Daddy...

I guess I am being a little selfish as I write this summer journal. I am writing about all the fun adventures the boys and mommy are having…well what about daddy? Isn’t he having any fun this summer?


So here’s a story about daddy…..

Jon is working hard this summer. He is in the mist of completing a large cabinetry job that will be installed in a beautiful home in Rhode Island. During daddy’s hard days at work, he still finds time to play with the boys. We are so lucky that daddy works at home. Most days we get to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with him. After lunch he will squeeze in a video game or two with them. In the evening he is often the one who takes them swimming after dinner.

If it’s daddy’s day off you will find him outside with the boys. They might be riding on the lawnmower with him or in the shop building something; from a marble rolling game to a dog made out of wood. Daddy also loves to play soccer with them. But during the summer he likes to take them swimming….you will find them in the pool playing a game of Sharks and Minnows or Marco Polo.

It really doesn’t matter what they do with daddy….they just love being with him.


Thank you daddy for all you do for us and how hard you work. We love you…..t t r


Note on picture:

Jon is not a nap taker…I think he has probably taken 4 naps in the15 years I have known him. Jon had just gotten back from his first trip to RI and was pretty worn out. He asked Ryan if he wanted to lay down with him for a nap. Ryan, who doesn’t take naps anymore, said yes. He just laid there with him….I peeked in and found this…..daddy sleeping and Ryan reading a book….a couple minutes later Ryan was asleep too.

Summer's half way over....

The summer is halfway over or should I sound more optimistic and say, we have half of our summer vacation left. Yah, that sounds better.

This morning, while watching cartoons with the boys I saw the first “Back to School” commercial and it made me a little sad. I am probably one of the few moms who is sad to see school start back up in the fall. I really love having my boy’s home with me. I love the slow pace of summer, pj days (there are a lot of them during the summer), popsicles at 10:30 in the morning, the smell of chlorine in their hair, and Sponge Bob on the TV all day.

Here's how we spent this summer day...

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I took the boys to the movies. Before the movies we went to our favorite Japanese restaurant nicknamed “the soup place”. After lunch we hit the toy store to buy a friend a birthday present. The boys had their own money and found some treasures for themselves: Tyler a crystal rock growing kit and a bag of marbles and Ryan a new stuffed little teddy bear. With purchases in hand we headed to the 1:20 showing of Despicable Me.

At the movies we made our way to our seats. The lights went out and the movie started. During the movie I couldn’t help but think how I love these moments with them….watching them munch on their popcorn as the movie plays, hearing them laugh at the funny parts. I realized just how much I love our summer vacations together….it’s not just about going to the movies, the beach, or the circus, it’s about getting to spend this time together with them. I know that in a couple of years I won’t get all these amazing days with them…it will be time for summer jobs and spending time with friends. No more of spending all day with mom.

I think this thought just as Ryan puts down his popcorn and climbs on to my lap to watch the rest of the movie. I won’t think about those future summers any more today. I will just hold my little one in my lap and enjoy this moment with them now.


Note on Pictures above:
I realized today while looking for a picture to post that I am not in many pictures. I really don't like to have my picture taken and often find myself being the "picture taker". I will try to make more of an effort to say "cheese" instead of hiding behind the camera making everyone else say "cheese". So in my effort to get out from behind the camera I tried to take a picture of the three of us.....no good...Tyler's face got cut out of all the pictures. (I posted one of these anyway).

So instead Ryan took the picture of Tyler and me, then Tyler took the picture of Ryan and me. I think they did a pretty good job.

Morning Time...

Morning Time ….

If you ask my boys or my husband what my favorite part of the day is they will all tell you…morning time.

This morning began as any other morning....the boys woke up and ran right into our room….hopped in bed with me (daddy is already at work…he’s up before the sun) and snuggled up to watch cartoons. Then it’s breakfast time. After breakfast the boys go play while I do dishes, start a load of laundry, and make up the beds.

This morning Tyler surprised me with a Scavenger Hunt. While I was making beds I saw him going in and out of every room. After a while he hands me a note and told me it was my first clue.

I used to make Scavenger Hunts for him all the time when he was learning to read. I would leave notes all over the house and he had to read them all by himself to find the treasure at the end. The treasures would usually be a new box of crayons, a new book, or stickers.

Let me say, when he handed me the note I was thrilled that he did this all on his own.
Second I was so proud of him (what a great lesson in writing and he didn’t even realize that he was doing a writing lesson).
And Third I couldn’t wait to see what my treasure was at the end.

He made me 10 clues. The last clue lead me to our upstairs bathroom and this is what I found: A note that said “We love you”, a picture Ryan drew, and 3 clay creations Tyler had made.

Oh…be still my heart ….I love these kids!! If you are wondering why I love the mornings…it’s because of things like this and great kids to wake up to every day!!!!!

Tah Dah....

Yesterday Ryan fell down out of his pet store (the little cubby hole behind him that holds all of his stuffed animals). Anyway one minute he is happily arranging his pets on the new shelf daddy put in for him, and the next thing I know I hear a loud thud. I look over and he has fallen right out on to his knees. It was one of those falls that I didn't know if it was going to produce a cry or not....nope! He looked right up at me, spread his arms out wide, and said really loud "TAH DAH!!!" I laughed so hard...my boys never cease to surprise me.

This picture is a reenactment of the fall yesterday.

Marbles..

Marbles....


Daddy taped a show called Dirty Jobs the other day for the boys to watch. This episode featured a toy marble making company called Jabo, Inc. I wouldn’t consider this a “dirty” job…more like a “really hot” job. It was interesting to see the marble making process.

It just so happens that Tyler and I have been talking about starting a collection. Starting a collection is one of the Wolf achievements this year that he has to complete. After seeing this show on marbles, Tyler decided he wanted to start a marble collection.

We began our marble collection with a lesson on collections followed by a trip to the library, where we checked out a book about Marbles.

We learned by reading in the book, to look for marbles in antique stores. So after our trip to the library we headed out to do some marble treasure hunting. We hit the jackpot at our first stop. We found a marble made out of granite. We hit some other antique stores, but no luck.

There just so happened to be a cute little “mommy “ “girlie” shop tucked into all the antique stores. After a stop for some lemonade at the tea shop we popped into “mommy’s” shop. Mommy didn’t find anything…but wouldn’t you know amongst all the cute “mommy” things the boys happened to find something for themselves. Some cute tiny animals (no bigger than a bean) made out of glass. Priced at only $2, the boys walked out with one each.

Ok…so back in the car to find more antique shops. We found a couple more…still no luck…no marbles. I happened to see another “mommy” store (this time the boys didn’t notice what kind of store it was…they thought it was anther antique shop). But as soon as I opened the door to walk in, I heard Ryan say behind me…”noooo not another PINK store”.

We ended our treasure hunting and headed home. Tyler remembered that Suzi had a big bucket of marbles that used to belong to Jon. After dinner we headed over and the boys hit the jackpot with several old and unusual marbles…best part of all they used to be daddy’s.

It’s now several days later. I know more about marbles than I ever imagined I could. Go ahead ask me a question about marbles….I bet I know the answer. And after several on line searches for local marble makers, I found a glass blower who is going to give our cub scout den a tour of his glass studio and show the boys how to make marbles….how’s that for marble collecting?

I found the marble that they made on the episode of Dirty Jobs…it’s $16.99 and called a “Luster” marble because of the swirl created when it is made that looks like gold. It’s the marble pictured above….and yes, I am going to get him one of these for his collection.

Resting Time....

Resting Time….

We don’t have nap time any more, but we still have a “rest time”. Every afternoon after lunch I turn on a movie and the boys play Lego's or something quite while they watch a movie.

The other day it got “really” quite during their rest time…so as any mom knows…..when it’s too quite it means they must be up to something….but this time this is what I found….



(Why is it that children dislike resting time so much….if only they knew how lucky there were to have a resting time!!!)

More pictures at the Circus

You can see (well I can see) the wonder and awe on Ryan's face as he watches the Circus begin. I love the way he is holding his new elephant.


I got to take the boys down to the Circus floor before the show began. This is a picture of Tyler waiting to get autographs from the clowns. Unfortunalty they started doing a juggling act and he couldn't get one. He was such a good sport and said..."That's OK"....I think he thought it was pretty neat just to get to see a clown so close.