First day of 7th grade!

August 27. 2013
The first day of Seventh grade!

Can you just feel and see the excitement on Xander's face?!

Okay maybe just a little smile to please mom. 

Too bad I didn't take a picture of myself! I was grinning from ear to ear! Not that I wasn't going to miss them, I was, but that I got to be ALL BY MYSELF for the entire day! That didn't happen ONCE during the entire summer. SO my theme song for the day was:

All by myself... Just wanna be allll byyy myyyselfffff...

 Sing it with me now! 

I can't believe that my babies are so grown up and shortly I will have two teenagers! 

OSV 8-8-13

When Uncle Mike came to town we took a jaunt down the road to Old Sturbridge Village.

It was the first time we've seen Michael since Christmas.  Mike was surprised at how tall Xander is! 

Almost as tall as he is! 

Maybe by this Christmas visit he will be as tall or taller!

There was a wee bit o' silliness going on!

These pictures crack me up!!!

  SO grateful to live in an age where we don't have a FAMILY PRIVY! Seriously there are enough things shared and heard in this house! I don't find it necessary to all go to the bathroom together! EWW!

 The above two photos were taken by Lissy. Maybe photography is really in her future?

 Always fun to meet new animal friends. 

Even if they stick their tongues out at you!

Bye bye Blackie!

Nine years ago we bought our Chevy Tahoe- 

dubbed Blackie by the kids even though it was dark metallic gray...

Blackie served us well!
 She made it to 113,000ish miles but she was having issues!
She needed new tires-- $$$$, the 4WD light kept coming on-- $$$$
 so we decided to start looking around a bit and maybe in a couple of months...

On Saturday 8/24 the kids had soccer tryouts in Lancaster. Right next door was a Toyota dealership which had EXACTLY the car we wanted, only 156 miles, the color we wanted and no navigation.
When Paul came back and told me about the car Xander and I went over for a test drive. 

SOLD!

Paul went back to Charlton to get my Tahoe, rip out the navigation, stereo, headrest monitors etc... and came back and the deal was done. Well... not so fast as it may sound, it always takes a few hours to buy a car. They gave us 7K for our car (promised site unseen and they came through). I seriously feel like I dodged a bullet with my Tahoe! We needed to put at least $1500 into before winter and that day it started making a funny new noise. It was only a matter of time!
Thanks Blackie, you served us for 9 long years and we had to put very little back into you!

So we drove home in this-

Nah just kidding! That was a plant in the dealership that Alyssa had me take a picture of.

Okay this-

Love my new car!
The absolute best part (which was my #1 requirement) is with the push of two buttons the third row seats fold completely flat. I don't have to take anything out or mess with really heavy seats. The 2nd a sunroof. I've always wanted a sunroof!

Thankfully the new car smell is going away!
Paul and I and a few others on the planet HATE new car smell.
 I know we are few and far between...

The last hurrah 8-22-13

We started the tradition last year of going to Kimball's farm for a fun filled day. 

Of course we had to continue it again this year! 

This year it was kinda crazy though because their school schedules came in the mail and we weren't home to get them!!! Tons of texts were coming in from moms and friends asking what team they were on??? The suspense was killing them and me! 

SO

 we called our neighbor and begged her to get them and text us a picture! 

 The kids got on team 7-2 exactly who they wanted with almost all of their friends! 

This year they got pre-algebra and Spanish. 

 Lots of giggles and fun were had! 

 With all of the waterfalls if I squint maybe I could pretend I was on a tropical vacation... 

okay maybe NOT!

Funny thing is I was looking at last years pictures when we went and I was wearing the same shirt. It must be my last hurrah shirt. I'll have to remember that for next year...

 Lissy is so silly. Xander had no clue!

A fantastic day which is ALWAYS finished with -

 chocolate chocolate truffle ice cream!  

Boston 8-10-13

Every summer we love to head out to Boston and walk around. Usually we don't have much planned other than enjoying the atmosphere. This year we had a challenge to do! We wanted to do a taste test to see which cannoli really was best- 

 Modern or Mike's Pastry. 

And the verdict is.....

Mike's! We're sticking with what we've always loved best!

 It also happend to be our 22nd Wedding Anniversary! It was such a beautiful day to celebrate with family. Not quite Atlantis, like our 20th, but still a wonderful day for a harbor walk!

 It's really strange to see Xander almost as tall as his Dad and Uncle Mike! 

I love this picture! It's so random!

 Got pretty windy there for a bit too. Check out the do!

ALWAYS my most favorite Boston site! 

I am mesmerized by this clock tower set admist the clouds in the sky! 

All in all another fantastic day (and anniversary) in Boston!

Mini Hike

For YW last week we went on a mini hike. We would have loved to have gone for a longer one, but by the time we got there we only had 40 minutes to hike until it was dusk. 

No worries! We made the best of our time and happily chatted away enjoying the beautiful sights and just being together! I sure do love our girls! 

End of season BBQ at the lake

Xander's end of the soccer season party got postponed until August due to bad weather. Thankfully this time it was the perfect day at the lake! We had the perfect spot to watch the kids having fun while we visited and laughed! 

The kids had a blask kayaking and canoeing. 

Funny thing is one of Lissy's best friend lives across the lake. So when I texted her that Alyssa needed rescueing from all the boys (that'll change in a few years...) 

Lori was happy to pick Alyssa up on their way home. 

Next thing we know ALL of the kids are canoeing across the lake

 to see what's going on over at Alayna's. 

It turns out that all 9 kids ended up at Alayna's house on the rope swing and in the jacuzzi. She was all too willing to let them hang out for a bit. 

After a while ALL the kids were back at our party for dessert. Then Alyssa and Alayna went back to her house via canoe and her little sister stayed with buddies at our party. 

The kids have never be to a party swap across the lake. It was an awesome day and evening!