Day (10/24/11) - Boo-ed

The doorbell rang while we were eating dinner tonight.  When we opened the door no one was there, but there was a "boo bag" overflowing with Halloween treats sitting on the door step.  A poem explaining the game, a picture of a ghost (to be placed on the front door or visible in a window to avoid being boo-ed twice) and a letter with directions accompanied the goody bag.  We had two days to make two copies of the note and two boo bags and secretly deliver them to two neighbors.  The boys took their mission very seriously.  But before they started working on their boo bags, they were determined to figure out who had boo-ed them.  Ryan correctly guessed that it was the Koch boys when he discovered Halloween Cheetos and Fruit by the Foot (their favorite snacks) in the bag.

Day (10/22/11) - Family Pictures

We had our first professional family pictures taken at the beach yesterday afternoon.  We couldn't ask for better weather or a better location for the photo session.  The boys were really well behaved and cooperated for more than 200 shots!  Hopefully, my eyes will be open in at least one of them!  We're anxious to share them with you once the photographer finishes editing them.

We stayed with Mom Mom while we were in town.  They boys enjoyed playing with Daddy and Uncle Matty's old Fisher Price toys, baking Halloween cookies with Mom Mom, and cheering the Maryland Terrapins football team on despite their humiliating defeat.   

Day (10/19/11) - Sharing Day

For his first sharing day at preschool, Gavin decided to take his friends, Piggy and Monkey.  Piggy (previously known as "Super Pig") used to accompany Ryan everywhere and now sleeps in Gavin's crib every night.  Ryan also had a monkey similar to Gavin's, whom he also called "Monkey."  It's reassuring to see that they have the same good taste in friends!

When asked by his teacher what color Piggy and Monkey are, Gavin answered "blue" for both  However, he was able to imitate the sound both animals make as well as what fruit monkeys like to eat.  He then walked around the circle allowing his classmates to see his friends up close.

Day (10/17/11) - Grammar Expert

At dinner tonight, Ryan said, "did you know the letter 'y' sometimes acts like a vowel, but is really a consonant?"  Mike and I looked at each other in stunned silence.  Picking up on our surprise, Ryan asked Mike when he learned that.  Mike replied, "probably not until college!"  Apparently, preschool is much more advanced than it was when we were growing up!

Day (10/16/11) - Leaf Prints

To celebrate Fall, we collected leaves of various shapes, sizes, and colors that had fallen off the trees in our neighborhood.  Then, we made leaf prints by pressing the leaves between two pieces of paper and rubbing them with crayons.  Ryan is familiar with leaf prints, but Gavin was stunned by the image of the leaves that appeared on the paper.  It was fun to watch him discover the beauty of nature with such a simple craft. 

Day (10/14/11) - Halloween Coloring Pages

To add a more personal, homemade flair to our Halloween decor, the boys colored Halloween pictures and taped them to every door in the house.

Day (10/13/11) - The Joys of Previously Forgotten Toys

Ryan and Gavin had a lot of fun rediscovering old toys in the play room/guest bedroom.  I don't remember the last time they played with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Lego set, but today it kept them entertained for awhile!  We tend to spend most of our time downstairs playing, so we forget about the toys that are stored upstairs.  It's amazing how when something is out of sight for a while, it becomes basically new again!  And, it's neat to see how rediscovering a previously forgotten toy can reignite an interest in it!    

Day (10/12/11) - Transformers Online

The boys discovered a Transformer website where they could watch classic Transformer cartoons, movie trailers, and brief webisodes as well as play online Transformer games.  Oh, how I wish we could go back to the days of Mickey Mouse, Thomas the Train, and super heroes.  I just cannot get into the idea of alien robots that transform into everyday vehicles, electronic items or weapons.  It tests the limits of my creativity and imagination trying to come up with scenarios where the heroic Autobots face off against the evil Decepticons to save the Earth!

Day (10/11/11) - Halloween Spirit

Ryan loves to decorate the house for the different seasons.  He gets so excited when I bring up the storage containers from the basement and he gets to sort through the decorations and decide where everything should go.  This afternoon, while Gavin napped, Ryan and I wrapped pumpkin and bat garland around the stair banisters, hung tinsel pumpkins on the bedroom doors, arranged spooky stickers on the boys' bathroom mirror and sliding glass doors, replaced the topiaries on the fireplace mantel with pumpkins, and placed other miscellaneous decorations around the house.  Imagine Gavin's surprise when he woke up and discovered the house had been transformed into a haunted house while he slept!

Day (10/10/11) - Firehouse Field Trip

Ryan's preschool class visited a local fire department to tour the station and apparatus and to learn important fire safety tips.  Given Mike's history with the fire service and the fact that Ryan went on the same field trip last year, he was able to answer many of the questions about what to do and who to call in an emergency. 

Day (10/9/11) - Cruisers and Fish Tales

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that our weekend visit with Granddaddy and Grami Shar happened to coincide with the Endless Summer Cruisin' weekend.    Ryan and Gavin, who are really into Hotwheels these days, enjoyed seeing the hundreds of hot rods, classic cars, trick trucks, and custom cars.  One of their favorites was a custom purple Ravens car that had been signed by many of the players.  We even found Sam Koch's signature on the passenger-side dashboard!

Before heading home, Granddaddy treated us to lunch at Fish Tales.  It may be my new favorite place to eat in Ocean City.  The food is delicious, you can dine outside on the sand by the bay, and they have an area for kids to play while their parents enjoy a leisurely meal.  We were lucky enough to be seated right next to the play area, so the boys climbed on the wooden pirate ship while we ate.  Two tired boys made for a quiet drive home!

Day (10/8/11) - Bumblebee and Bikes at the Beach

We also surprised Grami Shar with various flavors of Smith Island cupcakes as a belated birthday present.  Imagine her surprise when she opened the box to discover they had been jumbled and smashed during our drive!  Fortunately, Smith Island cupcakes are just as delicious when eaten with a spoon, straw, or finger to scrape icing off the side of the box!

Ryan, who earlier in the summer started riding solo, begged to ride bikes on the boardwalk.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect for an early morning bike ride.  I think we rode up and down the boardwalk for nearly two hours.  I bet we covered several miles, which is pretty impressive considering a 5-year old probably has to pedal twice as much as an adult.

Then we stopped by Great Grandmom's for a visit and a super silly picture!

Hungry from our bike ride, we went to Five Guys for lunch.  Ryan was shocked to see Bumblebee, his favorite Autobot, in the parking lot.  Apparently, some Transformer and car enthusiast from New York turned his car into a replica of Bumblebee.  The detail was so impressive, Ryan was convinced he was sitting in the real thing!

Day (10/7/11) - Bakers' Birthdays

We stopped by Nana and Pop Pop's for a belated birthday celebration.  And, no Eastern Shore birthday celebration is complete without a Smith Island cake!  Our motive in surprising them with a traditional chocolate layer Smith Island cake was completely selfless and pure (although it is one of our favorite flavors!).  Our intention was to recognize and celebrate their special days (no, really!).  Luckily, they insisted that we share a piece with them.  We begrudgingly obliged and finished off half the cake!

Day (10/5/11) - Little Boys

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

(Author Unknown)

Day (10/3/11) - Laundry Pile

Our growing pile of vacation laundry is so big, it'll take two superheroes to clean, fold, and put it all away!

Day (10/1/11) - Coach Daddy

Many of Ryan's soccer Thursday night practices were cancelled due to weather.  And, he had to miss several of his Saturday morning games because he was either out of town or not feeling well.  However, this morning Assistant Coach Daddy was off from work and star soccer player Ryan was refreshed from his recent Disney cruise and ready to play.  In fact, Ryan scored 5 goals during the game!  He was pleased with his performance and even more pleased that Daddy was there to witness it!

Gavin was very confused by the dramatic temperature change.  24 hours earlier we were enjoying temperatures in the low 80s and today we're bundled up shivering as we watch Ryan's soccer game in the low 50s!

Not only is Mike the best looking assistant coach in the whole league, but he's the kindest as well.  He congratulated kids on both teams for good plays, even high-fiving the competition when they scored.  The two little towheads with him are pretty stinking cute too!

Day (9/29/11) - Heading Home

Very few times in their lives have I had to wake the boys up in the morning.  However, our scheduled time to vacate the room was 7 am.  Luckily, we had to have most of our luggage packed the night before.  But, we still had to be up, dressed, finished packing any miscellaneous items (pjs and toiletries), and at breakfast by 7 am.  What a way to end vacation, huh?! 

We were sad to leave the ship and the carefree, laid-back, unscheduled days of vacation behind (not to mention the people who fed us and cleaned our room!).  Although all good things must come to an end, we are looking forward to our next Disney vacation, whenever and whatever that may be (we're thinking the time to visit the actual parks rather than a cruise is quickly approaching).

Like last year, we decided to break up the long drive home with an afternoon stop in Savannah.  We ate lunch at Blowin' Smoke, the delicious barbecue restaurant we discovered last year.  We then spent the next couple of hours strolling along the riverfront watching the tug boats, cargo ships, and river boats chug up and down the Savannah River.  We also tried to burn off some little boy energy by playing Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, and Freeze Tag in a grassy area near the end of River Street.  Before returning to the car for the long, dreaded trip home, the boys played at a little play area shaped like a boat, while I went to look for some homemade pralines.  Despite Gavin's nap on Daddy's shoulder during our walk, both boys fell asleep quickly and slept until we reached our stopping point for the night in Rocky Mount, NC. 

Day (9/28/11) - Disney Day Four

Our last full day on the Disney Dream was spent at sea enjoying all the activities (and food!) the boat had to offer.  We were on the pool deck soon after breakfast and spent hours standing in line and going down the Aqua Duck and Mickey slide, swimming in the Mickey pool, and splashing around in Nemo's Reef.
  

Once we had enough of the water and sun, we dried off and visited the Arrgh-cade a final time.  I'm not sure if Gavin realized that we never paid for him to play an actual game.  He was content to sit on the different vehicles and watch the screen, never realizing that "push start to play" was constantly flashing across the bottom!  Below, he sits on a Harley making his tough guy "game face" to scare off any competition (or any other kids who actually wanted to play the game!)

Then we attended the Sea Ya' Real Soon! farewell event in the Lobby Atrium where we got to meet some of our favorite characters.  This was another one of those times when I realized how grateful I am to be a boy mom.  All of the girls we saw were absolutely adorable, but looked like they had spent hours getting ready to meet their favorite princesses (e.g., fancy dresses and matching shoes, curled hair and tiaras, painted fingernails and toenails, and sparkly makeup).  We went with damp bathing suits and clothes, smelled of chlorine and suntan lotion, and had unbrushed, unruly pool hair!  And, while the lighting and clarity of some of these pictures is less than ideal (we had to rely on others to take the pictures), they are some of my favorite family photos from the trip because they represent the real us - laid back and sporty!

After bidding the characters farewell, we returned to our room to relax and start getting cleaned up for dinner.  While Mike and I got ready, the boys watched old Disney cartoons. They giggled at all of Donald and Goofy's silly antics, proving that classic cartoons are equally, if not more, entertaining than the newer, flashier versions.  We just enjoyed listening to them giggle.  Little boy giggles are contagious!  We couldn't help but stop what we were doing and smile and watch them giggle at the TV!

This is what three over-tired boys look like!

The final show was called, Disney's Believe, a touching story of a "workaholic father who–through the power of Disney magic–reconnects with his daughter and learns a valuable lesson about what is most important in life" - a powerful reminder as we were about to return to everyday life the next day (not that I think we needed it since we try to always put family first and maintain a healthy work/life balance).