Date Nights

As the parents of 4 young boys, there are lots of things that come easily. Organizing a hockey game. Feeding them pizza. Dishing out hugs.

On the flip side, there are lots of things that don’t come quite so easily – most notably giving them the individual attention that they so love and deserve.

So we came up with a plan. Each boy gets one night per month of pure 1-on-1 time. They get to pick what we do and who goes with them, and for the past 2 months I’ve been the lucky recipient of Cole’s night out.

Up first was a trip to Chick-Fil-A and the park. Just committing to hanging with him at the park (when I would usually be “watching” from afar while I checked email from a bench) made him light up. We chased each other, played hide & seek, and he even got me to slide down the fireman’s pole. All together it was a great time and at the end he declared, “This has been the best night of my life.”

This past weekend we went to the Phillies game together. Despite the fact that we were in the second to last row (hey, at least it wasn’t the last row) and the Phils lost miserably, Cole was just happy to have me all to himself (and to eat the gigantic helmet of ice cream I bought him).

Speaking of which, we had this convo on the way home which I wanted to document for posterity:

Cole: Is white a color in the rainbow?
Me: No.
Cole: Then why were there white sprinkles mixed into the rainbow sprinkles?
Me: *palm slap to forehead*

Smiling with a mouth full of Cracker Jacks

My vision for the pic of Cole with the field in the background didn't work out as planned.  He kept saying, "Mommy it feels like my neck is getting all twisted up."  He's yet to learn we sometimes need to suffer for our art.

I’m hoping we keep up with this…more importantly I’m hoping Ry picks Dad for the roller skating adventure he’s been talking about…

Floriday Vacay Day 3 - Part One

I know all of these vacation posts are draaaaaging out - but I can only find little bits and pieces of time to write.  So I'll slowly but surely make my way through the week (hopefully before our next vacation).

We woke up Tuesday morning and scarfed down breakfast so we could go to the beach.  The most ironic part of our trip - we were so close to Clearwater and yet Phillies Spring Training had ended the week before.  So instead of seeing the Phils in Clearwater, we saw the Gulf Of Mexico instead.  Fair trade in my book.

We were in the car ride down and told the boys that they'd probably be able to see their feet in the water.  Ry responded from the back seat, "That's so cool!  Since the Atlantic Ocean is brown so you can't really see anything except jellyfish and bottles."  Awesome.

I just wanted one nice picture.  Just one nice picture boys!?!  At least Charlie went in for the smooch at the end which sort of made of for the train wrech of a photo opp.

We ended the trip with hot dogs in the sand and an outdoor shower.  Although this sounds very peaceful it was actually a total mess and not at all productive, which is why we had to spray the boys down with Patty & Steve's garden hose when we got home.  Not optimal (or warm), but necessary.

The next part of the day was spent at the Lowry Park Zoo - an awesome afternoon to be documented later.  And so yes, these posts will draaaaaaag on some more...

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.

Love You-Ou

Our fantastic friends came down from upstate New York for a weekend of fun. Friday night we walked into town for pizza and the boys talked us into shoulder rides. Luckily there was a nice flowery backdrop to take my mind off the sharp pains shooting down my shoulders.

We came home for a group bath. No words needed, just take it all in.

The next morning was Cole's first day of T-Ball. The kid's got a great arm, unfortunately he sometimes wears his glove on the wrong hand. Give him time.

While Phil took Cole to his game, the rest of the gang went to the library. Jim found this puppet and chaos ensued.

Last stop on our adventure was The Please Touch Museum. By this time, Graham had totally gotten the hang of the Kerper boys and dove right in.

Charlie stopped to take in the sights...

...and we found this adorable little baby in the faux Children's Hospital.

Everyone passed out on the ride home - three cheers for a job well done. We miss our buds already.