The McGuire Family

Happy Birthday Pop!

On Tuesday, we celebrated Pop's Birthday with homemade ice cream and cake. It was a perfect night to celebrate and the kids LOVED making the ice cream and then eating it aftwards. However, turning the handle only kept their attention for about 45 seconds until they were off playing in the yard. Luckily, the ice cream maker had an electric attachment to mix the cream. After our long trip to CT, the girls were so happy to be home and see Cora and Joshua. Madelyn ran in the house and gave Cora a super long hug because they missed each other so much. It was just precious! It was a fun ice cream making evening. Happy Birthday Pop!

Madelyn turning the handle while Cora supervises!

Ellie's turn!

Helping Pop blow out the candles!

Very happy cousins eating ice cream and cake!

Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa!

During our trip to CT, we celebrated Grandpa's 60th birthday. Vera planned a fantastic surprise party for Grandpa and he was definitly surprised! The party was held at a local golf course which included an afternoon golf outing for the guys and dinner and dancing at the restaurant with friends and family in the evening. Bill and his siblings also put together an awesome slideshow that we viewed during dinner. The entire evening was so much fun and so nice. The kids loved the dancing, cake and balloons and didn't want to leave the dance floor. Madelyn and Ellie partied until 11 so we paid for it the rest of the trip but it was well worth it! Happy 60th birthday Grandpa!

Jack and his ladies arriving at the party!

Richter and McGuire family photo. The rest of the family had not arrived but Kristen and I thought we better get a photo while everyone is clean!

Of course the girls were in matching dresses!

Grandpa was definitly surprised!

Sarah looked so pretty in her little dress!

OJ toast for the kids!

Chaotic photo of Vera and Grandpa with the kids!

Another chaotic photo!

Vera did such a great job planning the party!

Jack and Madelyn hitting the dance floor!

So sweet!

Ellie loves the in-laws!

Love this photo of Bill and Madelyn dancing!

Silly Ellie with Daddy!

Helping Grandpa cut the cake!

Ducks, Fish and Ice Cream

During our trip to CT, we made a little side trip up to Boston for a couple of days. We stayed with Nikki and Nick and had a fantastic visit. The first day, we went into Boston and did the Duck Tour. It was fun for both the kids and adults. Ellie loved quacking like a duck and Madelyn got the opportunity to drive the boat which was really cool. I enjoyed the tour of Boston and have a whole list of things I want to do next time we visit. That evening, we went to Cabot's for dinner and ice cream. Cabot's was one of Nick's favorite spots to go as a kid so he is always excited to take the girls there when we visit. The girls also loved watching "Nick Monster" play softball after dinner and cheered for him with their quackers. On Wednesday, we went into Boston again to meet up with one of my college friends and her kids at the New England Aquarium. It was so nice to catch up with Kate and the girls enjoyed running around the aquarium with Callie, Charlie and Libbie. We really enjoyed our trip to Boston and can't wait to go back again next time we are in New England!

Loving their quackers!

Madelyn took driving the boat very seriously!

Very happy girl eating her sundae!

Ellie was all smiles!

The crew at Cabot's

Looking at the fish at the aquarium!

Scary sharks with Libbie!

Madelyn, Callie, Libbie, Charlie and Ellie at the aquarium!

Mr. and Mrs. LeDoux

We had a great time celebrating Carey and John's wedding. Carey and John got engaged at the Outer Banks during our family beach vacation which was really fun and we were excited that their wedding day was finally here. I didn't take many photos because my camera was acting up and I was too busy enjoying my night out without kids. I stole this top photo from someone on Facebook because I thought it was awesome. Both Carey and John were so happy and Carey was absolutely beautiful. It was a great evening of dinner, drinks and dancing. Congrats Carey and John!

Happy Bride and Groom!

Bill and I enjoying our night out!

Great picture with Tom and Vera!

Sarah was a trooper!

Bill and his cousin Nikki! Nikki is due any day to have a baby and doesn't even look pregnant in this photo.

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day was spent in CT this year and was a very fun day. I missed seeing my Dad on Father's Day, but it was nice spending time with Tom on Father's Day because that rarely happens. We spent most of the day relaxing and had a nice cookout with family by the pool in the evening. We also ended the evening with a fireworks show which everyone loved except for me (I was convinced Bill was going to lose one of his body parts from the fireworks). Father's Day was a great day!

Bill with his girls on Father's Day

Daddy opening his gifts from his girls!

All ready for the REAL fireworks that Grandpa drove to PA to purchase!

The newlyweds even joined in on the fun!

Trip to CT and Meeting Cousin Sarah!

We arrived home on Tuesday from a 12 day trip to CT visiting with family and celebrating a Haslam wedding and Grandpa's 60th birthday. This trip was extra special because we got to meet our new niece Sarah who came from Korea about 4 weeks ago. The girls absolutely love Sarah and had so much fun getting to know her. She's has a very calm and sweet demeanor and it's so much fun watching her interact and follow the kids around. The girls also loved hanging out with Cousin Jack and Cousin Andrew during our trip. Madelyn and Jack were best buds as usual and the girls loved playing and singing songs with Andrew. The house was very chaotic with all the kids but we had a fantastic time spending time with family. The weather was perfect (except for the heat wave and Grandpa's AC breaking) so we got to enjoy lots of time outside and swimming in Grandpa's pool. I had to break this trip up into several blog entries because I took WAY too many pictures. Here is the first batch of photos I took on our trip:

Ellie meeting Sarah for the first time!

Bill and Cousin Andrew!

Since Grandpa's AC broke, we had a 2- night sleepover at the Richter household which was a lot of fun. Ellie and Sarah reading books before bed!

Donut picnic at Sarah and Jack's house!

This photo was taken right after Madelyn informed me that she's going to marry Jack!

The kids loved swimming in the baby pool just as much as the big pool. This photo was taken on our last night and the kids were getting one more swim in before bed. They were having so much fun!