Wordless Wednesday

Only a very COOL Dad...

...can admit to having a favorite Jonas Brothers song! LMAO!

Imagine my surprise when we were in the car the other day and Jada proudly announced that "Daddy has a favorite Jonas Brothers song"! I didn't believe it at all. He tried to deny it but then he played it and was rocking out! I am still shocked! LOL!

So, here's to teeny bopper music and Dad's that are cool enough to listen to it!

We love you Daddy!!!

1st Day of school!

Today is the 1st day of 2nd grade for Janea!!!! Yes, I said that right: 2nd grade! Last year we worked with her teacher and school principal to get Janea into a class that would continue to challenge Janea and they determined she should skip 1st grade. We thought long and hard about the decision but in the end agreed and gave our approval.
I can't believe my baby is so grown up! Her book bag was loaded down with so many school supplies include 4-5 subject notebooks (what will they do with those?).

First day of school!

Jen & her big baby girl!

Getting on the bus and not even looking back!

Our 2nd baby is also growing up and leaving the nest! Jada starts preschool with a staggered entry day this Friday. She'll go daily from 8am - 2pm. We are so excited for her! Today her teachers came for a home visit (they do this with the pre-k class so that the kids feel comfortable and have a chance to get to know the teachers on their own turf).

Jada

Mrs. Johnson, Jada & Ms. Cooper

These were Janea's pre-k teachers in 2006-2007. We requested them for Jada because we think they are wonderful teachers and they have helped to build a strong educational foundation for our girls.

Just think...Jula will hopefully go to the same school and have the same teachers in 2011-2012 school year!!! Eeeeeek!

Sick - day 2

Jula still isn't feeling great but she hasn't had a fever since 11am today...hopefully that's a good sign. I'm trying not to freak out about her barely eating and barely drinking. Being a Mom is HARD especially when you watch a child suffer and you can't fix it!

Here's my poor sugar muffin just laying on the couch! Awwwwww!

P.S. I'm lucky that she had her index finger up for this picture...she's actually been flipping everyone off pretty regular the past few days! I think she's super pissed she's sick...she wants to run and play with her sisters!

Sick Babies!

I hate when my babies get sick...it just hurts my heart! My little Jula is running a pretty high temp and is just pathetic. I cancelled all of our plans today so we could just hang out and make sure she's better.
I didn't realize it before but she's rarely sick like this and rarely runs a temp to the point where she just lays there. What a complete 360 from an active toddler! I TOTALLY took advantage of it and snuggled her real good...love the cuddles. Her sisters are SO concerned about her and are walking around looking sad and pathetic too!
And I wonder why she's a brat LOL! She has 4 people who want to take care of her every whim! She's definitely spoiled and I know she'll always be the baby.

Thank God for Motrin! It's helped the fever come down for now. She's sitting on the couch with daddy, watching the Olympics, enjoying being spoiled and sharing a bowl of cereal with Daddy. At least she's eating and drinking for us; what a relief!

One of my favorite spots

Day 7

Believe it or not, Buffalo has some beautiful spots. Of course you have to go at the right time of year (NOT in the winter months). Since we were there early August the weather was just perfect, there was a wonderful breeze coming off the water and it was a beautiful day so I made everyone go to the Waterfront and Marina. Growing up I lived very close to the Waterfront and used to visit it regularly and enjoy the water. I forgot how relaxing a stroll could be!

Janea at the Marina

Jada at the Marina

Jula too!

How will I ever get a perfect shot with a 1yr old?!?!?!

I made them pose by this statue of a Buffalo! I thought it was only appropriate HAHAHA!

After all the walking I couldn't help but treat them to a hot dog by the water. We attempted to eat outside BUT we were literally attacked by seagulls (I guess they have gotten VERY aggressive)! Jada set her hot dog down on the table, not far from her hand and a few minutes later a seagull swooped down and stole it! Then, the stupid bird dropped it and decided to scream at us either in anger or for more! I was shocked...they always begged for food but never got that close to you so we took the rest of the food inside.

After the hot dog I couldn't resist some ice cream! Ah, Mom is such a sucker sometimes! We indulged in some very yummy custard! It was so worth the calories!!

NKOTB!!!!

Are you a fan?

Can you prove you're a fan?

Are you getting the CD today? You probably didn't even know it's available, did you?

Nah, you're not a fan!

But if you want to start being a fan today, you can get the Greatest Hits CD from Target! Hey, you gotta start somewhere, right?

On the Road AGAIN!

Last Day of vacation

We're on the road again but this time we are headed HOME! YAY! It's our last official day of vacation HAHAHAHA (technically vacation ended yesterday) driving for 10+hrs is NOT vacation!!! Especially NOT for Mom and Dad LOL! If you're reading this send us "good kid vibes" - the girls will need it!

I have tons more pictures to share and a few days to fill in with what we did but I was having issues uploading pics to blogger :( So, next week look for more vacation updates!

Niagara Falls

Day 6
Growing up we had easy access to Niagara Falls so, of course, we took it for granted. Now that we live 700 miles away we were excited to go see it and also to show the kids one of the greatest wonders of the world!
The girls weren't very impressed at first. I made them walk from the top of the rapids (past Goat Island) to the end of the falls. They thought it was cool but Jada kept asking to "do something fun" LOL! So, we went out onto the overlook and they were kinda impressed, we went all the way to the bottom and it still wasn't a big deal. I talked Daddy into taking them on the walkway where you can walk up to the middle of the falls and get soaked. By the time they came back down they LOVED it and Jada was finally having fun!

The girls near the rapids

A nice shot of the falls - see the stairs near the bottom (look for blue raincoats)?
That's where Julian took them!

There they are at the 1st turn on the stairs

Look how close they are to the falls! SO COOL! They got completely soaked!

Thanks to a wonderful volunteer we have a shot of the fabulous JCrew!

DeWayne is O-N-E!

Day 5

We remember it clearly...we came to Buffalo at the same time last year and we hoped to be here for the birth of Julian's nephew. We arrived in town and Carlee was in labor and we were SO excited! She went to L&D but since it was early labor they sent her home and she labored all night long. The next morning Julian took her back to L&D and they finally admitted her.

On August 5 at 12:11pm DeWayne arrived into the world!!! We were so excited to meet him. He was so tiny but so cute and precious! Uncle Julian was so proud to meet his new nephew and loves that DeWayne is using his middle name!

Our main reason for visiting this week is so we can share in the joyus celebration of him turning O-N-E! We love you DeWayne!

DeWayne - 2 days old

DeWayne & Mommy

DeWayne & Uncle Julian

**************************************************************************

The Birthday Boy is O-N-E!!

Mommy & DeWayne

Uncle Julian & DeWayne

We love you DeWayne!!!

Fun with Friends

Day 3

Growing up my BFF was Pam. Pam and I were inseperable since the age of 3. Life changed and our parents moved so it was hard to see each other but we tried to call as often as we could. Then we became young adults and I moved away and we lost touch.
Turns out that Pam still lives in the area and in 2005 I looked her up and we reconnected. We were amazed at the similarities in our lives, separate but not far apart - we got married the same year, same month and we had baby girls very close to each other, etc. Well after we reconnected our girls have followed in our foot steps and have quickly became BFF's.
When we are in town it's tradition to get together and we try to squeeze in a sleepover if possible. Pam is a saint for taking all the kids - Janea, Jada and her 2 Kayleigh and Hayden.
Yesterday we met at the park and the kids wore themselves out before they went to Pam's for a exciting evening of dressup, movies and a sleepover!

BFF's: Jada, Kayleigh & Janea

Silly girls

Playing together

On the swings

It's time to leave and go to Pam's! YAY!

Though we may be miles apart, you are always close in our Hearts!

We love you Pam & Kayleigh!

We made it!

We arrived in town and were greeted by rain! Here's the sign that we see when we first get in:


About 5yrs ago they added these to the side of the road and we get a good laugh every time we see them!

After the rain we noticed the beautiful rainbow and were very surprised by a 2nd rainbow that appeared. I'm not sure if the pic will be big enough for you to see it but the 2nd one is above the 1st one. I think Buffalo is happy that we are here LOL!!

Shuffle off...continued

We got to the hotel safe and sound, although it was way later than I had planned but we weren't rushing since we have no time restrictions. It ended up being a little crazy especially when we tried to get dinner. The power went out for a few minutes and the restaurants around us were out of commission for a while.
So, in the meantime we got the kids bathed and ready for bed. The room looked huge until we all piled into it - 3 adults, 2 babies and 2 big kids - which means 2 Queen beds and 2 pack 'n plays LOL!



Jula is ready for bed! She would NOT go to sleep until all the lights were out and then she finally passed out.

About 1am we got hit with horrible thunderstorms that woke the older girls up. I was SO shocked the babies slept through it all. Janea was crying and scared so she piled into bed with Carlee. Then Jada woke up screeching and practically flew into our bed. After she calmed down I had her pile in with Janea and Carlee. Eventually everyone settled down and went to sleep. I knew I didn't need to set an alarm because Dewayne woke us all up at 1am! Ahhhh the joys of having a baby around!

Here's part of the crew ready to leave the hotel!

Day 2

We are back on the road and hope to make it to Buffalo by 3pm!

Shuffle off..

...to Buffalo!

Day 1
The van is loaded and we're ready to go. I still can't believe we got everything packed, loaded and still have room for people! Thank goodness we bought a big van that holds 7 people and luggage! Mom, Dad, Janea, Jada, Jula, Carlee & Dewey all fit!
The first leg of our trip is just 6 hours and then we'll stop tonight to rest. Tomorrow it's another 6 hours and then we'll be in Buffalo!

Ready to go!

In the car

YAY CHICKEN!