Things we love

Naps with Drew - I literally laid on the couch with him on a dreary afternoon and read him to sleep - LOVED IT!

Took Pauli to the vet to get her 'pee' med refilled and her eye looked at - this is the seat she chose to sit it - honestly have no idea how she got there and it was pretty hard to get her out of it.

What a good dog.

To remember

There are still moments when i opt to play airplane with Drew - I don't' have too many - but here are still moments.  Maybe someday I will wish I made time for more of them.  But we did have these moments - they existed. and for this one, I opted to capture it.

Also, can you read this guy's jersey? It says Wishneski - seriously, Wishneski!  He is on Nick's team and I had to do a double take - 

I WISH is said Wisneski!

Make you wonder if that was something that happened when they immigrated - maybe they are related =)!

Prayers

Sunday April 24th was a beautiful Sunday - we all went to the Ski Sundown appreciation BBQ where Nick walked all the way up Gunbarrel (there was still a bit of snow up there...

And we enjoy a few beers with the folks we worked the short winter with.  Breezy day - but wonderful to see and be with the happy faces of winter.

Than we went home to finish up the mulch that was delivered to our home. as Chris, Nick and my dad were headed to the Alton Brown Good Eats show that evening as a birthday gift from us.

As Chris was hauling mulch, the boys were out playing and I was doing yard work - our neighbors were on a walk with their sons and stopped by to show us photos of a bear in their back yard.  Bears are getting way to friendly and close this time of year.

So when 5 cop cars whizzed past we instantly thought someone called the police on the bears - maybe they were too close.

Sadly that is not how the story goes.

The police cars, ambulances all rushed to the Doyles home.  Ever neighbor was now studying outside on the corner but not allowed any closer.  The ambulance left not in a hurry and the family left.  As neighbors we began hearing bits and pieces of what just happened.  

Everyone outside,

Kids playing in the yard, on the hammock

Hammock attached to a large old tree that had died and was cut back 8 years ago.

Tree hit their daughter Ally

I could feel every neighbor pray as we waited to hear how Ally was doing.

Not a single one of us expected the call that came 1 hour later that Ally was rushed to the hospital - but had passed away.  So instant - her little life was over and her family and many others changed completely forever. 

http://www.carmonfuneralhome.com/obituary/Allison-Lauren-Doyle/Canton-CT/1612115

The days that followed were a blur - countless neighbors, friends and family wanting to help - a community looking to support in any way possible.  A Go Fund me page was created and within 18 hours reached 30,000.  I clicked on it now as I started to record this and its up to $46,000

https://www.gofundme.com/2pm4t57z

The family didn't ask for this - but no one felt they should have to pay a cent for funeral costs and anything going forward.  They may use it as a scholarship, memorial however they choose.  I am certain everyone that donated wanted to give that money graciously to the family.

Our neighbor hood met Monday evening in hopes of being able to more directly help them.  Have them feel the everyday support at home.  One of the small gestures we did was to tie Pick flowers with grey ribbons to our mailboxes and the night of her wake and funeral we had a luminary placed by each mail box.

The wake was  - gosh I don't know the words.  Yet countless folks lined the funeral home to hug the family that was in a way now supporting a grieving community.  I am not sure how that all made sense.  But they did it.  Each member of the family embraced hundreds of us who cam through not knowing what to say.

I am not sure if their link will show up for you - but if you watch it, you may not have a dry eye.  It is a video Ally put together for her mother 2 years ago as a Mother's Day Gift.  Looking at it know makes it a truly magical video and makes your realize the ways God is truly intertwined in our paths. Ally was a special soul and is now in heaven.  To see my children try to understand this is painful yet meaningful in the same breathe.  

https://www.facebook.com/adisinthehouse/posts/10209679776739491

Every day is a gift  - their lives will never be the same - they will never forget Ally - 

Baseball trifecta- It finally happened

3 Boys - 

3 different teams

3 different games

3 different locations

EXACT SAME TIME

Oma Sue took Drew, Chris took Nick and I took Shane

It truly take a village - 

Thank you Oma Sue!

A few days with the Charrons

My sister and Jason had a weekend in Texas for a family wedding - so when we came back from VA - our cousins were thrilled for some action (truth be told - so was Oma Sue!)  

Sunday morning the girls joined us for church

While I had the privilege of braiding their hair, Chris had the privilege of sitting between them during church - Seriously made my heart melt a bit.

We had a few BEAUTIFUL days - Monday being a really warm one.  SO I bought a bunch of water guns (yes, I may regret this later) and let the kiddos have at it.

Jackson was showing off his sweet undies

He has a thing for batman right now - 

My sister made it just in time for Gin and Tonics - on a Monday afternoon - now this is REAL LIFE!

Tuesday is Madison's Birthday!!  This sweet thing is 5 years old!  She runs at a different speed, a bit more reserved and really takes it in.  She has an affinity to her older cousin Nick

5 Candles for Madison!

She got to open her gifts with us and it was so neat to see her really appreciate everything.  Girls really do take it all in.  Nick surprised us with a gift of his own.  He wrote her a sweet card and than pulled money from his own piggy bank for her.  Yes, tears - 

We are really getting used to spending time with our cousins on a more regular basis.  The kids still get along just great.  Drew loved his time with Riley and Maddie - matter of fact, after they left he told me we need more girls around here (Amen brother!)

I think it may stem from a conversation I happen to overhear where Madison was telling Drew how strong she thought he was.  I honestly wasn't sure what he had done to demonstrate his strength and to him it was no big deal - he even responded by saying - Maddie, you could do it too - to which she quickly said = No I couldn't - you are very strong!  SO stinking cute - 

I could have listened to them all morning!

Apparently they were more than willing to listen to Riley as she read a few chapters from the magic Tree house

Thanks Stosh for making it all possible - we loved seeing you - Stosh and i even scooted away for a coffee date Wednesday morning.  2 Hours isn't too far away - truth be told, I won't mind if they were closer +)!!  

Spring breaking Part II

Amen to the Part II

We had a smooth drive to Woodbridge - the boys are REALLY awesome to travel with.  They slept the first part and listen to the BFG for the second part (Big Friendly Giant) Love books on CD and to see them watching out the window.  Sure, we popped in a DVD too -

But look where we landed!  Farrah and the kiddos were not on spring break but she was opened her home to us and made us feel so very welcomed.

Tate and Macy didn't know we were coming and macy came home just as the car was pulling up - Tate was playing next door and saw our car wondering who was going to step out - first me, than Drew, it wasn't tis he saw Nick that he ran across the street.  

And this is what they dressed up in - I want to find the photo from 6 years ago - at Tate's party

She does so good in this houseful of boys -  Macy I assure you, I feel the same way on MANY days! 

We let them stay up late and horse around a bit

Love this crew together - aligned in birth order

Do you think they slept like this?

More like this - 3 in Tates room, 2 downstairs

Wonderful night with Farrah (she was happy to have someone to have dinner with as Brian is fasting and when he saw dinner he quickly went out to mow the lawn!).  We watched the news and enjoyed a bottle of wine and went to bed early.  I love how that was exactly perfect.

The next morning I popped into IKEA - because I am crazy like that - than headed to the Leadbetters

It was a BEAUTIFUL spring day and I love how Wyland quickly jumps into Grandpa roll and starts throwing the ball with Shane.

With all the action and excitement seeing so many friends  - I am so thankful he let me read to him this afternoon and than told me he WANTED to take a nap - this is Grandpas favorite napping place!

We enjoyed the afternoon and than I scooted off to Ashburn VA for Melanie's Rodan + Fields business launch.  She joined me in March as she sees the potential with the company - she wants to stay home with her kiddos and this is her way - her launch was the true impetus for the trip, being her sponsor and understanding the stress of just beginning I was thankful to be able to physically support her as well!  Melanie - Here you Grow!

After the launch I was able to squeeze in seeing a few more buddies in Ashburn thanks to Valery for hosting and evening at her house.  Love walking into the familiar faces of Dawn, April, Johanna, Jasmine and of course Valery - a nice evening by the fire remembering times of being able to just walk home...

Friday morning we headed into DC with plans of connecting with an Ebay seller about a flying Turtle scooter =)  random right?  but I had ulterior hopes of connecting with my college roommate Sherry who just bought her own place!!  Go Sherry!  She being a working girl and me being a horrible planner we didn't physically connect but were able to phone chat - which is great too.  

Now onto Burke Virginia for our final stop - 

what a treat we made it in time to see a famous Volley ball coach.  I love visiting my friends, but seeing them live their everyday life is truly the treat.  We navigated our way to Eve and Anna's school where Diane is now Eve's volley ball coach (talk about a mom with a few talents)  We loved just strolling in and seeing the big smiles from Anna and Blake and catching Diane's eye a few times.  Love her coaching voice!

Her kiddos had a half day so we could just head back to her home and hang out (and peel carrots!)  Everyday life is SO much better with friends - Diane is the top of that list.

Loved walking through her beautiful home and seeing all the effort and love she has put into it and hearing all the plans they have for it.  Than we sat on her beautiful porch and just enjoyed chatting face to face (until my late nights and traveling started to catch up with me and I needed caffeine!!)

We fueled up and headed to a beautiful walking trail with the kiddos - 

When Diane moved we vowed to make the effort to chat every Wednesday of for that I am so thankful - seeing her in VA I still felt connected to her life - while she lived in FL and I in VA - time just slipped away - and although with good friends we will always find our way back together - but there are some people that I truly want and need their every day influence and 'being' in my life and spending time with her I realized truly how important our simple phone conversations have been to me.  Thank you Diane for making the time as well!

And Oh, BTW - you have beautiful hair.

Thank you for letting me style +)!

Here we go with some selfie stick fun - first time I learned how to operate it, we laughed so hard our stomach hurt.  Now we are getting the hang of it -- or at least Brian is

I absolutely LOVE this photo and seeing all these smiling faces - I need to learn how to photo shop Chris's face in there as We all wish he was here with us - but being with friends like this truly makes the heart happy!  Love that we took this photo!

We played the now Famous McCullough drawing game (until 2pm - YIKES!)  always something photo worthy! 

 I do want to remember heading to bed that night - Drew and shane were in separate beds in the same room - while they were sleeping, I put Drew into Shane's bed so Farrah and I could share the bed - (they made an overnight with the family seem so easy!)  At about 3:30 Shane and realized they were sleeping together and wanted to battle - SERIOUSLY guys?  Those 2 - I tell you......

Saturday morning was time to pack it up - the Wisneskis headed out to Blakes opening day TBall (cutest Tball player ever!  - Drew doesn't have his uniform yet - ha!)  Farrah and the kiddos showed us off and we got on the road by 10 - no real rush, but wanted to get home in time to enjoy dinner and let the kids stretch their legs before bed.  

They were absolute rock stars in the Car - 

LOVED the books on CD - 

enjoyed Taco Bell (minus Shanes cheek bee sting).  

We rolled up to a house full as my folks were talking care of my sisters's kiddos while they were in Texas for a family wedding.

Sunday my folks hosted the first dinner on the Deck - Spring is here!

With spring comes baseball - loved the little league that transpired in my folks front yard - 

Nick and Madison - such a sweet relationship

Phew - what a spring break - when we originally thought about it - 4 nights in separate places - 

NYC, Woodbridge, Springfield and Burke

 - I couldn't imagine doing it all - but we did and its possible.  The boys loved it and made it simple, our friends and family made is truly possible.  

Love love love being able to travel like that.

Now I need some sleep! 

Spring Breaking - New York City - turn the dial UP!

Spring break was so much fun and so much stuff!!  I want to keep it all in the same blog and keep it as simple as I honestly tried to keep it

 - Here is Monday morning - 

As a special treat - the kids got to eat breakfast AND lunch while watching TV - 

I wrote them a schedule of chores for first - we had a 10:30 Fresh air fund appointment - more about that later, but Nick came up and told me at 10:30 they will go outside and get some 'fresh air' - totally the intention of the program!

Than Tuesday morning we woke up to a RAINY day - but Bob Maxim (our local weather man) told us it would stop by 1 - so we dragged our feet a bit and headed out by 10:30 hoping to make the 1pm security check in at the Statue of Liberty.

We parked the car - the skies showed signs of starting to part and the rain was slowing down

 we headed out - 

It was still kind of raining - but we were prepared - 

headed to the statue!

Loved the Ferry - it really gave such a view of the city.

The boys are happily at the end of the ferry

Making good use of our selfie stick - loved getting everyone together.   And Lady Liberty 

The boys did great, when we checked in, our ticket included a little walking tour head set - they each got one.  The story of the statue was told from the point of view of a falcon.  It spoke to the construction, the history, They loved it (and were in control)

A little view from the pedestal

We only climbed the pedestal (the other option is climbing up to the crown)  it proved to be just enough - my fear of heights and taking the kiddos up there would have been way too much for me.

Plenty high up

Being out there on a Tuesday afternoon (kind of rainy) really helped with the crowds too - it NYC so there are always crowds, but at least we did our best to keep it to a minimum.  So many foreigners on the ferry - loved that aspect of it.  Statue of Liberty is a true symbol of American and what we have become.

A little selfie stick using with Nick

Let me tuck this one in there - souvenir shopping - not what he selected (thankfully!)

 Nice impersonation  - snack and all

Next stop was the ferry to Ellis Island - loved looking back to what it must have looked like.  The surrounding buildings really haven't changed much, but they aren't used really.  During the tour we learned they were used as a hospital, housing etc.  

Here was the main processing building.

We did a little exploring (as much as the kiddos and I could handle) and headed back to Manhattan.  The thing about New York - is if Chris didn't keep us on a timeline, we would have never seen what we wanted to see.  Thank you Chris!

Skies are looking better!

ON the ferry back to Manhattan I kept imagining what its like to live in the city - I have 2 friends living there now - they each have a child and a dog living in an apartment and LOVE it - such a different life!

Not exactly the pose they were looking for when the statue was placed, but I will take it - and I will take those boys too

Onto 9/11 memorial.  walking through the city it is so hard to imagine 2 HUGE towers that are truly no longer there - imagine what that did the to city, the time, the chaos, the prayers, the people, the volunteers, the lives, everything will be forever different today

The memorial is so fitting, truly the opposite of what was there, bustling towers, luring or activity going up.  Now, names serene water and everything spilling down.

The one thing I wasn't expecting was this Oculus - its truly a striking structure in the city - its purpose is very different from what I imagine the other buildings to be - its over a metro stop and will soon host shops and a place to gather.

The Selfie stick became a bit of entertainment while waiting in line to possibly see the museum 

Everyone was getting involved

Gotta admit - he is a cutie (and yes, there were about 1,000 photos I needed to delete)

We opted not to go through the Museum although its free after 4 on Tuesday (who knew)  - the line was still long and not sure the kids would have made it.  Chris and I would like to go one day - but not today.

Just a closer look on the construction

We went around the street to St. Paul's church a place that housed many of the volunteers on shifts after the attack.  It was un touched and now a beautiful remembrance of the many days that followed.

Something about this classic building I had to snap a photo

after this photo we went to recover the car and repark it at the hotel - this operation took a rather LONG time - why, because its NYC - we made it to Ellen's Stardust Cafe by 6 (along with a few other folks) so while Chris waited in line, Nick and I scooted to Time Square real quick

Lots going on there - always - again, the coolest thing in my opinion was all the tourist snapping selfies - 

Back at the Diner - indulging in their milkshakes

since we weren't headed to a broadway show, Diane recommended this as a dinner stop - no reservations or pricey ticket needed and everyone in the diner was making their effort to get to broadway (The cafe is ON broadway - but they have aspirations of BIGGER) and in the meantime, they sing to us as they bring our food - the range of folks performing was huge - from 'Let is go' to 'Benny and the Jets' - as we left they were singing 'Living on a prayer'  I am always impressed by singers (because I can't!)

Nick had a few folks come by and sing directly to him - he was busy trying to eat the BIG burger! 

We did A LOT of walking and as if the kiddos weren't tired enough already, we walked them BACK to time square for a family shot.

Our hotel wasn't too far off of Time square and we were ALL very excited to get back there - with 2 queen beds, I read in-between Nick and Shane until they dozed off (yes, I dozed too!) while Drew and Dad slept in the other bed.  Cozy, and totally worked.

The next morning I had vision of enjoying central park with our breakfast to go - but it was chilly and we were hungry, so we walked across the street and scored an awesome breakfast

Shane proclaimed these as the best pancakes ever!  (he is swayed by the whipped cream)

 A trip to NYC can be all about timing so that is what makes me laugh about these photos - 

I LOVE the Today show and think Matt, Al, Savannah and Natalie are my morning friends.  I didn't have a HUGE desire to fight the crowds and be there while they were filming (thankfully) as this is what we walked up on - yup, they aclearly did a segment out here - but were done.

 We did get to peek in the windows to see Al Rocker doing the weather (often the best part of the Today Show) and honestly that was enough.  Can you see me in this shadowy photo - how to prove to myself I was there!

Now on another bit of timing, we were too late for the Today Show, yet too early for the Lego Store - all about timing 

There is PLENTY of construction going on in the city and honestly I was fascinated by it - how the heck do they keep a schedule?  where do they park?  Materials, concrete - now that is a schedule!

I am pretty sure when we rounded the corner and saw this, Chris knew we needed a selfie - I took a photo of the sweet Japanese tourist and she did the same for us.

Exactly where we should be - ALL DAY - central park rocks!

The topography was so impressive, rocks to climb on, hills, grass, we didn't do much else other than stroll

 And take photos of course - it was such a beautiful brisk day.

 Winner!  Love the city in the background!

 Plenty of Trump in NYC

 Avenue of America's

Time to leave the city so this is everyone's favorite party - souvenir shopping - honestly they did o.k.  Nick grabbed the world trade center tower, Shane the Empire state building (since we didn't get to see it) and Drew a sweet super hero photo for his room - that ironically Tate has the exact same one (it just got cooler!)

We are DONE!  Time to get the car - yes, that took the LONGEST.  we waited at our hotel for almost 45 minutes for Chris to grab it - Than the kids and head hit the GPS for WOODBRIDGE VA - while Chris took the train back home.   He said the train was perfect and very relaxing (wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that he didn't have kiddos with him)  love that he snapped a photo of the bridge - mostly because I get HUGE anxiety driving over the bridge, sweaty palms searching for someone to talk to - HATE IT - but I do it anyway as there are 2 big ones between here and VA

As much as I want to keep it in one blog, I just can't NYC was all touristy stuff - I felt like the finale fail just kept turning, parking, taxes (hotel and food were HUGE) it is EXPENSIVE to live in the city.  Nick proclaimed he was not interested in ever living there - time will tell buddy!