A Week of Fun...

This past week was a "Week of Fun" at Grandma Patty's (Derrick's mom's) for the boys. It started Sunday after church, and they returned them to church the past week. They had great fun..playing on the Bonzai Waterslide in the backyard, playing a lot of Wii, eating whatever they want, staying up late...you know, the usual grandma and grandpa stuff. They also had a great day at Kings Island with the grandparents and saw Aliens in the Attic. Matthew lost his second tooth while they were there, and he has been sleeping pull-up free since they came home!! YEAH!! They were so exhausted Sunday night that they fell asleep snuggling with me on the couch. I have to say, that was great, as that hasn't happened in forever!

While they were at grandma and grandpa's, Derrick and I enjoyed our time together. We had dinner when we could actually talk to each other. He took me to Doc's Bakery for breakfast one morning, and I totally love the place. He works from there a day or two a week, and I've been wanting to check it out. We went to lunch at First Watch, dinner to Old Bag of Nails, and lunch at Doc's Bakery. It was great! We also met with the rep from Dominion, and decided to build a home in Mill Valley North. Our timeline with merging with Atonement has moved up, and we feel this is a good decision, so we're looking forward to that. It will probably be the beginning of September or so by the time we get all the ducks in a row.

I spent most of the days while they were at grandma and grandpa's working on backpacks. Back in July, we started a supply drive to get school supplies to needy kids. We collected 171 backpacks and tons of supplies. We sent out about 200 invitations to needy families, and it was a great success! On Saturday, it was supposed to start at 3:00. Of course, we had families lined up around 2:30, and by 2:45, the entrance to our church was FULL of people, with the line going out the door. Not only did we give away backpacks and supplies, but Premier Salon Concept out of Dublin donated their time and services to give the kids nice haircuts. I can't even describe how awesome it was to see the stylists working on each kid. They didn't just trim, either. They styled and braided, curled, straightened, moussed, gelled, etc. The kids looked great! They had a huge spring in their step when they left with their stylish cut and new backpack. We ended up giving away about 100 backpacks, and a little over 100 haircuts.

So, that was our week. This is our last week before school starts. I start as an Instructional Aide on the 25th, and my little buddies are off to first grade on the 26th. My pregnancy is going well. Let's just say that my insides seem to have turned into a trampoline, pommel horse, etc. She's moving A LOT, and I'm in the third trimester. Before we know it, we'll have a littl girl in the house!

Soccer Camp

We have two worn out six year olds this week. Monday they went to soccer camp for the first time. It was two hours each morning. As much as they ride bikes and play all day, running around outside for two hours made their little legs really tired! They learned the fundamentals, and we were hoping they would like it enough that I could sign them up for fall soccer. I thought Matthew would be a little skittish, as he's been going through this phase where he is afraid of EVERYTHING! I didn't think Lucas would be a problem, as he is a tad more athletic than Matthew. But, I made them go anyway. Well, they really liked it. Matthew was very brave and got right in there to get the ball when they would scrimmage, and he didn't complain too much. Lucas was great with cheering on the other kids, and he caught onto dribbling and the terminology pretty well.
We also had a showing on Saturday, and then we have three tomorrow, the 8th. I hope one of these puts an offer on our house. Who knows. We've been looking at homes, but until things with church are more final, around November, we won't be committing to buying or building a home. Which, the option if our home sells between now and then is that we live with my parents for a few months if we have to. Let's just say I hope we don't have to live there very long. I love my parents, wouldn't mind staying with them for a week or so, but we are both too independent to be excited about moving in with them. Whatever happens happens, but when you throw a newborn in the mix, not so much fun for everyone.
School starts in three weeks, and I am excited for the boys and all they will learn in first grade. However, I am feeling anxiety about sending them to first grade and all that comes with that...they are six, they'll be in school all day, they are starting their school career, etc. Just a mom thing, but I still can't shake it. It's like when I cry every year on their birthday. I have a part time job as an instructional aide at Jonathan Alder Junior High this year. Right now it's part time, but may turn full time. I'm excited about it. I don't have to lesson plan, go to meetings, etc., but I still get to use my teaching skills. This coming week is the time for the boys to go to Derrick's mom's for the week. They always look forward to going, and we do, too. It's nice to send them to Grandma's for a week. Not sure what we are going to do. I assume I will get the backpacks and school supplies ready at church. We organized a drive to collect supplies to give to needy families in the area, so I need to get that together. I'll probably help my friend, Theresa, in her classroom, and scrapbook and read. It will be a nice, quiet week, but I'll be ready for the boys to come home.

I am so proud of Matthew. Last week, he decided, with a bit of bribing from me, that he would ride his bike. He is always on his scooter, trailing behind Lucas and any neighborhood kids when they are out playing. It breaks my heart to see him pumping his little leg to move the scooter to keep up with everyone else, but he wasn't seeing the need to ride his bike. So, I told him that he could have 15 marbles if he rode his bike, with Derrick running beside, to the end of the street three times. That was all it took! He got going on it, and pretty soon he was riding to their boundary, and he was waiting for one of us to come down and give him a push start back toward home. The next day, he worked and worked on getting started himself, and he has that figured out, too. There is a bike trail a few blocks from our house, and it has a very big hill that Lucas has been wanting to ride down. Derrick took them out individually for bike rides this week, and Lucas did the hill. When Matthew found out, he was a little bent out of shape. I told him he needed to be more confident on his bike, and Daddy would take him. The rest of the day Monday and part of Tuesday he rode and rode his bike to show he could keep it together on the hill. Derrick took them both last night on the hill. Not sure Derrick will do that again, but the boys thoroughly enjoyed it. I am so proud of him because he tends to think anything new will hurt him, and he isn't always the bravest little soul. He has such confidence now, and it's starting to show up in other things. Although, he does turn every light on between the living room and the bathroom when we send him to brush his teeth. Oh well. He also has two loose teeth on the bottom. Pulling them out could get interesting, so I haven't been messing with them too much.
We have also been working on the nursery. It is coming together nicely, and we think it's really cute. It's so much fun getting that kind of stuff ready.
Derrick has really been into grilling out this summer. We almost always use the grill from about April through October or so. Usually it's hamburgers, brats, steaks. This summer, we've grilled corn, shrimp, peaches, pineapples, etc. The goal is for Derrick, aka Bobby Flay, to try different things and see how they turn out. This weekend or next we're going to try pizza on the grill. After dinner, we've used the firepit a lot and had lots of s'mores!

Niagara Falls and Hershey

Our vacation was wonderful. We left Tuesday afternoon around 2:30 and made our way to New York. We had a doctor's appointment where we found out we are having a girl, so that made an exciting start to our vacation. Derrick is so excited about it, and is showing off the pictures to everyone. Her name is Natalie, and we are wavering between Alexis or Grace for her middle name. Anyway, the boys did great in the car. I had bought them some new coloring books, a new movie, and a small Transformer for some car entertainment. They loved the Transformers and played with them the ENTIRE six hours to Niagara Falls. We had sandwiches in the car for dinner, and made it to our hotel around 8:30 or so. I had promised them time in the pool, so while Derrick got things settled in our room, I took them down to the pool to burn off some energy.

Wednesday, we had breakfast at the hotel and packed up our cooler to make our way to the park. The really great thing about Niagara is that everything we wanted to do was in the state park. We just had to park the car, get a map, and walk everywhere we wanted to go. We started by just walking around and getting an idea as to what we wanted to do first. We ended up at a trailhead, which took us down to Bridal Veil and American Falls. These were so beautiful!
We watched these smaller falls for a bit, and then followed the trail over to the Maid of the Mist. This is a boat that takes you along the river and right up to Horseshoe Falls. It was a great ride, and the boys were really into it. We had ponchos to wear, but we still got a little wet. After this, we bought an iced lemonade and took a break on a bench. We walked to the aquarium. It was really small, but they had a lot of neat looking fish and other animals. We were there for about half an hour and then worked our way back to the car. We found a shaded table and had a picnic. We were so ready to eat and relax for a little bit. We had lunch and played a few card games. The boys had fun feeding the sea gulls that were around the picnic area, too. We were so hungry and worn out from all the walking we had done that we devoured our lunches. After the rest, we headed to the Cave of the Winds. I think this is the coolest thing we did at the park. We put on special water sandles and ponchos. Then we got into an elevator and went down a gorge about 175 feet. That put us about to the level of the river. Mind you, the falls and water are rushing around us. We made our way up the first tier of steps. Here the water is misting around you and you're getting a little wet. Then, the second tier of steps we climbed the water from Bridal Veil Falls was rushing at our feet and we were getting wetter. The third tier we climbed took us right up to the falls. Like right there, they would knock you over if you were brave enough to get that close. It was called the Hurricane Deck...and it was just like you see on the weather forecasts during hurricane season when the newscaster is being pelted by winds and rushing water. It hurt and stung when it hit us, but we didn't care. We walked right up to them and got soaked. By this time, we had enough Niagara Falls fun for the time being. We went back to the hotel to have some quiet time and let the boys swim a little. Then, we went to dinner at Bob Evans. After dinner, we drove back to the park and walked to the Hard Rock Cafe to get some souvenirs. Afterwards, we walked back to the park and looked at the falls while the boys had their favorite summer treat, Dippin Dots. We waited for dusk to come when they light up the falls. We waited and waited, for about 40 minutes, but they still weren't lighting them, so we gave up and went to the hotel.

Thursday, we pushed to get out kind of early so we could make our way to Hershey, PA. We arrived there around 2:30 or so. After checking into the hotel, we drove over to Chocolate World. We did the simulated factory tour and the 3D chocolate show. They had SO much chocolate everywhere! The factory makes 60 million hershey kisses each day! Of course, at the end of the ride and the 3 D show we got a mini Hersheys bar. The boys also got to be factory workers and package their own kisses. That was very fun and cute for them. We were there for about two hours and then went back to the hotel to swim a bit before dinner. We went to Applebee's for dinner, then back to the Hershey park/Chocolate World area for ice cream.

Friday, we made our way to Strausburg to go to the Toy Train and the Pennsylvania Railroad Museums. This was a quaint, beautiful little Amish town. We were able to see some farmers working with horse plows while we were driving. We went to the toy train museum first. This was walls and cases of toy trains. They also had five train towns set up and different buttons to push to make the accessories light up or the trains go. After this, we drove up the road to the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. This was basically a big garage that had antique, life size trains of different types. Some you could climb in and some you could just look at. They were amazing nonetheless. After a few hours here in Strausburg, we made our way back home. We got back to Marysville around 8:30 or so, picked up a pizza on the way home and relaxed. We had a great time away!

Yeah Summer!

School's out! Yeah! I have been struggling this year with enjoying teaching and trying to balance the classroom with our family life. Those days are over! I am so thankful to be finished with teaching and now I am able to focus on our home life and helping Derrick more with church. Speaking of church...VBS is this week. Not sure how many kids to expect, so that always makes for anxiousness around the church. I am also sending the boys to VBS at St. John's this week. Theirs is from 9-12 and ours is in the evening from 6-8. My husband thinks I'm crazy, and some of you reading this may think so, too. Two VBS sessions in one day! Oh well. You can't have too much Jesus.

I am 20 weeks along in my pregnancy. I am definetly looking pregnant, which is better than looking like I've gained a few pounds. I love shopping, as most of you know, but not for maternity clothes. Oh well. It feeds my habit for now I guess. I'm not trying to buy too much..I'd rather buy cute new clothes after the baby comes! We find out what we are having on the 23rd. Which is also the day we are going on VACATION! Yes, my husband actually wants to go on vacation...ok, maybe doesn't want to but sees the need for it. As kids, the only vacation spots we know are Myrtle Beach (my family spot) and Disney World or Kings Island (his family spots). All those sound great...but Derrick doesn't like the beach, and most of the rides at Disney World are out for me right now. Instead, we decided on Niagara Falls and then Hershey/Strausburg PA. At the falls, we are going to do the Maid of the Mist and the Cave of the Winds. I am so geeked about this. I've always wanted to go on the Maid of the Mist..it's a boat you ride around the falls in case you weren't sure...Also, they have fireworks nightly at the falls. We are also visiting an aquarium as part of our trip there. We will be there two days, and then head down into PA. We are staying in Harrisburg, between Hershey and Strausburg. We are going to the Hershey factory...which we are very excited about..then in Strausburg is a Railroad Museum and a Toy Train Museum..both of which the boys will love. We'll be there for two days and then make our way back home.

This week is crazy. We not only have VBS, but Derrick is responsible for much of the AV equipment, running it, and helping the presenters at our district convention. He's not too excited about it. He will be at the Embassy Suites in Dublin all day/into the evening Wednesday-Saturday.

The weather has been warm, and the boys have been all over their scooters/bikes. Lucas is doing so well on his bike. He is actually becoming a little too bold for my taste. Have a good week!

Spring Is Here

A Brief Summary Since My Last Blog....

Derrick and I went to San Antonio for PLI. A week off school for me, time with him away from the boys, hanging out with our awesome collegial group for five days..sun and warm weather...

My "stomach is humongous"..the words of Matthew after not seeing me for a week...we entered "grandma detoxification" immediately upon returning from San Antonio....enough said about that.

Derrick's birthday...he asked for (and got) the sweetest gift...a keychain with my name on one side, "Matthew" and "Lucas" and a blank space for the baby's on the other...

Countdown to days of school....15 school days left! YEAH!!! The only thing..my babies will be first graders

Mother's Day at home with the four of us. We bought and planted flowers, had steaks, and played outside. I even got a very nice card...

Matthew and Lucas had two field trips this week and Safetytown Weds-Fri....

That's about it!

Spring Break Recap

Spring break has come and gone, but it was great to be home. On Palm Sunday, Derrick's youngest sister was confirmed. That definetly started our Holy Week on the right focus. Her class is one that I love dearly and have become very close with. It was great to see them confirmed on Sunday. They are one of the few classes that get the concept...for the most part...and appreciate their confirmation. Her confirmation project was a banner to hang at Living Truth. Very sweet of her. She had a very fun open house, and Derrick and I were able to leave the boys at his parents' house for awhile to go to several others I had been invited to. Monday and Tuesday were rainy and cold. I was able to make it through Twilight and New Moon those days. We stayed inside and played a lot of games. We taught the boys how to play go fish, war, slap jack, and some others. It was a lot of fun because they are getting the concept of stuff like that. Of course, Hungry Hippos made the game list, also. Derrick and I also got several boxes packed and closets cleaned out.Wednesday, Matthew, Lucas, and I went to Pizza Hut for lunch. They had earned Book-It coupons for a free pizza and we cashed them in. It was a nice little date. Then, Wednesday night they had karate.


Thursday, we played in the morning and then went to the park. They road their scooters all the way there and back. It is about a 12 minute or so walk. After playing there for awhile, we came home for quiet time. That's code for "movie and mommy nap time". After quiet time, Lucas felt ill and began puking. He kept that up for about a day and a half. My parents offered to take Matthew overnight Thursday night. He right away got his back pack ready and waited by the door. After about 20 minutes of waiting, I convinced him they were going to be about another half an hour and he should sit down. When they got there, he was so excited to go. It was cute to see him get a little wind in his sails about being the only one to go to grandma and grandpa's. They brought him home later on Friday afternoon. Saturday, we worked around the house all day. We raked, cleaned up outside, and washed my car. Then we went to my parents to store some things and for lunch.

Easter was great, too. We had church, then to my grandma's and Derrick's parents. The boys had an egg hunt at each house. At the Hursts, we (Derrick and I, too) had to go on a scavenger hunt to find our Easter gifts. His mom gets teased, but she makes things like that fun. Monday, the four of us went on errands to the the Movie Tavern to see Monsters vs. Aliens. It was a lot of fun. The Movie Tavern is a restaurant in a movie theatre. We love to go there! I pray you all had a great Easter!