Where Have I Been?

I know, I know. I was going to blog on a regular basis, and as an avid reader of many blogs, I hate when the sites I frequent aren't updated at least weekly. But I am in summer mode. We've been doing so many things the past couple of months. Here's a little taste:
Domenic's baseball season finally ended mid-July. We got some great pictures at his last game. Click on this one to see that toothless smile - Love it!

Went to Mayflower Beach with our neighbors and Vinny's family. Anyone who lives in New England should experience this beach at least once -- tons of sand, sandbars, shallow water -- such a great beach for the kids. Here are Domenic, Ben, Alex, & Vinny after we buried them alive -- I promise, it was their idea.

Domenic and Alex had their annual piano recital. Dom one the trophy for most improved -- you would have thought he won gold in Beijing. They both did a great job, and now we can finally move one to new pieces. If I never hear Fur Elise or the song from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I will be forever grateful.

We also went to Maine for a week -- well almost a week. We came home a little early to escape the rain. Despite the weather, the kids still had a great time.

They loved doing "back flips" off of the trampoline. I would call them back flops, and they probably would have been excruciatingly painful without the life vest padding.
Playing in the sandbox was fun for all. Alex dug a hole which later provided Mia and Rocco with several minutes of entertainment.
The whole crew stopping for a moment to take a picture with Uncle Mike.See what I mean? Rocco and Mia are having a blast in the hole built by Alex.

And to cap of our eventful summer--
No, we didn't make a trip to the turkey farm to pick out our Thanksgiving dinner early. That's our back yard.We don't call this site "Down on the Farm" for nothing! No siree!! You never know what kind of wildlife will show up in the back yard -- oh sure, lots of people have squirrels and bunnies, but not everyone gets a visit from a family of turkeys.

Well, that's our summer in a nutshell. The boys did just finish being in Willy Wonka, the Musical. They were fabulous Oompa Loompas, and I did take some pictures. I just haven't taken them off of my camera yet, so those pictures will have to wait for another post.

Fourth Fever!

I survived another Fourth of July in Bristol. Don't get me wrong -- I love it. The carnival, the parade, the nightly concerts, the cookouts, the fireworks, etc. It's just exhausting. For those of you who don't live in Bristol, the Fourth of July festivities begin on Flag Day. The season of celebrating this country's independence lasts almost as long as the Christmas Season -- think of how you feel on December 26, and you get an idea of how exhausting being Patriotic can be.

Although - truth be told, I had it pretty easy this year. Fred worked the night of the ball (yes, there is a 4th of July ball) so we weren't obligated to go. We only went to one concert. My in-laws took the boys to the carnival. I didn't even catch the fireworks this year. And, as Domenic pointed out, we didn't decorate. I think we may be the only house in town that isn't sporting patriotic bunting. Oh well, Mia had a different red/white/blue ensemble for every day of the week -- doesn't decorating your children count for something?

Here's Fred broadcasting the parade in HD!

And here's one of Mia, sparkler headband and all (so cute!). And Domenic watching with anticipation - little does he know he has to sit there for 3 more hours.

And finally -- Fred took the boys to tour the USS Widbey, a ship that is docked for the weekend in the bay. It's a pretty impressive ship, and all 3 boys thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Grandpa, you would have loved it.

I know I said the Fourth is over -- but as I'm writing this I can hear the "grand finale" of a fireworks display in the next town. Okay, maybe tomorrow the Fourth will be finished.

Beach Baby

We had our first official beach day of the season the other day. I think Mia went to the beach once last year, but that was in the evening, and she wasn't walking yet, so that doesn't count.

Talk about WAY too much excitement. She was everywhere! She couldn't decide whether she wanted to laugh, cry, play in the sand, throw rocks, smash sand castles, or splash in waves. Everyone else brought better toys -- even though they were the exact same ones we had.

The water was COLD, but I guess that's normal for the New England, so I won't complain. The boys happily built a tunnel in the sand and "tried" body surfing -- they still need some practice to perfect that skill.

Overall, it was a really fun way to spend the morning.

Want a Ride?

In case you're wondering why I would post a picture of the interior of my car...it's because I can. That's right, after much toil, my car is finally presentable to the entire world.

I should have taken a BEFORE picture, but I just couldn't bear to look at it. Suffice it to say, if we were some of those unlucky people whose car crashes into a ravine and don't get found for weeks, we would have been able to survive on half eaten granola bars, half drunken bottles of water, ground in Cheerios, blankets to keep us warm, changes of clothes, and enough toys to keep us entertained until a rescue crew arrived a month after the accident. Of course, we probably would have been bludgeoned to death by all of the flying debris during the crash, so it wouldn't really matter.

Let it be noted that I am not solely responsible for the state of my car. My boys continuously leave church clothing, sports equipment, half-eaten snacks, school papers, etc. in the back seat. Mia is also to blame... she has a habit of throwing cups, hair accessories, shoes, and toys wherever she deems necessary and NEVER brings any of the said items inside with her.

Usually, I shy away from driving people places - not because I want to save a small fortune on gas - because I don't want everything to tumble out of the car as passengers try to get in the front seat.

Today I feel like going searching for people just to drive around simply to show off the interior of my van. Safety issues aside, the world should really get to enjoy this momentous occasion. Who knows how long it will last?


And finally, here's a picture of Alex & Dom taken after graduation last Thursday. Alex wouldn't keep his suit on, but he did humor us and pose for a couple of pictures.

New Snack?

The picture has nothing to do with this post - other than Domenic is on the far right dressed as a "North Dakotan" in his school play - now on to the good stuff.

The other day I was driving around in the car with Domenic, and he was talking about anything and everything. I know he loves the sound of his own voice and very often asks me redundant questions or makes obvious comments just because to talk -- this day was no different. So I'm half paying attention when he asks me if Ritz crackers really taste good with pudding.

Me: "What are you talking about?"

Dom: "You know mom - Ritz crackers - are they really good with pudding."

Okay, I'm thinking he saw some weird, low-budget cooking show, and he's talking about some strange kind of banana pudding recipe, or something. I know you can make fake apple pie with Ritz, so anything's possible.

Me: "Who told you that Ritz crackers and pudding were good together?"

Dom: "I heard it in a song"

I had to bite my lip to stop laughing as I explained that "Puttin' on the Ritz" was not the same as eating pudding with Ritz crackers.

Sometimes that rambling of his really pays off!

Joining the bandwagon

After lurking around many different blog sites, I've finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and start blogging. Hopefully, this will help me keep up to date with my friends and family.

This weekend was the first truly nice weekend of the year. It's times like these when I realize how grateful I am to live in New England - I usually spend the better part of Jan/Feb/March wishing I were ANYWHERE but here - then overnight the trees start blossoming, the weather warms, and our little home turns into a paradise of sorts. I love Rhode Island - next week I might be singing a different tune, but this weekend was perfect.

I took Mia to a nearby farm to see the resident pig. The pig was no longer there, but we saw chickens and got some cute pictures.