Stage Fort Beach

We are a family that LOVES the beach. So we try to go whenever the opportunity presents itself. Friday was a nice day so we decided to go to our favorite little town of Gloucester and try a new beach, Stage Fort. It was a great little beach with a playground, picnic table and fields for the kids to run in. We had a picnic and played. We had such good time.

Whale Watching

We had the opportunity last weekend to go whale watching. It was absolutely amazing! I was so nervous about getting motion sickness but it was so great!! The ride was smooth and it was just gorgeous. I have never been that far out in the ocean. Heck, I've never been in the ocean at all. The best I've done is stick my toes in the tide on the beach. :D

We saw humpback whales and Atlantic white sided dolphins. There were about four whales and about 200 dolphins that circled the boat. One of the whales was a baby and came right next to the boat. He thought it was his toy! There was also a baby and Mommy dolphin that swam together the whole time. Emma was of course, fascinated! She loves the babies. Miguel like to see the whales' tails but mostly like to run around the boat and look over the edge at the waves.

If you ever have the chance to go whale watching, definitely take it!


Our first sight...
Whale fin...

Mama and baby dolphin

Baby humpback whale...

dolphins

Can you see the spray from the spout?

Emma & Dusty

Emma's teacher asked us to bring Dusty (Emma's chinchilla) to her class for the children to observe. Emma was so excited, of course. Here are some pictures of the big day...

Fire Station trip

Our dear friend Julie set up a trip to fire station for her son and invited his friends as well. We ended up with a rather large group and had so much fun. Here are some pics...

He was so proud to be a firefighter!

The "Gang"! I will miss the ladies dearly!!

Our sweet little friend Kristina, I loved this face. She was shocked about how high the ladders could go :D

My friend Melissa teaching Miguel and her son, Vinnie, who to call when in trouble.

Miguel driving the fire truck. He was so excited.

He wanted to wear their hat but it's so heavy this was as close as he could get.

Melissa was a good sport and dressed up in the fireman gear.

Talking to the kids about safety.

Thanks again Julie for setting this up. It was so much fun!! Miguel has been talking about it everyday since. :D

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. The kids woke up, came and got Ces and I so they could get their Easter baskets. I decided this year to get the kids each a book to put in their Easter baskets. They love books and it's something that never gets shoved to the side and never played with again.

Emma got "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" (such a cute book), Miguel got "Where the Wild Things Are" (because it was one of Ces' favorite books as a child) and Gabe got "I Love You Through and Through" (super cute book!). They loved their books and immediately wanted to read them.

We then hunted for Easter eggs, along with the ones with candy, I hid 11 eggs with items(rock, cross, white cloth, etc) in them that told the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. They would open an egg and it would have, for example, a rock (stone that covered His tomb) and they had to match it to a picture and then we put them in order and told the story. It was really great and something I think I'm going to continue each year. I wanted something that made them remember why we celebrated Easter. They seem to enjoy this way of learning, as did I.

I also made Easter egg pancakes. The kids love them because of the different colors. They like to eat one of each.

Gabriel just like to eat the plastic eggs. He was so cute.

Chub-a-wubs first taste

Gabriel had his first taste of food, well rice cereal, if you can really call that food :D
He loved it! But, he loves anything he can put in his mouth.

He even cleaned his face when he was done!