Scooters

Mom and Dad bought you guys scooters this past weekend. Here is a video of you two scootin' around the house! And, at the end, Dad had to throw in footage of Mommy blowdrying her hair under the fan (taken at our old house) because he thought it was weird that I did that and also just to bug and embarass me.
xoxo

Winter Days Around Here

Dear Ben & Dan,
Week after week, it's been snowing. We have had snow on the ground since Christmas. Just when it starts to melt, it snows again!
We have been very cooped up lately but we are trying to make the most of it. I'm not going to fib, some days I want to scream and I keep telling you to just wait until spring because it is worth waiting for.
Anyway, here is what you have been doing:
drinking lots of hot cocoa
making (very early) Valentine cookies...you keep asking what holiday comes next (very cute)
watching Mickey Mouse movies on repeat (you are obsessed)
going to our regular rec center classes
hosting and attending playdates with your new friends from the rec center
visiting with Grandmom while Grandpop was in CA and visiting the Marlton Barnes & Noble, of course
watching Mommy paint the kitchen cabinets
eating soup
mastering the art of (finally!) pooping on the potty EVERY time and eating lots of Valentine heart candy as a reward
napping with Mommy in our cozy fleece sheets
climbing into bed with Mom & Dad very early each morning
You guys are the best to hang around & be lazy with.
I love you,
Mommy

Snow Fort

We've had snow on the ground here in Point Pleasant since Dec. 26th. We got hit hard with a major snowstorm the day after Christmas and had to drive home from Marlton back to Point Pleasant through some of it which was not fun. It took us 3 hours instead of one hour and along the way, we saw a few unfortunate cars getting stuck on the highway. We got home safe though and thank goodness we left when we did (although we had to leave sweet Brooke's 1st birthday party early)because otherwise, we would've been stuck at our parents' for a few days only to come home to 2 ft. of snow! The snow drifts were unreal. It still hasn't melted. It was too deep to even play in but the boys played on the driveway as we shoveled and used their new huge dump trucks (from Mimi and Pop) to load and unload snowballs. We did make it sledding on day too.
I wish I had taken more pictures! Here are a few pictures of the cool snow fort/snowball throwing wall Daddy made for Ben and Dan, only to be knocked over shortly after. This was from the fresh snowfall we had a few days ago.
I think it's going to be a long, snowy winter!

Christmas 2010

Benjamin and Daniel loved every minute of the Christmas season this year. They understood it all and wanted to celebrate the holiday every single day in December so we did! We made cookies galore plus a gingerbread train, trimmed our tree, drove around looking at the neighborhood Christmas lights, sang carols, made paper doilie snowflakes for every window in the house, went to NYC and Hershey, wrapped gifts, gave gifts, unwrapped gifts, and played in the snow. It was a joy watching them experience the magic of Christmas!

Hershey Park

We ended Andrew's vacation week with a weekend at Hershey, PA. We stayed at the Hershey Lodge which was decked out in its holiday finest. It was so pretty and it actually started snowing as soon as we reached Hershey which added to the excitement. Ben & Dan loved swimming in the indoor pool the minute we checked in.
We went to Chocolate World where we took the little chocolate tour and Benjamin and Daniel each created their own candy bar along with their very own candy wrapper. We drove through Sweet Lights, a forest lit up with tons of Christmas light displays. It took almost 45 minutes to drive through!
We also visited Zoo America, Hershey's cute, little zoo as well as the amusement park itself which is called Candylane this time of year. About thirty rides were open, most of which were kiddie ones so Ben and Dan had so much fun! It was funny seeing all the kids bundled like fat little snowmen whirling around the rides in the wind. It was so chilly that day, too! The boys crashed as soon as we got in the car going back to the hotel. Later that night, we had a yummy dinner, watched some of the Grinch movie (Ben was scared, Dan loved it) which was the featured flick that night at the Lodge for families.
Lots of chocolate, sparkling lights, sitting by the fire and listening to carols put us all in the Christmas spirit.

New York City

Andrew and I took Benjamin and Daniel to New York City. It was their very first time and they were so excited leading up to and throughout our overnight visit. We stayed at the Hilton Gardens thanks to Grandmom and Grandpop Humphries. (Thank you, thank you so much!!)
After our drive in, we set out for Dylan's Candy Bar then to Central Park where we took a nice stroll followed by a horse drawn carriage ride.
Later that night, we went to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular Show then on to see the famous tree at Rockefeller Center. Daddy spotted the famous Magnolia Bakery so we had cupcakes, milk, and coffee for dinner that night. It was delicious!
The next day we took a long, brisk (understatement) walk to FAO Schwartz ( all the while checking out Times Square & admiring all of the wintery window displays on 5th Ave.) and let the boys each pick out a toy. And in between, we took several taxi rides, marveled at the big buildings and took in all of the sights and sounds of Christmas in the city.
It was such a great little trip!