The Cole Family

HiYa

2009-11-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

Ok so I haven't updated this in four months. Sam is definitely a mama's boy and requires a ton of attention! And honestly it is much quicker to upload pics to facebook since I can do a whole folder worth with one or two clicks, as opposed to this site where I can only do five at a time and it takes forever! Anyway, hopefully as he gets older I will have two hands more often!

Sam

2009-07-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few classic Sam shots. He's two months old now and growing like crazy. The first ones are happy about bathtime and the last two pics are of him excited about eating pears. He's such a goofball.

Almost seven weeks old already!!

2009-06-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Okay so here are some miscellaneous pictures from the past six weeks. The ones at the bottom are the oldest. You can kinda see Sam fattening up as he gets older, especially in the bath pics. I don't have a lot of time at the moment to type, so I'll just let the pictures do the talking. G'night to all.

Samuel Edward James Cole

2009-05-15T14:29:00.000-07:00

Avril's Latest Trick

2009-05-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is a running front roll - something Avril has been working very hard on. Up until this point she stops at the end of the run to orient herself and get into the roll part, but tonight she did the whole thing without stopping! This tumbling class has been great for her, and I can't wait to see how far she goes.

Oh Yeah,

2009-05-11T08:08:00.001-07:00

I forgot to put pics up here of Avril's birthday party this weekend.

Three more days!

2009-05-11T07:58:00.001-07:00

So I'm now in finish-up mode. Trying to get all those little things done. Today we'll be running errands, stocking up on groceries and last minute baby stuff and getting my hair trimmed and colored. Tomorrow I'll go back to work to double check all my stuff is up to date. Wednesday I'll be cleaning house and packing bags. Hopefully then bedtime will be able to come way early because Thursday morning we've got to be ready for action at the hospital at 6 am. So luckily I won't be bored between now and then. Other than that there's really not a lot going on; I just thought I should put something on here before we left. I'll be bringing the computer, so we'll get pictures up as soon as we can.

Three Weeks To Go!

2009-04-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yessiree, that's all folks. I'll go back to the doctor next Thursday the 30th, and assuming everything's on track it'll be just two weeks from then. Last night I took the kids to a sibling class at the hospital where they talked about what to expect and how they can help with a newborn around. They even got to go see some babies in the nursery, which was Alex's favorite part. Avril's favorite part was learning how to put a diaper on the baby.

I'm marking stuff off my "to do" list a bit at a time - this week I've gotten all the carpets shampooed. Hopefully by this time next week, all the windows will be clean and the pool will be set up and warming. It may be a bit early for it, but it's either get it up now or wait till june when it will be late summer before it's warm enough to swim.

So glad to hear that Adam is recovering from his scary week! Hope everyone is doing well.

Avril and her animals

2009-04-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Both of the kids love animals, but Avril is definitely the one with the passion for them. She's funny though, she prefers the off the wall ones like ostrichs and guinea pigs while Alex goes more for cats and dogs. Anyway, the last few days have given her a great opportunity to mingle with a few different species. At Tater Day she couldn't get enough of the ducks and bunnies and had to ride the ponies. And today we set up a small aquarium. Happy early birthday to me! I've got a few cute pictures from our trip to the zoo too, I'll post those later. Tater Day this year was an odd experience. It was nice to have Ronnie in, even though we didn't get to see much of her because of the zoo trip. Sunday afternoon we had to dodge tornadoes and high winds - hence the picture of the tent on its side. We were attacked by a flipping tent at one point, and let me tell you, there is nothing quite like peeing in a porta-potty that is being rocked in the wind! Then on Monday, it was snowing and sleeting and raining, so it was pretty much just a mess. Half the vendors left after the tornado experience so there really wasn't a whole lot to see by Monday anyway.

Trip to Beanbah and Grape's Place

2009-04-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend has been really fun. Friday and Saturday I went with one of my best friends to a concert and enjoyed some time away from it all. Then Sunday through Tuesday I took the kids to visit Beanbah and Grape! We had a blast - can't wait for the warmer weather! Here are a few pics from our adventures.

Tomorrow my parents-in-law, sister and brother in-law and their little one, my kidoes and I are going to St Louis for a Saturday trip to the zoo. Since I'm within six weeks of having the baby, it will be interesting to see how my endurance lasts for that one! But I really wanted to go before it got too hot. And then Monday is Tater Day in Benton, so that will be fun too. Luckily every week between now and Sam's birth is packed full of activities so we're not getting bored.

Baby Pics

2009-03-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

I went today for another ultrasound! Sam is doing just fine. Of course he's in his favorite position, bent in half and grabbing his toes. He had been sleeping all morning then the poking on him woke him up briefly. He kept yawning then went back to sleep; it's so funny to see him yawn, one of those pictures catches it in the middle of one. And in one you can see his knee near his mouth and his foot on his forehead. The other pic has his arms in there but they're distorted.
He's measuring in at 3 pounds and 9 ounces, which is perfectly average. We'll be going in 8 weeks to cut him out of me. I suppose that's all the pertinent info, so I'll just leave it at that.

Chuckie Cheese!

2009-03-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to play the other day. Thought I'd share some cute pics. Avril loves the rides, as you can see. Alex loves to see how many tickets he can acquire. He's got the system figured out and knows which ones give out the most.

Just Stuff

2009-03-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I brought out the bubble spa mat and I think I've created a monster! The kids had a blast and I'm having a hard time explaining to them that we can't use it for every bath. Especially since you're not supposed to get the water soapy while in use, lol. Also included here is a recent belly shot. Luckily even though it is a lot lower than the other two, it isn't as big as Alex was! And this is the headboard that I built for my bed while I had the flu - cause really, what else was I going to do?

New Camera!

2009-03-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! New camera at last. And I think I may just send the poor photo lab guy at Wal-Mart a thank you card, lol. I'm the worst at making decisions, and this one took at least two hours total. Oh well, I'm happy with it and hopefully it will allow me to take pictures more often and post on here. It was hard though to convice Frank to let me get one, he says our old one is just fine even though it weighs at least a pound and needs it's own purse to carry it and the battery is so old it only lasts a few pictures. **eye rooll** So I categorized it as a baby expense and used my baby money for it - that ended the complaining. So now I've got everything I need for Sam all set up including the new glider/ottoman combo which is so comfy I'll be in constant danger of falling asleep while rocking the baby.

So as of today I've got 9 weeks and 2 days left!

That's really all that's going on here, we're about to head over to the in-law's house for another edition of American Idol.

2009-03-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

So I know I said I've had it all except the stomach bug, but I spoke too soon. Luckily it lasted only a day and I'm all better today except feeling a bit tired. Here are some pics of my orphan children, lol. I didn't notice until I put them on the computer that Alex is in terrible need of a haircut and Avril had the remains of something all over her face. Oh well. But check out the really organized and freshly painted closets!

Ahhh... Feeling Groovy

2009-02-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! I finished by antibiotic! The entire month of February I've been very sick. It started with a reasonably bad sinus infection the week that the power went out. Then there were two days that I felt fine before suddenly coming down with the flu. I went through the dosing of Tamiflu and felt better for all of maybe one afternoon before I realized I was ill again and went back to the doctor. That was the beginning of strep throat, ear infection, and upper respiratory infection. So anyway, yesterday I just finished my antibiotic and for the first time in a month I'm feeling great! The only thing I've missed out on is a stomach bug.

I'll go back to the ob doctor next week and I'll double check, but I think Sam will be born on May 14th. That puts it at only 11 weeks away! I'm so thankful to my parents who are helping me prepare - last night they were at my house until late into the night helping me put up shelving in the kids' closets. So since earlier in the week mom helped me organize the other closets, by the end of this weekend every closet in my house will be in order! That may not thrill everyone's heart like it does mine, but it means alot to me.

The living room in my house is beginning to look like a nursery. Sam doesn't have a room to himself, so with the exception of the bassinet next to my bed I've set up all the gear in one end of the living room. The only thing missing is my glider, which is ordered and may be in this weekend. So everything is coming together! I think we've settled on a full name: Samuel Paul James Cole. I'm not a huge fan of the name Paul, but I suppose Frank does get a say somewhere, :). I liked Peter or Edward better. James comes from Papa. One of Frank's brothers' official name is James too but he doesn't use it. So there you are. We were so undecided I was beginning to think he would be born with just one name.

Last night Frank and Alex went to a Pink Floyd Experience concert and they had a great time. It's not Pink Floyd itself, but a tribute group. Today mom and dad are taking the kids for a day trip to Nashville, so they should have fun doing that also. I don't have any pictures to upload, since I've been in pretty much a zombie state for the past month. But I promise I'll get back into that soon.

Baby Pics

2009-02-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

So if you're talented you can pick out Sam's face in these photos. This is the 4D ultrasound, and it was really cool. In the first one he's got the cord passing over his eyes right above his nose, and his arm up over the left side of his face with his hand on his forehead. Cute little cubby hand already. In the second one, you can see his face in the left side of the picture.
Today things are going to start to be getting back to normal since mom and dad regained power this afternoon. Hopefully by next week we'll all be back to our normal sleeping, eating and playing schedules. This storm has been interesting since I've never seen so much devastation like this in person. This kind of stuff happens on tv, not to Kentucky. It's like an 80-mile-wide tornado came through and knocked down the top half of all the trees. I've not seen much damage to houses though, which is really good. But it looks like some sort of war zone. I wish I had a wood chipper or knew someone who did; my landscaping would be really pretty this spring with wood mulch. As it is, the entire region will be cleaning up way into the Spring.
Alex and Avril are doing well. I think Alex is enjoying homeschooling alright, but next year I think I'll invest in some pre-laid-out curriculum. I don't feel very prepared this semester. I suppose that's alright since it's only kindergarten.
Frank is into his last full semester of college. Hopefully with a few extra hours taken in May/June he'll be ready to graduate in August. The new idea he's come up with is looking for a job in the Fort Campbell/Clarksville area which is only an hour away from our current location so that's alright with me. We'll just see.
I am now 14 weeks away from having the baby, and not quite prepared yet. I've still got a few large items I need to buy, and a house to clean. I'm also embarking on what will be the last carpentry job for awhile, a headboard for my room. Hopefully that project will be done by this time next week then begin shampooing all the carpets. It never is really ever done.
Here are some pictures of a few trees in Calvert.

A tad catching up

2009-01-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

Just a few questions to put out there...Nana, how's the sickness and papa's hand? And Kimmi, I heard you give your girls something from a whole foods store that keeps them from getting colds, what is it? Also, to all who would wonder, mom's bird is actually adapting nicely to his broken leg. He's getting better all the time at maneuvering around, and the leg just hangs there. Don't know if it will eventually completely die and fall off, or if it'll just be there. It's sad to look at, but he's chirping again so I suppose he's lost feeling all together. And just to put this out there..."Paul Blart, Mall Cop" is a very cute movie that you can feel good about going to see. I took both of the kids and we all loved it. Alex especially.

So Here We Are

2009-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

That's what a typical Sunday late afternoon looks like around here. Gotta love comfy jammies. We're all doing well, nothing really too interesting happening lately, which I suppose is a good thing.

Putting on her own coat

2009-01-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, try to tell me this isn't the best trick ever. I won't believe you.

It's a boy!

2009-01-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

So the baby is a boy! His name will be Samuel but we don't have the middle names picked out yet. Everything looks right on target so far, still due May 23rd/24th. My doctor does surgeries on Thursdays, so it'll prolly be either the 14th or 21st, depending on how Sam is doing. Here are pics and videos! Let me clarify what the videos are - the first one is his long legs dancing; it definitely shows how active he is when he's awake, which isn't that often, so we were lucky to catch him. The second one is looking at the bottom of his feet - so amazing to think how tiny they are but how perfectly they are formed. The one on the bottom is his profile; it looks like he yawns but it's just stretching. At the end of it you can see and hear the heartbeat.

My next visit is Feb 3rd, and we'll do another ultrasound then too because she couldn't get one of the views she was wanting this time - he kept moving away from her. I also have to do the sugar blood test thing then, but it's not so bad this time because instead of drinking the syrup stuff I only have to drink Hi-C. Which makes you realize how much sugar is in that stuff! The next ultrasound will be the six weeks after that - it'll be the 4D one! So that's fun, I haven't had one of those before.

Anyway, everybody is happy with it being a Sam. The first thing Alex said was "Mommy you don't have to worry about taking care of the little one, I'll do it." Lol. He's very excited to have a brother. Avril is alright with it too, since I told her that if it was a girl the baby would probably play with all of Avril's toys and put them in her mouth. She hates that, so she is pretty excited it's a boy and will play with Alex's toys. I'm not gonna tell her that an infant doesn't care about girl or boy toys, we'll just let that one pass. For now she's happy.

Busy busy

2008-12-29T07:08:00.001-08:00

Sorry it's been awhile. My keyboard sticks so I'm gonna make this short. Things lately have been busy but fun! Christmas was great! Here are a couple of pics - didn't end up taking very many - my mind isn't what it used to be, lol. Not a lot else going on. We're loving having Beanbah and Grape here! And a week from today I'll be on here with ultrasound pics!

Baby Sounds

2008-12-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Here's the heartbeat at 15 weeks along. He/She must be getting bigger because it didn't take more than a minute to find it this time. Everything is fine - bloodwork came back perfect. The great news is that we'll have our ultrasound on January 5th and we'll be able to see if it is a Sam or a Sarah. Alex didn't really care too much about hearing it, but Avril had pulled her chair back up to the side and was laying on me while we were listening. She's so funny. When we were done she took my face between her hands and very sincerely asked if I was doing okay. Then she hugs and kisses the baby. I just wonder if she'll like it so much when it gets more lap time than she does. Lol.
Alex went to the doctor on Monday and she said he still doesn't have pneumonia, just a terrible respiratory infection so she finally gave him antibiotics and we'll see if that gets rid of it. I think already he's feeling better.
I haven't had the time to go through the videos and pictures from Thanksgiving, but I will get to it asap. Unfortunately my house seems like i left ten guys in it for the week instead of the two, so I'm a little behind in getting it clean. And our Christmas tree is still naked. And I have to work the rest of the week. So it may be a few more days until I can sit at the computer for awhile.
Love you all.

Baby!

2008-11-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

I finally got to the doctor the other day and as far as I know everything is fine. This is audio of the heartbeat. Mine is the lower sounding one in the background - the louder faster one is the baby's. It took about fifteen minutes and two different nurses to finally find it, but it's there and strong sounding. I go back on Dec 2nd for a more thorough exam and won't have an ultrasound until sometime in January. Avril was so cute after we finally got to hear the heartbeat, she pulled a chair over to the table and climbed up and hugged my belly. lol. She was so excited. And she's still insistent that she's having a sister and Alex is having a brother. Doesn't matter how many times I tell her there is only one in there and we don't get to pick what it is, she is for sure they each get one. So that will be a difficult bridge to cross later on.
We're all still having a hard time getting over colds. Alex's cough is getting worse - he stayed home from school today and both of the kids are going to the doctor again in the morning. I'm hoping we're all feeling better by next week! I can't wait to see everybody!

Singing

2008-11-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

We've all been sick these past few weeks. This is Avril entertaining herself while waiting in the doctor's office.

Wurth Farms

2008-10-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the local pumpkin patch. We went with Abby, and the kids had a ball riding horses, feeding ponies, taking a hayride to the patch, and basically just playing around.

Magic House

2008-10-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

More Stuff

2008-10-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

Okay so I realize I have more video of Avril. I'll try to get some of Alex next time he's up to something. Things here have been pretty slow this week. Spent some much needed time with the fam over the weekend and had a greeat time. Grandpa passed away and I'm totally bummed, especially since I can't get to the memorial service. That's a big part of my life that is over. Since then I can't think of anything productive at all except I've read two paperbacks and finished some laundry. Of course there is always Avril's tumbling class. Saturday we'll be taking the kids to the pumpkin patch so that should be interesting.
Here is Avril enjoying a praying mantis.

Zoo

2008-10-09T19:24:00.000-07:00

Here we are having a fabulous time at the zoo with nana. The kids had a ball! Okay, so did I. ;) The St. Louis Zoo is without a doubt the best zoo in the country in my opinion. Now we're getting ready to leave for Beanbah's. Bye!

:)

2008-09-30T19:06:00.000-07:00

It's been an oddly busy couple of weeks around here, but I can't place my finger on exactly what we've been up to. The month started off with my best friend having a baby and shortly after, me finding out we're expecting another one ourselves! We're very excited, and it is due May 23rd. Other than that, nothing really has been going on. Avril is still really enjoying her tumbling class - hopefully the videos will upload correctly. They're a bit dark; we look through a tinted double-sided mirror. Alex is reading better all the time and I think he's having a great time doing it. Frank is knee-deep in classes and I still don't really get to see him often. I'm only six weeks along, but appear to be at least three months. After two c-sections my tummy muscles are next to nothing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Oddly, I don't really feel like eating that much even though I'm not sick. But I do feel like just laying around not really doing anything but reading. Next week is Alex's fall break, so it's going to be fun - mom and I are taking the kids to the Magic House and to the zoo. And that weekend we'll be (hopefully) visiting Beanbah and Grape. So I'll have more pictures then.

Avril at her new tumbling class

2008-09-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

I'm testing out my new video camera. It's zoomed in all the way here, so it is blurry - that's the only bad thing i've discovered so far. If this loads okay, I can do more of these video things.

Just Around the House

2008-09-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Don't have a whole lot to say, just thought I'd put up some new pics. This is about as goofy as you'd ever see Alex act.
I'm making great progress on the decorating of the den. So far living in this house, it is the last room to be worked on. I adore this paint color. Please ignore the empty frames and the "Body by Jake" contraption. ;) You do what you gotta do.

Just general playing around the house.

Lately

2008-08-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

We've been very busy lately and I'm not sure exactly with what. Seems like the days I have off from work have just been plain full. Nice though, some of them have been full of time spent with friends. Anyway, here are some pictures taken last weekend when we went with the in-laws to the "Homeplace 1880", a fully functional farm set around 1880 that acts as a living museum. The kids really had a great time!

Frank has started what we hope will be his last year in college! Can't wait till it's over - between his classes and job we only get to see him on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm still enjoying my job very much. I think accounting is something I'm just designed to do. And at church I'm the new Nursery Director! Alex loves kindergarten and is learning how to read. Avril starts her new tumbling class in two weeks, and I think we're all looking forward to her having something constructive to do. Plus I will have some cute pictures from it.

Oh Goodness

2008-08-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

It's been forever since I've been on here. The past month has been insane around this house, but soon it will settle for awhile luckily. Alex has started kindergarten this week and there isn't a more excited kindergartener in town! He loves everything about it. Avril is really excited to begin her adventure in Cubbies in ten more days - she wanted to be a Cubby all last year. It will make Wednesdays hard around here though since I will be at work then they go straight to Awana and won't be back until bedtime. On the upside, that will give me one evening a week to be at home by myself and accomplish whatever needs attention. Frank is still working 3pm-11pm each weekday, so combining that with summer classes in the morning-afternoon, I only see him on weekends. I began a new job about six weeks ago that I really enjoy, and I only have to go on Wed, Th, and Fri. So anyway, in the coming weeks when Awana starts for the kids and fall semester of college starts for Frank, we'll get into a better routine around here.
At the moment, we're just getting by one day at a time. I want more days at home; I would also like to have more free time to spend with friends and out visiting family, but we do what we have to do until Frank graduates. That may happen this Spring, we'll just have to see. I'll get more pictures up on here as time allows, I'll definitely take a picture of Alex in his school gear.

Life

2008-07-18T19:21:00.001-07:00

So not much has been going on around here. We're gearing up for Alex to begin school - trying to fit in all the sleeping in and vegging we can. Next Thursday we get to go meet his teacher then go school clothes shopping. Avril on the other hand is totally excited about starting Awana. You've never seen a more eager Cubbie. I only have a couple of cute pictures this time around. This one they had set up a gun store. They crack me up when they do stuff like that. There are times when they can play together all day long but there are also times when I have to separate them to keep them sane. This evening, they would take turns running the store and buying the guns, and charging amounts like a zillion cents. It was pretty cute.

Last night Alex decided he wanted to learn to read again so he got out his practice book and said he was going to read until I went to bed. I went to go fold clothes and came back to check on him and he was completely passed out. He stayed that way for an hour until Frank came home and put him up in his bed. Again, pretty cute.

The 4th

2008-07-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken me awhile to get these on here. It's quite a daunting task to sit and go through all the pics I took and choose the right ones, then devote enough time to get them uploaded. But here they are. Let the record state that no matter how hard you try, pictures of card games all tend to look alike. So I just tried to get shots of various things that went on.

Uncle Butch and Aunt Tammy's house is really great for entertaining a large group of people, and they are fabulous hosts. I really enjoyed being around everybody, and it was especially fantastic to see Aunt Kelli and Uncle Steve again. (boy am i glad i didn't bring howard; i do still sleep with him every night, but he doesn't come on vacations for fear of losing him) Anyway, the one picture I wish I had was the sand sculptor. We completely forgot to go back and look at it, and the first time through I didn't have my camera.

Two of the bestest aunts in the world.

This is Avril doing a beach ball impression. She had such a great time that whole weekend, she still asks for me to sit with her and look at the pictures...again...and again...and again.

It's Michael, Avril's favorite napping buddy! Some of the only times in her life she requests to sleep is when Michael is around.

Proof of the cheating that took place!

Not really sure who's having the better time here.

The men just gravitate toward any toy that requires gasoline. The neighbor had a remote controlled airplane and it was pretty cool.

I love this picture - they look like soldiers.

Here's Josh, Missy's main squeeze.

I had to get a shot of Beanbah with a basketball in her hand. She actually beat out several of the guys, I'm not lying.

She loves older men who give her attention. The read to her and give her food - it's a beautiful relationship.

Missy. (love the long hair by the way)

General card-playing. This is typical when they're in their natural habitat.

Avril loves Missy.

We all love Grape too.

Just like this picture.

Alex had a blast.

Lounging. The best part of vacation.

Long Time No Write

2008-06-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry - been a bit busy, not really with anything terribly important, just a lot of summertime stuff. We took a quick weekend trip to Beanbah's and went to Holiday World. We had a fabulous time there - and discovered Alex really doesn't like water parks or fast rides. He loves things like the carosel and the bumper boats. Avril on the other hand is the free-spirit daredevil. It was pretty cute to see them play around on everything but I completely forgot the camera. And it was nice to see everyone again - thanks to Beanbah for hemming my pants. They're perfect!
We've set up a small pool on the patio and the kids are loving it - we refill it about once a week and keep it clean with a spatter screen and a drop of bleach. They play in that for about an hour each evening before the "bitey buggies" come out. lol.

Abby came over to play for the day earlier this week - she is such a sweetie.

Alex went fishing with daddy and actually caught something!

We also went miniature golfing, and he's actually pretty good!

You can definitely tell he's turning into a big kid now. There are always those points between newborn and baby, baby and toddler, toddler and preschooler, and preschooler and big kid. Someday in the future we'll watch him go from big kid to preteen; I'm definitely not looking forward to that one.
Our garden is coming along alright - Frank has some nice corn, tomatoes, peppers and cabbage coming up. My blueberry bush is doing nicely and already has edible berries. I'm not sure that the strawberries are going to fruit this year, but they're filling out nicely and should berry well next year.
The raspberries I've transplanted from Beanbah's aren't looking so well, but I'm holding out hope they'll recover and grow better next year. Avril loves to water the garden. This morning she wouldn't quit; she just kept saying "They're so sad and thirsty!" I think the sunflowers might be a bit drowned. I had to tell her they were very happy to get her to stop. lol.

At Beanbah's

2008-05-29T13:40:00.001-07:00

We had a great time with Beanbah and Grape! A quick visit unfortunately, but great nonetheless. The kids loved playing with the dolls and the other toys we found in the top of the barn. Avril calls it the farm, lol. We put together puzzles and ate a few pints of fresh strawberries. We'll be going back as soon as we can. And I'm hoping the berry plants I brought home!

The Graduation

2008-05-29T13:29:00.001-07:00

This would have been a really cute picture if it was in focus.
Josh was attempting bunny ears but I was too quick.
I thought this one was cute.
Yum, chinese on the way to the ceremony.
This is Kelly being cute. She couldn't get her can of silly string open. lol.
So pretty with her flower.
Avril loves Missy.
Leah and BJ. I miss her and wish I could see her more.

I wasn't aware until right as I was going to Beanbah's, that Kelley was graduating high school that evening, so we were glad to be there! Luckily it was held in a gym so the kids didn't really have to sit still and be quiet, lol. There were something like 140 kids graduating that night! I couldn't believe the crowd. At the end all the graduates unleashed their silly string, but Kelley couldn't get her can open. It was pretty funny.

The Party

2008-05-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Kelley's party and Uncle Butch (Fancypants) and Aunt Tammy and Ronnie came in. The theme was music and it was very cute. I tried to get pictures of everybody in the family to represent to all you out there in cyberspace what you missed. Kelley won so many scholarships! It is amazing what a fabulous women she's grown up to be; we're all very proud of her.

Party!

2008-05-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well the party went off successfully and Avril had a really good time! It was really great to have family and friends around. And she fell in love with everything as soon as she saw it - especially the pink princess costume. We had to have a major discussion this morning as to why she couldn't wear it to church, but I think she understands now, lol. Missy had given her a Dora house set so we put that up inside and between it and the swingset the kids had a really great time. There's not really a bunch to tell about the party - we ate, gave tours of mom's house, opened presents and ate cake and berries (yum!). All of the kids had a good time. Gotta go...princess calling from bed.

Lizzards Don't Like Peanut Butter

2008-05-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Avril caught a lizzard Saturday. I think it wasn't fully alive when she got it because it didn't scurry away like they normally do, but it was alive enough to walk around a bit and they had a great day together. It died after an hour or so but she thought it was just sleeping. The whole thing was completely disgusting but if you know Avril, you know she loves everything crawly and I just couldn't break her heart and take it away. There was a point in the afternoon where Avril and lizzard were making a beeline to lunch and the phrase "lizzards don't like peanut butter" was the quickest thing I could think of to keep her at bay. The obsurdity of it was hilarious and mom and I didn't stop laughing for quite some time. I'm sure it is one of those things you had to be there for. We had to put lizzard outside during the party and afterward he played on the swingset with her and luckily got lost in the grass. She cried for a long time but today she hasn't mentioned it.

Bathroom...Done

2008-05-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

And here it is completed. Except I need some sort of art above the toilet, window coverings, and still need to hang a towl ring somewhere near the sink.

Bathroom...During

2008-05-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the work in progress.

Misc

2008-04-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some miscellaneous pictures from the last week. Not really alot to update on but thought I'd share anyway.

Bike Ride

2008-04-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Alex got a bike for his birthday five months ago and this is the first time we've been able to really test it out! He was very excited and was really good at it. Here are some pics.

Other than that we've just been hanging out today - went to clean the church and was pleasantly surprised (actually I should have remembered) they didn't have Awana this week so it wasn't dirty at all and it took only half the time it usually does. We're looking forward to a weekend full of not a lot of anything important. If anyone wants to hang, we're available.

Cubbies Awards

2008-04-07T07:01:00.001-07:00

So the Awana year is over and last night was the awards ceremony. I'm pretty sure Alex has enjoyed being a Cubbie but he's not been ecstatic about it. Next year he'll be a Spark and Avril will be a Cubbie and I know she'll have a great time. Here's Alex singing the Cubbie song and accepting his ribbon for completing his book.

Tater Day 2008

2008-04-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

So here we are enjoying the local festivities, the only festival in the United States named after the sweet potato. If you look past the rebel flags and resin skulls with candles in them there are a few fun things to do. We went out with our friend Juliana and had a wonderful time riding ponies, petting farm animals, sliding and jumping. Here are a few pics of our adventures.

While Juliana kept the animals at arms' length, Avril had a hard time keeping them alive. I think they all came out alright.

Easter Eggs

2008-03-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken a while to get more pics up here; life's been kinda hectic lately. This past weekend we spent alot of our time hunting eggs. Saturday was a large hunt at my sister-in-law's mom's house, and the kids had a great time; this is the first year where both of them are old enough to really enjoy themselves. Sunday after church was another egg hunt, then after lunch there was another one at my other sister-in-law's house. So all in all they had a very eggy time. And I'm not mad in the picture, it was cold and windy and I didn't know we were being photographed. Here is Abby having a lovely time collecting eggs. I got the bathroom painted over the weekend also, but it turned out the wrong color so I'll be painting again in the next couple of days, then hopefully it won't be too much longer until it is all finished! I'll be sure to put up pics when it's done.

I've been tagged...

2008-03-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

Alright I'll give it a whirl...
1. Sunday we're up at about 8:30 in order to get to church at 10:00. Afterwards we always go to lunch with nana and papa and a few other friends from church. After lunch we come back home and I try to get a few household things done, usually whatever project I'm currently working on, while the kidoes play. At 6:00 nana comes and takes them to Sunday school. Frank and I don't go in order to gain an extra few hours working on projects around here without "helpers". They get home around 8:00 and we start the bedtime process.
2. Monday is one of my days off work; Frank goes to school and then straight to work until 11:00 pm. The kids and I get up around 8:00, Alex goes to preschool at 11:30 and is home at 3:00, Avril and I do whatever comes up...lately it's been working on this bathroom, sometimes we go to the library or go out to go grocery shopping.
3. Tuesday I go to work; Frank goes to school and then straight to work until 11:00 pm. Mom comes over to my house to watch the kids and gets Alex on and off the bus. After I get home from work the kids and I go to Frank's mom's house for dinner and watch American Idol together along with my brother and sister in law and their little one.
4. Wednesday I go to work; Frank goes to school and then straight to work until 11:00 pm. Mom is around to get Alex on and off the bus. Then after I get home from work the kids get picked up by the church bus to go to Awana. I spend the evening with two glorious hours by myself to do whatever. They're home at 8:00 and we all get ready for bed.
5. Thursday I work every other week; Frank goes to school and then straight to work until 11:00 pm. The week I work, Mom is here with the kids and then in the evening we're just home. The week I don't work I spend the afternoon while Alex is at school cleaning the church.
6. Friday is one of my days off; Frank goes to school and then straight to work until 11:00 pm. Alex doesn't go to preschool on Fridays, so the three of us have the day free to do whatever we want. But the weeks that I work Thursdays I have to clean the church on Fridays.
7. Saturdays we are all home and we have the entire day free.
There's nobody else to tag.

Busy Busy

2008-03-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long - we've been a bit busy lately, and with the computer breaking down and getting a new one I just haven't had the chance to load pictures recently. This past weekend we finally got to take a trip to see Beanbah and Grape, and we had a really good time! Not for sure how much help we actually were in getting things in order, but it was nice to hang out with them anyway. The kids love to explore through Beanbah's toys, and Avril had a great time with her new interest, Barbies! I think every girl in this family has played with the same ones.
And boys will be boys...
The hanging of the cabinet was a bit funny, I had to share this pic. Poor Grape beat up his hand so badly on this project! Avril made sure he had bandaids on though; she is obsessed with bandaids.

Since getting back I have been working busily on the bathroom, seeing as it is pretty important to have a toilet in the house. On Sunday we sent the kids to church with nana and papa, and replaced the rotten section of floor and hung the last piece of drywall.
Monday we installed the new flooring and got the wainscoating up behind the toilet and re-installed the toilet only to find we have a leak in the water valve. So then after things have been going so well for two days, I have water dripping everywhere and still no toilet. My brother-in-law is who has been running the actual plumbing for me, so he came over to try to fix it and in the process we got a leak in the interior plumbing in the wall to the sink. :( Luckily he was able to cut into the wall through the part that is covered up by the sink cabinet so it wasn't a big deal too much, so until he gets off work today and we can work on it again, it is just capped off. Anyway, hopefully soon we'll have a new valve to the toilet and apparantly to the sink too, and I can continue putting up wainscoating and finishing the mudd. I've still got to put up the new shower walls and run the lines back in before we can use the tub again. But now that demolition is all done and we are to the point of rebuilding, I can see light at the end of the tunnell and that makes me very happy. The rest of my house is a disaster and I'm almost at the end of my rope because I can't even get to any surfaces to clean them!

Demolition Day

2008-03-07T15:59:00.001-08:00

Let me just say that I'm a little too tired to sit here for long, so I'll just say we've been working on the bathroom today, demolishing it to the point that tomorrow we can install new sheetrock. We were able to get so much done because my lovely mother kept the children. :) Anyway, the only things staying are the tub and sink base and in a few days nobody will even recognize this room! I'll post new pics as work progresses.

Poor Thing

2008-02-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

So Avril has come down with the flu. There's not really a whole bunch to tell about that, but she looked so pitiful I couldn't help but to take some pictures. Last night before bed at least she was able to eat most of a pop tart and keep it down. This morning she seems to feel a bit better, so maybe the worst is past.

The other news of the house is that Alex has learned to tie his shoes! He is also drawing alot more these days (completely not like him) and is coming up with some cute stuff like this one of his family.

Not Much to Update

2008-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Really, our lives have been quite boring lately. The most exciting thing going on is at the moment we are dogsitting Daisy. So I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. Daisy has adopted one of Arwen's tennis balls and it is pretty funny because it is almost as big as she is. Arwen isn't terribly impressed with having another puppy around here anyway and I'm not going to tell her about the ball. lol. Alex is very happy tonight because Nana made him a "handsome man shirt with buttons" and he is loving wearing it and was actually happy to pose for a picture in it. Usually when I try to get a pic of him he acts goofy because he likes goofy pictures better; I can't tell you how many shots I have of him posing as a ninja or in inexplicable positions. Anyway, tomorrow we're going out to pick up the new walls for the shower so next week I will be busy with that project. Yay! But that's really all that is going on.

Nana's New Puppy, Daisy

2008-02-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

So the kids have been entertaining themselves so well lately that last week while I was cleaning the house, I didn't think twice about them playing in Alex's room for a few hours with no trouble. But then I go in to check on them and found that they had found a marker somewhere and thought it would be great to draw happy faces on each other.
But I couldn't get very upset, because they had also gotten out a board game and were playing so well I decided not to rock the boat (except to take the marker away).

Yesterday we went with mom and picked up her new puppy! She is a beagle with the sweetest spirit. Her name is Daisy. Last night the kids went off to Awana and mom had nursery duty, so Frank and I puppysat. It was so funny because Frank doesn't like animals but Daisy loved him! We were sitting on the floor just talking while watching her eat and she just kept crawling up in his lap. He sat her back down and three times she just came back and made herself comfy. I couldn't help but take pictures of it; he gave in and let her nap for awhile.

She is the cutest little thing and has yet to even make a sound; all she wants to do is be held and cuddled. Mom wanted a little dog to be a companion since dad is away so much, and I think she got a great one - the dog will be as spoiled as her grandkids are. Daisy is a big hit with the kids too, as I'm sure you can imagine. Avril cried so much when Daisy had to go home last night that I had to promise we'd go visit her today to get her to go to bed. Anyway, I'm off now to clean the church. Wish me well.

Long Overdue

2008-01-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Okay so I've been told not once but twice today that I need to put more pictures up here, so here we are. We've all had head colds these past couple of weeks, making even the most normal of household tasks seem monumental. But the last few days have been progressively better. I don't know what it is about being ill, maybe it just breaks down their defenses, but the kids have been getting along great! Not that they are usually fighting all the time, but they do tend to get on each other's nerves after a long day of being together. Who wouldn't? But they've been recently playing like best friends, rarely resorting to video games or movies or anything apart from each other. This may be a result of Alex's getting back into school after the holidays (fondness makes his heart grow stronger) or the fact that Avril grows up more each day, making her a more entertaining playmate. Whichever it is, I've been taken aback plenty of times this last week just watching and listening to them play together.
Alex is doing exceptionally well in preschool; he really enjoys learning. He loves to count, add and subtract; he knows money denominations and loves to count money too. His new thing though is learning to read - something I am going to have to supplement at home with phonics material because the school system here teaches reading by sight words. **ugh!**
Avril is doing well with the potty training. I'm not pushing her at all, and that seems to work well for her. She loves the whole experience of the toilet and the last thing I want to do is to bring punishment into it, so we're staying in pull-ups for the forseeable future, but she will go pee when asked to and twice last week told me beforehand that she needed to go. So it's improvement. I pottytrained Alex this same way, and after a few months of letting him experiment with it himself, it only took a week to get him in underwear with no accidents once I tried. So hopefully it will work with Avril too. She's growing up so fast these days it's weird. She loves church and goes everytime the doors are open even though I don't. Her and Alex ride the church bus together to Awana on Wednesday nights and it is the highlight of her week. She is definitely a social butterfly and Alex the brain. Lol. Avril has several friends her age that she talks about all week and is so excited every time she gets to go to church to see them.
Just this week I have volunteered to join the janitorial staff at our church, and I'm actually pretty excited. If I can do nothing else, I can clean. And it is something I can do to help. Tomorrow I go to learn the ropes and see exactly what it is I've signed up for. Looks like twice a week I'll be cleaning the main church building - once thoroughly and once lightly. Anyway, that is about all that is new with me. I've just about finished the bedroom makeover; isn't it aweful that it can take me only four days to do the majority of the work, but now that it is just down to filling in holes in moulding I'm putting it off for weeks? I'm having motivational issues getting that last step done. Next comes replacing the terrible tile around the tub with fiberglass walls and installing new faucets and handles. That will begin in a few weeks.
Frank is doing well. This semester he is retaking a couple of classes he didn't do so well in last time around, so it is going pretty good so far. He's going to school full time and working pretty much constantly from Thursday afternoon till Sunday night. So we don't see him a lot around here.
That's all I know to give as an update for now. Here are a couple of pictures.

This is Avril being a tired puppy dog. Her new thing is to walk around on all four's saying she's a "puppy gog" and saying whatever it is the puppy is doing. She prefers to do this while wearing shoes on her hands. Don't ask me why.

Here they are rolling a ball back a forth (until Arwen decided to steal the ball) but you can't see the ball in the pic, so I thought it looked kinda funny. Oh well.

They decided just to give in to Arwen after she had been pestering them for awhile.

Mommy and kids.

Daddy and kids.

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They really are quite affectionate sometimes.

The faithful Arwen, recovering well from the hit to the eye with the tennis ball two weeks ago.

Getting On With Life

2008-01-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

Our house is starting to get back to normal. I've spent the last few days finishing Alex's bed, and I'm soooo happy to finally have it done! I think it took a total of six months, but couldn't have been done at all without the help of people smarter than me that own better equipment than me. Now on to my bedroom, but this is what I love - redoing a house one room at a time. Frank doesn't like being in a constant state of project doing, but it is my hobby. I'm mainly posting this on here so Grape can see what we finally did with the slide. We brought it down about eight inches but kept the length the same and brought it out at an angle so there won't be any neck injuries on the wall.
But I really don't have to worry about any injuries at all for a while because Avril refuses to slide without holding a hand. lol. Here are also a few pics of my little princess doing what she does best.

Christmas at Nana's

2007-12-26T08:23:00.001-08:00

And here are some pics from the evening at Nana and Papa's house.
Alex and Papa got a few minutes to bowl in the hall.

Alex has a habit of beating Papa at crazy 8's. He's actually pretty good.

I've never seen Avril so excited over something than when she opened the gift from Nana that included at tutu, tiara, jewelery box full of bead necklaces and rings, and the Cinderella movie. But it got even better when the next one was a princess placemat, bowl, and silverware set. She immediately had to have dinner. It was pretty cute.

The kids loved this duck shooting thing. Alex is frighteningly good at it. I'll have to get it on video sometime.

Avril and daddy.

Christmas at the Cole's

2007-12-26T08:07:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from Christmas at home. I'm learning this year, since Avril is old enough to care, that Christmas with two small children is not only fun and exciting, it is stressful and exhausting. I've had kids for five years now, and this is the first year I've been thankful the day is over. I can't figure out what exactly I can change about next year, but I'll spend alot of time trying to figure it out. Although all four of us are dealing with a nasty head cold, so that may have had something to do with it. All that aside, the kids really did have a great time and Frank didn't have to work, we spent time with the people we love. All in all a fantabulous time.
Here is Alex enjoying his new camera.

Avril really does love her robe, but I had just wiped her nose and she scowled at me. lol.

Alex.

Stockings.

Pics

2007-12-26T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some miscellaneous pictures from Christmas. Busy day. Still recovering. This is my beautiful answer to prayer niece, Abby.

Alex being handsome.

Avril being cute.

Boys being boys.

Avril with her new love, playdoh.

Moving

2007-12-18T10:17:00.000-08:00

So we've spent the last week or so moving my parents into their "new" house. Here
are some miscellaneous pictures from our adventures. The kids are having a good time and things are going smoothly. Not really a whole lot more to report than that.

Merry Christmas to all.

Saturdays

2007-12-08T08:14:00.000-08:00

Avril has recently taken up an interest in potty training, but the problem is she has no clue what she's supposed to do when she's on it. It is actually pretty funny; a couple of times a day she enjoys going through the steps of getting the stool, putting on the seat, climbing up, climbing down, putting toilet paper in, flushing, putting everything away, and washing her hands. As you can imagine this takes about ten minutes each time and it can be quite frustrating because we go through all that and she thinks that is going potty but really doesn't get the point. But the last thing I want to do is tell her no when it comes to the toilet, so we go through the ritual. Maybe someday she'll catch on.

This past week has been a bit weird because none of us have felt very well, and now it is Saturday and I've got to clean the house, but all I want to do is sit around - I'm so tired. But the kids are feeling better, so we are doing the laundry and this is how they help. Their favorite laundry game - taking turns getting under it. I don't understand why, but this can occupy a half hour's time.

Mom and dad are getting ready for the big move. The current plan is to keep boxing up this weekend and next week move a little at a time as each room gets its final coat of paint. Friday and Saturday are the big moving days with the U-Haul. So one more week, and we'll be putting things away in the new house.

Thanksgiving in Branson

2007-11-23T14:57:00.001-08:00

And here we have some shots of the kids at Grammi and Granddaddy's house this week. I wasn't there, but I'm sure they had a great time.

Thanksgiving in Stendal

2007-11-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

So I'm finally here at the same time as my pics. Lol. Anyway, here are some lovely shots from our weekend in Stendal. Good food, good games, good times.

A Bit Behind

2007-11-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

I'm sooo sorry for not updating in a while. Things have been a bit busy, and then I forget to bring pics to work to put them here. We had a fabulous time at my Nana's house for Thanksgiving. It was definitely weird not having the Berea clan there. But nevertheless, at least we could almost all fit at one table. There was lots of food and card playing. We got home really late on Sunday, then I went to work Monday and after work hosted Alex's birthday party. Talk about not having time to prepare! But it all came off just fine. He is really stoic and shy, so it doesn't look like he's having a good time, but he was. And I enjoyed having the fam and friends over, thank you all for coming. Then the next morning, mom and dad took off with the kids to the other grandparent's house in Branson. So last night Frank and I had the house to ourselves and took the opportunity to get the Christmas stuff down from the attic and got almost everything set up. You really need an engineering degree to get the pre-lit tree lit, so it will be a few days till that one is done. I don't understand, but half the lights on the dang thing don't work! I think next year I will cut off all the strands that came on it, and string it myself. Anyway, hopefully this evening I'll remember to post pics from the weekend and from the birthday party. Oh, and Happy Birthday also to Ireland. We tried to call Saturday, but couldn't get through for some reason. Too bad you all couldn't come this year, but hopefully next year things will settle down a bit. Love to all!

Ahh..Sunny Florida

2007-11-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

We had a good time in Florida. Spent the first few days at Grandpa's place in Venice for a few birthday parties - one in the afternoon for his friends at the resort, then one in the evening at a nice beachside restaurant with the family. It was really great to see him again. Then we headed to Panama City Beach to relax for awhile. The first full day we were there was really the only time we could spend in the water though - it turned chilly after that. The kids had a really great time in the sand, but Alex decided afterwards (when he was wet, freezing, and covered in sticky sand) that he
doesn't like the beach. Avril on the other hand is all over it. We found two really nice miniature golf courses and the kids did really well there too. Avril subscribes to the method of hit the ball once, then carry the ball and toss it into the hole. It works for her, and whoever else's ball is close to her at the time. ;) There really wasn't a whole bunch else to do once it got cold because the town had packed up for the winter. So we ended up coming home a couple of days early, but spent a leisurely day in Nashville on the way home. So now we are home and settled again, but life is taking it's time getting back to normal.

I thought I was gonna have Alex's slide done this weekend, but it turns out it is indeed too steep. Suck. The poor kids about killed themselves on it. So I've come up with a plan, but it will take some time to implement it. I'm gonna have to
shorten the length of the slide and make it not so steep, and to do this it is gonna have to land on a platform, not the floor. Then I've got the closet door to deal with - it may end up being a curtain door in the end. But alas, I can say with certainty and with proof, that this whole playhouse bed thing has been an adventure. I didn't know what I was doing when I started, and each step of the way has had to be thought up on the fly. But it has been fun at least - even if it is going to take me until next summer to get it right.

Our house remodel is so close to being done it is painful. The foundation under the addition has been the truly stressing point, and maybe in the next week or so it will be worked on. The problem is that my carpenter doesn't know how he is gonna fix it - sorta like me building this bed, he's gonna have to fly by the seat of his pants. So that will be interesting.

Mom's house is coming along; I'm going this afternoon to check it out and get some new pics. I haven't seen it in over two weeks, and I hear it looks like a house now, all painted and whatnot. So in a few days I'll get those pics up for your viewing pleasure.

I say it will be a few days, because tomorrow I'm going to a Chevelle concert and I'm totally excited! My cousin's roommate is going with me, and I'm looking forward to meeting her too. So anyway, I'll be back sometime Wednesday suffering from post-concert depression. I hate the day after.

This weekend is going to be fun though, getting together with my fam for Thanksgiving! Can't wait, but too bad not everyone is going to come. I don't understand people sometimes, but what can I do? Nothing. So I'll make the best of it, and be thankful for time spent with the rest of them. Then next week, my parents are taking my children to Branson to the other grandparent's house, for actual Thanksgiving, and I get a chance to go to the movies! I can't make it out there with them because of work, but that leaves me with coveted time by myself while they are gone and Frank is at work. Like I said, I'm gonna go to the movies. I love doing that by myself.

Well that is about it, I've enjoyed spending this time here alone; with Alex at school again there is this wonderful break from the fighting - the two of them really need time apart sometimes to be their normal adorable selves. Any other mother of two out there knows what I'm talking about.

There are a whole lot more pics from the trip in my myspace picture albums.

Autumn Festival

2007-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got my camera back! So here are some pics of the kids having fun at the festival on the court square. We're off to Florida in the morning, so hopefully I'll have an opportunity to put the pics of them in their costumes up here after tonight. My computer at home is down though due to a power supply problem, so I'm not sure if I'll get them up before we go.

been a while

2007-10-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. We've been pretty busy since Avril came back from Branson. She had a great time by the way; I don't have any pics since I wasn't there. Saturday we spent the day in Benton at the Autumn Jubilee on the court square and the kids had a good time. We spent alot of time in the inflatables. I have pictures of it, but not with me at the moment. We're getting ready for our trip to Florida for Grandpa's birthday celebration. Hopefully we'll be able to leave before sunrise on Thursday to get in an extra long day and get past Atlanta. Hopefully I will be able to update here with the pics from Saturday before we leave, but if I don't we'll be back sometime the weekend of the 10th.

Update

2007-10-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Well we've been a bit busy this week, and it isn't going to get any slower for about a month. This past weekend we spent alot of time just playing around and having fun. Friday evening we spent time at a friend's house for game night; Saturday we met another friend I haven't seen in two months at McD's for brunch and playground time then did some Christmas shopping then attended an auction at which the children jockeyed racing elephants. I might have to explain that one, and I hate it I had forgotten to bring my camera...the Republican women hosted an auction and at it they had wooden elephants on caster wheels that people had sponsered for a few races. Each one had a jockey and there was someone rolling dice and they moved up on spaces. Alex won his race; Avril didn't win hers, but they both rode together on the last one and won that one too! They had a really good time, and hopefully I will get a copy of some pics from a lady that was there...we'll see. Anyway, Avril left Sunday with my mom for a trip to Branson to Grammi's house. They'll be back on Thursday. Till then I'm trying to be a big girl and focus my nervous energy on extra attention on Alex. He's enjoying being the only child for awhile.

This coming up Saturday we're looking forward to Autumn Jubilee in Benton - mom and I have been put in charge of children's games, so that should be fun.

Mom's house is coming along well. Drywall is finished and the painters will be in there this week. Then comes the floors, then cabinets and appliances and bathroom fixtures. That'll be when it really starts to look like a house. They are still looking at moving mid-December.

Pretty Busy Weekend

2007-10-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a good weekend. Thursday evening the kids and I went to a friend's house for a jewelry party and had a good time. I'm pretty proud of myself for not tempting myself - I didn't even bring my checkbook. That way I could just enjoy being with friends. Friday morning we went out on a pontoon boat with my parents; we do that every summer at some point and always have fun. The kids really enjoyed being on the water and Alex even got to drive the boat! Unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card in the camera so I don't have
pictures. :( That evening they were completely exhausted (as you can imagine) so to keep them awake mom and I took them out and about Paducah and had fun there too. Saturday morning we went with Frank's family 2.5 hours down the state to visit a Frank's brother and family there; that made for a long day too. So by the time Sunday rolled around we were pretty tired, but we still made it to church and out to
lunch with nana and papa. The kids went back out to church that evening but I stayed home and finished housework. Anyway, that was our weekend. Busy and fun. Alex has fall break this week and I don't think we have anything big to do, so that is nice. It's time to start planning for the holidays and all that good stuff, so maybe I'll catch up on that now. The only new pics I have are of two very asleep kidoes and my adorable niece who is almost seven months old now.

Lookie what I've done!

2007-10-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

So here's what I've been doing for the past few days. Painting, painting and more painting! The bed is still not finished...missing a slide and trimwork but I think that is all. The inside of the playhouse on the bottom resembles a mexican fiesta, but you can't really see it in the pictures. The ceiling is dark purple, the walls bright red, the posts royal blue, and there are cool colored Christmas lights tacked up around the ceiling. He's got a nifty shelf for his gaming and movie watching, and we still need to put in carpet. whew - makes me tired just typing it. But at least it is coming along.

Preschool Pic

2007-10-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Got Alex's preschool picture in and it is really cute if I do say so myself. He is kinda goofy when it comes to pictures, so I couldn't believe it actually turned out so well. I think the photographer must have told him to smile and show his teeth, but it is still cute. I will send one out to you, Beanbah, for your fridge.
This weekend has been a tiring one. I'm really trying hard to finish this bed project, especially now that everything else that was in Alex's room is now in the hallway. Hopefully by the end of this week (ok maybe next week) it will be all done. I'm gonna throw a party. lol. I did get his room painted Saturday, so this evening after I attach the end side, the bed can go to its final resting place in the corner and that will be good. I'll get pics up later this week. Ttfn.

A Little Mommy

2007-09-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

I think watching me build stuff has had an affect on Avril. All the sudden the tool
set we've had for ages becomes the hot toy. She was so busy with it she wouldn't even look up at the camera. Maybe she'll grow up to be like that carpenter chick on
Trading Spaces.

Busy Day

2007-09-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well today was good...I didn't have to work. I actually spent time with the kids doing the whole breakfast thing, then sent Alex off to school and hit the housework. Avril really enjoys having times like that to herself to play. After Alex was home I decided to really hit the building of the bed hard. So we spent the afternoon measuring and cutting (ok, sending it off to Frank's dad to cut) and shopping (always need more wood) and nailing. And there you have it...the next stage complete. I'm quite proud of it. Saturday a guy is bringing a staircase over that I hope to be able to use, then I'll have to figure out how to build a slide. Then all the finishing work - the trim and door and ledge on top and whatnot. Then we'll decide how to paint it or whatever. Tomorrow I'm gonna start painting the room so I can actually put this thing agaist the wall where it goes. Anyway, just thought I'd share. And here are also a few pics of what the kidoes entertained themselves with while I was busy...

The Color Song

2007-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here's the Color Song. Alex says the girl on the right is pretty. LOL.

will this work?

2007-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Well maybe it will - but it is cutting off the right side. Oh well I can't figure out how to fix it. This is Alex performing with his preschool class last night at the PTO meeting. Pretty cute stuff. I'm gonna try to post another slideshow I put together of the other song they did.

Playing At The Table

2007-09-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Not a lot has been going on around our house, but here are a few cute pics of Avril and her new favorite pastime - feeding her friends. At each meal she wants to bring one of her toys and feed them while she's eating. It is pretty cute because she also asks them if it is good. lol.

nevermind

2007-09-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

i tried to get photobucket to put the slideshow up here but can't figure it out.

Whew

2007-09-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Okay well maybe now things will slow down just a bit...the weird thing is I can't put my finger on exactly what has been keeping me so busy lately, but I've been strung completely out. Two weeks ago the kids and I spent an entire week really sick. Strange how that can happen - just take a whole week out of your life to sit around the house...home from work and school...sitting around waiting to feel better. I'm really glad that is over at least. At the same time we're having somebody finish the work that the last carpenter left undone. Hopefully by the end of this week it will be finished...almost. We've still got to come up with a plan to surround the foundation of the addition; not sure what to do there but we'll see. There's plenty to do before we have to tackle that one. But the house is looking a whole lot better from the back; and there were a ton of problems on the roof that had to be fixed.

We took a few days last week to visit my Nana (aka Beanbah) for her birthday and that was fun. The rest of the family went on to Cincinatti for a ball game, but my kidoes and I stayed over in Louisville instead to play in the pool. So anyway, that was fun.

I'm still working on the bed - one of the carpenters thinks he's got a staircase that I can use for it, so I'm not doing anything more until I know whether it will work or not. But here is a pic of it so far.

I've got several pics of mom's house in progress - I think I'll create a slideshow on Myspace and put them all there instead of loading this blog down with them, so hopefully this afternoon I'll get that put on there.

I guess that's really it for now - I'm definitely having a Monday here at work and I'm about to go homicidal...keep an eye out on the headlines for me.

Update

2007-09-03T19:22:00.001-07:00

okay, i'm here i promise. been a bit preoccupied to get on here but now i'm alright. i had a blast this past weekend with erin at the chevelle concert and on the tilt-a-whirl. i've decided that next year i'm going back to the fair on armband day and bringing the kids; it is a really great fair. the concert was as good as an outdoor concert ever could be. considering there were a ton of people there our seats were pretty good. pete's mike could have been turned up some because he was kinda hard to hear, but the music itself was fantastic, so that's alright. afterward we rode the tilt-a-whirl again (we're thinking of becoming tilt-a-whirl reviewers) and then i snuck back into the grandstands to try to meet the band. it was actually pretty funny and i couldn't believe it actually worked, but i made the event staff believe i needed to search for something i left in the stands (i didn't actually lie to them though) and i happened to run across this little red stuffed dog on the floor and acted as if that was what i was searching for. heehee. anyway, so then i purposely looked kinda lost and innocently asked the security guard that had been eyeing me if this was the way to a restroom (i knew it was) and he had to let me through. so i was able to go over to another area where the drummer was standing and chatted with him for a few minutes and got an autograph on my ticket. sucess. he was really nice. but then the state trooper cleared out the place, so i had to go. funny too because this whole time, erin had to duck into the bathroom to avoid the stares of troopers wondering why she was hanging around, and when she came out and waited for me a minute in the hallway, two of them escorted her out. i was actually behind her in the hallway at the time and was trying to catch up to them, but the whole time laughing at her because it was a pretty funny scene. anyway, we had a good time, got home late and all that jazz. i'm going again to see them in louisville on november 13th if anyone wants to join me.
since i've been home, alex has been pretty sick with a really high fever - hence why i haven't been able to get on here. i won't be sending him to school tomorrow and i know he'll be sad about that, but he's probably still contagious although his fever is down a bit since yesterday it isn't completely gone. i'm in the process of building him a playhouse/loft bed. i'll put up some pics as soon as you can tell what it is. i love to build things. prolly gonna make avril one when i'm done with this one. then maybe a playhouse outside. by then i should be pretty good at it, so if anyone else wants one just let me know. lol. well i'm gonna go to bed since i've got to work tomorrow. love to all. and congrats to april; madeline (sp?) is beautiful. i'll come visit soon.

Just Playing Around

2007-08-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty good week this week. Alex going to preschool has made such a difference in his relationship with Avril! They're not so tired of each other now, so when they get a chance to play they are really enjoying it. Here they are doing each other's hair - they switched back and forth in the chair for about twenty minutes; not sure what the fascination was with it but they stayed out of trouble and for that I'm thankful. They basically are having a great time. Also here's a picture of the bird's favorite new toy - a kleenex. Who'd have thought? Tonight Alex will go off to cubbies and Frank and Avril and I will have time together to watch a movie and just hang out. I don't work either Thursay or Friday so hopefully I'll get started on building Alex's new loft bed and that should be interesting. lol. Saturday Erin and I are going to a Chevelle concert! Woohoo! I'm way more excited about it than she is, but I'm still determined to have a good time. I've got an extra ticket, so if anyone wants to come with me, just let me know.

A Great Weekend

2007-08-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

Well we all had a good time at Beanbah's house with the fam. The kids enjoyed the garden, the toys, the company. And we got to meet Ireland! She is such a sweetie, and a really big fan of watermelon. :) Uncle Tim seemed to be holding up well; he looked good and was able to get up to do a few things. We had a cookout Saturday afternoon while the Lexington folks were here and that was fun. The kids had a blast trying to fill a tractor tire with grass and sticks. lol. We played cards (I think sucessfully teaching Kimmi how), dominoes (which didn't last too long but the kids had a good time) and just hung out. I wish we would have had more time together, but such is life. Actually we should have left The three kids got along really well together too.

Sunday night but because of some storms in our path we thought it best to wait and leave early on Monday. I had to get Alex home early enough to get to his first day of Preschool in time! We barely made it; missed the bus, but I was able to take him to his class. He is having a really good time in school, but in true Alex fashion doesn't want to talk about it. I was able to go to the open house in the classroom last night and he had a really good time showing me around, so I think he has a better time in there than he lets on when he gets home. Today is my first day at home with Alex at school - earlier in the week I've been at work - and let me tell you it is a strange and happy thing. I sent him off on the cute little bus at 11:20 and had until 3:00 with it just being Avril and I in our jammies with nothing to do except clean the house. I think next year will be a wonderful thing with both of them gone. That sounds terrible to say, but turns out having a couple of hours at home each day with no children is nice. Well I've really got to get back to housework, but I wanted to share a few pics from the weekend.

Sorry

2007-08-13T08:55:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry for not updating this much in the past couple of weeks. I can't seem to get my life straightened out quite right, but next week Alex starts preschool and soon we'll finally get someone hired for the office and life will settle. I haven't taken many pictures lately, and when I do I can't remember to bring the memory card to work to get them on here and I certainly can't do it from home. (Avril freaks out when I'm not paying attention to her - something we need to work on obviously.) For a quick update, our house has been a bit sick lately. I came down with a cold last Monday and just today I'm feeling close to 100%. Frank picked it up late last week and was pretty bad off all weekend, and the kids are just pestered by some runny noses. But hopefully it will all go away pretty soon. It is dry and hot here and we can't go outside at all for fresh air and I think that has something to do with it.

I've been busy this weekend doing school shopping for Alex, and that was fun. I spent way too much, but hopefully he'll be able to fit in this stuff through most of the year. He doesn't really grow fast; Avril is catching up to him in height! We're visiting family in Indiana this weekend and I'm really looking forward to that - it has been several weeks since we've seen Beanbah and Papa Great. And to top it off, Kimmi will be there on Saturday and I'm so excited to finally meet Ireland!

A Bit of Catch Up

2007-07-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well I guess I've got a little to catch up on; I've been at work constantly for the past two weeks and haven't had an extra few minutes to post here. But now I do, so let's see...what's happened? First of all, this past weekend was a good one. Saturday we spent the whole day at home cleaning and doing little projects that have been seeming to pile up. I hung Avril's mirror, shelves, pictures, etc. in her room and lowered Alex's closet rod so he can reach his shirts all on his own. When we go school clothes shopping next month I'm going to stay in the primary color range so they all match because he'll be dressing himself. That's a scary scenario to think about, but we'll see how it works out. Here are a few pics of Avril's room a little more completed than last time I put some up here. The kids were really great all day and enjoyed having mom home for awhile - they found a rope in the toolbox and spent quite a bit of time running around the house doing kid things with it. I don't know all that that entailed, but I know they were happy and that is all that mattered. :) They also jumped on the bed and posed for pics very well. Sunday went well too; we went to Daniel's birthday party at McDonalds and afterward went to the park - so they were quite entertained all afternoon. I also stopped by mom's house under construction to take a couple of pics to share. The one of the main house is taken from inside the window from the apartment above the garage. It's taken through a window screen - hence the slightly fuzzy appearance. But anyway, you can see it. There will be plenty of room for family get togethers and day to day entertaining here, so that will be fun. Also somewhere in here is a picture of our new birds. I think their names are George (the blue one) and Leafy (the green one). The names have changed a few times, but these might stick. Alex is in charge of the naming. lol. I'm not too great at the layout of the pictures on this site, so sorry if they don't line up well. I'm just glad to have gotten them up here. I'm really kinda sad that it is Monday - I don't want to be here at work. I don't want to work full time, and luckily we've put an ad in the paper for an assistant and have gotten twenty something resumes, so hopefully soon I'll have some relief. There are friends out there I need to visit, family I need to visit and fun out there somewhere to be had. Oh, if you're reading this please pray for my uncle who last week was diagnosed with both colon cancer and lymphoma (sp?) so that is a major blow to the family.

This Past Weekend

2007-07-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well all in all I think this weekend was just alright - I can't give it a thumbs up or down. Friday was good; we bought two parakeets and had a really good time setting up their cage and getting to know them; the kids are really great with them. Even Avril just talks to them and doesn't bug them too much or try to open the door (I'm very surprised at that).

Saturday was good and bad. I spent the day at Venture River (local water park) with some of my close girlfriends from cell group. In and of itself that would be nice, but at the same time we were together to say goodbye to one who is moving to Arizona. Then to top it off, I knew that Saturday would be one of the last times for awhile I would be spending time with any of them because the cell group has decided that in order to outreach more, they are going to meet at the church and do more of a structured thing (worship, kids church, etc). Let the record state that I'm supporting it, but I can't go. I can't step foot into that building at all, nonetheless go there for any type of service. So that made me sad; I haven't told any of them yet that we're not going to be joining them. I didn't want to ruin the outing.

Plus I got really sunburned; I think I burned my back beyond recognition. Frank says it is a first degree burn. Although the kids and I had a great time with our friends and in the water, it was quite bittersweet. I cried all the way home and have been quite depressed about it for a few days. I just hope they'll understand and not forget us when it comes to goings-on outside the church. For anyone reading this that doesn't know, after thirteen years of going to school and church there, the church and I went through a major rift about five years ago. But Frank and I continued to go to the cell group because none of them were involved and we met at homes, not at the church. We've been apart of this group of friends for about fifteen years now and it is tearing me up that we won't be seeing them much. But I really hope they can grow.

Well Sunday was a bit better, but I was so burned that we had to stay home from church. On a better note, the kids and I just hung out with nothing to do and nobody to see so that was nice. We did make it out to Wal-Mart when I found a shirt I could wear. :) And I stopped by mom's house in construction and took a bunch of pics that of course I forgot to bring to work today, so I'll bring them tomorrow and put them up here for all who are interested. I'll also bring pics of the new birdies. :) Hope all is well with all of you out there in cyberworld.

2007-07-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is how we spent the morning. Avril and I still have not changed out of our jammies, and we like it that way. Alex on the other hand is a tad anal and changes as soon as he's up. Avril had a good time playing around with some foam while I cleaned the house; Alex enjoyed some sort of cartoon. Then we had to be princesses (Avril made a very sleepy princess). She's so funny with that crown - and she made me wear one too all morning but there aren't any pics of that luckily. Now I'm mustering up the energy to run to mom's and pick up her sewing machines so I can work on Avril's room pillows, but it's hot outside and I don't wanna go out. Dilemma.

Happy Fourth

2007-07-05T13:42:00.001-07:00

So here are a few pics from our trip to Uncle Butch's house for a Fourth of July get-together. We spent a few days there eating and playing cards, which are always the two major events at any family gathering. In this instance we were also joined by several friends of Uncle Butch's from church. We didn't know them, but they seemed friendly enough. ;) Anyway, he's also got a great pool that we spent a few minutes in; I say "a few minutes" because it was a bit chilly but I dare you to talk the little ones out of trying it anyway. lol. We also got to see Missy and Josh's new place while we were there - didn't spend too long there because we got there a bit late we went from there to a minor league baseball game in Lexington. The game was good; the kids and I spent the entire time in the kid park there and had a blast. Avril is addicted to carosel rides. She also had a really great time with Papa-Great who taught her the phrase "Whoa Joe Possum" (I don't know why). Alex enjoyed the large flat screen and X-Box. But at the end of it all, I think the kids were very glad to get home cause they both slept all night last night!

My Progress

2007-06-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

So here's Avril's room all pink. We've finally got her all moved in, but there is still some little stuff I need to finish before I'd call it finished. She loves it though - sleeps by herself in there pretty well. At least she doesn't wake up any more often than she used to with Alex; I do think it strange that neither of my children sleep through the night still. Alex is getting better though and a few times a week will go all night. Avril wakes up several times though and it's starting to get to me. Anyway, there's also a pic of the den that I've been working on this past week. If you've been here you'd know how much work that has been. It was completely filled top to bottom and side to side full of stuff. Now I'm down to one pile to sort through and figure out what the heck to do with it. Anyone need a rocker?... Then the hardest part for me - accessorizing. I can lay out a room just fine but the finishing touches are always a problem for me; I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's because I'm cheap and hate to spend money on nicer things. But when everything is in it's place I'm vowing to try this time. Also the den needs repainting and new flooring, but I'm not sure when that will be done since I still have two more bedrooms to paint first. Whew I'm tired; every moment spent at home seems to be spent in some sort of project. But interior decorating and organizing really is my passion in life and I'm having a really fun time getting this house the way I want it.

Update

2007-06-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not grimacing but just looking into the sun.

Sorry I hadn't posted on here in awhile, been quite busy this past week. My work schedule has gotten hectic and last week was VBS at our church (in which I'm resident gopher). So I was at work the entire day and at church every evening; but Saturday was really great. It was Frank's birthday so he actually took the weekend off work-the first weekend he's spent with us in two years. First thing we did Saturday morning was head down to the National Guard Armory to see in our favorite troops! My best friend in high school married Frank's best friend around the same time we got married, so the four of us have always been close knit. A year and a half ago my friend's husband went off to Iraq (also in that troop were his brother and four other guys that I went to school with). Anyway, they all came home Saturday and if you ever want to see Corie cry, just be there when a bus full of troops -half of whom I'm close to- comes pulling into the Armory parking lot. So anyway that was fun. Right after that we went to Frank's brother's house for a pool party thing. Hence the picture. Let me tell you, it is quite a challenge to supervise two children in the water by yourself. Frank wouldn't get in. Then after cleaning up from that we spent the evening in Paducah dining and shopping and having a jolly ol' time. lol. Sunday was good too because Frank was able to join us at church then we had lunch at his parent's house. By last night we were all exhausted, but it was nice to spend so much time with him. The other picture here is of my baby niece who I'm sure you've all heard me talk about. She was adopted at birth by Frank's brother and his wife who have wanted a baby for several years. Needless to say she is the most beautiful baby ever so you don't have to tell me. You can see from her expression that she really wanted to get in that pool!

The Addition

2007-06-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

And here is Frank's room as we are beginning to lay the laminate floor. it really wasn't hard at all - just rough on the knees. As of now, the only things that need to be finished are the top and bottom moldings and the threshold. Yipee!! Now outside is a different story - the roof is unfinished as is the siding. But the inside of the addition is almost done! Next comes redoing of the den that the two new rooms come off of - it will have laminate like these, and new paint. but that prolly won't be done till later in the fall. i'll just be glad to have this far done. kevin will be moving into his new room today so this week i'll be separating the kids and putting avril into her own space. i'm a little nervous about that because they've always been together and i'm afraid it will take some time to get them used to sleeping apart. but i'm sure they'll both enjoy having their toys separated finally. lol. This second picture is Frank's room with the floor done, and the last pic is Kevin's room. Yay!

Bug Catching

2007-06-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

I had to post these. This was last night - Avril catching lightning bugs (or fireflys whichever you prefer). The girl has a weird fascination with bugs of any kind, especially ones she can catch up with. I've gotten her a bug house that she had a big time with. But if you need to see something cute, watch her chase these guys around the yard. She bends down a bit and calls "bug! where are you?" and makes me laugh. Then after she got quite a collection of a dozen or so she swang with them for awhile then had to sit down and get them all back out. The poor little things were just barely blinking and their wings were all messed up. But she loves them even when they're squished.

Dentist Visit

2007-06-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

So here we are playing outside; they really could live outside if I let them. The weather has been really nice - albeit a bit dry and hot; we're in a big deficit for rainfall and the temps are averaging around 90. But my kids would not rather be anywhere else then in the backyard on their little swing. I can't wait till all the construction is done and we can clean up the yard, get our fence up, and really enjoy it. Yesterday I had to take them to the dentist and it wasn't very fun, but they took it alot better than I expected. Avril had to have a tooth that has grown in bad pulled, but she was a trooper. When she came out after having it done she was jabbering away like always (she's never quiet) but with the gauze still in her mouth. I had expected her to be all upset and be crying "booboo" but it didn't faze her in the slightest. She was just completly thrilled with her star sunglasses and beaded bracelet and princess sticker that they had given her. Alex had to have a couple of fillings and he wasn't hysterical either but wasn't impressed; I don't think he remembered what had gone on (because of the gas) but he knew it wasn't good and he was just mad about it. But after a few hours when everything wore off he went back to normal so that was good.

Alex Fishing

2007-06-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Frank took Alex fishing. Here are some pics I thought were cute. Not really much else to say - according to my carpenter I should be able to paint the interior of the addition this afternoon after work, so we'll see if he's right. He has to come over this morning and finish the sanding and install the electrical outlets, then his part will be done and I'll paint and install the floor and trim out. So maybe by this time next week I'll have more to update on with that. I guess that's it.

Mom's House

2007-06-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

So here is the progress going on at the Benton house. I'll see if I can explain. If you're not familiar with the house the way it was, there was a back half that is now gone replaced with a new block foundation and what will be guest bathroom, master bed and master bath, and raised flagstone patio. There was also a separate apartment type building in the back that is gone and now sits a slab that will be a garage with guest quarters upstairs. The top photo is where mom's french doors will step down onto the patio. The second one is looking down the hall and down the jog to the left where the door to the master is. The third is looking back onto it all. Then where the little house used to be. Then the way it appears from the driveway.

Busy Times

2007-05-29T08:18:00.001-07:00

We've had a very busy past few days - getting mom moved over to the rental house. And I've come to the conclusion that she's got way too much stuff; and if you know my mom, you know that the majority of that stuff is in her kitchen. But we did get it all over there so now she can get back into normal life, at least for now. Here's a picture of the house that is being renovated; it will be several more months before it is ready to move into, and I'll keep reposting pics here as progress continues. Yesterday Frank and I and the kids were able to spend the entire day together for the first time in probably close to a year so that was fun. He has just finished one of his summer classes and I had the day off work, so we went out shopping for paint for the new bedrooms that are close to being done, walking around the mall for no real reason, and eating at Alex's favorite place, Fazoli's (sp?). Anyway we had a great time and Avril got a new outfit that she really loves. She picked out this deep purple crinkle skirt and white tank and purple headband and made me laugh when I put the skirt on her the first thing she did was twirl around to watch the skirt flare out. Such a girl. We spent FOREVER in Claires just trying to pick one thing out. She really wanted everything and I'm afraid she's inherited my talent of drawing out decisions until the people around you are pulling their hair out. lol. But she settled on a pink beaded bracelet. Then of course she accesorized with stickers on her belly and a pink rubber purse thing and called the outfit completed and strutted the mall. I'm a bit afraid of the future with this one, but at least it will be colorful. These other pics are from this morning while she was singing along with Dora. I had to share.

Avril's Birthday

2007-05-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

So this week was the celebration of Avril's two year birthday. Her birthday was last Wednesday, but my parents are making a bad habit of being out of town on our birthdays this year, so we waited for them to come back. My lovely grandparents came in from out of town to do some balloons and help wrangle the kids, and we had a grand time. I don't know how Avril already knew so much about birthdays - she seemed to be a natural. She knew that we would sing to her and she would blow out the candle; she also knew what presents were and what to do with them. That made me laugh, she was in mom's room and didn't want to come out at one point so all I had to say was that we would sing a song and then she could open her presents. She said "Alright!" and ran right out into the living room. I didn't even know she knew what presents were. Anyway, she loved everything people gave her and really enjoyed having her friends there. It's really strange for her to be two already; I still remember bringing her home like it was yesterday.

Thanksgiving

2007-05-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

And here is whyI look forward to Thanksgiving all year long beginning with the moment we get home from the previous one. Tons of food, tons of people, plenty of cards and playing around with the kids. There is nothing else like Thanksgiving at Nana's house.

The Magic House

2007-05-22T08:51:00.001-07:00

Alright here are a bunch of random pics from our trip to the Magic House in St. Louis two weeks ago. The kids absolutely love it there and I'm sure you can see why. From the section just for babies, to the water and sand tables, to the village with the fishing stream, all the way to the third floor with the science experiments (there's Avril at the electrostatic ball and also trying to pull up a bubble around herself) they had a ball. We most definitely try to go as often as we can.

All Together

2007-05-22T08:35:00.000-07:00

And here they are together. The tub picture was taken in Beanbah's tub with their favorite toys - the boats. Every grandkid probably knows the ones I'm talking about; they've been around forever.

The running one is one of my favorites because this was right after we moved into the new house and they were completely enjoying having a carpeted hallway by racing up and down it all night. I would never have guessed that would be such a hit! And here is our dog Arwen who ironically has born on the same day as Alex but one year earlier. At least the makes it easy to remember how old she is. lol.

Avril

2007-05-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Here is Avril enjoying her new house. She loves that little step; it is one of her favorite places to hang out. She is a quintessential girl who loves frilly pink things and baby dolls. The other day she came out of her room with all her beads around her neck, polka dot sunglasses on, a princess crown on, a mirror in her hand, and a crown and mirror for me. She came over and said "here go mama cown" and made me put it on so we could admire ourselves together. I had such a hard time not cracking up at her because she wanted to be taken seriously. When it's time to be pretty, it's just time. lol. And when she wears something pretty on her arm like nana's watch, she walks around with her hand on her side; just about the cutest thing ever.