Those that know me know I’m all about family, so this past weekend was great because we had the annual Thomas/Wildoner family reunion at Grammy and PeePaw Thomas’. Everyone was there and it was great to enjoy the company of family for a couple of hours. We only get to see each other a few times a year, so this is something we always look forward too.

Luckily, my in-laws have a photography bug running through their veins too, so we had to get group photos. Actually, my father-in-law also has a SLR and his camera was the one that captured the shots when everyone was looking at the same time! =) OK… I take that back, Benny wasn’t looking for any of the big group shots, so I had to photoshop his face in. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than looking at the top of his head!

Mike’s parents, siblings, wives and all our kids.

The entire Thomas / Wildoner Family

I love the fact we do this every year. I remember as a kid getting group photos at our family reunions, so it’s nice that our boys will have the same thing… to be able to look back at the times we were ALL TOGETHER as a FAMILY.

1. Benny is really starting to talk up a storm. He’s a repeater. If he hears you say something, he tries his best to say it too. It’s amazing that he’s saying phrases already, not just single words. You can also tell he’s the second child because most of his daily language is the common things you hear Owen say.

   Here is his list of words and sayings so far. I know I’m probably missing some. I can’t keep up with keeping track of them all:

   WORDS:
   Mama, Dada, Please, Thank-you, Pup, Cat, Frog, Turtle, Pig, Roar, Shoe, Yummy, Maxie, Thomas (or Tommy for Thomas the Train), Choo Choo, Football, Ball, Enough, Toons (for Cartoons), Wow Wub (for Wow Wow Wubbzy), Mine, Sit, Book, Bubble, Nose, Bye, Hi, Mimi, Yes, No, Go, Truck, Sorry, Cheese.

   SAYINGS:
   ”I got it”, ”I did it”, ” Come on”, ” Night Night”, “I know”, ” Good Morning”, “All done”, ”Bye. See” (as in Bye, See ya Later), We say “Ready” he says “Set. GO!”

2. This coming weekend is the Thomas family reunion. VERY excited to see everyone.
3. We’ll be coming home without the boys this weekend. They’ll be staying for a week with Grammy and PeePaw Thomas. It will be the longest I’ve ever been away from them. I hope I hold up OK. Not worried about them, I know they are in terrific hands, I’m just addicted to my babies.
4. The basement has had some recent momentum. After letting it sit for months, we’re almost done dry-walling. YEAH!! We’re getting there, slowly but surely.
5. My past weekend was totally ruined b/c of a movie. Friday night we rented the moving “Knowing” and it was terrible. The ending was horrific and it messed with my mind big time. I’m still having a hard time shaking it. I have no idea why they make movies that make you question life as we know it, face your own mortality and just make you feel like crap afterwards. I’m sticking to stupid humor movies and chick flicks from now on.
6. Maybe #5 was my sign I need to dive back into my faith head first. Not that I ever lost it, it just seemed to get pushed to the bottom of the priority list with the hustle and bustle of life. It needs to get a fast pass to the top of the list.
7. One of my favorite things about summer is ice cream. I love it. The boys love it. Yummy. I crave soft serve twist. Sometimes I wish I could put a machine in my house.
8. Last weekend we went to Mike’s best buddy Phil’s for a lazy afternoon at the pool at his apartment complex. Ben LOVED it. He’s a big fan of the water. Owen was scared at first, but then he got into the groove and started to jump into the water into Phil’s arms. Here are some movies from my old point and shoot.

   

   
   Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing

   

   
   Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
9. Isn’t this picture of Owen from the pool in the lounge chair funny. Eating a snack of fruit loops in Daddy’s shades. And yes, I know he’s skin and bones because he eats like a bird. He’s just not very interested in food. He’s healthy though, so that is all that matters.
    
   
   
10. Benny is really into raiding Owen’s room lately. And here he is last week. I found him in Owen’s room, in Owen’s bed, reading books.
     
    
    

Happy Tuesday!!

We’ve tried to get Benny to wear a hat outside for months and he won’t keep one on his head for more than 1 second. Well, this week he’s actually wearing one… FINALLY! Hopefully he’ll continue to be OK with wearing a hat on his head because it will make trips to the park much easier (his poor face gets beet red) and it will be a must when we go to the beach in September.

I think little boys in hats are one of the cutest things going, so I’m super excited to see him sporting a cap!

This has been a good year to be a fan of pro-sports in the state of Pennsylvania and today was an even better day if you were a fan of those teams and live in the state capitol!

I work just a few blocks away from the Capitol building in Harrisburg and today the three world championship trophies were on display. The Stanley Cup won by the NHL 2009 champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins; the Lombardi Trophy won by the NFL 2008 Super Bowl XLIII champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers; and the World Series Trophy won by the MLB 2008 World Series champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.

As die hard Steeler fans, when we heard the Lombardi Trophy was going to be in our backyard we had to take advantage. I called Mike, he got the boys and himself dressed in their Steeler gear and he picked me up from work to go see the triple crown.

The line was long, but went fast. When we got up there we knew why… the security guards were hassling you through, so I only got a few seconds to take a picture of Mike and the boys. Not easy to do with 2 little ones, but at least it’s something to show they were there. Owen was more interested in looking at the trophies than the camera. Who can blame him… they are big and shiny and he’s already dreaming of holding one high someday. I also think it’s neat because that is the trophy the Steelers won on Ben’s first birthday.

It’s pretty cool that we got to see all 3 together at the same time… to bad they all weren’t from Pittsburgh though. The Pirates need to step up to the plate so we can have a full fledge championship Steel City.

We made an impromptu trip to New Jersey to see Grammy & PeePaw Thomas this past weekend and boy are we glad we did. We had a very nice visit. The boys had fun playing ball in the back yard, got a lot of action in with their track master Thomas trains, and of course, celebrated the 4th of July with a trip for ice cream and fireworks.

This was the first time the boys saw fireworks. Owen watched, but wasn’t a fan. He didn’t like the “boom” sound. At the end he cheered, not because it was a good show, but b/c they were over. =) Benny took them in for as long as he could before Mr. Sandman took him down for the count. He was so tired he fell asleep. Poor little dude is attached to his bedtime.

It’s hard to believe half of 2009 is over already and the big summer holiday is over. This year is going too fast. Summer needs to learn to slow down just a little bit and Corporate America needs to learn that 3 day weekends are needed more often… but I know I need to just keep on dreamin’.

On Sunday, we all went to Knobels for my mom’s company picnic. It was my little family, my sister’s little family and Mimi & Pop Pop.

Owen was so excited that he woke up at 5:45am rip, roaring and ready to go! He loves to ride rides. His favorite this year was the frog hopper, but I think he loved the waffles and ice cream even more. He inhaled 2 1/2 of them!! He also enjoyed hanging out with his best buddy and cousin, Alex. Those two just love being together and equally hate having their picture taken… at least that day.

The two little boys had fun too. They enjoyed the rides with steering wheels and bells, but the train took top honors in Ben’s book. When he saw the train he went CRAZY…for those that know Ben, the arms were waving up and down and his “O” face was in full effect. Trains hold a special place in that kid’s heart.

I took a ton of pics, but here are just a few. You’d be here until Tuesday if I posted them all! =)

Have a great weekend and Happy 4th of July!!

Uncle Croce got Owen and Alex cork guns. Oh no!

O wasn’t too sure about the swings, but he said he liked them when he got off. Can you find him and Mimi flying high?

Roman & Benny all tired from a long day saying, “Can we go home? We had all the fun we can take for one day.”