A Truck and a Wallet?

43 degrees today in Maine..We'll take it! It hasn't been this warm in a while and it was nice to see you two outside playing in the mud when I got home from work!

Todays Sunset:



Last week was St Patty's Day! This is one of my favorite holiday's. The actual holiday fell on a Monday but we celebrated it on Sunday. Just like last year, you guys had some nice green juice, and green milk. Adam, at first you didn't know what to think about it, but after you noticed JD and I swigging our drinks you dove right in too. We all wore green at some point throughout the day and dug out some nice Patty's Day hats too! JD, you made sure the dogs weren't left out and provided them with nice big green bowls of water!

This past weekend was Easter. Mom had plans with Brooke on Friday night so we all went down for the weekend. I left work early and I got to dismiss JD from school for the first time. JD when you saw me standing in the office you ran like a shot towards me and gave me a big hug. On our way back home to get Mom, Ad, and the dogs, you told me about what you learned on that Friday. You were learning about Picasso in Art (you already know more than me), playing dodge ball and climbing the rock wall in gym, and learning about rain forests with Mrs Hill. This week you are planting seeds to grow vegetables and flowers!

Mom took a separate car down to MA since she was going toward Boston and JD, Adam, Brick, Az and I went down in my car. Since it was all boys in the car, I changed the voice on my NAV to a male voice rather than the female voice I have programmed in. Why mess up a good thing? Just kidding..

On our first night at Nana's she set up some fun activities for you guys to take part in. You stuck some sticky, adhesive, decoration things to the window, did some coloring and watched the NCAA tourney with us all. JD and I filled out our tourney brackets just before game time on Thursday. Each and every year since I have filled out a bracket, I have been absolutely awful. I started doing these brackets in my early teens and I really stink at picking the games. Nana and Grampie also filled out brackets and after the first weekend JD was beating all of us by a landslide. In fact JD, you had only three losses after the first two days! Impressive. Friday night also marked the first time Adam gave a real goodnight kiss to Grampie and Nana. Ad, you don't see them as often as JD did at that age, but we have been going down quite a bit recently. We are hoping that after Grampie's hip gets better, they will be able to make the trip up here too.

The next day we woke up and Nana took you guys to the toy store to pick out a favorite toy. Adam chose a truck and JD chose a wallet?? Thats right JD chose a wallet. How do you guys think that went after about a half hour back at Nan's. That's right, the wallet got old quick!

Toward the afternoon Mom arrived and hung out for a while before we all went to Cauf's for some dinner with the Caufields and Lagos'. Adam, you had so much fun playing with Riley's bowling set and running all around the yard. JD, and Jordan went outside and explored in the woods. After a while we all went for a small little exploration through the woods. We all commented how Adam and Riley have similar coloring, except Adam's hair is a bit longer!

The next morning was Easter, which inevitably means the Easter Bunny is to arrive. As I mentioned on the way down, this year I wrote a letter to the good old hopper and asked him to deliver the candy to Nana's. He obliged and you both woke up to hidden Easter eggs all over the house! JD was up at 6:30 and so patient waiting for his sleepy head-bro to wake up at 8:00. JD went in to, "Check on him" and surprise, surprise he magically awoke! You both looked high and low for eggs and found little prizes in each one! I may have found an egg or two myself!

On this day we also played one of my all time favorite games on Nintendo. Duck Hunt! Adam kept walking around saying, "Daddy, shoot quack, quack?" We must have played the game for a few hours before it finally got tired! Adam, you were pretty close to the TV when shooting, but you got yourself a bird or two!

From there we went to Uncle Jeff's in Medfield. Jeff and Cathy put on a crazy spread each year that I was so happy to have been a part of this year. Cathy makes a famous egg plate that is THE BEST breakfast plate around. We had bacon, sausage, and every type of pastry you could imagine. It was great to see the Hart side of the family for this holiday. Jeffery, my cousin, hid eggs for the both of you and Dave and Livy. It was such a thoughtful thing for them to do and you were both happy to search for eggs again. You each got a goodie bag from them and then a giant bag of goodies from Grandma and Grampa too! I felt like it was Christmas all over again. I was bummed that I forgot my camera on this morning!

Then we were back to Nana's with Meg and Greg and their kids and Grammie and Grampie were there too. This was a very relaxing time for all of us. The kids went down to the basement, which was very nice for the adults. We spoke to G and G about their travels and which places they enjoyed seeing the most. We also got to go outside to play for a while before the cold air creeped back in. JD and Liv spent some nice one on one time with Gram and Gramp that I know they appreciated very much.

Soon after it was time to get home. I was not looking forward to the drive but it only ended up taking about an hour and a half. Adam stayed up and yapped the whole way to keep me company, while JD was conked out by the time we hit Waltham.

The next evening (Monday) we got a surprise visit from one of JD's friends, Regan. She brought buy a heart shaped candy gift for JD! Her mom dropped by and she came running out of the car with the red candy box intact. After your initial embarrassment JD, you told us that she was your girlfriend?? This can't really be starting this early, can it?

The Dungeon

It has been a few weeks since I've made an entry. Mostly because we have had more snow and been cooped up inside a bit. Last weekend Mom and I were really looking for some fun stuff to do. We have been getting outside every weekend that we can, but cabin fever has officially set in.

Last weekend was no different. VERY rainy, windy and cold! We started the day a little slow. Lounged on the couch in the morning and watched the movie, "Cars." Adam each morning when you wake up you call me in to your room and for the last three weeks or so, the first words out of your mouth are, "K-Chow!" This is what Lightning McQueen says all the time in "Cars." You like to come down stairs and wake up slowly, just like mom. You cuddle under my over sized blanket and watch the first half hour or so of this movie. That Saturday was no different!

After the movie, we had some breakfast and did some coloring. This wasn't just ordinary coloring though. We broke out the LARGE paper role and ripped off a piece that covered the whole kitchen table! On this paper we made, "Radiator Springs" where all of the cars characters live. JD, made parking spaces, for all the cars and Adam scribbled some colors on top to make "Leaves fall." Adam, it wasn't long before you spilled some cranberry juice on your half!

Later in the day we decided to tie dye some shirts! Adam loves his tie dye shirt and we all like to color all the time, so we figured we would give it a shot. Mom took control and we went down to the dungeon (basement) to make the shirts! We all had SO much fun! JD, you were very calculated in stringing on your rubber bands and dipping your colors. You are turning into a perfectionist and you exhibited some of these qualities on this day. Adam, you just loved dipping your shirt into the different color bowls and not surprisingly your shirts came out excellent, probably the best out of the four of us. Mom's was of course, very creative and mine came out OK but you both did great. We ended up coloring 8 shirts in all!

In the middle of last week we had a bit of an adventure. Wednesday night was the last night to sign up for T-Ball. Mom was working and I put Ad to bed around 7:00 and JD about 7:20ish. I was fiddling around on the computer at about 7:40 and it hit me, I FORGOT TO SIGN UP JD FOR T-BALL! Immediately, I ran upstairs! JD was awake and I said, "Get your clothes on and put Brick in his crate!" I had to wake up little Ad, put his jacket on, and get myself dressed in normal clothes! We were in the car in about two minutes! JD and I laughed on the way down the stairs and Adam was smiling but he didn't know why! We hit the ATM on the way and made it to town hall with ONE minute to spare! I was able to sign up to coach just before the people shut down sign ups! JD was absolutely the unsung hero of this little adventure. JD, you got 100% ready in no time AND got Brick in his crate. On the way back we all talked about the stars and Adam told us that his Bubba was on the moon! JD, you got a kick out of this. Now when Adam notices a moon in one of his story books, he says, "Bubba on moon," followed by a belly laugh!

This past weekend, we started off at the Dover Bowl early Saturday morning. One of JD's friends, Regan, was having her 6th birthday party. Mom and I were able to meet some parents that we didn't yet know and hang out with some other parents that we were already familiar with. JD, you were off with your friends the whole time playing ball in the play area, eating cake, bowling and running around. At the end when Regan was ready to open her gifts there was a solid crew of kids that hung around to see what she got. This is the first girl party you have been invited to. It was fun to see how your friends react to the "Girl gifts!"

After this party, which lasted a while, we went to Millis to visit Nana and Grampie B. We hadn't been down in over two months and it was so good to see my Mom. When we arrived she had a spread of food waiting
for us. I may have had 10 chocolate chip cookies within the first half hour of arriving. Brick was able to see Grampie for the first time in seven weeks too. Brick seemed to be a little standoffish with him at first as he didn't run right over, but warmed up eventually. Brick is back with us know but he'll be leaving soon.

Later in the afternoon, you both made some Rice Krispy easter eggs with Nana. She had a recipe for mixing up the stuff and you were both eager to help. JD is no stranger to following recipe's but Adam has a little bit to learn. Adam you kept adding marshmallows to the already mixed "batter!" When you weren't doing that you were eating the Krispy mix off of the spoon!

At night, Mom and I went out with our friends. I went to Norwood with Cauf, Jim, Chris, Mikey, Sean, Dan, Christine, and Leslie. It was nice to see everyone, even the police later in the night! Mom went to visit Kate who was babysitting for Liz's kids right down the street.

That same night after Adam went to bed, JD watched Discovery Channel with Nana and Grampie. JD, you talked about volcano's before falling asleep on the ride home the next day. When we arrived home you were sure to ask if you could watch Discovery and we all gathered around and watched a documentary about lions. Adam made sure to point out all of the animals he knew the names of.

We are all hoping for warmer weather coming up soon. It was so nice to see you all outside when I arrived home from work tonight. Adam was on his scooter, and JD on his bike. Az and Brick were out there too doing their thing. We do have a nice trip to Florida planned in about four weeks! We are all looking forward to getting some beach time in!