Thursday, July 29, 2010

Our vacation in Destin, FL...

Last week we spent seven days in Destin, Florida with some friends and their families. Although the stats for the trip might not sound appealing to some people (a 14 hour drive to get to the beach, in one house 8 adults, 9 kids (ages 6-15 months), and 2 babysitters) we had an great time!

Our trip had it all...a big awesome house, our own private pool, the beach right across the street, constant swimming, pizza night, Fudpuckers (a cool restaurant we went to with live alligators), volley ball matches in the pool, Mexican night (2 families made dinner for everyone) - included a pinata and margaritas, adult night out at The Crab Trap (Jeff attempted to eat about 20 pounds of crab legs), go-carts, merry~go~rounds, crafts for the kids, cornhole, belly smackers (compliments of the kids as well as the dads), Fat Daddy's (equivalent to Chuckee Cheese...where our kids won 6 stuffed animals from the "Claw Game"...Jeff was so proud:), Italian night, ice cream, karaoke (where Jeff sang "Friends in Low Places" for the 147th time), a first lost tooth (Logan's), Baytowne Warf, giant hamster balls on the water (only a picture can explain this better), swimmer's ear (4 of the 9 kids ended up with getting drops in their ears by the end of the trip) and trampolines. I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of other things we did, but you get the idea:)

Here are some pictures from the trip...

All the kiddos from shortest to tallest...AJ, Mary Kate, Maddy, Brooklyn, Claire, Zane, Taylor, Frank and Logan


The crew eating dinner on Mexican night...


Our AWESOME babysitters Miss Sarah (aka ~ Sarah the Babysitter) and Miss Tracey


The chefs of Mexican night...me, Jeff, Joff and Kelly!



The pinata before the beatings began:)


Logan, Frank and Claire being silly!



Frank collecting as much loot as possible.




Taylor and Logan enjoying their winnings!

Logan's first lost tooth ~ July 22, 2010 ~ he pulled it out by himself!


Claire and Brooklyn...BFFs! (Don't you just love Claire's sunglasses???)



Not the greatest picture...but what can I say??? 4 kids under the age of 6 asked to stand still and smile while looking into the sun.


Again...not the best family picture...but it will do:)



All the kiddos at Baytowne Warf.

Frank in the hamster ball.


Logan on the trampoline.


Miss Tracey and the girls in the dresses she bought them...too cute!

This is the 4th year we've done this group trip with our friends (3 of which I've been pregnant for...haha) and it never disappoints no matter how much planning and worrying takes place before hand. I can't wait to see what the future trips hold for us...especially as our kids get bigger...

Well, that's all for now...

Saturday, July 10, 2010

You're invited and Thank you...

A month or so ago, I made these baby shower invitations for my neighbor Jenny.


Then a few weeks ago, Jenny asked if I could make some thank you cards that went with the invitations (she plans to give them to the guest of honor as a gift)...and this is what I came up with.


(You can't see it in this picture, but on the white part of the card I stamped the same onesie I used in the invitation with a water mark pigment. Very subtle...but it still says baby.)

However...I can't take complete credit for the design of this thank you card. I received a thank you note from a friend awhile ago that was a similar design. When I opened the card I loved the simplicity of it and immediately thought, "I can do that!". So, although this isn't a complete "Shane Original"...I took a little inspiration from the other card and added a little bit of my own flare!

I'm so glad Jenny asked me to do this...because with each order I've done in the past, I kept saying to myself that I should provide a sample of a thank you card in case the person might want to order additional cards. I need to keep this in mind for future orders.

My next project is 50 bridal shower invitations for my soon to be sister in law Krista (Jeff's brother Paul is getting married in mid October...so, it'a Rieder-size shower and wedding:). I have an idea brewing now...but I'm waiting on a stamp set I ordered from Papertrey to complete the invite. I'll keep you posted when I have something to share.

That's all for now...I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Rieder Water Park...

On Wednesdays the pool we belong to is closed for the day...and with this heat, to be outside and not in water is unthinkable. So, yesterday we put up our kiddie pool and water slide and let the kids go wild!

My neighbors Julie and Melissa came over with their kids (plus two bonus kids)...so, we had 12 kids in all ranging in ages from 9-16 months. We were outside from 11-2:30. They kids played in the pool, slid down the slide, soaked the driveway, made some beautiful side walk chalk creations (as well as some color concoctions in water bottles), ate lunch, laughed, and (of course) cried.


Here's a picture of our indoor picnic. I've decided this is how I want to serve all meals in my house from now on, because when the meal is over, you wrap up the blanket and shake all of the crumbs and mess outside. I wonder if Jeff would go for this???

Overall, a good time was had by all. The kids had fun and it was nice to hang out with some friends and have some adult conversation. Thanks Julie and Melissa!

Well, that's all for now...

Monday, July 5, 2010

Apple Valley Lake...

Last weekend Jeff's friend (and his wife) from his work invited our entire family to their lake house for a few days. Their house was on Apple Valley Lake which sits between Toledo, Akron, and Columbus. When Jeff asked if I wanted to go...I didn't let myself think about it too much and just said yes. I'm so glad...because we had a great time!

Brad and Eileen's house was beautiful! There was plenty of room for our 4 kids in addition to their 4. Their house came equipped with a boat, a jet ski, and a paddle boat. I can completely see how they fell in love with the place after only one visit and ended up buying a second home there.

We spent our days playing at the beach, taking boat rides, tubing, jet skiing, swimming around their dock, fishing, roasting marshmallows, playing games, paddle boating, and watching the kids enjoy one another. Although it's tough being in a new place with a curious 16 month old, I still managed to relax.

Here are some pictures from the trip...

Logan swimming at the beach

Frank at the beach

Gracie and Claire

Mary Kate and Zack...they were instant buddies!


Claire, Jeff, and Gracie ready for take off!

Logan, Jeff, and Frank


Fishing off the dock. Logan, Frank, and Claire all caught fish!


Logan, Frank, and Jared enjoying a boat ride.


Jeff and Frank cruising on the jet ski. (Frank was the only one of my kids to get on the jet ski...go figure:)


Jared, Brad, and Frank...again, Frank was the only one of my kids to get on the paddle boat.

The whole crew...(from left to right)...Gracie, Claire, Sam, Mary Kate, Zack, Frank, Jared, and Logan.
Thanks to the entire Stegman Family! We had a great time!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Eclipse...

Last night I went with some girlfriends to a 10 o'clock showing of the movie Eclipse....and I have two words for you...TEAM EDWARD!

Don't get me wrong...Jacob did put up some pretty good reasons why Bella should be with him (can you say 6 pack??), but we all know how it's going to end, so why fight it??? But really, Edward is such a stand up guy. He resists Bellas advances because he wants to do (what he feels is) the proper thing and marry her first. He let's his enemy cuddle (for an entire night) and kiss his fiancee and doesn't get angry but understands. What?!? And...he is constanlty fighting to protect her from harm. Who could ask for anything more?

This movie was definitely the best movie so far in the series! The acting has gotten so much better...I even felt like Kristen Stewart had some depth. Even the actor that played Jasper looked like he took some acting lessons rather than appearing like he was smelling flowers or some bad odor throughout the entire movie. Jacob delivered yet again another solid performance...and I'm not just talking about his physical appearance. (You know, they saved a ton of money on his wardrobe allowance for this movie...the kid rarely had on anything more than his shorts...haha!)

Needless to say, I loved the movie! It was worth staying up until midnight and being tired all day today to go and see it! I'm sure this viewing of Eclipse won't be my last!

For those of you who haven't see it yet, enjoy! You won't be disappointed!