Livin' it up in Palm Springs

We were blessed to be able to travel out to Palm Springs, CA, in early March for our annual trip with my parents and my brother & sister-in-law. This is definitely one of our favorite vacations! My parents are always so generous and this year was no exception. We stayed in a gorgeous vacation home with a pool and a mountain view. Get ready for a barrage of picture collages!

Children's Museum

One of the days we were there, Kyle and I took the kids to the children's museum about a mile down the road from our complex. We frequent the children's museum at home, so it was fun to go to a different one with totally different--and super fun--exhibits. One of my faves was the VW Bug that the kids could paint. What a fun idea!

Cousin Time!

My aunt & uncle adopted 2 adorable and sweet kids from Russia a few years ago and we LOVE to get the kids together! Lisa is just a few months older than Ashlyn and Nathan is about a year older than Maguire. We started a little tradition of getting the kids (well, it started w/ the girls) matching swimsuits, so here they are in their latest matches. We didn't get to spend as much time with Marcia, Stephen, Lisa and Nathan as we would've liked, but we tried to make the most of our time together!

Just some fun pics :)

Click on the collage to view it larger and check out the mountain views right outside our house! Also, how cute is it that Ashlyn was doing yoga with my mom?!

Nate's 27th Birthday

While we were out in CA, my brother, Nate, turned 27. To celebrate we went out to Cheesecake Factory for dinner where, incidentally, I had the best salad ever :) We gave Nate a mini Guitar Hero game, but Maguire was having none of it--he just HAD to play it! Wow...just realized that I don't have a picture of the birthday boy--so sorry Nate!

Guitar Hero
My dad brought his travel guitar w/amp...of course Maguire had to get his daily fix :)

Park Play!

Two evenings we went to a nearby park to let the kids run around and play. The kids loved it! And the ice cream truck even came one of the times we were there. Ashlyn surprised us by climbing all the way up the climbing wall...all by herself!

Living Desert

Another day we went to the Living Desert Zoo. This zoo was the coolest place! We got to see zebras, giraffes, camels and other desert-y animals. We attended a show where we got to see some unique (and many endangered) animals, including some--like the quatti--that we've only heard of on Go, Diego Go! :) They also had the most amazing train set/village--wow!! The kids LOVED this place!

Pool Time

I have to admit, I was quite nervous about staying at a house with a pool after Ashlyn's incident last summer. Praise the Lord, though, things went great!! We had daily talks with the kids about not going outside without an adult. Maguire stuck to the hot tub steps for the most part, but eventually did take some "lessons" from Papa and Kyle. It was really cool, too, that the pool had a little wading area that was just about a foot deep or so. Ashlyn eventually got the hang of swimmies and we've found that she does really well with them. After her dance classes are done this year (end of May) we'll be enrolling the kids in swimming lessons. Anyway, the kids had a blast in the pool and it was less stressful than I expected it to be.

Once again, it was a fabulous week of sun, fun, relaxation and time with family. Ash & Maguire did great on the flights there and back. Actually, on the way home, we saw Molly from The Bachelor, so that was exciting :) We always love the time we spend with my parents. And we don't get to see Nate and Brittany nearly as often as we'd like, so it was awesome to spend almost a whole week with them! And Brittany is pregnant, so we hope to see a lot more of them (and our new niece or nephew/cousin) soon!

Nate, Britt, Mom & Dad--we love you and LOVED the time spent together!

So behind!

I am SO behind updating! I've got Palm Springs pics (TONS) to post, Easter pics, and just other everyday kind of stuff. But I've been so crazy busy over the past 3 weeks getting blocks ready to be included in Celebrity tween/teen SWAG bags at the Baby & Tween Celebration LA (BTCLA) as well as the BTCLA's Baby Booty Bags--the bags that are given to the first 100 moms in the doors each day. It's been a LOT of hard work and late nights, but I'm almost done and I'm SO excited! I've been so blessed to have great friends (Darin/Emily, Jill, Megan, Kristi) and a FABULOUS husband to help me get things ready. I could NOT have done it without their help! Anyway, I'd love it if you'd head over to Holy Craft! to take a look and let me know what you think!

Poser

I got Ashlyn a new swimsuit for our trip to CA and I wanted her to try it on for me. Then I decided that I wanted her to try on the bow/headband so I could take pictures for my Holy Craft! post. Ash was in such a crazy posing mood that I gave up focusing on the headband and instead focused on my silly girl!

Ashlyn, crafty girl

Ashlyn is a girl after my own heart--she loves to get crafty! She loves to cut, glue, decorate, paint, color, etc. Maybe someday (soon) I'll let go enough to let her be truly creative, but there's a part of me that still wants control...over the finished product and--let's face it--the mess. I know, way to stifle the girl's creativity, huh?!

She LOVES making these suncatchers! She's still mastering the art of putting one color in each compartment. Wait a minute--no, she has no desire to put one color in each compartment! Let's just throw them all in together!

I love this crazy silly girl!!

My Funny Valentine(s)!

The guys at dinner--we started sitting by our respective spouses, but had to quickly forgo that idea! Even thought it was <3 Day, the girls wanted to talk with the girls & the guys wanted to talk with the guys!

Me and my Valentine

Kevin & Jill, me & Kyle, Megan & Nathan, Amy & Jerimie

Jill and me

The girls at Scaggs--I mean, Raggs ;)

Valentine's Day this year started with both kids climbing in bed with Kyle and me. We watched some cartoons together for a while before Kyle and Maguire went downstairs to get the cards and gifts for Ashlyn and me. I made a huge pink heart-shaped rice krispie treat for Kyle (and let's face it, for me and the kids too!). He appreciates thoughtful but cheap gifts :) That morning was perfect--just hanging together as a family, expressing our love for each other and being silly together. That evening we got together with some other couples for a night on the town. We were originally supposed to be a group of 12 , but two of the couples had sick kids at the last minute. We missed them, but had fun anyway! We started out by going to dinner downtown and then went (under extreme protest by Jill!) to Raggs--a dirty club--for dancing. Definitely NOT my favorite place to go either, but it made for some great laughs! All in all, Kyle and I had a blast with each other and some great friends!

Dad's Night

For Ashlyn's preschool Dad's Night, the kids made their dads ties to wear. I'm not sure if all the dads actually wore them, but I give Kyle credit for wearing it the whole time! I'm really bummed that Kyle forgot the camera. Hopefully I can get some pics from Brian/Elizabeth. The dads/kids got to play together, have snacks and make special Valentine's for the moms. Ashlyn was so excited to bring her daddy to school and show him around!

Ski Babies--I mean Bunnies

(We also celebrated my 30th birthday while up there)

Over SuperBowl weekend my parents took us up north to Crystal Mountain to go skiing. I have to admit, my expectations for the kids skiing--and even enjoying themselves--were pretty low. Turns out, I was completely off! The kids had an absolute BLAST! I think my dad was mostly excited to ski with Ashlyn (probably because he figured she had the best shot at actually doing some real skiing), but it was quickly apparent that Maguire is the true "Ski Buddy" between the two of them. Don't get me wrong--Ashlyn did really well and had a great time, but Mac was a crazy boy! He could NOT get enough!
We started the day out by renting equipment (it had been at least 10 years since I last skied and I have no idea where my skis/poles/boots are!). Who knew they had such tiny skis and ski boots?! Too cute! The other cool thing that has changed since I've been to Crystal last is that there's no more tow-rope. It's a "magic carpet"--a rubber moving sidewalk type of thing. So cool! After a few trips down the bunny hill, Maguire started pointing to the next slope over (a black diamond!), saying he wanted to "go down that hill!" The other thing the kids were anxious to do was go on the chair lift. I was pretty nervous, but they did great! They loved it! My dad took Maguire over a few mogul-ettes (baby moguls). He kept asking for "more jumps!" After lunch and hot chocolate/coffee in the lodge, I wasn't sure Ashlyn would be up for more skiing, but she told me she wanted to go up/down "four more times". She kept track and stuck to her 4 times :) I was so bummed that we forgot our video camera. Ashlyn might have cheerleading in her future. She'd get to the bottom before everyone else and then cheer for each of us as we came down ("Go Mommy! Go Mommy!"). At one point she got brave and pushed off toward the chair lift on her own. I'll admit, I freaked out a bit, but she was ok :) We were all getting cold and decided to take a few more trips down the bunny hill to finish out the day. Just as I was ready to head back in I got the most wicked migraine that I've ever gotten. Luckily the lodge carried Excedrin Migraine. As I was on my way to get the Excedrin I saw Kyle, my dad and Maguire coming in to the ski rental place. Maguire had insisted on carrying his own skis--while walking in his ski boots--like the big boys! I tried to take them for him once he got inside, but he grunted and pushed me aside. Such an independent 2-year-old.
Overall the weekend FAR and AWAY exceeded my expectations! The condo we stayed in was perfect--plenty of room for all of us (thanks to some of my parents' friends) with a gigantic whirpool tub for the kids to play in. Even though it's been more than a month since we went skiing, Ash and Mac still talk--very often--about going skiing. Anytime it snows, they want to go skiing. If the cold weather sticks around, we might just have to take them to Cannonsburg, just down the road.


Thanks, Mimia and Papa (my parents) for such a FUN weekend! It was the best!!

Ashlyn's "Big Girl" Room

Come on in...
We've had Ashlyn's room finished for a while, but I finally caught it at a time when it was clean enough for pictures! The bed is the same one I had growing up. It's so neat for me to now have Ashlyn sleeping in it!

The kids love to jump on Ashlyn's bed! Especially while Daddy is playing the guitar and singing silly made-up songs!

The new "Prince"

On Wednesdays in January, my neighbor Kristi and I traded babysitting so we could volunteer in the girls' preschool class. She snapped these pics that are typical of Maguire's time at their house. He loves that microphone and as far as the guitar and chair...well, let's just say that they have two girls, so pink is the only color available! Kyle thinks he looks like The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince, but in pink ;)

Mac turns 2!

Maguire turned 2 January 11 and his cousin, Skydra, turned 1 January 13, so the two of them had a shared birthday party this year. January in Michigan leaves no outdoor options, so we chose PlayWorld for the party. While PlayWorld is a bit "ghetto", the kids love it! It's got ball pits (with a ball washing machine so it's supposedly more "sanitary"), slides, Little Tykes playhouses and cars of every kind, a few arcarde games, and some inflatables (slide, bounce house, obstacle course, etc.). The kids have a blast there! After playing for a few hours we (our family, my parents, Kyle's parents, Kyle's sister/family/Skydra, and our neighbors the Neeleys) left and went to the Pizza Ranch for dinner. There, the kids opened gifts and had cake. I made a truck "puzzle cake" make out of cupcakes. It was kind of tough, but I was quite proud of it when it was done! Skydra's cakes were made by Heather's (my sister-in-law) friend, Angela. She does an amazing job! She made the darling little bear cake for Skydra's own little cake, plus a larger brown bear cake and the cutest little cupcakes--chocolate frosting with super cute pink and aqua flowers on top. I decided that for Ashlyn's birthday I'm just going to have Angela do the cake! Can't wait to see what she comes up with :)

The birthday boy!

Mimia (my mom), Grandma (Kyle's mom), Aunt Heather (Kyle's sister)

Silly Ashlyn

Sweet Skydra and her sweet bear cake

Maguire, Daddy and the truck cake

Papa and Maguire with the guitar that is "just my size"! I had a hard time deciding whether to do a truck theme or a guitar theme for Mac's party. He's equally obsessed with both! Papa and Mimia helped feed his guitar obsession by getting him this child-sized guitar.

Maguire walked around the restuarant "sereneding" the other patrons while playing his "tar"

Grandma and Grandpa got Maguire this cool Radio Flyer scooter...and Maguire decided that the restuarant was the perfect place to try it out :)

I can't believe that Maguire's 2 already! He is SUCH a fun little guy and I have the biggest crush on him. There's not much that Mac hasn't gotten from Kyle--his looks, his more-than-outgoing personality, his charm, his love for music and performing...his ability to talk ;) My memory isn't as good as I'd like it to be, but I'd swear that Maguire talks way better--and MORE--than Ashlyn did at his age. He typically narrates all day long. And we're always amazed at how coordinated and daring he is. I think that minutes after he learned to walk he was running and jumping and climbing anything he could get a foot up on! He's such a fun and funny kid! I'm sure most parents can relate, but when I was pregnant with Maguire I had a hard time grasping how I'd be able to love another child as much as I love Ashlyn. Now I see how God designs it all to allow us to love each child equally and in totally different ways. I love my Buddy Boy like crazy!

The Zoo...in Michigan...in January?!

One Saturday in January we wanted to get out of the house and do something with the kids. Kyle and I had thought that the Children's Museum would be a good (indoor) option, but Ashlyn had her heart set on going to the zoo. We tried to talk her out of it since it was freezing outside (that whole January in Michigan thing), but there was no changing her mind! So...off to the zoo we went. And that crazy girl would NOT wear an actual coat...just a vest. {sigh} Luckily there were enough indoor exhibits to give us chances to warm up.

Checking out the ducks

There were a few of these signs around ;)

How cute are these little guys?!

"The Wave" is always a crowd favorite!

These little frogs were amazing!

For someone who doesn't even like dogs, Ashlyn sure was getting chummy with the goats and sheep!

Ashlyn was so excited to see "Simba" and "Kiara" (Simba's daughter in Lion King II)

NYE 2009

While Kyle's parents were generous and watched Ash and Mac for us, Kyle and I spent New Year's Eve with some great friends! Kyle's (and mine, too!) longtime friend, Brad, and his wife Lisa were in town from Nashville. We don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like, so it was a treat to be able to spend the evening with them as well as Nathan and Megan at their place. We had a great evening of Mexican food, margaritas, games, talking and lots of laughing! Thanks, Megan and Nathan, for hosting. And Brad & Lisa, we can't wait to hang out with you guys again!