Thanksgiving 2010

I have so much to post, but little time to do it (and I lost the cord to download pics from my phone). This year's Thanksgiving was extremely enjoyable. As we do every year, we spend Thanksgiving with the Poley Family. I cook dinner which I love to do. Thanksgiving is always and entertaining night with lots of laughs. This year Dylan got his Pop Pop to even play Wii with him. The girls played with their cousin Abigele and the football games were on in the background. The Christmas Tree didn't go up but I did deliver a tree to the cemetery with the kids to put on my dad's headstone. There's certain Douglass traditions that I won't forget, but now that I have my own family, some traditions can go on but changed a little--

Here's a pic of my beautiful kids wearing matching turkey outfits.

Halloween 2010

This Halloween was something else! I felt like the parties never ended, and, oh my, the CANDY!!! The kids were wonderful this year. They got dressed, could not wait to knock on doors and politely said "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You", without the unnecessary song that last year snuck it's way in at every house (you know what song I'm talking about). It was freezing out and Emily fell asleep after the 4th house we stopped at. Brynn and Dylan loved walking in the 32 Degree FREEZING temperatures. After several houses I reminded Dylan that we wanted to go home and scare some kids and hand out Halloween candy to Trick or Treaters at our house. He was a little bummed when only 4 kids showed up. Maybe next year we'll have a better plan and Dylan can stay closer to home and really scare some kiddies!

Pumpkins

I'm so far behind blogging I'm going to try to catch up. A couple of days before Halloween the kids designed their Jack o' lanterns. Dylan I have to say really enjoyed this experience this year. He drew a face on his pumpkin, took his shirt off (I guess it was easier than pulling up his sleeeves) and cleaned out his pumpkin all by himself. He then (with daddy's assistance) cut the pumpkins face and couldn't wait to see it lit up. Brynn also got right in the pumpkin and while making some hysterical noises (she was slightly grossed out), cleaned her pumpkin out and explained to daddy what her pumpkin should look like. Emily, oh sweet Emily, was grossed out and even with a spoon didn't really enjoy the jack o lantern experience. The faces she made were too funny. Until next year....

Cruise 2010

Stephen and I left for our annual Fall vacation together last Monday. We had such a wonderful time but missed the kids terribly by Thursday when we spent the day "out at sea". The cruise ship was much smaller than the ones we typically go on. I actually cruised on this same boat with Dylan four years ago. Not much has changed and apparently we were informed that the week we vacationed was the last week the boat would be sailing this year because it was going to be dry docked for refurbishing. Key West was a ton of fun and Mexico was beautiful. We went to an old Spanish church, toured a tequila factory (and of course sampled some authentic Mexican tequila), visited a Mayan relic, the City of Cozumel and relaxed at a nice beach front resort before heading back on the ship. What beautiful views and sunsets Cozumel has to offer- Cannot wait to start planning our next family cruise vacation! I'm sure the kids would have loved this trip but sometimes Mommy and Daddy need a little break-- It was much needed and I cannot wait for our trip next October! It was hard leaving the 80 degree + weather and heading back to 40 degree New York temperatures I can tell you that~!

The final camping trip of the season

Purchasing a camper at the beginning of the Summer had to be one of the best things I think we have ever done. We camped 6 out of 8 weekends during the summer and went camping Labor Day and this past Columbus weekend. It was a little chilly but when you camp with the wonderful group of people like we do, there are NO complaints! My kids carved a pumpkin, played from the minute they woke up with the beautiful fallen leaves and relaxed by the fire before bedtime. I LOVE camping in the Fall. We cleaned our little summer home out when we got home Monday night and I cannot wait for Spring to arrive for our Memorial Day weekend at Gilbert Lake

Michelle's Wedding

My sister Michelle was married last Saturday, October 9th. My kids are thrilled to have a new uncle. Here are some pictures of the beautiful day....

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

I am embarrassed to admit this but I have NEVER gone apple picking--NEVER. It is something that I have always wanted to do, and have attempted to do, but never got to the orchard. Since Dylan's soccer game was cancelled yesterday afternoon, my favorite family, the Siegels, invited us to pumpkin and apple picking with them in New Paltz. The sun was shining and I had plans of cleaning the house all day but I literally ditched the broom and vacuum, hopped in to the shower and dressed my clan...we were finally going to get to the orchard!

I had so much fun and I don't think I put my camera down much. Emily was hysterical eating all the apples she could pull off of the tree. Dylan and Will were giggling running around the orchard chasing each other and Brynn and Jessica, the princesses of our group just enjoyed checking out the beauty of the orchard. It really was beautiful.

After trekking through a very muddy corn maze, picking 60 pounds of pumpkins and paying, we tailgated for a bit and went to the Gilded Otter for a late lunch/early dinner. My kids were EXHAUSTED but thanked us at least 20x on the way home. It was a lot of fun and now definitely part of our Fall plans every year.

Pumpkin Party 2010

The day of the Pumpkin Party finally arrived! Oh how excited my children have been to put their costumes on--I attempt every year to buy costumes for the kids that are warm since you can never anticipate Halloween weather in Sullivan County. Against my better judgment I gave in to Brynnie's request to be a mermaid and attempted at the last minute to dress her up as a Pumpkin (of course did NOT fly).

Dylan has been obessed with the medeival era for the last year so he was a knight again this year. Brynn wanted to dress up like Ariel (the little mermaid) so she was a beautiful (but yet cold) mermaid. I wanted to dress Emme up as a peacock in the worst way this year but unfortunately the costume has been backordered and I was not able to purchase it in time for the party this past Saturday. I found a butterfly costume at Children's Place and I have to say she was a very cute little 'bug'.

The day was goregous and you could not have asked for a better Fall weekend...

Lunch with your child

I'm undecided how I feel about Brynnie's school. It has good aspects and there are somethings that truly irk me. The one thing I do like is that they have a special day once a month when one of the parents get to have lunch with the student. I remember when I was in school this happened once a year but at Brynnie's private school, they think that it's great for parents and children to do this monthly. I liked the fact that I could check out the cafeteria and see where she goes after she leaves her classroom. Brynn liked the fact that mommy was there with her eating lunch. We even adopted her little friend for the lunch period and she ate lunch with us since her parents couldn't be there. Next month is daddy's turn---can't wait to hear what he thinks about the food....

Homework....

I cannot begin to explain how busy I am these days. It seems like I'm being pulled in a million directions but thankfully I am a good planner and have great organization skills so the days fly by. Last night was a preview of my future. Practice homework has begun. The teacher this year is wonderful because you get the week's homework clipped together on Monday and you have to return it on Friday--theres no pressure how much needs to be completed each day.

When the girls heard me tell Dylan to have a seat and start homework, they wanted to be a part of the action-- I have a preschool workbook in the kitchen drawer and gave Brynn an assignment of coloring all the squares she could find on her paper and I have Emily the assignment to NOT peel the papers off of the crayons--

I think it's going to take us a while to get into the homework swing of things....

Dance class

The day arrived--tap and ballet!!! I have been looking forward to this day since I found out I was having a little girl. I found the tu-tu, the leotard and the tights in the beginning of August. I put the dance outfit in a pretty bag and told Brynn how she was going to love being a dancer. She was not happy after school yesterday when I picked her up and told her it was time for her very first dance class. After I got her dressed and she put her ballet slippers on she was excited to get in the room and participate with all of the other 3 year old girls. It had to be the cutest thing I have seen in a long time AND right up my little princess' alley!

SCORE!!

Soccer practices began about a month ago but this past Sunday, soccer games started. I was one very proud mama when Dylan made the first goal of the season! He surprised himself I think and I wish I had my camera ready to capture his expression. I enjoy watching him play and I think this season is going to be a great one, especially since he has a wonderful coach and great teammates.