Fall is here!

Fall is definitely upon us and I fear Indian summer has passed and we have fallen thick into the autumn season. Don't get me wrong, I love the cool weather and the developing foliage. I just hate to let go of my favorite season... SUMMER! I actually enjoy all the seasons quite well but wish winter began the day after thanksgiving and spring started the first of the year. I would love to have a few big snow storms mixed in for the holiday festivities. Okay, back to reality!

We had the first fire of the season about a week ago. There is nothing like the smell of wood smoke and apple pie to get you in the mood for pumpkin picking, witches and goblins. This year Zoe has opted out of dressing up. I am very sad about this because it is just another sign that she is growing up way too fast. Violet is going to be a kangaroo, complete with a joey in her pouch. Zoe dressed up in this costume one year and when she arrived home after a night of trick-or-treating she discovered that her joey was missing. It was a sad night and we feared he would be gone forever. A few days later I noticed about 1/2 mile up the road what looked like roadkill in a small trench. Luckily for us it was Joey and he was happy, healthy and not worse for the wear. Marina will be dressed as a little white kitten and Gavin as a Monkey complete with a banana. Not much of a stretch there though. I was going to have him be a pirate but I waited to long to order the costume and they were out of his size. I came across this monkey one and new it would suit him perfectly.

Long and Long overdue post!

I have been slacking on the blog but now that school is back in session, I will get back on track. I am also far behind on making my bound photobooks and without this blog I will easily forget what to include and what to write.

I am going to put all the entries into this one long post and then go from there. I will just update as I add the slide shows.

DJ's Birthday
We celebrated DJ's 40th Birthday a month early because Oct. was going to be too busy a month and we wanted to have an outside picnic/cookout. We lucked out and had one of the nicest days of the year weather wise.


Last full day of summer


Trip to Boston
Daddy got some Red Sox skybox seats in Fenway park so we headed up to Boston for the weekend. It was a Saturday night game, so we stayed overnight and went to the Boston Children's Museum on Sunday. Gavin and I got to meet up with a few of our mommy/toddler friends while daddy took the girls and explored the rest of the museum. There was so much to see and do! On our way home that night we stopped to dine with some of DJ's relatives and got a chance to see his cousin before she went back to Germany. It was a busy but enjoyable weekend.


First day of school



Last days of summer!

A couple video clips from Maine

Drunk or not? You be the judge!
No babies were actually intoxicated in the making of this video!


Comedy Club
We went out to a comedy club in Bar Harbor and DJ was chosen to be the subject of a dream sequence skit. They basically asked him to run through his day from the time he woke up until going to the club. That morning we got up early and went on the Divers Ed boat trip, out to a late lunch on the pier and DJ ordered a Ruben, back to the house to do some tree/brush trimming, lost the power with a thunderstorm before we had a chance to shower, the electric came on in the nick of time and we saved everyone in Bar Harbor from smelling us, went out to dinner, the guys were looking at an interesting female statue and the waitress assumed they were looking at the fish tank behind it... not ogling the figure and commented on the fish and then we headed over to the comedy club. They also asked him some basic questions about family etc... and to give a few adjectives to describe each of us. This is what they came up with.
Oh, and the loud laughing is from the camera man... Will! ;-)




The kids running around the Band

Back to the dentist

Marina got the splint off her front teeth and so far the damaged tooth looks like it has tightened up again and not turned brown. The dentist felt positive about it sticking around but we won't know it's fate for sure for about six months.

My 2nd Red Sox Game

Last week my dad, grandma, my sister Violet, and I went to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park! It was alot of fun for me! We had a great time! The Red Sox played the Texas Rangers! As I said this was our second game and it had awesome seats in state street pavilion but we still didn't catch any balls! The Red Sox won 18-16! The game went till around 11:00 p.m. and we got home around 2:00 in the morning! It was a long night! We were super-tired when we arrived home but it was worth it! We can't wait to go again soon!

(posted by Zoe)

Igloo accident

I thought it would be a lot of fun to have an inflatable igloo for the pool. I never guessed it would prove to be a dangerous toy. The day we got back from Maine all the kids were sick of being couped up in the car so we decided to go for a swim. The igloo had arrived while we were away so this was to be it's maiden voyage. Zoe and Violet assisted me in inflating the icy home. When it was Violet's turn she accidentally got her beloved hair caught in the motor of the air pump. Seconds later we were able to shut it off and there was that unmistakable smell of burnt hair in the air. She ended up losing about a 6 inch section of her hair. I am not sure if she was more scared that her hair got caught or that she damaged her locks.
Finally the igloo was moved to the pool and the girls were playing inside. The toy itself is pretty cool with a proper igloo entrance in the front and an entrance that can be entered through the bottom. DJ decided that he would join them inside. I warned him that he was too big but my words of wisdom fell on deaf ears. Minutes later the igloo had flipped on it's side and Marina had gone flying and landed on DJ's knee. Her front tooth was pushed back and wiggly. She was unable to bite down because her teeth did not line up. It was Sunday afternoon and luckily I had the dentist's cell phone number. I hated to bother him but I was really worried about waiting until Monday because many tooth issues need to be dealt with right away for the best outcome. He met me at the office 5 minutes later and determined that the best course of action would be to administer Novocaine, push her tooth back into place and place a splint on it. I could not believe how well behaved she was and she did not even shed a tear the whole time. The dentist was great about numbing the gum first and never showing her the needle. Now we have to wait and see if she can retain the tooth and that is doesn't turn brown. She will get the splint off in two weeks and so far all looks good but he warned me that the damage may not show up for several months. I am keeping my fingers crossed because it will probably be 4 more years before she gets her permanent teeth.

Mount Desert Island

Another trip to Maine has come and gone. It was an activity packed, short 2 1/2 weeks! This was our first trip up to Maine without my father and for me his loss was felt much stronger there. We have always stayed in the same house as my parents and I have years worth of vacation memories and rituals that included my father. I missed our early morning coffee and chats before the rest of the house had risen. (Although Kim tried to help fill that void by walking over in the mornings to share a cup of Joe with me). It felt like he should have been with us on the green at night listening to the town band play while watching the kids run around the Gazebo and all the other family traditions that he so much enjoyed. Overall it was an enjoyable yet bittersweet trip.
The kids and I traveled up with my mother,stopping overnight midway through the ride. We can make it there in about 8-9 hours but with the kids being so young we have been making it a two day journey to make it a lot more relaxed for all involved. DJ was unable to join us until almost the last week because he had taken two weeks off for our Disney vacation in June and needed to get caught up at work. Luckily he was able to work in a business trip to Maine and leave a couple days early.
This year the vacationers included: my mom, myself, DJ, Zoe, Violet, Marina and Gavin in one house, Bob, Heather, Harrison and CJ in a second, Kim, Will and Annie in a 3rd and her parents Barbara and Art took residence in a 4th home close by. Friends Walter and Sarah stayed in their trailer at a local camp ground. All but the campground location is shown on the island picture below.

Here is a link to some pictures from Maine 2008.
MAINE 2008 Pictures
password-newenglandnatives

Over the next several days, I will continue to add more details, stories, and pictures of our latest Maine adventure with the Natives and Co.

My mighty man

Here is Gavin getting ready to get in the ring and take down one of his big sisters.

Surfs up!

We enjoyed a beautiful day at the beach with some friends. There are no Mommy pictures posted here as promised! (as long as I receive the blackmail money by Friday) hehe

July Birthdays

Happy Birthday Bob and Heather!
Officially Heather's (my sister-in-law) birthday is in June but we celebrated it this year with Bob's at Kim and Will's house. The kids had fun swimming and we were all enjoying a BBQ until a thunderstorm sent us heading for the house. Kim and Will were also celebrating the birth of some baby chicks in the chicken coop. Zoe, Violet and Marina got to hold one in their hands and the fuzzy little chicks were so adorable. Marina dropped one but hopefully it was only emotionally traumatized and did not sustain any bodily injury.
Happy Birthday Owen!
Owen turned 2! Joanne and Eric had a water park themed party for him. I can't believe he is already two years old. He is such a cutie.
Happy Birthday Zoe!
Zoe turned 11. OMG!!! where has the time gone and how the heck did she just celebrate her 11th birthday when I have only aged a couple years since she was born?
She opted to not have a party this year and instead spend a day with Mom at the mall. For her gift we gave her 100 dollars and I set her free in the mall while I followed her to the stores of her choosing. She ended up spending most of her money on webkinz and a Nintendo DS Animal Dr. game (Kim, you will have to let her know how realistic it is and if you feel you are missing work in Maine, I am sure she will share). We went to see the American Girl movie "Kit", which we both really enjoyed. Two thumbs up! Out of all the restaurants we could have gone to she picked subway. It would not have been my first choice but it made for a cheap date. Zoe spent her actual birthday in the pool with one of her close friends. Somehow the ice cream cake that was supposed to serve 15 got gobbled up by seven kids with voracious appetites. Zoe and I made a cake for after dinner and Zoe decorated it with way too many decorations! It made it not so tempting to the adult palate. We will have another birthday party for her and Bob in Maine. Hey, any excuse for a get together.
Below are pictures from the all the birthday celebrations.

Disney Vacation

Some Random pictures.

We have been home for about a week now but I have not had a chance to update the blog yet. It was two weeks of fun but we all came home exhausted and ready for another more relaxing vacation. I am definitely not up for the packing and unpacking again though so soon.
The trip there was much less stressful then I anticipated. It got a little hairy when we had to go through the airport security checks but we made it out with everyone and everything minus the water bottles. Each one of the girls carried their own backpack with toys, snacks and an extra change of clothes. They also had to pull their own luggage until we checked it in but they did a great job. I took the big double stroller loaded down with Gavin in the front, two car seats in the back and bags underneath and hanging off the handles. It was a lifesaver and we were able to check it at the gate and it was ready and waiting for us when we got off the plane! Daddy was in charge of the two big suitcases and we were off. This was Gavin and Marina's first flight and they really enjoyed the take off and landings and were generally content. The way home was a little harder because Marina was overtired and cranky and wanted to let everyone know about it! All in all though it wasn't too bad a journey.

We stayed at two different timeshares during our stay. The first one was smaller and had 2 pools and a couple of smaller water slides that Marina had a blast on. The resort company also had another timeshare down the road that had a full water park (Liki Tiki Lagoon)that we had use of so we spent one morning there. The resort had three levels and we were located on the top floor. It proved to be a hot trek up to the unit after a day at the parks. We had our groceries delivered by Garden Grocer so at least we didn't have to carry all our supplies up. They are like the Stopand Shop Peapod in that you order ahead of time on the computerand then they deliver it right to your kitchen. They even helped us unpack and put stuff in the fridge. From my limited experience with them I have only good things to say about their service and friendly employees.
We spent much of the first week visiting the parks early in the morning and the second week at the water parks and afternoon/night park visits. We stayed the second week at Orange Lake Resort, which is said to be the largest timeshare in the world. I believe it! They had countless pools, 7 restaurants, two water parks (one with a lazy river) a lake with boating and jet skiing and a movie theater. It was great to everything right there but because of it's size we still had to get in our car to enjoy all the amenities.

I will continue to add more posts and pictures as I have time. I hope I don't forget what I wanted to remember before I get a chance to write it down.

Getting there and staying there.


More pictures can be found at the following link.

Florida 2008 pictures
password: newenglandnatives

Some of My Favorite Signatures

New ones!



One of my favorite older ones.

Wow, look how they have changed!

First Beach day!

Photo has been removed

It has been so hot around here the last few days so I decided to take the kids to the local beach for a dip after school. I had no plans to swim but it was so hot even late in the day that I decided to brave the water with the kids. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not really that cold at all. As long as you stayed in the top 2 feet of water. We had a nice time and Gavin loved the water. He decided in the last picture to take one more look at the boats/water while I was changing him.

First Birthday Party for Lukas

Lukas turned one and his mom and dad threw him a circus themed birthday party at Liberty State park in NJ. It was a great location perfect views of Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately the weather was VERY hot and muggy but the kids still had a good time. Gavin, Marina and I went down with Irene and DJ's Dad and his friend in our car. We got stuck outside of the Lincoln tunnel for what seemed like forever but the kids were content so it wasn't insufferable. DJ and the two older girls went on a town bus trip to Boston to see the Red Sox play. They beat some Seattle butts! (score 11 to 2 I think). Here are some pics from the party.

Memorial Day weekend (Mommy)

I had a fun, exciting and at the same time relaxing weekend. It was so nice to only have to worry about myself for a little while. I went with a few friends from my book club. It is an annual thing but this is only my second time because I have been camping or with a newborn for a few of these trips. Saturday we left late morning and spent a good portion of the day wandering around the Christmas Tree Shop. That place is HUGE!!! They sell just about everything now. I took great pains in the toy shop to find something special for each one of the kids and DJ(sports shop). I was trying to find them something they could use on the plane trip. I found Gavin a little pirate "doll" the kind that teaches; snapping, buttoning, zippers etc... I posted a picture of it below. It is the one in the back, not the girly one. I got Violet a paper pocket book craft, Zoe a flip book project, Marina a magnetic dress up doll and finally DJ a Red Sox mug. We finally arrived at our room with plans to go out to dinner but ended up just playing a little tennis and hanging around and eating all the snacks that we brought.
The next morning we got up and headed to the river for some white water rafting. We had one of the owners as our guide. We always request her because she just knows her stuff and could pick a big man out of the water and make it look easy. We did not lose anyone from our boat but we did surf a few of the rapids for an extended period of time. I had a wetsuit bottom on and when we surfed, we were mostly underwater. My wrists hurt so badly from the cold but the thrill was worth it. After a nice 5 mile trip down the river we headed back to their main building for a cookout of Salmon, chicken and steak on the bank of the river and a couple of beers. After the day of rafting, eating and the beer we were all too full and tired to go out to dinner, play tennis or do anything else except for hang out on the lawn and have some girl talk.
We headed out fairly early the next morning to Six Flags amusement park. We had no agenda except that I wanted to stay out of the kiddie area. I love roller coasters and fast rides but with the kids and being pregnant so many times, I often miss out. The best ride in my opinion was the Superman roller coaster. Weeeee!!! ... and then we headed back to reality and even though I had a great time it was nice to see DJ and the kids again (until they started bickering). Hopefully I will be able to join them again next year. :-)


I am on the right side middle position.

Memorial Day Weekend (kids)

I was away but DJ had an action packed weekend with the kids. Zoe went horseback riding for the first time and then DJ brought the kids to the playground in the afternoon. The next day the kids were bugging him to bring them to the aquarium and he decided it might not be the best idea to have a 1:4 adult to kid ratio. VERY SMART! He did bring them to a local children's museum though. They had a good time especially in the make believe town area complete with a Dr's office, post office, restaurant, TV station, Fire station and grocery store. Monday grandma came over to join DJ and the kids for the Memorial day parade. Violet marched with her Daisy troop and Zoe marched with her Girl Scout group. Luckily they took some good pictures but I missed seeing them in the parade
I made sure before I went that the house was fully stocked with easy to prepare meals and a list of what was available for each meal and side dishes. He tends to just make them the main dish and forget anything else (IE fruits and veggies). All in all I was impressed that he managed to not have the kids trash the house and he felt confident enough to take them on an outing. Of course I came back to lots of laundry and but the trip was well worth it.

Zoe marching in the middle

Violet, on the right with tan pants

Grandma and Gavin

Gavin and his godmother

Grandma and Gavin watching the parade

Icecream, Teeth and here comes Dr. Marina

Gavin tried an icecream cone for the first time last week. He didn't really understand how to eat it and ended up with a frozen red nose, cheeks and chin. He gave up after a while and complained until I gave it to him with a spoon. I thought kids were supposed to LIKE icecream cones. You can tell that Marina is really enjoying hers.


Dr. Marina is on duty. WATCH OUT! She put this on and I said "Oh, hi nurse Marina and she quickly corrected me "I'm a doctor"

Zoe lost her first tooth in a long time! It started to get wiggly but was not ready to come out but she was anxious to help it out. She took a piece of dental floss and tied it to the door and had Marina slam the door. It actually worked. A little bloody but it worked. I was away this weekend and Mr. tooth fairy just never came. He did visit her to tell her that she had to wait for the Mrs. to visit her. It must not be in his contract!

Samuels Christening

Here are some pictures from Samuel's Christening. He is such a cute little man!

Can I keep him like this a little longer?

Gavin is at such a great age now and just so much fun to be with. I love that he is walking, which makes it easier to play outside and that he is starting to talk, make jokes and entertain us. His personality is really showing through and so far he is such a cuddly, sweet, funny and full of energy type of guy. I know the terrible two's will be here all to soon, but if I could just keep him at this stage for a couple years I would. I will be happy when I don't have to change diapers anymore but for now it is a small price to pay. Although some days I have to pay more than others! I am really looking forward to the upcoming summer and seeing him play at the beach with his sisters and getting to meet Minnie and Mickey. He cracks us up because every time we meet new people or are in a new situation he gets a very serious look on his face and studies everything and everyone around him. We call him Stewie from the Family Guy and often imagine him with Stewies type of thoughts as he processes everything.

Here is my little guy getting ready to fly to the beach!

Anna Theresa is here!

Congratulations Will and Kim on the birth of your beautiful daughter Anna. Kim had a c-section in the early afternoon after labor failed to progress. Anna has already started to show her parents how even the best laid plans can and often will change when you have kids. I was so excited to meet her and visit with Will and Kim (okay, maybe I mostly went to see the baby ;-) that I took off to the hospital soon after hearing the news. Kim was in the recovery room but her and the baby were doing wonderful and I could clearly see how ecstatic they were to have her here. She is 6lbs 6oz and as of the time I left, did not have her length measured yet. She has a lot of light hair and dark eyes. Here are a couple of the pictures I took of her but I will post more soon.