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This is the smile of a little boy getting on the plane at the end of a long, fun trip. After all flights to Chicago were cancelled on Monday night, we were able to get home on Tuesday afternoon. Vacation is fun but home is the best. I actually wish I had the picture of Garett running from the car at O'Hare upon seeing Tate beaming like crazy b/c he was soooo happy to see his brother AND Marissa bawling her eyes out because she didn't get to get there first. That was priceless!

A few photo opportunities. Our dear friends the Wilkeys came down to meet us on Monday to tour the American Museum of Natural History with us. We had so much fun!

Harry's diner

Somewhere along 38th there was this diner called Harry's. We pulled up to the counter and got eggs, pancakes, waffles, hash browns and fresh squeezed orange juice for $8.25. 

Oreos

Oreos in bed with white sheets while watching t.v. Only on vacation.

Our bike taxi ride across Time Square

Souvenir Shopping

Tate is experiencing the loud thrill of the underground subway.

The thrill of the hunt... for souvenirs. After much in and out of MANY of New York's finest gift shops- we finally found what we wanted- a woman's wallet. Yes, yes. Even the gift shop owner tried to talk him out of it. He had many fine leather men's wallets. The one Tate picked out contained the most "compartments" of all wallets in the entire world. He could literally carry 50 credit cards if he so chose (or was so allowed).

Tate's feeling patriotic...

"Liber is the root word for tree/tree bark, and since tree bark was used to write on and make contracts with, and processed to make paper for more writing and contracts, the word Liber came to be associated with those who could read, write and engage in contract. With this definition, in the classical world of Greece and Rome, there were two classes of people: slaves and Liber. The fundamental difference between slaves and Liber was freedom, and Liber is the root word of Liberty. Liber is also the root of the phrase 'liberal arts'. As Robert M. Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago, put it: 'liberal education...is the education that prepares us to be free men. You have to have this education if you...are going to be an effective citizen of a democracy; for citizenship requires that...you do not leave your duties to be performed by others...A free society is composed of freemen. To be free you have to be educated for freedom.' " - Oliver DeMille A Thomas Jefferson Education

Liberty Island

I loved the sculpture of Mr. Eiffel and his tower. He actually helped create the framework for the Statue of Liberty (Lady Liberty Enlightening the World) with Mr. Bartholdi of France. He went on to engineer the Eiffel Tower.
We got to go as far as any visitors are allowed to go these days. How exciting!!! The National Park Service allows 3,000 people in per day to ascend 156 to the top of the pedestal to an observation deck. Inside the Statue of Liberty now is the retired torch (which is soooooo cool!) and a lifesize replica of her face (which is the face of the sculptor Bartholdi's mother). While we're on the subject- her body was in the form of his wife. I wondered how he esteemed his wife since she is portrayed quite masculine.

The musician

Above: A musician snagged Tate and had him assist him with playing some tunes. Tate was a little unsure about this.
Below: Tate taking a break from the line.

Battery Park

During our 1 hour wait to board the ferry to Liberty Island, Tate took advantage of feeding our pretzel to the pigeons. He got quite a lot of entertainment from it.

We enjoyed a scoop or two of Scoopy Doo's ice cream at the marina in Milford.

Beach with Tate

New York, New York...Here we come!

I decided to take Tate to New York and Connecticut for a Mommy-Son trip. We decided to visit some old friends and see the Statue of Liberty for once and for all. It was the one thing I never did while I lived in Connecticut and regretted. Also, I wanted for Tate to have that memory of visiting the Statue of Liberty and saying, "Yeah- my Mom took me there."

We had the best trip!

I can't wait to take one next year with Garett!

And the next year with Marissa!

Nemes

Tate's nemes he created with foil and fabric. The foil is supposed
to be a cobra. This is an Egyptian headdress royalty wore in
casual settings. Basically- a ballcap for Egyptian royalty.

Zorch Removal

This is the Zorch removal process that happened to Garett for various offenses. His father did not have enough insurance for proper anesthetic- so it really tickled. The contents of his stomach nearly came out as his dad removed the zorch from his tummy.

Marissa

Little Marissa

Marissa flying like a...

This is Marissa. She says she is "flying like a chicken".

Such a boy!

Marissa is such a tomboy! While playing cars with her fireman backpack, she got the wheel wrapped around her hair. Yes... we had to cut her hair...again!!!

Froggie

Tate's new friend.

Marissa loves to wear Shelby's shoes!

The Book Bug

I told Tate he got bitten by the book bug! It is so true! He is addicted to reading books (finally!). He has always loved me to read them to him but he has finally started picking them up to read to HIMSELF! That has been one of my goals for him for the last 2 years and it has finally happened!!! I seriously get emotional every time I see him just having picked up a book of his own free accord!

1st day of summer vacation.

Summer vacation. 9am. Playdough smushed into the carpet. I'm going to have to find some creative solutions to housekeeping!

First day of summer vacation. 9am. My house might not
recover from this summer.

Tate's vehicular invention

Tate figured out he could bungee cord his little red wagon to
his bike and give his stuffed animals a ride around the house
while we were getting ready for the party. This was his way
of "staying busy" so he didn't get extra chores in preparation
for our party!

Come by for Pie Party

Memorial Day

Am I the biggest dork for taking a picture of our getting ready for our Pie Party on Memorial Day? We had a good turnout- over 50 neighbors "came by for pie".

Playing with the cat

Rosie

Well, every family has to endure a stray cat situation, right? Kevin's cat was Max. Our's is Rosie (what, you never heard of a white cat called Rosie?). Rosie showed up about 2 weeks ago and simply won't go away. We have not fed her. We did, however, make the fateful mistake of petting her. This has been bad in 2 ways. 1) She now likes the attention and won't leave and 2) I think Garett is allergic to her.

Running for the bus... one last time!

Freaky Freaky Friday

The last day of school!

Sauntering down the driveway one last time to catch the bus.

Tate's last day of 1st grade. We are at the end of our driveway waiting for our bus.

Marissa graduating from one hour preschool.

Come by for Pie Invitations

I have grown more and more adverse to paper craft projects because they seem to eat up my time. Yet, I got really excited to have a "Come by for Pie" party for all the neighbors on my street- so I took a few minutes to make a poem and invitation. Because this may be the last thing I ever create- I decided to take a picture!