After a long, wonderful week in NY it’s always a little surreal to look back on photos from Monday and realize that was just one week ago.

Coming to NY, Steven, Sammy and Amaya had one wish – to see the Statue of Liberty. We did some research and decided to take the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue so the kids could get a good view without all of the drama of actually going to Liberty Island. At least at his age.

We started our journey over the 59th St bridge. Steven was obsessed with fire escapes, pointing them out right and left. “Oh, my good. There are fire escapes everywhere!” The plan was to build a subway ride into the adventure – the kids’ first.

My friend, Erica, took the day off to join us!

It was fun to see how each of the kids reacted to the subway. Sammy was the most comfortable from the get-go. Steven was very nervous and sat on my lap, with my arms wrapped around him the entire time we rode.

We had a loooooong lunch at Fraunces Tavern. Lots of interesting history there but the everyone’s patience was tested while we waited an hour for lunch. I was really impressed with all the kids. Even I was starting to get testy!

Making our way to the ferry, Erica offered to hold Amaya’s hand. I don’t know if you can see those eyebrows but she wasn’t having it. She wanted to walk by herself.

First view of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry dock!

There she is!

We took the ferry back and forth which is about an hour round trip. The view was perfect and I think the boat ride itself was as exciting as seeing the Statue of Liberty.

On the way back, Amaya threw some sort of fit about something that I never quite understood. Erica took this picture while I was off watching the view with Sammy.

Eventually she got over it. Whatever “it” was.

 

Such a fun adventure!!

 

On the way back uptown, Amaya and Sammy got the hang of standing on the subway. Sammy even did a fist bump with a group of talented subway musicians and handed them some change.

Nana and Papa got the kids souvenir snow globes. When Amaya’s broke, Savta came to the rescue with a Statue of Liberty she had at her house. And when Sammy’s broke, she found another for him! Anticipating that Steven’s might break, Savta gave him a replica of the Empire State Building complete with a working thermometer. From here on out, the ESB will be known, to Steven, as “the thermometer building”.

Tuesday was our first beach day of the trip!

Amaya was thrilled to get in the big pool and “swim”. The water was freezing and the pool was practically empty but our girl persevered.

Sunbathing…

SSA remembered digging holes last summer and wanted to do it again. “Mommy! Chasey found dug down to water!”

  

We read lots and lots of books while we were in NY.

Wednesday, Amaya had her first haircut!! She’d been a little nervous but, with Charlie to go first, she found the courage and loved it!

 

Lock of hair. I said I wasn’t going to keep any but, when the moment came, I couldn’t help myself.

All done!!

Adding a pink extension.

Back at Aunt Sara’s house, the boys passed time playing War with Savta.

When we returned, we learned there was a police officer feeding his horses in the parking lot behind Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s dead end. We all headed over to check it out and the officer was nice enough to let us pet his horse.

Books at bedtime! The kids did a great job sleeping and staying in bed. We brought our Ok to Wake clock and Sammy & Amaya stayed in bed every morning. Steven made it 4 of 8 which might be better than his track record at home. Even better, the kids just came and got me if they were up when the green light went on and let each other stay asleep. I hope we can continue that at home.

Amaya cuts her own fingernails and toenails now lol.

Thursday we were back at the beach.

Sammy started off eating lunch with Steven and Amaya but, eventually, wanted to be by himself. He had a lot of this during the week. There were times of “I don’t want anyone to look at me” and “‘So-and-so is too close to me.” I can understand that the constant energy could be a lot for him so I tried to find ways to give him space and honor his requests when he specifically requested alone time.

Our first trip down to the ocean. Amaya was ready to go!

Sammy and his Savta. “I wish I could be with you all the time. You’re so much fun!”

Together through the years… 2015, 2016 and 2018. I’ll have to look for a photo from last year. I’m sure I have one. It’s Sammy and his Savta, after all.

In the ocean! We started off slow with around-the-waist grips on the kids as they got used to the waves. They were a little nervous at first, too.

Steven looooved it! After everyone went back to the cabana he asked to stay down at the ocean with me. “This is the best day ever!,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Steven had said to me, “I love you, Mommy. I wish I could make a copy of you so I didn’t have to share you. How can we do that? You won’t fit into the copier at school. We need three copies. Actually, we need a copy for Chasey and, I guess, one for Charlie so we need five. How can we do that?”

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Checking out his shells.

Nana, the five kids and I went out to eat after the beach, before Chase’s baseball practice. It was a gorgeous night for dinner on the water.

Steven tried fried shrimp!

Story time! Nana & Papa had some Disney Princess books which were a huge hit this week. We liked them so much that they came back to MI with us.

Even Charlie found a princess story she could read to the kids!

Back to the beach on Friday!

This time it was Sammy’s turn to pull the cooler.

Someone needed her pool time.

Steven tried to get in the big pool, too. He was a little nervous but made it on to the steps.

Only Sammy and Amaya wanted to go down to the ocean on Friday. Nana joined me since we need a 1:1 ratio in the ocean.

Shoveling seaweed.

Off on a shell hunt with Nana.

The kids are always excited for Shabbat with Nana.

All things considered, Steven, Sammy and Amaya got along phenomenally well through the week. It was a lot of together time, out of routine, and they did great. It’s a lot of fun to watch them together.

Steven wanted to make a clown for Nana with some of the shells he found at the beach. Papa did a special CVS run to get glue for him so he could work on his crafts, and Amaya joined in on the fun, too.

The finished product!

Saturday was our final day in NY and one last beach day. Aunt Sara and Charlie came over early to get in some extra time.

Auntie even joined us at the beach. (Steven and Sammy love to make their own sandwiches.)

One last trip down to the ocean. This was the best one yet. The waves were super mild and all three kids had a blast jumping in the waves and hunting for shells.

I even got in deep with Chase which was a blast.

I promised ice cream on our last beach day. Amaya got ice cream. Sammy wanted these frozen lemon and lime balls but he needed to be sure it was junk food. “Are they unhealthy? Are they as many units unhealthy as ice cream?” lolol

Steven doesn’t generally eat ice cream but he really, really wanted a treat. He settled for an ice cream sandwich and eventually decided it would be best if I could just peel off the outside cookie layer and leave the ice cream behind.

On the way home we had our first “fake sleeper”. She was so funny and carried through with it all the way into the house!

Amaya has also taken to wearing her goggles in the bath and shower. “Now I don’t need a towel over my eyes when you wash my hair.”

True photo of my post-beach shower. The only thing staged about this was my request to Sammy to get my phone off the counter so I could get a photo of my experience. He had to be as close to me as possible. 🙂

After dinner Nana, Papa, Savta and Aunt Sara we called it a wrap on a perfect NY week! The best yet!!

Off we went, back to Michigan! This time our travel was perfect and we even landed early. The kids and I have a great routine down, too, with everyone knowing what’s coming next all along the way.

Steven saw this sign and said, “D-E-L-T-A! It says ‘Delta” like on my airplane cookies!”

Today was Amaya’s first time sitting next to a “friendly stranger”.

Steven had an incredible view of Manhattan while we were climbing. “Mommy! I see the Thermometer Building!”

Back in MI!

And back home. ♥

Have a great week!

This week I had a group of remote team members come to Novi for a meeting and, like last year, I hosted the group at my house for a pizza party. The local team came, too, and many of them came with their families. Before everyone arrived, SSA were excited to start eating chips & dip. Big night lol!

We ended up with 21 adults and 8 kids (5 and under) at the house. It took a little while for everyone to warm up but, soon enough, everyone was playing together. Steven liked to direct the activities and Amaya spent time standing on as step stool surveying her domain. Sammy took a near immediate liking to my colleague, Lisa.

Steven, showing off his Frozen tattoo.

Feeding Strawberry!

Thursday was “Fancy Day” at camp. Amaya was thrilled to get to wear her wedding dress and wedding shoes. Steven immediately knew he wanted to wear the dress I always tell them is “too fancy” for camp. Sammy just likes clothes that twirl.

Steven has still struggled to stay in bed at night but finally, finally earned the 6 stars needed to get his watch. Only another 345,564,765,274 days until he earns his next 6 stars. 😉

Amaya had a fever on Thursday night and couldn’t go to her last day of camp so, since we were home together until Megan arrived, we decided it was the perfect time to add a little summer color to her hair. This time she picked red and orange.

Next thing we knew, it was Friday evening and Steven, Sammy, Amaya and I were off to NY for the week!!

The four of us are getting into a good routine. TSA > Potty > Snack Run > Happy Meals > Watch Planes At Gate. This trip, Sammy even wanted to try the moving walk without holding hands. He was nervous but proud.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8pm and arrive at LGA at 10pm. Just prior to boarding, we got word of a weather related ground stop in NY which put a hold on anyone boarding the plane. I thought we were done-for but, by 7:45pm, we were getting on the plane. Again, we have a nice routine down. Sammy was excited to sit across the aisle next to a “friendly stranger” and Steven took up his usual window seat.

The kids settled in and we were ready to go! Only New York wasn’t ready for us to arrive. 🙁 We waited and waited and waited and waited. Thank goodness for the new airplane with tvs at every seat. That isn’t typical for my NY flights and, with only one tablet for Sammy to use, I’d have been totally screwed.

Spirits staying high as we waited!

At 9:45pm (2 hours in), we were given the opportunity to get off the plane for an hour with an update and reboarding expected at 10:45pm. I decided it was best for us to stay put. Everyone was settled, and tired, and I didn’t see much to gain from taking all our stuff off the plane only to have to get all settled again an hour later – especially since the kids were relatively content watching shows.

Everyone reboarded just before 11pm and we were set to take off for NY when the seemingly inevitable happened – another ground stop in NY which meant that our current crew would time out. We weren’t going to NY.

This is what we were contending with.

At 12:15am – 4.5 hours after we boarded – we got off the plane with a new flight time of 8:15am. It was crazy. I tried so hard to get a room at the Westin on the airport property but, as the agent was reserving my room, someone else snatched it up. We didn’t have a car at the airport and, at that point, calling Jason to drive out to get us only to turn around 4 hrs later seemed nuts. I called around quickly for an airport hotel that had an available shuttle bus for us.

The Comfort Inn came to the rescue and SSA were thrilled to ride the bus. Amaya made a point to tell her brothers that she also rode a bus like this “at Texas”. Steven said the ride was the “greatest ever”. So, in the end, I had happy, excited kids at 1am in MI when I expected to have happily sleeping kids in NY.

We slept from about 1:30am- 6am when I bribed the kids with juice at the continental breakfast and we hopped back on the shuttle bus for our flight. Our luggage was still on the plane so we had just the carry-on items we brought on the plane with us. In the end, that worked out well because it was less stuff to schlep around but I might pack a few more necessities in our carry-on next time.

Back on the shuttle!

And back on the airplane!

This time, for the first time, we mixed things up and Steven sat across the aisle.

You can’t see it here but he made friends immediately, as he does.

Before the flight, Sammy saw our pilot and went over to say hello. He told us to come by the cockpit when we landed and we took him up on it. He was so generous with the kids. It was a wonderful end to a wild travel adventure.

We made it!!!! I can’t say enough about how spectacular Steven, Sammy and Amaya were through the entire ordeal. They were cooperative, helpful and calm. Amaya, in particular, seemed to sense when she could make a sacrifice to help her brothers be-it changing seats on the airplane or sharing a toy. I am so proud of all three of them.

We got to NY and I promptly fell asleep from 12pm- 2:30pm. Then again from 3:30pm- 6pm. Amazingly, the kids just jumped right into fun. Amaya and Sammy each napped for about 20 minutes in the car but I honestly have no idea where they got their stamina. Youth, I guess.

Steven, laughing at something Chase & Charlie said.

Sister-Cousins

Hugs with Nana

Missed it all. 🙂

Fresh air.

Finally, ASLEEP.

Today Amaya got dressed and put on ALL her skirts. “I have a long dress, don’t I? Send a picture to Dada.”

We had a lazy morning with the Goldbergs and, after lunch, got ourselves together to go to the mall for glow-in-the-dark mini golf.

First time for Sammy and Amaya!

Savta started indoctrinating the kids into the world of perfume/cologne at Neiman Marcus. The kids are all obsessed. “Smell my arm.” Sammy said, for his next staying-in-bed prize he wants 5 bottles. “If one runs out we’ll have another. And if that one runs out we’ll have another. And if that one runs out we’ll have another. And if that one runs out we’ll have another. And if that one runs out we’ll need to buy more.”

For dinner, Auntie, Dod Shuki, Jake and Naomi came over. Lots of kids and lots of noise!

We wrapped up the day with TV and now everyone is fast asleep.

After a rocky start, we’re off to a great start of our week in NY! Have a good one!!

Sammy was proud Monday morning when he earned his next prize for staying in bed. “This Little Golden Book Belongs to Sammy.”

Amaya was next on Tuesday with her Princess Sofia high heel shoes.

They went perfectly with her crown and gloves from previous prizes.

I love this multimedia art that the kids did at camp this week.

The cousin is Charlie. No surprise there.

On Tuesday afternoon Ashley came to visit! It’s so cool that she’s still a part of their lives almost a year after her summer with us. <3

Sammy had a rough week getting off to camp. He really, really didn’t want to go. I don’t know if it was the summer cold he has or something else but it was a struggle to get him out the door – enough so that I moved up “wake” time by 10 minutes. Not only was it hard to get him out, but one morning Jason was stuck there for about 25 minutes. I’m hoping this week is better and, if not, that the two week break between camp and pre-k (!!!!) will be a reset.

On Wednesday, just before the start of his cold, Sammy was tired enough that he fell asleep on the way home from camp. He’s most likely to fall asleep in the car but a drive-home nap hasn’t happened for a while.

My mom brought this V-tech laptop with her a few months ago and it’s a huge hit. The kids are getting more and more proficient with it. It’s so interesting to think about how comfortable Steven, Sammy and Amaya are with technology that was barely a dream, if that, when I was born.

On Thursday it was Amaya’s turn for a sleepover at Grandma’s house! She was ready! She also wanted to be absolutely certain that Grandma knew she could sleep in nothing but a pull-up.

At home, the boys had some pj bike rides. For some reason Sammy has decided he’s scared of his big bike and just wants to ride his balance bike. We’ll have to try to figure out what that’s about.

Dinner with Grandma Sunshine!

Here’s some art that came back for me. Lovely buildings!

The kids – Steven and Amaya in particular – are really into all sorts of pre-literacy activities. One of the big ones right now includes writing down our dinner orders (and then making it for us). They both take meticulous (unintelligible) notes. Amaya tends to serve me pretend food while Steven spends time in their play kitchen preparing my meal.

The matchbox car race track was a big focus this week.

Saturday morning we were back at order taking!

My delicious meal, compliments of Steven.

The front of the packet of construction paper has a picture of these hats and Amaya wanted one, which soon meant everyone wanted one.

Amaya said, “put your arm around me, Sammy.” Sammy tried to put his front arm around Amaya and she said, “No, just the back one. Like this.” 🙂

Daddy’s turn!

This week signed the kids up for soccer! It’s through the city of Novi with practice once a week at 6pm on Tuesdays (late for us) and Saturday morning games. The whole season runs just 6 weeks which is a nice taste for the kids. To prep, we headed to Dick’s to stock up on cleats, shin guards and socks.

But first, picking flowers.

I’d called ahead to be sure they had cleats in the kids’ sizes. Sammy and Amaya picked neon yellow/green and Steven picked pink.

Ready to play!

There’s a track around the shoe department which provided a great opportunity to test out their new cleats.

After Dick’s we had lunch at the mall where everyone wanted a turn on the “rides”. Steven was insistent that his rides not move, so much so that he made me put my hand over the coin slot while he was in one of the vehicles. Amaya and Sammy wanted them to go, go, go.

This weekend it was Amaya’s turn to come with me while I got my hair cut. Amaya planned to color the whole time but my hairdresser, Ashley, had other plans.

Look at Ashley’s helper! Ashley was awesome, letting Amaya get in on the action.

Her fee: Ice Cream. (I really, really dislike mint flavored foods. Turns out I have two kids who love mint chocolate chip ice cream.)

Trying on our gear!! SSA chose their shoes, socks and soccer balls!

This morning started with soccer practice with Daddy.

Back to the images on the front of the construction paper packet, Steven saw some paper folded accordion style and asked me to make those for him. Once I was done he asked me how to write, “This blue zig zag,” and very carefully wrote it out himself. I only had to help him with the U, S, and the first G. (Recently Steven has been making his “S” on it’s side and he’s trying to practice doing it correctly.)

I’m so impressed with his letter knowledge. I didn’t realize he was this proficient. He also wrote “This black zig zag” and knows his C and K, too. “C is for ‘Cline’, mommy!”

Oh! Another accomplishment for Steven… he started writing the U incorrectly. That’s something that would normally set him off but, instead, he deiced to just draw that circle/heart around it and draw a new U inside. I was very proud.

This morning there was a big Robot Party in Kellogg Park in Plymouth. Lightening Robotics, in partnership with local school robotics club, puts in a big annual event. It was awesome! Tons of science activities for the kids plus real robots!

Making “lava lamps” with water, oil, food coloring and salt.

Tinfoil penny boats. Sammy was the Cline Family winner for the most pennies.

Making rockets with straws, card stock and clay

3-2-1 Blast Off!! We got in line to shoot our rockets over and over and over again. It was a huge hit.

Circuit insects! These guys helped us build complete circuits that light up the eyes. The insects’ bodies were clothes pins with pipe cleaner legs and exoskeletons.

And then the real robots!! Steven was enthralled. There were robots of all different sizes and he couldn’t get enough.

Our turn to “drive” the robots. Sammy was eager to go first. The could make the robot “car” move around and also launch a ball. So cool.

We wrapped up our morning with lunch out. I love eating outside. I love summer.

When you decide you don’t want pepperoni after all…

So proud! Amaya pet a dog!! Earlier in the day, Steven and Sammy both pet another dog but Amaya was too scared. This dog was outside the fence by our table while we ate and I think she was able to see that it was a calm pup. It’s owner was awesome and made sure to keep control the whole time and keep the dog’s head toward her. That helped a lot. One step at a time.

We wrapped up our day with a little swimming, where Amaya and Steven decided they needed their puddle jumpers and Sammy was happy to have the science equipment all to himself.

I’ll wrap up this week with a video Jason took of Steven’s barbershop.

Have a great week!

Monday morning I flew off to NJ for work while Jason was starting a week long vacation. It was the perfect time to build much needed box springs for the boys’ beds. He had 3 eager helpers underfoot.

No more toddler rails! Steven and Sammy were so excited to show me. “Close your eyes, Mommy. It’s a surprise!” And, “Now our beds are high like Amaya’s!” Hopefully more comfortable, too.

Last week the kids tie died t-shrits at camp and Tuesday was the day to wear them.

Tuesday afternoon, Jason got in some batting and catching practice with Steven, Sammy and Amaya.

Jason and I crossed paths on Tuesday. I was in the air flying home from NJ when he headed off to Cleveland for the National Sports Card Collector’s show. On Thursday morning, half-way through the mornings on my own, I decided to follow in Nana and Daddy’s footsteps and take the kids to Starbucks for breakfast.

Breakfast of champions! While Steven chomped on a chocolate chip muffin and Amaya had lemon pound cake, Sammy ate cheese, crackers, apples and grapes. He especially liked the brie, about which all the kids said, “It’s like Ms Bree!”

Amaya successfully bartering food with her brother…

This is a Rapunzel dress but it’s purple like the dress Sofia the First wears so Steven’s a fan.

He’s wearing his Sofia amulet but can’t look away from his trucks while he shows me. (“No, Mommy. It’s AM-bu-lent.)

Jason sent some videos of his experience in Cleveland which thrilled Steven, Sammy and Amaya.

SSA are still earning prizes for staying in bed until their green light goes on. I’m pretty sure Sammy has lapped Steven at least twice by now lol. For his most recent prize he asked for a ghost costume so he can scare people. He’s such a funny kid. I had to let him try it on before camp on Friday.

Maybe it’s because Jason was away, maybe for no real reason, but Sammy had a hard time saying goodbye to me at camp this week. Fortunately for us, Ms Bree made sure he was cuddled and cared for when I left.

This picture came home with Amaya. 🙂

Some artwork from the week!

Steven drew “swimming in New York with Mommy”. <3

Amaya drew herself swimming.

Sammy drew himself on a slide.

Sammy continues to be our most adventurous eater. On Saturday morning he tried sardines in mustard sauce. Honestly, it was hard for me to even serve it to him but I put on my game face and got the job done with an encouraging smile.

Saturday, my friend Courtney and her family were visiting from Indiana for a family party and we were able to meet up. First at the playground and then back to my house for lunch. We had Amaya and 6 boys lol.

So proud he climbed up that ladder.

The loooooove this little twisting, spinning thing.

I think all 6 of the triplets are in this photo. SSA call this this the “garden” and the love to spend time there when we go the playground.

Courtney’s oldest son, Andrew, was playing minecraft and Steven, Sammy and Amaya were enthralled. They climbed right on her husband, Jake, to watch.

Sammy wanted to scare the other kids in the playground lol.

Steven took a turn, too.

The whole gang!

Today, Madison and I took the kids to Martindale beach at Kensington Park. How have I not been spending my summers on MI lakes? Lakes are amazing! Calm, clear water. No riptides. Warm. We had SO much fun and everyone loved being in the water, too! They’re already asking when we can go back.

Amaya went right in. Nothing was stopping her.

This was the first time using puddle jumpers. I told Amaya she’d be able to float in the water and she went for it immediately. No fear.

Steven and Sammy really impressed me with their willingness to get in the lake, especially Steven who even worked up to floating a bit. It was awesome.

Madison started a hole digging contest. Steven won for widest hole. Amaya won for longest hole. Sammy won for deepest hole.

Chilling.

Amaya is fiercely independent but sometimes she still needs her mommy.

Just a perfect, perfect day. We were there for 4 hours and everyone was disappointed when it was time to leave. Like the kids, I can’t wait to go back.

Have a great week!