As Expected

Well,we made it here safely but not necessarily "soundly" a few days ago.
The first leg of our trip was everything I had feared ~ Sydney screamed for almost the entire hour, our plane was the smallest jet I've every seen, and we had a not-so-friendly business man sitting across the aisle from us. UGH.
Luckily we were in the very back row and since the jet was so small, it was VERY loud and so we only probably bothered about the last 7 of the 14 rows. Whew! =)
Raegan was a gem even without a nap, but has been kind of "sassy" the last few days. Come to find out (tonight) that she is popping another 2 year molar on the bottom row so that explains the tiredness and smart-mouthedness. I guess I'll forgive her. =)

Other then all of that, our "vacation" here has been great. Yesterday we visited some family friends whom Brad grew up with and then had Brent, Kristin, and Benjamin over for dinner and some hang out time. Raegan LOVES her cousin "Benjin"!

Today we did alot of shopping and my Mom-in-Law even kept the girls this afternoon so I could hit the big outlet stores nearby. It was WONDERFUL to get lost in Pottery Barn Kids for almost an hour by myself!
I even "splurged" (with a gift card) and got myself two pairs of unnecessary shorts from Banana Republic's outlet as they were too good a deal to pass up. F-U-N.

Tomorrow night Brad flies in and we are all excited for that. (Especially me... as I need a break from the 10 oclock bottle!) =)

frequent flyers

Say a little prayer for me at 1:40 p.m. today as I will be boarding a flight to PA with my two girls, BY MYSELF.

Brad's dad was nice enough to fly us in for Brad's cousin Courtney's wedding this coming weekend and so we decided to make it an extended trip for us girls in order to visit a little bit. Brad will be flying in on Friday night and (thankfully!) flying back with all of us on Sunday night.

I felt very confident and prepared until a couple days ago. Now I have butterflies in my stomach and am not so sure anymore.

Luckily, each of our flights (with one layover) are only 1 hour long so I think I can bear through an hour of screaming and fussing if need be.

However, I'm armed with a backpack full of snacks, books, playdough, DVD player, pacifiers, and one LARGE teddy bear that will be sharing our seats; hoping that will suffice any need that arises. HOPEFULLY

One of Raegan's first trips to PA (at 7 months)

Friends are Fun

We had a wedding of a college friend this weekend which meant lots of get togethers and catching up with out of town friends. It was alot of fun.!
Friday night we had a few families over for pizza and met the newest Wieger daughter, Chloe, who is just two days older then Sydney!

Saturday we headed out to Holland and Windmill Island for a lovely evening wedding reception. It was fun to get a glimpse of the Island as soon we'll be celebrating my sister and Andy's wedding and reception there. It is a beautiful place and I can't wait for August 4 for the big day! =)

Sydney's girlfriends, Chloe (Left) and Aria (middle).

Jake, Kai and Raegan winding down with a movie after a long night of playing.

The reception tent at Windmill Island. So beautiful!

"she's crafty..."

(Just quoting a little old school Beastie Boys there for all you children of the 90's.)

Yep...here's the finished product. My "Reversible Sassy Swing Bag".

4H-er's of the world WATCH OUT!

RG at the playground

c/o Brenda, here is a glimpse of the "trials and tribulations" of a day in the life of Raegan:
I think this was the time that Emma wanted to go down the slide with her....or maybe it was when she got woodchips in her shoes...OR when she fell off the swing...
It's hard to say ~ Lots of tears at the playground today though.

Not quite sure she is my child...

I LOVE Summer. Everything about it. My firstborn, however, seems to be the opposite.

Hates the beach, hates the sand, hates the Lake, etc.

This weekend it was wickedly hot (just the way I like it) and we headed to Holland to enjoy all that it has to offer. We went to the beach for the first time this summer in the boat and Raegan screamed and held her feet up when we tried to set her down.

Here is where she sat for the entire

2 1/2 hours that we were there.

She was most happy on the boat and probably would have preferred to stay there had we let her.

In other news, Brad had the best Father's Day gift and I didn't even have to go shopping. He and my dad had a "Boatside Baptist" Sunday morning and had 8 hits and caught 4 fish. He was VERY happy.

Becky Home-Ecky

Tis the season for me to feel motivated to tackle projects and try out new crafts. I love summer!

On Wednesday my mom came over with a case of fresh berries from the Holland Farmers Market and we spent two hours making freezer jam. If any of you know my husband, you will know that he comes from a family where jelly is as staple to the dinner table as salt and pepper, so we go through quite a bit of it throughout the year! And of course homemade is better then any store bought kind.

I'm also re-attempting to learn to sew. When I realized that Euro shams for Raegan's room could cost me up to $40 a piece I decided that I had better at least take a stab at sewing them and so far I have one down and it looks pretty good! (Just don't look too closely). Brenda and I are also in the process of sewing cute summer "swing" bags (a.k.a. purses) and we are almost finished. The kicker is trying to find the time to actually sit down and sew! Not such an easy thing with two kids...but I'll post pictures of our finished products as soon as they are done!

Vacuums and Louie

There are two things that have caused alot of frustration for me around our house. Two things that have cramped my dreams of having long lazy summer days in our yard with the kiddie pool, sand toys, Popsicles, and a giggling two year old.
Those two things are "vacuums" (a.k.a. any and all loud yard machines) and our neighbor's lovable and completely harmless yet seemingly vicious-looking bull dog Louie.
Raegan has screamed and cried every time we have attempted to haul out our summer toys to play in the blazing sun. I end up scooping her rigid, suntan-lotioned and greasy body off the ground and carrying her back inside EVERY TIME. AUGH!!! (And don't think I haven't attempted to help her realize that these things aren't scary. My attempts have been worthless)

So...yesterday we migrated to Brenda's house where there were no vacuums (their lawn service comes on Thursdays) and no Louies.
Although she had to contend with Emma a bit, we had a fun morning at the pool. FINALLY!

Boyfriend-Girlfriend Potential?

My friend Sara came in for a quick visit last night and brought her three week old little munchkin Cameron. It was so fun to see her and to meet Cameron and to compare how quickly babies change in just a few short weeks!
If you remember from my previous blogs, Sara and I were only 6 weeks apart in our pregnancies and Cameron was born by cesarean a week early so they are very close in age! Cameron tried a few times to put the moves on Syd but she wouldn't give him the time of day...she's looking for an older man I think.

Sassy

I just love getting my hair done. I've had pretty much the same angled-bob style for almost a year now but I usually change-up the color a little. Last time I let her do whatever she wanted and Brad was not such a fan of the "chunky" highlights. This time I went for a little more of a natural look and I'm very happy with it.
Nothing like a good color, cut and style to make a girl feel "cute" again. Not to mention the SMELL of your hair after a trip to the salon. YUM!
I may not be back to my pre-prego size OR have the latest fashions cause I don't have time to shop for myself, but at least I can have some fun hair!
Can I get an "amen" girls?

girly girl

Yesterday I was touching up the polish on my toe nails in the bathroom and Raegan was watching intently and then pronounced that she wanted some on her nails. I propped her up on my vanity and she sat as still as can be while I painted her tiny nails. When I was on her second foot she suddenly said in a hushed voice. "Oh,that's beautiful"
Guess I have a new pedicure buddy! =)