December Updates

Wow, how the time has flown by over the past couple of months. It's hard to believe Christmas is only 2 weeks away! That is really scary considering how much shopping we still have left to do! The kids are pretty much done- they are easy! It's the rest of the family that is much more challenging. The kids are very, very excited to say the least about xmas. I can't wait to see their faces on Christmas morning. Morgan will be so fun this year too because she is older and understands more. She is going to LOVE it!

On another exciting note- the cabin that I spoke of in my last post- our favorite one just north of Wisconsin Dells......... well, it might actually be happening. We finally worked out an agreeable contract and have the home inspection this weekend to make sure there are no major problems with the house. Then, we will be closing sometime before the end of this month! Wow- two mortgages. We are crazy! This cabin/ house is wonderful though. We are looking forward to making many wonderful family memories there. And for anyone interested, we will be renting it out cheap if you are looking for a family get away to Wisconsin Dells. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a great 3 season room which has an air hockey table! The kids will be in there all the time. I hope all goes well with the inspection tomorrow! Fingers crossed! We are planning on spending 3-4 days over New Years at the cabin getting organized and moving some things in. Very exciting time for us!

We will upload our recent family holiday pictures soon and of course I will add some xmas pictures within the next few weeks. In the meantime, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful, happy, healthy 2010!

Trick or Treat

Latest Family Updates
We had a lot of fun this year carving pumpkins with the kids. The loved scooping the mess out and decorating them(and eating the seeds). I was shocked when Morgan actually drew a face on her pumpkin with eyes, ears, nose, mouth and cheeks- all of which were in the right spot. She is only 2.5 years old! She is a genius! Plus, she is starting to wear underwear now- even when we leave the house. I think she has got this potty training thing mastered!

Then, we made it through another FREEZING cold halloween! The kids looked adorable in their Star Wars attire. They lasted about 45 minutes trick or treating which was plenty! Unfortunately we have tons of candy left over and I can bet who will be eating most of it! Darn it!

We had close to 50 people over on Halloween night for our annual party which was a lot of fun! The costumes were hilarious as always. Al and I went as embarrassing 70's "Swingers" which got a few good laughs. We also had a couple H1N1 costumes, Billy Mays and the Mighty Mendit, Shamwow guy, the Travelocity Gnome and so many more funny ones. We spent all of Sunday cleaning the jello shots off the floor. It is so much work to have the party but it is a ton of fun every year. Thanks to everyone who brought along a toy for the toys for tots donation we collect for. Our dining room table is full with toys and we can't wait to donate them later this month.

"Swingers"

On another note, the cabin we fell in love with in Wisconsin didn't work out. I am really upset that it fell through because it would have been so perfect for our family to enjoy for years. Nothing has compared to this one so its very upsetting. We are probably heading up north again this weekend in to look at other cabin options but it is so hard to get over the one we loved. Hopefully we will find something amazing (and cheap!)

Next week I head to Jacksonville Florida for work and I am already thinking about how I will miss my babies so much! Thank goodness its only a couple nights. Al has at least one more business trip too before the holidays which will be 6 nights long.- Lord help me! So much to do before the holidays arrive!!!!! Let the stress begin!

Fall Updates

Life has been busy which explains my lack of blog updates. Here we are already nearing the end of October. Where has the time gone? I can't believe Christmas is literally right around the corner. I need to start shopping now! I am really looking forward to the holidays this year because Morgan is older now and will understand more. She is going to be so much fun to watch open presents. Every time a commercial comes on with girl toys she starts screaming "I want that! I want that!". So cute!


The boys just finished the soccer season and now we are getting ready for Halloween. Lots of prep for the party and every year I ask myself- Why do we we through a party? The kids are counting down the days though and are very excited for trick-or-treating. They are going to be star wars characters and will look so cute!


We did make it to our annual Apple Holler apple picking day a couple weeks ago and had a wonderful time. This is something the kids and I look forward to every year. It is great family time and makes for wonderful memories. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Florida Family Photos

Well our family vacation was WAY back in July and I am finally uploading these professional photos we had taken at our resort in Orlando. It was about 95 degrees out so we are pretty happy the kids cooperated enough to get these pictures.




Other updates- we have a busy weekend ahead starting with soccer tonight, then dinner at a friends house, soccer again tomorrow, and then on Sunday we are visiting with Baby Luke and family. I haven't seen him since he was 3 weeks old and now he is 4 months old so I am sure he will be huge! It will be nice for our kids to see him again too. Then next week Al heads out of town again but at least this time will only be for a few days.

Remembering 9/11

Remembering all who lost their lives or loved ones 8 years ago today. What a horrible day that we will never forget. We are grateful to everyone serving in the military to protect our family and everyone else. My children are safe because of each of you. Thank you and God Bless!

Cards Win 4-3!

We took the kids last night to the Cardinals game in Milwaukee. We tailgated first with our Subway sandwiches and then played at the park outside the stadium before heading into the game. The kids had fun cheering for Albert and their favorite team. Unfortunately, the time Albert hit the home run, we were playing at Bernie's dugout inside the stadium so the kids missed it! We left at the top of the 8th with the Cardinals down by 1 but luckily they pulled through and beat the Brewers! The kids fell asleep on the ride home thank goodness because we didn't get home until almost 11pm! YIKES! I'm exhausted today so I can only imagine how our kindergartner and 2nd grader are doing. Poor kids! Oh well, family memories are more important. Al is only working a half day today and heading back to the game.
Lets hope its a sweep!

Gavin Made the Paper!

So remember the bloody nose Gavin had on the first day of kindergarten? Well, it made the Gurnee Review this week!
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/gurnee/news/1747037,gurnee-kinder-090309-s1.article

They interviewed one of Gavin's classmates- Megan about her first day of Kindergarten and she told the reporter about "a little boy with a bloody nose" (see 2nd to last paragraph.) Here it is, the first time he makes the paper and it's about his bloody nose. (No name or picture which I guess in this case is good.) I think this is totally hysterical and very sad all at the same time.

I survived!

Carson started 2nd grade on 8/26 and Gavin started kindergarten today, and somehow I survived both. Carson's first day was absolutely pouring rain. The morning pictures are not attached yet but I will add them. This one below was after school so the rain finally stopped. Carson loves his teacher so far and is so happy to be back in school with his friends (and his old girlfriend Caitlyn). He was also thrilled to learn that his teacher is a St. Louis Cardinals fan. What a smart lady!


(From my cell phone. Better pics to come.)

Gavin's first day today went "ok". His bus was 22 minutes late this morning which made both he and I crazy! He said "Where the heck is the bus? We have been waiting for like 10 hours!". At least the frustration kept away my tears. Then when he returned- 55 minutes after school got out, he was no longer wearing that cute yellow plaid shirt I put him in this morning- but was wearing the back up one I packed, just in case. The bus driver said he got a bloody nose right after he got on the bus this morning. Poor kid! I am so sad about that. He was probably freaking out and not sure what to do and the horrible mom I am forgot to put tissues in his backpack! I wonder if he was really that nervous to bring on a bloody nose. He seemed fine though and very happy- and HUNGRY. He was ready to go back to daycare for lunch while I had to come back to work without a lunch because his bus was so late! Maybe the diet should start today. :(


Gavin before getting on the bus. (Pre-bloody nose)

Morgan- just because.

I am glad I survived today but the rest of this week is just as stressful and crazy. Why the heck did I make a Lifesource appointment to donate blood tonight? Now I can't have a glass of wine later. Oh well, gotta do my good deed to save lives. On Saturday I have to be at two places at once for the boys soccer games. Thank God Grandma is able to help out. Then, I am solo with the kids Friday through Sunday as Al will be out of town for his "guy weekend". I am totally jealous even if I shouldn't be. Of course I want him to have fun but for those of you who don't know my hubby, he has a guys night every single Monday night year round so forgive me if I'm a little bitter. Still love you honey. Just get home ASAP on Sunday! Thank God it's a long weekend so we will at least have Monday all together. I need another vacation already!

School is Starting...... Sniff, Sniff

I am so emotional right now! Carson starts 2nd grade tomorrow and I can't hardly stand it. To top it off, I have to go through all this again next week when Gavin starts Kindergarten on 9/1. I am just so sad that I won't have my boys with me on my days off. (Of course Gavin will only be gone for 1/2 days but its still hard!) I have loved every minute of my time off with the kids this summer and will miss them being with me on my days off. I know I will cherish the time alone with Morgan, but it just won't be the same without the noise from the boys.

I will post pictures soon of their first days. :( In the meantime, I will be drinking heavily.

We're Back!

I was on a blog hiatus from this one since I was so busy keeping up the surrogacy blog. For those of you who wish to read through that journey- the blog address is: http://www.theirbunmyovenourdream.blogspot.com/.

Since the journey has come to an end, I am committing to keeping our family blog up to date instead. Here is the quickest recap:

The kids are enjoying the last month of summer break before school starts. Carson is now 7 years old and is a fantastic baseball (mesh ball) player. He is a great reader and is growing up so quickly. He just got glasses this month for the first time and looks adorable in them! Gavin is now 5 and is as wild as ever. He loves to be outdoors but can also be found spending hours upon hours playing Wii when we let him. He is not as sporty as Carson yet but enjoys playing t-ball and eating the snack after which is his favorite part. I do have to say though that the kid is FAST! Both and he and Carson are probably the fastest runners on their teams! Morgan is 2 now but acts at least 3 years old! She speaks in complete sentences and will carry on full conversations. She is better on the phone than both boys! Uh-oh, we may be in trouble here! She is slowly potty training now which hopefully will be done by the end of summer. Morgan got a new big girl bunk bed this month which she loves!

We just got back last week from our 9 day family vacation to Clearwater Beach and Orlando, FL. We enjoyed the Beach, Pool, Dinosaur World, Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Disney's Boardwalk, Balloon Ride, Mini golf, Geocaching and so much more! Click on the video montage to see more from our trip.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Next week we are looking forward to another little getaway to include 2 nights camping at Woodhaven Lakes, IL before heading back to Al's hometown for his 20 year high school reunion! Should be a really fun weekend (and even better to have another short work week!)

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer! More updates and pictures to come soon.