4.31 Finally a Perfect Pool Day!!

July 20, 2015
By Cyndi

After one of the longest weeks at work yet, clocking 40 hours by Wednesday evening with Thursday and Friday still to go, I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning in recovery.

I had wanted to get out of the house on Saturday afternoon with the idea of a local brewery for us while the fellas could stay entertained with the ipads.  Well, Zach had a meltdown putting his socks on and that ended my grand idea.

I regrouped for Sunday, convinced the fellas to go to the farmers market for breakfast.  They obliged but when we got to the tent with the baked goods, they said they didn't want anything.  Seriously, a chocolate croissant?  A blueberry muffin?  UGH, really children, why must you be so darn picky!!  I bought three things and found some shade to see if they would eat anything.  They took a few bites and said they were done.  We bought some zucchini and two cake pops for later.

After they woke up from nap, we headed for the pool.  The temperature was 95+ and the pool was packed but we finally had a perfect summer afternoon.  We spent three hours and had a great time!  The swimming lessons are paying off and they didn't use their floaties at all.  We ordered a pizza for dinner, ate it on one of the breaks and swam until close to 7p. 

I hope next weekend's weather is as nice as this weekend so we can spend the afternoon at the pool again!!

4.30 The Gimpel Invasion

By Cyndi
July 14, 2015

What a great weekend with the Gimpel Invasion!

Saba, Uncle Dave, Aunt Lauren & Asher arrived for a fun weekend.  It was the perfect summer weekend with lots of outside time.  I have discovered that Lauren is an amazing book reader and may need to skype her in weekly for story time with the fellas. 

Some of my NJ cousins are living in the DC area, so they also joined us on Saturday afternoon. We filled up the pool, took out the corn hole and spent time outside!

It was great for the fellas to spend time with Asher and us to spend time with Dave & Lauren. 

Happy Fellas!

4.29 July 4th!

July 7, 2015
By Cyndi

A week or so before July 4th, I asked the fellas if they wanted to go to the parade.  After a little discussion, the answer was YES!  I was excited since last year, we stayed home as it would be "too loud."  There were two songs they learned at school (see below) and I had to write them down to remember them :)

When we woke up in the morning, it was raining, but it looked like it would end by parade time.  Since Matt was working, I figured we'd at least try to go and if it was canceled, we tried!  The rain stopped about 45 minutes before the parade, I had secured a close parking spot and set up.

They loved waving and grabbing the candy that was thown.  Definitely a fun morning!!

J-U-L-Y
J-U-L-Y
J-U-L-Y J-U-L-Y J-U-L-Y
The 7th month is here
with lots of fun and cheer
fireworks and hotdogs
for thirty one days
J-U-L-Y
J-U-L-Y
J-U-L-Y J-U-L-Y J-U-L-Y

Today is special do you know why?
It's the 4th day of July
See the flags passing by
See the fireworks in the sky
It's a special celebration
It's the birthday of our nation!

The evening was spent shooting off fireworks in our cul-de-sac.  The fellas lasted very late, got them a quick shower and off to bed.

4.28 Ahoy Matey!

June 30, 2015
By Cyndi

I'm a little behind, but have had these pictures ready to go!  Oops, life got a little crazy.

On Friday, we enjoyed a date night with the Isaacs at a winery.... the food was great, company even better, but sadly it ended and we had to go back home.  It was a great way to end a long week!

After a fun stay-at-home day playing with the remote control Ninja Turtle van, we headed to Baltimore for a Pirate cruise!  The fellas wore their superhero capes and the Isaacs & Carmeans joined us.  The fellas took a while to warm up to the atmosphere, but had a great time!  The weather was absolutely perfect and it was a fun day for everyone!

4.27 Father's Day at Brewfest

By Cyndi
June 23, 2015

On Saturday, we had plans to meet up quickly with Matt's brother Michael & his wife Lanie, but the stars just didn't want to align.  Matt didn't get off work at his intended time, as his supervisors weren't paying attention and he was stuck on position.  Meigs had a seizure that was somewhat lengthy and when he was back to wagging his tail, he was still panting for quite some time which worried me a bit.  And the fellas napped longer than expected.  Hopefully they will be back in town again and the timing works out.

Father's Day "conveniently" coincided with NOVA Brewfest, which we have volunteered at for the last 5+ years.  It was my turn to be designated driver and sadly, Jason wasn't able to make it in town this year as he has to work in Toronto for a month.

We still enjoyed ourselves, of course!  The crowds were actually much lighter than years past but this may be because it was a different location.  All in all, for 90+ degree heat, we all made it out okay with minimal sunburn.  This year we poured at Sly Fox which is somewhat local (PA brewery).

Happy Father's Day to the guy who accompanies me on this crazy ride raising our fellas!

4.26 Officially 4.5

By Cyndi
June 16, 2015

The boys are officially 4.5!  The had been telling us for a few weeks that on June 13th, they were 4.5 and prior to that exact date, they were still 4.  I guess while they are starting some basic addition and subtraction, they haven't discussed rounding in math yet!

Nana came in town for her annual summer visit and let Matt and I have an evening away while she watched the fellas.  Not pictured below was our first stop to pick out a new couch for the family room; we found what we wanted, but couldn't order until we did some additional measurements, so we headed off for some beers and dinner.  Pictured below, was our beer and driving with part of the Wrangler top off.  It was so nice to just be by ourselves!!

The rest of Nana's visit was spent watching Daddy do a 4mi race, building bird feeders and reading their new books!  The boys were in their first week in Pre-K, so they did go to school for a shortened day so they didn't miss the first few days with their new groups & teachers.  We are already seeing the new things they are learning in the next room!

4.25 Summer Weekends #2

By Cyndi
June 9, 2015

Matt ended up being scheduled for a Friday night which is no fun for me after a 60 hr work week to deal with the crazies.  I managed and was asleep on the couch by 9p.

On Saturday the fellas requested to go to Wegmans so off we went and I pushed them in the cart and got my shopping done!  They did fairly well, even though it won't be much longer that I can push them -- between their weight and a full load of groceries, I could barely push the cart!

They were starting to mess around in the check out line, requested I switch lanes, to which I obliged, but then I got this awesome picture!

We had some scooter time and freeze pops, which they love and promptly asked for another one after they finished it in two minutes!

And last, a few good things from the weekend.  I bought myself an espresso maker.  I really love the taste and well, I deserve it!  Matt has planted some veggies (per my request) and has been doing a great job of watering them so we already have peppers & cherry tomatoes starting! The last success of the weekend is BOTH KIDS ATE CHERRIES!!!  Our food struggles are HUGE.  The dinner options are quite limited (okay, its three things).  Zach ate them first and after a little coercing, Tyler ate a few too!  I have reinforced that tasting new things is great!