Emma Turns 5 and We Visit Santa!

I know these are quite late, but here are some great shots from Emma's 5th birthday! We decided to just have one party for her friends at Safari Playground in Holly. What a great place for a party!! It's an indoor play scape with two huge "obstacle-course" type playgrounds that are connected "by a great big bridge!" We had 12 kids come to help Emma celebrate her 5th birthday. She "hand-picked" everyone she wanted to come and they are really a great group of kids! She even remembered the ones that we don't see everyday and even siblings of her friends!!!

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Someone LOVES frosting! We got Cold Stone Creamery Ice Cream Cupcakes!

They were quite the hit with both kids and adults!!

Opening presents! The funniest part was for every gift Emma opened, she would turn it around to show everyone and all the kids would give this HUGE "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

The hard part was keeping the kids from basically sitting on Emma's lap to see! (In this picture she got the movie "Santa Buddies" from her Uncle Paul...something she's REALLY wanted!!

Emma and her buddy, Uncle Paul!

The Friday before her party, Santa was at the bank where I work, so I took Emma and Bradlee to see him. Not only was it promoting an event at my workplace (something I always try to do), but I could take all the pictures I wanted for FREE!! Unfortunately, I didn't get too many, because Bradlee was T-E-R-R-I-F-I-E-D!!!!! He was shaking he was so scared. Wouldn't give Santa a high-five or anything. Maybe next year! This was the best picture I could get of him with Santa....and I had to be in it! Emma, on the other hand, jumped up in his lap, talked up a storm...then Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "Rapunzel Barbie". "Oh, Rapunzel Barbie? That's great! Anything else?" "Ummmmm......yes. Lego Pirates." "Oh, okay, Lego Pirates. Sounds great. Anything else?" "Ummmm....no. That's it. Can I have a candy cane now??" LOL That's my daughter, get straight to the point and get that candy! LOL She also had a little picnic on the floor of the bank with her cookie, punch, candy cane and popcorn! Bradlee at least enjoyed his cookie!

Hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday!

Silly Kids...

I could write another novel about all the things that have happened in the last two weeks, but I think I'll just write a little today and then post some great birthday pictures from Emma's BIG #5 later this week!


The first weekend of December, my parents treated Emma and me (along with my sisters and Garrett) to see "The Nutcracker" ballet at The Whiting. It's performed by a cooperative between the Flint School of Performing Arts and a group in New York. Emma has heard the story, and we even watched the ballet on TV last Christmas, and she just loves the story, so it was her turn to see it "live on the stage"! She absolutely LOVED it! She sat between Kathi and me, and God bless Kathi, talked the whole show! :) It was so much fun to see her excitement, though. As soon as the orchestra played the downbeat of the opening piece, Emma looks at us and says, "I KNOW THIS SONG!!" So cute! I think we've created a new tradition!! Here's Emma, Gramma and Boppa with the "big ornament" in the background!


Bradlee's been doing great. I have this feeling that if he didn't have the tubes in his ears, he'd be on an antibiotic right now, since he has quite a bit of drainage coming from his ear. It's so comforting to know he's not in any pain and not missing so much school! He's quite the goof-ball, though. He loves to pose for pictures, no unlike his sister, and just loves to be in the middle of everything. This picture was taken in the car while we were waiting for Emma to be finished at school...what a ham! I KNOW he gets it from his Daddy, but that's why I love them BOTH! :)





Emma turned 5 on December 8th, which I just find amazing! I took her to the doctor for her 5-year check up....she grew almost 5 inches in the past year!! Amazing! This past Friday, I picked the kids up from school and Bradlee went to Tony's parents' for the night while Emma and I had another "Mommy-Emma night". We got dinner (McDonald's) and went to eat with Tony at school (he has a basketball game that night) then we went to see "The Princess and the Frog". What a great movie! Emma loved it, too, of course! She's added another new favorite princess to her list and points "Princess Tiana" out everywhere we go! Afterwards, I treated her to hot chocolate at Starbucks! We had a nice time together. I just love my little (I mean, BIG) girl!!!

Busy Busy!

I just have to say that I have the cutest little boy in the world...but there's definitely a reason why we call him the "shikval" ("tornado" in Russian!)...we thought Emma was hard to keep up with, whew! Bradlee's got nothing on her!! I took him to get his haircut the Monday before Thanksgiving and he cried the whole time! What a turkey! I think it was because Emma wasn't there to distract him! So when we got home, this is the look he gave me when I went to take his picture...it's the "I love you Mommy and I know you love me too...I'm too cute not to love" face! LOL It's also the look he gives me when he climbs up onto the dining room table before I can catch him and just sits there....I'm tellin' ya, Shikval! :)



Thanksgiving Eve we all spent the night at Tony's parents house, since we were headed back there for dinner anyway! We got up in time to watch the Macy's Parade! Bradlee LOVED the balloons and Emma LOVED the floats and the marching bands! Here's Bradlee and Beepee watching the parade!!





Emma got to help Nana stuff the turkey...she used apples, onions, garlic and spices...and it was DELICIOUS! Emma got a kick out of touching the raw turkey...and we saved the wish bone so she could take it in to school when it's her turn to have the mystery box. The mystery box is an old metal lunch box that each kid gets to bring home and put something in that the other kids get to guess by asking questions and such. Emma looks forward to taking it, and since she's in both morning and afternoon Pre-K classes, she'll get it twice as much!! She's already planning on having one of her friends help her demonstrate how to break it!

Bradlee's favorite part of dinner was by far the cranberry sauce! I swear, my kids will choose fruits over candy ANY day! He started by just putting his hand in the bowl, which was mistakenly left right by his seat...he was so nonchalant about it, so I had to take some pictures! He would just look around and then put his hand in the bowl and take a handful and go straight to his mouth! LOL Then he spotted the spoon...and a whole spoonful of cranberry sauce ended up on his lap! Although, some did manage to get on his face! :)

Yesterday, I took Emma to the eye doctor for a check up. Her eyes have not gotten any better since we last saw Dr. Chris in August...and I made sure he knew it. In fact, he even agreed with me that the crossing had gotten worse. So he is putting her in bifocals to try to train the eyes to focus. If that doesn't work by the end of February, then we talk surgery...

She had told her teacher, Mrs. Walters, that she was going to the eye doctor. Mrs. Walters told her that on Science day (Wednesdays), she could tell her class about her visit to the eye doctor...so a "nurse" helped us posed Emma for a few pictures to show her class! She didn't actually get to use these instruments this trip, but she's used them before, so she should be able to share with her class about her trip to the eye doctor! Should make a good story from Mrs. Walters to hear what she told them!! :)

We're all starting to feel better, but the time change has allowed for exhaustion to set in! Bradlee's had the flu this week, but nothing near as bad as Tony or Emma...we actually just thought it was a teething fit, since he just had a runny nose and a cough (we assumed, from the runny nose!)...he went to the doctor today and nope, flu. Three down, one (me!) to go!!! I WILL fight this one! :) Hope you have a great rest-of-the week! :)

Stupid Flu Bug...

I'm happy to report that I am NOT sick...and neither is Bradlee! However, had the flu last week, and Emma's got it this week! This means the odds are not so good for Bradlee and me, but we're working on it!

Last Saturday, Emma and I had a "Mommy-Emma" day...and what a great day it was! We ran some errands and then went to a craft show down at Holly High School. She brought some money she had saved in her piggy bank to buy some crafts. I bought her a crown and she bought herself a Disney princess necklace. She was very proud of herself! She had a little purse and everything. It was quite comical to watch her dig the money out to pay the girl for the necklace! She has become quite the young lady!! I took a picture of her in the crown, then when we were leaving and walking out to the car, Emma was running ahead of me, looking back to make sure the ribbon from her crown was flowing behind her....how cute!

That night, we picked Bradlee up from Tony's parents and then came home. While we were eating dinner, Emma went to get a drink and accidently dropped her cup. Fortunately, it was a "water bottle -type cup with a lid, so it didn't spill or make a mess...however, Bradlee started laughing. Now, whether Emma noticed that it made Bradlee laugh or she was just not paying attention, I don't know...but she started picking up her cup and dropping it, picking it up and dropping it, etc. Bradlee was laughing so hard I couldn't believe it! I had to take a picture...Neither Emma nor I knew what was so funny but Bradlee just laughed and laughed! What a funny kid!!

Sunday, the 8th, was my 30th birthday! I had a concert at a nursing home in Frankenmuth and had sloppy joes for dinner at Tony's parents'. The rest of the week included helping Tony get better! Not too much excitement, but I did get to take Emma and Bradlee to school and pick them up each day. I enjoy doing this, even though it's totally out of my way to work. I love seeing them interact with their friends and classmates and teachers! Emma didn't cry one day when I dropped her off, probably because I got her there just as Pre-K was getting going, so she didn't have a chance to realize I was leaving! She was supposed to go on her first field trip on Wednesday this week (in two days) to the elementary school across the street to have a "shared reading" time with the 1st/2nd grade split. I don't think she's going to make it, though, since the school district is requiring her to be "fever free for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medication"...we'll have to see, though!

I did have a coupon for a free dinner at Mongolian BBQ, and since Tony was sick, I asked my parents and Karyn if they wanted to go so I could use it. We had a nice time, and I had a great foil hat made for me...it's supposed to be a giant flower, but it wouldn't stay up, so the waiter called it the "drooping flower, because I was now 30"!! We had a nice time, being able to talk about adult things and not worrying about a 15 month old throwing food on the floor!!!

On Friday, my mom and dad made my traditional birthday dinner - homemade tacos! I think I've had tacos for my birthday since I cut my first tooth! :) Emma was probably starting to not feel good then, 'cause she only wanted dessert (although, dessert was Cold Stone Creamery cupcakes, so I wouldn't put it past her to just want the dessert anyway!!)...Bradlee, on the other had, ate a WHOLE taco!! He loved the tomatoes and cheese the best, but ate everything, including the tortilla and meat! A kid after my own heart, I tell ya!

Tonight, I picked Bradlee up from school and we had a "Mommy-Bradlee" night! We played, ate dinner, sang songs, and then had a bath....Bradlee LOVES his baths! He has to wear ear plugs because of the tubes in his ears, and he doesn't seem to mind them too much. He'll play with them at first, but then I start the bath water and he's so excited to get all his toys in the bathtub that he forgets all about the plugs! Here are some great shots....As I'm sure you can imagine, I got a bath, too!

It's Halloween!!

Well, it's been quite the Halloween for us at the Coggins' house! All the festivities started about 2 weeks ago when we went to Crossroads Village. Then our friends, Matt & Desiree, had a Halloween party last weekend, there was the trunk-or-treat at church last weekend, also. Then there was the kids' Halloween parties at school and FINALLY, Halloween! I would have to say that we got the most use out of the costumes this year than any other year in my ENTIRE LIFE! LOL

The parties were so much fun! The trunk-or-treat was a blast as well. There was a contest for "best dressed car"...and we won! Emma was Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and Bradlee was Toto, so I dressed up as Glinda and we had all kinds of things from the movie to decorate our car. Here's the final product (you may have to click on the picture to see it magnified!):

On Friday, Bradlee had tubes put in his ears, so he didn't have his party at school. We're hoping this will solve all the ear problems he's been having. His surgery was about 30 minutes from the time he went into the room to the time he was out of recovery. He was so good! Once he god some glucose (sugar) water in him, he was his old self again! We were concerned that they wouldn't do the surgery, because he had a fever when we went in, but it was because he had ANOTHER ear infection that they just drained before inserting the tubes. Whew! I'm glad it's over and I'm anxious to see how they help. He's been great now that his appetite is back! :) So Friday afternoon, I picked Emma up from school and took her over to the bank I work at to show them her costume. She got to play the "cupcake walk" and won a cupcake with M&M's on it! Then we went to Kroger over in Flushing and she played musical chairs and won a prize, "throw a bag through the pumpkin's nose" and won, a ring toss and won (a 2-liter of pop!), putt-putt golf and won, and hockey shoot and won! We walked out of Kroger with a TON of goodies and didn't have to pay for any of it! :) LOL She was really proud of herself! We were in the card section and I said, "Hey Emma, let me take your picture!" and this is what I got:

So on Saturday morning, we carved our pumpkins! Since Bradlee was only 3 months old last year, he didn't get to carve pumpkins...he wasn't too interested this year, but I let him check it out on the table just the same. Emma was interested until she realized just how much "guts" can actually fit into a pumpkin! So I finished scraping out her pumpkin, and then carved it for her...she wanted Ariel (from "The Little Mermaid"), so that's what I did! I think it turned out pretty well! Then I did a face on mine. Tony went his own creative way and did an "H" for Holly!!

So it was finally time to put the costumes on (AGAIN) and go trick-or-treating! We went to my parents' house first, then headed out to Tony's parents' and then we met up with some friends and walked around a part of Flushing. The kids (all 6 of them that were with us!) only lasted about an hour or so before the whining and complaining started...so it was a quick night! It was pretty cold out, plus I just think everyone was so tired! We still had a nice Halloween....now only a week until I turn the "BIG" 3-0!!! :)

Happy Halloween!

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My Big A$$ Clarinet!

If you don't know, I am a member of the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This is my 3rd year and I absolutely love it! It's so great to be playing (clarinet) still...and at least put some of my college education to use! HA! Well, this year, the conductor, Roy, approached me and asked me if I would be interested in playing a contra-alto clarinet in the ensemble this season. He is the band director at a local middle school and received a grant at the end of last year for new music, instruments, etc. This was one of his purchases! No one has ever played it, since he doesn't have enough clarinet players in his school bands to have one move over to play it...so I get to play it!! It's so awesome! Unfortunately, though, there are usually no contra-alto clarinet parts in band music, so I am playing and transposing tuba music...tons of fun!!! I call it my "big-ass clarinet"...but around the kids, it's the "big-butt clarinet"! LOL I had Emma hold it while I took a picture so you could see just how huge it is! When I play it, I have to sit on a bar-type stool so I'm tall enough to reach the mouthpiece! It's so cool!!

This past Saturday we went to Crossroads Village for the "Ghosts and Goodies" event. You go in and get a trick-or-treat bag (adults included) and follow the path to 20 different stops and get goodies, the last stop being in the warehouse for cider and donuts! It was so much fun! We got the kids dressed up in their costumes and bundled them up in blankets and just had a great time...and even rode the train to see all the Halloween lights and decorations they had up on the 40 minute ride! Emma and Bradlee had a great time, too. I would post pictures, but I'm going to wait until Halloween, so I won't be repeating the costume pictures!!

Unfortunately, the sickness has not left our house...on Saturday, Emma woke up with a really stuffy nose and her eye "stuck" shut...took her to the clinic and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and a "non-contagious" pink-eye...great. So she's put on an antibiotic just as Bradlee finishes his last one! Then last night, Bradlee was having a really hard time falling asleep and just kept crying and crying...so Tony ended up taking him into the ER and he was diagnosed with (another) double ear infection. Today, I had an appointment already set for Bradlee to have his ears checked from the last ear infection he had...and in it's place, they checked his ears, "yep, they're infected", gave him his second flu shot, and then referred us to an Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialist. We see him on Thursday afternoon. I thought Emma had a lot of ear infections and sickness....Bradlee TOTALLY has her beat!!! ARGH!

Enter in all of this my having a major migraine last week and Tony having some consistent headaches this past weekend...just call us all petry-dishes!! LOL

Here is a picture of Emma playing on the computer. She's gotten so good, thanks to Tony's sister, Lynne and my sister, Karyn, playing with their (and Emma's) Webkinz on the computer. It's been so good for Emma to learn how to use a mouse and such. She gets on there and feeds her pets, plays games and even goes shopping for pink stereos and karaoke machines! What an amazing little girl! She reminds me of her Boppa (my dad) when she looks through the top of her glasses...HA!

Great learning!!!

Here's a little something showing what Bradlee learned at school! ENJOY!

It's Fall!!!

Fall is in the air. We had the furnace checked today and it's now up and running! Emma came home tonight and said, "Momma, it's warm in here. Thanks for making it so cozy!" :)

A few weeks ago, we celebrated my dad's birthday with homemade lasagna and garlic bread and pecan pie! YUM! Here are some pics!

Bradlee's wondering what the heck his sister is doing!

Emma and "Birthday Boy" Boppa!

That Friday was Holly's Homecoming, so I took the kids to the parade...luckily the rain held off! Here's a great picture of Emma and me!!!

Here's something really neat! We have shirts made for the kids that say "Holly" on them so they can participate in the festivities. Well, since I had a girl first, and then a boy, most of the clothes were sold in the garage sale or given to charity, or given to friends...some, though, I was able to keep, mostly because we were not so thrilled about dressing up all frilly and such...here's a picture of Emma from October 2005 (she was 10 months old) and a picture of Bradlee this past week....who says they're not related?! :)

It's the same shirt, and I think the same shoes!! So cute...

Everything else is going great...Bradlee's got ANOTHER ear infection...we're tackling this one with Augmentin, so hopefully it will kick it's ass and NEVER come back! ARGH.

Bradlee's Teeth

This is not an official "blog", but I just wanted to update you on Bradlee's bruised front teeth. I took him to the pediatric dentist this morning and after some x-rays, the dentist came in and said it was not trauma. He got out his polisher and the "Scrubbing Bubble cleaner of dentistry" and scrubbed off the "bruise" from his teeth! He said that baby teeth are soft at first, so on some children, the iron from vitamins, food, milk, etc. "sticks" to the soft parts and makes it look bruised. It also explains why the coloring has faded. He polished the teeth and said that it will most likely not happen anymore. Bradlee got a new CARS toothbrush, a Winnie the Pooh and a Tigger sticker, and a glow-in-the-dark bracelet from the toy box! What a great kid. All the nurses were just ooh-ing and aah-ing over him, and of course, he wanted to show off, so he showed them how he says "Please", "Thank You", "More" and "All done" in sign language! Then he gave all of the a high five. What a great kid. I'm so thankful that this was an easy fix!! :)

Sick, sick...and more sick!

Well, if I said our lives were uneventful, I'd be lying....

We've been in school for about 4 weeks, and Tony and I have yet to pay for a full week of daycare! First, Bradlee had a virus/possible ear infection. Then Emma had a "stuffy nose" bug. Then Bradlee had another ear infection. Then Emma had a stomach bug. I blame school. :)

Last night I ended up taking Emma to the after-hours clinic. She had a temp of 102.2 and complained of a headache. No other symptoms. She actually asked to go to the doctor...once we got there, even though she felt so horrible, she was so funny. She didn't feel well at all, and all I could do was smile at everything that came out of her mouth! Here's a good example:

The doctor comes into the exam room. He shakes my hand, then Emma's hand, then Pinky's (Emma's stuffed bear) hand. He asks Emma what her friend's name is:

Emma (in a complete monotone voice): "Pinky."
Doctor: "Well, that's a good name for her."
Emma (still monotone, "with a roll of her eyes" in her voice): "Yeah. 'Cause she's pink."

HA! How could I not smile at that! :) Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. As she was drinking glass of water, (my first mistake...should of had her SIP the water!) she said her tummy hurt, put her hand over her mouth. I looked for the trash bin, but it was too late, she threw up all over me. I got some paper towels, and went to try cleaning some of it up...and she did it again...all over me. Ugh. What a mess! Then she started crying and said she had an accident. So there I am, my sister-in-law was getting the car, and I have a 4-year old with puke all over her, her bear and some of her blanket she brought...also ALL over me!! Good thing I have a strong stomach!! I stripped her down to nothing, wiped up as much as I could, and wrapped her up in her blanket. Lynne carried her out to the car and buckled her in and we got bags for her pj's and for Pinky. She was spending the night at my in-law's so Tony and I could work today. So, I've still got puke all over me, so I got in the car and drove home with no shirt on...what other choice did I have?! :) I didn't pull up next to anyone, and I drove the speed limit the whole way home! LOL Thankfully we had a blanket in the car that I wrapped around my shoulders! I got home and Tony looked at me like "What's this all about?" I just looked at him and said, "Got thrown up on.....twice." and headed for the laundry room! LOL Makes for a good story, though, eh?? :)

Except for these little bugs, my children are relatively healthy, and for this I am grateful. I am also grateful for the fact that Tony's parents are retired, so they are able to help us out when one kid, or both kids, are sick, so Tony and I are still able to work. Ugh. I just keep praying the worst is over...at least for a while!

On a brighter note...last weekend Tony's parents and I took the kids up to Frankenmuth to Grandpa Tony's Petting Zoo. For those of you who are familiar with the area, it's right across from Bronner's. It's a little farm area with all kinds of farm animals. Emma's been talking about "petting a bunny" all summer, for whatever reason! So, Emma got to hold and pet a bunny, Bradlee got to pet a miniature horse (named "Leroy") and see a sheep (which he now says, "BAAAAAA" to!) and a HUGE cow!!! For some reason, he just loved the pigs, even though they were sleeping!!! Emma loved feeding the pigeons they had in a wire cage and, of course, the wagon ride!! Here are some pictures:

Emma and Beepee feeding the pigeons.

The joys of holding a 3-week old bunny!

He wasn't sure at first, but then he went for it!

A day at the petting zoo! (With the sleeping pigs!)

Other than trying to just get our kids better, we've been pretty busy. Our DVR survived premiere week, and Tony and I have found a few new shows that we think we make like this fall. :) I'm back with the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble and am just loving it! We have our first concert on Sunday at Wolcott Orchards in Mount Morris at 1pm. If you're able, I hope you can come! There will be a little something for everyone in our repertoire!! Have a great weekend!

First Week of School!

Well, it hasn't been a good week for pictures, but it's still been a good week! The first week of school went really well. By Friday, though, both kids were just exhausted! Emma cried all the way home on Friday because she was just "hungry and tired". She slept 12 hours that night! Bradlee's been good. Friday he was finally getting used to the whole new daycare routine. When my in-laws picked him up, though, they were told by his teacher that his teeth were gray. Sure enough, they looked like they were bruising. So into the doctor he went. We were recommended to a pediatric dentist, which we have an appointment set for the 29th. They aren't looking too bad, but they are still gray. Don't know what happened, but the only thing we can think of is that he fell and it didn't hurt him, but he hit is mouth just enough that it caused this mouth trauma! Poor baby boy! His smile still melts my heart, though! :)

Saturday I went to Tony's parents' house for the day while Tony had to DJ. We cheered on the Chippewas for their win against MSU!! Here's Emma in her CMU shirt ("Hey Mama! We MATCH!") and Bradlee and Beepee watching the game!

Unfortunately, Emma's now got either a really good cold or pretty bad allergies. Although, it's comforting to know that she was one of 3 out at school today...poor kids! Never fails!! Hopefully we'll get through this quick and move on!!

I've met Emma's teacher and she has so many positive things to say about Emma every day! She's stressed how much she's a natural leader and is such a joy to have in class. She's also told me how she can tell Emma was close on the Kindergarten cut-off, but believes Emma will do just fine and have the upper edge throughout school. That made me quite comfortable with the Holly schools. I'm excited to see her grow this year!

Emma and Bradlee got their flu shots yesterday. Tony met me there with the kids after school, so we had 2 cars at the doctor's office. When we left, the "boys went with the boys and the girls went with the girls" (in other words, Bradlee went home with Tony and Emma with me!). When we got in the car I said, loud enough for Tony to hear, "Emma, let's see if we can beat Daddy and Bradlee home!" Emma was all for it. At one point, Tony got in front of us and we got stopped at a light. I said, "Oh Emma, Daddy got in front of us!" She sighs and says, "Oh cramps!". "What?" I said. "Nothing." She replied. I said, "No, honey, it's okay...what did you say?" "I said 'Oh cramps' because Daddy got in front of us and now we're not going to beat us home!" I was trying so hard not to laugh. Instead, I said, "Ya know, Emma, maybe that's not something little girls should say. How about we say 'Oh nuts' instead?" "Okay, Mom. That sounds good."

Have a great week! :)

First Day of School!

Here they are....my babies on their first day of school!! Emma was so excited and ended up having a great day. Bradlee was a little fussy during the day, but it was attributed to teething and just being in a new place. Once he was in Char's hands (a worker from his old nursery), he was a happy baby!! Tony had a great day, too. Things are looking good for this school year!!

What a busy weekend!!!

First, though back on the last Sunday in August, Tony's school hosted a "Summer School Session" for the high school staff and families. That morning, while we were getting ready to go, Bradlee wanted my attention so much! We had to bring a dish to pass, so I was busy getting that ready. I gave Bradlee a pot and a wooden spoon and he went to town!!! I think we have a drummer on our hands!

This is the second year they've done this Summer School, and it was so much fun, again! They open up the gym and have a bounce house and games, as well as a BBQ and tons of food, and they also open the pool for swimming! Last year, Bradlee was barely a month old, so I didn't get in the pool, but this year, I promised Emma I would! She went under water twice (and survived!) and we all had such a great time!! Here's a picture of her in her swimmies in "the big pool at Daddy's school"!!

So back to this weekend...we dog-sat for my sister, Kathi's, dog, Holly. She's a big black lab that is so great with the kids and basically just sleeps all day. Her only downfall is that she makes a mess with her water bowl and she she like to chew on things when she's lonely. She chewed our remote control (one of her favorites) and one of the kids' toys (both are still usable!) this weekend, but she's so good and we just love her. We put her bed in Emma's room, and she was ecstatic that Holly came and slept in her room with her...On Saturday morning, Holly had an appointment at the "dog spa"...so Emma, Bradlee and I loaded her in the car and took her over to PetSmart. Here's my view in the rear view mirror:

As you can see, Bradlee's hair was out of control, so after we took Holly to the spa, we went over to Grondin's and had his haircut. He had to sit on my lap, and was kind of nervous the whole time, so as a result, his bangs are a little crooked, but other than that, it's so much better...and you can now see those beautiful blue eyes!! Here's the "after" picture...

Each year, for about 4 years now, the Sunday before school starts, we've made it a tradition to go to the Detroit Zoo, just the (now) 4 of us. This year was no different. We let the kids sleep until they woke up on their own, then we got everything together and headed to the Zoo. What a day! There were tons of people there, but we all had a great time! Bradlee loved the animals (especially the giraffes) and Emma loved "the polar bears and all of the animals"! Here are the kids getting ready to see some animals!

Emma also loved the flamingos, so here is her and Daddy posing like a flamingo:

Like I said, Emma's favorite part was the polar bears. The Detroit Zoo has an amazing polar bear/seal exhibit, where there is a 70 foot glass tunnel where, on a good day, you can see the bears and seals swimming all around you. Well, they were performing for our visit! Just as we walked into the tunnel, a polar bear dove into the water and headed for the tunnel.

He swam right to where we were (below) and walked on the tunnel, so we could see his GIGANTIC paws:

Then, as Emma told EVERYONE....the polar bear "sat on the tunnel and we saw his butt!"!!!! LOL

It was a great day at the zoo! Bradlee also loved watching the seals swimming around! We enjoyed a picnic lunch we had packed, and then were home in time for dinner with Aunt Karyn...not before having our traditional picture taken by the bear fountain!

Monday was supposed to be a day full of surprises...Kathi's boyfriend, Garrett, is in the Marines. He has been in Japan (and surrounding areas) since March on a humanitarian tour. He was due to come home this first week of September. In the mean time, Kathi's gotten a new job, new apartment, and a new car (convertible!)...so there have been so many changes in her life that he's personally missed. She told him about everything except the car...which she got back in July! So, Garrett emailed my parents and said that he wants to surprise Kathi and come home on a different day he's telling Kathi...my parents were going to be up north this weekend, so mom had Garrett talk to me. Garrett and I emailed quite a bit, and I managed to get Kathi to agree to come up on Monday (today, Labor Day) to pick up Holly and to enjoy in our "back-to-school BBQ" we always have. Great! That means everyone will know where she is and Garrett can come surprise her here! Well, Kathi was also in a wedding this weekend, where a bunch of Marines that know Garrett were...and the whole surprise was blown when they told Kathi he was going to be home late Sunday night instead of Wednesday, like he had told her! Surprise spoiled!! Damn! Well, it was still nice to see them together again and we still had the surprise of Kathi showing Garrett her new car! LOL Here's Kathi and Emma enjoying the spaghetti salad I made:

Here's Kathi and Garrett, WELCOME HOME! :)

Uncle Garrett brought Emma home a present from Japan...a silk kimono-like dress! She was really shy to try it on, but once I told her we could put some chopsticks in her hair, she was sold! Here's a nice picture of the dress...it's so beautiful!

Then, of course, Emma decided to pose...she did this one on her own!

So, as busy a weekend it was, it couldn't have ended better. We are all so happy to have Uncle Garrett back in Michigan safe and sound! We've all had a great summer and are also happy to have school starting again. Emma said her favorite part of summer was "playing in the pool, going to the Zoo, and being with Mommy and Daddy when Mommy was on vacation!" What a sweetie!! Tony's favorite part was watching the advances Emma made in the pool...from going to the "death grip" when she got in, to floating on her back with just some arm floaters on, it was amazing! Our goal is to have her comfortable jumping in by the time next summer comes around! My favorite part of this summer was watching my kids grow and making new and continuing old traditions...Look for first-day-of-school pictures tomorrow!!!