Great Trip

Well, we had a great time in Ohio. I'm sitting here looking through the pics and there are just way too many to pick from to post on here but I'll try.

We left straight from the HHC Company Picnic. The kids had a blast and played their hearts out. We were there for 3 hours of bouncers, playground, water play and the hot sun. I thought for sure everyone would conk out for a nap in the car but no such luck. Jake and Ainsley didn't sleep a wink the whole drive but they were great (LOVE that DVD player) and so that was fine.

We spent the first night at Ryan's brother's house to make our drive an hour shorter. The next morning we headed out to Nonny and Poppy's house. It was so chilly and drizzly it felt nothing like the 4th of July. They live in a beautiful old farmhouse out in the country complete with barn, creeks and ponds. Its just a really fun place for them. Jake particularly liked digging worms so we could fish in the pond. He wasn't so keen when Nonny would put the worms on the hook - he asked the fish to please not eat his worms. Well, they did eat those worms right off our hook so we never actually caught a fish but Jake didn't care because he had his can of worms (which I just realized is somewhere in my minivan - we put soil in and put a lid on and poked holes - and I'm freaking out a little now). The rain cleared on the 4th and after we put the little ones to bed Ryan and I went with Jared and Chyloe, their boys and Poppy to see fireworks. It was Jake's first fireworks and he was in awe. It was precious. Then we did sparklers and I think that was Jake's favorite part of the whole weekend.

The highlight of the weekend for the adults was playing Singstar on PS2. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. I must have this game for myself so now my new hobby is surfing craigslist for it!

Ainsley enjoyed the time to be the princess as she is at any amily function. She had Uncle Chad sufficiently wrapped around her little finger by the time we left. And Reid continued to be the superstar baby that he is. Giggles, laughs and coos. I think he made at least some of his aunts and uncles get that baby itch (again).

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Vacay

OK, so of all the new abbreviations out there lately "vacay" is for sure one of my favorites. It just makes going out of town seem so much more exciting when you can say "I'm taking a little vacay with the fam" . . . rather that "we are driving 8 hours to Ohio to see my in-laws". N'est pas?

So today I am taking the kids to meet Ryan on post for his company picnic and then we are heading out to drive to Columbus. We haven't been to visit his family in well over a year. Are we horrible or what? I keep telling him we need to visit more because I want my boys to grow up with that example (i.e. that you are SUPPOSED to go and visit your mama early and often). And as far as Army posts go we probably won't be moving much closer than we are now so we shouldn't wait too long.

The amount of planning it takes to pack for four people is crazy (yes, just four, Ryan is on his own). I pulled a Troy this time though and got all the clothes washed, laid out, arranged by outfit and put in suitcases two days ago. If you have met my dear friend Troy you'll know this is very much something I stole from her. If you haven't then just you wait, she was recently named Most Likely to Be A Superhero by our local chapter of MOMS Club. . . you can imagine what a superhero packing for a trip would look like.

Well, off to finish it all up . . . wish me luck :)

Some more pictures

Reid in his new exersaucer. Loving it.

Ainsley pushing Jake in the swing. We left them doing something entirely different and 30 seconds later looked outside and he'd gotten himself up there and she'd taken it upon herself to push.

Ainsley swinging. Just love this pic.

Jake riding his horse at Cowboy Town. This probably was the highlight of the whole trip!

Is it really almost July?

I can't get over that. Ryan has been home almost two months now and it has flown but. Two months when he is gone is agony but its the blink of an eye when he is around. What a stud, he can literally make time fly.

It's been a good weekend. Today is Sunday which means it is my official Triathlon Preparation and Training Day. Ok, it really just means its when I try to run a little over 6.2 miles. My time has been around 46 minutes (give or take 20 seconds) the past couple of times and I'm pleased with that. Its hard to stay motivated sometimes - I'll be glad when the triathlon is done and I can stop caring about my times. I am such a competitive person but lately I'd rather just run for fun. Other than the run the weekend has included a night out for Ryan and I to Blackhorse Pub for a promotion party which was lots of fun (congrats to Lt. Colonel Pallis), a morning of swimming at the Y for the whole family, the spreading of 4 cubic yards of mulch onto all our natural areas and church for the majority of the fam. The majority being Ryan, Jake and Ainsley. Poor Reid woke up with a 102 fever and so I stayed home with him. My poor baby. It doesn't matter how many kiddos I have it still really scares me when they get sick, especially when they are so little. I'm flashing back to Ainsley's horrid kidney infections that resulted in fevers up to 105. So, we are just watching him and hoping its just teeth or something causing this fever.

Tonight we are making baby back ribs. YUMPTIOUS! My dad has a fantastic recipe where you sear them on the grill for 15 minutes and then cook for a couple hours in the oven. They are falling off the bone deliciousness and I can't wait. Add some baked beans and sauteed zuchinni to the mix and its going to be divine.

Please continue to pray for Tyson. He came through surgery ok but his biopsy report is "rare and aggressive". Wow. That is just about as bad as it could have been. So please join us in praying for this precious boy and his family.

And finally, I'm now off to shop at the Boden online sale - an event that is more exciting that I can express! I have poured over the catalog since it arrived in all its glory in my mailbox yesterday. If you've complimented me recently on a piece of my wardrobe there is a good chance its from Boden. So don't just sit there. Get over to http://www.bodenusa.com/ while the gettin' is good!

Update to my 5-18-08 post

OK, so here is the full skinny on the whole dinner at VBS thing. I might have omitted one tidbit the first time but CK pointed out that I HAD to add on my blog what I said in an email to her . . . so it goes like this:

VBS at Grace Lutheran was awesome. They served dinner every night for the WHOLE family and it doesn't get much better than that. Except this whole VBS thing is totally throwing off my drinking this week which sucks.

OK, so there you have it. That is the gritty reality of Lacey. I like beer. I like wine. I don't like when things stand in between me and my nightly booze.

Saturday, June 21st

So, two of my boys are off to Cowboy Town and I miss them already. Ryan was on top of it last night getting everything together for their wild adventure and it was so fun to watch him prepare. He got Jake's Thomas backpack loaded up with the essentials - his sherrif's gun and holster, a flashlight of his very own, and a juice cup. Jake will be thrilled. To say Jake was excited would be a major understatement. His squeals, smiles and laughter each time we mentioned Cowboy Town got everyone excited. I got a call from Ryan about an hour after they'd arrived at Cowboy Town to tell me that the trip was going great. He said that everything they did was like the best thing that had ever happened to Jake. They got to ride in the back of a pickup out to their campsite and he was in heaven. They saw horses from afar and he was thrilled. They set up the tent and he was in awe. I can't wait for the next update.

I told Ryan this morning that if I ever write a book its going to be called But When Do I Get To Eat Breakfast? I just feel like this sums it up - you never get a couple minutes to take care of yourself when you are a mom because there is always something to be done for someone else. And food is very important to me. I don't skip meals. I don't get why anyone would so me not eating breakfast is a big deal but it happens more than I like.

With the big boys gone I set off to do some errands with Ainsley and Reid. Seriously, who would have thought running errands with a 2 1/2 year old and a 5 month old could be such a cinch but in contrast to what I usually am contending with it was just that. We went to Toys R Us, Papa Murphy's, Hodgepodge and swung by the library to drop off some books. And I was totally not exhausted when we got home. Here is where the post might get boring so stop reading if you like (and if you are a smart alec thinking "I thought it already was boring" then you can . . . well, stop reading too). I went to Toys R Us primarily to get a exersaucer for Reid. We have lots of baby toys but we've never had a decent exersaucer (they are expensive) and I decided Reid would not suffer as Jake and Ainsley have. But I got SUCH a deal and I just have to share. They had two of the exact same models as floor models because someone had made a mistake and so when I called the manager back to just ask a question she offered to give me one of them for 30% off. This thing was the mack-daddy of exersaucers and in brand new condition. PLUS I had a coupon for $10 off AND I was using a $35 gift card that I was given when Reid was born that I was saving for just this purpose. So I got the coolest exersaucer ever and I only had to pay $25. And Reid loves it. I'll post pics.