And our Guest Blogger is....

Hi it's Brenna. I had a trip with my BFF Liz.We went to Cape cod !We had so much fun together!I went alone .I mean that I went with no parents. Our room was very classic. Me and Liz played in the pool, I learned to swim under water! We went to a huge beach. We saw a horseshoe crab ! Here are some pictures of our trip.

The West Visit part 1

Laura and Chuck arrived on the 8th and we have been enjoying their company ever since. We picked them up from the airport around 4 PM and headed straight to the North End in Boston. As many of you know Chuck is Todd's die-hard pizza buddy. They have shared this interest obsession for many years. So, it was only natural that we would take them to Regina Pizzeria for dinner. And, I am pleased to report that for the first time there was no wait when we got there. We had a great meal. It was a perfect way to start off their visit.



Todd had to work the next day so we had a nice relaxing day at home. Chuck took Andrew fishing for a few hours. Andrew was so excited. They had been talking about doing this together since long before this trip was even planned. The fish were not really biting but Andrew had a great time just hanging out with his Uncle Chuck.



Later that day the girls headed out for some pampering. We all went to get our nails done. This was Brenna's first time at a nail salon. (Not too bad for a 7 year old, eh?) I had decided to take her awhile ago, but needed to wait till she was out of school since she can not wear nail polish at school. We thought that it would be great fun to do it with Aunt Laura. I was surprised to find out that Aunt Laura had never had her nails done!! She decided to forego the pedicure this time, but ended up loving the manicure.

As it turns out, Brenna really liked getting her nails done. She picked out her polish and hopped right up in that massage chair . It was very cute to watch her. She was thrilled when the girl asked her if she wanted flowers painted on her nails. She was very happy with the end result.




The next day the weather was beautiful so we decided to take a tour of Martha's Vineyard. We took the Ferry over to Vineyard Haven from the Cape and rented bikes when we got there.




We proceeded to ride ALL OVER the Island. We started off at Vineyard Haven and road approx 3 miles to Oaks Bluff. The kids had it made. They were being pulled in trailers behind Todd and Chuck. (Laura wisely decided to stay home.) When we got there we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant by the water.


After that we rode to Edgartown, about another 6 miles. We had never been there before and were so impressed. It was an adorable town. We walked down to the harbor, checked out a few shops, and stopped for some great ice cream at Mad Martha's! And let me tell you, that was some awesome ice cream!!! After packing on the calories, we hopped back on the bikes and rode approx 9 miles back to Vineyard Haven.

(That's Andrew in the trailer behind Chuck.)

That was the difficult part of the trip for me. I had to hop off the bike a few times on some of the hills and walk the bike. There were no signs along the way indicating how close we were to town. I was so worried that we were going to miss the last ferry but we eeked in just in time. And watched a beautiful sunset on the ride back to the Cape.






In the end, we were all pretty tired, and a bit sore. But it was a great day! I am so glad that we did it!

The End of T-ball

The t-ball season ended a week ago, and I finally got the pictures uploaded. I have to say, I was very impressed with our first season and how well the program was run.

The last game of the season was played on the official Little League field. It had dug outs, a concession stand (which Brenna & Liz loved) and an actual announcer calling the whole game. The announcer was a kid, and he did a great job. The kids on the team did not know quite what to think about it. It was adorable.



What was most amazing to me was how fast Andrew was. He actually ran (as opposed to jogged) between the bases! And he was pretty fast! We figured out that he was trying to impress the Hordesky clan who was there to watch and cheer him on. They were such great sports and Andrew loved having a cheering section.






After the game was done, Coach Banzi handed out their medals and gave them each a trophy. Andrew was so pleased!





At the end, we got a great team picture on the dugout....








I think he really liked playing. In fact, the next day he asked me how long he has to wait until he plays again.

And now, because we live in New England, we move onto Hockey! He is very happy about that!

So much to tell

So much has been going on since I last posted. We have been fortunate to have two sets of visitors, my parents and then the Hordesky family. Brenna had her recital, we celebrated Father's Day and Todd's birthday, and Andrew finished T-ball too. Even though the weather has not been great, we have been able to squeeze some outdoor activities.

Brenna's recital was on June 20. We were fortunate this year as my parents were able to schedule their visit around this big event. The show was wonderful. She did such a great job, and it was very apparent how hard she had worked over the past year. We were not allowed to take pictures during the show, but here is one of her with Oma & Pop Pop after the show (in her tap costume). (Andrew was clearly not in the mood to have his picture taken!)

Afterwards, we went out for lunch. Brenna picked one of her favorite local spots, the Cabby Shack. The weather was not warm (Ok, we were thrilled that it was just not raining!) and we ate outside on the deck. We were pleasantly surprised that the meal was better than ones that we had in the past! Brenna loved being seen in her costume, especially the glasses! And when we were done, my Dad was a good sport and posed for a picture....




The next day was Father's Day and Todd's birthday. It was so nice to have my Dad with us on Father's Day.

Todd's one request for his birthday was breakfast at Persy's Place. He loves their breakfast. After church, we headed over there and stuffed our bellies! We were all quite content. We contined the celebrations later that day at our house, where we were joined by the Parma's for a cookout. Even though it was his birthday and Father's Day, Todd wanted to cook. My only job in the kitchen was to make the birthday cake, which I did willingly!



Mom and Dad were here for almost a week and the weather did not really cooperate. Brenna really wanted to go to Plymouth Plantation with them (as we have never been) but since we did not have a day of clear skies, we opted for activities mostly inside. On the last day, we headed down to the Pilgrim Museum (also a 1st for us) and learned a bit more about Plymouth. They had this great treasure hunt for the kids which required them to walk through the museum, find certain things, and answer questions. Brenna had a lot of fun doing it.



Of course, the sun poked out for a bit on the day that Mom and Dad left. It was, however, only a short visit, as it began to rain again the very next day when the Hordesky's were headed north. They had started their journey a few days earlier in Maryland, headed to Pennsylvania to pick up Jean & Mike, made a few stops in New York, and landed in Plymouth (in the rain) on Friday the 26th. The kids were beside themselves with excitement during the day as they waited for their arrival.

As soon as they walked in the door, the kids headed off to play. I do not think that we heard from them for at least 2 hours. They were just so happy to be together! The first night here the girls decided to wear their matching nightgowns that we had gotten them 2 years ago for their last night together before our move.



and this is what they looked like almost 2 years ago....




We lucked out with our weather on Saturday and were able to head to the beach. Jean and Mike brought the kids some goodies (thank you!) including matching bathing suits for the girls, which they had to wear right away! The kids had a blast in the water and the adults had a lot of time to chat. As you can see, the kids were not at all phased by the fact that the water was not quite warm. The girls must have splashed around in there for at least 2 hours.





Later that night we went down to the waterfront so Jean and Mike could see Plymouth Harbor. It was a nice night to be out. We took them to see the Rock, Brewsters Garden and, of course, the Mayflower II.






We finished the night off with a great dinner at the East Bay Grill. By the end of the meal, the kids were practically asleep. They had a super busy day!

So Proud!

Today was a big day for Brenna. As many of you know, Brenna's hair has always been long. Last year, she decided that she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. She remembered when Kathy had her wig, and she thought it would be nice to help someone else out with the gift of her hair. She especially thought it would be neat to help make a wig for another child.

Well today was the day. We had decided to wait until after her dance recital so she could donate as much as possible (and still put her hair up for the show). She wanted to try and do this when Oma and Pop Pop were here too. So, I made the appointment yesterday. She has been so excited about it for the past 2 days.

Here's what she looked like before....

and here she is with her two pony tails...

She was able to donate approximately 11 inches of her hair. Can you tell how excited she was?

Since she had never really had her hair styled, we let her work with the stylist to decide how to do it. And I have to admit that she looks SUPER CUTE with her new "do". I actually think that she looks older. What do you think?

I am so proud of her. She decided to do this on her own. No one put her up to it. And I think that speaks volumes about what kind of person she really is! She is one great girl, that is for sure!

School is out!!!

We still are pretty busy up here. Andrew is almost done T-ball. His last game is on June 28th. He is extra excited because the Hordeskys will be here for that one!

Brenna brought her camera to the game this week and got some pretty good shots of Andrew.

And here's a shot of one of Andrew's favorite things to do at T-ball....

Oh, how he loves to play in the dirt!

Brenna has been very good about tagging along to all of his games. There usually are a few other kids for her to play with. Or she brings a book or her I-Pod and just hangs out. I caught this shot of her at the game. She was in her own world.

Tuesday was the last day of school for Brenna. She did not have to wear her uniform for the last 3 days of school. On Saturday, she asked me to take her out to get a new dress for the last day of class. She said she wanted to dress up. I asked her if she was told to get dressed up. She told me that she remembered that she has always worn a dress on the last day of school and she did not want to break the tradition. Who could resist that logic? So, we headed out shopping and here is what she picked out.

She loved being so "fancy".

After dismissal, we headed out with some friends to the beach. The weather was not necessarily perfect beach weather, but we wanted the kids to have something to do to celebrate. The Grandmother of one of Brenna's classmates lives on a beach in southern Plymouth. There was so much for the kids to explore. They loved catching crabs, snails and other creatures.

Brenna & Jonathan.




The whole gang.

The kids (and the Moms ) had a great time hanging out together. It was a great way to end the year!

My parents arrive tonight. We have Brenna's recital tomorrow AM. She has worked so hard this year in class and I just know it will be great. On Sunday we will be celebrating both Fathers Day and Todd's Birthday. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us! I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Brenna had her recital rehearsal last night and she did so well. It has been amazing to see how much she has learned this year. The recital is on June 20th.  My parents will be here for it, so she is extra excited about that.

The theme for the recital this year is the 80's. I LOVE 80's music. It is by far my favorite time period for music. I am just horribly bad at remembering the names of songs. So, I am looking forward to hearing all of the music at the recital and updating my I Tunes playlist afterwards!

For ballet, she is dancing to Sister Christian. This is my favorite costume. She just looks like a little princess it it to me.




For tap, she is dancing to "9 to 5". She loves this costume, mostly because of the fake glasses that they get to wear. She can not wait till after the recital to play with them.




For jazz, she is dancing to Secret, by New Edition. I did not get a shot of her in that one. It is hot pink and black. Just like you think an 80's dance outfit would look.


Andrew had his Pre-K Graduation this morning. It was soooo cute. Todd is in Las Vegas for a conference, so I had to video tape and take pictures at the same time. They said the pledge of allegiance, sang a few songs, said a prayer for what they are thankful for, and got their diplomas. As it turns out, Andrew did sing all of the songs (You are my Sunshine, Big Fat Gorilla, Bringing Home My Baby Bumblebee, and Skiddly-rinky dinky dink) and I only teared up a bit. I was so proud of him. They were all so cute.




Afterwards, we headed out to Boomerangs, a local kids' inside play place, with 3 of his friends from his class. It was rainy and a bit chilly today so we opted for an indoor get together. The kids ran around for almost 3 hours, stopping only for lunch. They had a blast. Andrew was so tired when we left that he fell asleep on the way to pick up Brenna from school.   When he woke up he told me, "I like graduating.  It is so much fun.  When do I get to graduate again?"  Too cute!