On the first day of first grade...

Jacob went off to first grade today. I can't quite figure out what to write.

I'm so proud of what a big kid he is. He got up, ate breakfast, made his bed, brushed his teeth, and got dressed...all without any fuss at all. However, it's 10 am and I miss him already. (Okay, I will admit that it's been a quiet and relaxing morning with just Zack here...and a part of me misses all the noise and interuption. Well, maybe not too big a part of me!)

The annual fireplace shot. Last night I thought this would be a good idea each year because it's such an easy way to see how much he's grown!

I love this bush as a background...and the smiles I get when there is no sun in his eyes!

It wouldn't be picture time without the silly shot!

Zack did NOT want to take pictures this morning. Luckily, after about ten plus shots, I got this one!

Birthday boy

Jacob turned six yesterday! I still can't believe it!

Saturday we hosted a Star Wars party at our church...for 14 boys! It was utter chaos and they loved every minute of it.

Stay tuned...my friend Jolene took most of the pictures on her camera and I'll post a few of Jacob soon. She was a lifesaver. Not only did she take pictures for me but she helped Andy and me run things...and she did most of the cleaning up. Life is good when you have friends like that!

Sunday was Jacob's actual birthday and we celebrated with a fairly low key day as a family. A trip to Walmart to exchange a few presents that were repeats of things that he already had and to let him pick out something from Mommy, Daddy, and Zack (Yes, we cheated this year!) was one of the highlights...although I think getting Daddy to come to the pool for the first (and only!) time this year ranked up there as well. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the camera. However, having Andy there did allow me to get in the pool and enjoy swimming with my big kid! What a blast! He has graduated to the big water slide and is "diving" into the ten foot part of the pool. I am simply amazed!

A few days ago I discovered that if you put a life jacket on Zack, he'll swim...everywhere! He swam back and forth from the three foot end to the four foot end yesterday. This trip from one ladder to the other is a little over half the length of the pool and although it is not Olympic, it's not tiny either. It was so much fun to watch him!

Overall, we had an amazing weekend. The perfect end to a great summer!

Golf...Marsh style

Our last full day of vacation we took the boys to play mini-golf. The boys had never been before, although they do have a couple of plastic golf sets that they play with at home. However, since its been a while since the clubs were used the way they were intended to be instead of as some sort of weapon in their latest game, so we weren't sure how it was going to go.

As it turns out, we had a great time! Jacob is a pretty decent golfer and was close to par more often than not. He took the whole thing very seriously and still had lots of fun.

Luckily this course has plastic clubs and balls for the younger players. This fact allowed our own little Happy Gilmore to play along with us...without any damage to the course or to others!

Jacob teeing off.

He really took his time to prepare his shots, especially on the more difficult holes.

Lining up his putt.

A gentle tap puts it in the hole.

Zack had his own set of rules. He had no problem repositioning the ball if it wasn't where he wanted it to be.

Something resembling a more traditional shot.

Putting Happy Gilmore style. Too bad he didn't have the same kind of luck! He hit the ball the maximum number of times on each hole...unless he just decided he was done and picked up his ball to move on to the next one.

This is where he wants the ball to be. It took a few tries before he'd believe that it wouldn't stay there.

The best shot of him starting off on a hole. Hockey may be in his future!

Avast me harties!

About a month or so before vacation, Jacob and I were talking about the trip and I asked him what he was looking forward to doing the most when we were at the beach. Immediately he said, "Playing pirates." Well, Nana and I ran with that idea! She was in charge of the accessories...swords, hats, and eye patches. I took responsibility for the treasure hunt, including an actual chest filled with "treasure." (I can't take credit for this idea. I stole it from my friend Karen who did it with her kids last year at the beach.)

Part of my job included creating a treasure map. With Andy's help, I created one that used landmarks outside the beach house so that the boys could follow the map to find the "buried" (or hidden in some grass) treasure. The boys actually "helped" me too. I was having hard time finding a chance to make the map so Friday morning I said I was going to do an art project...and they decided to do it with me. Little did they know that my map would actually be used!

That night the boys got their costumes and a chance to just run around acting crazy. (That's the picture above.) Saturday morning after breakfast Nana and I ducked outside to hide the chest. After a good dousing with bug spray, the hunt was on!

Ready to head out the door

They found Captain Hook's tree...now off to the next landmark. (Andy came up with all the names. He was pretty creative!)

Ah, the Guarded Plant. (It took two tries to get here. Daddy's 25 paces are a bit longer than Jacob's...and much, much longer than Zack's!)

Consulting the map.

Next was the Lebanon Grass. (It was replanted from our house in PA, hence the name.)

Looking for the Tall Tree...where X marks the spot.

Jacob spies something.

Examining the treasure. The first thing Zack said, after the oohs and ahs, was "We need to call Auntie Ali and tell her what we found!" What made this even more special is that it had been a week since her visit.

Once inside they were able to really delve into the treats. The "gold" and "silver" coins were a huge hit, as were the rest of the surprises. Who says you can't have candy at 9:30 in the morning? It's vacation, right?

Shark bait, hoo ha ha

The aquarium is one of the boys favorite parts of vacation. Andy and I were extremely impressed by how much they remembered about it from last year. And yes, we did see "Nemo"...you should have heard Zachary shout that when we got to the clown fish!

One of the best things about the Mystic Aquarium is that your tickets are good for the two consecutive days following the day you initially visit. We learned this last year and scheduled this years visit around being able to go twice. It makes for a much more relaxing time when you don't have to worry about seeing everything in one trip.

We arrived our first day just in time for the sea lion show. It was a big hit with both boys last year...and this year as well. As a matter of fact, Zachary (and Daddy) went to see it both days. (The fact that he likes it so much amazes me a little because he won't go near the sea lions that live outside because he thinks they are too loud. He stands way back and complains...loudly...until we finally move on.)

The second thing we had to do was go climb down into the submersible. (It's positioned so that it's more or less under the floor.) They talked about getting to do this pretty much the entire way from the beach house to the aquarium!

I just had to share this shot. The penguins come right up to where you are standing. It's pretty cool, in my humble opinion!

It seriously seemed like this penguin came over just to say hi to the boys. He was that interactive!

How could we not take a picture with the marsh sign!

Zachary just did not want to have his picture taken but Jacob was in love with all of the things related to the sharks so I had to include this photo.

I'm impressed with all of the new things Jacob is trying lately. Here he and Andy are trying to pet the rays. Unfortunately, one never got close enough to his hand but he stood there quite a while trying. Last year, he wouldn't even consider it. (Andy was able to put his hand in deeper and actually touched two.)

They just love the interactive displays!

We love that the aquarium has an area where kids can handle several different types of sea creatures. Jacob braves the cold water to touch a spider crab.

We were pretty surprised when Zachary decided to give it a try as well. This empty shell was his favorite. He didn't touch anything alive...although he'd swear that he did.

The much more daring older brother...this shell actually has something alive in it!

Fascinated by the rays. Jacob was really observant and remarked, "Gee, I didn't know they had mouths on the bottom." Honestly, neither did I!

Again little one refused to be in the picture. Part of the problem was that he wanted to get inside this sub...which is not an option!

They did settle for "manning the controls" for a few minutes. Thankfully, they didn't really do anything.

One last trip through the tunnels before we left.

Track stars

Vacation was full of new experiences, one of which was the chance for the boys to try their hand at track and field events. One of the nearby towns has a running club that sponsors a summer youth track series. The neighbors invited us to tag along for the last night of a five week series. The boys had a blast!

Zack in the 50 meter. He ran 100 meters later in the evening as well! According to the website (where they actually post all of the results!) his time in 50 m was 21 seconds and in the 100 m was 44 seconds.

Jacob in the long jump. He jumped 4.6 feet.

Zack takes his turn and jumps 3 feet.

The ball toss... Jacob threw it 35 feet!

Zack gave it a try too...the ball is out of the shot, I swear. He actually did pretty well! His ball went 23 feet.

Zack had to have some watermelon once he spied it! It kept him busy while we waited to Jacob to finish his final event.

That's Jacob in the orange shirt. Yes, I know it looks like he's skipping. He really was running fast in his heat of the 200 meter. Unfortunately, he lost his steam right after this part of the race. He's definitely more of a sprinter...or he needs to work on his stamina! His times in his two races were 21.3 seconds for the 100 meter and 57.5 in the 200 m.

It's family time at the beach

Vacation isn't vacation without spending a little time with my family. (Whether we want to or not...ha, ha!) One of our favorite parts of going to Rhode Island is getting to spend so much time with Nana and Grandpa. The fact that we get to do so at the beach and in their amazing house is just an added bonus!

A snack and a drink after the beach is a family tradition. Don't be alarmed...it's a fruit soda...Zack had to have it in "one of those wrapper things."

Nana makes the best salads!

Daddy and Jacob play a game.

Goofing around with Grandpa.

A little love from Nana

My sister's visit went better than any we've had in years, a fact that makes me feel truly blessed. It's been a hard road but I think that we're coming out on the other side with an amazingly good relationship. The boys loved having Aunt Mary come along with her...as I said before, she is one of the best storytellers ever!

One of my all-time favorite pictures

A captivated audience

Later on in our vacation we got to spend an afternoon and evening with my cousin Justin, his wife Kristen, and their two kids. They braved some pretty unwelcoming weather to come see us...and for that we are truly grateful! Jacob was absolutely thrilled to have a playmate his own age and loved the idea of having second cousins...although we're still trying to explain exactly what that means! It was a treat to catch up after too many years without an opportunity to get together. A visit with the "cousins" is definitely on the schedule for next year!

Zachary and Cameron build sand constructions with Grandpa.

Emma and Zack

Jacob really was with us on the beach that day but he and Daddy took advantage of the weather and spent their time at the beach boogie boarding on some pretty good size waves!