Fun in the Sun....

The views were breathtaking...from every angle and from every corner of our favorite annual vacation spot, the island of Martha's Vineyard. From the lighthouse in Aquinnah (taken from wrap around roofdeck of our uncle's palace by the sea) to the passing schooner, to the sunset after an incredible day at the beach--each beautiful picture represents the absolutely wonderful time we had on our first vacation this summer.

While island residents, we celebrated Father's Day and of course, Princess Abigail's birthday! :)

We think she was happy to celebrate in the 'special house'

We played in our pool.....

We went to the beach...a lot! :)

We kayaked....

Did some luxurious swinging on our porch swing.....

Went on mysterious hikes through the marshes/forests/beaches on the island....

Visited with our awesome relatives, the Ranallis....

Visited the permanent home of a particular comedic celebrity....

Rode the oldest platform carousel in the world....Attended (and made several purchases at) a craft and artisan fair at the artist compound on the island....

....and walked on the beach, of course, at sunset....holding hands, no less!

All in all, a STELLAR start to the Summer of 2011...

Hello sunshine and warmth!

Graduation Day

After much hard work and dedication to her studies, Princess Abigail has GRADUATED from pre-K. In the Fall, she will begin an entirely new journey in her educational career--heading off the Kindergarten. Mommy is beside herself with nerves about this evolution as all the kids at the elementary school seem so big!

She is very proud of her accomplishment and we are thrilled that she has reached this amazing milestone in her life. She's worked very hard and achieved equal to her peers, which is a huge success in everyone's book.

Congratulations Abby!

Start of Summer and Picasso's unexpected visit.....

Finally! Summer has arrived in full force in the Kingdom. Temperatures today reached 90, and are expected to remain in the upper echelon for at least the next week. "Yippeee" says King Tony!

It wouldn't be summer without the craziness of kid birthday parties, and what better way to kick off months of parties than a super-sized pizza bash complete with Curious Creatures (http://www.curiouscreatures.org/) in tow?

Above is Prince Alec, consuming his first of many slices at a friend's birthday bash this past weekend. The most fun was seeing not only the three royals play with critters and reptiles, but King Tony giving one or two a pat on the head. History in the making! :)

Princess Abs takes on the python....and has no fear whatsoever! Brave girl! :)

"I want to kiss the alligator" SMOOCH! :)

Giving an albino lizard a little love....

Alec gets up close to his first reptile....

All three little ones (and some other friends) glue themselves to Queen Wendy when the snakes come out. King Tony is far, far away....

Welcome a flying squirrel!! :)

Who doesn't love birthday cake--and a picnic cake at that (complete with ants!)? :)

The newest addition to the Kingdom is a lovely new vehicle which now resides in our garage--specifically for the mini royals! :) Assembled by none other than the King himself, the kids are completely thrilled with their new summer toy! :) Even King Tony wanted to take it for a spin....

Most days are filled with everyday challenges around the Kingdom. You know the usual, dirty laundry, a sink filled with dishes, vacuuming and yard work. However this year, we've gone a few steps further with some home remodeling and updating, which included painting of our garage--just to keep it fresh and clean looking. Sounds simple and positive enough, doesn't it?

Well, nothing in the Kingdom is as simple or easy as it sounds.

Never has been, and likely never will be. :)

As the King and Queen took to their rollers and paintbrushes (after settling the mini royals outside with toys, activities and fun), the garage began to transform into a bright white paradise for the royal vehicles. Within a few short seconds of having our backs turned however, all three mini royals (Princes Alec and Aramis and Princess Abigail), had plopped their hands/arms into the white paint (latex, no less) bucket, ran outside to the closed garage door and garden rock wall, and decided to add their own personal touches to the activity.

The results of just a few unattended moments can be seen below:

Notice the lovely hand prints, as well as the 'brush splatters' delivered by the crew.....onto our newly painted house, no less.

And a few areas where they tried to 'wipe off' the evidence of their wrong doing...

Notice the trail of white paint leading from inside the garage outward.

The trail that led us directly to the culprits....

In the heat of the moment, the King and Queen were beside themselves with rage.

Why would their little precious ones do such a thing?

Fortunately, there was no yelling or anger.

We quickly realized that our children (being in pre-K and all) spend much of their week fingerpainting and playing with shaving cream paint which they put on everything they want! How are they to know that latex paint is any different?

The answer simply is that they wouldn't.

So, after a visit to the local paint store to pick up another gallon of exterior house paint to match our current color, some sandpaper and some paint thinner/remover, we righted the wrongs made on that day.

The kids spent about 60 minutes in a tub getting paint removed from their bodies and hair, but the important lesson their parents came away with was the pure realization that they just wanted to help us accomplish our goals for the day, and simply added their own inner Picasso's to the project.

Thank goodness we were able to repair the damage to the Kingdom. And at the same time, educate our children that while some paint is okay to play with...other paint is not.

Oh when, oh when, will the lunacy subside? :)

A silly sock.....

Not being saints ourselves, Tony and Wendy knew that the days would come when their children would do something costly to their belongings. I can recall throwing banana peels down my grandmother's toilet--for no apparent reason--other than it was something my little brother and I wanted to do! So, when our children dumped a plastic pretzel into our guest bathroom and it clogged the toilet...we had an inclination that the day had finally arrived. $400 dollars later, the tiny plastic pretzel emerged, the toilet was repaired and we all went on our merry way.

After this, we thought--we've been dealt a pretty decent blow. We won't have to deal with much more for awhile. Right? But, NOOOOOOooooooo!!!! No one mentioned that we should be weary of these little things, or even on the lookout for them, yet scarily, the simple 'toddler sock' has recently become the bane or our existence.

A few weeks ago, our new clothes washer suddenly went on the fritz. We were in shock. After a call to the washer repair man, and 15 minutes of his time, we learned quickly that these lovely little do-dads easily get caught in front load washer catch drains and hoses and therefore, require a garment bag for each and every wash. Hmmm...we didn't remember the sales guy telling us about this when we bought the thing--all three kidlets in tow, no less. Add another $200 to our bill..thank you very much!

Today, another interesting development. After picking up all three kids from school, we were blessed with a break in the rain and thought a visit to a local park would be a nice way to celebrate. Seems like a good idea, right?

Oh, nooooooo!!!

After trying to close the sliding rear door of our minivan (which simply wouldn't shut), we manually tried to shut it and it jammed. It didn't shut all the way, and the alert kept going off in the car! So, off we went to the dealership immediately to determine the cause of this problem. Literally 3 minutes later (and thanks to a very large/long screwdriver), we learned of the challenge--another toddler sock (above), which was jammed at the far end of the track (invisible unless you knew where to look for it).

Thank you little children of ours who constantly peel off their socks and shoes in the car--

for no apparent reason.

After a few hundred dollars, we're actually considering buying our children Crocs and sandals exclusively--and telling them that socks have simply stopped being manufactured in our country. Think they'll buy this story???

Ugh... How is it that something so small can become so problematic (and expensive?) :)

Leaving on a JetBlue plane....

While it may 'look' like we are off on a trip to some exciting destination, the royals, this past weekend, instead participated in the Wings for Autism program, which was held at Boston's Logan International Airport. Hosted by the Charles River Center, Massport/Logan International, TSA and JetBlue Airways, the half day event welcomed families from around New England interested in completing a 'dry run' through air travel from soup to nuts.

From entrance into the airport and ticketing, to security, waiting at the gate, boarding and deboarding the plane, participants were given an all-access look at what traveling would be like. For families of children with special needs, this seemed an unprecedented experience. However, the Wings for Autism program has thus far been executed in both Philly and NJ to date--making Boston the third major metro to come on board.

The fabulously-executed event allowed hundreds of Bay State families to participate and determine where the potential areas of challenge may lay, and how exactly to work with members from the airport, airline or TSA to safely navigate air travel on future trips. One of the most warm and memorable elements was the fact that nationally, airports across the country are slowly but surely implementing the Wings for Autism program and working with all direct people-facing team members to bring added support to those traveling families containing members with special needs. Several airline team members and TSA representatives told our family that this program allowed them "to become more familiar with individuals with special needs and learn how to best support them as they took advantage of air travel." What's more, a special lapel pin was created for family members to wear, to help alert air travel professionals so that should situations arise, they are not only immediately made aware, but hopefully via this program, more prepared to support the travelers to avoid unnecessary hassles and waits for other air travelers.

Truly groundbreaking.

It was a momentous day on several levels and one that we were extremely lucky to have been able to leverage. Hopefully, this program will be brought back not only in the Fall by the exceptional Charles River Center here in Massachusetts, but through national airports across the country.

The "Wings for Autism" event logo....

The tarmac....

The royals getting their first glimpse. Well, the boys really, since Abby has been a global jet setter since the age of 18 months. She served as an exceptional role model for her younger brothers....

Tony and Abby...waiting at the gate....

Alec and Aramis...waiting patiently for their gate number to be called...Good boys!

The kids get an extra special opportunity to chat up the pilot (yes, a real, bonafide JetBlue senior pilot who really wanted to participate in this event and spent so much time with our kids. Incredibly special). They kept trying to steal his wings...to no avail. :)

The jetway...and all is okay thus far. No tantrums, worries or fears. Just 'following Papa!'

Okay, the rubber meets the road here, actually boarding the plane. Thank goodness the flight attendant that greeted us very sweet--and of course, beautiful to boot! :)

Heading back to our seats. So far, so good!

The royals all got to experience the pleasure of being a flight attendant! Buckling up in their jump seats, checking out the galley and even making announcements over the PA system. Wow!

Overall, the event was incredibly well executed. After some snacks and TV on the plane and a quick visit to the cockpit, the royals went off on their merry way to plan their next trip--hopefully--to Colombia sometime later this summer. We're now investigating a quick jaunt to Richmond to say hi to our good friends Chuck, Josh/Coreen/Hannah, Brett, Duck, Doc/Phu and afterwards, we'll just have to see what unfolds. :)

Team members from the Charles River Center that got the ball rolling and a nice article which appeared in the Boston Globe (below) outlining the program in more detail. Ms. Jennifer Robtoy, the 'ring leader' is second from the left. Did we mention she's a ROCK STAR!!! :)

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/articles/2011/05/15/logan_airport_practice_run_aims_to_ease_travel_for_autistic_children/