Family Days - 2013

Back in June (yes, I'm that far behind!) DJ's company held Family Days instead of hosting a company picnic. 

They had jump castles, face painting, a dunk tank, BBQ and the best part - a real engine! I love this picture because Taylor has a death grip on DJ! She was so scared being that high up. 

Taylor was so excited to finally see where Daddy really works. She's always asked him if she could get inside an engine with him and now she finally had the chance. She looks so cute sitting in the "driver" seat! 

She got to see all the buttons Daddy gets to push, how the brakes work and the computer monitors Daddy watches. She doesn't look it in this picture but she really was happy to be there. 

She's so tiny next to that big engine!

On our way home we stopped by Little Man - just because we were in the area :o) 

Show N' Share

I am seriously slacking when it comes to blogging lately. Everything has been so hectic lately that the blog has had to take the back seat to life. I think after the holiday I will finally be able to get things caught up. I've said that before though haven't I? :o)

Last Friday Taylor took Madison to school for Show N' Share (same as show n' tell). It was so sweet. Jess met us at the school and as soon as they got there Taylor just lit up. In fact, she cried when I told her Jess wouldn't be there at noon but she would come later in the day. She sure loves her little cousin! 

It was so cute to hear all the little questions the kids asked - "how long have you had her?", "where did she come from?", "is she yours now, Taylor?". Love those little minds!! 

I was so happy we got to take pictures of it and Jess even recorded some of it. I have a feeling these two girls will be very close growing up. It will be fun showing these pictures to both of them in a few years.  

More posts soon to come! I have so much to share ;o)

Madison Brielle

I've been needing to post this for awhile but I am so happy to announce I have another niece!

Madison Brielle

May 28, 2013

5:31pm

5lbs 5oz

17 1/2 inches

She is so much tinier than I ever remember Taylor being - even though I know Taylor was 3 pounds heavier. It's amazing how much you forget. I always said I would remember everything. I don't. And Madison doesn't do anything to help this baby fever of mine! I love that newborn smell!!

Madison came 3 weeks early but man, she was ready. We're all so happy to have her here. I think Taylor is most excited (besides Jess, of course). Madison was born on a Tuesday. On Wednesday we weren't able to make it to the hospital to visit them and Taylor cried most of the evening that she missed her cousin and just wanted to see Madison. 

She is such a tiny bundle of joy. We've already had some quite memorable bonding experiences :o) I'll have lots of stories to share with her when she gets older. 

Celebrations of all kinds . . .

This month we have been doing a whole lot of celebrating around here!

We started the month off by celebrating the upcoming birth of a new little one by throwing Jess a baby shower. We were so busy the entire time that I didn't take any pictures! Thankfully a very thoughtful friend of Jess' took over for me and got some good ones. Thanks Courtney!

A certain someone was next to her the whole time playing "Vana White" with all of the gifts. She is over the moon about having a cousin near by!

The very next weekend we got to celebrate Mother's Day a little more low key. I was so happy to be planting flowers with my little helper. It was an amazing way to celebrate!

A few days later we celebrated Preston's High School Graduation Ceremony

I need to find a better copy of this picture where Paul is caught smiling! Unfortunately it started raining after the ceremony so we rushed to get as many pictures as we could.

And this weekend we will celebrate with a real party. :o) It's a busy weekend but so many great things are going on! It's filled with great family time, catching up with friends and ending with me running another 10K. I may need to rest up before Friday evening rolls around . . . 

One Happy Girl!

Technically there are two happy girls in this house. I couldn't be happier to have my little family all together under one roof again and Taylor is over the moon about having her Daddy back. I have grown used to DJ's crazy work schedule with all the traveling he does but I always know that the longest he will ever be away from home is 24-48 hours. Yes, he gets called out to work at the strangest times and we live our life with him being on call 24/7/365. It's not a lifestyle most people could handle. When my sister was here she said she never realized exactly how bad his schedule was but after seeing it first hand she gets it and doesn't know how we do it.

After 3 long weeks my Mr. is finally home! He left home January 6th to attend the first portion of the Engineer program. He's spent the last three weeks in Kansas City going to class preparing to become an Engineer. He's been upgraded from a Conductor to a Student Engineer. DJ still has lots of training and studying left and will be home for a while now (but still working on-call). I am so glad he doesn't have to take extended business trips on a regular basis but the absence does make the heart grow fonder :o) 

He had a good time while in Kansas City. The class left him with a couple hours of homework every night but he did get the weekends to himself. He and the guys got to enjoy lots of good BBQ, went to visit the Kansas City terminal and hang out. Last Saturday my cousin Scott, who lives in the area, took him out for lunch and they spent the afternoon together. Scott even told me that they went house hunting and found the perfect house for us for when we relocate :o) That's a possibility but may not be for a few years. I still thought it was cute that they went house hunting.

While he was gone we used FaceTime a lot. He and Taylor got to eat breakfast together over FaceTime and we even played Candy Land as a family one night. It was very sweet and made it feel like he really wasn't that far away. It felt so good to lay in bed next to him last night. It's something you really take for granted. When Taylor woke up this morning the first thing she did was give him a kiss while he was still sleeping. I love this family I have so much.

Now that DJ's back at home he'll still be working but he'll also have a lot of studying to do. He and I will be hitting the books together :o)

 

Kara and Stew - The End

I just realized in my absent mindedness I forgot to finish blogging about the rest of our visit with Kara and Stew. Oops! So here goes . . . 

On New Years Day we spent the morning working on laundry and just sort of relaxing around the house. We had plans to go downtown that night to look at the Christmas lights and then head over to the zoo lights. It was so cold! 

I wish this picture of Kara and Stew came out better!

Taylor was in heaven! She was bundled up like the little boy in A Christmas Story and got to hang out in the wagon just chowin' down on Kettle Corn!

It was the first year we'd ever seen ice sculptors there! So amazing!

My two favorite people . . . 

We all had a great time baring the cold weather but we were happy to get to the end. When we got home we got all comfy, grabbed blankets and ate dinner on the couch while watching a movie. 

The next morning they had to head back to sunny Hawaii. I was so sad to see my sister go. It was the best feeling just having them in the house with us. I can't wait for Kara and Stew to move close to home so we can always get together. We miss you both!

Happy Birthday Jessica!

I know it's late in the day but I still needed to get this out there. . .

Happy Birthday Jessica!!

Today Jess celebrated another birthday while Carrie and Paul felt old lol :o)

But I just didn't want to share the news of Jess celebrating her birthday. I've been biting my tongue and not saying anything on here until she and Gabe were able to share this exciting news with everyone first. But I think I've waited long enough. . .

(see the little hand above its head?!?)

Soon Taylor will have another little cousin to play with and DJ and I will be an Uncle and Aunt again! They haven't found out the gender of the baby yet but Taylor is banking on a girl!

Congratulations Jess and Happy Birthday! You're going to make a great mommy! 

New Years Eve 2012

New Years Eve was such a great time! After we took Kara and Stew to the Aquarium we all went home to relax before a fun night out.

Our dear friends Kristin and Ted were throwing a kid friendly New Year's Eve party. The guys and Taylor took naps while Kara and I made No Bake cookies, Spinach Artichoke Dip with homemade Flat bread for dipping.

Taylor was so excited to get to stay up late and play with the other kids that were going to be there. They all had their favorite jammies and Kristin even had a balloon game they got to play. We all played darts, pool and talked . . .a lot!

Ted travels a lot for work, just like DJ and our friend Eric so it was very special to have all three guys home at the same time. Ted got much better pictures that I did throughout the night so as soon as I get the really good ones I'll be sure to post them too!

We loved having Kara and Stew with us to celebrate!

Can you tell Taylor was in heaven?

We didn't think DJ was going to be home for New Year's Eve. I was soooo excited when I found out he wouldn't be working. It meant I'd get to kiss him one more time on New Year's Eve. We've kissed at midnight for the past 7 years and I didn't want to stop that tradition this year!

I know Ted got a better version of this picture but I couldn't help it. So excited to get a picture with me and the girls! They all help keep me sane :o)

 It was a perfect night. Great food, so many fun things happening and we were even in bed earlier than usual! I hope everyone enjoyed ringing in the New Year as much as we did!

Kara and Stew - Part II

OK, I haven't posted a lot like I said I would simply because Blogger is giving me one heck of a time! I have to go through an extra little step (time consuming) to add pictures now. I know it's worth it because I get to document all the special memories of our everyday life but jeez!

Anyway . . .

When Kara and Stew were here Sunday was a 'hang out and visit' type of day. Football was on, we were going to have snack food all day and we had a slew of visitors coming to see them.

Taylor and Kara are so cute in their matching jersey's!

Stew made us his fire-roasted salsa guacamole. Not sure if that's what he calls it but that's what I've been referring to it as. And let me just say. . . I tried it and could have cried it was so hot! Taylor was his little helper in the kitchen.

We spent the rest of the day eating French Dip sandwiches, watching football and catching up. Joel and Ranee came and Kara's best friend growing up came with her family. The girls all got roped into painting Taylor's new tea set.

New Years Eve was a little more exciting. We went down to the Downtown Aquarium since Kara had never been there.

Taylor told us all that this stingray was reading the sign. I love how her little mind thinks!

This fish was just laying right on top of the glass and it was not very pretty on the bottom side.

I was shocked that Taylor even got under there with Kara.

This one is on here for Kara. She loved these little guys.

The lady we spoke to wasn't sure if this stingray was protecting this sack of eggs or if it was eating it. I wasn't sure I wanted to find out!

Taylor totally photo bombed Kara and Stew on this one!

After the aquarium we headed to the Ale House for lunch. Such good food! I tried a PB&J Bacon burger. Sounds gross but it was sooo good!

Celebrating New Years Eve that night deserves its own post for another day!