Will that be enough Mommy?

I was talking to Dustin about a dinner our library is having on Saturday and how I'd like to go with my friend. It costs $20 so I wasn't sure I should spend the money to go. While I'm telling him about it, Kate gets a chair and gets her change off of the top of the microwave that she uses for her register. She comes over and gives it to me and says, "Here Mommy, you can have my money for your dinner. I don't need it for my register. You can have it. Will that be enough for your dinner?" Her 24 cents melted my heart. :)

Jack with his one true love

Smoothies

You can not pry this boy away from his smoothie. He throws such a fit every time it's all gone.

I know I haven't been blogging lately. I don't know why really. I don't take many pictures and I don't post anything interesting. I'm in a bit of a funk lately. Staying at home with the kids in this living room all day long is driving me crazy. But its pretty difficult to take Jack many places. He a crazy 1-year old. So going out drives me crazy too!! :) O'well. Here's a few pictures of nothing too exciting!!

Jack's first experience with finger painting. He loved it!





Kate in a typical day's dress-up.


So excited for Halloween.
Me and Jack (photography by Kate!)


The kiddos at a hay maze.

The fam posing by a giant hay pyramid.


Jack was SUPER excited about the hay maze!

I gave Jack his first M&M and he LOVED it!! He kept bringing me the bag for more!!

Poor Kate had a slight collision with the corner of the TV stand. I was so scared for her to look up at me. I didn't want to look. But everything was okay. She just had a little blood. It bruised afterward and is still a yellowish tint. (Please pay no mind to the food on her face and the fact that she's not wearing a shirt. Who knows??)

Sing it girl!!

Can you guess what she's singing?!



You might not recognize this one...It's a new Christina Aguilera song called Bionic.

Goodbye college towns!! (Soon!!)

Well, its official...Dustin has decided to graduate in December with a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology!! I'm secretly (well it's probably not a secret at this point!!) SUPER excited that he has decided not to get his master's in Secondary Education to be a high school math teacher. He has changed his mind and gone back and forth from IT to Math teacher quite a bit but he has dropped all his classes except the 1 IT class he has left. So there's no going back now. I'm nervous about what the next few months or year will hold for us but am ready to move on from this "student life!!" I've started searching houses online too!! I cannot wait!!! Let's just hope this all works out and all goes well these next few months!!

My little twinkle toes!!

Kate started dance class this week. She is so excited!! After her first class she kept saying, "I love dance class!!" The whole way home!! I'm really looking forward to it, too!! I took dance for 11 years and loved it so I'm so excited for her to love it too!!





Kate is showing me first position!! She's trying so hard!!

My baby turns 1!!

This weekend was Jack's 1st birthday. We decorated the room for when he woke up. He loved the balloons! Then Sunday we had a party at my in-laws' house. It was a fun time.


Birthday Boy!!


Birthday decorations




Decorations


Cake and smash cake









Kate and Jack in their shirts Dustin made them for the party.


Cake!!




Kate helping!




Going for it all!


Opening presents


Jack gave up on the presents and left Kate and Dustin to do it alone.


Pinata!


Getting some candy!

10 year class reunion

This weekend was my 10 year class reunion. We had a really good time :) There was only about 25 of the people that I graduated with that came which was kind of a bummer. We had dinner, games and music at the Holiday Inn. Then we went out with some friends I haven't seen for a long time! We ended up staying out all night and sharing their Super 8 room with them!! While Dustin's mom kept the kids overnight!! Yay!! We weren't planning on this but we were so glad we did!! It was lots of fun!! We will remember this night for a long time!!

Bath time!!

I figured I'd lighten things up a bit after that last post!! :)

The kiddos having fun in the bathtub!

July 15th is a very hard day for me. It has been for the past 12 years and I'm certain it will be for as long as I live. 12 years ago today, my mom died of cancer. I cannot imagine what my life would be like or who I would be if this tragic event had not happened to me. I am forever changed because of it. I think of her often. At times it seems as though its been so long and its hard to remember the feelings and the pain and other times it feels as long it was just yesterday.

I've done a pretty good job of hiding my emotions for the past 10 or so years. I've bottled it all up...or actually just gotten rid of all emotions all together. Easier that way, I presumed. That way there would be no getting hurt. I've recently had a new resolve to try to love with more of my heart and feel the pain that exists as a result of tragedy or heartache in my life. I cried so much for the first 2 years after my mom died that one day I decided that was it. And I've really never cried much since then. About much of anything.

No more feelings equals no more pain. I now realize, 10 years later, that is no way to live.

My mom was a fantastic woman. I know she would have loved my kids. They would have loved to go to nana's house to visit. I would have loved to call her for advice. I would love more than anything to... You could insert almost anything into the end of that sentence. My hearts aches tonight knowing that I will never be able to do any of those things. I will never see her, speak to her in person, hug her, eat dinner with her, be embarrassed to go yard saling with her, or see her smile on this Earth again.

I love you, Mom and miss you terribly.

Family Vacation

Last week we went on a vacation with Dustin's family to a cabin in Warren, PA. We stayed in a cabin owned by their relatives. We went swimming in the lake at the Kinzua Dam, rented a pontoon boat, ate lots of smores by the fire and had lots of fun. Plus, I had lots of help with my kiddos!! Kate challenged me more times last week than I think I'd prefer in an entire year, but we're working through that. I'm hoping she was just really excited for "vaca" as she kept calling it and really tired from all the excitement. Anyways...it was fun. We all had a nice, relaxing time.


Kate and Dustin on the quad


WALKING!! around the cabin


Swimming in the lake


Jack HATED the life jacket! He looks happy here...but he hated it!


Me and Kate on the boat


The girls


The guys


We all jumped in the lake from the boat.


Me and the kiddos. The boat even helped Jack to nap briefly in my arms! A first!


Jack LOVES my sister in law Sarah. LOVE isn't even really the word. He would get so excited every morning when he first saw her, then give her a big hug and kiss. He would even wrap his arms around her and give her a hug! This is the two of them laying by the lake. First, he was checking things out...


Then, he'd go in for his kiss!!


Seriously sooo cute!!


Sitting by the campfire.




Riding quads with Dustin's brother Mitchell and his wife, Sarah.