Wednesday Weekly Recap - Christmas Partying in Chicago!

We went to Chicago this past weekend for Toni and Karl's Christmas party and some all around family fun :) As always, we had an amazing time!!

D absolutely loves flying! Before the trip, if he can see the pilots, he tells them to, "Do an awesome job!" Afterwards, he likes to go into the cockpit and sing to the pilots, "good job pilots". I will get it on video and post it at some point. Anyway, the pilot after our flight to Chicago thought D was so cute that he asked if D wanted to sit in the pilot's seat. D loved it, and of course I scrambled to get out my camera. I started to take a picture and the pilot asked if I wanted to sit in the chair as well...which was obviously a big yes!! It was great...although, D now thinks that he should get to sit in the pilot seat on every flight and doesn't really understand why he isn't allowed to fly the plane!

D looks a bit scared, but actually loved sitting in the cockpit!

On Saturday morning, D woke up a bit on the early side. Nicki decided it was the perfect time to make cookies for the Christmas party!

Taking the sprinkles very seriously!

Richard and Rhonda came over for breakfast on Saturday morning. We had a good time hanging out.






After breakfast and some bridesmaid dress shopping, we met Erin out for lunch. It's always great to see Erin and D absolutely loves hanging out with her!




D absolutely loves trains. Nicki came up with a great plan to take the train to Grandma's house. D loved it!!



Saturday night, we had Toni and Karl's Christmas party. We had a great time seeing so many of Toni and Karl's friends!

Yes, D and I are in coordinating argyle sweaters...I actually brought a few different sweaters to wear, but D picked this one so we would match :)

D's favorite...the koala hug. He loves to hang on with no hands :)

Fun with Alyssa, Dennis and Beth!

D likes to be in the middle of hugs...I ask him if he's the cheeseburger, but he usually tells me he's the pickle!

On Sunday morning, Nicki, Chris and I helped wrap 59 presents for the homeless shelter where Grandma Toni volunteers. If you remember, we've purchased and wrapped the presents for the past few years. Unfortunately, this weekend was too busy to do the shopping, but I'm very happy that I got to help wrap to contribute to the process.

Grandma Toni took D to the park for a while. When they got back, D wanted to help wrap! I love the expression on his face in this picture...I can just see him saying, "it's kind of hard, mama!"

Nicki with the finished products :)

I know I'm still way behind on a lot of posts...so I'm going to catch up with some picture marathons, hopefully this weekend!! So check back soon!!

Wednesday Weekly Review - Happy Thanksgiving

Still no catch up this week...we went to Florida for Thanksgiving for a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. Every member of the family was there...the first time we'd ever all been together. Had a great time at the beach, swimming and hanging out with cousins. D and I are both in withdrawal and I foresee many trips, all over the country, in our future. Hope you all had a great holiday!!

The whole gang! And yes, we are all wearing matching family reunion t-shirts with our family tree on them! My mom/sister coordinated/designed and they came out great!

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Fun with NiNi and Chris

I'm actually home with a sick kiddo right now! D has a stomach virus and has been a bit miserable the last couple of days. We went to the doctor this morning and they confirmed that it's just a stomach virus going around, and hopefully he'll be better soon!

As I mentioned last week, from the road, NiNi and Chris took care of Dylan the Monday/Tuesday morning while I was in Michigan. They had a GREAT time together!! And I love it because Nicki sends me picture mails every few hours, so it's almost like I'm there!! Here's the photo diary of their day :)

Park fun :)

Jumping Jack's (a bounce house place)

Lunch at Chick-Fil-A!

Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings!

having the time of their lives!

Friday Fun Day - Happy Vet's Day!!!!

A very Happy Vet's Day to all of you out there who make this country great. And a special Happy Vet's Day to Papa!! Once again, thanks for everything you do for us!

And for any of you out there that are/know a former or active duty military, take them to Applebee's today for a free meal!

Here's a pic of Papa and D enjoying their free Applebee's meal last year. And yes, I can hardly believe how different D looks in just a year!

Wednesday Weekly Recap - Green Eggs and Ham!!

Greetings from Michigan!! That's right, I'm up in MI for our annual budget trips. Luckily D has been in great hands between Nicki, Chris and Papa! Nicki and Chris came for the weekend, so I got to hang out with them as well. We got some wedding stuff done and had a great time. On Saturday night, Ella stayed the night! D has really been into Green Eggs and Ham so we decided we should give it a whirl!!

Green Eggs and Ham (or bacon in this case!)

D has a super strong sense of smell...he likes to smell everything before eating it! Notice the skeptical look on Ella's face :)

After he tried it, D said, "I like it!" Just like Sam I Am in the book!!!

Ella tried them as well...although, she didn't love them!