Almost Over

Well, it's almost back to school time. This summer has flown by. I'm usually ready for the kids to be heading back by now but not this year. We have enjoyed the summer so much and it has been so nice just relaxing. We decided to make a trip to Dollywood yesterday. It was hot but not too crowded. My parents went with us which was a huge help. We did one of the water rides 4 times :) It felt so good to get cooled off! Mike, Connor, Landon and I rode the "Dizzy Disk". Hard to explain but boy was it fun! Landon got a little nervous half way though but was a trooper. The last thing we did before we left was see the "Gazzillion Bubble Show". It turned out to be amazing and I think I enjoyed it just as much if not more than the boys! The bubbles mixed with laser lights and music was incredible! My only regret was that we didn't have time to ride the train and poor Noah has asked to ride it ever time and we haven't. That will be #1 on the list next time :)

Countdown To Vaction!

We leave for vacation soon and I can't wait!! We have never taken a vacation that's longer than a week and it has always been a rushed one to visit family. And since that requires either a 16 hour or 10 hour drive each way, it seemed almost not worth it. We are so lucky to be able to take almost 4 weeks this time! We are heading to the Creation Museum first and then stopping at a friend's house for a night. It will be so great to see her and her family! We haven't seen each other in 2 years and we've both had baby boys since. It will be so fun for all the kids to play. After that, we're heading to Wisconsin to visit Mike's family. We only get to see his parents once a year and his siblings less than that so it will be great to be with them all! His parents will celebrate their 5oth wedding anniversary while we're there and they're having a family get together. I'm looking forward to just relaxing and having date nights with Mike. My in-laws are so great about baby sitting. Also on the agenda are visits to IKEA and Mall of America as well as trying out a restaurant we saw the other night on "Man vs. Food". It has been a long couple of years with Mike in school and we really need this downtime. I think this will be an awesome summer!

Finally!!

Yesterday was a big day at our house. Mike graduated from Nursing school!! It has been a looong 2 years and we are so glad he is done! He has worked so hard. Working full time as a helicopter medic, part time in the ER at a local hospital, going to school, and still being a great husband and dad. And I couldn't be prouder because not only did he graduate, but he did so with a 4.0 GPA! It was an emotional night and I'm glad I remembered to pack tissues! It will be great to have him home more. I know the boys have missed him just as much as I have. Now we can relax a little and focus on our upcoming vacation. We are getting to go visit Mike's family in Wisconsin for 3 weeks. We have never been able to go for that long and it's great because it makes the 16 hour drive worth it! Plus, we get to make a pit stop to take the kids to the Creation Museum AND we get to see friends that we haven't seen in 3 years! I am SO excited! We both had baby boys last year only 2 1/2 months apart and I can't wait to meet him in person and let her meet Keaton. Definitely going to be a lot of picture taking that day! And speaking of babies, I get to meet my new nephew, Sam who was born in April. We are also looking forward to being there for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. We miss so much being so far so it's awesome that we get to be there for that! They are wonderful people and we are all looking forward to spending time with them. I feel for women who don't care for or don't get along with their in-laws. I love mine and I know they love me. It's truly a pleasure to have them visit (not to mention a huge help!). Anyway, all I can say is , bring on the summer! We are ready to relax!!

Birthday Cakes

With all our recent birthdays around here, there's been a lot of talk about birthday cakes. All the boys have been discussing what kind of cakes they want for their birthdays. Connor just wanted chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Landon wanted a chocolate dinosaur cake. Noah wanted a chocolate monkey cake. Today, Liam came up and told me he knew what kind of cake he wanted (never mind that his birthday is not until November!). He said he wanted a Keaton cake. When I asked him what that was he explained. He said he wanted a cake that said "Happy Birthday Liam" with the number 6 under that and then "Keaton" at the bottom. When I asked why, he said "because I love him". It brought tears to my eyes! One of my biggest prayers is that my boys will stay close and love each other. I want them to be best friends throughout their lives. Liam is such a good big brother. He adores Keaton. Every morning, he waits for Keaton to nurse and then carries him out to the living room. He loves to play with him and make him laugh. It makes my heart smile to see the bond between them!

Photo Contest

I got an email this week telling me that a photo I submitted of Noah is one of 4 finalists in a messy kids photo contest! The photo I submitted was taken one morning when we found Noah in the kitchen with the pancake mix and a bottle of syrup. He said he was "making pancakes". We won a leather diaper bag with some Johnson's baby products. I was excited with that but then read that the photos were open for public voting and the grand prize winner would receive $1,000!!! I about fell out of my chair! Needless to say, that would be a HUGE blessing for us right now. We have reached out to everyone we can think of for votes and we have jumped from 30% of the vote to 41% in 24 hours! We were within 3% of the 1st place spot but it looks like they have started rallying and have gone ahead 4% more :( I'm not giving up though and will continue to beg and plead for votes until the end! The contest ends Monday night so there's still hope! Here's the link:

http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/johnsons-messy-photo-contest

Insanity

Mike and I both have been wanting to get into shape. A friend of mine had done the Insanity workout program and said it was tough but worth it. I finally talked Mike into it. We started it last Friday and let me tell you, it's intense! It is the hardest workout I've ever done. We were both drenched in sweat and laying on the floor when it was done. And even though my body ached, I felt good! I felt like I accomplished something. With the program, you work out 6 days a week. I did day 4 today. One thing I like is that there are many different workouts and you rotate through them so you never do the same thing back to back. We took our starting weight and measurements and will recheck weight on Friday. I'm going o be brave and say my starting weight was 161. Can't remember my measurements but I'll report any losses in the future. My main goal is to tone up. I really want to be able to wear tank tops this summer! I also want to have more energy. Anyway, I'm hoping Insanity helps Mike and I both!

Wonderful Weekend!!

It started a little early when we celebrated Landon's 8th birthday Thursday night. We took him to Perkins (his favorite because he can get breakfast for dinner!). Afterwards, mom and dad came over for cake. We had a really nice time. Friday, I went to the outlets in Pigeon Forge with a friend. We got some GREAT deals! Six pairs of shoes for $35 at Stride Rite and then 14 items of clothing at Children's Place for $37. Saturday, we took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather and took the boys to the park. We had a picnic and then went for a short hike. We ended at the playground which thrilled the boys :)
The absolute highlight of the weekened was today though. I was honored and extremely proud to watch Mike baptize Landon at church :) It was one of the best days of my life. He did so good! I cried like a baby! The children's pastor prayed with him and told him the angels in heaven were doing summersaults because they were so happy. Landon liked that. Mike was a little nervous about doing the baptism himself but he did great! When we got home, we gave Landon a new Bible. He loved it. I really could not have asked for a better weekend!