Christmas 2015 :)

To each their own

We had a great afternoon taking turns running and biking along the Greenway with Grandpa and Grandma.  Abby rode along too for the first time!  She started riding without training wheels at the end of September and hasn't looked back.  She rode about three miles with me while I ran.  Great job, Sweet Girl!  Grandma and Ryan rode bikes (they left us in their dust and went about seven miles), and Grandpa was awesome enough to hang with Chloe and push her on her pink tricycle.

Afterwards, we stopped at QT.  Mommy got a much desired coffee!  It was a little chilly and I'd been coughing, so the hot liquid was wonderful.  I told each kid they could pick one thing from the convenience store, either a food or drink, but not both (they all had their own water bottles in the car anyways).   Their choices were a bit unique and yet perfectly suited to each one individually.  Chloe picked a little jug of milk.  Chlo-Chlo loves her some milk!  Abby, my salty eater, picked a bag of plain potato chips and devoured the whole thing before I could suggest portion control and saving some for later.   Ryan, my spicy and minty fan, picked a small canister of breath mints.  I love my kids, and I love how completely different they are sometimes!!

Happy 8th Birthday, Ryan!

Ryan Hazen Chase!  Eight years old!

*Ryan's eight year checkup was on 10.15.15. 
He weighs 58lbs 6ozs and is 50.2" tall

Chloe Chase, age three

* On August 20th, 2015 Chloe weighed 31 lbs and stood 37" tall. 

* I love it when Chloe says "Lub You!!"  Although, last night she did say, "I lub you, Mommy."  Bittersweet to hear her starting to say it correctly :)

* Almost any time she asks a question, she follows it up with "how bout that?!"  It's hilarious.

* She loves swimming, playing outside, tormenting Maya, eating cheese, anything owls, going to preschool.

* At the ripe old age of three, she has mastered playing on the tablets and is probably better at them then her Mommy...

* If she had complete freedom to dress herself, she would wear her Duck shirt, Sophia socks, and rainboots every day. 

* She is starting to pick up on song lyrics.  I've heard "buy me boat" and "take your time" repeated more than once.  [Chris Janson's Buy me a Boat and Sam Hunt's Take Your Time].

* She's getting quite verbal, although she still needs some speech help and her sentence structure isn't quite there yet.  A cute example : "Not me reach that"

my kids are awesome

From Ryan's 2nd grade teacher at Avery, Ms. Rudin:

I am going to miss Ryan this school year. He is such a sweet and smart boy.

 

From Abby's K teacher at Avery, Ms. Smith:

I am crying reading this!  She is adorable, sweet, funny, and kind.

 

From Ms. Smith the first week of school:

Abby is just great… so cute and such a good listener!

 

knock knock

Ryan's been big into jokes recently.  We stumbled upon this one probably two months ago, and it's quickly become the family favorite:

.Knock-knock
.Who's there?
.Interrupting cow
.Interrupting c....
.MOO!!

It just doesn't get old.  And here's the best part.  Chloe's all about it too.  Her version is soo super cute!

Chloe: knock- knock
.who's there?
Chloe: DOW!!!
.cow who?
Chloe: MOO!!!!!

When she gets going, she'll say it over and over.  And laugh and giggle, it's adorable. 

The long drive home

Saturday morning we woke up in Rhode Island.  Rick made us a wonderful breakfast of French toast out of cinnamon raisin bread, along with fruit and bacon.  Afterwards we hung out on the beautiful back porch for a little bit.  The views are just gorgeous, and it's such a peaceful place.  We chatted with Aunt Cheryl while Uncle Rick played checkers with Ryan.  It was really hard leaving that to pack up!  We were sad to go, and we hit the road about 10am.  The kids are troopers and do awesome in the car.  We drove about eight hours on Saturday and ten on Sunday.  For the most part, they just chat and color and Ryan reads or blogs and they do their own thing.  Our DVD players have died a slow death, but honestly, that's okay, the kids did fine without them.  We used them very sparingly anyways; you know me, I'm not a big fan of screen time.  We played a couple of family games - we found the ABC's on signs and we even attempted to play Ryan's version of the license plate game.  We had to find the states in alphabetical order, although just one for each letter.  So first we had to find either Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, or Arkansas.  We found Alabama.  Ryan then decided that also counted for B since there are no B states and some people refer to Alabama as Bama.  We saw several Connecticut's for C, despite being in the southern corner of Virginia by then.  We never did find Delaware for D, and thus the game fizzled out. 

Driving down through New England and New York and New Jersey, we paid ridiculous amounts of tolls, as per the norm.  We drove across the George Washington bridge and saw the cool views of the city.  Sarah and her family had arrived at Granddaddy's on Friday night and spent Saturday with them, so they were there when we arrived Saturday night.  Having the cousins all together was a fun treat!  We arrived in town about 6:15 and meet the crew at the Greene Turtle for dinner.  After dinner we took a much needed walk in Granddaddy's neighborhood and the kids played together on the nearby playground.  The kids also enjoyed playing together with Granddaddy in the basement before bed.

Sunday morning, we were up bright and early.  We hit the road a few minutes after six for home, and the Zerings left a little later to begin their trip up north.  We had picnic lunches in the car both Saturday and Sunday - thanks to Aunt Cheryl for supplying us with a fresh loaf of bread!  We hit a couple of rainshowers in Tennessee, which saved us a carwash when we got home.  We had contemplated winding our way down North Georgia instead of taking 75, and then when we saw there was a wreck and about an hour long delay, we absolutely went the back way!  We came down 411 right through Chatsworth, within a few minutes of the cabin we love to stay at.  It was supposedly only three minutes longer then going 75 and with the traffic the way it was, it was definitely the right choice.  Gotta love the Google Maps app :)

We arrived at our house about 4:45 on Sunday.  While sad that our vacation was over, we were certainly ready to get out of the car!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for having us over for a home cooked meal.  And Maya was at their house, hooray for being reunited with our pup.  Thanks to Nana, the Brandon family [Abby's best twin friends Levi & Larsen and their black lab Scout], and Grandma & Grandpa for taking turns watching her.  It was nice to know she was always in good hands and well cared for.  Thanks also, especially to Nana, for watching our house.  Abby's plants on the back porch were thriving under her love and care; perhaps she can continue to look out for them even now that we've returned.  As much as I love the idea of planting and someday gardening, I seem to have a black thumb. 

It was a wonderful ten days!  I can't believe how fast it went.  But I guess that just means it was a really good trip, right? :)  We loved all of New England, especially the different stops within Rhode Island - the Block Island ferry and then of course Westerly, Weekapaug, & Watch Hill.  And the kids loved Aunt Betty, Uncle Rick, and Aunt Cheryl.  They've been asking when we can go back to see them all again.  Happy vacation to us!  And now back to vacation recovery - tons of laundry, a Kroger trip yesterday as we had zero food in the house, a total cleanout of the car, and my current project : reassembling all three carseats after taking them apart to wash them. 

Day 1 of driving home by Ryan

Today we woke up and had French toast for breakfast. Then me and uncle rick played checkers. I won both games. After we wached octanaunts. Then we went. To the bath room and we left and we were on the road. We drove 8 hours. Then after 8 hours we ment Maxims and Granddaddys family at green trutle for dinner. Then we went back to Granddaddys house. Then we went a park and played. Then we came back to the and put are pjs on and took a shower. Then we went to the basement and played. Then we went to bed.

Day two at Rick and Cheryl,s house by Ryan

Today we woke early like seven. For breakfast we had Cris and Megan and we all pancakes for breakfast. Then uncle Rick and Aunt Cheryl went to pick up there jeep then uncle Rick came back to the house and mommy went on a run to a Weekapaug farmers market and Aunt Cheryl drove their from picking up the jeep and the rest of us rode in are car. At the farmers market Abby and Chloe song then we went to the beach for a sand castle contest. So when we got there we did not see enay buddy so we played in some rocks and after we played on rock e still did not see enay buddy so we practised in the sand then we found out it was not in till tomorrow so we had are own then we went back to the house. At the house we had sandwiches for lunch. After lunch we put on are bathing suit and went to the beach first we put on are sunsreen . After sunscreen we went boogebroding then we builded a sand castle. Next we rested in the shad. Then we went boogebroding and when we got I was shivering and caplaning to go back to the house then uncle Rick, Aunt Cheryl, Abby, Chloe, daddy, and mommy went to the rocks and me and Cris Doug a big hole and put me in it then we covered half of my body with sand then when rest came back the girls wanted one to so we builded two more then I Brock out and Aunt Cheryl took me back to the house and I took a outside shower. Then I went inside and put some chloths on and when I came down I wached octanaunts and then the others got here. Then we had hot dogs, burgers, and ice cream. Then Chloe went to bed. Then me and Abby watced octanunts while the grown ups ate their dinner. Then we went upstairs and put are pj,s on and brushed are teeth. Then we went downstairs and said goodnight to every buddy. Then we went upstairs and went to bed.

Day Eight : Westerly again :)

We woke up in Weekapaug!  Well technically, Westerly, but close enough :}  Uncle Rick made us some delicious pancakes for breakfast, along with bacon and fresh fruits.  Cousin Chris and his fiancée Meghan joined us for round two of breakfast [they don’t have small kids, thus they don’t get up at 6:45am.  Gotta love being really far east in the summer time!].  After breakfast, we met up at the Weekapaug inlet.  Rick and Cheryl had to run a quick errand on the way; Coleson, Chris, and Meghan drove the kids; and I ran there, hooray!  There was a small farmer’s market that morning and one of Cheryl’s friends told her about the sandcastle building contest.  Thus Rick and Coleson left in search of shovels and other necessary sand stuff.  We were able to stroll right onto Fenway Beach, even without a beach tag, by telling them we were there for the sandcastle building contest.  The contest was supposed to start at 9:30, but we saw no signs off anyone building.  We strolled for awhile and climbed the rocks.  We found some really cool snails – they were slithering on a rock just under the surface and you could see the paths they were leaving in the sand on the rock.  We also saw fun shells and mussels.  The kids loved Chris and Meghan and Cheryl and took turns hanging out with each of them.  And they are all so good with the kids. 

Rick and Coleson made it back with all the new sand toys and we set to building.  We were still confused by the lack of other people building; it was close to 10:30 by now.  Suddenly Cheryl said it’s not Saturday is it?!  Oops, we were off by a whole day!  Oh well.  We still had lots of fun building and judging our own castles.  Rick and Coleson and Chris has some pretty serious castle-building going on.  Walls and castles and dolphins and all sorts of details.  Cheryl and the girls specialized in drip castles, and Ryan and Meghan were working hard on a castle with a moat and a bridge and a snowman.  I was really happy to see Ryan having so much fun with Meghan!  Since we hadn’t planned to come down to the beach, we were all in clothes and without sunscreen.  We decided to head back to Rick and Cheryl’s for lunch and to regroup.  Cheryl had some awesome sandwich making ingredients, including an avocado hummus.  We changed and headed to Rick and Cheryl’s beach – Seaside.  Around here, you belong to a beach club, there’s not much in the way of public beaches.  Seaside is just across the beach from Weekapaug and is very nice.  Rick and Cheryl have a huge locker for keeping all their beach supplies right there, and there’s also restrooms and a snack bar.  The water was COLD, but the kids went in anyways.  Chris and Meghan and Coleson went all the way out with Ryan and Abby to help them boogey board.  They had some good waves!  They went in a couple of times, but didn’t last too long- they’d start to shiver and their lips would turn purple and we’d have to tell them to come in from the water!  The kids and I sat in the sand playing for a long while.  [our setup was a couple of rows back from the water, so they couldn’t really play alone].  We buried each other and built drip castles.  Cheryl came down and we chatted for awhile.  She and Rick are both great and so easy to talk with; I really enjoyed visiting them.  At some point, Rick and Cheryl and Coleson and I walked the jetty with the girls while Ryan dug in the sand with Chris.  Abby loved all the rocks and jettys around the area.  We saw a huge rock in the jetty that had been misplaced by Hurricane Sandy; hard to imagine, those rocks are huge and must weigh thousands of pounds!  We sat around and enjoyed the beach life a little bit longer before heading up to the house.

An outdoor shower and warm, dry PJs for the kids, followed by some Octonauts.  The kids ate an early dinner of burgers and dogs, mac and cheese, and strawberries.  I loved all the home cooked food we were treated to the last two days!  Thanks!  Chloe was asleep by about 7pm :)  Rick’s lifelong Weekapaug friend, Mark Barber, joined us, and we had a very nice adult dinner on the porch after the kiddos were settled.  Cheryl had bought us swordfish and some nice sides from the market.  We also had corn on the cob and wine.  It was a beautiful evening on the porch – it felt like fall at home, jeans and my new sweatshirt, but still barefoot :)  We enjoyed spending some time with Chris and Meghan.  We talked about the upcoming wedding, about life in New England [as awesome as the summers are, the winters are cold!  Chris showed us pictures of Boston covered in snow, no thanks], work and travels, and a few other things.  It was a nice, relaxing evening.  Two glasses of wine, and I was fast asleep!     

A couple of classic Abby statements while I’m thinking of them :

...In reference to Brady, their awesome little white dog : “He just loves me soo much”
...When she woke up Saturday morning: “I was like Chloe get your whole self off my head” 
             At Cheryl’s we had the whole upstairs – two guestrooms with a full bath.  The kids were all together; Ryan in a bed with the girls sharing an air mattress.  It was a very nice setup. 

Day Seven : Westerly

We’re here!  Weekapaug Rhode Island.  One of my hubby’s favorite places!  And I must agree, it’s a great place.  After yet another large breakfast at the hotel, we packed up and headed for Uncle Rick’s.  We made it here a little after 10am probably.  Uncle Rick and Aunt Cheryl have a wonderful house in Westerly, just a few miles from Weekapaug where all the Chases grew up vacationing.  It’s been great to see them!  The kids took to their dog Brady right away and played fetch with him in the backyard for a long time.  Ryan and I had been here before about seven years ago, but it was the first visit for the rest of the family.  And it’s been renovated since then and looks great!  The deck is huge and has a view out to the ocean.  We caught up on life for a little while and unpacked the car and ran a load of laundry [hooray for clean socks and underwear!].  Aunt Cheryl had to go out for most of the afternoon, so we headed for Watch Hill with Uncle Rick.  We drove through Misquamicut past all the beaches and along the ocean.  And even past one of Taylor Swift’s houses.  It was huge with visible security guards everywhere.   

Watch Hill is a really fun little area.  We headed straight for the merry-go-round carousel.  It’s awesome.  It’s the oldest in the country and it’s actually flying horses, no bottom to the ride.  Thus only Ryan and Abby rode; I couldn’t have walked with Chloe and I couldn’t imagine her going by herself.  She never asked or showed any interest anyways.  As you ride, you have to reach for the rings and whoever grabs the bronze ring gets a free ride.  Ryan got the bronze ring twice, so he rode three times in a row!  The second time he won, we bought Abby another ticket, so she rode twice.  From there we ate lunch at Saint Claire’s Annex.  Great- Grandma used to love their lobster rolls, and Rick and Coleson shared one today.  The food was great and the atmosphere really fun.  Despite being stuffed, we had to stop for gelato afterwards.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever really had gelato, but it was super tasty.  The man running the store was awesome and so very helpful.  We tried lots of things, and he was great about finding flavors that he thought the kids would like and helping us pair them up [a small had two scoops, so we were mixing and matching].  We ate our gelato outside on the wall by the Watch Hill Yacht Club, what a view.  And no one fell in the water, score.  And of course, we had to stop at The Candy Box for fudge, we’ve been waiting all trip for that! 

After Watch Hill, we returned to Rick’s to change and regroup and then we were off to go sailing!  Rick has a beetle that he keeps at the Weekapaug Yacht Club.  Six of us fit just fine, although three squirmy kids made for an interesting ride and a few squished pinky toes :)  They had a blast though.  The wind wasn’t too strong, so there was lots of back and forth and tacking.  Ryan and Abby loved climbing all over the boat and standing at the top in front of the mast.  All three loved to steer and take turns with the till.  Although Chloe thought it was more like an oar and would send us zig-zagging.  We puttered around the pond and even ventured towards the jettys that lead out to the ocean.  Despite Ryan’s wishes to sail into the ocean in search of England and France, we did not actually go to the ocean.  Beetles are small boats and small boats and the ocean don’t mix.  We sailed past black birds on big rocks [loons?] and lots of nice houses.  The kids were begging to swim, so we stopped at Ski Beach.  The water was ridiculously cold, but they’re tough and determined and actually swam.  They shivered and bundled up in cocoons on the return to the yacht club.  They also took turns hiding inside the front of the boat in attempts to warm up.  It probably didn’t help that it was overcast and only in the mid-70s.  But thankfully we still haven’t had any daytime rain or bad weather.  And tomorrow’s supposed to be warm and sunny.  Thanks to Uncle Rick for a really fun afternoon on his sailboat!

We got back to the house after 6:00, so by the time we showered and warmed up, we ordered in pizza.  It was really, really good pizza.  And Cheryl was home by then and put together a salad – so nice to have something nutritious when you’ve been travelling as long as we have!  The kids vegged on the couch in PJ’s and watched a few episodes of Octonauts – their current favorite TV show on Netflix.  The adults, and Ryan too when he wasn’t watching TV, have been working on Aunt Cheryl’s puzzle.  A 1,000 piece Boston Red Sox/ Norman Rockwell one that has a lot of grey pieces.  Let’s just say we celebrate when we find a piece.  But it’s fun and addicting.  Coleson’s actually still at it while I write this and everyone else sleeps. 

It’s been really good to see Rick and Cheryl.  We’ve enjoyed the day and we’re looking forward to more fun tomorrow.  Cousin Chris and Meghan will join us at breakfast time and then we’re beaching it!  Woohoo! 

Cape cod by Ryan

Today we woke an and got derased. Then we watched some HGTV. After we meeted Aunt Betty for a big breakfast. Then the girls went to the room and me, daddy, and Aunt Betty went to bring Aunt betty,s bikes out of her room and took them to her car and loaded the bikes on the back of the car and then she packed her suitcase and she checked out. Then we said bye-bye and she drove home and we drove cape cod In cape cod we went to a 30 minute parking. So we got out of the car and walked on the beach. Then we got in the car and drove around and went a park and had a picnic lunch and it started to rain so we went to the car and ate are lunch in the car then we got out of the car and looked around a windmill and found a labyrinth then we went in windmill and they tolled us about it then we went to see seals

Day Six : Cape Cod

I’m wore out tonight :)  We’ll see how far I make it on this blog post!  But I can always finish tomorrow and change the date, pretty cool little trick, eh?? 
[although for the record I did finish tonight.  Technically past midnight though, so I did back it up a little bit so that it would show as Wednesday and not Thursday.  But otherwise, I’m good].

We woke up this morning in Warwick RI in our Holiday Inn Express.  We met Betty for another continental breakfast.  The kids pigged out this morning!  Well, they do most morning, we love breakfast in this household.  Pancakes, bagels, bananas, yogurts, all sorts of tempting goodies.  We enjoyed spending some more time visiting with Betty before we had to split ways.  She has an early flight tomorrow morning, so there’s things to do at home to get ready for that, and we had an exciting day on the Cape awaiting us. 

We drove to the bottom right of the Cape Cod boot – Chatham.  It was about two hours from our hotel, but it was actually really nice.  We haven’t had much driving to do for the last couple of days, so it was good for the kids to be still and have to relax.  We headed for Lighthouse Beach in Chatham.  I had heard it was a great public beach with a lighthouse and seal sightings, perfect!  Chatham is a crazy town though!  Very busy and almost no public parking.  The lot by the public beach is a 30minute only lot, for real?!  So we parked and walked for a few minutes.  It was an indeed a gorgeous beach.  Flat and sandy, more like then NC Outer Banks then I was expecting.  There were sandbars and small tidal pools and just amazing views.  The water was icy cold and the sand was a little hot [Ryan asked me to be sure I mentioned that the sand was hot.  I didn’t think it was hot, but what do I know].  We were sad to leave after 30minutes, but still optimistic that we would find other parking and return.  That never happened!  We drove and drove and drove and finally googled picnic areas in Chatham as it was after 1:00.  After some very private and residential roads, and even a dead end into someone’s driveway, the maps app finally got us to Chase Park :)  We parked and unloaded our picnic box and supplies at a table.  I pulled out the loaf of bread, that hadn’t even expired yet, and it was covered in mold.  I guess it got too hot.  And then it started to rain.  Chatham was not off to a good start; I was almost to the point of just having to laugh about it.  We sat in the car and ate raisins, and hotel breakfast bar apples, and granola bars, and other junk food while waiting out the rain.  Fortunately it didn’t rain hard or long, and the day took a happy turn after that.  Behind us on the other side of this tiny park in the middle of nowhere, there was a windmill.  We walked up to, because, hey why not?  Come to find out it’s a grist mill that began operation in 1797.  Now it’s a historic site that happened to be open to the public today.  It was really interesting and I’m glad we stumbled upon it.  There were some very knowledgeable gentlemen offering facts and information about it, and we were able to walk inside and then up the stairs to the second level.  We had quite a lot of fun learning about the wind and how the corn went in and how everything turned to grind it into cornmeal.  The people who built this thing over 200 years ago were super smart!  Behind the gristmill was a labyrinth.  The kids loved it.  It’s a stone path that winds and weaves all around itself so you walk a really long way in a really small space.  Like a maze almost, but only one way to go.  The kids were completely enthralled with it, and we were able to sit on a bench and just watch them walk it over and over.  Well, Ryan at least.  He of course followed the path; the girls just kinda ran.  I think we need a labyrinth in our backyard.

So I had thought I was going into today with relatively low expectations.  I just wanted to see the seals, anything after that would be bonus.  Fortunately my awesome hubby came to the rescue, as he usually does!  He found a fishing pier.  And not only that, he found a public parking spot!  It was an awesome, stinky, cool, gross, everything all at once type of experience.  Just like Deadliest Catch, only not really.  There were fishing boats everywhere, and we saw them dumping the dead, nasty, bloody fish off the boats into huge buckets and baskets.  Of all the things we did today, Abby said watching them unload the dead fish was her favorite!??  And do you know what dead fish bring??  Seals!!  And seagulls too.  Lots and lots of seagulls.  But I got to see my seals.  They weren’t basking on rocks on a beautiful beach like I had pictured, but they were still seals and there were dozens of them in the water right along the docks and circling the boats.  They were so cute!  I loved when they got playful and would swim on their backs or in spirals.  Thanks Dear for saving the day and finding some seals!! 

We left Chatham about 3:00, and we had a couple extra hours [we had researched lots of ideas, but no set plans until 6:00].  We decided to check out the Cape Cod Canal.  We had passed it on the way out to Chatham, and it looked pretty fun.  So we headed back and hopped on the bike path/ service road that follows the canal.  Think the greenway but with amazing New England views.  I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that it’s seven miles one way, so fourteen out and back.  And there’s one on each side of the canal.  Ryan asked if he could ride bikes on it with Grandpa someday!  No bikes today, but we do have scooters in the trunk, so off we went.  We watched boats and birds and even a train.  We walked to where the path goes under the highway bridge – one of those huge bridges you see up here in the North, the kind we don’t have in Georgia.  It was fun to look straight up under the bridge, and it was good to give the kids a goal.  They had their moments on the path, and Chloe ended up riding on my back the second half of the trip.  But we made it about two miles.  Coleson and I enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure they did too in their own ways :)

From there we crossed the canal on the Bourne Bridge – we crossed on this bridge three times today.  It’s a great bridge and there’s a cool train bridge just down the river that you can see.  Another fun thing that kept coming up in my things-to-do-in-New-England searches was the Cape Cod baseball league, so we took in the Bourne Braves game tonight.  It’s a small, amateur league, mostly college kids that play in the summer.  It’s super casual and laid back.  The games are free, although we did make a small donation.  And even the concessions are affordable.  We ate dinner for $22!  And it was good food, they literally took the burgers off the grill and put them in buns for us as we ordered them.  You don’t get that at Turner Field!  The game started as a pitching matchup, scoreless for four or five innings.  When we left in the 8^th, Bourne was up 5-4 though.  There were no UGA kids on either team, but there were several GT guys.  And in the starting lineups, we heard three Ryans.  Chloe picked up on this too and when they would announce the Ryans as they came up to hit, she’d get excited: “another Ryan, another Ryan!!’  A not-so-exciting event from the game tonight is that Chloe chipped her front top tooth :(  There were concrete ledges that we were sitting on, none of them very high, and she and Abby were walking along them.  Chloe sat down to slide off the ledge, no more then maybe two feet high, and she slipped a little.  She bit her tongue and for awhile I thought that was all.  She stopped crying pretty quickly and continued the rest of the night just fine.  But when I was bushing her teeth, she got all upset saying that it hurt and that’s when we saw the chip in the tooth.  Hopefully the tooth itself will be okay, but I guess I’ll be calling the dentist in the morning to see if we need an appt for next week.  Poor baby!! 

After the game, we drove about thirty or forty minutes to return to the same hotel.  It’s been nice staying two consecutive nights most every place and not having to pack up each morning.  And we’re closer to Rick and Cheryl’s for tomorrow morning.  It rained on us most of the car ride back tonight, but we’ve been blessed with good weather during the days.  A free carwash without interrupting any of our plans, perfect!  Ryan blogged on my phone on the drive back while the girls both slept.  It’s a little weird that my seven year old uses my phone to blog while we drive, but I guess that’s the way of the world these days!  Just last summer, he was journaling our trips with pencil and paper.  I loved seeing the drawings he would do, especially of the Erie Canal Locks.  But I also love that he blogs and that the blogs can be shared and saved and printed into blog books someday. 

Alrighty, I think that sums up our fun day on Cape Cod.  Between all that and a run on the treadmill and now blogging, I’m ready for bed!!  Weekapaug tomorrow!  This trip is going too fast!  I can’t believe we only have two real days left before we start travelling south.  So grateful for the good times and the memories we’re making! 

 

 

Day Five : Block Island!

This morning we woke up in Mystic.  We had a quick continental breakfast before starting our journey to Block Island.  The fog was thick as we drove, and it lasted a good part of the morning.  We met up with Aunt Betty and spent the day with her, hooray!  She was awesome enough to bring three adult bikes, I pulled the girls in the trailer, and we rented Ryan a tagalong behind Coleson.  We boarded the 9:30am ferry and rode most of the way in the fog.  It was a fun ride, but we couldn’t see much.  The ferry left from Port Judith, Rhode Island and took right at an hour to reach the island.  Fun fact we learned today : Block Island is the smallest city in the smallest state.  Once situated and on our bikes, we headed north up the island.  There are bikes everywhere, but also some cars, so it was a little bit unnerving, especially with my wide load.  But once I got used to the traffic flows, it was good.  The ride out wasn’t too bad, only one hill, but it was fairly doable.  We parked our bikes out on the end of the island by the beach.  We sipped delicious fresh lemonade from a food truck guy [there’s nothing commercial out there].  The kids had a great time playing in the water and soaking their shoes.  We skipped rocks and they dug in the sand – which worked even better after we were done with the lemonade and they could use the cups.  After playing for a bit, we headed towards the lighthouse.  We went far enough for some photo ops before turning back.  We saw lots of seagulls of course, but we also saw several baby ones which were really cute.  We found crab shells and snail shells, and the girls walked the balance beam on quite a few pieces of driftwood.  Abby found a torch/driftwood and tablet/rock and pretended to be the Statue of Liberty for awhile.  It was a beautiful beach with the ocean on one side and a pond on the other.  Like how I said pond?  I’m like an adopted northerner.  Pond = lake.  What a gorgeous place and a fun way to spend the morning.

The ride back towards the commercial, downtown area was waayy harder.  Unless of course, you are Chloe.  Then you fall asleep in the bike trailer.  I couldn't believe it when I glanced back and saw her.  She was out.  Her poor head bobbing all over.  Abby tried to help her hold it back, but Chloe didn't seem to care either way.  So, as I was saying, for the rest of us : Lots of uphills, but the biggest issue was the headwind.  I felt like I was blowing backwards, it was crazy.  By the time we stopped for lunch, we were pretty much worn out.  The trailer is heavy, but at least I’m used to it and it’s sturdy.  I pulled that most of the way, but I did do the tagalong for a mile or so as well.  That thing was absurdly awkward.  I felt like I had no control at all, we wiggled to and from, and I couldn’t go in a straight line to save my life.  So needless to say, when we finally ate lunch at 2:00, eight miles later, it was delicious :)  We dined at The Beachead.  [I think it’s Beach head, but it only has one “h” and is one word].  The food was great, and the view from the porch couldn’t be beat.  We had shade, fresh sea air, ice cold water, and the yummiest french fries – what more could you want?  [besides maybe some Coke, us Atlanta folk don’t do all this Pepsi].  After lunch, I rode the tagalong back to the rental place, while Coleson and the kids picked us out a magnet.  All in all, we did about nine and a half miles on the bikes.  We attempted to catch the 4:00 ferry, but it was pulling out as we came running down. 

Aunt Betty hung out by the shops, and the five of us used the extra time to walk out on one of the jettys.  They have these awesome jettys all around this area – massive rock walls out into the ocean.  They block the waves and divide the beach and other useful stuff, but they are also really cool looking and really cool to climb on.  Ryan was off and running.  Literally.  I can’t tell you how many times we had to yell for him stop and wait for us.  Abby did great as well, and even Chloe enjoyed them, although she needed a good bit of help.  We made it all the way to the end of our jetty.  It went straight out and curved back around, creating a calm, pool area where boats were tied up and people were swimming.  We then did a couple more stores since Mommy hadn’t gotten to shop the first time around.  Coleson and I picked our vacation souvenirs - Block Island shirts, and then we went ahead and boarded the ferry for the 5:15 return.  Instead of benches, this time we had green movie theater type seats.  The kids loved them and drove us crazy hopping from one seat to another.  We were on the middle level, so we were inside, although there were open windows everywhere.  It was much warmer in there then it was on the breezy rooftop on the way to the island.  Aunt Betty took a short nap, I found a small Coke, and we returned to the mainland about 6:15.  Without the fog, we had much better views.  New England has some great architecture and charm.  Once the ferries dock, the first thing off are the cars.  Surprisingly, it’s really fun to watch the cars drive up from the bottom level of the boat and head up the dock.  This morning it was mostly work trucks and landscapers and even a Direct TV van.  Tonight it was all cars – Betty counted 19.  It’s almost as good as a parade!  We were reunited with the bikes, and walked back to the cars.

We made it to our hotel here in Warwicke RI, just outside of Providence, somewhere around 7 or 7:30.  The kids kept occupied on the drive here with a sheet of yellow dot stickers.  One at a time they covered their mouths and eyes with stickers and then asked for pictures.  They were happy and there was lots of laughter coming from the back :)  Once here we unloaded, took much needed showers, and then went to dinner at Wendy’s.  I know, I know, it’s not exciting, but when it’s after 8:00 and everyone’s tired, you choose quick and easy.  Plus the adults, at least, were still digesting our huge and very late lunch! 

We had a great time with Aunt Betty, and we are so happy and grateful that she spent the day with us and helped us with the biking.  She’s an amazing biker and has done some awesome rides and trips; it was nice having a pro :)  But mostly we just love her company and getting to see her.  She’s staying here at the same hotel, so we’ll meet up with her again for breakfast.  She and Ricky are headed to Pittsburgh after this, and we won’t be able to see them later in the week in Weekapaug, so I’m super happy that today worked out.  It was nice to chat, and we also got to see dress pictures for Chris and Meghan’s upcoming wedding.  We’re looking forward to a nice trip up for that in October [without kids.  Yikes and yahoo all at the same time.]

I really enjoyed our day on the island.  And of course being outside and getting exercise and sharing family time are three of my very favorite things.  Thankful for a fun day!  Good night all, off to get some much needed sleep! 

Day Four : Mystic CT

Hooray for two nights in the same hotel and being able to spread out all our stuff and make a mess!  Today we awoke in Mystic CT.  We didn’t have quite the leisurely morning we had hoped for, oh well.  The kids were still up by about 7:30.  We enjoyed a continental breakfast, complete with a pancake maker.  The kids loved watching them fall out the end, esp Chloe – she was dancing excitedly at one point. 

After breakfast, we took a drive through and around Mystic.  The New England scenery is beautiful – the rocks and green grasses and glimpses of water everywhere.  We ended up on Stonington Point, and we got out to explore the rocky beach.  We had a blast climbing the big boulders and watching boats and birds.  And what trip to the beach in clothes and sneakers would be complete without getting those clothes and sneakers wet??  Congrats to Abby for stepping in the water and soaking herself!  Fortunately, we had clean shorts and underwear in the car, but we did swing back by the hotel for dry shoes.  We then parked in downtown Mystic and wandered the little downtown area.  We stopped in a few stores, and we watched the Mystic River Bascule Bridge rise.  It’s a pretty cool drawbridge.  Chloe was very excited to see the boats going by – “Mommy picture that one, yes yes!”  We have lots of pictures of boats going by the raised drawbridge.  After that, we spent a good bit of time at the Mystic Knot Work store.  The kids each picked colors for their own Weekapaug bracelets [although they don’t call them that in Mystic!], and the storekeeper tied them for us while we waited, super cool.  Coleson’s Aunt Betty used to tie bracelets for all the kids each summer, so it’s pretty neat that our kids have their own to wear this summer.  We had awesome sandwiches at the Drawbridge Café [my Santa Fe turkey was the best :)] before heading back to the hotel. 

Despite all the cool and new and exciting things to do on vacation, the kids wanted to swim in the hotel’s indoor pool so bad they could hardly think straight :)  So off to the pool we went.  I snuck out for a quick run, and then we watched a couple of minutes of TV to relax before heading off again.  We were able to walk right across the street to the Old Mystic Village.  We saw some shops and visited ducks at the duck pond, including some really cute babies.  We had dinner at Mango’s Pizza.  Pizza, wings, and cheesy bread – it was quite good and between the five of us, we ate every bite.  We then went to Twisters’ ice cream right along the Mystic River.  The ice cream was good, but the view was Amazing!  We sat at a picnic table along the river watching the boats and the setting sun.  Ryan and Abby each had a turn with the camera, and we took some fun pictures by the water before returning to the hotel.  After some late nights, we were glad to get the girls in bed at a decent hour.  Ryan and Coleson had some bonding time on the fitness center treadmills, and now we’re all going to call it an early night.  We’ve got big plans tomorrow!  Aunt Betty, a ferry, and bike riding, here we come!    

[PS, this is how you sugarcoat a day for a blogpost.  While it was an overall good day - any day on vacation is better then a work/school day - it was also a bit of a tired, grumpy day for most of us.  The kids each had their own fair share of whines and there were a couple of potty training accidents.  Mommy's really glad for a normal bedtime tonight.  And also wishing for a margarita.]

NYC from Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty by Ryan

We started tired and did not want to get out of bed but we got of bed Chloe was first out of bed than me and last Abby. For Breakfast I had a banana and bagel Abby had a banana and a bagel  Chloe had a banana and some frosted flakes daddy had a banana and a bagel and mommy had a banana and a bagel. Than we drove four hours and only one stop! Than we arrived at the Statue of Liberty!  First we had a picnic lunch.then we rode a ferry boat to get Ellis Island. Then we looked around Ellis Island. Then we got on the ferry boat again. Then we went to the statue of liberty. We got to go to the pedal stool! Then we look at the gift shop. Then we got lemonade. Than we looked around the Statue of Liberty to get a good view. Then we went to another gift shop and got t-shirts! Then we got back on the fairy boat. Then when we got back to the dock we went back to the car. Than we kept driving and we found a restaurant on the side of the road and we had hot dogs and a burger for dinner. Than we kept driving to the Hotel. When we got there we got ready for than we went to bed.

Day Three : the Statue of Liberty

Hello from Mystic, CT!  We started the day at Granddaddy’s house.  After waking up, eating a quick breakfast, throwing stuff in the car, and saying our goodbyes, we headed up 95north.  Our drive was a fairly uneventful four hours or so.  We arrived at Liberty State Park in New Jersey at lunchtime to see the Statue of Liberty.  We had read that the New Jersey side was easier, had more parking, etc.  That was true – we had no trouble finding a good spot.  We enjoyed a beautiful view while picnicking on peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  We had the NJ skyline to one side and the Statue and the harbor to the other, hard to beat that!  After eating, we headed for the ferry.  The lines weren’t bad at all and we had a good seat at the front of the boat by the window.  Chloe cried just a minute when boarding the boat, but after that everyone was fine.  Our first stop was Ellis Island.  There wasn’t too much exciting on the island itself, but the views were amazing.  NYC has such an awesome skyline.  And of course the Statue on the other side.  We meandered a bit, took photos, and the girls “climbed” a tree.  We then rode the ferry again, this time to Liberty Island to see the Statue.  We had pedestal tickets, so we headed up first.  The climb was somewhere around 200 steps, not too bad of a climb [and way better than a claustrophobic elevator ride!].  The views were great, although it was a narrow squeeze and pretty congested up there.  And I was sad that you really couldn’t get a good straight-up view of the Statue.  We climbed back down and enjoyed more beautiful water views and picture taking.  We treated ourselves to a large fresh lemonade, as well as tshirts for the kids.  Our only long line was waiting for the ferry back to Jersey.  There was a very large student group ahead of us; I guess we now know how others must have felt when the Walton Band showed up oh so many years ago! 

It was a great day and a fun experience.  The kids have really been looking forward to this day.  We had read about the Statue in a Scouting magazine Ryan gets in the mail, so we knew lots of fun facts.  And Abby told her Waumba Land teachers at church last week that she’d be at the Statue of Liberty this Sunday!  We were pretty worn out by the end, but that’s okay!  Nothing that some Oreos and naps in the car can’t fix.  As usual, Chloe was asleep almost right away, but as a nice surprise, Abby also took a short nap.  We wound our way all around the sidestreets of Jersey City on our way out of town [the “avoid tolls” option :)].  Once safely on our way, we stopped at a small, local restaurant on the side of the road just inside New York state, before the Tapan Zee bridge.  We actually passed it and made a U-turn to go back – it looked fun and we weren’t sure what else we might find!  It was called The Filling Station and was a small burger place.  We walked up to order and sat at picnic tables to eat.  The food was pretty good, the atmosphere was nice, and the employees were friendly and helpful.  We had dogs and burgers and yummy fries and Cokes that tasted really good after a long couple of days of travel! 

We arrived at our Holiday Inn Express here in Mystic about 9:30.  It appears to be a great hotel – nice room, continental breakfast, and an indoor pool.  Fortunately we weren't going towards New York on a Sunday night.  The traffic was crazy going the other direction; all the city folk returning from their weekend beach houses were sitting on the highway forever!  It was still packed at 9:30 even 90miles into CT.  We’ve got some fun ideas for tomorrow, but first we’re really looking forward to a slow start in the morning.  Good night from Connecticut!

Day Two : the 4th of July!

Our Saturday started about 4:30am, at least for Chloe and Mommy.  I awoke to her crying Mommy.  Our rooms at Granddaddy’s are set up jack-and-jill style, so I crossed through the bathroom to check on her, only to realize she wasn’t on her pile of blankets.  She had set up her bed on the floor right up against the big bed, despite our attempts to put her near the wall.  Without glasses and in the dark, it took me a few seconds to locate her.  She was saying “in here,” which come to find out meant under the bed.  She was way up under there, and not only that, she was sideways.  So I had to lay and pull her feet and together we worked her out.  I suggested moving her bed, yet she still insisted on laying on the floor right by the bed.  So I piled up the extra decorative pillows under the edge of the bed, and back to sleep we went :)

Suzzette and I had hoped to run a 5k to celebrate the 4^th, but with the rain, it didn’t happen.  After breakfast, we did venture out to find a parade though.  We met up with Chris, Suzzette, Emma, and Franklin in Great Falls.  It was pouring when we got there!  We hung out under the Safeway overhang and then eventually a Wells Fargo.  Fortunately the rain subsided in time for the parade.  Suzzette kept the kids entertained while we waited with games like Simon Says and the Hokey Pokey.  It was a cute, small town parade complete with firetrucks, politicians, community groups, tons of candy, horses, and even Spiderman in an old-fashioned mail truck.  After the parade, the kids did a few jumpy bounce houses.  Most of them were too big for Chloe and Franklin, but we did find one that worked well enough.  Abby was a great helper and assisted the two little ones all the way through.  Thanks Abs!

After the parade and festivities, we said goodbye to Suzzette and headed back to Granddaddy’s for lunch.  We enjoyed some much needed downtime in the afternoon – watching a movie, a run for Mommy, and of course playing in the basement.  We had a wonderful dinner at The Greene Turtle with Granddaddy and Grandma Jo-Ann.  It was a nice burger place and quite tasty.  We then headed to the town of Leesburg for fireworks.  We had a great spot on the lawn of a Catholic church, away from the biggest crowds.  Ryan had a blast running and playing with two brothers – eight and six years old.  They ran and ran and ran.  It was fun to watch him having so much fun.  There was also a five year boy and his three year old sister nearby, and Abby and Chloe occasionally played with them.  They were cute little towheads :)  Abby spent most of the evening with Granddaddy and Grandma Jo-Ann though.  She’s our sweet, cuddly one.  Another highlight was catching fireflies.  Ryan was really pretty good at it!  Chloe fell asleep in my arms about 9pm.  She was NOT a fan of the fireworks.  She woke up sort of when they started, but she refused to actually wake up and acknowledge the world.  She kept her eyes squeezed shut and her head buried in my arm.  She would not let me sit her up on my hip, she insisted on burrowing down into my armpit and hiding.  She didn’t flinch or cry at all, it was more like she was in a trance – she was totally off in her happy place.  The rest of us enjoyed the fireworks.  It was a great show with a nice soundtrack of patriotic music.  After the fireworks, Ryan’s new friends came to find him and say goodbye.  They asked something about if they’d see him at fireworks next year, but Ryan told them he lived in Georgia and was just on vacation.  It was a pleasant evening, and the girls were quickly asleep in the car.  It was about 10:30 by the time we got back to Granddaddy’s, so we all went to bed right away.

Happy Birthday America!  We love you!  We have so much to be thankful for this day and everyday.  Our country is the best, and I love celebrating the 4^th of July! 

Summer 2015 New England roadtrip!

Hello from Granddaddy’s house in Ashburn, VA.  It’s summer roadtrip 2015!  Our adventure started yesterday afternoon.  Coleson got home from work about 4pm.  We drove Maya and her crate over to Nana’s, wished Pop-Pop a happy birthday, and said hello to Jason & Amber.  We then starting throwing stuff in the back of the van.  As the kids get older, it gets easier to pack!  Just the basics this trip, not even a pack-n-play, although we did bring the napmat and a blanket for Chlo-Chlo.  She’s too big for a crib, but we’re still afraid she’d fall out of a real bed in a hotel room.  So anyways, we left home about 5:15.  We picnicked in the car and made it about seven hours before stopping at midnight at a Red Roof Inn in Durham, North Carolina.

Only a few hours into our trip, we’ve had our first casualty : Critter.  If you know anything about Chloe, you know that Critter goes everywhere.  Critter is Mommy-made and very special to both of us.  He is super well-loved and actually just had knee surgery two nights before we left.  We know she had fallen asleep with him in the car Thursday night, but I remember noticing when we were in the hotel room that she wasn’t holding him.  And of course, a couple minutes later when we laid down, she started crying for “Dritt-Er.”  We assured her that he was in the car, and she was able to fall asleep.  Let me tell you, we have looked everywhere for him.  We couldn’t find him the next morning in the car, we walked to the room and back several times, we’ve torn through our suitcases, I even checked the trashcans in the stairwells at the hotel.  We’ve check twice with the hotel office and they have our name and number in case he shows up.  He’s literally disappeared into thin air.  Chloe has taken it fairly well – fortunately Abby is not attached to her Critter, and so “Abby Critter” has filled in occasionally in the past.  Chloe has clung to Abby’s Critter today and is currently sleeping with him.  I keep praying Critter will show up, and I keep checking the car even though I know he’s not there. 

After checking out of our hotel, we got donuts from the gas station next door and coffee from McDonald’s before finishing up the last four hours to the DC area.  We meet up with Choi family in time for lunch today, woohoo!  We picnicked with them at an awesome park on Burke Lake – we have a box in the truck with bread, PB, honey, lots of snacks, apples, etc.  After lunch we rode a fun little train and watched the ducks [geese] down by the lake.  We finished up with ice cream and a rootbeer float for me at the park’s ice cream parlor.  It was a cute place and a fun afternoon.  After the park, we stopped by David and Kelley’s new townhome.  It’s a great place with a basement and nice backyard.  The kids enjoyed hanging out with Hannah.  She’s in between Abby and Chloe’s age, so the girls especially play really well.  It’s always fun to see the Chois and catch up on life! 

This evening we arrived at Granddaddy and Grandma Jo-Ann’s.  They had an awesome dinner for us – rice and beans and pork and corn.  It was delicious!!  The kids spent the evening in the basement playing ping-pong with Granddaddy and coloring with Grandma Jo-Ann.  They’ve also added a fun placehouse since our last trip.  The weather was a little drizzly, so we passed on a scooter ride with the kids, and instead Coleson and I snuck our by ourselves for a short run/walk.  It was a nice treat!  Thanks Granddaddy for watching our kiddos.  We thought briefly about checking out local fireworks tonight, but the kids were pretty tired.  Chloe asked for bed and fell asleep without a peep [and with Abby’s Critter]; the rest of us weren’t far behind.  We’re excited for a fun-filled Fourth of July tomorrow!  Unfortunately it’s supposed to rain, but surely there’ll still be lots of patriotic fun to be had! 

Are trip to Maxim,s house By Ryan

We left on Monday to go to Maxim,s house. When we got their we played with thier toy,s. Then we had sandwich and watermelon for lunch. Next we went to the pool. We rod the lazy river. We played and swam in the pool. Then we went back to the house and took shower,s. When we were done me and Maxim played on the tv. Then we had pizza for dinner. Next we put on are pj,s. Then chloe and stratum went to bed and me and Maxim and Abby played. Next  Abby went to bed. Then me and Maxim read a book in bed. Next we went to bed. On Tuesday we woke up and played. Then we had French toast or a bar with fruit for breakfast. Next we went hikeing and played on a playground. Then      we went to jeray,s mike, s subs for lunch. Then we went back to the house then me and Maxim played in his room. Next me and Maxim played on the tv then we played outside. Then we had hot dogs, veggie sticks and carrots. Then we went outside rod bikes. Then we went home.

 

our awesome weekend

Summer has been great, but the last two weeks have been fairly busy and we haven't had much family time.  Coleson was in Vegas this past week for work and the week before that both Ryan and Abby had camps.  Ryan's camp was an evening camp, which meant no family dinners and no Mommy/Daddy time after bedtime - it's hard to do that when Ryan's up til all hours of the night :) 

Coleson returned from Vegas Thursday night, and the kids and I picked him up from the airport.  We arrived a little early so we could hang out in the cell phone lot watching the planes.  We enjoyed that quite a bit, and it was so nice to see Daddy! 

Friday night we had our first homecooked, family dinner in what felt like forever.  Taco pasta, one of Mommy's favorites, yumm!  Ryan's been growing his hair out - well, more like Ryan just hasn't had a haircut.  He doesn't like it long, but he doesn't want it cut.  And it's summertime, and Mommy doesn't care, so it's just been growing wild.  The topic of his hair came up again at dinner and Ryan decided he was ready for a cut and he wanted it short again.  Well, the long look is looking pretty good on him, so after a bit of convincing, off went Mommy and Ryan for a real haircut.  Not a Mommy buzz, but a professional with scissors and everything.  He picked Sport Clips, based solely on the name and that they had TVs.  It's still "long," at least for Ryan, but it's all cleaned up and trimmed.  He looks so super handsome and way too grown up! 

Saturday we went on a cave tour and gold mining with Ryan's Cub Scouts pack.  I'd never been either, so I was actually really looking forward to it.  We were at Consolidated Gold Mines in Dahlonega.  We learned the name is because at one time there were six different mines in that area that consolidated together.  There were about 30 or 35 of us on our tour - John was the only other boy from Ryan's den, so they stuck together most of the time.  The mine was really pretty neat.  Lots of cool things to see and a guide who told us lots of cool facts.  The kids all did great, even when he turned off the lights.  And even when he turned on one of the old drills that echoed loudly around the mine.  The girls won't use hand dryers in public restrooms, but they did fine with the drill, go figure!  After the tour, we went panning for gold.  It was okay, but the kids enjoyed it and we all got our token three or four specks.  The gems were way more fun, in my opinion.  Each kid had a huge bucket of sand with gems and rocks.  They were able to shovel them on to the sifters and find the treasures.  It was a lot more interactive and fun and messy!  We returned home for some downtime in the afternoon, followed by dinner at our favorite Mexican place - Las Palmas.  It was a really nice dinner.  Very relaxing and enjoyable, a great end to our day.

More adventures on Sunday - after church and lawn mowing, we rented a canoe and kayak on Lake Allatoona.  It was a blast!  The canoe held three of us and the kayak two.  The kids weren't much help paddling, but Mommy and Daddy got a workout :)  We explored for awhile and even ventured across the lake [boats and waves, but it actually wasn't bad at all].  We then pulled the boats to the shore for a break.  The kids loved swimming in the lake!  It was a perfect day - low 80s instead of the high 90s we've been having.  Lots of blue sky and sunshine.  We saw huge birds, and the train crossed the cool bridge across the lake three times during our two-hour rental.  After some snacks, we boarded our boats again to meander around the lake some more.  But all the kids really wanted to do was get back in the water.  So once we were back in the no-wake zone, we let them jump out for a quick swim before returning the boats.  It was soo much fun!!  I could get used to life on the lake!  At some point, Abby said something about loving this day, and they kept asking when we could go again.  We picked up some Little Ceaser's on the way home to cap off our pretty-much-perfect weekend.  I'm so thankful for this amazing family of ours, and the wonderful opportunities we are blessed with!  I could say something cliché about being intentional and experiencing life together, but let's leave it at : it's so much fun having fun with them!! :) 

And PS, despite our 2-4pm canoe rental timeframe, no one got sunburnt, or even red!  Hooray!

Coanoing and kayaking by Ryan

Today we went kayaking and canoeing at holiday Harbor. First Abby and daddy road in a kayak me Chloe and mommy road in a canoe. Then we stopped at a beach and swim in the lake then we had a snack then me and Abby traded baots. Then the me , Abby and Chloe got of the boats and siwmed in the deep water. Last went back to the harbor.

Cave mining day, by Ryan!

Today we went exeploring in a cave with scouts. Next we shitftet a pan and found GOLD! Last we scooped some sand out of a bucket and put in a shifter and shifted it and found CRYSTALS!

Maya's day by Ryan

We started the at petsmart and got Maya a all pink new collar. Then we went to the vet for Maya`s checkup. Next we went to hot dog heaven for lunch. Last we went to a trail and scootered to a dog park and it poured rain there so when the rain slowed down we rod very wet back to the car then drove home .              

blog books

In the past, I was better about updating my blog posts.  I've had droughts for sure, but overall I think I did pretty good.  I even have three books that I've printed out from my blog.  And I need to be better again, I need to try to make a better effort to update the page and to print out books.  The kids love to look at the books.  Ryan recently discovered them and he will sit and read through them for as long as I'll let him.  He's a great reader, and Abby loves to look at the pictures.  I'm sure she'll be reading them in no time too!  So since my scrapbooks are nearly five years out of date and my photos are all posted online, keeping up my blog posts and blog books seems like an important thing to once again prioritize - an awesome, physical, tangible collection of memories for all to enjoy.  So here's to a new start!  hopefully! 

guest blogger Ryan Chase

I hit the ball to first base and first baseman dived for
the ball and he missed the ball and went to
right field and I ran to second base then I ran to third base then I ran home!
I got my first home run!

The ball was hit to LF. LF threw the ball to me. I got
the ball and turned around and dived for the guy
and got the out!

My team is the best team.

We are so good we won the championship!

High Five Abby!

Happy 5th birthday Abby!!  Wow!  What a long way you've come in such a short amount of time!  You've turned in to an amazing little girl - strong and tough and smart and athletic.  But perhaps Mommy's favorite quality is your endless joy and optimism.  You almost never get down, you have this wonderful, natural ability to see the best in everything.  For example, it has rained ALL April long, but that hasn't phased you : you remind us everyday "April showers bring May flowers!!"  If something doesn't go your way, you simply brush it off and keep on.  You are a great big sister; Chloe adores you!  You are patient and motherly and always super helpful.  I can always count on you, not just with Chloe, but with Maya too!  And of course, you know it : "I'm a greater helper, aren't I?"  You're certainly not lacking in self-confidence and I love that!

You're an awesome soccer player.  You've had a great season playing i9 with your buddies.  This is the third season you've played with Coach Daddy and Coach Zach and all your little teammates : Asher, Levi, Larsen, Lyla, etc.  You routinely dominate and often score three or four goals a game.  However, my very favorite Abby soccer moment this season was when Levi scored a goal.  You ran right up to him and gave him a big ole' congratulatory high five.  What a great sport and teammate, Mommy was sooo proud of you!! 

So, back to turning five!  What a milestone - the big oh-five, a full hand!  Your birthday was on a Monday this year and the celebrations began the weekend before.  After church on Sunday, we gave you a new sheet set.  This was a little confusing, until we explained that we were off to IKEA to pick out a new bed!  A big, beautiful twin size bed!  You've been so excited about it and have shown it off to everyone who's come over.  And a new bed for you meant an upgrade for Chloe too; she got your toddler bed.  After a couple of nighttime falls, you two are doing great and have no problems staying in the bed.  After IKEA and the bed assembling, your grandparents and Cousin Steve came over for dinner and cake.  It was a great evening and a wonderful day of Abby! 

Monday morning, Daddy took off work and we hosted some of your bestest little buds for a pancake breakfast.  You love pancakes, so it seemed perfect!  The guests came in PJs and had a blast.  We kept it small on purpose, and I think that the party so much better that way.  It was calmer and more intimate, and I really think you had so much more fun.  The guests included Naomi, Larsen, Levi, Lyla, Elli Bond, and of course your built-in best friend Chloe :)  And in lieu of cupcakes bright and early, we put your candle in a cinnamon roll.  What a fun morning!  After the breakfast guests left, we hung out and played and got ready for Ryan's baseball game.  Unfortunately the game was rained out while we were driving there.  But that's okay, we went on a short walk and then to Sweet Escapes for ice cream!  Nana came too and we met Sam and Jack and Ben up there.  I hadn't invited them to breakfast since they have school on Monday and wouldn't know the other guests, but I wanted to make sure you saw them at some point on your special day.  As it happens, we also ran into Max and Grant and Grace there.  Lots of fun eating and playing and being crazy silly with your friends.  I love that you have such great friends!

Your checkup with Dr. Bowman went great.  You're 42.5" tall and 43lbs.  Both are right about the 50th percentile.  No concerns and perhaps more importantly no shots!  You also saw Dr. Smith this year.  Again that went very smoothly.  Your kidney is awesome, and you are medically boring and completely normal.  You can do anything anyone else can do (and you're proving that you can usually do it better!).  The only cautions would probably be football and horseback riding, but really overall there are no worries at all.  We have been so blessed with your wonderful growth and amazing health, and anyone meeting you now would never know or believe how sick you once were.  We are so thankful!!

Happy birthday my Sweet Girl!!!!  Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!!!