July ... how fast it went!!!

One of the perks of my job at Marist College is that I get the month of July off ... it's a nice perk and by mid June I can't wait for my month of "do nothing"!!! This year the month of July was even sweeter because I got to spend it with Roman and Maxim and we had a BLAST!!!! I enjoyed being home with them and getting to see them spend more time together and really enjoying being brothers!!

I will admit the time I took off from work just after we came home from Russia was NOT FUN! I was so overwhelmed with too small children and for awhile I was depressed and it made it very difficult to bond with the boys and to get to know them. Not gonna lie when January 18th rolled around I was VERY happy to go back to work and let the boys go to daycare ... it was still difficult but after a few weeks we all got into a routine and the boys really blossomed at daycare and I started to feel more like my old self! Fast forward through the Spring semester and July finally arrives ... it was GREAT!!!

We kicked off July with a heat wave in New York ...
the heatwave ended up being a benefit for me and the boys because we have AWESOME neighbors who let us use their pool anytime and the boys have really become "fish". They love to swim and Roman has gotten braver and braver as the month went by. He started with a tube and now swims with just arm bands! Both boys love to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles ... we are still working on actual swimming but little by little they are getting there!

One of the first weekends we took the boys to see their very FIRST movie, Toy Story 3... they did really well and enjoyed the movie AND the POPCORN!!!


We were able to make a few trips up to Massachusetts to hang out with the Nadeau side of the family ... it was so much fun and again, thanks to Uncle Josh and Auntie Deanna for letting us use their pool ... it's inground so bigger then the neighbors but the boys loved being able to sit on the stairs and play and splash!!!


We took the boys kayaking for the first time towards the end of the month. They did great ... hopefully we will be able to get them out on the water a few more times before it gets to cold!!! They are going to be avid outdoorsmen, which is awesome because Stephen and I love to hike, kayak and try new things together!!!




The last week of July .. they boys and I headed back to Massachusetts for fun with Grammy and Auntie Sara!! Roman was very excited to be going on "vacation" ... and Maxim was glad to be heading back to "Mimi's". We arrived on Monday and spent that afternoon settling in and then spent time playing at Purgatory (a state park with hiking trails and a fun playground).




The next 2 days we spent time at Uncle Josh's pool and the boys got lots of time with their cousins Brooke, Billy and Nikolas. At night we would head to the local ice cream place for some homemade ice cream .. "monster mash" and walked through the barn and saw all the animals ... Max got to see his first real live sheep!!!

On Thursday, we headed to the Ecotarium in Worcester ... it was great for the boys ... it's like a Children's Museum ... lots of hands on stuff for the boys to play with and learn from!!! There is also a real live polar bear at this museum ... Kenda ... we got to see her but she was sleeping!!!


Thursday night, Papa arrived for the weekend and on Friday we headed out with Grammy and Auntie Sara to Water Country in Portsmouth, NH!!! The boys did great on their first trip to a water park ... it took a few times down the water slides to get them into it but when they had so much fun that when it was time to leave we had a couple of cranky boys who just wanted to stay!!! Oh, and the wave pool was a huge hit as well so we know they are going to love the beach in August!!!

Saturday was a sunny day so we headed back to Uncle Josh's pool for another day of swimming and working on our tans!!! The boys were able to show Papa how well they could swim and Roman showed what a dare devil he has become by jumping into the deep end!!! Saturday night we went to church for the anniversary mass for my Dad and then ended our time in Massachusetts with a family BBQ ... it was a GREAT week and we had so much fun during our last week off in July!!!

July was a blast ... I had such fun with my two guys and it was so much better than our first few weeks home from Russia ... now I can't wait to spend a week in August with all my guys in Cape May!!!