Memories

We did it:) I got to take my kids to Rehoboth Beach... We walked the boardwalk and saw the old places my family used to rent, we saw the spot where Eric and Dean sang Mick Jagger songs and tried to collect money, we saw our "beach wiffleball" spot, and I spent the day telling Brendan and the kids stories of us at the beach over the years. My mom told a few, and they all seemed to start with, "When we lost..." Apparently, at one point or another all of us were "lost" at the beach. She also told Brendan the story about how Pappy lectured the adults with rules, and one was, "No strangers in pool." Oops... Ashley and I thought we were doing good sneaking those boys in:)

The boardwalk has hardly changed- except there is now a wall of sand and grass right up against it to help with erosion. We went to funland and the rides were so much fun~ and the best part was it was super cheap! We spent $20 and rode every ride multiple times. Fun, fun:)

We also ate at Grotto's Pizza. This used to be the BEST pizza ever. Our family has been known to drive to Delewhere to get a pie! I will say, I was a bit disappointed- the place was dirty, the waitress was not friendly, and the pizza wasn't as good as I remembered. I still raved about it though... Brendan says I'll always think that it's the best pizza on the face of the earth because of the memories I have associated with it. I think he's right:)

Jenna Benna's Graduation:)

Most of you know that my youngest brother, Eric, dates Jenna... Over the years, she has become part of our family and we all think the world of her. The whole family ventured down to JMU for her graduation ceremony and party. We were nervous about how the kids were going to do, but they were so good. The ceremony wasn't too long, and the party was outside, so the kids were able to run wild:)

Jenna made us feel so special- She even gave me a Mother's Day card on her graduation- she's always the most thoughtful person. I felt like a local celebrity. We were walking to Jenna's apartment- and before we even got there, the neighbors stopped us and were so excited to meet Chris and Addison:) They knew all about them:)

And, of course, our family had to represent at a college keg celbration:) I don't know which was funnier... when Brendan was at the keg getting a beer and a JMU grad struck up conversation by saying, "So, whose Dad are you?" Ha! Or, when Todd decided he could hang with the college kids and entered the beer pong tournament with Eric. I think this picture was just after he yelled out, "What do you think about that, BITCH." Let's just say, he can't hang like he used to... Sara was a good sport though and took care of him as he yakked all the way home.

On the way home, Chris entertained us as usual. He had all kinds of questions about college life...

Chris~ "Hey Daddy, do we have to go to bed when we get home?"

Brendan~ "Yeah, but we can play outside for a little bit first."

Chris~ "Yay. Hey Dad, I know what game we can play... Do we have any ping pong balls?"

I about died laughing:)

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

We're so ready for these April Showers to be long gone... Last week, we were so sick of the rain, we put on our rain boots and headed out to start our park hopping- We were going to go regardless of the weather!!! It was drizzling when we started outside, and the kids had so much fun playing in the puddles~ but it ended up being a beautiful night. There's nothing I like better than nice weather and playing outside:)

I always remember my mom saying that she loved seeing little kids legs at he start of summer- I thought she was strange- but now I agree- it's the cutest thing:) I totally get it:)

Mother's Day Tea

Last week, Chris's school hosted a Mother's Day Tea- It was soooo sweet. They made invitations for the moms, put on a little performance of songs, presented us with a flower, and then we had a sweet little tea party with the kids. My mom watched Addison, so it was really nice to have some special time with Chris. He was such a perfect little gentleman and quite the date. Don't ya love how he drank his tea with his pinky up in the air in true Fancy Nancy fashion. We often have pretend tea parties at home, and my mom told him that's how you are supposed to drink tea:)

Blog Hiatus...

Slacker... I know, I know! Things have been crazy here, and I feel like I haven't had a minute to update the slog~ but we've been having so much fun and doing so many fun things, that I promise to update when we return. Tomorrow, we're headed up to Bethany Beach with Todd, Sarah, all four kids, and Nona and Papa... should be interesting- and definatly eventful:) I couldn't be more excited for this trip. Do any of you have a bucket list~ you know, those things you want to do before you die? Sounds horrible, but tomorrow I'm getting to check one of those things off! Before we switched to going to the Outer Banks, we always went to Rehoboth Beach in DE. The "beach week" with my family is my absolute favorite week of the year. It always has been and always will be, and I have so many wonderful memories of our different trips. Tomorrow, I'm getting to take my kids to Funland, the boardwalk, and Grotto's Pizza! I've wanted to do this since... well, before we even had the kids, and I'm finally getting to- on Mother's Day:) So, what's on your bucket list- I have sooooo many things- I need to get working on them... Here are just a few:

Go to both Hawaii and Ireland with Brendan
Go to the Kentucky Derby with the Ya-Ya's and wear big hats and drink mint juleps
Convince the Ya-Ya's and have all of us get the "freckle" tatoo
See George Strait in concert- for the millionth time
Drive on the Autobahn in Germany
Run a half marathon
Dance on a bar- can you believe I've never done this!?!
Eat at Paula Deen's Restauraunt

Oh, I could go on and on... but I better head to bed!
And- I also want to wish all of you wonderful mommys out there- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

The drive is worth it:)

The Apple Blossom Parade on Friday night is always a "firetruck" parade. It's the "World's largest firetruck parade"- or so the sign said. There are also some marching bands that are in it, and the coolest thing is there are always some random people that are cool to see- Or, I guess "cool" to people like me that love celebrities and read US Weekly the second it arrives in my mailbox:)

Here is Bo Bice from American Idol. I'm sure he was thinking, "How did I go from American Idol to riding on a firetruck in Winchester, VA. Nonetheless, he made my night!

Erik Estrada from Chips... Averey had no clue who he was. I know that Chips was a police show and that's about it. And Jenny wants this picture... Hmmmm, could we be showing our age?

Sweet Katie. This is Jenny's neice and Chris's crush. She has been going to the beach with us for the past few years, and Chris is so enthralled by her. He was so cute... When we got in the car, he asked when can we see Katie again. He then said she is prettier than Sleeping Beauty. For those of you that don't know... Sleeping Beauty is his absolute favorite- Chris turns red when you mention her, so this shows how much he loves Katie.

Need I say more?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T... The one and only Joe Jacoby. This alone was worth the trip. GO SKINS!

Apple Blossom '09

On Friday night, we ventured out to Winchester for the Apple Blossom Parade. Chris and I have done this every year with Brad and Jenny, so we couldn't let our tradition die... It's one of my favorite nights of the year! This is the first time Brendan has been able to join us. We thought we were going to sit in the rain and in nasty weather, but the weather ended up being bee-you-tif-ful!!! If you've never been to Apple Blossom, I highly suggest it... it's one of those "feel good" events...

Part of the gang... We are also joined by Jenny's family- they have the "in" and get us great seats!

My sweet Christopher:) Oh how I love this child!

Addie... On top of all the firetrucks were the winners of local beauty pagents. Addison was so excited because she thought they were all princesses- and they all made a big deal over her:)

Averey Lee... I still can't believe he is in high school. He is such a sweet boy and always takes time out to spend with my kids. This year, I even talked Tracey into letting him skip school on Friday. Not to worry- he gets straight A's, plays sports year round, and has the best head on his shoulders. He's running for FBLA President (as a Freshman) next week, so PLEASE e-mail me with any and all speech ideas!

We were out really late- nothing like a 3 1/2 hour parade... and the night ended so sweet. We dropped Averey off- and Chris said, "I sure do love him. That's why he does sooo many things with me."