Two Kids In School!

I took the morning off so that I could take Elizabeth for her first day of school at Westside......big girl going to the Firefly Room!!
Having a health breakfast so we have lots of energy for school!
And some silliness before school!
Patrick does not want to be left out.....showing off his new favorite toy...BATMAN!
Here she is, our big Firefly girl....back pack on....all ready to go!

Two cuties, ready for school.

Walking in for the first time. Cute bag, huh??
Patrick was excited to show me the magnets that they have had out in his classroom. Made me sad a little....that they have big kid toys out in his room.
Peeking out to make sure that I am still there......just filling in the snack host calendar.
After we dropped off Patrick and visited for a while it was time to bring Elizabeth to her class. Up the stairs we go.
There are a lot of fun things to play with in the Firefly room....a doll house,......
.....a playhouse under a fun rainbow,........
.....and puzzles. When I left Elizabeth was a bit teary eyed, playing play dough. Hope it was a great day!

SU Season Opener

We had a great time today. We went to Sara's house for a tailgaiting party. Guys in the basement for the game. Girls hanging outside drinking and chatting. Enough kids that they all entertain each other.

Let's Go Orange! Let's Go Orange! Let's Go Orange!

Patrick LOVES Joe....and Joe loves Pat. He was right there at our car when we pulled up to Sara's. Isn't this just an adorable picture??
Sara stole my camera and got some really cute shots of all the kids. Here is her attempt to get Patrick to actually sit with his mom and take a picture. Not when there are other kids around to play with!
Hmmmm, who taught Sissy that?? Terry the tormentor.....filling my kids with bad habits and bad words!!

Goofball!

Tree monkeys....Mya and Joe.

Peyton cut his chin the day before and needed to get stitches. Patrick was all about offering Peyton sympathy....it was cute.
Elizabeth and her gal pals :)

Let's Go Fly A Kite

We got home from a play date today to find Daddy home early from work. After he changed and dinner was in the oven we all went to watch Patrick fly his Spiderman kite. It is an inflatable kite that the Easter Bunny brought....it was stuck up on a shelf in the toy room and we had forgotten about it.Patrick knew what to do and seemed to be getting up enough speed....but Spiderman didn't want to fly.

The kite really wasn't flying, even though it did with Grandpa last night. Perhaps all the manhandling through out the day has had some effect on the kite??
After lots of tries with help from Dad and Mom the kite was put down. We walked in the back of Tom's to check out if the apples were ready. Patrick had an apple and the rest of us gorged ourselves on blackberries.....they were yummy. After that it was home for dinner then down to play at the green park. What a FUN day.

Duck Pond

Today we headed to Webster Pond to feed the ducks.......we hadn't done it all summer and needed to get it in just once!! We met Sara, Mya and the babies there and had a great time. Note to self, next time wear sneakers so that when I shoo the greedy geese away with my foot I don't touch feathers......ewww.
Elizabeth was a little put off at first, those ducks are pushy. Once she realized that it was better to throw the feed in the water than on the gravel she seemed to enjoy herself. It was super cute watching her throw the feed in one kernal at a time.
Patrick did great feeding the ducks. And didn't touch anything gross!!
Elizabeth heading off, all by herself, to put her coins in the donation box, return the empty cup and get a new cup of feed. Another reminder that my baby is growing up.
We didn't last too long at the duck pond.....Sara was getting nervous with the little ones and I had run out of coins for the big kids to get more food. It didn't help that I didn't notice the big kids just dumping the cups of feed into the water rather than tossing the feed to the ducks. After the pond it was off to Santaro park for the older kids to run around and have lunch.

Painting Away The Day

Today we managed to get in some good finger painting before the rain came in. What a great activity to do right before bath too!

The Great NYS Fair

Today we all went to the fair, a great summer tradition, and had a ton of fun.
There was a game that was won by catching a shark.....so of course we had to play. Patrick managed to get a few rides in beforehand though.....Elizabeth was having some issues riding. She was literally a 1/4 inch below the 36 inch cut off. We encountered quite a few carnies taking their job VERY seriously who would not allow her on their rides. She was a good sport and watched Patrick. We were more concerned about the $20 we spent on her all day ride stamp.
Finally Elizabeth was able to get on a ride....and lots after that. Look at what a coaster pro she is!
The dinos are always a big hit....even though no one has figured out how to make them go up and down yet.
On the kids second "roller coaster" Patrick jumped into big brother duty. The dragon went a bit faster than the alligator and freaked Elizabeth out. In the beginning of the ride she was crying, but after Pat's reassurance, she was all smiles by the end.
Patrick LOVED the motorcycles.....oh no, I don't know if I could ever handle the worry of a motorcycle.
The Caterpillar and the Worm was a big hit. First choice of where to sit meant right behind the caterpillar's head.
To our surprise, both kids loved the Kangaroo.....a ride that brings you up and then "drops" you down.
We got inside just as heavy rain started coming and even managed to get some seats at a table. What a perfect time for ice cream and Mommy's annual Fair ice cream pictures.
Patrick didn't have the usual chocolate.....opted for yummy vanilla this time. And he did a great job eating his cone. I think this was the neatest he has ever eaten ice cream. He must be growing up.
Elizabeth had black raspberry......not for the flavor, but because it is pink.
Gotta love Byrne Dairy ice cream. It tastes even better at the fair,
Elizabeth was certainly pooped when we came home. She fell asleep in the car and then curled up right there on the counter when we sat her down to take her shoes off. Must be the sign of a fun day.

Summer Sunflowers

Tonight we went for a walk in the sunflowers in Camillus. They aren't as impressive as in the past.....but still beautiful.
My best attempt to get Elizabeth to smile with the smiling sunflower.
Patrick wasn't as into the sunflowers as much as he was last year......maybe because he was tired or that they weren't as exciting.....they were barely as tall as he is.

Elizabeth and Daddy sharing some love.

Two pretty flowers :)

Another love shot.....who loves who more????
I am raising my boy right.......when we left the sunflower field he said that he wanted to give his
flower to Sarah Jane, because he knew we were stopping there on our way home. What a sweetheart.

Sleepy Girl

Getting Elizabeth to take a nap lately is a chore. But let me tell you, if she is tired, watch out. Today she put herself to bed.....all while I had the other kids in the pool.

Os-we-go......

.....into the wild blue yonder (as my Mom used to sing). Today we went to Oswego to relive old memories and eat at Rudy's. Mom and Dad tried to figure out how to have Sub Shop and Rudy's in one trip....but settled just for Rudy's.
Of course, after we ate it was time to throw rocks in the lake.
Patrick taking a breather from the intense rock toss. We were encouraging him to throw the rocks like baseballs, not sidearm. His side arm is more across body and there were swimmers in the water.

Silly Sissy!

We stopped at Gamma Park to go on the play ground before our ride home. I captured Patrick hiding (the playground is like a castle and he was hiding from the dragon, or something). Hiding, just like his mom used to there!