Flashback: Summer 2007

I love summer time. I love summer vacations even more! We are off this week enjoying a family summer vacation...yay! I thought while we are away making new memories I would leave you with a few flashbacks of previous summer memories...enjoy:)

Up next....Flashback: Summer 2008.

Story Time with Abigail

Abigail has been practicing her reading skills a lot this summer and she is doing fantastic! See for yourself...

Isn't she just adorable?! Great job Abigail!

Proud Boy

Nathan has a lot to be proud of these days. It seems as though in the past few months he has grown by leaps and bounds...and I don't mean just in size (although he is getting sooo tall!). We all know Nate and we love him to pieces. Nate has one of the absolute sweetest hearts of a child that I have ever known. One thing about Nate's personality though (that tugs on the hearts of all parents/caregivers that have been part of raising this boy) is that he gets discouraged very easily. When it comes to trying something new or challenging, it usually takes lots of persuasion and encouragement for him to even give it a try. And, if it doesn't go well, you can forget Nate trying again. I must say that lately this has not been the case for Nathan. He has been trying new things with little coaching and enjoying himself. He has even been practicing things he has not perfected yet but is improving greatly such as....

Learning to ride a 2 wheeler. Just look at that smile! Can you tell he is just so proud of what he has accomplished?!

And here he is, Nate the Great, riding all on his own (with Daddy not far behind, of course!). Please forgive us for the pink bike. Nate has outgrown his and Abby was so kind to let him borrow her bike. Just look at him go!


Although Nate isn't ready to go out on bike rides yet with his training wheels off, he keeps on practicing and doesn't give up :)

And that's not all he has to brag about! Nathan has also been doing a great job at practicing his numbers and letters. At first he wasn't into the whole learning his numbers and letters and getting ready to go to preschool thing, but that is slowly changing too. He is sooo excited to go to preschool this fall. And each day at our house he practices his letters, numbers & writing his name. To some this may not seem like much, but for us this is HUGE!

Nate wrote his name himself (it's a little hard to see with the orange crayon he used, but it's there!).

Way to go Nathan! We are so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

You know it's HOT when...

You are soooo sweaty your hair can do this...

...Ha!

My new daily reminder:

"Don't look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled by the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

Cleaning Machines

A few weeks ago we began having the kids help out around the house. They each have been assigned a chore and, so far, they are doing a WONDERFUL job at keeping up with their chores...yay! Usually they ask Jake or I before we even think of it if they can please do their chore. And if they don't ask, all they need is a simple reminder. They gladly do their work and proudly put a pebble in their jar.

Emma is a master at cleaning the bathroom. The best part of assigning this job to Emma, is she not only cleans up the bathroom daily but she helps keep it clean throughout the day as well by wiping up water puddles and spilled toothpaste on the counter. She is doing that all on her own! She also very kindly reminds (sometimes more kindly than others!) her brother & sister to clean up properly after themselves when they are in the bathroom, because if not it makes more work for her...ha! Want to know Emma's new favorite thing to do? Clean the toilet. She thinks it's the coolest thing and loves how the toilet cleaner smells like peppermint! She even had Nate come watch her to see how cool it was!

Abby is spectacular at putting away the clean dishes. She organizes and lines up all the items that are to difficult to put away herself on the counter for me or Jake to help. She also is in charge of wiping down the counter, oven, fridge and trash can. I seriously think she would spray Windex and wipe down everything in the house if I let her! She is a hard worker!
Nathan's job is to sweep the kitchen floor. The day I introduced him to his chore, he said to me, "Awww, Mickey, why do I have to sweep the floor?!" Hmmmm....I wonder why?! I told him it was the best job because he will get to climb under the kitchen table. The real reason why is because he is the one who drops most of his food on the floor and under the table! He loves his job too does it everyday. His favorite part is when he finds dropped food under either of his sisters' chairs. He always announces to me that one on the girls spilled food on the floor. He is such a typical little brother!

Great job kiddos! Keep up the good work!

July, so far...

It's been a busy month! I can hardly believe we are halfway through the month of July...these past couple of weeks have flown by! It's been hot, humid and more hot, humid here in PA!!! I must say I'm starting to get a little sick of this heat, but I hate to complain because I much rather be too hot than cold:) Despite the unending heat, we have been having a busy and fun summer.

Fourth of July weekend, Jake and I had the opportunity to travel home to MA to visit family. We had some very special guest fly in all the way from London that we were so thrilled we had the chance to spend some time with. My little sister, Denise (who has been studying at Oxford University) and her fiance, Ross spent 10 days at my mom's house. They brought along with them Ross's parents: Ann & Jack. It was so good to see my little sister (who I haven't seen since last September!) and Ross and such a pleasure to meet Ann & Jack.

The newly engaged couple :)
Me and my little sis...
Connor, Chris & Renee...

The grill masters, Ross & Jake...

Digging in!

I just adore my Pepere :)

Connor had lots of fun entertaining us with these festive beads...

Chris, Renee, Jake, Nikki, Ross & Dee. With one couple in Massachusetts, one in Pennsylvania and one in London...these pictures don't happen often!

And of course we had to celebrate the birthday lady, Renee, who turned the big 3-0 in June! Happy Birthday Renee!

The next day we had a blast celebrating the 4th of July at Jake's Uncle Bob & Aunt Norma's house. It was an all American day filled with family, swimming, food & boat rides.

Tim & Dawn...

Burt & Christine...

Logan, Joe and Beezy enjoying the water...

Uncle Bob taking us out on a boating adventure...

Dawn & Larry...

Jake & his little brothers...

Logan & Luke had so much fun on tubing, that I decided to give it a try! Here I am on my very first tubing experience....

After I tried it out, Dawn gave it a whirl. She was a little more daring than I was...

....which ended her up off the tube and in the water!!!

It was such a fun day!

And back at home, we have been enjoying spending lots of extra time with the kiddos. We recently went mini-golfing...

Don't they look like movie stars?!

And have enjoyed one of our favorite summer treats....making s'mores! Yummy!

And that's what we've been up to lately.

We hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are!