One Day Two Posts...Maybe even a Third

Saturday has always been our cleanup day. Emma will usually play games or watch TV as I run around like a maniac trying to clean the house (more pickup than cleaning) and do laundry. Emma asked this week if she could dust her table and chairs, I told her absolutely, it would be a great help and the sooner we finish, the sooner we can start to have fun because cleaning isn't fun. So, I gave her the duster and off she went.

This is how I found her cleaning her table and chairs.

I think she may have been an auto mechanic in her prior life??

Welcome to My Garden

Yesterday morning when I came out of the shower, Emma told me to come and see the garden. I was amazed at the beauty. I know there was a lot of effort put into it and this gardener certainly has a green thumb.

Soccer Star

This is what I came home to today after work. Emma was playing with her new soccer ball in the front yard. She and her Daddy went to the store and she got shin pads, cleats and a new soccer ball. Emma is so excited to play. Here's a quick video and some pictures of her new gear.

Yippee and Boo-Hoo!!!

YIPPEE!!!! As a special surprise for Mommy and Daddy, Emma came home a day early. She came home yesterday instead of today!!! We were so happy to see her. She couldn't stop giving us hugs and kisses.

Boo-Hoo!!!! I got three really great shots of Emma's excitement when she entered her room for the first time after the makeover. I DELETED THEM FROM THE CAMERA!!! ##$%#% electronics!!!! Anyways, she loved the room, kept jumping up and down with excitement!!!!!

Emma's Bedroom Gets a Makeover

Emma left early Sunday morning to go to Williamsburg VA with Kevin's parents and boy am I missing her. This is the first time that she has been away from home for this long. She's stayed at my cousins house overnight but hasn't been away longer that 24 hours. We've spoken on the phone about 4-5 times a day. She is having a blast. The condo that they are at has three pools. One indoor, one outdoor and a kiddie pool.

Kevin and I decided that while she was away, we would re-do her bedroom. I asked her before she went on vacation if she could pick any color, what color would she want her bedroom to be. She picked purple. So, off I went to the paint store and found the perfect purple for the room. I thought it would be a simple paint job but, nothing seems to be simple anymore. There was some wallpaper that had to be removed but, I didn't realize that there were two layers of wallpaper with paint in between the two layers. It probably took us longer to remove the wallpaper than it did to paint the room. There were also some holes in the drywall that when they were repaired, only a piece of tape was put over so, Kevin respackled and we had to wait for that to dry and then sand and respackle again. So, the small project of just painting turned into two days of work. But, the finished product was well worth it.

We can't wait for Emma to come home on Thursday to see her new room. Let's just pray that she'll want to sleep in her room now.

(That's a whole other post about her sleeping habits)

Here are some pictures of the finished room.

The bed looks huge in the pictures. It's just a twin.

HOW COULD YOU....

.....NOT LOVE THIS FACE??

S'more Pictures from Camping Out

My cousin sent me some more pictures from the night that Emma and I stayed over at the lake. Emma's first experience of ooey, gooey S'mores!!!

Family Fun Contnued

My sister Kimberly and her husband Eric and my four nieces and nephews came to visit this past week. We had such a good time. This is the first time that I've been able to post some pictures of the visit. The troops all arrived Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, Kevin and Eric took the three older children tubing down the Delaware River. Kimberly and I stayed home and just relaxed with Emma and Madison. We did sneak out to the park to tire out the girls a little.

On Monday, we all (except for Kevin) went to Sesame Place. As busy as it was, we were able to get on all the rides, saw a show and then played in the water part of the park. Here are a few pictures from Sesame.

Kimberly and Eric left late Monday night with their two children and my sister Lisa's two children stayed with us until Thursday morning. On Tuesday, Emma and I took Josh and Haley to Pt. Pleasant, NJ. We had a blast. The weather was perfect. We went to the beach, swam, built sand castles and ended the day on the boardwalk. We had an exellent dinner. Josh even thought it might have been a Five Star Restaurant. Here are some pictures from Pt. Pleasant.

I had to go to work on Wednesday. It felt like I had been off for a week. I can't believe that summer is coming to an end. We always enjoy the time that we spend with our family, I just wish they didn't live so far away.

Look Out Carli Lloyd...

....there's a new Soccer player in town!! Shirt may look like a dress at times but underneath is 100% athleticism!!!!

Cousin Fun

The Fab Five

Taking a Dip

Emma's four cousins came in from Massachusetts yesterday. Today, Kevin and our Brother in law took the three older ones tubing down the Delaware and my sister, Kimberly and I took the two younger ones to Friendly's for lunch and then the park. It was a fun day. Tomorrow, we are hitting Sesame early and will probably stay most of the day. Here are a few pictures from the last two days.

A Surprise for Emma

It was such a beautiful day on Wednesday that I had to play a little hookie and pickup my little girl. She was so excited when I showed up at Grammie's. I had her Elmo sandles in my hand and all I could hear through the open windows was "I'm going to Sesame, Mommie's here".

I should've hidden them. I spoiled the surprise.

We had a great time. It was a little crowded but, it doesn't matter if we've been there for the first time or the 100th time, it's all still exciting for Emma and even more for me when I see the joy in her face.

Emma's cousins and Aunt and Uncle are coming in from Massachusetts tomorrow. I'm sure that we'll end up at Sesame at least once over the next few days. I'll update with more pictures as the week goes on. Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!

The Lake Sleepover

This past weekend, we went to The Lake for my niece's 12th Birthday. My cousin and her family have had a lot there for the past few years. Emma has been dying to "camp out". I think she got the crazy idea from the Little Einsteins or Backyardigans.

She wanted to do it all. Fish, swim, toast marshmallows and sleep in the tent. Mommy wasn't too crazy about that but I was all for it because of her. Emma loved it all and I think she is definitely the outdoorsy type. Here are a few pictures from the day. I didn't get any pictures of her making S'mores because my battery ran out but did get some other nice shots from the day. I'll also try to post a little video of her swimming.

Tossing Rocks with Cousin Benny Bop

Enjoying a nice cold Strawberry Margarita (kid-style)

Happy 12th Birthday Chelsea

The BIG catch of the day. This is where we really needed Daddy, to get the fish off the line. He was away golfing for the weekend. I was able to safely remove the hook from the fish and send him back home but, not before Emma insisted on giving him a kiss goodbye!!

Our sleeping quarters. This was actually the next morning but because my camera was not working the night before, I asked Emma to lay down and pretend that she was sleeping so I could take a picture and she did. What a trooper. And if you're thinking that it was comfy cozy with all the blankets and pillows, think again. The next time we do this, I will invest in some sort of air mattress.
Our little friend we found wandering around

We really had a great time. We will definitely campout again when Daddy is around. Emma had so much fun as she always does with her cousins. I just wish that we had remembered that Jen and her family were just on the other side of the Lake, I would have loved to see Jen tube!!!

Pt. Pleasant NJ ~ June 2008

The First Dip of the Summer ~ May 2008

Girlfriends!!

Emma had company for the day on Saturday and boy did they have fun. They played in the playroom, swam in the pool and ended their playdate with a watermelon. And when I say a watermelon the two of them finished the whole watermelon in one sitting. When Kevin and I were going through our infertility treatments, we met a wonderful couple from Levittown. A friendship that I hope will last a lifetime. Their result of the treatments, Miss Olivia and our result of the treatments, Miss Emma.