Special Sunday!

This weekend was busy, busy, busy! Sunday Austin and Caitlin had separate special activities to attend!

Caitlin went to a Pinkalicious Party at Barnes & Noble with Aunt Bubbles. Caitlin loves "special girl time". We dropped her off and she apparently had a blast...they listened to 2 of the stories in the Pinkalicious series, they made tissue flowers that they dipped in pink and purple dye, they made ice cream sundaes, and she got her nails painted (this was her favorite thing!). She also came home with a cute little Pinkalicious coloring book.

While we waited for Caitlin, Austin got some "special mom & dad time". We took him to Recreation Unlimited and he and Ryan shot hoops! The boy played non-stop for an hour and a half!!! He was so cute....found a low net and hung from it! He had some serious hero worship going on when watching daddy sink shot after shot. Just when I thought he couldn't idolize Ry any more!!! Austin is quite a baller (says his mommy!)...he was making a ton of baskets at about 8 feet tall. Ryan says he is a lefty with pretty good backspin on the ball...apparently that is a good thing. After ballin' we stopped at a Chevy dealership and took Austin's picture by a REAL Chevy Corvette. Austin has also discovered a love of cars and identifies them by their brand logos. It's pretty funny. He wanted a picture next to a Chevy Camaro but there weren't any on the lot...a corvette had to do.

It was so weird to only have one kiddo and both parents!!! Waaaaaaaay easier, but weird...Caitlin certainly adds a lot of pizazz to the family! :) When we picked her up, they both lit up to see one another and chatted non-stop.

We took them to Cold Stone for an ice cream treat and let them play at the park for awhile. Then we came home and they had "water day" using a kiddie pool and a sprinkler that Gramma brought for them on Saturday. They both had their sunglasses on and were pretending they were goggles. Pretty funny stuff!

Today is GORGEOUS outside (a little windy, but it beats the oppressive heat and humidity that we've had)....sooooooooo, lots of outside time! We are waiting for Ryan to get home from work so we can go for a walk (the kids will ride bikes), have a family dinner, and then baths & bed.

The birthday party went so smoothly! The preparations were a bit crazy, but everybody seemed to have fun and everyone loved the theme/decor. I even found time to chat with the grown ups! Hooray! We have soooo much candy left over though!!!! Tonight's dinner will be raisinettes topped with m&m's served with a side of mixed runts and skittles. ;) For dessert? Twizzlers a la mode (cuz we have a lot of leftover ice cream too!). :)

Random funnies....

**Caitlin is so darn skinny that most of her shorts/skirts require a safety pin to keep them up. She calls the safety pin a "pin clip". lol

**Austin's new favorite word? "Stubborn"....For example, "Argh, these socks are being stubborn!" (the "r" comes out as a "w" so it's extra cute!)

**Caitlin was looking through a new make-up kit and didn't want to go outside. She said, "But we're doing make-overs!!!"

Catching Up With Their Actual Birthday!

I have been so busy with the draft, I haven't been able to post the pictures from their actual birthday!

Sorry about that... Hard to believe that they are old enough to be riding bikes up and down the sidewalk. Caitlin still isn't sure about turning around, but Austin picked it up almost immediately...he can go just about anywhere on his bike... The only thing is they need to both get used to using the brakes!!!

4th Birthday Party

Today was the ever anticipated Candyland birthday party. Several of the kids that Austin and Caitlin go to school with, along with a couple of neighbor friends came over to help celebrate. Even Ms. Amy and her daughter, Courtney, came! Grandma Junior, Great Gramma, Aunt Courtney, Cousin Ethan, Aunt Bubs, Uncle John, Bethany, Kellen, Beckham, and Mr. Dave and Ms. Penny all took time to celebrate, as well.

Uncle John borrowed a bounce house from a friend that we used. That was a big hit!!!

We had 2 very tired kids who fell immediately to sleep tonight at 6:45 p.m.

We appreciate everyone who helped make this such a fun day for Austin and Caitlin. Kim decorated the house in true Candyland fashion, the cake was unbelievable, and there was even a "Candy Shop" where the kids loaded up with a huge assortment of candy to take home....Sorry about that to all the parents!

Below are alot of the pictures that were taken today. Special thanks to Lory Hamblen, mom of Jet, who is in their class. She is a professional photographer and took a lot of pictures for us. She did a much better job than I could have!

They received many gifts, and we are very appreciative of people going out of their way to do that. The kids will have a lot of fun with all their new toys and things to play with.

We hope you enjoy the pictures. Hard to believe that they are already 4. We are really proud of them and grow to love them even more everyday.

RIP Michael Jackson!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this on the blog...he is Ryan's music/entertainment IDOL! Ryan says he is in mourning...let's hope his grief does not distract him during their picks! ;)

Two things that we laugh about a lot deal with MJ...first, at a friend's wedding early in our dating life (so, about 11 years ago!) Ryan busted out the moonwalk on the dance floor! OMGosh, he had it down pat AND I think that's the wildest I've ever seen him! :) Second, we were having dinner at Hooters with Travis while we lived in El Paso and there was some dj or something there...anyway, they were playing a medley of Michael Jackson songs when Ryan says to us (dead serious)..."If they play 'Smooth Criminal', it's over!" Travis and I found that very funny (I STILL do!).

In more important news...I left the kids with a babysitter for a couple hours today so I could do birthday party shopping. I was a little wary about how Austin would react, but once Carolyn got here & he told me, "Go Mom!", I knew it was all good! She took them for a walk around the neighborhood (they rode their bikes) and then they asked if she could spray them with the hose. I gave the green light and so they played in the backyard until I got home. When I got here they were all in the "pirate ship" (the top of their playset)...it was great. After Carolyn left, she was all they talked about! Austin said, "I guess I DO like having a babysitter!" They both said, "Miss Carolyn is fun!"

OOOOOOH wait, Indiana is on the clock..."With the 13th pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Indiana Pacers select"........(I swear, this is our 6th draft and that quote NEVER gets old!).....TYLER HANSBROUGH! I just got a little surge of wifely pride! YAY for my hubby! Quality pick babe (in my professional opinion). Tyler just said Indiana is getting "a hard worker who knows how to win." Yeah, let's do that. Looks like Little A will be getting a new jersey!!!!!

Holy cow! Shaq goes to the Cavs???? Shaq + LeBron? ugh.

All right, I've gotta get something done around here!!!!

Latest happenings...

Well, FINALLY tomorrow is the draft! Ryan has been working very hard in preparation so I hope they make their picks count! Go Pacers! Go Ryan! :) Draft day is his equivalent of the summer solstice...longest day of the year!! ;)

Naturally, I have a TON of stuff to do for the party on Saturday and yesterday my back decided to act up. Ever since I've been pregnant, I've been dealing with sciatica. Yesterday was awful...painful, nonproductive, and not fun. Last night I tried to turn over in bed and gripped Ryan's arm so hard I thought I might break it...I think it was my yelling in pain that woke him up. Poor guy. He was great though...helped me out and kept telling me it was okay. Today it is a little better...I'm just tired from not sleeping much last night. I read that I should keep moving so that's what I've done. The kids and I vacuumed downstairs, I watered the flowers/plants in the backyard, then sprayed the kids with the hose (more on that in a minute), then I watered for the next door neighbors who are on vacation.

Now, back to the spraying the kids...they were soooo funny! They were surprised that they could get sprayed while wearing clothes and not swimsuits. They loved that! So I had the nozzle on "shower" and they pretended they were cars at the carwash. Every time they went through I had to say what kind of car they were...Chevy Camaro, Chevy Corvette, a Saturn, a Ford...they had a good time. It was soooooooooooooo hot today it was ridiculous!

Austin's favorite things to say..."Or something like that?" (example: "Are you going to vacuum the office or something like that?"). "Does that sound like a good plan?"

Caitlin keeps telling everybody she is taking ballet lessons (she's not...yet). It's pretty funny because she has to throw in a ballet move also. She likes to demonstrate the pirouette nowadays. We plan to enroll her in ballet this fall/winter and Austin will do "basketball class" (as he calls it). We need to keep busy, busy, busy so we don't dwell on Ryan's travel.

Oh yes, while policing the hallway at bedtime the other night, here's the song I got to hear Caitlin sing..."Rock your body, rock your body, the lady on tv says rock your body, sing a song." The girl LOVES to make up songs...when she gets dressed she'll sing, "underwear, I call it funderwear and thunderwear" and then she does a little dance.

Austin loves his new drum that Caitlin got him for his birthday. It also came with a kazoo that is a hit since they both learned how to use it. Caitlin loves "the clappers"....so they play marching band a lot. Noisy and mildly irritating if you are trying to conduct a conversation, but most of the time it doesn't bother me really. I find it amusing.

Time to head upstairs for baths....maybe more later....

Father's Day

Well, I didn't get to enjoy it for long, as we have alot of work to do in getting ready for the draft on Thursday night, but it was a great morning for me. The kids came in when they woke up asking if it was Father's Day. They got excited when they were told it was. They got all the stuff that they made for me from school, along with a couple of other things. They helped me open the stuff and told me all about it. Each of them made a little book where they completed different thoughts like, "I love it when my daddy..." then drew a picture for each of the phrases. It was very cute and something I am sure I will enjoy looking at again as the years pass by. They cut out some neck ties from some fabric samples with string to wear them around your neck. I thought that was pretty cute. They also gave me a poem with their footprint next to it.

Kim bought a picture frame in which you can record a greeting. The kids each said, "Happy Father's Day" into it, so when I press the button I can hear them say that...I really like it.

I think that the kids and Kim are headed over to Aunt Bubs this afternoon to ride their new bikes and help celebrate Lynn's birthday. Yesterday, they went up to see Grandma June for her birthday. It has been a busy few days.

We thought the kids would like the bikes, but we had no idea that they would be such a hit. So far, everytime they have been told it is time to come in from riding them, it has elicited immediate tears. Austin is doing really well, Caitlin is doing good in straight lines, but not so sure when turning around on a driveway with a little incline. She gets nervous when it starts to pick up a little speed. Both need to learn to use the brakes to control the speed, but that will come. We have taken a lot of pictures and will post them when we get a chance.

I hope to get home before the kids have to go to bed to squeeze in a little bit more time with them on Father's Day.

Lot's of work to do for Thursday night. Go Pacers!

bowling

I think I forgot to blog that a couple weeks ago we took the kids bowling for the first time! They loved it! They looked so cute with their little bowling shoes on!!! The lanes had the bumpers up so they never got a gutter ball and they used a metal ramp thingy to roll the ball down to the pins. It was a great set up and they each got a strike! We took pictures so will try to get those up in the near future.

another something funny...

A cartoon character was acting grumpy and Austin told me, "Maybe he needs to use the restroom." Austin gets soooo grumpy when he has to use the bathroom so I always tell him to go tinkle because he's acting grumpy. :)