Proud to be a 2nd Grader!

Where did the time go?

So glad Peyton had a great first day starting 2nd grade.  Although there wasn’t much hype, it’s nice that he’s starting off feeling so confident! 

 

Good luck this year Peyton! 

A little of our Summer

What a FUN summer it has been so far!  Both Peyton and Jaxson are like two little fish this summer, just swimming every opportunity they get.

  Peyton took swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago and he’s been practicing ever since!  He loves wearing his goggles and is practicing opening his eyes under water without them.

This picture of Jaxson (aka Scubba Steve) says it all!

As he jumped of the steps of the pool for me to catch him we were working all day on him holding his breath.  Obviously he was still practicing holding his breath!

We’ve also been to a couple of local parades this summer. 

Each of the boys also got a new pair of shoes.  Peyton picked out these really cool water shoes that look like sneakers and Jaxson FINALLY found a pair of boots that he could fit into!  It’s been so hot, but we can’t get these boots off him.

Waiting for the traffic to stop and the parade to start.

The best part of the parade was the little carnival afterwards, which of course meant cotton candy for the ride home!

 

I swear they both remind me of Jim Carey in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas with all the “fur” on their hands!

 

And just for a little more sweetness – the boys can fight like cats and dogs, but there are sweet little moments that make it all worth while (even if they are sleeping)

Boys, Boys, Boys

What a fantastic trip to Virginia last weekend to spend some time with great friends and check out Kim and Preston’s new home!  I just loved the house Kim and am very impressed at all the great things you have and can keep in one piece with such an active little boy living there!

Jason had to work all weekend so Peyton, Jaxson and I got to enjoy lots of quality time with Jenn, Simon and Jude riding to Virginia together.  It was so nice to have that time to actually talk with Jenn since normally we don’t have much chance for adult conversations.  Jenn, you are super woman and I completely understand why there is a gate at the bottom of your stairs after watching you chase Jude all day up and down the three flights at Kim’s!  You are awesome!!

Peyton and Jaxson had lots of fun playing in Preston’s room with all his toys (thanks for being such a great host Preston!). 

  

Parker driving the ambulance

Preston and Peyton

Poor Jaxson is having a hard time understanding sharing.  He absolutely believes that sharing means “I want to play with it so give it to me”  Oh, it’s a long process, but we’re working on it….

Preston was so proud of his soccer trophy!

Fun with bubbles!!

I love this next picture because there’s just so much going on!  Simon is sneaking another peanut butter cup while Preston was doing acrobatics on his mom’s couch and Peyton and Parker are just oblivious to all the action going on around them! LOL

Next we were off to Kim’s parents house where they graciously hosted us for marshmallow roasting and play time in their backyard.  As you can tell, it was an exhausting 3 minute ride….

It was a very small nap and he was up and running with the other boys very quickly

I didn’t get many pictures of us roasting marshmallows, but Peyton was all business.  He searched for all the right sticks and just knew he was going to get the perfect marshmallow!  (I’m pretty sure all of his ended up burned and dropping off the stick into the firepit, oh well!)

Such a fun day!  Till the next time!!

Summertime FUN

We’ve had a few INCREDIBLY HOT days around here in the past week or so.  Days with temps reaching 100 degrees or more.  So after school and work we made time for the best kind of summer fun….

A little sprinkler action!

Both of my boys have great imaginations, but Peyton has really been on top of his game.  Who needs a water park when you have a big brother….

If you can’t tell from this Jaxson had a BLAST!

And on another night, Peyton came up with the great idea to fashion himself a boat out of the kiddie pool and a plastic tub we use to hold all of their outside trucks.  Who knew this would be so much fun?!!

Don’t you just love his eyes in this picture

I could not stop laughing at him.  Soooo much fun with the simplest of toys!

Memorial Day Weekend – Part Two (Strasburg Railroad)

After our trip to Dutch Wonderland on Saturday we stayed at a little B&B in Strasburg, Pennsylvania so we could go ride the trains the next day.  The B&B was a HUGE hit with the boys when they realized that it was above the Creamery and Deli store.  This place was awesome!  They had tons of ice cream flavors and homemade waffle cones with a viewing area so you could watch them being made along with homemade candy, including fudge, peanut brittle, chocolate upon chocolate and more chocolate!! 

After we enjoyed our homemade breakfast of waffles, eggs, Canadian bacon, fresh fruit and lost of pastries on Sunday morning we left for the train station.  

We bought our tickets and waited for the first train to leave at 11:00am.  Both of the boys announced they had to use the bathroom, which of course was all the way at the other end of the station, so we walked all the way back to where we started.  While waiting, Jaxson spotted Thomas the Train and insisted he needed to ride.  He was so excited!!

 

We soon boarded our train and waited to depart.

There were conductors on each train car that spoke and told stories about the different areas.  At one point we stopped and listened for a “ghost train” to respond to our train’s whistle.  Peyton thought this part was the best! 

After about 20 minutes we stopped and the engine that was pulling our train switched to the opposite end so they could pull us back to the station.

 

It was an absolutely beautiful day.  The windows were open in our car and the ride back to the station was very peaceful.  I think when you add all this to the exciting day we had the day before, it just proved too much for the youngest of the family….

Poor Jaxson, but I have to say I enjoyed the ride back to the station with him just as much as the ride out.  He’s gotten so active I don’t get a whole lot of cuddle time anymore!

Once we were back at the station it was time to check out the shops and get some souvenirs to take home.  Peyton had such a hard time.  He knew he wanted a train, but the models were way too expensive and the others were too babyish for him.  After going back and forth between 2 or 3 stores we finally settled on this.

He loves this train and has been playing with it nonstop since we arrived home!

Jaxson on the other hand had no trouble finding something he wanted to bring home!  There was one store which was completely Thomas the Train.  Everyone knows Jaxson is very musically inclined and makes everything into a drum at our house.  So, of course, there was no stopping him when he found this.

 

As we searched store to store for Peyton’s train Jaxson walked around playing his drum.  At one point I turned around and I swear it was like he was leading his own parade!

After leaving the train station we found a little playground and pond area for the boys to have free time to run around before dinner.  Peyton’s favorite part was obviously the pond with the ducks and geese.  He loves all kinds of animals and was pretty funny as he chased some of them around.

Jaxson really loved the big boat that he could climb on.

On Monday morning we stayed in Strasburg to watch the Memorial Day parade.  PNC Bank had kids handing our free water bottles and small flags to wave during the parade.  In our travels we also found a really nice memorial on Main Street.

 

Positively our best Memorial Day Weekend to date!  Thank you to all the veterans, past and present, who made it possible for us!