Summer Vacation

Wow, it's finally here (it actually began June 15th at 3:16pm). We have been so BUSY! I don't know where to even start. So rather than back track, I'll stick to the here and now. Today I swept, mopped, did a load of laundry, folded (and put away) clothes, and vacuumed. Oooo, and I properly cleaned my kitchen table! I also got a call today for an interview in Y town on Monday for a teaching job. So the kids and I will be headed over there Sunday afternoon. Dennis' whole family will be headed over here on Friday for his dad's birthday. I'll be making a white birthday cake with white frosting. I may also be making some sort of mimosa type cupcakes for a house warming thing on Thursday. I'm thinking champagne cake with a champagne citrus buttercream....and maybe some sort of fruit filling. I haven't worked out the details yet though. But if I do, I'll try to let you know :) I hope to keep y'all updated more often now that summer is here!

Tattoo

Well, I finally did it! Dennis has been getting a few new tattoos during the past few years, and they have been amazing! So, I finally decided to bite the bullet!  And here it is!

No ICEE for you!

Caitlin LOVES to get a blue ICEE when we go to Target. I don't get her one all the time, but after dinner on Monday we headed to Target and I got it for her treat. Well, Colton likes them too and took advantage of Caitlin wanting to walk around with Dennis by drinking almost the whole thing! That night Colton was running around the house like a wild man!!! He was so wound up! Then on Tuesday night, Dennis brought home another ICEE for Caitlin and Colton to share. And you guessed it! He was literally running around in circles in the livingroom when he was supposed to be snuggling in for bed! My theory about the ICEE was confirmed last night. It was a non-ICEE day and when it was time for bed, Colton sat on the couch with me and fell asleep while watching basketball. Therefore, there will be no more ICEE's for Colton after noon. They seem to have no affect on Caitlin. She was able to fall asleep both nights without any problems. And this weekend we will be trading our crib for a bunkbed for Colton's room!

Not ready!

I was not ready for Colton to learn how to crawl out of his crib. Caitlin most likely helped speed up this process. The new thing to do around here is to take all the stuffed animals and put them in Colton's crib. Then both Caitlin and Colton pile in there are pretend to take a nap. Not long after they started this new game, Colton mastered getting OUT of the crib. This has made nap and bedtime interesting. So, since I have this week off for Spring Break, I will be putting Colton in Caitlin's bed for his nap. Oh, but it gets more complicated than that. I have to wait until Colton falls asleep first before I can put him in the bed. Otherwise, he thinks its a game we are playing. I believe this weekend we will be taking down the crib and putting the lower bed in his room! It should be very interesting during the next several months for sleeping around here.

Yes, it's me blogging!

It has been so busy these last few months! I can't even remember the last time I blogged! I could look it up I guess, but that would require some more effort on my part and I really don't think I can spare any at this time. I am now teaching 1st grade at Pine Hill school. It's the same district as the 6th grade class I was in, it's just at a different site. I started in this class January 17, while my last day in 6th grade was the 13th. I love my little class of 15 students! We just started conferences this week and I had 6 of them back to back! They are going well and I'm sure it will continue that way. Thankfully, I will be able to finish the school year in this class since the teacher I'm subbing for only just had her surgery this week. One of the other great things about this school is that I'm able to teacher with my wonderful friend Nancy again!!!!! Yes, I've probably blogged this once or twice before, but she is so great, has wonderful ideas, and she shares everything with me!!!!! Caitlin and Colton are doing very well. They play together REALLY well and Colton is beginning to talk up a storm! Caitlin never talked as much or as clearly as Colton is now. He is definitely still a mommy's boy and Caitlin will always be her father's daughter! I know it's not much, but at least it's something. I can't say when I'll post again, but I'll try not to let another month or two go by before I do. :)

Ahhh! New format!

So, I just clicked the "try the new blogger format" and I can't get back to the old one! I'm all all discombobulated...it's like when Facebook keeps changing their postings! I knew I shouldn't have pushed that button! We ended up staying home for Christmas this year because of Colton's night terrors. They are worse than Caitlin's were and that makes traveling (or rather staying the night) anywhere really challenging. Caitlin loved waking up on Christmas morning and couldn't get out of her bed fast enough. She was shocked and delighted that Santa actually ate the cookies and informs those that pass in public of her discovery. Colton got a LOT of pacifiers for Christmas and he couldn't have been happier. I will post more as soon as I upload the pictures. For now, I must go get Colton up from his nap!

Trudging through errands...

It seemed like my errands were against me today. No matter which one I did, I was hit with some problem or another that wouldn't quite let me fully complete my errand. For instance, at the post office, I thought I had Colton's carrier in the car but was horribly bewildered that it wasn't there. Luckily, Caitlin has been loving piggy back rides, so that is where she was the entire time in line while Colton was snug in the stroller. At Joann Fabrics, they were neglecting to use the number system and I was lined jumped by someone who decided to buy half the store of fabric. Then I forgot to go to the bank. So, finally at home, I decided to work on a WAY over due project, only to find out my pictures are not the right resolution.

Let's just say this, there will be no errands for me tomorrow.

On the other hand, Caitlin is doing really well. She loves everything Christmas and no matter what type of decorations she sees, she just yells "Christmas!" The first thing Colton does in the morning is ask (or rather demand) us to plug in the Christmas lights strung up around the house and on the tree. Although, Colton has begun to have night terrors like Caitlin did at that age. We're trying to wake him up 30 minutes before they usually happen in order to reset his sleep cycle. We did the same thing with Caitlin and it worked pretty well. It's so bizarre that they both got them.

I hope you had a wonderful Monday, and an even better Tuesday!

November Post

Apparently, this will be my only post in November since I haven't been able to get it together to have posted anything earlier.

We have been doing well. I have been really busy with work and Caitlin has been telling EVERYONE in public that she was Spiderman and Colton was Darth Vader for Halloween. We celebrated her 3rd birthday at a local pizza parlor with lots of balloons, cake, and of course, pizza. I made Thanksgiving dinner again this year for just the four of us. It was really nice and Colton loved the sweet potatoes and turkey. I did get a little taste of Black Friday. Our Michaels craft store opened at 4pm on Thanksgiving day, so I headed down there to pick up a wreath I'd been eyeing. Dennis had to work on Friday, so the kids and I stayed home and put up all our inside Christmas decorations, including the Christmas tree! This year I decided to put the lights up in our living room as well as the kitchen. Yesterday, after Caitlin's impromptu hour and a half nap, we all headed outside to put up those Christmas lights too. We have a few new lights this year and I will have to post those and all the other ones I have too.

First Surgery

Today Colton is having is first ( and hopefully last) surgery.   They are going to remove a cyst in his right eyelid that has been growing since he was born.  He's such a trooper!  He's just been sitting in my lap calmly this whole time!  His nurse is really nice too.

Pumpkin Patch

It was a great day to go to the pumpkin patch! We had a bright blue sky and the sun was REALLY warm when the breeze wasn't blowing. The kids had so much fun and Dennis and I loved watching them walk and run all over the patch. Caitlin put about 6-8 pumpkins in the cart before she chose the one to take home. Colton was able to get one teeny tiny pumpkin in the cart. I think he rather enjoyed pushing and trying to pull the cart along the path. The pumpkin patch also had pony rides. We'd seen them a few weeks ago at the medieval festival, but I'm a little leery about having her do that yet. We finished the day by having pizza and BBQ wings for lunch. Colton and Dennis are napping while I blog and Caitlin watches TV (and hopefully doesn't fall asleep!).

Pictures!!!!!!!

I have 5 new posts with pictures! I FINALLY uploaded all my photos to our now working computer. Too bad our printer just died. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

More Photos

Here are some of the only photos I have from Colton and Will's joint b-day party. Sometimes I kick myself for not taking more!

Happy again.

First Tonka truck!... courtesy of Aunt Brenda and family.

So much yogurt! Colton actually developed a rash all over his face from the yogurt....not sure what that was all about.

Playing dress-up at Uncle Buck and Aunt Kelly's house.

Helping Daddy clean up.

Popeye and the kids!

My dad and Chi-Sai came over for my birthday for a visit. They took Dennis and I out to a REALLY nice dinner at Looking Glass House, while Nancy watched the little ones. I had a wonderful dinner and was super happy I got to share it with family and friends.

Grandma Chi-Sai walking with Caitlin at the zoo.

Super Caitlin!

Cousin Wedding Photos

For Labor Day weekend we went to my cousin's wedding.....we also had another birthday party, but that's another post. It had been a long time since Caitlin and cousin Kate got to play around, and they had a blast rolling down the nice green grass!

Poor, stuck baby!

Playing peek a boo while driving to the wedding.

And here they are!

These girls were meant for dance lessons!

Colton's First Camping Trip

We went on a camping trip the day after Colton's birthday with some friends and their two boys. We went about an hour south of here and it was really warm. We were able to play in the dirt and the river. The kids (and adults) LOVED the river. It was a perfect temperature and the perfect depth.

Caitlin's first time in a river!

You can see how much Colton likes the water.

Lunch

So sleepy the next morning!