Frank Family Blog

A Funny

2012-02-13T15:46:00.000-05:00

Taylor captured our babysitter slacking off on the job!
(Hahaha...love you, Kelli!)

While I am at it...here are a few more funnies:

* Ella is quite dramatic. Whenever something doesn't go just right, she will declare she is having "The Worse Day Ever". Last week she came home from school one day and stated she had the worse day ever. I said, 'Hm, another one?' And she says, "It was the worst afternoon ever, mom!" So I bit, 'What happened Ella?' And my sweet little girl says, "I knocked out a girl's tooth on the playground!" Of all the things I thought would ever come out of her mouth, that was certainly not one of them! (Apparently they were playing on the tire swings, and she doesn't know how it happened, the girl was pushing her and somehow Ella bumped her or the tire did - but her tooth fell out! Hopefully it was a loose one. She felt terrible! The little girl started crying and ran to a playground lady. It wasn't anyone Ella knew and nothing came of it, but she felt so responsible for it.)

*Ally was pretty tired the other night. She was sitting on the potty and I was sitting on the edge of the tub waiting for her. And suddenly she starts crying, totally out of the blue. When I asked why, she blurts out, "You're not going to snuggle with me anymore!" (Ally is my 'snuggle buddy') I replied, 'Oh, yes I will!' And she says, "No you won't. Not when I am 16! I will be too big for you to pick up! And you won't snuggle me!" Then she become a weeping hot mess. Poor girl. So I snuggled her for quite awhile and promised her no matter her age, she will always be my baby and I will forever snuggle her!

*I believe this one all started because I bought Ally a Justin Beiber shirt. She loves him! She watches his movie on Netflix and goes crazy! The night I gave it to her she put it on and shouted out thank you over and over and swore she would never take it off. She also repeatedly kissed him while she was wearing it. Ella went to try on a new outfit I had bought her (A local shop had a buy one get one sale, so all the girls scored new clothes!) Ella came out and asked Ally how she looked. To which she responded, "Off the hook!" I questioned her and she yelled at me, "Don't call me Ally! My name is Mrs. Beiber!" Oh, my!!

Valentine's Baking Day

2012-02-13T14:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Grandma Ina came over to make Valentine Pies with the kids. The girls had a great time. I got to say out of all three of them, Alyssa was the most interested and didn't want to stop making pie! We made apple and cherry pies and we even made some ham and cheese pockets for the kids dinner! Sure made my night easy. Thanks Grandma Ina!

The kids truly love their baking with grandma days. When they are older I hope they always remember these times.

I Heart Pinterest

2012-02-07T11:32:00.000-05:00

I have a problem. I am addicted to Pinterest. They say admission is the first step. This weekend I made a few recipes that I have found there. And while most of them were terrible failures, I refuse to give up. In the crafting category, someone had taken clothes pins, covered them with pretty paper and then used them as labels for a chore chart. I really liked the idea of using them as labels, although who has time to cover each one with pretty paper? So I tweaked it a little, decided to go basic and simple. Here is one part of my sticker collection, which admittedly leads to another problem I have, but we won't go there at this moment.
Here is my before photo, I had them hanging off a towel rod with shower curtain rings and pierced Christmas Tags for the category labels.

And after, I changed out the rings and switched to binder rings, ditched the paper and added labeled clothes pins.

Much better. Now on to organizing chip board! Which perhaps is another problem I have. I heart chipboard. And ribbon. And paper. And eyelets. And rub ons. And....And...

Kids Say

2012-02-07T10:41:00.000-05:00

The girls have said some pretty random things lately and there were a few that went unwritten and are now forgotten. I'd like to know if my brain is ever going to return to me, or has it been lost forever?

We will start with Taylor. Anytime Brendon or I leave, she turns into a relentless secretary. "What time are you coming back? Where are you going? How long will you be?" For some teenagers I would worry about her desperate need to know our comings and goings, for fear she was smoking or with a boy. But this is definitely not the case, not yet anyway.

(Speaking of Taylor her birthday is in a couple of weeks. Her 14th birthday! How did that happen?! She's asking for video games and an artist table. Her Barbie days have long since passed)

I asked Ella to go brush her teeth before school yesterday. In less than a minute she was back in the kitchen with me. I asked her why she hadn't brushed her teeth yet. And she says, "I forgot what I was supposed to do. I walked into my bedroom and said to myself, 'what am I doing here?' and then walked back to you." Poor girl, she comes by it naturally. Happens to me a few times each day!

Ally was talking with her dad over a pop tart and she said, "Dad, my teacher at school doesn't it like it when I say the word butt." Then she got up to walk away and as she did she says, "They don't like it when I say penis either."

Murphy and Newton had their own 'laws'. Apparently the Frank girls have one too. Theirs go like this, "Sleep in all week long, up early every weekend!" I swear these girls are in a coma like state during the week. I turn on lights, blare the radio, gently shake them, tickle them, put the dogs on the bed, etc. Nothing. Come Saturday morning, it is 6am and I am begging them - 'Go back to sleep!' But they never do.
Monday
Getting some puppy love...Abby failing to do her job!

Wednesday....
Go away mom, I'm sleeping

Saturday....
6am And Ready To Rock! Notice how far her pants are pulled up, she was being a silly monkey!

2011 Re-Cap

2012-01-20T13:41:00.001-05:00
This is something I wanted to do for a couple of weeks and just haven't taken the time to get it written. 2011 was a great year! Every year is a great year. I mean really, when you have your children and your family, every year, every day is a blessing. And I never, for one minute, want to take that for granted. Surely we all have bad days and terrible moments, but at the end of every day I want to be thankful for another one given.

Here are just a few of our most memorable moments from 2011:

* I think the most exciting moment for our immediate family was when we bought our little place on the lake! We are extremely excited to be able to have a place to go with the kids and are anxious to create more memories every year. (We were also able to get a pontoon boat so we can fully enjoy Gun Lake!)

* Hands down, the most wonderful moment for my extended family was when my brother and sister in law had Sydney! She's absolutely precious! Lyndsey let me throw a baby shower for her and it meant so much to me to be able to do that.

* We kicked off 2011 with a trip to Florida to see my parents. As close as we are, this is always a wonderful time and we created so many memories. The girls love their Grandma and Grandpa Streeter! We hit the zoo, the children's museum and ended the trip with Ella going to immediate care the night before we left with a bad ear infection.

* I was able to spend my 35th birthday in Key West with my mom. Talk about amazing!

* I was also able to see Kenny Chesney in concert in Grand Rapids with my girl Michele. It doesn't get much better than Kenny and Michele!

* We survived our first family camping trip. (Yes we stayed in a rustic cabin, but it was still camping) Ludington was beautiful and do hope to go back again in a year or two.

* The little ones and I survived a night camping (for real) in a tent, peeing in the woods, critters brushing against the tent, etc. This was a tough one for me. And I never would have made it if it wasn't for my friend Kit and her husband. They made it enjoyable and it really was fun. But I am much more of a 'hotel' kind of girl, then a tent with two little kids kind of girl.

* My two best friends from high school and our kids all got together in Fort Wayne and we had so much fun!

* We went on a CRUISE (that didn't sink, like that terrible tragedy in Italy) The Carnival Dream was amazing and we loved it. Ally is still talking about Charlie, the guitar guy. My parents went with us and we loved sharing this time with them. It was such a fun time!!

* Taylor got braces!

* We had a rollover car accident in the Meijer parking lot! Which was incredibly scary and am still so thankful the kids were alright!

* I learned that I have a wheat intolerance and am still trying to deal with it. But I have learned I truly do feel better when I don't eat everything I used to love.

* All three girls had a summer Mega Party. That was so much fun!

* Brendon had a health scare in December, and we all thank God he is fine!

* Probably not news worthy to most but we upgraded to iPhones. Love them.

* A couple weeks before Christmas we became pretty much the sole care takers of Brendon's dad. After almost 6 weeks, I think we (Brendon) finally has dad situated and settled.

This and That

2012-01-20T13:08:00.000-05:00
Last weekend, everyone was sick. We did nothing. I think this picture explains how we all felt. It was so bad that even poor Sophie was sick.
Miss Alyssa proving she's got poses too!
Beautiful Ella with her new eyes! She was so excited! I was excited for her, and a little nervous about how the kids at school would react. But so far everyone loves them. And how can they not? She's amazing!
A friend of mine went to Mexico a couple of weeks ago and this is one of her photos. I thought it was hilarious! And just had to share...

Flashback

2012-01-20T13:02:00.001-05:00
New Years Eve I found myself with a nasty sinus infection. Brendon went on to a small party without me while the girls and I had our own 'party'. Admittedly it was pretty lame, but we tried. Taylor went to a friend's house at 9pm so we had a toast a bit before 9.
Then the girls played with their fun, new years hats. (They colored these at the museum downtown. We went to a Kids Fest the day before with our friends Abby and Jenna)
We played a little XBox and we all pretty much crashed soon after 10.
Happy New Year!!!
(A couple weeks late)

The First Snow

2012-01-10T21:32:00.000-05:00
Just over a week ago we had our first "Real Snow." Usually this occurs shortly after Thanksgiving. It's been a very odd winter this year. It was in the 50s this last weekend and I was outside without a coat on. That is just unheard of! Today was 48 and sunny. Its only snowed twice. As opposed to maybe seeing two snow-free days like years past. I keep thinking 'we are going to pay for this'. And in fact, we are facing a winter snow storm advisory starting Thursday and into Friday. Lake effect snow from the west combined with snow/wind storm from the east. Several inches, to feet are expected. That is more the 'norm'. The weekend before last week we did have just over a foot of snow. (It finally completely melted today)

It took me 35 minutes to get us all ready for the snow and the cold weather! But we made it out and have a good time.
All of my girls ready to play!
(Look, she's trying to eat the snow!)
Look at these smiles
Notice Abby is not smiling. She is chasing me. I had a hard time getting her to leave my side for awhile. She's a Florida dog now. That means she is a big sissy. Seriously, I had to shovel GRASS so she would go potty!! I don't see that working on a morning I am running late for work.
Taylor was anxious to try out her new sled. Unfortunately the hills near us, leave something to be desired for a teenager. Great for the little ones, not so much for the older ones.
After awhile Abigail warmed up and had a little bit of fun. It was fairly short lived, but she actually bounced around a little. (Although it should be said when we came in the house, Sophie raced her to the heating vent and Sophie won!)
Snow Angel
Ella made a "Snow-Line"...don't ask.
Brendon worked some crazy hours at the airport and the last thing I wanted him to worry about was our driveway. I tried to start the snow blower and couldn't do it. I even pulled a neck muscle trying. So we broke out the shovels. At one point I even had a little help. Taylor was wonderful help and she even helped our new neighbor after she helped me.
These two are for my mom. I joke with you about what a pain your dog is...although don't get me wrong she has moments....but all joking aside, we love her and are very glad she's here. Especially a certain little girl.

New Year, New Ella

2012-01-10T21:10:00.000-05:00
Last week I received a letter in the mail saying Ella had failed the county eye exam given at her school. As any concerned parent would do, I scheduled an eye exam as soon as I possibly could. Yesterday I was told her eyes are "too short". By the time kids are aged 7, their eyes should be fully developed. Apparently, Ella's are short. Causing her eyes to strain and work harder to see far away. Her eyes are quite accommodating. And have learned to deal with it. Once they dilated her, I was able to see how hard she was straining once those eye muscles were fully relaxed. Hopefully this is something she will out grow. In the meantime she's going to look awfully cute!
After about 30 pairs, we finally found "The Ones!"

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-03T12:50:00.002-05:00
Let's pretend this isn't the first business day of 2012....let's all go back so I can wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope it was a great one!!

Christmas Continued

2012-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00
On our Christmas Eve we went to see Santa.
Taylor was less than thrilled that we made her go.
While Ella was all poses and smiles
Ella's note ready to go
And Ally's
With the jolly old elf himself
Every Christmas Eve we open the box from my parents. This year it was filled with all kinds of treasures! Abby and Sophie even got goodies! And my goodness there was so much candy in the box. Ally's eyes were as big as saucers! We had our traditional dinner of munchies; crackers, cheese, dips and nachos. Then we told The Night Before Christmas and this year we watched Polar Express.
We put out special reindeer cookies for Santa
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
Come Christmas morning the girls were so excited. But Ella still had a pose for me!
The girls with their gifts....
(This was the best, the girls asked for American Girl Dolls and they just weren't in the budget. At least not if they wanted anything else to go with it. So I got them Our Generation Dolls from Target. And they didn't know the difference!)
Christmas at our house! We really did have a lot of fun hosting this year. I wish I would have taken a photo of the food. I was finally able to use all my Christmas serving dishes!
Aunt Sue, Uncle Ron, Uncle George, Aunt Evette and Grandma Ina.
Cousins, Jake and Troy (Somehow I missed Jessica!)
Uncle Jim
Cousin Jess with Summer (My great niece!!)...And yes, I asked Taylor to smile. She won't. Unless it is her idea - then it is a different story. Teenagers!
Uncle George, a happy santa
Aunt Evette and Cousin Adam
Ally posing with my "girl" gift. Aunt Sue gave me a beautiful snow globe. (My sister in law)
Happy Elf
Me and My girl

Catching Up

2011-12-25T11:10:00.000-05:00
I finally figured out the settings on the new blogging interface. For awhile I thought I was going to have to move this blog because I was having posting issues.

So I have missed a lot this month! Here is the abbreviated version..
Ally's Christmas Program was the 8th. She was so beautiful.
She was an angel...
Here is a link to one of the cute songs that they did. (Click "link")

Taylor's Choir concert was the 12th. Here is a link to her favorite song they did.
And here is a photo of Taylor, can you see her?

Ella's Christmas party and my work Christmas party was the 15th. And I forgot my camera that day! Shame on me!! There were enough volunteers at Ella's school that I was able to walk around to the different stations and just hang out with her. My work Christmas party was at Gallagher's this year and we had a great time!

I was finally able to see Cristi before she left for England and I got my hands on Ashton. He is so handsome!!!

That afternoon we made cinnamon ornaments. They smelled so good a few recipients tried to eat them! Made the house smell amazing!

The night before Ella had a collision with the ottoman. Right in her eyebrow. She has a rug burn on it and now it is turning blue.

Then it was time for letters for Santa. Ella has been convinced that she is getting an i-touch. (to the point of saying I don't need to write a letter because I know I am getting one.) At this point, I told her that Santa doesn't make i-touches, only toys. (My 6 year old does not need a $250+ i-touch!) So she had a breakdown
But she got over it quickly.

That morning was our girl scout Christmas Party

To be continued, the kids are calling.

Ally Says

2011-12-20T07:28:00.002-05:00
I asked Ally what she wanted for breakfast....she said, "You have to rub my back. That's my thinking spot. And give me a couple of minutes to think on it."

At the daycare center Miss Diane was leaving for the day when all the kids were asking her a million questions about where she was going. Finally she said, "I'm going to the moon!" Apparently that is when Ally looked at her very seriously and said, "Miss Diane, I have been to the moon LOTS of times and I have NEVER seen you there!" Her poor teacher almost wet her pants.

On certain days she will declare that her name is Alyssa and everyone must call her Alyssa or she won't answer them. Unless it's me. She says I am allowed to call her Ally, Alyssa or Pumpkin Pie.

She is still making up songs, everyday. When I am taking her to daycare they are usually about me. And how much she loves me and how I am her sweetheart. They are soo sweet. I wish I had a hidden camera in the back seat.

Vacation, Last Day

2011-12-13T20:48:00.006-05:00
Because this is my blog, and my memories I can post pictures and tell stories about things that no one, other than me, really cares about. I have a memory of our last night in Florida that I don't want to forget. My dad (and my husband for that matter) are not ones to play games. Mom and I love board games, but the guys - not so much. So the last night we convinced them to play Pictionary Man with us and Taylor. My dad is the type of guy that when it is his turn to play, you almost have to smack him to get him to 'wake up' to the game. Pictionary Man is like Pictionary, only you have a man, a block and a round ball to use as props and you can color on all three objects. Dad is fiercely drawing on this man and the block, making him jump up and down on the block. Only where he was drawing, it looked like the man was peeing. Thirty seconds in and us girls get the giggles so bad that we can't even talk. Let alone see....tears were streaming. My dad was hilarious!

His object that he was drawing was a person and it was Fire walker!!

While we were playing Miss Alyssa made herself comfortable on the opposite side of her bedroom door.

Carnival Dream, Day 7

2011-12-13T10:38:00.012-05:00
Last Day on Board
At Sea

Quite honestly, by the last day I had enough. Ella and Ally were with me almost every second of the day before, I had a headache, and I was just done. At one point Brendon took the girls for a hour so mom and I ran around taking photos of the ship. What better way to end a wonderful week long cruise than a photo montage?
The morning started out a little rough for our teenager

While the younger two were excited for another day of pools and dresses

Hot Tub Action

After lunch we found a chocolate buffet!!!

Mmmmmmm

One very happy little girl, one very satisfied little sweet tooth!

Ella ate a little bit, but she doesn't have nearly the craving for sweets as Ally and her mom

You can barely see it - but there is a piece of eclair cake on the far right of the plate, notice I had this on the first plate too. It was SO yummy! It needs to be said, that Brendon went up to the chocolate bar, I never did. He just grabbed us two plates and we shared.

Photo Tour! The hallway on our floor...

The Scarlet Dining Room

Atrium Lobby

Wasabi Grill

Piano Bar

Lido Deck

Lido Aft

After my photo tour I found Brendon and the girls in the library. They were playing a game that they made up. All the games were missing misses, so they had a couple of dominoes, some chess pieces and a few checkers. They were having a great time.

Dancing to Charlie

Ally interupting Charlie mid-song. But he never minded. He always listened to her and talked with her.

Crazy girls at dinner

I had portabella mushrooms for an appetizer and chicken fettucine for dinner. But this for dessert. It was actually diet apple pie, but it was sinful! Wish I had the recipe.

After dinner Ella and Ally did a photo shoot in the atrium

Later Brendon's duty free goodies arrived. Five minutes later the margaritas were poured.

We asked Taylor and her new friend Lauren to babysit for us so we could go out for a little bit. We waited until the last night to go out. We hit the piano bar for a bit, took a long walk and went to the late night comedy show, Thomas Brown. Highly recommend him, so funny! Anyway, Taylor and Lauren...

The girls ready for a movie before bed

After the comedy show we decided to get some ice cream. It was around midnight and we ran into my parents! They had the same idea.

I did forget to mention a few things...probably several. The most memorable is one night they had to do an emergency evacuation for a crew member who suffered a heart attack. The coast guard came and removed this person by helicopter. It was really neat to see how they did it. (This was around midnight and I left everyone sleeping in the room to go watch) Also the last sea day, we had to go back to Nassau to evacuate a passenger who had fallen very ill. So we were about a hour and a half late getting back to Port Canaveral. Which meant more sleep! It was a wonderful cruise!
The End.....

Carnival Dream, Day 6

2011-12-12T12:55:00.009-05:00
Day 6
Day at Sea

On this sea day - we just relaxed as much as possible with two kids. Taylor was off at her teen club all day and most of the night. We spent a lot of time at the pool and the water slides. We also took a nap. It was a day full of rest and food.

The one thing I have noticed, going through photos is there are none of me and Brendon. Or many with me and the kids. I am always behind the camera and rarely in front of it. For a modest girl, I am okay with that. However, I am starting to feel bad for the girls. Dark thoughts - like if something happened to me soon, while they are still young - they might not remember me. I know, depressing right? But I have to get better about getting on the other end of the camera.

Alright, back to the vacation!
The girls ready for the pool

I believe this photo is my favorite photo of the entire trip.

This night was another formal night. (Ah and not one photo of hubby and I all dressed up.)
Beautiful Tay

Beautiful Ally...with the bread in her hand, the child would eat anywhere from two to four rolls a night.

My gorgeous mom

My appetizer, stuffed eggplant

Ally with her nightly dinner of cheese pizza

Glamorous Ella with her shy little smile....she wouldn't let me see her missing teeth!

Brendon's Escargot

Prime Rib, so yummy!

I was a bad girl this night...couldn't decide on a dessert so I got two! Chocolate almond cake. This was euphoric!

And Baked Alaska

After dinner the girls and I went dancing to Ally's main man, Charlie

Charlie stopped mid-set and told me that Alyssa made his entire week. She reminded him of his grand daughter and he really enjoyed her dancing. And he let me take a photo of him with his fans.

Good night....Duck?

Carnival Dream, Day 5

2011-11-29T15:10:00.007-05:00
Carnival Dream
Day 5
St. Maarten

Breakfast! These girls ate cereal every day! They could have had made to order omelets, french toast or fresh fruit and instead ate Lucky Charms!

We had a rough start to our day on St. Maarten. We wanted to do a sailing (catamaran) type tour, but with a family of 5 we just couldn't afford it. After talking with a woman at the welcome center, she told us to go to Divi Little Bay. Only $6 per person, close enough and a beautiful beach. We ended up with a taxi driver who convinced us to go to Dawn beach for $8pp...well, more so he convinced my dad and my husband, so off we went. We were quickly left at a dirt path in front of run down condos. After walking quite a bit to the beach we were sorely disappointed. The beach was alright but once you got to the water there was seaweed, trash and junk all over. So much seaweed that it formed a chain running the entire length of the beach and at least a foot wide. Upon complaint, I was told from the manager "I know, it is really ruining our business." I was appalled. I demanded that our driver be brought back and take us to the beach we originally asked to go to. I had to use little words because this islander didn't speak much English. We were sent a different driver who then asked us for more money to go to the other beach. Again, I used little words and luckily had the first taxi driver's business card. I told him he had to settle up with the first driver. After a few, we were on our way! Upon arriving at Divi Little Bay, we all took a deep breath of relief. Divi is a condo resort, probably more expensive to eat or drink but it was beautiful. All we wanted was a nice beach for the kids and we finally arrived about a hour after stepping off the boat!

Ella ready to go

The waves were pretty fierce for the little ones, so they mostly stayed on shore, burying their legs in the tide. (When they did go out, I was on one side and Brendon or grandma on the other...Ella especially loved the waves)
Look at Ally's legs. She had sand everywhere!

Taylor and Brendon rented boogie boards

Saying goodbye to St. Maarten

Ready to get back on board. Can you see how red their little faces are?

That night there was a deck party. I can't remember where the boys were, but mom and I took the kids up and caught just the tail end of it. It was raining and that deterred a lot of people.The girls only got to dance to a couple of songs, but they loved it.

That night it was the Midnight Mexican Buffet. Mmmm, so yummy! For some reason, I ended up at the buffet table solo and as I was eyeing the desserts, I ran into my mom. So we indulged....a bit. :)

Good night monkey!

Ally's Photo

2011-11-23T15:35:00.002-05:00
This is the best photo of Ally from the water slides, at least in my opinion. She loved them - but didn't like getting splashed by the buckets or sprayers. She would come around the corner super fast to the slide so she could just get down it!

Carnival Dream, Day 4

2011-11-22T11:42:00.003-05:00
Day Four
St. Thomas, USVI

In my "glory' days I was a frequent visitor on the island of St. Thomas. I would go for the weekend at least once a month. I worked with a man who owned a yacht in a yacht club and he let me stay on his boat for a week. I stayed at a couple of bed and breakfasts until one time I arrived with no reservation. I called a small B & B advertised at the airport and was able to get a room for the night. That was how I met Frank and Mary Davis. (And their cat Marmalade.) Their place sat on top of one of the mountains and you could see the town below and the ocean in front of you. The Davis' were a sweet older couple from New Jersey, which is where I was living at the time of my first stay. I ventured to a lot of beaches. Maegans' Bay, Morning Star, Frenchman's, Coki, Sapphire. I had taken the ferry out of Red Hook to St. John. (Which if it would have been just adults, that is what I would recommend) It has been 15 years since I've been there and I found myself suddenly back, unexpected with six people looking at me saying, 'Where to?'

View from the boat

In port

The problem was the taxi fares were per person! With the cheapest being $8 - which means for my family it would cost us $80 to just go to a beach. Which the principal of the whole thing just ticked me off. Due to cost, and the desire to stay close and snorkel - we chose Coki Beach.We found a lady named Bibiana and she took us on a short island tour and then dropped us off at Coki Beach for a couple of hours.

The white sand beach you see in the distance in Maegan's Bay, rated one of the top ten beaches in the world.

That small round white building you see is Coral World. Coki beach is known for snorkeling and some diving, not as much as St. John, but as far as St. Thomas goes it is probably the best beach to snorkel at. I want to say in '94 there was a terrible hurricane that came through and destroyed a lot of the coral. (My first visit was in '95 and there were still boats on hillsides and houses demolished.) The coral system is slowly returning and you can still see lots of fish and marine life. If you go over to Coral World, they have an underwater viewing area.
Mom with a Corona...she was still dreaming of Mexico

We skipped dinner this night. The night before, dinner took a hour and a half. I just was not ready to do that with the girls again. So we went to Lido deck and had food that was just as good. And then went for a walk and took a couple of photos of my beauties. (Taylor and Brendon ate dinner with grandma and grandpa)

Looking down 12 stories towards the atrium

Ally did not want to go to bed, so she sat down and pouted on the stairs by our room
Good night crab

Frustration

2011-11-22T11:13:00.001-05:00
This morning Ally asked me HOW God could see everyone. While I was trying to form an answer she then asked if he used a snow globe like Santa.At the dinner table, Taylor was talking about all the things she learned at school, specifically something in history. Ella then says, "I learned 9-7 is 2." Brendon asked Ally what she learned and after a moment she says, "I learned blueberries grow on trees!"About a day or two after I posted about not wanting to go wheat free. I got sick. Like a knife to the abdomen kind of sick. So Thursday I dove back into that meal plan again. I can't tell you how frustrating it is at the grocery store. Luckily, I can eat oats and other things that have gluten without the wheat, however most of these items will say, contains trace amounts of wheat. Its in vegetable soups, rice dishes, sauces, beans..its everywhere. So I've been careful and yes it has only been 6 days. But I am still sick. I am not talking "flu" sick or virus sick. When I've done this before, it has taken about 4-5 days for me to feel better but it isn't working yet. I need to start thinking about Thanksgiving...it is only the day after tomorrow. And if I don't make something, I won't be able to eat anything at my mother-in-law's. It's hard to find the time to plan and shop when I can barely keep myself out of bed or the bathroom. That's it..I am just cranky, tired, super frustrated and ranting. I apologize.

Carnival Dream, Day 3

2011-11-21T14:14:00.001-05:00
Day 3 - A Day at Sea. What do you at sea for a day when you have three kids?? Hit the waterslides!! We truly spent all morning and half the afternoon at The Waterworks area. We had so much fun!Ella and Taylor on the racer slides.
Posing afterwards
Ally went down the racer slide once with me but she got her face all went, and probably went under for a second and she hated it! So she stuck to this kiddie slide area. It had spray hoses and a dumping buckets, spinklers and two slides. Unforuntaely, my mom has the pictures of Ally on the slide - not me. She has a great one though! And IF she ever emails it to me, I will post it because I love it!
Taylor and/or my mom watched the kids while Brendon and I went on this one. It was called the Twister and so much fun. They had another called the drainpipe. I did not like that at all - that one you can flying down and then went speeding around and around a huge toilet bowl like tube. I hit my head pretty hard on that one and then you have to stand up in the middle of the bowl and walk down a of flight of stairs. So we stuck to the Twister. (Twister is pictured middle and you can see part of the Drain Pipe on the far left of the frame)
That night was Halloween! Carnival's Trick or Treat was a joke. They gave you 30 minutes to do a scavenger hunt at 8 stations for a piece of candy. The problem was there was 431 kids on board and they only gave you 30 minutes. You had to wait in line at each station, so we only got to 4 of them.
We had our dead bride (who met a boy at her teen club and didn't want to wear her 'dead make-up'), a princess, a witch, B. Dogg Money and Me...Cyndi Lauper. Watch out ladies, this guy is taken and he is all mine...
(I couldn't even hug the poor guy with those teeth in! He kept trying to kiss me, and I kept running!)
A quick rest and sunggle with the towel animal before the night show.
Unfortunately, Miss Ally fell asleep during the show and Brendon wasn't feeling too well. So we missed the costume party. I never got any Halloween photos other than these. I was pretty bummed about that, there were some really fabulous costumes!

Carnival Dream, Day Two

2011-11-18T14:24:00.001-05:00
Instead of heading for Mexico we found ourselves parked in Nassau, Bahamas. We were only in port from 8am to 2pm. Normally I would take a water taxi over to Paradise Island and see the Atlantis and hit a beach. But since we didn't have much time we opted for a beach that we could walk to. It took maybe ten minutes to get there. We had to go through the make shift straw market - which is really now just a bunch of canopies of vendors on the street.You can see Atlantis in the background
We went to Junkanoo Beach. Had heard of it and had never been. The water was beautiful, the beach was nothing special but the water definitely made up for it.
After a couple of hours at the beach, we were hungry and sun-tired! Mom, Brendon and Taylor went shopping downtown while my dad and the girls and I went ventured back to the boat. The girls did really good on the walk back and smiled most of the way...
Resting with Papa
But the closer we got to the boat, the crabbier and less happier Ally got...
Dad and I took the girls on deck for lots of ice cream! And I ate two slices of key lime pie! We decided to wait for everyone to eat lunch together, but figured after all that swimming our blood sugar must be low. (Hey any reason should be good enough to eat two slices of pie when you are on vacation.)We ended up getting lunch for the kids and then taking them to camp. (Which Ally loved, Ella hated...so this was our only one time, for one hour that we got quiet time with the kids at camp) Brendon and I went to the Lania BBQ for lunch and then ordered a drink of the day and relaxed in the Serenity adult only area.
That night was formal night. The girls looked so pretty..
My stupid flash didn't go off! Me and my daddy..
Dessert that night (for me anyway) was an apple, carmel, cream in a pastry puff. Oh, my gooodness....SO good!
The girls on the glass stairs
Saying good night to the Elephant Towel Animal

Carnival Dream, Day One

2011-11-16T14:41:00.007-05:00
For some reason I didn't take any pictures until our first night at dinner. We flew to Florida at noon the day before the cruise and stayed at a Comfort Inn. When we landed in Orlando, I learned that Hurricane Rina was in our path and instead of visiting Belize, Roatan, Cozumel and Costa Maya - we would be going to Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. This was extremely disappointing to me. No one else cared, but I did. I have been to these new ports, a lot. And they are just beach ports, not much else to them. And to be honest, once you have something to compare it to, Nassau is like the armpit of the Caribbean. I tried to be jolly about the change but I won't lie - it was difficult.

The night at the hotel we ended up going to dinner at Outback Steakhouse and we took a walk. The pool was outdoors, and the water was quite chilly. The kids didn't mind, but after a few minutes their lips were blue and I had almost a dozen mosquito bites. After the kids went to sleep, I hit the Internet trying to figure out where we would go on these new ports.

My parents came about 9 the next morning to get us all loaded up for the port of Canaveral. We were on board by 11:30am. Let me say the Carnival Dream, is beautiful! She's big and very tastefully decorated. No typical Carnival gaudy, flashy designs here. The layout worked out pretty well, although there was one floor that was a bit of a pain to navigate. I will save that for the cruise forums. The girls were in awe and couldn't wait to swim. Which we did do, day one and every day after!

We did the muster drill in the dining room, then I went to my Cruise Critic Meet up and met people I have spent months talking to. We had a great time! Then it was off to dinner.

Ella ordered the chocolate melting cake for dessert the first night. And we took this picture for Miss Andrea, her ballet teacher. Miss Andrea told her she had to order it - and Ella loved it!

I opted for Creme Brulee (soooo yummy!)

After dinner there was a "Welcome to Camp Carnival" Kids Dance party. The girls had a blast. Funship Freddie was there and Ally followed that guy everywhere.
Dancing...

It was a long day, so were turned in about 10pm. Or rather everyone did except me and Taylor. Tay was never around almost the entire trip. Her new friend Lauren (daughter of someone from my meet up group) were inseparable. So she took off to Circle C (the teen club) and I went for a walk to watch the water.
All five of us were in one room. The couch made a bed for Taylor, there was a king size bed for us and there were two bunks that came out of the ceiling.

Zoo Boo!

2011-11-16T14:38:00.003-05:00
The weekend before our cruise, I took the girls to the Binder Park Zoo Boo!

Almost Thanksgiving!

2011-11-16T10:32:00.006-05:00
I haven't posted yet this month. Call me lazy and let me apologize. I have no real excuse either. We had a great vacation and we came home to a clean house. (A huge thank you to my nieces for taking such good care of dogs and our house!)

Since we have returned, I can't help but wonder if the plane detoured over the Bermuda Triangle. We left Michigan with our sweet, loving little Alyssa. We came home with some demon child who at times resembles the girl we used to know, but mostly just screams or causes some sort of drama. I left the house 3 hours ago and my ears are still ringing. This weekend was so awful that I bounded in the door at work Monday morning with the exuberance of a child at Disneyland. I feel I am in need of another vacation. Some place warm and sandy and by myself. Though we all know that will never happen.

After over ten years of constant daily headaches, after MRI's and CT's and every different specialist imaginable I believe a new allergist has finally figured out why I have them. Wheat. Stupid, wonderful, delicious wheat. Luckily, we don't believe it is gluten and I do not have Celiac disease. I don't even have an allergy. I have an "intolerance." I find this out a week before Thanksgiving and a couple weeks from a month of baking Christmas cookies. Great. From here I either keep on going the way I have been for the last decade, or I can eliminate wheat for a year and add it back in slowly. The decision should be an easy one...no one wakes up and says, "I want to feel like crap today." But to learn to make all my meals (I am a terrible cook) and to make my own bread with the 6 different expensive flours it calls for, I just don't know if I have that kind of time and discipline in me. I'd like to say I will give it a solid "go" once Christmas has passed, but I am not fully on board yet.

My final thought is a funny, this morning the kids were singing "Here come the bride"...only the next line they sing was, "All fat and wide!" I told them it is supposed to be "All dressed in white." They had no idea what the real line actually was!

Vacation Time

2011-10-27T13:24:00.003-04:00
Well it is finally almost here!! Tomorrow we will be flying out and then boarding the beautiful Carnival Dream! Will fill you in when we return!

Mid October Already!

2011-10-13T12:54:00.008-04:00
This month is flying!! Good thing too....we leave in 15 days!! I absolutely cannot wait. It seems we have been running around in circles lately, like a dog that is constantly trying to catch his tail, but never does. It will be amazing to just sit and relax, really relax.

Yesterday was the last day of Taylor's cross country. She had a big meet at KVCC and did really well. She ran harder and faster than all the previous ones. So proud of her!!

Ally is loving soccer.

Although sometimes it is hard to tell.....last Saturday it was 80! (Extrememly unusual for a Michigan October day) And she was "too tired to run" and hid in the shade for 90% of her game.

Last Saturday night we went to the lake for a color tour by boat. It was beautiful out, low 70s and perfect!

Sunday we did a fall photo shoot with Ella and Ally. Taylor was at a sleepover with a friend. Here are a few of my faves.

Ella's 6th Birthday!

2011-10-07T15:44:00.005-04:00
The day after Ella's birthday celebration we had our car accident so I apologize my sweet Ella for just now posting about your birthday. We love you sweetheart and are so proud of the kind hearted, sweet girl you are becoming.

Ella's birthday fell on the same night as her school open house this year. The night before her dad had to work and the night after was her first dance class. We had the big party for her this summer, so her birthday was pretty abbreviated ande celebrated the day after the actual day. I wanted to make her a cake, but she insisted on cupcakes. We had Grandma and Grandpa Streeter over and her best friend Kyleigh. Our beautiful birthday girl

Justin Beiber is still the hottest thing with her and her sister

I love this expression...my parents gave her a cute notebook and pencils for school and she flipped. She writes in it every day. She loves to draw, and write her numbers and letters.

My mom made her a dance bag!

A Hello Kitty bikini for our upcoming vacation.

Photos!

2011-10-07T15:09:00.012-04:00
From Ally's school open house..
Miss Liz is one of Ally's teachers.

Miss Jennifer is her other teacher...(this photo was taken on the first day of school, not at the open house)

Mr. Steve is the school's chef. And he makes the best cinnamon toast on the planet! Mine is never as good as Mr. Steves!

Our little modeling soccer player. (Who got her first goal the day this photo was taken!!)

Mattawan's homecoming parade. The Daisy troop marched with wagons and threw candy.

Ella's beautiful toothless smile

Both sisters came out to be supportive

Ella is hiding behind Ally...stinker!

Before my parents left, we went to a park in Paw Paw to feed the ducks.

Grandpa in action!

Kids Play and Say

2011-10-07T14:52:00.005-04:00
I write down little sayings in my phone, the ones that strike me as funny and the few that I can remember make it in there. Here are a few of my favorite from the last month...

* Ally uses the word "Damn" like a verb. She got hit with a toy at daycare, but when she tells the story it goes like this, "Tyler damned my leg with a car today!" "Ella damned me with her barbie doll." "I just damned my elbow in the wall!" You get the idea.

* During a recent bath I left the girls alone so I could start laundry. I come back a few minutes later and they have the shower curtain pulled shut. When I pulled it back they both looked insanely guilty. That is when I learned that they had gotten a hold of my razor and Ella shaved one leg and Ally had a strip that she had shaved. It was pretty funny (since no one got hurt) Ally has the sweetest thickish blond hair on her legs and to see this smooth path just struck me as funny. I have since removed all razors for the bath tub!

* One night I was having a rough time and Ella caught me loudly exhaling in the hallway. She put her arm on my back and said, "I know how you feel mom."

*Ally, on the way to daycare says out of the blue, "How did that train break down 100 years ago?"

* While driving the kids from one place to the next I hear Ella say to Ally, "Let's pretend she's not our mom. She's our bus driver!"

* Ally asked Ella, "Where was I when you were born?" Ella replied, "God was still making you. It took a long time to sew you up!"

* This morning Ally was snuggling with me and she was nose to nose with me. She asks, "Mom why is your eye cracked?" Pointing to the corner of my eye. It took me a minute to realize, my precious child was pointing out the start of a wrinkle!

* The girls were pretending they were pregnant. Ally was laying in my bed telling me she was going to have the baby! When she takes the baby under her shirt, reaches it around to the her back behind her and pulls it out. I was very relieved, because I have learned you never know what they are going to say or do!

Neglected

2011-10-04T15:35:00.005-04:00
Wow...can you say neglected?? No posts in 14 days, I am slipping big time! Don't feel bad - you should see my house. That gives a new spin to the word 'neglected.' We have something going every night and don't even talk to me about Saturdays. Come Sunday I am a worthless lump on the couch, usually with a nasty headache. I went to load pictures and I haven't even taken that many photos. Definitely slipping. I hope to catch up this week, I promise. In the mean time, a funny....this is what happens when I say, "Girls, go get dressed!"

And I am not embaressed to admit that we went shopping this way. It's just the way we roll.

Rat Race

2011-09-20T11:16:00.003-04:00
After only two full weeks of school I have learned that I am never going to be "That" Mom. You know the one...she's on time for everything, her kids lunches are healthy, her kids hair is pulled up, their clothes match, she drives them to all of their activities, dinner is ready, dishes are done and she never seems to rush. Worse, her outfit is perfect and so is her damn hair. "That" Mom...is not me. I feel barely thrown together. I look a mess. I am always late. My heart beats out of my chest running around getting kids and lunches put together before the bus comes. I never have the right foods to make any sort of normal meal. I don't have time to shop let alone cook. I feel like I am running in a damn hamster wheel and I am not going anywhere. And yet for all my running my thighs are getting bigger. I feel completely disheveled and cannot believe this is my life for the next 15 years. I am not good at this and already feel I am failing.

Everyday I need to pick up Taylor at 4:15, at the same time Ella gets off the bus. Thank goodness most days Brendon is home at that time, although he does work at least one of those days. There are cross country meets twice a week, practice every night, dance class one night, Daisy meetings and soccer. Homework and Church. Doctor and Orthodontist appointments. Work meetings and open houses. Picture days and birthday parties. Kids with colds, dogs that puke and a bottomless pile of laundry. This one needs special shorts, that one needs special shoes and we are out of anything worthy of a lunch box.

Life is crazy and it is kicking my butt right now. I've learned I am not one of these moms that thrive on running 24/7. Physically my body can't handle it. After a week of little to no sleep, I was in bed just after 8pm Saturday and didn't get up until nearly 10am Sunday. Something is going to have to go so I can have a day of down time. Until that time comes, my kids are the ones eating nachos for breakfast and wearing two different colored socks. (In my favor, I have them convinced it is cool to wear you socks this way.)

Soccer Star

2011-09-17T19:27:00.004-04:00
This little girl made me so proud today! She just made the cut off for AYSO U5 by 1 day. She had to be 4 by Aug. 1st. So it is safe to say she is the youngest one out there. Never once did she cling to my leg or hesitate to do what her coach asked her to do. She was amazing! Ella was under my feet the entire time, overwhelmed by people she didn't know, but Ally - surprised me when she took right off! Suited up and ready to play! (The sun was brightly shining!)

The "head" of U5 is a very fun man from the Netherlands. He obviously loves the kids and is passionate about sharing his love of soccer. His only goal is that the kids have fun and that the parent supervisor of the week "does not forget the treats!"

She's the one in the middle

After an entire U5 warm up (boys and girls about 5 teams all together) we split off into our own groups. With this age level, there isn't any one coach. Parents have to take turns 'supervising' - where we are responsible for coming up with the warm up games and then in charge of running the 'real soccer game' (3 on 3 scrimmage). Most importantly that parent is responsible for the treats!
The first game was to knock over all the cones by kicking the soccer balls. Ally did great!

Then they played sharks and minnows

Game Time

Ally's Cheerleader..

Making a new friend....enjoying girl talk on the field

Distracted by a helicopter

Her favorite part! A Capri Sun, grapes and a zebra cake

The parent supervisor had extra treats, Ella was very happy too!

First Day of School

2011-09-17T19:12:00.005-04:00
I didn't realize I was SO far behind! I cannot believe I haven't posted first day of school pictures. Well here we go....Poor Taylor still has to walk up to the top of the street. Makes no sense...the bus turns around one house away from us and yet they refuse to pick her up there. So in the dark at 6:30am she treks up to the top of the road. She doesn't mind, but in the winter it seems very unfair and just plain stupid! 8th Grade!!

Ella was very excited for 1st grade and yet she was a little nervous. She did great though and ended up knowing a couple of kids on the bus and two in her class room. Which is a lot when you have 13 teachers in her grade.

Ally still is at Nazarene Wee Care. They run a preschool from 9-11:30 and then a daycare the rest of the day. However, they do have science class every afternoon too. She only goes two days a week and is home with dad the other three.

Miss Diane had taken all summer off - they were both extremely happy to see each other!

Abby enjoying a hug when Ella came home from school

Ella dressed herself for school on day #2

Pulling into my parents' campground a week or two ago we spotted a rainbow! By the time we got to the lake it had went away. However, it came back later that night and I got some great photos on my cell phone that I will post later.

Trash The Dress

2011-09-08T21:44:00.013-04:00
I got this idea from the wildly popular, "Trash the wedding dress" photo shoots I've seen. Ally was all about getting her dress wet but Ella not so much. So on a Saturday we took off for South Haven. Poor Taylor was home sick, so it was just Ella and Ally. Here are a few...I mean quite a few...of my favorites!

My mom went with me. She has a pretty sweet Canon Rebel, but better than any camera, she knows how to use it. I think she got some great shots. Here are a few of my 'mom favorites'!

Time for fun!

Ice cream time!

A Joke

2011-09-04T20:00:00.002-04:00
Ella says to me:

"Mom I love you more than bee stings!
I'm just kidding,
I don't really love bee stings!"

Car Accident

2011-09-04T00:36:00.004-04:00
I took Friday off of work to spend the day at the lake with the family. Taylor was with her dad but Brendon and the two little ones and I headed to the lake. We had a beautiful day...bright, sunny, hot and the water was perfect. We didn't stay too late because Brendon was to play music that night. Coming home, I ran into Meijers to get some milk. He dropped me off while I ran in. In the meantime, he went to Arbys to pick up a quick dinner. He picked me up right in front of the store. We were driving away from the store, in front and just after stopping at the pedestrian crossing we were slammed by a car. I never saw anything. I was just unwrapping my sandwich, looking down when I heard Brendon say, "Shhhit!" And the next thing I knew we were flying. The sound of the glass breaking was deafening. We rolled, and the car flipped over on the hood. I remember thinking, 'when are we going to stop moving?' It all happened in slow motion. The sound of metal caving in and the glass exploding was so loud that I didn't hear any screaming or crying. Thank God he has side air bags, I know for a fact that saved me from serious damage. The way we landed Brendon couldn't get out - he was screaming "Are you ok?" But I couldn't find the words to answer him. I was clawing at the air bag trying to pull it from my window so I could crawl out. A shopper had a knife and cut it away so I could climb out of the car. I was nearly hyperventilating, panting "Kids! I've got kids!" I threw open Ella's door to find her still pinned to car seat, hanging upside down but Ally was out of her car seat and the floor (car ceiling). We had three bags of bottles that were going to take back at the girls feet and it is amazing to me that with the broken windows and broken beer bottles that they weren't cut badly. I pulled Ella out first and gave her to a random stranger and crawled in for Ally. I remember looking them over to make sure they were ok and as soon as I knew they were alright I was screaming "Who hit us?" And this lady who's skin was melting off her nasty face from (I imagine) from smoking a carton of cigarettes a day was on her cell phone. I started screaming at her and charged her when someone grabbed me and held me back. That disgrace of a human being NEVER apologized and NEVER asked if my kids were ok. I demanded she undergo a sobriety test. (Which she passed but she had to be ON something!) The fire crew was on hand almost immediately. I had hit my head pretty good and was very disoriented and dizzy. The police told Brendon this lady was going about 25 mph up a parking lane and never stopped or tried to slow down. She T-Boned his car, luckily hitting the brace between his car door and Ally's. If she would have hit Ally's door more head on, it would have been tragic. I don't know how she got out of the car seat, but I praise God she wasn't hurt worse. If the lady would have hit closer to Brendon's side, she would have crushed his legs. I was talked into going to the hospital, even though all I wanted to do was stay with the girls. They were concerned since it was a head injury. I am fine though, I still have good sized bumps on my head and it throbs. I've got a crazy bad headache and it hurts to turn my head, chew or laugh. My shoulder is slightly tore up and I am sore just about everywhere, but I am OK. Brendon has a sore neck and back and the girls came out of the whole thing with a couple of scratches, and Ella with a bump on her head. They were understandably very shaken up and are full of questions. I certainly have a new appreciation for anyone who has ever been into a wreck, it is amazing how much everything hurts.

The EMT that took me to the emergency room said he has seen a lot of things in his 15 years but he has never seen a car flipped over like this in a parking lot. Seriously, we couldn't have been doing 5mph. She was coming up one of the parking lanes to the right of this photo. To the left is the employee parking lot. And the lane pictured, is the one that runs right in front of the store. We don't know if she works there and was running late or what the deal was. Obviously, she was supposed to stop at the top of the parking lane!

This is my side, below. I am not sure if I hit my head on the door frame but I imagine that is it since Ella's in the same spot. I have a new bump, or one I just noticed on my forehead in my hairline, one right above my ear and a big one a couple inches above it.

With it being a holiday weekend, we will have to wait until Tuesday to talk to an insurance adjustor. Of course, we have a $500 deductible and now are down to one car. And then comes the joy of having to deal with a car salesman. I'd rather have a root canal than have to deal with a car salesman. BUT, we are OK and that is all that matters. We definitely had angels with us....My brother and sister in law, my friend Heather who saw it happen, shoppers who held my kids and the one who tried to calm me down. A doctor who just happened to be a witness and the wonderful EMT and fire department crew. The ones with the wings, I know they were there. They were with Ally and I am forever grateful.

Ella Bella-Rina

2011-08-26T14:45:00.005-04:00
Miss Ella Bella has a new name, she is now my Ella Bellarina!

First night of class

Ally wore herself out putting up a stink about not being able to accompany her sister to ballet school...

Our puppies being silly

F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.E.D

2011-08-26T14:36:00.003-04:00
Frustrated...with a Capital "F". Four weeks ago I decided to get serious about getting rid of the excessive muffin top I got going on. And I am getting no where. I have not had wheat in four weeks. (With the exception of one item one day this week) No bread, no cereal, no cookies, etc. The first two weeks I lost two pounds. The start of week three I ended up in Immediate Care with the diverticulitis diagnosis. (Which I wonder if that is even accurate) I was on antibiotics for four of then ten days I prescribed and I couldn't take it anymore. I have never been so sick to my stomach...the things that came out of my body....NASTY. I have been throwing up and crapping for 8 days straight, while it is finally starting to taper off I was at least comforted knowing, or rather thinking about the great jump start this was to my weight loss. I get on the scale this morning and you know what? Not a damn thing. Not a fraction of an ounce. How the **** can that be?! I'm not hitting my calorie allowance, nothing stays in my system and you can't give me ONE pound?! I am left frustrated and pissed off. There is now 62 days until we cruise...if I don't loose a few pounds I will need new clothes.

This and That

2011-08-24T21:32:00.004-04:00
The new proud daddy....(My brother, look how little Sydney is in his arms! She is almost 7 pounds now)

Sydney getting some 'cousin love'

I wish I could remember what happened here. Either Ally felt she wasn't getting enough attention or I yelled at her for not listening to me. It was a few days ago and I can't recall. I just know I found her sulking in the dirty clothes basket and she sure was cute.

Ella's front tooth has been loose for weeks. And it has been 'any day loose' for about ten. It was just dangling....

Her dad gave her a donut hole this morning and that did the trick! It is finally out and she is left with an adorable hole in her smile!

Ella starts dance class tomorrow night. It is a pre-tap/pre-ballet combo class. School starts in less than two weeks and the open house where we get to meet the teachers and pick up Taylor's schedule is on Ella's birthday. Ally starts soccer next week. Cross Country for Taylor will begin soon. Next weekend is Labor Day and sadly my parents will be leaving for Florida in less than three weeks. I just don't know where the time went. Summer has been incredible this year. We've done so much and had so many things happen to us. We've certainly had an amazing, fun time this summer. While I am anxious for school to start (in hopes that my kids will start liking each other again with some daily separation) it is always sad to see September come. In the blink of an eye, Summer came and has almost gone. As wise, young Ella has asked, "Why does winter last forever but summer goes so fast?"

Meet My Niece, Sydney Rae

2011-08-20T04:12:00.004-04:00
Sydney Rae, born August 10th just after 2am. Weighing at 6lbs, 9oz., 19.5 inches long and perfect in every way!

She's so beautiful!! Congratulations to my brother and sister in law! And a huge thank you for letting me come so soon to see her. I love you!

Date Night

2011-08-20T03:59:00.002-04:00
Last night was the second 'night off' Brendon and I have had since Ally was born. We were both very excited for our date and thrilled at the thoughts of having a quiet house. I was so excited I highlighted my hair and bought a new shirt to wear. However, things never work out like they are planned. I woke up yesterday morning to a stabbing pain in my lower left side. This has been going on, off and on for over two weeks. (I went wheat-free three weeks ago) It was bad enough that I ended up in immediate care yesterday morning after ruling everything else out I was diagnosed with diverticulitis, given two antibiotics and told to stick to a bland diet and get plenty of rest for two weeks. My first and final thought was, 'Like Hell!' We had planned the evening out days ago, heading to South Haven with a walk on the beach, followed by dinner at Captain Lou's for perch and then drinks on the Idler (an old open aired paddle/steam boat that sits in the channel.) The walk was beautiful but not enjoyable, each step pierced my gut. Dinner was wonderful, for awhile....until it came back up in the parking lot. Just before we were leaving, we got the text that said Ally wanted to go home. Which at that point, was fine. Neither one of us were up to drinks and after my parking lot episode, I managed to kill any romance. The three of us came home, crawled into bed and two of us passed out. Me, on the other hand, at just after 4am have yet to fall asleep. I am still paying for cheating on my wheat free diet with fried perch and for whatever is going on with my insides. But, believe it or not, it was the best night out we have had in a very long time.

Forgetful Brain

2011-08-18T09:41:00.003-04:00
I had something I wanted to share. It was in my head last night and first thing this morning, but I am afraid to say it is gone now. I can't tell you how many times this has happened lately. All the cute stories and things said are forever gone and wasted in my failing memory.

The only thing I have isn't that funny, but it is something AND I remember it! This morning I woke up to a little girl on each side of me and furry girl on my feet. Moments later the alarm went off, Ella bolted upright and stated, "Pancakes and sausage!" When I questioned her she then politely asked that I make pancakes and sausage for dinner tonight. Immediately after she fell asleep.

A half hour later, Ally woke up. She glared at me with her evil eyes and pouted, "You didn't snuggle me last night!" I tried to defend myself and remind her that I told her to lay next to my left side, arms outstretched ready for her but she refused me. The kids fight over who sleeps on the right side of me, since I usually sleep on that side. For quite a while they were staying in their own beds all night long, but the last week they've been back 'snuggling' me.

Three weeks ago I cut wheat out of my diet. For two reasons....One, I wasn't feeling well. At all. Headaches, IBS type issues, runny nose, and no energy. A friend told me my body was screaming that it was inflamed and sent me information on an Anti-Inflamation Diet. Reason #2 - I am going on a cruise in 72 days and I have lots of cute clothes I could wear IF I lost 10 pounds. So win/win right? Well I have been loosing a pound a week. (How is I can put three on in one day and yet it takes a whole week to loose one) And I do feel better...my gut seems mostly healed, but my head still hurts. So now I am left wondering, is it Gluten? Dairy? Or something completely different? I guess after 12 years of daily headaches, I should just let it go and deal with them instead of trying to fix them. I am fighting a losing battle. However I do plan to stay wheat free for as long as possible and see what happens when I slowly introduce it back. Its a much better plan than any medical doctor has. I will let you know how it goes.

Long Weekend at Gun Lake

2011-08-13T14:33:00.006-04:00
We are in the middle of four days at the lake. I came home to bring Taylor back for her dad and do a load of laundry. While the clothes are spinning I wanted to get a few photos posted. Let's start with our new (to us) boat!! We love it!

And the back of our messy cabin..

Time for a few poses..

Taylor showing us how to play ladderball. I am not very good, but am determined to learn. (While were trying to sleep last night our crazy Chicago neighbor came up with a man who was not her husband...drunk as a skunk, knocking on our door at 1am looking for ice! Anyway, in her messed up state, she used one of the wrungs as a fire poker, so it presently needs a few repairs. The owners are very strict about the 11pm quiet time rule and they will hear about this whacky nutcase. Seriously all of our neighbors are super nice and so much fun, but this lady is crazy)

Beach time

Going for a boat ride

Then we went tubing for the first time

Ella and Taylor had a blast!

Ally couldn't wait for her turn

My heart was beating out of my chest the whole time. I can be such a nervous nelly

But she loved it sooo much that this was the look we got when we told her it was time to get out!

Taylor solo. I tried it to for my first time. It was pretty fun but it really hurt 'my girls'. I laid down across it on my belly and I am still sore!

Our Captain

Another glorious sunset

On Tuesday I got a new toy and was finally able to try it out Thursday and Friday. I quickly realized I am very out of shape, but I love it!

Annual Sunflower Pictures

2011-08-08T21:37:00.004-04:00
Third Annual Sunflower Photo Shoot...

Trip to Fort Wayne

2011-08-05T09:25:00.007-04:00
The weekend of July 23rd, my friend Elizabeth from St. Joseph and her two kids came to our house. From here we left for Fort Wayne to visit our best friend from high school.
Packed up and ready to go....at the gas station...

As soon as we got there, us big girls attacked the pizza that Brandi had and the girls played dress up.

Saturday we spent all day at Brandi's house. The girls had so much fun and us old friends had a wonderful time catching up! Elizabeth and I met in 1st grade and Brandi and I met in 5th grade. That means, we have been friends almost 30 years!! Now there is an aging statement...Yikes!

That night at the pool:

The next morning, Breakfast at McDonald's...I bribed the girls with candy to get this shot! (Back Row: Ella, Amelia, Elle, Alyssa. Front Row: Bridget, Alia) Now take those 5 vowel names and say them 10 times fast!

Ally took a photo of us girls

Remember the McDonald's playland 20 years ago? They all had these trees and some of them had speakers!

Sunday was spent at Science Central, a children's museum. The girls posing out front..

Ella loved making music

And singing

And experimenting

All the girls LOVED this slanted house...but it made us moms feel sick just watching them! Luckily they had a tv outside of it that you could sit on solid, flat ground and watch the kids play in the tilted house.

After the museum we had a late lunch at Burger King and then it was back home.

The weekend went by so fast but it was so much fun. While at Burger King, I sat with my back to the table of 4 girls and at one point Ella (5), Amelia (4) and Elle (4) were telling secrets and giggling. That moment made the entire trip worth it!

Ally's Birthday!!

2011-08-04T15:56:00.003-04:00
My baby is 4 years old!!! Where did the time go???

Ally, you will always be my baby girl. And I thank your for snuggling me and for all of your sweet kisses. And for always wanting to be with me. You are getting more independent every day but I love that you take time from whatever you are doing to run up and kiss or hug me periodically throughout the day. I love you so much my sweet baby girl!

This year, Ally invented her own birthday cake. After wanting strawberry for an entire month before her birthday, she changed her mind the moment I went to make it. It HAD to be chocolate! Luckily, I had one in the pantry. Once it was baked, she helped me frost it with pink tinted butter cream frosting. But first we had to put down a thick layer of chocolate chips. Followed by frosting and three different kinds of sprinkles. And we had sliced strawberries to go on the side of it. It was very yummy!

Her wish was to be "my girl forever"...no lie...that's what she told me when I tucked her in bed that night. :)

Ready to watch the present opening ceremony...Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lyndsey were all present too!

Let's start things off with a little sisterly love....wearing the outfit from her cousins, Adam and Jessica.

Twinkle Toes!! Just what she wanted.

Ella made sure she never missed a thing

Ally loves this outfit! (From her Grandma and Grandpa - she wore it two days in a row in 90 degree heat!!)

More shoes! These are Hello Kitty.

When asked what her favorite gift was, she replied - "Justin Beiber!" (I just had to get it for her, she is after all supposed to marry him someday)

When sissy was preoccupied with Justin, Ella swooped in and ran off with the birthday outfit!

Fishing Lesson

2011-08-04T15:21:00.006-04:00
Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery is right down the road from our house. Every Saturday in the summer time they offer free fishing lessons. I was able to sign the girls up for the same day and we went last Saturday. They were excited to get there but once we did they were both quite hesitant. The first matter of business was picking out a pair of sunglasses to avoid getting a hook in the eye. This was probably the hardest part of the morning as they both tried on at least ten pairs before they found the most perfect pair. It should be said that there were three other pre-school aged kids there and they were more interested in the rods than the sunglasses.
Once that matter was settled, it was time to hit the field for a casting lesson. While the other were busy tossing their lines into a plastic fish pool, Ella was striking poses saying, "Don't I look cute? My sunglasses match my shirt and my shirt matches my shoes!"

Ally on the other hand was doing pretty good. She got a little frustrated that she couldn't get the line to go out very far, but she kept trying.

Then it was time to try our luck in the pond! For me, as luck would have it, the earlier group used all the worms, so our bait was corn. I was extremely relieved as we were told on the way over the parents would be baiting the hooks! (And that was not what I had bargained for!)

With the help of a DNR guy, Ella snags a fish! I get excited, therefore the blurry photo!

It's a baby trout! Pretty small and hard to see in this picture but she was super excited! And they gave her a certificate for her first catch for her scrapbook. (Ally was bummed...but then mom saved the day....I bought her a fish pen!)

Metal Mouth

2011-08-04T15:08:00.002-04:00
I am a little behind on posting. Between computers not cooperating, being busy at work and trying to have fun on a lake, my updates are starting to lag!

July 21st, Taylor got braces!! We've waited a long time for this. She was very excited and very nervous all at the same time.

Independent Dresser

2011-08-04T14:42:00.002-04:00
This is what happens when I don't interfere with Alyssa and her closet...

So full of color

And Oh, sooo beautiful!

4th of July

2011-07-20T14:04:00.004-04:00
Did you ever watch The Golden Girls? Remember little old Sophie, "Picture this Sicily 1920..." That's what I feel like....Picture this July 4th, 2011. The night was warm and clear. Everyone was excited as they anticipated a much raved about fireworks display from the beach. The mosquitoes were out in droves. My dad was occupying himself by spraying them and himself with Listerine. He was quite fragrant and minty. Before dark, Abby started to get nervous....this should have been our first sign that it was going to be an off night.

Ally needed a bathroom break right before the show started. We were running back to our lawn seats as the first boomers were going off. Five minutes into the display, a rogue firework shot off and hit a truck not far from where everyone was sitting! Two minutes later, another one shot off into the weeds just a few yards away. I had seen enough, I grabbed Ally and started to run back to my parents' house when I ran into a woman who was near spastic and intoxicated. She saw me, ran over and hugged me shouting, "She has a baby!" (Under normal circumstances, Ally would be quite less than amused with being called a baby) And under normal circumstances I would have never done what I did next. I asked this drunk stranger to watch Ally while I ran back to get Ella. When I made it back she insisted we stay in her trailer. We had no more made it inside and seconds later another rogue firework blasted off under her awning hitting her picnic table! It was hotter than Hades in her place and the woman who reeked of Milwaukee's Best was talking in crazy circles and starting to freak the kids out. After sweltering for nearly thirty minutes we saw my mom walk by looking for us, Miss Tipsy called her inside our hideout. When it was all said and done, there were a total of five rogue fireworks. Two hit picnic tables, one a chair, one a truck and one into the weeds not all that far away from the crowd. Next year I think we will play it safe and watch them from miles away, or better yet on tv!

Mega Party

2011-07-20T11:28:00.004-04:00
The Girls' Birthday Mega Party was this last Saturday and if I can say so, I think it was a big hit! I was running around like a headless chicken and missed most of, but from what I am hearing all the kids had a great time! We ended up with almost 40 children in attendance and lots of big kids too. Brendon was pretty fried from working all day in the 90 degree heat so he stayed in for most of it while I was running in and out. My friend Kit is an angel and she was able to come a day early and help me prepare and my mom also came over early Saturday. I thank you both immensely!! Taylor wanted a Hawaiian themed water party. Ella wanted a make up party and Ally a play-doh party. At the last minute we learned Ella's boyfriend 'who is just friend because she is too young to have a boyfriend' was coming so we had to make a dance floor. Not pictured, because I don't even think the kids saw it. The dance hall was in the front yard. The kids had made disco 'balls' - tin foil covered water bottles and we had the Backyard Veggies Tales CD blasting.

I asked my dear friend Michele to take photos for me so I was able to later view what happened! The make up party was probably the biggest hit. The girls were there over and over...Ella getting help from her bestie Hannah

Ally applies her shadow under her eyes..

Beautiful Hannah Banana

A little slip and slide action...ha, love this!

The Two Frank side grandmas chatting....I love this too - they are both Papa Frank's ex-wives and they get along so well. They sure could teach some couples a thing or two!

Me and my darling girl....who was celebrating her 4th birthday!! She still has 10 more days until the real day, but my baby, 4?!

Taylor and her friends played volleyball and badminton; followed by water balloon bowling and a gum ball blowing contest. Although what fun is it to have gum balls without searching through them face first in a mound of whipped cream?!

Washing off after the contest

Cailynn and Elle...I feel like I know these girls, but I had never met them. They are Grandma Elaine's great-grand daughters and the daughters of Heather from Spectacular Savings. They are so adorable!

I wanted to do an edible craft and the only thing I could think of was tooth picks with marshmallows, gum drops and pretzels. When I was a kid we would spend hours building bridges this way. I think this generation just wanted to eat marshmallows. Which is fine too...(Ooo, which reminds me - I made Smores on a stick and never got a photo - they were so cute and yummy too!)

Then the make up starting getting...well...extreme
Hannah as a flamingo...

This picture doesn't do these girls justice

Abby, on the right was a cat...a blue one

Ally and in her Play-Doh

Ella and Bryce..

Sundae Time!

I had promised a kid's pool. We had a wading pool for the babies but I couldn't get the big pool blown up so we improvised...turned the hot tub down to 85 and filled it to maximum capacity!

Fire Station Trip

2011-07-18T13:19:00.002-04:00
Finally posting pictures of our Daisy Troops outing to the fire station. The girls had so much fun. And Fireman Don was wonderful. He was great with the kids and everyone learned lots from him. (You should see the awesome gear and gadgets these guys have. My favorite was a camera that detected people and their body temperatures. It even showed their foot prints!) The girls got to put on their coats and hats, but my girls were to shy to. It would have been a great photo if they cooperated!
After learning about the job and duties of the fireman, we headed outside for a tour of the trucks.

In the back of the big engine truck

I love this photo. It just shows how much Fireman Don loves his job and loves showing it to the kids. Heather our leader, taking a turn. (I tried this too - the kick back is what I would imagine shooting a hand gun might be)

This is a great one too - if you enlarge it you can see the expression on Ella's face. He had pulled it back to a barely off position and sprayed her. It was pretty funny! Note her shoes...

You can hardly see Ally's shoes, but she is in her pink cow girl boots!

What a great day!

Day Twenty Six

2011-07-16T08:21:00.004-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 26
A Photo of Something Important to you

It took me awhile to come up with something for this day. Let's face it the things that are important to me are the things that are important for most normal moms. My children, my husband, my family and friends, my dog, my scrapbooks and my pictures. Those are what is most important to me.
It wasn't until I saw this photo on Facebook that I thought - now that is what is important to me:

It's not that I am proud of the fact that my house is disorganized and a bit dusty. But I am proud that because of this I am able to spend quality time with my family, my friends and even on rare occasions myself. ("Me" time is important too) Fifty years from now my children won't remember that their house wasn't perfect, but they will remember all of our day trips and adventures. And that is what is important to me. The memories that we create.

TGIF!

2011-07-15T15:35:00.002-04:00
My sincerely apologize for my lack of blogging lately. This summer has been insanely busy. My mind is very much preoccupied with the trying to prepare our new cabin. It definitely needs some TLC and I am constantly thinking about what I need to do there or what I need to get. We lost our power this week for three days due to a terrible wind storm. There was lots of serious damage in the area. Massive trees uprooted, some falling on houses. Other houses with roof and siding damage. So we were very lucky. Tomorrow is the girls' Mega Party. We are planning a party of about 60 friends and family members. I am very excited but very much unprepared. Luckily the weather will be nice, although maybe too nice in the 90s and humid, and it is an outdoor party. Brendon was in a car accident a couple of weeks ago. He was hit by a college aged student who was texting. By law, she should pay our deductible but she is ignoring our insurance company. So today we filed a law suit. There are this week's highlights. I promise to be back next week with photos! Until then Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Lake People

2011-07-08T16:24:00.005-04:00
Well - it's official....Brendon and I are "Lake People!" This Tuesday we bought a trailer on Gun Lake in England Point Resort. (For those unfamiliar with Gun Lake, you can go here to find out more. It is a large All-Sports lake that is more than 2,600 acres)

We have wanted a place here for awhile but never thought we could afford it. We ended up getting a great deal and it comes with a boat slip, so we can finally use Brendon's boat. It has been in storage since we married.

I will be spending this weekend there, cleaning and getting ready to move in. We hope to spend as much time as possible there this summer since it is already almost the middle of July!

Here are some photos..
Now it is VINTAGE...a 1957 classic. :) The front..

The back patio - which runs right into the community fire pit. Our boat slip is to the right and straight ahead is the courtyard and volley ball net. All resort potlucks and gatherings will happen back here.

Indoor sitting area

Kitchenette

The porch (measures 8 feet wide by 32 feet long)

The reasons for wanting to be there...family, water and beautiful sunsets

Photo Rewind

2011-06-29T12:36:00.005-04:00
Let's start this post off with a joke....
How long does it take my husband to change a light bulb?
Answer at the bottom of this post.
Ella getting more badges from her Daisy Leader, Heather. (She was so excited!)

The most handsome baby boy I've ever seen! Ashton Allan. Cristi's baby...

Mom and Ally at Lyndsey's baby shower. I was really slacking off, this was the only photo I took!

After the shower, mom and I took Jayley and my girls to a splash park in Wyoming. (That's a town in Michigan, unfortunately I haven't been to that state....yet.)

The next day we had a cookout at mom and dad's place.

After eating, it was out to the lake....a whopping few yards from their place. The girls wanted to swim out to this raft that was tied down in about 6 feet of water. Taylor took them out one at a time, with life jackets on. Here is where I sound like a stuck little witch, really I am not. I am not a girly, girl...I am just spoiled when it comes to water. I vacation where you can walk out into warm ocean water and see your toes, even if you are in up to your chin. This lake water...well, it's just not for me. It is brown and murky. It smells and bugs hoover and skim the water. There's seaweed and lily pads and slimy things you step on it. It's...in my opinion...nasty. So when my child, swam out to this thing and then proceeded to cry "Mommy!" for help, I was as encouraging as one can possibly be on the sidelines. When encouragement failed, I tried bribery, "If you swim back by yourself I'll take you Bounceland!" When bribery didn't work, I tried my dad's approach..."Get back here or I'll give you something to cry about!" Ok, not in those exact words, but I couldn't resist...that sentence was SO my father growing up. Finally after ten minutes, I went in after her. Just typing about it, I feel the snarl on my face. It was gross and nasty, and I don't want to think about it anymore. Ewww....but I 'saved' her. And later her sister when she got water in her eyes and needed to be rescued. Next time, I am wearing water shoes, and possibly investing in a full body wet suit.

This one is growing up too fast.

Finally a few moments where they were best friends! Lately they have been fighting a lot. So this was very welcoming!

Sophie enjoying her spot....under my chair. She was scared to death of the water. It was kind of funny to watch her put her brakes on!

All tuckered out from swimming at the lake..

And the answer to may joke:
"No one knows! It's never happened." I love you honey, but I bought and replaced 6 light bulbs yesterday. :)

Miscellaneous Post

2011-06-28T14:20:00.002-04:00
I just received a text from my friend Kit. Apparently Hannah just sprayed herself with Febreeze. When Kit caught her and yelled at her she said, "My skin didn't smell pretty." I am sorry, but that is hilarious! I bet she smells like a flower now! (Of course, she was promptly issued a shower.)

Ella watched me get ready for work yesterday and asked me, "Mom, why do you have to look so beautiful to go to work?"

Ally dressed herself this morning. I really wish I had taken a picture. The girls at daycare thought she looked like Rainbow Bright. She had on red tights with brown flowers on them, a brown skirt with multi-colored stars on it and a navy blue long sleeved shirt, but the sleeves were striped in rainbow colors. She topped it off with a purple head band. She's a colorful one.

This month is getting away from me. I can't believe we are only a few days away from July. If June has been proof that time flies when you are older, I'd like to stop growing up now please.

Last weekend, I took half a day off on Friday and took the kids to Pirates Island (an indoor water park) The kids had a great time. Saturday we went to see my BFF and her brand new baby boy, Ashton. He's so freaking precious!! And I finally got my hands on a newborn baby boy. He was dressed in blue and is the most handsome little thing I've ever seen. Afterwards we went to Lyndsey's shower in Grand Rapids. Then mom and I took the kids to a park, finally back home to help mom with her new fancy smart phone. Sunday we went to church and then to my parents' campground. More on that to follow..

And this weekend is already the 4th of July. Makes me sick to my stomach. In a couple of weeks we will be kicking off our Mega celebration for the girls! I can hardly wait! Let the planning begin!

Camping Trip Accomplished!

2011-06-20T11:12:00.016-04:00
In the last three years, Brendon and I have only had one week off together, which we spent in Florida visiting my parents and his. Along with maybe two or three days. Our schedules are completely opposite. Last week, we had 4 days off together and the kids were out of school so....we headed off for our first ever camping trip and really our first family vacation. (Since most of our time in Florida that one week was spent with him spending time with his family and me with mine.) We ventured off to Ludington State Park and I got to say - it was incredible. Much of Michigan is considered the "arm pit of the Midwest" but being just three hours north - it is truly God's Country. And it gets more and more glorious the more north you go. This was my first time to Ludington and I can't wait to go back! Car loaded up and ready to go. (You have no idea how crammed our car was, this picture doesn't do it justice!)

In his bachelor days, Brendon was a die hard camper - taking only what he could carry, cooking over an open fire, and sleeping under the stars. While I consider myself very 'low maintenance', I am still more of a 'Holiday Inn' kind of girl or at least a 'Motel 6' kind of girl. Due to this, we wanted to ease our way into it and were able to rent a mini cabin though for only three nights. These are very hard to get. I booked the middle of January and I got the last spot that had more than one consecutive day.
Our Mini Cabin:

Upon arriving, Brendon took a little snooze from the stress of the drive and the girls and I ventured out for a hike. That State Park has lots of trails. For those not familiar with Ludington, it is three hours north of Kalamazoo on the west side of the state. It is right on Lake Michigan, with several other lakes nearby. The State park has Lake Michigan on one side and Hamlin Lake on the other with the Sauble River running through it.

We started the Skyline Trail and sadly never finished it. It was so pretty, we wanted to wait for Brendon to do the rest of the trail and we ran out of time. There were deer on the dunes and kids did run up and down a few of them. Best of all, no awful flies like that nasty park a couple of weeks ago!

Being Silly

On a positive note, had we finished the trail or gotten further, I would have had to coax Ally to keep walking "just a little bit further..."
Next dinner...Ella was grossed out to have to cook her own hot dog. Then again she was grossed out by mud, dirt, spiders, bugs, etc. You get the idea.

Next up...fishing! The worms were exciting. Even better when Brendon pretended to eat one. I got a great photo too but he made me promise not to post it. :(

Ella was excited. I was at first, but I spent the next half hour detangling her and Ally's lines.

Taylor caught a couple of sardines.

She was freaking out when she was told she had to get her own fish off her hook.

The girls were getting soaked....so problem solved.

Ally lost interest rather quickly and she had a great time running up and down the river. Which could have contributed to the fact that there were no fish to be had.

The next day was beautiful. We took our time in the morning, the kids played, I read and then we headed into the town of Ludington. First stop, Ludington City park. The beach was amazing and clean. They have a man with a tractor combing the beach. Brendon and Taylor fished from the pier while the girls and I walked out to the lighthouse, then played in the water.

After snow cones and pizza in town I, unfortunately, found myself not feeling so well. We went back to the cabin and I slept for a bit while the kids played. When I woke up Brendon had made 'camp stew' over the fire and it was very good. He made tin foil packets and made steak, potatoes, onions and mushrooms.

Afterwards we went to find the Hamlin Lake and see the dam. The girls got in the water. Miss Ella put on quite a modeling show, of which at least 30 pictures were captured of her posing as a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model.

At last the dam. Brendon had a really good time fishing near it!

There was a boardwalk along the river. The girls and I walked down there.

Then we started a trail around Hamlin Lake.

It wasn't long before we came across more sand dunes!

Just proof that I can be silly too

Breakfast!

This morning, Brendon made bacon, eggs and potatoes!

I don't know what the heck kind of bug this is, but it was nasty and he was roasted and dropped in the fire.

My snuggle bug and I had lots of fun. We shared a bunk and she was my 'velcro' all week.

And finally, SMORES! I had never had one before....Oh, my goodness - now I am hooked!

Daisy Stable Outing

2011-06-09T15:53:00.005-04:00
On Saturday our Daisy Girls went to the Riding Stables in Lawrence where Heather takes lessons and rides. Because Heather has been going for so long we were able to go there for no charge and the girls were able to have some wonderful lessons. We had 10 kids.

Upon arriving we split into two groups. After meeting most of the horses my group went on to "Vaulting". This is basically gymnastics on a horse. A moving horse. The girls are working on a badge for bravery and we all agreed that doing gymnastics moves on a full size, moving horse at ages 5 and 6 is very brave. (Heck, at age 35 it is brave - not that I would have tried it!) First things first, we stretch...

Then we practice on the barrel 'horse'. Ella was very anxious for her turn and she was a natural!

Ally was all smiles. I've never seen her so excited about something. I took a dozen photos of her practicing and she was grinning like a Cheshire cat the entire time.

On the real deal....I couldn't get many photos because I walked around the other side of the house. The instructor, Jane, was on one side and me on the other.

She was doing so well and got on her knees to kneel. She even let go for a bit, but when she was asked to flip around, to have her back on the back of the horse she got scared and wanted off.

Ella was a little nervous when she found out the horse was moving. She wanted to do it with the horse standing still, but once she got up there she loved it.

Truly a natural!

Time out for picture!

After vaulting, we went over to a different arena and the girls were able to ride, lead and trot with a horse. This was one a smaller horse and was perfect with the girls. Her name was Merry Legs. (After the original Black Beauty novel) Ally trying on her helmet.

If Ella wasn't "horse crazy" before - this definitely sealed the deal for her. She loved trotting.

Ally did great leading. She had no fear. And it was fun to hear her yell out, "Walk on" and "Ho!"

Before we left the girls gave all the horses a treat of apples and carrots.

The next day was Jayley's 9th birthday!! She's growing up so fast. Cousins and friends...

Bubbles, Beach and Ice Cream Day!

2011-06-09T15:38:00.002-04:00
Tuesday was Ella's Kindergarten Family Fun Day. All the parents came to the room and watched the kids sing a few songs. We then went outside for ice cream sundaes, bubbles and games. It as 95 degrees, sunny and humid. But it was so much fun. Ella took her sister by her hand and introduced her to a few of friends. And even gave Alyssa her balloon because she didn't have one. They were being exceptionally civil with each other. (Which lasted the entire hour of the Fun Day, but wore off for the car ride home!)
Ella in her class with their t-shirts that they made.

Ally's sundae had strawberry syrup, marshmallows, sprinkles, and whipped cream.

Ella with her teacher, Mrs. Rodbard. She is a wonderful teacher. We couldn't have asked for a better teacher! When she was new to kindergarten in the fall she could not pronounce her teacher's name and used to call her Mrs. Rodbutt, which Brendon interprets as Mrs. Lardbutt. Which cracks him up, but this woman is sweeter than pie!

Girls and bubbles, go together like peanut butter and jelly!

You can tell by Ally's face just how hot it was outside!

Ally's First Bowling Adventure

2011-06-09T15:15:00.005-04:00
Last month, Ally had her first 'real' field trip to Chuck E. Cheese. This is not too far from my work, so I told her that I would meet her there for a little bit. Of course, we were short-handed at work that day and super busy so I was not able to make it. She was very forgiving and sweet about it. Yesterday her class decided to do a last minute field trip to the bowling alley today. When I picked her up the first thing she says to me is, "you are coming right?" And without allowing me to answer, "mom you didn't come to Chuck E., can you watch me bowl?" How could I say no to that? Besides I definitely didn't want to miss this. And I am so glad I went. Her smile was priceless!
Her best "Ella" pose, modeling her shoes

She was so excited to get her hands on that bowling ball!

But then she didn't knock down any pins on her first try. She was devastated.

But then her boyfriend made it all better. She introduced me. "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Tyler."

So then she went back for her second try....

And....Success!! :)

Finally Friday!

2011-06-03T14:24:00.003-04:00
The weekend is almost here! And I am gearing up for a very busy one. Tomorrow I am in charge of our Daisy girl's field trip to the Riding Stables. We have a grad party, and will have one of Ella's friends for a sleepover. Sunday we are dog sitting and attending my niece's birthday party. The shower I am hosting is a week away. And next week is the last week of school!

I have just a couple of photos today. The first two are cards that I made that really aren't that great. I made them when I was super tired and just wanted to go to bed. But I used my Create-A-Critter Cricut Cartridge and I just love it! This one is for a zookeeper who made our Daisy outing extra special.

And this one is for the Mattawan Lion's Club. They bought our Daisy books for next year!

Last night was Ally's spring program at her school. She was so excited to get up and sing her songs to us.

The entire time she was up there she kept waving at us. She is such a sweetheart.

I couldn't get her to put her cupcake down long enough to get a photo with Grandma Ina.

She sucked the frosting off two cupcakes, while her oldest sister and I ate the cake part.

Ella with her friend Kyleigh. She will be the one over Saturday night.

My Terribly, Awful, Worst Idea EVER!!

2011-05-31T10:16:00.006-04:00
Picture this...it is Memorial Day. My husband is working and I am home with four kids. It is 90 degrees, there is no food in the house to cookout and no beer. I decide, "Today, I am going to create a memory." It was supposed to be a happy, delightful memory. One the kids remember fondly. One that makes me a 'cool mom' because I did this with them. As you can imagine, it didn't quite go as planned.

When I was in high school, my friends and I used to drive to Warren Dunes State Park. It was a great place! Right on Lake Michigan, with huge sand dunes and walking trails. Picnic spots and beautiful scenery. I haven't been there in years. YEARS. Like probably 15 or more. I had it in my head that I knew the highway exit. However, when I got to that exit (about a hour drive from our house) the sign read, Grand Mere State Park. Since I have a State Park Passport I decide we are going to see what this place is all about. We had to drive on a gravel road off the highway a bit and when we finally got there - there were maybe 20 cars in the lot. I am expecting hundreds, if not a thousand and there were 20. We are in the middle of the woods. No lake in sight. I found a nice man in the parking lot who had about 50 pounds of backpacking gear loaded on his back and inquired about the park. He told me that has sought out this park and it took him 2 years to find the place. (He was quite amazed that I just stumbled upon it) I was told it was about a 1/2 mile paved trail, to a couple of sand dunes, then to the waterfront. The other park is 20 miles away. We decided to stay.

Now, for two weeks prior it had done much else but rain here. We had flood advisories and warnings, so we get started on this trail and Princess Ella freaks out every time she encounters a puddle. When she got mud on her pink sandal I am sure she scared all wildlife within a mile radius.We walked for quite awhile when we came to the base of a sand dune. As I start to take Ally's sandals off, Ella starts screaming, "MOM!" and "OW!" I took over and the child is being swarmed with black flies! She has blood dripping down her legs! I rush over to her, shoo them off and quickly push her up the dune with Taylor. The first dune is steep! Ally gets half way up and decides to lay down, she can't go any more. She's too tired. I am carrying beach toys and a beach bag. There is no way I can carry her. So I encourage. We finally reach the top. No water! Just sand and dunes. We keep going but as we are walking, we are getting chewed up. I had bug spray but these nasty things were immune to my Off. We get up Dune number 2. No water. Dune 3....ahh, we see water but it off in a distance. Dune 4. Finally we can see that we are closer and even better the area is flatter. It took us a hour to finally reach the water and I felt like a pack mule and a motivational speaker all in one.

We reach the beach. And it is shear rock. Painful, sharp rocks. No pleasant sand. And worse...biting flies. Painful, stinging flies.
Finally with a hand free I take a couple of photos. Looking back at the last dune and the trail to the water.

Looking down the shoreline..

The brave kids dipping their toes

My "other" daughter saving Taylor from the rocks

A whimpering Ella walking across the horrible things

After 15 minutes of sitting on the beach, wrapped in a towel to try to keep the flies off me I have had enough. I am being feasted on. I declared lunch time, and then promised a better beach. Maybe we could try St. Joe on the way home. So we are sitting there, constantly swatting each other, trying to eat our sandwich when this beautiful dog is let off his leash to go play in the water. He was having so much fun that I went to take his photo, as he decided to charge us! Damn thing gets next to our blanket and totally shakes his whole freaking body saturating our sandwiches with lake water!! Left with only Cheetos and drink boxes, we fuel up for our walk back.

I really wish I had a photo that could show how steep some of these dunes were, but I don't. I found these on Google and it at least makes the place look pretty.

This was the view from Dune 3.

By the time we walked back, the sand was so hot that Ella was crying. Ally was too tired to climb the dunes and kept sitting in the sand and crying. It felt like 100 degrees. A hour later we make it back to the car and I am a terrible hot mess. Sweat dripping, patience gone, headache setting in. At that point I took the other beach off the table and promised them sprinklers. And you know what - they had more fun in the sprinklers than we had all week!

My Goof Balls

2011-05-25T20:47:00.005-04:00
My kids are being extra silly tonight!

Girl Scout Field Trip

2011-05-25T10:25:00.004-04:00
Saturday was our much anticipated trip to the zoo with the Daisy Girls. Everyone had a great time but it was a long day. We were there almost 7 hours. We saw a couple of presentations, fed the giraffes and walked all over Wild Africa, rode the train and carousel, and spent lots of time of the petting zoo. 6 of our girls made it (Including Ally) and one older sister. There were lots of troops there that day!
The first presentation we did was learn about habitats. We met a Bullfrog, a spiny lizard, a monkey and a one eyed owl.
Ally unsure of touching the spiny lizard.

Our girls

Watching the second presentation - notice my Ella is the only one to stop and pose for the camera...

Ella touching a rat....ew.

A tired looking Ally still enjoying the carousel.

Beautiful Ella in Wild Africa

The giraffe the girls were feeding was such a young one that his neck didn't quite reach the deck. They really had to stretch to get him his lettuce.

Ally's goat chomped all her food in one swift bite and tickled her hand. This face is priceless.

The peacocks were noisy and strutting all day. Beautiful!

Day Twenty Five

2011-05-24T15:24:00.003-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 25
A photo of your day

I am not posting this for sympathy...but this is where I spend the majority of my day. My dark, quiet litle windowless hole of a cubicle.

Craft Project

2011-05-20T16:04:00.003-04:00
It's been awhile since I have done any scrapbook pages. Next month I am throwing a shower for my sister in law and decided I wanted to make the invitations. I thought they turned out pretty cute. Their nursey is a jungle theme and I fell in love with the Cricut Cartrdige - Create A Critter! They are 4 by 5 cards and here is the front and back.

And a photo of beautiful Taylor sporting a new outfit and new shoes..

Day Twenty Four

2011-05-20T15:30:00.004-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 24
A Photo of Something you wish you could change.

Time....I would slow it down!! My girls are growing up way too fast!!

Busy Week

2011-05-20T14:40:00.003-04:00
This week has left very little room for blogging. It seems like as the end of the school year approaches days get busier and busier. Ally had a field trip to a retirement home, Ella to the Nature Center and Taylor to Ft. Wayne. Ella got to experience one whole day of school and 'eat lunch at school' day to prepare for first grade. Next week starts track and field days and Ally has another field trip.
Alyssa also had a fundraiser at Bounceland one night this week. Taylor and Brendon didn't want to come with but the girls and I had a lot of fun! (Even though I have been told to rest my foot for 7-8 weeks, I decided to play too - and am glad I did!)

I love this expression! She had just come down a big slide and her eyes were wild with excitement!

Ally came down so fast she fell on her butt. (Can you see how soaked her shirt is? She was drowning herself in the water fountain!)

I took this last night. This is across the street above my neighbor's house. By the time I got my camera the rainbow wasn't nearly as bright. But it sure was pretty. Ella was in awe of it!

Ally crawled in bed with me at 3 this morning and when I went to wake her later I found her all snuggled up with Sophie. I went for my camera but by the time I got there she was sitting up petting her. And ready for a pose

This was taken as proof that Sophie always looks like this....Ally really isn't hurting her as it may look above, the dog just always has this look...

Day Twenty Three

2011-05-11T09:49:00.003-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 23
A Photo of your favorite book

I can't say I have a favorite book, but I definitely have a favorite Author and series. This man can make me turn a page faster than any other author. I can't tell you how many times I have been up half the night engrossed into one of his scary stories. The great...Mr. James Patterson...

The crazy thing is I hate scary movies. I hate freaky tv shows. But I LOVE being scared out of my wits by his books. Detective Alex Cross is hands down my favorite character. I feel like I know this man and his family. There are 16 books staring Det. Alex Cross and they all started with this one:

And Yes, the book came long before the movie! However, the movie, staring Morgan Freeman is pretty good - it still does not compare to the novel!

Weekend Replay

2011-05-09T21:41:00.006-04:00
This last weekend was a bit of a blur. But here is what I remember...
Friday, Taylor was at a friend's house and Brendon played music. I made cookies. But didn't feel well enough to eat them. (You know I am sick, if I can't eat a cookie!!) End of night - early to bed for us girls.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Taylor was with her dad and Brendon had to work all day. I had my much anticipated Kenny concert that night. I haven't seen Kenny in two years and I actually did not want to go. (You know, I must be sicker than sick if I refuse cookies AND do not want to see My Kenny!!) I tried to relax as much as I could all day. And I sent the kids outside to play without me.

I was able to meet my girl Michele and we headed out for dinner. The moment she saw me, she says..."You don't feel good do you?" Ha! After our dinner we get 5 miles down the road and I need to pull over! It was awful...and I will leave it at that. Unfortunately I missed some of the second act, super sexy Billy Currington, because I was in the bathroom. :(
Anyway, we got to Van Andel and I was super happy to see that our seats were the closest I have ever been to my man. Still not super close, but closer than the 5 concerts before. (Yes, this was my 6th time seeing him and I still haven't met him!) Yes - so here we are happy! (Adrenaline kicked in finally for me)

There he is!!! Mmmmm....

On stage with Uncle Kracker

And Billy Currington

Goodbye Kenny, I love you...

The concert was over about 11:30 and I had tickets for the after-party where Uncle Kracker was going to be performing again. Three years ago, Kenny surprised everyone and showed up at this place and knowing that these two guys are great friends, I really thought Kenny would show. So, adrenaline still going, Michele and I went to The Intersection and were disappointed that Kenny did not come. Uncle Kracker played a hour and a half. Normally I would have loved it, but I was coming down hard and feeling awful.

I woke up Sunday and couldn't talk. My voice was gone. My throat glands were swollen to the visible size of golf balls. My ears felt torn. I had bloody nasal drainage and I could hardly swallow. Luckily, with it being Mother's Day, Taylor was home - because Brendon works Sundays. Poor Taylor, I was only up for maybe two hours and spent the rest of the day sleeping. The girls played in the hot tub for a bit when I was awake...Taylor was playing her i-touch in her room.
Striking poses...aren't they adorable?!

I finally went to immediate care about 5pm where the doctor gave me antibiotics and offered me steroids that I refused. I spent all of Monday in bed and finally today, feel like I am going to make it!

Oh, and I missed the best part! Ally was upset that I was going to see Kenny Chesney without her. (She loves him too) Before I left she gave me a plastic green gerber daisy - from her Mother's Day program the day before. She says, "Give this to Kenny mom. He will love it. It's green and his favorite color is green." Me - 'How do you know green is his favorite color?' Ally simply replied, "Because tractors are green!" The first thing out of her mouth Sunday morning - "Did Kenny like my flower mommy?" And with my voice gone all I could do is shake my head yes and give her a big squeeze!

Our Diva

2011-05-06T13:50:00.002-04:00
Ella definitely has her own sense of style. She likes having her hair done and her nails painted. The child is in a princess dress from the time she comes home until the time she goes to bed. Most of the time she will take off her pajamas after lights out and put the princess dress back on. There have been countless mornings when I wake up to find her pillow covered in sparkles or sequins. It is pointless to try to pick out an outfit for her, because it will never be the one she wants to wear. What's worse is lately she is dressing to impress a boy. Bryce. Yep, same boy. She even wore her high heels one day this week for him along with a dress. Her dad asked her what Bryce thought of her outfit and he told her, "You are always beautiful to me." Ah, young love. So today when she refused to wear what dad picked out, and put on her own concoction it was no surprise when she told him she was wearing a skirt for Bryce.
All girl this one...

Photos!

2011-05-04T19:53:00.002-04:00
Dandelion Crowns...

Ally's Spring School Photos

This was Brendon's dinner the other night. It was a fried hot dog with provolone cheese, salsa, mustard and olives on toast. I've never seen him eat anything quite so gross.

Day Twenty Two

2011-05-04T14:01:00.003-04:00
Day 22: Photo Challenge
A Photo of something you wish you could do better

I would pretty much settle for being better at any one thing. Like singing or dancing. Or playing the piano. Or drawing. Cooking. (My husband would add cleaning to this list) Organizing. Gardening. Crafting. These are all things that I am mediocre at, at best. Except singing, I make my dog howl when I sing. It's not pretty. I do wish I was more creative and a better scrapbooker. To be better at that, I would have to be a better photographer. Long story short, I would choose photography. I wish I was better. Taking a class in on my 'someday' list. Maybe I can get that done by the time the grand kids come!
Aruba, May 2006 (Wow, 5 years ago since Brendon and I had a vacation!) I love this photo, but I am sure if I knew rules of photography it could have been better.

Key West

2011-05-01T18:50:00.008-04:00
Sit back, relax and enjoy the longest photo show I've ever done.

I left the house at 4:30am on the 21st (my 35th birthday)for a 7am flight out of Grand Rapids. The plane left on time and I arrived in Punta Gorda, Fl at 10am. By 10:15 mom and I were on the way to Key West! We were estimating a 7 hour drive, allowing for time for lunch. We chose to drive through the Tamiami Trail, which goes through The Everglades. Along the way we saw the smallest post office in the United States..

Alligators

Lots of Keys, water and bridges

Just before 6 we arrived at our destination. La Pensione Bed and Breakfast.

Checking out our huge wrap around balcony.

We were told the sunset happened around 7:30 and the place to be was Mallory Square. There were lots of street performers and art booths. It was very crowded. People everywhere and it took quite awhile to get a spot where we could see. It was a little bit windy

The glorious sunset

Afterwards we had a pizza dinner at Willie T's. We sat out on the patio and they had live music. Then we walked up and down Duval Street. We couldn't decide if we felt like drinking or eating dessert. We decided on a half pound chocolate chip cookie. This thing was as big as my head. I hate to admit that mom didn't even eat a quarter of it while I polished the whole thing off. A little here and a little there but gone before bedtime. After a long walk we decided to grab a beer a walk back to hotel with it. (One of the fun unique things about Key West, portable alcohol.) On the way to our room, I saw this huge Adirondack chair that I just HAD to try out. So I climbed up there..went to sit back and I fell! It was much steeper than it looks! I ended up with a bruise the size of a softball on my elbow. The bugger is still there too.

The next day, we had lots of activities planned. We headed towards the marina and took our time getting there. We spotted the Key West Cemetery and poked around for a bit. It was a little eerie and yet very historical. They do a Ghost Tour through it at night and I think that would be very interesting.

We were booked on the 11am Mimosa sail aboard the Adirondack. She was beautiful!

While waiting we indulged in a large pretzel twist. (This was after a breakfast of fresh fruit and the carbs) The ship mates served the mimosas and they were very fun people. This was one of our favorite activities.

They even let me steer for a bit since mom told them it was my birthday. Ooh, and we got a free round! (Although all drinks were only $1)

We had lunch on the marina. Ate outside and watched the boating action. Then we went to the World Famous Sloppy Joes for cocktails.

Followed by pie at Key Limes-N-More. (there was a nice walk before the pie!) We walked over to the house that Kenny Chesney bought a couple years ago but never moved into because his fans started swarming the place the second the media caught wind of it. It is a beautiful mansion! And still for sale. Anyone have $4 million dollars I can borrow?

Then we headed over to the Marina on the other side on the island for our para-sailing adventure. We chose to with The Fury Company.

At this point it still hadn't sunk in that in a moment we were going to be 300 feet up in the air. (I have a pretty extreme fear of heights)

But at this moment it sunk in but I was so excited I really wasn't nervous.

Look that is me on the right, I even let go for a couple of seconds!

After that we hit a bar and grill for happy hour. We sat on their patio and enjoyed a couple of different appetizers at half off. It was 90 that day. We hit the pool before getting ready for a night out on Duval.

We had 9pm reservations at the Aqua Night Club. A Drag Queen bar. I got to tell you I haven't laughed so hard in...I don't even know when. Mom and I had a great time! We were both shocked to learn that when going to a drag bar, you should bring singles. The queens like their tips!

Later that night we walked down to the opposite end of Duval and used one of our 2 for 1 cocktail coupons at The Whistle. This bar is on top of The Bull and under The Garden of Eden (A clothing optional bar) This one drink we had, a rum and coke, was stronger than all of the other drinks we had the entire trip combined! So one was all it took. We sat outside on the upstairs balcony and had fun people watching. It was also funny to see all the guys trying to get a glimpse of someone on the roof top bar!
The next day we had to leave mid afternoon to start driving back. Our feet were killing us from all the walking we did. So we rented bikes from our hotel and biked to the Southern Most Point in the U.S.

Their were gorgeous flowers all over the place. You can't really see them here, but it was so wonderful to see everything so green and the flowers bloomed.

Me in a coconut bra in Mallory Square.

We had another 2 for 1 coupon burning a hole in our pocket so it was off to The Lazy Gecko.

Lunch HAD to be at Blue Heaven. Kenny Chesney's favorite restuarant. The atmosphere was laid back and casual. All outdoor seating with chickens walking around.

Kenny raved about their pie, so it was another must do. And it did not disappoint! Mmmm!

It was on the way back to the hotel, the end of our trip that I nearly killed myself while biking. I haven't biked in years, it's been since before I met Brendon. And this ride didn't have power steering, and the brakes were on the pedals. On a narrow one way street, I nearly crashed into a parked car. I had to lift my leg to miss the bumper and I missed a full broad side collision by less than a half inch.

We ended up leaving at almost 4pm and didn't make it to our hotel in Punta Gorda until midnight. The hotel's idea of a continental breakfast was sticky buns in shrink wrap. My flight was at 10:30 and I was in Grand Rapids by 1:30 Easter afternoon. My Easter dinner was a turkey sandwich from Jimmy Johns.

Believe it or not, that was the abbreviated version....very abbreviated.

A BFF's Birthday Party

2011-05-01T10:18:00.005-04:00
Before Hannah's party I went to Cristi's baby shower. I had to leave half way through but it was great to see her. She looks amazing! She's due in June and she's got the sweetest little baby bump. Plus she was all sparkles!

After I left the shower, I rushed home to grab my two little princesses and my 'I'm too old to go to a 6 years olds party' but grounded teenager. And off to Mendon we went. The theme was Tinker Bell and the girls were beautiful!

They each got to make Pixie Dust and had lots of fun swirling the colors in the bottles. Ally had to wait for a funnel before she could start making hers. My little impatient one..

Ella with her finished dust

All the girls lined up for the present opening

The birthday girl, Hannah

Before dinner the girls wanted to put on a show. Unfortunately our little perfectionists took so long getting ready that dinner was ready before they got to the show part. But we got to see their outfits and the make up.

I wish you could see Ally's eye make up. She had on purple eye shadow on her lids, brows and a good inch under both eyes. From a distance she looked like she had two black eyes. Actually when her dad saw her that night, he instantly asked her what happened!

Two best friends enjoying a ride on the swing

Day Twenty One...

2011-05-01T10:04:00.005-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 21
A Photo of Something You Wish You Could Forget

Have you noticed the long delay on posting this challenge? Everyone has something in their past or something about them they wish they could change or forget. Obviously, if there is something in my life I want to forget, posting it here isn't going to help me in forgetting it. Maybe I do have some major life changing secret that I want to keep forgotten or maybe I don't but whatever it is or isn't - nothing will be said here about it.

Instead I will say that there is something in my life that I wish I could forget, one that I don't mind sharing. When I first moved to Philadelphia I made a new friend that became very special to me. His family took me in and we would have weekly dinners and just enjoy hanging out. Marc introduced me to Philadelphia. Showing me the key landmarks, such as the Liberty Bell and the Art Museum "Rocky" Stairs. He and I did a little bit of traveling, not a whole lot. Unfortunately our time was cut short. I don't want to forget him or his family. But I want to forget what happened to him. There are times I am watching certain movies that I have to turn away or leave. Marc was shot and killed six months after I met him. Twice in the back and one execution style. I was in Florida when it happened. Still the detectives interviewed me downtown and we talked at length. Shockingly this detective showed me photos....photos of blood all over the street, the grass, the telephone pole. Another one just briefly, that I hope he did not intend for me to see, was Marc with his face half gone. It was the most disturbing thing I have ever seen. It happened 15 years ago but there are times when I still see those images. I would do anything to be able to forget them.

A Funny

2011-04-25T19:21:00.004-04:00
A quick funny:

The girls were fighting last night over a pair of Ella's shorts. They of course both claimed that they belonged to them. Ella was shouting that they were hers because the were a size 6. Ally was screaming that they couldn't be Ella's because they fit her. They were in fact Ella's, but at 9:30pm I didn't care who had them on and besides they should be sleeping! So I convinced Ella to let her sister sleep with them on and we could worry about it in the morning. Early this morning, Ally climbed in bed with me to snuggle. It only took a moment to realize that she was naked from the waist down. A couple hours later everyone woke up and when I saw Ella I noticed that she was wearing the shorts. I asked her how she ended up with them. With a smirk on her face, she told me that when Ally fell asleep she pulled off her blanket, took off her shorts and put them on herself!

Birthday Week

2011-04-20T11:59:00.002-04:00
I have never been a "Birthday Diva". You know the type, the high maintenance kind who expect a gift for every day of the week they were born. That is so NOT me. This week I am starting to feel a little bit spoiled. Not necessarily showered with gifts, but with love. And isn't that what life is all about? Hell, yeah!

Saturday night my two besties took me out to dinner at Wild Bull. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the Hurricanes that were on special After that we went out dancing where Kit and I closed the place down! We truly danced so much that I am still in sneakers because my foot still hurts. (Old injury from college). Sunday my kids were unusually, over the top nice to me. Monday we celebrated my birthday at work with a Jimmy Johns party platter and a homemade tropical cake! Tuesday Brendon brought home a Snickers cake and ice cream. Tonight, since Brendon works, but the kids are insisting that we 'play games' because it is my birthday and 'we have to!' Tomorrow is my actual, REAL birthday and I will be getting up at 3:30am to start heading my way to the airport and eventually will spend the long weekend with my mom in Key West! It can't get any better than that, can it? I don't think so! So Happy Birthday to me!! :)
Check out this fire hazard! 35 big ones baby! Oh, my!!

Saturday morning was spent at the Girl Scout camp in Plainwell (Camp Merrie Wood) for Earth Day. I had 4 Daisy girls that I was in charge of. (My two plus two more, yes - they have made Ally an "honorary" Daisy Girl) Once we got there though, they split our troop up so they could make new friends. My girls didn't like that at all. We pulled some strings so at least Ella and Ally could be together. They painted light switches to help decorate the cabins, made all natural earth friendly window cleaner, went on a scavenger hunt and took a super long walk to learn about waste water. We seriously probably walked at least 3 miles, up and down hills on the trails. Ella loved the hiking and went off with the other girls often...striking a pose..

A rare moment of sisterly love

Ally stayed by my side and did really good the first half of the hike, then she started to peter out.

This is her fully tuckered out, 'carry-me-mom-I-can't-walk-another-step' look.

Day Twenty

2011-04-12T10:50:00.003-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 20
A photo of someplace you want to travel

This is pretty redundant. Quite obviously I want to see the world, there really is no place that I wouldn't go. (Other than the Middle East, or someplace where tourists need to be escorted with security guards and guns) Tahiti is my "Number One Someday" Destination. But if I could take the kids anywhere in the world, it would be a week at Disney! (Orlando) I am definitely a 'Disney Fan' and the thought of seeing The Magic Kingdom through their eyes would be amazing. I am hoping 2012 this wish list item will become a reality and I absolutely can't wait!

Source

Hot Summer Day in April!

2011-04-11T09:20:00.002-04:00
Yesterday was the last day of Spring Break and it felt like summer. It hit 86 and was sunny all day! We went out at 10am and it was already 78. I took them out into the 'circle' and let them ride their bikes. Once Ally gets it down we will all be able to go up and down our road. Right now, she still has moments where she "gets stuck" and needs a push. Last night I put a princess basket and bell on her bicycle when she was sleeping. I can't wait to surprise her with it tonight!
Notice the way they are dressed. Ally in a t-shirt and her knit pink heart tights...oh, and white dress shoes.

Ella in a sundress, pink striped knit tights and her black dress shoes.

Day Nineteen

2011-04-08T14:34:00.005-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 19
A Photo and a Letter

Growing up, I had a grandma who lived on the other side of town and a grandma and grandpa who lived in Florida. As a child I was closer to my grandma who lived in town. I didn't see her all that often but I remember the things that we did together and all the fun we had. When I got older, I started writing letters to my Florida grandparents. We saw each other at least one week a year, but it wasn't until my Grandma B and I started writing letters back and forth that I really felt like I knew her. I cherish the letters that she wrote me. I have all of them, in a shoebox along with other memorabilia. I read them occasionally. Sometimes I find them uplifting and other times they make me sad for all the time I feel like we lost. I just wish I had known her better. She is my mom's mom and she is just like my mom with possibly an even greater sense of humor. My Grandma B is my only surviving grandparent. She is 95 and has had dementia for quite some time. She is also very hard of hearing and can be hard to wake. My only regret is not tapping in her memories and listening to all her old stories years ago. The ones I remember are great but they are quite few. I am very thankful that I still have all of her letters. It helps me feel like I still have a piece of her with me.

Taken in 1981 at their home in Cherry Pocket Florida. I had the chicken pox and my brother was a year and a half...what a moose!

June 1991 at my parent's house

Last weekend

2011-04-04T19:40:00.012-04:00
This week is Spring Break. Today is Thursday and it is finally starting to...maybe...feel like Spring. Although this weekend it might hit 70! Can you believe that? We really don't have any plans this week, Brendon and I are both working. We are saving our vacation days for this fall. We haven't told the little kids about the cruise yet but I can hardly wait! Taylor knows, she is already corresponding with a girl that will be on the same trip, Thanks to CruiseCritic.com

While this week might be tame, last weekend was kind of crazy. Kelli, our "Adopted Daughter," as we call her, has spent most of this week with us. The girls have loved having her over. Taylor is still in the process of moving upstairs and the bed that her dad gave us - he took back. So she has her mattress on the floor until we can find something different. Monday morning I went in to wake them and was surprised to see them both crammed on the twin mattress.

Saturday was spent selling Girl Scout Cookies at the local grocery store in Mattawan. It was way too cold to be outside, so we moved our table inside by the registers. Unfortunately I think most of the people in our small sleepy town were on vacation because it was pretty quiet. Ella holding up one of the signs she helped me make.

Notice we set up in front of the Oberon? We were able to hook a few men into buying cookies since we were perched in front of Bell's beer!

This was our first shift crew - Madison, Mia and Ella. You would think no one could tell these faces "no" but they did.

Second shift girls - Summer, Carley and Danica (Our leader Heather behind the table)

Sunday, I met Elizabeth in Grand Rapids at the Deltaplex. They had a Pet Expo going on. We had lots of fun. It was pretty crowded, but other than that it was a great time and we are already planning on going next year.
They had...Pony rides..

Baby ducks and chicks

Notice Ally is strangling the poor duck

Rabbits

They also had tons of adoptable dogs and cats. We found the Pug Rescue and made a small donation and spent some time loving on their orphans. When the girls saw a Boston Terrier they both cried, "Charlie" - it was so sad. They realized after a moment it wasn't him and they were both pretty bummed.
They also had a super fun dog show. These are the same dogs that have been on late night tv. They were amazing! This dog is doing a hand stand off the muscle guy's palm!

A Couple of "Ally says..."
* Taylor is a a big fan of Taylor Swift. Because of this Ella and Ally know who she is. Alyssa heard one of her songs going to daycare the other day and starts excitedly shouting, "Taylor Smith!!" I tried to correct her - and was informed rather sternly, that I was wrong and her last name IS Smith!
* Another habit of Ally's is to constantly rhyme words. In the car, at the dinner table, in the bathroom....it is constant. I don't think she's ever stopped on her own, after 20-30 minutes we praise her and ask her to go to something else (for the sake of our sanity). "Ball, wall. cat, rat. Butterfly, shutterfly." Then she will make up words, "Baseball, Lasewall. Vacuum, Shmacuum. Hippopotamus,Bippolotamus." It is entertaining...for awhile anyway.
* Lastly, we have recently overheard Ally telling Ella, "Wait for it. Wait for it....Ah....I farted!" Brendon says she must have learned this from Taylor - but I would guess that he might be the source!

Day Eighteen

2011-03-30T14:59:00.004-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 18
A photo of your biggest insecurity

Self image...that's my biggest insecurity. Everything from my skin, to my hair, to my thick legs. When you think about it beautiful, skinny women are shoved down our throat from the time you are old enough to sit up. Look at Baribe. Or the Disney Princesses. Magazine and tv ads. I've just never felt that I measure up to what society thinks I should look like. While I don't like to wear make up and can't stand product in my hair, I choose my relaxed, casual image. Honestly though there are times, where I am very insecure about it. But as years have gone by, I have realized, I am the way that I am. No one and nothing is going to change me and I finally feel I can accept myself for who I am. And that is a good feeling.

Source

This and That

2011-03-30T10:03:00.006-04:00
The kids like to stall at bedtime. What kid doesn't right? They love to tell me stories even while I am backing out of their door. A fairly new thing is when I tell them I love them, they tell me "I love you more." (Which is kind of funny, because when Brendon and I were engaged that was our thing - yes, sicky, lovey - I know. I actually had it engraved in his ring) So one night they start competing with each other. "I love you as much as I love horses." And the other one would say, "I love you as much as I love horses AND princesses." And so on. Well Ella had an idea - she says, "Mom, I love you more than candy!" Alyssa having the biggest sweet tooth ever, wouldn't go that far to repeat that one instead she said, "You are the best mom in the world! The best mom EVER!" So sweet those two.

On St. Patrick's Day at the daycare, Ally's class went on a leprechaun hunt. Well that leprechaun was sneaky and tricky. Before they found his pot of gold, he played lots of pranks on them. Ally came home and said, "The leprechaun turned my pudding green!" I asked her how it was and she replied, "It was not so tasty." And made a yucky face.

On Saturday the airport hosted a Family Day to show off the new terminal. Brendon was working so the girls and I (Taylor was with her dad) went to meet him for lunch. They had it catered from Brewsters. The terminal is a huge improvement over the small outdated one they had. The problem is no one can afford to fly out of Kalamazoo, so I just hope they find a way to pay for it. (Lower the prices AZO!) After lunch we went upstairs to have the girls faces painted by "Aunt Penny." She truly was the best face painter/artist I have ever seen. She did beautiful full face, animal face paintings. But the girls just wanted something on their cheek. Alyssa randomly chose a butterfly wearing a princess tiara. While Ella wanted daisies, since she is a Daisy Girl Scout.

Then they gave dad a hug and off he went back to work.

When we came home, the sun was out and it was beautiful! Unfortunately it was only 30 degrees and freezing outside. It sure was warm sitting in the window though...

Just like a child, you go to take her photo and she sticks her tongue out at you.

Yesterday Ella was at the neighbor's house in the morning and they played outside for awhile before getting on the bus noon. It was maybe 40 degrees, but the sun was powerful enough for Ella to get her first sunburn of the season!

Day Seventeen

2011-03-29T15:07:00.003-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 17
A photo of something that has recently made a big impact in your life.

My "something" is a number. I thought turning 30 was going to be a hard pill to swallow but I had Ella, then Ally and life was too crazy to get caught up in the number. Next month I am turning 35. I can remember being a child and wondering what my life would be at 35. I envisioned myself living in New York City, wearing the high powered business suit, walking to work everyday in my high heels. I remember thinking how old 35 sounded. About two months ago, I decided that for my "big" birthday I wanted to go someplace and put my head in the sand. Just ignore the number and maybe it wouldn't find me. My mom invited me to fly down and together we would drive to Key West. I couldn't imagine a better place to hide from that number than Key West. It started as wanting to fit into my clothes before I leave. Which I am still not into my summer Capri's like I had hoped that I would be. I cut out ALL processed foods. I signed up for Kettlebell at the YMCA. I joined Powerhouse for cardio. I bought instability training shoes. And I got to tell you, I feel a thousand times better! My energy level is higher than it has ever been. While I haven't seen the results that I was hoping for (I am one of those people who want instant results) I know it is working for me. Even aside from feeling better I have decided that I am not letting this number label me or identify me. So what if my hands are starting to resemble that of elephant skin. So what if I am not as thin as I used to be. Or my hair as full as it once was. These things aren't going to hold me back any longer. I haven't taken my kids to a water park or the beach because I am afraid of how I would look. Those days are over. It took me to age 35 to realize, life is too short to wait to live it. That is what I am going to do - from here on out - look 35 in the face, not with my head buried in the sand, and I am going to LIVE my life!

Day Sixteen

2011-03-27T14:46:00.004-04:00
Photo Challenge: Day 16
A Photo of Someone Who Inspires You

This is a tough one. I don’t have any one person, famous or otherwise, that I consider inspiring. I have several ‘everyday’ people who inspire me.
My mom. I want to be the kind of mother to my children that mine was to me. The greatest compliment I could ever receive would be to hear that I am just like her.
My dad inspires me to be generous and kind hearted and work hard. We may not have had a lot growing up but he made sure we never went without. He is generous to a fault and would give someone the shirt off his back. Growing up there were several years that I don’t remember him being home much – because he was working sun up to sun down to keep the family business going.
My children inspire me to be better every day. There are times I fail them as a parent and they forgive me every time and shower me with love and hugs.
Military members who sacrifice so much for people they don’t know. I cannot imagine leaving family behind and going to uncharted countries and unknown missions for an indefinite period of time. They are courageous and brave and extremely inspiring.
Children without limbs who know no limits and never stop going.
Cancer patients who never give up.
People who have lost everything but still find a way to be positive.
Marathon runners.
Single parents.
We are surrounded by inspiring people. It is these everyday heroes that inspire me.
I find this photo very powerful and very inspiring