MY BABY IS 4 TODAY!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GUY!

Our awesome kid is 4 and he's soooo excited. He's so good for a laugh and we love that he's our little buddy. We hope you have a great day. Tomorrow is his Pirate B-day party and he couldn't be more excited about it. My mom asked him today how old he was turning and he said "um, everybody knows! I'm 4!" At school today he was the child of the day and had such a blast with it.

We love you!

And this is how you'll find Tyler most days. Shooting us, cutting us with swords, etc. He's such a sweet guy w/ a hint of violence. I suppose that's better then the other way around!

DUNLOP DANCE CAMP - JIGGA WHAT?

You might be asking, is this a scene from Dirty Dancing? Were Jenny and Lexi w/ Kevin Bacon dancing in the warehouse?
Footloose, Footloose. Kick of your Sunday Shoes...
Or perhaps you're just laughing your butt off like I am. Enjoy the show - b/c folks, she's going to take me down. And this was TOTALLY worth it!!!

This was the lesser of the evils...b/c they were ALL women!!! Yes, Even Phoebe from Friends.

I've never thought of myself looking Spanish but...

We also attempted the Great Look-Alike...and lost.

Tyler is sitting here crying. Yes, literally bawling his eyes out that he looks like me. I am so offended. Look away...I'm hideous!

Just another afternoon at the Camden Aquarium

Phil grew up in the Philadelphia area. And he's NEVER been to the Camden Aquarium!!! He really wasn't into it when I mentioned we should go b/c he thought it was going to be some little fishys swimming in a pool. So he took a half day and off we were down to Camden. So we get there and we walked into a huge room full of these HUGE birds flying around. We were all so enthralled by them, that when we looked down at the water level and a HIPPO was staring at us we almost died!!! There were 2 hippos just swimming around so gracefully and we sat forever just watching them. It was so cool! We saw some awesome shark, stingray, sea turtles, penguins, seals and tons of fishy in a pool. It was so fun and Tyler was in hog heaven. In the shark section they had some Jaws-like music playing and Ty says "um, why is this sound so serious?" So funny. They have an enclosed aquarium with shark surrounding you, and I thought of one of the Jaws movies where he breaks through and kills everyone. Oh, good good times. And to finish the afternoon off, Phil paid the parking attendant whom I referred to as a woman. Phil then informed me that it was a man. Yikes!! Hope I didn't send them into therapy!

What do YOU do on a lazy Saturday?

Well, we put our kids on a blanket and drag them all over the house. They were giggling so hard!

And hey, now I don't have to sweep the floor!

Tyler's FIRST day of School!!

The much anticipated day has come. And it was all Tyler had hoped for. We decided to put him into the 3 year old pre-school, even though he'll be 4 on the 27th. He's smart as can be, but a little socially immature (compared to his VERY mature friends:)) So it was cool to see that difference today when dropping him off. Most of the kids were clingy w/ their parents and Tyler just looked at me like "you're still here?" We're hoping being the oldest will help him be more of a leader. So he had a great time and loved the snacks adn scaring his teacher with some mask. He wasn't very voluntary w/ the details of the day, but they keep slowly coming out as the day progresses. We took him out to lunch at On the Border (which was mostly b/c I just wanted their chips and salsa) and he was just wild w/ excitement. So all in all it was a great day for him and I'm so proud of him for being such a big boy!!

The Big School Boy. What a cheeser! (is it just me or does he look like a midget by the door?)

Chase wanted in on the picture action

Playing with dough at the restaurant. He's got a quesadilla, soda and ice cream. What more does a kid need?!?!?!

Partying Philly-style at Philly's house

So we have some friends that host really creative parties. And I love them. And I was getting jealous of their creativity. So Phil and I decided to put our heads together and come up with something fun too. And so we came up w/ a party w/ food from Philadelphia. Then the guest list began. And it got bigger and bigger and bigger. So we were wondering how to feed 75 people cheesesteaks and hoagies. We decided on a bucket of water ice (which I was surprised at how many people hadn't heard of it) layered in cherry, mango and fudge brownie, soft pretzels and TastyKakes. We all had a really great time running around like crazy people in the backyard. There was a pretty intense wiffle ball game going, sprinklers, bubble blowing and of course eating. It was a never-ending supply of food and we are feeling pretty good about ourselves. I don't know if we'll ever be able to out-do our cleverness. It took alot of thinking to come up w/ this! But thanks to all those who came and helped us rock the Barno Backyard!

Our friends had these pics on their blog so I stole them! Here are some of the peeps watching the wiffle ball game.

The intense game. I didn't mess w/ this...

My dad's sweet invention. The soda bottle launcher. Some people got wet, the kids loved it and some people got hurt. I consider it a success.

Our Soccer Boy

So Tyler has been anticipating Soccer for about 2 weeks. All we hear is, "should I eat this? Is it healthy? Will it make me a soccer boy?" We bought him gear, ie: a ball, shorts, cleats, socks, shin guards (or shields as he calls them). So the day finally came... and he went into shut down mode. He actually did okay, but I could tell that he was perhaps let down? On Dora she was scoring goals left and right, and all they were doing were drills and games. Not to mention it was the hottest day of the month so far, so he was a little lethargic. So we're hoping for better times next Saturday. I see my new life forming. Saturdays=sports. But it was fun to see him running after the ball and kicking with all his might. And he looked pretty darned cute in his uniform!!

Tyler and Henry pre-game. Full of enthusiasm!!

The kids listening intently for the next drill.

ICK! I hate Cicadas!!

We have these nasty shells of a bug all over our backyard. The shell of the Cicada-my fiercest enemy. They come and shed their um, skin? probably shell, whatever. So it looks like a bug, but it's just this crusty thing w/ legs just there to freak you out. And then they become this HUGE flying thing that I've seen only twice and both times almost peed my pants. So here's the newly brave Lexi holding one. I seriously hate them. Why is she smiling? I'm not sure who screamed more like a girl, me or Tyler. I was standing inside the house ready to shut the door after I took this pic.

Hasta la Vista Austin Ryan!!

Little Austin, my sisters foster child, was adopted today! I am actually feeling pretty bummed by the concept that I'll never see him again!! Poor Chasey is oblivious that his bud is outta here. But last night I went w/ Jenny to pick up from a visit at his new families home, and they are SOOOO thrilled to have him. It was great to see a family so excited to have this awesome little kid. He's so dang cute and they're all lucky to have each other. So three cheers for Austin and his new family!! May you love your new life, monster trucks and all!

MARBLE COLUMNS

Whenever I am sick of living in New Jersey, I know I can turn to Saturday Night Live to mock it mercilessly. You gotta get yourself some marble columns!!! I am sitting here giggling to myself...


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