And We're Off!!!

No, not to Mexico!!! This was actually a picture taken at El Sarape for Alyssa's 9th birthday yesterday. We went to her baseball game last night and then all headed up to the restaurant to have some dinner and homemade birthday baseball cake courtesy of my Betty Crocker sister, Bobbi. She had a really great time and totally took advantage of having the sombrero and smock (the correct name escapes me right now!) all to herself. She also takes the importance of big faces while blowing out candles, to heart. The band teacher I had I in school would be having a heart attack right now watching those puffed out cheeks!! :-)

I'm still amazed at how quickly time goes by and how fast my babies are growing up. She was also nominated for the HICap program and is half-way through the testing. What a good girl!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYSSIE GIRL!!

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Beyond birthdays, we are leaving tomorrow for our long awaited vacation!! The girls know that we are leaving and will be gone for almost a week, but they have no clue as to where we are going and how we are getting there... I swear it's been so hard to keep it a secret but I firmly believe that the only reason they haven't found out is because no other children know. I know that if any of the adults that are aware of our destination had told their children, we would have been blown out of the water. The reason I wanted to keep it a secret is because 1) it's just fun, 2) it's not a place that they would just guess, and 3) they've never been on an airplane before. I have told them that Aunt Bobbi is driving us to a car rental shop so that we can save miles on our own vehicle when in all actuality, we will pull up in front of the airport. They will be so surprised!!

We will be flying out at 6:50 tomorrow evening and will arrive in Phoenix at 9:45 pm. I am sooooo ready for a vacation that we can spend quite a bit of time by the side of a pool in 105 degree weather. I have packed a ton of sunblock and everything else I can think of. I am a little nervous about keeping track of all three kids in the airport but Mike will be there to help so I'm sure we'll survive. The kids are packed, but I don't believe I have one single thing in my own suitcase. I think we will be skipping baseball practice tonight and I will be in packing frenzy mode...hopefully I won't forget anything hugely important. Luckily there's a trusty Walmart down there if I do. :-)

One last picture I wanted to share...this reminds me of summer days. Girls hanging out on the front porch, baby trying to decide where he can squeeze in...

Until we return!!!

Busy Busy Weekend

(Butterfly in flight)

Well, we survived the weekend! It was quite hectic but I am alive to speak of it today. I would have written prior to this but it took me two days just to recover! We started the week off again with games. Alyssa played in Tumwater on Monday, which was also Bobbi's birthday (thank goodness for DQ) and McKenzie played last night at MCRA. Alyssa and Ambrosia make quite a duo with Brosia in the pitcher spot and Alyssa at 1st base. They can get just about every batter out! McKenzie's game last night was awesome! They were on fire and with an ending score of 10-0, it really showed! She hit a double and playing first base, she got every single batter out! The girls were very excited and were so loud in the dug-out that other teams couldn't hear their ump's calls. I just smiled :-)

So back to our crazy weekend, it started out with practice at 9 am and then Connor's party at the pool at 10. For some reason, Rylee is terrified of swimming. She will cling to the side of a pool or hang out on the first step, but she will NOT venture out into the actual water. The pool party was no exception. If I try to get her to let me hold onto her life jacket and put her into the water, she turns into a monkey and is worse than trying to get a cat into a bucket of water...you know the funny videos of them clinging for dear life to anything in reach! That's her. This time however, I pointed out that Colton cannot swim either and the only reason he was staying afloat was because of his trusty life jacket. For some reason, unbeknownst (it's a word!) to myself, she listened to me!! I was able to hold her out away from the edge and she kicked and paddled back all by herself. She was very excited to point that out too..."LOOK MOMMY, NO HANDS AND I'M DOING IT ALL BY MYSELF!!!!" I was so proud of her that I almost jumped in...ok not quite that far but I did have tears in my eyes. Who is this little independent girl and where is my baby?

Look at the swimming pro!

After the pool party, we had just about 40 minutes to grab some lunch and then head back to MCRA for Alyssa's game where, by the way, they kicked butt! Luckily the weather was very nice so we were able to work on our non-existent tans for a couple of hours. After the game, we headed back home for Rylee/Matthew/Karrissa's triple birthday party. Grandma Linda, Shelly, and Tausha broke into my house and had the house decorated when we got home and were working on the above pictured cupcakes. It was supposed to be a soccer theme since Matthew is playing soccer, Rylee will be in June, and Karrissa is always playing...but for some silly reason, soccer decorations are either unearthly expensive or just not in stock. I thought that Walmart of all places would have at least soccer ball plates or black streamers....NOPE! No biggie though, we just kind of settled for lots of colors and it all went together perfectly.

As soon as we walked through the door, Rylee insisted on putting her party dress on, along with a clean face and a Princess birthday button. She walked out of the bedroom with a smile on her face for everyone!



Could she be any more of a ham?

It was a good party and all of the kids had fun. My husband, however, did end up in the dog house right along with the new puppy that he decided to bring home without consulting me. Oh yes, the dreaded "Mommy! Look at what daddy said we can have!! Can we keep her pretty please??" What was I supposed to say? It was followed up by "But you said we could get another puppy since Charlie (our chocolate lab) died and then we had to give Capone (the Doberman we had for a couple short months but had to give back because he kept biting) back. You promised!!" Ok, I don't know about anybody else, but how could this not pull at my heart strings? Yes I hate dogs and would rather eat dirt than have another one, but on the other hand, my girls love them. How can I deny a cute little girl giggle with a puppy on her belly?? I grudgingly agreed and Auntie Kelly has nicely agreed to keep this little bundle of fur named Alice (from Twilight of course) occasionally since she's the one that told Mike about the free puppies... Love you Kelly!! :-)

We then headed out for Bobbi's birthday beginning with dinner at the Ram (yummy!) and then drinks back in Shelton. It was fun but I was so tired that I was almost falling asleep in the booth. By the time Jen dropped me off at home, I could barely see straight. Going out just doesn't have the same appeal that it used to. I'd rather stay at home and go to bed early...man I am old!

Sunday was pretty much a laid back day, enough that I sat out in the sun and painted my nails. Ahhhhh....sunshine on your back, slight breeze blowing, the smell of fingernail polish... Kids laughing with the dog in the background. Baseball pictures were scheduled for 5 and 5:30 pm. We didn't actually get out of there until almost 6:30 and then did some quick grocery shopping for a small dinner with friends that we haven't seen in several months. Thanks for coming over Debbie and family!! It's getting to that time of year that BBQ's are calling our name and we start migrating out of the house and getting together again with friends and family. I'm very excited for the summer to begin!

Random Friday Ramblings

This week has been so crazy that I can't catch my breath! Monday through Thursday, we had baseball games every night. Additionally, Wednesday was Rylee's birthday and Thursday was Connor's birthday so we went out to dinner each of those nights AFTER the games. Our regular 8:30 bedtime was moved up to almost 10:00 both nights....talk about tough to get up the next mornings! I'm thinking ok we've at least got Friday night free so that we can clean up our tornado of a house before the triple birthday party tomorrow afternoon....Wrong again! I receive a message this morning that Alyssa has a make-up game tonight from 6-7:30(8) ish.. I'm not entirely sure I can hack this extra game. We've got two practices tomorrow along with a birthday party from 10-noon and another 3-person birthday party at 3:30. Following that busy schedule, we are also going out to celebrate my sister's birthday as well. Sunday is baseball pictures for both girls and then we get to start it all over again on Monday. Where's my weekend?? LOL...I do love it but it sure gets hectic sometimes and my poor house will never be the same!

Rylee (thankfully) was happy enough to go to Denny's for dinner on her birthday. The staff, however, are not top on my list of favorite people. It was mostly empty but do you think that a little birthday girl got any better service?? NO! She didn't even get a "Happy Birthday" said to her nor any goodies. I thought that Denny's, of all family restaurants, would do something. When we went to El Sarape the next evening for Connor's birthday, we got a special room, he got to wear the sombrero, they sang to him, and he got a huge free dessert. Poor Ry got the short end of the stick! LOL

We brought her presents into the restaurant so she went in plain and came out a movie star (Hannah Montana eat your heart out!)~thanks Aunt Bobbi! I included a little video to show off her talent:

She cracks me up so much! I bought her some little green high heels from the dollar store and I thought for sure they'd fit but unfortunately, her little feet were just a tad too wide. I was surprised though because she is so small and I always have to worry about things being too big, not too small. She was not discouraged however, she proudly sported them during dinner and out to the car. She walked out with her sunglasses, fake hair, earrings, bracelet, and high heels on, holding her microphone and her gift bag, all the while singing Hannah Montana songs. She also added her "I love my mommy" song in there a couple of times so I figured she was happy with her loot and her day in general. Just a couple photos of her enjoying her presents~

She wants to save and take her flowers to Hawaii with her when we go next year!!

Wish you could see the shoes...

Maybe I should go to trusty Walmart after work in my spare time and get some Calgon. Maybe it will find a place to take me away to....for a few minutes anyway.

My Baby is Turning 4 Today!

Birthdays are a time of excitement and expectations....when you're a kid. When you're a parent, it's a whole different story. Of course we look forward to their first birthday even though it marks that very important milestone... a barrier between baby and toddler. We then think that maybe their disposition will change as they continue to grow, but each age seems to add something new. I don't know about anyone else, but I think that it's very bittersweet to watch our babies grow. No longer do we look forward to our own birthdays, knowing that they bring new aches and pains and sags and bags; nevertheless, we celebrate right along with our kids and their birthdays. I, however, am not feeling all that great this day.

Rylee decided that she was coming out about 20 minutes after I got into my hospital room 4 years ago today. I can't believe that it's all ready been that long...and so many other babies have been born since her (none being mine of course). Alyssa was this age when I decided that I was ready to get pregnant again so her turning 4 and getting ready for kindergarten the next year really wasn't THAT big of a heartache. I knew I would soon have another little baby to nurture and spend time with that would take much longer to grow up.....RIGHT!!! She has grown just as quickly and is now talking about going to school and I don't know where I stand.... What do I do now? We've decided that we are not having any more kids and 3 is a good round number, but I find myself stuck in an emotional rut. I know that the decision we have made is good for our future but it's the present that I'm having a hard time convincing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that we should have another baby and I certainly don't think that I could mentally survive 4 children but it's the combination of turning 32 and my baby turning 4 that's got me thinking "Holy moly, I'm at the age of almost being too old to have any more." That magic age of 35 is right around the corner which brings all of the wonderful "cautions" regarding having kids. I'M OLD!!! LOL. I'm just being dramatic now, but it certainly gives me something to think about. McKenzie and Alyssa say that they want a little brother but I told them that I haven't had that much luck in the past regarding that "Y" chromosome so they'd probably end up with another sister. Like we don't have enough estrogen in the house all ready...poor Mike! Even our pets are usually girls :-) As the girls were discussing this, Rylee pipes up with "Mommy, I don't want you to have another baby....I want to be your only baby." Awww... like that didn't pull at my heart strings. She also told me that the only thing she could think of that she wants for her birthday is for mommy not to have to work anymore so that I can stay home with her. That really didn't help my emotional pull of not wanting to work anymore either. If only I could find some way to get paid for staying home...

Anyway, enough of this melancholy...my baby turned 4 today! Alyssa has a baseball game tonight so we are going to dinner afterward. Uncle Jerry is meeting us, as well as Aunt Bobbi and family so we'll wreak havoc at Denny's! We are having a triple birthday party on Saturday for Rylee, Matthew, and Karrissa so I will hopefully get some good pictures to post. Hey, come to think of it, this is the first post I've done without a picture...weird!

Off to baseball!

Happy First Birthday Chance James!!

I can hardly believe it's been a whole year since this little guy was born! I still remember it like it was yesterday, calling Bob at 3ish in the morning on April Fool's Day, and him asking me if this was an April Fool's joke! I asked him, "Do you really think I would get up this early just to play a joke on you?? Give me a break!" My dear sister had so many false labors that we didn't know if this was real or not but we weren't taking any chances. Turns out, he was ready to greet the world! By the time we got into the labor room, Bobbi could hardly think straight. She refused to do what the nurse was telling her to do and said a few choice words to her when asked a second and third time...LOL. She finally got dressed and very slowly got up onto the bed and prepared for her final birth. After the ordeal with the stupid stupid anesthesiologist, she was ready! Poor Travis, however, was not.... I saw his color change and watched as he almost hit the floor. He was a trooper though and eventually regained his composure and helped bring his son into this world.

I can't believe how quickly this past year has passed with several first birthdays within months and days of each other. Jimmy Johnson Jr., my great nephew, and Savannah Jorgensen, my niece, both celebrated their firsts in February. How quickly these little monsters grow....It makes me have baby fever for a few days....then I'm back to normal thank goodness!!

We celebrated Chance's party at his house, which happens to be right next door to me, so it's a very short walk. Bobbi made yummy spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad...which Chance thoroughly enjoyed. He also, of course, had his very own cake. He dug right in and entertained us with his excitement, giggling most of the time. Until the terrible two's, Happy Birthday baby boy!!