Heaven....or HELL!?!?!?!

The trip....well I will just tell you I don't know what we were thinking. Honestly. Were we high on crack we didn't know we had taken when we planned this?

I am glad that I am optimistic and hopeful and think of all of the positive attributes of my children while planning a vacation, (instead of all the missed naps, temper tantrums, random crying, sauciness, frustration, me getting angry about all the insanity and then feeling like a bad mother for yelling at her children during all of the ensuing madness). But...it would be helpful to remember some of them. I tend to have rose colored glasses when planning trips and I just think how many wonderful, fun, memory-making times we will have together. The reality is very different. I need to remember the WORK involved in a trip.

I'm not saying that I have not had fun. I have. We have had some very great times and I really appreciate them. I am grateful how after some time, most bad memories fade a little and good memories grow a little. Maybe in 6 months I will be telling everyone what a great trip this was. We'll see. I miss everyone. I miss my house and my washer and dryer, my family and friends, my daily life grind that I so desperately wanted and needed to get away from. I am ready to be home right now.

5

We decided to do a cousin-only birthday party for Aidan, since it gets too crazy with a million friends. I found a great coupon for Chuck E Cheese's so we just took a cake he asked me to make,(white with chocolate-sour cream frosting)and had the kids eat pizza and play. I think Aidan had a really great day. He was celebrated in pre-school, we took him to his choice of lunch, (Red Robin) and then took him to Build-a-Bear Workshop to pick out an animal. He named it Kaden, which he says is his favorite name and he is going to name his little boy that when he grows up. It's hilarious. After that he got to go to Chuck-E-Cheese's. What a fun day! I am so grateful for this sweet, loving, amazing little boy and for the joy he brings into our lives.

The gang

best buds Aidan and Tyson Sienna, Kaitlyn, and Savanna

Kaitlyn, Ty, and Aidan

grownups get to have fun too!

29

This is forever late, but my 29th birthday was on February 19th. For some crazy reason, I kept thinking that I was turning 30. It would drive Spence crazy whenever I would say that, but I finally got it into my brain. Spencer had to work, but my sweet little brother Paul decided that I had to have a birthday party. I originally thought just he and Kelsey were going to come over, but he invited my brother, Robert and his wife, Michelle, my parents, and even Shannon, Tyson, and Savanna were able to come. It was so fun. He brought hats and a cake and just his fun self. It was a great day.

The kids in full party gear

Shan, me and Kelsey

Growin' little ones

I took Aidan and Madelyn to the pediatrician's office today for their well-child visits. They are both doing very well. I just wanted to post their stats so I can remember everything.

AIDAN:
Height: 43 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 41.1 pounds (50th percentile)
He has been in the 50th percentile his ENTIRE life. Crazy!

MADELYN:
Height: 30.3 inches (15th percentile)
Weight: 21.2 pounds (10th percentile)
Her head measures in the 50th percentile.

Little baby. She was sick and lost some weight last week and I feel bad that she is so tiny. How do I get her to eat?

Robert's Wedding

Robert and Michelle

The nieces and nephews
My little brother, Robert, got married a few weekends back but I was waiting for pictures before I posted. It was a big surprise, since we thought they were getting married in April. I was texted on Wednesday night telling me about their wedding that Saturday at 9. Crazy!
(Not that I don't know anything about spontanious weddings!
If you don't know what I am talking about, ask. It's a pretty funny story, but don't believe what Spencer says about it. He is known to embellish it quite a bit.)

It has only been me and my older brother, Dave, who are married for many years, so it's nice to have them join the crowd. My other brother Paul will get married in May. It will a bunch of old married people pretty soon.

I still don't have the main picture that I wanted, but I will try to explain so you can see it in your head. It was totally random that they dressed this way, but my Mom wore orange since it was one of Michelle's colors and Michelle's mom wore a very nice blue outfit, but they just happened to be the same colors that reminded me of something. Please know that I am not making fun of anyone with this. I am just pointing out that the coincidence was funny.

Picture this:
The bride's mother in a blue pantsuit and the groom's mother in an orange outfit, exactly the same shades of the tuxes worn by Lloyd and Harry in Dumb & Dumber. They looked very nice, but it just reminded me of the movie. It is hilarious. One day I will steal it off of Paul's' camera and post it, even if my mom might kill me. (I love you mom!)

The pictures

After...

Spencer said something stupid about it not being blond enough, but we were just glad that the color lifted out evenly and ended up a pretty color. It always takes some time to go really blond after being so dark. I will post more pictures as I style it different ways. I can't even say how much I love it and am so glad that I did this.

Karin, you are seriously the BEST!!!

School

For the last several months I have been putting a list together of all the accredited Nurse Anesthetist programs for Spencer to apply to and seeing what will fit with us; the timing we want, the requirements needed to apply, where we might actually want to live . It is a very time consuming process, since there are over 100 on the list. We have narrowed it down to 10 schools; 5 in Pennsylvania, 3 in Ohio, and 2 in Minnesota. I didn't necessarily have a preference,(well, Minnesota is obviously less desirable than PA or OH) I just wanted him to get in somewhere.

Last Monday we found out Spencer's brother, Jeff, was accepted into his #1 choice of Pediatric Dental School residency program, Penn, which is in Philadelphia. It is an Ivy League school and very prestigious. It was so awesome for him to get accepted there. We are extremely proud of him and his hard work. He is truly amazing and we are so grateful to have him as part of our family.

As he was talking to Spencer about the school and then its name, I realized that his school was our #1 choice. I didn't know much about a lot of the schools besides their requirements and application process, (the names and cities all kind of blurred together after a while), but I knew there was one in Philadelphia and Penn happens to be it. We had no idea that they had applied there. So I am going nuts now, hoping that Spencer will get in there more than any of the others. It would be so nice to move across the country and have family around.

The problem is that Penn is so competitive and the odds of Spencer getting in are very slim. It is one of the hardest schools to get accepted to in the country. If he doesn't get into Penn, hopefully he could still get into another Pennsylvania school so we could be relatively close to family. We will have to see what the Lord has in store for us. Just had to share this!

Cruisin'

I am so excited!

Spencer, who is a total cruise fanatic, found a cruise line that lets kids go free, always! So we just booked a cruise for a week for the 5 of us for the price of just Spencer and me (and a cheap price at that!). The price on airfare varied a lot, and it ended up being cheaper to just fly out 2 days before and fly home 3 days after, even with hotel and rental car costs. (Trust me, I know. I spent a LOT of time researching. I am a total bargain hunter). We should actually be able to spend some time in the fun and sun in Florida besides the cruise. We will leave on March 19th and come home on the 31st. Our cruise stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and the Dominic Republic. 12 days of vacation. I can't wait! Thanks babe for working hard to build up a cruise fund.

Retreat

For the last 4 years a bunch of us from the neighborhood and ward get together in January and go up to Birdseye to a house we rent. We spend Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon scrapbooking, playing makeup, eating delicious food and treats, playing games and staying up until 5:30 in the morning talking. It is so much fun and very re-cooperative for the soul. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Games and treats (a recurring theme)

Killer bunnies is super fun!

Rock Band!!

Hmmm. I guess I forgot to get pictures of scrapbooking, which we actually did do some of. Maybe someday I will post some pictures of some of my favorite pages that I have done.

I'm so tired

I was doing dishes and I noticed that the house was really quiet, so I called for Aidan and Madelyn. Aidan came out but Mad never responded and she usually does. I asked Aidan to look for her and he came down and said "You need to come see what Baby is doing in her room." I told him to just tell me, but he insisted that I come look. This is what I found:

She must have pulled off the cushion to the chair, climbed up and fell asleep. Adorable.