Thank Heaven Its Friday!

We have dubbed Fridays MOVIE day. When Daddy goes to work the kids get to watch one movie. It is nice for me and them to be able to unwind after the week. They both got their homework done so we don't have to worry about that come Sunday night. Since they are watching the movie I thought I would get on here and post some pictures of our trip about 2 weeks ago. Better late then never, right?


My Babies!

Lovin' the slide

I see you!

This ROCKS!

Monkeying Around :)

Does this thing still work?

We don't want to pose, again!

GG took this of me and Amy

Fishin' with friends

Long lost friends

Still amazed we got this picture taken with 6 kids 5 years and under!

The Balloons are fillin' up

WOW, so cool!

SMILES

The coolest picture I got of the balloons

Now don't forget these are just some of my favorites! I took lots of pictures on our trip and kept 90 of them because I really liked them, the beauty of a digital camera. I tried something new when posting so I hope this turned out ok. I guess we'll see once I publish it!!!!

Who's Your Daddy?

We rarely get cop cars on our street unless J stops by while he is working. Well you can image how confused Red got when a cop pulled over a car on our street, right infront of our house. The cop got out to go to the car and this is what he hears...
Red: Daadeeeeeeee Daaadeeee
Me: No baby that's not daddy
Red: Hi Daaadeeee Hi Daaadeeeeeeeeee (as he is waving to the policeman)
Me: Come this way Red that is not daddy. Let's play basketball.

This goes on for the whole 10 minutes the cop is parked on our street doing the traffic stop. Poor Red he really thought it was daddy. It is really hard to distract a 16 month old from a squad car that has its cool lights on, especially when he thinks it is his daddy! GG and Monkey laughed which didn't help my cause, go figure.

My Girl, I totally want to freeze time or just completely skip her teen years. She has a drove of boys who just really like her. It makes me feel better to know that the girls do too but if it is like this now what is it going to be like in 10 years?!?! One of the moms in the Sparks group at Awana told me tonight that her son constantly talks about GG. They see each other once a week at church. She said last week he told her that GG took her shoes and socks off and played the games barefoot. She told me that her son knows what GG is doing at all times and usually the first thing out of his mouth is something about her. I just don't know what to do but I can't say I blame them...I really like her too :)

Feels like the longest day ever...

I got up early this morning so that I could sign up for GlamorGirl's field trip in October. The class can only have 5 parents (between the morning and afternoon class) going and the parents in this school are super involved with their kids, which is a great thing except when you want to go on a field trip :) So I got signed up and I get to go, score. Then I got a phone call telling me I got into the Bible study on Thursday mornings. I am so thankful to be able to go, they had 43 new women and only a few spots and I got one. Praise the Lord! The kids and I played outside for a little over 2 hours and we had our first taste of fall today with some taffy apples. Red's new word of the day "apple" and that is exactly how he said it too. I can't even think straight right now because of exhaustion. That is all for now....

My pill poppin' BABY!

For the last two nights when he wakes at night we've given him some teething tablets that dissolve instantly. He feels better and goes back to sleep. He has used almost half the bottle in the last week! He almost has his first molar. Today I was looking at the other side and it is blue around the gums. I have a very strong feeling that he will be getting that second molar soon. The poor kid is just so funny, he has 5 teeth on the top and only 2 on bottom. Those bottom teeth are sharp too. He fell and bit a whole in the bottom of his tongue with them. Blood everywhere! In other Red news he is starting to talk more and more each day. He said "cracker" which came out 'cak ker' but I knew what he wanted! And he crys every morning when the kids leave for school and get super excited to see them at lunch, very sweet.

On the school realm Monkey got a pink card today in school. For those who don't know what that means, it is the best card you can get. He was really excited about sharing that news with us at lunch. GG is proving to be a challenge however, she left the class to go to the bathroom without telling anyone. The teacher said, "She is a little too comfortable with the school." I would agree with that statement but I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing. She just needs to learn to ask first! It is only the second week of school...and her teacher is also her Bible teacher at church on Saturday nights. I'm not to worried about her it is just little kinks that need to be worked out. We are going to be heading over to the school for a volleyball game this afternoon. Oh yeah and the best part today was our playgroup this morning. We are reading a parenting book together and talking about it, very cool.

Burst of Energy

I had the most motivation ever to go through all the kids clothes! It took me a little longer with Monkey's then I thought but he is 100% done! That is a great feeling. I took a break to feed the hungry crew and bathe them. Then GG and I dug into her clothes. I was not looking forward to doing her's because she has so many different clothes. She has dresses, tights, pants, shirts, skirts, and leotards. We are more then half way done with her clothes we had to stop because it was her bedtime. As much as I wanted to get the clothes completely done I want more to have a non-cranky girl in the morning! My goal for tomorrow is to get Red's done and then the coat closet is next. For some reason I do my spring cleaning in the fall, maybe it is because the kids are gone most of the day I can get the cleaning done, who knows.

In other news J and I went to the car dealership and checked out the new Versa. His car is getting old and might not last much longer. We say a prayer everytime we go to start it :) We didn't really like the car enough to buy it, especially new! We will probably get him a used car anyways, way cheaper and more affordable for our budget. We also did a lot of talking about adding on to our house. We go back and forth on if we should do it or not. We both love the location but dislike the layout of our property. Time will tell what happens.

How to gain 10 pounds in 2 days!

Here is the recipe to gain all that weight in 48 hours:) First have a block party with tons and tons of food. Then when everyone is done eating have ice cream with loads of different kinds of toppings. The next day go to church and have a huge pancake breakfast in your Sunday School class. Then after church go to church gathering with tons of food. That is what we have been doing the last few days. It is almost 6pm and I am still stuffed from lunch today. The kids had a blast at the block party. They got to ride their bikes in the street and play with all the neighborhood kids. I never realized just how many kids are on this block! I am tired...just another side effect from having a full stomach :)

The Good Stuff!

Why is it that everytime I post, all the funny crazy blog worthy things happen afterwards? Well the kids and I went on a bike ride to the library and when we got home is when everything went down. Red took a can of pop out of the box, which was sitting on the floor. I asked him to hand it to me and I reached my hand out so he could hand it over. Well it made him mad that he couldn't keep it so he threw it on the floor. Yeah, pop can exploded and it was all over the place. Including me and all three kids. I managed to get the floor mopped up while the kids were eating dinner. I needed to give them baths because it was in Red's hair and the other kids just needed a bath. Monkey got in the tub and I took Red's diaper off, immediately he ran to the toilet trying to lift the lid and proceeded to pee on the toilet and carpet. I was excited though that he knew where to go when he had to pee even if he didn't get it in the toilet :) Then in the tub he went and almost unloaded a cup full of water on the floor. I got to him just in time! Craziness I tell you pure craziness. But it gave my friends a good laugh :)

My little Army Men!

They were looking so cute with their matching pants I had to take some pictures! They are certainly two of my favorite men...J being the other one, for those who may wonder. Today has been a day to recover from the start of school. It is the first time the kids have gotten to watch tv, which I am totally ok with! Tomorrow starts Awana Clubs and GG moves up to Sparks, so exciting! We have started a new form of discipline with the children. They get a warning unless it is physical bad behavior, which doesn't happen often. If they don't listen and do what was requested they go to bed 15 minutes earlier. I figure they must be tired if they are having a hard time obeying. Last night they each went to bed 30 minutes early and we had to wake them up this morning at 7:45 so I think I was right about them needing the sleep. They have done pretty good today listening and behaving! I also want to say we don't focus on just the negative we also encourage and praise them too. They really are good kids, at least I think so.

Second Day of school.

Why is it that I think I am going to get all this stuff done when the kids are in school and I only manage to get half done. Oh well. Today was our playgroup so we were gone most of the morning which slows production big time! Anyways, after school today we took the kids along with some of their friends from school to CHUCK E CHEESE!!! Fun was had by all. I got the big ticket playing the ski ball and won 250 tickets. That was pretty cool. When all was said and done we had 1385 tickets to get prizes with. It was a good time. We are going to be going to the volleyball game today and then J and I have Bible study tonight it is the start of the new study. Well I am going to go help J clean the house. He is so motivated right now, want to keep him that way :)

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.

The Church Picnic was SOOO fun...

The kids and I went to church and afterwards we made a quick pit stop to the in-laws to use the bathroom. Then to the picnic we went. They had a blow up jumping thingy, which the kids loved. We ate, the kids played, and I talked to people. It was so fun and Red slept for about an hour and a half. At the end they did door prizes for adults and children. Each one of my kids got a door prize and Monkey's name was the first one called. It was pretty cool and very nice for the kids. We then came home and Amy came over and we ran some errands it's way easier to have someone with you when taking 3 kids in public. Even though I have done it, I am more relaxed when I have help. We are now waiting for J to call so we can see him on the web cam at the location he is staying the night. It is a pretty cool site but at the same time it is kind of creepy. Last night was the first nighttime parenting by myself, it went pretty good but GG ended up in our bed (she knew daddy wasn't in it) and Red woke more frequently. I think he could tell something was different. Since we had activities all morning long it didn't really seem strange to have J gone. But I think that tonight will be rough on me. And that is my update...and I'm sticking to it :)

A kind of sadness today...

It is 10:20 and I just got done making rice crispy treats for tomorrow's church picnic. I'm making that way too late. Anyways, I am trying to keep my self awake for when J comes home tonight so I can tell him goodbye! This morning J woke up early and cut the grass and I got the kids ready then we played outside and recorded the kids on the video. We got GG riding her bike super fast, standing up while riding and not using her feet! That was funny she had her feet in a spread eagle while riding down the sidewalk. Then she showed off her jump rope ability. Red grabbed a jump rope and tried his hardest to do what GG was doing...too cute. We got Monkey playing like he always does. I tried to capture Red's walk, when walking he swings one arms uncontrollably and the other just stays put. It is really funny to watch. Then we took a family bike ride, I am so glad I got a bike because that is one of my favorite things to do with the kids is ride our bikes together. We took them to the school down the street and let them ride around in the empty parking lot. We looked like a family circus on bikes. We were riding towards each other and giving high fives. It was a blast, I highly recommend it as a family activity :) Then we went out for lunch at the Pancake House. When we got home J rearranged the van for me and got it all set for me and the kids. Then he left for work and I started the daunting task of writing GG and Monkey's name on all their school supplies...you know each crayon and marker and so forth. That took about twice as long as it should of because I didn't do it while Red was sleeping. He had fun playing with their glue sticks. He loves to be in the action, I'll tell you. Then we went to church at 5, the main reason was because GG's school teacher was teaching her class. She has been super nervous about going to this teacher, she knows her but she has never been in her class. The only experience she had with her was on the playgroup at recess a few times a week last year. Well needless to say she is super excited about going to school now and LOVES her teacher. We kept telling her she would like her but I guess she needed to see for herself. Mrs. R's oldest son was in J's class and J has known her a long time. She was actually the first person who know we were engaged...long story won't bore you with the details. Moving along, before we left for church I packed a picnic dinner so that afterwards we could meet J at a park and spend some time with him. He was able to take his dinner break at that time too which was an added bonus. When we left him we came home and the kids went to bed...not to sleep but at least to bed. I'm afraid GG is going to have a rough first week of school. She was awake until 10:15 tonight. She went to bed at her normal summer bedtime of 8:30 but just won't go to sleep. She is going to be in for a shock when she goes to bed at 7:30 come school time. Heaven help us!!! Well that is all I can think of to write, I'm going to go email because I have about a half an hour or so before he walks in the door :)

Tomorrow is SEPTEMBER!

I can't believe how fast these months are just flying by us. Today was J's first day back to work from his days off. We kept it pretty low key. J worked in the yard while the kids and I took a bike ride. Then I realized my tires were really low on air so GG and I rode to the gas station and filled them up. Now it rides so much better. When J left for work I packed the kids into the van and we ran some errands. Mainly ones that didn't require leaving the van...like paying the mortgage and dropping off the library movie. We did go take care of the medical bill from Red's birth, I was a little upset about that because it has been over a year and they are billing us now?!?! Seemed a little shady but it wasn't very much so I just paid, I don't have time to check my recorders over so little amount. While we were there I decided to make Monkey an appointment for his 4 year check up...I know I'm a lot late but you know what they say better late then NEVER! It just happened that they had an opening right at the time we were there. So he had his appointment and ended up getting a shot. He was crying (making it so hard for me to follow through with it) before they even came into the room with the needle. I hate shots so I totally understand his protest to them. But I told him that I would take him out for ice cream afterwards. We had free sundae coupons for each of the kids so that was free. I did end up buying so ice cream to take to J though, that way we had an excuse to visit him at work :) Then he got a call and the kids and I went to a near by park. Now we are home and they have eaten. My friend is coming over for dinner so I will eat with her. Then we are planning on taking a walk for some exercise. About that time it will be the kids bedtime!!!

It is only 4pm!!!

We have had a very fun filled busy day. We got up this morning and met our playgroup at the library. Came home and ate lunch then headed over to Chuck E Cheese...where a kid can be a kid! We didn't want to eat the pizza and that is why we ate at home. But we got 140 tokens for under 20 bucks. The kids played games and took rides. Red just walked all over the place. He only liked a few of the rides, and he freaked out on the other ones. We had a great family day and the best part is it isn't even over yet. In about an hour we are going to be going to school to watch Liz play volleyball. When her game is over our babysitter's team plays so we are going to stay and watch her then she is coming over to watch the kids while we go to Bible study. I'm ready for a nap :)

What a Crazy busy weekend!

This weekend my brother and wife and their two kids went to my dad's house so we got to see them on Saturday. They live about six hours away so we only see them once in a blue moon. They have a girl Monkey's age and a boy Red's age. Since this weekend was so busy we haven't done much of anything around the house...which means that today was our day of playing catch up. We stocked up on our Wa-lmart stuff, got groceries and now we are doing laundry and cleaning the house. Not much else we can do because it is RAINING outside. We did crack open Monkey's new Buzz Lightyear game he got from my brother this weekend, for his birthday! It is a Jr Yahtzee game. Very fun! Red is vacuuming the living room with the toy vacuum, he is so much fun. Mr. Personality!!!! Well time to make dinner on my new griddle. First time I am using it but not the first time it has been used. J tried it out to make sure it was safe for me...but hey I didn't have to cook then :) That is about it from this end of the world. Two weeks from today is the kids first day of school. This summer went way too fast for me. I have really liked having the kids all day makes me think about homeschooling. I know GG would not be happy if she wasn't in school. My little social butterfly!!!

It's Raining

We just came inside because it started raining on us. We had a really fun day today. This morning we met with Monkey's teacher Mrs. S and she let him pick out his locker and seat for the school year and she also gave them a job for the first week of school. Monkey chose paper passer then she let him bring home a computer game he was playing. The only problem was it didn't work in our computer :( After we left school we took the kids fishing. Monkey caught a bunch of fish and GG practiced casting. Then J switched her pole to a bobber and she started catching fish, too. Red did really well he walked around and watched the ducks and saw the kids catch fish. It is a boring sport for a little tike! To top of the fun morning J didn't have to go into work until 4:30 :)

I'm a little upset right now with my extended family...for some reason they seem to think that my brother knows my plans better than I do. Very frustrating considering my brother has no idea what his plans are half the time yet they think he knows what we are doing and where we are going for the weekend. AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH! Sorry but my sister just called assuming I was out of town, because of what Kevin said I was doing.

The Bikin' Family

I don't know if I mentioned that I got a bike for Mother's Day. Well some friends of our have twins that are Monkey's age but when they were little they had 2 co-pilots for their bikes, which they gave to us! J installed the base on each of our bikes and we kept one of the seats. We just have to switch it back and forth when we take Red on bike rides. Yesterday right after J left for work I packed a water bottle, diaper, wipes, and a bike lock and the kids and I left our house. We biked to a park (approx. 1 mile) played for awhile then got back on our bikes and went to the library. We were at the library about an hour then we rode home. We are trying to build up the kids stamina for Disney! Monkey was struggling the last few blocks. It is so much fun for me to ride with the kids and it is exercise!!!

This morning Red got into my shorts drawer and pulled out all the clothes, just as I was about to correct him he started kissing me. How can you be mad at that?!?! It was so precious. Got to love the baby kisses.

Camping

Well that was an experience I don't think I would like to repeat! The outside noises were so loud. It wasn't the nature sound that bugged me it was the cars and planes. Then the ground was so hard I kept smacking my elbow on it when nursing Red, I had forgotten in the middle of the night we were not in our bed...oops.

Today was a good one though, even with the lack of sleep ;) I took Red on some errands while J did yard work and the kids played. We went to buy some baby gifts. Our friends from church had their first baby...HadababyitsaBOY!!! Then I got my prescription and Red was sleeping by the time that was done so instead of taking him to the last place I dropped him off at home because it was on the way and picked up the other two. This evening we went to the Forest Preserve and J fished and the kids rode their bikes while I pushed Red in the stroller and got some extra exercise. You know being a mom of 3, there really is never any down time so you are exercising your legs and arms and everything else ALL day long. But I love those guys so much. Funny story from tonight...when we got in the car I was smelling poop. But it wasn't Red cause I had just checked his butt. J suggested that someone might have stepped in bird poop. When we got home I checked Red's feet and mine. J then checked Monkey's and realized that there was poop on his shoes, leg and hands. So gross. The shoes went in the garage and he got wiped down with a baby wipe and then sent to the tub immediately, poor Monkey he always find the gross stuff!

This is the way we camp...

We just got back from church, it is 9:30pm church doesn't normally go this long but we had pizza afterwards and we are sending a couple off into the mission field so it was very tearful. We are really going to miss them. Our Sunday school class will not be the same without her smiling face. Well we promised the kids, and we make every effort to keep our promises, we would camp in our new tent tonight. So J and GG set it up in our garage and we are getting the bedding to sleep with now. That is how we camp in our garage!!!! It might be a rough night on the hard floor but at least it won't be lumpy bumpy! The kids are so excited. I better go put some pj's on so we can start the madness :)

And this is how we wash our vehicles...

I totally just realized that I didn't get any pictures of the vehicles! Or the kids actually washing them :) But I did get them having fun!!!

Where has the time gone?

This week flew by! The kids had their VBS program yesterday at 12:30 and a picnic lunch. It was a really good time. GlamorGirl and Monkey stood next to each other, they are so cute. They both sang so great I could even hear their individual voices sometimes! Afterwards one of the teachers came up to me and said that she was very impressed with Monkey's ability to learn and sing all the words to the songs. Most of the 4 year olds just stood there. A plus, to having a big sister that *made* him (willing) practice with her everyday after Vacation Bible School. Tonight we are going out to eat with some friends and they are coming back here to play games. I am really excited about it because I love hanging out with people. Well need to go...

Another week of VBS...Hooray!

The kids are doing VBS at their school with their friends. They were so excited to get there today but then GG was upset because she wasn't in the same class as her friend Alina. Go figure. Afterwards we packed a picnic lunch and ate at the park near by with Alina and Matthew and their mom, Chris. The kids had a great time and then we went to the school office to see Grandma on her first day back to work since being gone for 8 weeks at Camp Awana. The kids being gone this morning was weird, I actually kind of missed them. I got used to having them home this summer and now they are going to be starting school in a few weeks. Then I started daydreaming about all the things I could get done around the house while they are at school. J could spend time with Red and I could rock the house! That's all for now.

It's a Mystery?!?!?!

This morning when we woke up there was a puddle of pee in the hallway. Neither GG or Monkey said they peed their pants last night. J and I couldn't find wet underwear either or a wet bed. Hmmmm, weird. Then at breakfast the table had salt all over it but GG and Monkey both said they didn't do it. So how does salt get spilled and pee on the floor if no one did it? And there lies the mystery...

The kids and I are going to a pool birthday party for Monkey's twin friends, Lucas and Tyler. They are having pizza for dinner so no cooking for me! I am just not looking forward to putting on a swimsuit and I'm a thin person. I just don't like swimming.

New Shoes! New Shoes! can you feel the excitement?

We took the kids to get some new shoes. They are so excited about them especially Red as this is his 1st pair EVER!!! We got him some that totally fit his fun little personality. They are navy blue with streaks of orange on them. He loves them so much we have to wait for him to fell asleep to take them off otherwise he SCREAMS!!! It totally saves my ears :) Seriously, though it is really cute to see him walk around in them...like he has bricks on his feet! Monkey got the exact same pair he had last school year just in a bigger size...if he likes the style, he likes the style! GG got white tennis shoes with purple stripes on the side. Since J and I have been playing tennis she thinks that those shoes make her look like a tennis player. We have finally finished getting the kids all the school clothes they need. Monkey has to wear pants to school so we had to wait for them to come back into season. I was so excited the other day while clothes shopping because we have been hitting all the sales of 50% to 80% off and I found a gymnastic outfit for GG only 2 bucks. Those things are usually 10 bucks or more, it was a great find. Thats all she wrote!

My beaten up baby...

It all started Sunday, we were outside playing and Red walked into the garage to get a toy truck. He fell and hit the side of his head on the metal part of the garage door. He instantly got a bruise. Then Tuesday morning I was taking a shower and he was standing by the tub wanting to come in. Normally I would have let him but he just took a bath and I was in a hurry. He somehow slipped and hit his cheek bone and instantly got another bruise. Then today we went to the park to play and as we were leaving he was walking on the sidewalk and he tumbled forward. He got a goose egg bump on his forehead and he scrapped his nose all up and it is bright red like it is bleeding. So he is walking around with 3 big bruises and a scratched up nose. We went to Wal-mart and the lady behind us in line says, "He looks like he took a tumble." J says, "No he got in a fight...you should see the other baby!" His humor :) I'm just glad that he doesn't need to get his pictures taken for a few months. We haven't gotten Monkey's 4 year old pictures yet because he kept getting cuts and bruises on his face too. What is with my boys?!?!

I love the fact that these last few days I am able to open the window and get a nice cool breeze through the house. J cleaned the pool yesterday and then I filled it up so the kids are about to go swimming. Then I can get some reading done while sitting outside watching more like listening to them! Well that is it for now.

It's over...

The kids were so sad today being the last day of VBS. But since J and I worked it we got to stay for the pizza party afterwards. Last night was the program and it was a lot of fun and we had rootbeer floats after the kids sang! Monkey's class sang a really cute song about Hippos. The nursery kids danced on stage while the other kids sang the NANANA song! Red loved being on the stage so much that when I took him off he started screaming :) GG's class sang a new version of Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. It was very cute. It was a great week but I am totally and completely exhausted. I thought next week was the other VBS but it is the following week so one week break and then another week of fun!!! Well I need to go take a nap while the two boys are sleeping...

Vacation Bible School aka VBS

We have finished our second day of VBS and the kids are having a great time. J is working the gym which is outside because the actual gym is getting a new floor. I'm working in the kitchen again, like last year. Today they did water games outside and J was soaked. All the kids brought swimsuits so they were fine. The only bad part of is that we aren't able to play tennis this week. But next week they are going to VBS at school so we will be able to play every morning...hopefully. Now that Red has 6 teeth he has been brushing them with his very own tooth brush. It is so funny, everytime he goes into the bathroom now he thinks he needs to brush his teeth. Very cute. Tonight my Bible study (which is all women) is taking a break and we are going out for dinner and to chill and have fun. I am looking forward to having great conversation and food. Girl time is SO important :) Until I started getting some more of it I never realized how important it was for my sanity!

Fun times...

Friday the kids were so excited because we went to my friend Monica's work and kidnapped her and Amy met us there. It was a lot of fun we went out to eat then took her home. Amy came over to our house and we walked to the movie store and rented An Unfinished Life. Monica came over about an hour later so we didn't watch the movie but we had a great time talking and laughing. The girls left around 11pm. Then yesterday Amy came over right as J left for work. We watched the movie, it was sad but a definite chick flick. She stayed for dinner and came with us to my brothers basketball game...and they won. Then we went to DQ to cool off from the heat. Then today we went to church and now we are just relaxing. Oh yeah, Amy bought the kids punch balls they went crazy over them! Well that is all I feel up to writing.

Hubby's birthday

The kids woke up super early because they were so excited to give daddy his present, which was hid under their bed so that they could bring it to him. They each made him a card and we taped them to the gift. He laughed as soon as they brought it into the room. It was tennis rackets for both of us, it is hard to disguise them, so he knew before he even opened them. We got up and he left for court. When he got home we went to the park and the kids played where we could watch and we played tennis. It was a wonderful workout. We are planning on going every morning we can! It was so much fun even though I'm terrible at playing! Then we came home and everyone got bathed, GG was covered head to toe in sand because it just stuck to her...I wanted to hose her off but we were at the park :) Then we went out for J's birthday lunch at Chipotle. It was yummy as normal. Oh yeah, before he left for court I told him some lame thing about him needing to fix the stroller so he would look in the truck of the van...where his real present was a guitar! I think we really surprised him with that one. He was really happy about getting it but he doesn't think he will ever get to learn how to play so he wants to take it back. That kind of made me sad because he talks about playing praise and worship songs in our living room with the kids and I really love the thought of that. He said that once he gets on days he would have more time to learn but I think come fall he would have time when the kids are in school. I don't know we still have it for now. So that has been our day so far... we all just woke up from naps which was so nice. We are going to be going into the pool shortly and then maybe to a park to see daddy?!?! We'll play that one by ear.

The Biggest *little* Mooch

Red mooches food from EVERYONE! Grandpa was holding a piece of bread in his hand and Red walked up to him and ate it right out of his hand. If J walks in the room with food Red is there in a second flat holding out his hand for some. You would think we don't feed this kid but he eats EVERYTHING and then some. He could have eaten a 7 course meal and still want what you are eating. He is just goofy but we still love him.

Today my Maid of Honor was in town so we spent most of the day with her and had a great time talking and just playing around. She came with to GG's gymnastics class which was teddy bear day. After she left the kids and I started getting ready for J's birthday tomorrow. But I'm not going to tell any details of what we are up to just incase he decides to read this! I will say he gave me a scare. The kids and I were about to make his cake and I walked into the living room for something and I saw him coming into the house so I ran as quick as I could and hid everything. He had no idea what was going on just that I was screaming and running around the house because he could hear me from outside, until GG said, "We were hiding your cake. Ooops!" We all got a big laugh from that. So he knows he is getting cake but not what kind or anything else. I can't wait to surprise him tomorrow :)

Ahoy Mate`

What a great day we had today...and I forgot my camera. We went to Pirates Cove with our good friends the K's. It is a theme park for children 2 to 10 years old. The kids favorite ride was the paddle boats, and their little butts were soaking wet when they were done. The only thing they were unable to do was the climbing wall because they had sandals on so next time they will be bringing along some socks and shoes. We were at the park for 5 hours and it went super fast. Afterwards we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream because it was the hottest outside :) That's all she wrote...

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...