Baby Soda Names

Sunday night we were sitting around doing nothing, when the subject of names for the baby came up. I ran downstairs and grabbed the baby name book and the four of us started playing with names. Poor Soda...his/her Daddy came up with some real out of this world names (he was only teasing to get a reaction) :-) Although, Soda's big brother Sean has decided that if we have a boy (which is what he wants) we are going to name him Yoda...yes as in the StarWars Yoda. I quickly vetoed that one! Then of course, Nicholas had to throw out Princess Leia for the little sister he wants...I also quickly vetoed that one. I refuse to have a baby named after a StarWars character! However, in all of this joking around, Nicholas did throw a name out that has kind of stuck with us and is on the keeper list....Elle for a girl. We also came up with Noah for a boy. However, considering we still have 31 weeks to go I know that these will probably change. It's still fun to have a list started and letting the boys help keeps them in the loop and lets them feel included. Nicholas was pretty cute yesterday when I was talking to one of his teachers about it. He just stood there and rubbed my tummy and told Mrs. Durham that if we have a girl he picked out the name Elle.

Feeding the Ducks

This past couple of weeks, I've been working on farm crafts and projects with Sean & Graham. One of the suggestions on the disk my friend, Nicole, sent down was to feed ducks. I wasn't for sure if there would still be ducks down at the duck pond however, I decided that it would be fun to check it out. We have about 45 minutes between picking Nicholas up from school and picking Emma up from school that we usually go to the park and play. Yesterday, I decided to take the boys down to the duck pond and feed the ducks. The ducks were very friendly (compared to usual) and didn't try and maul us. Each of the boys had a bag of bread and had a blast seeing how far they could throw their bread. Graham had so much fun just chasing the ducks that he really didn't take to much interest in feeding them. Sean was so cute, he would throw out some bread and then say "Transform, Ducks!" and do this little transformer move. It was pretty comical. Nicholas just wandered around and did his own thing with his bread and his area of ducks. All three of the boys had so much fun and it was cute to just watch them do their thing. This is definately another trip that will have to be made. The ducks were very friendly and kind of just did their thing, while enjoying some bread that may have been thrown their way.

6th Annual Spokane Trip

This past weekend we traveled to Spokane for our Annual Spokane Trip. This is another of our many yearly traditions & is an absolute blast! This year it was Ray & I, Tom & Tonia Jones, Jeremy & Sarah Wimer, Eric & Alea Wassmuth, and Amy Schumacher that made the journey out of town. We always start the weekend off by saying good-bye to the kids. They get to have a wonderful night staying with grandparents while us parents go Christmas shopping. Nicholas & Sean stayed with Grandma Judy & Papa Ray. They had a blast playing StarWars with Chris, jumping on the trampoline, and helping Papa hang Christmas lights. Anyway, after we drop kids off, we head to Spokane where we all meet up at the Oxford Suites at the Valley Mall. Lunch is the first item on the agenda and we have found that Hooters is a great place to go. It's close to the mall & there is entertainment for the hubby's. After lunch is done, the girls say good-by to the husbands, leaving them at Hooters to drink beer, watch football, and gamble. Ray worked hard this year and made $85 on the black jack tables. Us girls head to the mall and get started on that Christmas shopping. It's a blast! No kids or husbands, just us girls checking out stores without the rush. The guys usually meet us at the Azteca in the mall, where they munch on Chips & Salsa & hold our bags while us girls finish up. That evening we head back to the motel where we enjoy appetizers & a couple of drinks (free for staying at the Oxford Suites) and get ready for dinner. This year, we drove out to Olive Garden in CDA and had a great time laughing and enjoying a meal where the parents got to be waited on instead of the parents waiting on the kids. We also got to eat an actual meal without interruptions or nagging on the kids to eat more dinner, sit up in the chair, use your fork, etc. It was wonderful. Sunday morning we head downstairs to the complimentary breakfast where we enjoy fresh fruit, pancakes, sausage, potatoes and more. After breakfast we headed over to Toys R' Us. This year, we finished the boys over the weekend. We have one thing left to get Sean however, other than that they are done! It's a wonderful feeling! I always look forward to our November weekend in Spokane. There is so much laughter, relaxation & just having fun with great friends. We are so blessed to have this tradition in our lives that we can share with such great friends. It's such a blessing also to have our wonderful family who supports us in helping with the boys so that we may do things like this. Overall, it was a great weekend. Ray & I had a great time with our friends & the boys had a great time with Grandma & Papa. Everybody was so pooped when we got home that it took us a couple of days to get caught up.

Big News!

Whelp, we have officially "spilled the beans." As you check out the counter off to the side, you're probably wondering..."Who (or What) is Baby Soda?" Little Remacle #3 is due to join our family on June 29th. Soda is the nickname we have given this baby. (For those of you Sinfield fans...Ray has informed me that this is where the name comes from). Sean is hoping for a boy & Nicholas is hoping for a girl. The boys got in a fight the other morning over this issue, complete with jumping up and down and yelling at each other. I finally told them that they both needed to pray really hard for what they wanted because they were only getting one or the other, they weren't getting one of each. They walked off in a huff. Anyway, I'm about 8 1/2 weeks along right now and thus far feeling okay. The boys did a really good job of keeping the secret and we let them tell there grandparents a couple of weeks ago. Everybody is really excited and it's fun being pregnant with Tracie. That's our big news!

Sister Time

Well, this week Ray is at hunting camp & Nicholas didn't have school today (or tomorrow) so the boys & I headed to Dayton last night for some much needed sister time. Ok, and some much needed adult conversation...Tracie stated that I was getting to the point where I was going to begin talking to walls. I had to agree. It gets kinda lonely around this here house when the longest conversation I've had with an adult in 3 days was the lady standing in line with me at Joann Fabric's on Sunday! Anyway, I loaded up the car, picked up some pizza and made the 2 hour journey to Tracie's house. It was wonderful! The boys traveled great & watched Scooby-Doo on the way down (and the way home). They were so excited to have a "sleep-over" at Aunt Tracie & Uncle Jeff's and couldn't wait to get there. Tracie & I stayed up until 11:30 talking. Today, we just hung out with the kids, I didn't shower or comb my hair (yes I brushed my teeth!) and just veged and chated with Tracie. The boys had a blast playing with their friends they made during the "love week" with Tracie and all 5 of the boys were excited to see each other again. Yep, 5 little boys all under the age of 4 sounds kinda scary. (Tracie is babysitting 3 little boys.) Both Tracie & I had a super day. The kids were great, not a lot of temper tantrums, and they all took a 2+ hour nap. We got home around 6:00 tonight, took baths, munched on some leftover pizza, and are just vegging tonight. I missed Tracie & it was fun to see how much "Baby Button" has grown in the last couple of months.

The Crocigator vs. Obe One Kedobi

Halloween was great! Sean was a "Crocigator" (aka an alligator) and Nicholas was Obe One Kedobi (aka Obi Wan Kenobi). We have a tradition of trick or treating family before we trick or treat with friends here in the neighborhood. It was so muuch fun. The boys had a great time trick or treating with their friends Emma, Graham, Cameron, & Rylee. Then it was back to the Wimer's for pizza & playing. The next morning the boys had to examine all of their loot.

Storytime

Lately, Sean has been really into ready stories to everybody. It's so cute! Here's a little clip of him reading "Froggy Loves Books" to Nicholas.