Field Day...

 

I always loved field day.  It meant a whole day of playing games outside, and, that school was almost out for the summer.  I didn't love going to school.  I am, and always have been, a homebody.  This also means I lasted through very few sleepovers.  Finnley, on the other hand, loves school and doesn't want it to end...ever! She's the type that needs to be doing something constantly throughout the day, and school has been the best outlet for her. I'm also convinced that she could sleep-over-hop from grandma to cousins houses without missing me for one second. 

Field day was a huge success in her eyes.  She enjoyed all the games, the competition, and hanging out with her friends.  As always, I loved watching her interact with her pals, and watching her tote Remi around to say hi to all her classmates and teachers.  Remi, was a good sport and let Finn and her friends take turns hauling her around by the underarms.

 

 

Only two more weeks of school for this chica!  I'm thrilled...her, not so much.

One Down, Many More to Go...

 

Our Dieter (aka Dietster, D-man, D-bop, Bopper, Bop, D) finished his first year of school!  This little guy has grown up so much over the past year, its crazy-town.  At the beginning of the year, he'd make me hold his hand and walk him into the classroom. I'd wait until he found toy at one of the stations and became distracted, then I'd sneak out.  After a while, I still had to walk him into his classroom, but I'd tell him I'd be in the next room and he'd let me go.  Finally, after months and months, he walked into the hallway with his teacher all on his own. 

 

At home, Dieter is my constant shadow, so I know that it took a lot for him to leave me on his own.  Since then, he has begun to reach out and make some really cute friends.  He talks about school and all his "buddies" and when we run into one of them at the park, he totally lights up.  He's loved bringing home his artwork and putting it up on the fridge.  He LOVES to sing, and will sing his bible songs all day long.  He's maturing and growing and becoming a boy.  I can't even begin to express how much I love this little boy and his sweet kisses and snuggles and "I lub you's" throughout the day.

 

 

Dieter and his best buds - Finn and Wendell

 

His last day of preschool happened to be the summer birthday party.  Since Dieter's birthday is the end of June, he got to be one of the VIP's.  We were in charge of the craft and he picked out foam visors and decorations to put on them.  They turned out really cute.  He got to be sung to and blow out his birthday candle.  Since then, he hasn't stopped talking about his real party and who he is going to invite and what we are going to do.  I guess I need to start planning a party!

Way to go on your first of many, many years of school D-man!  We love you!



Somebody turned Thirty....

 

This was a big year in the birthday department!  I turned, wait for it...THIRTY!

I think my biggest struggle with turning thirty is that, inside, I still feel like a twenty year old.  But, then I see somebody who actually is twenty and I realize, "ya, you're not twenty anymore." Darn.

 

Mitch went all out this year for my birthday bash.  He planned a secret trip down to Florida for our little family, and we had a blast!  We left New York with it's 45 degree weather, and arrived to hot, humid Florida at 85 degrees.  It felt good. 

 

For the most part we beached it and pooled it.  The kids played hard, we played hard, and crashed every night.  We played tennis in the mornings, looked for crabs and turtles at night, and even made it to Disney World (we couldn't stay away from Disney for too long)! 

Here are a few snapshots for our trip....

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She must be my girl...Cheetos in each hand!

 

 

 

And...to finish it off, an angel food cake with strawberries, my favorite!

Thank you Mitch for planning such a fun week for our family to be together.

Avalon...

 



Mitch has been on call the last TWO Saturdays.  Bummer.  Double bummer, they've both been rainy kind of depressing days.  So, when my kids started going stir crazy inside, we decided we were going to go on a hike in the rain.  We'd been hearing about a place called Avalon, but hadn't been.  It turned out to be beautiful, and the perfect "hike" for kids.  There were all sorts of trails leading to different places.  My kids took the lead and I just followed with Remi on my back.

 



 

I was nervous that my kids would poop out, or that Dieter would want to be held or something like that, but they did great and it was a really fun, and much needed, outing.  Remi was her usual happy self.  This girl amazes me with her happy personality.  She would just tap on my shoulders or cheeks with her dainty little finger tips, or sing a little "song" as we walked. 

Finnley wanted my ipod and earphones to listen to music as we "exercised" because her jacket had a hole for the headphones to fit through.  She was singing along to whatever song she was listening to, and it was so cute to hear her.  She didn't know hardly any of the words, but she was belting it out.  I'm sure in her head she sounded amazing!  Love this little sass. Her very favorite show right now is The Voice.  She knows all the contestants names, songs they've sung, and even remembers how they wore their hair, etc. 

We sure missed our Daddy, but were glad to have a little adventure in the rain and discover a new part of Long Island.  We'll definitely be taking you back Mitchie!

/

The Lindsay's Take Manhattan...

My friend, Lindsey Pizza, aka, "One of the Lindsay's" came to visit me!  Yay!  I love, love, love visitors, and she was quite the special treat.  Day one she came out to my home where we took her around our town and visited with her sister-in-law who also lives out on Long Island.  Friday, after sending Finnley off to school, I got a sitter and we headed into the city for the next two days.  It was a blast.  We went non-stop, talked non-stop, ate non-stop, and laughed non-stop.  It was a much needed "release" and I'm still feeling its benefits weeks later.

Our day started out at Central Park where we rented bikes and rode the loop, hitting all the must-see's along the way.  Then we detoured over to Levain Bakery so Lindsey could see what all the fuss was about.  She wasn't disappointed.  Who is? 

 

 

 

Next, we headed to Times Square where we picked up some tickets to Jersey Boys, and shopped around until it was time to head to our show.

 

 

After Jersey Boys, which was amazing, we headed to Shake Shack at 11pm.  Linds had never been, and although she's not a meat eater (what!!???) she enjoyed that burger and fries (and shake) as much as me.  We rolled into bed after 1am and of course, kept talking and talking like we were 16 and could survive long days and late nights like it was nobody's business. Wrong. 

Saturday we headed down to Chelsea Market and ate flatbread on the Highline.  We met the most amazing people throughout our weekend.  We would start talking to people, and then next thing you know, we're getting the sweetest email from them.  It happened several times, and literally made our weekend. 

 

We finished our day walking through Washington Square Park, SoHo, shopping Tori Burch knock-offs on Canal Street, eating more delicious food, and eventually training it back to Long Island. It was such a fun, quick, weekend, and I hope we do it again before I move.  If not, we'll just come back together!  Thanks for the visit Linds.