Zoo Trip

Well as promised, here are pictures from our trip to the DC Zoo. We had so much fun. My sister and her kids came over the night before so we could get up early and go. It was my mom, my sister Gretchen, her kids: Lily, Hunter, Katie and Thomas, & my girls. It took everyone forever to go to bed that night, so much for getting up and leaving really early. (We did get on the road by 6:00 a.m.)

I have never driven in DC so this was an experience all its own. I did fine until we got to DC and I couldn't find Connecticut Ave. I followed the directions and still couldn't find it. I even stopped to ask for directions. Well, we ended up in downtown DC. This turned out to be okay. We had wanted to go there anyway, this way we just did it earlier. We got to see the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial. We had a nice picnic lunch down by the Potomac and just let the kids stretch their legs. We finally made it to the zoo and it was great. The kids were so much fun to watch. Grace's favorite was the Flamingos (she can't say it right, you'll have to ask her to hear, it is cute). Martha just wanted to run around and Clara was along for the ride. It was fun to do something with my sister and Grace loved having her cousins to play with. They were all great and listened (for the most part!)

Our "New" Van!

Well, we are officially mini-van owners! I thought I would never drive a mini-van. That was of course, before kids! I have been researching (consumer's guide, asking friends, etc) vans since before I had Clara. Our first experience with looking for a van went like this....we thought we had found the perfect van, my husband Patrick went and looked at it, took his father to show him the van and everything. He loved it! He gave me the go ahead and all I had to do was test drive it and call the bank! Well, I called the bank (before I even drove the van - mistake I tend to get very excited about things! LOL!) and went to test drive this van. On my way to the dealership, the bank called and we got the loan - YAY! She was going to get the paperwork ready and we just had to go in and sign them - the van was ours. That poor lady, spent all that time with us for nothing. Well, I got to the dealership, he was expecting me. I got in and it was every bit as nice as Patrick had said it was. It had all the features I wanted and then some. Well, I drove it away and was very excited and nervous. This is a big deal (to me anyway). I am always second guessing myself and my instincts. So I am riding along and testing out all the important things - the A/C, the CD player, cruise control - ha! I get on the interstate and get it up to speed and all of a sudden I am losing speed. The van had just shut down on me! I was terrified. I had to pull of the road, but everything was power and I had just lost my power! I got it off the road and put it in park and started it up again. It started, then quit. I was so sick to my stomach. After the van quitting on me 2 other times, I finally made it back to the dealer. I was so mad and disappointed. He assured me this had never happened before (I would hope he was telling the truth). Needless to say we didn't get the van. So I was very sad and decided we could make due with our car for at least a year, who knew that lifting a 15 pound baby in a 10 pound baby carrier in and out of my Nissan Altima (in the middle of two other carseats) would get old? Well, it did! (I made it at least 3 months - ha!) Well, I started looking again and this experience went much better. So I am happy to say that we are the proud owners of a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport (not sure what makes it a Sport, but it sounds cool). It's a really pretty blue and has all I was looking for! Grace loves it, the only thing she wanted to know was if it would play CD's (I have taught her well - ha!). So far we love it and it has only been a day. I am told I will wonder what I ever did without one.

Check back later to see about our zoo trip and our family reunion. I have been busy doing other stuff so I am kind of behind on updating my blog. Sorry. I will also try and post pictures of my cards for the card club I am in!

Thumb or Pacifer?

Well we have been debating whether we could get Clara to take a pacifer or if she would suck her thumb. I think it has been decided... thumb! I know these are just silly things to discuss, but with a baby and two other children, this is my life. I talk about the darndest things - diapers, what's in the diapers, thumbsucking, pacifiers, the list could go on and on. I never would have thought that I would ever have an entire conversation about a baby's poop! Ha! Such is my life and I LOVE it!

Tonight the girls and I went to Waynesboro and met up with the Matthew's family and watched the fireworks. It rained the whole time, but they were fantastic. We have had a great time this summer watching fireworks. These have been the best ones by far, even with the rain!

Clara Is 3 Months Old!!

Clara is growing up so fast.

She is doing so well trying to sit up and hold her head up!

She changes so much everyday!

It is hard to believe that she is only 3 months old! It seems like she should be older than that. I am loving being at home with her and her sisters! She is already trying to roll over. I know it will be another couple of months before she does it, but it is fun to see her try. She had better start moving fast so she can outrun Martha! Ha! Martha loves her sister so much, she gets a little rough sometimes. Grace is a little momma to her. She is such a good helper. She has so much love for her sisters.

I just had to put this cute picture of Martha in here. She was patiently waiting for her daddy to get off of the phone and take her outside. He is such a great dad! He is so tired in the evenings, but will still try and have some fun with the girls!

Finally.....

....a moment to myself. All the kids are in bed (for how long, no one knows)! I hope all night. Ha! Martha has been waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to come to our room to sleep. I don't know if it has been the thunder or just wanting mommy. I have been so bad about getting to sleep at a decent hour. It is easier to let them stay up then to fight about it. I know that I have to get them into a routine because Grace is starting Kindergarten this August (yes, August 20th to be exact)! I can't believe it. She is growing up so fast. I am amazed at all she knows at the ripe old age of 5 1/2. Ha! She says some of the funiest things sometimes. The other day we were at Wal-Mart and we were getting laundry detergent. It was on sale for $3. I said that wasn't a bad price for Tide and she said, are you serious? You wouldn't pay $3 for me to ride a carnival ride, but you'll pay $3 for that? It was very funny. She was so serious. Maybe you had to be there.

Well, we were busy today. We put up the loft bed that my sister-in-law, Cindy, gave us. We only have 2 bedrooms in our house so we needed an extra bed. So Grace gets the "new" bed, Martha will eventually move into Grace's twin bed (under the loft bed) and Clara will eventually go into the crib. I am not sure if I am ready for Martha to "move" out of her crib. I still like knowing she can't crawl out in the middle of the night. We shall see. I will keep you posted!

Happy Fourth of July!

My fourth of July did not start out how I wanted it to! Martha and I woke up not feeling very well. After being sick all day and keeping the kids cooped up, I felt they needed to get out and get some fresh air. Afterall, we felt a little better. So the girls, my mom and I went to the park for the fireworks. It was well worth the trip. Everyone had a great time and we sat with our friends the Matthews and the Reids! It was great just hanging out and talking. We had a blast. The kids had a great time too! It is so nice to see your kids having a good time with their friends.

I decided to try this low light setting on my camera and take pictures of the fireworks. I think they turned out okay. It wasn't until after they were over and I was looking at the other settings on my camera that I saw the fireworks setting. I should have really read the manual a little better. So if you missed the fireworks, here are some of ours!

Getting Started

Well, just about everyone I know is getting into blogging, so I have decided to try it and see what all the hype is about! It was pretty easy to start. The templates are sooo easy to follow and then you just have to talk about .... whatever.

Let's see....what has been going on with us? Well, I have been obsessed (I think a bit too obsessed) with the Twilight Series that I have been reading. I read the first three books in a week! I'll be fine once the fourth book comes out and I find out what happens! I have to thank Sarah for that obsession, she is the one who got me hooked!

Today the girls and I had a small outing to visit friends. It went great. They got to visit Cheryl, their babysitter, and all the kids that they used to see on an almost daily basis. They miss seeing them everyday. Grace will sometimes ask when I am going back to work so she can go back to Cheryl's! LOL! She asks that alot, especially when she wants something! After an afternoon of visiting, we met Lori and her kids at Kline's Dairy Bar for some yummy ice cream!

So there you have it, my first entry on my brand new blog. Check back later to see if I actually keep up with this!