It has been a while, I know. Things have been extremely crazy around here. We had a weekend in Omaha with Michael's family to celebrate his moms 60th birthday. It was quite an adventurous one at that. We had the zoo, dinner, a lot of family time, drag queens (long story), and sickness. We had to leave early due to a little baby that was sick. Jax had a rough night followed by a few rough days. He had one nasty cold. I stayed home with him Monday and Tuesday and he finally got his energy back. Mr Happy didn't smile for almost 24 hours, it was so heartbreaking. He was back to his happy crazy self before we knew it. I only ended up going to work for one day that week. I had already scheduled off Thursday and Friday so the work week was a complete bust. Harry Potter week came in full force after that! We started off by watching a few of the old movies. Thursday we decorated, cooked, and watched 5 & 6. When everyone got there, we ate dinner, which was amazing! Shepherds pie, Yorkshire pudding, chicken, it was fabulous. We then watched the first part of 7 while munching on desserts and popcorn. Rumor had it, the theater was already filling up with people so we headed over. Sure enough, there was a giant line outside the theater. We played a card came while we waited but they started letting everyone in at a pretty decent hour. I will say though, sitting in a theater for 2 hours before your movie even starts, gets sort of old. Especially when you have annoying, immature high school students all around you. We had some costumes but not amazing like I have seen from others. The movie...amazing. I still can't find words to describe it. I laughed, I cried, cheered, and I was very sad when the credits started to role. No more HP. Slightly upsetting. I cannot wait for it to be released on DVD. I have not bought a single HP movie, so you bet I will spent the money on the box set. Someone did give me the Half Blood Prince, which of course is the worst one.

We just have a lot going on and we are trying to figure things out. Always a joy! Sick of the nasty heat that will not leave.

4 years

Jake is now 4 years old. I was watching videos on my computer tonight of him even last fall and it's amazing how much he has grown and changed. I love his one liners and I do love that he is extremely sarcastic. He is always using big words that are put in the correct terminology and it always boggles me that he can do that. I love that he can sing almost every song on both Glee seasons and that I plays his guitar while he does it sometimes. I love how much his brother loves and him and he loves his brother. I am so blessed to have well behaved and well mannered boys. I cannot be more thankful for them.

Jake got to spend his birthday being spoiled rotten! He and Eli spent the night at 37th and live it up. They got to go to the Bass Pro Shop (Jake's favorite store), eat there, and get loved on all day. We went over to my parents and brought all the food to have dinner. We grilled out and ate a fantastic meal. The 4 year old got to open all of his gifts, which were more then enough. He ate cake, candy, and got to play with sparklers. He was surrounded by people who love him and he had such a fantastic day. He told me on the way home "Mom, this was so awesome! I am not sure I can top it next year." I am sure he will. He was so tired and we got home so late that he waited till today to open up all his gifts from us. Then I spent 3 hours putting together a lego train set, and 2 race tracks. The lego set...talk about a pain. I spent an hour and a half just on that one. If that thing even gets taken apart or breaks.....let's just say I will not be happy. Jake is now rotating from one thing to another. He somehow combined all of them into one big story line and the trains are helping out the cars to get away from the pirates. I love his imagination.

Jax is also 7 months old today. He is crawling and getting into everything. I still love him to pieces. He makes me smile no matter what and he is always ready to great you with a smile. I will say, he is not a carrot fan though. Too bad for him, I made a large batch so he has to eat it at least 4 more times. I will try and bring it back in a month and see if he will eat it then!

I might have to post a blog with just photos. I haven't uploaded them from my camera. My SD card holds about 500+ photos and I only have 101 left. I am sure, over half will be deleted but I will post some updated photos soon!

Weekend mayhem

All week last week people were asking if we had plans for this extended weekend. Our response "Nope". We were planning on just staying low, doing nothing, catching up on much needed sleep, clean, and just veg. Did that happen? No. What else do you expect from us? We never stay still!

Friday evening after work, we rounded up the kids and headed over to my parents house. They had decided it was time for boys to have some new outdoor activities. Thus, a swing set. Not just any swing set, but a lovely wooden one. Needless to say, they were a bit excited. David, Michael, and Dad worked hard on putting as much together as they could Friday night. I hung out with my mom and my boys as they worked. Jake of course, did not want to leave, so my parents let him spend the night. Lucky boy! This gave us a great opportunity to go shopping at Toys R Us at 10pm. It was the least busy I have ever scene it. Most of the people there were in the gaming section. After getting the rest of Jake's birthday presents, we finally made it home and to bed.

Saturday came before we knew it and we headed back over to 37th to finish the swing set. Mom made french toast and bacon for breakfast and while the men finished the swing set, the boys "helped" and played outside. Lunch, and then a few more hours of work and they were done! We got home around 4 and Jake swore he wasn't tired but spent from 4-6 sleeping on the couch. He then woke up, ate dinner, took a bath, and was back in bed by 7. He was pooped. I started laundry, cleaned the kitchen, made dinner, and read HP till about 11.

Sunday we had to not attend church in order to be up in the big SC at noon. After about two hours at the family reunion, we had to leave, drive back to DM, get groceries, pack up, and head over to the Axtells. We did that all in a matter of about 2 hours. We watched the WDM parade, even got to see Michael's dad, and Jake and Norah made bank in candy! It was so much fun and excellent company. We then returned and had an amazing meal and just let the kids play! Again, Jake was exhausted. We were going to meet friends for fireworks but Jake said he was too tired. Poor guy!

Monday I woke up and had one of those "It's way too sunny for me not to be late to work" and jumped out of bed. Needless to say, it took about 2 minutes until I realized that I didn't have to go. Jake was already awake playing and Jax was just smiling as usual waiting for someone to love him to pieces! We got Jake all packed up for is fun night and birthday at Party on 37th, and I continued laundry and getting ready for the week ahead. We headed over to Casa de Chase for some festivities! The invested in one of those inflatable water slides. The boys went crazy. Not just Connor and Jake either! It was a good time outside, the weather was perfect, it was great company, and we had a lot of fun. We didn't leave till around 6:30ish. We then were suppose to drop Jake off on 37th but Michael's parents are moving and we had to turn in our keys. I was quite emotional. I have known that house, well, forever. All the times we hung out there growing up and of course, since we have been dating, married, and have 2.75 kids, it's just something so familiar. It's home. I don't know if I can handle not driving down 29th and Ashworth anymore. I am sure we will over the years, just to see what the house looks like. I still have a lump in my throat thinking about it. We then headed off to 37th and dropped the birthday boy off. Ugh, he is so grown up. It makes me so sad. I cannot believe he is 4 tomorrow. Where did the time go? He is spending the day with my parents and Eli doing his favorite things! Man, I love that kid!

Our weekend was jam packed as you can see. So much for keeping a low profile this past weekend! I also only have 9 days to finish HP. I am not sure I will be able to!

Michael Bublé

I am a die hard Michael fan. I have been for a long time and I will always be no matter what people think or say. I saw him by accident the first time in Minneapolis in 2003, then in 2009, and I got to honor to see him again Friday. We started the evening with dinner at La Ha and it was amazing. Our waiter apparently thought we loved tequila because he gave us more then a double dose of it in our margaritas. He even brought the bottle out and dumped more on them. It was ridiculous! We had a lot of laughs and the food was fantastic as always. I got extremely excited when we walked in! It was a giant adrenaline rush. It was fun to see the different age groups that attended. Our section was amazing. First off, our seats...are you kidding me?! They were fantastic! I loved them! I felt like I could touch him! We had a 3 high school girls behind us that were utterly adorable. They knew the words to every song and were just in awe of him. It was so sweet. We also had this awesome older lady in our section. She could get down with the best of them. It was fun to watch her dance around and enjoy the show. The show. I did not want it to end. Naturally 7 opened for him again. They have always had great voices but their stage performance has increased significantly. They really got in with the crowd and seemed so much more relaxed. I really enjoyed their performance. It was a great start to the evening! Michael came out in style, singing my favorite tune right off the bat. I felt like a 14 year old screaming at Justin Timberlake. I was in heaven. The whole concert start to finish was perfection. I got teary eyed when he sang "home" and dedicated it to the troops and as he sang, there was a slide show going on. It ended with a photo of the Capital of Des Moines. It was beautiful. My epic down fall was his last song. He started off on stage with his band, then one of his trumpet players appeared behind us and played for a bit. Then lights went down, his band went behind the curtain, and he went unplugged. There, in Wells Fargo Arena, Michael sang with no band, no mic, and no flashing lights. It was a very intimate moment that left me in tears. I had goosebumps all over and was just in awe. I felt like an idiot until I realized I wasn't the only one in tears. To sum this evening up, perfection doesn't even come close. Amazing food, phenomenal performance, and of course, exceptional company! Here are some photos:

Rainy Monday

It's another Monday, luckily it's almost over! The weekend was once again a blur! Full of family, friends, BBQ's, and many, many laughs. Jax is really starting to get his crawl on! I'm so excited for him to get moving. Now, I am sure a few weeks from now I will be singing a different tune! He had his 6th month check up today! He is currently tipping the scales at 22lbs and is 28 1/2 inches long. He is in the 98% all around. We love him so and Jake is absolutely amazing with him. I love watching them together! It is so much fun. Now that Jax is on the move, Jake does get a little irritated. Especially when Jax grabs something of Jake's. It will only get worse from here.

I feel that I need to take a day off just to sleep. I need to catch up. This is not going to happen for a long time. I have a full load of things going on this week. Thursday = most excited about!

Today my day started off horribly. It was storming extremely bad. I was taking the kids to daycare and it started to let up a little. I thought I was off the hook. Wrong, so wrong! I pull up in the drive way and it starts pouring out. Giant drops of rain that would drown ants in a heart beat. Then the wind picked up so the rain came down in a horizontal pattern. I get out of the car and in a matter of seconds, my pants are soaked. I get Jake into the safe zone and ran out to fetch Jax. At this point my shirt gets soaked and my hair is now drooping in my face. My umbrella did not help. The wind was just too insane. By the time all was said and done, I was drenched head to toe and just should have gone home. Why can't I take signs when they are given to me? I proceeded to look like a hottmess the rest of the day! Thank you weather!

I am also questioning what most people almost 30 probably do...what should I do when I grow up?!

Uncharted

I love this song. I have since this album came out. For the past month I have been obsessed with the music video. I just enjoy all the cameos and watch it if I am in a foul mood. Especially the fact that Josh Groban and Adam Levine sing...amazing! The fact that Keenan Cahill made an appearance just did it for me! Click on his name and the videos are amazing!! Love it!

I have a belt!

Yes, I have severely been lacking in the blogging department. I really don't have any other excuse other then the fact we have been extremely busy. Let's see....

Kids: Jax is now 6 months old! Time is going so fast, I cannot believe it. He just started eating solid foods and is eating like a champ. He loves everything he has tried so far. I have been making his food and it has been so much easier than I thought it would be. He started to “crawl” in the past few days. It’s more like he is doing the worm but it’s something. He is still happy as ever! We are pretty sure he has some teeth coming in. Be warned that he may suck on you if he gets the chance! Jake has doing awesome at his new day care. She keeps him extremely busy so he comes home exhausted. He is turning 4 in a few weeks and I am slightly emotional about it. I don’t feel like it has been that long already. He’s growing up so fast! 

Mom: She had her surgery and is doing awesome so far! Day 2 of being part titanimum and she is rocking and rolling. She has been up and walking today and is doing really well with her therapy. She will probably get to go home Friday (tomorrow)! She is kicking butt and taking names! We have had a great experience so far. I am so thankful for all our family that came and hung out with us yesterday for the day. My friends have been amazing. Between tons of texts, phone calls, Starbucks drop offs, I’m so blessed for them all! I hope she continues to do well and progress the way she is!

Life: Wondering about my title?! I finally decided I needed a belt. I had another pant incident a few weeks ago and enough is enough. This was and is still a big thing for me. It has been a blessing!! Michael has been MIA for over a month. He has been working like crazy on side jobs. They all came in at once so he has been gone most nights. The kids and I are having fun but can’t wait till he’s home more! We are thinking about trying to sell again. We never put it on the market last time but we are really starting to bust out of the seams! Our big issue is still trying to figure out where to move. I say Texas since everyone else is moving there!! We will have discuss this in detail soon. My OCD side is going to want to make a pro/con chart, maybe even colored. Weekends have been stock full of family and friends. BBQ season is in full swing and I love being able to just be with everyone and relax. Since it is summer most days at home, if it’s not raining, are spent outside! 

That is pretty much our life right now. Rarely home and always on the move!