Although this picture is a few weeks old, I still thought I would share it. Let me take moment to explain how grateful I am that I have two kids who love each other SO much. They might not realize that what they have is sibling affection, but they have playing together so well lately! Maybe it is the whole "Santa-factor", but I will take what I can get. Ayden and Claire have truly started to recognize that they are friends. Sometimes, even best friends....what else could a mother ever want?
Claire has been taking pictures of everything lately...Our tree, our decorations, these snowmen, her artwork...the list goes on and on! If she can't find my camera, she is taking pictures with my cell phone. She hasn't asked for it, but I think Santa may have a good gift for her for Christmas!
Ayden has been playing basketball the last couple of weekends. He LOVES it. His good friend, Ryan, is also playing, which makes the game even more fun. So far they have not had any games, but have done a lot of practicing and drills. Next weekend the boys will be divided into teams and will have real games! How exciting! Claire, Jason and I will be the cheering him on...at 8am!! So much for sleeping in on the weekends!

PREPARING FOR WINTER

This is my wonderfully ambitious daughter cleaning all of the windows in the first floor of our house! She is such a great helper! At least I think she was helping me, or she may have been in a dramatic moment of pretend, playing Cinderella. hmmmm ...what would that make me?

As Winter approaches, I have already noticed a change in our daily activities. You know.... replacing all of our healthy and active routines, with ones more conducive to staying inside, like making cookies! Okay, okay.....I am exaggerating a little bit! We cannot make cookies too often or Jason would be sick from over indulgence!
Of course we still play outside, when it is sunny and warm enough, but it just isn't the same as warm evenings of playing basketball and riding our bikes with our neighborhood friends. The kids have found plenty of ways to entertain themselves now that it is dark and cold after school. Let's hope they continue with their creative streak!


Ayden has become VERY serious about drawing. He is always in deep concentration while illustrating his masterpieces. This picture is a rendition of "KUNG FU Panda". As a side note, the movie is really funny...we all laughed out loud during a number of parts. Jack Black is pretty hilarious.











Let me introduce you to Chez Claire. Claire has decided that she lives behind the couch! She colors, obsessively in her little "cave" and hangs her works of art in her space. It has now spewed forth onto the walls of my house! We actually think Barbie and Princeses fit in nicely with the rest of our decor.

IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!!

Okay...I know a blog is supposed to keep everyone updated on our lives, but......well, life happens at a rapid pace, so I haven't been able to keep up!
Now that winter is around the corner I should be able to do a better job of it! SO, let me just pick up with Halloween pictures. ENJOY!
Obviously we went with a Star Wars Theme....Ayden is Luke, Claire is Leia, I am an ewok, and Jason is the tall scary guy!! The little ninja and the big football player are my nephews. We had a GREAT time trick-or-treating around our neighborhood!

Ayden, was most concerned with his "cool factor". He was, indeed, the coolest Luke I have ever seen! He has great jedi potential!







Claire was quick to point out that Leia does, in fact, have VERY red lips, so it was important to have the necessary make-up at hand!






It is VERY serious work being Luke and Leia. After all, they do have the job of saving the entire universe! This is all very heavy stuff for a 5 and 7 year old!

OUR CHAMPION

Our all-too-serious athlete strategizes with his friend Ryan on how to win the "BIG RACE". Our rec commission sponsors a Fun Run for Elementary students. Ayden, and many of his buddies, entered to run a 1/2 mile run. To Ayden's great surprise he came in SECOND PLACE!! We knew he had it in him, but I think he was pleasantly surprised with himself. He is SO proud! We are so proud of him and even more excited that he has gained a new confidence in himself. He is starting to realize that sports are fun and it doesn't have to be stressful!!
The first five runners have been invited to participate in the Lancaster County Junior Cross Country Race on October 5th. They will only have to run a 1/4 of a mile at this race, so they are planning to be "super-fast" this time!! It should be a great time...The top 4 kids are all from Mrs. Stagliano's (his teacher) 1st grade class, so Ayden will be able to run with his friends again, which makes all the difference!

OUR LITTLE ACTIVIST

As many of of you know, Claire has become quite the activist this past week. She has made it her mission to save the polar bears. Everyday after school she draws more pictures and even developed two "books" about polar bears in case she receives more orders (which she has and will continue to bring in).

On her first day, she made $16.00 towards her "Save the Polar Bear Seas" fund. She is thrilled! She is still waiting to hear from the President and his helpers, but I received word that Senator Casey is "reviewing" her concern and will be in touch soon? That would REALLY make her day!

Thank-you to all who are taking her cause seriously. Needless to say, her tree-hugging parents are VERY proud!

FAMILY PICTURES

I thought I would share a few of our family pictures....these really are not the best ones, but they are the only ones that were not rotated (standing up on end). I haven't figured out how to rotate them or IF you can rotate them on the blog. ANYWAY, we had so much fun getting our pictures taken. The kids actually love it and are two of the biggest ham-bones I have ever seen! The rest of the pictures can be seen on the sears website, but you have to have a password, etc. SO you will have to wait to see them!
I love how much they crack each other up!! They are so funny together!

BRIAN AND ERICA'S WEDDING DAY!!

We all had a great time on Brian and Erica's "big day". It was so much fun...the weather was perfect, the beach house was incredible and the wedding was very touching.....It's not everyday we'll see those two professing their love for each other, so it was an exceptionally special occasion. We all know, of course, how unique a couple they are, but it was really fun to celebrate it with them and their friends! The kids loved it, and participated whole-heartedly from playing at the beach with friends, to cleaning and setting up , to dancing at the reception.


Claire loved every moment of the wedding. She watched Erica get her hair and makeup done, and took in every step of the day. She, of course, was a work horse, too, making sure the dance floor was clean, and that everyone was dressed and ready in time for the big event!















Ayden, on the other hand spent a lot of time watching the waves, trying to figure out how he can improve his game on the skim board! He loves being at the beach, and loves trying to fit "that image." He caught on to the skim board, but not without a couple
spills along the way...I think he liked that part of it anyway! He definitely likes to figure it out for himself, which is a good thing....
Let's just say he looked a little more natural on the board than his
daddy did!

SHE LOST HER TOOTH!

Claire has enthusiastically been wiggling her teeth since her 4th birthday.....literally. Before Claire even had any loose teeth, she was anxious about losing them! Well, the day has come! She has had two loose teeth for about a month now, and she finally "yanked" one out right at the dinner table! She was ecstatic! Of course, the tooth fairy came to visit and left fairy dust all over her bed, along with $2.00...the first tooth is always worth more than the others. How exciting!

SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOL DAYS

As most of you know or have assumed...the kids are back to school. Yes....I have the house all to myself for 3 hours every morning!! I hardly know what to do with myself. I actually get to listen to the Today Show...take a shower with no interuptions...go to my yoga class two times a week. I might actually enjoy this!
Really, it seems pretty quiet and I do miss them while they are gone. That is more than they can say about me, I am sure. They both LOVE their teachers and what more could a parent ask for? I'll be helping out in their classrooms from time to time, so I will see them in action soon enough!

THE E-TOWN FAIR

My babies are not babies anymore, but I am so glad that they still enjoy the simple things!! Ayden and Claire could have spent all afternoon watching baby chicks hatch from their eggs and petting the animals at the fair. They really were very cute!
The kids loved holding the bunnies, but decided they still like their guinea pigs more, because the piggies don't scratch so much! When a bunny scratched Claire, she said, "DARN IT!! I am NOT holding YOU any more!!" She is a pretty funny kid.
I couldn't resist taking this picture, because I thought the lighting was too perfect. And, hoestly that is one of the cutest baby cows I 've ever seen!

KNOEBELS

We went to Knoebels Amusement Park this past weekend. It was perfect weather, the kids were great, nobody got sick on any rides....it was an all around fun time. My parents and sister, and nephews went, too...it is our tradition!!
Claire was brave enough to try a roller coaster this year....and she didn't like it. It really was pretty rough, though. And Ayden... well he is brave enough for every ride, and really hasn't found anything that he doesn' t like!!
We also did some camping, which was super fun. The kids loved it!

FINALLY

We FINALLY made it to Bethany Beach... for those of you who do not know, Bethany is where Jason's parents have a condo on the bay. It was great. The kids, of course, had a great time playing on the beach, kayaking, shopping on the board walk, and just hanging out.

Here are my kids just being too cool for words as they watched a Beatles tribute band. It just so happens that they are big Beatles fans, so they LOVED the "concert". Ayden studied every musician, deciding who he is going to be the most like when he has band...and Claire...well she is just my party girl. She was dancing, and swaying with her glow stick held high in the air singing the "na-na-na's" of "Hey Jude".
When not singing, dancing, or planning a musicians life...they eat. What better way to spend a night on the board walk, than to eat sugar loaded snowcones. They not only give you a sugar rush for the entire night, but also turn your whole being a different color!!! Awesome!

CLUES

Because the puzzler below is so difficult to see I will add clues for you to find "the visitor".

1. I find this pepper very tasty!!
2. I will not leaf anything behind after I have my meal.
3. I am bending over backwards to munch on my feast.

PUZZLER

While picking a pepper from my garden, I surprisingly came upon a visitor.... Can you find it in the picture?
The revealing answer will be posted soon.

Summer Activities

I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted anything, so here are a few fun things that we have been doing to keep busy. The kids made chocolate covered marshmallows with their friends the other day...the marshmallows were not the only thing covered in chocolate! It was really fun... they each decorated the marshmallows with sprinkles and toppings to make them unique.


We have taken LOTS of bike rides this Summer. These two monkeys are skipping rocks by the stream during a break from our ride on the Rails to Trails path.
We also tie dyed shirts , and learned to play badmitten, volleyball, and frisbee in the back yard.

The fortress

The kids have been pretty creative during this summer. This is their fort that they have been playing in from time to time. It is like another world in there. Each kid (their friends Brody and Kayla are "fort people" too) has a different job. There is always a "food person"... his/her job is to (surprise) get the food and drinks for everyone! Then, there is a captain, usually Kayla, who is the oldest....the captain is basically "the boss". The next two positions are a little confusing. One is a guard and the other is a look-out. The look-out yells if any enemies are coming... oh yeah, I usually play that part, even when I am not playing...If the look-out yells, then the guard begins to retaliate, but only the guard can fight, not the look-out. It is all very complicated and very planned. While in the fort, they really do not plan for battles. Typically one will hear loud singing coming from the fort. There are even some creatively original and lyrical songs that are composed within the fortress walls. It's been fun.

Good-bye Teeth

Ayden has become a toothless wonder. He lost his other front tooth yesterday, and of course, the tooth fairy brought him a dollar! Pulling teeth is Ayden's new expertise. He just yanked it out all by himself, in front of his proud sister, Claire. I'm not sure who was more excited!

Summertime Body Art

These are the kinds of things my children do to entertain themselves in the Summer! This week their creative side was unleashed when they were inspired by their Uncle Brian's new tattoo. As you can see there are so many likenesses, although Ayden's arm may be a bit beefier than Brian's!
The detail is quite elaborate on Ayden's close up. You can see how seriously he took this new role as a tattoo artist.




Claire, on the other hand, is still just trying to look cute even if she does have a big purple tat on her arm. Where the detail is lacking, the emphasis on color and style is the priority in her design.
So, we are sending a big THANK YOU to Uncle Brian for his creative inspiration. I am sure the kids would lend their body art expertise to anyone wanting a trial tattoo. Washable marker makes a great alternative to the real thing!!