Rockin' times in KC

We had a great time in Kansas City last weekend. We met AJ's parents, his sister, her husband and son and brought Jill (AJ's sister) with us. We stayed at a really fun hotel with a great continental breakfast. I seriously love a continental breakfast. On Saturday morning we went to Union Station and went through the Norman Rockwell Museum/Exhibit. It was so neat. It was interactive, so it was really fun for the kids. Every afternoon, after the little boys naps, we went swimming. Avery and Finley have SO much fun with their cousin, Drew. He is a couple of months older than Finley. They just play and play and play.

Here is a picture of the fun times in the pool. This is grandpa throwing Avery to AJ. He loved it. I swear, he could have played in that pool all night. And he really has no fear.


Grandpa (AJ's dad) swimming with Finley. Finley adores his grandpa.

This picture is literally minutes after we got there. They were so excited to see each other. They grabbed hands and were walking around together. So sweet!

Every night we would go into AJ's parents room and put the boys down to bed in the back bedroom. Then the adults would sit in the living area and eat dessert, relax, and talk. It mostly took a VERY LONG time for them to fall asleep b/c they kept switching spots and laughing and making a tent out of the covers. They are all used to sleeping alone, so this was very exciting. Eventually they would fall asleep and then we would scoop them up and tote them back across the hotel to our room. I had a picture of the 3 boys asleep together which was so stinkin' cute, but I can't find it at the moment and I'm too tired to look right now. I'm going to bed.

We were exhausted by the end but it was a really good time. I am blessed to have such great in-laws!

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It's Official . . .

. . . I am the world's biggest klutz. Seriously....yesterday I broke my toe. Yep. The boys were taking a nap. Okay, Finley was taking a nap and Avery was "resting"....and by resting I mean laying in his bed singing at the top of his lungs. I was hurrying around trying to get stuff done. I went into the living room and caught my pinkie toe on the corner of the couch....well the rest of my foot continued forward and my pinkie toe did not. It made a lovely popping sound. I laid on the floor, did my Lamaze breathing, and told my self, I birthed two babies, I was not going to cry over my toe. At this point I thought I'd just stubbed it. Anyhow, as the pain did not subside and the top of my foot turned purple, I realized, I had indeed broke my toe. Great. So now I'm limping all around. Right now I'm trying my hardest to dip my foot into ice water (which AJ insisted on)....but I am much too big a wimp for this. It's painful! So I am dipping my foot every few minutes for as long as I can, which is like 30 seconds. I'm not sure if this is helping at all, but it's better than nothing I guess. I feel cool. Pin It

Just a little bit of rambling . . .

Well.......tomorrow we are leaving for Kansas City for the 2nd annual Neufeld family trip o' fun..... KC is about 3 1/2 hours away from each of us, so it's a good middle ground. We all stay in a hotel and just spend time relaxing, eating, swimming, etc. I think it will be fun and Avery is ready to go, yesterday. He asks me everyday when we are going to Kansas City. He LOVES staying in a hotel. He also loves his grandparents and loves playing with his cousin, Drew. AJ's sister, Tonya, is 8 months pregnant, so I can't wait to see her pregnant belly... I seriously love a pregnant girl.

Now I need to get a little mommy venting out of my system. My boys, as much as I adore them, are giving me a real struggle right now. They are wearing me out!!! Avery goes in major phases as far as his behavior is concerned. He's up and down, good weeks and bad weeks. Right now is a rough week. He definitely has shining moments, but they seem to be drowned out by the 400 other times during the day that he didn't obey, whined, fussed, etc. I am trying SO HARD to be a patient mommy. It is clear that I cannot do this on my own. God, give me patience!!!! One thing that I am very thankful that they are great sleepers and go down so easily at night. We put them in bed around 7:30 and they are gone for the night, so that's nice....baby wise really paid off in that area. Now, let me address my Finley. For the most part, he has been such an easy child to raise. But, he is now definitely a two year old. I am wondering where my old Finley went sometimes. I am thankful that I've already had a two year old and I know this too shall pass!! For us, with avery 3 was so much easier than 2. Right around Avery's 3rd birthday, he totally chilled out. Now, 4 has been a bit more difficult....we shall see. Anyhow, I am trying to just enjoy the time I have with them each day and not wish for them to hurry up and get through this phase. Honestly, even though they wear me out and I get so frustrated at times, I would not trade this mommy business for anything in the world. It's good stuff..................until next time......................... Pin It

My Wild Boys

One of the many joys of staying home with my sweet boys is the hours I get to watch them playing...being themselves....being boys. I am overwhelmed with happiness when I watch them playing in the backyard. They are my wild boys and they are awesome. I am amazed at how it is ingrained in them as boys to play in the mud and find such excitement in bugs! Here are a few pictures of them in their element. . .

Avery examining his bug

Avery & Finley putting their bugs in the "bug box" (which is really an empty sidewalk chalk container with no air holes)....I really should take them to the dollar store and buy them an actual bug box so that the bugs are alive when they come back for them.

The boys looking in the ditch for anything exciting like frogs, bugs, worms, etc.

I try to memorize these moments so I won't forget. What a blessing to be entrusted with these boys . . . aaaahhhh, my heart is full. :)

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Good times at the Kennedy's

I wanted to post some pictures of Avery & Finley's best friends. This picture is so telling. Our kids have SO MUCH FUN together. They just play their little hearts out. Should I be disturbed that Avery's favorite thing is to try on Catherine's dress up clothes?? Easton has a whole trunk of "boy" dress up clothes like fireman, etc. Avery ran into the living room and said, "I'm a princess!!" hmmmm..... Look at Catherine's sweet smile, She's such a doll!

Look at Catherine and Finley's cute hug! So sweet. Avery didn't want to hug Easton b/c Easton didn't have a shirt on....Ummm...Avery, you're wearing a tutu.

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7 hotties in a row

Here's a picture from our girl's weekend. This was Sunday morning when we were getting ready to leave. Look at those cute pregnant bellies!

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Ramrons Unite . . .

It was such a good time! This past weekend was our 7th annual "girl's weekend." There are 7 girl's from college that get together one weekend each summer since we graduated in 2000. Each year has been different. The first few years we were all newly married and just reconnecting. Now we are all mothers who enjoy laying around by the pool for hours upon end with no interruptions. Although we miss our husbands and children, it is such a wonderful, refreshing time. We always pick right up where we left off. We email on and off throughout the year depending on what is going on in our lives. We have already gone through so much with each other, it is amazing to think of what other roads we will travel together. Although many of us live far from each other, we know that no matter what we are going through, there are 6 other girls out there who would be on their knees in prayer in an instant for us.

This year will be remembered for the fact that many of the girl's were pregnant (not me), "tender" was the word of the weekend, and Kelly thought Jackie should go on vacation with Greg and her mom (who by the way is in HEAVEN).

Also, I need to give a shout out to my b.f.f. from college, Jackie. She is the one who inspired me to start this blog in the first place. Her blog, by the way, is a great read. It's the runaround-sue, listed under "blogs I read." She was by my side through many rough times in college and can make me laugh like no one else. I love her!!

Now, back to everyday life as a full time mom. I will leave you with a sweet little story to keep you warm at night. A couple of days ago I was with the boys, at The Gap. I was trying to pay for something, and Avery was gone. I begin to look around quickly to make sure no one was kidnapping my child, and there I see him . . . feeling up the mannequin. Yep, that's right, he's standing underneath the girl mannequin with his hand up her shirt, touching the fake boobies. So proud.

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Independence Day

Yesterday was my idea of a perfect day. I love a family day so much. We got up early, as usual with 2 busy boys, and went for a run. AJ pushed the boys in the jogger stroller and I ran beside, which made it almost even, but not really. Speaking of running, I've just decided that I like to run....crazy. AJ trained all last winter for a half-marathon he and his dad and Jill ran in April. To me, it just looked like torture. No one looks all that happy when they're running. Anyhow, last week I just decided to start running. Now I've run 5 mornings in the last week and a half and I really like it. I'm up to almost 3 miles. I forgot how much I love being outside that early in the morning. It's so beautiful. On the days I'm not running I've been doing sit ups and lunges...I am attempting to get somewhat toned before our trip to the beach in August.

Back to our day, then we took Jill (she's living with us for the summer) and went for brunch at Cracker Barrel. I just really love Cracker Barrel...nothing like a good Southern breakfast. Yum. After that we drove around looking at houses and then went home to start on yard work. The boys ran around finding worms and frogs while AJ and worked on the yard. I love working on the yard with AJ on a beautiful day. Very satisfying.

In the evening we went to my mom's for a cook out and fire works. The boys love going out there. They live in the country and have plenty of room to wander around and play with the dogs. On the way home, we watched fireworks out the window.

Such a good day. Pin It

it's time....

Well, I've decided it's time to blog. I go through my day saving up stories to tell AJ when he gets home. When he walks in the door, I have a whole long list of things to ramble on and on about. He is sweet so he humors me. But really, maybe it would be nice to get some of my random thoughts out on the computer and overwhelm him with a few less. I like details. I love when people tell me a story and give lots of details. I don't think everyone else enjoys that so much. So when I tell a story, I give far too much...i think people tune out half way through when I've said the same thing over and over. I know this, but I can't help it. I love to talk! I think that's why my boys talked so early, I talked to them non-stop from the day they were born!

Speaking of my boys...I love living in a house with 3 boys. I love being the only girl. Even our cat is a boy. I'm outnumbered and I love it. Boys are so sweet. Avery is our wild man...he was born to be an outdoorsman. We went camping over memorial day and he has talked about it non-stop ever since. He asks at least once a day when we are going to camp, or fish, or build a fire, or climb again. I ask him if he remembers the fact that he & finley did not go to sleep until 10:30 and finley woke up at 4:30 a.m.....he has selective memory. He had his 4th birthday party at a rock climbing wall...he is such a little monkey. Which, by the way is why he has a cast covering his entire right arm.

Finley is our youngest, he's two. I say "he's a lover, not a fighter." He has always been our cuddly one. He loves to hug and give kisses. He follows Avery around EVERYWHERE and repeats everything Avery says. I'm pretty sure he loves AJ more than me. He absolutely lights up when aj comes home and asks for him or "bubba" (avery) every morning as soon as he wakes up. I love that he looks like me, except with blonde hair, and that he's a boy. Pin It