Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

We had a fun-filled, action-packed holiday weekend. I must say we were kept hopping most of the time, and that was partly due to the fact that Rob had to work the entire time. I wanted to keep the kids busy so they didn't miss Daddy too much.

On Friday, Rob worked from 10-1 at Bass and 2-10 at G & V, so we really didn't see him much. We grocery shopped, made a few stamp deliveries for my boss, and hit the park for a good long while. My boys have discovered that they LOVE sandboxes, so we keep sand toys in the trunk of the van for park usage. The park we went to on Friday had a rather lousy sand pit, but that didn't stop them from digging in! The funniest part about that visit was the end. I tried calling the boys over, but they didn't come. Then Anna yelled out, "Minions assemble!" and they shot right over! (That's a line from on of her favorite movies, Despicable Me.

On Saturday, Rob worked from 9:45 to 4:45, so I found a few activities for us to do. We packed a lunch just in case we were still out and about when we got hungry. We tried garage saling, but there wasn't much available seeing as it was a holiday weekend. We found one sale where Anna bought a "new" baby doll (the hair completely fell out w/i two hours of reaching home) and the boys got some balls to play with outdoors. Then we went over to Eberts, one of our favorite places. My intent was to let the kids play and then leave. The boys were concerned that I would drag them into every single greenhouse on the property, but I reminded them that Daddy wasn't with us on this trip :) We did end up buying some flowers anyway. After the kids played in the kid's village for about an hour, we walked through a few greenhouses and found one that was entirely pink. Anna picked out a geranium, then Ben wanted a red one, so we hunted to find the right shade of red. Matthew had his heart set on lamb's ear, which is a very soft plant. He found just what he wanted and proceeded to pet it while we were in line to pay.

Oh, speaking of being in line to pay, so the line was REALLY long and just as we got into it, Ben had to go potty. No problem...the bathrooms were right next to the line so he took himself. Then Anna had to go. Now there was a problem. I tried to convince Matthew to hold our place in line, but he just followed me over to Anna. There was a line for the ladies room, so I got Matthew back into the check-out line (now at the end b/c we lost our place) and told him to stay put. Ben was back by this time and the nice lady behind us said she'd help the boys. So I went back over to take Anna potty, but there was STILL a line and as I checked on the boys, they were speeding up the check-out line b/c a third register had opened. ARGH!! I decided to take action and ushered Anna into the empty men's room (a very nice men's room, if I might say so.) She went potty and then we headed back to the boys, who were by this time next in line to pay. Praise the Lord for the nice lady behind us!!

After Eberts we headed to Ixonia for a tractor expo. I had no idea what to expect, except that there would be tractors and a flea market, so we headed over to find it. We parked next to a small park and ate lunch, then went to see the tractors. Matthew was determined to find a tire big enough to sit inside of, and he found it with no trouble. I do think it would have been a bit more fun and informative if we had either grandpa there to help us out, but they enjoyed it anyway. The had a free kiddie ride and the kids really enjoyed it. It was also a very long ride, so Mommy enjoyed her free time looking around the flea market a bit. After their ride, we walked around the flea market and bought some kettle corn. Then we heard the emcee talking about a kiddie tractor pull. I had seen that in the advertisements but wasn't sure if the kids would be interested. I explained what they had to do and all of them were excited! I wasn't intending to enter Anna at all, but when they weighed in, she followed her brother's example and stood on the scale. All three were in a separate weight class, so they didn't have to compete against each other. They played on the playground until the event started, and Anna's group was up first. She went first and moved it about one foot, but it was far enough, as she got second place! Only three kids in her group, but she ended up with a medal. The boys didn't fare as well, but they did have fun and agreed that it was pretty hard. We headed for home afterwards and waited for Daddy to come home. My parents came over that night, but I think I'll save the grandparent visit for a separate post. I'd hate to undo everything my chiropractor has been working on by typing too much!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fixed the Problem!!

I finally figured out my problem with posting and so I should be able to post more frequently. I wrote that previous post over a week ago and haven't been able to post it. I'm now using an updated browser, so problem solved!!

Monday, May 23, 2011

An Update

I have been informed by my father (who called on an outdated number...hint, hint Dad) that I have not blogged in awhile. I guess I've just been so busy enjoying my life that I haven't had time to blog about it!
Let's see, since my last post was Easter Sunday, I've got mucho catching up to do. I guess I'll just hit the major highlights of the past few weeks. We took a trip down to Illinois the weekend after Easter, but left Rob at home to work. I will say that I don't think I'll be doing that again. Driving that far by myself was a little rough on my body and, well, I just really missed Rob! The kids had a wonderful time playing with their grandparents and a few cousins. The main reason for the trip was for me to do two SU workshops, but we had to cancel one because my sister went on bedrest for a bit. We still went over and visited her, so that was fun. The other workshop went well, but I forgot to bring a punch that was crucial to the card. Thankfully, one of the ladies had it at home and her husband brought it, but not until we were almost completely finished with both make 'n takes. Argh....not my finest hour, but at least everyone had fun and ordered lots. :)
Just to stay on the business theme, I had a great card night last week with seven in attendance. I'm having a workshop tonight and overall I'd say my business is really taking off. I enjoy it and love any excuse to stamp!
Mother's Day happened in these missing blog weeks. That wasn't much to write about, mainly because I was sick all day. I had a headache and some weird stomach problems. I did get treated to breakfast in bed and they bought me Lego Pirates of the Caribbean for the Wii, complete with my own little Lego Jack Sparrow.
We finished our school year on Monday of this week. I had one week left to go and the boys agreed to do some schooling last weekend so we could finish. Rob had to work on Saturday and Sunday, so it was the perfect time to work. They are both excited to NOT have to do school and I think I'm just as excited....if not more so!! I am planning to do a little schooling over the summer, but nothing real big. My goal is to keep working on Ben's reading skills and help Matthew get more confident in his math facts.
We do have a few things planned for the summer. The boys are signed up to take swim lessons in June. They are in the same class, so I'm hoping that will help with their confidence. If they both pass, I'm going to sign them up for the next level class in July. All three children will get to do the library reading program this year, which starts in June. Otherwise we plan to hit the parks and the beach as often as we can! I'm going to work on my scrapbooking and learn to braid hair. :)
We have found a fantastic babysitter. When Rob starting working second shift, I realized I need a sitter if I am to keep my business alive! The kids absolutely love her to pieces and I feel very confident in her abilities. Anna asks me almost every day when she's coming back.
I think that's all for the activities going on at our house. And I hope you're happy, Dad!!