Truck on Over...

Yesterday we headed over to the local fire house for Natalie's party. She's been asking to have her party at the fire house since last August so it was a long time coming. I think if you ask her, she'll tell you it was worth the wait. The plan was to start the party off with the fireman giving them a demo of the gear, then tour the fire station, then give the kids rides on the truck. What are the chances of them getting an emergency call right at 2pm when the party was scheduled to start? I'm not sure - but that's exactly what happened. So we had to switch things up a bit and wait til the guys got back. Fortunately - or unfortunately - the accident was directly in front of the fire house so there was not a lot of travel time. And it's my understanding that everyone was ok. So, after things settled down, we were ready to party!

Is Danny actually listening to the fireman??

The big kids got to ride up front!The truck could only take a few kids at a time, so they were allowed to shoot the hose while they were waiting for their friends.

Willow really got in the spirit!

Even with a few hiccups, I think the party was a success. Natalie received wonderful gifts, she had a great time with her friends and I think the firemen got a kick out of all the kids. Thank you to our friends and family who helped us with set-up, clean-up, photos and overall just being a great help!

Pics from birthday

We celebrated Natalie's birthday last night with a nice dinner at home and she opened her gifts.


She got the American Girl doll she had been wanting. She said she's been wanting this doll for "282 years". Wow, that's a long time!

She specifically requested this doll, Rebecca, because it is the only one with brown hair and green eyes. She loves her already!

Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Yum!

And here are some pictures leftover from this weekend when Liz and Austin were up to visit. Austin is 8 months old and so pleasant to be around. She has found her voice and is not afraid to use it!

This was the best group shot I could get. Austin's still cute even when she's ticked off.

Party pics to come this weekend.

Six Years Old

I know it's seems totally cliche, but it really does seem like just yesterday that I was sitting at my desk crunching numbers in TOTAL denial that I was having consistent contractions and my water had broken. Let alone that it was SIX years ago.

Greg and I spent some time talking last night about how much Natalie has changed over the past year. We've watched her come out of her shell more. She's still shy in certain circumstances, but gets comfortable in situations much quicker.

She's so smart (yes, I'm biased), but we can't spell words anymore to try to continue a conversation in front of her. She'll call us out every time.

She's also funny. If Greg and I try to greet each other with a hug or kiss, she'll say "awkward" and walk out of the room. Her timing and inflection are that of a teenager. It's hysterical.

And then there's the physical changes - she has now lost 4 teeth and currently has no top front teeth. Her hair is getting darker and she no longer has a baby face. We think she's totally beautiful (still biased).

She's a GREAT big sister. Danny absolutely adores her and wants to do whatever she is doing and play with anything that is hers. She does get frustrated at times, but mostly she's patient and understanding with him.

So Happy Birthday Natalie! We love you more and more everyday!

(More pictures to come this evening and this weekend.)

Clean Up! Aisle 2!

I'll give you one guess as to what happened here:
Yep ... you guessed it!


Danny strikes again. Shame on me for leaving him within arm's reach of glass jars.

See you soon...

This is not my typical blog post. No funny stories of misspoken words or cute pictures of kids ...ok, well, there's definitely some cute pictures of kids. But today we attended Ray's Deployment Ceremony. Ray and his unit are being deployed and we were honored to be there to wish them well. Below are some pictures from the event:

So although we are sad to see you go, we are proud of you and look forward to your return. Good luck, be safe and we love you. It's not goodbye, it's see you soon.

100th day of school!

Today is the 100th day of school.

I can't believe I made it ... I mean, I can't believe she made it! Only 80 more days to go.

2 Things I Never Thought I Would Say

Number 1: I ran in - and FINISHED - my first 5K on Sunday. This is me at the finish line! And with these two lovely ladies that finished way ahead of me - Holly and Chrissie. You should check out Holly's page - she is currently training for a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This 5k was just a mere drop in the bucket compared to the 26 miles she'll be running this summer.

The Number 2 thing I never thought I would say: Natalie spent the day at the Police Station on Saturday. Fortunately, it was just a tour with the Daisy troop. She got to the see the inside of the Holding Room where she was handcuffed to the wall and her troop mate.

She got fingerprinted.

And even had to put her hands on the hood of the car!

I hope that is the first and last time I have to make a trip to the New Freedom Police Station.