Tina leaves for home

On Sunday Tina headed back to Belgium!  The kids and I went out to my mom's to see her the Wednesday before she left.  Alyse was there too and they were getting ready for Tina's going away party on Wednesday night.  I am pretty sure the kids and I being there was absolutely not helpful.

Me and Tina

Aunt Kasi and Cecilia

Well maybe a little helpful.  Kennidy watched Cecilia while I helped my mom a little bit.  Kennidy claims she doesn't like babies as much as toddlers, but she spent a lot of time holding Cecilia while we were there.

Me, Cecilia and Kennidy...I love this picture

Kennidy and Cecilia...I love this one too

Vince "helped" set up the volleyball net.  It was loud as they were pounding the stakes into the ground.   So Tina kept covering Vince's hears and my mom was covering Alyse's ears.  It was comical!  Somehow during the process he gained control of the hose and chased my mom, Alyse, Kasi and Tina with the hose.  Tina managed to get the hose back and give Vince a little taste of his own medicine.

Installing the volleyball net.  Yes it takes 4 people and a preschooler

Trying a new technique

Tina getting Vince back and Kasi trying to save him

For awhile they took a break and set up a slip 'n slide for the boys...and Alyse, Tina, Kasi and Kennidy.  Joel wasn't interested but they did finally teach Vince how to do the slip 'n slide.  Although he had his own favorite technique of jumping up and landing on his knees and sliding down.  It looked painful.

Joel collecting water guns

someone showing Vince how to use the slip 'n slide

Aunt Kasi, Vincent and Aunt Alyse...Love this one too

Joel with a bucket of water and a bucket...he was thrilled

Another popular activity is the trampoline.  Joel gets scared when he bounces more than an inch of the ground.  Vince seems to like it best when he is the only one bouncing, but always wants someone out there with him.  Growing up Kasi and Kennidy would always beg me to bounce with them and I would.  Now it is only fair that Vince begs them to jump on the trampoline! 

Kennidy, Vince, Joel and Alyse

Alyse trying to convince Joel it is fun to jump high.  He wasn't believing her.

At some point during the day Alyse decided to try her hand at a back flip on the trampoline, just to see if she could still do it.  Kennidy did a few back flips just to show Alyse up.  I thought about doing one, but right when I was about to open my mouth and tell them to move and let me show you how to do a flip Joel grabbed my hand and dragged me over toward the house to do something.  Maybe next time! 

About to flip

Kennidy doesn't seem to approve of Alyse's form

Alyse appears to be laughing at herself

Kennidy about to show Alyse up.  Alyse doubting it will happen.

Mid jump.  Check out the shadow!

Alyse finally figures out she was in the way

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the party, but I hear it went into the wee hours of the morning!  It was a great day to relax and spend time with Tina and everyone else before Tina left.  She was an excellent addition to our family!  I see pictures of her on facebook and I think "wait, where is she?  Why aren't Kasi, Kennidy and Annie in all the pictures?"  Then I remember that she is back home in Belgium.

Vince playing bags

Aunt Kasi and Joel

Tina we loved getting to know you and have you as part of our family.  Vince is all set to drive his ginormous monster truck to your house.  If that doesn't work maybe we can try a plane sometime! 

Papa Razzi and Cecilia talking

Vince walking around in someone's flip flops.  They are only a little big.

Kissing and Big Girlfriends

Vince is very giving with his kisses and hugs.  My side of the family is Italian and we kiss and hug just about everybody.  That is just the way we are!  Brad's side of the family doesn't kiss and hug as much but Vince doesn't seem to notice and gives kisses and hugs anyway. So does Joel, if you are lucky enough to catch him in the right mood.

Vince's friend Aubrey joined us at VBS this past week.  Vince and Aubrey are good friends and love each other.  Brad mentioned one night that Vince was hugging Aubrey a lot and kissing her.  So after VBS Brad and I talked to Vince about how we don't kiss Aubrey or any other friends.  To which he replied "But I love her!"  I told him that is great that you love her but you can only hug her and kissing is not allowed at school.  To which Vince replied "Mommy, I got something to tell you.  I love her!"  I said "Of course you do and that is great, but no kissing."

Aubrey looking over at Vince

Brad tried to tell him that Aubrey's daddy was going to get mad if he kept kissing Aubrey.  He also tried to explain that Vince wouldn't like anyone kissing Cecilia and Aubrey's daddy doesn't like anyone kissing her.  Brad was getting no where!  That is when I again explained that there are rules at school and you can't wear diapers or pull ups and you can't kiss other people.  I said "Next time you see Aubrey are you going to hug her or kiss her?"  He said "I have to think about that"  At this point it was late, he was exhausted and I was done arguing.  Mostly because I was losing!

The next day when VBS was over Aubrey went to say goodbye to Vince.  I wasn't there but I was told that Aubrey hugged him.  He said "I am not supposed to kiss" and kept his arms at his side.  Aubrey leaned in and kissed him on the forehead!  At least he controlled himself.  A couple days later I saw the two of them and heard Aubrey say "Vince hold my hand" as they were running toward their tribe leader.  Apparently the love is mutual!

Thor and some of Vince's "big girlfriends"

Other than getting to see Aubrey, Vince loved seeing all the older kids that were at VBS.  He loves his friend Thor and several of the other older girls.  He called them (other than Thor) his big girlfriends.  They looked after Vince, kept him safe, played with him and really treated him like a big kid.  He loved it and thought it was so special.  Little does he realize he is distantly related to almost all of them.  It is so nice to have good mentors around to help with the younger kids!  Plus it gave me 1 less thing to worry about when we were cleaning up every night after VBS.  I actually heard one of the girls tell her friend "this is Vince, he is really funny!"

VBS takes over!

VBS took over our life last week!  It was a great time and the kids loved it and Brad and I enjoy putting it all together.  Vince actually was really upset that he doesn't get to go to church everyday this week to see his friends.  The week leading up to VBS was really busy for us so I was a little behind on things around home to begin with, then VBS was the same week as Brad's birthday, Tina's departure from the USA and I worked extra day the week before and after VBS.

We literally had no time for grocery shopping and what little time we did have Brad and I were too exhausted to do anything more than just get a few basics.  Laundry was clean but piled up in baskets by the washer and dryer.  We ran out of disposable diapers for Joel, which isn't a huge deal because we mostly cloth diaper him, but I like to have disposable diapers around for night time and for the nursery at church.  There were a couple nights where I stayed up late just to wash diapers.  Joel also got to wear Vince's pull ups for a few nights.

Normally when I have to work I like to have all the diapers clean, stuffed and ready to go for our babysitter Katie.  As well as having a meal plan for dinner and clean folded clothes for the kids.  This week she made do with the little groceries we had and made some delicious meals, switched laundry around, stuffed diapers, kept the house clean, organized a few things and helped get the kids ready for VBS and packed a diaper bag for them on the days I worked.  Yes, she is amazing!

We have been slowly getting things back in order around our house.  The kids all have clean, folded clothes sitting in baskets outside their rooms.  I got it all folded last night and they were already asleep so I couldn't put in away.  We got groceries at 10 pm on Saturday night.  It turns out hardly anyone is in the store at that time, but it is slim picking on some of the items.  The diaper laundry is all caught up (for now) and we now have disposable diapers as back up if we need it. The only thing we need to work on is convincing the kids that they really can go to bed before 9:30pm.  After a week of going to bed late switching back to a normal bedtime has been a little difficult.  Although as long as everyone is happy I am ok with a 9pm bedtime instead of 8:30pm.  Just as long as everyone is still napping and not getting up with the sun!

Ashpenaz's Birthday

Day 1

Wednesday was Brad's birthday.  Being the good wife I am I had several things planned...not!  Wednesday we did make Brad an egg sandwich for breakfast, but that as about it.  In case you were wondering it is not a good idea to put candles in an egg sandwich.  The egg was really hot and melted the bottom of the candles, so Brad had a nice wax and egg sandwich.

Day 2

I never made it to the store to get Brad a present, so instead I matched all his socks and put them away.  I figured he would really like not having to dig through a laundry basket of socks on his birthday.  During the day he went to work and the kids and I traveled to my parents house to hang out with a few of my sisters and say goodbye to Tina.  We made it back home just in time for VBS.

Singing Happy Birthday to Ashpenaz!

Brad's mom was nice enough to get a cake for Brad and bring it to VBS.  Brad was in his regular clothes and the cake said "Happy Birthday Ashpenaz!" on it.  I convinced Brad to put on his costume a little early and then we surprised Brad with the cake and all the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to Ashpenaz.  A great birthday party for Brad and his 30 closest friends ages preschool to 7th grade!

Just 1 of 5 different outfits Brad had for the week

Brad tells me that the year he was born he was born in the middle of the VBS week at the church we go to.  So I guess it is only fitting we continue to have VBS during his birthday week.

The craziest outfit!

VBS Babylon

Brad and I are the co-directors of Vacation Bible School at our church.  Since last year Brad and I have been thinking about this year's Vacation Bible School.  Before Cecilia was born we had it narrowed down to about 6 curriculums we liked.  After she was born we spent a couple nights previewing all the songs from the various curriculums.  We finally decided on Babylon, which was all about Daniel and his courage and faith in God.  It had the best songs and we believe if the kids like the songs they will get into the rest of the program.  Plus we liked the idea of the whole week focusing on one person from the Bible.  For the last few months we have working with a great group of volunteers trying to get everything ready to go.  We actually had 31 volunteers and that does not include the people who donated food and decorations!

The Tribe of Dan

The Tribe of Benjamin

Monday was go time!  We spent most of the day making last minute preparations.  VBS is at night at our church, which gave me extra time to get ready.  But it also presents the new challenge of getting the kids up from naps, fed and at the church by 5:30 pm so we could be ready for it to start at 6pm.  Most nights at least Brad or I were there early, never both!  There was at least one night that the kids didn't get dinner, luckily there were snacks at VBS.

The Tribe of Gad

The Tribe of Simeon

We ended up with 30 attendees and 7 kids in the nursery.  The first night went well, but not as well as I had hoped.  The program recommended having mixed age groups and while I see how that could work out, it wasn't working for us.  On Tuesday when I changed the groups around I am pretty sure the kids (and some of the adults) all thought I was a little crazy!

The Tribe of Joseph

Launching marshmallows

The rest of the week went really well.  The kids loved the songs and the movements that went with them.  They had a great time making crafts, playing games and having snacks!

More marshmallow lauching

Daniel

They looked forward to hearing Daniel's story every night and checking to see what Ashpenaz (the King's Chief of Staff) was wearing every night!  Brad was Ashpenaz and our pastor was Daniel.  Ashpenaz was quite the celebrity at VBS and the kids couldn't believe that I was married to Ashpenaz.

Ashpenaz

Launching tennis balls

The tribe of Judah.  Vince looks thrilled!

Sunday we had a VBS celebration during church where the kids sang some of the songs they had learned through the week.  We had a really nice turn out and the kids did a great job.  Afterwards we had a church potluck and some games outside for the kids.  It was a great ending to a wonderful (and exhausting) week!

Dancing and Singing

Story time with Daniel

It was a fun week of fellowship!  I really enjoyed watching all the kids get so excited about what they were learning through their activities, stories and songs.  I told Brad I wasn't going to be a director for VBS next year, that I would just be a helper, then I started saying "well next year we should...."  I guess time will tell!

Kristine and Vincent

More games

8 years and counting

Eight years ago today I married my best friend.  We met the previous year trail riding on the 4th of July weekend.  Yes, I said the previous year.  Both our families were trail riding (at a place neither family has been to since) over the 4th of July weekend.  Brad and I both had other plans and met our families at the park later a day later. 

That weekend it was 90-100 degrees the whole time.  It was so hot that I only put on jeans to ride and as soon as we were back from riding I changed into any random pair of shorts I had with me.  I didn't care if they matched.  I was just happy (and lucky) to peel my jeans off my sweaty legs.  Plus it was 95-105 degrees in my tent and I didn't want to be in there any longer than necessary.

My sisters Kasi and Kennidy were camping with my parents and their friends.  Kasi and Kennidy were 7 and 6 years old.  After a little water fight we had they really wanted to go play at the park.  I really wanted to sit in a chair and pretend it wasn't so hot out.  Kennidy convinced me (begged until I got tired of saying "no") it would be fun to go to the park and play with the two little girls that were over there.  She is much more outgoing than me!

When Kasi, Kennidy and I got over to the playground they immediately started playing with the 2 cute little girls.  Their grandma came over and started talking to me and asked where we were from.  I told her Dixon and she said "Oh, my niece is the vet in Amboy."  I spent my summers in undergrad working for the Amboy Vet Clinic.  So I surprised her when I said  "Are you Aunt Diane?"  Diane's niece (therefore Brad's cousin) Jen had become a friend of mine, we lived 10 minutes from them and I had answered the phone many times at the clinic when Aunt Diane had called.

After we talked for a few more minutes she asked me to keep an eye on her granddaughters (now my nieces!  Kristine and Karoline) while she went to grab the horses and bring them to the well to water them.  It was not an outrageous request because the pump had issues all weekend and was only sporadically working.  When she returned, horse in hand, she had her son following along with a horse as well.  Diane was quick to leave the well and leave Brad and I to talk.  We talked for a few minutes, I thought he was really cute and he disappeared back to his camp.  I was later told that Diane basically told Brad there was a girl he needed to meet and to grab a horse to go water and move fast!

Let me paint you a little more accurate picture of what we looked like that day.  Brad was wearing a t-shirt (I think it was gray), a faded yellow baseball cap with dark hair sticking out underneath his hat and over his ears, wrangler jeans, and boots.  I on the other hand was wearing a pink spaghetti strap tank top, olive green boxer shorts with pigs on them that my friends got me for my birthday as a joke, sandals and my hair up in a knot.  Basically in 90+ degree heat Brad looked super sexy and I looked like a bum off the street!

I was pretty sure we would never see each other again after we left the campground.  Later that night his whole family, Bob, Sarah and the girls (Sarah was pregnant with Keith at the time), Craig and Diane all joined us at our campfire that night.  Brad sat next to me (he may have been forced by his family) and we said maybe two words to each other as our families starred at us hoping for fireworks or something.

My sisters spent most of the weekend playing with Kristine and Karoline and before we left wrote our home phone number in crayon (most of the number backwards) on a piece of paper and shared it.  They were hoping for a play date in the future and I was hoping just maybe Brad would steal the number from his nieces and maybe call me someday.  Again, I was pretty sure that would never happen. 

Clearly Brad did eventually call me, we started dating and there are so many stories about that but I think I will save those for another anniversary!

Father's Day

Our Father's Day was a busy one but it was fun.  We let Brad sleep in (not an easy job around here) and made him breakfast in bed.  We also brought his gift to him!  The kids and I made a picture for Brad.  I painted their hands and feet and put them on a canvas.  It was an interesting project.  I couldn't let Brad help me and every time I put paint on Cecilia's hands she would make a fist and then I would have to pry it open!  She ended up with paint on her face, clothes, my arm, etc.  We were both a mess.  Her feet were much easier.  Joel did a really good job!  He hardly made any messes and followed the directions really well.  Vince did a good job too.  Brad really liked it, now we just need to find a place to hang it up. 

Our masterpiece

After church we met up with my dad and sisters at Arlington Race Track for an afternoon at the races.  Unfortunately it was 90 degrees and all the shady spots were taken.  I hadn't been to the racetrack in a long time.  It was funny thinking that I used to work there and know a lot of the trainers, assistants, grooms, etc.  It was only 1 season but I used to make that long drive 4-5 days a week!  Although at the hours I was going there was never any traffic.

Jill, Me, my dad, and Alyse

Joe and Vince telling stories about old pieces of wood.

There was a petting zoo at the track and Joel loved it!  It was hard to get him to leave the petting zoo.  Vince wanted to go on the pony rides, but the line was very long and moving very slow, and Brad and I had not intention of standing in line.  Vince was disappointed but we reminded him that we had horses at our house.

Cecilia trying to stay cool

It was fun seeing my dad and sisters, but the race track just isn't for our kids.  I should have know that before I suggested going to the track.  The kids had much more fun once we got home and played on the swing set!  Brad and I did too because we could relax and not have to worry about the kids as much.  I think next trip to the track will either be without kids or when the kids are old enough to sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Me and Brad at the track