Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

Jeff and Penny came to visit this past weekend and Grace requested a trip to Chuck E Cheese. Since her grandparents are so nice they said yes. (Of course Scottie wanted to go too, and the reason is displayed in the third picture) We had a lot of fun and Grace is very anxious to go back. Thanks Jeff and Penny for a great afternoon! (Scottie is not very happy that I used this picture of us instead of the other one, but I look better in this one. And since I'm the big fat pregnant one I get to pick the picture that I like. I don't think I look great in this one, but it's a lot better than the other one. Sorry honey!! :)

There is something cute and scary about this picture at the same time. I thought it was cute to see her playing a game with her dad, but when I step back and look at the whole picture it gets a little disturbing. I don't like to see my sweet little girl handling a gun like a pro. Of course she thought it was a great game. It amazes me how she can love Barbies and puppies, but also love things like Gladiators and guns. I think I have a lot of praying to do ahead of me. I just pray she keeps on the path of Barbies and puppies!

OK, here is the real reason why we went to Chuck E Cheese. My husband has an obsession with the basketball game and skee-ball. In fact he pretty much ignores us the whole time so he can play the games. He SAYS he is trying to earn Gracie a lot of tickets so she can get good prizes, but I know better. He can't help himself, these games are an addiction for him. It's a good thing Grace has other people to watch her and help her with the kids games. I would never let her go there alone with her dad, who knows what would happen. (I'm kidding, he's a great dad and would watch her if he had to, but he would rather have me come along) At one point I saw both Scottie and his dad playing the basket ball games at the same time. I just stood there and laughed and forgot to take a picture. Even though I'm slightly worried about Scottie's inability to stay away from these games, I think it's kind of cute. (As long as he doesn't go by himself, then that would just be plain creepy!)

Gracie and her prizes. She picked out a purple balloon, pirate jewels, two hair pieces, and some cotton candy. She was in kid heaven. And yes - she has a seat belt on, she was sitting in the middle with the lap belt. I also want to direct your attention to the back window. Do you see all those cars? Those are called double lanes my friends! We didn't have none of them things in Missoura! We have moved back into the big time!! :) Although I must confess there are a FEW things I miss about Kirksville, but that's another post.

I love this picture. It reminds that she really is a little kid. I sometimes forget since she likes to be in all adult conversations, and for the most part keep up with them. She sometimes acts like a mini-adult, so it's nice to see her wear pigtails and eat a bag of blue cotton candy. I love this kid!

Believe it or not this ended up being Gracie's favorite part of the day. It's a video simulation type thing where you lay down and watch a video while the chairs move and shake so you feel like you are on the roller coaster or in the mine car. At first Grace was a little nervous, but as it went on she became even more scared. As you can see in the pictures her eyes got bigger and bigger. But eventually she relaxed and thought it was really fun. Of course someone had to be holding her hand the whole time. She says she can't wait to go back to Chuck E Cheese and do it again. I"m just glad I was there to catch her first reactions on camera. Her faces crack me up!

Yes, we are alive!

I wanted to post some proof of life pictures on the blog. I haven't blogged since we moved, and I can't say it's because we have been unpacking like crazy people. It's been the complete opposite. We have taken our time unpacking and getting things organized. Mainly because for the first time in two years Scottie doesn't have anything to do, and there haven't been any deadlines to meet. So we have been taking it easy and slowly getting the house together. We are almost done, and it's not looking too bad. Is this our dream house? Of course not! We have heard the 1980's calling a couple of times and asking for their dark stained wood and peach colored walls back, but other than that we are pretty happy here. The other night we ate dinner outside and enjoyed our new deck furniture. Thanks Mom! She got a fantastic deal on the set. Apparently Wal-Mart thinks that summer ends July 5th, and puts everything on sale in preparation for the fall. I think it's a little silly, but it worked out great for us.

I asked Gracie to smile for the camera and she sticks a piece of chicken in front of her face. What a goof ball.

I know, I know... it's random and weird to post pictures of dinner on the blog. But I wanted to show off the awesome sweet corn we have been enjoying here. It's southern Illinois sweet corn and it is wonderful!! I could never find good corn in Missouri, so we have eaten more of it in the past three weeks than we did the entire two years we lived in Kirksville. Ok, I'm done with the random corn post. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on my posting in the next few days!

Can you see the resemblance?

Looks like Grace and her baby sister already share a bad habit. For those of you who don't know yet we are having another girl! We'll post more in a few days, once we recover from the move.

Packing 2008

Grace helped me pack a little bit the other night. It reminded me of when we were packing to come out here two years ago. I posted a video below that shows her packing in our house. She was only two and half and she wanted to help so bad. She finally drove us nuts so we got a giant box and told her to pack all the shoes in it. We didn't care about how they were packed, we just wanted to keep her busy. The video is a weird color, but you get the point. We are slowly starting to get things packed up here. I'm having a harder time getting big boxes this time. My friend told me to go to the recycling place to get good boxes. The only catch is you have to go early in the morning before they crush all of them. You know what a morning person I am! Hopefully we can get some big boxes and really get this place packed up. Only 12 more days!!!!

Packing 2006

Last Part of Our Trip

We spent the last part of our trip in Indiana with Scottie's parents. This was taken outside of Joe's apartment in Indianapolis. Every time we go up there it just makes me miss living in Indy. Maybe we will live there again some day, but it will be at least 10 more years. :(

Grace loves her Uncle Joe. We have a hard time getting her to leave every time. She just grabs onto him and won't let go. We like that Uncle Joe always gives good gifts. :) If she has a name brand outfit, it usually came from him!

Here's Gracie with Ma maw (I don't know how to spell it) and her Grandma Conner. Don't they look great together?!

Aunt Joy is another favorite of Gracie's. She loves Gracie to pieces and has the sweetest heart. She's also another one that gives good gifts, even to mom and dad!! Thanks for the shirt Joy, I've worn it twice already!

We were able to get a picture of Grace with Granny and her cousins Dakota and Dalton. She had blast playing with them. Of course Granny always has us laughing! Can you see the little black dog in the kitchen? (the one Kingsley is staring down?) That's Jeff and Penny's dog Rascal. I'm sad to say that Rascal passed away the other day. He was getting really old. He was such a cute dog. Gracie wanted to make sure that her Papaw made a sign for Rascal to show where he is buried. She didn't seem too sad, she just acted like it's a natural part of life. I guess that's good, but I thought she would be a little bit sad. I know we are sad to see him go. :(