East Beach

The weather was sunny with temps in the 80's, so we headed out today with the beach in mind. Travels brought us to Rhode Island, first stop being Westerly. Found a cool cemetery by the water and then headed to grab a bite to eat at DJ's Diner (decorated 50's style)- food wasn't too great. We thought we may find some free parking (usually runs $10-$14) at Misquamicut, but that wasn't the case; we drove around the bluffs but there was no parking available- enjoyed the views and gorgeous beach houses though.

With Jakob sighing in the back seat and telling us how "down in the dumps" he was, we continued on Rte. 1. Second stop was Charlestown. We went down to East Beach (click title for info. on the beach/conservation area)-FOUND FREE PARKING- and decided to explore.

At this point it was 4:30 p.m. and the temp was 74 degrees. There were a couple handfuls of people and it was quiet. We all enjoyed ourselves! Jakob and Kaleb dipped their feet into the cold water. Jakob spent most of his time looking for shells with Daddy; Kaleb loved the feel of the sand on his feet and laughed so hard at the waves crashing that he ended up in a coughing fit.

Beautiful ride home until we got closer inland where the temps were 85 and humid.
Todd and I are a "little" red. My parents stopped over with our big A/C that my Dad so nicely cleaned- Todd was quick to install!

*Kids beach pics will be on their pages shortly (this week)

Kindergarten Celebration

Tonight was Jake's year-end kindergarten celebration at the school. Grampy took the night off from work; Nana cooked dinner (corned beef & kielbasa) and strawberry shortcake for dessert; Grammy and Candi were there too!

The whole afternoon kindergarten group performed many songs they have been learning since the beginning of the year- one was done in sign language. They were so awesome! Jake is quite the performer too- he even had his own special part where he announced a song his class would be performing (not shy at all!!).

Out of the Mouth of Jake

Mom: Jake what did you learn about in school today?
Jake: We are learning about the sea..in fact, Mrs. B brought in sea creatures to show us!

In the car after a trip to Dunkin Donuts:

Jake: Mom! I think we have a chocolate boy in the car!

*I turn to look and Kaleb had mangled the chocolate glazed donut

Brothers~ May

New Hair, New 'Kin

New hair for summer (his hair grows so fast!).


A new Webkin- her name is "Rosen-PM"..he is creative in the naming dept. I think this has become my obsession...I love to play the games! Over the weekend, Jake was like "Ma, are you on Webkinz??"..."NO JAKE!"..hahaha! We have a stash of 4 waiting for him as surprises for when he is behaving super well!

Thursday Afternoon Entertainment

Neighbors cat chased a squirrel up the tree in my backyard this afternoon. Showed concern for a *second* and thought I would have to tell them to get a ladder or call the FD (whatever they do to get them down). But, to my surprise the thing was smart enough to climb down on its own.

PS this one is not part of the "Ghetto Kitty Group"

Memorial Day Weekend

Most of the weekend was spent relaxing, cleaning, and reading and so was the intention for today. Jakob's ears had other plans! The ear pain began last night a little after 10 p.m.- neither of us got much sleep during the night. I headed to Walmart at 6 a.m. to try and find some ear relief- nothing..had to wait for the pharmacy to open. Phoned the Dr's office and the Dr on call suggested we head to the ER if it couldn't wait until Tuesday. In the mean time his temp had dropped to 101.4 from 102. The drops picked up seemed to work a little, but it was hard to tell because one minute he said he felt good and the next he was crying. Headed to the "Convenient Care Center" at WWBH and was in and out with a script in 1 hour! Can't beat that- I am sure it is going to cost though. Yeah, we missed the parade in town (Jake was on the couch..Kaleb had just woken up..and Todd was still sleeping).

Yesterday we were gone most of the day at a birthday at one of Todd's friends children. Jake enjoyed the pinata and kids. The sun felt good! Took the scenic route home...saw parts of MA I didn't know existed.

Sunday Celebration

Today was Catherine's college graduation celebration. The weather was warm, then turned cool. Kaleb enjoyed roaming around and picking through the ladies purses and trying to grab drinks off of the tables. Jake had fun in the barn with Nana and both kids enjoyed the COWS!





Pulling into our road, we saw this pretty little cardinal:

Many Boogy Faces of K

A Growing Collection

Jake's collection of Webkins has grown over the last month. He knows all 12 of their names (the newest one's name is Bo Chow Wing Wing Caw).

Saturday Fun

Enjoying some time outside! Please excuse Kaleb's boogy nose!

Daddy put together Jake's metal detector and hea nd Naomi enjoyed searching for treasures!

Escape

What a gorgeous day! We headed down to Old Saybrook for some Mexican (wasn't impressed this time) and enjoyed the scenic route home.

Extra Protection

A Treat

On the way home from ice cream:

Not Liking the Hat

MOS

Headed up to the MOS to check out the "Lizards & Snakes: Alive!" exhibit before it was over- they had over 60 types of reptiles. The exhibit was pretty impressive. Joining up were Nana, Grammy, and Shawn. We were there for 5 hours and still did not see everything. Todd and I enjoyed lunch at Taqueria..yummy Mexican!

The kids enjoyed the Children's Discovery Center the most.

I was able to sneak away to check out the "Double Exposure: Photographing Global Climate Change" exhibit. Really enjoyed Bradford Washburn's images.

Jakob was so fascinated by this contraption:

Left the MOS at the WRONG time..needless to say, it took about 3 hours to get home!

My Blue Eyed Babies

The kids enjoying dinner tonight. Jake was so excited to have Pringles with his Italian sausage; Kaleb wasn't too thrilled with his toddler meal so I prepared something else for him.

They have been busy during Spring Break. The weather has been getting warmer so they have gone for walks and being kept busy with crafts. Kaleb loves to do what big brother does..including coloring! Here's hoping everyone is healthy (we are all trying to get over a 2 week cold!) and the weather is nice on Friday...Todd and I have the day off and we are planning something fun!

We are heading to VT the 26th and 27th..so excited! They are releasing the dam at Ball Mt which will create white water rapids (lots of people come to kayak) through Jamaica State Park. We hope to explore the park (there's a waterfall) and possibly head up to the mountain. Will have the digital and SLR with me =).

Little Croc

Kaleb seems to enjoy his croc-like shoes!

Spin those Wheels!

Today Jake attended Lydia's birthday party at Skate Inn. It was his first time with roller skates on! It was a little dramatic getting the skates on him! Todd and I both worked with him on how to move his feet/legs and keep his posture. We'll say my back hurts from trying to keep him up! We had many Bambi-like moves (as you can see below)..after making it onto the floor, he wanted to give up and go home (bad Jakob arrived) because he kept falling; about 5 of us tried to persuade him back on the floor. After about 10 minutes, he decided he was going to skate on the carpet (he did really well!)...then went onto the floor! He did the chicken dance and even played four corners. At the end, he made such an improvement and we were proud. Then, he fell and hit his head...then came the ice..and tears..and the "I want to go home". Aaaah! He enjoyed himself and playing the arcade games as well (the ones that worked!). Todd enjoyed himself too..I am sure he will be hurting tomorrow..it has been 20 years or so since he has been!!!

(The place hasn't changed in the 15 years I have been there- well, maybe a fresh coat of paint in that cheesy pattern..oh, and an addition to have the parties/arcade).

Daddy and Jake starting out

Katelyn and Jake



And a video!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Brothers~April