Saylorville Lake

Tonight Ryan and I went on a great date. The weather was awesome so we decided to make a quick stop at the local convenience store (Doritos and fountain drinks, anyone?) and head up to Saylorville Lake, a place that we'd heard a lot about over the past couple of years but had never visited.

I was supposed to run a race this morning that began there, but the blasted bunion that's developed on my right foot gives me trouble any time I run more than 6 or 7 miles. I've been devastated all week that I trained for the race and didn't get to run it. Seeing the lake today was a nice consolation prize.

It was beautiful! I can't believe we waited almost two years before driving up there. It's less than a half an hour from our house and there are walking/biking trails, camp grounds, and a huge man-made lake.

We spent almost 2 hours there just walking on the trail and having great uninterrupted conversation. It was exactly what I needed.

Afterward we made a quick stop at Kohl's to buy Maddie a couple of new outfits for her birthday (and found me a couple of screamin' deals as well--gotta love that). After picking up the kids and putting them to bed we made a late dinner together--El Salvadorean beans and fried plantains--now if we could only figure out how they make their pupusas...

Thanks for a great night, hubby!

A Visit from the Sisters

My two younger sisters, Brooke and Corey, came to visit this week. We had a great time showing them Iowa at its best--the weather couldn't have been better! I think I convinced them both that they need to move here. They both fell in love with the place. Their favorite hang out immediately became the local gas station, QT, because both of them were convinced they had the best fountain drinks in the world. The entire visit pretty much revolved around when and where we would eat next (in my family, that's how we roll). It was so much fun and I miss them more than I can say already.

Aren't my kids lucky to have such great aunts?

During nap times each day, we sewed our little hearts out making these cute aprons (Iowa girls, I am still down with making more). Neither one of them had sewn since junior high home economics class. All I can say is that it took the patience of Job teaching these two jokers how to use the machine.

Maddie was facinated by Brooke's gum.

Brooke cheesin' it up at the State Capitol. She almost fell off seconds after this shot was taken.

Isaac's new trick: attempting a pull-up.

Ryan and Isaac at the State Capitol.

Our little family at the Capitol.

Maddie loves to use her dad's head as a drum. Corey and Isaac throwing rocks into the fountain (we didn't have any coins).

Can't you see the love for Iowa on their faces?

We missed our other two sisters, Allie and Erinne.

I tried to get Ryan to snuggle up to me but he said "We already took our engagement photos 4 years ago, honey."

Isaac and Maddie both showed their aunts meltdown after meltdown (Brooke kept asking, "What happened to Christmas Maddie?---meaning, what happened to the sweet little Maddie she met at Christmas). I personally blame my sisters for my children's behavior---I'm sure they were feeding the kids spoonfuls of sugar every time I turned around. Now that they are gone we are all in detox mode. Thanks for such a great time, girls! We can't wait to see you again!

Favorite Things Party!

Last night we threw what has now become the annual "Favorite Things Party." Let me tell you that the girls did not disappoint! Some of the favorite things included aprons, jewelry,homemade cards, kitchen utensils, movies, and of course chocolate!

The food was also amazing. Along with bringing 3 of your favorite things (the same thing), everyone brought their favorite appetizer or dessert. There was more good food than I could handle and I still have a stomach ache this morning from eating too much. The beauty of this party is that all the hostess has to do is send out an Evite invitation and round up a few paper plates and cups. Everyone else brings the food (appetizers and desserts) and the entertainment (their favorite things). It's like a baby/bridal shower where EVERYONE gets presents! Seriously, what could be better than that?

The crowd sharing their favorite things.

Robyn (the hostess with the mostess), me, Jenni, and Laura. Jenni moves in a couple of weeks and I am going to miss her so much.

Tiffany and Amanda

Me and Shauni. See that necklace I'm sporting? One of the favorite things I won. Love it! Thanks ladies for making it a great night!

Pella Tulip Festival

Every Mother's day weekend, the little Dutch town of Pella, Iowa, puts on their annual tulip festival. There are thousands of tulips in bloom, along with a plethora of traditional Dutch cuisine (did you know that bologna originates in Holland? Me neither, but I have since sampled a bologna taco...next time I'll pass).

On Thursday, the kids and I headed south to the festival with some friends. Even though Robyn's (so-called) trusty GPS landed us in the middle of a muddy gravel road, 30 minutes from our destination, we had a great time.

In no particular order, here are some photos of the day:

Getting wet in the fountain.

Check out all those tulips---as you can see, Maddie is thrilled.

Isaac really was.

Some Dutch women cleaning the street before the parade. Tons of people were dressed up in the traditional Dutch clothing.

Big shoes to fill.

My vampire boy loved dipping a cinnamon bear in the chocolate fountain.

These bad boys were heaven on earth--Dutch Ribbons. Potato chip meets French fry meets processed cheese and ketchup. Seriously, they were amazing.

Isaac loved the big tractors.

So did Harrison.

Happy Mother's Day!

Notice the DOLL--she willingly passed up matchbox cars and chose this toy out of the toy box this morning! We have a future mom on our hands...

Happy Mother's Day to all the women out there, but especially our own mothers, Madelyn and Mary-Ann. We are so grateful for all you have done and continue to do for us!

We love you!

Please Come Back!

Ever since their Aunt Shannon left, Isaac and Maddie have been going through withdrawals from lack of attention and pretty much getting whatever they want, whenever they want it. We had a great time while she was here visiting and we can't wait to see the whole family this summer in Colorado.

While Shannon was here, we went to the park, rented a paddle boat at Gray's Lake (way too hard on the old quad muscles--we figured that one out about 50 yards from the dock), and went to the Omaha Zoo.

Thanks for a great week, Shannon!

Upgrade

Isaac and Maddie testing out the new bed.

We upgraded Isaac to a "big boy bed" tonight (wish us luck!)---after discovering that he could climb out of a pack-n-play, he moved on to conquer the crib when we got home from Colorado. We decided to make the switch before he hurts himself with the acrobatics he's been trying to pull lately.

This afternoon after Ryan converted his crib to a bed, he told Isaac to lay down on it so I could get a picture of him. When I came into his room with the camera, this is the song he was singing. In case anyone needs a little toddler translation, he's singing "One little Isaac jumping in the crib..."

Strutting her Stuff

Here are a couple of video clips (very short ones, mind you) of Maddie taking her first steps. As you can see, she is easily motivated with telephones and sippy cups. We even stooped so low as to bribe her with chocolate chips the other night to get her to put one foot in front of the other (I blame Shannon). It worked.

Call Me Crazy

Because I am.

First, I willingly got on a plane with Isaac and Maddie by myself and flew to Colorado this past weekend. It was quite a personal feat for me.The only glitch the entire time was the ipod that wouldn't turn on at 30,000 feet (it turns on fine now, go figure). Thank you peanut butter M&Ms for occupying my two-year-old the entire flight.

Then, if that weren't risky enough (the whole flying-with-two-young-kids-by-myself thing), I stayed 3 nights in a hotel with 3 kids (each young enough to sleep in a pack-n-play) and two other adults. There were some sleepless moments (Isaac melting down at 1am and again at 3am), but overall it went a whole lot smoother than I ever expected.

To top it all off, I drove 11 hours home across Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa with Ryan's sister and my two kids in tow. The only person crazier than me is Shannon because she drove with me (if that's not true sisterly love, I don't know what is).

Thanks to about a dozen dum-dums (I owe that sucker company my sanity) and only one major meltdown from each child, we made it home to Des Moines after only two pit stops (grab food, change diapers, gas up, and go). We really had a great time. Here are more pictures than I can count from our fun weekend.

This little bundle of joy was the reason for our trip--we all got to meet her and she is beautiful.

Isaac and Grandma getting reacquainted. A few minutes after this picture was taken I took him and Maddie upstairs to take a nap. About a half an hour later I heard crying and went to check on them and Isaac had not only jumped out of his pack-n-play, but also filled Maddie's crib with all of his cousin's toys. It was literally overflowing with stuffed animals and such. He kept saying, "Wanna play wif dis, Maddie? Wanna play wif dis?" as he plopped more toys into her pack-n-play. Needless to say, nap time ended then and there.

Addie, Krystal, and Maddie

Krystal made Maddie this picture star for her wall--it has different pictures of Maddie on it. It even matches her name above her crib. How cool is that?

Maddie showing off her balancing skills. I lost count of how many tumbles she took. This girl is fearless. She's also a little reckless (heaven help me).

Shannon and I playing "Dancing with the Stars" on the wii. She wiped the floor with me on that game (I'll gladly take on a rematch to try and redeem myself, Shannon)

The hotel room with all three pack-n-plays.

Maddie and Uncle Gavin--he makes a pretty good kissy face, don't you think?

Addie, Maddie, and Isaac getting ready to swim at the hotel.

Hanging out in the hot tub.

Ellie braving the chilly pool.

Isaac was a little skeptical at first, but he pulled out courage from somewhere and ended up loving it when Grandma threw him into the pool.

He even got dunked a couple of times and would come out of the water and say "I O.K.!" and want to do it again.

The kids and I.

My fearless water baby loved being tossed in the pool.

She didn't even mind being dunked in the water, either.

Ellie was great with Isaac and he loved to play with her and listen to her read him stories. When we pulled into a gas station in the middle of nowhere on our drive home, he saw a little blonde girl from afar and said, "Look! It's Ellie!"

My brother-in-law, Gavin, is quite the gourmet chef. Here is the chocolate souffle he made the night before we left.

Celebrating with souffle the night before leaving.

It was a great trip. Thanks everyone! We can't wait to see you all in July!