Spring is Finally Here!!!!

So I know I'm not the only person who has been desperately wishing for spring to get here, but I feel like I'm the happiest that it's here now:-)!! It was a long winter for the Hilton's w/ early bedtimes, lots of tv time and lots of screaming, bored kids and parents! We are such an outdoors family that it was one brutal winter season this year that Patrick woke up every day from January 1st on asking if it was summer yet! We were able to get out several times last winter and go for some good snow hikes on the local mountain bike trails, but we didn't get a single one in this year due to the ridiculous snowing and the freezing cold temps. We even only went sledding a couple times, we went close to a dozen times last year b/c it was sooo cold! Well, I'm going to optimistic and say that winter is officially over, at least for the Hilton's and move on to much greener, warmer pastures of spring!! We've already hit our first family bike ride w/ dinner and playing at Raccoon River Park last week, Patrick and I have gone out for several bike/runs, he bikes and I huff and puff my way through a run, and we've walked to get the girls from school every day but one in the last 2 weeks! Not a bad start if you ask me:-). Also, I've started early this year on working on my bronzed self with spending the afternoons outside watching Patrick play, we got new sand and toys for the sandbox today, highlight of the week let me tell you!!! I've been working on getting moving as much as possible and we've started a new "healthy living lifestyle", if you will, to kick start our spring/summer with more whole grains, fruits, veggies and less meat, but lean cuts/kinds when we do. I've already seen a 6.5 lb loss since we started the beginning of last week, and I can't wait to see how this pans out. I will say that I'm not near as hungry now, with cutting out fast food, diet pop and candy(I did sneak a 1/2 of a 3 Musketeers bar today, but I did stop at 1/2!) And with today being a wonderful 75 degrees here in lovely Iowa, we spend all day outdoors and grilled our little hearts out:-)! So here's to you and yours: Have a wonderful spring!!! Enjoy all the warmth and time w/ your loved ones!!

Holy cow, what's with the baby boom lately??

Austyn at almost 7!
The day we brought her home...12 days old
The first pic of our Little Peanut!!

So I've found it very weird how so many friends/acquaintances have had or are going to have a baby in the last 6-12 months!! I was told that over the long cold winter that there was nothing to do, but that doesn't account for all the babies born during the snowy season here!! We've had close to 8 friends have babies in the last 6 months and have about 4-5 more due in the next 6 months...crazy!!! I've been thinking that it's in the water, and my lovely hubby has been repeatedly telling me to stop drinking said water:-)!! We've been so fortunate to have 3 healthy, happy kiddos in the last 7 years and couldn't imagine starting over again(hard for me to swallow!) We had always wanted 4 kids, but after Patrick came along it seemed like the perfect fit had finally made his appearance, along with the fact that Daddy thought he might loose his mind if we entered any more little people into our flock:-)! This being said, our first baby will be turning 7 this Tuesday, the 16th. 7!!!!!!!! Am I old enough to have a 7 year old???? According to Courtney I am, he never lets me forget my age, which isn't officially OLD quite yet, give me 3 more months and then we'll talk. Austyn came into this world with such a surprise for the whole family with coming almost 7 weeks early, breech and emergency c-section! She's kept us on our toes from day one!! But being such a big baby, 5 lbs 6 1/2 oz, for that early, she was huge, she only had to spend 12 days in the NICU at Blank and was able to meet the world a month after her birth for the first time! Had we known then what we know now, she was just the beginning of the roller coaster that would insue in our lives over the next 3 years! We can't imagine that our baby is going to be 7, perfectly healthy, opinionated and a fashion forward little girl who's pushing 16 faster than I'd like her to!! Just thought I'd take my trip down memory lane to what was and how far we've come in these last 7 years!!! Happy early birthday to my Austyn!! Mommy loves you so much, no matter how crazy you drive me!