Chicago Babymoon

Last weekend, Todd and I got to take an adults-only trip with some friends to the Windy City! We counted it as our last "hurrah" before Baby Girl makes her debut in a couple more weeks (hopefully). Many, many thanks to Aunt Ally, Uncle Randy, and Grandma V. for watching the boys while we were gone! These are just a few pictures from our trip... Todd and I down at Navy Pier. Every Saturday night during the summer they have fireworks down at the pier so we all went down and enjoyed the fireworks and the beautiful skyline. Such a crazy change of scenery from home! Ryan and Shanelle down at Navy Pier also...

This is kind of a random picture, but just thought I'd give you all an idea of how HUGE and torpedo-like my belly is these days. I still have 8 weeks to go, and I'm already getting the "Oh, any day now, huh!" comments. Let this be a lesson to all of you reading this: pregnant women do not really want to hear that because basically all we hear is " Dude! You are freakishly huge!" I'm allowed to say how huge I am, but no one else may comment!

And what's a trip to Chicago without some Chicago-style deep dish pizza??? We did a lot of good eating on our trip, but my favorite was probably the pizza at Giordano's. I make sure that any time I ever go to Chicago I have their pizza. Totally worth the 2 hour wait! I can say that because we weren't waiting with kids!

Darin and Michele walking dinner off (and maybe dessert too, can't remember!) along Michigan Ave. We stayed at the Inn of Chicago and the location was perfect for being downtown. We were basically just one block off of Michigan, so it was easy to get everywhere we (the girls) wanted to go (shopping).

We had a great time with friends and it was so nice to come home and see the boys. I feel like I am officially ready to start preparing for this baby to come now. I sort of have been in denial about it really happening so nothing has been done yet...no name, no clothes, not sure where this baby will be sleeping...Hopefully we'll have every bit of these 8 weeks left to get it all figured out!

End of summer wrap up

I am so mad at myself that I didn't take more pictures of fun things we did this month! I did manage to get my camera out at a few different occasions, but even then didn't seem like I took the time to really document it. And now I'm sad because I hardly have any pictures of my new niece, Clementine Rose, who was born July 16th. We got to go visit them a couple weeks later and she is sweet as can be. Here she is getting some love and kisses from her mom and brother. It was so fun to hold a tiny baby again, but did give me a glimpse of what life could be like for us soon-Deacon would get very jealous when I held Clementine and would cry and try to climb all over me. I'm scared! We also had a fun visit from my friend Jessica and her kiddos. They have visited us here in the OC a couple of times, but haven't seen our new house yet, so that was fun to have them here. Again, no good pictures of that, but her two boys and my two boys had lots of fun playing together!

And Deacon got his first haircut last week! I was sad to see his Justin Bieber hair go, but he does look really cute with his new hair cut. I will admit he didn't love having it cut, be he didn't really cry, just didn't want to sit still. Can't say I'm surprised really, but the end result turned out good! Here's the before: Not so happy about the cape he had to put on...

And here's the after: Happier now that it's all done!

We've been enjoying some cooler weather on and off here lately which has been fun, and we're looking forward to some fun things in the next couple of weeks. Jackson starts 3 year old pre-school next week, which he is super excited about! We had a little date the other day, just the two of us, to go pick out school supplies and get a backpack. I used to LOVE school supply shopping, so I'm glad I'll get to enjoy doing it again with my own kids! And PumpkinLand will open soon too, and we're looking forward to going to see the animals-Jackson said he can't wait to feed the Llama's. Maybe I'll be better about taking pictures this month!

Spring Fun in the OC

We've had some decent spring weather interspersed with some not-so-nice spring weather, so we've been trying to take advantage of the good stuff whenever we can. Deacon enjoys the swings a ton at the park. Mom's kinda boring and won't let him sit on the ground and eat wood chips, so the swing it is. Last week was the annual Tulip Festival in Orange City so we did lots of walking around downtown, watching parades, and riding rides. This is Jackson's friend, Julia. They've played together since they were babies and they still have a good time together. We did some walking around at the Tulip Festival with Julia and her family one evening and caught those two in a few cute moments...

While Jackson and Julia rode on a few rides, the rest of the baby gang stayed on the sides watching longingly. Maybe next year kiddos. And yes, only one of those babies is mine. The other three are Julia's sisters and brother (one year old triplets)!!!

And last, just a little brother love. Jackson wanted to help me put Deacon to bed one night so I let him give Deacon his bottle. It was quite sweet watching Deacon watch Jackson and Jackson was trying so hard to be so grown up. Love these moments!

Firebearworks!!

This was the first year we took Jackson to see fireworks for the 4th of July and he LOVED it! He kept calling them "firebearworks" because one of his latest favorite books is called Firebears so that was kinda cute too. Just a few pictures from the evening to share. Sorry about the stinky quality of some of them. I'm still trying to get my camera figured out and I'm having issues with the night settings. Once the business of fireworks started, Jackson didn't budge from his chair. Not sure if it was because he was enthralled or scared or maybe a combination of the two.

But before the fireworks started, he had a ball running around and playing with Eli and Rae, some friends that we met there.

Tulip Festival in OC

Tulip Time in Orange City has come and gone for another year and so have our friends, the Loerop's. This is the second year in a row that they have come to visit us from sunny Florida to partake of the festivities. Jessica and I have been best friends since the 6th grade and apparently, we are so in tune with each other that we keep having babies at the same time. Jackson and Nathan are only 5 weeks apart in age, and we are both pregnant again (both with boys again!) and this time we are only 2 weeks apart in our due dates. Seriously, how crazy is that? Couldn't have planned it if we tried! Anway, it makes for really fun and easy times since the boys really dig playing with each other- including Todd and Jonathan! Here is a picture of the Loerop's- Jonathan is a fellow Dutchman, so they are sitting in front of the Friesland plaque, which is one of the provinces that his family comes from.

And here are out cutie boys- even harder to get to sit still than last year!
A few of the fun things that the boys really enjoyed this year were the carnival rides, as always, but this year, Nathan and Jackson were big enough that they could go down by themselves a few times which was really fun and scary for me! They both really liked visiting the horses that do the horse-drawn tours around town during the festival, and Jackson still keeps reminding me of how they pee in the streets. Apparently it made quite an impression. Too bad he won't take a cue and try peeing somewhere other than his diaper, but that's a whole other blog post.

And one of the last full days we had together, we all took the boys fishing which was surprisingly quite fun! Everyone got to catch a fish, some larger than others, but at least they were biting. I got some cute video of Jackson when he caught his fish that I'll try to post soon. Got lots of catching up to do, but packing for the move has commenced, so we'll see what happens.

Here's the latest...

It seems like lots has been going on so I'll give the short version of all the news around here.
-We have a house!! Hopefully- inspection is tomorrow morning and as long as everything checks out ok, we'll close on June 5...that's soon! I'll try to get some pictures up soon- at least of the outside of it.
-The OC Tulip Festival starts on Thursday, and our friends the Loerops are coming to visit us again for round 2 of the tulip festival! Yay! Jackson and I will pick them up from the airport in the morning.
-Hmmmm...I can't think of anything else! I really thought there was more- or at least that's how it has seemed. Sorry to get you all excited for just a little bit of news!

Florida Pictures-Part 1

I've gotten a few pictures over e-mail from family so I figured I'd at least get a start on posting them. My whole family (Mom and John Tock, Jeremy, Lindsay, John, Eva, Shepherd, and us) stayed in a big house on Fort Myers Beach. We thought it would be fun to go back to our old stomping grounds as this is where we grew up! It was really nice to be back to see some old friends. My best friend Jessica and her family came down to the beach for a day to play. They came to visit us in May for the Tulip Festival so it was fun for the boys to be able to play again. Jess's husband, Jonathan, brought his surfboards since the water was a bit choppy- not great for surfing, but fun for pictures!
My two Iowa boys all covered up at the beach! Todd really is not a fan of the sun, unless he's golfing in it. And Jackson is so fair that we really tried hard to keep him from getting too much sun, hence the rash guard and funny hat.

More pictures to come when I get them!

Fun times!

Also in the park there are a bunch of smaller versions of windmills and one giant wooden shoe. You gotta love a Dutched up park! There are all these big troughs along the roads of the parade route because of the street sweeping that goes on at the beginning of the parade. They are filled with water before the parade and then the kids and townspeople come through all dressed in their dutch costumes and literally wash the streets before the parade for the Tulip Queen. After the parade, there wasn't much water left and the boys were getting antsy, so we dropped them in the trough and they just had a blast playing and splashing and cooling off in the water. I have some really cute video to post of them playing that I'll try to get up next.
Snack time!
Which one of these kids lives in Florida? Someone's skin hasn't seen the light of day in about 7 months!

Tulip Time

This last week was the annual Tulip Festival in Orange City. Apparently, the tulips were happy about the cooler weather we've had this spring because they were in perfect form for the festival. It is quite beautiful really to see seas of tulips in the park and on main street. The festival is always a good time, but it was even better this year because my wonderful friend Jessica and her hubby, Jonathan, and their little boy, Nathan, came to visit! Jackson and NeeNee, as Jackson called him, became fast friends as they are only 5 weeks apart in age. We spent our days at the park, riding rides at the festival, talking, and the bigger boys played some golf and shot some guns. Good times for everyone! This is Jacko and I at the park where the tulips were looking so lovely. We had a rough time trying to get the boys to sit for a picture with the tulips without them sitting ON the tulips so Jess stepped in and saved the day- and the tulips. Jackson looks thrilled and Nathan is looking longingly at the swings.
Another awesome display of tulips. I wish I could take better pictures, you know, the artsy pretty kind without random passers-by's butts in them. But you can get the general idea with my mediocre photography skills.
This is a perfect example of the differences in the boys' personalities. If you look closely at their faces, Nathan is laughing and smiling gleefully and Jackson looks a bit peaked. Nathan is quite the adventurous fellow and was quick to get into the swing of everything. Jackson tends to be a bit more reserved and is a bit of a chicken at first, but once he tries it out he usually warms up to it. The first thing he said when we got down the big slide was, "Again?"
As the smallest adult member of the party, I got voted to be the chaperone on the little truck merry-go-round. I sort of wanted to yack after, but it was worth it since the boys had a ball.
More pictures to come in another post...

Lady!

Let me introduce you to Lady and her Little Ladies. Allison is a college friend that I met at the very beginning and we just clicked. A fellow volleyball player, funny girl, and honest friend. These are her two sweet girls Ava and Jorrie. Jackson and I made the trip to Michigan to visit for a few days and to help celebrate Ava and Jorrie's 4th and 2nd birthday's. It's been a while since I saw Allison last, in fact it was at our wedding, and Jorrie was still in her momma's tummy.
The girls' birthday party was celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese's...good times! Here are Jackson and the girls playing the water squirty game thing. Jackson just liked watching the water squirt out.
And Jackson acting as chauffer to Chuck himself...
Boy how times have changed since college...three kids later...

We really did have a great time catching up and it was fun to see our kids playing together. Love you Lady!

Fun times with the Goodman's

While in STL, I got to see my good friend, Sarah, for what was way too short of a time, but better than nothing! The last time I saw Sarah, Jackson was probably about 3 months old and Abby was still a bump in her mommy's tummy, but a cute bump! It was very fun to finally meet the newest addition to the Goodman family and to visit with old friends. As I look at this picture, it reminds me of all of the good times and memories I have of Sarah and I during our college days, minus the children, of course. It also reminds me of the days when my mom used to try to use us to "hide" her during picture taking. She doesn't do that anymore because she's a little cute skinny minnie now, but I seem to have adopted that usage of my child. I think I remember Sarah and I both saying maybe if we hold them in front of us, it might hide a little of the bumpiness. Good old Jimmy and his self-named "lazy beard". Such a pensive fellow. Maybe he's thinking, "Mmmm...Beer."
And this is little Abigail Jane, with her sweet blue eyes and rosy cheeks. I hope we get to play again soon!

Soup Night

We hosted a "Soup Night" at our house on Thursday night and invited some friends over to help eat a big pot of soup. You know how it goes...you want soup, but don't want to be eating it for the next two weeks. We had Black Bean Chicken Chili - very yummy! Thanks, Mrs. F., for the recipe. I also made some of my mom's famous sugar cookies to decorate which was kind of fun. The kids had a lot fun decorating and then eating. And it worked out well to send cookies home with them also so that I was tempted to eat them all myself. Enjoy the pictures!

Progressive Dinner

I had some of the yummiest food I've had in a LONG time on Saturday. We were part of a progressive dinner that we did with our friends, the Rosenbooms and the Raines. Shanelle, Michele, and I were all talking one night about how we never get to use all of our fun entertaining things so we decided we'd go all out and have one fun big night at all of our houses, sans kids (which, despite all of the really good food, might have been my favorite part of the evening!).
We started out the evening at our house with appetizers. I made a rosemary goat cheese dip and three types of hummus-plain, black bean, and roasted red pepper. After appetizers and cocktails, we headed to Darin and Michele's for the main course, which I will not even attempt to pronounce or spell because I wouldn't do it justice because it was all Italian-y. But it was SO GOOD! Darin made steak rolls that were stuffed with pine nuts and raisins and were cooked in a wine sauce for a long time so they were nice and tender, then there was spaghetti noodles with cheese and pepper served in cheese bowls that he made himself also and roasted asparagus. I was so sad that I couldn't finish all of my food. But I was getting really full and I knew what was waiting for dessert so I had to pace myself! After a wonderful leisurely dinner, we went to Ryan and Shanelle's for dessert. Shanelle made a pumpkin maple cheesecake that was perfect, no cracks or anything! I'm quite impressed with my friends cooking abilities and am looking forward to enjoying it more often!! I took some pictures, but I'm sort of disappointed with how crappy they were and how few I took. I tried to post them but something was wrong with blogger so it wouldn't do it. I'll try again later, but don't get your hopes up- they're not that impressive. Sad.

Fall is in the air

Friday night we went over the our friends, the Raines', house to celebrate the first inklings of Fall, along with our friends, the Rosenbooms. It's been chilly here all this past week, so we made yummy fall desserts and enjoyed the night by the fire with our hot cocoa and coffee. I so love Fall weather!

Church Golf outing

Monday evening was our annual church golf outing. It's always a fun time to hang out with some friends and play golf without the pressure. It's a "best ball" tournament which means that all four people hit a ball and then whoever's is in the best position, we all hit another one from there and on and on. We played with our friends, the Poppema's who are a fun couple. They have a two year old little girl who loves to play with Jackson, so we shared a babysitter and the kids played together too! Todd has enjoyed Joe's friendship a lot as he has found a friend who will play golf with him...
Todd definitely carried the team as we probably used his shot over 50% of the time, but we all managed to hit a few decent shots throughout the 9 holes and we came in at 2 over par...not too shabby for amateurs. And Todd won one of the prizes too, for the closest shot to the hole on a drive. What a stud. We had a great time and then headed back to the clubhouse for burgers.