The Relyea's Camping Trip...

... in our backyard!

We finally had the perfect night to camp out! Nicholas was psyched for this "trip" for days, especially the campfire plans. We set up the tent...

and it passed official inspection by Nicholas (even though he was trying to talk us into using his tent).

"I'm going to sleep in the tent with Daddy...and Mommy is going to sleep in the house with Baby William, because he is a baby and is too small...and I'm going to make a campfire when it gets dark..."

(it sure is hard to get a picture of this boy when he's excited - he doesn't stop talking!)

For Fred and I, it was so nostalgic to pull out all our camping supplies, since we've yet to use them since having kids.

"I'm sleeping in the house with Mommy!"

Relaxing in his spot in the tent!

Of course, Puppy had to go camping too!

The boys built a nice fire to make smores. Nicholas kept asking to go to sleep in the tent.

One last marshmallow before bed!

Around 9:30, the boys headed to the tent. Before I was even in the house, I heard Nicholas yell, "I want to go back to the campfire!"From the house, I could see the flashlights flickering. I thoroughly enjoyed opening the window to hear their conversation, including Nicholas asking "what's that sound" to everything and asking Daddy to "turn off the crickets." He finally settled to sleep around nearly 11pm...and was promptly awake at 6:30.

It sure was fun! Next year we look forward to a trip at a real campground (and yes, Mommy and William will sleep in the tent too!).

Yup...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

In celebration of our 5 year anniversary on the 14th, we decided to venture to a Chief's game! After I told Nicholas our plans, he informed me he wanted to have popcorn at the stadium. As the child of two non-sports parents, I'm still trying to figure that one out! He also told me we was going to watch the baseball players throw and catch the soccer balls around- now that's more like what I expect from my boy!

He was just thrilled as we made the long trek to the stadium - the placed was packed!

When we arrived, Nicholas took in the whole experiences. He was in awe, for sure (and dying for the big lights to get turned on).

It was the perfect night to hit the ballpark. Unfortunately, us non-sports people who just really went for the fireworks show realized that the game is many hours long - too long for our young family (notice all the other families with little ones heading out after the 5th inning).

Hitchin' a ride with Da-doo!

Just five years ago we were two - now we have a beautiful family...

a dream come true!

Just Horsing Around

August 14th

Will is 12 weeks today!

Usually he thinks tummy time is for sucking on his hand, but today he was really into bobbing his head around. Good work, buddy.

Me and my big boy goofing around

For such a young one, I'm amazed everyday on how interactive William is. He watches all that goes on around him, including watching the big boys horse around.

A Tooth Already!?

12-weeks old and the sighting of a tooth...

seriously, my baby is growing up way too fast!

Mommy's Birthday

Another one comes and goes, but this one will be remembered with plenty of smiles & coos from my baby...

my big boy volunteering to vacuum for me...

indulgements during big boy's naptime (soak in the tub and plenty of cuddle time)...

topped off with my favorite dinner & dessert with the family!

One Messy & Wet Day!

Nicholas kindly continued making the pancake batter as I answered the phone - I learned my lesson!

It was going to be a warm day, so we headed out with the slip & slide! If any child could over-think a fun toy, it would be my son. Nicholas kept saying, "I need to walk carefully on this so I don't slip!" (where was careful when he was in the kitchen an hour earlier!)

His careful dismount!

Zoey kept William company in the shade.

The neighbors were pumped to show Nicholas how to slip & slide. They insisted it needed to be more wet to be slippery. We even resorted to spraying Pam on the thing - which helped tremendously (except the kids went home smelling like butter!).

When things got chaotic, my boy decided he needed to use the potty and read his magazine.

All in all, it was a fun day!

Dinner with the Fam

Tonight Grandpa John took the family out for dinner at Delmonico's. Colby was impressed with William's "muscles."

Anthony and Vincent kept Nicholas entertained with their magic tricks.

Look, all the 6 boy cousins (we really missed Marissa, we need a girl in this picture)!

Colby and William - so cute!

One Long Day

After an unimaginable night with Nicholas up until 2am (thanks to a marathon of thunderstorms that also woke him at 7am), Monday seemed to be one long day. We had friends over in the morning (would you believe 6 kids, with Nicholas being the oldest!) but somehow I was a little busy and didn't get any pictures. We took it easy in the afternoon...

William sucked on his hand.

After a brief nap (did I mention it was a long day!) Nicholas asked, "so where are we going to go today?" With Daddy at night class, I gave Nicholas 3 choices, his being Mickey D's! That made someone happy ~

And a napkin made someone else happy!

Oh, the faces

Gotta love 'em!

One Tired Boy

After staying awake for nearly the entire day at the Renaissance Festival, William enjoyed a bath and conked-out around 6:30pm. Figuring it was going to be a typical cat-nap, I put him down in the recliner. As it turned out, he was one tired boy - who slept a whopping 11 consecutive hours (and even stayed sleeping when Daddy transferred him upstairs)!

It was really fun to see him change positions all evening.

Renaissance Festival

Daddy has been in Ren-Fest withdrawal the past 2 years. He just loves the festival and has been looking forward to bringing Nicholas for his first time. The weather finally cooperated and we made it on Saturday.

Rides in the car are always interesting lately. Nicholas just cracks us up with his pretend stories, rocket sightings and his infatuation with taking pictures with his Hannah Montana cell phone.

Our boys, side-by-side for the first time.

We were there for perhaps 5 minutes when Nicholas started shouting, "hey, what's that!" Wouldn't you now, he spotted the popcorn wench. He was in heaven!

Nice pillow sword, buddy!

William was wide-eyed taking in all the sites, sounds and smells of the festival.

Daddy and Nicholas went on the giant slide!

After squealing all the way down, Nicholas had a huge meltdown that is was over. He was soooo sad!

Daddy had his work cut out pushing the stroller up and down the hills.

We had two very exhausted boys on the long way home. As true to the Relyea boys, they'd never close their eyes. Instead, Nicholas tried his best to keep William happy. Just look at William's expression in the mirror - how precious (even though I'd forgo cute moments like this for 2 kids that would actually sleep in the car!)

Ren Fest 2009