Vacation's all I ever wanted!

Last week we made the annual pilgrimmage north for vacation. It was a great week and the best weather we've had in a couple years. During our week we rode paddle boats/kayaks, swam, hiked, biked, and went to a water park. We also had fun seeing Gram and Grandad both directions on the trip and seeing Aunt Suzanne, Uncle Peter and Claire on the way there. Here are a few pics!


Heading out for a swim at the pond.


Cole decided to try to bury Hayley.



This is as far as he got...



Pretty flowers!



The princess on her way to dinner.



On our hike at the Cascade Path. Hayley decided to goof off in every one of my 6 picture attempts...



Dreaming of hitting those ski trails in the winter!



Off for another dinner at the end of our trip.

A pool or a pond? A pond or a pool?

Still having fun but the summer is going by quickly! Enjoyed a great visit with Uncle Rory, Aunt Rebekah, Kirk and Campbell 2 weeks ago. Missed out on seeing Uncle Peter, Aunt Suzanne and Claire - but hoping for a "redo" this weekend. Cole is finishing up baseball camp this week -- always a highlight of the summer! Hayley is still in school, but has managed to find the time to become a hula hooping maniac. It's hilarious -- and she finds it so funny that NONE of the rest of us can master this skill. Get used to it Hayley...



At the water slide at the pool...I think they are so skinny that they can't shoot out of the end of the slide. Not enough weight...

Sorry for the sideways picture - forgot to flip it.

Good grief - another one sideways...On her way up the stairs. This slide is probably 30 feet high - Mom was a little nervous...

Hayley somehow managed to always flip around in the slide and come out feet first?

Well - I remembered the camera this week! Voila - we have pictures. More of the same this week. Cole finished football and Hayley swam. We caught up with Stuart, Marcy, Lily and Jack on Saturday evening. This week is more camp and the last swim meet. Plus - a much anticipated cousin visit on the horizon! Enjoy your week. :)


THERE'S A


LOT OF


TIME TO


SIT AROUND AT


SWIM MEETS!!!


Getting ready for freestyle...


A few of the 6 & under girls --
Sam, Carolyn, Hayley, Ever and Adrienne.
Quite a crew! (Plus you can see how tiny Hayley is!!!)


On the way to Lily's house...


They charge extra for screens and storm windows.


More antics.


A fun (albeit wet) evening!

We got spirit - yes we do!

We've been having a great summer - but have been terrible about brining the camera along. But, thanks to some friends, we at least have a few pictures to share! Cole was thrilled to go to his annual Red Sox game with buddy Jay a couple weeks ago. It was quite a game. The Sox were up huge, but a thunderstorm rolled in and delayed the game for an hour. By the time they started up again, the O's had regrouped and came back to win. UGH!

We had a great 4th of July. The big highlight was Hayley riding in the parade with the swim team. She had a fantastic time waving, throwing candy, and participating in the team cheers. After the parade, we hit the trail for NJ and spent the rest of the weekend with Gram and Grandad. The kids had fun with lots of hours in their pool and a dinner at Benihana!

Now it's back to the grind. Another good swim meet on Saturday, although the Piranhas had their first loss of the season -- it was a close one though. Hayley did 3 races again and managed to shave 10 seconds off her backstroke time this week.

This week Cole is in football camp and Hayley's at her usual school camp. The summer is flying by. Enjoy!


Heading in to the game.

Cole and Jay at the parade

The Piranhas' float.

She was very serious about this candy-throwing thing!

Swimagine that!

Summer is in full swing now. The kids had their first week of camps last week and Hayley is having such a great time on swim team. Cole had basketball camp last week and Hayley had nature camp - taught by one of her old preschool teachers. This week is back to Montessori school camp - which is fun, but not nearly as fun as nature camp because they still have to do "homework" during the day. (Have I told you I love that school??? ;))

Cole is in Ultimate Sports this week - so keep your fingers crossed for good weather. Tomorrow night Cole's going to his second annual Red Sox (vs. O's) ball game. I'd say watch for him in the crowd, but unless he decides to streak across the field, I doubt the cameras will catch him. So, instead, say a cheer for the Sox! Enjoy the pics.


All ready for nature camp. She got to chew bubble gum in camp - they stick it onto an orange juice lid and collect things on their hike (rocks, sticks, leaves) and stick it in the gum. How long do you think I kept that around the house???


The obligatory picture with big brother - ready for basketball camp.


Happy. Happy.



Hayley at this week's swim meet. They tie-dyed shirts at the pep rally the night before. The big girls wear these lounge/PJ pants - so Hayley now has to wear hers. And these big sunglasses are all the rage too. It's sad that I have to learn what's cool from my 4 year old.


Hayley and some of the girls on the team. There's one girl a couple weeks younger, but she and Hayley are the only 4 year olds on the team -- and Hayley is by far the smallest - and sometimes swimming against kids who've turned 7. This week she swam freestyle, backstroke, and a freestyle relay. Very funny!


The team (the Piranhas) has about 200 kids - largest in the league. Here they are doing their pre-meet cheers to taunt the other team. It's hilarious -- Hayley knows all the cheers and routinely walks around the house chanting... "Who rocks the house? The piranhas rock the house. And when the piranhas rock the house, they rock it all the way down!"


Just in case you wanted your Sammy fix. ;)

Take me out to the ball...game...!

Lots of fun again these past couple of weeks -- despite the rain! Hayley finished up pre-school and had a cute performance last week. This week she's all moved in to the Kindergarten classroom at school where she'll enjoy summer camp and continue right on through in September. This week they are learning about Canada in camp -- the highlight is that there's "a huge waterfall" and "lots of syrup". Hmmm.

This weekend we enjoyed taking in a Milkshake concert and the Bowie Baysox game with Lily, Jack, Mr. Stuart and Ms. Marcy. Hayley had a great time at the concert and Cole got to meet some players and enjoyed the game as well.

Another highlight of the weekend was a visit with Gram and Grandad. Unfortunately both the soccer and baseball games were rained out, but we enjoyed visiting Ellicott City and having a nice lunch with them.

Cole is finishing up baseball this week. He's slated to pitch this Wednesday -- weather permitting! -- so hopefully I'll get some pics of that. Hayley is now in the thick of swim team practice with time trials on Saturday. We'll let you know if she makes it or if mom has to jump in for a water rescue. ;) Enjoy your week.


Hayley getting ready for the preschool show.



Sorry if you've already seen this on FB. This was was worthy of the double posting. Too funny!


At the game.


You mean there are dogs even bigger than Sammy???


Goofball #1.


Goofball #2.


I wish I remembered what she was saying...

Happy Memorial Day!

It's been a long while since we've posted pictures. Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to! Hayley has been playing soccer - two more games to go. She's decided to swim on the swim team this summer - so practice will begin for that very soon. We'll see how it goes - but you know how it is when Hayley decides she's going to do something! Stand back...

Cole is having another great year at baseball. Made the all-star team again and had that game this weekend. He was 4 for 4 in hitting including a double (which we all agree was probably actually a triple!). He's got a few more games left in the season - but has only struck out once in 9 games! He's the energizer bunny of baseball. :)

No too much else to report. Hayley has 5 more days of preschool. She'll remain at her school for summer camp. In the fall we've decided to keep her at the montessori school and have her participate in their Kindergarten/first grade class.

Cole has 19 days left of 2nd grade. It's gone by so fast this year. He's looking forward to summer - and lots of sports camps.

Happy Memorial Day!

Goofing around with Dad on Mother's Day. She's headed off to play water guns with Cole and his friend.

Helping mom around the house.

Cole's first hit of the game...


After the all-star game - with his medal.

Hayley and Cole playing together. He "made" her a Michael Jordan jersey. (Notice it's being stapled together...)
Enjoy!

Spring sprang!

We've had a good couple of weeks here. We had a week off for spring break and had lots of fun with friends. The Easter bunny came and went. And, we're in full swing with our spring sports.

Cole and John went to the Orioles' FanFest a couple weeks ago -- got to meet a couple of players and get some autographs. Glorious!!! Cole is playing for the Sidewinders this year and has had a couple of practices -- opening day is tomorrow. Hayley also starts soccer tomorrow and is looking forward to getting back together with the team. She's also continuing her figure skating and swimming -- and is doing a round of ballet with a friend now too.

The weather has finally started to break here - so it should be a nice day to play tomorrow. Enjoy!



Cole in line for autographs - Brian Roberts is at the far end of the table. Plus two other players - but Mom is lame and can't remember who they are!

Cole doing some pitching - he claims he clocked 29 mph. Does that sound right?

Coloring Easter eggs with Jay and Chantal.

Checking out the loot on Easter morning.