Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful wife! The day started off with waking up the kids to get them to help make Stacey breakfast in bed. They were a big help!! It was fun. After we surprised Mommy with breakfast, she opened a few cards of the ones that the kids made in school. We all got showered and dressed and off we went to church. Afterwards, we enjoyed a great meal at Outback, followed by a quick stop at Pops & Gigi's house to exchange cards and gifts.
We arrived home around 3:00 where I had a chance to call my Mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. She absolutely loved the cat necklace we sent her. For those of you who may know my Mother, she LOVES cats and anything cats! It was a joy to see the smile on her face when she thanked us for the gift.
After a brief, but relaxing afternoon, we all headed up to the clubhouse for a nice Mother's Day Dinner that our HOA hosted (catered by Olive Garden!).
Overall, I think Stacey enjoyed her day of being pampered and thanked for being such a wonderful mother. She truly is cherished and appreciated for everything she does and we couldn't have asked for a better wife and mother. She is what holds this family together and I thank God for her everyday for what she does for us. THANK YOU HONEY! WE LOVE YOU WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS. Just think..... in 3 days we get to celebrate YOU again for your birthday! LOL. LOVE YOU BABE.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
First Kings Dominion Day (but not our last)
On Sunday we decided to take the kids to Kings Dominion (our local amusement park) for the day. KD opened last month and is only open on the weekends until school is out. The kids have been anxious to go and it was a descent day to head to the park.
There is just something cool about an amusement park. I know it brings back a lot of memories for Stacey, who used to go there growing up as well. Now, it's come back full circle where we are now taking our kids!
There are not too many rides that Lauren can ride yet, just the little ones for now. But that suits her just find, she still gets excited to ride them anyway! Jack and Caroline are right at the 48" mark, so they definitely have a wider option of rides to go on. Jack is becoming our little thrill seeker and loves going on the roller coasters! Caroline has not yet gotten the nerve to get on one yet and that is okay; she has always been our cautious one. She loves the Avalanche though. We had a great day and it turned out to be a fun family day for us. We end up getting a season's pass, so we will definitely have many more KD days! Definitely worth it!
Last night, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood and we stopped by the community playground for a bit. I couldn't resist taking these pictures; they totally bring out the playfulness of the kids. It's nice to see that they can still enjoy themselves at a playground! Ah, to be a kid again!!!!!!
There is just something cool about an amusement park. I know it brings back a lot of memories for Stacey, who used to go there growing up as well. Now, it's come back full circle where we are now taking our kids!
There are not too many rides that Lauren can ride yet, just the little ones for now. But that suits her just find, she still gets excited to ride them anyway! Jack and Caroline are right at the 48" mark, so they definitely have a wider option of rides to go on. Jack is becoming our little thrill seeker and loves going on the roller coasters! Caroline has not yet gotten the nerve to get on one yet and that is okay; she has always been our cautious one. She loves the Avalanche though. We had a great day and it turned out to be a fun family day for us. We end up getting a season's pass, so we will definitely have many more KD days! Definitely worth it!
Last night, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood and we stopped by the community playground for a bit. I couldn't resist taking these pictures; they totally bring out the playfulness of the kids. It's nice to see that they can still enjoy themselves at a playground! Ah, to be a kid again!!!!!!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Weekly Update
Kids went back to school this past week after having a week off. They seemed to get back into the routine pretty easily. Can't believe that there is only 6 weeks left of the school year. J&C will soon be in third grade, and hopefully our little one will be off to preK in the fall. Lauren actually had her PreK screening last Wednesday. We won't know until July if she will get in or not. We hope she will!
Stacey transitioned into a new role at her job this past week and seemed to really like it. The hours are perfect and she will have Fridays off, which will be ideal for the summer and juggling the kids. We decided that they will do 3 days of camp. Pops and Gigi have graciously offered to take them 1 day each week during the summer! Fridays will probably be spent either at Kings Dominion or the pool, or both! We really need to sit down as a family to talk about what mini-trips we want to do over the summer. We try to make the summers fun and memorable too for the kids.
Weather-wise we had a very active stormy week! We received quite a bit of rain (which is good), but a major storm that wreaked havoc on the majority of the South came through here on Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday. Tornado warnings were all over the place! Luckily we were spared the wrath of Mother Nature, but folks in AL suffered tremendously. Thoughts and prayers go out to these folks as they work to recover and rebound from these storms. Over 300 people were killed from these storms. Just total devastation.
The garden is really coming together! This past week, we worked on planting all the berry bushes, laying down the mulch, and getting the shared garden ready. We still have some work to do in the shared garden before we begin planting. But we know that it needs to happen fast so we can plant ASAP. I never imagined how time consuming this would become. Hopefully next year won't nearly be as bad. We have certainly learned a lot this year. I and others are looking forward to seeing our the fruits of our labors work out.
The girls had their last class of gymnastics today. They really enjoyed it and we hope they will want to continue it. Jack has one more swim class left. With summer around the corner, we decided not to sign them up for any specific classes. We will do swim lessons again at the pool.
Jack's allergies continue to take a toll on him; although this past week wasn't nearly as bad as the previous week. However, we decided to make another appointment with the allergy specialist to have another series of tests run. His appt is on May 10th. Hopefully this will help give us a better idea of what we may be dealing with and how we can better help Jack cope with his allergies. Poor guy, he just gets so miserable.
That's our week in a nutshell! Hope everyone in the blogosphere continues to do well. Remember to count our blessings and be grateful for what God has provided. God Bless.
Until next time....
Stacey transitioned into a new role at her job this past week and seemed to really like it. The hours are perfect and she will have Fridays off, which will be ideal for the summer and juggling the kids. We decided that they will do 3 days of camp. Pops and Gigi have graciously offered to take them 1 day each week during the summer! Fridays will probably be spent either at Kings Dominion or the pool, or both! We really need to sit down as a family to talk about what mini-trips we want to do over the summer. We try to make the summers fun and memorable too for the kids.
Weather-wise we had a very active stormy week! We received quite a bit of rain (which is good), but a major storm that wreaked havoc on the majority of the South came through here on Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday. Tornado warnings were all over the place! Luckily we were spared the wrath of Mother Nature, but folks in AL suffered tremendously. Thoughts and prayers go out to these folks as they work to recover and rebound from these storms. Over 300 people were killed from these storms. Just total devastation.
The garden is really coming together! This past week, we worked on planting all the berry bushes, laying down the mulch, and getting the shared garden ready. We still have some work to do in the shared garden before we begin planting. But we know that it needs to happen fast so we can plant ASAP. I never imagined how time consuming this would become. Hopefully next year won't nearly be as bad. We have certainly learned a lot this year. I and others are looking forward to seeing our the fruits of our labors work out.
The girls had their last class of gymnastics today. They really enjoyed it and we hope they will want to continue it. Jack has one more swim class left. With summer around the corner, we decided not to sign them up for any specific classes. We will do swim lessons again at the pool.
Jack's allergies continue to take a toll on him; although this past week wasn't nearly as bad as the previous week. However, we decided to make another appointment with the allergy specialist to have another series of tests run. His appt is on May 10th. Hopefully this will help give us a better idea of what we may be dealing with and how we can better help Jack cope with his allergies. Poor guy, he just gets so miserable.
That's our week in a nutshell! Hope everyone in the blogosphere continues to do well. Remember to count our blessings and be grateful for what God has provided. God Bless.
Until next time....
Friday, April 22, 2011
Spring Break 2011
Wow, back to back entries this month! I am trying to do a better job at blogging. It's so tough now with Facebook where you can easily 'blog' every minute!! We still enjoy the blog and want to continue using this site as a way to stay connected with everyone.
We had a fantastic Spring Break! My sister Deb and her family came down to visit us for 4 days. We spent Monday touring and walking around DC visiting all the monuments. The National Mall is truly amazing and the Monuments are just spectacular. We easily walked at least 3 miles along the Mall and around the Tidal Basin. We wanted to stop by and visit each one to show the kids and teach them a little bit of history and significance regarding each one. My personal favorite is the WWII Memorial and the FDR Memorial.
On Tuesday, we went to the Richmond Zoo. This is Richmond's best kept secret. This zoo is literally located in the middle of nowhere, yet not that far. It really is a great Zoo. The kids really enjoyed feeding the animals, mostly the giraffes and got a huge kick out of 'signing' to the Orangutang (sp?).
On Wednesday we spent a day in Fredericksburg and hopped on one of the trolleys and did a tour of the town. Afterwards, we treated my sister and her family to experience CARL's, the local historical ice cream shop, which is a favorite among all the locals. We couldn't let them leave town without the CARL's experience! We also took them to one of the Target stores since there isn't one in Vermont. My sister LOVES Target!
The cousins enjoyed spending some quality time with eachother. Each night they went to bed late and woke up early and played together all day long. We couldn't believe the constant energy they had. It was great to see them spend time together. As always, it was hard to say good-bye yesterday. J&C shed a few tears and were sad they were leaving. We wished we all lived a bit closer. We certainly cherish the time we do get to spend together.
We took a lot of pictures to capture the moments of the visits, so enjoy the show!
We had a fantastic Spring Break! My sister Deb and her family came down to visit us for 4 days. We spent Monday touring and walking around DC visiting all the monuments. The National Mall is truly amazing and the Monuments are just spectacular. We easily walked at least 3 miles along the Mall and around the Tidal Basin. We wanted to stop by and visit each one to show the kids and teach them a little bit of history and significance regarding each one. My personal favorite is the WWII Memorial and the FDR Memorial.
On Tuesday, we went to the Richmond Zoo. This is Richmond's best kept secret. This zoo is literally located in the middle of nowhere, yet not that far. It really is a great Zoo. The kids really enjoyed feeding the animals, mostly the giraffes and got a huge kick out of 'signing' to the Orangutang (sp?).
On Wednesday we spent a day in Fredericksburg and hopped on one of the trolleys and did a tour of the town. Afterwards, we treated my sister and her family to experience CARL's, the local historical ice cream shop, which is a favorite among all the locals. We couldn't let them leave town without the CARL's experience! We also took them to one of the Target stores since there isn't one in Vermont. My sister LOVES Target!
The cousins enjoyed spending some quality time with eachother. Each night they went to bed late and woke up early and played together all day long. We couldn't believe the constant energy they had. It was great to see them spend time together. As always, it was hard to say good-bye yesterday. J&C shed a few tears and were sad they were leaving. We wished we all lived a bit closer. We certainly cherish the time we do get to spend together.
We took a lot of pictures to capture the moments of the visits, so enjoy the show!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ten Years
Clearly, we have had an extremely busy April, but we couldn't let this month slip by without posting updates. The title of this post is in reference to our Tenth Anniversary, which we celebrated on April 7th. Stacey and I were able to get away to celebrate our anniversary our Charleston, SC. We had a great weekend and special thanks to Pops & Gigi for watching the kids.
We truly feel blessed to have spent 10 wonderful years so far and recognize not only our marriage, but the many blessings that have come with it over the years. Our lives have certainly been busy these past 10 years, for sure. Raising three kids takes up most of our time! But we wouldn't have it any other way!!!! It's been a great 10 years so far! Hard to believe how quickly it has gone by though.
Charleston was amazing! We arrived on Friday afternoon and walked around a bit to take in the town. For dinner we ate at a local restaurant, "Mercado" where a former Applebee's worker is now a GM. Stacey and I both worked with Troy at Applebee's. On Saturday, we took a Harbor Tour cruise and learned a bit of Charleston civil war history and Fort Sumter. We then did a horse carriage ride around town, which was later followed by a Ghost Tour after dinner. We really learned a great deal about Charleston and absolutely fell in love with it. It's a great city and we plan to go back.
On Sunday we walked around town a bit more, did a little shopping, bought some gifts, and then headed back to the airport to catch our flight home. It was a great weekend!!! Thanks again Pops & Gigi for helping us make our weekend special.
We truly feel blessed to have spent 10 wonderful years so far and recognize not only our marriage, but the many blessings that have come with it over the years. Our lives have certainly been busy these past 10 years, for sure. Raising three kids takes up most of our time! But we wouldn't have it any other way!!!! It's been a great 10 years so far! Hard to believe how quickly it has gone by though.
Charleston was amazing! We arrived on Friday afternoon and walked around a bit to take in the town. For dinner we ate at a local restaurant, "Mercado" where a former Applebee's worker is now a GM. Stacey and I both worked with Troy at Applebee's. On Saturday, we took a Harbor Tour cruise and learned a bit of Charleston civil war history and Fort Sumter. We then did a horse carriage ride around town, which was later followed by a Ghost Tour after dinner. We really learned a great deal about Charleston and absolutely fell in love with it. It's a great city and we plan to go back.
On Sunday we walked around town a bit more, did a little shopping, bought some gifts, and then headed back to the airport to catch our flight home. It was a great weekend!!! Thanks again Pops & Gigi for helping us make our weekend special.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Community Garden Talking Root
Since last fall, a handful of folks in our neighborhood have come together to plan and develop a community garden. It's been a lot of work and we have received the full support and commitment from the developer to proceed. They have even graciously offered to match the funds that we raise. These last few months have been quite exhausting and frustrating at the same time; but many of us are excited and anxious to get this garden off the ground. We have designed the layout (80' x 80') and it will be a combination of raised beds and a shared garden. We also plan to have a flower garden, an herb garden and will set aside a portion for the local food bank.
There are about 20-25 households who have expressed interest in joining this effort; however, only about 8 - 10 of us are doing most of the upfront work. I believe in this effort wholeheartedly and know that once people see the garden come to fruition, they will come out. The frustration on my part comes from those not wanting to make the effort upfront. I started this and want to see it to the end. I just hope I/we can make a success of it.
We have been able to leverage some local expertise to help with our initiative and are now currently at the mercy of the developer to allow us to proceed (build a fence, start plowing and tilling, etc). We have also received some generous donations from a few local businesses willing to donate soil and mulch. But, we are at a standstill right now until the developer decide when we can proceed and what we can do now (another frustration!) I just want to start digging!!! Each week that passes is another week we can't plant. Sometimes I really hate bureaucracy!
Our goal is to have the garden up and running in time for the neighborhood Earth Day event. As you can imagine, we have a lot to do in the next 6 weeks! Yes, I am a bit stressed about that realization, but have to put my my faith in God and His plans that things will come together. I can't wait to get started and see how this all turns out.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Father - Daughter Date
Last weekend, I had the honor of having my first date with Caroline. I really enjoyed having the one-on-one time with her. We first went to a local restaurant to have some dinner before heading up to our neighborhood clubhouse for our Father-Daughter event. One of our neighbors organized this event, also known as Princess Place. I believe this is a common event among those who are homeschooled. Princess Place is about fellowship, fun and building Godly character in girls. It is a club that allows girls to really connect and build a relationship with God. There was even a guest speaker who provided a sermon focusing on father-daughter relationships. Listening to him speak, really made me appreciate my relationship with Caroline even more and reminded me just how important my role and relationship is with her.
I realized that evening how quickly my little girl is growing up. She is no longer the one I held on the day she was born, or cuddled with each night rocking her to sleep. Now she is a beautiful, kind, free-spirited young girl who will occassionally let me hold her hand. She still loves snuggling with and sitting next to me on the couch, which is nice. However, I look forward to watching her grow into the wonderful person she is. I want to make sure I am there to help guide her as she continues to grow. As Mr. Moore reminded us fathers, if she isn't getting the attention or love from their father, they will find it from someone else. That scares the hell out of me!
The evening was certainly a blessing to me and hopefully as Caroline looks back, it will be a fond memory for her. I certainly hope to have more father-daughter outings with her, and Lauren too, more regularly. The years go faster and faster, so I need to take advantage of these moments before they are gone.
I realized that evening how quickly my little girl is growing up. She is no longer the one I held on the day she was born, or cuddled with each night rocking her to sleep. Now she is a beautiful, kind, free-spirited young girl who will occassionally let me hold her hand. She still loves snuggling with and sitting next to me on the couch, which is nice. However, I look forward to watching her grow into the wonderful person she is. I want to make sure I am there to help guide her as she continues to grow. As Mr. Moore reminded us fathers, if she isn't getting the attention or love from their father, they will find it from someone else. That scares the hell out of me!
The evening was certainly a blessing to me and hopefully as Caroline looks back, it will be a fond memory for her. I certainly hope to have more father-daughter outings with her, and Lauren too, more regularly. The years go faster and faster, so I need to take advantage of these moments before they are gone.
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