Life As We Know It

100 Days Smarter

2012-02-15T22:50:00.000-05:00

Jenna has made it through 100 days of school. :) Check out her smile, one of her top teeth has poked through and is now about halfway down. I'm getting used to her new smile, and it makes me smile myself when I see her tooth there. It's been a few years since she's had front teeth.

This little love is 8 months old, and she just got her first tooth on the bottom. She's rolling all over the floor, and is becoming our little vaccuum cleaner. A good reason to keep my floors clean! :) She is not crawling yet, but has been pushing up onto her hands and knees, and is leaning onto her knees from a sitting postion to reach for things in front of her.

This guy.... he's been my buddy with Travis gone to preschool in the mornings. It's usually just him and I for a few hours while Vivian is down for her two hour morning nap. He and I have been ejoying each other's company. Logan is such a fun kid, and there are many times during the day where he makes me smile just watching him be himself. :)

My Cloth Baby Diapers and Legwarmers

2012-02-02T08:24:00.001-05:00

We recently tried out a new diaper and were asked to do a review on it. Brittany, the owner of My Cloth Baby sent us a diaper to test out. The first thought that came to mind when it showed up in the mail was that her shipping was super efficient. Great customer service goes along way.

The second was how cute and soft the diaper ( click on the linked word to see a picture of the diaper on the website) itself was! I didn't think I was a fan of the minky outer material on a diaper, but it's probably our favorite one right now. I love it! And it stays just as soft wash after wash. She's also got alot of other darling prints for girls and boys or some gender nuetral prints along with a few solid colors. It's an Eco Grow One Size diaper and it's on the roomy side! We have Vivian snapped down to the second to last rise and she'll stay there for a while I think as there is lots of room to grow into the next snap up.

The next step was to see how well it holds up to my super soaker of a daughter. It worked really well. The elastic was a good fit around the legs and her waist, so we had zero leaks. V has some pretty chubby thighs, so it's sometimes hard to get a good fit around them and also get a good fit around the waist at the same time so we don't get any leaks. I was excited that we were able to get good fits on both. :)

Lastly, the price is super reasonable. Just 10.00 for the diaper ( half the price of some of the biggest leading brands). She's also got lots of cute leg warmers to match, along with a few other baby items in her store :) All in all we have no complaints about the diaper! It's cute, a great fit, and holds in the messes well! We'll definetly be buying from her again. :) Thanks Brittany!

*** In case you didn't catch the link, or for some reason it just didn't want to work on your computer, to get to Brittany's website go to: http://hyenacart.com/stores/myclothbaby

A New Chapter

2012-01-31T10:50:00.000-05:00

Things have been kind of busy this month.... Aaron resigned from his job at the hospital on Friday and will be heading out to North Dakota to look for work out there. The kids and I will still stay here until the school year, and then figure out what to do after that. It was really rather sudden and unexpected this new change of events, but we're trying to see it as a blessing in disguise. It's time's like these where we turn to our faith and just put our trust in God. He's got a plan for us, and although we may not know what the reasoning behind this is now, it'll be apparent some day. We just need to be patient. So cross your fingers he finds work in his field, and that the kids and I ( especially I!) manage without him for weeks at a time. I'm especially thankful that we have both of our families up here to help us and give us all the moral support we need. But then at the same time, I'm thankful that I have two brothers who are willing to squeeze him into their trailer out in ND ( Thanks again guys! We REALLY appreciate it!) so he can support our little family.

Vivian is growing like a weed, she weighs about 17.5 lbs and is fitting into some 12 month clothes at 7 1/2 months old. We think she might be teething, cause everything goes into her mouth. Hands, toys, her plug, the food your holding in your hand.... :) She's onto eating table foods and so far we haven't discovered anything she won't eat. Her chunky thighs will vouch for that too. :) She's also sitting up on her own, yay! I love when they get to this stage where they can start entertaining themselves for short periods of time. To me it's a big turning point in the first year of their life where for once they aren't solely relying on mom for every little thing. It's kind of nice to have the small mini breaks too.

Travis got the record for the nastiest looking shiner in this house last weekend.... seems like this kid holds the record for most of the bumps and bruises in this house actually. I think he takes after his mom with my lack of coordination skills. Sorry kid..... He was running in the house with his winter boots on and he tripped and smacked his eye/forehead off of the runner of a wooden rocking chair. It looks more colorful each day.

We got lots and lots and lots of snow this January. But it's only been in one or two big spurts. Other than that, this winter as been pretty mild so far. You don't hear me complaining though! I feel as if we've skipped over the worst parts of winter, and before we know it, it'll be spring again. The sno go came by yesterday and cut back the snow banks, so now the streets are nice and wide again. The banks are higher than my head so it'll be a while before we see grass again, but it's still pretty out there with the fresh white snow. Logan loves it outside. I've been making an effort to help him get his duds on when the temps allow and get him outside. He'll stay out there til he's pretty much a snowman himself. :) It'll be nice though when all he's got to do is slip on a pair of shoes to go out.... but til then we'll just keep bundling up. Hope your staying warm, and all is well at your homes! Happy New Year - late, but hey, it's still January. ;)

Jenna Turned 6!

2012-01-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Some days I get sad that my tiny 6 lb baby girl is now 6 years old and growing faster every day. Her front teeth are finally starting to come it. She's pretty much thrilled about it. This morning she told me " Mom! I can feel my tooth in my mouth!" It's a big deal when your six. :) For her birthday we went to a local restraunt where you can eat for free on your birthday. She chose to do this instead of a party with friends. ( She's in Kindergarten, and doesn't really know many girls yet). She took her cousin
Hannah, and then asked if she could please invite Great Grandma Rita ( my dad's mom). Great Grandma was pretty thrilled to be invited. It was alot of fun, and I was glad for a grown up company at dinner. Jenna and Hannah kept saying how it was the best restraunt ever. We don't go out very often, so it was a big deal. :)

Look Who's Seven Months!

2012-01-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

This little love of mine is 7 months old this week! Time sure flies! She's almost sitting up on her own, is eating a variety of solids, and weighs about 17 lbs. She's a big girl!! :) Logan calls her "Bibs" cause he can't prounouce his V's. She says mamama and has learned that if she yells she'll get some attention. Not always a good thing, but we still think she's adorable.

It's been a while....

2012-01-13T16:04:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, but our holiday season came with a lot of sickness in our house! We had the flu, pink eye, and pink eye that turned into Cellulitis for Logan and he had to be hospitalized for a night for IV antibiotics two days before Christmas. It was kind of stressfull, but we caught it early, and after 24 hours of his IV's and one allergic reaction he was looking better, heading in the right direction healing wise and we were able to go home. :)

He's a Big Boy Now!!

2011-12-13T17:23:00.000-05:00

I was really putting off and dreading potty training Logan, cause it was so horrid with Travis. That and the fact that I haven't had to buy him diapers for a long time with him wearing cloth diapers. Well guess what..... he's pretty much potty trained in two weeks. Last week sometime ( I don't really remember how it even started) he showed interest in using his little potty chair, and we jumped on the chance. He must've been ready cause he's been doing great! The last two nights he woke up dry, and has been wearing underwear since Sunday, and hasn't had an accident yet. YAY! Just in time for Christmas. Looks like those diapers that we ordered for his stocking are going to be replaced by new undies instead.... :)

Sick Little Babe

2011-11-27T20:15:00.000-05:00

This little doll has been pretty sick for the month of November. She's had a cold that just wasn't going away and it spread to her eye ( note picture above) so I brought her to our pediatrition. They put her on Zithromax, but by her fourth dose she still looked like this. I called and talked to a nurse who wanted to wait it out and see how she was doing by the end of the weekend. At first I wasn't very comfortable doing this as I was nervous about RSV and her being so little still. Well by Friday she was looking better and is now (Sunday) looking MUCH MUCH better, thank goodness. I'm hoping this is it and that we're all happy and healthy for Christmas. We had the pukes run thru the house on Thanksgiving, Logan had it. So far, that's it and it's been a few days. It was a quick bug, thank goodness. I hate the pukes.

The Apple Pajamas

2011-11-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Vivian is 4 days old in this top picture. I found a pair of 9 mo. pj's that were the same as a nb size. It was fun to see the size difference.

She's done alot of growing since June!

I can't get enough of her smiles. She ALWAYS has a smile for me. At three in the afternoon or three in the morning. As soon as she sees me, she smiles. It melts my heart every time. Doesn't matter if I can hardly keep my eyes open, I like how she's happy to see her mom.

5 months

2011-11-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

This little love of mine is 5 months old today! :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

The whole crew. :)

Vivian

Travis

Jenna

Logan

My Personal Rainbow

2011-11-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

Vivian in her cloth diaper, we are still loving them now that I finally got my diaper wash routine down pat! That was a big struggle all summer, but I finally got it all figured out. :)

On these dreary November days, I'm glad to have a splash of color with every diaper. :)

Pumpkins

2011-10-28T10:51:00.000-04:00

Sisters

2011-10-27T09:21:00.000-04:00

Jenna and Vivian with their matching jammies. :)

Annie

2011-10-24T15:20:00.000-04:00

This is my lil sister Annie. I can almost always count on her to be a big help, or to be my last minute babysitter so I can go grocery shopping alone. If I can't pay her, or not much, she doesn't complain. Usually I end upgiving her money when we've got extra, cause I'm sure I still owe her. :)

She'll walk in the door and automatically take the bawling baby, or the tired toddler and cheer them up, without being asked. Or just take a kid off my hands to give me a little break.I'm sure she has no clue how much we appreciate her around here. My kids love her, and so do I. It's all about the little things in life. I sure am lucky to have 5 fantastic sisters. Annie is just one! Thanks Annie for being you!!

Fall Picture

2011-10-15T11:07:00.000-04:00

Happy end of fall!

My Very Own Superhero

2011-10-06T09:49:00.000-04:00

I love this kid. :)

Buck In a Truck

2011-10-03T11:17:00.000-04:00

It's this time of year when the air gets cooler, and the leaves turn color and begin falling off the trees that my true love begins thinking about his second love. Hunting. All summer long I think he waits for fall for this very reason. He lives and breathes for hunting season ( after his family of course ;)). He bow hunts and then rifle hunts, and then bow hunts again after rifle season is over. I learned quickly what it means to be a hunting widow. :)

This year Aaron went hunting behind my Grandma's house and after sitting on his stand for only two hours this guy waltzed right in. A nice ten pointer! He shot it and it went down not far from his stand. He was back before dark. He said this is one of the best pictures of the night. A buck in a truck. :)

Jenna and Logan were all fired up to help for a picture. Logan tells me here "Mom! I holding the rack!" As for Jenna, well, she's just being Jenna in this picture. Our little poser. ;) I'm fired up for a couple reasons. One: it was first day of season and he got his buck! He doesn't have to feel like he's got to go hunting every day now, he can kind of scale back. :) Two: we'll have venison in the freezer come winter. It was a good year for our freezer! We got raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, and now we'll have steaks, hamburger and a couple of roasts. Awesome. And third: It's fun to see him SO excited and happy. He's been busy with so many side jobs this past month or two getting extra money so I can stay home with our kids and not have to go back to work. He deserved this. It is his biggest buck he's ever gotten, and the first one in five years. He got an 8 pointer behind Grandma's then.

October is looking like a good month! :)

September

2011-09-28T18:33:00.000-04:00

Wow, is September really almost over? It's been a busy month! I thought that when school started, life would slow down a little. Nope. All it did was cool off. I'm already missing summer.

A few things that happened this month: Vivian turned 3 months old. Today she rolled over from her front to her back for the first time. She's growing SO fast, and has really been filling out. She's turning into a little chunk. :)

Another thing: Travis turned 4! He was the most excited kid the day of his party. It was probably the most fun party we've had for him yet. He only wanted three things for his big day. A crab ( a live one, he was always having to go check them out at our local Walmart), a name towel, and Toy Story's Woody. He got them all. The crab from my mom, Woody from Aars and I, and the towel from his Grandma L. Was he pumped! He had the crab sleep in his room where he could see him and all the next day made sure it was by his side. It was fun. :) I hope he always remembers this birthday as one of the best. :) Notice the little smear on the right of the cake- he and Logan decided they'd better sample the frosting a few hours before the party. I was mad then, but now I just sigh and shake my head. Boys I'm learning, will be boys.

Jenna is loving Kindergarten. It's a rough start in the morning, but once she gets going she's fired up to go. I didn't realize how much I missed her during the day til I kept her home one day. I miss her chatty little person talking at me all day. I sure hope her teacher is enjoying her.

Also, I got to go downstate for my sister in law Kate's baby shower with my friend Katie and our babies, Walker and Vivian. What a treat! I had so much fun down there, and it was a much much needed break from almost all of my kids. I felt so refreshed these past few days, and I know I have a refreshed amount of patience when it comes to the daily things. I truly believe that every mom needs a break from time to time. It's good for the mom, and for the kids. I especially soaked it up cause October starts in a few days and guess what that means in this house.... hunting season. The hubby is pretty excited, he's walking around with an extra spring in his step. That makes me happy to see him happy.

This is Logan's new fake smile. :)

So all in all, I'd say we're wrapping up September with a smile, and are welcoming October with mostly open arms.... mostly cause I'm not ready for winter.... so I'm just going to ignore the fact that it's right behind fall, and enjoy this last month of color. I hope you find yourselves doing the same!

A Few Garage Sale Bargains

2011-09-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

This dress is a 12-18 mo dress. I paid 10.00 for it. :) I figure it's a little formal, but who cares. She can wear it for either her one year pictures, or for Christmas next year. Just throw a red ribbon on it instead of blue.

This is a planet kiddi-o bike, I looked online after I paid 5.00 for it at a sale ( the one in the background is made by the same company, also from a diff. sale about 4 years ago) and they retail up to 100.00. I'm guessing this one was around 80.00 brand new. My bargain of the day. Now both of my boys have bikes. They rode them all day yesterday. :)

I also found this letter mat where the letters pop out. It matches our toy cart perfectly. The walls on the other hand are struggling. They need a fun play room color. It has to be a brighter color however, as there are no windows in this room. It's a fairly large room and the kids have a blast in there. I'm sick of the color though and would love your input! :)

Sweet Little Love

2011-09-08T21:05:00.000-04:00

It's hard to think that next week she'll be 3 months old...where does time go?

She has been finding her thumb a bit more as she becmes a bit more aware of her hands. I keep popping a plug in.

This last picture is blurry, but it shows off the smile I caught. :)

Jenna's First Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-07T08:49:00.001-04:00

Jenna started Kindergarten yesterday, and was up at 6:20 in the morning, raring to go. I was a bit teary eyed when she hopped on the bus and drove away, but it was ok. She was pretty excited, but a bit nervous at the same time, which is pretty normal. I still can't believe she's in school now. Where did that five years go? I wish I could be a fly on the wall in her classroom and watch her in action outside of the home. The boys miss her, and asked a couple of times yesterday where she was and when she'll be coming home. I was happy to see her full of smiles when she did get home, and full of stories about her first day. :)

Starting September

2011-09-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

I can't believe September is already here! The trees are changing color, and fall is in the air. School starts in two days, and with that brings a big change to our household. My Jenna is going to kindergarten this year. She'll be gone all day, every day. I'm excited for her to go and spread her wings and begin to figure out who she is, and what she loves. She'll learn her letters, and how to put them together to make words. She'll learn how to count to 100, and maybe even to add and read. I compare her to a sponge, she's going to just soak up all the new information. :) She'll probably fall in love with her teacher, and make many new friends. It's the first step to her beginning to learn about the world around us. She's super excited to go and learn. I'm excited for her, really I am, but at the same time my heart aches just a little at the thought. She'll be gone all day M-F, starting at 7:30 and coming home in the afternoon. I'm going to miss her alot. She's a bright spot in my every day routine with her funny little antics. Her imagination is so vivid, I hope that nothing ever stops her from dreaming. When she was little she'd wear her dress up clothes all day long, being princesses, and queens, and beautiful girls. Or playing dolls and barbies in her room with her brothers. I'm going to lock those images in my heart and pull them out when I'm missing her while she's gone to tide me through until she hops off that big yellow bus at home again.

It's hard to explain how I feel. For one, I sure don't feel old enough to have a little girl starting school! I'll be 29 next year, and I swear my mom was just 29 last year! Honest! It feels to me as if she was just born, but that was 5 and a 1/2 years ago already. She's grown up into such a fun, outgoing, happy little girl, and I feel as if I have done a good job helping her start the base of who she will one day be. I know there will be times when I'm sure she'll be teased about something or other ( although I really hope not!), and I won't be there to comfort her if she's sad. I like to think that she knows that no matter what she's a beautiful person, inside and out.

I'm sure her brothers are going to miss her too, she's so good at coming up with things for all of them to do together. It's sure going to be alot quieter without her here all day. They'll probably be a little lost for a while, but they are so good at being buddies that it will probably just bring them closer.

So that day next week when that big yellow bus comes rolling down the street, I'll put a brave smile on my face for my little girl and help her onto the bus which will then bring her to begin the new chapter in her life. But when it drives away with her on it, don't be surprised if I shed a few tears. I am allowed after all, I'm a mom. :) And I'll have a smile in place again for when she comes home, and I'll sit with an open ear to listen to her new adventures.

Ps. I brought her to the ER this morning, she's got a UTI. It was an early start for both of us today, we were up at 4:30. She's on an antibiotic though and hopefully she starts feeling better soon!

Headbands for Baby

2011-08-27T12:50:00.000-04:00

I bought some cloth diapers from another mama who also happens to own her own esty shop and makes headbands for little girls and babies. She was sweet enough to send me a few with my order for free! As a little thanks I figured I'd share them with you. They are darling!

Her name is Amy and her shop is JAG Designs. You can find her at www.JAGDESIGNS27.etsy.com

Cute isn't it? I'll share more with you another day. Thanks Amy! :)

Vivian, 2 months

2011-08-22T15:53:00.000-04:00

It's hard for me to believe sometimes that two months have flown by and my baby is no longer a tiny tiny newborn. She doesn't scrunch up her body and legs when we pick her up anymore, but rather is happy to stretch out.
She's talking and smiling and noticing faces every day. We are learning to recognize her mood and are willing to cater to her needs for the time. As far as night time goes, she's been by far our best sleeper. Not that she's sleeping through the night, but her usual night time routine is to go to bed around midnight, and sleep til about four, get up and eat, sleep til about six, get up eat and have her diaper changed, and then go back to bed til nine. I don't complain about that at all because all of my others have been up every two hours til they are six months. I don't get good sleepers. ;) But I know that, and don't expect anything different so its' no big deal. They also don't ever sleep through the night til their one, or I quit nursing.

We're loving her new discoveries every day, and cherish every little smile and coo like it's the first. Babies are a lot of work, but SO worth every second. :) They grow up WAY too fast, so I am trying to enjoy her smallness.

Vivian's Baptism

2011-08-19T08:34:00.000-04:00

Papa and Grandma L.

Me and my littlest love.

Grandpa and Muumu T.

My 4 little loves. :)

First Family Picture

2011-08-16T16:00:00.000-04:00

My little family at Vivian's baptism on Sunday.

Vivian Rose, 2 mo.

2011-08-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

My Vivian is 2 months old, and weighs about 10 lbs. Still our little peanut. :)

A little teaser smile. She's smiling big every day now, especially when she first wakes up in the morning, and I'm loving every one. Her dad says he enjoys our babies more as they become more interactive with him.

Vivian also has discovered her little voice, and has been beginning to tell us stories from time to time if her mood suits her. :)

I fall more and more in love with my babies with each new growing stage, but there is always a little part that mourns for the tiny newborn they started out as, as they grow out of that stage so quickly.

7 Weeks With Great Grandpa

2011-08-07T23:34:00.000-04:00

This is my Vivian Rose, 7 weeks old with my grandpa (I'd say Grandpa T, but both of my Grandpa's are Grandpa T. This one is my Dad's Dad. :)). This Grandpa and I share the same birthday. We are 51 years apart.

My Jenna Sylvia

2011-08-05T14:52:00.000-04:00

2lbs, 11 oz, and 73 Years Ago

2011-08-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

The lady in this picture behind me told me a story while we were waiting for the parade to start. She started out by commenting on how amazing it is that we all start out so small (I'd had Vivian with me). Then she said that she was born at 7 months gestation instead of 9 months. That alone to me spoke volumes, as a baby born at 7 months in this day and age isn't always guaranteed to do well, and 73 years ago.... amazing. She said that when she was born she was 2 lbs and 11 inches long, not even a whole foot long! The doctor told her parents that she probably wouldn't make it through the first couple of days. Well, her dad got creative and made a homemade incubator out of a box, a plastic cover, hot water bottles that he put under it and rotated, and a light bulb to keep the inside warmer. I guess they took turns feeding her with an eye dropper, and somehow she made it. A fighter, who lived to tell the tale of her birth. :) Just thought I'd share the story that I heard and still think about every time I look at my Vivian. :)

6 weeks

2011-07-29T22:59:00.000-04:00

Vivian was six weeks old this week, and I turned 28 along with celebrating my 7th wedding anniversary. Time flies! :)

Cousins

2011-07-29T10:41:00.000-04:00

Vivian Rose and Brooklyn Kate were born exactly one month apart. Even to the hour technically if you use the one hour time difference between our homes. :)

Big Blue Eyes

2011-07-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

She's been focusing on different things lately, and is having more awake time during the day. I love watching babies discover their new little worlds on a day to day basis. :)

Summer Days

2011-07-22T18:15:00.000-04:00

Even Levi got to the camp for a visit. :)

He won't go in the lake, but will lay on the shore and let the lake come to him. :)

Sometimes being at the lake can tucker a soul out. :)

Summer Update

2011-07-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

My little sister Emma recently got confirmed, and we have been spending a majority of our time out at the camp. We have def. been enjoying our summer since it got here! :)

Also, our little Vivian is 5 weeks old now. :)

This one has been a regular fish at the camp. She puked last night though, and still isn't feeling good. I hope the rest of the kids don't get it, we're supposed to babysit for parents this weekend while they go on a bike trip to visit my sister Alanna and he family out in ND.

Playing Halloween

2011-07-06T20:36:00.001-04:00

Jenna came in for lunch looking like this.... my first initial reaction was to be mad, but I quickly got over it and ran for the camera instead. :)

I was told they were playng Halloween....

Travis must've just encouraged her, although he did his face later on in the evening.

At least they were Crayola washable markers right?

3 Weeks Old

2011-07-05T14:58:00.000-04:00

My little dolly is 3 weeks old today! Where does time go? I'm trying to savor her in this newborn stage, as they grow out of it SO fast.

We celebrated our nations birthday by spending the weekend out at the camp. It was gorgeous all weekend, and made it super enjoyable to be out at the lake.

Hope you had a safe and happy 4th! We sure did. :)

Blessed

2011-06-30T10:48:00.000-04:00

Every time I witness another spectacular sunset at the camp, I am reminded at how truly blessed we are. :)

Camp Days

2011-06-28T19:34:00.000-04:00

We spent the majority of our weekend at the camp, and Saturday night we had a retirement party for Aaron's dad, Pete. The weather was beautiful, but the water was still FREEZING cold. It didn't stop the kids though! They were in and out of the lake with the aide of the sauna all weekend.

My best picture of all four kids together since Vivian was born.

The novelty of having a baby sister hasn't worn off yet for Jenna. :)

My Travis with his "swimming glasses".

And this little dolly did a lot of snoozing in her carseat outside. She loved the warm weather too!

Vivian's Hat

2011-06-25T12:23:00.000-04:00

We got her hat as a baby gift from some friends of ours down state, and I love it! It's perfect for the weather we've been having as of late, and it fits her just right. :)

Sweet Little Baby

2011-06-19T16:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a bit of an adjustment to having a baby at home again, but we are definetly loving our little dolly!

Our Vivian Rose

2011-06-18T11:11:00.000-04:00

She's here! Our Vivian Rose was born on June 14 at 5:27 a.m. She is 7 lb 10 oz and 21 inches long. We are SO happy and feel very lucky to have been blessed with a healthy baby girl to add to our little family. :)

Summer Buzz

2011-06-09T12:29:00.001-04:00

Just a little peek at what my kids have been up too.... riding bikes, playing with old balloons and my boys both got their summer buzz cuts. :)

Forget-Me-Not

2011-06-07T20:10:00.000-04:00

Is there anything cuter than a little boy with a fistful of flowers? :)

I've got a big bunch of forget me nots growing in the back yard, and today Travis discovered them and just had to pick a bunch for his mom. He was pretty proud of himself. :)

This and That

2011-06-03T18:39:00.000-04:00

I think one of my favorite things about early summer around here is the wild flowers that are showing up in my yard. We've been discovering forget me nots and some kind of purple violets. I love it. I've taken some from the back yard and transplanted them into my little garden in the front yard. We'll see how they do this summer. Logan likes to help water them, so I don't think they'll dry up. :)

This big girl learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels. She thinks she's pretty great. But, so does her mom. ;) She's getting so big so fast. I'm hoping she's going to be a big help when baby comes in a couple of weeks.

Travis was into making mud rolls tonight. It kept him occupied in our eighty degree weather tonight until the bugs came out. It seems as if we have mosquitoes in full force around here. I need to remember to get some bug spray, anti itch cream and sunscreen next time I go into town. Although according to the weather forecast, it's supposed to rain ALL next week. A good week to have a baby I think. :) We'll see! I'm pretty sure I'm ready. I got the last few things I needed today, so now we're all set. It's just a waiting game from here on out.

Getting Ready

2011-05-25T10:17:00.001-04:00

Jenna and Travis have really been giving me a run for my money lately! I'm wondering if they are getting a little anxious about a new baby coming. Yesterday was rough. And I felt really bad at the end of the day. Enough to apologize to them and sit and read to them for a long time. And today I promised we'll go to a park. I'm trying to make up for our bad day with a good fun day.

On another note, we are slowly getting ready for this baby to make it's arrival. I started packing my bag last night, and made a list of things I'd like to get done around here before baby comes. I got a small start on that list, but it's going to take me a while. I don't move too fast these days. :) But I'm trying. It helps that it's sunny and warmer outside today so the kids can play without my tripping over them. I also registered back in the OB at the hospital after my appointment yesterday. I have a history of going early, so we just all wanted to be prepared. I'm not counting on going as early as I did for Logan ( That would mean I would go in by the end of next week. I'm not ready yet.), but a little early would be nice. I am getting excited about the idea of being done however. :)

This guy REALLY wants to go Schlauters camping with his dad this year. I don't have the heart to tell him it might not happen. I'm due two weeks after that, and there isn't any good way to get ahold of Aaron out on the Island if he has to come home early because of me. We'll see I guess.... maybe. He talks about it alot lately. There is even a brand new fishing pole hanging in my closet for him if they go... If you ask my Dad, he thinks we should just have this baby the first week of June so it's not an issue for them to go. He had ideas about when Jenna should be born too...... :) But like I said.... we'll see. We still have 4.5 weeks left til my due date so it might work out that he can go.

But with that all being said, I've sat with my feet up for a while, and now it's time to get back to work. I've got a list to whittle down. Til next time! :)

Today We're Pretending

2011-05-20T15:47:00.000-04:00

We're pretending it's summer today. It's a beautiful sunny 70 degree day out there! The kids and I are in our suits and just soaking up the sun. I'm trying to enjoy the simplness of our life right now, because I'm sure when baby comes in 5 (yep! 5! I can count on one hand now how many weeks til babe is due! :)) weeks, it'll throw a loop in our daily routines. I was thinking to myself the other day that I should probably start thinking about getting ready for baby. I went 3 weeks early for Logan. I'm really not counting on that happening again, but if it does, that means we have two weeks. I'm SO not ready. Maybe next week I'll wash my baby clothes. That would be a good start.

Jenna is now done with BHK for good. She and I were both ready for her to be.

We've been enjoying our beautiful evenings as of late. Aaron and the kids were playing baseball in the yard the other night. Made me think that maybe next summer Jenna and Travis could play T-Ball. We'll see. It's not going to be good timing for them to play anymore this year, but it's something to keep in mind.

We have cousins coming to town this weekend! Brian and Katie and their girls are coming up for the wedding this weekend. If it's nice out, I'm sure we'll all end up down at the camp at some point during the weekend. It's going to be a fun, but busy weekend, and I am perfectly fine with that. :)

Tuckered Out

2011-05-18T09:05:00.000-04:00

With all the fresh air the kids have been getting lately, they've been going to bed really good at night again. Poor Travis was so tuckered out after being outside all day yesterday and not having any nap, he fell asleep before he even finished his book. :)

Camp Days

2011-05-08T23:05:00.000-04:00

Aaron's family has this wonderful little slice of heaven on Lake Superior, and we got to go there for the night last night. It was WONDERFUL. The sun shone almost the entire time we were out there, and I had fun with my camera. It's been a while. I was bummed my batteries died right before sunset last night, but I still got these pictures. I think they are my new favorites of the year so far. The bottom one I like the setting, but wish all kids were smiling like they were in the middle. Oh well. It's still cute to me cause it's got my three little loves in it. :) If I get the chance I'll try to post pictures from earlier in the day later this week. We'll see... I'm going to be busy getting ready for my garage sale trip this next weekend. :)

What We've Been Up To

2011-05-07T10:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a little bit busy around here lately as spring *seems* to finally sprung. Meaning it hasn't snowed in about a week now, and our grass is finally daring to begin turning green.
A few things we've been up to:

I cleaned my entire downstairs the other day. It felt good to actually have the mini burst of energy and get it all done. Chairs and table really scrubbed down, I mopped floors, folded and put away lots of laundry, went thru some of Jenna's clothes before I go garage saling next weekend, cleaned my kitchen and living room. It needs a touch up now, but I've been trying to stay on top of it. Now if I could only tackle my bedroom..... soon. Before baby comes. If not, Aaron will get it cleaned when I'm in the hospital.
I only have 7 more weeks til baby L is due. :) I'm beginning to get excited. I held up a newborn size onsie over my belly the other day, and it fit. Meaning, you would be able to guess that there is a baby that size be-bopping around inside of me. :)
My closest and dearest friend comes home from Alaska in 2.5 days. We are all very excited to see her again. I'm also fired up to be living back up here this year so maybe I'll actually see her more than a handful of times this summer. We plan on beaching it alot if it's nice.
Jennie and I are going garage saling in GB next week. I'm SUPER antsy to go. I've been tempted to go saling around my area, but haven't even looked at the paper as I'm saving my pennies for next week. It's not easy though knowing they are starting out there!
It's Aaron's 29th birthday today. He wants a Jello Cake for his bday. I'm not sure if we're going out to eat or not. He wants to go stay at the camp tonight.
We took the kids to the circus last night. Logan was ready to be done about halfway thru. Every time they shut the lights off for another act, he'd turn and look at me and say "All done Mommy!" I also realized why people don't go. I wasn't super impressed. There were lots of ladies in skimpy leotards, the music was REALLY loud the entire time, and there weren't a whole lot of acts that really caught my kids attention. All they did was bug for tiny boxes of popcorn that cost 3.00 and cotton candy- also 3.00. We got one cotton candy for all five of us to share. We each got a couple of pinches. Or cheapy glow in the dark toys that people were happily forking over 15.00 for. I'm guessing half of them broke before the circus was even over. Maybe we'll go again in three years.
It's also Aaron's brother Brian, and our good friend Jennie's birthday today. Happy Birthday guys!
The kids have been playing outside as much as possible. Logan especially loves it out there. They've all been sleeping a bit better at night too, and sleeping in in the morning. I like that.
After the circus last night we went visiting out at Aaron and Katie S's house. The guys watched the Wings game and Katie and I visited. It was fun to catch up with them.
I guess that's about it! It's been a fun kind of busy, and I hope it keeps up. It makes time go by fast which is always a good thing when your in the final stretch of waiting for a baby to make it's appearance. Til next time! Have a great weekend!

Happy 2nd Birthday Logan!!

2011-04-30T21:10:00.000-04:00

My baby is now "officially" two. We had a birthday party with all of his cousins over on Friday night. It was alot of fun. Even his MN cousins were able to make it. Earlier in the day I'd taken him birthday shopping for his party supplies like we always do on who's birthday it is. It's their special day, and they get to come with mom all by themselves. It usually just consists of stopping somewhere for lunch, and then a trip to the dollar store and Walmart.

He picked out his own plates and napkins, and then was fired up to pick out a balloon. He wore that proudly on his wrist all thru Walmart. He looked pretty darn cute at how proud of it he was. Well not more than a half hour after we'd gotten home, his brother decided it'd be a great idea to take the balloon outside..... two minutes later ( I didn't know he'd done this, and neither did Logan) Travis came running in a bit frantic cause I had to "go catch it". It was long gone. I made him and Jenna promise not to tell Logan they lost his one birthday balloon. They didn't, and I dont' think he even noticed it was gone. He also got a few cute new outfits, some pj's and socks. The socks I think were the biggest hit for him. :) After such a busy day and late night, he slept pretty good last night. I'm hoping for a repeat tonight. We'll see. :)

Just Like Her Mother

2011-04-28T11:51:00.000-04:00

An old neighbor commented the other day on facebook, that this is either a picture of me when I was a little girl, or I have a little girl that looks just like me. There are alot of similarities between Jenna and I when I was five. She's definitely her momma's little girl, all you have to do is look at her to tell. :)

All Done With the Plug

2011-04-27T18:15:00.000-04:00

We took away this guys pluggie (pacifier) last Saturday. I was a little bit nervous to do so, but it all worked out great! He hasn't even asked for it once! We just give him his blanket and teddy bear, and he goes down for bed and his naps just like he did with the plug. We took it away because he was two and didn't really need it anymore, and because I wanted to do it before baby comes in June, or it'd really be a challenge then as all of our kids have been pluggie babies.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T18:26:00.000-04:00

My Logan turned two last Saturday, but we are holding off on his party til this coming Friday so his Minnesota cousins can hopefully make it. :) Crazy to me that my baby is two. :)

We had many attempts at a nice picture of all three kiddos

Our Easter was nice. We woke up at seven thirty a.m. to Jenna being SUPER pumped because that wonderful bunny brought her a brand new Easter dress. She proceeded to put it on right away. Then the buckets and eggs were found and dug into. We went to church, and then headed to Aaron's mom and dad's for lunch. The kids and their aunt Deanna had an egg hunt in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and the kids had a great time playing with their cousins.

I got the kids together before church when they were still all cute and clean for a few pictures.All 3 of my little loves.

My cute little men.

Travis

And last but not least... our pretty little lady.

My 5 Year Old

2011-04-20T11:17:00.000-04:00

It seems crazy to me to think my little girl is old enough to go to Kindergarten in the fall. We went and registered her last week, and it hit me kind of funny. She's gone to preschool for the past year, but it's not the same. She's only gone for half the day, and only four days a week. It's not like "real" school to me. It feels different. I'm excited for her to go, because I know she is going to absolutely LOVE it. She thrives on learning, and soaks it all in like a sponge. She'll think it's great. But at the same time, I'm not ready to send her out into the world and have someone else see her more than I do. Not quite ready for her to begin growing up and loosing that sweet innocence that seems to disappear somewhere between kindergarten and high school. Part of me wants to just sit and hug her tight and never let her go.

But then, you realize that at some point you do have to let go. Let her go to discover her wings and to learn how to fly. Discover who she really is, and what she wants to be.

But for now, I have this one last summer where she will still be "all mine." A summer to enjoy her before she begins a new journey. One where I can't be there all the time. So I'm going to soak up and cherish my Jenna this summer. And I'm going to hold those memories in my heart when she is gone all day at school in the fall. It'll be different, but it will be ok. We'll be fine. :) Probably Jenna more so than her mom. :)

Honestly!?

2011-04-19T22:13:00.000-04:00

Our weather is getting to be a little bit ridiculous lately. In the 60's one week, and then three days later it snows about eight inches and the weather is back in the 20's and 30's. I'm beginning to wonder if spring will ever come!

Sure Mommy!

2011-04-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

This kid has really been making me smile alot lately. His two newest phrases are " Sure Mommy!" and "Niiice Diapers!" :) He's been talking in sentances, and is just busy busy busy! It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to a new baby in ten weeks.

He decided one afternoon to help shovel our snow onto the sidewalk with his sand shovel. All the snow in these pictures was gone, until this morning, when winter decided to butt back in again.

My crocus's and tulips were budding and sprouting as of the beginning of last week.... today we have at least two inches of heavy wet sloppy snow.... ick. Hopefully the weather will turn nice again, and melt it all quickly.

Signs of Spring

2011-04-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

Here are a few signs of spring around here. I have pictures too, but my camera is outside in my van.... maybe they'll get posted this week sometime.
But in the meantime, I'm calling it spring, and here's why:

My boys both got buzzy hair cuts- I always think it's WAY too short for the first day, and then love it afterwords. They always look so big with their first buzz of the season.
Our snow bank has been melted so that it's half the size it used to be. Aaron collapsed the kids snow fort yesterday so they wouldn't get stuck in it.
Our driveway is a MAJOR mud pit. Logan discovered he doesn't like mud. His boots get stuck and he can't move so well. That makes him too nervous.
The trees are budding down by my mom's house.
I've seen yellow finches and red breasted robins flitting around and singing in the trees.
I have crocus's blooming in my garden, along with daffodils and tulips working their way out of the ground.
The ice on my house roof came crashing down at 4 a.m. the other morning. Shook the whole house and scared the heck out of Aaron and I. If our van had been four feet closer to the house the ice would've demolished our van. Part of me was relieved, the other part ( the sassy side) wishes it would've.... we are dreaming of a newer vehicle. Ours is starting to die one part at a time.
The sun has shone probably the past five days in a row. That doesn't happen around here in the winter. We're lucky to see the sun once a week then.
There are rivers of water from melting snow running down the sides of the road.
I can see my yard again!

It makes me smile to see and hear all these signs of spring, and gets me kind of giddy cause that means garage sale season is just around the corner. I can't wait!!! Just dreaming of all those bargains waiting to be found gives me the itch to garage sale. A few more weeks..... well four actually till Jennie and I go to Green Bay. Then five more weeks after that til baby L is due! The countdown is on. :) I think there is a wedding almost every weekend in May that I plan on attending, and then it'll finally be June. It'll come faster now.... at least that's what I am counting on! :) We were at the camp last night and my SIL and her family came out there with her 3 week old baby girl. Just listening to her baby squeaks and cry made me smile. Soon enough our little babe will be here. Our countdown is on. :)

They Finally Came!

2011-04-06T20:35:00.000-04:00

Logan's new diapers finally came in the mail today! I was so excited so see them. The fun bright colors just make me smile. The only bummer is we won't really be able to start using them until next week. My laundry detergent for them is supposed to come in the mail tomorrow, and then I can wash them so he can wear them. However, my mom is so kindly watching our kids this weekend so Aaron and I can have a weekend to ourselves and I don't want her to have do deal with these when I really don't know how to yet. But I am SUPER excited to try. I never EVER thought I would be, but I truly think I will love them. I tried one on Logan just to see what they looked like for two minutes today. They looked cute, but it was funny because he didn't really know quite what to think. Something different for him. :)

We were going to go somewhere great, but then I decided to begin using cloth diapers. SO.... we'll just have a fun date weekend at home. Go out for breakfast and supper, maybe rent a couple movies, go for a walk down town to check out the cute shops that you can't really do while sporting a crew of three kids..... the list goes on and on.

( Just look at the bright colors of the diapers, not the misc. junk on my bathroom floor. :) It was the brightest spot for lighting to show the true colors of the diapers in the whole house.)

It was almost Spring.

2011-04-05T17:37:00.002-04:00

We did get out and enjoy the week of spring like weather we had. The kids loved it!

27 Weeks

2011-03-31T11:41:00.000-04:00

( these pics were totally for you Jennie because I know your itching to see. enjoy.)

I am finally in the home stretch! Only 12 more weeks to go. :) We are getting slightly anxious, but are being patient. I have a few things that need to get done before baby comes in June. One being my garage sale trip to GB with Jennie. I can't wait for that! It was so fun last year, and it'll be more so this year as we are going for two days instead of one.
For the most part, I still feel pretty good. My leg has been bothering me more with my varicose veins that I was so "fortunate" to get, and my hips have been achy. Third trimester gifts that usually show up towards the end. You just kind of conveniently forget about them til your there again. Then it's like " Oh yeah..... I forgot how it's hard to roll over in bed!" Or " Oh yeah..... I forget how you have to go pee every half an hour." Little things like that. But then your baby moves, and you instantly think to yourself that it is totally worth every ache and pain for this little love you've yet to meet.

Other than that, nothing else is really new around here. We are just getting really good at waiting. Waiting for Spring, the snow to melt, warmer weather, our garage sale trip, baby to come, and then summer. It'll get here eventually.... all we have to do is wait. :)

Not So Lucky This Time

2011-03-24T21:37:00.000-04:00

So.... Jenna stayed home from school yesterday and Tuesday because of a sore throat. I brought her in yesterday morning ( I'm glad we live two blocks from our hospital, because their soonest opening was fifteen minutes after I called. We made it there in seventeen.) to check for Strep Throat as her school sent a letter home with her last week saying it was going around. Sure nuf, her swab test came back positive. In one sense I was glad we caught it, and that she was going to be feeling better, but then the very next thought was Super. That means the other two will more than likely come down with it too, as it's very contagious for the first 24 hours.
The rest of the day passed by with nobody else showing symptoms, so I thought maybe, just maybe we'll get lucky. Nope. Travis and Logan both woke up from their naps this afternoon cranky and feverish. They both just got crabbier as the night went on. Finally at five thirty I figured I'd better bring them in, as they probably had strep seeing as Jenna just tested positive for it yesterday. Sure nuf again, except they have an ear infection each on top of it. Poor guys, no wonder they were miserable. Hopefully, tomorrow, with all of them on meds, they'll be feeling better again, and hopefully it stops at the kids.
I was hoping we weren't going to get this bug this year. It's gone around so many times, and they have been accidentaly exposed a few times, but never actually came down with it. I guess we just weren't quite that lucky this time.

And One More Makes 15

2011-03-23T11:35:00.002-04:00

This crew just grew by one more little girl! Kiersten Marie was born to Missy and Ted last week. :) Two more babies are one the way, Aaron and I are due in June, and Brian and Katie are due in July. So there will be at least three new babies at the camp again this summer. :) Our families are growing! :)

Advice Please!

2011-03-21T11:01:00.000-04:00

I've thought about this for a long time, and always said "Oh, I'd NEVER do that!" I had NO desire to! But now..... now the idea of switching to cloth diapers kind of appeals to me. A few of my friends either use them, or have tried them, and nobody I know who uses them doesn't love them. I talked to Aaron about it, and at first he said no.way. BUT.... then we went visiting to a friends house who uses cloth diapers and he was kind of blown out of the water. He was thinking the old fashioned cloth diapers. The ones with the pins and the plastic coverings. We were definitely influenced by how simple it all seemed. So I thought about it over the weekend, and tentatively decided that I'd like to try it. Especially now that Aaron is on board now too.I'd like to begin starting in June when this new baby makes his/her arrival, or before, with Logan. Depends I guess on when we feel like we are ready.

I am kind of excited, but nervous at the same time. It'd be a good time to start though, with a new baby. Especially when I've been hearing through the grapevine that diapers are going to be going up about 7 cents a diaper. If I did my math right, that's almost eight dollars more per box. That adds up, and come June, we'll have two in diapers instead of one. So I'm taking a deep breath, and starting my search to becoming a cloth diaper fan.

So my question to you cloth diaper mothers out there is this: Where does one even begin? There is ALOT of information out there. What kind do you use and prefer? I am guessing that this question is kind of a personal preference on what works best for you and your baby, as everyone is unique and different. But, I still would like to know. And how do you get started? Figure out what and how much you need? I have questions! :) I'm still going to be doing alot of reading up on this for a while, I'm not going to just make this decision and start the next day. I know it doesn't work like that. Thank goodness for the Internet! In the meantime, any advice would be much appreciated and welcomed! Thanks ahead of time!

Buddies

2011-03-19T10:43:00.000-04:00

These boys of mine have become really good buddies when Jenna is gone to school. I am really enjoying watching them become friends. They don't realize it now, but they will have each other's backs for the rest of their lives. :)

These Boots Were Made for Splashing

2011-03-17T20:12:00.000-04:00

It was another nice warm day here, the sun came out at the end of the day, and Logan was itching to get out. So we put on some mud boots and out he went.

The puddles where he dared to go weren't much, but he didn't care, it was still fun for him.

Judging by the smile on his face, it was a fun time to be had. :)

Two Greatest Wishes

2011-03-16T15:55:00.001-04:00

I look at these pictures and think to myself, I hope my children will always be this happy with their lives. Things are always so simple when your younger, and as you grow up, things begin to complicate. Friends aren't always so kind to you, you have worldly stresses, like jobs and money, sometimes school and etc. But for now, it's so simple. Mom and Dad take care of their basic needs, and life is so simple that it's easy to be happy. It's not always that way as you grow older. My two greatest wishes for my children is that they will always keep their faith, and will grow up to be exactly how they are now. Happy.

These pictures are from this past fall. The top one is Jenna and Travis's first day of pre-school in Neg. and the other one is at the top of Sugar Loaf Mtn.

Guess Who?

2011-03-13T15:46:00.002-04:00

This still makes me laugh every time I see it. :)

He's BUSY!

2011-03-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

Lately at any given time I've been able to find this little guy climbing or digging in something he isn't supposed to. He has been climbing on top of the toilet upstairs to reach the bathroom sink to slop or try and brush his teeth. He'll dig in the cupboard for cookies, or cereal. The other day he figured out if he pushes a chair up against something he can reach new things he hasn't dug in yet. I found him standing on top of my counter in the kitchen trying to shut off the light. Little bugger. Today it was him standing on a chair digging in the freezer. I don't mind most of the time, but man is he BUSY!! I'm hoping he gets the business out of his system before this baby comes in June. It'll be interesting otherwise. I do recall the other two going through this stage though and it doesn't last forever. It's just an interesting stage as you never know where you are going to find him. ( By the way, this is the smile he gives me every time I pull out my camera lately. I think it captures his personality perfectly. He's really turning out to be a funny little guy.)

New Computer

2011-03-07T16:52:00.000-05:00

We finally got a computer! I am quite excited. :) The kids are fired up, and so is the dad in this house. After having one for the past five years, it was odd not to have one for a few months.

Not a whole lot is new around here at the moment. I'm glad it's March, it's just that much closer to June. We are excited to welcome a new baby then. We were all sick off and on for the end of February. I came down with Bronchitis and and upper respiratory infection, and Aaron and the boys had the flu. It was NOT fun to be sick. Life doesn't slow down with three kids when you are the mom. We are all (knock on wood!) feeling better now, just the normal booger noses that never seem to cease with the winter weather. None the less, we are ALL ready for spring to be sprung any time now.

Aaron is still working, and loving it. He says it's starting to feel a little bit like a job now after he's been there for three months. Hard to believe that much time has flown by since he graduated already! That's about it for now, we've just been kind of hanging low as alot of our friends have either been sick or had sick kids as well. Tis the season I guess. Hope this finds you and yours all feeling well! Til next time! :)

Does God Hear Calls?

2011-02-06T21:28:00.000-05:00

I am finally halfway through this pregnancy! So far, so good. I am feeling baby move every day, and it never ceases to amaze me that there is a little being thriving inside of me. :) It's a miracle that never gets old. We have an ultrasound next Wednesday, and I am hoping to discover whether we are having a girl or a boy. Don't ask though, cause we won't tell if we find out. It's going to be a secret. :)

Jenna and I are both hoping for a girl. She just turned five, and thinks two brothers are plenty and that it's tough to be the only girl. We were in the sauna at my mom's one night and she was talking about her "baby sister" that is going to be born in the summer. I told her God might decide we need another boy instead of a girl. This must've worried her, because she put her little hands in her lap, looked up to the ceiling and prayed " God, please make our baby be a girl baby." Then she looked at me and asked "Do you think he heard my call?" I hope so dolly! I hope so! :)

Aaron is really liking his job, it's made him kind of famous in our area as they stuck his picture on about five bill boards for the hospital. He's gotten used to it, but I still find it funny when people mention it to him. He is definitely not one to seek attention, so it's funny when all of a sudden his picture is everywhere we go. :) He's rather embarrassed, but it's a nice picture and I'm SOO proud of him. It seems to me like he works less than I did, and his paychecks are twice as much! Those three years of schooling paid off! It wasn't easy, but somehow we pulled through. People told us that we wouldn't regret the tough times as it would be worth it. They were right. Not saying everything is all a bed of roses now, but it's nice to have our home back, and for Aaron to have a steady reliable job with his degree. I'm loving not having to work, it's so nice to be able to be home for my kids. For this we are so very thankful.

Long Overdue Update

2011-01-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I updated this blog! Instead of a lengthly post, I'll just highlight on what we've been up too.
Aaron graduated from college in the middle of December, and has gotten a job using his surgical tech degree at a hospital just three blocks from our old house. So we moved the day he graduated in a blizzard, but it was well worth it, as we are happy to be back, and Aaron really likes his job.

I am not working full time anymore, actually, I'm not working at all. I am really enjoying being a stay at home mom. We are also expecting baby number four at the end of June. I feel great, and we are excited. Jenna is really wishing for a baby sister. She commented yesterday that "It's tough being the only girl."

Logan is FINALLY walking! We've only been waiting since fall..... he is my latest walker by far. He's almost 21 months. He'll be two in April. It's so fun to see him tooling around the house all cute and slow with a proud smile on his face. He thinks he's pretty great, and so do we.

Jenna is turning five tomorrow, and she can.not.wait. :) Hard for me to believe my Jenna is going to be five tomorrow. She starts preschool on Monday and she's fired up to go and make some new friends. I think it'll be good for her. She gets bored at home.

I guess thats about it for now, the highlights of what we've been up to. I won't make any promises, but I'll try to update again before many months pass by. Hope everyone had happy and safe holidays! We did! :)

Bond Falls

2010-09-28T15:29:00.000-04:00

My smiley girl. :)

Jenna and me.

The falls themselves. They were so pretty this time of the year, but I can imagine they are even better in the spring. :)

The fall colors there were awesome! :) The drive down there was spectacular too. :)

I figured out how to slow the water down, the focus isn't the greatest, but I liked how it turned out anyways.

Here is a picture of Travis at his party. Check out the cake! Thanks Alanna! :)

An Update on Life

2010-09-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

Hello readers! Have you missed me? I think this is the longest time I have ever gone without updating this blog. Sorry, but it'll be like this for a while. We don't have the Internet at home anymore, so I will just have to sneak into town every once in a while to update. I'll try to make it more frequent than once a month. I promise.

Here is a little update as to what we've been up to in the past month. I am still working full time, my insurance started now! yay! We are pretty excited about that factor. Aaron especially since he needed to start his clinical in the OR at the end of August. He LOVES it!! :) He came home after his first day in surgery saying he wished he knew how much fun it was going to be when he was going to class. It would've made it much more bearable he says. But I am glad he's enjoying it. Only two and a half more months until he's done! It's looking like we are going to be down here until December or January, as he didn't get his externship at P. Hospital. Oh well. Everything works out for a reason. I'm ok with it. Just bummed that it means at least two more months longer of working full time than we'd originally planned. But it's working out well, and why change what works.

Travis just turned three, and he is fired up. :) Saturday was his birthday. He was my baby in a hurry to be born. My total active labor for him was about an hour, maybe less. :) Two hours before he was born, I was in a corn field, picking corn planning for Aaron's grandparent's to come over for dinner. :) Needless to say, we had to take a rain check. My Travis was born weighing in at 7lb 1 oz. Now he weighs 31 lbs. :) He's getting to be so big. I see alot of my traits in him. He's got such a happy personality, but unfortunately he's inherited my clumsiness. Aaron says he'll trip over the next color in the carpet. It's not that far of a stretch saying that either. ;) Trav wanted a dinosaur cake for his birthday ( he's been real into them lately) so his awesome ( you really are!) Auntie Alanna made him a cool dino cake. He loved it. We got it on Friday and the party wasn't til Sat. Every time he walked by the cake, he had to hop up on a stool to check out that cake one more time. :) It was cute.

School started today for Jenna and Travis. They are both going to afternoon pre-school four days a week. Today was the first day. I was wondering how Travis would do, as he was nervous of the buses last year, but he did great! They have the cute little pre-school bus that they ride, and when it pulled up, he hopped right on like he's been doing it for years! I was a little sad when they waved goodbye through the window, but then decided I am going to enjoy the quiet during the day with just Logan at home. He took a three hour nap today with nobody around to make lots of noise to wake him up! At best he used to get about an hour long nap. I got almost a whole book read, and lots of laundry done. :) It'll just be him and I from eleven to four thirty, or two on the days that I work. Just think! I can go do my grocery shopping with just a baby in the front! No more burying kids in the back of the cart. :) They came home with big smiles today, but now are showing signs of getting pretty tired. I doubt they got a nap today, so we should probably go home and put them to bed, as they have school again tomorrow. I will try to get pictures of their first day of school and Travis's birthday party up ( mostly for you Jen!) this week.

Oh on one more note, we went to Bo*d Falls this weekend and got lots of nice pictures there. I'll save that for another post however. See you next time!

At the Camp

2010-08-24T10:28:00.000-04:00

All of the L**s*n grandkids were there!!!

We went to the camp for the weekend, and a great time was had by all! All of the L grandkids were there, so we got an updated picture. :)

It was a hot cocoa day

2010-08-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

I have mixed feelings about our summer dwindling down. I love summer, and always try to enjoy it to it's max, and we did that the best we could on our hot days by heading to the beach. But now I can smell fall in the air, and it gets me a little bit excited for several reasons. One, being that we're on the last step to Aaron being done with school. He started Monday, and has his schedule all figured out through November. Two, because I can have hot chocolate for breakfast. I had it this morning with Cinnamon toast. YUM. My favorite. So for those of you moaning and groaning that summer is almost over, I hear you. But I'm still excited for this final chapter of Aaron's schooling! :)

A little bit of everything!

2010-08-17T00:03:00.000-04:00

I can't seem to keep up on my blog this month! Sorry, but we've been enjoying the weather immensly!

Logan was sick all day today, and all last night. He wasn't running a temp, just puking. Jenna and Travis had it too, and today Aaron came down with it. I'm hoping since I was at work the majority of the time everyone was sick, that I won't get it. I was told that Logan was starting to perk up later this evening. A good sign for my tomorrow. :)Levi just turned 7! And on Saturday, I think Zacharty turned 19! :) Maybe 2o... I can't remember. :)

Jennie and Ricky are back in Kiana now, I miss the diggens out of her! Next time I see her, hopefully it'll be up north back in my house! It'd mean I would see alot more of her and her hubby next summer than I did this one! It was a busy summer though, with working and Aars going to school. Hope your having fun up there again! The kids miss you bunches!

And last but not least, Aaron started school today, yay!!!!! The last step to being down with school! We are pretty excited about it!

Garage Sale Finds

2010-08-13T21:19:00.001-04:00

A few of my garage sale finds tonight. :) I went garage saleing tonight, and hit up one really good sale. Made me fired up to go tomorrow. And I will have a garage sale buddy to come with, hopefully without my kids. :) Aaron will be back home from MN again tonight so he can watch the kids in the A.M. while I go. :) I'm hoping for lots of good deals! I still need a few things for Jenna and Travis for this winter. :)

National Night Out (picture heavy post)

2010-08-04T23:58:00.001-04:00

I guess every year our local fire department hosts a community event for National Night Out. This year I found out about it at work, and marked it on the calendar so we wouldn't forget. I'm glad we went! The kids had a blast. They were able to get their blood pressure checked in an ambulance, ride in a fire truck and honk it's horn ( Jenna did it twice. :) ), and spray the water hose. They also jumped in a bounce house twice. All this while wearing their little red plastic fire hats. I got lots of fun pictures, and am glad we went. I almost didn't, but it was worth it to see the smiles on the kids faces.

The dad of this house has been gone for a week, and is coming home tomorrow. We can't wait! We sure have missed him!

15 months

2010-08-02T12:14:00.000-04:00

I brought Logan in for a checkup on his hand today, and his 15 month well baby checkup. His hand looks great, we're told that it's past the risk of infection, and we don't need to keep it wrapped with gauze anymore. Just keeping it moisturized is all we have to do now.

He is 32 inches long, an 25 pounds. A big boy! :)

Jenna and June

2010-07-30T10:59:00.000-04:00

This was taken a while ago, but I stumbled across it and decided to share. :)
We went up north this past weekend and spent a few great days at the camp. I'll try and get a post up and some pictures tomorrow.

Scary Guy

2010-07-24T09:32:00.000-04:00

He can growl at sea gulls now. Isn't he so scary? :)

Photography Class

2010-07-23T13:46:00.000-04:00

I'm having so much fun with my class, and it's only week one. Already some of my questions I've wondered have been answered through our lesson, and I've figured a few things out. Alot of my pictures are far from sharable quality, but everyonce and a while I get the settings right, and a good picture comes from it. That is so satisfying!

Tomorrow is my sixth wedding anniversary. I married Aaron on Saturday, July 24th, 2004. I can't believe six years have gone by already. Time flies. :) It'll also be my 27th birthday. That seems crazy to me too. I feel more like I'm in my early twenties instead of late twenties. Jennie and I have this conversation often.

It was a beach day

2010-07-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

I was playing with the camera trying to get a picture for my class I'm taking, and I got a few that I liked.... I don't know that I'd say any of them are really what I am turning in for class, but I figured a few things out, and discovered my camera takes pictures in black and white. The colors at the beach are so fun to work with. I love the water in the picture of Jenna standing in front of the rocks. I'm considering the picture of Logan looking at the camera to possibly be one I turn in for class. We're going to go and try take more pictures somewhere today, so we'll see how those turn out before I decide. The lighting is completely different, so I'll just have to experiment and see what works. It'll be fun. I may have to stock up on fruit snacks for bribes however. :)

Class and Camping

2010-07-20T09:54:00.000-04:00

I start my online photography class today that I signed up for a couple weeks ago. I'm excited to see what I'll learn, and just to be able to learn! I have had the itch to take a class for a while, and when Sharyn suggested a class on her facebook page, I didn't take long to think about, and decided to sign up! It's a class on how to capture your kids through the lens, so it should be fun. :) It's a small six session class, perfect
of time for how busy we are right now. I'll let you know how it goes!!!

Camping- to totally switch topics- was so much fun. :) Heather and her family were there, along with a few other friends of ours. Even saw a bunch of the Ka**g*s clan there and sat and visited around their campfire for a while. It was a very enjoyable time. We were supposed to stay Saturday and Sunday night, but Sunday night, after she went swimming, Jenna started burning up. She got to a point where she was so hot we got a bit nervous. So we packed up camp at about ten o'clock at night ( we only live a half an hour away from where we camped), and were home by eleven. Her fever was 102.6. Pretty high. Still not sure what caused it, but we gave her some ibuprofen and she went to bed and woke up feeling normal in the morning. It was kind of a strange little fever. Aaron pointed out that it could've been anything when I was wondering what had caused it. She could've picked it up from the drinking fountain, the bathroom, walking barefoot on the ground, petting every other dog that walked by our site, the water from the lake.... who knows.

Travis was just in his glory. As soon as we pulled into the campground, he went "TENTS!, there's tents!" And a few sites later, "CAMPERS! There are campers here! Can we sleep here?" He was pretty fired up to be there. :)

Logan, well, I didn't have any expectations of keeping him clean. Good thing, cause I would have drove myself mad. He crawled through the dirt the whole weekend. But he had a good time too. Jenna was fired up to be there. Our neighbors were probably sick of her after the first five minutes they were there. :) Oh well. That's my Jenna. Miss Social.

Now we are still unloading the van, and doing laundry from the weekend. I expect to be caught up on that tomorrow... hopefully. My old neighbor always said it takes twice as long to get caught up on laundry for however long you were gone. I still think she's right. And with that, my loads are ready to switch and go out on the line. Later!

We're Going Camping!!!!!

2010-07-16T13:11:00.001-04:00

I woke up this morning all fired up to have a day off. Then the nursing home called around noon and asked if I'd go in today as they'd had a call in. I wasn't so pumped off the idea being as it's my only day off all weekend. But then Christy (she has always been SO good with working with me when I want a day off, and because of this, I always try and work with her so she keeps being nice to me! :D) said I could have tomorrow or Sunday off instead of today. The idea suddenly sounded like a good one, so I said yes, I'd work today if I can have tomorrow off. We wanted to go visit some friends who are camping over at V. Riper Campground for the weekend. Then she said I could have Sunday off as well if I wanted. At first I said no, not really wanting to loose out on many hours, but then Aaron came up with the great idea of taking it off anyways, and go camp with them. I LOVED the idea. I have been craving a good camping trip all summer. I don't think we really camped a real camping trip all last summer, and it wasn't looking so hot for this summer either. SO....

I called Christy back, and asked if it was too late to change my mind, as I now wanted both Sat. and Sun. off. It wasn't too late! Hooray! Now..... to figure out if there were open sites. There are! Hooray! We're going for two nights. It's going to be so much fun! Our site is mostly dirt, and some grass, but what the heck. Who said that camping is supposed to be clean? I pretty much know that that's impossible when I've still got a crawling baby. I've resigned myself to the fact that he probably will crawl his way through summer, and then start walking in the fall sometime. That's just the way my babies operate.

The only slight hitch in the plan... our tent. Remember the pictures from this POST? Our snowstorm that we had the first weekend of May? Right. It's ruined. But I remembered my wonderful neighbor who offered us to borrow their big dome tent sometime this summer if we'd wanted too. I called her up and the offer still stood.. :) Thank you Lisa! Now.... I need to assemble a list, and pack and go grocery shopping for two days and two nights of camping. I'm So So So excited! I better get cracking. Have a good weekend! I know we will! :D

One More Day

2010-07-15T13:57:00.001-04:00

This one is at Muumu's house for one more night. She's been gone since Tuesday. Probably the longest time ever spent away from home for her. She's been doing great. From what I heard last night, she gets a bit lonely around bedtime. I'd found her a ride home today with Rick and Jennie, but she decided she wasn't quite lonely enough and would stay two more days. :) It's been kind of nice to have a mini break with just the boys, but I'm ready for her to come home now. I miss her smiley little face and personality. :)

It's a Monday

2010-07-12T13:09:00.002-04:00

This daisy is for you Leanne. :)

These are from our hike up Sugar Loaf yesterday. :)

Sunday Happenings

2010-07-11T18:35:00.000-04:00

My Jenna was my model for the day today. We went to church this morning, to find nobody there. So we went to the park for a half an hour where I played with the settings on my camera. It was alot of fun!

We have Annie and Levi staying with us until Tuesday, when I'll bring them home. We have been having fun with them around. Yesterday we went to a parade in the morning, then fireworks after I was done working last night. This morning, we went to a local park, then hiked up Sugar Loaf. What a gorgeous view! In the two years that we've been here, we never hiked it before. We will def. be doing it again. :) Pictures on that tomorrow. :)

Still a Band Geek

2010-07-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

I'm still a sucker for marching bands. I think I always will be. I was in band in school for seven years, so I still find myself marching in place, or swaying to the beat when ever the band goes by. :) I just can't help it! I know, I know, I'm still a band geek. But I for real LOVED marching band. Minus our uniforms, but besides that I loved it. I even kind of miss it some days, and I have been out of high school for eight years. :) These are taken of the Blue Notes, and drum and bugle corps that march in all of the parades down here. They're pretty good. :)

More of my Loves

2010-07-10T13:54:00.000-04:00

I'm missing these guys this week! I feel as if I'm at the nursing home more than I am at home. I'll have worked 45 hours by the end of the day today. We got a notice about two weeks ago, saying that every CNA will be picking up an extra weekend shift. Mine is today, when I would've had the weekend off. I'm still bumming about it. :( Oh well, I'm still thankful to have a good job.

Fourth of July Parade

2010-07-07T18:13:00.001-04:00

I didn't feel as if I got as good of shots as I had originally thought of, but I had fun anyway. It was so super hot that morning, that by the end of the parade the kids weren't really even all that interested in getting anymore candy. They got plenty though, half a bread bag each! WAY too much. But thats what you think of when you think of parades. Candy, floats and marching bands.

I'd have to say that Travis was the most into running out and grabbing the candy. Logan was content to hang out on dad's lap and watch, and Jenna was pumped off of a freezie.My mom got Aaron, the kids and I all matching flag shirts from Old Navy. I'd wanted to get a family picture, but it didn't happen. And the kids were rather antsy so I didn't get a real good picture of them either. It's hard to get three kids to look at you all at the same time. :) But it's better than nothing!

Happy Fourth!

2010-07-05T00:09:00.002-04:00

"Because our flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away!"

Hope you all had a happy fourth! Thank you too all of our soldiers and veterans who all have had a part in keeping us free.

My day was spent working at the nursing home. Today I worked twelve and a half hours. I did make it up for Karen's wedding on Thursday and Friday however, and spent most of the day on Friday up in the Harbor where my parent's were camping. It was a gorgeous day! I'll post pictures on that sometime later this week. We skipped the fireworks celebration for a couple reasons tonight. One being that I worked until ten thirty p.m. Two, it was raining anyways, and Three, last year Travis freaked out at the fireworks and we weren't sure how he and Logan would do tonight. We will just do sparklers in the yard some night this week when I don't work.

I'm headed to bed, it was a long day and my feet are achy and in need of a rest. Good night. :)

Eleanna's Baptism

2010-06-29T12:30:00.001-04:00

Alanna and Tony had their littlest, Eleanna, baptized on Sunday morning before church. We were all a little early ( 9:30) as we were told church started at ten, instead of ten thirty. Oh well. At least we were all on time. :) Aaron and I were Kummi's ( God parents) for Eleanna. What an honor. Thanks Alanna and Tony.

It's always such a relief for me when I have my babies baptized. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I sleep better knowing if anything were to happen, my baby will be safe in heaven. Little miss Eleanna slept through the whole thing, the little honey.:) Aaron held for for a little while in church, and it made him realize how big our Logan has gotten! It's so amazing to see how much a baby grows in a year. He and Eleanna are almost a year apart exactly. Crazy to think he was that small a year ago. Time sure flies fast when your having fun. :)

Wildflowers and Toothfairies

2010-06-28T11:05:00.000-04:00

So Jenna did REALLY great last Wednesday when she had her front teeth pulled out due to an infection. What a trooper. She only cried when we were on our way home, and the numbness was wearing off and her mouth was hurting. Not a peep at the dentist. She does better than her mom! :) I've always disliked going to the dentist. Still do.

When we got home, we dug out my old tooth pillow that my Grandma T. ( My Dad's mom) made for me when I was a little girl. There is a little heart shaped pocket in the back to hold your teeth. She was so fired up off those teeth, she played with them all day long! She did actually loose one somewhere in the house, and we looked but didn't find it. She was bummed that maybe the tooth fairy wouldn't come if she only had one of the pulled teeth under her pillow. But her Dad, who is a good thinker on the fly, said that the tooth fairy will probably be able to find it with her magic. That satisfied my little four year old.

That night she was so excited she could hardly fall asleep. Eventually she did, and the tooth fairy not only came and left her some money for her teeth, but she also left a little note saying that she didn't find the tooth either, but if it shows up, to just put it under her pillow again, and the T.Fairy will come back for it. Jenna was SO fired up off the note, she put it in her piggy bank with her tooth money so it wouldn't get lost.

I love you Jenna. Thanks for being such a big brave girl.

( Sorry about the disorganization, I REALLY don't like how Blogger has been loading my pictures into my posts, I think I'll have to do some monkeying around and see if I can make it go back to the way it was.) Also, the flowers are a few of the wildflowers growing around my house. Aren't they beautiful! One of the big reasons I love summer. I can have a fresh bouquet of flowers on my table every week!

Wanted: Your Creative Ideas

2010-06-27T22:43:00.000-04:00

Help! I'm trying to come up with a cute new title for my blog, but can't think of one! If anyone can think of a nice catchy title for me, I'll come up with some sort of a prize..... not sure what yet, but I'll think of something. Maybe a bag of chocolates.... or if you don't like chocolate ( shame on you!), something else to your liking.

Here are a few basic facts about my life right now that may help you send some ideas my way:
   I have three cute kids, two boys and one girl
   I am currently living in the country in a small single wide trailer house ( I miss my real house)
   My husband, Aaron, is going to college to become a surgical technician and graduates in December (YAY)
   I am working full time in a small nursing home
   I love living in the country even though its in a trailer
   We've been married for five, going on six years in July
   I love summer, and tolerate winter

That's all I guess..... please help me out! I've hit a road block, and can only come up with boring ideas that don't really appeal to me at all. :) thanks for your help! Tomorrow or Tues, I'll post some pictures of Jenna's new smile, and some from our quick weekend to see our families.

Toothless Tomorrow

2010-06-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow Jenna has a dentist appointment to have her front teeth pulled. She bumped them sometime last winter, and they developed an infection about two months ago. We tried to get rid of it with a strong antibiotic, but it just keeps coming back. So in order to protect her adult teeth and keep them from getting infected, the baby teeth have to come out.

I am really emotional about this. I know that they need to come out, and she will be totally fine about it. In fact she can't wait to be able to put them in her tooth pillow tomorrow night so the tooth fairy will come. But me, her silly mom, just really wishes that they could stay. That she could be all fired up about a loose tooth, to be able to wiggle it like normal. But I guess what is ever really "normal"? She'll still be darling, her personality will make sure of that. It'll take a while to get used to her new smile. As I sit here typing, I'm trying to be brave. If she sees me all sad about it, it'll make her sad and I don't want her to ever feel sad about herself.

I hope she doesn't get teased by other kids for not having all four of her front teeth. Another one of my worries. Her dentist says that since there won't be anything in the way of the adult teeth, they might come in sooner than they would've otherwise. I'm hoping! But in the meantime, I guess we'll just have to enjoy our little girls smile with a few less teeth. I'll post a picture of her new smile later this week when her mouth has had a chance to heal. Send postive happy thoughts my way tomorrow morning! I'll need them to keep my brave face on!

YAY!!!!

2010-06-18T12:24:00.000-04:00

Summer came back!
The signs it's summer around our house:
Baby's in the crib in just a diaper for his nap
The kids are in the pool starting at eight thirty a.m ( yes, we're early birds at this house) and only came out for lunch
The crickets are humming in the grass
I've got a load of clothes hanging on the line
My house is flying, because we're spending the whole day outside.
Jenna can't make up her mind if she's hot or cold ( she just asked for a long sleeved swimsuit. yeah, she's my odd one. :P

and thats it for today. I'm going outside! Have a good St. Johns weekend everyone! We won't be up there as I have to work. We're coming up next weekend for the second half of it. Enjoy!

Post Road Vintage Giveaway

2010-06-15T23:20:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine, Heather is doing a giveaway for one of her darling crafty ideas that she made. I've yet to see something she created that isn't totally cute. VERY talented she is. :) So.... if you'd like a chance at winning, all you have to do is go HERE. Heather, next time I'm up, I'll try to get over there and visit! It's been too long! :)

On another note, it rained again today. What else is new around here. I just keep reminding myself, it's good for those August blueberries. I guess for my garden too. I have no idea what order my rows are in it. I know what I planted, but forgot to mark what was where. It'll be a fun surprise when it's done growing. Typical me. But despite the rain, and stir crazy kids, I still managed to get my grocery shopping in, make stuffed shells for supper ( they were SO good, and even my kids scarfed them down! They are in the Magnolia Lane cookbook, but if anyone wants the recipe, just let me know and I'll post it on here. They are worth sharing.), a rhubarb torte ( it was so good it melted in your mouth...:) ) and had sauna and supper company. Dan, Heidi and their girls came over. It was nice. I'm envious of Heidi, as her wonderful mother in law decided to take the girls up north for the rest of the week. She's kid free! Lucky bum. :) Enjoy your week Heidi!

I have another day off tomorrow. I love knowing what my schedule is going to be for the rest of the summer. The new job is going good. I'm starting to familiarize myself with the residents and their habits/quirks, and am able to have more confidence in myself. It was a rough start, but last night was a good night, and I'm hoping it continues that way. But for now..... my bachelorette is waiting for me to get caught up, and my kids are all asleep, and the hubby in the sauna. The trailer is mine. Good night! Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Life As We Know It

100 Days Smarter

My Cloth Baby Diapers and Legwarmers

A New Chapter

Jenna Turned 6!

Look Who's Seven Months!

It's been a while....

He's a Big Boy Now!!

Sick Little Babe

The Apple Pajamas

5 months

Halloween 2011

My Personal Rainbow

Pumpkins

Sisters

Annie

Fall Picture

My Very Own Superhero

Buck In a Truck

September

A Few Garage Sale Bargains

Sweet Little Love

Jenna's First Day of Kindergarten

Starting September

Headbands for Baby

Vivian, 2 months

Vivian's Baptism

First Family Picture

Vivian Rose, 2 mo.

7 Weeks With Great Grandpa

My Jenna Sylvia

2lbs, 11 oz, and 73 Years Ago

6 weeks

Cousins

Big Blue Eyes

Summer Days

Summer Update

Playing Halloween

3 Weeks Old

Blessed

Camp Days

Vivian's Hat

Sweet Little Baby

Our Vivian Rose

Summer Buzz

Forget-Me-Not

This and That

Getting Ready

Today We're Pretending

Tuckered Out

Camp Days

What We've Been Up To

Happy 2nd Birthday Logan!!

Just Like Her Mother

All Done With the Plug

Easter 2011

My 5 Year Old

Honestly!?

Sure Mommy!

Signs of Spring

They Finally Came!

It was *almost* Spring.

27 Weeks

Not So Lucky This Time

And One More Makes 15

Advice Please!

Buddies

These Boots Were Made for Splashing

Two Greatest Wishes

Guess Who?

He's BUSY!

New Computer

Does God Hear Calls?

Long Overdue Update

Bond Falls

An Update on Life

At the Camp

It was a hot cocoa day

A little bit of everything!

Garage Sale Finds

It was almost Spring.