Weekend Recap - Thanksgiving Edition

Ah, my first long weekend since I became “self-employed.”  It was so nice.  But, as you probably guessed, we were busy, busy, busy!!  The festivities actually started MUCH earlier than usual.  On Tuesday, I was able to volunteer at Jameson’s school.  They had a Thanksgiving program and I, along with 2 other moms, helped the kids to roll out, cut, and bake cookies for refreshments after the show.  It was so fun to see him in his element.  I swear I could sit all day and just watch him at school!

Jameson was sooooooo excited for his program.  He asked everyone he encountered if they were going to his “show” and if they said no, he would say “that’s okay, we’ll record it for you.”  Well, Papa Terry, Mama O, Cousin Alaina, Nannie Sandy, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Becca were able to attend.  Let me just tell you, it was THE CUTEST thing that I have ever seen!!  And here it is for your viewing pleasure!!  After the program, we ate lunch at Pizza Pie Guys with Papa Terry, Mama O, and Cousin Alaina.  Then Wednesday night, Jameson attended his very first overnighter at the JCC.  Only, we weren't sure how he'd handle staying overnight (or how *I* would, for that matter!), so we opted to have him stay until 10 instead.  Then Russell and I took the chance to sneak away for dinner and a movie before picking Jameson up.  And after that, I had the AMAZING opportunity to drop off some gifts that a wonderful group of ladies and I pooled together to give to a friend whose daughter is going through some things.

Thursday, of course, was Thanksgiving.  We had a wonderful, family filled day.  Just like we have done for the past few years, we had lunch with my family (Dad’s side) and dinner with Russell’s family.  We were treated to two delicious Thanksgiving meals.  We were able to catch up with some family that we don’t get to see very often.  All with very minimal drama – pretty good for two family get-togethers!  I feel very lucky to have so many wonderful people to call my family!

Friday was a recover day.  We relaxed, watched some football and ate anything other than turkey!  Haha!

Saturday we took family pictures with my friend Amy.  This was a reschedule.  We were supposed to do them earlier, but something else came up…  :-)  Anyway, I am thrilled about them!  We had a lot of fun without any major meltdowns – pretty impressive considering we had 5 people to keep happy!  I’ll post a few pictures once our holiday letters go out!

Sunday was another lazy day – soaking up the very last day of our long weekend.  Then, on Monday stuff got real.  We submitted the last wave of paperwork to daycare licensing.  So, it’s just a matter of time before we get inspected and we’re off and running!!  Eeek!!

Weekend Recap

Whew, what a whirlwind weekend!  (And some unintentional alliteration - Woot!).  :-) Let's start with Thursday.  That was Nannie Sandy's birthday.  So, all 5 Bennetts,  plus Nannie, Papa Bruce, Uncle Ben and Brooke (his fiancée!) met at Famous Dave's for dinner.  We had a really nice dinner and afterwards went back to Nannie & Papa's house so that Bruce could fill out our physical forms for Russell and I - part of next step in our daycare license journey!

Friday was fairly uneventful, other than Russell and I took epic naps! 

Saturday we met Papa Terry and Mama O at Green Belly for lunch.  It was delicious!  Then Jameson and I took a trip to Target to get him some new shoes, plus a few other goodies.  We got home just in time to pick up Delilah and Ephraim to head to a baby shower.  Ephraim slept for most of the shower, but Delilah and Jameson entertained the crowd!  They also suckered a bunch of people into giving them mor After we left the shower.  We went to HyVee to get some groceries.  We got home, ate some dinner, and the kids played a little bit.  After that, I needed to go pick up something from a friend's house.  The kids fell asleep on the way home.  So I got them in house and directed them to go upstairs.  Well, here was the aftermath while I was tending to the baby:

I guess they were tired!

And then there was Sunday.  Sunday deserves its own post, but I just don't have the energy to type it out tonight, so you'll have to wait!  Stay tuned!

Weekend Recap

Although I was desperately convince myself that the runny noses around our house was just allergies, however it seems that the daycare kiddos have caught it as well, so I’m thinking we actually have a full-blown cold on our hands.  Oh well, ‘tis the season! 

Nevertheless, we foraged on in respect to our weekend activities.  Friday afternoon, we had a visit from my Aunt Judy and her granddaughters (my second cousins, once removed…I think?).  They brought some treats for the kids (like they need any more!!), we had a nice chat, and the kids had a lot of fun playing.  It was so nice to catch up!!  And most importantly, I was reminded of a few potential babysitters available to me!  Delilah had so much fun that she was convinced that we were going to “Grandma Jude’s” house the following day!!  Haha!

On Saturday, we were having dinner at Papa Terry and Grandma Onie’s house to celebrate the October birthdays - Papa Terry, Aunt Erin and Aunt Nichole.  I had been asking the kids what we should get Papa Terry for his birthday.  Their answers included: a cat, cat food, foot to eat, and “whatever he would like.”  Obviously they were very helpful.  Well Friday night, Jameson decided that Papa Terry needed a chef hat because he already has a chef book (?).  So, Saturday morning we were off to find a chef hat.  Russell had drill again this weekend, so it was a solo trip for just the kids and I.  Then we also decided stop by Vic’s to get him some popcorn because he likes it.  While we were there Delilah went crashing into some of the big popcorn tins.  Who’s shocked?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  She was fine, but there I was with 2 wild maniacs and a baby while the man behind the counter took FOREVER to get some curling ribbon and made a pitiful attempt at tying and curling it.  Oh well, we survived!  Once all of our errands were complete, the kids napped while we made the trek to Council Bluffs.

Once we arrived at Papa Terry’s house, the kids made a beeline for the playroom.  I even had to drag Jameson out to see Papa Terry wearing his chef hat!!  Russell joined us after drill and we all enjoyed one last meal off the grill for the year!  Then it came time for cake and ice cream.  Delilah wanted so badly to help go get the cake and ice cream, but when it came time to eat it, she was not interested in it at all.  She happily played all by herself in the playroom.  Jameson, on the other hand, made sure he got his plate.  So, after we stuffed ourselves and the kids played some weird game where they were evil unicorns, it was time to go.  As we’re packing up, Delilah is suddenly upset that she didn’t get a piece of cake.  So, Grandma Onie graciously wrapped up a piece of cake for her to take home (although she snuck some on the way home!). 

Sunday was just a day to relax at home – see the aforementioned cold.  :-)

"What an awesome day!"

Today we were invited to the zoo by Papa Terry and Mama O. We were grateful for the invitation because we have not had as many oppurtunities to go to the zoo as we have in the last 2 years. And to make things even better, all of the grandkids were able to go!

On the way to the zoo, Jameson asked me if he could ride on the train. This was amazing to me because the last couple of times that we've visited the zoo, Jameson has wanted to ride on the train, but we haven't been able to for whatever reason (I think, usually time-constraints). So, it was astounding to me that he remembered that on our way to the zoo! That boy amazes me every day.

Wow, what a fun day we had! We got to see lots of animals. The kids had fun running and playing. Delilah thinks she is one of the big kids and really can hold her own with them. She is running, climbing, and playing right along with them.

Oh, and guess what?

We got to ride the train!

As we were walking past the Desert Dome, Jameson turns to me and says "What an awesome day!" You're right, Jameson, I couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks again Papa Terry and Mama O for an awesome day! :-)

*M* *I* *C* *K* *E* *Y* *M* *O* *U* *S* *E*

Even though I just got home from our DC vacation, it was time to turn around and pack for another vacation...with the kids this time! For Christmas, my parents gave us a very GRACIOUS gift. The whole family was able to go on a Bahamian Disney Cruise. (Never in my life, did I think I would be saying that I was going to the Bahamas AGAIN!) It was an awesome family vacation - Disney style!

Traveling with a 3 year old and a 1 year old was a lot less traumatic than I thought it would be. Delilah napped for a bit on the second leg of our flight, but Jameson did not nap at all, so he was a bit on edge. He did okay on the shuttle from the airport (Beach Front Avenue!!) and as we checked. But once we were checked in, he did not understand why we weren't getting on the cruise right NOW!

There was a bit of a melt-down as we were waiting our turn to board the ship, but the excitement grew once our number was called. We through the doorway, got our family picture professionally taken, crossed the ramp to officially embark on the Disney Dream and met up with Erin and Ray, who were already on the boat. I look at Jameson and ask if he's so excited and he says "I want to go on boat again." Oh man, I didn't even consider that a 3 year old wouldn't consider what it meant to be on a cruise ship. I did go to a window to try and show him what it meant. But, I'm not sure that it ever really sunk in.

The first day was a whirlwind! We spent the first half traveling. Once we were on the boat, we ate a quick bite, settled into our rooms, and then got freshened up for dinner. We asked the room attendant to set up the bunk beds in our room. They offered a crib, but I was worried that it would take up too much room. The cruise that we went on before had "free-style" dining. With the Disney Dream, we had set times and set tables, so this was a new experience for us. When I first arrived to the table, the waiter came over to me and said "I'm going to take care of you, Shannon". My brother heard this and gave me a look and thought he was offering something not on the menu. He didn't realize that I had submitted dietary restrictions! Haha! We didn't even make it through dinner and the kids were dropping. So, Russell and I decided that it would be best to take our travel-weary kids to bed.

Once back at the room, I decided that I should explore the ship and bit and pick up a couple of essentials that missed getting packed (sandals for J & I) and things that were confiscated at the airport (sunscreen). When I got back, R said he wanted to explore the ship. I suggested that he call my brother because I knew he was still up. (Big mistake on my part!) He returned several hours later on his 30th wind from basically not sleeping for 48 hours and a bit more than tipsy.

The next morning, we were in the Bahamas. The kids and I got up and headed out for breakfast, Russell wasn't feeling up for it. I return after breakfast to get ready for our beach day excursion at Atlantis. Russell was still not feeling up for it, so I set off as a single parent for the day. Fortunately, we were going the Kelly, Mark, Tyler and Nichole. So, I had extra hands to help wrangle my kids. And double fortunately, they were willing to refund our non-refundable tickets for our "sick" passenger!

Our 5 little fish (Jameson, Delilah, and their cousins) LOVED the beach. They played in the water for a while and then pilfered someone else's sand toys. They build sand castles until it was time for lunch. While we ordered our lunch, I saw Nichole in action. As a part of our excursion package, we got lunch tickets. Well, Delilah and Justice were free because they were under 3, however that meant we didn't get any sort of ticket for them. But, Nichole specifically asked if they would still get lunch and was assured that they would. Evidently someone was confused though because the people at the food stand insisted that they could only give us a lunch if they had a ticket. Nichole argued with them and we ended up with a lunch for every child - impressive stuff!

After lunch, we ran through the aquarium at Atlantis, but the kids were fading fast. So, soon, it was time to catch a shuttle back to the ship. Let me tell you, we learned a lot about Atlantis and other cruise ships, but we also feared for our lives as the shuttle weaved through the streets of Nassau!! Fortunately, we made it back in the same condition that we left! We returned to the room to find Russell in a much better state. Just in time for the kids to take a nap! :-)

We had to wake the kids up for dinner. This night was pirate night! Mama O bought everyone festive pirate items. Papa Terry REALLY dressed the part, he looked a lot like Captain Jack Sparrow! So everyone donned their pirate attire for dinner. We had another delicious dinner and the waiter did a fantastic job of helping me to navigate the menu. After Dinner, the older cousins went to the Oceaneer Club, which is an on-board activity center for children...similar to a kids' rave! The kids LOVE it there. They have different activities for them to do, computer games, different themed rooms (Monster's Inc, Toy Story, Tinkerbell, etc.), and the characters come visit. After the pirate party, we went up to one of the bars on deck, had a few drinks and waited for the fireworks. The guys went and got the kids before the fireworks started. Everyone enjoyed the show and then it was back to our room, so that we would be refreshed for the next day.

Our last full day on the ship, we stopped at Castaway Cay, which is Disney's private island. The kids and I got up and had breakfast and then went over to Nemo's reef, which is a fun little spray area for the kids. Jameson had a blast, but Delilah got caught by surprise by one of the sprays and wouldn't let me put her down afterwards. Then she entertained herself by going up and down the couple of stairs that lead to the splash area.

After that adventure, we went and picked up Daddy, so that we could go on the island in time to meet Mickey. We waited in line for a photo op with Mickey, Jameson just didn't even know what to think. After the photo shoot, we headed over to the beach. We had lots of fun splashing in the ocean and building sandcastles. But, then it was getting to be lunchtime and they were having a very meat-heavy island feast. So, we decided that since we had spent the day before at the beach, we would head back to the boat.

We had lunch at the buffet on the ship and then headed back to the spray area. Delilah still spent her time climbing the stairs, but Jameson and his cousin, Alaina, ran through all of the different sprays together. Daddy took a turn on the AquaDuck, which is a huge water slide that surrounds the entire boat. We passed the time until Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) was scheduled to to on the top deck. We went up to watch for Stitch to make his grand appearance. We were trying to distract the kids by watching Dumbo on the big screen over the pool. But, we were into nap time and the kids were getting antsy. Suddenly, there he was - causing destruction, by knocking over deck chairs and stealing towels, in his path. He stopped to give Jameson a hug and to take a picture. Jameson was on Cloud 9! This was our mission for the whole trip! And then it was nap time!

Once again, we had to wake the kids up for dinner. On this night, we ate at the Animator's Palace. While we waited for our dinner, we got a visit from Crush, the Sea Turtle from Finding Nemo. It was fun! Crush interacted with many of the groups in the restaurant. Afterwards, the kids went to the Oceaneer club for one last hurrah. On this night, we had scheduled Delilah to visit the It's a Small World Nursery. So, the adults were able to have one last hurrah as well!

We went to Skyline. When the boys went out the first night, they scouted out this bar and harassed Jessica, the server, who happened to be from Ireland. Russell's favorite drink was the 9 dragons, which he liked to order in multiples - "I'll have 18 dragons in two cups evenly, please." It was nice to relax a little, without needing to keep track of two curious kids. It was here that we learned that the housekeeper left Tyler a little something in his room. Well, it was bittersweet, but it was time to pick up the kids and get ready to leave in the morning.

We had to be to breakfast super early the next morning. And after that, it was time to get ready to go. Our paradise family vacation had come to an end. Overall, the kids did well on the trip home, especially considering we had quite the wait at the airport in Florida. Delilah slept pretty much the first leg of the flight, but the kids were pretty restless by second leg. *I* didn't think they were that bad, but I noticed the lady across the aisle grabbing the bridge of her nose any time they made noise. At any rate, we made it home, travel-weary, but happy!

Another BIG thank you to Papa Terry and Mama O for their VERY geerous gift. And also to my Mom for helping us out with a birth certificate issue and helping us to get Delilah on the boat! :-)

Happy birthday to me!

Well it has come and gone, my thirtieth birthday and the last of the holiday/birthday landmine that happens at our house between Nov-April! Despite everyone’s ribbing, I’m feeling pretty good about turning 30. Honestly, I think I went through my “crisis” at 25. At that point, I was very unhappy with where I was in life. That was what pushed me to start grad school and find a new job. But, 5 years later, I am thrilled with where I am in life. I have my Masters, 2 kids that I adore, a wonderful job that allows me to work part-time, so I can be home with my kids more, and a new business that is gaining momentum! So, as if I wasn’t spoiled enough, I got a HUGE surprise for my birthday!

First of all, Russell picked me up from work Wednesday night and took me to Target under the guise that we needed to pick up diapers for Delilah. I was, however, a little suspicious because once we got the diapers, he asked me if I wanted to look at clothes…very out of character. :-) We get to the house and the first thing I notice is my friend, Kellie’s, car parked on the street. I think what I said was “What the heck?” and all I got in response from Russell was a smirk. I walk in the door and was greeted by my friends and family. I was surprised by the number of people that came out in the middle of the week!! Amazing! Jameson immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me over to see my cake, a beautiful, VEGAN (more on this in another blog), red velvet cake done by the very talented Ashley of Sweet Bites (seriously, check her out, she is amazing!!).

As if the party wasn’t enough of a surprise, Russell tells me to look at the calendar. He had crossed off all of the activities for the next few days and wrote “Washington DC, WOOT!” across Thursday-Monday. And then informed me that we would be leaving at 6 am, the next morning. Oh, you know, like 10 hours from the time he told me… But, amazingly, he talked to my boss and got me out of work, reschedule doctor and chiropractor appointments, got my Kid-Ability class covered, and arranged childcare! Amazing! Oh, oh AND he built my garden boxes (which is all I REALLY wanted for my birthday)!!

So, off we go to DC, on about 2 hours of sleep. I got to sleep on the first leg of the flight and Russell got to sleep on both. Once we arrived at DC, we hit the ground running. We stopped and grabbed lunch at this crazy deli, that also was like a convenience store – with a wine section- and you could rent things like laptops from them…maybe? It was weird, but the food was good! Then we walked over to the Metro station and figured that out. The plan was to go to the Air and Space museum, but *someone* (hint, not me) had to use the bathroom and couldn’t wait, so we made an impromptu stop at the Pentagon. Which, in case you were wondering, is the ONLY Metro stop without a bathroom. So, we stopped at the 9/11 memorial because it was near the bathrooms. After that adventure, we did make it through the Air & Space museum. The weather was perfect and the museum was not very crowded, so we were able to look at everything at our leisure. It was just about perfect! Then we went over to this cool part of town off the East Market stop for dinner. We were looking for this Asian Fusion restaurant, but passed this Thai place on the way and decided to stop there instead. It was NOT a mistake! Dinner was delicious!!!! Then we went back to the hotel to recharge for the next day.

Russell had contacted the office of our local Senator, Ben Nelson, for a personal tour of the Capitol on Friday. We show up and his staff started chatting with us. One guy asked what we were planning on seeing and mentioned the National Archives (pronouncing the “ch”), so that was our running joke for a while. We met the girl who was going to give us our tour (and I can’t, for the life of me, remember her name!). She took us down on the elevator and then we walked through some hallway, which was underground to a small tram (that I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of, but I thought for sure we would take it back). Anyway, that was pretty cool because most people don’t get to see the secret underground tram thingy! :-) She pretty much took us on the standard capitol tour, but she was very patient when we wanted to take our crazy pictures. We did get to see the Brumidi Corridors, is on the first floor of the Senate side of the Capitol building, which are murals painted to reflect great moments and people in United States history. The painting started in 1856 and includes depictions of Benjamin Franklin, John Fitch, Robert Fulton, and events such as the Cession of Louisiana. And apparently he’s psychic because also included is the Spirit of St. Louis, the Moon landing, and the Challenger shuttle crew. :-) After our personal tour, we headed back to the hotel…for surprise #2. Much to my surprise, Russell walked past our hotel room and knocked on the room next door, which was answered by my dear friend Danielle!! Danielle and her family (David, Briauna, and Ella) live in Maryland and came up to DC to see me for my birthday!! On Ella’s 2^nd birthday, might I add. The last time we saw them was our crazy trip to Maryland 4 years ago!!

Once we got assembled, we decided to head over to the Natural History museum. The running joke was that we were looking for the Unnatural History museum or the Super Natural History museum. We continued our series of crazy pictures (I’m going to make a separate blog post with just pictures because that will be easier). Afterwards, we were going to figure out dinner, but first we had to wait for Russell’s pre-dinner snack of a hotdog and chips. Good grief! We decided to go to the Asian Fusion restaurant, for real this time. It was delicious!! It was happy hour, so the adult all had a drink – hey, none of use had to drive!! Danielle had them bring dessert and serenade Ella ("Ellen") and I for our birthdays! David went down the street, to the liquor store to buy a bottle of wine and some Captain Morgan. Which lead to some crazy shenanigans back at the hotel involving a birthday grope, Danielle jumping from bed to bed and ringing in my birthday in Eastern AND central time zones! It was a good night! :-)

Saturday was my actual birthday. It started off slow. We had breakfast and then headed over to the Metro station and waited as Danielle and Russell coordinated my 3^rd (and 4^th) birthday surprise(s). Once everything was synchronized, my fabulous, beautiful friend, Harper, and her son Liam came all the way from New Jersey to DC to see me!! So, we braved the rain to go to the American History museum. And there we met my wonderful, adorable friend Sarah. Thanks to the internet, I’ve been friends with Sarah for years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet her until now!! Sarah’s brother lives in DC and she was visiting him, but she made time for me on my birthday!

We were pretty much limited to the museum due to the rain…and so was everyone else. It was packed! I did a chance to chat with my friends while browsing what I coined “the junk drawer of the Smithsonian museums” (you know, all of the stuff that they don’t know what to do with :-) ). Anyway, we took some more funny pictures. Harper and Liam had to leave around 3 because she had a drive ahead of her with a little one (which ended up being waaaaaaaaaay longer than the drive up). Thanks again Harper for making the drive, it was a WONDERFUL surprise!! Then we decided that it was time for dinner. Russell and David suggested Chipolte (which breaks my traveling rule, but that’s okay for one meal out of 10+!!). After dinner, it was Sarah’s turn to leave. Sarah, Thank you for taking time from your visit with your brother to hang out with us. I’m so glad I got to finally meet you in person!! Then we headed back to the hotel and it was time for Danielle and family to leave. :-( *S* family, thank you sooooooooooooooo much for coming out to visit me. And Bri, thanks for taking a day off of school to make the trip. We made lots of memories, to last us until we are able arrange another meeting! ;-)

Then after my whirlwind of surprises, it was just Russell and I again. It was kind of weird for it to be just the two of us after being surrounded by so many!! It was still kind of drizzling, but the rain had let up quite a bit. We agreed that we still wanted to see the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, etc. and there was really no better time to do it than this night. So, we made the trek, in the intermittent rain, under the big umbrella that we had purchased earlier that day. This was one of my favorite moments of the entire trip. From what I remember, we saw the White House, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. Believe me, that was quite the walk!! But, it was nice to be snuggled up under the umbrella with Russell. The only disappointing thing was that the reflecting pool was drained for repairs. But, other than it was a pretty perfect evening!

Our last touristy day, we visited the Holocaust museum and Arlington. You know, the really uplifting stuff. :-) I had been to the Holocaust museum before, but Russell never had been. They had a crazy long wait, but fortunately they offer an open-ended ticket for military, State, and Government workers (something like that, anyway). And we were VERY lucky that Russell had his military ID on him!! Score! :-) It was strange because the only thing I remembered from my trip in 8^th grade was the room with the shoes and the reflecting room at the end. It’s amazing to me how differently you experience things with a little more maturity and then add parenthood to the mix. It was very moving (and disturbing). After lunch, we set out to find a vegan bakery for a DELICIOUS birthday cupcake. On our way, we discovered the Museum of Unnatural history. It was a funny little gift shop that sold things such as “unicorn tears” in order to fund a completely free, drop-in tutoring program called 826DC. Check it out, it’s pretty cool. Of course, we took a picture to send to the *S* family as this was our running joke at the Museum of Natural history. After that, we were on our way to Arlington. Amazingly enough, we made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider just in time for the changing of the guard. It was incredible to watch! Then we made our way over to JFK’s gravesite. After that, we walked over to the Marine Corps Memorial. And then our trip for all intents and purposes was over. I was sad to see it come to an end, but I COULD NOT wait to see my kids!!

Aside from nearly dying in the shuttle on the way to the airport the next morning, our trip was pretty uneventful. It seemed to take forever, but eventually we were back in Omaha, getting picked up by Kellie. I was sooooooooooo anxious to see the kids. We got home, ditched our stuff and quickly went over to Nana Sandy’s house to pick them up. They both had just woken up from their naps. We walked in and Russell quickly grabbed Delilah from Nana. At first she didn’t know how to react. I think she even reached back out for her Nana, but once she realized who we were she broke out in a huge smile and hugged us. Jameson came down the stairs and started yelling to us once he saw us. It felt so good to be a whole family again.

I couldn’t have picked a better birthday present. I had such a wonderful time!! A GIGANTIC thank you to everyone who helped Russell pull this off and those who made it extra special. Thanks to Papa Terry, Mama O, Nana Sandy, and Papa Bruce for watching the kids. Thanks to Staci for feeding the cats. Thanks to Ashley for my awesome cake. Thanks to Danielle, David, Briauna, Ella, Harper, Liam and Sarah for visiting me. Thanks to my Mom, Ione, and Sandy for helping out with the party. Thanks to Kellie for picking us up from the airport. Thanks to Ms. Minnie and Ms. Crystal for working with Russell and letting me out of work. And thanks to everyone who attended my party and sent me messages for my birthday! I appreciate each and every one of you. (I apologize if I forgot anyone, remember I wasn’t around for the behind the scenes stuff).

Oh wait, last but certainly not least, thanks to my AMAZING husband for out doing yourself and making this birthday extra special for me. Love you!

Weekend Update

Yet another busy weekend in the *B* household! Friday was just a normal day to relax and get ready for the weekend's festivities! On Saturday, we spent the day with Papa Terry, Mama O, Uncle Tyler, Aunt Nichole, Hannah, and Justice. We went to the train show to see THOMAS!! It was crazy. There were miniature train displays set up everywhere. Jameson was in heaven! I think he dragged Papa Terry over the entire Qwest center! After looking at a fe things, I had the great idea to jump into the line to ride Thomas, since it was to the back of the building. I had D in the stroller, so I was in the way anyway. I was in line for a 1/2 an hour, but let me tell you - it was worth every second to see the look of pure joy on Jameson's face when he went around the track the one time on Thomas.

Thank you Papa Terry and Mama O for taking us!! Then we went to lunch at Micheal's in the Old Market. It was delicious...even though I had to share half my fajitas with Delilah!!

Sunday, we were back with everyone to celebrate Hannah's 5th birthday! It just doesn't seem like she can be that old! Hannah was so proud of her cupcakes. She had to show them to me a soon as I walked into the door! The kids had fun running around and playing under the table. Once again, I had to share my dinner (pizza, this time) with Delilah. I was not sharing fast enough and she let everyone know! She even finished Jameson's piece!! Then we ate Hannah's cupcakes - which were delicious! :-) Happy birthday, Hannah!

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day, which is a holiday at my work. It's always a little bittersweet for me because it's the end of the holiday marathon which starts on Thanksgiving. We don't get another holiday until Memorial Day. But, luckily I have the cruise to hold me over! Until then, I can just keep wishing for snow days!! :-)

Merry Christmas from the Elves!

We had a lovely Christmas at the *B* house! Santa was good to us! The kids have been playing with their "cars" (as Jameson says). Jameson got a Cars scooter and Delilah got a Little Peoples ride-on/walker toy. After opening presents, Papa Terry and Mama O came over for breakfast. We ate some yummy food...although, D is apparently not a fan of yogurt. She does, however, LOVE bagels.

Hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!

Let the Christmas celebrations begin!!

We started our Christmas celebrations at Papa Terry and Mama O's house. It is so nice to have EVERYONE together. Man, our family has gotten big! :-) It was a fun day. The kids played for a while until it was time to open presents. The kids were, of course, spoiled! But, the adult we're pretty spoiled too. We are all invited to go on a Disney cruise as a family as our Christmas gift this year. I'm pretty excited for that!! So, after we opened gifts, the kids all wanted to play with their new toys. Jameson was pretty engrossed in his new Percy train set. We took out annual "elf" photo. D wasn't too impressed:

This is a stage we're going through. Delilah isn't happy unless I'm holding her. Hopefully it passes quickly... :-) We all ate pizza for lunch and hung out for a while. Well, except Russell, who was napping - shocking, I know. Although, in his defense, he only got a few hours of sleep.

After we left Lake Manawa, we headed to Lincoln to celebrate with Russell's family. Jameson was so excited to show his trains to Gigi! We had a good time with the Lincoln family. We ate too much and laughed at all of the funny things that the kids did. The most exciting thing that happened while we were in Lincoln is that Delilah took her first steps!! She has been cruising for quite a while and I knew she would venture out before too long. So, Russell and I sat and tried to coax her to walk between us and the little stinker did!! Fortunately, Russell's uncle was filming at the time, so now I just need to get a copy for that tape!! Exciting stuff happening over here!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun-filled weekend! Russell was in Texas for Halloween last year for Navy training, so this year was extra special. We started off our Halloween celebration on Saturday at Papa Terry and Grandma Onie's house. Aunt Erin, Uncle Tyler, Aunt Nichole, Hannah and Justice were all there. We had lunch and celebrated the October birthdays (Papa Terry, Aunt Erin, and Aunt Nichole). Afterwards, the kids got into their costumes and trick-or-treated through the house. Everyone went into a bedroom or the bathroom. Nichole and I took the kids around to knock on the doors to get their treats. It was really cute!

Then on Sunday we, of course, took the kids trick-or-treating. Graham Cracker (Grandma Debby) came over to hand out candy so that we could all go together as a family. I took Jameson last year, so this was actually his second year trick-or-treating, but we only went around the circle and up and down the street that our circle is off of - so maybe 10 houses total. This year we went around basically a whole block plus our circle. Jameson was in a weird mood. He woke up from his nap quiet. He was happy to be dressed up as Brobee, but didn't want us to take any pictures taken and he was pretty serious when he went up to the doors. I think the highlight of his night was when Spiderman answered one of the doors. He saw him when we were walking up to the house and he yelled and started running! I think overall he had a good time. And he's been asking to eat candy constantly since we got home. :-)

Now, about their costumes. Unless you have a kid about preschool-age, you probably don't have a clue who they are dressed as. Jameson was dressed as Brobee and Delilah was Foofa from the show Yo Gabba Gabba. It's one of Jameson's favorite shows! Here are the few pictures we were able to take:

Another busy weekend!

My Step-Mom, Ione, retired on Friday, so there was a lot of celebrating to be done this weekend! :-) On Friday, The kids and I (Russell had to work) went to a retirement party at Grandma Onie and Papa Terry's work. We got to meet a lot of their co-workers and ate some delicious brownies. Jameson and his cousin, Hannah, were more interested in chasing each other around. They were a little wild, but they sure were cute!

That evening, we met up with Jon, Kellie and some other people at Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate Kellie's 30th birthday - which is actually today, Happy Birthday, Kellie!

For Christmas, I got my parents a gift card for a photographer to come out and take pictures of the whole family (all 15 of us!!). So, we did that Saturday morning since everyone would be in town. Christine McGuigan came out to the my parent's house to take some pictures. It was no easy feat to get everyone assembled! Jameson started off with a huge crying fit because he wanted to ride the motorcycle (a toy we passed on our way to the area we were going to take the pictures) rather than pose in a picture. So, we got him calmed down just in time for my niece Justice to start crying. She's a pretty particular child (anyone who knew my brother growing up can understand) and is pretty attached to her Mama. Fortunately, the two older grandkids, Hannah and Alaina, were cheesing it up enough for everyone! So, thanks Christine I know it wasn't easy! I'm so excited to see the pictures!

Saturday evening was a retirement party at the lake! It was good food and lots of fun. Russell was able to make an appearance for a little while, but he had his fantasy football draft that evening. (As you can see, he has his priorities...) So, most of the evening was spent with me keeping track of a wild 2 year old with a 6 month old on my hip. How many activity points do you think I earned?? :-) Tyler was teasing me that I had a Justice in the making because baby D would not really let anyone else hold her for very long. Speaking of Tyler, I asked him if he would take some pictures "of party stuff" for me since my hands were full. His wife, Nichole told me that I need to be specific, because if I ask him to take pictures "of party stuff" I will end up with pictures of a water bottle or his butt. So, here's the first picture he took:

He said "Look, there are THREE water bottles!" What a clever guy! Anyway, enjoy some photos of the party courtesy of Tyler:

Grandma Onie took Jameson for a tour around the lake in her golf cart!

A big thanks to anyone and everyone who helped me keep on eye on my wild man. Especially to those who sat in a car or the golf cart with him to let him drive (Uncle Tyler, Uncle Mark, the Schartows, the Fagans, Great-Aunt Denise...I'm sure I'm forgetting someone). It was a big help!

Sunday was a day to rest...well, mostly!