A New Blog

I've started a new blog. Feel free to check it out.
http://thediyguineapig.blogspot.com/

The kids and I went to Utah for a week to spend some time with my family.  I will let the pictures sum up our trip.

 The kids did great on the plane.  I love flying Southwest because if they aren't full you can claim a whole row even though you only paid for 2 seats.  It was 11pm on our body clocks when we landed and the kids were still just as happy as could be. 

 We spent two days at my brothers house in Vegas, one when we got there and one before we left.  These three cousins are just a few months apart. 

I got to meet my  niece Ellie.  She was born 10 weeks early and has had some complications, but she is a fighter and hopefully she will be able to go home soon. 

 

 My brother, Jason, taught Cordon how to drive the segway.  I love how he had to use his whole body to turn.

 We spent a day at my grandparents ranch. Cordon loved the Rhino rides.  Eliza wouldn't get on unless Bugga (my dad) was driving. 

 Eliza wasn't to sure about my parents pool at first, but once again, Bugga saved the day and showed her how much fun a pool can be.

 We had a birthday party for Cordon.  He felt pretty special to get two parties. 

 we went to my sister, Allisons, house and the kids got to feed the goats and go on 4-wheeler rides with Uncle Jim.

 We visited the grave sight of my niece who was a still born.  Look at the hands and feet on the tombstone,  Apparently those are the size of her hands and feet.  I can't imagine a baby that small.

We saw this fantastic sign on a gas station.  The longer you look at it the funnier it is.  

Cordon Turns 4

 I'm not sure why Cordons birthdays have become such a jinx.  They have yet to turn out the way I was planning on.  Maybe my expectations are to high, but it seems like every year something little goes wrong that drives me nuts.

Cordon wanted to go to the planetarium again this year.  We saw a 3-D show about flys that hitch a ride on Apollo 11.  After words we told him he could chose anything he wanted for dinner, we emphasized the anything hoping he would pick something like Outback.  He picked a peanut butter and honey sandwich.  That kid cracks me up.

 Lets talk about this cake..... Cordon wanted a firetruck on his cake but for some reason no one makes those.  All the stores had trendy cakes with Spongebob and Bubble Guppies on them.  So then I decided to just buy a basic cake and put a firetruck on it.  I had no idea cakes were so overpriced and I refused to buy one especially since I new we wouldn't eat it all. And because I had put off the cake until the last minute I didn't have time to make one.  So I bought a half cake and hoped the firetruck would stay on. It barely did.  When it was time to blow out the candles I couldn't find them.  I had just bought them with the cake and they were no where to be found (I found them on the fridge about an hour later) So we used some tea candles.  That cake top was pretty crowded.

 Cordon was stoked to open presents. 

Cordon really wanted a bike for his birthday so I spent weeks looking on craigslist.  Who knew it would be so hard to find one.  I finally tracked one down two days before his Brittany and Chris slapped some training wheels on it and we had a high quality wrapping job of a garbage bag thrown over it. 

You got tea candles on your half cake and a banged up used bike for your birthday.  But we love you little man.  Happy Birthday

Moved Again

 The company Chris worked for, Guilford, was sold a few months ago.  Fortunately, he didn't lose his job so short term we didn't have any worries.  Long term, however, we don't know what the new companies plans are and there is probably no chance of promotion, so it was time to move on.  Chris got a job with Honeywell and is extremely excited about it.  Things moved pretty fast and before we knew what was happening we were packing up and moving to Dayton, Ohio. It was 17 days from the time Chris got the job offer to the day we moved.  And some how we magically fit in a house hunting trip in those 17 days and found a fantastic home to rent in Ohio.  Once we got to Ohio, Chris had 2 weeks off so we did a lot of exploring in the area. We did so much that the kids started asking to stay home, and we only saw just a few of the things this area offers.  I am in LOVE with how much there is to do here for little kids, and the best part is, most of it is FREE!!!

 It took us about 9 hours to drive to Ohio.  We each took a child in a car and they each had a box of new toys and activities to entertain them.  We also got these little trays that connect to the car seat.  They were fantastic.

 We went to an Aquarium and saw Mighty Mike.  A 15 ft Crocodile.  It was a bit un-nerving to be right next to him.

 We went to a historical, working farm.  I love this shot of Cordon and the windmill.

 The farm has a historical kitchen and class room where kids can dress up and pretend to live in the 1800's

 The children's discovery museum here is amazing.  We have been there a few times already and I am still shocked at how big it is.  It even has a small zoo inside. 

 A state of the art planetarium show for only $2?  You betcha

 Graeters ice cream is probably the best ice cream I have ever had.  Having one a few miles from us is going to be a challenge.  Lets hope I don't gain 50lbs while I live her

 There is a splash pad around the corner from us. The first time we went it took the kids a while to warm up to the idea, but now of course they love it. I love Eliza's pot belly in the photo below.

 Once we got to Ohio, our home wasn't ready to move in yet so we spent three weeks in an extended stay hotel.  It had two rooms so it was livable.  Bud spent his time staring longingly out the window.  If we were in the hotel the kids were always doing some sort of craft or activity, because 700 sq ft was not enough for them to run around and play in.

A moving truck in front of our new home.  That was a fantastic sight to see.

Crayola

 For Memorial Weekend we went to the Crayola Factory.  That place was so much fun.  There were several different stations where you got to use different Crayola products.  We came home with a huge bag full of crayons, markers, crafts and other stuff.

 Eliza coloring

Sidewalk chalk area

 Magic mold.  We spent the most time here.  This stuff was so much fun to play with.

 Cordon decorated a space vest

 a car you can color on then wipe off.

Painting

 Chris had a good time with the glow in the dark area

 A quick demonstration on how crayons and markers are made

Coloring on the wall

Mother's Day

For the last four years, Chris has asked me what I want for Mother's Day and every year I say the same thing; the afternoon off.  So far it has yet to happen.  Something crazy always happens that requires my attention. Here are the highlights of this year.

• I was forced given the privilege of speaking in church that day
• Cordon threw a world class temper tantrum, that involved screaming, throwing things and hitting. 
• Cordon decided to see what would happen when you throw a raw egg on the floor. 
• and the best was when I finally fell asleep for a quick nap, Chris came flying into the room and yelled "you have to call poison control." Eliza had broken the child lock off the cupboard under the sink and took a bite out of one of those dishwasher soap pouch's. She is fine

Chris' parents were able to be here for Mother's Day and of course that is always a plus to have them around.  It was rainy and muggy the whole time so we didn't get to do much exploring but the kids did get to enjoy spending lots of time with grandpa and grandma. 

Nana and New York

 Last week my mom came to town.  We did a lot of site seeing and playing.

 we went to the State Museum and harvested apples and checked out fake pigs.  

 We went to Monkey Joe's and enjoyed the bouncing and sliding.

We went to Chocolate World

 We did some pouting because we didn't want to go inside

 We decided the best toy was Nanas glasses

After a few days of running around like crazy, Chris and I left the kids with my mom and went to New York City for 3 days.  We took the train and spent the whole time running around as fast as we could to see as much as we could.

 We had dinner, and the most fantastic cheesecake at Rockefeller Center

 We saw Wicked.  I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't like it but it held up to the hype. Even Chris enjoyed it.

 Captain Jack Sparrow made out of legos. I want to meet the guy that has that job.

 FAO Schwarz was not as exciting as Tom Hanks made it look.

 We stopped for a little snack

 We saw this guy in Times Square

 We went to the new 9/11 memorial.  It was really beautifully done.  I think they did an amazing job on it.

 We went to the Empire State Building at midnight.  You're allowed to stay up that late when children aren't around to wake you up at 5 am.

 We posed in Central Park

These fake butterfly's were at FAO Schwarz. I thought they were the coolest thing, but not for$35