America's Got Talent...here we come

Wish I knew how to add music. :)

Beach Music

Apparently the bagpipes don't record very well on video, because this sounds rough in comparison to what we actually heard at the beach. This past week we went to the Outer Banks with Drew's dad and family. Since he was five, Drew has been doing to the beach with his family and the Kowalski family. This year, for the first time in quite a while, everyone was there (all 28 of us). This is a short video of Mark playing the bagpipes at sunset. Everyone in the houses around us came out to listen as well. It was a fun moment during a vacation full of great time together.

Noah and Ben clearly enjoyed listening to Mark play.

I will post more beach photos soon.

Bike Ridin' Boy

On Tuesday night Noah made his first solo trip around our yard without training wheels on his bike. He even managed to stop without falling most of the time.

On Wednesday morning he took off and truly started his life as a bike rider. He can now go up and down our road by turning around in the neighbors' driveways. He is even managing to start himself most of the time. ( I tried loading a second video, but it is taking too long to upload)

He is already discussing the tricks and jumps he will start doing in the near future.

Ben didn't want to be left out and spent the whole time practicing on his Big Wheel. He wanted to make sure he got a few pictures in as well. I predict another bike rider in the family before too long.

Independence Day

We celebrated Independence Day with Drew's family in NOVA. I don't have any pictures to prove it, but we had a great day with Grandma playing at the biggest playground I have ever seen and then going to Great Falls Park for a picnic and hike. Ben fell asleep in the car on the way home and then Noah took a long nap at Grandma's house. Naps were a blessing because we stayed up until 10:30 going to Opa and Grandmommy's country club to celebrate the 4th. It was a long but fun filled day which ended with a 30 minute fireworks show.

Here are pictures from the club.

Cupcakes were followed by cotton candy and snow cones. I did manage to get them to eat a hot dog before consuming large quantities of sugar.

The boys got their faces painted. Ben chose to get his arm painted instead. Noah is a Pirate and his cousin, Jonathan, is a Cheetah. Below are all three boys showing off their paint with Opa.

Bear in Bridgewater

This past week we were at the pool and happened to hear about a black bear in a tree near a neighbor's house here in Bridgewater. I decided to drive by and let the boys take a look. What was only supposed to take a few minutes ended up being an hour of excitement.

We got there just as the park ranger was putting away his tranquilizer rifle (Noah's favorite part). Then we watched him climb up a ladder to hold the bear in place so it wouldn't fall and get hurt. We were getting ready to leave when someone yelled to get out of the way for the fire trucks. Obviously we had to stay and watch what would happen next.



This is a picture of the bucket (almost fully extended from the truck to reach the tree) full of fire fighters and forest rangers. They attached a harness to the bear (which didn't fit and fell off) and ened up lowering it by its foot to the ground.


Here is a picture of the crowd that gathered to watch. You can just see Ben over the handlebars of the bike in the middle of the picture. Noah and I are right behind the kid in the black t-shirt. And yes that is a camera lady from the local news. It doesn't take much to get on the news around here.

Beach trips in May

All good beach trips start with a drive. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Ben during our first day of driving on our way to Hilton Head, SC with Drew's mom.

We stopped in Florence, SC for the night and found to our surprise that a big race was going on that weekend. We got to watch a procession of racing trucks that lasted about 30 minutes amidst honking cars and fans on the side of the road.


We spent one morning in Harbor Town where they have a neat playground built around old trees. They also have a lighthouse and a bunch of sailboats. The boys had fun as you will see...

Noah blows by Ben in his climb up the tree.

But don't worry, Ben always catches up.

Picture with Grandma

Noah enjoyed the large jacuzzi tub in our room.
The jets made quite a few bubbles during bath time.

A few days were cool and windy, so we spent time building sand castles.

Its hard to tell from this picture, but this sand castle had a moat and two bridges as well as many guard houses to defend the castle. Noah built a wall around the entire thing.

My attempts at the perfect photo turned into a wrestling match.

There were tons of kids at the beach or pool every day. Noah met a friend named Zachary who helped keep him entertained. One of the dad's always built a huge hole and all of the kids would play in it together.

Noah and Zachary

Ben went in the ocean on his own for the very first time. He loved the gradual slope of the shore in Hilton Head and the small waves were perfect for playing in. I took the boys out in the "waves" and helped them jump up so the water didn't hit them in the face.

Ben and Noah were entertained by a variety of electronic devices during our 9.5 hr drive back to Richmond. Grandma and I appreciated the silence.

Stop over in Richmond...

On the way home from Hilton Head, we stopped in Richmond for the night. We stayed with my dad and Susan and my sister's 3 kids. I slept in one room with 5 little kids sprawled all over the place. They did remarkably well and had fun splashing around in the creek together. Ben's favorite activity was catching toads around the house.

Philip and Noah helped bring in the mattress from the minivan.

Our trip to the Outer Banks with Opa and Grandmommy...

The beach is the perfect place to fly a kite. Both boys took turns flying the Spiderman kite.

On Thursday night we took advantage of the lack of crowds and went to play Putt Putt. The boys had mixed feelings about their first miniature golf experience. We couldn't find a place with all the tacky animals and moving windmills, so they got bored on a few of the holes. Luckily there was no one else there so Noah and Ben were able to run around and have fun.

Clearly my days of lying on the beach and reading a book are over for a while. After being buried in the sand I took a rather chilly dip in the ocean. Drew decided to put on a wetsuit before attempting a swim. He enjoyed a rough day of riding waves and then playing golf with his dad before we all head out to a crab house to celebrate Opa's (Drew's dad) 65th birthday.

I saved my favorite picture for last

A look at April in Reverse (loaded pics that way)

Last night Drew got home after the boys had baths and put on pajamas.
That didn't stop him from testing out the new riding setup.

We celebrated Easter at my mom's house with my sister's family.
(From left to right) Ben, Grace, Mom, Betsy, Noah, and Philip

Ben got new soccer socks and a soccer ball for his birthday. He and Noah decided to put on their socks and jump on the the trampoline one night. (It looks like Ben has seen Karate Kid.)

Our neighbors got new patio furniture and we got a new play house.
I have given the boys a month to enjoy it before it gets put on the curb for recycling.

The following pictures are from Ben's birthday party.

He invited his best buddies, Anna, Bennett and Paul (along with their families) to a breakfast for dinner party.

Ben, Paul, Micah and Noah

Micah, Lauren, Karie, Bennett, Ben and Noah

Finally, this is a video from my dad's 60th birthday party.
(from right to left) Betsy, Ben, Philip, Noah, Grace, Marshall, Chad and Peggy.