chasing fire flies

There is a beautiful catalog that I receive by mail called chasing fire flies. Some of you may have heard of it, some might even get it. How I came to receive it I'll never know, especially since it I have never ordered from them nor do I see myself doing so in the future. Not to say that I don't want to. They have beautiful clothes -gorgeous keepsakes and jewelry. However 90% of the catalog is what I'd call 'unaffordable', unless, let's say, you are a Rockefeller or a Kennedy.

Let's take a gander, shall we?

At a mere $250, I think the small frame is a bit pricey. Which certainly excludes me from the larger version with a pricetag of $495. My kids would look equally as cute in something from Kohl's.

Owl will be your friend for only $68. Ouch!

I guess I have no choice but to purchase these twig crayons, since Target was all out of the 17-cent boxes. And they'll only set me back $150! But isn't my little artist worth it?

And what little creative mind doesn't deserve at 9-piece wooden playset, again at a highly affordable $150

So this all came from the first 13 pages but you probably get where I am going. Again, they have beautiful clothes that I would LOVE to dress my kids in. But $100 everyday dresses and $88 hoodies are just too much, even for this gal with the shopping addiction. Sniff, sniff. I guess I'll just have to drool on the catalog each season.

Cover Girl

What can we say, she's a Cover Girl at age 3. So what if it's the cover of the local coupon magazine...

Our girl is 3rd from the left

Maybe it's easier to see her here...

24-32-48-HIKE!

Clearly I have no idea how to call plays, I just thought it was a fun title. Yes it's true I spent 10 years working in football, but I was on the 'other' side. I can, however, whip up a mean gamescript if you're ever in need.

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Ry is into his 2nd week of football practice and I have to say it's pretty cute to watch. Not as cute as the kids playing pads, all decked out in their gear and big helmets - they are REALLY cute! But the flag kids are cute just the same, dont'cha think?!?

Let me catch you up

Contrary to popular belief, we have not fallen off the face of the earth, moved out West or been abducted by aliens. We are alive and breathing (most days, anyway) and just in the thick of summertime. The kids have grown by leaps and bounds, especially their feet. Shoe shopping was a real treat this year.

Ryan has started flag football (pictures to follow) and it only took until the middle of his 2nd practice for him to come running off the field, exclaiming Mom, we have Cheerleaders?? Typical male. He is all set to start Kindergarten in 2 weeks, tho bummed that he can't ride the bus and I won't let him walk to school. As if driving his skinny butt was my first choice???

Emma is all signed up for her 2nd year of dance class and will do ballet & tap this year. Cha-ching! She aspires to be a Cheerleader when she grows up and is despondent that she cannot cheer for her brothers football team RIGHT NOW! Patience is not her strong point. She will be starting pre-school in a few weeks and is more excited than one could ever imagine. How many mom's can say they threaten their child with NOT going to school if they don't behave?

Byron and I are the same, we don't change a whole lot. Yesterday he was able to drive up to Pocono Raceway and get instructions for driving from a seasoned race car professional. He then hit the track in a variety of Audi's and tore it up! Someone had their marketing caps on - he came home raving about Audi's and how he'd love to own one. Back off, Buddy! I'm next in line for the large car payment! Wish I had some pictures but the only guy who had a camera managed to get his thumb in the way - amateurs!

Here's a few pictures that have been trapped in computer limbo, just waiting to be posted or organized.

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We were thrilled to attend Cousin Andrew's birthday party the day we came home from vacation. The kids had a blast at Chuck E Cheese and then back at the house - thanks big guy!


A few weeks ago Byron's family all got together for a dinner cruise on a local big boat along a local big river! Not too vague, right? His mom won the cruise through a local radio station's rewards program (thanks for inviting us and thanks, Raymond, for playing for us!) and a good time was had by all! Here's a few table shots at dinner.


I think this one was taken AFTER the waiter spilled an entire drink down Josh's back.

Move over Hannah Montana

WARNING... the following video may cause windows to shatter and small animals/vermin to run for cover. View at your own risk!

The Vacationers

We vacationed this year at the beach and a great time was had by all! The kids had an absolute blast and were total beach bums. Grandmom, Pop and Aunt Janet were able to join us for a few days and it was very fun and relaxing. Most mornings started out with a Father/Son bike ride on the boards and to get breakfast. From there we hit the beach for a few hours and returned in time to bathe, rest (Em still requires a nap or the Exorcist shines through), and hit the boards for eats and rides. A few nights we cooked - a lot of nights we ate yummy boardwalk pizza - every night there was some form of high-calorie dessert! Ryan learned to skim board and Emma learned to boogie board. It really was a fun time with them this year and we can't wait to go back again next year!!

The Beach

Patiently waiting...

Yes, he is wearing shorts! So what if they are PJ shorts - we hit the beach late one afternoon to break out the metal detector but sadly, we didn't find much.

Emma and Grandmom

Our week began with crazy waves and riptides. Here's Byron breaking in (or just breaking) Ryan's boogie board!

Em & Ryan did some boarding of their own and loved it.

A creepy shot... this is Emma showing us how she can put her head under the water.

What form! A boy and his skim board.

The Boards

Posing with Mr. Taffy & Mr. Peanut

Emma walked up to some woman taking a picture here and said 'It ain't easy being a flip flop!' Where does she come from?

Family Shots

The Vacationers, Part II

The Rides

There was a driving theme to this years rides. Ryan loves the Bumper Cars and isn't too bad. Emma is the worlds worst driver, I don't care that she's 3. She turns the wheel like she's 90.

Ryan LOVED the log flume, which is a hard ride to capture a picture, but I got lucky. Emma wouldn't even entertain the thought of it. It's nice having one that isn't a thrill-seeker.

Random Shots

The boys on their morning ride. I think that was one of Ryan's favorite parts.

Me and my girl

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 'OLD' while on vacation and Emma reminds me at least once a week!

Skimmin' at the Beach

As previously mentioned, Byron bought Ryan a skim board on vacation. I thought he was out of his freakin' mind... do we really need to provide the means for yet another ER trip? But Ryan was insistent and determined and I have to give him credit for that. Skim boarding is hard. It takes balance, skill and a major sense of fearlessness and I know he has at least one of those going for him. He fell... more than he stayed upright. When he landed in the wet sand, it was hard. But with more determination than I have ever seen in that skinny little kid, he kept at it until he got it. And for the next few days he practiced at the waters edge for hours. We were very proud of him and he was darn proud of himself. Take a look at our little dude...

BPA-Free

I am way behind in posting and need to get our vacation pics up here, but since I only have a second I thought I'd start out easy...

ATTENTION ALL BABY BOTTLE USERS!!!
For anyone who currently has plastic bottles that contain the (potentially) dangerous chemical BPA, your local Babies R Us will swap them out for new, BPA-free bottles. Each store runs their swap differently so be sure to call your local BRU. The local store here is doing a bottle for bottle swap. So you return your old/used bottles in their entirety (bottle, nipple, cap) and they credit you for each one. The 9oz Avent was being credited for $5.00. You then get a store credit to purchase brand new, BPA-free bottles of your choice and they have a variety of brands and price points. You must use your credit at that time and for new bottles only. I'm not sure how long this will continue (a friend passed this info along a few weeks ago) but I do know their return policy is changing on August 10th so I'd guess you only have a few weeks left if you want to make the switch. It's certainly worth the drive over there, even if your bottles are newer (or older) or you aren't currently using them but plan to in the future.

Happy Swapping!

Green Eggs and...

...Bacon?

Last Sunday, Ryan wanted to make Green Eggs and Ham and Daddy promised him they would do it the following weekend. Each day that child counted down the days until it was Sunday again, he was so excited. Sadly for Ryan (but yay for Mommy), daddy forgot to buy ham at the store so Ryan had to settle for Green Eggs and Bacon. A pig is a pig is a pig, I say. Except when I am the one eating it, and then a pig is gross. I had a bad ham experience once... BARF!

Side Note...In case you are wondering, Ryan ate all of his scrambled eggs and then asked for Emma's. Who knew food coloring could be so useful!

Happy Birthday, Mom-Mom!

We wanted to wish Mom-Mom a very Happy Birthday and what better way to do that than with margaritas family!?! It was the 4th, it was her birthday - did we need any more reason for a party? We had a great family get-together but missed the Wards who were vacationing at the beach. It just isn't a party without Natalie Ann!

There were lots of yummy eats and many spirits were had by all - thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate and for all the food/bevvies! Honorable Mention this year to my nephew Anthony and his gf Becky for the Oreo Balls, the best chocolate creation ever!

One of these parties I will put the Margarita glass down long enough to pick up the camera, I promise.

Looks like an inside joke between Mom-Mom and Emma


A little far from the cake for blowing out the candles but Emma's mighty lungs are up for the challenge

Em checking for birdies in Mom-Mom's new birdhouse.

Celebrating our Independence

Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! We had a lot of family time... and we still like each other!... and kept busy with lots of activities.

On the 4th, we participated in our first township parade and the kids had a blast. I spent a few days decorating Emma's scooter and Ryan's bike and sure, I may have gone overboard with the crepe paper, but it was clearly worth it as both kids (whew!) took home a prize that day. They both won in their categories, received a ribbon and an envelope with $5 and could not have been happier! There was soft pretzels and water ice and Ryan also won a medal in a race (on legs, not wheels) for coming in 2nd place - he really is a fast kid. If there was a medal for dead last, Emma would have taken it with ease. Just hope she doesn't want to join the track team.

NOTE: I do realize that Ryan is not wearing his helmet here... it still bothers his concussion bump and to add to that, he got a 2nd goose egg the day prior when his face somehow met up with the corner of the wooden play kitchen, directly at the end of the first bump. He couldn't go that fast in the parade so I saw no reason to torture him. Scold me at your own risk!

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On Saturday the 5th, we sent a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to Mom-Mom and let her enjoy her day with adults before we tortured her the next day for a bday celebration. We made a quick visit to the pool for Family Fun Day, complete with free snow cones, cotton candy and popcorn, oh my! There were inflatable games and pony rides and pool games and I forgot my camera. Shame, shame, tsk, tsk. What kind of blogger am I, you ask? The busy kind - it was a long weekend so just take my word for it, the pool was fun.

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After baths and rest, we hit the road for some baseball fun - what a great night for a game! We were hosted by a good friend in his suite and Ryan and Daddy even got passes for the field to watch our friends dad throw out the first pitch, very exciting!! The kids lasted the entire game and for the 3rd night in a row, hit the hay very late. Late bedtime=early riser Emma=look out!

Partaking in an old baseball tradition... peanuts!

Ryan on the field

Mr. E throwing out the first pitch!