1st Day of PK4

Matthew had his first day of PK4. It was 3o minutes, just to walk around, get to know the teacher, the classroom and meet new friends. He was much more nervous than I thought he'd be. He doesn't know a single kid in his class, which may be a good thing. :) Here are a couple pictures I took today. It was a bit bright, so he wasn't terribly accommodating. But I'll deal with what I have. Isn't he handsome? And looking more and more grown up everyday...

NEW JERSEY - 2007

We had a great time in New Jersey. We spent 1 week there and even in the cold and rainy weather, we weren't defeated. We had a fun time. Bryan had an even better time, from the cheese steaks, pizza, soft pretzels, Rita's Water Ice, to the Eagle's souvenirs, body surfing, and getting to spend time with his mom and dad, brothers and sisters, and his nephew, Alex. It was wonderful to see everyone!

We took over 350 pictures so here are a "select" few. Enjoy...

Let's see...Ethan's first plane ride and he did wonderful. As you can see...

Ethan meeting Bryan's grandma, G G Mom, for the first time...

Munching on a paper plate...

Lolo giving Ethan a bath in the sink.

Packing up the car for the beach in the rain. There was LOTS of rain!

Even in the cold, Matthew had to "surf." We didn't let the rain and cold stand in our way.

The seagulls took this bag right out of our beach bags...THE NERVE!

My favorite vacation memory...Leighanne, losing her mind of the darn seagulls. Literally, LOSING HER MIND. I sit her now, laughing. Thinking about Leighanne, screeching, screaming, throwing shovels and kicking things in their general direction. Ahh, hilarious!

Playing on the beach with Poppy (Bryan's Dad)

Bryan's mom and dad (Poppy & LoLo), Alexander (Bryan's nephew), Matthew & Ethan

Lolo and Matthew

In a hole, dug by Johanna...Matthew's best beach buddy. :) Thank god for Johanna, she kept him busy AND entertained...

Ethan in the hole...

Alexander in the hole...

Taken by Bryan - I have a picture of Matthew and I just like this, from about 5 years ago. The Beach "Bum"

Too much rain and cold weather, brings Matthew to the pool in his garb. What a hoot.

Eating on the boardwalk...

Matthew and the Saltwater Taffy guy...

Cousins playing on the beach...They were so cute together. They talked to each other and even tried hugging...

The Boys at Dinner...

Steve (Leighanne's man), Bert T. (Family friend), Chris, Alex, Matthew, Bryan, Ethan & Kingston

(Not pictured, Dave (Johanna's Dad))

The Girls at Dinner

Leighanne, Me, Matthew, Lorraine, Ethan, Johanna, Jen, Ethan, Mary & Jessica

(Not pictured - Kristy (Johanna's mom) and Joanne T. (Family friend, married to Bert)

Games on the boardwalk...Like father, like son

Chris and Jess...

A giant sand castle...Matthew is in the green.

Catching jellyfish that washed up on shore...

Cousins on the beach...Ethan and Alex

Uncle Dude - Christopher

The Coolest kids on the beach...With beach hats from Bert and Jo.

THANKS GUYS! They sure were cute! :)

Kingston threw his back out, loading the car. So he "rested" on the front porch.

Nice picture, huh?

Alex's 2 teeth...

Headed home - Back on the plane to Chicago...

THE END

Michigan Weekend

First stop on the Michigan Trip, Weko Beach. It was BEAUTIFUL! Ethan liked the water, Matthew and Bryan swam and played in the sand and we had a picnic with all of my mom's extended family. (Her dad's sister's kids and grand kids...Do you follow?) They were wonderful hosts and had plenty of good food. Did I mention the fresh blueberries and peaches. MMMM...and then the desserts. WOW! Great food! Oh, and the salsa...YuM!

Next stop, Mackinac Island. It was a beautiful day...lots of fun and PLENTY of laughs to go around. We thought Matthew was ready to ride around, but we figured out quickly that 4 year olds don't know the rules of the road and aren't real good with the brakes. Needless to say, he only ran his bike into a "poop carriage (the cart that picks up the poop) and I mean he hit it HARD...because he was being nosy and then fell off again after he rode his bike into some gravel. No broken bones and we thought for sure something would break.

Altogether, over 6 miles that day. Not bad for a 4 year old, huh? Don't ask about the grownups. Oh, and Ethan slept almost the whole time...What a kid! :)

Ridin' like the wind...Look at Nonny go...

The fort reenactment

Looking throught the fort walls...

Picture op at the fort...

Onto the Grand Hotel...Bryan, Dad, Matthew & Ethan opted to go sit and eat and drink while my mom and I went to walk the porch at the Grand Hotel. They still make men wear suit coats and pants and women wear dresses after 6 PM. It also costs $12 to get onto the grounds to look. My mom has always wanted to see it and we weren't disappointed. It's gorgeous. The rooms start at about $400 a night. There are over 300 rooms and none of them are decorated the same. I'd share pictures of us "lounging around the hotel", but we weren't cute after a long bike ride and she'll be mad if I put them online! (LOL, MOM!)

Last stop, the ferry back to Mackinac City.

But another couple photo ops while we wait for the ferry.

The view from the ferry...

Dinner...the kids both were asleep at the table. The service was NOT good...but we still had fun. I think we sat at this table for over 3 hours from start to finish! :) But the food was good.

Last "free"time before we head back home and enjoy an 8 hour car ride. Matthew got to play in the indoor water park. He had fun and we thought we wore him out. He was awake for 7 hours and 40 minutes...and slept the last 20 minutes. The kid has ENERGY! We had a wonderful time...Thanks Mom and Dad!