Storyland or Bust!

We are back from our New Hampshire vacation and settled into our typical routine.  But we had a fabulous trip!  It was one heck of a drive, but the kids couldn't have been better behaved.

Here's Maddie during our pit stop at, OF COURSE, the 99.

Once we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to find a lovely 3 bedroom condo waiting for us - and Grandma & Peepa too!  We checked in, relaxed a bit, ordered some pizza and then headed to the resorts evening bonfire.  Since the occassion that initally prompted this trip was cousin Julie's wedding, Mimi & Buppy were in town and joined us too.  Maddie & Aidan don't realize it now, but they will someday look back and see just how lucky they are to spend so much time with all 4 of the grandparents. 

We roasted marshmallows, I chased Aidan around trying to keeping him from either falling into the nearby stream or the fire, and Maddie had some 1-on-1 time with Cinderella herself! 

Peepa lending a hand in the quest to keep Aidan out of the fire pit.

To Grandma's chagrin, we woke up bright and early on Saturday and headed out for some nature lovin'.  We hiked down (and it was a treacherous hike) to a 84 ft waterfall. 

Group shot at the smaller of the 2 waterfalls.  Love that Kurt is scurrying to get out of the picture.

Larger waterfall - well worth the risking of life and limb.

Princess Peach & Piggy hanging out on the rocks in their "raincoat".

Next it was on to Wildcat Mountain to take a tram to the top.  Well, not quite next as it took a few drives up and down the road to actually find the mountain (darn GPS).  But once we got there, the kids LOVED the ride up.  It was windy and cold at the top, so we didn't linger.  Got some great photos though.

Aidan loving the ride up.

Mom & Maddie enjoying the views.



Our view.

Grandma not loving the wind at the top of the mtn.

Our view as we headed back down.  Pretty cool to be above the clouds!

While all of the Willners gathered for cousin Julie's absolutely beautiful wedding, Grandma & Grandpa took Maddie & Aidan swimming, to dinner (shockingly at the 99) and to another bonfire.  M&A wouldn't go near the clown, but no one fell into the fire - so a win!  Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera to the wedding, but there was lots of fun to be had with daddy and his dance moves :-)  Congrats to the bride & groom, who are enjoying Costa Rica as I type.

Another good night's sleep for the kids and another early morning for all.  Then it was on to STORYLAND!  I had some concerns that the crowds, noise level and excitement would be too much for Aidan (and me frankly) - but I couldn't have been more wrong.  The both loved it and were so well behaved.  They went on way more rides than I expected them to and went all day long with neery a complaint. 

Pretending to be Little Miss Muffet.

She couldn't possibly have been more exited!

Swan boats (that Grandma didn't realize you had to drive yourself).

Captain Aidan Redbeard.

In his glory in the ball pit play area.

Taking full advantage of the Safari ride.

My sweet little princess. 

I think the face painting may have been Maddie's favorite part.  She kept asking the guy running the flume if her makeup washed off each time she went on the ride.  Of course a few hours later it did wash off in the outdoor heated pool at the resort (despite claims that it was 'waterproof'). 

Aidan wanted to know why Prince Charming wasn't around at Cinderella's castle and didn't love Mom, Maddie & Grandma going on the ferris wheel (it was too high).  But he loved driving the antique cars, riding the train and the pirate boat trip.  And of course the ice cream!!  It's always about the ice cream.

Despite being a die hard Cape Cod fan and a bit anti-New Hampshire, Daddy seemed to really enjoy himself.  Perhaps there is a repeat visit in our future next fall.  If we can find a way to teleport ourselves and avoid the almost 4 hour drive that is :-)

What we've been up to...

We've been busy and having lots of fun lately!!

Apple picking with the cousins!



First day of school (Aidan wasn't overly psyched to leave Mommy behind)!

First ice skating lesson & they did GREAT!

Lots of dress up, such as this fashion forward olympian pirate!

And of course, SOCCER with coach Daddy!

She LOVES it and asks me every night at bedtime to tell her about how she is a soccer star!

Supportive brother (who thinks he may want to give it a shot himself in the Spring season)!

Number 31 in action!!  She's super fast when she puts her mind to it.

Lots more skating, soccer and fall activities in our future before we hunker down for the winter.  And despite his rough start, Aidan is loving school and doing really well.  And Maddie is still Ms. Pat's favorite little 'Maddie Mouse'.

Countdown to F-I-V-E

The birthday season is upon us!  The chances of getting all of the cousins together on a weekend once sports have started is nil; so we had an early birthday party for Maddie & Aidan.  They were adorable waiting at the curb to greet all of their guests. 

Modeling their party hats



the Gang (of course Aidan was looking the other way)!

the cake

It was a Mario Kart theme and a fun time seemed to be had by all.  Of course when people ask how old they are and Kurt tells them, "five"; I adamantly deny it and remind him that my babies are still only four!  A couple more weeks before it's official after all :-)

Chatham 2012

Boogie boarding on the creek

Does it really count as boogie boarding if Daddy pulls you?



One of his many elaborate sand castles

Snuggling with cousin Meg

Loves collecting seashells

Jumping pre-dinner

Beautiful scenery at Ridgevale Beach



Crabs, minnows, sea snails, shrimp!  To be fair, Uncle Jon caught most of it.

The kids are already making plans for next summer...

Fourth of July 2012

Another Fourth of July is coming to a close and it was a great one!  We drove out to Hingham for the parade/BBQ at Mimi & Buppy's house. 

Here's Jake posing with M&A shortly before we started the walk to the parade route.

Meghan was, as always, a huge help with the twins.  She pulled the wagon most of the way and kept an eye on them during the entire parade.  Such a wonderful cousin!  And the kids collected lots of candy that was thrown from the various floats.


Viewing the parade from Daddy's shoulders.

A little girl bonding after we got back from the parade (red, white & blue nailpolish).

Aidan & Mimi chillin' out.

Maddie & Grandma practicing their softball skills.

Fabulous Meghan at it again reading to all of the kids.



They finished up the afternoon with a dip in the Riddles' pool. 

We were pleasantly surprised that Aidan loved the parade (we skipped it last year in case the noise level was too much for him).  Picky Maddie, on the other hand, was less than pleased that she was squirted by a water gun from one of the floats.  Next year we'll put her in a raincoat :-)

Happy Fourth to everyone!!!

Start them young...



The best part was that he really thought he was steering it :)

They make a great team!

Of course now Kurt would like a ride-on mower...

Recent Happenings

It's been a while since I posted (mostly because I just haven't been good about taking photos lately), so I'll give a quick little update on some of our recent happenings.

STICKERS are our new obsession.  We are practically going broke buying stickers for these two to put on pieces of paper that ultimately end up in the trash.  But they are having fun!



Easter was a blast this year with a Saturday visit to Mimi & Buppy , a Sunday morning swim at the local hotel pool (the Easter bunny even made an appearance there if you can imagine that) and then Easter dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's (with a visit from Aunt Janet & Pierre).  Here we are lining up for our morning Easter hunt:

And our most exciting update is that we are finally riding the pricey bikes Mom & Dad bought for us!  After months of refusing to even try them out (after begging for them to be bought) - all it took was 5 year old Laurel from down the street to come cruising by on her bike.  M&A got sick of chasing her around on foot and decided they may as well learn.  Aidan still has the occasional memory lapse when it comes to steering and Maddie needs to get a little less frustrated when she gets "stuck", but all in all a positive experience.  Kurt & I even dragged our bikes, that haven't seen the light of day in 5 years, out of the shed.

 

Despite the new skill, Aidan's favorite activity is still digging in the dirt and just all around being a messy boy:

And lastly, we decided to grow some veggies & fruits ourselves this year.  Here are our "city pickers" deck boxes full with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots & strawberries.  Wish us luck in keeping all of the critters out of our bounty.  And wish us luck in getting M&A to eat what we grow!

Of course they each had to have their own garden and decorated them so there would be no confusion...

With the recent 80 degree weather, we've got summer on the brain and hopefully we'll remember to bring the camera along on our many adventures!!!