Happy 4th Birthday Addison

This past Sunday, our precious niece/cousin Addison turned 4 years old! We were so excited to get to go celebrate with her on her special day!
This year, she had her birthday party at McDonald's and many of her family and friends were able to come. The kids had a great time playing and eating cake and ice cream.

Addison and Aubrey were so excited when we got to the party. They had to have a big cousin hug to say "hello"!
After playtime, the kids devoured their cake and ice cream before heading out to play some more.
Lily took advantage while the big kids were eating cake and got a little play time of her own!
Next it was time to open presents! My sister had a great idea to let the person who brought the gift come sit next to Addison while she was opening it! The reason Eden is not in the picture is because she spent the entire gift opening time finishing her ice cream. She was the only one left at the table but she didn't care! She wasn't going to let one little bite of cake and ice cream go to waste! Baby Ryan spent the party (and his one month birthday!) snoozing in his car seat and being passed around from one person to the next. Such a sweet boy!
It was such a wonderful day filled with lots of family and fun! It was great to see everyone celebrating such a beautiful little girl!

Happy 4th Birthday, Addison! We love you so much and hope you had a very special day!

Playing in the Rain

Parker and Eden are both unadventurous when it comes to trying new things. They are never the kids that will jump right into new situations without a little encouragement from me or Cory. (Remember the first snow this past year? Disaster. Lots of crying and not a lot of playing in the snow!)

Imagine our surprise last night after dinner when they both started asking to go outside to play in the rain. Cory and I never thought they would really go, so of course we said yes. We were both shocked when they actually walked right out into the pouring rain and started running around like wild animals!

Parker kept asking me for his raincoat and when I told him he did not have a raincoat, he decided that his winter fleece hat and mittens would work just as well for both him and Eden!

They ran all over the yard, slid down the slide and splashed in the puddles. They were completely drenched by the time they got cold and decided to come in.


Don't think for a second that Lily didn't get to enjoy the fun! She was the first one outside after I opened the back door and she stayed out until I made her come in and warm up.

Eden's hair was just as crazy as ever after she came in! I know she'll hate it one day, but I just love her hair!We were so thankful for the much needed rain and the fun times that came along with it!

Hello, Cooler Weather!

After a taste of cooler weather over Labor Day, the temperatures climbed back into the 100+ degrees for a few more days. Thankfully, another cold front came through and I think we are finally finished with summer. I am so ready for fall weather and playing outside again. We spent most of the afternoon in the backyard yesterday and I had to drag the kids in at bedtime.

Eden apparently thought the 80 degree temps were pretty chilly and decided that she needed to wear her fleece hat to stay warm!
The kids played and played and played in their sandbox. Even Lily enjoyed some playtime with the bigger kids and I only caught her eating the sand a few times.
It had been a while since we'd reviewed our sandbox rules, and unfortunately Eden needed several reminders that we don't throw dirt at each other or pour sand on Lily's head!
The kids got a special treat when Uncle Steven stopped by after dinner and they had a great time playing soccer with him.
It has been so nice to see the kids enjoying being outside again and I hope the cooler temperatures are here to stay!

Sunshine Preschool

Today was Parker's first day at Sunshine Preschool, the same preschool that he attended last year. This year he is in the four year old class so he goes to school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-12. His teacher this year is Miss Amy and he already knows several of the boys and girls in his class from last year.

He was very excited when I got to my mom's to pick him up and even let me take several pictures before we left. He looks so big in these pictures and it is hard for me to believe that he only has one more year of preschool before he starts kindergarten.

He was quite nervous at drop off but I was so proud of him for not crying. He definitely wanted to, but he held it together and didn't have a complete meltdown when I left. I knew that he would be fine once I was gone and, sure enough, Miss Amy said he did great after they got started for the day.

When I picked him up and asked him if he had a good day, he said, "I don't want to talk about it, mom". He didn't talk about school all day, and then finally at dinner tonight he told me that he had a good time at school. I found out that he played with two new friends and had a banana and goldfish for snack. I guess I'll take what I can get! I'm so glad he had a good day and look forward to many fun memories this year.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend is one of my favorite holiday weekends. It is so nice to have a 3 day weekend right after school starts to catch up on sleep and just relax after the first couple weeks of school, which are always crazy and stressful. Plus, Labor Day is one of the few holidays that Cory gets off during the year, and the kids and I LOVE the extra time we get to spend with him on Labor Day weekend.

Today was the perfect end to a great weekend! After 50+ days of hundred degree weather this summer, we finally got a break in the heat. A cold front came through last night and left us with temperatures in the 80s. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather and spent almost the entire day outside playing. The kids were so happy and I think we were all in better moods today due to the fact that we could enjoy being outside without completely melting.

After breakfast at McDonald's this morning, we headed to the park to play. Even the huge crowd at the park didn't put a damper on Parker, Eden and Lily's excitement! They ran, climbed, swung, ate wood chips (Lily only!), slid down the slides, fed the ducks, and not once did we hear, "It's too hot!" or "Let's go home!". They would probably still be there right now if we had not had to come home for lunch and naps.



After rest time, we headed out to our backyard to rediscover the swing set that we forgot we had! Cory and Eden got the sandbox ready to dig in again while Parker and Lily played with the sidewalk chalk. Then they enjoyed swinging and sliding and digging and playing and just being outside! Thank goodness tonight was bath night because they were filthy by the time we came inside tonight.


I hate to see the weekend end but am so thankful for such a wonderful three days with my family, and I am really hoping that this cooler weather is here to stay!

Westhill Thursday School

Parker and Eden had their first day of Thursday School today. I'm not sure how I am old enough to have two kids in preschool, but somehow it has happened. Seeing Parker start another year of school is very bittersweet. I know he will have a great year...he always does, but it's very hard to think that this is the last time he will start preschool. Next year, he will be off to kindergarten. (*sigh*) It brings me to tears thinking about it, so I just try not to!

Seeing Eden start preschool today, on the other hand, was hard. How on earth can she be big enough to go to preschool? Didn't I just bring her home from the hospital last week? Apparently not.

They were both VERY excited about their first day, especially after Meet the Teacher last Sunday. Parker's teacher is Ms. Donna and Eden has Ms. Debbie. (Eden was a little confused at first because her speech therapist is also named Ms. Debbie. It took a lot of explaining for her to realize that she now has two Ms. Debbie's!)

Yesterday, we started preparing for their big day. Eden helped me pack their lunches and I got their "first day of school" clothes ironed and ready to go. This morning after breakfast, Parker went to his room and got dressed all by himself. He had no idea that I had special clothes for him so he just picked out his favorite baseball shirt to wear. When I told him that I had something else for him to wear, he broke down crying. I felt so bad that I had crushed his sweet little spirit and quickly decided that it didn't matter what he wore today, as long as I praised and encouraged his independence.

Eden loved her new dress because it had polka dots and flowers and she could twirl in it- three things that she loves!


They both walked into school on their own and for the first time in our first-day-of-preschool history, we left Parker without him crying. I could tell he was a little nervous, but he went right into his classroom, hung up his backpack, and started working at his table. What a big boy!

We were not sure how Eden would react to us leaving her, but she also did a great job. She sat right down and we worked on a puzzle together for a few minutes before telling her goodbye.
Luckily, I had a doctor's appointment to keep me busy today because I missed Parker and Eden a lot more than I expected. I could not wait to pick them up this afternoon. They both had a great day and talked nonstop all the way home. According to them, they took a nap before lunch (it is actually after lunch!), sang songs, read stories, played with balls, ate lunch, and went outside to play. Parker even said he played with Eden after lunch for a little bit. (He also added that he only played with her for a little bit because he wanted to go back and play with his big friends.) The only weird thing that happened today is that Parker lost his lunch box. Yes, on the first day! His teacher is not sure how it happened and we are hoping that it turns up next week. If not, I guess we will be headed to Target to get another $2.99 lunch box. (Their backpacks were $4.99 from Wal-Mart and lunch boxes were $2.99 from Target.) This is why I don't spend a lot on their school supplies. It's a lot easier to not get upset about something happening to them when you haven't put much into them in the first place.

Today was definitely a success and I could not be more excited about the upcoming year! I know that Parker and Eden are going to have so much fun and make a lot of memories with their new teachers and friends!