Fall Fun Continues .............

The last weekend in September was a beautiful one weather-wise. Luckily for us, there was a Family Fun Festival at the beach we love, so off we went.

Our first stop was the ocean, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. It was a little too breezy to swim, but warm enough to enjoy the beach barefoot!


This next picture cracks me up, as the sun was way too bright, so no one could actually keep their eyes open or look directly at me while posing for this shot! LOL


Then it was back up to the Festival, and sure enough - there it was! WHAT could be better than a FREE bounce house?! The long line was so worth the wait! :)



What fun they had! I swear, next time there's a bouncy house, I'M going in with them! ;)

We then had a very rainy, busy week full of work, school, soccer, G*rl Scouts, band, chorus, drum and flute lessons, etc! The sun seriously didn't come out for days!

We couldn't wait for the next weekend and the great weather forecast! It arrived and was just as glorious as the weekend before.

On this day though, we decided to try something new. We went to Grammy's house, and WE took Duffy for a walk! First up was Miss Kelsey who was born to be around animals! She's like a Mini Dr. Doolittle! ;)

Ryan really wanted a turn walking him, but was a little nervous at first. (Ryan was so afraid of Duffy when my mom first got him, it's amazing how far he's come. Also, Duffy tends to walk the person walking him) So his sister had to give him a few lessons in dogwalking 101!


Eventually though, he got the hang of it and was ready to do it all by himself (like every other milestone in his life!) When HE'S ready, he's READY! :)

and as always, we are all so proud of him, and he's pretty damn proud of himself too! ;) To celebrate this momentous occasion, we decided a trip to the playground was in order!


The next day was the Romp for Research http://www.rompforresearch.com/
For the past few years, we've been going to this wonderful event which is always such a fun day. This year, we were fortunate enough to have my niece Kim join us in NYC!
The first stop was at the Face Painting table! They were all thrilled with the end results, although Ryan kept telling everyone to look at his tattoo! LOL

Then it was another meeting with Bucky, the clown from Ringling Br*s that we've met in past years. He gave each of them a "walking on a ball" lesson!



When the lessons were over, I asked Bucky for a picture, and of course, had to include my Kimbo in it! (Kim is my Goddaughter; she's my brother's daughter and is the first baby I ever fell in love with! Yeah, other babies were cute and all, but this was the first baby in MY family! Being present at her birth, and feeling that immediate intense love for a baby is what made me realize that I wanted to become a mother!) Seeing her with my kids just makes my heart soar! I'm so happy that she's always been a part of our lives! So anyway, here's my beloved niece with my kids and Bucky the clown! LOL

And now that she's 20, we also have many things in common, like our mutual admiration for men in uniform! ;)

The kids enjoyed themselves with the many fun activities that were available to them-


It was another amazing fun family day - Life IS good!