Home....for a few days.

So, we got home last night from our mini-vaca to Ohio. We drove the 7 hours out there on Wednesday. We got there early evening, had dinner, and just hung out with family. I stayed at the house with Karissa so she could go to bed as the others went for ice cream. There is a place they took us to the last time we were out there that do homemade ice cream...reminds me of King's (our fave place here). They did bring me a brownie sundae back...it was really good, but I was somewhat good and only ate half of it and shared the other half with my...cousin? (It's a long story how we are related lol. Kim is my mom's cousin. Cheryl is his wife and Joel is their son...but Dave and I started calling them Uncle Kim and Aunt Cheryl and refer to Joel as our cousin because that's more like how it seems.) Okay...enough rambling. Thursday Joel had off work so he and Dave went golfing. Dave won this time, but Joel won the last time we were out there so next time there will be a rematch. :) Uncle Kim, Aunt Cheryl, my mom, Karissa, and I went to the Akron Zoo. It was less than $10 to get in (my Aunt Cheryl is the coupon queen...even gave Dave and Joel golf coupons) and it had a lot of stuff that our local free zoo doesn't have - penguins, lions, tigers, a jellyfish exhibit, etc. Karissa had a lot of fun and she got the animals to make noises at her. As we were watching the Galapagos Tortoises, she was talking to them and all of the sudden the one looked at her and hissed really loud. She thought it was interesting, but needless to say, she and I stepped a little further back from the fence. lol Then as we were walking through the petting zoo part, it was really quiet and all of the sudden this one sheep did it's "baaaaaa" really loud while looking at her and got the rest of the sheep going. We had fun. Friday was Cedar Point day. We LOVE Cedar Point. If you don't know what it is or have never heard of it, where have you been?! lol It has the most coasters at one park. I lost count how many...they had 12 when I was in high school, but they've had several new ones since then. Plus, it's on a penninsula on Lake Erie so all around is water. Our favorites are Top Thrill Dragster (shoots you out at like 120mph and straight up 400-some feet and straight down) and Millenium Force which is 100 feet shorter and not as fast, but longer and right by the water so as you go up the hill it looks like you are right above the water. Karissa liked the space needle ride, the Sky Ride, the carousel, the kiddie water raft ride, the train, the BIG ferris wheel, and she slept through the antique cars. She had a lot of fun and did really well even though she was hot and tired. Saturday was more relaxing. Dave and Uncle Kim went to Harbour Freight to get a wagon that we had been looking at for going to the beach. Aunt Cheryl, my mom, Karissa, and I went to a local Flea/Farmer's Market. It was HUGE, but we got there kind of late so a lot of them were packing up. I thought about getting some peppers, peaches, etc. but I was worried they'd get too banged up on the ride home. I only got a new set of Dryer Balls. We stayed around for lunch yesterday and then left for home. The ride home took a little more than 8 hours...there was a lot of traffic, but we got home in time for Dave to get to work on time. Today I'll be doing laundry and unpacking. Tomorrow we have Dave's family coming and then softball. It looks like a great week and I'd love to get to the beach, but we leave to go to PA to visit my sister and her family and my grandparents (my grandfather's health is going downhill so we don't think we have much time left with him) on Friday and Saturday...I am so exhausted just thinking about the next couple of weeks!

Father's Day Weekend

Well, I cannot remember the last time we had a day off. My sister and her family came to visit so Thursday we hung out with them and Dave was supposed to have a softball game, but it got cancelled because of the weather. Friday we had errands to run in Dover and then went back to my parents' to hang out with my family. Saturday we had a teen event so I had to take Karissa down to my parents' house so my family could spend more time with her and babysit. As I was there, my mom told me that it was supposed to storm and rain, so I checked the weather channel and saw she was right. Friday night, that wasn't the forecast and the teen girls were having a pool party. I called Dave who was sleeping in a little to make sure he was awake and then asked him what we should do. He made some calls to the people that were hosting the teens and decided to go ahead with the event (the boys were doing archery), but we'd move the girls to the church for games instead of the pool. It worked, and was kind of nice because we shortened it so I was able to see Karissa about 1-2 hours earlier than I thought I would. I still HATE leaving her even though she is 7 months old...is that normal? lol

We went back to my parents and hung out, had dinner, then went to the boardwalk. Dylan (our nephew) loves to ride rides so it's a lot of fun to watch him. And Karissa went on some too and loved it. She went on the carousel, the little Ferris Wheel, and Dylan drove us in the trucks. There are pics below. I think she liked the Ferris Wheel the best and that was the one I was worried about because of it going a little higher. Everytime they would start coming back down, she would start smiling and flapping her arms around. I couldn't really get a good pic though. She'll have a great time at Cedar Point :) although she needs to wait a few years before going on the coasters lol.

Sunday we went to church and out to lunch. Karissa and I got Dave a photo card with a pic of him and her at Yankee Stadium on it. We also got him a wallet size photo book filled with pics of the two of them, so he can carry that with him. We used the $10 for Outback that we got when we went for Mother's Day, plus we got another coupon for Father's Day. I didn't used to like them because I don't like steak, but they have a really good quesadilla! Then we had to run to BJ's for some items and came home. Dave was able to get some sleep, which he needed because of being on the go so much. And I did some cleaning and relaxing (as much as I could...I've been having a spasm in my back ever since yesterday afternoon and it won't go away). The next few days won't be any different - today I need to clean (I hate coming back to a messy house after vacation) and organize the cars, we are visiting friends and their baby this afternoon, then a softball game, and dinner with the team afterwards; tomorrow is laundry and packing and loading the car, and Wednesday after I weigh in and Dave gets home from work, we leave. Hmmm...when we will have a relaxing day at home or the beach again? lol Hope all the dads had a great Father's Day! Oh, and in all of our chaos, I totally forgot to get a pic of Dave and Karissa on Father's Day, what kind of wife/mother am I????

Weigh in Wednesday

Hi everyone! Don't I have the sweetest husband who will brag about me going to his games?! :) I love watching baseball/softball though and hanging out with all of the other wives is always fun too, so I wouldn't miss it. Today is weigh in day....I'm down another pound. The baby weight is slowly coming off! :) It's only a pound, but at least it's the right direction. I have a week to get in a good routine before we go on another mini-vacation to Ohio. We'll be getting some exercise (walking around Cedar Point and maybe a zoo), but we'll be eating my "Aunt" Cheryl's good cooking so hopefully I don't go overboard on my eating. In other news, we bought a new car last night. We both feel it was the right decision, but we are both always worriers about that and keep thinking to ourselves, "did we do the right thing?" We had been looking into getting a bigger vehicle because even though I always thought my Accord was very spacious, having a car seat in it has shown me otherwise. Dave's Altima has been having issues and was over 100,000 miles. Oh, and Dave is going to drive the Accord or his older Altima to work to save gas. We decided we wanted to stay in the Honda family and a few weeks ago, after comparing the Pilot and the Odyssey, we decided a van would be the best because it'd be better on gas and just more practical. Well, Dave found a Pilot for cheaper than any Odyssey so we went and checked it out and decided to buy it. It actually is perfect timing for our trip next week. We are driving and my mom is going along. This will give us plenty of room for all of our suitcases, a stroller, and plenty of leg room for my mom (she broke her ankle). Plus, when we go to Cedar Point, my "Aunt and Uncle" (it's really my mom's cousin and his wife, but they seem more like an aunt and uncle and their son is more like a cousin to me) can ride with us all with the 3rd row of seats and we can save driving 2 cars to Cedar Point. So, now that I have rambled enough, we're praying we made the right decision and that we don't regret getting into a second car payment.

Hello

Since Megan never blogs about our softball team I thought I would talk about it. I have such a great group of guys and girls and we have so much fun. The season started off a little rough but we have won 4 games in a row and 5 out of the last 6 to move into second place only 1/2 game out of first and we play the first place team on Thursday. We are winning every kind of game including close games and extra inning games. I have to say Megan is the best wife ever and very supportive. She always cheers for us and has Karissa cheering too. I have said she doesn't have to go because most games are during Karissa's dinner and bedtime but she wants to be there and hasn't missed a game this year. Thank you Megan for your support and for being the best wife ever!! Changing the subject but I'm wondering why we only have 1 follower of our blog. That's a little disappointing to us. If you enjoy our blog, please become a follower so we can at least feel good about ourselves if nothing else :) Everyone have a great week!

Karissa getting nails clipped

Weigh-In Wednesday

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been more than a week since a post...it's been one of those weeks. We've been on the go non-stop it seems. It's gotten so that when I don't have something I need to do or somewhere to go, I can't sit still because I'm not used to it. Sometimes I feel like we have too much on our plate, but when I try to think of what we can cut out, there's nothing. Some people may say that I don't need to go to the beach or take Karissa to our library time, but I feel like those are the things that make the best memories and they are fun and relaxing. Does anyone else ever feel overwhelmed sometimes by all that is going on? Oh well, today we don't have anything going on, so hopefully, I can readjust to a more relaxing schedule....or I'll go out of my mind with boredom. I'm hoping it will get warm enough and the neighbor's pool will be warm enough, that Karissa and I can maybe hang out there. So, this was the first week of the new challenge at The Sisterhood. I'm up a tiny bit - .2lbs. I'm not happy about it, but I guess it's not too bad considering I haven't really done anything. I feel like I've let Team Green down, but that will motivate me to make sure I don't let them down again next week. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Long Time

Hello everyone, sorry it's been such a long time since I blogged. I know all of you have missed me soo much. HAHA Anyway, life is very busy at church and with the little one. Karissa had her 6 month check up at the dr. yesterday. It was very good. She is up to 13 lbs, 15 1/2 oz. and 25 3/4 inches long. She jumped to the 10th percentile in weight and 25th percentile in length over the last month. We were reminded that she is daddy's girl when the nurse measured her head and she is in the 50th percentile for head circumference. lol The dr. was very pleased with her progress and we get a whole 3 months away, the longest time in between visits yet!! She had to get 2 shots but she did very well and didn't scream but only a couple minutes. The dr. said she can start on vegetables and fruits so we will be starting those real soon, maybe today. She really likes her oatmeal cereal and is getting that twice a day now. She really really loves playing with her toys. I just have to say Megan is the best mommy a daddy could ever want for his daughter. She does a wonderful job with Karissa all day everyday and I'm so thankful God has provided so that she can stay at home with Karissa and I'm so thankful Karissa has a mommy like Megan who loves her so much. We are hoping the weather heats up so we can start getting to the beach soon. We were spoiled by getting there everyday on vacation and now we haven't had good enough weather to go even once since we've been home. We've been to the beach, just not when it was real hot so we could enjoy the water and sun. Well, I don't have much else to say. Please let us know you are still out there reading and I'm sure Megan will be posting soon.