DMB in Des Moines.

Maggie proposed a trip for old time's sake to Des Moines for a DMB concert several months ago. In my college years and shortly after I was more than a Dave Matthews Band fan, I was a fanatic. I saw many concerts, did all of the research on the band and all of that stuff. Somewhere along the line, the passion faded. I still sing along when a song comes on the radio and feel somewhat nostalgic about them, but they no longer have that hold on me.

When Maggie suggested the idea, I wasn't pregnant, although that was in my plan. Because of that and the fact that it was a midweek concert and knowing how impossible Dave's schedule is to work with, I was iffy on wether or not it would work out. To my pleasant surprise, it all came together, pretty nicely as a matter of fact.

We left on a Tuesday morning and arrived in time to freshen up at Sonia and Brad's. The four of us grabbed a bite to eat with Maggie's brother in law Joe before heading to the concert. I wasn't as much fun as my nonpregnant self, but I had a great time. Mag had a good enough time for the both of us and tolerated my sober self, encouraging me to take a seat whenever possible. We hit the road early on Wednesday morning and made it home by early afternoon.

Thanks Mag for the quick get away, I think I needed it more than I realized!

Maggie, Sonia and I before the concert. 

Maggie and I during the concert. 

Back in Sioux Falls, foot zerberts. 

Getting settled, Father's Day and a tacky party.

We moved home! What a relief.  Although our current situation is less than ideal, we are managing just fine. We moved into the attic, which is more or less a one bedroom apartment minus the kitchen. We are improvising with a dorm fridge, mini microwave and a toaster, which works great for breakfast. We generally do the other meals on the go, which can be a bit challenging given Greta's energy level, but we make due. Nap time is hit or miss as there is a lot of commotion going on below us, but when compared to the train at the rental house, it is really not too bad. Bed time is early, for all of us. We are sharing one room (a queen blow up mattress, a twin mattress, and a pack and play), so it seems to work best to lay down at the same time in order to facilitate a decent sleeping environment for the kids. We are basically camping, going on our 11th night in a row. Im hopeful that this week will bring lots of progress and good work and that we may be able to move down to our bedrooms by the end of the week. Sully and Greta will share Greta's room as his room needs to be 'caught up' since it was functioning as a storage room up until last week.

Playdoh fun.  

Bedroom/playroom. 

Kitchen/living room.

Attic hallway. 

Attic powder room. 

Father's Day was mellow. Dave had a funky call schedule so came home around 8am and had to go back to work at 3pm. We made the most of it and went for brunch and for a short drive before quite time for the kids. We gave him his annual gift of a mug made my the kids at the pottery place. He loved it, he always does. The kids and I went to a BBQ to celebrated my dad later in the evening. They had a blast playing with Isaac and Anna, they always do. Im so lucky to have a great dad in my life and grateful for Dave's roll in both my life and the kids' life. We hit the jackpot.

Dad with the daughters. 

Maggie giving the Munce kids their first taste of golf. 

Park fun. 

Father's Day brunch. 

And finally, the tacky party. We have been looking forward to this event for some time. Liz and Matt had a co bachelor/bachelorette party which consisted of pizza at Tomacellis, beverages at the Upper Cut, and Cosmic Bowling at Eastway Bowl. A few tacky establishments to host a party. Many people came in the appropriate attire and we had a blast. The wedding countdown in officially on!

Tacky party fun. 

Liz and Matt and their ceiling tile.  

The Connelly family.

Tacky fun. 

Construction progress and life in general.

We are making noticeable house progress, which feels amazing. Last week was a bit stressful as both the designer and contractor were on vacation, but we pulled through and things kept moving. Then on Sunday we learned our renal house has been rented out to another guest on Thursday evening, so our move out date jumped two days. The landlord assured me that if we wanted to come back on Friday for the night, we were welcome (HAHA). Moving once is enough at this point in my life, let alone two more times. The attic is getting carpeted today, the tiler has laid tiles in two bathrooms and is in the process of finishing the third. The goal is to get me a shower by our move in date and a toilet other than the port a potty (HAHA again). The roof tiles are being removed today and will be replaced after the paper beneath is replaced. Just as they were starting to put down new paper, a completely unplanned and unforcasted sprinkle started (isn't it ironic?). We had originally been promised a functional but not finished kitchen, but we wont even have a kitchen floor by this weekend (thank goodness for dorm appliances we have borrowed from friends with college aged kids). I am optimistic that once we move in, we will see remarkable progress each day and life will gradually feel more normal. I am stressed out and so excited at the same time. I want to be home so bad, but I wanted the house to be closer when we moved home. I was talking to a friend over the weekend and she was talking me through my stress and said, "if I were you, I'd either be a huge b!t<h all of the time, or else I'd constantly be crying." It was in that single validating line that I realized where all of these tears and impatience has come from. I am experiencing emotions I didn't know I was capable of. And then I'm reminded of the response my dad gave to me when this all started "just remember, Suzie, these are all things your brought upon yourself." I laugh to myself through gritted teeth. I cannot believe we are so far in. I know looking back I will be so grateful, as what has been completed looks perfect, Dave and I get lost in our excitement. I just wish we chose to do it when the kids were older or maybe when I wasn't pregnant.

The kids are busy, but so sweet. Today Sully locked Greta in to one of the bedrooms at the rental with my phone in there with her. We didn't have tools at the house because we are in the process of moving. I was panicked and she was hysterical. It was awful to see her little fingers reach under the door while I scrambled to figure something out. Fortunately, all was resolved (with the help of a dismantled fork) and I made a swift exit as soon as Dave got home. I was desperate for some alone time. Sully is in Vacation Bible School this week and he is so sweet. He packs his puppy backpack and his robot lunch box and then cries when I drop him off. Last night he came home with a handmade picture of what is supposed to be baby Jesus in the manger and when Dave pointed to the baby and asked him it's name, he replied, 'thats baby GG,' seriously, melt my heart.

Fortunately the house headache is temporary, and the kids are permanent :).

Tubby time with sweet Greta. 

Flowers to detract from the constructions mess. 

Refinishing the floors in the master bedroom.

New tile in the upstairs laundry/former master bath. 

Looking in to the new master bath, this used to be the
master bedroom closet. Refinished floors and new tile. 

Standing in the new master bath.
New walk in closet to the left.
Recessed lighting throughout.

Ready for VBS!

So excited about his chalk drawing during VBS. 

Mmmmm! Dilly bars.  

Removing tiles (in the rain!). They stopped shortly after this photo. 

"Look at mama and say 'MONEY PIT!'."

A glimpse at #3.

Dave and I went to my ultrasound last Wednesday and were able to get a good look at baby #3. We are happy to report only good things. We have decided to keep the streak alive and wait until delivery to find out the baby's gender. The baby's heart rate was 142 and it fell in the 34th percentile for size. We have also (finally) started to get serious about the name game, which is actually going quite well. I do have to follow up in regards to the placenta location in a couple of months, but baby-wise, all is good.

21 weeks down, 19 to go!

Baby profile. 

Sweet snuggler.

A robot birthday party for our 3 year old.

After much anticipation and preparation, Sully turned three. My sweet, quiet, reserved little boy is growing up. He is talking so much, almost nonstop, he is feisty toward Greta. He is silly and goofy and loves to have fun. Im so proud of how far he has come.

For his birthday party, we celebrated at McKennan Park. We ordered pizza and invited family to join in the fun. Sully got so many cool summer toys as gifts and he had a blast playing with them with his cousins at his party. We are so lucky that he is ours.

Surprise cinnamon roll for his birthday breakfast. 

Birthday balloons. 

Matching shirt and cake. What a lucky kid.

A little cousin help opening presents. 

Family photo. 

Dave turns 53 and a staycation.

Dave had a week of vacation over Memorial Day weekend and we were happy to stay put. It has been a busy spring and it feels so good to just be around and catch up on things around here. Dave had a birthday, a very mellow 53 which primarily consisted of family time. We were able to go to dinner with my parents, but that was about it for excitement. He worked one day on his week off and I was able to get a shift in as well. We also filled up our days with house appointments, pool days, and a trip to The Children's Museum in Brookings. Overall, it was a great week.

Feeding the geese at Arrowhead Park on daddy's birthday. 

Pony tails for everyone! 

Swimming pool fun. 

Painting with Grandma at the Children's Museum.  

Obsessed with painting.

Grandma, Capri, Hudson, Owen, Isaac, Sully, Dave, me, Greta, Anna and
Maggie at the Children's Museum.

Frog hunting with Grandpa. 

Owen, Isaac, Grandpa, Sully, Anna and Capri frog hunting. 

Check ups.

We quickly got back into the grind around here after a week of vacation for Dave. Sully and Greta had 3 year and 18 month check ups this week, and fortunately, everything continues to be great. Stats are as follows: Greta, height: 31inches (24th percentile), weight 21lbs, 8oz (10th percentile): and Sully, height: 37inches (37th percentile), weight: 28lbs and 6oz (16th percentile).

Sully continues his obsession with any sort of outdoor sport and robots while Greta is also obsessed with being outside and helping with the dishes. They are both as sweet, and as busy as ever.

Big boy.

Silly girl.