Girls Trip and Family Time

It has been a little while since I have written on the blog.  I made a pact with myself that I would write at least once a week and I was doing really good with it, but slipped the last couple weeks.  Things have been crazy, but when are they ever NOT crazy, and I have let this blog go on the back burner.  I am back now and ready to rid my laziness or make this a little more of a priority.  Over the last couple weeks, I went out of town (April 11-14) and then last weekend we had a busy weekend of spending time with family, which was much needed and oh so fun. 
To sum up my girls weekend, I got to spend quality time with two beautiful (inside and out) girlfriends of mine who I absolutely love.  I have not had a "girls trip" since before I was pregnant with Harlen so it was much needed and enjoyed to the fullest.  My best friend, Amy, and I set out on the road Thursday morning to Jacksonville, FL.  We had tons of girl talk along the way as well as jamming out to old school music and reminiscing about the years we have been friends (I am pretty sure it has been 17 years now - WOW i feel old).  We arrived in Jacksonville and were greeted by Alli J.  Allison is one of my best friends from high school who moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago.  Since high school, Allison and I have maintained a friendship that has been untouchable.  We may not talk on a regular basis and might have to schedule our phone dates but we make it work and i would not change a thing about our friendship.  We have one of those friendships that is strong no matter what.  I was lucky enough to have had two of my best friends all to myself for 3 whole days. I was on cloud 9 the whole time.  We did a lot of talking/catching up, sun bathing, eating and enjoying a few drinks together.  We had down time to relax, which was so nice.  It has been a long time since I have been able to sit through an episode of The Kardashians and not have a child wanting me to play with him, read to him and clean up after.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY JOB AS A MOMMY, but everyone needs a vacation from reality from time to time.  I thought about Harlen and Chris the whole time I was gone, but I also knew that me being gone was good for the boys as well.  They were able to spend 3 whole days together doing nothing but playing, reading, cuddling and most importantly bonding.  I have seen such an increase in the bonding between the two of them over the last few months and definitely way more since I was out of town with the girls.  I did not worry for a minute about the two of them because they were together and daddy would be perfectly fine doing the job of mommy and daddy while I was away. 

I sucked at taking pictures while in Jacksonville.  Here are the few that I did take.

Last weekend we spent tons of time with both sides of our family.  On Friday, we had dinner with my parents and nephews.  I adore these nights because I get to see Harlen interact with his cousins and it melts my heart.  Harlen adores Colton and I cant blame hm.  The two of them run, laugh, play, use their imagination to the fullest and take care of each other.  They have a bond that is absolutely amazing.  Kinda like brothers.  Colton is so good with Harlen and I never have to worry when the two of them are together.  They play very well with each other and are a pure joy to watch.  Husdson is obviously too young to participate, but i can see him running circles around these boys in a year or two.  I look so forward to having 3 little boys playing, laughing and loving each other. 
On Saturday we went to the Wilson Family Reunion.  It was fun to get out of the house and spend the whole day at Stone Mountain.  Harlen got to meet a ton of his extended family that he has never met before and see some that has not seen him since he was first born.  We enjoyed every minute of kicking the ball, playing Corn Hole, bouncing the basket ball, playing golf and baseball and eating and drinking with family.  My MIL planned the event and did an awesome job getting everyone together.  We are looking forward to the next one and meeting more family that could not attend this years event. 
Once the reunion was over, we went over to Millie and Papas house for dinner and to visit with out of town family.  We relaxed, played outside some more and enjoyed each others company.  One thing I want to make sure to mention is that Harlen had his first tick.  Well, not really, but as close as I would like to get.  I changed his diaper that evening and looked down when i went to throw it away and low and behold, a tick was crawling on it.  He must have picked it up from Stone Mountain.  We looked him over and did not find anything else, but my first reaction (after telling myself to no freak out) was to freak out.  I am not so good at the "don't overreact" type of parenting.  He was happy to find out that there were no bugs on him.  I think we might have freaked him out a little, oops!  All in all, Saturday was a great day and we enjoyed it immensely.
On Sunday we had a quiet morning and did a few things around the house.  Once dinner time rolled around, we loaded up and went back to my parents house for dinner.  My cousin and her mom were in town from California and we planned a last minute family dinner so that we could all get together.  It was a quick evening as we needed to get Harlen home and ready for the week, but it was still enjoyable. 

Here is a photo dump of some pictures I have taken over the last couple weeks. 

Until next time......

Spring has sprung!

I can not tell you the last time that I have felt this happy.  I feel like I keep saying that, but honestly it is the truth.  Maybe it is the weather and the instant excitement I feel for nice weather and outdoor activities but seriously.....this past week/weekend has been perfect.  I got to spend some much needed quality time with my little family of 3 and it felt so good.  This past weekend was perfect.  Perfect weather, perfect company and perfect adventures.

On Friday we had a low key night.  Harlen and I went to dinner with Allison.  We got to catch up, play and relax with a very special person in our lives.  What a great way to start out the weekend.
Side note: Harlen got his first splinter.  Just a splinter you say.... not to a two your old that did not like the idea of mommy "hurting" him to get it out.  The poor thing was screaming so loud and thought that i wanted to cause harm on him.  When he was screaming at the top of his lungs "NO MOMMY, YOU HURT ME, OUCHIE" over and over again, I started to sweat, tears welled up in my eyes and my blood pressure went through the roof.  My anxiety kicked in and i thought both Harlen and I were going to loose it.  In the end I was not going to be able to get it out alone so we decided to wait till daddy could be with us and calm both of us down. 

On Saturday, we woke up and did a little cuddling while watching cartoons and then got ready to head to the zoo.  This was Harlen's first trip to the zoo and both me and the hubs first trip in a very long time, since middle school.  We were all excited to be together, just the 3 of us, and soak in as much time together enjoying the nice weather as we could. We went to as many animal exhibits as we could and Harlen enjoyed getting to see some of his favorite animals up close and personal.  His favorites were the giraffes, tiger, elephants and birds.  We did not get to make it to the petting zoo or ride on the train so that will be the first place we go to next time. 

 

Once we were home from the zoo Harlen had a little snack outside.  He decided to drag his little chair over to the outside deck and look over the back yard.  He told me he was looking for the animals.  I think we need to work on the explanation of what type of animals he sees on a daily basis and what type of animals he will only see at the zoo. 

 

Daddy had plans to spend the night out with the boys so Harlen and I went on a date.  We had so much fun talking, playing and getting to spend the night together.  We went to a local pizza place by our house which turned out perfect because they had some games that he could play once he was done eating. 

 

On Sunday we did some choirs around the house which included washing the "bus."  Harlen had so much fun playing in the water, scrubbing the yuck off of the tires and using the hose.  We only had to change his clothes once, due to him spraying himself instead of the car.  All in all, he did much better at the washing/stayed entertained with the task than I thought he would.  I was predicting a half washed van and a child that would loose interest within 15 minutes.  He got a little bored once the outside was finished and wanted to go play in the backyard, but who can blame him.  Cleaning out the inside is the worst part. 

 

We did a little playing in the yard and then it was time for lunch and a nap. 

 

We decided to venture up to the bar, yes I said bar, on Sunday evening for dinner and some play time.  Sunday was customer appreciation day at Montana's and sister was working so my whole family, as well as the in laws, were there to eat burgers/dogs, listen to music and enjoy the weather.  Harlen and Colton had a blast together, like always.  Seriously, the bond between the two of these boys is like something I have never seen before.  They are adorable. They love each other so much and it makes my heart full when I watch the two of them together. 

 

I think it is fair to say that Harlen was tuckered out by the time that we got home.  Actually, he would have kept going if i let him, but as soon as I said "night night" he laid down and responded with "sweet dreams, mommy"  - I melt!  





This coming weekend is girls weekend with two of my faves, Allison and Amy, in Jacksonville, FL.  Chris will be home with Harlen all weekend pulling mommy/daddy duty.  I cant wait to hear how their weekend goes.  I am sure they will have a blast :)

Until next time.........

Easter 2013

The BEST yet! I am a stickler for traditions.  As a child, I remember the Easter Bunny always making a trail of jelly beans from our bedrooms to our Easter Baskets.  It was fun and exciting and I always looked forward to waking up in the morning and following that trail to see what was at the end and what the Easter Bunny left behind.  The Easter Bunny did this last year as well, but I think it was more for my pleasure instead of Harlen's because Harlen had no idea what was going on and could really care less.  However, this year was different!  Harlen loved it and so did his mommy.  I jumped out of bed as soon as I heard Harlen start to stir, which was later than usual (best Easter present his mommy and daddy could have gotten).  I ran in his room and he immediately looked down at the jelly beans and pointed with an excited look on his face (why did I not have my camera or video rolling?) and said "whats that" "Bunny" which totally made my day.  He got it right away and was so excited to get a closer look.  I sat him down on the floor and he asked if he could have one, "I have one?"  Sure, why not?  It was only 8 in the morning and what better way to start off Easter than with candy?  We ran in to our room and grabbed daddy and started to follow the beans to see where the trail ended.  To be honest, he really cared more about the jelly beans than the basket.  I think Harlen has a little of his Mommy's sweet tooth, but what 2 year old doesn't.  He slowly went through his basket and inspected each thing asking what each thing was.  After the basket, I convinced him to eat a little yogurt and grapes to get something with a little nutritious value in him before he broke into a full on sugar buzz.  The hubs made brunch for all of us and we enjoyed a great Easter morning/afternoon together.  I am honestly SO blessed and on top of the moon about my little family.  I have never been happier and honestly felt so much joy. 

The Easter Bunny's Trail from his room to the Family Room

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harlen watching trains, serious business, on the computer while daddy makes brunch!

 

 

At around 4, our family came over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt.  The Papas and Chris hid the eggs while we were waiting on my sister and her family to arrive and then the hunt was on.  Harlen was so serious about it.  We prepped him for most of the day about what an egg hunt is and how to put them in your basket.  He did great!  As soon as we said "GO!" he got up and ran towards the first egg he saw.  What I forgot to tell him was that there was candy on the inside.  He immediately picked it up and shook it and got excited to see what was inside.  It took a little while to get him to understand that you put as many eggs in your basket as you can and then open them up once the hunt is over.  Our nephew, Colton, is almost 5.  He is a pro at egg hunting but decided that he was going to make it a little more difficult on himself and decided to only pick up certain eggs.  They had to be camo, except for the "golden egg."  Because of Coltons decision to pick up a particular egg, this left the whole yard for Harlen to hunt.  Harlen was dedicated and did not stop till every egg in the yard was in his basket(s). Yes, baskets.  He had to use two because he gathered that many eggs.  It was adorable to see him lug the full basket around the yard.  He wanted absolutely no help toting it around which made for some hysterical grunts and moans and comments - "ugh, this heavy", "too heavy". 

 

Once the egg hunt was over, we got dinner set out and ready to be served.  I MADE MY FIRST TURKEY!  Phew!  I was a little, well a lot, nervous that it would be dry and taste awful, but to my surprise it was GREAT and everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I asked everyone to bring a side because I could not imagine, nor have the space in my small kitchen, to cook a full meal for everyone and enjoy the holiday with my boys.  It worked out great!  We all got to have dinner, spend quality time with our loved ones, and have both sides of our families together.  Chris and I started hosting Easter at our house when Harlen was first born, this was our 3rd one.  We had always gone from one side of the family to the other to make sure that we spend equal amount of time with each one and it was too much when we first had Harlen.  Harlen was only about 6 weeks for his first Easter and I could not imagine spending my first holiday going from place to place so we decided to bring everyone to us and it has stuck.  I am so happy that our families get along so well and we can all enjoy each other and truly celebrate moments like this together.

 

Colton (top left) 5 years old in May, Hudson (below Colton) almost 5 months, and Harlen (far right) 2 years old.

 

 

Some of the spectators

 

 

We had an amazing day and I feel truly blessed to be able to be here, feel loved and spend the day with my favorite people.

 

He has Risen!

Mark 16:1-7

And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. "But go, tell His disciples and Peter, 'He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you.'"