The Beach

 By the time we left Bookworm Gardens we were all pretty hot.  We decided to change into our suits and head to the beach.  Here's Audrey posing in her itty bitty yellow bikini :)

 Of course the water was cold.  Carter and Uncle Brett were the only ones that braved the water.  Audrey was happy watching from the sand.

 Carter didn't mind the cold temp at all

 The entire time the boys were in the water Audrey was content playing in the sand.

 That night Grandma Debbie, Audrey, Carter and Uncle Brett warmed up in the hot tub.  The kids loved it and didn't want to come out.

Bookworm Gardens

 No visit to Sheboygan is complete without stopping at Randalls.  Here are my chocolate monsters enjoying their chocolate frozen custard.

 After lunch at Randalls we went to the Bookworm Gardens.  It's really impressive and beat all of our expectations.  The kids had a blast despite the hot day.  Here they are with Uncle Brett in the Japanese house.

 Driving an old wagon

 The kids really enjoyed watering all the plants and filling their watering cans with the water pump.  I was surprised how long they did this.

 They wanted to make sure all the plants got water before moving on.

 Group pic with Grandma Debbie, Mommy & Tita Angela

 The kids loved this little bistro table by the pond.  Next time we go I think they would really enjoy packing a lunch and eating it there.

 They always have fun with Tita Angela & Uncle Brett

 There's lots of cute little adirondack chairs is the different areas for the kids to sit and read a book in

 The kids each wrote a note to the mouse and left it in his mailbox.  Carter was so cute and kept asking if we could come back the next day to see if he really got it.

On the way back to the car Carter had to drive the magic school bus.

They really did a wonderful job putting this place together.  We were impressed by the attention to detail in all the areas.  I highly recommend it if you're ever in Sheboygan.

Visit with Great Grandma Edna

 The kids didn't have swimming lessons on Friday so we headed up to Sheboygan to visit with Great Grandma Edna.  This is what the kids look like in the car.  Zoned out with their snacks, movies and loveys.  It was nice being able to drive up for the weekend and not having to fly.

We got to Great Grandma's by lunch time.  We picked up lunch on the way to eat with her.  It had almost been a year since the last time we saw her so it was nice to be able to visit for the afternoon.

Swimming Lessons

 The first week of June the kids started swimming lessons.  It was nice having something to get us out of the house every morning.  Their first lesson was cold and raining but they survived.  Luckily, it warmed up a little bit for them but they were always cold getting out of the pool.  They are going to have to grow some thicker skin now that we live in the Midwest.

Carter enjoyed his class a lot.  It was filled with boys.  There was only one girl in his class.  He even had a male teacher.  Carter declared himself the best floater of the class :)

First week in Peoria

 Poor Chuck had his birthday in the middle of our move.  He got to spend the day telling the movers where to put everything in the rental.  He even helped carry some stuff in to expedite the process.  We bought Culvers butter burgers and cheese nuggets for everyone that day for lunch.  Since our moving team was from the south we figured we would get them something they can't get back home.  Since we were moving all day we didn't get a cake or make Chuck's b-day dessert.  We did stick a candle in a pint of custard though.  We'll celebrate properly when he finally moves up here.

 We spent the week digging through boxes finding the things we need and don't need in the rental.  We did take a few breaks for the kids so they wouldn't get too bored.  The kids are enjoying the park that is near our house.  They like walking down to the fishing docks.  Here's our first family picture in Peoria.  Sasha was too distracted by the critters in the water to look at the camera.

By the end of the week we were getting settled in the rental.  We were only unpacking what we need for the next couple of months.  Most of it is staying in boxes.  Chuck had to go back down to Birmingham to finish fellowship and our house had windows.

Moving day 3 & 4

 We were going to wait until Sunday to make the drive up to Peoria but we decided it would be better for the kids if we got some of it out of the way and stopped for the night.  After Audrey's recital it was a mad dash to pack what was left behind and hit the road.  Uncle Brent, Aunt Janis and Steven were there to pick up a few things we weren't moving and they turned out to be a big help.  Karen & George were also here to help and let us use their truck for the move.  I don't know how we would've done it with out their truck.  Especially, since the movers missed packing all of my pot & pans and cooking utensils.  It's a good thing we did a thorough check of the house before leaving!

 Before we knew it, it was time to hit the road.  Uncle Brent & Aunt Janis were sweet and said a blessing over us before we all went our separate ways.  Many people asked if I was going to even be sad to leave.  Of course, I was more than ready to move on and start the next chapter of our lives but it was still sad to leave.  This was our first house together.  We were in it for 9 years so it holds a lot of special memories.  It's the only house Carter, Audrey and yes even Sasha know as home.  Naturally, there were tears shed when driving away and realizing we won't be coming back.

The first leg of the drive went well and we made it to Paducah, KY before stopping for the night (about 6 hours done).  That left us with only 4 hours to go the next day.  We were able to eat a good breakfast and take our time getting back on the road.  The kids were amazing and I couldn't have asked for them to be any better during the entire drive.  Carter was my big helper with Audrey.  He would help her with her dvd player and snacks without me having to ask him.  We made it to our rental house in Peoria shortly after lunch.

 When we went out for dinner that night we drove by the house to see how it was coming along.  It was so exciting to see most of the framing done and the roof going on!

They were starting to cut out the spots for all the windows too.  We were so excited to see it looking like a house!

The kids are so used to traveling they had no issues sleeping in their new rooms that night.  The kids are adjusting well and are enjoying getting to know their new home town.

Studio recital pics

 

 I had to share Audrey's studio recital pictures because they turned out too cute.  They had a great photographer working with the girls and everyone's turned out great.  Again I did the lazy thing and just quick took a picture of them so sorry for the quality

 This is my favorite pose

 

The class picture.  Yep, our Little Miss was the little one of the class.  She was the last of the girls to turn 3.

Audrey's recital

 Saturday, May 26th was day 3 of the move and also Audrey's recital.  The house was completely empty and the truck was gone.  We stuck around just for her recital.  I had to curl her hair and it's not easy with her fine hair.  I had to take a picture of all those curls.  It makes it look like she has a ton of hair.  She looked so cute!

 Touching up some of the curls backstage before getting her costume on.

 All ready to perform.  She was so excited!

 With her friend Lucy.  Lucy also went to the same school as Audrey.

Her little ballet & tap class ready to head to the stage.

Audrey did a great job.  We were so proud of her considering she had to get over some stage fright throughout the year.  You would have never guessed it though the day of the recital.  She loved ballet & tap and already is asking when she gets to go here in Peoria.  She told me, "I need my ballet!"  Makes me so happy :)

Moving day 1

 The first of the moving days was finally here.  Day 1 the movers came and packed EVERYTHING in the house.  I must say it was nice not to have to pack it all myself.  We have been in the house for 9 years.  It's amazing the amount of stuff you accumulate in that amount of time.  Anyway, the movers were real nice and didn't mind the kids being interested.  One of them even put together a box for each of them to play in.  They had a lot of fun coming up with different games/activities with just their boxes.

 Carter wanted a picture of the big truck that was going to move everything from our house.

 Once all their toys, the direct tv boxes and dvd players were packed it was down to the kid's portable dvd players to entertain them.  They didn't sit like this all day.  Carter had many conversations with the movers and followed them around.  He's our little supervisor.

Sasha did great with day one.  She got used to having the movers in the house and didn't fuss at all.  It was when they started to move things out of the house that she got uneasy.  At one point we got tired of holding onto her so we tied her leash to the freezer door.  That way she couldn't bother the movers and she still could sit on her air vent.

Last visit to the B'ham zoo

 The day before the movers came to pack the house we got out of the house and went to the zoo one last time with our friends.  It was nice to let the kids play with the Grahams & Spanns one more time.  We miss them already!  The kids were so cute and held hands.  Left-right Penny, Audrey, Noah & Carter

 They kept holding hands after the picture.

It was a nice hot day for the splash pad.

Audrey and Brooklyn had matching suits on.  I wish I would've gotten a better picture of the 2 of them together.  They were having too much fun running around to get them to pose.

That afternoon the OR team threw Chuck and I a surprise baby shower in his office.  It was so sweet and thoughtful of them.  They were very generous too!  There was tons of yummy food to snack on and gifts to open.  They got us a new car seat, bottles, wash cloths and 2 hooded towels (a princess one and a minnie mouse one).  Of course, Chuck got stuck in the OR during most of it.  I was waiting on him to take a picture with everyone and by the time he finally made it to his office they were leaving.

Audrey's first dentist appointment

I was able to squeeze in a dentist appointment for Audrey before we moved.  We loved our pediatric dentist there and I didn't want to worry about it for a while after the move.  She was a super star patient and did awesome.  My kids love that there are TV screens playing Disney movies on the ceiling for them to watch while they are cleaning their teeth.  She also got to paint her hand print on a ceiling tile.  She picked pink and has officially left her mark in Birmingham.

Goodbye dinner

Ashley, Meredith & I

 Sunday, May 20th we went out to dinner with our surgery friends before we all went our separate ways.  Laura & Paul ended up not making it last minute.  We missed them and were sad they couldn't make it but we enjoyed our time with Ashley & Matt and Meredith & Lee.  We will miss getting together with them but there was talk of future beach reunions.  The rest of the guys need to finish training to we can actually make that happen :)

 The boys-Matt, Chuck & Lee

It's rare we get to have the guys with us.  Usually, at least one of them is on-call.

Matt & Ashley have 1 more year of residency in Birmingham.  Lee & Meredith are moving to Dallas for fellowship.  Paul & Laura are moving to Boston for fellowship.

A timed group picture

 

 That weekend I was 25 weeks so here's the latest belly shot.