Labor Day Weekend

the Milwaukee Zoo
Cedar Lake
Emma with her fish she caught.
Lake Geneva, WI

This Labor day weekend, Ken was able to have the whole 3 day weekend off, which is amazing. We decided this year we would go and visit Sean and Keli in Chicago. Ken really wanted to see their house and the area where they live. We took a 4 hour drive Friday afternoon and arrived a little after 7:00. We had a great time visiting with them and letting the cousins play together. We were always on the go the entire weekend, never having a moments rest. Here are some things we did while there in Chicago.

Friday night we started with some pizza for dinner and Ken getting a tour of their huge beautiful home. Ken was jealous. Maybe someday we will have a nice house like theirs.

Saturday, we went up to the Milwaukee Zoo, but to Tressa we went to the animal center. Tressa was in heaven. After the zoo, we had a BBQ in the backyard and did s'mores. Mmm...Love 'em.

Sunday morning, we went to sacrament. We came home and spent the afternoon at Cedar Lake just a couple of miles from their home. Tressa really had fun in the lake. She didn't mind walking on the rocky bottom, but when she started stepping in the gooey, squishy mud she would start to cry. Emma, Maggie and Sean were having fun trying to catch little tadpoles. Emma was able to catch 3, she was so proud of herself. Way to go, Emma!!!

Monday afternoon, we headed up into Wisconsin and went to Lake Geneva. We walked around the shops, ate lunch at Popeye's (reminded me of a restaurant at Disneyland). We had Cold Stone ice cream and ate it while enjoying the scenery of the lake and the boats. I have decided that Wisconsin is a beautiful state.

We really enjoyed spending time with Sean and Keli. They are quite the host and hostess. Thanks also to BeBe, their dog, for putting up with Tressa. The whole time we were there Tressa would just smother the poor thing. And no we are not getting a dog.

I hope that everyone had a great holiday weekend. Now back to life and our daily routines.

She's almost here!!!

Today, I had my 34 week appointment. Everything is going well. The baby is getting bigger and stronger everyday. She sure is very active and loves to get the hiccups. Last night while laying in bed she had three episodes of the hiccups. The doctor's appointment was fast and easy, all he did was measure me and check the heart rate of the baby. I am right on schedule. Starting in 2 weeks, I will be getting cervical checks to see how dilated I am.

We are getting really excited for this bundle of joy and I can't wait to breath again. That I am looking really forward to. I will keep you posted on my weekly checkups.

I hope everyone had a great summer and good luck to the kids going back to school.

Home to stay? Not quite.

Well, Tressa and I just got back this past Monday from our week vacation in Cincinnati. We had some ups, downs and more ups. Our vacation was full of playing, shopping, eating and looking for cars. That's right, I said looking for cars.

We started our trip with a little trip to Kentucky Kingdom Six Flags in Louisville, KY. Arlyn's company was throwing a party there for all their employees. It was great to go back to where we used to live, I hadn't been back there since we moved out to Peoria. Can I just tell you that we had the greatest time. Unfortunately, I could not go on any of the rides, not even the kiddie rides. Thanks to Arlyn and Colleen, Tressa had a great time. She loved the rides and her face would just brighten up with the biggest grin. It made my heart melt to see her enjoying herself. She absolutely loved the wooden shoes and the balloon ride (similar to the swings). I will have pictures for you next time, my father-in-law took all the pictures so I need him to make me a CD.

There was another upside to our visit and also a downside. Ken called me Sunday morning to tell me that the '88 Jetta finally saw its last days. It broke down while Ken was driving to work. So the whole time I was gone Ken either walked 2 miles to and from work or would hitch a ride. So my quest for the week was to find and buy us a car. After several days of looking with Colleen, we finally saw the new addition to our family. We purchased a ruby red 2005 Kia Sedona minivan within our low budget that only had 39000 miles on it. It was only leased for 2 1/2 years, so it is in great condition. We really like our van. I can't believe I am saying this, but we have now officially entered the minivan stage in our life. I will have pictures for you next time.

Now that I thought our trip has ended and I could stay home and get ready for the baby, we are headed off to Cincinnati this Friday to pick up our other car that we had to leave behind. I will post pictures this weekend.

I hope that everyone has had a great summer so far, I know that we have.

Crazy fun!!

The other day for playgroup, we met at Monical's Pizza for a tour on how they make pizza. The tour was less than 5 minutes long. There is nothing much to see and hardly any room back there for the employees to work. The kids had a great time, especially after the tour. The pizza joint donated 4 extra large pizzas for all to share in the banquet room and then for those who wanted something different to eat could order from the menu (not for free mind you).

I was really impressed with the manager. I asked her if there is anything they make with soy in it. She brought me out the cardboard box for the cheese to read the ingredients, plus the can of pizza sauce. She told me how they made the crust. Guess what!? Tressa was able to enjoy pizza with the other kids. After having already discussed it with the manager, she came back a few minutes later to tell me that she had called corporate and they informed her that they do not use soy in any of their products. There is hope after all for Tressa. I just hope that she grows out of this stinking allergy.

We had a great time and loved hanging out with friends and chatting over pizza. Well today and tomorrow we are getting ready for our last trip before the baby comes. Tressa and I will be hitting the open road and heading to Kentucky to visit Ken's folks. We will be back in a week and a half. I will post then and give you a low down on our trip.

Birthday Celebration!!!!

This past Sunday, July 13th, Tressa turned 2 years old. Unbelievable, two already!! Saturday night we took Tressa out to dinner at Wendy's. She just had to have a chocolate frosty (her favorite).

Sunday morning Tressa woke up and asked where her presents were. It was amazing to me that she was asking this young for birthday presents. I told her that we would open presents after church and we did. The minute we got home, Ken had wrapped and displayed all the presents on the couch. She would open each one and tell us what they were, then she would throw it on the floor and open the next one. She had a great time and we enjoyed watching her face light up. I think Christmas this year will be a blast. I am looking forward to it.

After her nap, Ken let her go run through the sprinklers, I know it was on a Sunday, but I guess her birthday is just once a year. I let it go this one time. She had a great time running through them and trying to eat the water in the center.

Last night we continued the birthday festivities with our friends. We had strawberry shortcake, brownies, and ice cream. The kids played in the toy room while the adults chatted. Then towards the end, we opened up birthday presents. Tressa loves all the gifts that she received.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TRESSA!!!! We love you.

4th of July Celebration!!!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I know we did. We started out in the morning with a breakfast courtesy of the Peoria Ward. The activity committee made us pancakes, plain pancakes, blueberry pancakes and pancakes with red, white and blue sprinkles. Many of the members signed up to bring muffins and fruit. I, of course, had to bring a bowl of watermelon. The breakfast was a lot of fun and a big turn out, especially at 8:00 in the morning.

Here is my little firecracker.

Throughout the afternoon, it was a long day of cleaning and preparing for our 4th of July BBQ.

Ken and I invited a few families over for a BBQ and swimming fun for the little ones. We had a little kiddie pool and my friend brought over a water slide. That was a big hit even Tressa enjoyed it; although she wouldn't slide on her belly, she just slowly walked down the slide into the little pool.

We had plenty of food available and after a long chat and getting the kids ready, we all loaded into our cars and headed to the hospital for fireworks. We parked in the hospital parking lot and walked a block or two to a hill about a little less than a mile from the fireworks on the river. We were able to see the fireworks over the Association Bank Building. The fireworks were awesome and Tressa was totally in awe with them. This was her first time seeing fireworks and she loved it. The best part about going to the hospital to watch is we didn't have to fight the crowds or traffic. We made it home within 5 to 10 minutes.

I made a festive strawberry shortcake with an American flag design. It was really YUMMY!

Waiting patiently for the fireworks to start. It was a beautiful night, couldn't ask for better weather.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYONE!!!!

A New Addition!!!

I just wanted to say congrats to my brother, Jared and his wife, Kristen, for the delivery of their new son, Jacob Marshall Clayton. He weighed (I believe) 7 lbs. 14 oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long. My mom said that he is really cute and she is excited to have another grandson after all these granddaughters.

Congrats again!!!

We love you.