Happy 1/2-ish Birthday, Ella!

Ella's Birthday falls in the summer and isn't able to celebrate her birthday during the school year. Miss Bortner wanted to celebrate summer birthdays during school so Ella got to celebrate hers a couple of weeks ago. I brought cupcakes, juice boxes, and goody bags for her classmates. They were able to party for the last 20 minutes of school. Ella had fun and the kids enjoyed their treats.

Spring Break

Even Lily got her feet wet!

Ella and Chad playing Dancing with the Stars

Spring Break has come and went. We decided to take a trip to South Dakota while Ella was off from school and before I went back to work full time. The girls hadn't seen Old Grandma since last summer and Chad and I even longer than that. We were worried about the weather and spring snow storms, but we lucked out. The temperature was in the 40's and 50's and was extremely nice for South Dakota! The girls did a lot of swimming! When we book hotels a swimming pool is a must! We stayed in Rapid City, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Rapid City again and then home. We took Chad's parents' van and rode in style! 7 people in the van was a tight squeeze at times, but we managed. The girls had a dual DVD player in back so they watched several movies and loved it!! We did too as it helped the time pass and kept them from fighting so much! Lily did awesome and was the best girl of all!!! She traveled very well and only fussed when she was hungry. It was great seeing Old Grandma and several other extended relatives. The girls had a blast swimming. Abby even got brave enough to go down the big water slides with an adult. She is making progress each time she goes. Ella is just a fish and would swim all day if she could. Thanks Golf Papa and Grandma for a great Spring Break!!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

We celebrated Abby's 3rd birthday on March 8th. She had been looking forward to her "mermaid" party. I don't know how to type how she says it, but it's pretty cute because she can't say her r's very well. We had family come over to celebrate with pizza and cake. Abby loved being the center of attention. Ella had a little bit of jealousy, but did pretty well except wanting to help Abby open presents. Ella even dressed for the occassion in her mermaid costume. Abby had a special treat: Sparky Grandma got to come out to visit for the weekend. Abby always wants her to stay longer, but she didn't have any more vacation days. So...we take what we can get. Abby enjoyed her color wonders, littlest pet shop toys, hello kitty tent, clothes, and other items. It doesn't seem like a birthday without presents when you are a kid, but as a parent more presents means more toys to pick up and so you almost don't want anymore!! We had a great time and Abby is excited that she turned "fwee".

Where does the time go?

Wow! I just realized that my last post was over 3 weeks ago. Where has the time gone? I have been crazy busy and am no longer a stay at home mom where I have a few spare moments during the day to blog. I promise to try to post some more by this weekend. I started back to work pretty close to full time this week. I've worked two days in a row and I am pooped!!! I am so exhausted. I can't wait for the kids to get to bed at night so I can go to sleep. Last week we were gone on vacation to South Dakota to see Chad's extended family. We had a nice time and the girls did a lot of swimming. The weather was nice for South Dakota (40's and 50's), but we missed the beautiful 70 degree weather in Colorado while we were gone. We got to enjoy one day of nice weather when we returned home. The week before last week is just a blur. I don't even know what we did. I have some pictures to post as well. Oh yeah, Abby turned 3 in the midst of it all and my mom came out to visit. Wow, a lot has happened. I have a lot to play catch up on.

Back to the grind

Tomorrow I have to return to work. I'm really not looking forward to it. In fact, I've grown to like being a stay at home mom! Yeah, it gets a little hectic now and then and I want to pull my hair out, but if I had to choose I think I would stay home! Even working only 3 days a week would be nice. Oh well. I'm trying to start back slowly. Only one day this week. I think next week will be two, the following none because we will be on vacation, and then...full time. I've had to do this twice before and it is hard. This time is a little different because I'm still nursing so I get to deal with pumping at work. I'm willing to try it because Lily doesn't like formula so much. It should be interesting. It always feels a little weird going back also. You have been out of the loop and the swing of things, but somehow it all comes back to you, both good and bad. I haven't missed the gossip or babysitting! I have missed the people and the steady income. So, off I go to bed so that I can be rested for the big day! More to post later.

Day trip

Ella thought it was so neat that one landed on her finger!

Abby waiting for the butterflies to be realeased.

Friday my mother-in-law and I packed up the three little girls and ventured to Denver for a day trip. I had wanted to go to the Children's Place Outlet to find some good deals. The wind was blowing really hard that day, but it was a warm wind. We had taken her van and the girls rode comfortably. I couldn't find my big stroller to put the car seat in, but luckily the mall had some to rent. Lily had gas pains and cried the entire time I was trying to shop. It didn't make for a fun time. On top of it all, they didn't have a great size selection so I ended up with only 3 pieces and a couple of hats. I nursed Lily and she was much better! We grabbed some lunch and enjoyed a cinnabon, which I haven't had in forever!! We then trekked to the Butterfly Pavilion. The girls really enjoyed this as well as I. Abby loved looking at the butterflies but screamed anytime one came near her. We then went to Casa Bonita. If you have never been it is quite the experience. There is always a line to get in. They have diving shows and little skits. It is a Mexican restaurant so they have a Mariachi band. There are caves to play in and all sorts of stuff. We finally left Denver at 8 pm only to realize it was snowing! We had a fun day, but it was exhausting.

EARLY Service

We made it to church today!! I think that might be 3 weekends in a row!! We decided to go to early service so that Chad could go straight to work afterwards. 8:30 is when our early service begins, and it is truly EARLY!! I set my alarm for 6, but ended up hitting snooze several times and then turning it off completely. I woke up at 7 and decided we couldn't make it and dozed off again until 7:15. At that point I decided we really needed to go and could make it if we tried really hard. So...45 minutes later and we were out the door. I don't really know how we did it other than Lily slept until I changed her and put her in the carseat. Ella fed her a bottle in the car on the way to church. She can be a really big help when she wants to be. I'm glad we went. It's hard to get up and go sometimes but I'm always glad when we do.