Timberrrrrrrrrr!!!

Josh had his first official sleepover at a friend's house. He was so excited. We had a little countdown during the week and every morning at breakfast he would ask how many days until the sleepover at Harrison's. Needless to say by the time I dropped him off on Friday night he was pretty hyper and I was glad to hand him off.

Honestly...Saturday was blur. It started with the bridal shower and ended with a near drowning. I thought the shower went well. I was exhausted by the end of it and just wanted to get everyone out of my house. Is that bad?

Lauren had fun "entertaining" everyone with her smiles and silliness.



However, as soon as I ushered the last guests out the front door my son was being dropped off. We chit-chatted with Harrison's family for awhile and then they headed off back to their truck. Thirty seconds later they came back to the front door because their truck wouldn't start.

My dreams of grocery shopping, taking a nap and cutting down our huge, dying evergreen tree were smashed.

And that clean house...yeah, that was destroyed by four active children.

Dustin and Heath worked for about four hours on his truck. Meanwhile, I played hostess and worked like "McGuyver" in the kitchen to create a spread for the kids out of rotten apples and hard-boiled eggs. I TOLD YOU I NEEDED TO GO GROCERY SHOPPING!!

I was beaten down by the time Dustin's aunt called and said she was in town with another cousin and her children. They invited us to come and swim at the hotel for the evening. I figured what the hell...the rest of the day had been shot. At least the kids would have fun.

And they did...except for Lauren. She did NOT know what to think about the water. She kept staring at it like it was going to jump up and attack her.




The only time she had any fun was when she ate pizza. And even then she kept her eye on the pool.



The boys had a blast.





Then poor Josh. In the commotion of people arriving to the pool area we lost sight of him for less than 30 seconds. In that time he jumped in the pool and couldn't reach the bottom. Dustin had handed Lauren to me because he couldn't see Josh anymore and by the time he stood up a good Samaritan had jumped in and pulled him out.

He was terrified and we were just as upset. We all learned a very good lesson. We ended up going home after that and thanked God for that woman. We went right out yesterday and bought him a swimsuit with a life vest built in.

Then yesterday was filled with all the tasks we had hoped to complete on Saturday afternoon.

Grocery shopping...check.

Nap...check.

Cut down nasty evergreen tree...check.




The kids and I made sun tea and played outside while the boys worked. It was so beautiful outside and we certainly made the most of it!




Josh finally learned how to pump his legs while swinging!!! Man...what a big day for all of us!!!



And "homegirl" took her car out for a spin (she did not care for her hat).



I'm telling you that with all these signs of summer I am getting pretty excited! We even grilled out last night and tonight I'm making BLT's for supper. Does it get any more "summery" than that?!?!?




Have a great week!!

Believe your eyes!!

I hosted a bridal shower this weekend which meant that every day since the 15th of April I have been busy cleaning, dusting, pitching and sorting. So as a homage to all my hard work I have come up with two reasons for posting these pictures. Reason #1 would be to prove that my house can actually be cleaned for a 20 minute period. Much beyond that time frame things turn pretty much return to mayhem. This particular post is more for me than anyone. It is to document that for one moment in time...my house was organized and cleaned.

Reason #2...to show the finished bathroom remodel (a/k/a "the remodel from hell").

Can you feel the love?

I am physically exhausted. I believe that is one of the many signs that you've had an AMAZING weekend!

We had a very super, duper special weekend planned with Dad and Thomas. They celebrated their anniversary together with a special blessing at church on Sunday and all were in attendance (Great-grandparents and Great-aunt included).

We ate, drank and were merry and in between all that I even squeezed in a trip to IKEA! Does it get any better?

We left the house around 5 am on Saturday. The kids did well. It was a long trip and by the time we got to Albert Lea, Lauren was ready for a break from the confinement of her car seat. So Dad filled up the gas tank and Lauren got to crawl around the van for awhile.



Josh didn't want to give up his reign over the laptop so he stayed put and watched Spongebob Squarepants for almost the entire 4.5 hour car ride.

With so many friends and family in town we ended up staying in a hotel. The kids were in heaven and the beds made it feel like we were in heaven, too. Lauren loved the big, bulky comforters and loved playing "Find Daddy" in the covers.




Josh made a new "best friend". Her name is Emma. And he misses her terribly. They were chased by monsters, trolls and had more jumping competitions than one could stand. While running away from the monsters in the backyard they were too busy trying not to get eaten...and ended up running through every piece of dog poo there was! So...that lead to a much quieter activity...



Then they each made a trophy and spent the rest of the night glued to each other's side.





It was so sweet and I certainly hope that that isn't the last time we can get these two kids together. She is such a sweet little girl and I was so glad he had someone to play with.

Then Sunday. The church service was amazing. The string quartet brought tears to my eyes. I think I could listen to a cello play all day long and not get tired of it. I enjoy worshiping at Dad's church very much for so many different reasons, but since we don't get to worship with our extended family that often yesterday was beyond special to us.

The whole day was amazing. Dad and Thomas hosted a lunch afterwards at the St. Paul zoo for all their family and friends. The food was delicious and we were honored to be included in their day.






We didn't get home until 10:30 last night so today was a bit of a reality check and the exhaustion is setting in. Lauren was very hesitant about getting back into her car seat this morning. But as you know...Mama always wins!

I'm sure they'll each be going to be early tonight...I wish I could say the same.

Ready for summer!

Boy...we've had a few nice days here and I'm starting to get the itch for summer. Grilling, playing outside and all the cute little shorts I got for Lauren make me giddy with excitement.

We do, however, have another reason to be excited for summer...a camper!! After many years of begging, I have finally given Dustin the "go ahead" for a camper. I must admit that knowing it's on its way to Iowa has added to my sleepless nights. The excitement of taking the kids on trips, teaching Josh how to fish, making memories and just the plain ol' family time will be so much fun!

Josh is thrilled and Dustin...well he's beside himself. He carries the pamphlet around with him EVERYWHERE!! He got home late from UPS one night and had it in his hands, dropped into bed and fell asleep only to turn around a few short hours later and take it with him BACK to work. It's shredded (thanks to Lauren) and worn but he stares at it every day. It should be here shortly after the 15th so Dustin and I are both anxious for the 15th to come...but for entirely different reasons.

Josh whipped out his scooter over the weekend. First, he took it outside and went on a walk with Dustin.




Then, that wasn't enough for him. Dustin and I were busy finishing the bathroom and couldn't go outside with him so he decided to bring it inside.




Honestly, I was too tired to even think about scolding him. It kept him quiet and busy so far be it from me to deny him some physical activity.

Speaking of the bathroom, it is almost finished. I cut all the trim and Dustin put his nail gun to use so at least that part is all finished. I have to fill the nail gun holes tonight and hopefully sometime soon we will be able to hang the mirror.

This bathroom has become a thorn in my side that, thanks to the looming deadline of the bridal shower I'm hosting, is festering. Ask Dustin...my pain becomes his pain. That's one of the many joys of marriage.

Miss Lauren is rapidly expanding her shoe collection. I've said it before and I'll say it again....girls are so much fun to shop for!!



I believe I'm passing on my appreciation for shoes to my daughter. I guess there could be worse things.

Car Pool Lane

After going through all of this week's pictures I realized that lately the most time I get to spend with my children is when we are in the car. How did I realize that? Well, when you have 20 pictures from a week and 18 of them are from in the car...it doesn't take much to realize you miss your kids.

Thankfully it will only be for a few more weeks!

Every morning I wake up, hop in the shower and give myself about 30 minutes to find something to wear and "beautify" myself. Then I rouse the kids. I start with Josh because he takes longer to wake up. From the time I say, "Josh....it's time to get up" to the time he actually gets out of bed I have picked out his entire wardrobe for the day, picked up the previous day's clothes off his floor, woken Lauren up and sorted through the massive amount of her clothes to find something for her to wear.

Then I spend the next 25 minutes convincing him to dress himself. Honestly, if I didn't push him every morning it would probably be noon before he got his pants on! By the time I actually get them fed, dressed and in the car it feels like I've run a marathon. So the fact that everyone is still smiling in these pictures is amazing.





Not every car trip is as pleasurable as that one. Lauren's been messing up with everyone's sleeping routine lately so some days I get to listen to this for 25 mintues.



Oh....those are my FAVORITE days!! Those are the moments you honestly wish you were deaf.

Then on top of her screaming you have Josh screaming, "Warren...GET OVER IT!" and "Warren, stop screaming." and "Mom, make Warren stop screaming!"

Given that it's tax season and I'm working a ton of hours Larry and Toni have been taking the kids overnight on Thursdays so that I can go to work at two or three in the morning. The last two Thursdays I have given the kids their baths, dressed them in pajamas and packed them up only to ship them over to Grandma and Grandpa's.





Josh thinks it's the coolest thing ever and Lauren is just happy to go wherever Josh goes. It helps me out a ton and the kids don't even miss me! If only that feeling were mutual. I got home this past Thursday after dropping them off and turned on the TV and the Jetson's movie was on. Between the stress and lack of sleep I started to cry because I missed my kids already. You can't win, can ya?

Other than that....not much else is new. Lauren is standing up on her own more and more each day. Every day I swear she looks more like a little girl and less like a baby. **sigh** Does this ever get easier?

Easter Mania

Well, nothing really exciting happened this week. So I'll just post what you really want...pictures!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter...we did!













Have a great week!