Wade – Toadfrogs & Elephants

17 Nov

Birthday Boy

Ben always gets to celebrate a couple of times for his birthday – once at home and once on the road. Today was the day we celebrated at home.

The plan was donuts for breakfast. I had planned to get up and go to Dunkin. Alex had taken orders the night before and told me he was going to walk down to pick them up, but I didn’t quite believe him. I knew it was going to be early, cold, and dark. Imagine my surprise when I got downstairs this morning and there was Alex sitting at the table, drinking hot chocolate (our favorite is from Dunkin), with a box of donuts.

We had candles in donuts and then Ben chose a present to open. He chose the biggest and it was the Gabby Dollhouse he has been hoping and hoping to get. I put it together and he and Kaitlyn played until the bus came.

Ben and I had a sushi lunch (his favorite) and then he picked Chick-fil-a with milkshakes for dinner. His cake was paw patrol but we did presents first, at his request. He had a fabulous birthday and he can’t wait to celebrate again in KY.

13 Nov

Bell Ringer

Teague joined the bell choir this year, but it is a very small bell choir. They started the year with three ringers, but at some point the number dropped down to two. They kept practicing and hoping to recruit more kids. Sadly that hasn’t happened. Wade has pitched in to practice with them and today they had their first performance. Teague did a great job and it was fun to see him up front!

31 Oct

Halloween Night

Halloween is always a little more tricky when it’s on a school night, but the kids were up to the challenge. We started the night at one of my friend’s houses for a little party (pizza, bouncy house, etc). The best part is she lives on South St – THE Street for trick or treating. The street is closed down and people come from all over. There is a definite party atmosphere with music, glow sticks, and candy – lots of candy. Alex joined us for dinner but headed home afterwards to watch an outdoor movie with friends. We met up with some of Kaitlyn’s friends and proceeded up and down the street.

Side note: Ben’s costume was the best! Having him in a costume with lights made it so easy to keep up with him! I’m going to try to push a light up costume of some kind next year too!

30 Oct

Trunk or Treat

Today was the Trunk or Treat at our church. We had a whirlwind day full of activities, so Wade and Ben went first in the minitruck (our “trunk”). I arrived with the other kids and then we got to the candy portion of the afternoon. Ben loved running wild, Alex loved scaring little kids in the “Scary Hallway,” and the other two loved traditional candy acquiring.

24 Oct

Favorite Fall Activity

Wade spent the weekend working on leaf pickup. That of course means that the kids spent the weekend outside playing in the leaves.

15 Oct

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin Carving Party time! If you are keeping track, tonight was our 16th party. I didn’t actually count the number of people attending, but we definitely had a lot of new faces and people who have been coming since we started the party here in the beginning. We were having so much fun that we were a little slow getting to the carving of the pumpkins, which means we were also late getting to the group picture. This is the first year in many years we have taken the picture in full dark.

And always the group photo:

30 Sep

The Yard Crew

Wade has been slowly working on the wood chips/mulch left from having our big tree cut. He took today off and had a large list of things he was trying to get done. One item on the list was to get the rest of the yard cleanup done. He was still working on it when the kids came home and they quickly jumped in to help.

16 Sep

Back To School

Today was our yearly Back to School Picnic for the two elementary schools. I’m on the PTG board so I spent most of the day helping organize and most of the evening manning the table, but it was a lot of fun! I love seeing everyone get together and have a great time.

06 Sep

Dinner Shenanigans

Wade decided to make dinner a little more interesting tonight. He was trying to teach the kids how to balance a spoon on their nose and it spiraled from there. (Kaitlyn really missed out by being at cheer practice.)

06 Aug

Fixer Upper

Ben was gifted a new car by one of my friends.. He was so exited when we pulled it out of my van. Then it didn’t run exactly as it should. Of course, Wade immediately began trouble shooting. He should have it fixed in no time at all and I’m so thankful he can fix almost anything.

30 Jul

S’More Please

Tonight was the perfect night for some outside fun, roasting marshmallows, and eating of s’mores.

09 Jul

Yearly Treat

About once a year, Wade details my car for me. This year he went above and beyond. He spent the entire day detailing both of our cars and now I’m a little afraid to let the kids anywhere near my car. I’m not sure what to do about the fact that we are leaving for Kentucky next week…

07 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 7

For our final day at the Cape, we decided to head back to our favorite beach.

06 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 6

Today we did it all – hiking, boating, and beaching.

Hiking:

Boating:

The beach:

05 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 5

After such a great beach day yesterday, we decided to try a new beach today. We had a major fail. The weather report said it was going to be a great day, but… It was cold, cloudy, and windy. We tried, we stayed, and then we eventually packed it in.

After showering and evaluating our options, we decided bowling and dinner out might be our best course of action. Everyone had a great night!

04 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 4

Wade had arranged for the kids to participate in an obstacle course on the beach this morning. The youngest three loved it. Alex had to be challenged (an option at the end of the races) to go through the race, but he was a good sport and did. Mom and Dad were challenged and ran it too.

03 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 3

We knew today was going to be amazing in terms of weather so we planned a beach day. The parking lot for the beach was tiny but the beach itself was amazing. The big boys especially loved the bridge they could use to jump into the water during high tide.

02 Jul

Cape Code – Day 2

Today was our first full day in Cape Cod and Kaitlyn’s birthday. We started the day with donuts and presents. Then we went on an awesome hike and took a long drive. Every house has the most gorgeous hydrangeas, which I love. 90 percent of them are blue (although I love every color). Kaitlyn and Ben fell asleep on the drive so Wade made it a little longer than we had planned. We stopped at a local general store and everybody had fun doing a little shopping.

We got home and let Kaitlyn open most of her presents. (Then of course she spent most of the afternoon playing with her presents.) Before dinner, she and I ran out so that she could pick her cake. She chose the most delicious chocolate bomb cake. I hope I can find something similar for my birthday next year. It was amazing!

01 Jul

Cape Cod – Day 1

When Wade and I were planning our vacation this year, we decided to try Cape Cod. We almost feel a little silly that we live so close and have never been. The good news is that everyone and their brother has recommendations on what to do, where to eat, and what not to miss. We were a little late making plans, so we knew our house was going to be a little small, but no worries.

Wade had taken off the entire week, so we have been in vacation mode for a while. We couldn’t get into our house till 4 pm and it was only a couple hour drive. This felt like a wonderful luxury after our normal vacation drives. We didn’t even start packing till this morning. The kids were anxious to go and we finally got on the road.

We arrived in plenty of time and enjoyed driving around. We easily found our house, unpacked, grabbed a yummy dinner, and then checked out a local beach for an evening walk, and then some fabulous fireworks on the beach.

24 Jun

Reading, Lake, Baseball

We started the day with some reading.

Then we headed to the lake. (Alex stayed home. Firstly because he didn’t apply sunscreen very well on his first trip. Secondly because he couldn’t find a friend to come with him.) Kaitlyn did bring a friend and had a great time.

We ended the night with a baseball game – a first for all of the kids. We had a blast at the Woo Sox and Ben was completely mesmerized by the fireworks (which might have been his first?!?)

18 Jun

Project Time

Kaitlyn had a special request for Daddy. Wade was only too happy to agree. They have been working hard to build a lemonade stand. (Do you see how she is dressed? Can you believe it is necessary in the middle of June? The weather has been crazy this year.)

11 Jun

Grill Lessons

We were having hotdogs on the back deck tonight and Wade decided it was a great night to teach Alex some more life lessons. Tonight Alex was in charge of the grilling. (I think they both loved it.)

09 Jun

Last Practice

Tonight was Kaitlyn’s last soccer practice. Her coach decided to make it special and incorporated the pizza party and parent game into the hour. Thankfully Wade had worked from home and was happy to join in the game. I came along to take pictures!

05 Jun

A Backyard Evening

We decided to grill hotdogs for dinner and then ended up spending the entire evening outside. The kids ran around, Wade and I sat and talked. It was perfect. Kaitlyn decided to dig out her bow and arrow and do some practicing before dinner. Then Alex picked it up after dinner – that’s what started the battle. Wade and I got such a kick out of watching the battle that followed. Teague brought his nerf bow down and the kids played forever. The little kids were content retrieving arrows and chasing the big kids. (No one ended up in tears – a miracle.) Why can’t every night be like this?

04 Jun

Action Packed Day

Today started early with FunFair setup. My awesome family started the day with me for setup at 8 am and was there through cleanup at 4 pm. (The actual event was 10-3.) Alex was the true rockstar because he was also there last night from 3-6 to help with setup. Wade and Alex were on volunteer duty all day. Kaitlyn ran wild with her friends and Teague was in charge of Ben. I heard later that Teague ate his weight in cotton candy – definitely an impressive feat.

As if that wouldn’t have been enough for one day, we also had plans to go to Monster Truck Jam! Wade and I bought tickets not realizing it was the same night as FunFair. We rushed out a little early from cleanup, cleanup the best we could, and met some friends for dinner before racing to the stadium. We had a great time, but I made a major miscalculation and didn’t bring warm enough clothes for everyone. Kaitlyn and I ended up with Monster Jam branded clothing out of it. The big kids were ho-hum with the night but the little kids loved it!

Alex was kind enough to recreate one of the pictures I remembered from his first Monster Jam experiences in 2012. Here’s a comparison. (Note he’s wearing the same headphones – a happy accident.)

29 May

A New Big Screen

Wade decided to up our outdoor movie game this year. He recently bought a new projector so he decided we needed a new setup for our projector too. He and Teague spent the afternoon building a stand for the screen and then the big boys invited friends over for a movie. (Those boys ate an entire tubs worth of candy – which normally lasts several movies – impressive!)

25 May

One Done

Ben had his last day of school today:

Every year Ben’s preschool holds a graduation ceremony for all the kids that attend – whether they are returning next year or not. It is usually held at the Common, the families bring picnics, and sometimes there is music and bubbles. Tonight the location was different, but we had all the rest.

23 May

Evening Truck Ride

The kids love an evening truck ride almost as much as a ride in the back of the tractor. It doesn’t hurt that Wade loves driving the kids around too!

18 May

Field Trip

After a few years of no field trips, the schools are cramming a bunch of field trips all together. The kids are loving it but it makes for a hectic spring. Wade was available to chaperone the 5th grade field trip to Boston for the Freedom Trail. Teague was so excited to have his Dad tag along. He was up insanely early this morning packing his lunch and getting ready for the day. Wade took a few pictures along the way and one of my friends snapped a picture of Wade and Teague having lunch.

14 May

Farmer Brown

The kids have been asking for weeks and today we finally planted our garden. We are mostly sticking with things we have had success with in the past, but we are trying a few new things too. The list includes – tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, strawberries, pumpkins, corn, and flowers.

09 May

Lax Practice

I was pleasantly surprised to look out the kitchen window and see everybody practicing lacrosse together. Even Ben was trying to figure it out.

07 May

Not The Best Plan

Weeks ago we promised the kids a night of putt putt. The afternoon wasn’t too bad – the sun was out and the wind had died down. Kaitlyn had been begging for putt putt and ice cream and we agreed. Then we arrived at our destination. It was freezing. The sun was gone and the wind was strong. Most of us thankfully had jackets – some with hoods. Kaitlyn and I even had gloves. The only upside is no one else was playing so we didn’t have to worry that our group was too big or slow or that Ben was running wild all over the course. We also convince the kids that hot chocolate and donuts might be a better treat afterwards than ice cream!

30 Apr

Saturday Chores

Wade had a load of mulch delivered while we were all gone for break week. Some other chores/projects took longer than expected so the mulch sat untouched. Today was a gorgeous day and he was determined to get the pile off the driveway. Teague even offered up his services (probably in hopes of getting to drive the tractor), but help is help.

27 Apr

Monkey Time

The kids have loved their new swing set. Ben goes out to play all of the time – even by himself. Kaitlyn swings all of the time and is now attempting to learn how to cross the monkey bars.

01 Apr

Fixing The Wall

The kids are pretty much guaranteed to be outside if Wade is. Today Wade was determined to work on our rock wall. The town plows the sidewalks when it snows and the plow always hits our wall and pulls out rocks. Every spring we spend time rebuilding the wall.

20 Mar

New Addition

When we moved into our house, the barn had a tetherball pole. It’s been a couple of years, so we finally decided to put it to use. Wade bought a ball and finally dug a hole. The kids loved having a new game in the yard and I loved having everyone outside.