cousins unite!

A few weeks ago, our super fun, super cool cousins from NJ came to visit.  C and K have boys the same ages as our boys, so it was a six day slumber party playdate extravaganza.  They did some fun sight seeing type day trips from our house, and we did some fun stuff together, including daytrips to Great Falls, and Gettysburg. We also had a lovely evening dinner picnic at one of our favorite local vineyards, Sunset Hills.

We hadn't seen them in a couple of years and time flies... the boys are all so grown up together now and besides my brothers' kids, these are our boys' only other cousins.  It was great to see them bond again and get to know each other as 'young men'.  Loads of fun, we love them dearly.

 

 

farm goodness

Yesterday was the last day of Spring Break.  Gosh, it felt like the boys were off for a month with all that we did.   Lots of fun and many adventures.  I don't remember schools being closed the Monday after Easter before, but since they were we took advantage and met my Mom, Jessica and cousins Josh and Maya at a local farm.  It was a beautiful, windy day and there was hardly anyone there.  The kids had so much fun chasing goats, and playing with each other.  They must have gone down the slides hundreds of times. 

There's nothing like watching your kids play with their cousins.  The belly laughs and the hand holding, the pretending and the hugs.  Love it.

When we got home, it was straight in the bathtub!

Easter 2012

Its funny how the holidays evolve as the boys grow. Some things stay the same (coloring eggs and egg hunts and goody filled baskets) and some things change (sleeping in!).  We had a fun filled Easter weekend that started with a Topkick tawkwondo egg hunt, easter egg coloring, and ended with an all day family day at my Mom and Robby's.  There was Easter fishing too, but I didn't get any photos as I was inside cooking and running my mouth!

We tried using beet juice to dye some of the eggs.  It was smelly (according to the boys) and didn't color the eggs as well as the fake stuff, but it was still fun to try.

I love that I bought Logan a jewelry beading kit and he LOVED it, and didn't care one bit that it had a girl on the front of the box!  Dylan got alien Legos.

My Mom makes the best deviled eggs.

bro-mama birthdays!

My Mom and brothers' birthdays are close together, and every end of March we have a great excuse to get together for a little family fun time.  Next up, we have Easter and Dylan's birthday...another great excuse!  Lots of people don't get to see their family as often as we do.  I love that we live close enough to all spend time together celebrating these occassions.   My stepsisters live in Maryland, not too far, so we can truly all be to my Mom and Robby's within 45 minutes. 

Between our kids, my brothers, and my stepsisters, there are now 10 cousins/grandkids.   Makes for quite the party when we're all in one place at the same time!   Its always a group effort, but my Mom and Robby always host a great time, and the kids love their time with the cousins!

cousin lunch

I know, I'm totally slacking on the blogging lately.  Due to my new addiction to Pinterest, all my time online seems to be perusing home decorating ideas, dreaming of swimming pool designs, trying to find the perfect recipe, and drooling over things I can't afford.

So anyway, let me attempt to catch up, at least in photos. 

Monday was of course Presidents Day, no school for the kids.  We spent the day at Grandma Lynn's, meeting up with Jessica and cousins Josh and Maya for pizza, Just Dance 3, and s'mores.  Fun stuff!

very thankful

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my Dad and stepmom Bobbie at their brand new home in Cobbs Creek, VA (about 3.5 hours southeast of us).  We went down two days before Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, my Dad drove to SE Ohio and picked up my Grandma Williams so we could all spend the holiday together. My brother Chris, and Jessica and cousins Josh and Maya arrived Thanksgiving Day.  It was a fun holiday filled with so many things I'm thankful for:  family, food, laughter, togetherness and making memories.

Now we're home and the holiday season is here.  I know that because I spent a couple of hours today wrapping some gifts I bought early and I can feel it in my back.  I started some shopping a few weeks ago and am trying to stagger out the gift buying/wrapping so it isn't all at once.  I find I can enjoy the holiday season much more if I can get a big chunk of the 'gift' part done earlier, and then focus on the events, the baking, the parties and making memories with my family.

Anyway, before we get into the full swing of moving onto Christmas, here are some of the photos highlighting our lovely Thanksgiving holiday.  A special thanks again to my Dad and Bobbie for pulling out all the stops to make it a wonderful time.

The day before Thanksgiving, we took a (very cold) boat ride (per the boys request).

It was freezing and Logan forgot his socks.  So my gloves came in handy.  Monkey toes!

Great Grandma Williams, age 78

Grandpa Joe showed the boys how to play Captain's Mistress (and managed to avoid answering Dylan's question, "What is a mistress?")

and took them for a little ride on his new tractor..

We had no shortage of summer sausage.

Wednesday we baked a trifecta of pies:  cherry, pumpkin and bourbon chocolate pecan.

Great Grandma gave the boys their first ever Zhu Zhu pets.  They were a huge hit!  Yes, Logan has his taekwondo belt on... he wears it everywhere.

Great Grandma with Josh, Logan, Maya and Dylan

the feast

The day after Thanksgiving, the girls (and Andrew) drove around the area touring local art studios.   I wish I could have bought these!

Dylan shows Great Grandma how to play Mario Kart

Grandpa Joe and Maya dance to some bluegrass tunes

happy hour

Chris got friendly with the sausage.

The kids were all getting a little rowdy, so Grandpa Joe told them they needed to meditate.

And Aunt Jessica read them all a story..

And no Thanksgiving is complete without a marshmallow roast.