Sayonara Poconos/Memorial Day

We woke up on Monday morning, had some breakfast, packed up the car, and hit the road by 9:30 a.m. We were ready to get home and have a few hours remaining of our holiday (Memorial Day) to get settled and unwind before jumping back into work and our normal routine on Tuesday.

But before we left, of course we had to take our annual group photo:

After a really-not-so-bad drive, we arrived home around 1:30 p.m., unpacked everything, and decided to have an early dinner. Of course, we didn't have anything in the house and didn't feel like going grocery shopping, so we treated ourselves to burgers at a local chain restaurant.

We were all hungry! I couldn't say I've ever had dinner out at a restaurant with General Hospital on in the background before... but now I can. :)

It was a nice day out--but HOT at 93 degrees--so once we were home, we spent some time letting Nora expend some energy in the backyard.

This is Nora, in the middle of telling me "NO!" (I don't even remember what it was about. Toddlerhood: 'Tis fun.)

Good thing she's so gosh darn sweet the rest of the time! :)

A lovely Memorial Day and long weekend, indeed.

Of course, the reason for the day off did not go unrecognized by me. Thank you to all of the men and women who have given their lives for this country. And thanks to all of their family members, who made the ultimate sacrifice and continue to live without the ones they love.

And to all of the men and women currently serving--including my very own brother--please, come home safely. <3

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Show Boatin'

Spending Memorial Day weekend in the Poconos proved to be a fantastic decision on our parts because... we had an extra day! We've always arrived on Thursday night and left on Sunday late morning/early afternoon, but this time around, we planned it so that we could stay until Monday. It made a big difference since we didn't feel like we had to turn around and go back home as soon as we got there.

So instead of waking up and getting ready to go home on Sunday morning, we all got up and got ready to head out to breakfast together. By the time we got everybody loaded into the cars, it was after 8:30 a.m. and Nora was NOT a happy camper.

Girlfriend was HUNGRY. She cried nearly the whole ride into town. The restaurant we normally go to was very crowded and had a 25-minute wait. Not normally a big deal, but when you have little kids waiting with you--HUNGRY little kids--nuh uh. We ended up driving down a little further to try out another place, where we were seated pretty much right away. In the meantime, though, I gave Hunter and Nora each a banana. Nora gobbled hers right down, but Hunter only ate about 1/4 of his before he handed it to me saying, "Here." So Nora ended up eating the rest of his banana, too. Thankfully, it was enough to curb her hunger while we got into the restaurant and waited to be served.

It should be noted that Nora went on to eat approximately two pancakes, as well as 1/2 piece of my mom's toast. That's all in addition to the 1 & 3/4 bananas she had. Sometimes, I swear she has a hollow leg.

With full bellies, we went back to the house to enjoy what was another beautiful day.

The kid on the right is Kenny, he stopped by for a little while to visit with his dad. He was obsessed with Angry Birds, which was hilarious because he ended up overtaking the iPad to play it. Nora and Hunter watched him play intently. Also, you guys would be shocked at how well Nora can use an iPhone and/or iPad. It's almost scary. Let's just say that the "lock screen" has nothing on her.

Once the kids were down for a nap, it was time to do some relaxing in the sun on the patio.

Just another quiet day in the country...

Once everyone was awake again, we set out do something we haven't done in the Poconos in a very, very long time. That morning, Vinny came out of the house and asked if anyone was interested in going to the lake to go out on his brother's boat. All of us had jumped at the opportunity, so we got going as soon as possible.

I have very fond memories of Lake Wallenpaupack from when I was growing up. We'd take day trips to Vinny's brother's house to go out in the boat. The moms would pack a picnic lunch for all of us kids and we'd ride the boat over to a small island in the middle of the lake to spend an hour or two eating and playing.

When we got to Vinny's brother's house, Nora headed straight for the water--which means that I did, too!

She was having a ball wading into it, even when semi-rough waves came crashing around her waist. What a little weirdo. :)

Once the boat was ready, we strapped Nora into a life jacket, not knowing what to expect of her. First, I was shocked that she let me put the life jacket on her without a fight. Secondly, I didn't know if she would be freaked out on the boat, or actually enjoy it. But all we could do was try!

It was Hunter's first boat ride, too!

I'm happy to report that Nora absolutely loved it. She had the wind in her face, and the water was a bit choppy, but she just sat there, content in my lap, with little hints of smiles crossing her face every once in a while. Not a single complaint from her, not even when we were briefly waiting in line for gas at the marina.

We went back to Vinny's brother's house and after a short break, planned to go back out again. So we all piled back into the boat. Nora was going to ride with her daddy this time.

But then the boat wouldn't start. Booooo!

So we piled back out of the boat and let Nora and Hunter romp around in the water some more instead.

Hunter had a ball "jumping" off of the dock.

Before we knew it, it was after 5:00 p.m. and it was time to head back to the house for dinner.

We made homemade pizzas--another first for us in the Poconos. :)

Nora loves coloring now, ever since Hunter's birthday party. It's so cute!

As we sat down for dinner, a huge thunderstorm came rolling in and it poured and poured and poured. We all curled up in the living room for the night and watched a movie. Another full and fun day!

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A Day About Nothing

Every time I blog about the Poconos, I feel like it's just a gigantic photo dump because, well, it's a vacation during which we don't do a whole lot. We take tons of photos because we can and plus it's beautiful, but... they kind of speak for themselves. There aren't a lot of words required. :)

On Saturday morning, we woke up in the Poconos to much better weather. It was sunny, it was already getting warm--it was just beautiful. Plus, I had gotten a much better night of sleep, and Nora slept until after 7:00 a.m., which was oh.so.appreciated.

We settled into the breakfast nook/sunroom for some breakfast, where Nora ate in the exact same spot as she did last year. (She looks a little different now, huh?)

(Fun fact: That bib is the very first thing we ever bought for our unborn baby--who, of course, turned out to be Nora--when I was 19 weeks pregnant and we were vacationing in Florida.)

Clearly, she was a bit too high up for the table, as she could get her foot up there--and kept doing it, despite us politely asking her not to. I think that this look is a "Yeah, that's right. So what are you going to do about it?" face. Lovely.

After breakfast, it was time for more outdoor play in our pajamas. Ahhh... vacation.

Hunter gave Nora a hug and a kiss and she got this cute little half-smile look on her face. Precious.

The big three-year-old cheesing it up for the camera.

Eventually, it got hot enough that everyone wanted to head down to the pond, so I took Nora upstairs to get her into one of her bathing suits. But it's actually more than a bathing suit...

...it's an ensemble. And we can thank Michael's aunt for this one. It's to die for.

Once down at the dock, Nora would've jumped right in if I had let her, but thankfully she settled for me holding her VERY TIGHTLY and letting her dip her feet in.

We also hunted for and counted fish.

We had a little lunch, Skyped with Trevor in Afghanistan, put the kids down for their naps, and then us girls--Kara, Marie, and I--headed back to the outlet mall for a little more shopping. When we were there on Friday, we had split up for a while, and when we compared notes sales after we got back to the house, we discovered that we had each missed out on really good deals at some of the stores! We were gone for a couple of hours, and by the time we got back, the kids were up and ready to play again.

Tessa, on the other hand, was completely exhausted.

(I love the clasped hands!)

Cousins! Look how they are smiling at each other. Could they be any cuter?

Fun times with the bubble machine.

While we made dinner, Nora and Hunter sat down to watch a little bit of a movie on the iPad. Ahhhh... a short break for the grown-ups! :)

We grilled out again, and after dinner, Nora was more than ready for bed again. Once she was down, I came outside to find my brother making a fire in the fire pit. Awesome.

Hunter loves his "Uncle Ty."

And he loves his "Aunt Ree," too.

The parents-to-be... only two more months until we meet their little boy.

Hunter and Kara

My mom and me, snuggling Tessa

It was then that I noticed how Hunter wears his flip-flops. How funny is that??

We finally decided to bust out the s'mores materials, including these gigantic marshmallows that Michael and I found at BJ's Wholesale Club before we left. They didn't fit on the half graham crackers that you'd typically use for a s'more, so we had to use whole graham crackers.

...I wasn't complaining. :)

A great day in the pokey-nose (as my brothers called it when they were little).

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