more of alton bay

here are some more of the week...

alton bay - quick wednesday edition

i only have a minute, i NEED to go down to the beach:)
here are a few pics from yesterday!

alton bay - monday edition

this is mostly for erika. i so wish that you were here with us!! but for now, pictures will have to do! and...17 more days till the curriers come - AND ron and bobbi!! the WHOLE family will be together, and i am soo excited!
anyways...we got here saturday, but stayed the night at home so we could just walk to church sunday :) we came back up yesterday after church, and today was PERFECT weather! just beautiful, hot and sunny all day!
my parents, mel and chad, me, adam and the boys are all staying at the cottage we have stayed at for the last 3 or 4 years.

it has a beautiful view of the water, and we love it.
what we love about alton bay, is the peacefulness and safety of it, the memories, and the private - MODEST beach! it is so great, and we love to just eat and do nothing! the boys have loved the water, and it is so much fun to watch them together!





i love that we can all enjoy being with my parents so much. the boys loooove nanny and grampops, and they adore my boys (and all their grandchildren) and show it all the time


and they enjoy this

and this


have i mentioned the atmosphere here? i love the fact that there is modesty on the beach, so i don't have to worry about my boys or my husband having to deal with that, and i love hearing the conversations around me about serving God, and what God is doing in people's lives. it's so cool.

we love having chad and mel here. the boys LOVE aiyah, and she spoils them rotten with her love and affection





this right here

may be nothing more than an old swing set and a tree to you, but to me, erika, ronnie and mel it is a swing set that my brother and dad used to race each other climbing, a tree that me and erika used to try and kick when our daddy would give us underdoggies, and swings that me, mel, ron and erika have all used during the day to swing, and at night to get away and have deep conversations.
well, i am getting tired, and i don't want erika getting all teary before bed, so i think i will stop for now. anybody else have fun memories from the bay? i could go on alll night long, and my boys always ask me to tell them stories from when i was little at alton bay! and i always have a ton!
hope the millions that are reading this blog have a great night! :) haha

just a few things...

oh i have so many thoughts. i am learning so much and i think i could go on forever. but i wont...for now. fair warning, though. you never know when a long,intense blog might come up :)
but for now, a recap.
*vacation in our beloved alton bay starts tomorrow.
*melanie leaves tomorrow morning to come to NH!!!
*the countdown is on for the currier's arrival for labor day
*the boys swimming lesson went great thursday
*bic and cheryl have been working wicked hard around here to make the outside look nice.

*i am just about caught up in my bible reading (only 1 1/2 days behind!)
*i STILL have not gotten the title for my car, which means i can't pick up my "new" one!!
*i am incredibly grateful for what God has given me (although i will admit, this whole car thing has caused the need for adam to remind me of this one on several occasions!)
*aj announced on sunday that he wanted to try and read proverbs through in 7 days. i smiled, and said..."ok". on tuesday he was up to chapter 9, and wednesday night i asked him how he was doing in his reading. he said "ok". i asked him where he was. "ecclesiastes 1" I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!!! i am so proud of him!

well, i think that's all for now. i have to go and pack for vacation!!! :)
hope you all have a great week!!
i leave you with a few silly moments from our family getaway. take the time to have a little craziness with your kids...always worth it!

the boys surprise

i really don't have a great memory, but one memory from my childhood i remember very clearly. my parents told us one late afternoon to get in the car. then my dad started driving. we kept saying "where are we going??" to which he replied "heaven". then we'd say "nooooo, where are we going NOW??" he didn't reply :) then we pulled into a hotel, and went swimming and spent the night. it was such a great memory.
i had the idea to do something similar. we told the boys we were going somewhere. they had no idea where (i had packed the car with the suitcase before they woke up-so they didn't know it was more than a day trip). as we headed to foxboro, about 5 minutes before we got there, we pointed out the sign for aj to read "Gillette Stadium". aj said "TRAINING CAMP??" they could NOT believe it! riley said "if i look wicked happy, it's because i am!"

we headed over, and got to our seat just as practice was starting. it was super sunny and really nice out.

we stayed for the whole practice, and then aj waited in line, (and kept running down the line) to try and get randy moss's autograph, but didn't get it.

he was ok...he said "randy moss looked RIGHT at me!".



then they had something called patriots experience. it was right outside the stadium, and they had a bunch of inflatables. the boys got to practice kicking a field goal, throwing passes, and doing obstacle courses. (this was all free!)



then we ate lunch in the car (i had packed a lunch and snacks and water - good thing, the water was $3.75 a bottle!) and then took the boys into the proshop. they loved that, and it was air conditioned!!
then we said we still had another part of a surprise. we drove about 55 minutes to a marriott that i had reserved. they were running a family special, so the package was a one night stay, use of the pool...obviously, pizza and soda, one ppv movie and late check-out. we got there and the boys were soo excited to see the pool. then we took out the suitcase, and riley said "we are spending the night here??" they were so excited and appreciative of everything. i loved that the most. everything was awesome. we went in the pool 3 times, and had such a great time. i was just talking to my friends about how i don't want to give my kids everything they want, because i want them to be appreciative. i think kids today are just so used to getting what they want, they aren't even grateful! the boys were so excited the entire time, and me and adam loved that. i am so thankful for my family!