Lounging at home

It may seem like we are always out and about, but sometimes we are actually at home too!

Here are a couple of pictures of the family spending time at home, whether lounging on the sofa, doing kid yoga or enjoying BBQ in the back yard - always fun in Salem!

Here are some additional photos of us lounging at home.

Alice's First Drive-In Movie

There are some memories we keep forever.  If we are lucky, the memory of piling in the back of the car with our family in our PJs at the drive-in on a warm summer night - the car full of snacks! - is one of them.

We recently had the chance to create such a memory.  Here is Alice, preparing for the movie with her dolly, Bobo:

Daddy and Alice shared a snuggle in the back as we were waiting for the double feature to start.  We saw one of the Ice Age movies first (which Alice mostly saw) and Brave (which Mommy and Daddy enjoyed while Alice slept!).

Here we are, all tucked in as the movie began (forgive our fuzziness - it's hard to take a photo in the dark with your phone!)

Here are the rest of the photos from Alice's first (and hopefully first of many!) Drive-In movie experience with Mommy and Daddy!

The Artist at Work

On a recent fun summer day, we decided to break out some finger paints that Alice got for her birthday.  (Those of you who went to Middleboro High School in the mid 1990s will recognize Mommy's t-shirt here, serving as a smock).

She got started slowly...

But before long, she had a mischievous look in her eye!

And the paint started spreading (notice her blue eyebrow in this photo!):

And pretty soon, it become less "finger" paint and more "hand" paint!

But fun, nonetheless!

Here are some additional photos from Alice's painting adventures!

Looking good in Vegas

During Scott's second trip to Vegas in July he was able to get a couple pictures of some Petersons rather than Alice and Lisa.

Here are Grandma Marcia, Papa Pete and Uncle Eric all looking good. Though, it's obvious that the boys have to teach Papa Pete how to "Suit Up!"

Here are some photos from Mary and Seth's wedding and the rest of Scott's second trip to Vegas in a week!

Alice's Life Savings

Alice and Mommy recently stopped into our local toy store to check out some of the toys for sale.  As she has done many times, Alice made her way over to a veterinarian kit she has had her eye on.  Alice does not often ask if she can buy toys at the store, but she asked for this one.  Mommy suggested that Alice go home and find out how much she had in her piggy bank to find out if Alice could afford to buy it.

We went home and spent the afternoon counting up all the change in Alice's piggy bank and we were delighted to find that she had enough! 

We hurried back to the toy store before it closed and Alice proudly presented her bucket full of change.

The proud future veterinarian:

Here are the rest of the photos of Alice's proud purchase!

What Happens in Vegas...

You know that awkward moment when you drop your kid at Grammie and Grampie's house, fly to Las Vegas for a family wedding and then find out... the wedding is next weekend?  Yeah... who would do that?

Apparently, we would.  And did.

Somehow, the wedding of Scott's cousin Mary was on our calendar for this past weekend for months when it is actually next weekend.  We did not discover this fact until late in the evening the night before our flight was scheduled to leave when we were already all packed.  So, we flew to Las Vegas for a spontaneous long weekend!

We found this sign in the Las Vegas airport very apropos:

Once we got over the initial shock and disappointment of missing Mary and Seth's wedding, we realized that the news was not all bad.  We did have a fancy room in the Bellagio (on our bucket list!) booked for the long weekend:

And before long, Scott had a "Call Gurlz" drink in hand and we hit the gaming floor.

We realized that by a stroke of luck, Bethany and CJ were able to fly out to Vegas for the weekend to join us.  We made our way over to CJ's brother's house to meet up with them.  After only a few minutes in Scott was already having lots of fun!:

Sooo Vegas:

CJ's brother is a performer in Cirque du Soleil's "Love" show and so we attended the show with a special behind the scenes tour ahead of time.

We happened to be there during the weekend following the 4th of July, so we got to watch the fireworks show!

The last night we were there, we had a special romantic date night - we upgraded our room so that we had a great view of the Bellagio fountains and ordered room service for dinner.

While we were sad to miss Mary and Seth's wedding, but we made the most of our much needed spontaneous weekend away!  Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend.

Happy 4th of July! (2012)

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!  It was a hot one this year, so we brought out our inflatable pool in the backyard for the three of us to enjoy, along with great food to grill!  Here, Alice and Daddy are getting the pool ready for us!

While Alice and Mommy were waiting for Daddy to warm up some water for the pool, she practiced her silly faces for the camera:

We spent 4th of July in our favorite way - together!

After our day in the pool and enjoying yummy food in the backyard, we made our way to Downtown Salem, where we enjoyed a spectacular display of live music and fireworks, on the water.  Here's our littel firecracker enjoying the festivities:

Happy Birthday, America!  Here are the rest of the photos of our July 4th celebrations.  Enjoy!