Thanksgiving 2013

We had a beautiful sunny day for Thanksgiving this year.  It wasn't as warm as last year, but that didn't stop me from trying to snap a few pictures of the kids outside before heading to Yiayia's for Thanksgiving!  

Missy complained about her dress all day because she said it wasn't Thanksgiving colors.  Oh my....she's pretty much wanting to make all of her fashion decisions these days and insists that she will attend Parson's School of Fashion Design in New York when she gets older.  I love her drive!

Superman Sam was pretty excited about turkey eating until he saw the chocolate turkeys on the table...and the rest is history!  And he finally learned to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving 2 weeks AFTER Thanksgiving had passed!

And my J, always ready for a pose!

We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and did some Christmas crafts and Christmas chains before heading down to the plaza lighting.  This year we got to watch the lights from inside Pappou's new office!

It was the first year that I did not make a pumpkin or apple pie:( But of course I did make some turkey cookies for the day!

A perfect day to remember the many things for which we give thanks.  I feel especially blessed for the unconditional love and support from my children, friends and family this past year.  Can't imagine my life without those special people.

Halloween 2013

It's time to play catch-up on the blog again.  Wow...can't believe how quickly this school year has already gone!  Back tracking a bit to Halloween...

Costume picking is always so exciting....but oh my....what a chore it can be when the littles decide to change their minds 100 times each! Haha!  But in the end....this year...Sam chose to be Superman....and quickly grew to love his new Superman Sam name!

Sophia....well....much to my dismay....has left the cute princess costumes behind and traded them in for glamorous singing stars!  She was thrilled with her "true to life" headpiece Thea adapted for her:))  She fell in love with her sparkling high heeled sandals...until the end of the night when she was whining in pain!  We did a LOT of walking and let's just say...all fared well by the time trick-or-treating was done!

Again...a Ninja was not my choice costume...but little J would see it no other way!  And he was a pretty cute Ninja!  It's the year of the Ninjago's for this little man!

We just can't get enough of "Despicable Me," so this pumpkin was perfect for our house.  We had fun making him, painting a number of pumpkins and carving!

First Days 2013

The school year certainly crept up on us quickly this year.  Sooooo hard to believe that TWO of the THREE will be in school ALL day this year.  I tried soooo hard to keep this little guy home at least for half a day....but apparently I was one of the only parents left begging for half day kindergarten....so.....a FULL day it's gonna be:(    

Here they are all dolled up for Kindergarten and Fourth grade orientation!

J in his classroom for the first time....and big sister already checking things out for him!

Shaking his teacher's hand for the first time!

And my Sophia....always so nervous about her new teacher....fell in love instantaneously.  They almost look like twins, don't they?

And then...just a few short days later....with new backpacks in tow...they were off!

He looked a wee bit nervous..

Already all smiles!

And Miss Sophia...looks ready to conquer!

We dropped the oldest two off....headed to Mass to do a little spying ...hahaha!!!  And then headed home.  It's just gonna be me and this little Man for the next 9 months!!!  Can't complain about that!

As soon as we came home, Sam immediately found one of J's old backpacks.  Oh my.... I think he thinks it's his turn to go to school......but I'm NOT gonna let that happen for a LONG while!

Sea Island

We saved the best part of summer for last....  This summer we headed to Sea Island, Georgia with Yiayia and Pappou and Thea.  Thank goodness for all those extra hands because whew...traveling with these guys can be exhausting.  We had a great time....absolutely no unexpected airsickness...yayyyyyyy.....and just an all around fun time at the beach!

Sam and Joseph watching all of the airplane action before we left KC.

Even with dramamine....this guy really only slept during the layovers between flights.....but overall he did a great job on all of the flights!!!

Posing with the bulldog outside the restaurant after dinner one night.

The walking path to the beach from our cottage.

It's always so fun to watch the kids take in the beauty of the ocean when they first see it again!  Joseph really loved the water and sand this time.  He wasn't a fan of the sand during our last family vacation a few years back....so it was fun to watch him really enjoy the beach this time around!

Even Sammy had fun with the sand....still not a fan of too much water...but he definitely made progress.... He loved jumping in the swimming pool to his Pappou.

Being silly at breakfast...

Beach filled mornings...

LOTS of afternoon rain....and sleepyheads!

But that just allowed for lunch and ice cream and Sam's favorite....FRENCH FRIES!

We even had our own pool cleaner!

Afternoon naps in Mommy's bed:)

And our cute little cottage...

Thanks for a FUN FUN trip Yiayia and Pappou!  ( I think we may need to go back...b/c J hasn't stopped talking about his spiderman figure that he is POSITIVE he left in the house....are you sure you didn't find it Pappou???? Hahahahahaha!!!!!)