Cousin Fun

Well after the water park adventure we headed over to the in-laws and got to see my new nephew again and the kids got in some more good cousin time.

Baby James is getting big (and cute) pretty quick!
Lilly wanted to hold him, but also kept chomping on her carrot...already a multi-tasker.

And this is Lilly and Noah chilling out watching a movie. Too cute. I guess I would have to say it was definitely a cousin filled weekend...but can't beat that! I am glad they are all close in age, can't wait to see what it is like when they get older!

Water filled weekend...

Well there is alot going on here at the Hess', and I will fill you in, but this week I am going to play catch up with some fun pictures. Thought I would share some pictures from our Indoor Waterpark adventure two weekends ago. The kids and I headed up to Northern Indiana with my the rest of my family and had a wonderful water filled adventure.

Lucas and Lilly pretty much stayed in the toddler area without getting too adventurous with the bigger slides, but they had a great time. Loved turning the water on and off, splashing, swimming (in 8" of water), going down the smaller slides, the lazy river with mommy and would every now and again venture over to "the BIG bucket". Don't get me wrong, the toddler area was cool...but the water was always warmer there for some reason...hmmm.
It was great hanging out with my sisters, brothers-in-law and of course all my nieces and one nephew. The kids loved playing together too...and chasing eachother down the hallways and riding on the "train" (aka: luggage cart).

Lucas was obsessed with my water camera and carried it all around for me. He really used it more like a boat and not neccesarily a camera though. Not even sure where it is now, but if we find it we will actually develop it and see if anything turned out. (I got these pics from my parents).

Hannah won these glasses with her arcade tickets. Too cute.

And the family shot by the horse (of course!)
Thought this pic of my parents was halarious..and this is what I meant by the "BIG bucket". There was a giant bucket that would fill up and then spill over when it got full...and if you weren't paying attention it could kinda freak you out and definitely get you wet. Needless to say there was alot of screaming when the bucket dropped (at least by Lucas).

Thanks for the great trip mom and dad!!

Our Snowman...

Well, thank God I did find my camera yesterday (not in the snow, but under the bed?) So thought I would share the pics of snow play especially for those of you who are in warmer climates but are seriously missing the snow (I know deep down you miss it just a little). It is melting pretty quickly here the last few days but maybe we can play in whats left of it once more today.

Yes, that is a mouthful of snow.

hiding behind the "snow fort" from daddy's snowballs...too funny.

The beginning of the snowman...which Lucas seemed to enjoy climbing and kicking more than helping to build.

The finished product, Lilly thought it was pretty cool to "dress him up". Right now there is not much left of him, and I think next time we will build a little snowman family.

What happened...last weekend

Last weekend we headed up North to Decatur to go to Tim's uncles wedding reception. It was fun and Lucas and Lilly seemed to take over the dance floor for about the first half of the party! I was out there for awhile, which can be a little embarassing when you are trying to dance with a 2 and 4 year old and everyone is watching because they are so adorable...and I am sure I just looked like an oaf, and only about every 3rd song was really "danceable" if you know what I mean...but you do what you do to entertain (and show off) your children.Here is the happy couple. Congrats!

And here is Lilly with some dance moves. She would grab the edge of her dress and spin around and around. It was oh too cute...and good thing it had a built-in underskirt!
And thought this pic turned out cute although I look way cheezy.
We forgot our camera so I thought I would throw a shout out to Tamara for sharing the pics! Hope we get to see everyone again soon...hopefully before Easter!

Anyone else stir crazy?

It is kinda funny how the last few weeks every mom I have talked to has seen a bit stir crazy. They seem ready to go get a drink at the drop of a hat, more phone conversations and stir craziness then I have seen in awhile. I thought maybe it is the lack of Vitamin D from the sun, or the business of the holidays. I didn't really put it together until I was talking to a friend and I realized what it is...winter. Yes, winter (although not offiical yet) has kept us indoors, which has therefore kept the germs indoors, which has therefore kept our kids sick, which has therefore kept our kids crabby, which has therefore raised the stress level, which on top of typical "get ready for the holidays" stresses can really add up, which has therefore turned most moms I know into women who need a break. Well, at least I am speaking for me.

I was able to "get away" this past weekend. Headed up north to one of my best friends from highschools house on Saturday. We met up with a few of our other girlfriends, shopped at an insane mall, ate dinner in a bar where no children were allowed, found people from highschool on facebook, taped off a stripe to be painted on a dining room wall, went to a choir concert at our old highschool in the same auditorium we use to sing in, then I finally headed back home. It was perfect. Just enough time to relax, breathe, shop, girl talk, laugh (and then tried not to during the concert). Good times that were much needed, I did miss the kids but it was only 30 hours and they had great bonding time with daddy.

Thought I would share some funny pics. Reminissing in the old halls of highschool, next to the infamous art murals.

Had a great time ladies! You were a blast!

And if YOU still need some quality girl time (always a must to maintain the fact that even though we are moms/daughters/friends/sisters/wives we must take care of ourselves every now and then too)...feel free to drop me a line and we can get together!

The weekend...what a zoo

The crazy weekend began late Friday night picking up some special visitors at the airport and then Saturday morning we put one of them to work making the animal cakes for the party.

She had LOTS of help (as you can see) and did an AMAZING job!

Thanks cousin Kristin!

The cakes were the hit of the party! Kids were screaming "I want the lion!" or "I want the monkey!" I couldn't cut them fast enough!

I love this picture, not only b/c Lilly knew exactly what she was doing and was so excited but because the looks on the other kids faces just says it all.
She was an expert present opener and of course looked so adorable!

And the best part of the weekend was that we finally got to meet Miss Rita!! She was adopted in February from Russia by or cousins out in CA and we were so excited that they were able to come and visit us for the first time. She is a bundle of energy and fit right in with our little ones. We went to the Children's Museum on Sunday but I forgot my camera, so when I figure out how to upload pics from my new phone (or get some from someone else...hint hint), I will blog more about the great weekend. Thanks to all who came- especially the SanDiegoans!

On Lilly's actual birthday (Tuesday) she got to open her present from us...a HUGE doll house! Hopefully this will last for years to come! She was very excited and Lucas thinks the elevator is pretty cool and has already taken his hot wheels for a ride! I am sure that Barbies and Superman will get along well in the house. Everyone is welcome to come on over and play!

Carving it up

So yesterday we actually carved the pumpkins we picked the weekend before. The kids had a good time with scooping out the slimy guts.

Tim got creative with the top of the funky shaped pumpkin and it turned out great.
Lilly liked trying to put the pieces back that you cut out.

They were such goofs last night, just screaming and laughing at one another. Not sure if it was the pumpkin rush or just being overtired from a long weekend. But that only sat still for about 2 seconds for a picture and unfortunately that one turned out fuzzy, then it was back to running circles.Lucas had been talking about his "scary face" pumpkin for weeks now. Above was his impression of what he wanted his pumpkin to look like. I think Tim did a great job at trying to create this face on Lucas' pumpkin...

Which one do you think is his?

My little pumpkins...

Headed out to the pumpkin patch this past weekend, it was definitely more "fall-like" weather than the weekend before. Perfect for a hayride and pumpkin festivities. We got so many great pictures, thought I should probably break it up into two separate blogs...so first we will start with the pumpkin picking!

Here are my two handsome boys on the anticipated hayride to get the pumpkins, Lucas so looks like his daddy.

Hmmm....this one is perfect for sitting. But this one is just my size, how will I make up my mind?
Well she did finally make up her mind...and then had Lucas carry it for her. I guess that girl is learning already!
This is Lucas thinking...I wonder if daddy will carry this one for me?

And a family picture! I think this is the first family picture since last year at the pumpkin patch! I may be a little bias... but my family is pretty cute!

An apple a day...

Well, we have been eating at least an apple a day since last weekend when we went to an apple orchard. It was the first time we have ever done this, I was inspired by a friends pictures, so I googled apple orchards (you would be amazed how many there are), and we headed out last Saturday. We had a really great time, the weather was perfect for pickin' apples!

Lilly loved to bag 'em...
Lucas loved to pick 'em! And he was amazing with the "apple grabber"...not sure what the official name is for that thing is.
Lilly just picked them the old fashion way.

Proud Mr Lucas, showing his catch.Lilly was really only interested in tasting the goods. I seriously think she ate at least three apples while we were there.

I think the bag of apples behind Lilly is bigger than her...needless to say if you want an apple pie...just place your order here! They are heavy on the cinnamon and have perfect crumbly tops! Yummo!

What spirit!

Well, we took the kids tailgating this past weekend and then Tim and Lucas headed to the game while Lilly and I hung out with Amy and Sydney. Here are some great pics from the morning...

Daddy and his all time favorite cheerleader!

Who's that crazy fan?

Now that is tailgating...in a tailgate. And of course tailgating is all about the food...the boys were all about the donuts. Neil was shoving his in so fast he wouldn't stop to smile.

And miss dainty cheerleader gobbled her donut up as well. Great weather, good food and great friends always makes for a good time. I love football season!

Throwback Thursday

Well, football season has begun again. We missed the first game due to the wedding last weekend, but this coming Saturday we will be roasting hot dogs, playing corn hole, throwing the football around, trying not to use the port-a-potties and of course cheering for the best college ever- GO PURDUE!

What a difference 4 years can make...

Tailgating 2004. All four ladies were expecting their first babies.

Jamie- March, Meghan- April, Me- January, Kelley- January

At least we all made it through the football season...gotta keep priorites straight, right? Can you imagine sitting in front of the four uncomfortable pregnant ladies...hope we didn't knock anybody over. Now we all have two children and actually enjoy our tailgating times b/c they are not typically there. Thanks to all the grandparents and friends who watch the little rugrats while we enjoy a day in the sun (or rain) with our friends. Looking forward to the goodtimes this year!

Go Boilers! Go Boilers!

We did more...

Well, we did do more than just cut hair over labor day weekend and just thought I would show a couple of cute pics of good times on the lake...since lake season is coming to a close. So sad!!

Since Lucas wakes up at 6am anyway...why not go fishing? So daddy, Uncle E and Lucas took off one morning for what I think was Lucas' first REAL fishing experience. I guess he didn't touch the fish or worms, but had a great times with the boys.