Trucks and cars and tractors galore!

Last weekend, TJ threw a baby shower for little Boston (and for me!). While there were only four of us there (TJ, Vickie, Jessica, and me), you would never have known by the smorgasbord TJ had prepared for us! She had the cutest theme, and the food was served inside dump trucks and diggers (which had all been fully clorox wiped and saran wrapped - as if TJ would have it any other way). We had yummy chicken salad croissants, spinach and strawberry salad, ham rolls, cucumber limeade punch, M and M's and cake. Can you believe all that food was only for four people? And we actually did a pretty good job clearing most of it...

We had such a great time (as the four of us always do) just talking, laughing, doing Adam Lambert impersonations, you name it. And these girls seriously spoiled me... Check out this picture below. I put all his gifts inside his crib and had a hard time getting them all into one picture.

TJ made me the cutest bath towel with hoodie. It matches our bathroom perfectly. Actually, I almost bought this set to go in our bathroom. It will be so nice to be able to wrap Boston into something so plush and cuddly after his baths. Thanks, TJ!

And Vickie had such a cute idea: she got me her favorite children's book, Make Way for Ducklings (with the cutest little mallard duck toy to go with it) and one of Travis' favorite children's books, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? I love books, and Mark and I had already started a collection, so this was absolutely perfect. Thanks, Vickie!

And this is quite the collection here from Jessica. You guys all did WAY too much for me! TJ apparently informed Jessica that while I do already have quite an array of clothes for Boston, I didn't have anything yet that wasn't "designer label" or that was "poopy diaper friendly." I wanted to die laughing, because that is actually quite true. I really needed stuff that would be OK for Boston to poop in! So Jessica gave me two of the cutest night gowns (back left) that have the little hand mittens on them, two one piece sleeper sets in baseball theme (that actually go quite perfectly with his room - bottom), and the cutest little cow outfit with bib (top right). I wish I had taken a picture of the pants, because the butt has a little tail embroidered on it... so funny! She also got some cute duck bath soap, and a rubber duckie that tells you if the bath water is too hot (TJ got me the same one... ha!). Thanks, Jessica!

They all made so much fun of me when I asked what the duck did. I don't know! I've never had a kid before! I had no idea there was such a thing as a toy to tell you when the bath water is just right... How cool is that! Anyway, if my wedding is any indication, I know thank you cards are not my strong suit, so I figure this is a good way to tell all three of you girls, THANKS!

Starkisha's Hot New Summer Look

Yes, we know we are dorks with our dogs... We were at the park a few weeks ago, and Starkisha wouldn't run around with Daisy because she was too hot. She kept trying to sit behind us so she could be in our shade. We felt pretty bad and thought that must suck to have that much hair in hot weather. So we decided to give her a little hair cut. This picture kind of shows the "before look" with all the long hair.

Part way through, we were thinking, what in the crap did we do?! It was really looking pretty bad...

At this point, her body was starting to look OK, but we were wondering what the heck to do with all the ear hair, leg hair, etc. And can you see the mullet on the back of her head? She freaked whenever we got close to her head with the buzzers, so it was looking pretty funky back there. We eventually had to bring out the scissors to continue.

And this is the mess we made...

As you can see we missed some spots (on her chest by her leg), but after a few touch ups later that night, she ended up looking pretty cute. We gave her ears a little trim, so she looks a little more like her puppy self, but we ended up leaving her tail long. I think she looks pretty cute.

It's A BOY!

Well, we had our ultrasound yesterday, and after much encouragement, little Boston decided to give us a peep show. My mom gave me a tip before going in: she told me to drink some orange juice a few minutes before and the sugar should wake the baby. When we got in there, he was still a little subdued, but awake at least, and was NOT pleased that the technician kept bothering him. Every time she tried to get a visual, he just kept sinking further and further down, as if he knew what was happening. Then she would give him quite a rattle, he would strike back with a quick kick or punch in retaliation, and then return right back to his previous position. So I guess we have a stubborn one on our hands, but at least we finally got to have a look. When I get access to a scanner, I will have to post some images, but until then, IT'S A BOY!

Pink or Blue?

That is the question... Well, I'll be able to answer that question on Friday, March 13th! Mark and I are going to Vegas for Spring Break (and actually leaving the dogs here with their vet), and we are going to my mom's office to find out what we are having. I am so excited, because my doctor's office waits until 20-22 weeks, and I'll be 18 weeks... So I get a sneak peak, which is awesome! I have been dying to know, so hopefully Baby Simkins cooperates with us. So start looking for a post sometime in March for the big reveal...

Girl's Night Out!

Last night we had a girl's night to celebrate Jessica and Vickie's birthdays. Jessica picked us all up and we drove out to Greenwood for dinner and a movie. We ended up going to Cheesecake Factory - everyone left it up to preggers to decide where to eat, so I narrowed it down to there and Buca Di Beppo. Since Vickie didn't know what the heck "bokety-boke" was, we decided to go to Cheesecake Factory. We had so much fun exchanging stories over yummy food. These girls are so much fun to be around...

Jessica Morgan, Vickie Edwards, TJ Pini, and Moi... this picture inspired me to get my hair highlighted and cut today, and to buy some new make-up

After dinner we went to see "New in Town" with Renee Zellwegger and Harry Connick Jr. I thought it was really cute, and being set in Minnesota with crazy midwesterners reminded me quite a bit of how I felt when we moved out here. So Vickie, give yourself a break, I enjoyed it! The most fun part, though, was just talking with everyone. We should really do this more often...

Hummel Park

Well, I promised some pictures, so here it goes... Ryan and TJ called us this morning to go sledding at Hummel Park since school was canceled for the day. We all drove out to Hummel Park, where there were some great hills for the occasion. It was a good thing we have 4-wheel drive, because even with that we almost got stuck a few times. There were tons of people there with the same idea...

Check out this picture of Evan... he was pretty stoked about going sledding. On the way to the park in the car he was practically squeeling and saying, "We're going to have so much fun!" So cute...

This is Mark posing after his one-time-only trip down the slopes. We both had too much fun just watching Ryan, Evan and TJ (especially TJ)...

Here are Ryan, TJ, and Evan posing before a run down the hill... Evan was so cute. He just loved going down and didn't want it to stop.

Don't know what he was doing here, but I thought this picture of Evan was dang cute!

Here's TJ puling Evan back up the hill after one of their runs down. Evan looks like he's having the time of his life, but it looks like TJ was getting a pretty good work out.

Yep, it was pretty cold out there, but I am just a wus... I had ear muffs, a hat, a scarf, a sweatshirt, a long sleeved t-shirt and short sleeved t-shirt, and two pairs of gloves underneath my coat.

Here's Ryan bringing Evan back up the hill. They both really got a workout treking up that hill over and over again...

And this is how TJ spent most of the day... Everytime she went on the sled or tube without Evan she ended up getting turned backwards and being chucked off the apparatus. It was quite fun to watch. We all got a pretty good laugh at her.

It was such a fun day, and we were all so glad school was canceled so we could enjoy the snow!

SNOW DAY!

I just woke up to check the weather report for the day (it's 6:25 am) and it says that IU dental school is closed today! Woohoo!!! I probably shouldn't be this excited, but I am. We'll take pics of the snow and post them later...

A Dammeron Valley Christmas

We drove up to Dammeron early Christmas afternoon. The kids had already opened all their gifts from Santa at home, so it was fun to have another go at present opening after the morning's excitement had somewhat died down. Here are Natalie and Jackson, all poised and ready to open more gifts. What cuties!


Natalie is a gum maniac. We thought it would only be appropriate to get her a life sized gum ball machine. Although we did worry that it may cause some sibling jealousy (what 6 year old wouldn't also want a gum ball machine, especially his little sister's), it all turned out well in the end, as Natalie was very willing to share her gum with the entire room.


Here's Jackson with one of his gifts from us. He is really into science lately, and this was a science kit that makes candy, soda, cupcakes, you name it. That's the best kind of science there is! He also got some fun outdoor items: sidewalk chalk and sidewalk paint, which I thought was really cool. Although we found out later that sidewalk paint doesn't come off the pavement so well. Sorry, Annie! And Carolanne...

And here's a goof ball shot of Mark opening one of his presents from his family. We got a really cute nativity from Annie and Mark's parents. We also got some cute clothes and something really awesome... little kid dentist books stuffed with twenty dollar bills! Bring it on, baby!

And here's a shot of Mark's grandparents. They were so funny - they each sat on one side of the couch, leaving a gaping hole in between them. Mark told them they had to get together for a picture, and I love that Mark's grandma was like, "Well, he can move then..." Guess that never changes no matter how old we get...

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Actually, I was quite glad to get away from the chill of Indiana for a few weeks, but as luck would have it, Dammeron Valley had more snow than we have seen all year! As we drove in on Christmas morning, we were very thankful that we have a vehicle with 4 wheel drive. Our old little Civic just wouldn't have made it through.

Actually this picture doesn't even do justice to how much snow was there driving in... it was crazy!
Here's Mark's parent's house in Dammeron Valley... check out those icicles! There was so much snow there that our doggies really didn't ever want to go outside to potty. It about buried Daisy everytime she went out.

Here's Mark's dad and Jackson on the 4-wheeler/sled combo. At least that is one good thing about the snow... it sure is fun when you're a kid!

And here's a close-up of Jackson on his sled. Looks like he was having a great time!

Christmas Eve Gift Exchange

Here are some more pics from Christmas Eve, including the gift exchange...

Here are Jonah, Chandler, Stephen, and Harrison posing for the camera. I think this is the only picture I got where Jonah is actually smiling - what a stinker!

Here is Stephen opening his gift, while Benson, Harrison, Jonah and Alyssa watch intently. I didn't get pictures of all of them opening their gifts, but I think they all appear in these pictures somewhere...

Here's little Addyson getting ready to open her gift. She is so stinkin' cute!

Rachel is sporting her "R" necklace that my dad made her. She and Kaitlyn both got them, and they were totally awesome!

Jake looks pretty pleased with his new Rockband II Wii game. I would be, too. Just ask Angie...

Here's Kaitlyn with her "K"... Those necklaces were so cute on them.

And here Mark and I are, cheezing it up for the camera. Jeez, it looks like I have no make up on. I actually did, guess I'll have to work on that... hmm. Christmas Eve was fun, as always, although this year I didn't get to enjoy the wonderful food like everyone else. It was a good thing Kaitlyn made her spinach and strawberry salad, because that was about the only thing on the table that didn't make me want to hurl... LOL.