The Chisholm's Trail

Disney Jan 2012- Day One- Magic Kingdom

2012-01-24T23:23:00.000-05:00

*I know i still owe you christmas and such, but work has kept me SWAMPED

here's a quick preview of the first day of our Disney Trip to hold you over.

We completely Lucked out this year

and found out that my National Sales Meeting was going to be in Disney!

I was So excited since Brandon has been asking to go back since we left.

Although we were afraid he'd think this was a yearly trip...

We left before the conference on Friday AM and got into FL around 10:00AM

Went to the Hotel, checked in, and I had forgotten when booking a food reservation the woman asked

"are you celebrating anything on this trip?"

So I thought for a moment and said "um my son's birthday is in Feb"

So apparently that justified him getting birthday balloons and a card from Mickey upon arrival

(although they gave them to me since he was in another room)

The cast member didn't look so excited to give it to an adult.

After leaving our carry on's we hopped onto the bus and head to the Magic Kingdom!

I had read online the Christmas decorations were basically done so I was pleasantly

surprised to still see some up!

Main Street

Mickey Mouse Wreath

Got lunch and headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean

Then we went over to Fantasy Land to B's favorite Ride

Got Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear

(inside the ride, I think Disney would frown upon this picture)

Then we headed over to Fantasy Land and got on Winnie the Pooh.

you can see how many people were in line when we got there. It was great

Although this ride has the best stuff to keep kids busy while waiting.
below is Brandon touching a screen of "honey" to see whats behind it

Just as we are getting into our Honey pot there was an accident.

Kenn had dropped his glasses onto the track below. he wanted to

just reach down and get them, but that's not allowed. The cast members

looked panicked. they had to shut the ride down and get a member to go

down with some kind of stick to get them. It took a good 5 minutes to do this

quick task. The people behind us looked VERY annoyed, and one woman

gave kenn some advice to "put them in your zippered bag next time"

So any time we were on a ride that stopped brandon would go

"Oh no someone dropped their glasses!"

Brandon and Tigger on the ride

Brandon's other favorite Ride~

One of our favorite rides! The haunted mansion! Complete with new waiting graveyard!

you can play the piano and it shoots out mist

a book shelf you can push in a book and other ones will pop out at random

walking through Liberty Square

We saw this crane. These are my Nature shots of the trip.
There were a TON of birds, must be that whole migratory thing.

Found a hidden mickey while waiting for the flag ceremony below

                                We did not make dinner reservations because I thought it would be easier,
                                 apparently not. Without them you are stuck with basically park fast food.
                                  We did find a fish and chips type place in Liberty square that everyone liked.

                                         Disney castle at night with Christmas decorations. It was beautiful.
                                         We stayed to watch the Light Parade because the event I had planned
                                          on Monday would be during it and so I didn't think we'd get a good view.
                                         Best part is we left right after and missed all the rush to the buses since
                                         Everyone was waiting for the fireworks after.

I think this was Brandon's favorite thing at night. Better then fireworks

Got the bus back to the hotel with no problems.

Got to our room and our bags from the airport were there waiting.

Gotta love that Disney service! all 3 feel asleep with no problems!

Chrysanthemum Festival

2011-11-21T22:34:00.001-05:00

The 2nd day we went to Longwood Gardens for the Chrysanthemum Festival.

Below is ONE chrysanthemum plant that has over 1,000 blooms.

It was really amazing and beautiful!

Brandon named these "Jellyfish flowers"

Chrysanthemums are from Japan, here is a ceiling with Asian umbrellas.

We always have a good time at the gardens, and plan on going back friday for the Christmas display!
Thank you again GrandMom and GrandRuss!

Adventure Aquarium

2011-11-21T22:16:00.001-05:00

As an early Birthday gift my parents took Kenn, Brandon and I to the Adventure Aquarium in NJ. It has a beautiful view of the Philly skyline across the street.

First thing we came across was this.

this was the coolest Hippo I'd ever seen .LOVED it!

I loved the shark tunnel! I actually didn't get any pictures of it...

He knows how to pose now doesn't he?

Brandon and Mighty Mike the14-foot-long, 800-pound alligator .

relaxing and watching fish in a port hole

In another port hole, it went in really far (like a circle) kenn was holding Brandon Inside the bubble.

This aquarium has several hands on area which was awesome for Brandon.

This one is where he got to touch Dogfish and White-Spotted Bamboo Sharks

The second area allowed them to touch small Sting Rays.

Outside they had penguins and Seals

The last touching area was sea stars and sea anemones.

After the aquarium we went down to PA and spent the night in a hotel.

We ended up getting a family membership to the aquairum so we will absolutely be back!

Cora's Baptism

2011-11-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

My Mother and I got to go away for a weekend and see my Niece Cora Ellen get baptised.

This is the whole group!

My Godson Connor and I and his Sister Cora and her Godmother Mary

And then with the father (my Cousin) Colin

So happy to steal lots of hugs from him all weekend!

I also go to feed and hold the beautiful Miss. Cora several times too!

Loved spending the weekend with them!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-21T22:05:00.001-05:00

Brandon's Annual Halloween Party and Parade at School

Brandon and his best friend Aidan

Gir in his annual Pumpkin costume

Begging me to hurry and take the picture so we can leave to Trick Or Treat

Kenn's amazing handiwork

(Jake his inspiration)

Renn Fest 2011

2011-11-21T21:53:00.001-05:00

We took Brandon for the first time to the Renaissance Festival.

Kenn and I normally go every year (this year & last thanks to Mr.Ken!)

And we figured this would be the first time we could take him without having to drag a stroller

and that he would really like the jousting and fighting now.

We were able to have our friend Lisa and Brandon's Girlfriend Emma to go.

Brandon's new sword

Emma's face paint

As we watched the jousting, B picked the knight he wanted to win

and SCREAMED for him. I think it annoyed the people near us.

We still managed to find a sports game...

He had a really good time and was well behaved! He cant wait to go back again next year!

Fall Outing

2011-11-21T21:32:00.001-05:00

Well I am crazy far behind in posting.... here goes my once a month 10 post section :)

In October Brandon was begging to go apple picking so we finally got around to going.

Kenn found this place online, I can't remember the name anymore honestly.

It was a HUGE farm, had lots of pick your own veggies and several types of apples ripe.

It also had a pumpkin patch and a play area, but we already had plans after this

(which you will see).

Brandon spoting an apple

Brandon trying to grab the apple

Daddy and Brandon walking to the next apple orchard.

Off to the next park!

Next park~! Enchanted Forest

Jumping like Mario

obligatory Whale picture

Rainbow Slide

Feeding the sheep and goats

Party Animal!

2011-10-09T22:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the day of animal Birthday parties!

Brandon rode his first horse at our friend Noah's 3rd Birthday Party!

He was a little nervous about doing it, but I promised it would go slow...

I still don't think he will get lessons anytime soon, but he did go for a second ride later in the evening!

He also went to a classmates birthday where they had an eco-adventure party

It was really neat! The woman who owns it is a marine Biologist

and she teaches the kids about a variety of animals and conservation.

Brandon was SOOOO into it. we came late from soccer and he didn't skip a beat.

He asked LOTS of questions, and volunteered right away to hold animals.

(I of course was eating that up and Super proud of him)

They do these type of animal things once a month at the local community center

so I think I am definitely going to take him again.

She showed the kids (by acting out) how they rescue and take care of dolphins.

Brandon got to be the Vet

(the birthday boy was the dolphin)

Brandon touching the baby alligator

He volunteered to have the taranchula crawl on him

He got a little concerned when it was coming up towards his face.

3yr old box turtle

Brandon and Ka the snake!

He wasn't scared AT ALL!

Soccer Fall 2011

2011-10-09T22:06:00.002-04:00

Game Face

Brandon has improved with each Soccer Season.

1) He hasn't cried once this season

2) He cheers for all his teammates

3) He actually goes out after the ball!

He still needs improvement clearly :)

He falls alot, we think its b/c he's so tall he can't "cut" like the other kids can.

Other reason is that he's a little dramatic and we think he likes falling.

He does get right up and keep playing and there is rairly any head hanging and sulking this season.

He is deff an opportunistic kid. He does go after the ball more, but most of the time will hang back and wait for it to come to him, and THEN score the goal.

Its a little frustrating, but we are so proud of how he's already improved in one year,

we know the rest will come with age.

Pumpkin Picking 2011

2011-10-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

Friday Kenn and I took the afternoon to take Brandon out to get his pumpkin.

We went to a farm that we haven't been to in a few years.

Brandon LOVED it. already asking to go back.

We spent 3hrs there!

This sling shot had to be his favorite thing there.

you put in a tennis ball and sling it at the scarecrows.

I love the picture below. he figured out that if he hung onto the pole

he could pull the sling shot down easier

Second favorite thing was the duck racing below.
you used an old time water pump to race the duckies.

hay maze

Jumping

We then went out to the pumpkin patch.

Below is the series of events, he found the pumpkin he wanted.

Then had to pull it off the vine.

then having to pick up the heavy pumpkin

I am not sure why, but not very happy for this picture.

Obstacle course (which dad and I both had to take part in, myself 3 times in a row)

Corn maze!

Learning Adventures Times

2011-09-09T13:35:00.002-04:00

I was surprised this week to get a new newsletter from Brandon's school on his cubby.

It was the first issue of the "Learning Adventures Times".

So I'm guessing that will be a newsletter about the extra classes at school.

(cooking, music, phonics, math, spanish)

"This section is designated to a few students who excelled in the last two weeks!

Mr. Barry and Ms. Krissy would like to acknowledge Peyton, Reese, Lydia and Brandon

for their outstanding effort in their Learning Adventures classes."

...

"Brandon has been very determined to improve his handwriting over the last few months

and he has improved tremendously! We're so proud of you all"

He has done a really good job and we are so proud of him!

a friend of ours asked the other day about him starting Kindergarten

and we had to correct her and let her know he has another full year till then!

She said that when her child is 3 she plans on putting him in Kindercare

because she is so impressed about how smart Brandon is. (her words)

(but we already knew that)

Brandon did pass Swimming class and is ready for level 4,

soccer was going to start this week but both practice and his game have been rained out.

Hopefully nextweek!

Brandon's Swim Class

2011-09-02T17:13:00.003-04:00

Brandon has one more class left in his level 3 swim class, so I thought i'd share some pics and videos.

He is the best in his class and all the parents comment on how good he is!

It's awesome to see him excell at it, and how EXCITED he is to go to class.

We have soccer starting next week and then when that is over we will go back to swimming.

Enjoy!

brandons famous

2011-08-20T22:38:00.002-04:00

While at the game the Video guy scans the crowd for people to put up on the jumbotron.

We were fortunate enough to be chosen at the game! (kenn videotaped with his phone)

It was really the most special game I think we've ever been too!

Branond's First Raven's Game

2011-08-20T22:10:00.007-04:00

We decided that Brandon was finally old enough to go to his first Raven's Game.

We thought Pre-season would be the best thing to try it out.

This way the fans would be nicer, and the stadium wouldn't be as loud.

Aunt Gail has 2 season ticket seats, and then 2 others on another side of the stadium

that she buys from someone else so all 4 of us could go.

We decided Brandon would sit with Kenn and Gail

and I would figure out another seat so I wouldn't be on the other side.

This is the first time i've ever taken a camera to a game
(out of ALL the games i've gone too)

So i decided I would document what its like going to a game for those who haven't gone.

After we park at our awesome parking spot we walk to the stadium.

normally this is where people would tailgate and kenn gets his annual pit beef sandwich.

We didn't think that was a good idea with B.

We get to our seats.

(i am squatting in the front row till people show up)

Below is Kenn an B watching the marching band

I forgot to take a picture of the band. I figured no one cares
Fun fact, only 2 NFL teams have marching bands...

The image below is scary at how they have the EXACT same look on their face.
Then we watch the same guy do the Star Spangled banner since the Ravens started

The other Team comes out to Boo's on one side of the field.
Then the Ravens gets ready to come out of the tunnel

(we are right near that corner)

First the Cheerleaders

(whom also stand in front of our section)

Then Poe and the Flag Guys

The Field with all the people

One half of the team comes out together in a group

(either the defense or the offense, they take turns)

Today it was the Defense.
We love Our Suggs!

Then the other half gets introduced one by one.

They have fire, smoke and then fireworks.

Oher.

Flacco

This is what the field looks like from Gail's seats.
We LOVE them. so spoiled.

The people in front of came, but they had an open seat so they let me stay.

Brandon being goofy as I am taking pictures of him.

(he got UP in my face)

Brandon LOVED the game.

He's learning all the players names.

Joe Flacco is the quarter back (or the thrower)

Ed Reed catches the ball
Ray Rice, Runs with the ball
Billy cundiff kicks the ball

He would also yell during the Defense

Below both are yelling "DEFENSE"

Then B came and sat in my lap for the rest of the game.

The ravens now have 2 real mascots that come to the games.

One below. (he has a little shirt with a ravens logo on it)

Poe came by too

We won the game, and we stayed until like 7 mins left in the 4th.

At that point it was 10:30pm and I thought we could beat a little bit of the traffic.

(under a regular season game i would not have suggested this)

brandon kept asking when he could come back.

We had the BEST time.

he fell asleep in the car with his head resting on his hand.
thank you soooooooooooo much Aunt gail for taking us!

Scopes Pictures

2011-08-12T23:37:00.002-04:00

Since I clearly didn't have any beach pictures...

and we NEVER pay for professionals...

I was able to con Kenn into letting me get the scopes CD

but i just don't think there every any bad pictures of my child :)

Beach 2011 Part 2

2011-08-12T23:28:00.003-04:00

After the 3rd round of putt putt we went back to the room

and took a much needed nap. (well the boys did)

They didn't get up until around 6:30pm and then we headed to the boardwalk.

We shopped a little, got some dinner.

And then went to Brandon's other favorite activity:

The arcade.

Below is what he spent the whole evening doing

(just like last time)

Then Daddy got him to go over to the Skiiball.

We left at 11pm and walked back to the room and got back around 12Am.

This was prob the latest we've ever had Brandon up.

Thank goodness for that nap!

Monday AM we got up and went out and let B pick

what he wanted to do on our last morning.

He picked.... the pool.

His swimming gets better every day.

he just was jumping in like crazy

below is his made up superhero

"the puncher"

after 2hrs we got out and checked out.

Got in the car and he was OUT.

(btw he woke up every AM still at 7am)
we picked up some Fishers popcorn and

he didn't wake up till lunch at Sonic in Easton.

You never get a long enough vacation!

Beach 2011

2011-08-12T23:10:00.006-04:00

We spent last weekend at the Beach.

brandon has been asking ALL Summer "when are we going to the beach"

and Kenn was invited to go to the Dogfish Head brewery with some friends

so we decided to make a weekend of it.

First B and I drove down together and had some traffic.

We got to OC around noon and the Hotel was unable to check us in.

My friend Christine and her family live in DE so they drove down and met us

for lunch on the boardwalk. After that they were going to go to a DE

beach to watch her husband dive (he spearfishes) and let the kids play.

Since we STILL couldn't check in we decided to join her.

We drove down to the public beach and changed and B and the kids played for a good 3hrs.

At that point it was 6pm so we drove up and picked up kenn and head back.

On the way Brandon BEGGED to play putt putt, so I noticed one I thought he'd like...

He LOVED the pirate theme.

Below is the hole that he got "hole in One" on.

We got dinner at Dumsers and crashed at the hotel.

(BTW i left my camera in the car at the beach so there are no pictures)

Sunday we woke up and got breakfast and ate it on the beach.

Once again my camera was in the car.
Kenn took some pictures with his camera, but good luck getting those anytime soon :)
We spent another good 3hrs playing on the beach and pool.

We got cleaned up and headed out for lunch

(at dumsers again) and then surprise more putt putt!

First inside at the underwater theme

(they are by a submarine)

I liked the giant horseshoe crabs

i think he got 2 holes in one here...
Then when we were done we did...

MORE PUTT PUTT!

now back outside to dinosaurs

he begged us to play more, but we figured 3x was a good limit in 2 days

every time we would drive by a putt putt course he'd say

"Oh we haven't played THAT one yet"

2 Carnivals in one night!

2011-08-12T22:53:00.007-04:00

Last Friday we got to attend TWO carnivals in one evening.

First Brandon and Kenn went to the dentist and brandon BEGGED to go back to school.

They were doing their annual end of summer carnival.

They have a moon bounce and a dunk tank

they make hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, cupcakes...

The kids run around like nuts for a few hours :)

Its a blast for the teachers and the kids.

It seemed like brandon knew EVERYONE.

after the picture above, the little girl on the rights twin

got jealous and insisted on a picture with her

(below)

I am not sure how i feel about her arm around him.

it looks more like a high school date picture then 4yr olds

Brianna who he was taking swim classes with.

(one of his best friends at school)

brandon was SOOO excited to throw the ball at Mr. Barry

After that we went to the GB carnival to meet up with

Aunt Teresa, Uncle Tim, Olivia and Julia and Andy.

Below is B celebrating after getting the ball in the clowns mouth.

The Dads...

They both picked inflatable baseball bats

Running around the "funhouse" and falling in the balls

and taking an extra ordinarily long time getting out of them.

Going down the slide with Daddy.
(He did this twice)

Both Kids won 2 fish at the throwing the balls into the goldfish bowl.

We ended up going to the store at 10pm b/c we were leaving the next day

and I didn't think 3 fish could live in his tiny 1 gal. tank all weekend.

We now have a brand new LCD light up fish tank in his room.

4th Of July 2011

2011-07-05T10:11:00.006-04:00

Sat night I was taking the dogs for a walk and I saw the "party court"

was setting up fireworks, so i got kenn and B and we watched them.

I love having such great neighbors that we can spend time doing

things like that with.

We had a low Key Sunday, Church, Grocery Shopping, cleaning

Although for lunch Kenn made an amazing soup from scratch!

It was butternut squash/MD Crab soup.

He did such a good job making it also!

I may have to worry about kitchen competition now!

That evening we wanted to watch fireworks.
We were worried about going out on Monday night and not getting home

till late and then all of us having to work/school in the AM.

So we kept looking for places and things happened where it didn't work out.

Finally we decided to go to the GB ones (which I had never seen)

We parked at our church's parking lot and decided to sit in the front lawn instead of

walking down to the park. There were maybe 100 people where we were.

We had our ColdStone Creamery IceCream. Chairs, it was really nice

the 3 of us were holding one hand together and B looked up at me and said

"we have the best family in the WHOLE world"

I love him!!! we were snuggling and giggling the whole time.

Then the fireworks started and we had perfect seats.

B kept saying "thats what I'm talking about"

he's such a ham.

We got out really easily and it was a perfect sunday.

Monday we took it easy and just hung out in the AM

then met up with my parents for lunch and went to play golf.

First we did putt putt

This is b on the second hole, where he made a hole in one!

Then we went to hit balls at the driving range.
(he's watching the master)

then B's turn to
"let the big dogs hunt"

He really had a great time.

We will be doing this again soon i'm sure.

finished the day with a cookout and ice cream sundaes.

I was not ready to go back to work today!

Day 2 of the 4th Weekend... Pirates!

2011-07-04T21:09:00.006-04:00

Sat morning we set sail on a pirate adventure!

We invited another family to go, and left Fells Point at 11:30am.

First the kids get pirate clothing, name and a tattoo.

(he is buccaneer Brandon, then Crabby Kenn and Heather the horrible)

Brandon was very excited to go until he had to deal with the pirates directly.

Due to lack of sleep the night before (we stayed out really late)
he was a little shy and sensitive during the trip.

Daddy and Kenn "all hands on deck"

we set sail around the Inner Harbor

and B's favorite parts were shooting the water cannon.

Then they shoot the cannons at a bad pirate that is sailing around the ship

Then some dancing

After they got the treasure back from the bad pirate they got to get some

of course at the end he really warmed up...

Our Pirate Tattoos

Pirate Faces

That evening (after a nap)

we went to see Cars 2 at the movies with GrandMom and GrandRuss

this was prob the best he's sat in a movie ever. he was really into it!

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-04T20:48:00.006-04:00

This year we decided to make a long Holiday of the 4th of July and take off on Friday.

We spent the day in DC at the Smithsonian.

We drove in and began our trip at "the Castle".

This picture is actually the beautiful gardens behind it.

we walked through to get to the main walkway and that's

the first time in my life that I have been in that building.

They actually had the tomb for the founder which we walked by...

We told B about all the different museums and he decided to go

to the Air and Space Museum.

I had also never been there.

(Due to lack of interest in anything space related)
The lobby...

Inside the children's area which consisted of a lot of machinery

and physical science things which once again

I know nothing... nor wish to learn about.
B and Kenn moving an engine.

We then went to the space areas...

Brandon moving a prism to make a rainbow

so we talked about breaking up light
that i know a little about...

rather scary missiles...

B and Kenn in the wright brothers room

bad picture of the Amelia Earhart plane

Now this stuff i was interested in...

the whole WWII room.

That Brandon FLEW through of course

(no pun intended)

Spirit of St. Louis

B by the planets

some WWII plane that B loved. he called it the

"Target Plane"

I am thinking that wasn't the pilot's intentions...

I did tell him that Uncle Colin's grandfather flew a plane in the war.

Otherwise he would point at a plane or an item in the museum and ask about it

and I'd go "umm its a plane?"

Yeah i was zero help in this place. I know now how bored kenn feels

when I drag him everywhere else.

We had a surprisingly nice lunch there

and moved on down to the Museum of Nat. History

We started with the Mammals...

Then the sealife,

B with a gigantic squid

then the Dinosaurs

B and the Stegosaurus.
He liked to count the plates

Daddy and B and the Femur? of a Brachiosaurus .

Oh how the familiarity of this museum washes over me.

B and his favorite dinosaur Triceratops or as he used to say

"trinocerous"

Which is rhinoceros and triceratops mixed

went upstairs to see the butterflies, Hope diamond

and a beautiful photography collection which is limited.

The trip is not complete without icecream.

Both B and I look excited to have our pictures taken

during such Icecream.

B said this day was his favorite of the whole weekend

and that he loved the space museum the best.

we love being so close to DC and now that he's older

try to take advantage more frequently!

Brandon Update

2011-06-29T21:32:00.003-04:00

I wanted to take a minute to update on Brandon specifically.

He's been very active this summer. His swimming skills change with each time he goes.

First he was sliding into the pool from the side, a sort of half jump.

Then he would jump into our arms at the next event. He did that for another swim day.

Then last Thursday he started swim class with his 2 friends from school. One is very into swimming the other not so much. The teach practiced having them float with assistance and going under water. she asked them to go on their own but apparently after the little girl said no Brandon then said no. So the teacher then dunked each of the kids twice and B did great. The teacher said this week she will separate them so B won't be affected by her opinion.

The next day we had the group of families that we do a monthly dinner/party with and they had a pool. That night brandon was cannonball jumping into the pool all on his own! (he had his bubble on) ALL NIGHT he did this. One of the fathers did a jump called the "can opener" where you hold up one leg to your chest and jump in, brandon was also doing this all night. he had NO Fear! So i'm excited for class tomorrow. They said they will start putting in kicking and real swimming skills. I think he should be willing to go under on his own now.

The other thing i wanted to mention is his reading. I wrote about it the other day on here...

Well tonight brandon read himself 2 Dr. Seuss books (hop on pop, Green eggs and ham) all by himself before bed!!! he holds the book, turns the pages and reads it! its pretty amazing for a 4yr old! I do know some of its memorization, but still we are soooo proud of him!

Hershey Park 2011

2011-06-29T21:00:00.010-04:00

Aunt Gail got us tickets for Hershey Park for M&T Bank day

unfortunately she had to have surgery last month and was unable to go.

She got some extra tickets and Aunt Teresa and Cousin Olivia went instead.

We got there right when the park opened, and B measured to find out what rides

he could get on.

Of course he's MY favorite candy.

The 5 of us
B wasn't very excited about Mr. Peanut Butter Cup

First the kids went on a bunch of rides

Below is the face I got when I asked Olivia to smile

We stopped for some candy snacks

(Chocolate and candy covered pretzels and choc covered rice crispies)

We were provided a nice lunch and then after we went to the water park.

The weather was perfect so low 80's.

Due to that the water was REALLY cold.

Luckily they kids played in a really awesome children's"sand castle" area

so Kenn and I didn't even have to get our bathing suits on (YES!)

so after a while his little lips were blue

so he came out to warm up for a minute

Then I asked him

"do you want to get out"

this was the face when he said "NO"

we went over to the kids wave pool

olivia was body surfing.

B had little interest in this area.

About 15 mins and he was back at the castle

Finally B had enough of the cold so we changed the kids,

went souvenir shopping.

we went next door to Chocolate world

B was VERY excited.

Olivia was about done for the day so the 2 of them left.

The 3 of us went on the Chocolate tour ride.

B loved it. We showed him the belts that GrandRuss sells.

So i had made the mistake about talking about making your own candy bar

so thats ALL he wanted to do.

Apparently when we got there it takes an hour.

at this point we were not feeling like waiting that long.

So we found where the have premade bars and had them put Brandons name on it

We also told him to pick out any candy in the store.

He picked out a chocolate chip cookie.

B seeing his candy bar.

The next series of pictures are my attempt at getting him to smile in a picture
He clearly didn't want too

He didn't want to leave of course, and we promised to bring him back next year.

It was a really good park for him.

So of course we try to get him to eat the candy bar that he HAD to have.

he wants no part in it.

That's the thing with brandon he really has no interest in candy.

M&M's are the only candy he'll eat.

Even with ice cream/cake/dessert he will want it badly

then have 4 bites and he's good to go.

SO kenn and I are sacrificing and eating it for him.

Thank you Aunt Gail! we had a blast!!!!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-29T20:48:00.005-04:00

After going to church we spent Father's day with my parents at the Harbor.

After breakfast we got to the Science Center.

Brandon making dinosaur footprints

He is wearing his Yoshi backpack that he picked out while getting

part of Kenns Father's Day gift.

locating our house on the map
using pulleys

Electronic Harp

taking a photo while he jumps to make it look it like he's in space

Of course his FAVORITE there...
Fishing

Something that I always remembered seeing at the Science Center as a child

Then there was a few tanks with some real crabs

this one was particularly PISSY.

He kept trying to pinch us through the glass.

He was not a happy crab. so of course kenn and I kept harassing him...

We got lunch, some cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory and then home.

We went home and spent a quiet evening at home with some sushi :)

B loves his Daddy~!

Father's Day Weekend

2011-06-29T20:23:00.008-04:00

We started Father's Day weekend with a trip to the Baltimore Zoo.

Daddy & B and the turtle

B and the Snake

I was amazed at how all the animals in the Africa section were actually out and close

(besides the Big Cats)
I just looked down and there they were...

See they were crazy close!

Counting the animals

Then we went to feed the Giraffes.

I was too slow the first time, i didn't expect Brandon to feed him so quickly.

So i missed the shot...

So we paid a second time and there was round two.

Then one of the Giraffes was head butting the other one...

Brandon was Very excited to see the penguins.

And then my camera ran out of batteries...

We also had a healthy lunch of Ice Cream and soft pretzels before leaving.

It was really rewarding to see how much Brandon enjoys

these days out more and more each year.
How his attention span is a Little longer, his interests are greater

how his face lights up when he remembers something from school that ties in

with the particular subject we are looking at.

that weekend we went in to re-tuck him in before we went to sleep.

I found him upside down in bed.

June 2011

2011-06-13T22:48:00.003-04:00

Brandon has improved on his writing skills so much in the past 2 months!

He drew his name and a family picture the other day on his board.

(bottom left to right)

GrandRuss, GrandMom, Daddy, Mommy, Brandon

We went swimming last weekend for the first time this year

at his friend Ryan's Grandmothers pool.
he wore their "bubble" but could touch the bottom of the pool.
I'm glad he was wearing it b/c he had a few scares in the deep end...

The next day we went to Chestertown to hand pick

strawberries and Raspberries and invited Ryan and his Mom to come with us.

He and Ryan began to eat them and Brandon's shirt was all pink when

we went home.

We picked 9lbs of strawberries and a small pint of raspberries.

I froze 4 bags full of the berries

We are going to go back in July to do blueberries and Peaches!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-06-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

For Mother's Day this year my Mom came up with the idea of going to

Patapsco State Park for a picnic with my family.

After our picnic we went on a walk.

Brandon wanted to put his feet in the water so

I held onto his hand as he stuck his feet in the river

so he wouldn't fall in.

Then he went to his favorite hobby...
picking up rocks and throwing them into the water.

Daddy was teaching him how to skip stones.

Bridge on the way back to the car

This was really my favorite Mother's Day yet.

Very relaxing and fun.

We then went over to Nan's to celebrate dinner with her and Aunt Teresa, Olivia and Pop.

We are very blessed to have such loving and inspirational women in our lives.

Day Out with Thomas 2011

2011-06-13T22:17:00.007-04:00

We went for our second visit to "Day out with Thomas"

This year Nan got B the tickets for his Birthday and we had a great time!

The weather was beautiful~

B in the wagon

Being the train engineer.

I like his face. It makes him look like he's in that time period

of child labor.

and no I did not make him pose for this!
Ok this one i did.

Prob his favorite part of the museum.

They now have a new civil war area and if you can read the sign

you have to pick 5 items to put in your backpack

to live on as a soldier and that's it.

He just loved having to chose which ones he would take with him over and over

Then on to Thomas for a ride~

on the train

size comparison of B and the train

They also had extra activities for this event.

he LOVED blowing bubbles and the moon bounce.

riding the little trains

Daddy and B are on the left in the train

Thank you Nan we had a blast!

LilyTopia May 2011

2011-06-13T22:06:00.007-04:00

We went back to Longwood a month later to see Lilytopia.

I have NEVER seen this time there. so I was really excited.

We got there just in time for one of the fountain shows to water.

Brandon walked right up to the front and sat down and watched.

He was so cute. We remembered his camera this time so he was taking pictures

of EVERYTHING. Bathroom signs, every flower in the whole place etc.

He got a lot of comments from people about how cute he was taking pics.

running like a crazy man in the topiaries

Inside was the Lilies!!!

Top of the entrance way.

Calalily area

walls of lilies

Longwood Garden April 2011

2011-06-13T21:29:00.008-04:00

My parents got us season passes to LongWood Gardens for Christmas,

so we got to use them for the first time in April.

This is the 3rd time Kenn and I have gone to see the Tulips.

We were a little early so not all of them were blooming yet.

It was also raining. Shocker there...

Kenn actually went to do a engagement shoot so B and I were on our own.

Brandon's favorite tulips

BTW all of these pics are mine.

Kenns are much better.

B In one of the tree houses.

B's favorite tower

Some lady took our picture

The Children's Garden

Beautiful flowers in the children's garden

He loves the xylophone

Poor B on the way there, Brandon and I were driving alone

(kenn was already up there, we waited b/c of soccer and bowling)

B was playing his game system in the car and it made him sick and he threw up.

so i had to pull over on some rural road and luckily i had a change of clothing.

Not fun if i do say so... About 2 months later we had another similar episode.

The game system is now banned from the car needless to say.

Easter 2011

2011-06-13T21:10:00.007-04:00

Kenn took out a window a few weeks ago and the construction was where our computers are.

Soooo both of us have been without our main computers meaning that I can't post on here.

So of course I'm a little backed up.

I'm just happy I have my computer not full of dust from the sanding :)

Here is Mr. B dying his Easter eggs all on his own.

pic is blurry but really captures his adorableness.

decorating with sports stickers.

The 3 of our Easter Baskets
and an egg cookie for gir and holden.
(bad side of this new job is seeing tons of adorable pet accessories)

He was more interested in finding Easter eggs then the basket I think

He was VERY excited to find out what was in them.

Mini M&M's and Gold Doubloons
(him putting the coins in his treasure chest)

Holden eating his cookie

Back to the basket.

The Easter Bunny gave him a treasure map

along with some books, One was "Hot rod hamster"

which we read every night for the next month

Holding the croquet set he's been wanting.

After Church we went to visit Aunt Teresa, Uncle Tim, Olivia and GrandPa and MomMom

Both Kids got the same gift...

Brandon's Pottery Barn Ad

Annual before Church family Picture

Character Meet & Greet

2011-05-09T22:15:00.004-04:00

The first Character we got to meet was Stitch at the Animal Kingdom.
Brandon was a little nervous but I went with him and he did fine.
Got his signature and everything.

Next we Met all the main characters.
He loved that donald signed his book "#1"

After that He was kinda "over" the whole Character thing.
We saw others but he didn't want to wait in line.
We did go to a character lunch though...

We met June from the Little Einsteins.

And Secret Agent Oso

Leo from the Little Einsteins.

Handy Manny

This he was excited to meet :)

Lightning and Mator at HollyWood studios.

Disney Day 6. Last day!

2011-05-08T21:37:00.005-04:00

Day 6. Last Day. Magic Kingdom

We woke up early, packed, checked out and got on the bus for our last day at Disney.
We got there around 9am and left at 1pm.
This morning it was just the 3 of us.

Cinderella Castle that Friday Morning.

Brandon is ALL ready to go!
(prob the only kid with a non-disney toy in the park)

First thing he wanted to do is see the castle, so we walked up and got to go through it.
Luckily we did that first b/c they closed it off later.

Because we were on limited time, i went into super mom efficiency mode.
Kenn and B got in line for Dumbo and I went and got a fast pass for Winnie the Pooh and Mickey's Philharmagic. Got back in time to take pictures of course.

Trying to pull the sword from the stone.

Winnie the Pooh!
(you ride in a honeypot)

We did the Mickey's Philharmagic, which is in 3D so once again B was scared
thanks to BugsLife.
I then grabbed Fast Passes for Peter Pan's Flight and Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin.
(which you can't really do, b/c the machine doesn't let you do 2 fast passes in the same hour so I had to talk an employee into giving me one since we were on limited time)

Then we went on the first of his top 2 favorite rides of the trip.

He liked it SO much he did it again riding with Kenn this time!
(boy is he a crazy driver, you get a little sick)

So while they waited to get on that for a second time, i decided to optimize our time
by waiting in line for the Astro Orbitor.
So that worked out PERFECTLY.
By the time they got off the cars they ran (literally) over to me
and we walked right on. You go up an elevator and then its a ride that is on a
platform up int he air.
This picture was VERY hard to take. I was getting sick from spinning
AND its physically hard to turn around with that air pushing you,
i was a little scared i'd drop the camera or fall out.

Then we used the fastpass and got onto Buzz Lightyear's ride.
Which was similar to the new Toy Story Ride at Hollywood Studios.
but here you shoot lasers to defeat the evil Zurg.

Zurg in Jail with Brandon

Got some yummy Mickey Mouse shaped Icecream
Then we ran BACK to Peter Pan's Flight.

Got the emergency PopCorn snack for waiting in line for his favorite ride of all time!
Picture below is waiting in line for
It's a small world!

he LOVED this ride

He kept pointing at all the sections guessing what country they were from.

I never knew how that ride lasted so long, now I do.
He was very upset that we couldn't go on again.
After that we had to leave the park...
it wasn't a pretty sight.

he cried all the way out of the park to the bus stop.
We got back to the hotel grabbed lunch,
(he was still a little cry-e)
Went to the airport and then home.
This is B with his new wings on the plane.
On the way home he did have problems with his ears and the pressure.
he didn't want the lollypop so we had him drink. and it seemed to go away.

He has asked about a million times to go back already, so I keep telling him
that we will go back after the new Fantasy section is open
(we saw signs for a new beauty and the beast ride, little mermaid ride and circus section)
We loved the trip rain and all and kenn is actually looking forward to going back!

Disney Day 5

2011-05-08T21:25:00.006-04:00

Day 5 Epcot

Woke up and had breakfast at Kat Kora's again.
B's Breakfast

Then we had a nice 10 minute walk over to Epcot.
(Did I say I love this hotel?)
Epcot was doing their annual Flower and Garden show
where they make sculptures out of flowers and plants.
Some of our favorites...

We went over to Nemo's Ride.

After there is a little aquarium and the Crush (who talks) show.
Brandon didn't LOVE the show (i think he was a little scared)
but we liked it. Crush the turtle from Nemo interacts and talks to the kids in the audience,
the kids can ask him questions and he asks them questions.
It was really funny to watch the kids talk to him.

Then it started to downpour... we walked around Epoct and went to lunch in Japan.
Which was amazing...
Then we shopped in Japan...
Do you know how much hello kitty stuff they had???
THAT was also amazing.

Figment's Imagination ride.
(One of brandons favorites)

after they have an interactive section.
This is Brandon conducting figment.

We got pretty exhausted from the rain all day.
(we were all in ponchos today)
so we went back and crashed till like 8pm when the rain finally stopped.
So we ran back out and to Epcot to watch the fireworks.
(these were the ones we had previously seen a little from our rooms)
Brandon absolutely loved them.

Then after we were all hungry b/c we hadn't had dinner.
so we walked over to the Yaht and Beach club resorts and had dinner
and then walked around their beach area's.

The view from the beach club of our hotel on the other side of the water.

The view of Epcot from our hotel.

HollyWood Studio's Day 4

2011-04-13T21:32:00.007-04:00

On Weds my father was working so my Mother, Kenn and I set off by boat
to Hollywood studios (or MGM as I will always call it)
Our hotel is in close proximity so they transport you only by boat.
Below is our hotel.
If I haven't mentioned its called the Boardwalk, and is based on Coney Island.
It has stores and food shops, people spinning plates
and juggling etc all night long. It was a really neat place
(we are really spoiled during this trip if you couldn't tell)

Brandon waiting for our boat. his legs are JUST a little to short to put them both up

view of MOST of the hotel from the boat.

After we got in, we first went to the new Disney Junior show.

Brandon was REALLY excited,
its a puppet show made up of 4 different cartoons that he watches

Handy Manny

B popping bubbles from the bubble machine that was fixed

Little Einsteins

Brandons FAVORITE show
Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Using his spotting scope

Pretending to be a crocodile to scare captain hook away.
He liked this part so much he was talking about it later.

catching gold doubloons!

Then it was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse celebrating Minnie's Birthday

After that we went to brandons 2nd favorite thing the Pixar section

The line for the new toy story ride was an hour so we jumped in line.
Luckily B was zero trouble waiting and the inside decorations were amazing!

getting our 3D glasses on for the ride

what you do is 2 people in the "cart" are pulling that string to shoot things or "throw" things
on a 3D screen like an old time amusement park.
(Just like his video game at home! thank you Aunt Cathy and Uncle Bryan)

We went on the Great Movie ride which shows all the old movies and I thought once again
Brandon wouldn't be interested in it... loved it. Although kenn held his eyes shut for the
Aliens movie part...
We had lunch reservations at my moms favorite place the Prime Time cafe.
But directly next to it she noticed this...
So just like any good mom she gave up her lunch so we could eat at a buffet
and brandon could meet his favorite characters.

Dancing with Leo and other kids

After lunch we did the Muppet 3D ride (thanks to bugs life he was just OK with it)
Then we raced off to "lights, Motor, Action: extreme stunt show"
which is about cars and motorcycles racing around doing tricks and showing how they do
it in the movies (doing jumps, fire, fast pace racing)
as you can see... Brandon LOVED IT!

He had the BEST time during that show. Yelling at the cars etc!

Next my mom took brandon to see the Little mermaid show and the Pixar Parade
(I was sad to miss that)
Kenn and I ran over to the Areosmith roller-coaster (which we had never done)
and MY Favorite ride the Tower of Terror.
We learned that if you ride the single riders line you cut down the wait by 3/4.
Its deff a tip we will use in the future.

We came back to find GrandMom and B checking out the map
B liked to point out all the smoking sections so we wouldn't go there.

It started to rain on our way home, we went back to the hotel to change and hang out
then went to downtown disney for dinner.
I tried to get reservations for T-Rex before we left and it was booked all week.
Everyone said we had to go though... So I thought we could take a shot and
see how long th wait was. We were successful!
Basically this place is the sister of RainForest Cafe...
Every 20 Mins they have a Metor Shower, and the place is broken up intwo 4 different areas.
Ocean, Iceage, Jungle, Desert

Sorry pics aren't that great, its really dark in there.
Ocean ceiling that looked like a squid.
Everyonce and a while the animatronic animals would move.
B said "oh the squids eye moved"
So i said "oh i didn't see it"
Brandon - "Be PATIENT mommy!"
So the rest of the night he kept telling me that so i'd see it.
Clearly he must hear that a lot during this trip.

The food was REALLY good... B got a seizure inducing light up cup.
and kenn got me a cottoncandy martini that was awesome.
Here is a picture of us on the way out dinner where we first put the poncho on Brandon.
we did some shopping...
Brandon bought just about every pirate toy they had (a second time)

By the time we were off the bus he was OUT.
Now when i say out, i mean OUT.
He has NEVER been this out in his ENTIRE life!
We undressed him and put him to bed without him waking up ONCE.

Day 3 Animal Kingdom

2011-04-05T21:31:00.007-04:00

We started today with an amazing breakfast at our hotel
Kouzzina by Cat Cora (foodnetwork chef)
This was brandon's breakfast

Then off to Animal Kingdom.
First we met all the Characters (i will post separately)
and although cloudy and threatening most of the day it didn't really rain.
(Hooray!)

Tree of Life
above is MY picture. Below is Kenns

Then we Fast passed' it onto the Safari ride.
It was so cute B was taking pictures the whole time just like daddy.

Below are all kenns pics

kenn and my dad and I went on Mount Everest roller-coaster (below)

We watched the Nemo show which is like a mini Broadway musical of the movie,
Which Brandon LOVED.
Then lunch at the Dinosaur area.
Wow the sky actually looks blue here!

Digging in the sand pits

He played two carnival games, boy are we going to be in trouble when the real one comes to town. He lost the first one b/c there were like 10kids playing.
so B (and kenn helped) played the water one and he won against like 10 more kids!
Below his his winning toy. We ended up leaving it there b/c he won a bigger "Patrick" from sponge bob at universal and there are only so many toys we could bring back that he'll never play with again :)

We went back to the Tree of Life to go on the Bugs life 3D movie.
This pretty much ruined all 3D movies after...
Its basically "4D" they spray stuff at you give stinky smells etc.
Well he wasn't expecting air to be forced into his face so he did NOT like this ride.
The boy next to us (who looked older) left during it.
He didn't cry but he was a little freaked out and every 3D movie after he didn't really want to do or like much.

Our first parade...
He is so like his father.

my Mom got great seats and a lot of the characters came over to him.
His face was priceless. he kept looking back with a great big smile

that night we decided to go to the magic kingdom for the evening festivities while weather was on our side.
(the light parade doesn't start till 9pm and the fireworks at 10pm)
Below are 2 of kenns pics

We ate dinner and below is our view (my camera of course)
It was beautiful.

then in the HUGE crowd of people we found a place to watch the light parade

B got on my shoulders for the whole thing.
He of course loved it.
Below is him pointing at Captain Hook.
(there's that pirate thing again)

Then we moved to find a place for the fireworks.
I sat B up on this big rock which I thought was safe...
apparently it had a big drop on the other side so kenn gave me a look of "what a horrible mom" and got up there and watched the fireworks with brandon.
Below you can make out the castle lit in red

they both had a beautiful night and view.

Day 2 Universal

2011-04-05T21:10:00.006-04:00

Day 2 we awoke to rain...
Below is one of the pictures of our amazing hotel
The Boardwalk

After walking into the park i realized I had left Brandon's jacket at the hotel room.
Because it was a pretty good consistent downpour we immediately went to a gift shop to buy a new one for him.
This is what he came out with....

an entire new outfit and a mini spider-man.
Due to the rain Universal didn't end up having any of their super hero's coming out to meet and greet. We were all a little sad b/c Brandon REALLY wanted to meet spider-man.
Trying to wait out the rain (which was impossible)
he did get to pose in-front of the gift shop statues.

doing the Iron Man pose

The main reason for going here was so that we could visit the Harry Potter area.
I was pretty geeked out about it.
Kenn and I did the dragon roller-coaster before the rain was too heavy,
and then we went on the castle ride while my parents did the walk through with B.
The line was about an hour long, which without rain i imagine would be much worse.
(we went on a second time later with my dad but that was quicker
b/c we did the single rider line)

We had lunch at the three broomsticks (B and I below)

The castle which had the BEST ride inside of it the whole trip.

Kenn and B inside the Owlery with his stuffed Hedwig

The candy store

The other favorite area (inside) was the Jurassic Park

Get it? B- A saur?
Brandon a saur?

Above was a "egg scanner" Brandon LOVED this thing

That night we were all exhausted and drenched so we ate at the ESPN zone at our hotel
Below is Brandon getting into his pirate goodies from the day before.

Just as we got into bed to sleep we hear that the rain has not stopped EPCOT from doing their fireworks. So we ran to the window to watch a little of it.

Disney Day 1

2011-04-03T21:36:00.008-04:00

Hello Everyone!
We just got back from the most ... I can't think of a big enough word...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Trip Ever!

We just got back from 6 days in Disney World!
Get ready for each day broken down so not to overwhelm you with details and pictures.
Cause be warned there IS a lot!!!
So as they say in Disney "Please watch your step" and lets begin!

We got up on Sunday at 4:30Am and headed to my parents to go to the airport.
This was Brandon's first plane trip ever!
We were worried about his ears popping so we brought lollipops but he had zero interest in eating them. He did request his ear plugs for take off.

He loved the plane ride and wasn't scared at all! about a 1/2hr into the flight this is what happened. It lasted for about an hour.

Then we got off the plane and went to our Disney transportation.
For those who haven't stayed on Disney property you MUST. They make life SO much easier. We checked our luggage in at the airport and they deliver it directly to your room! no having to collect it in FL! Then they take you on a special Disney bus to the hotel where they show a little Disney welcome movie.

After checking in and eating a quick lunch its off to the parks!
Disney also provides free buses all day to any of the Disney parks. Its very Convenient
This is Brandon on the bus on the way there. (he was excited b/c of the Jake and the Neverland pirates ad on the bus wall)

We of course began our trip at the Magic Kingdom.
We got there prob around 1:30 I think.
Below is his face as we turned the corner to see the castle.

(this is what he saw)

Below is Brandon at the castle.
He was a little annoyed we couldn't go in at that time.

We got on our first ride Aladdin's Magic Carpet!
I'm a little out of it b/c the Dramamine was kicking in.
(i didnt take it b/c of the drowsiness the rest of the trip)

Next we did the Pirates of the Caribbean which he loved~
He is now going through a pirates phase...
He bought just about every pirate toy in the store.
Then we did Thunder Mountain Railroad which he did not really want to do.
Kenn was determined he could do it though.
As we got into our seats a little tear started trickling down his face and the employee came over and told us we could take him off. the loving parents that we are said "No he'll be fine"
He didn't cry at all after that and after said he liked it (although he didn't want to go again)
He refused to go on splash mountain so we skipped that. I felt like we did enough forcing for the day. Then we all went on to the Haunted Mansion. This is the only ride I remember as a child from my first trip at his age so i really wanted him to go on it. It was a little scary so we basically talked the whole ride. Spoke about how bats are nocturnal how dirty the ride was (there were spiderwebs on everything to be scary) and how the ghosts that were going up the walls were racing. He said that was his favorite ride of the day! At that point we had finished about half the park so we went to our dinner reservations at The Polynesian Hotel's Kona Cafe.

Then we took a boat back to the bus stop and crashed at our hotel. We planned on doing the magic Kingdom's fireworks that night but we were SOOO tired... And I thought "well we have all week" Oh how wrong about that I was :)

B on the Boat back.

B's Birthday 2011

2011-02-28T09:37:00.004-05:00

B turned 4 a week ago today.
I know a lot of Mom's cry and get a little sad when their child hits a new milestone,
But I LOVE it!
Every new inch, year, and event Kenn and I just embrace!
B has been looking forward to his party for months
and knew he wanted it at the bowling alley for a while.
He picked out Disney Cars as his theme.
At his 4 year Dr appointment he is 41 1/4 inches and 39lbs
so he's the 75% for both.
He also drew a circle, square, plus sign and a person for their growth info.
He ended up having 4 shots and he didn't yell or kick.
Just cried a little bit, when we left I asked him what he wanted to do when we got home.
He said he wanted chocolate chip cookies, milk and to watch Beatles videos online. (youtube)
It was so cute! He was very brave!
Today is first day back at school, and he was very excited about it.

Below are the pics from his party
I got to make him Cupcake Cake Pops

and got his cake
(which he requested be in the shape of a car)
from Annette's Cakery.

He was very excited!

All the kids seemed to love it, and we only got positive feedback from the parents.

b and his best friend from school

Blowing out the candles

Making silly faces for the camera
(kenn said is from my side of the family)

all the gifts we hauled back home!

January 2011

2011-02-28T09:18:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have been MIA for a while...
Here are some random pic's of what we've been doing to keep busy

Science Center Jan 2011.

B was obsessed with the fishing area.

Digging for Dino's.
Although he was nervous when he was near the big pretend ones.

Sledding in the snow

Kenn got sick and then I got sick.
B and daddy made me a get well sign

Port Discovery

B inside a bubble.

They had a temporary Bob the builder area that was his favorite

I finally got my wedding quilt back.
This is the final result. My mother's wedding dress and Mine!

Bowling, Bowling, Bowling...

2011-01-08T16:07:00.005-05:00

First I haven't announced the birth of our new Niece!
My cousin Mike and Mary had their first daughter Madelyn a week before Christmas!
I didn't take too many good pics so here she is the day after she was born...

And on her 2 week birthday!

Brandon Loves Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary and was very excited for Maddie to be born.

After we celebrated Christmas with my Aunt/Uncle/Cousins/my parents on New years eve
We went out to do B's favorite pastime Bowling.

This is something he talks about EVERY day...
So I asked Aunt Teresa/Uncle Tim/Olivia to hang out that evening and Aunt Teresa
came up with the great idea to go bowling.
We ended up doing "regular" bowling, not duck pin.
This was Olivia's first time bowling, and B's first time at "regular" bowling.

Shot of the official first game scores (with bumpers)

We started with a Ramp but B refused to use it.
Olivia had very good success with it though.

The Wiskman Family bowling.

The Chisholm Men

After we went to dinner and got icecream at the end.
The restaurant had on Dora so the kids were perfect angels.
Below is the aftermath of the dessert.

Got home at 8-8:30?
B went to bed and Kenn and I watched Tombstone and the ball drop at midnight.
I do have to say this is prob the first year i was excited to have over.
2011 WILL be my year...

Our budding Artist

2011-01-08T16:00:00.003-05:00

we've noticed in the last couple of months that B has greatly improved his drawing skills.
He started coming home from school with pictures of "silly faces"
Heads with eyes, nose, mouth, hair.
We were really impressed.

Then he drew a "self portrait" at school
(below)

So we decided to put a easel on his Christmas list.
So Nan and Pop purchased it for him and ever since I put it up he's been on it.
Every day he's used it to paint and draw.
So i figured i'd take some pictures to show you his art work.
(These are all from last monday and the first day he painted)

The first thing he painted... a Basketball

A silly Face for me... or maybe it is me. I'm not so sure

"fire" for daddy's work

A rainbow

Sunflower

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T20:56:00.006-05:00

I can't believe Christmas is over already.
I'm actually sad this year! Dec was such a magical month for Brandon.
He loves all the houses decorated with lights,
our Christmas tree, yelling at our blow up snowman and moose to to hurry up and inflate.
Listening to Christmas songs on the radio,
Watching The Grinch that stole Christmas almost every day
and of course waiting for Santa to come.

This year we spent Christmas week baking 9 batches of cookies.
Christmas Eve we went again to the Children's mass at Church.
B loves watching all the children dressed up as angels and wise men.
He stood on his chair to watch it all as we were sitting. (the people behind us said it was ok)
(I love that he says/sings the "our Father" prayer with us as a Church)
Then we went back to my parents to eat dinner and watch the Grinch one more time.
We went home and B got in his PJ's and wrote a letter to Santa
I think he said he wrote "Love Santa"

Then we set out the cookies and milk and Carrot.
B also told me to make sure the fire was out in the fireplace so that Santa didn't get burned.

We put B to bed and Kenn and I snuggled by the fire to watch "its a wonderful life"
Then Santa came :)
This picture is actually very misleading...
We have the habit of stuffing presents under the tree

I always have trouble sleeping on Christmas...
Brandon always wakes us up at 7am sharp every day.
Apparently on Christmas he didn't get the memo.
Kenn woke me up and we let the dogs out, turned the tree lights on, got the video camera.
basically were a little loud till it woke B up.
He got up walked into our bedroom like normal, still 1/2 a sleep.
we asked him who came the night before, he didn't get what we were asking
Finally we told him "did santa come?"
THEN he ran down the hallway.

I have to apologize, we are HORRIBLE about taking pictures on holidays.
the ones below are literally the only ones I took.
We always video tape and it goes by so quick and I don't want to be behind a camera for the whole thing so we never get any good shots.
(same with peoples houses for the rest of the day,
I never even took my camera out of my purse)

B's new leapfrog hand held game system.
Opening the Woody doll he asked for (and subsequently didn't talk)
I had to take him back and exchange him yesterday...

you can prob guess a theme here. Almost everything was Disney related.

Don't judge... he likes to help me sweep

and even though I have tried to "fight it" Brandon has been exposed to the world of
crime fighting action heroes from school.
So I caved and got him a spiderman.
(which he loves and has lost the 2 webs that he shoots out like 10x already)

Mocha playing in the paper

Brandon rides his new scooter up and down our hall and kitchen.
You MUST refer to him as "super brandon scooter power to the rescue"

I also got him a random Toy Story "grooming kit".
(He has a thing about his hair)
and they had a shaving kit in it, B FORCED me to give him a bath tonight
just so he could play with it again.

Its very cute :)

So after we woke up and did our family presents and ate a big breakfast
we got dressed and went to my parents to open a mountain of gifts there.
Then off to my Grandmothers to see my Dad's side of the family.
Then we went to Kenn's Grandmothers house to eat lunch and visit with his mom.
THEN to Christmas dinner with the Chisholm Family.

It's a lot to do in one day but we get a solid 2hrs at each house
and we love getting to see all of our family members.
(Brandon loved that there were gifts all day long)
We were very spoiled, so we knew that we were either very good this year...
Or very loved :)

Christmas Vacation 2010

2010-12-14T21:46:00.010-05:00

The 3 of us went on a much needed mini vacation last weekend to Williamsburg, VA.
We left in the AM and got down to VA around lunchtime.
I found a quick and easy parking place, and realized as we left that
I had parked my car illegally on Duke of Gloucester street next to the church.
(There were several cars ahead of me that i followed in and parked...
apparently they must have been residents unloading)
Oh well still a great spot and no ticket!

For those who don't know Colonial Williamsburg...
I used to travel there almost every year with my parents, either in the hot hot summer.
Or the freezing Christmastime.
My favorite time is Christmas there b/c each house decorates in the Colonial style
of fruits and feathers and other creative wreaths.
So I will update another day when kenn has finished with some of the door pictures.
For now you have to suffer with mine.

So right after we got there I took B into a shop and he picked out a metal Flute.
I was hesitant and didn't get it, but at the next shop he pointed it out again so I purchased it.
It was really a good buy b/c it kept him busy for the rest of the trip there.

This is what he did...

He would go in front of every house and stand directly infront of the door
and blow as loud as he could a single "toot" at the door.
Then proceed to the next one.
Once I figured out the pattern it was hilarious.

By this point it was early afternoon and he hadn't had a nap so he was starting to get sleepy.
Kenn carried him a bit.
I love the picture below

Below is how B kept trying to "ride" kenn.

A example of the beautiful decorations

After a late lunch we headed over to our "special hotel"
the Great Wolf Lodge.
Now, we didn't tell Brandon where we were going all week b/c
1) We wanted it to be a surprise
2) We figured if he knew he wouldn't want to go to Colonial Williamsburg

So we checked in and below are the pictures of the special room B got.

next to our bedroom was a childrens room with a bunkbed and a TV.
B still is referring to this as his "new room".

He was SO excited to have his very own remote and TV.
As he was changing the channels he stopped here and yelled
"OHHH GOLF"

He slept on the bottom bunk b/c i was afraid he'd fall out.
but we allowed him to watch TV on the top bunk.
This picture is from the next Am, as soon as he got up
he was back up there.

When i was packing for the trip b saw the bathing suits on the bed and asked me
"Mom why are you packing that"
me- "i dunno"
B- "is there going to be a pool or something?'
Me- " maybe"

So after exploring our room, I tell him to get his bathing suit on and we head out.
Below is his first reaction...

Now I hate to leave you hanging but this is an indoor waterpark.
It was FANTASTIC!
My pictures suck and didnt come out b/c the flash didnt work with the lighting.
So once again you will have to wait for Kenns pictures.

First they climbed up this big huge play area, then he went to the childrens area and went down the acorn slides. (below)

With this area we just sat and watched, he went on it over, and over, and over, and over.
He started to go down the slide on his tummy and then midway FLIP over onto his back.
He was a pro at this area.

After a couple of hours we went back showered and headed out to see the rest of the resort.
He found his second favorite place.

After dinner they had a special childrens show and story time with the kids all in their PJS.
Now I thought this place would be empty on a sunday night but apparently there was a large group from the home schooled children.
(kenn said he could tell they were homeschooled kids just by watching them)

Lobby

B's special drink at dinner

This is the clock tower where they had an animatronic show.

you can't even see all the people in this picture

then at the end of the show it began to "snow"

After that all the kids turned to the fire place and listened to a story about
their knock off reindeer.
(reindeer and fire place on right, B and I are on the very bottom left)

Below we are right in the middle

The next day we got up, B looked out the window and kenn said "hey its snowing"
I said "No its not" and to my surprise it was...
That really was the perfect ending,
watching the beautiful snow fall outside as we went down water slides.

After we got up we had breakfast
(B said it was his favorite breakfast ever b/c it had all his favorite foods.
Cereal, bananas, waffles, and a donut)

Then we got back into the waterpark where we went down the ADULT inter-tube water slides with brandon. (at least 6 times in a row)
We also took part in the water basketball court, a wave pool, hot tubs (kenns favorite), lazy river and back to the kiddie slides.

As we left I took a picture of the snow falling outside.
We decided we are going to go back and do this trip every Dec.
(Kenn said it has to snow though)

We had lunch at Sonic (Yeah)
and a 1/2 hr into the trip this was B

It was a PERFECT trip.

Meeting Santa 2010

2010-12-14T21:37:00.002-05:00

2 weeks ago we went to our annual Breakfast with Santa at the Country Club.
Brandon was VERY excited to see Santa.
If you ask him what he wants for christmas he will tell you
"A woody doll (to be friends with his Buzz) ...
and a purple and a orange car to crash into each other"
He is VERY specific.

So B was very excited to meet Santa but as the time got near he got nervous.
This is the photo documentary of the Santa meeting.

Hello Santa... oh you want a hug... ok i guess

Santa-"what do you want for Christmas"
B VERY softly- "Woody"
Santa-" What"?
B a TINY bit louder- "A woody"

Ok i'm going to back up now slowly...

This pose about killed me. Hands in the pockets looking at the ground talking with santa VERY quietly. (Santa AGAIN asked what he wanted for christmas)

He finally was loud enough to hear (although I doubt Santa knew what he was talking about)

B thinking -"FINE i will get a picture with him"

Then the present :)

Surprise he got a buzz and woody backpack!
He was SOOO excited. He demanded to wear it out of the club.

Brandon really is enjoying Christmas more and more.
This is a perfect holiday season for him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T00:28:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to send a late "Happy Thanksgiving" message to everyone!

We are very thankful for all of our Family & Friends and our beautiful house and jobs.

(I'm not going to even go there on here)

2010 has flown by even faster then last year.

Yesterday we ate at Nan & Pop's with Aunt Teresa (birthday lady!) and Uncle Tim & Olivia.

Then went immediately to Granmom's & GrandRuss's with Uncle James and MomMom.

After we watched the Polar Express and I even made my first Black Friday shopping experience.

I went to ToysRus with a friend at 10pm and after 2hrs in line shopped for a handful

of random things. Prob the first and last time doing that.

Today we had an encore Thanksgiving at GrandPa's & MomMoms, and put up all of our Christmas decorations outside (thanks to Kenn) and inside (thanks to B and me)

We started when brandon went down for his nap, when he awoke he said

"Oh my gosh, the house looks BEAUTIFUL Mommy!"

He is truly the thing we are most Thankful for.

Ps. We also ordered our Christmas Cards today :)

Soccer Fall 2010

2010-11-08T21:30:00.004-05:00

So by now everyone is aware of the obsession with sports my son has.
We enrolled him in Soccer for his first team sport.
They started out the season with 1-2 kids crying after every play.
They would cry because they couldn't catch the ball,
or because someone stole the ball from them,
or just because they didn't feel like playing.
It was complete chaos for the first couple weeks.

By the end of September B had deff caught on.
He was confused about the fact that you had to steal the ball from another player,
and then in turn they would steal from you.
(that he did NOT like)
he would put his head down and pout when someone other then him scored
(It didn't matter if that was his teammate or not)

but slowly he got better on his feet, a little more aggressive with stealing the ball,
and less sulky about others scoring goals.
He really ended up being one of the best kids on his team.

slapping hands at the end of the game.

Last sat was the last game.
(it was so cold i was glad)
B and Daddy after the game

B's two coaches and a bunch of the kids with the trophies.
He LOVES his trophy.
He has put it in a place of honor in the living room
When they handed them out each coach said a little something about the kid.
Brandon's speech was...
"this trophy goes to a little boy who kicks lots of goals,
who is a super fast runner... and doesn't like it when someone else scores a goal"
It was pretty humorous.

He's going to be doing Gym class again for the winter
(he already has vastly improved from last year)
Then Aunt Gail is giving him bowling classes in Jan,
and then back to Soccer in the spring.
We can't wait to see how much he will improve by then!

ZooBoo

2010-11-08T21:07:00.007-05:00

On Halloween Day B and I took a special trip to the Zoo.
B dressed up as Diego before we left

At the zoo

First we met up with his Aunt Courtney & Cousin Conner aka Elmo and 3 of their friends.

Brandon telling us that there are 3 zebra

I know this is blurry but he was really excited to see the elephants and it was cute with the binoculars when he found them.

The kids having a snack

Then at lunch we met up with Ms.Lisa & Mr.Kenny and Emma (aka Jessie)

Riding a banana

I swear i did NOT tell them to do this

Lisa and I have a slide-show already picked out for their wedding.

After lunch Connor had to go home for a nap so we hung out with Emma & Co.
The kids on the new Train

Brandon Posing.

Petting "casper" the goat. It was neat seeing all the pumpkins in the pen areas.
Goats apparently love pumpkins.

They had a special trick Or treat area with a costume contest.
The line was huge and we calculated would take a good 2hrs to go through so we bailed.
(BTW lisa REALLY hand-sewed Emma's whole costume)

The kids and a skunk

That night we got the dogs in their usual outfits.
(their eyes look frightening with the lighting)

Then it was off for some Trick Or Treating!

We went out for a little over an hour and brandon turned to me and said
"My buckets full, I would like to go home".
I think we wore him out walking around at the zoo all day.
But as soon as we got home and kids came to the door he was all about handing out candy.
We really had a great halloween (especially compared to last years not liking the costume)

School Halloween Parade

2010-11-08T20:58:00.003-05:00

I went to see B at his preschool for their Halloween Parade.
Brandon dressed up as "diego" from his favorite show.
So while all the other kids had elaborate costumes I home-made ours.
The store bought version wasn't very impressive and diego wears jeans and a blue shirt.
I didn't see a point in buying a felt version.
So after I got to school I noticed he didn't bother putting on his blue shirt and instead had on his basketball shirt that he wore to school.
So he REALLY looked like he had parents that didn't bother trying.
But he's still so darn cute.

They listened to a story until it was time to start and then they marched outside

And came back in for B's favorite part.
Cupcakes

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-08T20:51:00.003-05:00

I purchased a pumpkin carving kit at the store at the beginning of Oct.
B was SO excited that he carried around the whole thing for about 2 weeks.
(we didn't take the tools out so he just carried the cardboard package)
He even took it to school once or twice!
He just couldn't WAIT to "scoop out the gooey stuff"
So Kenn cut open the top and below is the face

Surprise! He did NOT like it
(normally I am the one that guts the pumpkin but I was making dinner)
So to save time daddy did it.
Skip forward to B drawing his "silly face" on his pumpkin

Then Kenn carved it out. I really love it

Then Kenn carved a Diego Pumpkin
(brandon is narrating for you)

Finished product!

He amazes me every year~