After the Elizabeth Stampede and naps, we enjoyed the afternoon in Grandma Sue and Grandpa Brad's backyard. They built a sandpit shortly before our arrival. The kids loved it so much that Jesse built one at our house this week!
Elliott briefly expressed interest in playing baseball with Brad and Hayden. He didn't quite understand the game as he was standing between the pitcher and the batter.
Game confusion. A baseball bat and a soccer ball.
Exploring the shed with Grandpa Brad.
Matchy, matchy.
Lots of giggles for Grandpa's tickles.
Lucy had a great time crawling in (and eating) the dirt and sand.
More sandbox fun.
Lucy is quite the stander these days. She cannot stand unassisted but that probably isn't far off.
The true story of dinosaur extinction? Toddler burial.
Elliott had a great time sitting in Grandpa's truck with Hayden and watching Brad, Cale, and Garrett play basketball.
The scene in the driveway.
Lucy wanted to watch, too.
Mama! I can't fit my head through!
And now matching pouty faces.
Two of my new favorite pictures of the kids. Lucy and her dirty chin.
Elliott's cute face.
Elliott had a great time playing with Hayden's old toys!
On June 7th, we flew out to Colorado for a long-overdue trip to see Jesse's family. We haven't been out since last April and most people had yet to meet Lucy. We flew this year and the kids were troopers on the flights. They got some wiggles out at the play area in the Buffalo airport.
Too fast for the camera!
Checking out our plane.
They are so nice when they're sleeping.
Cuddlebug.
We arrived without incident and settled in at Grandma Sue and Grandpa Brad's house. The next day, we went to the Elizabeth Stampede parade. Elizabeth is the small town outside of Denver where Jesse graduated from high school. Attraction #1: mule-powered ice cream maker. The mules walked on a belt that turned a shaft (red and yellow/black on the left) and then turned an ice cream maker. Pretty cool!
Elliott watching the mules.
Waiting for the parade to begin.
And they're off! This parade was full of horses, rodeo queens, and emergency vehicles. Elliott was in heaven!
We started off June with big excitement - a new concrete floor in our garage. We had to get some supplies at Home Depot. Not surprisingly, Elliott made a beeline for the riding mowers.
The key! (Stern words followed . . .)
Lucy flaps her arms and kicks her feet when she is excited.
She loves playing with Elliott's riding Thomas that he got for Christmas from Grandpa Nick. You can see her standing skills in this video, too. She's going to be on the move soon!
Elliott loved all the action in our driveway. He came home from school on Tuesday afternoon to find a skid steer, several pickup trucks, and workmen. It got better on Wednesday morning when the concrete truck arrived bright and early!
Lucy loves playing in the shower. If we leave the bathroom door open, she crawls right in there to play.
We went to the chicken BBQ in East Aurora that night. Lucy and her smiles were quite popular with the neighboring tables.
Then we went to the Red Caboose where Elliott had his first ice cream cone EVER. We have offered it before and he always refused. This year, he started asking for it. He seemed to like it but lost interest pretty quickly. Like any good mother, I finished it for him (way to ease back into dairy). Of course, he asked for it 15 minutes later and I had to explain that I ate it or it would have melted.
The kids left their marks on our new floor.
There it is! This might seem trivial to some of you but this is a BIG upgrade from the dirt floor that was in there.
Elliott helped me water the grass in front of our house. For those taking note, we have been giving this grass a little TLC and it looks much better than this now.
We met some friends at Green Lake Park in Orchard Park on the last Friday in May for some beach fun. Lucy loved eating sand. This cute suit came in a wonderful package of cute goodies from Caroline and CeCe. Thank you!
Lucy was on a mission to crawl to the top of the mountain of sand they brought in but had not yet spread out.
Go girl, go!!
A moment of calm while eating lunch.
L to R: Levi, Basia, Tucker, and Elliott.
The big excitement that weekend was Jesse's return. This spring was very busy for his work. He was home two out of twelve weeks. But, he's home now and we love having him here!
I was away at my 10 year Colgate Reunion that Saturday night. I didn't take many picture but here is one of my friend Katherine. It was so great to see her and the other girls!!
We returned from NYC late Saturday night and headed for Canada on Sunday morning. We were late enough that we missed helping Ted, Mike, and Holly taking the shutters off the house. Sorry about that, sibs. Elliott was really excited to go to "Poppy's tiger house." He remembers the tiger from last summer.
Apparently eating lunch while wearing goggles is an annual tradition.
See the last picture in this post for a similar picture of Elliott last year.
It was warm out and Ned forgot to bring shorts. His jeans already had holes in the knees so Holly made him cutoffs.
He was pumped!
Ned discussed his plans for the beach. In case you need translation:
"I want to take two garbage bags to the beach: one for litter and one for finding cool rocks and shells. Maybe a conch shell. I'm not sure. [and then something I cannot understand]"
Ned, if you find a conch shell on the shores of Lake Erie, you've been tricked or we are all in big, big trouble.
Penny showing off her Constantine genes. We love bags!
Lucy now prefers finger foods.
Hi, Dutch!
We were really excited that the Blair girls were up at their house from Virginia for the weekend. They made a bonfire with all the driftwood on their beach from the winter. We had planned to burn it on Sunday night after dinner but, with early kid bedtimes, it became a Monday morning bonfire.
Elliott and Caitlin compared their sticks.
Ahhhh, my beach!
According to NOAA, the water temperature was 51 degrees. Ned was unphased by the chilly temps.
I love this shot of Lucy!
The kids got an awesome show on Monday afternoon before we headed home.
The waterline down to Mabel had to be excavated following a burst pipe and subsequent repair this spring. Mike, our awesome gardener, waiting to grade the area until the boys finished lunch so they could watch.
Elliott is still talking about Mike and his Kubota tractor.
They "helped" with the final steps.
Needless to say, Elliott was filthy. Shelly drew up a foot bath for him. Apparently Dutch was thirsty, too.
We drove home in time to stop by the Magees' house for dinner. Lucy helped Laura feed the chickens some grass.
And Elliott helped Tim mow the grass! Actually, Tim was only mowing so that Elliott could go for a ride. Thanks, Tim!
Hi, Mama!
Lucy loved watching the action while she ate. Tim and Laura's dogs loved all the dropped food under her.
Elliott checked out the new shed Tim was working on building.
"Helping."
A parting shot. Little buns crawling through the dog door.
Summer is officially here! (Memorial Day to Labor Day in my book.)
