Today, Charlie spent about 2 hours digging dirt in the backyard. He said he was planting strawberries and pineapple. I was enlisted to dig for quite a while and he told me exactly what I was doing wrong. I went in the house to check on the other kids and he stayed out and continued digging. I heard him scream and he came in the house with a traumatized look on his face. He said, "I just saw a worm, it was this (stretched his arms apart as far as he could) long!" He was exagerating, of course, but I understand, I don't like worms either!

Hershey is doing really well. He just loves being with us and cries when we leave the room. When he runs, his ears bounce up and down, when he runs really fast, his ears go straight back.




Hershey is wishing all a happy 4th.











When Hershey falls asleep, it is impossible to wake him. He draped himself across Nicholas and they snoozed together.

On Saturday, June 27th, we welcomed Hershey, 8 week old cockapoo, to our family. It has been quite an experience. While Nicholas and I drove 1 1/2 hours to meet him, Charlie prepared by dressing up in his dog costume. Emma added the paw prints...

Hershey's second walk. He was not interested! This is the first time he stood still long enough to get a decent picture.

Big dog, little dog, Hershey was not intimidated at all, he wanted to play.

Emma is in love!

We all survived the trip home, no accidents from dog or mother. Nicholas held him, which he was nervous about at first, but Hershey calmed and slept most of the way. He did cry quite a bit, but not too bad.

When we arrived at home, Hershey was so excited to run after the kids. He ran and ran and ran. He especially loved to chase Charlie who was still in the dog suit which included a long tail that bounced around as he ran. He was tired quickly, which we thought was a good sign for the sleeping thing. Well, not so much. He only was quiet if I kept my hand on his kennel, all night. I took him out 2x to pee, but he didn't go. Maybe he can hold it all night?

Today, he went to a family picnic, he was adored by all there. Hard not to be "awwed" over when you are as cute as he is! He fell asleep on top of Nicholas tonight, I got a pic that I will try to add later! Enough for now, must take him out again so we don't have an accident!

Niagara Falls, Ontario

I am needing sleep, so I am going post pictures, these say it all anyway. Niagara falls was awesome!

Okay, NYC is in the past and we are moving on to Cooperstown to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. Not my choice of destinations, but the boys were certainly excited. We say goodbye to Aunt Randa, Uncle Tim and Bri and Mara and the penguin (which Charlie LOVED!) and drove to Cooperstown. Emma and I decided to explore Cooperstown shops (in the rain) rather than wandering the Hall of Fame, and everyone was happy. Here are some pics of Nicholas in his glory!

We were thinking about staying the night in Cooperstown, but ended up driving all the way to Buffalo so that we could spend two days near Niagara Falls. I should mention that we drove a total of 3000 miles! That is a lot of DVDs!

On day 3 in NYC, we toured midtown, including playground play in Central Park and shopping on 5th and Madison Ave. I guess I shouldn't say "shopping", more like "gawking"! I tried to convince the crew to hit a few yarn shops, but decided that it would be too cruel. Maybe next time! Tom's brother and sister-in-law surprised us with a free afternoon and evening (yes, no kids) in the city while they took the kids back to their house for a fun afternoon of WII and movies. It was LOVELY! Tom and I walked leisurely through the city and ate at a very nice restaurant near Grand Central Station. We thought about seeing a Broadway show, but decided to just explore instead. Tom and I both agree that he has the best brother and sister-in-law in the world!

Day 2 in NYC, we walked about 20 miles (it seemed), and the kids were good, considering the circumstances! I suppose we all had breakdowns, but still had a wonderful time.
We started down in the business district, and saw the Twin Towers site as well as the construction for the new "Freedom Towers", very impressing and humbling. We even ate a hot dog lunch bought from a street vendor. I think over the two days, Nicholas ate about 7 hot dogs!

The Statue of Liberty, my favorite landmark to see in NY, was seen this time by ferry. We decided that another long line was not in anyone's best interest! We ended up getting fairly close to it, and the kids got a good look.

Wall Street, we felt very important and quite out of place.

This is the construction site of the new Freedom Tower. The last time we were in NY, we stayed in a hotel near the World Trade Center, and it is sad to think of what has happened since then.

We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, my heart was beating very fast because we were so far off the ground and the bridge was either wooden slats or see through metal mesh. Ugh. I was glad when we were on solid ground again.

Charlie is very excited about riding

the subway!

We drove to New Jersey, where Tom's brother, Tim, lives. That evening, we decided to go downtown to the Empire State Building and Time Square. It was beautiful from the top of the ESB at night, looking out at the city and all the lights. Luke was not afraid to go right up to the edge and look down. Emma, surprisingly enough, was nervous, but still enjoyed the ride!

In Time Square, simply amazing!

Summer vacation 2009, Hershey PA, NYC, Cooperstown, Niagara Falls and Mackinaw City, MI.

After a 12 hour drive, we arrived in Hershey PA, our first stop on our trip out east. HersheyWorld was our first destination, and it was worth the drive. Emma was in heaven with all the samples and talk about candy.

Here is Chloe Marie, isn't she cute, and doesn't she look SO happy in her auntie's arms?

Here are some fun pics of the cousins enjoying their time together. Welcoming baby Chloe was a joy for me. She is so precious, and I am thankful that I could meet her as a newborn! I can't wait to get my hands on her again in August.

I have a lot of catching up to do, so I will start where I left off. We began our summer vacation with a stop at the Williams farm for my parents' 40th anniversary party. It was a fun day planned by their wonderful children (mostly their eldest daughter, Jen, although she did let me cut cheese and sausage)!

It has been a full and exhausting week. Since Tom is the coach for Nicholas' baseball team, he has been gone every night with team stuff. Therefore, I get to do everything else with three children at my side. Charlie, Luke and I attended the orchestra concert at the kids' school. Charlie was not impressed. I was downloading apps on my Iphone during the concert to keep charlie quiet! They all came along to Emma's many appointments during the week, which is always a joy. Work is really busy, but still one of my favorite things to do! I will be sad when the summer comes, in some ways.

We (I should say I) are researching getting a puppy, and I think I have found the perfect one. I have almost decided to put a deposit down on one to reserve it for the beginning of July. That should be VERY interesting!

North Dale Gold's first game tonight, and it was a nail biter! Nicholas played a variety of positions, including first baseman, catcher and pitcher (last inning). Well, Gold was winning 4-1 going into the last inning, and we were sure it would be an easy win. The kids looked great and were having an even better time. The other team started creeping closer to our score, and pretty soon, they were up one. Nicholas did a great job pitching, but the team was doing a really good job hitting. Luckily, Gold came back in the end, winning by 1. I was a nervous wreck! Having your son pitching and your husband coaching is just too much stress for me! It looks like it will be a good season. I think the biggest challenge will be the three maniacs I have to watch while Tom coaches!

Emma's first horseback riding lesson, Shady was her partner. Emma spent about an hour on Shady, and she was happy, smiling and calm the entire time. Well worth the time and $ to see this rare occurence.

Emma's first birthday slumber party went really well. She has sweet friends who are a lot like her. They all enjoy climbing in trees and swinging on the swings. Smores and pizza were an extra bonus. They stayed up late, but we didn't hear them, so everyone was happy! Tom made the horse cake, big success!

Welcome baby Chloe, my newest neice born on 6/3/09! I cannot wait to see her next week!