Our Newest Addition!

Well, After much talking, negotiating, and a too good to pass up deal, we have a new addition!

Sophia!!

This is our new little puppy! She is from a pure bred black lab mom and a great dane/St. Bernard mix dad!! OOPS!So far the kids are learning that she does this (sit) when you try to walk her on her leash. And if they like their toys, they should put them away or watch them become chew toys!!
Taylor is likely not going to be able to pick her up for long!!

After a few barks, and some explaining of the territory rules by Buster, the two have decided they are good together! He does think she is a little off when she gets down on her front paws and barks at him in an attempt to get him to play.

This will be another fun challenge/adventure for our household!! Just when things look like they might calm down, we mix it up a bit!!!

New favorite photo

I am pretty sure this is my new favorite photo of Maddie. This happens to her everytime she goes on the trampoline. I try to keep her hair in a ponytail so she can jump without it in her face. This day it was especially crazy!! I am sure it has something to do with humidity or lack of!! It just cracks me up. Of course she has no idea what we are all laughing about since she can't see it. When I showed her the picture she was cracking up at herself too!!

Our little Ballerina

Along with all the kids going back to school, Maddie started her new class. She is going to a ballet/tap class and is so happy to wear her little ballerina getup!! She has been to 2 classes and is still a little shy about going in herself. She will warm up to it I am sure!Maddie was ready to go and I wasn't so she decided she would go to ballet class on her wormie by herself. I caught up with her at the end of the driveway and we went in the van!!

Happy Mother's Day

Well, here is my annual Mother's Day post!! The new school year has started!! This means many things for us. The kids obviously go back to school. The calendar gets very full with activities. Despite all that goes on, it is my favorite time of year because things can get into a schedule!! It is always nice to get things into a routine. Taylor is in 7th Grade!!
Timothy goes to Pre-K everyday of the week. He is thrilled!!

Zack is in 4th grade!!

And Chris is a First grader!!!

This leaves Maddie and I by ourselves for the morning hours. I was really looking forward to this time. It is funny though how much Maddie doesn't seem to like it though. She really misses her brothers and sisters. I am pretty sure though it is only because she has realized that when I say no, there is no one else to go and get it from!!!

Canada

Well, after all the traveling we did this summer, we decided to take one last quick trip! This was just our family and we decided to go at the last minute. We went to the Canadian National Expo (like a state fair) and the Toronto Airshow. The favorite exhibit was the lego construction area. We could have done this at home!!!
Chris worked up the courage to feed this very hungry goat!!

The kids each got to choose a ride. This of course is what Chris chose. I was pretty nervous to have him ride this by himself so I nominated Greg to go with!!

And off they go!! Chris loved it and didn't get nervous one bit. I don't think he sensed my nerves!!

The older 3 got to participate in a Nerf Dart Tag game. They got them all dressed up in their protective gear and played capture the flag with nerf guns. They loved it and Zack even won the sportsmanship award for encouraging the other kids! Go Zack!

The airshow had started and this is pretty much what Maddie thought of it the whole time!!

I could not resist taking this photo!!

I have to be honest. After reading my brother Paul's blog about the airshow this summer I got pretty homesick! It seemed weird to miss the airshow. But, the Blue Angels made an appearance at the Toronto Airshow and we got to see it. It will never matter how many times we see this, it will amaze me everytime.

The most anticipated moment was the flight of the F-22 Raptor. This is what the boys wanted to see more than anything. This is their current favorite airplane. Timothy was telling me today that if we just got one of those we could go to California and get some Salame anytime we want and it will only take a few minutes! Not sure what that will do to the gas budget but we will see.

I thought this was cool. This is a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter. It dropped a couple of men in the water and then went through the whole process of "rescuing" them from the water.

And of course we had to see the Canadian Snowbirds.

We had a great time and it was nice to finish out the summer with a quick family trip. We enjoyed just being us and being relaxed with eachother.

New York City

When you go to New York City with 5 kids I am pretty sure that you must go to FAO Schwartz and dance on the giant piano!! Here is Taylor and Madelynne having a blast!!Chris and Tim took their turn at it too! Zack was having no part of taking off his shoes and socks and dancing around in front of people!!
Madelynne was completely awestruck at the baby department. She just could not take her eyes off these dolls in a makeshift nursery. There was even a lady dressed like a nurse ready to help you adopt your own little baby.
So, Maddie chose a new baby doll (shocker) at the Toys R Us in Time Square. She had to choose the one with the carrier and hold it in her stroller as we tried to navigate our way through the crowded streets to the train station. A sidenote: this is after Greg, Jon, Zack, Chris, and Brady left us and went to the Yankees game. So now we had Cheryl, Taylor, Me, Maddie, Mallory, and Tim and 3 Strollers. So, Taylor was trying to push Tim in a stroller without injuring too many people. Well, Maddie fell asleep on her little doll and rode that way most of the way back on the train. She had to wake up for our adventurous cab ride from Penn Station in Newark to the hotel. That was a crazy ride.

This is Greg's new friend at the Central Park Zoo!! Which for those of you who have seen the movie Madagascar, It is NOTHING like the movie!! Anyway, the kids were pretty scared of this very hungry goat. I too was a little disturbed by the goat and all of it's germ infested snot it liked to rub all over your hand when you fed it!!

I am not really sure what I can even say about this!!

Or this!!

Our trip to see the Statue of Liberty on the Ferry. I love the many forms of public transportation we took. One lesson learned, I can take it all again except for sure the BUS!! There is not enough germ-x in america to make that ok!! (Just a disclaimer, it was the Newark, NJ bus and I am sure there are many cities that have clean nice bus systems!)

Approaching the Statue of Liberty

Going UP!! Jon, Cheryl, Greg, Taylor, Zack, and Chris were lucky enough (thank you Jon) to be able to climb to the crown of the statue and look out. It has been closed since 9/11 until this past July 4th. It was a long way up a very narrow winding staircase. Taylor had some trouble with the small space and the altitude. But in the end she was very happy they went.

This was a squadron from the area that were there to take a group photo. The people there on the island looked at it as a photo op too. When I asked the guy why they were there and what they were doing he offered to take a photo with the kids!! They were pretty excited to have the photo taken. They look like good Recruits!!

I am sure I can say with confidence that this is hands down Zachary's favorite picture of all the photos we took. This was a group of SWAT officers on the island. Zack was amazed just watching them. I decided hey, lets ask for a photo. This guy was more than willing to pose with the kids!

Ok, so this is an interesting photo. That is not a homeless man begging for money on the bench in Battery Park!! No, this is a man selling Jon and Greg a counterfeit Rolex watch with MY CHILDREN on his hip!!! This was by far one of the most interesting parts of the trip. There are many people that make a living of selling knockoff purses, watches, wallets, sunglasses, etc. all over the city. It is quite an operation.

This was pretty cool. When we went down to the site of the World Trade Center, the Fire House across the street from what was the WTC was still there and the doors were closed. It was quite interesting to many people. While we were standing there taking pictures, the doors started opening!!

Out came the firetrucks and all the firefighters suiting up for a call. It was really neat to see that they were still a functioning firehouse.

Washington D.C.

On our way to Washington D.C. we stopped at Gettysburg. It was really cool to see the many historical places. We didn't plan much time to stop there and realize it is more than just a big field. We could spend a day or more there. We will have to make another trip!!This was a must see in D.C. The WWII memorial. It was very big and very well done. The kids were very interested in all the quotes and symbolism in the monument. It was beautiful.
Tim looks so little next to the Lincoln Memorial. All the kids were interested in seeing this as it was a big part of the Night at the Museum 2 movie they saw earlier this year. They talked about all the things in that movie and were so amazed at all the monuments and exhibits that really existed outside of the movie.

This is at Arlington National Cemetary. I really wanted to go there and see the cemetary on this trip. I don't really have a reason but it was something I always wanted to do. It turns out we were there the day after Ted Kennedy died. This is a photo right up near JFK's gravesite. The next day as I was looking through the free USA Today paper from the hotel I spotted a photo from the Associated Press of our Taylor looking on at the gravesite!! It was pretty cool.

One of my favorite parts was The Tomb of The Unknown Soldiers. I really wanted to see the changing of the guard at the site. I saw a documentary on these servicemen who serve here and it was really moving. They are out there in the heat and don't miss a beat or crack a smile. It was said in the documentary that maybe these men would serve better somewhere else and it was a menial job. The servicemen they interviewed said on the contrary that it was one of the greatest honors they could ever imagine and were more than honored to do so.

This is one of the many cool things the boys found at the Museum of Natural History. They were so intent on finding "Rex"

OOPS!! How did that get in here!! Just a quick snapshot of my Christmas Gift from Greg!

Actually it is the Hope Diamond. It was really cool but I think the boys were more interested in all the security around it!

A resting spot after a long day of walking the National Mall! The kids really wanted to get in that water but were very strong and resisted the urge!!

Zack just could not resist!! He was so interested and amazed in all the different security around the city.

Not sure you can really tell but this is in front of the White House. It was about the only place in front of it that wasn't mobbed with people. (Yes that is Tim in the pink stroller while Maddie has made an escape!)

This is the view from the top of the Washington Monument. This was amazing. It was a little hazy that morning but still beyond what I ever imagined. This is the view out toward the Lincoln Memorial and the WWII Memorial.

The boys looking out!