Baby Shower

At the end of June my friend Crystal and I hosted a baby shower for my SIL Stephanie. It was a lot of fun. We made these tissue paper pom poms (which are now hanging in the girls' rooms) to decorate the room. They are so easy to make and really cute. For lunch, we had spinach salad, fresh fruit, a taco ring, a chicken ranch dish and sausage stars. I also made and decorated a pink cake for the occasion. It had layers of chocolate cake with orange chocolate ganache, and white cake with strawberry and whipped cream filling. I made the invitations and found some fabric that matched to use on the tables. It was fun celebrating the upcoming arrival of a little baby girl with friends and family.

Sitting pretty...or should I say handsome!

These were taken Tuesday. We stopped by J&S's to meet our new little niece, Mya. She's such a doll and so tiny. J looked huge next to her. I snapped a few photos of just him as I knew his cast was coming off soon. He's really gotten the sitting thing down well. I can't believe he's six months old already!

We're back!

We've made it back home. We've been here almost a week now. My sister and her two girls just left today. We had a fun time with them this week too. I think my sis did better at photos this week so hopefully I'll have some to share later. Have plenty to blog about from the last few weeks. I'll have to kind of backtrack a little so stay with me.

Today it was hard saying goodbye to Lace and her girls. In fact, I was completely fine until she turned to give me a hug. I actually felt this huge emotional wave hit me; it was quite overwhelming and as the tears welled up in my eyes I could have completely lost it. We couldn't hug for long as her one-year-old was toddling off. We watched them get through security and on their way. As we headed home I began to again think about how much I missed her already and how I wanted to be able to just hug her again. I said this last week too. As we go through our day to day lives we don't have time to stop and think about what we're missing out on, but I had that time today as I drove home and was overcome with some sadness. Even the girls felt it. They are both old enough now to realize they enjoy playing with their cousins. They also realize they have created some fun memories together. And that's what we'll think about until we see them again: the fun memories from this past summer. In fact, Lace and I spent some of the drive to the airport remembering the days growing up--water balloon babies, playing restaurant and grocery store with our cousins and having lemonade stands. Good times.

This week was really jammed packed full. On Monday, J had his six-month appointment. Yes, my baby is six months old! He weighed 18 lbs., oz., but of course that was with his cast. He's probably weighing 17 something. He was around 27 inches long. He's rolling over and sitting up quite well now. And he's eating solid foods! More on all that to come. Lacey took the four girls, ages 5, 4, 3 and 1 to the park, then we all went to Walmart. That afternoon we filled the pool up so the girls could play in the water. On Tuesday, we hired two babysitters for the girls and the two of us (and J Man) went shopping. It was fun just having the day to visit and not worry about the kids. Plus they had a blast with the girls from our church who stayed with them. We ate lunch at Quoda Mexican Grill. I'd never been there, but it was great. Then we hit the sales at Kohl's, Old Navy and Burlington Coat Factory. MJ will be wearing a uniform to school this year so I needed to find a few more things. I also found E and J a few things too. On Wednesday J had another doctor's appointment-this one for his leg. The cast was removed and another x-ray done. The doctor said he had a ton of new bone growth and he got a clean bill of health. So thankful for that. The cast really didn't slow him down much, but it sure nice to have that finished. MJ had gone with her Dad to the county fair and the other girls went to the park again with my sister. After she picked us up we hit a couple more shops around town then headed to the fair for lunch and to watch my BIL show his steer in showmanship. It had been a really cool morning, but by afternoon it hit 100 degrees again. We got home and the girls watched a Veggie Tales movie as we prepared dinner. It was a late night for L and I as we were finishing up selecting photos for her wedding album I'm putting together. It's only been 18 months, but we're finally getting it. When you have more than 1,000 photos to choose from, it gets a little overwhelming!! All in all, it was a great visit. We've discovered all of our girls are very independent. They love to mother each other, but not be mothered. It was neat seeing how they all could play well together (for the most part). We miss you girls already! Thanks for coming to visit.

The one thing I don't care too much for in this blogging set-up is the order of how things post. So, if it seems like I've jumped around or things are out of order, be sure and read through all the most recent posts. I will get everything jotted down soon.

No words, just smiles

Okay, so a few words. We made several visits to my Granddad who is living in a long term care center now. It was hard saying goodbye today, but we are so thankful for all the time that we spent with him this trip. We love you Granddad!!

Coming and going

Yesterday I uploaded tons of photos from the little camera so I'll have lots of posts soon, however today my computer won't connect to the Internet. (I'm using my folks' now but have no access to photos).

This morning as I was getting ready I was thinking about our trip to Kansas. We've had a great time and created many wonderful memories with my family (and my sis and I haven't even started our drive back yet with our five children!) Talk about a chance to create family memories! :) Whether we're all screaming, laughing or crying, it's a trip we'll remember.

As I was thinking about these last couple days we have here, I couldn't help but get a little sad. The kids and I spent the last few days up at my sister's (Josh flew back last Thursday). It was fun to be there at her house and hang out. I helped her rearrange her living room and hang stuff on the walls. I miss that I can't just run up there any time and help her out or that our kids can't play together more than once or twice a year. Don't get me wrong, I love our life in Idaho, but I am sad about all the things we miss by living so far away.

Last Monday we took the kids to the zoo, then did some shopping and finally hit the pool with my brother. It was great-we were the only ones there until the very end. Plus, the pool was designed really well. It's L-shaped going from 2 to 3 1/2 feet, so the girls could touch a lot. Then there is a deep end with a board. All the girls jumped off to Ry and I. They had a blast. We went back to his apartment and had some pizza before heading back to Lace's. It was hard to leave him as I don't know for sure when we'll get to see him again. Hopefully he'll make a trip to see us this fall when his work slows down. Otherwise it may be next summer again. Fortunately, we had gotten to hang out with him the first weekend we arrived. Josh and I went over to my aunt/uncle's to visit friends and listened to him tell stories! I forgot how funny he is; oh the adventures of a young, single guy.

Now when you're living the day to day, you don't really have time to stop and think about being sad, but this morning I had some extra time to think and ponder. As I said, I wouldn't change where we're at or what we're doing, but it's only natural to miss family and friends who are so far away from us. I am thankful my parents gave me roots and wings though. And I am thankful for Josh and the kids, as well as his family and our friends back home. Idaho has become my home too. It will be nice to get back and get into the routine again; however, my time here just feels too short, yet again. My grandma is planning a dinner tonight, so we'll get to see everyone one last time before we take off, so that will be nice.

Some of the fun things we've done here include:
-Jayten tried his first foods
-we went swimming at two different pools
-we went to a couple fairs
-we've gone for several walks
-the girls played with their cousins and lots of toys that were "new" to them
-we visited with my grandparents
-we took a large family photo (the last one was Dec 07 and we've added two babies since then)
-the girls played on a huge water slide in the backyard
-the girls played dress-up with more cousins and friends
-we went to the zoo
-we had lunch with a high school friend and her daughter
-we learned to appreciate the hot and "dry" summers of Idaho as opposed to the hot and "humid" summers of Kansas
-and much more

The girls are getting a little homesick. I don't blame them. They miss their daddy and so do I. Plus we have a new little niece/cousin to meet when we return. It will be great being back home, but for the next two days I'm going to keep enjoying the Sunflower state, my little hometown and my family.

Happy Anniversary

The hubs and I celebrated 7 years of marriage today. I can honestly say that even though we've had our ups and downs, there is no one else I'd rather go through this crazy life with. I can still see us laughing together when we're 80.

We were able to enjoy a nice evening out while my folks watched the kids. We went out for Mexican food in a neighboring town. Mine was really great--thinly sliced seasoned beef on homemade flour tortillas and pico de galo. Yum! Josh ordered a chimichanga and honestly, it looked like the ones we get at Costco and microwave! We both just had to laugh. I did share mine with him and then we headed to Sonic for some dessert drinks. We weren't gone that long, but it was nice to just get away for a few hours. I really love spending time with him. :) When we got back, the kids and I took a walk with my parents and stopped by to see my Grandma. We're having a great time seeing family and hometown friends. We have more visiting to do the rest of the week.

Anyway, here's to many more years together with my hubby. Love you honey!

Heading out

We're heading out to visit family and friends in Kansas this week. Can't wait to see everyone. I probably won't be blogging much, if at all, but will have plenty of updates when we return. Hope everyone is enjoying summer; it's going by soooooo fast!