Keeping our boat afloat...Thanks Grandma!

Matt and I had our wedding anniversary this July and decided to celebrate...so Grandma Z came into town to help with the babes. Matt and I run a pretty tight ship and the mere fact that she could keep our crazy boat afloat is quite impressive. The kids were busy making so many different crafts and having a great time playing with Grandma, when the kids went down to bed Grandma focused on making curtains for Calee's room (they are so adorable!). Thanks so much Grandma!!
Grandma and the kids time together:




Gavin hard at work! Our kids use hemostats for everything (thanks to their Dad). Gavin and Calee can handle hemostats really well...we're thinking Surgeons.




Bracelet making...Since Grandma showed Calee how to make these fun bracelets, she now wants to make one to match every outfit.

How adorable are these curtains?!! I love them. They have the cutest little flower buttons.

Matt and Aimee time together:

We didn't take our camera with us to any of our activities...it was a "kids free, camera free" time. So all the pictures below were copied off the Internet.

We went to see Jim Gaffigan (Our VERY favorite comedian) on July 18th. For those of you that know his material, know that we laughed our guts out the whole show! For those of you that don't know Jim Gaffigan...check his stuff out (very clean). We have one of his DVD's "Beyond the Pale", and we can't wait to buy "The Sexy Tour". Seeing him perform live was too good, if he is coming to a town near you...GO!!!

After Jim Gaffigan's show we checked into our hotel for the night...We stayed in Richmond's Historical Jefferson Hotel. This hotel really is so gorgeous! And guess who we saw leaving our hotel?...Oh yes Mr. Jim Gaffigan himself...I wanted to run up to him like a crazed fan, but decided against it (I'm sure he was in a hurry to get to his next gig in NC for the following night, not that I knew where he was going or anything).

The next morning it was off to Busch Gardens with just us two. We rode all the big coasters a bunch of times. Our favorite hands down is "The Griffin"(pictured above).

Matt had a random day off in the middle of the week, so we sneaked off without kiddos and spent a wonderful day at the DC Temple.

We are so lucky we were able to have Grandma come in, so that Matt and I could have this fun time together. THANK YOU GRANDMA!!! COME BACK GRANDMA!!!

Peach Pickin'

On Tuesday we were lucky enough to have Daddy have the day off from work. So we decided to make a fun day of it and go "Peach Pickin'" at Chiles Peach Orchard...so off to Crozet, VA we went! The kids loved everything from the ride in the wagon around the orchard to picking all those beautiful peaches, Matt and I loved it too! The smell in the orchard was so fantastic! The Peaches were beautiful...we ended up with 28 lbs. We ate frozen peach yogurt and peach slushies...both were SO good! Talking to some of the locals from Crozet they suggested on our way back home going to a pizza joint called "Crozet Pizza"...HOLY SMOKES that was some good pizza! This is a definite thing for next peach season! But for now it looks like peach pie, peach ice cream, peach crisp, peach bread (I'm going to attempt it), grilled peaches, and just plain old fantastic peaches for the Toomey family for the next little while.

Camping

We took the kids camping at Pocahontas State Park this past weekend for a few nights. Calee, Gavin, and Brock ate up the camping environment! Brock couldn't believe his good luck...so much dirt and Mom was letting him play in it. Calee and Gavin loved every activity associated with camping! Here are some pictures from our camping trip.

Archery: A few years back Matt made the kids these fun/safe bows and arrows. He used PVC pipe, sticks, and cut up a foam football for the tips. We have been spotted running around our house or yard shooting each other with these homemade bows and arrows. Seriously these never get old.

The Water Park: We cooled off each day at the water area. Boy it felt good!

Roasting Marshmallows: How come S'mores are so dang good? Calee and Gavin had so much fun making S'mores (Gavin's of coarse had no chocolate! He still hates the stuff.). Brock just couldn't understand the whole "don't go near the fire stuff"...so we got out the porta-crib so he could be close to the action but still be safe.

Bike Riding: Calee and Gavin loved riding their bikes around the roads and bike trails.

Hanging out at the camp site: There was so much dirt, sticks, rocks, water, and the list goes on and on...A kid's dream come true!

Brock has to have his Milk at all times!

Yes, I know it's not Halloween...I was in a hurry and it was the first table cloth I grabbed.

Wildlife: We saw many different kinds of bugs (I was even lucky enough to get stung by a bee!), squirrels and chipmunks (the kids never bat an eye to those, we have way too many living in our backyard to have those be cool anymore), a toad, and this fun turtle (pictured below).