Little Helper

Two Saturdays ago, we had a very large dump truck load of mulch delivered to the house- and a full day of yard work planned.

We had been talking to Ethan for several days about the dump truck that was going to deliver and dump mulch at our house. He was SO excited. I mean seriously, boys get so worked up over these things!

Ethan and Evan watched intently as the dump truck...or as Ethan says "no mommy, it's a tipper" dumped the pile of mulch. Sorry, guess I need to freshen up on my truck lingo.

There are a lot of things I love about living with boys. But one thing is for sure. Give them a shovel and a pile of dirt and they'll be entertained for hours.

Ethan was the best little helper. He used his own shovel, wheel barrel, and dump truck to help mommy and daddy fill the flower beds with mulch. He couldn't have been happier.

 

He worked up quite an appetite! Time for a break!

 



Even though its sad to watch him grow up so fast, I love that as he gets older he can participate in these types of things. He reminded me so much of his daddy that day- always so eager to help, and with a big smile on his face.


On another note...

That same week was picture day at school. Even though it is fun to dress girls- I must say I do enjoy dressing my little man. Who says boys can't look equally as cute??!!

 

 

Happy hump day! 



Great Wolf Lodge

It was this time last week that we were recovering from our very awesome trip to Great Wolf Lodge with our dear friends Sam, Josh, and Izzy. And by recovering, I mean from pure exhaustion. We couldn't have packed anymore fun into the 36 hours we were gone.

We decided to try the Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte since we knew it was centrally localized among a lot of great restaurants and shopping.  Evan was thrilled since the race track was literally within walking distance, and the girls were happy because it was just down the road from IKEA.  I'm sure you can guess who planned this trip. ;)

We left early Monday morning and came back late Tuesday. We got to spend half a day Monday and half a day Tuesday in the water park- which was the perfect amount of time for toddlers. We all had an absolute blast. ALL of us. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I knew the kids would have fun, but I think we were all hoping they would be old enough to enjoy it.

The Great Wolf Lodge met my every expectation and more. The water park was amazing. They had SO many fun things for them to do. Oh, and lets not forget the adults who took turns going on the water slides! For just a small fraction of time, I think we all felt like kids again.

The décor in the Lodge was really well thought out. We enjoyed just walking around and looking at everything. There is a story time every night at 8pm, arts and crafts, miniature bowling, an arcade, a kids spa, and so much more.

Holding hands on the way there. These two can't get enough of each other!

When we arrived they were in awe of what they saw!

Hey! Those ears look pretty good on you!

In front of the huge fire place.

He loved the Jet Skiis.

Ethan and Izzy loved going down the blue slide. This was as close to it as I could get without getting my phone wet.

The kids both skipped their naps the day we arrived. I mean how could you sleep with so much excitement going on?! So, by the time bedtime rolled around we were all wiped out. The moms thought we were doing a good thing by getting a room with the "kids cabin" in it. Which meant the kids had their own little pretend cabin with twin beds in it. That plan backfired- both kids were too scared to sleep in it. So...after about an hour or more of musical beds, the kids ended up in the big beds with the mommies, while daddies each slept in a twin bed in their own sweet little cabin. ;) It was a sight to be seen people.

Ethan and I got some very special cuddle time in since he decided that my bed would be the only place he would sleep that night. I have to admit, I didn't mind it too much since we don't usually allow this.

Then the next morning, it was back for more water fun!

After almost 4 hours of playing that morning, the mommies were excited because we knew "for sure" those kids would pass out on the ride home. WRONG again! I don't know how they did it, but they stayed awake the entire time. 

Needless to say, we all hit the hay pretty early that night.

This is what I like to call the aftermath of Great Wolf Lodge...

...at 10am the next morning.



We had the best time and can't wait to go back...and maybe for 2 nights next time??

Happy hump day everyone!!!

Easter Part 2

Ethan woke up Easter morning at 6:45am. AFTER going to bed at 10pm the night before. Needless to say, I woke up exhausted...and well maybe a tad grumpy. But, it was Easter, and Ethan was very excited to see where the Easter bunny hid all the eggs. He crawled up into our bed and said "do you think the bunny hid all the eggs in the kitchen?" Considering the time, I'm pretty sure I rolled back over and said nothing. :) Thank goodness for Evan, my wonderful morning person husband. Otherwise, we'd be in big trouble.

We managed to keep Ethan in the bedroom with the door closed until 7:30 (since we were staying in the beach house with other people).  Lucky for them, they got to sleep in.

The minute he hit the top of the stairs he started spotting the eggs- and boy was he excited.

 

Look Nana, I found a yellow one!

 

The Easter bunny left him 2 baskets. One with yummy treats, and one that had play food and pretend money. He is really into playing "grocery store man" and making you pay for items purchased. I am glad that even at such a young age, he has an appreciation for the almighty dollar. :)

 

Ethan and daddy are pretending to grocery shop.

 

 

 

And of course Nana and Papa had to spoil him too!

 

 

 

After doing our morning egg hunt, we quickly showered, packed up, and headed home for dinner with Evan's family.

 

 

Evan's mom prepared a delicious Easter dinner including everyone's favorite side dishes. We had a honey baked ham (my absolute favorite!) deviled eggs, cheesy potato casserole, pineapple casserole, grilled asparagus, and rolls. And of course we can't forget about dessert. I made a coconut crème cake which I have made several years in a row now. It was a hit.

 

 

 

 

BUT FIRST, before all the chowing down, there were 2 egg hunts that needed to take place. One for the children, and one for the adults. Everyone looks forward to the adult hunt since the prizes get more and more fun with each passing year. Money, liquor airplane bottles, gift cards....yup that's right.

 

 

Mimi and her boys right before the kids egg hunt.



 

 

Look! I got money!

 

The adults with all their prizes. Yes, even ole Ray Ray got in on the action- and did pretty good, too!

 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful weekend from start to finish.

 

But, one last thing.

 

I can't do a blog post about Easter without mentioning something about the real reason we do all this egg and eating hoop-lah. Eggs and eating isn't at all why we celebrate Easter.

 

We are so thankful for the resurrection of Christ. We remember and we are THANKFUL that HE is the reason we are here today. We are thankful he died for our sins, and rose again to be with us in everlasting life.

 

In the spirit of Easter, I am often reminded this time of year by God's beauty and the gift of life that surrounds us.  Have you taken a moment to look around? Have you noticed the beautiful flowers that are blooming, and the trees that were once brown and limp, and are now bright and full of life? I do. I notice that everywhere I look I am surrounded by the beauty of God's work. I am reminded that he can take anything and make it beautiful. I am reminded that in God's timing, there is new life.



 



Easter Part 1

We had a busy, yet fun, and successful Easter weekend. It was so packed full of great moments, that I had to break this blog up into two segments.

I will not apologize for my excessive photo taking! :)

We left Thursday afternoon for the beach, and stayed until Sunday morning. My parents, my sister and her fiancé joined us.  Ethan was SO excited about this beach trip. He went to preschool bragging to his teachers that he was "going to the beach!" That was the first thing his teachers told me at pick up that afternoon. The entire ride there he would say "daddy do you know where you are going?" "What town are we in?" "Are we still going to the beach?" He couldn't stand it.

Friday was sunny, and fairly warm, but with a strong wind. That didn't stop us. Ethan and Evan were out on the beach at 9am digging and playing in the sand. He played outside for 4 1/2 hours straight-even eating his lunch outside with Nana and Papa on the deck.

 

 

Later that evening after corralling Ethan back inside, he enjoyed doing an Easter craft with my sister. Mom's always come prepared. :) 

 

 

Look what I made mommy!!!

 

On Saturday, it was pretty rainy until around 3pm. So, onto plan B. We ventured to the aquarium and had a blast. Ethan went when he was much younger, but didn't remember going.  Our timing was perfect- upon arriving, they were doing a diving presentation with the sharks. I honestly thought Ethan would be a little timid of the enormous tank filled with giant sharks, but much to my surprise, he couldn't get enough of it. During the presentation, he would continue to inch closer and closer to the tank.

 

I managed to get the cutest picture of all time...

 

 

Seriously, how precious is that??

 

Hi little sharky sharky....

 

I love that this aquarium is tailored to children. This was a hands on station where you could touch the sting rays. Again, he was loving it.

 

I think a trip to sea world might be in our future! :)

 

 

 

Thank goodness the sun decided to come out later that afternoon. The community where my parents live host an egg hunt for the children every year. Luckily, I think the rain that morning scared most of the kids away. There were 200 eggs for 5 children! Ethan was in egg heaven.  And to be honest, I was thrilled that he had his own space where other children weren't knocking him over. It was perfect.

 



 

Lastly, that evening we set some time aside to color Easter eggs. I was excited because it was Ethan's first year to participate in egg coloring. I was probably a little too excited, and went over board with the whole idea. Luckily Michael's was having a 60% off sale on all their Easter egg coloring kits...so naturally we had to try all of them.

 

I got paint markers, dye, paint and paint brushes, and stickers. I think I must have forgotten Ethan was 3. His attention span lasted about 7 minutes. It took me longer to boil the eggs than it did for him to decorate them. Not to mention it was extremely messy. Moral of the story- don't have high expectations for next year. :)

 

 

 

Our trip to the beach couldn't have gone better. Ethan was super awesome- and everyone had a great time. We are already looking forward to our trip back in June.

 

Stay tuned for Easter part 2...which will be all about Easter morning and our Easter dinner.

 

Happy Thursday!