Spring!

Finally!  It finally felt like spring today.  The boys and I spent hours outside, it was wonderful.  The morning was spent at home.  We played out in the mud/snow with Tails (our barn cat).

 We came in for lunch and some lego play and then headed over to the 3rd line.  Our friend Gillian's parent's own a horse farm just one line over from us.  We played and played and played there.  Hunter helped groom a horse (Drew wasn't interested in the horses), we watched FG cross a river to collect his sap for maple syrup (I thought for sure he was going to fall in!) and the kids played on some hay bales.  It was a fun (and exhausting) afternoon.

We're on the hunt for a new climber for Nana and Papa's house.  Hunter really liked this one.

After the fun on the 3rd line, we headed for a pizza dinner at Nana and Papa's.  The kids were so tired that we just hung out and watched netflix all evening.
Happy Sunday!  Here's to a great week.

The week in Review

This week I have been attempting to remove the wall-paper from this bathroom.  So far, the wall-paper is winning.

 My mom gave us a chair that she did not want anymore.  I love it, and think it fits in great in our living room!

We went to the Maple Syrup Festival at Mountsberg with the Gallo family.  It was cold, damp and muddy, but the kids had a blast.

We purchased and James has almost finished installing our baseboards in the living room.  

 We tried out the South Street burger Co. restaurant for the first time (and Hunter took a few selfies).  The burger joint was REALLY good!

 I've been trying to take photos of the farm, so I don't forget.

 Drew and Hunter started their 9 days in a row of swimming lessons.  So far, so good.  4 more days to go.

 Hunter missed a swimming lesson so he could go to Jack's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese (on Wednesday).  He was so excited for the party.  He had a great time.

My mom went to Drew's swimming lesson and then came to Chuck E Cheese with Drew so he didn't have to miss his swimming lesson (James' schedule makes it tough to fit everything in!  We're so very thankful for my parents).

James and Hunter got a lot of work done at the house (ahem...if a nerf gun war is considered work....ha ha).  In all seriousness, James has got a ton of stuff done!

James has started building the kitchen cabinets!!!!!

Drew came home from school on Friday telling us/asking us about "Chucky" and "Bloody Mary".  A child in his class was telling him and his friends all about them, he even looked them up on the internet so he could show Drew and his friend pictures.  When Drew was telling us about them after school, he was laughing.....at bedtime it was not a laughing matter.  My poor boy was beside himself.  "I just can't get the image out of my head, mommy".  We are talking convulsions, tears, almost throwing up.  It was awful.  Hunter went right to sleep, thankfully.  After a while of sitting in his room with him, we got up and he went to the bathroom for a drink, almost puked and then James and I both took him to our room and cuddled with him in our bed while he cried himself to sleep.  It was heart-breaking.  This morning, I "made" nightmare spray.  We sprayed it all over the boys' room and it seemed to help a bit.  We still had to call daddy at work and speak to him through tears, but at least he went to sleep in his own bed tonight (only after asking me to spray the nightmare spray just one more time).  Here's hoping he sleeps through the night!

Today, the boys played store for the first time in a very long time.  They have been really into lego, and that's pretty much all they've played with....not sure why they decided to break the routine today, but it was super cute.  I'm sure it's because I was thinking of selling the cash register!  

On Monday, I'm taking Drew to a dermatologist to see if we can find some relief for his skin.  His eczema has been really bad this year.  Perhaps because of the extreme cold this year, or stress about moving?  Not sure, hopefully the doctor can help us!

March break - part 2

After our long day at Disney, we needed a low-key day (my body was SORE!).  The kids had never been to Disney quest before, so we headed there.  It's essentially like Playdium.  Lot's of video games, cool virtual reality rides, etc.  It wasn't exactly magical, but the kids seemed to enjoy it.  Most of the games were a little too old for Hunter.  We did find a level that was geared towards his age group.  Hunter and I spent the entire time there.  It was pretty much like Chuck E Cheese, without the tickets.  I think he was disappointed there weren't any tickets.  He kept looking for them.

After our afternoon there, we met Lisa and Julia at Animal Kingdom lodge for dinner at "Boma".  This was a buffet-style dinner that was SO yummy.  In typical Disney style, there was something for everyone there.  We all walked away with our bellies full.  After dinner, we walked out to one of the playgrounds on the resort and then headed to check out the animals.  Animal Kingdom Lodge backs onto Animal kingdom, so from the resort, you can watch the animals in the reserve.  We saw giraffes, zebras, flamingos and some other exciting animals that I can't think of right now.

Friday was to be our last day in Florida.  We had originally decided to leave Saturday morning, but because of all the crazy weather in the north, we thought we'd better give ourselves some more time to get home.  Friday morning was spent packing and playing at our resort.  The kids had fun in the park, on the basketball/volleyball courts and at the beach.

For our last meal in Florida, we headed to the Disney Boardwalk resort.  This is a resort I would love to stay at.  Not only is there beautiful views of water, but there is a fun boardwalk with lots of different restaurants and shops to explore (reminded me of Myrtle beach, which is what it is fashioned after).  We had pizza and sandwiches for lunch, along with some fun desserts and then we said our goodbyes.  Lisa and Norm were staying in the south for a few more days (so jealous of their longer march breaks!).

These little chairs are the cutest thing ever.  We had to fight with the children to get all 4 to sit at the same time.  They just don't value a good photo opportunity when they see one!!!  

We made it to south carolina the first night and then to west virginia the 2nd night.  We actually stayed at the same hotel going home in west Virginia as we did driving down (we LOVED that place!).

Indoor/outdoor pool!  yay!

On the saturday night, we had a lovely dinner in West Virginia at the olive garden.

It was a lovely trip.  Not relaxing at all, but neither of us were expecting it to be (I think we gave up relaxing vacations when we had children).  We remembered how much we love Florida/Disney (we hadn't been in 2 years!) and are already planning our next trip there.  The drive was actually really fun.  The kids did great and didn't complain at all.  We did have to stop at a Wal-mart on the Saturday while we were driving home to buy a few more movies, but that was actually fun too (trips to Wal-mart are always exciting!  lol).

March Break 2014 - part 1

Big changes in our lives since my last post!  More on that in another post.  Thought I'd start on the road back to blogging with a post about our Florida trip.  Since I've got a job now (big change #1), we can no longer travel during off-peak times of the year.  This meant that we could not afford to fly ANYWHERE.  What's a family to do??  Drive to Florida apparently!

Off we go!  We left Thursday March 6 just as the sun was rising.  It was a little bright for Hunter.

We stopped at Grove City, Pennsylvania to do some outlet shopping.  The boys got a slushie at 10 in the morning.  I'm a great mom.  lol

Our first night was spent in West Virginia at a Country inn and suites.  We LOVED this hotel (free cookies at the front desk - what's not to love!)

We scored a suite, which meant a living room for us to watch tv in after the boys went to bed. (it was Thursday afterall, my fav tv night!).

The best part for the boys was the pool.  It was an indoor/outdoor one.  Drew loved swimming from inside to the freezing outside.

Hunter just stayed inside.

 The boys did a bit of colouring on our way.  Don't be fooled though.  Mostly they watched movies and played on the ipads.  Not the best parenting, but it kept them happy for the trip.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn, in South Carolina our 2nd night.  We had a full suite again, but James and I were so tired that after we put the boys to bed, we barely kept our eyes open long enough to watch anything on tv! We did get a swim in, before the boys hit the hay.  We also had a yummy dinner at the Olive garden and dessert at DQ!

James finally convinced us to try Steak and Shake.  The kids loved it, I loved it at the time.  Afterwards, I felt SO sick!

We made it!  We stayed the The Grand Beach Resort in Orlando.

We really liked this resort.  We had booked a 3 bedroom, as we originally thought my parents were coming with us.  They didn't come, so we ended up with some extra space!

The living room

kitchen.  It didn't take us long to fill the place up with our junk!

Bedroom 1 with ensuite

Boys' bathroom

Bedroom 2 with ensuite

Boys' room

On Sunday morning, we woke bright and early and headed to Legoland.  Katie and Julia didn't want to go there, so we thought we'd go before they arrived later that day.  The boys adored their day there.  It's a theme park that is geared towards kids aged 2-12.  The rides were perfect for my boys and with their obsession with Lego, it was a wonderful day.

On top of the rides, there were lots of displays of lego-built items.  The boys were very impressed with this.  I think Drew was mostly impressed with the fact that adults build lego and get paid to do it!!  Future career?!?!?

Meeting the stars of the Lego movie.

Drew took a robotics course while we were there.  

His final product - a crocodile that bites your finger if you stick it in it's mouth.

We stayed at Legoland until the park closed and then headed to Hardee's for dinner.  Hardee's was gross!  Was the first (and last) time for us!!!

When we got back that night, Katie and Julia were there!

Sunrise at our resort

Monday morning we headed to the Polynesian resort at WDW for breakfast with Mickey.

Hunter was SO excited to see Mickey.

At the Polynesian character breakfast, the kids get to do a little parade around the restaurant with the characters.  When we first arrived, Hunter just wanted to watch, by the end he was up with the big kids.

After our breakfast, we rode the monorail and then spent some time at the Contemporary resort.  We've found that even just walking around the various Disney resorts is magical!

I have yearly photos of Drew and Hunter with Buzz (this is outside of one of the toy stores at downtown Disney).  The last time we were there, Buzz was gone.  I was so sad.....but look who's back!!!

On the Tuesday, we went to Typhoon lagoon (Disney water park) and had an amazing time.  James took Drew and swam with sharks, did water slides, and swam in the wave pool.  Hunter and I did a million laps of the lazy river.  He's recently decided that he doesn't need his floaties and just wants to swim underwater all the time (as a result, I've had many heart-attacks). Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos. 

Wednesday was our Magic Kingdom day.  It worked out perfectly.  There was a bit of rain on our way in and that seemed enough to keep the crowds away for the day.  We got there in time to see Mickey and friends arrive at the park by steam train and stayed until almost 10 so we could see the light parade. My body was SO sore the next day!

This photo was taken just after 3.  Hunter was EXHAUSTED, but wouldn't give up.  He did great the entire day....was so excited for everything.

This picture is out of order, but it's from the morning show when the characters arrive at the park.

Hunter wanted nothing to do with having a picture with Donald.

Nothing says Disney like a shooting range!

Trying to pull the sword from the stone.

I'll post more about the rest of our week in the next post!