Putting Off

I've been avoiding this blog and putting off writing because I feel like if I write about what is going then it really is happening. Well it is. If you want to know the scoop keep reading if not then I recommend leaving.

We had our home inspection on Tuesday of last week and the guy who did the inspection to J that out of all the houses he has ever inspected this is probably the best one he has ever seen. There are still things that need to be fixed like the oven doesn't work. I like to cook people we NEED a working oven! But all and all the house has "good bones". We were able to schedule the mold/air test the next day. He told us the results would come back by Friday. This is when things took a turn for the worse. On Thursday he called and told me he had the results back. However he feels that they are inaccurate and he wants to come retest. Apparently, before he came to that house he tested another house and cleaned his stuff but he feels since the other house had the HIGHEST level of Stachy he has ever tested that he might not have gotten the machine clean enough. He thinks our air sample was cross contaminated from the other house. He is going to be bringing a new pump and tube to retest our place. That happens tonight on a Sunday. We should hopefully know by Tuesday what those results are so that we can either move forward with the purchase of this house or start looking for a new place to buy. At this point I am not holding my breath that we will be buying this house. I have started looking online again. I know that God is in control of this whole situation and I have been praying like crazy that God would give us a clear sign. Right now I feel like the signs are a little mucky. Meaning out of all the houses we have looked at this is the only one both J and I felt at peace with putting an offer in. But then all this happens with the air testing, it starts to get cloudy. If you think about it and you feel like it, we could use some prayers for restful sleep and clear decisions.

On a totally different topic. Yesterday we took a day trip. Friend of ours from church lost her 91 year old grandma. We went to the funeral. On our way there we stopped at the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. It was really cool. Then afterward we headed to my mom house but before we went there we stopped at the house that her and my step dad designed and built. I showed the kids my hand print on the porch when I was about 11 years old. It was really weird to pull up to that house. They sold it about 7 years ago and to a guy I graduated High School with so that is a little weird too. We had dinner with my mom and her boyfriend and then headed home. The kids did so well and we actually had a lot of fun together as a family.

Trying to catch up!

Peanut and I left on the 23rd of this month and took a little trip to California! It was so beautiful there. It was both of our first times there and we had a great time. Peanut got to go in the Pacific Ocean and hopefully this summer when we visit Jeff's brother she will get to go in the Atlantic Ocean all in the same year and all firsts for her. The first day we got there we shopped. My dad bought me some Ugg slippers and my feet are so happy about them! I LOVE my boots and now I am able to wear Uggs inside and out!!! That night we watched Julie and Julia, a movie I had wanted to see for sometime but J was never interested in watching with me. On Sunday we went to Disneyland and California Adventures. That we really fun. I picked out the kids each a gift from there and I got myself a new zip up hooded sweatshirt. Monday my dad and I checked out some different places around where my aunt lives. We went to one of many missions and walked around. There was a lot of history to that place and it was so beautiful. The sunshine as we walked was so welcomed :) Then we ate lunch at a harbor in Dana Point. The view from the restuarant was gorgeous. Then we drove to Laguna Beach. When we got back my dad stayed with Peanut and the 3 of us girls went to the store and got food for dinner. My aunt and I cooked dinner she has been taking classes so it was so fun to learn some techniques from her. My cousin and her husband ate with us too. I haven't seen my cousin in so many years! She leaves for Australia next month so I was glad to get to see her before she left the states. Tuesday my dad and I went to Hollywood and my aunt and step-mom took Peanut and had a ladies day together. The three of them had great fun. That night my uncle got back to town so my dad had another male to make trouble with or get made fun of with however you want to look at it ;) The last day I took a walk on the beach and wanted to get a picture of my foot in the ocean, which I got but ended up getting soaked in the process! I was a *little* wet for the flight back to freezing cold land, my wonderful uncle blow dried my shoe while my socks and pants were in the dryer. We had 20 minutes before we had to leave for the airport so they were still a little wet! I had a very fun trip and can't wait to go back to Sunny California...I'm already planning the trip to take the rest of the family.

Michigan Trip...

I just wanted to document our trip to Michigan about two weeks ago. We went with J on his business trip and so it was me and the kids during the day and all of us at night. We had a great time. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip...but certainly not all of the pictures!

Peanut as Happy as can be :)

GG and Monkey swimming in the whirl pool.

Red giving me a big smile!

Daddy and all the kids...the start of a tradition with daddy.

Mommy and all the kids ~ a family tradition

Love this picture.

This one too! We were standing under the shower by the pool.

Look at those little fish.

Here I come...catch me daddy!

Surprise...I'm not sleeping :)

Riding in the van...

Why is it that simply sitting in a vehicle for more then an hour makes you extremely tired? I wasn't even driving. Yet, here I sit exhausted, though come to think of it my hubby did wake me up around 3am because he was not feeling well. He looked bad too, sorry honey, you were pale. Then he had left his phone at work and the lady called to let us know it was there so we didn't get worried looking for it, which was nice, but at 6:40am we are all sleeping! She said, "I figured you would be awake by now with all the kids." I groggily said, "They're all still asleep." And we did just get out of the pool after swimming for a little over an hour, we needed to do something because we had been sitting ALL. DAY. LONG. I'm hoping we all sleep good tonight and that they sleep in...here's to hoping!

On a side note: J ordered me a water sling. Just a little background on this. When GG was almost 2yrs old she took swimming lessons and Monkey was just a baby. There was a mom at the pool with a water sling and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. At that time we were dirt poor, being a stay at home mom straight out of college (2 kids 18 months apart) with a hubby still in college doesn't leave much for spending money let alone groceries! I had won a free sling from the local LLL and was so grateful for it. Needless to say, I have wanted one ever since and every time I had mentioned it to J he always said something to the effect "why do you need one" so I just dropped it. When he ordered me it I was bouncing off the walls happy. It came so I was able to use it tonight in the pool love, love, love it!

Yesterday

Like I said, we left our house at 8:30am picked up our babysitter (she came with us so that GlamorGirl and Monkey would each have an adult to ride with) and we got to the park at 10 right when it opened. We went on the Big two story carousel and then to the Whizzer. When we got to the Whizzer we realized that Red was tall enough to go with an adult and GG could be by herself. Red loved it and didn't want to get off when the ride was over. Poor guy :) Then the kids went on a few barf rides, as J calls them, you know the ones that spin while spinning! I started to feel light headed, it was extremely hot with a heat index of 99.5 so we headed to an indoor theater for some air conditioning! Red and I stayed for another show so we could be in the air for a little longer. J and Jess took GG and Monkey on two rides while we watched the short movie again. Then we went out to the van and ate our picnic lunch. I felt much better after eating and cooling down my body temp in the nice cold a/c. We were headed to the Demon but the line for the Whizzer was super short so they went on it again. While they were gone I checked our map to see what we should do next. They got off and we decided that we should go to the water park since it closed in 2 hours. Jess took the two older kids to the water park because they all had swim wear on and just needed to take off the top layer. J went to the van to get the bag with our stuff in it. I took Red into an air conditioned store to get him to take a nap. It worked he was fast asleep by the time J got back. We called Jess to see where they were at in the water park and she informed us that GlamorGirl ran off and she couldn't find her. My heart stopped. We got to the place Jess was as fast as we could and I took the two boys while they looked. After about 20 minutes of not finding her I was getting extremely worried. J took Monkey with him to look for her and I took Red to the Lost Parents station to give a description of her and so on. That was the worst feeling in the world to have to say out loud that you have a missing child. Then proceed to tell them what she looks like height, weight, build, hair color and so on. I couldn't help but cry it was horrible. After about forty minutes we finally found her. When she saw me she started crying because she could tell that she really scared me. She wasn't allowed to go back into the water. At this point I had been in the hot sun for an hour with no shade and I was feeling it. I ended up going to the first aid station with GG while the rest of them swam, it was the only place in the water park with a/c. They gave me two huge drinks of Gatorade and let me sit in the air for as long as I needed. We stayed in there for about 40 minutes then we went back to get them. I took the stuff out to the van with Red and the rest of them were going to go on the Demon but Monkey didn't want to go so only J and GG went. When I got back I took the 3 kids on the train ride while J and Jess went on the Ragin' Bull. Then we went to an indoor show called Show Stoppin' it was just a bunch of singing and dancing but it was air conditioned :) By the time that was over it was 6pm and we were all hungry we got something to eat at the park. Then we went to Bugs Bunny land that had about 5 kid rides. Then we went to Cartoon Network area which had more little kid rides. Then I took the kids to the Wiggles World while J and Jess went on the America Eagle. When they got back the park was closing in 15 minutes so they took Red and GlamorGirl and went on the Whizzer one more time. Monkey didn't like that ride so we stayed in the Wiggles World and rode 2 rides and then went to meet them at the Whizzer. So apart from the fact that I am 6 months pregnant and it was a super hot day and GG getting lost we had a really good time. After dinner the sun went behind the clouds for the rest of the day and it was really nice and cool with a sweet wind that felt so good. Needless to say fun was had by ALL even the pregnant women who only got to ride 2 rides!

As for today we slept in and then went to get groceries and I'm planning on taking it easy today.

There is a contest going on over at Adventures in Babywearing you can win a really cool sling at KimzKreations on eBay. So go sign up the contest ends tomorrow and you have to have the links on your blog to be eligible. Hurry!

Six Flags Great America!

Yup that is where we spent our day today. But it is almost 11 and we left the house at 8:30 so I will go into more detail about the day tomorrow morning after I get some SLEEP :)

Race for Education

Today was the day that the kids ran the track for an hour. In keeping with the 100 days of fitness that J and I are doing I walked with them and even ran a few times to help motivate them to make it to the finish line to get one more lap checked off. GG ran 10 times around the track and Monkey did 11 times. I probably did about 8 considering I cut through the field to catch up with my running kids! But I walked for a whole hour! Not bad for a pregnant mama who just got back from a women's retreat and barely got any sleep ;)

Speaking of the retreat it was a blast! Before we got there we went to an outlet mall and I got some really good deals on kids clothes. I bought GG and the baby girl matching skirts for 99 cents and got Red a shirt and pants for 1.99 each. I also got myself two maternity tops. The speaker at the retreat, Stephanie Fast, was truly amazing her testimony about what God has done in her life unbelievable but totally God. If you have heard her before you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't heard her I highly recommend hearing her testimony on DVD! I could tell you some of the things she talked about but I couldn't do it justice you have to hear it from her. I also got a little homesick, too. It didn't help that when I called to tell the kids goodnight Red says, "Come home mommy. I miss you." and Monkey was crying because he wanted me...heartbreaking.

Lastly, I am really excited, I won a contest. The one I told you about on Adventures in Babywearing and encouraged you to sign up for. Well I won! I bet you are thinking that you should of entered, huh?

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

ok so it is a church van but I'm leaving for the weekend! I have to be at church by 9:30am and we're going shopping at an outlet mall on the way to the retreat. I am really excited because I am going to start my Christmas shopping, that is if I find good deals.

Remember how I said Jeff had felt the baby when we went away? Well afterwards he told everyone that it was just gas! This morning our little girl was going crazy in my belly so I told him and he put in hand on my belly and she just kicked him over and over again. Then he started pushing back on my belly and told me he was playing with her and bonding:) It was too cute. Well I need to go get ready...later

I'm so refreshed!

J and I just got back from our over night get away! It was fantastic. The room we stayed in was huge and very home-like. We had two hard parts of the trip the first was leaving our house, our oldest, GlamorGirl held on to me for dear life when I gave her a hug goodbye and was crying. The baby was napping when we left which we had told him several times we were leaving so that made leaving easier on me, especially. We got there at 3pm for check in and went to see our room. We tried to take a nap but neither one of us could. I think it was the excitement of being away that kept us awake. So we snuggled and watched cable television, we don't have cable at home. They had a cheese and wine tasting at 5pm which we tried. It was a nice spread of fresh fruit, all different kinds of crackers, three types of cheese, and party mix. They also had 4 different types of wine and sparkling grape juice that was non-alcoholic so I could feel like a grow up too! Then we took a walk around the town and walked to dinner it was a block away from where we were staying and it was tasty. We went back to the room and got in the hot tub and started watching The World Trade Center we were getting wrinkly in the tub so we got out and moved the movie to the other television and laid in bed. When the movie was over we called the kids to tell them good night. The two older ones were excited to talk to us on the phone and told us all the fun things they got to do. Then we talked to Red and he was crying "mommy." That was the second hardest part. We got off the phone and J and I almost started crying, ok mostly me but it was hard on him too to hear our baby crying for us. I went to bed at 10pm and J watched tv in bed for awhile, this is what we do at home so I am so used to falling asleep to the tv on. I was a little upset that I ended up waking up about 3 times during the night. Once I had to pee and the other times I just woke up. We ate breakfast and came back to the room. I showered and then J surprised me. He had brought two songs from our wedding with and we danced. It was really sweet. But there was more...he had brought our wedding vows with too. Last Sunday our Pastor challenged the married men to renew their wedding vows with their wives. So he read from the Bible about marriage and then we read our vows to each other. We were both crying at this point. Afterwards we prayed together. It was so awesome. Then we checked out.

Another exciting thing that happened and I don't really remember when it was but I know we were in laying down in bed and the baby was jumping around and I grabbed J's hand and placed it on my tummy and he felt the baby move for the first time!

After we left the bed and breakfast we walked around the town and looked in all the different stores. It was a very neat little town. The buildings were very historic and it was so cool to walked into these stores that used to be houses. We bought a caramel apple with peanut butter pieces on it and we tried candy that looked just like rocks. Then we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that used to be a barn. It had the most wonderful food I had ever tasted. After lunch we headed home with a plan to stop at the Outlet mall. We made some purchases there and got back on our way home. We ordered pizza and it arrived as soon as we pulled in! The kids were so happy to see us as we were them. It just makes me realize how much I really do love those little burgers! Now they are in bed and I am going to go get my pj's on!

P.S. I really encourage you to go away with your husband for the night. We were both completely blessed by being with each other. We talked and talked and talked and more but I won't share that part *wink* *wink* It was really truly a time to reconnect as husband and wife and refresh as parents!

We're Booked and I'm registered!

Today I called and booked a bed and breakfast for J and I. I have never been to one of those places and have always wanted to try one. This place is running a special and we get the best room for $100 cheaper then normal and they are giving us a $25 gift certificate for dinner. I'm so excited. This is also very out of character for me, but I feel like it is very needed. We are leaving the kids over night and it is a school night! We have never been away for a night by ourselves (except our honeymoon) and we have been married 7 years and 4 months. I wanted to go away before we have our next baby because the chances of getting away is going to be lessened at least for a while, having a nursing baby.

Secondly, I registered, well I have filled out the paperwork but haven't paid yet, for our women's retreat at church. Once again so out of character for me but I am also so excited. J actually took off work so he could be with the kids and I could go, I know what a great husband. Don't forget he is leaving us for 8 days to go FISHING! Anyways, I leave at 9:30am on Friday and don't get back until sometime Sunday. I have heard great things about this retreat and can't wait to go and be refreshed, grow in my relationship with God through the seminars, and get to know some women from our church better. I have a feeling I am going to want to do more things than I am going to have time for, like I have a few books I've wanted to read. I'm not going to stress about it because it is suppose to be relaxing.

The last thing is from my quiet time today. This verse really stuck out to me.
Proverbs 12:4 A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

Wow, I don't want to be decay to my husband's bone. I want to be a women of noble character. I want to grow in my marriage to my husband which means I need to make time to be with him, just him. This bed & breakfast is a special opportunity and I'm thankful to my friend for pushing me until I made the commitment, I believe Jeff and I's marriage will be blessed and strengthen for getting away to reconnect. I also want to grow in my relationship with God, which helps build noble character and having the women's retreat I feel is also going to be a huge blessing. So be a crown to your husband and not decay to his bones.

Nighttime

I don't know what the deal was but last night Red was awake for most of it, which meant I was awake for most of it. It wouldn't of been a big deal but I was watching a little boy this morning. God totally gave me the energy to get through this morning! Then after lunch when I put Red down for his nap I was right there with him. I believe I even drooled...that only happens when I am really tired. We have been pretty low key around here, especially today it is raining outside.

Monkey had Wacky Wednesday at school which is so much harder to do with a boy then a girl. He has no hair to make crazy! He wore his pj's and mismatched shoes. This day at school is always a hit with the kids.

In other news I have been busy figuring out what we are going to do while J is gone fishing for a week and while the kids are on spring break the week after Easter. I have some really fun ideas and J has said yes to them so I am really excited to have some good ole family fun! I just need to price it now :)

What day is it, again?!?!

I can't wait for this week to be OVER! It has been so busy I feel like I am out of control. On Wednesday I went on Monkey's field trip to the Nature Center and it was a lot of fun. I love spending time with Monkey he is just such a sweetie! Today we let the kids stay at school for the whole day so that I could get some things done around here and I rocked it! I got the whole house cleaned, minus the vacuuming while Red was taking his nap then I vacuumed as soon as he woke up. Well I mainly got on here to update with pictures from the kids field trips and Red's playgroup! I hope you enjoy the pictures because we had a blast :)




The first three pictures are of GG's field trip. The close up is her sitting on my lap in the bus I love her eyes in it. She wanted a picture on the pumpkins and then the last one is of her and her friends looking at the Ostriches. I thought that was a really cool picture! Of course, I took way more then the three but I these are some of my favorites!




Then next three of Red at his playgroup outing. The first picture I thought was just a really cute picture of him :)We had just gotten there and he was exploring! He is riding a pony in the second picture. He was really funny because I asked him if he wanted to take a ride on a horse and he shock his head no. Then I showed him the horse and asked again and then he said *yes*. He got on the horse and was fine until it moved. That totally freaked him out! But I was next to him so he did fine on the ride. I thought this was just a really cute picture of him :) This is Red picking out his gourd to bring home...I can't even find it now?!?!




The next three are of Monkey's field trip at the Nature Center. The first one is Monkey throwing the leaf he found into the river to see the wind make it dance. All the kids did it then they ran to the other side to watch it go by, they thought that was very cool. The second picture him and his friend Titus are holding up the acorns they found that they got to turn in for raisins. The last picture is the booklet the kids got for the nature walk we went on. All three days were extremely fun!

Life is full of adventures!

So the kids and I went to the Apple Orchard on Saturday and after church on Sunday the kids and I went with my dad and step-mom to an Arboretum! They had so much fun. There was a maze and a children's garden that had so much stuff to do that we didn't even get to scratch the surface of exploring it. It is only about 20 minutes from our house, too. I told J that we need to go back there next year when he is off in the fall right before school starts. We left and met J for dinner so that my parents could see him. Then today was GlamorGirl's field trip to Goebbert's Farm. We went on a hayride, corn maze, looked at all the wild and farm animals, and then the kids got to pick out a pumpkin, gourd, and ear of corn. It was great fun. I'm so excited because we are going there again tomorrow with our playgroup. I didn't even realize that was where the field trip was until Saturday and we had already planned the playgroup event! It works out good because I am only taking Red tomorrow and I will get to see what other things they have to offer because we won't be on a school schedule of events like today. I am already thinking it will have to be a family event soon :) J has things planned in the yard for his days off this week so the next set he has we will be checking out a pumpkin farm my friend Amy told me about. There is just way too much fun things to do around here! I love the fall season...

Red note: He went poop in the potty!!! I was so excited he has peed 2 times and now he has gone poop :) He is very excited about going like a big boy that he takes his diaper off and runs to the toilet to sit on it. I am not really training him it is all him...which is the best part.

Day Trip

The kids and I went on a trip with Amy to an apple orchard. It was alot of fun. We took a wagon ride and picked apples. Then went to the petting zoo and the kids played at the playground. The weather was absolutely beautiful today as well! We even ran into our friends from school while we were there. Then we came home and met Jeff for dinner at one of our favorite spots. Amy had never eaten there and she really liked the food. We pick good places to eat :) Well I'm exhausted from today and I want to go to bed so later!

My head is Spinning!

There is so much I want to write about that I don't even know where to begin. The kids and I went out of town and got home Saturday late at night. J got home from Canada around dinner on Sunday. As you can image we had tons of stuff to unpack! The kids started school today along with Gymnastics. We have had a crazy busy day trying to get the house in order and going to the stores to get things we need for example FOOD and toilet paper. I have about 90 pictures from our trip so I am going to have to go through them and pick out my favorites to share on here. But I will leave you with some of the pictures of GlamorGirl and Monkey's first day of school this year. Yeah, and Friday is picture day...so soon.

Our First Family Road Trip!

Our Billy Bob Teeth!

Me holding Isaac

GlamorGirl and Daddy on the lawn mower :)

Daddy and Red riding!

Monkey and Daddy cutting the grass!!!!

We just got back from North Carolina. The kids did great on the 15 hour van ride there and 14 hours on the way back. They only watched 2 movies, too! We took out one of the middle bucket seats so that way we had room for food and other stuff. And each of the kids had a bag full of fun things to do! On the way there we stopped at a gas station and we brushed our teeth. Monkey was with J in the men's bathroom and this guy said to Monkey, "Are you truckin with daddy?" J said no that we were on our way to N.C. and the man said, "Ain't nothing wrong with North Carolina." So that was our catch phrase the whole trip. It was pretty funny! We stayed with J's brother and his wife, Virginia, and their baby, Isaac. They have two cats and Red *was* freaked out by cats and dogs but I believe he is good now. The first two days he cried anytime they came near him and would fuss until someone came over a picked him up. But by the end of our trip he was crawling after the cats, hitting at them and pulling their tails. GG really got attached to Dora (the orange cat) and Monkey pretty much stayed clear of them all which was probably a good thing since when he got allergy tested they said he has a sensitivity to cats. The first night we were there GG and Monkey went outside to play in the sand box and after 10 minutes of being outside Monkey had a misquote bite on his forehead and one of each of his ankles. This kid is highly allergic to them and so the bite on his head swelled to about the size of a golf ball and each of his ankles did too. He had CANKLES! Poor kid, I've never seen someone's body react like his does. Each of the kids got to ride on the riding lawn mower. J drove and was driving it like it was a 4-wheeler. Virginia and I couldn't tell who was having more fun! The kids were squealing with joy and J had a huge grin on his face while making them squeal. One night we went to a pot luck for their church and we had a good time. J and I played badminton...haven't done that since college. Of course, GG made a friend that she was so sad to say good bye too at the end of the night. Monkey made some friends to but he didn't really care when it was time to go. The difference between boys and girls, I guess! It was a good vacation but like all vacations it was so nice to be home and in our own bed :)

We're BACK!

The kids and I went away to my mom's it was our spring break get-a-way! It was fun Red and I went line dancing with my mom. I just put him in the sling and away we went. He loved it. While I was trying to do the moves he was bouncing up and down in the sling that it made it very difficult to dance.

The funniest thing happened right before we left here. We stopped by my dad's work to drop something off. GG says, "Grandpa would you like to go with us to see your old wife?" She was as serious as day when she said it. I almost died laughing! My dad just told her he had to stay and work. They have been divorced for over 20 years. She is so innocent and I love that.

The kids had a blast playing with my brothers and their new dog. I enjoyed seeing my family. I just wish they lived closer but I think when the toll road is done it will cut down the travel time...I hope! I really have nothing else to say I am just trying to keep myself awake for 20 more minutes so I can see my wonderful hubby. We weren't gone that long but I missed him. I love waking up and seeing his face...I just really enjoy his company.

Oh yeah NEWS FLASH: Monkey can officially buckle himself into his carseat! It is the coolest thing ever :) I push a button to open Monkey and GlamorGirl's side of the van and they pile in and buckle themselves!!! SCORE I just take Red and put him in and by the time I am done strapping him in and get in and strap myself the older two are buckled. It has saved so much time!!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited about that?!?! Well I am just rambling now so I am going to call it quits and surf the net.

Sunday!

J had today off and so we spent most of the day hanging out with his family. They are so great. We had an awesome lunch. Now we are home getting everyone ready for bed. J and I have been talking about our trips for this year. We are going to go visit our new nephew who lives in another state and his parents too:) Then J is going to Canada with his dad near the end of summer and then the big trip to Disney world!!! I can't wait to go to Disney that is going to be so much fun!

Red has learned yet another new thing! It is amazing how fast he learns things. When we nurse the last couple of days he has been pointing to my nose and then my mouth. So I tell him "nose" and "mouth". Well now when he is not nursing if I ask him where is mommy's nose he will point to it. Same thing with my mouth. Very cool. I love watching him learn new things. Actually I love watching all my kids learn new things.

A totally AMAZING day!

Friday was the most amazing day! We had such a fun filled day. We got up and headed to Navy Pier, to the children's museum we got there right when it opened at 10am. We went at the children's pace so that they could do everything they wanted to do. However, we did have to convince them to leave a couple of rooms so they could see all the other cool stuff, it is 3 floors! So this is what we did...first we walked around and played in the Monkey King room. Then headed to the water works room were the kids had a blast playing with water. Red was so excited to watch the water shoot up that he almost jumped out of my arms. We pulled them out of that room by telling them about the robot exhibit. Which was really cool, my favorite part of that room was a table that had domino's that you could set up and then dock down but it had different gadgets to make it all work. When you sat down it said to have everyone help and work as a team. We called ourselves "Team Incredible" the first time we set it up GG docked it over then the second time was Monkey's turn. We got them to leave that room by telling them it was time to eat. The kids wanted McDonalds and us adults wanted something else so J got our food with Red and I took the other two to get their food. The line was super duper long but they were so good. We stood in line for about 15 minutes. We decided that they did such a great job behaving in line we would get them ice cream. Oh another cool thing that happened at lunch was that we saw a girl from Western. She looked familiar to me but I knew I didn't have any classes with her so I pointed her out to J and he just looked at me like, "I know I know her but I can't place her name or from where" I said I think she is from college. He agreed that was probably the place but he wouldn't go up to her so I did. Yep they had classes together. So that was pretty neat. After lunch, back to the museum to go into the room called Tree House Playhouse (I think that was what it was called) then to the Playmaze room that had a bus and car and grocery store in it to imagine you are doing different things. Like GG and I played store and she was the cashier and I was the customer. Then to get ice cream and we sat and watched the little play in the middle of Navy Pier. It was a pirate play and it was really cute and the kids really liked it. Then back to the museum and the kids climbed the rope tunnel and then built houses with huge tinker type toys. We went into the tots room to see what was going on in there and they had playdough and goo, which was fun as you can imagine. Then to the backyard room where each of the kids got to put their faces on a bee, butterfly or beetle. GG and I also dressed up as Butterflies and ran around the room pretending to eat flowers! Then we went into the inventing room. The kids went down the piano slide and Red thought that was the coolest thing ever. He liked the music it made. We invented things together as a family and then individually. It was so fun. We had the kids measured and GG and Monkey are 4 inches apart in height and Red is 2ft 4 inches making him 11 inches shorter than his big brother. Then we went to dig for dinos! Monkey stuck his head in the bones of a dino's face it was pretty funny. It looked like it had eaten Monkey! The last stop we made which was on the way out because the museum was closing was the room with the ambulance and firefighter stuff. It also had a phone you can use to practice calling 911. The child pushes the number then listens for the questions and answers them, it had an adult phone on the side so you could listen to the questions to make sure your child was answering them right. Pretty cool. We were going to stay for dinner and go to Joe's Be-bop Cafe because there was a jazz band playing but we were all tired. Though we did stay for one last show of a magician. He asked for volunteers and GG raised her hand and he called her to come up. It was hilarious the things he was having her do. She had a lot of fun being up infront of everyone it was fun to watch her listen so intently to what he told her to do. For instance he told her to hold the wand straight out and keep it still. She made sure it was out and still. Then she was done and he did other things and got a couple more volunteers, cute twin boys. Then he asked once again for a volunteer and before he could even say what he wanted them for Monkey raised his hand. So he had him go up there and told him he wanted Monkey to ride the unicycle. Monkey's face was priceless! He of course didn't ride it but he had him do a fun tester. He was to pull on the string of one stick and the other one would go up and that is the way you could tell if they were having fun. He came out into the audience and tested some kids then he walked over to J and asked him if he was having fun. He said, "yes" then he tested him and it didn't work. It was very funny. After the show we left and came home to eat. I nursed Red while J and the kids played a board game before bed. Like I said it was an amazing day! We had great family fun.

Our 6th Anniversary and counting :)

Wow, I can't believe that it has been 6 years since we took our wedding vows. This has been the best 6 years of my life! We have been so blessed to have 3 children, own a house and J have a job he loves plus many other things that I won't bore you with! Today at church was the Sunday school Christmas program. The kids did great! GG was so sweet on the stage in the front row and the only child doing sign language to the songs. Apparently she wasn't taught the signs at church but at school and just decided that she should do the signs. It was very sweet to see her signing...when she was a baby we taught her to sign so she could communicate better with us. Then during the church service they announced our anniversary and had us kiss in front of everyone. We also got flowers in honor of our day. On Friday Monkey had his Christmas program at school and he was the loudest kid on stage very funny! They told the story of the candy cane and that was very cute and interesting. GG had her party and after Monkey's program we went to her class to be at her party. J also subbed last minute for one period, only 45 minutes. After school we left for our family get together with my grandparents and mom and stepdad. That was fun, we stayed in a brand new hotel and went swimming way too many times!!! We came home Saturday night so we could go to church today. And that is all I want to share.