Surprise 60th Birthday Party...

Since my dad was turning 60 this year we had a surprise birthday party for him. It was a great weekend! The weather turned out to be beautiful. And believe it or not all of us kids were able to come home for my dad's birthday party/weekend. To celebrate my dad's birthday I made him a dirt cake for his birthday cake. The cake turned out awesome and tasted great. While making this cake I learned that my blender can only handle a couple of oreos at a time otherwise it got to gummed up. I am hoping that the guest of honor had an enjoyable time.

Our Remodel Project...

Our walkway was in desperate need of repair/replacement so we decided to tackle this project this summer. Well, actually my dad and my brother Craig did the project for us. Dave assisted when he could. Craig was in between jobs so we thought that this would be a great time to get this project done. Our day laborers came three different times to work/finish this project. They spent a lot of time working on this project. I think the project was a little more daunting than they first realized as each time they came they said "Don't worry we will get it done, we don't have too much left too do". They worked hard between rain systems and were able to get it done. We are very happy with our new walkway. Thank you dad and Craig for all your help!! We really appreciated it!!

Before:

After:

Back from a blogging break...

Well, my break was a lot longer than I expected it to be. I took a break to be a mommy, wife, gardener, hedge prunner, entertainer, remodeler (not actually me but it sounds good), dog sitter, crafter, cake baker, and cupcake decorator. Actually, we have been extremely busy with different projects around the house and yard. For starters, we planted our garden. Benjamin and Ada loved helping us plant the garden--at times we wondered if help was really the word we were looking for. With all the extra help we received Dave and I will be very shocked if we get any produce out of our garden. Note the tall brown hedges in the backyard. I will share more later about them.

Puddle Fun...

Getting these two rainboots has been a great investment! They love splashing in puddles, playing in the mud, or just plain wearing their rainboots. We have no idea how Benjamin's boots keep out any water as he has worn some holes in his boots but that has not kept this little boy from playing in puddles! To be so young and carefree! It was alot of fun watching them splash in the puddles and just enjoying themselves.

Umbrella Time...

Benjamin and Ada have enjoyed playing in the rain lately. I even had an umbrella that they could use. They loved it! We made our own fun with these wet, dreary days.

Shh...Baby Sleeping...

Benjamin and Ada were sitting together in the Lazy Boy talking and being silly together. All of a sudden it started to get a little quiet so I went to see what was going on. I found Benjamin with his arm around Ada rocking her in the Lazy Boy. I asked him what he was doing and he told that he was rocking his baby to sleep. It was so sweet! Ada was sound asleep and Benjamin was still loving on her and rocking her. So she could sleep more comfortable and so I didn't have too worry about her falling out of the chair I put Ada in her crib. Benjamin didn't want me to take his baby because he said his baby needed him.

For those that are curious, yes Ada still sleeps in her crib. She is 20 months old today and we still have a little girl who sleeps in her crib. Benjamin was sleeping in his big boy bed by the time he was 18 months old because he kept climbing out of his crib. Dave and I realize that it is only a matter of time before Ada realizes how to climb out. Benjamin sure tries to show her how to do it whenever he gets the chance. Each morning I fear we will wake-up to a thump on the floor from Ada trying to climb out.

Isn't this the sweetest thing?

Dancing...

A few weeks ago we went to Manda and Jerrame's wedding reception and both the kids loved dancing! Dave and I even got involved. Benjamin was in heaven as he loves watching Dancing with the Stars! He was so excited to bust out a few of his moves. Ada enjoyed dancing too. She would say, "Ada dance too" over and over again. She would even go out on the dance floor by herself. They were fun to watch. Ada was not happy with us when we said it was time to leave. She did not want to leave the dance floor and would try to turn around and run back towards it to "dance". We had a great time dancing up a storm. By the time we got home we were exhausted!