Happy 6th Birthday Dylan and 2nd Ethan!

Wow, what a weekend of partying! Saturday we had a party with family and date night friends for both of the boys' birthdays. It was so much fun and a little crazy, too! We had 41 people not including our family! Everyone who was invited came! Yeah! I love having parties! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to come celebrate the boys' birthdays with us!

 Dylan wanted a Star Wars cake, so we ordered one for him.

 Ethan is really into trains, so I made a cute little train cake for him! He loved it!

 Especially the candy toppings!

 We went from youngest to oldest with the pinata, and I think it was a big hit.

 Dylan got to break it after everyone hit it. He had fun using his new bat from Uncle Jarod.

 The kids loved the candy and prizes.

 Ethan just wanted a box of Nerds! He climbed over the other kids to get it and then left with just one box! If he only knew he could have more!

 Lauren and her best friend Arianna had fun sharing their Nerds.

 Ethan was a happy little boy! He got some new trains, bubbles, books, a dump truck and firetruck. He was so excited every time he opened anything with trains on it!

 Dylan was very good about being polite. He loved all of his gifts, too! He got a motorcycle, book, cars, Nerf guns, Iron Man mask, Colts pillow pet, money and a baseball bat.

Ethan had a great time playing with the balloons. His hair was getting static-y and was sticking up so far! He had a great day with all of our friends and family! Thanks for a great day!

March madness

This month is just flying by! We have been so busy with school, playgroups, and friends. Last week, we ventured over to IHOP for free pancakes on National Pancake Day. The kids loved it and we couldn't beat the price! On Friday, I met my friend Mandy at the mall for a play date/ shopping. I actually found some things and the kids did great! I think it helped that we brought snacks for the kids and let them run around the play-place for over an hour. Plus, I got to catch up with my friend! It was a great day! Saturday, the kids and I headed over to Illinois to visit with my grandparents. They are doing well and it was great to spend some time with them. My cousin also came over so I could meet her newest little guy, Silas. He is precious. Lauren loved holding him and Ethan would get in his face and say, "hi, baby." So cute! Then Saturday night, Alex (my nephew) came over to spend the night. Dylan had a blast, as always, and we got to spend the evening with his family at Ricky's parent's house. I enjoy spending time with family while we are all living close!

Dylan got to go on his first field trip today. They went to the Children's Museum in Indy for the whole day and he couldn't have been more excited. I am waiting for him to get off the bus, since I don't know exactly what time it comes around in the afternoon. They have been talking about dinosaurs all week, and he has loved it!

For President's day last month, Dylan made this cool Abraham Lincoln hat. I had to get a picture of him sporting it! So fun!

I can't believe that in 2 weeks, I'll be leaving for my cruise! It seemed like the time would not come fast enough, but time really has flown by and I'm pretty sure that these next two weeks will be going by fast, too. We have 2 birthdays and lots of celebrating to do!

Happy Valentine's day

For Valentine's day this year, we decided not to do a gift exchange. I like it better that way, no pressure and just fun. I did get Ricky some cute little candy bars with sayings for 14 days. He enjoyed getting something everyday. I got the kids a little candy to celebrate the holiday, too. They enjoyed that. We had some pink pancakes in the shape of hearts for breakfast, thanks to my wonderful hubby! Dylan had a Valentine's day party at school, so I got to be there with him. It was really fun. One of his classmates, gave him a valentine, and he had no clue! She only got one to give out (apart from the class ones) and she chose Dylan! So cute! Lauren and Ethan got to hang out with grandma for the morning. They had some friends over on Friday for a little Valentine's playgroup at our house. We made some peanut butter cookies with chocolate hearts for our treats. They were a big hit! For dinner, we thought about going to Scotty's Brewhouse since kids eat free on Tuesdays, but there was over an hour wait. We settled for Moe's instead and the kids loved it. It was nice to go to dinner with the family. Ricky and I got to enjoy dinner on Friday night for date night, instead of Valentine's day! Hope everyone had a great day!

Fire trucks and trains

Friday, we had a fun-filled day. It started off by visiting the Fire station with some old friends. Ethan and Lauren had a blast seeing the firetruck up close. They got to try on the Fire Fighter's hat, it was really heavy!

 And they got to climb on the back of the truck and walk thru the back seat of the truck. They loved it!

 Of course, they wanted a picture with the dalmatian out front!

 After we picked Dylan up from school, we headed over to Purdue to ride the Boilermaker Express Train. They were having free rides around campus that day, and it was beautiful weather. We picked up Dylan's friend, Riley, to go with us and they had a blast! We even ran into Riley's dad on the way back to the car! What are the chances?

 Dylan wanted me to take this picture. I think this summer we'll have to walk around Purdue so the kids can see all the fun sculptures and statues. They loved them!

Ethan had crashed by the time we got home and took a great nap. That night, Ricky and I got to go to dinner for date night! I love date night! We went to Texas Roadhouse, thanks to Christmas gifts, for dinner and then to Kohl's to get our pan set! Yeah! I love them! 

Ethan has had some sort of virus this week, so we have been laying low around here. He didn't get sick, just a fever and cough. You know your baby is sick when all they want to do is be held or watch tv. I'm so glad he is feeling better! Just in time for the weekend!

Baby Colin

A couple of weeks ago, I took Lauren to the store after dance class. Apparently she was a little to tired for the store that day, because she fell asleep sitting up in the cart! I couldn't believe it! I guess some days she really needs her beauty sleep!

I've had a busy week around here. My sister-in-law, Joanna, and best friend, Jaime, both had their babies on Sunday. Jaime had to move to South Carolina, so I haven't gotten to see her baby yet. Joanna is just in Indy, so I headed there right after church. He was about 7 hours old when I got to hold him, so precious! I also got the privilege of changing his first poopy diaper. Luck me! It wasn't that bad! I'd much rather change his diaper than Ethan's! Colin joined their family on Sunday around noon and is very loved! Alex, Joanna's boy who is 4 1/2, came up here to spend some time with us while she was in the hospital. Lauren and Dylan loved having him around and it was really fun to see them interacting with each other. He was great the whole time! Thanks for letting us have him!

 Wednesday night, we took Alex home and took advantage of holding baby Colin again. Lauren LOVED holding him. She told me to get my camera to take a picture of her. When I asked her if she was done, she gave me the death glare and stated NO! She was so good with him. (And in case you are wandering, being around him does NOT make me want another one yet! I already have 2 kids that need too much attention!)

Congratulations Kris and Joanna! You made a keeper!