School is in SESSION!

And so, Miss Hayley made her return to school today. THREE YEAR OLD preschool to be exact! Yep, it was happy times for all this morning as we prepared to head out! Hayley was singing "it's back to school," Mommy was singing "it's back to school," and even little Toddy was dragging his sister to the car singing "the BOSS is going back to school!"

And luckily for me, things went MUCH better this first day of school then they did compared to last year's first day of school. Now I don't want to count my chickens and all, but I'm pretty confident I'm not going to get one of these pictures again this year!


My Baby Girl


Heading off to her class... clearly, she doesn't feel the need to hold my hand!

Telling me to "weave" - nothing new

All Aboard

We survived!! Yes, I managed to survive two solo plane flights with my two little angels and I didn't even need to resort to the parachute I had packed in my carry on! I'd say it was a successful trip! Both of our flights were rather eventful, which actually provided loads of entertainment for my two thrill seekers. Clearly they get their love of "danger" from their father. On the flight to Colorado, we hit some major turbulence coming into DIA. And by major, I mean major. I literally had to squeeze Todd for fear that he'd fly out of my arms. And while the rest of the plane was "ohhing" and I was clinging to my son with white knuckles and praying, my little angels were giggling with glee and yelling "weeeee!" Who knew flying could be so much fun? Luckily, my time in Denver was much more relaxing. I went on several long runs and developed a new appreciation for Florida's flat, sea-level terrain. Funny how I never seemed to notice Colorado's hills until I became a runner! We kept the kids busy with outings to several parks, Tiny Town, and The White Fence Farm. We had such a fun time and mostly just enjoyed spending time with Mimi, Grandpa, G-Grams, and family!


Goofing Around



Miss Hollywood Goes to Tiny Town


I hope this isn't an omen


Todd was all to eager to lock up his sister!


Love the mountain air!


A Tiny Town train ride with Grandpa!


A trip to White Fence Farm!


Stopping to smell the roses.


My little goat


No Hayley, we can't take this goat home instead.


Fun with the family!



Between all the planes, trains and automobiles, Todd mastered the "All Aboard" call!

The time has come

For sixteen months, I have dreaded this day. The day that I would finally have to break down and give my little boy his first haircut. Considering the relentless prenatal indigestion that sprouted lucious locks on my newborn, this day has been long overdue. But Todd had the surfer look going and he wore it quite well. I also had plenty of reassurance from my fellow female types NOT to cut his hair. Because Todd? He has very much paralleled the biblical story of Samson. Just like Samson, Todd's great weakness is beautiful women. (And those beautiful women seem to swoon over his curls.) And again, like Samson, Todd has shown great strength in battling a fierce opponent (Hayley). So you can understand my completely rational fear that cutting my little Samson's hair would result in a lifetime of noogies, swirleys, and wedgies by playground bullies. But as the "where are your daughters" and "what sweet little girls you have" comments increased, I began to think that perhaps, the time had come. And then last night Todd began acting out his hair by wearing a bracelet and necklace through the house and Brian laid down the law. The barbershop had a 5pm opening!
Todd was pretty suspicious from the second he sat in the car.
Then this strange women started running her fingers through his hair. And not in a good way. No, this strange women had a look of intent on her face.
And then, the cutting began. And my heart completely broke.
But finally, it was over. And the result was just perfect. Todd still had a bit of his "edge" left...
... and most importantly, he still had his CURLS!!

Space... the final frontier!

At least for my little summer camper. Hayley wrapped up her third and final week of summer camp on Friday. She enjoyed a week learning about Native Americans, a week learning about the beach and all its inhabitants, with a space education rounding out her summer curriculum. She had so much fun each week and I swear her vocabulary developed by leaps and bounds. She really doesn't miss a thing and frequently catches Brian and I off guard with the stuff she comes up with. Below are some of her recent funnies.

Brian (tucking Hayley into bed): "Did you have fun at space camp today, Hayley?"
Hayley: "No Daddy. It's SUMMER camp and this was space WEEK, not space camp!"
Brian: "Oh, well EXCUSE ME!!!"

Hayley (as I sang along with Lady Gaga's Pokerface while in the car): "No Mommy, don't poke me in the face!"

We're spending the upcoming week preparing for a trip to Colorado! We're looking forward to the cooler weather for sure!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

We're still here! My lack of blogging has been due in part to summer unfun and what can best be described as the plague. For SIX weeks I was down and out. Luckily for me, it wasn't anything that countless hours of hacking frustration and two rounds of antibiotics couldn't handle. Brian had the plague too! Because you know, misery loves company. As for the kids, they coughed for a week and had some runny noses, nothing along the lines of the plague that I so miserably suffered from! And at least I learned something... I now know what pleurisy is. I also know that I don't ever want it again.

Sunday we took the kids to their first major league baseball game! The stadium was LOTS of fun. I'm pretty sure we didn't see more than five pitches. But really, who goes to a baseball game to watch baseball? We spent most of the time convincing Hayley that it was a baseball game, not a golf game anyways!

Getting ready to head to the Rays Game!



Hayley LOVED the mascot

Todd? Not so much

Ready for the 1st pitch