New TV!!

We purchased our big screen from Office Depot a couple years ago because they had an awesome deal. With a bit of research (and pre-little kiddo's) we decided that because we weren't huge gamers, (although it would be used to play the occasional WII game) we purchased the TV that lived by hours. Once we were blessed with TWO little ones, the television was used A LOT more than what we anticipated. Who knew that the hours would be used up so quickly?!

Then it happened. POOF the screen went black. We "heard" the movie but could not see a thing. Greg, being the awesome "Mr. Fixit" of the family, tried to see if he could possibly jiggle a few wires and leave it off for a few days and then it would come back. I mean, it worked a couple times like that before when we had the blatant HINT the TV was about to give up the ghost. We just let it rest. This time, it was a no go.

So, here is the replacement! We are SO SO grateful to have this! ;)

Gabe @ Maaco

Gabe likes visiting Daddy at work!

Cabellas Visit

To start the day, we first attended church and Gabe was NOT happy about being in the nursery(STILL *sigh*). So Greg went to get him. I don't know if Gabe was giving this look because he was processing the "abandonment and rescue" but once he discovered daddy's buttons he was ok. :)

Fat cheeks!! I love fat cheeks!! :)~
A couple times a year we like to take all the kids to Cabellas or Bass Pro Shop to watch the big fish and meander through the animal exhibits. All the kiddos enjoy watching the fish because they are so HUGE!

Time to Catch UP... again.

Wow, amazingly I just can't seem to keep up with everything like super woman. Sometimes, things just get left behind. It's been a very busy summer/couple of months/life...

Brandy love to read to Kien. Here she is actually showing him her year book and he is pointing out where Brandy is in the Horn Section photo.

Duke is always ready for a pose.

Gabe as you can see has been walking along furniture and toys for a while. I really think the "door" to this gate has been a huge step in aiding him to walking. He will grab the door and just "swing" with it. Sometimes it even looks as if he is trying to run!

Oops! Sometimes he falls.

Cute.

Loves to climb...

Gabe is finding many new things in his new room, including Kien's bed. Gabe has learned -without fall- how to get up and off the bed with no problems! WOW! I hope MANY things come that easy for him! :) Kien has also taught him how to jump on the bed!! lol

Beddy Bye Time...

As you have gathered, Gabe slept in our room for many months now. However, I have realized, it was time. Yes, it was time for him to try his new bed in his new room. Here is a photo of Gabe in the crib ready for his first night!

Kien was actually excited about his brother sharing a room with him.

The night was a success, although Gabe still wakes through the night for a bottle.

Kien Leading Duke

Gabe all by himself!!

So Greg has put Gabe on the car to let him sit, while standing very near by in case Gabe toppled over. Gabe figured out how to get on ALL BY HIMSELF!!! What a big boy!

Brandy Band uniform fitting

Brandy is going on her 3rd year of Marching Band. Each year they have to resize each of the students for their uniform. She has definitely grown since last year and her uniform pants were too short! I offered to un stitch them so the lady could keep the line moving. So one other student was able to get re-sized for their uniform. Very proud of Miss Brandy and her passion for Marching. :)

Post office visit

I typically let Brandy stay in the car to watch the kids or bring my double stroller when venturing off to run errands. Because I knew that I was going to be in the post office for possibly quite some time, I decided to bring them in the wagon. Of course, the events of the day were to start off with Starbucks, Post Office, Marina and then Sonic.

Here is Jeremy strapping Kien in. He is such a great help!

Gabe is being occupied by a little story book. He could care less where we are, all he and Kien know is that they are going for a fun wagon ride! :)

Kien was being especially cute in the post office, and was winning the ooh's and ahh's of "he's so cute" as he always does.
The post office workers encourage people to use the automated lines instead of waiting in long lines in the main office. So, I had 4 small boxes and a couple letters to send out. We should have went into the main area, because I caused a huge line since it was my FIRST time using this system. It didn't help the line at all since there were FIVE of us (with 2 in a large wagon). LOL! I think the amazement -and gawking stares- from other people was enough to keep them occupied while I completed my transaction.

More on the dirt project!

We picked a fine time to work on this project considering we went from a harsh winter straight to a hot summer! The forecast called for rain in 3 days of getting the dirt. In our mind's eye, we could see it being done with the four of us working together. In reality, that didn't happen. Ha!

This looks easy, but really, it is far from the very word.
So here we had to put a tarp over the top of the mound for when the rain was to come. Yes, we did get a little bit of rain but nothing as the weather man predicted. Within a day the wet ground was no longer and back to work we went.

This photo is a month from when we first put the dirt down. We thought we were going to have to seed, but from the looks of it we may not have to put as much down as we thought. Looks A LOT better!

Hotel Stay

We left Friday from Omaha to head over to York, Nebraska to stay in a hotel and spend some family time together. We haven't been to Omaha in a couple of years and it was such a blessing to be able to hang out with my parents, my brother and my sister with her family.

We decided to stay in York even though our destination was in Grand Island because there was a huge Fireman training event going on in Grand Island and the hotels were full.

We of course HAD to get to the pool ASAP! Jeremy is just chillin.

Papa and Kien took to the pool first. Kien LOVED playing with Papa in the water.
Kien wanted to jump to Papa! I am SO glad that Kien loves the water. Papa was so careful with him too!

They played in the water so much that Kien got a tad bit cold. So, we let him put his feet in the hot tub (which really wasn't very hot at all) to warm a bit. That didn't do the trick so I took him back to the room, gave him a luke warm bath and then snuggled with him under the comforters until his lips returned to normal color and he wasn't shaking anymore. Poor lil guy did NOT want to get out of the water, but we had no choice.
Gabe on the other hand didn't like the water so much and Brandy only cares for competitive swimming, but she was ok once Brianna got there!
It was a huge hit for everyone but Gabe. Jacob, my nephew also couldn't get into the water because he had a boo boo on his forehead that was pretty serious. You will be able to view that booboo in the next post.

Happy Birthday Papa!

Papa needed presents for his birthday! We had a yummy BBQ dinner and then uncle Bryan came! We brought him a sign for his garage, but because it was "Husker" designed, he put it in his Husker room! :)

Kien had to help open his presents!
Gabe liked moving the chair forward and backwards.
Jeremy had to ride on papa's neck after Kien! I think he's getting a bit to heavy now. LOL~

Gabe doesn't like to go to other people. He is pretty content with Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa Walsh and now our neighbor Barry. But, Papa was able to capture a few moments with a happy Gabe before he wanted mommy back. :) :)

Jeremy's Spring Concert

May 18th, my mom was flying down to Fort Worth to drive back to Omaha with us so I could have some help with the little ones. It was going to be an estimated 12-15 hour drive depending on how many times we had to stop.

Jeremy also had a spring concert that night. So, I had to strategically plan to get Jeremy to his concert and pick my mom up from the air port 45 minutes into the concert. I gave Brandy the quick 101 on how to record on the video camera so that I could view the concert later. She was able to get the video! Of course, I will have that uploaded sometime in the near future.
Greg went to the concert as soon as he was able to leave work while the two little boys and I went to the airport. By the time I picked my mom up and returned, Greg and the 2 oldest kids were ready to go get dinner! Every concert there is a dinner of the "musician's choice" and Jeremy chose to eat at a Which Wich, a YUMMY deli style restaurant.

Here is the photo of Jeremy's award!!! Last year he received best Solo performance. We are SO very proud of him!!

Gabe Asleep in a Swing!

Sometimes when I have to work on cleaning, showering or sorting laundry and Gabe does not want me to leave his sight, I will put him in his bouncy swing. Since I can only use the swing in the doorways -due to that the swing only grips the frame- I will put him in our bathroom area for him to play in my presence. On this particular day I was preparing for our Nebraska trip and Gabe fell asleep in the swing! Definitely photo worthy!!