Fair Part II

And this - I finally got my hair cut like an adult. I LOVE it. Granted this photo is the day of the cut so it won't be "flipped" like this again anytime soon but it still looks good without a lot of work. Should have done it sooner! I was in traffic so I took this photo myself while driving without trying to look like a goofball to passersby, hence the serious face.

Just in case..

..you are ever asked, "Would you like a 3 year old?" Say NO. "18 mo. old?" Sure, bring 'em on, but a 3 year old? Run like the wind my friend.
Anywho....we have photos from the Marshfield fair. BIG fun. Thankfully we had 3 adults to 2 kids because that way the adults could rotate which horrific ride to go on with Brooke who is a ride-aholic!

Continued

Wedding Part III

My mother just got some of her pics up from the wedding here they are:

Water jet play in Boulder:














Goofing around with Poppa John in Vail Village














Needing a little jolt after the wedding














Rehearsal dinner photos
















Hair and makeup fun















Gondola ride

Wedding - Part II

Here are some more photos from the wedding:
Tom, Kelly, Ryan, Kyle and Aaron Hicks/Philip, Carol and Bryan Norton















These are of our trip to Denver/Boulder. We were hiking in the Rockies with the kids. V. short hike but photo worthy.















This is me and the girls in the lobby of the hotel (did I post this already?). Again, go to the Vallier photo gallery for all the photos of the trip.

Wedding photos are here!

Here are the photos of the fabulous wedding - visit our website for the entire spectrum of photos. I've downloaded just a few favs here.
The wedding itself was great - I've never seen so many people cry during the vows. There were many speeches (one by Yia Yia) at the wedding and more crying.
Most importantly I think Mariah and Derek were happy with the wedding and all the surrounding activities.
The rehearsal dinner on Thursday was a blast (as was the Tap room after....). Our sitter worked out great (if you find yourself in Vail called Care 4 Kids for a sitter). My generous father and his wife Karen footed the bill for the sitter for both nights so thank you very much!!
If you ever doubt that it truly takes a village here is my list of thanks for making our trip a successful one:
Yia Yia puchased our airline tickets and helped enormously during the entire trip (unfortunatley it's impossible to list all the ways but they are many)
Pappa John was our "on call" sitter for many an extemporaneous hour or three
Kelly (Hicks) was Alexis' care taker during the ceremony so John could wrestle with Brooke
The Valliers brought us to and from the airport and donated to our vacation fund.
Biggest kudos go to John V who had the kids during my spa trip (with help from Pappa John) and who had them almost all day on the wedding day. That doesn't sound so hard right? The wedding day included napping them, dressing them (tights, dresses, hair), getting them in to the car, up to the gondola, on the gondola, to the wedding site, back from the wedding site (all in the rain), on to an SUV, to the ceremony, at the ceremony (again thanks to Kelly for helping with this part) and then reverse all that back to the hotel to meet the sitter AND THEN reverse all that again back to the reception!!! Whoooo Hooooo. Good job Johnny!
It was a great time but I'm tired just thinking about it. Here are some photos of the wedding & reception:


Wedding Party/Derek & Mariah















Browns/Sharon and John















Lisa & Karen/Karen & Dad















John& Lisa/ Sharon & Lisa














(continued)

All in a day's work

In my on-going effort to keep the kids from injuring themselves before the wedding here is what yesterday went like:

We were outside on the swing set playing nicely, when my neighbor walked by and asked about Lexi's ears. This was GREAT because this neighbor has been giving me the cold shoulder since I "spoke" to her about her dog so I really wanted to encourage this conversation.
We were chatting while I pushed Brooke on the swing and kept an eye on Lexi who was climbing the slide ladder - until - "WAAAHHH!" from behind me and Ann (the neighbor) goes, "oh!" I turned around and Lexi had fallen backwards off the ladder and was lying there crying. She has climbed the ladder about 100 times and has slipped but has always held on. Not this time. She was fine - no bruising about the face. Still presentable!
Later that evening - bath time. Everyone is playing nicely but Brooke is continuously touching Lexi which is annoying her (and me). I ask repeatedly (10 times) for her to stop it. Still does it. I tell her that if she does it again she's getting out. She sticks her foot over to Lex and touches her with her big toe. Now I realize she is just being 3 but sometimes you have to stick to your guns and I chose this opportunity to prove that Mommy follows up.
"That's it. Get out."
"NOOOOOO!", she screams and slides as far away as possible in the tub.
"Don't say no young lady," I say and get in the tub and pull her toward me and then get her out myself.
"My hand, my hand.....", she starts wailing.
Oh shit, I think (didn't say it, thankfully).
"Brooke stop screaming, brush your teeth." Didn't work, still screaming.
OK, long story short - off we go to Quincy Pediatrics (in Quincy!) and the doctor pronates her arm so that the elbow goes back into alignment.
"Happens twice a day here," he says, trying to make me feel better.
Ok. Second accident averted, no outward bruises. Still wedding ready!
While this is all going on - I noticed that Brooke's room smelled funny (as John was running around yelling at me and trying to get ice for Brooke's arm).
I looked at the Barbie bed and two perfect little poops. Lexi was diaperless for about 2 minutes and had pooped in Brooke's room. I cleaned it up and we went to the doctors office.
Later, when I called John to report that her arm was OK and we were on our way home, I mentioned the poop (because we could laugh now that we could breathe).
"Oh, that's what she was playing with." he said matter of factly.
"What?"
"She was playing with something and smelling it and I thought it was gum or something."
This is all in addition to the 45 minutes I waited at the OTHER doctor's office for Lexi's ear checkup. The checkup took literally 2 minutes but it was good so that was somewhat worth it.
All in a day's work.

This is Brooke and her best friend Victoria.
Will you look at that attitude? They are 3 years old!

This morning I went to put a fresh diaper on Lexi when she woke up (I got a ride to work with John today). When I laid her down on the changing table she looked and me and said, clear as a bell, "I love Mommy." How's that for a good start to your day?

Pictures Part III

Here are some photos of John's sister (Jane) and her kids. Some how Binno (her husband) escaped the photos but he was there. They will be sorely missed when they head back across the ocean we've had a great time visiting with them!
Ava did a great job reading to the kids and so did Mark (again the photo didn't come out). The last pic is Ava, Nana (John's mom) and me. Poppy was also at the BBQ but didn't get in any pics that came out - next time Poppy!

Pictures Part II

Last of the flowers but aren't they pretty? Nice job Johnny.










Here is a photo of our outdoor fireplace and another of a little woodland visitor we had.














This is our playground. We fenced in the yard so that the kids don't run amock on the busy dirt road in front of our house (that's a joke I stole from Joe, there is not much traffic but we are nutsy parents).








Here is a photo that, I think, typifies Brooke. Girly but with an edge (see all the dirt?):














And this is Lexi lou, thoughful, serious (haha)













I spent some time trying to get a photo with them both but this is the best we could come up with.













(cont.)

Pictures, pictures!!

Alexis is doing great! She is not even bugged by the ear plugs she has to wear at the beach, in the pool or in the sprinkler. She's quite the little trooper. So glad that's behind us!
We were outside yesterday and I was thinking about how lucky we are. I love our house and people are constantly commenting on our gardens (which is 100% John). I realized some people who read this blog don't get to see them so I took some photos of all the different varieties of plants we have.


















(cont.)