Lego Land, Florida

A few weeks ago we took a mini-vacation to Orlando and Lego Land with Mark's parents. The kids love amusement parks, and I had heard really good things about Florida's newest theme park. We had a wonderful time, and despite the heat, enjoyed our day at the park. Jack especially enjoyed going on rides. He just hit 36 inches (with shoes on), so he could go on a quite a few rides this trip... even some by himself! He looked so little compared to the bigger kids on the rides, but he loved it. 

Jack wanted a blue Angry Bird painted on his face.

And Evan wanted a red bird... he really liked it, so I'm not sure why he is so serious!

I am still taking care of a very sick 6-year-old, so I better run. Poor kid cannot get over a nasty cold/flu. We are off to the doctor tomorrow to make sure he doesn't have something more serious (Mark mentioned bronchitis...).

Have a great week!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm exhausted so today's blog post is in bullet form:

* This picture was not taken today... my Easter pictures are still on my camera and I am too tired to export them onto my external hard drive. Maybe tomorrow! But it's a cute picture, isn't it? Evan's new basketball hoop is getting a lot of use & Mark even taught Evan how to play HORSE.

* Jack refers to my office as mommy's "worker room". Apparently Rocket took his hippo into my office and Jack was very upset. He called to me from his crib "Mommy! Hippo is in your worker room!".

* Easter morning was crazy. Completely crazy. Evan woke up super early to play the Easter Bunny in our living room, then he and Mark scattered the rest of the eggs outside. We got Jack up and the two boys ran around collecting eggs. We haven't told Ev or Jack about the Easter Bunny being real (or Santa Clause for that matter), so Evan took over that role. He *really* got into it! And Jack was a maniac, running around stuffing eggs into his basket as fast as he could.

* By 10:30am the boys were so hopped up on sugar they were running around the living room shouting "I LOVE YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA" while Mark and I each talked to our parents. They. Were. CRAZY! Too much sugar and too much energy = wild and crazy boys.

* By 1:00pm Jack was having a full on meltdown and Evan was pouting. Their sugar high turned into a sugar crash, and they were both cranky.

* I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful for the friends we have made here. We had company over last night and again tonight, and it reminded me of our revolving door of friends & neighbors in Pullman. So much laughter. And cupcakes. :-)

* Jack had his first swim lesson of the new session on Tuesday. This month he is swimming in the pre-school class and not in the mommy and me class. I want him to get used to taking directions from another adult, and interact with other kids his age. He loves swim & is really enjoying his twice-per-week class. His instructor made the comment "wow, he sure talks a lot!". Yes, yes he does.

* Evan has been working on mastering the first grade reading list recently. When I tested him on those words in December, he knew all but 24 of the words (the list has about 160 words on it). When I re-tested him last week he knew all but 3 words. When I told him that I am so proud of his improvement he shrugged his shoulders and said "Now I get to learn the 2nd grade word list!". The kid is a sponge! He loves to learn and is doing exceptionally well in school.

That's it for me tonight. Have a great week!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We had a wonderful low-key day, which was exactly what I wanted this year. On Christmas Eve Evan asked me how early he was allowed to get up Christmas morning, and I told him 7am. He was in our room at 7:14am then next morning, ready to open presents! Santa was really good to the kids this year and brought them each a tablet (one LeapPad & one Innotab), plus an adorable wheelbarrow for Jack & a gears set for Evan.

Mark and I purchased a dress-up box for Jack this year. The only disappointment is when he has to take his costume off for nap time. Jack-Jack has mastered the Pouty Face. :-)

Evan received quite a few board games this year, including Zingo, Twister, a Hopscotch mat, I Spy Quest, I Spy Flipster, and Operation.

We have played many, many rounds of Twister so far. Evan is pretty flexible and does a great job following directions, but half the fun for him is getting twisted up on the mat and purposely falling over.

And I had to post this picture of Rocket. I was working in my office when Mark took this picture, and it cracks me up. I'm not even sure how Rocket got in this position, let alone stayed there.

My three boys. This is my favorite picture of the week... all (mostly) smiling, happy, and thrilled to be spending some time together.

Jack and I spent most of the day in and out of doctor's offices, so I'm exhausted. Have a wonderful weekend!

T-Ball | A Layout

Karla has created some amazing kits the past few weeks, and I created a layout using one of my favorites: Protectors Set 1.

(All supplies are Karla Dudley Designs. Font: Georgia.)

I just love the Warehouse Alpha I used for the title, "t ball". And if you have a few minutes to spare, check out Karla's hybrid card tutorial here. Her cards are beautiful and you can even download a couple of free products.

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Is anyone else getting into the holiday spirit? I am! I have two beautiful poinsettias in my living room (that I haven't killed yet... a miracle for sure), hanging snowflakes above our bookshelves, and a beautiful nativity scene in my kitchen. I have a few more crafty projects planned, but with holiday parties, presents to wrap, Christmas cards to make, and lots of cleaning to do, I don't know if I'll get to them this year. There are definitely not enough hours in the day, especially this time of the year.

Have a wonderful week!

Fall Baseball 2011

I know I was supposed to post photos of Evan's Thanksgiving play and feast, but I thought I would post a few baseball photos first. Evan's season came to an end on Saturday, and he loved every minute of it. He was enthusiastic, energetic, and so happy to be out on the field every Saturday. When his coach, Jackie, announced the his award at the banquet, Evan was given the Best First Baseman Award. He was thrilled to receive a huge trophy for his efforts. I will need to retake some photos of Evan with his trophy, however. The awards banquet was crowded and dim, and I didn't do a very good job of getting photos of him with his trophy.

His first hit of the game.

Running to first base after a hit.

Another hit, later in the game.

Between innings I ran onto the field to get this picture of Mark and Evan. Mark helps direct traffic during the game, and I am so proud of him for donating him time to Evan's team.

Lining up to give high fives after the game. Our little team played great, but they were very anxious start the awards banquet. Our coach brought cupcakes!

Evan really enjoyed his first baseball experience and he has already asked me to sign him up for another season. We are so proud of him!

Goodnight!

Erin.

Happy Halloween!

Evan decided a few weeks ago he wanted to be a robot, and I asked Mark to create an awesome robot costume for him. I would say Mark was successful. He received a ton of compliments & Evan loved it. The red LED lights were great, too!

Evan picked out the color for Mark to paint his robot:

How cute is that?!? We already had the silver basketball shorts & a gray t-shirt. Evan slipped the robot over his head and stuck his arms out the side. He was a bit of a hazard because he couldn't see where he was walking, but I helped guide him down the sidewalk.

My little monkey, Jack, thought Ev's costume was "very silly". Evan is sitting inside the robot... he could fit his whole body in there!

I love this picture b/c all that is visible of Evan is his left hand:

Before trick or treating around our neighborhood, we did a little trick or treating at Publix. I was expecting there to be a lot of kids, but we were the only ones.

The LED lights on Evan's costume were really bright at night. I still can't believe mark put this costume together... I am so proud of him! It looked awesome, and more than one parent said they would love to be able to create such an amazing costume.

I need to hide the candy before the kids find it in the morning... they both ate a ton of it tonight! Jack kept asking Daddy for "another treat?" and "another treat?". He is a big fan of Halloween!

Have a wonderful week!

Ohio Photo Book

Last year I created a photo book for my in-laws and I don't think I've shared it on my blog. I made the book 7x9 inches and had it printed through ArtsCow.

I can't believe it's been a year since these photos were taken. We only spent one year on Ohio, but we did so much during that time & I'm glad I have the photos to remember our adventures.

Cover of album:

Title page:

Pages 2 & 3:

Pages 4 & 5:

Pages 6 & 7:

Pages 8 & 9:

Pages 10 & 11:

Pages 12 & 13:

Pages 14 & 15:

Pages 16 & 17:

Pages 18 & 19:

Page 20:

A lot of this miniBook is dedicated to our trip to the air museum. Mark and his Dad are both really into airplanes, so I thought it was important to include a lot of those photos in this book. And while I love the beautiful weather we have in Florida, I am going to miss the beautiful leaves in Ohio.

Have a wonderful week!