Bugtropolis

I think that was the name of the museum we went to this past weekend. Originally we wanted to go see the Battleship New Jersey, but due to funding they were not open. So Zach searched on the internet and off we went to a bug museum. We started off with a demonstration of live bugs. The kids got to touch them and learn how they defend themselves. Then we wandered the rest of the museum learning about lifecylces and all sorts of stuff. They had a beehive in glass so you could see the bees making honey. There were tubes that the bees could fly through to go outside so they weren't trapped in the thing. It was a short little stop, but gave us something to do instead of errands and Saturday cleaning!

Please Touch Museum

 

We have been trying to meet up with out friends, the Dehns, since we both moved back to the states so finally we were able to with the kids out of school! Philadelphia is about halfway for them in Deleware and us here in Jersey and I was told the Please Touch Museum was a really neat place to take the kids. It was awesome! It was also PACKED! THe kids had tons of fun and we managed to keep track of the 6 boys without losing any......well losing them for good anyway! We had our helper, Ally, (the only girl) who was great keeping track of who was missing. Pretty much the museum is set up for the kids to do whatever! The water area was a huge hit as well as the area with the cars. It is pricey though so I got a one year pass. We are close enough to get our money's worth. There is a lot to do in Philly so we will probably be spending a lot of time there!

Florida December 2009

 

Since our leave was denied at Thanksgiving we decided to put in for time at Christmas. We didn't get the exact time we wanted, but enough to go to Florida to visit Zach's grandma. And of course to add to the fun a snowstorm decided to hit the day we left! So we drove through the snowstorm which added about 2 hours to the 16 hour drive. We had a great time in Florida. No we didn't go to Disney and yes many I tell are shocked! Honestly I don't have a big desire to spend tons of money to go somewhere you end up spending more time standing in line than anything else. Plus Cody is not always the best in those types of environments so why take the risk of spending all that money to end up leaving becuase it's too much for him. We did go to the Sanford zoo and that was just the right size for Cody. As we were checking out the last few animals, he was done! We also went to Monroe lake to watch the boats, but there weren't any out that day. We also got to see some friends that we were stationed with in Alaska. We met up for lunch at a playland McDonalds and the kids had fun running around. I wish we had more time to spend with them especially now that they have orders back to Alaska! It was a short trip, but well worth it. We opened some presents with great grandma but had to get home for Zach to get back to work. We hope to make it down again next year and maybe have a little more time. The drive home was much easier and with three stops took right at 16 hours. In fact we crusied along with clear skies and little traffic until we hit the toll for the Deleware Bridge. Then things slowed way down! Cody saw a bright light in the sky and just knew it was Santa so he kept telling us to go faster so he didn't skip our house. We listened to Christmas music the whole way and Cody sang all the songs he knew! He LOVES to sing and learned many at school this year. It was a fun trip and we were very glad we could take the time to go.

Christmas 2009

 

I think it is time to replace our camera since most of the pictures came out blurry. I guess 5 years is pretty old for a digital these days! Here are the ones that came out decent. We had a fun day. The kids were up at 6am, but after driving 16 hours on Christmas Eve Zach and I weren't as eager to get up! We did and within no time the disaster of cardboard, paper and all was everywhere. What really made Christmas fun this year was Cody. This is the first year he has not cried all morning or thrown a fit resulting in him falling asleep. He actually wanted to open presents and even opened some that weren't for him! It was so much fun to watch him and in a way felt like his first Christmas even though he us 5! I made homemade cinnamon rolls like every Christmas then after breakfast and clean up round one I took a nap. I woke to more cardboard and such and Cody building his new fire station with Zach, the older two happily putting together their new legos. I had a ham for dinner, but honestly we were fed so good at Zach's grandma's house that we really didn't care to have a big Christmas dinner. So instead we opted for spaghetti and meatballs. By the end of the day the mess was partially contained, the garage was full of trash and cardboard. I contemplated taking it out and beating the rush to the dumpters, but decided it didn't matter. Zach and the boys played out in what was left of the 24 inch snowfall we were in Florida for. They made a very tall snowman, but it started raining later in the day and rained the entire day after Christmas so he melted very quickly.

The day after Christmas Zach and Tyler went on what was supposed to be a 5 mile hike with the scouts, but they got lost so guess they hiked closer to ten miles! They did all of that in the pouring rain on a trail that was washed out at points! Needless to say they came home tired, hungry, wet and cold! I decided that was a great day for our big Chrismtas dinner! So we did eat the ham, potatos and other yummy stuff.

Happy Birthday Lucy!

December 21st Lucy turned 1! I decided to make meatloaf and give her a little as a treat. The kids wanted to buy her presents so we decided to make a little party out of it. We wrapped dog treats in with her present, but the smell of the meatloaf was so distracting she didn't know what to do! In the end we opened her presents and she had fun destroying them!

Tyler's Arrow of Light

We finally had Pack meeting and Tyler was presented with his Arrow of Light. In the past I have seen really nice ceremonies and it was a big deal, but there were some unexpected things that kept delaying our pack meeting and in the end the big ceremony didn't happen. However he still earned it and I was pinned for the last time (From Tyler anyway) and now I turn over the scouting stuff to Zach! Yippee! Only one Cub Scout to help now! Tyler worked very hard and we are very proud of him. Not many really work to get this rank in Cub Scouts, but it is the only one that carries over with him to Boy Scouts from what I am told so I am really happy he stuck it out and earned it. Congratulations Tyler!

Happy 11th Birthday Tyler!

The big 11 has arrived! I still have mixed feelings on how this transition to teenage years is going to go, but I have 2 years to figure it out now! Zach did the cake again. I am not an artist! Zach can take a picture and do much better than I could ever dream so it's always his job. This year we didn't let the kids pick what they wanted their cake to be. We wanted it to be a surprise. Tyler didn't really have a response to the cake or presents for that matter, but I think he liked it! I am chalk it up to the whole 11 year old attitude/ego thing! Any with boys feel free to pass on any and all advice! I am more than ready!





He wanted a pocket knife since he earned his whittling chip in scouts, but Zach decided that since he will be in Boy Scouts now he needed something that will be more useful. Hopefully he will be doing lots of camping and getting use out of it!






The R2D2 cake! At first we thought of doing Darth Vader, but that is a lot of black frosting! Zach was running late from work, but I think he did a good job. Someday I will learn not use cake mixes becuase they crumble!

So Happy Birthday Tyler! Can't believe 11 years ago at 11:01am you arrived weighing in at 7lbs 13oz!