A Houseful of Kids

My sister and her three kids visited this past weekend. It always feels so good to have her nearby. To just be together.

We don't usually plan to do too much. It's kind of hard with so many young kids. But that's fine with me. I just like being with her.

Here are a few pictures from the days we spent together...

Halloween

A cute little Cow, two Batmen, and Belle.

Candy time!!!

We made sure to limit the intake...last year, Daniel ate candy when we weren't looking and was up very late with a stomachache!

"Tanks" from a little cow

Sometimes being a mom feels a little thankless. Every breath seems to be used for someone else. I always know that it is worth it, but at times I grow weary.

This morning, Julia was looking for her baby's bottle. The boys helped her look, but to no avail. When I went to change the laundry from the washer to the dryer...eureka! There it was...

"Julia!"

"What, Mommy!" emphasis on the t in what

"Look what I found!"

"Tanks, Mommy!!!!"

I was rewarded with a shriek of delight, cute little running legs, and a huge smile. The biggest reward possible, I think.

Oh, and the smile is especially cute when it comes from a "little cow!"

Fall Fun

Fall in the Poconos is beautiful...and also fun! The playground always has the best leaf-coverage. It is the perfect place to create a pile or to throw leaves into the air or do other ridiculous things that only kids think to do. ;) Anyway, they had a blast! Here are some pictures from the other day...

A Good Friend's Wedding

A good friend of ours got married this past weekend. She asked Hannah to be her flower girl and the boys to hand out programs and bird seed. So, after getting home at 12:45 in the morning from our trip to Pittsburgh, we got up early and drove to New Jersey. We figured out that we traveled on all but about 10 miles of Rt. 80 in Pennsylvania between Friday and Saturday.
Anyway, the wedding was absolutely beautiful. The ceremony was held on the beach (which thrilled the kids who had never seen the ocean before), and then the reception was held nearby at an outside terrace. The food was incredibly good (and caused me to abandon my dieting for a few hours).
Jay and Daniel greeted people as they approached the beach and handed them programs and birdseed. It was a little windy and Daniel had a hard time holding onto the programs. Almost everytime I looked back to check on them, the two boys were bent over picking up the sand covered programs and trying to straighten them so Daniel could hold them again. Eventually, I got up and asked Jay to trade jobs with him...that seemed to work much better.
Hannah was a beautiful flower girl. She was in her glory...barefoot on the beach in a pretty dress. She loved it!
At the reception the kids took every opportunity to dance. I was getting a kick out of Hannah's dancing (she clearly gets it from her Dad). She was instructing Jay on how to twirl her and throughly enjoying every moment of it. Daniel wanted in on the action, so the duo became a trio. And, Julia being "Miss Independent" right now, just wanted to dance by herself.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

A Trip To The Zoo

On Friday my husband had a meeting in Pittsburgh. So, on Thursday, we packed up the kids and made the trek across Pennsylvania. While he was at his meeting, the kids and I went to my sister's house (she lives in Pittsburgh). We spent Friday at the Pittsburgh Zoo (if you ever have the chance to go there, take it...it's a great zoo).
I'm going to try to give you a glimpse of our day through this blog entry. I know, though, that these few pictures won't do it justice...we had SO much fun!!!

the whole crew...seven kids seven and under!

Jay couldn't wait to see the gorillas!

A cute picture of Daniel and Hannah by the elephants.

Julia absolutely LOVED the "ell-mints"!

Joey hugging the deer in the petting area. He kept saying "Hi, Deer!" as if he expected it to respond, "Hi, Joey!"




Ryan and the Naked Mole Rats (by the end of the day, they had a lot in common)! :)

Joey loved the fish!

A pretty picture of my sister Mandie and Bekah.

The polar bears swimming over us (there is a tunnel through their swimming tank). They were so cool to watch!

There, that's a glimpse of our day. I have a ton more pictures, but that will have to do. Hope you enjoyed them!