Weekend of ups and downs

It seemed to be up and down at our house all weekend. Things started off not so great on Friday when I got the call that my Grandma Beadle had been rushed to the hospital. My mom went up to Swea City and they took her to Blue Earth, where they said she had pneumonia and had a lot of fluid, especially on her two lungs, which was causing her breathing problems. They transported her to Mankato and did a tap on her lungs and it looks like she's on the mend; slowly but surely.

Saturday it was Brody's birthday. Obviously with him only being one and just having the big birthday last weekend we didn't make a huge deal out of it, but we sang to him and went to the gym and let the kids run for awhile. We also made his favorite...pasta for supper! At the gym, I got this crazy idea that I should see if I could rollerskate (the school owns skates). Well, I did it. However, it just confirmed the fact that although I am coordinated in many ways, anything dealing with my feet (rollerskating, ice skating, water skiing, and snow skiing) I really suck at! :)

Sunday was a day of catching up on the laundry and packing. We are headed out again to the Cherokee/Sioux City area Monday afternoon for my dad's surgery. He has it at 10 AM on Tuesday, so we'll be there until Thursday. The good thing is that Aaron took some time off of school and is coming with me.

Happy Birthday Brody!

The Brode Man officially turns one today! Jenna went in and sang him Happy Birthday this morning, it was so cute. Hard to believe my baby is that old, time sure flies. It was at 4:01 PM that my 9 lb 10 oz (!!) baby came into the world on his due date. My two favorite memories are of my water breaking the nite before and Aaron asking if I was sure of that and me replying, "either that or I just peed all over myself!" My second was when us, the nurses, and doctor were all choosing "over or under" the 10 lb. mark on his weight because we could tell he was big. Happy Birthday Brode!

Big Birthday Bash!

The birthday party went really well and Aaron and I were so thankful that our entire family was able to come celebrate with Jenna and Brody. We had a nice time catching up with everyone. I tell you though, I was completely exhausted by Saturday nite. Everything went so smoothly and everybody pitched in, but I was still in bed at 10 PM. For the record, we were ALL in bed about that time.

I think it could have been the big boys (Aaron, Justin, Mitch) vs. girls (Jamie, Mandy, Jess) volleyball showdown that did us in! We headed up to the gym and played three games of volleyball and I am proud to say the girls won everytime. Seriously, not even close! Could have used more of a challenge boys!!

Thanks to everybody who made the trip! You made our kids' birthdays extra special and for that we are grateful! Here are some pics of the big day:

Jenna showing the "little ones" (Brody and Addy) her new trick.

Jenna and Grandpa Larry

Brode and his cake...started so nice and...

...ended with a huge mess of blue frosting!

Miss Jenna and her tinkerbell cake

The new backpack that carries a sleeping bag and flashlight

Brody sporting his cool new golfer's hat (thanks Justin and Mandy!)

Fast week

This week is going by really fast! That could be because we are having all of the extended family down this weekend to celebrate the kids' birthdays. Jenna's birthday is the 14th and Brode's is the 28th, so we are celebrating them together. I counted and we're going to have 19 people at our house. It should be crazy and chaotic, but lots of fun! Can't wait to see everybody!

Little Ladies Man

Monday the kids and I met Jess in Ames at a park for a picnic and a nice walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. Jess and Jenna were playing in this maze and I was keeping Brode company in the wagon. The next thing I know this little girl gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The girl's baby-sitter informed me she likes to give hugs. She was trying to pull her away, but the girl escaped, grabbed Brody again, this time around the neck and kissed him right on the mouth!! :) I sat there a little stunned because it was a good 2-3 seconds that she kissed him. Some people were laughing that saw it happen. I told Brode I was a little nervous that he hasn't even had his first birthday and has already made-out with a girl!

Jenna's Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Jenna's birthday. I hid some of her presents Friday nite before I went to bed and so she searched around the house for them in the morning. She was very excited to get some new tanks, "Shrek", and a Leapster. She went crazy for the Leapster!

After presents we headed to Recess in Ankeny. We'd heard about it from some friends of ours and thought we'd give it a try. They have a lot of fun stuff for kids Jenna's age - inflatables, trampoline, slides, rides, etc.

Afterwards, we told Jenna she could choose where we'd eat lunch. Where do you think she chose? McDonalds!! I am not a huge fan of that place, but a happy meal it was for the birthday girl. Saturday nite we gave her her final gift...a bike! She was so excited that she wanted to ride it in the house. Jenna loves that the bike has a basket for her monkey Fred!

Jenna...riding the bike in the house...in her underwear!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Today is Jenna's 3rd Birthday! I can hardly believe that we have a three year old, but I guess we do. I sat up around 4 AM this morning, around the time I was REALLY in labor three years ago, and just thought about that night. A really fast labor, NO drugs, waiting for the doctor, and then at 5:26 AM...our little black-haired baby doll! We have a fun-filled day planned so I'll post more about that later. Happy Birthday Jenna Jo!

Our busy weekend/Monday

Whew! I am so glad it's Tuesday because we had a busy weekend at our house. Saturday I spent up in Cedar Falls at my first ever photography seminar. I was a little intimidated going in since I figured everything would be way over my head, but it wasn't. It was really fun to hear new ideas and I had a great time, although I was gone a good chunk of the day and didn't get home until after 9 PM.

Sunday brought the dreaded end-of-the-year basketball banquet. They are obsessed with these things at West Marshall! It's a potluck, the coaches talk, the seniors give speeches, hand out awards, the coaches talk some more. Boring! Plus, the coaches and their families sit in front of everyone and it's hard to keep the kids still for that long. Jenna, Brody and I headed into the gym and played with the basketballs and that was way more fun.

Monday I had to be on the road at 7:30 AM for the final day of the seminar. That's pretty early to get the kids up and out to daycare, but they were really good. The best part of the day was that...I won $500 cash at the seminar!!! It was the grand prize and my name was the very last one to be pulled out. I was just a little excited! :)

From there we had to head down to Des Moines for the boys' first round state tourney game, which was at 8:15 PM. Just our luck we'd play the late game. Although the guys lost to Hull, they played really well. After the game, I had a tough time interviewing the players and coach because they were all crying and I wanted to cry with them! I'm such a pansy like that, but I know how bad they feel that they're seniors and their high school careers are over. Anyway, we didn't get home until after 11 PM and I had to get the story done, so by the time my head hit the pillow it was after midnight. (REALLY late for me!)

I think the rest of the week looks good and there's nothing going on. Jenna's birthday is Saturday, so she's really excited for that!

Home Sweet Home!

The kids and I rolled into State Center about 1:30 PM this afternoon. Although we had a good time seeing the family, it is always nice to be home.

The trip wasn't too bad minus Jenna puking all over TWICE on the way there!! She never tells you that she's going to puke she just gets really quiet and gets this look on her face and you just know she's going to be sick. Problem was, with me driving and her directly behind me, I couldn't see her face. We went through two outfits just to get to Sioux City. I didn't really get too worked up about it, I just felt really bad for Jenna.

The way home went much better, probably because: A. The trip from Cherokee is 45 minutes shorter. B. She slept for an hour during the ride. C. We stopped and had lunch in Fort Dodge, so we were out of the van for awhile. D. I gave her some motion sickness medicine! :)

No Surgery

Just an update from Sioux City, Jamie's dad didn't have his surgery today because he has a cold. I guess that any sign of sickness and they couldn't do the surgery. So... Jamie is in Sioux City with my parents and I think she is going to Cherokee sometime over the next couple of days too. The reason I couldn't go is because we have parent/teacher conferences this week so I kind of have to be here for that. It would have been nice to get away for a couple of days but it didn't work out for me this time.

Road trip west

This afternoon the kids and I are heading to Cherokee and Sioux City. My dad has had some major problems with his hip/back and some days he can barely walk. So, they're going to do some surgery on his back in Sioux City and see if they can relieve some of the pain. My brother is meeting us in Cherokee tonite and Jess and Mitch are helping out from Thursday through the weekend.

I'm slightly nervous about the road trip. I haven't taken both kids by myself for over an hour drive. Three hours makes me a little uneasy, especially with Jenna's bladder and Brode wanting to eat. Hopefully all goes well and I'll keep you up-to-date on the surgery.

On to State!

Our big highlight of the weekend was heading to the boys' substate basketball game in Ankeny on Saturday night. The boys, for the third time this season, beat Grundy Center by over 30 (!) points. It was the most uninspiring, boring substate game I have ever seen. I honestly don't think that the West Marshall fans were paying attention for most of the game.

Last year we made it to state and had to play Hull Western Christian in the first round. That didn't go so well. Refer to the fact that we got beat by 42 (!!) points. It looks like if Hull makes it back we'll be playing them again, so I guess we wait and see and just hope for the best!