ELEFUN!!!!

I've really wanted to start having a family night. I know the benefits are countless, but we never seem to get ourselves together to do it. Tonight we had a spontaneous game night, thanks to Lily's prompting. Actually it was just one game, Elefun!


For those who've never had the pleasure of playing Elefun, it's quite easy. There is an elephant who's nose extends toward the ceiling as a fan blows air up. Inside the elephant you put little 'butterflies' which travel up the trunk with the air and shoot out of the top. The goal is to catch as many butterflies before they hit the ground. Normally everyone has a net and everyone goes at it, but because we could only find one net, each person went by themselves.


Lily has had this game for awhile and it's always been a bit of a challenge for her. But today she was doing great. I think her top score was 4, GO LILY!! Bella was probably the smartest of us all -or just a big cheater head. She tried twice to catch them in the air but realized they just fall to the floor and it's much easier to pick them up and put them in her net. Clearly she got the most.

We all had fun taking turns and trying to beat our old scores. Until Tom's competitive side showed up. Tom's turn came and he got 8, compared to Lily's 4 he was doing awesome. Then my turn came. I was going along catching most of them, when I noticed Tom had 4 butterflies tucked under his legs...he claims it was an accident. My turn ended and I went to count how many I got and Tom says, "Wait there's one more" so I reach out my net to catch it and he hits the bottom up knocking all my butterflies to the ground. Wow! I mean I remember him being merciless at a youth group four squares game, but Elefun?! All I could think to do in responds was to put the net on his head and call him a sore loser, which got repeated by our little parrots several more times that night. I never did get another turn. Of course Tom's next turn he got 13 and claim champion! I will insist on a rematch...maybe once the kids are sleeping.


Here are a few pictures...



I know we actually got a good family shot!!
This may be our Christmas card :)





Lily found a few other uses for the trunk...Princess Hat.



...Arm Band.



Bella having ELEFUN!!!

Visiting Grandma and Pap

Another vacation came and went. I think our neighbors are tired of seeing an unmowed lawn. Tom went to NWMC a few weeks ago and as a way to break up the 10 days, I decided to visit his parents in PA for the last half. I dreaded the drive, 6 hours by myself with two kids-driving and entertaining at the same time. God blessed me greatly because it wasn't too bad. Thanks in large part to our new DVD player and a nice rest stop. There certainly were moments of crying, but overall it was good. We got to spend 3 full days with Grandma and Pap. Unfortunately 2 of those days it rained and I think the girls got alittle RV fever. But a beautiful Friday came and we packed in the activities. We went to an amusement park and the girls loved it. Lily rode her first roller coaster. She apparently is like me: a love/hate relationship with the roller coaster. She was very brave and actually wanted to ride it two times. Bella had a good time on all the rides as well. Yes I let her go on them, nervously allowing it. We went swimming in a heated pool and mommy and Grandma loved it. We tried to go swimming Thursday night, but a thunderstorm came threw and so Lily and Bella swam in the puddles-unfortunately there aren't any pictures. The girls had their first campfire, with marshmallows of course. We had a good time, but are glad to be home with DADDY!!



Here are a few photos...

I wonder if Lily thinks she's really driving?




This one was a big hit, she rode it 2 or 3 times.


They only ate about 3 bites.


Snuggling on the deck watching the rain.


A visit to the park before it started raining again.


Grandma and girls


Just one more pleeeease!


Pap and the girls feeding the deer.

Thanks Grandma and Pap!!

Our Trip to Virginia

In the summer of vacations, this past weekend we went to see Tom's brother and family in Suffolk, Virginia. I'll admit at the start that we were alittle naive about this whole trip. Mapquest said it would take less than 8 hours to get there, and Mapquest is never wrong (yes sarcasm). I never looked at a map to actually see the route we were expecting to drive. Thus not seeing we'd be driving along the shore, passing thru DC and well driving through 6 states. We aren't long trip novices, we go to PA regularly (8 hours) and try to go to Maine once a year (7 hours). But we were under prepared for our journey to VA. I'll spare you the woas of our journey down, except to say it took 12 long hours and we got the honor of traveling through Harrington: The Hub of Delaware.

We had a really nice visit. Xandria and Taylor are really great kids and everyone got along well. I can't wait to get all the Ayres together, the chaos will be so entertaining. We spent the first day hanging around, swimming in the pirate pool, playing Duck Duck 123 and such. We didn't want to go outside too much because it's so darn hot out there. Tom commented accurately when he said 'who knew Virginia was next to Africa?" The next day we headed to the aquarium, the girls had a great time there. Lily still talks about the rocket ship (aka...submarine) and the smiling sting ray. It was a short trip, especially considering the drive, but very relaxing.

Notes for our next trip to Virginia...

1. Drive at night

2. Get an EZPass

3. Avoid I-95

4. Remember the DVD player

5. Only question the Garmin when it comes to traffic

6. JUST FLY!

Now for a few pictures....

Thanks Uncle Guy and Aunt Cherry!!!