Update

I know it's been a couple of months since I've updated the blog so here we go. Not too much has been happening. Hannah finished preschool a few weeks ago. It's sad because she was just getting used to all of the kids and starting to have a lot of fun. Hopefully next year she will really be able to come out of her shell and have an excellent time. Jay and I went to Las Vegas at the beginning of May for 5 days. Jay went to bowl in the national bowling tournament they had there. We went with a group of friends and had a really good time. The weather was quite hot but it was a welcome change from what we've had here. We were also able to visit with Rick & Lora Wilds for a day. Unfortunately Erick, Melissa and the kids were out of town that week so we didn't get to spend any time with them. We had an absolute blast hanging out with Rick & Lora though... spent the day drinking, talking and gambling! No big jackpots were won but we did enjoy ourselves thoroughly. Other than those few things it's been business as usual around here... nothing too exciting! We are looking forward to summer and being able to play out in our little pool and spend some time at the beach and Duck Lake! Here are a few pics from our vacation and other random things. Enjoy!

Our bucket o' beer.. great way to start a vacation!

This drink was called "Why Don't We Get Drunk And.." I guess I should say we were having lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. That was a really fun place.

Starting to relax after the long lines at the airport & hotel check in...

Here are some pics of the kiddos..

Swingin' is hard work! He fell asleep while Jay was pushing him on the swing.

Mr. P's new hair cut that makes him look like such a big boy!

Ms. Hannah being her silly self..

Crazy Bounce

Today we decided to have a fun family day and took the kids to Crazy Bounce. We had such a great time. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves, when we got there I think there were only 2 other kids there. We paid for 2 hours of play time (which was more than enough time!). By the time we got done Parker was having a hard time staying on his feet because he was running around so much. I took Parker down one of the slides when we got there and he did not like it at all. To be honest, I didn't like it either!! Those slides are steep. Hannah didn't want to go down either. We had so much fun running from one thing to the next. Our kids are at such a fun age right now and things keep getting better. I love watching them run around and play. The next couple of months are going to be a little crazy around here so it was a great way to spend time together and have fun.

Parker in the ball pit.. that was about the only thing he really liked to play in.

I love that gorgeous smile!

My wonderful family! Thanks for such a fun day, I love you guys with all my heart!!!

Therapy

I had a much needed girls night out on Friday. There are very few people in this world that I feel I can truly be myself around. It was very refreshing to be around these girls and talk about anything and everything. Who needs therapy when you can have a girls night out with great friends?!? We started out with dinner and drinks at the Tip. We were so busy talking that I don't think any of us ate much of our food (that could have been my first problem of the evening!!). We talked as though we were the only 4 people in that place. I'm sure the people at the surrounding tables got a kick out of some of our conversations. After we had dinner we headed over to the Rosebud and then to Kirby. Since what happens between the girls stays between the girls... all I can say is the next day I missed work and didn't get out of bed until 2 p.m.!! It was the best girls night we've had so far and I look forward to many more wonderful memories with wonderful friends.

Ooohh, this could have been my second problem of the evening!

Happy 30th birthday Debby! Maybe at our next night out you guys can fill me in on some of the details that are a little fuzzy!!! :) Love you girls!

Hannah's new do

I just have to show off my little model. Hannah & Parker went for hair cuts today. Hannah had about 3 inches cut off. She loves it and so does every one else. I did get a little teary when Jenn made the first cut and I watched that hair fall to the floor. Parker had his hair cleaned up too... that's always an adventure. He didn't scream like he did the last time but he did not want her touching his ears. It does look really cute though. Enjoy the pics!

This is her before we left for the salon...
And this is after...

Here is Mr. P too...

I'm impatient

I just couldn't wait for my camera to charge. I took a few pics of the kids just to see how well it worked. The pictures downloaded in 2 seconds (my old camera.. when it would work.. took 30 minutes!). Here are a couple that I took to try it out.

I am really happy with my new toy. More great pics to come.

Good news

A couple of fun things to share...

First, I finally broke down and bought a new camera tonight. The camera we currently have is one we bought before Hannah was born. While it's still an okay camera as far as picture quality, I have not been able to download any of my pictures to share with friends & family. My new camera is charging as I type this and with any luck I will be able to post pictures again soon.

Secondly, I am very happy to announce that Hannah is finally COMPLETELY potty trained. That's right, she is going #2 on the toilet like a champ! Last week when we ran out of diapers I told her that we went to the store but they were out of diapers. Her response to me was "did you check at Meijer mom?" I said yes, they are out and all they had were these pull ups. She knows that she is not supposed to go in a pull up. After "holding it" from Sunday until THURSDAY night, she couldn't take it anymore and gave up. Another battle won for me finally. Next adventure... Parker! I have always heard that boys are harder to train than girls and most of you know how hard my journey with Hannah has been (she will be 4 next month)! Wish me luck.

I know, it's been a long time...

I know it's been a long time since I've updated my blog... sorry. There hasn't been too much going on and I still can't get my camera to download pictures.

We have had some fun family nights with the Batka's. A few weeks ago we got together for our 2nd annual Christmas cookie baking with the kids. This year we had Jay & Brad here with us. We had a great time. The kids always start out being really helpful but then lose interest after a while. I guess maybe next time we should do so many cookies! It took us a while to figure out the right combination of how thick the dough should be and baking times. The first couple of batches were well done blobs... they still tasted good.

Since the first family night was a success (kids fell asleep instantly!), we got together two weeks later and did homemade pizza night. Again, some trouble with baking times but in the end they tasted great. If you ask Jay & Brad they will tell you they are going to start a franchise of their special pizza they made. They both said it was even good cold the next day.

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. Our Christmas tree started out completely decorated but by the end of the first week it was up all of the ornaments ended up on the top half of the tree. Mr. P enjoyed taking all of the bulbs off and throwing them around the room! Hannah was really into opening presents and just more interested all around. We put out cookies Christmas Eve for Santa and she wanted to open all of the presents. Of course, she ripped through them so quickly that I still don't think she knows what she received. She kept saying "thank you, this is just what I wanted... can I have another present?". The only two things that she asked Santa for were a hat & a kite. She did get both but she had to point out that she asked Santa for a purple kite and he brought her one with a ladybug on it. Nothing gets by that kid.

Parker didn't want much to do with opening gifts this year. I felt guilty that he didn't have as many gifts as Hannah did to open but he didn't even care.

Our downstairs living room looks like a toy store exploded in there. Our kids are so blessed (by that I mean spoiled!) by grandparents, great grandparents & aunts. We had a wonderful holiday with our families. We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives.

Oh yeah, my good friend Cheri is in town this week so she & her little boy Jackson came over tonight along with Michelle & the Batka kids and we had a fun play night. We ordered pizza and let the kids run around and destroy the house for a while. I love watching the kids run around and be carefree. I don't care how messy the house gets, they have such a good time. Michelle, Cheri & I were able to sit and catch up. Thanks for coming over girls, I had fun.. hope you did too!

I hope every one had a Merry Christmas! I can't believe another year has gone by. Have a safe New Year.