Feelings of Gratitude

Last night I went to the Parent Orientation for Chase's school.  I was able to meet his new teacher for next year who seems very nice.  I think Chase will really like her.  He had such a great experience with his kindergarten teacher that I was a little worried about the change but feel very good and excited about Ms. Cole.  I was a little sad to find out that a few of his good friends were put in the other class but luckily there are still a couple of his close buddies that will be in his same class.  After the meeting some the parents of Chase's good friends came up to me and invited us to a back to school picnic in the park this Monday.  A few of these families we have become good friends with.  I feel very grateful and quite lucky that here in New York Chase is able to go to school with kids that I know come from such great families.  I definitely feel like it has been a direct answer to prayers.  I am excited for Chase to start school and see what this new year has in store for him.  He is so excited to see his friends again and I am so happy that he feels like he has good friends.  Truly Grateful!

Breath of fresh air!

This weekend we took the boys on an overnighter to get out of the city before everyone starts school.  We went north about an hour to what is called the Delaware Water Gap.  It is great for hiking and we found the perfect trail for the boys.  They were in heaven.  But before we get into that I just want to show how excited the boys were to go on our little "trip".  The day we were suppose to leave the boys woke up and packed their bags all by themselves.

Chase packed his essentials;  his dog Shadow, his airplane jet, Chico his Chetah, swimming suit, and one pair of clean clothes.  Jackson's sunglasses were at the top of his list along with his dog Marley, 3 pairs of shoes, and all the clothes from his drawer.  In his green backpack were all of his cars, trucks, and everything else.  Jayden just tagged along pretending like he was contributing to the efforts. They were set and ready to go hours before it was time to leave.  Chase said to me as we were anxiously waiting for Chase to get home from work, "Mom, aren't you so excited!"  I love how simple things can seem so exciting to a child.  You would have thought he was going to the Bahamas.

The first thing the boys wanted to do was to go to the swimming pool!  

Followed by a little dinner

And then ice cream cones back at the hotel

This is the Delaware Water Gap where we hiked on the Appalachian Trail.  It was perfect for the boys. We stopped at every pond, river, and stream along the way.   As you can imagine, the boys loved throwing  rocks in the water and were incredibly excited to play "pooh sticks",  the game on The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

We do not get the chance to get out of the city very often so it was very refreshing, something that we probably need to do more often.  The boys had so much fun and I am glad we got to do that with them before the summer is over.  It gave us a chance to spend good quality time together as a family.  While we were hiking we talked with the boys about all kinds of things; bears, school, some of their favorite things and it really hit me how much the boys are growing up.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes it makes me sad.  I am so grateful for them.  I love them so much. I feel like I have learned so many lessons lately.  I feel a huge sense of gratitude for the opportunities that life brings. Through the good and the bad, life will pass you by so simply enjoy it.  Enjoy it!  Enjoy it!  

The boys favorite song to sing, or line of a song I should say, is...

"Party Rockin in the House Tonight

Everybody's going to have a good time!"

Imagination Playground

This is one of my new favorite parks!  It is down at South Street Seaport.  It was the first time I have been down there and I loved the area.  There is a fun historic walking area with shops and restaurants and the boys were fascinated by the huge ships along the harbor.  The imagination playground itself was fabulous!  The boys absolutely loved it!  Last night I had been feeling like I need to really savor the next few weeks with the boys before they start school so when I got the invite from a friend to do something new we were very excited.  I even let the boys stop by the market on our way and pick out some fruit snacks which I never let them buy.  Reason being, they ate the whole box before we even made it back home.  But, I have decided that I am just going to let loose and just enjoy the next few weeks even if that means they eat too much sugar, go to bed late, or want to play crazy.  It was a great day!

 

Family Night

Tonight for Family Night we talked about FAMILIES!  I want to focus on strengthening our family over the next few months. To start off we talked about each member of our family and the important role we all play.  After our lesson we were each suppose to draw a picture of our family and share it with each other:)

Dad

Mom

Our Rockstar Family by Chase

Jackson

Jayden

Fun with Romy!

 Suckers and the subway!  Desperate times call for desperate measures and this was definitely a time that called for backup treats.  We had packed a picnic to take down to the Bethesda Fountains in Central Park.  The boys were actually great and the only breakdown we had was when Chase did not want to leave the turtles.

 Here is Romy strategically showing the boys how to throw their pennies into the water.  Romy was good at coming up with fun games for the boys that kept them well entertained.  She even topped the day off with the boys new favorite toy from the $.50 coin machine off the street.  You wouldn't believe how excited they were about these goofy little toys.  Although I must say that the best was the magic show on the subway.  She had Jackson completely fascinated as well as those around us laughing and engaged in the Rome Show.

We headed down to Brooklyn after Chase got home from work for a little Pizza at Grimaldi's, a famous New York Pizza.  The line is always long but it is definitely one of our favorites.

Then we went and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge.  This time we walked from the Brooklyn side into Manhattan which was fun to see at night.  The city is amazing and although it gets tiring having to walk so much it really is a pretty amazing city!

We went to see War Horse which was absolutely amazing!  I must say that at first I was a little worried because it is not your typical Broadway Show with lots of singing and dancing.  I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like it.  The story and unique music is incredible !  I loved the actors and the way they made the horses come alive.  The puppeteering is somthing everyone should see.  I would love to go see it again.

Here is walking along the Highline which was something I had never done before. Romy and I went  out one night for a little shopping in Time Square, Cheesecake at Juniors, and then down to Chelsea to walk along what  many claim as their favorite thing to do in New York.  

It's a BOY!

Wednesday, August 8th, we found out we are having another BOY!

                                                                  

Yesterday Chase came home from work and surprised me with a baby gift.  I must say that as many times as I have gone through the boy thing...I can't get enough and am so thrilled to have such a crazy cool family! 

I love the clothes, I love the color, and I love that behind these sweet smiling faces is an endless supply of energy that challenges me more than any 26.2 miles ever could.  They make me who I am and I could not be happier to be having another boy!

Although, I must say that the greatest part of all is seeing the look on peoples faces when I tell them that we are having another boy.  In fact when we were leaving the doctors office right after we found out, we got on the elevator and the lady who got on right after us looked at the boys and said, "Wow, 3 boys!"  I didn't have the heart to tell her that the 4th is on its way!   Our doorman, Lynda, has been asking for days now what we are having.  I thought she was going to start bringing her pink pom poms convinced we were finally going to be having a girl.  She is a nice old black lady and this is what her face looked like when I finally broke the news to her that we are having a boy.

Her eyes went all big and she went quiet as a mouse.  Not sure if she felt bad for me or if she started visualizing the lobby with 4 crazy boys going in and out.  It is pretty funny though and I wish I had everyone response on camera.  

GO BOYS!

Summer 2012

We just returned from a from a fun summer in Utah.  We flew out on June 12th.  Our family all met us at a park up in Salt Lake where we had lunch and then sent the boys with their cousins while Chase and I flew to California for a few days.  Chase had a work trip so I took advantage of the opportunity to    tag along and enjoyed some quiet time to sleep, shop, and relax by the pool. It was a lot of fun to be with him since it is not very often that we get to get away by ourselves.

After a few glorious days, Chase flew to Settle and I headed back to Utah to be with the boys and family.  Wish He could have come with me but I guess that is what happens when you have a real job:)
The boys had so much fun. They truly had the time of their lives with family and especially their cousins.

Best Buddies!  It is so fun that they have each other!  There was never a dull moment and they could not get enough of each other.  They sure miss them and love looking at all the pictures of the fun they over the summer.

And here is Jayden and Liza Bell!  Cutest duo ever!  I think this was my favorite part.  I loved watching these two play together.  Besides the few times when Jayden was a stinker about his toys...or when he started swinging the bat at Eliza's head, they were so cute together and got along great!  So fun to have a girl in the mix of all these crazy boys.

Here is Grandma's GRAND carnival on the 4TH OF JULY!

Fun in the Canyon with the Palmer's

The boys favorite place this summer was Liberty Land.

Boys first swimming lessons

Let the games begin!  Celebrating the night of the Opening Ceremonies.

Fishing with Grandpa

Last but surely not least, family Volleyball.  Favorite summer activity.

And then... came the day we had to fly home.  Saying goodbye and passing time away with a 3 hour layover in Denver.  Rough day.  Luckily Grandma had bought them "camping toys" which they love and can play with for hours.

This is Jackson taking a nice close up shot of me and Chase.  Second flight, almost home.