Memorial Day weekend

 Whew, so glad we made it through this week without any traumatic causalities.

We had something going on every night this week, which is very unusual for us.  On Monday, we went and visited GG Rita at her house, not far at all from Grammie & Grandad's place.  We had a lovely time and the kids were just little angels there.

I had my yearly checkup on Tuesday, we had our house inspection on Wednesday, Maggie had her 1 year checkup on Thursday (plus our unplanned doctor visit for Colin to get a band-aid pulled out of his nose).  On Friday, we just wanted to hang loose!

Brian had to work on Saturday, so we just played around the house and went to church, like a usual Saturday.  On Sunday, we headed out to Belton to spend some time with Tiff & Chad.

The kids always have a blast there, and this time was no different.  We just hung out, played in the sprinkler, Tiff and I went for a run, we did some errands around town while the boys played baseball and the kids took naps.  Chad and Tiff grilled some awesome food for us and it was a lot of fun just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Tiff sent me some pictures she had taken, so here are some of my favorites...

Colin was pretty bummed that we had to leave Grammie & Grandad's house before he was able to water their flowers.  Luckily, Tiff & Chad had lots of flowers that needed watered, and Colin was more than happy to help out.

Maybe he has a green thumb.  That would be nice since I don't seem to have one at all! 

Colin thought it was hilarious when Scooter tried to bite the water from the hose...

 Love his laugh!

Colin found Chad's drum set in the basement...

He's a natural!

 We'll work on the details later...like holding the sticks the right way :)

 A quick picture of Tiff & Chad with Colin and Maggie.

Poor little Maggie started a nasty cough on Saturday night, which led to a lot of nasal drainage and bad fevers on Sunday afternoon.  She did not sleep AT ALL on Sunday night, with a 103 degree fever and lots of crying and coughing.  Ugh!!

 They have so many cool toys to play with in their basement!

 Chad and sweet Maggie Mae!

 The sprinkler was a hit!  He spent a lot of time trying to drink from it.

Then he realized he could shoot it at people and get them all wet!  

Daddy and Chad were such good sports, they got in their swimsuits and ran around like little kids with him.  

Monday is Olivia's 3rd birthday party, but I will not be attending as I will be home with a sick Maggie. Grammie and Grandad will take Colin, cause Brian has to work on Monday.  Looks like we might make a trip to the doctor with Sis.  

Thank you to all that serve our country (past & present) that allow us the freedoms that we cherish!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!

A couple house pics

 I know that a few people are wanting to see some pictures of the house that we put an offer on.  We got the house inspection done tonight, and will just have to wait for the Radon test to come back on Friday before we ask for some repairs to be done.  The roof needs a little work, but other than some minor fixes, there's not much to do.  

Brian and I just got more and more excited walking through the house today.  Hopefully we can come to an agreement on things soon!

The house!  It's in Riss Lake (Parkville, MO) on Sunset Drive.  

And no, the convertible does not come with the house :(

 The backyard.  There is lots of room for Colin and Maggie to play.  The subdivision does not allow fences (which is a bummer), but there is a line of trees in the back yard to help with privacy.

We are planning on building a deck off the back door someday.

The entrance of the front door.

All of the rooms are on the 2nd floor (4 bedroom house).

The main floor has 3 rooms of living space, plus the kitchen, laundry room, and a 1/2 bath.

The basement is finished with another 1/2 bath and TONS of storage.

We'll let you know how it all turns out.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Cheese! with Colin

 Colin was being super cooperative the other night, so we snapped some pictures.

He was just outside practicing some baseball swings with Daddy.  He came inside for a quick drink and snack before dinner.  

He is such a sweetheart!

Colin and Daddy

 Mommy and Colin

He is so funny lately.  He is saying the funniest phrases lately, too. This kid is getting pretty good at stalling before bedtime, asking for more books and songs.  It's so hard to say no to such a sweet face.

Love this kid!

Maggie's birthday party

We celebrated Maggie's birthday on Saturday with a little party.
It was just immediate family, which was perfect for this lady that has been super stressed and busy lately.  My mom made some cake balls and cupcakes, and I made Maggie's cake just a couple hours before the party.  There really wasn't a theme, just some balloons and lots of pink!

Colin had fun playing with some sidewalk chalk prior to the party.  He chalked his arms and face.  I also think he tried to eat it.  Must not have tasted too good cause he immediately came in for a drink!

Maggie's cake.

Simple and sweet.

Chad with Maggie's tutu on his head.  I think it looks good!

The girls chatted about girl-talk, while...

the boys played outside, and...

had some fun with the balloons, and...

swung around the "balloon wands" that Meemaw made.

Here's Maggie ready for her birthday cake.

I didn't think she would like her tutu much, but she actually wore it for a little bit.

Colin trying hard to blow out the birthday candle sparkler!

At first, Maggie thought the whole birthday cake business was pretty funny.

She didn't mind getting sung to, either.

But it all started to go downhill once she tasted the frosting

Ewwwwww. 

I don't like this...

Really guys, I don't like this at all.

Frosting went flying, but no actual cake was consumed by Maggie.

Someone get this cake away from me.

I've just had ENOUGH!

So we got cleaned up and headed indoors for presents.

She got some clothes, books, a car, a crib for her dolls and lots of love!

Maggie modeling her new shoes and sunglasses.

Trying out her car...

What a little lady!

The younger kids were indoors banging on the door, while the older kids were outdoors banging on the door.

It got quite loud for a while, but it was lots of fun!

A family photo shot.

No one told me my hair looked ridiculous, so we tried again...

Not quite as good, but my hair is better, right?!

:)

The end product of the cake.

Colin didn't really enjoy his first birthday "smash" cake either.  

Maybe it's my cake-baking that isn't any good...

Or maybe Maggie just didn't want to get any cake on her tutu (that's probably it, right?!)

Happy Birthday Maggie Mae!

Sweet little Maggie Mae's 1st Birthday!

My baby girl is 1!!!

I still can't believe it.  I have a 1 and a 2 year old.  Crazy!

I didn't have much time to actually plan out something fun for her birthday, so we just flew by the seat of our pants, and Maggie didn't seem to mind at all!

Colin kept singing her Happy Birthday all day long, and said he would make sure everyone at daycare knew it was Maggie's birthday.

Maggie and Mommy before heading off to daycare in the morning.

I got her this personalized birthday shirt off of Etsy a couple of months ago.  I am so glad I did, it turned out so cute!!

Just before dinner, we were outside playing for a bit.  Colin had to fill up the truck with gas, which he paid for after going to the bank to get money.  He's pretty smart these days!

We made Maggie some cookies for her birthday.  Surprisingly, the slice and bake cookies don't contain any milk, so Colin was our official "sprinkler" and we had birthday cookies for Sis.  Things got a little carried away with the sprinkles, but that's just about what I imagined would happen!

Mags enjoying her birthday cookie.

Yummy!!!  I've never really had sugar before!

A birthday picture with Grammie & Grandad.

A birthday picture with brother.

She was being such a stinker.  Colin was trying so hard to get her to sit by him.

Colin eventually won...and this is the picture we got!

Followed immediately by a family birthday picture (which apparently neither children wanted to partake in)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGGIE!

We love you!!

Playin' Catch Up!

I think the worst is over!

We made it out of our house last weekend (with the help of a few awesome & great friends/family).  It all started hard-core on Thursday, when Brian and I took the day off to pack.  My mom came in from Topeka and helped as well.  We got a huge chunk done, but I still needed to take Friday off to finish things up.  My sister came to help on Friday and we took a few loads to the storage unit.

Then the fun of Saturday started...and by fun I mean, not fun at all.

We got the huge U-Haul truck loaded up by about 1 pm and had the storage unit FULL by 2:30 pm.  The boys did a great job of loading and unloading, and they even managed to get the refrigerator out of the house with no new holes in our walls (which was my ultimate goal!)

Sunday, Mother's Day, was just another moving day for us, although Brian did let me hang out with Maggie (and rest during her naps) while he finished up a few last minute things at the house with Colin.

I got a new charm for my Pandora bracelet - it says "best mom"!  I asked Colin if that was true, and he said "YES!  You are the Best Mom!" and then gave me a big hug and kiss.  That alone made my day!

Before we left, I took a few pictures of Maggie for her first birthday...

Little cutie pie!

Colin stopped by for a quick picture.  He had dinner left on his face...

Cheese!

This grass feels so weird, Mom!

One of my favorites...

Some last pictures of our house.

Tiff got me a little teary-eyed right before we left.  

We had some great times in this house:

**bringing both kids home for the first time here

**the boys playing home-run derby in the backyard

**celebrating holidays and birthdays, all squished into a little house with not enough room

**Colin running around the "track" that extended from his room around the island in the kitchen

**enjoying Jake and his last few years in the house

**experimenting and learning how to do home renovation projects

The boys taking a break from work, enjoying a Summer Shandy and some sandwiches

Maggie's empty room

Colin's empty room

Our (almost) empty kitchen

On a side note...yesterday I turned in my last final exam for this semester. Now I get a break until August when classes start again.  I will enjoy every minute of being school-less this summer!

Now, onto our next challenge...finding a new house!

We'll keep you posted!!