Happy Holidays!

Well, the gift-opening and -giving is finally over. We spent the entire weekend eating and opening gifts and are now home and back to work. We do have one more family meal with Matt's aunts and uncles on New Year's Day (at our house)! Wish me luck as I try to find a home for all the toys and such that the girls brought home with them from the 3 Christmas celebrations that we had over the weekend. I promise to post pictures soon. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Jill Meets Santa!

That's right! Jill and Santa Claus finally met. We took the girls to the mall yesterday in hopes of letting Lexi tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. Well, Lexi had other ideas. She is deathly afraid of the big guy! She would not even go close to the waiting line at the mall, so Jill and mommy went on in. Needless to say, Lexi didn't make it into the picture. Enjoy Jill's first visit to see Santa!

Pictures... as Promised!

Here are the pictures from Thanksgiving as promised. I tried a new way to post even more pictures. Let me know how you like it. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving at Splash Universe!

This year, the Thomas family decided to spend our Thanksgiving time together at Splash Universe in Dundee, Michigan. It is a water park attached to a Holiday Inn. We all decided to go away for the holiday to help celebrate more than just Thanksgiving... we were also celebrating Bud and Eileen's (Papa Bud and G.G.'s) 60th wedding anniversary! Even though it won't officially be 60 years until May '10, we all agreed that now was a better time than this spring (with a baby on the way for Brittany and a wedding to plan for Maely). We all met in Dundee on Saturday around noon and the fun began! Putting on our swimsuits, we all ventured down to the water park for some fun in the pools. There are many water slides as well as a kiddie pool and a lazy river. Only 3 of us didn't get our feet wet (Nola, G.G. and Papa Bud). I think everyone else had a good time in the water and even baby Jill got her suit wet! On Sat. night, G.G. and Papa Bud had decided to renew their vows. We also celebrated Lexi's birthday. She opened Handy Manny's toolbox from uncle Benny, a Tinkerbell costume and movie from aunt Brittany and uncle Matt, some cool coloring/wipe off pages from great aunt Ruby and uncle Don, and a Dora backpack full of goodies from G.G. and Papa Bud. After eating pizza and many other goodies (we all brought something to munch on) and of course some game-playing , we all turned in for the night. Lexi and Kaity even got in another quick swim on Sunday before we all left for the trip home. We had some quality family time and I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. See you all again at Christmas!
P.S. I will post pictures in the next day or two. Baby Jill is trying to get teeth and I don't have the time now!

Saris Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving Day this year at Chris and Chuck's. Julie and Ben were home as well as Andrew. It is always great to see everyone. After a great meal (as always) and Lexi's nap, we celebrated her 3rd birthday! Grandma always gets her an ice cream cake for her birthday. She loves it. She also blew out all her candles all by herself... what a big girl! Jill gave us a nice little mess as she decided to fill her diaper (and the high chair) while we were feeding her baby food. We followed that with a bath and a trip to the laundry - 2 cycles worth - for her clothes! Then came Lexi's gifts. She opened a stuffed Nemo fish and a remote controlled Lightning McQueen car from uncle Andrew. Then she opened Tinkerbell rollerskates (the kind that fit over your shoes) from aunt Julie and uncle Ben. Then, last but certainly not least, she opened her big gift from Grandma and Papa. It was a basketball hoop! She loved all her toys and played with all of them a lot! After a few rounds around the house on her skates - everyone had to take her on at least one round - she took them off and played with the basketball hoop and Lightning McQueen. She did return to the skates at least 2 more times later in the day. And of course she had to sleep with Nemo that night (and every night since)! Thanks to everyone and we had a great day! Can't wait to see everyone again at Christmas.

Birthday Blues!

Well, many of you know that Lexi turned THREE on Sunday. We were all set to have her party on Sunday, but our plans got changed. Lexi came down with the flu on Tuesday night. She spent all day Wednesday on the couch and 2 nights on the couch as well. Mommy took the first night and daddy stayed with her the second night. Grandma Nola came in on Thursday night to stay for the weekend and by Saturday, Matt had the flu! Then, on Sunday morning, Bethany thought she may have ended up with it, but luckily it was just a 24 hour stomach bug. So far baby Jill and Grandma Nola are in the clear, but unfortunately we had to cancel Lexi's party - we didn't want all the kids who came to get the flu! So, we are STILL eating cupcakes (Mickey Mouse ones to be exact) and we ended up taking deviled eggs - which were to be eaten at the party - to Chris and Chuck's for Thanksgiving! Lexi still got to blow out the candles and we still gave her a present from us, but it just wasn't the same. At least we are all well now and can enjoy the Holiday with our families. I will post more pictures after the Turkey-Day weekend.

Elf Yourself has Returned!

I know it is early, but I couldn't resist myself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Halloween Weekend!

Lexi had a blast at her first REAL Trick-or-Treat this year. We took her down to Smithville on Halloween night and she wanted to be a pirate. It turned out to be very cold, so she wore her jacket most of the night. Papa and Bethany took Lexi around town while Grandma and Matt stayed home with baby Jill and passed out candy. She got lots of candy and I think enjoyed herself. Then, Brittany and Kaitlyn came up to join us for Halloween in our neighborhood! Kaity used our old butterfly costume and Lexi went back to her Boo at the Zoo costume of a Cowgirl. It was a little warmer on Sunday night and Amy even joined us with her son Adam (the vampire). We now have a lot of candy in the house and a little girl who loves to Trick-or-Treat. Jill was a pumpkin - and a cute one at that!
On Monday, Brittany and I decided to try to take a few pictures of all 3 girls in their matching sweaters. I think we did ok for what we had to work with! Just wait until we have a 4th child to fit in there somewhere!!! Enjoy!

Boo at the Zoo!

This year, Lexi was finally old enough to enjoy Boo at the Zoo! Mom and dad came out this weekend to watch the girls while Matt and I worked on Saturday, so on Friday evening dad and I took Lexi to the zoo while mom stayed home with Jill. Lexi dressed up as a cowgirl (or "Jessie" from Toy Story). It was a misty evening and we got just a tad wet, but our umbrellas and Lexi's cowgirl hat protected us from most of the moisture. All the animals loved the weather, so we got quite a show. I definitely think we will return next year. Lexi had a blast!

Just Another Day!

Well, I have now hit the big 3-0... that's right, I am 30 years old as of yesterday. I don't feel any older and so therefore it must just be another number. My wonderful hubby gave me my present early (on Wednesday). He and Lexi went out to "run some errands" and came back with a little white box. I got my diamond bracelet 3 days before my actual birthday because he said Lexi couldn't keep a secret (I know he really just didn't want to keep the secret for 3 days himself!) and it is beautiful! Yesterday we just chilled around the house. We carved our HUGE pumpkin and made him into a jack-o-lantern. Then we had some fun with baby Jill (see the pictures below and you will know what I mean). Then Lexi and I ran out to the Halloween store to complete her costume. We came home with lunch (thanks Burger King) and also a pirate eye patch and an awesome pirate hat! I am sure there will be a blog entry about that closer to Oct. 31st! I left the kids with daddy last night to enjoy an evening with the girls - a friend of mine had a purse party at her house - and I came home with TWO awesome fall purses (thanks G.G. Eileen and Chris & Chuck for the b-day money!) Then, 2 of my co-workers took me out for a pitcher of margaritas at a local Mexican restaurant - SO YUMMY! So after much thought, I have decided that yesterday was just another day in my life that just so happened to be the anniversary of my birth 30 years ago!

Ramseyer's Pictures

As promised... here are the pictures from the Corn Maze! Enjoy!