Loads of Pics. . .

It's been a LONG time since I updated (yet again). I keep getting reminder e-mails from my dad to update ("we don't want snow anymore") but it's been quite busy, and since I STILL don't feel great at night, there hasn't been time to update. BUT, here I am on a quiet (yes QUIET) Sunday afternoon feeling halfway normal (just large) and ready to update the blog! So, without further ado. . .please to enjoy!



Anyone that has seen my parents blog has already seen pictures of the fabulous family vacation we took earlier this month (June). We had a GREAT time and I am so thankful for the wonderful family time we were able to have. Unfortunately, our camera didn't see the light of day until the end of the week when we went to "Day Out with Thomas" so I got nothin' prior to that.

The "Day Out with Thomas" was a lot of fun and I think little Caleb was on major overload by the end. I was also on overload, but it was just loads of people in one place. . .I don't do crowds for long. The picture below is just one of the big train sets they had put up for the kids. . .little guy just liked walking around the table looking at everything.

Part of the fun available were temporary tattoos. . .here's Grammy and Abby showing off their pipes. Abby was really funny the rest of the day. We'd say, "Abby, where's your Rosie?" and she'd try to flex her little muscle. She's too funny.

Then li'l guy got his put on too. We thought he'd go for Thomas or Percy, but he wanted Rosie just like Abby. We didn't actually take it off for about it a week or so and it was quite the traumatic experience when it was finally time to say goodbye to the tattoo. (And as Mom realized a couple days after getting hers with Abby, the tattoos weren't as easy to get off as they might seem. . .she had to wear a dress with sleeves to church so she didn't show off the Percy on her arm. . .made me laugh when I heard!)

After the tattoos, we were able to take a ride on an actual train!! I didn't think li'l guy was going to be able to contain himself. One good thing about no potty training yet. . .at least I didn't have to worry about him peeing his pants! Here's a picture of Abby, Pappy and Caleb waiting in line to get on the train. The little engineers are ready to go!

Then we got on the train and the kids were able to stand between Daddy and Pappy to look out the window (wasn't too exciting as the train was only going 3-5 mph, but they still enjoyed it).

And of course, the Ruge family tradition, for every two attractions there is food. . .so Grammy grabbed a bag of kettle corn prior to boarding the train. She has definitely taught the kids a love of popcorn!

And last but not least, we stood in line so li'l guy could get his picture taken with Sir Topham Hatt! Don't you just love the smile on his face (Caleb's)??? He was Sooooo excited to see Sir Topham Hatt!! He had a little bit of a rough time leaving, but we got to ride on a real school bus back to the parking lot, so that made leaving worthwhile.

After leaving Green Bay (yes, we were WAY up there to see Thomas) we started back south headed towards home (kind of). We took a little detour and went a little west to see Jon and Ronda and new baby Matthew Joel Worgess. He was born on June 11th (yet another June birthday!) and is a cute little guy. We both thought he looked a little like little Caleb, but his head isn't as big. For some reason, both my kids have big heads. :)

So that's the extent of my vacation week pics. My vacation week started out fabulously though. . .my parents kept the kids overnight Saturday night and I was able to stay with a friend back in the 'burbs and then attend another friend's baby shower on Sunday! Niki was very gracious and opened her home to me on Saturday night (and shuttled me around everywhere) and it was SOOOOOOOOOO great to see her again! She's getting married in August (less than a month and a half to go!) and she's just bursting with excitement! It's very contagious! Here's a picture of Katrina, me and Niki at Ann's shower.

Now, the shower itself. . .wow! My YAM friend Stacy was the hostess with the mostest!!! I don't have a picture of her at the shower, but she and a couple other ladies planned this quite elaborate affair! It reminded me of the baby shower/tea party Mom had for little Caleb after he was born, but that was in a tea house. . .Stacy did this all in Ann's house and it turned out wonderful! Here's a picture of the food. . .little tea sandwiches, finger foods, and desserts. . .all the food was quite delicious!

Then the cake. . .oh my how adorable is this cake!!! One of the other ladies ordered this at a bakery in town, so I can't give Stacy credit for it, but I bet she could do this too!And last but not least, Ann the pregnant lady! Here's Ann and Niki just before I left. She looks so cute! Some people look very cute when they are pregnant. . .others just look big (me!). Oh well.

Now on to some random pictures of the kids. Part of the fun of vacation was to go to the mall in Green Bay and hit the Build a Bear store. Caleb made "Crush" the turtle (he picked out the name, and yes it's after the turtle in Nemo) and Abby made "Abbers" the bear (named after her by her father. . .original 'eh?). Well, the outfit Caleb picked out for "Crush" was the fireman's uniform. He decided that he should try it on though. . .made me laugh.

And of course Abby couldn't be outdone by her brother so she had to try it on too. Caleb's first response when I showed him the picture was "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" (from Tommy Boy). Made me laugh too!Yesterday we went to the Children's Museum in Indy, and Abby thought she'd try her hand (or arms) at this movable train thingy. . .she couldn't get it to go, but she sure tried hard. :)And of course, what does little Caleb do at the Children's Museum? Why, play with the trains of course! We think it's a little sad that he goes to the museum to play with trains when he can (and does) do that at home. . .but at least he does other stuff while we're there too. Here are a couple random pics of the kids. . .both of these are a couple months old by now and I think I was trying to get a picture of their outfits for Grammy since she bought them. . .can't remember now though.Remember the "Smart Cycle" the kids got for Christmas from my Uncle Rick and Aunt Peggy? Well, they both still love it, even though Abby can't reach the pedals. Soooo, this is how they play with it now.

Back in April for Caleb's birthday, his gift from Grammy and Pappy was the crab sandbox. Since I haven't posted pics of that yet. . .here you go! He loves his crab sandbox and feels bad when it rains because his crab sandbox gets wet. :)

Abby just likes to play in the lid.And last we thought we'd share our claim to fame. . .yes, former President Clinton came to Shelbyville to speak during the Indiana primary. He was at the middle school which is only about 2 blocks from our house. Yipee, huh?
I'll try to get better about posting and as long as this nausea decides to subside, I'll be ok. So far though. . .it's still sticking around. Oh well. I'm at 16 weeks now and both other pregnancies the nausea stopped around this point so I'm hopeful!