8 and 5...just shoot me now!

We had a pretty low key weekend, which is always nice! Saturday, my sister had a birthday party for her girls. How is it that my nieces are now EIGHT and FIVE years old?!! It is not possible. I remember the minute they were both born and it seems like yesterday. Sigh...just go ahead and put me in a nursing home now.

First up was a pic of my sister and me! Hilarious that there are tools as a back drop!! I didn't notice it until I got back home. :)
Bailey...now eight years old. She wanted Taylor Lautner on her cake. Oh my word! ;)

And, I couldn't get Casey to sit still long enough to get her picture. :/ She wanted a cake with a chicken on it and a duck on the chicken's back. This is SO Casey! LOL

Levi was sporting his new t-ball outfit! He is so excited to start playing!! :)

Of course, my sister always has fun stuff for the kids to do!

Her house is like Toys R Us...on steroids!

And Maggie did what she does best...monopolize all the grandparents to play with her. ;)

Bailey showed off her hula hoop talents. I was going to show her up, but since it was her birthday, I refrained!

Hello Cuteness!

Levi had two friends there...his cousin Griffin and a little boy from his class at school, Quinton.

My parents were babysitting Griffin & Emily for the night. Hilarious that they didn't notice Griffin getting seconds...or thirds...a plate full of cheeseballs! ;)

Such a fun night! My sister knows how to throw a good party! Happy birthday, Bailey & Casey!! We love you.

they will give me gorgeous grandbabies!

Ya'll, it has been a really great week! Gretchen has been home for the kids' spring break and I've gotten to see her 829 times! :) We headed to the zoo one day and Brittany and the boys came up from BG. Yes, there were many laughs to be had, stories to be told, and arranged marriages to be made...
Luke and Maggie met for the first time. Luke blew Maggie a kiss and Maggie wiped it off. Hilarious! But, eventually, they rode in the wagon together and started to giggle. After the zoo, we went back to my house to chill {and talk, and laugh...} and they really bonded. Beware: Cuteness ahead...

So sweet! They really would make us some cute grandbabies! ;)

So, back to the zoo...look at these happy kids! New friends, old friends, it didn't matter. We were one big group and the kids were LOVING it!

Levi was so happy to be around Pierce for the day. He adores him. :)

Of course, we needed a pic of the four mommies. I don't know if I am allowed to share this story. I mean, it would forever be out there for the Internet to see. But, since I only have a handful of readers, I will share. ;) There is a reason for Gretchen and her hysterical laughing...

We sat down and snuggled up close. I felt a hand in a weird place. Brittany says, "Oh, I think I just grabbed a boob!" I said, "Nope, that's my love handle..." And from that point on, we died.

Oh, how I love these girls!

Easter weekend

There was a group of us that got together Friday night to celebrate this man's birthday...
Paul!!! Oh how we've missed you! ;) We all met up for dinner and two hours flew by way too quickly. We headed back to our house for some ice cream cake and some seriously good times! I was on the brink of death from laughing too hard! We were trying to get a good group picture, but this is the best we got!

Saturday morning, I was in for more good times! Gretchen, Jami & I went shopping. YAY! I didn't take one single picture...I think I was still in a laughter coma from the night before. Jami spent some moolah and got some really cute stuff! G & I were there for moral support. ;)

I love Easter weekend!! It is such a wonderful time to celebrate Jesus. I love the anticipation of going to church and celebrating the resurrection! I also love getting the kids Easter baskets ready after they have gone to bed. :)

Because I still didn't have much of a voice, I chose not to sing with the choir this year. This was a bittersweet thing for me! I missed singing, but I really loved watching the program from the congregation. I also loved getting the kids ready...usually that is daddy's job on any Sunday that the choir sings.

After church, we headed to my aunt's house. She always has a wonderful food spread...always! And, it has become tradition for the kids to do an egg hunt.

I am loving Maggie's age! She really got into finding her eggs!

We we spent the whole afternoon outside playing and just really enjoyed some family time. I love my little family so much! I want to remember how inquisitive Levi was last night. He had never seen a baptism or the Lord's supper before, so he had lots of questions. We got to explain a lot to him and I just love how his little mind works! I'm so thankful for our fun day and being able to celebrate Jesus together.

what we've been doing

I have so many random shots, so I am putting them all in one post! Those of you with ADD can thank me later. ;) Here's some things we've been up to!

We've been eating lunch (in our PAJAMAS!) at McDonald's with Papa...while mommy was out of town, of course!
We've gotten our toenails painted! First time for Mags...

We've been doing puzzles with Daddy.

We've been gettin' haircuts.

We've been riding in the Jeep (with ugly Chuckie baby doll in tow...).

We've been getting presents from Grammy & Papa's roadtrip to Gatlinburg! A new headlamp!!

And, we've been just looking darn tootin' cute! :-)

Me, I'm feeling better, but haven't had a voice for going on 3 days! Eric loves it when I clap for his attention! ;) I really hope to be back to 100% tomorrow! Eric starts back to school tonight. Boo! We have really enjoyed having him home in the evenings over the last week. Hoping that this semester goes quickly for him!!!

this and that

Over Spring Break, we went to a fun little play place with some of our friends. It was a big hit!! It was for little bitty kids all the way up to 7 years old. I think Levi got just a little bit bored towards the end, but he still loved it and wants to go back.
Maggie ran and found baby dolls right away. I love that she loves babies! I always loved playing with babies, too. :)

And, Levi found trains, and then some cars that he played with. That boy can play with matchbox cars for h.o.u.r.s. Just like his daddy did! :)

The weather has been so nice and warm here, which is a nice change for spring break! We did a LOT of playing outside. Last year, one of Eric's employees gave Levi this dirt bike. GAVE it to him! Her son rides them in races and he outgrew this one.We ordered a charger for the battery and Levi literally opened the door every 5 minutes on Friday to see if the UPS man was there! Ha! When the doorbell rang, it was like Christmas! We charged the battery for an hour, then let him practice in the grass. Um, yeah, he didn't need practice. He took right off and did great! I wanted to clothe him in cotton balls when he took to the road, but he is a natural. Loves it!

Next pic is, um, gross, so if you have a weak tummy, stop reading here. :)

Mags didn't fare so well that day. She was riding in a toy Jeep and fell out and got big boo boos! :( Major Mom Fail!

I felt horrible for her!! I was standing right beside her, and I would like to say that it was due to a mechanical error, but it wasn't. It was because my little feisty girl was standing up trying to show off and act silly for her brother. Sigh... I needed a drink that night! ;)

If you read Gretchen's post you will know that I've been sick all weekend. I finally went to Urgent Care yesterday. I got there right as they opened and was the first in line. When they took me back, it honestly was like a little vacation! The nurse asked if I wanted something to drink...uh, yes please! She got me a diet coke and I wanted to just curl up and sleep for a while! Ha! I have bronchitis...it's pretty yucky. But I am on meds now and hope to be all better soon. My dad came over and stayed with Maggie and when I got home, he was vacuuming the couch! Since I'm pretty sure he wasn't doing my spring cleaning, I figured Maggie had made a mess. Ha! She's crazy!! I think they enjoyed each other, though! :) So thankful for my parents who help at a moment's notice.

we should be 60

Last week, my dad Eric pretty much surprised me and told me to go to Bowling Green! Yay!! He is on break for a week or so, and knew how much I have been missing Gretchen. So, Saturday, I packed a bag and headed to good ol' KY!!

You wouldn't believe the warm reception I received!!!
Paul was so excited to see me!!! Ha! So, we started out with what we do best...a self portrait...

and some SHOPPING! Gretchen had a few things on the agenda. Look for a cardigan for Easter, go to Victoria's Secret, and of course, we had to eat. We stopped in New York & Co and met our new BFF. I don't know what her name was...oops...but she was hi-larious!

She was bluntly honest with Gretchen on what looked good, and what didn't! We were cracking up!!

Okay, so there's something you need to know about Gretchen. She has NO CLUE where she is at any given time. She is very directionally challenged! {Love you!!} Victoria's Secret was holding something for her and we had to make our way back there. She swore that it was next to Macy's. I know I have only been to the BG mall TWICE, but I thought it was next to Penney's. She pretty much told me I was wrong and she was positive it was by Macy's.

Don't ever take her word for it! Proof positive. ;)

We did more shopping, tried on cute hats & sunglasses, and then wanted to go back and "rest" before dinner. Yes, we are in our 60's.

So, we got back to the homestead and did what any two bestie's do. Checked our Draw Something games.

And, thing #2 you should know about G. Drawing isn't a strong point for her. If you get a picture like this, she probably didn't do it! Ha! She handed the Ipad to Paul a lot and said, "Draw this..." Love them! :)

Oh, and we also got a twirling show from Hopie. ;)

Before we went to dinner, we asked Paul to take a good pic of us. Pshaw. Men are useless.

FINALLY.

Headed out for a fave....Mexican! Mmmmm. Oh, did I mention we went to dinner at 4:30? Yes, reason #2 that we should be in our 60's. (In my defense, it was 5:30 my time!)

After dinner, we settled in to watch the game. I really wanted U of L to win, but it was a great game!!! Gretchen was good to me. I wasn't feeling the greatest, so she loaded me up on cough drops and some hot chocolate. We ended up going to bed at 9:30. Reason #3....blah! ;)

We got up and went to church and then ate at RYAN'S after church. ROCK ON! I love me some Ryan's!!!

Then it was time for me to head back home. Sniff, sniff. One more good pic for the road! Thanks Paul for not complaining! ;)

Thanks, G, for a fun 24 hours! I love it that we can hang out, do a little of this and a little of that and still have a blast!