Fun overload and freedom

To sum it up, we have just been having waaayyyyyy too much fun. It really should stop before someone gets hurt. The start of the summer (the real one, that is, after all of the rain) has been wonderful and full of fun experiences--first, Nate's 5th Birthday party at the pool, then Evie's 8th Birthday party at home (a "backyard" movie night), the end of school and a modified, psuedo camping trip, then a mini-vacation to Hershey Park, now the 4th of July and all of the fun-filled obligations associated with the birth of our nation and the freedom that we enjoy. Whew!!! On top of all that, we are designing the kitchen of our dreams and having a bunch of fun with that. Since I really can't express it in words, pictures will have to suffice.

Happy Independence Day fellow Americans. Cherish the life you lead, exercise your right to be happy and be good people at the same time!

Despite our efforts, Tanner keeps getting bigger. But he also gets more lovable, too. Even Mom-mom Mary adores him.

Evie all jazzed up for her hip-hop dance recital. Can't get much cuter.

Nate's birthday party at the pool was a bunch of fun. Good friends, nice weather, cake and ice cream--what more could a 5 year old ask for?

Ron, Poppi, Peter and Craig entered the "masters" freestyle race at the pool and made a great showing. We're proud of you guys!

We really love our pool, Crystal Lake. Nate's swimming is greatly improving and Evie is still the fish that she always has been.

We participated in Haddonfield's 4th of July Parade (a big extravaganza) again this year, although on a smaller scale. Evie created a house of her very own based upon the new movie "UP" and marched with a group of scouts. It was a gorgeous morning and people were out in droves to celebrate the birth of the United States and our collective freedom.

We took a mini-vacation to Hershey Park and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It's a fun amusement park not far from home and we will definitely return. The chocolate, of course, was fresh and delicious and we all had a lovely time.

Evie and Nate are considering a new career in chocolate production.

The water park at Hershey is terrific. This ride above shoots you in a tube down a chute into a funnel that swirls you around and spits you out into a pool. How much fun is that?!?

Below is Evie in the wave pool. You can see the countdown clock in the background. Every ten minutes the pool turns into an ocean.

Nat and Alex Wolf make up the Naked Brothers Band, which we went to see at the park. Evie managed to find a place in the front row next to the stage. You can see her little body in the next picture.

Cooling off.

We modified Evie's 8th birthday party due to a thunderstorm and moved the "backyard movie" into the dining room. The girls had a bunch of fun playing and watching "Hotel for Dogs" and eating tons of popcorn from the professional popcorn machine. It was great.

This is a picture of our kitchen currently. We are remodeling and will soon have new pictures to post. Hooray!

Have a wonderful summer, all!

A very busy spring

Where, oh where, has the time gone? We have had such a very, busy spring and no time to record it all. You see, I write this blog as much for me as for the other 2 of you reading it--it is my journal of sorts, along with facebook. I forget things very easily these days (library books, vitamins, etc.). But it is because our lives are just so busy with fun and planning a new kitchen and work and birthdays and block parties and dogs and activism and hip hop dance and, well, you all know the drill. You all have your own business filled with things you like to do (and some that you don't) and it's all good. The point is to share the joy. So hopefully, I will hear from some of you in one method of communication or another (this is meant for people I know and like) to fill me in on the details of your lives of late. Here is our latest life in pictures.

Nate turned 5 today. Perhaps because 5 is one of my favorite numbers, I have really, really enjoyed it. We had so much fun today. He slept to 11:00 a.m. (something each and every one of us should do on our birthday), woke up to the most extravagant breakfast ever (see below) and then got presents all throughout the day. Until bedtime, he got everything that he wanted, including a crazy new "motorcycle" as he calls it.


Two of my favorites quotes of the day: "mommy, this is great because you don't know how to bake" and "i really don't feel 5", which he said all day.




School birthday pinata with our teacher and favorite person, Ms. Rutkoswki. The rocket was a little bit high for preschoolers but that just made it more challenging. A good lesson.



Evie had a whole lot of fun at our local block party. Pie eating contests, cotton candy, karaoke, egg tosses, water balloons, hoolah hoops--just good ole americana goodness.

And then there's Tanner. Our amazing little pup. He has been so cute and so good and we consider ourselves to be lucky to have found him.

And what would spring be without climbing trees??

So that is some of what has consumed our lives these past few months. In addition to planning our new kitchen, which I will post pictures of sometime soon. XO

Girl Scout Ball

I had the pleasure of accompanying Evie to the Girl Scout Father-Daughter Ball. We danced, ate sweets, did the Limbo and the YMCA- she's quite a date! Evie took a trolley ride with her troop on a beautiful night while the dads snapped photos from their phone-cameras.

Sunshine!

We took our 2nd annual winter trip to visit Poppi Gallione in Florida this year. As tough as that man is, he sure is a baby when it comes to cold weather. This year he calls himself a "snowbird"; next year he may be a true Floridian. It gives us a chance to get away to a place that Annmarie holds dear-Miami-and to quell the winter doldrums. We had a wonderful time on the beach and at the pool and catching up with dad. This first picture is of Annmarie's favorite tree at her alma mater, UMiami. The campus gets more beautiful each year. . .

Coconut Grove is always a great place to hang--great restaurants, galleries and shops--and wonderful latin flair. If you're ever in that area, make sure you check it out.

Yummy make-your-own ice cream sundaes.

Our little fish.

We went to the Mai Kai Polynesian Restaurant, a popular place I wasn't even aware of during college and had a blast watching the island dancers. The kids loved the food too. Guess we should consider Hawaii as a vacation destination one of these days.

Nate wants to learn how to dance with fire now.

Island Girl.

Hope your all managing to get through the winter happily. We saw our first spring sprouts today!! That was uplifting--enjoy!

Stimuli

The big topic these days is "stimulus" or "stimuli" or "stimulation". We are, of course, hoping that everyone everywhere is economically stimulated but we also hope that you're finding stimulation in other ways. Hmmm, does that sound weird? Well, you know what we mean.

As for us, we are staying active (thereby being intellectually and physically stimulated) and have been doing a bit of soul searching. Been exploring the idea of a country home to escape to when the joys and tribulations of suburban life get to be a bit too much. Seems like a good time to buy and would be doing our part to turn this crazy economic downturn around. We saw some beautiful land in the Catskills and are dreaming about that little cottage surrounded by lots of open space and fresh air. We'll see. . .

We're also approaching our self-imposed deadline to add a four-legged creature to our little family. I would gladly push that deadline back but the kids will have none of it. We're scanning the area shelters and waiting to find that young pup in need of a home. We're leaning toward a spaniel but if anyone has thoughts on a dog breed that would suit us, let me know.

In the meantime, we're getting outside as much as possible and spending time together and with friends. All good stuff. Let us know how "stimulated" you're feeling these days.

These first pictures were taken at the Palmyra Nature Cove, which is located just south of the Tacony-Palmyra bridge on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. It's a wonderful place with a lot of walking trails and wildlife. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely, especially since we let them "walk on the river."

We also got the chance to visit with old and true friends, and the kids made some new ones.

In the picture above are Nadine Poveromo's 3 children, our kids, Susanne (Kradenski) Phillips' children. Stacey Swens' son, Jack is also buried somewhere. We used our children and the guise of a "superhero party" to get together--fun times.

Below are some shots of Evie's Valen-Tiny slumber party. The girls (and Nate) spent nearly the entire time writing songs and rehearsing them--it was amazing. I had each of them sign a contract so that when they make it big, they remember where they started.