Your Nana

The girls and I spent the afternoon with Your Nana. Yes, they refer to my mom as Your Nana now. Very strange and funny. I guess they wanted to be a little more clear as to who they were referring to. Instead of Nana and Nana Marie, it's Your Nana and Daddy's Nana. So we arrived at Nana's office to show the girls her desk and to visit with Nana's sister, Patty, who sits right around the corner. Not sure if the girls wrapped their head around that one but it was nice seeing her and giving the girls an image when I tell them for the thousandth time each day, "Nana is at work!" We headed out for lunch and were surprised to see Papa stop by the restaurant. He wasn't able to stay for lunch but the girls were happy to get a few minutes with him. Next stop, the Necco Factory. What kid wouldn't be happy running through a candy shoppe. They left with Necco wafers, of course, and lots of other goodies. Finally we ended the day at an awesome new park. They had their first seesaw ride and the weather couldn't have been better. It was a great day! We love you Nana!!

Hillary or Natalie?

We're back...

This blog is officially back in business. We had two minor problems, our computer and camera were both on the fritz. But rest assured, my extraordinary husband solved both problems. We are temporarily using his work laptop and I got a beautiful new camera. Is it possible to be in love with an inanimate object? Because I think I am. I have lots of pictures from our weekend getaway to Rock Haven Lake! It was very relaxing and we sure made some memories and had some laughs. We boated, I kayaked and we took a mini-trip to Conway. The girls loved spending time with their cousins!

Old Orchard Beach

Prior to summer, Jay decided he would take a couple of Mondays off for day trips. We couldn't decide where to go this morning and settled on just getting in the car and stopping when we saw something good. We ended up at Old Orchard Beach in Maine and it turned out to be a great day (aside from the rainy weather.) We parked the car and headed to a "paint your own pottery" shop. It was such a nice experience. The twins chose tiara piggy banks to paint and Mallory got a good old piece of white paper. They picked out their paint colors and went to town. It surprised me how long it held their interest. They just kept painting and painting until the colors eventually mixed together. I didn't get a picture of their finished masterpiece but it will be arriving in the mail within the week (it still needed to be fired.) The girls loved it and we had so much fun watching them. Next, we had a picnic on the beach with our lunch we packed from home. It was nice until it started pouring and we had to run for cover. The rain did die down and we managed to sneak a few rides in before leaving. Natalie just hit the height requirement and I was amazed at how brave they both were. The last ride they went on was basically a roller coaster but kid-size. It was so cute to see them let go of their fears and have so much fun.
On a side note, this morning before leaving, we were singing The Wheels on the Bus. When I said the babies on the bus go...both girls shouted, "wah, wah, wah." Well on the way home Hillary was having a fit because she wanted out of her seat. She started whining, "Mommy, I want to get out of my seat...wah, wah wah..." Only she was really crying while saying it. I've heard it a couple of times since so I'm pretty sure she's regressed to crying wah, wah, wah when she wants something. I hope this doesn't stick!

Ingaldsby Farm

This morning we took a trip to Ingaldsby Farm to pick blueberries and raspberries. They also have animals and a store filled with fresh fruits, vegetables and baked goods. I should have known how the trip would go for Mallory, when all she was interested in were the pebbles on the way in and the baggy of cheezits we brought along. We didn't have our triple stroller so there was a lot of lugging going on. The twins enjoyed picking the berries and filling our container and Mallory enjoyed eating them right out of it. She even stood next to one tree and ate them right off the branches! I'd say our first trip berry picking was a success and the best part is that the farm is right down the street from us. We did have one minor scare, when the twins lost our camera, but it was recovered and I learned my lesson about letting two year olds carry any valuables. I'm so happy the camera was cooperating today because I got some really nice photos.


After our big trip to the farm, I unloaded Jay and the twins and took Mallory grocery shopping. While I was gone the twins had some more fun spraying the water hose!

Toy Recall

One million Fisher-Price toys are being recalled for excessive amounts of lead. I own some of these toys (not the from the specific batch.) Take a look at this list and check your toys. You'd be surprised how lengthy it is. It includes lines such as Dora and Diego, Sesame Street, Spongebob and The Backyardigans. Here is the link:

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/39054_IVR.asp?prod=

The Reilly Show

Auntie Kelli, Caragh and Reilly came for a visit last night and I managed to get a few shots of the girls in action. After loading them onto the computer, my memory was refreshed to just one thing I am sure of...it is Reilly's world and we all live in it. Her poses are very comical.

"Thank you, thank you...I'm here all night." Could they think she is any cooler?

Something about this pose tells me she knows just how cool she is.

Mid-clap...somebody give this kid a bath!