The Mack Clan

Halloween

2009-10-31T15:42:00.007-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The kids really wanted to go on the Haunted Hayride this year. We had never been...and it is our last year here, so we decided to go for it. Everyone got scared senseless and Brittany is sure that the guy with the chainsaw was two inches from her head. Maybe it was poor judgment on our part...but these moments always make the best stories. Besides, if not for the haunted hayride, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to talk to the kids about autopsies.

Before the ride began.

We also did the traditional pumpkin carving. Andy was a bit ambitious with his, and it turned out awesome. Rockchalk, Jayhawk!

On Halloween it was raining, just a light mist. But by the time we came home we were soaked. Fortunately it was unseasonably warm.

Brittany as a witch. Rachael as a flower.

Nathan as Jengo Fett. Alex as a Giants football player.

October

2009-10-02T14:58:00.003-04:00

Alex made this rocket for the Space Derby. I think it went about 2 feet in the race. Still, we had a good time making it. :)

Rachael's new favorite thing: playing the piano.

It's that time of year in New York...lots and lots of leaves!

Rachael's new tricks.

Next post...coming soon...Halloween!

September

2009-09-12T13:45:00.002-04:00

Not a whole lot happened in September...just school and soccer. Here is a cute picture of Rachael though. She is 8 1/2 months...and now a champion at pulling up, crawling and climbing stairs. I honestly forgot how much work one baby can be. :)

Oh, we also spent one Saturday in New York City. On the drive to the parking garage I jumped out to take this picture (the diner from Seinfeld). I then put the camera down in the van where it stayed the rest of the day. :) Oops!

The rest of August

2009-08-17T11:31:00.006-04:00

Uncle Mark and Aunt Patty came to visit us before school started. It was so great to see them! As always, they spoiled the kids. This time they brought a motorized car, a motorized motorcycle and 2 wiggle cars. It was insane! We sure did have fun though. We took all the stuff to the park and let them go wild. I wish I had taken a picture of the kids on the motorcycle because it was a riot. We thought it might go too fast and be scary, but it just kind of putted along at a nice speed. Mark and Patty, we always miss you as soon as you leave!

Now, for the RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL! We do love the Renaissance Festival, and Rachael handled her first time like a pro. Andy and I started this tradition when we were dating, and we try to go every year. Taking the kids has breathed new life into our trips. They make it feel new [and for those of you who are familiar with Bob the Juggler (whose show never changes), this is a welcome relief.]

Brittany in her pretty flower crown.

Arghhhh!

As we were leaving we realized we had taken no pictures of Rachael, so these people were nice enough to let us take a picture with them on the walk to the parking lot. :)

Last, but not least, August brought the start of school and Nathan's first day of Kindergarten. It has been crazy getting used to him not being home...but I do have Rachael to keep me busy! :)

This was pure joy for Nate...his very first school bus ride!

August - Boston

2009-08-01T11:05:00.009-04:00

In the beginning of August we took a family trip to Boston. The day we spent in the city was beautiful. There was a lot of interesting history, but we were more focused on trying to find the ducks at Boston Commons (from one of our favorite books, "Make Way for Ducklings".) After a long hike we did, in fact, find Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their 8 ducklings.

The kids really enjoyed feeding the ducks.

The famous Swan boats.
While in Boston we stayed at Coco Keys, a big water park hotel. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. It was great because we could play for a few hours and then go do other things. It was a great trip.

July

2009-07-04T14:07:00.009-04:00

Yes, the title of this post is July. What's that...it's September? Geez, where does the time go? Here are a few pics of July, I will try to get August up shortly. :)

My parents came to visit for the 4th of July. My mom has come to visit every baby at 6 months old. She swears they are always smiley and happy at this age. Rachael didn't disappoint. They also came during swim lessons, so they were lucky enough to go to the pond every morning to watch the three kids swim. The highlight of the trip was definitely the fireworks, though. They shoot them off over the Hudson River, and it is breathtaking.

Here we are on a family hike with the Cub Scouts. We hiked to the Bear Mountain Zoo to enjoy the zoo and a picnic lunch with friends. On the way home we picked raspberries that were growing along the path. The kids goal was to get 4 cups (enough to make a pie). We did get the 4 cups, and I made the pie...but nobody liked it. It's those little seeds that no one cares for.

We were fortunate enough to go on a Boat ride along the Hudson River. Mr. Metro, who Andy works with, was nice enough to invite us on the cruise. We all had a great time on the 3-hour tour, but the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed...no wait, it only rained for 15 minutes and then the sun came back out. False alarm.

The boys put together a boy band this summer and practiced endlessly. They call themselves the Bad Boys. They have about 5 songs, but all the songs sound amazingly similar, and for that matter, their dance moves don't change much either. Still, we had about one concert a week. Towards the end of the summer they got the great idea to charge a quarter to come. It was me and one other Mom. That was the last concert.

A Couple Firsts

2009-06-08T17:12:00.005-04:00

Nathan is now officially riding a two-wheeler! He is excited to show anyone and everyone...for however long they'd like to watch...and the entire time he is showing them he is saying such things as, "Aren't I amazing?" and "Can you believe how good I am?" I don't think confidence will be a problem for him...or at least not lack of it.

Rachael is starting to sit, which has been fun family entertainment. We sit her in the middle of the bed and watch her until she falls, at which point the boys (especially Nathan) laugh hysterically and ask to see it again.

Taylor's visit

2009-06-06T16:07:00.001-04:00

Andy's brother, Taylor, came to spend five days with us. The wonderful part of his trip was that we didn't plan anything except one trip into the City. That being said, Taylor got to enjoy lots of baseball practices, kids playing outside, schooldays, and Wii Star Wars. I'd like to say the highlight of his trip was the Empire State Building, but if you ask the boys it was, hands-down, playing Wii Star Wars. Please come again soon, Uncle Taylor! We had an awesome time.

Rachael's first subway ride!

Uncle Taylor has been telling the kids for the last year how they need to go to the top of the Empire State Building. I think he finally decided he had better come to visit to make sure this actually happened. So, thank you, Taylor, for helping us mark this off our list. :)

Cute Rachael

2009-06-02T21:29:00.007-04:00

Just a quick post so you can see Rachael. We've got LOTS more that's ready to go... like school plays, our "new" place at West Point, Scouting Ceremonies, baseball, Taylor's visit (etc).

But for now, please enjoy Rachael Grace.

Rachael's Grace

2009-05-24T21:42:00.009-04:00

Rachael Grace was baptized on Sunday. Her Godparents, Dan and Angie, were able to fly in for the ceremony and it was great to have them here. We celebrated with a small reception, and the Ankosko cousins from New Jersey came up for the day.

My friend, Amy, let me borrow her daughter's Christening dress. It was gorgeous.

First the water, then the oil. Fr. Matt was very generous with the oil, but Rachael reached for more.

Fr. Matt, Dan, Andy and Rachael. The Godparents with Rachael.

Our first family portrait. :)

Group shot outside of the Chapel.

Crazy cousins!

It was a wonderful day. We are fortunate to have such great family and friends. Nate told me today that he wanted to have Rachael baptized every day... he always has enjoyed a good party.

Easter

2009-05-02T21:43:00.011-04:00

Susan, I'm not sure how you post so regularly with four little kids, but I am always impressed...and not only do you post regularly, but your posts have always happened within the last couple of days (if not hours). Not the case here. So thank you, all, for not giving up on our blog, and enjoy our Easter pictures from last month. :)

We ended up with 4 dozen Easter eggs, and we ate egg salad for far too many meals, but we sure had a good time dying the eggs.

Thanks to the new clothes even the boys were excited about dressing up. Grandma, you rock!

We had an Easter egg hunt outside with all of our friends, but it didn't last very long. It was in the low 40's and very windy. We had a second Easter egg hunt indoors where they found more eggs and a Webkinz.

Spring Break

2009-03-17T11:24:00.007-04:00

We decided to make the long drive to St. Louis and Olathe for Spring Break. Rachael really needed to make the rounds, and we know it's important to instill Jayhawk Fever early. My sister, Kelley, and her girls came to Olathe too, so we had quite a family reunion. Andy's brother, Wally, and his wife, Diane, also spent an evening in Olathe. They maybe wish they hadn't, though. Long story short, we got hit hard with a 24-hour stomach bug (which we were nice enough to share with everyone), and I'm not sure anyone will ever want us to visit again. We ended up with only one day in Olathe and one day in St. Louis where no one was ill. So, we didnt' get many pictures. Infact the only day I took pictures at all was the day we spent in Lawrence. If you haven't been to Allen Fieldhouse in the last few years it is worth going. The displays are pretty amazing...and the National Championship trophy from last year is really quite impressive. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

The kids with Phog Allen. * Andy showing them how it should be done.
Mom and the Giant Jayhawk.

The NCAA Championship Trophy for basketball and the Orange Bowl trophy for Football. Awesome!

I'm not sure what a Mermaid Jayhawk has to do with anything, but Brittany sure loved it. :)

Cute little Rachael, back home, who managed to not make it in any pictures during the trip (along with Pop-Pop, Uncle Dan and Aunt Angie, Uncle Wally and Aunt Diane, and Grandma and Grandpa). It sure was great seeing you guys...sorry we didn't document it better. ;)

February visits

2009-02-17T15:48:00.001-05:00

We were lucky enough to get several visitors in February. My sister, Kelley, came with her daughter, Zoe, for a long weekend. We had a wonderful time. Zoe was very excited to finally meet Rachael, and, as always, the older cousins had tons of fun playing together.

My brother, Dan, also came for a couple days. He looked great holding Rachael, though there are no pictures to prove it. Brittany, Alex and Nate were super excited to see Uncle Dan. He is always willing to throw them around and give piggy-back rides. What more could a kid want?

NEW Rachael Pic... for Skeeter

2009-02-16T18:41:00.010-05:00

Here is Rachael TODAY, Skeeter... well, the middle pic with Alex was three days ago. The rest should be "fresh" enough for everyone... even Skeet on his 111th Birthday :)

January

2009-01-31T16:54:00.000-05:00

Here is a rundown of January...we seem to be a bit behind!

Andy's mom came to visit for 10 days after my mom left. She was a huge help! It is always nice to have an extra set of hands with the kids, and the joy of the kitchen always being clean is hard to beat...though the joy of the laundry magically getting folded is a close second. It was wonderful having her here.

Nathan turned 5 on January 6th. We celebrated here at the house with Grandma. He also had a bowling party with his friends, but I forgot to take the camera with me. Oops!

Alex participated in his first Pinewood Derby. He had an awesome time. We also learned some valuable lessons for next year...for instance, this is not a project to start the day before the race.

On January 30th Brittany had a birthday party. (She turned 9 on February 1st.) She had three of her friends over for a slumber party. I wish we could have gotten a video of all of them dancing and singing to High School Musical. It was priceless!

And here's a picture of Rachael for good measure (2 1/2 weeks old). Yes, Dad, I know I need to get a more recent one posted. ;)

Updates Soon!

2009-01-19T22:14:00.006-05:00

Do the holidays at home with some family in town as you prepare to bring a new life onto this planet... get ready for a new year with family & kids' schedules (School, Church, Sports, Scouts-both-girl-and-boy)... start a new academic semester at West Point for the kids & Andy's work... needless to say, we're a bit behind on posting some stuff. More posts will follow soon, including topics such as "Rachael and her Plan for world domination by being cute", "Christmas with the Sumners", "Nathan Turns Five", and "the Pinewood Derby".

To hold you over, here's a pic of Rachael.

WELCOME HOME RACHAEL!

2008-12-31T13:48:00.013-05:00

Rachael slept in late on New Year's Eve 2008 anticipating a big day ahead of her.

She had really bonded with the nurses at the hospital, but she realized she was old enough to venture out into the world and explore her new home. She asked the staff to do the paperwork so she & mom could go home for the New Year.

Laura & Rachael Grace had an incredible group of nurses and doctors working at Keller Army Hospital. After three military hospital births, the experience at West Point proved to be a special one. Rachael was excited to find out they would probably get to see each other again for well-baby appointments!

It was just below freezing with snow flurries and gusting winds outside, so Rachael needed to get out of the hospital clothes. The change of outfits and introduction to the car seat sure made her tired, but the kids really wanted to snap a quick "going home" photo before we took her home.

Well it wasn't long before everyone was back home watching New Years football games, eating nachos, and celebrating the arrival of a new daughter & sister. Yet again, another great day.

Rachael Grace Meets the Clan

2008-12-30T13:34:00.001-05:00

Rachael was happy & very excited to meet the kids & Laura's mom...

Alex & Brittany were excited to hold their new sister...

Doctor Nathan helped the nurse check Rachael out...

Grammi got to hold her newest grandchild (as well as help Andy pretend he knows what he's doing while taking care of the other kids)...

All in all, Rachael Grace had a Rock-Chalk-kind-of-day with the Mack clan.

IT'S A GIRL! WELCOME RACHAEL GRACE!

2008-12-29T15:44:00.011-05:00

Rachael Grace Mack was born at 1:34pm today (December 29th) at Keller Army Hospital at West Point, New York. She was 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great! Me, the kids, and Laura's mom will head to the hospital to meet them at 6pm tonight, so watch for that post tomorrow morning!

RACHAEL GRACE'S first MOVIE

2008-12-29T14:12:00.001-05:00

Snow Day!

2008-12-19T22:38:00.009-05:00

West Point's first snow was awesome... school shut down, the kids got to play, and Andy got to shovel for six hours over three days to ensure we could get out of the house and to the hospital (if we really had to). The kids had a great time sledding and playing in the snow. The fifteen inch snowfall proved fun for all... except Andy.

Christmas Party

2008-12-15T17:00:00.001-05:00

There is nothing like a family Christmas party at work... and that's especially true at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Our department, the Dept of Military Instruction (DMI), got together for a great family party. There were games, crafts, snacks & Santa... oh yeah, and assault rifle training simulators to play with... fun for the whole family! The kids loved visiting with Santa, but they also had fun shooting at computer generated turkeys with live action M4 carbine simulators. Don't worry, mom gave them a good rifle safety course before-hand.

Being a Big Brother Isn't Always Easy

2008-12-14T17:17:00.011-05:00

Nathan loves his big brother, and it is a wonderful thing (or so I try to tell Alex), but Alex isn't always so sure. Nathan has been in a phase (for quite some time) where he does and/or wants whatever Alex wants. This frustrates Alex, who just wants to do his own thing every once in a while.

Case in point: Andy is putting together some boxes to send to some of his deployed friends. He asked the kids to draw 4 pictures so we could include a picture from each kid in each box...

Alex drew this... Nathan drew this.

Alex drew this...

Nathan drew this.

Alex...Nathan.

Alex

Nathan.

I have to admit, I can see why it gets frustrating. :)

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2008-12-09T17:04:00.001-05:00

This year we went to a Christmas tree farm and got a fresh tree. Not only did we get a tree...we got to see Santa, color some Christmas pictures, go through a Candy Cane Maze and play in a cool little village. Awesome adventure!

The next day we decorated the tree, drank hot chocolate and ate cookies. It was a lot of fun. Every year we let the kids buy a new ornament to put on the tree, and every year they love going through the ornaments to see what they have picked in the past. Our personal favorite this year, though, is the 2008 NCAA National Championship Ornament for KU. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

36 weeks pregnant

2008-12-03T08:39:00.005-05:00

Here is a 36 week belly shot. After I got the belly shot, I showed Nathan how to use the timer function on the camera. Turns out it's a lot more fun when he is in the picture too. He would turn the timer on and set the camera to take a picture, then he would run to me so we could both be in the picture. The only place he could figure out to set the camera was on the floor. (Well, maybe he could have figured out to set it somewhere else, but he loved the shots of our big heads.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy his work. :)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T08:55:00.003-05:00

Andy's brother, Dan, and his friend Gary came to West Point for Thanksgiving. They got here on Wednesday around lunch time. It was so great to see them! We had lunch, and then Andy took them on a tour of West Point. Gary took lots of great pictures, but of course I forgot my camera. (The entire weekend, I didn't take ANY pictures!)

For Thanksgiving Dan made the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. It was delicious! It was so wonderful to have him on turkey duty. It made my Thanksgiving very easy. I just had to do side dishes. The kids loved having Dan and Gary here, and it was so great to spend a couple days with them.

Alex Turns 7

2008-11-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

Alex asked for a party to celebrate his "Lucky #7" birthday. He also wanted to do something "Super Cool" with his friends. Lastly, he wanted a theme for the event... like Star Wars, Transformers, Power Rangers... or maybe FOOTBALL! So here is the final outcome from his plan: an NFL themed party at the bowling alley here at West Point, and the best part was that Grammy was in town to help celebrate!

Alex invited his friends from his class to have pizza, eat cake and bowl a game of bumper-ball-bowling. We colored football pictures while waiting for all of the boys to show up. Then we played Football Bingo and gave out prizes (mini-NFL helmets of all 32 teams... super-cool). Next came pizza, then cake, followed by bowling... awesome. Enjoy the pics; we enjoyed the party!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T10:58:00.009-04:00

This Halloween we enjoyed all the usual festivities:

we carved pumpkins...

we decorated a haunted house...

and the kids dressed up to go out trick-or-treating.

This year our neighborhood also had our First and Last Annual Chili-Cookoff. Everyone brought out a crockpot of chili and a side-dish. We stayed out all night (well, at least until 9:30). We let the kids run around in the dark and in costume (AWESOME), and we roasted marshmallows by the fire (just incase they didn't have enough sugar from their candy). It was a great night.

The Scream Gave It Away...

2008-10-29T16:31:00.012-04:00

Amazingly the loud boom from upstairs didn't tip me off to the catastrophe that had just happened...but the scream that followed was unmistakable! "Nathan fell and is bleeding," Alex came running down to tell me. Well, hopefully it won't be that bad. Hopefully it won't interfere with going to The Blaze (an event with over 4,000 carved pumpkins that we bought tickets to a month ago...which oh, by the way, we needed to leave to in an hour). Hopefully this will have a quick-fix. But...the scream. Oh, I have a bad feeling about this...

So, here is what happened: Nathan fell backwards while in a chair and hit the back of his head on a train table. He got a cut that bled and bled (typical head wound). We finally got the bleeding stopped, and I started debating in my head whether we should take him to the ER, or all of us go to The Blaze in spite of the injury (sometimes it is hard for me to admit there needs to be a change in plans). Well, in walks Andy from work, down to the kitchen where he sees Nate with his bloody shirt and a bloody towel that we had used to stop the bleeding. "Do you think," is all I could get out. He looked at me and said, "He needs to go to the ER. Put a new shirt on him. I'll go right now." And thank God for his voice of reason. The poor kid needed four stitches. Good job, Daddy.

On the down side, both Nathan and Andy missed The Blaze. (Brittany, Alex and I still went.) But Nathan was brave for the Doctor (he gets braver each time I hear the story), and Dad and Nate got McDonald's on the way home. Not exactly how I had planned the night...but is it ever?

Some of the carved pumpkins at The Blaze.

Our brave little Nathan and his poor head.

NFL Sunday: the Meadowlands

2008-10-26T13:00:00.001-04:00

Andy wanted to get Alex NFL game tickets for his birthday (well... specifically a Jets game to see Favre). While researching the plan, a unique opportunity presented itself...

Laura's cousin Bobby from NJ was asked by his father-in-law (Lorraine's dad Sam) if Bobby wanted tickets to see the Jets play the Kansas City Chiefs... and Bobby called Andy to see we would want to see the game. Andy politley said "yes", hung up, and ran around like an excited 5 year old... then he told Alex, who then jumped up & ran around like an excited almost 7 year old (more maturity than Dad). Alex & Andy drove down to meet Bobby and Sam who took a train to a station near the stadium & they all drove into the Meadowlands (the seats also came with a great parking pass!). Alex got to see his first NFL game (Andy's too, but he tried to play it off) and experienced the following

The great Brett Favre (nevermind the interceptions or the fact they beat the Chiefs in a game KC could've won)
The great Joe Namath and the rest of the 1968-69 Super Bowl #3 Jets returning for a half-time tribute show
Seeing, hearing & interacting with the entire Meadowlands Sports Complex, to include 80,000 tail-gaters & crazy Jet fans (good, bad & ugly) to include the ultra-loud sound system, jumbo screens... and the fireworks everytime the Jets scored
Eating a hotdog, nachos, cotton candy, popcorn, soda, ice cream & a pretzel within a four hour period... not bad for a 1st grader
Watching dad sacrifice a month's paycheck on the health-food choices of the day... oh, and a $30 hat to keep the sun out of Alex's eyes
Such an event with great family & amazing friends... as the corny commercial line is building... I'd say PRICELESS!

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Raingutter Regatta

2008-10-17T21:17:00.010-04:00

Alex is in his first year of Cub Scouts, and he loves everything about it. He sits down with his Tiger Cub Handbook and truly studies it. It's awesome! He feels like he is in the Army for kids. (He keeps talking about how he will get to go camping like Daddy.)

Thier first big event as a Pack was the Raingutter Regatta (a sailboat race down raingutters). Alex got to build his own model boat. He did our hearts proud when he chose to decorate it with a Jayhawk theme. It is so gratifying to know all of our brainwashing is working. Rockchalk, Jayhawk!

Unfortunately, most of the race the boat wanted to lay on its side (like in the first picture). For the second race Dad made some adjustments to the sail and it seemed to work better. Either way though, Alex had an awesome time! ScoutMaster Wally would have been proud!

Football Saturday

2008-10-11T20:19:00.001-04:00

There is nothing better on a Saturday in the fall than lots-and-lots of college football games. Alex is interested in the different conferences, rankings, best players, and who "we" want to win. Nathan really likes to reenact the plays before the replay on TV... and even in slow motion. Brittany likes to pretend like she's interested, until she can find a way to sneak out of the room (unless it's a BIG play for KU and Army). Laura loves to watch the circus between the TV, Andy screaming at the TV, and kids reacting to the chaos of the moment. Andy loves to surf the games and get everyone excited...

But it didn't take much to get everyone excited this last Saturday! Texas vs Oklahoma, Kansas vs Colorado, and Army vs Eastern Michigan were ALL on TV and they were ALL only 30 minutes apart from kickoff! Almost six straight hours of pre & post game excitement... add to that, the vaunted home-made Mack Nachos and "live" instant replays by the boys on the living room floor... that equals a great football afternoon. Of course, the girls just smiled and rolled their eyes... and loved the nachos. In the end, all of our teams pulled out victories... as well as seeing great highlights of some amazing upsets... and THAT is the fun of a FOOTBALL SATURDAY.

Belly Shot

2008-10-08T13:18:00.003-04:00

This post is especially for my sweet sister, Kelley, and any others who are curious about my belly size. I am 28 weeks in this shot, or just over 6 months. Enjoy. :)

Alex's teeth

2008-09-14T13:25:00.001-04:00

Alex hadn't lost any teeth in almost one year, now in the last month he has lost three. He calls it his 3/4 window (two on top, one on bottom). The Tooth Fairy is almost broke!

The Ultrasound

2008-09-11T10:41:00.005-04:00

We had an ultrasound at 20 weeks. It lasted 45 minutes. The baby looked great, every finger and every toe was accounted for. At the end came the sex check. This was what we had been waiting for. Okay we're ready. Will we get out the girl clothes or the boy clothes? Ready, Doc. Go ahead. Girl or boy? Let us know. What's that? The baby isn't cooperating? The legs are crossed...and linked at the ankles. Bummer! Needless to say, there would be no reveal at this appointment. No picture either. They were out of printer tape. Double bummer!

At my 24 week appointment my doctor did a quick ultrasound to see if she could tell the sex. Well, she never got the money shot, but at least this time we got a picture. So, here it is...a frontal face shot at 24 weeks. Enjoy. :)

Renaissance Festival

2008-08-31T16:15:00.014-04:00

Andy and I had a yearly tradition of going to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. It started in the Fall of 1995, and continued for a solid 8 years after that. Then came deployments and duty stations that were more than a day's drive home, and we haven't made it to many Festivals since (though my parents and brother always buy us a yearly mug). Well, this year we realized we didn't necessarily have to go to the Kansas City Ren Fest...we could go to one that was quite a bit closer (like here in New York). And that is exactly what we did...

What says Ren Fest more than a giant turkey leg? It was great to watch Alex dig into this, and the fact he is missing his front teeth made it even more entertaining.

We will always make time for a test of strenth. Alex was very proud to have rung the bell after a lesson from Daddy.

The big difference between going to the Ren Fest with kids as opposed to without: we spend a lot more money on rides and carnival games...

...and tatoos...and hats...

And remember the yearly mugs that I told you about? Well, we were just wondering what happened to the one we bought this year. Now we know. It is still sitting on a bench at the Ren Fest. At least we have a picture.

Army Football

2008-08-29T09:40:00.006-04:00

Ashley (Britt's best friend), Britt, Alex and Nathan

One of the unexpected joys of being at West Point has been the Army football games. There is something wonderful about going to the games. You really get lost in the moment (or at least I do...Nate mostly just gets lost in all of his snack options). The kids all sport their Army gear, and we have a really great time. Alex, in particular, loves to watch the games.

We always walk to the games, which is part of the fun. Oh, the anticipation of what lies ahead!

Nathan's First Day of Pre-K

2008-08-25T09:27:00.002-04:00

Nathan started Pre-K this year, and he is so excited to be in the same school as Alex and Brittany. He goes in the afternoons for 2 1/2 hours, and he is really enjoying it. He is lucky enough to have one of his best friends in class with him. It should be a good year.

The Sumners Visit New York!

2008-08-21T10:40:00.023-04:00

Uncle Mark (Andy's oldest brother) and Aunt Patty came to West Point to hang out for a few days. Their daughter, Katie, came along too. They drove from Milwaukee and did the trip in one day (nothing compared to the two driving trips they made to ALASKA!!). They got in late on Thursday night, and were greeted by three very excited children. The excitement turned to insanity as they unloaded their car of all the TOYS they brought with them (and I don't mean one toy for each kid...I mean a whole Army of G.I. Joes....because if one or two would be fun, then certainly six would be better).

On Friday we let the kids play hooky and went to New York City. We took the Staton Island Ferry so we could see the Statue of Liberty. Then we drove to Time Square, because it is the epitome of New York City. But let's not kid ourselves, paramount to Time Square is the huge Toys 'R Us, and Mark and Patty never see our kids without at least one trip to the toy store for a good spoiling. The kids were in heaven!

A ride on the Ferris Wheel with cousin Katie

On Saturday we went go-karting. Super cool! They had one track where you only had to be five or older to drive a car. Awesome! Brittany and Alex had a blast. Brittany started out tentative, but was really whipping around the turns after a few laps. She's pretty sure that she is now qualified to drive a car.

Brittany always has time to smile for the camera.

Alex was a pretty serious driver.

On the previous lap Katie and Alex were behind Daddy and Nathan. Alex told Katie there was NO way she could pass Daddy. Surprise!

Mark and Patty headed home after our go-kart adventure, and Katie stayed a couple extra days. She then took a train to DC to spend some time with a friend. It was great to see everyone!

Brittany and Alex's First Day of School

2008-08-14T08:46:00.003-04:00

The first day of school is always exciting, as is the process that leads up to the first day. Brittany was so excited about back-to-school shopping. She just couldn't wait to pick out a new outfit (sometimes I wonder how she could be related to me). She picked out this cute pink skirt and shirt, and to make it even better, her best friend got the same outfit. How cool is that?

Alex and Brittany had an awesome first day! After school was over we made our traditional back-to-school cupcakes. Yummy! The kids then delivered them to all our neighbors...and of course we saved a few for us.

Notice the missing tooth!

2008-08-13T14:02:00.001-04:00

Alex was super excited to lose his front tooth, hence the crazy smile for all to see. He loves losing teeth because he knows it means money...but with this tooth came the extra cool tricks of drinking through a straw and eating fries without opening your mouth. Awesome!

St. Louis, party 2

2008-08-01T16:31:00.005-04:00

And back to St. Louis to spend a couple days with Grandma and Grandpa. This time we went to the all important Krispy Kreme to have a couple doughnuts for breakfast. (The only thing we have around here is Dunkin Donuts.) We also spent a day at the Magic House, which was a lot of fun. Thanks for everything, Grandma and Grandpa, we had an awesome trip!

The kids' favorite part of the Magic House was the kid-sized city. They had a grocery store, construction site, bank, house and a river to fish in.

Kansas City

2008-07-23T15:48:00.020-04:00

Next stop: Olathe!

Grammy and Pop-Pop's house!

Somehow I always manage to not take too many pictures of Grammy and Pop-Pop. I don't even have one picture of them with the boys. Oops! We did have an awesome week though. :) My sister and her girls came to Olathe from Albuquerque, so we had an awesome Cousins Week together. We had something planned every day, and after it was over I think we both felt like we needed another vacation, but I wouldn't have traded any of it!

Here is a basic rundown of the days:

1. You must have priorities...so the first day we spent in Lawrence!

2. Day #2: Kansas City Zoo with Uncle Dan. Turns out there is a lot of walking at the KC Zoo. Fortunately, Uncle Dan was awesome and gave lots of piggy-back rides. At one point we decided to stop and have a SpongeBob popsicle to cool us off. The idea was better in our heads than in actuality. Turns out the popsicles melted very quickly! Even the adults had melted popsicle running down there arms. That being said...imagine what the 2, 3, and 4 year olds looked like! We were all a mess, but even as we ate it was funny.

3. On the third day I got pampered! Kelley and Mom had a Baby Day for me, complete with cake and games. The kids played balloon games, and I got lots of awesome presents for the new baby. I was totally spoiled! I still owe you guys that thank you note...

4. Jenna's 2nd Birthday! Grammy and Kelley had a party for Jenna at Zonkers (similar to Chuck E. Cheese, but with small rides for the kids). It was a total blast! The adults ended up winning so many tickets (yes, we were as bad as the kids), that the kids got to pick out some pretty cool prizes. Nate's plastic green sword is now the coveted weapon in our neighborhood.

5. Today was supposed to be the Worlds of Fun day...but due to a highly aggressive game of Keep-Away (kids and adults on both teams)...there was a slight mishap. Angie and Kelley had a collision which resulted in a fractured toe (Kelley's poor toe). So, we decided to skip out on the amusement park and instead opted for inflatable slides at Monky Bizness.

6. Day #6: Mom/Grammy takes the day off! We took full advantage of our day together and went to a really cool farm. The kids rode a pony and they fed goats. It was great! Afterwards we went to the overwhelmingly popular T-Rex Cafe.

Day #7: Time to head back to St. Louis for a couple days. We all had lunch together at McDonald's and then we were off. It was so great to see everyone. I miss you all already!

St. Louis, part 1

2008-07-19T11:47:00.010-04:00

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA'S HOUSE!

We spent some time in St. Louis with Grandma and Grandpa, and it was really great to see them! We spent about four days, then drove to Olathe for a week, then back to St. Louis for a few days. Grandma and Grandpa were nice enough to keep our dog, Shelby, for us while we were in KC.

We went to the City Museum while we were there...and it was a HUGE hit! What's not to love about 5 story slides, a ton of metal tunnels to crawl through, big ball pits, and a room full of skating ramps made just for kids to run around on? Turns out it was a TON of fun for the kids...but a bit harder on Mom. Fitting through some of the tunnels was near impossible and I felt a bit old. I am pretty sure the kids were laughing at me, especially when I dropped my flip flop through the hole I just spent 3 minutes getting through. Fortunately, some 19 year old (who probably thought it rediculous I was in the tunnels at all) returned it to me.

Awesome slides!

Just some of the cool things we got to do!

SUMMER TRIP (minus Mr. Mack)

2008-07-17T21:40:00.011-04:00

It's time... Andy goes out to train Cadets "down range" at West Point from now until the 17th of August, so the rest of us will take off and visit our kin-folk on a Midwest whirlwind tour. Laura & the kids will visit St. Louis from 19-23 July, Olathe, Kansas from 23-30 July and then back to St. Louis to launch back to NY on the 1st of August. We'll post lots of fun stuff when we get back... and maybe Andy will post a few pics of cadets training. Our cell phones are ON and our home phone is OFF; but we should also have time to check email & this blog. We'll update you soon!

A Day in the City

2008-07-02T21:09:00.009-04:00

Andy had some time off work, so we decided to spend a day in the City. To add to the adventure, we took the train. It really was a beautiful ride along the Hudson River then into the City. Now for the fun stuff!

First stop: Toys 'R Us! First adventure: a ride on the cool ferris wheel that's inside Toys 'R Us.

Strategic not only because it gets people in the door, but also because (as you spend your 10 minutes loading and unloading) the kids get a wonderful view of all the cool toys they need to go buy! Our impulse buy, though, had nothing to do with the kids. We forgot the camera so Andy bought a SpongeBob Digital Camera while we were there...the rest of the pictures are compliments of that camera. :)

Second stop: M&M World!

Third stop: Natural History Museum! I'd like to say we spent lots of time pointing out all of the interesting facts about the diversity of life, but the truth is we were mostly searching for anything that was in the movie "Night at the Museum."

My favorite part, as always, was simply walking through the City and experiencing the rush. You have to love New York City!

Happy Birthday Grammy!

2008-06-27T11:30:00.007-04:00

My parents came to visit from Kansas for a few days. It was so wonderful to have them here! We were lucky enough to have my mom here on her birthday, so we had a little fiesta. We had enchiladas, fajitas, all the fixin's and homemade salsa. Then, for entertainment, Brittany made a pinata. We took it outside and the kids had a ball.

Everyone took a whack (even Grammy and Nate...though there are no pictures to proove it)...

But it was ultimately Alex who broke it open!

The kids swarmed the candy and collected it...as if it wasn't the same candy that has been sitting in our house since Halloween. I guess seeing it fall out of a pinata makes it exciting again.

After the pinata we came back inside for cake and ice-cream. Happy Birthday, Grammy! We are so glad we got to spend it with you!

Philadelphia

2008-06-11T15:42:00.011-04:00

Andy had a conference to speak at in Philadelphia, so the kids and I decided to join him and make a little family vacation out of it. We stayed in a hotel across the street from Sesame Place, and the kids could hardly contain their excitement just waiting to go there. We spent one day in Philadelphia seeing the sights. We waited in line to see the Liberty Bell, so that we could literally stand in front of it for two seconds. It was our own fault though, we had to leave to take a tour of the city on the Ducks...and the Mack family always believes in cutting it close! The Duck tour of the city was fun, but Nate was a little scared as we approached the Delaware River at full speed. I think he believed Daddy when he said the Duck would go under water (but only for a second). Once we survived the initial plunge, Nate was okay. :)

My favorite part of the city was having a Philly Cheesesteak for lunch! Yum!

Sesame Place was the highlight of our trip. We stayed all day and had a great time. It is both a water park and amusement park, so that explains our funky attire. All the kids' favorite ride was the roller coaster...and the water slides...or the teacups...wait, maybe the pool...

We got to have dinner with the Sesame Street Characters, and that was awesome. The characters came to the tables to visit, which the kids loved. Alex even shared some of his cookie with Cookie Monster (and I was quite shocked when Cookie Monster actually took it).

This is probably obvious, but we forgot our camera for most of our adventures except Sesame Place. So, here are a few more pictures of that day... :)

Better now than never...

2008-06-09T17:57:00.005-04:00

We think this speaks for itself... and the due date is the 30th of December.

God bless us all & may we all be blessed by life, liberty and our pursuits for happiness.

Kelley's Visit

2008-05-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Kelley (my sister) and her family came to spend some time with us. Her husband, Frank, had a class in Washington DC for a week, so Kelley and the girls stayed with us for some much needed sister/cousin bonding time. It was great having them here. Zoe is three now, and she enjoyed being the center of attention. Brittany, Alex and Nate loved having her in the house, and Zoe could always get them laughing. Her version of "Old McDonald had a Farm" was a real crowd pleaser. (It went something like "Old McDonald had some pants, oy hee, oy hee, oy hee.") Jenna is almost two now and is as cute as they come. It was funny to see Brittany picking her up and carrying her around like a little Mom. All the cousins really enjoyed each other. What a blessing!

Kelley and I took a day to ourselves towards the end of the week to go to the City. Andy and Frank stayed home with the kids, and Kelley and I snuck away for the entire day. We took the train into the City, then walked everywhere from there. We were lucky to have a beautiful day. The weather was perfect. We grabbed some pizza for lunch, then we went to see "Grease" on Broadway. Except for the 13 year old girl who sat next to us (who kept looking at us like we had two heads), it was an awesome date. :) After the show we walked to Central Park, then we grabbed some dinner and headed home. It felt like such a luxury to spend the day with just her and I.

Brittany's First Communion

2008-05-04T17:21:00.009-04:00

Brittany had her First Communion on May 4th. Doesn't she look beautiful? :)
Here she is at Trophy Point for the photo op.

Grammy came to visit so she could be a part of this special weekend. It was wonderful to have her here! It woudn't have been as special without her.

Brittany was so excited to get dressed up, she even woke up early so I could curl her hair. She felt like a Princess. Much to Andy's surprise I let her wear her dress ALL day. At the end of the day she had a little bit of chocolate ice-cream, dirt and a grass stain on her dress. Maybe Andy was right after all...

Race Day!

2008-04-26T13:52:00.001-04:00

The West Point Elementary School had a Spring Race Day to get the kids excited about exercise. It was funny to see the difference between the way Alex and Brittany ran the race. Alex was focused...blinders on...eye on the prize...he ran his heart out (and won his heat...yay!). Brittany started out focused, but then she heard someone yell her name...so she immediately looked around for someone she knew...smiled...waved and giggled. It was a true testament to their levels of competitiveness.

Father Daughter Hoedown

2008-04-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite memories growing up was going to the Father/Daughter Hoedown with my dad. So, needless to say, I was super excited when Brittany got to go to her first Brownie Hoedown with Daddy. If I had been better prepared Brittany would have had cowboy boots and a cowboy hat...but since most of you know me (and I am a bit lazy) I was just happy that we managed to find a bandana. ;) Dad and Britt had a great time, and Brittany even informed me that Daddy is a pretty good dancer.

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, GO KU!

2008-04-08T02:30:00.000-04:00

WHAT A GAME! We would not do justice to our DEEP emotions for Jayhawk Basketball without posting something about their National Championship win... just remember, Alex's middle name is Lawrence for a reason. During the game we laughed, we cried... it became a part of us. Here is a pic of Nathan & Alex prior to game with their signs they made... it was a 9:21 pm tip off, so we had them in jammies & ready for bed. If you're a faithful, you've probably heard the continuation of the Rock Chalk rap... if not, you can check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzX9nZS2L_I

the National Aquarium in Baltimore

2008-03-23T16:59:00.000-04:00

On the way home from spring break, we stopped off in Baltimore at the National Aquarium. We visited the aquarium a couple of years ago and wanted to check it out again. It was a great time and they keep adding new things every year. We saw all of the exhibits to include the new "Down Under" Aussie exhibit and the Dolphin Show. Brittany liked the pretty fish & the boys loved the sharks... go figure. If you're near Baltimore, stop off in Inner-Harbour and check it out.

Spring Break part 2 - Monuments

2008-03-19T15:01:00.000-04:00

We took time to get out some energy and walk from the museums out onto the National Mall. We saw the Capital (and all 25 protesters... more media showed up than anti-war demonstrators), then headed a mile down to the Washington Monument. It was great to run and play on the Mall and see the sights on the way. Once we reached the hill that it is on, we could see the White House and both Jefferson & Lincoln Memorials. But what caught our eye next was the World War II Memorial, a fairly recent addition between the Washington Monument & Lincoln Memorial. We hiked the extra half mile and found one of the most spectacular monuments of all, well worth the walk. All in all, the kids ran & played while we got to enjoy some of our national treasures... again, pretty cool.

Spring Break part 1 - the Smithsonian

2008-03-17T16:43:00.000-04:00

We took a few days leave and went to Washington D.C. for Spring Break. We stayed downtown at Fort McNair, right near the heart of everything. We didn't have time to visit all 19 Smithsonian locations around the area, but we did get to see the Air & Space and Natural History museums. Exhibit highlights included seeing a moon lander spacecraft, the first Star Wars robots, the original Kermit the Frog, a sculptured rock from Easter Island (that the kids liked to mimic), and LOTS of dinosaurs. Other exhibits that the kids enjoyed that are not shown included the Spirit of St.Louis (and all the other "cool, old airplanes"), a moon rock you can touch, costumes from the Wizard of Oz, and the best part... they opened up a McDonalds inside the Air & Space Museum! Well, it really is terrific if you're a kid who is hungry for lunch in the middle of checking out spaceships and dinosaurs. Pretty cool!

Alex's Basketball Team

2008-03-01T09:59:00.000-05:00

This was the first year that Alex got to play basketball, and he had so much fun! The league is made up of 5 & 6 year olds, so the kids have little understanding of the game. They dribble once, run a few steps, dribble again, run again, and so on. It is always entertaining to watch them. There was one game where Alex had a buzzer beater in the last second of the game. You should have seen the kid jump up and down. He was so excited. Of course, no score is kept so it's not like the basket mattered, but you would have thought they won the championship game. It was so cute.

P.S. There are coaches of this team, but they are in the Witness Protection Program so we couldn't show you their faces (...or we accidentally cut them off in the picture...your choice).

Andy's Promotion

2008-02-29T19:37:00.002-05:00

Andy pinned on the rank of Major on 29 February. His parents were able to fly in for almost a week, so they got to see the ceremony & some time to spoil their grandkids. It was a short event and we had a reception for his department and a few friends at Washington Hall where he works. He was pinned by his family and his supervisor. Not many pics turned out, but here's one of LTC Meyer saying a few words before he was pinned. Also, here's one of Andy thanking his family after being sworn in to office.

The Boys Weekend at Home

2008-02-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

I have no pictures to verify what actually happened this weekend while Brittany and I were in Albuquerque. There was some mention of a secret Boys Club. I am pretty sure this Boys Club involved eating sugar cereal every morning, not making your bed, and watching select scenes from Star Wars. There were some other secret types of things going on...I don't think I'm getting the whole story. I'll have to keep working on the little one...I'm pretty sure I can get it out of him. :)

Girls Weekend in Albuquerque

2008-02-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

Brittany and I had our first girls trip, and we had so much fun! We went to Albuquerque for the weekend to visit my sister and her family. My parents drove from Kansas City to be there that same weekend, so we were doubly lucky! Brittany was so excited to see everyone. The three girl cousins were so cute and happy together. We had an awesome weekend! We celebrated Pop-Pop's birthday on Saturday, and Kelley made an awesome german chocolate cake from scratch. Yum! We went on a hike by the Rio Grande, grilled out, and just enjoyed all being together.

Now, I must share my favorite memory. Sunday night we decided to make Smores for dessert. Frank made a fire and the kids were so excited (Zoe had literally been talking about chocolate marshmallows all weekend). However, when we went to get the ingredients, the only thing Kelley could find was chocolate and a bag of marshmallows that was hard as a brick. Not wanting to disappoint the kids, we tried to roast the marshmallows anyway...turns out they don't plump when you cook them! So, Kelley got a bag of mini-marshmallows for us to roast. You should have seen us trying to skewer those! They broke in half the second you tried to push them down the stick. To add to the craziness, we had to use Honey Graham Life Cereal for the graham crackers. I wish we had taken a picture of our final product. It was a mess, and not very tasty, but we sure had fun putting it together!

The Martha Stewart Show

2008-02-06T12:27:00.000-05:00

My friend got four tickets to The Martha Stewart Show, so we went to the City and saw Martha Stewart! They were having a pajama party show, so we all wore our pajamas and fuzzy slippers. We walked the streets in our p.j.s and had a little breakfast at a cafe! We got very few comments...but we felt silly anyway! At the show we got a free pair of pajamas ($142 pajamas!) and a Cocktail Cookbook (this probably won't get used, but it will always make me smile). The show aired on Monday, February 11th, and there were a few times you could see us in the audience. It was a ton of fun!

Brittany Turns Eight!

2008-02-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

Brittany had two of her best friends over to spend the night for her first slumber party. She planned it with Ashley (on the left) for three weeks. They were so excited it was all they could talk about! Finally the night came...and it was a huge success. They made and decorated cupcakes, went to McDonald's, opened presents, and watched a movie. It was so cute! Then they all pitched their sleeping bags in the playroom and went to sleep. Promptly after Brittany's friends left the next morning, Alex started talking about his slumber party he is going to have for HIS next birthday. It is only nine months away...you can never be too prepared. ;)

Dan & Angie Visit

2008-01-27T11:50:00.003-05:00

Dan and Angie came to New York to visit us! It was so great to see them! We spent Friday night here at West Point and gave them a tour of the area. Saturday we went into the City, where we met up with Bob, Lorraine and Nick. We saw the Statue of Liberty, walked down Wall Street, had a slice of New York pizza, rode the Subway to Time Square, and went to the Hershey's Store. It was a blast! The kids were so excited to see them, and so were we!

Nathan Turns Four!

2008-01-06T11:50:00.000-05:00

Nathan turned four this year, and he had a great birthday. Much to his delight, we had a bowling party for him. He invited his neighborhood friends. He really enjoyed being King for the day! Nathan always loves attention. The kids bowled, ate pizza, and had cupcakes. It was a fun party.

The 50th Anniversary

2007-12-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

After Christmas in Olathe we headed to St. Louis for another big celebration. Andy's parents were celebrating their 50th Anniversary! All of the brothers were in town for the occasion, and it was wonderful for all of us to be together. A lot of family and friends were there too, and it was a great party.

Kansas Christmas

2007-12-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

We took advantage of the holiday leave period and launched off on a 10 day whirlwind holiday tour of the mid-west…first stop, to visit Grammy & Pop-Pop for Christmas in Olathe, KS. The kids had a great time playing with all of the toys in their basement...and Pop-Pop had a great time feeding the kids pie with extra whipped cream (usually three times a day). Brittany and Pop-Pop finished two pumpkin pies in three days! Yikes!

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was so great to spend the holidays in Olathe. We loved being with Grammy and Pop-Pop. We were also fortunate enough to meet up with Dave, Jen and Ed for dinner and drinks. It is always great to catch up with our friends. Our last night in town, we spent the evening with Dan and Angie (who had just returned from Angie's folks). We did yet another gift exchange, and it felt like Christmas all over again. We are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Let it snow!

2007-12-16T19:05:00.000-05:00

We have had about 10 inches of snow over the last couple days. The kids are in heaven! They have been introduced to sledding and snowball fights, and they have responded to each with great enthusiasm. Not as much fun, however, is the 30 minutes of prep time just to walk out the front door. Also, a note to parents who are new to the cold: when you tell your kids to put snowpants on, make sure they keep their own pants on underneath. This will save them the embarassment of taking their snowpants off at their friends house with nothing on but underwear. :)

Army Football with our cousins

2007-11-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

We invited our cousins (Bob, Lorraine, Lauren and Nick) to West Point to enjoy the last home football game of the season. There was one major difference between this game and the last one...the weather! We were prepared though: we had sweatshirts, winter coats, hats and gloves...what we lacked were three kids willing to keep them on and zippered. :) We had an awesome time at the game, but I think we had as much fun looking at the fans as we did watching the football game (go globeheads!). Nathan was also quite entertaining, compliments of the 2 tubs of popcorn Bobby bought. Turns out he is a popcorn eating machine (we're blaming this on the Peterson genes). After the game we came back to the house for some chili. It was so great spending the day with the Ankoskos. :)

Alex's Birthday

2007-11-08T16:58:00.000-05:00

The countdown started weeks ago...every morning Alex would check his calander to see how many days were left until Nov. 8th. The wait was agonizing! But finally, the magical day arrived. There were fireworks, clowns, ponies and cake. Well, there was at least cake. :) We celebrated at home on Thursday night, then had a party with his friends on Saturday. (Cake two times, how cool is that?) Alex is now officially six! Wow!

Halloween

2007-10-31T11:27:00.000-04:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
What a fun day! There are so many families in our neighborhood that it felt more like one big block party than Halloween (except for the fact that everyone was in costumes, of course). The Army Pep Band even came around the neighborhood in the back of a truck, playing the Army fight song and throwing out candy. It was great! After that we went around the neighborhhod trick-or-treating for about 45 minutes. I'm not sure which is better, dressing up in a really cool costume or getting tons of candy, but either way it makes for a happy night. :)

Jersey

2007-10-27T09:26:00.000-04:00

We went to New Jersey for the weekend to hang out with our cool cousins. Our cousin, Nick, got confirmed on Saturday, and afterwards there was an Open House. The kids had a blast playing in the ultra-cool basement (imagine drums, foosball, a pool table, remote control cars and tons of toys all in one place...oh, and to top it off, a door you can close to keep out all the racket). Yes, we all need one of these basements. On Sunday we went to a local farm to pick a pumpkin and go on a hayride. We had a lot of fun, and it was great hanging out with the Jersey crew.

Niagara Falls

2007-10-20T21:58:00.000-04:00

The kids and I met my mom in Buffalo for a weekend get-away. We had so much fun! On Saturday we drove to Canada to see Niagara Falls. It was beautiful! We took the "Journey Behind the Falls" tour and got to see the waterfall up close. We all looked great in our cute, yellow raincoats! Poor Nate wasn't too sure about it though. I should (more accurately) say "Poor Mom", since his fear meant I had to hold him the entire time. :) We saw a couple beautiful rainbows which especially excited Brittany.

After the falls we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The burgers were great, but my favorite food purchase of the day was definitely the chocolate covered strawberries at the Hershey store. Thank you, Mom! You are the best! I even forgive you for laughing at my answer to the border authority when he asked me what was at Niagara Falls. In my defense, though, it turns out I was right. It was, in fact, a really big waterfall. :)

Army Football

2007-09-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to their first Army football game. The kids were SO excited to go. Alex couldn't wait to see the football players...Britt couldn't wait to wear her cute cheerleading outfit. We stayed for the entire game; surprisingly, the kids didn't even want to think about leaving early. Nate did manage a nap in the 3rd quarter though (which benefitted us all).