On the road again...

This is the scene in our bedroom the last couple days...


Piles, piles, & more piles. That is what it takes to pack up 3 children 5 and under, 1 husband, & oh yeah, myself. And the surprising thing is that I don't have one single thing down on paper...it's all stored up in the old noggin. Seems like we're getting this vacation thing down pat. I hope so at least!!

Our plane leaves at 7:00 am tomorrow morning...that's a departure time of 5:45 am in the morning for our family. Anyone making bets on us getting to the airport on time??

We are sooo excited for this trip!!! We're looking forward to lots of sunshine, water, & relaxation.

Florida here we come!

Oh...and p.s....in the mere 3 days since we've been home I've had Cayden, Addyson, & Kamryn into the dr. Cayden still has a cough which has now lasted for 2 months...we've gone through countless meds that haven't worked, and are now trying an inhaler, & 2 other pills for allergies/asthma. Hope this works! Addyson was complaining of her left ear hurting so I took her in today...and sure enough, the girl is good, she has an infection in her left ear. So, more meds coming down to Florida for her too. Kamryn is looking great after being sick the entire time in Denver...she is NOT allowed to get sick in Florida...NOT allowed!!

Shout out some prayers for our family...no med centers or hospitals this Florida trip, please!!! :)

Home from Denver...

On Tuesday evening at about 1:00 am our black Toyota Camry rolled into the garage with 3 sleeping children in jammies & a very tired Mom & Dad. It was good to be home again...I don't remember the last time I slept so soundly...boy was it nice. And I had to actually wake the kids up at 9:15 the next morning...I definitely know that has never happened!! I guess that's what happens when we eat a McDonald's dinner at 9:30 pm & the kids don't fall asleep in the car until 11:00 pm.

As always we had a very fun & eventful vacation. Some of the highlights of our trip were:

*arriving to Denver with a sick 21 month old

*taking a tour of the candy factory with Gma & the kids (actually, the highlight was the candy store at the end, where the kids all picked out lollipops & candy....Yum)

*going to the train store where Cayden ran down the store aisle, fell flat on his face, & ended up with 2 really nasty rug burns on his elbow & knee. I'm pretty sure the owner thought we would sue her...as she was really, really nice & brought out lots of neosporin & bandaids. Poor kid.

*going to the Garden of the Gods with the kids on Father's Day. Cayden actually loved it & wanted to climb on the rocks. Daddy decided it was a fabulous idea to take Mom (well equipped with heeled flip flops, a camera, & a heavy 21 month old child), a 4 year old girl in crocs who, lets be honest here, is pretty much in la la land most of the time, & a 5 year old who bounces across the rocks with no fear. We got a little way up the mountain, along with 30 other people, when a park ranger came along to tell us that we were not allowed to climb in this spot. To be honest, I was quite thankful that he came along!! I'm sure we looked like a sight, and definitely like tourists!! A kind Grandma offered to hold Kamryn while Eric helped me & the kids get down...which I'm sure wasn't too pretty!! It was a beautiful sight with all of the red rocks...& it was cool to see climbers way on top of the mountains. On our hike back the kids got really tired...so Eric ended up carrying both Cayden & Addyson. And they are not light children by any means. I really thought Eric was going to pass out!! The funny part was that while we were all heave hoing up the hill Kamryn was chilling out in her stroller, sucking her thumb, with her legs crossed like a little lady. Several passersby got quite a chuckle out of seeing her!

*catching up with family & friends that we haven't seen in a long time

*eating s'mores & playing baseball with Grandma & Grandpa

*Cayden & Addyson spending hours playing with Daddy's old lego sets. They had sooo much fun playing with Daddy's old toys!

*attempting to drive to the mountains to see Uncle Don & Auntie Carol...Addyson all of a sudden started projectile vomiting in the back seat of the car 1/2 way there. Good times I tell ya. We had to get off the highway, pull her out of the car & strip her down, clean up the car seat as best we could...meanwhile Cayden is exclaiming in the back seat "It reaks back here!", like he's going to die!! We ended up going back home & never made it to Don & Carol's house. Eric did get to clean the entire car when we got back though...fun stuff! She must have gotten car sick...which I don't really blame her, as we were in the car pretty much nonstop the whole week!

*enjoying a family wedding & Great Grandma & Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary party

*enjoying the cousins playing together. Cayden & Addyson had so much fun with their cousins, especially Sydney. Whenever we were together they just ran off and played the whole time together. It was so great to see them having fun together! And Kamryn loved her little cousin, Gavin, too!!

*visiting the Cheyenne Zoo in Colorado Springs. This zoo was in the mountains & so cool...the view was amazing!! We got to feed the giraffes, ride a little train, pet bunnies, & so much more! We all had a wonderful day there!

*ride on a chair lift into the mountains. Cayden & Addyson wanted to do this so badly...I not so much. My 2 choices were to watch my husband take my 2 kids up on the chair lift & watch from below or suck it up & go on the chair lift with everybody. I chose going on the chair lift. I'm not so sure Eric enjoyed me going up with him...as 1/2 way up the mountain Eric told me that I was actually starting to make him nervous!! Not good! The kids were chanting "Mommy's a scaredy cat, Mommy's a scaredy cat" the whole way up. Neither of the kids were afraid at all...which I guess is a good thing...but a healthy little fear of plunging down a mountain wouldn't be 1/2 bad either. Needless to say, I was glad that the kids had so much fun, and that we eventually were safely on the ground.

*swimming at the hotel pool. Cayden & Addyson were pretty proud that they can both swim in the deep end by themselves now.

*breakfast with the Hommes family

*Cayden counting the number of trains he saw in Colorado

*and finally...we ended our vacation with a long & eventful trip back home. Grandma dropped us off at the airport where we said our goodbyes & checked in our bags, only to find out that our plane was delayed by a couple hourse. So...we called Grandma back & she took us all to the closest mall to play & eat. Apparently we misjudged the timing at which we needed to be back to the airport, b/c by the time she dropped us off again we were cutting it pretty close. When we arrived to security the lines were horrendous!! Not good. By the time we make it through security, jumped on the tram, we were about 5 minutes from our flight leaving. We told the kids that Mommy would be running up ahead to check in at the gate & that they would have to run with Daddy. So I ran ahead, tripping up the escalator in my hurry, & ran to the gate that Eric told me. He did tell me that I should check the monitors to make sure the gate was still the same, but in my rushing, I scanned the monitors & decided to go to the original gate anyways. After finding out that this was no longer our gate I turned around & there was Eric with the kids 2 gates down. I run over to them to hear Eric proclaim "Where did you go, didn't you check the monitors??" Not..."Hi honey, I'm so glad we found each other" or "that was close" or even "thanks for running ahead". Needless to say we didn't really speak until we got on the airplane & cooled off(literally!). Men...you gotta love them!!! :) So...we made it onto the airplane, drove home from Chicago, and were sleeping soundly by 1:30 am!!

It was great seeing everyone in Colorado...we miss you all!! I will send more pictures soon of our Denver trip.

10 years...

I can hardly even believe that Eric & I are celebrating 10 years of marriage today! On this day, June 19, 1998, exactly 10 years ago, we promised to love each other forever. And what a beautiful day it was! It seems like we were just young kids then, 22 & 23 years old & so in love. We have been through so much during these last 10 years...both the good times & the tough ones. We have been blessed with 3 wonderful children who fill our lives with love. But most of all, God has blessed us with each other, & has promised to get us through whatever may come our way.



Eric, I am so very blessed to have you as my husband...I pray that God may strengthen our love each & every day, and that we may have many more happy years together! I love you very much!


Happy 10 Year Anniversary!!!

We were lucky to be able to celebrate our 10 year Anniversary on a trip to Florida in early May. The kids were well taken care of by their grandparents & we had a wonderful, relaxing week together. This was a much needed trip for both of us!!

Highlights of our week together include:

* spending a day at Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure...we had such a blast!

*walking on the CityWalk Boardwalk at night

*eating, drinking(too much, Eric???), & eating some more

*laying by the pool & finally getting the peace & quiet to read some good books

*playing lots of shuffleboard & having some great ping pong competitions(I think I wound up with the ping pong championship...what do you think, Eric??)

*relaxing in the hot tub

*catching up on some great movies

*going to a Hawaiian Luau at our hotel. This was so much fun, and since we didn't go to one on our honeymoon in Hawaii, we thought it would be fitting to go for our 10 year Anniversary.

*eating lots of ice cream

*Eric buying me a beautiful, new wedding ring...I love it no matter how much it cost!! :) :) Hee Hee Hee!

Thanks for the great trip, babe!! How about same time next year???!!!!

So much like his Mom...

Cayden is so much like me in lots of ways. But the main one is that he thrives in hot, sunshiny, summer weather. The hotter the better. The less rain the better. In the summertime the first thing we do in the morning is check what degrees it is outside....and the hotter the better. We both get excited if the temperature is going to reach 90 degrees.



This past week it's been hot & sunny, and the first thing Cayden asks in the morning is to get out the pool. As long as it's hot & sunny out he will go, go, go from morning until night...until he drops into bed at the end of the day...just like his Mom. We just made out our summer calendar that he checks off every single day. He knows that our summer will consist of lots of fun...Denver, Florida, 4th of July & fireworks(his favorite!), his 6 year old birthday, lots of campfires& s'mores, & camping 2 times.



So I had to laugh the other day when he made a comment that is so like his Mom... "This is the WORST day of my whole entire life!!!" I asked him why & he responded "because it's rained like 5 times today!". He was soo emphatic!! And so serious!! After I explained to him that we need rain for the grass, trees, & flowers to grow...



I wholeheartedly agreed with him! Come on Summer...bring on the hot weather!!



Cayden enjoying the weather with his next door neighbor, Natalie. Two peas in a pod!

Being Miss K.

Our Kamryn is quite a character! She will be 21 months old this week & I can hardly believe it. She is so full of drama...from huge boisterous laughter to screaming a high pitched scream. Oh my...this girl is not even 2 years old yet & keeps us on our toes every minute of the day!

She is constantly talking very, very loudly...unless we tell her to be quiet, to which she responds by putting her finger to her mouth & says "shhh...quiet...baby sleepin'". Every time she yells we tell her she's going to wake up all of the babies...so now she just shushes herself!

The other night Cayden & Addyson were in bed & Eric & I were just playing with Kamryn. We have so much fun spending some time alone at night with just her. She keeps us laughing every night! One thing for certain is that she speaks her mind. We were laying on the floor & she wanted Daddy to come over by her. Well, apparently he wasn't coming over fast enough, because she got a pillow out, sat on it, patted the spot on the pillow next to her, & said(or should I say yelled) "Daddy!!! Sit!!! Butt!!". All the while patting the spot where she wanted her Daddy to sit! Man is she cute!!

For the last couple months she has been asking "why??" to everything we say. And it's always in the right context too, which is a little bit unusual at this early of an age. She is so curious about everything...& always has to know why we said what we did. Another thing she has started the last few weeks is asking "what??!!". And this is a very emphatic "what??!!!. If Eric & I are talking quietly about something she'll hear it & yell from the other room..."what???". Or if anyone in the family is laughing about something she yells "what??!!". Today we took her into church with us for awhile & Eric whispered something to me, to which she yelled out quite loudly "what??!!". And the funny thing is that she doesn't stop yelling it until you answer her. Oh man is it funny!

Every time one of us sneezes, which is a lot in our house, she immediately says "bless YOU!!" with an emphasis on the YOU!! And every single time someone in the house toots or burps she yells "scuse YOU!!". Even when she toots or burps she says the same & giggles! A couple of times one of the kids has smelled something stinky & will go around asking who did it, and Kamryn will shout out "ME!!!". Since we live in a house with a little boy who is ALL BOY...the burping & tooting happens quite often! I'm sure she's going to grow up into quite the little lady.

When we change her poopy diaper she makes a comment every time. Usually it's "oh gross", "ewwww", or "stinky"...and she's been overheard saying "skusting"(disgusting) as well.

She will definitely hold her own & will not let herself be bullied, in fact, a lot of the times she herself is doing the bullying. The last couple months she has had a little bit of an issue with just walking up to Addyson & pulling out a huge clump of her hair. This ALWAYS causes Addyson to let out a huge scream. And there's Kamryn standing there with a huge clump of Addyson's hair. Poor thing! I make her go over to Addyson & give her a hug & then she says "sossy"(sorry) very nicely. I have actually tried everything to get her to stop...from timeouts, slapping her gently on the hand, talkings, to finally last week I actually pulled Kamryn's hair back. I really have always been against this type of punishment...until I had Kamryn. :) The first time I pulled her hair she kind of looked at me like, "hey, why did you do that?", the second time I pulled pretty hard & she looked at me & laughed. Got any suggestions, anyone???

Okay...so I need to go upstairs & pack for the trip we're leaving on tomorrow. I'll leave you with 2 cute pictures of our baby. They are both from the night of Cayden's Kindergarten program...when she decided to jump in our pool with all of her clothes on...right before we were about to leave. Can't you just see the stinker written all over her face!!!

Telling on myself again...

This happened quite a few weeks ago...I tell ya, being a Mom of 3 children makes you do some really silly & absentminded things!

So we were all getting ready to leave for dinner at Applebee's, & I was running around getting the kids ready, the diaper bag packed, & myself ready as well. Apparently the whole "myself" thing takes a backseat when you have kids. :) I make it into the car, breathe a huge sigh of relief, & we drive over to Applebee's. As we are getting out of the car I look down to see that I still have my slippers on!! The thought actually did occur to me back at the house that I needed to put my sandals on, but apparently the thought didn't turn into an action!

Oh did my family have a big belly laugh about this one!! Eric finally convinced me that nobody would notice the slippers on my feet( yeah right, I think that was his way of saying that we weren't driving back home to get shoes). Cayden kept laughing all the way into the restaurant & teasing me about my slippers.

Oh my...it is never, ever dull around our house!! But at least we are all laughing!!

And since I can't post without adding a picture, here's one of Addyson after swimming in the pool on a hot day!!

Ballerina Girl

This past weekend Addyson was in her very first dance recital. Oh my word it was so much fun!!! I enrolled her in a dance class this past fall just for fun & she has loved each & every minute of it!! She is quite shy around other people, so when her dance teacher told us that there would be a recital in the spring... I have to say that I was certain that she wouldn't want to be part of it. The parents were given the choice to purchase the dance outfit...but the decision had to be made months in advance of the recital for ordering. I finally decided that because Addyson was quite shy, I wouldn't purchase the outfit. A week later I was having second thoughts...was I actually hindering her instead of encouraging her that she could do it???? So I called up her dance teacher & was able to still order her outfit along with the other girls. I was soooo relieved!!

And I am so glad that I changed my mind!!! Never once did Addyson even say that she didn't want to be a part of the dance recital...in fact she was excited for weeks in advance!!


It was so much fun to do her makeup & hair...we had so much fun being excited for this together!! I think I took 200 pictures of her that day...oh my word was she beautiful!!! And the best part of all was that she was soooo excited & proud of herself too! When we finished getting her ready Cayden came to look at her and said "Addyson, you look just like a princess!!!". She was just beaming!! And I had tears rolling down my cheeks. It made me so proud that my kids can be happy for each other & encouraging of each other in their own unique talents.


Before Addyson went on stage I said a little prayer that God would guide her out on that stage & give her confidence. I know that sounds a little silly to some...but I myself know how overwhelming it is for so many people to be looking at you. I didn't even have to worry...Addyson got right out there & danced away! I was so very proud of her!! By the end of the night I think she was tired of Eric & I telling her how proud we were.


After the recital we went home & I was helping her take her dress off & get her ready for bed. I told her that now she could keep her "princess dress". She was sooo excited and then told me that she wanted to wear her dress & dance her recital everyday.


I am soooo proud of you little princess girl!!!!

Addyson is the dancer 3rd from the right. Aren't they all sooo adorable!! I hope to send a slideshow soon of the rest of the pictures too.

Growing Up

My little boy is officially growing up. I think I've been ignoring the signs that my boy is getting older...but now that he has lost 2 of his bottom teeth...

It's Official. He's growing up.

Cayden has grown up so much in the last year. He is the greatest helper...always willing to help me clean up the house & put things in their correct places. He cracks me up with how precise he is folding his clothes & towels(like father like son).

And he is a great big brother! He shows his love for both of his little sisters in different ways. It's so sweet to see him grin from ear to ear when Kamryn gives him a big hug after school, or how excited he gets when she learns a new word. And each & every day we are seeing the love he also has for Addyson. We see him protecting & watching over her in little ways that aren't always noticeable to everyone else. Sometimes they'll just go into the bedroom & play together for hours. Of course he is also the typical older brother as well....teasing her relentlessly & making her scream just because he can. Growing up I always wished I had an older brother...now I'm not always so sure about that!!!

I am so blessed to have such a sweet little boy. He has the best laugh that you will ever hear. It is sooo loud & so very contagious!! You can't help but laugh along with him. And he is sooo ticklish...every little part of that boy is ticklish!! Sometimes we play a game with the kids where they lay on their backs with their arms up above their heads. The object is to try NOT to laugh first. It never ever fails that Cayden starts giggling as soon as he sees my fingers coming to tickle him...and I haven't even touched him yet!!!

I hope that when he gets older he will never get sick of giving his Mom a big hug & kiss. Sometimes when I put him to bed I say "I love you, baby". He always giggles & says "I'm not a baby anymore, Mom". And I tell him that he will always be my baby, no matter how old he is.

So here are some grown up pictures of my toothless big boy. Man is he cute!!!!

It's been awhile...

a long while as a matter of fact. I'm sorry to say that my poor little blog has been neglected lately. I have been a busy little lady! My goal is to post daily until we leave for vacation next Monday.

That is my goal & I'm sticking to it!!!