Father Sons outing, always a success. Luke with his friend Max.
Luke and "little buddy."
We finally found a new place to live. We will be moving in a couple of weeks. Our good friends the Jurgensmeier's found it for us and the best part is that we will be back yard neighbors with them.
Oh the Amish...so naive. We all know that Luke just loves pretzels so we had to visit the factory.
Some random Amish house that was selling homemade root beer. It is too bad that the Amish don't let you take pictures of them.
I searched the entire state to find some type of sport for 3 yr olds. Thank you soccer tots.
Luke and I practicing his first talk in church. He was way excited.
Niagara Falls.
We took a trip to New York last month. Loved the Maid of the Mist.
Stan would not approve.
We stayed by Lake Ontario, thanks be to Creighton. Still not sure how he gets those hotel deals.
I finally got Danielle to skip a rock, she looks psyched.
Palmyra. Joseph Smith's log cabin. 
Pondering the meaning of life in the Sacred Grove.
Luke decided he had to roll down the Hill Cumorah.
The Sacred Grove.
It is that time of year again that we are faced with the task of trying to find another place to rent. Ugh. Pickins are slim in these parts. Our landlord is bumping up the rent that we already think is too high for us therefore a new place is in order. So here is the question...
1-"luxury" condo
or
2- charming Pennsylvania farmhouse
**edited-Dave came home and asked why I am calling the condo "luxury." For the record I am definitely not calling it luxury, anything but. The listing for it called it luxury hence the quotations.
#1-pros:
2 minutes away from the hospital (Dave's work not b/c I feel a need to live by a hospital just for fun).
open feel, fireplace, screened in patio, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, good neighborhood, good view, in the woods, garage, dishwasher, disposal, jetted '80's tub (wait would this be a pro or con?), big closets, lots of windows, plenty of storage, a walking trail to our favorite duck pond.
Cons- kitchen is outdated and screams '80's, no yard just the screened in patio, only 2 bedrooms (but bigger ones).
#2-pros:
Um, I am in love with this place, a little garden in the backyard, was built in the 1800's so it has all sorts of character and original door knobs, excellent view of the big rolling hills and a farm, 3 mins from the hospital, cha cha cha cheap rent, huge windowsills (is that really making my list?), cool attic, a tree that would be great for a swing.
Cons: no dishwasher or disposal, backyard opens up to an open field full of creepy stray cats, no garage, gravel driveway (how do you shovel snow off of that?), yard maintenance, no storage, the cool attic seems like birds live up there, Hershey Trust Company split the home in half like a duplex so the neighbs could be an annoyance, oil heating and other ridiculously high utility payments that come with old houses, 2 very small bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and the best of all is the dungeon basement. It is a full on cave. It is a carved out rock with old doors nailed all over and it feels like a weird person or animal would be living down there and that is where the laundry hook ups are and I am making sound way less scary than it really is. House overall has elements of creepiness involved.
Other option is to do neither and wait to see if anything else will pop up before June. My mom told me no to the farmhouse b/c I "couldn't survive a week without a dishwasher." Probably true. So if anyone has advice or cares about the matter let me know.
One more question- is 2 bedrooms do-able with multiple kids? No fun announcements or anything but we do want more during the remaining 3 years here. Is it miserable? Luke was the worst sleeper ever but do kids just manage especially b/c he will be older by the time we ever have another one? Hopefully someone is still reading my petty post and can offer some opinions. Thanks!
P.S. Mr. "luxury" (or not) condo said that he will hold the place for us until June which is extremely nice but he needs to know asap.
When Dave and Luke were cleaning their ears with q-tips Dave looked over at Luke and said "whoa, you have a lot of earwax" Luke said "I know, I am sooo lucky."
I saw Luke looking out the window the other night and asked him what he was doing. He said he was "just wishin' on a star" saying "I wish oh wish that we can get Hershey Park passes this year" and he also wished for summer and told me that his wish worked because he could see a patch of grass peeking out from the snow.
Luke will randomly ask me things like "Mommy what does de nada mean" or "what does Mi abuela mean?"
Pretty sure that it is all thanks to Diego.
He really wanted a second Rice Krispy treat even though I told him no, so he went and found the Rice Krispy box and dragged his finger along the words and said "see it says, you need to eat one more of these. Sorry mommy that is what it says."
While driving past McDonalds one day he saw an Amish family walking in and said "look, there's one, two, three cowboys over there. They are the ones that drive buggies." I guess he thought that their straw hats were cowboy hats! And if we are going to get technical they are probably Mennonite and not Amish. Only in central PA do you get to dine at McDonalds, shop at Costco with the "cowboys" and park next to horse and buggies!
One thing that I am loving lately is when he sings A Whole New World from Aladdin in the highest pitched voice. "I can show you the wowld. I can open your eye. A whole new wowld..."
One last fun thing that he said today that was completely out of the blue was "I really think that Amy is so excited to see me when we go to Utah." Ha.
*I am sure that Dave and I are the only ones that find these things funny but I wanted to document what sort of things he is saying at this age. I just love the random things that kids say.
Luke is loving his new Woody pajamas. He even had me tie a string on back just like Woody's pull string.
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Do you like our matching pedis. I know that Dave sure does!
The weather has been a little crazy around here, breaking records dating as far back as the 1800's (can you tell the news has been on all day?). Everything has been closed down-except the hospital of course and I have been in full mode hibernation and loving it! They gave up snowplowing our street early this morning and we have been wondering if the snow is ever going to stop. Pennsylvanians are a little extreme with the tiniest bit of inclement weather so you can imagine what an ordeal this storm has been! Last Friday there were lines out of the grocery store and they were totally out of the one thing we needed...milk. Crazy. Maybe we will be able to get out of our cave sometime this spring. Hopefully:)
This one snuck in somehow. It is from last Saturday morning-the start of the snowstorm.
Mailing out our Valentines. Sorry everyone, I'm sure they won't get there in time.
These guys have been sneaking in naps left and right around here. Luke recovering from being sick and Dave recovering from the typical resident schedule of working more hours than anyone ever should in a week.
I love the last pic of Luke the duke sleeping. I am always amazed at his lips for some reason. Where did they come from? They are big and soft and squishy. I just love them. When we saw his 3-d ultrasound picture we were startled at how big his lips looked! They were huge and pouty. We were wondering what they would look like in person. And sure enough when he was born they were still big and juicy. They look normal and just right on him but when he sleeps they look extra fun and large!
There were lots of crafting activities that went on over here last week during our sick week at home. We painted Luke's table but does anyone know how to get painters tape to not let the paint bleed through?
Luke has been liking Primary this past month. I am not going to say that he really likes it but he likes it. His primary teachers have said that he is "very reverent" I am thinking this means he sits very still, doesn't make a peep but doesn't sing, participate or pray. I could be wrong though. Either way it is very fun to pick him up after class and hear what he has to say. Sunbeams are fun.
I am going to be honest. Some days Luke and I argue with one another. Like yesterday, Luke and I fought all day. He woke me up by elbowing me in the face over and over. It was a fight getting him dressed and then I turned around to find his pants and socks off. It was a fight to get him in the car every time. When I tried to buckle him in the car seat he kept shoving his muddy foot in my face. He would not eat anything and I am sure it had something to do with the play date at the cupcake shop followed by a trip to Chocolate World and of course he wanted nothing to do with dinner or his bath. We were grrr-ingg and ugh-ing at each other all day and then I realized how pathetic it was that a twenty eight year old was bickering with a three year old.
and then today...
my best friend reemerged. He has been sweet and pleasant and helpful all day. He is putting away the groceries for me as we speak. I forget how little he is and how everything is still so new to him. He asked for an apple but wanted a big ball apple not one cut in pieces. He was eating it for so long and finally said that he didn't know how to eat it anymore and that he keeps biting and biting but it wasn't going away. I don't think he has ever eaten a whole apple before. Sometimes I think of him as a person but then look over and he is just such a mini boy.
So does anyone else fight with their kids or am I just one big immature girl?
Christmas Eve with Santa's cookies and the reindeer's celery.
Don't you think this picture looks more like a mug shot than a picture of an antsy boy on Christmas Eve?
Wow, Luke really scored this year! He must have been really good because he was way too spoiled. Although, I do have to add that some of those toys are not new, Luke just added them to the pile. Grandma and Grandpa Owen gave him the huge giraffe. Santa brought Jessie the Cowgirl and she is more like Luke's child/bff. He puts her in pajamas and tucks her in bed and tells me how pretty she is. It is the funniest thing ever. He could normally care less about dolls and babies (which Dave likes)but he just has a special bond with that lovely red head of his.
December was such a fun month. Who doesn't love this month?! We have had a few good snowstorms immediately followed by Dave and Luke putting on all of their snow gear as fast as possible and playing in it forever.
My birthday of course was again a home run. I love birthdays way too much. My mom was in town which was so fun. Unfortunately I have been slacking on the photos but basically her trip out here entailed lots of Christmas shopping, date nights for Dave and me, movies, going out to eat, my house and laundry perfectly clean and some great homemade meals. On my birthday I got to do whatever I wanted. Dave and my mom were planning a quick trip to New York to see a broadway and surprisingly I vetoed that idea and chose re-covering my dining chairs, going to lunch and staying home that night with take out and a movie. It was perfect. I always choose to stay nice and warm at home on my birthdays. Anyway, enough about me but December was a good month and I REALLY loved having my mom come to visit.
Here is Luke demonstrating his new hobby called bedroom baseball. 
First snowstorm
Using the baking sheet as a sled did not work very well, rolling always works but the car worked the very best.
"That was fun."
They wrote a huge Luke in the snow.
What is better than a warm bath after playing in the snow
and watching a Christmas movie
and helping decorate the Christmas tree.
Some of my cute friends kidnapped me a few days before my b-day and before my mom was coming to town to take me to breakfast.They totally busted me in my candy cane jammies. So fun, it reminded me of the jr. high days. Don't mind my alien hands in this pic. clenching my new slippers.
Candy Lane at Hersheypark. It was freeeeeeeeeezing.
Did you know that Santa's reindeer live at Hersheypark? Well, apparently they do and Luke was one happy camper when he met these guys.
Christmas pics to come.
