Austin + Potty Training = Success (So Far)

We started potty training Austin on Monday of this week and so far he's had 4 successful days! We are only working on daytime right now. Why oh why, couldn't the girls have been this easy??? He tells me when he has to go; even if it means he will miss out on playtime and no stubborness. To get him more excited we let him pick out underpants with his fav characters (Buzz & Woody, Thomas the Train). I'm sooo glad everyone was right when they said boys were easier to potty train!

Lexus loves the new potter's wheel, she immediately started using it the next day (Good idea Uncle Scott!). She is quickly learning it is going to takes lots of practice to get it right, but loves trying. The second pic reminds me of soft serve ice cream; too bad it doesn't taste like it too :)



My cute lil' handy man fixing the ottamon for me! I love how he has every tool laid out just so.

Our Baby Is 10 Years Old!

A whole decade has flown by since the much anticipated birth of our oldest daughter Lexus and what a gorgeous, smart, creative, loving young girl she has turned into! We couldn't be more proud of her and be more blessed by all the love and joy she has brought into our lives of the last decade. We had a BIG weekend of celebrating this fabulous milestone. Come on! It's not every birthday you move into double digits :)

We kicked off the weekend with Lexus' b-day dinner on Friday. She requested a beach theme cake and of course I delivered. Anything for my baby girl! Every picture I look at now keeps throwing it in my face how mature she has gotten (not my little girl anymore). She was so excited by the new watch she recieved from G & G Ossege, she loves how she can coordinate the face/bands to all her outfits. Austin gave Grandpa Ossege an ear full showing him his truck book and every truck, car, motorcycle, airplane he owns. I threw in a cute pic of him on his Radio Flyer Tricycle he got from Uncle Russ...too cute!





Saturday was her actual birthday and I quote her "It was the best birthday I've ever had!" Not sure how we are gonna top that next year. It was also Randy's company picnic at Stricker's Grove, which the kids look forward to every summer. This year each girl got to bring a friend along. Lexus chose her BFF Savannah and Kimberly brought her favorite cousin/friend Halle. Great weather, free food, and lots of fun had by all.






Sunday, we celebrated 3 birthdays on the Grothaus side...Lexus (10), Halle (7), and Kimberly (6). I found the cutest Super Mario cake online and all 3 girls agreed. It was my first experiment with fondant making both cakes this past weekend. If I must say so I think my first 2 attempts were passable. Thanks to my SIL Dana the kids had a blast throwing 200 water balloons and going crazy on the slip-n-slide. All three girls got Oh-so-cute! and fashionable clothes.

R&R @ Hocking Hills...At least most of the time!

We may have aimed a little too high on this vacation considering the ages of our little angels (9, 5, & 2). They were troopers and full of energy as we spent three hours hiking at "Old Man's Cave". Again, the beauty of Mother Nature was breath taking. Kimberly climbed every rock in sight; she really impressed us on some of the bigger ones. Austin caught onto this and soon they were both climbing to the top of each rock, arms in the air, shouting "King/Queen of the World"! Lexus caught a salamander down by the creek and there were GIANT butterflies everywhere.










Exhausted is an understatement of how we all felt after "Old Man's Cave"; so we rushed back to the cabin for a quiet night in. We watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" and hit the hot tub with yummy drinks like shirley temples for the kiddos and frozen margaritas for the grown-ups.




Our last day was spent canoeing...BOY OH BOY! were we not ready for this yet! The girls' were great. They loved helping us paddle the canoes, swimming, and collecting shells in the river. Austin on the other hand quickly lost his patience being confined to 2X2 square and demanded "Me go home!" He cried the rest of the ride tucked in between my legs. We also visited "Cedar Falls" and "Conkle's Hollow". Thank goodness the ride home to our beloved No. KY was drama-free and smooth sailing!

Over $1000 later...

Spending over $1,000 getting your car towed and fixed is not how I recommend starting out your vacation! Last Monday, we set out for a relaxing 4 days in Hocking Hills and got more than we bargained for. Only 40 minutes from our destination, after stopping for some lunch did we discover my car wouldn't start again. Thank goodness we broke down where we did - only 1 mile down the road from the Coughlin Ford dealership and across the street from the "PINK" tow truck (Kimberly loved that). Randy and I were stressing over the new fuel pump & finlter we needed and what we were going to do till my car got fixed and the kids were having a blast playing in the toy room at the dealership. 5 hours later we were back on the road in a rental to a fabulous cabin secluded on 16 acres with a pond!





We didn't hesitate to start exploring the woods around the cabin, saw a deer, and enjoyed a good soak in the hottub! We were all ready to start relaxing and forget our long day.




What kid doesn't love Nerf toys...Randy got the kids some Nerf guns and vests(think laser tag). You can see the mischevious smile on Austin's face as he gets ready to shoot his momma. We stumbled onto the first part of Hocking Hills park "Rockhouse" trying to find the visitor's center. What a beautiful place! We all loved hiking and exploring the rocks/recesses of "Rockhouse".






My adorable, loving son Austin even picked wild flowers and gave them to his momma (all on his own). 18 holes of Putt-Putt, ice cream, s'mores (check out the size of the JUMBO marshmallows we found) and fireworks over the pond were a great way to end our second day of vacay!





More to come of our Hocking Hills Vacay...