Tough luck

Today it was 88 or 90! Nice day for a visit to the pool. We decided to venture through our newly discovered shortcut. So hot, I took off my shirt, before we were even off my street, still wearing pants (not smart!) but only my swimsuit on top (red with white polka dots - Thanks Jen and Bon!). Daring considering Ben is still very young (aka my body isn't looking quite so young). Only to find, when the pool was in sight, that it was clearly deserted, not opening until tomorrow afternoon! Oooops! It was hard to hide my own disappointment, but the poor girls trudged on, walking over a mile in this crazy heat, each step, all of us gulping down water and dreaming of the sprinkler:) There is a park just past the pool by the way, which Anna thought of spending one minute at before heading home to the cool refreshing spray, but then passed, deciding to turn around immediately (first time ever for Anna to decide against any playground, and when it was sooo close too!)In the end, the girls really enjoyed playing in the yard with sand and water, and as you can see, our little nature hike too :)

Elizabeth's fans :)

All in purple cheering on Elizabeth as she played tennis for the St. Joe's Jaguars (wish I was organized enough to have planned this -- we were just lucky!) It was fun to see everybody (including the Fisher's), and to watch Elizabeth play! Great effort Elizabeth!!!

The youngest Browns fan!

Like all Browns fans, he is hopeful as the season begins!...he doesn't know this hope is well, somewhat hopeless. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a surprisingly winning season!

Anna's shoe shop and a visit from Uncle Nick

Playdate with the Beers

Or as Anna says "playday"! It was a big day for Anna, as she got to "have a friend over" (without Evan's mom here at the house). They were so cute, just playing and playing so nicely. Evan's mom says he has a big crush on Anna...ssssh. Maybe the feeling is mutual: just now Anna said "I like to see him in those glasses; he looks sooooooo pretty with them on!"



Then it was time to relax - Anna conked out at 5pm with Daddy (only to wake up at 9pm from a 4 hr nap!) and Carla and Ben were snuggling as usual - I think Ben likes it!

Anna's Pre-School Orientation Night!

Anna loved, loved, LOVED her school! When asked what she thought, she said "Well, I liked it, but I DIDN'T like that I had to leave!" It's going to be such a fun school year!

Thanks for visiting and helping Jackie!

Bonding with Daddy! I just love that red on Benjamin!

Happy discovery!

This picture is from another day, but a post is necessary! This was such a fun find! On a run today I found a shortcut, through the woods, to the park! It is so cool for a few reasons - we can get to the park/pool in about half the time/distance than we used to - bonus when I move with some slow travelers. Also, it's really cool for running! There are a few different paths in there and it is just a great change of scenery from neighborhood streets. Running is also feeling new and exciting because Mike got me a cool baby present - a new GPS - my sweet boy got me one back when they first came out, probably almost a decade ago, but it wasn't working so well anymore and it was a bit clunky. Anyway, now I feel so liberated running all over the place with little plan, just watching the time/distance tick away as I wander freely! Even looping around in my neighborhood is fun since there are lots of streets. For the past few years, since we've lived here, I was pretty used to a few 1, 2, and 3-mile loops, and now I can hardly imagine doing any of them exactly! I love to just tack on a random bit here or there hardly even noticing! ...excuse my rambling...I've been up since, oh, 3:15am!

PS- the GPS/woods connection - before I would have liked running in there, but I would never have been able to tell how much I ran. One more thing, for the same reason, I have been running in the park a lot too, and didn't before b/c I didn't know how far I was going. Ok, lastly, in the park/woods, I see tons of animals! Well, not lots of different kinds, but lots of deer and bunnies! For instance, in my last run (actually in Sept -- excuse the back-posting), I saw 2 deer and a bunny, which I met up with twice on the run (3x for the small deer!) and the last time I saw them, there was also a squirrel (usual) very close to my head (unusual)! It's like they don't wear/notice me for some reason, and all let me get very close to them before they dash off, and they don't even go far, just a bit off the path - totally freaks me out! My high school track coach would be proud of my quiet steps :) Bonus: this all gives an automatic jolt to my pace :) Again, sorry for the rambles - Jenny, you are probably the only one still reading ... this saves us a bit of time on the phone!

Soccer girls :)

Thank you Lori for the big sister soccer darling outfits!

Family Fun day at GE

This was such a nice start to a fun weekend! Lots of healthy snacks and dinner, fun games, and especially the inflatable bouncy World Cup field (the girls' favorites!). There were also health screenings, yeah! ...only I would be excited about this :)

Lounging around

Morning Snuggles

Children's Museum

We couldn't have picked a better day to visit! We got to see Clifford! Carla was was scared when she first saw him, then she wanted him to come back and was asking for a week "where's cwifford? in his house? restin'? eatin"? i want see him!" Also Anna got to go to a science class! Very exciting, especially with all the excited anticipation of school! She got to learn about density and build a boat and even test if it would float in the water!

Father-Son Snuggling

Tea Party

We got this cute tea set from Erin's shower and boy did they eat lunch nicely when it was served with menus and tea!

New Babies!

Sweet, precious Lyla Rose Nardi

Almost the whole gang - thanks for taking a quick pic Pas!
(And Billy, we missed you!)

Baby Ben met his Aunt Ashley, Uncle Michael, and Cousin Lyla!
Baby Lyla met lots of loved ones in Cleveland! What a very fun visit!!!!
So great that you guys could come!!!!
Happy belated birthday Ashley!!!!

Benjamin is One Month Old!

He had to get a shot today, and oh how he wailed! It was really sad; he was still crying when we headed out into the hall to leave (I don't remember the girls ever crying that long). He's a big boy :) Already 11.5 pounds and 22.5 inches -- around the 80th percentile for each. Healthy as can be. Next assignment from our pediatrician -- help him to fall asleep on his own. He never cries, so letting him cry at all in his crib will be hard. He got to pick out a sticker for each of his sisters since they didn't come along this time. Today, he gets to celebrate by meeting his new cousin, Lyla Rose!

AND we visited Geneva!

Ben loved being with everybody, even Giuseppe's nose!

Daddy's out-of-town...

So we visited Westlake!

Grandpa Nardi and bonded with his first grandson :) He even made Ben smile :)

Anna is wearing my 32 yr-old dress again! It is SO cute on her!

And that silly squirrel stole Carla's lunch!

Erin's Wedding Shower

Such a lovely Irish tea luncheon for Erin! Anna enjoyed helping Erin open gifts (a proud flower girl duty), Carla enjoyed the punch (spiked!) and cake!, and Ben very much enjoyed spending a few hours sleeping in Aunt Ali's arms! Ben also got to meet lots of other people, like, Uncle Lee, Aunt Patti, Cousins Laura and Megan, Aunt Maribeth's high school friends, and Gramma M's high school best friend!


Then we hung out (literally outside all day -- such an awesome summer!!) with Mom, Pas, Michelle, Tony, Ty, and Joey :) Later Anna and Joey had lots of fun in the sprinkler and had a sleep over! Thanks for the darling booties Aunt Michelle!

Anna (who doesn't nap) conked out beside me this afternoon -- too many days of lots of excitement and not enough sleep.

Carla CANNOT wait for her own swim lessons!

The picture of Ben is after Anna was taking care of him and he fell asleep -- so cute (both the baby and the little mama!)!

Carla decided to move in to our "pony castle" :)

Anna's Swim Camp

We really enjoyed the routine of "swim camp" (our special name for daily swim lessons); good practice for preschool this fall!

Ben meets Mischelle, Maddie, and Ben

Maddie thought Ben Grossner could be "Ben 1" and Ben Goldner could be "Ben 2" (since he is 2). Maddie and Anna enjoyed playing dress-up and "getting pretty" with body crayons -- I made Maddie's cool doggy (from the book!).

AnnMarie's Birthday Luau