A Very Hot July Day

We are in a heat wave - along with the rest of the country! We are going to feel like 102 today. This morning we got up and were getting ready to go on our morning walk and decided against it. It was already 86 degrees at 9am! So I set up Ryan's slip 'n' slide and the pool for the kids to play in and cool off. We had to get outside to get some of that energy out!! They had fun and played outside for about 2 hours. Then we were all hot and ready for lunch. Kaitlin is doing a lot better with the pool. She wants to get in it now. She surprised me by actually gettin on her hands and knees and pretended to swim back and forth across the pool. Ryan had a lot of fun on his slip 'n' slide. He showed me how he could get his face wet - and a took a picture to prove it!

Ryan Pretends

While cleaning out my closet a few days ago I came upon this old Air Force jacket of my dad's. I've had it for a very long time. I've almost gotten rid of it a few times but never did. I have now passed it on to Ryan to play soldier with. He got a real kick out of wearing something that use to be Pop Pops. We emailed one of the pictures to my dad and he had no idea I even had that. He was very thrilled with the picture.

Pictures from MN 2006

For some reason I can't post the pictures in the last post so here are some pictures we took in MN. Ryan and Kaitlin posed for a picture while at lunch with Jim and Pam. Ryan and his new buddy Mithc fix the slip n slide. Brody at 2 months. Kaitlin and Ryan with their Great Grandma Norma.

Minnesota 2006

What a trip!! Chris has vowed to me that we will never drive that again! (and I'm going to hold him to it) Well we left Suffolk on Thursday, June 29th at about 7:30am and arrived to Patrick and Alison's house in Andover, MN on Friday at 7:30pm CST. We stopped in Richmond, IN on the first leg of the trip. Kaitlin was crying after about the first 30 mins. We knew we were in for it! Lets just say we now can sing along with all the Barney and Wiggles DVD's!

Here's what we did while we were visiting:

Saturday we rested up and spent some quality time with our new nephew Brody. He's so cute and really is a good baby. Ryan went to see the movie cars with his Grandma MN and when they came back we cooked out for dinner.

Sunday Alison and I did some shopping and had lunch out while the boys were at a Twins game

Monday we did a little more shopping and got things ready for the 4th of July cookout at their house on Tues. Ryan played with Mitch, a neighbor of Pat and Alison's that was his age.

Tuesday at 4pm we did our cookout. Prior to that Chris and Patrick exchanged b-day gifts. Chris's b-day was June 22 and Pat's is July 13th. A lot of family came to visit that we hadn't seen in a while and a few friends too. Later that night after everyone left we set off fireworks in the back yard.

Wednesday we went to get pictures taken of the 3 kids and then to see Chris's Grandma Huhtala. We also had lunch w/ his Aunt Pam and Uncle Jim Huhtala. Then it was back to the house for dinner and packing up!

We left Thursday a little later than planned - about 10:30am CST. We were surprised with a call from Chris's dad and we were only 10 miles from where he was stopped in Wisconsin. So we took a few mins to have lunch with him and then on our way. We only made it to Danville, IL the first night and then home by 10:30pm EST on Friday. The kids were so wound up we didn't even go to bed until midnight.

It's good to be home but now I'm bored :) .

Kaitlin the Princess

Well Kaitlin has just started to like getting all dressed up. She is a tomboy and a princess. She loves to play in the mud and wear her tiara! I guess you can say she's a very well rounded girl. On Father's Day she decided to be daddy's little princess and left her tiara on for a while. Here she is posing in her rocker.

Chuck E Cheese

My mom and Jack were visiting this past weekend. We had lots of fun w/ the kids. Since Ryan finished school with straight "G's". We decided to treat him to where ever he wanted to go. He chose Chuck E Cheese. Although we were a little hesitant about going there on a Saturday afternoon, it was actually not croweded. He had lots of fun playing games with his daddy. Kaitlin had fun the the kiddie area too. It was nice that we could eat in there and she could play. She's not very fond of Chuck E Cheese himself! We stayed about 2 hours, disinfected everyone and went home. Here are some pics we took.

Kaitlin and the "Buggie"

Here is Kaitlin and the "Buggie" a.k.a. froggie that we saw while visiting Blue Bird Gap Farm Park last week. For some reason she just can't get the "f" sound out so it's buggie - at least we know what she's saying. She has become obsessed with frogs/toads lately. Now she wants to go and find them in the back yard every day. She would torture those poor toads for hours making them hop all over creation. Eventually she does say "bye bye buggie" and we look for them the next day - or later that night).

Kaitlin also likes duckies and munnies (bunnies). Money,Bunny, and Honey all come out Munny so it can be interesting trying to figure out which she is refering to. We see ducks on our walks everyday. We saw a bunny once and now she's always looking for it. We did see a squirel yesterday which is kind of rare and she thought it was a bunny so now she's all confused!

Kindergarten Comes to an End

Last week Ryan had his awards ceremony at school. He got a Kindergarten Completion Award along with an Academic Achievement Award. We are very proud of how well he's done in school this year. I can't believe how well he is reading and writing along with his outstanding math skills. His Aunt Stacey came down to see him get his award along with her daughter Meagan. After the ceremony we got to go back to Ryan's class and have refreshments. He was very excited for his Aunt to see his classroom and meet his teacher and his friends. He also got to show everyone his cousin Meagan.

Look Mom, No Cavities

Ryan went to the dentist today and did a great job! He had lots of questions for the woman cleaning his teeth! He wanted to know what everything did and if she had used all of that stuff! He has NO cavities which is great! He has lots of space between his teeth which is good for the adult teeth to grow in and not be over crowded. They said by the time he starts 1st grade he will have lost one or both of his bottom center teeth. He's been wiggling them for days b/c all of his friends in school have lost teeth but him. He's also getting his 6yr molars in (a little late) and they have been causing him s ome pain.) He got a new tooth brush but didn't like that they only had Power Rangers...oh well. He also got some dental floss , 2 tubes of trial size toothpaste for kids and Trident sugar free gum b/c he was so good.

Happy Memorial Day

We had a very relaxing weekend at home. No big plans. Chris filled up the baby pool for Ryan and Kaity to cool off in but Kaitlin didn't want to get in. I think it was still to cold. If it was warm like the tub she might have been fine - but confused as to why she had clothes on. We cooked out 2 nights and went on lots of walks. We saw the ducks many times this weekend. It was a little warmer out than I would have liked but summer is almost here.

Blue Bird Gap Farm

Last week Kaitlin and I went with some friends to Blue Bird Gap Farm in Hampton. She had a really good time. Since she is still learning all her animals and sounds she had fun seeing the animals in person. Of couse her favorite thing was seeing the ducks! They had swans and geese too - but to her, all ducks. She pet Charlie the horse and liked the cows too. I think her next favorite was Janey the pig (over grown potbellied pig). They had bunnies and baby goats for sale. We had a picnic lunch and then came home. They had a nice playground too but there were too many kids on field trips already enjoying it.

Nonnie's Visit and Mother's Day

Nonnie came to visit on Wednesday, May 10th and stayed until Monday, May 15th. Chris was in TN on a fishing trip so she came down to visit and keep me company. Friday we got to go have lunch with Ryan at his school in honor of mother's day. We got to eat the school lunch that day - a choice of popcorn shrimp and rice or meatloaf and mashed potatoes w/ various veggies/fruit available. It wasn't too bad for $2. Then Ryan bought us each a carnation. Saturday we went to the ocean. It was a beautiful day. A little on the cool side in the shade but we still managed to get sunburns through the lotion we put on. Ryan had fun playing in the sand. For Mother's Day my mom and I went to the Hilton for brunch, this is after I had to "hunt" for my presents. Ryan told me I was too old for the Hot/Cold game but I found everything. He got me a silver heart locket necklace (via nonnie) and Kaitlin got me a silver heart on a charm bracelet (also via nonnie). It was a very nice day - until it started raining...we came home and had a relaxing afternoon. I put Kait down for a nap and we played a math game with Ryan. Mom left early monday morning after Ryan got on the bus.

Me and My Senses

That was the title of Ryan's kindergarten PTA program. He was very brave and did the introduction, "Welcome Family and Friends, Please sit back and Relax and enjoy Me and My Senses." I was so scared he'd be nervouse and not do it because of all the people there. But he ensured me he'd do fine and he did. BUT...during the show he looked a little less than excited. Just earlier we couldn't keep him still and at the show he was about to fall asleep from bordem. I asked him why he didn't do any of the hand gestures or anything and he said ha was just nervous. Here are a few pictures we took of the unenthused Ryan.

Stawberry Picking in Pungo

This morning Kaitlin and I went with our moms group to Pungo, the reason for driving so far?? Stawberries!! It was about 50 miles into the southern part of VA Beach. We had a great time picking them. It was over fast but she really got the hang of it. At first she wanted to pick the green ones. Then I'd pick them, hand them to her and she'd put them in the basket. Or rather she threw them in the basket. In the end we had about 6.5 lbs of stawberries and it cost us $8. What a steal. Here are some pictures of our day.

Welcome Brody Joseph Huhtala

Yesterday at 8:27am CT Patrick and Alison welcomed new son Brody Joseph to the world! He weighed in at 7 lbs. 13 oz and was 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great . They are at Region's Hospital in St. Paul, MN.

He's so cute and we can't wait to intoduce him to his cousins Ryan and Kaitlin in June/July. You did a great job guys, Congratulations.

Also new to the world this week - Josephine O'Rourke Lines!! She was born May 4th to my cousin David and his wife Sheila in Brooklyn, NY. And since I'm at it, my cousin Karen and her husband Paul also had a baby a few weeks ago, another boy - Andrew James on April 4th. So many new cousins.

Kindergarten Field Trip to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk

Today I went as a chaperone on Ryan's school field trip. We went to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. It was a nice day, not too hot, actually a little chilly in the shade. The kids enjoyed seeing all the animals. After the zoo we went over to the park for lunch and playtime, then it was back to school. I had to try and keep track of 5 non-listening little boys which was stressfull, not sure if I'll go along again. Kaitlin had a good time too. She's just now knowing some of those different animals. They have a petting zoo w/ pigs, goats, cows, lamas, donkeys etc... Her favorite part was the duck pond where we also saw a lot of geese and turtles sunning themselves. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Beach Stroll and Lunch

Friday I met my mom's group (SAHM's of Hampton Roads) and we went for a stroller walk up and down the boardwalk. We went about 40 total blocks (20 up and 20 back). It was quite the workout. It looked like a mob of strollers with about 20 of us. A few people asked if we were part of the new stroller workout fad. They have horses on the beach now that you can "rent" to ride. We just liked to pet them for a few mins. Kaitlin says "neigh" very well. After the walk we all sat and had lunch. You can see the king neptune statue in the background (behind Kaity). We had a good day, it was overcast but I prefer it that way since if it was a hot sunny day I wouldn't have been able to go.

Day at the Park

Thursday Kaitlin and I met some friends at the park and had a picnic lunch too. She's really starting to get adventurous and fearless which is good and bad. She loves to climb all the way to the highest spot and just sit there and not go down the slide. She was showing her neatness at the park by trying to pick up even the smallest piece of trash and throw it away. She can't stand a mess or clutter! I guess I've taught her well - I'm always straightening things up. We had such a nice day it was near 80! Here are some pics we took.

Happy Easter

Easter Sunday went by very fast! We had so much to do and not much time to do it! Ryan dyed eggs with Aunt Stacey and Uncle Bob on Saturday night so they were ready for the Easter Bunny to hide! When he got up in the morning he could hunt for his basket and the plastic eggs in the house. To his surprise there was money in some of the eggs! Then we all got ready and went to church. When we got home we had discovered that the Easter Bunny had also hidden the real eggs outside! As soon as Nonnie and Jack came Ryan could go out and find them. While we were waiting for them to get there the girls got to hunt for their eggs. To my surprise Meagan and Kaitlin knew exactly what to do! They found the eggs, shook them and put them right into their baskets. The girls also got baskets filled with all kinds of goodies but their eggs were filled with goldfish crackers and teddy grahams... We needed to leave Aunt Stacey's by 2pm to get home at a decent time for Ryan to be able to go to school on Monday. We did leave about 2:30pm and got home at 6pm to see daddy. Kaitlin and Ryan hadn't seen him since the Monday morning before. Chris grilled cheeseburgers on the grill and we had a nice dinner and some time to relax after the long trip. Then it was time to get unpacking and reorganized!!

Spring Break

Wednesday, April 12th we drove up to Aunt Stacey's house in Ashburn, VA. We stayed there until Sunday. Wednesday we had "girls night" and went out to do some shopping - what girls do best!! Thursday we joined Aunt Stacey and Meagan at their weekly playgroup at our friend Robin's house. Friday we went to visit Pop Pop and Grandma Gail and Ryan stayed the night w/ Nonnie and they went to see Ice Age 2. Saturday we went over to mom's for easter dinner and to see Gi Gi. We had to split Easter up into 2 days so I could leave at a decent time to get home on Sunday. The kids had fun playing at the park at Nonnie's. It was a beautiful day - was suppose to rain and didn't - that's always nice. Here are some of the pics we took at Nonnie's park.