Cave of the mounds

This morning we got, had a little breakfast at the hotel and were on our way to Cave of the Mounds. It was only about a fifteen minute drive from where we were staying so luckily there was not too much anticipation for Kyra. We got there and it was HOT- I mean HOT. We parked under a shaded area and started the walk down to the visitor center and by the time we got there I was out of breath. Luckily the building was air conditioned so I cooled off quickly. Tim bought our tickets (50 bucks by the way) and we got in line to go down into the caves. There was a short educational film while we waited which was nice because it gave a little history of how the caves came about- which my two little history buffs thoroughly enjoyed. After the movie we were ushered as a group through a doorway and into the cave. It was amazing to feel the difference in temperature in just a few steps. They say that the caves are 50 degrees no matter what time of year it is. Kyra was a little chilly but I was feeling pretty great- its been a hot summer for me. We twisted and turned through the little openings and for a second I was worried that Kyra would be afraid of the dark, but she did great. I was the one that kept looking over my shoulder for little cave creatures (darn scary movies- Jackie you know what I am talking about). But I got over it- especially when the guide started telling us about cave bacon- excuse me? Yes- cave bacon. I guess that is what the lamen term for little ribbon rock formations in the ceiling of the caves. All I know is that I came out of the place craving a bacon cheese burger. Kyra and Tim had fun identifying the different formations- I only knew stalactites and stalagmites- but felt pretty smart anyway. After the tour (about and hour) we stopped at the gift shop and picked up a little excavating kit for Kyra. She loves to dig and discover thing is in the dirt- like little treasures. I would not be surprised if she ended up being an archaeologist or something along those lines. Anyways, she got her fossils and her gemstones all identified and tucked away safe in their little baggies before we got back on the road to head home. On the way we stopped in Madison for a bite to eat at no other than the best place on earth- the Cracker Barrel!!! I was getting really hungry and I have to say that Tim and Kyra were awesome because there were a few detours that "Girdy" did not tell us about so yet again we were lost in Madison- and I was probably not the nicest person to around. But Timmy got us there unscathed and I got to have my chicken and dumplings which made me a very happy lady. Kyra and I did a quick tour of the gift shop, our favorite and Halloween stuff was out already- yipee! But ended up saving our money for the next big adventure. We had a great little talk on the way home and I have to say that although we are still forming our bonds as a family- that little girl is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. All in all it was a much needed vacation before the start of school and I am glad that we could fit it in :)

House on the Rock

We decided it was high time to take Kyra on a vacation with just the two of us. We have been talking about doing it for a few years here but last summer was a no-go with Dad's Cancer and this summer has been super busy. However Tim made a good point that if we don't go now... when are we going to. With two little ones it is not going to be as easy to do the things that Kyra is interested in. So- we talked my parents into taking Bella for a few nights (we had to twist their arms- right) and we made our way to Southern Wisconsin to see House on the Rock and Cave of the Mounds. Around the time of AJ's wedding we had purchased a GPS (which Kyra has lovingly named Gerty) so we typed in our destination and started out road trip. It was going well, that is until I made the poor choice of waking up my snoring husband and asking if the directions were right- what was I thinking! Our out of the way venture added another 40 mins of drive time and lots of frustration to our journey but has made for a pretty good story. I take the blame of course because i probably should have given him more heads up- typical Trina though :) So we got to House on the Rock right around 2 in the afternoon after we grabbed a quick bite on the way. There was no problem parking the car since there were maybe twelve others in the entire lot. I guess going on a Wednesday was a pretty fine idea as far as crowd control goes. We started by getting a short history on the creator and then viewed the actual house first. Kyra thought it would be pretty neat to live in the house on this rock but her father had other ideas. His main complaint was headaches- imagine the headaches from all those low ceilings! (He had a point). There were some pretty spectacular views from up there on the decks and some amazing creations inside the "house." After seeing the dwelling we moved on to the second exhibit which was all of his collections- which I got confused with the third sections which was all his collections too- very confusing but super cool. We got to see things that none of us even imagined were possible. Like the ginormous sculpture (we are talking stories high) of a sperm whale and an arcatuthus (giant squid). Or my favorite- the worlds largest carousel with not a single "horse" on it. Kyra totally dug all the rooms where they had set up instruments in a concert to play by themselves- it was super creepy but super cool! I have to warn all of you though that if you ever decide to go with Tim or Kyra to anything that resembles a museum- be prepared to spend a long time reading. I cant complain because that's why there are explanations- but do we really have to read every word? I guess I am more of a visual/ imagination type person and they want to know the facts... either way by the end of the day my feet hurt. Luckily we were staying in a hotel that was very close by and had a hot tub and pool to soak our aching feet. Kyra totally loved the giant submarine- almost as much as I loved the jets in the jacuzzi :) Tomorrow we are off to the caves!!!

Wedding Shower

As many of you know this fall my sister in law's (Tim's brother's wife) brother is getting married. He had played soccer when they were young and it is kinda funny because Paula (my sister in law) and I never talked pretty much because of the age gap between us. Now things are a little different especially since we married brothers so we talk a whole lot more :) Anyways, what you may not know is that Kelli (Paula's brother's fiance) has asked me to stand up in her wedding- now I know what you are say- "Are you nuts? You will have just had a baby!" (10/10./10 is the date) And yes you are right... but how cool is it to stand up in a wedding!!! You just don't get asked that all the time you know. So yes, I will be standing up as a bridesmaid for Kelli and Tony's wedding this October and super excited about it. The one thing I am not so excited about it trying on my bridesmaid dress... what if it doesn't fit. Whopps! I haven't gained any weight with the pregnancy but who knows what interesting situations may have surfaced once the "swelling" goes down. I guess we will just have to wait and see. This weekend was their wedding shower at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens (my suggestion by the way- go me). And it was absolutely perfect. I was incredibly grateful for Paula and Katie (another bridesmaid) who really didn't make me do all that much except be there and hand over a check- which I totally appreciate because as of late my head is ready to explode... or implode I am not sure which. At any rate- I am a little stressed. Just the other night at work I could tell and had one of the CNAs take my blood pressure. My usual is 90/60- which is super uber good. However, that night it was 174/95... can we say overdoing it a bit. So unfortunately I have to admit that my husband was right (which I don't like to do) that I might need to slow down a bit. Harumph (notice I did not say I was wrong... because women never are... right?) Regardless- I am losing my train of thought here- the shower was beautifully put together and it went very well. Kyra had fun playing with her cousins while Bella was still out at my parents house. We all played a group game which was a spin on the popular "Newlywed Game" but this was more like the almost newlywed game. So we got to learn a whole lot (too much at times :) about the bride and groom past, present and future. There were tons of laughs and smiles which is the important thing. I do have to say though that the popping balloons were not a favorite of mine. I kept thinking my water was going to break... no such luck as the count down begins!

Packer Backer

This weekend we have no plans... and it is awesome! It has been quite a while since there hasn't been anything planned. We had a great summer filled with weddings, vacations and road trips but this weekend is up in the air. Actually it is a really weird feeling and I don't really know what to do with myself. For those of you who know me I am a mini version of my father as far as planning things out goes so I feel a little lost and without direction. That was until I got word that my brother and new sister in law (weird to say finally) were coming up for the weekend- YES! I know I just saw them at the end of July for their wedding but you never really get enough time to visit at those things. We hung out Friday night and caught up a little bit on their lives since the wedding- moving apartments, AJ going back to school for his masters, Anna being pregnant... no not really ;) but we chatted till 930 and I realized that I had a baby to get in the tub and off to bed. So Bella Bean and I headed home but left little Kyra for a sleep over- she loves it out at my parents- I think the Wii has something to so with it. Saturday we went rummaging and found a few treasures. We had to cut it short because my parents were getting ready to go to the Packer game and I had a wedding shower to get dressed for. So we went our separate ways after the sales but then we met up at their house for supper before they left for the game. And who was there... Bruce and Barb! It was a total surprise and most excellent to see them. We only got to visit for a little bit before they all headed out to the game but that was okay because it was hot out and I was getting tired. I hope they all did okay sitting in that stadium in the hot hot weather. (Side note: Bruce won tickets at his work and so they came up last minute- can we say lucky?) We did get a chance to visit more on Sunday with both Bruce and Barb and AJ and Anna. It is nice sometimes to just sit around and shoot the breeze- which if you can imagine there was a bit of on Sunday morning on mom and dad's back porch.

This is a picture of Kaitlynn in her packer sweatshirt- I know she looks like a boy but she's still a cutie.

Swimming with Karla

Today we went swimming with Tim's aunt Karla. It is something that we used to do all the time when Kyra was around 6 or so but for the past few years our schedules just haven't lined up very well. So we made a point of making it work this summer because who knows the next time we are going to be able to go. I had to talk Timmy into coming along as he is not the biggest fan of water. I just thought it would be good for him to get out of the house for a while and at least this activity would cool him off when he got too hot... I was wrong. It had to be in the 90s today with a humidity to match... it was horrible. I was grateful that we had the water to dip into because otherwise we were sweating so much we might as well have been soaking anyway. So needless to say my husband was not happy with me but I am afraid he is getting too used to sitting at home with Kaitynn and not doing anything. If that's the case we should have talked a long time ago because I like adventures and I want to share them with my family. Kaitlynn had a blast playing in the fountains and she figured out how to use the slide on her own... not that she was good at it or that Tim and I were comfortable with it but I guess you have to let your kids grow up some time right? Well a few hours into in I saw someone walking around with a slushie- could it be? Do they have blue raspberry slushies for sale? I knew I brought my wallet in for a reason. YES!!! I was in total slushie heaven, I actually had two of them they were so good (and small). Kyra had an ice cream and Timmy had a cherry slushie. Karla passed on the treats but it wasn't long after that she and Kyra attacked the super slides. Personally I don't think I could have made the walk up to the top deck to even get down them but did they ever have a good time! Kyra is a pretty lucky girl to have so many people want to spend time with her- I hope she knows it :)Tonight Kyra is spending the night at her cousins for a summer sleepover. She just about died when I told her she could bring her nail polish caddy (Christmas gift from Tim's mom) which is super super cool. (Side note- I should probably have her do my nails quick here especially since I cant see my feet anymore let along bend over and paint them- whoo) She had a fun filled day- that's for sure!

Getting Ready

So I am definitely nesting- there is no denying it- its for sure. We are only about four to five weeks away and I think my body knows it. And in the spirit of all this extra energy and motivation I have decided that it is time to go through all the baby stuff and pull out the things that the new baby will need. I was totally amazed to see all the treasures that I had saved from Bella. Luckily I have been stocking up on the diapers this summer so it shouldn't been too big of a shocker when we have to have two bambinos in diapers. I am hopeful that Kaitlynn will start potty training soon- but who knows. This is a child of Timmy and Trina--- can we say stubborn and independent. After hours and hours of organizing I found that I had roughly 8 to 10 paper boxes of items that I wont be using after all. Either they didn't work as well with Kaitlynn as I had thought they would or they were blue (sorry Timmy its just not in the cards). I brought the boxes to the local kids resale shop to see if there was any items they would be interested in buying. They took probably the equivalent to one box but still paid me 20 bucks for it. SWEET! So the rest I priced at my normal 25 and 50 cents and am hopeful that next April I will be able to move it out at the rummage sale. I decided to go through the other bins that were up in the loft too but with this crazy hot weather that is going to have to wait a little bit. I decided to then turn my attention to Kyra's ever growing closet/ storage facility. Sorry girlfriend- you are my next victim! (FYI: Kyra is in size 14/16 and Kaitlynn is in 2T and 3T for Spring)

Big Girl Bed

Kaitlynn is trying out her big girl bed this week. Tim brought up a pretty good point that in less than six weeks we are going to have a new baby around the house and it probably would not be the best time to try and get Kaitlynn to use her toddler bed. So we are starting this week and easing into it... hopefully. Things have gone pretty well so far. She does not like to fall asleep in it though. She has no problem sleeping through the night so far but its that letting down and giving up when she could just as well get out of it that I don't think she likes so much. Needless to say we have had to get a little creative in trying to get her to lay down and there have been many car rides this week at nap time. Luckily for me Tim is still at home to help me settle her into this new routine. Mornings have not been too bad. Usually she just plays in her room quietly and explores all the things she could see before from her crib but could not touch. We have had a few wake up calls to her singing- which is very sweet to hear but I always know that it means trouble because typically that implies she is working on a project: ie- powdering the floor and creating art in it, emptying all the wipers from the dispenser or rearranging her DVD cases with the CDs and such. Regardless- its been a learning experience for Timmy and I because now we know what we need to move out of arms reach. All in all its going well. Kyra has been a real trooper too since she is the first person that Kaitlynn calls out to in the morning. Usually it goes "RyRa?" "Momma?" "DaDa" "Maaaaammmmaaaaa." And then I get up. What a little princess.