Ringing It In!!

We decided this year that we would be happiest celebrating 2011 in the comforts of a hotel. We are staying at the Super 8 this weekend here in town. This is our first time at this hotel and it is actually pretty nice. So far we are having a wonderful time relaxing, swimming, snacking and just being together.

Here are a few pics of the girls in pool.... (it is pretty steamy in there as you can see!)

This was a great idea and a tradition that is fun for the entire family. It is nice to be able to swim with my girls in the middle of the winter...we miss the water so much in the cold months! It is also so wonderful to give my 2nd trimester aching back a break and float in the pool!

For now we are back in the room (we have a ROOMY suite--or SWEET as the scrubby spells it :) We are warm and cozy in our jammies and have ordered pizza. In a bit Grammy will be here to relax with us. Jennifer, Carrie and the kiddos also have a suite across the hall (with 3 queen beds--I have never seen that before!) so they will also be heading out soon and swimfest part 2 will commence! It is a fun and low key way to ring in the new year and a tradition that I have carried on from my own childhood.

Happy New Year to our loved ones out there!! And Happy Anniversary to my In-Laws today and my parents yesterday!!! Love you! Here is to making 2011 the year we all dream of!

Lovely Weekend Randomness!!

We have a lot of random fun and funny family things that happen over the weekends. Here are just a few outtakes caught on film...

Adler was sooo happy to find a {HEART} shaped Ruffle chip!!

The kids washing the cars..tooo bad it was RAINING!!! Chelo was using the mop and their "soap bucket" was a little tiny tupperware bowl of floor cleaner. it was funny watching them dip the very EDGE of the mop in the soapy water!! I didn't know who ended up getting wetter---the girls or the cars!!!

And this video....waaaaahaaaahaaaaahaa! We call these the "Grandpa Races." I DIE laughing when they do these- PRICELESS!!!

Happy Birthday to our BLOG!!!

It has officialy been a YEAR since I started the Curtis Family Blog...WOW!  So my bf l.fox did a little dance in honor!!!!!!!!!!!  I am almost in disbelief how fast the time has gone.  I started blogging soon after I found out I was pregnant with our little bundle of Paisley and now here we are!  It is so cool to me that I am able to not only scrapbook our memories but keep a digital record of day to day happenings around Casa de Curtis that we will be able to share with our friends and family for a lifetime!  Love you all and thanks for sharing in the journey!    

Rock Chalk Baby!!!

The Harden's came over tonight to watch the KU vs KState basketball game.  It was a good time had by all--with some decked out in KU gear and some rooting for those STINKY kitty cats (Chelo and Dave!)

even baby Paisley got into the action!  Rock Chalk!

Dav-buddy had some homework to do so he was preoccupied with that but he got it all done-YES!!

Crop*A*Ganza February 2010

This weekend I headed to one of my FAVORITE events...CROP*A*GANZA, hosted twice a year by the girls at the ATTIC. I always wait and wait with anticipation for the big day when I can head to Park City for a wonderful weekend of friends, scrapbooking, and relaxation. This is my {space} after getting all set up. It looks pretty clean at this point (by the end of the weekend it was a MESS!) The big TREAT this year was for the first time, mr. curtis brought my girls up to swim, hang out, and have dinner with me. I knew I would be having baby girl withdrawals (not to mention the fact that I needed to feed her!!). As soon they got there Kristy swooped her away!! Krusty is just so great to her!! she was holding her in one arm and ringing up customers with the other--she is just THAT GOOD!!!!

The girls had fun swimming and playing video games (Adler decided to forgo a few games to shop around with me in the vendor booths so that was a nice time for us to spend together.
The Hubs is going to LOVE that I put this pic of him ch-ch-cha-chillin in the hot tub on the blog. On second thought he probably won't care at all, he just doesn't get to bothered by stuff!

We ate supper in the hotel's restaurant and then the fam headed home, cause the girls were WORN out from the swimming and the action--especially the little ones. I was sooo glad they were able to come visit me and meet a lot of my cropping friends. After they left I was sad for about....30 seconds... then it was OFF to get my creative mojo pumping again! My l.fox had a bball game that night so she didn't arrive until 11pm!!! I was bummed for her and for myself not having my cropping buddy with me!

Our good friends Angie and Kelli were there to keep me entertained though and we met some great new girls: Penny, Angie L., and Kristen so that was WAY fun!!! Angie L. has sooo much cool stuff and was willing to share/demo anything so i INSTANTLY {lovedloved} her!!! After this weekend it seems like we have our CAG set up for life now!!!

As always with CAG there was plenty of FUN to be had....

I played a blindfold game where I had to guess the scrapbooking item I was handed. It was fun and I won a card making kit.

My hootie hoot bud Renee, knowing my family's affinity for fake mustaches, purchased us a couple from the toy machines in the atrium. I think we started a trend b/c I saw quite a few running around the rest of the weekend!

This HAS to be the best pic of CAG!! As I have posted before I am now blogging for the Attic. I was SUPER busy this weekend doing giveaways, videos, and scrapper spotlight interviews. In this pic l.fox was holding up the Chicks in the Attic kits we were giving away. She is doing the *sneaky* face cause one of the winners was our new friend Angie (the redhead) seated right behind us!! heehee!

I had a great time blogging (on the Attic-so go to the ScrapFunattic link on the right side of my blog to check out those posts!)...l.fox and I even put together an AWESOME videoblog of CAG. Here is the link (it is in 3 parts) if you want to watch it--pretty funny stuff!! You may want to take some Dramamine before though cause it is pretty bouncy!!! :)

I think I got about 20 pages done...not bad considering I had a lot of blogging and pumping going on!! I am planing on posting some of my layouts this weekend so check back if you are interested!

Wing Street Saturday Night

We decided to go out to eat tonight...nothing major, just a chance to get out of the house. We went to Pizza Hut Wing Street, a new place in town. A few months ago they tore down our Taco Tico {sniff sniff} and old Pizza Hut and built the new Sport's Bar type Wing Street in it's place. It is really nice inside and it was good to get out of the house and do something as a family.
Paisley was ENTRANCED by the plamsa tvs on the walls!! Her daddy thinks that means she needs one for her room...haha! He later said..."I meant the living room!!" It sure would be nice to have cause our main TV is so Honkin HUGE compared to the flat screens of today but it works just fine so I think we'll hold out just a little longer!!! Paisley was such a good baby, she just sat in her seat smiling away while we ate. We didn't see many people we knew (which was surprising for Winfield on a Saturday night) but several strangers came up and talked to her.

The girls, Crosby especially seemed to be really loud at dinner tonight for some reason. Luckily the place was busy or we would have gotten a lot of evil eyes for sure!!! They are probably on a constant Mario Brothers high and can't manage to calm down!!!

The pizza was good ole' Pizza Hut! The girls had personal pans and Heath decided to try the cheese fries and I got a side salad with our pizza. I was bummed cause there is no SALAD bar!! WTH??? I wasn't too thrilled about that but, oh well. The cheese fries (which are an interesting thing to serve at Pizza Hut--but I guess that is the whole sports bar vibe they're trying to put off) were just okay we thought. They were seasoned steak fries covered with nacho cheese sauce and bacon. I thought they would be really cheesy---the good way...MELTED all over but NOT!! So we probably won't be getting those again.

I'm sure my mister is happy that I am always taking (and posting) pictures of him from this angle!! Such a nice profile!! i {love} him...he humors me!!

Overall it was a nice outing followed by some movies from the Redbox. The girls got Monsters vs. Aliens- which they really liked. And we got the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt---both had Michael Douglass in them!! and both were pretty good movies!!

Idol FEVER!!!

Is this going on in your house??? Each year my beloved ones look forward to January!! Why?? Because they all LOVE them some Idol!! Yes Heath, Adler, and Chelo have extreme cases of Idol FEVER!!! Every Tuesday and Wednesday they hunker (oh yes I did just say that!!!) around the television with their dinner and STARE for 2 hours! I fade in and out of the picture...usually bustling around the house doing a few evening things, working in my crop room or on the computer. I just CANNOT justify two hours on TWO weeknights watching reality tv. Now don't get me wrong I have those shows that I am RELIGIOUS about (Oprah, the Challenge, Housewives, Bros. and Sisters, CSI, and so on... oooh Tough LOVE!) see I have a TON but they are ALL dvr'd and waiting for me at a more convenient hour aka after everyone else is in bed!!! I don't know if it is because I am sooooo darn spoiled by dvr (I can't sit through commercials anymore!) or because there are just to many other things between 7-9 that I would rather be doing/that need to be done. I just don't watch. I DO like the show but when time is short, tv for me is one of the first things to go!! Crosby is also beginning to DREAD Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Those are the nights Chelo stays and she wants to PLAY but it isn't happening and she doesn't really get why. Poor girl... so I have been trying to keep her entertained (even if it is at the sacrifice of my Distress Ink!!!)

I think the madness lasts til June (CrAzY!!!!) so we'll just have to get used to it I suppose!! I start teaching my spin/toning class at the Rec tonight so I will be out of the house for most of the show. I just hope Mr. Curtis remembers that we have a baby!!! :)

Family Pictures 2009

Here are a few of the Family Pictures we had taken this weekend by Kristy Mullins (more on Facebook). I LOVE them all. SOOO sweet (I have even more saved for our Christmas cards! YAY!)

New Family Truckster???

Oh how I miss those WONDERFUL summer days.... when we would sleep in, go to swimming lessons, eat lunch, and I would have BLOG TIME!! Of course, I have PLENTY to blog about, but blogging everyday hasn't been happening lately like I would prefer so my loyal blog readers bear with me as I attempt to catch up multiple days in one sitting!!! I do not feel like the blog is a burden or something I have to get done. Actually I almost enjoy blogging as much as scrapbooking if you can believe that!!!! This past weekend we were looking at some of the first blog posts and having a great time laughing and reading...like those days were so long ago!!!! But truly it is amazing how many of those little funnies and stories that we would forget if they were forever saved to the blog!!! I am just waiting for the notification from blogspot that says I am to my limit of free space and it will cost me big bucks a month for more space!! heehee!

So the REAL reason for the post...

No it is NOT mine.... I am test driving it for a couple of days and of course I am in LOVE!!! It is just MASSIVE on the inside and drives like a dream. I have liked these cars (Ford Flex) since they have come out. I think they are different and not a mini van. I think selling my Mustang and driving a mini van when I was 23 totally scarred me for life!!!! It is nothing against a van, in fact we borrow Mom's anytime we take the fam. on a road trip for more than an hour!!!! It's just that I've been there and done that without the best of memories!!! (I still have nightmares about sliding doors that won't shut!!! :)

So, this is it... we have some thinking to do. We know we need a new car and that this one really is a great fit for our family. We would like to get the Grand Prix sold first and not have to trade it in since the trade-in price is not good compared to what it would be if we sold it. Not to mention that buying a new car also comes with a sweet new payment, tags, taxes, and higher insurance and cutting back is never fun.... we have been pretty lucky the past few years to be able to have only one low car payment so this is a pretty BIG DEAL!!!!! Cause you all know I like to spend my extra $$ on scrapbooking supplies, pedi's, and clothes!!!! But I think it may be time to re-evaluate the ole' finances and make this happen!!!

Sushi Anyone???

Apparently they had all become expert chopstick users over night. I was the only one not using them!! I prefer a fork, call me crazy. But hey when in Rome, or a Chinese Restaurant in this case, do whatever floats your boat!!!!

Tonight neither one of us felt like cooking so we decided to try the new Chinese SUPER Buffet in town. I thought the food was okay... I didn't stuff myself so that says a lot right there!! They did have a lot of seafood and sushi so that was cool. I had some mussels and shrimp and everyone else decided to try the sushi. I thought I was probably pushing it with the mussels and i KNOW that I am not to eat the sushi so I just took pictures of the fun. The girls and Heath all tried it and thought it was DISGUSTING!!! I don't know what they were expecting but they sure didn't like it!!! I thought it was HILARIOUS to watch them! It was a fun family night. As we were leaving Heath aka "Dad of the Year" to his girls stopped at those stupid junk machines at the check out and look what he bought my baby.....

OMG these were sooooo funny! We were DYING! She was calling them her BLING! We were at home all of 15 minutes and she realized she had already lost her BLING and of course she was devastated!!

Oh Where, Oh Where has the Blogger Gone? Oh Where Oh Where Can She Beeeee?

So let me tell YA where I've been!!! For the past two days I have been at home. That is right NO WORK FOR ME!!! Belle Plaine had some flooding issues so they cancelled school Monday and Tuesday!! SHUT UP I know!!! How SWEET for me!!! A quick weekend recap then on to my flood days... On Friday night I ran my goods over to the Attic garage sale and then went home and didn't do much. Crosby wasn't feeling good and I was just EXHAUSTED (by Friday I am done-ski!!!) So we crashed early and the next day we had soccer but again she was still running a fever and complaining of an earache so we stayed in and Heath went to coach the big girls. That afternoon I had plans to meet with Foxy Book-sy aka Lindsay and Kara-girl. We hit the Attic garage sale and came away with some serious TREASURE!!! I tried to reserve myself, after all, I was PURGING--- not taking home the purges of others!!!! Don't get me wrong there was were still things I couldn't go on living without that HAD to come home with me!!! Since Lindsay and Karagirl are pretty new to scrapbooking they have a TON of "collecting" (we can't decide if we are scrapbookers to preserve memories or collect pretty things!!) to do so this was a PERFECT event for them!!!! After, we went to Abuelo's (babypumpkin was feeling some Mexican food!!!) After all (and I realize that I say after all a BUNCH!!) we had some CELEBRATING to do. Lindsay got engaged Friday night!!! Oh, I was so excited for her!!! Our little Lindsay is growing up {sniff sniff}...
We had the waitress take a picture of her showing off the rock. Ahhh young love :) As I look at this picture I see three women in such exciting stages of life. One newly engaged, one newlywed surviving a remodel on her house (the true test of marriage so I have heard!!!), and one expecting a new arrival. So many things are going on for the three of us... it makes my heart smile thinking about it. (oh and Kara you KNOW matching grout color to tile is exciting!!!)

And THIS is what I did on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday....

I spent TONS of time with my BEAUTIFUL baby girl. Who is about to not be my baby anymore and she is claiming to be just fine with it! {sniff sniff again!!} I am so busy that sometimes I can feel the connection between the two of us to be a little loose so a couple of bonding days and we were back on the right track. We really didn't do much of anything productive---DON'T YOU LOVE IT!!! We slept in and watched tv she lovesloves SpongeBob and iCarly right now. We went out to lunch and went to the library and played outside. Just a lot of mommy and daughter things that are usually reserved for Summer when we have nothing on the agenda but to be together. The past two days with her have REALLY given me a chance to think about how lucky I am to have her because she is so uniquely HER!! She is SUCH a good little girl. And seriously she makes me LAUGH so hard. She is RARELY in a bad mood and is just a JOY to be around. I am so blessed with wonderful daughters and REALLY looking forward to this next baby!!

I know I can hear Steff now.... "You're CRAZY!!!" I always knew I wanted a big family and I am lucky to have a husband who wants the same. We know our life is HECTIC and CHAOTIC but we wouldn't want it any other way. Come on.... it is not that we didn't REALIZE that having 4 kids and 3 dogs would be CRAZY. It makes me think of Jon and Kate.... it is a CRAZY life but it is OUR life....

Are you ready for some Pictures???

One of the Greatest things ---I think-- about leading a CrAzY busy life is that there are tons of opportunities to TAKE PICTURES!!! So grab a icy cold beverage and pull up a seat cause I have a ton to show off!!

First off Heath and Chelo went with Miss Crosby (With an "R"... Uncle Randy was SURE her name was COSBY!!) to the St. Jude Trike-a-thon at her school Friday. The preschoolers ride bikes, trikes, scooters around the school/church to collect pledges. Grammy had her pounding the pavement asking for donations----it was soo sweet (i was tearing up a little watching from the front window) to see her all by herself ringing the neighbor's doorbells and asking for pledges. I love that my girls have self confidence to do things like that. Her sisters are the same way. Chelo can be a little timid but if her sisters are with her she is GOLDEN!!! So when I asked Big #11 how many laps she did she looked at me and said "26" and smiled!!! I looked at her daddy and he just shrugged and said I wasn't keeping track! It looks like we each owe $26 Grammy!!! All three girls had soccer games--my cousin Kami and I went to watch. Here they are getting warmed up. Look how tiny my baby girl is compared to all of the other kids!!! Reagan has a whole head on Crosby!!! She is the youngest on the team, you can hear parents in the stands cheering for her and they will say "go Little One" it is sooo sweet!

After the game Cros, Chel and I went to get groceries. The girls were STARVING--after all, it was probably 12:30 by the time we were finished shopping!!!! I let them pick donuts from the bakery and they were in HEAVEN!!!! When we were standing there deciding what donuts they wanted Chelo looked at me and said "Mom, are these free???" I looked at her and replied, honey if these were free we would come here EVERY morning for breakfast!!! We both just started laughing!! They thought these were the best donuts EVER!! I didn't even get one---I am soo weird about food cravings, didn't even sound good at the time. But I am KICKING myself wishing i had one with me now!!

I left Heath with the girls plus one (Adler had Bri spend the night on Friday and Chelo had Kara over Saturday night) and headed to my favorite spot in the world (besides Stage 5... oh and the beach of course!!) ScrapFunattic in Andover to meet my Lindsay and Steffie for an ALL night Crop!!!! Yep, that is right once a month we get together and crop from 5pm to 5am. We had a blast----we laughed our Booties off!!! Lindsay and I even came up with a new line of Jolies for the Attic to carry ;) Don't worry if that one doesn't make sense!!! I got a few pages done, mostly a lot of playing around for my National Scrapbook Day demo at the store. Lindsay got like 8 or more pages done. Mostly of her St. Patty's trip to Boston I think she was seeing green when she left. She made some really cute pages... she is AWESOME for a beginner!!! I know talent when I see it by Golly!!! Lindsay is my newest recruit into the secret society of scrapbooking. Heath SWEARS it is a cult but I feel the same way about golf!!!!

On Sunday we had another full day on the books. Since I didn't get to bed until almost 7am (when I got home Crosby had a tummy ache and was up for about 30 minutes!!!) I slept until about 12:30. I got ready and we headed to the Episcopal church for the Durbin (my mom's family) Family Reunion. We rolled in at about 1:30 and since it started at 1pm we were the last ones there. Since we were bringing all of the table service EVERYONE was sooo happy to see us. There was soo much good food and above all it was WONDERFUL to get to sit and spend time with everyone. I miss them soo much especially Uncle Randy, Aunt Nancy, Nathan, and Kami!! We really missed Landon, Shannon, and baby girl Brynna but hopefully they are coming for a visit in May!!!

Grammy and the girls

Nathan and I

Aunt Nancy and Adler. Adler was the STAR of the reunion. Everyone just loved her. Her personality really shines when she is around a group of adults!!!

Mom with my Aunts and Uncles

the cousins...Nathan, Kami and I---brother we needed you!!! Look at my 4 month tummy!!! Time to post more baby bump pictures!!!

Crosby pooped out!!! ...and of course RM was having a BLAST!!!!!

Our family

Dustin's cameo!!

My Sweet Cousin Kami and I

Was that everything???... oh yeah Heath took the girls to a skating party at 4:30!!! And Kami came over in the evening and we looked at scrapbooks. That was pretty much it, just a quiet little weekend for the Curtis'!!!