Winter Has Arrived!!!

While it is in the 80's in Cali, as you can see from our pics, it is freezing over here. My dad was visiting us for Thanksgiving and just missed the first snow of this winter. Here are some pics of when it first started to snow. I've also added a video. By the time we made it outside it was starting to snow heavier.

We finally made it back outside once the snow slowed down. Now you can see pics of what our front yard looked like almost 3 hrs later. Check out the boys having a snowball fight. I didn't even need to suggest the idea...they came up with it all on their own. Got another video too....so hope you like.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a really nice Thanksgiving this year. We got a surprise visit from Grandpa (my dad). The boys were so happy. I normally go shopping on Black Friday but with my dad in town I didn't. We went to New York and had a great time...spent all day there. We went on a tour and stopped off at Macy's which was a bad idea. It was so crowded that you couldn't even shop. The mens line was actually 10 mins long...now how often does that happen.

Then today Shawn was very upset when he found out that his Grandpa was going home. He has even picked out a house for him a few doors down. The boys made sure that Grandpa helped with the Christmas tree before he left. The boys were so well behaved at lunch that I was surprised. All in all it was a great weekend. Pics are up at the usual site.

Shawn's Airplane

The boys were playing with their Lego's.

Here is a pic of what Greg made

Here is a pic of what Shawn made....all by himself

Greg wanted a side-by-side comparison. I thought it was really cool that Shawn can be that creative.

Halloween

This was our first Halloween here in NJ. The boys are totally into Transformers. Shawn was Optimus Prime and Ethan was Bubblebee. You will see from the pics that Ethan is a blur but that is because the kid can't keep still. I am sure you can imagine what he is like during a normal day.

First Field Trip

The boys first field trip was to a pumpkin patch right before Halloween. I went along and took some pics. It was a fun morning.

Anniversary

October marked our 7 year wedding anniversary. Although we didn't really do much, we took a day off and did some shopping, had a nice lunch, and got a massage all before picking up the boys from school. I also got a really nice ring :).

Friends Birthday Party

Here are some pics taken from a friends birthday party. The friends have two girls, one of which is in Shawn's class and the other is in Ethan's class.

The Beach and NY

Here are some pics from when we went to the beach and when we went to NY. I hope you enjoy. As always, you can see all the pics on our Shutterfly site.

The Last Few Months....

Wow....the last update was Ethan's birthday. That was back in July. Okay. A very quick summary. August, well we all know that that is MY birthday :). Pics to follow. We actually did try to make it out but had some issues. Our car got impounded. Unfortunately not all of our mail is correctly forwarded so we never got the notice about our California registration expiring because of insurance. Even though we were insured in NJ there was a disconnect about CA knowing this....hence....the suspension of our registration. So while on our way to what was supposed to be a nice dinner, we got our car impounded.

Hey, always have to find the good....so at least after this our car was registered in NJ. Why do I stay banking with OCTFCU....because their customer service is awesome. They helped sort out our mess so quick that we had our car back in no time.

Right before the incident.

Update

I think my saying "it's been a while" is becoming the common thing to say. It is getting harder and harder to keep up. So I will have to sum up our last 6-8 weeks in photos. I hope that's cool.

In brief, after Ethan's birthday it was mine. I went back to Cali as, so sad to say, for my uncle's funeral. We have been trying to make more of an effort in getting out and seeing our new home. We did get to go to New York again and actually had a nicer time. I think it will just take a little getting used to. Hummm...what else???? No...we haven't finished unpacking but we have so much stuff that to move it took a big rig. I donated a lot of stuff before leaving Cali and am donating a lot here. I am hoping that by the end of the year I will have only a few boxes left to unpack.

Okay...with that said, I will be uploading a pictures of what we've done since Ethan's birthday.

Ethan Turns 3

For Ethan's 3rd birthday we did a little something at his school. As we are new to the area we didn't do much. Also, I was still tried from our trip to California. On his actual birthday, on Saturday, we went to see Thomas and then saw Ice Age 3. He loves that series. He got his quad the same time Shawn got his so we had to do something for his birthday.

Belize

Okay, so I am a little behind. Greg went to Belize for about 10 days before heading over to California for my cousins wedding. His niece, Jon-Marie, was graduating so he wanted to make sure he was there. Here are some pictures. More can be found on our shutterfly site.

It is getting harder to keep up with posting. I am now updating with my cell phone...not good. Anyway we are on our way to see Thomas for Ethan b-day.

The Wedding

Click here to view these pictures larger

Our Painting Project - The Afters

Here are some after pics.

Our Painting Project - Befores

Here are some before pics of our painting the dining and living room. I thought I had some more of the before but I don't so hopefully these will do.

Happy Birthday Greg and Belated B-day Shawn

Today is Greg's birthday but unfortunately I wasn't able to do much. Things have been so hectic for us that I have yet to blog about Shawn's birthday...which was on the 1st....or even post any pictures.

Over the past few weeks we have been setting up the home, getting ready for birthday parties, working and trying to manage other stuff. In the coming weeks there is even more going on...trip to Belize, family wedding, and more birthdays.

I will be posting some pictures soon of the birthdays and some more family videos on our Youtube site. I'll also, hopefully, have some before and after pics of the rooms we have worked on.

Ethan Riding his Bike

This is Ethan's first time riding a bike. See the video below of his efforts. His brother was really helpful too. Greg was taking care of the yard....killing off some weeds so you won't see him. Although ever time we went passed the house Shawn would give a shout out to his dad and ring his new bell.