The cottage

The cottage holds a special place in our hearts! We were so grateful to go back again this summer. Jay had to work so I once again took all three kids by myself.  This was Jacob's fifth summer at the cottage!  

The weather was beautiful, the three days we were there. Here we are hanging out on the porch. 

 Rebecca and Seamus, unfortunately Uncle Jim was unable to go this year also.

 This was the year of the water snake. We saw a half dozen snakes, including one that stayed in the bushes near the cottage for days.

 Getting ready to swim.

 Theo was very busy and it was difficult keeping him out of trouble.

 This was a fun tree stump that the boys played on and around.  Some favorite activities included a morning scavenger hunt, ring toss, many walks, book reading and of course swimming!

 I love my mom!

 The one day the water was super murky.  The water had tons of algae spores (or so they appeared to be) floating throughout the entire lake. There were also many more zebra muscles this year. Raphael kept calling them elephant bones or tiger muscles.

 It was difficult at times to keep tabs on all three boys.  Both Jacob and Raphael jumped into the water and also wanted to go underwater. Theo was content in his raft.

 All the trouble makers.

 Theo and Seamus sat on the floor for their meals.

 As a fun family project we made tie-dyed shirts. I thought they turned out cute.

 The grandsons

 Our little stinkers.

Thanks Rebecca for carpooling with us. It made the trip a lot more bearable. As always the time went by way too fast. The boys are already saying that they want to go back again this week!

Wild about the fair

 We had a great time at the Erie County Fair (the 3rd largest county fair in the USA). Here are the boys standing near a 1916 tractor.

 We enjoyed checking out all of the animals. There were building after building of cows, pigs, horses, chickens, goats, rabbits and more!

 Checking out the chicken barn.

 Learning how to milk a cow.

 Santa Claus and his reindeer were there. Jacob told Santa he would like an umbrella and Raphael asked for some Legos. They were reminded that they would have to behave in order to receive Christmas presents.

We sat on these logs and enjoyed some fantastic NYS ice cream. Theo was checking out the wood carvings.

 We went inside the fine arts building, where it was air conditioned to take a little breather.

 And what did we find, but Legos! The boys are fascinated with everything related to Star Wars and Legos.

We are adding the Erie County Fair to our summer bucket list. It was a great time had by all!

The letters J and B weeks

 We have been enjoying focusing on a letter of the week. Last week was "J" week. We made jello of course!

 The boys are getting so very big!

 This little boy gets into everything! Here he is trying to escape from the backyard.

 Playing in the backyard blow up pool has been a favorite past time this summer.

 Here is a typical Raphael face!

 Making juice....lemonade to be exact (thanks Grandma A. for the idea!)

 Jacob finished up his summer soccer league. He had a blast and scored around 10 goals!

 Here is a perfect moment where all three boys are playing in harmony. In reality this lasted less then 5 minutes, but who is complaining.

 For "B" week the boys ran the bases with their friend Anna!

 Enjoying a picnic lunch with the Masse family!

We also went to the Herschell Carousel Museum in North Tonawanda during one of their free Wednesday!

One of the volunteers was chatting with us about how the wooden horses were carved and assembled!

 Raphael refused to go on the carousel, but Jacob and Anna enjoyed riding.

 Raphael went on the bumper car instead!

 They have a great children's room.

 This is an old fair game. The boys had to hit the wooden objects with a bean bag. So much fun!

Earlier in the week the boys and I headed to the Tift Nature preserve for a preschool activity lesson. The boys learned all about moths and butterflies.  We've also been eating lots of green beans that Raphael and I picked up at the Farmer's market.  We have really been enjoying our summer together!

"A" week

 Each week this summer we have been focusing on a different letter of the alphabet. It has been fun. This week was our "A" week.  We had a week full of awesome adventures!

 We headed to Akron falls park one day. We met up with our friends Ethan, Jonah and Nathan.

 Isn't this willow tree amazing?  Theo looks so tiny next to it. 

The next day we participated in the Buffalo ALS walk, in memory of my friend Nora's mother. Recently, I have had a few friends who have a family member affected by this disease.  It was a super hot morning. Above is Raphael even before we made the 1.7 mile walk!

 

 The boys enjoyed their balloon art. Our stroller tire also decided to give out so we had to carry the boys.

Luckily, some friends came to the rescue and gave Theo a ride! We are going to miss the Chernowski family when they head to Atlanta, GA in a couple of months.  Thanks also to Rick for lugging Jacob and Raphael around in his wagon.  Besides the 90 degree heat, we had a great morning with friends and were grateful to celebrate Kathy Franczyk's life!

A weekend away

 We spent a whirlwind weekend in Ithaca. I blinked and the weekend was already over. Above is a picture of Theo, who decided to clean off in the sink, after a messy pizza dinner!

 Clare, Charlie and their little girl Savanna spent Saturday afternoon with all our families. Clare has known Jay and I since our Immaculate Conception days.  We were so grateful for the time to get together, enjoy good company and food. 

 Theo and Clare. Doesn't Theo look like a little man now?

 Attempting to play together!

 Me, Clare, Savanna, Lilly and Amy.

 Grandma and Theo enjoying some one-on-one time, hard to come by as boy #3.

 Poppa and Raphael (with Dad overseeing).

 Sunday was a picture perfect day! After mass, Poppy took everyone out on the boat. We headed over to Taughannock State Park for a family day with Grandma, Poppy, Aunt Laura, Uncle Chad and Gianna. A good time was had by all.

Poppy getting the boat all ready!

 Brothers!

 Mr. Mom?!

 Gianna is almost 18 months. She is talking away and seemed to enjoy the water.

 Jacob would not get on the boat or into the water last summer. This year was a completely different story.  He hopped right on the boat and enjoyed swimming. He has also been putting his head under the water and is becoming way more competent.

 Theo enjoying putting pebble in and out of the bucket.

 Aunt Laura, Grandma, Gianna and the boys floating on the raft.

 Chilling

 Heading home with Grandma.

 After the boat we came back to a delicious dinner (thanks Poppy).

Our precious goddaughter.