Maui Baby!

Having fun in the ultra soft sand!
bridge that was held together with cable and a wooden plank

we searched for a long while to find this place!

Amazing sunsets!

Andy swimming in the rainforest - the water was crystal clear!

Our picnic dinner

Amazing trail along the coast - we ran it every day!

Just stepped off the plane and into our resort!

Pinch me... I am in Maui (well, not as I write but these thoughts come from our trip (sans kids) a few weeks ago). Andy won a trip through his work and although I hesitated about leaving the kids for that long as well as travel that far away... it was an amazing time and I am so glad that we went! Andy was able to celebrate his accomplishments and mingle with his co-workers (including the president of Verizon Business) all the while we enjoyed the most amazing scenery - Maui is truly a magical place! More info. and pics to come...

Spring Break!

I think I get more excited now about spring break than ever before! Perhaps it is the vacations that we can actually plan now that we are both working full time and have a little extra cash to actually stay on the beach and not 15 min. from it. The boys had a blast and I have to say, this was the first year that we could all actually relax and feel well rested. We also had great company! Although the temps were a bit chilly, we still had a great time and managed to come back with a tan!

Ever wonder?

In case your inquiring mind wanted to know... a 4 year old's pinky finger will fit inside the front of a fan and the plastic blade will cut it.

Barbershop boys

Landon decided that Chase needed a haircut today using kitchen utensils - I was just glad that no scissors were involved!

A true snow day!

Optimistic

Playful snowy evening

Soggy afternoon run

Landon watching the rain

This word does not really fit my outlook these days, but I am vowing to be more optimistic - I will try to see the glass 1/3 full rather than completely empty :) And as I am writing this, we have had three days of gloomy weather, and nonstop rain - I mean nonstop - the rate may have varied a bit, but solid precip for three days straight. But instead of letting it get to me, I laced up my shoes today, went on a soggy run, and spent some time reflecting on my two most favorite topics - the economy and the weather. Where does my optimism play into all of this... the (much needed) rain finally turned into snow. And our sleepy, little hibernating suburb, came to life in one instant as we all gathered outside and played in the snow until bedtime.

Mountain Trip!

We ventured up to Blowing Rock, NC for the weekend. It was absolutely gorgeous! We stayed in an amazingly beautiful inn, The Inn at Crestwood, and in an even more fabulous room, the Grandfather Suite (courtesy of Verizon's awesome discount!) and drove up an incredibly windy road to get to the top of Grandfather Mountain - I think Andy and I were both sweating because of the height and the sheer drop off with no guard rails. But we made it and despite the frigid temps (it was a balmy 18 degrees at the top), the boys thought the mile high swinging bridge was pretty neat. But they were even more intrigued with the ice that they could actually break into little pieces and pick up.

C'mon Chase...

"C'mon Chase" seems to be the catch phrase I have been hearing all around the house these days. And I have to say, that it is a relief that the boys are actually playing together more and fighting less - I hope it lasts! Landon has come a long way with his patience for Chase (for an almost 4 year old!)
Last night, I was changing out the kitchen garbage bag when the boys grabbed the can, dragged it into the living room, and placed it upside down. They then decided it would be fun to climb up the bean bags, then on top of the garbage can, and steadied themselves before they took a gigantic leap, only to find themselves hitting the floor and rolling. But I wasn't going to stop the madness when they were talking about taking turns and giggling hysterically!

It just gets better...

Landon and Chase have been such the cute brothers lately. Landon has been trying so hard to help Chase out of his frustration which also can be a challenge because it seems like lately Chase can become very frustrated, very quickly. But even so, Landon will try to distract Chase or say, "Here Chase, I can help you." And off Chase follows like a little puppy following his mama. Lately, if you tell Chase no, he stares you down and spits. We have been trying very hard to ignore it. Today Landon asked me, "Ignore means to not talk, right?" Right.

I have also been trying to recognize both of their "great" behavior and praise them for it. Last night we were coming home after having dinner at this great bbq place for Grandpa's birthday. The conversation went like this:

Me: Thank you so much for behaving so well at the restaurant. I really appreciate when you boys behave.
Pause....
Landon: We didn't go under the table, right mommy?
Me: No, you didn't.
Pause....
Landon: We didn't put our feet on the table either, right mommy?
Me: No, you were perfect.
Pause....
Landon: And our bottoms....
Pause...
Me: Your bottoms what?
Landon: We didn't take our bottoms under the table either, right mommy?
Me: Right.

Warm + Sunshine = Happy?

What a glorious day! Okay, sounds a bit cheesy but I am definitely a sunshine, warm weather, gal. It makes me happy... it gives me energy... which makes me eat up these 70 degree days! In fact, I was contemplating laying out for a while, like the old days in Oswego when the high would be 68, and the sun made it feel hotter and we would sunbathe on the roof! (Yes mom, I said the roof!) Instead, we took the boys to the park, which they loved, and for 2 whole hours we made it without tantrums, teasing, or crying! Well, almost... until Chase pinched his fingers in the automatic window which lead to a loud bloody scream! After close inspection and wedging his finger between two mandarin orange cups (I was looking for the coldest thing we had), the finger is not broken, but definitely swollen and will probably hurt for a while. Poor baby Chase - he was a trooper!

Snow day!

The hot cocoa was the best part!

Lots of whipped cream!

Chase frozen to the sled.

A lame sled attempt

Catching snowflakes on his face

Too cold for Chase

This was Landon's "excited" face.

We did get our snow day on Tuesday! I actually woke up early, realized it had only snowed what we would call a "dusting" in NY, disappointedly I showered, got ready for work, only to realize that we indeed had a snow day! Check out "all" of our snow! The boys were VERY excited to play outside in it... until Chase realized that snow equated to feeling cold and then he was not such a fan of it! The hot cocoa and whipped cream was his favorite part!