Beach Vacation- Sunday, June 10

Back in January my brother, Steve, invited us to vacation with them in Gulf Shores this summer. There was much uncertainty as to when everyone could go, if Daniel would have a job, etc. In the end, only my brother Rob and nephew Kyle would be in attendance and we would go the week of my birthday. Rob & Kyle made it to our house Saturday evening and we somehow managed to fit everything in the Traverse. Sunday morning we hit the road about 10:30 and it rained almost the entire drive which slowed things down considerably.

After a slow, rainy drive and two stops, we made it to our condo just after 3pm-- check-in time.  We took a quick look at the rain-sodden beach and headed up to our room. The kids stayed in the condo while the adults unloaded the car making the process pretty quick & easy. Then we grabbed dinner and went grocery shopping.

Fortunately, by the time we finished all this the rain let up and we were able to take the boys to the beach. Daniel volunteered to stay in the condo with a sleeping Maggie and Rob & Kyle tossed the football while Will played in the sand and I took pictures. Then the boys played in the water.

 then we took a quick dip in the pool on our way back up

And a decade draws to a close...

Well, this is it. My last day in my 20's. My last day to be a twenty-something. In reality, I know I won't wake up tomorrow feeling a bit older than I do today (at least I seriously doubt it) but I will embark a new year/age of my life and say goodbye to an old. Tomorrow I will turn 30, the big 3-0. I never thought it would bother me, but as I prepared for Daniel's birthday last year and especially after the festivities died down, I somehow knew this year would be hard for me, or at least not as exciting as it was for him. Remember how he was looking forward to turning 30? Weird, I know. Anyway, so this is it...I'm at the top of the hill, looking over the cliff about to take the leap. I know, I'm dramatic. The cliff really isn't 'til 40. And boy will that be tough, ha!
How will I spend my last day as 29, my last day before forever kissing my 20's goodbye? Most of it will be spent traveling. Lackluster, I know. BUT at the end of the drive is a beach vacation! So when I wake up tomorrow morning, I'll be starting my 30's with a beautiful view of the ocean (well, Gulf of Mexico anyway). Not a bad way to spend any birthday....should soften the blow a little, don't you think? The closer I get to this milestone birthday, the more I've thought about how I spent my 20's. My first thought, and I believe I stated so to Daniel: what did I accomplish in my 20's, the fun years, a whole decade of my life? I didn't discover any ancient relics, build any structures, invent a product, learn a new language or earn millions of dollars. I reflected on what I did do and reminded myself that I don't have to 'do' any of these great things by society's standards to have found success or accomplished something. So here's a few things I did do (in semi-chronological order):

• earned a Bachelor's degree after 4 years of college
• met the love of my life and married him--my best friend
• moved to another state, away from family, friends & all things familiar
• bought a house
• traveled across the country and through the ocean
• worked a variety of jobs, getting my feet wet in the world and grew up ALOT
• built a family--including two beautiful children (almost 3...missed it by just a couple months)
• discovered how to be a mommy and know what unconditional love really is
• learned how to be a stay-at-home mommy when I quit work to raise our son full time
• invented ways to keep myself and a child active all day
• learned how to live on one income
• built a new, stronger relationship with Christ
• survived many of life's road bumps- financial, spiritual, emotional and otherwise
• learned how to be a mommy to a special needs child
• discovered that the little things in life are not to be taken for granted
• shared a home and family with two lovable doggies and said goodbye to one

So maybe I didn't accomplish anything 'bucket list' worthy, but I believe building a family and pouring one's self into the loving and caring of that family is one of the most difficult, rewarding and best things a person can do with their life. Perhaps society wouldn't be impressed with how I spent my 20's, but I hope God is. I'm not exactly looking forward to turning 30, but I'm not dreading it either. One things for sure, I certainly can't complain how I'll spend my big day....sitting on a white, sandy beach, under an umbrella, with my family overlooking the great expanse of the ocean, one of God's most splendid creations.

Never thought I'd be on a boat...

We packed up our swim suits and our flippy floppies and took the boat out on the lake yesterday evening. Not our boat, of course. Our friend, Brett's boat. He invited us out yesterday after work; Maggie's 1st boat ride, and you now how I love firsts! Will was excited all day. Once we departed the dock and really picked up speed, Maggie smiled ear to ear....the windblown hair is a good look on her. :) We cruised to our usual spot- where the water is shallow enough to touch bottom and all swam for awhile. Maggie was only impressed with the swimming for so long, after all we have a pool in our neighborhood, but a boat. Now one of those, she does not have. She and I spent a good bit of time in the boat watching the boys swim and I'm pretty sure Maggie was staking claim on the vessel. The boys would grab on the sides and pull up some, she would sort of swat them away and just laugh. We all had a great time!

1st pic of Maggie in the life jacket

I didn't even catch her big smile on camera

 Will drove us back...well, about half way then Brett

took over

While riding at a good speed, Will said, "Now this is what I'm talkin' about!" Haha, it was so funny and he's right. Taking a boat to the lake is livin' the life for sure! Especially for us, since we have a friend with a boat we get all the perks: trips to the lake without paying for a boat, gas, license or having to store it. Not many things in life come with that much fun and no responsibility. Thanks for another great boat trip, Brett!

Will the homemaker

Yesterday while playing in Maggie's room Will decided to make a bed for the baby. Here's what he came up with:

Gosh, my new camera is so much better than my old one, lol. I'll be getting my Nikon back in a couple days! Also some of Will's conversations and statements lately:

5/5
Let's go there, they have food. They have burgers & fries
- at the time this was so funny. He was pushing to go out to eat and just picked a random place- "let's go there, they have food." It was hilarious the way he said it as if grabbing for straws and so desperate to go eat somewhere, anywhere -

5/10
I had a terrible dream. My dad turned into a spider then back to a dad. Did you hear? Isn't that terrible?

5/12
I wish our house could turn into a transformer!

5/14
Me: Don't get him dirty, Maggie
W: Yea, 'cause he's fire guy and he'll put fire in you if you get him dirty. But not me. I already have fire in me.
- uhm, that concerns me a little-

M: Do you even remember that guy?
W: Yea, he wears shoes on his feet forever. (pause) And has stinky feet.

5/15
M: We all get new bodies when we go to heaven; we won't be sick anymore or tired or...
W: We won't be tired?!! Aww, but I like being tired. And at night going to bed
- could've fooled me -

6/5
To a waiter: It's okay if you don't have chocolate milk
- I wish I had a picture of his face while saying this, that was the funniest part. He really wanted to make sure the guy knew he wouldn't be upset if they didn't have it-

6/6
W: What do you think? I can just shove all this in my mouth?!!
M: No, take it bite by bite

I don't know why they have a ladder. I mean, you can't reach a ladder all the way up there!
- referring to a ladder on the side of a building going to the roof-

People just drive away from Pizza Hut?!!! That must be their special treat

6/7
Well I'm trying to be big. The best way I know how.
- in this case, it involved him climbing the wall to the pull-up bar so he could work out like daddy-

Such my funny, sweet little man. I hope he never loses his sense of humor and always has a good heart- they're both so endearing to me.

Maggie - 21 months

Ms. Moosie turns 21 months old today! Whew, in only 3 months she'll be 2! Hard to believe. We had two therapy appointments today. Yes, you read that correctly. Physical Therapy then speech right on top of each other. Our PT commented on how much stronger and more coordinated she's getting; Maggie is taking really good steps in her walker, but it'll still be awhile before she can walk in it independently. We continue to work on balance and core strengthening activities to increase independence. Her speech therapist brought out some communication sheets that will help Maggie get across what she wants to say since her mouth can't always form the words or phrases her brain wants to say. Initially, Sally said to point to the pictures so she gets an idea but we don't really expect Maggie to point on her own just yet. Well, what do you know, Maggie pointed to several pictures on the page; she's so smart and learns so quickly. Her favorite phrases and pictures were "uh oh" and "yucky." Sally and I laughed that this may have something to do with having a big brother around.

A few weeks ago we finally got Maggie a big girl, forward facing car seat! I have been working and working to get her to that 20 pound mark so we could do just that. I think I've mentioned before that Maggie struggles with putting on weight mostly because she burns so many calories doing any task, including those we take for granted. I was waiting to be certain but Daniel had enough- he wanted a big girl car seat and before we made the long trek to St. Louis. So I weighed her on our scale and got 20lbs! I've been eyeing a pink seat for awhile so I knew exactly what I wanted. Maggie always enjoys testing the display car seats in the store but was even more excited when Daniel strapped it in the car after returning home. For the next several days, she displayed her excitement every time I opened the car door.

 alright, daddy, close that door!

Waistline Wednesday - 25 weeks

Just over 3 months to go before baby boy gets here! Whew, I've got lots to do and need to get busy!

Baby boy, I've finally decided I'm going to keep your big sister in her crib and we're going to keep frogs & ducks in your brother's room- which you'll soon be sharing- at least for now. So, with a few decisions made, I can finally start getting ready for you and I need to get on it! I'll need to get a new crib, stroller and high chair. Plus I want to sew and craft some things for you. Hopefully 3 months is enough time to finish/afford to make all the purchases! You move pretty often now- still most heavily in the morning and evening- and we can see you move already! I don't remember seeing your brother or sister's movements yet, but my memory could just be failing me. Enjoy your warm, cozy home for the next few months; I'll be busy preparing for your arrival. See you soon!
Love,
mommy

Daniel's birthday

We had to celebrate Daniel's birthday early this year and left town soon after his celebration, so I haven't been able to write about it. Plus, I left my camera in TN and I don't like posts as much without pictures, but I'll add them later I suppose. I knew this year would be nothing like last year's celebration but they can't all be like that and this year was not a milestone for him. :) In fact, Daniel told me not to even do anything for him this year- 31 is no big deal. Okay...but I'm not going to just skip your birthday! Not sure who he think he married, but anyway. He never could give me any gift ideas so I bought him a couple movies, made a cake and let him choose his dinner. I decided to do an ice cream cake this year--  I've made a version for years and years with oreos, mint chocolate chip ice cream, fudge & cool whip. A couple birthdays ago I made cupcakes topped with cookies & cream and cool whip. This year I wanted to try another twist as well-- for the base I made brownies (homemade brownies are so easy and good) Daniel loves them! After they cooled, I topped them with the mint chocolate chip, cool whip and oreo crumbs. Not too big of a twist, but still a small change-up. Daniel and the kids really enjoyed it.

I was super sad not to spend Daniel's actual birthday with him this year and didn't even have the opportunity to dedicate a blog post to him. :( Back in February, my cousin decided she was going to be baptized and chose Memorial Day weekend so that we out-of-towners could make the trip! So this was the plan then a couple of my other cousins graduated college and chose that weekend for their party...perfect. A few weeks ago we found out our nephew- Daniel's sister's youngest- was having a first birthday party that Sunday as well. I love first birthday parties and try to make all that I can, but I had already planned on attending Rachel's baptism that day and just couldn't do it. Daniel decided to go and represent our family which meant we'd have to spend his birthday- Saturday- apart.

 trying to figure out what it is

 just open it daddy!

 Happy 31st birthday, babe!! I missed sharing your actual day with you.