Midweek Randoms

*In the blink of an eye, it's been a week since I've posted.  Part of me blames it on time, another part blames it on lack of desire, and the last part of me is just plain lazy!  I mean keeping up with a 16 month old can be tough work...and when the weather is beautiful there are so many better things to do than sit inside blogging!

*Elyse had her 16 month screening today with our local PAT organization, and I'm happy to admit that she passed with flying colors and is even already doing some 18 month things.  Well, except for stacking blocks...apparently we need to work on that because instead of stacking 3 blocks she promptly knocks them down.  Yeah...momma fail.

*When she's in the mood, I can now ask Elyse if she'll come give momma a hug and a kiss and she promptly runs her little toosh over to me and plants a big snotty, slobbery, smacky, kiss on my face somewhere near my lips--followed by two precious arms reaching around my waist.  It might be the grossest thing to some people, but it melts my heart!

*Vacation to the Dominican Republic is less than a week away and I am SOOO excited!  My excitement may have the tiniest bit to do with the fact that I went swimsuit shopping last week and found 3 two-piece suits that I absolutely love!  Definitely makes this momma proud that her hard work has paid off!

*I have recently had a bit of adjustment in my role at work...still working 3 days a week, but now I'm basically my dad's super duper awesome assistant. I'm absolutely LOVING the new change.  A lot of what I do hasn't changed much, but where it has changed...it's changed A LOT!  I have never been one to be motivated by sales, and now I'm simply completing whatever tasks need to be done...which sounds crazy, but is so much more rewarding to me.

*The weather finally seems to have decided it wants to be warm pretty much all the time and I am LOVING it...and so is Elyse!  I can definitely see a few temper tantrums in our future when I tell her it's time to go inside for meals, or bedtime, or to go somewhere else, or maybe just because momma said so!  She starts screaming..."na na na na na na"...which is her version of NO!

*This last weekend was basically perfection for our family.  Dinner in on Friday, yardwork on Saturday afternoon, dinner out with friends on Saturday night, church on Sunday morning, time with family on Sunday afternoon, and small group on Sunday night.  We had some quality time with family, quality time with friends, and Hubby & I got to work in the yard together which we enjoy so much.  I think I could take a repeat of that weekend every week and never get tired of it (as long as I could rotate various family & friends in each week!)

*On top of our personal vacation, I'm also starting to plan family vacation in the fall to Destin!  I think both sets of grandparents are joining us this time and I couldn't be happier.  The beach truly is my  happy place!

Opening Day 2013~ Cardinals vs. Reds

This year Hubby & I decided to stop talking about it and actually purchase tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals home opener on Monday.  The game was at 3:15, so we decided we would simply drive up (3+ hours) in the morning...watch the game...and drive back the same night (3+ hours).  We waited until Monday morning to buy our tickets from StubHub and felt like we got a pretty great deal on some decent seats, 300-level, between home plate & first base.

While I finished getting ready, Hubby took Elyse to my parents' house and then we headed out.  The big highlight of the drive was when we came upon a semi-truck that had some ventilation on the side.  I immediately wondered if it was hauling some sort of animal, like turkeys or chickens, or cows.  Imagine my surprise as we become even with the truck and Hubby yells out, TIGERS!!!  Yes, there were at least 3 full-grown LARGE tigers pacing in front of the ventilation windows!  I was so shocked I didn't even have time to grab my camera--Hubby was going to slow down so I could snap a picture, but the truck exited before we got the chance.  HILARIOUS, to see tigers as we were driving down I-44.  There had been a circus in the area for the past several days, so we can only assume the tigers were en route to their next circus destination!

Anyway...Hubby & I had never been to Opening Day so we have dubbed ourselves "Opening Day Rookies."  Just a quick pointed for anyone who might even consider going to Opening Day in St. Louis.  Get there EARLY!!!  And by early, I don't mean 30 minutes, or an hour, or even 2 hours...I would probably recommend getting to the ballpark as EARLY as you possibly can!  And no matter what kind of tropical vacation you have coming up, that you might want to buy some new clothes for...do NOT stop to go shopping...just go straight to the ballpark.

Yeah...Rookie mistake.  Opening Day ceremonies started at 2:30, so silly us...we thought if we got to the ballpark around 2 that we would be fine.  Man we weren't thinking AT ALL.  It was an absolute madhouse down there.  I honestly thought that we might have drive all the way to STL and have tickets in hand, only to not be able to find a parking place and have to listen to the game in our car!

We finally found a parking spot at about 2:30, which was oh you know...just a mile away from the stadium.  We practically ran to the entry gate, only to have to wait in line for another 10-15 minutes.  I think we finally made it in the doors a little bit after 2:45.  Instead of going to our seats, we stood at the top of one of the lower sections just so we could see the festivities.  Our seats were another 3 levels up and I knew we'd miss so MUCH more if we went on up.  

Our first view, during the tribue to Stan the Man

All the living St. Louis Cardinal Hall-of-Famers...we missed their entrance, but at least got to see them with all the World Series Trophies.  

The view from our seats...it was a packed house!

A B-52 bomber flew over at the end of the National Anthem.  

One of my favorite places to be...Busch Stadium!

Hubby & I...still smiling after the whole parking fiasco!

The ceremonial first pitches...Jason Isringhausen & Jim Edmonds

 It was an absolutely beautiful day, and the atmosphere was so much fun to be a part of.  The game started off pretty well, and I honestly thought we were going to pull out a win for the home opener...but then the top of the 9th came.  And LOTS of people left...

 Because the score ended up being 13-4.  Yikes!  

Even with a loss, Hubby & I still had a fabulous time and there will be more Opening Day experiences in our future.  Hey, at least we got a good work-out in with our 2 miles of walking and we also ended up parking for only about $1.70--which is all I put in the meter!  That has to beat the $30+ we would have paid to park closer to the stadium.  But next time, we'll spend the night downtown or at least just get there mid-morning to just enjoy the festivities with everyone else!  

Colorfully Blessed~The Color Run 2013

Even as a non-runner, a year or so ago I told Hubby that if a Color Run ever came to SWMO that I would participate.  I didn't really think I would have to stick to my end of the deal, but this weekend it came & went & we conquered!  

We formed a team (really just to get the $5 discount), called ourselves Colorfully Blessed, and geared up for "the Happiest 5K on the Planet!"  And I can attest, that it was pretty dang happy and a ton of fun!  

So some before pictures of course...

Long-time besties!

Silly boys!

Our view to the right...

& our view to the left!

A bunch of my Zumba girls who skipped Zumba to get colorfied!

And then some after shots...please ignore the horrible picture quality!  Running with my phone resulted in some hazy pictures at the end because of all the color dust clouding the lens!

Anyone who has ever participated in one of these runs, knows that it's not about time at all...but Hubby & I did manage to run the entire thing except for when we had to stop to get doused with color! 

It was an absolute blast, and so fun to join over 10,000 other people running through the streets of Springfield, MO getting all colored up! 

Color Me Rad is coming at the end of the month and I'm honestly a little disappointed that we're going to be out of town for it...I'll definitely be running this one again! 

Easter Sunday Celebrations!

Easter Sunday arrived, and it was time for us to give Elyse her Easter basket.  We tried to fill it full of mainly simple things...books, clothes, a new bunny, some watercolor paints, but of course also a little bit of Easter candy.  This girl LOVES her Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs!  

Reaching for the books first!  

We headed for church where we had a fabulous service and then we had a quick Easter egg hunt.  I had been practicing with Elyse just a little bit and she kind of understood...but all the other kids and a strange place was a little bit overwhelming!  

Elyse and her future husband...or best friend at least! 

During nursery, Elyse also helped make her first official Fridge-worthy craft!  A sheep using her handprint...and so it has begun, keeping everything she makes!  

After church we headed to my parents' house for our annual Easter celebration at their house.  The day turned out to be absolutely beautiful and we were able to get some great pictures!  

I have no idea what she was so excited about!

True joy!

True stinkiness? dirty diaper? We have no idea!  ha!

The best family photo we could get, Elyse just wanted down!  

She has recently learned what it means when we ask...Do you wanna swing?

Apparently she was NOT going to smile for a picture with daddy!

But this is true perfection...my beautiful family!

And my sexy husband!  

After a lunch where we all ate WAY too much, it was time for the second egg hunt of the day!  Elyse definitely had the idea figured out by now and was excited to find the eggs which she was even more excited to realize were filled with Graham Bunnies & more chocolate!

After the first few eggs she'd had enough and decided she'd be a diva with her new sunglasses from Mamaw!

The rest of the afternoon consisted of an egg toss for the adults, and LOTS of playtime for Elyse outside.

The afternoon was absolutely beautiful & Elyse spent almost 4 hours outside non-stop!  She was absolutely exhausted.  She fell asleep in the car on the way home at 6:30, there was no way she was waking up when we got home, so we put her in bed and she slept for 13 hours!!!  Definitely a record for our sweet, sleepy girl!

I hope you all had an amazing Easter holiday, it was such a wonderful day to celebrate our Risen Lord!