Evan turns 4

We were so glad to be in town last weekend for Evan's birthday. Evan is our nephew (Marc's sister's little boy) and we don't get to see him or his sister enough because of the miles between us. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed celebrating in Dan and Angie's back yard! Evan loves Cars so that was the theme of the party.

Ryan helping his nephews down the slide

Now the girls' turn...

The pinata was quite entertaining. This picture is misleading since we did NOT let them all slug their bats at the same time. :)

Happy birthday Evan!

We had a great weekend celebrating with everyone and look forward to our next get together at Christmas time!

Labor Day Weekend

I think "flexible" has become the new word to define our family. I am in awe of how well our little ones have handled our travels lately. We headed to Illinois this past weekend to spend some much needed time with Marc's family. Our time always seems so short (because it takes us a full day to get there!), but we had a great time.

We left on Thursday after I got off work and drove through the night. We arrived around 3:30 am and headed to bed. We had decided that Marc's parents could take over for us when the kids woke up so we could sleep in a little longer. Around 8 am, Eli and Hailey were both awake and Marc's parents decided to take them to breakfast. Marc and I had just laid back down when he heard some commotion outside in the driveway. We came outside to find that the kids were locked in the car. Noreen was REALLY upset about it all, but it wasn't hot outside and the kids were calm so we just played peek-a-boo through the windows until the police arrived. It was an eventful way to start the day after only 4 hours of sleep! Ha!

The kids still got to go enjoy their breakfast at McDonald's and Marc and I got a tiny bit more sleep. :)

That afternoon, Marc and his dad created a water park out on the deck. Eli and Hailey had so much fun playing in the water. Marc's parents have a beautiful lake behind their house and we always love spending some time on their deck.

The next day we went to the Children's Museum and had SO much fun. Eli would have stayed all day... umm if he hadn't peed in his pants and if Hailey wasn't having a total melt-down because it was nap time. But I guess that is life for an almost potty trained 2 year old and a very cranky without a nap 10 month old. I managed to sneak in some fun pictures throughout the morning.

Eli was painting the window while Hailey and Papa watched.

She is just as dramatic as she looks.

Eli had lots of fun stuffing things into this big vacuum system.

And of course, the trains were a favorite.

I hope to sort through Evan's birthday party pictures tomorrow to finish off our weekend away. However, right now my pillow is calling my name. :) Good night!

Baby Shower!

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for a friend. I had a great time getting out of the house for a bit without the kids. Marc also enjoyed getting to catch-up on some daddy time with Eli and Hailey. Eli really missed Marc this past week so I am glad he is home now for a little while.

I think one of the best parts about our time here in residency has been how many babies our class has had over the past few years. LeeAnn was in Marc's class, and she and Will are expecting their first little girl in October. I loved LeeAnn from the minute I met her at call back a few years ago. She is so sweet and is from Alabama and loves SEC football. :)

ChiChi, another one of Marc's classmates, had her baby a few days before graduation but I hadn't gotten to meet Machi yet. She was SO good during the shower.

How cute is this diaper buggie that one of the hostesses made?

We had some great food and conversations, and I even walked away with a prize for being able to name all ten candy bars that were each melted inside of a diaper. Ha! We collectively decoupaged some letters for Lily's room during the shower which was really fun and a great keepsake for LeeAnn to have from the shower.

Gracie came by for a little while after she woke up from her nap. She is such a sweetie.

 Well, I think we are going to bed early tonight. Marc and I have been staying up WAY too late the past few nights talking and catching up. I keep thinking of funny stories to tell him about the kids from last week and before we know it is midnight. :) I hope everyone has a great week tomorrow!

A Great Day

Marc is back home! He got in last night after the kids were asleep and it was really good to see him. A week is certainly a long time to be apart. Eli was also SO excited this morning to see him. He woke up around 8 and we were still sleeping so when he came into our room he was ecstatic to see Marc back on his side of the bed. :) He crawled in bed and got some much needed cuddle time with his daddy. After breakfast Marc ran with Eli in the jogging stroller to Riverside park and Hailey and I drove there to meet them. It was a beautiful morning.

Last time Marc took Eli to the park he did not want to get wet at all but today was a totally different story! He loved running through the water.

We came home and put the kids down for a nap and I headed to a baby shower. It was a much needed break for me and Marc spent some quality time with the kids when they work up. I will post some shower pics tomorrow. We went to Chipotle for dinner tonight and everyone chowed down.

And then who can pass up a good swing before heading in for the night. Have I mentioned that we have to pass this playground every time we go through the front door of our building??? Eli has gotten pretty good at convincing us he needs to stop and play.

Marc and I are now getting ready to watch a movie. Days just don't get much sweeter than this. :)