Full of Hot Air

Last weekend we headed to Lincoln to watch the Hot Air Balloon Festival and peruse the Art Fair. It had been years since Gabe and I had been back in town for this weekend. Even though we never got to actually see the balloons in the air, we had a really great time. We got to catch up with several different friends and stay at Grammy's B&B. We did go walk through the airport to see the hot air balloon glow and got to eat a yummy funnel cake!

We also took some family pics at a park in Lincoln one evening (see the new profile picture: trying to get 4 people smiling and with eyes open is no easy task!) and headed to Kickapoo Park to another night to throw rocks in the creek, look at flowers and play on the swings. This night was topped off with some delicious ice cream at Dairy Queen! All in all, we had a great weekend!
This week has been fairly run of the mill around here, except that Gabe was gone to a staff retreat for a few days so Grammy came over to keep us company (and to teach me how to make meatloaf- I love her meatloaf!) We did make a couple of trips out of the house: over to the new Super Wal-Mart to load up on groceries for all of my new cooking ventures, out to lunch at IHOP with Grammy: both trips consisted of lots of driving around town and taking the longest route possible in my attempt to learn my way around town. (I think I'll go back to using Google Maps before I leave the house.)
Tonight, I made my first attempt at a workout in a REALLY long time. I headed over to the church for high-impact aerobics. WOW- I haven't worked that many muslces in a LONG time and I'm scared about getting up in the morning. Luckily, it is Gabe's day off so if I can't make it down the stairs, he can help!:)

Potato Heads to the rescue!

Well, today is one of those bleak days when you just can't go outside to play because it just keeps raining. So, we found some potato heads to entertain us. Our family room in the basement is finally ready to use! The carpet was laid on Tuesday so we got the toys moved in there now, the couches set up and I absolutely love it! It's such a cozy room and I can see we will spend a lot of time down there. Today was one of those family room days since we couldn't make it outside to play. So, Drake and I were having a competition to see who could make the funniest potato head. Hadley didn't quite get the whole concept but she sure diligently tried to get those pieces to stick in holes.



This being at home stuff is getting really fun. I thought by this point, three weeks into being at home full time, I might be going a little crazy, but surprisingly, I'm not. Well, no crazier than usual, I mean. I'm really enjoying being at home with the kids, getting to play potato heads and games and have pillow fights. Now, of course there are those moments where everyone's crying at once and I think, okay, it's time for a little time away, but for the most part, I love it. Drake will start preschool in a couple of weeks and he'll be gone three mornings a week. I think it will be great for him and it will be nice to have a little one-on-one time with Hadley too. I can't believe next year at this time he will be starting Kindergarten. That doesn't seem possible. My baby's growing up so fast! It does make me enjoy being home even more, knowing in one short year there will be no more playing potato heads before naps, taking early afternoon walks, sleeping in and cuddling up on the couch on rainy mornings. So, for now, here's to lazy, rainy days!

Fun Times

Here is an update on some more of the fun things we have been doing here in the big city. We ventured out to Knight's Action Park. Drake absolutely loved it- and asks everyday if we can go back again. When they're a little older we might look into a summer pass, but for now we'll just go when Gabe can go with me because the kids are too little for me to feel safe keeping an eye on both of them. Hadley loves the water and has no fear of it either. She would just lay out in the water. If they made baby snorkels, we'd be set.

The kids and I also ventured out one beautiful, 82*, August day this week to the Henson Robinson Zoo in town. We had a great time seeing all of the animals, feeding a few of them, and playing on the playground at the zoo. It's just about the perfect size for the kids. So after a pleasant couple of hours of walking, playing, listening to Hadley try to make all of the animal noises, we headed home for some nice, peaceful naps. (By the way, Hadley now makes the sounds of a duck, cow, sheep, goat, horse, cat, and dog and calls her big brother- Draker!)



So far, this staying home stuff has been really fun. A few outings here and there, a lot of playing outside and yes, believe it or not, I've been cooking dinner every night. I know, for those of you who know me well, this might be a shock. It actually has been somewhat fun. Actually, a lot of nights it's easier than trying to take two kids out to a restaurant.

We also enjoyed a nice visit from Grammy this week. She and I were able to get several things done for my new business venture, Uppercase Living, since I got my starter kit this week. Drake got to take a trip to the state fair with Papa Ken on his day off this week and that let us girls have a day to go shopping, unpack a few more boxes and do some fun crafty projects.

BEES!

We had quite the excitement last night! The afternoon had gone pretty smoothly as Drake played outside, Hadley snoozed for 3 hours and Gabe and I worked on unpacking more boxes in the garage. Then, after a nice breakfast dinner of waffles and bacon, Gabe and Drake went out to mow our jungle behind the fence. After the grass had grown to 2 feet tall, we finally realized we were supposed to be mowing the area of our yard behind our fence that backs up to the walking trail. So, Gabe was pushing his way through the massive grass with the mower and Drake was taking a stick and wacking the weeds along with him. Hadley and I were quietly sitting on the deck, enjoying some bubbles, when all of a sudden there was a large amount of screaming from Drake. Gabe had his back to Drake and with the roar of the mower did not hear the screams. However, he did see me bolting out to the area where Drake was screaming. Drake kept saying the "branches got me". We thought maybe the pine tree he was near had scratched him, but when we asked him where it hurt, he said "all over me". So, Gabe carried him inside and sat down with him at the kitchen table. Amongst the crying, we're still trying to figure out what happened. Then, a bee that was in Drake's shirt stung Gabe on the hand. Then, we realized what had happened. So, we stripped Drake down, found two more bees in his clothes and amazingly only found three stings on Drake and one on Gabe. So, after some ibuprofen, benadryl, a nice shower and some bee killing, everyone felt much better. In the midst of all of the excitement I didn't get any pictures, so you'll just have to imagine Drake, mouth wide open, wailing at the top of his lungs, with good reason!

Dangerous Trail

Our house backs up to the walking/bike trail that runs from Springfield to Chatham. It is frequented by bikers, walkers, runners, etc... The kids and I ventured out onto yesterday to break up our day, as Gabe worked from 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. That makes for a long day for everyone! So, the kids and I went exploring in the afternoon and found ourselves on the walking trail. We headed down the trail just a few minutes when we found something dangerous- Old Navy, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Gordman's are just a few minutes walk from our house! The walking trail crosses safely over the top of Veteran's and drops you off right next to the parking lot of these stores! We also found a little park off the walking trail that we stopped and played at for awhile until the sweat was too much to bear. We then headed back the the air-conditioned house for naps all around- at least for the kids. Our evening was capped off with a visit from some Mattoon friends in town for the state fair.

Safe and Sound in Springfield

We're finally joining the craze of blogging! We have arrived safe and sound in Springfield now. We're getting settled in...slowly. We do still have lots of boxes in the garage, but we'll get to those as time and two children allow. We had the slight problem of a water leak from the dishwasher into the finished family room in the basement and the drywall has now been repaired and we're just waiting for the new carpet to arrive. Once that happens, we'll be able to move in down there as well which will help greatly with the unpacking process.
We were able to enjoy a weekend away from our own house projects and head up to the Chicagoland area where we spent a fun weekend with Josh, Jacki and Joel. Jacki, Joel, Hadley and I got to head to IKEA and pick up a few fabulous new home items, while Gabe, Drake and Josh went to the Apple store to pick out our new computer. It was a win-win night!
I am also starting a new business venture- I will be starting to sell Uppercase Living. It is a fabulous product that offers phrases, embellishments, and beautiful expressions to decorate your home, office or whatever you wish. Let me know if you would be interested in booking a party! I would be glad to demonstrate one for you!




Here are the kids having their first movie night at the new house, complete with popcorn and the kids having fun playing dress-up!