Tatelladina Weekend

finally!  our annual trip to Charlotte to see our friends the Tates and the Grdinas!  with no permission (or discussion) with anyone else, i've decided to call it the Tatelladina weekend.  I mean, that would be the most appropriate way to combine all of our last names, right?

 we usually go in may and the boys hit up the nascar race, but that weekend didn't work out, so we had to postpone until june.   no worries, it was worth the wait!  we've been doing this for a couple of years now and it just gets better each time, i think.  now that the kids are getting older, it is getting easier.  and...bonus...the girls got a chance to sneak away from the chaos for a couple of hours this time around!

we actually took a half day and picked up the kids from daycare and headed out of town around 3.  this was gianna's first time using the headphones for a movie in the car.  she seems so confused.  she wasn't moving in this pic, even though her hands look like it.  they were frozen like that!

after we got there and got settled, we put all the kids to bed and the girls headed out to have a drink and a snack and a little girl chatting.  well, to be honest, i probably did most of the chatting.  sorry ladies!

the next morning, the boys ran out and picked up dunkin donuts and the kids chowed down!

then, we headed out on their boat and it was gianna's nap time.  she started to fade when i put her in the tube.

roman pushed her around for a little bit.

but, when i put her hat on her, she woke up!  that stinker!

jay is growing his hair out now and we made fun of him all weekend.  his wife even calls him "pretty".  he's a good sport, though.  lookin' good, jay!

the boys had some fun on the beach

hunter was passed out in the captain's chair

and i laid gianna down too, but it didn't really work!

ashleigh is ready to attack!

and roman is about to fire back

then it was time for lunch!  jay grilled hot dogs and stacey made brownies and brought fruit and chips for lunch.  it was super yummy!

the girls were shoving it in!  the sun really makes you hungry!

gianna is saying "gimme more brownie, lady!"

my fam had a great time in the water

that night we went to dinner at tacomac.  we had a picture like this last year too, so i guess this is a tradition now

johns birthday was this week, so the tates got him an ice cream cake. happy birthday to you, john.  happy cake to the rest of us!

the kids played great on the swingset.  they were pretending it was a pirate ship and they were collecting crystals (aka pinecones)

this was my favorite view of the day!

gianna had a good time on the swings!

and finally, our annual kiddo picture.  it's so fun to see how much they've grown over the years.  

see the previous years here

2012

2011

2010

Let's Play Catch Up

we got married.  again.  as you can see, it wasn't super fancy or anything, but it was really important to toby to have our marriage recognized by the Catholic Church.  so, now we have two anniversaries.  and yes, toby...i expect a gift for both!

my kiddos are super cute, no?  hot rod and golden girl

gianna LOVES the boat.  and is super daring.  she wants to hang off the side the whole time

roman is such a river man.  he loves to be out there, on the lookout for dolphins

                                     

roman was giving poppa a father's day tackle!

popsicles on the back patio.  a summertime treat!

Wheels Off!

okay, so here's the deal.  we took roman's training wheels off a couple months ago, but due to our hectic schedules, we haven't really had a ton of time to dedicate to practicing.  however, we started up again last week and really have gotten into it this week.  so, what i'm trying to say is this.  dude learns fast.  i wish i could say that i'm amazed, but honestly, he's such a determined little kid, he really picks things up easily when he wants to do them.  he's always been really coordinated athletically, so i guess this was a breeze. 

check him out!

and he's even doing tricks already!

A Handyman Came To Town (aka Grandpa) & Grandma too!

grandma and grandpa were coming to visit!  we were all pretty excited about it!  the kids were taking advantage of the rearrangement of gianna's room in anticipation of the new storage system that grandpa was going to build.  

mr. big bear got a nice photo

and then he got attacked!

so, of course, grandma and grandpa were coming to visit with all of us, but grandpa had a major project to do!  i had asked if he would be able to put some bookshelves in with a toybox/windowseat in between and he said no problem.  did he really know what he was getting into?  i mean, he was building a whole storage system on one entire wall...floor to ceiling!  

so, i took a couple of half days and the first day this was what i came home to.  he's fast!!!

this was the second day...he's moving right along.  the cabinets were pre-made, but he he cut the baseboards to make them fit nice and snug in the corners.  he had to build tops for them and then build the bookshelves on up from there.  

he decided that a toybox/windowseat that was only 12 inches deep (like the cabinets) was not deep enough, so he built it out about 20 inches.  but then, the corners would have been kind of jutting out in the room and potentially dangerous for little people, so he angled them back to the cabinets.  perfect!  when roman saw this, he ran in and said "the fence is done, the fence is done!".  i guess, it kind of is a fence, huh?

i think i skipped a day of pictures, but soon enough, it was all done, complete with a toybox lid and plenty of storage!  he even painted the whole thing for me.  i really didn't have to do anything on this project.  that's my idea of a good time!  

oh, and we got to spend some really fun times with grandpa and grandma.  i could have picked the best picture out of all of these, but i really liked all of them...even the outtakes.  they make me laugh!

and grandpa and roman even had a little time to make a birdhouse and paint it too!

did you think i wasn't going to show you the shelves all decorated?  silly you!  i couldn't wait to get all her girly accessories up on those shelves.  all of her books fit and all of her decorations too!  and i really haven't even put much in the cabinets yet.  this gives us so much storage, but doesn't really even feel like it takes up much room. there are barely any toys in the toybox, so she has lots of room to fill it up!  i love it!  

i'm hoping to get my "good camera" out this weekend and try to get some good pictures of it.  gianna goes to bed close to 7, so this was a quick phone pic before she went to sleep tonight!

grandma & grandpa...thank you SO much for coming and staying with us and getting this huge project done! we loved having you here and are looking forward to your next visit!

School's Out For Summer!

roman's last day of school was last tuesday, so of course, you know i made him pose for a picture.

is it me or does he look way older?

is it me or does he look like a baby?

to celebrate the freedom of "no hair rules" of school, we shaved his hair into a mohawk.  the best of both worlds, a little strip of hair to style and the sides are free to feel the breeze!

i had to take this picture...he was sleeping, but his mohawk was already looking all crazy like a rooster tail!