Brooms!!!

A few post ago I mentioned that I was searching for some brooms for the kids. I was having trouble finding them in the few stores that I had stopped at, so far. So the Fed Ex guy showed up today with a package for the kids. I was a little puzzled. I opened it to find three brooms with dust pan and little sweeper made just for kids. The kids' Great Aunt Elaine had found them online. I did not give them to kids right away as we were headed outside to play in the corral and then swim for a bit, so I left them in the box until later. We introduced the kids to them right before dinner. OMG, you'd think that we had given them a pony or something big! So here are the pictures from the kids 1st time playing with their very own brooms. Thank you Great Aunt Elaine.
Love, Jen

Our 1st county fair!!!

Ok, ok...I know, I know...I said I would have this post done 3 days ago. So thank you for your patience. So here it is....the county fair pictures.
We fed the kids lunch here at home before leaving...not only did it save us money but also the hassle of feeding 3 toddlers in public. Our primary goal at the fair was to find the "petting farm" so the kids could interact with some animals. After we all (including Aunt Jackie, Uncle Momo, Grandma and Grandpa) got our bracelets on and through admission we went on the mission to find the "petting farm". With the fair ground constantly changing due to expansion it tooks us a while to find it. On our way we went thru a few barns - the rabbits and poultry barn, the cow barn, the Llama tent. We finally got to our destination. Auntie Jackie took pictures while Grandma helped Zach, I helped Liz and Daddy helped Alex meet and greet the animals. They met sheep, goats, a llama, a cow and a donkey...there was a camel, a potbellied pig and a kangaroo but none of them we wanting attention.

After we were out of feed for the animals and the kids had had enough we headed to get lunch for the adults. At this point in a "normal" day the kids would be put down for their nap, but not today! They snacked on animal crackers while the adult ate. Once the animal crackers were gone we could tell we needed to get moving.

Since the kids are a little bit too young for corn on the cob we thought wewould give them the next best thing to have at the fair...ICE CREAM! I got them a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Although they have had a little bit of ice cream before this time it was not a huge hit. Liz wanted nothing to do with it and ended up with more on her outfit than in her mouth, Zach was more interested in the spoon but did eat some, and Alex loved it and ate a bunch.


We grabbed some ice crea for ourselves and were going to head to the horse barn when Auntie Jean, Uncle Willie and Alexis finally found us. After talking a bit and not moving it became obvious that we should get going. Zach had already made himself comfy as you can see by the picture below and Alex was almost asleep sitting on daddy's shoulders.
We got home and laid the kids down at 5pm...2 hours past their normal bedtime. They did great! No meltdowns and plenty of smiles. Even though we did not get to see a lot, it was a great outing. Hope you enjoyed the pictures...I tried to pick the best out of the 50 that were taken...ieieieie!

Love, Jen

Recent posts...

You may have noticed if you had recently checked the blog that there have been a ton of posts added. I was a little behind on naming pictures and just did not have a lot of time to get the actual pictures downloaded and stories written...don't know why...LOL. Anyways, including this post, I have put 11 post on here since the last one on the 16th. So I hope you have time to read them all as well as enjoy the pictures. I have one more post to get done about the kids first county fair that we went to yesterday. I am hoping to have that done tomorrow.
Love, Jen
I had to post this picture of Liz standing at the awesome little table I picked up at a rummage. The umbrella opens and closes. It has Winnie the Pooh on it. It has folding chairs that are perfect for by the pool as they dry easily.

Look at these faces...so lovable!

1st time in playarea...

Here are some of the many picture taken when the kids got to go into the playarea for the first time. Some of these toys have been stored in the garage so it is their first time seeing them. Thanks to a very generous mailman, a few gift and many rummage sales, the kids have plenty of toys to keep them busy.
Here is Liz entering the playarea...
The boys check it out from the outside first...
Everyone gets a turn in the car...


Zach looking for something to rake...

Liz riding her car backwards...
Alex with a load of dice in the wheelbarrow...
Liz with the other dice in the other wheelbarrow...
Zach wondering what's int he sandbox...
Everyone also took a turn going down the slide all by themselves...

Boys finishing up their snack...

Hope you enjoyed them.

Love, Jen

Hockey in the kitchen

If you remember back a bit there was a post about how is in love Zach is with the broom. While Nana was taking care of the kids on Monday I went on a hunt to find some kids' brooms. Easy enough, right? WRONG!!! I could not find them. I checked a couple different dollar stores as well as Shopko...not to mention the resale shop...NOTHING! So I settled on some hockey stick...similar to a broom, right? They were a hit! Still does not replace the broom for Zach as he still looks for it (yup, it is hiding), but it works for now until I can search further. Here are some pictures of them playing in the kitchen with their new sticks.
Love, Jen

Nana and Papa visit...

Nana and Papa came to visit the last few days. They got here Sunday afternoon and left last night after the kids went to bed. With their help we were able to get some things done. Jeremy and his dad got the playarea done as well as work on the tractor and work done on the picture window. I was able to get some time away from the kids to due some shopping, cleaning and organizing the upcoming sizes in clothes.
Monday Nana and Grandma took care of the kids at Grandma's so I could do things without having to sneak around so the kids would not see me. Jeremy and Vernon got the playarea done. Tuesday Nana took care fo the kids here while I tried to hide upstairs organizing clothes. Jeremy and Papa worked on the tractor and the picture window.
The kids enjoyed them being here as did we! It was a great visit and it felt great to get some things accomplished that would have taken a few more days without their help.
We took this picture while they played in the playarea for the first time. It is an awesome picture.
Thank you Nana and Papa for the help!
Love, Jen