We're moving!

Well, at least our blog is. I've decided I have just too many sites that I post things on, so in an effort to simplify my life, I'll no longer be posting on this site. I'll instead be using shutterfly, where I can post photo albums, videos, and a little blog. So, check it out and you can even sign up to get weekly updates. It's at gatesfamily5.shutterfly.com

Day Out With Thomas

Today we took Kyle to a Day Out With Thomas in Green Bay. Aunt Sue-Z bought the tickets for him for his birthday and it was the best gift. Our train ride was at 9:15, so we had to leave the house by 6:45. On a Sunday. UGH. Kyle must have known we had to leave at the crack of dawn, and he helped us out by waking up for the day at 4:45. Sweet. At least it meant that we got on the road on time, which was a good thing because the road we needed to take was closed and we had to drive around for a while until we figured out where we were. Our day there started off with a special surprise for Kyle. We got to ride a school bus over to the Railway Museum where the event was. Kyle was in heaven. He's been asking to ride a school bus for a long time, and I've been telling him he could when he was 5. The actual event was awesome. There was so much to do and we had a fabulous time. Of course the highlight was riding on the train pulled by Thomas, but we also got to meet Sir Topham Hatt, do some crafts, play with trains, bounce on a bouncy castle, play in the sandbox, listen to some music, and board and explore all the trains at the museum. I'm so glad we got to go, and I'm sure we'll be going back again next year! Kyle was great and napped the way there and the way home. He loved it!! In the afternoon, it was gorgeous out, so we went to Brad's softball game. Kyle wanted nothing to do with watching the game, but there was a playground nearby, so we played over there for almost 2 hours. We picked up pizza on the way home, ate outside, and played outside for the rest of the night with our neighbors Cole and Chris. It was really the perfect day. Now, back to reality.

We're in Arcadia!

And we've been so busy I haven't had a chance to write. Brad, Kyle, the dogs, and I made the trip up here Memorial Day Weekend. We went in on Friday night to Brad's parents' house to cut down on the drive some (and to get Lou Mal's!) We left about 5:00 on Saturday morning and made great time. Kyle did awesome in the car. This was his first long car ride since he was a newborn, so we didn't know how it would go, but he slept, snacked, played, and amused himself just fine. Brad and the dogs stayed for a week and Kyle and I will be up here until next Monday. We've been busy clearing out the house, setting up the hot tub : -), and exploring with Kyle. It didn't take him long to figure out how to get everywhere. He can find the park, the beach, GG's house, camp, the trail. He's having a blast even though it has been COLD. We've been taking some great walks and even done a few bike rides too. Last year he hated riding on the bike, so I'm glad he likes it now. Either I'm way out of shape though or the bike needs some air in the tires because that thing is hard to ride with both of us on it! We of course went and ate at Boone's and stocked up on some seasoning. Brad and I also went to eat at Arcadia Bluffs, we had pizza in the park one night, and my mom and I went out to lunch. It's so quiet up here this time of year which is kind of nice, but I also miss seeing other people around! We're going to be crazy busy the rest of June after we get back, so I'm enjoying the peace. The rest of our time here I'll be busy painting! Lucky me!! The pictures here are of Kyle playing baseball, climbing up to the treehouse, playing at the park (he climbed all the way up that big slide and then decided not to slide down until later when Brad went with him), eating the bread that he was supposed to be feeding the geese, and 'checking his email' - that's what he tells me he's doing at the computer. He's still cracking us up - his latest phrase is "Yay, we made it!" whenever we make it anywhere - to camp, the beach, up the stairs, wherever. He also likes to say "There we go" when something is done right or a top is put or something like that. He's fiercely independent and wants to do EVERYTHING by himself. I never really got what that was like when I didn't have kids. Wow. Literally everything. Turning on the water, holding the book, picking out clothes, pouring orange juice, etc. It's crazy but fun times!!

We had a busy weekend! Friday night we started up by going to Costco to get new tires for the Jeep. That ended up not happening, but we also had to run to Target and Home Depot, so we did that and grabbed a quick dinner at QDoba. In typical Kyle fashion, he didn't touch the 'kids meal quesadilla' but instead only wanted to eat Brad's burrito. Not only did he eat the thing, but he wanted to hold it as well even though it's about the size of his head. Such a goof. If only I had my camera with...Saturday we took the Jeep to get new brakes (yes, the car was a danger to be driving - I don't know how Brad made it to work every day) and then I went to a few garage sales while Brad and Kyle hung out. Brad got to play softball on Saturday afternoon which made his weekend. We spent the rest of the day cleaning out and organizing the garage. We still have way too much stuff in there to be able to fit a car, but at least it's well organized stuff, right? Sunday was spent doing more stuff around the house - cleaning up in the basement from all the construction dust that migrated into the other rooms, mowing the lawn (finally! the grass about buried poor Macy and Morgan when they were out there), and getting started painting our bags game! We've been planning on doing this for a year now. We finally got the Illini orange and Illini blue paint and I painted the boards. Now we just have to put the decals on and spray them and they'll be finished. So cool. They already look awesome with just the paint. This week is supposed to be beautiful - finally warming up. Let's hope it stays that way. On Saturday we'll be driving up to Arcadia!! Can't wait - to be there that is. The drive I could do without. I was going to take the boat with Kyle, but the times for both the fast and slow boat were awful. I could've either left at 6 AM or right at Kyle's naptime. Kyle's not the most adaptive sleeper to new places and not wanting to spend a 4 hour boat ride with a crabby toddler, I opted to drive with Brad. This of course means that we get to stuff 3 people, 2 dogs, and a whole bunch of stuff in our little car, but at least we get to go up! So excited. We'll be there for 2 weeks (Brad for 1) and then back home for a couple weeks before heading back up to RKD. I should go begin the packing process - I'm honestly not sure how it's all going to fit. Maybe instead of packing, I should start researching bigger cars...

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day everyone! A special wish goes out to my mom, the most amazing mom on the planet, and my grandma. I wish we could be with you today. It's hard living so far away. Kyle sent a special Mother's Day message to his grandma (Ma), Bubbe, and his Godmothers. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was his sweet voice saying "Happy Mother's Day". I didn't need anything else - so precious. We've really had a great weekend. On Friday, Brad was playing in a golf benefit with a dinner after, so Kyle and I were on our own all day. We started off the morning by taking a hike at the Audobon Nature Center with 2 friends and their kids. We walked down to the beach and let the kids play for a while and then hiked on the trail. Of course we all forgot our cameras, so we have no pictures of our first beach day of the season! It was beautiful out though and the kids had fun. Later in the day we ran a bunch of errands and went out to dinner. We chose Culver's because it's fast and we were planning on hitting the park after. When I asked Kyle what he wanted to eat, he said steak. I told him that Culver's didn't have steak, so he just insisted that they needed to buy some. I told him I'd pass that along to the store manager. We enjoyed a nice dinner together and headed home quickly to let the dogs out and feed them. As we were getting ready to head out to the park, Brad pulled in the driveway! Turns out they decided to not stay for dinner because it was the 10th anniversary of one of the guys he was playing with and he decided he should go hang out with his wife. So we had a family park date. It was a great day!
On Saturday, we got the carpet put in downstairs (the right carpet this time) and spent the rest of the day trying to clean and organize. We got a new computer desk and some storage units for the living room. Anyone who knows me knows I love to organize, so this was actually fun for me! We went out for breakfast on Mother's Day at The Pancake House and came home to do more organizing!! The basement is about 90% done and I'm so excited for Kyle to have a true playroom again. I got some wonderful Mother's Day gifts - a charm for my Pandora bracelet, a change box that Kyle made at school, and a digital picture frame keychain. It was a fantastic weekend. Here's a picture of our (almost) finished playroom and one of my favorite pictures of Kyle and me. The last one is from breakfast this morning. We love you Moms and Grandmas!!

K-L-E counts!

Christmas night

That's how I feel. You know how when you're looking forward to something for so long and then when it's over, there's this weird feeling - not really disappointment but more of can't believe it's over, now what?! Well, our basement got finished on Monday. A really nice guy came (and brought his wife and 1 year old son - which was a little strange but whatever) and put the carpet in for us. I had been so excited to start putting things back down there on Tuesday and getting the house in order. Well, while he was installing it, I had to run out and when he finished I was getting Kyle ready for bed, so I didn't see it until he left. Turns out they installed the completely wrong color!! Our contractor just came over though and is going to replace it. Oh great, he's here again - now what?? Okay, I'm back. Turns out the carpet I picked won't be in for 10 days, so I had to change colors. Luckily there was something very similar and we should be able to spend a fun weekend organizing and cleaning! Yay us. Last weekend was spent frantically painting to get ready for the carpet. We did get to go into Illinois on Sunday to celebrate birthdays - Brad's dad, who the kids call Papa David and Kyle just calls 'David', and 2 of our nephews - Adam and Jake. We had a good time and Kyle had fun playing with his cousins, especially Lauren. Kyle got to swing in a big swing by himself and loved it!

Today I was getting lunch ready and I guess I wasn't moving fast enough for Kyle. By the time I got out to the dining room, he had gotten the turkey out of the refrigerator, climbed up into his booster seat and started eating. He sure does love to eat!! I went out to eat last night with the girls from my MOMS club and Kyle devoured the rest of my leftovers for lunch.

I'm going to do my best to upload a video of Kyle showing off some new skills. (Success! It's above.) I swear they go from being babies to practically grown up overnight! Meanwhile, here's our original babies, Macy and Morgan, crazy as ever. They do have their own beds, but I guess sometimes they just like to cuddle!