FALL FUN

The kids carved their pumpkins Tuesday night....I think this is the first year they have done everything on their own. They made the lid, they "gutted" it and they designed/carved their jack-o-lanterns ALL BY THEMSELVES! It was really fun. You'll have to wait to see their designs on Trick-or-Treat. I will post many pictures of my costumed family!



A TEA PARTY!!

On another note....Claire and I went to a mother/daughter tea party last weekend and had a very nice time! She chose our outfits for the special occasion. The tea included a professional photo, yummy sandwiches and scones, a magic show, an open candy bar AND quality time with my Baby-girl!! It doesn't get much better than that!

Claire volunteered to help the magician and was able to pull scarves out of his magic sack....when she uttered the magic words the scarves would change colors!! ooooh-ahhhh!

We had a terrific time...the only bummer was that Benny and Lilo found her candy from the tea party and ate all of it! AHHHH! Apparently they do not like starbursts, because all the starbursts were nicely left whole among all the trash and scraps they had torn through! How weird is that? Only our "special" dogs would be finicky about candy!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN......

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN
DANCE DANCE DANCE!!

WOOOO!! We were on the hot tamale train last night!! Thanks to our great friends Cole and Brian, we all went to Baltimore for the tour of "So you Think You Can Dance!" It was awesome. The kids LOVED it and were talking about their favorite parts this morning. Of course, They want to grow up to be on the show! Go for it kiddos!

This is what happens when you ask 3 grown men to strike a dance pose at a SYTYCD show!

Excitement mounts as we wait for the dancers to appear on stage....the stage is in the background of these pics. We had a pretty awesome view and could see everything perfectly from our seats! It was so fun to see the entire routines on stage, rather than the little window that we see on our TVs at home.

The kids (and adults) were really impressed with so much of the show! We didn't get home until after midnight...I don't know what kind of parents/educators that makes us!! The kids went to school an hour late this morning:( Sais la vie!
We had a TERRIFIC time. Thanks again, Cole and Brian.

VENTING

No pictures this week guys! Let me just take a moment to recap our last two weeks...Last weekend Ayden sprained his foot on the trampoline while jumping with his Daddy, of course:) The poor kid was using crutches for five days and still has a limp! Sprains take some time to heal even on little people. So, that was last Sunday....

Last Friday Claire was sent home from school with a fever! Of course this is after I insisted she go to school, insisted her throat was sore from her allergies, and insisted that she would be fine once she went to school and saw her friends.....oops. This poor child had a fever Friday through Wednesday (today)!! I THINK we have finally conquered this virus -ear infection- strep -combo, BUT HOLY MOLY!!!!

It's just crazy that all we hear about is the flu and swine flu , blah blah blah, and here I am with a child who has neither, but has missed 4 days of school!! I guess what I am trying to say is none of us know or can predict what ailment we will encounter this year....all we can do is our best to stay healthy and happy:) and believe me I am trying to stay happy!

SOOOOO, thanks for listening to me vent!! I say all of these things in the most cheerful way possible...please don't read it as otherwise!! Hopefully all of YOU are doing better than we have been these few weeks!! Let's pray that Ayden, Jason and I don't get bit by the fever bug too:)

FALL FUN!

These first three pictures are of the kids doing the "Elementary Run for Fitness" race. They did an AWESOME job. The course is a 1/2 mile run around the E-town Fairgrounds. There were about 15 girls in Claire's race...and she placed 3rd!!! WAY TO GO CLAIRE!!!!

There were about 20-25 boys in Ayden's race. One of the boys is Ayden friend and BIGGEST competition...they were in the same class last year and like to compete for the fastest times in EVERYTHING. His race was very fast paced, but he pulled through and came in 2nd place.
WE ARE SO PROUD AYDEN!! GREAT JOB.

Of course the race is fun, but the kids take it very seriously too! They were both very pleased with their accomplishments and did their very best! That's all we ever ask of them! p.s. the pics of Ayden are courtesy of our friend Jeff Ethreidge...Dalton's dad(Thanks Jeff). Dalton is the kiddo in the blue shirt in the group shot and is one of Ayden's closest friends.


NOW we shift gears (no pun intended) to a different type of race........
Jason participated in a cyclocross race last weekend...the kids were able to race afterward on a course designed specifically for them. It was SO fun to see them race so hard against other kids with the same passion for cycling......Like father - like son and daughter!!!

Claire checking out the course....

Watch out boys....here I come!!

Oh yeah...jumping the barriers is no sweat with Claire's determination:)

Ayden was, of course, VERY serious about the competition!! He wanted to race with kids who were older than he is...and he did with no problem
!

On your mark, get set, go!!

He sets high goals for himself and his sister is there to run beside him , cheering him on (in the background)!!

An expert already!!

MY CHAMPIONS!! by the way...I will post pics of jason soon. He did a great job too and the pictures of him were professionally taken so they are extra good!

SCHOOL DAYS, SCHOOLS DAYS!

It is hard to believe it's that time of year again. Our first week of school is now under our belt! The kids are having fun, but are not easily adjusting to getting up early and being away from home 8 HOURS A DAY! I haven't adjusted to that part either!

Clarie took great care in choosing her outfit for the first day of school.
She was definitely making a statement! You've hit the big-time when you reach 1st grade!
Can you believe my baby is in 1st grade?

Ayden didn't so much care about what he wore as long as it was "Tony Hawkish". Doesn't he look old in this picture? It just eats me up!!

The neighborhood kids have enjoyed walking to their new, CLOSER bus stop this year! It is so easy to step outside and walk two houses down to catch the bus in the morning!

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!