No More Excuses Not to Post

As some of you already know I have mentioned I have stopped blogging because nothing exciting is happening in my life.  However, now I do not have that excuse any longer.  Zach and I have been wanting to take the next step in our lives together and purchase a home.  After constantly looking at houses online, driving around looking, going to open houses, we became a little discouraged that we wouldn't find anything we loved and in our price range.

A few weeks ago as we were driving around Anderson, I mentioned 'why don't we drive and check out the Arbor Homes' because I had seen there were a couple on the market in that area.  We drove through it and Zach wanted to go in and find out more.  We walked through the model home, received a packet of information, asked lots of questions, and then left.

We looked at each other after leaving and both felt this was where God wanted us to be.  We looked through the materials, prayed about it, met with a Mortgage lender, and then felt led to move ahead.  We put the earnest money down, picked out our floor plan, colors, etc and are now in the process of building our home!

Zach and I are extremely excited about having our own place and above is a picture of our lot where out home will be built!  I will try my best to post more often as the house building process develops as now I have no more excuses not to post!

Night with the Boys

A couple of weeks ago I had asked Kristoffer and Dana if we could take the boys for a Saturday and have a sleepover so they could have some alone time before the twins arrive.  They agreed and Zach and I were really excited to have them come over!  Of course, we photographed part of the afternoon and evening.  Below are some pictures from the day.

 Zach was really excited to do some science experiments with them.  The Mentos in the Diet Coke was a success with both boys (and Zach too!)

 Love the anticipation!

 They both thought that was pretty cool.  After 5 or 6 attempts, we headed inside to do more experiments.

 Making slime...which Kaden hated because it made his hands messy.

 So Karter and Zach continued to play and Kaden and I went and played with my little "babies" aka my old Beanie Babies on the couch.

 They love that at Aunt Emmy and Uncle Zach's house we get to play "the floor is lava" and build forts which both require standing and jumping on the furniture.  Of course, we have different rules when they show up which they seem to enjoy!

 After lots of playing, we got our shoes on and headed to McDonald's for supper.  We told the boys they could choose whatever they wanted for supper and that was their choice.  They are pretty easy to please.  As we were getting ready, Kaden picks up Zach's shoes and says, "Zach you have really BIG COOL shoes!"  I just couldn't resist a picture of this precious boy!

 After supper, we watched some Kung Fu Panda and brought out the Glow Sticks.  Zach thought we could get some cool pictures with these, but the boys don't really know how to stay still long enough.  He did get some good shots though.

Cutie Pies surrounded by Glow!

Once we were done playing, it was bath and bedtime.  Karter and Kaden are so well behaved and a blast to be around.  I am so glad Kristoffer and Dana let us borrow their boys for an afternoon/evening of fun.  Thank you so much Karter and Kaden for a good time and Kristoffer and Dana for allowing us to spend time with our nephews.  Hopefully we can do it again sometime!

Colt's Camp

I am ready for some football, so I made my way to Colt's Training Camp with Kristoffer in Anderson, IN. After watching practice, I think we have potential. Andrew Luck looks very good...what an arm! The team my not be Super Bowl bound, but give us a few years.

Coach Pagano

Reggie Wayne (same great WR)

Dwayne Allen (new hot target TE)

Donald Brown (looks fresh legged)

Andrew Luck (or as I like to call him "The Luckness Monster")

Defense looking quite different

Middletown Water Park

One day last week I had the privilege to spend time with Karter and Kaden while Dana was getting her hair cut.  Since it has been so hot outside we headed to the Middletown Water Park to splash around and enjoy time outside.  I took some photos and the boys seemed to be having fun!  Thanks Dana for letting me spend some time with them...enjoy the pictures below!

 Karter playing by himself

 Karter and Kaden having fun in the water park with their friend Drew

 Gotta love this little boy!

This is what I got when I said "cheese"...so cute!

Cincy Trip Day Three

The last day we were in Cincinnati we decided to visit Carew Tower, Jungle Jim's, and IKEA.  I am definitely afraid of heights so the first trip was a bit of a struggle for me.  Carew Tower has an observation deck on the top that overlooks the entire city.  It was very cool but also a little scary (for me, not Zach).  I survived (obviously), but most of these pictures were taken by Zach since I didn't get too close to the edge too many times.

 The entrance...very cool!

 Cincinnati football field

 Ohio River

 The Reds Stadium

 Zach loved it and took lots of pictures

 Trying to tough it out and be a big girl!

 Afterwards we walked a little downtown and everywhere we went there were these cute looking pigs all looking very different.  Very interesting touch to downtown Cincinnati.

 Afterwards we headed to Jungle Jim's.  This was probably the biggest, busiest, and most interesting grocery store I have ever been to.  They carried anything you would ever want.  

 Even their restrooms were unique.

Our loot of root beers and cream sodas from Jungle Jim's.  

Afterwards we ate lunch at Champs, toured IKEA, and then headed home.  What a great weekend we had in Cincinnati together!

Cincy Trip Day Two

For those of you that know me should know I'm not a pet person or even an animal fan but I LOVE zoos.  As long as I'm at a distance and I don't have to pet the animals I am fine.  So before we left for our trip Zach knew the zoo would be one of the top places I would want to visit.  I have always heard great things about the Cincinnati Zoo and this year they had a bunch of zoo babies so I knew it would be a fun time to go visit.  

 A momma camel with her little one

 I love grouchy old gorillas

 A momma zebra with her baby

 Love watching the polar bears play in the water

 These zoo babies were my favorite!  It reminds me so much of all little kids.  They were hitting each other then running away while the mom and dad sat back and watched.  They only interrupted a time or two to separate the babies.  Too cute!

 I don't remember the names of these animals but they were singing/yelling the whole time.  They are LOUD and very cool.  I love how the sack in their throats get so big and they just swing around and sing/yell/argue with one another.

After the zoo, we went back to the hotel, swam in the pool, took a nap, then headed off to see Kyler and Kara's house and visit with them.  I didn't take any pictures while we were there but we ordered pizza and then ate some ice cream at a local place.  It was a fun night of eating, chatting, and relaxing!  Day three still to come so stay tuned...

Cincy Trip Day One

Our 4th wedding anniversary was June 14th and Zach decided that he would take a couple of days off work and go on a weekend trip with me to celebrate.  On Thursday we started by heading to the Creation Museum.  It was very cool but the animatronics are kind of creepy if you ask me.  Almost too real looking.  Below are some pictures we took.

 Adam in the Garden

The Tree of Knowledge

 The serpent

 A dinosaur attacking Zach

 The empty tomb

 Outside the museum they had a beautiful garden and pond to walk around.  

 Visiting the museum was something that I am glad we could do together.  I totally love that I found a guy that is a Christian and has the same beliefs that I do.  This trip made us realize once again what an AWESOME God we serve and how miraculous He is!!!  I am definitely blessed!

After the museum it was time for lunch and I wanted to eat somewhere that wasn't a chain restaurant.  So I looked in the GPS and found a place that sounded good.  What I didn't know is that we would have to board a ferry to get there.  This was my first time boarding a ferry and it was interesting!

 At first I was hesitant, but Zach said just follow the person ahead of you...such wonderful advice (haha)!

 A few miles and minutes later we arrived at Cabana on the River

 It was a beautiful day with a fantastic view (of the water and Zach)

 My meal...the biggest burger I have ever eaten!

 Nothing better than eating next to water!  After lunch we went and checked in at our hotel and relaxed for a couple of hours.  Then we headed out to Newport on the  Levee to walk around and eat dinner.  Our anniversary tradition is to eat somewhere we have never eaten before to celebrate and thought this would be the perfect place to go.

We found this delicious restaurant and our waiter made the experience memorable!  After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  Definitely a great day...check back for more posts and pictures from our trip!