Cernin4

A little bit of this.....

2011-12-21T17:20:00.005-06:00

Last weekend, my kids, Peyton, Kim and I drove to Burlington for the Wade Christmas party. What a fun party! All the kids had a great time running around and playing with their presents they got from their grandparents.

Papa teaching Taylor how to play Jingle Bells! She is our future pianist!

Here is Jayden and Colin. They were checking out the tunnel for the bat we all saw!

Taylor and Hailey Painting each others nails!

Peyton playing with his 'mater' truck and Shaye playing with her Woody and Buzz

Colin's convertible

All the cousins!! Shaye, Hailey, Taylor, Peyton, CJ, Gavin, Jayden, Colin, and Connor

The two of them had a blast together!!

On Friday, Dec. 16th, Taylor and I went to the Theatre and saw "A Christmas Carol" with our neighbor Sandy! It was soo fun and what a great play!!!

For Taylor's RE class, they put on a Christmas Pagaent on the 14th. She was the sign and star holder!

Getting ready to make her debut.....

We have been so busy these past few weeks, I'm going to try to slow down and enjoy the next few days. Merry Christmas to all of you! Heres to a wonderful and bright New Year!!

Love,

Becky

The addition is OPEN!!!

2011-12-10T09:49:00.005-06:00

The new addtition officially opened on Dec. 8th!!!! BIG accomplishment! Alot of hard work and long hours by everyone involved!! There is still TONS to do, but this is a big deal!!

YAY!!! Come on in! We are open!

New soap/cleaner aisle

Chips/crackers

Whoever faced this did a marvelous job! look how pretty it looks!!!

Healthmarket frozen

On Dec. 8th, the Healthmarket and HBC were not totally done yet, so those departments were taped off.

Beautiful Wine and Spirits

Looking toward the walk-in cooler

I Love the 'open' feeling!

Healthmarket dairy

The old soap aisle

Shreds and lunchmeat aisle

since the addition is complete, now the fun part begins! (sarcasm speaking there!) Oh what fun!!

Odds and ends.....

2011-09-24T08:10:00.004-05:00

Just some pictures.....

Doesn't he look pretty in pink!!!??

At Applebee's with Papa...

photo op's at Tim's store picnic

So serious...

My beautiful girl :)

Well, not sure if you all know, Kim is moving back to IOWA!!!! YAY!!! ANDDD.....she's moving to Marion!!!! She has accepted the Human Resources Mgr Position. She starts Oct. 3.

Tim had a golf tourney in Burlington one Sunday, so we went down & visited the fam.

Peyton riding Jayden's scooter

Watch out Gavin, he'll eat your finger!

Of course, we can't have all 5 (soon to be 6 in March!!!!) kids together and not get a pic of all of them. However, we had to bribe them for a wagon ride up to the pond for the pic!!

Peyton 3 (4 in Dec.)

Colin 4

Tay 6 1/2

Jayden 6

Gavin 3 (4 in Feb.)

Colin's sleeping position:

Yes, this is how he fell asleep one night!!

All sprawled out one morning...

he's contemplating something...

maybe the hall light was bothering him?!

The school year seems to be in full swing. Colin goes to preschool/daycare 3 days/week. He seems to really enjoy it and is always excited to see me and show me his school work. He came home on his 1st day and said, "I didn't even go to the principal's office!" God love him!

Taylor is enjoying 1st grade. However, she has gotten to be the little social butterfly...not in a good way. She and another classmate seem to be quite the chatterbugs...giggling; and have even had their desks seperated on the 3 day of school! I couldn't believe it. But that has now changed. She is also enrolled in YFF (Youth Faith Formation) at St. Joseph. I am assisting the class as well.

I am working 2 days/week. Yes, I know it's not alot, but I still feel so busy! It's been a pretty crazy month...

Tim's store is really taking shape. Click on the link to see pictures of his store remodel. It's keeping him really busy....along with running the store.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2233434914055.132007.1193377489&l=e68ad2a33a&type=1

Family News:

Jenny is engaged and is planning a July wedding!! The wedding will take place out in NJ! It will be so much fun! Can't wait!

Josh and Chelsea are expecting their 3rd baby in March!!!!!! (Maybe a Mar. 6th baby perhaps??!!) YAY!! Girl or Boy??!! Place your bets! Either way, it will be nice to have another baby to spoil!

Kim and Peyton are moving to Marion!! She will be working at the Marion Hy-Vee...with me!!!! She will be the new Human Resource Manager and starts Oct. 3rd! She and Peyton have found a home already, but can't move in until Oct. 7th.

Mandy has been back in Burlington since the end of June. She is back working fullt-time at Burl #2!!

Just a little insight to our family and the Stevens' family! Hope all is well with everyone!

Becky

Colin's Preschool Open House

2011-09-24T07:56:00.005-05:00

Colin's school open house was this past week. My parents drove up and Gma Cernin drove over to visit his school. He was super excited to show us his room....more importantly, the playground!!

Mrs. Paulson's Class.

They have a growth chart in the room also. Can you see Colin is one of the tallest!!!

His picture when he gets to school. He takes this off the door and sticks it under the "At School" column.

These leaves are part of their Leaves of Love wall. For each good thing they do, they get a leaf and put it on the board.

Leaves of Love tree

Last week was pet week. So, we don't have any pets, but he wanted to take a picture of him and Livy (Rich & Diana's dog). He LOVED her!! So, if we ever get a dog, a Maltese would be the kind!

His spot at "Circle" time. The rug is a huge Noah's Ark.

Taking Gma Cernin down the hall....

The Preschool All-Star!

First day of Preschool

2011-08-17T09:19:00.000-05:00

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First day of First Grade!

2011-08-17T09:09:00.001-05:00

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Six Flags

2011-07-30T07:29:00.012-05:00

Tim was on vacation last week. We were able to get away for a couple days & went to St. Louis.

We made it to our motel!!!!!

Dinner after checking in....

zonked out the next morning.....zzzzzz...zzzzzz.

But, up and at 'em!!! We are going to Six Flags!!!! YAY!!!!

Have to eat breakfast first!!!

Daffy Duck was roaming our hotel that morning!!

The 'freeplay' game the kids were playing before we got in trouble for playing it before 9am...oops!

Six Flags has a waterpark inside it as well. We arrived at the park before it even opened....had to get good chairs in the waterpark...fills up pretty fast! Got our chairs and decided to hit some rides before the heat took over! OMG! Talk about fun!! Colin wanted to go on everything...big coasters, spinning fast rides, little coasters, you name it! Of course, I had wimped out on the spinning things, only because my head and stomach can't take that anymore. Tim, god love him, took the kids on those rides!! And sometimes 4 times in a row!! But to see the kids face's after they come off the ride, PRICELESS!!! Then asking, "Again, we want to do it again!" Totally worth it. At one ride, Colin said to Tim, "This is the best day ever!" And it sure was!! So eventually we went back to the waterpark and played in the water and wave pool. That water had never felt better. It was soooo hot that day, but couldn't have been more perfect. As much I as wanted to float on a tube in the lazy river or wave pool, the kids kept talking about riding more rides. Either way, it was so much fun!!!

Back and forth from park to park. We probably spent the majority of the time on the rides than the waterpark. Bonus tho....lines for the rides were short...I think everyone was at the waterpark. The kids also experienced the Tidal Wave. You know, the big boat you sit in, it takes you up and around, then down?!! We got soaked!!! We did that 2 times in a row! They even wanted to stand on the bridge and feel the 'wave'!!! What a great time!

The shark we caught at the waterpark.

Bugs Bunny!!!

Yosemite Sam

Airplanes

What should we do next?

This one!!! Pandemonium

Can we do it again, mommy?!

The car you sit in, spins around as you go up and then down!!! Dizzzyyyy...

But, they LOVED it!!!

I don't remember what this ride was called, and it was a favorite!

The end of a wonderful day!

Video of Tim and the kids on the Pandemonium. You can hear Taylor screaming!! Hilarious!!

City Museum

2011-07-30T06:39:00.007-05:00

With the high temp of 104 in St. Louis last Friday, we still decided to go to the City Museum. We just told the kids we won't be climbing on the 'outdoor' things. The kids love this Museum. If you have never been here, click on the link for a tour!!!! http://citymuseum.org/site/ Hours upon hours of endless climbing, sliding, and imagination!!! I have never climbed up so many things!!! It was super fun.

The "Rooftop". This was open today too. Just didn't make it up there with the weather being to unbearable!

The Monster slide. 3 stories long!!

Climbing to the unknown...which it really is....you take one path and you're not sure where it brings you out to!

They fell!!

Hall of mirrors

Fire truck hanging out of the building

Taylor and Colin climbing up.....

and back down....

another fun slide...

As much energy as they burnt while there, they were still full of energy the whole 5 hour drive home!!! I would have to say this was the funnest trip with them yet. Colin is older and was able to be involved in a lot more of what Taylor could do. And since they climbed together alone, I felt better with the 2 of them...watching out for each other!!

2011-07-26T16:35:00.001-05:00

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Trip to Papillion

2011-06-22T14:28:00.008-05:00

Rich and Diana invited us out to see them...last year...so we figured we better go see them this year! We drove out last week and just stayed one night. That evening, went for a ride to see the sights of downtown Omaha. Walked halfway across the Pedestrian Bridge that crosses the Missouri River from Omaha to Council Bluffs. The current was so strong you could feel the bridge shaking. Kind of eerie!! Very cool tho!!! http://omaha.net/places/bob-kerrey-pedestrian-bridge

Returned to their house where Rich grilled up some delicious burgers and hotdogs. Then left for the Omaha Storm Chasers game! What a crowd! Their biggest yet....over 8,000 in attendance!! However, they played the Iowa Cubs and beat them.
The following day, we ate some breakfast and headed to the Zoo. http://www.omahazoo.com/
What an amazing place to go! We got there shortly after 9am and didn't leave until close to 3pm! I highly recommend this Zoo!! We had such a great time!! Thanks again Rich and Diana!!

Colin and Taylor made a new friend! This is Liv! What a fun puppy to have!! The kids are desperately in LOVE with her and now what a Maltese!

Giving her hugs goodbye :(

Colin made a buddy out of Rich!!! He wanted to hold his hand walking out to the car!

Walking across the waterfall

Butterfly Garden

The Aquarium...my favorite!

SHARK!!!!!!!

The penquins!!!

Thanks to Diana and Tim's courage, Taylor got to ride the 'Skyfari'!!!

Rhino....

These are not plastic flamingos! :)

All the Polar Bear needed was a bottle of Coca-Cola!!

This gorilla walked over to the window and was just glarring at the kids!

Sun Bear

This is the most beautiful Leopard I've ever seen!

Colin was making friends!

Awwww...Family picture time!!!

At the ballpark

Taylor and Liv

Colin and Liv!!

April - May

2011-05-20T16:10:00.008-05:00

So these pictures are of things from April - May. April bringing Taylor's 6th Birthday! Hard to believe she is 6!! Tim and I went to Spring Celebration (aka.. PROM) in Des Moines. Phil Vassar was our entertainment! He put on a pretty good show! We had a great night....however gambled some $ away at the casino after the Celebration had ended! Oh well, can't win 'em all! Easter arrived too. We ended up going to Gma & Papa Cernin's on the Saturday before Easter, then to Gma and Papa Stevens' house on Easter Sunday. At both houses, the kids enjoyed egg hunts! Tim escorted 2 WWII Vets on the April Honor Flight to Washington D.C. on April 26th. It was a 1 day trip, but they got to see the WWII Memorial site and many other DC memorials. Tim really had a great time.
May~ Taylor had her 1st School program...which was absolutely DARLING!!!!!! The teacher(s) put alot of effort into that program and it was fantastic!!! Tim was in Dallas, TX for a FMI Conference the week of the 9th. The last night there, they got to tour Dallas Stadium and met 2 of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. Needless to say, he brought an autographed picture of all the Cheerleaders that was signed, 'Love to Colin!' Tim is hoping he appreciates it later on!!! Ha! The weekend of May 14th brought us down to the Lake!! Tim was invited to play in the Hy-Vee Adopt a Platoon Golf Tournament. It was so nice to see our Osage Beach family and friends again!! We took the kids to Miner Mike's and Pirates Cove. I even won us a free round, next time we are there!!! (Got a hole in one on the mystery hole!!!) It was a little cold and windy, but none the less, we enjoyed it.!
So, in a nutshell, that's what we've been up to!!!

After Taylor's program everyone got to go to their child's room, where the kids had made 'Mother's Day' things for the mom's!! It was so sweet!!

Singing with her bear! The whole program was based around "bears". Winnie the Pooh, Jazzy version of Goldilocks and the 3 bears, etc.

Easter 2011

Our first family pic since,....um.....probably fall/winter of 2007....gosh i hope not! Either way, it's been long!!

Taylor's Easter goodies

Colin: "CHALK!!!"

Waiting to come down the hall....

Coloring eggs....

Taylor's BDAY....

The evening ended with Taylor and Peyton playing "just dance 2"!!! What a hoot!!!

Me and my kiddos!!! (yes, for some reason, I never seem to get a pic of tim and the kids...)

Party at The Playstation. She invited all the girls in her class. Jayden, Gavin, and Petyon came up for the fun too!!!

Just a few of the girls...and Peyton!!!

...I take that back...here's a pic of the kids with Tim!! We went to her school to have lunch with her on the day before her bday!!

Keaton was home on leave from the Army...we had a family get together!! We are so proud of him!!

The 'guys' (except Colin) are somewhat 'cut off'...since none of them were cooperating....'birds' were flying everywhere...if you catch my drift????!!!!

Us ladies and the boys...minus Kelton.

Me lookin snazzy for "Prom"!!!

Colin's only smile!!!!

Down at Osage Beach.

Met up with the Krecklow girls and had to get a pic of all of them!!!

Colin, Kennedy, Katie, Calyn, Taylor

Arrrrggghhh, shiver me timbers....we just finished at Pirate's Cove!!

Our little golfer!!

Colin taking a break!

Just had to ride the train at Miner Mike's!!

Taylor's last day of school is May 27th. She will be taking golf lessons again this summer. As well as probably T-ball.

Colin has been going to the neighbor's house while I'm at work. He will go to preschool in the fall. Hard to believe both kids will be in school.

I however, will continue to work during the summer...probably 2 days/week, since Taylor has golf 2 days/week. I've gotten to know all our neighbors and we all enjoy getting together for 'Wine Club'. We have such a wonderful neighborhood and wonderful friends. We are already planning a 'block party' which will be awesome!! We all love being outside, chillin, relaxing, and talking over cold beverages!!! Can't wait for summertime!!!

Tim has been keeping busy with his store. They will start a remodel this summer.

Other than that, not much else....wooohooo! exciting huh???!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

2010-12-09T14:17:00.005-06:00

Our first snow of the season!!! And since we are back in Iowa, where snow lasts a little longer than it did in MO, we just had to buy a sled!!!!

We don't have that big of a slope in our yard, but this worked well! I pulled the sled, then let them fly!!! A couple times, they'd flip over and Colin did some 'headers' into the snow!! He thought that was the best!

Had to try sledding down the rocks...:)

My 'snow angel' Colin

My 'snow angel' Taylor

Welcome Fall!

2010-11-15T15:54:00.004-06:00

I'm not an amazing photographer, but I try at least! Just reminiscing of fall. The time is here again! On the upside of that, we have a fireplace this year!! (We had one in the condo at the lake, but never got the propane tank filled). I LOVE having a gas fireplace. It's on almost every morning, with me sitting by it, watching the news or shows I've DVR'ed and enjoying my coffee...before I have to get the kids up and at 'em! There is nothing better than having to stay inside on a cold, rainy, and windy day, and sitting around a fire!!!!

The front door is already for Thanksgiving!

Yes, I found a few others from last year that I just love and wanted to share again!

LOVE this of the kids!!

HAPPY FALL TO EVERYONE!!

Trick or Treat....

2010-11-01T08:49:00.005-05:00

What a fun Trick or Treat it has been!! I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Our pumpkins lit the way to the front door!

Yesterday morning, the kids woke up and I gave them their little gifts from us.

Just got them simple things; t-shirts, a color book for Taylor, Buzz Lightyear sunglasses for Colin, and Halloween cups for each of them.

Later in the afternoon, we went over to Gma and Papa C's to eat before heading out to trick or treat.

Ready to head out! The kids were so excited this year! Colin of course is Woody and Taylor is Princess Tiana (from Princess and the Frog)

Knockin at Nick and Erica's house

We were VERY proud of the kids, as they rang the doorbells, and loudly said, "Trick or Treat". Then we could hear them saying, "Thank you!" They did so awesome! Very proud of them!!

We didn't even make it around are entire neighborhood and the kids were getting tired. We decided to head home, so they could hand out candy. Not sure if they had more fun doing that?!! Either way, I think they had a super fun time! I know I did!! I LOVE Halloween. I even wore my costume...which oddly enough, I don't have a picture of myself in it....I will find one!!

Going thru their 'loot'

So now, the morning after Halloween, all Colin wants to do is eat his candy!!! Anyone want, some milk duds for breakfast??

2010-10-29T09:05:00.002-05:00

We carved our pumpkins lastnight. I should say, Stacy and I carved them. I LOVE carving pumpkins. The kids on the other hand, watch for a little bit, then find something else to do. Oh well, I had fun. Stacy decided to carve the "Little Darling's" (on the far left). I think she was kicking herself for picking it, since there were soo many small details to it. It turned out pretty cool! I carved the Spooky house and Silly face, for Taylor and Colin. The house was tricking. I pretty much 'winged' it after I started cutting. I'm pretty impressed with my 'skills'! Ha! I

"LITTLE DARLING'S"

"SILLY FACE"

"SPOOKY HOUSE"

Fall Fun

2010-10-25T09:30:00.010-05:00

What we have been up to......

This past Friday after school, we drove out to Bloomsbury Farm. You could easily spend a whole day out here! However, we were only there for a few hours. I don't think we even saw everything.

Taylor's favorite was the HUGE tire swings!

Getting big!!

They have a huge jumping pillow. The kids loved this! But, who wouldn't?!!

Got to feed donkey's and sheep

Children of the Corn.....

My Little Frankie!

This slide was awesome!! You literally FLY down it!

In a 'ginormous' tire :)

Taylor climbing the tires

Horse swing

Fun filled evening! After leaving there, with my intention to get home and start dinner, realized we wouldn't get home til closer to 7. So we drove into CR and picked up some Fazoli's and ate it at Gma and Papa C's house. A delicious way to end the day :)

On Saturday, the kids and I headed to Burlington for Josh and Chelsea's Annual Halloween Party. I wish I had a camera that took awesome pictures, because they go alll out in decorating their house!! It's absolutely amazing! They hang lights from the porch, cover the windows so you can see in, had a skeleton in their attic window, and had eye's looking out of the boy's bedroom window. Inside is just as awesome!! From strobe light in the entryway, a massive cobweb with huge spider hanging from the light, to 'bloody' margaritas. It is always a good time!!! Thanks again J & C!!!!

Colin as 'Woody'

Jayden, Josh, Chelsea, and Gavin were goolish zombies! Here is Jayden with Ethan as a vampire.

Kim gettin her rockin' style on!!

Josh and myself....kinda creepy

Nice smile Colin!! Takes after his momma!!

This was taken with my phone....Taylor as "Princess Tiana" from Princess and the Frog.

2010-10-05T09:35:00.002-05:00

Colin and I being silly making lunch

Miss Taylor ready for her school pictures!!

I love decorating this time of year! It's even more fun since I can decorate a 'Home'!

Well, school is underway. Taylor is really liking it. I just hope her attitude continues throughout the year! She really enjoys PE, art, library time, and recess. At the end of each day, she pulls her folder out with all her drawings and school work and shows me what's she learned to do. It's amazing the things she picks up so quickly. I sure as heck don't remember the things I learned in Kindergarten...let alone the stuff as a senior in high school! ha! But she really enjoys it.

We've been keeping busy with many other things too. Hanging outside with the neighbors is high on the list. It won't be long and we won't be able to do that. :( We usually congregate to one house, let the kids play, 'beverages' for the adults, and have a great time! We have such a great neighborhood, filled with wonderful friends!!
We attend all of Kelton's (our nephew) home football games. The kids love going! Cheering on the Cougars!!! Woot wooot!!

Weekends don't last long enough either. Whether it be functions that Tim and I attend, or family get together's to watch the Hawks win!! One weekend, Tim and I went to Des Moines and my parents came up and spent the night at a hotel with the kids. The kids had a great time with them swimming and relaxin' it up, hotel style. They also had a sleep over at Uncle Andy and Aunt Kristin's house. They sure love their dogs!!! They walk them and even fell asleep next to them.

Tim has just finished his first end of the year inventory at his store. What a crazy few months this has been!!! And to think, it's only gonna be crazier with the Holidays fast approaching!

Well, just a little insight to what we have been up to. Hope all is well with everyone!

Love,

Becky

1st Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-19T07:52:00.006-05:00

On this particular day, which was called "Donuts and Drop-off", we got to meet her teacher and take her supplies to school.

Here she is infront of her cubby.

Here is her desk.

Putting her rest/naptime towel in her cubby

1st Day of School

Eating breakfast before school!!

Silly kids!

Already to leave!!!

Here we go!! (Love Colin's look on his face!!)

Walking the hallways to her class!

Putting her things away

Picking out lunch with her teacher

She had a great 1st day!!! She was excited and happy; got to play on the 'HUGE' playground and did many fun things! She brought home some excellent paperwork she did!!

....and of course, with Taylor in school all day, Colin and I got to hang out together! We cleaned out the garage, watched Caillou, and read his truck books from the library!

Here we are goofing off while making lunch!

Wouldn't you figure, the time I make a goofy face, he's smiling really cute!

Look Ma, no training wheels!!

2010-07-15T07:57:00.003-05:00

I have no idea why my pictures are so blurry, so I apologize!
Taylor is riding her bike without the training wheels now!! It really didn't take her (us) very long! We practiced with her a few times, and everyday, she'd say she wants to try all by herself. Then the other day, she just took off....and really hasn't stopped since! She is so proud of herself too. A couple times while riding past our driveway down to the neighbors, you could hear her say to herself, "You can do it". She was on cloud nine!!!

She rides to the end of the block, then will ride down to the last house.

there she goes!

Funny thing is, she didn't need any bandaids. If she fell, it was in the grass, or she caught herself before falling on the cement! She is even more excited that she and I can go on rides together!! The other night we went for a long ride around our neighborhood....she didn't want to get off her bike! We are sooo proud of our Tator tot!!!

A little of what we've been up to.....

2010-06-21T16:45:00.012-05:00

I'm finally back up and running. We have been keeping pretty busy the last 2 months. It didn't take us long to get unpacked and settled in! I don't mess around when it comes to unpacking. I like to feel 'at home' as soon as possible. However, one day, Tim and I tried to hang some pictures. In that 2 hours, we got one hung! I just couldn't decide how/where I wanted some to hang. Oh well....
I don't know who loves being back in a house more: the kids or myself. They are totally enjoying the basement,yard, sidewalks, garage, and driveway! Everyday, as long as its not raining, we are out riding bikes. We have met many of our neighbors....most of whom have young kids! Taylor has made a new friend named Ainsley. We just recently attended the 2nd Annual block party on Saturday. Got to meet many of the other neighbors and their families. It was a great night!
So to keep this short, so nobody falls asleep, here is just a little bit of what we've been doing. Granted I could have posted the over 800 pictures I've had on my camera, but who wants to look thru ALL of those???!!!
Taylor starts Golf lessons today, so I'm sure I"ll be posting again soon!
Take care!!

Feeding the geese

Hy-Vee Prom

Peyton and Kim drove up one day and we picked up some food, ate and played at the park.

Kim and Taylor climbing

Mr P swinging like a monkey!!!

I was so happy to get these great pix of the kiddos!

This is a great pic of Colin! Only because half the time I want a picture, he turns his head or starts screaming!!

making pancakes

Jayden and Colin goofing off at Perkins after Church
Colin and I drove to Burlington one Sunday to hang out, while Tim and Taylor went down to the Lake for a Golf Tournament.

Taylor participated in the Snake Alley Criterium's Kids bike race with cousins, Jayden, Jake, and Maddie. What fun that was!!!

Killing GINORMOUS spiders in the garage!!!!! I about freaked when I saw this!!! My poor neighbor walked over to make sure I was ok...apparently I scream a bit?!!!

T-ball practice

Eating at The Cheesecake Factory! Just an added bonus while in Des Moines!

YUMMO!!!! Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake!!! Can you taste it?

Women's Elite Cup....

here they come to make the transition to bikes.
I hope to go back next year to watch this. What an amazing and exciting thing to watch!! Just the talent all of these athlete's have! Incredible!

Taylor's first game....and she's yawning!

Colin keeping busy!

and finally....(Joni and Kathy, aren't you proud??!!!) My attempt at planting!!! Taylor helped pick out the red, white, and blue flowers for Memorial Day!! And guess what?! It's still alive!

Our new home!!

2010-05-12T13:48:00.002-05:00

Well, we are all moved and settled in. Things are going well in Iowa! Our computer is temporarily out of service. So I use Tim's phone as my 'outside' connection. I occassionally visit the library to check more things out. I'm not sure when I'll be back with pictures to post, so I apologize for that. I am in the process of getting Taylor signed up for Kindergarten....which is really unbelieveable. I've also signed her up for t-ball starting in June!
I think Tim will be taking vacation in June as well. So we are going to plan on going somewhere. Might head back to St. Louis, since the kids had so much fun last year.
I figured I'd give a little update, to let everyone know I am still here! Hope to post pictures soon....

Love,
Becky

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T07:42:00.009-05:00

Kiddos all ready for Easter Mass.

Busy Easter weekend....On Saturday morning, we went to the Easter egg hunt at StoneCrest Mall.

Before the big Hunt!

Taylor went straight to work and

filled her basket very fast!!!

Colin didn't pick up any eggs....but was so excited to see the Easter Bunny!

After the egg hunt, we came home and colored eggs.

Very bright colors!!!

The finished product. We ended up taking the basket of eggs to my friend Laura. She LOVES hard-boiled eggs...Tim and I don't care for them.

Easter morning, we woke the kids up, so they could find eggs before church.

Tay's goodies...

I found one!!!

The Easter bunny even put eggs on all our boxes!! She could hardly reach them!!

Their loot!!

Colin got a Lightening McQueen sleeping bag.

After lunch on Sunday, I took the kids to Laurie for an Egg hunt with my friend Laura and her daughter Kayla. It was a lot of fun!!

Taylor again, took right off and picked up as many eggs as possible! However, there was nooooo shortage of eggs for any kid that was there.

This was just some of what she collected. I had some in my pockets, Kayla had some in her pockets, and Laura had some as well.

Kayla and the kids.

Playin' at the park...

We had a beautiful weekend! It was sunny, windy, and warm both days.

The dogwoods are bloomin'!! They are sooo pretty!!!

Now, this coming week is going to be a busy one. Tim's last day at Osage Beach is the 5th. He will take his inventory to Des Moines on Wednesday, then he'll head to his parents house. The moving company arrives Saturday to load up our stuff. My parents are coming down on Thursday to help out on Friday. Monday, we close on our house, then we can start the unpacking process! So, it might be awhile until I can post again...so until then....

Love to all!

Happy 5th Birthday Taylor!

2010-04-02T13:34:00.005-05:00

Well, my Baby Girl is 5!! We've had a busy weekend. We went to Pirates Cove on thursday, since it opened back up. Friday was Taylor's Birthday. However, she had a small fever and didn't feel very good most of the day. So on Saturday, we celebrated with dinner at Chili's and bowling. All I'm going to say about the bowling is that Colin and Taylor both beat Tim and I. See the pic of the score screen! Of course, they got the bumpers up when it was their turn! They both had a really good time. Saturday, I had also taken Taylor to the Clinic. She has pink eye... you will be able to tell in some of the pix! I felt so bad for her, but she didn't let it ruin her chances to open her gifts!!

Argghhhhh Matey's......

Her poor little eye! But she was sooo excited to get 3 new pairs of shoes. Her feet have grown since Christmas. She is wearing size 12 now!!!

At least I beat Tim!!

My baby doll!!!!

I let her open one gift on her actual bday....Cinderella III! She loves this movie.

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!

My B-day Weekend

2010-03-08T08:49:00.003-06:00

My parents came down on Friday for the weekend. On Saturday, we just HAD to go to Miner Mike's! Even though it was my Birthday, we went for the kids! Ha! Taylor won 1000 tickets on one game alone! I couldn't believe it and she was so excited! We had to ride the train, play Deal or No Deal, and of course, Skee-ball! Since last summer, we had saved all our tickets and finally turned them in on Saturday. We had a grand total of 8,500(+) tickets! We were able to pick out the Wii Mario Cart game! We are loving it. Yes, it probably would have been cheaper to just go buy the game itself, but Taylor was super excited to get it. (Plus, it's better than getting all the little 'cheap' stuff that ends up breaking before you even get it home!) We grilled out Sat. night, followed by cake and ice cream!
Sunday we met Tim at the store for breakfast, then went to the park for awhile. My folks left when I had to go to work at 2. It was a fun weekend and it was (as always) great to see my parents!!!!
As of right now, we are closing on our house, April 12th. The date seems so far away, but I know it will be come up on us very fast. In the meantime, I've been packing as much as I can. I am however, dreading the 'deep' cleaning of this condo. You know, just the neccessary cleaning when moving out of a place. Plus, it makes it a little hard, when you still have to live in the place and have 2 kids running around, tearing things up! We are going to miss living at the Lake (especially the heated pool...oh yeah, and all our friends we've made!!! hee hee), but are very much looking forward to being closer to family! Just another chapter in our lives that God has chosen for us.

Valentine Treats

2010-02-12T09:28:00.004-06:00

They kids received a couple boxes in the mail yesterday. One from Jenny and one from mom and dad.

Treat bags from Jenny!

Colin: "Eeeeeee......candy!!!!"

He is definitely my boy....has the sweet tooth!!!

Gifts from Grandma and Papa

His puppy Lucky....he's been into 101 Dalmations lately!

Taylor's reindeer Val (like Valentine!!!!)

As a family, we haven't been up to too much lately. I've been packing things here and there...mostly things we don't use on a day to day basis. Boxes are starting to pile up in corners. We went up to Cedar Rapids the first week of Feb. to house hunt. The first day we were there, we went thru one house that is owned by a director that just moved to Columbia, MO. It was a little smaller that what we wanted. Then we drove around looking at neighborhoods, and hunting for houses.
We ended up at a Real Estate office and received some print outs of homes in our price range. We then drove around the looked at them, to put on our short list. I would then the next day walk thru the houses with Fred (tims dad), the kids and the realtor. Tim had to go to a meeting in Ottumwa...so he left it up to me. I narrowed it down 3. So Tim was able to walk thru them the following day with the realtor and myself. Overall, we decided on the one for us!!! We hope to make an offer soon!!! Just praying everything works out!!

Taylor is really enjoying Pre-school and doing very well. She knows her shapes, numbers, letters, and even writes her name, along with, Tim, Colin, and Becky. We are very proud of her!! She can count to 30, she follows along very well with instructions from the teachers and gets along with all of her classmates.
Colin is all boy!! He is just a funny little guy! He talks very well and is saying the darndest things at the funniest times. Of course, he picks up alot of it from Taylor, Tim, or myself. We saw a commercial for The Family Guy episode where Stewie is saying, "ma, ma, ma, mommy, mommy, mommy, mama, mama, mama, etc. etc." then Phyliss (not sure of her name...the mom in the show) and she yells, "what". Stewie then says "Hi...." and giggles. He is always asking me to say 'What', then he'll start saying, "Mom, mom.....Hi"!!! Its too funny!!
Well, that is a quick insight to our lives for now. Hope all is well and Happy Valentine's Day!

Funny faces

2010-02-12T09:24:00.002-06:00

The kids have been quite silly lately. We built a fort with some big blankets the other day and they can't stop talking about it! They opted to take a few candid shots!

Taylor's drawings and writing

2010-01-26T07:12:00.003-06:00

Taylor drew Colin on her desk

Here she is writing everyone's names.

Next to her work of art:)

Tim's Announcement Bulletin

2010-01-18T08:35:00.003-06:00

Here is the bulletin sent out for Tim's promotion. You can click on the picture and it will enlarge it for you to read!!

Gma and Papa Stevens visit

2010-01-08T08:30:00.005-06:00

Taylor had her 1st Christmas Program on Dec. 15th. My parents came down for it. They also brought the kids gifts down!

Colin and his new bike!!

Taylor's doll house.

showin' papa our train!

Taylor singing...she is the 3rd angel from the left!

Walking down the aisle with her classmates!

Taylor is 2nd from left. The program was really cute! They told the story of how Baby Jesus was born and sang songs.

Christmas with Gma and Papa Cernin

2010-01-08T07:59:00.005-06:00

Gma and Papa Cernin came down the Sunday after Christmas and stayed thru Wednesday the 30th. I had to work until 7, so by the time I got home, the kids were anxiously waiting for me, so they could open their gifts.

Colin got a WALL-E robot

A CD karaoke player

Gma made Colin a "Thomas" quilt!

Here are the next Singing Superstars!

Our big family gift was a wii. Here is Gma bowling!

Nintendo has come a lonnnngggg way...from it's 1st game system. This is so much fun!

Taylor playing baseball...she has also been doing VERY well in Tennis and Golf!

Papa boxing

This boxing game is good cardio!

Here area couple videos of the two of them singing. Notice Colin just bouncing with the beat of the music. They put on a show for a couple hours! It was so much fun!

Christmas Day

2010-01-04T07:52:00.004-06:00

Christmas at the Cernin's was not how we planned. On Christmas Eve day, both kids had fevers and were laying around. Well, Colin would have little bursts of energy, then he'd crash hard on the couch! So we took it easy all day.

This is Santa's Magical Key. You hang it on your front doorknob so Santa can get inside. Taylor was so excited to hang it!!! To see the excitement in her face this year was priceless.

Here she is helping me bake sugar cookies. Nothing like waiting to the last minute to bake cookies for Santa. It was so much fun.

The finished product....minus the icing of course!

Taylor and I ended up going to church, while Tim stayed home with Colin...only to get sick himself.

Our cookies and milk for Santa, and even some lettuce for the reindeer!

Checkin' out the goods! They'd been good kids!

Santa's note and key for the kids. The reindeer even left a mess!

Their new ornaments for the year: Colin got a Toy Story one, and Taylor got a Cinderella.

"Mean Old Lady" movie= Wizard of Oz.

Is he excited or what? Monsters vs. Alien DVD

Taylor got Hungry Hippo!

This was our gift from Taylor. She did this at preschool! I LOVE IT!!! It will hang all year round!

All that topped off, with Cinnamon rolls for breakfast!! Yummy!

Tim was sick all day Christmas. So we didn't get to go to the store and let the kids ride their bikes, like planned. However, I think the kids had a great day and we kept busy with all the new toys!

From our House, to yours....

2009-12-22T08:42:00.000-06:00

Stevens' Family Christmas

2009-12-22T08:06:00.007-06:00

Last weekend the kids and myself headed to Burlington for some family fun! We left Friday to be able to make it to the Wade Christmas that night. On Saturday, we ran some errands and went to lunch. Mom took the kids home while Kim, Mandy, and I finished up around town. Mom made a roast for dinner. Josh, Chelsea, and the boys came out. We ate dinner and the little ones got to open their presents from each other.

The pretty snow!! I'm so jealous...by the time we reached Jeff City on the way home...there was NO snow on the ground.

Breakfast on Saturday morning! Taylor and Peyton...

Jayden with his "Herbie"

Colin opening his gifts

Taylor got a Mermaid Barbie from Jayden

A T-ball stand from Gavin

Gavin got a play microwave from Colin.

Now for the REAL fun! Kim had brought out the "Snow in Seconds". This stuff was awesome!!! I've never seen all 5 kids sit and play for soooo long! They were loving it.

Peyton filling his dump truck

Even Herbie got to play in the snow!

Gavin and Colin had a lot of fun...alot of it ended up on the floor thou!!

Snack time...Kim and Peyton

Can they get any cuter?

On Sunday, we went to church. Followed by Happy Joe's for lunch! Gotta love Happy Joe's! By then, it was snowing and we headed home. Taylor had her last day of school on Monday in which they were having their Christmas party and I didn't want her to miss it.

It was a great weekend! Just sometimes wish it wouldn't go by so fast and that Tim would've been able to go with us.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Love,

The Cernin's

All the Grandkids

2009-12-04T08:06:00.003-06:00

Jayden, Peyton, Taylor, Colin, and Gavin are hip hoppin elfves!!

The Cernin's have been Elfed!

2009-12-01T09:32:00.002-06:00

Christmas is coming....

2009-12-01T09:13:00.007-06:00

Santa arrived at Stone Crest Mall last Saturday! Both kids didn't hesitate at all to sit on Santa's lap (I think it also helped because Daddy 'knows' Santa). They even talked to him! I was very impressed!

The kids and I decorated the other day! They were super excited to get all the Christmas stuff out. We did however put our tree up the weekend before Thanksgiving...Taylor really wanted it our for Grandma and Aunt Stacy. We didn't decorate it or 'fluff' it until Turkey day. Grandma and Stacy helped!

Taylor hung most of the ornaments.

The kids were so desperate for me to put the train around the tree too. Here they are watching it. They could sit here for hours!

Just a little of everything...

2009-11-17T21:22:00.005-06:00

Taylor and I decided to dress up Bambi (or Sparkles is what's she's named him (her))! It was too funny!

Doesn't she look pretty!

We got to enjoy ( I think our last) a day at the park. It had been so beautiful out that we took full advantage of it!

Colin: I've got some rocks!

His poor little finger :(

You FLY down this slide! It's too fun!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-01T15:24:00.006-06:00

Kermit the Frog and Sparkle Witch

Who ya gonna call? Ghostbuster Tim!

Walk on the Rocks crowd. Very good turn out this year!

Laura and Taylor--witches of Mid-Missouri

Colin putting his treats in his bag!

Dragging the bag works well too!

Family Pic! :)

Tuckered out!

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Chelsea's B-day Party

2009-10-26T07:43:00.004-05:00

Josh had a surprise b-day party for Chelsea on Saturday. So the kids and I drove up on Friday for the weekend.

My Sparkle Witch!

Their dining room table with dry ice and snacks.

Miss Sassy Lady Bug, Cutest Witch of the Mid-west, and vampire Jayden (of course, hiding behind the skull!!)

Barb-Plain and Joe with the nuts!

Boogey Man!!! (Josh) So creepy!

Frankenstein Cake....Chelsea's mom made this! Isn't it cool! He's looking at you.....

Colin was a little tired.

Officer Heather...ooohhh la la!

Prettiest Witch of the Mid-west! The Birthday girl!

love it!

Mr. and Mrs. Krueger and Spidey!!

Michael Myers gettin' down!

Peyton and Myself!!

Chasing each other...they were having so much fun. Jayden ended up spending the night out with us at mom and dad's house. Mom said that when the 2 of them went to lay down, they were hugging each other and Jayden was saying, "I love you Taylor". I wish I would have been downstairs to see that!! Too precious!

Fall Fun

2009-10-21T13:12:00.006-05:00

We went for a walk yesterday to look at the pretty colors and play in the leaves! It was a fun walk! Got to see some beautiful leaves!

Colin at bedtime

2009-10-18T22:30:00.002-05:00

Tim trying to get Colin in his bed. Just lately, it'd be time to pick up toys and we'd ask Colin to pick up and he'd just start whining and crying, "My legs are broke". Not sure where he's picked this up, but in this video I was waiting to hear him say it! But he never did. Guess his legs aren't broken after all!

Fall Colors

2009-10-16T09:03:00.003-05:00

I took the kids to Ha Ha Tonka Park yesterday, to check out all the colors! It would've been nicer to have the sun out.

After leaving the park, I had found online, a Pumpkin Patch in Linn Creek. We drove there to check it out. It was nice, but we didn't do the fun maze or feed the animals. It was tooo wet and muddy. So we bought this beautiful mum, mini straw, and I let the kids pick out the mini pumpkins/gourds. We'll have to hit that place again when it's drier. But it gave us something to do.

My Kids!

2009-10-08T16:08:00.004-05:00

Dum dum suckers....all time favorite!!!

They bring out the best in all of us!

Is she my daughter or what????

Taylor's Class Field Trip

2009-10-08T15:55:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday, Taylor's Preschool class went on a walking field trip. Colin and I walked along, with other parents and siblings.

Leaving the school....

here one of the firemen put on all of his gear and told the kids not to be scared.

Then we walked outside and all the kids got to climb in the back and sit at the wheel of the BIG firetruck.

Colin kept looking for the horn and pushing all the buttons.

Here is her class!

Taylor in the black long sleeves. It was a fun trip. After the fire department, we walked to Mcdonalds for their snack...apple dippers and water. Then we headed to the Elementary school across the street to listen to a story. Finally, making our way back to the church where the kids got to play on the playground for awhile, before heading in for goodbye song and prayer. It was a fun filled day! And we had a beautiful day for it!

Kids will be kids!

2009-09-29T08:01:00.005-05:00

My Colin.....wearing Taylor's High heels and pulling his golf bag!!!

Now, playing with his tools, while in high heels....only Colin!!!

Trying to figure out my Ipod.

Tub time...I think he'd look cute with a mohawk!!!

Huh???

All time favorite...AIRPLANE!!!!

Taylor's new haircut. I didn't really notice HOW BADLY she needed it cut, until we actually got it cut!! It looks so cute on her!!!

She didn't want her picture taken, but this was the best I could get.

Welcome Fall!

2009-09-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

Yes, Fall has arrived. I had wished that summer had only lasted a little longer down here. We've enjoyed the pool far more this year than last year. (Thanks to the heater!) However, I love this time of year. I've had all the patio doors open for the past 2 weeks and finally got my fall scented candles out today. What is it about the cool breeze, the leaves changing different beautiful colors, or the smell of burning leaves? Or maybe it's waking up and sitting on the deck with a cup of coffee?! I don't know. But I LOVE it. I'm looking forward to looking across the Lake and watching the trees change colors, and taking walks with the kids to show them the colors of nature. ( I know I normally don't blog about this serious/sentimental kinda stuff...but I love this time of year. I only makes me want to be with my family more! Maybe it's because the "BIG" holidays are around the corner and it's all about family!) I just hope everyone gets to enjoy the beautiful fall weather! Could we have two, Fall seasons, instead of the Winter? Probably not!

(Jordan....I LOVE your blog theme. I got my idea from you...I hope you don't mind!)

So, on that note, here are some pictures from the Fall Festival that was a couple weekends ago. The kids, as always, LOVED the inflatable houses, slides, and obstable course. Last year, Colin was not old/big enough to go in/on by himself. So this year he was able to enjoy it.

In the Disney Bounce House

This was the start of the obstacle course one. Colin made it thru the whole thing without any help!

Slidin' down at the end of the course.

It was pretty warm that day too. So when we got home, I decided to head down to the pool for awhile. We came back up and Colin zonked out on the couch. He was a tired little guy!

Taylor's 1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-02T10:28:00.003-05:00

Taylor started Preschool on Monday. She is in the MWF PM class and goes from 12:15-3:15. She is, so far, having a good time. Monday night, I layed in bed with her and she kept talking about her day, "then we did this, then we went outside," etc. Taylor: "I had fun at school". So that made is easier for me! :)

They were allowed to bring a 'Zoo' animal to school with them for their Zoo day. She took her musical Giraffe.

We met Tim at the store for lunch before we took her over.

Outside of her school

Taylor's name on monkey

The hook for her bag.

Play-Doh...doesn't get any better than that!

Jayden's Birthday

2009-09-02T10:19:00.005-05:00

I drove up to Burlington last Saturday for Jayden's birthday. He turned 4 this year and had a Train theme.

Gavin eating the ice cream out of his cone:)

The 'Amtrak' cake!

Taylor playing ball!

Conductor Josh

Buddies!!

Josh made the railroad crossing

My darling 4 year old Jayden!! love you Jayden!! Many more Happy Birthdays!!

Peyton rode in my car over to the party!
Such a little ham!!!

Hopscotch

2009-09-02T10:14:00.003-05:00

We drew a hopscotch game on the sidewalk the other day and she had so much fun with it.

Colin sweeping the rocks he kept picking up and throwing.

Just a tub shot from the other night!

Randomness

2009-08-20T22:42:00.005-05:00

Just some randomness...

I let Colin take a nap in the big bed the other day....he fell right asleep!

"Cheese" pictures of Colin

Eating at Mexicali Blues

I was trying to get a pic of Colin wearing his new Cubs hat from Mandy. We were getting ready to go swimmin'.

My monkey's

This was the storm that moved in the other day too...notice the nice blue sky past the dark evil clouds?!

Colin's 2 year Check-up

2009-08-13T07:21:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, I drove back to Burlington for Colin's 2 year checkup. Here are his stats:

His Weight: 29.25 lbs.
Height: 36 inches

He is 70-80 percentile for his height and 80th percentile for his weight. ( I think, or it's the other way around) Other than that, he is doing great!! He got one shot, screamed and cried, "mommy, hold me. My ouchy hurts". Too sweet!! Got some stickers and he was fine! :)

Colin's Party with the Stevens'

2009-08-10T12:39:00.007-05:00

Another wonderful weekend with family has come and gone! How come weekends can't be 5 days long and the work week be 2? Only in a 'perfect' world! But what fun we had! Mom, Dad, Josh, Chelsea, Jayden and Gavin, drove down here Friday night. Taylor and Colin were so excited that Jayden and Gavin were going to be here! It was almost 10pm when they got to Osage. I was still at work, so they came by to get the house key...since Tim and the kids were already asleep. On Saturday we woke up and ate cinnamon rolls....yummy!!! The kids enjoyed that. They were all so happy to be together! We decided to go swimming around 11ish, and took , cheese, crackers, lunchmeat, bread, and drinks down to the pool and ate poolside! What a fun and relaxing day. It was very hot down here, but the pool helped us forget that! After swimming a few hours, Mom and Dad wanted to check into their motel. We did that, then went to Pirates Cove. Needless to say, should NOT have been done. It was unbearably hot and humid at that time and both Colin and Jayden were just really not into it. After a couple meltdowns, they were fine, and just putted along! It was fun, but by the end, all the kids, and adults were getting really tired. We headed back to our house, to get ready to grill out. Ate cake and ice cream and then opened some gifts. By 8pm, we were all ready to call it a night. They all headed back to the motel and crashed. Sunday morning, I took Tay and Colin to church with Mom and Dad, Josh and Jayden.
After church, we went home, I ordered pizza from the store, and went to pick it up while everyone headed down to the pool again. There we ate pizza poolside! It was so much fun....once again...I wish the weekends were a little longer. We didn't swim very long, since I had to work at 2, and the fam had to start headin' home. What a great time and lots of memories!

Tay and Jayden enjoying those rolls!

G....or Gavin! muahhh!

Dad and Josh were soo determined to finish that darm puzzle. Tay and Dad had started it, then Tay left him to do it himself...then Josh got involved!

The cake and decos. I did the cake myself! (With Chelsea and Mom's help and creativity!)

Mom and Tay chillin' at the motel

Lightning McQueen! Pretty good for my first 'character' cake!

Colin and Daddy!

It was too funny to watch him blow the candle out...he kept flippin up his bottom lip...probably spitting on it!?

Yeah!! Colin!

Gavin enjoying some cake!!

Jayden: "Happy Birthday Colin". It was so sweet!

Cheese Gavin!

Opening gifts

Yo Joe...wake up!!! Dad's relaxing vacation...maybe too relaxing?

All the kids checkin out all the toys!

He got some clothes, tool box with screwdrivers, hammer, saws, toolbelt, overhead light, from Gma and Papa. Josh, Chels, and the boys got him Matchbox cars, a red semi that looks like a Hy-Vee truck, monster truck, and bubbles.

Papa and Colin watching the DVD Papa made for Colin. It's a dvd of pictures of Colin and Papa! It's really neat and Colin absolutely LOVES watching it! Dad has made DVD's for all the kids on their b-days....they are pretty special to us!

Taylor fixing things!

On his actual birthday, (Aug. 10th), he woke up to this. Sunday night, I stayed up to put together a train table for his Thomas trains. The table was easy to put together. But he trying to connect the two train collections together, uhhh...I was so frustrated and sweating on figuring out how to connect them all. But thanks to Taylor, she helped me figure it out.

Choo chooo!!

Opening the card from Taylor

This little putter set was from Taylor. I think she wishes it was hers!

Colin: 'Thanks Tay Tay' Too sweet!

I have to work tonight, but after the kids naps, we are going to Miner Mike's for some fun and games!!! Thanks all for the gifts and cards and birthday wishes for Colin!!!

Colin's Party with the Cernin's

2009-08-03T06:44:00.006-05:00

Grandma and Papa Cernin drove down on Friday for the weekend. We were celebrating Colin's birthday with them.

Colin eating one of Grandma's chocolate chip cookies. Every morning he'd wake up, "Cookie". That's what he wanted. :)

This is the AWESOME bookcase that Papa made for Colin. He calls it "my house". He loves it.

And he loves crawling thru it!

Papa and Colin on his John Deere

After dinner on Friday, we went to none other than Pirates Cove!!! Colin even got a Hole in one!! We couldn't believe it! He's taking after his sister. Taylor and I both got Hole in one's as well.

Colin would hit the ball, then pick it up and put it right next to the hole and hit it in! It was too cute and funny!

"Little Miss" gettin' ready to putt!

Grandma and the kiddos!

ARRRRGGGHHH!!! Yeah, that's me on the left. They give out a pirate mask and flag. So Tay and I sported the masks!! It was fun!

Who's the mean pirate on the left?

Papa and Colin's "house"

The party setup

She was so excited he got a CARS cake!

Opening gifts... he got a couple books for his new bookcase, and some Thomas the Tank train sets.

His T-Rex for the train set

Playing with the trains...

Cake time!!

It took him a few puffs to finally blow that candle out, but he did it!!! I can't believe he's going to be 2!

He is not my child....hardly even touching the cake...ugh! I think he had some frosting. As did Taylor...she LOVES frosting!

It was a fun weekend. Tim and I worked so the grandparents could spend as much time with them. On Saturday, they took the kids to Target to (what we thought was) "look" at some toys.

Well, they came home with more cars, trucks, card games, a little Mermaid camera and Tinkerbell radio for Tay. They had also spent a couple hours at Miner Mike's! They rode the train, played Deal or No Deal and skeeball. My kids could spend all day there. They had a great time. They had also gone on walks around the condo and swimming! I don't know who was more wore out...the kids or the grandparents!?

Sad day at the Cernin's

2009-07-31T07:31:00.004-05:00

It was a somber, sad day at our house lastnight. Our dear friend of 12 years, had to be tossed.

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Yes, I'm talking about Tim's recliner. (Sorry if I scared any of you). But the poor thing finally went kaput on us. Tim dismantled it and took it to the dumpster. *Tears*

As some of you know, Tim has had this chair literally forever! The leg of the chair just finally gave in. It probably didn't help that 2 kids would run and jump onto it.

Good bye Lazy Boy!

My little buddy and Princess

2009-07-31T07:26:00.002-05:00

One of the many self portraits we took that day!! Aren't we cute!??!

My baby girl after I trimmed her bangs. Taylor: " They(bangs) were right in my eyes
and I can't see!"

Colin being dramatic! "Hey You!"

Playing cool! :)

Taylor's Checkup for Preschool

2009-07-24T15:59:00.002-05:00

I meant to do this awhile back, but somehow I've forgotten. On the 15th, we took her to get her pre-school physical and shots. Her are her stats for her visit:

42 1/4 inches
37 lbs.

She is 90th percentile for her height (duh!) and 50th percentile for her weight. Which is fine! She is going to be tall and skinny...unfortunately like her dad! She got 4 shots and didn't cry until they poked her with the 4th one. We were so proud of her. They also did the hearing and eye sight test...passing both. She looked sooo cute sitting in the chair raising her left/right arm to the beeps. I remember doing those in grade school. After her appointment, we went to Chili's then to Target, where she showed daddy the backpack she wanted.
She is going to a 4 & 5 year old preschool at a church in Lake Ozark. I"m looking forward to going for an open house so she can be familiar with the school and surroundings.

Falling asleep

2009-07-23T13:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I took the kids down to the pool around 12:30 and we were there until 4:00. Tim ended up coming home mid-day to swim too. We decided to grill out. While eating, Colin got mad for some reason and just sat in his chair and pouted. I looked over at him and this is what we saw. He had fallen asleep with his cup in his hand and his little head just kept falling down, and he'd jerk up then fall back asleep. Soon his head came to a rest on top of his cup. Needless to say, we weren't letting him go to bed at 6:00. We woke him up and asked if he wanted to play. That worked!

Visitors

2009-07-14T17:31:00.007-05:00

Lindsay, Andrew, and Annie Cochran came to visit us Sunday thru Tuesday. On Monday we rented a boat and cruised the Lake. We actually ended up at Tim's fuel manager's house and swam in their cove. Taylor had a great time. She was just floatin' around in her lifejacket and was doing very good at it to! It was a great time!

'Baby' Annie playing with the toys! Isn't she cute!

Taylor adored her and enjoyed entertaining her.

Daddy and Annie poolside; Annie and Lindsay on the boat

She fell asleep....too cute!

Kiddos...of course, eating snacks and drinking their juice

Floating in the lake...

Tim, Taylor (in the middle), and Lindsay swimmin',

Taylor just bobbin' up next to Tim

Me, Annie, and Colin

Colin helped drive the boat back....I could get used to having a boat!!! It was so fun!

Taylor sat next to Annie and Lindsay the whole ride home...she was tickling Annie's foot!

Colin fell asleep while driving with me....

Andrew and Lindsay picked up dinner from the store and we grilled out. Very yummy!! Colin was enjoying the corn!!!

Annie eating her first rice krispie treat a la becky!!!! Of course she liked them, they were made by me!!!!

Yes, more pictures!

2009-06-25T09:23:00.005-05:00

Just some pictures from Friday morning. Kim and Peyton, Chelsea and the boys came out to play before we left town. Mom got the little pool and sprinkler out for the kids to play in. As always, it was fun to watch all 5 kids playing together and having fun!

Peyton, don't smile!

Kim then took the hose off the sprinkler and started spraying it down the slide. This was a hit!

Muscle Man Jayden! He's not camera shy at all!

Peyton (red shirt), Gavin, and Colin.

All 5 kids!

Taylor had fun playing with the little ones!

That is it! It was a great week of memories and family fun! On Saturday we chilled around the house and went swimming at the condo pool. On Father's Day, I made lunch for us, then I had to work at 2. (I thought I'd asked off for it.) Tim took the kids to the store with him to work on inventory stuff.

That night, Colin passed out on Tim's lap.

Day 2 in St. Louis

2009-06-25T08:21:00.011-05:00

On our second day in St. Louis, we went to the City Museum. I highly recommend this for any age kids. Josh and Chelsea took Jayden here last year and they recommended to us. The museum is very cool. So many things to climb up, in, down, and slide down! I had a blast! Oh, the kids did too. Colin loved the ball pits and Taylor loved climbing outside. It was raining when we got there in the morning, then by 1pm they opened the outside portion. There are 3-4 slides...that are 2-4 stories long. Of course, you have to climb your way up to them, and it's exhausting! But tons of fun! We got there after 10am and left around 3. It was a full day, but was fun to watch the kids experience this. Then we headed back to the hotel to freshen up for the big game!

Taylor attempting to climb up the rope ladder....she'd get stuck, then I would try to go up with her, then we'd both slide down!

Tim wasn't too fond of the height, he took Colin down to play in the balls.

Taylor and I climbed up to the airplane! It was so cool!

In the airplane.

These are all walk-ways to different attractions outside.

Sliding and climbing up the skateboard ramps. Taylor was having so much fun!

The kids eating poptarts before heading to the game.

Yes, Colin fell asleep around the 3rd or 4th inning and woke up close to the end. Even slept thru the fireworks they shot for the homeruns and the crowd yelling.

Ozzie Smith thru the first pitch! Pretty cool!

Cardinals win! 11-2

Beautiful Busch Stadium. This picture was the result of missing our "Last Missouri Exit", that took us into Illinois! Oops!

Wednesday we got up early to head back to Osage Beach. We got home, just to pick up some more clothes and Tim's suit. We then headed to Des Moines. What a long day in the car. But I think I enjoyed it more, since we were all together and Tim was actually not working :) We arrived in Des Moines around 7 ish and the kids so desperately wanted to swim. Went down the the indoor pool and it was freezing! I chickend out and sat at a table with Colin and watched Tim and Taylor swim. Thursday Tim had a meeting at the Corporate Offices. He was done by lunch time and went to Olive Garden! After lunch we headed to Burlington for the night. We went to the store first, since we were going to catch up with Lindsay and Andrew so Tim could meet little Annie. We went over to their house and visited and played with Annie until 6:30. We met my folks at Gators! Good company and great food!

More Vacation Pix

2009-06-25T08:16:00.003-05:00

Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe the first night. I think Taylor loves the "KING"!

Vacation

2009-06-23T14:04:00.010-05:00

Tim took vacation the week of June 14th-June 22nd. We decided we were going to hit the road and spend a few days in St. Louis. On Monday, we headed to St. Louis...in the rain. It rained the whole way to St. Louis, almost got into an accident, (a pickup in the lane next to us started to hydro-plane) and only ended up across the river in Illinois, once! How was I supposed to know the "Last Missouri Exit" was coming up? We got a good chuckle out of it! Our initial plan was to hit the Zoo and City Museum. Since it was raining on Monday, we headed to the Science Center. Although this was pretty cool, it wasn't very age appropriate for our kids. This place is pretty big. They enjoyed walking the skywalk to the other half of the center. In the middle of the walkway, they made holes so you can look down at the highway underneath you. They also had radar guns to see how fast cars were going. However, the highway was closed due to construction and all you could see was the cement. We ended up eating lunch there, then saw that it cleared up and decided to go to the St. Louis Zoo that was close by. The Zoo was very cool and ginormous (according to Taylor). We saw snakes, zebras, gorillas, donkey's, warthogs, tigers, leopards, etc...all those things you see at a zoo. A new attraction is Caribbean Cove with Sting-rays. For a fee, you are able to pet them. Tim and Colin pet them and yes, I was a little hesitant at first, but finally touched one. Taylor of course, didn't. We got splashed a couple times by them and Colin got soaked! We didn't even get thru the whole Zoo when we heard over the PA that the Zoo is 'now closed'. So, we headed to the car to track down our hotel. Which is a story in it self. To make a long story short, (too late), we found our exit, found the street the hotel is located and drove...and drove...farther away from downtown and the nicer hotels, the restaurants, shops, etc. I'm not one to usually judge things by appearances, but that night looking for our hotel, I wasn't sure what we had booked. The website showed a nice, new construction Days Inn. Doesn't that look nice? Plus, it was a great rate! Who wouldn't argue? So basically, we were located about 5 minutes north of downtown... with a bunch of empty warehouses, run down buildings, totally not where I expected a hotel to be at. Tim compared the area to downtown Burlington....how the hotel would look if placed in downtown Burlington. I did not agree and felt a little nervous about the whole thing. I felt better when I saw a car with Iowa plates. All in all, the area seems to be in process of renovations and restoration. The hotel was very nice and had that "new" smell!

Since there were no restaurants near by, we (I) decided we would go find something downtown. And we found Hard Rock Cafe. After eating, we walked into Union Station and bought the kids some Cardinal T-shirts to wear to the game the following evening. Then headed back to the hotel to call it a night. Taylor was so excited to sleep in a 'motel'. She was in her glory! She was super excited when we told her she'd be sharing a bed with Colin. But that ended when we saw how high the beds were and we made a bed for him on the floor.

Getting ready to go Monday morning. I had bought them each a new 'vacation' outfit!

Taylor picked out a new summer dress

Driving in the rain....what a mess... there were even parts of I-70 that were flooded.

Colin with his pillow from Grandma

At the Science Center

At the Zoo...we spent alot of time looking at snakes....yuck!

Rub a dub dub...

2009-06-10T10:49:00.002-05:00

Colin kept filling up his block and trying to drink the water!

All nice and clean! They even put perfume and cologne on! Colin loves daddy's!

Fun weekend

2009-06-03T14:36:00.011-05:00

On Saturday, we left in the morning and headed for Cedar Rapids for Keaton's (our Nephew on Tim's side) HS Graduation Party. It was at Fred and Julie's house. It only took 5-1/2 hours to get there...so we made good time. It was a nice reception. Got to see lots of family and the kids loved playing outside all day! After Keaton's party, we headed to another party for one of Tim's cousins. This was a nice party as well. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, since these were both outdoor parties. While at the 2nd party, the kids played in the yards of the neighbors; loving the swingsets and sandbox. Colin didn't want to leave either! We left from there and headed back to the house to get ready for bed.
On Sunday, we got to go to the train yard where Andy (Tim's brother) works. The kids were able to climb up onto the trains and even got to go inside a couple of them. Both kids loved climbing up the big steps and looking out the windows! After we left there, we drove to Beaver Park, to check out the animals. There were TONS of ducks, baby calves, turkeys, roosters, pigs, goats, and even prairie dogs. Once again, the weather was absolutely beautiful to be outside. We left from there to go play in the sand that Papa had bought for the kids. Grandma bought them each sand trucks and tools to dig, shake, etc. with. They really got a kick out of it! The rest of the day was played outside....riding bikes, walking, and even getting a little squirt gun action going on....thanks grandma!! It was a lot of fun! Ate Hy-Vee pizza for dinner, then played around until bedtime.
On Monday, the kids slept in, while I got things ready to head home. Fred and Julie were both at work. Julie returned aroun 9:30, when we decided to go play at a near by park then go for lunch. We played for maybe an hour, before heading to Olive Garden for lunch!! Yummy!
We left Cedar Rapids around 2pm...the first time. Then, just around Iowa City/Riverside, I remembered that I left our medicines at the house. UGH!! What to do. Soooo, instead of buying more of it at home, we decided to turn around. Leaving CR (for the second time) around 3 ish. Well, along the way, Colin has decided to unbuckle his seat and gets out of his shoulder straps. Where do kids learn these things? So, between the re-route to CR and stopping to buckle up Colin, we decided to make a pit stop in B-ton for the night. I still had 4 hours to go at 4:30!! I was tired, the kids were getting stir crazy...you can only imagine. So the rest of the evening we hung out at my parents house. Kim and Peyton came out and we had DQ!!
Tuesday came and we had to head out. I had to work that night at 5. We made it home a little after 2. It was a great weekend! The kids are still worn out!

Being silly in the car

Playing in the yards...

Colin loved the sand!

twirling around, and around, and around....

on the trains

In the train...

At Beaver Park

Colin had tried to sit on the edge of the tub...didn't work like he wanted it to and fell in!

Drinking milk with Uncle Andy

Harley girl!

At the park

even Grandma went down the slide!

and up....

Yummy breadsticks at Olive Garden!!!

I took an onion out of the salad and tried to get him to eat it. He first tried it on as a bracelet. Then he bit into it...and needless to say, didn't like it!

Can we say CUTE???!!!