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When Aidan asked me if we were going to have another egg hunt at the "green" park this year, I couldn't resist. We got the "group" involved with organizing and also invited a few of Aidan's friends from school. That morning, I left early to set everything up and found myself once again fighting against the wind to keep over 150 eggs hidden. And, I ended up chasing balloons down the street and throwing away table clothes in a desperate fit of aggravation. But, all in all, everything came together quite nicely.
We had a great turnout, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The kids had an unexpected pile of hay to destroy, participated in an egg race and did a few arts/crafts projects. Thanks to "papa", we all got some entertainment value out of flying a kite. This activity would later be my debut on youtube.
So, if Aidan asks me next year if we'll be carrying on the tradition, I'll have to agree that it has become one of the highlights of the year!
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Posted on Friday, March 21 @ 13:52:14 EST
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Luke, Aidan and myself just wanted to take a moment and extend Season's Greetings to our family and friends.
This Christmas, we'll be spending time with the grandparents and possibly visiting Mickey over at Disney World. Aidan, who seems to be experiencing the "terrible twos" in his mid-threes, has been told he has to be on his best behavior before Mickey will invite him over. :)
As for everything else, I can't say that much is going on. 2007 has been a relatively quiet year, which is a relief considering the chaos that 2006 left behind.
My parents moved over to Tampa this summer. It's been really nice having them so close by!
Aidan is still in preschool at Bright Horizons and seems to be enjoying himself. His time at home is spent "fixing" things around the house with his tools, putting together puzzles and racing trucks. He also enjoys riding his bike around the neighborhood with his dad or hanging out at the park with his friends. What a life!
Luke and I are still with Time Warner and Pro QC, going on nine years each. I'm still left wondering where the time went.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to teach a class at the community college this year but hope to pick things back up next fall.
Next year, we're hoping to cruise with Disney again and visit Luke's family in Poland. I know Aidan would enjoy meeting his great grandparents, and it has been a while since we've seen everyone there.
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Posted on Sunday, December 16 @ 10:32:12 EST
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Disney Cruise - August 2007 |
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After considering all of our vacation possibilities, we finally decided that a Disney cruise would serve up the most fun for the entire family. We boarded Disney Wonder on Thursday, just in time for lunch and the “setting sail” party. Our destination was Nassau, followed by Disney’s Castaway Cay.
While more costly than the other cruise lines we considered, the old adage “you get what you pay for” surely applies. In fact, Disney exceeded our expectations and really created a tropical getaway worth every penny spent! Our stateroom was upgraded, so we received a verandah and open air porthole that made sunsets truly inspiring.
Regarding dinners, there are three primary restaurants that you rotate through. You have the same servers for each meal and dine with the same one or two couples each night. The food was quite honestly mouth-watering and seemingly never ending. Food was, in fact, available 24/7. And, there was no shortage of fruity frozen drinks either!
Each evening, you receive a Navigator handout that includes a schedule of all your activity options for the following day. Disney makes sure there’s something for everyone, including live shows, movie presentations, themed parties, etc.
On Friday, we spent the day in Nassau. It was hot, but we did enjoy the glass bottom boat excursion and picked up some rum cake. Trekking through the Straw Market, I realized that I had paid way too much for most of my handbags!
On Saturday, we spent the day at Disney’s Castaway Key. Disney did a phenomenal job of creating an environment that is exactly how you would imagine a tropical paradise. Aidan had fun in the kids’ area, Scuttle Cove. He participated in a scavenger hunt and managed to cover himself in wet sand from head to toe! Luke and I spent some time relaxing in the sun and enjoying more fruity frozen drinks. And, we all enjoyed a delightful BBQ picnic lunch.
By Sunday morning, we were back at Port Canaveral and ready to depart. Reflecting back on the experience, I think it was one of our best vacations. Aidan really enjoyed and looked forward to the Oceaneer Club that is a program designed especially for kids 3-4 years old. And, Luke and I enjoyed a little quite time in the adults-only lounges. There was plenty of time for us to spend as a family as well, so I would say everything worked out splendidly. The exceptional staff, plethora of food, and impeccable accommodations has convinced us to do it over again in 2008. In fact, Aidan keeps saying that he can’t wait to go back on the “Mickey Boat” next year.
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Posted on Monday, August 06 @ 14:55:20 EDT
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Aidan actually celebrated his birthday with two parties this year. We celebrated on Thursday, the 19th, with his class at Bright Horizons. Aidan wanted one of those big chocolate chip cookie cakes, so we got one with a monster truck on it. He actually carried the catalog around for a week before deciding on which design he wanted. Oh, we also had chocolate dump truck lollipops made for everyone in class that turned out really cute!
For his birthday dinner, Aidan wanted dinosaur shaped chicken fingers from the "taco place" (aka Tijuana Flats). About an hour after dinner, he started throwing up. As it turns out, a 24 hour stomach virus was being passed around his class, and he wasn't lucky enough to escape it. And, as luck would have it, I got sick on Friday evening. Luke and my parents followed suit on Saturday. My parents were actually so ill, they couldn't make it to birthday party number two. I feel bad for my cousin Erin, who drove all the way from Tallahassee to celebrate with us. We weren't much fun during her stay with us!
The second party was at the Florida Aquarium on Sunday. All of his best pals were there, and they seemed to really enjoy playing in the water. We had the party at 10am, so Explore A Shore was pretty much empty, and it wasn't too hot yet. They brought out a turtle for the kids to learn about and touch. Of course, the turtle didn't come out of his shell and didn't appreciate having a bunch of toddlers harass it. But, it was pretty cool!
The kids were restless to go back in the water after pizza, so we had cake and opened presents right away. The amount of stuff we hauled back to the house was ridiculous. I'm not sure Aidan will ever realize how spoiled he is. We actually had to leave promptly after the party so we could go play with all of the "loot".
All in all, sickness aside, we had a great time! Now, Aidan is focused on Christmas and what Santa will be bringing!
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Posted on Wednesday, July 25 @ 20:19:42 EDT
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Aidan and Annabelle had such a great time hunting for eggs last year that we thought we couldn't go wrong with a bigger and better egg hunt this year. Since Aidan just started "school", we also saw it as an excellent opportunity to meet the other kids' parents, as well as the kids themselves. So, we invited Aidan's Bright Horizons class and his Global Kids Gymboree class.
We hosted the egg hunt at the Cross Creek Community Park. It turned out to be a beautiful, although very windy day. Out of about 120 eggs, we only found three that weren't discovered by the end of the day. The kids had an opportunity to decorate a paper egg with stickers and crayons, and they seemed to have a lot of fun on the playground equipment as well. So, we managed to keep them busy. I'm sure the parents really appreciated us bringing the shovels and trucks for sand play... almost all of the kids were filthy by the time they left!
It was especially nice to see Annabelle and Melissa. It's been almost a month now since Aidan has been in school. I think we all still wake up sometimes expecting to hear the doorbell ring and it be them. While I see the benefits of having Aidan at Bright Horizons, it's just not the same around our house anymore.
Anyway, the parents and kids that attended were all great. Luke and I really appreciated the opportunity to get to know the kids that Aidan hangs out with all week.
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Posted on Tuesday, April 03 @ 19:44:39 EDT
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| Monday, July 24 | | · | Aidan's 2nd Birthday |
| Wednesday, July 19 | | · | Jennifer turns 30! |
| Monday, February 20 | | · | Harper Wedding |
| Tuesday, January 10 | | · | 2005 Summary |
| Tuesday, October 18 | | · | Ashlynn's SeaWorld Birthday Party |
| Sunday, September 11 | | · | September Vacation |
| Sunday, July 17 | | · | Aidans's 1st Birthday |
| Tuesday, December 28 | | · | Christmas Holiday 2004 |
| Monday, October 11 | | · | Phillips' Reunion 2004 |
| Sunday, July 25 | | · | Announcing Aidan Lukas Stepniowski |
| Monday, June 21 | | · | Baby Shower |
| Monday, May 31 | | · | Aidan's Room |
| Wednesday, March 03 | | · | It's a Boy! |
| Saturday, June 14 | | · | Our 2003 Poland Adventure |
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