Maggie May, you are THREE!

Maggie May,

I cannot believe you are three years old today!  

I can still remember the day that Daddy and I found out we were having a little girl.  I cannot explain the joy I felt knowing I would have a daughter!  Levi was so excited that he was going to become a big brother.  My labor with you went very quickly and from the moment you entered into this world, you were one spunky little girl!  

It didn't take very long before your personality started to show itself.  You went from being a cute little blob to a happy, smiling little baby girl who ADORED her big brother!

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God that He has allowed me to be your mom.  Most days, I feel completely inadequate for the job, but I would not change it for anything.  You are pure joy.

From the time you started rolling around, scooting, and crawling, you seem to have made it your life's mission to keep up with your brother.  The love that you have for him amazes me.  He has always been able to make you giggle like no one else!  

I love that you are a girlie girl.  You love pink and ruffles and bows!  You like your nails painted and cute flip flops.  Your favorite toys are baby dolls and blankies.  But, you also love all things John Deere!  Whether it is playing on a little tractor or riding the big tractors with Papa, you can't get enough!

Mags, I hope you will always remember how loved you are!!  Sometimes being the littlest cousin can be rough, but you seem to hold your own. ;-)  I love the connection you have with all of your cousins -- you love them so much and I know the feeling is mutual.  And, don't get me started on your grandparents!  The love that THEY have for you, well, it's bigger than the ocean.

One of my favorite things is to listen to you sing!  Your favorites are 'Jesus Loves Me', 'He's Got The Whole World In His Hands', and 'This Little Light Of Mine'.  I can't get enough of it.

You truly are our little sunshine.

 We seriously cannot get enough of you, little Maggie May!!

I pray every day that you will always love Jesus and do your very best to seek out his will for your life.  You have such a sensitive heart and I want you to use that heart to love and serve Him. 

 Be blessed, baby girl!  We sure are. :-)  Happy 3rd birthday, Mags.  We all love you so much!

Love, Mommy

Big Splash Adventure!

You guys are about to be bombarded with excitement! ;-)  Besides going on vacations with my family, this is the first overnight trip our little family of four has taken.  It was awesome!  We had a great time.  

Several months ago, Eric purchased a Groupon for Big Splash Adventure, an indoor water park in French Lick.  The Groupon allowed us an overnight stay, a few meals, Laser Tag, and some tokens to spend in the arcade.  Woo hoo!  Funny enough, our friends told us a couple of weeks ago that they bought the same Groupon and asked if they could crash our party.  So, we made a fun weekend of it!

Levi was supposed to go to school on Friday because it was a snow make up day, but we are rebels like that and kept him home.  

On our trip, we passed an Amish buggy and I BOUT DIED!  I have read so many books about the Amish and I tend to think that I know everything there is to know about them.  I wanted to jump out and talk to them, but Eric said my spray tan would scare them away.  So true. :/ 

We finally reached our destination and the kids were so excited!

Of course, we made them pose for a gazillion photos before we would let them take off swimming. 

I love this one.  Looks like they really like each other. ;-)

Once inside, the kids started squealing!!  They were so excited to start sliding.  

Levi jumped right in.  No fear.

Maggie was more reserved.  More than I thought she would be, really.  

She pretty much did this...

...and stayed safe in the baby pool.  

Levi, however, took off like a mad man and immediately went to the slides.

 He and Eric must have done the big, huge slides a thousand times!
 

After what seemed like hours of swimming, the adults decided we were hungry.  Leave it to us to spoil a good time! ;-)  We headed out to Chicago's Pizza and it was phenomenal.  I mean, like one of the best meals I've had in a long time!  We ordered a cinnamon pizza for dessert and I DIED.  SO GOOD!

After dinner, we found an indoor go kart place.  Unfortunately, the kids couldn't ride because they had to be eight years old.  BOO.  But, the daddies rode and LOVED it!  Eric said they were the fastest go karts he has been on.  

We headed back for a little more swimming that evening, until there was a lightning storm and they closed the slides.  :-(

I think my kids were as excited about staying in a hotel as they were about the water park!  It really was a lot of fun.  We let them stay up late and watch tv, eat snacks on the bed, and, gasp, JUMP ON THE BED! ;-)  They were thrilled!  We brought along the pack n play for Mags to sleep in and she thought that was the bomb.  Levi was happy to read her stories to her before bed.  TOO SWEET!

Even though they played hard on Friday and went to bed late, my kids were up and at 'em before 7am.  This, my friends, is the problem with kids.  Oy.  We headed down for breakfast promptly at 8 when they opened.  I think Eric and I were still half asleep!  The water park didn't re-open until 9:30, so we did a lot of this...

WAITING...

Saturday was filled with more of the same.  Kisses...

...selfies...

...swimming...

...and even a long nap.  Sweetness.

Sometime in the afternoon, we finally lured the kids away with Laser Tag.  I'M SO GLAD WE DID!  It was a huge hit!  I couldn't get any good pictures because it was in the dark and the guys told me I was a dork for using the flash.  :/  I thought this was cute, though... Maggie kept giving away our hiding spots.  ;-)

Operation Big Splash Adventure was a huge success!  My little family had such a great time together.  

I would say this is definitely something we will do again!

Motivational Monday

I don't know about you, but I'm in some serious need of motivation today!  There is a little switch in my mind that says "when you are out of town, you don't have to worry about eating right".  And, that little switch is annoying!  Before we left on Friday morning, I did get up and do the elliptical.  That's my only saving grace!  ha!

Last week, I had to miss Zumba on Monday night because it was Levi's first baseball game.  Thankfully, our church has a free class on Tuesday nights, so I went to that one.  There's just something weird about doing a ZUMBA class in the basement of your church!  It feels so wrong!  LOL  They did stick to more of the Latin music instead of playing Pitbull and Thrift Shop... shew!  Anyways, I got four workouts in last week, so I was thankful for that!

I saved this picture a few weeks ago from Pinterest.  I love it!  **NERD ALERT **I remember doing a report on the Grand Canyon and learning how the consistency of flowing water forms a path which makes a river.  How awesome!  The same thing with our bodies, I guess.  Persistence.         

Here is one of the workouts I did last week.  I didn't make it all the way through.  

I bought a jump rope from WalMart and I've gotta say -- I don't remember jump roping being so hard!  OH MY GOSH.  It does burn good calories, though!  

My kids were totally cracking up at me!  We went outside to play on Thursday and when I went to grab the jump rope, Levi rolled his eyes and said, "Really Mom?  You're going to do that outside?"  YES I AM.  Ha! One more way to embarrass him.  ;-)

****************************************************************

We spent our weekend at the Big Splash Adventure in French Lick and had a great time!

I thought you'd enjoy a little sneak peek of pictures to come...

{Eric and Maggie going down the "baby" slide!}  OY ;-)

Parkin' it! And, something I've never done before.

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day outside!  Natalie and I decided to take the kids to the park in the morning and run a few errands together.  Can I just say HELLO SPRING!  Love it!!

Maggie and Addi -- two peas in a pod!

We were the only ones at the park for an hour.  It was really, really nice!  Mags had a blast with her little friends. :-)

We stopped by to see my parents and my dad asked Maggie if she had her "wife beater" on!  SO FUNNY!  I didn't think about it until I saw her in these pictures.  Her tank does have sparkles on it, so it's only half wife beater!!  Ha!

Had Zumba last night.  Kicked my butt.  Again.  After Zumba, I did something I've NEVER DONE.  Ever.  But, let's face it...the older you get, the more help you need, right?!  I went to get a spray tan!!  YES I DID.  I did years of the tanning bed back in my golden days, and right before I had Maggie, Gretchen scared the begeebles out of me about tanning like that.  So, I haven't been in one since.  Sigh..

BUT, the reason I got a wicked cool tan going on is that we are taking the kids out of town to the indoor water park!!  We are so excited!!  Eric bought the Groupon a couple of months ago.  Then, our neighbors/friends ended up buying the same one and asked if they could invade our party!  SURE!  So, tomorrow, I will probably bombard you with pictures.  You're welcome.