Before I go...

I cannot close today without commenting on the boys birthday. Owen and Peyton turned 4 on August 1. We had a pool party for them on Friday, July 31 at the Litchfield Memorial Pool. If anyone has a child with a birthday in the summer.. I suggest that you check out the pool for a birthday party. Its perfect for little ones and also for big kids (diving boards and the deep end for those advanced swimmers). The party was wonderful..everyone had a great time and it was big enough that everyone had their own space in the pool and yet could socialize at the same time. The boys got so many great toys and I just want to thank all who came and who helped..we appreciate you helping us celebrate two very special little boys!

Summer is officially over

Yes, you heard me...Summer is officially over in the Baugher house. Chris has headed back to work and the boys start their 2nd year of preschool ( I can hardly believe it myself). Our last week of summer was spent on vacation. We started out in Sandusky Ohio, at the Great Wolf Lodge...waht a place! It came complete with a waterpark for the boys to enjoy. Boy did they enjoy it...they absolutely loved it! We ate on Lake Erie the first night and the next day hopped a jet boat to Put-in-Bay, an island about 40 minutes from Sandusky. It is a small island and it full of shops, restuaurants and places to see and visit. We rented a golf cart for the day and carted around the island the entire day. We headed to Pennsylvania the next day, with a stop in Pittsburgh. We visited the Carnagie Science Center and rode up an incline to the top of Mt. Washington where we could see the whole city..very nice! We then headed to Hershey, PA. After some nervewracking hotel problems, we finally got settled and visited Hershey Park. We toured the Chocolate factory, watched a 3-D presentation about Mr. Hershey and participated in a chocolate tasting. What a full day!! On Thursday, we got up and headed to Lancaster. We rode a steam train through Amish Country and visited the Pennsylvania Train Museum. We ended the day at Dutch Wonderland. This was the highlight of our trip, that's for sure! Dutch Wonderland is a wonderful place for little kids. They have tons of kid rides and family friendly rides where parents go on the rides wtih the kids. The boys especially loved the airplane, log flume and the frog hopper (which they asked to take home the back yard). We watched a dive show as well, Owen absolutely loved it...
Friday we packed up and headed home. Ugh! I am tired just talking about it all .

We are back to reality this week..boys at Stella's, Chris and I at work...but its the life we love
Looking forward to Old Settlers this week and Chris's class reunion on Saturday (15 years)

Chris starts basketball next week and the boys start swimming lessons in October at Fusion..should be a great fall!
Pictures will be up soon!

Fun Times

This past weekend was filled with fun. Friday, I took off a half day and Chris and the boys came up to Springfield. We went to the IL State Museum, which is right here where I work. Then we headed over to the Henson Robinson Zoo. I have to say that the weather has been so beautiful these past few weeks...but, Friday was a bit warm. We had a blast at the zoo.. the boys loved watching all the animals and our favorite part is that its never crowded. The boys are free to run ahead and look at the animals. The animals are not as exciting as some of the larger zoos, but for us its perfect.

On Saturday we got up late, had breakfast and headed to Nana and Papa's house to work on fence and to swim in the pool. The boys had a blast and loved helping Papa. Owen's game plan is that the dirtier that you get, the harder you are working. He loves to have his hands dirty, just like Papa. Saturday night we decided to camp out in front of my parents house. The night was beautiful and cool and we had gotten my parents a tent for Fathers Day. We got all set up, got some padding under the tent, our blankets and pillows and settled in for the night. Papa and the Boys fell asleep quickly...Chris and I however, did not. At midnight we decided that we had to go home.. the ground was just too hard for us. We are not much for the camping life. We loaded up the boys and headed home,where we slept like babies.

Monday, we had a playdate planned with the Schwabs. They all came over, we played ball, rode cars around the driveway and played with tractors. After we had all played hard, we had banana splits. They were delicious! The boys sure thought so. I want to say to Ben, Jenny, Tug and Sam, we had a wonderful time with you all. We are looking forward to doing it again real soon!!

Tonight, we are getting haircuts for the boys and hanging out at home..nothing too exciting!

Long time...

It has been a long time since I have blogged on here. Partly due to my job.. we have been super busy at work settling the budget and partly because I have been feeling a little under the weather. Work is finally quiet again and I am starting to feel more like myself (thanks to IV antibiotics). Blastball is over, the boys birthday is in 2 weeks, we finally have settled on a family vacation spot and date (which had to be postponed, due to me getting sick). Blastball turned out to be a huge success. All of the kids loved it..We handed out trophies at the last game, which turned out to be a make up game from earlier in the season. The weather was just beautiful and the kids really enjoyed it.

We have picked a date for the boys birthday party, they decided that they want to have a pool party at the city pool. After having a blast at Kylie's party, we decided to reserve the pool for their party. I cannot believe my babies are going to be 4 already. They have grown up so much just in the past year. Just this past weekend I took the boys to their first birthday party where I actually leave them there...ugh! It just killed me.. but they were ok with it and loved it. We have come so far in the last 4 years. The boys love to watch themselves as babies and just think it is so funny what they do. We have a lot of video from when they were in the NICU and they just don't understand it yet..but they still love to watch themselves. I think that I fall in love with these little guys more and more each day! Didn't think it was possible to love something so much...but it is!

Chris's birthday is on Wednesday, he will be the big 34. Since the boys love birthdays..we are going to make a cake tonight and hopefully go shopping for something for Daddy..Someone once told me that it is important to take your children along for the purchasing of cards for your spouse..it shows your kids the importance of it...I totally agree!

On a lighter note..we have decided on a vacation spot ( 2 actually). We are going to Sandusky, Ohio for 2 days and staying at the Great Wolf Lodge. There is a water park inside the resort and many fun things for the kids to do. We will be there for 2 days, then we are driving to Pennsylvania to Hershey. We are staying there for 2 days and then taking our time driving back... We are very excited to just explore and not have to rush around...it will be refreshing.
Thanks to all who gave me many ideas for vacation!!

The boys enjoying the "game" or the fence at the game

The team getting ready to get their trophies

A typical inning in a blastball game

Peyton getting ready to bat

Owen just getting done batting

Happy Fathers Day!

This Fathers Day weekend was wonderful. It makes me think of how lucky Chris and I are to have two wonderful, healthy boys and to have each other. This years Fathers Day also happened to fall on our anniversary. We started out the weekend on Friday, I was off work. The boys went to the dentist in the morning. It was their first dentist appointment. They did awesome! Dr. Shafer said their teeth looked great and had plenty of spacing. Peyton did wonderful..he said it did not hurt and loved his Spongebob toothbrush and toothpaste. Owen did great too, but he had a bit of a crying fit and was not too happy. Eventually he calmed down and he was given a clean bill of dental health! Friday after the dentist we went and had Chinese (our favorite) and went home and got into the pool for a couple hours. My kids just love the water and I think that Owen is partly a fish! After swimming for a bit, Chris and I got ready and took the boys to my parents for the night. We went to St. Louis to the Fox Theater and saw Bill Engvall and Frank Caliendro (the guy that does all voices). They were hilarious. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the night out. Saturday was another pool day and we took Chris's dad out for dinner for Fathers Day. We went to Cracker Barrel in Troy and made it home just in time for the rain..or downpour. We drove right into it on the way home and it looked scary! After the storm, the boys decided that they had not had enough pool time and decided to go outside and run up and down the sidewalk ( I will post pictures tomorrow). They were actually laying in the water that had gathered on the sidewalks and were "swimming" in the water. It was just hilarious. Sunday was Fathers Day and our annivrsary. The boys gave Chris their cards that they made themselves. I will post pics of these as well. We went to Hillsboro and had breakfast with Chris's dad and then came home to get ready to celebrate Fathers Day with my family. We had a great fathers day, swimming, dinner and banana split party! Last night when we were getting ready for bed..the boys were exhausted. Peyton was playing with his train on the floor and owen was laying down I told Peyton it was time for bed and he just looked at me and put his hands up and said, "I can'ttttt.....I am playing..." I told him to take the train with him. He laid down and asked for a blanket and I told him he can reach it and he said again, "I can'ttttt....my hands are full" Where do kids get this stuff! I could not help but laugh. So, our weekend was great...lots of rain (please stop rain) but it was great! I will post pictures tomorrow.

Peyton in the water

The boys in the water ( I think they are desperate for a pool)!

The boys again laying in the water getting their hair wet and filthy!

Owen laying in the water

So far this summer..

With all the craziness that is my job during the months of January - May...I really try to enjoy summer and devote it to my kids and husband. I try to take time off and spend it with the boys and do family things. We have done a few things so far this month. We went to Decatur to the Kids Museum (which was closed...note to all parents..they are closed on Mondays). We have gone to the Scovill Zoo in Decatur, the boys loved it and it was perfect size for us. They also have a massive playground right next the the zoo entrance, its packed with giant slide, climbing things and a trampoline. It is free and perfect for little kids! In addition to family outings, we are spending everynight outside in the fresh air. We have been fishing every weekend out at our pond and we all love it! Even me...I never thought I would. We just bought a fire pit and the boys love it! We have been cooking on it, having hot dogs and marshmallows. It is really fun on a cool summer night. We have many other things planned for this summer..hopefully we can get it all in. We have not nailed down a vacation spot yet, I guess I should work on that. We are thinking about Gulf Shores, Hershey Pennsylvania or Indianapolis. Hopefully we can make a decision soon.

Owen on the way to fish

Peyton at the pond

Peyton on the way to fish

The boys and Papa fishing in the rain

The boys at Scovill Zoo (Decatur)

Peyton getting ready to leave for the zoo

Help....I need advise

You would think that this is some big emergency...don't panic...
I need some advice or personal experience on some vacation ideas with 3 year olds.
Chris and I are wanting to go on vacation with the boys....here are some ideas we have been throwing around.. please feel free to give me any ideas or warn me about any places you have not been happy with.
1. Pennsylvania (hershey factory, crayola factory...any more ideas)
2. Michigan (beach somewhere, don't really know much about the area)
3. Florida beach (not really sure, don't want to go too far south.)
4. any ideas you have..

We really don't want to fly anywhere, we'd rather drive. Its just too expensive to fly for all 4 of us.
We love to drive and stop place and not be rushed!
Thanks for any advice you have!!!
have a great weekend!