Off to the farm....

Our field trip this week was to Davis' Farmland in Sterling Ma. It is out of pure love for my boys that I go anywhere that there are animals since I really do not care for animals at all, I don't like zoos, farms, aquariums, and I am still puzzled as to why we actually have a dog ourselves. Anyway, it was well worth the drive for the day that we had. The kids had a blast feeding the animals, chasing the animals, and running around like animals themselves. Actually now that I am thinking about Samuel was not such a fan he screamed and cried when I brought him close to see the animals so he and Micheal stayed strapped in the stroller hanging out for most of the day.

My Elijah surprised me with how brave he was with the animals and was happy to show his friends how to feed the animals and how much fun it was.


And to top it all off we ended the day with a pony ride!




OH WAIT....did I say we ended the day with a pony ride, NO we ended our day at Dr. Chung's office. Yup, my independent 3 1/2 year old son decided he was not going to let the nice lady cut off his bracelet when we were leaving and he was going to rip it off himself. Well, he failed in ripping it off as a matter of fact he is still wearing it but he was successful in popping his elbow out of the socket. Yes, once again Elijah dislocated his elbow. So, after an hour plus ride home we were off to the pediatricians office to wait an hour to have it popped back in. Dr. Chung showed me again how to put it back but I am still not confidant that I could do it. Fingers crossed I never have the chance again, yeah right!

A Friday with Friends....

We had a very busy day on Friday the boys and I. After taking Elijah to soccer we headed up to Rockport to hang at the beach all day. It was a perfect beach day, 83 degrees, sunny with only a few puffy clouds, and the company of really good friends. We were at the beach all day long which is a dream come true in the my world. After the beach we rinsed the kids off and headed over to Kimberly's house for a pizza party and bath time for the kids. I went with the intention of bathing my boys, putting their pjs on, and they would sleep all the way home. As always my plan did not really work....Elijah fought me to take a bath and when I finally got him bathed and dressed he and Samuel both were awake the entire time home. Yup my boys are rock stars and they were up till 10:30 on Friday night. It was all worth it to spend the day with good girlfriends and their kids!

Beach Bums

Last week Sue and I ventured to the beach with the kids. I was a bit nervous but I knew we could do it, after all we are moms we can do anything! I am happy to say in the words of Dora "WE DID IT" it was success! The kids all loved it and had a great day. Both my boys are fearless when it comes to the water and Samuel had a few good wave knock outs but rebounded like a champ! Elijah was so thrilled to spend the day with Cam running, swimming, and building sandcastles. My only hope next time will be that Elijah stops throwing the sand even if it is only back in to the water and that Samuel would stop eating it. Oh, and beautiful Arianna was such a joy and pleasure she is always happy!!! Looking forward to another beach day soon!!!!!!

Kelly Kids

I love being a Kelly kid! I think only Kelly kids know what that statement really means. I would do "almost" anything for my siblings and I know that the same holds true for them to me. We have a bond that our parents instilled in us from birth to be loyal & true to each other and never ever go against your family. This is something that we do not even need to think of it just runs in our blood. The last two weeks all four of us were together for the first time under one roof since 1994. I was a bit nervous about how it would go but I have to say it could not of went any better. Ma & Daddy should be very proud there was no fighting not one & we even played a game or two. I enjoyed so much having everyone here and spending the time together I just hope that it is not as long until we can do it again.

Kids Gone Wild....

The kids could not get enough running in front of the museum so I took this chance to take a few pictures. Here they are enjoy! On a side note Shannon and I found the Elijah and Ryleigh like each other much more when they can run like crazy!!!

An Adventure....

After being stuck in the house for days since Samuel's birthday party we decided to pack the kids up and head in town to the Boston Children's Museum. We met Julie and half of the Cluett (Ian, Amelia, Sophia) kids which was fantastic since at the point Ryleigh and Elijah had had about enough of each other & William and Ian had become fast friends over the weekend. I was very impressed by the museum and all that it had to offer. I was really happy that each exhibit had it's own room with only one way in and one way out which made it much easier to watch all the children. We were not able to see everything but what we did see was a big hit with everyone. After the day was over Auntie Shannon treated everyone to astronaut ice cream (gross) and we sat outside to enjoy it.

This is the exhibit on how it would be to live with a disablity (my favorite)





A few other things at the museum






The space exhibit (William's favorite)

Grammie & Papa's or BUST....

The time has come again from me to make the pilgrimage to Florida for everyone to meet our newest addition, Samuel and for some summer fun with the family. Finally, the day had arrived and it was time for the boys and I to fly to Florida. I can tell you that most people I told I was traveling alone and without Cookie and only with Elijah and Samuel thought I was crazy! This thought and comment also came from their loving father and my darling husband who would NEVER travel alone with one of them never mind both of them. On our last trip (Texas) Cookie informed Elijah that he would not be flying with him again until he was at least 10 and at that point he would need to be able to purchase his own ticket. I on the other hand am determined to make sure my children are excellent travelers because otherwise they will never see most of their family! Anyways on to how our trip went....

Finally it was travel day Saturday July 19th!!! I had been talking the trip up and getting Elijah prepared in an effort to make it exciting and something he would want to do. I was successful because starting from Friday morning until when we finally arrived at my parents he was just continually saying "I go Papa's Plane!", so in case not many of you knew my father now has his own plane also known as JetBlue flight #461. I'll be honest our day did not have the best start since there had been a power outage the night before which resulted in me over sleeping. I think I am the only mother who has a toddler and an infant that would sleep late enough to result in missing a noon time flight. So after rushing around getting a few last minute things together I woke the boys up, does anyone else have to wake their 2 year old at 9am? We do our morning thing but in high speed and Daddy loads up the mini van while I finish feeding Samuel. Of course Elijah had resfused to eat breakfast this morning and Samuel has decided it will be a marathon nursing session. Finally a half hour behind schedule out the door we go. I am proud to report that I was able to pack everything we needed in ONE suitcase. Funny how prorities changes once becoming a mother since there was a time in my life not that long ago that I could not even travel in just one suitcase but now I have packed all 3 of us and what we need for the next 3 weeks in one suitcase and a diaper bag! Next obstical in our time crunch and running late no gas, we need to stop to get gas which we do and eventually are on our way to the airport.

I drive to the Logan since when Cookie drives it is like Driving Miss Daisy. I am shocked we arrive right on time even though we were are half hour behind schedule. Cookie and I decided I would check in curb side instead of him coming in, I hop out everything goes smooth with check in. We say a very sad but quick good bye to Daddy and off we go, Samuel in the stroller, Elijah with his blankie holding my hand and diaper bag hanging off the stroller. The automatic doors slide open and we enter the airport, instantly Elijah attempts to let go and run but I grab him and as any good mother would attempt to scare the crap out of him and tell him that if he runs away from mommy that someone will take him and he will NEVER EVER see us again or be able to come home, his response "OK, I go Papa's plane please". Next stop security where the line of course is extra long and not moving very quickly but Elijah does great waiting in line. We clear security with out any issues from either of the boys and Elijah is behaving and listening the best he ever has. What he is doing however is telling every person that he comes in contact with that he is infact going on Papa's plane. We get to the gate and it is packed so I let Elijah do some running around until it is time to board. So in an effort to keep him occupied we count planes and trucks outside and he again tells everyone that says hi to him that he is going on his Papa's plane!

Time to board! I ask if our row is full and yes it is they gave away the middle seat so now I will have to hold Samuel the entire flight and gate check his infant carrier, bummer! Elijah is now jumping out of his skin while we are going down the jetway. I gate check the stroller and infant carrier and on we go. We settle into our seats and the flight attendant comes over and gives Elijah and Samuel their wings. Elijah is thrilled to have "sticker wings" and informs to her of two things first that Samuel is his baby and this is (you guessed) Papa's plane! I explain to Elijah what is going to happen at take off and we are chatting about the luggage being loaded and the trucks, Samuel of course is being perfect as always! We start to taxi out & I start to nurse Samuel to assist in his ears, Elijah has his drink and is ready to go. We start to speed up and his face lights up with excitement! He looks like he is on a ride and like his face could split open he is smiling so wide. We take of and Elijah screams out at the top of his lungs "BLAST OFF!!!!" I could not help but laugh and it actually brought a tear to my eye that he was doing so well.

Three hours to go....We were traveling at nap time but Elijah decided against it. Like his mother I think he was afraid to sleep in fear of missing something happening. The women that was sitting in our row moved (thank goodness) so we had a little extra space. Everything was going fantastic Elijah was coloring, we read a few stories, we had a snack and then Elijah pooped! GROSS awful toddler poop! I put Samuel in the sling and off to the extremely small airplane restroom to change him. The flight attendant informs me that we can not all go in there together becuase there are only 2 oxygen masks, I explain that he needs a diaper and she then informs me that I will need to keep the door open (no quick pee for me) so we leave the door open. OK back to our seat for the rest of the flight, only an hour to go! I start explaining how we are going to land with a bump so Elijah doesn't get scared and is prepared for what will happen. The pilot tells us it's time to land. Elijah with wide eyes looks out the window and then we land and just as loud as when we took off he yells "TOUCH DOWN!!"
We got off the plane with no problem to be welcomed by Elijah's Kiki just on the other side of security. Got our bag, loaded the kids and our stuff into Kiki's car and off to Grammie & Papa's.

Seven hours door to door we arrived at Grammie & Papa's without any problems or meltdowns! I am still in shock at how easy our travel went & have already started praying our return is half as good. I guess it's true your children really do behave and listen when you need them to. I have to be honest this trip was a huge accomplishment and I am very proud of my boys and how well they did and also at the fact that I was determined to even attempt it! Fingers crossed going home is just as good!!!!

Off to get some sun and fun in the pool!!!!