Spiegel Family Blog

Olivia's First Holy Communion

2011-05-16T19:37:00.000-04:00

On May 7th my beautiful princess made her first holy communion. It was a wonderfully spiritual day and she looked absolutely gorgeous. She was an angel and made us so very proud. We celebrated the day with a small group of family at our house. Bestema bought her beautiful dress for her special day and her flower grown was made by a friend of mine which was simply perfect for her. The following day at Sunday mass all the 2nd graders were asked to wear their communion outfits again for the May crowning of Mary and they had a little ceremony which was so precious. Olivia wore my cousin Marissa's communion veil for this ceremony since the flowers didn't last for day 2 so that was special that she got to wear Marissa's veil.

Easter

2011-05-01T20:53:00.002-04:00

Our traditional Easter was celebrated at Aunt Laura's as we do each year with lots of family and food and love! I was extremely disappointed in myself that I did not make it to the Easter vigil this year at our church as I do every year, but we did go to mass on Sunday morning and wow, now I know why I go to the vigil the night before. Where are all of these people all year long? I don't know what our church would do if all of the "Easter Sunday" church goers went to church EVERY Sunday...we would need a bigger church!

I was not a great photographer this year so only really got some shots of the kids, but those are the best of course! :) As you can see my son is not fond of posing for photos and never ever ever smiles like a normal human being. He makes a face in every single photo...but that's him and I love him for it!

Florida!!!

2011-04-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

Well February and March were uneventful from what I remember...well, I shouldn't say that, we did celebrate lots of birthdays including my niece Morgan, but I did not have a camera for any! But...April was amazing! We finally took a family vacation and went to Florida visit my best friend ever...Karen and her family. It was such a fun trip. We went to Disney World and it happened to be my birthday during our visit to Disney. I wore a birthday pin so pretty much every person at Disney World wished me a happy birthday. If you ask the kids what their favorite part of Disney was, they will reply "when the garbage can sang Happy Birthday to Mom." Yes, they had a robotic garbage can wandering around Disney and it stopped to sing Happy Birthday to me and the kids thought this was hilarious. Good thing Erik got it on video so we can relive that memory for years to come.
This was Scott's first visit to Disney and he had such a blast.
We were able to visit the beach and a zoo while we were there on our trip as well. Erik went on a fishing charter and went jet skiing.
I got to meet Karen's baby girl twins that were born in January...Charley and Raegan. I was in absolute heaven with this girls. It was so fun visiting with Makenna as well since we haven't seen her in almost 2 years! She is such a sweet girl.
It was so depressing having to leave and I can not wait until our next visit!

Oops, there I go again not updating my blog for months...

2011-04-24T08:43:00.000-04:00

I will start with New Year's Eve since I left off with Christmas Day.

New Year's Eve was spent at Michelle & Gerald's. This year we went there since this was going to be Mike and Sarah's last New Year's here in CT, we all wanted to be together. I don't have many pictures from that night, but I posted a few.

Shortly after New Year's, within the first couple weeks of January, we had Mike & Sarah's going away party. Very sad indeed! They have moved on to Idaho!!! We will definitely be using skype a lot!!!

In February we celebrated Marissa's 15th birthday!!! WHAT?!? How is she 15 already!

Christmas Eve, Christopher's B-day & Christmas Day

2010-12-26T17:23:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Aunt Laura's celebrating Christopher's 16th birthday! Whoa, can NOT believe he is 16 already. How can that be! The night was wonderful and with fabulous food and fun had by all. Christmas morning, the kids had a blast opening all of their gifts and Grandma cooked a great Christmas breakfast. Unfortunately I was plagued by a horrific eye infection and Erik had to bring me to the walk in clinic. I was having horrible anxiety attacks because my eye was swollen shut and I couldn't see. There were no pharmacies open for me to fill my eye drops and antibiotics. Thank God my inlaws had a pharmacy open by them in Fishkill and my loving most wonderful father in law went and filled them for me! :) We spent Christmas Day with all of us 10 Spiegels. Morgan and Olivia looked so precious in their almost matching dresses. Merry Christmas to all my family and friends. I hope you had special holiday season this year!

Olivia's Holiday Concert

2010-12-26T17:01:00.000-05:00

Olivia's class put on a holiday concert at school as well. She was so darn stinking cute right in the front. Her cheeks got a little red when they first came in with all the parents staring back her. :) I actually got some cute videos as well.

Scott's Christmas Concert

2010-12-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

Scott's pre-school class put on a Christmas concert at school and sang some Christmas carols. We can say "Christmas" concert since he goes to a Catholic preschool. LOL Unfortunately that was the day he ended up getting extremely sick with the stomach flu for 48 hours and I didn't know it at the time, but the signs were already showing. He sat in the back row and hardly sang and looked a little glum, but they were still so darn cute! They made the sweetest presents for the parents, a couple of ornaments and the cutest angel.

I didn't get many pictures since I was in the second row and had to take pics through other parents' heads!

Decorating Our Tree

2010-12-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

This year was so much decorating the tree because BOTH Olivia and Scott were in the spirit and excited about decorating. Because Erik's knee is still recovering, I had to pull all the decorations down from the attic. Thanks to Mom, she was there to help me out. Erik set the tree up and Mom and I got the lights on. Olivia and Scott had a blast pulling out all of the ornaments and listening to the story I would tell about each one. There were special ones from my first Christmas and then all of their first Christmas's and ornaments. We have all of the ones that they have made in school and preschool over the years. They decorated the tree and made it beautiful. We are in the Christmas spirit now!

Olivia's 7th Birthday

2010-12-12T17:23:00.001-05:00

My little princess is now 7. She could hardly wait to get to 7 and here we are. She has now lost 2 teeth which has been extremely exciting. All of her friends have lost so many of their teeth and she has now joined that club. For her birthday she really wanted an American Girl Doll. You know, she was the ONLY girl in her class who didn't have one, so of course she HAD to get one. She picked out the very one she wanted; blonde hair and blue eyes just like her. The doll came from me and daddy and Bestema. She loves, loves, loves the doll. Olivia happened to be sick with strep throat the week after her birthday and because the doll was ordered online, she didn't get the doll until a week after her birthday so she was home sick the day her doll came and boy did that make her day.
For her birthday, we celebrated on her birthday with the neighborhood kids. They all came over for some games and cupcakes. Then over the weekend we had family over to celebrate again with a great dinner from Grandma and more cake and more presents.

Grandma, Olivia & Lindsey

Blowing out her candles

Grandma & Olivia

Olivia & Grandpa

Princess & Grandma

Olivia & Grandma

Tasting some cake

Singing Happy Birthday with some friends

Blowing out some more candles

7 cupcakes for a special 7 year old!

Singing Happy Birthday

As I have said before it breaks my heart that my babies are no longer babies and are growing up so fast, but it is the most precious gift to watch them grow up and see how smart and beautiful they are becoming. Olivia really is such a wonderful little girl that I love with all of my heart!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-12T16:53:00.000-05:00

Aunt Laura & Me

Aunt Laura, Tyler & Marissa

The amazing spread

Kyle & Marissa

Mom, Signy, Laura & Trish

Morgan & Olivia

The turkey...oh & Laura! :)

John, Marissa & Laura

Marissa & Mom

Me!!!

Thanksgiving was at Aunt Laura's. So much amazing delicious food and lots of family. These are times when we really need to take a step back and stop stressing about what we don't have and where the next dollar will come from and start realizing and being grateful and thankful for the things we do have. I was thankful this year for two healthy beautiful children and the most amazing loving family in the world. I don't know what I would do without my family and often I wonder, does everyone have such a wonderful family like mine? Is it like this in all families? There isn't a day that goes by that I reminded some how or in some way what a fabulous family I have. I miss my Grandmother every single day and will never forget her. It flurried on Thanksgiving and we always say when it snows that Gram is here and is saying hello! That was awesome...

Scott's 4th Birthday

2010-12-12T16:44:00.000-05:00

Scott & Grandma

Grandpa, Scott & Grandma

Singing Happy Birthday

The "cool" Sponge Bob cake

Scott and big sis Olivia

The handsome 4 year old!!

It's official...I no longer have babies. :( Boo! That makes me sad. I remember rushing Olivia as a baby because she was my first. I couldn't wait for her to sit up, to crawl, to say her first word, to walk, etc, etc. But then when we had Scott and because I knew he was going to be the last, I cherished every moment and slowed everything down. I cried when he walked because time was flying by way too quickly. Now he is four and he is a big boy as he reminds me all too often.
We celebrated his birthday with family at our house with a fabulous dinner made by Grandma, a really cool Sponge Bob cake that Scott picked out himself and way to many presents.
I can't say it enough, I love this little man so much and I wish that I could rewind or stop time because it makes my heart ache that they grow up so quickly.

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-12T15:38:00.001-05:00

Plaid Christmas

Personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

The Tooth Fairy Will Be Visiting for the 1st Time EVER!!!

2010-11-05T19:59:00.001-04:00

I have to blog about this and put this one down for the memory book! Olivia lost her FIRST tooth today! YIKES! I have been dreading about the first wiggly tooth for some time now because I just didn't think I would be able to handle it, BUT she is such a champ and she sat in the bathroom wiggling it out until it fell out all on her own. Now, you have to understand that Olivia was the only kid in her class this year (2nd grade) that hasn't lost a tooth yet, in fact, she was the only kid in her class last year who hadn't lost a tooth! She was late to get her first tooth, just about 10 months old, so her dentist kept telling her that she has such healthy strong teeth that she would be holding on to them for a while. She goes to the dentist every 6 months for a cleaning and every time without fail she asks if she has any wiggly teeth and the dentist says no, but just about 5 weeks ago, she went for a cleaning and sure enough she had 2 wiggly teeth on the bottom. And today...one came out!
She put the tooth in a very special little box labeled "my first tooth" and wrote a precious note to the tooth fairy that reads "Dear Tooth Fairy, My tooth is very small. I do not care how much money you give me. I hope you like my tooth. From Olivia".
She set up her nightstand just so and arranged everything perfectly. She told me she was so excited she wasn't sure she was going to be able to get to sleep tonight. She asked a million questions about the tooth fairy, what does she look like, how big is she, why does she want teeth, what will she do with my tooth. It was so hilarious. All she wants is enough money so that she can buy something at the school store all on her own with her own money.
Every Friday the 2nd grade class gets to go to the school store. She begged me for a $1.50 this morning so she could buy something. When I got home from work, I asked her what she bought and do you know what she responded with?!?!? "None of your business!" I couldn't believe that this fresh response came out of my precious baby who just moments before was telling me all about how grown up she was now that her tooth fell out, so I responded with "excuse me, it is my business because it was my money you used AND just because your tooth fell out today missy doesn't mean you are a teenager and can speak to me like that!" She was in a bad mood right at th moment because she had just came in from outside and had fell and skinned up her knee and hip so she had been crying and she did finally apologize to me. She finally told me that she spent the money on a car pencil sharpener that she bought special for her brother! Ahhhh...my precious sweet daughter came back...she is not selfish at all and instead of buying something for herself she bought something for her little brother even though he picks on her, beats her up and never shares with her...she put all that aside and knew when she saw this car pencil sharpener that he would love it. WOW...sometimes I think maybe, just maybe I am doing a good job at being a mom... :)

Pumpkin Carving Night & Halloween

2010-11-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we headed up to Grandpa's to carve TWELVE pumpkins. We were short some hands this year, but I am proud of Erik, Olivia, Aunt Pam, Grandpa and of course MYSELF. We got all 12 pumpkins done and we were pretty creative too!

Olivia & Scott with their Halloween shirts from Aunt Paulette

Is she gorgeous or what?!?!?

Erik hard at work

Yep I carved this one all by myself!

Grandpa & Olivia

Erik's pumpkin

I carved this one too!! So proud of myself

Olivia's creativity shining through

My niece Morgan wearing the Ragedy Ann costume that Olivia wore once upon a time!

Scott, Morgan & Olivia...we couldn't get Sammy into the picture

Scott, Grandpa & Olivia

Scott & Olivia

Olivia, Titi & Scott

Lucy, silly Scott & Olivia

The girls...Lindsey, Olivia & Lucy

Meagan & Marissa

The gang!

Lucy enjoying some of her treats

Halloween night we headed up to Grandpa's neighborhood as we always do. It was COLD out this year, but that did not stop the trick or treating. Olivia was a witch this year and Scott was Iron Man. Lindsey and Mason joined the gang and so did Lucy in her adorable pumpkin costume. Lucy was so cute riding around in her pink wagon and went up to each house to trick or treat...she was LOVING it this year! :)

Bronx Zoo

2010-11-03T20:49:00.000-04:00

Olivia riding the bug carousel

Lucy & Grandma on the bug carousel

Scott super excited he got to ride the grasshopper on the bug carousel just like the one he saw in the map!

Searching for gorillas in the Congo

Lucy searching for the gorillas too

AMAZING!!!!!!!

Grandma & Scott on the monorail

Grandma & Lucy on the monorail

Gorgeous view of the Bronx River from the monorail

What a perfect day for the zoo!! Last Thursday I kept the kids out of school and we headed to the Bronx Zoo with my mom, Laura and Lucy and Aunt Pam joined us too! The weather was amazing and we had such a great time. Lucy was so precious when she saw the animals she would say "aw, cute." So, so cute Thank goodness we rented the double stroller. By the end of the day after all that walking...the kids were TIRED. Enjoy the pictures.

Lucy's 2nd Birthday

2010-10-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated my precious Goddaughter, Lucy's, 2nd birthday. I need to invent some special power button where I can freeze time. All of these kids are growing up way to quickly and it makes me sad. Time goes by way to fast and now are the days to cherish every moment, even the tantrums! We won't get them back!!!! LOL

Tyler

Scott

Tyler & Lucy

The kid table!!!

Grandma with Scott & Olivia

Scott, Meagan, Olivia & Marissa

Singing Happy Birthday

Present time!!!

Tyler wrestling Olivia...he won!

Happy Landings Farm

2010-10-24T13:43:00.000-04:00

Last month Sarah and I took the kids across the street to Happy Landings Farm to hike and run around. I forgot my camera unfortunately, so all of these pics are from my cell phone, but none the less, we got some cute pictures and the views are absolutely gorgeous!

1st day of 2nd Grade & Scott's 1st day of Pre-school 4's...

2010-10-24T13:31:00.001-04:00

Olivia with Scott on his 1st day

1st day of 2nd Grade

Hard to believe that my baby girl is now in 2nd grade! Where has the time gone??? She is in a new school this year, the big Elementary School with 2nd through 4th grade. Scott is back at St. Joe's for the 4 year old pre-school program this year. I am posting pictures of Olivia from her previous years so we can show that she really does grow...my little peanut!

1st day of 1st grade

1st day of Kindergarten

1st day of Pre-k 4's

1st day of Pre-k 3's

Summer 2010

2010-10-24T13:12:00.000-04:00

My sweet little boy...LOL

This summer was fun filled with beach trips, lake trips, boating and lots of day trips with friends. Unfortunately Erik hurt his knee in early May so vacationing was out for us this summer and getting on OUR boat this summer did not happen. He has been on crutches since May...just had his knee surgery last week (Oct. 15th), so hopefully we can throw those crutches away soon!!! Olivia learned how to swim officially this summer and has absolutely no fear of the ocean...which is quite scary for me. She convinced me to rent her a boogey board at the beach one day and I didn't think she would know what to do with it, but boy did she prove me wrong. This girl took off like a little surfer girl, riding every wave, tumbling around, being pulled down by waves and did not care one bit. I love it!!! I hope everyone enjoyed their summer as well.

Scott floating in Titi's pool

Olivia at the lake at a private beach

Scott & Jackson at the beach

Doug's Birthday

2010-10-24T13:03:00.001-04:00

We celebrated Doug's birthday in August at Aunt Laura's house with family, food and cake of course! Here are a few pictures...

Doug & Tyler

Lindsay, Tyler & Doug

Tyler's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-10-21T20:22:00.010-04:00

The Birthday Boy Tyler!!

Wow, time certainly flew by. I can not believe my little man Tyler is 2 years old! He is absolutely precious and funny and cute and I could go on and on. We celebrated his 2nd birthday in August at Doug & Lindsay's house with lots of family and lots of fun! Happy Birthday Tyler....we love you!!

Laura & Andrew

Lucy

Scott

Olivia

Olivia & her friend Aidriana

Lucy

Scott, yes he is a messy eater

Chris is very happy

4th of July

2010-10-21T20:05:00.006-04:00

Scott

YIKES! I have done it again...falling behind on the blogging. Boo on me! This year we celebrated the 4th of July at Uncle Al's. The kids had a blast running around all day, playing on the slip and slides, sprinkler, pool and then we were treated to an amazing display of fireworks set off by the Neale men. The kids had fun with the sparklers as well, even the giant ones. Scott was NOT excited about the loud fireworks, so thanks to Zakary he got a pair of headphones to wear during the fireworks, which really helped! :)

Cousins

Spiegel cousins...Scott & Sammy

Mason & Scott

Alexa, Lindsey & Olivia

Aunt Michelle & Scott

Olivia's Recital

2010-06-20T11:16:00.005-04:00

Olivia with 2 of her Grandpa's

Olivia and Grandma

Erik with his dad and brother Dave

This was Olivia's 2nd year dancing. She looked sooo beautiful at her recital. We weren't allowed to take photos during the recital, so here are a few of her after her show.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-20T10:59:00.006-04:00

Memorial Day weekend was packed full of fun. I went to Uncle Al's one day with the kids to hang out with Mike & Sarah and the kids. They had a slip and slide for the kids to play on. Memorial Day was spent at Aunt Laura's for a big 'ol party. Poor Erik was stuck inside all weekend with his broken knee. :(

Laura's Wedding - April 16th 2010

2010-06-20T10:28:00.008-04:00

One of my dearest friends from high school got married at the Candlewood Inn on April 16th. The week prior we celebrated her bachelorette party in NYC.

The pics are from the rehearsal dinner and a few during the ceremony of the wedding. Can you even believe that my camera died after the ceremony!! :(

Olivia's School Play

2010-06-20T10:20:00.003-04:00

All of the 1st grade classes sang some songs for the parents. So cute!!

Easter

2010-06-19T21:56:00.007-04:00

This year was a little different and I hosted Easter Sunday. I unfortunately did not take many pictures though! Some pictures of the kids decorating eggs at Titi's. Some pics of the Spiegel cousins on Easter Sunday. Scott & Olivia got new bikes for Easter this year! :)

Morgan's 2nd Birthday

2010-06-19T10:01:00.004-04:00

Yet again here I go with many update posts in one day! I just downloaded 325 pictures from my camera to my computer. So terrible!

In March we celebrated my most adorable little niece Morgan's 2nd birthday. Here are some pics from her big day! :)

Many Updates!!!

2010-03-29T20:28:00.008-04:00

Andrew on his b-day...March

Olivia...Spring time

Scott...spring time

Lucy

Tyler & Doug

Olivia at Lindsey's bday party...February

Marissa's bday...February

John, Marissa and Aunt Laura

Scott...snow fun in January

Olivia & Scott

Scott

Dress up fun

Sammy, Morgan & Olivia...Dave's bday

Dave w/ all the kids...February

Titi's b-day January

How horrible of me that I haven't updated my blog since Christmas!! So many things have happened...

Let's see...New Year's Eve was our traditional night at our house. Low key this year with Mike, Sarah and the kids. A night full of lots of food and Wii! We had a good time and a fun sleep over.

January welcomed 2010 and busy schedules continued. Olivia is still dancing. She loves her class and she looks so darn cute. She also has CCD on Wednesday evenings. Olivia's report card for this semester was AMAZING. She went up in everything and we were soooo proud of her. She is in a reading program where within just a short couple of weeks her reading excelled to heights I couldn't even believe. 2nd grade next year...no problem!

Scott started the 3 year old pre-school class in January at St. Joe's where Olivia went for pre-school. Mrs. Bader is still the teacher there as well. The first day I dropped Scott off, I took his hat off and Mrs. Bader said "wow, I so expected a blondie...like Olivia!" I then had to remind her that Scott is NOTHING like his big sister. He is loud, full of energy and will tell her like it is. I think he may run that class himself BUT Mrs. Bader never has anything but positive things to say about him and she absolutely loves him and he never stops talking about her (although he calls her Mister Bader which is hilarious), so I am thinking he loves it there too. He always wants to go and he loves, loves, loves his friends there. He still spends one day at week at Ms. Eileen's as well and he goes the same day his little cousin Tyler goes so they get to spend the day together at Ms. Eileen's. I was contemplating switching Scott to a different pre-school program for next year for the 4 year old class because St. Joe's is going to 5 full days for their 4 year old pre-school program next year and I thought it may be a bit much for Scott. I have now changed my mind yet again and will keep him at St. Joe's because of how well he is doing and how much Mrs. Bader has been such a positive influence on him. Oh the struggles I go through with school! :)

January we celebrated Aunt Laura and Mark's birthday.

February we celebrated Dave, Heidi, Little Lindsey's 7th birthday Marissa's 14th birthdays.

March we celebrated Andrew and my little Morgan's birthday (2nd birthday)!!

Enjoy some of the photos that we have captured from January through March and I hope to be better at keeping up with the blog! Since Facebook has entered my life...it has been quite hard! :)

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

2009-12-29T19:37:00.010-05:00

Christmas Eve was celebrated at Aunt Laura's...as the tradition goes. We celebrated Christopher's 15th birthday!!! Wow, amazing that he is already 15 years old, hard to believe that he joined our family 15 years ago, 4 months early and only weighing 1 lb 7 oz. So many prayers were answered and he had a very special angel watching over him for all those months spent in the hospital. There is definitely something to be said to be born on Christmas Eve and come home from the hospital on Good Friday. You wouldn't believe it now to see him that so many of us prayed day and night for someone to keep watch over him and keep him healthy and strong so he could come home to his family. Prayers were answered and now he is a strong, healthy, smart, handsome teenage boy who is amazing at football! Happy Birthday Topher! :)

Christmas Day Erik and I and the kids went to Bestema & Papa's and celebrated Christmas with the Spiegels!

The kids were amazed at everything Santa left for them, maybe a little overwhelemed, but Scott was so cute when he opened a gift and said "are you kidding me!" He was so excited. Very cute!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

Olivia's 6th Birthday

2009-12-24T10:39:00.006-05:00

Wow, can't believe she is 6 years old. I know it seems like it took forever for her (she has been dying to be 6 for a LONG time now...one of the cons of starting her in kindergarten early), but the time has flown by for me. I still remember the day she was born, minute by minute, hour by hour of that day, every detail, I remember it all...and it seems like yesterday.

We had one birthday celebration on Thanksgiving with cupcakes from Bestema! We then celebrated on her birthday with a small family gathering and then on Friday after her birthday Erik & I took her for her REAL birthday celebration and went into NYC with Mike, Sarah and Lindsey. We went to see the premiere of the movie Princess & the Frog since it wasn't out in theaters yet and then went to meet all of the Disney Princesses. We then spent the day in the city and visited Toys R Us, rode on the ferris wheel in Toys R Us, ate the best NY pizza ever, and saw the tree! Great Day! Happy Birthday to my sweet princess...we love you sooooo much!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T16:04:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving at Aunt Laura's with the family...we celebrated Olivia's 6th birthday a little early with cupcakes gaolore from Bestema!

Scott's 3rd Birthday!

2009-11-28T15:48:00.005-05:00

Friday November 20th we celebrated Scott's 3rd birthday. He was soooo excited for his birthday and had to tell everyone how he is now "free" not "two" anymore. Ryan and Jackson came down early in the day and they got to play all afternoon. Family and friends came over later in the evening for cake and OF COURSE presents! Even Aunt Diana (Scott's Godmother) and Ashley came up from PA to celebrate with us.

Scott got a new big wheel and he has taken off on on it. He absolutely loves it!

Lucy's 1st Birthday!

2009-10-23T21:23:00.008-04:00

It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by! Little precious Lulu is a year old! On Sunday we celebrated Lucy's first birthday and Andrew and Heidi hosted the best birthday celebration. Heidi's parents even joined us in the Happy Birthday song and opening of gifts via Skype which we awesome! Soooo...the two newest members of the family, Tyler and Lucy are now one! Now what?!?!? I can't believe it!!

Happy Birthday Lucy!!! We love you soooo much!

Jackson & Sammy's 3rd b-day parties

2009-10-23T21:12:00.006-04:00

As most of you know, there four boys born all around the same time in 2006 of which we named the "06 Boys". Jackson & my nephew Sammy were the first two of the four to turn 3 in October. Scott will be in November and then Mason in December. Jackson had his annual Halloween Costume Party for his birthday and we took the kids to Ryan & Larry's for the birthday party. Scott dressed up as Scooby Doo & Olivia dressed up as Velma from Scooby Doo but when she saw people there that she didn't know, she got embarrassed and took the wig off and wouldn't wear it so you can't really tell what she is.

The next day we celebreated Sammy's birthday at Bestema & Papa's house. Happy Birthday boys! :)

Harris Hill Farm/Pumpkin Carving Night/Halloween Night

2009-10-23T20:44:00.010-04:00

Gorgeous Views!

I think we are going to make this place (Harris Hill Farm) our yearly Fall tradition for pumpkin picking. I absolutely LOVE this place. The view from way up on this mountain is breath taking and you actually pick your pumpkins from the "patch"! They have a corn maze, the hayride and the cutest farm animals that are beautiful and so well taken care of. This year my mom, Titi, Marissa and I took the kids. We had only been here one year before which was the year we took the photo for Scott & Mason's 1st birtday party invitation. So that was 2 years ago. We got a bunch of pumpkins for a great price and of course delicious corn on the cob! Enjoy...and the best season of the year has officially begun! :)

Olivia & Scott

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkins!!

Scott found his

Corn Maze

Every year before Halloween we all go up to Mark's and carve pumpkins. The kids always wear their Halloween shirts that Aunt Paulette has sent up to them. Below are pics from Pumpkin Carving Night and Halloween Night.

Olivia hard at work

BesteMa is back!

2009-10-03T09:56:00.005-04:00

Bestema with Scott & Olivia

Sammy & Scott

BesteMa & Olivia

Signy got back from Norway a few weeks ago so we all went to BesteMa & Papa's house for a BBQ and the kids got to enjoy some swimming at their house on the last day of the pool being opened! The kids were all so excited to have her back...and so were we! I got some really cute pics of the 4 Spiegel kiddies.

Olivia's 1st day of 1st Grade!

2009-10-03T09:39:00.003-04:00

Olivia & Scott on her 1st day of 1st grade

Olivia on her 1st day of kindergarten

Olivia on her 1st day of 4 yr old preschool

Olivia on her 1st day of 3 yr old preschool

Olivia is now in first grade!!! She is still in Center School and after first grade she will move on to Huckleberry, the Elementary School for 3 years! Olivia's first day of school was the first day Scott got to bring his lunch to Ms. Eileen's in his new SpiderMan lunch box! Every year I have to post Olivia's previous years pictures so we can just prove that she really is growing and growing!

Tyler's 1st Birthday

2009-08-29T11:12:00.008-04:00

Wow, time sure has gone by way too fast! We celebrated Tyler's 1st birthday last weekend and had a party for him at Laura's. I can not believe he is already a year old. He is walking and everything and sure is the most handsome little man ever! Love you Tyler! :)

Summer 09

2009-08-18T18:11:00.009-04:00

Olivia

Scott taking Olivia for a ride! LOL

Too precious!

Scott & Jackson swinging

Jackson & Scott hanging...

Jackson taking Scott for a ride on the 4 wheeler

The 06 boys at last! Scott, Mason, Sammy & Jackson

Morgan

Mason, Scott & Jackson

Scott with his new mohawk Mason & Scott

Olivia swimming in the ocean

Scott & Olivia showing off their shirts they made at Ms. Eileen's

Olivia at the lake in Mass.

Jackson & Scott; lake in Mass.

Scott...lake in Mass.

Scott & Olivia; lake in Mass.

Scott riding his bike

Scott swimming in Titi's pool

Scott cleaning Titi's pool Olivia at the beach...Ocean City Beach

Scott...Ocean City Beach

Olivia swimming in the ocean...Ocean City Beach

Well, it has been a long time since I have updated my blog! It's summer time!! We had a slow start to summer with the temperature. We hadn't even had to turn on the AC's until just a couple of weeks ago, but we are now being blasted with the 90 degree weather every day. Summer has been busy and fun. The kids have been going to Ms. Eileen's on Tues & Thurs which has been great. Scott is now completely potty trained...a BIG thank you to Ms. Eileen. He absolutely loves going there and has a blast every day. Olivia has been enjoying going there as well and gets to do all of the things that she loves, gardening and everything nature! It has been a good thing for her to get to experience Ms. Eileen's this summer. Mom is taking care of the kids M, W, and Fri.

I was off all last week so we got to house sit for Titi and spend every day at the pool. Ryan & Jackson came down for 2 days and spent those days with us. We took a trip to the beach at Silver Sands in Milford one day. On Thursday the kids and I packed up and headed up to Ryan's for a few days. We took the kids to the movies (Scott's first movie ever!) We then headed off to the beach again as well...Ocean City Beach in New London. So much fun! Here are some photos of our summer so far. We had a few lake trips in there as well with Ryan & Jackson too.

We were also able to get the 06 boys together again all at once for a photo op since they were 6 months old! I can't believe it. Of course they weren't as cooperative as they were when they were 6 months old, so we got one picture! Oh well, what can you do...they are boys! :) Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Can't believe school starts in 2 weeks and Olivia heads off to 1st grade!

4th of July

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On Saturday, 4th of July, Erik and I got to go to a grown up party with Ryan & Larry and NO kids!!! YIPEE!!! Aunt Sarah & Uncle Mike were soooo nice to come and get Olivia bright and early in the morning from us and she went to spend the day and night with them at their party they threw at Uncle Al's. Aunt Sarah sent me some photos of Olivia from the day, so that is what those photos are of Olivia. We were sad that we missed their party, but we couldn't pass up the night out with friends and no kids. Erik and I headed up to Ryan and Larry's and Scott & Jackson got to hang out all afternoon riding the 4 wheeler and playing in the sand box. Ryan's sister Sam babysat the boys for us while we left and went to the party at Ryan & Larry's friend Matt's house. We had so much fun at the party hanging out, drinking, eating, listening to the bands and watched amazing fireworks that the guys set off. Awesome night!!! We had a blast!

Pool Party with the Gordon's!

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Tyler & Ashli

The gang

Diana & Doug

Scott soaked by the hose

Scott & Nana (as he calls his GodMother Diana)

Lisa & Meagan

Ashli, Lisa, Olivia, Steve & Tyler

Scott, Steve, Tyler & Olivia

Steve and Diana and the kids were up in CT visiting, so we crashed Aunt Laura's and threw a pool party! It was great to see them and see the kids play!

Katelyn's Confirmation Party

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Katelyn

Fun & Games Doug, Lucy & Laura

Doug & Lucy/Laura & Tyler

Andrew, Lucy & Doug

Daddy & Olivia

Me roasting a marshmallow!

Olivia

Scott

Lisa

Trish & Aunt Laura

Meagan & Katelyn

Olivia

Marissa

Yesterday we celebrated Katelyn's confirmation and had a party. The kids could not wait til the sun went down and waited and waited for the fire to make s'mores! They were so cute!!