Nora guilted me in to starting this back up!!!

Yes, it's been forever since I posted. Sorry, Nora...you are probably the only person who checks! LOL!

Here's a quick recap of where we are:

Still living in Evansville, IN. Ethan is 8 and just finished 3rd grade. Kate is 3 and will be starting pre-school in 2 months. Scott is hanging at home with the kids and works a Sunday afternoon shift on WABX. Nothing's really changed with me!

We just got back from a week in Orlando. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios. It was nice and had a lot of perks, but the room was just okay. The highlight of the trip was getting to be among the first people to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

Ethan and I are huge HP fans (especially me), and it was super awesome getting to walk through Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. We ate breakfast at The Three Broomsticks, got to taste pumpkin juice, Butterbeer, chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. It was so crazy...especially since the Hogsmeade rooftops were covered with glittering snow...and it was 90 degrees out!

We got to visit the Owl Post, Ollivanders' Wand Shop (slightly disappointing theatrics) and Dervish and Banges. *It was funny to see Zonko's Joke Shop and Dervish and Banges show up on our bank account statements online!* I got tons of souvenirs, as a true nerd would...but did not get a house robe, like tons of the other fans did-not gonna sport a cloak in 90 degree heat-thank you!

The big highlight of the WWofHP was the Forbidden Journey ride inside Hogwarts...it was pretty incredible-a mix of motion simulation, big screen movie magic and animatronics. It was pretty cool!

Well, that's about all the patience I have for this sitting...I promise to be back on top of this blog, for the one reader it has! lol!!!

I've been bad...

Wow-I started this blog with a lot of ambition and then have been too busy to update it. Since I wrote last, we've done a ton of things, most notably:
Scott, Ethan and I went to Comic Con in San Diego!
Ethan started 2nd grade!
Kate is starting to potty train!
Scott and I have been working like crazy!

Today, Kate and I are stuck at home, while the boys are heading back to Ohio. We were all supposed to go, but Kate and I are sick. Scott's brother, Jess and his wife, Rachel, had a baby this past week. She was three weeks early and is having some breathing trouble, so she's been in the NICU, and is heading to Children's for more testing. Definitely not a situation for Kate and I to be bringing our sickies in to. We are super sad we can't go see little Baby Margot (Baby Mango, in Kate-ese), but will definitely get back to OH as soon as we can to see her! By then she will be better and at home and it will be a much better environment for the kids to see their new cousin!
We are definitely think of Baby Mango constantly, and also of my brother-in-law, Steve, who goes through a bone marrow transplant on September 15!
I will make it a point to be a better blogger and to add pics as I go!
*Amber

The wedding...

So, we spent the past week traveling back to Ohio. It was awesome! We got to hang out with a few friends and loved it. It was great to see Grandma Jane, Jess & Rachel, Steve, Katie, Sydne & Brad and that was before we even made it to the wedding!

The wedding was perfect-gorgeous, sweet, emotional, fun, fun & FUN! Aryn and Steve looked fantastic (in part due to Aryn's fabulous make-up job!!)...and were the ideal bride & groom! It was fun to be a part of it...and to catch up with old friends and family! I don't get home much, so it was a perfect occasion to see everyone. Tom, Dawson & Tate, Katie, Jackie, Maddie, Emily and her brand new fiance, Larry...My grandparents, uncles, aunt, parents...etc. My dad proved us right-he was the most emotional dad ever! But then he kicked ass out on the dancefloor as soon as Born in the USA came on...who knew a man with a double hip replacement could slide across the dancefloor on his knees!?!?

It was awesome and fun and not the sad occasion I feared would plague Aryn & Steve. Steve was super upbeat and smiling every minute...you'd never know he had such a fight ahead of him. Here's to you Steve & Aryn...thanks for an amazing time-and know that we love you and look forward to a long future full of family fun!!!

*Amber

Thursday...

So, nothing too exciting today-work was good, then came home, hung out with the kids and had mini corndogs and mac & cheese for dinner. Not too exiciting, or nutricious, I am aware!

Oh! We did have one fun thing-the kids discovered my foot spa in the closet, so they each got a foot spa treatment, a pedicure and a manicure-it was hilarious!!! I think Scott thought we were all crazy!

Well, I am exhausted and need to get to bed-good night!

*Amber

Busy day off...

I was off today and had a great day! After taking Kate to daycare, I came home and finally got to see the MTV Movie Awards. Loved seeing all the previews for the big summer movies...and New Moon too, of course! I do feel it necessary to say that whoever thought that Eminem/Sasha Baron Cohen thing was real, is crazy. It was quite obviously fake. Anyhow-love Andy Samburg-he is hilarious!

So, Ethan and I headed out for a busy day...we mailed back my Zappo's shoes that didn't fit; sent our PS3 back to be repaired; worked on Father's Dad presents; met Joy for lunch; picked Kate up; went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program; and then headed to gymnastics class for Ethan! Whew! I am exhausted all over again!

It was awesome to hang with Ethan all day-I love it!

Scott made us a great dinner when we came home-grilled portabello mushrooms and steak, and corn on the cob! Mmmmm! Now, just winding down...getting ready to head to bed and read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We are already about 1/3 of the way through it...then only one more book to go! Wow-I feel pretty accomplished that we've been able to make it so far through the series...and super excited that the kids (especially Ethan) enjoy reading time as much as I do!

Good night!

*Amber

Black widow update

IT WAS A FEMALE!!! AAAAARrrrrrrgh!

Intruders...

So, I got home early this evening from an exhausting trip to Louisville, thinking it would be a normal evening. NOPE! I was greeted at the door by an excited Ethan holding a Tupperware container, telling me to, "Look inside, Mom!" I knew this couldn't be good. My intuition proved correct, because Scott and Ethan discovered BLACK WIDOW SPIDERS in the front landscaping today. They killed the female (the venomous one who could kill us) and the egg sac (which we've learned can hold 250-700 eggs!!!). I want to throw up. Seriously. I am calling the Terminex man tomorrow. I knew I hated 'rural' living...and this is why! Alright, well, I am going to go search my bedroom and then seal it off for the night, so I can sleep in peace (without extra company!).

*Amber