Ice Cream

Last night, we took the girls out for ice cream after dinner in an effort to beat the brutal heat and humidity.  We went to the "Cow Place" (as nicknamed by Madison & Victoria) and the girls loved it.  It was a messy, messy treat - especially for Emily - but it was delicious!!  Oh how I love summer!!

Loving her ice cream!!  And, aside from around her mouth and the tip of her nose, barely a drop missed her mouth!

Not sure why she looks so somber here - she clearly was enjoying every bit of this.  If you look at the bottom left, you can see all of the ice cream that dripped on the bench. 

Trying her best to keep up with the melting. 

Ice cream all over her face, her neck and chest; then down her hand and arm, dripping off of her elbow.  Emily was in heaven.

Mystic Aquarium

Every year, instead of a birthday party, we spend the girls' birthday doing something special and thankfully, this tradition has held so far!  A few weekends ago, we went to Mystic Aquarium and had a great time.  We went a few years ago, but the girls were a lot younger and we were in and out in a few hours.  This time, we were smart enough to buy a membership and it's a good thing we did - even though it's a hike, I have a feeling that we'll be going back a lot. They loved the sea lion show, the beluga whales, the jelly fish and many of the other sea animals.  Their little brains are like sponges and they simply couldn't get enough!!

Our little scientist carried a journal with her the entire time, writing down everything she saw.  Everything.  She might get her marine biologist genes from Lee, but her nerdiness comes from me.

Getting a little face time with Juno, one of the Beluga whales. 

Lee and Emily, up close and personal with Juno.

Juno was incredibly friendly when we were visiting. 

One of the great things about Mystic is all of the "touch tanks" it has - here is a sting ray that the girls got to pet.

Seriously, they pet it.

Elizabeth was clearly thrilled. 

Here is another touch tank - Elizabeth got to hold a large starfish.

To our surprise, even Emily liked the touch tanks - holding a starfish here.

Petting a shark at another touch tank.  Elizabeth freaked out after she touched it and Emily never actually put her hand in the water. 

One of the cool things we did was feed the sting rays.  We originally purchased the food for Elizabeth but she got scared when the ray started to take it from her, so Lee did most of the feeding (although I did it a few times).  Their mouths are like suction cups - they just suck the food out of your hand.

Bench Press for Breast Cancer

About a month ago, we told you that Lee was participating in a Susan G. Komen fundraiser called Benchpress for Breast Cancer.  The event was yesterday morning and it was an amazing success.  In it's first year, the event raised about $2,000; this year, BFBC raised more than $7,000, with contributions still coming in after it ended!  It was a such a unique way to raise money and it was so much fun to watch.  Each participant had two lifts - as explained the me, the first lift should be something that you could do three or four times; the second lift should have been difficult, or perhaps a PR.  Surprisingly, when everyone was done with their lifts and all of the awards and raffles were handed out, they offered a third lift, but you had to go for a PR.
This is a part of Lee's world that I don't pry into, and I don't want to embarrass him, but I was blown away by his strength.  To set the scene, Lee weighs approximately 190 pounds.  His first lift was 365; his second lift was 405.  And then, after that, he came back about ten minutes later and successfully lifted 410 pounds, more than twice his body weight.  He had the third highest bench of the day, but the guys that lifted more were easily 100 pounds heavier and a foot taller.  It was impressive.
In addition to his lifts, Lee did a great job raising money - through our blog and Facebook posts, he raised over $500, almost every donation coming in $20-$25 increments and many from people he hasn't seen in years.  Great job Lee!!!  We are very proud of you!  More photos here.

The event was held at The Refuge. 

An example of some of the stuff they lift there. 

   

Letting the girls handle some weights. 

A budding weight lifter? 

My new favorite picture of my man. 

His wrist wraps. 

The girls, watching with Grammy and Grampy.

Getting ready for his first lift - his true, genuine smile is how I know that he's in his element. 

Making 365 pounds look easy. 

The event organizer, Brian LaPila - this picture does not do justice for how huge he is. 

Lee makes 405 look easy too.

Yeah! 

Getting ready for the third lift. 

Mentally preparing... 

Pushing up 410.  I know that it doesn't look like he's going to make it here, but he did - I don't have a picture of the completed bench because I was too nervous - not that he would get hurt (there were three spotters for every lift) but that he wouldn't make it.  He did.  Again, it's pretty difficult to lift a PR, after putting up only a few pounds less a few minutes earlier!! 

Happy to be done.

Brian's 40th Birthday Surprise!

Last Saturday, Cathy threw Brian a surprise party for his 40th birthday at Wood 'n Tap.  As he turned 40 more than a month ago, he was truly surprised when he walked in the door with Devin and saw his friends and family ready to celebrate his birthday!!  We all had a great time - thanks for having us and a very happy birthday to Brian!!

The Big 40 

The girls and a balloon were making Tavio laugh like crazy! 

Brian is surprised!

Cathy, Kyla, Devin and Brian 

Tavio with Mommy's camera. 

The HUGE cake! 

Kyla and Devin help everyone sing "Happy Birthday"

Unbirthday

Throughout the school year, Elizabeth has patiently waited for the chance to celebrate her birthday - often when her classmates had a birthday, their parents brought cupcakes or cake into school as part of the celebration.  Because Elizabeth has a summer birthday, I didn't think that this was something we'd have to worry about - but then one day she came home from school and said that summer birthdays could be celebrated in June.  I contacted her teacher to confirm and sure enough, she told me that she always celebrates "unbirthdays" for all of the children with summer birthdays and that I could bring something in for Elizabeth's unbirthday.  We decided on June 16th, just about one month shy of Elizabeth's real birthday, and I brought in cupcakes for her class.  Because of the variety of tastes in her class, Elizabeth asked me to make both chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, decorating each flavor with either pink or orange frosting.  I will admit to being annoyed by all the work, but I'm so glad that I made the extra effort as there were so many children that were sooooo appreciative of having vanilla cupcakes.  Elizabeth was thrilled to celebrate her unbirthday and loved having her class sing to her.

Wearing her birthday hat and holding hands with her beloved Mrs. Newton. 

The happy, happy unbirthday girl. 

Doing the "cha cha cha" with Mrs. Newton.

The whole class singing to Elizabeth. 

Simply elated. 

And, of course, she devoured her cupcake.

Last Day of Preschool

Last Thursday marked Emily's last day of three-year-old preschool.  She had a great year and has mastered all three year old benchmarks and is already demonstrating some emerging abilities with four year old benchmarks.  We are proud of how much she grew over the last year and how many friends she has made!!

The pouty face - as Lee says, with the hair cut came a whole new attitude... 

Heading into the giant caterpillar with some of her friends. 

Hugging her friend Sydney.

Playing on the playground.