Just Playing Around

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!