thank you Heston Lane for taking us in

After realizing how bad the damage was and missing the My Gym class, we called around and found out that my brother had power so we got the boys ready for what we expected and hoped going to be a day with the Delvecchios.

Connor relaxing on the way up to his Aunt and Uncle's without knowledge of just how much everything was going to change.

They had a neighborhood pool party and they all welcomed us as if we were part of the group.  The boys got in the pool, we had good food, Jackson rearranged Missy's K-Cups and before we left, the boys tried the longboard and got to meet/run away from puppies that were chasing them.

Connor fell asleep before we had reached Mountain Road.  Our plan was to try to go home and hoped that it wouldn't have been too hot but that was not in the plans for us.  Gina and Tony quickly set up our pack n plays in the basement for the first night of what would be our extended camping trip.

  To be continued...

The storm that started our camping trip

It was a random Friday night and I hadn't checked the weather and the only plans we had were taking the boys to My Gym on Saturday to check it out.  Michael and I started watching a movie and slightly before 11, we lost power.  All either of us knew was that it was supposed to rain.  I went to bed after the 4th attempt of the power to return and it didn't. There was a lot of wind, rain and some lightening but I had seen worse storms and we hadn't lost power so my immediate thought was maybe we would get power back at some point on Saturday because it did go on and off several times.

After the boys woke up, I went out to survey the damage and realized how bad it was.  These pics are of the tree that is in our back yard, which was nothing compared to the house several doors down.

 This pine tree crashed through 2 end unit's fences.

As we left to go to My Gym, which we ended up missing because we forgot socks, it was clear that we were going to be without power for more than a couple of hours as we had to get re-routed through our neighborhood due to downed trees. 

There was a maple tree at the start of our street that we walk by almost EVERY time that we take a walk that had snapped in half and was leaning on the wires and actually took a pole down onto Stevenson Lane.  You could get through but that was just the beginning. 

You couldn't get to Stevenson Lane from Charles Street on Bellona due to several trees lying in the road and the street signals were all down. 

This random store had down some SERIOUS SERIOUS damage to the Forge.

celebrating 2 /2 years old at St. Clement's Carnival

We arrived at the carnival and started off with the carousel.  The boys loved the horses and we ended the night with a carousel ride.  Jackson told us it was time for the horsies to go night night and Connor relayed that they were going to go back to the big red barn.

After the carousel, the boys had some fun with the roller coaster.

 Next up was the their favorite ride of the night -- the wiggle worms, well specifically the duck.  They were on repeat asking for the ride "again."  They loved it so much that it was a struggle to get them off the ride.  Luckily, it wasn't too crowded and they ended up riding several times waiting for Megan and Macy and Ryan to finish up with the Merry Go Round and the bounce house. 

We finally caught up for a group pic. Sorry Megan--I had too! She wanted to ride all the "big girl" rides and the idea of stopping for the little ones was so 3 years old.  I love Little Fuller trying to round up the troops.

Up next was the pony carts..

And, on to the speed boats.

The happy crocodiles were Connor's pick while Jackson maneuvered around the rubber duck game before he eventually joined in on the crocodiles.

All of the kids except for Megan joined in on the wiggle worms before it was time to go.

What a fun night. Great memories and good friends.

Taking care of babies, puzzles and fun at the market

After randomly loosing power on an incredibly hot day, we decided on Storyville in hopes to cool off. The boys hadn't been to Storyville in awhile and it was so interesting to see them progress with what they were able to do.

Connor's obsession of the market is still very real but the change has been his ability to identify the fruits and vegetables.  This is, in part, because of the addition of the kitchen in the house and the dumping out of all of the fruits and vegetables and asking of what everything is when we clean up the mess. 

Jackson showed up off some puzzle skills, maneuvered around the market and kitchen and strolling for letters.

And, the "little mother" entered the kitchen and decided to feed the baby. Oh.So.Cute.

Swing batter batter

Jackson has almost perfected a level swing.  He can actually drive the baseball off of the tee and even though these aren't the best videos -- it will give you an idea of our little leftie that most kids are probably going to want to avoid in the batting line-up or not. We'll see!!

celebrating Father's Day at the zoo

We always start with the polar bears and arctic fox as we almost always take the walking path in lieu of the tram to get the extra exercise.  Often times, we will circle back to the polar bears in hopes that we get a glimpse of them swimming.

 

On the way into the farm, I convinced Connor to sit on the turtle. It was the first time he ever noticed it on the way into the farm.

Jackson is sometimes very hard to "find" at the zoo.  He if often just running around like these photos. Petting the goats lasts a couple of minutes at best and both boys think it is appropriate to drop the

brushes into the goat's water.  Yes, both. And, that is not very well received by the keepers of the goats.  Besides the brush dumping into the water, they have recently discovered the gravel type substance and think running on it and and throwing it is great.  So, without another person joining us to monitor this, I will be making up excuses to avoid the entire area.
 

Despite all the running, Jackson is very willing to stop and wash his hands as he exits the Farm. After he washed, his hands, he was happy to try to saddle -- yet another first.

 The animals were all very active, including the cheetah, who was very agitated at the keepers that were trimming up some overgrown plants.  It was WILD since they are ALWAYS laying down.  The Okapi has become the boys' favorite animal since the zebras have been in hiding.

Love this picture of Connor ignoring the chimp in front of him to look at pictures of a chimp in a book.

It was an enjoyable day with moderate temperatures and quality dada/twins time that I was lucky enough to capture on the camera.

fun at Riderwoood Park

On a not too hot day amidst all of the HOT HOT HOT days we had been having, we set up a playdate with Gina and Tony at Riderwood Park.  It is slightly shaded and 4 on 2 at a park works.  The boys started off with the ride on horses as a warm-up.

After the horses, the boys moved over to some of the main portions of the playground where Jackson could show Uncle Tony that he new his letters.

Connor added in on the educational portion of the day while he helped Jackson show off their number recognition while catching a little shade and snacks.

It was off to the swings.

And, on to more exploring.  Walking across the shaking bridge was a big test for both of them and Jackson moved across in a running motion to start and didn't look back.  Connor was a little more hesitant but eventually conquered it.

But, Connor's love of the day, that is other than the swings was the twisty slide.

Lots of fun at the park followed by lunch at Andy Nelson is a great way to celebrate a Saturday morning.

fun at Meadowood Regional Park

The boys and I met up with Jacob, Caleb and their mom at Meadowood on what turned out to be an incredibly bright and sunny day for some fun at the park and to get a father's day gift for Michael.  There was a lot of fun on the slides and walking around the park.

It was amazing to watch BOTH boys sneak off to ride some of the bicycles that were "available". Jackson was insistent on riding the bicycle and Connor followed suit as did Jacob. It was interesting to see and they lucked out that there was a set of boy/girl twins with an older sibling, which was why they had so many bicycles available.

Connor wandered off and I found him at a picnic table in the shade indulging in his juice cup.  He knew where to go!!!  He has no sense of boundaries and thinks nothing of walking away and sitting with complete strangers..... Oh, to be a toddler!

I was soaked by the time that I got the perfect shots for this collage but it definitely satisfies Michael's request for updated pictures of the boys. 

And, a final one which just melts me EVERY time that I see it.