FREE MOVIES!!!

I "borrowed" this from my sister in laws blog (she finds the coolest things). I hope she doesn't mind that I'm using this (I doubt she will). I just thought that this was worth sharing. Who doesn't like free stuff?

When school's out, kids around the country visit selected Regal theatres for the Free Family Film Festival. It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer. (taken from the Regal Cinema website).

Here's the website..check it out...
www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=PA

VROOM VROOM!!!

With the end of my lease on my Honda CRV approaching (and the rising gas prices) I decided it was time to start car shopping. Anyone that knows me knows that this is one of my favorite past times. This is why I'm leasing...I trade cars in constantly. Although, I do love my CRV. I am just getting tired of how much it's costing me to fill up the gas tank and how short of a time a full tank will last me. So...Gary and I went over to the Honda dealership today to "look". I am very proud of myself...I didn't get anything, yet. I'm looking at a new Honda Civic. I was thinking about the Hybrid but it doesn't make sense. I've been told (by numerous people including the sales guy) that I would have to keep the car 10 to 12 years (yeah right) and put at least 200k miles on it to make it worth it. That's not me so I decided against it pretty quick. I test drove a Civic and I really like it. I'm not thrilled about getting rid of my SUV but I think it's the smart decision right now. I won't be doing anything else until at least next week. Gotta take my CRV over to be "inspected". It'll be interesting to see what they say it's worth...I know the bluebook so I'm going to fight for at least that. Here's a pic of the civic...

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted last. It's was a crazy, mostly enjoyable, busy holiday weekend for us.
I'll start with Saturday...
We headed to the Poconos so that Gary could work on the plane with his dad. Frank (Gary's dad) purchased a kit plane and it finally arrived. For those of you that don't know what that is (I didn't know until they decided to do this) it's a plane that you build and then fly. I refer to it as an adult model car...just alot bigger.
And when I say you fly it, yes I mean you pilot it and take it up in the sky. Kind of scary...at least to me. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon Gary went right to work. I'm told they were building the tail. Didn't look like a tail to me but ok...it's a tail. Ty even "helped" the big kids with the plane. He helped to break down the crate that all the parts came in. I went out to the garage once (that's where they're building this thing) and Ty had a power tool in his hand...I went back inside. Here's some pics from their "project"...
All the parts...

"Men" at work...

I'm told this is the tail


Sunday...
The boys worked on the plane some more and then we left and drove to camp. Finally, my relaxing place. Interestingly enough there was a little excitement on the way. We were driving down the road and saw smoke up ahead. Then it was off to the side. I looked back when we passed it and Gary and I both said at about the same time "oh my that's a car on fire"...so we turned around. I couldn't let him keep going and not feel guilty. I'm glad we went back...the other bystandards had no phone...in this day and age who doesn't have a cell phone? So Gary called 911 to report it and they said that they had already received the call. We came to find out that the occupants of the car were already inside the church that was right there. That made me feel better knowing that everyone was out and safe. So, eventually we continued on our way. We finally made it to camp around 6:30pm. We enjoyed some outside time, it was beautiful!!! Even went for a walk...all of us. Tyler took the dog and it wore them both out. I love our campground. Most of the people really take pride in the sites and keep them nice. We're working on ours a little at a time. Saturday night we just relaxed., Ty went fishing for a little, and we played scrabble...well, Ty and Gary were playing then I started helping Ty and decided that I wanted to kick Gary's butt...ok, I lost. But it was kind of close. Here's some piectures (yes i know it's spelled wrong, Kim, that's for you)...from our walk and ty's fishing adventure...
An example of how nice some people keep their sites...

Walking down the one "road"

A view...

Trying to catch anything...

The cabins you can rent at our campground...they're right by the canal


Monday...
Happy Memorial Day
Today was busy. We decided to do some yard work on our site. This was the most physical labor I've done in a long time. We put top soil down, did up a flower pot, planted grass, put mulch down...I'm exhausted just thinking about all we did...Eventually in the evening we headed home from our exhausting weekend. The boys and the dog slept the whole way home...
The flower pot i planted...

Main landscaping we did...

Tyler has an obsession with campfires...


So that was our weekend. I love getting away but god am I exhausted. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. I'll close this post with a pic of the loves of my life...my boys!

FIELD DAY!!!

This past Friday was Tyler's 4th grade field day...his last one of elementary school...sobsob. As always it was complete chaos at the school. Although I did notice that there are not as many parents there for the 3rd and 4th graders as there are for the 1st and 2nd graders. Luckily 1st and 2nd grade goes in the am and 3rd and 4th grade goes in the pm. Tyler had a blast. Considering recess is his favorite time of day, and this is basically just a long recess, I wasn't suprised. He competed in 4 individual events. One of them being the 100 yard dash. He finished 3rd out of 18 kids...he was very proud of himself. I honestly can't tell you what his other events were...trying to find him was impossible...so we just kind of sat back and watched all the kids have fun...and I got a chance to visit with some people that I haven't seen in forever. At the end of their individual events all of the classes compete in a tug of war game. Each class goes against another class. I think it's more for the amusement of the parents. Tyler's class lost...oh well. Then they put the 3rd grade teachers against the 4th grade teachers. I think this is the highlight of the day for the kids. The 3rd grade teachers won. I did figure out that Ty is completely full of himself when it comes to the girls. Boy do they like Tyler. As the class was sitting with the teacher getting their station assignments...most of the girls were talking away to Ty...then a few of them were tapping him on the shoulder, smacking his back, etc...and of course we all know that this is how little girls flirt. Tyler just sat back with a huge grin on his face the entire time. Aggh...these little girls are soon gonna start to invade my little boy's life. I'm not ready for that...
The final 6 running for places in the 100 yard dash

Crossing the finish line 3rd!!!

Tug of war


And of course Ian enjoyed the day with us. He was a hit...everyone that passed us said "oh he's so cute"...I must say that I agree.
How cool is he?

Ian getting some mommy time

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Time for another recipe!!
This one comes from the kitchen of a past coworker...I never thought I'd get Ty to eat spinach, but he loves this


Bongo Bongo Dip
1 16oz container sour cream
1/2 box chopped frozen spinach
1 can chopped water chestnuts
1 packet of knorr vegetable soup mix
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
Directions
drain spinach and chop water chestnuts into small pieces. Mix all ingredients and 1/2 bag of the cheese together. Sprinkle remaining cheese across top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve with garlic bread or warm tortilla chips.
Enjoy!

TIME GOES TOO FAST

I'll start by saying that my work week is over...thank god! I feel like I missed so much while I was working. I'm now enjoying every minute that I have with my boys this week...and already dreading Wednesday (that's when I return to work).
The reality of Tyler going to middle school next year has set in. He has his orientation today. He's thrilled...I'm not. I don't think I'm ready for him to leave the little protected world of elementary school. Tomorrow is his last elementary field day...I plan on taking lots of pictures. He'll probably have a fit about it but oh well. He doesn't even want me coming...we comprimised...I agreed not to go eat lunch with him. I guess it's not cool to have your mom tagging along with you in forth grade. He has also started to get phone calls in the evenings from his friends...they get online and play games and make plans for the weekend. When he is on the phone I get shoved out of the room or he takes the phone and talks somewhere that I can't hear him. I dread that first phone call from a girl.
Ian is doing so much new every day. Today he started laughing...really laughing. I was holding him and tickling him and he was just cracking up. He also has figured out how to blow bubbles with his slobber. It's cute, but not much fun when I'm trying to feed him. He has also discovered how interesting television is. He will turn try to position himself so that he can see what's on.
I can't believe how fast my guys are growing. Tyler will be driving and Ian going to school before I know it...I just really wish I could freeze time...it goes way too fast!

I just can't believe how fast my guys are growing up. Time really does go too fast.

Ian watching TV

Ian blowing bubbles

Ian 12 weeks old

A GOOD IDEA

Anyone that lives with men / boys can appreciate this one. I found this picture when i was just browsing and thought to myself that I had to post it. I found it amusing...hopefully you will too...

5 NIGHTS DOWN...2 TO GO!!!

I've almost made it thru my first week back to work and it's been tough. I've cried everyday at somepoint and all I think about at night are my kids. I'm hoping that this gets easier as I'm back longer. My goal is to get my bills paid off in the next six months and be able to cut my hours back. I think I'll be alot happier then. I think my husband thinks I'm nuts with the way I've been acting...crying over any little thing.
Being back to work has also made my life crazier than ever. I'm trying to balance Ian's routine, Tyler's soccer schedule, Tyler's school work, my sleep, a life with my husband, and work all at the same time. It's not working. I've decided that I'd rather just lose sleep than disrupt their lives...so I'm tired most of the time. Oh well...I'll catch up on sleep in another life :)
I was able to spend some time with Tyler on Saturday...just the two of us. Well, it was at his soccer game so the only time I got with him one on one was on the way there and on the way home. But hey, it's something. I love watching him play soccer. He takes the game so seriously and truely loves it. It's probably because he's been playing since he was 5 years old...god was he cute in his little uniform then. His team didn't win but they did tie. This is an improvement. He has one more game left for the season...cross your fingers that they win that one. Here are some pics of him in action...(again with my new camera...I love that thing!!)

BACK TO WORK

After three months off and many tears it was time for me to go back to work. It was awful leaving my boys. Luckily, I have my mom to watch the kids when Gary and I both work. Thank god I don't have to put my baby in daycare. I think I cried for the entire two days leading up to this awful reality. The good news is that I survived...and so did my kids. Unfortunately, Ian didn't want to go to bed so my mom got very little sleep...I just hope it gets easier for her. It was really hard adjusting to being back at work. All I kept thinking about were my kids. Six more nights to go then I get a week off. I'm already counting down. Time to get Ty up for school then it's off to bed for me...well, at least until Ian gets up...I just want to give him a big hug and a kiss...I missed them both soooo much.

TUBBIE TIME

I couldn't resist posting these pics of my baby boy...he sure does like his tubbie!
getting clean...

how relaxing does this look?...(the "g" rated version heehee)

all clean...

MY BOYS

I'm sure everyone has figured out already that my boys are my life. Every little thing they do puts a smile on my face...well Tyler is a typical 10 year old so not everything he does makes me smile :) My guys are growing up too fast. Tyler only has about another month left in elementary school...I can't believe he'll be a middle school kid next year...and Ian is 11 weeks old today. Where does the time go? Luckily, with my new camera (let me mention again that I love this camera; everyone should have one)...I'm able to document their lives well. They are probably ready to take the camera from me and hide it but one day they'll appreciate all the pictures. Here's a few more that I snapped.

My boys' daddy...

Ian's brown eyes...and check out those eyelashes

My sleepy family

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

It's time for another recipe!!
This one comes from the kitchen of a coworker. It is a VERY popular dish at my house as well as at work (yes, we eat alot at work). Enjoy

Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 large can chicken
1/2 large bottle (or 1 small bottle) ranch dressing
franks red hot to taste (a few ounces at least...I use alot)

mix all ingrediants together well (I use my stand mixer)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes...mix halfway thru baking
Serve with Frito Scoops

SCRAPBOOKING ONLINE?

Check this picture out! I don't know how, but my sister in law took one of the pics I sent her and made it look all fancy. I will definitely be finding out how to do this.