Avalon, NJ

The kids have not been to the beach since they went with Aunt Michele when they were about 6 months old, so Chris and I decided to try if for a day. We were not sure if Ben would like it since he always asks to have his hands cleaned when playing with sand. (not one of his favorites!) So we took them to Avalon for the day to try it out. Maddie kept asking for a surf board and running across the sand for more sand to throw into the ocean and running away from the waves as they come to shore. Ben ont he otherhand was so funny! He could not get enough of the surf! He was all but diving through the waves. He wanted to go deeper and deeper in. Unfortunately, the lifeguards were calling people back due to a strong undertow so we kept him close to shore. They had a blast and were asleep within 5 minutes of getting back into the car. We can not wait to take them again.

USTC Anniversary Day with Aunt Liz and Caleb

The United Sports Training Center celebrates its anniversary on July 3rd with a moon bounce, games and food. Having never been to the celebration, Aunt Liz and Caleb came with us to enjoy the festivities and act as backup for Mommy. As I have never seen their fields, I found it interesting that they are all fenced off with an astro-turf type covering. There were two moon bounces set up and we let Ben and Maddie go into the one that seemed to be for the smaller kids. Well it turns out that it was not for smaller kids as they were also letting some bigger kids (maybe 10 or older??) in with toddlers. Maddie was all for this as she can be pretty rough, but Ben was less than pleased. Some other toddler go stuck under a tube that the older kids were pinning to the floor, so that was the end of that for us! It was then off to the races as they both wanted to run all around the lovely fenced in areas.

After the racing around, we did enjoy an nice picnic lunch of hotdogs and juice. Maddie (surprise of surprises!) actually sat down on the blanket to eat her dinner. Ben had much more fun running around the blanket and biting a hotdog being held for him with each pass. They had a lot of fun but as the crowd grew closer to the firework time, we decided to leave. There were many other opportunities that weekend to see fireworks.

Marsh Creek

On July 2nd, Chris and I took the kids to Marsh Creek for the first time. They loved the little bit of sand near the water's edge and scampering from the grass to the water. This was their first trip to a place I spent so much time as a girl. My parents used to take one of our sailboats -- day-sailers to fast catamarans to Marsh Creek until Dad got sick of putting a mast up and down each time and then got a boat moored near the Chesapeake. (Now it is in s slip, no more mooring for these guys!). Anyway, i have such fond memories I could not wait to see how they would like it and sure enough, they loved it! We later brought them back with bathing suits so they could go in past their knees and sit in the water (I don't think it is still polluted?!?!). It was a great afternoon. Next step is to bring Mom-mom out as our fisherman expert!

Good Luck Cousin Andrew!

On June 28th, the whole Yeingst family met at Jim's house for a fond farewell to Chris' nephew Andrew. He was leaving that night to start basic training for the Air Force. We all got to meet, eat and chat a lot. The kids had a great time with Katie and Emily as well as Kelsey and all the aunts and uncles. The biggest hit of the party was the hammock and all the kids had a great time trying to climb up -- and stay up!

Additional photos can be found using the link on the right.

Splish Splash!

This is another oldie from 6/26 when we bought a tiny baby pool and set it up for our weekend with Christian. The kids were all over the pool and we were surprised to see that they were slashing each other and Christian with buckets of freezing cold hose water. Christian was actually asking them to pour more water over his head! We were just stunned at how much fun they could have with a few inches of water and 3 buckets.Unfortunately the pool is no longer with us, but we did upgrade to a larger one.

Additional photos can be found using the light to the right.

School BUS!!!!

Ben just loves school buses. He lets everyone know when one passes by and got very excited over matchbox school buses too. It turns out that one of our neighbors, a mother of triplets, bless her heart, is a school bus driver and was kind enough to bring one home one day for Ben to see. So we got up extra early, dressed and loaded into the wagon to ride down to her house. Ben was so excited when she came up the road that I was thankful for the seat belts in the wagon. She parked on the street and hit the kill switch so that he could run around and even sit in the driver's seat! He just loved it. Many thanks to our nameless neighbor for letting Ben have the run of the bus! Additional pics can be found on the link on the right.

Fireworks!

I took the kids to see the 4th of July fireworks in Downingtown, but since i was by myself, I did not take any pictures. Ben loved it and kept holding his hands up to his eyes saying he was "put my eyes on" (like binoculars?). Maddie was interested for about 5 minutes and then asked me to put George back on the DVD player. *Sigh*
On the 11th, Chris and I were pretty sick and worn down, but at the last minute took all three kids to the fireworks in Chester Springs. They loved it, and by they, I mean Christian and Ben. Maddie checked out early again, but alas, that was to be expected. We had all 3 of them piled into the back of the truck with blankets and the sort scattered around. Christian liked the fireworks the best, which is surprising, but he kept saying "I love the fireworks!'. We were very excited.
I have attached pictures of the kids in the back and an earlier picture of Ben with his ice cream which he felt needed a special dance.

Bye-Bye Miss Jean :-(

Today Ben had his last speech therapy session. Miss Jean came and sat with him for about 20 minutes and it was clear -- rather quickly -- that Ben is speaking above his age. She calculated that his speech is roughly that of a 4 to 4 1/2 year old! It seams that in the last three months he progressed so quickly that he is now passing his chatty sister! We are so excited, but so sad to see out visits with Miss Jean end. The whole process was so easy and the people were wonderful. As an aside I would really like to know who taught Ben the word "why?" as this is a constant question. And if you ever ask Ben "why?" he now answers 'because". He is too funny and we look forward to hearing him express his thoughts on the world around him....well maybe. ;-)

Much thanks to Miss Jean and all the folks at Early Intervention for another wonderful success story!