Color me mine...

One of the things Madison wanted to do for her birthday was paint a piggy bank at "Color Me Mine". So last week we took Maddie and Taylor over there. Of all the things they could pick out to paint, they both wanted the pigs, and they both wanted their pigs to be polka dot. So here is the "Before" picture of their pigs....


















Here is their "work in progress"

Here is Russ and his attempt with helping Madison










Here is Chad tagging along with us just being patient because afterwards we were going school shopping for him. Of course you can see, he's still a bit swollen from his wisdom teeth being removed, this is 'day 4' for him, and he's still not completely happy yet...

Here are the pigs after the painting, but before the glazing...

Here are the cute finished products and the proud artists.

Madison's first day of kindergarten...

Today was Madison's first day of kindergarten. I had such mixed emotions... First of all, the obvious, she's my baby. I will never again experience this. It means she's growing up, and as I stated in a previous post, I really am trying to do everything I can to freeze time for my kids, but for some reason, it's not working. Even though she's been used to going to preschool and us leaving her, for some reason today she didn't want me to leave her there. She was so excited, but once we got there, she clung to me and didn't want me to leave her. Once I left, she did really well, and can't stop talking about her class now, plus she got to bring cookies to her class because her birthday was yesterday. Here's a few pictures of her, and one of her and her best friend, Emma.

Happy Birthday to my baby girl...

Today is my baby's birthday! She is now 6 years old... I can't believe how fast she's growing up. We had her birthday party on Saturday at 'Bouncin' Off The Walls' and she had a blast. I just love her so much, she's such a sweetheart. I love you Madison Rylee...

Happy Birthday Lauryn....

Happy Birthday to my cute neice, Lauryn! She is turning 7 today and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up! My sister and her family live in Virginia, so we only get to see them once a year -- I wish it was alot more! Lauryn --- we love you and hope you have the happiest birthday ever! We can't wait to see you next year...




















I also wanted to say Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law, Clemente. His birthday was on July 27th. And we didn't forget him, we sent him a gift and called him, but I feel bad that I failed to mention his birthday in my blog..
Clemente, I want you to know we love you so much, and we had a blast with you when you guys were here visiting in June. You kept us in constant laughter and tears that night on Lori & Len's back deck. I'll never forget how funny that night was! XOXO

School carnival...

The first week at Taylor and Maddie's school, they always put on a carnival. So tonight, we took them there for a few hours, and of course the kids always have fun on the rides, and playing tons of games where they win cheap prizes (I always end up sneaking a few in the garbage each day to clean them up --- shhhhh!)

Taylor & Maddie with Abby & Tiani

A carnival wouldn't be a carnival without cotton candy. But of course, my daughter, Taylor, chooses a bottle of water over cotton candy. Maddie jumps at the chance for sugar any time she can get it.

No pain, no gain...

Two days after having his wisdom teeth removed, now Chad is really not feeling good. As you can see in this picture, he doesn't look happy one bit. He's swollen up like a chipmunk, and putting ice packs on his face constantly, rinsing his mouth with warm salt water, and has been on pain pills and antibiotics for two days. He said this wasn't what he signed up for. He's hoping the swelling goes down before his first day of school on Monday. We'll see when we take his picture before school on Monday... You're a trooper Chad!

Poor Chad.....

Chad must be very wise.....
Right? Isn't that what it means when your wisdom teeth come in? His wisdom teeth appeared at the ripe old age of 17. they say wisdom teeth usually appear between the age of 18-20. He got his braces on about 6 months ago, and the orthodontist wanted a few teeth to move before he had us go have them removed. So we had an appointment made for him to have them removed today, and since he didn't want to be awake for the lovely procedure, we made the appointment with an oral surgeon, because apparently, they are the only ones that can put patients to 'sleep' for the procedure. So here is the picture before and after, so you can see Chad's half smile that shows a bit of worry in his face before ---- and after, well, I think he's just plain annoyed... You did a great job Chad! I love you!

BEFORE

AFTER

Summer is over....

Today was the first day of school for the girls. Actually, just for Taylor. She is in 4th grade, and Madison is starting Kindergarten, but the Kindergarteners are doing their assessment testing this week, so they actually don't start until next week. These kids are growing up so fast. I'm sad about that, but excited for them because they are so excited...

Every year we get pictures of the kids and their friends on the first day of school. Today, being Taylor's first day, I took a picture of her with her friends. This first one is a picture of the 4 musketeers. From L-R there is Taylor, Grace, Maya, and Tiani. They have all been the best of friends since first grade.

And this one is of Taylor and her other good friend, Ashlyn, who lives across the street.

My Arizona visit with Rocky....

I made a trip to Arizona for the weekend to visit my son, Rocky. As I'm sure many parents before me have come to this conclusion, this is what I realized.... We spend so much time raising our kids when they are young, and being 'parents' and teaching them what they should do and what they shouldn't do, that we are more 'parents' than 'friends' to our children when they are younger, and that's how it should be. Although Rocky & I have always been really close, when they are adults, you get to form a completely different relationship with your kids. You hope and pray that what you've taught them their whole life they will grasp onto. And they don't always make the right decisions along the way. But knowing what they've been taught, you pray that they always remember what they were taught and grow up to be productive, kind, good individuals in this big, crazy world. Since Rocky moved back to Arizona right after high school, this was a great opportunity for me to really spend time with him and enjoy him. Instead of parenting, I enjoyed him and we had a lot of fun together, great heart to heart talks, and as I've known all along, Rocky is a fabulous, very intelligent and incredible indivdual! I love you Rocky, and want the best for you, and you're in my thoughts and prayers every minute of every day.....

I also got to spend some time with Rocky's girlfriend, Chelsea. I found that she's the cutest, sweetest girl ever, and very good to my son. I appreciate her being there for Rocky and being such a good example to him. Thank you Chelsea!

Todd & Kelli.....

While I was in Arizona, Rocky and I had a chance to visit our dear friends, Todd & Kelli. They've been friends of ours for many years, they've been in my life since Rocky has been a few years old (they've been in Rocky's dad's life since they were kids themselves). It was really good to see them and visit with them. I really admire both of them, and their wisdom and loving hearts. Thank you both so much, I hope you both know how much I deeply appreciate and love you!

Thank you girls!

Just wanted to say "Thank You!" to all the girls in my office. I have the best bunch of girls anyone could ask for to work with (along with being goofy and fun..) They do such a great job and I love each and every one of them! Thanks you guys for everything!

Happy Birthday Mom...

Today is my Mom's birthday. She is ____ years old. J/K Mom, I wouldn't do that to you, although you're still pretty young. Thanks for everything you do for me and I want you to know how much I appreciate it and am very grateful for it. Also, I want you to know how much I love you!
Here is a picture from our fun New York trip we took back in April. It was just my Mom and us four sisters, and we had such a blast. From left to right: Mom, Heather, Me, Lori, and Melissa.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Happy Birthday Karen & Lisa ...

Both of my awesome sister-in-law's have birthdays --- Karen's is Aug. 3rd, and Lisa's is Aug. 4th. Karen & Lisa are both Russ' sisters. Thanks you guys for being the amazing people you are and you both deserve the best birthdays ever. Have a fun time, we wish we were there celebrating with you in Minnesota! Love you both!

Breaking Dawn...

Those of us completely and totally obsessed with the Eclipse book series would be the only ones insane enough to go down at midnight last night to buy the 4th book --- "Breaking Dawn" ----

Last night at about 10:30 I went with 4 of my neighbors, who are equally obsessed, to pick up our books. Of course they couldn't start selling them until midnight, so we waited and very excitedly left, with the intention of starting the book when we each got home at about 1:30 a.m. Of course, I was too tired when I got home, so I am starting my book tonight. I KNOW I won't be able to put it down.

For those of you who can't even fathom what the obsession could possibly be about, I recommend that you pick up the first book - "Twilight", then the second one, "New Moon", then the third "Eclipse" then finally the last one "Breaking Dawn".... You'll see as soon as you start reading the first book what the obsession is all about.