Mama Likes to Jitterbug

Fall Pictures

Halloween

My kids LOVE Halloween!  Gracie for the dressing up part.  Sean for the candy.  This year they had two costumes.  For Steve's work party, they went as the Mario Brothers.  And for Halloween night:  Spiderman and a "scary witch". 

 

More Hockey Pictures

These pictures were taken the day we bought Gracie and Sean their hockey gear, but I just never got around to posting them.  Now that we're a few weeks into the hockey season, I'm happy to report that both kids are still at it, and loving it.  And much to my surprise, I'm even enjoying be a hockey mom and watching them learn to skate.  I'm just amazed at how quickly they are progressing - both are zipping around on their crates like they've been doing it for years.  All of the veteran hockey parents assure me that they'll be skating crate-free in another week or two.  We've been taking videos of their progression, so hopefully I'll have something to share soon.

Hockey

Gracie and Sean started hockey classes this past weekend.  Really it's just learn-to-skate in hockey gear, but we live in a hockey town, so the sooner they can get a stick in these kid's hands, the better.  We'd originally only planned to sign Sean up, but once we got to the hockey store to buy his gear, Gracie insisted on doing it too.  Sean wasn't very happy about that.  I think he wanted hockey to be "his thing" and mentioned something about "Gracie always being better than him".  We debated whether to tell Gracie that she couldn't do it, but decided that ice skating is a good thing to know when you live in New England, and since she'd be at the rink anyway, we might as well let her give it a try. 

Here are some pictures from their first practice.  Both were a puddle of tears and sweat by the time they finished class.  I gotta give it to them, ice skating is hard work.  I love this first strip of pictures.  This little boy, who didn't need a crate to skate, came up to help and encourage Sean.  Sean ran him over with his crate and then turned around to give me a smile as the kid skated away.  Not my proudest moment as a parent, but it was kind of funny.  Sean may not be able to skate (yet), but he definitely has the spirit of a hockey player.

This is Sean with his coach, and Gracie on the crate in the background.

Gracie trying to skate without her crate.  She has mad balancing skills.

Sean wasn't having much fun by the end of practice.  Can you tell?

Bless his heart, Sean just couldn't move that crate.  He must have skated at least 10 miles (in place) that day. 

 

Annual Check-Up

Gracie and Sean had their annual check-ups yesterday.  Gracie weighed 35lbs and measured 40.5", putting her in the 14th percentile for weight and the 11th percentile for height.  Sean weighed 37lbs and measured 39", putting him in the 59th percentile for weight and the 20th percentile for height.  They both passed their hearing and vision tests with flying colors.  The doctor commented on how well they seemed to get along, as well as how healthy they both are.  The visit ended with two immunization shots and a flu shot.  Sean took all three of his shots very well - only a quivering lip and a few tears in his eyes.  Gracie on the other hand, kicked, screamed, and made sure everyone in the office knew she was not happy about the way things were going.  I couldn't help but laugh at the look on the other kid's (and parent's) faces when we walked out through the waiting room.  Gracie stopped crying long enought to tell everyone that the doctor was terrible and the shots REALLY hurt.  Knowing Gracie, she was getting back at the doctor by making sure that every other patient he saw in the next 20 minutes gave him a run for his money.

Cheer Team Outing

Last weekend Gracie's cheer team went to Smolack Farm for a hayride and some pumpkin picking.  Besides it being a great way to spend a gorgeous fall day, it was a lot of fun to get to see Gracie hanging out with her girlfriends. 

Last weekend was also Gracie's first "real sleepover".  I didn't actually let her spend the night, but she was able to take her pajamas and stay until the stores closed and I was no longer able to entertain myself by driving around New Hampshire in the middle of the night.  She cried when I showed up and told her it was time to leave.  I "ruined her life".  LOL!  Fortunately, I was forgiven by morning.  And at the next cheerleading practice, she and her friend were already making plans for their next sleepover. 

 

 

Video: Gracie Practicing Vault

I'm continually amazed at Gracie's creativity when it comes to turning everyday objects into gymnastics equipment.  Here's a video I took of her practicing the vault on our living room ottoman. 

Gracie & Sean's Birthday Party

Gracie & Sean's party at CoCo Key was HUGE a success.  The kids had soooo much fun!  I think we had 35 kids between the ages of 1 and 12.  And, thanks to a beautiful September afternoon, almost the entire park to ourselves. 

If there was one downside of having a birthday party at a waterpark, it's that it was really hard to talk to everyone and keep your eyes on the kids.  At one point, I remember looking into the lazy river and finding Sean floating down it by himself, without a lifevest.  He loved this river!

Gracie spent most of the party running around with her little girlfriends.  Of course the ones she spent the most time with were those who were willing to go down the big slides.  Here she is with her best friend from school, Charlotte. 

 

With her best friend from daycare, Ava.

And her long-time crush, Ryland.

 

The kids were completely spoiled with gifts.  The first ones that Gracie opened were any that had an American Girl label on the outside.  She can't read yet, but she definitely knows what those two words mean.  I had to share this next picture of Sean because I've never seen him so excited to open a gift.  It's a box full of "real tools".  Sean loves to put things together and take them apart - just like his Papa - so he was verrrrrry excited to get his own set of tools.

 
Finally, here are the kids party favors.  They're little bags of soap with a fish inside.  The best thing about these was seeing the looks on the kids faces who thought they were real.  And even better, the parents who did.  LOL!

Sean's Spiderman Party

For his party at Isabelle's, Sean chose Spiderman. 

I love this picture of Sean & Isabelle.  It may be the only one I have of the two of them.  (Thanks Gracie!)  Isabelle always knows exactly what to get the kids.

They LOVE the Limbo.

And pinatas.

Love this next picture of the kids with their hats over their faces.  This kind of silliness is something I would totally expect at Sean's party.

And finally, Sean's party favors.  Filled with silly straws, stickers, a Spiderman candy container, silly putty, and a Spiderman bouncy ball.

 

Gracie's Sponge Bob Party

This year I decided to let the kids pick their birthday themes at Isabelle's without any guidance from me.  Gracie chose Sponge Bob Square Pants, of all things.  I absolutely do not understand the attraction of that show, but Steve said when he arrived at Isabelle's with the Sponge Bob pinata, the kids nearly barreled him over with their excitement.  It was a HUGE hit, which I'm sure Gracie fully expected when she picked it out.  I was a little too late to order a Sponge Bob cake, and since there were parents who would be seeing the party favors, I decided to nix those as well and go with something that didn't scream "I'm a horrible parent who lets my kid watch Sponge Bob Square Pants!"  I did, however, let Gracie pick out what she wanted to put inside her goodie bags cups.  She chose plastic eyeballs, bloody teeth, a paddle ball, pretend money, and a set of jax.  Isabelle does such a good job throwing these parties for a the kids - they really look forward to them - and she was kind enough to take some pictures and send them to me too.

Preschool Questionnaire - Sean

1.  What do you feel are the strengths of your child
Inquisitiveness, Spatial Reasoning, Confidence, Outgoing Personality

2.  What would you like your child to learn at school this year?
A love for going to school.  Confidence in his ability to learn new things.

3.  What are your child's favorite toys, games, stories and songs?
Sean loves playing board games, working puzzles, and trying to figure out how to take things apart and put them back together.  He loves books that involve solving a mystery, and he's starting to enjoy books with words he can read.

Preschool Questionnaire - Gracie

1.  What do you feel are the strengths of your child
Physical Activities, Memory, Creativity

2.  What would you like your child to learn at school this year?
A love for going to school.  Confidence in her ability to learn new things.

3.  What are your child's favorite toys, games, stories and songs?
Gracie loves all kinds of music and stories.  Her favorite toys include anything for playing make-believe or taking care of babies.  She loves Halloween and all things spooky or gory.

Sean's First Day of Preschool

Sean was so excited to finally get to go to preschool.  The morning of his first day, we couldn't get to the school fast enough.  He was the second one to arrive and I practically had to hold him back from running over the other kids to get through the door first.  He did manage, however, to pause for a minute on the way past his teachers and exclaim, "Hi! I'm Sean! It's nice to meet you."  We worked on that beforehand, but it was still very cute to see him actually do it.  When his teachers brought him out after class, the first thing they said was that "he's very different than his sister".  If I know Sean, he probably talked non-stop from the time he arrived until the time he left.  I was so happy to hear that he had a great day and that he loves school.  His smile says it all!

 

Gracie's First Day of Pre-K

Gracie was a little nervous about her first day back to school.  Recently, she's been nervous/shy about starting anything new or different.  And since September is the month for all things new, it's been a somewhat drama-filled two weeks.  Peeling her off my legs, reassuring, bribing, threatening.  All to get her to do ANYTHING - even things she's always loved.  I think it's part shyness (which admittedly I have a hard time understanding), part fear of the unknown, and part need to have control over some aspect of situation.  

Although there were very few smiles on the way into class, Gracie was all smiles when I picked her up.  She couldn't wait to tell me about her day, and was more than willing to pose for a picture.  Besides, in 20 years, who's ever going to know that this was taken on the way out, rather than the way in.

 

After school, we had to make a quick change of outfits for "biker week" at Gracie's cheer gym.  Her classmates and teachers were definitely surprised to see her walk out looking like this.  But it wasn't just the outfit, it was the change in her attitude and confidence that was noticable.  She was a completely different child from the shy one just a few hours before.

 

Car Washers

Gracie & Sean love to play make-believe with a variety of professions.  Not usually ones for manual labor (especially Sean), but a favorite is "car washers".  I'd be willing to be they have the shinest Power Wheels in the neighborhood. 

 

 

 

Vermont State Fair

Before heading home from Vermont, we decided to check out the state fair.  Gracie declared it, "the best day ever!"  I have to agree, it was A LOT of fun!

  

While Sean preferred the rides and games, Gracie wanted to spend her day watching shows.  We managed to catch every one:  the magic show, the bear show, the horse show, the pig show, and the daredevil show.   No surprise, her favorite was the daredevil show and its star, Galaxy Girl.  This crazy woman did a handstand on top of a giant pole.  I couldn't even watch.  I just held my phone up and pressed the button.  Gracie didn't miss a second. 

Besides the fair, one of the other highlights of the weekend was getting to build a tool box in Papa's workshop.  I love their excitement!

However, Papa created more than a tool box this weekend - he created a monster.  Now that Gracie and Sean know he can build things, their expectations have gotten a lot bigger.  We came across this house at the state fair and the first thing Gracie said was, "my Papa can make this for me".  

 

And finally, as I was copying the photos from the weekend off my phone, I came across this one.  Apparently, this is what my kids do when they get a hold of my phone and I don't know it.  So proud!

 

Family Get Together

 Steve's sister and husband recently moved back to New England from Montana and there was a picnic over Labor Day weekend to welcome them back.  It was a great day for sitting outside, enjoying each other's company, and watching Gracie and Sean get their fill of canine companionship.  I'd be willing to bet Walter and Sophie slept very well that night.

 

This can't be comfortable....

It seems like lately the only pictures I take are with my cell phone.  Not the greatest quality, but I didn't want to risk waking Sean while I ran downstairs to grab my Nikon.  This is how I found him the other night when I opened up my bedroom door to go to sleep.  Wrapped in his blanket, feet dangling, out cold.   He'd also peed on the side of the bed.  Sean NEVER has accidents, so I'm not sure if he got up to use the toilet, wandered into the wrong room, realized what he'd done, just said to hell with it, and passed out.  It made me laugh though, thinking about how many college guys have probably found themselves in the same situation, and how Sean is going to fit right into fraternity life one day.

 

Church

We recently decided that it's time to get the kids (and ourselves) into church on a regular basis.  Our hesitation in the past was that it seemed silly to entertain and wrestle two kids while pretending to hear what the preacher was saying.  And frankly, we were just too tired on Sunday mornings to get out of bed.  But the kids are old enough now to understand what it's about and Steve and I have always believed in raising them in a christian home, similar to the ones we grew up in.  We're fortunate to live close enough to a church that has a great children's program, and is large enough that Gracie and Sean are both in their own classrooms.  At first, Gracie refused to go into her class and preferred to sit with us in "grown-up church".  But after two weeks of sitting through hour-long sermons, she decided that it was boring and she would give "kids church" a try.  The first thing she told us when she got out was, "I didn't know what I was missing".  Of course, the fact that she was the only girl in a room full of 5 year old boys might have had something to do with it. 

My favorite thing about church is hearing Sean's recap of what he learned in Sunday school.   The first week it was a story about "a man who had two breads, two fishes, and two chickens that he turned into lots of bread, fish, and chickens".  When I asked Sean if he was sure there was chicken, he said yes.  There was definitely chicken.  LOL!  Then there was the story of "Jack and the giant"  (David and Goliath).  And "Danny, the lion, and some guy name GOD who saved him".  Seeing Sean in his Sunday school class has reassured me that he is going love school.  His teachers tell me that he's very "polite, entertaining, and a pleasure to have in class".  It's church, so they probably have to say something nice, but I sort of think they mean it.

Gracie: On Turning 5

The night before Gracie's birthday, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep.  She came down the stairs and asked if she could watch TV with us for a little while.  Turns out, all she wanted to do was talk about her birthday.  When was she going to be turning five?  Was it going to happen while she was asleep?  Are five year olds "big girls"?  I didn't think much of her questioning until the next morning when she came into our room looking a little sad.  After we sang the Happy Birthday song to her, I noticed that she still didn't look happy.  When I asked her what was wrong, she said "Nothing happened last night.  I didn't turn 5."  I don't know what she was expecting, but she definitely had something big built up in her head.  Fortunately, it only took seeing her friends at Isabelle's to convince her that she really was five.  She told everyone that day, including the workers at Boston Market, who gave her a free meal for being their best customer and choosing their restaurant for her birthday dinner.

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Today my baby girl is turning 5!  In some ways it's hard to believe that she's already five years old - the past five years have gone by so fast - but in other ways she already seems so much older to me.  I feel like I've been telling people "she's almost 5" forever, because saying "she's 4" just seemed weird.  And the idea that she has to wait another whole year to start kindergarten seems strange too.  I'm not saying that I wish she would grow up faster, just wondering if this is one of those "first born child" things, "September baby" things, or both?  And thinking that I definitely thought I would be a lot sadder to see her turn five.  I'm actually happy that this day is here.  I feel a great deal of accomplishment as a parent and I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next five years bring.  Watching her grow has been one of my greatest joys. 

Here are some of my favorite photos from birthdays past. 

  

 

 

September is Here!

I love September!  The smell in the air reminds me of having a baby.  Five years ago today, I was checking into the hospital to have my first.  Besides it being my favorite month of the year, this September is especially welcome.  We had a long summer with lots of tough decisions to make - decisions about the kids activities, whether to leave Isabelle's and hire a nanny (we decided yes, and then no), when and where to move in the next year (or two), and how to handle a particularly difficult situation I've been facing at work.  It was a long, emotionally draining summer.  Fortunately, September means that decisions have been made, we're back into our regular routine, and all is right with the world again.  Not to mention, there's getting to do all of the things that come with this time of year.  Apple picking, hay rides, playing in the leaves, birthday parties, and picking out Halloween costumes to name a few.  Welcome September!  I'm glad you're here!

Cirque Du Soleil

This weekend we took Gracie and Sean to their first Cirque Du Soleil show.  If you've never heard of Cirque, it's a kind of artistic circus.  And it's absolutely amazing!  Gracie loves to watch the video of a Cirque show Steve and I went to when we were first married, so I knew that she would be thrilled to see the real thing.  And I was right.  She sat on the edge of her seat the entire show with her eyes wide as saucers.  Her favorites were the trapeze act, and a huge blower that sent paper snowflakes flying over the entire auditorium.  Sean's favorites were the clowns and the fire thrower.  Knowing how his little mind works, I have since hidden anything flamable in our house.

 

A picture I took on my phone from inside the show. 

 

And one from outside.  A tropical storm was blowing by just off the coast of New England this weekend, so it was cold and rainy.  Seeing the kids in their sweaters reminded me that summer is almost over.  When I asked the kids what they liked best about summer, Gracie said swimming in Isabelle's pool every day.  Sean said planting his flowers. 

Birthday Party Invitations

Gracie and Sean's birthday party invitations went out in the mail yesterday.  We're doing a tropical themed party at an indoor waterpark, mostly because I didn't want to spend an entire month stressing about the weather and I thought it would be fun to plan something that we hadn't done before.  Steve informed me that these are my "most over-the-top birthday invitations to date", which I'm taking as a compliment. :)  As I suspected, the invitations were a HUGE hit with the kids!  They were so excited to open the box, and then the bottle to find out what the message inside said.  Next up....goodie bags!

 

Cheer Team Pool Party

Last week, some fellow cheer moms and I hosted a pool party for Gracie's cheerleading team.  I was in charge of invitations, decorations, and the pinata.  I have to say, it's much more fun to plan a party with someone else, and not have to be responsible for every little detail, than it is to do it by yourself.  I had a blast, and the party was a lot of fun for the girls too. 

You may notice that the logo in these pictures looks familiar.  Yep, that's right, we're back at Gracie's old cheer gym.  And we couldn't be happier.  After Gracie's Mini Level 1 team was disbanded at the new gym, I had some concerns about whether she would be able to keep up with the Mini Level 2 team.  We also learned around the same time that her old gym would be offering a Mini Level 1 team (the original reason we left was because they weren't going to have one, and there was uncertainty about whether there would be a Tiny team).  Even though we wanted to go back to the old gym - Gracie and I both missed our friends - we couldn't leave the new gym because we had signed a contract.  However, after the first weekend of practice with the Level 2 team at the new gym, it was obvious that it wasn't a good fit for Gracie.  The age difference between her and most of the other girls was 3-4 years.  It was all just too new, too advanced, and she couldn't make it through a practice with out breaking down into tears.  She was clearly stressed out and not having fun.  And it broke my heart to have to make her do it.  Fortunately, everyone agreed that there wasn't a team that was a good fit for Gracie's age and ability, so we were able to get out of our contract and return to the old gym. 

Things have been going really well for Gracie since returning.  Although she's still the youngest on her team, she's with girls that she's cheered with for the past two years.  She's also able to do all of the same tumbling skills that they can do - which has been a huge boost to her confidence.  The first couple of weeks back in the gym were tough because she was nervous that she would be behind or not know what to do, but she seems to be past that and is back to her old self. 

And if the logo looks a little different, that's because our gym merged with another gym that's located in New Hampshire.  It's a good thing - as it brings lots of additional talent under one roof - however, I'm a little nervous about how Gracie will do with having so many new kids on her team.  They'll be going from 12 to 25 kids in September and it could be a bit overwhelming initially.  This pool party was an opportunity to get everyone together for the first time outside of the gym.  Gracie had a lot of fun and wasn't shy with any of the new kids, so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

Here's the pinata I made.  It was originally covered in High School Musical stickers, which I peeled off and replaced with the new logo.

 

And here's the cake - which I did not make.  Anything cooking/baking related is never assigned to me.  LOL!

 

I love these next two pictures.  Gracie decided to show the coaches her mischievous side and soak them with a water gun while they were eating.  This ought to earn her some extra push-ups at practice.

 

 

A team picture.  Can you believe how tiny Gracie is?  Even the girls that are only one year older tower over her.  She's such a peanut!

Gracie is a little dare devil in the water.  As you can see, she no longer requires any sort of floatation device in the pool.  Given her small frame, this completely shocked the lifeguards and other pool-goers who, as most do, assumed she was much younger than she is.

Sean loves doing cannonballs.  And he loves to scream the word while jumping. 

 

I must say, Gracie is lucky to have one of the coolest dads on the team.  Not only did he agree to attend the party, he was willing to go into the pool in his walking shorts just so that she could stunt with her friends. 

Love this shot of the cheer dad and siblings.

And finally, my fellow party planners.  We totally define "crazy cheer moms". 

Bookworm

I walked into our office the other day and Sean was sitting exactly like this - reading one of Steve's computer programming books.  He was completely serious, which I found equal parts funny and scary.

 

Happy Birthday Grandma Helen!

One thing I want to remember about Grandma Helen's 93rd birthday was how insistent Sean was on making a present to take to the party.  He found a jar in Nana's recycling bin and filled it with pieces of styrofoam.  He made sure that his gift made it to the car, into the house with the rest of the presents, and then hand-delivered it to Grandma Helen himself.  He was THRILLED that she was so surprised and loved it so much! 

 

Another favorite moment was watching Sean play darts with Uncle Ed.  (Uncle Ed is the relative I've mentioned previously that shares Sean's passion for gardening.)  These two get along so well.  At least they did until Uncle Ed scored a bulls-eye and Sean refused to play anymore.  (We're still working on that whole competitiveness/good sportsmanship thing.  LOL!)

 

As you can see by the signs on the garage, this party was also to celebrate Nana's sister's birthday and to welcome home Uncle Tom & Aunt Melissa from Montana.  Very excited to have them living so close to us again.

Alpine Slide

While in Vermont this past weekend for Steve's grandmother's 93rd birthday party, we decided to combine the festivities with a ride down the alpine slide at Killington mountain.  I couldn't bring my camera up the lift, but I was able to sneak my cell phone in my pocket.  (Pretty good pictures for a phone, don't you think?)  Once at the top, Sean and I made the mistake of going down the slide first and spent the entire ride with Steve and Gracie riding our tails and booing us.  We were just enjoying the scenery, while the two thrill-seekers only cared about seeing how fast they could make it to the bottom.  If you ever get a chance to ride an alpine slide, do it!  It's so much fun!  Regardless of whether it's the scenery or speed that you crave.   

 

  

The Flyin' Drzewiczewskis

Ever since our visit to the circus a few months ago, Gracie has talked about becoming a "famous trapeze girl".  Tonight we decided to take her to a trapeze school located in our local furniture store and let her give it a try.  What you can't really see in these photos is that the bar was HIGH, and they didn't lower it for the little ones.  Gracie talked a big game until it came time to jump off the platform and grab the bar.  She looked absolutely petrified.  Fortunately, the instructor had experience working with kids and just belted her to the safety rope and threw her out there before she had a chance to change her mind.  Gracie did her obligatory three swings and was ready to get down.  When she crawled off the net, she told me she'd do her back flip next time.

 

Sean completely surprised me by asking if he could also go on the trapeze.  This is the same kid who spent the entire circus saying "that's not a good idea" whenever someone did something that he didn't think was safe.  I thought for certain that even if he made it to the top, he would never jump off.  But he did, and he loved it!  The instructor kept trying to tell him to let go of the bar and drop, but he was having too much fun and didn't want to come down. 

 

Fenway Park

This past weekend we took the kids to Fenway Park for their first-ever Red Sox game.  Well, the Red Sox weren't actually playing (the minor league team was), but the kids didn't know that.  They were happy to sit out in the bleachers, snack on whatever the vendors were walking up and down the aisles selling, sing along to the songs, and watch the graphics on the giant screen TVs.

 

Vacation: Day 8 - Fourth of July

I can't believe that I'm over a month late in posting these pictures.  Or that I've neglected my blog for so long.  I love blogging, but the month of July was one of the longest, most draining months of my life.  I promise I'll share it all later when I get more than five minutes to sit down at my computer, but things are still kind of crazy, so it may just be pictures for awhile, with one massive update later one.  Things are good, I promise.  Just crazy.

The last day of our vacation was the Fourth of July.  We spent the day at Steve's aunt and uncle's beach house in Gloucester, and then finished with fireworks back home at the high school football field.  One of the things that really stood out for me was Sean bonding with Uncle Ed over gardening.  I thought it was really sweet to see them connect over something they both love.  And although I don't have any pictures from the fireworks, I wanted to note that the kids made it through the entire show this year.  They didn't love it, and their hands were over their ears the entire time, but they made it through the whole thing.  And they were very happy about that.

 

 

 

 

 

Video: Monkey Bars

I don't know who I'm more proud of: Gracie for being able to make it all the way across the monkey bars.  Or Sean for being such an awesome little brother and cheering on his sister.  I think he says, "Gracie you know!"  (As in, "You know how to do the monkey bars!")  Steve uploaded this video to Facebook from his phone, so if you're viewing it at work and aren't able to access it, that's why. 

 

Vacation: Day 7 - Golf

Before heading back to Boston, we decided to spend the afternoon on the golf course.  Golf is definitely Steve's "thing" with the kids, but I enjoyed riding around on the cart and watching them play. 

 

 

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed driving the golf cart.  The kids quickly figured out that if one pushed the gas pedal and the other one steered, they could get to where they wanted to go.

And then Gracie figured out how to do it on her own.  Surprisingly, this was less scary than having Sean behind the wheel.

Vacation: Day 6 - Natural Caves & Bridges

This was the day we left Lake George.  On our way back to Nana & Papa's house, we stopped at a place called Natural Caves and Bridges (or something like that).  It was breathtakingly beautiful, although admittedly a little dangerous.  There was lots of climbing up, walking down, crawling over, and plenty of places for kids to slip and fall.  So not many pictures.  I managed to hold up my camera a few times and press the button while clinging to a railing, but the photo ops were few and far between.  My favorite memory from this outing was watching "Adventure Grace".  She was so cute and confident leading us around on our tour.  Sean, on the other hand, complained the entire time that his legs hurt and he was tired.  This was definitely not his thing.

Vacation: Day 5 - Hangin' Out

Day 5 was our last full day at the resort.  There was only one planed activity - a pirate treasure hunt around the property.  The rest of the day was spent playing on the beach, lying in hammocks, swimming in the pool, and fishing.

 

   

 

Vacation: Day 4 - Play Day

Day 4 of our vacation was sooooo much fun.  We started out at Goony Golf - one of the many retro-style miniature golf courses located at Lake George. 

 

 

Leave it to Sean to find a way to send Steve diving for golf balls.

 

After Goony Golf, it was over to Waterslide World - quite possibly the worst waterpark I've ever been to.  Totally overpriced, granny-slow slides, terrible food, and not a lot for younger kids to do.  That being said, we still managed to find a way to make the most of it and have fun.

The highlight for Sean was definitely the wave pool.

Gracie, on the other hand, preferred laying out and showing off her "la-kini".

 

Our visit to the waterpark was cut short by a storm, so we decided to finish the day with a trip to the touristy shops and arcades in downtown Lake George.   While I shopped for souvenirs, the kids got their first "real" tattoos.   

 

Finally, here is Gracie playing one of those old-timey shooting games at the arcade.  She is frighteningly at hitting the little targets. 

  

Vacation: Day 3 (Part 2) - Back at the "Cation House"

Our second evening at the vacation house was one of my favorites.  When we got back from Great Escape, we took the kids fishing and finally let them use a real hook and bait.  They were sooooo excited!  Gracie caught a fish on her first cast - which is typical Gracie.  She also wanted nothing to do with the fish after she caught it (also typical Gracie).  Sean caught a fish almost as quickly, but unlike his sister, was incredibly proud of his accomplishment.  And very disappointed that we made him throw it back.

  

Another great thing about the place we stayed was that they had organized activities throughout the week for the kids.  This afternoon's activities happened to be face-painting.  Sean chose a puppy face, while Gracie picked the scariest monster face they offered.  The artist looked at me like she was surprised by Gracie's choice.  What can I say?  The child loves Halloween, and she's not exactly a girly girl. 

 

Here are the kids and I on our way down to dinner at the resort's restaurant.  The food wasn't that great (which unfortunately seemed to be the case for almost every place we ate in upstate New York), but we had the most amazing view of the lake and mountains. 

After dinner, there was a bonfire on the beach.  Another organized resort activity that included smores and a hippie with a guitar.  It reminded me a lot of being a kid at camp, and was the one thing I had been looking forward to the most from the brochure.  It didn't disappoint.

 

After eating smores, which Sean loved by the way, the kids decided that they wanted to take an evening dip in the lake.

 

The ship that's in the background of this picture is one of the many that regularly floated by our resort.  Going for a ride was on the top of my To Do list.  Unfortunately, Gracie hated the horns they blew and refused to go on one.  Maybe next time. 

The Kitchen Sink

Here's a picture of what our kitchen sink now looks like.  According to our kitchen contractor, we are only the second client he's heard of in his 20 years remodeling kitchens that's had this happen.  Fabulous.  Buy us a lottery ticket. 

Gracie is the only one seeing the bright side of this situation.  After assessing the damage yesterday morning, she told Steve, "You don't need to fix it Daddy.  You can just buy us a new house." 

 

Vacation: Day 3 (Part 1) - The Great Escape

First, to anyone who checks here regularly, sorry for the sporadic posts.  I admit, it's been hard getting back into the groove of blogging, returning emails, etc. after being on vacation.  We also have a lot going on right now.  Big decisions being made as a family.  I'm not ready to share those decisions on the world wide web just yet, but they're all things that have required a lot of time, effort, and attention.

Then of course, while I was editing photos and typing this post last night, our kitchen sink fell out of the counter.  Literally, as I was typing, there was a huge crash and I turned around to find our sink sitting in the bottom cabinet with water gushing all over the floor.  So that's another thing that's going to require some attention - trying to track down the granite company that installed it and convincing them to come out and fix it.  I'm pretty sure that a kitchen sink should last more than 3-4 years.

Anyway....next on the list of things that were awesome about the location of this year's vacation was that it was only a few miles down the road from Six Flags Great Escape.  My kids love that place!  What makes Great Escape so fabulous is that while it's owned by a big franchise, it still has the charm of an old-timey amusement park.  For example, there's a petting zoo.  Gracie thought it was disgusting, but Sean loved it.  Especially this goat.

 

Characters - Another thing that Sean loved, but Gracie hated.

Of course we couldn't go to Great Escape and not see the dive show.  We actually saw it twice.  While both kids wanted to meet the pirates after the show, Sean was the only one that would pose for a picture. 

 

Another fabulous thing about Great Escape are the tiny houses that are scattered throughout the park.  The kids didn't go on a single ride that day.  They spent almost the entire time playing in these houses.

The kids were so tired from staying up late the night before that I think if I had left Gracie here, she would've actually taken a nap.  She loved this little house.  And I'm pretty sure it's why she's now obsessed with us buying her a house of her own.  A day doesn't go by that she doesn't tell us that she wants a house.  "A big yellow one."  "Not the kind she can put in her room."  "A real one." 

   

I love this picture of Gracie kissing Steve.  Not sure if she was just happy to be there, or buttering him up for a new house.

I also love this picture of Gracie that was taken on our way out of the park.  She was actually trying to fly.

 

Video: Gracie's Round-off Back Handspring

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program of vacation recapping to present this video of Gracie doing her first round-off back handspring.  She's been working really hard to get this skill, and today she finally did it by herself.  In case you can't hear/understand the audio, she says "I'm Gracie.  I'm going to do a round-off back handspring.  I'm four.  And I'm going to do it with straight arms."  Can you guess what I told her to do right before I hit the record button?  LOL!  And yes, that's her old gym's uniform that she has on.  She insisted on wearing it for her "show".  I feel so bad because she realllllly misses all of her old coaches and teammates.  Still hoping I made the right decision.

Click on the image to view the video.

Vacation: Day 2 (Part 2) - Our "Cation House"

Day 2, Part 2 of our vacation was the drive to Lake George, New York and the arrival at our "cation house".  I'm not exaggerating when I say that we could have spent the entire week just hanging out inside our cabin and the kids would have been happy as clams.  It was that fabulous.  My only regret was that I didn't have the video camera rolling when they stepped out of the car.  It was worth every penny spent to see their excitement over the littlest details.  But the smiles on their faces when they discovered their bunkbeds, and a "real TV" in their room, was PRICELESS!!!

Here's the first view we had of our cabin. 

Located right behind it was an AWESOME playground.  It had a putting green, a rock wall, and a gigantic pirate ship.  The best part was that we could just let the kids go out on their own and still keep an eye on them from the house.

 

When we went to the circus earlier this spring, Gracie's favorite act, hands down, was the trapeze show.  So needless to say, she was very excited to have one right in her backyard.  She spent every chance she got practicing her act.

One of my favorite memories from our first night was putting the kids to bed and settling into the front porch rocker with a glass of wine, only to discover that they had locked us out and decided to throw their own party. 

 

 

   

Last but not least, here's the amazing view that we woke up to every morning. 

Vacation: Day 2 (Part 1) - Nana & Papa's House

While Gracie and I were finishing up with cheer camp, Steve and Sean headed to Nana and Papa’s house to drop off Steve’s car for some repairs.  The plan was to meet there and then drive over to New York together. While the boys were waiting for us to arrive, Sean spent the afternoon fishing and making a birdhouse with Papa in his workshop. Based on these pictures that Nana took, and the grin that was plastered on Sean's face when Gracie and I finally arrived, I gather he had a pretty fabulous afternoon.

Sean in the shop with Papa.  (Love the work glasses!)

 

 

Carrying the birdhouse outside to put in a tree.  He looks so proud!

  

I think it's funny that Sean insisted on putting his dog, Sophie, up in the tree with the birdhouse.  Guess he thought it needed a guard dog.

All painted and ready for its first occupant.  This was done after we returned from New York (with a lot of help from Nana).

Vacation: Day 1 - Cheer Camp

Our vacation got a delayed start because of Gracie's first weekend of cheer camp at her new gym.  It was two days, four hours each day, and a lot to handle for a 4 year old.  (Even her preschool isn't that long.)  Needless to say, going in, I was extremely nervous about how Gracie would handle 8 hours of cheerleading in one weekend - and how I would manage 8 hours in a windowless parent room - but we both did great.  I was soooooo proud!  She did everything the coaches asked of her, kept up with all of the older girls, and only had a few tears when I went out to the car to grab something and she thought I left her. 

The downside to the weekend was that there's now some uncertainty about whether Gracie will be on a cheerleading team at all next year.  Last year Gracie was a Tiny (ages 4-6).  We left her old gym because I didn't think there would be enough girls returning to have a Tiny team and, at the time, they weren't planning to have a Mini team (ages 5-8).  At her new gym, Gracie tried out and made the Mini Level 1 team.  It was a perfect fit for her.  However, after the first day of camp, the coaches decided to disband Gracie's team and move the kids to various different teams based on their ages and abilities.  Gracie was moved to the Mini Level 2 team - Go Gracie! - but I was told that while she was "beyond the Tiny team", and "had the skills to be on the Mini Level 2 team", there were concerns about her age and whether she would be able to keep up with the pace and choreography of a Level 2 team.  I agree.  The kids on the team are mostly 7-8 years old, and are no joke.  I told Steve that I half-expected Shawn Johnson to walk out on the mat during practice.

The coaches want to watch Gracie over the next month and see how she does at the next work weekend.  At this point, I give her about a 50/50 chance of making the team. She would be the only five year old, and regardless of how good she is for her age, she's still only five (actually 4, going on 5).  After initially being bummed, I'm ok with whatever happens.  I've been feeling a great deal of pressure to choose between cheerleading and competitive gymnastics.  As much as I thought we could do both next year, we can't.  I've come to the conclusion that if she makes the cheerleading team, we'll let her do that, one day of recreational gymnastics, and decide later which one she likes best.  And if she doesn't make the cheerleading team, we'll let her be on the gymnastics team and follow that path wherever it leads us.  Until then, here are pictures of my fabulous little cheerleader at her first day of camp.  So proud!

  

We're Back!

We're finally home from our vacation and back in the swing of everyday life.  What a fabulous week!  It was equal parts relaxing and fun.  And I can't even begin to say enough wonderful things about the place we stayed.  Every time you turned around, it was like something out of a postcard.  And very family-friendly.  I literally have hundreds of pictures to sort through, so I'm planning to do a separate post for each day of our vacation.  Stay tuned. 

The Comedian

One of my favorite things about Sean is his sense of humor.  The kid is hilarious and loves a good laugh.  He's recently discovered the Shel Silverstein book Where the Sidewalk Ends. He carries it back and forth to Isabelle's and makes us read it to him every night before bed.  Two of his favorites:  "Ridiculous Rose" (who ate with her her toes) and "The Planet of Mars" (for the super silly picture that goes with it).  I definitely plan to pick up some of Shel Silverstein's other works the next time I'm at the bookstore.  He's a huge hit in our house right now, especially with a certain little 3 year old boy I know.

 

The Choreographer

When Gracie isn't lining up her dollies and teaching them "la-nastics", she's sitting on top of our kitchen counter, choreographing routines and building pyramids with spice shakers.  She loves doing this. 

   

Preschool Thank You Cards

 

Dear Mr. Joe,

Thank you for taking me to Drumlin Farm and to the bouncy house to play.  Thank you for singing to me and reading me stories.

Love, Gracie

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Ms. Cindi,

Thank you for being nice, giving me food, and for teaching me how to do crisscross applesauce.

Love, Gracie

Video: Gracie's Back Walkover

Here's another video we took on the Flip, and the first one I've ever edited on my own.  It's soooo easy!  Gracie has been working really hard to get her back walkover, so I'm incredibly proud of this clip.  And I love her self-esteem.  I just want to squeeze her when she says,  "I'm the best!  I always do the best things in the world."  Click on the image to view the video.

Video: Father's Day

For Father's Day, we got Steve a Flip Mino.  It's a handheld video camera that fits in your pocket and plugs right into your computer.  I was most impressed with how easy it is to edit videos and upload them to the internet.  Click on the image below to view the video we made and sent to Steve's dad.  I especially love when Sean says, "Happy Father's Day Papa.  Will you take me fishing?" 

 

  

Gym Show

Gracie had her end-of-year gymnastics show on Saturday.  The show lasted over three hours and was standing room only.  Gracie surprised me by sitting with her team through the entire thing and watching the other kids.  It was evident just how much she loves gymnastics.  And when it was her turn to go, she was absolutely beaming.  They put the medal around her neck, and I'm pretty sure she thought she won the Olympics.