HeilSyle???

So I don't know about anyone else but I've been faithfully checking HeilStyle when I can and haven't heard any more fun news from the Matt/Jen/Lydia/Decemberbaby family in a while. I know they're on vacation right now in California, but can't they give us some love with a few little posts now and then?
Okay folks, let's see if this works...

Strasburg/Dutch Wonderland

Hi All (AKA anyone who cares),
Yesterday we enjoyed the Strasburg Railroad museum and train. It was pretty much amazing. The museum is priceless with a kid shop section that the boys loved with a passion. It was a long room just filled with all kinds of mini train exhibits complete with several kid sized train tables and a reading corner with train books galore. It felt so authentic- like old men who have been obsessed with trains for decades had spent years of their lives constructing every inch of the room. We rode the Strasburg railroad with Mom & Dad. It was an exciting process as they weren't exactly as handicap accessible as the steam train at Disney. But Mom managed well and Dad survived.
Today we head out to Dutch Wonderland and hope to stop by Mark Oles' house afterwards to view his home train exhibit.
Overall, we've enjoyed this small tour of Lancaster. I have a feeling we'll be back sooner than later to Strasburg...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today Grandmom/Mom is 54 going on 30 (Luis scored some brownie points last night using this remark!). So far it's been a great day- Luis made omelettes for all of us and I decorated a little breakfast tray with flowers from the garden (it looked quite "chic" if I say so myself). We went to Mass and are heading out soon to explore the winery in Chaddsford and look forward to a meal at a bistro nearby. Yesterday we celebrated with the Anthonys, Grandma & Charlie. It was a "skit worthy" visit with all sorts of fun one liners (to be blogged about later) complete with a very late night departure. There was Olympic game watching, flashlight tag, snacking on cereal and lots of great conversation in the late hours of the night. Anyhow, today is the real birthday during which we are honoring Mom for who she is. There's been some quite unlikely weather including rainstorms and hail. Right now Mom is searching the sky for a rainbow- but we all know she's loved by us and God regardless of if there's a rainbow on her birthday!...
Ta Ta for now.

Heading to the 4 Line

Today we're heading to 4 Line Rd. for a few days. Luis will train back on Sunday and I'll stay with the kids for a few days to enjoy Dutch Wonderland and possibly the Strasburg railroad. Mom's birthday is Sunday the 10th so we hope to spend some quality time over a good meal. The kids are really looking forward to it. I'll post more later...

Grandad's Rocket Ship

John Paul & Gabe are obsessed with Grandad & Grandmom's Toyota van. They do not see it as a handicap accessible vehicle but as a rocket ship. This is because I'm a slacker Mom and allow them to watch TV. Their favorite show is "Little Einsteins," an outgrowth of the Baby Einstein videos. The show is based on the idea that four children go on adventures around the world in a vehicle named "Rocket." Each show highlights a real piece of art and a real composer. It's actually quite clever for a kid show, and I don't mind it at all. So anyhow, when we visit the Pierce grandparents, they operate under the illusion that the Toyota is actually an incredible rocket...and it really rocks their little world. Grandmom always allows them to take turns pushing the button to open and close the back. They also think Grandad's wheel chair dropped from heaven or something. I really appreciate this. I'm thankful for the little hearts of my children that aren't old enough to understand what most of us perceive as severe limitations. They only see the excitement, adventure and wonder of it. The picture above is another one from last year. It may have even been Mom's first visit to Alexandria with Dad for Jen's 30th birthday. The boys were enthralled with the van in our parking lot and could have sat in it all night. So I'm posting about "Rocket" because to me it's another sign that life is always more interesting through the eyes of a child.

Another last year post

So I'm still stuck in last year because of my photo filing. Here's a shot almost exactly a year ago when I was too pregnant to function and battling a few infections. John and Greg both came out at different times to help me out. Here's a shot of the boys playing with their very cool Uncle John. I think I was supposed to be resting and I was out back doing some home projects. I go crazy nesting when I'm pregnant. When Greg came out it was so hot we could barely stay outside. So he helped me lift the kids into the car and we drove to this kid's gym called JW Tumbles and let the boys run around. To this day I still get a kick out of the image in my head of Greg towering over all the other Moms and babies at the kiddie gym! Greg- as I always say- you're a stud!
Anyhow, I'm posting this random shot of the boys stirring something for me in the kitchen sometime last Fall. This past year I had every good intention of enrolling them in gym classes and was in love with the idea of John Paul going to a Montessori atrium once a week. Well, reality set in when Monica was about 2 months. John Paul enjoyed his first few sessions at the atrium but then went on a stubborn strike refusing to go near the place. The gym classes never happened. I got overwhelmed by the expense of it and the thought of rushing them all out of the house to get to a "class" on time. In addition, Monica was my first baby to only sleep in her own bed for hours on end. So we stayed home. And sometimes I wonder what on earth we did. So to wrap up my post, I'm reflecting on this picture because it shows me that we actually did "do" things this past year. It worked for us. So maybe we were shut-ins, but we did bake once in a while!

A Year Ago

I'm meandering down memory lane with pictures because I'm in the midst of catching up on 3 years of photo filing and scrapbooking. I finally realized that if I did nothing with the pictures they might as well be thrown out so I've adopted a "slap happy" style of throwing them together into books. So far I've got most of 2005 & 2006 into albums. Anyhow, the pics above are of the boys sharing a baguette in the style they love best. John Paul is peering through a hole in the park play tube thing. Gabe is smiling brightly after a bath.
Just random shots to share!