PA final

Nate thought that it would be fun for the kids to catch some fish. So we went to a fish farm, so they were guaranteed to catch a fish. So we rented two poles and the kids each had a chance to throw in their poles and catch a fish. Lexie caught the only gold colored one and the boys caught regular trouts.

We cooked Lex's in the fire after doing smores on the fire that night and the boys we took home and did for Sunday dinner the next day. After the kids got their fishies we went back and ate dinner and did smores and ghost stories. Before it got too late we had a croquet match. The kids loved being able to say ghost stories. Chandler did not like the endings to Nate or I's, so he changed our endings. Even though it was verrrry wet, we had a fun time as a family.

PA vacation part 4

Our next stop was to a place called Caddy Shack, we went here last year and the kids had a lot of fun. They have mini golf, race cars, little boats, and some little kid rides. The only thing the kids wished that they were able to do was go on the train that they have there. They do all their rides and golf by tickets, and so the tickets ran out quite quickly with six of us using them.

Chan and Spence rode on the little race cars. They all rode on the airplanes. Lex, Wes, and I went on the tubs that spin around. Lex decided that she wanted to do the tub all by herself, she did a pretty good job of turning herself around. We ended this part of the day with mini golf. Wes just enjoyed throwing his ball down the hole and swinging his golf club all over. The kids had a fun time and luckily it only sprinkled for part of the time we were there.

PA vacation part 3

On Saturday we woke up to kind of clear sky's, so we decided to go ahead with the activities that we had planned. We first took a nice long hike down to a river. The kids did really well with the path, only problem was alllll the mud that we encountered on the path. Of course Wes had to walk/run the whole way, not caring if he fell. It was a little steep and rocky in places, so he had a fit when we had to hold his hand to help him. Other times we had to carry him, which we in turn got all dirty from holding him. Nate took us on a little detour, so we ended up going down some steep rocks..it was great fun.

We made it down to the water and the first thing Wes wants to do is go straight for it, to get in. The first place we stopped was a little rocky and slippery, so we headed off somewhere else. The second stop the kids were able to throw in rocks and walk around a little bit easier. Of course Wesley had to go straight in the river, which got his pants and shoes soaked before we get to him. Then he was walking back to the little shore and about fell in, which luckily I was right there and caught him. Then Spencer slipped and fell straight on his back on a rock partially covered in water. Which just a few minutes before we asked him not to walk.

On the way back it of course started to rain, which up until this point it had been dry. Wesley got almost back to the car and decided that he was tired and wanted me to carry him back. I was surprised that he was able to keep up and even at times be ahead of us, that kids has some serious energy. Luckily I had brought extra pants for all the kids, next time I will bring extra undies and socks too. The kids had a fun time hiking around and getting their energy out.

PA vacation part 2

Our next adventure led us to Laurel Caverns just up from the Fort. Our plans were to find a picnic area and eat lunch. But guess what it was RAINING...big surprise. So we had to fix and eat our lunch in the car.

Laurel Caverns is privately owned, so therefore is kind of expensive to go to. So I don't think we will be going back anytime soon:) The kids had an absolute blast walking down into the cave. Of course Wesley all he wanted to do was run, therefore falling down a lot. I think he left with as much dirt on him as there was on the floor of the cave..the kid was covered. A little note to self: do not put Wes in a white jacket again(it is stained forever).

The kids really liked seeing all the different rock formations that were in there. Their favorite part was when the guide turned off the lights and it was total darkness, that was not their favorite part..but the music and light show was after the lights were off. I think for little kids the tour was a little long, but in all it was a fun and very dirty adventure. If you plan on ever going in a cavern with little kids, dress them in old clothes you don't care about the dirt does not come out of clothes very easily.

PA vacation

For the past two years we have gone to western PA and stayed in a cabin for a few days. Both Nate and I grew up going every year to the same place and wanted the same tradition for our children. As we were coming home we thought that maybe we should try different areas and see where we would like to go as a yearly tradition. Rockwood is a fun place, but you have to drive at least 30 minutes or more to get to anywhere you wanted to go and you had to pay money for a lot of the things we did. We want to a find a place that has things closer and maybe things that are included with the price of accommodations, so any recommendations would be fabulous.

We left early on a friday, it is about a three hour drive. We were expecting it to be a rainy weekend and it was very wet. I was good about packing the kids a lot of clothes to change into, but not Nate and I. With kids you get just about as dirty as they do.

Our first stop was to Fort Necessity. This fight at this fort was in the summer of 1754 and was the opening battle of the war fought by England and France for control of the N. American continent. It was also the opening fight known as the French and Indian War. This was also the first major event in the military career of George Washington. SO there is a little bit of history to what made this fort so significant. I was surprised at how small the fort really was. They had a great visitor center and a great playground for the kiddies. Only drawback was the rain, it has overstayed it's welcome on the east coast. SO here are a few pics from the fort and surrounding areas.

Lexie's first day of school

Two weeks ago Lexie started preschool. This was her first day ever to go to school, so it was a bittersweet day. It was a little sad to see her move onto this next phase of her life. She seemed very ready to start school, she has wanted to go for about two years now. When I told her that she was going to school last year, the anticipation about killed her. Everyday she would ask if today was the day she was going.

She was not scared at all, she knew what and where she was going. She goes two days a week and absolutely loves going. Now she can't wait to stay for lunch bunch next year so she can stay and eat at school. I love to see that she is sooooo excited for school and loves going.

School week 3

I am doing my first post on my iPhone, so hopefully there won't be too many mistakes. Well we are into the third week of school for the boys and they are still excited to go. It is weird to think that I have two in elementary and one in preschool, crazy. I need to post about Lex's first day of school.
It is interesting the difference between chan and spence in how they behave at school. Chan is a very active and stubborn personality( he must get that from Nate, right? ). But at school he is a very well behaved kid. I think in the last two years of school he got maybe 3 yellows and the rest of the time he was on green. Then you have spence that is a very talkative kid ALL the time. It does not matter where he is. We have been working on him listening when we ask him to do something, he is having the same problem at school. They have been in school not quite three weeks and he has moved his clip to yellow twice. Both for not listening, so if anyone has some helpful suggestions...they would be welcome. I have tried many different techniques with him and nothing seems to get through to him. He realizes what he is doing, but won't change. He is a pretty good kid, but just needs a little help with listening. I am going to try the reward system and take it one month at a time.

1st Day of school

Well it has taken me the last four hours, but I have officially updated our blog from the last four months of our lives. Nate cleaned off our computer a little while back. So I had to reload our picture program, camera software and upload all the pics from forever ago. Not thinking that it would take me this long to put together these posts. I hope that I can keep up to date this time round:)

Chandler and Spencer started school today. It has been a bittersweet morning that is for sure. I have truly loved having all my kids home during the summer. We had a great time together. Chandler started first grade and was very nervous. He had heard that there would be a lot of writing and he did not like that. He does fine writing, he just has to have more confidence in himself. Luckily he got a teacher that he was really familiar with. And she is aware of his speech and OT needs.
Spencer was soooooo excited to start Kindergarten. When we got the postcards last week he carried it around with him for two days. He got Mrs. T., which was Chans teacher the past two years. We loved her and I think it will be a good fit for him.
It was really sad to put two of my kids on the bus this year, I could handle one. I was surprised that I did not cry, maybe tomorrow it will set in. Spencer just seems so young to be in Kindergarten all ready. He really isn't, but I just feel that way. So we will see how the first day went and if Spence finished his lunch..he likes to talk a lot:)

Wesley's 2nd Birthday

Well our little guy turned two a few weeks ago. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was going to the hospital to have him. Don't you just love it when people say things like that:) The two years has gone by too quickly for me. Maybe it is because he is our last and I feel like life is just passing us by.

This little guy has definitely been a light in our home. Two years ago was the hardest year that Nate and I had experienced since being married. We had just moved back to MD into a two bedroom apartment with our 3 little ones. A few of us had a REALLY REALLY hard time adjusting to life back here. Three weeks after moving we found out we were pregnant, total shock. We had gotten rid of a lot of our baby stuff before moving. I felt like maybe three would be enough for us, I was proven wrong.
Then two months later my maternal grandma passed away and a short 6 months later my maternal grandpa passed. Then a few days after that a good friend passed away from cancer. Being really close to my due date I was not able to fly home for my grandpa or friends funeral. Three months after moving Nate's job fired a significant amount of people, which made us a little nervous.
Then this little guy was born and it was a needed blessing into our lives. He was the easiest baby I could have prayed for. I was the most sick with him, so this was a welcome reprieve.
Up until he turned 18 months he was the most mellow baby and kid, absolute angel. When he turned 18 months it was watch out world here I come. He is the most curious kid ever. It is funny he is almost a clone of Spence. He gets into trouble like him and gets the exact same facial expressions. But he has a distinct personality that is all his own. He will come up to you and give the best hugs and when you are sad he knows how to make people laugh.
His favorite thing is playing in ANY water. It does not matter how much or where he heads for it. He loves to play with diggers and calls all construction vehicles a digger. He will sit with his diggers and cars and play for a good 30 minutes, he loves them. I am so glad to have this little guy in our lives and remind us of the blessings that they are.

Summer

Now we are onto Summer time, a quick catch up for the past few months. I wanted the kids summer to be a fun one filled with fun adventures. I personally feel like I could have done more during the summer, it just flew by. We had come up with a weekly schedule of fun activities to do. Our schedule went as follows: Monday-pool day; Tuesday-field trip; Wednesday-park day; Thursday-grocery shopping and laundry; Friday-cleaning day. When Chandler started summer school it altered the schedule a little bit, we had to go later in the day. My plan was to also do a science experiment everyday and the kids seemed to have fun with that. We filled the down times with reading, workbooks, role playing, and using our imaginations playing all sorts of things.

Some of the field trips we did were: zoo, library, mommy and me, splash pad, museums,Brookside Gardens, Fort McHenry, and bowling. We tried out a different park each week, which was fun. The kids were really good about helping with the laundry, so that we could do things like water balloon fights. Some of the science experiments we did were: make play-doh, gak, bubbles, and homemade popcorn. We also did things like mixing colors with shaving cream to see what colors we could mix to make others, and counting rings to see how old trees were. The kids loved doing these and missed when we would skip a day.

I was surprised at how quickly the summer flew by when we kept ourselves busy. Chandler also had to get stitches on his chin from falling on a playground step. He did not like getting the stitches on our out. The other parts of summer were filled with playdates with friends and parties.

I need to mention the fourth of July in here also. We went down to Ryan and Anne's for a barbecue and some fireworks at their house. We also went to the Montgomery County Agricultural fair. Which the kids loved, they enjoyed all the animals. Their favorite part was the John Deere area, they had ride on toys the kids get on, So all in all we had a great summer with no major issues, just lots of fun. So here are a few pics from our summer.