Grammie and Grampa sure do know how to make Eric and Sara smile! Not only did they greet us with lots of hugs and kisses, but they greeted us with lots of toys!
Coolest part, most of them were Daddy's from when he was their age! To say Eric was excited to push around Daddy's old cast iron firetruck would be an understatement!
Just as they didn't think things could get any better, Uncle JuJu (as Sara has named Uncle John) brought over the surprise he had for them...more cars!!!
Since we were on the go a lot while in Chicago, it felt really good to spend our first day in MA relaxing in the backyard. But before we called it a day, we had to show the pool some love!
HEEEEEEY BATTA BATTA BATTA!!! SA-WING BATTA!!!
The next day we were excited to go see Uncle JuJu's baseball team in action!
Eric had a blast watching the older kids play ball. He was itching to run out on the field to have his turn! Sara on the other hand, she had a great time putting on a magic show with Auntie The Great's purse! Where'd it go!?! And Auntie the Great and Grammie, they had a great time doing the wave! Hahaha!
And we had an added surprise of seeing Val at the game!
Later that night we walked over to Dairy Maid for some ice cream!!!
Though Eric does't like ice cream, he tries so hard to! It's the cutest thing ever seeing him put on a fake smile after each bite!
Sara on the other hand! She doesn't have to do much pretending! We decided to have her try ice cream for the first time, and as you can see, she didn't give it much time to melt! She loved it! Hahaha!
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!! BUT NOT TODAY!!!
A little rain didn't stop us from having fun! Grammie found this awesome indoor play area. It was filled with bounce houses, slides, racing cars, and more! And yes, I wish we had one close to where we live! Such a great way to spend a rainy day, and that's just what we did!
Eric was such a great big brother helping little sister up the slide each time! They went up and down, up and down...
and bounced and bounced and bounced!
They pretended they were pirates...
rode dinosaurs...
and went down a super fast slide! Yes, this was the one and only time they went down since neither had a graceful landing! Hahaha!
We figured it was best to stick to the super fast cars!
And last but not least, it was time for some more bouncy slides!
AQUARIUM!!! FISH AND TURTLES AND SHARKS, OH MY!!!
Of all the years we lived in NY and visited MA, we never made it out to the aquarium. Bummer too, because it was super cool! I think I had as much fun as the Eric and Sara did! I loved seeing all the different sea creatures!
Look at the way the starfish positioned itself to be sure all was under the water, how cool! This stuff is so fascinating!
After a great day in the city visiting the Aquarium, we went to meet a very special young lady! Natalie Reese!!!
Natalie is the newest member of the family! Along with handsome baby Ryan, but unfortunately we didn't get to meet him since he lives a bit further :(
Natalie is the cutest little girl! Not to mention, the sweetest! She was so great with Eric and Sara being fascinated by her! And did such a nice job sharing all her new books with them :)
We couldn't be happier for this perfect little healthy girl to enter the world! We love you Eric and Danielle! As well as Alison and Jason! Congrats to you both!!!
A TRIP INTO THE CITY!!!
Auntie The Great and Grammie had a great idea of heading into the city to ride the Swan Boats!!!
We couldn't have asked for a nicer day! The sun was out, the weather was perfect, and the swans boats were ready for us to give them a ride! :)
Afterward we walked around and saw some street entertainment!
And found a carousel!!!
As we walked around, Eric and Sara found these amazing looking flowers!
We were hysterical when we realized what they were doing as they put their ears up close to them, with Sara saying, "Who! Who!", and Eric saying, "He-llo!?" Of course! They were looking and listening for a Who just like Horton does in Horton Hears A Who! They love the book and the movie, so they were both so excited to find one!
Not only was it pretty clever of them, but it's just another reason why kids are the most amazing people!
Next, we headed back to Boston Common to find the weeping willow tree that Daddy asked me to marry him under 9 years ago! We were surprised how long it took us to find the exact tree, but we did!!!
We felt so blessed standing there 9 years later with our two kids and family! It's amazing to see how far we've come, and how happy we are! We couldn't be more thankful for each and every second!!!
Afterward we grabbed some lunch and enjoyed a little entertainment on the way! :) Such a perfect day!!!
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!
The next morning we headed out back and played with all our toys! Who are we fooling, this is pretty much how we spent each of our mornings! :)
This morning however was extra special! It was Father's Day! We decided to spend it exactly how Grandpa would want to spend it...eating breakfast in a diner! However, this diner was a bit to 'nice', as in, not greasy enough, for his liking! :)
SOON TO BE MR. AND MRS.!!!
When Joe and Maura asked us over for dinner, we were excited for several reasons! We'd get to spend time with them, we'd get to see their place, and, not to say this was higher on our list than the previous two, but we got to eat some of Maura's delicious cooking!!!
Little did we know there was a much greater reason we should have been excited to go! Joe and Maura asked Paul to be the Justice of the Peace at their wedding! He's going to marry them!!!!!!!
We couldn't have been more excited to be part of their wedding, and now this brings it to a whole new level! We love you both, and couldn't be more honored!!!
CANOBE LAKE!!!
We had SO much fun at Canobe Lake! This is where Daddy and Auntie always came when they were younger, so it was so cool to know Eric and Sara were going to be riding on the same rides!
Not only that, but this was the first time they'd actually be riding the rides by themselves!!!
Eric was the first one to ride solo, and when we saw he did so well...
Sara was next to join him!!! They had such an amazing time on each and every ride! And boy were there a lot of rides!!!
They rode in bouncy cars!
They were firefighters in the firetrucks!
Sara loved ringing the bell, as Eric was fascinated by the wheels and mechanics of the truck!
They were pilots in the helicopters!!!
I'm not sure we ever laughed harder than when they rode this! If you look closely, all helicopters should be riding high in the air! Nope, not Eric and Sara! They had no idea how to pull the bar close to them in order to make the helicopter go higher!
Each time they'd come around we'd try yelling towards them to help them out, but they just kept smiling back! It was classic! On the last spin around, they finally got it!!! YEAH!
They were jockeys in the pony carts!
And horse back riders on the carousel!
They were excited to see the characters walking around! Well, Eric was! Sara, played shy!
They were sailors on the boats!
And cab drivers!
They were army men in the tanks!
And pirates in their pirate ship!
And they had a blast getting wet from the splash of another ride!
Eric was SO excited to see they had a ride like the one he rode in Chicago! But we were bummed that Sara was still too small to go on :(
We entered into rides for slightly older children because Sara was also too small to ride the next couple rides. But she is a champ, and had a ton of fun watching her big bro go on while she took a little rest from all the rides!
Eric was super brave to go on this roller coaster with Auntie The Great! I was a bit nervous to see what his reaction was going to be when he came off, but I should have known better than to worry...he LOVED it!!!
They were as free as can be on the swings!
And who can ride a coaster just once...not this kid! So before lunch he had one more go on the Dragon, this time, with Grampa!
Family photo time!
Somehow, carousels just never get old :)
The Roosters! This was one of Daddy and Aunties favorites when they were little! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! This was by far their favorite ride of all!
These Roosters soared through the air! And they loved each and every second of it!
Before we headed home for the night, Daddy and Eric decided to check out all the rides from above on the Ferris Wheel! They said it was a great view, and I had no problem staying on the ground and taking their word on it! :) Such a fun filled day!
MICHAEL BOLTON!!!
The day I had been dreaming of my entire life was finally here!
One of the best parts of the night, by far, was walking around, from food station to food station, with Paul. Since having Eric and Sara, we've been on dates. We've gone out to dinner, we've seen some movies. But this night was so different. We had so much fun taste testing together! We had so much fun laughing together! We had so much fun being best friends! It was almost as if I forgot what the rest of the night was going to bring...note that I said *almost*!
Once dinner was done, everyone headed into the theater! It was beautiful! It was small, intimate, and just beautiful!
And the acts before Mr. Bolton himself were really good!
Michael Bolton!!!! Yes, he made eye contact with me a few times! Yes, I believe he sang a few of the songs solely to me!
Such an amazing show!!! And the best is yet to come!!!
We had such an awesome time meeting all the other artists! One was nicer than the next!
But when it came time to meet the man of my dreams, a bit of awkwardness set it! Imagine!
So yeah, when I saw Michael standing there, I just couldn't contain myself and had to sneak a quick photo with him. But from the look of things, I wasn't too sneaky! How embarrassing!!!
Oh Michael, you shouldn't have!
Ummmmmm....
Finally a normal conversation! Oh wait, no, this is where he was asking me to spell my name, and I was politely asking him to hold on a moment, since I couldn't quite remember!
Our wedding photo!!!
Though I felt a bit silly asking to get a photo with her, I just had to. She sang a song with Michael Bolton that was so good, I was trying my hardest to take every second in to always remember it!
Hands down, one of the best nights of my life! Thank you to everyone who helped get me the tickets! And to my husband, for giving me a night I'll always remember, mostly for the time I got to spend with you!
PIAZZA FAMILY!!!
Jeff and Dina had a great idea to head to the town lake to do some swimming! So we put on our sun hats and headed out for a nice day in the sun!
Eric and Sara had a great time playing with Hannah! They built sand castles and dug out holes that allowed water to run through making their own mini rivers!
Mommy and Daddy on the other had, we had a great time getting caught up with Jeff and Dina!
About half way through, Daddy smartened up and layered on some sun block! Though, the photo below isn't sun block, it's just his pale skin! ;) Hahaha! Too bad he was a bit too late and got the worst sun burn of his life!
Go figure, we've been in FL for almost a year now and not a single burn, an hour out by a lake in Massachusetts and BAM! Hahaha!
Eric and Sara didn't give those green grapes of Hannah's a chance! Hannah was such a great friend to share them so nicely!
Such a nice relaxing day, spent with the most wonderful people!
When we got home, we were so excited to get one more visit from baby Natalie before we headed out the next to day our next stop...New York!
Such a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful trip back to Massachusetts! We love and miss you all! And thank you for such a wonderful stay! WE LOVE YOU!!!
Next stop...New York!!!
Next stop...New York!!!
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