Happy Birthday Austin & Caitlin

I love our kids. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them to pieces! I can't believe birthday number 5 is in the books! Admittedly, this party was a little bigger than I anticipated...it kind of took on a life of its own because I was having such a great time with the planning. Next year it will be scaled down for sure.

The kids are so sweet. They are the most genuinely sweet & grateful kids I know. They have such joy even in the smallest things.

Details...

Friday night we had some wicked thunderstorms and a ton of rain. Thought for sure I'd be waking early to clean the basement for Plan B...but by morning things were calm (but soggy) so we still had the party outdoors. The first think I heard in the morning was Caitlin saying, "Happy Birthday Bear!" Oh my...totally melted my heart. They were soooooo excited that they were finally 5! It was so cute to see their excitement at getting older.

The day was nonstop from 7am to way into the night...I will not have a party on their actual birthday again...just too hectic. fun. but hectic. Rookie mistake.

The carnival theme was great. We had a concession stand set up with all kinds of goodies - popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, nachos, chips, goldfish, drinks. My Aunt Lynn was the concessions lady & she did a great job. Well, except when she was trying to figure out how to make cotton candy and it wound itself around her arm instead of the paper cone. :) I found it funnier than she did...by the end of the day she was covered in popcorn oil, grass stains, and even had some blue cotton candy highlights in her hair. lol

After we ate, the kids lined up at the ticket booth (thanks Uncle John!) and got their bags with tickets for the games! We have some great friends & family who volunteered to run the games. It was awesome just to stand back and look at our kids & their friends having a blast playing games in our yard. Most of the games were made by me so nothing fancy...we had a ring toss, bead dig, beanbag toss, penny pitch, quarter drop, lollipop tree, balloon stomp, ping pong toss, & soccer kick. They loved going from game to game collecting prizes.

THE BEST was the face painting! OH MY GOSH! Austin & Caitlin have been looking forward to getting their face painted since I bought the supplies about 2 weeks ago! They have been discussing what designs they would like and insisted they would be first in line. :) By the end of the party Caitlin had designs on her forehead, both cheeks, both arms, & both legs. Austin was sporting a pirate patch, mustache, & goatee along with the word PACERS down one leg & COLTS down the other leg. My nephew Ethan was rolling with a handlebar mustache, A & C's friend Max had a "Bob & Tom" 'stache & Jacob had the "Jack Sparrow" 'stache/goatee combo.

Austin & Caitlin requested red velvet cake, so that's what we had. The bakery did a great job with the decorations & it was absolutely delicious.

It was such a fun day and now we have two sweet FIVE YEAR OLDS!!!! :)

It's been awhile...

We are way behind in posting to the blog. We have quite a few pictures to get up, and of course, we have a big day coming up Saturday when Austin and Caitlin turn 5...(That seems impossible, by the way).

I haven't been home a whole lot the last month, and I probably won't be able to get the pictures up until the weekend of the 26th, but at that time I will post pictures that haven't been downloaded from the camera for a LONG time, as well as pictures from their birthday.

They are both very excited, and Kim is doing a great job of planning a carnival themed party. Not sure how many kids will be there, but from what I understand they will have fun. Lots of carnival games and carnival food.

Hope everyone is well, and I admittedly have been terrible keeping in touch with anyone of late. Lots of preparation for the draft next Thursday. I will resurface after that!

Recently....

Let's see.....

Caitlin is busily preparing for her recital.  Only a few more weeks of classes, then the big night!  We have both of her costumes and it is a bit overwhelming...all the stuff you have to buy, all the stuff you COULD buy....flowers, dvds, music to practice, tights, make-up, pictures, hair kit to make a bun...BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!

Austin has 2 more weeks in his Friday bball class and then he will begin a weekly 2 hour class for K,1,2!  His coaches think he is ready to move up....I know he'll be happy to have that extra hour to play ball.

The preparations are underway for the kids' 5th birthday party.  This year is a carnival theme....so far the cotton candy machine & popcorn machine are rented and the cake is ordered.  Still working on invitations, choosing games, & creating game booths.  I absolutely can't believe they are almost 5!  What the heck?!?!?!  That went by waaaaaaay too fast!

Saturday we took them to the qualifications for the Indy 500.  It was their first time experiencing the track & both kiddos had a good time.  Austin loved it way more than Caitlin but she seemed to enjoy it too.  They were comparing everything to "Cars" which I found very amusing.

Yesterday & today have been downright HOT...almost 90!  So Austin & Caitlin have been loving some sprinkler time in new swimsuits.  It has been the only time in recent days that they have played together without arguing or having a knock-down-drag-out!  They take turns dumping buckets of water on the slide & the other kiddo splashes through it.  They are using their "misters" from Disney World and today they "painted" the playset with buckets of water & paintbrushes.  We have been outside for about 4 hours now with no issues.

Also happy to report that Austin's love of mowing hasn't wavered....he is still a dedicated mower!  HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan has one more long trip...a combo of Treviso, Italy (basically Venice - lucky duck!) and New Jersey!  There's a combo you don't see everyday!  :)  Only a few more weeks till the big draft.  Anybody have any thoughts on the 10th pick?  Yeah, me neither!  Ryan finds my attempts at scouting very comical.  lol

I just finished organizing/hosting a Teacher Appreciation Tea at the kids' preschool.  It was such a nice event & I think the teachers really enjoyed it.  Hard to believe next year is our last year there....then it's the big bad world of kindergarten!  WOW!

That's about all for now....

Miracles (Mother's Day)

A little over 5 years ago, God answered my prayer.  All I wanted was to be a mom.  It's all I prayed for, it's all I dreamed of.  Being a mom has blessed me in so many ways and I believe it was a miracle...the doctors, the treatments, the financing, the friends & family who supported us, our church...God put those all in our path at the exact time we needed them.  Nothing short of miraculous.  Breathtaking really.

And to be blessed with not one, but TWO babies.  WOW.

The gift of being a mom is not lost on me as I watch others struggling with infertility...my heart breaks for them as they travel down the road we had to a few short years ago.  I remember the many Mother's Days spent crying & wondering if I would ever be able to celebrate with my own child.  I will never forget those times - small reminders to cherish every single moment with my kids.

I knew I would love my babies, but I never knew the depth of love.  It is completely overwhelming.  These amazing little people are a gift from God.  Every day isn't perfect & some days are just downright awful, but there is never a day without overwhelming love.

As Austin & Caitlin grow, I pray that they will always feel loved & cherished by me.  Their mom.

Saint Lou-eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Ryan had a few days off of work so we took a mini vacation to St. Louis.  We weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great couple of days!

The drive took about 4 hours (not factoring in the potty stops we had to make) & the kids did a great job.  When we got to St. Louie (the kids found this pronunciation HILARIOUS!), we went straight to the Arch. Up we went and they loooooooved it!  The Arch was a BIG topic of conversation before, during, & after this trip.  We traveled to the top in a little "egg pod" and were blessed with clear skies.  It was cool to see the skyline and the Mighty Mississippi!  After the Arch we drove to the hotel & had dinner in our room then hit the hay.

The next morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, & headed to the St. Louis zoo.  WOW!  It was a great zoo!  Austin enjoyed seeing the rhinos & the bears.  Caitlin loved the giraffes.  They got to pet guinea pigs, bunnies, & goats in the Children's Zoo...it was so cute to watch them with the animals.  Also in the goat pen we got to see some classic comedy...goats would steal papers from unsuspecting people's pockets & bags and chomp away.  One guy was even chasing the goat thief...not sure what he thought he was going to do, but he couldn't catch the goat anyway.  That was funny to see.

After the zoo the kids took a "car nap" and Ryan & I were able to drive around and check out the neighborhoods.  Next time we WILL be visiting "The Hill"...St. Louie's Little Italy.  Ahh, but not this time.  Instead, for dinner we headed to some place that was like a way better version of Chuck E. Cheese.  The food was awful but the kids had a blast playing all the games...mini bowling, pop-a-shot, skee ball, driving games.  At first Caitlin was puzzled about the tickets coming from the games, but once I showed her the prize counter & explained how we would turn in our tickets for prizes, it was ON!  She was obsessed with getting as many tickets as possible.   She ended up with about 500 tickets and was able to get a boatload of junk toys.  :)  Austin had about 400 tickets and got his fair share of junk toys too!

On Thursday we got up, had breakfast, & packed up.  We thought we would stop at one more fun place before hitting the road.  We went to City Museum which looked very cool but Ry & I decided it was more for older kids.  So we drove to Magic House...the Children's Museum.  It was great & the kids had a blast.  The exhibits were awesome...Caitlin loved the exhibit with separating recyclables and dumping them in the recycling truck and Austin put on a hard hat, grabbed an empty spray bottle & cloth & starting cleaning the SMART car that they had.  He was on a mission....even crawling inside the car to detail it.  :)  The funniest was when a girl put her foot on the bumper and he immediately went over, pretend sprayed, & wiped off the offending footprint!  They also had slides, a water table, a sand table, a replica of the Oval Office/Congress/Courtroom, a house under construction, a beanstalk to climb...it was a great museum & definitely tired the kids out.

Then we were on our way home.  It was a great time of reconnection for our family!!!

The Schnipkes are coming! The Schnipkes are coming!

Yesterday we were very lucky to have a short visit from some very dear friends.  Carrie, Andy, & their ADORABLE twins, Ben & Kate came over!  We haven't seen them in ages so it was great to catch up.  The kids got along sooooo well & it was fun to see them playing together.  Ben & Kate are a year younger than Austin & Caitlin so it was like a flashback for me & a flashforward for Carrie.  :)

Austin gave Ben one of his basketball cards which is how he demonstrates love for ya nowadays...he even left one for the Easter Bunny!!!  LOL  Caitlin was the perfect little hostess...showing Kate around & basically never leaving her side!  They spent a lot of time playing with the princesses & the Cinderella castle...imagine that?  :)

It was a great (but too short) visit and we look forward to doing it again soon!

And Another Thing...

Before playing "water park", they got into the red velvet cupcakes I made them as a little treat yesterday...they each scarfed down two!!!!!!!!!!