Adios April

It may sound a bit broken record-ish, but it is crazy that another month has come and gone! Here are just a few more April memories- enjoy!

One day Garrett went into the kitchen and was being really quiet- never a good thing. I walked in to find that he had moved the crate into the kitchen and was using it as a stool. 

And he was having a grand time throwing (check out that action shot) silverware all over the place!!!

Being Cinderella must be exhausting- Tori didn't even try to make it to her bed before she collapsed!

One night we took the kids to dinner at Burger King- a rare treat for us. Garrett wanted nothing to do with the play place- even if Daddy went down the slide, too!

He much preferred playing on these fun little stools!!!

On the other hand, Tori had a ball going down the slide with Daddy in crazy ways!!!

One evening, we went in to check on Tori after she had fallen asleep. Not only had she dressed herself up as Rapunzel, but, if you look closely, she had also dressed up all of her friends on her bed as well! They must have had some party!!!

Prince is such a trooper- not every dog has to put up with wearing reindeer antlers and bunny ears at the same time!

What a silly boy!!!

Real men read Fancy Nancy!!!

Garrett loves to read! And it is so fun that he is starting to 'read' to himself!

Thanks for being so good to us April! And now on to May!!!

Playin' Around

This afternoon we walked over to the park around the corner from our house.  We all desperately needed to get out of the house for a while- and it was great to let the kids run out a lot of energy!

Garrett was so brave and went down this slide all by himself!!!

Hurrah- everyone made it to the top!

Garrett and Daddy trying out a new slide!

Tori is our little social butterfly! We looked over at one point to see this. And then we heard her say, "we should do this. I know how!" And then she went first. It cracked us up that even though all the other kids seemed older than Tori, they followed right along! I think we have a future leader on our hands! Oh, and Tori kept introducing herself to all her new friends as "Tori Allen." Pretty hilarious that we then heard all the other kids refer to her as "Tori Allen" for the rest of the afternoon!

Tori and her new friend Genevieve!

Tori is fearless!

On our way home, we saw this awesome pink tree. It took a little coaxing, but we finally got Tori to stand there long enough, and sort of smile for a picture!

I'm so glad we have a park near our house- it makes for fun afternoon adventures!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy

Happy Birthday to me-today was awesome from beginning to end!  It was filled with yummy food, fun presents, and best of all my family and wonderful friends!!!
Jared, Tori, and Garrett made me a birthday card- Tori even helped me read it!

Garrett and Tori helped me open my present! (I couldn't ask for better helpers!!!)

Tori was so excited about today being my birthday that she gave me gifts all through the day! Here are some of them!

This evening we were able to have dinner with my some of my old roommates! It wasn't really to celebrate my birthday, more that today was the day that worked for everyone. But it was still a fantastic way to end an amazing day!!!

Bonjour Butterfly

This morning we were able to go to the Indianapolis Zoo for the first time this year!  We started out with Tori and Garrett's favorites- the fish!  Every time we go to the zoo, Tori wants to try and pet a shark. But they are typically not even close to us. Today we had one that came right over and swam under Tori's fingers! And this was her reaction- not happy!!!

Tori loves saying hi to the flamingos!

I think Garrett was trying to climb right in with the elephants!

The elephants are always a fan favorite!!!

Our last stop was to check out the new butterfly exhibit! According to Fancy Nancy, butterflies speak French. So, we said bonjour to many of them today!

It was amazing how close Tori could get to the butterflies!

And it was even more amazing how close Garrett got- he kept trying to hit them!

Tori loved trying to find all the butterflies- and there were tons!

She was fascinated!

This was a great way to end our trip to the zoo today- so neat!

We give the butterfly exhibit two thumbs (or eight) way up!!!

2 Little Monkeys

Tori and Garrett have decided that they love jumping on our bed! Here are our two little monkeys jumping on the bed! Luckily, no one has fallen off and broken their head, yet!

I love it when these two are so happy playing with each other!!!

Our handsome Garrett!

And our beautiful Tori!

It's the small moments like these that make my days fabulous!!!

It's Nursery Time

On April 9th, Garrett turned 18 months old  ! It is crazy how fast the time has flown by. Garrett seems to be adding new words daily- he is up to 23! He absolutely loves cars and being outside. He also loves climbing and getting into everything- the latest is all the drawers in the kitchen. Garrett gives awesome hugs and fantastically slobbery kisses! He is great at playing peek-a-boo. He also enjoys escaping during diaper changes and running around with a bare bum! Garrett has the most contagious laugh and captures people in an instant with his smile! Being 18 months old also meant that today was Garrett's first day to be in Nursery at church!!!

Check out this handsome guy!

What a little stud we have!!!

And Tori was looking pretty adorable today as well!

Garrett did great in Nursery and made it through the entire two hours. He whimpered a little, but was fine if they held him for a minute. Yeah for our big (but still little) boy!!!

Coolest Desk Ever!

Last Christmas, one of Mom Allen's scrapbooking ladies got a craft cupboard and as part of the deal it came with a free craft desk.  She didn't really want the desk, but no one turns down something that's free- right? She talked with Mom Allen to see if she knew someone that could use it- which is where I come into the story. I gladly accepted the amazing gift that was being offered and we were able to bring it home with us when we visited Texas a few weeks ago.

Tori thought the desk was a great platform to dance on...

or take a nap upon! Both of the kids thought it was great fun to play with!

Just as a little comparison- this was my craft setup before our trip. (Yes, I know it's a huge mess!)

Tori was Daddy's big helper in putting the desk together!

Ta da- check out this fantastic desk!!! (It is holding almost everything that was on or above the table in the picture above!)

Not only does it have a bunch of compartments, but the top is clear so you can see where everything is- brilliant!

I am so excited to put my new desk to use!  Thanks again Miranda for such a fabulous gift!!!

Our Lost Package Arrived

Grandma Allen, in all her awesomeness, sent a package for Tori and Garrett that was supposed to get to our house the day before we left for Texas. Enclosed were little gifts for them to open along the way to help get us all through our long drive. When the mail was delivered the day we were leaving, and again the package was not delivered, our hearts sank. We knew that there wasn't anything we could do- we just wouldn't get the package until we got back to Indiana. And while it didn't turn out the way Grandma had planned, our kids were so excited to get their package the day after we got back from our trip! Jared hid their packages all around the loft and let them go on a scavenger hunt of sorts- it was a huge hit!!!

Tori eagerly ripped into all her gifts!

What could it be, Garrett?

A car!!! This was one happy boy!

 It was so much fun watching Tori find and distribute all the gifts- she had a grand time!!!

Oh, she found one for Garrett!

The sunglasses were a fast favorite! What a cool girl!

And Garrett looked so stylin'!

Thanks so much for our package Grandma- it was awesome!!!

There & Back Again

The actual driving time from our house in Indiana to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Texas is around 15 hours.  Which means lots of time in the car.  Our kids were such troopers both on the way to Texas and on our way home!  Here are a few fun pictures we gathered on our journeys!
As soon as we left our house, Tori got her "lookers" all ready so she could spot Grandma's house!  It's so hard to explain that we wouldn't be able to see it for quite some time.

Tori loved her bed at the hotel!  It was so nice to get out of the car after our first day of driving!

The most entertaining thing in the room- the thermostat!

We took many snack and play breaks on our second day of driving.  So glad we threw in some balls! Garrett latched onto this blue one...

while Tori snagged the soccer ball!

Tori found a stick to play with at every stop!

During one of our stops, Jared decided he wanted to climb this tree.  Tori, Garrett, and some random guy in his car were highly entertained! The only problem was getting down- Jared's poor arms were so torn up by the time he was back on the ground!

Heading back to Indiana, Tori was once again thrilled with her bed!

And it was so cute that she made sure all of her friends were tucked in with her!!!

Well, our 15-hour-driving-trip went really well!  Now bring on our 23-hour-driving-trip to Utah in a few months!!!