Two things

Before I blog any further about our day to day activities on our vacation, I want to make sure I don't forget to capture some of my feelings throughout the trip. Right now, I am filled with enormous pride for our children. They are so full of love and have been on their best behavior for the majority of the time. Each night after their prayers, we ask the kids to thank Jesus for their blessings and to name two things that they are thankful for. Tonight Corey said "taking a shower in the big double shower and for playing with his new rocket" and Ashley said "love, and for the fun she had on the boat ride today." It's true.. I have never seen her so full of joy! She was truly in her element on that boat ride. I am so grateful to share these experiences with them and for the blessing to be their parent. 

Ashley snuggling her new stuffed animal that she bought. She named it "Baby Kitty" since we already have a "Baby Tater"

Corey snuggling with "Bunny"

Sleepy Baby Boy

Nothing sweeter than a peacefully sleeping child.

Salt Water Farms

On Sunday and Monday I attended cooking classes at Salt Water Farms! I went last summer and it was so awesome, so I was really looking forward to going again. On Sunday I went with Cathy, Paul, T-Mom, and Teresa. To top it off it was a cold, wet and rainy day so it felt super cozy and comfy in the rustic kitchen. The owner and instructor, Anne Marie, even had a fire going which made it even more warm and inviting. The food was so delicious. I saved my recipes so I can try to mimic them when I get home. We dined on Burnt tomato with goat cheese bruschetta, grilled asparagus with farm egg and salty cheese, baby beets, beet greens and garlic, roast spring lamb with salsa verde, smashed potatoes with tapenade and rhubarb galette with hazelnut crust. I didn't eat the lamb...but Paul loved it! When we got back, everyone was gathered in the A house playing games, drinking coffee and reading. Aunt Cheryl even started a fire in the fireplace. It was so soothing. The kids thankfully were well behaved while we were gone. 

The glass of wine I am holding is a moscato wine called Alamos...I am not really a red wine girl but it was so so good. 

I went back on Monday, and it was a larger group this time. Plus the weather was sunny and warmer which made for a different experience. We made pasta from scratch and it was delicious! I was so excited to see how it was made. Aunt Missy and I teamed up and made a yummy carrot cake. I am not usually a carrot cake fan but this one came out spectacular and I will definitely make this again! The key ingredient to me was the zest and juice of an orange. We also combined cream cheese with marscapone cheese and then the zest of two limes for the icing. 

Our cooking group!

Our lovely instructor and her assistant.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor (wish my eyes weren't closed..lol!)

Having the opportunity to cook with such amazing and beautiful ingredients (mostly harvested from the farm right there!), spending time with family and learning new things about cooking, was truly a wonderful experience. 

The wine with lunch was a really nice plus as well! Hehe

We made it to Maine

Yesterday we woke up at 3:30am to begin our trip! Our flight left at 6:15am so it was was an early start for sure! 

The night before, the kids took off the last link of the their countdown chain. 

They went to bed in their travel clothes to ease getting ready so early in the morning! 

After saying a sad goodbye to our doggies for two whole weeks, we headed to the airport. We flew to Chicago first and then headed on to the Portland, Maine.

We got to Portland 20 minutes earlier then expected!! We picked up the rental car and then headed to Camden. It took about 2 hours and then we made it! After 12 total hours of travel!!! Yay!! 

The weather was cool and lovely!

Check out that antipasto salad!!! It was so yummy!

Let the relaxation commence!

Kitty at the Vet

Kitty at the vet on Friday getting her rabies shot. She is so sweet. I love her so much! 

Not much to post lately... Other than the fact that we are so excited to begin our vacation! Getting all of our last minute items crossed off the list! One of them was getting Kitty to the vet. We also are very blessed to have such great friends... I say this because we had originally planned to board both of our dogs while away, but at the last minute we decided to ask some of friends... And they said Yes!  We started getting more and more concerned about leaving them in a kennel for so long (especially being elderly dogs). We didn't want to put anyone out but we just figured "what's the harm in asking?" And we are so glad we did!! Now our girls get to stay home! Yay!!

Autograph Books

During the last week of school, Ashley created  little "Autograph Books" for each of her classmates.  She added a spot for autographs on one side and a personal note page on the other. She began the book by autographing them and then writing each kid a personal note. Some of her notes were simply, "Hi" or "how are you?" and others sweet and inspirational, like "Don't be shy, you're always okay on the inside." I asked her about this one in particularly and she said that this little girl always feels nervous when she is called on to answer a question in class, and she wanted her not to be afraid. She said, "Sometimes I pat her back and tell her it's okay." She melts my heart.
There were other notes that were interesting, in particularly a note to a girl that wasn't nice to her. She at first asked her in her note, "why aren't you nice to me?" And then I told her, you don't need to ask to be her friend - she doesn't deserve your friendship if she isn't kind. So she scribbled it out and said "Have a nice summer!" LOL!   This was completely her idea and she stayed up the night before until 9:30pm to finish each of them. Each book included a silver or gold star sticker on the front. Such a sweet and creative idea to give her friends during the last week of school. I am so impressed with her kind and thoughtful heart. She makes me beam with pride every day.


Ashley holding her stack of autograph books before school drop off.

 

I included several photos of most of the yearbook notes below. Mostly because I didn't want to forget what she wrote to each child.

She even pimped out my phone number for a playdate! LOL!

So sweet!!

This one cracked me up!

I love how to she wrote K.I.P. instead of K.I.T. haha!!

The photo above is for a child that Ashley said was talkative in the beginning of the year, but as the year went on, he became quiet and withdrawn. She wrote the note below...

This kind of made me laugh, because it was so blatant, but it was also sweet to know that she cares about her friends.

This one was for her teacher.

Jessica was the kid that was the on again, off again friend with Ashley throughout the year. This was the one that she scribbled out and wrote "Have a nice summer." LOL

 

Magic You, Rainbow Loom

A few weeks ago, Ashley created her very own Rainbow Loom shop and named it "Magic You! Rainbow Loom!". She set up a sign, a register and laid out all of her products for display on the counter. Each item had its own price tag. She priced each item based on how long they took her to make them. So if it was an easy bracelet, it was less expense vs. a bracelet that was more difficult to create. 
Corey was her first customer and he was so excited to buy her bracelets. He spent a $1.32. She even wrote him out a receipt.  She packaged his purchases in a Starbucks paper bag and sent him on his way. Paul and I purchased a bracelet too. She was even taking orders for personalized rainbow loom creations. She just killed me! So adorable!!

 

Ready for customers! She is wearing some of her creations - a necklace with a pendant, and a bracelet.

This photo is a bit blurry, but can you make out her display behind the table on the countertop?

Last Day of School

This post is long overdue. Mostly because the photos were on my camera and not on my phone so it took a bit to get them downloaded. Oh... the horror of that extra step....so crazy!

We all walked her into school for her last day!

Ashley's last day of school was on June 4th! Hard to believe that was already almost two weeks ago! She had such an amazing year. Paul and I believe this was her best year yet. She has grown up so much and gained so much confidence. As I have mentioned in a previous post, she never used to be someone who enjoyed being the center of attention and is generally very anxious. She has surprised us so much and we are so proud of her. Her teacher, Ms. Ryan, is a gem and really made a big impact on Ashley. Ashley cried so much on the last day of school. What kid cries on the day before summer vacation?? She just didn't want it to end. She has made some great friends that have stuck around over the last year or so. She has also had some "frenemy" experiences and has handled them like a champ. WAY better than I ever would have at her age. I remember going home crying because of people acting mean to me, and Ashley just handles it so well. Her reading this year has grown even more than before. She just THRIVES on reading and it is difficult at times to peal her away from a book to do her chores!! LOL! We also learned that she LOVES math. She is super fast with addition, subtraction and multiplication. She amazes me. We are also proud to say that currently, she is a straight A student!(Her school distributes A's and B's for her grade level).

Ashley has also grown by experiencing a new extra curricular activity with gymnastics. She never would've asked to join something before, especially on her own terms. She spent from November to May in gymnastics! She made a commitment and enjoyed it! In addition, she applied, interviewed and gained a position on the Lighthouse Team - which is an awesome opportunity!

We are so proud of our little girl and are excited to have her begin 3rd grade with her little brother in Kindergarten this Fall. She has already begun sharing all the details with him about her school.

Fun Day

On Saturday, we hit up the Pearl Market for some juice at One Lucky Duck, strolled around and we picked up some cucumbers that were an AWESOME price.

Paul and I had the Tumeric Tonic and the kids had the Watermelon Lemonade

 

My boys! The building behind Corey looks like a hat on his head!

Above is a video of the kiddos dancing in the street at the Farmers Market to the local band. So sweet! ****If you get my blog updates via email, click on the link at the bottom of the email to open the webpage on the computer. You will see the videos on the webpage.

The kids stole my phone while we were shopping.

We headed to Academy to see if we could get some new shoes for the kids. Ashley needs sandals and Corey needs new sneakers. These kids are growing so fast! We lucked out with shoes for Corey but we need to go elsewhere for Ashley. After shopping their clearance tables for about an hour, the kids started getting restless, so I gave them my phone to entertain them.

Below are some videos I just stumbled upon today of the kids with my phone on Saturday. I especially love Corey's narration.

 

That evening, Camille watched the kiddos while we headed to The Friendly Spot bar/restaurant to celebrate Tyler's 28th birthday.  We had so much fun!  After the Friendly Spot, we headed to another bar/icehouse called Still Golden, which was near the Pearl Market area. It was nice to go out and socialize again. We had a few drinks and I stuffed a whole plate of fries in my mouth. I'd say it was a successful night.

Us with Tyler and his wonderful girlfriend, Claire.

Siblings

Most of the time these two are fighting like cats and dogs, but every once and awhile I catch some sweet moments. 

This was taken just about an hour after he was trying to hug her and she pushed him away screaming she "needed space".

This was tonight while I was cooking dinner. They played Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders and played with the spinner and fake money in the game of Life. It warmed my heart to see them playing nice together. 

Daddy Away on Business

Paul left on Sunday for the NCAA Regional Rules Conference and man, these kids are missing him bad! I'm grateful for such a hands on husband and father but wow, these kids are lost without him. I'm trying my best not to allow them missing him get me down but I kind of been taking it personally. They've been acting up, not listening, and overly emotional. I'm feeling a bit like chopped liver over here, but I know that ultimately I'd rather it be this way than them not noticing he's even gone. I'm a very blessed woman. Can't wait to give him a ton of hugs on Thursday!

Family selfie before he headed to security 

Saying goodbye to the kiddos. 

Love these three