Back in "The 'Boro"

Owen and I made it to Murphysboro on Friday evening after what seemed like the longest trip in the history of trips. But we made it safely and have been enjoying our time thus far! On Saturday we went to my cousin Laura's wedding. Owen had a great time running all over the reception. I always realize how much I do really need Cody when I'm at parties alone with Owen. I had no one to "tag out" with! I was on duty the whole time and he WORE ME OUT! Here's a few pictures of our fun time. I couldn't take a whole lot because I was too busy chasing Owen!

My baby boy all dressed up and ready to go! We tried to get a cute picture of him in front of some pretty flowers at my parents' neighbors' house, but it's almost impossible to get him to pose for a picture these days. I still think he's cute though! Don't you love the coat? His Auntie Beth bought that for him and we just love it!

With my newfound love of cakes, I had to take a picture of this one. Isn't it just beautiful? The colors of the wedding were chocolate brown and pink.

The beautiful bride and her groom, Mark. This picture doesn't do the dress justice at all. It was gorgeous and just perfect for Laura! She looked wonderful!

My cousin Megan, her son Aidan, our Aunt Tracy, myself, and Owen. There was supposed to be a picture above this one of Owen running down a long hallway (something he did ALL NIGHT LONG) but I accidentally deleted it! I'm too tired to go through and stick it back in so maybe I'll post it another time.

My cousin Morgan and her nephew Aidan on the dance floor. Such cuties!

Owen playing with Grandpa. As I said before, almost impossible to get him to look at the camera!

Owen and Grandma gettin' their groove on on the dance floor. Owen wasn't quite sure what to think of all that dancing and loud music!

My cousin Amy's daughter, Grace, who just turned 2. She was a flower girl and looked adorable in her dress! Here she is clapping on the dance floor. What a cutie!

My cousin Scott's youngest, Emma, whom Owen adored. He would go up to her and put his arms out for her to pick him up! She is six and could hardly carry him around, but he loved it! She would just walk around with him like this. Her 8-year-old sister, Leah, was also a flower girl but I never got a picture of her because she was on the dance floor almost the entire night!

Here's me and my baby boy. It took a few tries to get him to look at the camera on this one, but we got it!









We're having a great time on our visit here. Right now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Beth's son, Cade. She called today saying she had some pains, but it looks like it was just false labor and the wait will continue. I will post pictures as soon as he arrives!

I have come down with a cold so I am not feeling so great. The good news is that since Owen was up late the last 3 nights we have been here, he caught up on sleep this morning and slept until almost 10 am! It was just what his mama needed. I will muddle through the rest of the day until Grandma and Grandpa get home to help me. They are always so helpful with him when we are here and give me a much needed break!

Back To Our Roots

Last weekend we went back to where it all began for us as a couple. We headed to U of I homecoming with my 2 best friends and their husbands, Michelle, Dusty, Molly, and Ted. Michelle, Molly, and Ted all graduated from there so it was a weekend full of memories for everyone. We had such an awesome time and hope to get back very soon! Here's a few pics of the weekend.





Michelle and Dusty at the bar on Friday night after we got into town.












Cody and I posed for a picture while tailgating on Saturday morning before the game. Much thanks to my mama for providing us with our new Illini gear! We loved it!




The boys getting the grill fired up to make brats while tailgating. I made them drive thru McD's before we went so I could get hotcakes instead! Although, I must say, I did sample a brat and Dusty did a wonderful job!

Molly and Ted sipping on coffee while tailgating!

The CHIEF running on the field. There is big controversy over the chief because people say it's not respectful to Native American Indians. I do see where they are coming from but I just love to watch him come out on the field! I can't help it!

The girls at the game after the upsetting loss. We still had a good time though!

Playing a racing game at the bar on Saturday night. We were all like kids running around in there playing games! We had so much fun! I'm proud to say I actually beat them all once at this game!

Our 3 guys in their Illini gear at a bar after the game. They were so great all weekend--being patient enough to take a picture of the girls in front of every haunt we remembered so fondly. Ok, so we ended up with the same picture just in front of different landmarks, but we liked them all! And our guys never complained! Aren't they cute?!

The three girls in front of the house we lived in together. We had some awesome times in the house and we just loved living there. The funny part is, we sat in the driveway for about 5 minutes the night before trying to work up enough courage to knock on the door and ask the 5 guys sitting in the living room if we could take a look around. Never did do it. So we went back the next morning and took our picture in front of it.

Here we are in front of the dorm where we first met. Ah, the memories....

And the best picture of the weekend. That's right, we actually met a celebrity! Here we are with TLC's Trading Spaces and Movin' Up Interior Designer Doug Wilson. We were sitting in a booth about 5 feet away from him and I looked over and said, "I think that's Doug Wilson!" We debated for about 10 minutes whether it was him and then Molly got up the nerve to ask him for picture. It was the highlight of our weekend! The guys, of course, laughed at us for being such starstruck dorks.

A New Tractor on the Farm

Ok, so it's a lawn tractor and I wouldn't exactly call our backyard a farm....but nevertheless, we got a new one! Unfortunately, our previous one broke down about a month ago. Cody bought some new parts for it and installed those and was out mowing the lawn one afternoon when BOOM! The engine pretty much burst into pieces! Our lawn was already looking like a forest so we had to break down and buy a new one. We decided to go for the cadillac in mowers and get a John Deere. Well, we didn't exactly get the cadillac version, but it is nice! Look how shiny!

Daddy took Owen for a spin around the front yard and he just loved it! Here are a few pictures of their ride:

Cody was very excited to get his new toy and I'm sure he's upset that he only got to drive it a few times before he has to put it away for the winter. I keep telling him if he'd just get a snow plow thing for the front of it he could drive it in the winter, too! He doesn't seem to like the idea though. Wonder why? Who doesn't love plowing your own gravel road/driveway on your slow little lawnmower at 4am before you go to work?

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Steve...

From one cool dude to another.

Hope it was a great day! Can't wait to see you in a week when we can celebrate with lots of walks together! I love you and my mommy and daddy do, too!

Shave and a Haircut, 2 bits

Ok, so he didn't get a shave and the haircut cost way more than 2 bits, but it made for a catchy title, don't you think?

We headed out this afternoon to run a few errands. Only at Wal-Mart can you get an oil change, some dress shoes for your baby, a haircut for same baby, and some plastic bags to hold the hair in since you forgot to bring one from home--all in about an hour. Come on, people, you just can't beat that! Anyway, below are a few pictures of the ordeal. It went much better than we had expected. Although I find that if you go in with very low expectations you are pleasantly surpised with the result. He didn't enjoy it, but he didn't cry either.

The shagged-out before picture.

In the chair with the snazzy animal cape and ready to be cut!

He wasn't so sure about the cold scissors on his neck. Didn't like the sraying of the water much either. But he took it like a pro.

Kept turning his head away.

He got a little testy at the end so we had to pull out the snacks. He wasn't really having any of it, though.

The hairdresser pulled out a timer that she had that seemed to keep him occupied for a minute longer.

The finished look. He wouldn't look at the camera so this was the best shot I could get.

The after shot of the back of his head. Much improved, don't you think? We know his Uncle Ryan will be proud as he as been hounding me to do this for about a month now. You can shut up now, Ry. :)

Have you seen this man?

Cody Muhs, last seen at Adventureland driving his "Semi-Truck" scaring toddlers while attempting to lure unsuspecting women into his "truck" with his scary "happy" faces. He was eventually asked to remove himself from the ride, as he was having way more fun than a 29 year-old man should have on it. Be on the look-out for him, ladies. He could be pulling his rig into your town next!

Pella Corp. Day at Adventureland

On Saturday we spent the day at Adventureland, an amusement park that is about 20 minutes from our house. Pella sponsors a day out for their employees there every other year. We spent the day walking around with Travis and Jasmine and their girls and had a great time! Owen went without a nap but stayed in good spirits all day long. He was pooped!
Our first ride was the Tea Cups. Mr. Serious didn't quite know what to think of any of the rides. He didn't cry on them, but he never did get excited about them.


Here's Dad and Owen while we were waiting for Jasmine and the girls to get off the balloon ride behind them. I had to include this one because I thought it looked like they were standing in front of one of those green screens and the background wasn't really real. Anyone agree?
Travis won a basketball at one of the games and Owen LOVED playing with it. He and Daddy bounced it around while we waited for the girls on a ride.

Here's Owen, Grace, and Lizzie on the Ladybug ride. He kept turning his head toward the center of the when it started and just watched those big flowers in the middle.

He did like the steering wheel on the Ladybug.
Here's Owen and Mommy riding a Dragon ride. He kept his head up to me like that the whole ride. Still not sure what he was doing, because he never did cry in terror.
I had to include this one us since these kinds of photos are so rare! I'm usually behind the camera!

A happy boy pauses for a photo while enjoying his snack.

Walking through the park with Daddy. He LOVED walking around but he was hard to keep up with!
Cody and Travis right before they rode the Space Shot. This ride catapults you up really fast and then drops you. Hence, the look of terror on Cody's face.
Riding the semi-trucks with Daddy.
He was so pooped by the end of the day he had to take a rest on Daddy during the ride. It was too cute!

Mama's Little Helper

Owen's newest thing is "helping" Mommy around the house. He loves it when I ask him to help me and he gets so excited! Here are some pictures of him doing some of his favorite "chores."

Throwing his diaper away. The other night I put his jammies on in

the living room and, of course, changed his diaper. I had forgotten for

a few minutes and left the diaper sitting on the floor. Owen saw it,

picked it up, and ran straight to the door where the trash

is to throw it away! It was so cute! Now he is doing it all the time.

Here he is closing the pocket door where the trash can/laundry is.

He has been doing this for a while now and he just loves it.

You have to be careful though, or he will shut it while you are in

there doing something!

Putting his dirty clothes in his hamper. One day he just picked up his dirty clothes and took them over to the hamper. Now it is definitely one of his favorite things to do. The only problem is, when I go to put away the clean clothes, he takes them out of the basket and puts them in the hamper! He has also been known to open his dresser drawer and take them out of there and put them in the hamper!

Closing the door to the dishwasher. The bad thing about this one is that he wants to open it once you start it! My dishwasher is wonderful, but the one thing it doesn't have is a lock on the door!

Here he is clapping for himself after shutting the dishwasher door. This is a very important ritual. Like most men after they do a chore around the house, you have to clap for him and make a big to-do about the whole thing! He claps while saying "Yaaaayyy!" after every chore that he does.

Of course, Cody is very excited about this newfound love of chores as it means that Owen is one step closer to mowing the lawn for Cody. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason Cody wanted to have kids--so he could train them to do things for him around the house. I now have a vision of Owen going to the fridge to get Daddy a cold one.