Pittsburgh Trip - Day 2

Saturday was the big "N" family reunion at a huge county park in Pittsburgh. I've mentioned before, Mike's dad's family is huge and fun, so a good time is always had. I was really looking forward to seeing everyone!

Our kids are at fun ages now and can play with their cousins and second cousins without my constant supervision. Taylor fit right in with her older cousins and, as usual, everyone swooned over the Pear. He has that effect on people.

Front: Sophia (Mike's stepmom), Taylor, Kayla (Mike's sister's daughter), Mike's mom Marilyn; Second Row: Mike's sister Bryony, Mike's cousin Brittany, Mike's sister Katy; Back Row: yours truly, Mike, Michael, Mike's dad Stan, Mike's brother Pat

Taylor and Kayla with their Aunt Katy. Kayla is a black belt and just came from a martial arts event.

My kids are such show offs. They danced for everyone to Johnny Cash and Three Dog Night.

This picture makes me laugh. That's Mike, his brother and dad singing along and clapping to one of the songs the kids were dancing to. They all have the same expression!

Pear getting some love from Aunt Ginnie.

No reunion is complete without the annual egg toss. Mike and I made it to the final four or so, but I totally choked and dropped the egg. It was bad and my athletic prowess was questioned! I did manage to keep all goo off my clothes and body.

Aunt Diane concentrating. Notice how athletic all of Mike's relative look? Good genes!

Chip off the ol' block.

Aunt Bryony giving Michael some tips. A few more years and the Worm and Pear can team up!

Taylor enjoyed playing whiffle ball with the bigger kids. They were very good with her!

Cousin Matt R. pitching to the Worm.

This is Emily, Matt's little sister. She's a really good softball player and Taylor just adored hanging out with her this time. She has talked about her non-stop since then.

Mike's childhood friend Walt stopped by. They still sit together at Steelers games, but I hardly ever get to see him. It was great catching up!

Cousin Grace, Taylor, cousin Brittany.

The Pear found a ball or two to play with.

Aunt Linda, Mike and Michael

Michael didn't get a nap and was starting to tire down a little here. He got his second wind about three minutes later.

Ready for a water battle.

Handsome.

Our annual end-of-the-night photo with those who were still around. Front: Matt, Kayla; Second Row: Grace cheesy me, Aunt Nancy, Aunt Linda, Taylor, Emily, Aunt Bryony, Aunt Diane; Third Row: Aunt Ginnie, Aunt Katy, Michael, Mike, Aunt Amy, Brittany, Uncle Pat

The kids crashed that night when we got back to the hotel and slept until it was time to get up Sunday morning and head to our next adventure.

Up next - Trip to Erik's

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pittsburgh Trip - Day 1

I probably won't remember all of the details of our trip since it was a MONTH ago, but I'll do my best. :)

We got to Pittsburgh Friday afternoon and checked into our hotel in Greentree. Our kids love staying in hotels (really, what kid doesn't?). We checked out the scenery before meeting Mike's uncle Dan and his family out for dinner.

Worm and the Pear on our balcony. Don't you love Michael's grin?

Her eyes match her shirt.

Waiting for the elevator.

Nice pose, Taylor.

Kiddos and I.

Taylor, Danielle, Michael, Grace, Maureen and Dan. Matt joined us later, but missed the picture.

Danny doing a magic trick with a quarter for Michael. It's been a month, but anytime Michael finds money now, he tries to do the trick, waving his little hands in front of your facing saying, "Magic, Magic."

Grandma N. drove to Baltimore that day to pick up Uncle Pat and she, Pat and Rich met us out for dessert. She brought a cake and birthday presents for Taylor, who was thrilled to keep her endless birthday going.

Yay, cake!

Pat, I don't need your help...

...see? Nom, nom, nom.

Miguel and I.

Up next - the reunion on Saturday...

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Hooray!

Guess what came in the mail today? My new camera battery charger! I'm so happy to have my camera back. :) I still have to blog about our Pittsburgh trip back in mid July. I have a ton of pictures so I'll probably break it down into three separate posts. Until then, enjoy these pictures of the kids from tonight.


The Worm and The Pear.

We played hopscotch tonight. Taylor was still in her soccer practice clothes. They practice hard for 90 minutes three times per week. I can't believe she isn't exhausted!

Michael's turn. He just throws the rock, runs across the board, turns around and runs back.

More posts to come soon. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Havin' a Ball

It's Taylor's favorite time of year - soccer season! She moved up to the passers division this year, which is for 6-7 year olds. The cutoff is July 31st, so that makes her one of the youngest in the league. She had her first practice this morning and it was funny to see her as one of the smallest kids out there! She came up to one girl's armpits, haha. It's an all-girls league now and she always plays hard, so I'm not too worried about her. Still the cell phone, but these came out cute! No pictures from practice.

Pretty much every girl had a pink ball. :)

I like having Taylor involved in different activities and off the couch. I think one activity per season is perfect. She just finished tennis two weeks ago. I have to brag - all of her coaches and even a coach from the USTA told me how talented and athletic she is. They said her tennis stroke is beautiful and better than a lot of the older kids. Mike was even stopped at the grocery store and at the bank by people bragging on her. Go Taylor!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Being married to a teacher means I get to reap some of the rewards of summers off. Since I work part time right now, I can rearrange my days and it's easy to take some family road trips. On Tuesday, we drove to Cleveland for the Indians/Yankees game. I'm a Reds fan through and through, but Mike has always been a Yankees fan, so I cheer for them too. Let it be known though, that if the two ever face off in the World Series, I'm 100% all about the Big Red Machine!

Somehow, I've lucked out of any road trip driving duties. I guess it's because we have two kids now and I've officially become the "car manager", distributing snacks, breaking up fights and keeping everyone happy. The three-hour drive to Cleveland was easy peezy.



The Pear in transit. Yes, I'm still using my cell phone camera. The charger is officially lost so I have to find time to buy another.


Taylor has always been a great traveler. That girl has logged some serious road time!

I get a little antsy in the car.

Hanging out at the Progressive Field pavilion.

Daddy and his little girl.

Before the game with Daddy.

He had some much fun!

My Pear and I!

My Worm and I!

Look, an actual picture of Mike and I.

The boys studying the game.

As always, Taylor got her ballpark cotton candy. We got the mega bag and I had to cut her off.

The kids were so good on the drive and during the game. They have another nine-inning game under their belts, pretty amazing for kids their ages. Of course, there were lots of snacks, games, scoreboard graphics and even a little bit of the actual league to keep them entertained.

Off to our next summer adventure!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Can't Take it Anymore!

Wouldn't it figure that the one extended time period that I'm without my camera (the charger is still in Pittsburgh) is the same two weeks that a) some of Mike's former players come to visit, b) our 8th wedding anniversary occurs and c) two of my very best friends in the world, who live on opposite coasts, come to Wilmington to visit at the same time?

I hate cell phone pictures, but that's what I had to resort to. Couldn't let all of these friends pass through town without some pictures!

First, two of Mike's players from Wabash came to visit. Tyler actually spent most of the week with us as he was caddying in the Nationwide (step below PGA) event at a golf course near us. We loved having him! Chris came down on Friday and joined us for a night. We went out to Generation's for pizza, stopped off for ice cream at Peppermint Patti's, then hung out at home. The kids loved them both!


Chris, the Pear, Tyler and "Coach."

On Sunday, San Francisco's finest, Ms. Popo Mahoney - aka Joanna - visited our humble abode. Lots of laughs, lots of happy kids and lots of reminiscing. I miss her so much! Luckily, she was able to stay until Monday when...

Lauri arrived!!!! Oh, how I miss my darling friend! Lauri and her cuties Scott and Tony were in Cincinnati from Virginia, visiting Scott's family. As I've mentioned before, Tony is only six months younger than the Pear, so we've already arranged for them to be roomies at Ohio State. Gah, I wanted to keep them all in Wilmington forever. It was almost sensory overload, ha! I took several pictures of the kids playing, but of course, pictures and craptastic cell phone camera do not mix. Here are a few shots I got that weren't completely blurry.

Lauri, yours truly, Joanna. The last time the three of us were together was at my wedding eight years ago. We plan on having a big bash in Vegas for our 40th birthdays (Lauri and I are three weeks apart; Joanna is the baby of us, but she'll just celebrate a few years early.)

Tony and the Pear. Will we see these positions in the dorms in about 17 years?

Cute picture of the Pear and the Worm.

Gotta get back to work. I should get my charger back tomorrow. Yay!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel