The BIG 7-0

My dad turned 70 today. SEVENTY! I can't seem to wrap my mind around that number. He is so important to me, and is an amazing grandfather. The kids and I are incredibly lucky to have him in our lives.



I'm feeling horribly guilty, because I didn't get to see him today. I think this is the first year, ever, that I haven't seen him on his birthday. That makes me sad.



I tried. I really, truly planned on going to visit him today. I left 45 minutes before I had to be somewhere, just so I could pick up his gift card. What I didn't count on was the horrible driving conditions. The back roads that I had to drive on were treacherous. (Listen up Pennsylvania...take care of your roads.) I was sliding all over the place, nearly hit a salt truck (coming the other way, of course!), and then found out that the road that I needed to drive on was closed, due to a serious accident. By the time I got to where I needed to be, I didn't have time to pick up his gift card. Plus, after that driving experience, I had no urge to go back on the roads. So I didn't go. He understood. He always understands. But I feel guilty.

I definitely plan on celebrating his birthday with him on Friday. I'll try to make it as special as I possibly can. Dylan, Lexie, and I called him and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I'm sure it made his day to hear his grandchildren sing to him. I still wish that I could have seen him today. I know I'm going to beat myself up about this for weeks!



I'm not going to lie. I am having a really hard time with my dad aging. He has always been the strongest, most active man that I have ever known. He was always my rock. I never thought anything would slow him down. But over the past year, he has slowed down.



It is so hard watching him age. He has aches and pains, and doesn't move as quickly as he once used to. He is complaining about the snow and the cold, and turns the heat up in the house. He's cranky. He doesn't have the energy to do as much with Dylan as he has in the past. I honestly hate it. I hate thinking of him as being elderly.





I find myself wondering how much time we have left with him. I know the fact that he has been dealing with cancer (they were able to remove the tumor and he gets preventative treatments and frequent checkups) over the past year makes me worry more. I can't even stomach the thought of losing him, so I hate having this on my mind, especially as his 70th birthday neared.



Now that I got this off my chest, I'm going to try to stay positive. Even at 70, my dad acts younger than what he really is. I do notice the signs of aging, but it's because he's never acted his age! He always says that age is just a number. I know he's right. No matter what the numbers say, he will always be my rock. He will always be there for me. He will always shower my kids with love. He will always be the strongest, most optimistic man I've ever known!



My dad has led a long, happy, healthy life full of adventures. He has seen many places in this world, and has felt the love of 8 children and 19 grandchildren. He is blessed. And we are blessed to have him in our lives.



Happy 70th Birthday, Dad! Here's to many, many more! We love you!

Mr. New Year

Dylan has been wearing his "Happy New Year" hat since New Years Eve! He even wore it while he played in the snow, today! Sadly, the hat did not do so well in the snow. He's going to be bummed when we have to throw it away.

It was cold today, and it snowed a lot. I did NOT want to go outside, but Dylan was begging to go sledding. We reached a compromise. I would stand at the kitchen window and watch him as he played in our yard. ;) I stayed warm, and had a great time laughing at him, and he had a great time playing in the snow! It was a win-win situation!



I had rough night last night. For two weeks, I stayed up between 2-4 AM, and woke up after 10. I had a difficult time going back to a regular schedule. I think the kids did, too. I finally fell asleep around 2 AM. At 2:30 AM, I heard, "Mommmmmmmy! I can't find Bun Bun!" Out of bed to find Bun Bun and return him to Lexie's loving arms. At 3:00 AM, "MOMMMMY, where's Strawberry Shortcake?" Out of bed to find Shortcake. At 4:00 AM, "Mommy, can you come with me to the bathroom? I'm afraid of the dark." Out of bed to accompany Dylan to the bathroom. At 4:30 AM, "Mommy, I need my glass of water." I begged Dylan to find it, but he left it up to me. I finally fell back asleep around 5, only to be woken up around 6 AM by the snow plows passing by. And finally, up for good at 7. UGH! They never do this, but of course had to do it on the night I was trying to get back to my normal schedule!

I was dreading returning to reality, but to be honest, it feels good. I made some returns/exchanges while Dylan was in school and went for a run. I put running on hold for over a month due to the craziness of preparing for Christmas. It felt great to run again! I even managed to put away some Christmas decorations tonight. It feels good to have my kitchen back! I think the fiber optic Christmas tree is going to stay by the table for a while. It's so pretty!

So, we made it through our return to reality. Reality is good. We can do this! Bring it on, 2010! *Okay, so only bring on the good stuff! ;)

Christmas Staycation

It has been a great Christmas break! Ten days full of family and fun!

Tonight, we returned to reality. The reality of a regular bedtime. The reality of getting ready for school tomorrow. The reality of Grant going back to work.

Grant had the entire week after Christmas off from work, so we're used to having him home. We crammed a lot into his 10 days off! Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, lots of shopping, going to the Children's Museum, visiting family members, New Years Eve, New Years Day, another Christmas celebration, having friends over...It was busy, but fun! We also celebrated 3 birthdays. My nephew, my niece, and my sister!

We spent a lot of time together, at home, as a family. We played games, made aliens with Dylan's Martian Matter Maker, watched movies, played with new Playdoh sets and Moon Sand sets, built many Lego sets, and put together new toys.

I'm not quite sure I'm ready to return to reality, but life goes back to normal tomorrow morning!

We had a great time at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. It's close to us, and we always get free passes, but we only go once a year. This was Grant's first visit to the museum with us. Since it was the week after Christmas, it was crazy busy!



We actually met up with my sister and her family at the museum. I didn't even know she was going until she called me to say hello, and mentioned that they were going that day. They arrived before us, and had lunch, so we bumped into them as they were coming out of the cafe, and we were coming in. We spent the rest of the day with them, which made the kids happy!

Lexie and Dylan in the Mister Rogers room.



Dylan, Brady, and Lexie washing a car in the Garage/Workshop.



Lexie made my sister go down every slide with her!



Lexie spent some time building things while the boys ran around.




The cousins playing with a musical, magnetic wheel.



The loom maze was a big hit. Too bad we couldn't stay long, since the room was like a sauna!




Lexie and Dylan decided to dance on the shadow platform!




The favorite feature in the museum is the water play floor! The kids change into raincoats and crocs, and splash away at huge water tables in a gymnasium sized room. The adults get to sit on surfboards and relax!







After getting dried off, the kids calmed down with a climb through the 3-story cage. Okay, so Lexie didn't, but she considered it!



We spent some time in the art studio before heading out. Lexie and Dylan made chickens!



The kids had a great time! I think Grant was just overwhelmed. It was a nice family day!



We did not get the snow that they predicted over the weekend (we only got an inch), but it sure is cold! I think I'd rather see snow than these temperatures!

We had such a wonderful Christmas break! I'm sad to see it end!

Happy New Year!

I seriously can't believe it's 2010!

This year, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. My babies will turn 3 and 6. I will turn 30. I hope 2010 will be a happy, healthy, safe year for my loved ones and I.

I'm not a big fan of New Years Eve (maybe because I don't drink), but we always celebrate. To me, New Years Eve is about being with my friends and my family.

We started out our day by visiting Grant's Grandma Ross. We didn't go to her house on Christmas Day, so we had to go see her. It was a great visit! Grant's extended family is huge, so we don't get any one on one time with her on holidays. It was so nice to be able to visit with just her!



On the way home, Lexie fell asleep. It was late, but it was a good thing, because she was going to have a late night! Grant, Dylan, and I had dinner, and then woke Lexie up so we could attend two parties.

We spent the evening at Jocie's house, and celebrated with her family. It was fun! The food was delicious, and Dylan, Lexie, and Tyler had a great time playing together.







Dylan loves to use my camera to take pictures. He's actually quite good, but snaps so quickly!




Lexie and Tyler were getting very tired, but managed to stay up to ring in the New Year.



Dylan had plenty of energy!



The kids had a good time making noise when the ball dropped! I'm so surprised baby Braden slept through the commotion! We had a great time with Jocie and her family!

My sister Andrea lives near Jocie, so we stopped at her party around 12:30 in the morning. The kids were so excited to play with their cousins!

Everybody was in great spirits by the time we arrived. I still managed to have fun without drinking!





I hope I never see her dancing on a bar again!



We left my sister's house around 2:30. The kids fell asleep instantly! The roads were getting slippery as we neared our house, so I was happy to be home!

All partied out, I guess.



Grant and I finally went to bed at 4 AM. I was dreading getting up, but Lexie didn't wake up until 12:15, so I got to sleep in. That won't happen again until next year! ;) Dylan didn't crawl out of bed until after 1.

We went over to my sister, Sharilyn's house for an early dinner with my family.

My niece, Michelle, turned 21 today! Needless to say, she had a good time last night!



She and my nephew, Kelvin, were quite tired!



Actually, all the adults were!



Lexie and Dylan were so excited to see my great niece, Aubrey. She used to spend almost every day at my house until she moved away. We really miss her!



Dylan and Lexie spent the next few hours playing with their cousins (and their Nana).





We came home, got into our pajamas, and enjoyed a lazy night! We're having a snow storm right now. We're supposed to get 6-8 inches over the weekend! Right now, the roads are completely covered, and it feels nice to be trapped inside.

I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2010!

Happy New Year!