Closing up shop

A summer of craziness (due mainly to some classes I had to take at night) concluded with Julie and I buying an investment property on the Cape.  We couldn't close until mid-September, but luckily the weather was still warm enough the following weekend for us to enjoy the pool. 

   

Although it was *barely* warm enough outside to be in the pool, Julie jacked up the water temperature as high as it could go, and the little people (especially the little man) were digging the sauna-like conditions.

Both kids worked hard at their swim lessons this summer, and were very excited to show off their skills.  Jocelyn in particular has made incredible progress since last year, when she couldn't be in the water without floaties, to this year swimming on her own with no problem and even jumping off the diving board! 

Father's Day 2012

We had a wonderful Father's Day together as a family.  We went out to breakfast, went to Singing Beach up by our old house in Manchester, and then had a cookout with lobsters and steak in the afternoon.

Father's Day was also the day that I realized that we had crossed a magical threshold.  No longer am I a father to two toddlers - instead, we have a little girl and little boy.  It sounds like such a cliche to say that they are getting so big, so fast, but boy are they ever.  Ian in particular is growing like a weed these days and has started eating like a horse.

Here they are riding together on the roller coaster we have set up in the backyard after dinner.  They were having a blast together.  While they still argue a lot, they have come a long way with regard to playing together.

Here's Jocelyn at dinner posing for the camera - one of her all-time favorite pastimes - and showing a silly side that comes out a lot more these days.

And here she is giving me a hug to go along with my Father's Day gift.  What could be better?

Walt Disney World

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Disney World! A few months ago, Grammy and Pepere decided they wanted to take us and Julie's sister Jen's family for an extended family vacation.  We rented a beautiful house just outside the resort that was big enough for all 10 of us to share, sit down for family meals, and enjoy each others' company.  We made some wonderful memories! 

The first night we arrived, we went to Chef Mickey's, a restaurant at one of the hotels at the resort, where they have "character dinners" to allow the little ones a chance to meet all their favorites.
 

While we ate dinner, the characters were walking through the restaurant, stopping at each table to say hi and pose for pictures.  Here Minnie Mouse posed with Zachary, Jocelyn, Alexandra and Ian.

After that Goofy stopped by.  He was not only Ian's favorite, but also by far the tallest character we met!
  

Before the trip, Julie had made each child an autograph book that they could get characters to sign.  They were a big hit, and the kids loved getting each character's signature!

We met a lot of characters that night!  As you can tell, by the end of the night the little man was losing his willingness to sit still!

The next day was Easter Sunday, so we didn't go to the parks.  But we found a beautiful church and went to Mass together, and afterward Ian and Jocelyn loved playing by the fountains!

 

Everyone was in such a good mood, anticipating our first day at the parks on Monday! 

The first park we went to was Animal Kingdom, which was my favorite.  Our first ride was on a "safari" in an open-air vehicle through a wildlife preserve set up to mimic the African savannah.  Julie got a great shot of an airborne flamingo...

...and we saw a lot of other beautiful animals in their natural habitat.

At one point, our driver stopped the vehicle and alerted us to a huge, 800 pound rhino approaching the side.  He got to about 4 feet away from us, and the driver warned us to be quiet because rhinos tend to act unpredictably when they hear sudden loud noises!

Just afterward, we came around a bend and were about 25 yards away from a lion hanging out, just waking up from a snooze.  Keep in mind, these animals were not in any form of enclosure!  I have never been that close to a lion before, let alone with nothing between us and him!

After the safari was over, we all took a break by the Tree Of Life, a huge sculpture in the middle of the park.  It was beautiful.

We later saw many more animals (kept safely in enclosures!), like a 600 pound bengal tiger...
  

...and then ended the day with a few rides at the Dinosaur Park. The little ones were exhausted but very, very happy.

On the second day, we went to Magic Kingdom, another of the parks within the resort.  Julie had arranged for Ian and Zachary to be made up like pirates...

...and Jocelyn and Alexandra to be made up like princesses, at the Bippity Boppity Boutique at Cinderella's castle.  It was pretty darn cute to see how excited they all were to be dressed up.  Ian was swinging his play sword and pretending to be Captain Hook for about a full day afterward, and Jocelyn wouldn't let us touch her hair for days for fear her tiara would fall out (which was not the easiest thing to manage given that we had a pool at our house and were in it every day!). 

Speaking of the pool, it was pretty nice to be able to go to the parks early in the morning before the crowds arrived and the Florida sun was in full force, come home just after lunch for a little siesta, and then wake up and hop out on the back deck into our little pool.  All the kids (and the adults!) loved it.

We went to Epcot the day after Magic Kingdom, and then on our last day we went back to Magic Kingdom, where our plan was to hit more of the rides in the park than we had our first time around.  Here are Jocelyn and Alexandra waiting in line to ride on the carousel.

After we finished with the rides and eaten lunch, we were just about to get in the car to head back to the house when, while we were passing through the main square, a big parade suddenly broke out, followed by a big dance party where we all got to dance in the street with the characters!  It was such a memorable ending to an absolutely wonderful trip.  We are already talking about when we will go back!

Ian Turns 3!

When we asked the little man what theme he wanted for his birthday party, there was no hesitation at all...Batman. He is on quite the superhero kick these days! Momma bought a set of superhero costumes and capes for him and his friends to wear during the party. He was pretty fired up to play Caped Crusader for the day!


These pics are quite a reminder of how fast he is growing up! Seems like just yesterday I was posting his baby photos!


For his party we set up the backyard with a bunch of rides that were loosely Batman-themed, including a "Batmobile" coaster...


...a bouncy house on which plenty of Jokers were able to play...


...and a miniature, Robin-sized coaster that even the man of the hour got a kick out of riding.


When it was time for cake, Ian didn't even let us finish singing "Happy Birthday" before he blew out the candles...he was too excited to dig into the Batman ice cream cake!


For the grand finale, we had a projector set up to play "Scooby Doo Meets Batman" on a screen for all the kids. Momma made sure everyone had treats in their Batman cup! Thanks for helping us celebrate Ian's birthday, everyone!

Date Night with Jocelyn

When Disney re-released "Beauty And The Beast" (Jocelyn's favorite movie, by a wide margin), I knew it would be a good opportunity to take her for her first time in an actual theater. What could be better than a date with my little lady?

We actually started off the night by getting her some new sneakers. Clearly she is enjoying showing them off here.


Then we made it to the theater. She thought it was cool how everyone sat in the same room to watch the movie. And she also loved that her movie was in 3D, so she got to wear some cool specs.


After the movie, we went to McDonald's for a Happy Meal, which just happens to be one of her favorite things to do...


I think she liked it!

Pepere's 70th

For Pepere's milestone birthday, we arranged for a private dining room at a restaurant in Portsmouth so that family and friends who still live in New Hampshire could make it easily to the celebration. Grammy gave a wonderful toast to share with all of us why she loves Pepere so much.


We put together a video tribute and companion scrapbook which Pepere and Grammy seemed to like quite a bit. Then, after a wonderful meal and dinner conversation, they brought out the birthday cake. Jocelyn and Ian were more than happy to help blow out the candles.


It was a wonderful afternoon with family and friends! Happy 70th Pepere!