Mooo!

 I have to do a better job of using my real camera for pictures.  While I do Groovebook to have prints from the cell phone made, the pictures are nowhere near as good.  I usually am reminded of that when I try to make photo gifts at Christmastime.

We took a trip to a friend's farm.

 

The girls were excited to see the cows up close.

 They were afraid to touch them, though.

Summertime...and the pics got lost?

We had an AMAZING summer!

Learned a lesson though: I need to stop relying on my cell phone to take our family photos!  Unfortunately, this fall my cell phone needed to be replaced, and the new version has no SD card, so I didn't have the store move my old pictures to the new phone.

 

Fast forward to tonight, and there's about a three month gap in photos on my laptop.  So, as I try to resurrect the old phone to get the summer pics, I will have to fast forward to September.

 

EVERYBODY's in school!  Our district has full-day Pre-K, so even Tommy is out the door at 8am, returning around 3:30pm.  This means that Wes FINALLY gets some sleep!  This transition has been wonderful for us--no more rushing home on certain nights so that Wes can go right to sleep.  It's both of us, nearly every night, having a family dinner, helping with homework, and just spending time with the kids as a family.

 Do you think Tommy was a little excited for his first day of school?

 Like last summer, Grandma and Grandpa came to NY for an extended stay and we took the family pilgrimage to Charlestown, RI.  Only this year, all three kids stayed in the RV with the grandparents, meaning that Wes and I had a hotel room to ourselves, every night!  No little people waking up in the middle of the night, or waking us up at the crack of dawn.  It was heaven.

 And I'm happy to report that my parents are still the most fun grandparents ever!

 The kids were big fans of Grandpa's bike.

It was a summer of fun, friends, family, sunshine and love.

Mother's Day 2015.

 And so it was Mother's Day.  My 6th one so far, and the best yet.  Although you'd never know it by my appearance, my day started with a 7:30am trip to the gym.  I came home to happy kids and hubby, home made cards and presents.  For our third year in a row, we went to River Stone Manor for brunch.  We've taken pictures each year in the same spot on the grounds and it is so nice to look back at how much the kids have grown.

It's a fun time to dress up, which the kids love, and to have a "fancy" outing.

 It was a hot, sunny day, and despite the early date, flowers were blooming.

 After a bit out in the sun, posing, Tommy couldn't wait to get back inside and have some dessert!

 Yum!

 I never appreciated how hard my mom worked or what an awesome job she did at parenting me until I had kids of my own.  I had such a creative and enriching childhood, and hope that I can impart some small fraction of the awesomeness that my mom gave me to my children.

 

Tori turns five!

Some little superstar turned 5 this weekend!  It was literally an all-weekend celebration.

On Friday, a big box from Grandma and Grandpa arrived--we decided to let her open it while Skyping with them.

 Daddy baked the cake on Saturday.  Tori told him she wanted a Hot Wheels cake and he did not disappoint.  We enjoyed it on Saturday night.

 Sunday was the official birthday party.  Our first, but certainly not our last Chuck E Cheese birthday party.  (Also known as the longest two hours of your life.)  It was Daddy's first time, so I decided to let him man the floor with the kids while I set up for the party.

 Look at this picture quickly--if I said she just got her learner's permit, you'd believe me, right?  She looks pretty at ease in the driver's seat at age 6.

 Watching the Chuck E birthday wish.

 Cake!

 Her presents.

 She looks like a birthday Avenger!

Happy birthday, Tori!  We love you!

2015!

Cuteness abounds!

 Snuggles with Daddy.

 Girls' day out to the Favorite Doll Tea.

 While Daddy and Tommy hang at home.

December!

We, of course, had a home celebration for Dani's 6th birthday.  So much fun.

 School Christmas concert...our fearless Tori had a case of stage fright!

 Not Dani!  She had a blast!

 For the first time we went to the Schenectady PBA Breakfast with Santa.  (Wes never mentioned it before this year, but it is, apparently an annual event.)  Dani meets an elf.

 Tommy was in awe of Santa!

 Another Tori oddity...she wanted no part of Santa.

 Until she got a present, then he got a hug.

 Celebrating Great-Aunt Virginia's 99th birthday at Teresian House.

 Tori had a haircut and asked for a blowout.  She loved it!

 And CHRISTMAS!

Of course, Grandma and Grandpa came!

We hosted a Christmas Eve party and the kids wanted to dress up!

 Posing with Grandma.

 Christmas morning! 

What a smart Santa!  He wrapped each kid's present in different wrapping paper!  Way to go Santa!

 Santa is apparently unfazed by the term "some assembly required".  It took Grandpa and Mommy about 45 minutes to put the trampoline together!  (So worth it, though!)

 No, it's  not KISS or the Insane Clown Posse, Grandma bought facepaints for the kids.  All Grandpa needs is a black star on his eye, and we'd have KISS.

 A balloon animal kit from Grandma.  (She didn't realize we were already pros at these types of balloons!  She tried to get Grandpa to blow them up, and then I broke out the pump!)

 New Years!  We rang the new year in at 8:00pm so the kiddos could participate!  (We also did it at midnight too!)

What a super fun December!