Cheap Fun

For the past month, we've tried to get out as much as possible.....for as cheap as possible :) So, here are some of the things we've done:

Bucket + Kiddie Pool + Water=Hours and Days of fun!

We LOVE parades! Especially because they are free!! I think there should be a parade every Saturday :)

Mankato has had a few events with a free petting zoo! Tristen has LOVED it!!

We found a local waterpark and spent a day there (and then headed to Cabelas to look at all the animals! Another free thing!) SO fun!

 Creative, fun, and free part of our anniversary date :) Hangman to guess all the fun memories we've had over the years....disregard any upside down letters since we were writing upside down :) Ha!

 County fairs!! This is the time of year I watch "State Fair" quite regularly and visit as many fairs as possible!! Cheap and fun!!

Visiting family!! That never gets old :) 

We hope you've had as much fun getting out and finding cheap/free things as we have!! Now off to hold my sweet daughter :)

Scatterbrained

Yesterday I tried to have a coherent conversation with someone at church. It just didn't happen.....I have been the most scatterbrained individual as of late. So, blogging? Umm, yeah, I just can't think hard enough to put anything down on paper. But, I shall try today.

We're one year away.....actually, LESS than one year now from when Aaron will graduate. We've been talking through the next year.....when to put our house up for sale, when to start looking for jobs, when to start paying off student loans and what that will look like when buying a new house, what should we be involved in this year with two kids, etc....  It's going to be an interesting year with plenty of transitions yet again!

We are one month away from Aaron starting back at school. It's been AMAZING to have him home to help with both children but I think we're both getting ready for the routine to start again and then we're one step closer to being done with school. However, I have absolutely loved having him home!!

I've been trying to live in the moment as much as possible with my kids....seeing Aubrey already almost a month and Tristen nearing 2 is making me remember how FAST life goes. I don't want to waste these years wishing them away.

I feel like people have been a huge blessing to me this month. Everything from flowers being delivered to my doorstep to people bringing us meals (I've cooked once or twice since Aubrey was born?) to people praying for us as we transition to having two kids. I've been overwhelmed with the Body of Christ.....our family and church family-you are all great and thanks so much for blessing us!

And with that, my mind is blank. I think I'll go watch the Olympics (LOVE the Olympics!) and be inspired to exercise my little heart out now that I can!

Happy 6 Years!

6 years later!!!

Yep, it's our anniversary today! It's been quite a hilarious one!!! I'm so glad both Aaron and I have a sense of humor...I can't imagine being disappointed year after year when things don't go as planned :) 

 

Unfortunately, it's been a tough week with a family friend passing away unexpectedly.....we spent most the week traveling back and forth from Willmar to Mankato to cry with our friends and family. So SO hard. Yesterday was a bright spot with a bridal shower for Aaron's brother and my friend, Sarah (who, I might add, are tying the knot SO soon!) And, that brought us to today....our 6 year anniversary and four very tired people :)

Aaron had to work early this morning, Tristen woke up with a bad cold, and Miss Aubrey just wanted to be held all day. We attempted a dinner out with the kids to our favorite place, Dino's (and they did SO awesome!!) and the other hours of the day were spent taking turns caring for the kids while the other one slept  :) HA! Really, this is real life and what love is all about so I wouldn't want it any other way. :)

 

Well, with that, I need sleep more than I need to be on the internet :) But, Happy 6th Anniversary, Aaron! HOW has that much time passed already??

Her Name and a few more pics

Aubrey Beth....you are so sweet. I just love looking into your adorable face and hearing your cute cooing. LOVE this girl!!! I have a couple minutes to post pics and tell about how we came up with her name. I always love to hear how people decide on a name, so here is her story athough there isn't much to it :)

Yes, we had decided on Aubrey for a girl's name when we were pregnant with Tristen. We had very different opinions about names but wanted something English sounding again. One day, I mentioned that I liked having names for my kids that CAN have nicknames but they don't necessarily have to go by them.(Tristen can be T.J. if he wants to be someday) Both Aaron and I liked the nickname "Bre" so we started there :)

From there, we looked at all the "Bre" names and Aubrey was the one that we both liked. However, when I was pregnant this time, I came up with so many other unique names for a girl. During the ultrasound, we looked at the little squirmy babe and said, "Yep, she's totally Aubrey". It just seemed to fit her and I can't imagine naming her anything else since she just looks like an Aubrey :)

Beth is not only my middle name but one of Aaron's favorite girl names. It was slighly a no brainer for a middle name and we liked the flow of it with Aubrey.

So, there you have it. Aubrey Beth....who can also go by "Bre" if she wants to someday :)

Happy Weekend!!

In the Last Week

Wow! I have a week old already! Sorry for the lack of blogging.....at this moment I don't know how/when I'll be on the internet with 2 kids but I'm sure I'll figure it out someday and I know that once Aubrey is into a schedule, I will enjoy catching up on people's lives via the internet once again. But, in the meantime, it is a few minutes here and there that I get to steal for myself :) My blogging may be very random, just warning you!

But, life is good! Actually, this week has gone way better than I expected! Aubrey's birth story in a nutshell is: I didn't go into labor on my own so I did indeed get induced on Monday morning, July 2nd. Labor was SO short, I got an epidural again (call me a wimp but getting induced is not for the faint of heart and I love those epidurals then!!), she came SO quickly (like, 6 minutes!) and she looked so much like Tristen we couldn't believe it! Our hospital stay was SOOOOO much better this time around! I had the absolute best nurses ever and they all loved that Aaron was going into Nursing. Also, I felt amazing even a few hours after she was born so that made all the difference in the world!

Tristen is doing SO well with having her around. Even though we didn't plan on having kids 18 months apart, I wouldn't do it any differently....he's adjusting well and loves to rock Aubrey in her swing :) It's seriously precious!! We've had some precious times as a family of four in the last week....parades, fireworks, parks, walks.....the video camera has been out a lot as well as the camera!

Obviously, Aaron and I are a little tired but I"m SO glad that he is at home for a few more weeks so we can double team this whole parenting two kids thing. At least Miss Aubrey will be over a month old when he has clinicals that will take him away every week. 

Today I took Tristen's 18 month pics and although I've only edited a small number, here are a few of him! He looks SO big now that Aubrey is here! I'm planning on doing Aubrey's newborn pics soon but I just couldn't pass up taking two when I saw a great light coming into the kitchen today :) Hope you all have a wonderful week! Thanks for reading about our newest journey in life!

Announcing:

Aubrey Beth Willey

Born July 2, 2012 at 3:32 pm

Weighing in at: 9 lbs!!! 1 oz. 23 inches long!!

No WONDER I was in so much pain for the last few weeks!

Everything went wonderful....easier the second time around, that's for sure! I'll write details someday but we just got back from the hospital today and we're a bit tired :) 

Aubrey is a rock-star eater and sleeper though and a very content babe! We are absolutely smitten! She is the spittin' image of Tristen as a newborn only with her cute feminine features! We love you, Baby Aubrey!