Kids Say the Darndest Things

So, this is an experiment. I decided I was reducing my photo sizes too much, so click on any one of these and tell me if you notice much of a difference. Better? Did it take longer to load the blog? Thanks in advance for your input!

Okay, so I snapped a few photos of the boys in recent days that I felt compelled to share. ...The photos and the stories...


I call this one "Joy on a Swing." Elliott was hanging by his tummy on the swing, and my job was to grab his hands, pull and then let go. (All this AND take photos! Amazing!)


We were playing in the backyard with our neighbor friends a couple of days ago when we heard a plane overhead. We could hear it, but we couldn't see it. Elliott offered this gem: "Maybe it was the sun's tummy grumbling! ...Or..., maybe it was a plane."


Go ahead and try to tell me this photo doesn't make you smile. Just try.

If only he could be more expressive..., ya know?

Yesterday, we were again outside (on the deck this time), when Patrick turned to me and asked, "Where's Elliott?" "He went inside to go potty," I said. I don't know if that answer satisfied him or not, but he ran to the closed French doors and screamed as loud as he could, "YOU OKAY, SWEETIE?"

Dang, these boys are cute.

Sesame Street!

We boarded the dogs, packed up the van, loaded the portable DVD players and made the trek all the way to 123 Sesame Street! When we woke the boys at 5 a.m. to get the nine-hour drive underway, Pete asked Elliott if he was excited for vacation at Sesame Street. He answered, "Yes. But can I just rest a little longer?" :)

Once there, though, the boys were in heaven. Just one concern: Is there anyone home behind the fake door???


Sesame Place--just a 30-minute drive from Gigi's house!--was awesome! We were lucky to have our good friends with us for our two-day adventure!

The cool boys (Patrick as Cookie and Elliott in his board shorts) got around by wagon...

...and the cool girls (Meredith and Natalie) rode by stroller.

It was like a dreamland to step into Sesame Street (see the set facade below?). The daily parade was awesome--even though we blew both days' chances at getting a front-row spot.

Funny how the little things (like tiny flowers and leaves on the sidewalk) can still entertain...

The kids all loved interacting with the Sesame Street set, playing on the fire truck and running through the produce stand.

But who knew Bert was so flippin' tall???

You pay extra for smiles like these. Uh, ... boys?

All the characters roamed the park for the kids to meet and pose with, but they also came with lots of handlers and photographers directing the kids. Natalie and Elliott tried to obey. Meredith was I-don't-know-where. Patrick was too impressed to follow any kind of direction.

Seriously. They did surprisingly well considering these characters are supposed to be little kids on the show. Who knew they were 8' tall in real life?!? Not Patrick!

Elmo's World Live was such a cool real-life re-creation! Here's the Big Red Guy in his crayon-colored world and Mr. Noodle in the window!

I guess the show would've been better if it held the boys' attention..., but what can you do?

Elmo got a lot of the themed rides, but I don't think anyone was complaining.

Still, in the Land of Overstimulation, everyone stayed grounded in their own way.

You can hardly make out the oversized knee Bandaid, but this running shot was just after Patrick and I visited one of the very lovely First Aid stations at Sesame. Our nurse did a great job; Patrick learned no lessons.

I mean, what WASN'T a hit at Sesame??

I guess there's still something magical about a merry-go-round.

It was the Frog Hopper at Waldameer, but at Sesame, it's Elmo blasting you into space!

Rides aside, Sesame Place had an awesome play area. (They can't sweat out ALL their energy, right?) Here are Elliott and Natalie (and an unknown colleague) in the giant bounce house.

This thing should've scared the pants off the kids, but they had no problem climbing up about 30 feet...

...showing off at the top...

...sliding all the way down...

...and then racing to do it all over again!

We were rained out with an incredible downpour on Friday, but we learned a few things I'd like to pass on to any future Sesame Placers:

1. Prepare to spend your annual salary on lunch and snacks. (Here's Pete, proudly displaying his $37 Cookie Monster soft-serve dessert.)

2. Unless you've got an infant, know that no kids will sleep through Sesame. Prepare to entertain and distract anyway you can (was this patty-cake on the table, Trish?)

3. This could be related to lesson #1, but bring your own snacks and ice water! You just can't spend all your time in the water park--which was awesome, but I was unwilling to take my Nikon there!--and the kids will want refreshment.

4. What else? Pack water shoes, towels, sunscreen, etc., etc. Avoid the weekends if at all possible (the population at Sesame Street must have tripled between Friday and Saturday!). But above all, prepare to see children as happy as you'll ever see them--whether it's because of Elmo's antics ... or their own.

Taking Over Grandmas' Houses Since 2005

Our recent trip out East (New Jersey and eastern PA) happened to fall just before my birthday. My mom (Nonna to the boys) and Elliott teamed up to bake me a cake. Yeah, yeah, adorable, but the REAL artistry came in when Nonna showed Mr. Fine Motor Skills the tiny candy letters. (For the record, any schlep can spell "mom.")


He was so, so, so, so proud!


And THIS is how we found Patrick when we re-entered the room.


It wasn't quite enough for our crazy family of four to take over another Grandma's house. Our friends' family of four also stayed there! (GiGi--short for "Great-Grandma"--was wonderfully understanding!) Here are the shorter house guests taking over the outdoor spaces, too:

Do you have any idea how hard it is to catch ALL FOUR kids happy/looking in the general area of the camera?

Natalie just loved this leaf she found!

I don't know how I got this kid to slow down enough for a non-sprinting photo, but he turned on the supercheese to further reward me.

I can't even remember what Patrick was running around yelling, but I know he was trying very hard to convincingly play whatever game the older kids were playing.

If they're hiding, Natalie might try finding something a hair larger...

All the kids loved having a three-day play date, but these two were over the moon about sleepovers! We pushed two twin beds together to create The Sleepover Room! (Luckily they were wiped out enough to actually SLEEP! Bonus!)

These two bonded, too. This shot wasn't even staged!

It was so great to finally see so many family members, including Pop-Pop, Mom-Mom (another grandma!), Aunt Alison and (new) Uncle Nick! Hope to see you all again soon!