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Weekend at home with cousins

Posted on July 26, 2008 7:57 am by TheAngelForever

Two weekends this month we have been away. First we went for the 4th of July to my brother’s and then last weekend to visit JL’s parents. Yesterday my brother and niece came into town to spend the weekend here. This is a special treat since they will be here again for my father’s BIG birthday and NHL’s 5th in a few short weeks.

Yesterday the kids had a blast playing with all of the toys at my parent’s house. No photos of that to share right now since we have to head out to meet everyone for breakfast soon. The good new is I that I have some from our trip over the 4th that I never posted. The interactions of Cousin S and JSL this time are priceless! You would never know watching them together that four months separate them in age. NHL has also been doing well helping the two and not getting too jealous.

The three cousins

JSL loved playing with S’s Little People school bus push and ride toy.

Hey I like this

There’s always time for a hug from a big cousin.

Big cousin hugs

All of the kids were fascinated by the big exercise ball.

Wow - a BIG ball!

At one point Cousin S took JSL’s sippy cup and wanted to test it out.

Testing out a sippy cup

Bath time for the two little ones after cherry picking. What you do not see here is JSL screaming once he got into the tub. He was not too thrilled about getting cleaned. Being overtired was a huge factor.

Photos from this weekend to come. Now we’re off to make and capture more memories!

Categories:
family fun jsl looking back nhl photos road trip weekend

Fun Filled Friday

Posted on July 21, 2008 10:16 pm by TheAngelForever

Prior to going to visit my in-laws JL and I did some research. We wanted to find something fun to do with the boys on Friday. We toyed with going to a Childrens Museum, but opted for something closer instead. We found a place called Fun 4 All Playground. It is an indoor playground facility that is half an acre filled with everything you can imagine, including inflatable slides.

When we arrived at Fun4All it was almost empty. We purposely went at 11:00, soon after they opened on Friday to avoid the weekend rush. JSL was asleep and NHL was ready to go. When he saw what was inside he did not know what direction to run in first.

Soon after checking things out, NHL and JL went to the large tower and decided to head to the top. NHL wanted to go down the twisty slide. JL went with him the first time since he had never been on anything like this before. The tower layers were actually made of trampolines and NHL quickly liked bouncing on it. Eventually they were at the top and NHL came out of the tube like a bullet. Check out the shot of him pretty much landing on his head!

The two boys were able to explore, run and play for quite some time. These are some of the adventures they had while playing in the air conditioned playground. Can you tell NHL was having a blast giving Daddy a work out?

The boys had a lot of fun

During all of this excitement this is what JSL was doing:

Not too shabby if you ask me. A place to stretch out, put your feet up and sleep.

After a while we were able to convince NHL to go on the Noah’s Ark inflated clibing slide. He was not too sure about it, but liked it so much he went several times.

Soon after this JSL woke up and we took him to the area for toddlers. Before arriving at their destination the boys stopped to look at the funny mirrors, so I snapped a photo. Check out their long legs and JSL’s monster froggy shoes!

As you will see JSL quickly warmed up to things and wanted to play on additional items.

After about two hours Bubbe and Grandpa were ready to pack up and head out. NHL must have been tired since he did not protest too much. Before leaving my mother-in-law and I noticed a jail area. We quickly managed to get all of the boys in for one quick photo.

Then it was time to head out in the hot and humid 90 degree weather. We went back to regroup before going out to lunch, shopping at the outlets and back home before a quick meal out.

Categories:
family fun jl jsl my boys nhl photos play time road trip

My literal little guy

Posted on July 20, 2008 9:43 pm by TheAngelForever

Thursday after JL arrived home from work we ate a quick dinner, I finished packing and we loaded up the car. The four of us were on an adventure to visit JL’s parents for a long weekend. We had a very nice visit and did several fun things while there, all that I will share later. Right now I need to catch up on some "stuff" here and edit photos. However, I wanted to share a funny NHL moment.

Saturday morning while eating breakfast my mother-in-law asked NHL if he wanted some milk to drink. He replied that he would like some. She brought a glass over and the following conversation took place:

Bubbe (while getting ready to pour the milk) – "Say when"

NHL – "Right now!"

*sigh*

Laughter quickly broke out from JL, my mother-in-law and I. We immediately quipped that he was just like his daddy, so literal! I can only imagine what will happen when he goes to kindergarten in the fall.

Categories:
family kid talk nhl

Boating and beach fun with family

Posted on July 15, 2008 9:14 pm by TheAngelForever

My aunt and uncle own a house that is on a beautiful lake not far from where we live. Last year with the birth of JSL we were not able to go up there and on the boat. Aunt S decided that she wanted to make some special memories for our boys and invited us for an afternoon/evening of fun Saturday. The four of us and my parents went to meet my aunt, uncle and grandmother at the house.

We slathered ourselves with sun lotion before heading up and JL and NHL had their swim suits on just in case they wanted to go in the water while on the boat. Everyone made their way to the boat, a gorgeous pontoon boat that can have up to eleven passengers. The sun was out and the weather was perfect. It was hot, but not too humid. The boys immediately put on their life jackets before we went out and everyone took a seat in order to get out of the dock.

JSL was not too sure about things. He seemed to like the boat, but was very quiet after we put the life jacket on him. The poor little guy was lost in it and likely very warm from the extra heavy layer, but it was not an option.

After going around for a little while and trying to find a spot for JL and NHL to go into the water we were traveling around again. NHL was even able to go on Uncle M’s lap and drive the boat. He literally was steering the boat and controling the speed. . . more than we had originally thought. NHL loved this and was so thrilled that Uncle M allowed him to try again later on.

Did you know that being captain of the boat makes you hungry? It seemed to do that for NHL as you will see.

We all noticed that JSL was curious about what NHL had done. Uncle M was really nice and allowed JSL to sit on his lap and skipper the boat. Much to our surprise he quickly grabbed the wheel and knew just how to move it on his own. He was so happy he finally started to smile. Uncle M definitely made his day!

To cool off we stopped the boat so NHL could dip his feet and splash in the water at the front of the boat. He had an absolute blast. It was hard to pull him away and move the boat, but we told him we were going to the beach soon.

Here are some random photos from the relaxing and fun outing on the boat.

Of course the trip down memory lane would not be complete without mentioning what we found on the lake. When we were going fast we spotted something and went back to see it. JL thought it really looked like a turtle shell with a fin up. Well, he was dead wrong . . . . pun intended. This was the lovely view that had a smell to go along with it.

Once we docked the boat and closed it back up we went to the nice little beach that is part of the community. It is hard to believe, but this was NHL’s first time in the sand and building sand castles. He had a blast and did not want to stop. We were all quite shocked that he loved the water and went in without complaints.

JSL enjoyed relaxing in the shade for a while with Mimi, looking around the beach with papa and hanging out with me (those are my legs). He was not interested in the sand this time around. Next time we may allow him to explore a little more.

Finally both boys went into the water and had a blast playing with their daddy. None of them wanted to leave, but eventually we had to call it a day and head back to have dinner.

A huge thank you to Aunt S and Uncle M for such a wonderful time on Saturday. NHL continues to tell everyone about his fun in the sun and I know JSL enjoys splashing and swimming even more. Both of you are the best and we love you lots.

Categories:
family fun jl jsl nhl photos road trip weekend

Lions, and Tigers and Bears . . . Oh My!

Posted on July 13, 2008 5:49 pm by TheAngelForever

On the 4th of July we were visiting my brother, sister-in-law and niece for the long weekend. Uncle I had to work in the morning, so we decided to head to the zoo later in the day when he was done. We had a quick lunch at Moe’s and then went to the zoo.

When we arrived nearby the zoo and parked, NHL decided to lead the way. He has been to this zoo two other times (just a year ago when we went to Aunt M’s baby shower), so he knew the way. The stroller brigade followed with Cousin S sleeping for the start of her first time to the zoo. JSL was awake and curious about all of the fuss.

NHL was on a mission. He wanted to see the lions and tigers. He was a little upset that we missed the last giraffe feeding, but was fine with just going to view them. We made our way all around the zoo and saw a lot of animals. Here is a sampling of the photos that were taken by JL.

It was a very warm day, so many of the animals were resting in the shade, hanging out in their watering holes, or hiding completely out of view by this point in the afternoon. We did have an "interesting" educational moment. The bear area is a crowd favorite. First there were the grizzly bears that were lounging. They could have cared less that we were there watching them. Next the polar bear was pacing. He/she definitely seemed to be sizing up lunch on the other side of the barrier. I have to say it was a little unnerving. Then we saw the Spectacled Bear. This bear was smaller than the rest and was quite active. The spectacled bear put on quite a show of nature. He came over to the edge of the enclosure and proceded to empty his bladder and then do the rest of his business. No, no pictures of that. However, here is a picture when he was done and NHL’s priceless reaction to the event.

At the end of the visit JL asked NHL what his favorite animal was. Without missing a beat he quickly replied it was the spectacled bear. When asked why he immediately replied "Because he peed!" Yes, he is a boy of almost 5 you know so not a shocking response.

Eventually Cousin S woke up to see some of the animals. I believe she may have enjoyed her first bomb pop at the zoo more than the actual zoo itself. Of course it is always fun watching my little brother as a daddy. My question to you, who looks better in the pink hat?

NHL also enjoyed going on the merry-go-round and the zoo’s playground. I have to say the playground is rather impressive. They did an amazing job making it follow a zoo theme.

Fun on the zoo playground

Just before JSL fell asleep from the heat and lack of napping all day, I asked to have a picture of both of the boys. Of course try to get them to look at the camera. Nope, that did not happen. Instead each looked in a completely different direction!

Just before the zoo closed at 5:00 JSL was sleeping and everyone else went to look at the sea lions underwater. JL captured my little niece with her daddy watching them. Too cute!