Happy Birthday Luke!

Time flies when you're raising children!! I can't believe our little Luke is nine already! Collin stayed overnight at his "buddy's" house after the party- FUN FUN FUN!

Evee DO IT!

We've entered into the phase of everything taking FOREVER, because of Eva's independence! "Evee do it" by herself! The trip from the house to the driveway is SOOOO long- I wish I could tell her to meet me at the car, and give her a five minute head start! She also insists on wearing dresses and "pretties" (notice the lovely mardi gras beads she has on!) I have been waiting so long to have a little girl-- and I sure do have a girly girl! But she also likes to play football, so I guess we have the best of both worlds! If only I could pry her away from her DADDY for a few minutes!! If he's home, no one else exists! Daddy's girl- to the extreme!

Hammerhead

This was BJ's catch when he went to Florida this year! It's pretty nice when an 11 year old can go fishing with his Papa and catch a hammerhead shark!

Tubby Time (again!)

What a little ham! Even though the well is pretty dry this year- there's always enough water for a bath for Eva!! ...or else! It's my only hope of any sanity these days-- she's more of a handful than the boys ever were!

Sleeping

She's so peaceful... when she's SLEEPING!

Eva's Hair!

WOW!-- In just a year-- we went from curly mohawk to HOLY CURLY! (don't mind me- I'm just strolling down memory lane!)

BJ and Alex in 1st Grade

I was going through my old emails and came across this photo from Jill- we were reminded of the good old days- BDG (Before Discovering Girls)- and the innocent little boys we had! Now our littlest one, Collin, is older than BJ was at the time of this photo! Time is going by WAY TO FAST!

Dad's Caribou

I know this is an unusual post- but Dad just got back from Alaska and I wanted to post his picture with the caribou that he got. He had been looking forward to this trip for a while- and now he has a new head to add to his wall of death... I mean... trophy to display with pride!

BJ's Back to School Bonfire

What a crazy bunch!! BJ had a lot of fun with all his new Port Byron friends! I met some really great parents- unfortunately I'll never remember all their names- but they understand! The kids played football-even the girls- and some kind of tag game- but in the dark, so they have to search for each other. It was a good night- and now we can look forward to the Halloween party! BJ, of course, invited them all back for the next party already!

Wine Country

It was such a fun GIRL'S day!!
JoAnn (Walt's sister), Mom and I went around Seneca Lake and tested some wine... it was YUMMY- and Martha would be proud of me and my new wine selections- I'm definitely more educated now!!! Mom and I learned that we prefer the most opposite wines- but luckily we have one thing in common- we like WINE!!!!

Playing at the Sawkin's

Here is the whole gang: Anya and Collin on top, Sebastian (Buddy) and Eva by the slide, and BJ holding the newest member, Hannah. (pay no attention to the LEGS!)









Collin didn't want to smile for me, and he certainly didn't want to put his arm around Anya for a picture- so she was giving him a lecture about me getting a picture of him being grouchy! They're like a little old couple when they play together- like they've been married for 50 years!!

Collin's Shorts

I told the kids to get dressed for school and this is what Eva came out of the boys' room wearing! She thought she was all set!! FUNNY GIRL!

Wild Flowers

I know it's not the kids- but look at how beautiful these wild flowers are!It was a little too dark for Brian to take my picture outside with them- you can barely see me when I'm standing in the middle with the flowers. The kids would be lost, like a corn maze. Oh-- and I kept thinking I was finding one of the kids lost balls out there-- but they're gourds! The wild, from no where gourds, are bigger than the pumpkins that we planted on purpose! And they stretch for 50 feet in all directions! They're even growing up the stalks of the sunflowers! (that are FEET taller than me!!) And all of this is where our famous bulldozer used to live! I wonder if the farmer who reclaimed his long lost bulldozer used to grow gourds?!
Hey Martha--(a.k.a.- grower of all things)-- What the heck is this crazy looking flower??!!
So many varieties of sunflowers...
...and even a green flower (on the right side of photo). I've heard of green cats, but not green flowers!! (long story short- with Brian's colorblindness, he thought that cats were green-- I guess no one ever told him otherwise!!-- so we pick on him now and then!!)

The boys went to their new school today- didn't they look handsome.... I mean..... COOL!? I wasn't even allowed to be outside when BJ's bus came- Oh my god, MOM! When Grama Colleen asked BJ for some kisses this afternoon, BJ said, "the candy is in the kitchen!" and giggled!! NICE KID!
I waited with Collin , though... and so did Grama, and Eva, and Hooch, and Oreo...
...by the time the bus came, he was ready to escape! Of course, the bus driver said, "Collin, your Mom wants a picture!!"... hence... the FACE!

They both said they had a good day and met a lot of new friends. BJ doesn't have a girlfriend yet- but he's working on it! And it turns out that Collin's buddy (the only kid he knows in the school) is in his class- Logan Roberts. They've been friends for years, and probably will be together forever!

Bromley Mountain

Well- we usually go someplace a little more... ADVERTISED... on the last day of our trip, so this year we went to another park like last year. This one was in Vermont instead of Massachusetts, though- much smarter people!!! Eva enjoyed the alpine slide as usual- and so did the rest of the kids... except we had a three out of four crash rating... you'll NEVER guess who DIDN'T crash!!!!??? Poor Zack spent the whole trip bruised and cut and black eyed, and managed to escape the injuries here!!! Both BJ and Sammi flipped their sled, and Collin slid his elbows down the sides of the track. BJ and Sammi had to go to the first aid office! It was pretty tragic for a while- but nothing a good meal and Aunt Patti reading more of Harry Potter can't fix!

Moxie Falls

Another beautiful hike...
Mommy even carried the Eva backpack for a little while (holy crap- I thought I'd die when I got back to the top!!!)

Sparklers

Our last night usually has sparklers involved in the celebration- Eva was so tired, but loved the pretty sparkles.

Riding in the Van

Again- don't worry Grama- dirt roads... no one around for miles... except the wildlife! No one fell out either!

Huge Pine Tree

The kids put their hands together to see if they could wrap all the way around the tree- it was HUGE, Tom, HUGE!

The Ugly Stump

The kids got really sick of me asking them for pictures- except when I wanted them to climb on stuff!...


...and jump off of stuff!