Florida Vacay - Day 1. This Post May Be A Little Deep But I'm Feeling Sappy.

We just got back from 6 amazing days in Florida.  Amazing not just because of the beautiful sunny weather every day, or the pool 10 feet from the house (well, that was pretty amazing), or the cocktails that kept appearing in my hands, or the theme parks that are totally worth the gazillion dollars in entrance fees.

Amazing because I learned a lot from our family about how to enjoy life.  It may have been the buzz from the daquiris, but there was a lot of love and laughter in that house.

The older 2 boys had to share an air mattress and it was getting a little territorial.  Luckily I found a gigantic stuffed animal tucked away in Lissy's closet that broke up the turf war for the remainder of the trip.

I feel like this quote sums up what I have kicking around in my head:


What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

When we develop a love for things in our lives instead of for life itself we truly miss the point of life. Remember that material things may be able to satisfy your appetite for a short while, but love will satisfy appetites for lifetimes. Learn how to love people for who they are and use things around you as water to a plant, only to create growth and beauty, not to create and maintain life.

In A New York State Of Mind

The good news: We had an incredible weekend visiting with our friends in upstate NY. The bad news (for them): It was Hall Of Fame Induction weekend at Cooperstown (right near their house) so all hotels were sold out...which meant the Kerpers descended on their peaceful little home in full force. Sorry guys!! Love you!

We were somewhat looking forward to the 4-5 hour drive. We figured with everyone sleeping we'd actually be able to talk. We realized about 3 hours in that sleep was nowhere in sight and the car had an opposite effect on Charlie, who was singing and screaming for most of the ride.



The first night we piled everyone into strollers and wagons and walked down to watch the mighty Oneonta Outlaws. We ate fast-melting popsicles and Ryan heckled the crowds by screaming that the Phillies rule. Gulp.





Saturday morning we kicked off the day blueberry picking. I think we ate more than we bought, but we still managed to pick enough to make 3 pies.






After the picking we went to Grandma Jeanne & Grandpa Paul's farm. The boys got to feed the sheep, make the pies, and go riding on the 4 x 4s...pretty cool stuff for the "city kids."




After quick naps we made a run to the local pool. The water was amazing and we were literally the only people there. Bonus!


The last thing on the agenda was a drive-in movie. It was the first time I'd been to one and it was pretty cool (despite the bees that attacked Jim and me). The boys had fun too lying in the grass, watching the movie and trying to pick out the constellations.


On the final day we packed up the car and left our poor friends to bask in the quiet of their destroyed house. Here's a picture of the twins before we left.



Thanks so much Aunt Mel, Uncle Jim & Graham! We had a ball and can't wait to do it again. Hope you didn't feel like this while we were visiting...xoxo.

13th Annual Outing

Every July the Kerpers gather up in beautiful (aka rustic) Northern PA for a family reunion (even though we pretty much see each other all the time anyway...it's just a good excuse to get away).

This year was the 13th annual "Kerper Outing" (named after the outhouse in the woods) and our first experience up there with the 4 kids. We had to stop about 2 hours into the 3 1/2 hour trip to run laps. Seriously.


When we arrived we realized that our cousins had set up a tent the size of our first floor at home (it had a bedroom). Our 5 person tent paled in comparison.


The first morning was dewy and cool - perfect conditions for going salamander hunting. The little critters were out and about and we saw tons of lizards and a few snakes too (ew).


Dean, on the other hand...not so into by the wildlife. Kids are so hard to impress these days.

That afternoon the kids were looking for entertainment, so we fired up the hose and filled some water balloons. The grown ups soon realized that there was a sling shot, so we knocked the kids out of the way so we could have our own fun.

In the midst of all this excitement, Charlie fell onto the pole of The Palace (our cousin's tent) and ended up looking like Nelly for the rest of the trip.

Once the kids got the taste of the hunt, it was off to the mud hole to dive for salamanders. I don't need to tell you how this ended up - use your imagination then multiply that mess by 5.



The fam recently got this hauler / tree-cutting-down-thinger and Eric took some of the crew for a ride. He ended up needing to chop something down in the middle of the path and the kids marveled at his burly manliness (with their hands over their ears).



Here's a picture of the kids (minus the 2 baby munchkins who were inside napping). Just a few years ago we were hanging out with GG trying to kick the keg...now we're chasing after kids and diving into mud puddles.

At least there was still a keg!

It's A Small World After All

A few months ago, I was digging through some old notebooks. On one of the pages I had jotted down, "I can't wait to see my boys' faces the first time they see Disneyworld."

As they say in Disney - Dreams really do come true!

With the little guys safe and sound with their grandparents, we were able to travel with the older two. Having the one-on-one time with them was priceless, as was the weather, the rides, the food, the pool, and the whole Disney experience.

Here's to many more trips to the Happiest Place On Earth.