Life's A Dance

~ Sock Hop Valentine's Party ~

2012-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quick picture post...usually not much of a Valentine's Day fan, but this year has been quite enjoyable with the kids. We had a couple of fun nights at the kitchen table addressing Valentine's, making Valentine boxes, and watching Youtube's Grease dance videos so that the girls would be able to get in to character for their 50's themed Valentine's Day at school. Hopefully, they didn't bust out any of John Travolta's hip rolls and thrusts they witnessed at school. Nana helped make the girls attire and I think they looked just pretty darn cute! Thankfully I had some sweet friends that took some pictures of the girls at school today since I had to miss their parties due to having to take the van in to get it fixed from being rear ended last weekend. Addy brought home the sweetest hand plaque she made in art class for us, which I just LOVE!! Levi's preschool party is next week and I think he is looking forward to it especially after he saw all the Valentine's candy loot the girls brought home today. Jaidyn and I are running in a Valentine's themed 5K tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to spending the morning with her, but could do without the single digit temps in the forecast. It could be a long cold morning, but hopefully a motivator to run it fast and get back indoors. :)

The next Danny and Sandy??
or

ETA:
Jaidyn and I survived the single digit temps with winds making it feel like it was below zero to run in the Run For The Girls Valentine Rockin 5K. Throughout the race she was stripping her cold weather mask and gloves as she started to get a little too warm, so I got to carry all her extras along with her big pink wad of gum that she decided she no longer wanted to chew about 30 seconds in. Jaidyn ran a PR with a time just below 32 minutes and she received a 1st Place Gold (chocolate medal for Valentine's Day) Medal. For Jaidyn, receiving the 1st place medal and chance to eat THREE Krispy Kreme doughnuts made all the pain from the cold and running instantly subside. I loved getting to spend the morning with her!

Whirlwind Weekend

2012-02-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a whirlwind of a weekend! All the decorating & cooking for a Fat Friday Mexican Fiesta Bunco Night at church, Reid's 1st Birthday Party, Annie Musical and Super Bowl Party. It almost made me feel super young and full of energy having a party each day...almost. But then I ran in to a HUGE wall this afternoon and was doing my best to get Reid to take a nap as Levi was already snoozing on the couch to give me a chance to shut my eyes just for a little bit. With the exception of our van getting rear-ended on the way to Bunco, a glass dish explosion filled with the contents of the main dish for Reid's birthday lunch, and a sick birthday boy I consider the weekend to be a success.

The look on his face sums up the way he felt all weekend. :(

I won't go in to the details of this picture but for those who attended, they know! Just think of food flavored with Marlboro Lights??? :)

Just the looks on my kids faces goes to show that there is never a dull moment at our house...always crazy!

We let all the kids have a candle in their cupcakes so Reid would receive plenty of birthday wishes!

Reid felt horrible all day and had absolutely no interest in digging in to his own personal cake. Poor guy!

He later changed his mind and did daintily pick the frosting off the cupcake to eat.

Dinner out at one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants.

Jaidyn received Annie Musical tickets from Papa and Nana for her birthday and the show was this past weekend. We all loved it!! Even Papa really liked it considering he was missing the pregame of the Super Bowl to see it.

These pictures were from a week or so ago. I was called to pick up Addy early from school because she wasn't feeling well. But her "sickness" was short lived as shortly after we got home she was off playing with Levi. She and Levi opened a restaurant and I had a lovely visit getting to order off their menu consisting of pizza, peanut butter and jelly, and a cheeseburger. Anyone notice the thing Addy has attached to her shirt? She informed it was a tie like the ones she has seen waitresses wear. She cut it out of notebook and attached it to her shirt with Scotch Tape. And Addy talked Levi into wearing the chef hat, but once he saw me smiling at him trying not to laugh he pulled it right off.

One Year Ago Tonight

2012-01-31T18:20:00.000-08:00

Happy 1st Birthday!!

One year ago tonight I was busily wrapping up last minute details for the grandparents staying with the kids as Wes and I were hoping that even with a blizzard headed our way we would still be able to make our 10 mile early morning drive to the hospital. While it was a planned induction the severe weather forecast was hurting my chances as it was causing businesses to shut down, school closings, and hospitals to be minimally staffed. News reporters advised everyone to stay indoors and off the roads except for emergency situations. And well, I considered my situation to be an emergency as I was miserable large and overly ready to bring the new addition to our family in to this world. And so on February 1st through a snow storm, our bundle of joy, Reid entered our lives. I love his deep belly laugh, his perfect for squeezing chubby legs, arms and cheeks, and his contagious toothy grin. He's his own person getting around with a silly looking scoot over the typical crawl and he can throw the most pitiful fits when he doesn't get his way. I enjoy his big bear hugs, open mouth slobbery kisses and the way he lays his sweet head on my shoulder when he's either completely exhausted or just content.

Happy Birthday Reid! We love you and can't imagine our lives being blessed in a more "unplanned" way than having you in it!

PS Reid, Now that you are one, do you think you could start sleeping through the night? Or how about even just getting your nightly awakenings down to one? :)

Just a few more pictures to add from his birthday morning!

~ All Kinds of Ornery ~

2012-01-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

During some of these long days inside at home, these two little guys are becoming good little buddies. Some of my favorite sounds are them laughing hysterically at each other.

If Levi hears Reid wake up from his nap before I do, he climbs in to his crib and waits with Reid until I get there to get him up.

Playing hide n go seek from Mom! Gee, I wonder where they could be. Just to hear them giggle under the blanket was funny!

Reid reorganizes my lower kitchen cabinets on a daily basis. And Levi used one of the pots Reid pulled out as a Banjo. I never did understand the words he was singing.

~ I Am 100 Days Brighter! ~

2012-01-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Today is Addy's 100th day of Kindergarten and she is super excited about the activities planned for the school day. Addy has been counting down the days for over a week. She created a great 100th Day shirt to wear to school today drawing on it flowers, butterflies and a penguin. For her school treat contribution she counted out 100 red, pink and white M&M's by doing ten piles of ten.

Reid on the other hand maybe needs 100 days of Kindergarten, as his way of becoming "brighter" is by eating a crayon. At least he picked one that matched his outfit...

It took several brushings of his teeth to get the crayon that was caked in his new little back molars he has recently gotten. Surely everything that Crayola makes is non-toxic???

~ First Snow of 2012 ~

2012-01-12T15:12:00.000-08:00

Along with wind chilling temps, came a beautiful first snow for 2012. The girls had a 2-hour delay start to school and while Addy was sick with some sort of icky bug, Jaidyn and Levi took advantage and bundled up to go outside to what they thought would be a fun time in the snow. WRONG!! With wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour and temps in the single digits they only lasted about 10 minutes before they were both in tears banging on the basement sliding glass doors to be let in. I knew they wouldn't last long...If only they had listened to me before going out as I had already met my early morning running group and put in 5 miles around a paved trail. I knew that it was brutal cold. The run was honestly very stupid as it was more like ice skating and probably dangerous. Running in the dark around a hilly, icy trail probably isn't one of the best decisions I have ever made. I pay for a gym membership and those are the mornings that I should really think about using it! Life's a dance! While the snow fall only lasted about 2 hours our driveway still looked as if it had snowed consistently all day as each time I would leave the house I would return to fresh white snow as the wind would blow snow back over my tracks.

Levi in tears peeling off his coat and snow boots.

Jaidyn quickly wiped her tears away as if she was trying to act tough.

A pretty sight as long as we were sitting indoors enjoying from the window.

Addy came running from the bus earlier this week to tell me all about her "graduation party" from Speech. The speech teacher let her have kool-aid, chocolate, popcorn and then let her pick the activity game for the rest of the group. She loved the special attention! She had a wonderful experience with the Speech classes the school provided and while I am glad that she no longer needs them, I am glad that it was a positive experience for her and it has seemed to help her become so much more confident with her communication.

Wes and I are on the countdown as we have 42 days until we run at Little Rock, AR. Both of us have really committed to completing both of our events, the marathon for me and the half marathon for him. Wes is experiencing a runner's high and has had a fantastic week of running and is already beating me in total mileage for the month. Maybe he should be the one running the full! Since it will be the first time that we have raced these distances we really don't have a specific goal time in mind, we just want to finish. And if we can finish, we will both receive a really cool finishers medal. And I can't wait to hang them on Wes's prized deer rack that will one day be mounted on our wall. As everyone knows, I am less that excited about a dead animals face as part of our decor, but I will do my best to learn to live with it and I think that by hanging our race memorabilia from his antlers will be just the thing. :)

I finally finished my goal setting for 2012 and have them all written nicely in the back of my calendar so that I can access them easily and be reminded of them frequently. I have goals written for each category including fitness, health, financial, kids, marriage, faith, career and education. And not only have I written them down, but I have a good bite size plan going for most of them so that I can hopefully reach them by the end of the year. I still need to share these with Wes so that he can help keep me motivated to achieve them all and several of them include him anyways so he probably needs to know what he is up for. :) And of course, I strive each day to live by the phrase "having more by having less". I continue to try and clear away clutter from our lives with not only stuff, but also activity time wasters so that I can focus more on having quality time to spend with my family and also continue to build great friendships. Happy New Year to all and may 2012 be a year filled with blessings!!

Oh, and yes I realize that my blog header is way outdated. Reid will soon be turning one so I really need to get it done. Poor guy should have a picture placed on my blog header way before now...updating my blog header is a goal for 2012, lets just hope its one that I can cross off way before December rolls around. Ha!

~ Collins Christmas ~

2012-01-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012! To bring in the year 2012 we celebrated Christmas with Wes's side of the family. Earlier in the week we stayed a night at a getaway lodge and then the entire family was able to come and be all together over New Year's.

A table full of Lincoln Logs in the registration foyer. I am not sure if the kids have ever played with Lincoln Logs, but I remember building housing creations with the set my brother had.

Pool time! If you mention anything about swimming, you can bet that all my kids are in.

Reid is trying to eat the green life jacket.

Steamy outdoor hot tub!

Christmas Cookie Decorating!

Watch out Aunt Brittney!! You never know what you might get when Bumblebee Transformer crosses with a Star Wars Jedi.

Over 2 hours of hot tub time = serious hand pruning

And back home...Reid has discovered the "adult" cabinet.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am still trying to get the house organized and the kids ready to go back to school and then I will hopefully have some time to sit down and do a little goal setting for the new year ahead. Looking forward to what 2012 has in store for our family!

~ Christmas 2011 ~

2011-12-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

The hustle and bustle has moved wayside and Christmas Day has arrived. Because of our late night last night the kids slept til almost 8 before making their way upstairs to lull me from my bed. Wes has seemed to have recovered from his one-day flu bout as he made it up this morning after missing out on all the Christmas Eve activities the day before to meet the running group at 5 am and get in a quick 6 miles and still be home before the kids even thought about getting up. Overnight, Santa paid a visit and while I didn't think that the kids could possibly be spoiled with any more fantastic gifts than what they have already received, Santa continued to take part in the spoiling. Wes has spent most of the morning with kids setting up the kareoke machine, the laptop computer and playing bowling games on the Wii with the kids. I have enjoyed hearing Addy and Jaidyn's voices carrying up the stairs singing some Christmas carols and Hanna Montana over the microphone. I can't say all of the notes they are trying to hit are a joyful sound, but do feel blessed to still be able to hear their voices all the same. We enjoyed a nice breakfast and lunch of leftovers that I brought home from my Dad and Mom's house Christmas Eve. Always a treat in my opinion to not have to cook.

So yesterday morning, I met 5 girls from our running group to complete an 18 mile run in preparation for the upcoming marathon at 4:00 am (Yes, I completed it!! My longest training run EVER). And about mile 12 we decided to have a little gripe fest about Santa. While I love the Christmas holiday for the true meaning and renewed spirit it provides, I think I now know why Christmas is one of my not-so-favorite holidays...it's most always the moms or women in the house who do all of the Christmas preparations...the shopping, the wrapping, the cooking, the cleaning, the Christmas card envelope addressing, putting together the Christmas outfits for the kids and the list continues to go on and on. And who through this season gets all the recognition but Santa. I mean really it should probably be more about Mrs. Claus as I am fairly sure that without her Santa probably wouldn't have a full belly and be fully rested for his long night of travel and definitely wouldn't have a clean suit to wear. And then again, maybe I should just give the Santa man a break as it was mile 12 at around 5:30 am and you can't hardly blame me for being a little grouchy!

Levi and the girls had great school parties before starting their Christmas break. Levi has always not been very fond of Santa and I still think has bad memories of the time that he first sat on his lap. His preschool teachers knew of his fear as they said he started crying and told them that he didn't want to sit on his lap when he found out Santa was coming for a visit to his class. I am pretty sure Levi was placed last on the rug furthest from Santa to sing their Christmas carols. He watched each of his classmates take a turn sitting on Santa's lap before getting a gift from the gift exchange pile and to my surprise, when it was his turn stood right up and walked over and climbed on his lap. He never said a word but did sit quietly in his lap for a minute. And the best part was about 5 minutes later when they decided to do a class photo with Santa, Levi found a place right beside him all on his own. He's too funny! It was probably his last minute effort to make sure that he was on Santa's "Nice" list.

Levi with his foam airplane from his preschool gift exchange. This airplane has taken many flights in all kids of crazy directions. I am just waiting for it to take a nose dive right in to the Christmas tree. I am sure it is only a matter of time!

Jaidyn brought home this cute little ornament she made wrapped in a brown paper sack made to look like a gingerbread house for both Wes and I.

We loved getting time to spend some time with friends. It was actually Ashley's little girls idea to have a pajama party and I took complete advantage of the pajama wearing idea!

Reid is only about 2 months older than his little girlfriend, but is double in size!

It's been a couple of years, but Wes did get some batches of homemade Christmas Kahlua made to give to some friends, family and neighbors. Levi helped cork the bottles, Reid tangled the ribbon and I printed out the labels. The next night while driving around looking at Christmas lights we made several special deliveries.

I let the kids open a few gifts early from their Aunt Charlene...I know that she thought it was a little strange when I gave her the idea of the spin brush toothbrushes, but they LOVE them! And the girls have loved the fingernail polishes. I have so far managed to escape getting mine painted, but my mom and sister were not so lucky. I'm quite positive my time is coming!

I love Christmas Eve at my parents house. I love seeing my Dad's Christmas light display on the house upon entering the driveway, the smell of all treats my mom has prepared in the kitchen and all of the Christmas decorations in the house bring back so many neat memories.

Jaidyn and her Pink BB gun from Aunt Jill. Now she will be right in the mix of things for her deer hunting trip next year.

Hoola-hoopin Addy!

My sister made the boys each a totally awesome bulletin board for their bedrooms. She is so talented and got all of the crafty talent as I am fairly sure I didn't get any. Levi's Cardinal baseball board matches the red koolaid mustache that he has going on! I can't wait to see them up in their rooms (it is still on Wes's To-Do list for today and he keeps avoiding it).

Jaidyn got a SpyNet Watch with Video and Night Vision. After starting to read the instruction booklet, I hear Papa tell her that there are too many instructions for him and she'll need to ask her Dad to learn how to use it. :)

Jared launching some Hotwheel Racers with the kids! They had a ton of fun with these all day.

Beginners luck! She hit the can on her first shot, but the next 5 shots didn't end with any point scoring.

Nana getting a nicely tangerine colored paint on her nails by Addy.

My best friend from high school got away from her family events to make a quick surprise stop by the house. I loved seeing she and her family, even if it was only for 30 minutes.

Ripping paper and digging through the loot Santa dropped off at our house!

Jaidyn made gifts for each one in our family. For me, the crazy couponer, she managed to pull an insert from one of the weekly papers and had cut out all the coupons in it and added a pen all wrapped up in a box. She's too funny!

She made this cute little picture for Reid and said that it can be his first picture for his bulletin board.

~ Taste of Christmas ~

2011-12-19T08:09:00.000-08:00

Grandma Penny made the long trip south (not as long for her as she has a heavy foot) to celebrate Christmas with the kids and Reid got a "taste" of Christmas as his first Christmas present went straight to his mouth. On Friday evening we sent a memorial luminary Christmas balloon up to heaven for Grandma Velma, Grandma Plassmeyer, Uncle Rod, and Grandpa Cook. We watched the luminary travel up in to the darkness for a couple minutes before we lost sight of the tiny flickering light. A perfect way to start the celebration of Christmas with a little reminder of those who have influenced and touched our lives for so many years during the holiday seasons. The kids were all up Saturday morning eager to start tearing paper off of the stack of gifts from Grandma. They now all have the cutest sleepwear to wake up in throughout the rest of Christmas, a light-up globe, movies and a Wii game system. The kids have had a blast dancing it up with Just Dance on the Wii. I have found my personal dance skills to be rusty as Jaidyn easily outscored me. Wes however is a Super Star Pro (scoring over 1000 pts) at "Hey Mickey". I think that he may even need to invest in the cheer outfit he's so good! In fact, I would love to see someone who could beat him at that song as it was quite the site to see.

Jaidyn and Addy performed in their first ever Christmas program, Christmas Hang-ups at church. Singing in the choir, dressed as ornaments from the tree, Jaidyn as Rudolph and Addy as Clara from the Nutcracker, they both did a great job singing out all the holiday songs.

Special cupcakes for each of the Christmas program participants.

We all enjoyed the light-hearted program reminding us of what Christmas is about and God's amazing plan of redemption through His Son, Jesus.

I completed my first half marathon (or at least in over 10 years) yesterday. The Run for the Ranch Half Marathon consisted of four 3.275 loops around the abandoned for Christmas university campus. I am not sure how I feel about having to do four loops instead of a single loop course as I have nothing to compare it to. However, it was nice to see my cheering section consisting of Wes and the kids on each loop. Their little hands reaching out for a high five and the "Go Mommy!!" gave me the motivation to keep moving. And to hear Wes tell me how proud he was of my finish was icing on the cake. I finished with a time of 1:46:30 which is better than I had hoped for so I am pleased with my personal results. And although I didn't place in my age group (5th), overall I was 16th out of 194 females. I am paying for it today as I am doing everything I can right now to delay my needed trip down the stairs to get the laundry. Just thinking about it, makes me wince with pain from the tightness that my entire lower body is feeling.

Members of the NRG that I have been training with the past 1 1/2 months

Levi, one of my main supporters during the race.

Addy had a costume day today at school for filling their behavior jar full of marbles. Here she is struting around in her cowgirl garb this morning before school.

Night Tree & First Haircut

2011-12-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

This morning I was able to go to Jaidyn's class and enjoy a special Christmas activity with her. After reading, Night Tree by Eve Bunting, they all made ornaments consisting of apples, oranges and pine cones smothered with peanut butter and bird seed. They tore up pieces of bread and added handfuls of popcorn to their paper plate before heading outside to the large evergreen trees in the school yard. The kids had a wonderful time decorating the tree and scattering their breadcrumbs and popcorn on the ground around it. They are hoping to have lots of little critter visitors over the weekend!! The tree decorating ended with hot chocolate and the singing of Christmas carols around the tree and they even sang a couple of versus to Old MacDonald just like the book.

I loved her "Elf Application" displayed on the wall in the hallway.

Jaidyn is the "Red Hen" in the Little Red Hen play her reading group is doing and while I was there she wanted to show me her costume that she made. And I'll admit she makes a great "Little Red Hen" as she is quite bossy naturally. :)

All 4 kids were squeezed in at the salon and able to get haircuts before Christmas. Jaidyn and Levi were long overdue and Levi looks like a different kids now with a haircut. Reid did great sitting on my lap and we were able to catch enough little wispies of hair to place in an envelope from his very first haircut.

In attempt to get the kids to all eat what I made for dinner, I included them in the process and they each participated in making individual pizzas on Rhoades Rolls. It worked for everyone but Levi, as he still pouted and gave me the ugly face while pretending to gag every time he took a bite.

When Reid scoots off and I hear him go in to Levi's room he is usually found sitting amongst a pile of board books looking through the pictures. He's already studious!!

NAUGHTY or NICE

2011-12-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus is soon coming to town and so the behavior evaluations of our children have begun...

NAUGHTY

We now have to remember to keep the bathroom door shut at all times!

NICE

This sweet little guy drank hot chocolate with me and helped count 10 little marshmallows out for each mug.

NICE

Levi taking a nice little afternoon nap. We had a little bit of snow on Tuesday so we pulled out the snow boots to wear to preschool and they have been his choice of footwear ever since.

NICE

Addy brought Wes and I a present home that she made in her Kindergarten class at school. She even made the wrapping paper. We have already opened it and rewrapped it as she was really excited to show it to us. It is a yearly calendar and I can't even begin to imagine the time that both she and her teacher put in to making it. So cute!

NAUGHTY

Jaidyn is laying the smack down on her Dad in games of Uno. She is up 4 games to zero! Levi kept telling her that she wasn't being very nice to not let Dad win any.

NICE

So apparently Jaidyn thinks she has been NICE as she did write this sweet letter to Santa. We have talked about giving Santa a healthier option this year primarily so I don't have to bake cookies, but I tell the kids it is because Santa is getting a little chunky from eating cookies all the time. And by the letter, you can tell that Jaidyn is still ecstatic from deer hunting with Wes back in November.

"Dear Santa,
How are you doing? I am doing well. Do you like cocoa and an orange? Could I please have a nutcracker and a spy kit and a blow up deer? Merry Christmas! Thank you Santa!
Love, Jaidyn Collins"

NICE

Looks can be deceiving!!

The girls attended their Sunday School Christmas party this morning. Jaidyn made the cutest little handprint snowman ornament and they both made Christmas cards for their family. Unfortunately I am finding lots of glitter trails in the house from their cards. Addy won the Knights of Columbus sponsored coloring contest with her coloring sheet of the three Wisemen. Her "rainbow" style of coloring must have won the judges over. She is so excited! And I can't wait to pass that information along to her Kindergarten teacher as "coloring in the lines" was something that she was needing to work on. :)

A Cool Start

2011-12-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

Winter weather has definitely arrived and so for me, the long winter months have officially started. And while I'm not too hip on the start of December, we have a newly turned 7 year old who looks forward to the month and counts down the days until the 3rd arrives. We had quite a busy weekend as a family and I'm thinking Jaidyn squeezed out every ounce of Wes and I's energy as last night we both found ourselves nodding off on the couch around 6:30. Wes got about half way through reading one of the girls school books and had to quit and just hearing his sleepy voice had me dozing off as well.

Happy 7th Birthday Jaidyn!

The night before her birthday decked out in antlers she ran her 3rd 5K (33:40 Time), The Reindeer Run. Her last run as a 6 year old.

And Addy decided to take part in our craziness and she ran her very first 5K and chose a night race to do so. As the youngest runner in the race at 5, she ran a 44:05. Super job Addy! Wes so graciously ran with her and endured the constant, "let's run!" and "let's walk!" change of pace about every thirty seconds.

A sprint to the finish!

Addy had her Gingerbread House making day at school. Papa and Nana came to watch the boys so that I was able to enjoy the afternoon with her at school.
Let the messy fun begin!

Addy had plenty of her own ideas on how to decorate her house and really didn't care to know my opinion. Ha!

Jaidyn had a delivery of balloons and a stuffed bear waiting for her when she got home from school from Grandma Penny. Reid was more in to the bouquet of balloons than me desperately trying to get his attention for the camera.

Saturday morning Wes and I were able to get away for a couple of hours and ran the Jack Frost 5K supporting the Catholic Campus Ministry.

It was a breezy 2 loop run through the streets around the university campus and even though by the end my legs felt like they were holding the weight of an elephant and I honestly thought my lungs were going to explode, I ran a personal best of 21:51 and won my age group. I can't recall a single second of that run that I felt to be enjoyable. Wes also had a PR and ran a 24:28. He too felt the pain of a sprint 5K race as he was doing everything to keep from losing his coffee all over the street down the straight way to the finish line.

Papa J.R. watched the kids for us during the race and then treated us all to Mexican food for Jaidyn's birthday.

Jaidyn had her BFF (as she would say) over to play and they stayed busy making bead necklaces and dancing in the kitchen to "Funk Soul Brother" and "The Cupid Shuffle". They do a dance to "Funk Soul Brother" at school so it was cute to see them perform it together. We also went and watched The Muppets and ate out at Red Robin. MMMmmm! I wouldn't tell Jaidyn but Wes and I agreed that The Muppets might quite possibly be one of the worst movies that we have ever had to sit through. However, the kids seemed to really like it, so that is all that mattered.

As the reigning Tiny Miss Sucker Days (Fried Sucker Fish Festival), Jaidyn was in the local Christmas parade. She really made me laugh when she asked me so seriously on the way to the parade, "What should I do if someone asks me for my autograph?"

Before he fell asleep and
After...

Even the loud blaring firetruck didn't wake him up!!

Yea! Jaidyn made the local paper (and better yet, a color page)

Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Has it really been over a week since Thanksgiving? Geesh, the days just seem to fly by and I can't believe we are already in to the month of December. Thanksgiving was spent with family at Papa JR's and LaLa's house. Always a nice time with the cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents!! Jaidyn, Addy and Levi each had a special day at school celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with costuming, a short play or a feast. I was lucky enough to be able to make both of the girls Thanksgiving activities as the events were low key and I was able to take the boys with me. And on Thanksgiving morning, Wes and Jaidyn participated in the local Turkey Trot which had over 8000 runners. It was quite a sight to see the hundreds of runners pass by as the kids and I made it to several points on the route to cheer them on. Lucky for them, they were able to eat that piece of Pecan Pie without guilt.

Addy's Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast

Addy made the "Art Display Wall" at school showing off her clay made medallion that she wore on her Thanksgiving Feast day.

Jaidyn's Thanksgiving Play
She (the Native Americans) had the teeny tiny line of "SSHHhhhh!"

Levi and his Pilgrim Hat & Turkey Craft

Turkey Trot 2011

Thankgiving at Papa and Lala's House

When will it slow down??

2011-11-21T11:15:00.001-08:00

Oh my, when will it slow down? As I look ahead to the coming weeks it seems that each day in my navy blue purse sized planner (I'd be lost without it) continue to have tiny little scribbles filling up the lines...Christmas play rehearsal, Snack for Levi's Preschool Class, Letter H for Show and Tell, Reid's Neurosurgery Follow Up Appointment, Packet Pick-up for Turkey Trot 5K, Jaidyn in Christmas Parade and it goes on and on. And those are just the things that I write down...nevermind the 4:45am runs that I have been getting in on with a local running group, the menu planning and grocery list complete with a thorough search through the sale ads and coupons, the many loads of laundry, and once again that list goes on and on. Thank God for Wes as he just helps make the morning times and the evening times when he is home go nicely. He has become quite good at getting those lunches packed for our picky eaters and getting all the kids their breakfast and reminding them to brush their teeth (yes, they would manage to sneak out of the house without doing so if we didn't remind them).

A little over a week ago I was able to check off a huge project off my list that I had devoted a lot of time to in the last month. Because I opened my mouth (note to self, keep all fundraising ideas to myself from now on, :))I was a co-coordinator for the 1st Annual Running On Faith 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run that the St. Anne's Guild of our church put on to raise money for our chosen charity (Tornado Relief Efforts of the Joplin Catholic Schools) and funds so that our group is able to meet our building fund pledge. While I am so glad it is over, I really enjoyed the actual day of the event and was thrilled with the participation we had considering it was our first event with other competition in the surrounding areas doing the same type of activity. It also feels great to be able to be part of a project that will benefit many people in so many ways. And the best part was that so many of my family members came out and supported us.

Papa, Nana, Grandma Penny, Jared and Carrie did the 1 Mile Walk with the kids.

Jared and Carrie after a Strong finish in the 1 Mile Fun Run (or in their case WALK).

Thumbs up to Jaidyn! At age 6, she ran a 32:03 5K and received a 3rd place medal in the 12 and under age group.

Co-Coordinators for the Running On Faith 5K!

As soon as we were able to get out of town after the race we enjoyed a nice weekend in Branson with Grandma Penny...great dinners, The Christmas Story Musical at the Sight and Sound Theater and a self guided tour through the Titanic Museum.

Reid continues to hit all those great baby milestones! He is currently teething and combine that with a nasty cold and it makes for a constant runny nose. Poor guy!
Ray is quite protective of him and find a seat right next to him when we are outside.

He has a booty scoot down with one leg in front and one in crawling position and he seems quite content with this as it gets him where he wants to go.

He is constantly moving to destroy Levi's latest creation whether be Lego's, Train Tracks or Cars, so we have moved Levi's play area to up on top the high top kitchen table.

Addy came home after school one day last week and gave her best efforts in building a blanket fort, but gave up and decided a nap would better suit her.

Last week was the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Drive so Levi and I finished packing up all the boxes and were able to deliver them to nearest distribution center. All of our boxes will be shipped to one of the big distribution centers in Orange County California and then could possibly be sent to the Philippines as we received a map and the Philippines was on it as one of the countries that will be receiving boxes from this particular distribution headquarters.

Ack! I just looked at the time and I need to get Reid changed and Levi a snack before running out the door to attend Addy's Kindergarten Feast. Happy Thanksgiving to All!

I Survived!!

2011-11-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

Not only did I survive the Sand Springs Adventure Race last weekend but we were competitive with other teams and had a great finish. My partner and I finished 1st in the female division and 6th overall...a personal best for me in any adventure race. I survived the hilly run (loved the last 1 mile downhill portion to the river), the long 8 mile river paddle, a steep mountain river bluff climb, the zip line across the river (even though I was soaked from waist down because I stopped 3 ft. short of the bank) and the 8 mile rough terrain mountain bike. The weather for the event was just about perfect with no rain and temps in the early morning of upper 40's and afternoon in lower 60's. And it is always fun to compete against my sister and maybe someday we can both team up together.

Jill & I before the race

I just finished the canoe portion and headed towards my bike to begin the mountain bike portion.

Both Jill and I were greeted by my kids as we got out of the canoes. I loved seeing them at that point as they gave me just a little bit more motivation to keep on going.

Finally finished and making a dash to the finish line...only 50 feet away!!

Jill and her partner making the last downhill bike to the finish.

My partner and I after our finish. Yes, I know I look horrible, but that pretty much sums up how I felt at that point. Exhausted!

Addy with Papa watching the participants finish.

Nana and Reid...he loved all of the attention all weekend!

Volunteer work and attending the race as encouragement and support must be exhausting. All three guys took an afternoon nap. And who is watching Reid at the moment?

We had an early Thanksgiving weekend at my mom's with all the fixings. Because of the race, I felt I had a good excuse to get a big plate of seconds. And the kids got many card games of Uno and War in while everyone congregated in the kitchen. Jaidyn even had her little score card tally sheet. I'm thinking it disappeared quickly because Papa wasn't "letting" them win and he was way ahead on the tally sheet.

Jaidyn and Addy added their own place setting decorations to the table. Each of us had an assigned seat and then after dinner they drew numbers from the ones they placed on the back of our chairs to see who won prizes (crowns and necklaces from the dress-up box).

All the kids were able to fit in the Jacuzzi tub.

And a few family pictures...

And on most days we put Reid in the bathtub with Levi and he loves it. Yea, it looks like we have another water rat in the family! As soon as he hears the tub water running he starts getting excited, however the minute we remove him from the tub he cries and throws a big fit.

~ HaLLoWeeN HaPPenInGs ~

2011-10-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween has come and gone but not without fully participating in many Halloween festivities...

And just in time to sport a Jack-O-Lantern smile, Addy lost not only her first tooth this week but a 2nd. She making the big bucks off the tooth fairy this week!

We attended our community event one evening and I'll have to admit it wasn't anything special and more of an annoyance of tons of kids running around so we probably won't go next year. The kids did enjoy getting some "Crazy Hair" done.

On Sunday afternoon we went to a Spooktacular Symphony. The kids enjoyed the music, the jokes and while we didn't participate, the costume contest.

The Trunk or Treat at our church was the kids favorite! Lots of games, hot chocolate drinking, pumpkin decorating and candy getting to be done! And because there were less trunks signed up than last year, I decided to decorate one at the last minute. It definitely wasn't prize winning, but by pulling decorations off our porch and out of the Halloween tub, I was able to come up with something. And I am pretty sure all the kids attending only cared about the candy anyways. And Reid actually ended up being the highlight of our trunk as he hung out inside while Wes passed out candy.

Jaidyn came with me early to help decorate.

It was pretty chilly once the sun went down so Addy and Levi wore their fleece jackets over their costumes most of the night.

I'm fairly sure if they would have given the "Cutest Trunk" award, Reid would have won the judges over.

Yes earlier in the week for his preschool party, Levi was Woody, but after seeing his best buddy dressed as a pirate he completely changed his mind for the remaining Halloween costume days.

Papa and Nana came for Halloween and brought the kids some treats! They love their glow marker boards and Levi really likes his "Letter" book. They were all laughing at Levi because he was being stubborn, giving his "I'm ignoring you" face and refusing to get in the picture.

The kids trick-or-treating with their friend Darth Vader and Optimus Prime!

Levi had enough candy getting and decided to stay with Papa (eyes closed, AGAIN) and Nana and do some candy giving while the girls went to their teacher's house.

Addy's Kindergarten teacher (Jaidyn's teacher last year) turned in for the night a little early, but she was a good sport and came out for a bit and even let the girls get their picture with her.

The last games of the fall soccer season were on Saturday and while I am glad for the break, I might just miss my little soccer team a little...

Halloween Pictures

2011-10-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

We had the kids all decked out in some Halloween themed attire today for church and stopped by a nearby park to take a few pictures on our way home. They will probably be wearing Halloween holiday garb for the entire week.

And after our hike last week I searched through the Craigslist ads and found a baby carrier pack hoping to make this weekends hike a little more successful. I personally felt the hike was more enjoyable with Reid in the carrier pack rather than the jog stroller, but not sure that our pack mule aka Wes felt the same about it. :)

If we all "rocked out" like Addy every morning we would all probably get a great start to our day! Oh and having hot pink cowgirl boots on helps!

In conjunction with parent/teacher conferences the girls school holds a book fair and to reward the girls for the OUTSTANDING reports we received from their teachers we let them each pick out a book, Levi too! I loved their choices...Jaidyn, Judy Moody Girl Detective (Jaidyn has her own "Spy" club so this is fitting), Addy a Barbie Princess book and Levi a Disney Cars book.

One Tiny Starfish

2011-10-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

Nikki from One Tiny Starfish is having a raffle for several great gift cards in efforts to raise funds for the educational progress of Andrielis in the Dominican Republic. Nikki continually raises funds in order to help send these kids to school so that they can better their lives. A few dollars will give you a chance to win a great gift card, but more importantly will help give a young girl an opportunity. And if you have never had a chance to read Nikki's blog find some time to do so and prepare to be inspired.

Oh and she also designed my blog header (and I seriously need to get it updated, but still trying to get a good family picture), so if you want your blog jazzed up a bit visit the "Blogs for a Cause" badge on my sidebar. A portion of her blog design proceeds fund her various charity work.

Pumpkins, Leaves, & Scarecrows

2011-10-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

We just can't get enough of this gorgeous weather! My inside the house "To Do" list continues to grow, but I keep pushing it aside or hiding it under my computer desk stack of papers to continue to get outside with the kids and enjoy. I am going with the out of sight, out of mind concept. Friday night we enjoyed super loaded nachos and a great hometown football game with friends. Saturday morning each of the kids had a soccer game. Levi even scored 3 goals!! And 1 more if you count the one he scored in the other teams goal. Last week he scored his first goal ever and I think it really clicked that getting the ball in the net is the entire idea of the game. Nana came on Saturday for the day and we also got to enjoy her company at Campbell's Pumpkin Patch. The kids really enjoyed the magic show and the pony rides. After church on Sunday we packed up snacks and water bottles and took a drive to Busiek State Park to spend the afternoon hiking trails. While we chose the 3.2 mile "easy terrain" trail the terrain wasn't all super easy with the running stroller. Poor Reid was getting ROCKED! So Wes or I carried him much of the way while the other pushed the stroller up the rocky hills. And I am so proud of the kids as they walked the entire way...and with the exception of Addy complaining in the first 1/2 mile about how tired she already was there really wasn't any complaining. It might have helped that we promised they could have a soda at dinner (rare treat) as Levi will do anything for a Diet Coke.

Jaidyn on the field ready to start the game.

Jaidyn with one of her best friends from school.

Watching the soccer games.

Soccer games must have really worn them out. Will we ever get the the Pumpkin Patch?

Corn maze!

Front row seats waiting for the magic show to start.

The kids with Marty the Magician!

Jaidyn practicing tricks with her newly acquired magic wand.

Addy Upside down!

An afternoon Snooooozzzzeee!

Not sure what it was about the train ride but Levi refused to ride it and Jaidyn rode it 3 times...once in the very first car, the middle and in the caboose.

So instead of a train ride, Levi climbed hay bales.

The kids enjoyed their pony ride and while there wasn't the tiniest of a gallop in this pony's step, Jaidyn was rocking back and forth on like it was and Addy had her make believe lasso out circling it above her head. And after the many loops that this pony made, I can't say that I blame him. Levi wasn't sure at first that he wanted to do a pony ride, but with Wes promising he would walk right beside him he agreed to try it. I think he had the image of the bucking bulls and broncs that he has seen on tv in his head and wants nothing to do with that.

The sun was beaming down on the cute photo opportunity background so we made up our own. Nana snagged the stand-up scarecrow and a pumpkin to add to the wagon of mums.

I am not sure attempting a 3.1 mile trail hike in Busiek State Park with four kids 6 and under is considered adventurous or just plain stupid.

After seeing this sign, Jaidyn starts off down the trail tapping two sticks together (from Disney's Parent Trap movie with Lindsey Lohan) trying to scare away the bears. I can't say that I agree, but at the end of the hike the kids were disappointed to not see any bears. So they said next time maybe we should follow the yellow marked trail because that's where all the bears would be.

Addy's already lolly-gagging behind and complaining how tired she is and we just got started.

This was an approximate 10 foot boulder that we pretended to be a mini mountain. We three girls made it to the top!!

Reid has it made! Lucky little guy!

They were such serious hikers with their walking sticks.

Last weekend we attended our church parish picnic and the kids were entertained for hours with bounce houses, carnival games, water balloon tosses and yummy food.

And just some moments from home...

Levi was playing on the computer wearing his 3D glasses he got at the movie theater.

What a big boy sitting in his chair at the table. Reid wants to be a part of everything!

Reid isn't crawling or even attempting to crawl but instead just scoots around the kitchen and living room floors on his booty. Not sure how he managed to maneuver himself underneath the chair stools but he did.

Jaidyn and Addy had their army camo themed "Big Event" at school on Friday to celebrate the end of the 1st quarter. Jaidyn chose to get a mustache and goatee at the face painting station. Why?? She told me that she wants to be an artist when she grows up and it would be something an artist would have...I think she must have recently studied Vincent Van Gogh. Ha!

Jaidyn and Addy's class pictures of "Big Event".

I love that our cul de sac seems to be the gathering place for the neighborhood kids after school. On this particular day there were lots of great Lego creations taking place on our front porch.

~ My Grandma ~

2011-10-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

My grandma left this world early yesterday morning...another beautiful child of God being welcomed home to eternity in Heaven and being reunited with loved ones gone before her. We all love her so much and will miss her deeply.

My Grandma…

raised 4 children for a good portion of their lives on her own, under difficult times and in a difficult and unimaginable situation. All four have beaten the odds and are outstanding individuals who are caring, giving and have become wonderful parents, aunts and uncles and even grandparents themselves.

for years, gave a smiling face to the community of Owensville as she was the first thing customers would see as they entered the doors of Wal-mart. I remember the surprise visit my kids and I did and the initial look on her face (perhaps confused) as we got a double glance before she realized who we were.

always had an extra batch of her signature frozen Chocolate Chip cookies tucked away in the freezer in one of her green or yellow Tupperware containers as her grand kids easily demolished the ones she had placed out on the kitchen table. We were never sent home without a baggie full. And once I married Wes, she always packed a few extras in the bag for him…which always seemed to have disappeared before he had a chance to eat them, but I made him always remember to tell her how good they were so she would keep sending extras with us.

gladly attended her grand children’s most important life events – graduations, weddings, baby showers.

truly believed in the magic of Christmas as her eyes would light up equally as bright as my kids when the nursing home Santa resident made his appearance. She somehow always managed to come away with a Candy Cane too.

was great at stockpiling. She had a huge stash of holiday napkins, plates & cups. I loved when she passed some of them off as I didn’t care to use Christmas themed plates in April as it just meant an easy dinner clean-up. I’m fairly sure I have inherited both she and my mom’s frugal ways. I’m thinking she would be pretty proud of the stockpile I have going in my pantry.

had a blue retro vinyl chair in the family room that we were constantly getting in trouble with. That chair could spin at great speed and rock better than any rocking horse. And not only did the chair become our fair ride but we used it as a ladder to reach the earth globe she had sitting on top the glass shelf. That globe had great spinning action too. She was always on us to stop as she just knew we were going to break both the chair and globe. And I am pretty sure both of them survived the days of her mischievous grandchildren.

was the master of baking Lemon Meringue and Banana Cream pies. I am sure they were a “first to go” at the many bake sales and church events she provided them for. And if you have never had the opportunity of having a slice, well then you truly missed out as it was just heavenly.

My most recent favorite memory that I will forever cherish is Grandma on the dance floor in her wheel chair dancing with her kids at my cousins wedding. At that moment in my mind, time stood still…she in her pretty outfit, her perfectly manicured nails and her smile showing her contentment with life.

A beautiful woman with a huge heart has left our world. Grandma, we will miss you always but you will remain in our hearts till one day we meet again.

~ Grandparents Day ~

2011-10-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

Jaidyn and Addy were so lucky to have 4 of their Grandparents able to attend their Grandparents Day at school. They each had an assembly with special songs and a visit to their classroom. Addy is so proud of her school and took the opportunity of being a tour guide...the bathrooms, the lunchroom, the hallway to recess, etc. Jaidyn enjoyed showing off her hallway collage and reading to them.

Family Update

2011-09-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Wes and I enjoyed an adult night out with dinner at a Japanese steakhouse followed by the PBR. The kids enjoyed an evening at home with their cousins and Grandma. And I just LOOOVED coming home to the smell of baked chocolate chip cookies and having some no bakes sitting out on the counter ready to eat. I didn't care how late it was, I was having me a snack. So glad that Wes's cousin and fiance were able to come for the weekend and spend some time with us.

Not sure what kind of reward this is, but Jaidyn's class earned enough marbles in their jar to have an "injury" day. Jaidyn has been talking about this as their class choice for the past two weeks and would come home after school and report back how many more marbles they needed. Wes bandaged her up pretty good, but we had still talk her out of putting fake blood all over her body.

Addy has Johnny Appleseed day tomorrow and we have no overalls for her to wear...time to get creative.

Welcoming Fall

2011-09-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

September is here and so are all the fun activities that accompany it...

A Mini Tailgate and a Hometown Football Game with Friends on Friday

Silver Dollar City with Friends on Saturday

The "Buddies" closely examining the map.

Powder Keg Roller Coaster...thankfully we rode it first. Jaidyn and Addy hated every minute of it and we would have never gotten them on it later in the day.

Addy is not happy with me for making her ride the "BABY" ride with Levi.

Picnic Lunch at The Park after Church & Wickman's Nursery Fall Festival on Sunday

Deciding which animal balloon to be made is a serious decision.

Levi and his purple spider, Jaidyn and her giraffe and Addy with a silly hat.

Heath & Brittney's Wedding

2011-09-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the newlyweds, Heath & Brittney. I don't think they could have asked for a more beautiful day (maybe cooler temps, but overall just perfect). The barn setting was so warm, inviting and truly had an elegant feel. Having Brittney's Grandpa as the officiant was wonderful and meaningful. I loved all the sweet and simple personal touches of the wedding. Jaidyn and Addy had a wonderful time stomping around in their boots and their darling flower girl attire while Levi and Reid couldn't look more handsome in their overalls.

Make a free slideshow

Reid is just a little over the 7 months mark and his new favorite game is throwing his toys off the couch so he can watch me pick each of them up. :)

Giving me a sneaky little grin!

It was the last lake weekend before next summer rolls around so roasting some smores felt appropriate to welcome the fall season.

August End

2011-08-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

Addy continues to love Kindergarten and most nights she entertains our dinner table conversation whether its about the boy who picks his nose and eats it during rest time or about wanting to wear her purple cheetah shirt with silver sequins so she will look "cool" and the little boy she sits with on the bus will think she's cute.
Last week they had a Clifford Day. She came bounding in the front door in her floppy eared Clifford headband.

Jaidyn received a very special award this week. She was chosen to receive the very first Caring Kid "Cooperation" award from her class and was recognized in a morning assembly.

Receiving her Caring Kid dog tag necklace.

August Caring Kid Group

Nana made a surprise visit and enjoyed visiting the girls school.

The weekend was enjoyed at the lake getting to lounge around on floating rafts and watching the Boat Race Shootout.

Jaidyn took another run at riding the knee board and she has really gotten good. In fact she thinks she is so good that she has already been asking to move on the trying out the wakeboard. Lol!

Holding up the orange flag when a skier goes down is serious business!!

You might be a redneck if...

you use a pocket knife to cut off the tops of water bottles to be able to drink Pontoon Punch. It was a little rough around the edges but it worked! I bet next time we will remember plastic cups.

You might be a redneck if...

you use an empty peanut jar as your drink container.

In my opinion it's not Redneck, just resourceful!

Levi's First Day of Preschool

2011-08-23T15:51:00.001-07:00

This afternoon, Levi had his first day of 3 year old preschool. He proudly carried his school bag on his shoulder and a gift for his teacher. After getting his name tag on, I almost thought I was going to get away without him crying and it wasn't until I gave him a hug and headed for the door that he realized I was leaving. I then heard the sad Levi cry...I just kept on walking as I knew it would be over within a few minutes after leaving.

Weekend

2011-08-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

We are on to week two of school but not before we could enjoy some more "summer" activities over the weekend. To unwind from the busy first week of school we had friends over on Friday for pizza, popsicles and smores (these were actually for the kids but we indulged too). It's nice when we get together as each of our kids has a child their age to play with.

Yummy Oven Smores!

I'm sure our cul de sac looked like a major traffic jam with all the kids riding bikes and scooters.

And thanks to the guys we now have our internet connection secure and my Iphone software is updated to the current century. I hadn't updated it since I bought it almost 2 years ago. Who knew I could do so many fun things with my phone? I mapped yesterdays cycling ride and my run this morning. And there really is "An App for Everything"!! Agh, this tech stuff is way over my head and I have a feeling it just may keep getting worse. Things change so fast!

Lego Tornado...Levi and Alivia had a great time making the Lego mess, but it wasn't as much fun to pick up!

We decided they are already like a married couple...asleep and turned the opposite direction. :)

Saturday morning was just spent hanging out and then Wes volunteered to stay at home with Reid while the rest of us went and watched Spy Kids. Jaidyn and Addy were really excited to watch this movie and now think that they have been activated to be real Spy Kids. You should see the gear they have packed up in their little messenger bags and purses. Ha!

Levi was dancing to Beyonce's All The Single Ladies and was pulling up his shorts to look like a leotard.

He's gagging over the leotards they were wearing in the video.

After church on Sunday we used up the remainder of Addy's pool passes she received for her birthday. What a beautiful day to be at the pool and a great end to the weekend!

She is now running, jumping and diving off the diving board. And her form is pretty good...no more belly busters.

Don't let this grin fool you...

Reid has started to develop some really STRONG personality. I'm hoping it is just because he is teething. When he wants something, he hasn't been giving much of a warning and goes from happy to MAD within a matter of seconds. He usually has the TV remote or my phone within eye sight and really wants to get a hold of them. Neither of these I let him play with and it really makes him MAD. He is also really wanting to start moving around but won't stay on his belly long enough to give himself a chance.

With the girls at school it has really given me a chance to give more attention to just Levi. He's such a fun little guy!

First Day Of School

2011-08-15T16:48:00.001-07:00

Addy was up on her own at 6:15 this morning! That is the earliest that she has been up on her own all summer. She was so excited about her first day of Kindergarten! There were no tears of sadness from having to leave her Mom all day (and not any from me either as I am excited for her too). It is amazing how in the last few months she has become so interested in writing words and practicing things in order to "be ready for Kindergarten" or at least that's what she says when she tells me when she wants to practice something. It is so refreshing to see Addy so concerned about being "ready" as she really hasn't shown much interest in it until the summer months. We walked Addy to her classroom and her teacher read The Kissing Hand before letting all the parents leave. So we gave her a kiss and she waved us out the door skipping back to her seat.

Jaidyn was looking forward to starting 1st grade today but she said she would rather be hanging out at home with me. I am not sure how she thinks cleaning, laundry and getting groceries would be more fun than school. I think she is still in summer mode...

Today was so quiet at the house with just the boys and I...the stillness was very strange as the past couple summer months have been filled with much noise as not only is our house occupied with our four but usually a couple of neighborhood kids also. Since Addy wasn't here for Levi to fight with and he didn't have to share any toys he had a very good day. I also let him talk me in to letting him have soda with his afternoon snack. :)

Levi loves his very own "All About Me" photo book. He is so proud of it! Here he is studying it...it cracks me up how serious he is when he looks through it.

Pat & Amber's Wedding

2011-07-31T14:32:00.001-07:00

There was much fun to be had celebrating the marriage of my cousin Patrick and Amber this weekend! There was lots of catching up, dancing and a few drinks to be had.

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

July's End

2011-07-31T14:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe July has come to an end...where has summer gone? The kids and I purchased all of their school supplies this past week and have it all labeled and packed in their backpacks ready to go for the first day of school on August 15th. I can't believe we only have 2 more weeks to enjoy of summer. Sad! :(

Grandma Penny and Hadley spent a few days with us last weekend

Rafting down the river with friends

These two sweet girls entertained our kids on the float trip the entire day...it almost felt as if they weren't along. They were much more content hanging out with "cool" older girls than with their "uncool" mom and dad.

Love Bug!

Levi's Shutterfly Photo Book

2011-07-25T10:30:00.001-07:00

I finally finished Levi's Shutterfly photo book a few weeks ago and have been waiting patiently for Shutterfly to post a discount code before ordering it for him. It has pictures all the way up through his 3rd birthday. Here is an online preview. I can't wait to get the actual copy. He will love having a special book of his own as the girls really enjoy flipping through the pages of their baby/toddler photo albums.

Click here to view this photo book larger

~ Yummy Sweet Potatoes ~

2011-07-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

MMMmmmm! Yummy, yummy sweet potatoes!

Reid downed an entire jar of sweet potatoes for his first jar food experience. I was trying to eat my sandwich at the same time (yes, always trying to multi-task) and he was getting mad every time I put down his spoon to take a bite. I am sure my facial and verbal expressions were equally entertaining as I was trying to imitate how I wanted him to open his mouth.

~ Family Weekend ~

2011-07-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was spent bearing the hot, hot temps and enjoying the company of Wes's family.

The entire crew minus Hayden (when you are a cool freshman you have much more exciting things going on...football practice)

Mama Lala treated the grand daughters to a trendy rooster feather (or as Jaidyn says, "Feaver") in their hair. Addy watched, but decided to sit this one out and said she wanted one when she turned Hadley's age (which is 4th grade).

Levi hanging out with his cousin.

Wes has been craving fried fish and potatoes so even the extreme heat wasn't going to stop his efforts. The cooler of cool drinks and "adult lemonade" made the heat bearable.

"Peace, Bro!" The pick was an added bonus in case she had a head itch! Ha!

Papa bought the kids a basketball goal but with the heat, there wasn't too much bball action going on.

July Birthday Celebrations! Happy Birthday Hadley, Heath and Lauretta!

Reid loves being cuddled!

It's not sweat dripping down the front of his shirt, but instead drool from the cutting of his 2nd tooth.

At one time Jaidyn had mentioned having aspirations of being a dog trainer. I think after hanging with Uncle Heath for a bit she realized how much work it really is.

I bet Wes can't wait for this picture to age a few years...It will be so nice when Levi is "lawn mowing" age.

Reid and Great Grandma

Just a couple extra pics from earlier in the week.

~ Busy Bees ~

2011-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

The kids were invited to a carnival themed birthday party for a newly turned 4 year old friend. With a princess bounce house, professional face painter, and true carnival eats of popcorn, nachos and snow cones, even Wes and I had a very enjoyable time (the keg of beer was a nice adult treat for a HOT July evening). Of course, I hope that my kids don't up their expectations for their next birthdays because I am sure I will do my best to persuade them towards the easy-peasy McDonald's/Chuck E. Cheese parties.

The birthday girl first in line to get her bunny face on!

Jaidyn picked a fancy tiger face. It's amazing the face transformation that can take place with a little paint.

There was no question and it didn't take Addy long to pick out a princess face.

So when Levi saw the birthday girl (his crush) as a cute little bunny he didn't even need to look at the variety of faces he could choose from...bunny it is!

Unfortunately because of the hot temps and crazy bounce house fun, the kids were sweating so much that their cute character faces disappeared quickly...I'm betting there is a lot of face paint sticking to the inside walls and floor of the bounce house.
About an hour into the party Levi came to tell me that he didn't want to be a bunny anymore, but instead Spiderman. I really didn't think much of it and told him he only got to get his face painted one time. It wasn't until I saw the birthday girl parading around with a new face of Spiderman that I figured out why. Levi just follows her around everywhere and is in awe of her.

Bounce house fun! Addy's sticky body kept her from getting a good run down the slide.

Little love bug Reid!

Levi showing off his muscles! Even standing on his tippy toes, he could barely reach high enough to see.

Flying...gracefully!

CAKE TIME!

I loved this picture of her mom getting a good angle of her blowing out her candles. Just like a super-mom to always have the camera in hand. We moms go to all means to try and capture the moment.

I hope Wes isn't noticing...not only did Levi pick to be painted like a girly bunny, but he also picked the pink iced cupcake. I bet you can't guess who else picked a pink cupcake. :)

Cheeseburger anyone? What about an egg sunny side up? During a morning rain the kids played pretend restaurant.

While the rain cancelled our plans to attend a firework show on the lake during the 4th of July weekend the days were gorgeous and we managed to spend most of it out in the water.

Worn out??

So one of our family dinner conversations this week was Wes trying to convince Addy that Justin Beiber is not all that hot and that he himself is way better. Addy is convinced that JB is absolutely FABULOUS and she argued that JB is way cuter! The rest of us got a good laugh...but we will let you all be the judge. Hehe!

or this...

~ June Wrap-Up ~

2011-07-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe June is already over and before you know it, I will probably be shopping with the kids for school supplies. Ugh, I don't even want to think about school yet. Addy was just asking me this morning how many more days (45) until it starts. She is sooo excited to be a Kindergartner.

The last couple of days have produced smoltering hot heat and the kids attire has simply become bathing suits. Time has been spent running through the neighbors sprinkler and over at our subdivision pool. The freezer is stocked with popsicles as this has become the go to cool-down snack all week.

Reid continues to be a super happy baby. He just hangs out and seems to be quite entertained by just watching the commotion of our day. He has recently taken to a pacifier which has been nice for me as it seems like it has slowed his eating habits lately and I haven't felt as if I spent the entire day sitting in the recliner. And the last 2 nights he has only awaken twice to eat instead of the typical 4 as I have been able to put him back to sleep with just the pacifier. And we have tried some cereal from a spoon this past week and he has done very well with it.

First time trying some cereal...MMMmmm!

Tummy time! If my head weren't so big, I'd be able to hold it up a lot longer.

Playing!

Levi and Addy are just at the age where they enjoy completely annoying each other every second of the day. And here they are wrestling on the tile of the kitchen floor. Addy better be careful as Levi is gaining on her in weight and usually finds a way to some how come out on top.

On Wednesday Nana visited for a day out with the kids. We made a full day of it as we spent several hours at the Discovery Center, had a snack of McD's shakes and french fries, went to theater to watch Cars 2 (Nana & Papa gave him tickets for this for his birthday), and ended with Mexican for a late dinner.

Discovery Center

Hair raising static electricity!!

Levi didn't quite get the same results but if you look closely his hair is standing on end.

The drinking fountain...no thanks, I'll pass. Actually, it brings back bad memories from the college days.

The gigantic bubble machine was one of their favorite stations.

All three made some very impressive bubbles.

When they popped they would be showered with sticky drips.

Reporting from the news station. This too was one of their favorite centers. They enjoyed watching themselves on the TV in front of them. Jaidyn and Addy's conversations were quite entertaining! A future career maybe??

KY3, the place to be!!

Jaidyn had just got $70 worth of cash (pretend ATM machine) before visiting the Dr.'s office and when I told her she owed me $70 after just listening to her heart and lungs she thought I was kidding. I was only trying to give her an accurate "real world" experience.

One more picture before leaving the Discovery Center. Not sure why, but they felt a ninja pose was appropriate. :)

Tomorrow morning we are getting around and heading to the lake. With the extremely hot temps we will probably spend many hours inside in the air conditioning or submerged in the water. And Wes is getting back from his work trip a day earlier than originally planned...Yea! He gets to spend the entire holiday weekend with us.
We hope everyone has a wonderful, safe holiday weekend! Happy Independence Day!

Jamie and Aaron's Wedding

2011-06-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we enjoyed the weekend in St. Louis and the festivities of my cousin Jamie's Wedding. It was so nice to visit with family that we rarely get to see and I wish we would have had more time as it seemed the day came and went. Jamie was a beautiful bride and Aaron a handsome groom and it seems that their event went without a hitch and as exactly as they had planned (or at least as far as I could tell). I have lots of pictures so I thought it would work best to make a slide show.

Customize your own picture slideshow

~ Springfield Cardinal Baseball ~

2011-06-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

Even though the score of the Cardinals game last night didn't fare well it was a beautiful evening to lounge out on blankets and watch the game from the outfield grass. For part of the game, Jaidyn and Addy sat with Papa in his season ticket seats. There were lots of hits by both teams all evening so it was actually a nice game to watch and Jaidyn LOVED chasing down the many foul balls outside the left field line.

My roomate from college is in town from Florida for a family reunion this week and took time to hang out with us for a couple hours. I miss her very much and the time we had to spend with both her and Elise went by too fast.

~ Random Pics ~

2011-06-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

The weekend away from home has put me a little behind on every day tasks so this will primarily be a picture post...

In the past 2 weeks Reid has found his toes and has rolled over from his back to his stomach.

We had a nice visit from the Great Grandparents

Celebrating both Wes and I's birthdays at Papa JR's and Lala's House.

Who needs a pool when you have a hot tub?? All the kids spent hours in the hot tub.

And many people ask me how I manage to get groceries with all 4 of my kids and this birthday card that I got from my mom and dad pretty much sums it up...

Last week on Wednesday we went to the Taney County Fair to support and cheer on our niece, Haven in the Miss Taney County pageant and we now have another pageant queen in the family...she is now Miss Taney County.

You can't go to the fair without eating a funnel cake.

Evening Rodeo

Not afraid of getting dirty!

Haven stayed all night with us after the pageant so we celebrated with ice cream. Jaidyn felt it appropriate to wear her crown too.

Jaidyn and Addy went to a 3 day Cheer/Gymnastics camp. Here they are building their pyramids in their presentation on the last day. Jaidyn is a base and Addy is a flyer.

Lake weekend at Papa & Nana's lake house. The kids did a little tubing and Jaidyn even rode the knee board. She didn't make it up to her knees but now tells us that she is ready to try next time.

The kids taking a ride in the water patrol boat.

Bobber

2011-06-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

We took full advantage of having a neighborhood pool tonight. This was the first time that we had Reid out in the water and like the rest of our kids, I think he will turn out to be a little water bug. He was like a bobber out in the pool and just bounced up and down while Wes held him. All that cute chunkiness makes him very buoyant.

I finally had to just take him from Wes as his fingers were starting to wrinkle. And within minutes he was asleep all bundled in a towel.
The other three were showing off their newly acquired skills from swim lessons earlier in the week. Jaidyn was doing cartwheels off the side and pushing off the side to turn a back flip under the water and Addy was doing cannon balls off the side. In a matter of 3 days they have become very confident in their swimming abilities.

It took him awhile, but eventually he made it down to the 4th step and then finally was jumping off the side in to Wes's arms.

Levi found some guys goggles lying on the side of the pool and decided to try them on. He couldn't even open his eyes as he had them on so tight it pulled them squinty. Haha!

We spent the earlier part of the week in Lebanon with Papa and Nana who caught something nasty and were really sick the entire time we were there. And if I didn't have those days so jam packed with as much as I could fit in, I would have driven back and forth each day as I felt really bad being there as I know with 4 kids hanging around there isn't much sleep going on.

Swim Lessons

He threw the biggest fit when I would drop him off and his screams would echo so loudly in the indoor pool. It would only last for a minute and he was all smiles and would wave at me as soon as he saw me walk back in the door to pick him up. Levi loved the lessons, but just never wants him Mommy to leave him anywhere...he better get used to it as preschool starts up in less than 3 months.

Jaidyn attended volleyball camp and loved it. She has no problems showing off her camp award trophy!

Summer Kick-Off

2011-06-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day weekend at the lake usually is our kick-off to the summer. Wes worked long days in Joplin to help with the tornado recovery efforts and was unable to join us for most of the weekend. And while we missed him, we knew that his long days were helping so many families who were victims during this terrible disaster. The kids look forward to weekends spent at the lake house during the summer and I debated on even packing their swimsuits as the water temp was only 62 degrees and I thought there would be NO WAY they would want to get in...wrong! But I remember a trip to the ocean out East when we were young and everyone was walking the beach in sweatshirts and jeans except for us crazy Missourians out jumping the waves in our swimsuits.

I had told them that they probably wouldn't get to swim and they were okay with that as long as Papa took them fishing. And from the dock they each were able to reel in at least one catch. Papa Dave even took Jaidyn out in the fishing boat the next morning for her very first fishing trip. Being six years old must be the magic number. The minute he woke her up, her feet hit the floor and she was ready, super excited. She came back as I had figured with some great fish stories. Papa had coached her up good!! I just hope she never catches more than he does as the one time I did that, I don't remember being invited back. Hmmm??

Reid had his first time out on the pontoon. I had bought an infant life jacket at a garage sale earlier this spring thinking it would be the perfect fit...

Hitting the waves out on the boat made a perfect rocking motion to put Reid to sleep.

Man's Best Friend!

Life is Good!

My kids love Ted! Ted may have started a new interest with the kids...Frisbee! Everyone else wants to just sit and relax and Ted is usually the only one they can talk into playing.

Helping Nana make the salad. Addy must have felt some ownership as she even asked to try it.

Uncle Jared and Reid

Yes, he has the Godparent touch! Or maybe he slipped Reid a little of what he was drinking...I'll have to keep my eye on Uncle Jared. :)

We hiked Ha Ha Tonka State park and picnicked at one of the lake bottom trails in the state park.

Eating at Bulldog's Beach House...they really need to bring back their happy hour special from the past couple of years.

So I thought once we moved from the month of May in to June that my calendar would all of a sudden bring some summer relaxation with things like sitting on the front porch watching the kids draw with sidewalk chalk, catching up on some Redbox movies and possibly picking up a book from the library just for my own enjoyment. Ummm, not so much! And while I might complain about how busy we seem to stay, I love the summer days with my kids and I know these next couple months will go by fast and I'll be wishing them all back.

With lots of ever turning creative minds we have lots of crazy moments at the house...

We aren't sure what inspired Addy to model this look.

Note to self...NEVER give Levi an ice cream cone in the van. I couldn't get him out fast enough.

Levi had "The Princess" of the tball team over (while she is the lone girl on the team she is the best slider in to home plate and never goes home with clean clothes) and they dressed up as the princess and prince.

Reid likes sitting in the Bumbo seat so he can be right in the middle of all the action. And trust me, he isn't going anywhere. It almost takes two to pry his legs out from the seat.

This is the first time that I caught him rolling over to his side. His 4 month check-up went well and obviously he was still topping the charts at both height and weight. He weighed in at 19 lbs., 15 3/4 ounces. I looked back at the girls baby books and Jaidyn was right at 15 lbs. at 4 months.

This picture was simply taken because Levi brought me my camera and wanted me too. I love his smile!

After only two days of high traffic use, our slip-n-slide bit the dust. We had friends over one evening and then the neighborhood kids along with our own all enjoyed it the next afternoon. And while the fun was interrupted with a tear across the plastic they all had a blast while it lasted.

Adventure Race & Addy's Preschool Concert

2011-05-23T18:22:00.001-07:00

The recent devastating tornado destruction that has hit Joplin has really made the last 24 hours kind of a blur. Wes was called out immediately after to respond to the disaster. We once lived in a connecting town to Joplin so we are very familiar with the buildings and neighborhoods that were completely leveled. Jaidyn was born at St. John's hospital in Joplin which is now just a framing with shattered windows. I barely slept last night continuing to get up several times along with Reid's feedings to check Facebook to see who had finally checked in with family/friends as most cell phone service was down. Wes worked missing persons reports all day today and he said that there are many, many people unaccounted for.

St. John's Hospital, Joplin Mo

On a brighter note...Addy had her last day of preschool today. Even though she is excited about the summer months she is loving the idea of officially being a Kindergartner.

Addy at her Preschool Spring Concert

Wes and I both were proud of our finishes in the Ozark Greenways Adventure Race on Saturday. The stormy weather decided to break for a day and cooperated beautifully. The orienteering this year was much more friendly than in years past as the points we had to find weren't too far off of horse trail paths and therefor I think I managed to escape the miseries of poison ivy, itch weed, and thorn bushes tearing up my legs. While we both weren't on the same team, we did cross paths several time throughout the day...mainly when both our teams were very lost during the trail biking portion. The trail biking is always my least favorite phase of the race every year. I spend most of my time pushing my bike up steep terrain and then walking it back down the other side because I am afraid of tumbling. The only partial break I took all day was to step off in to the woods to manually relieve pressure that Reid normally does every day for me. Thank you so much to Nana and Papa for watching all the kids and getting up with Reid for all 3 of his nighttime feedings. The kids had a wonderful time and I know my parents had to be exhausted, perhaps as much as Wes and I were from the race. And thank you Wes for getting the kids around in the mornings for school so that I could have an hour each morning to train. Without his efforts, there is no way I would have been able to participate and prepare for this within 3 1/2 months after having Reid.

Arriving at the race headquarters...4:30 is an early morning wake.

Feeling very good about our finish. Overall we finished 16th out of 53 teams and 4th in our division.

Wes and his partner competed well amongst the duo teams and finished around 15 minutes after we did.

The kids, as always had a blast with Papa & Nana

Nana had Papa take this picture so she could get in one with the kids and this is what she got. Lol!

~ Reid's Baptism ~

2011-05-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today after mass Reid was baptized and became a Child of God. What a wonderful way to start off the last full week of school before summer vacation with Reid's baptism. We are so proud to have all of our children baptized and brought up in the Catholic faith. Wes and I are so glad that both Jared and Carrie accepted the honor and responsibility of being Reid's Godparents. I am sure they have already started saving for his college fund...ha!ha!

I'm so glad that I packed an extra outfit for Reid as we didn't even make it through the opening song before Reid managed to make a mess that inched its way out of his diaper. So much for his special baptismal onesie! And I probably should have packed another shirt for myself as Reid managed to spit up twice down my shoulder and arm and near the end of mass Levi fell asleep in my arms and I felt the drool sinking through my shoulder sleeve. I guess its just one of the many blessings that come with having kids.

I had to let out a little giggle when the priest had to tell Jared to stay put with the baptismal candle. He inched his way forward a little and I think he thought Jared was going to burn him with it. :)

Why does it have to be so hard to get a good family picture??

~ Tiny Miss Sucker Days ~

2011-05-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

We had such a fantastic weekend that it is two separate posts worthy. I'll start with Saturdays event...

Because of our move, Jaidyn missed out on the Little Miss Merry Christmas pageant that she wanted to enter back in December. So when they announced that they were adding a pageant to list of the events held in conjunction with the Sucker Days Festival we decided to let her enter. The Sucker Days Festival has been around for more than 50 years and the big highlight is the fried sucker fish. Apparently people drive a long ways for this? As part of the pageant she had to get recommendations from two teachers and they scored her on different character traits, she had an interview section the morning of the pageant with 3 judges and then they also judged on stage presence during the competition. And to our surprise...she earned the very first ever, Tiny Miss Sucker Days title.

Here she is before the competition, all decked out in her red, white and blue for the opening number of "This Land is Your Land".

And we stressed from the beginning that this entire experience was just for fun. No need to take any part of it too seriously.

I'm learning what it takes to be a pageant Mommy, but truly much better enjoy being a soccer mom. :)
Opening number...I wish my camera did better in gymnasium lighting.

Her cousins came to watch and cheer her on. She was so proud to have them there supporting her.

Hanging out with Papa Dave waiting patiently through all the talent shows and the other pageant contestants formal wear presentation.

Had we known that her Aunt Haley had pageant experience we would have been having her coach her up.

Jaidyn and the 1st runner up share the stage.

The Sucker Days Pageant winners!

Receiving hugs from her cousins and sister!

Getting a hug from Grandma Penny!

Reid did so well during the pageant. Of course it helps that he was always being held by one of the Grandma's.

While waiting for Reid to finish up eating, a super nice lady brought all 3 of the girls a flower bouquet so they all got to be a Princess for the afternoon.

We tried to participate in the carnival festival going on outside but the windy 40 degree temperature just didn't make it too inviting. But the kids did get a little time to do a cupcake walk and play in the bounce houses.

When they were announcing the first runner up and pageant winner, I'll admit my heart was racing. And then when they announced the first runner up and it wasn't Jaidyn, my heart sunk as I thought that was her chance as I honestly didn't think she would win. There was a cute little girl who does pageants all the time, (even though I think Jaidyn is super cute and has a wonderful personality) and I assumed she would be the winner as she has lots of experience in these types of events and she has participated in many of them. So yes, it came as a complete surprise when I heard her name announced. :)
I think my personal favorite Jaidyn moment was after it was all over...She and I were down in the dressing room changing out of her dress into her jeans and tshirt. She looks at me and says, "Mom, aren't you proud. I did pretty good getting 2nd place." I said, "No, Jaidyn you won! You are the Tiny Miss Sucker Days and that is why you got a crown." Jaidyn, "Oh, I thought they said the other girl got first place". I finally realized that when they called the other little girl out as the "first" runner-up that Jaidyn thought that meant she was 1st. I am so glad that she was just thrilled to be a part of the entire experience and wasn't caught up in just getting the crown (although it sure was nice).

Once we were home for the evening, Addy disappears for a little while and then comes back upstairs dressed like this, complete with a "Happy Birthday" sash...Jaidyn let her borrow her crown to finish the look. Maybe next year, Jaidyn can pass the crown off to Addy. :) Yikes, what have we started??

We Beat The Rain

2011-05-13T13:11:00.001-07:00

We beat the rain tonight and Levi was able to get his team picture taken and play in his very first tball game. Imagine a game involving ten 3-4 year olds. Levi is the youngest player on his team AKA The Green Hornets, as they had to be three before the 1st game so he barely beat the cutoff just turning 3 earlier this week. Wes is coaching the team and after every practice and tonight's game he manages to work up a sweat. Keeping up with ten kids this age is quite a job! Levi did great and he actually would chase after a ball instead of playing in the dirt like a portion of the players did. His first at bat he took off towards 3rd base instead of first and then when running from 2nd to 3rd base he kept on running right to the dugout instead of to home plate. Too funny! He had a good time and I think the highlight for him was the snack and drink he received after the game.

We were home early enough from the game to get in a few bedtime stories. One of the books we read was "Gone With The Wand", so Addy felt it appropriate that I wear a crown.

This handsome man just continues to grow on our hearts each and every day. He is grasping on to a few toys and his laughter and smiles are just the best!

~ Super Sunday ~

2011-05-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 8th was definitely a "Super" Sunday in so many ways. At church we celebrated its 50th Anniversary and we had two Bishops in attendance and several Priests who have served the parish in past years. The Knights were dressed in full attire and I had truly never seen this costuming in the Catholic Church before. It was a very nice, encouraging mass (even though I spent a portion out in the foyer with Reid and had another trip to the bathroom with Levi). After church we ran through KFC for a quick picnic blanket snack at the park so we could keep the kids (in their words) from StArViNg before the birthday party celebration at Chuck E. Cheese.

Addy, Levi, and Jaidyn had a wonderful time with their cousins at their Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.

They barely ate any pizza so they could get started using up their coin tokens to play games and ride rides.

Yay! It's Chuck E.! Thank goodness we didn't pay for the party pack...he quite possibly could have been the WORST mascot ever. Yep he was definitely there only to receive a paycheck and wasn't very enthusiastic about the time he (or she) had to spend in the Chuck E. costume.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!! Icecream Cake time!

And of course the birthday recipients favorite part...present time!

And then we joined Jared, Carrie, Heath and Brittany back at our house for a Mother's Day celebration in a Cinco De Mayo fashion...with fajitas and margaritas.

Who knew that LaLa and Ethyl had so much in common?!

We are so blessed to have been able to celebrate the kids birthdays and Mother's Day with so many members of our family. Thank you to all for being part of this special day. I mean, how many mother's get the luxury of spending part of their Mother's Day at Chuck E. Cheese? Haha!

And on a side note...I completely enjoyed the few strawberry lime margaritas that I indulged in. :)

~ Look At Me, I'm 3! ~

2011-05-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Levi!!

What a beautiful handsome boy you are becoming! You have introduced us to the joys of having a little boy around in so many ways. We love you to pieces!

Levi's Favorites:

Color: It's a different color every day

Book: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Food: Anything unhealthy

Drink: Chocolate Milk

Song: The Wheels on The Bus

Song To Dance To: The Cupid Shuffle (I love it when he busts out a break dance spin on the floor)

Toy: Lightening McQueen, Mater, Doc and other Disney Pixar Diecast Cars

Movie: Disney Cars

And we are so proud of Levi's potty training accomplishments and he has officially been wearing big boy undies for about a month now. And thankfully we have a bathroom that we have primarily been able to dedicate to him as little boys and their aim, I have learned takes some practice. Ick!

I have lots of pictures from Addy and Levi's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and Mother's Day pictures to post from Sunday...hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow. :)

~ FIVE and FABULOUS ~

2011-05-05T08:00:00.001-07:00

Today Addy is five years old!! And she loves all things fabulous! She reminds me a lot of Sharpay on High School Musical. Yes, she's a singer, a dancer and full of drama! There is never a dull moment with Addy around. :)

Addy's Favorites at 5 Years Old

Food: Peanut Butter & Jelly or Honey

Drink: Chocolate Milk

Color: Rainbow

Song: Believe on the Barbie and The Diamond Castle movie

Book: There's A Monster At The End Of This Book

Toys: Pink Bear Lovey, Barbies, Polly Pockets, Bratz Dolls

Oufit: Rainbow Dress From Aunt Jill (she's wearing it in the picture)

Favorite Song to Dance To: The Cupid Shuffle

Movie: Princess and the Pauper

Activity At Preschool: Gym time

Thing To Do With Daddy: Fight (with boxing gloves)

Thing To Do With Mommy: Cuddle and Love on Her :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADDY! We Love you to the Aliens and back! (This is what she always tells us.)

~ Wrapping Up The School Year ~

2011-05-04T06:23:00.001-07:00

Whoa! It hardly seems possible that Jaidyn's Kindergarten year is almost over and that Addy will be following along behind her in those hallways in the fall. To bring in the month of May we have already participated in Jaidyn's family fun night, Addy's Day in K, and Jaidyn's Kindergarten Celebration musical performance. Tonight Levi has t-ball practice and then we are having garage sale on Friday with our goal of reclaiming our garage so that we can park both vehicles in it. Saturday morning the girls have their last soccer game of the spring season. Sunday afternoon will be spent at Chuck E Cheese for Addy and Levi's birthdays and then back at our house with family for a Mother's Day celebration...By that time I think I will be completely deserving of a margarita.

Family Fun Night Pictures

Jaidyn having no mercy on her opponent!

Mom came and spent several days with us while Wes was away for work training. I was so grateful for her help. She even mowed our lawn for us (Shhhh, she doesn't want my dad to find out as she doesn't want him to get any ideas). Our yard is big enough for a riding mower, so it was quite a job for her. I am hoping that none of the neighbors were watching us attempt to get the mower started. Until I found the directions on the mower, it was quite the sight to be seen.

After Addy's Day in K it only took her about 10 minutes on the couch to achieve this result...

Our neighbors got a new trampoline and I am sure they appreciated all of the help in putting it up. Ha!

Jaidyn went a few garage sales with me this past weekend and purchased these Spiderman boxing gloves with her own money. All of the kids have had a great time getting some shots in at their dad.

Our "Bundle of Joy" and to hear Levi call him that is too cute!

Jaidyn's Kindergarten Celebration musical performance.

Easter 2011

2011-04-27T04:18:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was so different this year from past years. Wes was gone for job training out of state and we didn't visit any grandparents so it was just the kids and I all day. And it would have been different this year without my grandma as the Easter decorations just wouldn't have been the same. One of the things that we always got a kick out of was how she decorated every dessert with jelly beans. Every cupcake was topped with them and every cake was outlined with jelly beans. And she must have bought them in bulk as the jelly bean decorations on desserts seemed to continue all the way through Christmas. Since Wes was going to be gone on Easter day the Easter Bunny visited our house a day early dropping off several goodies for the kids including some new Nintendo DS games and a sewing bear for Jaidyn, Barbie's and a Barbie DVD for Addy, Disney Cars and toy guns (loud, annoying, light-up) for Levi and Reid scored with a cradle swing which he LOVES. On Sunday morning I was determined to snag some great deals on things at Walgreens with my stack of coupons (if you don't go on Sunday morning, the shelves are cleared all week of the great sale items) and by the time I got through the checkout with all 4 kids we weren't going to get to church but a few minutes early. It didn't help that it was pouring down rain all morning either. Church was so packed that we ended up sitting in the very last row sharing of the foyer sharing two folding chairs. Oh well, at least we were close to the hallway with the bathrooms as I knew Levi would have to use it. It is great that he is finally potty trained, but we take many trips now to the bathroom. While I managed to get all 4 kids through church and an Easter Egg Hunt after, I am definitely not winning any Mom-0f-The-Year Awards as we didn't dye any eggs and our Easter meals consisted of Wendy's for lunch and frozen Totino's Pizza for dinner. Sad, I know! Regardless of our pathetic meals, we did enjoy a fairly relaxing rainy day together.

Levi in his Thomas The Train conductor hat.

Easter Sunday Pictures

I had a cute little spring colored romper for Reid and even though it was sized as 6 months, I was barely able to get it over his head and I was hurting his arms trying to squeeze it in to the sleeves so I opted for putting him in a soft cotton onesie instead.

Pretty, pretty girls!

Levi took this picture for us...not too bad for an almost 3 year old.

This was the closest I could get to getting any outdoor pictures on Easter day. The rain was pouring down so I was only able to get a picture of the kids on the porch.

I just can't help but laugh right along beside him. Reid's giggles and smiles are too cute!

We have been begging Levi to try out a shower instead of a bath for months and then out of the blue, he asks to take a shower. So here he is piled in the shower with the girls. It only lasted two nights as he is now back to wanting to take baths again, but hopefully it is a step in the right direction.

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter weekend!

Happy Baby Taking A Bath

2011-04-22T12:30:00.001-07:00

Reid loves kicking his chubby legs and flapping his arms in the bath. It's a good thing he enjoys his baths as it takes me a little bit of extra time to make sure that I get between each of his little crevices. I'm hoping he likes the pool and lake this summer equally as much as he likes his bath.

I think Wes looks to be a little exhausted from his day of work.

Spring Sunday Baseball Game

2011-04-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

After church, Wes and I had good motivation to hurry and get the house cleaned so that we could enjoy a nice spring afternoon at Hammons Field for a baseball game. We made the kids play outside with the exception of letting them come in only to use the bathroom so that we could get the floors mopped and bathrooms cleaned. And after finally getting it all clean it only further motivated me to cash in on my Christmas present from Wes...hiring someone to clean a couple of times a month. I have someone coming on Friday to interview and give us a bid. I'm really hoping it works out.

The Clydesdale horses were in town. Jaidyn took lots of pictures with her camera of them parading around the field before the game started.

Levi getting his ticket signed by one of the players. Maybe Levi will keep the ticket and someday this player make may it to the big leagues.

The kids with Louie The Cardinal. I gave Wes the camera for just this one picture and Louie's head gets cut off. :)Later in the game we were taking the elevator up to another level and Louie gets on the elevator with us. The kids were completely silent and just stared at him...kind of an odd elevator ride.

We almost always buy general admission tickets and bring our own blanket and sit out in the outfield. It is so much easier with the kids this way. And I don't have to worry about one of the kids spilling their drink down the back of the person sitting in front of us. Yes, this did happen a couple of years ago and he was wearing silk...who wears a silk shirt to a ballgame? :)

Papa J.R. was the high bidder on one of the special St. Patrick's Day jerseys that were auctioned off for charity during the game. We were so glad that Papa J.R. and our niece Haven were able to spend the afternoon with us.

Jaidyn brought me this "card" home from school. She said she made it during her center time. So sweet! It is definitely one that I will keep.

Mother's Day Card
Mom you rock. Mom you roll. I love you. You are 32 years old. You like blue. You like J for Jenny. For Mother's Day I will take you shopping.

Reid looks forward to seeing Jaidyn when she gets home from school.

Jaidyn had her Easter Egg hunt at school yesterday. Isn't her milk carton Easter Bunny basket the cutest? I can't imagine how long it took for her teacher to cut out the shape and make the faces for 21 baskets. Her teacher is so creative. Super cute!

Good Times With Friends & The Family

2011-04-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took a road trip to St. Charles to hang out with some of my college volleyball teammates and their families for the weekend. The prep work of packing for 5 people (Wes packed his own), filling a snack bag and drink cooler, and all the baby items I couldn't do without was somewhat of a daunting task but I only managed to forget to pack both Levi and I's pajamas. A normal what could be a 4 hour road trip took us every bit of 6 hours. We had several bathroom stops as Levi has been great at using the potty, but he just has to go often and we would stop so I could nurse Reid. And poor Levi got sick on the mix of jelly beans and cajun trail mix that he snacked on so we had quite the mess in his car seat the last 20 minutes of the drive. Thankfully we were staying at my sister's house the first night so we had access to the washing machine and the garden hose to hose down his seat. Wes was tempted to hose Levi down too, but we didn't think it would look good blasting a 2 year old with the hose. Ha!

On Saturday, we attended the Tartan Days Scottish Festival down by the River Walk. The weather couldn't have cooperated more nicely.

We ate lunch at the Little Hills Restaurant and Winery while waiting for the parade to begin. While eating at the winery with 4 kids isn't the most romantic experience, the bottle of strawberry wine that Wes and I split sure made up for it.

The Tartan Days Parade

Jaidyn and Addy were quite concerned seeing all the men wearing "skirts". We had a nice little culture lesson on Scottish attire.

The kids enjoyed the dogs parading through the streets even more so than the candy being handed out.

You don't see law enforcement officers on horseback very often.

Watching a small group of people playing bagpipes. Why is Jaidyn holding the foam football between her legs? I didn't even notice that until posting this picture.
We all just lounged around on blankets in the grass and the kids played with the hoola-hoops, bubbles, and in the mud most of the day.

Showing off their spiders they purchased from one of the booths set up.

Levi took a tumble down the hill right into the mud so he was shirtless most of the afternoon.

Reid is so sweet! He didn't sleep much all day, but did manage to catch a few ZZZ's under the shade tree.

Later that evening, all our families went out to eat and finally agreed on Buffalo Wild Wings. Our other choices were too busy and didn't have room to seat a party of sixteen. By this time of the evening we were all so exhausted and it would have been much more enjoyable to have ordered pizza and eaten at the hotel or back at the festival. Oh well, lesson learned for next time.

All of us girls. Pretty sad I am bigger than Tara who is almost 8 months preggo. And I am just loving the splotchy sunburn that I have going as I could see the imprints of Wes's hands on my shoulders.

The entire bunch of kids

Griffin was so good entertaining the younger kids all day. I think Addy had a little crush on him as she kept wanting piggy back rides and would just watch him and smile.

Poor Tara, 8 months pregnant and squeezing in the back seat with all the kids. Thankfully we only had to cross a couple of parking lots to get back to the hotel.

The four of us girls had plans to go out for awhile, but exhausted from the full day we decided to hang out at the hotel and enjoyed each others company in the breakfast lounge with a bottle of wine. Wes, the wonderful dad that he is managed 3 of the kids in the pool by himself and my sister watched Reid for a while so I had a couple hours with just the girls.

Not wanting to waste Sunday all day in the car, we decided to take the kids to the St. Louis Arch before heading home.

This was the longest road trip that we have attempted since Reid was born and while I am not in any hurry to do it again soon, I loved every minute of the time with my family and friends.

Reid is the BEST baby. The only time he is fussy is when he decides he is ready to eat and he just doesn't give much warning and wants to eat immediately. Three of the past 4 nights he was went to sleep around 10:00 and slept all the way through to at least 5:00 in the morning. Ahhhh, what a wonderful feeling it is for me to get a full night of sleep. And his grin with those chubby, chubby cheeks to too cute!

"Property of Mom"

Last week Levi and Addy were riding around the house on their horses. Giddy-up!

Out like a Lion

2011-04-03T12:17:00.000-07:00

I honestly can't remember what the beginning of the month of March was like, but I'm thinking there was some nice weather so as the saying goes, March came in like a lamb. And for me the end of March went out like a Lion. Last Wednesday, Wes took our black lab Jacy (named after our initials of Jenny and James Collins, JC) of 9 years to the vet as he had almost quit eating with the exception of some canned dog food and the peanut butter sandwich that I would make him the last week or so because he has always loved peanut butter. In a matter of a couple short weeks he had become almost skeletal. While I knew in my heart, the outcome at the appointment wouldn't be good, I never imagined that me giving him his peanut butter sandwich earlier that day would be the last that I would see him. At the same time as the vet appointment I had to take Jaidyn to the doctor's office as the school nurse called earlier in the day to tell me her throat was hurting her and that strep throat was going around. She did have it and thankfully we were able to get her on medication quickly to ease her pain and keep the rest of our kids from getting it. I called Wes shortly after leaving the office to check on Jacy's appointment...only to find out that Jacy had Lymphoma and that he was past the stage to where treatment could be done and that he was suffering. Wes had given the vet permission to put him down and just left him there. What??? I know Wes made the right decision in letting him be put down because he was in pain and there was no chance of recovery, but I am still hurt by the fact that it never crossed his mind that I would want to be there or have the opportunity to say goodbye. When he knew that I wanted to be there, he immediately called the vet office back and I was speeding through side roads to get there, but as I reached the parking lot, he called me to tell me that it had already been done as soon as they left. I was too late. Over the last 9 years, Jacy has been my loyal companion...sleeping with me (before we had kids) while Wes was away, my walking/running partner, and he was great with our kids even when Addy would try and ride him like a pony. While I admit he wasn't the smartest dog in the world (thought that yards didn't have boundaries) and had to keep tied up because of it, he was genuinely a very nice, laid back big black lab mix. I just feel so guilty for not being there for him and there just isn't closure for me. The last few mornings heading down the basement to work out were tough as he wasn't there in his crate reminding me to let him out to go to the bathroom. On Saturday morning, while walking back from a neighbors garage sale, Addy out of the blue said, "I miss Jacy." Me too, Addy. "He is living now with Jesus and with Grandma Plassmeyer. I just really, really miss them." Yes Addy and I am sure Grandma loves having him around. Ha!

And on to more positive notes...

- My dad and mom both turned 60 during the month of March. And Wes's dad is still hanging on to the 50's for one more year. Happy, Happy Birthday!

- Potty training is going well. After 2 days of being completely unsuccessful in my attempts to get Levi to use the potty and several laundry loads of wet big boy underwear, Levi went yesterday without having one single accident and even came inside on several occasions to tell me he needed to go. He even told me during the middle of church this morning that he needed to go. Yea, Levi!!

Levi hanging out in his big boy undies!

- Jaidyn and Addy had a stellar soccer game on Saturday. Jaidyn scored 3 of the teams 6 goals. Addy had an opportunity to score as she dribbled it all the way down the field only to stop right in front of the goal to let her trailing sister try and kick it in for her. Silly girl! We were so proud of Addy as the prior game she was more in to the dog on the sideline that someone brought along and anytime on the field that she got knocked down she just liked to lay there and hang out for awhile. This time she would hop right back up and then turn and give us a thumbs up before chasing the ball down again.

- Reid continues to grow like a weed or should I say the Michellan Man. At his 2 month appointment he was 24 inches and weighed a whopping 15 1/2 lbs. He put on a show at his appointment as he cooed and babbled while hanging out in his diaper showing off all his rolls. However, the cooing stopped once he had to have his shots. Three separate sticks...they really need to come up with a way to combine all of these in to one.

We put shoes on Reid for the first time today before going to church. Wes could barely get the velcro to reach across. Good thing it will be summer soon. I'm thinking he would much rather be barefoot than have his feet squished in shoes.

- Grandpa Rex & Grandma JoAnna stopped by to see the kids on their way back from Texas. And they took them out for icecream at McDonald's to help celebrate Levi's potty accomplishments.

- I was able to have a girls dinner out with my mom and some friends enjoying good Mexican food and margaritas. I took Reid with me and he may have met his future girlfriend. She wasn't shy in shelling out kisses to him.

- During this month Levi will start playing tball. Wes has been out in the yard working with him a little. He has quite the arm...if only his aim was as good. :)

~ Spring Break Wrap-Up ~

2011-03-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

Spring break is over and the kids are back to school today. We stayed busy all week even with the weather ups and downs and it seemed that the week flew by. I really enjoyed a break from the normal routine and it really has me looking forward even more to the summer months. Here are the kids before leaving to go back to school this morning.

We kicked off spring break with an evening of Kung Fu Panda and popcorn. The kids and I vegged out in sleeping bags on the floor in the basement. I'll be glad when our new living room furniture arrives and we can move our current furniture to the basement as it wasn't the most comfortable movie I have sat through.

I love this picture of the kids and I. I bought this t-shirt at a kids consignment sale and I'm going to make sure and wear it out when I have all 4 kids with me grocery shopping.
"Yes, they're all mine.
Yes, I know what causes this.
Yes, I have my hands full.
And I'm so glad they are mine too."

For a few days it felt more like "winter" break than spring break, but the weather just kept getting nicer throughout the week. We had sleet, a wet snow, and plenty of sunshine. Crazy Missouri weather!! One day it will be in the 40's as a high and the next, near 80.

Jaidyn and Addy were invited to one of their friend's 5th birthday parties at a horse stable. I think they have officially rode a horse more times than I have in my lifetime.

And after lots of persuading and bribing, Addy learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Yea, Addy! Papa had her out in the grass riding down a slight hill and she fussed about it the entire time. She told us if we would take the training wheels off her tiny "Princess" bike she would ride it without training wheels and...she did! Within a days time it looked as if she had been riding without training wheels forever.

Nana and Reid cheering Addy on.

Poor Levi, he fell asleep on the way to Walgreens and just couldn't stay awake in the cart while I was developing pictures at the photo counter. I wrote an update letter to send to Heart of Mary Villa in the Philippines this week and wanted to include lots of pictures.

This past Saturday we had another temperature drop and while we had planned on the entire family participating in the Nixpo 5K Family Run, Wes stayed back with Reid as we thought it would be too cold for him to be out in the stroller. Jaidyn and Addy rode their bikes while I ran with Levi in the jog stroller. Addy kept looking back at me the entire time, "Come on, Mom!" She did great riding 3.2 miles especially since she had just learned to ride without training wheels a couple of days prior. And even though I didn't break any speed records (not that I ever have), I managed to run the entire time.
Before:

During:

Finished:

Reid is just as cute as ever! And he isn't having any problems under-eating. Making sure to get between all those cute little rolls takes some time during baths. A nurse at my 6 week post partum check-up was calling him, Tank. He has already outgrown the 0-3 size and fitting quite nicely in to the 3-6 months clothing.

Sound asleep on the couch. Ah, how peaceful!

And on another positive note...Reid only woke up twice last night for a feeding at 1:00 and 5:00 am. Woohoo!

Japan Tsunami & Earthquake Relief ~ Leave A Comment

2011-03-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

My heart continues to weigh heavy over the last few days as I continue to watch the devastation that the tsunami and earthquakes have brought to the people of Japan. I can't even begin to imagine the horror and the depths of sadness that so many people are experiencing right now. It's very difficult to sit back, watch and do nothing especially since at this moment I am sitting in the comfort of my warm home, with a stocked refrigerator with all my kids taking a cozy afternoon nap. The devastation photos are simply unimaginable, but the vivid pictures and reports from the news media such as these have really hit close to home...seeing so many mothers and fathers lucky enough to have survived the disasters, but yet now are faced with how to keep themselves and their children alive all while not knowing what obstacles the future might continue to bring.

A child standing in the ruble of his home.

A mother comforting her children in an evacuation center.

A rescued 4 month old baby girl.

A mother bringing her child in to be tested for radiation exposure.

And it seems that right now the greatest need is monetary contributions so that organizations can begin to begin to distribute aid in the most cost efficient way possible. Wes and I are going to donate $1 to Convoy Of Hope (up to $100) for every comment received on this blog post from now until Sunday, March 20th. Deployed Convoy of Hope disaster responders are staging initial relief efforts from Manila, Philippines. Convoy of Hope will focus on getting water, food and emergency supplies to people in desperate need in the devastated areas. So please bloggy friends and family, even if it just to say hello or to tell how you are getting involved in the relief, leave us a comment as every little bit helps.

And besides PRAYER and lots of it, as it can make a huge difference, please consider giving.

The American Red Cross: You can make a donation on line. Or, you can simply text REDCROSS to 90999 and instantly donate $10 to the Japanese relief efforts.

The Salvation Army: You can also donate on-line here as well. You can also text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 and make an instant donation.

Samaritan’s Purse: They have a wonderful biblical message and low overhead costs. This is the organization that sponsors the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes that our family participates in each year.

Spring Break Is Here

2011-03-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

Not too much excitement going on at the Collins' House the past few weeks. The cold weather has kept us indoors for the most part, but when Reid allows it(when he thinks he has had enough to eat for an hour or so), it has also allowed me to spring clean the all the closets in preparation of bringing out all of the spring and summer clothing. I'm leaving just enough winter clothing in their closets to get us through a couple more weeks. Hopefully, spring weather will be here to stay very soon! Once Jaidyn gets home from school today, the kids are all officially on spring break. Yea! I am sure the week will fly by with the activities we already have planned...science day at community center, soccer practice, trip to Lebanon, a visit from Grandma Penny and we really need to get a jump on cleaning out the flower beds and our garage.

Addy and Levi working hard on creating their Musketeer Masks.

Reid taking a short snooze with a paci. This is one of the few times that he has actually accepted a pacifier. He isn't a fussy baby, but sometimes I wish he would just take one more often to keep from wanting to eat. Half the time he just falls asleep eating and I think it is because the sucking is soothing to him.

Handy Levi! Levi put on his tool belt while watching Handy Manny this morning. Hopefully Levi will develop some handy skills from either his Papa J.R. or Papa Dave...it won't be coming from his dad.

The past 3 nights Reid has slept for at least 4 to 6 hours at one time. It has been WONDERFUL! I remember reading somewhere that it takes 16 to 21 times of repeating a task to make it a habit. So we still have many more nights to go in hopes of making this sleep pattern a behavior. Fingers crossed!

4 weeks

2011-02-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

This Tuesday will be 4 weeks since Reid was born. Wes and I can hardly believe that we have survived through 4 weeks of sleepless nights. Actually, this past week has been better as Reid only wakes 4 times per night and goes right back to sleep after feeding. We have been doing our best to keep him awake in the evening until 9:00 so that he will usually sleep through a little after midnight giving me at least 2 1/2 hours of sound sleep.

With Jaidyn and Addy we had professional pictures taken at 2 weeks and here it is almost four weeks and I still have yet to schedule any pictures for Reid. So today I got the camera out and took a few pictures of our own. I plan on getting some better ones done of the entire family once the weather gets warm and we can get them done outside. Hopefully we will find time once the school year ends.

Here are some pictures of our chunky little guy at almost 4 weeks old...

For this picture, Wes was standing behind me making farting noises and then blaming it on me. This got lots of laughs out of the kids. And I think Reid is trying to make some noises of his own.

Reid and I hang out lots in the recliner.

His face cracks me up!!

Reid with Papa J.R. and Lala

Two Weeks

2011-02-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Has it really already been 2 weeks? With the sleepless nights, the days have really seem to run together. Could this also be why I forgot to send Addy's Valentine's box and Valentine's with her to her party on Monday? I remembered to send the paper ware for her party, but missed the teacher gifts and "Love Bug" box sitting on top of the refrigerator (to keep Levi from it)that she had worked so hard in making a few days prior. Poor Addy was devastated when she walked in to her class and saw everyone else's box and had to decorate a paper sack. Thankfully, I did notice it about an hour in to her preschool class and did get it delivered to her classroom before the party. I'm hoping that this is not a normal occurring theme for a mom with 4 little ones. Oh, help me now!

Yea! The snow is finally almost melted away. And I am loving the warming weather in the forecast. Jaidyn did make the most of the snow while it was here.

I LOVE my mom! Last week she spent a good three days with us basically just being Cinderella. The laundry was always folded, the dishes were put away, school books were read and of course Reid was really spoiled as every time he would even mutter a little cry she was there to pick him up. And she ran all of the errands so I never had to get out in the icky snow any of those days.

We ventured out for the Super Bowl to one of Wes's coworkers house. This was Reid's first official night out. I was a little worried about having to take 4 kids to someone else's house, but as you can see in the picture, they fit right in. And truly our kids were entertained by all of the older kids and I barely saw them while I was there.

One of my best friends, Lesley and her kids made the trip to see us. It was so nice to just sit around and catch up. I wish we were able to get together more often, but between her kids activities and ours, even when we lived closer, it just didn't happen much.

And Addy tells us that she is going to marry Kory...I'm not sure that he is on board though. :)

Jared & Carrie gave up a Friday night and brought over pizza to get to meet little Reid.

Jill, Ryan & Connor spent last weekend with us. I am so glad they made the 4 hour trip.

The kids are just loving little Reid. Addy goes on and on about how handsome he is. Jaidyn is truly a little mother hen. Levi likes to sit in my lap when I am holding him and gives him kisses.

Just this morning, Jaidyn was reading a book that she picked out at the school book fair last night to Reid.

Yep, I would have to agree with Addy, He sure is handsome! I love this little guy! It has only been two weeks and we already can't imagine our lives without him.

This past weekend we were all able to meet up to give my parent's their 60th birthday (coming up in March) getaway. I think they knew something was up because of us all wanting to meet, it just wasn't an engagement or elopement of one of my two siblings as they had maybe thought. Lol!

(Yea Dad! You have your eyes open!)

(Dad, two pictures in one day with eyes open...Your're making progress!)

Thank you to everyone who sent the kids Valentine's. They love getting mail and loved all of their special treats and surprises. Thank you Lauretta for dropping off the Lasagna meal. It was a perfect meal for Valentine's Day. I didn't have to drag the kids out to eat and I didn't have to cook. And you know it was a success as even Addy ate it and liked it.

Reid Casen Collins

2011-02-04T09:08:00.001-08:00

Our big 9 lb. 4 oz. Blizzard Baby Boy made his way into this world on February 1st at 3:15 PM. Reid's weight would definitely help explain the many leg cramps, back aches and heart burn that I experienced the past few months. His name from Will (as it was planned to be for probably the last 6 months) to Reid was a last minute switch as the epidural drugs made me cave in to the name Wes wanted. We managed to make it to the hospital early in the morning before the big snow and winds and only encountered sleet covered roads along the way. The National Weather Service had headlines out stating that the Ozarks were possibly going to experience the worst blizzard conditions since 1912. Our doctor who hasn't missed a day due to weather since the big snow in 1978 (year I was born) was a trooper as he made it about mid morning to the hospital for the delivery. Due to the weather, Papa J.R. was our only visitor for the day and the others stayed back with the kids as we didn't want anyone out traveling in the dangerous conditions.

Reid is doing well but unfortunately has his days and nights switched. I was able to get 2 hours of sleep this morning from 5 to 7. He felt the need to be up all of the other hours wanting to eat mainly. And I think is already so spoiled that every time I had him sleeping and would put him down in his crib he would immediately wake up and start crying. As long as I hold him he snuggles right up and goes right back to sleep. It is a little before noon and he has been sleeping soundly for about 2 hours now so I am sure I am up for another long night tonight. We had an early morning doctor's appointment this morning to monitor his jaundice level and unfortunately his billi number almost doubled, so we have a lighted blanket that is supposed to be delivered to our house sometime soon to hopefully bring that number back down in the next 24 hours. Since he is a good eater, they feel that he should recover quickly.

The kids giving their soon-to-be brother hugs and kisses the night before his debut.

The view from a window in the hall down from my delivery room. I didn't get to see any part of the blizzard since I was confined to a bed all day in a non-window delivery room and my recovery room had a window with only a roof top view and it was already dark at that point.

As the doctor delivered him, he says "Well, I think you can take back any Preemie/Newborn clothes." 9 lbs. 4 oz.

Reid has lots of proud siblings and grandparents and of course a very proud dad!

Thank you to Papa, Nana and Grandma Penny for keeping the kids for a good three days. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it! And to Papa for shoveling our driveway and deck. In the bitter temps, I am sure that was quite the task. We appreciate all the well wishes and congratulatory emails and postings on facebook. I am sure I will have some more pictures to share very soon!

Cheer Clinic

2011-01-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday at the Nixa Invitational basketball game the girls got to show off their skills learned at the cheer clinic the prior weekend during halftime of the game. And their Papa & LaLa and their two cousins came along to watch.

Stacking the megaphones they received at the game.

Jaidyn and Addy both had "Tropical" spirit days at school this week. They wore Hawaiian beach theme shirts, sunglasses and lei's. And we even had beautiful 60+ degree weather to go with them. However now it is back in the upper 30's and we are expecting a wintry ice mix with snow for the next couple of days. And Tuesday looks to be the worst day so more than likely Baby Boy C is going to make his grand debut in some unpleasant travel weather for visitors. Hopefully our commute early Tuesday morning won't be affected.

~ Caring Kid & 100th Day ~

2011-01-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

Jaidyn celebrated her 100th day of Kindergarten on Monday at school. Some of the days activities consisted of making a fruit loop necklace with 100 fruit loops that they could snack on all day (she made it home with 4 left), an "I'm 100 Days Smarter" crown, eating treats that everyone brought in (Jaidyn brought 100 mini marshmallows), and wearing her 100th Day t-shirt that she made.

I'm not at all crafty, but on Sunday afternoon we managed to find some craft stuff around the house and attached it all with a glue gun. I am not sure what the other kids in class came up with, but Jaidyn was happy with her creation so that's all that matters.

While Levi napped, our afternoon turned in to a mini crafting session of hot gluing, stickers, and painting.

Heading out the door on her 100th Day of Kindergarten!!

And this morning, Jaidyn was recognized for the Caring Kid Award of Integrity for the month of January. Her teacher picked her to receive this. We are so proud of her. Wes, Addy, & Levi got to go to her assembly today, while I attended my doctor's appointment. Here she is showing of her Nixa Elementary Caring Kid necklace.

And after watching Peter Pan today, Addy (Peter Pan) & Levi (Captain Hook) had a battle of their own...

And today's last doctor appointment before the big day next Tuesday went well. We are still right on track to induce on Tuesday morning. I filled out my admittance paperwork this afternoon so that I won't have to worry about that Tuesday morning. I also found out I have to attend a one hour epidural interview class. Seriously?? This will be the third time choosing this type of anestesia, I really don't think at this point that it is necessary to sit through this. Blah!

False Alarm

2011-01-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I started getting fairly routine contractions and they lasted all afternoon and in to the early evening hours so I assumed that maybe they weren't just Braxton Hicks and actually the real thing. I made it uncomfortably through church last night and I finally started getting some of those last minute things done...laundry folded and put away, dishwasher loaded, all trash taken out of bathroom, desk organized...just in case. We put the grandparents on standby so that they wouldn't be alarmed to be receiving a phone call from us in the middle of the night. I took a hot shower and laid down in bed for awhile as sometimes this is supposed to help subside the contractions...and it worked. So apparently they weren't the real thing, but they really felt like the start of the real ones, much like the ones that I experienced with Jaidyn. Maybe I am just overly anxious...:) So as of today, 9 more days until the 1st of February.

I had to beg Wes to paint my toenails so I wouldn't have ugly toes in the hospital...Big Mistake! His toenail painting skills are horrific and after two I had him get the polish remover. I ended up doing it myself and being that I can barely reach my toes they don't look good, but anything looks better than the painting they first were receiving.

ETA: Jaidyn just woke up and was extremely disappointed to see Wes and I still home. She was hoping to see one of her grandparents and getting to take a trip to the hospital this morning.

Snow Day!!

2011-01-20T12:51:00.001-08:00

This was the girls first official snow day of the school year. I received an automated call around 5:30 announcing the cancellation of school so we were all able to sleep in a little and enjoy the morning at a relaxed pace. Thankfully, Wes has an evening shift tonight for work so he was able to take the kids outside for some morning snow play time. I never made it out of the garage and only went that far to get some pictures and take some video. I did have hot chocolate waiting for when they decided they had had enough of the cold and wanted to come back in. I'm just not a fan of the cold and with my watermelon sized belly there always seems to be a draft coming in under my shirt and coat.

Jaidyn and Levi hung out in front of the kitchen window for a while to watch the snow fall.

Addy found a cozy spot on the couch to watch some Disney Channel.

All bundled up!!

Snowballs in hand!!

Climbing back up the hill.

Jaidyn eating snow!

Brrr! Everyone has rosy cheeks!

Jaidyn showed Daddy and Levi how to make coffee filter snowflakes like she did at school last week. We now have the fridge decorated in festive snowflakes!

On Tuesday, we had girls night out. Jaidyn had received tickets to the Strega Nona musical as a reward from the summer reading program. So Nana, Jaidyn, Addy and I enjoyed an evening eating out at the Red Robin and watching the show. The girls loved it!! Since they enjoyed it so much, we have purchased tickets to the upcoming Beauty & The Beast Broadway musical coming up before Valentine's Day for the entire family (I am hoping our soon-to-be newest addition will cooperate for the evening). Nana & Papa are going to join us too...I wonder if Nana has told Papa about his Valentine's Day surprise? I am sure he wouldn't want anything more than attending a musical. :)

Jaidyn's teacher helped her check out the Strega Nona book from the school library and Nana read it to them before we left.

Feasting at the Red Robin

Just a few more pics from the week...

I am trying to bribe Levi with Disney Cars to get him to sit on the potty. He'll sit but is still unsuccessful with getting any in the potty.

The kids were able to attend a Richland friend's birthday party at Jump Mania. It is always so much fun getting see everyone. They played so hard which can be noted by their sweaty hot cheeks.

Jaidyn lost her other front tooth...just hearing her talk sometimes is kind of funny. And Addy is about fed up with Jaidyn racking up all the dough from the tooth fairy and has started trying to wiggle her front teeth.

Ever wonder what "Tourist Dorothy" would look like? Addy had black socks on with her outfit for preschool and later that evening when she changed in to dress-up clothes she came upstairs to show us how cute she looked (Or at least she thought she was cute). Wes and I laughing at her didn't go over so well.

Wes took the kids to Bass Pro one afternoon so I could get out and about and run errands kid free. He bought them all a hat. Levi wouldn't cooperate for a picture, but he sure looks cute in his.

~ Staying Indoors ~

2011-01-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Due to the cold temps, especially with the bitter wind earlier in the week and the tiny bit of snow we received, I took advantage of every opportunity to stay inside. Unless it was getting out to take or pick up the girls from school or to get groceries, most of the week was spent at home. Wes worked some odd hours this week, so he was able to help me with some of the school trips, which was nice.

This past Tuesday I had my weekly doctor's appointment. I haven't progressed any (other than I gained 3 pounds in one week, Ugh!) and Baby Boy C is still hanging out way high, so February 1st still looks to be the date. Him hanging out so high would explain the horrible burning sensation that I am feeling on my tummy just underneath my chest. It just feels like someone is constantly pulling and stretching the skin right there and it is painful at times. Only 16 more days...I can handle it, but then I am sure there will be other pains to take it's place.

Today I braved the mall with both Levi and Addy to use some of my Christmas money to buy a new purse and wallet. I was in dire need...my current one had cracked straps and strings hanging off it. It has found a lovely new home straight in the trash can. And even know it wasn't the most enjoyable shopping trip, I managed to find a purse I love at the expense of using the bribery of taking several trips up and down the escalators to get them to cooperate and follow me around to several stores while I made my decision. Levi kept saying, "Whoa, that was fun!" and then point to the other side so we could do it again.

Addy has also qualified for speech therapy services at her new preschool. She starts next week and will be doing two sessions weekly while she is at preschool. I am so glad as I really think this will boost her confidence. She will be doing it with another girl from her class and I am sure she will think she is getting special treatment getting to go do something different than most of her class.

Painting kept them busy for at least an hour while I continued to tally receipts, etc. to file our taxes this year. I'm trying to get it all finished before February 1 so that all I have to do is add W2's and other tax info that comes in the mail between now and then. Now that Levi's adoption is finalized we can apply for the Adoption Tax Credit! Woohoo!! And on a political note...I knew I liked President Obama for a reason...as it was his staff and his new health care reform bill that kept the adoption tax credit around for adoptive parents (not only kept it, but increased it and made it a refundable tax credit). This makes adoption a viable option for many families who may otherwise be unable to afford to adopt and help place children in homes from both foster care and places around the world. So while the health care bill isn't perfect, it is a start in the right direction.

Addy thinks that she is a real-life musketeer. You should see her spin moves before whacking Levi with the sword...

And then magically she transforms from a fierce musketeer to a sweet princess.

I love trying to fix dinner alongside Levi drumming on the bowls I have set out.

Why can't Levi and Addy find an activity like Jaidyn? So quietly playing on her Nintendo DS.

~ Welcome 2011 ~

2011-01-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking that the girls just looked darling headed out to school this morning. If only I had a pair of animal print pants for Levi!! Ha! Addy has been wanting to wear her hair in pigtails a lot lately. She looks quite spunky sporting the pigtails.

Yesterday Addy didn't have preschool so she and Levi spent the morning playing dress-up. Levi has some boyish dress-up clothes but always seems to go for the Snow White dress or the Wizard of Oz Dorothy. He does make a pretty Asian Dorothy...scary!!

And I am down to the last month before Baby Boy C makes his arrival and have started the weekly baby doctor appointments. I gave my doctor the "I am a planner and always have a plan with everything written in my calendar" sob story and he just laughed and said, "oh, you are one of those and I would hate for you to be stressed out on delivery day" so we set February 1st for Baby Boy C to make his debut unless of course he would come on his own before then. It's only a few days early from my due date, but I'll take it. And I like seeing that date in red lettering in my planner. :)

2010 Christmas

2010-12-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

While Christmas almost seemed rushed because of our move, the days that we spent celebrating with our families was nice and relaxing. The weather cooperated and we were able to enjoy activities as planned.

Grandma Penny came early to do Christmas at our house with the kids. Spreading our Christmases out really lets the kids enjoy their gifts and time with each of the families.

She made each of the kids an apron and pot holder set...perfect for her visits as she is the cookie making queen!

MIZ-ZOU!!! Go Missouri Tigers!

The kids were so funny crawling in the cabinet. I am sure I will always enjoy this picture as they seem to grow so fast and it won't be long before these days that they can squeeze into these places will be over.

Our new house...the sun was in our eyes so I am not sure if any of our eyes were actually open.

Papa and Nana spent the night at our house as the building of the dog house was much more of a task than he had planned for. The kids took advantage of all the cuddle time the next morning.

Cowboy Levi on his stick horse...Giddy-up!!

The girls and I enjoyed putting all of the Lego City Advent Calendar pieces together. Two hours later...we took the kids out in their pajamas to look at Christmas lights. Addy and Levi fell asleep about 15 minutes in to the drive. We stopped at a gas station to get a fountain drink because Jaidyn was thirsty and she and Wes went in to get it. Meanwhile, I locked the van doors because Wes left it running with Levi, Addy and I in it. Friends pulled up beside me so I got out and shut the door, thus locking Levi and Addy in the van. To make a long story short...despite the knocking on the windows, rocking the van, or honking the horn of the friends truck we were unsuccessful in waking up Addy to reach up and unlock the van door. Freezing outside for about 30 minutes we had to wait until the tow truck arrived for his 15 seconds of magic to unlock the doors.

Christmas at Papa and Nana's

Approximately 5 more weeks before Baby Boy Collins arrival!

Wes told Jaidyn that if she pulled her front top tooth he would give her $5. That's all it took as she pulled it within about 2 minutes (maybe next time he should check his cash flow before making any promises as he neither he or I had $5 and he had to take a loan out from Nana). And Grandpa Plassmeyer also pulled out $5 from his pocket (I should have been sending my teeth to his tooth fairy and my dad said the most he ever got was a dime). Jaidyn really made out well with this tooth since it was Christmas Eve and both Santa and the Tooth Fairy were visiting our house.

Christmas morning at our house.

Looking for tags with their names on them so they can continue to stack on their pile.

Jaidyn and her new DS from Santa...Santa was a little late (very late) in getting this gift and had to order it Dec. 23rd with overnight shipping. The one game cartridge ordered was missing from our porch when we returned home Christmas Eve night...Ray had drug it off the porch and chewed the box leaving the game out in the freezing rain and snow all night. Thankfully, the game was still in the plastic wrap and wasn't ruined.

All of the twisties and taping of every single child gift is so annoying. It takes forever to remove something from the box.

Christmas at Papa JR's and Lala's House.

The Thomas The Train wooden track set was a huge hit with the boys. We only opened and set up one and considering they are both only two years old, they were really good about sharing it.

I need to get out and run some errands as the temperature is supposed to drop from about 60's to below 30 degrees in the next few hours. Wes is working a late shift tonight so the kids and I will be ringing in 2011 together, which probably means a couple of redbox movies and in bed and asleep by 10:00. Sounds exciting, huh! Happy New Year!

December Happenings

2010-12-18T13:42:00.001-08:00

Yea!! We are finally moved in to our new house. And we actually appear to be unpacked, that is until you open the door to the garage...So we will continue to find a home for the things in the garage one box at a time and actually wait for a warmer day to be out there organizing the rest of it. We still need to bring the dogs from my parents house as we are still trying to find the best place to house them but I am sure they aren't too upset as they are being spoiled by my mom. The girls had a nice week at their new schools and after a couple of days next week they will be on Christmas break.

I have lots of pictures to share from the month of December since I have been too busy to post them before now.

Jaidyn continues to loose a couple more teeth this month and now her two front teeth are extremely loose, so it has been quite fun to tease her with the "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" song. She is well on her way towards a toothless grin!!

The girls were able to sing in the Preschool/Kindergarten music Christmas program at their school before we left. They were center front on the risers and I must say we were all quite impressed with their stage presence. They were extremely animated on the song actions and Jaidyn even had a 2 line speaking part that she was thrilled to get to do. I would have crawled in a hole growing up (and to this day would still hate it) if I would have had a speaking part.

Jaidyn and her Kindergarten teacher. Both Addy and Jaidyn had wonderful teachers at their school in Richland. We can't be more pleased with the experiences that they encountered while at the school for a short 5 months.

Addy and two of her preschool buddies.

She's Six!! On December 3rd, Jaidyn celebrated her 6th birthday. The day was bittersweet as it was also her last day at her old school. She opened her presents before school while waiting for Papa to make her waffles for breakfast. Wes made a quick morning run to pick up the donuts I had ordered for her to take for her class to enjoy at snack time that day. Jaidyn's teacher also made it a very special day for her letting her eat lunch with her and giving her a birthday gift.

Lots of fun stuff to open...pillow pet, art set, electronic bank, Teacup Piggies Goldie, books, an American Girl gift certificate and a doll outfit.

An art set from Aunt Charlene

A Penguin Pillow Pet from Grandma Penny.

A big plush bear, chapstick, and bracelets from her Kindergarten Teacher, Ms. Beth.

Kindergarten Classmates

Acting normal!!

Jaidyn with the Kindergarten class next door.

Jaidyn with the Kindergarten teacher next door (And her son was her boyfriend...or at least the boyfriend of that week).

Nana got Jaidyn a yummy chocolate ice cream cake which we decided to dig in to before dinner time.

Caught in the act...licking the bottoms of the candles.

Jaidyn picked Tuna as her birthday dinner...who picks Tuna as their birthday dinner?? Let alone what 6 year old picks Tuna. Blech!

To give Wes and I a day to work at the house along with my Dad and Wes's Dad, Nana took the kids to an elementary school fundraiser "Breakfast with Santa".

After waiting in a long line to get a breakfast of sausage and pancakes, the kids decided all they really wanted was a donut.

Hanging out with the Hough kiddo clan.

I'm not sure how much cookie decorating Levi did as I am sure he was way more interested in the eating of the cookie.

Ornament making

By this time, Addy was in one of her moods...can you tell?

Jaidyn baking banana chocolate chip muffins with Nana so we would all have something to grab and eat on moving day morning.

Papa is getting pampered as Jaidyn was so generous in giving out her massage services. I even got a couple. Although, I think she had an alternative motive as she was also wanting to collect some funds to put in her electronic bank.

And thanks to Lauretta and Haley, we have a Christmas tree up in our house. It is nice sight to be able to see a sparkling Christmas tree set up as I really didn't know when I would get it done.

Jaidyn must have been pestering Papa J.R. as he has her in a head-lock.

This past week Wes's Grandparents stopped by to see the new house and the kids on their way to Texas for the winter.

I'll try to have some pictures of the house in the next post as I have had several people asking when I was going to get around to do it...someday soon, I hope. :)

Video Emails from Santa

2010-12-16T16:37:00.000-08:00

I just have to share with all of my friends who have kids...My sister sent me this link to make personalized email videos from the Portable North Pole from Santa to each of my kids. It is so cool. It only took me about 15 minutes to enter all 3 kids. They loved getting their own personalized email video from Santa.

Here are the three that I made for each of the kids. Jaidyn is so excited to tell her class tomorrow that she received an email from Santa. Addy and Levi wanted to watch theirs over and over. Levi was even having a conversation back with Santa.

Levi:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/V_aLQuqFqtU4LCdbzlkR-g

Addy:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/t0GQHwytRKN36chlZGXSeg

Jaidyn:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/EYnK2HEyHIRuLoFgIt62OQ

I have lots of pictures to post in the next couple of days as the move into the new house has taken up any extra time or energy that I may find. We hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas holiday season!