Blazer's

Tom told Jack about this place called Blazer's on Monday. Jack asked me everyday, at least 8 times a day...."Hey Mom, you wanna go somewhere really cool, with these crazy bouncer things?" hahahah! Well, as the week went on and we learned the days of the week he patiently waited to go to this "really cool place" and today was his day.

Tom drives past Blazer's on his way to work everyday. It's a huge warehouse that they turned into a "fun zone" with a roller rink, arcade, mini golf and HUGE inflatable slides and bouncers. There's an area for smaller kiddos which was perfect for Ty. Since the kid's were under 6 years of age, Tom and I got in for free. We went right when the place opened since it was a Saturday and we figured it'd be crazy. We were there from 10:30 to 1pm and had a blast! They have a food court like a baseball concession stand so we even took a break and had lunch. It started to get pretty crowded and the bigger kids were taking over the bouncers so we headed home with 2 very tired kids! Mission accomplished! Tom scored big in the idea of the day contest! We all had such a great time and will definitely be going back because it was good, cheap fun and I don't think the kids stopped smiling the whole time we were there!


The "really cool bouncer things"

In the little kid bouncer

Jack gearing up for a big jump...

Jack in mid-flight

Ty climbing up the ladder like a big guy!

Jack going down the dragon slide

The dismount

The calmest moment of his day.

Ty rode this thing for a whole 5 seconds, the longest he sat still the whole time we were there.

He got stuck on the top of the gear.

Guns are like magnets for boys....no matter their age.

Only 14 more years before we have to worry about "the Tornado" behind the wheel.

I got a pass for helping Ty through the bouncy maze due to being with child....so the job fell to Tom. (I was a little jealous...there was a cool slide at the end.)

The cool slide at the end....

Little Chefs

The boys got a play kitchen for Christmas. I'm secretly living through them with this toy. I love this thing! Hahah! Good thing is they love it too! Here are my little chefs making some delicious treats....... Doughnut soup, grilled burgers, and lots of coffee with ice. :-) Ty's a very good taste tester and loves being on the phone. Jack's partial to anything he can make while using the tongs and the big spoon. It's the little things! :-) (Oh and Jack's been going through a thing where wearing a shirt is not cool apparently! He goes to bed wearing one, and when we check on him when we go to bed he's shirtless. When he comes out of his room in the morning he's wearing it again, however, by the time he's eating, the shirt is back off and stays off until we get dressed for the day. Who knows....we just go with it! :-) )

Snow Day

We got some snow today. YEAH! Not near as much as our family and friends in other parts of the country, but we got snow! A whole whoppin' inch of it! The big storms seem to keep missing us. We're always on the outer edge of the storm whether it goes above us or below us. I love the snow, so I'll take what I can get! Tom actually got out of work early today because of road conditions so that was a nice surprise. We all had a blast in the snow. We needed a good day playing outside. The boys and I have been battling colds since we got back from the holidays and the temperature has just been too cold to have any fun outside without snow. So 1 inch of snow equals one pretty cool day! :-) (Be warned: I have LOTS of pics)


It took a little while for Ty to want to play in the snow. He stayed at the border of the snow in the garage for at least 20 minutes. Jack kept trying to lure him out with the "snow plow". AKA...shovel. Hahahha!

My little state puff marshmallow baby.

Jack on his "loader" from Boobie and Umpa. The boys have been playing with it in the garage, it was much more fun outside!

The snow hug!

Ty loves the loader too.

Ty telling Jack that he missed a spot.

This is love....when your feet can't reach the pedals...you can count on your brother!

Jack's snow angel in the making.

The final product.

He couldn't get off of the loader. hahaha!

We don't recommend driving in these conditions...

The only thing that could make the trampoline more fun....a layer of snow.

Bumper boys.

Ants and Cooties

Today turned into a game day for the boys. Ty and Jack got Ants in the Pants and Cooties for Christmas and we played them a lot today. The best part was that Ty was actually playing Ants in the Pants and flinging the little ants like a big guy. He got a huge kick out of watching those things fly. Cooties was a blast too. Jack was very proud of his "Crazy bug". It brought back memories of me playing that game at my Gram's house when I was younger. Jack does pretty well with board games. He's such an honest kid....if he cheats, he tells you before you can bust him. HAHAHAHA!
I look forward to many more game days!!!

Our Holidays in a Nutshell

We spent our holiday in PA this year. With our recent addition of a mini van it made the drive super comfortable, and we even had enough room to bring the dogs along. We got to PA on Thursday night and spent a week at home with our families. Our holiday was busy but so much fun! We started Christmas morning with my parents and brother, then headed to Tom's parents for the afternoon with his parents, brothers and grandmother and finished it off at my Grandparent's house with my huge extended family for the evening with our tradition of Dirty Bingo(Yankee Swap). It was really an amazing day.
The boys were beyond spoiled by our families. The attention they got alone was crazy. Jack definitely loved the spot light. It took Ty a while to warm up to everyone, but once he did, it was game on. Hahahah! The boys really don't know how lucky they are having so many people who love them. They essentially had 4 Christmases (we celebrated our own little Christmas when we got back to KY on New Year's Day). Our families went way beyond what they needed to do for the kids. I really hate being so far away because I wish family gatherings could happen more often in their everyday lives so it would be more common for them! Just seeing everyone on the holidays isn't enough! I miss stopping by my grandparent's house on a weekend when she makes her homemade pot pie or meeting my mom and aunts for lunch and shopping or going to my cousins sporting events or just seeing everyone more frequently and not having guilt when we run out of time and have to head back home. But enough about missing everyone, it goes without saying....

All in all we had a great holiday!!! I have over 600 pictures from our week at home. I'm not sure how to narrow them down so I'll do my best to pick out a few to post. But before you get to check out the pics I have to tell you about one of the greatest gifts we got this year and it was from Jack....he's POTTY TRAINED! YEAH!! We started potty training in March. That's right....March. I think we pushed him before he was ready and that's half of why it took 9 months, but by golly, he's got it now! When we got to KY I had to get the boys physicals to get registered for day care in case we'd ever use it. The pediatrician gave me great advice about potty training. See, Jack got #1 down pretty well months ago but #2 was a huge fight with crying and hissy fits of all kinds. He'd go once on the potty then we'd regress completely for weeks. So the Dr. told me to give him a prune at breakfast and by dinner he'd have to go. Do this every day with making him sit on the potty a few times a day just to get used to it. Well, with that advice and a special reward of these gummy strawberry things I found Jack is now pooping on the potty like a champ! We're so proud!! It's been a few weeks now, but I didn't want to jinx it by saying it out loud. :-) Even with traveling over the holidays he went at other people's houses and even at a Wendy's on the trip home! We don't even use the prunes now, he's got it! I assume that your first kiddo is always your guinea pig, right? Ty you're lucky, I have a few things we'll be doing differently when your time comes! Hopefully with less tears for all of us! :-) So......... YEAH for Jack!

Hope everyone out there had a great holiday too! Here's to 2011!!!

Jack got to open the first gift. It was a very special gift that Santa left at Oma and Pop Pop's because it wasn't going to be left at our house (ya know what I'm sayin'??).....a purple unicorn pillow pet. He's been asking for that thing for 2 months. He LOVES it!

Oma and the boys

Tom was REALLY excited about his coffee! Ty....not so much.

Pop Pop in his new fancy hat! Tom was jealous!

Tim demonstrating the straw glasses he got for the boys.

Building towers with Uncle Tim

Boobie and Jack tearing into a present.

Ty and Uncle Luke

Uncle Bruce was on battery duty.

Uncle Bruce and Ty

My extended family with a few missing...

Who doesn't love Mouse Trap?

Poor Lexie.....This gives a whole new meaning to the "I've got your nose" game.

Aunt Lisa bribing Ty with a jelly filled munchkin! He was pretending to be shy. A donut hole can cure anything for that kid! :-)

Back in KY, Santa left a few gifts that were from Oma and Pop Pop and Boobie and Umpa. This rocking horse was from Boobie's house. Ty LOVES it....

He loves it so much he did NOT want to share with Jack.

Ty demonstrating "Safety First"!

The boys discussing what they should grill first on their new kitchen.

A cement mixer and dump truck....I'd say he loved them!

A ride on loader.....like I said, the toys are growing just like the kids....we need a bigger house! :-)