first week of June

Not a good picture of me, but such a cute one of Jason. He has the best smile!

Smoothies! Great use of all those strawberries we picked. Yummy!

On Thursday Jason had his school speech evaluation. He was very cooperative. She said that he actually has an above-average receptive language (which is great news) but his expressive language is way behind that...so essentially he understands language but can't express himself as well. She seemed to imply that he would qualify for school-based speech services, but of course we'll have to wait for the official meeting to get that information.

Just another night at the beach!

On Friday morning I was the lucky reader for the storytime that the Junior Woman's Auxiliary hosts. I did a summer beach theme with all beach books, a snack, and a coloring/sticker craft.

I am shocked that Jason is still sleeping with his lights on (ever since the brain MRI). Because I now also leave his door open I can now occasionally sneak a peek at him without him waking. Isn't he the cutest?

I finally made some strawberry freezer jam with those strawberries we picked over the weekend! Froze the rest for smoothies and such during the colder months.

On Friday night the boys had their last tiger scout den meeting. They got to play games and roast marshmallows, and Tyler finally tried the little zipline!


Saturday Tyler had his baseball closing ceremony and party at Beach 3. The boys had fun playing in the water, with their friends, and of course eating!



That evening we got a chance to check up on our garden at my grandparents house. Nothing overly exciting, but definitely some growth.

On Sunday morning Tyler had his karate belt ceremony. It was much more enjoyable for me this time because my mom watched Jason (who was a handful to entertain the last 2 times) while Bob and I went. Tyler is now an orange belt. Go Ty!







After the karate ceremony Bob and I surprised the boys with a trip to Great Adventure. They had a great time on all the rides and at the new "Birds of Prey" show and the dolphin show. And the baby bear cubs are getting bigger, but still so cute!

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend started off with a trip to Conte's for some strawberry picking. The boys had fun with the wagon ride and then picking (and eating a few) strawberries out in the fields. Afterwards we enjoyed a picnic lunch of hotdogs, drinks, and the ever-so-important apple cider donut!











After our strawberry picking and lunch we cooled off with a trip to the lake. What a perfect start to Memorial Day weekend!



In the late afternoon we planted some things in the backyard, including pumpkins. Excited to see if we have any luck with them!


Sunday we had a BBQ to attend at Bob's parents house, which was also the first time the boys would meet his parents and his sister. We enjoyed yummy food and gorgeous weather. The boys had a great time on this splash pad thing, as well as playing baseball and blowing bubbles.






We went back to Bob's house for a while and the boys enjoyed a dip in the (unheated) hot tub.


After our hot tub cool-off we walked down the street to Bob's friends house for a BBQ already in session. The boys had a blast with "snaps" and eventually sparklers. I was hesitant to let Jason try a sparkler, but was informed that it's practically abusive to NOT allow your child to participate in this harmless and fun all-American activity. Well, he had a blast until he was hit by a spark. Luckily he recovered quickly after being given watermelon. I won't be doing that again for a while. Lesson learned. Mommy's intuition is right. Anyway, feeling thankful though because the night ended short for the rest of us when another little party-goer found herself on her way to the emergency room after a nasty fall. Poor thing.


On Memorial Day we began the tradition of decorating the bikes and wagons for the town parade. The decorations are judged, but the true excitement (at least for Tyler) is the exciting shiny silver dollar they each get for their participation in the parade. Plus, decorating is apparently fun.

Registered, lined up, and sweltering in the heat awaiting the parade beginning.


The parade itself was about as exciting as a small town parade can get (as you may have guessed, I'm not a fan). It lasted all of maybe 10 minutes and consisted of literally just walking around the town a bit with parade viewers scattered about. I think they had a marching band and maybe a few convertibles with town "celebrities". Exciting stuff I tell you. Here are pictures my mom took of us in the parade.


The parade finished up at the fire station for a very hot closing ceremony and such. Apparently the boys didn't mind the heat too bad. How cute is Jason just deciding to hold onto his brother like that (and Tyler for tolerating it)!


Cooled off with a dip in the lake.


Ended our long weekend with a little Memorial Day party of our own!