Ready, Set, Grill.

We have been looking forward to having a patio put in since we moved to this house a year ago.  So, this week the patio was put in and Dennis and I took the first opportunity we could to dust off the grill from the garage and cook out.  It is so nice to be able to grill again.

This weekend our neighbors had us over for dinner and for the kids to play with their water slide.  We are loving these impromptu dinners with neighbors.  It is nice to have neighbor friends here.  Now that our patio is in, we are way overdue in inviting people to our house for dinner.  So, hopefully we can host soon.

Friday night we also went to an outdoor concert that was a ton of fun.  We brought picnic dinners and there was some activities for kids, but mostly we just sat and listened to the music with friends.  The boys got their faces painted, which they were thrilled about...

This week was also a doctors appointment for me.  So far everything is looking good.  Baby had a good heartbeat (158) and that is about all that happened at the appointment.

Tuesday night I went out with the ladies to a chick flick movie and Thursday Dennis and our neighbor went to the midnight showing of the new Batman movie.   And that was our week.

Nags Head Beach 2012

This year we broke up the long drive to Nags Head by staying with friends in Richmond overnight.  Despite a bad storm and loosing power midway through our card game, we had a nice time with them and it was definitely easier than staying in a hotel room with 3 little kids.  And, since the nausea with this pregnancy still hasn't gone away, I was so ready to get out of the car by the time we got to Richmond.

Friday June 29th, was also our 10 year wedding Anniversary.  Since the beach trip fell on the same day as our anniversary, we have made plans to celebrate in Chicago end of July.  So, I will have more to say about our anniversary then...

The beach trip was fantastic again this year.  It was my whole family except for my sister Carol's family.  There were 10 adults and 9 kids.  Poor Katelyn was the only girl!  I was so excited to spend time with my newest nephew, Lincoln.  He is so small and adorable!

The boys had a blast all week playing with their cousins.  They really were pretty easy, since they were constantly busy with pool and beach and just playing.

We ate lots and lots of good food.  As usual, each family is in charge of cooking one night and then we went out to dinner two nights.  Sadly, my kids are not the biggest seafood eaters.  They will eat fish and  Evan liked both clams and crab, but that is about it.  I hope this changes as they get older.

This was the first year we were in Nags Head for 4th of July and we sure lucked out.  Our house was only about 3 houses from the pier where they let off a huge fireworks display.  We were able to all sit on the top deck of the house and watch the show.  It was by far the best I have seen and it felt like it was our own private show since we were so close.  All the kids seemed to enjoy it, based on the constant stream of chatter from some of the kids (ie. Evan).

Other than that, the adults played lots of Catan.  We did mini golf and went out for ice cream a few times.  But mostly, we spent lots of time at the beach and pool.  Logan loved the ocean and laughed and laughed running from the waves.  He was a bit hesitant at first with the pool, but eventually enjoyed that too.  Colin and Evan have both gotten more daring at the beach and enjoyed playing with the boogie board.

As always, the week went by way too fast.  We then did the LONG drive back home to Indiana.  15 hours in one day is not fun, but worth it to get home to our own beds.  Logan had fussy moments of course, but the other two did great.  We are already counting down until next years trip and can't believe we will be traveling with a 6 or 7 month old next year!!!

Basketball Family??

We are starting to get ready for the beach around here.  And we can't wait!!!  I am slowly shopping for odds and ends that we need.  I got all three boys hair cut last week and other than that we are spending a lot of time at the pool.  I am very lucky that my kids get a long very well and really enjoy playing with each other.  Colin and Evan spend hours at the pool laughing and playing together.  We have gone there with the pool practically empty and they still manage to keep each other entertained.

When Logan is with us I have to be much more careful.  He will put his head in and try swimming around or doing little rolls in the water.  He loves it!  Colin and Evan hated getting their faces wet at this age and never really left my side, so this is a new experience!

Friday evening we were invited to a neighbors home for a BBQ.  We were able to spread our good news to the neighbors.  They were all very excited for us.  Though, I am sure they probably think we are crazy since they all have only 2 kids!  Some of them wish they had had one more, but feel they are now too old.

Saturday, we spent almost the whole day at another neighbors home.  He had a basketball Horse Tournament.  There was about 100 people in total playing this year in their annual tournament.  We didn't know many people at all, since this is a different group of neighbors than who we regularly hang out with.  Colin, Dennis and I all competed in our various divisions.  Colin did well and had a good chance, but the girl he was playing against came back to win.  I thought I would get destroyed since I haven't touched a basketball in maybe 20 years and really have no experience with basketball.  I did loose my first game, but not as bad as I expected and did get a few good shots.  Dennis, was equally as nervous as I.  After all, we live in Indiana where many people live and breathe basketball.  Dennis actually did well and was tied in his game for a while.  He made some great shots from far away, but then lost by loosing a series of close shots.  I joked that at least Dennis and I didn't loose in the first round (we had a bye the first round)!  There was lots of food and it was fun.  But, it was a long day and the boys were still tired from being up late the night before.  So, we headed home and all of us, even Dennis, took a nap!

Sunday, I woke up feeling very nauseous and I couldn't shake it all day.  I ended up going back to bed after breakfast and Dennis surprised me by taking all three kids with him to run errands.  I woke up to a quiet house and was shocked that he braved shopping with all 3 of them.  I spent about 90% of the day on the couch while Dennis put the kids down for naps, did a little cleaning and laundry and made dinner.  I am very lucky to have him!!!

Breaking The Big News...

Well, now that we have told all our family and closest friends I can post that we are expecting #4!!!  We are very excited and a bit nervous too.  I was very tired the first trimester, but it is slowly improving.  Now, I'm just continuing with nausea, some days worse than others.  I was hoping it would be done after I hit the 12 week mark, but I am now 14 weeks and it is continuing.  I think it lasted 14-16 weeks with Logan so hopefully, it will go away soon.

Wednesday, I had my 12 week appt (really I was 13 1/2 weeks, but the ultrasounds are showing me a week behind so there is some debate on the due date).  Colin and Evan came with me and we heard the heart beat for the first time.  Evan commented how loud it was and he kept asking if the doctor was going to take the baby out!  I don't think he is understanding that he has to wait until December for that!   I am supposed to be due 12/21, but my first ultrasound says 12/28, which is not possible, so who knows....I think I am due around 12/24, but the docs will probably stick with 12/28.

Today, Dennis came with Colin, Evan and I to get an ultrasound.  It was cool as always to see the baby on the screen.  Colin and Evan also thought it was neat, though I think they were equally as interested in their video games.  Colin is reading this as I type and says that's not true :-)  This ultrasound came up with a due date of 12/27.  But, most important the baby looks healthy so far!

We waited to tell everyone this go round until at least the 12 week mark, because we found with previous pregnancies that people aren't very good at keeping secrets.  We really didn't want work or Facebook acquaintances to know too early and so we felt the only way to keep things quiet was to not tell anyone until we were ready for everyone to find out.  With the added stress of the early part of this pregnancy not looking very good, we really wanted to be sure the baby was healthy before news got out.  And, of course we want to be the ones to tell our close friends and family and not have them hear it from someone else or Facebook.

So, anyway, we waited to tell the boys until almost 13 weeks, right before we told everyone else.  They were excited.  Colin said, "Finally!".  Of course they want a boy so they can play 2 on 2 sports!  Fathers Day weekend we began making phone calls to family to let them know and gradually as we have run into friends and neighbors we have told them as well.  It is starting to feel real now!

Father's Day 2012

Well, the spa was wonderful!  Wish I could go once a month!  Evan had a good last game on Saturday and Dennis and I had a great time at the wedding of his coworkers daughter that evening.  We only knew one other couple at the wedding and the parents of the bride, but we had a good time anyway.

Sunday was Father's Day.  The boys and I made an awesome frame with three pictures in it.  Each picture was one of the boys holding a letter and when put together it spelled Dad.  We also got him a Redskin RG3 jersey.  It was a pretty low key day during the day.  The boys had fun playing with Grandpa, we had lunch at our favorite burger place here and then I made ribs for dinner.

 

Monday, we said good bye to Grandpa, cleaned the house, went for a long walk and then went to the pool to celebrate with Evan's T-ball team.

It will be strange to have no sports or planned activities until August.  But, so far we have managed to stay busy enough this summer.

What We Have Been Up To...

I completely forgot to mention that Dennis and I have a new nephew!  Lincoln Cullen Pritchard was born on June 3rd.  He was 6lbs 3oz.  This is the first baby for my brother David and sister in law Fanchon.  I have tried to drive up for all my nephews and nieces births, or at least made it up very soon after, so it is killing me to not be there to see him.  The good news is that he came 3 weeks early, which now allows David and Fanchon to join us at the beach first week of July.  So, I will at least get to see him then.  This makes 13 grandchildren for my parents (9 of which are boys).

Around here....Colin showed a big interest in wanting to learn how to play Chess, so Dennis has been teaching him.

The boys and I have been hanging out at many parks and we have gone to the pool a couple times as a family.

And, we have just enjoyed being together...

Colin's soccer season came to an end and Evan's last game is tomorrow.  Grandpa McLaughlin is in town for the weekend to watch the boys while Dennis and I go to a wedding tomorrow (the daughter of a coworker of Dennis).  Between having a babysitter here and the wedding tomorrow, I decided today was the perfect day to use my Mother's Day gift (a gift card to a spa).  So, I am off to get pampered...

My Big Boy.

Well, I have seriously been slacking lately.  I let me camera battery die, so I only got a couple pics of Evan's game and none of Colin's this past Saturday.  Both boys did well.  Dennis was actually the coach for Colin's game, because Colin's coach was out of town.  He did a great job coaching and I think he should do it more often.

It has been a little too cool for the pool, so we have kept busy during the week with going to different parks, playing outside, and playing with neighbors.

Throwing rocks in creek, more exciting than the playground for 3 little boys...

I also took all 3 kids to the Children's Museum on Monday.  There was a new hot wheels exhibit that was really cool.  Logan loved all the little cars.  I was nervous taking all the kids to the Museum by myself, but they did great not running off.  It also helped that it wasn't too crowded, so I could pretty much see them all the whole time.

Logan is still in daycare two days a week, so we wouldn't loose his place for the fall.  He has moved up to the Early Preschool class (instead of Older Toddlers).  So far he seems to be doing well and enjoying it, though they do a lot of knew things that he is not used to.  For example, he is supposed to pick a job at the start of the day (like line leader or table cleaner).  I don't think he understands this at all, but they assure us he will figure it out.  That boy does love to be a big boy, so I am sure he will love being in this new class.

Speaking of Logan being a big boy....we used to have one of us read to the big boys and the other take Logan to his room and read to him at night time.  But, lately Logan insists that the person reading to Colin and Evan also read to him.