Grillmaster

We've gotten a lot more spring weather lately and are outside every chance we can get!  We've tried out out bike trailer twice now...Connor can't get enough and Annalee can't wait to get out.  Poor thing...the helmet blocks her view (and I think is pretty heavy) and she tends to slide way down in the seat...hopefully she'll enjoy it when she grows a little more! :)

She is enjoying lots of climbing and standing!  "Ba" (ball) is a favorite word and toy at 13 months.

She also loves to read books, by herself or with us (though she likes to be in total control of the page turns and which pages we actually read!).

Jonathan saved and saved and was finally able to get just the gas grill that he wanted!

Concentration...

Steak and zucchini...yum, "summer food"!

Connor (big 2 1/2 year old) decided it was time to do bubbles on his own!  Also this week, he was complaining about his mouth hurting at dinner and I said, "Did you bite your lip?"  He said, "No!  In mine MOUTH!"  So I reached in there to see if he bit his cheek or something, and lo and behold - both of his bottom 2 year old molars were about a third of the way in!  He has never complained about teething and I had no idea!

Ah yes, chomping on grass, having bubbles in your hair, "playing tennis"...

I didn't get a good picture of the kids on Easter, so I tried last Sunday while they both had their Easter bows on...

Not for long!  Connor loves wearing a bow tie or neck tie though, and showing it off, too!

Yay!

I was watching little miss climber work her way onto her little kitchen chair...thinking she was going to sit on it, but...

Building muscles...

My good friend Sara was down this way visiting from VA so we met up at a mall to catch up and have a play date with 6 month old Caleb!

Our first stop was the GINORMOUS fish tank at Bass Pro Shops!

So sweet.  Miss you guys, thanks for meeting up with us!

A Little More Vaca

I love these two together...yes there are whines and screams and shoves from time to time, but generally lots of hugs, kisses, and they're just plain funny!

Best photobomb ever.  Ha! Was setting up the self-timer and this is how my practice shot of Laura and Annalee came out!

About the 5th attempt and from Mom's camera...at least we're all in it! :)

All the girlies.

Typical.

Beautiful colors over the water at sunset!

Ah yes, one of our favorites...Blackbeards.  Oh, and we had a babysitter while the kids were sleeping!  Thanks Sarah!

Mmhmm.

Sadly, vacations must come to an end.  We loaded up for our eight twelve hour drive home and battled spring break traffic all the way back.  

We just barely made it (period) for the first half of Syracuse's final four game...a good game but a sad loss after a long day!

...that's about right.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the great vacation!  We love and miss you guys!

Ahhhh, Florida

My parents are awesome and let us crash their spring break vacation at the beginning of April.  Our family has gone to the same condos in New Smyrna for a number of years and we just love it!

I started driving with the kiddos on Easter afternoon and we stayed with our super great friends in Georgia for the night.  Phew.  I never would've made it without that stop...thanks Suz, Chris, and Luke!  We hung out with them the next morning and then made the other half of the trip that afternoon.  When we arrived, Connor had asked me if we were going to the beach approximately 22,136 times.   So after we hauled all of our stuff inside...this happened...

Ha!  He pretty much ran and belly flopped himself into the ocean, multiple times.  It was not too warm, but it didn't matter to Connor!

We spent a lot of time in the water, whether pool or ocean, and enjoying time with Papa and Marmee!

Annalee LOVED the sand as much as her big brother!

Oh yeah...sittin in a giant hole dug by Papa...

Laura drove in and Jonathan flew in Tuesday night.  We also have a number of family friends that vacation in the same place...so Connor hung out a lot with "the girls" too!

...ummm...and the old ladies...during water aerobics class...led by a scratchy casette tape from about 1982 or so... ;)

Mom and Laura played a few intense games of shuffleboard.

Oh...and Connor too! :)