Cinco!!

Nicholas turned the BIG 5 yesterday!  He even looks like he got bigger over night.  When he woke up yesterday morning he said, "Look how much bigger I am now" and later on, "Look how much higher I can jump now that I am five!!!".  He is so proud to be five and we are so proud of him.  He brightens our days with his humor, energy and knowledge and his smile that lights up the room.  Everyone always tells us what a pleasure he is and we feel very lucky that we get to experience it every day. 

So what better day than his birthday to spoil him rotten and let him do whatever he wants?!  He started the day off with longer than usual Wii playing time, then a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast...heated up with lots of butter of course.  The usual morning stuff and then off to mini-golf! 

No holes-in-one this time but the kid has got a pretty mean putt.

After golf he tried the batting cage for the first time (slow-pitch softball)...

Forget t-ball...this kid is ready for the big leagues!

All that hitting (and missing) really works up a thirst...so we threw out the "no snacks right before lunch" rule and got a slush.  Yum.

Lunchtime brought us to the same every day quandry...jelly sandwich or fluff sandwich?  He went for the fluff and Mommy didn't make him eat an apple (or "something healthy") with it.  After lunch we made cookie dough so that he could have (another) "giant chocolate chip cookie cake" after dinner later.

We LOVE made-from-scratch raw cookie dough!!!!

After naps and a quick trip to the doctor so that we could get Chelsea's sore mouth looked at ("just a virus" - ugh), we waited for Daddy to get home and it was back to the batting cages so we could show Daddy how fun it is.  Despite his arms practically falling off because of the heavy bat, Nick would have stayed there all night long.  Gotta love the perseverance.  Plus, Mommy and Daddy were hungy, so next stop...The Charlie Horse!!!!  Nick's mecca.  And we don't mind it either because the food is really good and the mudslides are incomparable!

They LOVE this motion video ride.  Once again, would stay on it all night long...and we'd let them...if it didn't cost $3 for 1.5 minutes!!!

Back at home it was another round of chocolate chip cookie "cake" and singing.

We love you baby boy!  Here's to a great year of being BIG and FIVE!

(Party pics coming soon).

Papa Boot Camp

This one brought back memories of my Dad leading us and half the neighborhood in parades up and down the driveway...not sure who was having more fun, the kids or him!

The Great Escape

We had our first Wagner/Daley vacation this year in the Outer Banks, NC...8 adults, 5 kids...all in one house!!!  Everyone had a blast and Nick has asked at least once a day since we got home, "when can we go back to the North Carolina house with Emma & Drew?"  We basically beached it every day with some mini golf, go-karting, bumper cars, fishing, basketball, sightseeing, Duck Donuts, sand dune climbing, etc. thrown in here and there.  And of course, nightly Texas Hold 'Em poker tournaments and adult beverages once the kids went to bed!  We will forever treasure the memories we made in South Nags head, at our house...The Great Escape!  A few pics and videos below...so hard to choose...more to come later!

Nick really found his swimming legs on the trip!

Of course the big boys had to show off playing on the kiddie sized basketball hoop...

We got a pool!!!

At least that's what Chelsea was calling it...

Is this cat for real?

Seriously, we probably had, oh, I don't know, 15 cats while we were growing up...NOT ONE of them could compare in weirdness to Tommy.  Wait, maybe Chong could in one aspect...he used to lick my brothers' and dad's heads.  Tommy doesn't do that but he does a whole lot of other weird things!!

He curled right up and took a nice long nap!

Wiggle Worms and Tumble Bugs

I have been scoping out a local summer camp/children's class/pre-school place called Maplewood because I am already thinking about sending Nick to summer camp next summer.  We went to an open house and it looked awesome so I signed up the kids for "gymnastics" classes to do some further scoping.  Chelsea was in the Wiggle Worm group and Nick was in Tumble Bugs...they both LOVED it!!!  Nick's was actual gymnastics...we won't be rolling out the mats for an olympic champion quite yet, but like I said he had a blast!  And Chelsea absolutely loved singing the silly songs and playing the silly games.  I am looking forward to more classes in the fall and eventually their awesome summer camp!

They broke out the Bounce House for Chelsea's last day.  She actually stayed in it with Miss Barbara as her "chaperone" when I left the gym to go watch Nick's "show".  She only lasted about 5 minutes but it was a miracle!

When Nick saw Braelynn (the girl behind him) before class started he said, "Hey, why'd she get to wear her bathing suit?"

Making sure Mommy was watching him...even in the middle of his vault.

So proud of his medal!

 

As you can see...Nick was the "poser" of the group.  Always looking for the camera to ham it up and give me a thumbs up!  I was dying laughing/wondering where in the world he gets it from.

Saquish Sleepover

Ever since Nick was born I have been dreaming of the day when we would take our kids down for a sleepover at the beach...playing on the beach all day, rain barrel shower, dinner on the deck, walk down to the rocks with rolled up sweatpants, games & books...no TV, no Wii, no Xbox, no computer games.  Just like "the good old days".  Well.  The weather didn't exactly cooperate...it was borderline FREEZING at times!!!!  But we still had a wonderful, tech-free weekend (except for the occasional Words With Friends entry of course).  Saquish is my most favorite place on earth and I feel so lucky that I can share it with Ryan and the kids and that they love it just as much as I do.

 The new out house!

 Toasty warm on the back deck

Is it possible for it to be TOO windy to fly a kite???!!!  Daddy was cursing the Easter Bunny for giving the kids junky kites.

Crazy girl going in the "pool" at 9 am, 60 degrees out, wind whipping like crazy, loving life.