PreK Begins........

Well, my little boy is growing up too. Ryder started Pre-school. He is going on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. He picked out his red backpack, and was SO excited! Though the school day ended with a few tears, he had a great time, and is excited to go back :)

First Day of School!

Still can't believe she's in Kindergarten! I must say, it has me feeling a bit old. She started yesterday, and despite a few gliches like the bus coming early, a lost earring, and a trip to the nurse, and ending by her almost missing her stop to get off the bus...it went well! She was not nervous at all. Actually I think I was more nervous...yup, I'm sure I was. Though she swears she forgot most everything she did during the day, she told me that she did the hokey pokey in music class, and made two friends. One girl had asked Sage to be her friend, and the other, Sage befriended based on the fact that she had a pink shirt on, and Sage liked it.

She gets to ride the school bus with cousin Jesse, so she likes sitting with her, and getting to chat with her everyday even though they are not in the same class.

A Full Day at FANTASY ISLAND!

The plans had been in the works for over a year. My friend Tracy and I had discussed needing someone to go on rides and roller coasters since the hubbys were not into them. We had decided that this year, we would go together, her family and ours, and spend the day at Fantasy Island. Our first scheduled attempt got rained out, but we ended up going during Jay's vacation, so it all worked out perfect. The weather was not too hot, sun and clouds (though the clouds were very present during our time at the water park!...lol).

The first ride the kids went on was the tea cups. They seemed to get a bit dizzy, but had big smiles afterwards, and were all ready for the next ride to come! There were practically no lines, which made for a even better time. The kids ran (Ryder skipped) from one ride to the next. Ryder fell several times, but it didn't detour him. Hearing them giggle ALL day made me so happy. They started wearing down around 4pm, but some pizza gave them their second wind and we ended up staying until 7:30pm.

Tracy and I got to ride the roller coasters and water slides, which I haven't done in 15 yrs! It was SO much fun!

Niagara Falls

Hadn't been to Niagara Falls since Jay and I were dating. It was Jay's idea to take the kids there. They got a kick out of the "big water". They didn't enjoy getting wet by the mist (which was hard to explain because they thought it was smoke). It was great to make memories as a family :)

Blowing on Butterfies

We continued our busy week with a trip to the Strong Museum on Monday. The kids enjoyed it so much last year, and Sage has been asking to go back ever since. Ryder was a bit little to really enjoy the butterfly garden last year, but this year, he would have spent all day there if he could! He kept blowing on the butterflies and talking to them in attempts to make them land on his finger. Unfortunately none did, but he

still had a wonderful time. Sage wore he butterfly dress, as to not scare away the butterflies. She got dressed the second she woke up, and was so excited about going. It was a great time together as a family.

Kids' Birthday Fun! (Sage 5, Ryder 3...almost)

Jay's vacation in August defiantly rivals Christmas as one of the busiest weeks of the year! We started off the week (on Sunday) with the kids' birthday party. Ryder was in his glory! The boy LOVES cake, especially ice cream cake (who doesn't). Then, once he realized half the presents were for him he was SO excited. Both the kids really had a great time, and enjoyed seeing all their friends and family...(despite the down pour accompanied by crazy dark skies). We had the party as a brunch so the kids could still take naps. I made 10 different kinds of muffins (which I will never do again!). Next years party will be later in the day, and we will order a sheet pizza!...lol! Most of the presents were open and being played with by the end of the day, needles to say, they enjoyed their gifts, and are very excited to use their gift cards and money.

Summer Projects Update

Well, though summer has theoretically just begun, we have done SO much!

We started our yearly projects by remodeling our front bathroom. Mind you, "we" didn't do it. We are done with spending never ending hours on house projects, and decided that sometimes it's better just to hire someone. For the bathroom, I found someone on Craigslist (John & John), they did EVERYTHING for $1,650. It was so cool that in a week, I had a new bathroom!

Speaking of Craigslist, I also got my horrible sun-stealing awning taken down for FREE through Craigslist. (I don't have a "after" picture yet)

Well, our BIG project this year was the backyard. After over 6yrs of living with a swamp of a backyard, we finally put drain tile in. Well, drain tile, along with a POOL! Yup, we took the plunge, and got a pool. I am enjoying it very much, and when we get the deck to go along with it next year, it will be even better!

It's AMAZING the difference!!!! Even though our yard is smaller because of the pool, it seems SO big because we can actually use the space now! There was 10" of standing water when the "fixers" started working on the yard. It took them over 3 weeks, and truckloads of stone and topsoil and 2 pallets of sod. We've never been able to use our yard until now, and though it cost a lot of money, I'm SOOOO happy!!!