Spring Break Catch Up!

Time to get this blog caught up!!! 

This year for Spring Break we decided to make a round-about trip to first see my grandparents in northwest Iowa and then to see my parents and siblings in Missouri.  From the beginning of Spring Break to the end we totaled over 40+ hours in the car.  And would you believe that the two fussiest travelers towards the end of that 40+ hours were Travis and me? :) 

So...from start to finish here is our whirlwind of a trip...

We traveled 9 hours the first day and stopped at a hotel that had a 3 story water slide. So FUN!

They had to clean out the pool right when we got there so Travis and the kids swam in the tub until it was ready :)

The next morning we a delicious breakfast at the hotel and then were on our way once again!

Happy Colty :)

So as not to make this whole trip seem fluffy and perfect....here's a glimpse of what the other side of the table looked like :)  Emma is NOT a morning person and was being a tooty all throughout the meal. Yay for fun breakfasts ;)

My sweet little babes love to hold hands on car rides... I made sure to take a picture because I'm quite certain this won't last much longer!

We finally arrived in Iowa and had such a great time! We stayed at my Uncle Larry and Aunt Faye's home.  I am KICKING myself for not having taken any pictures.  They live in an old farmhouse which they are slowly fixing up.  They are SO thrifty and creative and every little piece of their home has a story.  It is absolutely beautiful!  I told her once they are completely finished they need to contact a magazine to feature their home...it is THAT cool!  

Aunt Faye and Colt

Trav walking on a frozen lake with Uncle Larry

One of the afternoons we were there we drove to the town in which I was born and lived for my first 5 years.  From there we headed about 15 minutes north to Minnesota!  Travis had never been to Minnesota before so he wanted to make sure we went there since we were so close.  And then from Minnesota we headed to South Dakota (so he could say he had been there too!). 

Trav and Emma in South Dakota

The main reason for the trip was to see my grandparents and to also introduce them to Colt!  It was such a great time visiting with them...wish we lived closer.  I definitely cherished the time that I was able to spend with them while we were there. 

From Iowa we headed to Missouri to see my parents and siblings!  

While we were in Missouri my parents treated us to a day at Silver Dollar City in Branson.  SO MUCH FUN!  We went growing up but it was Trav's first time to go. The day before we went we bought a wagon from the tractor supply store.  Emma wanted to sleep in it that night... that great idea only last about 15 minutes.

Trav and the babes 

The whole group(that went to SDC) minus my little brother Tim (he was taking the picture)

We had two very tired babies by the end of the day!

We had such a great Spring Break visiting everybody we love!!!  I don't think I can say it enough but it feels SO good to be home!!! Back to my own bed...hallelujah!

If you're still reading this lengthy post then have a GREAT Friday tomorrow!!! 

Please stay tuned....

I do believe it's been about 2 weeks since the last post!  Lots and lots to blog about... we've been caravanning around the country this last week for spring break.  Posts on that will be coming soon!  Exciting things will be happening soon with our blog too...stay tuned for that as well! 

Off to tackle some dishes and laundry while my little people are napping!  And of course because I don't believe in posts without pictures here's a picture of one of the states we visited last week! (In case you can't see what it says...it's Minnesota... 14 hours driven from home...details to come!)

Mish Mosh

My brain capacity is shot for this evening! So this is a quick post of mish-mosh :)

-Boots-

Last week we bought Emma a pair of rainboots.  In the spring our back yard always gets pretty muddy so we thought they would come in handy!  They were one of the best purchases that we've ever made!  Girlfriend has worn them EVERY day for the past week and a half...here's some proof...

(she also got a new swimsuit... we'll be staying at a hotel over spring break that has an indoor pool!)

I was staying up late one night and heard her clunking around in her room at 11pm...this is what I found

-COLTY-

I teach piano lessons and two of my students are a brother and sister who have lessons back to back.  While the sister has her lesson the brother was playing with the kids behind me.  At one point I turned around to check on Colt and this is what I saw :)  My little student must have thought he looked lonely I guess :)

-COSTUME QUEEN-

Besides loving her boots Emma has really started to get into playing dress-up lately.  Here are a few of her recent ensembles...

 

  

  

 (yes, those are underwear... :) like I said...her own creation!)

Off to bed... have a GREAT Monday!

Our Typical Day

One of the first blogs I ever read was Kelly's Korner.  Love her blog!  One of my favorite things about her blog is each week she has all her readers share something that has to do with the subject of that week.  This week's subject is "Show us your life- what is a typical day like?"  I've never participated before but thought this looked like one I could handle :)  So for anyone who has ever wondered (guessing there are zero of you... ;) )... here is what a typical at-home day looks like for us!

6 am- I wake up and get myself ready before the kiddos are up.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't!  A lot of the time Colt wakes up with me and he spends this time playing with his dad!

7-Emma is usually up by now.  Once both kids are up I get them dressed first thing.  Then it's time for breakfast! 

8:30- Our sweet friend Macey arrives and the girls start their play time.  While the kids play I do my cleaning, laundry, baking, etc... whatever is on my list for the day.

9-Colty is down for his morning nap!  During this time I try to do some sort of activity with the girls...whether it be a craft, reading or a game.  Then back to my cleaning or laundry :) doesn't it seem NEVER ENDING?!?!????????????????????


10:30- I try to finish up whatever housework I have by now.  Colty usually is up by now.  So we either run errands (Target anyone??!), go for a walk or get in the car for a drive! I LOVE going for drives with the kids.  Not a single day goes by that we don't leave the house at least once.  It keeps me sane :)


11:45- We usually eat lunch somewhere around here.  And at least a couple times a week we like to bring Travis his lunch at work.  He'll eat it out in the car with us.  During football season we do this everyday so that the kids can see their dad at least once during the day!  AND yes, it's another excuse to go for a car ride :)


1-1:30 All three kiddos lay down for NAPS!  Our home is really small and old (meaning our wooden floors creak every time you walk on them) so it's pretty much required that I sit on the couch while they all sleep :) :)  If I get up to clean anything or walk around you can guarantee that somebody will wake up!  So... I spend this time reading my Bible, reading blogs, budgeting, making grocery lists...basically anything that I can do sitting on the couch quietly! I love it :) 


3-The kids are usually up by now.  This is when we turn on PBS Kids...love it!  While they are watching a show I do a quick run through of the house and tidy it back up.


4:15- Bye bye Macey!


4:30- A couple days a week I teach piano lessons for an hour.  During this time the kids play quietly.  :)


5:30-Time to fix and eat supper (if I'm really on the ball I like to have crockpot meals on my piano lesson days).


6- Kids get bathed and into jammies.

6:30-Colty is in bed!

7- Emma is in bed!!!

Hallelujah! We made it through a day :) The rest of the evening I spend visiting with Trav, on the internet, sewing, getting ready for the next day... you know...the regular evening things :)

So... hopefully nobody has fallen asleep just yet reading this post ;)  It's a pretty boring day... but I love it!!!  I love staying at home... God has blessed me with such an amazing husband who supports this decision.

What does your typical days look like? Join the Show us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner!

Elmo Live, 500 and Pork

This weekend the kids' Nana treated us to Elmo Live which was in town!  

We had such a great time! Emma's favorite character is Abby Cadabby.  I looked everywhere for a cheap Abby Cadabby shirt but couldn't find anything.  This is where good old Ebay came into play! I found a seller that makes iron-on transfers with Sesame Street characters plus the child's name.  I think I paid $4 for it and that included s&h!  I ironed it onto an old shirt that had stains on the front of it....glued on some jewels...and then sewed a pocket on the front to cover a really BIG stain (I believe it was spaghetti...missed it with my spray n' wash!). And voila'... a cheap Abby Cadabby shirt :)

The sellers name is  leesaatultimatetransfers if anyone wants to check them out.

I think Colty enjoyed the show more than Emma... he sat with this look on his face for a LONG time...

During the intermission a man came out with THE MOST GIGANTIC handful (pile, wad, cluster, what do you call a bunch of balloons together? :) ) of Elmo head balloons I have ever seen in my life! I tried to take a picture but it was way to dark...so I lightened it up as best as I could to give you some idea of what I'm talking about.  This picture doesn't even do it justice...it was GINORMOUS!

 

(HA did I mention Cousin It was there? )

We had such a great afternoon... thanks for taking us Nana!

In other news... I've added a little button to the side of my blog.  Laura and Erin's 500 in 2010 Challenge.  I came across this the other day on a blog and thought it looked like a great idea!  It's always fun to have a little motivation and competition.  Although I'm pretty sure I'm in last place since I started 8 weeks behind everybody else!!! :)  So basically I guess I'm trying to encourage other people to join in so I won't be in last place..haha!

And lastly before I forget.  I made the BEST crockpot pork this week!  I never EVER buy pork.  Or really any meat for that matter.  Not much of a meat girl and whatever we do have my parents' graciously give us from their cows.  So I was rummaging through our freezer last week and came across a family size pack of boneless pork chops that my Mom had bought while she was here after Colty was born. Yes, that would be 7 months ago :).  I wasn't exactly sure how to cook them.  So basically whatever meat I don't know how to cook I just throw into my Magic Crockpot and it always comes out delicious:)  Here's what I put into the 

 Magic Crockpot:

MAGIC CROCKPOT MEXICAN PORK (don't be jealous I came up with such a great name)

-Family Pack Boneless Pork Chops

-Water (I think around 2 Cups)

-Taco Seasoning (Around 3/4 a package)

-Cumin (LOVE this stuff! I put in a couple heavy duty shakes)

-Chopped Onions

-Chopped Green Peppers

I cooked it on low all day.  I didn't even have to shred it...it just fell right apart.  We ate on the pork for four days...kid you not!  The first day I served it over spanish rice with a dollup of sour cream on top.  The second day we had it in tortillas.  The third day we put it over salads...yum yum!!! And the fourth day I put the pork and shredded cheese into the center of biscuits (from a can).  Just crimp the edges and bake!
Each day the flavor of the meat grew even more delish! 

Hope everybody has a great weekend!!! Go make some pork!!! :)

Monday Love

Does anybody else LOVE Monday's?!?! :)  I LOVE them! I think part of the reason is because I grew up with a Mom who loves Mondays.  I love having a fresh start to a new week.  And I most definitely love writing down lists of to-dos that need to get done this week. 
What are your thoughts on Mondays? Love em' or hate em'?!

Absent...

As you can tell I've been absent from the blogging world for a week.  What have we been up to?  

We've been...

Enjoying the crazy amounts of snow we got last week!

Covering our baby in warm towels from the dryer

Celebrating Valentine's Day with chocolates for breakfast!

Attempting to take Valentine's Day pictures before church....

Discovering that we can open our mouths really wide and leaving them open like that for long periods of time

Taking our babies rectal temperatures... (she was very quiet one morning and this is what I found her doing)

Applying our lipstick before we head off to a "Sleeping Tooty" Ball

Eating lots of green veggies and loving them!

Building forts since it's too muddy to play outside

There's what we've been up to this week in a nutshell!

Have a fabulous weekend!