Exciting News!

We SOLD our house!!!! Jeremy and I have been wanting to get out of Center Point for awhile now, we just couldn't decide if we were going to move back to DBQ or make the official move to Cedar Rapids. Well,  after careful thought  and consideration we have decided that it is best for our family to move to Cedar Rapids. Our house was put on the market on July 5th and we recieved an offer on July 17th! Negotiantions (which are dreadful, I thought Jeremy was going to kill them in their sleep) we feWe have found a home in Robins, just north of CR (technically not separate at all) and are very excited for the big move. The house we bought is in the CR school district (very important to me) and is a home that we can grow into and make our own. We officially close on August 26th, but may get possession a few days early!

The kids are excited to move!

In other news Owen took a poop on the potty! 7/22/11 (he was so proud!) Ellie and I sang for him! He walked with his head a little higher after the big moment. Love him!

So proud!

Making sure it is still in there

Ellie's 3rd Birthday Party

Ellie had her 3rd birthday party on Saturday, July 16th. Everyone from Dubuque came to help her celebrate, including all her grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and Yaya of course.
The theme for her party was, "Pinkilicious" Ellie loves the book titled Pinkilicious and she LOVES the color pink.

Happy Birthday to Ellie!

Ellie and Mommy made pink cupcakes, just like in the book the night before her party. This is the second time we have done this (plus the millions of times she helps to make cookies :) and it is so much fun!

The next day we went and bought pink balloons and flowers, and got the entire house decorated and ready to go.

Daddy painted fingernails becasue mommy was running late, he thinks I made him do it just to get this picture...there could be some truth to that :)

Party is set up and ready to go!

So excited!

Ellie loved opening her presents, but was a bit slow at it if I do say so myself :) Jeremy and I decided that from now on at birthdays, we are going to have our kids open their gifts as the people arrive. I feel like opening all at once gets to be too overwhelming and I feel that people don't always get the proper "thank you" that they so deserve.

Pictures from our fun, but very HOT day:

The gift opening begins

And her alltime fav gifts:

She had asked Yaya and Papa for a bike!



Grandma and Papa got her a table, she has been asking for a picnic table all summer! Once it cools down a bit we can eat lunch outside!



Rachel, Eric and Waylon got her a tea set

She LOVES it, we have had 2 tea parties already :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Ellie!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our sweet Ellie Bean! She has been looking forward to this day for months (no joke!) and I don't think she was disappointed.
Ellie woke up to a present from Mommy, Daddy and Owen. She opened it immediately and found a brand new kitchen! When asked what she wanted for her birthday she would always say she wanted cupcakes, but I don't think she would trade her new kitchen for anything. Not to mention she says that it is "Ellie and Owen's kitchen"...never just hers....such a sweet girl to share her new gift so willingly.

3rd Birthday Gift

Cooking with Owen

 After presents and a little playing we went to Donutland for breakfast...they have the BEST donuts EVER!

Milk and a Sprinkle Donut

We then made a trip to The Playstation. I had a coupon of 2 admissions for the price of one, and adults are free. The $5 bucks to get in was well worth it. Both Ellie and Owen had a blast! Very cool place and they gave us another coupon to come back!

Here are all the pics from The Playstation:

Climbing through tunnels

Cheese

Owen the monkey

 



So brave climbing through the clear tunnels



She loved playing in the ball cage

Daddy even jumped in!

Buried

She loves to pretend she is driving

We love you Ellie, and hope that your 3rd birthday was a great one!



Mess

Monday morning I woke up around 4:30 to the sirens going off. We immediately tried to turn the TV on which only stayed on for about 2 minutes and then all of the power went out. After looking outside and hearing the wind we decided to get the kids up and go downstairs. I pulled out the bed downstairs and we all laid down to get some more sleep. Needless to say Owen was the only one sleeping...and snoring very LOUDLY! Ellie is still talking about how loud Owen was snoring. After awhile Jeremy and Owen got up and I was finally able to get some sleep downstairs with Ellie. This is what we woke up to:

Tree down in neighbors yard

Tree branches came down in our front yard

Back yard is a disaster

Trees down in the backyard

We could not even get down the street to the right of us. Power was not restored in Center Point until Monday night. Owen was one hot, sweaty, crabby little guy!
Not the best site to see when you are attempting to have an open house on Sunday. Jeremy bought a chainsaw he has been wanting, and we were able to get everything picked up. Our neighbors had it a lot worse than us, so we consider ourselves to be a bit lucky. Ellie wants to sleep downstairs again tonight :)

28th Brithday

July 10th was my 28th birthday! I hate to admit it at this age, but I still do love my birthday and look forward to it each summer. Jeremy was working all weekend, so I decided to head to DBQ to celebrate my birthday. We started the weekend by heading over to the Kaune's house. Aundrea gave Ellie some presents for her birthday coming up on the 15th and then we walked to Flora Pool. The kids really loved this pool and it only cost the 4 of us $7.00...compared to $17.00 in Cedar Rapids!

I forgot to get my camera out until the end...they all look a bit annoyed with my picture attempt :)



After the pool we went to Happy Joe's to celebrate both Ellie and my birthdays. It was a lot of fun, Ellie was very excited when they sang to her, and enjoyed her ice cream!



Mmmmm ice cream!



Mommy and Owen

Owen loves drinking from a straw

 I then brought the kids to my parents house and headed back to the Kaune's to go out with Aundrea in DBQ. We had a great time, although my requested 11:00 bedtime was missed by 3 hours thanks to Aundrea :)The next morning I woke up went for a long run (not by choice I got lost on my short run) and headed to Panera to meet Jerica and Sarah for breakfast. It was great to catch up with the two of them! I then got my hair cut (still cannot find anyone to do it right in CR) and then headed back to my parents. We had Happy Joe's pizza (I cannot get enough of the place:) and my mom made my favorite ice cream cake. After lunch and dessert we all jumped in the pool!

Swimming with Yaya and Papa

Sunday on my actual birthday Jeremy brought me home a cookie cake (another one of my FAVORITE desserts) and the next day we went to Zoey's for the best pizza in CR. I'm obviously a pizza kinda gal :)

Makes me hungry for another one!

Owen couldn't resist

Next up is Ellie, and she is more than excited for her big day!

A Day at the Beach

Palo Beach

Jeremy had off work today and it is 90 degrees, so we decided to go to Palo to the lake and hang out on the beach. I had never been there before, and was pleasantly surprised. It is very clean with bathrooms and showers. Also, the crowd at the beach seemed to be very pleasant and low key. The kids love to be in the water, but the Cedar Rapids pools cost us $17 as a family every time we go, and with the kids being so young we never stay for very long. After playing in our kiddie pool at home day after day, I believe we found the perfect solution at Palo Beach. The kids can play in the sand or in the water...and it was FREE! :)

Mommy and Ellie

I didn't get any pics of us in the water, just a few while we ate a snack on our blanket.

Swimming makes you hungry!

Nap time!

Happy 4th of July!

This year we stayed in Cedar Rapids for the 4th of July and Fireworks. The last time we were in CR for the 4th I was pregnant with Ellie, and we went to a Kernals game. Jeremy and I had no clue where to go for the fireworks in Cedar Rapids, but Ellie was adamant about seeing them (and I love them as well :). We thought about going to a baseball game (fireworks afterwards) but worried about the kids not being able to sit the entire time. So, we made up our minds to head into Cedar Rapids and find somewhere to watch the fireworks. We didn't get downtown until 7:00, and surprisingly it was not CRAZY with traffic like it always is in DBQ. We found a parking lot to sit in 6 blocks away from where they set off the fireworks. After parking we set up camp with our chairs, and waited. 

Waiting for the fireworks



She was so EXCITED



Chilling



Seriously mom put the camera away!

 Josh joined us and brought bubble guns for the kids (they LOVED them). Ellie also packed "chalk walk" as she calls it in her book bag. We had a few visitors stopping in to say hi along their way, but other than that it was just the 5 of us.

Owen and Josh (saying cheese and closing his eyes)

Bubble Guns

Cheese

Watching the show

It was a great 1st time experience at the CR fireworks. We plan to go back next year!