What They Think Of

We went to visit the Grandparents this weekend and when we were getting ready to walk out the door at 8 PM(notice the boys even have their shoes on) they some how came up with the idea of putting clothes pins all over Granny. I have no idea where that came from but they were giggling so hard that I just let them do it and of course I had to take a picture. About an hour later we left. :) We visited the Browns too. We went swimming with McKylee on Saturday. It was Cole's first swimming experience and he LOVED it. He splashed and splashed and then he'd kind of paddle when he wanted me to move. It took him about 2 hours to get cold and then he was not happy until we got him dry and warm again.

A Chuck E' Cheese Birthday

We had a birthday bash tonight. Kade and Clint have been begging to do the Ticket Blaster at Chuck E Cheese for years and tonight their dreams came true. I had to book a birthday party to get the ticket blaster experience and then I added Clint and Abby to the list of birthday kids. I really doubt we'll have another party there so I wanted Clint to be able to do the blaster too and Abby's birthday was yesterday so I couldn't not let her do it too. It turned out to be a blast. They got blow up crowns, "gold" medals, huge balloons, danced with the big Cheese himself, and then got to do the infamous ticket blaster! Clint was scared and wasn't going to do the ticket blaster but another little boy went in with his dad so Clint agreed to do it with Darryl. It was so funny to watch his face. He was nervous for the first 10 seconds then all of a sudden he was extremely excited and having a blast. The kids had fun playing games and Darryl rocked one of the games(as usual) and scored about 2,000 tickets. Clint's favorite game is the one where you squirt the target. Kade was all over and enjoying every minute of everything he did. Abby loved the climbing area with the slide. They sure go all out for the party. We figure after all we got with the tickets and with the package we actually came out on top-- score! It was worth it to let those kids feel so special too-- you couldn't put a price on that.

Front Yard Sledding

We had Zack and Kenzie over today. It was so nice outside so we set up the front yard for sledding and snow boarding. They were having so much fun going off the "cliff" at the end of the path. I said it was so nice and it was, but after an hour and a half it got cold and my hands were completely froze! The kids were having so much fun though so I can't tell them they have to stop. I did hint something about hot chocolate but they didn't even want to stop for that! :) Zack looked like a natural on the snow board, I was shocked to find out he'd never been on a snow board before. Maybe it was just his cowboy boots--maybe that's what all the professionals should wear.

Now that's comfortable!

Cole has finally discovered that he has options when I lay him down. Up until now I could lay him down and he'd stay that way until he woke up and I went to get him again. Since he's discovered that he can stand up or sit up and play he hasn't been much for falling asleep quickly. Every time he sits and plays until he's so tired he just falls asleep. This is how I've found him at every nap and bedtime. Looks so comfortable doesn't it. The other thing I love about this picture is that you can kind of see that he rubs his nose with his blankie before he falls asleep--so cute! I use to do the same thing while I would suck my thumb. Kade and Clint never rubbed things like that. Funny how each kid has their own quirks.

SO Happy!

I found Mr. Cole in this mess today. He was SO happy about it too. He loves to take everything out of the cupboards and it is especially fun when crushed cornflake confetti is involved!

Happy Valentines

It's the first day back-- we got home about 1 AM this morning-- and so I've been trying to unbury the house. We walked through the door last night and dropped everything. There are suitcases and all kinds of baby gear piled to the ceiling(it feels like that anyway). So while I was lost in laundry the doorbell rang. I opened the door to see these beauties staring at me.


I'd forgotten it was Valentine's Day and so I was confused for a split second. Then when I opened the card and read "Love you, Danell" I was confused again. Then I realized the florist's r looks like and n so it said Darell. Still Darell and Darryl look very different so you can understand my moment of confusion. The surprise and beautiful flowers were just what I needed to remind me that today is a great day and I don't need to be so caught up in the fact that the house is a disaster and there are many things that need to be done; Everything will be in order again and I'll be happy that so many things were accomplished. I think another contributor to my need for a pick-me-up is that Cole still isn't liking me. I'm not sure if he's mad that I left him for so long or if he doesn't remember me or what-- but he doesn't seem to care for me at all still. :( I miss my little buddy cuddling me for a short moment.

Cruise Trip Day 10 Travel Home

It's the day, the day when it all is over. Not only was I sad it was over but now I had to travel all day and just anticipate the reunion with my boys-- oh if I could just warp there that would be great! Well we arrived at the Nance's about 10:00 PM and much to my dismay the reunion didn't go as I envisioned. Kade and Clint were ecstatic to see us and so that was great, but Cole wouldn't let me hold him. I tried and he'd scream, cry, and push my face away. It was pretty sad. He loved Darryl though and wouldn't let Darryl put him down. At that moment all the fabulous things I did and all the fun I had were NOT worth it. It took him 2 days before he decided he loved me again. :*( I'm not sure if he was mad at me for leaving him and Dad could do no wrong so he wasn't hating him or if he just didn't want me any more either way it was sad. The good news is that he loves me tons again and I love that. :)

Cruise Trip Day 9 Sea Day

Today we had the whole day to enjoy the boat. I don't know if I can remember what we even did today. . . . I know we went to the gym, packed our bags, and we had the last book review. Oh we played Bingo-- not like playing at the Sevier Co. Fair:( . It was also the final dinner so for desert they have a tradition that the waiters march in with baked Alaska. It was pretty fun. The magician and the comedian did a farewell show which was great. Then we played another late night round of Farkel.

Kade's Birthday Day

Happy Birthday Kade! We were gone on the cruise on Kade's birthday but we made sure he knew that we'd have his birthday when we got back home. We give the boys the option of having a friend party or going someplace special with the family; Kade picked Chuck E' Cheese with the family(he's dying to do the ticket blaster). Ron made him a cake and they had a pinata for his birthday at the Nance's. They were so good to him(and all the boys). I just can't process that he's 6-- he's changing so much. It's so fun to see them learning and doing new things. Side note: Looks like Cole enjoyed the cake too.

Cruise Trip Day 8 Barbados

Barbados-- talk about living like a movie star. We were on a huge catamaran(The Silver Moon) sipping pina coladas(virgin of course-- glad I asked cause all the crew members were shocked when we said we wanted virgin-- he chuckled and said, "I don't do virgin.") We were just off the shore of beautiful condos and resorts, on turquoise water snorkeling with the sea turtles. They were so awesome! I wish the boys could have been there for that. Darryl grabbed one and it drug him for a ways. They are pretty big and tough. We swam over to the shore and walked along the beach to a picture perfect church. This is what I love: beach, sun, water, beautiful flowers, crashing waves on the rocks, and my love. It couldn't have been much better--I take that back, it ended. It could have been better if it had never ended. Oh well we've got to go back to reality some time I guess.

It was another formal dining night. The whole trip had been full of everyone matching here and there; Wendy and I's swimming suits, Darryl and Jared's shirts, Wendy and Jared's shirts, then Stephanie and I coordinated very well in our dresses. Tonight's adventures were a "Movie Under the Stars"--featuring The Next Three Days(pretty good show), and then another round of Farkle.