August 2011

Since we were headed to Spokane at the end of the month we stuck close to home for the month of August.  Doing our normal everyday things....

 relaxing

 sidewalk chalk

 being silly 

 playing

 more silliness

 not allowing brother to get all the attention

 getting into trouble

 stickerbook from Oma

 reading

We did manage to get out with our friends for a local drive-in cruise night where we ate burgers, had some good root beer and admired the cars.

 Daddy did Hudson's hair for the occasion

 The pink T-Bird was Annabelle's favorite

Of  course the entire month we were counting down for our trip to see everyone back in Spokane.





 One Day to Go!

(or so we thought)

We found out the morning of our flight was cancelled due to weather (Irene was due to arrive the next day); luckily we checked before waking the kids at 3:30 am.  So instead of spending the day flying across the country, we finished preparing for Irene's arrival.







 Annabelle and the "stinky cheese"

Sam made a great dinner to help my mood after the change in plans that morning.

We made it through Irene with no major damage.  We had to clean-up quite a few branches in the yard, and live without power for a couple days.





Dinner by candlelight

The power returned just in time for us to do some laundry and cleanup before leaving four days later than planned.



 On our way

Annabelle the Artist

Here are some of Annabelle's latest creations (all done completely on her own, and there is a theme).

hard at work

Rapunzel

thinking about it

Ariel

 Cinderella

Our Little Fashionista

Starting right around her third birthday Annabelle started dressing herself more and more.  Her rules were generally if the articles of clothing had the same color anywhere on them or if they had the same design i.e. stripes they went together.  Hope you enjoy her outfits as much as I do.

 PINK

 Stripes

 Who needs actual pants?

 Getting the hang of it

 More Pink

 Now adding socks to the mix

 Her Tinkerbell socks make the outfit here

 When in doubt wear pink

 As you can see we got a lot of mileage out of this shoe/short combination.

Adding accessories

 (this is her "cute" pose)

 Ready for the sun

July 2011

After saying goodbye to Sam's parents we slowed down quite a bit.  Sam had to get back to work, and the kids got back to their normal after all the excitement.   We stuck close to home for the rest of the month, here are some of the pictures.

Lobster time!!! Living in New England we like to take advantage of enjoying fresh lobster every now and then. 
 

 Annabelle and Larry II

One of the few times we encourage her to play with her food

We were able to get together with our friends for another BBQ and the kids had a blast swimming and riding along in the "gator".  Annabelle had her turn at the wheel, but we all (including her) felt it was safer when she was the passenger.

Hanging on tight!

 Sam had promised Annabelle a campout over the weekend, that was before the forecast called for the hottest stretch over the summer.  Like the good father he is he kept his promise, while mommy and Hudson stayed cool inside.

 Hudson helping set up the tent

Daddy-Daughter Campout

We got the pool back out for some relief from the heat, but for the most part it was too hot for that and we stayed inside.

 Pool Time

 Doing "awesome" tricks

Doing his own tricks

 Princess puzzle complete, again

Doing what he does best, making a mess

 Little Artist

We did manage to get out when it cooled down for one of Annabelle's favorite activities...

...chalk

And while out there Annabelle discovered a nest that had been blown down from a tree.



And my favorite picture of the month:

 

morning cuddles

(and while it looks like they may be watching tv it is in fact off)

Grandma and Grandpa Visit CT

Sam's parents were able to make a trip to visit us this summer and we were lucky to have them for two weeks.    We had a lot of fun and packed a lot in while they were here.

We spent the first couple day close to home.  We were able to catch up, relax and allow Ed and Barb time to recover from their flight.  We of course started off by visiting the frog at the library, followed by Stew Leonard's.

Library Frog

Stew's Little Farm

We continued the next day with visits to the Weir Farm and Keelers Tavern.

Hiking with Grandpa around Weir Farm

Cooling off in the Shade

My little climber

Nap time

The one time he has the upper hand

Not such a great idea after all

Wier Farm Fountain

We ventured into the city the next day visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, followed by a walk through the financial district and Times Square.  I impressed myself this day as I was playing tour guide and managed to navigate the city streets and subway without getting completely lost.

Making a very cute Statue of Liberty

The best shot I could get

Nap time on the lawn at Ellis Island

We made it on the big screen in Times Square

(we are at the top to the right of the two)

Times Square with Grandpa

Meeting the police horse in Times Square

Annabelle helped to choose our next activity and the following day we headed to the Bronx Zoo.

Bug Carousel

Best way to get around-Grandpa's shoulders

Ready for the Dora and Diego 4-D movie

We took a day to rest here, but just one and then we got back to it as we headed to Coney Island and the New York City Aquarium.

One cannot visit Coney Island without eating a hotdog

or two

We slowed down a bit at this point, taking another day to relax around the house before we took a drive along the Long Island sound to Mystic, CT.  There we visited the Seaport before taking the scenic way home through Hartford and on home for fireworks.

Watching the boats

Our turn to steer

Enjoying the fireworks

Since Grandma and Grandpa came all this way we thought we should let them have some quality time with just the grandkids so Sam and I headed to New York City while Annabelle and Hudson entertained at home.

We took the opportunity to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge without lugging two kids

(please excuse the blur it tends to happen when walking, eating a hotdog, and taking a picture all at once)

With our tickets

Later that afternoon we spent some good time in line at TKTS and got tickets to Catch Me if You Can.  We had some time in between getting the tickets so we walked around the city more, had some pizza and drinks before heading to the show.

We spent our last full day driving up north just across the border into Massachusetts (could not find a sign to take a picture with).  Just like that the two weeks were up and it was time to say goodbye.  Glad they were able to make it and we didn't wear them out too much, already planning their next visit out which should be just as fun and busy.