preschool snapshots

a few recent photos of noah in his new classroom at school.

love, laurie

15 years old!

this month our fur baby turns 15 years old.  gosh, he was so small when we first brought him home.

leko was resting recently and had his tail curled so cute around his leg that it looked like a furry ankle bracelet.  i love the moments when he is quiet for a few minutes and not screaming at us!

happy birthday to our crazy cat!

love, laurie

a ride on the trolley

noah is obsessed with daniel tiger's neighborhood, and in most episodes daniel rides the trolley.  so, we were excited to take noah to our local trolley museum over labor day weekend to check out the trollies and to take a ride on a real trolley!

love, laurie

a trip to roba family farms over labor day weekend

we headed back to roba family farms over labor day weekend for the official opening weekend of the season.  ryan didn't get to join us when we went for the sneak peek, so he was happy to be able to come along over the weekend.

love, laurie

apple picking at lakeland orchard

over labor day weekend we went apple picking at lakeland orchard with grandma and grandpa.  noah has been anxiously waiting until apple season because he has been so excited to pick apples.  he happily picked apples, strolled through the orchard, taste tested several apples, and sipped his apple cider.

love, laurie

patriot day

we had the opportunity to visit ground zero nine years ago in september, just after the 12th anniversary of 9/11 and it was a moving experience.  the waterfalls and the reflecting pools that sit within the footprints of where the twin towers once stood are a lovely tribute, and the freedom tower is quite a sight to behold.  our thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who lost a loved one on this day 25 years ago.

love, laurie

la festa italiana 2026

i've mentioned numerous times that my favorite end-of-summer tradition is visiting our local italian festival over labor day weekend.  it's especially important to us since it's where we went on our very first date back in 2004.  i can't believe this year is 22 years since we first went together! 

we went three times this year and had a good time eating and sight seeing.  we tasted lots of stuff, and met up with grandma and grandpa as well as some friends too!

let the countdown begin for next year's festival!

love, laurie

. . .

previous trips to the italian festival: 

2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

sneak peek night at roba family farms!

robas opened for the season this weekend, but before they did, they held their annual sneak peek night for season pass holders on wednesday evening.  noah and i went up after school to check it out.  he was thrilled to be back, because he has been asking me if he can go to roba's for weeks!

he rode the rides, said hi to the dinos, reunited with his tractors, and sipped some apple cider.  we had a fun time.

love, laurie

checking out a new splash pad

a brand new splash pad opened nearby and noah had a good time checking it out and getting soaked with grandma one day after school!

love, laurie

happy labor day!

i'm sad to see summer go, but i always do enjoy the fall.  

i won't miss the insane heat and humidity we had this summer!  

slightly cooler temps are welcome!

happy labor day!

love, laurie