Sunshine and Snow

I logged onto the computer to finish our taxes, but now I'm looking for anything and everything to push that off for another day! So here I am, not doing our taxes, but at least I'm putting my time to good use with a blog post.

The kids and I had a great trip to Arizona. I was pretty busy with work while we were there, but managed to spend time with friends and family. The kids got in lots of grandparent and cousin time. They love nothing more than playing with their cousins. Madeline has been asking to move back ever since we left and she tells us all the time that Parker and Paisley are her best friends. When the day comes to move back, she'll be one happy kid! Here are some pictures from our trip.

Paisley and Parker were on spring break while we were there, so Terrisa and I took the kids to the zoo and Bounce U. No wonder Madeline didn't want to come home! ;) 

I love how they're all looking at the zoo maps. Luke is trying to fit in with the big kids. 

Our trip was perfectly timed to celebrate Paisley and Granna's (Grandma Anna) birthday. 

 Would it be a vacation without donuts?! Madeline must've been busy picking hers out. 

Bounce U fun!

 Granna, Grandpa, and Marie took a few days off of work while I was in meetings and took the kids on adventures to the zoo and the train park. Lucky kids!

While we were there, my work had a family day at a spring training game.

My friend, Marie, is expecting her first baby in May. Since I won't be there for the shower, we got together for brunch in downtown Gilbert to celebrate baby boy Mueller. 

While we were in Arizona, Luke got his very own backpack from my Grandma Clark and a matching suitcase from my parents. He's obsessed with them and was all about using them on our travels home.

George was hoping we'd bring back some of the sunshine, but no such luck! On Wednesday, we had the biggest snow storm of the year. We got about 14 inches of snow in our area. It was beautiful and made for a fun snow day. We all had a blast playing in it for a little bit. While we enjoyed it, we're now very ready for spring! 

Luke: 2 Years Old

I hope everyone is having a great week! I've been super busy at work the last couple of weeks. Between that and being sick the first half of the month, it feels like I blinked and February is over. March is going to be equally as busy from a work perspective, but I have a little bit of vacation time in there too. I'm taking 3 days off while I'm out in Arizona. It'll be a nice little break and it works out perfectly because my mom, Paisley, and Parker will be on spring break. Madeline and Luke are counting down the days until our trip. They have one of those ring countdowns where you tear off a ring each day....6 days! Madeline keeps telling George, "We're going to Arizona and you're going to be here all by yourself!" Poor George. Or lucky George? 

In other news, my baby turned 2!!! Luke was actually pretty into his birthday and seemed to totally understand that it was his big day. No big birthday party, just the four of us again this year, (we'll make it up to you some day, buddy!) but he loved the extra attention. Luke loves attention (I'm pretty sure that's a Warren trait), which couldn't be more opposite than Madeline. Madeline hates attention (Lucas trait...or at least George). When Madeline turned two she hated everyone singing to her. Luke relished it. So funny how different kids can be! 

We celebrated his big day by going to this indoor play space called Lulu's Casita. It's basically a massive playroom with a variety of toys, a slide, a ball pit, books, etc. They have a little cafe area for the parents with coffee and snacks that overlooks the play area. It's a great idea....kids play, parents relax, and other people do the cleaning. If we lived a bit closer, we would consider a membership. Luke loved the ball pit and the big train set. Madeline was great with Luke and played with him. In the afternoon, we gave Luke a cupcake that he demolished. I have a video of it, but blogspot is telling me that it's too big to upload, so I'll include pictures instead. The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key because Madeline ended up having an ear infection and George was sick too.

At his 2 year old check-up Luke was in the 75th percentile for height, weight, and head. He is very talkative and is a smart little cookie. He counts to 14 (and then just repeats  it 1, 2, 3....12, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14), knows his ABCs, and has a solid vocabulary for a two year old. He wears his Mickey hat everyday and his yellow Mickey shirt at least 2 days a week. He loves his stuffed Mickey Mouse (are you noticing a theme?) and his quilt that my aunt Gail made. We recently discovered that he calls the quilt sleepin'. We kept hearing him say something like that but we didn't know what he was talking about. We finally realized it a few weeks ago. He's obsessed with cars and always has a least one in his hands. He's a cuddly little guy and can be sensitive at times. He's energetic, loves to run, jump, and get into trouble. We're starting to see his little imagination. He pretends that he's a monster and says "gotcha!" He also likes to play kitchen with Madeline. "I made donuts!" We all love him to pieces. Happy Birthday, Luke!

What cupcake?

Cuddling with big sis! Madeline likes to say, "The doctor gave us a cute baby boy!"  I agree. :) 

 

Sick House!

We're finally coming out of the haze of sickness that hit our house. Last week was rough. SO rough! It started on Monday with George getting a 24 hour stomach bug. Just as he started to feel better on Tuesday afternoon, I felt like I was coming down with something. By Wednesday morning, I was full on sick and Luke developed a cold and ear infection overnight. Luke and I had back-to-back appointments at the Minute Clinic. We got him an antibiotic for his ear infection. I tested negative for the flu, but ended up having what seemed very much like the flu. The nurse said that the negative tests yet all of the flu symptoms have been happening a lot this flu season. Anyway, negative test meant no medicine. I sort of regret not begging for tamiflu. Luke was cranky, super tired, and had a runny nose for a few days. I think the antibiotic helped him out a lot. However, I was a recluse for 4 days. I had a 102-103 fever, an insanely sore throat, aches, chills, and headache from Wednesday-Friday. I started coming out of it a bit on Saturday and by Sunday I was feeling significantly better. I thought Madeline had escaped it all, but now she has a cough/cold and fever. It's very hard to tell how sick Madeline is because she's our little energizer bunny and doesn't let much get in her way, but it finally caught up with her last night and we kept her home from school today. She got lots of rest so hopefully she is well enough to go back to school tomorrow. She has her heart set on being at school for their Valentine's Day party and would be devastated to miss it! Sorry, you're probably sick just from reading off of that! Here's to healthier weeks ahead for the Lucas Family!

I was pretty devastated myself this weekend. Since I was so sick, we had to make the very tough decision not to go to Rochester for my Uncle Bob's funeral. I wanted to be there so so bad, but I knew that I just could not make the trip. It was a tough pill to swallow -- sick pun intended. :) After reading this blog post, our family is probably thanking us for not gracing them with our sick presence. My siblings facetime'd me in for the service, which was so nice. It was a beautiful service and wonderful memorial of my uncle.

On a happier note, I have an upcoming work trip to Arizona and I am bringing both kids along! I could not be more excited. I've been anxious for a trip home since Christmas and when the flight is on work's dime, even better! I extended the trip and will take a few days of vacation time after the meeting. Madeline and Luke are so excited too! Like Madeline, Luke has a great memory and remembers everyone from our trip to Colorado in December. He talks about Parker and Grandma and Grandpa all the time. :) :) :)

I don't have many pictures from the past couple of weeks, but here's a few that'll make you smile.

Here are the kids all ready to go to Eagles day at school! I'm 99% sure the daycare has been brainwashing them. They knew the entire Eagles fight song and were running around screaming "Goooo Eagles!!!" George and I actually got pretty into the hype ourselves. It's hard not to when everyone around here is talking about it. It has been a lot of fun! 

What do you guys think...the next Nick Foles? 

Uncle Bob

My dad's oldest brother, my Uncle Bob, passed away peacefully on Saturday morning. My dad said it best, "he had a tough life, but was strong in his faith and is at peace and is well with the Lord now. He was loved by many." My Uncle Bob suffered from mental illness for the majority of his life. While our family grieves his passing, it is also so exciting to think of Uncle Bob in heaven, reunited with relatives, and completely healed of his illness. I'll see you again, Uncle Bob. 

Our proximity to Rochester has been such a blessing the last few weeks. I'm glad we were able to see my Uncle Bob when we were up in Rochester two weekends ago. Luke got to meet him for the first time and Madeline for the second time. This past weekend, we drove up to Rochester again and spent time with everyone. We will drive up once more for his memorial service in mid February. We're getting good at that drive...when there isn't a blizzard! :)

 I found a few pictures from recent years on my computer and wanted to share them with you all...

I'm pregnant with Madeline in this one so I'm guessing it was around May 2013

 

A visit with Uncle Bob in October 2016

Just a couple of weeks ago on January 7, 2018

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to my loyal followers! We're 18 days into to the year and I heard on the news yesterday that by now most people have already failed their resolution. I have a few informal resolutions. I don't get super into making resolutions, but I'm always up for improving myself and I like having goals. I guess I'll write them here and make them official. Maybe I'll stick to them if they're published on the internet for the world to see.

1. The usual - exercise more, eat better! In late 2016, I started eating much healthier and exercising consistently. I kept it up for most of 2017, but got a little off track during the holidays. BUT I'm back at it now and feeling good...and sore! 

2. Less mindless scrolling on phone. I waste too much time looking at social media and browsing the internet. My goal for this year is to be more present and less distracted by my phone. 

3. Get more sleep and wake up earlier. In order to wake up earlier, I need to go to bed earlier. Mornings in our house are sort of chaotic. We have a solid routine, but we don't leave ourselves enough time so it's always rushed. This is one of George's resolutions too, but so far, we're both failing miserably. Our bed is too comfy and the cold isn't helping!

I have some other goals, hopes, and dreams for 2018, but I think I'll leave my official resolutions to just those three. And now I need to wrap this up so I go to bed at a decent time...tomorrow might be the morning I start resolution #3. I'll leave you with a few pictures and a video...

A couple of weekends ago we drove up to Rochester. We stopped at this Cracker Barrel in Binghamton, NY for dinner. Here we are, blissfully ignorant of the blizzard that we'd be driving through an hour later. At least our bellies were full! :)

Celebrating my Grandma's birthday with family! 

Here's a little Instagram video of Luke from the other night. He's talking so much these days and seems to take after his big sis with his love of music.