Mad Science

The kids and I headed out to the Science Center this morning. Little did I know that I chose a WONDERFUL morning to be downtown. Aside from the Court Avenue Farmer's Market it was also the Dam to Dam race! Despite being a little lost and taking some detours, we did in fact arrive at the Science Center ready for fun! The kids had a really good time- all three of them. And much to my surprise, both Bella and Zach sat through and weren't scared of the IMAX movie- Roar. Zach even left with the new knowledge that lions say "raaaaaaaaawwwwwrrr"!!! It was a good day and didn't do as much damage on the checkbook as say Adventureland would have.

Christian Mark Smith

It's official! Nick adopted Christian today- he is legally a Smith now- although, he has been in our minds for years. We are ecstatic and relieved, although it really hasn't sunk in yet. We hope to hold a small celebration soon- will let you know as soon as it is planned.

We had a great time in Omaha yesterday. However, we got to bed at about midnight and had to get up at 5am to be back for the court hearing in time. Then Bella and Christian had to go to the dentist and Christian had a baseball game tonight. So everyone is exhausted!

Good night!

Oh, and I almost forgot- Zach suffered his first skinned knee this weekend. He tripped in the parking lot of my work. He hardly cried. But it made me realize that he is entering little boyhood and isn't my baby anymore!

Busy Weekend

Hello, again, it's been a while. This is a busy weekend for us. Today Nick and I both had to work. Then it was a race to mow the yard, clean the house, and get ready to leave tomorrow. Tomorrow we leave (Nick and I) with Christian and his friend Mark. We are headed to Omaha to see WWE Judgment Day. It is a pay per view event that Christian used his Christmas money to buy tickets for. So instead of paying $40 to sit at home and watch it he paid like $300 some for the tickets, while Nick and I will pick up $149 for the hotel, meals for everyone, and who knows how much gas to get to Omaha and back. Sensible, huh? It could be one of those credit card commericals. Tickets for WWE- $330. Hotel for the night- $149. Mom getting to see ripped guys in tight shorts- priceless. :o)

I hope to post some really exciting, happy news on Monday (again, no, we are NOT pregnant AND we are not acquiring another pet either) but in fear of jinxing something, I'll wait until then.

It's a beautiful weekend- get out and make the most of it!

Holy Cow...

And I thought I was neglecting this thing before... ha!

Let's see- what's new at our household?

Nick and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last week. We have a tradition of spending our anniversary weekend at the Butler House Bed and Breakfast in Des Moines. As always, our stay was very pleasant and QUIET (no kids!). We had a great relaxing weekend, but were more than ready to pick the kids up on Sunday morning. They had a great time at their Grandma Belinda's house for the weekend.

As for the kids- Christian is staying busy counting down the days until school is out for summer. Also on his plate is two baseball games a week plus one practice. He's been hitting the batting cages too when he gets a chance. Bella is preparing for her first dance recital. It will be in June. She is very hopeful she'll get to see her beautiful costume tomorrow at dance class. Zach is also always full of new and exciting adventures. Today it was that he learned how to climb the ladder and slide down the swing set slide ALL BY HIMSELF! He had a blast doing it, but soon was worn out since the stairs are really tall for his short little legs.

We are so happy that we have been able to get outside and had great weather for baseball games the past few weeks. I could take maybe 5 more degrees and a little less wind, but you can't have your cake and eat it too...

It's like spring!!!

I guess I'm slacking off on posting on here. Seems like much hasn't been going on recently- at least not anything I'd memorialize in a post- if you get my drift. You know, when you get pregnant everyone tells you about how hard it is to have a baby. Heck, that is a walk in the park. No one mentions how hard it is to have a pre-teen in the house!

Anyways, tomorrow the weather is supposed to hold out, so hopefully Christian will have a baseball game. We were rained out last week. This week Bella will be attending kindergarten round up- she's going to school this fall! She got a stellar review at her preschool conference, so although she has a summer birthday, I hope she is placed in the regular kindergarten class (full days) instead of early kindergarten (half days).

Well, I have two little ones in the bath that need scrubbed and PJ'd up so they can hit the sack. Then Nick, Christian, and I are having a Guitar Hero marathon. Since I can't get past the 7th song on easy, I assume it will be more of a marathon for them, than me.

Have a great week!

One week later

Things are still going great with our newest family member. We have been able to take her out in the yard and play without her leash- she stays very close to us. Abby met one of our neighbor dogs, Tucker- a chocolate lab, yesterday. They played pretty well at first, but then got into a scuffle over a ball. No one was hurt, just like siblings arguing. Abby got in trouble and we went home with her head hanging. I guess it's not very cool when your mom takes you to the ground and scolds you in front of your new friend. I'll have to keep that in mind for the kids...

Hooray for the weather! We tried to spend our weekend outside.

Drumroll please... Introducing Abby!!!

Here she is- all 105 pounds of her! We met Abby yesterday at the Animal Rescue League and knew we had to have her. How could anyone abandon this sweet girl? She is a 4 year old black lab and knows several commands (sit, shake, drop, up, ect). We just got her home a few hours ago. The kids are really excited, but the cats really aren't! In fact, I haven't seen them in a few hours now. Maybe once they un-arch their backs they'll come back for a second peek at their new sister.

I knew she was big, but when I realized that she can put her face on the kitchen counter without lifting any paws from the ground... Ah, we'll let you know how that goes!