Vacation #6…

We had a crazy busy day in D.C. today which was fun and exhausting!  Elaine started out being the big kid (which is a rarity for her!) playing and snuggling with Brooks and Gracie!   We got everything together and headed to lunch and the monuments.  While we ate, Elaine got some more snuggle time with Grace and Brooks got a well-timed nap before heading out.  Luckily, we were blessed with a beautiful day and a fabulous tour guide!!

The way we started out the day!

Nap time at lunch for Brooksie…

and snuggle time with Elaine and Gracie.

After lunch, we started out at Obama’s house which was what Elaine was excited about seeing.  She is pretty intrigued by presidents and knows a fair amount of presidential knowledge for a girl her age.  She also picked up on seeing Obama on tv, magazines and newspapers and started talking about him.  When we told her we were coming to D.C., she wanted to knock on his door and give him a hug. 

Three Crosses, 2 Layes and 1 Wallach at the White House

We tried explaining the capitol to Elaine–she didn’t seem to care too much!

Ryan, Jerry and the girls in front of the Washington Memorial

From the White House, we went to the back where we were lucky enough to see the president’s helicopter head for the White House, land and take off.  My mom told me the Obamas went to New York City for a Broadway show.  Definitely very cool to see and was cute to hear Elaine shout, “There’s Uncle Marty!” as the helicopter soared over our heads. 

From there we headed towards the World War II, Korean, Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials.  We hadn’t seen the WWII Memorial.  This served as the kids’ favorite because they put their feet in the fountain (along with 1,000 other people).  Being at the memorials the week of Memorial Day was pretty touching.

WWII Memorial

Rededication ceremony today at the Lincoln Memorial

Korean Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

We ended our outing by heading to Ryan’s nearby office for a quick potty break and cool down.  Elaine loved running around the conference room table and Brooksie became most disconcerted by Katie holding Grace. 

Brooksie was so upset by Katie holding Baby Grace!

After a quick dinner, we tried to get a picture of the cousins. 

1.  Started out sweet…

2.  Elaine got a little too aggressive and was plucked out of the situation by Jerry.  Does she look innocent???

And we ended the day like it began…

Vacation #5…

Friday we went to the circus.  I did a fair amount of talking it up so Elaine was pretty excited.  She loved the animals and the dancing.  Although I’ve never be big fan of the circus, I was happy Elaine had the opportunity to see it.  She loved the zebras, horses, dogs, tigers, but most of all, the elephants.  Brooks and Elaine were really well behaved and had fun. 

After the circus, we grabbed lunch and headed to D.C.  More to come on that later! 

Vacation #4…

Since arriving at Marty and Katie’s house on Monday, we’ve slowed down considerably.  On Tuesday, we hung around home and the kids got their normal meals and naps which was quite needed.  Brooks and Elaine thoroughly enjoyed taking a bath together and by Tuesday had become much more adept at sharing and working together!  Although, it’s not perfect, it much better than it started out to be.  PHEW!!

Doesn’t that smile say it all?

Both kids were using foam letters on the tub wall–they worked well together!

Now you know why Elaine’s always asking, “Where’s Uncle Marty?”  She loves him for so many reasons!!

On Wednesday, we went to Princeton, NJ.   Princeton is about a half hour drive and is quite beautiful.  We enjoyed some lights shopping, lunch and walking around the campus.  I was quite impressed with the beauty of the campus and could feel the excitement of graduation in the air (it’s next week).

Jerry, Brooks, Elaine and me in front of the Princeton campus

Today, we took the kids to Kid Junction in a nearby town and enjoyed seeing the kids happy.  Kid Junction is kind of like a childrens’ museum and had several areas specializing in different things, as well as an indoor play area.  Elaine and Brooks thoroughly enjoyed the pizza parlor room and had a great time “cooking” for Jerry, Katie and me.  Elaine’s self-proclaimed favorite area was the grocery store.  It was equipped with little shopping carts and a variety of foods to shop from.  She also enjoyed using the cash register to check herself out.  Once Marty got home from work, we headed to their neighborhood restaurant for a yummy dinner and some family time.  We head to the circus and Washington, D.C. tomorrow so we’re hoping for a good night’s sleep!!

Elaine in the grocery area…

Brooks too!

The cousins running the food counter and doing a bang up job making pizza and sandwiches!!

Elaine made herself a sandwich and took a break.

Cheater  =)!!  Actually it’s a pretty impressive manuever to get under the screen and back out without banging his head.

Who says dinner can’t be fun??

Elaine eating her “ZA” backwards!

Vacation #3…

On Sunday morning, we had a quick breakfast and said our goodbyes to Wayne and Amy (and Murph who took them to the airport).  The rest of us headed to the American Girl Doll store.  On the walk there, we happened upon a very cute carousel in Bryant Park, which the kids enjoyed riding.  We had a yummy lunch in a great deli and headed home.  Fortunately, we missed traffic because of Memorial Day and the lack of commuting traffic. 

Upon getting back, we were lucky enough to have a great dinner prepared for us by Murph and the kids had a great time with one another playing (without being stuck in a stroller!).  We finally got back to Marty and Katie’s, tired and worn out but with memories of a great weekend.

Our whole group just before Wayne and Amy headed to the airport

Elaine picked the rabbit for her first ride…

And a horsie for her second.

 Sophia

Brooks

The kids LOVED shucking corn!

 

The kids table–we’re uncertain how much eating happened!!

Vacation #2…

Over the weekend, we headed to NY City.  We decided to go without a set-in-stone itinerary (much to Wayne’s dismay) and ended up having a great time.  Once we checked into the hotel and got settled, we headed for Times Square.  There were 8 adults and 4 strollers so we were hard to miss.  With a couple of short stops between, we started at the huge 3-story Toys R Us.  We rode the giant ferris wheel and spent an hour and a half looking at every imaginable toy.   After that, we went M&M world and Elaine was in heaven!!  We spent some time in Rockefeller Plaza and had a great Italian dinner.  Upon getting back to the hotel, we found that the breakfast room was open and hung out for a few hours.   The kids got to play with some new toys (in their pajamas, to boot) and the adults got to do some relaxing of their own.  All things considered, the kids did really well with only a few altercations (Elaine, Sophia and Brooks are all very strong willed children), screaming fits and limited naps!

The kids were so excited to get to the “Big City”

The girls were so excited to run into Elmo in Times Square

Wayne, Sophia and Elaine while shopping

We ran into longtime Colorado Springs friend, Cindy Dunn, in Times Square!

Elaine and I got the Toy Story car on the Toys R Us ferris wheel

Elaine LOVED M&M World and I got the biggest hug I’ve gotten in a while for getting Elaine’s favorite colored M&Ms

Holding the aforementioned bag of M&Ms

This was the sweet picture…

Seconds later, Elaine pushed Sophia totally flat for roughing up Brooks.  As my dad says, “The party was over!”

Vacation #1…

 We left for New Jersey on Saturday and, thankfully, Elaine slept the first hour of our flight.  She was so well-behaved and seemingly loved flying.  Once we landed, the excitement to play with Brooks was almost too much for her to handle and, initially, they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.  Sharing is something each child will learn LOTS about this week.  We ate a quick dinner and headed to Marty and Katie’s new house to meet up with the Murph’s, Wayne and Amy.  We definitely don’t spend enough time with these great friends and had a great time reconnecting.  I always realize how much I miss people when I get a chance to spend time with them!!   The addition of Sophia and Baby Jack only compounded the fun and opportiunities for problem solving!!  It is going to be a great week!!

Elaine’s airplane nap

The car ride home–Brooks already looks a little overwhelmed!!

Is this a hug or a headlock??

Holding Baby Jack…

…luckily he’s a good sport!!

Becky, Sophia, Elaine and me

The End of Everything…

In the past 5 days, all sorts of things have come to an end and we are officially gearing up for summer.  On Wednesday, Elaine had her last day of preschool.  She watched the older kids perform and had an ice cream social.  She said goodbyes to all her friends and Lane came to enjoy the day.  We were so fortunate to have a wonderful first year of schooling for Elaine.  There are not words to express to Mrs. Kemper how lucky we feel to have been blessed by her teaching, patience and expertise. 

Also on Wednesday, the 3rd annual Skyway marathon ended with our 26th mile.  This year, 10 of my students completed the work and we enjoyed celebrating our success. 

Friday was my last day of school which is always bittersweet.  The kids enjoyed cleaning their desks with shaving cream, helping me put the finishing touches on the room and saying goodbye.  It was a great day!

Hours after I finished school, we headed off to New Jersey–more to come!!!  Hooray for summer!!

 

 

Eating ice cream with Lane

Me with my marathon finishers

At our staff vs. 6th grade kickball game, Pam Herr, Sarah Bagley and Elvida Henry with Sarah Allen (second from left) retiring after 24 years

My boys cleaning their desks with shaving cream

My 2008-2009 class five minutes before the final bell rang

Midweek Fun…

With the end of school quickly approaching and my blog time taking a hit, I’m combining a few different things into 1 post.  Early in the week, Sherry and Jerry came down for some Elaine time.  They headed to the park, joined me for lunch at Skyway, played games, took walks, played and cooked and played, and Jerry and I actually got to see a late Sunday night movie (a rare treat!). 

Today was Play Day for my kids at school and Elaine joined for a little while to partake in the fun.  She enjoyed watching more than participating, but did enjoy trying to pick up marbles with her toes (quite a fine motor challenge, even for some of the bigger kids!). 

Dancing with her tutu

Examining something (I hope it’s not a snake!) with Grandma

What I don’t know, doesn’t hurt me??

Listening to directions (she thinks she’s such a big kid!!)

Getting help from big helper–the kids are SO sweet with Elaine!

She loved drinking out of her own water bottle, just like the other kids!

Hula Hoop Game

We put a new bulletin board in Elaine’s room with lots of her “schoolwork” attached.  She is so proud!!

Un-Birthday…

Elaine had a birthday celebration at her preschool on Wednesday.  She was so excited and sang Happy Birthday to herself for the better part of a week.  We made ice cream cone cupcakes and ladybug cookies because she couldn’t decide.  I decided to take the morning off, one to be there for the celebration and to say good-bye to her preschool friends.  Elaine’s real birthday will be so much fun this year–she gets it this year!!

They were working on a group project when Jerry and I got there

OOHH–Look at the glue!!

Not the prettiest of birthday treats, but Elaine loved them and the rest of the kids did too!

Elaine’s first class–with 2 absent

Elaine has had the best preschool experience–we’re so lucky to have had Mrs. Kemper!!

Quick Visit with Auntie Ann and Uncle Rich…

Elaine’s Great Auntie Ann and Great Uncle Rich visited on their way to our cousin Matt’s graduation in Missouri.  Elaine warmed up quickly and enjoyed the time she got to spend with them.  My cousin Jenna sent a terrific dollhouse filled with furniture and little animals for Elaine.  This toy was an instant hit and is going to be a huge favorite!  Visits like this one remind me of how much I miss being near my family and, although it was short, we had a great time!!

Aunite Ann showing Elaine her new dollhouse

Elaine loved her Auntie Ann

Being silly with Ann and Rich at breakfast