Circus 2013

We were lucky enough to receive some free tickets to the circus thanks to Grampy Grampy in Florida.  The kids had a wonderful time and really enjoyed watching the circus and eating the cotton candy with Grampy & Grammy Civiello, Trey, Aunt Amy & Uncle Dennis.  Audrey (true to form) slept the entire time and even gave Grampy some good cuddles on his birthday:)  Happy Birthday Grampy and Aunt Andrea!

Audrey at 1 Month

This sweet girl has turned one month and what a whirlwind it has been.  She continues to be a easy, laid back baby. She will go anywhere and as long as the car is moving or she is being carried in the Moby wrap... she will sleep through anything. Her brothers are so in love with here and will do anything to keep her from crying, except stop cuddling her..... she seems to be handling all of this extra love just fine;)  I realize that the hat and jammies don't match, but for not being able to smile yet her expressions are great in these pictures!

April Vacation Part 4: Visit to the Upper Valley

Gabe had the weekend off and we had an open house planned for Sunday afternoon, so Gabe and I got the house once again ready to be shown and left Saturday morning to visit friends in the Upper Valley. The kids love playing with Oliver and Isaac and had a great time exploring the woods despite the freezing temperatures. James and Ben had an especially fun time playing with noodle, and Noah has decided that he really doesn't care of dogs. We had a wonderful visit with friends that are moving away and we may not get to visit so easily for a while... we can take all of these kids on a road trip to Washington State right;)  Audrey got lots of love while we were there and Gabe and I got to relax a bit with two other adults around!  The kids are exhausted and we are exhausted after such a fun filled week... hopefully Noah won't be too tired at school this week!  Oh, and our house went under contract this weekend so we are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly.

April Vacation Part 3: Boston Adventures

Admittedly I am getting spring fever, spring is not here, but I have been feeling the need to start getting out on road trips and adventures... and I was feeling a bit guilty about this being Noah's April vacation without anything "fun" planned. Luckily my mom was up for an adventure and didn't totally dismiss my crazy idea to take a trip to Boston.... I figured it may be the safest time to go given the increased security. I was also hoping that lots of other people would change their travel plans, so maybe the aquarium wouldn't be as busy and crazy as it would have otherwise been during a school vacation week.  

We got up on Wednesday morning, got the house in "showing condition" and left for the big city.  We got right into the city, found parking and were able to enjoy the aquarium for just over 3 hours, which is no small feat with 4 little ones.  James's favorite part was finding the lobster and hermit crabs.  He even touched a rock crab in the touching room!  Noah's favorite part were the harbor seals outside of the museum and the seals and sea lions inside.  Ben's favorite part was being able to run around on the ramp... he did have some interest in the sea life, but boy is it hard to take a 32 pound, busy 18 month old anywhere;) After the aquarium we walked up to the north end, bought some cannoli and played/enjoyed the gorgeous 70 degree weather at the Christopher Columbus Park.  

We left the city in the late afternoon and headed for our motel on route 1 in Peabody.  I had spent much of the day before trying to find a "fun" place for the kids to stay, but being the day before during April vacation most things were full.  We did find a great hotel with a pool and that is all the kids really cared about.  All three boys got lots of swimming in and met some new friends.  Noah spent most of his time in the pool without his lifejacket and both Noah and James got up the courage to jump in the pool unassisted and even in the deep end going underwater.  They were both so proud of themselves!  Ben loved splashing and "jumping" in from the steps. Audrey spent the morning lounging by the pool;) By Thursday afternoon everyone was exhausted.  

The top three pictures are ones that Noah took (he is getting good) he also took several of the parking garage "so that daddy can see what it looks like where we parked", but I spared all of you the piping and sprinkler system of an underground parking garage;)

April Vacation Part 2: Bikes, Bouncing & Beaches

Gabe made it home from Nashville Saturday and we made it home in time to pick him up at the airport.  The best part was that he then had Sunday and Monday off.  Sunday we had a fantastic time relaxing, playing at home and riding bikes.  We got Ben a new tricycle that he will actually be able to pedal and (more importantly) we will be able to steer.  It was great to have all three boys on bikes riding around the neighborhood... now if we can only get Noah to take off the training wheels... after one trip he told us firmly that he wasn't ready yet.... maybe in a few more weeks;)  

Monday I tried to convince Gabe to take a road trip to the aquarium in Boston to which he refused because he thought it would be too crazy with the marathon happening.... I thought otherwise, but well played Gabe.  Monday morning we took the kids to the Bounce Zone in Saco and they wore themselves out jumping and running from place to place.  Afterwards we had lunch and explored Higgins beach for a bit..... it is still way too cold for outdoor stuff that lasts longer than 10 minutes...... where is spring????  Audrey only spent about 60 seconds out on the beach, but it was long enough to take her picture as documentation of her first trip to the beach.  True to form the boys could have cared less what the temperature was and splashed in the water and played in the mud/sand... luckily I had packed a change of clothes for everyone.... I have learned something over the past 6 years;)  We rounded out the afternoon with more bike riding and trying to keep track of the events in Boston without the kids seeing the tv or hearing what was happening... so heartbreaking!