Florida 2010

This was the first year that Brian got to go with me to Florida (other than the year we were married here). It was so nice to get away and have time for the two of us! We had colder weather than normal, but we still enjoyed it and actually had a few warmer days too! We went to Fort De Soto park one day and it was so beautiful there!

Family. Friday. Fish. Fun

Friday night, I stopped by Uncle Fred and Aunt Marie's and picked up some fish. Anitra, April and all the kids were coming over for dinner and Brian wanted to use his new Fry Daddy. :) We had fish, fries, shrimp, chicken...you name it! After dinner the kids and I played on the Wii. Brenna and Senica did some hula-hooping and Janae wanted to run. Brian got in on the hula-hooping and Jacinda stood with him and did it too. Too cute! :)

I love nights like this!!

Wrestling

Tonight after dinner the kids wanted to wrestle. Both Senica and Ty had BK and Seth working up a sweat! Well, Seth was probably just sweating at dinner....but they wrestled for quite awhile! It was fun to watch. :) The facial expressions were crackin' me up!

Finished!!

Yeah!! After months....our floor is finished!! Whhoooo hhoooooo!!! Thank you to my hard-working husband and my wonderful brother-in-law for working so long and hard to get it done! It looks AWESOME!! :)

Sleepovers & Prom

Friday night April and I had a date at Red Lobster. :) Brian watched Jacinda and Anitra had the rest of the kids. We ate dinner and did a little shopping. When we got home, Brian and Jacinda were hanging out downstairs and both were happy! :) They both did a great job while we were out!

Janae and Brenna were spending the night at Senica's, so April came down with Adria and Jacinda spent the night at our house. :) Brian was up at 6:30 to go to work and I got up with Jacinda. She is so happy when she wakes up...not like me! So I made breakfast and then April went to pick up the kids.

After they left, I stated working on the tile by the front door and Brian came home shortly after that. We got all the carpet and padding pulled up and then I headed to Goshen to take Mia's prom pictures. Aren't Tony and Mia absolutely adorable?! :) It was such a gorgeous day and they were just so cute!! After pictures Brian and I went to dinner at the O with Uncle Fred and Aunt Marie, Aunt Marie's sister, and Nanci and Dawn. Then after dinner I made my first trip of the year to The Chief. :) Yummmy!!!

It was a GREAT weekend...and I'm beat!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!! We had a wonderful service this morning and what a beautiful day it is outside. A perfect day for lots of pictures!

After church, we had a brunch at our house and Brian's parents and Seth, Anitra and the kids came. It was so nice to have everyone over! :)

I was telling my in-laws how I would like to have some new floor in the front living room and kitchen this spring/summer. Brian and I have been talking about it and since they have done a lot of home repairs, I wanted their opinion too. I have been really wanting laminate flooring in both of the rooms. Talis said we need to see if there is hardwood under our carpet, so Brian tore up a section of our carpet and WWWHOOOOOO HOOOOOO, we have hardwood! I am ecstatic!! Another project for Brian! ha

Hope you all are having a wonderful day too!

Terrific Tuesday!!

Today I felt like I got quite a bit accomplished. I started going through all of my kitchen stuff and cleaning out what pots and pans I don't need. Like the one Anitra said is so old, she was sure it was Grandma Pauly's (from like 30+) years ago. I found a great buy at Hobby Lobby...the "Kitchen" sign in the above pics. I got it for 1/2 off = $5. It was black, so I spray painted it to match the kitchen and then hung it above the sink. I love it! :) Brian made dinner tonight, so Anitra and the kids chanted for him to stand under it and have his picture taken. :)

I called Seth and asked if he would watch the 3 little ones so that I could surprise Anitra with a pedicure. Not, I did not do it myself! Those who know me, know I don't do pedicures on other people (Unless you are 9 months pregnant and happen to be my sister). So I picked Anitra up, grabbed her flip flops and headed to Wal-Mart. It was a nice relaxing hour! :)

Then, we went home and Seth came down with the kids and my dear, sweet hubby cooked the majority of dinner. Yum, yum! :) Anitra, Seth and the kids posed for a pic for me and Graw managed to make it in there too.

It was a great day and I am so thankful for the wonderful family that God has blessed me with!!

Beautiful Weather!!

Last night, we had such beautiful weather, we had to take advantage of it! We had out the hula hoop, the volleyball and of course the ball and bats! The kids had so much fun...and so did Anitra and I! Senica even got in on the volleyball action! :)

Season Opening!!

I was so excited that my FAVORITE drive-in was opening again!! So, we picked up Anitra and the kids and headed for some chili dogs and pizza sticks!! Yumm...and oh so healthy!! ha! Brian volunteered to sit in the back seat between the two car seats. The top middle pic is of him once we got to the drive-in. It doesn't really justify how tightly he was packed in there, but you can get the idea. If you have never been to Dog 'n Mug...you gotta go!! :)

Happy Birthday Hubby!!

Happy 28th birthday to my hubby!!

Just a few of the things I love about my husband:

His generours heart
How funny he is!
How he loves my crazy family
The way he is with my nieces and nephew
How he loves me!
How handsome he is!!! (see pics above...the one with the gray t-shirt!! WOW)
How laid back he is
That he sits down and cuts coupons with me...and goes to the grocery store with me, simply so I don't have to carry the groceries. :)
How he 99.9% of the time does the dishes
How even when he's mad at me, he's so darn cute (like when he does the dishes and 2 seconds later, I dirty some more) ;)
How he is such a hard worker
That he makes the BEST ribs EVER!! (ask Grandma)

The list could go on and on....

I love you Brian and I hope you have a wonderful day today and an even better year to come!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Anniversary to US!!

Two years ago today, on a beach in Florida, I married my best friend!

I could have never imagined how my life would change after we said "I do." Over the past two years, Brian and I have loved, lived, learned and LAUGHED! I laugh every day with him. He is one of the funniest people I know...and even though I don't always like to admit it, he really is funny! :) We have been lucky enough to travel many fun places together. But, no matter if we are traveling or I am beating him at Sequence at home, we have fun! I am so lucky to be married to such a handsome, fun man! I can't wait to start a family with him and am excited to find out what path God takes us down next.

I love you Brian! Happy Anniversary!!

Visit to the ER

Last night Brian was working on some of our pipes that have ice in them. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, hunched over, one leg out, one leg in...are you getting the picture? Not very good ergonomic working conditions. He had the kitchen snake, yes, THE snake and was shoving it through the pipes. He was using such force that felt something painful in his lower right back. He thought he would just take a break and go at it again in a few minutes. I was in the living room with Janae and Senica when we heard him crying out in pain. He was on the floor saying that he hurt his back!

I asked if we could get him anything or what we could do and he just wanted us to let him lay there. I got the kids in bed and by now he was on the couch. I asked if he needed anything and he said he was ok, but I put a little heat pack on his back. I went to bed and told him if he needed me to just call for me. His pain then was at a 7.

He woke me up a little before 6 telling me that yes, he did want me to take him to the ER. Now, my husband has a high pain tolerance and really hates hospitals...so for him to say this, I knew he was in pain! His pain then was at a 9.

So I called Anitra and asked her if she could come get the girls. Then, I woke up Janae, Brenna and Senica and told them what was going on. Janae said, "Well, we better start praying" Isn't that so sweet?! So I got the girls coats on and Seth came and picked them up. He also helped Brian to the car because I had no way of helping him myself. So thanks Seth!

We went to the Goshen ER because I wanted to know that he was getting good care. I was glad we decided that b/c one of his best friends dads was working in the ER and so that helped Brian a little. Then, when they came to take x-rays, it was someone that I used to work with and she said I could go back with him when she took his x-rays. I felt much better knowing he was going to be taken care of.

The doc said nothing showed on the x-rays, which I figured he would say. They gave Brian some Phenergan, Valium and Dilaudid. He was pretty loopy after that...yes, that is when I took his pics with my camera phone. They sent us home with some pain medicine and muscle relaxers and said to rest until Tues. and then follow up with the family doc, who should order an MRI at that point if Brian isn't feeling better. He said no work or physical labor at least on Mon/Tues.

When we got home, I got him upstairs and into bed. He's been there ever since.

Please keep him in your prayers. And me too...I am not used to my husband being laid up, and I still have pipes under the sink that have been taken apart and not put together. So, tomorrow I need a plumber to come to the house and fix it. Sigh...

Oh and please pray for Senica too....Anitra called me when we were at the hospital and said that Senica threw up before they made it out the door for church. ugh!

Blue-eyed boys!

Last night on my way home from work, as I was driving by Seth and Anitra's, there was Ty and his daddy shoveling the driveway. I stopped to say hi because I was having Ty withdrawal. I hadn't seen him in 3 days!! Well, when I bent down to see him, he was shivering...a constant shiver! Anitra and Senica were taking a nap and so I told Seth I would take him down to our house to warm him up! :) We had hot chocolate and watched Uncle "Bay" (That is how Ty says B-K) from inside the front window where it was warm! :)

Please ignore Ty's runny nose, no matter how many times I wiped it before a picture, it was back before I could snap the shot! ugh! Anyway, I still love that middle pic with my blue eyed-boys! Brian's tinted glasses kinda hide his. :(

Pizza and game night

Our friends, Mike and Sarah, had some people over for a game night this weekend. We had so much fun and a LOT of laughs. My sister is crazy and sometimes, on rare occasions, still shocks me! :) The kids had a great time playing and Senica and Ty really enjoyed getting "tossed" into the bean bag! Little Luke is on the move. That top, middle pic is of him, soooo close to taking off!! :) Senica Loves holding baby Addie too! :)

I love the bottom collage of the adults playing. Anitra looks like she is directing the planes on the runway...and Dustin's facial expressions are still making me laugh! The wives really enjoyed buzzing their husbands too! Great night!!! Thanks Mike, Sarah and Luke for having us over.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Brian and I had April and the girls and Anitra, Seth and the kids over for New Year's Eve. The kids played in the play room and then watched a movie (1/2 of it). Brian and Seth went to the store to run errands. It gave us sisters time to hang out and talk. I love days like that...just spending time with my sisters. :)

Seth had to leave early in the morning, so Anitra, Seth, April, Ty, Adria and Jacinda left before mid-night to spend the night at Anitra's house. Brian and I kept Janae, Brenna and Senica. The girls and I slept downstairs. They all made it to mid-night. Then the fireworks started. We opened up the window so the girls could try and see them. We couldn't see them, but we sure could hear them! :)

The next morning, everyone came back down for breakfast. We had a wonderful night/morning! :)

Christmas & Birthday

Tonight we had Christmas with Brian's side of the family. Talis & Linda and Andrew and Katie came to our house for dinner and presents. Today is also Talis' birthday, so I made him a cake to celebrate too! :)

Brian and I got Red Lobster gift certificates from Andrew and Katie. Brian also got a real nice shirt..and his favorite...a Wii, WWII game! I got two different Willow Trees. One is a figurine and one was a Memory box! :) I also got a tart burner, but it's electric, not by candles. I love it....it is literally smelling our whole house with the scent of Mulberry as I type! Mmmmmm!! :)

See where Graw is laying on Linda?? It should be noted that she is NOT a cat person!! Doesn't like their tails. :) I told her she could put him on the ground, but she just let him lay. She's too sweet!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!! Happy Birthday Jesus!! :)

Christmas Eve Christmas

April had all of us over for our annual Christmas on Christmas Eve! :) I will just let the pictures tell the story...the kids got lots of gifts and I think they all were very happy!! :) Somehow, I missed Papa...he was holding the trash bag for all the wrapping paper.

Super powers

The resort we stayed at had many different colors of bracelets. Different colors with different meanings...Pink = honeymoon, Purple = Children, Silver = Palace Premier Member and Black = Palace VIP member. There were many other colors and meanings, but that was what we saw the most of. Anyway, we were black thanks to Dr. P!! :)

We loved the hotel and the service was amazing! We have mandatory customer service hours that we have to get every year at work and I told Brian, I think they should send everyone who has worked 5 or more years at the hospital here to learn about customer service. :) We were treated so great we felt like we had super powers! :)

The only negative thing we had was upon check-out...after the band was cutoff our wrist. Apparently, when we arrived, our guy who gave us the welcome packet was supposed to also give us a time to be at the front desk for our ride to take us back to the airport upon departure. I saved everything he gave us and nothing had any time on it, except that check-out was at noon. So, at 11:40, we get a phone call saying that the shuttle service is there to take us to the airport and will only wait another 5 minutes. So Brian and I hurry and get downstairs and they have already left. So we went to the customer relations desk (our bands are now cut off) and explained that the shuttle left, but we were never told a time to be there...at this point, it is still before noon. After a few phone calls he tells me, sorry, nothing I can do for you. Take a taxi to the airport....it's $25 us dollars. Well, we had left all our money in tips for the maid service, so we had to go to the ATM, which charged us $9 just to use the service. UGGHHH! I was really upset. But, we took a taxi to the airport...and I calmed down.

Once we got to the airport, we had 2 1/2 hours to kill. Then, we checked the flight board...and yup, delay! :( So, we went to Bubba Gump's and had a late lunch. It was a really nice airport...and clean! :) The nicest airport bathrooms I have ever seen!

The was our only real flight delay. We were a little late leaving Minneapolis, but got to Chicago at our scheduled time. By the time we got our luggage, found our car, dug out our car, and drove home....it was 5am Christmas Eve.

The collage shows you how our day started...to how it ended! :)

Overall, we had a WONDERFUL trip!! It was a beautiful resort...with amazing food, awesome accommodations...and really, for all but the last day at check-out, AWESOME customer service!! One day by the pool, Brian and I planned how we could come back with my family! They had really, really neat things for kids to do too! :)

I asked Brian if it was better than our honeymoon?? He said, he liked the location of the USVI better, but hotel, service, food...WAY BETTER! Snorkeling in the USVI was better, but I think it was because we didn't go on the snorkeling excursion.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Dr. P!! We had such an amazing time!!!