Birthday, Lots of playing, a Weekend in Austin, and not much of anything

Well I am another year older the big 3-3 and I guess it feels ok! HA! It honestly doesn't seem like I should be celebrating already...wasn't it just summer?  Last year at this time (end of June) I was wondering about little guy, delivery, and where we were going to move next. Daniel and little guy made it very special with dinner, flowers, jewelry, and a cute frogie cupcake cake!  He had kidded about tint for the Sequoia...but I am pretty sure he knew the repercussion would not have been good! I know deep down he was rooting for the tint to happen!!

 

 

Throughout the week we played and played. Thursday, Wyatt and I visited Daniel at work for a picnic  lunch and some quality time.

 

We played a lot and Wyatt might have even spent some time with his head in a large stock pot. He thought this was hilarious and kept this up for most of the morning. I have started putting shoes on Wyatt more as you can see...cloth diaper and shoes. He doesn't mind them..I just want him to be used to them when it becomes a necessary. This park has stickers and they hurt! 

We built forts and played peak a boo.

 

Friday we left for Austin for a weekend of visiting friends and family.One of Daniel's best friends, Shelby, became a Deacon in the church all the "boys" grew up in. We had a fantastic time with family friends and introducing Wyatt to many people that watched Daniel "become a young man." (The words of many..and made me laugh because he still becoming a young man! HA! Just kidding :) The ceremony was very touching and we enjoyed seeing our friends surrounded by so many people that love them.

Saturday we ran errands, visited with Daniel's mom, had lunch with Ben, Ann, and Connor, visited the Kropps as well as toured their new home, went to a birthday party, and hung out with several friends that evening.

The party was too much so he took a nap. We didn't leave until almost midnight so I am glad he gave in early!

Birthday Poker

Sunday we ventured back over to meet  our new nephew little Matthew for the first time. He is adorable and as his mommy and daddy said...certainly has a temper! (He is a McKenzie!) Welcome to the family "Maddy" Aunt Melissa and Uncle Daniel can't wait to spoil you!

We also had lunch at Jason's deli on Sunday with Ben, Ann, and Connor. Wyatt was cracking us up with his love of ice cream. He has had it before..but Daniel got a twist cone and I am thinking that is what sparked this complete joy and love!

 Yummy!

 Last weekend we decided to stay close to "home." We really didn't do much. Swam, worked out, organized our cargo trailer, went on several wagon rides, waved a lot, said Hell-OOOO, and possibly made some new friends!   Daniel is starting a Master's Degree program in August so he has been working on getting all the little things together that the program requires! I am so proud of him for wanting to continue on and get his master's! So proud..so proud! 

Like I said low key..but fantastic.The next month is so busy traveling, birthday parties,and  possibly moving.  It was like the calm before the storm! HA!!! Hope all is great with each of you!!!

Little C turns 1, Family Time, and a Wedding!

Half of this post has been ready since mid July..oops! I know, I know but our electrical issues - read below!! The extreme makeover is almost finished. Furniture has been removed and cabinets installed. It makes me so happy! New Cabinets! Chairs moved. Now to find new pillows, throws, and roll out the new rug! I need better pictures to give you a real understanding of the 264 ft space.

Mid July we headed to Austin for Connor's first birthday party. I can't believe he is a year old! We stayed at Daniel's parents house and (as always) they spoiled us! I enjoyed Mary showing me all of her flower and vegetable gardens. She stuffed us full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and yummy cooking! We spent Saturday morning visiting and rearranging our storage unit. It was hot that day so I made the decision to just sell the removed furniture. Both pieces were in perfect condition and within 10 min on Craigslist they sold! Yippie! A friend of Daniel's family (of over 30 years) responded to the add, so we know it has another good RV residence! Small world!

On Saturday Ben and Ann had a birthday party for Connor. Several of their friends and neighbors helped celebrate!It was a lot of fun and the kids were so playing the Wii! They smoked the adults! My parents surprised Connor with a rocking horse and he loved it! After visiting, lunch, games, and presents it was time for cake madness. The cake mess was tame! Silly boy! He will learn! ;) Who doesn't like cake??

Saturday we had a barbecue at Daniel's parents before packing up and stopping off at Ben and Ann's before we hit the road. Connor was so funny playing with all his new toys! We had a great time everyone and can't wait to come back! The next weekend we headed to Fayetteville for Shannon and Jason's wedding. We had not been to NWA since November! Wowza! We packed so much into this trip. Saturday morning we were able to have breakfast with Kerryanne and Aaron at Mimi's. It was so much fun to catch up with you both. We love you guys and are so happy life works in its little ways!! After breakfast we headed over visit with Andrea, Marshall, A, and J. Oh my goodness did we have fun! I can't believe how much the kiddos have changed. I mean isn't he cute! I can't believe big sister is going to be in school this year!!!! I know, I know Andrea we need to come into town more than once a year! HA! We enjoyed so much visiting with your family(as we always do)! I wish it could have been longer and definitely more often! We love you and hope to see you again soon!

The wedding was perfect and always great to see a friend so in love. We enjoyed a fun evening catching up with everyone. It had been way too long!

The Happy Couple -Mr. and Mrs. CarrollLP, Shani, Cass, and Me

KD LadiesThese boys....The WengersThe Bashams and The Smiths

Future Mr. and Mrs. Hallmark! We are so happy for you guys!The Chagnons and newlywed Grunewalds

We closed down the reception and headed to Dickson to meet up with the bride and groom. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them!! What was I thinking? Anyway, we had a blast and really hope to make it back again soon. Congrats Shannon and Jason we are so happy for you!

The next morning we headed up to Bella Vista to have breakfast with Cassie and Adam. I was excited to see their adorable house as well as catch up some more. It is so cute! Cassie and Adam we are so happy for you guys, thank you for the yummy brunch, and our babies enjoyed your backyard while we visited! After we headed over to Aaron and Kerryanne's place to say our final goodbyes. It was adorable as well and we loved getting to see your place! Thank you guys again!!!! Overall we had an amazing weekend seeing all our NWA friends. It is always a fast and furious trip when we come to town..so many people to see...so little time! NWA we will be back to visit again soon!

The last few weekends have been spent on the lake we are so close. Its so nice to have room to spread out, practice with Hershey, and enjoy the AC! Ha!
She is gearing up for competition!
This one is for Jill..a sunset picture at the lake!

Last week we moved parks as we were completely over the electrical issues at the old place. We dealt with the parks issues for a month and had enough. Long story we finally found a place about 20 miles outside of Wichita Falls. It is a further drive but in this case electricity is essential with the current 106 plus temperatures. I wish I could say the electrical issues were over..but they aren't. We have replaced the outside plug and now entire power cord- hey thanks old park we appreciate it! So we are still sweating but hey..ok no..no positive here! HA!

And finally Happy Anniversary to my parents! Recently they celebrated 37 years of wedded bliss!

I could not have asked for better parents! You are great teachers in the art of marriage! We love you!!!

Until next time!
loves!
M and D

It was a busy break..but we enjoyed it!

After the last blog post life got a little hectic to keep up blogging in real time! Ha! Lets see...We ventured over to Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in New Mexico and spent the day watching the horses run. The day ended great as we came out ahead $200! Daniel had not experienced horse racing so he really enjoyed it! We both had a great time picking the horses but I can't give away our secret! Haha!

We also headed back to Ruidso, NM to hit up the slopes. This time I was much more confident and even went with Daniel on several runs. I am not going to say in the least I kept up with him..but its fun to attempt some of the same runs! Love you Daniel and you know you secretly love getting off the lift with me! ha We can't wait to go again!
We left on Christmas eve afternoon to head to Dallas to celebrate Christmas with my family on Saturday. Mother nature however, had other plans for us and around Abiliene we hit snow. Daniel's mom called to say the interstate was shut down and we might have to spend the night on the road. When she called the road was clear however, as we continued east and finally when the interstate trooper told us the road was closed we had no choice. Luckily we were close to Daniel's cousin and Aunt Martha and they lovingly opened their home to us and our doggies. It was so cold we were more than grateful to have a place to stay as all the hotels were booked! Thank you so much Aunt Martha for letting us stay with you.
We awoke on Christmas morning with the interstate still closed so we played in the snow a little! Aunt Martha got between 12 and 15 inches at her house! WOW and FUN! After taking a very long detour totaling 5 hours in a distance that should have taken us an hour and half we arrived. Needless to say were were happy to be in Dallas!
Christmas this year with Connor was fun..but next year is going to be a blast! We all had a lot of fun having a little on around this year! Ben and Ann..you guys have a little charmer on your hands!
This year we did something a little different (to help out my grandmother) and stayed at a hotel. I am only saying this because they put this on our door (because of our dogs) and it disturbed me a little We had so much fun seeing my side of the family and always love the time we have together! I can't believe the holidays are already over! It seems just like yesterday we were excited to be leaving the cold of Omaha and looking forward to 09!
On Sunday we headed down to Austin for a week of fun with family and friends. The week did not disappoint as we were on the go!
We started off the trip by celebrating Christmas with Daniel's family. Its always a lot of fun with all the kiddos and this year all of them were old enough to really dig in and rip up the paper! (I know what to expect from Connor next year!) Ha! I love watching little ones get so excited!
We had a great evening with Daniel's family and as always enjoyed getting to see and catch up with everyone! We do not make it to Austin often so when we do we are always amazed at how much the kids have grown!
On Monday we started getting together with friends in between spending time with both families. My parents came to Austin to spend some more time loving on Connor! ;) Daniel was able to meet up with a few old friends and yes they acted like boys! I know Daniel, Calvin, Shelby, my dad, and brother were a sight to see acting like fast and furious on the track! Ha! It sounds like they had a great time playing lazer tag as well!
This trip was great as we were able to see so many people - Mike and Brandon met us for lunch. We had a great time catching up you Mike and can't wait to hear all about the half Iron Man Tri this year! We are so proud of you!!
We stopped by Suzette's house and were able to visit with her family for a while. It had been almost 3 years since we had really been able to catch up. Suzette set Daniel and I up on our first date! Ok well kind of.... she asked Daniel if he would like to go to a party with me and I just happened to walk up while she was asking! We love her so much and always try to make it a point to go see her!
We were also able to visit with Cara and Orlando at Little Woodrows early in the week. I used to work with Cara at a sports medicine clinic and we always have some great stories to keep us laughing! It was great to see you Miss Karob!
We continued our meet and greets with Marie and little Fletcher. Marie and I worked together at the gym and I always love catching up with her. She is so much fun, we laugh the entire time, and I miss seeing her every day! Doesn't she have just the cutest little 2 yr old? I can't believe how Fletcher has grown!
We also met up with Rebecca and Rob. We miss them so much and enjoy getting to hang out with them anytime we have an opportunity! They are such a fun couple! We always start laughing as soon as we get together and don't stop until its time to party ways! We miss you guys and seeing you often!
New Years was low-key beginning with a late dinner at McMorick and Schmiit's with Casey and Calvin. It was super yummy and fun to have no real plans except for catching up and having fun! We got rowdy (ha) and Calvin and Casey's house for a little Rockband! We had a blast and loved that it was so low key! We had a great time with you guys and love hanging out. You are a great couple and I am glad we are cousins! Ha!
On New Years day we planned for my family to have lunch with Daniel's. Its always hard to get everyone together when we are in town. We met at Chuy's (my favorite- YUM_O) and could not have had a better time! I love the pictures! Everyone had a great time so we will have to do it again!
We enjoyed so much getting to see everyone as well as spend a lot of quality time with family!
Mary thank you so much for letting us stay with you this trip! Ben and Ann thank you guys for letting us come by anytime so we could visit. It made our trip much less stressful! We had a great time and hope to make it back again soon! We better because little Connor is going to keep growing up! On that same note..I guess we both must have been a good again this year because Santa was great to both of us! I really appreciate everything and can't wait to get my creative juices flowing. Daniel is in heaven with his gifts and has already been showing them off!

With all the traveling and getting stuck on the road I am horrible friend for just getting around to this.... Christmas day is also Happy Birthday to one of my best friends! Jill I am so lucky to have a friend like you and treasure our friendship more than you even know. Happy Birthday Jillsie and hope we can see you guys soon!! We miss you!!
And just for you....


To Everyone: Your welcome for making your day...you know you all love the song! Oh sorry that it will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day! ;)

ALSO a Big Christmas Holiday Surprise..A BIG CONGRATS to Shannon and Jason who got engaged! We are so happy for you both and could not be more excited!!
As you can tell we had a amazing holiday season and hope you did as well! 2009 was great however just like you, we didn't enjoy the unexpected bumps during the year! We treasure all the new experiences and adventures, the wins and losses, traveling, welcoming babies, making new friends, our health and happiness, our family and friends health, and growing stronger as a couple! We are very excited to experience all this year has to offer! Here is to hoping 2010 is a great year for everyone!!!!

And Finally - Update on our next location...drum roll please..we are headed to Santa Fe, NM! We are both really excited about all the town has to offer and the snowboarding! I am personally excited about all the art in the area but not about the cold..its currently 13! We only have a week left in El Paso and can't believe it! We have loved this rotation and have met some amazing people! With all the nervousness we had about coming to El Paso (being so close to Juarez) I am so glad we did! This last week is going to be busy looking for that one thing for our home someday to remind us of this city as well as goodbye dinners..Oh the joys of living on the road! Its an experience that I can say we will never forget! The plaque in our 5th wheel says it perfectly "Wherever you go, go with all your heart!" Come visit us in Santa Fe!!!

Ta ta for now!
Daniel and Melissa