The Boys go to the Country

As promised, here is a review of the boys weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. These two have no idea how lucky they are. They can go to SC or NY anytime and get ridiculously spoiled. Their Oma, Opa, Grandma, and Grandpa spoil them beyond belief.

So, while the stinkers were living the high life, this is what Daddy was up to. I have to say that 11 hours in the car is lovely when it's a convertible with no children. I now love my husband's mid thirties crisis car.

When I was growing up, I spent summers at my grandparents. I lived in their pool. That did NOT stop me for asking my parents for a pool at their house. I've asked my parents for a pool for 32 years. I've never gotten one. Well ya know what? My parents took the grandkids swimming a few weeks ago at their greatgrandparents. They had so much fun, that this is the end result......
Yep. You guessed it. My parents are getting a pool. ARE YOU SERIOUS? 32 years I asked for one. My boys and their cousin have fun ONE time at a pool, and all of a sudden my parents have a bulldozer in their backyard. Figures.
Eli had to take his turn sitting on the tractor digging the pool.
Drake was so excited about the pool being dug. We talked about it all week, and he kept saying "I dig it. Need BIG shovel. I dig it.". So, here he is digging the pool.
That was a rough day. Naptime!
They went out to dinner to celebrate cousin Will's birthday. What is Eli doing here?
But of course, he's trying to play air hockey like his brother and cousin!
This picture is the one thing that offers hours of entertainment at my parents. The TRACTOR. Drake loves this thing more than words can possibly express. And to make it easier for him, my Dad simply leaves a chair beside it, so Drake can climb up faster.
My Mom brought the boys back on Monday afternoon, which allowed me a few hours to do a ton of errands. Turns out, Drake was having more fun there than he would here at home. The corn was being cut in a nearby field, so Drake and Grandpa headed over to assess the situation. Eli stayed back for some one on one snuggles with Grandma:-)

Drake got to be the first mate/assistant captain. This combine is enclosed, with air conditioning, GPS, and a radio. That's seriously nicer than my car.
My big boy in heaven
It doesn't get any better than this!
Cheese!

Buffalo trip August 2011

Eric and I traveled to Buffalo last weekend for his cousin's wedding. Congrats Chas and Nina!!! Flights are out of control expensive, so we decided to drive. 11 hours. Oh. My.

So, the decision was made to leave the boys in SC with my parents, and drive up for 3 nights. We left Thursday, and spent the night in Pittsburgh. Drove the rest of the way Friday morning, and had the wedding reception Friday night. Saturday was relaxing, exploring parts of Buffalo, and dinner out with Eric's brother Joe, and his wife Dianna. While we missed our sweet boys like crazy, it was so good to get away. We've only left them like that once before, and that was for one night in Asheville.

The boys had more fun than you can imagine! I'm working on another blog post about their trip to Grandma and Grandpa's.

The bride and groom:-)

Eric, his BIL, and Dad. They cleaned up nicely!
Beautiful sunset during the reception.
The whole Kirsch crew
Our immediate Kirsch family, minus the 7 grandchildren!
My sweet niece Gwen. I got some good snuggles on this trip!
Sweetie pie Nora who has the most lovable thighs on earth.
Gavin, my only nephew. We need some more boys! He would've loved to had Drake and Eli to pal around with.
Lacey; who was not so sure about this "Aunt Nikki" character. She'll love me one day, as soon as she realized what a cool aunt I am;-)
My honey! Happy 4 years!

Our summer at Carowinds!

Oh my goodness, the smartest thing I did this summer was buy a season pass to Carowinds. We've tried to go once a week, but at least every other week. There are a few rides for the boys, but we really go for the waterpark. It's 22 acres, and phenomenal! These pictures are from over 3 different trips to the park. We will definitely be buying season tickets again next year!

This was our first trip, with our old au pair Fran, and Marley, and Aidan. M & A are our neighbors that are like big sisters to our boys.

Drake was totally not into the characters this trip.
The horsies as Drake calles them.
Their favorite ride.

Choo-choo....

Waiting for the helicopter ride.
Me and my little stinker on the helicopter ride.
Drake loves to drive these cars:-)
Playing with his "A-A". (Aidan)
Drake loved coming down this slide with his Mar-Mar. (Marley) Now he comes down alone.
One of the spray parks.
Drake loves to high five the characters.
Drake loved watching this boat come down and make a big spray. This is in the beginning of the summer. By then end of the summer, he liked to go up on the deck and let the water spray him. He LOVED that.
A tantruming Eli and a passed out Drake. A sign of a good day.

Lost Photos

That truck was a gas truck for the planes, and a big hit with Drake!

Here comes our plane!


I found these on another camera, from our May trip to Buffalo. The boys loved the airport, especially in Buffalo. They could see more there!

So funny...

I just have to share this...

During our trip to Disney this past March, my parents took Drake and his cousin to the fireworks. Drake called them boom booms, and my parents told him Mickey did the fireworks each night. Fast forward to the July 4th fireworks. Drake loved the fireworks, and kept saying "Thank you Mickey". I tried to explain that Mickey only did the fireworks at Disney, but his two year old mind can't quite comprehend that.

It's now mid July, and Drake is still OBSESSED with the boom booms. As in, goes to the window as bedtime is approaching, and says, "Peeeaaaasssseeee, Mickey, PPeeeeeaassssseeee, boom booms Mickey". And that's right, there's no L in pease. It's stinkin' adorable. Except I feel so bad for him, b/c all he wants are boom booms, and I can't do anything about it.

We're waiting for New Years.....

Wanted to sahre

I got this in an email lately, and just loved it. So much so that I wanted to share it here!

Haters/ By Maya Angelou A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall. They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough! When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters... That's why you have to be careful with whom you share your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't handle seeing you blessed... It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right? You never know what people have gone through to get what they have... The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story... If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too! We've all got some haters among us! Some people envy you because you can: a) Have a relationship with God b) Light up a room when you walk in c) Star t your own business d) Tell a man/woman to hit the curb (if he/she isn't about the right thing) e) you are a strong person and don't let people run you over f) you have a strong and loving marriage and they can't get in-between spouses to spoil it Haters can't stand to see you happy. Haters will never want to see you succeed. Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side (like some family and friends). How do you handle your undercover haters? You can handle these haters by: 1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are ; *(VERY IMPORTANT!!) 2. Having a purpose to your life: Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be. Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you. 3. By remembering that what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation. Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when it's your time to leave this earth, you want to be able to say, 'I've lived my life and fulfilled my dreams, Now I'm ready to go HOME! When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, 'Don't look at me...Look at who is in charge of me...' Pass this to all of your family & friends who you know are n ot hating on you including the person who sent it to. If you don't get it back, maybe you called somebody out! Don't worry about it, it's not your problem, it's theirs. Just pray for them, that their life can be as fulfilled as yours! Watch out for Haters...BUT most of all don't become a HATER! 'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.' Maya Angelou

The last of the Disney photos!

We stayed and the Beach and Yacht club, for the pools. It was great, but I wish it would've been warmer. Part of their big pool is sand for the little ones. They loved it!

Drake and Grandpa.
He loved the slide!


And the grilled cheese sandwiches at the pool.
Until the renegade seagulls arrived.
And stole part of Drake's sandwich.
The duckies went for a swim as well.
On our last day, we went back into Epcot for a couple of rides, and lunch with the princesses.

We had to change into jeans, buy sweatshirts, and wrap the kids in blankets.
I wish you could see how stinkin' cute the boys shirts were! Suspenders and ties, with a Mickey on it!
Being this was the last day, and it was approaching naptime, the boys were over it.
Drake having a fit and struggling to get away.
I love this one. Eli is such a ladies man:-)
This was how tired Drake was. We broke the "crib and car" rule for having his binkie, and let him have it at the table. He was rubbing his ears like crazy, and just exhausted.
The one where we are all asleep.
And done.