We had ourselves some crazy Birthday FUN!

Today Monkey officially turned 4 years old. We celebrated with opening his cards then having french toast for breakfast. Then we went to the Library, which is always fun. Then off to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday lunch. The kids had a blast. They played games and rode rides. Red liked to just sit on the rides without them moving! After that we took the kids for their free ice cream at Baskin Robins. Monkey got a phone call from my mom, I handed him the phone and this is what I hear, "Today is my birthday. But no one is coming over because I already had my party. Sooooooo I'm going to spend time with my family. I love my family. Bye bye." Then he hands the phone to me. Now mind you that whole conversation took about 10 seconds for Monkey to say, I asked my mom if she even said anything to him. She was laughing when I got the phone because he wouldn't let her say anything...he was like the energizer bunny! He wasn't at all excited about turning 4 :)

In other news: we have been busy bees. Grandpa A came over Tuesday for dinner and to spend time with the kids. Wednesday GG had gymnastics Becky came over to see that. Then our friend Amy came over in the evening to hang out. Thursday Red's friend Logan and his mom Julie came over for lunch. Then when J left for work the kids and I met our friends at an outlet mall. I began my Christmas shopping. I am off to a great start. Friday we had soccer and golf lessons and Amy came over again and we rented Failure to Launch that was a really funny movie. Then we are back to today!

A Red update: He is in to this new thing where he "attacks" the kids with tickles. He puts his head down and gets them with his hands. I'm amazed he has no fear because the two older ones are sometimes pretty rough. But he loves getting in there with them. He has also started making different animal sounds his favorite is the lion (Rrrooooooaaaaaaaaaarrr...he says!)and tonight he was pushing one of Monkey's trucks making the sound, "Vrrrroooooommmm Rrrrroooommmmmmm!" That was pretty cute. I truly love this age where they are learning new things so quickly. It's fun to watch them learn and grow.

Refreshing

The weather was absolutely refreshing! The kids and I were outside from 9am til 11:30am came inside to eat lunch and take naps then we were back outside from 2:30pm to 4pm Then we ate dinner and went back outside for about an hour til J got home from work. He has been taking half days on Tuesdays so we can go to Bible study. Today was very close to prefect in my opinion. I'm looking forward to the weather being this cool in the days to come.

Coming down...

We are coming down off the high of this weekend. Saturday we celebrated Monkey's 4th birthday. It was a very fun party...we ate food...had a water balloon fight...and pinata. He got a slip and slide from J and I so they are about to go play on it. Good day for that considering how hot it is outside! Saturday night I went to a baby shower ALL BY MYSELF!!! I was as free as a bird. I was one of the first ones to leave though because I was so tired from the days activities. Then yesterday we went to church then hung out with grandpa all day then back to church for a bbq, service and ice cream sundaes. Well we were at church Red stood himself up in the middle of the room. By the time we went to bed Red was walking back and forth to J and I. I knew that this day was coming but I'm not so sure I'm completely ready for it. He is so cute when walking because he gets so excited!!! Such a big boy.

We all have clean teeth :)

This morning we had a family dentist appointment at 8am. I don't know what I was thinking trying to get everyone out of the house before 8am!!! But we somehow made it and no one has cavities, that is always a nice feeling. Yesterday morning we didn't have to be anywhere and we just laid in bed for awhile snuggling/cuddling and Monkey jumps on the bed and says, "I want to snuddle you guys too!" It was so funny because he mixed the two words together to make his own. So that is our new phrase when anyone wants to be held. I was making dinner the other night and had asked GG to call dad to see if he was in a beat he was able to come home. And that was it. She ended up getting his voice mail and left him this message. "Hi daddy, we wanted to know what beat you were in? Also can we meet you at a park later?" I asked her what he said and she told me she left a message. Then I asked her what she said and she told me the above. She laughed because she knew I didn't say anything about meeting at a park, when I asked her why she said that she said, "Because I really want to see daddy....and play at the park!" It was cute, you've got to love her for trying.

Diet Coke and Mentos

There is a really cool experiment that you should try with Diet Coke and Mentos. All you need is a large paper clip, 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke, Mentos, and a drill. When you get the thing all rigged up and finally drop in the mentos it shoots up about 20 feet like a fountain. Here is the website that has the detailed directions:The Fountain




This should be a video of what happens! Have fun we sure did. The whole neighborhood was involved with this experiment :)

I got to go on a date!

Yesterday was really fun. I left the house, under the impression that we were going to the store to buy a new ceiling fan for Monkey's room. Come to find out J surprised us with lunch at Photo's. That was cool but I was really excited about getting a fan for Monkey's room that actually worked so after we ate we did go buy one. Came home and J installed it with very little help from me. Then our sitter came over and we went on our real date. At first the plan we to go roller skating, but J thought there would be a lot of kids there being a Friday night. So we decided to go to the park and listen to the bands playing and drink some Starbucks. On our way to Starbucks we passed by a really yummy smelling restaurant and decided to stop and eat there. Then we sat and listen to the band for only 10 minutes because they were pretty bad. We finally got Starbucks and went to a quite park so we could talk. It was a good date, it is just nice to be alone with J uninterrupted conversation and so on. Right now J is getting Monkey's big bike ready to teach him how to ride without training wheels. I'm going to go watch...

Camp Awana...gotta love it!

Yesterday we got up really early and went to Camp Awana to visit grandma and Aunty Liz. The kids had a blast and Gg is already talking about when she is old enough to go to camp! J and I have started to talk about her going to camp. The plan is that I go up with the boys and work while she is there and the boys can play, Monkey will almost be 7 and Red will be 4 and there is plenty of stuff them to do! Then when Monkey is ready to be a camper J will work and the rest of us will go up too. There is going to come a day when all of our summers are spent at camp...I can already feel that happening! Plus, grandma and Liz will probably be there working too so it will be a family thing:) Anyways, we went swimming in the Lake (totally gross, in my opinion), we played carpet ball, box hockey, mini golf, shot bows with arrows, played at the park, and played basketball. Also ate some good food. Even though the lake water is gross in my opinion they had some really cool stuff to do like a slide that had water running down it, which both the kids went on. Monkey did better then GG because he wasn't as scared! There was a big blob that I went on once and HATED it. Maybe if I had gone on it for the first time when I was 14, I might have liked it but as a 27 year old...not my cup of tea. But at least I can say I went on it and I even stayed on without falling off right away but I wanted off so I jumped off :) There was also a water trampoline in the middle of the lake. Red absolutely LOVED the sand on the beach. He had it everywhere on him and I even covered his feet with the sand and he thought that was funny. He enjoyed going in the water too. I think because he was able to walk into it instead of being held that made a huge difference, one nice thing about lakes are that they are graduated entrances. He doesn't really like pools. Monkey and GG also played on the beach but they were in the water way more. GG was learning how to use a kick board. Monkey was just having a blast splashing. We really need to set up our family sized pool so they can swim more...I'm just afraid I won't get them out ever. They were so wrinkled yesterday from swimming, they love the water! That was our fun day in a nutshell. We will probably go back there one more time before summer is over.

I'm totally DONE!

Over the past three days we have spent about 12 hours at the carnival. I can't even begin to guess how many times the kids rode all those rides. Last night GG and I went on the spider, I've never liked that ride, but for her I went so she could go. It just re-affirmed my dislike for that ride. The fireworks were great. I mainly watched the kids faces...I'm such a sap...I would rather watch the awe on their faces then the actual fireworks. It was another late night last night and then an early morning for the parade, so tonight my goal is getting them to bed by 9pm but it is already 10 after 7 and dinner is cooking. They *NEED* baths big time so I can't skip that or I would. I am big time beat from walking and being in the sun and heat. I had a great time though, how could you not seeing their faces light up with pure excitement from going on the rides :) Well my brain is mush and that is all I can think of that happened. Oh yeah Red and I almost got killed by a falling cell phone. Just another reason why kids shouldn't have their own. It was a teenager who was riding one of those rides that go upside down right, next to the bumper cars where we were watching GG and Monkey.

Got to love the Wrist Bands!

Yesterday the kids, Becky and I went over to the Fest and rode so many fun rides. My kids are total dare devils! GG's favorite rides were the roller coaster, the big slide and the Tilt a Whirl. Monkey loved the swings, big slide and roller coaster. We stayed there until 10:30 last night. We are actually going to grab a bite to eat then go back over there and ride some more fun rides before going to the fireworks :) Happy 4th of July!!!

The magic of Lightning bugs

Tonight the kids ran around the yard for about half an hour catching them and putting them in a jar we got from one of the neighbors. They caught about 30 of them at least. We took them into the house only to realize that they could get out through the holes. Not good. But they had a blast catching them. GG used her hands and Monkey used his net. Catching those bugs in the summer were some of my favorite memories as a child.

Trip down memory lane...

This afternoon Becky came over to see the kids and give them gifts, of course. But she brought a fake book that when you open it there is nothing in the middle, of mine from high school. Inside was a bunch of notes from my first serious boyfriend. Those notes made me laugh so hard...what a joke they were. Quite entertaining. Anyways, we had a very fun day. GG had gymnastics and afterwards we took the kids to Panera to redeem their free lunches. Then we walked around downtown and played at a park for a bit before we went over to the department so J could sign up for a DUI enforcement detail. After Becky left we took a long family bike ride around our neighborhood. Very relaxing. Oh yeah, yesterday J and I went to Linens 'N Things and bought a comforter, new quality sheets, and pillows for our bed. Last night getting into bed was pure joy! I've always liked our bed but now we have really soft sheets:) We have talked about getting nice bedding for some time now but we finally put those words into action. I'm really trying to follow through on more things we talk about doing like going to visit his brother and now the bedding! Last night when our babysitter came over she came bearing gifts for the kids. She went to Guatemala on a missions trip last week and she got something for GG and Monkey. GG got a little necklace with a Guatemalian doll inside it and Monkey got a really cool sling shot. They were both pretty excited about it. I don't know if we will ever get to go to Guatemala so this might be the only thing they ever get from there! It was really sweet of her to think of the kids. They just love her so much. That's it for now because I'm wanting to go snuggle into my bed even though it's not time yet...hehehe.

I love SUMMER!

We had playgroup at our house today. There was 10 kids and 6 moms. It was a lot of fun and totally crazy!!! This afternoon we are going to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a new bed spread I am really excited about that for some reason :) Then tonight we are having a couple over for dinner and then going to Bible study with them, that is how we met them. The girl's name is Tanya so that is funny to say my name when talking to her but I think GlamorGirl will get a kick out of meeting her because she has the same name as me! That is all for now. I think the posts will probably be pretty short this summer as we are having a fun time being outside and going places!

In the words of Jack...

What a day, what a day! That is exactly how I felt yesterday. We got up and headed to the Mall, have you ever been to the mall on a Saturday?!?! I really don't know what we were thinking. But V.S. was having a sale and I wanted to get some stuff from there. Plus, GG had won a $25 gift card to the Mall from the Race for Education. GG got some really cute stuff from Claire's they had a buy 2 get 1 free sale on earrings she got hoops, butterfly's and purple ballerina earrings. She also got a necklace and bracelet...and she still has money left on the card :) By the time we checked out from Claire's it was after 12 so we stopped at Jimmy John's and got some sandwiches. After J left for work I packed the kids in the car and we went to another gymnastics birthday party. This is the 3rd in a matter of 6 weeks, but they are really fun so we aren't complaining!!! That got done just in time for us to come home and grab our swimsuits and go to another birthday party at the local pool. They had pizza so that took care of dinner for me. When we got home we were all over exhausted and the kids were asking to go to bed ;) It was a good day but super busy. Today we had church like normal and a family reunion but it was rainy and I had already decided that we weren't going to go but today set it in stone. That's about it...

Yay it's Friday

Today was extremely busy for some reason. The kids had their sports classes but that was the only thing on the schedule. This evening we took a walk over to the old Dominic's parking lot and walked around looking at the cool vintage/old cars. Then we went to a park that had a band playing. Now we are finally home and I am burnt out. Oh yea, I signed the kids up for the summer reading program through the library. For every 2 1/2 hours you read they get a prize up to 10 hours. The first prize is sandwiches from Panera Bread. So we have been reading more in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. I love it too because I know GG is really listening because she tries to guess what will happen next in the story and she has gone it right a few times. Very cool to see her do that just from listening to the story! Well time to get the little ones tucked in because they have their jammies on...

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 :)

Red got a Hair Cut

My little baby doesn't look like a baby anymore. So sad but he looks super duper cute! Here are some pictures of the process!




The kids have been enjoying the summer and being home from school. GG started her summer session of gymnastics today and Friday Monkey starts his golf and soccer and GG does golf. GlamorGirl has already tricked the ice cream man once by running to him. He stopped and then she stopped turned and ran to me asking for money. I didn't have any cash so I had to wave him on. What a little stinker! Monkey is just ALL boy and has gotten hurt several times while outside playing. Red is getting so big. He is always wanting to stand...he pulls himself up on everything including my legs wherever I am standing. He has also started walking along furniture. I was thinking he wouldn't walk for a least a couple more month (at least I was hoping that!) Guess we'll have to buy him shoes now...

Disappointed

A few of you thought that my email was going to heed news to us expecting another baby. Sorry that is not the case. I AM NOT PREGNANT!! I am however disappointed in the new movie Cars we took the kids to see it this morning and twice it used the word Hell, not in the biblical sense either. Totally inappropriate for a rated G movie. Red got bored about 30 minutes into the movie...he isn't ready for the big screen yet. I think the other two liked it but they really didn't say much about it so I suspect they didn't love it. Well that is it for now J and I are going to play Sequences...love that game.

Family Fun day at the ZOO!!!

We have started our summer off right and we have also started building the kids strength for our trip to Disney. Wednesday we walked to the Library and back it took us 20 minutes each way. They did a great job. Then yesterday we went to the zoo and walked for over 3 hours. We had a lot of fun seeing the animals Red was just amazed by everything he saw. The only animal that wasn't there was the Elephants because they are working on their exhibit. Here are some pictures from our day.

Slackers...

I don't know if it is just the nice weather or what but J and I have been slacking as parents. Let me explain...GG was suppose to bring a paper bag to school on Friday, we forgot so Mrs. S told us to bring it on Monday. Well you guessed it we forgot again today. We have this really cute picture of GG with her teacher and the plan was to get it made into a mug for the end of the school year. We put it off so long that it isn't going to be ready in time. It just means that we are going to have to crash summer school one morning to give it to her! I am just so glad that school is almost done for the summer. The homework and reading were great but *I* need a break...we will still do work with the kids but it won't be due the next day. It's nice to go outside at 1pm and stay out until dinner time and then go back out. The house stays cleaner that way ;) I need to go get some beauty sleep so that I am completely awake to watch Monkey graduate tomorrow. He is really excited about their program.

Life Happens!

It has been awhile since I have updated this page. We have done so many fun things. One day we took the kids to The Living Sea Aquarium and they got to feed stingray. That was really cool. They loved walking around watching all the fish. They even have a pond with baby sharks in them. It was a very cool outing. Friday we took a trip to the 'port' to meet up with some friends of mine. Corrie just had a baby boy, Finn, and Danielle is getting ready to get married. Corrie was in J and I's wedding! It was great to see those girls. Then we stopped in the town halfway to see our friends that live there. We were planning on spending the night but the kids were so wired that they wouldn't go to sleep. It was 3 hours past their bedtimes and there was no sleep in sight. So I packed them up and headed home. They all were out in a matter of minutes. Saturday GG had a gymnastics birthday party the second of three she has been invited too. We all went and had a blast. The kids made visors with stickers, a very cute idea. Then they got to play in the gym. Monkey was having a blast. It was the first time he had been there but GG was an old pro! Red even wore himself out crawling and walking (with assistance) all over the place. Today we had church which is always great. It was the first time our sunday school class has been together in about 5 weeks. It was nice to see everyone. This afternoon we spent outside hanging out with the neighbors. Alyssa (the 9 yr old that lives across the street) took GlamorGirl and Monkey over to her driveway to fill up water balloons. They ended up getting soaked with the hose. They were having so much fun we could hear their giggles across the street! It was the first time they have done water balloons. Next time they are going to wear their swimming suits. Craig (Alyssa's dad) took Red for a long walk while the other two were playing in water it felt like I had no kids!!! I just got to chill and talk with Jean, Marilyn and Jack. Then I packed a dinner picnic and we met J at a park for dinner. The kids were super excited about getting to have a picnic and then play :) J and I started talking about the activities we want to do with the kids this summer. We are going to have so much fun. Only 3 days of school left...