Catch up post...

Since I've been so delinquent in updating this fall/winter I thought I'd do one post with what's been going on with us recently. So, let's see....

We celebrated the boys birthdays in the fall. Connor is now NINE and in 4th grade. Evan is SEVEN and in 1st grade. They are both doing really well in school and like their teachers a lot. Connor has joined wrestling and although he doesn't love it he's sticking it out! LOL They're both looking forward to soccer starting in a couple of months. Connor started playing the trumpet in October and is in beginner band. Their first concert will be in May. They are both doing Cub Scouts and like it a lot. They just had their Blue & Gold banquet and got their patches/awards for the year.

Keith is still crazy busy at work but likes his job. He's still traveling quite a bit and in the next couple of weeks will be going to Brazil, Mexico and Columbia. He doesn't speak a word of spanish so that should be interesting! He got some time to hunt this fall and got an 8-point buck on opening day. I'd post a pic but it's on my other computer. We don't eat the venison but my dad appreciates Keith filling his freezer every year! :)

We had a great Christmas! As usual the boys were spoiled rotten. And Mommy was spoiled rotten this year too as I got the new laptop that I desperately needed!

The boys on Christmas Eve

Our Tree

Evan with his favorite gift!

Connor's favorite gift!

The boys with Mommy and Nana

Family pic

Connor with Papa on Christmas (Mommy's Dad)

We also had a fun New Years Eve with some friends who came over. We always like to have people over on NYE and everyone brings their kids and we all just hang out and play games, watch the ball drop and *maybe* have a few drinks (just the adults, not the kids!! LOL).

A few weeks ago I was able to have a great Girls Night Out with some friends and go to see Mamma Mia at Shea's Theatre in Buffalo. We rented a limo and went to Cheesecake Factory before the show and it was SO MUCH FUN!! The show was great and it was just nice to get away with friends and have a fun evening! I'm looking forward to doing it again!!

And no winter post is complete without pics of the boys playing outside. They love playing in the snow, especially at the beginning of winter! At this point they are almost as sick of it as mom and dad are!!

So, it's been a long and cold winter and we are sooooo ready for spring!! We hope that things are well with all of you and your families... THINK SPRING!!

Cocoa Beach

After a week at Disney we were all exhausted and ready for some relaxation so we headed to Cocoa Beach for 3 days. The boys had never been to the ocean and they were really excited about it. And I could spend the rest of my life next to the ocean, I just love it! The boys had so much fun playing in the waves and collecting shells on the beach. I think the next family vacation we take will be to rent a house on the ocean. That sounds so good right about now...

When the boys saw the water they couldn't wait to get to it!!

Connor found this big piece of wood that has washed ashore.

Connor practiced his handwriting on the beach.

Just chillin' on the edge of the water.

Connor is my poser!

I love this picture of Keith and the boys!!

This might be my favorite pic from the whole vacation.

Evan must get dirty no matter where he is!

I thought this was a cool pic....looks like the seagull is flying beside Evan!

Connor posing again! :)

The ones below are from one morning when Connor and I got up extra early and went out on the beach to watch the sunrise. When I'm at the beach I just have to do that one morning...

Yeah, he was having a bad hair day!

Actually it was soooo windy that his hair ended up all poofy!!

Sigh....I wanna go back... :(

Our Disney Trip!!

Yep, it's been a while...what can I say?? Better late than never though, right?

For those that don't know, in October we were able to get away for our long anticipated Disney vacation!! The boys had been begging for years (literally!) and finally the timing seemed right. We were able to spend 6 days at Disney and then went to Cocoa Beach for another 3 days to unwind after the craziness of Disney.

We truly had an amazing time, one that we will never forget. Seeing Disney through the boys eyes was incredible and I am so glad we made the trip. We were able to go to all 4 parks--Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. We spent a day at all except Magic Kingdom where we spent 2 days. You could spend 2 weeks there and not see everything! We stayed at a resort right on Disney property which was great. The boys loved going back to the hotel each night and going in the pool. Our package included all of our meals too which made life easier....and Evan could live on Mickey Mouse shaped waffles!! He ate them EVERY morning of our stay there! One night we went to Downtown Disney and had dinner at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant which was very yummy! :)

Here are a few of the more than 1200 pictures I took during our trip! These are just Disney ones, I'll post some beach pictures in the next post.

If you get the opportunity to take your kids to Disney while they're little--DO IT!

Yep, it's been a while....

Sorry I haven't been updating lately. We have been incredibly busy lately!! The boys are back into the routine of school, Keith is traveling like a madman, and I have been busy with a lot of stuff at school, church and home. And we were able to get away for 9 days on a family vacation to DISNEY WORLD!!! It was awesome! I am going to try and put up some of the pictures from the trip today as my back is killing me and I can't do much else. But while you are waiting for them, I will post some of Halloween and our new furry family member!

Happy Birthday Connor!!

This past Monday was Connor's birthday. Try as I might, I can't seem to stop these kids from getting older! We now have a NINE year old! Yes, NINE! It totally blows my mind that he's that old. Half-way to adulthood....gasp!

His party is this Sunday with friends and family. He didn't get a lot of presents from us as we just booked a Disney vacation for next month. But we had to get him a *few* things, it was his birthday afterall!

I'll post lots of pictures after his party on Sunday. But here are a few from the actual day...

And they're off...

I can't believe that the first day of school has come and gone. The summer went by too quickly! And I truly believed that I wouldn't mind another month or so of summer vacation.....until we were outside waiting for the bus this morning and the boys were fighting and smacking each other....and then the bus couldn't possibly get there quick enough!!

I now have a 1st grader and a 4th grader. I am not sure how that is possible. Where did my babies go??

The boys weren't exactly excited about the start of school but they both went happily off to school. After they got on the bus I went in to the school anyway to set up for the "BooHoo Breakfast" for the kindergarten parents. I was taking a few pictures for the yearbook of the first day of school and was able to sneak up and see Connor to take a couple pictures of him. He is sooo happy about the teacher he got and that most of his friends are in his class. I think he's going to have a good year. I saw Evan waiting in the hall to go to his class but I didn't follow him to his classroom because I wasn't sure how he would then react when I had to leave. :( A bit later I was actually down in his classroom anyway and he seemed to be adjusting okay!

They were both in good moods when they got home. Evan had his usual complaints....my own personal little ray of sunshine! Connor said it was the best day of school ever!

Here's to a great year!!