beach bound?

I spent a good two weeks in pursuit of the "perfect" beach/pool bag to see us through the Summer. I finally settled on a Bungalow Deano tote - it appeared plenty big, cute, and the price could not be beat!

Plus, who doesn't love matching accessories?

The bag arrived today, and it's practically weightless, but huge! I loaded it up with 3 towels, two cover-ups for the boys, a magazine, book, sunscreen and two pairs of Crocs. I'd say it was about 2/3 full at best. You can fit A LOT in the Deano. Which is great for the beach.

...but for the pool (we start swim lessons next week) I think we need to down-size. And secretly, I'm glad, because it means getting to choose another of the fun prints! This time I went for the Pocket Rocket Bag

If you are still looking for a way to schlep your stuff in style, I suggest you check these out!

Need a fun new game to play while you are vacationing? Scrabble Slam is addictive! Love it! Jonathan hasn't beat me yet ;)


Something else you might want to throw into your Amazon cart? These books! Harrison and I are loving this series! Roscoe Riley is like a male version of Junie B. Jones. Bonus? He speaks proper English!

dutch wonderland

Thankfully, we had sunshine and Nanny and Cappy along to brave the rides! I wasn't able to go on much, but I did agree to the Skyline...oh my PANIC ATTACK...where did that come from? It didn't help that I rode with Harrison "Wouldn't it be cool if our car broke off the cable and we landed in the trees? On the roof? On the horses?" I think old age has officially set in, because I am more then happy to just watch.

cue summer vacation

We decided to kick-off Harrison's summer break with a family adventure. We packed our suitcase and didn't tell the boys what we had planned for the next couple of days. Our first stop was breakfast at Cracker Barrel (I think every road trip should include this step!) There, we revealed that we were headed for Crystal Cave and assured Sawyer that there wouldn't be any bears ;)

It was pouring rain when we arrived - so we were the only ones there! We got a private tour of the cave and saw a sleeping bat on the way out!

From there it was off to The Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. Our experience wasn't as positive as when we stayed at the one in Williamsburg, Virginia, but overall, it was a fun stay! I don't think you need more then one night there, especially when you are almost 6 months pregnant!

I wish I could use these magic wands to make my boys stop fighting and whining!

On Friday afternoon we went to see UP! I wasn't sure it would live up to all the hype, but it was FANTASTIC!

Finally, this morning it was off to Camp-Men-O-Lan for some fishing. Some of you may remember our experience last year, where we won the award for catching the most pond grass (and ZERO fish). This year in less then an hour, Harrison caught 8 fish, Sawyer caught 2, and I caught 1! It was a "first catch" for all three of us! Jonathan graciously spent his time baiting our hooks.

We have more fun planned for Monday, fingers crossed that the rain will stay away!

last day of kindergarten

and I may or may not have cried.

The room was so bare!

My star pupil! His report card and 1st grade-readiness evaluation were both excellent!
Harrison and the Kindergarten wannabe
Harrison was called on stage at the awards ceremony today to receive a certificate for reading! Students who read over 300 books were honored. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't even turned in his reading logs for the last 3 months (slacker!) - thank goodness I didn't mess up his chances for recognition!

We are so proud of this little guy! First grade, here we come!

kindergarten's got talent

Harrison is in the back row "I was the only one in a fancy shirt, mom!" They were a tough act to follow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

last day of baseball

Harrison won 1st place for throwing accuracy at the Home Run Derby today! He is quite proud of his trophy and ribbon. Thankfully, Sawyer was not in attendance for the awards ceremony ;)


Some shots from the last game

field day

It was a victorious day for Team Green! Most importantly, they dominated at tug-of-war. Despite the thrill of victory and popsicles in the cafeteria, I still left with a screaming, sobbing child....that would be Sawyer....who wasn't even scheduled to compete, and was absolutely heart-broken when they didn't award him a certificate at the end of the day. Next week is going to be hard too, just wait until he learns he won't be singing on stage with the Kindergarten class at the Talent Show.

the month of may (in pictures)

Harrison's first year of school is is wrapping up! We've been sending in box tops, stocking up on Summer reading at the Book Fair and tomorrow we are looking forward to Field Day and the much anticipated Tug-of-War event! Here is Harrison at his school's Race for Education, where he ran 14 laps to raise money for new playground equipment.

Front Landscaping is complete! Our grass remains a work in progress, however. We also have some house guests in the form of just hatched baby birds in the wreath on our front door! The boys were so excited when they discovered the nest. I'm glad we have a side door, so we don't have to disturb them!

We took the boys to a Phillies game - I don't think Sawyer was too impressed since he asked if it was time to go home at the top of the 1st inning. The free batting helmets were a hit though! As was our stop at the souvenir shop on our way out. And I just have to document this, because I'm still laughing about it....on the car ride home, Sawyer was being rather naughty and Jonathan told him he was going to take his new Phillies wallet and throw it out. Sawyer gave a quick glance out his window to the highway and said "No you can't! There's no trash can!"

I actually bought a new wallet this month too (a Hayden Harnett clutch - SO gorgeous!) but I'm having a hard time keeping my money inside of it.... Recently, I've splured on some diaper bags

I'm halfway through the pregnancy! I need to be prepared, right?

20 weeks!