The Moment we have all been waiting for!

When Gehrig woke up and placed his last star on his calendar, he knew that it could only mean one thing! DADDY WOULD BE HOME TODAY!

So, we did a few last minute preparations in anticipation for his return. We made his favorite Oreo dessert, we hung up the banner and we bought some red, white and blue welcome home balloons.

All that was left to do was wait. Gehrig devised a plan to surprise Daddy. When he heard the garage door open, he hid behind a chair, and when the door opened, he jumped out and yelled, "SURPRISE!!!!!!" I don't don't know who was more surprised, Gehrig or Daddy!

Our family is back together again! YAY!

Daddy brought home with him a couple of his classmates who were making their way to Las Vegas. We loved having Mr. Steve and Mr. Rob with us. Can you tell that it had been a long two-day road trip from San Antonio to Tucson?????

Shhhh....Don't tell Daddy!

But we have been working hard on making a "Welcome Home Daddy" banner to hang above the garage so that it is the first thing that he sees when he pulls in! The boys worked so hard! They used crayons, colored pencils, markers, stickers, glue and glitter to make this masterpiece perfect for Daddy!

Yesterday we designed and colored the banner!


Colin even did great!
Until he started eating the crayons! Yes, he was pretty proud of himself.

Then today we put the finishing touches on the banner by adding stickers and glitter!

Colin seemed to really enjoy adding the stickers.

He did a great job!

Until he started eating the banner! I decided not to attempt the glitter with him!

Stay tuned for pictures of the final product and Daddy's homecoming. He should be home in time for dinner!

I was featured!!!!!

Well, not me personally, but Colin's Ocean "One"derland Birthday Party (see earlier post). I was so pleasantly surprised and honored that websites that I had spent hours browsing and gawking over for party ideas wanted to feature my little party!

His party first appeared on Michelle's wonderful site, Everyday Celebrating, a site dedicated to helping you "celebrate the fabulous every day happenings in life." I first discovered her web page when planning Gehrig's 4th birthday party. I fell in love with the air plane party that she threw her son, Keaton. She generously shared her template for the ticket invitations and even designed a logo for Gehrig Air! Anyway, she has since featured Colin's Ocean "One"derland party. Head over and check it out!

Then, I was informed that Colin's Party was featured on One Pretty Thing. It links back to Everyday Celebrating, but I still thought that it was cool to see my little whale pods there amongst some amazing party pictures.

And finally, just yesterday, Colin's Ocean "One"derland party was featured on Design Dazzle, a site that features designs and decorating ideas for babies, kids and teens. Right now it is Party week at Design Dazzle, so if you are planning a party and are in need of some inspiration, head on over and check it out.

The Countdown Calendar

Gehrig has been missing his daddy so much, so he asked me to help him make a calendar so that he can count down the days until his return. Each night before bed, we put a star sticker on the day that has just passed and count the remaining days. Every time Daddy calls, he asks Gehrig how many days he has until his return, and Gehrig always know the answer! As you can see, we have been trying to fill our days with lots of activities to help pass the time!

Room Inspiration and a Give Away!!!!

I stumbled across this picture and just fell in love with this room, for Gehrig, of course. I plan to use it for inspiration for his new room when we move!

To see more pictures of this baseball room, or if you need inspiration for a room, visit Design Dazzle, either the blog or the website. She has pictures of rooms from nurseries to kid rooms to teen rooms and playrooms! You will be amazed!

And, until May 19th, she has a giveaway for a free room wall decal. Hurry over and check it out!

Cooking with Friends!

Last week, our sweet friend, Ginger, hosted a cooking party for the kids. We had so much fun. She had everything so well organized. She printed up a kid-friendly recipe card for each child, had all the ingredients laid out and ready to go, and let the kids take turns adding the ingredients while she talked about how each item contributed to the coffee cake.

Wyatt adds the butter. The kids were fascinated with Ginger's mixer!

Gehrig adds some cinnamon!

He's never cracked an egg before. Let's see how he does.
Well, it ended up all over the table.

Let's see if mommy can do better.

Ooops! Just a little bit of shell!

The third time's the charm!

One of the high lights was filling the muffin stone holes with muffin cups!

They were so proud of their hard work. Now all that's left to do is bake it. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of them eating their delicious coffee cake, nor did I get a shot of Ginger, our behind-the-scene host. Next time. We will have to do this again soon!

Wyatt, Sydney, Aiden, Gehrig, Trenton, Tyler and Kadi

Summertime!!!!

It may be springtime everywhere else, but with multiple, consecutive days of temps in the 100's, it sure feels like summertime here in Arizona! We have been looking for ways to beat the heat, and what better ways can you think of than splashing at the pool with friends, eating watermelon, and savoring ice cream cones at the park??? And to think, we did all this in one day!

We met our friends at the pool and had an amazing time splashing and playing in the toddler pool. Gehrig and the older kids had so much fun swimming and playing in various floatie rings and boats, while Colin and baby Micah floated mellowly in their "float boats!" Afterward, we had the whole crew over for lunch!

Tyler, Kadi, Gehrig, Grace and Ava posing for a group shot!

The babies, Micah and Colin didn't make it into the group shot.

Goggles and sunglasses!

Mmmmm, watermelon. As soon as I sliced it open, my boys' eyes lit up. Colin had never tried it before, but he was hooked on this juicy fruit at first taste!

After dinner, we met up with our buddy, Wyatt, at the local ice cream parlor. We took our cones to the park and had a wonderful time swinging and climbing all over the new playground equipment.

Mmmmm! Strawberry Ice Cream!