Bowling

I kept reading things about kids bowl free all summer long and thought about signing up since I thought it would be something fun we could do and boy oh by was I right. We had a blast!  The kids have never bowled before and they did great using the bumper guards and the dinosaur ramp to help them get some speed on their bowl as it rolled down the lane.  Julia and Andrew sporting their bowling shoes.

Daddy showing Julia how to bowl.  This was before we had the dinosaur ramp.

Hmmm.  I wonder what will happen...at least we know it won't go in the gutter like some of mine.

The big orange dinosaur ramp was a big help.

Julia did quite well once she used a heavier ball and the ramp.  She ended up getting a bunch of spares and beat me the second game.

Andrew did great too.  You lie the ball on the top and the kids just push it...so fun!

Daddy was giving Andrew a few pointers too.

Grandma didn't bowl but had such a great time cheering for everyone.

Another spare and of course Julia attributed it to her lucky pink bowling ball.  

First time bowling as a family!  We'll have to go back again soon.

Julia found this pink bowl and loved it! It was the heaviest ball we had but she put it on the ramp and used it since it was her favorite color.

 Of course Andrew liked the green ball.

Silly girl wanted me to get a picture of it so she could remember it.  Such a fun activity!

Visit with Mom, Chris & Sherry

My brother, sister-in-law, and mom came into town and even though my brother and sister-in-law only stayed a short time my kids had a blast with them!  The kids absolutely love my brother.  I asked Andrew if he remembered Uncle Chris from when he came to visit in February and he said 'he's funny!'  Uncle Chris and Andrew had fun playing Let's Go Fishing that they bought him.

My mom loves going to Maggiano's and she wanted us all to go so we headed down to Perimeter and enjoyed a delicious dinner followed by their dinner mints.

Love my sweet family!

A few photos after dinner.  Look at Andrew holding his mint...he loves them too!

My mom with two of her grandchildren and the cute dress she bought Julia.

We definitely had a fun time! Can't wait for the next time they visit.  

Bank Accounts

Ever since the kids were born we've always had a 529 savings plan for them for college.  Recently I decided to open a local savings account so I don't have to keep track of how much I owe them and plus their piggy banks were getting full.  Julia was hesitant about giving the bank her money but then she thought it was pretty neat having her own savings account with her name on it.  Thus far Julia definitely seems to be a saver and it's a little early to tell about Andrew.

13 Year Anniversary

Thomas and I celebrated our 13 year wedding anniversary!  Wow - 13 years!  This is one of Thomas' favorite pictures from our wedding...walking out of the church and heading into the limo.  I loved everything about our wedding day and we had so much fun celebrating with family and friends. It seems like not long ago we walked down the aisle and now here we are 13 years later with two great kids and a great life together. Can't imagine spending it with anyone else!  

Another picture of a picture from our wedding album so it's not the greatest quality.  After the ceremony we went to Armory Square in Syracuse, New York for some photos.

Right before we headed out to dinner at Milton's to celebrate 13 years together.  We got a sitter and enjoyed a quiet dinner.  What a great night!  Happy Anniversary to a wonderful husband and looking forward to many more years together.  Feeling very thankful we met at Clark's Ale House in downtown Syracuse all those years ago.

Miss Gail Concert

We've seen Miss Gail a few different times and have always loved her energetic personality and her music is so catchy.  Today the venue was a bit different than before but we still had heaps of fun.

Miss Gail and the Jumpin' Jam Band were full of energy and very entertaining.

Miss Gail

A photo with Miss Gail after the show.

One of my favorite places to eat is Pure and there was one right down the street from the venue.  There also happened to be a railroad track right out the window near our table and of course the kids wondered if a train would go by but we thought the chances were slim.  However, three different trains went by which were each quite long and the kids were so excited.  After we saw the first one we said there probably wouldn't be another one but then soon after another one came and at that point we said that was probably all we would see but Julia was actually confident we might see another and she was right...another one came as we were about to head out. Seeing three long trains while eating lunch was definitely an added bonus for our two kids.

Me and my sweet girl!

The boys checking out the railroad tracks.

All smiles!  Love it when she smiles!

Aquatic Center Fun

We had such a fun time visiting the Aquatic Center with Grace.  Julia loves her best friend and is always excited to have play dates with her and today was no exception.  It was Grace's first visit so she was hesitant with a few things at first but it didn't take long for her to enjoy all aspects of the Aquatic Center.  The girls absolutely loved the lazy river and we went around many times and there was lots of giggles.

The kids enjoying the slides!

Such cute girls!

We've been to the Aquatic Center maybe five times and Julia has never been a fan of the huge bucket that fills up with water and dumps out but today she actually sat underneath waiting for it to dump on her.

I should have taken a picture of the huge bucket too but maybe next time.  You can barely see my little girl under all that water but I promise you it's her.

Andrew's First Trip to the Dentist

Andrew's first trip to the dentist was a huge success!  He did awesome and even though he said he didn't want to go he did fabulous.  I sat him in the chair and he wanted to hold my hand for a minute but then he was fine.  Wow, my little guy looks big sitting there.

I wasn't quite sure how much he would open his mouth but he did great.  I was so proud of my big boy.  It was so cute how he asked what things were.

He even let them brush his teeth with their noisy toothbrush which surprised me.  Julia liked watching up close as Andrew had his teeth cleaned.

He enjoyed using Mr. Thirsty too and his favorite part of his trip to the dentist was getting to pick something out of the treasure box.  And what did he pick...a green snake.

Pool Playdate

One of Julia's friends from speech invited us over to her pool.  Their pool was awesome and filled with zero entry, mushroom with water dripping down, huge slide, and many different areas with different depths so the kids could practice their swimming and jumping in without an adult in shallow water.  Julia tried out the slide a few different times and loved it.

Of course she wanted the lifeguard to catch her even though it wasn't necessary.

Julia and Jennifer having fun!  Maybe they'll be in the same class next year at school but if not we already know they will be in the same dance class.

Andrew going underneath the 'rain' as he called it.  Such a perfect day for the pool and loads of fun with friends!

Circle Riding

Lately after dinner we've been going to the circle to ride bikes and scooters. They've both been real excited about riding so it's been great.  We usually bring Julia's bike Miss Daisy, Andrew's scooter, and the tricycle and they switch between all three.  Julia is getting much better on her bike with turning and just feeling more comfortable and does great on the scooter too.  Andrew has picked up riding the scooter rather quickly and is even riding the tricycle quite well too.  Julia stopped and posed for a photo.

Look at Andrew go!  He looks so cute zooming by.

Loving all these little moments with our kids!

 Julia has been enjoying the scooter too.  I think there will be one in her future!

Andrew has been enjoying the freedom that comes with riding a bike alone.  He's really not my baby anymore but definitely a big boy.

Learning Time

We're having a great summer and having loads of fun but we're also continuing to do some learning time as well.  We're working on getting Andrew to hold the marker the correct way because sometimes he just wants to hold it his own way which will make it harder for him to form letters correctly.

Julia found this spinner and really wanted to use it so she would spin a number and draw that many hearts, circles, triangles, squares, ovals etc.  Good to practice counting and drawing different shapes.