Visitors!

Grandma and Grandpa Earl (Collin's parents) came to visit us this weekend. It was SO good to see them. It had been WAY too long. Luckily, the girls both remembered them and warmed up right away. We spent most of the weekend just hanging out, eating good food and watching good movies. I HATE that we are so far away from all of our loved ones (not much longer, I know). I have been struggling lately knowing that we have made the decision to move to Colorado, which means that I also know that the chances we will have to be with the Earls will stay few... I love having two families that I would die to live near, but it sucks at the same time. Anyway, this visit is just what I needed. A little Earl time. Mom, Dad, we love you and we miss you already. Thank you for making the effort to get out here, it meant a lot.There were only two things making this baby happy Saturday night. 1. Feeding daddy with a fork and #2. Eating Grandma's ice

Smooches for G-Ma

Grandpa and Daddy made a "Kenna sandwich", of coarse, then Marlee had to have one too...

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

BFF's

I know I have blogged about the "chicklets" (triplets)before. They are some of Marlee's best buddies here in Vermillion. They ALWAYS want to be together. The go to school together, sometimes church together and lately have been able to play together every day since the weather has been nice. They get along well and I think Marlee thinks she is the long lost 4th sister. Wednesday was a beautiful day here, so we played outside for hours. They rode bikes for a while and then decided to "take a nap" outside on the sidewalk....to each her own I suppose. Once they got all settled in, they wanted stories. I went and grabbed some of Marlee's favorite books and we had story time outside. It was actually pretty fun. We read "Pinkalicious" which, of course, they all loved. We have grown so close to the triplets and their mom Nichole, it is going to be REALLY hard to say goodbye when the times comes... but as for now, these girls just wanna have fun!

Olivia, Marlee, Elena, and Karla

Karla and Marlee have always been two peas in a pod

Vacation Hangover

I am having the hardest time getting back in the swing of things, it's like I have a vacation hangover. We got back to SD late Sunday night, and got thrown right back in the mix Monday morning. Marlee had school, Collin had school and things have been crazy. After being gone almost 2 1/2 weeks I am completely overwhelmed with crap all around the house needing to be properly put away. So annoying. Anyway, we had a really nice visit to Colorado. We always do. Of coarse, the first weekend there we went to Vegas which was a blast. Then Collin came back to SD alone to do the next week of school while I stayed in Co. He came back for the following week because it was spring break. We hung out with family, friends, I got to go to a really good friends baby shower, took the kids to Amazing Jake's, and all sorts of fun stuff. I have SO many pictures from the break, so I apologize in advance and hope nobody gets bored...

Amazing Jake's

The rides were actually kinda fun! Marlee LOVED it there. It was so fun to watch her.

Kenna on the train....the only ride she could go on

Mar and I on the go-karts. What makes them SO fun? I drive everyday, but I just love go-karts! Kenna was exhausted after all the action!

Sunday Dinner aka "Chaos" What would all of these little princesses do if Nana didn't have so many dress-ups at her house?
Lucky for them, she found a nice lady who's daughters were in dance and sold them all to her cheap... Don't they just look like a couple of Gossip Girls?

CousinsHunter has a soft spot for this little girl!

Kenna and Owen in the bath. These two were crackin' me up. So fun.
Em's Shower

Emily was my first friend in Kindergarten. I am happy to say that 20+ years later, we are still extremely close, and I was thrilled that they planned her shower for spring break so I could be there. Love you Em, can't wait to meet Brycen!

Without Fail...

What is it that makes kids get sick EVERY time we go out of town? I just don't get it. Last weekend Makenna started acting a little fussy, she started drinking less, eating less, and sleeping more. Never a good sign. Finally Sunday we felt a little bud of a tooth starting to break through her bottom gums. FINALLY.....TEETH (or should I say, tooth?)! She is now almost 14 1/2 months old and is just now cutting her first tooth. Anyway, she hasn't eaten for about 4 days, and yesterday was the first day she started drinking a little better. I called her Doctor in SD because she has had diarrhea for the 4 days as well and then yesterday she threw up. Diarrhea+Vomit+Fever=dehydration. Not good. I got transferred around and finally ended up talking to a lady at the Children's Hospital wing of the hospital where I had Marlee. The lady told me that with everything I told her, if things didn't look up by this morning, we needed to bring her in. Luckily, even though she pooped out (for the 4th night in a row), she did pee a little bit too. She drank about 4 oz. this morning, which is good comparatively. I hope she is turning the corner, she has just been so miserable. I was gonna post some pictures of the girls , but I can't find my camera...so I will do it soon. We head back to SD on Sunday and then less than two months til graduation!!!

Sin City

The exact spot where we got engaged...

We had such a wonderful weekend in Vegas. I didn't realize how much we needed a vacation, just the two of us, and I almost forgot how much fun we could have when we were alone (get your minds out of the gutter...) When we flew in, Collin went to a local high school and was the guest speaker. His editor for The House Of Grey is a teacher and her class has been listening to his book. It was awesome to see him in action and watch him talk to the kids. He did an amazing job. We went back to the Bellagio, where we got engaged almost exactly six years ago. We had dinner there the first night with Sam and Kyle at the buffet, it was AMAZING! Pricey, but awesome. We had beef Wellington and rack of lamb, crab legs, and more dessert than is humanly possible to eat in one night. It was fun. We went to the Stratosphere and the Wax Museum, we saw "Ka" (Cirque du Soleil)which was interesting. I enjoyed it a lot, but it made me really nervous, with some of the stunts they were doing, people falling like 50+ feet not attached to anything, it was crazy! We also went to Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden, which I loved. The Dolphin habitat was cool and I wanted to jump in with them, and of course they had all the white tigers and stuff.

Sam and Kyle were GREAT while we were there and we LOVED getting to spend some time with them and their sweet little twins. Thanks for everything guys!

(I know this is a Collin and Mandi overload with the pictures, but that's what happens when you are the only two on the trip!)

Collin talking to the high school kids. I am so proud of him...

We missed all of you guys who were supposed to come with us. Let's try to plan something else soon, we miss you all...