Blessed Mommy, Blessed Wife

Valentine's Day Card!

2012-01-27T00:23:00.002-05:00

Love Confetti Pink Valentine's Card

Create custom cards for Valentines Day and Easter at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

Noah, Noelle and I wish everyone a Happy New Year!! We are SO looking forward to the year ahead!!

...and so I begin the New Year with the daunting task of catching up on all I missed out on blogging about in 2011! I am determined to do it - at least the major events and memories that I want preserved. I just transferred 944 pictures from my iPhone to my hard drive. Overwhelming!

miscellany monday

2011-12-19T06:24:00.000-05:00

{en}

Last night, we made hot chocolate and took the "Polar Express" - aka our Radio Flyer wagon - around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.

(Sorry about the photo quality...since I got the new iPhone, I find myself never using either of my other cameras. I need to kick that habit because the quality just isn't there most of the time. I have 700 pictures on it right now which proves how many pictures I take on a daily basis!)

{to}

I have been playing a lot of Words With Friends lately. Between Uncle Kyle, Sarah and Kristen, I almost always have someone to play with in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping! It's nice to have people in my life who keep crazy schedules like I do! It's no secret that I am not the smart one in the family. I'm pretty sure God saved most of the brains for kid #3. I did it, though! I beat Uncle Kyle in one game! You better believe that I captured that screen, haha!

{tre}

We exchanged gifts with Emma on Friday night. I can't get over how cute these three are...or the fact that two of them are mine! So blessed!

And, I am really blessed with one the best.friends.ever! Look what Sarah and John got me!

{fire}

I am determined to find the time to make up the 2+ months of blogging that I missed. I have so many memories that I want captured in this format, including the awesome Disney cruise that we took for Halloween!

{fem}

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Uncle Kyle, Aunt Erin, Penny and CLAIRE!!!! They should be here this afternoon and we could not be more excited. We are fortunate to be able to see Claire a lot through FaceTime but it will be so much sweeter to see her in person. Noah and Noelle are really excited to meet their cousin for the first time!

Christmas Card!

2011-12-06T20:58:00.003-05:00

Snowflake Dazzle Christmas Card

Shutterfly Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

I finally ordered Christmas cards! Feel free to e-mail me your address if you would like a real one...otherwise, consider this our Christmas wishes to your and your family :)

A Sign From My Sister

2011-10-04T03:00:00.000-04:00

At the risk of sounding a little bit crazy, I just had to share a sign that I got from my sister this past weekend while shoe shopping!

Check this out!

Before my sister passed away, she and I used to meet at the outlets. It's ironic because she wasn't really the type who liked to shop but she met me at the outlet malls pretty frequently. Our favorite shoe store was Cole Haan. I don't think I'll ever part with the last pair of matching flip flops that we ever bought!

Anyway, fast forward to this past weekend and I'm in Cole Haan looking for black knee-high boots (which I found by a pure miracle...I had been looking for weeks with no luck). I was also (kind of) in need of a new pair of black pumps (as much as one can "need" Cole Haan shoes) so I went to try on a pair that weren't perfect but would do. Instead of finding the pair that were displayed, I found the ones above. They weren't anywhere on display, they were the only pair in the whole store and they were in my size.

The price sticker on the bottom of the shoe was kind of faded but it looked like $298, then that was crossed out and it looked like $159. The manager said it was $298 but he'd honor the $159 (how nice...). So, the saleslady scans the box and it rings up $109 plus I had 30% off! So, I got the most perfect pair of shoes for me at 75% off!

In my head this story gets way better, though! It turns out that the name of the shoe is "Air Stephanie". The pastor at our former church had a habit of calling Jennifer by the wrong name all the time. He almost always called her...you guessed it...Stephanie! When our Daddy was dying, he was praying with us in the hospital and called her Stephanie during the prayer. We had such a hard time controlling our laughter during such a solemn time (which was actually a pretty common theme for the two of us!).

I don't believe in coincidences. This was totally a sign from my sister :) I miss you, Jennifer!!

miscellany monday

2011-10-03T03:19:00.001-04:00

{en}

I'm an aunt!! Claire Nicole entered this world last Wednesday and I could not be any more excited :) This definitely warrants its own post but Lord knows blogging doesn't come easily to me at this moment in time...

{to}

Want to know what happens when you try to get a picture in the middle of a fountain that shoots water?

I will show you!

Thanks, Sarah! Good thing I love you :)

{tre}

Yesterday, the kids got to bring change that they collected throughout the week and donate it to the "new" homeless in our community. Bring Change is an awesome charity and great way for our kids to get participate in charity.

{fire}

I love when I'm able to capture sweet moments!

{fem}

Check out who skated for the first time with the big kids! It was a semi-success...and my back is still recovering more than a week later :)

Tooth Fairy Negotiations

2011-10-02T03:31:00.001-04:00

This is a story I don't want to forget!

Noah lost another tooth last weekend. Unfortunately for the Tooth Fairy, she only had a $20 bill so she had to be extra generous. I promise the Tooth Fairy isn't always so generous!

Apparently, $20 wasn't quite good enough for Mr. Noah. The next night, he took his $20, wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy and stuck both the money and the note under his pillow.

The next morning, he woke up and found the money and note still there. Instead of being disappointed, he said matter-of-factly, "I guess I didn't give her enough time".

Truth be told, the Tooth Fairy didn't know he wrote this note so she couldn't act on it! The following day, though, she had enough time to run to Target with the $20 and make a $6 profit since the toy was $14 ;)

Mr. Noah woke up a very, happy boy!

And, yes, I know. He is spoiled. And generous. Not a bad combination!

Celebration, Florida

2011-10-01T03:32:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that we've lived so close to Celebration and never paid it a visit until this weekend! Celebration is a little town right next to Disney World and is picture perfect. We had a lot of fun getting acclimated with this cute little town.

The pumpkin patch had just opened so we stopped for some quick pictures. We'll go back with more appropriate outfits in the near future!

We stopped to get bread(at a gas station, I might add, to get bread...who would have thought a gas station would have bread?! Okay, not me but Sarah knew this so I guess that makes her the smarter of the pair!) to feed the ducks.

I love these two SO much! And, I love when they love on each other!

This might just be the weirdest creature I have ever seen. This turtle was really big and its head was so odd. He liked our bread offering!

We also played in the fountain on this gorgeous day. The kids love these spray fountains so much and this one was empty which was nice!

We grabbed some dinner at Columbia Restaurant and then played at THE most adorable playground!

It was seriously awesome! Fake grass and all! It was like something out of a Barney video and the kids loved it.

This just might be my favorite picture of the three of them ever!

I helped out with the seesaw...all in the name of some extra physical therapy for me.

This is a terrible picture of me but I love the moment it captured and I think Noah's face is absolutely precious. Love my sweet boy!

Noah and Emma love climbing! We had no injuries...on this particular part of the playground ;)

Some more physical therapy for my legs :) I love to do "Superman" with the kids and they all love it!

After the playground, we got a very special treat. I am thrilled to have found out that Kilwin's, my favorite ice cream in Sarasota, has a location in Celebration. This is going to be dangerous and a good exercise in self-control.

Noelle is too :)

What a fun Saturday afternoon! Thanks to Sarah and Emma for giving us the tour and introducing us to a new, fun spot.

Anxiously Waiting...

2011-09-28T17:42:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law, Erin, was induced this morning!!

I am sitting here anxiously waiting for the phone call to hear that my first niece has arrived safely!! I am over the moon excited to be an aunt and cannot wait to meet Claire Nicole next month!! Most of all, I am so excited to see my brother become a Daddy!!

Please pray for Claire's safe arrival and for minimal pain for Erin!!

Make Your Own Word Search

2011-09-12T23:30:00.000-04:00

Perhaps this is just a case of me being easily amused and/or amazed but I think this is pretty darn cool and wanted to share :)

Noah has five "power words" that he needs to practice each week and three "challenge words". The power words are kind of a joke for Noah so we've been trying to be creative with how we have him "practice". Each night, he's supposed to choose a spelling enrichment activity from a list of suggestions his teacher gave us. So far, he's already known how to spell all of the power words so the spelling activities haven't exactly been exciting for him. I remind him that homework is sometimes more about discipline than learning something new!

Anyway, tonight I was trying to think of different activities that might challenge him a bit more than the suggested activities. A word search popped into my head and I wondered if there was a website where I could enter the power and challenge words and have a word search generated. A simple google search later and...

This is totally what I had in mind and it literally took just a minute to create! The website I used is
http://www.edcreate.com/wordsearch/wordsearch_create.php

I will definitely use this site again in the future! Hope someone else is able to benefit from it!

Since I'm on the topic of Noah and school, I just have to brag on him a little bit :) We are really thankful to have a child who loves learning and has a really quick learning agility. We've always been floored by his memory (and you'll never be able to convince me that it wasn't Baby Plus that started him off on the right track!) and his memory is what makes learning so easy for him in my opinion. We were so proud when he came home with this certificate after his first reading test!

Lord help us...another Uncle Kyle in the making! All joking aside, I pray he's as wicked smart (and tall!) as UK...

miscellany monday

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

{en}

We got a picture at church yesterday with everyone smiling and we didn't have to spend a fortune at Picture People! Amazing!

{to}

I STILL have so much catching up to do! I really need to make the time. For my own benefit, I want to remember:

Claire's Baby Shower

Our trip to Clearwater

Noelle's Birthday Party

Our trip to Sarasota

Noah's Birthday Parties :)

Meet the Teacher Night

First Day of School (for both kids!)

The list intimidates me, ha! Those were just the "big" events :)

{tre}

Last night was the first night of AWANA. Noelle is so excited to be able to participate this year! She did not enjoy leaving Noah and Emma behind each week last year. Her Cubbies book looks SO adorable! I think it's going to be a great year!

{fire}

Rapunzel and Cinderella before...

Rapunzel and Cinderella after...

Moms of the year over here...enough said!

{fem}

We kicked off Noah's first season of Little League this past weekend. I think it's going to be something he really enjoys. Noelle on the other hand? Let's just say she is NOT a big fan of watching Noah and Daddy out on the field and not being able to join them. She literally screamed for Daddy for a half hour at the beginning. Hopefully, she'll get over it quickly and enjoy being a spectator.

miscellany monday

2011-09-05T02:39:00.002-04:00

{en}

Happy Labor Day from our family to yours!

{to}

I can't believe how much catching up I have to do!

The summer has come and gone and we're back into our school routine. It's funny - during the summer I longed for the routine of the school year and now that it's here I kind of wish we still had the flexibility of summer. I'm still working on figuring out a way to do everything I need (and want) to do without getting stressed out and without sacrificing sleep.

The two are the main focus right now...everything else is secondary!!

{tre}

I finally broke down last week and went back to the surgeon who fixed my broken tibia and popped my dislocated hip back into place. He was someone that I would have been fine with never seeing again as long as I live! Don't get me wrong - I love the man - I think he is so wonderful and he did such a good job fixing me. A visit to Dr. K meant that I had to admit that the pain was too much to bear anymore.

The diagnosis is iliotibial band syndrome.

From wikipedia: ITBS is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The iliotibial band is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, moving from behind the femur to the front while walking. The continual rubbing of the band over the lateral femoral epicondyle, combined with the repeated flexion and extension of the knee during running may cause the area to become inflamed.

From me: ITBS sucks and means I can't run. The pain is debilitating and I can't muscle my way through it anymore. I start physical therapy next week. It is beyond frustrating to have built my stamina back up and to have been 100% back only to be side-lined again. On the bright side, it's nothing that requires surgery and he was pretty confident that a combination of PT, Advil, ice and slowly working my way back would provide healing. I pray he's right because I need my running.

{fire}

Best ice cream ever...

Too bad it's in Sarasota. Actually, it's probably for the best that I can't have it regularly!

{fem}

It's September which means I will finally be an aunt (at least I hope for my SIL's sake!)! I got a huge laugh out of this picture she posted on her blog of Penny in THE bassinet.

This is the over-priced bassinet that I just HAD to have when Noelle was born. It was definitely not a need and Noelle didn't like it so it was used all of about five times. I hope Claire gets more use out of it so I don't feel like it was a complete waste of money! If nothing else, it's pretty to look at :)

miscellany monday

2011-08-22T02:54:00.001-04:00

{en}

Wow, I went a whole two weeks without posting anything :( What can I say? Life is busy. I have promised myself that I will go back and catch up one of these days. We have had a great summer and made lots and lots of memories. I have pictures to prove it! Today marks the first day of school. Noah is officially a first grader and Noelle starts 3-day a week pre-school. Hard to believe that summer is over and we're hitting another milestone.

{to}

I saw my "little" brother in Atlanta last week. He's a giant. I'm a midget. I even had heels on in this picture. Some things in life just aren't fair! I wasn't particularly thrilled about being away from my babies for a night but I did enjoy seeing Uncle Kyle...even if it was a super short visit because I went to the wrong Chili's. He gave me the address and instead of plugging the street into my GPS, I just searched for Chili's in the city he gave me. Not only did he get the height, he got the brains, too.

{tre}

I ran my second post-accident race last weekend. I have a bum knee right now which made this a fairly unpleasant experience but the kids' run after the race made getting out there worth it. Noah ran a mile and Noelle ran 100 meters. They both seemed to really enjoy themselves so I'm excited for this running season since a lot of my races have kids' runs associated with them.

{fire}

Noelle changes her clothes many times a day. Recently, she came out of her room in this ensemble. I asked her if she was going to Puff Daddy's White Party. Apparently, I'm the only one in my circle who knows about this annual event! I had her run in and tell her Daddy she was going to "Puff Daddy's White Party" but he had no idea what she was talking about. I guess it's a "Hamptons" thing ;)

{fem}

We finally took Fourth of July pictures...on August 10th! I love this tradition and am so happy with the way they turned out. I will post them all one of these days!

{seks}

There is an area in the mall where kids love to run around. Thanks to Sarah and Emma for introducing us to this area! I have gone to this mall for so many years and never thought to let the kids run loose. This is now one of their favorite things to do and makes dragging them to the mall much more pleasant since they know they get to do this. Mommy even joined in on the fun last time we were there :)

{syv}

Speaking of Mommy joining in on the fun...

Noelle loves making Mimi go in her princess tent in her room. Good thing Noelle has a young Mimi who can crawl into the tent!

miscellany monday

2011-08-08T07:48:00.000-04:00

{en}

I am addicted to Starbucks Shaken Black Iced Tea. I kicked my Starbucks hot chocolate habit (550 calories!) and replaced it with calorie-free iced tea so that's a bonus!

{to}

This is the first year that I've signed up for the Track Shack Running Series. The Track Shack Running Series consists of seven prestigious local road races, offered at the best venues, in distances of 5k, 5.2k, 5 mile and 10k.

There was an option to be a "SuperFan":

Become a SuperFan! Spice it up by participating in the Distance Dare and racing twice in one day at UCF 5 miler & 2 miler, Founders’ Day 10k & 5k and Winter Park Road Race 10k & 2 miler, thus completing all 10 Track Shack Running Series events.

I thought that sounded like a good idea :) A few of the races have Kids' Runs that I'm hoping Rob will bring the kids out to and get them excited about running!

{tre}

I absolutely love this picture. Sure, no one is looking at the camera and that is usually something that bothers me. I just think it captures the fun of this moment so well. I hope the kids always remember how much fun we had during their childhood :)

{fire}

One of these days, I will get around to posting pictures of baby Claire's baby shower. We did a candy buffet for the baby shower and I reused the idea for Noelle's birthday last month. For Claire's special day, I created a banner that said "Claire's Sweet Shoppe":

I didn't have the time (or energy) to make one for Noelle's party and Noah just wasn't having that. So, he went to work on creating his own version and taping it the wall:

My OCD-self typically would have torn something like this down but I just couldn't! I have one of the sweetest kids ever. He's truly amazing.

{fem}

I have to fly to Atlanta this week for a work dinner :( But, I'm going to turn lemons into lemonade and meet up with Uncle Kyle...aka...best uncle ever!

{seks}

My two favorite girls in their matching bathing suits!

{syv}

Best.friend.ever! I was violently ill this past weekend and nurse Sarah came to the rescue! I am so thankful to have such an awesome friend :) I'm also so thankful to be all better because that was downright miserable!

"Give me the stuff!"

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

The kids LOVE Apple Dippers from McDonald's. We used to just give them the apples and not bother with the caramel - call us mean! A few months ago, they somehow found out about the caramel and now must have it (not that I blame them...it makes it such a treat!).

The other day, we stopped and got Apple Dippers and I tried to pull a fast one and not give them the caramel. It wasn't happening! No sooner had I handed Noelle her apples when I heard "give me the stuff!". I was laughing so hard...

Noelle and her "stuff" :)

Noah and his "stuff" :)

I love that we can get away with stopping at McDonald's for just apples!!

What they do when Mommy is at work...

2011-08-03T06:00:00.002-04:00

Noah and Noelle were in for a treat last month when their cousins came to visit and stay with Nana for a few days. Noah and Brady are only eight months apart and Brooks and Noelle are six months apart. Nana, Aunt Nikki and Daddy were BRAVE to take this foursome anywhere! They are a handful at these ages and they feed off each other. I'm so glad they did, though, because it looks like the kids had a blast.

They went to the character breakfast at O'Hanas. This is my favorite one for kids because it's served family style and you don't have to deal with buffet lines. The Mickey waffles are the best! I was proud of Daddy for taking the camera - even if there weren't too many pictures taken. I can only imagine the chaos that was ensuing during this meal, ha! He did get some priceless ones :)

Aunt Nikki with four out of her six nieces and nephews - babies Caden and Bella were missing :(

Sycee loves her Aunt "Ne-Ne" - it's kind of sad that she can say Nikki now...I liked it better when she couldn't!

These two are quite the duo. I can only imagine the fun they'd have on a daily basis if they didn't live three hours apart!

This was the only character picture on our camera, ha! Noah looks SO happy. I'm hoping Nana and Aunt Nikki have the bulk of the pictures on their camera!

The next day, they took the kids to Typhoon Lagoon. I think this was their bravest move! Four wild ones in a waterpark...sounds fun!

Rob's sister's boys - Brooks (3) and Brady (5)

Noelle is ALWAYS smiling when she's underwater. She LOVES the water.

Nana and her grandbabies!

Nana and sweet Brooks - he has the sweetest disposition!

These two are two peas in a pod when they are together. I can only imagine the fun they had on this day!

Brooksie doesn't look so sure about whatever the older boys were up to - don't blame him!

Nana and her firstborn granddaughter :)

Sycee LOVES the lazy river. I love how comfortable she looks! We actually went yesterday and she found out she can touch the bottom of the lazy river at a few points and now she loves it even more. Her world just got a whole lot bigger!

I love this picture of Daddy and his babies!

I'm sorry that I missed all of this fun but someone has to pay for it, ha!

Sea World Saturday

2011-08-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

I love our Saturdays when we have no plans! A few weeks ago, I decided to brave the heat and take the kids super early to Sea World to play in the kids' area and see the Shamu show before lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the kids' area of the park didn't open until an hour after park opening (what's THAT all about?! dumb!). We had to sit around and wait for a little bit but used this time to take some cute pictures :)

It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we were the first ones into the Shamu's Happy Harbor and pretty much had the place to ourselves for a good hour.

We were the only ones riding any of the rides which was awesome! Noelle is pretty adventurous and, although she didn't meet the height requirement, I figured I'd ask if she could ride with me since it was so empty. The ride attendant gave her a wrist band that allowed her to ride everything!

Our first stop was Shamu Express. Noah and I rode this during his Kindergarten field trip to Sea World so I knew it wasn't too much for Sycee. She loved it!

So much so, that she decided to let Noah ride it again by himself, ha! She enjoyed watching from the sidelines during his second ride.

He literally had the whole rollercoaster to himself the second time. Unheard of for peak season at a theme park!

Our next stop was Ocean Commotion which was a dizzying ride where you just spin around and around.

The kids LOVED it. We rode this several times without having to get off.

We also got to do Flying Fiddler which Sycee was very apprehensive of.

She also ended up loving this one! I know she looks scared to death - this picture was before the ride started. She's the type of child who has to try something once even if she protests. I am bad about forcing things on her for a first time because I know that she won't do it on her own but will end up loving it. So far, this has worked out really well!

I forget the name of the "tea cup" ride (which is why I try to remember to take pictures of the signs, ha!) but Sycee loved having Noah spin her around and around. I sat this one out!

After we were done with rides, we spent the rest of our time in Happy Harbor at the splash park.

I am so happy that Noelle finally fits this 18 month bathing suit! It took her until 3 years old to have enough of a waist to keep the bottom up! I didn't think she'd ever get a chance to wear it.

My plan was to see the first Shamu show and then head out before ~~we died of heatstroke~~ the park got really crowded.

For once, my plans worked out!

While we were waiting for the show to start, Noelle said to me, "I'm tired of waiting for Shamu". I couldn't agree with her more! It was HOT!

It was a really fun morning and we will definitely do this more in the fall when it's cooler. I am so thankful to have such a fun thing to do on a Saturday morning in our backyard! I may not love living here but I do love all of the fun things that our kids get to enjoy on a regular basis.

miscellany monday

2011-08-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

Happy August!! I cannot believe our summer is almost over and that Noah will enter first grade in three short weeks. It went by so quickly! We still have another birthday to celebrate - Noah's 6th - and a beach trip planned so I'm definitely not rushing anything but it will be nice to get back into our school year routine. I think Noah is ready to go back. I am so thankful to have a child who loves learning and school!

{en}

Meet my nemesis.

I fought the duck (?) and it won. Actually, I think it was a tie. The kids love to bring leftover bread to a group of ducks that are always in this one pond. There is a really aggressive one (above) and the moment we got out of the car on Saturday morning, it went after Noelle's neck. I instinctively hit it with the bag of bread I was holding, scooped Noelle up and proceeded to eat pavement. It was actually my knee that bore the brunt of the fall but Noelle was spared as was my new lens (for the most part). As if my legs needed another injury...

{to}

I don't know how we got through the past few summers without our pool. The kids spend so much time in here and it is so awesome to watch Noelle's swimming develop. She is such a strong swimmer now! Noah has been a fish for years. I am so grateful to have two strong swimmers on my hands who love to be in the water.

{tre}

The first beach trip that Rob and I took was on 7/16/1998. He was so thoughtful and had everything planned out, including bringing my favorite Chinese food. I love wonton soup - minus the wontons! He ordered it that way and they messed it up that particular day and only gave him wontons - no soup. We got a good laugh out of it and still laugh about it to this day.

A few weeks ago...on 7/16...he came home with some wonton soup in hand :) Still thoughtful 13 years later!

{fire}

My kids are obsessed with lizards. Last weekend, Sarah watched the kids while I got to spend the afternoon at the spa with my mom (thanks, Sarah!). That night, I went outside and found a lizard in a jar on the table. Then, I found these pictures on my camera :)

Looks like they were successful in catching one! I never did hear the story about it...

{fem}

Speaking of finding pictures on the camera, I found a bunch of awesome ones from when the kids' cousins were visiting last month. I can't get over how much Noah and his cousin, Brady, look alike.

{seks}

I think the next hand print art that we're going to do is dolphins. I snapped a picture of some hand print art at Sea World and think the dolphins are too cute.

{syv}

I think this picture ranks as one of the most random things I have ever seen! On Friday, Noelle and I dropped Noah off at Sea World camp and decided to go into the park for a little bit. We walked in the back entrance that was closed to the public. One of the news stations was filming a little clip and we happened to walk by right as they were loading a sea lion onto the back of a golf cart. It was just so random and made me laugh. They definitely weren't expecting anyone from the general public to see this! Noelle thought it was hilarious!

Fourth of July!

2011-07-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

Before the 4th of July becomes the 4th of August, I figured I'd finally get around to posting about our awesome holiday! We packed a ton of fun into this day and came out with some priceless memories (and pictures).

We started the day off with a character breakfast at Disney's Beach Club and ended it watching the WG fireworks display. It was a long day but so.much.fun!

I had grand visions of getting fabulous Fourth of July pictures of the kids since I hadn't had a chance to bring them to Picture People for their annual red/white/blue pictures but my plans didn't really come to fruition. Nonetheless, I did get some pretty cute ones!

Daddy always gets the best pictures with Noelle. I'm slightly jealous.

A sweet man offered to take a picture of all of us...and always shared his birthday cupcake with the kids which is exactly what they all needed!

The characters at this breakfast are Donald...

Goofy...

...and Minnie (Noelle's favorite!).

We had strict orders from the kids whenever a character came to the table. There was a specific order of pictures :) We had to get Noelle by herself (above).

We needed one of everyone together...

...Emma by herself...

...Noah by himself...

...girls only...

... and Noah and Emma!

The characters were very patient with our demanding little ones!

Goofy had a lot of fun with Emma's braids!

After breakfast, we headed outside to get some pictures. That was MY plan, at least. I did get this one that made picture taking all worth it to me (even if Noah has a fake smile on!).

And, this is pretty priceless to me too :)

I was able to get one individual picture of each kid before I lost all control!

Picture taking turned into sand castle building which was way more fun for them!

Once again, Daddy gets a super cute picture.

Woah, Mommy does too this time!

After breakfast, we had to say goodbye to Daddy who had to work so we went back home and swam while we waited for Emma's Mommy and Daddy to bring their boat over.

We have lived right next to the boat dock in our neighborhood for more than eight years and have never used it or been out on the lake. I had been wanting to check it out because there is no public access and I had heard that it's a cute, serene lake. I know nothing about boats (or getting them into the water) so it was fun to watch John get everything ready (with a little help from an over-zealous neighbor, ha!).

The kids were excited to go out on the lake, too! Don't let Noelle's face fool you - we had just woken her up from a nap.

Best buds!

Sycee and Sarah :)

Some of us were ~~crazy~~ adventurous enough to jump in and cool off. It was definitely hotter than hades but I don't know if I'd ever be hot enough to jump into the nasty, murky water that could have alligators swimming everywhere. Looking back, I can't believe I let Noah in!

And, even crazier, I can't believe I let Noelle in OR that she jumped in to John. They took their relationship to a whole new level, ha! John will be the first one to tell you that Sycee hasn't always been his biggest fan! I think she's *finally* comfortable with him - only took her a solid two years!

Me & my baby boy!

Three of my favorites!

Cutest.family.ever - oh wait, it's supposed to be cutest.couple.ever ;)

My precious family - minus our Daddy-O :(

John let all of the kids take turns driving the boat. I don't remember a time when Noah has had this much fun. He was totally in his element and loving every second of it. It made me so happy to see him so happy. I sent Rob a text and told him we needed a boat, pronto!

This smile says it all!

Sycee had an equal amount of fun :)

We saw some random cows on one side of the lake. If I didn't know better, I'd think we lived in the country coming upon these guys! Cows were actually a pretty common sight when we first built our house but I'm thankful for the development in our area so we don't have to drive miles and miles to go out to eat or shopping!

Sarah did such a good job holding onto the boat when we returned so it didn't float away :)

After boating, we went back to the house and swam for a while until it was time to go see some fireworks. The kids had so much fun playing with John and pushing him into the pool. I'm pretty sure this was Sycee's favorite part of the afternoon. I can't believe I didn't get any pictures or video of it.

We attempted to go to downtown WG for dinner and fireworks but the weather had different plans for us. We thought we were going to get totally rained out but it all worked out. We decided to wait the rain out and go to Uno's for dinner, where John taught Noelle a fun trick - putting crayons in your ears :)

She thought this was hilarious. Thank you, John ;)

Of course, it would be no fun if Noelle didn't have some sort of injury that involved blood and required ice. It's really a miracle that we haven't been to the emergency room with her (although, we've had plenty of scares that could have involved the emergency room and probably would have if I was a first-time parent and didn't have a RN at my disposal!).

When we finished dinner, the rain had stopped and we headed to downtown WG to watch some fireworks. I had never been to the lake where they were being shot off. It was an interesting area, to say the least!

I love how Emma saw me posing with the sign and struck the same pose!

See what I mean? Sycee has turned the corner and is now John's best bud!

Thoughtful Sarah brought a nice, big blanket for us to hang out on. Thank God because the ground was soaked from all of the rain!

We ended up getting there right before the fireworks started. It was pretty crowded but we found a spot that turned out to be pretty perfect and right in front of the fireworks display. Sycee wasn't so sure about being so close to the fireworks!

My photography skills are stellar - especially when it comes to fireworks! I must have taken twenty fireworks pictures and this was the only one that resembled fireworks.

There's that cutest.couple.ever!

Worn out kids - but still cute as can be!

Another great family photo! You're welcome for all of the pictures, John ;)

These last few pictures illustrate how exhausted we were by the end of the night! It was a LONG day but worth all of the tiredness at the end! I think my favorite part of the whole day was carrying a sleeping fifty pound little boy a half-mile back to the car :)

We're so grateful to have such fun friends to make memories with! Can't wait to do it again next year :)

Fourth of July Eve BBQ!

2011-07-27T02:43:00.006-04:00

I have lots of catching up to do! I have to start somewhere so I'll start with our Fourth of July "eve" BBQ :) Daddy had to work on the 4th so we decided to grill out on Sunday instead of Monday.

The grill was Daddy's Father's Day gift so I made him post with it. You're welcome Daddy-O :)

Grams brought the kids over some broccoli (with "butter" crumbs). I am really thankful that she makes sure they get their veggies in!

Nana, Nana, Nana...you're the only one who will know what this picture is all about!

I found some cute star balloons for the kids. I know the neighbors appreciated those attached to the chairs for a few weeks past the Fourth, ha!

Grams and Daddy...a unique bond...

The kids were good about posing for me in the same spot I always make them pose in :)

Since we were having a sleepover with Emma on this night, I decided to make brownies so we could have brownie sundaes. I think they were a hit! I let them put whatever they wanted on their sundaes and they went all out but couldn't finish half of what they created which was a very good thing, ha!

Two of my favorite people ready for bed...

...and two of my favorite people waking up from a good night's sleep! Noelle was SO excited to wake up to Emma :)

The rest of our Fourth of July weekend was a blast! Can't wait to share it :)

miscellany monday

2011-07-25T05:00:00.001-04:00

{en}

Well, last week was not my week to catch up on our July fun but we did have a great week with a lot of fun activities! This was Noelle's 3rd birthday week and the kids' cousins from Tallahassee were here staying with Nana so we were extra busy - just what we needed to catch up...or not! Maybe this week will be the week :)

{to}

Grams and I took the kids to see Cars2 last week. It was their first movie and it went about how I expected it to go. I don't like to go to the movies because I do not sit still well or have a very long attention span. Every time I go, I feel like my legs are going to explode from sitting still. Weird, I know. Noelle definitely had my attention span but fell asleep in Grams' lap about an hour into it so it wasn't that bad. I think Noah enjoyed it. I thought the original Cars was much better but it was cute.

After the movie, the kids wanted their picture taken in the bathroom. So funny!

{tre}

Noelle got her first Cabbage Patch Kid from Uncle Kyle and Aunt Erin for her birthday. She is in love!

{fire}

After getting bit, hit and scratched, I tried another way of giving Noelle her breathing treatment - letting her play with her Leapster :) It was much more effective even though her attention span only lasted a few minutes.

(Love the outfit that she picked out...I let her choose her own clothes when we're staying at home!)

{fem}

Noah and his friend Jackson have been exchanging letters through their Mommies. It is really too cute. We were in for a really big treat last week when Jackson's Mommy not only gave me a letter to give to Noah but two huge bags of dehydrated marshmallows (notice them in the background!). Becca's parents brought them back for us from Amish country. It blows my mind that these big bags of marshmallows are only $2! I would pay way more! These marshmallows will save Daddy a boatload of time. He no longer has to pick the marshmallows out of Lucky Charms to add them to Cheerios for the kids!

{seks}

Noah was excited to take Emma to church with him yesterday! We stopped and got hash browns because Sunday morning just doesn't feel like Sunday morning unless we do this and don't get to church on time :) I was pleasantly surprised that we weren't too late considering I had two girls' hair to do!

{syv}

Noah waits all year for his birthday postcard from California Pizza Kitchen. It came in the mail this past weekend. I appreciate the reminder that we have another birthday party to plan right around the corner!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Noelle!!

2011-07-22T10:39:00.002-04:00

My baby girl is three today! How did that happen?! The past three years have flown by :( I can't believe how much quicker time seems to be passing by with Noelle. I feel like Noah's first few years went by much more slowly. I guess it's because we're so much busier!

What a blessing this sweet face is to all of us! She has such a spirited personality! There are very few in Noelle's "circle of trust" :) The circle seems to be growing as she gets older but she is a pretty shy girl (just like Mommy at this age!). She likes Daddy, Noah, Mimi and Mommy...just about in that order these days!

Noelle and Mimi share a special bond :)

Uncle Kyle is sometimes in the circle, although it takes her some time to warm up to him since we don't see him often enough. Once she's warmed up, though, she loves being around him! (It's okay, Noelle. I get it. He scares me too sometimes. Haha!)

I think this smile says it all - a sister who adores her brother. I pray that they're always close every single day.

At the end of the day...there is no one this little girl loves more than her Daddy! I thought I was the biggest Daddy's Girl but Noelle takes it to a whole new level. The feelings between these two are very mutual.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Noelle!! We love you beyond comprehension :)

miscellany monday

2011-07-18T01:41:00.000-04:00

{en}

We have not fallen off the face of the Earth! We have just been busy, busy, BUSY! This is our first summer after a school year and it is taking some getting used to. Our routine feels very different and nothing is constant like it is during the school year. One thing is constant...we swim...A LOT!

{to}

Right outside of Noelle's Sunday School classroom is a mural where Jesus has his hand out. Every week, Noelle and Daddy must give Jesus a "high five" - I love this picture!!

{tre}

It's pretty obvious that Noelle spends a lot of time shopping with me.

We were at Home Depot a few weekends ago and she insisted upon handling the self-checkout. She looked back at me after swiping the card and said "Do I hit accept?". I was floored!

{fire}

I have so much to catch up on...starting with Fourth of July! We had such a fun day that included a Character breakfast, swimming, boating and fireworks. It was exhausting but so worth the exhaustion!

{fem}

Happy 30th Birthday to my "little" brother!!

We were able to celebrate with Uncle Kyle a few days before his actual birthday while we were over in Clearwater last weekend. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate him living far away? I do.

{seks}

I have a random running goal of twenty miles per week. My week runs Monday through Sunday. When I woke up yesterday (Sunday), I had only logged 9.54 miles. I went out and ran 5.03 miles before church and figured this would be the first week in a while where I did not achieve my goal. I surprised myself when I decided to try to hit it after dinner. It wasn't exactly easy but I was able to log 5.43 miles and come in exactly at the 20 mile mark which means I ran 10.48 miles in one day - that's a lot for me! I rewarded myself with a bowl of ice cream, popcorn and a cherry coke...which is why I will never be super skinny!

{syv}

We spent last weekend in Clearwater where we celebrated the impending arrival of my first niece, baby Claire, with a shower for Aunt Erin!

I have so many pictures to sort through from that weekend! We made lots of memories!

It's Here!

2011-07-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

My new lens :) I can't wait to have my SLR back!

Errands with Noelle :)

2011-07-06T00:23:00.001-04:00

While Noah was at camp on Friday, Noelle and I ran a bunch of errands. It's so much easier to take one kid than two on errands! It's even easier when Sarah comes along and it's two on one :)

We hit up Costco and the only thing on Noelle's list was a pack of Mentos.

This kid loves her Mentos!

She also loved having two carts :)

Costco is kind of near WNW so we couldn't pass up a chance to go give Daddy a pack of Mentos...

...or a kiss, of course!

After our errands were completed, we met Grams at Chili's for lunch. This girl loves her Mimi! Grams = Noah's name for my mom; Mimi = Noelle's name for my mom!

Oh wait! We ran one more errand - Publix :) We rented a movie (how sad that I can't remember its name!)...

...and grabbed some two bags of chips and watermelon for $4. I'm almost like an extreme couponer, ha! Miss Thing insisted upon carrying the chips herself...for about 30 seconds before she decided it was too much work!

Finally, it was time for Noah and Emma to come home! How surprising that they dressed up as superheros, I know!

Friday was a great kickoff to our Fourth of July weekend!

SeaWorld Camp "Extended Day"

2011-07-05T23:21:00.003-04:00

Noah and Emma went to SeaWorld camp last week! This was our first year trying out this particular camp and it will definitely be one we frequent every summer. The kids had a blast! Noah is actually going to do at least one more week of this camp this summer.

There's an option for "extended day" at camp but we chose to skip this and have our own fun after camp. One afternoon Emma came home with us and another afternoon Sarah took the kids into the park after camp.

Our first stop after camp was to pick Noelle up from school. They were so excited to try to surprise Noelle. She's usually on the playground when we pick her up so they were trying to spy on her.

She actually ended up being in the gym on this day so they were a little bummed! That quickly faded when they reunited :)

We went home, swam, ate dinner and played superheros. We definitely have three of the cutest superheros ever!

These kids get SO much use out of costumes!!

Based on the pictures, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the day that they went back into the park was just a tad superior to our afternoon of fun, ha!

I'm really glad they went to this camp together. They tend to fight like siblings when they're in their own environments or with us but the camp counselors said they were attached at the hip all week and got along perfectly.

Riding Shamu Express!

Sarah took them to Sharks - lucky ducks!

What a fun afternoon!

We now have SeaWorld annual passes so we'll be spending some more time there over the next year! It's such a fun park for the kids and a great place to walk around and see lots of sea life...not to mention an awesome place for kids to go to camp!

Sunday Funday!

2011-07-04T04:31:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, we woke up a little too late for church so I had the bright idea to take the kids to a character breakfast at the Polynesian. Since Sunday is our family day and we always go to church, we usually don't have an opportunity to do this unless it's a special occasion.

Well, things didn't exactly go according to plan and the breakfast we tried to go to was packed! We didn't have a reservation so it was a no-go :( We made the most of it and rode the monorail around to the Grand Floridian where Mommy and Daddy's wedding reception was held! At least the kids got leis as a consolation prize!

We tried to go to the character breakfast there but it was also super crowded and we would have had to wait a while. So, we let the kids get a treat to hold them over and considered breakfast a wash.

In typical fashion, Daddy got a great picture with Sycee!

Noah and his "breakfast" of cotton candy...

One day, I will get around to scanning our wedding photos and post the pictures of our bridal parties that we took on these same stairs!

We decided to walk back to the Polynesian so we could see the Wedding Pavilion where our wedding ceremony was held. The kids weren't as excited since it was starting to get pretty hot and we were all hungry.

I was excited that there was a wedding going on and Cinderella's Coach and ponies were there! This was way more exciting for me than anyone else :)

We finally ended up at Olive Garden and had a yummy lunch!

Noah and Noelle love croutons - or "hard bread" as they call them!

A little girl who loves her Daddy...

Here we have Noelle handing me "crayons to go". I guess she overheard me ask for a "to go" box and decided that these were "crayons to go". We were laughing so hard!

Love our Sunday Fundays!

Play Date!

2011-07-04T04:02:00.001-04:00

One of my colleagues doesn't have any family in town so I offered to babysit her son while she and her husband went out on a date. I always feel guilty when I talk to friends who don't have the family support that I do when it comes to babysitting services. We've had kids now for almost six years and have yet to pay for a babysitter! Thanks, Grams and Nana!

This colleague also happens to directly report to my good friend, Becca, so Becca decided to bring her kids over (plus a friend!) when she found out I was watching Rohit.

It turned out to be a really fun play date for the kids!

I hope these girls grow up to be as good of friends as their Mommies are!

We kept it simple and ordered pizza...

...and ate several of Daddy's Father's Day cupcakes that we had baked earlier in the day!

It was a lot of fun having Rohit over to play! He's about to welcome a new baby brother this fall so we'll definitely be offering to do this again to give Mommy & Daddy a little break :)

Father's Day 2011

2011-07-04T03:45:00.000-04:00

Our kids are blessed beyond measure by their Daddy!

We had a very laid-back Father's Day this year but we were all together and that is what is important! We started the day out with our early church service.

I can't help myself...I just can't get over how cute she is in her little outfits!

When we got home, I made Daddy's favorite breakfast - crepes and bacon - and we gave him some little gifts.

I got "my" idea for the packaging from Natalie and this post. In this box was an IOU for a grill. Noah was super confused when he saw this box. He said, "I thought we got Daddy a grill. How is it in that box?".

We also packaged up a bunch of Daddy's favorite snacks using the idea above. I thought it turned out cute although it is definitely not as cute as the finished product in the link, ha!

We spent the afternoon playing in the pool, which happens to be the kids' favorite thing to do with Daddy these days!

Mommy got lucky and got a picture with her babies!

After swimming, we headed to Bonefish for a yummy dinner!

I think I could eat Bonefish Chicken Marsala, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus pretty much every day and never get sick of that meal. Sooooooo good! And, this was Daddy's choice too - not just Mommy being selfish!

When we got home from dinner, we had Daddy's favorite cupcakes that we had baked the night before.

I'm so blessed to have two helpers in the kitchen - even if it's only to lick the beaters, ha!

The finished product!

I wish I could remember where I found these adorable cupcake toppers but I can't.

I was blessed beyond measure by my Daddy, too! Father's Day is very bittersweet for me. I truly had one of the greatest men to ever walk this Earth as my father. It is so hard to live without him here every day but I know we will be together eternally :) I love you and miss you dearly, Daddy!

miscellany monday

2011-07-04T02:58:00.000-04:00

{en}

Happy Independence Day!!!

I missed the boat this year and didn't get Fourth of July cards out in the mail so last year's card will have to do for now! In fact, I didn't even get pictures taken yet and this is my favorite set of pictures each year! They're coming...

I don't think I'll ever be able to pass a patriotic holiday by without the picture above :) Favorite American Flag picture ever! Thank you to our military and their families, past and present :)

{to}

Seriously? It's the beginning of July!!

{tre}

Random, funny story...

Today, after church, Noah and Noelle were playing a game in the playroom. I happened to be sitting at my desk (which is in that room) with my back to them so I could hear them but not see them. This turned out to be a really good thing because I was able to hide my uncontrollable laughter and not make a big deal out of what was said.

Noelle: "My Sunday School teacher said nipples."

Noah: "Sycee, I don't think she said nipples. She probably said disciples."

Still laughing twelve hours later...

{fire}

Father's Day - I promise we celebrated it! I even made the cute cupcakes above :) One day, I will catch up on everything I want preserved here on the blog!

{fem}

Look who's advertising in the big leagues!!!!

I was so excited when I saw WNW on the Coke cans :)

{seks}

This would be a pile of sopping wet clothes.

I have no one to blame but myself, too! I was on the phone with my cousin who I hadn't talked to in a while and went out on the back deck to talk to her without much background noise. The kids followed me out and I was watching it all unfold but not doing anything about it since I was deep in conversation. Next thing I know, they're both in the pool in their clothes. I did convince them to change into bathing suits. To them, I was being a fun mom and not a mom who wasn't really paying attention to what they were doing, ha!

{syv}

We got Daddy's Father's Day present yesterday! He finally decided on a (interim) grill and Grams and I went to pick it up. Score for us to find the one that he wanted already assembled! We had our first cookout tonight and it was awesome!

Noelle's First "Manicure"

2011-06-29T00:00:00.003-04:00

Before kids, I was pretty religious about having a pedicure every two weeks. After kids? I'm lucky if I get one once every two months, ha! I really just wanted my polish changed last week so I figured I'd attempt this "errand" with Noelle in tow while Noah was at VBS. Surely, she could sit still for a few minutes while my polish got changed! I asked her if she wanted her toes painted like Mommy's and she seemed excited at the thought. She looks it, right?

Major fail! The minute we walked in the salon door she said "I want to go home!". She freaked out at the idea of letting someone touch her toes. No big deal. I really just wanted new polish on my toes! This was definitely not about her getting her first pedicure! However, the sweet ladies at the salon really wanted to get her in the kids' chair and they persuaded her to let them paint her fingers.

So precious! She looked so adorable sitting there getting her nails painted.

I really wasn't too keen on this idea since she puts her fingers in her mouth but it came right off that afternoon while she was swimming so it wasn't a big deal. I think it actually helped keep her fingers out of her mouth that day!

She was all smiles after she realized it didn't hurt! She kept saying "this doesn't hurt". The poor thing was petrified that it was going to hurt!

I've never seen her sit still like she did while she was getting her nails painted!

I'm not sure I'll run this errand again with her for many years but it was cute to see her sitting there and get a preview of what it will be like when she's older and we do stuff like this together :)

Food Pod!

2011-06-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday nights, all of the food trucks in our area gather for a "Food Pod". One of my best friend's husband recently opened a food truck business so we like to go and support him as much as possible. It helps that he serves the best.burger.ever! Seriously, I could eat this burger every day and never get sick of it. It's that good!

We were happy to join Jackson and Julia to go visit their Daddy! I was also really excited to finally get to try the Yum Yum Cupcake Truck! The few times that we've tried to get a cupcake, it has been way too crowded. This night was my best opportunity!

Jackson & Noah (and Noelle!) - our boys are only three weeks apart and our girls are two months apart which makes for very fun playdates!

The area where the Food Pod is set up is perfect for the kids. This night included lots of running around!

It also included cupcakes :) They quite easily burned off all of the sweets immediately after consuming them!

Noelle enjoyed her Crooked Spoon burger and Cherry Coke - just like Mommy!

The kids all thoroughly enjoyed their cupcakes after dinner!

After we ate, we spent lots of time on the playground. I was amazed at how independent the girls have become as their gross motor skills have developed.

To see my clumsy child climbing all over this playground was nerve-wracking to say the least! I am happy to report that we had no injuries this night. Amazing.

The boys were much too wild to stop for pictures! I'm sure it won't be long before it's the girls who won't stop for pictures!

As we were leaving, I somehow convinced the four of them to sit down and pose for me!

We will definitely be back!

Noah Minus Noelle

2011-06-28T12:00:00.004-04:00

I love one-on-one time with the kids! It isn't often that Noah is home without Noelle but this summer will give us some of that special time since Noelle is staying in school two days a week.

He is THE easiest child when he has no one to instigate or fight with! Who wants easy, though?! Life is way more fun with siblings!

Here is how we spent our day:

We made paper boats and tried to float them in the pool!

We mixed Powerade and Snapple - all in the name of science, of course!

We threw a box of "Pop-Its" on the ground outside (and maybe a few in the house...)! We called these whipper snappers as kids but Noah was adamant that they were NOT whipper snappers.

And, we made rocket ice pops!

It was a fun day but someone was obviously missing and we were very happy to go get Sycee from school. The house isn't our home unless there is complete chaos!

Handy Grams!

2011-06-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

Noah and Noelle think Grams can fix anything...and I mean ANYTHING. It's funny to see some of the things that they have broken and tried to bring to Grams to fix!

Noah broke Noelle's princess pail the other day. I laughed hysterically when I heard him tell her "don't worry, you know Grams can fix it!".

Just for kicks, I let them bring the $1 pail over to Grams house for her to "fix".

Sure enough, superhero Grams "fixed" it...by going to the dollar store and buying a new one the next day ;)

To give Grams the credit she definitely deserves, she did crazy glue the original pail and attempt to fix it for her spoiled granddaughter!

Lizzy's!

2011-06-27T23:11:00.000-04:00

I normally would have declined an invitation to go downtown on a Friday night but when it involved seeing these adorable faces first, it was hard to say no!

Baby Jakey moved away a few weeks ago and I didn't think he'd be visiting so soon so I was super excited to find out that he was coming in for the weekend! I know one little girl who was way more excited, though!

We left the kiddos behind and went to see Bridesmaids first. Totally hilarious! I don't see movies very often because I don't really have a long attention span and the thought of sitting still for long periods of time makes me very anxious! This movie went by quickly for me which means that I enjoyed it :)

After the movie, we headed to see John at work!

Sweet sisters...plus the ugly step-sister ;) I didn't get the blue memo!

These three are so lucky to have each other!

If I was able to pick a sister, this is who I'd choose :)

Wow, is the best way to sum up this nitwit below! This guy came into the bar and was so drunk and stupid but quite entertaining.

I think we were most entertained with his receipt, though.

It says:

"I almost walked out w/out paying cuz I'm drunk...John caught me. This tip is for him. Good work John. I'm drunk."

Yep, drunk and stupid but super-entertaining...especially watching John go after him! Good work, John!!

When we made it home, Jakey was up to greet us :)

He was a perfect ending to a super fun night for me!

Thanks for the awesome time, Sarah (& John)!

miscellany monday

2011-06-27T22:18:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm still behind with my blogging and hope to catch up soon :) I'm finding our summer schedule makes it a lot more difficult for me to find "extra" time. Oh well, the blog isn't going anywhere!

{en}

I have a new, bad habit.

I will never be super skinny! I like food way too much and I'm really liking Dove dark chocolate ice cream bars this week. So good and so worth the extra calories to me!

{to}

"How Great Thou Art" - it was my "adopted" grandmother's favorite hymn and I about died when we were driving today and Noah started belting it out! The way he memorizes songs is nothing short of amazing. It was one of the songs that he learned at VBS last week and hearing him sing it was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard. I am so thankful for the great week he had at VBS!

{tre}

Two days = two pictures with the knight. It never gets old for Noelle. She asks to have her picture taken with the knight just about every day. Maybe she'll be a Knight like Mommy?! For the record, we've never been in the knight's liquor store but Lord knows we have enough pictures with him to last a lifetime!

{fire}

The kids had their first Flavor-Ices! These were always a sure sign of summer growing up for us. Noah's teacher sent some home with Noah and it's safe to say they were a huge hit in our house! I keep forgetting to pick some up...maybe I'll remember tomorrow!

It's always nice to see them sharing...especially germs :)

{fem}

We finally made it out to try the Yum Yum Cupcake food truck! This picture of Noelle is one of my all-time favorites. Her expressions are priceless to us! I believe she *might* be sassier than Mommy. Time will tell...

{seks}

I can't put into words the happiness I feel when Noah and Noelle love on each other. Yes, I teared up when I saw him helping her put her sneakers on...then I ran and grabbed the camera!

Noah saw my reaction earlier to him taking care of his Sycee so he was sure to replicate the helpfulness again while we were at Chick-Fil-A :) Sure, they fight like cats and dogs but the love is there!

{syv}

Yesterday, we walked by Disney's Wedding Pavilion where Mommy and Daddy got married 10 years ago this fall!

This picture blows my mind. How blessed we have been in the last decade!

Emma's Dance Recital!

2011-06-26T21:51:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago, we had the opportunity to go watch Emma's end of year dance recital. She was so precious! The pictures that I got do not do her justice and are actually kind of embarrassing but my SLR is out of commission and we were sitting pretty far away.

Noah and Noelle really enjoyed watching Emma dance and I think Noelle may be up for dance classes this year! She was so funny when I asked her if she wanted to be up on stage dancing. She kept telling me no. Then, the hip-hop class came on stage in their "street clothes" and she said to me "I want to do that!". I was laughing so hard!

After the recital we took some precious pictures...

Emma with her Mommy & Daddy:

One of my favorite Mommy & Daughter combos!

Best buds!

Best buds + one!

We moved on to dinner after the recital and had a great meal with Emma and her extended family and lots of fun afterward!

John is such a good sport and Daddy :)

The kids entertained themselves by seeing who could hold themselves up on a chair and the windowsill the longest. It never ceases to amaze me how easily they can entertain themselves.

In typical Noelle fashion, we had a head injury :( I actually have her fall on video and we're lucky it wasn't worse than it was.

Thank God for her hard head!

Outside of the restaurant was the perfect setting for some awesome pictures!

I'm guessing the kids were looking at a lizard or some other kind of creature.

Emma showed Noelle a few of her dance moves. I hope these two always remain close!

We ditched the dance clothes and headed back home for some swimming! I love all of the shots of I have of the kids in the same exact pose on many different days. I'm sure they're sick of taking this picture but they still play along whenever I ask them to sit for it :)

Such a precious pair!!

Love them both so much!!

Thanks to Emma for allowing us to be part of your special day!!

Last Day of School!

2011-06-26T03:36:00.000-04:00

It is so hard to believe that a whole school year has come and gone!

What a difference ten months makes! Here is Noah on the first day of school:

And, here he is on the last day!

(It was Pajamas, Pizza and Popsicles Day at school...hence the PJs!)

Noah has changed a lot over the course of the school year but Noelle has REALLY changed!

After school, we let Noah pick a restaurant to celebrate the end of the school year. He picked the "Indiana Jones restaurant" - Longhorn!

I love this picture!

I think this little girl may love her Daddy even more than I loved mine - and if you know me, that will seem impossible!

Love my little boy!

We are so proud of how well he did in his first year of elementary school. We feel very blessed to have a child who loves school and learning. Can't wait to see what First Grade has in store for him!

Noah's End of Year Class Party

2011-06-24T10:09:00.000-04:00

The day before the end of the school year, Noah's class had an end of year party. Mommy and Daddy were both "chosen" to volunteer ;)

I didn't catch it at the time but apparently it was a luau theme (?) Ha!

Noah and his buddy, Esteban:

I sometimes think I missed my calling as a Special Ed teacher. I just gravitate toward kids with special needs. I love, love, love this little guy who was in Noah's class this year :)

I was SO impressed by his development and it gave me a new appreciation for Noah's teacher - the different levels that she has to teach to are incredible and she makes it seem effortless anytime we observe her in the classroom. He was drawing a flower and it just about melted my heart!

Back on subject :)

Okay, it was definitely a little luau theme looking back at the pictures!

The party was a ton of fun for the kids! They made memory books:

They made and ate ice cream sundaes!

The ate more junk...with some fruit sprinkled in...that was our contribution :)

They got their faces painted!

With lovely black paint for some :)

He was THRILLED!

Of course, his best buddy chose the same design!

I'm smiling but it was kind of a fake smile knowing how fun that black paint would be to take off Noah's eyelids!

I think they called themselves the Batman Family - too cute :)

Daddy was in charge of the bean bag tic-tac-toe game.

He was so good with the kids and it was a lot of fun watching him interact. It isn't often that you see daddies in the classroom for these types of events and I love that Noah and Noelle have a Daddy who is willing and able to be there for this kind of stuff. It's important to me and it is very much appreciated :)

We ended the school year with Pajamas, Pizza and Popsicles Day :) Now it is officially SUMMERTIME!

Our Kindergarten Graduate!

2011-06-16T17:35:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that Noah's Kindergarten graduation was more than two weeks ago! It's even harder to believe that we have a Kindergarten graduate!

The SIX Kindergarten classes (thank you class size amendment!) each put on a little performance and they did a few group songs. I only had my small camera so I don't have very many close pictures but Noah is smack dab in the middle of this one...

His class sang a song and signed it as well. So adorable!

Noah's sweet teacher announcing each of her students:

Noah was VERY serious throughout the entire ceremony!

Noelle was being very serious too :)

After the ceremony, we got to go back to Noah's classroom for a little celebration. He was thrilled to sit next to his best friend from class, Esteban!

Nana was able to join us for the celebration! Thanks to Nana for being there to start the school year off and end it as well - it's super nice that Nana's house is a hop, skip and a jump from the school!

Noah enjoyed his chocolate doughnut...

...and Sycee enjoyed her treats as well!

In just two years (possibly even one depending on what we decide for pre-school!), these two will be attending the same elementary school - crazy! I'm so happy that Noelle will have a big brother to watch over her in school for a few years :)

Summer is in full swing and come August Noah will start FIRST grade! We are so proud of how well he did in Kindergarten and can't wait to see his progress next year. Thank you, God, for giving us a little boy who LOVES learning and going to school!

Speaking of Kindergarten, this Mother of the Year almost missed out on ordering Noah's first school pictures. Thank goodness I happened to see the order form on my desk. In my defense, these pictures happened right after my accident and ordering them was the last thing on my mind. I saw the order form about two weeks ago and the deadline for ordering before the images were deleted was June 2011. Just in time management going on here! I would have been pretty devastated if I had missed out on this:

Hopefully, first grade pictures will be surrounded with A LOT less drama, ha!

Splash Park, CPK, Mall, Pool - FUN!

2011-06-16T17:33:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday was a super fun day! Between the splash park, farmers' market, an impromptu visit to Daddy, the mall and a visit from Emma we were definitely entertained!

The kids and I are loving the new splash park that we have very close to our house. I was thrilled when my next door neighbor suggested it for a playdate. Noelle was thrilled too - doesn't she look it?!

The kids had so much fun getting soaked!

It's so neat that our next door neighbors have twins who are almost exactly Noah's age. I remember how excited I was when they bought the house next to us and I learned that they were about to bring their babies home from the hospital (they were 25w1d preemies...look at them now!!!).

Noah & Nicholas

Noelle shooting me (and my camera) with a water gun!

Noelle & Alexa loving on each other :)

Our kids didn't have a very long attention span at the splash park. I think the water was a little too cold and it was early in the morning so it wasn't as blazing hot as it could have been. We took our wet hair to the farmers' market for my favorite treat!

Not before Mommy made us pose for a picture :)

Kettle corn!!

The kettle corn man was so sweet with the kids and gave them each an extra cup so I wouldn't have to open the bag right away. Love him!

After we grabbed our kettle corn, we had to bring Daddy his work keys that he forgot.

Guess who wasn't too unhappy or inconvenienced by that?! This little girl is always thrilled to swing by the side gate of WNW to give Daddy a kiss :)

Noah was happy too...it's just not the same level of happiness!

Since we were so close to the mall, I figured we'd get Mommy her favorite salad from California Pizza Kitchen :) Of course, the kids wanted McDonald's but mean Mommy trumped them. I know, how horrible of me to force them to eat CPK instead of McDonald's!

I am SO impressed with how well Noelle is holding her crayons since starting "school" in January. I don't remember Noah writing so well this early but my memory isn't the greatest so he could have been at the same level!

I wish I knew what Noah was thinking in this picture...

...or what Noelle was doing in this one!

After lunch, we remembered that it was a new month and we hadn't used our free chocolate card for June yet! Noah is all about Godiva when we go to the mall!

Melt.my.heart!

Melt.my.heart.again! They really do love each other...even enough to share Godiva chocolate!

A trip to the mall isn't complete without emptying Mommy's change purse into the fountains!

This picture right here is what makes my life complete :)

After the mall, we went back to the house to meet up with Emma for some swimming (and a special treat that came a little later!).

Wow, I honestly can't remember what they were looking at! Maybe a dead bug or a lizard? Probably one of the two :)

Summer just kicked off and I already have several of this same exact picture on different occasions. I wonder how many I'll rack up by the end of pool season!

Emma showing me her back float!

Taking a little snack break :) Doesn't everyone eat kettle corn in the pool?!

Having fun on our 'white trash' slide!

I *love* Popeye's fried chicken. Unfortunately, I'm pretty much the only one in the family and there really aren't any in close proximity to us. There is one right by WNW so I called Dee-Dee to see if he'd stop by and get it for us. He was none too pleased :( However, I mentioned that Emma was over and she really wanted it so it sealed the deal! Thanks, Emma!

The kids really enjoyed their chicken :)

And, Sarah really enjoyed her biscuit! You're welcome, Sarah ;)

After dinner, we had to have some Twix! Right, Emma?!

Noelle and one of her favorites!

Another Day At "Foon" Lagoon!

2011-06-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

We definitely make the most of our annual Disney waterpark passes if you haven't already figured that out, ha! Last weekend we met up with Sarah, John and Emma for an afternoon of fun at "Foon" Lagoon.

Three of my most favorite people in the whole world!

Love these two!

Emma with Mommy & Daddy!

Noelle with the love of her life!

Seriously! There is no one Noelle loves more than Dee-Dee!

How cute are these two?!

I forced Noelle to switch to Mommy's tube for a quick photo...don't let the smile fool you!

Noelle *finally* agreed to go on the kids' tube ride! Rather, we finally forced her to try it!

Look! She's smiling!

She loves to give Noah a high five when he goes down so we made sure Daddy gave her one!

Guess who went again? Thank you, Sarah, for convincing her!

It's really hard to get three kids to pose for a picture when they're having fun...this was the best one!

Sarah was the only one who I got a good picture of coming down the slide. Thanks for posing for me!

While the big kids went on the slides, Noelle and I walked around and found some good photo ops!

Then it was time for some wave pool fun!

I totally forget the tagline for this picture but I think it was something like "cutest couple ever"!!!

Mickey bar time!

Time to clean all of the chocolate off in the pool...and play with the underwater camera :)

miscellany monday

2011-06-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have been falling behind with my blogging and hope to catch up soon. Here are all of the miscellaneous things we've been up to over the last week or so!

{en}

We had another super fun day at Typhoon Lagoon last weekend with Sarah, John and Emma!

(Noah just couldn't wait...)

{to}

We visited the splash park again with our next door neighbors, Nicholas and Alexa.

{tre}

We had a really fun Saturday after we were done at the splash park that included the farmer's market, a visit to Daddy and an afternoon at the mall!

{fire}

We celebrated Noah's kindergarten graduation..sniff, sniff!

{fem}

We celebrated the end of kindergarten with a class party for Noah and his friends!

{seks}

I got to sneak away one night for a birthday dinner for my sweet friend, Brooke!

{syv}

We got to spend lots of time with Emma, including attending her dance recital and lots of swimming!

Yep, we've been keeping busy! Somehow, I think this summer is going to FLY by!

Eagle Handprint Art

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

I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine and knew I had to do something with it!

via

I was pretty proud of the idea that I came up with :) I decided to paint a canvas, have the kids create the eagle with their handprints and add a Bible verse incorporating eagles.

I was originally going to just use Noah's hands because it's easier but Sycee was acting interested (she usually isn't!) so I had her make the tail feathers. I love that it's both of their hands!

I love, love, love doing handprint/footprint art with the kids and am always trying to think of new ideas. I've got a few more of these canvases planned and can't wait for them to come to fruition. This is my favorite way to preserve their little hands and feet! Noah's aren't so little anymore :(

miscellany monday

2011-06-06T05:55:00.000-04:00

{en}

HAPPY 40th ANNIVERSARY to one of my favorite people - Lea (& Tommy)!!

What an amazing milestone and inspiration!

{to}

Prior to our Canon S95, we had an SD700. I had all but forgotten about it (and its waterproof case!) until Rob suggested bringing it to Typhoon Lagoon yesterday. The waterproof case is one of the best inventions ever...pics to come!

{tre}

In a few hours, we will attend Noah's kindergarten "graduation".

This school year has gone way too fast :(

{fire}

I am so sick of hearing "McDonald's" when I ask the kids what they want to eat. I wish we had done ourselves a favor and never introduced it! I did cave last week and let them have it after early release day since it was pouring and our splash park plans were washed out.

{fem}

Noah lost his first tooth the natural way last week (the real first tooth loss was last year after he had a little trauma to his front tooth...but we won't go there, Uncle Kyle!).

I asked him what he thought the tooth fairy would leave him. His answer was $100. Unfortunately for him, she only parted with $10!

{seks}

Grocery shopping with kids in tow is so much easier when Daddy comes along...especially when the kids want the ridiculously big and clumsy cart!

{syv}

I went to put on Noah's shirt for church yesterday and Noelle said "he can't wear that...it doesn't match mine". Love it! She totally realizes that I usually coordinate their outfits for church.

I didn't have the heart to put Noah in something matched the dress she was wearing, though, ha!

Thanking God on Friday!

2011-06-03T05:38:00.002-04:00

I am thankful for...the love these two share for each other!

Yes, they can fight like cats and dogs but when they're getting along it is so obvious that they love each other.

I am thankful for... our pool!

I just saw the weather forecast and it will be in the 90s all weekend. I am certain we'll be in the pool a lot.

I am thankful for...my mother!

I wouldn't be able to do half the stuff I do (including working full-time) without all of the help she provides me. Noelle is especially partial to her "Mimi". Thanks, Mom!

I am thankful for...Fridays. This is my day where I generally don't have any plans. While Noah is at school, Noelle and I usually have one-on-one time or Mimi takes Noelle to lunch while I run kid-free errands or have lunch with friends....or I work - it isn't always so glamorous!

This picture is from our run to the bank a few weeks ago. It's worth the drive to the bank where this fountain is because the kids love it!

I am thankful for... my husband and father of my kids!

We had our first date this month 13 years ago. It's mind-blowing how quickly time flies (when you're having fun...right, dear?!) :)

I am thankful for...God's healing hands and my recovery. It's time for my Friday morning run and I'm really grateful to be able to start my day with this activity. It makes all the difference in my mood!

National Running Day

2011-06-01T21:05:00.000-04:00

One of my co-workers sent me an instant message today and asked if I took the day off because it was National Running Day. Ha! Ironically, I did take today off but it wasn't in honor of National Running Day :)

About National Running Day

National Running Day, held annually on the first Wednesday in June, is a day when runners everywhere declare their passion for running. It is a coast-to-coast celebration of a sport and activity that’s simple, inexpensive, and fun. It’s the ideal way for longtime runners to reaffirm their love of running, and for beginners to start a lifelong and life-changing commitment. National Running Day is a collaborative effort of several top running organizations in the USA, including Atlanta Track Club, Boston Athletic Association, Chevron Houston Marathon, Chicago Area Runners Association, Competitor Group, Inc., Little Rock Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, New York Road Runners, Oregon Track Club, RunningUSA, Twin Cities In Motion, and USA Track & Field.

Learn something new every day :)

I did get two runs in today, though! So, I guess in a way I did celebrate this "holiday"! My Garmin Forerunner came yesterday and I was really eager to test it out. I've been using the Nike+iPod app for the last year and I was fairly certain that it was not extremely accurate when it came to pace/distance calculations. After lots of frustration due to user error trying to figure out how to set up the watch(read: I am retarded), I finally gave up this morning and went out without it. I figured it out during the day and just had a chance to test it out.

Here's the verdict on the new gadget: I LOVE IT!

As suspected, I was not running as fast or as far as my Nike+iPod suggested. It was off about 10% which still makes me really happy with my progress post-accident. I really thought it was going to take me the full year that the surgeon set as an expectation to recover. I'm still in some pain when I first start out and my muscle strength isn't 100% yet so maybe the year mark is what he was talking about when he alluded to a year for a FULL recovery...I hope, at least. However, I'm running much faster and much further than I was before 9/17/10.

While I was still in the hospital, I remember googling "running after an open tibia fracture" to see what to expect in terms of recovery and ever being able to run again. It's amazing what a google search turns up! I was pretty encouraged at the time even though my situation felt pretty grim. I hope that if anyone ever finds themselves in this situation and they do that same google search, that they come across this and find encouragement that they will run again with a lot of hard work and determination!

My leg looked like this just a few months ago...

Today, I can run 5-6 miles a day without many issues.

I've done a 10+ mile run/walk...

I've gotten my pace under 10 minutes per mile...which is a big accomplishment for me since I was averaging about 10 minutes per mile pre-accident.

My next goal is to find balance :) I am a wife/mom before I am a runner but I've been very focused on making a comeback so my priorities have been out of whack.

I just bought this book and am eager to read it at the recommendation of a co-worker:

I'm hoping it will have some tips on "balance"...even though I know I just need 8 more hours in each day :)

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

- Mario Andretti

Sunday Funday!

2011-06-01T17:42:00.000-04:00

We spent this past Sunday at "Foon" Lagoon again and it was another super fun day! We gave the kids the option of going to the beach or going to the water park and they choose the water park! We didn't bring our camera that has a waterproof case and I almost ruined my little camera last time so we didn't get too many pictures. However, I love, love, love the ones that we did get!!

My constant prayer is that these two are always close as they get older. I have always prayed for this but it became way more important to me after I lost my sister at such a young age.

I am such a lucky Mommy!

And, Rob is such a lucky Daddy!

Our precious family...ignore my pastiness...I was not blessed with the skin tone that the rest of my family was blessed with...especially the kids!

She melts my heart...and her Daddy's even more...if that's even possible!

He's had three more years of melting my heart than Noelle has!

The two of them together? It's almost too much!

We let Daddy try out the water roller coaster by himself since neither of the kids are tall enough yet. Noah has about another inch to hit the 48" mark - I suspect he'll be there sometime this summer!

I needed my zoom lens but if you look closely you can see him. In my defense, I was in the water watching both kids, one of whom was clinging to me for dear life! I was proud of myself for catching him, period!

We had a great picnic lunch and brought the big cooler which worked out really, really well!

I love having affectionate kids! Sycee is particularly affectionate with her "Dee-dee" :)

And Noah tends to lean the other way :) I feel very lucky to have both genders...although I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had just boys or just girls - it's all in what you're blessed with!

Warning - vent and whining ahead!

I'm a big Disney fan but some things are just ridiculous when it comes to Disney (like the price of their Fairytale Weddings - thanks Mom!). Their "photopass" is one of those things. I was really excited to get home a view the pictures that they took since I didn't bring my camera in the water. I was thrilled with these pictures (that I just snagged off the photopass website)!

So, I went to order them...

Seriously, Disney? $14.95 for two 4"x6" prints (which is the smallest "package" available)? So for the four pictures that I love, you'd like me to pay $59.80...plus tax and shipping, of course? Or, an even better "deal" is a digital download of the photos for the same price! It's really a shame that they not only do this but get away with it and people keep coming back for more. It's really disheartening and leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm obviously not ordering these pictures but I do love how they came out! We're at Typhoon Lagoon a lot and we'll bring our waterproof camera one of these days to reenact the pictures! I might feel differently if this were a once in a lifetime vacation but this is our backyard! Vent over...

It really was a fun day, despite the photopass sticker shock :)