Grandma and Katherine's Visit

My mom and sister drove down to visit us for awhile. We had a wonderful visit packed with lots of fun activities. Making chalk drawings in the driveway for them.

Brian had been gone in the field and so he got a few days off...which was great that they happened to be this week so he could hang out with us.
We went to the KY State Fair. Lots of fun!

We saw a dog show--they were amazing!

Lunch time-gotta love fair food.

Evan was so tired... he fell asleep eating. (Thanks to my new friend Connie for letting us borrow her stroller.)

Natalie is super into cotton candy-had her first taste a few weeks ago and we told her it would be at the fair and I think that's the only thing she cared about. My mom gave the kids some quarters to spend and that was all she wanted!

We saw lots of animals... I thought this was cute, if pigs can be cute.

The girls.

Listening to a band

Our cute family. :)

My mom with this amazing balloon display (that's part of the octupus)

The next day, we went to the Patton Museum on post-dedicated to the history of Armor (tanks and armored vehicles, etc)

Brian taught us a lot about the tanks.

There little simulators so you could sort of see what it's like inside a tank-the kids LOVED it!!

See the teeny windows (and the cute wipers)-that's all they use to see out!

We went to our friend's house for dinner. Our families were great friends in Germany when I was kid and I used to babysit for them when they were 2 or 3 years old! All grown up now!

Evan loved Kelsey...looks like we found a babysitter!

Kentucky has proven to be a real crossroads for us and our family and friends. So many people have stopped by to see us. Stan and Gayla live about 5 minutes away and my teacher friend Debbie, cousin Mark, and Chad and Jenny (college friends) have all stopped in to visit. Brian's aunt and uncle live about an hour away so we'll see them over Labor Day. Who knew we'd have so many friends here! :)

Gayla and my mom... best of friends. :)

They invited us to use their backyard pool so we took them up on it the next day.

Such a fun day... and yummy picnic lunch.

We went out for German food their last night. Auntie Katherine with Natalie... and Blake.

Everyone enjoyed the schnitzel!

Thanks for coming Mom and Kath!! :)

Coming soon: quote time... and in few more weeks, the sex of our baby! :)

Brian's Birthday and More!

It was Brian's birthday this past weekend. We went out to dinner as a family (all-you-can-eat ribs!) on Friday night. There's a couple of guys from Penn State that Brian did ROTC with who just got here to start their training so we had them over on Saturday. Opening some presents.
We played corn hole and had yummy homemade pizza for dinner. The kids LOVED Vinnie and Adam and have adopted them as "uncles" while we're here-and actually, Adam will be moving to Colorado Springs so we'll get to hang out with him there too.

I decided to get a little more creative with Brian's cake-especially since we were having Armor guys over as well. The kids and I made him a tank cake!

Not completely accurate but still fun. :)

Happy Birthday to you!!

My camera died so I got few pictures...but we had a great time!

Debbie, a kindergarten teacher I taught with in Germany was driving through KY and stopped to see us. It was great to catch up with her-such a small world!!

Making EggMcMuffins for Daddy to keep in his freezer so he can have a little better breakfast than a poptart! :)

Feeding the ducks at nearby lake, much more aggresive than the Bellefonte ducks!

Blake's 3rd Birthday!

Blake turned 3 last week and we celebrated a day early so Daddy could be with us. We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast to start the day... balloons everywhere... and pizza for dinner.

My dad always made awesome birthday cakes for us when were growing up... mine are no where near the level of his but it's something I enjoy doing that I hope the kids will remember. He asked for a Mater cake... however, the thought of actually carving up cake into that shape and decorating it was a little too much to take on, especially after being here just a week and not having any of my "cake making supplies." So this is what we ended up with:
He still loved it though! :)

Blowing out the candles... or rather spitting out!

He actually didn't have a single Mater car, even though we have about 4 Lightnings so he was actually glad that it was plastic and not cake. (Funny thing: both N&B call him "Lightning THE Queen" instead of "McQueen." :)

Time for Presents!!Puzzle and Cars books Lincoln Logs from my parents. Brian's parents sent money which Blake loved holding in his hot little hand at the store as he picked out his prizes. Thanks!! And a train set from Mommy and Daddy. (Thanks Just Kids Resale! :) They have played with these new toys non-stop which has made the adjustment to the new house easier.

Natalie made this card for Blake. She cut out all the individual pieces and then glued them on another piece of paper.

We love you Blakey-B and we're so glad you're in our family! Tune in for more birthday celebrations soon--Brian turns 29 tomorrow... one more year before joining in me in the wonderful world of 30's! :)