I Have a New Blog!!

After today, this blog will no longer be updated. Why?

I HAVE A NEW BLOG!!!

Go to fritschle.us and enjoy the new site. There are more details on the new blog.
If you have my blog on your blog list, please update to the new address. Thanks!

Cutie Pies

I really like Thursdays. I only work from 5 to 9 so I get to be home all day. Today we met the Huber family at McDonalds for lunch. After all the kids eat, we let them go out to the playland and run off all their energy. Mason and Hope have such a good time climbing in the tunnels and going down the slides. Avery and Alden are content to just run around on the floor and Mommy and Joy have fun visiting. It is always fun to meet them for lunch.

Avery likes to take Mason's hat off of the hooks by the front door. She sneaks her hand down there and slides his hat through the banister. She's such a little stinker.

Mason was reading to her this morning.

Hanging out after naptime. I can't believe how much this kid loves stuffed animals. Just when I think she has a favorite, she starts carrying around something else. Her little puppy always has to go to bed with her but this rabbit has been with her all day today. She is such a cuddler.

By the way Papaw Fritschle~Mason wants to ride the mower. He's been asking me all day today if you're mowing....

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather

We have been outside enjoying the beautiful weather the last few days. We've really been using the improved deck area.

Dustin built a new gate to help corral the kids. Mason has already figured out how to open both latches. Yep, that's right. Dustin put 2 latches on the gate and Mason had them both figured out in about 5 minutes.

We've still got some painting to do on the deck but then it will be done. Mommy and Daddy are both off for 3 days this coming weekend. Unfortunately, Daddy is tied up Friday and Saturday with the WSSC BBQ cook-off. We are hoping to take Mason to the Demolition Derby on Saturday night at the Vanderburgh County Fair. However, for some weird reason, you pay an admission to get into the fair but you don't have to buy tickets for the events. So, seats at the demo derby are first come, first served. From what we hear, we'll need to be at the fairgrounds by 5 to get good seats for the derby. We're not sure how this is going to work out since Dustin has to be at the club all day. I also have to try to find a sitter for Avery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will work out. Mason is pretty excited about watching cars crash.

A Day at the Zoo

We went to the zoo today with the Davis'. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out. Avery woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She was really fussy and whiny this morning but we attempted the zoo anyway. You might be able to tell from this picture that she's not too happy. This was the first stop inside of Amazonia, the new addition to the zoo. It is really nice.

Mason really liked these birds. Of course, I have no idea what they are. :)

We spent quite a bit of time around the giraffes. They are the only animals that really come close to you. This one was very hungry today.

After the giraffes, we stopped at this picnic table for our lunch. The boys enjoyed looking out over the water.

This was probably the highlight of Mason's day. It was scorching hot and the fountains were calling the boys. They had so much fun running through and around the water. Thankfully Erin told me to bring a change of clothes for the kids. Avery, however, fell asleep right before the fountains. She would have loved them. Oh well, she needed the nap much more than she needed to play in the water!

We ran into a few people we hadn't seen for awhile. We got to see Hope and Alden, who were there with their Nana and cousins, and we saw Joelle and one of her kids. It was nice to see you guys!

Deck Progress and Airplane Rides

Over the last couple of weeks, Dustin has been busy painting the deck and getting it ready for indoor/outdoor carpet. It makes a huge difference in how the deck looks and it's really nice for the kids to play on. Mason loves to take his Legos out there to build.

Both kids love airplane rides. I took these pictures tonight because they were laughing and having such a great time.

We're heading to the zoo tomorrow, so more pictures to come.

...and girl

Poor kids! Avery woke up with a real fever this morning. She sounds really raspy and has the same barking cough that Mason has. Of course, it's Wednesday and our doctor is out of the office on Wednesdays. Wouldn't you also know that the normal on call doctor had a baby and is also out of the office. So, some doctor that has no idea who we are decided to just treat Avery for strep. Apparently he's too busy to actually see her. Oh well, dragging two sick kids to a doctor's office that is packed doesn't sound like fun anyway.
Mason acts like he feels better but still has a fever and sore throat. Looks like we will be enjoying more popsicles today...

Sick Boy...

Mason is still not feeling well. It has been a rough couple of days. He hasn't been sleeping well at night so he's extra tired and whiny during the day. I'm hoping that he's on his way to recovery.

He keeps complaining that his throat hurts so I gave him popsicles today.

Avery is doing okay. She is running a low grade fever but I don't know if she's getting sick or just teething. I'm really hoping that she is just teething. She is acting pretty normal. She drank a lot today though so I'm hoping that her throat isn't hurting.
This old Johne Deere is her favorite. She loves to push it around the house.

A Busy Weekend

We have had a busy weekend! Friday evening Papaw Sanders and Braeden came down to visit. We played in the backyard all evening and then had pizza. The kids had such a good time playing with them. Mason had an especially good time with Braeden. It was a great evening.

We got up early Saturday morning and met Mamaw and Papaw in Keensburg, IL at Timberlake Furniture. We had been looking for a new dining table and Papaw thought we should look there. I had been told how huge the place is but let me tell you, until you walk into it, you can't even imagine how much stuff they have! It was a bit overwhelming at first but lucky for us, Papaw had scoped out their inventory the day before and helped us narrow it down! This is the set he thought we would like and he was right! We loved it. It is so much bigger and nicer than our other table. We absolutely love it!

Mamaw and I went shopping and we got back, the guys had switched the entertainment centers! It looks really nice upstairs. The best part?? I didn't even have to ask!

Saturday afternoon, Mamaw was hugging Mason and thought he felt warm. I took his temp and it was 101. Later last night, it went up to 102. He also had a horrible cough and said his throat hurt. I took him to Urgent Care this morning. After waiting for 3 hours, he was finally diagnosed with strep throat. He was so good at MEC. I can't believe how well he behaved for 3 hours while being bored and sick.
We had a great weekend. Thanks everyone for coming to visit us!

Birthday Cake

My wonderful kids made me a birthday cake....

...it was yummy.

Notice it was pink. Mason insisted it be pink.

Avery's Stats

Avery had her 15 month well baby visit today. She is exactly 20 pounds. I did not see her height measurement, but she is in the 11th percentile. She is in the 10th percentile for weight. Still a small girl, that's for sure. She was terrified of the doctor and his nurse. When the nurse took her to the scale, she screamed "Mama" the entire time. Our doctor is very pleased with her development and language use so far. Yeah, Avery.

Mason got new parts for his Lego Thomas set for his birthday. Although Daddy and Mason have played with them several times, I just now got around to taking pictures.

Mason really "cheesed" it up for this shot!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Mason!

We celebrated Mason's birthday a little early on Saturday. Mason's mamaw made his cake and it was super cute and yummy. As you can see, it was a John Deere theme.

Don't worry, Avery; Mason says he won't trade you....yet! :)

He was pretty excited to finally get a firetruck like his cousin Luke. He's been wanting one since Christmas!

Mason also got a John Deere combine, lawn mower and semi truck, books, t-ball set, Thomas the Train Lego sets, leaf blower and tools. He is going to be a busy boy playing with all those new toys!! Pictures coming soon. Mommy and Daddy got Mason a bike. He tried it out a little bit tonight but wasn't too sure about the pedaling yet. He kept wanting to brake instead of pedal forwards. We'll keep practicing...

Thanks to everyone for all the presents and birthday wishes! It's hard to believe he's 3!! Don't worry, I gave him 3 spankings and a "pinch" to grow on.

Bike Trailer

So I know it's early, but the kids and I got Daddy a bike trailer for Father's Day. I knew he wanted one last year so I wanted him to have it early so we could be using it. I'm so glad I got it; the weather has been perfect for riding! The kids didn't know what to think at first, but have enjoyed it so far. Wednesday, we rode around the neighborhood. Yesterday, we rode 6 miles round trip to the WSSC. Tonight, we rode to the elementary school close to our house to let the kids play and around the neighborhood. (We also got asked to leave a retirement community that we were riding around in, but that's another story.)

We're having a lot of fun so far.

Fun with Kami

Kami is the daughter of a friend of mine from work. I got to babysit Kami a couple of weeks ago while her mom worked. Mason and Avery had such a good time playing with her. She is almost 9 months old and such a cutie!

She had only been here about 10 minutes before Mason brought out a John Deere for her to play with.

The farm was their favorite.

Mason was just being silly here. He's so much fun!

Landscaping Update

We placed edging around the landscaping on Mother's Day (thanks Papaw!) then added more mulch. It makes it look much more "done" and is easier to mow around. That's what Dustin says anyway! :)

The mailbox looks much better with edging and mulch around the clematis. These pictures were taken last week so I've been working with the clematis the last few days to try to make it lean less to the left. It has gotten a little better. I need to put some annuals in to fill up some of the space too. Maybe this weekend...

Fun in the Chair

Mason and Avery love playing in the recliner. This morning, I came into the living room and Mason and Avery were sitting in the chair. Mason must have helped Avery up because I know she can't climb up there by herself (yet!).

Cheese!!

Uh Oh! Where's Mason??

Pictures

Outside Time

We spent Saturday working on our landscaping. We figured it was about time we did something since it had been empty for 4 years. So, we got up and went to Lowe's to get some plants and mulch. Avery and I headed to Wal-Mart to see what they had for plants and this is what we ended up with. Not too bad. I can't believe what a difference it makes in the appearance of our house. We should have done it a lot sooner! It was a beautiful day. Mason and Avery enjoyed spending the afternoon outside and cooperated surprisingly well. In the first picture, the box that appears empty actually has a rose bush. It was huge last year but it's really old and hadn't been cut back in a long time. So, Dustin cut it back earlier this spring and we're hoping it bushes back out. Thanks to our neighbors for helping us! Amy helped us with the planting and placement and we borrowed our other neighbors little tiller to prepare the area. Thanks guys!!

At the beginning of spring, we bought a little finch feeder so the kids could watch the birds out of the upstairs window. Today we upgraded to the big daddy feeder. The little feeder kept getting lost as the tree filled out and you couldn't even see the birds. Mason is pretty excited about the new one. We should have no problems seeing them now!!