Already

It started snowing late last night, and well, it hasn't stopped yet. By no means a blizzard, and because of warmer temperatures (low 30s) we haven't had too much accumulation, but none the less, we have SNOW. Probably about 4-5 inches of perfect snowball making snow. A friend came to camp today and told me that down off of the mountain (only about 30 minutes from here) they don't have any snow, just slushy rain. These pictures were taken around 2 this afternoon, so they don't reflect how much we actually have now.

Julia is fascinated with the snow. She wants to walk in it, stand in it, touch it...it's really quite cute to watch. And she'll say to me, "Mommy, it noing on my head!"

Julia

"Mommy, I sit on da wap-a-you?" Being interpretted: "Mommy, can I sit on your lap?"
Why would I want to resist such cuteness??
I can't believe how big she is already. She'll be two in just one month. Since having children we've always had someone under two in the house!

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...