lucky boys

ryan and noah were out for a walk in our neighborhood and they found three 4-leaf clovers.  i seriously don't know how they do it!

love, laurie

fall show season

we're busy with fall show season again and we've had several tribute shows at the theatre so far in sepetmber.  we're also juggling the fall main stage play at the university as well so it's busy, busy, busy!

love, laurie

labor day 2024

i never got around to sharing photos from labor day.  in addition to enjoying the italian festival on labor day weekend we all got together for some dinner and for noah to open his birthday presents that he didn't get around to opening during his birthday celebrations.

it was nice to get together to say goodbye to summer and hello to fall.

love, laurie

big swing

grandma and grandpa joined us at lakeland orchard this past weekend to pick some apples and see the halloween light show.

while waiting for the train noah joined grandma and grandpa on the "big swing" and he reminded me for two days after that he went on the big swing.

love, laurie

crazy man

i don't know anyone else who springs out of bed in the morning, puts on dad's headphones, and starts twirling around with the cat toy.  not even fully awake yet and already causing mischief daily.

love, laurie

noah's first trip to the dentist

noah recently survived his first trip to the dentist and was very excited to find out that he got a winnie the poo toothbrush to take home with him.

he did really great at the dentist despite the fact that he refused to take off his sunglasses the entire time we were there!

love, laurie

bird's-eye view

noah had the best seat in the house recently for a frankie valli tribute show at the theatre.  he was in the projector booth in the balcony sitting on a stool looking out the window and watching the performers on stage.  it was too cute!

love, laurie

tiny man on the job

we recently got a new photo background for the theatre and noah was right there to help us set it up.  he especially loved that it came with a carrying case which was just his size to tote around when it was empty!

love, laurie

couch fort

this guy has been loving runing back and forth on the couch cushions.  he recently discovered making a fort with the cushions and that turned out to be a lot of fun.

love, laurie

my three boys

i was able to capture a photo of a rare moment where all three boys were coexisting on the same sofa cushion recently.

noah never sits still and leko never sits on our lap with noah running around so this was rare.

noah has been so good about letting leko smell his hand before petting him, and then petting him very gently with the back of his hand.  he's really doing a good job.  he loves saying "hi" to leko too whenever he sees him.

love, laurie

13 years old!

this month our fur baby turns 13 years old.  i can't believe he was so tiny when we first brought him home.

happy birthday to the craziest cat i have ever know.  here's to lots of kisses, cuddles, and tuna!

love, laurie

dad's shirt

noah insisted on putting on ryan's shirt recently and then carried his baby wipe container around the house.  we couldn't stop laughing at him.  he looked like a little alter boy in training.

love, laurie

tiny theatre technician

this guy really likes to help us prep for shows in the theatre.  he does lighting, he does audio, he does it all!

he really likes pressing buttons!

love, laurie

patriot day

we had the opportunity to visit ground zero eight years ago in september, just after the 12th anniversary of 9/11 and it was a moving experience.  the waterfalls and the reflecting pools that sit within the footprints of where the twin towers once stood are a lovely tribute, and the freedom tower is quite a sight to behold.  our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who lost a loved one on this day 23 years ago.

love, laurie

roba family farms

noah loves going to lakeland orchard to play!  we were all very excited to use our season passes at the season passholder sneak peak at robas last week before they opened for the season.  

noah loved exploring the farm, seeing the animals, and riding the rides.  the first festival of the season is dino fest and he enjoyed checking out the incredible live size animatronic dinosaurs at the farm!

love, laurie

tiny general contractor

work is chugging along on grandma and grandpa's new house.  general contractor noah had to stop by recently to check on the progress and he brought his toy drill with him to tighten up some screws!

love, laurie

la festa italiana 2024

i've mentioned numerous times that my favorite end-of-summer tradition is visiting our local italian festival over labor day weekend.  it's especially important to us since it's where we went on our very first date back in 2004.  i can't believe this year is 20 years since we first went together! 

noah was really into it.  he loved tasting everything, sight seeing, and dancing to the live music!  we made multiple trips to make the most of our favorite festival.  on friday, while we were sitting at a table eating, ryan spotted a four-leaf clover next to his chair.  he then proceeded to find a total of 9 four-leaf clovers and 1 five-leaf clover!  unreal.

let the countdown begin for next year's festival!

love, laurie

. . .

previous trips to the italian festival: 

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

thinking about somewhere tropical

i can't travel anywhere tropical, but i can think of a tropical location every time i walk out on my back deck and see these gorgeous flowers!

love, laurie