Weekend at PSU!

In late June, we had our 2nd Annual Roommate Reunion in State College with Adam's roommates and their families...minus Wes : ( Last year we had the most beautiful weekend you could ask for. This year, it was rainy and COLD all weekend! So we had to rely on a lot of indoor activities.

As soon as we got there, we tried out the Discovery Space Center...something we would have never considered to try when we where students there. It was small, but the kids had fun and played nicely together!

 Grayson showing Abe how it works!

 The Petaja boys hanging out with Avery

 Little Ricky playing with the big boys...

We had a casual lunch and then headed back to the hotel for some swimming... 

our group pretty much took up the entire pool!

 Later while some of the smaller kids napped, The Levines and Ross's took a walk around town, despite the rain, and completed it with a Dunkin Donuts break!

 This was after our group dinner...party of 17...at Mad Mex!

 The Petajas and Levines stayed out a bit later for some bowling and it was a great time!

 Then Mommies and kiddos went to sleep, while the Daddies went out on the town...no pictures were taken during that time! ; )

We were up bright and early for our traditional Waffle Shop breakfast. Avery was very pleased at what she ordered...and ate almost every last bite of it!

No trip to PSU is complete without a picture at the Lion Shrine. As I mentioned, it was SO WET all weekend, so we draped the lion with a blanket so we could stay dry. 

Here is a kids shot minus Abe and Olivia...seems Grayson and Ricky are not too sure about this!

And here's our whole group! 

Lots of smiles thanks to the funny man who was waiting in line next for a picture. He sang and acted goofy while the camera snapped away. 

 Then Adam rewarded everyone with candy for their efforts. 

 The weather didn't stop us from having an awesome time! We love this group of people and look forward to doing this every year! Wonder if there will be any more kids added to the group by then?!?

Dress up time...

The kids were in rare form one morning.  Madi was over the for the day and the two big girls got Grayson to do whatever they said. On today's agenda...dress up like a girl! This all happened well before 8 am....

 This was Avery's first dance recital costume. 

She was about the same age as Gray when she wore it, so it fit him quite nicely!

 Nice legs....

I know Daddy won't like this post, but seriously...how can you not love these pictures!?!

Avery lost her FIRST tooth!

Avery's bottom tooth had been loose for weeks! Her goal was to lose it before her sixth birthday. One Sunday morning (June 14th to be exact!) it was literally hanging by a thread. Adam tried to pull it, but Avery freaked out. Then we went to church and had Mom Mom take a look at it. She said it was time for it to come out....right there in the church parking lot!

Here is a play by play of the event told through pictures...

 Mom Mom and Aunt Lisa instantly opened their wallets to see what money they could give her!

Talk about easy money...She made six bucks on the spot!

 Very thrilled with herself and super excited for the tooth fairy to FINALLY visit our house!

 She put her tooth inside this little pink tooth holder that she got from MomMom a looonngg time ago and has just been waiting to use on this night.

She also wrote the tooth fairy a note... it read (or was supposed to read): "To the Tooth Fairy. If you do not know where my tooth is, it is in the pink tooth holder."  And then she drew a lovely depiction of what she thinks the tooth fairy looks like...

 She was thrilled that the tooth fairy not only wrote a note back to her, but also left her a new book (she is obsessed with the Berenstein Bears right now!) and also a five dollar bill. 

Oh, but not just any five dollar bill....look closely, this one has fairy sparkle dust on it!

(oh yeah, this tooth fairy NAILED it!) 

This was a hard milestone for Mommy to go through! With every passing day, Avery is getting more and more grown up and this is just another sign that time is just going too quickly. 

Only BIG kids lose teeth...how is this possible?!?!

And as of July 27th, tooth #2 was gone! This time, one dollar and no fairy dust! ; )

Avery's Last Day of Kindergarten!

Avery's last day of Kindergarten was in early June and it was definitely bittersweet. She was so excited for summer, but she ended up crying the whole night before (hysterical sobbing, actually). She was so upset that she would no longer be seeing her 4th grade buddy and also that she would no longer be going to Spring Garden due to rezoning. 

But she got over it and was happy as can be as she stepped off that bus for the last time. 

 Summer buddies!

 Kindergarten Diploma

 We celebrated with an afternoon at BounceU, frozen yogurt...

and then a haircut the next day!

But she made sure to do some of her summer work book first! (Thanks Aunt Jenny!)

This girl has grown up SO much this year! We are so proud of her!

 This fall....a new school AND a full day! I will definitely miss having her in the afternoons, but I know that Grayson will benefit from some alone time, so I'm also really looking forward to that! 

First grade, here she comes!

Grayson's Last Day of Preschool

At the end of May, Grayson celebrated his last day of "three year old" preschool. Avery was in school and Daddy was off that day, so we were both able to go to his school for the family picnic. 

Not much has changed with this guy...he's still goofy as can be and wouldn't let me get a good picture of him!

 His best friends in school are twin boys, whose parents Adam and I know from high school. 

And this is the sandbox he played in every day (and then came home with half of it in his shoes!)

 So far, he has had all of the same teachers that Avery had throughout the years at preschool. 

Mrs. Cline and Mrs. O'Keefe...both wonderful ladies who we will miss!

 This was the poster from Grayson's "special day" at school. It's true...he is loving the color pink right now!  Funny thing was that he was the first one to have a special day celebrated. The next 5 kids (some boys, some girls) also said they loved the color pink and wanted to be a fireman. I guess he started a trend!

He is very much looking forward to going three days a week this fall for the "four year old" class, which he has been calling the "fourth grade!" 

Roomie Reunion at the Sassaman Farm

In late May, we had our annual roommate reunion at the Sassaman Farm. It is a day that we plan out months in advance and look forward to all year! I love hanging out with these three ladies, their hubbies and their offspring!

It is a day of eating, drinking and lots of fun!

It ended up raining on and off, but that didn't stop anyone from having a blast! All of the kids got along so nicely together. 

I'm not sure who had more fun...the kids or the adults!

In all the years I've known Dani, I had NO idea she was such a great hula hooper!

 Nevin was a saint filling up water balloon after water balloon for the kids as they patiently waited in line.

Avery with her game face on....

Yes, there was even an impromptu slip n slide done by Adam with Katie on his back, although I am not going to post the picture of this! 

We even busted out a box of candy BEFORE dinner and let the kids (and adults!) go nuts! 

Why not? It was a special occasion and a day with no rules!

Katie may have been the most excited about this!

 So far, our group has 9 kids (8 boys and 1 girl - Avery). I'm still hoping that another girl will join our group someday (ahem....Jamie, I am counting on you for that!)

Here are a few more shots...I tried to get at least one of each kid, but there were just so many and they were all so active, a few were able to escape my camera!

Seth vs. Nolan?

 Grant and Avery 

 Sean and Grayson

 The twins, Seth and Nolan

 Grant? 

 Connor

 Group shot!

 Love this girl and *love* this group!

Whenever we leave this get together, I am smiling for days afterwards!