February Vacation

We just wrapped up a fabulous February vacation. It's always nice to have Matt home during the week. He is always so excited to go new places, and the boys are always thrilled to do ANYTHING with him! We took several day trips to different museums. One day we went to the SEE Science Center in Manchester and then out to lunch. Another day (the most beautiful day of the entire week!) was spent in Boston at the Children's Museum and exploring the U.S.S. Constitution and another WWII ship (shame on me for not remembering its name!!).

The highlight of the week was probably our overnight to North Conway. We went to the Hampton Inn, where they have an indoor water park that's very appropriate for kids Ryder's and Tanner's ages. We went there last year and had a blast, and the boys seemed to enjoy it even more this year! Ryder was so brave in wanting to go down the slides by himself - it always makes me nervous how fearless he is in water! If it weren't for his allergies, I'd have him in swimming lessons year-round just so he can be an expert in the water! We swam and slid a lot, went out to dinner, shopped at the outlets, and even watched movies in our hotel room. It was so much fun spending time together!

This past Monday was an extra treat as it was a snowday for Matt. We were able to delay going back to reality for one more day! :) We had a great time playing outside with the boys. I had considered renting snowshoes for Ryder and me since my quest to find a big sled failed, but in the end, Ryder's attitude made me decide against it. Perhaps there will be one more opportunity this winter.

Speaking of Ryder's attitude... he has been so hot-and-cold lately that I'm getting a little concerned. He is normally very upbeat and fun, but lately he's gotten very angry at the drop of a hat. He's even said such strong things as "I don't want to be in this family anymore!" or "I don't care about you!" or even "I hate him!" The professionals I've spoken with that know Ryder very well seem to think that he is going through a phase a lot earlier than most kids do - and that it's just that... a phase. I certainly hope they're right. If it continues much longer, I may go have him evaluated for some kind of anger issues or something. It's tough, that's for sure.

I started this post about a week ago - since then, we had a FABULOUS family day!!!! My brother, Nick, will be taking 6 months to hike from Georgia to Maine (and maybe hugging a few trees along the way??? haha!!! I love you, Nick!!!). The entire fam got together at SkyVenture for some indoor skydiving. We had a GREAT time!!! Thank you, Nick, for the great day! We hope you have an awesome trip and can't wait to see you when you get back! If you want to check out some pics, visit http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/ThumbPage.aspx?e=4574203&g=0OJ700MQ07

You can track Nick's progress along the AT at his blog http://www.nickrepoli.com/