Boo to all of you!

Another great Halloween in the bag. We love dressing up, although Lee said he just couldn't get it together. I recycled my 70's costume, while Sydney (50's girl), Josie (soccer zombie) & Griffin (pirate) got in to the spirit - although Griffin, as I predicted made it about 15 minutes in his costume. Griffin decided handing out the candy was way more fun, although he managed to muster up energy towards the end of the night & went out trick-or-treating with Josie as a "3 year old ready for bed". Celebration East Village was in full force tonight. The kids are sorting the candy which is by far way more important than consuming it!

Happy Halloween from Griffin

We started out today's festivities watching Griffin & his classmates parade in front of the school & sing for the parents. So adorable. It has been awhile since we've had a child in this age group, so it was fun to see all the little kids. I have included a picture from Josie's 1st Montessori Halloween parade (2004- she was "Josie" from the pussycats!). Surprisingly, he did put on his costume. Stay tuned for more pictures from the night...

Help in the Kitchen

When the fall weather comes & it gets cooler (haha), I always want to bake. Today, I had my assistant Griffin with me & we made chocolate pumpkin cupcakes (see above) & Lee's fav. pumpkin bread. I haven't tried to end products yet, but I have the "thumbs up" from Griffin.

...and another surprise (Cheetah Love)

As exhausted as I was when we returned home, I took one for the team, when we were offerred at the last minute, tickets to see The Cheetah Girls. Floor seats too. I must admit, being the expert that I am on Disney Channel concerts, that it was a very good show. The girls had fun & I had to remind them a few times that never in all my concert years, have I ever sat so close. Just once I would like to get that close to Bono or Sting!!!!

Sleeping Beauty

Here we have a sweet picture of Griffin sleeping on princess sheets! The woman who made up our stateroom put the finishing touches on the kids bed with 2 sets of princess sheets & one set of "Cars". Unfortunately, the Cars sheets were put on the top bunk, so Griffin slept close to Snow White & Sleeping Beauty while Sydney snuggled up to Mater!

Castaway Cay

Our 1st full day on the cruise had rain & wind (not what we ordered)- but the sun & tradewinds were present on our arrival to Castaway Cay. Griffin spent a good portion of the day in the kids club...when I went to pick him up, he was by far the youngest, hanging out with a bunch of 7 year olds...very cute. We relaxed, did the usually...crab races, BBQ, hammocks. All the relaxing really wipes you out. Beautiful & peaceful...you know how much our family loves island living!

Ahoy there matey!

The 2nd night of the cruise was Pirates of The Caribbean themed. These days, Griffin is all about the Hook...Captain Hook. If he allows us to dress him up, he will be a pirate for Halloween (I am going 40-60 on that happening at best). So we brought his costume with us & we purchased a hook for him because I left his sword at home (you know with security being so tight these days, I thought it would be best to leave at home). Josie got to participate in a pirate game & we all got in to it. Pirate Griffin fell asleep at dinner (late seating).

S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E !!!!!!!!!!!

We pulled off a great surprise this past weekend...we took the kids on their 1st Disney Cruise! Lee & I have kept this secret since Griffin turned 3 last month. When we booked the trip we did not realize the girls had a long weekend, so they did not even miss any school. We told them we were going out for lunch & then to look for Halloween costumes. Meanwhile, the car ride was getting long & Sydney was getting hungry & asking "Where was the Halloween store". We drove up to Port Canaveral, into the terminal & Sydney said that one day she would like to go on the cruise!! Lee said "Who wants to eat lunch on the Disney Cruise?!" I really think the girls thought we were just going for lunch...really, we had to spell it out that we were taking them on the cruise. Not until they actually saw their suitcases did they believe! Griffin, was excited at 1st, but then was upset that we were talking too loud & he could not hear Peter Pan which was playing in the car!!! I love a good surprise (only when I am on the planning side).

Oh My!!!!

Do my kids have too much time on their hands??? After school today, Josie & Sydney tied a rope around Griffin & attached him to a changing pad & then proceeded to tie the opposite end of the rope around their own waists. Then they timed themselves to see who won. Creative-yes. Should I be concerned-I guess we'll have to see what comes next.

Wide Open Spaces

Griffin had loads of fun playing in the back of our van today (without any seats). You would have thought he was at My Gym or something similar. The van is new & Lee had to take all the seats out for an oversized box...something we had never done before. Leave it to a 3 year old to create fun out of nothing!

Baby Love

This past weekend Sydney had to take care of an infant for her Personal Development Class- that means everything from feeding, changing, burping, rockin...you get the point. I have to say it was very realistic...the baby woke about every 3 hours at night to eat & even cried when Sydney sat down for dinner each night (wow...it really is accurate!). Sydney did awesome- she was excited at 1st when she brought the baby home on Friday afterschool, but as you can imagine...the novelty wore off quickly. She did 100% of the work herself. If you look closely, she has bags under eyes from getting up the last 3 nights. Phew! Glad this assignment is over. Lee & I said after this weekend...we are so happy that this phase of our lives has passed...it is tiring!

We're Ba-ack!

We had a slight setback over the past few weeks...our camera broke! Oh well, here we are again...with a brand new camera ( with a long warranty!). Here are my "test" photos that I took while I was learning to use my new camera....

The return of soccer

 

Josie started another soccer season...she plays in an 8-10 year old league. She really loves the sport & of course we love watching her play. Bonus...Sydney babysits Griffin at home so we can watch Josie's games in peace...priceless!!!

Griffin's 3rd birthday Celebrations!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a day our big boy had! Filled with friends , family & loads of fun!! Thanks to all of you who helped make his day spectacular. He really is no longer a baby...we enjoy his spirit, his enthusiasm & his love. Griffin ...have a wonderful year being 3!!!