Coming to terms

I have been back in Buffalo for about a week and a half and I have been going through withdrawals. When we were in Utah my life was so easy, it was hard to come back to all my responsibilities. I no longer have people willing to help out with diapers, feeding the kids, watching the kids, making meals, and grocery shopping.

I once again am responsible for cleaning everything in this house (from dishes and toilets to clothes and children), making all the meals, doing all the shopping and taking a daily nap(tough I know). This week I took the kids to the park and got to see lots of my friends I had missed and enjoy amazing weather (Buffalo weather is pretty humid and pretty cold so good weather is pretty hard to come by). I sat at the park for 4 hours just letting the kids play and I finally came to terms with my responsibilities. My family is finally back on a normal schedule and I am glad to be back in Buffalo.

On a much lighter note here is my cute 8 month old modeling last nights dinner and her first 2 teeth.

A little too gross for me

Our favorite grocery store had an unbelievable sale on live lobster Friday so Anthony had to buy one. I know this makes no sense at all, but I think it is a little gross to bring something home that is alive then eat it. I do realize the beef, chicken, fish and pork I eat on a regular basis was part of an alive animal at one point, but I feel less guilty that I didn't participate in the killing. Anyways Anthony loved his lobster.

Being in a big boy bed Parker often abuses his freedom and gets out of bed and plays with his toys after we put him to bed. The night we got back from Utah, when I went to check on Parker before I went to bed, I found every one of his favorite toys in bed with him.

One last trip

Before coming home we spent the last weekend with my family

We went to the zoo

We went camping and did lots of fun stuff while there one of our favorite things was paddle boating

You can't tell but Kenzie is asleep, the life jacket was so big she was stuck in a sitting position.

One last visit

Before we left we got to see my Grandma and Grandpa one last time, they are the most amazing grandparents. I miss them.

Hang out with my family

Get spoiled by Grandma one last time

Parker got to play with his cousins

It might seem like me and my family don't get along because we all live in a different state, but so far we are all able to get together at least once a year. We had lots of fun. C-ya next year.

The good, the bad, the ugly

We have been on vacation for a very long time and a lot of things have changed since we left.

The good:
McKenzie can now crawl, sit and is on her way to eating steak because she has a tooth.
Parker is a lot more clear when he speaks. Now other people besides me and Anthony can understand him.
We got to see all our friends and family we missed.
Since we have come home the kids are still on Utah time so they sleep in until 8:00a.m.

The bad:
Anthony's family dog of about 15 years died
Kenzie stopped breastfeeding.
I didn't get to go boating.

The ugly:
While McKenzie was teething she would randomly pick nights where she would wake-up every 2 hours screaming(despite the pain meds we gave her).
Parker absolutely 100% refuses to use the potty so we are back to diapers.
I developed a horrible illness of which will rename nameless and will never be talked about again. Thanks mom and Juli for going on the late night run for medicine.

Thanksgiving Point and a Birthday Party

Last week we went to Thanksgiving Point with Anthony's family. It is a cute place with lots of stuff to do.







Anthony and his sister Annamarie with Parker and Jaron in the background








We survived an encounter with a shark









Hey









Parker sitting on a dinosaur









Jayden, Parker, Anthony and Melinda playing in the water









Parker with his aunt Melinda and uncle Adam








Digging up some dinosaur bones








Happy Birthday Jaron.










Here is Kenzie happy as usual just to be on the floor.

Fishing

Parker went fishing with dad, grandpa and his cousin Jayden Saturday. This is the only picture Anthony took. I have been wrong before, but I think it is safe to say Parker hated fishing.

Kenzie can crawl

I am a little shocked that this little girl can crawl already. I think she was determined to crawl before we left Utah so grandma and grandpa could see her new trick in real life. I have to agree with her, it is so much cuter in person the video doesn't capture the excitement.

Will work for food

We decided to spend almost all of Anthony's summer break in Utah because he had a job lined up. We figured we could do 2 in one: visit all our family and friends and Anthony could make money to pay the bills. Things changed a little and Anthony has actually been working for his parents instead. Anthony's parents have a big house on lots of land and have tons of projects that need to be done. Anthony's parents were nice enough to make a deal with Anthony. They hired Anthony to do all their projects, and in return they would pay for our groceries and for our activities. Anthony has done tons of stuff for his parents, but I kind of think we got the better end of the deal. I have had such a great summer and because of his parents been able to go to so many fun places.
Parker is in heaven because he has spent most of his days outside helping dad.