A full weekend of celebrations!

As Michael likes to say I don't have a "birthday", I usually have a birthday week!! I don't see what is wrong with that, do you?! This year, do to the recession, I only had a birthday weekend and it was so much fun! We started off the celebration on Friday night at my parents house. My mom cooked a wonderful steak dinner and had my favorite cookie cake for dessert. It was nice to spend the evening with my parents and my brother & his family. Thanks again mom & dad for a wonderful evening.



On Saturday night we met the Harpers at Taco Mac. I had been craving wings and it has been a long time since I had some. So I treated myself, hey it's my birthday weekend right!? Thanks guys for eating there again just for me! They were very tasty and I think the boys (Ty & Connor that is) enjoyed the cheese dip too! After a good dinner we headed down to the Aquarium front to let the kids play in the water area. They all had so much fun and it was fun watching them. Macy gets a little carried away in water and has no fear...there were 2 moments were she had "close calls". I hope the Harpers weren't too embarrassed being with this loud mom....I will be better in Mexico! :) Thanks again for a wonderful evening.





Today is Toby' 6th birthday. After naps today we took him to PetCo to get him a new toy and treat. He usually doesn't get to go with us, but this is his special day. The kids enjoyed him being with us and he enjoyed it too! Tomorrow is my actual birthday and I am looking forward to spending a day of shopping with my mom, kid free thanks to my dad!!

There are more pictures of this fun birthday weekend in the album.

July 4th Celebrations

Happy 4th of July! We had a great time celebrating with family & friends. We spent most of the day in our house hoping that the kids would get out of their "stinky" attitudes. I finished painting our playset outside, and it was great to have some time to myself and take out my frustration on the paint brush instead of some kids (and ask Michael I have a big blister to prove it!). After naps we headed out to my parents house to have dinner. We were planning on going out on the boat, but due to some mechanical issues we enjoyed eating at their dock instead! It all worked out for the best and we still had a great time. After dinner we headed back home to do some fireworks with our neighbors. Macy didn't make it that long, but Connor had a great time. Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration too. God Bless the U.S.A!

Pool Fun

Thanks Kathy, Ty & Marley for a fun morning at the pool. We really appreciate you getting us a pass and inviting us up. We had a great time and hope to do it again real soon!! Connor & Macy really enjoyed having friends to swim with. It wore my kiddos out and that is always nice!!

A picture worthy day

We haven't been doing much lately due to sickness and grouchiness (myself included!). Macy ran a fever all weekend and I ended up taking her to the dr. on Saturday to only be told it was a virus, which I am glad she didn't have anything worse, but I do get tired of those viruses! She is also teething....ever so slowly so who knows what is really going on with little missy. Connor had a follow up eye dr appointment on Tuesday and we were glad to get a good report. Although it was a rough day in the behavior area while we waited over an hour in the office. It was one of those days that I felt like all the other parents in the waiting room were staring at me with that "my kids would never act like that or do you not have any control over those kids?" look. I am sure I was just being paranoid...or was I!? So needless to say we have been staying close to home this week! Tonight we let the kids go out and play in the sprinkler and they had a blast. Macy loves water, no matter where it is! We are still trying to learn how to use our new camera so here are a few pictures that we took. I am sure it will take time to figure all the buttons out, but so far we are impressed with what we capture. Even Michael enjoys taking pictures now and that is a BIG deal!! Hope you enjoy!

She will follow her big brother anywhere, even if it is the middle of the road!

Connor having fun running through the sprinkler.

Our favorite picture of the evening. And no we don't usually let them play in the street!

Connor sword fighting his dad!

Silly girl.

Caught them both in action trying to "jump"!

Sweet moments

No day is complete without a little "time out" pout!!

Double Celebration weekend

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary. What an amazing 6 years it has been. I am so lucky to be married to my best friend and a wonderful father too. We had a "date" night last night and went to Table 2 to celebrate. We had an agreement that we weren't doing presents.....but Michael doesn't listen very well. He really pulled a surprise on me and even now I still can't believe it. He got me a Nikon digital SLR camera. We haven't even talked about getting one but he knows how much I like to take pictures. It has taken me 2 days to get over the shock of it all.....I don't do well with surprises or big purchases. It is nice to be spoiled sometimes though and I am sure that I will grow to LOVE it! I have already enjoyed the new pictures I have taken with it! I have a lot to learn and even after reading the manual twice I am still not quite sure what I am doing sometimes! So if anyone that reads my blog has any suggestions or advice I would appreciate any help!

Today is also Father's Day! Connor and Macy are blessed with a wonderful dad. Happy Father's day to all the dads in our lives especially my dad, Michael's dad (who we missed seeing) and my brother Todd. After church we enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon at home. Connor had made some crafts for his dad and we made him a photo collage for his office at work. After naps we headed out to my parents house to enjoy Father's Day with my dad and my brother & family. It was nice to see my family again and the kids had a great time playing together. I am blessed with a wonderful dad who does so much for me and my family. It is neat to see my big brother in his role as dad also. Vance is a lucky boy too! Of course I took several pictures of our day with my new camera....so if you want you can check them out in the album Father's Day!

Crocodile Dock

This week was VBS at our church. We had a HUGE turn out with over 150 preschoolers and around 150-200 children (K-5th grade) attending. I volunteered to "help" during this week so that Macy could attend and get more quality time in the nursery area so that maybe she wouldn't be so tore up each Sunday when we leave her! I ended up being in a class of 4th graders and we averaged between 17-22 kids each day! Wow is all I can say! I never questioned my calling to be a nurse, but this week really validated that education was not my calling! I do love kids don't get me wrong!

Connor was excited about this week and did so well. I was worried since it wasn't his same class as MDO and new teachers, but he adjusted well and even got to see some of his friends from MDO. He did great seeing me during the day too and it was so much fun to see him in his room. I am so grateful that I was able to share this week with him and get to see him learn more about God and how much he loves him. What a blessing.





Macy did well too. Even though she was just in the workers kids nursery area, she had a good time. The first day was rough for her and the workers, but through the week each day got better. By the end of the week she actually played in her room instead of crying! She enjoyed going to Ms. Dawn's office at the end of the day for a sticker reward!



It was a wonderful week and I hope all the kids felt God's love and learned how much he loves us all. I was unable to get pictures through the week, but did manage to slip away today to take pictures of the kids in their classrooms.
Connor class getting ready for craft time:

This cracked me up. They brought a box of cheerios into Macy's room and all the kids were sitting around it eating! Notice who's hand was got in the box!! :) That girl loves her food!

A report on all 3 kids!

Connor and I went to the Creative Discovery Museum to have breakfast & play with Curious George on Saturday morning. We had a great time with Ty, Kathy, Lula & Tessa. It was very crowded and I was a little overwhelmed but Connor seemed to have a great time. He didn't get to play in all the areas so I am sure I will be going back soon!

Toby (my oldest child who has 4 legs!) had a play date with our friends' dog Sully. We were a little hesitant about this but they did great and chased each other a lot. Toby got tired of him being there after awhile, but over all they did great. I am sure they will play again sometime!

Macy is 19 months old today! I can't believe how my babies are growing.....I am really having some "baby" blues lately and just trying to enjoy each day with them. We started VBS this week and I am teaching so Macy gets to go too. They said she cried on/off for most of the day. She kept saying "pay" (play) and "nonnor" (Connor) when I picked her up. She would rather be in the bigger kids rooms playing than in the baby room. I guess I didn't realize how much she does play with older toys with Connor. I love to see them together and playing though. Maybe being there all week will help. Connor had a great time and I am sure he is glad his little sister wasn't in his room! :)