Baseball Party

Aidan's birthday is coming up along with his BFF George. We are having a baseball birthday party for the two of them this Friday. Here is the invite.

Aidan has made out his birthday wish list. We spent a whole morning of him asking me how to spell everything.

For your interpretation it says: Army Helicopter, motorcycle, and he started to write Army guys but the guys didn't fit on the page. I was pretty impressed with his letters. Other things he would like are the game Battleship, transformers, bike helmet, a scooter, Lego Star Wars II for the Xbox. Well, really he wants and Xbox 360. Well, really his DAD wants an Xbox 360.

I BELONG in Kentucky

So here is a little story. Last year Ryan and I took the kids to some horse races at Churchill Downs. It wasn't any fancy race and it only cost $2 to get in. It was really fun to see all the horses and jockeys. We decided to all pick a horse and see who would win. Honestly, I would have truly bet. The lowest bet you can put down is $2.00 so I thought what could it hurt to just bet $2.00. Well, my husband, the good man that he is, said NOPE! No betting. The prophet has told us not to gamble, not even nickel slots. Well, okay then. I listened to the patriarchal leader of our home and followed the council of the prophet and didn't bet. So the first race goes and I pick a horse and he wins. Second race. I pick a horse and he wins. Then we left. How fun was that? Both my horses won. Oh how funny.

A couple of weeks ago we took my sister and her husband to Keeneland for the Bluegrass Stakes which is just outside of Lexington. So we decided again to pick a horse and see who wins. First race, I pick #3. Sure enough he totally wins. Second race. I pick #6. I was prepared to lose this time. The race starts. Number 6 is in the end of the pack. (Oh too bad, I'm going to lose this time) He turns the last corner he is gaining. (At least he won't be a total loser) He is now in 4th place. (Hey he is doing better) He is in second place as he passes us. (Second place, not too bad). Then the race ends and I thought he had won second place until Ryan looked over at me with a look of shock and almost horror. I was like what? Thinking second was good and all but he didn't win. Then he said HE DID WIN!!! He came from the very back and won! So I am 4 for 4 in picking the winning horse. Do I belong in Kentucky or what? Yes, I do wonder how much I could have won but you know that the moment I bet, the magic will be gone and I will lose. All my life I have been looking for my talent in life and here it is. Picking the winning horse. Oh the irony.

Ponytail Day

We are all sporting ponytails today, even Miss Cassidy!

Earth Day

So Yesterday was earth day and no I didn't plant a tree or anything but the day before we did reseed our lawn. Does that count? I saw that on Oprah they were talking about ways to go GREEN. So I taped it and watched it last night. That was a big mistake because all day today I have felt guilty for everything I have been using and throwing away. That was probably their plan but it is almost overwhelming. I mean Julia Roberts was on the show explaining how she composts all her kids' leftovers. Now I just can't do that. I would rather buy a pig to eat all our wasted food. Maybe that is how I can save the planet....I can buy a pig.

They did have some good ideas. But there is just so much. They talked about our deodorants, lotions, food, plastic bottles and bags, paper towels, light bulbs, and cleaners. It seems like almost everything. It is just crazy how much we should change in our lives. They suggested trying to just change one or two things. So I am going to change a few things.

One the light bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) use four times less energy than incandescent ones. If every American family substituted five CFL bulbs for incandescent, it would be equivalent to taking eight million cars off the road for a year. Ball says "They cost a little more up front, but they last up to 15 times longer."

Bring a cloth bag to the grocery store. An estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. That's 1 million bags used per minute. And, according to the EPA, more than 380 billion of those are discarded in the U.S. Less than 1 percent of those are actually recycled. Instead, these bags will clog landfills, create litter, choke streams and harm marine wildlife, like whales, seals and sea turtles.


Stop Junk Mail. Every year 100 million trees are chopped down for junk mail sent to American homes. Contact the direct marketing association at dmachoice.org/mps to remove your name from mailing lists of their members.

There were tons of good ideas and links on Oprah's website. Check it out and see what you can do. You know I'm just one small person but even though I won't see much from the changes I make at least I will feel better inside right?

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200804/tows_past_20080422.jhtml?promocode=HP31

A day of Boyness

Ryan took Aidan out hunting for turkeys this morning. Aidan has been wanting to go for so long. We had him dress up in all his camo stuff. He was so excited. They went about 20 minutes from here on some property of one of Ryan's friends. They saw 3 turkeys but 2 were female and you can't shoot the females. I guess the male one was too far away. They were able to see some deer too and Aidan thought it was so cool to see them in the binoculars. Ryan said that after about 30 minutes Aidan was done and said he was bored. Ryan took Aidan out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast (one of Aidan's favorite restaurants). Aidan crashed on the way home. This is how I found him.

I asked Aidan if he liked it and wanted to go again sometime. He said "Yeah when I am 12." He also mentioned that Ryan's friend had a small ATV that they could use and Aidan was insistent that next time they use it so they wouldn't have to walk so much.

That night Ryan had planned to go golfing with Uncle Blake. When they were making the plans I asked Lacey what we should do while the boys are golfing. Aidan jumped in and said, "You can go shopping and buy MAKEUP (in a sassy voice). Wow, we aren't teaching our kids any gender stereotypes are we? So sure enough while the boys were golfing, Lacey and I bought makeup and clips for our hair. What better date is there than that? Well, I guess if you add going to Dairy Queen after. Yeah that makes it even better.

We love seeing Uncle Blake so much now. I still can't believe he is working so close. I just love love love it!

Best Surprise of the Century!

Ryan has been gone all week on a 4 day trip. We haven't had to deal with a 4 day trip since December maybe even November, so we were all a little rusty being a part for that long. Well, lucky I had my sister for part of the time which helped a ton. But Thursday night the kids and I were all sitting on the couch anxiously waiting the arrival of daddy. It was about 9:30 at night and I see Ryan pull in. Then I see a lady sneaking up to our door and in pops Ryan's mom. What the heck? (We were all thinking). She flew in from Seattle to watch the kids while Ryan and I left for a night. I was so surprised. I knew Ryan was up to something but I had no idea it was this.

So the next day Eva took the kids to the zoo and McDonalds and Ryan and I headed off to Cincinnati. It is only an hour from here but with just having to watch Cassidy it felt like I was a million miles from home. On our way up we stopped at a park to play some tennis. We played a set and a half (all that Cassidy was willing to endure). Ryan killed me. I only won 3 games and he won the other 6. It was really fun and we had some good rallies. We stayed in a great hotel in downtown Cincinnati on the top floor. There was a Reds game that night that we thought about going to but opted for a peaceful dinner at PF Changs. It was so good (get the Mongolian Beef) and Cassidy was just perfect. The next morning we slept in and then did a little shopping.

Now, let me tell you about my excitement (and sadness) of the day. Ryan watched Cassidy in the car so I decided to go to Steve and Barry's just to check it out. I had been there once before but felt like it was just a sports store. When I walked up to the doors it had a big sign that said "EVERYTHING $8.95 or less". This was my kind of deal. There were so many cute things. I tried on a ton of clothes...and here is the sadness, not many of them fit me the way I wanted. Still not back to the size I want to be. But let's not talk about that. I found quite a few cute shirts, a very cute white trench coat, and a pair of tennis shoes and nothing was more than $8.95. Loved it! I asked the sales clerk how long they have had this sale going on because it said for a limited time and he said since November. So if you have one close go check it out!

It was so nice to get away from home for a bit and not have the kids to watch. Cassidy was just so perfect that it wasn't even troubling to have her with us. I am so grateful Ryan takes such good care of me and keeps my needs in mind. I am also so grateful to Eva for coming out to take care of Aidan and Lacey. They had such a fun time with her.

She did it!

She did it! She did it! She did it! Yeah!
Ella Lo hizo! She did it!
She slept through the night and didn't get up once.
She did it! She did it! She did it! Horray!
She went to bed at eleven and didn't get up til seven.
She did it! She did it! She did it! Yeah!


This is a test to see how many of you watch too much Dora! I sadly have this song in my head way too much. Hence the post.

She's a smilin'

My girl is smiling! I totally love it. It makes being her mom all the more fun. She is so sweet to be around and making her smile is so amazing! She probably still smiles at her daddy the most but she now she is willling to spread the love to all of us.

Redneck Part two: You might be MARRIED to a redneck if...

I took the kids to Charleston, SC for two days to see my sister. Ryan was home one of the nights we were gone and he told the kids that when they came home there was a surprise in their beds. They were so excited. They thought he had bought them a present. So when we came home the kids were so excited to see what was waiting for them in their bed.

And this brings us to "You might be MARRIED to a redneck" if he thinks this is a funny present to leave in his kids bed.

Yes, those are turkey decoys. He thought it was hilarious. We thought it was a little weird. So now I have 3 turkey decoys hanging around my house. The kids are using them as storage containers. Lacey has put all her little people and dolls in the bottom and Aidan has put his crayons and cars in them. Not what I really had envisioned having in my house as storage containers, decorations, nor animals I would see in my kids beds. Oh, the joy of being married to a hunter.

This is what he left me. At least he is still a romantic right?

Lesson learned....don't over schedule your morning

Some how I scheduled two appointments this morning. One was with WIC that all three kids had to be at and the other was a 2 month checkup appointment for Cassidy. I think when I scheduled the WIC appointment it was before I had Cassidy because I scheduled it a 9:30 in the morning!!! What was I thinking? We don't get movin' until at least 10:30 and there is no way we are showing up anywhere before 11:00 a.m. Well, at the appointment we all had to get our fingers pricked. Lacey just went bonkers. I guess I didn't forewarn her and that was the problem. She knew Cassidy was getting shots today because she was telling everyone she saw but she didn't know she was going to get a teeny tiny poke on the finger and I think that made her more mad than the actual pain of the prick.

Cassidy did great at her appointment. She had 4 shots. Aidan and Lacey both watched with their hands over their ears. Strangely Aidan laughed the whole time Cassidy was screaming with pain. He might grown up to be one of those people who laugh when people get hurt. But Cassidy didn't cry long. Lacey cried from her little finger prick longer than Cassidy did. Cassidy is now 12 lbs. 10 oz. I can't believe she has grown so big so fast. I love it!

So I am completely exhausted from my morning of appointments. I will NEVER do that again!

April Fools Day!

How would you feel if your pilot walked out of the cockpit looking like this?




Ryan has been planning this April Fools joke for months. He is going to step out of the cockpit and walk to the back of the airplane to the bathroom and hopefully freak out all the passengers . I told him I wasn't sure he had the guts to do. I am anxiously waiting to see if he really does it.