I'm booooored!

You have now entered the super fun zone. There is no boredom allowed. We took a trip to the John Deere Pavilion in Moline. If you think the best part is that it's free...you haven't been inside! We thought Mabel would have the most fun in our family. WRONG. Charlie was in Heaven. Lots of giant machinery that you can climb on and push buttons=FUN. In the evening we went to Happy Joes jungle bungle where the kids played on the jungle and the adults played games and ate, taco pizza. (drool)

Tuesday was half price day at the zoo. We rode the train and saw most of the animals before the children demanded that we go to McDonald's for lunch.

Now, if you decide to stay home, there is still plenty of fun to be had.

Trampoline jumping

binky stealing

pool swimming

karaoke singing

and playground playing.

Good times were had by all.

Vacation from H...

...eaven. No, seriously it was actually a wonderful family reunion! This was Faye for 6 of the 12 hours of the car ride back to the Midwest. And this was also Faye for 6 of the 12 hours on the car ride back home. Isn't she an angel?

Happy cousins.
Happy family.

The cousins all got along really well. The adults...we actually got along too. It was a successful gathering with lots of taco pizza and soda. The weather cooperated and we got in a hot badminton tournament and lots of outdoor activities, woohoo!

Memorial Day of Memories

So as far as our family vacations go...ahem, they don't seem to go...very well, EVER. Finally we have had our most wonderful vacation that we have been waiting a long time for. We went to Gatlinburg Tennessee for Memorial Day weekend and it was perfect for our little family. (When I say "little" family I mean young, because our kids are young. Our family is getting to be a decent size, I wouldn't categorize us as a little family, probably average now. Anyway, back to the blog.) We rented a log cabin in the mountains and hit the touristy town in the day. Way fun.

Here are the kids on the way to town on the first morning. This would be after going to bed late and waking up at 5:30am in a strange place so they couldn't fall back asleep. Ready for our fun filled day.
Randy and Faye, chillin' watching cartoons.

Here is a cool little fancy strip mall place with fancy architecture and pretty fountains.

Here is Faye working it in her stylish swimsuit.($5 at the Children's Place!)

So we went to a super awesome amusement park where Mabel and even Charlie were able to ride on most of the rides. Our favorite ride was a slide. You ride a chairlift to the top of the mountain and then slide down it, but you can go way fast and it's super fun! Unfortunately, no pics of the slide. Whoops!

Faye enjoying the morning as we stood in line waiting to go to the amusement park. She was oohed and aaahed by everyone who laid eyes on her!

Charlie is all tuckered out at the end of the day.

Here we are finishing our vacation at Ripley's Aquarium.

Charlie was scared of most of the fish at the aquarium. Of course, he was also scared of the children's play area, hmmmm?!

Here is Mabel in a tunnel that took her right next to the penguins. Just chillin'! Get it, chillin'? Penguins live in cold climates?!

So, that was the end of our most successful vacation. We even made it through the dreaded gift shop exit at the aquarium without purchasing anything. Phew! Now on to our next adventure. This weekend we are heading back to the Midwest for a Moran family reunion. Surely there will be laughing, crying, and lots of sugar and soda. Yes!!!

Petting Zoo

We visited a petting zoo a few weeks ago. We were able to pet and feed almost all of the animals at this zoo.
The goats seemed to be under the impression that WE were for lunch munching on the stroller, our shoes, and clothes. They tried to steal Charlie's binky, but we stashed it away in the nick of time.

Super hot!!! My husband and the weather. Mabel only whined the last 10-15 minutes that she was tired, hot, and hungry. Woohoo! We considered it a success.

How to pass the time

Randy is in Hawaii this week for "work."

I am at home with our three beautiful and wonderful children!

How do I pass the time you ask?

Hmmmmmmmmmm...I'll have to think about that one?

But, somehow I manage to keep my cool!!

I Will Survive

...as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive. 3 kids the oldest is 3. Hmmmmmm?! Interesting dynamics. Well it's lucky my kids are pretty cute. I decided that it's not as crazy as you might think. Things are manageable most of the time. It's when one kid has a meltdown and the other joins in (I do have 2 babies) that is gets really crazy. But that doesn't happen too much. So I manage. Luckily it is super warm now and we live outside. We spent a little bit of money this year on outside toys...whoops. Let's see: 3 tricycles, a sandbox, a barbie jeep. We also have 2 sprinklers and a swimming pool. Nice. Outside time is happy time for everyone. Here are some random cute pictures. That's all for now.

Coping

How are the kids doing? Well, Charlie seems to be having a harder time adjusting to baby sister. How does he cope, you ask? Let's see...

Stealing Faye's binky

Swinging in Faye's swing

Pulling a discarded DQ blizzard out of the trash and making a BIG mess

And, giving big hugs

Charlie says "baby" very clearly. It's quite cute!


Here is a video of the kids in the sprinkler and Charlie standing. We have a BIG announcement. I took this video yesterday, and today Charlie walked!!! You would think since we already have Mabel who learned to walk it might not be so exciting. This is the most anticipated event in the history of our children. Charlie walking. He took about 10 steps in a row tonight!!! I was SOOOOOOOOO excited. 2 days before he turns 15 months. What a big boy. FINALLY!!! We thought he would walk at 12 months. He showed us.