4th of July

What a busy weekend! Thursday evening we had our annual Penn State picnic. We had the three co-op students from Penn State over to the house as well as Galen Reeder and his family and Al and Vivian Wong. It was a good time. Eric grilled burgers and dogs and we pretty much just hung out. We really hope that the students decide to hire on full time when they graduate!

Then Friday we took our annual trip down the Beale's house on the lake! This year was a bit different than usual. It was only a high of 70 so it seemed more like Memorial Day than Independence Day. We didn't even get out on the boat. We did, however, walk in the Cicero parade! Mortgage City (Kelly's company) sponsored a float so Dayton and Eric rode on it and threw candy and balls to the kids on the street. Carson and I walked along side and handed out Mortgage City pens. We were all festive and had a fun time. Back at the house afterward we started a bowling tournament on their Wii (which I eventually won!). I took 7 bucks for my winnings!!!!! The fireworks started once it finally got dark at about 10:00. Carson was fast asleep but Dayton saw some. He made it about half way through the show before passing out on my lap. He made it further than last year when he only saw one. Ha ... maybe next year!

Then Saturday Eric and I played in a golf scramble and the Reeders watched the boys. We picked them up at 2:30 and Dayton passed out on the way home. He was so tired. When he finally woke up we celebrated his birthday by playing outside in his pool and then having leftover cake. He enjoyed himself. I can hardly believe he's 2 already!


Sunday we decided to take the boys to the "big pool" (Kokomo Beach). Dayton had a ball. He's fearless when it comes to the water. We really have to watch him. He jumps in, blows bubbles in the water ... he even walked in all the way up to his chin before I stopped him. He then put on a life jacket and had fun floating! Carson also loves splashing around. They're so funny.


All in all, it was a very hectic but really fun weekend. Now we've got a really busy week ahead of us as we prepare to head east for vacation. Eric and I are off to Jamaica for his sisters wedding!!! We've all been looking forward to this for a while. It'll be my first time away from the boys for such a long time. Should be interesting ... I'm really welcoming the rest though.

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

Dayton had his 2nd birthday party a week early. It's hard to plan parties for him because so many people are away on vacation around the 4th of July. So we did it a week early and got a fairly good turn out. This year I decided to have it at a local park ... no clean up and easy entertainment for kids of all ages! So we ordered a bunch of pizzas for dinner and had a Mickey Mouse themed cake. I think everyone had a good time. It was really windy that day, however, so none of my decorations made it. Oh well, I don't think Dayton cared very much. I, unfortunately, didn't get very many pictures. Daddy got some videos though!


This is the best shot I got of the cake! I know, I'm a terrible mommy.


This was Dayton's favorite gift. He has taken it everywhere (including to bed) with him since we took it out of the box! He loves tractors.

New Pool

So Dayton got a cool, new pool for his birthday from Nana and PopPop. The weather was nice so we gave it to him a bit early. He seems to really enjoy it. He loves playing in the water. The pool is really neat. It's quite a bit bigger than the little one he had last year and this one has a little slide. It takes quite a bit of coaxing to get him down the slide but once he does it he really likes it. The slide also has a really cool tunnel that has a basketball net (which Dayton loves) and a ring toss game. I would just love the weather to warm up and stay warm so we can enjoy it more.

Suzie's Bridal Shower

So Mommy got a brief weekend away a few weeks ago. I got to travel back to PA for Suzie's bridal shower and bachelorette party. It was a really quick weekend but a lot of fun. I got in Friday afternoon and went to the dress shop with Suzie and her matron of honor to her final dress fitting. Suzie looked amazing in her dress! Everything was beautiful ... not that I expected anything less. I can't wait to see JD see her for the first time in it! (That's my favorite part of weddings). Then we went out to a hibachi restaurant for dinner with her entire bridal party. That was a lot of fun and really great to finally get to meet everyone in person. After dinner, we all went back to another bridesmaid's house to have a slumber party type bachelorette party. It was a good time! Then Saturday I spent the day with my mom, brother, and niece. We ran around doing errands and things but did get to spend a little time out by the pool. I also got to meet Koda my brother's dog for the first time (Dayton is going to love him) and see his new Harley (very cool). Then Saturday night I spent quite a bit of time putting together Suzie's gift for her shower. I am not creative at all so this was a huge accomplishment for me. Check it out along with my little Vanna White :-)


The shower was Sunday morning. It was a very nice and well put together shower. Here is a picture of the Northern Lehigh girls.

After the shower it was off to the airport. Unfortunately, due to bad weather in Chicago, my flight was delayed quite a bit. After sitting in the airport for an hour and then on the plane for another hour we finally took off. We got into Chicago two hours late and into the wrong gate. So I had to bust a move through the airport to catch my connecting flight. It wasn't too bad. I ended up back in Indy about an hour late. All in all is was a good weekend.

Up on all 4's!

Well, at 6 and a half months, Carson is up on all fours and ready to go. He's not exactly crawling yet but he sure wants to! He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. After a minute or so, he gets pissed off because he's not actually getting anywhere and starts to cry. He has figured out how to scoop backward but that makes him mad too. His toys are in front of him and his scooting just gets him farther away. It's just a matter of time now though. I can honestly say ... I don't think I'm ready for him to be mobile just yet! Oh well, I guess I can't slow mother nature down. He are a couple of cute pictures of him.