My weekend was a three ring circus!

Whew! Good to be home and sitting down! Friday I headed to Cincinnati for my girlfriend Ashley's bachlorette party! We had a big slumber party with all of the bridesmaids and everyone got to see her gorgeous new home. Fun games and good friends made for a wonderful night. Here are some pictures:

Saturday was Ashley's bridal shower. It was a beautiful get together and we all had a blast. We predicted where they would be in 10 years, made a scrapbook page for them and Ash opened her presents! Here is a cute picture of all of the bridesmaids

I had to leave Cincy in enough time to make it back to Terre Huate by 7:00. I got home at 6:45, ate some spaghetti and then Joe and I hopped in the car to go to Avon for his co-worker Bruce's 50th birthday party. We met at "On the Rocks" and had a few drinks with most of his co-workers. Then after Joe, Bruce and Tole had a few rounds of Tequila and a "few" beers I drove him home! I was pooped, slept like a log!

Today we took Hanna to the circus. We take her every year, the money goes to a good cause and even though the seating is very uncomfortable and the prices are outragoues Hanna just loves it. Aslo, there was no way around it, as soon as they started putting the big top up she knew they were here. She got her face painted like a kitty cat and had cotton candy! Her favorite part this year was the elephant and the ladies who climbed on the ribbons. Now, we rest! Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Beautiful!

Hanna and I decided to forget about cleaning and the grocery store today so we could have a picnic in the park instead. The beautiful weather made for a perfect back drop. We fed the ducks, went for a walk and played, played, played!
Our weekend was a little crazy, I helped throw a baby shower for my sister in-law Cindy on Friday evening at the Torner Center. Joe and I had dinner afterwards with my other sister in-law Chirstina and Bud, while Hanna got to hang out at her cousins and have Meagan babysit.
We also took the babysitting chance to get some drinks with my friend Cassie and her fiance Dustin at our fav bar.
Saturday Joe and his dad put in our new french doors in the kitchen, what an improvement! I cleaned the house, ran some errands and then had to work the closing shift.
Sunday I hosted a Naughty bridal shower for Cassie and had a Passion party consultant come over. It was great fun to hang out with the girls and have some adult fun! Joe and Hanna spent some time together during the shower playing at the park, getting ice cream and visiting mamaw and papaw.

Back Home Again in Indiana!

We are home and rested from our trip to North Carolina! We really had such a wonderful time getting away for a little while. The drive was much easier than we thought and Hanna was such a great sport about the ride (the van having a DVD player thing helped too!!!) So, we left at 6:00am and stopped a few times to eat and play and got there around 6 in the evening. Even though Joe hated driving in the mountains (he is a little scared of heights) it was a beautiful drive. We saw and did so much I couldn't possibly report on everyhting, so here are a few highlights. When Joe was at the office Hanna and I took advantage of the hotel pool and the nearby Chuck E. Cheese.

Another work day I braved the drive to downtown Charlotte and took Hanna to their children's museum, The Discovery Place.

Hanna had the most activites planned and she really had a blast, but Mommy's treat was a day at Concord Mills- a gigantic outlet mall in Concord, NC. Over 200 reatil stores- oh it was literally beautiful!

And on our last day we took Hanna to Paramounts Carowinds- a theme park outside of Charlotte. It was so neat- half of the park was in North Carolina and the other was in South Carolina. The park had a whole Nickelodeon area and Hanna got a chance to meet Dora, Diego, Spongebob and many more. It was probably her idea of heaven! Her favorite rides were the Backyardigans swings, Boots Balloon ride and the Scooby Doo haunted house. Joe really enjoyed the guys at the office and felt great about their progress. The weather was wonderful the whole time we were there and we just really got to enjoy things and not worry about my parents for a week. I could not have had a better time. Here are just a few glimpses into our great time....

The Perfect Easter!

Our Easter was everything I wanted it to be! The night before we had a great family night coloring Easter eggs. Then Hanna left her Easter basket, carrots and milk out for the Easter Bunny. In the morning he had left wonderful things for Hanna and ofcourse a chocolate bunny for Joe too. She was most excited about Cinderella III. We got all dolled up and went to church, picked up Aunt Amy and Uncle David and headed to my Aunt Mary Louise's in Vincennes. We had a wonderful time visiting with my family and Hanna is always happy to see my cousin Anita's little boys Brandon and Justin. We enjoyed Easter dinner, had a fun Easter egg hunt and Hanna got to ride horses with her cousins! By the time we made it home that evening we were pooped, we all headed to bed ready for our 6 am departure to North Carolina! Here are a few pictures of the fun!

Stormy weather........

I will be missing in action for a little while and wanted to let everyone know you can always reach me on my cell phone if you need anything. We are leaving for NC for a week and will be back on the 15th or 16th. I am looking forward to our trip and hope we can all get some much needed relaxation. We are going through a very hard time with my parents and are working very hard to try and resolve their problems once and for all. I am feeling very down, overwhelmed and helpless at this point so please pray for me, and my whole family. If you have any advice that may help us please pass it along. Thank you to all of my friends and extended family for your continued love and support without you all I would be in a much worse place. You mean the world to me and always seem to fill the void of my longing to "belong" to a happy family. I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and if you are celebrating with your parents take a moment to be thankful. Hoping tomorrow brings sunshine.........

I hate packing! (special message for Liz!)

First off I would like to say
....Happy Birthday to Liz!
This is the first time I haven't been able to celebrate Liz's birthday with her since we were in college. She is in England working on her masters right now and we miss her terribly! So- Liz, honey, happy birthday! Remember this one....?


Yesterday the weather was yucky and we were stranded without a car (we are having the van serviced before the trip) so Hanna and I started packing for North Carolina! Packing is the bain of my existence! I just always pack too much, but whenever I think about my choices I always feel it is a neccesity. Joe thinks I am neurotic when I pack. But you have to be prepared, am I right ladies?! To make packing worse~We bought Hanna the cutest swimsuit from Old Navy way early this year, maybe 2 months ago because I loved it and I was afraid they would sell out. Until now it has been in the back of her closet...I thought we better try it on before we get there and low and behold, it is too small!!!! It is a 4T and it is too small- it is a one piece and the torso is too short. Hanna is so tall for her age it is impossible to find her a one piece swimsuit. We had this problem last year as well. Isn't that crazy...she is 31/2 and already some 4T things aren't working- oy! (However- I will say that I would rather her be tall then short:)
So- today it is off to the mall to try and find her a swimsuit. We also have to pick up my bridesmaid dress and shoes for Ashley's wedding and buy birthday presents for Meagan and Allison. I think it is going to be a long day!

To cheer up our rainy day yesterday we decided to make our own popsicles! I love this popsicle maker because we can use her Kool-Aid 10 calorie juice packs that only have 2 grams of sugar! A heathy snack is so elusive these days! Have a wonderful day all!

I heart Spring!

We are having glorious weather today! Today we went to brunch at Westminster with my mom and dad, it was.......ok. Could have been better, there are just so many issues there it gets harder and harder for me to fake it, you know? But my mom looked great and Hanna was happy to see them, so I guess that is what really matters. We bought some cute Easter cards to send to Hanna's friends this week and that's about it. We spent the rest of the day today outside. Our backyard is covered with little purple wild flowers and Hanna would spend all day picking them if we let her. I love the atmospere here in our "new" backyard, so peaceful and secluded. Ahhh, I heart Spring! Here are some nice pictures......



* And even more exciting..... Joe finally took down our Christmas lights:) It's a good day at The Walker's!