First Place Trophy!

Sunday afternoon, we loaded up the van and went downtown to the Proctor Classic. It is the annual bicycle road race and since Andy's mountain bike race was canceled due to weather, we decided to enter the kids into the "kids race."

They section off the kids in age groups, so Max rode with the 4 year olds and Maggie rode with the 5 & 6 year olds.


The road was closed off to regular traffic, the announcer speakers where loud, there were guys and gals walking around with their smooth legs and fancy-cost-more-than-my-first-car-bicycles. The atmosphere was great. The kids were excited!


Max's group went first. I felt kinda bad, cause Max and one other little girl were the only kids in the group without training wheels. So I think he had a little advantage. But hey, he's still only 4 and he's been riding a bike without training wheels for a long time. He won! First place! He won his very first trophy! I don't think he has let it out of his sight for more than a few hours.

Maggie had quite a few more kids in her group. She kind of got in the back of the pack at the start and I think that she could have caught up if they would have made two laps around the track. But she was a great sport and got a ribbon for her efforts.


They both had a great time and are ready to enter more races. I really think they just like the snacks and goodie bags they get when they enter the race.

Sharing some much needed popcorn after all their hard work.

While we watch the pros do their thing! WOW...they are so fast!

Exciting times....praying that their love for their bikes doesn't go to this extreme! Otherwise I'll need all of you to be praying for their safety.

My Girl!

Since the day she was born, Miss Maggie has had a mind of her own.

Her birth was difficult, I was educed due to border-line toxemia and she was turned the wrong way. The doctor had to go in and turn her....just as he did that, she turned right back to the way she was. I finally delivered her "face up" and the doctor labeled her a "stargazer!" She obviously wasn't really to come out.

That was the beginning of Maggie doing things on her time line.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with her doing her thing on her own time. In fact, she did a lot of the major milestones before she should have.

She was sitting up by herself at 4 months, She never really crawled, but went right to walking at 7 1/2 months/8 months. (which if I had been blogging at that time, I would have posted about it every single day....I was so excited that she was walking so early, but then I soon realized that she was everywhere I didn't want her to be...crazy kid!) She talked early and very clear from day one and potty training that girl was a breeze.

But the social aspects of my girl did not flow like the rest of her. She is shy, cautious, not very outgoing and I know all this because she is just like me. I was always the shy kid who would rather sit by myself then go and ask a friend if I could sit with them. And you know what? I'm still that way. I am a lot better than I used to be, but I want Maggie to be even better than that. I know she has to figure that all out on her own, but I want to help guide her in the right direction. The thing is, she is doing it, all this on her own, without my help, on her own time.

As I have said before, Kindergarten was a wonderful thing for my girl. It gave her confidence. It helped her to be more expressive and she is totally coming out of her shell.

Last night was the first night of VBS for us. She is in the "big kid" group now. No more preschool stuff. She had a blast. I peeked in a saw her learning a song/dance which she would have never done before. She didn't get sad when it was time to go to her class, she was brave, she was a little nervous, but she knew she was going to have fun.

I LOVE watching her grow. Actual growing is good too, but watching her grow as a person is why this motherhood job is so awesome!

Crafty Creations!

It's still really hot here and the only thing to do outside is swim. As soon as Andy gets home, we are heading out to a water park, but in the meantime, while we are staying in and staying cool, the kids and I got our crafty creation groove on and we've been crafting all afternoon.

July 4th shirts for the girls...

one for Max too...

Cut-offs for Miss Magpie!

Maggie also made these cutie bookmarks... (Thanks cousins Chandler & Connor)

See how busy we've been...I'll make sure to show off the finished product when I'm done!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Check this out! With your help....look what happened yesterday!

We've already reached the goal I had in place...so far we have raised $660. You guys are AWESOME! Let's not stop there....Let's keep going!

Traci's Troops!

As I told you back on this post, I have signed up as a team leader for the MS Walk here in Peoria.

On Sunday, September 13th I will be doing a 3-mile walk and helping to raise money for research for a cure for MS.

And I need you to join my team!

I registered my team to have at least 15 people and I would like to raise at least $500.

If you are able to walk with me on September 13th, I would LOVE to have you join Traci's Troops! However, I need you to register. You can register online by clicking here.

Just click on the "Join Team" located in the box on the left. The box lists all the "troops" that have already signed up!

There is no entry fee to walk, you can register and then if something comes up and you are unable to be there that day, it's not a huge deal.

You do not need to donate any money, however if you would like to make a donation, you can easily do that by clicking here! Then just click on the "Donate to Team"!

This is a family friendly event. Bring your kids! They will have a Kids Korner...with face painting, balloons, and other kid friendly activities. Kids are also welcome to walk. There will be frequent stops along the way, with potties, drinks, snacks, etc.

We will be starting at Junction City in Peoria and walking down Prospect. Check in time is 12:00 (noon) with the walk starting at 1:00. We'll walk to the water tower in the Heights and then back. There are beautiful homes to look at, great people to chat with along the way, a fun-filled family event...all for a great cause.

Please register today and join my team! Be a part of Traci's Troops!

Fun times with Friends!

Saturday morning, Andy and I along with our friends, Jason and Nicole headed up to Chicago for a little adult only getaway!

We shipped the kiddos next door with Papa and Jane and we piled our lawn chairs, coolers, and fancy snacks into the van and headed north.

We went to see Garrison Keillor from the NPR show Prairie Home Companion. The radio show was broadcast live from Ravinia, I must tell you that the only reason I would have ever even known about Garrison Keillor is because of my knowledgeable hubby. He has listened to National Public Radio for as long as I've know him. When traveling in the car together, we must always listen to NPR. Jason and Nicole are also Garrison Keillor fans and had actually seen the show before. It was a great show! Ravinia is an awesome place, we saw people of all ages. (and oh how I love to people watch!) The weather was perfect, the show was great and we had the best company ever.



We also did a little shopping (Home Goods, The Container Store, Marshall's, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods) Any trip with shopping involved is a great trip in my book!

We had a wonderful Italian dinner...a very nice hotel room (Nicole is such a whiz with Priceline!) and just an all around great weekend!

I'm really looking forward to doing it again in the near future....well after Nicole has little baby boy or girl...they'll be ready for a little getaway to Ravinia.

Money + VBS = A Good Thing!

I found these cute little banks at Kohl's the other night. They only had one and I thought we would just be able to have the kids share it and combine their money. I don't know why I thought that would work, obviously it didn't. My mom ran out the next day to a different Kohl's and picked up a second bank.

The kids love them. It keeps track of their own money. Maggie is just learning about money, and she knows how much each coin is worth, but this is an easier way for them to watch their money grow.

This is a little video of them all excited about putting their money in the bank!






I love that Maggie wants to use her money for Vacation Bible School.

Speaking of VBS, ours starts next Sunday, June 28th

If you are interested, please check out the church website!

You can even register your child/children online....it's going to be great fun and I would LOVE to see you there!

Movie in the Park!

After a birthday dinner for my mom last night, we all headed to Kohl's. With my extra 30% off everything coupon, that expires today...it was a must do! While at Kohl's we ran into Jenny. By the way, Jenny and Dan are back in the U.S.....just in case you didn't know that!

It was actually pretty funny, because that was the fourth time I had "run into" Jenny that day. Maybe she's stalking me....maybe I'm stalking her...maybe great minds think alike...I think that is the real answer!

As we chatted for a few minutes, Jenny reminded us about the movie in the park last night. Just another event I forgot to write in the calendar. (MS and memory loss...there is a connection!) As I looked at my watch is was 7:40...and the movie started at 8:00. We ran to the check-out, and then stood in line forever. We raced home, got into our jammies, made some popcorn, grabbed some blankets and got to the movie about 8:25 ish...not too bad.

We actually only missed a few minutes. (they must have started a little late) It was a lot of fun. We laid on the blanket, ate some popcorn, swatted the bugs and watched Shrek!

What a great way to create fun memories for the kids! We will definitely be doing that again!

Thanks again Jenny for the heads up....wonder how many times I will see you today!

Let the fun begin!

Today was the first day for the kids' t-ball/soccer park district program!

Of course, the weather was totally cruddy (rainy, cloudy, humid & damp) all perfect conditions for 2 1/2 hours of sitting outside. Oh, and let me just tell you...I didn't wear a hat...and boy, I should have. My hair and the above mentioned weather conditions, do not mix. So, I've learned my lesson when it comes to rain and Tues/Thurs t-ball soccer....wear a hat!

Another lesson I learned today was to read the park district program schedule with more attention. I signed the kids up for Tues/Thurs, since we go to the gym on Mon/Wed....sounds logical right, however, I forgot to put the -1 (dash one) after the session# and that meant that I signed up for the wrong days. Luckily, they were able to get us in on Tues/Thurs, so all is well....Thanks Beth for giving me a heads up on my mistake.

I also learned that it's going to be hard to entertain the kids for the 45 minutes in between their sessions....good thing they like to play at the playground....maybe I'm the one who needs some entertainment, I may have to bring some cross-stitching, a book, heck..maybe I'll just bring the laptop to keep me entertained.


Day one is down....5 weeks plus a day to go....the fun is only starting! Gotta love it!


Oh, and wishing my mom a very happy birthday today! Hope you have a great day!

Summer is supposed to be relaxing....

and we seem even busier than ever....what's up with that??

But the good thing is that we've been having a LOT of fun!

Last Friday morning the kids and I went with our neighbors to Bicycle Safety Town. It's a great little park that has all the "real" road signs and working stop lights, that a real road would have, except that your "car" is your bike. The kids had a blast! Thanks Elizabeth for inviting us to tag along...can't wait till we go again!

See how it looks like a real road...isn't that cool!

Look at Max go!

All the kiddos at the stop light!

Miss Maggie

Snack break!

We headed home to make it to the brown bag-it at the library. They had a few firemen with their firetruck there along with a few race cars...it was fun hanging out with friends and eating our picnic lunch.

Kids in the race car! Can you just see how excited Max was!

Then Saturday morning we took the kids over to the local Lowe's for the Built and Grow Program! The kids both made a golf putting green and we met our cousin Quinton there..which made it a lot more fun!




While at Lowe's, Andy decided to pick up some lumber so that he could come home and build this....what is it you ask? It is a massive 8x8 sandbox...cause we just don't seem to have enough dirt and grime floating about in our house. I have to say, the kids LOVE it, and that's what is important, right?!?!

Although, I'll be handing over the mop and bucket to Andy to take care of all that yucky sand coming into the house.

Oh, and we've been picking strawberries!


I LOVE SUMMER!

Let me introduce you to...

My new friend, I'm calling her Polly.

Polly-poke-a-lot!

This is my new auto injector for my daily shot. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends!

To clean or not to clean..

I totally forgot the home appraiser was coming to the house today. I really need to start looking at my calendar. Our appointment with the bank to refinance was over 2 months ago, and the home appraiser is just coming today. I guess they are a little behind, but that is an entirely different topic. So as I was looking at my calendar last night, I remembered today's appointment at 8:00 am! Who in their right mind makes an appointment for 8:00 am in the summer, I guess that would be silly me. Just another what-was-I-thinking-moment!

So here I am scrambling to get my house in order. I'm really hoping that it isn't a clean house they are looking for, cause we won't pass. Now don't get me wrong, things are picked up, but things are most definitely NOT clean.

Cleaning was going to be on the to-do list for today, but as I sit here and type the sun and blue sky are peeking through the clouds. We just might have to put the cleaning off till tomorrow...or the next day...or the next day!


Update: Since I began typing this, the home appraiser has come and gone. She totally didn't care that my house was dirty, in fact, she said that her own house was a lot dirtier. So with that said...the cleaning really might have to wait for another day!

**Another Update:** So the blue sky and sun was just a tease....it turned out to be a cloudy, really cool (sweatshirt cool) day so I just turned up the blog music and cleaned the house....I do feel much better now!

Busy...Busy!

I know, I know...it's been a few days since I've posted anything. It's kinda cute when I get calls to make sure I'm okay, just cause I haven't posted anything on the blog. I love all the love. I'm doing great, we have just been busy...it's summer! And yes, I know that now that I have the convenience of a laptop, I should be posting more, but hangin out with my little people has seemed to take priority....and that's totally fine with me.

We've been visiting a lot of people. Last week, my good friend Dana was in town with her little guy. We were able to hang out with them on Friday and again on Sunday. It's always so great to catch up, and I love seeing Dana as a mommy. She's fabulous! (as I totally knew she would be) and her little Owen is just the sweetest! I just wish they lived closer so we could see each other more often.

We have also been hangin out with our cousins from Alabama. My cousin has quadruplets. Yes, as in 4 kids...they are 12 now and they are just the sweetest kids ever! They are the most polite kids with all their "Yes, ma'ams and No, sirs" and they loved on my kids like never before. Swimming in the pool, running in the yard, visiting on the porch....what more could you ask for. D***, B***, C***, N***, S*** & M***, we had a great time visiting with ya'll....keep in touch! We love ya!

And yesterday....yesterday was the kiddos BIG garage sale. They ended up finding a ton of toys to sell, and we got rid of a lot of them.

Here in our little town, Wednesday used to be "garage sale day!" However, over the past few years, people have started to open their sales on Tuesday evenings (usually 4-7 pm) to allow the people coming home from work the option to go stop at the sale. So now, Tuesday is usually the day people start their sales and the starting time keeps getting earlier and earlier. Since we weren't able to have our sale on Wednesday, (I totally forgot I have to be at church today...oops!) we opened our sale up at about 11:00 am yesterday.

Let me just tell you how excited my girl was. She could hardly sleep the night before, and when I would ask her why she couldn't get to sleep, she would say, "I'm just so excited to help the customers tomorrow!"

How could you not want to buy an ice cold water from that sweet little face!

She was up, dressed, and ready to go, by the time I got up. She was that excited! She helped all day, and even when the sale was at it's slow points and I told her to go with the others kids to play, she just wanted to sit and wait for more customers. It was so cute.

Max on the other hand could have cared less about the entire garage sale experience, he was off helping Papa next door or off playing in the back. He didn't even want to get in with the pictures...maybe I need to rethink sharing his portion of the profits with him.

Our neighbors got in on the act too. The kids decided to sell ice cold water and homemade cookies as well. At the beginning of the day, they had a great marketing plan in motion. The customers would just walk up and the kids would be saying, "fresh cookies and ice cold water...would you like to buy?"

Break Time...nothing beats a little bread and butter!

Alex & Ashlyn, thanks so much for making our garage sale a lot more fun!

It was a fun day for the kids and fun for me too. I love to see what people buy. I love seeing the things I think will for sure be a hit, sit on the table all day while the stuff I thought this-will-never-sell are the first things to be bought. We usually pick out a "mystery item" where you pick a $.25 item and keep it a secret until someone brings it up to you...when they bring the "mystery item to you, you start yelling, "Yippee, Hooray, You are the winner!" They totally freak out and then you give them the item for free! It's fun...but of course, with the craziness of the day, we forgot to do that. It would have been fun...so I'll have to remember that for the next garage sale....did I just say "next garage sale"...oh my!

The kids made about $32 dollars each...Maggie couldn't really understand why I had to take out the "pot" of money. I tried telling her that we started with my $40 and that I would get that back. I tried telling her that we just had gotten that money so we could make change for people. She wanted to keep that money too! After a while of explaining...she finally understood, I think!

I have a lot of stories of "garage sale" people, but that will have to be another post...craziness I tell you!

Anyway...that's what we have been doing over the past several days...I'll try to be better at posting...

Happy Wednesday!

Thankful Thursday!

I'm thankful for the beautiful weather here yesterday and today. Cool, but not too cool...sun is shining, birds are singing, grass is growing, plants are blooming. I love the weather here in the Midwest, in the spring (early summer) before the humidity kicks in.

I'm thankful for good little helpers. The kids and I cleaned out a bunch of their toys yesterday, so now we are having a kids only garage sale and they get to keep the proceeds....well, more like deposit them to their bank accounts....we'll save some for giving at VBS, maybe a few dollars to spend on a new book, and maybe, if they are really good, I'll let them buy an ice cream cone at Dairy Queen. I'm thankful to get rid of and clean out!

I'm thankful for doctors who take the time and chat. Andy and I ventured down to Springfield on Monday for a second opinion. It was a very good appointment. The doctor was able to confirm my MS (not that I didn't believe my neurologist in Peoria), but he was also able to give me a direction on which drug to start. Just a little guidance, that's all I needed. I feel much more comfortable making a decision now.

I'm thankful for a husband who is willing to go with me to all my doctors appointments, ask the questions that I forgot to ask, and remember all the stuff the doctor said. Couldn't do it without you! Love ya!

I'm thankful for healthy, happy, laughing, playing outside all day kids. What a blessing they are!

I'm thankful for the bathtub to clean up those healthy, happy, laughing, playing outside all day, DIRTY kids!

I'm thankful for family bike rides to the church, and saving a buck or two by not driving the van!

I'm thankful for a new washer and dryer and the big boxes that they came in...oh, the entertainment they bring.

I'm thankful for friends who do not live around here, but who are in town for the week....and meeting their newest family member.

I'm thankful that it's Thursday, which is just one day closer to the weekend!

Happy Thursday!

A big day!

Monday was the day to go to the library and sign up for the summer reading program. They always have fun activities, and the kids were really excited to go. This is Maggie's first year to read her own books, and NOT do the "read-to-me" program. It was so the day she got this....

Her very own library card!

She's so excited!

We've been busy!

I'm not really sure what we've been doing, but we've been busy!

My last post (on Friday) was about me heading out of town on the first day of no school. We had a great time. The "Church Basement Ladies" is hysterical and I would recommend it to everyone. Young and old, we can all relate. It was a great day and I'm so glad I went.

Saturday morning, we woke up early to get ready to do a family bike ride in a neighboring town. This was the second year for us to do this ride, but the first year that both kids were able to ride the entire ride on their own bikes without training wheels. It's eight, yes I said 8, miles and I wasn't for sure Max would be able to make it that far...but he did awesome. There were some little hills along the way, but he did great. It was a Sullivan family event...Uncle Aaron, QP, Papa and Jane also came along. We all got a ribbon too! (which is just the coolest when you're a kid) Next year, Aunt Janelle and Sloany will be able to join us....maybe we have started another family tradition! (Aunt Jodi...we'd love to have you join us too!)


The rest of Saturday was busy too. Maggie and I left to bike ride to get her to a birthday party at Build-A-Bear Workshop for a little friend from kindergarten. She had a good time there, and I think Sam had fun too! Thanks again Sam for inviting Maggie to your party!


Sunday evening we were able to attend the "School's Out" "End of Summer" get-together with the youth from church. We went to a local "go-cart, mini-golf, rock-climbing" establishment and we had a BLAST! This group of kids is so great and I really think they had a ton of fun....I know I did! Here are a few of the pictures from Sunday night!

Abbey & Cori
(cute picture girls!)

Ashley waving from the top...way to go Ashley!

Hayley & Katelyn...you go girls!

Abbey at the top!

Hang on Cori!

Andy and Connor!

Maggie and Andy in the boxers!

Maggie driving Max...he couldn't reach the pedals! :(

Goofy Girls! Gotta love em!