Kingdom of the Son

Last week, the kids went on an African Safari and learned some Swahili words during their week in Vacation Bible School. Zoey just loved it! She learned songs with sign language and did crafts and had a great time. She does really well in those environments and learns a lot as well. I could tell her something a hundred times, and she may or may not let it sink in, but if someone else tells her, it just takes one time! Max had a good time too. He liked the dancing and music, but isn't as big a fan of crafts as Zoey, so that to him wasn't as fun! They both loved the songs though and we have been listening to the CD from the songs of the week and just dancing around!! We also got to make shirts (iron-on onto any color we wanted)... Zoey was very proud of hers and sported it throughout the week... telling everyone we saw what kind of shirt it was, and why she had it, and that they couldn't get one, because it was special from this Bible School and that she picked out the shirt color, and then put on the iron-on.... you get the point! She was excited. Here they are:

Stating the Obvious

Max and Zoey were playing with a sand/water toy outside on the deck this evening. We left it outside from yesterday, so there was a dead bug in the water. Zoey scooped it up with a spoon and said, "Max, look at this bug. What kind do you think it is?" Max looked at it and said, "a dead one!"

Chicago Fountains

After leaving the bean, we went to see some fountains nearby. This one has a waterfall flowing down the picture. There are two of them and kids were playing in the shallow water in between.

Ooops, caught the lady blinking!



Then we went to Buckingham Fountain... Very European in style. I think it is one of the largest fountains in the US. We timed it so that we could be there when the music played and the fountain was supposed to spray along with the music, but nothing happened!! Zoey was pretty disappointed.


Love Max in this one...


And here is a picture Zoey took of us!



And don't let our outfits fool you... We were freezing! This fountain is right off of Lakeshore Drive, and we could feel that infamous Lakeshore breeze!! We are smiling, but it is cold!! I normally overpack, too... but I wasn't prepared for weather this trip. (bad mommy!!) Because of this, we decided to just head out to our next destination... a little beach town in southwest Michigan. We decided to eat lunch before leaving the city. We went to a Five Guys. (If you've never been, try it out. This California In-n-out loving gal, would take this any day over In-n-out... really) It was in a nice part of the city, just outside of downtown with shops like Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel and stuff... so we figured it was safe. We parked in a parking lot and went next door to the restaurant. We were there maybe 30 minutes.... And our truck was towed!! It was a little freaky at first to head back to where we parked and not find your car! The kids were a little freaked out too. We talked to some workers from a jamba juice, (where we were headed next) and they said it got towed maybe 5 minutes ago!! I think it was because of our out of state tags... I guess we technically left the shopping center where we parked, even though we did go to a store there and we were eating at the corner of the lot....

Thankfully, two nice city workers actually drove us 25 minutes to where the truck was, saving us a huge cab fare, and got us safely on our way!!

I think the kids are scarred though. I was taking Max and Zoey to eat the other day and as I drove around looking for a spot to park, Max yells, "don't park on the street, or they will take your car away!!" Lovely! That definitely helped in our decision to leave the city right away! I am not sure when we will want to visit again, haha!

OH, and my whole point in telling you where we ate... Five Guys... is funny too. Not funny HAHA though. You see, the last time I ate there, my purse was stolen! Seriously.
I was tempted to never go again, but didn't want superstition to get the best of me... So we ate there the next day (a different one, outside of University of Notre Dame) just to break my curse. I wore my purse the whole time and had a view of the truck... All was well. I promise you, as far as burgers go, its a yummy one. I wouldn't go through all the trouble otherwise!

More of the Windy City

The next morning in Chicago, we woke up to a little bit clearer skies. Which just means that it wasn't pouring. I had been flexible in my planning, however, and we could either stay the entire day exploring or head out of the city to continue our adventure in a small beach town in Michigan about an hour away. We hit the hotel pool one more time before checking out. The kids seriously would be happy just hanging out in any hotel with a pool and a DVD player at night!!

With my kids in mind, I figured we better stick to mostly outdoor stuff, so we headed to Millenium Park and Cloudgate, specifically. A beautiful park filled with flowers and a fountain and some interesting sculptures. I think newly built in the last 5 years. We called the Cloudgate sculpture the "metal bean" and the kids got a big kick out of it. Here are some neat pictures, too.

The kids checking themselves out.


OOOhhh... family picture, with no outside help!


Me and the kiddos! (and you can see Ross taking the picture in the bean)


Ross and the kiddos! (and me, too... we obviously got a big kick out of the photographer's reflection as part of the picture)



A BIG MAX CHEEEEEEEESEEE!


And Here's Zoey!



have you seen enough of the bean yet?? Well, here are my two favorites without people... this one is in the middle of the bean looking up (Oh, actually I am in this...Can you find me? hint... I am the one with the crazy green pants)



And here is another one I thought was cool!



This was a fun place to visit. For all of us.

Our Daddy

Both kids answered some questions about Ross before they got out of school. Although I get a laugh out of what Max says and what Zoey said as a preschooler too, I think it is so sweet to hear Zoey's more grown-up answers. To really see Ross in her eyes!

Max said:

1. My daddy is 33 years old.

2. He weighs 60 lbs and is 10 feet tall.

3. His hair is brown and his eyes are brown.

4. My daddy is most handsome when he is happy.

5. My daddy likes to fix things with tools.

6. His favorite TV show is Scooby Doo.

7. My daddy always tells me, MaxMan!

8. My daddy is funny when he tickles me.

9. I really love my daddy because I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!



And Zoey's Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Dad

10. I love my Dad because he reads me Go Dogs Go.

9. I love my Dad because he helps me read.

8. I love my Dad when he makes me laugh by tickling me.

7. I love my Dad because he taught me how to ride a bike.

6. I love to hear my Dad sing silly songs.

5. I love my Dad because he finds the time to play cards.

4. I know my Dad cares because he gives me hugs.

3. I know my Dad is smart because he can spell every word.

2. I love my Dad because he works so hard at building a motorcycle!

1. I love my Dad because he's the BEST DAD EVER!


Happy Father's Day, Ross! (I hope you are enjoying your nap, wink wink)

And to our Dad's... Happy Father's Day! Thanks for all you do. We love you!

Chicago - Pizza!!

Ross' school schedule allows him one week off for the summer, so we headed out of town! First stop- Chicago... you know, the Windy City! Well, Ross and I visited by ourselves once before we were married and it was in January. If you know anything about the city, well, January is not the time to visit. We had a good time, but one of our memories, was paying outrageous amounts of money for parking everywhere, because it was just too cold to walk more than a couple of city blocks!! (we were LA living at the time, so it just made it seem colder, and we just didn't have the right clothes) Anyway, this time around, we planned to go in the summer and to stay right downtown, within walking distance to lots of things, and thus, to avoid parking!! Well, the Windy City lived up to its name, and then some!! It was pouring rain! The entire afternoon and night we were there, it was a downpour. I had planned on eating out at a specific pizza place, only .5 miles from our hotel, and we ended up having to take a cab!!

On the up side, the pizza was awesome! The kids had fun in their first ever cab ride! And they were just content to stay in the hotel and play by the pool and watch a movie in our room anyway!

Here we are at Gino's East Pizza:




We prefer a thin crust pizza, but being in Chicago, we decided to try what they were famous for... the deep dish pie! And it was delicious. A very different pizza eating experience! The kids both got their own thin crust though, and they both ate the entire thing. Ross and I got a taste of it (only one bite each, neither kid was sharing any more) and we agreed, if we ever went back, we would get that! Definitely some of the yummiest thin crust pizza we have had.

Our adventure continues... oh does it ever...

Max's Birthday Party

We had a fun time at Max's "Scooby Doo" Themed Party. We had friends and food and cake, oh my!

Here's the birthday boy making a Scooby Doo picture frame. I had a "mystery" to solve and they had to do a craft and other stuff in order to find clues and solve the mystery. It sounds better than it turned out to be, it was fun, but just not quite how I imagined!!



Next was the Scooby Snack race on a spoon!! The two little guys (Max was one of them) held on to the spoon with two hands and sped on ahead!! Zoey, always the rule-enforcer, was a little upset, as she legitimately won!!



Here's Max blowing out the candle on the cake! I never got a picture of it, but it was a cute Scooby Doo cake! Max went to the cake shop to pick it up with me and he was so excited when he saw it!



Just another one of him smiling with the cake:


And how is that cake, Max?

MMMM...So good, I'd say. So good that I can't get a big enough piece in my mouth.

<>

Here he is excitedly opening presents...


Thanks friends for making it such a nice day for him!!

Zoey the Second Grader!

School finally came to a close last week and Zoey is now a Second Grader!! I just wanted to post her first and last day pictures! I am not even sure she is the same kid!!


We are glad that summer is here and are ready for a fun, but also relaxed summer. Here is a picture of Zoey's boat that she made for a boat race at school... She did a great job and won!




I have been away from the computer, so I have lots of posts and pictures to share! We had Max's birthday party and went on a little trip. See you soon:)

Our Sweet Max

Our Dear Max,

I don't know how many times I could have titled a post that way... "Our Sweet Max"

As "boy" as you are becoming, loving cars and leggos, wrestling and digging in the dirt, you have a sweetness about you that always shows through. If I bump myself in the other room and say, "Ow!", you quickly ask what's wrong and if I am okay. If you see a tear in my eye (a lot of times I am just reading a story on-line), you tell me to smile and that that will make it all better. We are blessed with little hugs and kisses from you all the time. There are lots of random ones, too, that just come out of nowhere and make the moment so very sweet. You're more snuggly than your sister, too, so we can still just lay and hug you sometimes. And as "the baby" I guess we just take the snuggle moments as much as we can. We know it is passing us by. You are really already to big for me to carry any distance anymore.

Here are my memories of your Birthday...
Our sweet Max was born on a Friday. It was a beautiful, sunny, not too hot or humid day in Massachusetts. One of the "top ten" days there. (I didn't make that up. It is a weather saying up there and really there are only about 10) Ross' mom had come in to town to help out for a couple of weeks, so we were all ready to go. Since Zoey was so big, they were watching his size, and decided to induce a week early, so I called Friday morning, to see if there was room available at the hospital. They said yes, so off we went. I went in around 7 am and Ross went home for lunch and to check on Zoey, and we were actually waiting for him to return so they could break my water and he would actually be there for the birth! The Dr was right, too. Once they did that, Max-man came very quickly. Ross and I actually got to do the final delivering together which was very cool... and then, there he was. Our Sweet Max, actually looking almost exactly like Zoey! That was my first thought, once they said all was fine. He would have been as big as Zoey, too if we hadn't gotten him out of there, too! Whew...

And now, it is five years later. Again, I am amazed at the way the time flies by. You have changed so much since we have moved to Ohio even! Some of our very favorite things are your smile, which lights up your face so much that strangers often comment on it, your laughter and jokes (we just love your sense of humor), and your songs. We look forward to what lies ahead, all of the laughter you will bring, the smiles and sighs because of your sweetness, and even the tears... the tears that come from watching you let go of anything baby or toddler that's left in you, and gain the maturity that is coming with your boy-hood. All the while, staying Our Sweet Max. We so love you. God Bless you today and always.

June 11, 2004 - newborn

June 2005 - Age 1

June 2006 - Age 2

June 2007 - Age 3

July 2008 - Age 4

June 11, 2009 AGE 5

Here he is this morning doing the "height check"- he said, "I'm getting bigger!"



Here he is opening some presents tonight!


Here's last years montage to see again if you're interested in taking a walk with me down memory lane! ( just click)

smiles

Just wanted to share some of my favorite smiles from the past couple of weeks.

Max and Daddy waiting for food at a restaurant.

And here is Zoey and Grandma, too. I just like this one of the both of them for some reason.

Just chillin' on the stairs... Doesn't Zoey look so old in this picture? Like you can just see her when she is 16...eek...

And Max giving Grandma a ride on his chopper trike...

Minor League Baseball

We have a local minor league baseball team, the Dayton Dragons, that sells out every game! It is pretty cool. We went one Sunday afternoon, and got free hats!! We sat on the lawn with blankets (we couldn't get other seats) and ate stadium food! (the "stadium food" is a reference to Scooby Doo; he and Shaggy love to eat, and their favorite is stadium food, so Max was sure to ask for it when we went)

CHEESE!!!

Here's the gang... Max trying to sneak in the choke hold pose.

Whew... just watching is making me tired. I need to take a break and snack on some stadium food!

Zoey just loves to be out and doing things... it doesn't matter what. So here she is, enjoying the day and the event!


Here's Max, taking it all in. He reminds me of my nephew Josh in this picture. (don't you think, Tina?)


And then, Zoey had to join in... *Smile*

Miniature Golf

We didn't get too far from home while my parents visited, but we did get out and play some golf... mini-golf that is.

Here is Max in his classic golf picture... I love the way he is holding the club and the ball and standing just so...



And then one of Zoey and Grandma:


Here are the kids with Ross:



And then Papa and the kids. He told them, "Okay, lets all hold our balls for the golf picture!" If you look close, or even click to enlarge (look how he's holding the ball)... you can see what Max thinks of that! Ha ha.



Before we left, we had to take a slide down the big slide...