{school's out for summer!}

Gerard and I went to Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Although our actual anniversary isn't until July 4, we took our trip in May so my parents could watch the kids (they combined their visit here with a trip to Chicago for Jason and Gretchen's wedding). We had a great time. It was fun and relaxing and we only missed the kids a little (just kidding!!)

While we were gone, Grandpa took Gerard to a local parade for Memorial Day. Can't you just tell from the photos that he had a horrible time?








My parents brought the kids a plethora of presents (in case having Grandma and Grandpa all to themselves wasn't enough). Among the gifts were these cowboy hats from Arizona.









I'd say they had fun while we were gone.




The day after we returned from our trip I went on a field trip with Gerard's class to our local nature center.







And with that I believe it is officially summer. It is now time to consider whether the kids should take their sandals OFF when they come in the house or leave them ON. Summer means the bottoms of feet are dirtier than the bottom of shoes.


But at least they're happy.


Last weekend we all went to a little country fair not far from here. There were bounce-houses (Gerard's all-time fav), little games, a horse and calf lasso "ride", horses, and face painting. Gerard doesn't like people to touch his face (??) so he opted for an arm painting. Morgan got one too, and I was surprised at how still she sat!









Today was Gerard's last day of Kindergarten. He was so excited. Unfortunately, he woke up with a bit of a stomach ache but didn't want to miss his last day so he went to school. He didn't last long -- I got a call from the school and picked him up about an hour into school. Lovely stomach bug. He was disappointed so I told him his summer vacation started a day earlier than everybody else. That softened the blow, but he was still bummed to miss the last day. Here he is before school:



And last but not least, Morgan got her first haircut today! Here are some before pictures from yesterday:





She was an absolute angel for the haircut. I couldn't believe how still she sat. I can still vividly remember Gerard's first haircut.... I had to hold his face to keep him still. Not my Morgan. She was just happy to have some undivided attention and some girly pampering. Here are the after pictures:

{good morning}

I just have a minute but I wanted to send happy thoughts and good wishes to several people:

Congratulations, Jason and Gretchen!
Happy birthday, Patti!
Happy birthday, Aunt Marilyn!
Happy anniversary, Ma and Dad!

I have lots of new pictures to go through and post. This is Gerard's last week of kindergarten (holy cow!) so we're kind of busy, but I'll do my best to post them soon!

{all caught up}

Phew. After this post I'm finally all caught up with my pictures and posting. Unfortunately, these pictures are from our recent trip to Indiana for Gerard's grandfather's funeral. He passed away a few weeks ago. It was nice to see the whole extended family, but it was too bad it wasn't under happier circumstances.

Here are the kids in the hotel room. Morgan's scraped knee and lip were the result of two different episodes. She's a real dare-devil. A little blood doesn't scare her!

The night before the funeral we had a nice dinner at Gerard's Uncle Pat's house. He's an awesome photographer and got this shot of the whole family:

The next morning was the funeral and only big Gerard went. I stayed at the hotel with the kids, but we joined everyone afterwards for a lunch reception at the church.

The drive to Indiana wasn't too bad. Both kids were great, thanks in part to the portable DVD player. Morgan started to have a meltdown near the end, but at some point she got really quiet and content. When we finally turned around to see what had appeased her, THIS is what we found:

And then the meltdown continued once we took her pen away.

{poor Morgan}

Sorry I haven't finished updating the blog... Morgan is sick, which means I'm tired. Here's a quick post...

Poor little Morgan. She's just not herself today. Fever, little appetite, coughing, and just blah. A pic from my phone:

Even when she's sick she's still stylish:

And finally, a little story about Gerard and his friends... Most of Gerard's friends up to this point have been girls. Maddie and Abby next door, Ashley across the street, Ashley B. from preschool and t-ball. He loves them, but sometimes he just needs another boy to play with. A few weeks ago after he played at Ashley's house he told me he was so excited because Ashley was going to show him her weapons! Well, as it turned out, she said Webkinz, not weapons, and he was so disappointed! He does have a few boys that he plays with, including Todd, a friend from preschool who goes to a different school for kindergarten. They play so nicely together, and Todd has weapons!