Trenton's Eighth Birthday Party

HAPPY EIGHTH BIRTHDAY TO TRENTON!!!

In breaking with tradition, we had T's birthday party on location in Asbury Park, at the Silverball Arcade Museum this year. We've been there before, and Trenton absolutely loved being able to bring his friends and family along to share in the excitement.

Above, he plays air hockey with Daniel. Below, Brandon, T, and Ollie.

Noah and Matthew.... Jeremy, Harrison, and Brandon

 This party was super special, because we invited our family as well. Uncle Len, Uncle Jay, Grandma Konopack, Daddy, and Pop Pop all played and had a great time! And we had a surprise visitor: Mrs. Varley, Trenton's second-grade teacher! Below, she plays a special game of Pong with Trenton.

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The party was on Saturday... it was over 60 degrees, but windy, and therefore Asbury was hoppin'.

The following day the temps were still warm, and the breeze was gone! So we decided to take the boys back to the beach, with their bikes, and spend the afternoon in the sun. Check out T's helmet-hair!

As you can see from the sign below, the beach replenishment project is well underway. It was fascinating to watch the barge float out in the ocean, and the pipes sucking up and spitting out water.

 This will mean additional cleaner sand at our beach this summer. Yay!

Big guy wanted to know why we haven't been to the beach "in a long time". :( Poor buddy.

It has just been too darn cold. But what a nice treat to be able to go and hang for a bit, right around your birthday this year. Right? :)

The Rest of February

I love taking pictures with natural light, preferably outside. And that wasn't happening in February. 

Lots of snow. Which meant lots of time inside, cuddling.

Boys, above, with Grandma.

Oliver, below, sleeping with Tin Tin and Smurf.

Baking cookies... checking out the turtles as they are fed lunch at the Environmental Center...

 
A night out with the Zumba ladies... always nice...

Miami

Right here folks, is the gorgeous South Beach of Miami

305 Fame, baby

Jim had a wicked good deal with Spirit Airlines to fly to Orlando! And then to Ft. Lauderdale! And then shuttle to Miami! To run the Miami Marathon!

But you know what? IT WAS ALL SOOOO WORTH IT.

We left on a Friday night and came home on Monday morning...

The guest house we stayed at, Villa Paradiso, was beautiful. We love staying at guest houses. This one had a kitchenette and would have worked well if we stayed for an extended period of time, for sure. But we ate out for each meal, and it was GREAT.

 

As you can see, I was supremely happy with the choice of beer.
We found a fantastic little Cuban place and ate there for dinner both nights. Beef, chicken, rice, fried plantains... it literally FLIED out of the kitchen after the order was placed.

The ocean-front boulevard was filled with restaurants and clubs, promising a good time to whomever walked through... We spent some time at The Clevelander (odd name, yes... perhaps someone had an Ohio obsession?)

 

And Jimmy Boy ran his race!
We agreed on a spot for me to wait and see him run past... here are some pics ;)
He finished in 4 hrs and 20 minutes. Although it was hot, he persevered.... and the rain storm that came through in the third hour must have been a welcome relief, as well!

 
Palm trees. Oddly large lifeguard towers.
Soft sand.
Multi-lingual speakers. Foreign tourists on Miami beaches. Topless sunbathers. Weed. Beer.
It was a fantastic 48 hours of hot sun and warm ocean water.

I'm deciding that this should be a yearly trip ;)

Hey-o It's COLD

So! What to do when it is freezing cold outside!? Lots of things!

Above, Trenton puts together a new 3D puzzle. So proud!

Big news! This man has appeared to have given up his naps! It has been one week now since he's napped. Sometimes it is because we are out doing things... other times, it is him saying "I'm not tired, so I'll just rest." OK bud. No prob. Mommy isn't teaching this semester, so we have even more time to spend together ....

Above is how the living room looked one day when the kids were playing, and Jim was in London. Have fun, kiddos!  

Bottom left, boys reading. Yep yep. We love the library ;)

Bottom right, Jimmy indulging in some Reeses PB Cups. And a book. And a hat. And shorts and a t-shirt, 'cause that's how he rolls on 5 degree days....

 

One day, perhaps I will figure out how to turn this picture.

Oliver was Student of the Week, and \was happy to fill out the above poster. Answers included "What do you want to be when you grow up? A Dad. AND How do you get to school? Route 9"

And that library! Once a month, there is a science experiment. Here, they attempt to blow-dry some toilet paper on a pole, studying air flow as part of Bernoulli's principle.

Jim thought it be fun to take this pic. We are quite hairy in the morning. And not willing to have pictures taken.

OH! And this is big! Oliver is now attending a NEW gymnastics center... and we both LOVE it. The quality of instruction is so much better than the place we'd been going to for years... It is a bit of a drive, but worth it. So, once a week, we get some morning time together.

Oliver the Gymnast from Sheryl K. on Vimeo.

And another snow day this week! Kids had off Monday for MLK day, then went back Tuesday only to be let out early from school... followed by a day off, and now a day on... Oy.

But, thankfully, we have THIS GUY:

In keeping all of us busy, I decided to prune the plants. Boys were given the challenge to dissect part of an aloe plant.

Added challenge for Oliver: make something out of this egg carton.

First, he cut it in half and used it as blocks to topple over as a Human Angry Bird.

Then, he filled up two tubs of water to see if they'd float (they did). And later, we ripped up the soaking-wet cardboard. That was fun.

Today, I picked up T from school with snowpants and boots in hand. He and Ollie were the ONLY kids on the hill. Pretty cool. 

Sledding!

Cold enough and snowy enough for us to enjoy this...

A dump of snow on a Thursday night meant no school for Friday... but frigid temps kept me indoors until Sunday. The boys were quite content to sled on a snow/grass combination over at the local hill. After about forty minutes, they were ready for some warm cocoa!

Happah New Yeah

Well would you check out THIS amazing pizza feat!?

That's what I call a volcanic air bubble ;)

SO. Just when all was looking good for this year (remember, last year between pink eye, colds, and THE FLU, we missed Christmas and New Year's celebrations)... Oliver's strep returned. He finished up his antibiotics mid-week, but then started having the same symptoms all over again. Jim took Trenton to Jon & Alex's for a NYE celebration. Oliver and I drove around the neighborhood & looked at Christmas lights... 

and had a par-tay in the bathtub! Jet bubble bath!

Also: make a note! The best day ever to go to the mall is January 1st! All of the hordes of youngins who are usually posturing in that place are NOT THERE because they are TIRED! 

I didn't buy much. But little guy and I had Chick-fil-A for lunch. Below, he is EDITING the spelling errors on his place mat. I was so proud :)

 And finally we have Trenton's last Zumba class of the session. Oliver was overjoyed at the opportunity to come in to class and dance with the big kids. Below, he do-si-do-s with Jackie to "Timber". The kids also performed "Dale Dale".