Brotherly Love!

Today I witnessed one of the most touching moments a mom could wish for.  We were all outside in the front yard.  Grant on Great Grandma's quilt, boys on their big wheels and I was sweeping the porch.  Tommy was doing circles on his big wheel in front of Grant.  Grant was squealing with delight.  


At one point, Tommy ran by me and into the house and said, "I need a tissue Mommy!"  (Tommy is always needing a tissue, so I thought nothing of it.)  Then out he came and ran over to Grant.  Plopping down with him he said, "okay Grant…blow!"  


He was wiping Grant's nose.  I almost cried.  There the two of them sat…Tommy (my big 4-year old) chatting away and Grant staring up at him.  When I wipe Grant's nose, he wriggles and squirms, but when Tommy does it?  Grant sat still as a statue with huge eyes and a big smile.  


I'll never forget it.  Seeing Tommy's beautiful, kind heart filled with love and concern for his baby brother...and seeing Grant's complete adoration of his big brother.   Love!!!!

Hmmm...something looks different here...right?

Welcome to our NEW blog!!  I know...I was planning on keeping things the same, but I kept feeling so badly for Grant and really felt like we needed a new look.  Then came THE SIGN.  One of the domains I've been eyeballing opened up.  And this was too good of an opportunity to pass up!!  I'm trying out this new fancy layout.  (You the reader can actually choose the way you view the blog.)  But will most likely move back to a more basic layout once I've redesigned my header and graphics.  

So now...(you are going to think I'm nuts)...you can access this blog through any of these links which we've been slowly acquiring over the years:

Here is the one I've been WAITING FOR!!!!!
www.theriordanfamily.com -- Can you believe it?!?  I've been trying to get this one for so long!!  YAY!

www.riordanfamilyadventures.com - This was always our travel blog.

www.riordanboys.com - I'm holding on to the next two in case the boys start a boy band one day.  ;)

www.theriordanboys.com

www.tommyandcole.com - The originals....
www.coleandtommy.com

Nothing changes...I'll continue to update and post pictures and videos.  I think this may be a little more fun to play around with to see pictures, etc. until my next version makes it's debut.  Oh!  And Halloween pictures coming SOON....I promise!!!

Happy Halloween

We had a GREAT Halloween.  Tommy dressed as Darth Vader and Cole as Batman and they were SO proud of their costumes.  (I was surprised that they both chose something different for once!)  I feel like Halloween was a two week event for us!  Between Halloween parties, pumpkin carving, cookie making, fun spooky crafts and dress-up days at school...our calendar was jam packed with fun!  It all culminated in one of the best Halloweens yet.  Our neighborhood hosted an INCREDIBLE haunted house and Halloween party.  After, the parents took the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  It was so funny seeing the throngs of kids invading each house.  There couldn't have been ANY candy left once our gangs passed through.  :)

Here is a short video with some of our highlights.  Including a visit to the boys' classrooms where they sang songs and recited Halloween poems.  It was too cute!

If you can't see the above, just follow this link to view the video!

http://youtu.be/ASbAtO-aIl4

Gravestone Rubbing!

Driving home from school the other day, we passed by the cemetery and I was reminded of a time when I was small and we went to a cemetery and did tombstone rubbings.  It was such a cool experience.  The boys and I decided to give it a try and we recruited some friends to join us.  We baked pumpkin cookies, packed a big jug of apple juice, some rubbing paper and crayons and off we went.

The atmosphere was perfect!  Colorful trees, brown crunchy leaves underfoot...

We found some AMAZING tombstones.  Just look at these carvings!

Spooky!!

After we finished rubbings, the boys played hide and seek amongst the old tombstones.  Then somehow...as only boys know how...they found a muddy hill to slide down on their tummies.

These are their "scary" faces.  :)

They were peeking inside this huge door trying to get in.  Clearly we needed a key.

As they were zombie walking around...

We found the key!  This statue was holding it.  But it was too high to reach.  Ah...the imagination of little boys!

It was such a fun spooky fall afternoon that we're planning on going back again for more rubbings.  The pictures make amazing Halloween decorations...and we loved seeing the stones reveal themselves under our crayons!  

Fall days...

The boys and I spent the afternoon lounging in the front yard yesterday.  We pulled out great grandma's blanket and plopped ourselves down on the lawn for snacks and fall sunshine.  The air was crisp and the sun was warm...it was perfect!

Grant loved sitting outside watching his brothers antics.  And there were plenty of antics!  Here the boys are posing for a picture.   This led to football style tackles and LOTS of laughter!