Happy Birthday to Jason (on the 24th)!!

Just wanted to wish my wonderful and cute hubby, a happy birthday this last Saturday! He turned the big 3-0 and I had a surprise birthday party for him with all his friends. It turned out good and it was a lot of fun! Let me tell you having a surprise party was not that easy. I had to be a tricky wife, which honestly felt very dishonest, but it all worked out in the end!! My plan all came about when I saw what I wanted for his birthday cake in October of last year, but I really decided to make it a surprise and to go for it about two months ago. I had told Jason about two weeks ago that I was taking him out to eat for his birthday and that my parents were going to babysit, so not to make any other plans. He then said to me, "you planned something for my birthday??" Little did he know that I had bigger plans that he wasn't aware of!! It was kind of a crazy week last week with him being in Chicago and not knowing when he was going to be back in Mankato, but he pulled into town on Friday evening. Of course, my plans for cleaning the house came to a halt when I became sick last Sunday and was a "single parent" while he was in Chicago. I finally felt 100% better on Thursday and started cleaning the house after the girls went to bed. By the time I went to bed, all I had left to clean was the kitchen and the bathroom on the main level, which I figured I could do regardless if Jason was home or not. Jason also didn't know that I knew that his friend Adam was going to be stopping by on Saturday for a "short visit" before him and his wife "headed to the airport" (which was all a fib, but since they wanted to hang out with Jason a little longer, it worked out). I had to go to Minneapolis to get his cake (I know this is crazy, but that's just how it all worked out). I also got to stop by Belle Plaine on my way home and meet my new little Goddaughter, Elaina Grace on Friday! (which I also had to keep secret from the hubby)!! That was so much fun getting to see her and her mom and dad and big sister, Lila! Luckily for Jason, they decided to come to the party, so Jason got to meet his Goddaughter also!! Friday was crazy because by the time I got home on Friday it was 1 pm and I still had to go get groceries and then had to bring Landree to a Dr. appt by 3 pm. Ended up, the cake kind of fell apart on the way home and needed a little "surgery"!! So when I got done grocery shopping, I only had 30 minutes to fix it, which I ran out of time. I was hoping to also have gotten some food thrown together (now keep in mind, I am doing all of this at the neighbors house) but nothing worked out. That just meant a lot more work for my parents while Jason and I went out to eat on Saturday. So, Friday evening, I figured once I got Landree into bed and got Ryleigh comfy with a movie, I'd run over to the neighbors house and finish the cake "surgery", but when I texted Jason, he was only two towns (about 20 minutes) away. So, there was no time for me to finish it. I was hoping Saturday morning I could sneak over while I fed and played with the neighbors rabbits, but that really doesn't take all that long, so thankful to my parents for helping out while we went out to eat. (Jason and I take care of the neighbors pet rabbits while they are gone and they usually watch Remy for us when we go out of town)! Back to the party, my plan was for everyone to be at the house at 7 pm, but when Jason and I got into the restaurant fast and were done eating by 6:20, I was becoming a little nervous. Shoot, I was so nervous, I couldn't even eat my whole meal. HAHA! Anyways our waitress came over and asked if we'd like to look at the dessert menu, "of course" I said to her and Jason, "you only turn 30 once!" So we had dessert which brought my time to 6:45, and for the first time, I was excited that our waitress messed up our bill, because that bought me a few more minutes. We had also decided before going home and after eating that we would go buy my parents a bottle of wine for their anniversary. After supper, Jason asked if I'd like to walk (perfect idea) to the wine store. That bought me some more time and we were on our way home by 7:20!! I almost got caught texting the party that we were on our way home!! Jason then said that he needed to call his friends Ryan and Jerhod that evening (I giggled to myself as both of them were waiting at the house for him)! So, he called Ryan first on our way home. Once we got home he was taking his sweet time going into the house. He picked up Ryleighs toys outside, then fed Remy and finally walked into the house where he was surprised by his friends!! It was so fun! I was still so nervous, I didn't even have my first drink until about 10 pm! It ended up being a very late night and we didn't get into bed until about 3 am! My parents took the girls back to St. James Saturday evening after the surprise! Ryleigh was so excited to "surprise" her daddy and I think I heard her scream surprise the loudest, it was so cute! If any of ya'll are reading this that made it to the party, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedules for making it down to surprise Jason. He really had a great time and so did I! Thanks to all who traveled and to Ryan and Ana for making it 3 days after Elaina was born!! I was not a very good picture taker and instead enjoyed myself, so I didn't get hardly any pictures. The pictures that I did get posted were from my parents camera and then some of later in the night when I said to who was left, "oh, darn, I didn't get any pictures of tonight." So, they grabbed the camera and took some shots. So here are a very select few photos. If you didn't make the slide show, it's because I didn't get a picture of you before you left....my bad, sorry Jason!! I felt really good when Jason told me it was the best birthday he's ever had!! Oh, and one last thing for those of you who didn't get to see the cake in person, everything that you see is edible, except for the labels and caps on the bottles of beer (even the bottles and the "wisky barrel" were edible.....very sugary, but edible)!!Pretty neat, huh?!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

NOW, you all know why April is crazy (and we still have one more birthday to go)!! Just wanted to wish my parents a very Happy Anniversary. I am so excited that you got to go welcome Ryan home, spend some time in Cape Cod and at Niagra Falls, I bet is was a fabulous anniversary treat! However, believe it or not, we MISS you and can't wait til you're home! LOL!! Thank you both for being wonderful role models for Jason and I and showing us what it takes to make a good marraige, 33 years is quite impressive!! SO HATS OFF TO YOU!! We Love You!! Okay, this is really sad, but I cannot find any other pictures of the two of you together more recently, and I know I have some, so this is what you get posted again, for the second year in a row!! SORRY!! Look how little Landree was.....oh how time flies! Can I use the excuse also, that my pictures are everywhere right now and so disorganized...I am working on it!! Love you both!

Birthdays and Congrats!!

Just have a few birthday wishes for today!! First of all, would like to wish my Grandma Leora a very Happy Birthday! I miss her so much and can't wait to see her soon (in June, I hope)! She is a wondeful lady and anyone who's ever had the chance to know or meet her has met an angel in disguise! She is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever known and I have so many fond memories of her growing up that I will cherish and share with my children for years to come!!

The second birthday wish goes out to Jason's dad, Papa Danny! We hope you had a very special day as well and Ryleigh was very excited to get to sing you not only one song, but two!! Hope the songs brightened your day! We have to get the one on video here to share it with everyone as it is so stinkin' cute! Thanks for being a great dad, dad-in-law and Papa!!

The third birthday wish (and CONGRATS) goes to not the least at all, but the newest little person to the birthday list, is little miss Elaina Grace Volovsek whom was born this morning at around 12:30 am!! She is just a cutie. CONGRATS to our dear friends, Ryan and Ana and big sister Lila Kate on their newest bundle of joy. I cannot wait to meet her, I hope it's soon. I wish so much I could have gone and seen her at the hospital, however, bringing two ornery children and a not so feeling well mama up there would not have been appreciated, so we will wait until all are healthy (me) and at home! We are so happy for you guys!

I am feeling about 75% better with all this wonderful sleep I am getting. I had so much energy today here and at work, I actually had enough energy to cook a meal for supper, yay me! LOL! Let me tell you, I have been taking it easy in that department the last few days! Well, speaking of getting rest, I am heading there right now, so hope everyone has had a great day and hope the rest of the week continues to be good.

Happy Birthday again, today, to all these special people in our lives!!

Jason's gone.....boo

Wow, it's been a fast month. I always say this but it's crazy how much Jason and I work together to make everything go right with our "stuff"! He is currently in Chicago for work, and seriously, I cannot wait for him to get home. First of all, every time he leaves, one of us gets sick. Last time it was Ryleigh who wasn't feeling well, this time it's me. I can honestly say, taking care of two small children while feeling like crap and being all alone is ONE of the hardest things I've ever done, hats off to all of you single, working mothers or fathers out there who don't have a second person to help out. I am glad it's me and not one of the girls though. It sort of hit me like a mack truck about three hours after Jason left. I wasn't feeling 100% when he left, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then I took the girls to the park. I was kind of cold so I made them put on jackets and I had a sweatshirt on. They both seemed hot and by the looks of others at the park, it must have been warm (and it was, 80 degrees when I got home). Anyways, we played at the park for 2 hours until I couldn't take it anymore. When we got home, I layed on the floor while they played and jumped all over me. It was NOT fun. I still couldn't believe how cold I was when I got home, so I took my temp and it was 103.4. Ryleigh was a gem and was such a good helper for me and has been such a big girl this whole time. I felt so bad to because this was the first time she's cried when Jason has left. It was so sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time. This all started Sunday. Monday, I slept the whole day. I didn't think I would be able to sleep Monday night but sure enough, I was able. Enough about me though, I am acutally feeling somewhat better today. Not sure when Jason will be home yet, hopefully soon. I miss him. Despite my not feeling well, the girls are doing fabulous (so far)! Somewhere around here, I have a list of things about them and what they've been up to. I am sure I will find it sometime and get it posted soon. I missed a few birthdays in the past few days as well. My friend Laci had her big 3-0 on Saturday, she is one of the dearest friends that I have, another friend, Barbara had her big 5-8 on Saturday, my boss' birthday was Monday. So happy birthday to all of these very special  people in my life. And the birthdays aren't over......more to come this week. See why my April goes so fast. :) Saturday we had a bonfire in the backyard and had marshmallows (they were too little to roast, I need to stock up on the big ones) and Ryleigh got to stay up a little later, so I have some pictures of her from that. If I sound like I'm rambling or some of this doesn't make sense, chalk it up to me not feeling that great. I have a video I wanted to share, but since blogger keeps changing things around and I haven't felt like searching, I am not sure how to post a video with them anymore. And, I am really tired and feeling hot, so I am going to bed. Videos and pictures another day, I promise.

Finally, the Easter photos!!

Here's slide show #1 of Easter. This was at my parents house.

Here's slide show #2 of Easter. These were at Jason's dads house! Shea, I borrowed some of your photos, hope you don't mind!! I liked them so much :)

WELCOME HOME UNCLE RYAN!!!!

Just wanted to welcome home my brother, Ryan, from his 6 month deployment! He arrived in CT this afternoon at 2pm. I will have to post the websites to check out of the live coverage, however, I am still trying to find them. I spoke with my dad before Ryan's arrival and it sounds like one of the stations interviewed my sister-in-law, Kelli, so it would be fun to find. Ryan, it was really good to hear your voice today. We are so excited that you arrived safely. Thanks for the cute picture of you and Kelli today. As soon as I can or get pictures from Kelli, I will post them. She made a really neat shirt to wear and made a really cool banner welcoming him home that I would love to show off on the blog. Jason, Ryleigh and I got to see it via skype last evening and hopefully this evening we can visit with Uncle Ryan via skype. We Love You Uncle Ryan! Thank you for keeping us safe and sound here at home!!!! We wish so much we could be celebrating with you today in RI! Know we are, in our hearts!!

The Weekend!

This past weekend was gorgeous here in the great state of Minnesota!! We didn't have daycare on Friday, so I took a personal day from work to stay home with the kiddos and then Jason took a half day off so we could spend it all together. I had some fun plans to go to the zoo, but Ryleigh was naughty and punishment was NO ZOO. I was really bummed as I was looking forward to going, but hopefully it worked. Apparently, according to one of Jason's co-workers, that was a little "rough", but we're hoping she doesn't turn out to be a spoiled brat and turns out to be a good, polite little girl! I won't go into details to spare her and I humiliation, so we will go on with the weekend. I did get the house cleaned up on Friday with most of the laundry done before Jason got home, so that was nice to get out of the way. We did grill out that evening. Jason and I have these huge plans for landscaping in the backyard this year. Saturday morning, our friend Ryan and daughter, Lila, came over to help us (Jason) cut two big pine trees down that were dying. It was really sad, because they were mature trees, however, we weren't liking the view from our house and deck. So, two 30 foot trees came down on Saturday. Lila was a lot of fun for the girls, and really having the three of them together wasn't that bad at all. Like I told my friend, Ana, they made "3" seem easy!! They played well together. Ryleigh was the mother hen again. It's funny how differently she treats her sister compared to other "toddlers". I mean Lila and Landree are only 3 months apart and she was SOOOO sweet with Lila and sharing and then she was taking things from Landree. Lila and Landree layed down for naps perfectly for me, it was interesting deciding who I was going to lay down first, etcetera, but in the end I made it happen. It was almost like having twins....double diaper duty, double nap duty, double feeding duty, double sippy cup duty, but it was a double the fun, I might add!! Our plans for backyard include a swingset and play area for the girls, a firepit area for all of us, a small garden, adding plants and shrubs, pulling out bushes and putting up a fence (fence and bushes may be next summers project)! Our backyard seems so huge without those two huge trees. And, I am trying not to feel guilty about cutting them down, but Jason did point out that we have planted 5 trees here since we've moved in! We also spent some time visiting with neighbors and practically spent hardly any time in the house. We did go to a park one of those days! Sunday we just hung out and spent the day mowing, putting up our screenhouse, cleaning it and playing outside some more. We did go to Menards and looked at stuff as well, getting our plans in order!! I forgot to mention the nest of baby squirrels Jason and Ryan found that survived the 30 foot drop. The mama came and moved them Saturday night, but they were so cute. Their eyes were even still closed. I was also on call for the weekend and did go into work for a short time on Saturday evening as well as answered a ton of questions via phone the past three days, but hey, that's what I am for, so I'm glad I was able to help! I will be glad when my week is over though!! :)

Here's a couple of pictures of the girls playing outside. Landree got a little too much sun on Saturday. It was so nice I didn't even think about sunscreen :(, but she "browns" up nicer than I thought she would, luckily she didn't burn, so it must not have been too strong. Sunday, Landree got soaked, so we took off her clothes, which then caused Ryleigh to rip off her clothes. This time, I did get some sunscreen on them as it was a lot warmer and sunnier than Saturday. I thought it was hilarious!! They played like this for at least 2 hours and Landree's hands were so cold from the water!

Happy Birthday Andie!

Happy Birthday to our sister-in-law and the girls' aunt, Andie! Hope you had a great day and hope you got the message. Take care.

The Easter Weekend

WOW, it's April 7th and this is my first blog for the month. This month is already whizzing by! We had a busy Easter weekend. Let's see, Saturday, we traveled a short distance to hang out with my parents. My dad made a great and healthy dinner....way to go dad, it was excellent! Ryleigh and I colored Easter eggs with Grandma Pam and then after Landree woke up from a very short nap (30 minutes) we hid Easter eggs (about 80 times)!!! Ryleigh did really good egg hunting, as did Landree!! Let's just say, by Sunday, Ryleigh was a pro for the Easter bunny and for Aunt Shea and Josh! Ryleigh wanted so badly to hide eggs from one of us, so I went in the house and let her hide them. It was so cute, all these eggs laying in the grass and then in various spots where we hid hers. She kept grabbing my hand, running me to the eggs and saying, "look, mommy, theres an egg for you!" We headed home around 6 pm and then we we were all up bright and early on Sunday. I think Easter Sunday is one of my more favorite church services. Not only that, but our pastor makes it very special for the kids, too. The past two years Ryleigh has gotten to see baby chicks and baby lambs after the Easter Sunday service. So, I was excited to see what would be there this year for her and Landree. Well, not thinking the animals wouldn't be at the first service, we went since we were up and at 'em and we were going to head to Northfield to hang out with Grandpa Danny and Grandma Terri, Aunt Shea and Josh. We thought we'd get a good start on the day. No animals at the first service though. Which ended up being okay since Grandma and Grandpa Quint have male and female mallards hanging out in the pond in their back yard! Next year, I will have to remember that the animals are at the later Easter Sunday service. So, the Easter bunny didn't have time Saturday night to hide eggs, so he came while we were at church!! :) He hid the eggs and delivered some stuff in the girls' Easter baskets! After Ryleigh found all the eggs, we made deviled eggs for dinner. Then we heaeded to Northfield to hang out with the Quints. I also brought an apple pie for dessert! The food was delicious and after that we checked out all the stuff for Baby Lewis who will be joining the family very soon....so exciting, I might add!! Then Aunt Shea and Josh hid more eggs for Ryleigh and Landree!! After that we went on a walk to the park and played there for awhile!! Then we colored Easter sugar cookies...yummy! The weekend was very fast and fun.....and for some reason (maybe the constant busyness), but the four of us were kindof crabby, so hopefully we didn't rub off on anyone!! I will add pictures and video here shortly of the Easter weekend. So thankful we had family to share it with.

Ryleigh started her swimming lessons at the YMCA yesterday afternoon. She did so good and said she had lots of fun. She jumped in twice and went under the water without any problems....yay (maybe the trip to WI was a fluke)! Jason's learning lots at his guitar lessons. He and I are seeing who can run more miles in a week, I think! HAHA! I told him he should run the 10K with me, but I think I will have better luck talking my mom into it (which she might do with me)! That would be so fun mom and you CAN do it!! Landree is doing good, she is going down the stairs without any problems. She is so cute, if she starts getting to close, we say, "get on your tummy and go down" she will then go on her tummy and scoot backwards towards the steps...sometimes she does this on the opposite side of the room/hall from the stairs and crawls backwards on her tummy accross the hall to the steps, cracks me up!! My parents came over last evening for a quick visit as they are taking a road trip to Rhode Island to visit my brother and his wife! They will leave on Friday after work and won't be back until April 23rd. I think my mom was already having Ryleigh/Landree withdrawals (and she's not even gone yet)! My brother arrives next week from his six month "deployment" and my parents are going to go welcome him home! His arrival might make national news, so we might get to see it on TV, but if it only makes local news, they are going to send me the link....I will share if it all works out!!

Thanks to everyone for all the Easter gifts for the girls, they love them all. Ryleigh has already slept in her jammies and the Resurecction eggs are a big hit! We had to bring those to daycare for "show and tell"!!! Ryleigh is also liking her new movie, Princess and the Frog that the Easter bunny brought!