To NY and back again

Without repeating myself too much in the past few times, it has been a busy week.  My sister came out last Monday while Kevin was away on a business trip to FL and we headed back to NY on Wednesday with the kids so we could spend time with my brother before the weekend when he was working.  We took Daniel and Rachel on their first carousel ride and had fun playing with my brother's Nintendo Wii.  Friday Kevin drove in and on Saturday I was able to hang out with my friend Kelly for a good portion of the day before the reunion.  My cousin watched the kids all night and we had fun at the reunion, although it is funny to see that even though people have changed, some things don't really change.  We drove back the next day, and Kevin has today off with all the extra time he put in while he was away, so we are recovering from the last week or two today.  August won't find us traveling too much, so I hope to enjoy a little more NE summer.  

Here Rachel is just being a messy eater.  But she loves to eat.  

Here are kids with my brother and sister, I got to ride the horse on the carousel.  
Here I am with my friend Kelly.  I have known her since 4th grade, and it is great to have kept in touch with her for all this time. The two pictures below are blurry if you click on them, but on the screen they look ok.   
I added this picture because I was a little nervous for Kevin coming because he wouldn't know anyone.  Here he is with Chuck Parker.  Chuck and his wife came to our wedding and that was the first and only time Kevin had met him.  Chuck and I played the french horn together in high school, oh, good times.....

Water Baby Dan

Happy Campers

We had a fun weekend camping with the kids and some of our friends.  We rented a 8 person tent and it fit us all, air mattress, pack-n-play, cot and all!  We didn't rough it too hard for the first time as a family.  Our friends picked a good campsite with a fun playground and pool, and we discovered that Daniel is our water baby.  Rachel liked the water too, if not to cool off from the hazy, hot and humid temperatures.  I just couldn't put her down too long without her putting dirt and rocks into her mouth, but Daniel had a fun time running around and playing with his friend Caleb's tractors.  And Kevin got a chance to split wood and help building the fire. I am sure we will do this again.  

Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Milk

I learned the hula this weekend and got a lei which Daniel had fun putting on Rachel, and Rachel enjoyed wearing.  Rachel is so happy eating and here is a picture of all of it. 

I had too many cute pictures so I had to post mid week.  Happy birthday to my brother Joe and to our friend Caleb today!  We had fun at Caleb's birthday party today and the kids enjoyed the awesome Bob the Builder cake.   

This afternoon I was on the phone and while I wasn't paying attention Daniel did the following:  

Is it only Wednesday?  

A lot happening with not a lot of pictures

As I sit down to blog today I know that a lot went on this week, I just wasn't able to capture it all in pictures.  On Tuesday I went out and got my hair cut, 6 inches off, an got it colored.  It felt so good to get it taken care of, it has been a while since I treated myself to that.  I was blessed on Wednesday to have my sister come out and join us for a few days.  We took the kids to the Rainforest Cafe, she watched them as I went to Kevin's softball game and actually watched the game, she watched them as I went to Mount Hope's Summer Program and was a substitute helper, and she and I went on Saturday to volunteer in Boston for the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress event which was a great time meeting new people and helping out.  So we did a lot this week, I just didn't have my camera on hand for any of it.  

Daniel can still play with my hair even though it is shorter, but I love the new look.  

Here is Aunt Beau with Rachel.  Daniel can say her name and they have had fun together too.  

Here is Kevin watching the movie Curious George with Daniel (in his underwear).  Daniel's newest thing is he wants to watch the monkey, and we get the opportunity every morning on PBS kids.  

I think this is the start of a busy two weeks for the Gagnier Family.  We are going camping next weekend, Kevin is going to be gone on business next week, and then the following week we will be heading to NY for my 10 year high school reunion.  I will have the camera in hand for those events, so we will check back in with you next week!

Update on everything

Kevin got a great opportunity this week to fly on a JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Reconnaissance Systems) plane.   He got a chance to see how things work inside and see what the he is buying with all the government's money.    
So Rachel is continuing to crawl all around and pull herself up.  She loves this Cars little seat and lounges on it all the time.  It is funny just watching her relax and chill while Daniel tries to bring a blanket over and cover her with it.  He calls it going "night night".  
We went down to New Bedford to spend time with Kevin's family over the holiday weekend.  Here is Rachel sitting on her "Grand Pepere".  I got given a cute little patriotic outfit with matching shoes that I was overjoyed to put her in.  

Here is Rachel with one of her Grand Memeres.  

And I couldn't put up a post without Daniel in it.  Here he is kissing himself in the mirror.  He had a great time with all the people around, although it was harder for him to focus on the potty.  Overall he is doing pretty good with learning, we are just learning what he does and how he asks to go, which can be a whole other language in itself.  He does like his privacy and the Elmo potty (thanks a million Wendy!).