Thursday 13

13 Reasons I enjoy camping!

1. Being with my Husband--a captive audience. Theres no where for him to go.
2. Being with Alanna the whole time
3. Relaxation--after you get there of course. Its alot of work to getting to your destination.
4. Home cooked meals
5. Snacks--we take lots of munchies
6. Sitting around enjoying the sun
7. Doing absolutely nothing--except chase the little one
8. The campfires
9. The time spent talking with the ones you came with
10. Playing card games and family games
11. Eating watermelon and strawberries
12. Popcorn and a movie in the camper--yes we take a T.V. and DVD Don't worry Alanna gets Elmo DVD's
13. Breakfast smells around the campground every morning!

Can you tell that from my list most of camping is eating!! That HAS to change when we return from our trip. Take care and I will try and write as soon as we get back. Have a great 4th of July!

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I am very busy right now. We are getting ready to go camping for the Fourth of July weekend. I am really excited. I just went and got groceries today and am cooking tomorrow night all my goodies. Its so much fun to go except for the prep to do before hand! Then its relaxation from then on. Alanna is eating carrots for supper and watching her Elmo DVD. She is one hooked mama. We got her a little pool to play in next to the camper because her mama doesn't do lakes. I would just die if one of those things that suck your blood got on me or her. Plus the idea of everyone peeing in the lake just doesn't excite me none! TOO many germs!!!

Busy weekend

We had a busy weekend and now its over! Alanna got to look with mommy and daddy this weekend at about 20 new 5th wheels. What fun. She really did like doing it, of course she liked them all. We took her to her first fly in--its where a bunch of little airplanes fly into a small airport and show off their planes. She got to sit in the seat of one of the planes and of course daddy took a picture. She looks like a professional. Then over to her little friend Emily's house to play. She loves to play with Emily and all her toys. She kept shutting Emily's bedroom door and would just play in her room. I would go and open the door and there she stood with a big ole grin and wait until I left the room again to shut the door. All the time, she would play in her toy boxes. It was very cute! But instead of feeling like I was dealing with a 1 year old it felt more like a 10 year old. She is getting way too big for her diaper!!! ;)

Thursday 13

I decided I would jump on the wagon of the "Thursday Thirteen" thing going on in blogger world. I am not postive I can keep up with it like so many of you do but... I will try and hopefully remember to do it every Thursday! But to get it started my first one is going to be "13 reasons why I love my hubby so much!"

1. He's so loving
2. He's a great daddy
3. He can figure literally everthing out --even when I need a little extra help on trying to figure things out in this little blog of mine. Even though he may think its silly he will lend a helping hand. If he can't he will read until he can.
4. He can fix just about anything. Especially the SUV!!
5. He can make just about anything. Which incidentally, is a pain because when I go shopping for things if it can be made I always say to myself well hubby can make it so why buy it!
6. He's very tenderhearted. I love a man who sheds a tear now and then.
7. He'd do just about anything for anyone! He's very giving!
8. He's my best friend--I tell him everything.
9. He's a great listener. Sometimes he has to listen alot when I am around and he doesn't seem to mind. Of course, I have no idea if its going in one ear and out the other but he seems to be listening very well.
10. He's funny --he is one of those who can say something with a straight face and crack you totally up. I laugh and he just sits there. Dry sense of humor. That is something I don't have.
11. He's very smart. He's very knowledgeable--is that a word?- about almost everything. I really don't know what attracted him to me! I am not at all. He has a friend that is that way too and they can sit and talk and I literally am lost. Its computer stuff and it really sounds like another language.
12. He's got the greatest eyes. And wears the best cologne!
13. He loves the Lord! I wanted to marry a christian my whole life and was worried when I was getting up in my 20's and the church scene was not a scene at all. unless you count all the gray haired widowers in our church.....but God had a plan to send a new pastor to our church and he had a single brother-in-law. I married the Pastors BIL. WOW I know. I never dreamed I would marry into a Preachers family. Well kinda!

There I did it. That was fun! I hope you enjoy it.

Anyone Home??

Alanna got this for her main gift from us on her birthday. She plays with more than we ever could have imagined she would. And we just went shopping for ideas. Good choice.
She has developed quite the vocabulary so far. She just started saying lots! I love to hear her try to say something you want her to. I know that I have mentioned her love for Elmo but just in the last 2 days she has been calling for him. I hear "Melmo, Melmo" all the time! It is so cute! My mom and her got into an argument over whose Elmo it really was. My mom would say, My Elmo and Alanna would reply, "My Melmo" as she shakes her head no to my mom! She didn't want mom to love Elmo! Its so cute!!!!
She says toes. I painted her toe nails bright red this weekend and she loves them. But.... she thinks everyone needs to show their toes and looks in wonder why they aren't painted.
She's really at a fun stage. She's a little sponge right now.
She fell down this weekend and she has road rash on her little nose. She looks like she's been in a major fight with someone. She looks awful. But she didn't hardly even cry! One little tear came down her cheeks and that was it. Daddy was proud!

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to wish every Father out there a happy day! I have many fond memories of my father! We did alot together growing up and I am thankful. They are alot of children that either never had a father or only seen them every other weekend or sometimes never. I spent lots of good times with my daddy. I am looking forward to Alanna and her daddy sharing special times. I want them to be close to each other. They are pretty tight now. Its fun to see her eyes light up when he walks in the room and even if he runs out to the car when the door opens back up she is so glad to see him.
We have a fun day planned as we will attend church this morning and then over to my SIL house to celebrate Dad's day with FIL and then over to my side this afternoon. We are grilling out so we don't have to wait in the lines at a resturant. Plus, its race weekend here in Michigan and being that I live only several minutes from the track and thousands of people are here for the race we don't have to worry with it all. So have a Great day with your families!!

"Our Sleeping Beauty"

Alanna is too tired to care that her foot is caught in the railing of her baby bed. She puts her foot in the railing alot but she always manages to get it back out. Just the same, Mommy always puts in back in the bed if she sees it first. Its a Mommy thing! The little lamb that she is sleeping with is her "Buddy" It stays in her bed at all times (unless she is sick) and she knows that when its time to go Night Night she gets Mr. Lamb! She holds his ears and sucks her thumb. He is usually always within arms reach of her. He has a little rattle inside of him and during the night we can hear him rattle. Its a comfort to hear him sometimes. Thats also a mommy thing!
Alanna's first Elmo DVD arrived yesterday from Netflix and shes already got it memorized-not really but she loves it! So now we have a new one to watch for a little while to get tired of. People told us our lives would change with the new little one. We just never knew just how much. I can't believe I rented a Elmo movie! We didn't have one sent for us.

Elmo is on the way!

More Elmo is on the way. Daddy ordered some to watch and then we have to ship them back. We signed up this week with Netflix. I only wanted to try it for a month or so to see if we will even watch enough in a month. She is really into Barney too. We have a busy weekend planned. We are going over to my sisters tonight to help decorate the garage for a graduation open house. My little nephew, although not so little anymore , is graduated and off to the Air Force in July. I told her I would help her out with the party. Then tomorrow is the party and Sunday is Fathers Day! We will stay busy all weekend. Its suppose to be hot this weekend. Yuck!

My 2 Best Buddies (right now)

This was taken on her birthday, in April, at the Rain Forest Cafe! We got in this one for a memory only. We aren't much for us in pictures. But later on Alanna I am sure would like to see her Mommy and Daddy in pictures with her. So kiddo this is for you! She loved this place. Of course, there is too much going on for her to eat so we took it home. She was really good though. There were some kids that when the storm happened they would either shove their head into their mommy's shoulder or cry really loud--not Alanna she loved it. She looked around at the animals and they would do their noises that they make and she loved it. The elephants I think were her favorite!

Whats up Doc!

Alanna is sick with an ear infection for the first time. She kept Daddy and I up all night last night until around 3:00 am. Its not fun when you don't know what is wrong with them. I was ready to load her up in the car for a trip to the hospital. But the thoughts of sitting there for hours didn't sound like too much fun so we decided to stick it out. She is on an antibiotic for now and hopefully she will be back to her old self again. She did manage to get it a couple of episodes of ELMO in around 1:30 this morning. Thats the only thing that didn't make her cry. Thanks Elmo--your a lifesaver. Daddy said that we need some more Elmo tapes though he's getting sick of the same one over and over again.

These were taken around her birthday. She got to sit on the Easter Bunnys lap and then shopping for the first time out of a stroller. We were in this store for a good hour or so. She loved it. When I see this picture I think Alanna is saying, "So many toys so little time."

Here Fishy, Fishy!

Alanna likes to ride on this little fishy. We got it from a day care closing and the lady threw it in for free. This was taken at my birthday party, in March. My hair is much shorter now. I got tired of the way it looked so I got it whacked off. Its ok. But I wish I could find a style thats just me. Wonder what I would look like with Alannas style. My mom calls it her fountain. I think right now it is cute. I don't plan on it being a permanent thing.

I know I know its late!

Better late than never, here are the pictures I have been going to post since October. They are old but...cute! She's our little Pumpkin!

Elmo is her favorite!

Elmo is Alanna's favorite right now. She would rather watch that than anything. I am glad. Has anyone seen the cartoons these days? I am not going to allow Alanna to watch just anything. Some of the new cartoons are sure to give little ones nightmares. Why can't they just have nice cartoons like the 'ole days. I don't really care Alanna is not allowed to watch alot of TV anyway. We want her to do other things. So we let her watch a little TV and then it goes off and she is off exploring. When we get in the "new" house she will have alot to explore compared to this little place.
Last Friday, we went to my sister-in-laws house to celebrate Daddy's birthday with family. She has a big house and she closed all the doors except one and that room has toys in it. She said to me now let her go she can't hurt herself or anything here. I didn't hear Alanna for a long time. I would get up and just go check on her but she would just be playing. She loved all the room and freedom that she had. She had one drawer, Alanna didn't find it till the end of the night, that was full of sippy cups and little people bowls. She loved that drawer. She must have played in it for at least a half hour or longer. I am going to have one of those drawers at the new house!!!

Molers again!

Alanna is cutting her bottom molars . She isn't eating much again. But.....Watermelon she will eat. Oh my word that girl can eat down the watermelon. That part she doesn't get from her daddy. He won't eat any type of melon. You can't cut it up for her fast enough. I am glad she is a huge fruit eater and veggie eater. Yippee!! She doesn't care for french fries. Wierd child! I am hoping to post pictures sometime this weekend of her she has really changed lately. I can't believe how much she is growing!

Trail Bologna YUM!

This past weekend was a long one for us, so we decided to go camping in Amish land. What fun! We stopped and got some trail bologna and brought it home with us. Its good. So tonight, I gave Alanna some. She had some over the weekend and liked it so I thought, rather than cooking her something tonight, she might like some with crackers (no cheese-shes having a little difficulty in that area). I gave her more than I ever thought she would eat but..... she not only ate it ALL but she licked her paper plate clean. She wanted more but I gave her mandarin oranges instead and she ate all those too. What a great eater I have!! She is doing ring around the rosie, Jesus loves the little children, she says hot and when you tell her not hot she says yum, and hollers dad all the time. Her daddy's birthday was Wednesday and she helped her self to his ice cream sundae the resturant prepared him. She was standing between him and I and she waited long enough to be served and didn't get it as fast as she thought so she leaned over the table and stuck her little hand right in the sundae. She looked at her dad and said, "AWE" as she patted the ice cream. What a mess. He had the biggest grin on his face and a little twinkle in his eye.