Woodstock...Fair

Yes, Another fair! This was my 3rd fair this year. My first ever in Connecticut! :) It was really neat and Brian and I had a great time. This fair had so much food!! It was a little different from our fairs at home in food choices. I have never seen clam chowda at a food tent before! And you could pick from which place you wanted to get lobster. :) I think the biggest difference was how many food booths they had. We have far more animals...they have far more food. Of course, Brian and I were loving that! So much for eating healthy this week!! They had a ''birthing center'' for the cows. The had about 4 cows that are expecting and they put them in this area for a chance at seeing a cow be born. They were showing an educational video about cows and how they give birth. It was actually a really neat idea. No babies born when we were there though. :( A great night!!

The little man...Billy!

Today, Jamey and Billy came over to hang out! :) We had a wonderful lunch and Billy went down to the pond to make sure that the fish had plenty of rocks in the pond. In case they didn't they now have a few more...courtesy of Billy. ;) How much of a little man has he grown up to be since I have seen him!

Miss Sadie Rae!

Friday morning when we got here, Krista, Sadie, Brian and I went to breakfast. Krista was playing with Sadie and she started giggling. Krista said it was the first time she laughed!! It was so cute, she was belly laughing...and Krista was laughing at Sadie laughing. It was so much fun being able to be part of one of her "firsts"!

We're here! CT!!

Hello all!

Brian and I left last night (Thur) at 6:45 from Mishawaka....destination....Plainfield, CT! My brothers both live in Connecticut, one in Tolland and one in Plainfield. I surprised Brian with an extended weekend trip out east. Ben and Krista (Sadie and Levi too) were so kind to let us stay here.

We drove straight through...2 stops for gas, 1 bathroom stop and a coffee stop. We made it, just a little over 12 hours. We got here this morning at 7:00! We made great time and didn't really even speed. About 6 over the whole way here! I was a little worried about Labor Day traffic, but the worst traffic was this morning...rush hour in Hartford.

Brian and I got engaged last year on Labor Day weekend so I wanted to make this weekend special for him! Tonight starts their local fair here, so I think we are going to the fair! :)

Tomorrow, we are going to get up early and head into Boston...do some sightseeing and then head back for dinner at Ben and Krista's. Jamey said he is going to make some lobster - YUM - and crab cakes.

I will have to post some pictures later of Ben and Krista's new little cutie! Sadie Rae...she is so S.W.E.E.T. She loves her Auntie Addi too! :)

My sis...

Aren't these great pictures of Anitra? I was in trouble for my previous post on her. But, I love these pics, so I wanted to keep these pics on here. :)

Adria

Ok, ok, you tired of birthday pictures yet? Sorry, after taking 479 pictures, it was hard to decide on which ones to post! All the kids are just so cute!! Well, I'm signing off for tonight...back to the daily grind tomorrow!

Random Shots

Here are some pics of the kids playing!

The magnifying glass

Senica asked for a magnifying glass for her birthday. Grandma Pottenger got her that! The kids L.O.V.E.D. it! You can see them checking out all the bugs in the yard .... and later Uncle BK taught them how to make a fire/smoke with the sun and little twigs.

The top picture is fabulous! All the kids sitting so nicely in a single-file line to watch Senica open her gifts. Anyone with kids knows this didn't last more than 2 minutes...max! :)

Friends and Family!

L. to R.
Ethan(Seth's brother) brutally beating BK at Cornhole!
Shawn (Seth's brother) holding Ty
Lexie and Abbi showing off their skills (Shawn and April's girls)...Yes, Senica has 2 Uncle Brian's and 2 Aunt April's!
Brenna, Senica and Tanner on the trampoline
Seth, Senica and Anitra
Tutu (Seth's grandma) and Ty
Janae, Lexie, Madison, Abbi, Senica, Ty and Tutu
All 7 girls and Tanner on the trampoline
Grandma Pottenger and Adria

Break the Pinata!

The day started of with rain, but God blessed us with some sunshine just in time for Senica's birthday party! She had quite the turnout of family and friends. We had wonderful sandwiches that my mom made, PB&J, chicken salad, ham salad (those last two...thanks for Dana's Deli) and ham and cheese! We also had a veggie tray, fruit ka-bobs, chips and cake and cupcakes and of course, ICE CREAM! It was all so wonderful and the bee's couldn't have agreed more!! Yikes! Senica got a lot of nice presents, but I think the hi-light of the day was the pinata and trampoline. The kids did a great job at busting the pinata...no adult had to really break it for them! :) You can also see in the pic above how they all dove right in for the goodies! It was a great day and Senica was very tired today trying to recover from her party!

Cupcakes galore!

Tonight was the night to make all the cakes/cupcakes for Senica's birthday party. Brian worked his normal shift from 8-5 and then work called and they got another big order, so he went back in from 8:15-11:30. Since he wasn't going to be home, I asked Senica if she wanted to come down and help me bake. Brian and I had gotten her, her very own bake set (spatulas, wire whisk and cupcake pan). We made 2 cakes and 36 cupcakes! (see above) We were up until midnight baking, well I was finishing baking and senica was watching Happy Feet.

Party time...

After Senica's breakfast and trip to the store this morning, they had a party with the kids that Anitra watches. (hope it's ok to post their pics) The middle pic is Anitra in the kitchen with them all. L to R...Elizabeth, Caleb, Anitra, Ty, Alex and Senica. Alex is also in the corner pictures on the left. Anitra had watched him when I was still living there and I can't believe how big he is getting. Anitra said (and the pictures show) that he devoured that cupcake! How adorable is that bottom pic?? His outfit today said Hakuna Matata! I loved it! I say that at work a lot!! :) Anyway, Senica had a great birthday until about 4:30. I was on my way to pick Senica up to take her to get a leotard for her gymnastics classes that start next week and Anitra called....

Addi: Hello!
Anitra: She's puking!!!!
Addi: What??!
Anitra: Yes, Senica is sick! She just threw up!!
Addi: Just now?
Anitra: Yup, what am I going to do?
Addi: Well, let's see if she gets sick again.
Anitra: K-luv you-bye
Addi: luv u - bye

About 5 mintues later....

Addi: Neech?
Anitra: Yes...
Addi: Did she get sick again?
Anitra: Yup!
Addi: No Chuck-E-Cheese tonight. I will go pick out a leotard for her.
Anitra: Ok, she's crying cuz she wants to go with you.

My heart is now broken! Poor Senica!! She's sick on her birthday!!

Well, I stopped by later and she was feeling a little better and actually posed for some pictures for me. Bless her heart! Being sick is no fun...especially on your birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SENICA!

Today our little Senica turned 3! She got up this morning and had breakfast with her daddy. They then had to go to Meijer and this is what Senica chose as her birthday suit. ha! Her dress up shoes with her jean shorts and pink t! Seth said everybody they passed in the store said how cute she was...and she politely replied to all of them..Thank you! Seriously...how C.U.T.E!

Poor Miss Spider...UPDATE

Brian and I went to Anitra and Seth's for dinner tonight. Then we went to get groceries while Anitra borrowed my computer and when we got back to Anitra's, this is what we found. Poor little Miss Spider, only one eye left. Anitra said she's an awful mother for letting Senica stay up late and eat cake, but you all know my rule....it's her birthday month! :)

The trial run

Senica turns 3 on Wednesday. Anitra asked me if I would take care of making the cupcakes/cake. Of course I told Anitra that I would do whatever she needed me to. Now, you have to understand that when I told her this, I really meant, "I can make a cake that says Happy Birthday Senica" I didn't know I would need to be following the theme of Miss Spider and her Sunny Patch Friends. Mind you, I have only made cakes in a 13X9 pan...nothing fancy, except one time long ago in Senior Foods in high school. Then, I had a teacher to help guide me. So, Brian and I stopped at the kitchen store at the outlet malls so that I could buy some round cake pans. Then, off to Target to get 6 boxes of cake mix so I could practice.

After church the Zartman's came down for lunch and after lunch, the boys went downstairs to rest and I got to work on the practice cake. Senica helped a little too - as you can see in the picture - most of her help meant licking the beaters and eating the frosting. :) While I was making the cakes, Anitra and Senica were putting together the "goodie bags" for Senica's party. Her hair is a little crazy - but she is still so cute!

I included Senica's toy Miss Spider in the pictures so you all could see what the cake should look like. ha! I think I can do better next time, but Brian and Seth assured me, no matter what it looked like, it tasted good! I guess so - the only thing left of Miss Spider on Monday morning was her head! ;)

Grandma Kaminskis

We got up this morning at 5:00! We stopped at Burger King for breakfast and we were on the road. We met Brian's dad and brother at a rest stop on the toll road and followed them to Cleveland. Brian's grandma is a few inches shorter than me. She spoke English a lot better than I was expecting. Talis and Andrew went to get her groceries while Brian and I stayed with her. She asked me about my family and asked if I had any sisters. She had 2 older brothers and 4 older sisters. Her one sister died in a bicycle accident and she said that her Godmother told her she needed to get her sister ready for burial. She said that was one of the hardest things she has ever done. She said she was very close with her sisters and she can remember them getting in bed together at night to share stories. She cried a lot when she talked about her sisters and said she's all alone now. I can't imagine all the things that she has seen in her life. We showed her some pictures of our wedding/reception/honeymoon. She could only look at pictures for a certain amount of time without having her eyes bother her. She has a magnifying glass that she looks at everything with. I was telling her about the ferry that took us between the islands in the USVI and she asked if it made me sick. She said when they came to the states from Latvia, they came on a boat and she was sick the entire time! She said it was awful!!

She was telling Talis that he never fixed her "bicycle"...so Andrew got it temporaily fixed with a rubberband. Her told her to try it and see if it would work for the time being. Aren't these pictures of her "biking" the cutest?? She was telling me she likes to ride the bike before she goes to bed. I told her Brian likes to have a bowl of ice cream before bed. She thought that was funny. :) When we went to leave she hugged me and told me that she loved me and she likes that I am like her (short). ha ha!

Right now, we are on the toll road heading home. I'm gonna try and nap now. :) Thanks to everyone for the prayers!! It's been a good day.

Pretty in Pink

Mom took a day off this week and went with Anitra, April, Janae, Brenna, Senica, Ty and Adria to the zoo. They had a great time and after he zoo all went to Anitra's house. When I got off work I went down to see how their day was and got these cute pictures of Adria. Isn't she so pretty? I know!! She is really changing her looks already - I can see a lot of both, Janae and Brenna in her. :)

Brian and I are heading to Cleveland, OH tomorrow morning at 6:00am to see his grandma. Brian's grandma is 93 and is from Latvia. She speaks broken English, so his dad sometimes has to translate. Brian hasn't seen her in years and this will be the first chance I have to meet her. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow. It's a 8-hour round-trip, so it will be a lot of driving in one day.

Dinner prayers...

Tonight at dinner, Brenna wanted to say the prayer...it went something like this...

Brenna: God, thank you for Addi and Anitra, and Senica and Ty and my baby sister and mommy and BK and Seth and Daddy...

At this time, Janae is hitting Brenna to remind her to pray for her (Janae).

Anitra: Janae, we don't hit people or touch people while they are praying...Brenna, continue.

Brenna: and thank you for this food. Amen.

Addi: Janae, did you want to say a prayer?

Janae: Yes! Umm, God, thank you for Addi and Anitra and BK and mommy and my baby sister Adria and (pause) Brenna (gives a look to Brenna and another long pause) and Grm. Jeri and Papa Bobby and Papa Joe and Grm. Nancy...(then she listed almost our whole family).

Poor Janae - Brenna always leaves her out of the prayer. They love each other so much. But April said that Janae was picking on her earlier and I think Brenna knows how that really gets to Janae. Ohhhh..sisters! :)

Golf Day!

Today the boys went golfing. I suggested that sometime I go along with them to ride and take pictures. Obviously, they don't take cameras with them, so we don't have any pictures of them. So, Anitra and I hung out at the putting green so I could get some pics of them. Their t-time was 2:08 and they didn't get home 'till almost 7!! But - they had a GREAT time!! Bobby said when they got home, the only way it could have been a better day was if our CT. boys were here to go too!

Happy 1st Birthday Connor!

Today was the day for parties! Tonight we had a birthday party for Connor's first birthday! How adorable is he?? Kim, one of my best friends, is Connor's mommy! She did such a wonderful job putting this party together. I didn't realize until I got home that I have pictures of Connor's cake, but none of his cupcakes. I came to two conclusions as to how this occured...#1, I was in charge of video-taping, so in the middle of taping, I forgot to get a pic of the cupcakes...OR...#2, I was too busy standing at the counter eating the cupcakes, I forgot to get a pic of them. I think I'll go with #1! :) Anyway - Happy Birthday to little Connor!

Brenda's shower

This morning, Anitra and I went to Brenda's bridal shower while Seth watched the kids and Brian went to work. Brenda and Kyle are getting married this fall and they just bought a house (so cute!) and had a joint shower this morning. Tiffany and Annette did a great job putting the shower together and Brenda got a lot of nice things! It was fun to get to spend time with Brenda and learn more about her and Kyle! :)

The finished product

Our finished basement! Here is what our basement looks likes now. Senica came over and said, "I like the color over there" and did a little wave of the hand. Too funny! Anyway, after a lot of hard work...Brian doing most of the painting...me most of the decorating! :) We LOVE it!! Let me know what you think!

My handsome Hubby

Tonight I got home from work and started cleaning right away. Book club is happening at our home in 2 nights, and we are trying to finish the basement. Brian got a bonus today (yeah...so proud of him) and we ordered pizza to celebrate! Anitra, Seth and the kids came down to eat dinner with us. Senica let me know that she likes "the color on the walls over here". :) Brian went to Wal-mart to rent a RugDoctor for me. We cleaned out the front dining room and I swept and steam cleaned the carpet! Fun times!! Moving down to the basement...we did laundry, moved some more furniture, swept, moved some more furniture...and now it's 11:30 and I am just sitting down. Whew!

Anyway - I was just ironing...and thinking about how thankful I am that God has blessed me with such a wonderful man! Look at him...isn't he adorable?! I know, I know!

Senica...little Anitra

Senica called tonight to see if she could come down with her mom and Ty. Of course that was fine. Anitra called a few minutes later to let me know to come out to the front porch. I asked her if I needed my camera...it's never very far away from me anyway...and she said, "Yeah, you probably will want it". I sit on the front porch and here comes Senica - pushing "Ariel" in her stroller. Right behind her is Anitra trying to catch up. She was marching like a proud little mother. Seriously, it was one of the cutest things!! So they get to the house and Senica gets her out..such a good little mother she is, that is until they get inside and Senica wants to play Play-doh. I think Ariel got thrown on the ground. The next time Senica thought about Ariel was after she got done with Play-doh and ice cream and it was time to go home. ha ha!

I have to say what some of these pictures are...obviously, the top row is Senica with Ariel as they are getting to my house. The second row starts with Anitra doing what she does at our house...checks her email. The next one is our cute little man...and then Senica's pocket with her "cell phone" in it! Honestly, how funny is that? The next two rows are Anitra and her Mini-me. he he I know Anitra will love me for this, but look at the picture the second row from the bottom...third picture in. How funny is that? Look at both of their faces. Senica will never be able to deny her mother! I love it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SETH!!

Happy Birthday Seth!! I wish I had baby pictures of him on my computer so I could post those...but no such luck. So, these are the only pictures that I could find of him that was just Seth alone. No Anitra..No Senica..No Ty. Do you know how hard that was? I was looking for awhile and I thought I was going to have to crop Anitra out of some pictures.

Anyway, Seth holds a special place in my heart. He really is more of a brother than brother-in-law to me! Seth has been around 1/2 my life! He and Anitra met at Bethel when I was only 14 years old. So - here's a special Happy Birthday to Seth! I love ya!

Sunday...a day of rest?

Today Brian and I got up and went to early service and S.S. We stopped at Meijer on the way home to buy a pie pan. Yes, I could not believe it myself, but I do not own a pie pan. Well, I do now! :) We ot home and I quick made a pie for Seth for his birthday. PB pie b/c that is what Seth likes! So then we headed down to Anitra and Seth's house. Senica was already on her trampoline with Anitra and honestly, I can't tell who was more excited! Anitra or Senica. As you can see in these pictures...Anitra's face is priceless! :) Mom and Papa came and mom brought lunch. Mom made taco salad and it was wonderful! We had lunch and before we were even done, Senica was ready to go back outside to jump. She had Anitra on the trampoline and mom and me! It was so much fun!! The guys didn't jump, but they did their part in putting up the safety net! :) I love how Senica waited so patiently for the guys to get her trampoline done.

Brian and I came home and put in a movie then Anitra called to see if we wanted to come back down for supper. Instead, they came to our house. Brian grilled chicken legs and I made another pie...strawberry this time. :)

So sweet...

One more thing...

As we were walking at the fair - me holding Senica's hand and Senica holding Brenna's....

Brenna: Addi, I love you!
Senica: Yeah, Addi, I love you!
Addi: Well, I love you two VERY much, too!!
Senica: Yeah and Brenna, I love you
Brenna, Yeah Senica, I know and I love you too!

So much LOVE!!

I forgot...Saturday, we also painted Brenna and Senica's nails. Brenna is so kindly showing me her pretty nails in the picture above!

Kids everywhere! :)

So Friday night the girls and I went to bed at midnight. Brian was up at 6:30 to go to work. My alarm went off at 8 b/c I was going to get up and make the girls breakfast. Well, Brenna heard my alarm and was up at 8. We snuggled on the couch - Brenna is quite the snuggler - and Senica was up at 9! The first thing they asked for was cookies for breakfast. So...we had some cookies and watched Nemo. Then, out came the Play-doh. We finished our movie and I hopped in the shower while the girls played with my cowgirl hat! Brenna as you can see is quite the ham. She knows the words to A LOT of the current country hits. It's hilarious!! Then Brian got home and we cooked a big breakfast...bacon, eggs, sausage, toast etc. We ate and the girl's said they were tired. It was about 12:30 that they laid down for a nap. I got both of them down for a nap and Brian too and Anitra, April, Janae, Ty and Adria showed up. Since the little girls were sleeping Anitra and April took the babies to the store to get stuff for Senica's birthday party. Janae wanted to swim, so we went out to swim - just her and I. It was nice to have some time for just Janae and I. She is such a curious kid...so many questions! So at 3 Janae and I went in to check on the little girls. They had just gotten up so we got them in their suits and back out to the pool! :) I let them swim for quite awhile. Janae can swim all by herself. Short laps, but she does awesome! It made me a little sad b/c she is growing so fast! She starts kindergarten this month! sniff, sniff. Brenna just twirls in her ring and Senica doesn't need anyone to "hold" her. In fact, don't get close to Miss Independant!

Back inside for...yup, you guessed it...more Play-doh and then time for crayons and projects while I cooked supper. Anitra, April and the babies got back - Brian got up from his nap - Seth came down and we all had dinner. Brian and I DEFINTELY need a bigger kitchen table! :)

30 hours later - they were all gone. I was pooped!

Sorry this was so long...so much to write about. I will have to cover Sunday tomorrow. I need to get to bed!