Ending April

Well, today, Chadders had his 1st haircut! He is so stinkin' cute! Unfortunatly he didn't do as good as his Daddy did for his 1st haircut. Accoriding to Gma Force, Daddy just sat there like a good boy. Chadders, not so much. Everytime she toched him he whined. And he had to sit on Mommy's lap. And every chance he got, he would give her a dirty look. Luckily, Marilyn(the barber) was still so sweet and kept trying to make it better. She got it all trimmed up nicely. Not much to save though.
We also got to play outside for an hour or so before it started raining. Chadders and Daddy rode on the 4 wheeler on the back lot for a bit. And then Chadders rode his little 4 wheeler for a while. All in all, it was a great day. Tomorrow is 3 weeks until we fly to California! Woo hoo!

Date night!

Chad and I finally had another date night! Aunt Susie picked Chadders up in Peoria and took him to my cousin, Shannon's, house to play with Jack and Frank. They had a great time! Then off to Decatur for Saturday night.
As for Chad and I, we did yard work in the morning. Which doesn't sound that great, but it's hard to do with a 19 month old. Chad tilled the garden and I mowed the yard. In the process, the mower got a flat tire, and so I ALMOST put it in the ditch again. Then we went into town and Chad spent a few hours at the auto show(voluntered for work). And I painted some pottery. Then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Yum! And to a movie. We watched Green Zone. It was good, but not what I thought I was going into. I guess I thought it would be more like the Bourne Idenity(seeing as Matt Damon was in it) and not about politics and war. Not bad, just not date night material. And then we were going to get Cold Stone, but we were both still stuffed and it was 10pm. And baby free or not, we are still getting old. Ha ha!
Sunday morning(today) we met a couple of our good friends, Korrey and Laura(and their 3 kids) for breakfast. After that we headed over to Bloomington to meet Aunt Susie and Chadders for lunch!
When we got home we spent the afternoon playing in the yard. Chad tilled the garden again and Chadders and I picked thistles our of the yard and road the 4 wheeler. Chadders had so much fun! We stayed in the back yard, but still had fun. Daddy is going to have to make the trails on the back lot again this year. And to top of the evening I made Amish Friendship Bread muffins. But, I made it with soy milk instead of cow's milk, and bananas instead of eggs. It turned out great! Now Chadders can eat it! I had to make my own starter, since the ones that are passed around are always made with cow's milk. We all had a great weekend!

Easter

Well, Chadders had his 2nd Easter! He spent the night before at Gma and Gpa Force's house since Mommy and Daddy both had to work Saturday. He got lots of neat stuff in his Easter baskets. Movies, bubbles, gardening stuff, a kite, books, cars, blocks, and clothes. He got very little candy(seeing as he can't tolorate it). But, he had a ball. Gma and Gpa have pictures, I didn't get any on my phone. :( and then he ran around in the nursery at Church until his cheeks were bright red. We didn't color eggs this year. Maybe next year. I worry about him trying to eat them, which wouldn't be good since he is allergic to them. Maybe next year he will understand that.

This weekend Chadders will stay the night with Aunt Susie so Mommy and Daddy can have a date night. We went to a movie in Decatur in November. And before that, our last date night was 14 months ago. Ha! Time flies and we get so busy. Hopefully, dinner, a movie, and lots of yard work(welcome spring!) and sleeping in. Then breakfast with some friends. Hopefully we will get some pictures of our garden this year. :)
Oh yeah, and we got a new stove! Woo hoo! Its a black GE gas range! And it works great! How I love to cook and bake!

3 years...

So, 3 years ago this week(Thursday more specifically) a lot changed. First and foremost, our great friend Jake Pearly was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was 2 months from turning 21. Too fast to live, too young to die. Thursday was also the day(having nothing to do with the first topic) that Chad and I decided to move back to Illinois. We had been flirting with the idea for a week or so since Chad had been offered a job in Pekin, IL. We always knew that someday we would move back, and the opportunity presented itself. Well, technically, my cousin Shannon and her husband Ryan, called us when they saw the wanted add in the Springfield paper. So, we went into work the next day and gave a 3 week notice. We packed while going to services and such for Jake and left Cali on April 1st.
A lot has changed in the past 3 years, as we figured out that the owners of the dealership in Pekin sucked, and we hung in there anyway. And now new (wonderful) ownership has taken over and Chad got a raise and way better medical benifits. We also purchased our 1st home (well, the bank purchased it and allows us to live here until 2038 (choking!)when it is paid off) ha ha. We also had our first child(note all of the pictures of his cute butt). Not to mention all of the family things we have been able to be at. As well as the great friends we have made. All in all, the past 3 years have been a good 3 years. Hard at times and great at others(but, that's life!)
So there is a short recap. :)

Spring...is that you?!

After months and months of cold, spring might be near. Flowers are starting to pop out of the ground, and it is wonderful! We even had a nice day at the park. Here are a few pictures from the park. Chadders had a blast(minus falling backward off a slide).

Another year...

Today is 4 years since my Mom went home to be with God. I miss her everyday! For those of you who have lost a parent, you know the loss. For those of you who haven't, as much as I hope you never do; I believe even stronger that a parent should never have to burry a child. I must say that I thank God all of the time for the strength he gives me. I also thank him for my wonderful support group of friends and family. In memory of my Mom, I would like to share a few of my favorite memories. Sorry, no pics, as I don't have a scanner hooked up to my phone.
I loved the trip to Florida, just Mom and myself. Of all the trips we took(my Gma and Gpa lived there-so we went about 3 times a year) this one was so much fun. Erica wanted to stay at home because she had her 1st job and couldn't get time off(I am pretty sure she had a party or two planned for while we were gone-the house was clean when we got home though!). We spent a week or so at clearwater beach, FL right on the beach. We swam, tanned, shopped, and ate. We just relaxed the whole time! I was 15 at the time. I kept telling Mom that we needed to do something fun, like rent skis or something. But, Mom was scared of those things, so she told me to pick something else. On a random thought (and because I just KNEW she would say no) I said, "we should go get my belly button pierced!" And as I waited for her to say no! I looked up and she had this look on her face like she was actually considering it! So, of course I started in with all of the reason why I should. Mind you, a week or so before I had asked when we were still at home, and of course I got the whole "not as long as you live under my roof" speech. She actually said yes! I had to use my school I'd because you were supposed to be 17, even with a parents signature, and MAC had screwed up the I'd's that year, so mine said 17. My Mom was so carefree that week and so relaxed. We got to spend so much time just talking and really enjoying time together! I never really appreciated that time together as much as I do now.
I also remember my Mom waking Erica and I up early, just to have coffee with her. She did this quite a bit, and we enjoyed it so much. All 3 of sitting around in our PJs chit chatting and drinking coffee. That woman could drink pots of coffee all day and still sleep at night. I guess this is why we were all best friends and so close! What I wouldn't give to have her wake us up for coffee now.
I am so thankful to have a ton more memories of her, and maybe if I keep this thing going, I can continue to share them with you.
I love and miss you Mom, more than words can say.
RIP Joyce Eileen Fry
8/7/51 - 3/4/06

Another week

Chadders missed a night of swim class since he is sick. He is starting to feel better, so we took him tonight. Daddy isn't feeling too hot, though, so he skipped class. So, he got to take pictures! But, we forgot a good camera, so, still photos from the phone.
They are calling for temps in the 50's this weekend! Yay! Hopefully we will all get outside for a little bit.
Also, a couple other pics. Chadders chewing on the baby gate! Ha!