Carson's 6th Birthday Party!

Today was a very long day for Mike and I but a very, very fun day for Carson and Payton (Aidan too!).


We went to Jackson this morning so Payton could play soccer at 9:30, then Carson played at 11. After Payton’s game she and I went to the school for a book fair. Great deals there!! It was buy one book get one free and we got some really cool books!

Carson played soccer next. I headed back to Lakefield to decorate for his birthday party. Payton went with Jan and Ellie and planned on meeting us at the party and Aidan stayed with Mike. We had a total of 14 kids show up to bowl at the party! It was absolutely exhausting but Carson had a blast! It is fun watching him interact with his classmates!

We had pizza, an icream cake, opened presents and then bowled a game. Mike had fun trying to keep score for all the kids! After the party Carson brought a friend (Nicholas) back to our house and they had fun opening and playing with Carson’s birthday gifts. Jan took Payton with her and they went to see the new Shrek movie. Payton has said it was the “best movie ever”!

Mike and I were totally wiped out! He still managed to go out and start things going so we can get our garden planted. I cleaned up a little and then our friends Nicole and Jay stopped by. Their son Dalton wrestled at Greco / Freestyle state tournament this weekend and took home the gold in both events! Very exciting stuff! Carson idolizes Dalton which is kind of funny to us.

Did I mention that Carson had a girlfriend at this year’s party? It is getting serious…he asked me last week if he thought it would be okay if he married her when he was out of college… I about spit my drink on the windshield of my car! It all started the first week of school….he became completely smitten with her and talks about her all the time. She was the only girl from his class invited to his party. Cracks me up!

Tomorrow will be a day of cleaning / laundry and doing some yard work. Our mower isn’t working properly so Mike is trying to work on it as well and get it going. I planted flowers a few weeks ago and they look amazing! I love the gerbera daisies…they are so vibrant and hearty.

Payton is starting to feel better after a rough week. It all started a week ago last Wednesday. Every day she would come home from school and fall asleep on the sofa or her bed. You wouldn’t be able to wake her up either…she was missing every dinner time meal. She really didn’t have any other symptoms so I thought she might have mono. I took her in to the doctor and she actually had strep. I was very surprised b/c she had complained one time about a minor sore throat but nothing since then. Anyway she had some medicine ad is back to her giggly self.

Aidan is growing and growing. He is still so content and such a joy! He still isn’t fully crawling yet but instead he chooses to do an army scootch….not crawl… it is very cute and gets him where he needs to go….QUICKLY! We are realizing it is time to really baby proof the house and get the gates up….we have a mover and a shaker on our hands!

Well, that is our week in review! Here are some pictures from last week! ENJOY!

this is how Aidan now sleeps....all together now...  AWWWWW

Payton getting ready to go tour Bank Midwest

Our boy has personality!

and a snaggle tooth...no, really it is a puff

And more personality!

Carson opening presents from Mom, Dad, Payton and Aidan

some of the party goers!

Yep, there were girls there too!

Carson and Carter - his best buddy

Payton on the far left.  Tessa aka Carson's girlfriend on the right.

May is 1/2 Over

Wow!  It is so hard to believe that May is half over.  Time sure does fly!  We finally got rested up after the big birthday party last weekend. 

Payton's soccer practice got cancelled on Monday night due to rain.  It was a very cold and rainy week and it is nice to look outside and see the sunshine!  The good thing about the rain is that Mike was always home at a decent time!

On Friday a friend Nicole and I went golfing and had a blast.  After golfing her husband Jay and kids came over and hung out with us for the night.  We fixed amazing kabobs on the grill and played cards and even a little band hero.  I am glad I never wanted to be a drummer....  :)

We got up on Saturday morning and had Payton's soccer game at 9:30.  I could tell she wasn't feeling 100%.  She wasn't running very hard and just looked tired.  It didn't help when she took a ball right in the face.  She was a trooper and went back in and finished the game.  I took she and Aidan home and Mike stayed for Carson's game.  Payton had  birthday party for her friend Karlee so we needed to get home.  Jan and Ellie came over and we took the girls to the party and then ate lunch at the Shed.  Yummy food!!

When the party was over, I knew something was going on with Payton.  She just laid around and slept all afternoon.  Mike and Carson headed to Ames so that Mike could pick up the fishing boat he is buying off of Grandpa Rickey.  They stayed all night in Ames and are headed back today.  Payton hasn't gotten off the sofa all morning.  She just sleeps, gets up for a drink and goes back to sleep.  Aidan has even been a pretty sleepy boy!

Mike and I will start golf league this week.  I play on Wednesdays and he plays on Thursdays.  It will be nice to get out again.  I am looking at buying a new set of clubs but the research is exhausting!  I am excited at the aspect of new ones and hopefully they will help my game!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and enjoys next week!!

The boys rockin' it out!

Carson's team

Snack Time!!

Look Out!! We Have a 7 Year Old in the House!!

Yep...That's right...Payton turned 7 on Friday!  This was her golden birthday too! I can hardly beleive it has been 7 years!  We started her day by waking up in the morning and opening a few presents.  I get off of work early on Fridays so I went to school and had lunch with her.  She was very excited.  During lunch the principal came in and got everyone's attention and then wished her a Happy Birthday and had everyone sing happy birthday to her.  She loved it!

We let her choose where she wanted to eat and she chose PaPa Lee's favorite (DQ).  We headed to spirit lake and ate dinner then headed to WalMart so she could spend her gift card from Gma and Papa Crabtree. 

Saturday we had the big party!  We chose to have the party at the Shed which is a new restaurant / bar here in Lakefield.  The owner is actually the one that hooked us up with Payton's 529 college savings plan when she was just a few months old!  There were a total of 13 little girls, 2 little boys and one baby Aidan!  What a crazy day!!  We had a lot of fun eating pizza, birthday cake, lots of candy and playing pin the cell phone on the teen-ager!  One of the hi-lights of the day was when a large group of Harley riders showed up and walked in to tall of the pink/ purple decorations!  They took Payton out and posed with her on different cycles!  She wasn't too sure at first but ended up having a blast!!

Needless to say, we were worn out by the time we got everything unloaded!

Here are some pictures of Payton's special birthday!

Payton and Ellie have been buddies since birth - literally.  They met in the hospital when payton was born.

Hershey's minis w/ personalized wrappers.

Talking on the phone and opening presents.

Hannah Montana!!

The morning of her birthday - getting ready for school.

At school - having lunch w/ mom.

Her own personal puppy cake.

The party begins!

Best buddies!  Ellie, Nicole, Payton, Karlee and Regan

Aidan's buddy!  Jan and Aidan hung out at the party!

Playing pin the cell phone on the teenager!

The group of little girls - lots of giggles here!

Payton and Regan - they have also been buddies since birth!  Payton was a few weeks old when she and Regan met.

Payton making new friends!

Hmm...this is just wrong!  :)

They both share 5/7 as a birth day.

Payton and her cake

Loved the goodie bags!

Long Week!

I am so glad this week is coming to an end!  It seems like it has lasted forever!!  We have had a fun-filled couple of weeks here -- not that fun doesn't ALWAYS happen here!

Aidan celebrated his 9th month of life on April 29th.  He weighed in at 22lbs at his check up which puts him in the 80th percentile!  This is all new to us!  Payton and Carson always came in around the 25th percentile...they were little string beans compared to Aidan!  He is so amazing!  We love him so much and don't remember what our lives were like before he came to join our family!

Payton had her 3rd week of soccer last weekend and Carson started his first week of kinderkickers.  So cute and so fun to watch!  Payton scored her first goal too!  She was so excited!  Carson's class just learned the basic skills of soccer and will probably start their scrimmage this weekend.

We ordered all new appliances for our house and I am so excited to see them coming in!  We got our stove and dishwasher on Monday.  I can not beleive how much better the new dishwasher works!  It is nice not having to actually wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher!  Our old one was just shot!!

We are moving our washer / dryer downstairs to the basement which is something I have wanted to do since we moved here 10 years ago.  We got a new (blue) washer and dryer and they are being delivered tomorrow.  The electrician was here on Monday and the plumbing guy was here today.  I took off work a little early yesterday to start painting the nonfinished portion of the basement floor.  I actually thought the washer and dryer would be delivered today but we were delayed a day waiting on the plumbing.

We are planning on doing a little remodel in the spare bathroom where the washer and dryer used to be.  I am hoping to add a shower and make it a full bath.  We will be needing that with our kids growing so quickly!  They will want their own bathroom soon I am sure!

We took Aidan out in his swing for the first time last weekend.  He loved it!  We had never put him in a baby swing even so we weren't sure how he would do but he giggled the entire time!

We have a milestone coming up on Friday.  It will mark the 7th year that the most beautiful girl I have ever seen entered our lives changing us forever!  Payton Chloe will celelbrate her golden birthday on Friday by turning 7 on the 7th.  Carson is bummed to learn he will be 30 before he gets to celebrate his golden birthday!  We have invited the girls in her class and a few additional friends to come the "the shed".  She is getting very excited and can't wait for her party.  I can't even tell you how it hurts my heart that my first born is going to be 7!

We have another fun filled weekend of soccer coming up.  Payton plays at 9:30 and Carson at 11.  Payton's party starts at 1 so we will come back and go decorate for that.  I will be ready to rest up on Sunday!!

Here are a few pictures of our last few weeks. 

My little diva!

Payton practicing on her new balance beam!

Love his expression here!

Payton taking her turn at being the goalie

Now that is effort!

Payton and Bryn find a jacket for 2!

Carson gets his soccer shirt!

Nice kick!!

Aidan's first time in the swing

9 month picture

Carson w/ all his medals from wrestling

Medals and trophies

Our little champ!