Thursday, May 28, 2009

Home again Home again Jiggety Jig

Mom, and I drove home with the kids last Monday. It was a long drive but actually wasn't too horrible. The kids did really well and Mom and I switched off and on driving and and sleeping. Thank goodness for rest stops along the way, one even had a nice play area with a playground. We arrived home on Tuesday morning at about 3 am. Jake was so excited to see all of us, it was a very happy reunion. Tuesday night, Mom sent us on a date, to dinner and then we went and watched the BYU Ballroom dance team perform in Harrisburg. Mom took the kids and spoiled them at McDonald's and she also went with them to their music class, they ended up getting home later than we did. Mom left Wednesday night, she had to get back home to fulfill her grand-motherly duties. We love her so much and appreciate all the sacrifices she makes for us.

We have been home for over a week now, and have slipped right back into our normal routine. Things have been great at home, it is so wonderful to be back with my love, I just don't seem to function well with out him, and the kids don't either.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend, full of fun times at the pool, with family and friends. We are looking forward to an exciting summer, who knows what adventures lie ahead.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Feedin The Chickens and Ducks

Any chance Isaac and Elisabeth had they were outside, Playing in the grass, feeding chickens, or just running and crawling around.









Fun with Family






Missouri, Missouri, Missouri.... These pictures explain it all. There is just no place like the home you've grown up in. 

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Random...




These are just some random pictures that I had to post. Elisabeth and Isaac love the bathtub. Especially Elisabeth because she gets to choose the color of the water every time. 










These are some more Easter pictures. I made

 Elisabeth an Easter dress, Isaac a Bow Tie, and Jake a normal tie. They looked so cute,  I had to show them off. Isaac was sleeping so he didn't get in the pictures, and Elisabeth was sleepy, which explains the face. Jake of course looks like a hunk no matter what he is wearing, so he pulled the floral tie off no problem. :)

A Fun Filled Day at the Dickerson Park Zoo!


Elisabeth and Isaac loved the petting zoo, at the zoo. Elisabeth was becoming quite the pro at feeding the goats.  Isaac is a happy boy. Loves to be outside and loves to see any kind of animal. He got upset when we took him away from them.









Elisabeth , Isaac and Tucker all loved this peacock. He had his feathers down until the female peacock came around then he started showing off. The kids loved him, they were having so much fun chasing him around. 

One of the things I love about coming home to Missouri is that I get to see the friends I have had forever. These are the friendsthat are there for you no matter where you are living or what you are going through in life.
Lora and I had so much fun, the kids were sick so Mom watched them and Lora took me out to dinner. We laughed and laughed remembering funny things that had happened in the past. After dinner we decided to mosey around through Target. We didn't even plan to both wear bright yellow shirts, I guess we were just in happy spirits that day. Lora is such a great person and friend, it is always refreshing to get to be with her.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

These videos were taken before the trampoline blew away completely. 
 Friday when the kids and I woke up it started to rain heavily. I  didn't think much about it since it had been raining for the nth day in a row. Mom woke up and realizing I had barely lived through another sleepless night, told me to go back to bed and she would watch the kids. I had just laid down when I heard the sirens roar, and Mom yelling through the house telling all of us to get into the bathroom. I grabbed Isaac and Elisabeth and did just what we were told. Isaac, Elisabeth, and I, sat on Pillows in the bathtub. Mom, Dad and LIsa came into the bathroom as well, but thankfully didn't try to squeeze in with us. The sirens were loud but the wind was louder. 
I grew up with Tornado warnings all the time but never do I remember being so scared and so worried about my safety and the safety of my family as I was that morning. After the sirens went off we lingered anxiously around the house watching out the windows at the unbelievable scene in front of us. The winds were blowing about 80 miles an hour and the trees all looked like they were made of rubber.  The electricity had already been out for awhile by then but I still had my video camera in hand. I captured our trampoline spinning through the air like it was a weightless frisbee. The winds were scary and I often rushed us back into the bathroom away from windows that could possibly  blow out for all we knew. 
Thankfully after about an hour or so the winds calmed and we were able to survey the damage. Many trees around my parents property had been uprooted, including the 30 foot pine tree that stood in front yard is now leaning at a 40 degree angle. The other trees that were uprooted are not little ones either, they are all "Big Trees". When the sun came out we went for a drive in the van to see the rest of the town of Willard. We saw many more trees broken or uprooted and, about a dozen trampolines wrecked, and a couple houses with smashed roofs where trees had fallen on them.
  To sum up this story... with lots of prayer we are all safe and sound. We didn't get electricity for a couple of days but we were safe and that is really all that mattered. 
We wanted to surprise my Mom and drive home to Missouri with Ryan and Lizzie, but someone blew our cover before we could get there. The 17 plus hour drive wasn't that bad really. The kids did well for sitting in the car all that time. We finally arrived to Grammy's house at 3:30 am. Elisabeth woke up when the van door opened and immediately knew where we were. she wanted to see the horses and find Grammy as fast as possible. After that I didn't see much of her for about three whole days. She didn't want anything to do with me, she just wanted her Grammy and Grandpa. She even slept in their big king size bed with them for a few nights. After about five days of being here I knew it was about due time for the kids to get sick, it happens every time, it was just a matter of when. Isaac woke up the next day with a burning fever, the next two nights were sleepless for us. Finally he started feeling better and then of course Elisabeth, Tucker, and Baby Ryan all came down with the same thing. Elisabeth started hers out with a temperature of 105 F. I called her pediatrician in Pennsylvania and he recommended that I take her to the emergency room as soon as possible. After she received a blessing given by Grandpa and Uncle Bradly we opted to take her to an urgent care center in Springfield. We checked in and they were about to call us in when I realized that Elisabeth's body felt a lot cooler than it had earlier. I pulled out a thermometer and took her temp one last time, to our surprise it had dropped to 103 F. After talking to the nurse we decided the worst was over and we took her home where she could sleep comfortably. 
 The next 3 nights were once again sleepless for us.  On Friday elisabeth was feeling much better and we had more drama that had to do with a rash and an intimidating call to the Pediatrician. Friday when we woke up it started to rain heavily. I was up with the kids and didn't think much about it since it had been raining for the nth days previous. Mom woke up and realizing I had lived through another sleepless night told me to go back to bed and she would watch the kids. i was just about back to sleep when 

The next week was followed by more fun. Ryan, Lizzie, Tucker and Baby #2 came to visit. Tucker turned 2 while he was at our house and we had fun celebrating with him.


LIzzie and I had a fun time decorating these cupcakes,Tucker loves Nemo so we decided to make fish/beach cupcakes.  We had to be creative because the gummy fish we were going to use, mysteriously disappeared :).


I just couldn't resist taking this picture!
             Gettysburg
City Island
Market Street Bridge
Hershey Chocolate World
This spring has been a fun and busy one. Brad and Irina came to visit in the middle of April. We had a blast and kept them busy touring many of the fun attractions in the area.


Isaac and Elisabeth loved Easter. Elisabeth went to 4 different egg hunts, and fell in love with the Easter BUnny at the first one. Isaac just sat back and let the eggs find him.