NEW PICTURES

To catch you up with our Summer activities, I will include few words and more pics this time!! Enjoy!!

These first few are the infamous E-town Fair!! woo-hoo!

PEACE!

Okay, is it me, or do sheep really look like they belong on a different planet? weird.

How cute is this?

SMILE! doesn't it look like it is smiling? for real.

Claire could spend everyday grooming bunnies....

and loving bunnies.....

and just being happy:)

THE BEACH!!!!

Claire is getting ready for some boogie boarding...with Daddy of course! She still likes to have big bad Dad by her side!!

Ayden's goal was to be the best skim boarder possible this year....he is definitely the best in our family!! It took a few tries, but once he started skimming, there was NO stopping him!

Just scouting for the perfect wave!

wipeout!

I like to call this picture "Gram's mini-me"! She's got the cover up, the visor, the sunglasses, and the chair....hold on, is that Gram or Claire. It is so hard to tell!

COMING SOON

Okay...so this is what happens when you do not remember your camera on vacations!! OF COURSE, the grandparents are great sources of pictures (my mom , Jason's dad), BUT I haven't been able to get those pictures just yet!

In a nut shell, we've have had a really awesome summer. It's hard to believe it's over in only one more week. The kids are trying to be excited for school, and I have to admit I am trying to be excited too. It is actually going to feel pretty lonely with them being at school ALL DAY:(

Most of our days have been at the pool..my parents, or the public pool with friends...OR at home jumping on the trampoline with friends, playing dress up, spies, painting, playing GI Joe OR cleaning up after any of the mentioned activities!! The kids have really had fun this Summer and are learning to get along quite well. For that I am VERY thankful!

We also had two phenomenal vacations...one with my family at Canandaigua Lake, and one at Bethany Beach with Jason's family. The weather cooperated on both vacations and we all had a blast at both. The kids had so much fun tubing and boating on one vacation, and on the next they were skim boarding on the beach, jumping waves and building sand castles.

So I only have a few pics of my own to share (from Canandaigua), and the quality isn't great, but it will have to hold you over. There will be more adventurous pictures COMING SOON!

AHOY THERE MATIES! The Captain and his first mates head to shore!! and yes they were to be addressed as Captain and first mates!

Eli attempts his first plunge into the frigid lake water....and loved every minute!

WHEW!! That's enough swimming, boating and tubing for one day!!

WELLLL...some of us have more energy than other!!

These are some sleepy kids waking up together on vacation....what
a picture. Ayden was still tucked into his bed snoozing away the morning:)

Claire, Ayden and Trent decided the dock was a perfect place to get wet! I don't know how many times they jumped of of that thing!! I guess a good night sleep can do wonders!!

FAIRWELL TO MJ

It has certainly been very sad to learn of Michael Jackson's death this Summer. Let me preface all of this by saying, Jason and I have always been big fans and do not believe he is any of the negative hoopla the media sets him up to be. We like to capitalize on the good things he has done as well.
ANYWAY...the kids have been exposed to the Jackson 5 for quite some time, but not as many of MJ's pop hits. With the media and radio coverage of his life one of my children has become somewhat obsessed with the songs, the look and the dances of Michael Jackson.

Yes, you guessed it...Ayden is now on a mission to dance and sing like the KING OF POP. He created this get-up on his own while listening to Thriller, Beat It, Bad and number of other MJ songs that are now on the ipod.


He really has the spin down, and is working on the moonwalk daily. We even found moonwalk lessons on youtube, which have been very helpful! As you can imagine his dance moves are just as unique as MJ's and also possess the major cool factor that Ayden includes in everything that he does. Someday he is really going to love these pictures!!

So I will also take this moment to include Ayden's thoughtfulness and charitable spirit. We had a yard sale today which was almost entirely made up of their "things". He suggested, and Claire agreed, that rather than keep the money for themselves, they give it to other countries that need to build schools for the children of their nation. I am so proud. We found an organization, "Save the Children" that reaches out to children all over the world, but has a specific donation for countries in conflict. We will be donating their $135.00 to building schools that can teach civil rights and educate children in countries in conflict. The goal of this specific cause is to have 3 million children in schools by 2010. Let's hope that Ayden and Claire can make a difference!

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!

Anybody who knows Claire and Ayden know who this is...oh yes, in the flesh...Nat and Alex Wolfe from the infamous Naked Brothers Band!! It really was a dream come true for the kids! We have told them for the past 3 years that if there ever was an opportunity, we would take them to see their favorite band in concert.

Let me first tell you, that we almost missed it!! Sunday morning Jason opened up the newspaper and hands it to me with a knowing face...."Nat and Alex Wolfe will perform at HersheyPark Ampitheater today at 4 and 6:30" WELL, did we even have a choice? NO WAY. So at 10 am we packed up lunches, bought some tickets to the park and off we went on a Naked Brothers Band pilgrimage!
Let me also say this, I have NEVER waited in line for ANY concert, EVER. I have now. The doors opened at 3:00 and were general admission seats only, SOOOOO I started standing in line between 1 and 1:30!! Yes, I know...we went a little overboard, BUT we got some good seats, darn it!

The kids were in awe! Seriously we were eye level with Nat on stage (about the 4th or 5th row, center!) Once Claire got over her star struckeness, she had a great time dancing, woo-hooing, and participating in everyway she could!
Ayden loved it, but as you can imagine played it very cool. He observed and studied their every move in hopes that one day girls will be screaming for him as they were for Alex and Nat! He REALLY loved it and was very into the clapping and holding rock-n-roll hands in the air after a good song:)

And yes, for those of you asking whether or not Jason and I had a good time! Honestly, the performance was very good. These kids really have talent. THe music was great and their show was very genuine.

ROCK ON!

Jason took a short video with the camera...I can't flip it in the right direction, plus Jason flips it during the video? not sure why? Anyway...enjoy!

ALOHA!

Claire had a VERY happy birthday this year! She organized a luau as her birthday theme! Can you believe that she is now 6 YEARS OLD! As you can see, she invited a few friends and her cousins to celebrate the big day! Claire LOVES a party!

Of course, no party is complete without Daddy doing something or some THINGS that are totally embarrassing! Hula dance anyone?

Peer pressure CAN be a wonderful thing....or not. In this case, it gave Claire the extra nudge to dare to jump off the diving board! WAY TO GO CLAIRE! She has really become quite the fish this Summer! She is now swimming underwater and everything, with no floaties! She is very proud and so are we!

JUMP JUMP an JUMP some more

My in-laws had the brilliant foresight to gift a trampoline to the kids for their Summer birthdays! WE LOVE THE TRAMPOLINE. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! It is used non-stop and is TERRIFIC for getting out all the energy that stores up inside their little bodies!!
Ayden can be quite the wild man when jumping while Claire and her friends enjoy playing any number of things on the trampoline. Sometimes they are all wild animals in a cage, sometimes they play house on it, and other times it looks like WWF SMACKDOWN wrestling!(that is usually when Ayden joins in on the playtime!)
It is seriously so fun to watch. They laugh at themselves while they jump and pretty soon when it becomes contagious you find yourself laughing with them!

SUMMER BREAK!!!

Well, the year has finally ended! The kids are both happy and sad....they have had a wonderful year, but will miss their teachers and friends! Despite all that, we cannot wait to enjoy Summer in its entirety....rest, relaxation, friends, and SUNSHINE!

I feel so thankful to have two kids who love to learn and who are enjoying and appreciating the life they live. AYDEN AND CLAIRE, Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you. You are both TERRIFIC individuals bubbly over with confidence, ambition, intelligence, and the blessing of knowing how to be kind and happy. WE LOVE YOU!

Claire was SO proud to graduate from kindergarten...yes I know we have graduations and celebrations for EVERYTHING, but it is a big deal to them!! AND TO US...I don't think there was a single mom in the room who did not have teary eyes. Isn't it pathetic? Mrs. Comp made graduation very special, including a slide show of memories from the year. It was terrific. Claire will be excited to say hello to Mrs Comp next year as she passes her class to get to 1st grade!

Claire has made MANY friends this year, and this is just one. His name is Ian. They have actually known each other since they were very little (his sister and Ayden went to preschool together and then Claire and Ian were in a class together too when they were 3)! We have loved having play dates with him throughout the year....they are both VERY head strong, but oddly enough they enjoy being together anyway. They kind of have this cute little banter about their conversations. It sort of sounds like two ninety year olds bickering, BUT NEVER ANGRY!! It's been great! We love Ian. I am sure we will keep in touch over the Summer.

Oh, my Ayden. He has just LOVED first grade.....and especially loved Mrs. Stagliano. My little sensitive boy had a hard time saying good-bye this week, reminding himself regularyly that he will be able to stop by her classroom for years to come. His one question to me was, " How will I see Mrs Stagliano after fifth grade?" I think he has a few years to worry about that!
She has been a dream come true! Claire has fingers, toes, ankles, arms, eyes and everything else crossed so that she will have Mrs Stagliano next year! (We know she will have a great teacher no matter what, but we would love another year with her, as well)!

This is Mrs Stagliano stuck in a bear hug from many of the boys in her class! Too cute!

IT"S FIELD DAY!

READY~AIM~FIRE!!

Poor Mrs. Stagliano! What a good sport! Her entire first grade class, Ayden inluded, took aim at her face with wet sponge balls....and they enjoyed every minute of it!! She is going to be a teacher that Ayden always remembers. He truly cares about her and really you can see that she genuinely cares for them too. What a great memory!

The gym teacher at East High Elementary is one of the best I've ever seen....she is Ayden's buddy! He looks forward to gym class every week, and always has a special story to share about Miss Shenk. She coordinates the field day at East High, which is a sight to see!! THere are thirty events/activities for K through 2nd grade. It is all about being active and HAVING FUN!! The student just LOVE it...and so do I!
Ayden loved all of the activities but the water games are always the best part! It also gives Ayden a chance to stand around and look cool:) The top picture is a relay race where the bucket of water is placed on your head as you hop from lilly pad to lilly pad!! How fun is that?


Claire had her first experience with musical buckets! It was so fun to see her little bum sink into the freezing water every time the music stopped. Being the competitor she is, she was on of the last two standing! Way to go Claire!

Needless to say the kids are already looking forward to Field Day next year! Ayden has Claire pretty excited for gym class, and getting to know Miss Shenk when she is a first grader. Wow I'll have a first and second grader next year. Unbelievable.

Good times!

Even though I do not have a picture of our "reunion" I have to mention my good friend Annie, and her children Addy, Laynie, and Hailey. They were visiting from Spokane, WA...they moved there last summer. They spent all of last week at Annie's parents' house which is right down the street from our house:) Unfortunately Annie's husband Kelly couldn't come on the trip:( We missed you Kelly! (Especially Jason missed you, as you can imagine!)

I am SO happy we were able to spend time with them throughout the week. It truly was like we never skipped a beat! The kids and I just LOVED having them back in our part of the country. It was a bitter sweet visit...I loved the effortless chit-chat, and instant playtime for the kids, but I miss having that ALL THE TIME, like the good 'ole days! Ayden even shed very real tears when it was time for them to go home!

THANK YOU ANNIE (and Kelly, ...you get some credit too!) FOR VISITING US AND BEING SUCH GREAT FRIENDS!!! WE MISS YOU ALREADY!!