July 4th-AKA "The Big Day"

Ok, this is how I'm starting!  When we called Mary to tell her that we were coming for 4th of July, she was really excited.  She immediately started thinking, "How can I make this over the top!".  She throws amazing parties!  Rocco's sisters are all so creative and talented.  This 4th cannot be topped!  Sorry kids!!

Giana getting her Carnival Kit from Aunt Mary.  You'd never even know that her crazy Aunt has had no sleep at this point!  Don't know how she does it.

You can see how many Carnival Booths there are.  The kids were able to get prizes at each station.  She even had little hanging stuffed animals, they were too cute.

Jonah showing off his prizes! LoL...Look at those guns!

The kids had a blast shooting each other with squirt guns.  They have these cool alleys that run behind the houses.  That's where they are standing here.  Ethan, Hunter, KateLyn

 Enjoying some all-american lemonade.  Look at that face!  Would you want that man cooking for you?!

Mary's friend and I were 3 legged race partners.  We won squirt guns.  We may or may not have played unfair against the children!

We went all day with eating, playing, making ice cream, and watching/shooting fireworks.  This was the Grand Finale for our day of fun.  Giana, Me, Rocco, Amber, Jonah, Ethan, KateLyn

Texas Trip July 3, 2011

We decided to go and see Aunt Mary and Uncle Jim this summer.  We haven't seen them in years, and we felt like we didn't even know our niece and nephews.  So, we made the journey!  We left Friday evening and get there the next morning.  I think the first pic is from Saturday, but the rest is a blur.  *Later- I remembered that we went to the indoor mini-water park*  We were able to get a lot of sleep while we were there.  Fortunately, our kids and Mary's like to sleep in.  Kate Lynn's "floor model" bed was very comfortable-Thanks Kate Lynn!  So, this is what we did on Sunday...

Rocco was feeding Logan a caramel apple.  What we learned about Logan: The boy loves to eat and that's all he does! :)

We drove the kids hard!  Here's Hunter and Giana passed out together.  They were inseparable during the trip.  Giana loves her 5 year old boy cousins.

Look at all of those kids jammed into that bathroom!  Giana, Hunter, Amber, Levi, Ethan, Jonah

Here we are cooking up a storm!  Mary's kitchen was like "Whoa!".  We cooked a big Sunday dinner and later that night we cooked for a busy Monday.  I was making twice baked potatoes.  Mary was making Panko breaded chicken.  I've usually got Rocco cooking by my side.  Hunter was waiting patiently.

Jim looks too comfortable here, right?!  Mary also made fried mozzarella balls!

And of course we played Monopoly Deal!  This was actually while we waited for church to start.  We aren't use to going to church in the afternoon!

Cub Scout Camp-June 2011

I serve in Cub Scouts right now, so I was able to help make Scout Camp happen!  I enjoy the time with the boys, although sometimes I feel bad that they are not with a man...

This year's theme was Aeronautics.  I didn't get to take pics of everything that we did, because I was co-captain!  But, I still managed to get some.  Grandpapa came out one day and took some for me.

Initially, as the boys came to camp, they were able to make a water bottle.  Our leader made embossed leather name tags for the boys to decorate.

Flag ceremonies are never ending!  We do a lot of them.  Jonah always wants to carry the American Flag.  Did I mention that the camp took place in an open field?

This was part of water conservation.  I did several Science experiments with the Webelos, then we re-used the water.

All of the boys made wind socks to chart the wind.  Here's Jonah running around with his.

This was my favorite part-my Drugs and Alcohol Game (LoL).  It sounds bad, right?  The boys were read a question about these topics, and if they got the answer wrong-they were shot by the leaders with water guns.  If they got it right, they got to shoot us, but we were able to run!

This was one leader to the left, and I was running to the right.  Ethan is split up the middle.  I guess that he couldn't resist the urge to shoot his Mom!

Here are Jonah and Vince (what's he doing here!) making kites.  Grandpapa brought Vince out to see what Scout Camp is like.  It was fun having him there.

It was hot, but the boys were good sports.  Ethan was chilling while enjoying the fire that they made.

This is Ethan and Cam.  They have been close friends since Kindergarten.  They look like twins!  Cam comes with us to Cub Scouts.

Here's Giana and Amber with friends learning how to build a fire, this seems like a bad idea!  The families came the last day to have a camp out.  It was a lot of fun.  We made hobo dinners, s'mores, and a great breakfast.

Some things not pictured: nature "hike", swimming, service project, rocket derby, first aid, a new found love for oranges!

Amber's 1st Field Day-Apr.2011

This year Papa was able to come to a Field Day and experience it.  Amber had a great time with her little partner.  Some of their favorites were the getting dressed relay and Make the frog fly!

Here's Amber with her partner searching for bugs.  You can get a glimpse of Roc and Gigi in the background.

 There's always time for a photo op!

Here's the girls taking a much needed gatorade break!

They were ready to get started with the getting dressed relay!

Munchie Gets A Break

 One night, Amber was doing some "gymnastics" in our bedroom.  When I hear a "pop"!  I thought maybe she had bumped her head or something.  She started crying harder and harder.  So, what did we do?  Called the expert-Aunt Deda.  After some discussion we decided to take our first ever trip to the ER.  After some x-rays, it was determined that she had a BROKEN CLAVICLE.  Deda was right!  I started to doubt our decision, because as soon as  we arrived, she seemed fine!  Consequently, we got in and out in an hour.  She was being quite charming with our male nurse and doctor.

Trying to watch some t.v. if Mom would stop taking pictures!

Ethan's Field Trip-Apr.2011

I always enjoy going on field trips with the kids, so that we can be in a more playful atmosphere.  I feel like I'm always so intense when we are at home.  We were able to go to the Congaree Swamp.

 Ethan's buddy was kind enough to take our pic before we took off on our "hike".

Ethan being silly.  This picture seems so dramatic!

Here are some of his friends.  The boy second to the left is actually my cousin's son!  I discovered this before we left school.  It was pretty neat that they were in the same class!  My cousin passed away years back, so we haven't seen him.  It's a small world.

Funny story, Grandpapa and Nanny took him back out here in June.  They said that he was scared to go out there.  He learned too much on his field trip!  That is how Ethan is, he is a smart observant boy.  But, sometimes it handicaps him!

Is that Green Ice Cream?Mar.17,2011

I made the kids green pancakes, thinking that I was being silly.  The kids were like: "Look, Mom put green food coloring in the pancakes!".  What???  They busted my bubble!

Amber comes home from Kindergarten and says, "A leprochan came and messed up our classroom, and there was GREEN TOILET WATER!  What???

We went to get ice cream from Chick, and look what we got!  Ice cream with green food coloring!