Happenings

Dylan has been doing great with soccer this season. We were so excited that he only had one game on Sunday (We don't play sports on Sunday). But then the rain had to go and ruin that for us. They had to cancel 2 games and of course they were rescheduled on Sundays. Oh well. Dylan didn't seem to mind too much. He is getting better and has been staying with the ball more. He has even had some really good kicks! He really likes to play defense (I think it's because he doesn't have to run as much) but still plays all positions. I am very excited to see the progress he has made in the past year! 

In other news for Dylan: He made it into the High Ability class for 2nd and 3rd grade! We are so proud of him! He has had a few issues with concentrating this year, so I'm hoping it is because he isn't being challenged enough. It's very exciting and a little nerve-racking at the same time.

Lauren just finished her year at preschool. She was at Federated, just like Dylan, and loved it. She wasn't too sure at the beginning, but really liked it by the end of the year. She will be starting kindergarten in the fall, so I hope she learns to like school soon! They had a little program on Friday (10th) and then Wednesday (15th) we had a picnic to celebrate. They sang some songs for us at the program and then they got a certificate from the teachers. So cute! 

Miss Dee, Lauren, and Miss Lori

 

Then at the picnic, they had the Purdue train come and give all the kids a ride. They loved it! Ethan was yelling in excitement the whole time. I'm so proud of Lauren!

Lauren, Benson, and Caden (They were carpool buddies all year long)

 Yeah, I took all 4 kids by myself. It was a little crazy, but fun times!

 

For Mother's Day this year, the kids painted cute little flower pots. They are awesome! 

 

We decided a few weeks before that we would go visit Grandma on Mother's Day. My mom, aunt, cousins, and sister were all going to come, too. We had a much smaller party due to sicknesses, but it was still a nice afternoon. It was great to see Grandma and play a game with her! It was also bittersweet, because we didn't get to see either one of our moms. Luckily, our moms both know how much we love and appreciate them. We do have wonderful moms! 

Tuesday we were supposed to go to the Columbian Park Zoo for moms and tots. On our way there, we were rear ended. The girl who hit us apparently didn't see that we had stopped at a pedestrian cross walk.  We had to spend the morning watching the police and firemen around our car instead of animals. The medics checked the kids out just to make sure they weren't injured. Ethan asked me why we were stopped in the road, he's so smart. Luckily, no one was injured other than headaches. We get to have the fun times of getting all the insurance stuff done now. Lauren and Ethan were troopers and Ethan likes to tell everyone, "A car smashed into us." I feel very blessed that we are all ok.

 The kids were more upset at the fact that we couldn't go to the zoo, so I took them to the library instead. They were happy with that!

Surprise!

I had the fun opportunity to surprise Ricky the week after his birthday with a trip to Kings Island in Cincinnati, OH. I was worried that he would find out, since so many people knew about it, but he was totally shocked! I had our friends, Ethan and Libby, come with us. We all met at our house about 5:30pm. I told Ricky I needed him home early because his parents were coming over for dinner. We then surprised Ricky with dinner out with our friends and his parents were watching the kids. We asked him where he wanted to go and we convinced him we should go to Indy for dinner. He decided on Cheesecake Factory, soo good! Ethan was driving, so I told him to just get on the interstate heading south and we would tell Ricky when he noticed. We were all just talking and having a good time in the car. almost halfway to Cincinnati, Ricky noticed the sign said 74 East. He asked if Ethan knew where he was going. We all started laughing. I then told Ricky that it would be fun to just go to Cincinnati for the night. He was really confused. His responses were, "Do my parents know about this?" and "I have to work tomorrow." He was so surprised! I love it! He finally calmed down and we had a great time! In the morning, we headed over to Kings Island for the day. It was Friday, so we were hoping it wouldn't be too busy and it wasn't! We only had to wait about 15 minutes for a ride. It was beautiful weather (75 degrees with a nice breeze), which made a wonderful time. 

 

We rode the Diamondback first, followed by the Beast and realized that our stomachs couldn't handle the roller coasters as much as they used to. We stopped for lunch and then rode the Flight Deck and then went on the Extreme Highflyer. That was the one where they pull you up really high and then you pull the rip cord and fall and swing through the sky. It was awesome, but I probably won't be doing it again soon.

 

 Since we paid to get in, we decided we should ride a few more rides. We went on the train and the Racer. Ricky, Ethan and Libby went on the Adventure Express and Windtower. I didn't want to get sick, so I just watched. Before we left, we thought it would be fun to ride the White Water Canyon. We got soaked, but it was so much fun! We felt like kids again!

We ended up leaving the park around 6 and went to a local theater to see Iron Man 3. Ricky was excited to see it, so it worked out perfectly. The movie was excellent! We made it home by 1am, which was when I told them we would be home. It was a great mini-road trip to celebrate Ricky's birthday! 

Happy Birthday Ricky!

Lots has been going on at the Tate household. I am watching a little 6 week old baby for 2 weeks and I love it! She is so precious and I love holding her. Lauren loves having her around, too! We are keeping up with all the kids running around here and love every minute of it! I am really enjoying this nice weather as the kids love to play outside.

Two weeks ago we went to Ricky's parents house for dinner. The kids kept asking if they could ride in grandpa's tractor, so he took them for a ride. They loved it!

My mom, aunt, cousin and I had a bridal shower for my sister on April 20th. It was so fun and it turned out way cute! I'm so excited for her to get married in May!

Ethan is now scared of the car-wash. I don't know why he is scared, as he used to love it. He cries until we get inside and then he likes it. Silly kids!

April 25th was Ricky's 30th birthday! The kids loved making him breakfast in bed and giving him his presents. We had a busy day with babysitting and working, so Ricky and I got to have a date with his parents and friends at Mountain Jack's for dinner on Friday. The food was so good and it was great to celebrate a new era in life. Happy birthday to the man of my dreams! I'm so lucky to have you as my better half! I love you!

Saturday was a busy day! Lauren had her dance recital with a rehearsal in the morning and Dylan had his first soccer game. Of course they both had to occur at the same time. My parents and sister's family came up here to join in our fun! Lauren did great and even danced the whole song! (She can get shy and just watch everyone, so this was great!) She looked so good in her little costume and make-up. She loved wearing make-up and made sure everyone knew about it! Too cute!

Lauren's class

Makiah, Lauren, and Julianna

Silly girls!

Then after the soccer game and recital, we finally had the boys birthday bash! (Only a month and a half later, so we added Ricky into the fun!) We had a great time and loved having all of our family and friends over to share in this great day!

 

Ricky and the kids on his birthday! I love my family!

My Great-grandma hand stitched this uniform out of my grandpa's military uniform. All of the great-great grandkids have been able to wear it. It is so cute!

I forgot to mention a big change in our household: We have no kids in diapers! Ethan has been potty trained for almost a month now. He is doing great and will come tell us if he has to go. I really believe in positive reinforcement as that was the only way we got Ethan to go #2 in the potty. He got to watch Cars the movie every time (for the first week) and that worked! It is so nice to have him fully potty trained! He has even been staying dry all night long. I am so proud of my little man!