Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a great weekend starting off with playing at the Hunter Gym on Friday night with Aubrey, Nadia and Cai. Olivia and Gryffin were still recovering from a nasty stomach virus that apparently swept the nation so they didn't have nearly as much fun as they usually do. It was nice to get out of the house after about a week of being quarantined.

Saturday morning we packed up the kids and dog and headed up to New Castle for some birthday and St. Patrick's Day fun. It was a beautiful weekend with a nice feel of a much anticipated spring air. The kids played outside and so did the adults.

Tom's sister, niece and uncle all have March birthday's that are celebrated together with his Irish family's St. Patrick's day celebration. It is a fun tradition that I am happy to have been a part of for the past nine years.

Gryffin is my little fix it guy and loves to help out with everything. He picked up this giant wrench to help fix the hot tub and actually carried it around.

Tom's sister Danae couldn't make it so Emily and Uncle Paul were the remaining birthday crew. Every year my pictures of the day look similar with the exception of a very fast growing little girl. I can't believe Emily is already eight-years-old! Kids change and grow way too fast.

My sweet little Livie in her favorite dress. She actually made me take off her green shirt so she could wear it even though she wore it the day before. I don't know where she gets it from but this little girl loves her clothes and shoes.

Hunter actually made it in to the hot tub this time and so did I for the first time in over two years! I forgot how relaxing it really is.

The kids got to icing the birthday cake and took full advantage of the opportunity to lick the icing spreaders.

The kids use this tree as a clubhouse and it makes a really great place to take photos too.

Even with their age difference, there is a good connection between Emily and Olivia. Emily can't wait to put makeup on her and do her nails and show her the ropes of being a sweet little girl.

We love Laurie Berkner!

Hunter has LOVED Laurie Berkner since he was about two. For those of you who don't watch Noggin, she is a really great singer of super cute and creative kids songs. We drove to New Jersey to see her in concert when Hunter was three. It was a very long drive and the concert was somewhat of a let down to Hunter because our seats were so far away, and Hunter couldn't see anything because he was in desperate need of glasses but we hadn't figured it out yet. So, when we found out she was playing in Cleveland (only a two hour drive from Pittsburgh), we decided we had to go.

I packed us a lunch and plenty of snacks for the ride to and from and we headed out on our adventure. We picked up Nadia (Aubrey and Cai had to stay home due to a nasty stomach flu that we are now suffering from) and my brother Noah who benefitted from Aubrey's extra ticket. The ride there was a breeze thanks to Wall-E in the DVD player.

The kids had a blast singing and dancing and climbing on and off the chairs. It was a really great show and Laurie played all of our favorites. Olivia and Gryffin were tired from not having had a nap but still managed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

Nadia danced her little heart out and had a great time just hanging out and being silly with Hunter.

This is Nadia's third time to see The Laurie Berkner Band live, although the first time was in New Jersey and she was too young to remember. Hunter asked constantly when we could go to another Laurie Berkner concert. It looks like we have a couple of groupies on our hands.

Hunter decided our seats were less than desirable and asked if we could move up for a closer look. I took him and Nadia up to the front row so they could be right where the action was and they just stood in awe. It was so cute. Hunter was excited beyond belief and actually thought Laurie was talking directly to him when she was addressing the audience. Just the thought of this brings a smile to my face. Oh, the wonder of a five-year-old.

Tom took this photo less then five minutes after we left for the drive home to Pittsburgh. Three of five children are asleep, and Noah would have been too if Hunter wasn't still buzzing with energy from the show and talking his ear off. All in all it was a grand time, even if the ride home was really, really long.