Montauk day 1

On our first day in Montauk, we ate breakfast at the hotel, and stepped outside to explore a little bit, where we were shocked to find it CHILLY outside.  Damp, cloudy, raining off and on, and CHILLY. (The one thing that I WASN'T prepared for!!!)  After exploring the property at Montauk Manor (the first hotel we stayed at) we went out to see the lighthouse and BEAUTIFUL rocky shore at Montauk Point State Park.  It is the eastern tip of Long Island, and the rocks are AMAZING. The boys could have stayed there ALL day picking up rocks, throwing rocks into the water, and exploring.  The weather was still pretty gray and chilly out there though so we didn't stay as long as the boys would have liked! Then we went back into town, and had lunch at a little cafe.  I had a pulled pork sandwich, and Bryce had chicken fingers. . .which started to become a joke, because at that point, it was his second meal of chicken fingers in a row. . .and it wouldn't be the last!  After stopping for some ice cream and treats,  we went back for a nap, packed up at Montauk Manor, and then headed over to hotel number 2 at Gurney's Inn (where the wedding was held.)  

Montauk Manor

Tanner REALLY wanted to take our picture :) I sort of love this!!!!

And now, the pictures from the park. . . .

it took me a while to realize that my feet were in this picture! oops!

At the ice cream shop, Eric found rainbow cookies, which are my ALL TIME FAVORITE treat!

Leaving on a jet plane. . . .

I'm starting to upload pictures from our adventures in NY! Here are some pictures of us on our way! The boys were GEMS on the airplane.  (I'm pretty sure the tv's at each seat were part of the reason!) tanner's carseat ended up not working on the plane, so he was just in a seatbelt, but he loved it. he wanted to unbuckle himself a lot on the way there, but i kept distracting him with fruit snacks, and lollipops!  and i never heard a PEEP out of bryce the entire time.  he was happy with earphones and cartoons. after the plane ride, we had a two hour drive to get out to Montauk, where we spent the first half of our trip.  but tanner finally took a nap, and bryce played video games. (his favorite part of the trip overall, was probably all the screen time he got!!!!) anything to keep the peace!!!!! :)

Happy 4th of July!

the annual "placing of the flags" on the 4th of july morning! 

(pictures from later in the day coming next!)

Tropical Storm Debby

Our sweet sweet neighbors (and friends) are moving.  Thankfully the days and days of rain from Debby seem to be almost behind us, so they can load their truck today.  Yesterday afternoon we had one last afternoon playdate, despite the pouring down rain.  The kids had a BLAST, and we were thankful for no thunder and lightning, so it was safe for them to splash and play!

Sit in the gutter? Sure, why not!? (I love Tanner's feet poking out from under the umbrella!)

 Everyone has the funniest faces in the picture! 

3 kids, 3 umbrellas. . .standing still for a picture?! OF COURSE NOT!!!! This was the best I got!

Good times with good friends!!!

xoxo

Tropical Storm Beryl

a little rain from the tropical storm a few weeks ago, wasn't enough to stop Tanner from watching the garbage men come.  we are die-hard garbage truck fans around here. :)  that's serious dedication, i tell ya!

the almost 2nd grader

Here's my big boy being eaten by an Osprey, at a recent college baseball game! :)

All about Bryce. . .

favorite foods: pizza, peanut butter and jelly, mac n cheese, olives, almost any kind of baked goodies!
favorite toys, games, activities: Legos, Pokemon cards, football, (anything that involves tackling, fighting, rolling around on the ground, and wrestling) bike riding, playing outside, playing on the iPod, iPad, computer, or phone. ("Can I have a technological device?" he likes to ask)
interested in: dinosaurs, space, science, reading,
major dislikes: mint, mint toothpaste, mint chocolate, mint candy, anything bubblegum flavored (because he says it tastes like mint)
great accomplishments of the year: learning to ride his bike, and getting much more brave in the water!
sleep: unlike his brother, Bryce is a great sleeper. . . but he's often caught staying up WAY past bedtime to read. his nightlight is a strand of colored Christmas lights wrapped around the bunk bed.  :)  I'm sure the neighbors find it amusing, when his shades are opened.
favorite movie: The Muppets
favorite book series: Magic Treehouse, The Boxcar Children, Animal Ark,
Bryce and Tanner: they have a very love/hate relationship right now.  one minute B wants T in his room, and then the next minute he's screaming at him to get OUT.  they can be super sweet and hugging each other one second, and then the hug turns into a wrestling move, where someone inevitably ends up crying or hurt.  they provoke each other, and stalk each other, and mess with each other NON STOP.  (why didn't someone warn me!?)
school: Bryce did AWESOME work at school this year. he did some great writing, and he enjoyed math.  his handwriting has gotten a lot better this year (when he takes the time, anyway!)  he loved doing a research report on bats.  his class was BIG this year, (36 kids) with two teachers.  although it was a less-than-ideal situation, he really hung in there like a champ, and we are looking forward to a SMALLER class with ONE teacher next year.
summer: Bryce is looking forward to lots of time in the water, at the pool and the beach.  we have annual passes for the Museum of Science and History, as well as the zoo.  he had an awesome time at the Florida Aquarium last week (the giant Moray eel was his favorite thing!)

we're back from a week out of town, and I'll work this week to get photos uploaded to share with you!!!! xoxo

Tanner at almost 3

favorite foods: Rice Krispies, brocoli, yogurt with sprinkles, "Mickey Bars" (did we take him to Disney too much this year?)
favorite thing to say that he shouldn't: "dumb baby" (compliments of Bryce)
LOVES: the garbage truck, the garbage can, the garbage, dump trucks, construction vehicles trains, motorcycles ("man-go!") playing in the water, doing whatever Bryce is doing, books (especially about garbage trucks!)
sleep: sleeping through the night about 75 percent of the time, usually up between 5:30-6:30. pitches a royal FIT when it's Daddy's turn to do bedtime. "Nooo, Mommy's turn tonightttttt!" is what he screams as I leave. (Torture.)  You'd think I was leaving him with a total stranger. (Daddy is strange, YES, but stranger? no.)
because he's so big: he's starting to like picking out his own clothes, getting his own water from the dispenser on the fridge, likes to help empty the dishwasher
Tanner language: motorcycle-"man-go", "Scoop-dump-truck"- excavator of any kind
dislikes: haircuts (although he didn't cry this last time. but he made his protest KNOWN.)  being closed out of Bryce's room

a typical day in the neighborhood

This past Sunday afternoon was pretty much like most afternoons for the past few months.  We go outside just about every day.  We play and hang out with our neighbors, and their trio of little girls (Reisa is 2, and the twins are 8 months.)  Every so often we have to break out the water toys, and make a big splashy (and eventually muddy) mess but on this particular day we started out with some bike and scooter racing:

this picture of reisa and tanner cracks me up! they have the funniest faces! they adore each other so much, but they have a very two-year-old relationship of playing nicely together one second, and hollering and beating on each other the next minute! Reisa will probably be moving soon, so we are enjoying EVERY second we can with our sweet pals, two-doors-down.

And we're happy to say that three of our four broccoli plants have big broccoli florets growing on them, and we have been excited to watch them get "big and strong" according to Tanner.  The plants droop a little every afternoon, which is why the leaves look a little wilty in this picture, but they perk right back up by evening.  I think it will just be a few more weeks, and then we can eat the first of it!

Happy day-after-Mother's Day!

Just a few quick pictures that the boys and I took before we left for church on Sunday morning! We spent a lovely Mother's Day with Eric's family, out at the beach condo (minus the beach, because the weather was sort of questionable!)  I got some BEAUTIFUL plants and flowers, plus my FAVORITE lemon soap from Eric's mom! (And perhaps the best part? Leftovers from dinner. . . I'm pretty sure I won't have to cook or shop for a week, after all the food that came home with us!)

Last week, although it wasn't intended as a Mother's Day present, I used some long held gift card $, and got a pedicure with a friend, and then had a massage. . . .and I dubbed that part of my Mother's Day celebration too.  It was DIVINE!!!! 

And. . . because I simply can't let any of you be without the AMAZING cookies that the boys and I baked, I must share this recipe.  Eric says I have to start making them every day.  They are seriously THAT good. . . .and amazingly enough, they have NO flour, and NO butter. . .and they are EASY! 

So if you need a peanut butter and chocolate fix, try these out! 

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 

(PS. . .be sure to keep scrolling down. in order to make me feel less guilty, I've pre-dated some posts, so i could put pictures in chronological order. i'll be adding a few more from my birthday, and the end of april over the next day or so!)

God made the dirt. . .

so the dirt won't hurt. . .right? It was not easy to get out of Bryce's white shirt, but miraculously it survived.  I can NOT keep the boys out of the garden lately. . .it's frustrating, and disastrous, but then again BOYS WILL BE BOYS, so I will take a deep breath, and wipe them off AGAIN.  On this particular day, I think we started out playing with water. . .and THEN the dirt, so it was especially bad. And Tanner had a runny nose. (Also not helpful.)  And I've found that dirt REALLY sticks to sunscreen.

EWWWWWWWW!  :)

To the zoo we go!

We took our dear friends Paul and Sara, and their little cutie pie Hannah, for Hannah's FIRST TRIP to the zoo on Saturday! It was so fun to see her excited about the animals!!! She and Tanner are totally best buds, and he really loves to call her "Baby Hannah" (even though she's becoming not such a baby anymore!)