Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter to all! Doug and I spent this Easter weekend in Valporaiso visiting Doug's parents, his sister's family, and his Grandma Curtis (who is 96)! We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the fact that Jesus has RISEN, but sure missed the kiddos, who unfortuately, were not with us. We did, however, take our two dogs. What a mistake! I believe that they are worse than having children. It seems that whenever they are in new territory they decide to break in the place by pooping, peeing, and puking all over. One of the two "gems" decided to have a major blowout in the middle of the night without us knowing. Needless to say, Doug woke up with his entire leg covered in poop. So after we attended church, we had the honor of gagging as we cleaned up the bedding outside on the deck so his mom could take the comforter to the dry cleaner tomorrow. Sorry, Dot! It has made for a great story with laughs, but I think we will not travel again with them anytime soon. :-) The Easter Bunny did visit our house while we were gone, therefore, McKenna still got to hunt for more eggs and find her basket. I snapped a couple pictures from the weekend. Have a great week! God Bless!

Oliver playing cards with us last night! (Maybe taking a little nap too!)

Doug's Grandma (We hope we have several years left with her!)
McKenna opening her stuff from the Easter Bunny!

Tooth Trouble!!!!

I really was unaware of what today was going to bring! It only took until about 8:30 in the morning for me to figure out how the day was going to unfold. McKenna had an orthodontist appointment first thing in the morning in order to get her expander taken out, fitted for another one, and then return in the afternoon to get the new one put in. I failed to remember how traumatic going to Dr. Thompson's office was not only for McKenna, but for myself, as well. It only took about fifteen minutes at Dr. Thompson's for the days planned activities to change. Needless to say, McKenna DID NOT take well to getting the expander taken out. The crying began prior to even sitting in the chair...nobody had even touched her or talked to her at this point. She had herself so worked up that after the painful event of getting the expander out, she vomited all over. NEAT!!! Again, a lovely start to the day. The fear and pain in her eyes and screams was agonizing for me as her mother, but I have to keep reminding myself and her that it is painful to be beautiful. :-) Finally, after digging in her mouth to get the excess glue off of her teeth, Dr. Thompson decided that we needed to wait until the big sore in her mouth heals before doing impressions and putting a new expander in her mouth. My immediate thought, "Please, just get it done today." However, after looking at her, wanting to comfort her, and feeling mortified that my child was scaring every other patient in that office, I was more than happy to walk out of the office for the day knowing I wouldn't have to return for at least three weeks. I always feel sorry for the nurses that get McKenna as I know she is soooo scared and will cry. After we left that office and I was able to console her, I took her to get a Gatorade and then took her to school. (See, it is the little things that make a difference! Plus it only cost me $1.29!) The only positive that came out of today was...McKenna gets to chew gum for 3 weeks. She is so excited as she hasn't had any since September! Gum is her favorite...she has almost chewed a half of a pack today. These are the days that make me thank God for having her in my life...we will always have something to reminisce about as she grows up! Love you with all my heart, McKenna!

Kieran (our neighbor) and McKenna playing after school

Blowing bubbles!!! Thank goodness for gum!!!

Level 3 swim lessons...she has improved so much and loves them! (She is in the far lane.)
Dane with his new do...looks just like Doug with it so short! Scary!!

Weekend Fun!!!

Friday evening was spent with my grandparents, Mom and Harry, and our kids at Don Hall's GasHouse celebrating my Mom's birthday. We also were able to spend some time with my great Aunt Dawn who was visiting from Las Vegas. I haven't seen her in several years, so it was great to catch up with her Friday, as well. Happy Birthday, Mom! On Saturday afternoon, we had a little bit of a mishap with our plans. We were suppose to go bowling at Georgetown at 4:00 with the group we will be going on vacation with. Upon our arrival, we were told that there was a tournament all day and there was no open bowl until 8:30 P.M. The problem was we had called earlier and they told us there was open bowl all day! Soooo...we had two disappointed children. Therefore, we went to the Acme Bar for dinner and drinks to "kill" time (only like 3 hours of time). We eventually ended up at Crazy Pins to bowl...making the girls very happy. Below are pictures from our day.

Madelyn and McKenna posing

Doug and Allison taking time for a picture! Chase (with his black eye from soccer) Allison, and McKenna

The girls resetting things on the machine

Since the icre cream machine was broken, cotton candy seemed like the next best choice. :-) We are anxiously awaiting July to get here to head to Mrytle Beach for vacation. We look forward to having a fun time with our friends.

Summer Weather

We had an absolutely beautiful April day today...83 degrees and sunny! Doug and the kids played golf at Cedar Creek this morning while I headed to the airport (yet again) to pick up my dad, Mary, and Max who were in Florida for their Spring Break. Not many things are new in our household as of late just a couple to update our followers on. McKenna has advanced to the next level in swim lessons at the Y, which she throughly enjoys! I, in particular, love Tuesdays because I know that she will be tired and go to bed without a fight after those lessons. :-) She also has started softball practices two nights a week. Obviously, our evenings are filling up quickly as we have approached spring and are heading into the summer. I am beginning to have a new understanding of what my mom and dad went through as we were growing up. I guess, in a way, I should be thankful for only one child to get to the many different places that she has to go to. How did they do it without us three children driving? Amongst my many realizations is that my "baby" is growing up and becoming more independent. There are so many mixed emotions that come with these feelings...many of which I would just like to surpress for the time being. However, she isn't quite ready to let go of me yet. Doug and I have been searching for a new church home, and I attempted (at one of the churches) to try to get her to stay at Sunday School with many kiddos that she knew from school while Doug and I went to church. She absolutley would not stay and even got a little teary eyed with me trying to leave her. In fact, she was attached to my leg just like she did when she was little. I was quite surprised by this as she always seems to be outgoing, and by no means shy! I went to the lake yesterday for a very small, intimate planting of a tree in memory of my Aunt Vicky. This was Aunt Vicky's favorite place so there was no place I would have rather been yesterday. I met her Girl's Night Out (GNO) girls and Matthew up at the lake for tears, laughter, and memories of Aunt Vicky. The GNO girls brought a light breakfast and mimosas which helped to lighten the mood. It was suppose to be 72 and sunny, but it was 42 and cold. We managed to survive and the willow tree and plaque are beautiful. I forgot my camera so I will post pictures of the tree later. Little Long Lake will never be the same without her. I imagine the lake to be tough for all of us at different times this summer; however, we are looking forward to heading up there this summer. I apologize for no pictures this time, but I just haven't snapped any for a couple of weeks. Hope everyone has a great week! God Bless, Megan