Week 24 The best week yet!!!!!!

So obviously Im behind.  Week 24 means the week of July 4th, yikes, that is over a month ago!!!!!

But nevertheless, it was the best week ever!!!!! And here is why!!!

Thats right!!!!  Bill came home!!!  It was soooooo good to see him I am at a loss for words.  But to top off the happiness of being together we went on a.......

CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well by now you probably know all that, but its still fun to try to surprise you.  It was my first cruise ever!!!!  Bill was excited too as it was our first trip together without kids, well since house hunting in Monterey ummm in 2004, but that was not near as fun. 

So first you know we found our cabin, then it was time for muster.  Ok so I thought you had to go.  I mean I wanted to go cause if for some reason I needed to know where to go if the ship was sinking, I wanted to know!!!  Ok so that was kind of a mistake, it was freakin hot and we had to stand outside in the heat stuffed like sausages (there were tons of us out there and we had to stand shoulder to shoulder)  UGH ok never again, I know where to go!!!!!

So then it was time to explore.  We walked all over and finally got to the very top front of the ship (as we were moving) and it was very windy.  And look what I was wearing:

Ya so with the wind, my cute little skirt went all the way up.  It was sooooooo embarrassing!!!!!!!!  I really hope no one saw, Bill thought it was quite amusing though. 

Anyways, so here are some pics of our fun onboard the ship:

And then we also had fun off the ship.  First was our Salsa and Salsa outing in Progresso.  Well it was Merida but we got off in Progresso.  It was very fun.  We got to make 3 kinds of salsa and eat it, we got 3 drinks, and then we learned how to dance Salsa.  We also had a little tour around the main square in the town.   Here are some pics of that fun.

Sorry we didnt get pictures of the dancing, we were definitely too busy busting a move!!!!!  It was fun trying to get Bill to move his feet (in the right way).

So then we headed to Cozumel and swam with the dolphins.  It was sooo fun!!!!!!  I wish we could have stayed longer.

I also have to share my most favorite picture ever.  The first night on the cruise the sunset was so beautiful.  I had to capture it.  Im so excited I did!!!

I have to tell you this was the best trip of my life.  It was so relaxing and enjoyable.  This week with Bill was also unforgetable.  I hope you all enjoy the pictures (finally!!!!)  I know many of you were asking for pictures so I have now done it!!! 

Alright onto the next week, I might be on a roll, but if not I will get it done sooner or later :)

Week 23-27 Wholy Moly time flies!!!

Man if I do it this way I will be to 44ish in no time!!!  Ok so soooooo much has gone on the past oh like month and a few weeks.  I have to much to share, I hope you are ready!!!!

So week 23 was the beginning of our summer trip.  We headed out for Kansas to meet up with family, my dad's class reunion, and my aunts wedding.  It was a fun filled 6ish days.  I cant say the ride up and back was the most pleasant, we somehow had so much stuff we ended up taking the Toyota up so we could load up the back with all our stuff.  But to be honest G did an amazing job at  not driving us completely crazy. 

Here is the truck getting loaded down.  It doesnt look like much but we were not done loading it up

Next we get to Kansas and the family and friends start pouring in.  Cousins, siblings, aunts/uncles, etc.  Here the boys (Jacob, Nick, Joey, and Greysen) are so excited to see each other they spent every minute they could together.

It was then time for the wedding.  My Aunt Deanna got married to a long time friend Steve.  It was a great time, hot, but great.

So as I was rushed to the toilet with Greysen who had to go, and I was not about to let him go out in the yard during the ceremony, that might have been frowned upon.  I handed the camera to my brother, and this is what I get for doing that:

Freak I believe he found all the nice little yard ornaments :)  isnt he nice!

Ok back to the main idea here.  The main reason I went was to see my grandma.  Last time I saw her I forgot to get a picture with her, so this was a must.  Here she is my cute grandma, and of course cute me!!

Oh and you have to see the boys again, they are just soooo cute.  I love all 4 of them!!!

So from the left we have (my nephew) Joseph, Jacob, Greysen, and Joseph's twin, but not look alike brother Nicholas. 

And sometimes G just doesnt cooperate, but he is cute :)

The the family photo.  Its been years since we were able to have one taken, and we are soooo in luck!!!

Here we are just missing one important person, so when Bill returns we will have to make sure to add him in there!!!  And look G is looking at the camera, but he isnt very happy about it.  For those who dont know, that is my brother Cameron's family (his wife Christina, Joey and Nick).

And no trip in the car to anywhere can be complete without a trip to the bowling alley.  Greysen can find any bowling alley out there.  Well this is the one he spotted in Abilene KS.  Its soooo old that the ball rolls back to the holder thing.  Im just surprised we didnt have to write down our scores.  So here are the boys :)

Then we HAD to get our ice cream after bowling from only the best place in Abilene.  My Dad and Steve worked there when they were younger and claim to have invented the blizzard.  I guess they used to serve their stuff upside down too.  I forget the name of it, so if you ever want to go, or find yourself in Abilene KS (which im not sure why you would find yourself there) I will give you the name of the place :)

Oh and by the way who has ever seen a circular rainbow in the sky?    Not us, it was really cool!!!!

And now time for the real fun!!!!  The 4th of July!!!!!

To begin we had stopped by the fireworks stand and bought over 100 dollars in little fun things.  So we start with the daytime stuff like the pull things, snakes, throwing bomb things, firecrackers, etc.  The boys had soooo much fun.  Here the boys are pulling one of the pully things and I got the explosion part caught on camera, cause im talented like that :)

Then it was time for a water ballon fight, I think we filled over 200 balloons which took hours, and the balloon fight lasted maybe 10 min.  Freak it was fun if you were throwing but if you got hit it was another story!!!!  G loved to throw them but didnt like to get wet himself, so Uncle Cameron came to the rescue and consoled the wet soldier!!!

so then it was time for the snakes.  You know those great little black things that you cant light to save your life.  Well we came up with a great idea.  We built our snakes a campfire using all the used matches it took to start the fire.  Take a look at this!!

Well forget this boring none productive snake stuff, and lets move onto the fun stuff, FIRECRACKERS!!!!  So this was the first year the older boys got to throw the fireworks.  No fingers or hands lost, just lots of fun!!

Greysen didnt miss out on the fun either, however he was busy covering his ears so it wasnt so loud.  But at least he wanted to hang out with the family :)

Then its time for the big stuff, the fountains, which were absolutely awesome (hee hee)  Notice G still holding his ears, but at least he was there!!

Then time for the neighbors to bring out the big guns.  The big fireworks!!!!

Then sparklers to finish up the night, im not sure how mnay 100's the kids did, but they had fun (minus Greysen)  maybe too much smoke for him, im not quite sure.

So that sums up our fun time in Kansas.  I hope you all enjoyed.  And to be honest I am going to have to continue with the rest of the weeks in the next posting.  This took forever!!!!  Plus I dont want you guys to get bored reading so much at one time.  I will spread it out.  So hang on to your shorts for what happens in the next blog, you will be surprised!!!!! 

Week 22: I am so forgetful!!

This week has been pretty busy.  You would never know it by looking at the pictures. But behind the scenes many activities were happening. 

Tuesday, Linsey (my neighbor) and I took our kids to the Witte museum and then to a park for a picnic dinner.  So we get to the museum and man oh man was there tons of people there.  Did I mention its free from 3-8pm on Tuesdays?  Well I was all excited and started taking pictures of the kids only to realize I didnt have the SD card.  Hmmmm well sorry you will just have to use your imagination on how much fun the kids had.  Greysens favorite was the penny circle thing where you drop a penny and it goes and goes and goes in circles forever and ever until it drops into the nice little bank in the middle.  He also liked the ball popper which shot a tennis ball up in the air and was caught in a net.  Jacobs favorite I believe was controlling this thing up on the ceiling.  Not sure what to call it. 

We then headed to a nearby park and found a picnic table.  We had tons and tons of food, do you think any of it was eaten?  Well not much.  But they had fun chasing birds and finding golf balls ( we were on the edge of a driving range)  We also got to see the little train go by several times.  I think that might have to be our next adventure :)  Over all it was a fun and exhausting time. 

Wednesday I changed my look.  I decided to be a brunette again.  Not that I wasnt before but had many highlights/lowlights etc.  So now its one color, chestnut brown.  Looks good, I like the change. 

Thursday I was supposed to go to evening yoga, I mean can you imagine relaxing the last 10 min in complete darkness?  I was looking forward to it, however Julie changed my mind.  She didnt have to twist my arm or anything but a margarita and steak salad sounded way more tempting.  It was a good choice!!!

So Friday, oh Friday.  I didnt forget the SD card for swimming this time.  However I think G had different plans.  Everything was fine until we get to swimming and guess who wasnt there.  His teacher.  Oh goodness, if you knew G you would know he isnt cool with changing swimming teachers, especially when the sub is a male coach.  So the directors know how G is so they come out as soon as class starts to lure him into the swimming area.  Ya that wasnt happening so much.  G refused to swim with his class, so we decided trying to put him with the other instructor in the pool, a female, teaching PS1 (babies) .  That didnt even work.  Here is the most water he touched:

Owell what can we do?  So now we have a few weeks off so hopefully when we return his teacher will be back as well. 

Later I picked up G from school and guess who decided to have a fever!!  Yes you guessed it, G.  Poor little man.  So the weekend he ended up laying around watching cartoons, snuggling, oh and dont worry he still did some of his normal G things.  But it was a very low key weekend.  Here this is what G likes to wear when he is "lounging"

Not only did he lay around in these clothes, but he had to wear them to CVS so we could get some more motrin.  Not too many people stared.  But he is cute :)

Well not only did we do the museum, hair do's, sickness, swimming. and school, but J and I also did a huge cleaning of the house.  We went through each room took out what we didnt need anymore, cleaned it and now it looks great.  My neighbor Linsey also came over several nights to help me decorate my kitchen.  Luckily she had a bunch of stuff she was getting rid of and it just happend to match my kitchen motif.  Yes I know you are saying we didnt have a motif, but now we do :) 

So even though there are not many pictures to prove it, it was a pretty successful week.  Now guess what, ONE AND A HALF MORE WEEKS!!!!!!  OMG I am so excited.  I cant believe it!

Ok well I hope you enjoy the blog.  And better yet I hope you enjoy the fact only one more before we see you!!!!

Love you tons and miss you more.  Enjoy your week!!!

Week 21 - Boys will be boys :)

OH BOY, what will he think of next????  Its never ending with Greysen, NEVER ENDING!!!  If its quiet in the house, something is not good.  If its loud in the house, its not good.  SO when is it ok? well usually when he is asleep, however sometimes that is dangerous also.  It could include 5 pull ups and 3 pairs of underwear on all at once.  Let me tell you, he was protected!!!  Or it could even end up like this.....

Yes thats right, there is Buzz Lightyear right before your eyes.  As well as his Rex socks.  Ya you never know what he will be when you wake him up. 

Oh and here is what trouble lies ahead when its quiet in the house. 

I know cute right!!  Its my new mascara, its supposed to highlight your green eyes, not your eyebrows!!!  Oh and did I mention its waterproof.  Anyways, it was all over.  Thanks Heidi, I think he and Finn are two peas in a pod!!!  Except Finn might be more artistic :)

So then when he is mad at you and watching to see if you leave to go downstairs and he gets bored this is what happens.  Thats correct, G is sleeping on the other side of his door so you cant open it.  Isnt he cute!!!

Ok so all this goes along with G hiding Wii games from his brother this week, oh and get this I ask him where he hid them and he says in his secret hiding place.  I ask where that would be so he looks around and comes back to me and says "I dont know"   So its been fun trying to find Wii games around the house. 

So on an even more fun note we had swim lessons!!  Boy is he going to learn so much in PS 3.  So check out all the new skills:

Learning how to begin the front stroke thing.  Sorry im not an expert on terminology here so just go with it :)

 Oh and here he goes. 

 And goes......

 Now for the back glide thing.  I guess they start with their knees on the wall first so they dont push off too hard.

 And here he is floating on his back after the glide.

 We were then invited to watch from the deck, yipppeee. This is where they go over all the skills they are learning with us.  I guess so we can work on it at home.  So this is the back float.  hands are supposed to be on the belly and they are supposed to be there without the teachers hands.  Ya well he has not perfected it yet :)

  Then the front glide from the instructor to the wall.  He is doing ok, but comes up a little early.

 Oh and jumping in.  They are supposed to jump in straight, not like a dog with 4 legs.  So ya hasnt perfected this one, but at least he isnt fearful.  So the end result is jumping in straight and they they roll to their back to a float.  G just jumps in and soaks the teacher.  It will come!!!!

So I guess that is about it with G.  So I took J out to lunch to Subway. Yes Subway.  Out of all the places he wants one of the only places we could eat at in Naples.  Well he enjoyed every bit.  That is what is important.  Here he is, happy with this sandwich.

So really everything is going pretty good.  I wish I could keep the grass green on this side.  However its turning in to more of a sand color.  But just think things are greener on the other side.  Time is moving along and the end is closer then it was.  In 2 weeks there will be some extreme happiness going on and we will enjoy every minute together!!!!  Im so excited to surprise the boys!!!  Im seriously surprised ive kept this a secret this long.  Well love, please take care, and hurry up and get home!! We love you tons :)