What a crazy two months.  

I honestly don't know how we've all survived. 
Let me catch you up...

Dad spent 45 long days in the hospital, part of which was in ICU, from a few infections and other complications. He was finally released only to be sent back a week later with pneumonia. He spent another week in the hospital and is finally back at home, where he belongs. AJ flew in to visit and the picture above is from a day when all of us were able to visit at the same time. Dad hasn't seen Ana and Emi in months. I hope to get them up there this week to spend some time with him.

Anabelle started soccer. Unfortunately with Dad being sick and Grandpa passing, she had to miss her first two games. She's been such a trooper and so good these past few weeks. She finally played her first game this weekend and did so well! We didn't have to coax her onto the field and there was absolutely no crying! Although, because of all the rain she did spend a lot of time on the ground, so we gave in and took her to buy cleats after the game. 

I also attempted to enroll Ana in a two-week learn to swim class that they hold at the high school. Mike told me I was crazy, but I wanted to try and push her a little and see if peer pressure would overrule her fears. As usual, Mike was 100% correct. I was nuts. Anabelle kicked and screamed her first two lessons while the instructors tried to pull her in the water.  By Wednesday I had wised up and decided we'll wait until next year.

Emilia learned to crawl. So funny... you spend all your time encouraging and pushing for your child to be mobile, then once they are you wish you could take it all back! We've been spending mornings trying to corral her to one general location in the house so she doesn't get into trouble. Needless to say, we've found her in every nook and cranny in the house, trying to put everything she finds into her mouth.

I turned 32 on April 16th. We were in Grand Rapids, Michigan for my Grandpa's funeral so Mike and the girls tried to make the best of it. They took me to the Olive Garden (right next door to the hotel) for a celebratory dinner. The picture above captured it perfectly.

Easter came and went like a whirl-wind. Probably because it was the same weekend as the Final Four here in in Indy. The girls had a wonderful Easter morning (above). We were lucky enough to have Waylou (the girls' name for Mike's mom) here for almost a week, allowing Mike and I to enjoy everything the weekend had to offer. 

Coaches vs. Cancer Dinner

 From the suite

From our lower level seats

Mike and Blue II... If you know Mike, you know this is rare.  

In-between all of the madness above, we also ...

• Managed to negotiate a new fence that will go in sometime in early May. In the process learning the difference between convex, concave 1x4, 1x6, blah, blah, blah
• Took a three-day trip (Melody) to LA for work and experienced my first red-eye flight home - what on earth was I thinking? 
• Moved the girls to a new daycare, which we absolutely LOVE
• Doctored Emilia through a MRSA infection
• Took a trip (Mike) to Lexington for the Horizon League golf tournament 
• Hired a new coordinator at work (her first day was the day of the NCAA championship game)
• Completely stopped P90X... when was I supposed to fit in exercise?  
• Picked out a new bike for Ana's birthday, a gift from my Dad. After visiting three stores to find the right size, we decided to order online.

We are all hoping things slow down a little and get back to normal, although I think I've come to accept that "normal" is relative. I just need to commit to at least 45 minutes of "me" time a day to get in some exercise. I need the stress release!


Now...it's time to start planning a June birthday bash!