I offically suck....

I am not going to try and make excuses as to why I haven't been updating except to say, I suck. Life seems to get in the way of staying on top of my blog. So instead of trying to do a bunch of individual posts, I will do just one year end post and call it good :-).

Let's see, since the last time I posted not much has happened yet so much has happened. CJ turned 3 years old. I had this whole post planned out on her birthday, but I didn't get around to actually writing it. Oops. Anywho, she has a great birthday. I can't believe it has been three years already since she joined our family. She is an amazing little firecracker and I can't imagine our family without her.

The girls have both been taking a tumbling class and they love it. It is not the most pleasant thing for Daniel or I but it's not about us. Olivia is still loving school. Daniel still works more than he should(that is a whole nother blog post). Addie is growing like a weed and changing everyday. She is a relatively good sleeper. The more time I spend with her in her "snuggly" baby stage the more I understand why people have more babies.

The holidays were good. I missed being at home, especially since they got snow on Christmas Eve, but such is life. The girls were really into Christmas this year and seeing their excitement at their presents was priceless. As I write this, it's New Year's Eve and we are watching a Roseanne marathon and surfing the internet. I guess that is a true sign that we have grown up. I am not even sure I will make it to midnight :-).

Anyway, I hope 2013 brings a renewed happiness to y'all. I have some interanl resolutions that I hope to accomplish, heres to hoping I can stick to them.

Happy New Year!!!

Day 22 of Thankfulness....

*Today I am thankful for so much. First and foremost, I am thankful for Daniel. He is such an amazing husband and father. He works hard to provide an amazing life for us. He puts up with me, good or bad and loves our girls more than anything in the world. I am so very thankful for my three amazing kids. Miss Addie is 6 weeks old today and I can't quite remember what life was like before she arrived. Olivia and Cameron are the most amazing kiddos. We sure hit the kidlet lottery with our girls. I am thankful for my wonderful family. I have better friends than I deserve and for that I am forever thankful.

I could go on and on, but even though I repeated myself from previous posts, I know that I am so truly blessed and need to give thanks everyday for the amazing blessings God has granted me.


Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Day 21 of Thankfulness....

*Today I am thankful that my kiddlets have amazing grandparents who love them dearly and even though we don't see them often, when we do, it is like no time at all has passed.

Day 20 of Thankfulness...

*Today I am thankful for the beautiful weather. The nice weather allows me to have the window open and get some fresh air in the house.

Day 19 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful to my mother in law that she was willing to stay with Cameron and Addie so I could go participate in Olivia's Thankful Day party at school.

Day 18 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for the quiet neighborhood that we live in.

Day 17 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful that my kiddos don't have tumbling for two weeks. I dread taking them to tumbling and I get a two week break, YAY!!!!

Day 16 of Thankfulness....

*Today I am thankful for CJ's imagination. She helps me see life through a child's eyes and to slow down and realize what is truly important.

Day 15 of Thankfulness...

*Today I am thankful for the Disney Jr. app. for iPhone. It makes shopping with CJ a little more bearable.

Day 14 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for the cooler weather. Even though it doesn't feel like Christmas time, the cooler more dreary weather sure helps.

Day 13 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for Daniel. We have been together half of our lives almost and I couldn't imagine my life without him. He is my best friend and soul mate. He is the best father my kiddos could have. He may gray me prematurely but I wouldn't trade him for anything. He provides a very good life for me so I am able to stay at home and for all he does I am truly thankful.

Day 12 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for my amazing family. My parents always did what they had to do to provide a good life for me siblings. Even though we didn't always see eye to eye, my brother and sister are two of my best friends and biggest fans. I am blessed with amazing parents and siblings(and nieces).

Day 11 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for the mommy and Olivia time that I got to have today. She is an amazing kid and I am glad that I get to witness that one on one.

Day 10 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankiful that Daniel's schedule is better than it has ever been and he has most if not all weekends off. We are able to do things has a family on the weekends.

Day 9 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for having enough. I get caught up a lot in trying to keep with the proverbal Joneses but we have more a lot and I need to be content with that. I know one day the way we will live now will repay us in spades.

Day 8 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for my three amazing children. In my wildest dreams, I could have never imagined that I would have such wonderful kids. Olivia and Cameron amaze me everyday. They are the smartest, funniest, polite, most caring and absolutely amazing blessings I could have asked for. Addie is an extremely mellow baby and a perfect addition to our family. By far, my kiddos are my most proud accomplishment of my life. I thank God everyday for deeming me worthy of such wonderful little people.

Day 7 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for better friends than I deserve. In my younger years, I thought the more friends I had more liked I was. I have been proven wrong many times. I have a handful of super close friends that I could not be more thankful for. I would much rather have this small group of friends that I consider family than 10x that amount of fair weather friends.

Day 6 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for the almost constantly sunny days. I love the cold weather that the Midwest brings, but I don't like the 4 or more months of more dreary, gray days that plague the Midwest. Even if the temps are cooler, the sunshine makes those cooler temps more bearable.

Day 5 of Thankfulness

*I am thankful for Olivia's teacher and for her love of school. Seeing how excited Olivia is about school makes it so much easier for me to send her on the bus everyday.

Day 4 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for the quiet time between the time the girls go to bed and when Daniel and I go to bed. I love the sound of my kiddos voice and laughter but my oh my do I love it when they are in bed.

Day 3 of Thankfulness

*Today I am thankful for Daniel's job and the opportunities it has afforded us.

Day 2 of Thankfulness

Okay, I am not off to a very good start. This is yesterdays post.


*I am thankful that Daniel was able to take off the first two weeks after Addie was born. His help while trying to adjust to life with 3 was invaluable.

Day 1 of Thankfulness......

This is not my original idea, I got it from a friend. But nonetheless, with all the craziness of the upcoming holiday season, I think it is important to take a minute and try to remember why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Also, maybe it will help to prove that I really aren't a shrew, even though most of the time I come off as one :-).

I am really, really going to try and do an entry everyday until Thanksgiving. As lame and obvious as some may seem, I think it is good to take a step back and remind myself how truly blessed I am.



*I am thankful that we have a house to live in. I think this is something that is often taken for granted but after the recent hurricane ravished the Northeast, adequate shelter is definitely not a guarantee.

Addie Caroline is here.....

Miss Addie Caroline has finally arrived!!! She has actually been here for 11 days, so I am a bit behind. I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday 10/11/12. Daniel and I reported to the hospital at 6:00 am like instructed. By the time I got settled, got my IV started and such it was a little after 8. My OB came in and checked me and I wasn't very far along at all. I got my Pitocin started and was left for the Pitocin to work it's magic. It didn't take long for the contractions to start. By 11 am I was definitely feeling them. My OB came in around lunch and broke my water and I was well on my way. I got my epidural at about 1 pm. After the epidural, I slept most of the day because what else could I really do? Around 6 pm, I was at like 7 cm and from my experience with CJ, I dilate very fast after a 6. My OB came in at 7 pm and informed me it was time to push. After the nurses got the room ready, it was about 7:15ish. I was told to push and after 1.5 pushes Addie Caroline was born at 7:21 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. She was and is perfect in every way. She has a super easy birthday to remember 10/11/12.

My recovery this time around has been a little slower than I remember with CJ but not terrible at all. Addie is an amazingly good baby. She is a champion sleeper so far, only getting up every 3-4 hours at night. She very rarely cries. The girls are pretty smitten with her. Well, actually Olivia is very smitten. She loves on her at every opportunity and CJ is concerned about where she is but other than that, she is pretty neutral about her.

I know people say that every baby is different, but Addie and Cameron look like little clones of each other. Pics of them at the same age, they look like twins.

I apologize if this entry is a bit jumbled, even though she is a good sleeper, I am still dog tired.

Here are a few pics of Addie..

Not Quite Yet

Just a quick note about little Addie's arrival. She hasn't arrived yet but I have induction scheduled for Thursday morning at 6 am. So, by the weekend the third and final Regenhardt will have arrived.

Stay tuned....

Just Checking In....

It's been a few weeks since I last posted. Things are just truckin' along here in our little part of Florida. Olivia is still LOVING school. That makes us so happy that she is excited and eager to go everyday. She also really enjoys riding the bus, so that helps cut down on stress for me that I don't have to go wait in the parent pick up line everyday. She is slowly starting to make friends which is great. In fact, today she asked me to write down our info.(name, address, phone numbers) so she can exchange it with a little girl in her class named Gabby. I think Cameron is really enjoying her time being an only child for 6 hours a day but she is ecstatic when Olivia gets in the car from the bus.

I am 37 weeks pregnant now and boy do I feel it. I am sure Daniel has a calendar at work crossing off the days until I am not a raging ball of hormones. I think I have officially reached the point of being ready for little this miracle to join us. As of next weekend Daniel's dad and step mom will be here camping for 3-4 weeks and they will be available to watch the kiddos at any given time, so if I can just hold out until Oct. 1, any day after is fair game. I know this is my last pregnancy so seeing it come to an end is slightly bittersweet but I am ready to get back to some kind of normalcy, normal clothes, normal walking pattern, normal foot size :-). I am afraid I have forgotten how much sleep deprivation sucks and even though I will be quickly reminded, I am excited to see Miss Addie and see if she looks like a clone of Olivia and Cameron. Olivia is super excited to be getting a baby sister, she talks to her and kisses and hugs my belly all the time. Cameron the other hand is none the wiser and poor thing, her world will soon turn on its axis.

Daniel is still loving his new position here in Jax. The hours are long but it seems A LOT less stressful than Longhorn, which is worth it's weight in gold. I hope he continues to love what he does, that makes all our lives more bearable, especially when all we have is each other.

I have a sniff that the weather in St. Louis has been super nice and I have seen pics of my friends wearing long sleeves and jeans. I cannot tell you how jealous I am of the cooler weather. I hope that happens here soon, I want some long t-shirt type of days.

The next time I post will probably be with news of the new addition joining our family.

Until next time....

Olivia's First Day of Kindergarten

I knew the day would come when I would have to send my kids off into the great unknown but I thought maybe, just maybe time would stand still and I could put that day off just a little while longer.

Well, no success. Yesterday was a big day in our house. Olivia went to her first day of Kindergarten. Last Friday her and I went to orientation. Her class is capped at 18 students, which is very nice as I have heard some of my friends from the Metro East talk about how their kids are kids are in a class of 24+ kids. A 24:1 ratio was something I was not looking forward to. So, when I heard the class was capped at 18, Daniel and I were ecstatic. So orientation was good, her teacher seems very nice. She seems very excited and enthusiastic to start a new school year. For Kindergarten they do a staggered start which means that M-Th only 4 or 5 kids from each class go for a full day and then on Friday they all come together as a class. So yesterday was Olivia's turn. Daniel went in late to work so we could all take her. She was SO excited to go to school that I think she barely slept the night before. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how I would react to my baby going to school. I held it together while we were getting her to the right spot to wait for the start of school. Walking in, she kept looking back at us and it kinda broke my heart but I know she was more than ready to go. As soon as we were out of sight of each other, the flood gates opened. I am sure I embarrassed Daniel just a little bit with my blubbering. I will blame it on the pregnancy hormones :-). So, after fighting the parent drop-off line, we made it home. Daniel left for work, I cried a little more and then got myself together and went about my day. I think that it will be nice to have some mommy/Cameron time for the next 6 weeks or so until Addie comes along. Cameron kept asking where Olivia was and I know it will take her a few days to adjust.

I picked Olivia up at the end of school and she was VERY excited about her day. She pretty talked about it nonstop until she went bed last night. I have no doubt she will excel at Kindergarten. I hope she continues her love of learning and school, it makes me so happy. The stability that it creates is something that we have all been lacking lately with all the moving and trying to get settled. Her next day of school is Friday and she has requested to ride the bus. I am a little apprehensive about that but I know I have to let her spread her wings. Wish me luck-

*On another non-related note, Olivia lost two teeth a week or so ago. Her and CJ were in the tub on Sunday night and two of her bottom teeth came out. She was so excited and was anxious for the tooth fairy to visit. The tooth fairy came through and left her a $5 spot.

We have arrived!!

When I wrote the last post, we were still in Texas and awaiting the move to Florida. Well, now we are in Florida, in our house and getting settled. It took us two days to get to Florida, which is a change for us since we usually just drive and drive until we get to our final destination. But the weather out of Texas on the day we left was bad, traffic was bad and weather never really got any better until day two. But on the flip side, we stopped in Mobile and stayed at a hotel. Olivia LOVED staying in the hotel, she thought that was high living :-). So anyway, we got to Florida and checked into our extended stay hotel. We stayed there for about 7 days. It was ok the first couple of days when Daniel was around to help take the dogs out or to drive us around to explore the city. But when Monday rolled around and he had to go to work, it was a different story. The hotel room got very cramped very quickly. Not to focus too much on the negative, we survived and probably came out a little stronger as a family because of it.

So, we closed on our house July 20. The movers showed up that day and worked like rock stars to have the truck unloaded by like 4. I think they wanted to get it done since they had to drive back to Orlando that night. Since that weekend, Daniel and I have worked our tails off and have gotten most of the boxes unpacked, put away and discarded. Our nursery is still in disarray but that will have to change fairly quickly. The girls are now sharing a bedroom upstairs and so far, so good. We ordered them new bedroom furniture which should be here middle to late August. Daniel and I treated ourselves(more for Daniel than for me ;-)) and bought new leather living room furniture. I like it, I just pray that it holds up under our dogs and kids. We have gotten the couch delivered and are waiting on the love seat. We also got some patio furniture on order, that will be nice when that gets delivered because we can enjoy our patio. Speaking of the patio, the pool is a HUGE hit. The girls are in love with swimming. They ask pretty much everyday if we can go swimming when Daniel gets home, and 9 times out of 10, they get their wish. Olivia has gotten really good at swimming since we swim almost every night. She can swim the whole length of the pool without any type of floatation. Also, she loves the water slide and can do that like a pro.

On a different note, before we left Texas I scheduled an appointment with an OB down here. I had an appointment with him last Monday. I was a bit nervous going in because I was worried that our personalities wouldn't mesh. But I was very happy when I left. He was very nice and listened to my concerns about L&D and just an all around good doctor. He was not worried about my blood pressure issues I have been having and just said we will take some extra precautions. This is a welcome change from my OB in Texas because it always seemed like a national crisis when I went in there for my BP and I kinda tend to think that that office made my BP go up. When I saw the OB here in FL, by BP was the best it has been all pregnancy. So after a quick check on the baby, we discussed any questions, concerns, etc. that I had. I explained to him our situation with having no family here, 2 little ones at home, etc. and my desire to schedule an induction so I can have all my ducks in a row. He was totally fine with that and said based on my complications with my last two deliveries and the fact that I have elevated BP, that scheduling an induction was no problem. So, I go back for an U/S next Friday and then to see him on 8/15. At that appointment, he said he would call the hospital and schedule the induction. So, it seems that things are moving along and in about 8 weeks we will have a new beautiful baby.

I went last week and registered Olivia for Kindergarten. It was a surreal moment for sure. We took her last weekend to get all her school supplies and she was excited to say the least. She is very ready to start school. She starts the week of August 20. I know the next three weeks will go quickly and I will soon be the mom of a full time Kindergartner.

Ok, enough rambling. I will try and post more frequently and keep everyone up to date on what the plan for baby Regenhardt is.

This and That

It's hard to believe that July 1 is right around the corner. Where has the first half of the year gone? Daniel and I went to FL a couple weeks ago to look for a house. I have to be honest, I was not jazzed about it. I had looked at several houses online sent to us by our realtor and from I was seeing, nothing was really tickling my fancy. Real Estate in FL is WAY more expensive than in Texas and you get a lot less house, so these two things combined didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. But on the flip side, we knew that we had to give it a good ol' college try to find a house to move into as we need something to move into when we arrive in Jacksonville. So, we spent 2 days looking at houses, in total we probably looked at 15 or so houses. Low and behold, we found a house that we both LOVE. It is more than I wanted to spend, but back to my previous sentence, real estate is super expensive in Florida. The house only has a neighbor on one side and the other three sides are a nature preserve, which means it will never get built up. The yard is gorgegous and big. It has an inground pool, so I know that we will score points with Olivia. We were able to get an accepted contract on it before we left Florida and are scheduled to close on July 20.

So now that we know we have a house, we are scheduled to move from Texas on July 11. We will be staying in an extened stay hotel for 10 days or so while there is a lag in the time we arrive in FL and when we close on the house. I am not sure how that is going to work with 2 kids, 2 dogs, a husband who has to work and a brand new city for my sanity, but I just have to keep telling myself it is a short time frame. I am excited to get moved into our house as Olivia will be starting school on August 20. I will definitely post more as we get into the house and as the transition to living in a new city goes.

Please say a little prayer if you are the praying type that Tropical Storm Debby does no damage to the house we are purchasing and that no other named storms develop out in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. If there are named storms in either area, it could effect our closing dates in Texas and Florida.

Until next time.....

Our Time in Texas is Drawing to a Close

Let's see, what is new? We listed our house what will be 3 weeks ago Sunday and had a full price offer on Monday. Ah-mazing!!! It is such a blessing, we couldn't have asked for anything better. We have had all our inspections, apprasials, etc. done and negotiated and are just waiting to close. Daniel and I are headed to FL next week to look and hopefully buy a house, although by the looks of the real estate options we have seen, I am not holding my breath. Daniel has to start his new job July 16, we our plan is to move to FL the weekend of July 7/8. Hard to believe we have less than a month in Texas.

On another note, I had my 20 week U/S this past Monday. Although everyone, including myself wholeheartedly believe this little peanut was a boy, we were surprised to find out we are expecting another GIRL!! That will be 3 girls, Lord help us. Daniel will be severly outnumbered. I know what you are all thinking, will they give it another go to hopefully get a boy? Answer-NO, not just no, HELL NO. We are done, done, done after this baby. I guess this is God's way of telling us we are doing an okay job at raising girls. I am sure HE is up there snickering just a little bit knowing what we are in for during the teenage years.

I'll post after our trip to FL and let you know how our real estate venture went.

Better Late Than Never

I have been meaning to get this on video for months and yesterdy and I finally got around to it. This is the song that they leran at preschool during rodeo "month" at school.

Onward and Upward

Yesterday Olivia was able to close the book on a chapter of her life. Yesterday was her last day of preschool along with preschool graduation. It is hard to believe that in 3 months Olivia will be in Kindergarten. Where does time go? Olivia adored preschool and was super excited to go everyday, I hope that spills over into Kindergaren and the rest of her school career.

The song all of the graduates sang together.

Karma Fairy is finally shining down on us....

I am not even going to try and make excuses as to why I haven't posted, let's just chalk it up to a boring lifestyle. But, our boring life is about to change. First and foremost, we are expecting another little Regenhardt!! I found out the Monday before Valentine's Day that I was expecting. Our expectant due date is October 20. We are thrilled, but also a bit scared. Even though this isn't my first rodeo, I have been feeling completely different. I have had, up until a week or so ago, all day nausea, very little heartburn, extremely tired, the differences are ongoing. With all these differences, I have a feeling this new little addition might be a boy. If not, this will be the spiciest girl yet :-).

Secondly, as you all know, ever since Daniel has been working at Longhorn, he has longed to get back into brewing. Longhorn has been an invaluable learning experience but definitely not his passion. And as you all know, he is not one to just sit around and not look for the next challenge. For the last 18 months, he has continually been looking for the next opportunity to get back into brewing and back to what makes him tick. About two weeks ago, he got an opportunity to interview for an assistant brew master job in Jacksonville, FL. Getting this job would be the cu de gra of his career thus far. He was not very confident after the interview, as he didn't have very many days to prepare and he might have just been a little off his game. But, believe you me, even on an off day, he is still an interview rock star(so I wasn't worried). They told him it would be 10 days to 2 weeks before he heard anything. Those are the longest days you can imagine. But anywho, we had a sniff earlier this week that the job was his, the final paperwork was just awaiting a signature. But you know the old saying, don't count your chickens before they hatch. Well, we were cautiously optimistic that this time, all the stars would align and he would get the opportunity he so deserves. Well, all the waiting paid off, he got offered an assistant brew master job in FL today!! So, looks like we(or more like the movers) will be packing up our home and moving on up to the East side.

This new chapter in our lives will definitely be exciting, if not scary and stressful. But again, we have done it once, we will do it again.

Stay tuned for the upcoming adventures of The Regenhardts....

Happy Birthday Olivia....

Happy Birthday to our Olivia!!! I cannot believe my first baby is 5 years old today(lets just pretend I posted this on her actual birthday ;-). I could spend this whole blog post recounting the last 5 years and how wonderful they have been since having Olivia in our lives. But I will just say that she is hands down, the most amazing 5 year old kid I know. She amazes me everyday with how smart, funny, outgoing, caring and truly kindhearted kid. She had a great birthday. Since she had school on her actual birthday, she got to take treats for all her friends and getting a little extra attention, which everyone knows she loves. Then that night we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I had told Olivia earlier in the week that she got to choose where we went and with a little coaching from daddy, she decided on OG. After dinner, we came home and opened presents and had cake. She got a lot of really nice presents. She sure has a lot of people that love her. Our friends sent her some birthday money and since the day before she found a toy at Target that she wanted and I wouldn't buy her, she was so thrilled to get money so she could go buy it. So Friday we went to the bank and cashed the check and I gave her the money to put in her wallet and then off to Target we went. She was so thrilled to have her own money to spend and she went right to the toy section and picked out the toy from the day before. She paid for it herself and dealt with the money and change by herself. I was so very proud of her for being so responsible with her money and also being so appreciative of having it and being able to be an "adult."

On March 10, she is having a whole class party(although I pray not all the kiddos show up) at a local gymnastics gym. She is super excited about that, we'll see how I feel after the fact.

Here are pics from her actual birthday and then I will post some of her party from next week-

she was soooo happy about the Princess card :-)

Wow, I Suck

I could profusely apologize for my lack of posts, but really there are no excuses other than the fact that I suck at updating. I can say that I will try and do better but again, I can't promise that. So, just bear with me and check back when you want. There hasn't been much going on. The weather here has been gorgegous except we have gotten A LOT of rain lately. We are supposed to get 3+ inches tomorrow and Saturday. All this rain means we have a very clean Cooper. Our backyard is like a mini swamp when we get a lot of rain and Cooper in his infinite wisdom thinks it's fun to go and waller in the mud. Little has he learned that acting like a little piggy taking a mud bath will get him treated like a little piggy in that he has to stay outside until Daniel gets home to give him a bath. Sometimes that means he is outside for hours. Olivia's birthday is next week, where does time go. We are having a whole class party on March 10 at a local gymnastics place. I hope a lot of kids from her class show up but not all as the party is for 15 kids or less. We have some other "news" in the works but I will save that for another post ;-).

I will try, really try to post more.

One Big Year End Post

Yes, I realize that it has been almost a month since my last post. I've been a bit busy, so please forgive me. Instead of trying to recap what we have been up to for the last month in individual posts, I am just going to put it all in one post.

December was a pretty good month. We were busy as usual, Daniel working, Olivia finishing up school for this year and then trying to get our stuff packed to head back to the Lou for the last two weeks of the year. We found out that at the end of the current preschool semester that Olivia's favorite teacher would be resigning from SLC due to family illness. Olivia was crushed when I told her as was I because her lead teacher leaves a bit to be desired. Hopefully the teacher hired to fill Mrs. Carr's spot will step up to the plate. Daniel was able to save a week of vacation time to take in December and his plant is on shut down the week between Christmas and New Year's, so his last day of work was December 16 and he goes back January 4. It is weird to have him home so much since usually he works 80+ hours a week and I barely see him except on Saturday and Sundays.

So since he had almost 3 weeks off, we headed back to the Lou on December 17. Our first stop was at The Lake of the Ozarks to spend a couple days with his mom and sister. Then on the 19th we headed to Centralia to spend the remainder of our holiday with my mom. She had to work most days, so we were able to carve out time to spend with our friends and family and not take away from our time with her. We utilized our time well and were able to see everyone that we had hoped. We have a wonderful Christmas with family. We decided to head back to Houston on December 29. Even though I loved spending time with our family and friends, I was so glad to be back home. We drove 3000 miles in two weeks so we were and still are pretty exhausted. On New Year's Eve, the weather was perfect, about 80 degrees so there was lots of activity going on. Apparently, fireworks are a HUGE deal down here. It is Monday, January 1 as I write this and people are still shooting off fireworks. On NYE night, we went down to our friends' Joe and Misty's house, they were having a block party. It was a fun time but it was cut short for me because Olivia was scared of all the loud fireworks going off all around so she begged me to bring her home. Daniel and Cameron stayed for a while and Daniel said it was a fun time. The kiddos were both in bed by 9:45ish and since it was such a nice night, Daniel and I decided to sit outside and watch all the fireworks shows. I have to say, our neighbors a couple doors down put on a television special worthy fireworks show and the best part was we didn't even have to leave our backyard. About 10:30, I was out in our driveway looking at some other fireworks and I saw our neighbor from across the street out. We started talking and ended up standing outside for a while talking. I haven't really gotten to talk to her much since we lived here as she has been receiving chemo for breast cancer but I really enjoyed our time in the driveway. After a while in the driveway, we all came to our backyard and were just sitting around drinking. We ended up doing that till 1:00 am. It was such a nice night. I hope that Lana and I can start hanging out more, she is a very nice person.

*On a side note, someone had the nerve to come in our garage and help themselves to our weed eater, edger and blower. The edger and blower were practically brand new. Since we don't know when this exactly happened, it was most likely sometime between Thanksgiving and when we left to go to St. Louis, we can't really file a police report. Since it more than likely going to cost about $600ish to replace all of the these things, we (I) hope Daniel can borrow our neighbors for a while as we won't be able to get new ones for a some time. Our best guess as to what happened to them is one of the many yard crews that cuts various lawns around ours, saw Daniel using it and decided it would be a nice addition to their arsenal of yard equipment. It really frosts our biscuits that someone would do that as we try to be good, honest people and teach our kids the same values and then something like this happens.

As a new year is upon us, I have quite a few "resolutions" swirling around in my head but am not ready to reveal them yet as I have some logistics to work through first. I know resolutions are supposed to be made before the New Year comes but I say better late than never.

I hope everyone had a joyous holiday season and a safe and happy New Year.