prowlin' around...

a night out prowlin' around with grandma g in the shirts gram made...

fun in the fall

a couple of weekends ago my mom and the kids and i camped out at my parents' house...my dad was out of town and ralph had something going on with some friends, so we set up the tent, had a bonfire, ate hotdogs and s'mores and camped out...we lasted till about 1 am in the tent...at that point ralphy was the only one asleep and mom and i could hear music and "hootin' and hollerin'" from somewhere over the hills and then elli announced that she had to go potty (again)...so we all went in...and then it took ralphy 2 HOURS to go back to sleep....crazy kids...but it was fun...the next morning we stoked up the fire again...the kids bobbed for apples and mom raked up piles of leaves for them to jump in...we all got a turn to be buried in the leaves, too...it was a really good time...

rocks and bridges

Ralphy Turns Two!

our little guy turned two...amazing how fast they grow up... ralphy is hilarious and he's talking more and more everyday...we understand so much of what he says now and he's determined to make us understand what we don't catch at first! while elli focused a great deal on the social/verbal side of life at this age, ralphy seems to enjoy the physical side of life more! he's been running around for what seems like forever....he throws and catches a ball really well and he has been pedalling the bike with training wheels all summer...he tackles, body-slams, jumps and does somersaults....sometimes we think he's outta control! he keeps us all laughing....and he loves his big sister....and football...don't get him started talking about daddy, nick and joe and football...it's a conversation that may last hours...i guess he fits right in...
Untitled from Jen G on Vimeo. on his "birthday eve" ralphy started running a fever and then threw up throughout the night, so his birthday got off to a rough start...but he seems to be feeling fine, so he'll be able to open those presents he's been waiting so long for....the first thing he saw this morning was the huge ride-on john deere tractor that aunt tina (tee-nahhh, as ralphy says) and uncle bob sent from nawff carolina... here are some pictures of the gift opening and cupcake eating: and i'll post the "ralphy's rocks" pictures just as soon as we take them!

the birthdays begin...

over the weekend we had another great party at the park, this time celebrate TWO birthdays: elliana turning 4 and ralphy turning 2! we had a great time with wonderful family members, great food, gifts and weather that was not too terribly hot...the kids were perfect and they had a great time...but they were worn out by the time we got home!

elli officially turned 4 on tuesday and had her first day of preschool! all went well and she enjoyed sharing birthday treats with her new friends and teachers...after dinner she opened more presents and ate more treats! we can't believe that she is already four...when she woke up on her birthday, she said, "will you call me 'elliana...birthday girl elliana?'"! i guess now that she's four she's going by her full, grown-up name! ralphy was confused as to why they both got to open presents at the party, but only elli got presents on monday (from grandma & grandpa g & uncle joe) and on tuesday (from gram & papa & us)...he'll have to wait 2 weeks for his fun!

elli dressed up in her dorothy costume from her new wizard of oz dress up trunk

the first day of preschool!

more presents!

we took the first round of birthday pictures at "elli's waterfall"...we'll wait for another cool, overcast day to do "ralphy's rocks" pictures...

i thought i'd better post some pictures from the last month since we'll soon have lots of birthday pictures to share! these two are getting big in a hurry...elli starts preschool next week! i can't believe how fast the time flies...

aunt kate's wedding

we had so much fun taking part in ralph's cousin kate's wedding ("aunt kate" to our kids)...we are so happy for kate and tom as they begin their lives together...they are two amazing people and we're so happy they found each other...

ralph was an usher in the wedding, so i didn't get any pictures during the ceremony (i was busy trying to keep ralphy quiet!)...the rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception were all beautiful and elegant...we had a wonderful time and the kids were so great...my mom was "on call" during the reception because we thought we would let the kids stay at the reception for a little while and then pass them on to my mom & let them spend the night...but they really love a good party - we all stayed until the end of the reception! from the moment elli put her feet on the dance floor, she was spinning and twirling with her new little friend, helena...ralphy danced, too, but was more interested in the 2nd band that played (tom's favorite band, the vulgar boatmen)...he stood right in front of the band and watched for quite a long time...it was a great time...

splishin' & splashin'

that might possibly be the longest slide show ever, but it's been awhile!
we went to my mom & dad's farm at the beginning of july...as you can tell from the pictures, we spent a lot of time on the tractor and in the creek...during one of our wagon rides, elli and i hung our heads off the back of the wagon and pretended to be laura and mary ingalls in our covered wagon going across the country...we played in the creek and found lots of rocks to bring home...

about 3 weeks before our weekend at the farm, one of the hens at my mom and dad's (the white one that elli calls "spirit") started sitting on her eggs (this was the first time this had happened)...a couple of days later, "red" started laying AND sitting in the SAME BOX as spirit...so the two continued to incubate (together) about 10 eggs (spirit's were white, red's were brown)...
so...21 days later (july 5th) they were due to hatch...this was the weekend we planned to be at the farm...so...while we were at the farm, the first chicks hatched...over the next two days, a few more hatched, giving the two proud mama's 6 chicks to share...it's the craziest thing...though they seem to only be sleeping under spirit now, they were all huddled up together for quite awhile...and the chicks still stay close to both hens...during the hatching process, we got to let the kids hear one of the chicks peeping from inside an egg...and then they got to see it hatch...ralphy still wants to listen to every egg he sees!

so..since then, we've done some caving (the tame kind - not the extreme kind that ralph and i did in colorado long ago...), we've relaxed poolside at schmidts' and at ralph's parents' subdivision pool (elli is getting really brave in the water and ralphy is trying to keep up), we've played in the creek (ralphy really likes crawdads!) and hung out "down by the river" (i can't tell you how much sand we bring home each time)...

summer is so wonderful!

God Bless America

we had a great time at the park celebrating the Fourth of July...

the kids love to stay out late, which we've done a lot this summer! ralphy has become quite fond of rootbeer, which we let the kids have on very special occasions, like trips to the river or nights with a campfire...after the grandparents went home, we stayed a little longer because elli wanted to dance on the street in front of the bandstand...

at one point the band announced that they would need a couple of ladies to help them with the next song (mustang sally)...elli said, "i'm going up there...are you coming, mama?" i said, "noooo..." and she said, "i'm going!" and she certainly did, without a backwards glance towards me or ralph...she stood front and center for the entire song, looking to the band members for "her cue"...the sax player took care of her and held his microphone down for her every time they sang "RIDE, SALLY, RIDE!"
she was in heaven...she didn't move her feet at all because she was so focused on singing her part...on the way home she told us she wants to be a singer when she gets big...she said she'll be "a veterinarian in the day and a singer in the night!"

after our big Fourth of July, we woke up the next morning to go to my parents' farm/cabin 2 hours away...we took great pictures of our time there...i'll post those next time!

the kids: in action!

here's a video of ralphy doing his favorite thing: swinging a bat!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

and here's elli doing her favorite thing: singing "All American Girl" by Carrie Underwood (for a long time elli thought it was called "Tall American Girl!")

Untitled from Jennifer Gianino on Vimeo.

summer days