Daddy~Daughter Dance 2014!!!

...This past Saturday, Matt and AR attended their very first Daddy~Daughter Dance. I've ran this event for many years, actually until AR was born then I switched positions at work and am no longer in charge of this one. I couldn't wait for the two of them to go because it's such a sweet event!

Anyway, the two of them got dressed up and then I took pics like a real prom date.

AR's been talking about this for weeks-she was soooo excited! She kept asking me to go and I told her it was the Daddy~Daughter Dance, not Mommy-Daddy-Daughter Dance.

Kisses for Daddy! And check out that braid, did it myself!

This picture can be captioned as: "Bye, Mommy!" ~AR "Stop taking pictures." ~Matt

I did go up to the dance toward the end to take pictures and help clean up. My plan was to stay hidden except that the two of them were right by the front doors so she saw me right away. Of course then she wanted nothing to do with Matt so he took her home while I stayed and worked. Then this morning, AR told me she had a good time and that daddy said I ruined the party. :-/ So yeah, I was pretty crushed by that comment. Anyway, bottom line, AR had a great time! She loved the crown she made and insisted on wearing it for breakfast.

Happy Valentine's Day and here's to many more Daddy~Daughter dances...and Mommy not ruining them! 

Four for Four...

...So last Friday, I spent ten hours at the hospital. Hubs has been having bladder/kidney issues/infections since last November when we ran the Turkey Trot. When AR and I got back from Florida beginning of October, hubs said he wasn't feeling well (this was Monday). After work Wednesday, he asked me if I thought he felt warm. Then Thursday right before I was about to teach, he calls me and tells me that he's going to his specialist that afternoon (don't mind I'd been telling him to go since last November!). The doc did an ultrasound and found that he had four stones in his bladder that would require surgery.

So on Halloween, I dropped AR off at the sitter at normal time (6:30AM), went to work to help set-up a special event from 7-8:30AM, went home and got hubs then headed to the hospital where we arrived at 9:20AM. Now I'm not a hypochondriac but as I saw in the waiting room listening to coughs, aches, and woes, I start to get paranoid! The waiting room was full and then we were moved to another waiting area that was nicer but WAY small. In the first hour, I moved seats three times so that we could arrange for everyone and their couples. I want to add that while we waited, Matt yelled at me about our gas bill, his dislike for pizza, and how my car leaks oil. :-/

Finally, they called Matt back and said I'd get to see him again before his surgery. About forty-five minutes later, the nurse came and got me. When I walked into his area, neither of us said anything and the nurse looked at both of us and asked, "Um...this is Matt, right?" We both agreed, and she said she was nervous since neither of us said anything! We chatted with her, the nurse, the anesthesiologist who all asked him: who's your doc, what kind of surgery are you having done, how big are the stones, and do you have ebola (okay, maybe not in so many words but that's what they were getting at).

I gave him a kiss, told him I loved him, and headed back out to the waiting room. I pulled out my peanut butter M&Ms, my laptop, logged into Wifi and was all set up to do some massive reading and work for the day. Then my in-laws showed up and that plan went out the window (well, all the M&Ms got ate!). Right as they arrived, I missed a call and when I called back, it was the hospital. I panicked something was wrong before they even started but they were just calling to let me know they'd started. This was about 12:45pm.

I sat and watched patients be called back, have their procedures, and leave with their loved ones. I read, I ate M&Ms, I texted updates, chatted with my MIL and then around 2pm, Matt's doc came out. I might mention that this doctor has worked on Matt since he was five so he knows the family very well. He actually came to our wedding and sat on the front row with our family. So when he came up, he took a seat beside me, my MIL to the right of me, and then he spoke directly to her. He told us that they'd been drilling on one stone for almost two hours and making no progress, even with the laser on the highest setting. He was thinking that the stones were calcium (probably from him drinking a whole gallon of milk in one night!) and that's why they were having such a hard time. The goal was to not cut him open but at this point, there was no other option unless we wanted this to turn into a ten hour surgery.

He headed back into the operating room and I started texting out updates. My mom started texting my MIL asking how I was doing, ugh-mothers! I know, I'll probably do the same with AR. A couple more hours passed and we were the last ones in the waiting room, everyone who had come before and after us were gone and home. Finally at 5pm the doc came out, said they'd gotten it all out and showed us a pic of the four stones. HOLY MOLY! Those suckers were BIG!!!

At 5:30pm, the nurse came out and said we could go see him. I know how Matt is when he wakes up in the morning so I hung back while his mom went and talked to him. About a minute later, he asked for me and I was like, ahh...he asked for me! He was complaining that his arms hurt from being strapped down for four hours. We gathered up all his belongings and they moved him into a room he could stay in overnight (this is actually where my dad had surgery back in August so I was somewhat familiar with the place).

Once in his room, he asked for me again and then for his best friend who arrived a little later. We called and he talked to AR before Aunt Liz took her trick or treating (thanks EB!). The boys got ready to play cards but not before Matt puked in a bucket I held for him. :-/ Then I asked if I could go home for the night and he got all kinds of confused about what was going on. I had to explain everything to him, reminding him he'd talked to his doctor, that I wasn't spending the night, and that he was staying in that room.

Knowing he was in good hands, I headed home a little after seven, stopping for a large ice cold water because I was so thirsty and hadn't eaten/drank anything more than M&Ms and a bottle of water all day. When I got home, my little mermaid drank it all! We handed out some candy and then headed to bed, momma was exhausted. I think I was the only parent that didn't post pics of her kid on Halloween. :-/

Saturday morning, we deposited Daddy's check (after driving 20 minutes to find his bank!) and then headed to the hospital. I think it was just him and one other patient there. He was doing good, back to his 'ole attitude and ready to eat. After visiting for about an hour, AR and I went to get lunch for everyone. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we ordered way too much food or dropped it (approximately 30 seconds after I handed AR her sandwich, she dropped it on the floor :-/ ). Once lunch was over, AR found herself a little spot to play on the tablet...in the closet!

Finally a little after noon his doc came by and said we could take him home. He was a very happy camper about this! I have to admit, I think my hubs looks pretty cute in this pic!

I had a throbbing headache, was walking on eggshells for him, and dealing with an impatient 2 yo with little to do at the hospital so needless to say, I was on edge. Hubs got mad at me for getting on to her a few times (like when we were in the bathroom and she wanted to pull the cord for help and I firmly said no, he said I was too mean). Anyways, when we came home, she fell asleep in the car. Once I got Matt settled, I tried to get her to lay down with me...no dice. Luckily, she went in the living room with Matt who turned on Daniel Tiger while I napped. All in all, it was a good team effort and later I took her to the park to give Daddy a break from Daniel Tiger and AR a chance to run off some energy!

 

So long story short, four hours for four bladders stones and hopefully he's on the way to recovery. No lifting for him for 2-3 weeks, including AR, so looks like I'm a "single mom" on drop-off/pick-up duty and everything in between! So if you see me and I look exhausted, I probably am, but that just means the main man at our house is getting better! Prayers would be greatly appreciated and a big thank you to everyone who texted, tweeted, FBed, emailed on Friday to check in on him. Friends and family are AWESOME!

New Driveway!!!

...Little by little, we're getting things fixed around our house. Our driveway had settled and there was about three inches that one slab was lower than the others. Luckily, Matt's friends are very talented and work for trades so we were able to get our driveway done for pretty cheap.

The project started last Saturday when I was at work. I called my mom and told her to take some before pics. I forgot that I'd set the camera on manual for pics I'd taken the night before so yeah, no real good before pics...sorry!

Breaking up the concrete.

When I got home, all the sidewalk/driveway was gone so took these pics.

Sunday morning AR woke up asking, "Where's my sidewalk?"

AR was pretty excited that she got to ride in the machine in the driveway.

Daddy showing her how it works

On Tuesday, the boys came over and started pouring the concrete. AR was the supervisor.

It was so hectic and crazy because you have to move really fast!

Site boss AR! The guy out the window is Matt's friend, Dusty. O...M...G! AR LOVES HIM!!! She talks about him all the time, recognizes his truck, and when he's here, she'll dote over him the entire time.

Checking it out from both windows

Sorry for all the inside shots but we were kind of trapped inside!

Putting in the crack and look at the guy in the background in the orange shirt. Concreters must have the tightest abs!

Don't believe me? Look at this, balancing on a fence to do the finishing touches!

Of course, we had to put our handprints in and we included a penny that had the year in it.

So woot, woot new driveway-woohoo!!! Only bad thing is that we left one slab that wasn't broken only to have it snap under the weight of the concrete truck SO next year's tax money will go toward that last slab. Now on to the next project!

"She Thinks We're Just Fishing..."

...Matt's been carrying around a fishing pole in the back of his car. All last week, AR and him talked about fishing so on Sunday, Daddy took her fishing. I tagged along and took a million pictures. Of course, once she saw the swings, she was over fishing, but still it was a good time. Daddy grilled us hot dogs, she rode in a wagon, played with the older girls...she had a blast and got totally dirty which is what you're supposed to do in gorgeous weather like we had on Sunday, right? I knew I wanted to put all the pictures together with Trace Adkins' song "She Thinks We're Just Fishing" and I love how it turned out. Enjoy our photo montage of our afternoon!

Daddy's Birthday Card...

...Yesterday was Daddy's birthday. I choose to show my love through food. I'd planned to buy a dozen donuts and leave them at Matt's work along with the card I got him. I had planned on AR and I taking him to his favorite, Red Lobster for dinner. Unfortunately, my man baby is sick...like bad sick, like it hurts when he eats sick. He's going to the doctor today and he's scared, but don't tell him I said that. I tell you because we'll take any prayers you can offer up for him. I DID pack him all the fancy fixin's for a good packed lunch...huge poor boy sandwich, a whole bag of Krunchers, two Powerades, and a pear, but he didn't even eat half of it. :-/

But let's move on to happier things, shall we? A few weeks ago, AR and I were at Walgreen's. We were checking out the card aisle for birthday cards. I let her pick out one for Daddy from her. Then Tuesday night after dinner, I cleaned off her tray on her high chair and let her go to work decorating it. She was in deep concentration!

As I was trying to get more shots like this, my child would look at me and say "CHEESE!" Apparently I must take a lot of pictures!

I'm going to brag and say I'm a pretty proud momma at how well she holds her crayons. And she actually prefers the skinny ones over the fat ones.

Baby Girl was pretty proud of her masterpiece and I don't blame her. I would cherish this card for life!

She even decorated the envelope and shared her stickers on the card, there's mine looking pretty plain and boring behind it. I put the card and a chocolate bunny on the changing pad so Matt would see it when he went in to get her in the morning.

Oh and I know you're all wondering, here's the card she picked out. In my opinion, this card is better than any other gift he could get!

I'm so glad I documented the moment and I was busting on Tuesday night wanting to show these pictures to him but I didn't want to ruin the surprise! Who knows, maybe one day you'll be lucky enough to get an AR masterpiece card yourself!

Vertical Tactical Foregrip™ Foregrip Review by my Husband!!!

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

...Happy Wednesday everyone! Today is my sweet Mattie's birthday and for the first time in the history of this blog, Matt is helping me with this blog post. On Tomoson, I applied to review a Vertical Tactial Foregrip with Mattie in mind. When it came in the mail, it was like Christmas in March for him. He was so excited and immediately called his buddy to plan a trip to the farm last weekend so they could test it out. So without further ado, grab your hunting husbands and check out his review below and leave him a little birthday love, too...

My buddy and I went to the farm to try out this Vertical Tactical Foregrip™ from Aspen Ridge Sports. For those of you not familiar with what a foregrip is, it's a piece of equipment that you put on the front of a weapon to steady your weapon's maneuverability. The one that was provided is also adaptable for a drop-down tripod accessory and a battery pack and battery switch accessories.

In this video, we used it on an AK-47. The foregrip works on any weapon with a rail system.

In this video, we are using the foregrip on an AR-15. I'm demonstrating the versatility of the movement of the handle position.

In review, I think the Vertical Tactical Foregrip from Aspen Ridge Sports is a good piece of equipment that can be used on a wide variety of weapons. It's quick and easy to install, multiple handle positions, multiple adaptability to accessories, and it quickly steadied my hand for better accuracy. The only con is that it should be made in 'Merica! Thanks for this opportunity!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

St. Patrick's Day Parade 2014...

...Every year, Matt's nursery has a float in the local St. Patrick's Day parade. Every year, I'm not able to be in it due to work or some other reason. This year, it finally worked out that AR and I could ride on it and we ended up with gorgeous weather!

We arrived early to finish setting up. Here's AR helping Ms. Ruthanne hang beads.

Ta-da! The float. The stone looking thing is actually hiding a port-a-potty which was an excellent thing to have because the lines for the public port-a-potties were all the way down the street!

Daddy and AR! He sprayed painted his hair green. We attempted to do AR's but the color didn't stay in hers. Oh, I also searched through all her clothes 12-24 months and this was the only green she has. It was a 2T dress and a little big but I threw a pair of jeggings underneath and we were good to go.

Dancing with Daddy! That's his natural beard color.

Of course, I have like five pictures of them dancing and I happened to use the same two for this blog posts. Oops!

Daddy and AR checking out a race car that was in the parade.

Mommy and AR

She was in an off and on good mood, but I'd say it was a successful event...especially since it was during naptime.

My work also had a float in the parade. We went to visit. Here's AR yelling at the leprechauns.

When she found the balloons, she went crazy!

We headed back to the nursery's float where she was ready to get going!

It took about two hours for us to get into the parade and through the route. There were almost no barricades the entire route and so dangerous for spectators and drivers...definitely not worth getting ran over for beads! I thought this sign/float was funny.

My attempt at an artistic shot

And proof that I still need lots of work with my camera but still a sweet picture anyways. Here is AR watching Norm refill the bubbles which was a big hit!

We came home and took nice long naps! Ahh...fun times wear us out!

STL Snowmageddon 2014!!!

...In case you didn't hear, and if you didn't, where have you been???, STL got a little bit of snow today. They'd been forecasting it since Thursday and everyone was taking it seriously. Friday afternoon, when I always do my grocery shopping, it was insane at the grocery store and Costco! People were stocking up like crazy! Oh well, I knew I wouldn't have time on Saturday and Sunday was out of the question so I braved the crowd and got our supplies.

We had a stale loaf of bread in the fridge. I decided, hey, let's be cliché and we'll make French toast for breakfast on Sunday if the snow comes. This meant I had to stop at the grocery store again on Saturday morning for syrup, but luckily, it wasn't nearly as crazy. Side note: Apparently they eat waffles and syrup at the sitter's. When I picked her up on Friday, the sitter told me that after she finished her breakfast, AR decided to wear her bowl as a hat...a syrupy hat. This was actually what gave me the idea for French toast when she mentioned syrup.

Saturday night, Matt set the alarm for 3am thinking he'd go in at 4. I woke up slightly before his alarm. When I looked outside, it hadn't done anything. His alarm went off and he got up. I heard his truck running outside and the tv on in the living room. I fell back asleep and woke up a little before 7 to AR giggling over the monitor. Apparently, Matt was back (or maybe he never left, I don't know!). They took care of the dogs then came and tackled me in bed. I got to sleep in both days this weekend! #winning

The G-Fam all moved to the living room where we watched the news on the tv and the snow through the window. I loved how the reporters were telling everyone to stay off the roads then they'd cut to the Fox 2 Mazda Roadrunner who is driving down the highway. Matt decided to go shovel the driveway for the first time. AR and I watched from inside, she stood at the window knocking on the window and clapping when he'd look at her. Then Daddy left for work!

AR and I went to the kitchen and got started on our French toast. I used my old skillet that's probably 10+ years old and the first two pieces ended up a mangled mess. Then I pulled out my new Ozeri pan and our French toast was perfect!!! While the toast tasted great, my child much preferred to stick her hand in the syrup and lick her fingers. I don't blame her.

While I cooked, she climbed under the kitchen table and watched the wildlife in the backyard. Currently, she's really into the squirrels in the backyard and thinks they're hilarious. It must be the Alpha Gam in her.

After breakfast, we Skyped with Nana, let the dogs out (Silly dogs wouldn't come back in! I had to put on Matt's muck boots and wrangle them back inside), and played, played, played! I broke out my Ugly Sweater Run stocking cap yesterday and AR is obsessed! I'm glad she's found a hat she doesn't mind wearing. Of course, we had to have her baby dolls in the picture...this isn't even half of them! Oh and don't you love her moccasins? My stepsis that lives in Utah sent them to her last Christmas and they fit perfect now.

Around lunchtime, I went outside with a ruler. We had almost ten inches! Some of that could have been because the wind was blowing it all around, but still, that's a lot of snow!

AR watched safely from inside. We, meaning me, didn't go out at all other than to measure the snow, let the dogs out, and scoop the back patio. I had specific instructions not to touch the driveway. Luckily, I don't go in until 2pm tomorrow so hopefully he'll clear it by then.

When I came in the house, AR was really into cleaning off my boots for me. She'd pick up the clumps of snow and carry them all to the trash can.

After a nice, long two hour nap, AR woke up and was so excited to see Daddy had come home! He basically stopped to eat, put on dry clothes, and warm up a little bit. He also plowed in front of our house and the neighbors on either side of us. AR would clap and cheer and get a big grin every time she saw his truck.

But when he'd pass our house, she was confused. "Where's Daddy?"

After he left, we decided we'd make him a cake for him to eat when he gets home later tonight. I took two steps away from her to get the sprinkles out of the cabinet and look what that stinker did. Stuck her finger right in the cake, see it on her lip?

We decorated it with red and green sprinkles. Hopefully, Daddy will like it because it was made with LOTS of love.

After dinner, we finished up drawing on thank you cards and headed to the bath. She discovered the bucket fits perfectly on her head and wouldn't take it off. I let the water out of the tub and she insisted on leaving it on. Silly goose!

We had a great snow day! I've been home with her a lot the past couple weeks and she's been so good! I don't know why I act like I'm surprised because she really is a good kid. Lately though, she just wants to crawl up in my chair and sit by me while she plays with her toys, listens to books my mom recorded, or play on her Leappad. AR will give love meaning hugs and kisses, but she's not real big on cuddling so I'm enjoying the time she wants to spend right beside me. Side note: Definitely have to limit the screen time on the Leappad, but totally excited to have it for our flight to Florida!

Then 12 hours after our day started, it was time to put her to bed. When I lay her down at night is when I get the best cuddles. After story, prayer and love for Daddy, we go over all the animals in her room, sing Grey Squirrel and then she rests her head on my shoulder while I turn on the sound machine. Some nights, I don't want to lay her down!

 

So there you have it, our snow day, where we didn't get to play in the snow, but we watched a LOT of it come down! Hope everyone stays safe and warm out there tomorrow.

LU Christmas Walk...

...Last Sunday, after a weekend full of Thanksgiving celebration, AR and I hung around the house enjoying our last day of the holiday weekend to be lazy. Matt got up EARLY to go hunting and around 10am, he called to tell us that he'd gotten a deer! It's his second deer all season, the first was teeny tiny and we barely got any meat off of it. This one was a doe and she weighed 118 pounds after being field dressed. Needless to say, he definitely filled the freezer-go Mattie! Don't worry, I won't post any pics, because they are kind of gory. AR loved it though! She got up from her nap to see the deer outside and she was bouncing up and down cheering for her Daddy.

Anyways, the point of the story is that while Daddy took care of the deer, AR and I got out of the house. First stop was to Bass Pro to see Santa. The picture wasn't nearly as good this year as it was last, but it was still pretty cute. I fretted over putting her in a Christmas shirt because I couldn't find one. I finally decided to use her pajama top and then wouldn't you know, you couldn't even see it in the pic! We accidentally got two pictures because they'd printed both of them. This was the better of the two.

After Bass Pro, we headed over to LU for their Christmas Walk. The entire quad was lit up with white bags filled with sand and candles. You walked from building to building for a variety of activities for the kiddos. They also had a ton of cookies, hot chocolate and other drinks throughout the whole event. Oh and did I mention that it was free?

First stop, we found Santa...again. He was really good with her and she wasn't scared at all. She's usually a little hesitant, but she hopped right up in his lap as they started chatting. She told him that Santa goes, "ho, ho, ho" in her own words.

Santa gave her this cute little teddy bear. Wish Santa had his eyes open because this would've been a REALLY cute shot! Oh well, we have at least four more times to see him and hopefully get a good pic.

One of the sororities had a "photo booth" set up. They had props like reindeer ears, Santa hats, mustaches, red noses, etc...then you posed in front of this tree. Don't mind my hair, I'd gotten my purse stuck in it and didn't realize it was sticking up.

Outside was Jingles, Santa's reindeer. AR loved him from afar but wasn't too excited about being up close. I set my camera in the stroller to go with her. Jingles' owner insisted her take a picture, but the setting had slipped so we have a blurry shot of AR reaching for Jingles, that lady trying to hold Jingles, and Jingles getting pissed and shaking his head while I tried to avoid AR and I both losing an eye to a reindeer antler. Whew! And this was only the third stop of the day!

Next stop was much calmer, ornament decorating. You could paint an ornament or use stickers. I made the executive decision to just use stickers so I didn't have to carry around a wet ornament and worry about getting paint all over everything. Wouldn't you know it though that my kid reached up on the table and stuck her hand right a plate of paint someone had left behind? This, my friends, is why I never have paint projects at an event. All was well though and AR was really digging her ornament.

Next stop was the library where Ms. Claus was reading a story to the kids. AR hung out in back listening.

Next, we headed to a marionette show which AR LOVED! She stood on the stairs and danced with the puppets. We had to wait awhile for it to start, but it was worth it for her excitement.

After the puppet show, we were done. We'd only made it about halfway through the walk, but it was pushing dinner time. Here's one last shot I snapped of the two of us. Can you say that looks like one tired, hungry baby?

We'll definitely go back next year and try to do all the activities. The weather was nice and warm so we didn't have to worry about jackets or being too cold outside.

 

Did I mention that LU is where I completed my Masters and I'm also going to be an adjuct professor next semester? Yeah, lots of exciting things ahead for me in 2014!

Turkey Trot 5k 2013...

...Thanksgiving morning, the G-Fam headed out the door to the Turkey Trot 5k. Last year, it was just AR and me and we didn't make it to the finish line. This year Matt joined us and I'm happy to say that we all crossed the finish line!

 

It was a chilly 25 degrees at our house so we all layered...and layered...and layered some more. I was worried about AR because she's anti-hats these days. It turned out to not be an issue. I had her in tights, a long-sleeve onesie, socks, hooded sweatshirt, her big, puffy winter coat, and a fleece blanket! Luckily, her hands stayed under the blanket so I didn't have to worry about her hands. She did so well the entire race, never fussing the whole three miles!

 

We arrived and parked quit FAR away from the starting line. We all finished putting on our extra layers, got AR settled in the stroller and headed to the race. Here's AR and me before the race (this would be such a cute photo if Daddy's finger wasn't in the way!).

As we got close to the starting line, we heard the music start and runners take off! Luckily, we weren't the only ones still making our way to the start. Did I mention that almost 3,500 people ran this race? We jumped in and took off running.

 

My goals were to run and to finish sub-45. With 3,500 people, it was a lot of darting and dashing and running way too fast in the beginning. After the first turn, Matt took off his hat and tried to put it in the stroller. I saw it drop out so I picked it up. He got ahead of me at that point and then I was chasing them down.

 

When I finally caught up, I took off my earwarmer and jacket and stashed it in the bottom of the stroller. Matt and AR took off again and from that moment on, we were kind of split up. It wasn't nearly as cold once we started running. I would say that I probably ran and walked about equal parts.

 

Finally, about 200 meters out a runner, who had already finished, yelled to us that there was only three turns left and about 200 meters to go. This was nice since all I could see were massives of runners and there were no mile markers on the course. I didn't know how far 200 meters was, the size of a football field? Two football fields? I had no idea, but I decided I was going to run it all. Then I saw the finish line and that runner's kick I have turned on. I took off sprinting. About 50 feet from the finish line, I heard/saw a shadow of someone sprinting behind me so I ran even faster. Whew-done!

 

I definitely have learned that even though I'm working out every day, I still need to run if I plan on doing races. Matt and AR's final time was 37:48 and my time was 38:38! I'm pretty proud of my little running family!



Raking Leaves!!!

...Who knew raking leaves could be so much fun?! I had a Monday and I was irritable and tired by the time we got home. Matt had beat us home and was blowing leaves in the yard. As soon as AR got out of the car and saw her Daddy, she wanted down to play. It was a welcomed break so I headed inside to start dinner, change clothes and had a few minutes to just unwound. I looked outside and this is what I saw:

I grabbed my camera and headed outside. Daddy had given her a stick to let her "rake," she was being a big helper. Then Daddy showed her how to jump in the leaves. Check out that smile, she loved it!

 

Luckily, she's still little so her jumping and rolling around didn't mess up the pile too much. She played outside in the leaves for over an hour.

She did take a break though. This is where our driveway has settled so there's a little step down. AR thought it was a seat so she sat down and tried to do table after table after table...Ms. Hollie, her gymnastics teacher would be so proud!

We played in the last leaf pile and then swept them onto a tarp. Matt pulled one side, I pulled the other and AR rode in the leaves on the tarp. You should have heard her giggling, I loved it! The dogs were out in the backyard so when we got there, they ran up and gave her kisses which she loved.

She had so much fun that it almost makes me want to rake leaves every day....nah!

Halloween Night!!!

...whew! Thanks for hanging with me this whole week to recap what we did for Halloween celebrations. Finally on Thursday, it was Halloween! And it was dreary...rainy but not really too cold. We debated between going to the mall to trick or treat but opted not too since it was probably going to be nutso and AR really didn't need the candy.

Instead, we turned on our porch light, lit the candle in our jackolantern and waited...

We visited three neighbors. Ms. Bobby was dressed up like a fortune teller. AR really liked her cat and kept meowing.

Daddy snapped a picture of us coming back from the neighbor's across the street.

Despite her face, she loved her fruit snacks which was the only "candy" I let her have. She got mad when I wouldn't let her break into the second bag. She also loved the Pez dispenser...taking the candy out and putting it in and a windmill Ms. Bobbie gave her.

We all waited very patiently for some trick-or-treaters to come to the door. We passed time by trying to get a good family photo, this was the best we came up with:

Then AR found a horse to ride and loved it!

Still no trick-or-treaters and it was bath time so Daddy gave AR a bath and wouldn't you know it, they started coming. Two came while she was in the tub so when she got out, I hurried and got her in her jammies...only to wait some more. Here she is watching for someone to come up. She is currently obsessed with Ms. Monkey (what she is holding).

Then all the teenagers came out! In a matter of minutes, our 25 full-size candy bars were wiped out! I held the door open and let AR put a candy bar in each of their bags. She just stared at their faces trying to figure out what was going on. A younger girl, maybe 4, came to the door and AR gave her some candy. She waved bye and when she turned to her parents, she started shouting, "The baby put the candy in my bag!"

After we ran out of candy, we turned off the light and AR headed to bed. I already have an idea for her costume next year...any guesses???

Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!

Five Years of Wedded Bliss...

...this past Friday, the Mister and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. On our 5 year anniversary, AR and I went to Game 1 of the NLCS...but on Saturday, Matt and I spent the entire day together, which is more alone time that we've had since AR's been born.

 

My sis and H watched AR.

I think it's safe to say that she had a great time with them.

I got Matt a bunch of dove decoys for our anniversary per his request. Matt planned the entire celebration and my DSLR that I got for Christmas last year is still being counted as my present for all holidays. :-)

Since we're both trying to be a healthy, I told him I wanted to be outdoors and go for a hike. We drove to Reifsnider State Forest for the day.

We started out on a nature trail but when we saw the creek was totally dry, we decided to walk in it. It was amazing what we saw...like this tree that is normally underwater.

We found a tree we could both fit under...here's Matt.

And me!

It was perfect weather and the scenery was gorgeous.

We found a few fossils along the way.

We packed our lunch which was a sandwich, Pringles, pasta salad, a couple waters and some Pink Moscato that we drank sat from the bottle because we're classy like that.

This is Matt's "senior picture."

Mr. and Mrs. Five Years Later

We headed back to our house where we were going to visit with AR, my sis and H but she was taking a three hour nap from being out so late the night before. After a few minutes at the house, we went and saw "We're the Millers." It was a pretty good movie, Matt and I both enjoyed it. Then we went to dinner at Chili's where we totally blew our diet and it was well worth it!

 

There's not a whole lot to say about the past five years that hasn't already been said. It's been a roller coaster of ups and downs, learning from each other and our mistakes and dealing with some pretty huge decisions that most couples probably don't encounter until well after five years. We're not the perfect marriage, we're still figuring out how to be husband and wife but as long as we're by each other's side, that's all that matters and in my opinion, I've got a pretty awesome husband!

Game 5 NLDS-CARDS WIN!!!

...go Birds, go Birds, go Birds!!! This past Wednesday night, our beloved Cardinals won the National League Division Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. We were lucky enough to go to the game! This was AR's second game and her first playoff game out of the womb.

 

After the last game we took her to, I was very concerned about how she'd be especially since it started at her bedtime. She did AWESOME though!!! I think it helped that it was much cooler and she loved everyone sitting around us. She gave fives to all the fans around us, she clapped and even "cheered" aka screamed a few times.

 

Here are the girls before the game

An infamous brick picture family style

 

Here's our crew: Matt, me, AR, H and my dad. This pic was right when we arrived and she wasn't so sure what was going on.

As soon as we sat down, the boys went to get dinner and brought back two, yes two, napkins. When AR saw Daddy's french fries, she grabbed herself one and dipped them in the ketchup AND cheese...what a mess!

The Mister and me

Me, H and Papa

AR trying to take control of the camera

Much better pic of me and my girl

Thank goodness for this water bottle! She was entertained for a good 2 innings just opening, closing and drinking out of it like a big girl. We even had an extra seat by us which worked out nicely so she could sit in it and also so she could walk back and forth.

We took one break from our seats around the 5th inning. We visited the team store and AR fell in love with this foam finger (which we left at the store). Once she found the bats then I knew it was time to head back to our seats.

She started fussing around the 8th inning which was about 2.5 hours past her bedtime. I told Matt to hand me a snack, thinking he'd pass down the Cheerios, but no, I suddenly see her reaching for a cupcake in her Daddy's hand. Didn't make much difference though because about half an inning later, she was passed out in my arms. She missed the last three outs then woke up to celebrate the win and once we got in the carseat, baby girl was passed out again.

Fredbird after the game-GO BIRDS!

The boys celebrating their big win!

Matt took our DSLR and was obsessed with taking pictures of Waino

Adam Wainwright was amazing and is the 27th pitcher to have a complete game victory in a winner-take-all postseason contest. Now, let's GO BIRDS!!! Keep it up!