Summer Evening

We are trying to savor the fleeting moments of summer before the girls head back to school this week. Last night we had a "S'mores and Movie Night" in our tent in our backyard. Elijah caught a few minutes of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (the original movie with Gene Wilder, of course) before he had to hit the sack.

Isabella enjoyed her warm and gooey toasted marshmallows.

Sienna got ready to roast her marshmallows, too.

Elijah didn't waste any time with his s'more!

"What, do I have something on my face?"

Mike can't resist giving a thumbs up in every picture.

It's hard to believe that Isabella will be starting second grade the day after tomorrow and Sienna will head off to Kindergarten on Friday. What happened to my babies?!?!

Go BC!!

It was a beautiful day to go to Boston College's first home football game of the season. Mike is the one with season tickets, but we were able to get four extra free tickets to the home opener since they were playing Weber State (which we had never heard of). It's in Utah, in case you were wondering.

All three of our kiddos were decked out in their BC t-shirts, and they were ready to tailgate! Mike posed with the kiddos in front of Alumni Stadium.
Then we checked out Fan Fest.
They had jumpies...
... and face (or arm) painting. Isabella went for the flying eagle.
Sienna chose the sparkly BC.Sienna and I matched!
Mike raced Isabella through an obstacle course.
Close-up of Isabella's eagle. The cheerleaders made an appearance.Everyone also got balloon animals (t-rex, horse and turtle bracelet).
We finally made it over to the tailgate with our friends.
Since we had a cook-out to go to, we ended up skipping the game, but we had fun at all of the other events!

Ecotarium

The girls head back to school next week, so we are trying to squeeze in our last summer outings. Today we checked out the Ecotarium in Worcester since it was a "Free Fun Friday" so admission was free! We rounded up a bunch of friends and had a fun day exploring the Ecotarium for the first time.

Everyone had fun trying to make gigantic bubbles.
Isabella gave it a try, too.
Lauren, Lily and Sienna are ready for the train ride.

Ryan, Luke, John & Thomas gear up for the train ride, too!

Hope, Isabella and Sarah snagged the seats at the back of the train.

Isabella and Hope waited while Charlotte took a turn with the spirograph. Lauren and Sienna put on a puppet show about an iguana and a bear.

They also worked on some animal puzzles.

Elijah spent time exploring this toy in the Discovery Room.

Lauren and Sienna finished their puzzles!

What better way to end the day than with ice cream cones!!

10 years!!

Today is our 10th anniversary. We've been married for a decade!! A DECADE!!! Yikes! How did that happen?!? To see pictures from that amazingly fun day, click here. Since we're back in WI for the occasion, I told my dad that we'd like to renew our vows and have another reception at the University Club. We're on our own for that one!!!

Ten years is a long time. Although, it doesn't sound so long when you consider the fact that my sister just turned 40 (and celebrated her 17th anniversary), my sister-in-law and brother-in-law celebrated their 17th anniversary, my in-laws will celebrate their 37th anniversary in a couple days, and my parents will celebrate their 45th anniversary in December . But, how is it possible that we've been married for 10 years already?!?!? We can't be old enough for that, can we? Last year I mentioned that I wanted to go back to Bermuda for our 10th anniversary. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. Instead, we'll be at our friend's wedding in Chicago while my dad watches our kiddos in our hotel room. We'll still have a fun weekend, but it's not the romantic get-away that I envisioned. Maybe we can sneak away for a night or two in the fall. Either way, we will celebrate the fact that we've been together for 14 1/2 years and married for 10! Woo hoo!!!

Right now I'm in Wisconsin visiting my parents. I dug through one of their closets and found my old prom dresses (why my mom saved those, I'm not sure!) along with my wedding shoes and my headband and veil that I made myself. My friend, Sarah, reminded me that she helped me finish sewing my veil during my rehearsal. Thanks, Sarah! I always was (and always will be) a procrastinator! I was a little worried when I found my sister's and my mom's wedding dresses but not my own. Thankfully, my mom had it cleaned, and it was tucked away under a bed and preserved in a special box. I was able to peek through the plastic window to admire my dress. It's not worth pulling out because I know that it won't fit, but it was fun to see it and show my girls!

Isabella modeled the headband and veil and the shoes.

Sienna only wanted to try the veil.

My veil still fits! Yippee!!

Isabella also got a kick out of the petticoat (or whatever it's called) that I wore under my dress.

This is one of those times that I'm glad that my mom saves everything!!!! That's definitely where I get my hoarding behavior, but I love the memories!

Messy Party

Today we enjoyed our (fifth?) annual Messy Party with the MOMS Club!

Sienna loaded up a cookie with frosting and sprinkles.
Elijah went straight for the cookie table, too!

He wasn't so sure about the shaving cream at first.

It didn't take long for Elijah to get messy!

"Cheese!!!"
Elijah tried some painting, too.

Future fire fighters?!?

Many of the children had fun covering the slide (and eachother!) in shaving cream.

You know it's a successful Messy Party when you look like this at the end! Finishing up with some play dough.

Strawberry Picking

Today we went strawberry picking with our friends in the MOMS Club. This is one of our favorite annual outings!

Sarah, Lauren, Sienna, Isabella & Luke on the hayride out to the strawberry fields

Elijah tried a freshly picked snap pea.

He also nibbled on a carrot straight from the garden.

"What's up, Doc?"

Isabella and Sienna getting down to business.

I intentionally dressed Elijah in red knowing that he would sample some strawberries in the field.

Lauren and Sienna paused long enough for a quick picture.

Ready for our return hayride. Elijah loved riding right behind the huge tractor.