Saturday, May 30, 2009

Photos from a busy week




We have just finished one of the busiest weeks of Spring, so I thought I would share some pictures. We celebrated Memorial Day on Monday at the Bezek house for my niece's 18th birthday and graduation celebration. Above are pictures of the kids hitting the pinata, as well as my niece, Natalie, and I. Natalie is such a beautiful person and we are so proud of her!

Wednesday brought Ann-Marie's field trip to the Children's museum in Pittsburgh. I was able to chaperone and had a great time with the group!















On Thursday, we took a family day into Pittsburgh and saw the new Penguin display at the Aviary. We were very impressed as it is very well done. We were able to see the penguins being fed, which was very interesting and educational. The kids also got to participate in the feeding of the birds in the tropical forest.












The kids have four more days of school left, then it is time for our summer trip to Iowa. We'll keep you updated!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Baltimore zoo fun










A "spur of the moment" trip has always been one of Darrell and my favorite things to do....so when Darrell set up some business this weekend in the D.C. area and we received an open invitation to come visit our precious friends, we took it! We left Thursday night and came back Saturday night...quick trip but well worth it! Even better, we were able to fit in a zoo trip to the Baltimore zoo...two moms (one pregnant...no...not me folks!) and six kids (ages 3 to 8) along with, we would find out later, 3200 Baltimore-area school children! It seems that the day we picked for the zoo the area schools had picked also. It worked out well though as we timed our trip to be more flexible and it really didn't seem that the zoo was very packed. Perfect weather, good friends, fun zoo.....what more can you ask?

Thursday, May 21, 2009

What's behind your couch?

I'm always amazed when someone tells me I'm organized or that I'm good at keeping a clutter-free house. The above picture keeps me from getting a big head......this is what I found today behind our front living room couch! I don't know how long that stuff has been there, but the kids have quite a stash hidden away. This reminds me that things are not always what they seem at first glance. The rest of this room is nice and tidy....the "sparse" look. Look a little closer and you'll see the clutter. So what's behind your couch?????

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

Monday, May 18, 2009

Someone has new wheels.....

It's Darrell! Here's our history with bicycles: when we lived in Italy, Darrell and I spent big bucks on two mountain bikes and enjoyed true mountain biking in the Alps. The last time I tackled rough terrain was in Maryland, and it was the day I found out I was pregnant with Evan. Darrell then took his bike to work and stored it in the parking garage of his work, occasionally taking it out in the Bethesda, MD neighborhoods during lunch for exercise. (Ask him about the extended lunch break when he got lost....he had a VERY understanding supervisor!) Unfortunately, someone else really liked Darrell's bike and stole it. Ever since then, we've been sharing my bicycle, which worked but we could never bike as a family (we have a bicycle trailer for Alec). This weekend, I went to a garage sale and found THE bike! We were so happy to have two adult bikes, that we went out yesterday and found a local trail to try it out. WONDERFUL! We're so thankful that God provided the right bike for Darrell so we can begin to share bicycle riding with our children (it will probably be awhile before we tackle mountain biking again, though).
I had to include the above picture....it's the first time Alec has been able to enjoy the tire swing with Evan and Ann-Marie....and who knows how long it will be that all three fit together! I love this picture because it shows the season we're in now....active, fun, and busy!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Busy Spring

I've heard from other "bloggers" that a quiet blog means a busy life. That rings true in our household. Here are some things that have been keeping us busy:

  • I've started teaching three fitness classes a week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; so we've had to adjust some of our family time during the beginning of the week.
  • Evan's soccer....enough said.
  • End of school year activities: closing ceremony for AWANA (all three participated this year), field trips which we committed to helping out with (upcoming), field day (upcoming), etc.
  • Alec's ears: his right ear tube became blocked and infected, so we've been dealing with unexpected dr. appointments and more medication.
  • Spring cleaning projects: we successfully got our garage cleaned out (stuff left over from our move here a year and a half ago), the fence torn down in our front yard, and the final cleanup/organization from our flood in January.
  • Darrell's work: he is very busy (good thing!) with appointments and closing out yearly business (June is the closeout month).
  • Getting ready for our annual summer trip to Iowa - we're planning on heading out June 4 and coming home by Father's Day. Darrell will fly out sometime after he closes out business, so he won't be with us the entire trip.
So there you have it....why posts are few and far between. Spring tends to be a busy time for us. I'll keep you updated!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Monday, May 4, 2009

Current truths in the Jerome household

A couple of things to get you smiling this Monday morning:

  • Buying your 8 year old son "The Dangerous Book for Boys" WILL result in approximately 50 paper airplanes scattered throughout the house as well as in the air at various times.
  • Leaving your 3 1/2 year old son alone too long in the bath results in him using the toilet brush as a bath toy.
  • Playing the "grocery game" for a certain length of time will result in 10 different bottles of lotion we will never use only uncovered because I got the Spring Cleaning Fever and organized the closets.
  • Convincing your 6 year old daughter that it would be in her best interest to give the surplus of toys she has accumulated by Spring Cleaning (note above Spring Cleaning Fever) to a girl who doesn't have many toys means being true to your word and finding that girl (don't worry, I'm on it!)
  • And lastly, sometimes it's all about enjoying the ride!