Book Buddies Preschool

Eli started Preschool! He will be going to a preschool run from our super qualified and super talented friend's home on Monday and Wednesdays for 3 hours. Gavin went to Book Buddies when he was 2, and he loved it! Eli is loving every minute of it so far.  There are 7 other little friends doing it with him.  What is not to love? 

First day, waiting at the bus stop

Welcome room

Story Time

Eli Turns 3

Eli turned 3 a few weeks ago! He could hardly wait for his party.  He had been asking about it since Gavin's birthday in June.  We decided to to a joint party with Ava, his friend whose birthday is only a few days before his.  It was a Safari animal theme held at the Safari Park and it really turned out well!  Eli was so happy and we were so happy his friends could celebrate with him!

The Birthday Cake!  Thanks to Louise and Heidi!

The birthday boy and girl

Gavin got to be the tiger in the Tiger Hunt Boyd led them on

The cupcakes!

The spread

I think this says it all!

Aren't these animal masks so fun?  Everyone got one.

On the hunt!

Pin the nose on the Lion

Boyd entertained as usual

I think this picture is so cute because Eli is leaning over to Miles and seems like he could be saying, "Isn't this so fun?

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We had a little family party the night before

US OPEN

I have wanted to go to the US Open ever since I moved here 8 years ago.  I FINALLY went!  We attended the quarter finals for the men and women.  We lucked out and got to see  Roger Federer outplay  Robin Soderling.  We also got to watch Caroline Wozniaki outplay Cibulcova.  It was really windy that night and surprisingly chilly, but we really had a great time. 

1st Day of Kindergarten

Yes, it is true, my baby is in kindergarten.  I have had so many emotions leading up to this first day of kindergarten.

Many of you know that getting your child into a good  school in NYC is very difficult and very difficult to manage. Getting your child into a private is also very difficult, but an option we didn't even consider.  So, over the past year we have pursued every options we could for Gavin.

I will spare you all the details, but let me just say, I have been very anxious about it all.  IN the end, I had my heart set on the dual language Spanish program at our local school.  It is great program that helps Spanish speaking children learn English and English speaking children learn Spanish.   The classroom is comprised of 50% Spanish speakers, 20% bilingual, and 30% English only speakers.  Each day is split between English and Spanish.  For example in the morning only spanish is spoken and in the afternoon, only English is spoken.  I though it would be a unique experience and I felt would be a great fit for Gavin. Because of the program's great reputation there was a lottery for the English speakers and Gavin did not get in on the first round.  I was pretty upset that he didn't get in.  He was fairly high up on the wait list, so I continued to follow up all summer.  Luckily, one week before school, Gavin got into the program and I was so excited. 

Gavin has also been very excited to learn spanish and to attend kindergarten.   He was a bit nervous on the first day, but he has enjoyed it everyday and he has wanted to go back.  I had a breakdown the night before school started.  I felt like I was just handing him over to someone else and that scared me!  Luckily, I didn't have a breakdown the morning at the school. 

After a week of assesments, Gavin was assigned to Miss Alicea.  We have all been happy with her so far.  I know that I will miss Gavin, but I know that it will be really nice to have some one on one time with Eli.  I will continue to pray that Gavin is happy in his new class! 

Camping at Camp Waubeeka

We have been camping for the last two years and we couldn't let the year pass without going camping!

There was so much going on prior to this trip and it just wanted planned properly.  I didn't have the energy.


We didn't even have a camping spot the day before we were going.  It was Labor Day Weekend and there wasn't a camping spot within 3 hours.  So, a few of the families we were going with couldn't go.

We decided to go anyway.  We decided to try one last place 2 hours away.  At this point we didn't care where we were going.  We just wanted a place to set up camp and have a fire.  That is all the boys wanted.  I found a website for a place called Camp Waubeeka.  It did not seem like a quiet place to go camping , but we decided to go anyway.  You have to check out the website and you will see why I didn't think it would be ideal.   http://morganrvresorts.com/pages/waubeeka_homepage

But, it turned out to be the best place we have been camping near the city (we have only been 2 other places).  The campsite was huge, the campground was secluded (it was far away from the RV Resort area)  There was a great little hiking trail.  IT was close to some other great hiking areas.

It was such a great trip.  It brought me back to my younger years went I was camping with my mom and dad and brother and sister.  Honestly, camping with my family are some of my fondest memories.

It was a great trip to spend with the boys.  They enjoyed exploring.  I was actually pretty proud of the food we prepared.  For dinner  we had homemade corn salsa and chips, fresh fire roasted corn on the cob, fruit, hotdogs roasted on the fire, and of course s'mores.  For breakfast we had pancakes, sausages, and juice.

We are hoping to return to this spot in early October with friends to enjoy the fall foliage. 

The hike begins

The explorers checking out the beautiful crane we spotted

Eli can't help but collect things.  He is always shoving stuff into his pockets. 

The quest to find the perfect roast stick was successful

Gavin tried to eat his roasted hotdog right off the stick

It is did rain a bit, but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves

We tried to sing around the campfire, but it proved unsuccessful.

The hike to sunset rock

The view from Sunset Rock