Waterway....

A car wash favorite....$.50 ice cream!!!

Ninja turtles....

When you have big brothers, you just suck it up and play ninja turtles!

First Day of School….

The first day of school has come and gone.  A few weeks ago I was getting kind of sad that summer was winding down.  Then, the last week the kids were FIGHTING like crazy……time for school to start!  Both kids seemed excited and ready.  Jack got a little quiet on the way to school and when I asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm just afraid that I'm going to have to sit in my chair more in first grade than I did in kindergarten."  Whelp, so sorry buddy, but I think you might be on to something.

The both came out of school with a smile on their face and said they had a great day!  Hopefully we have a great school year!!  Maddie will start going one day a week too, next week!!

Maddie asked three times that morning, "Where's Peyton and Jack?"  She's gonna have some adjusting to do too, but I think she will end up liking it!  ;-)

Sandbox Sunbathing….

We opted out of going to the beach this summer.  I think Mike and I maybe regretted it a little bit…..but Maddie found her own way to sunbathe without the beach.  I looked out on the deck the other day and about died…..LOL

Maddie takes on gymnastics

Maddie and I are now attending gymnastics on Monday mornings.  She's going to the same gym that Peyton and Jack went to when they were little and with the same teacher.  Maddie has only been once so far (tomorrow is our second day), but she LOVED it!!!  She's getting so big and so social!!!

oh boy oh boy…..this THRID child!!!

Everyone says, "oh there is something to be said about a third child."  I've got to say….SPOT ON!!!  This third child of mine is a wild thing!!!  She's into EVERYTHING and has got a mind and attitude of her own.  Ain't nobody stoppin' this one.  The other day I was upstairs for….oh like 5 minutes.  I folded a load of laundry.  Came down and found Maddie painting away (luckily on the hardwood floors).  She got EVERYTHING out herself and away she went. …….

Maddie and the gentlemen in her life…..

Here are two pictures of Maddie that I caught.  So, so cute.  Her and Andrew riding a horse together….over and over and over again at Chuck-E-Cheese.  And the other one is her and Billy.  We were trying to get everyone to leave the park and when I turned around, Billy and Maddie were dragging each other out of the park, holding hands….

Ladies weekend at the lake….

One of my favorite weekends of the year.  A weekend to cut back, cut loose, act like we are 21 again, be rude, be crude, sleep in, eat like nothing has calories, and be with the bestest friends and family ever…….cheers!!!

Maddie loves her some pool time….

Maddie enjoys the pool.  She likes to swim with mom, swim in the baby pool, and EAT!!!  This ice cream was a true hit with this little girl!  Think she liked it?!?!  I prefer for Maddie to eat ice cream at the pool instead of my house ;)  I give you one guess why……

summer sports awards at Westborough

A couple weeks ago Westborough had their end of the summer sports awards banquets.  Both kids walked out with something in hand and they were both happy.  Peyton got trophies for most improved for tennis and swimming and she also got a plaque with all the races she swam in at the conference meet that she placed in.  Jack walked out with a trophy for MVP for the 6u tennis program.  He had NO idea what MVP meant….all he knew and/or cared about was that he got a trophy to add to his collection on his dresser.  I didn't get any pictures, but I will include one picture I got of the kids and B.I. (their favorite tennis coach).  He moved a week before tennis was over, as he's getting ready to start law school at Stanford - I guess he's an okay student too, not just a tennis coach.  I'm sure B.I. will do great, but we sure will miss him on the tennis courts.  He was sooo, sooo good with the kids!!

Arch and City Museum

Mike had a Monday off a couple weeks ago and we decided to take the kids to the arch.  They were VERY excited to go.  When we go downtown we always point it out to them and talk about it, but we've never taken them up.  Jack wasn't quite sure he wanted to do it.  He thought it was going to be like a roller coaster ride.  When we told him it was like an elevator he was all for it.
We got there, got our tickets and walked around for a little bit until it was our turn.  Once it was our turn and the door to the tram opened up, I panicked and told Mike I didn't think I could get in that thing.  That capsule is quite smaller than I remember when I was a teenager.  And I think I might be getting some of my dad's claustrophobic traits…..lucky me!  Mike reassured me that, YES I was going.  Ha.  So we did!
We got up there and the kids looked out every window.  They checked out the stadium, a barge on the river, and the cars that looked so small.
We then came down, got some ice cream and went to the City Garden and had a picnic lunch.  The kids had a great day!!


Getting ready to go up.  Everyone's got a SMILE on their face….Mommies is a scared, fake smile!!

Maddie has had enough of the site seeing, time for some iPhone play.

One big "top of the arch" selfie

All real smiles coming down……

Time to go outside and take pictures, eat ice-cream, and play!!

 
 And now onto the City Garden.

The Girls' Birthday "party"

The day after Peyton's birthday Grandma Jeanne and Mark came down to celebrate with dinner, cake and ice cream, and presents.  We had a nice time…..including Jack.  Jack was not left out, he scored a few presents as well!
Peyton picked out the cake.  She wanted ROSES on it!!  I think this is the same as last years…..she's consistent.  They both made wishes and blew out candles.  It was a fun night!