mexico trip

lance and i had a wonderful time and luckily got out right before things got really bad (who knew we'd go there right at the onset of the swine flu 2009)! we both realized how much we had needed this break. the hotel we stayed at was amazing, though it wasn't quite what we were expecting at first - you can only tell so much when you pick a hotel off the internet. it turned out to be even better than we thought!! i will say, if you go to cozumel - fly in - the ferry ride left MUCH to be desired. we'd never been to cozumel and it was fun to experience a different part of mexico. the water was beautiful - crystal clear and a gorgeous aqua - and we rented a scooter for a day so we could check out the island. i went scuba diving for the first time and loved it! i took a bunch of pictures, but edited it down a bit for the slideshow. enjoy!

vacation reading

i always find that i read such a random assortment of books and magazines when on a trip. lance and i are finally taking a long awaited trip to mexico tomorrow. we booked this while he was still deployed and are now just getting around to taking it. i am really looking forward to it. i fully plan to find a chair under an umbrella by the pool and catch up on all the reading i haven't been able to do lately. lance will probably try to figure out how he can build houses over the internet.

some of these books are lance's...i don't plan to read the whole trip, there is A LOT of sleep i need to catch up on too.

happy earth day!

the boys and i celebrated earth day by doing some planting. it was a wonderfully warm day and after i picked them up from the babysitters we enjoyed some time outside. tonight we planted basil, cilantro and marigolds. i also had seeds for peppers (green and red bell) and tomatoes, but by the time we finished with our 3 pots i was done for the night. maybe next week we'll work on the veggies. ethan enjoyed the dirt until he got it on his hands and then was done with it. he loved putting the "sprinkles" (seeds) in the pots. if i had been better set up, i would have had some seeds separated out into bowls, but i didn't do that, so he dumped the entire package into each of the pots. we'll definitely have something sprout up! ethan enjoyed watering them as well and i hope that as we start to see the little plants pop up he'll get excited. i'll just have to remember to keep them watered, not my strong suit.

miles enjoyed being in the outdoors, though i think he was more excited about the puffs on his tray than anything else. he did perk up when i turned the water on. he is such a little water baby! i am really looking forward to taking him to the pool this year...i think he is going to enjoy it so much more than ethan did.

sunday morning errands

lance had to work this morning and the boys were going crazy at the house so we ran some errands before naptime. after a long wal-mart trip, i needed a huge coffee. of course ethan wanted one too. so he got his own "special coffee" (milk.) so cute! it was his first official starbucks and he loved it!

our day at the zoo

a day at the zoo! while it didn't start out as the most perfect zoo trip with chilly, drizzly weather, it warmed up and was sunny by the end. this was ethan and miles first time to the zoo and it was great! we went with aunt dawn and the kids, as well as aunt laura and uncle jeff. ethan had a blast! he LOVED the snakes, frogs and fishes that we saw in the reptile building. lance loved that he got so excited by the green mamba, which is apparently highly venomous. he was seriously giddy and smiling so big when he looked at it! i was wishing i had had my camera in the building with me. he rode the carousel and had a great time...lance and i were both crossing our fingers that he wouldn't freak out the second it started going, lance more than me though since he was the one riding with him! we saw meerkats, a giant anteater, lions, the elephants and rhinos all before lunch. during lunch miles finally made his appearance out of the carseat where he had been riding pretty happily. he spent the rest of the trip in snuggled up to me in a carrier and was content to just gaze around. just like ethan, he loves being outside and it tends to calm him down. we were starting to tire out after lunch but wanted to make sure we saw the monkeys before we left. all the kids enjoyed the monkeys, probably a lot in part because uncle jeff took turns swinging them around. ethan has always loved this game, so it was a big hit! that was our last stop, though we had to do a group photo of the kids (why we waiting until the end of the trip, who knows?) i included my attempt - hopefully laura did better!

ethan and carrie ann outside the reptile house

the carousel ride - it was really dark, so not great quality

ethan and uncle jeff

checking himself out on aunt laura's camera

group photo attempt!

the boys

the ever elusive picture of the two together...i get about one of these every other month.

little monkey

aunt rebecca bought this super cute outfit for ethan but he barely got to wear it because it was too warm when he started fitting in it well. it fits perfectly on miles and with the cool spring weather we have been having it is great. i LOVE it!! the little monkey hat was too adorable to pass up. i wish his binky clip wasn't in the way - there is a little monkey right on the chest.

adventures in the great outdoors

ethan is fascinated with bugs. loves to look at them, though thankfully doesn't tend to pick them up. i am sure that will change soon enough!

we were at the park last week and there was this little black bug that he found on the slide. i loved capturing his emotions and excitement he had while looking at the little guy.

happy easter!

happy easter!

we had a wonderful day and hope everyone else did too!

miles enjoying his basket

ethan finding his toby train

only one 1 m&m at a time...no fun, dad!!

easter pancake breakfast with whipped cream AND sprinkles! i tried to make shapes, but they just didn't turn out.

happy first easter, miles!

pre-easter festivities!

today was filled with lots of fun pre-easter activites! time with family, easter egg hunts, chicks and bunnies and egg decorating.

this morning we took ethan to an egg hunt that some friends of ours put on in ardmore's central park. it was lots of fun and there was a great turn-out. ethan, once again, was a fan of seeing what was inside each of his eggs and could not figure out that if he filled his basket with more eggs, he'd have more candy. too interested in seeing what was in the eggs he got. grand total this hunt, 7. but he still had lots of fun! after picking up the eggs, he found a shopping cart that he LOVED! this may have been his favorite part of the day.

we ventured over to the play toys and my brave little guy decided to go down the biggest, fastest slide i have seen at a playground. i didn't have a picture because i was too scared of trying to catch him. he did great, though he didn't come down that slide again!

after the egg hunt and a much needed nap, we headed over to grandmother and grandfather's to visit with family and do some egg decorating. let's just say, dyeing eggs with little ones is not an easy task. but we got lots done and didn't make too much of a mess.

we finished off the day with a yummy BBQ dinner and ethan loved getting to eat with his cousins!