Pretty much the coolest family EVER

Just some pictures...

2012-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, Ireland!

2011-11-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

It's official... Ireland is 7. I can't believe it! Looking back to this day seven years ago I never would have been able to imagine what an outstanding, wonderful, thoughtful, kind, and beautiful little girl Ireland would turn out to be! I am more proud of her every sing day!
This past weekend we got to have Ireland's birthday party. As I am sure most of you know, Ireland loves a good themed party. This years theme was cooking. She wanted to have a cooking party where each kid made their own lunch and then made their own ice cream sundae. We also decorated our own aprons.
It was a lot of fun... so without further ado... here is the party in pictures!

Our gourmet chef's... Chloe, Ashley, Lexi, Ireland, Maddie, EmJ, and Grace.
(Gunner, Maren, Nana, and Mommy were there too).

Gunner had a lot of fun watching the girls and hanging out... he is such a party animal!

Here are the girls making their aprons...

Ireland got so many great gifts! She was moving so fast so I didn't get many pictures! But she loved every single gift she got!

And finally, our ice cream sundaes! We had vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream. With sprinkles, chocolate and strawberry syrup, whipped cream, and even cherries on top. Needless to say, they were a BIG hit!

It was a great birthday party! Thank you to everyone that was able to come! The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been Daddy... but we know he was thinking about us the whole time just like we were thinking about him!

Baaaaack in the saddle again!!!!

2011-11-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty crazy around these parts... and by these parts I mean our lives! I am sure most of you know Chris deployed about 2 weeks ago. He is over seas and that is about all I can say over the Internet... but he is safe and communicating in some form everyday so we know he is happy and healthy!
The kids and I are back in Colorado for the time being... the girls are going to Papaw's school and that is obviously the most awesome thing that has ever happened in the lives... EVER... just ask them!
So here are some pictures to catch you up and satisfy your insatiable hunger and need for pictures of my children... I will try to be a better provider from here on out!

These next few pictures are all from the night Chris left. There are only a few because it was dark and I ran out of time to take pictures... and really I was too worried about hugging and kissing my husband as much as I could before he left to worry about pictures. But I did get a few...

(Did anyone else notice that Chris is wearing a wedding ring?!?!?!?! Duh!!!!)

The next pictures are from Halloween. Both the girls were Bat girl... they looked pretty awesome. Gunner was the cutest baby in the world, so his costume was free! ;)

Papaw was Waldo from the "Where's Waldo" books (I unfortunately don't have a picture of that awesomeness) and we thought Gunner would look cute in the glasses... Guess what? We were right!
Please remember to keep Chris and all other service members in your prayers... there can never be too many prayers said for our service members!
Love you guys!

First day of school! :)

2011-09-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's official... Ireland and Chloe are back in school... and I have TWO kids in school! What?! TWO? How is that possible. I swear I am not that old.
But alas, it's true. Chloe started kindergarten on Wednesday.
I was a little worried about how she would do. She seems to like to be with me, Chris, or Ireland at all times. But she did great! She has Ireland's old teacher... I think that helped a lot.

We had "Back to School night" the day before school. The girls got to bring all their school supplies in their backpacks (and have ice cream) so it was pretty exciting.

Nana got to be with us for the first day of school... she was here in time to go to the back to school night as well. The girls were really excited to have her here... but Ireland was convinced that Papaw was going to show up and surprise her on the first day of school (he never showed up... but she wasn't too disappointed, she was a little distracted by the excitement of 1st grade).
Anyways, Gunner also loved having Nana here... she gave him lots of attention at back to school night.
School here starts at 7:50am. Well, actually 8:00am but they have to be in line by 7:50am (I guess the teachers think it's important to stand in line for 10 minutes before school or something).
We got to walk on the first day. The weather has been wonderfully nice here! Last year on Ireland's first day it was raining and cold. So it was really nice to have sunshine and warm weather!

This year all the kids meet in the gym to line up. Which is really great because we don't have to wait outside (usually raining) for the teachers to open the doors.
The first day was a little overwhelming because all the parents were in the gym as well. Chloe wasn't too sure what to think of it all. But she did pretty good.

Chloe is in morning kindergarten... so she is done with school at 10:42am. Daddy, Nana, and Mommy got to pick her up (Uncle Danny stayed home with Gunner, who was napping). Chloe was really happy to see us and told us she had a great day. She even said she would go back the next day... so I guess that is a good sign!

Daddy even drove the Jeep to pick her up (on of her favorite things) with the top off! After we got home and changed into cooler clothes and picked up Gunner and Uncle D, we went to China Panda (Panda Express) for lunch.
Ireland gets out of school at 2:30pm. Mommy and Nana went to go pick her up... again, Uncle D stayed home with Gunner since Gunner was still sleeping.
Ireland has specials (gym, music, art) during the last part of the day so she is always coming from something fun at the end of the day.
She LOVED 1st grade. She is really excited about eating lunch at school. And she has a lot of friends from her kindergarten class... even her 2 "best friends", Jordan and Destiny.
So needless to say, 1st grade is a big hit! It seems a little too easy (way too easy) right now, but we are just going with the flow right now because things will be changing soon enough.

Daddy didn't get to come pick up Ireland but he was at the house when we got home... she was really excited to tell him all about her day!
All in all it was a great way to start the school year!
I am so glad both the girls love school so much and I can't wait to see what they are going to learn this year!

Stop panicking... we're all still alive...

2011-08-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally made myself sit down in front of the computer and post a blog... to be honest, it's not my favorite thing to do... but I do it for my "public" and such. So, you're welcome.
Here are a bunch of pictures from our time in Colorado. We had a great time and loved every minute of it.
My sister and Matt and the kids got to be there for a while too. So it was great to see them!
The cousins had a GREAT time together!

We also got to spend some great times with Maren and her kids (And Jeff too).
We went to the zoo when we first got there... Ireland got sun-sick and puked for the entire next day... lame.
But other than that it was super fun!

Gunner had a few big firsts while we were there. He really started teething (still no teeth) and LOVED to chew on anything hard... mainly Popsicle's still in the plastic.

He also started eating solid food... and he is doing great with it!

We spent the 4th of July at my Gramma and Papa's house. Scotty and Robin were there too... with their HUGE dogs.
We enjoyed being with family and watching the fireworks.

Papaw and Nana bought a fun pool that the kids loved to play in. It was hours of fun for them!!

Silas played a lot of baseball in the backyard with the big boys.

The weather was kind of crazy while we were there. Every afternoon a huge storm would roll in. The sky would get dark and you could just watch it coming... it was pretty crazy.

Camdyn and Silas got to make their hand and footprints for the back yard. They turned out really good! Now the only one left to do is Gunner... but we'll wait a few years.

So all in all it was a great vacation. The drive back was super easy and uneventful. It was loooooooong but the kids did great (even Gunner).
We are happy to be home and getting ready for the new school year... I can't believe I am going to have 2 kids in school! I swear I'm not that old! I swear!

Daddy & Daughters road trip

2011-07-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

At the end of June (sorry for the late post) Chris and the girls took a road trip from Washington to Colorado. It was his first time going on a road trip alone with the kids (minus Gunner).
The girls were really excited about it!

Daddy ended up being way more fun to road trip with than Mommy!
Mommy is all business when it comes to travel... more of the "we'll have fun when we get there" mindset... where Daddy is all about stopping and smelling the roses.

They did all sorts of fun stops on their way. They saw a rive with a broken dam in Boise, Idaho. They also saw an otter (that's what Chris said it was).
They stopped at some cannon in Utah... it had a pretty cool statue according to Ireland.

They also stopped in Wendover, Nevada to visit Grandma Sherry. They got to see the Salt Flats and fly some kites. The girls LOVED it there! Chris said they couldn't wait to go back the next day!
(Chris' race car on the Salt Flats)

I guess it was pretty exhausting to road trip with Daddy.
All 3 of them had a great time... but I was sure glad to see them when they got to Colorado!

Chris is back in Washington now and the kids and I are still in Colorado. We will drive home some time at the end of July... and the girls will get to remember how much fun Mommy is NOT to have a road trip with! :) Wish us luck!

*disclaimer.... please excuse my children's appearance in this blog... they were without their mother for 4 days and Daddy does NOT know how to do hair... the end.*

Gunner's first haircut

2011-07-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Gunner got his first high and tight! I've been trying to convince Chris that he needed to give Gunner a haircut for a long time... Gunner's hair was soooo long and crazy. Chris finally gave in and shaved his head before bath one night.

Gunner did great. No tears or anything!!!

Gunner looks pretty handsome with his new "do" now! :)

Bath time!!!!

2011-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Siblings

2011-05-16T14:58:00.000-07:00

Gunner loves his sister and they love him.

Tummy Time!!!

2011-05-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Gunner has been working on his tummy time. He really likes it for the first 5 minutes or so then gets kind of mad. But he has already learned to roll over. :)
Next thing we know he'll be scooting around!

Thor and an Army

2011-04-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun when Silas was here... we had fun with Camdyn and Aunt Sissy and Uncle Matt too... but it was really special to get to spend some time with Silas. Chris hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with Silas... between deployments and moving. So it was great to have him at our house for over a week!

Since Gunner isn't old enough for toys, we really only have girl toys. So Uncle Chris took pity on Silas and took him to the PX for a little shopping trip.
He let Silas pick anything he wanted.
Chris said Silas had a hard time deciding... but both of them had fun looking at all the fun boy toys...

He finally landed on a Thor helmet and hammer. He loved them and even wanted to sleep in his helmet... but he decided it was too hard to lay down with it on his head. :) So he slept with it next to his bed.

Uncle Chris also wanted to take Silas to see his truck. Papaw went with them as well.

The trucks are really big and it took a little while for Silas to warm up to them. But after Papaw showed him how cool it was and Uncle Chris showed the cool things that were inside the truck, he decided it was pretty neat.

By the end of it Silas was having a lot of fun!

Thanks for coming to our house, Silas!! :) It was a lot of fun!

Gunner loves people!

2011-04-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say Gunner enjoyed all the company we had last month! :)

Chloe's birthday!

2011-04-21T10:38:00.001-07:00

I know this is a little over due... but here is the blog about Chloe's birthday. She got to celebrate her birthday with Nana and Papaw on her actual birthday and then that weekend we got to have her birthday party.
She wanted to have a puppy party... we made puppy collars and puppy ears. They turned out pretty cute and the kids loved making them!
We got to have Aunt Sissy, Uncle Matt, Silas, and Camdyn there for the party so it was extra special! Here are some pictures...

Chloe got so many great presents! She got 2 new swimming suits! You guys know her so well! :)

She wanted cake pops instead of an actual cake. So Aunt Sissy and I tried our hand at making some... it was a little interesting. But they turned out pretty cute! And they were YUMMY! I was glad there were so many people at my house to eat them or I would have weighed 15 lbs. more by the end of the week!

(Yummy cake pops)

Here are some pictures of her birthday... we got to eat some China Panda (Panda Express) and play at Charlie's Safari (an indoor play area). Then we got to have cupcakes, open presents, and watch Tangled (her birthday gift from Nana and Papaw).
All in all a great day!

We were so thankful to have so many fun visitors during her birthday! It made her feel so special!

I still can't believe Chloe is 5! Oh how time flies when you are having fun!
Thanks for 5 wonderful years, Chloe! You make each day a little brighter! I love you!

Daddy's Launcher

2011-03-12T19:38:00.000-08:00

Chris had to show his launcher today for a ball. He had to have it there all day and stay by it to answer any questions about it. So we thought it would be a good time to take the girls to go see Daddy's launcher.

They got to sit inside it and Ireland thought it was so cool! She was very impressed with the truck. Daddy's driver even told her she could have his job and she got to wear his helmet. :)

Chloe wasn't as fond of it was Ireland was. She thought it was too dark inside and was afraid it was going to turn on and be loud. But she liked it when Daddy was holding her.

It was cold and rainy (weird) so I didn't get Gunner out to take any pictures... so I thought I'd include a few from this week! :)

(Best shirt ever!!)

Just a few pictures

2011-03-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

I know I have been really bad about posting blogs lately. Not only are we trying to figure out how to survive with a newborn again, we have also been sick. I mean REALLY sick! All 5 of us (that is so fun to say) have been sick for about 2 weeks. So needless to say, it feels like I have barely been keeping my head above water most days! But now we are feeling better so here is a little catch up!

I didn't take many pictures over the last few weeks, but I did manage to get a few cute ones! Chris loves to cuddle with Gunner... I find them like this quite often. So precious!

Gunner is doing great! He is such an easy going baby. The only time he cries is when he is being bothered... really dirty diaper changes, lotion after bath, cold hands touching him. Other than that, he just kind of hangs out!
He is sleeping like a champ too! He eats his last bottle around 10pm and goes to bed until 4:30 or 5:00am! Then he goes right back to sleep until 8:30am... which is when the girls wake up. I am so blessed! He isn't sleeping as good as Chloe did at this age, but he is doing WONDERFUL for a 4 week old!
The rest of these pictures are from the week or so after Gunner was born. They are kind of random... just trying to get caught up with the blog!

Gunner dressed up for Aunt Sissy on the day she came... his onesie says My Auntie is #1! That's the truth!

Parker has done great with Gunner. She was pretty curious about him at first. But she was never mean or aggressive. She is actually really gently with him. We are very happy with the way she has taken to him. She doesn't even care when Gunner cries. What a good dog! :)

While Nana was here Ireland had to make a hat for a school project. So we all sat down and made some really awesome hats one night. Chloe got to make one too. Both of them turned out pretty great! The girls were very proud of them!

One day while everyone was here the weather was really nice so the girls got to go outside and play awhile. It was pretty cold but the sun was shinning and you have to live it up when the sun shines here!

I hope you all feel more in the loop. I will try to get back into the swing of things now that we are healthier and I feel like I am slowly getting some more free time through out my day!
Thanks for sticking with me on my short break. :)

Ireland's tea party

2011-03-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Right after Gunner was born the girls had a little bit of a hard time understanding why all the attention was suddenly on mommy and Gunner. More Ireland than Chloe. I guess they didn't understand why it changed so much and so fast... totally understandable for a 6 and 4 year old.
So Nana, being the wonderful Nana that she is, decided to help the girls plan a tea party/surprise party for Aunt Sissy.
It turned into quiet the ordeal! Ireland really had a great time planning it! They had fancy snacks, decorations, and outfits.
Here are some pictures of the great event!

Ireland helped plan every one's outfits... needless to say we all looked pretty awesome!

Thanks Nana! We had a great tea party and it was so great for the girls!

Welcome to the world, Gunner!

2011-02-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well, Gunner is here! After a long and fairly eventful labor and delivery, he was born at 8:40am on Feb. 3, 2011.
He ended up having to be born c-section because he was posterior with his head tilted back... so he wouldn't fit through the birth canal. I pushed for over 2 hours and made zero progress.
So after a quick change of plans, I was rushed off the O.R. to meet little Gunner.

He was 8 lbs. & 20 in. Biggest baby I've had yet! :)
He is doing great and is healthy as can be.

The girls are enamored with him. They both love to hold him and love on him. They only call him Baby Gunner. Never just Gunner. Chloe told us today, "When Baby Gunner gets older I think we should name him just Gunner."

He has a full head of sandy blond hair... I hope it all doesn't fall out because it is so cute!

The girls got to help feed him today before we left from the hospital.

Here he is in his going home from the hospital outfit... cutest hat I have ever seen!!!

Now we are home safe and sound. I am so thankful that to be at my own house and to sleep in my own bed! :) And even though the delivery wasn't what I had planned, I am so thankful! I am so thankful that he is healthy, thankful he is here, thankful the girls are so excited about him, and thankful our family is filled with so much love!

Some catch up

2011-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

I thought I would try to post one more blog before Gunner gets here and our life gets just a bit more crazy!

As most of you know, my mom is in town for a while. She came to help out with the girls and be here for the birth. I am so thankful that she is able to be here and help us out. We wanted to make this last weekend before the big arrival kind of special for them... so on Saturday we took the girls roller skating.

This was their 2nd time roller skating and it was soooooo much better than the first time! The first time ended with lots of tears and frustrated kids and adults. But this time was great! Ireland ended up skating by herself (with the help of the wall). She did awesome and had a great attitude!

Chloe also did really good too. She ended up skating on the carpet with Nana for awhile. She had a lot of fun doing that!

Love her concentration!

As you can see from the pictures above, Ireland got a new hair-do. Ever since Chloe got bangs, Ireland has wanted them too. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to cut her bangs, but it isn't my hair. So Chris and I made her think about it for a week or so and when she still wanted them done Daddy gave the go-ahead.

She looks soooo cute! And she loves them! The reason she wanted them was because she wanted to wear her hair with just a head band and no pony...

And now she can! I think it makes her eyes look so pretty (I think I said the same thing about Chloe when I cut her bangs)! I can't get over how different she looks! Nana keeps calling her Sarah because she looks just like Aunt Sissy did at that age with bangs! :)
Stinkin' cute!

The rest of these pictures are from a few weekends ago. One Saturday the weather was really nice and I was super ready for Gunner to be born, so we all went on a little hike. It didn't help things move a long with Gunner, but we sure did have a lot of fun!
We even took Parker with us... she loves walks in the woods!

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures... hopefully the next blog will be full of pictures of little Gunner!! :)

Biscuit Pizza

2011-01-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner we had Biscuit Pizzas. They are one of the girls favorite things! Not because they taste so good, but because they get to help make their own! They get to make them however they want and they think its so awesome!

Sausage, pepperoni, sauce, cheese... what ever sounds good to them.

Yummy, easy dinner... Can't complain!

Gunner's latest photo shoot...

2011-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

I had an ultrasound the other day... it is so good that we get to have little peeks at our little guy throughout pregnancy! I am right around 35 wks... and Gunner is doing great!
I have been scheduled to be induced on Feb. 2nd... so we are on the home stretch for sure!
Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes!

Christmas among other stuff...

2010-12-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

We have a had a really fun week! Chris' grandma, Gran, has been here since the 21st. There has been lots of shopping, eating, and enjoying family time! Here are a few pictures from the last week....
Chris always picks up Parker and holds her like a baby (no, he doesn't love his dog at all). Gran thought it was pretty funny!
Chris being silly with the girls.

The girls on Christmas Eve before we headed to church. They looked awfully cute!

Every Christmas Eve the girls get to open one present. It has always been our family tradition (starting back with Aunt Sissy and me when we were younger) to get jammies for the Christmas Eve present. I found these great jammies on sale at Carters and the girls LOVE them! They are so cute!

Chris got online and had the girls "track Santa" before bed. When Santa got to the United States they rushed off to bed! Ireland thought this was really cool... it showed exactly what country and city Santa was in and told little facts about the country. It was really neat.

Pouring Santa some chocolate milk. Chloe asked if we could give him chocolate milk because, "he probably gets tired of drinking regular milk all night... 'cause I would."

They both asked for Pillow pets from Santa... Chloe wanted the dolphin and Ireland wanted the whale. Needless to say they were very pleased when they woke up on Christmas morning and those were exactly what was waiting for them!

Later on Christmas day Chloe decided Parker needed to share her Pillow Pet. Parker was taking a nap and Chloe ran upstairs to get her pillow and bring it down to share with Parker... pretty awesome if you ask me!

Tonight is Gran's last night here. We decided to go do something fun and enjoy our last night together for awhile. So we went bowling!
The girls both really love bowling!

Every time after Chloe threw her ball she wanted to sit on Chris' knee... it was pretty cute!

They both did really good! We played 2 games and by the middle of the second game they were starting to loose interest.... here's the proof...

All in all it has been a pretty good week! We will really miss Gran when she leaves! We are already looking forward to our next visit!

Rice Crispy Houses

2010-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

This year, instead of decorating ginger bread houses we opted for Rice Crispy houses. I figured we can totally eat the rice crispy house so it's a better deal! The girls were all for it.

They both had a really good time! They both really enjoyed it and took a lot of time getting them done. It was fun to see them both plan out their houses and bring them to life!

The finished products!

Tomorrow we will bake and decorate cookies for Santa so I will try to get some good pictures of that!

Tree Lighting

2010-12-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

About a week ago we went to the post tree lighting. It was pretty close to the house so we just walked over there. It wasn't too horribly cold and it wasn't raining! So we were happy to get some time outside (even thought it was pretty dark).

The girls really had no idea what a tree lighting was, but they were excited all the same! They knew that after the tree lighting we got to go see Santa and have some cookies, so I think that helped play up the excitement!

For those of you who don't live on a military base (or never have), every night at 5:00pm they set off a cannon and lower the flag. The tree lighting just happen to be right in front of the flag. So by the time it was ready to be lit, it was 5:00pm and the cannon was going to be set off.
Chloe isn't a big fan of loud noises, so Chris warned her that they were going to set the cannon off and she spent the rest of the time with her fingers in her ears... but she didn't seem to mind and actually hardly noticed when the cannon did go off!

After the tree was lit Santa came by and gave all the kids candy canes (when Santa was handing out candy canes was when the cannon went off).

After the tree lighting there was a reception with free Santa pictures, cookies, games, crafts, and face painting. It went until 8:00pm so we decided to go home and eat dinner then go back. Sounded like a good idea... miss the big crowd and have more time to do everything.
Well, by the time we got there (it was only 6:30pm) everyone was packing up to go home! Santa was already gone! The girls barely got a picture with Ms. Claus! Most of the games were packed up and all the cookies where gone!

They did get to make an ornament, and get some stuff from the fire department, and a sucker from the police department.

Then we waited in line for FOREVER to get their faces painted! Seriously like an hour... but since they missed out on Santa we decided to stay and wait it out. While we were in line I tried to get a cute picture of them together... to say they were a little antsy would be an understatement!

(Chloe isn't throwing up a peace sign... she is being Pascal... and little chameleon from the new Rapunzel movie)

Finally it was their turn... and it was worth the wait! The best face painting ever! And it was free! Ireland got a candy cane.

Chloe got a Christmas dolphin

By the time we got home it was almost bed time so we let them sleep with their face paint on...
It was a really fun night!

A whole new kid!

2010-12-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

There is an ongoing battle in our house. I call it "Operation Chloe's hair" or OCH.
You see, this child has the thickest hair I have ever seen on a 4 year old. I am not kidding when I say her pony tail is as thick as mine... and I have pretty thick hair.
The main problem is it is still baby fine hair. So it doesn't stay tight and out of her face very well (which we all know drives me nuts).
Another problem... she has constant new growth on her head... meaning it is still getting thicker. But the worst thing about the new growth is she has these little baby hairs that hang down along her hairline and in her eyes. She hates her baby hairs. Always asking me to "get them out of the way of her eyes."
Solution? Bangs!
It took be a bit to convince Chris... she thinks her hair is so pretty all one length (that's because he doesn't deal with it everyday). But after she asked him enough he said yes!

And now Mommy and Chloe couldn't be happier! If I do say so myself, it makes her little face look even cuter! Her eyes just pop!

The best part? She LOVES them! The other night in the bath when I was wetting her hair she got panicked when her bangs "went away" and she couldn't feel them anymore!

I would say this battle has been won!

YEAH!!!

Decorations!

2010-12-02T12:09:00.000-08:00

I just want to start off by saying sorry. I didn't take any pictures of Thanksgiving or any pictures while my parents were here... so you will all have to miss out on those moments. But I did get some pictures of the girls decorating the Christmas tree (Nana and Papaw were still here when we did it, but they managed to not get in any pictures!).

Decorating was so fun this year! The girls were so excited about it! I think it is the first year that they have both been just down right giddy to get the tree put up and start the Christmas holiday!

They both did really really great and we didn't have any broken anything!!!

Our tree topper is kind of sad. We got it for our first tree that was really small and we have never bought a new one... But the girls loved helping Daddy put it on!

We had such a good time and are so excited for the Christmas season! We listen to Christmas music everyday and watch Christmas movies a lot! I love this time of year!!!

Snow!

2010-11-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

I love snow!!! Last winter we didn't really get to enjoy any snow. We drove through Colorado and saw some snow but we didn't get to play in it. And then we got to Washington we never had any snow... well, we got some this year! It started to snow Sunday night and pretty much snowed all night and all day Monday.
Ireland's school has been cancelled all week so we have had a lot of time to play!
Here is what it looked like yesterday morning.
The girls couldn't wait to go out and play yesterday! They had so much fun.

Ireland started right off building a snowman.

She got a little frustrated so Papaw helped. Then they got to make a really cool snowman!

We didn't have stuff for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. So we used baby carrots for the mouth and peppermint kisses for the eyes and buttons. It worked!

Yesterday we went to the PX and got a sled. We didn't get to use it yesterday but we did today.
There aren't any real hills around here that aren't covered in trees. So Chris put Parker to work and had her pull the girls on the sled. They had so much fun!! I wish I would have had the video camera so you could hear their laughs! But the pictures are fun too!

Chloe right after her first ride on the Parker Sled!

After Parker got tired Papaw started to pull the girls. What a good Papaw!

Parker LOVES the snow too! She wants to go outside all the time just to play in it.

We are so happy to have snow! It makes my winter!

A Whale of a Party!!!

2010-11-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Ireland's 6 year old birthday party! It was so much fun! It was a whale themed party... very interesting, let me tell you what!
She invited 8 kids from the neighborhood and her class... and all but 1 came! So needless to say we had a full house yesterday! Here are a few pictures to take you through the day!

It was a little hard to find whale party decorations and what not. So we kind of went in the way of sea-life. So the cupcakes had little gold fish on them. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Ireland drew a lot of whale pictures to hang up. She also decided she wanted to bring all her whale and dolphin toys from her room to decorate the table. It turned out to be a nice touch!

Here are the pictures she drew for our awesome decor!

The birthday girl next to her table of goodies!

When the kids started to arrive I had whale and dolphin coloring sheets for them to color. We had a fun whale craft to do but wanted to wait to start until everyone was there. So the coloring sheets were a good way to keep the kids occupied while we waited. The girls really liked it... the boys, not so much! :)

After everyone got there we started on the paper bag whale. I found the idea online and it was super easy! You just start with a white lunch size paper bag. Color or paint it however you want your whale to look. After it's colored you stuff it with strips on newspaper, leaving enough room on the end for the tail. Then you decorate it with fun eyes and fins. I added some pipe cleaners in sliver for the water spout.

Again, the boys finished before the girls but they all had fun! And the whales turned out so cute!!

This is Ireland's finished whale (I meant to get a picture of all the kids whales, but time got away from me and I forgot)!

The pink and purple on is Chloe's whale. Pretty fun!

After whales we did presents! Ireland got a friendship rose from one of the little boys! Her first flower!
She loved all her gifts and loved opening them all!

Then it was on to cupcakes! Ireland just loved being the center of attention, so she loved everyone singing to her!

When everyone was done eating we played some games. We played freeze dance, dolphin dolphin whale (like duck duck goose), and Whale says (like Simon says). The kids thought all the games were really fun!

After the games were done parents started to show up! A lot of them came early so I didn't get a chance to get picture of all the kids. But I did get on of the neighborhood kids!

This was our first birthday party where we had more kids than adults... and I would say it was a success! Ireland told me it was the best day of the year so far! :)

Now, on Wednesday it will be her real birthday... So stay tuned for some another birthday blog!

Halloween!!!

2010-11-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

We had a really fun Halloween! We went trick or treating around the neighborhood and the girls got A LOT of loot!
Ireland was a bride and Chloe was Princess Jasmine. They both looked extra cute. :)
Ireland loved being all dolled up. We curled hair and put on some make-up!

It was a little dark when we started taking pictures... but they turned out pretty cute anyways!

I LOVE this picture of Chloe! Shows just how excited she was to start trick or treating!

Here is our very first house... they were so excited!!! :)

Parker came with us trick or treating... Chris even got her a little Halloween shirt. Yes, he dressed our dog for Halloween.

We met up with one of Ireland's friends from school, Aidan. All 3 of them had so much fun together!

I had to end with this picture... one of the houses had a guy in a really creepy mask, after that house Chloe did not want to go up to the doors anymore. So Ireland started to hold her hand so she would come with her! What a great big sister! Made my heart smile!

We had a wonderful holiday! Ireland decided that Halloween is the best idea ever! She is already talking about what next year is going to be like! :)

Ireland's school picture!

2010-10-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Ireland's school picture turned out GREAT! No big shock there! :) The school had an awesome option this year where you could just order a CD with printing rights. So I didn't have to get one of those photo packages that had too many wallets and not enough 5x7's! Now I can just print out exactly what I want and need. That being said, I haven't printed anything out yet! :) But I will, promise! Until then, you all can look at her pretty face right here!

Look below...

2010-10-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just to make up for lost time I posted a bunch of blogs tonight. Make sure you see them all.

I guess this means we have to keep her...

2010-10-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

I think they like dog...

So I guess that means...

I can't give her away...

Oh well.

Disclaimer... Chris took all these pictures so the dark shadow isn't my fault! :)

Pumpkin Painting!!!

2010-10-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

This year we decided not to carve pumpkins. Normally we have the girls paint a few small ones and then we help them carve the big ones. My thought process was rain and cut up pumpkins aren't BFF"S. Meaning I figured they wouldn't last long. So we just went the painting route.

The girls always have fun with the painting so they didn't miss out on anything.
I love the concentration on their faces... this is some serious business!
(Please ignore Ireland's post bath hair.)

Here are the finished products! They look pretty darn cute!

P.S. Yes Chloe is wearing a leotard... no she isn't in ballet. She just likes to wear them. ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously all she wants to wear. So if anyone has some hand-me-down leotards... I will gladly take them. :o)
P.S. (again) I love Chloe's sassy body language in this picture! Couldn't be more perfect.

Here they are with their favorite ones...

And... just some cute pictures of some cute kids!

Love it!!

"Look Mom!! No hands... I mean training wheels!!"

2010-10-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Ireland recently learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels!
Here are a few pictures of her first time trying!!

She wanted to start in the grass in case she fell. She didn't really need to worry about falling because she pretty much got on her bike a rode! It was awesome!!

She had a hard time starting out, but after she got going she was fine! She didn't fall once!

Needless to say, we can't keep her off her bike now! She wants to ride it all the time!

She is growing up right before our eyes! Next thing you know she is going to be driving!

Baby boy Shellaby...

2010-10-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

A boy?! What am I going to do with a boy?! We were pleasantly surprised when we found out it was a boy this time around! Here are some picture from the big reveal. I hope you can all tell what you are looking at!

The first 2 pictures are of the face.

Here is his leg and arm...

And here is the only thing we really cared about... :)
Oh, and a foot bellow the "boy" picture.

Baby boy is healthy and growing great! We are expecting him sometime in Feb. :)
We are so blessed and thankful!

The Story of Ireland's tooth...

2010-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Ireland came to Chris and told him her front tooth hurt. He took a quick look at it and knew why right away. She had her adult tooth growing in behind her baby tooth. Her baby tooth was a little loose but not much... the adult tooth was almost half way grown in behind it! Crazy!!! She has been working at her baby tooth for about 3 weeks now.

On Monday night it looked like this:

We thought for sure it was ready to come out. I refused to try and pull it (gross) so it became Chris' job. Since he has baseball mitts for hands, he decided to use some thread to pull it out...
Ireland was really brave and didn't mind at all. It took a lot of concentration on Chris' part.

He tired a few times to get the tooth out, but it wasn't ready... So we left it alone for the night.

Thursday night came around and Ireland said it was too hard to eat dinner because her tooth wouldn't let her bite her food. After another quick look it was obvious that it was ready to come out. Chris didn't even bother with thread... he just yanked it out! No tears on Ireland's part or anything! She did get a little freaked out when she saw the blood in her mouth after... but she handled it really well!

She was really worried that her tooth was going to get lost under her pillow and the ToothFairy wasn't going to be able to find it. So she decided to decorate an envelope and put her tooth inside there. She was very excited and proud of her creation! She even wrote on the outside, "Tooth inside" so the ToothFairy wouldn't be confused.

The next morning she checked under her pillow and she found another envelope just for her...

Inside she found some money...

and a letter!

After reading her letter she quickly counted her money... $5!!!! She decided she was going to put it in her piggy bank and save it up with all the rest of the her tooth money and buy something awesome, "like maybe a Buzz Lightyear or something!"

It's safe to say she was one happy 5 year old! Every single person she saw on Friday she had to tell them she lost a tooth. That includes the receptionist at my doctor, the nurse and doctor, every mom and kid outside her classroom door, and all our neighbors!
Just one more step to being a "growing up" and it is all happening so fast!!! :o)

Because you asked so "nicely"

2010-09-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I last posted... nothing much has been going on so I don't have anything to blog about. So here are some catch up pictures.

Whenever Nana comes the girls think making cookies is a given. Nana is more fun to bake cookies with than Mommy I guess. They always look forward to it.

When Chloe saw me with the camera she lost interest in the cookie making and focused on the camera... usually an Ireland move, but this day, Chloe was all about the camera.

I think one of the main reasons they like to make cookies with Nana as opposed to me is Nana lets them lick the beaters... I do not. As you can tell, it is an thoroughly enjoyable experience!

These next few pictures are from Sunday morning. Chloe woke up sick to her tummy and throwing up. So while I was upstairs nursing her back to health, Daddy taught Ireland how to play chess.

I love the concentration on her face.
She actually thought about each move she was going to make and ended up doing pretty good for her first time!

Chloe's stomach bug was short lived. She only got sick twice! She was ready to go play by noon!
Since it was a long day for her I let her pick out her clothes for the day. I told her she could wear anything she wanted... she was very pleased with the outcome!

So that is that... it's hard to post a blog when there isn't much going on and I don't have much to take pictures of... but I will try to be better about blogging about nothing just for you, Gran and Nana! :)

What?! Ireland's in kindergarten?!

2010-09-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? Ireland is in kindergarten!!! I can't believe it! But she is... and she LOVES it!
Today was her first day. It was a great success.

She was so excited... she couldn't even contain it! I loved seeing how happy she was... just pure joy all over her face.

She rode to school with her back pack on... too excited to take it off. :)

When we finally made it to the school she was even more excited! I love her smile in this picture... it is so genuine!

If you look close in this picture you can see her crazy loose tooth with the adult tooth growing in behind it... kind of gross looking if you ask me!

Daddy got to have some time off to go with us. We are all so happy that he got to be here for her first day! He has had to miss so much, it's great that he could be here for this!

Nana also got to come see her off on her first day! What a special treat to have Nana her! It made Ireland's day even more special!

One of our neighbors and Ireland's "best friend" is in her class. She was very excited (I have used that word a lot in this post) to have Aidan there this afternoon!

Chloe was really happy for her sister to be heading off to school... but I think she was a little sad to see her go too.

When the bell rang, Ireland got in line with out hesitation. She wasn't nervous or scared at all. She was just purely ready to go! I was so happy for her!

Saying her final farewell!
I have been asked by a few people if I cried... No, I didn't. I was just so happy for her. When you saw her little excited face, it was hard to feel any sadness... maybe because she is my oldest and I still have my "baby" (Chloe) at home with me... or another on the way... but I just wasn't sad. Happiness is the only word I can think of to describe how I felt. It is weird that she is school aged now... kind of surreal. But not sad. :)

She only goes half day... 2 hr & 45 min. Chloe was very ready to pick her up... their reaction when they first saw each other was priceless!!! Now THAT made me tear up. It shows how close they are...

Ireland came running out of the door,

And straight into Chloe's arms! So wonderful!

Made me one happy Mommy!

Then she went straight to Nana... I totally got the shaft! Lame... :)

And started telling Nana all about her day.

Ireland really did have a great day. She says she can't wait to go back. I love that she loves it!

Oh, Chloe

2010-08-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is Chloe's idea of appropriate attire... if left to her own devices, this is how she would dress every single day!

She sees no problem with the fact that she has no bottoms of any kind...

She feels like a ballerina.

And just a wee bit sassy...

She sure does make me smile!

Fashion Model...

2010-08-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ireland got a new haircut for school. It looks really cute. I figured you all would want to see some pictures... so I had to FORCE Ireland to have a little photo shoot.
I had to tie her down and MAKE her smile...

And when I thought it couldn't get any harder to get a good picture... I had to spank her real hard so she would listen and smile...
It was really hard work... but someone had to make her smile...

I think in the end I got at least a one good picture...
It's too bad she doesn't like the camera...

That would make my life a lot easier!
It's obvious she will have no career as a super model!
Maybe next time I will actually get a "good" picture! :)

The last 2 weeks...

2010-08-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Gran came to our house for a little vacation. She was here for 2 weeks and we all loved every minute of it! We took lots of pictures so here is a little glimpse into what we have been up to for the past 2 weeks...

(These pictures are horribly out of order... sorry about that)

We took the girls and Parker to the lake a few times... this is actually the second time we had been there. Parker loves the water and the girls actually liked too.

Gran likes to take pictures... so here is just a picture of her and the girls.

This is the day we bought the new van. We went to this new mall and there was a carousel inside... the girls were a little excited to ride it!

This is how dirty your kids will be if you let them go to the skate park with their dad... those clothes were never the same again...

Chris took Gran to the Parade Field to get a good view of Mt. Rainer... it really is beautiful!

Here is the first visit to the lake.

Parker's new form of exercise... it really wears her out!

Gran loves her Chrissy! :)

We also got the final paper work in for Ireland to start school... she is a little more than excited for the first day, Sept. 8th! Can't wait!!!
(For those of you who have asked to see pictures, she is wearing her new super skinny jeans in this picture and the next).

Shopping... too bad those girls aren't cute at all!!!

We really did have so much fun with Gran! I feel like we did something everyday she was here. It went by too fast and we are already looking forward to the next time we see her!

Farwell Vernetta!

2010-08-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

We got a new van!! Vernetta was on her last leg so we have been looking around for a few weeks. We came across this van a few days ago and it was the perfect fit! :)

It's a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country.
I love it! It is weird to have Vernetta gone... she was well loved. But we are excited to create some new memories with the new van...
She will have a name soon! :)

Roller skating like it's 1993

2010-08-16T14:39:00.000-07:00

We took the girls roller skating while Gran was here. It was very.... interesting.
There were lots of falls, tear, smiles, and sweat (the darn place isn't air conditioned like everything else in this crazy state).
Also, a lot of memories!

Tour de Shellaby

2010-08-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

The girls got new bikes!!! :) Gran is here for a visit and she decided she wanted to help get them some bikes.
So on Friday night we went to the PX and got the girls some bikes. We let them pick out their helmets... princess of course.
The helmets came with knee pads. Pretty awesome deal!
To say the girls were excited would be a HUGE understatement! :)

They both couldn't wait to get going!

Chris helped Chloe figure out how to keep her feet on the pedals.

Ireland was a natural!

They've had them for 2 days now and they still love them. Yesterday at breakfast Ireland got up and went to the back door. When I asked her what she was doing she said, "Oh, I just really love my bike so I was looking at it."
Safe to say, Gran made their day... no, week... no, YEAR! :)
Thanks Gran!

Papaw's visit...

2010-07-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

Papaw got to come for a fun visit! The girls were so excited! He was here for 3 days and we loved every minute of it!
On Thursday we decided to show him Seattle... we went to the big REI and to Pikes Place Market. We had lots fun.

The girls were excited to be spending the day out and about with Papaw and Daddy!

Pikes Place is at the bottom of some crazy hills! It doesn't look that steep in this picture... but trust me, it is! For those of you who don't know, Pikes Place Market is one of the country's oldest running farmers market. It is down by the water in Seattle and very interesting!

Lots and lots of fresh seafood and produce! It doesn't always smell the best!

Since it is summer time it was really crowded! More crowded then Disney World in the summer! Chloe got a little overwhelmed with all the people. She didn't like that part at all! Good thing Papaw was there to carry her!

We saw a Police Officer on a horse... Ireland thought that was pretty neat!

One of the girls favorite things to do at the market is to get fresh fruit. Ireland got a "dinosaur egg" (it was really called a gold rose plum). She thought it was pretty yummy!

Chloe got the biggest plum I have ever seen! This is just what she needed to pull her out of her little funk! :)

We spent some time to look at the ocean...

Ireland had to borrow my sunglasses (she has the most sensitive eyes) because she forgot hers in the van... its a good thing I am such a nice mom!

They obviously had a long day... they both fell asleep on the way home!

This picture is from the next morning... all eating some breakfast together!

Thanks for a great visit, Papaw! We can't wait for the next one!!

Chloe's favorite past time....

2010-07-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, these pictures are from May... I meant to post them and totally forgot.
They just make me smile when I look at them.
Chloe loves to play with her daddy... but the way they play is pretty funny! She likes to climb all over him and pimch, squeeze, and grab his face... and he just lets her. I guess it's this weird little game they have.

He seriously just sits there and lets her climb all over him!
(please excuses her dirty clothes and face... obviously we had something messy for dinner and she really enjoyed it)

These pictures just make me smile and laugh! I love it!

The rest of the 4th!

2010-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of the pictures for our 4th of July... sorry it took so long!
We went to Freedom Fest here on post and it was so crowded! The girls only got to ride 2 rides and we were in lines for over an hour!

We walked over there with some friends... They had lots of fun together.

This is the first ride the picked to go on... they were super excited!!!

At first the girls were going to ride together and Mason was riding by himself. But then Chloe got a little worried that it was going to be too loud. So Daddy rode with her and Mason and Ireland rode together. It all worked out in the end!

They had a blast!!

They all got some fire hats... Chloe didn't want to wear hers because she had her 3 Musketeer mask on... don't want to over accessorize!

Waiting in line for the other ride. It was a big obstacle course.

Ireland at the very top before the big slide... she was waiting for Chloe.

They both made it down safe and had loads of fun!!

We got to watch the fireworks from our backyard. That was awesome... too bad it doesn't get dark here until 10:30!!! It was a late night!
Our friends, the Hoppe's came over to celebrate with us.

It turned out to be a super fun day... a little cold... but still lots of fun!

Happy 4th!

2010-07-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty relaxing 4th around here. We went to a carnival on post that was crazy crowded... I will post some of those pictures later.

But for now I thought I would just share some of these cute pictures with you all!

Hope you all had a happy and safe 4th!

Special Delivery

2010-07-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ireland got a very special letter in the mail the other day... It was from Mickey Mouse!
I don't know if you all remember, but when we went to Disney World in 2006 Ireland left her very special bear, Bob, on the bus taking us to the airport. She was heart broken. Luckily, Disney is amazing and they tracked him down and mail him back to Ireland.
We have always talked about how Bob just stayed a few days extra and hung out with Mickey and friends... went to the parks after hours, had a sleep over, and met all the characters.

When Ireland went to Disney World with Nana for her 5 year old trip she made a thank you card for Mickey Mouse. She desperately wanted to give it to him. She wanted to thank him for taking such good care of her Bob. Unfortunately they aren't allowed to take "gifts" from people. So my mom told Ireland we would have to mail Mickey his card.
When they got to their hotel Nana talked to the clerk and told her the whole story. The wonderful "Cast member" (what employees are called at Disney) talked to Ireland and told her Mickey LOVES to get mail. She told Ireland she would make sure he got it! Ireland was on cloud 9!!

Well, Mickey got her card and he sure did love it! He loved it so much, he wrote Ireland a letter to thank her! She couldn't believe Mickey actually sent her mail!

It is things like this that set Disney apart! This is something she will remember forever!

Thanks Mickey and Minnie Mouse!!!

Fun in the sun!!!

2010-07-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

While we were in Colorado we spent a lot of time with EmJ (and Maren and Luke). The girls love playing with her! We also made sure to spend a lot of time outside in the warm sunshine... since it hasn't been over 70 degrees here (in Washington) yet this summer!

So one day we played in the sprinkler at Maren's house. It has to be the coolest sprinkler ever! All 3 girls had so much fun!

Thanks for letting us play with you, EmJ!! :)

2010-07-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Just the girls being cute...

Making memories

2010-07-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

While we were in Colorado my dad wanted to make concrete footprints and hand prints of all the grand children. Unfortunately the weather and timing never quite worked out while my sister and her kids were there too. So just Ireland and Chloe did it this time around. Camdyn and Silas will do it next time they are in town.
And we found out that was probably for the better because even Chloe was a little on the "young" side to get great results. So it is better that Silas will be a bit older! :)

Papaw let the girls help mix the concrete.

And smooth is out...

Ireland went first. Hers turned out so good! Something so special to remember her at this age!

Chloe was 2nd... she was interesting! She took her shoes off too soon and got her feet all dirty.

I forgot to take a final picture of Chloe's. I will have to do that next time we are there!
They loved it and I cannot wait to see how Silas and Camdyn's turn out when they do theirs!

Watermelon

2010-07-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Watermelon + kids = Summer!!

The Park...

2010-06-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

One night this week we got to go to the park with Nana and Papaw. Silas and Aunt Sissy had to stay home because Silas wasn't feeling so good.

But the girls got to go and they had so much fun!

I tired to get a picture of them all... it kind of worked. :)

Camdyn liked all the slides. Ireland and Camdyn had a few slide races on the double slide.

Am I the only one that thinks Ireland looks old in this picture?! She might as well be a teenager!

Papaw got a little silly on the swings... he was trying to kiss the girls while they were swinging. Pretty funny.

They got pretty close that time!

It was hot and sweaty and we all had a GREAT time!

The rest of the story...

2010-06-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

For some reason, last time I posted a blog it wouldn't let me upload all my pictures... so, finally, here are some more pictures of my grandparents anniversary party...

Camdyn and Chloe had so much fun playing together! Camdyn thinks this picture is so funny of them because they both aren't smiling and looking at the camera. She kept asking me to look at it.

Even though Silas is only 21 months old and very active, he did great at the party... he was stuck in a room for 3 hours and stayed happy and entertained the whole time! I love this picture of him and his Daddy... what a cute moment caught!

Camdyn and her Mommy (Aunt Sissy to us).
Ireland being silly! All the kids did really good. It was a long hot day and they never complained. Maybe it was the cupcakes?
Chloe was hot and tired. She told me she just wasn't in the mood to smile for me right now.

I think Camdyn takes great pictures! Very pretty little girl

We had so much fun at the party! Aunt Missy did a great job a putting it together! And what a great thing to be celebrating... 50 years of marriage! Wow...

Silas+cupcakes= WONDERFUL

2010-06-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

The girls and I are in Colorado right now for a little visit. We are having so much fun! The main reason we are here is because my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on June 5th. So we had a party for them.

My sister and Matt and their kids came too. It is so good to see everyone! It has been way too long.

At the anniversary party Silas enjoyed a cupcake... it was pretty awesome to watch!

It's safe to say he liked it... a lot!

I tired to get more pictures up of everyone else, but it wouldn't work for some reason. So I will try again later!

An eventful morning.

2010-05-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

A dresser fell on the girls today. It was traumatic. They both got hurt. But they are ok now...
Ireland got a fat lip...

And some pretty big bruises on her shins that didn't show up on the camera.

But she is relatively unscathed.... could have been a lot worse for her.

Chloe's injuries look a lot worse than Ireland's. Chloe didn't want her picture taken because she doesn't like to admit that her owie on her nose is still there...

But it is... it isn't bleeding anymore... but it was

She has a raspberry along her cheek too. And she won't let me near her face with a washcloth because she is afraid I am going to touch her nose... thus the food all over her face.

Again, it could have been worse. Thankfully it wasn't.

Yes it was traumatic. Yes we talked to them about hanging on open dresser drawers. No... I don't think this will happen again!
And yes, they are ok.

Favorite past time... Spinning

2010-05-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is one of the girls favorite things to do... Chris? Not so much. But he does it for them anyway! What a good dad!

I have no idea why Ireland is spinning from her feet... this was a first. Who knows!

And if you were wondering... yes... I still get goosebumps every time I see him in uniform. Looks good on him, huh? :)

They can't be bothered

2010-05-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

I usually have the problem of my kids "over posing" for the camera. More Ireland than Chloe... but both of them are pretty bad about it. If they see the camera they usually go straight into fake and cheesy smile.
Well, yesterday that was not the case... they simply couldn't be bothered. They were playing with some Play-Doh... and very into it. I think I got 1... that's right 1 picture where Chloe (not Ireland) is looking at the camera. Oh the things you do when you are having fun.

They were playing Princess and the Frog. Recreating the scene where Princess Tiana asks Naveen to mince the mushrooms for her "gumble" (gumbo)... over and over and over again. It was pretty awesome.

Oh there it is! The one picture with eyeballs in it!

I love the looks of concentration in all the pictures... they obviously had tons of fun!

It's a tough job... but someone has to do it

2010-05-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

We don't have a lazy dog... but you wouldn't be able to tell by the pictures I take. Maybe because pictures of her sleeping and lazing around are the easiest to take. I don't know... but they make me laugh.
It's obviously tough being a dog!

We get to take the tape off her ears tonight... hopefully they are standing and we are done with the tape. If they are still floppy we take her back into the vet on Monday and get the tapped up again. So stay tuned for some pictures without giant, white, horn ears!

Rainbows and Raindrops

2010-05-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

There is this place on post called Rainbows and Raindrops. It's free. We like it!
It is kind of like a daycare where parents stay and watch their kids. They have centers and crafts. It is really neat. We went there for the first time on Tuesday and we will go back!

The girls had lots of fun... however, you wouldn't know that from looking at most of the pictures. I guess they were concentrating so hard on playing they forgot to look like they were actually having fun. But I swear they were... and I did catch a few smiles on film... or SD card I guess.

Here is one! They are both smiling... caught off guard by the bubbles! I love Ireland's face in this picture!

There was a lot of dress up... so you know they girls spent a long time there!

There was also a theme for the day... it was music. So they got to make a drum... obviously some serious work.

Then they got to take the drum into circle time for some songs. We got to learn a few new songs. It was lots of fun!

Ireland really got into the singing time. She did all the actions and sang very loud... even when she didn't know the words... at all.

Then they got out the big parachute... again, Ireland got really into it. She loved it!

Chloe? Not so much. She didn't want to hang onto it. But she liked watching and it blowing her hair.

Rainbows and Raindrops is the best idea ever! We are happy we found and will be going back there often! :)

Sisters

2010-05-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

These pictures are a little bright. I am still learning how to use my camera... but they are too cute to not post. So enjoy!

They love eachother... and I love them!

I taught her everything she knows...

2010-05-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ireland likes to dance.

She has some pretty stellar moves.

But truth be told, I taught her everything she knows.

It's hard work... but she sure does make it look good!

Alright... I didn't really teach her any of that...

What goes around comes around...

2010-05-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

Who knew RayBans would be this cool again?

I did... and so did Chloe.

Bird Nest

2010-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Ireland and Chloe made a bird nest at the park this weekend. They have such great imaginations! I love to watch them play and see the games they come up with.

This day it was a game of birds. From what I could tell, they weren't the birds. They were taking care of them... I think. Do you know how to make a bird nest? No? Well, let me show you...

First, you need lots of sticks, pine cones, and wood chips... start with the wood chips in a circle shape. Build it out from there.

Make sure you have plenty of pine cones... they are an important part of the nest. They keep everything together. And you might decide you want to pretend to be a bunny or something... you'll need some pine cones for that too.

Make sure you take your time and get everything just right. Birds don't like to hatch in messy nests.

Once you are done, sit back and relax (and look cute) and wait for your "bird eggs" to hatch.

You will be waiting a long time of course... because the eggs are really just rocks.
So, if you get bored let your mom talk you into smiling (again) for the camera and taking some cute pictures.

And that my friends is how you make a bird nest... sort of. As long as your birds are pretend and your eggs are rocks!

One of a kind...

2010-05-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Chloe has learned a thing or two from her sister... she knows when a camera is out, there will be pictures taken. She also knows if you pose the camera will be put away sooner! So she too has learned to pose for me... lets just say she is a "different" poser than Ireland!

This was not a posed photo... just luck of the draw. The rest of these, however, are. Enjoy!

She makes me smile... big!

She loves the camera...

2010-05-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer... no children were hurt in the making of this blog. She was not held against her will to pose and take these pictures. I get out the camera and she appears... like a moth to a flame.
Enjoy

At least she is easy to look at! :)