Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday

I’m really tired tonight, so just a quick recap of the day.

After a not so great sleep last night, Harper decided to wake up bright and early this morning (6:15) and it took everything I had to get out of bed and get him. He was his usual happy self though, and his happy is always infectious so I wasn’t upset, just tired. He sat in the bathroom playing with my iPad while I showered and after that we were up and going as usual.

Zoe was up early because she had to be at work at 9 this morning and I coaxed Landon out of bed around 8am so that we could go out for donuts this morning. Landon loves donuts and I thought Harper might like them too, but as it turns out, Harper doesn’t seem to care for them at all. Who knew? I made sure to get plenty so that Zoe and Landon could have some tomorrow as well…and maybe Harper will give them a try tomorrow.

After our breakfast we came back home to hang out until Landon’s 2pm soccer game. Landon played all kinds of computer games while Harper and I took it upon ourselves to thoroughly dust Landon’s room. It was quite a chore and I’m so glad it’s done.

We left the house around 12:45 to head out for Landon’s game, and since we made it to Columbia so quickly, I made a pit stop at the soccer store to get Landon a goalie jersey. I’ve been looking everywhere for one but since it’s not really soccer season, they’re hard to come by. We ended up getting a nice light blue one, but the coaches aren’t happy with it because even though it’s a light blue it’s still blue, his team color. So, I guess we’ll probably have to get another one, but it’s not going to be anytime soon since they run about $35-$45 per jersey!

Harper took his nap on the way out to the game and when we got there he was still sound asleep so I let him sleep until the last minute before waking him. There was a nice park for him to play at and from the park I could kind of keep an eye on the game, but I couldn’t tell exactly what was happening. Landon played keeper for the second half of the game and while it wasn’t his best game, his team still managed their first win of the season with a 4-2 score.

When we got back home the boys played hide and seek and Landon built Harper a fort on the dining room table while I took a minute to sit before starting dinner. I made a real dinner tonight (chicken pot pie) and couldn’t help but think how much I appreciate that Tony makes dinner. It is one aspect of our relationship that I try to remember to never take for granted.

For some reason, Harper decided that he didn’t want to eat dinner and only wanted to eat ice cream. He absolutely refused dinner, and kept repeating “ice sheem” until finally I decided a bowl of cheerio’s would suffice for dinner and that if he ate that, I’d give him some ice cream. He was delighted with himself. Smile I told him he wouldn’t be able to pull that crap when dad got back home, haha, as if dad has any more of a strong will than I do when it comes to that little turkey.

Once dinner was done and cleaned up it was time to get Harps in the bath and bed. Tony and I figured out how to use Google+ so we could “hangout” and it was kinda funny because it’s weird to talk to someone and see them through the computer. I don’t know why, but it’s just easier to chat when the person can’t see how awkward you’re acting. LOL!

Well, it’s late and I’ve gotta get in bed in case Harper decides I need to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Goodnight, all.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Single Mom, Take 2

We survived our first day home without dad, and are well into day 2 now. Nothing is really different during the day while everyone is gone to school (and Tony would be at work) and things are pretty ho hum for Harper and I.

I didn’t feel like dragging him all over today so we just hung out at home playing toys and passing time. It’s chilly outside again today, barely 50 degrees, but we did get out for a walk down to the park.

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Harper loves the slides at parks right now. He always wants to slide before doing anything else. Once he’s gone down the slide a zillion times, it’s usually time to pick flowers.

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I had to coax him out of the park today by telling him we’d walk and look for doggies and kitties. He reluctantly left the park in search of the doggies and kitties and ended up seeing something much cooler.

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He was over the moon excited to see that turtle. I told him he could get out to see the turtle a little closer but that he couldn’t touch it. He never even attempted to touch it, and I’m sure that scared little turtle was thankful for that. Harper noticed that as we got close the turtle put it’s head and front feet in it’s shell and he looked at me like he didn’t understand. I explained that the turtle was scared and hiding in his shell. I then told him that if we were quiet and he got back in his stroller away from the turtle, the turtle might stick his head back out. No sooner was he back in his stroller (shushing me) and that turtle stuck his head back out, and Harper definitely noticed because he said “head”! All the way home he was telling me “more, more” and when I told him to look for more he’d say “hide”. He was all about that turtle until we got closer to home and he remembered we were supposed to be looking for doggies and kitties and then he was back on the hunt.

We never did see a dog or cat outside today, but he was starving when we got home. He ate his lunch and then told me “night-night”.  So, we headed upstairs and read a few books and he’s been asleep since.

Tonight we are planning to go to an art fair at Landon’s school and then out to dinner. Other than that, our Friday night is going to be pretty quiet…

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cafeterians

Real quick, before I forget, a conversation with Landon this afternoon.

Landon: “Mom, what are the cafeteria ladies called?”

Me: “Cafeteria ladies or lunch ladies, I guess.”

Landon: “Yeah, but don’t they have like, a real name, or something?”

Me: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Landon: “Aren’t they like, cafeterians, or something?”

Me: “Cafeterians? Yeah, that sounds good…just call them the cafeterians.”

Why I found this so darn funny today, I don’t know. But, I do like the new title.

Thursday, Part 2

Well, Tony has made it down to Mobile, Alabama and is at his hotel as I type. I’m guessing his trip down was pretty uneventful as he made it within the timeframe that he thought he would, and I never got a call saying “you’ll never believe this shit”…

As for us, our day went as usual. Harper got up from his nap happy as can be and we walked down to meet Landon at the bus stop. The first thing Landon said as he walked up to me was “It’s going to be so weird to not see dad today.” I told him I agreed, but that we were going to be just fine. Then he said, “well, it’s probably going to be a little weird today, but a lot weirder tomorrow” and I couldn’t help but think how right he was about that.

Moving on…we spent the afternoon jumping on the trampoline, kicking a ball around the front yard, getting homework finished, refilling the bird feeders, and just keeping busy in general. Landon was sweet and happily played with Harper for awhile and I got to just sit on the steps and relax.

Around 5pm, I figured I’d better get in the house and make dinner. Tony is the cook in our house and I was really worried about what I’d be making while he was away. Tonight’s dinner was like a dream come true for Landon. I made pigs in a blanket, peas and macaroni and cheese. He was in heaven. Harper loved it too. I had cereal a little bit ago though because I a) wasn’t hungry when they ate and b) couldn’t stomach the hotdog smell.

After dinner was the usual, too. Clean up the dinner mess, play till 7pm and then get Harps in the tub and ready for bed. Landon spent time playing computer games and Zoe was at school the entire afternoon for a History study session and then an IB exam meeting.

In short, our day was pretty typical except that da-da wasn’t here. I think Landon is the one who is most worried about dad not being here, while Harper is just so young that he just accepts whatever is happening and goes about his baby business. Zoe, of course, understands but is a little too old to be real concerned about it.

As for me, well, I just hope these days fly by because I hate not having my best friend around to talk to.

Journey into Single Motherhood

My husband is away for work for the next few days, so I thought I’d do my best to keep him in the loop by using my blog as an open journal to him. Of course, you can read it too, but it’s probably going to be a bit…stale. Smile 

Today started off with a bang. We all had to be ready to roll as soon as Landon hopped on his bus this morning because I had to get Tony to the airport in time to check in for his 10:15am flight. It’s been years since any of us have flown, so we weren’t sure how long he’d need to get in and get through security, so getting him there by 8:30 seemed like a good plan.

Of course, since we were in a hurry, Landon’s bus was running late and I ended up having to leave him with a neighbor so that we could get moving. I would have let him just hang out at the bus stop, but it was raining pretty steadily and I didn’t want him to have to endure an entire day of school in soggy clothes.

Tony and I aren’t accustomed to being apart for what is going to seem an eternity (6 days) so saying good-bye at the airport was tough. We made it super quick though and neither of us was bawling, so it was a success. I think Harper was a little jealous that da-da went on the plane without him though because he kept saying “Har-Har. Plane.” Poor guy just didn’t understand why he didn’t get to go too.

Since Tony’s gone and I’ll be required to do the cooking (scary!!) I decided we’d make a run for the grocery store since we were already out and about. Like I said, it was raining pretty heavily this morning, so it took me nearly 30 minutes to get from the airport to the grocery store; a trip that normally would take half that time. But, me and the little dude got to the store and got the few things I had on my list and were on our way back home just in time to dump it all off and head to Rolly Pollies.

By the time I ran all the groceries into the house and tossed the cold stuff into the fridge/freezer, Harper had had it with all the nonsense of our morning. He started to cry on the way to Rolly Pollies so I had to constantly talk to him on the way there. I don’t remember what I was talking about, but it was the only thing I could do to keep him from having a full blown meltdown in the car. Luckily for us, the rain slowed considerably and our trip was a typical 15 minute drive. Unlucky for us, it meant we were there nearly 30 minutes early. So, we did what we had to, and played with every single button in the van until it was time to head in to class.

Our time at the gym was enjoyable as usual and Harper is more confident week after week. He loves the trampoline and the different climbing structures, but is very afraid of the moon bounce. The first class we went to, he wanted to go to the top of the moon bounce and slide down, but there was an older man ahead of us with his granddaughter and they couldn’t get up the steps to the slide (they kept falling back down, nearly killing everyone behind them) and they nearly scared Harper to death. So, he won’t even go near the thing now. It’s fine by me really because the last thing I want to do this far along in my pregnancy is get into a moon bounce. I think Harper’s very favorite thing is the stamp they get at the very end of class. He runs up to the instructor and sits patiently waiting for his stamps. They get one on each hand and foot, and Harper always lifts his shirt so they can put one on his tummy. If they forget the tummy, he reminds them. (This morning, when I reminded him that we were going to Rolly Pollies today, the first thing he did was pull up his shirt and point to his tummy!)

Tony has texted me to let me know that he’s made it to Atlanta safely and he’s now on his flight to Pensacola where he will then rent a car to drive to Mobile. It’s going to be a long day for him, and I’ll be happy to hear that he’s safe and sound in his hotel tonight.

As for me, I’ve got a million and one things to do for the day, so I better get off here and get started…Harper will be up from his nap in 30 minutes, Zoe will be home in 10 minutes and then we’ll be going to get Landon off the bus….just like always.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I Know It’s April, but…

I’ve had a stack of Christmas cards sitting on my desk ever since I took them all down right after Christmas. I’ve known what I was going to do with them after finding a cool idea on Pinterest, but have just been too lazy to actually do it.

Until today. I was able to get the whole thing done in about 30 minutes and am really happy with the results! Here’s how it went down…

Whenever I get cards in the mail that include loose photos, I immediately tape the photo inside the card. That way, when it comes time to do something with the cards, I’ve still got that years photo with the card. I just left the photo’s taped inside the cards and made sure not to punch holes through anyone’s faces.

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The only thing that really took any time (more than 30 seconds) was cutting and creating the cover. I found some thin cardboard and cut it just slightly larger than the largest card. I then found some pretty paper, a few stickers and called it done. I didn’t have 2 of the same size rings to bind the book together so I just used some ribbon through the holes.

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Here’s the inside of the book. All the cards are in there, no matter what size or type and it’s nice to be able to look back on each years sentiments.

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PS: The original idea came from this site, but, like I said, I pinned it to my Christmas board on Pinterest.

Monday, April 23, 2012

My Favorite Part of Spring

It’s been exactly a week since I last blogged. I thought about blogging every night, but only for a second or two before I fell fast asleep…

I love when my family visits because it’s a nice change of routine for us. The kids enjoy the extra attention and I appreciate the extra hands. (My mom can attest to that since I worked her butt off the entire time she was here! I think she enjoyed it though…)

One thing Mom and I did a lot of was choosing plants for my containers outside. I got all of them filled (I did they buying, she did the planting) and looking pretty.

I love seeing this outside my house when I pull into the driveway. It’s so welcoming and cheery. (Unlike our weather this week! It’s barely hitting 50 degrees today…BRRRR!)

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Mom thought it might be a fun idea to use some succulents in the rain barrel this year. We’re not sure if they’ll make it outside or not, but they sure look cute!

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I have two of these ceramic planters sitting on my deck and in the past I’ve planted snap-dragons in them, but this year I wanted something a little different.

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I also have several large planters sitting on the deck and I wanted lots of variety this year, so every planter is a little different. This year I didn’t try to stick with particular groups of colors either. I just bought what caught my eye and mixed it all up. No color or shape was off limits…and that is totally my style.

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I’ve got quite a few more planters/flower photo’s to share, but I’ll save those for another post!

Happy Monday!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Too Hot For April!!

It was incredibly hot outside today. In the 90’s hot. It was pretty warm yesterday too, and when we went to turn the air on, it decided it wasn’t going to work. Again. So, somehow we lived through a torturous night and through part of today without AC, but now we’re back in business and hopefully we’ll all sleep better tonight with the cooler temps in the house.

My parents are up for a visit this week because my dad has some meeting to attend up here. Mom came along so that she could hang out with us, but we couldn’t really stay in the house because it was so incredibly hot. We ended up going to Lowe’s where she helped me pick up some new flowers for my containers outside.

This evening I decided to water everything we’d planted and Harper couldn’t wait to get wet. It started out with just getting his feet a little wet, but once he decided to water the plants for me, that was it. He was SOAKED!

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The water coming out of the hose was terribly cold but he couldn’t get enough! He absolutely loved running through it and being sprayed!

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I had to let Meme finish the watering so that I could get some pictures of him. It’s a good thing it was so darn hot because that little boy was drenched head to toe.

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When we turned the hose off he decided it was time to play some ball with Papa. (Playing ball means trying to get past Papa with the ball in order to throw it out into the street while he watches Papa chase said ball.)

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Papa caught onto the “game” pretty quick though and that was the end of that.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Five on Friday

  1. A story I forgot to tell: Landon’s friend invited him over to play at his house last Sunday (which was Easter). While I was on the phone with his friends mom, he asked me to see if his friend could play here instead. So, I asked her and she said that was fine…when I got off the phone I asked Landon why he didn’t want to play there. He told me it was because he’d never been away from home for Easter and didn’t want to go anywhere for this one either. He also said he didn’t want to miss our big Easter lunch together and he liked being with us on holidays. Sometimes that kid just melts my heart.
  2. This was Harper’s second week of Rolly Pollies and he absolutely had a wonderful time. At the end of playtime they give the kids stamps. The first time we went the instructor gave him a stamp on each foot, each hand and on his tummy. He looked at them off and on for the rest of the day and was so happy to show everyone when they came home from school/work. At the end of this weeks class, the instructor (a different one going through training) only gave him a stamp on each foot. Well, he looked at his feet and then stood up and walked right up to her and pulled up his shirt! That was his way of telling her that she needed to give him his tummy stamp! After that he held out each hand for her to do, and only then was he happy! It was kind of funny because there was a little girl behind him who was watching and as soon as he finished she walked up and pulled up her shirt so she could get a stamp on her tummy too!
  3. I have been so exhausted this week. I haven’t really had any energy to do anything and man is my house showing it. Harper hasn’t been the best sleeper since we got back from vacation, but he does seem to be getting better. My sleep is interrupted constantly by the need to pee and then it takes me forever to get comfortable again. If this is how it’s going to be until I give birth, it’s going to be a long final trimester!
  4. Tony found out that he’s going to be traveling to Mobile, Alabama later this month. It’s the first time in his career that he’s had to travel and we’re both a little freaked out by it. I don’t know how I’m going to get everything done without him here to help me…guess I’ll be figuring it out soon. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed that this will be a one time only sort of thing.
  5. Tonight was Zoe’s IB pinning ceremony. Tony and I went to help set up, and the program was really nice. They had appetizers at the beginning and then we all went into the auditorium to watch a video in honor of all the IB students. After the video each kid walked across the stage to receive his/her IB stole and pin. It was cool to hear where each kid was going to go to school and about scholarships they received and their achievements. I am so proud to be the parent of such an incredible student and couldn’t help but feel very proud for all the kids who participated in such a rigorous, demanding program.

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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!

Harper got lots and lots of bubbles in his Easter basket this year. We tend to go through them really quickly, so the Easter bunny was smart to bring so many.

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The little bubble blower he’s holding is one that can be found at Target for around $5. It actually works really well and is small enough that he can use it by himself.

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I said he could do it by himself…not should do it by himself! I think he turned it on pointed up towards his face twice before realizing that he’d get bubbles all over his face every time he did it that way!

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After a mouthful (and nose) of bubbles he was content to let me and Dada work the bubbler while he watched and popped them.

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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Wall Paper

I want to redo my scrapbook/craft area. It’s a blah brown color right now and I’m thinking I want to go with a cool wallpaper on one wall. I found these two pinks and love them both. I’m not positive I want to go pink, but these two papers make me think I do…

\Pink Damask in a Girl's Room from Garrendenny Lane Interiors

Pink Damask Wallpaper in a Baby Girl's Nursery for the Junior League of Toronto Showhouse

Or, I could always do something like this in the baby’s room. Either way, I’m papering something!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Easter

We usually color our eggs at least a few days before Easter, but since we were on vacation this year, we didn’t get around to it until Saturday evening. Trying to get everyone in the same spot at the same time is next to impossible, and it’s only becoming more and more of a challenge.

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Of course, Harper had no idea what we were about to do, but once he saw the eggs and the cups of dye, he was intrigued.

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Zoe had been at work all day and that’s why we waited until nearly 7pm to start. I wasn’t sure if she’d even want to participate, but looking back, I should have known she’d want to. She’s always been happy to do what we’re doing, especially when it comes to holiday stuff.

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Landon was in the middle of working on a school project and we kind of had to drag him away from it to color eggs with us. I can’t believe he’s already getting old enough where he isn’t all that interested in dyeing eggs, but he really wasn’t all that into it…until he got started and then he was completely happy to sit and chat and color eggs. Thank goodness!

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As you can see in the next picture, Harper was thrilled with his “boo” egg.IMG_2146

I was afraid Harper would wake up at the crack of dawn on Easter morning and that he’d be done with the whole Easter thing before the other kids were out of bed, but as luck would have it, he slept in all the way till 7am. I kept him busy upstairs until 7:30, but he happened to see an egg from the balcony upstairs and was getting antsy to see what was going on downstairs, so we woke up the other kids. (Zoe was less than thrilled about getting up so early, but she did come down and join us!)

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Harper found a few plastic eggs before he walked into the library and found the basket the Easter bunny had left him. I know it looks like a lot, but really it’s mostly bubbles. (We go through some serious bubbles around here!)

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Landon got some books, an iTunes gift card and a monopoly game he’s been wanting forever. Oh, and he also got the Xbox game, Midnight Club.

I didn’t get a picture of Zoe with her basket because she came downstairs a bit later than everyone else. She got a new summer dress, some sandals and a gift card to Chipotle…I think she was happy with what she got. (I doubt that most kids her age even get Easter baskets, but I didn’t want to leave her out.)

Later in the afternoon, when it finally warmed up, we all took turns “hiding” the eggs for Harper. When Zoe and Landon were little they absolutely LOVED finding Easter eggs. Harper’s still a bit young for all that, but I’d guess that next year he’ll really enjoy it. Nevertheless, he was happy to hunt eggs for a little bit.

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Remember This!

I’ll bet you’re sick of reading about our vacation, but this is probably going to be the last post about it, so bear with me. No promises, but most likely.

While going through our pictures I realized that there are some great stories that I don’t want to forget and there aren’t any photo’s that go with them. So, I’m going to put them here because they are totally worth remembering.

  • 4 out of the 7 mornings that I woke up at Massanutten, the clock read 6:11. Twice was weird, three times really weird and by the fourth time I was getting a little freaked out. I mentioned it to everyone on Thursday and Zoe and my mom both said it was probably the day the baby was going to be born. We’ll have to wait and see…
  • On the last day we were there as we drove to the park, Mambo #5 came on the radio. Tony, Harper, Jaron and I were in one car and everyone else was in the other car. Jaron and I decided to turn it up really loud and dance to it, and the next thing I knew, there was a full fledged dance party in the parking lot. We were all just dancing our hearts out having a great time! My favorite part though was when Jaron said “this is what I love so much about our family”. He was beaming ear to ear and I too realized that it is one of my families best qualities. We can have fun anytime, anywhere and we don’t give a crap if you see us acting like fools! We’re just cool like that.
  • One of the days that Tony and I took Harper to the pool we had the entire baby pool to ourselves. We were letting Harper get used to walking in the water (walking in water is very different than walking on non-moving ground!) and repeatedly reminding him not to run when out of the pool. Once, as he was actually walking around the pool, his foot slipped and he fell (in slow motion) face first into the pool. It scared the hell out of all of us! At the moment it wasn’t funny, but every time I think of it now, I can’t help but giggle. The poor kid was doing as we asked and he still ended up falling in!

That’s all I can remember for now and I’m so glad I got them on here before they were forgotten!

The Last Hoorah

After our nature walk we headed over to the park. Zoe thought it would be fun to break the law and block the service road. I took a picture of her so that if I need her to behave I’ll have something to threaten her with.

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Trying to act all innocent.

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Landon doing some more “rock climbing”.

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Tony took Har-Har down the slide a few jillion times.

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Zoe showing us her skills.

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Landon’s skills.

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And, of course, Tony had to show off a little too. It’s just how he is. :)

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Kyle and the kids.

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Harper wanted to hold hands with Nee-Nee (Meme) and Papa and just loved when they would swing him in the air!

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Apparently, Zoe got a little jealous and wanted to walk with them too. She also wanted them to swing her in the air…but, it just didn’t quite work out the same for her! Haha!

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This is the end of the photo’s and activities that I was able to catch on camera. We had a really great trip and I hope we’ll be able to do another vacation all together again sometime in the not too distant future.

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...