Our little trip to Tennessee!

Game room in our cabin. Part of it, the cabin was 3,500 sguare feet!!

Katie being silly, with Nicole.

Katie was so tired, she had literally just fallen asleep in the car. Sorry Katie we just had to get a picture with the Smoky Mountain sign, too bad the lady we had take the picture didn't get the sign on it.

Cassie in the master bedroom.

The wonderful hot tub on the 2,500 square foot of wraparound deck overlooking the mountains! Beautiful views to wake up to!!

Over Spring Break we decided to take a little Trip to Tennesee(five days). We stayed at a FABULOUS cabin near the Smoky Mountains. Katie was awesome for the car ride there(of course we had plenty of dvds along). We had lots of fun hiking in the mountains, going to this incredible aquarium and just relaxing at the cabin and enjoying family time. I even got to not one, but two Gymboree outlets, lol, one in Nashville TN in the huge Opry Mills mall and a Carter's outlet!!!! Katie really loved the "Hop Tub" at our cabin and so did we(we are seriously considering getting one soon!). It was a wonderful, enjoyable trip for all of us!!!! With the exception of Mike's panic attack on the way, lol, I had totally forgot about that when writing this! Well a quick trip to Bronson Hospital and we were back on our way again!!!!!! And also on the way home we had to stop and wait out a Tornado at a gas station in TN. Good thing there was lots of candy and some Dora dvds for sale there ;)!!

Katie's Big Girl Bed!

A few weeks ago after dealing with Katie constantly climbing in and out of her crib and destroying her room at naptime, we decided it was time for Katie to graduate to a big girl bed. We had tried several months ago to switch Katie from crib to toddler bed, but she wasn't ready yet, she wouldn't sleep and would run to the door crying after us. We probably gave up to easily, but we were tired and she looked so cramped in the toddler bed, she liked to curl up in a corner and looked so uncomfortable and the bed seemed so tiny! I know it is the same size as a crib, but it just seemed silly. I don't know why, Nicole and Cass both transitioned seamlessly into toddler beds at eighteen months old each and I didn't have a problem then, but anyways we just decided to put her crib back up and return the toddler bed and it worked, she slept like a charm for many months, up until a few weeks ago. So we had both agreed when she was ready we would go straight to a twin bed. We spent the day bed shopping all day and I being impatient and overly anxious, did not want to wait for a bed to be delievered or to come from the wharehouse, so we actually went a "cheap" route and bought a mattress set, frame and headboard at Talsmas. They stayed open a little later for us to come back, minus Katie and pick it up. While this is not the pretty bed of my dreams for little Katie, it will do for now, until we buy a bedroom set. She had dark cherry wood furniture so it totally doesn't match, it is white, but that ok, it is temporary. Being impatient I had to pick up some cute quilts and bedding at Target. So the Pottery Barn stuff will come later. Hey, it gives me time to wait for the perfect bedding and a sale! I snapped a few pictures of her room prior to putting her new bed together with the crib still ( Katie had made quit a mess, so it's not quite as cutesy as I had it before, she took alot of her things out and threw them all over etc). I am going to continue this post later and take pictures with the bed(she is actually napping right now) . For now here is the old crib.

Finally! I have posted pictures of Katie's new bed. Everyday is a challenge, Katie moves bookcases(how can a 26 lb two year old do this???), removes everybook and bookjacket, every toy from every bin, every stuffed animal, ALL the clothes out of her drawers etc!! I have found her stuck in shelves a few times. She is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are trying really hard to have her pick up her toys with our help and we have removed the bookcase from her room. She is definately the most wild and destructive one out of our three!!!!!!! We love her to pieces but the messes are something else!!! So if the room doesn't look all fancy pants like out of a catalog, it is because I am too tired to clean it more!!!!! It used to look neater I swear!!!!!!!!!!

The Enchanted Forest

A few weeks ago Katie started going to The Enchanted Forest Playgroup on Fridays. Rachel goes there too, my friend Heather had encouraged me to have Katie join and I am so happy she did! Katie just loves it! We had known about it since Nicole and Cass were little, but I had totally forgotten about it, until Heather reminded me by telling me how much fun Rachel had here. Katie had visited here a few times and seemed to really enjoy it, so I signed her up.These ladies are incredible! I don't know how they do it, but Katie is so good there and listens really well(unlike at home, lol). It really is a magical place! Katie had fun making a Robin today. She loves Miss Bonnie! Afterwards Katie likes to throw coins into the little fountain.

Cupcake Face or the Shrek Beard.

Our Awesome neighbor and friend Heather shared some of her equally awesome hubby's Birthday cupcakes with us a couple days ago and last night Katie got ahold of the last cupcake on the counter with her ever so handy Baby Bjorn step stool and here are the results! LOL!!

Costumes and cuteness!

These are just a few random pics. Nicole in her orchestra concert Tuxedo(the bottom is actually a long skirt) and Cassie dressed up as her favorite storybook character for school, Amu from Shugo Chara (these are Japanese Manga books that Cass loves!) and Katie chilling out on the porch.Oh, and a shot of Katie in her 3D SuperBowl glasses.

Valentine's Day Party!

This year is Cassie's very last Valentine's party ever. This fall she moves on to middle school. Gone will be the days of passing out cute valentines to classmates and friends and having a fun little class party. I am a little worried about Cass going to middle school, academically she is more than ready, but maturity wise, I don't think so. Cass loves to play still, she is a kid! She loves her class and recess time and her friends.She loves to play Littlest Pet Shops and American Girl dolls. When the Endeavor kids move unto middle school, they will be split between Crestwood and Pinewood and alot of Cassie's friends are going to Crestwood, so she is going to miss them alot and it may be really hard on her. Also she doesn't like switching classes and at middle school that is all you do, plus no recess ): I think kids grow up too fast these days and not all kids are ready for that.

My Three Birthdays!

Cassie loves all things Japanese!

I think the girls had some sort of squabble over

who was going to light the candles.

This year Cassie got to celebrate her Birthday three times! Once with Grandpa and Grandma ( they were leaving for Arizona for a month, so they wanted to celebrate with Cass early). Next she had a Sleepover party with four of her best friends on the weekend and lastly on her actual Birthday we had to have her favorite meal (Russ' Mac n' cheese, lol!) and then more cake!!!!!!!

Ok, I must tell you, I am not very good at this blogging thing! I don't know how people find the time really! I am usually crazy busy with three kids and any time I actually get a break, I don't really feel like blogging. Katie was crabby as heck when I was trying to do this. It is nuts going through my 1,000's of pictures ( no I am not exaggerating!) and then trying to pick a few from tiny thumbnails one at a time, losing your place and having to start all over again for each picture and then thinking I uploaded 15 pictures and only five got on there and then I have to go back and try to figure out which pictures I originally had etc. There really has got to be a better way to do this! I bet there is too, but I just don't know it! And I still don't know how to type lines under photos and I always get the pictures to come out in the wrong order! Oh, well that's my crazy blog!!!!

Cassie had alot of fun that week and we ate alot of cake!!!!! Yippee!! I sorta figured out the typing under pictures thing!!! WOO HOO!!!!!! I feel so smart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!