Happy Birthday Mom {57}

The girls and I spent Thursday and Friday celebrating my Mom's birthday with her. Thursday we went shopping and we watched "The Hunger Games" after the girls went to bed. And Friday we went to breakfast and then met Dustin and Hannah at Famous Dave's for dinner.

I love Natalee's facial expressions. She cracks me up!

Apparently she loves ice cream. And she loved having the whole platter to herself!

Grandma and her girls!

After dinner we went to Bass Pro Shops. The girls love the big fishes.

Although we celebrated her birthday this weekend, the real fun has yet to begin. We leave Friday for our weekend in California. Just my Mommy and Me!



 



Tuesday Ramblings

I love these pictures. I don't know how old I was in this picture, but it reminds me of the numerous weekends we spent in the mountains camping when I was a child. Some of my fondest memories are from those trips. We would play basketball with pine cones and deer turds, awesome I know :) I love that Haylee and Josh re-created this awesome memory of mine! Haylee only played with pine cones though.

Haylee missed her first day of school today. She woke up around midnight with a fever and wasn't feeling so hot this morning. Her fever hasn't come back since and she has felt fine all day thank God.

But Natalee on the other hand, is not feeling so great tonight. She woke up from her nap with a fever and it hasn't went away. I'm not sure what they picked up but this mysterious fever with no other symptoms needs to go away. I have a feeling I'm in for another long night!

Gym time is going great. Josh is my personal trainer when it comes to figuring out the equipment. I can definitely feel the progress.

Last week Daddy met us for lunch at Chick-fil-a and the girls got to play too. I wish we could do that weekly but Josh is just swamped with work.

We all went to Big Surf this past weekend with our free tickets and had a blast. I don't think I've ever been there before but we sure had fun. The adults traded off watching the kids so that we could go on the slides too. The girls loved swimming around and Haylee loved the "otter slides" for little kids. Neither girl liked the wave pool but it was a blast trying not to get knocked out by the people on rafts. Of course, it was all fun and games until the last slide Josh and I went down. We were in a double tube and as soon as the tube hit the water, the front went down and the back (along with Josh) flew forward and Josh landed right on top of me. Not cool. And as if that wasn't bad enough, everyone who used the Coppertone sunscreen (us and my Mom) ended up sun burnt. I covered the girls good and even re-applied and they both ended up burned in random spots.

Natalee has entered the stage of dress up shoes. Everytime I tell her to get her shoes on I hear the clopping sound of the little plastic Princess shoes. Cracks me up. She'll actually walk out into the garage with them until I catch her and tell her to put on more appropriate shoes. She's a nut!

That's about all I can remember to ramble about right now. My Mom's birthday is Thursday and I'm excited to take her to dinner and a movie. Also, I'm taking her to get a pedicure before our vacation next week. We leave for California (just my Mom and I) in just 10 days!!!!

Season of Change

We have made a lot of changes in our lives over the past couple months and although some have been harder than others, they are all welcoming changes!

First off, we started attending Mission Church the beginning of June and absolutely LOVE it! Right now we are in a 3 part series called "Invested" and we are learning how to be invested parents and invested spouses. We have learned so much in just the short time we've been attending and we just love Pastor Mark. The girls are learning a lot too and love going to their classes. Natalee had a couple "rough" days but is now back to having a blast and loves to play with the "boys". It is so funny how much she talks about boys! We also started a Sunday ritual of getting donuts before church and the girls love their baby donuts!

I started working from home about a month ago. I love what I do and I love that I can work when Natalee is napping and when the girls are sleeping at night.

Another BIG change for us is getting healthy. We joined LA Fitness at the beginning of August and so far so good. We try to go 3 times a week and we're usually there 1 1/2-2 hours. The girls get to play in the Kids Club and they really like it. I love the variety of classes they offer but so far I have only tried Aqua Fit. I plan to try Zumba, Yoga, Body Works + Abs and Step + Abs. I am trying to be cautious with my back and ease my way into things but I really love working out now. I usually start on the bike for 20 minutes, then I do strength training working either my arms, legs or abs and then I run on the the treadmill 20 minutes or longer. Jody has been going with us and she has been my workout buddy since we both got a free 30 day trial.

Sweet little Haylee girl is loving Kindergarten. Her teacher, Mrs. Lukens, is super sweet and Haylee loves going everyday and she loves having homework. I know that won't last! We no longer have an issue with her socks since she picked out some new ones at Walmart. The only issue is getting her to eat breakfast or at least drink more than 2 sips of Pediasure. She has never been one to eat right after waking up. I pack her a snack and water that she gets to eat at school though and she usually comes home with a big appetite. I love all her little uniforms and she always wants me to take a picture and send it to Daddy and Grandma so they can see how cute she looks!

While Haylee is at school Natalee and I are running errands or working on potty training. I put Elmo panties on her 1 day and she went in the big girl potty 5 times in a row! Then... she peed in her panties right before nap time. BUT, she is improving and if I was more strict with it I think she'd be more consistent. I need to find the patience to get this girl trained!

Jackson is still Jackson. Being ornery at times but otherwise doing great! We are so thankful for his health!

I am so grateful for how wonderful things have been for us lately. Josh will be starting his new position at work soon, the girls are healthy and doing great and I am staying busy and loving life. We are blessed!

Happy Birthday Dad {59}

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Happy Birthday to YOU!



Happy Birthday Dear Dad (Papa Reggie)

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Another year passes and I miss you even more. I wish you were here to hold your sweet little granddaughters and give me a big hug. I am so thankful you watch over us from up above and keep us safe. I love you so much! See you soon.

Up in the Mountains

We had a wonderful day up in the mountains on Saturday.

As we celebrated my Dad's 59th Birthday we thought of all the beautiful memories he left with us.

We continued on with traditions that started when we were kids.

Feeding the chipmunks Chips Ahoy.

Shooting Dad's pellet gun.

Playing basketball using the KFC bucket .

And shooting the big, loud guns!

We played with baby horny toads,

ate Paydays,

went for walks,

picked flowers and found pine cones!

 It was a nice, relaxing day.

And a perfect day for lots of pictures!

As we were heading out we saw a ton of deer!







And we were reminded why day trips are the best trips!

This beautiful sunset made me think about how much I miss my Dad. I know he's in a better place but I sure wish he was here.

Haylee's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Last night I read Haylee 2 books about Kindergarten and tucked her into bed. She was so excited to start school today, wasn't scared one bit.

Today I felt so rushed. I got Haylee up and dressed, which of course we had a wardrobe malfunction because Haylee is too tiny and the skirt she wanted to wear felt too big on her. Not a problem though, she just picked out a cute jumper to wear over her white shirt. I must say, she is the cutest "school girl" I've ever seen! I am loving the uniforms.

So I brushed her teeth, did her hair and we went downstairs for breakfast. Of course Haylee is never hungry when she first wakes up so she had some chocolate milk and then we went out front to take pictures.

Next thing I knew it was time to go! Haylee briefly saw the gift we got her (Hello Kitty outfit and a big box of Junior Mints) and then we loaded up her backpack, woke Natalee up and we all jumped in the car.

When we got to school, it was a mad house. I ended up jumping out with Haylee to take her to the playground while Josh drove around where we're suppose to drop her off. There were so many kids and parents on the playground, it was a circus. Right when we walked up they were already lining up and heading inside so I gave Haylee a kiss and off she went.

She is so excited because the one little girl, Callie who she went to preschool with just happens to be in her class.

When I picked her up her face was red and she was saying how hot she was. She told me all the other kids had drinks and she was the only one without a drink or snack. I was never told she was suppose to bring a drink or snack but I will definitely make sure she has one from now on.

Haylee said she really likes school. She is excited to go everyday and had fun playing with Callie.

Natalee on the other hand was a terror this morning! I wonder if any school around here takes kids at age 2?! :) She was so excited to see Haylee after school, you'd think Haylee had been gone all day.

I can't believe my sweet little girl is in Kindergarten!!! I love that girl so much!