Yee, Haw!

For Mairead's birthday, Aunt Ry, Uncle David, and Rachel sent some pretty cool gifts with a cowgirl theme!  There was a super stylish hat and neckerchief, plus a horse to ride on and some great books about Cowgirl Kate.  The gifts were a huge hit and even the boys wanted to have a turn with the hat and the horse.  Thank you, Heckathorns!

 

Happy Birthday, Mairead!

On July 29, our baby girl turned five.  Five.  These past five years have been incredible.  From the moment we saw her, we loved her more than we thought it possible.  She has amazed us, made us laugh, and made us cry.  She is smart, beautiful, sweet, and funny.  She is strong and resilient, and has already overcome more than many adults have. Every moment with her is precious and every accomplishment is a celebration.  We just love her so much!

 

We blew up a bunch of balloons and had them ready and waiting when she came down in the morning.  She was thrilled and the look on her face was precious.  Later in the day, some good friends came over to celebrate with us.  Again this year, the party was scheduled to be a pool party but the weather kept us indoors.  Maybe next year, this group will actually get to swim!

 

The pinata did not fare well, but everyone else had a great time!  We were very grateful that our friends could come and spend the afternoon celebrating our little girl.  Thanks, everyone!

We're Back!

This summer has been a whirlwind, with joyous highs and crushing lows.  We have come through stronger and optimistic, and now we are trying to get into a routine and move on to new challenges.  Many of you know that at the end of June, we were once again faced with the daunting task of finding a new job for Dave.  Though he had been very valuable at LHS, there simply was not a position for him.  So, we were back where we were a year ago, with no job and no options on the horizon.  Things were tough for a few months as we looked at every option.  We wanted to make sure, though, that the kids had a great summer and that they didn't suffer the stress that we were facing.  We have some great pictures and wonderful memories of experiences with the kids this summer, and I need to get started on posting them here.  We were so busy balancing fun with the kids and looking for work that blogging wasn't really on the agenda.  I didn't want to be sitting at the computer while the kids were outside having fun!

There have been big changes around here.  Dave is now happy to be working at North Shore Regional Vocational Technical School.  So far, he like is very much and is meeting some great people.  Mairead will be in her third week of Kindergarten this week and seems to be very happy, though 6.5 hours a day for 5 days a week is exhausting!  The boys are back to school, too, and are happy to be in Miss Joanne's class two mornings each week.  I am still working for the University of Phoenix, and I pick up some hours of online tutoring, too. 

We have no more diapers and no more pacifiers around here and the kids are growing and learning every day.  We are so proud of them and so happy that we can look toward a fun and successful school year!

Stay tuned for pictures of summer highlights including Jen and Mike's wedding!  Thanks for waiting!

Hoffman's Playland

On our last full day in NY, we went to visit Dave's grandmother, whom the kids call, "Mim."  Mim's house is pretty cool in that it has a neat carport, a tennis court, and is located next door to lots of cousins!  We were lucky enough to see a few of the kids' cousins when we stopped by.  Jacob and Reilly came by with their mom and dad (Andree and Mike), and then Noah and Eli just drove on over in their jeep, followed by their mom (Michelle).  So, we had Mairead plus six Hickok boys!  It was nice to spend a little time with them- thanks, everyone, for stopping by!

We then headed to Hoffman's Playland, which is an amusement park that is perfect for kids their age.  The boys were so excited to hop into this red Mustang...

Until it started moving and all hell broke loose.  They were NOT happy. 

Ben, surprisingly, readily agreed to fly in the helicopters as long as I went with him.  He loved it and we had to ride them three times!

Mairead loved every ride.  She has loved every ride she has ever been on- she's an adrenaline junkie, I guess!  The faster and higher, the better.  She dragged Dave onto every ride that they had... even the Scrambler.  That turned out to be a very messy mistake.  But, as soon as I got her calmed down and cleaned of vomit, she turned to me and said, "Now we can go on more rides?"

Rachael and her parents were visiting family in Nebraska during much of our visit, but we did get to see them one evening.  The kids were psyched to see their big cousin... it just doesn't look it in this picture because all four of them were so exhausted from their vacations!

Grandma and Grandpa's House

In early July, we made our annual summer trip to visit our NY family.  The kids did really well in the car and it was a pretty smooth trip for a family with three kids under five.  They were so excited to get to Grandma's house and Mairead even started the, "Are we there yet?" just about half way through the trip.

When we arrived, they were excited to find that Grandma had a job for them- frosting cup cakes!  Most of the frosting ended up being eaten, but they had fun putting just a little on the cupcakes.

We really had a lot of fun.  This was probably our best visit with the kids because they slept well, ate better, were not homesick, and found lots of things to do.  Grandma helped with that part by giving the kids projects and some fun gifts.  They loved the books that Grandma gave and read to them.

We went to two different playgrounds during our visit.  The first one was very secluded and quiet and even included a pond full of fish.  Grandma packed us a picnic lunch and we spent a fun few hours there.

I think this was the first time they had ever seen a merry go round at a playground.  What ever happened to those?  I haven't seen one in forever!  Anyway, a first grade girl (who proclaimed herself to be the strongest girl in first grade) obliged Mairead by giving her constant rides.  After the little girl left, the boys teamed up to spin their sister.  Finally, Jack was left alone with the task and actually did pretty well giving Mairead and Ben a turn!

I posted pictures of s'mores in the 4th of July post, but I had to included them again because the kids had so much fun toasting marshmallows with Grandpa.

Of course, we had to visit Jumpin' Jacks, which is a very popular and very cool ice cream stand.  We never miss a chance to eat ice cream!  The kids loved it there and for the rest of our visit, kept asking me to tell them a story about when the superheroes went to Jumpin' Jacks with Grandma.

Mairead was a big help in the kitchen and had the responsibility of stirring her favorite dish- Kraft macaroni and cheese.

She also LOVED her time swimming with Grandma.  This little man-made pond is perfect for her since she can touch the bottom and swim across with no problem at all.

When it was time to head home, they were all exhausted.  They did well for the ride home, though I wish they had napped a bit!  Thanks to all of our NY family for a great visit.  The kids really enjoyed themselves!  I do have a few pictures from our visit to Hoffman's Playland, and I will post those next!