30 April

The First Game.

He LOVED it. He was right into the action. There is a lot of action and a lot of running (and the rest of the rules, I still have to learn). His favorite was the face-offs (that's what he practices), he did at least five. He's number 17, and with all his pads, Helmet and game shirt on, I swear he looks at least twelve.

29 April

(photo by Trevor)

I was very inspired by this quote I read on Ali Edwards Blog the other Day.

Moving Forward:

You don't need a map or an itinerary for a personal journey, just a sense of adventure and maybe this reminder: That breathless, soul-quenching feeling of awe you get when you catch a watercolor sunset never comes during a commercial break.
To grow, you have to get outside and go. Whether you want to walk farther, pedal harder or simply take in the scenery more appreciatively, take every bridge with a brave and open heart.

Well, I'm moving forward and starting a very slow training to run a half-marathon this Fall in Virginia Beach with Irene. My goal is to finish and run the whole thing. Wish me luck:) I'll see you back in this space on Sunday.

28 April

Right Now........

Life is filled with a never ending list of errands, I'm not sure why.

We're taking out Spring and Summer clothes and putting away too small and the warmest clothes.

I'm LOVING little boy and guy plaid shorts.

I'm LOVING the basket of Easter grass Lucas grew at preschool (they make the best stuff!)

I'm LOVING finally having a forsythia bush blooming in my very own yard.

I'm LOVING the warm temperatures and humidity today.

I'm LOVING watching little hands hard at work, making and figuring things out.

I'm looking forward to another short time away this weekend with a girlfriend, catching up and scrapbooking!

27 April

These boots are perfect for Spring in Maine (and yes, this is what our backyard looks like right now.... Oh my!)

26 April

Making.....

My favorite spring/summer salad for dinner tonight.

25 April

Back to the grind of our everyday life, school and work. And Today, you are so excited for your first Lacrosse Practice!

24 April

Home sweet Home! We got back late last night, I had estimated 10:13 PM as we were driving out of Virginia Beach....well the exact time was 10:10 PM. The trip was uneventful, and the kids were as good as we could have expected for the 14 hour drive. Thank God for Irene's sandwiches (Lucas said it was the best crust-less sandwich ever-
I'm so lucky I have a Nanny still in my life to make me sandwiches for the road complete with sweet little notes)!!

Luckily, the Easter bunny was still able to make it to our house for Easter leaving some sweet treats and a few toys. Happy Easter!

Spring Break Favorites

I know all good things must come to an end, but I can't believe this incredible week is over....it went by so fast!

We remember:

• The drive (it was incredibly smooth both ways)
• Seeing all of New York from the top of the Empire State Building
• Almost losing our backpack in New York and having to wait alone in a Subway
• Trevor and I roller blading and jogging together every day
• Special Time journal writing
• Falling asleep to the sound of the waves with the door open
• The kids trying, "big ball" bowling
• Getting to be there to see Lily turn six
• Sitting in chairs and watching the kids play in the sand and water
• Watching the sunrise with my boy
• Digging a humongous hole
• I'm kind of a big deal
• The early am beach walk
• seeing the cousins
• Trevor loving playing with baby Ryan
• Skinny Dip
• Girls nite/Boys nite
• visiting with Family
• Watching Bre running in and out of the waves
• The aquarium and the zoo
• watching Bre at the zoo asking for"more animals"
• the amazing weather
• coloring eggs
• everyone being sad to leave
• This week......the whole thing.

23 April

And that's a wrap........we're hoping to make the LONG drive all the way back from VA to ME today:( We are a family that just loves vacationing and traveling, as long as we have space to spread out, a great view, lots of fun stuff to do and a washer and dryer. I'll leave you with some photos of the kids coloring their eggs yesterday. We had so much fun with our cousins! Love you guys:)

22 April

Last day:(

We met the cousins for a fabulous pancake breakfast down by the boardwalk. I can still taste the pecan pumpkin pancakes with my own real maple syrup (that I had stashed in my purse)---SUPER YUMMY. In Trevor's words, "it was worth the wait!" We also went to the Virginia aquarium (along with the rest of everyone who is living and vacationing in the area). The kids had a blast, saw fish and sharks, and even touched a stingray. We hiked a little path in between the buildings and it was a great way to burn off some energy! It's hard to believe it was 30 degrees warmer just a few days ago. Then Jeff had to go to work so Irene and the kids came back to the condo with us for some egg coloring and some dinner. We're packing up, and leaving in the morning. You know it was a great vacation, when you are (and the kids even are) sad to leave. this place is the greatest, and we had fantastic weather to boot. We'll be back!

21 April

Today.....

the weather turned much cooler, so we headed off to the Virginia Zoo in the afternoon. We always enjoy our trip there it is so manageable with the kids. It was baby Ryan's first trip to the zoo! I think Breanna was the biggest fan of all the animals and raced off to see each new exhibit (I think her future will include something to do with animals. It was so fun to see all the kids exploring together, excited and happy. It was a really fun day:)

20 April

Today....

Trevor got up early and we watched the sunrise together, then we wrote in our journals about the vacation so far (LOVE that he's "journaling"). Then we went running together-T rollerbladed, but we both did a 5K. I'm so proud of him!

It was a "perfect" beach day. We literally spent the whole day out there and the kids played together ALL day, building sandcastles, walking, playing cornhole, football and lacrosse, collecting shells, and running in and out of the waves.

Irene and I had a girls night out. We drove, we laughed, we shopped, we ate cheesecake and drank Sangria outside, we talked about the kids, we connected, we shopped more, we tried on clothes, and closed Kohl's down at 11 PM. Life is about nurturing connections, I'm committed to that in all my relationships. Girls need nights like this. Tomorrow......boys nite:)

19 April

Getting to be there to celebrate a very special girl's 6th birthday..........priceless.

18 April

6 kids+beach+awesome weather=happy memories.

The weather here is unreal. I mean, when we were packing I said, "I'll just throw in the bathing suits, but I doubt it will be warm enough to wear them." Well, we were wearing them, and even some of us were swimming in them. The kids are having a blast together. I'm loving the chaos, the happiness, smiles, fun, dance parties, laughter, and the joy that having us all together brings. Good times.

17 April

Bucket List item #1

Watch the sunrise over the ocean (no matter how late you went to bed the night before).

16 April

We're here! and it is amazing!

Some funny Lucas-isms and notes to self:

Notes to self:

• Never EVER stop on the NJ turnpike for gas, food or even to pee, waiting in those lines wastes a lot of time
• always add at least 2 hours to the destination time the GPS gives you for your actual arrival time
• don't always follow the GPS directions and always have a back up map with you
• scope out secret Dunkin Donuts ahead of time
• eat the worst food possible, but never wait in line for it.
• When you are over the bridge, you are not there yet.
• seeing Trevor pushing a heavy cart with two kids through Target, watching a major Thunderstorm over the ocean, falling asleep to the sound of the waves, and getting to spread out in three bedrooms and bathrooms........totally worth it.

Funny Lucas-isms:

• "Well, obviously?!?"
• Mom, i LOVE sleeping in hotels
• Mom, this hotel EVEN has a toilet
• Mom, this hotel EVEN has toilet paper.

15 April

Vacation Day 1: New York City to do list.....

1. Ride a bus to Port Authority.......check
2. Times Square.........check
3. Buy some overpriced stuff in an electronic store b/c you forgot essential chargers at home......check
4. M&M store to buy some overpriced M&Ms out of cool dispensers and two $7 pens.....check
5. Ride on a smelly subway train.....check
6. visit the Lego store and the ice skating rink in 30 Rock.......check
7. Little children having to use the bathroom at an inconvenient time........check
8. Wait in line 90 mins to go on a silly ride on the 2nd floor of the Empire State building b/c"some guy" told us the wait would be less to get to the top......check
9. Wait in another silly line to get to the 80th floor and then ANOTHER line to ride up to the top of the Empire State building......check
10. Getting to see the view from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building (totally worth the wait-next time to the 102nd).......check
11. Riding on anther dirty smelly subway..........check
12. Barely pulling off a fancy lupper with cloth napkins in Little Italy (at our favorite place-Angelo's on Mulberry).......check
13. Gelato from a street vendor in Little Italy.........check
14. Folding strollers and carrying them and unfolding them again for little kids to ride in......check
15. Walking across Chinatown to see all the strange food being sold at the street markets.....check
16. Losing our backpack and then finding it again(which involved J leaving wife and kids to wait in a subway and running a 5K across China town in street clothes)......check
17. Another subway ride complete with a small girl child touching everything then putting said hands in mouth.......check
18. Battery park and the Statue of Liberty (minus the ferry ride-Trevor we promise next time!)......check
19. Walking over 18,000 steps.......check
20. Telling the Kids the story of 9-11-01.......check
21. taking another subway, then bus back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and a SHOWER.......check
22. falling asleep before the kids........check

14 April

This year, a very exciting thing happened in Bre's Kindergarten class. The kids hatched baby chicks from eggs. The whole process took about 21 days and the chicks hatched about a week ago. Let's just say they are the most popular room in the school now, all the kids want to come by to see the baby chicks. To say that Bre is in love would be an understatement. She very gently feeds them every day. Here she is teaching one of the babies how to use a picture schedule. The chick would peck the picture and then Bre would move the picture to the back of the card. Bre's teacher took about a 5 minute video of it on her phone (the fuzzy picture is of the video on my computer screen.) It was really the cutest thing I've ever seen.

And Today.....we are off on a little adventure, but I will be checking in to this space throughout the week. Happy Spring!

13 April

Joy is.......

Believing in yourself.

Last night, we went to your Spring concert. It was Kindergarteners through second graders, up on stage in the HS auditorium singing, dancing and signing Songs about America. You were all dressed up in your red white and blue and we were ready. We were nervous. Just one short month ago, we were asked about you participating in the Spring Concert. Maybe you could hold up a sign, or maybe if we decided....."you could just stay home." Just one short month ago, you wouldn't even stand to be in the same room as your classmates and sing, you were under the table, hiding. Just one short month ago, they had counted you out. But we thought about it, and we advocated. We asked, "why can't she?" So they made a plan, they made videos, they (and we) practiced and practiced. We even went to watch the dress rehearsal. Tonight, girl, you stood up there, you signed, you danced and you even sang a little. You stood still, you were patient with all the waiting and you clapped. You had fun and You were so proud of yourself. We were so proud of you! I can't show the photos here, to protect other's families privacy, but I can tell you how priceless it was. I wanted to melt into a sobbing tears of joy heap on my chair, but I just smiled (and took pictures). I felt like I had just won the Olympic Gold medal. All you needed, all any child needs, is someone to believe in them. I'll never, in my entire life forget this moment.

"There are thoughts which are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees." ~Victor Hugo

12 April

Around here, when you take the time and look for the signs of Spring (amongst the still melting snow and the mud)........you will find them.