Back to School

Isaac and Maddie walking to the bus stop this morning
 

 This morning marked the beginning of a new school year for Isaac and Mads. They were both giddy with excitement and ready with plenty of time to spare before we needed to head out the door to walk to the bus stop. One kindergartner and one first grader. I can't believe it.

We had a special back-to-school dinner last night. Hot dogs, peaches, and corn on the cob, baby. The kids wore tin foil crowns and were given a new water bottle for their lunch boxes. Who knew tin foil crowns would be so popular?

A bonus picture of Nater. Check out my baby's blues (cross my heart I did not boost the color on this photo)! We love our Nate the Great, who, as of a couple of weeks ago at his 2 month appointment, weighed 15lbs, 5oz!

The Kids Sing their Latest Primary Favorite

Singing to Grandma Ruth a couple of days ago. My favorite part is when Maddie does her "army" action.

From the Mouth of My Babe

Grandma Mary-Ann rocking her youngest grandchild to sleep at the park during her visit last month.

I told Maddie about seeing Cinderella on Broadway shortly after I got home from New York. "Maddie," I said, "You would have loved it! Cinderella spun around and her dress of rags magically turned into a beautiful white ball gown!"
"Let me get this straight," she interrupted, "Cinderella is REAL?"

Weekend in New York City

Shannon, Natalee, and I at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in Manhattan. 

After our family vacation in Cape Cod, many of Ryan's relatives stayed in New England to see more of the sites. After almost a week in Boston, the three remaining die-hard travelers (Shannon, Natalee, and Mary-Ann) headed to New York for a few days before flying home to Utah. I took the train in early Saturday morning and met them for a couple of days in the City that never sleeps.

I have very few pictures of our weekend, but we had such a great time. We started our day by spending a few hours at the Intrepid Museum where the highlight for me was seeing the Enterprise space shuttle.

I got to cross something off my bucket list: seeing a Broadway show on Broadway. We saw Cinderella and it was magical. Her costume changes were amazing--she would literally spin around and her dress of rags would turn in to a rich ball gown in front of our eyes! I'm still baffled by how it was done.

After the museum and the play, we headed to get something to eat. A Mediterranean restaurant near Columbus Circle was recommended to us and it was delicious. I loved their falafel salad. With our faces sufficiently stuffed, we walked over to the park and then FAO Schwartz. Traveling with Shannon is pretty awesome. It's all about the photo ops with her, so when I said, "Hey, do you want to see the piano that Tom Hanks played on in Big?" she was all over it. With Mary-Ann as our photographer, me, Shannon, Natalee, and a bunch of little kids stood in line and danced around on the piano for a few minutes. Classic New York moment.

After walking more than 8 miles that day, we headed back to the hotel, stopping at Magnolia Bakery on the way so we could get some of their famous banana pudding. It never disappoints.

I was totally exhausted that night that I could barely keep my eyes open while we played the longest card game known to man.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Rockefellar Center where we took an elevator  up to the 68th floor to get a 360 degree view of the City. It was pretty amazing.

From Rockefellar Center we walked to a Mexican restaurant and got some delicious tacos. I love the food in NYC. The price of the food, not so much. But the taste of the food, yum, yum, yum.

By that time, we decided we needed to head back to the hotel so the Utah ladies could catch their flight and I could catch a train home. Shannon walked me halfway to Grand Central Station and then we said our goodbyes at 42nd street. As I watched her walk back to the hotel before heading to the airport, I must admit I got all choked up. It was so fun to spend a little time together and while I felt really sad to say goodbye, I felt even more fortunate to have family worth missing.

Can't wait til we can do it again, maybe with ALL the sisters next time!

From the Mouth of My Babe

Grandma Mary-Ann came to visit with my nephew Carson for a few days before we all headed up to the family reunion. We took them berry picking one day.

 Tonight I had a rare moment alone with Maddie as she and I played with her My Little Pony castle. She looked at me and said, "Mom, I'll always be your baby, even when I'm a Grandma. But when I'm a grandma, you'll die...but don't worry, I'll see you again when I die."

From the Mouth of My Babe

Peach picking at an orchard near our home a couple of weeks ago. 

"Mom, did jew know dat God is da most powerful good guy of awe da good guys in da whole wurld?"

From the Mouth of My Babe

Ike decided to share his Harry Potter wand with Nathan. 

This picture is pretty typical of Nathan's life right now...constant affection (aka borderline bullying) from all three siblings. It is exhausting being this popular, let me tell you.

A couple of weeks ago Isaac was feeding Nathan when he decided to "teach" him to feed himself by manipulating his hands so they would grasp his bottle. Nate was able to hold the bottle for about a minute before he dropped it. Isaac was thrilled and immediately called me over so I could see the baby's new trick. "I taught him how to hold the bottle himself, mom! I did it!.." and while tilting his head to the side and thinking things over, he exclaimed, "Maybe tomorrow I'll teach him how to crawl..." 

Cape Cod Family Reunion 2013

Ever since we moved to New England, Ryan's parents have been planning a family reunion out here. The time finally came and all of his siblings, their children, and both of his parents flew to our neck of the woods and we met up in a beach house in Cape Cod for a seven day vacation. It was just as posh and fantastic as it sounds (thanks Lynn and Mary-Ann!) and so fun to spend the week together in such a fun place. In no particular order, here are a few pictures from our week:

Davis searching for sea shells and playing in the sand. He preferred this to playing in the water. 

Matchy Matchy brothers. At this moment Devin was asking his daughter who looked more handsome in their Cape Cod T.

Hiking near a fresh water swimming hole.

Maddie had a great time with all of her cousins. Sadly, I didn't take nearly enough pictures and this is one of the only ones I got, and sweet Katie is missing from the shot (luckily her mom is a professional photographer and no doubt got many priceless photos). Sisters Quincy and Addie are pictured with her--the four girls played together all week long. 

The men in the family spent a day in Boston with the Red Sox, so they returned the favor and gave us women a day without kids as well. We explored The Cape and found the most beautiful beach in Harwich.

Maddie and Addie searching for shells and sea creatures.

We spent a day in Provincetown, which is the northern most city on The Cape. There is tons of shopping there and the ocean was clear and beautiful.

This Doggy Life jacket cracked me up in the window of one of the shops in P-town.

Isaac lost his first tooth during the reunion and this is his self portrait. According to him, Davis woke up in the middle of the night, made his way to Ike's bed, and (while half asleep) punched Ike in the mouth because he mistakenly thought Isaac had jumped into his bed.  Ahh, brotherly love. Isaac found his loose tooth on his pillow the next morning. 

Davis loved the wagon ride with his cousin, Quincy. They are weeks apart and looked like little blonde twins running around together all week. One of the highlights of the trip for me was watching these two interact. Listening to them argue over who runs fastest was priceless. 

Nathan loved all the attention he got throughout the week. He slept like a champ which made my vacation feel like a vacation! Gracias mi bebe!

On the beach with my hubby. We were able to walk there one afternoon without kids thanks to Mary-Ann. 

We talked about our favorite parts of the trip last night:
Isaac: Playing baseball with Carson.
Maddie: Shopping in Provincetown.
Davis: Playing with Isaac and Carson.
Ryan: Searching for sea shells on the beach with the kids.
Me: Renting bikes with the kids and riding on the Cape Cod bike trail.

Some other things I want to remember are:

• Playing Celebrity with the adults--My father-in-law does a fantastic Chris Christie impersonation.
• Seeing all of the cousins play together. It makes my heart happy. 
• Seafood, seafood, seafood!
• How glorious it was to have Ryan around for an entire week!
• Spending time with Ryan's family all together. It hasn't happened for years and likely won't happen again for a few more since we will soon be living on separate coasts (his brother just accepted a job in San Jose, CA). Here's to a family reunion in California next time!