Fall means ... soccer .. apple picking and the Big E!!!

Fall is here in New York and the Pupek's can tell just by looking at our calendar and seeing that weekends are busy with something from September - November!!!

Roman and Max began playing soccer this Fall! It's so funny to watch ... they should call it magnet ball because once the whistle blows and the ball goes into play ... no matter what team they are on all the kids run to the ball and chase it!!! They only play for 6 weeks so our first time playing soccer will end just in time for Halloween! Roman really enjoys the game and Max is having fun!!!








Fall in New York also means Apple Picking ... YAY!! We went early this year to get the best selection of apples .. Cortlands, Macintosh, and Red Delicious! The boys love apple picking and they really enjoyed the home made apple pie we had for dessert that night(my first attempt at making the dough from scratch) YUMMY!

Taking the wagon ride out to the orchids

Roman helping our friend Jason pick some apples

Getting a ride from Daddy




I love this pose ... all done apple picking and heading back to the stand!

Fall also means a trip to the Big E in Springfield, MA!! For those who don't know the Big E is the New England State fair and it's such a blast! I couldn't wait to share the GIANT slide with Roman and Max and they LOVED it ... now we can't wait to again next year!!!

Stephen made some new friends in the dog area!!! This boys name is Hunter ..so cute!!

Roman and Grammy making a new friend!

Here comes Roman and Mama on the GIANT Slide

Max's first ride on the GIANT slide with Daddy

Hanging out with Grammy

The Big E Cream Puff ... a must have!!! So good!!!





The end of day ice cream cone!

First Day of School -- 2011

Tuesday, September 6th was the beginning of another school year in the Pupek house!! This year both Roman and Maxim are attending Montessori school but they are going to a different school than Roman went to last year!!! They were both very excited to go to school on Tuesday and meet their teachers and make some friends!! Roman is still with Ms. Sheeran (she left the old school and we loved her so much we followed her) and Maxim is in his own classroom with Ms. Ellis. They both love the first day and surprise of all surprises they had a day off already this week when school was cancelled on Thursday for the floods caused by all the rain we've been getting since Irene!!!

Here is the best part of the first day ....



New pack packs ... so excited!!!

Sporting the new "jammies" for the first day of school!

Summer time....

I have been bad at posting updates about the boys but I guess that is a casualty to life with two active children, a full time job and trying to maintain my sanity on a regular basis!!! Max and Roman are GREAT ... full of life and looking forward to summer and swimming daily in the pool!!! Roman finishes his first year of Montessori school on Friday and is already excited to go back in the Fall ... not sure how he is going to fare this summer without Ms. Sheeran so maybe we'll invite her over for a barbeque just so he can get his "fix"!!! Max has one more week of school/daycare and then he gets to start Montessori in September and he is very excited about going to "big boy" school!!! He is going to do great but I know he will miss his friends ..Lucas, Gavin and Rian and not to mention Miss Stephanie and Miss Sherry ... he has loved his pre school room and all that he's done since January when he moved up!!! A few pictures ..courtesy of my mother in law ...her camera is never far away when she is with the boys and these are great shots of some summer fun!!!

Only one more week of work and then July off so look for more summer posts and pictures of Max and Roman as we enjoy our July adventure and lots of summer fun!!

Big Boy Rooms

I finally got a chance to finish Roman's room and he is now in his new "Car and Truck Room" and Max is still enjoying his "Thomas the Train Room". Both boys have fish ... Max's fish is Harry and Roman names his fish Monkey!!! It's nice they have their own space and they do spend time in each other's rooms!!!

Roman was very excited for his "Car and Truck Room"




Max in his "Thomas the Train" room


Meet Harry!

Red Fish .... Blue Fish ...

When you have a pool in your back yard and the weather starts to get warm ... the question you get every day is ..."Can we go swimming???" ... You might think I'm nuts but there are only so many ways you can say "No ... it's still to cold" ... sometimes the only way to explain is to let them learn first hand!!!


Everyone is getting ready for the first swim!

This is as far as Max got ... once his toe hit the water he turned around ... went back into the house and got dressed!!! Hasn't asked to go back in yet =)

Roman's first jump of the "season"!!!

The face says COLD but he said NOPE and kept swimming!!!

He swam for 10 minutes before getting out!!! He's crazy but he will be the "fish" in our group!!!

Notice the wet suit ... SMART MAN!!!!

Okay ... just in case you think we've lost our minds as parents ... the water was about 68-70 degrees when they went in ... we had towels and sweatshirts waiting on the deck!!! Has it detered Roman ... NO ... he was back in this weekend ... the child is NUTS ... he loves to swim and when he goes in he stays in for a good 10 - 15minutes!!! He's going to be a blast this summer when it's actually warm enough for the adults!!! Max ... now Max is a different story ... he has yet to ask to go back in ... he does NOT like cold water and he won't want to go in until he knows for sure the water is WARM!!!

Easter 2011

A few pictures from Easter ... the boys had 2 egg hunts ... on at our house Easter morning and one a Grammy's in the afternoon!!! They had a blast and slept all the way home from Massachusetts to New York!

All the Pupek boys get Easter baskets ... checking out their stash!!!





Looking for eggs that the Easter Bunny hid around our house!



Egg Hunt outside at Grammy's in Massachusetts

Building a Pool!!

Can you say STAYCATION!!! The Pupek's will be spending the summer at home in New York ... no big vacation travel plans for us ... have you seen the gas prices!!! Instead we now have a pool in our back yard and fingers crossed this summer will be as hot as last year and we will get many, many days and years to enjoy all the hard work that went into putting the pool in!!! BIG BIG THANKS AND HUGS to Stephen ... he did most of it... now we just need the water to warm up and we can jump in!!!


The trench for the electric for the pool. We spent one entire Sunday digging this from the house to the pool ... 18inches deep and way to long to count... the dirt was not dirt but shale and rock!!!



The pad for the pool!!

The frame is up ... thanks to our AWESOME neighbors!

Smoothing out the sand for a nice even bottom!!!

Putting the liner in!

The liner is in!


Everyone got to help smooth out the liner ... not sure who is more excited ... Roman or Daddy???