Daddy Day with the Richardson's

As promised here are some pictures we took at Grandma and Grandpa Richardson's place last night.  It was so nice to celebrate Father's Day with everyone and it's extra special when Tim, Deanna, Leita, and Brad (Andy's uncle, aunt, and cousins) come back.  We grilled out and had lots of yummy desserts.  Kirstin (Andy's cousin) made this delicious chocolate cake for us all to eat.  You know it's good when Isaiah and Ava eat quite a bit of the cake.  Typically they just eat the frosting and pick at the cake.  This time was different...Isaiah was really trying to eat the entire piece...so you know it was delicious...plus I tried it too and can tell you it was!



Uncle Darrell looking on...as Kirstin cuts pieces for everyone.

Me and my love

Isaiah trying to get every piece into his mouth...he was trying so hard to balance it on the fork.

Ava and Isaiah helping Great Grandpa Richardson open a 12 room bird house that he got for one of his Father's Day presents.

Grandpa holding up a shirt that he got from Leita and Brad

Darrell, Dan, and Andy working together to assemble the birdhouse.

Tim opening gifts from his family with Deanna

Daddy with his two little loves...they love when Daddy gives them "pony rides."

Giddy-up Daddy!

My Three Happy's:

1) I was putting Isaiah to bed and was in the middle of a story and he said, "Mommy, I have to go potty."  So we took off his diaper (he still wears a diaper at night and a pull-up for naps) and headed to the bathroom.  He sat there for a while and said, "I have to go poo poo too."  I left him alone and he called me in when he was done.  Sure enough he did and was so proud of himself.  He really is doing an amazing job!  Before we would ask him if he had to go potty...we still do...but he seems to tell us now when he as to go.  We're so proud!

2) We went to Hobby Lobby tonight to get supplies to make the signs to put on the convertible Ava will be riding in for the 4th of July parade.  I love doing that kind of stuff!  Cleaning the house...no thanks...craft projects...anytime!  Can you believe they already have Christmas stuff out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) Watching our garden grow...this year we didn't plant as many things but we do have sweet corn, sugar snap peas, green beans, wax beans, four different types of tomatoes, and a variety of different radishes.  Let me tell you some of them are hot! 

Happy Daddy's Day!

We Love Our Daddy!   Not just today but every day!  Today we were lucky enough to spend Father's Day with both sides of our family.  This morning my parents, and Julie, Kevin, and Isabelle came down for lunch and this evening we had dinner with Andy's family at Grandma and Grandma Richardson's house.  So far I only have the pictures from lunch.  I'm not sure what's going on...but when I came home tonight to finish downloading the others...the computer wouldn't do it.  I will really try hard to post those tomorrow along with all the wedding photos from this weekend.  

Grandpa and his little loves

Dad...thank you for always being there for us and loving us no matter what!

Julie, my Dad, and me

Three amazing Dad's...Andy, Kevin, and my Dad!

Tomorrow I will try to post the pictures from Andy's family...there are some good ones...and of course this morning Ava and Isaiah were running around everywhere so we didn't get any pictures of them with their Daddy until this evening.  I did however create a little slide show of various pictures of Andy and the kids.  They've grown up so much.  You can view this on the next post below.

  Happy Father's Day to everyone!

My Three Happy's:

1) Celebrating Father's Day with everyone today...we're so lucky we can do that!

2) Movie night with Andy!

3) Knowing that this week...we have NO plans what so ever!  You never know what may come up!

Happy Daddy's Day!

Happy Daddy's Day!
( a slide show)

Why we love Daddy...
he smiles, he giggles, he wrestles with us, reads to us, sings, jokes, plays pirates,
rides bikes with us, splashes us, he's patient, makes silly faces, watches movies with us,
plays cars, Batman, and Barbies, colors with us, does crafts, draws fun pictures, teaches us how
to throw baseballs and footballs, he's silly, calls us funny nicknames, chases us, dances with us, let's us
help with little house projects, gives us hugs and kisses, cuddles with us, falls asleep with us, makes the
best pancakes, is a super griller, takes us to the park, loves donuts just like we do, camps with us
he helps us, and loves us no matter what...

...that's why we love our Daddy!

Has It Almost Been a Week Already??????

Okay...I'm struggling lately with uploading all these pictures I have on my camera!  For some reason most of the ones that I upload say I "can't upload for security reasons" (who knows what that means since they are from my camera and when I try a second time it sometimes works) and it takes FOREVER to upload.  There's got to be a quicker way.  A 10 minute task seems to be turning into an hour and a half ordeal.  I have SO many pictures to share but just haven't gotten them posted...so I apologize that they will be randomly showing up on other posts.

Updates...

This last weekend was so fun!  We missed Daddy though because he was out of town with his football team in Missouri...but the kids and I seemed to be busy every second.  We did a little shopping at a few garage sales in Slater...and came out with some good buys.  Ava loves shopping and can always find something she likes anywhere she goes. 

On Saturday we went to Grimes for their "Funtastic Days" events.  We went to a parade, got LOTS of candy, went to an ice cream social, ate at McDonalds, played with cousin Isabelle at her house, napped, and then went out for more fun at the local carnival.  It was not busy at all and the kids had a blast!  They rode on so many rides.  I have pictures of them all that I know you'd LOVE...another post I guess.  One of the best pictures is Isaiah with this GIANT corndog he got for dinner. 

One exciting new update is how good our kids are becoming at riding their "big kid" bikes.  The other night we took the kids and Jackson on a walk.  Isaiah for some reason wanted to ride in his jogger stroller (he hasn't taken a ride in that for a year) and Ava rode her bike.  We went out on the bike trail in town for a while and she did great!  She loved riding ahead of us, stopping for us to catch up, and then riding off again.  She was very proud.  Mr. Isaiah has really taken an interest in wanting to ride a "big boy bike" too.  Our neighbor let us borrow on old bike his son used to have so he's been using that for the time being.  Once his new potty chart is filled up, we're taking him out to get him a new bike and helmet.  He seems to think he either wants a He-Man bike or a Hot Wheels one.  He does such a nice job pedaling and steering.  He's careful when turning around on the driveway and tends to be a little to hard on the brakes at times...but he's really doing an amazing job for a little guy whose not even three yet. 

The days have been stormy and rainy here lately.  We've been doing lots of playing inside and movies...Peter Pan has been the kid's favorite lately.  Yesterday there were advisories out for severe thunderstorms and strong winds.  We kept the kids down in the basement and all took a family nap...well I didn't really sleep...I had Ava sprawled out on me while I was rocking her on the chair.  Isaiah fell asleep on the couch and Andy was on the floor cuddled in blankets...it was a quiet and peaceful hour and a half.  When we all woke up there were branches, sticks, and leaves all over the lawn.  Our neighbors had a HUGE tree limb down...our block was a mess.  The kids got to experience a little of the fall season when we raked up all the leaves from the ground into big piles.  They loved jumping into them and when they were done with that we raked them into the driveway and the kids rode back and forth through the pile on their bikes. 

Isaiah's new potty progress is still a big success.  He hasn't had an accident in over a week.  I think for the most part we can say he is potty trained!  Yeah Isaiah!

This weekend we will be going to Lindsey and Donald's wedding!  If you remember Ava is one of the flower girls and Isaiah in one of the ring bearers.  They will both look so cute.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures!

My Three Happy's:

1) Julie and Kevin are taking LOTS of our stuff to sell at their garage sale this weekend!  Thanks so much!  I can't believe we have so many things...most of it was already in storage so our house doesn't even look like we made a dent.

2) Movies with Andy...I love Netflix and renting movies from our library.  During the summer our favorite shows aren't on so we love watching movies once the kids are in bed. 

3) Our little loves...they have been getting along so well lately and really love talking to each other.  Andy and I love listening to their conversations in the car when we're going places. 

Here are a few pictures of the kids doing some things...again most wouldn't download.

The other day we got out these extra birdhouses we had.  Last year we ordered them from Oriental Trading and gave them out as Father's Day gifts.  This weekend while Daddy was gone we got them out and painted them.  Isaiah is working pretty hard to add color to his.

Ava's birdhouse turned out to be a beautiful rainbow of colors.  Oriental Trading is the best place to find inexpensive crafts.  If you've never ordered from there...try it sometime!

Rainy days mean bikes are allowed in the house!

This once clean living room...it seriously was cleaned up...is filled with "Garage Sale" toys. We got an Imaginext pirate boat for only $5.00.  The rest of the toys attach to Hot Wheel's tracks.

The Case of the Missing Camera...

...yet again, I've misplaced the camera.  Written updates...here we come!

What's going on at the Richardson's?

1) Isaiah has been doing an amazing job with potty training!  I think in the past three days he's had NO accidents.  He has even woken up dry from naps and he was even dry one morning when he woke up!  I've been putting a pull-up on him when we go places...just to be safe.  But today when we went to the library for preschool storytime...he refused to wear a pull-up and said "I won't go potty on the floor Mommy."  So he wore his Captain America underwear (a new purchase from Target).  He kept his promise...even though I was a bit worried when he was drinking a lot of water during our walk to the library...he waited until we got home to go on his potty!  Way to go Boo!  We're so proud of you!

2) Ava and Isaiah started their summer preschool storytime at the library today.  The theme is "One World, So Many Books."  Today was a mini unit on fire stations and we even walked up the block to get a tour of the Slater fire station and the kids got to climb in the firetrucks.  I WISH I would have had my camera!  The kids really seemed to enjoy this.  We left the library with 13 books, a few movies, and a reading record sheet.  The goal is for each child to either read or be read to for 500 minutes this summer and if this goal is accomplished the children earn a free ticket to the zoo in Des Moines and an invitation to a pool party!  We're already read for 40 minutes today so far!

3) On Monday evening we went to the Slater pool after dinner...the best time to go in my opinion because most of the crowd is gone for the day.  The kids used their Puddle Jumpers (coastguard approved swimwear...these are awesome and we got them at Target last year) and loved "swimming" and jumping to Mom and Dad off the side.  We were there for two hours until it closed.  I'm sure we'll be back again soon.  We got a punch card for the summer...much better deal than paying each time!

4) As I'm sitting here I have a list a mile long of things I want to do this summer...I keep thinking...I should not be blogging...I could really start a project while they are napping.  I always do this...I create this mental list in my head and new ideas pop in daily...then I become overwelmed with the things I think I "have" to do that I don't really know where to start.  I need to just pick one thing and see if I can get it accomplished.  Am I the only one out there that does that?  I surely hope not!

5) Andy's been starting football camps this week...really...football already starts!  They have camp this week and then are attending an out of town clinic this weekend!  The players lift and run everyday, but Andy doesn't start football in full swing until the beginning of August.  We love football season at our house.  The kids enjoy going up to the football stadium for some great entertainment from the team, marching band, and cheerleaders.  Plus the weather is always so nice in the fall!

Well the kids are up...time to play again!  Hope you are all having a great week so far!

My Three Happy's:
1) Sunny days
2) This new Teachers Pay Teachers website I found...if you are a teacher...you HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT!  It's become my new obsession.
3) My messy house...well it doesn't really make me happy...but I know my kids have been having fun this summer and so have I!

Just Another Day in Paradise

Disney music in the background, grilled steaks and chicken...lots of other yummy foods too, pools, water toys, slip 'n' slides, cold drinks, tropical decorations, and family...that about sums up our day in a few words. 

Ava diving down into the pool

Isaiah discovering the watergun

Three cousins...but friends forever!

Enjoy the slideshow...

Just Another Day in Paradise

My "three happy's" for the day are at the bottom of the post I also made tonight "Mall Madness."  We hope you all have a great start to your week!

Mall Madness

It's always been a tradition in our family to take our "out of town guests" to a mall.  Since I can remember when the Elmore's (my Aunt Barbie's family) came up we'd always head out to the Ames mall...pretty shabby theses days compared to others.  When we go out to Indiana, we'd always do the same.   Now it's Jordan Creek we venture out to.  My Aunt Barbie loves to shop and so do we.  It works out perfect!  Yesterday afternoon the kids wanted to nap in the car and get as much shopping done as possible.  We were at Jordan Creek from 2-8:30.  The kids did great and loved every minute.  They always look forward to the play area...now that Isaiah has gotten older it makes me less worried to have them stop in there for some fun.  My parents took us out to eat at The Cheesecake Factory...you have to have their crabcake sandwich if you've never tried it...it's what I always get!  Let's just say that when the night was over, we left with numerous bags...Andy had one shirt, I got one skirt, one pair of shorts, and a few pairs of flip flops.  The kids came out with TONS!  Thanks Mom and Dad!  Oh and let's not forget Build a Bear Workshop...the kids are pros at knowing what to do here.  Below you will find some fun pictures of our shopping adventure. 

The following pictures are Ava at old Navy with the mannequins.  She always thinks they are fun to stand by.  She insisted that I take pictures of her.

Isaiah only cared about the puppy they have up front...he had no interest in the actual people.

Isaiah on top of the choo-choo train in the play center

Grandma and Isaiah riding a hippo

I think Grandma and Ava were riding on an elephant here.

Ahhh...someone's getting eaten by a HUGE hippo head!

Build a Bear Workshop...Ava was pressing the pedal to add stuffing to her bunny.

Loving this bunny!

Isaiah loved this part too!

Using the dryer and combs to clean on that "extra fuzz"

Meet Camo and Snuggly

Isaiah loved walking hand in hand with Aunt Barbie!

Peeking down below

Isaiah and Grandpa sitting inside of the Gap front window display

Believe it or not, this is a dog treat shaped like a hamburger.  My Dad bought it for Jackson at this little kiosk in the middle of mall that sells fancy dog treats...Miss Ava picked it out. We thought it was funny that this placed sold a "Yappy Meal"...a gift bag with a burger, fries, and a tennis ball.  How cute! 

Jackson loved this!

On to some old pictures I've forgotten to display...I would title this one...

At The Car Wash

Andy thought it was about time to "detail" the outside of the Envoy...even wax it.  The kids loved helping and practiced on their own toys.

Giving that motorcycle a good rinse.

Nice job cleaning the back of the car Boo!

Scrub, Scrub, Scrub

Ava..again in her nightgown...using a towel to scrub the hitch cover.

Daddy and his little helpers!

The last of the dance recital pictures I didn't post yet...this was before Thursday's recital.  She just looks so grown up...there won't be "real" make-up wearing for a LONG time!

Daddy and his little girl

Mommy loves you Bootles!

Oh yes...and this one of Isaiah flexing his muscles on that rock at my Dad's retirement party.  It wouldn't download last time...but it was to cute to leave out!

What a strong young man!

My Three Happy's:

1) Spending the day with my family outside...just relaxing and having fun!

2) Enjoying the new Bath and Body plug-in that Aunt Barbie bought me...she always brings us little surprises when she visits...she also got us some hand soap and candle!  Love it all!

3) My creative little Isaiah...Andy put Ava to bed and they are both sound asleep in her bed...I read stories to Isaiah.  I left the room to start blogging when I heard bells and some strange sounds.  I went back to check on him and he had his construction glasses, a toy digger, and bell.  He discovered that this digger was magnetic and the bell would attach to it.  He was dragging it across his bed and was just entertained by what he'd learned.  Isaiah...you always make Mommy smile!