that it was 10 days ago. This summer is flying. FLYING.

We made our annual trek north for Brockway's Olde Fashioned 4th of July on Wednesday afternoon. We had about ten straight days of rain before then, so we weren't totally hopeful, but it turned out to be a LOVELY week/weekend!

On Wednesday afternoon we hung out at Grammy and Papa's house and had some Paesano's pizza. You can't NOT have Paesano's pizza when given the opportunity. We were just herding the kids back for a bath when JOE arrived to drop off some stuff for the next day. Colin literally levitated off the couch when he heard Joe's voice. And then Joe got a huge hug.


On Thursday morning we were up and at 'em early. After some breakfast we took the kids into town to play on the playground, see who we could see, and grab some fireman's donuts.



Family see saw!




This was third breakfast...donuts and lemonade.



We dropped into the craft show area to say HI to Mrs. Kathy who was selling some crafts this year. And G saw this ribbon crown. It was only $2, so I was happy to oblige.


Near lunchtime we returned to Grammy's house on the hill. Thankfully Joe was there to pull the children around endlessly in the wagon...


Oh, and the bike racers were just making it past Grammy's house, so we CHEERED for them all!



We had a great picnic lunch, as usual, and were joined by Matt, Rachel, and Lil' John this year!


After lunch we kept the kids busy with the wading pool and some plastic cups. And Joe.



Then it was parade time. And this year Gillian remembered that there would be candy. And we had to take a bag to collect it in. We met up with Matt, Rachel, and John again at the parade. And my cousin Becky and her little boy, Sven, met us too.






A parade rainbow!


Gillian and Sven sharing some fritos.



After the parade we did some sparkles (in the daylight) before bed. Colin was very afraid that they would be LOUD. But once he decided that they were quiet, he was very pleased with them. And so was Gillian!





A great day full of fun! Just like always at the Olde Fashioned 4th!

Independence Day Pre-Party

The weekend before the Fourth of July, Rachel and Matt invited us to a party at the country club with Rachel's family. We figured, why not? It would be nice to let the kids watch some fireworks without the whole, long Brockway 4th before hand! Turns out, this was a GREAT party! The kids (and Daddy and me) had a great time! LOTS of kids' activities (bounce houses, face painting, sand traps as sandboxes, you know) and yummy food and FIREWORKS!

Taking in ALL the fun...


Oh yeah! That's FUN!


Colin actually won this particular activity!




I'm not sure how the groundskeepers feel about this annual party...


The kids easily stayed up for the 9:45 fireworks. They were very excited to see fireworks for the first time. I think Colin was afraid that they were going to be REALLY loud though, so he started covering his ears about 10 minutes before the set off the first firework! He kept them covered almost the whole time though, but at the end he dropped his hands and just enjoyed them. I was hearing lots of WOAHs and LOOK AT THAT! from both kids. They both gave fireworks two THUMBS UP. Daddy and I did NOT give two thumbs up to the 7:00 am wake up time that both kids observed the next morning....

In which we gain a cousin.

After waiting a long, long time for Squishy's arrival...well, really Squishy was 4 days early, it just felt like a long time....WE HAVE A COUSIN!

The same weekend of Gillian's recital, the selling of our house, and the buying of our new house, Aunt Cedes and Uncle D welcomed the arrival of their first SON! We have a baby boy cousin! Thomas Christopher made his appearance bright and early on a Sunday morning and BOY is he cute! I was able to get away to see him in the hospital the evening after he was born. And claimed my rights as his only Aunt to cuddle and snuggle and kiss his little noggin.



After Tommy, Aunt Cedes, and Uncle D were settled at home for a few days, we took dinner over and introduced the cousins to each other! Oh, and Uncle Michael got to meet his nephew too!

Colin took this picture of Tommy:


And Gillian took this one:





Diesel enjoyed the wrapping paper we brought:


Colin and Mr. Tommy! I know Colin looks skeptical, but he ASKED to hold the baby!


The Three Musketeers!


Miss G and her little cousin! And immediately after this Gillian discovered that Tommy had leaked all over her....so, a good introduction!


We are SO happy that Tommy is here! We are looking forward to watching him grow and having tons of fun with him!

Recital time!

After four days up north with Grammy and GraGra for some Beechwoods Bible School, Colin and Gillian returned home just in time for Gillian's dance recital. The recital she has been anticipating for about eight months.

After quiet time, I got Gillian all ready to go. We did a ballet bun, a smidgen of mascara (holy cats), and some blush. G was on cloud nine.


At the high school we were met by Grammy, Papa Frank, Dickiedoo and Noonie. And GraGra and Papa had driven over from our house with us. So we were a CROWD! I took G backstage while everyone else took their seats.

TA DA! (The lipgloss was another highlight for G.)



And one quick picture with the Mama before I left her with the backstage Mom and took my seat!


No pictures or videos allowed inside the auditorium. Sorry. But Gillian was fantastic! She did most of the steps, looked at the audience, and even smiled at the end when she was supposed to. Papa Frank said she looked like an angel! She was wonderful.

At the first intermission after G's dance, we all left. Sorry to all the other dancers. But Colin was NOT going to sit through any more recital. He just wasn't. I collected Gillian, who immediately insisted on getting out of her costume because it was ITCHY. And she NEEDED to collect her flowers from her grandparents that she was SURE she was getting.

Oh look, she was right.


Colin wanted to know where HIS flowers were. Gillian was gracious enough to share.




That is one HAPPY girl.


We had a nice (if not long) dinner at Eat n' Park with ALL the family, even Uncle D and Aunt Cedes came! All in all I think it was a great first recital experience for our bitty ballerina!

Father's Day 2013

Honestly, I cannot remember what we did on Father's Day. It was a very low key day, as requested by Daddy. I know we grilled some steaks and had homemade pesto pasta. And took some pictures.




I remember Daddy telling me that he had a good Father's Day and had all he asked for. So, let's just call it a win.