Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks...

Last night was one of those nights that couldn't have gone any better. Baseball game. Great friends. Great weather. $1.00 concessions. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of the concession stand. Well, when you go to an Indianapolis Indians game on Monday nights... they have $1.00 concessions. (jaw drop)

And boy did we have a blast. This was Lucas' first time to the Vic. I think it was quite memorable and we'll definitely be going back again hopefully soon. Kim and Nick joined us. We sat on the lawn behind right field.

Lucas had a ball splashing Nick with the freezing water from our cooler. I think Nick got him back a time or two, as well. He deserved it. :)

And here's something pretty funny. We sat down and sure enough, right in front of us was our great friends, the Gibbs'! They were at the game with their neighbors (and their kiddos). So Lucas had fun running around and climbing the fence with them. So cute. They were telling secrets they said. I can't quite imagine what kind of secrets 3 year olds can tell but I'm sure it was funny. It probably went something like this: "I'll trade you a green fruit snack for your red one."

Parker and Lucas... nothing new here. :)

Thanks for a GREAT night, Indy Indians. Way to beat the Mudhens!!! Okay, so I'll be honest. We left in the 8th inning and it was tied at 4, but I'm going to just assume the Indians won. It was nearing 10:00 so we needed to get going. Sophie was home with the babysitter so time was a-tickin'.

Some more firsts...

Sophie had a big day today. She did a few things for the very first time and I think they're worth mentioning.


Sophie crawled right into the barn, unprompted, just like her big brother does. Lucas was still sleeping at the time and was quite disappointed that he missed out on this event.
This is kind of silly to most people but to me, a milestone. I placed Sophie up on this chair just to see what she'd do. She sat up there like a big girl... for a good 10-15 minutes playing with me (and my sunglasses). Lucas loved it and had to pull up a chair to join. (**Dad/Grandpa, does something about this picture make you cringe?? Hint: Look at Lucas' feet.)
2 seconds after this picture was taken, Lucas fell backwards. And laughed VERY hard about it.

Sophie took her first bike ride today!! She loved it. She kicked her feet around and made all kinds of noises as we rode around the neighborhood.

Our first family-of-four bike ride. It's hard to see but Lucas rode his green bike with training wheels. He did a pretty good job of staying behind me, although we had to remind him pretty often to not drift towards the other side of the road. We stuck around in our neighborhood so there was hardly no traffic at all. Good practice for all of us.

This is the post that never ends...

Here's to another of my famous "random" posts...

Funny story. Kind of. The kids and I are driving home earlier this week and Lucas shouts out, "I need to go potty!!!" This is usually not a big deal because we usually pull over and find a bathroom quick. In this situation though, we couldn't. I was stuck in construction traffic. Not moving. At all. Poor kid. I felt awful, but didn't know what to do. It crossed my mind to ask one of the construction guys if I could use their porta-potty. But I didn't. Needless to say, Lucas didn't make it home in time.

Well...the carseat cover needed to be washed so once it was, the carseat spent a few days in the house. Whoever knew a carseat could be so much fun!! The kids literally spent hours just playing on it and taking turns sitting on it.

Lucas goes crazy when Eric asks him to help him out around the house with odd and end jobs. The latest one... cleaning out the gutters. Fun times. Lucas had a ball.

Last but not least...some oh, so sweet, pics of Soph.

PS. I cut this post in half. I decided it was just too much. More to come in another post.

Upland Reunite!

A few weeks ago I headed to Upland to catch up with some dear dear friends of mine and had a wonderful time. I was able to spend some Q time with some of my most favorite girls.... and their sweet kiddos. Kristin, I'm so thankful you live just "down the street" from me now... thanks for the catch-up time. I miss you to pieces. Amanda, you have a ROCKIN' office up in Sickler Hall, baby. I want to grow up to be just like you. Sara, so great to see your house even though you are moving next month. VERY excited for this next phase for the James' fam. You are going to do great things for the girls in English. Love you!!


And of course, a visit to Ivanhoe's was a MUST!! Amanda, you're going to LOVE me for posting this pic. :)
Alexa and JD, cheesin' it up!! I could sit and be entertained by these two for hours...
Is it weird that this dessert almost brings tears to my eyes. I. love. it.

There. I said it.

The latest...

Here are some bits and pieces of what we've been up to lately.

Somebody thinks she is SO BIG!!!!!!!

And somebody thinks he's never TOO BIG for the exersaucer...
Princess Peach...We've had a ton of fun blowing some great big bubbles... and popping them!! I have some great videos but can't seem to be able to upload them. :(

It has rained and rained and rained lately... so we've spent a lot of time just looking (or licking)out from the windows (or screens)... waiting for the sun to come back out and shine.

Father's Day we went out to the bowling alley and had ourselves a BLAST! Lucas threw TWO strikes in a row believe it or not. (Mind you, they were mini-lanes with bumpers on the sides) We had tons of fun...And Miss Sophie was pretty content just being entertained by the three of us.

Of course, we had to hit the arcades before we left and played a little basketball.

Our cheering section.

Happy Faa-der's Day!

I am incredibly blessed to have two amazing Dad's in my life.

My own Dad... who, growing up, I can't remember a time when I didn't feel as if I were the luckiest girl around to have a dad like him. He knew just how to make me feel special in every way. From playing Dig-Dug on the computer with him as a little 5 year old, to being hugged as tight as could be by him when my favorite kitten died... to praying with him by my bed and him telling me that God's love is even bigger than his love for me. Wow... unfathomable! It really is hard to put into words how thankful and blessed I am to have such an amazing Dad, in every way. I love you Dad.

And of course, Eric... I'm not even sure where to begin. He knows just how to make Lucas giggle (uncontrollably I might add), just how to charm Sophie, and just how to encourage me when life gets a little too hectic for me to handle. And I must say, I'm so very thankful for his involvement in our family... he works hard every day, yet he knows where his priorities are... in his relationship with the Lord and with his family. He gives selflessly every day for Lucas, Sophie, and me and I'm so proud to call him my husband. I love you, Daddy!

PS... and he knows JUST how I like my steak cooked. Now THAT'S a good man.

Lesson learned.

So innocent. Anyone else see into this crystal ball??
Rascal.

Should have seen it coming!!

Summer Love

This summer is shaping up to perhaps be the best yet... here's why.

Our kiddos are at such fun stages...what's not to love about that?! Lucas loves on his sister (sometimes too much) all day long and Sophie enjoys (almost) every minute of it.

Here's a sneak peak at the fun things we've been up to:

• Today we created a big tunnel with some pop-up tents and the kiddos had a blast chasing each other around inside it. The squeals were priceless.
  
• Pool time!!!! Despite the stormy summer so far, we've been able to either go to the pool or have pool time in the yard quite a bit this summer. Lucas is a fish I tell you...and Sophie also enjoys kicking her legs and splashing in the pool, too. I love it!!! Our fav pool this summer-- Carrie's pool!! (The lifeguards there keep a close eye on Lucas...he is so fearless around the water... it scares me quite a bit actually.)


• Trips to the library - so thankful my kiddos love books. Our summer favs so far- Rollercoaster, Toolbox Twins, Maizy Takes a Bath, and Camping Day.


• Trips to the park - today we went to the Morse Beach park which is set right off of Morse Resevoir... Lucas loves this one, although he's never met a park he didn't like I suppose. I like it because there's a lot of shade and the water (although NOT clear) is quite pretty.


• Grillin' out!! Lucas' fav- hot dogs, Daddy's fav- shishkabobs, Mommy's fav- steak!!


• Late nights- Sophie heads to bed around 8 while Lucas stays up until 9. It's been fun being able to stay up later with the kids even though they still get up fairly early (6:30!!!). Once Sophie heads to bed we usually take out our new favorite game- Candyland
  

So here's a glimpse at one of Lucas' favorite pasttimes. One day, this boy is either going to be a famous basketball player or musician. This video will be worth some big bucks some day. It's hard to hear but he's singing a song from Sunday morning kids' worship from church. (can't upload the video for some reason....still working on it.)

And sweet Sophie continues to charm us with her joyful personality and easy-going nature. She LOVES her brother, and she LOVES getting attention from Mommy and Daddy all day long. I can't get enough of her I'm telling you.

We're so blessed to be able to be home with both kiddos. AND, might I add, I'm so blessed to have Eric's wonderful help, too. He's been around a whole lot this summer...and I love it. While he's still keeping busy with grad classes and football his priority is always the kids and I really appreciate it. So yes, this is shaping out to be a pretty great summer for us...