ok, i guess it's time to play catch-up again!

thursday:  we went to breakfast with grandpa don and grandma val and then went back to their hotel to go swimming. the kids did awesome in the water! both of them were swimming on their own with their puddle jumpers. the water was too deep for them to touch and they were a little nervous at first but they got used to it and started swimming/floating away! after swim it was time for ice cream! while everyone changed out of their suits, the kids laid in the bed, watched some tv and had some popcorn. rex wanted green ice cream (his very favorite color!) when we were at lake effect. of course, the mint was white and there was no green ice cream - he settled for orange sherbet. and loved it! the kids fell asleep within a minute of our drive home. i was able to put them down and they continued to sleep once we were home! that's very rare! after nap, neal got home early and we headed back over to the hotel to do some more swimming! then it was back home for dinner and bed!

friday: we had the wedding rehearsal in the morning, followed by rehearsal lunch. the kids were having so much fun teasing uncle matt and trying to scare him. they love playing with their uncle matt, we don't do it nearly enough!! on the way to the rehearsal, we had some time to kill so we stopped at a garage sale. rex scored a box of rambo action figures and malloy got an entire basket of dolls - cabbage patch kids, porcelain dolls, and regular dolls. they loved them and had something to keep them busy! we went out to dinner with grandpa don, grandma val, roro, papa hank, uncle paddy, and zach. afterwards, grandma val, roro, and papa hank watched the kids in their hotel room while neal and i went out for a bit to hang out with some out of town guests. we didn't get to bed until midnight!!!

saturday: wedding day!! we hung out at home this morning while neal did his groomsman duties. after nap, we got up, got dressed and headed out to pick up grandma to go to the wedding! the kids were great before, during, and after the ceremony!! malloy was the flower girl and did a great job walking down the aisle! both kids were quiet and patient during the ceremony. rex wanted very badly to be with neal who was 2 feet away from us, but he held it together. the wedding was at becker farms and there was a rooster crowing during the ceremony. towards the end, rex blurts out loudly "the rooster says cock-a-doodle-doo!" and laughed. the kids loved all the animals and checked them out numerous times during the night. they ate a lot of cheese and crackers before dinner, ate a bit of dinner, and a LOT of cake. the cake was white with red velvet in the middle. rex would only eat the red cake - he would not touch the white cake, even though that was the part covered in frosting! then it was time to DANCE! both kids danced their little tushes off!! they had everyone laughing! malloy was tired and started asking to go home around 9. rex lasted a lot longer - he did NOT want to stop dancing! we left around 10:30, put their pjs on in the van and they were both out cold when we got home.

sunday: we went to brunch at uncle paddy and auntie andi's. the kids got some quality time in with wally. malloy was "training" him at one point. she had a bowl of chips and he wanted them. she'd tell him "sit" and he'd sit so she gave him a chip. this went on until the chips were gone. she thought it was so cool that he was listening to her! 

monday: we went to the gym and wegmans then stayed home the rest of the day.

painting with sponges

tuesday: we went to the gym and then went swimming at the wade pool with stephenie, brooke, ben, safina, emery, and katie. jamie, gianna, and kenadee came while we were eating lunch, but malloy was so cold and still shivering when we were done eating that we didn't go back in the pool. we played a bit on the playground and then headed home for nap. that night, we went to the old home days parade. we walked and pulled the kids in the wagon. it was a lot of fun! we met up with some friends - caiden, parker, and chase. the kids had a blast waving, dancing, and running to go get as much candy as they could!

sunglasses at breakfast

i'm too cool for my pancakes

waiting for the parade

today was pretty uneventful. we went to the gym and then wegmans. after nap we went to the playground for a bit and then dinner, bath and bed!

discovered today that rex can do his robot puzzles all on his own! they're only 2 pieces each but i'm still proud!  i had no idea he could match them up and do them himself!!