Taking it easy

Jeff's brother and his wife are here on vacation for a week and we are loving having them!! They are staying with Jeff's parents, but we get to see them lots.

I love the little freckles on her nose...

Yesterday, mom and Eric and Traci took the girls to the Energyplex for the morning. The girls go there quite a bit with mom and they are getting really comfortable there now. They all had a blast!! And I know the girls had a great time and were exhausted, because they were sleeping so quickly at bedtime last night.

Last week at soccer I pulled my left quad muscle! It was so painful. I was kicking the ball with my right foot and I felt something pull in my left leg. I dropped to the ground and couldn't get up. It was in the first 5 minutes of the game and I was so bummed not being able to play:( It's been a week now since I pulled it and just yesterday it started to feel better. I'm really hoping it heals quickly, so I can get back to playing. But, I don't want to play/run to early and do more damage to it. I'm just trying to take it easy.

Eating some stuffed french toast for dinner...he loves to rub his dinner on his face and in his hair!

The day after I pulled it, I pretty much just sat on the couch and iced my leg all day. The kids were great and Meggie was so helpful. She would get ice for me and help me put my leg up on the pillows. It was really sweet!!

Megan got a very special planter with some goldfish from her Auntie Jas for her birthday. Here we are putting the fish into the planter...sadly 3 of 5 fish did not survive:(That evening, Jeff was planning on going to his parents house to help them pull out some bushes. I asked him if he could change it to another night because my leg was so sore. He said he would just go and be back as soon as he could. About 2 hours later, he came home and said come look outside for a minute...so I did. I came out the front door and a bunch of his friends were there and there was a piano in the back of our truck!! I was SO surprised. I have wanted a piano for a while, but we didn't really want to spend the money right now and the kids are a bit young to start playing. But, he got it for free!!! Friends of his family were wanting to get rid of it and they thought of us. Jeff was sneaky and didn't tell me...he's such a sweetheart!Check out the name of the piano...I think it was meant to be!

And we are loving the piano!! It has been so many years since I have played, so I went online and tried to relearn a little bit. I'm pretty much starting from the beginning again. I'm really enjoying it and so are the kids. Megan and Gabby are pretty gentle with it and love to play it. The piano is over 100 years old and still sounds great!!! I think I will still wait a few years before I put Megan in lessons, if she wants to.

Friday night there was a family fun night at the school near our house. It's the school Megan will be going to in September. The girls really wanted to go, so we had a early dinner and then headed over to the school. There were bouncy houses and carnival games. Megs and Gabby were a little hesitant at the beginning, but it didn't take long for them to enjoy it!

Me and my girls...Gabby wanted to sit in the police car and turn on the sirens...

On Saturday afternoon/evening we went to the park with my parents to have a picnic! It was a beautiful day and the kids always love playing at the park. Marty loves to climb on anything he can and he has no fear...we really have to watch him!

Meggie got these roses from a little friend of hers, for her birthday...

Jeff's dad, his brother and him really enjoy photography, so they went out the other night and took some photos. Here are a few of the pictures Jeff took...
Overlooking the city...
I better get going...we are off to some friends house for dinner! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

The Party...

The party was SO much fun!!! The kids and the adults had a blast. I had been praying all week that we would have some good weather for the party, because I can't fit 30+ people in our house. The weather was beautiful all day, and then just before the party was to start...it wasn't looking so good:(

We were inside the house for a little bit, but the weather turned around and it was beautiful outside again!! The kids loved playing in the backyard and just being with their friends.

The kids made some "candy" necklaces, made with licorce, fruit loops and lifesavers! We instructed the kids that they could make and wear their necklaces, but they couldn't eat them until after dinner. I think most of the kids obeyed....except our little Gabba!! She hid underneath the slide and was eating away. Such a funny girl!

We had pizza and fruit and veggies for dinner. It was great because we fed the kids first and then the adults ate. I wanted to do something for dinner that was not too much work for Jeff or I. Usually we do a BBQ, but then Jeff ends up at the BBQ the whole night. With pizza, everyone could eat outside and we didn't need utensils!!

Someone really enjoyed his pizza...
Meggie really wanted a Cinderella cake for her birthday party! So...I attempted it. I had made the cake a few days earlier and froze it, so it was be easier to ice. So the morning of the party, I took it out and began frosting and decorating it. Part way through icing it, half of it feel down:( I was getting frustrated, but tried to piece it back together. It turned out ok...not quite what I had envisioned.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday sweet Meggie, Happy Birthday to you!

Gotta love blue icing...

I think she liked the icing...I don't even know if she tried the cupcake!

Typical Gabba...you ask her to smile for the camera and she frowns!! Love her.

Meggie was SO happy with it though and that's all that matters! Megs had gone to the dump with Jeff while I was decorating the cake, so when she came home and saw the cake she said "Oh mommy, I love you so much"...totally melted my heart:)Megs was so excited to have her friends come for her party and was just such a happy girl that day! She got tons of fun presents and some really cute clothes(which I love!).

After dinner and cake, a few of the adults had a super fun game of soccer. We played in and amongst the kids. I was the only girl that played, but I had fun with the boys! I was so thankful for our big backyard, to be able to do things like that:)

Earlier in the day, Gabby went on a date with Auntie Jassie to get Megs her birthday present. Such a cool gift...I little planter with water plants and 5 goldfish. And we don't need to feed the fish, they feed off the water plants! Gabby helped pick out the goldfish, she was thrilled:)

This was just before people started to arrive for the party...Marty had just woken up and I love the little smile on his face... Also, around lunch time, my brother surprised us with a little visit!! We were so excited to have him celebrate with Megs at her party. We hung out with him all day on Saturday and he stayed after the party and helped us clean up and then we talked and played Rock Band too!!All in all, it was a great birthday party!! We are so blessed to have amazing family and friends that love our family so much:) I'm so thankful that our kids are being raised in a "community of family and friends" knowing that they are loved and cared for. My heart is full!

FIVE

This morning I woke up vividly remembering the birth of our first daughter! I also went to bed last night remembering that at 10pm, my water broke. I can not believe that 5 years has passed since God blessed us with our beautiful Meggie!! Happy Birthday sweet girl:)
I don't think there are words to express the love you have for your child. We just didn't know what we were missing until we had her. And my heart just continues to grow with love for her.

She is such a bright, beautiful, caring girl!

We had a fun little day today! I asked her what she wanted for breakfast and she said a bagel with peanut butter and honey...easy for me!! Gabby and Marty gave her some gifts...a read-along princess book set and a magnetic dress up doll kit. She absolutely loved them!! Then we got dressed and went to play group at our church for the morning. The kids had a blast running around the gym and playing with all the toys. Then we headed home for lunch and I put Gabby and Marty down for their naps.

Then Megs and I went outside while the sun was shinning and we pulled weeds and swept the carport and decks. She loves to help me with outside chores:)

When Jeff got home we gave her the present from us...a big girl bike!! No training wheels on this one. She doesn't know how to ride a bike without training wheels, so she will be learning soon. My parents got her a helmut, which she will be getting tomorrow. Then she will be set and ready to go!

We had asked her yesterday what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she said she wanted to go to McDonalds!! Isn't that what every kid says?!?!? So...that's what we did. We had dinner there and then let the kids run around the play structure for a little while. I actually hate those play structures because there are so many germs in that place, but the kids love it, so we let them every once in a while.

Tomorrow is the big birthday party and she is so excited about it!! I will have to do a post on her party in a few days.

In other news...I joined a soccer team for the rest of the summer! The last time I played was 2 summers ago and let's just say my body could tell it had been that long. My first game was on Tuesday night and my quads were hurting so much after the game. But, I woke up in the morning and I felt pretty good...but the next day was b-r-u-t-a-l!! I was so sore, it hurt to walk up and down the stairs. Today I'm feeling pretty, so I'm hoping that each week gets better!! It felt so good to be back out there playing...I love playing soccer and it seems to be a great group of girls I'm playing with!

We had a great weekend with Curt and Annie. On Saturday night, Jeff's mom had a surprise 30th birthday party for Annie. It was really fun and she was totally not expecting it! We put the kids to bed there and then we all spent the night there, so we wouldn't have to transfer the kids to take them home. The kids went to bed okay, but Meggie woke up 4 or more times during the night...and I was SO tired the next day!!

On Sunday night, Curt and Annie and mom and dad came over for dinner(thanks for bringing the steaks mom!) and then we played a highly entertaining game of charades!! So fun!! But, we definitely missed having Eric and Traci there:(

Well, I'm going to go watch hockey with my hubby now...yes, you read that right! We are totally into the Playoffs!! Jeff has some money riding on the Flyers and now I'm into it too:)