Van Saun Park

Dylan is on spring break this week so we have been keeping very busy. Wednesday we went to Van Saun Park with my mom. It's lame as far as zoos go, but it's not too far, it has a cool park, a carousel, and a train ride. It's a nice change from the same old same old and we always seem to have fun there. When Dylan was a baby we would go at least once a week. It was a beautiful day and just as I had anticipated, we all had a fabulous time. :)

Here is Dylan hanging out with Mister Sheep.



The kids trying to get the donkey to eat some hay.



My mom bought Dylan some rubber lizards. Katie thought they were awesome.

Yook at my yizard, Mommy!



Snack time



Riding the zoo train or as Katie calls it, "Thomas".






The carousel here is beautiful. Along with the horses, there are many more "exotic" animals you can ride. Dylan really wanted to ride the dragon, but some other lucky kid got it first. But hey, this panda is way cool too.



Katie didn't quite share Dylan's enthusiasm.




Last stop, the park.

This slide was scarier than she thought it would be. Could it be that my fearless one is getting some sense? Nah, I'm guessing it was because she was tired.

Bubblicious

Remember that urban legend from the 70's about it being made with spider eggs? Or maybe it was Bubble Yum?

Yesterday we went to the mall and I got Katie a Disney Princess Bubble Machine. She loves bubbles and she loves Disney Princesses so this gift had her name all over it. Following a late afternoon nap we opened it up and started to play. Katie was thrilled!

Soccer in Suburbia

Life in suburbia wouldn't be complete without the obligatory soccer experience. Somehow I have morphed into the minivan-driving suburban soccer mom that I couldn't ever imagine myself being a mere decade ago.

Dylan has been invloved with soccer through the town for 2 years now. Although they do not play official games, they do drills and engage in the occasional casual scrimmage. Dylan really enjoys himself.

Scott left work early on Friday to join us at soccer. It was a wonderful surprise for Dylan. And for me, having someone to help chase after Katie, allowed a few minutes for snapping pictures.

My little star!



Coach and the preschool gang



Run Dylan, run!





Daddy playing "pull the tail"



Dylan's personal cheerleader. Oh, don't let the logo on her jacket fool you. ;)

Kids + Water = Fun

It's finally warm enough (well at least for my kids) to have some fun with water outdoors.

Have you ever heard of the Polar Bear Club? I'm sure cities all over have something similar, but locally in Coney Island, NY, there is a chapter that takes a dip in the Atlantic every New Year's Day. They always show it on the local news. Dylan would be a good match for this organization. Blue lips and chattering teeth wouldn't keep him from having fun with water.

This past Saturday it was in the 70's and Dylan couldn't stop talking about playing in the sprinkler. During Katie's nap we dusted it off and set it up for the first sprinkler fest of 2006.





Lately Katie has been very interested in firefighters, firetrucks, and sirens. She played with the hose for the first time this year on Tuesday evening and immediately called herself a firefighter and started putting out fires all over the yard. Thank goodness they were fake ones.





Today we went to birthday party and again were blessed with a beautiful warm, sunny day. Since it was unusual for April, the birthday party was not planned as a pool party. Despite the fact that there were two giant inflatable slides, a trampoline, a magician, and a balloon man, the kids couldn't stay away from the pool. The host didn't mind and everyone had fun.

Paka's Shop

When Dylan was a baby, he used to call my father "Paka" because he wasn't able to day Grandpa or Granddad. It's one of those things that just stuck and now my Dad is Paka to both Dylan and Katie.

Saturday we went to my Dad's shop to change the oil in the cars.

Here are the kids messing around out in the lot. And I wonder why it feels like I never stop doing laundry.





Next we moved up to the office and hit the vending machine up for some snacks. I would have liked to see them share, but no dice.



Look at the nice smiles that the Skittles bought me.







The cars were taking longer than we had anticpated so I took the kids for a walk. We ended up at 7-11.

In the "sugar zone" watching the cars drive by.



"Look at what Dylan did, Mommy!"



Slurpee before (in the cup)



Slurpee after (all over Dylan)



This is why you shouldn't blow bubbles in a Slurpee.

Soon the cars were ready and we headed home.

Happy Easter

Nothing over the top went on around here today. The kids loved the loot the Easter Bunny brought. My parents came over and Scott, Dylan, my Dad, and I went to the driving range for a while. I'll post a few pics from that one day this week.

For now, here are a few from today. Katie did have her dress on early in the day but I didn't take a picture. It wasn't warm enough to comfortably wear the dress all day, unfortunately. I will have to stage Easter photos this week. hee hee

Mmmmmmmmm.... candy! The breakfast of champions.





I do not like having my picture taken but am trying to get better about it for the sake of the kids. Scott took this one. Not bad, right?



My dad with the kids.

Easter Parade at Preschool

Last week we were given an assignment to make a hat that reflects our child's personality for Dylan's Easter Parade at school this morning. We used a Sponge Bob (of course) baseball cap and decorated it with felt dinasours, stickers, and a couple of Easter Peeps glued on the lid to add that festive Easter touch. I really shouldn't say "we" since it was one of those assignments that the parents all do without kids. I am so not crafty and worried that my creation would be the ghetto cap of the bunch. Surprisingly I found that I did well. :D Many of the girls had pretty bonnets beautifully decorated with flowers and beads. Luckily with a boy instead of a girl, I was not in that particular heat.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a parade. They had an 8th grader dress up as the Easter bunny. I wonder how he got roped into something like that? The kids loved it. There were tons of people there so getting photos was challenging. As usual, I managed to get a few.

Dylan with his Easter cap.



Dylan with his teacher. She is a beautiful person both inside and out.



Dylan with his best buddies Grant and Anthony. My hat is better, right? ;)




And last, but never least, the illustrious Katie.

Busy, busy, busy!

We are crazy busy again! Soccer, sporty squirts, music class, playdates, birthday parties, school activites, etc. Lots of fun, just not lots of time to spare. I am popping in to post a few of Katie from the other day. She was not in the mood to be photographed and you might say it shows on her face. I just snapped a few. Who can resist that adorable face?

The town's annual Easter festivities

We met up with some friends this morning at the park adjacent to the community field where the annual Easter Festivies were being held. At 12:30 we headed down to meet the mobs of people there. Of course it was the worst time of the day in an open field for photos, but I won't be suing the town. ;) I'm actually not going to complain about how harsh the sun was because after yesterday's rain and snow, it was a beautiful sight.

First up was the so-called Easter Egg Hunt for the under three set. Katie had the cutest little basket that her grandmother sent her. She calls her it her purse. The organizers had scattered plastic eggs all over the field while the participants waited behind a rope until they said "go". Well the time came and they called "Go" and I could barely believe my eyes. It was a sick display of greed indeed. Poor Katie didn't get any eggs at all, but at least she didn't get mowed down by the parents practically falling over one another to scoop up the eggs. The madness was over in less than one minute.




















I asked the organizers if we could get an egg since Katie didn't get one and they reluctantly handed one over. Sheesh! Who knew egg hunting was such a blood sport?



















Katie didn't know the difference. She was quite content playing with her "purse", eating her lollipop, and running around.






































I did however tell Dylan to run like the wind and not look back when the 4-5 year olds were up.

Next Dylan and Sara had their photo taken with the Easter bunny. This one wasn't quite as creepy as the one at the mall who wears a vest, but Katie still didn't want to get too close.




















They had a lovely petting zoo for the kids that mine both enjoyed.

All in all it was a fun time, especially for the kids.