C and Me Plus 3!

We finally bought a house!

2011-12-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

After 5 {was it really only 5, felt like so much more} months we finally bought a house.... ehemmm. I mean we made an offer that someone accepted! Our 7th! 7 is now my new lucky number! I am going to put a sign in my new house with No.7, kinda like the Jack Daniels logo sans the Jack Daniels part!
This house is perfect! 4 bedrooms, only 2 bathrooms {how I hated cleaning bathrooms before} a big yard with room for a garden, {which reminds me to go to the library and learn how to garden}. The entire house has been remodeled. The paint color is exactly the shade I always tried to achieve but could never get quite right. I will make a note to ask the contractor what color it is. The kitchen has cherry cabinets....I had my heart set on painting old dingy cabs antique white.... but since these are brand new I wouldn't dare! So I will take some notes from other kitchens I love like Thrifty Decor Chick

And I love this one too..... My sister sent me this photo and I don't know who to give the credit to...

Now when I said this house was perfect.... I would like to clarify that it LOOKS perfect. It had its quirks like every other house... The first night we moved in we {hubby} noticed that the hall bath had a leak that would run back into the wall when you ran the bath faucet so he told kids they would have to use the master shower......That's when we realized the master had no HOT water..... These were both fixed by the contractor's plumber after a few days.... Then I washed some dishes by hand in the kitchen sink... Hubby asks me if I dumped the water out on the back porch, NO..... another visit from the plumber. He also took a look under all the sinks in the house and found that they were assembled incorrectly, which he fixed. Then the washing machine started flooding {apparently the pipes were plugged and the water couldn't drain} Let's see... Oh ya and when we had the cable installed... To make a long story short, Casey got in the attic to help the poor struggling cable guy and ended up accidentally cutting electrical with an electric saw. The fact that he wasn't electrocuted still amazes me.
So ya it's been a little hectic... throw in Ella's birthday and Christmas and here we are! I put away Christmas already and can finally see what my house looks like :) I can't wait to start so projects and post before and after photos.
On my near-future to-do list:
Bead board in the bathroom with hooks for kids to hang their towels.
I would also like to frame out the mirror.
You are probably thinking these are more Casey's projects than mine....you are correct :)

10 years

2011-10-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been ten years already... I know everyone says that, but seriously!

For our anniversary we snuck away for our own little 'staycation'. We had a nice dinner at Shula's Steak House. Seriously my filet was like biting into butter...yum! Also it was the most expensive steak I have ever ordered so I guess it's true you get what you pay for ;-)

They gave us this chocolate cake complimentary for our anniversary... Thanks!

I am so lucky to share this life with such a wonderful man!

October so far...

2011-10-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

Second day of open windows, taking Ella for a walk, and playing at the park. It is GORGEOUS outside lately and I LOVE it. What a nice break from house hunting. Speaking of which here is the update.
It's a numbers game.
12+ showings (I have seriously lost count)
6 houses lost (One went to auction, 2 had cash offers)
Oh well. I somehow remain optimistic most of the time. Casey.... not so much. :-)

So I am getting crafty to keep my mind off of it.
I painted a table for Miss E to use for tea parties. Will post that later...

Made spider pumpkins with the kids.

Mini pumpkins, black pipe cleaners (cut in half) Googley eyes and tooth picks...

Poke holes for the legs, in pumpkins first, with toothpicks so that pipecleaners go in easily

Add eyes and use a Sharpie for other facial features.

Austin & Steven turned 8

2011-09-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

For Austin & Steven's 8th birthday we had a DINOSAUR theme.

That's what they wanted :-)

This cake was really easy to make! It's just cake rounds.

2 for the bottom with frosting in between. Then a half round. Then a third of a round. Then a quarter.

{If I remember correctly, of course}

Each layer needs to be secured with toothpicks. I used left over cake pop sticks for the top to hold all the way to the bottom. Otherwise this bad boy would totally topple!

Chocolate frosting. Cocoa puff boulders. And dinos of course :-)

All the kiddos chowing down the Hungry Howie's. You can't beat it for $5 a pizza!

Pin the head on the Dino Fossil...

Brown paper bag so no peaking!

My brother, who doesn't have kids yet, got the boys these AWESOME paper jamz guitars. While admit they are the coolest thing since sliced bread, they are also really LOUD!

So of course the kids love them!

Ella's Sweet Shoppe

2011-09-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Better late than never... While browsing in blogger land I started thinking about my own poor neglected blog. So I read it. WOW! Have I skipped a lot! LOL. So just for fun I am posting Ella's birthday party from eh....uh,,,, last december (don't judge me)

It was a Sweet Shoppe!

Here are the invites that I ordered from The TomKat studio. They were just as adorable as I had expected and so easy to print and put together yourself.

I made these lollipops for the yard muhwa-self. So easy! 2 paper plates fronts together with a dowel rod in the middle at the bottom. Tape to secure. Then wrap in tissue paper of your choice, tape. The clear wrap over that (I used an irredescent) Then a cutie patootie ribbon of your choice.

Ah yes the candy buffet!

Most of these candies were from Sweetie's in chandler. They sell in bulk, have great prices, and have a lot of the 'old' candies you may remember. {Like those gum cigarettes your mom wouldn't let you get ;-)}

Dang I wish I had a close up of the little cupcake toppers and cake pop sticks so you could see more of the little tags that came in the package from TomKat. They were so cute!

Games!

Bean bag toss.

Also used extra bean bags to anchor down some balloons. Kids used a hula hoop to toss over them.

My amazing sister who helped me a TON!

My talented Auntie Shari who made Ella's 4 for her shirt. Thanks lovie!

Birthday girl

Oh and how could I for get!? I made this topiary... The foam form came from the fabulous Hobby Lobby. I painted the pot, glued in the form, then started poking in dum dums. (You have to cut down the sticks to fit) I had about half of this bad boy down when I decided to take a little break and tried to move it. I wasn't expecting it to be so dang heavy {only on the one side} and it came crashing down. Bugger. Had to paint pot #2 and re glue. Lesson learned... Word to the wise: Evenly disperse the dum dums while poking them in.

And my methodical Father in Law guessed closest to 'How Many Dum Dums' so he got to keep it. He was totally excited. Not at all embaressed to have his picture taken with it either.... HA ha!!!

This little candy sign hung on the front door. I made it the same as the lollipops except for the dowel rod of course. Cute?

It was a lot of fun! And delicious of course! Already thinking about what to do for her party this year... Especially since it's in only 2 and 1/2 months!

What do you think?

Mama Schell Says: 40 Bags in 40 Days

2011-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

So my friend Jenn AKA Mama Schell, posted this challenge on her blog... and I'm IN!

Mama Schell Says: 40 Bags in 40 Days: View full post
Here's my List:

1. Kitchen junk drawer
2.Kids cabinet
3.Under bathroom sink- downstairs
4.Kitchen cupboards
5. Freezer
6.Nightstand
7. Hall Coat closet
8. My bathroom vanity
9. Make-up
10. Linen closet
11. Ella's Closet
12. Boys' closet
13. Movie shelves
14. Book shelves
15. Garage
16. Old office {where i hide everything-eek!}
17. Under the stairs closet {AKA- dungeon}
18. Back patio
19. My closet
20. Pantry
21.Under kitchen sink
22. Office Desk
23. Scrapbook room
24. Master bath linen closet
25. My car
26. Lower kitchen cupboards
27. Fridge
28. Jewelry
29. Holiday bins
30. Spices
Ok, I have been purging already and I'm sturggling for 10 more things, BUT maybe as I get going they will come to me! :)
Thanks Jenn for this inspiration!

House hunting

2011-08-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Well on the 4th of July {makes it easy to remember} we discussed an opportunity that kinds fell into our laps.
Moving. Yes... back into 'town'. Close to hubby's work {I guess the one hour drive each way, for the last 7 years, is kinda wearing on him} Also it would allow him to work more/ take a promotion, should one come along.
Sooooo we started looking. We were so excited because "oh houses are so cheap!" Reality check: most houses are crap. "We could buy a short sale!" Reality check: We can put an offer on a house and get attached and wait for months to hear anything.
So we did find a couple of houses... only to lose in the 'multiple bids' war.
Ugh...
Something I have learned to appreciate during all of this is: My house is freakin nice! Haha! In comparison to all the houses that we have looked at where no one has been 'loving' on them in quite some time. Yards dead, weeds overgrown, holes in walls... And DIRT. Holy cow! My house can get dirty but at least it's MY dirt, if ya' know what I mean ;-)
Any who... it seems there is always a new house popping up on the MLS and one of them is bound to be 'ours' one of these days. In the meantime I think I am going to do THIS challenge from my friend Jenn. It will keep me busy AND get me ready should something work out in the 'Let's Move' plan.

Ella's Bedroom 'Update'

2011-04-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

This WAS Ella's bedroom. Pale green and pink from her nursery. It seemed like for the last 3 years I kept doing little updates resisting, for as long as I could get away with it, the dreaded re-painting...

BEFORE

AFTER Of course I realize this is not a HUGE transformation.. That's why I'm calling it an 'Update' instead of 'Re-Decorate' haha The lighting was awful but I was too impatient to wait until the sun started to go down, and in AZ we get A LOT of sun! The curtains came from my SIL, along with the pillows and bedskirt. Thanks Jen! They were the perfect inspiration to kick my lazy behind into gear and FINALLY paint these walls from pale green to Better Homes and Gardens 'Lime Sherbet'. Which since I mentioned the paint... A word of advice: Don't use this paint! It's a Glidden product purchased from Wal-Mart. Thought I would give it a try, boy am I sorry! It was awful and runny!

And here you go... this is how Ella's room REALLY looks!

Thought in my head was something like this: "After all the hard work I put into this room, you PLAYED in here?!" haha.

And a big THANK YOU to my handsome handyman AKA hubby for hanging everything on the walls and refiguring the curtains so that they would work in here. (Since they were originally made for my neice's room)

PS. I still need to make a lamp and it is highly possible that a few other 'after' projects just may come along for this 'Done' room. Girls' rooms are so fun that they are never really done. Am I right? Well that's another Mini Project down! Next up, the "Dungeon under the Stairs!"

That's right I am cleaning it out, painting the shelves, and then re-organizing!

Mini Projects

2011-04-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

So I'm growing my own food now...

NOT EVEN CLOSE. haha

My first, and only tomato plant. My Mom and Dad gave this to me, with a bag of soil.

You have to supply those of us who are totally clueless about plants with all the essentials for keeping them...alive.

Totally growing tomatoes!!!

Major progress! And a little story about when we moved into this house 4 years ago. Me, "I love this front porch. We can watch the kids play out front" {etc. or something like this} "For now lets just put these {ugly} white chairs out here until we can 'get to it' " Four years later...still looked like this: So inviting right? I can only imagine all the pesky solicitors we chased off. haha! 'Whoa, these people cannot afford what I'm selling. Look at these trashy chairs on their front porch' Just kidding. And please do not be offended if you have these same chairs. :) It's just me. Okay so finally... I worked up a little something that I spent less than $50 bucks on.

Wicker chairs: Craigslist

Blue Pillows: Target

Geraniums: Frys'

(the tomato plant is doing so well I thought I would take a leap, 2 live plants!) TA-DA! Whaddaya think? Still need to replace the white table, maybe in another 4 years haha!

My "FRO BRO" No MO

2011-04-04T17:05:00.000-07:00

This is my wonderful, awesome, sweet, intelligent, 'geek' brother (computer geek, that is) He's basically AFROTASTIC. At least he was...

before

after

We traded a fantastic dinner, if I do say so myself, and a haircut for a laptop. I don't care how good those salmon cakes were I got the better deal! Doesn't he look great without the crazy hair?

Yes, he is single ladies!

Ok! Ok! I'm Back!

2010-11-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

It's only been a year... But I'll just make a clean start.

This Halloween was a LOT different! It was just me and my girl this year. The boys went hunting, for six...long...days... But hey, we had lots of Halloween fun and candy to console us right?

Little Miss Sassy pants, my little Barbie Girl

So now that Halloween is O-VER (Yay, let's git rid of all that sugar!) I am obsessed with Ella's birthday party planning!

We have agreed (My boss, Ella, and I) to have a Sweet Shoppe birthday party. I recruited my famously creative sister, Brittany, to help. Visit her blog here to see her daughter Hallie's amazingly cute strawberry party.

I got my inspiration for Miss E's party from my sister's overwhelming email with every sweet shoppe party blog link in the internet universe (in less than 30 minutes)

A-MAZ-ING, describes my little sister!

Yesterday I ordered adorable invites and more from Tomkat Studios. I am so so so excited. Today we are off to the candy store for edible cuteness (oh wait more sugar...)

To whom it may concern

2010-04-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am sorry that it is April and I haven't posted anything, but I'm pretty sure no one reads this blog.....

Halloween!!!

2009-11-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. I know we did! Austin the Magician, Ella was Tinkerbell, and Steven the SWAT Cop

Fall Festival at the school. The kids loved touring the fire truck!

Steven carved his pumpkin this year while Ella and Austin took me up on the offer to paint them instead (yes!) Dad helped Stevie carve and I monitored the paint splatters :-)

Just for Casey I dressed up as a Hunter. A one time only deal :-)

Broc's shirt says: SECURITY

and Jazzy was a jester. Quite suitable I think...

Trick R Treating

Our Halloween Rock Video

2009-10-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

We're taking this act on the road!
Or maybe just Trick or Treating ;0)
Click on it!
http://cms.oriental-trading.com/a/hBKxClAAdAtd7B7upZIA9hMuo.AdAtd7b5/movie?MOVIE_ID=a93002

Arizona Science Center and the LIGHT RAIL!

2009-10-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

So just a little note that blogger is totally bugging me today and these are all out of order...

Flying the plane
At the end of our day Ella was so tired she crashed on the floor in the light rail. Gross! This only lasted long enough for me to snap this picture.

Ah! Mesa Frozen Yogurt

"Mom can't you see I have Icrecream? I don't want to take a picture nowwww"

Steven

Austin was mesmerized by this magnet maze wall

Steven on the bed of nails

Austin too

Their favorite part was the weather center stage. It had earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, monsoons. All including wind, rain, hot and cold. Very cool!

The boys on the light rail! So excited!

Ella and Nanna with their tickets

A scorpion sculpture (we see enough of these at home)

Wheelchair racing

tug-o-war

October Break!

2009-10-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

October Break. Just an excuse to have some fun!

Park dates, McD's, park, cones at McD's... Auz

We all scream for icecream!

IO-WANNA move to IOWA

2009-10-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

An unexpected trip to Iowa! Casey's Grandpa passed away in his daughter's home in Mt Ayr, IOWA. This is where he wanted to be buried, next to his sweetheart, who passed 3 years ago. So Casey's Mom, Stepdad, 4 siblings, his cousin Stacy, and I piled into the minivan, hopped on a couple of planes, then rented a suburban, and drove 3 hours (or more, thank you GPS) and voila! We were in farm country!
This is the school house where his mom and her brother and sister went to school. They all teased me about how much fun it was to climb inside this slide (fire escape) and sitting on a piece of wax paper, FLY down. BUT I never had the pleasure. Guess we'll have to go back...

Beautiful scenery everywhere. Quiet, peaceful, and green.

Even the graffiti is happy :-)

Lot's of Casey's General stores. It's a sign! No really they were everywhere. Big red signs.

We loved sitting on Aunt Patti's front porch. What a wonderful place to live. The neighbors all brought goodies, no one locks their doors, and people have a real pride in their ride-on lawn mowers. Ah, the simple life.

Update

2009-09-16T09:06:00.001-07:00

It seems like life is just bust busy. For Labor day I put Casey to work :0)

Before:After: Definitely still in progress! But starting to feel "home-ier"

Then there was the day I was cleaning and Ella was out of sight doing this:

She said, "Mom you're happy?"

as I tried not to laugh, and encourage this kind of artisitc beauty. The bath water even turned purple

And we had a big garage sale and CLEANED OUT. We got rid of the couches (and all the furniture) in our front room. Which was wonderful because I was so tired of always fixing the pillows and cleaning those couches. LOL But then 2 days later Casey brought home this air hockey table and filled some of the space.

Which is fine because I don't have to clean it :-)

Some new funnies from the kids: Steven asked if they could play with Kyle and Trevor the other day and I said that they were in Disneyland and Steven responded with concern, "Will we ever see them again???"

After watching Dora or Diego and seeing all the footprints animals leave, we put Ella to bed. She laid there looking up at Casey and pointed to the wrinkles in his forehead, "Snake tracks!"

And I'm sure that Austin will say something stinking hilarious in the near future and I will update you. I am having a too-much-on-my-mind moment and can't think...

The "Me Bag"

2009-07-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Steven came home from school yesterday with a brown bag with a note attached. He is to put 3 things in the bag that tell about him. He chose 1) a car- because "I like cars. I wish it was a motorcycle but I really like this car" 2) Star Wars Jedi Figurine "cuz I love Star Wars" 3) A picture of him on his basketball team "just cuz I like playing basketball"

It brought up a fun conversation... If I put 3 things in a bag for each of our kids this is what I would do:

Steven: 1) A big smiley face because he is always my happy kid. 2) A heart because he is so caring for EVERYONE. 3) the word "LEADER" because he is in charge of the kids in this house (or so he thinks) When I told him this he said, "because I think I'm the boss."
Austin: 1) An Elk picture because he loves camping and hunting with his Daddy. 2) A paint brush because he is my artist. 3)A lightbulb because his brain is always going. He is imaginative and creative, and a little attention deficit too :)
Ella: 1) A microphone because she is LOUD, 2) a stool for her to preform on. She is always dancing or singing 3) A crown, she is a princess and rules the house from under 3 feet tall

Catch up!

2009-07-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well let's see. Time flies when the kids are out of school (which btw they go back in 2 weeks from today, not that I'm counting...)

Let's see, I had a birthday. 21 again!

And the next day was Father's Day

Sugar Cookie his favorite

Homemade cards from all the kids. They worked really hard on these.
And I worked really hard scrubbing the glitter glue off the dining table.

A D-backs hat, a new water jug, and a shirt. Each picked out by one of the kids :-)

Steven had another great gift in mind that he was quite insistent about. The week after Father's Day we went to Bass Pro and ate at the Fish Company Restaurant. We got a table facing their giant aquarium and the kids identified the fish according to the fish guide books provided. It was really fun. The food - was only ok.

And "Copper the wonderdog" is doing well. He has happily accomplished the doggy door, weighs 3.8 lbs, still cries at night and leaves a smelly present in his kennel for me every morning, followed by a bath. He is either the stinkiest or cleanest dog on the block, which depends on when you come over.

Ella played "Tea Party" the other day. Cute, huh?

Looks more like "creamer and sugar mess"

Po-tay-to/ Po-tot-o
We really are enjoying the summer break though. We have spent a lot of time at the different pools. The kids are participating in the summer reading program at the library. We've had plenty of fun craft days too.

(More glitter glue...)

Just another day in the life I love!!!

~Puppy Love~~

2009-06-17T13:48:00.001-07:00

I have been asking for a "little lap dog" for months. Casey said no. I went to pet stores and browsed what I liked. Casey still said no. Austin asked for a pug. Casey said no. I researched everyday for the perfect fit for us (that's just me). Casey said no dog. I looked on the internet on Craigslist and azcentral. Casey said no. no. no. This went on for months. Then on Sunday I stopped. If he really didn't want one I would respect that. Casey didn't know what to do with himself. I was defeated, I had given up. (This almost never happens) So he pulled me over and said, "Ahhhhh. For your birthday present you can get a puppy..."
Yippppeeeeeee!!!!!!

This is my little lap dog :0) Austin wanted a dog like his stuffed animal. I thought it would never happen and even forgot about it until we brought him home and Austin got his puppy and showed us!
Um so the deal is Ella, this is my birthday present.
You can hold him and we can share but he's not just yours....

You were saying???

At first I was a little jealous of all the Ella- and my puppy time. (He loves her dispite what you might think.) Then yesterday after cleaning the whole house (never happens) I sat down feeling very accomplished and realized I was able to do so much because my little shadow now has her own little shadow.

This could work out nicely after all....

Our 3 pampered pooches

Jazzy (the "not quite right" one)

Broc (the "gentle giant")

and Copper (the new kid on the block)

Copper is a "puggle." A hybrid breed between a Pug and Beagle. Supposedly his dad is a champion #1 pug at westchester, west minister, something or other.

All I heard was blah blah blah,

I'll take him!
And his mom is #4 beagle. They were both very small. He should be about 12-15 lbs. max but I'm sure I'll fatten him up :0)

Steve's Memorial Camping Trip

2009-06-09T14:25:00.001-07:00

We took a trip to Williams, Arizona for Casey's Dad's birthday in his memory. Just like when Casey's family went up there years ago, we had a lot of fun! We got up at 3:00 AM... here are the kids acting tired.

They never fell asleep on the extra long drive up...
Ella and cousin Caitlin playing in the tent.
Casey's brother and one of his sisters were able to come up as well.

Casey let the boys drive the truck on the dirt roads.

I grinded my foot on the pretend brake on my side and tried not to grab the wheel :-)

The kids playing along for me when I took a ton of pictures in the beautiful forest.

Oh, the dogs. We have always joked that Jazzy, the little one, is retarded from bad breeding.

Well during an off road drive she made matters worse by jumping out of the back of the truck while hooked on by her leash... I came to her rescue surprisingly fast so apparently... I love her :-)

Ella helping scope out the deer and elk, binocs and all. She LOVED it!

Quad rides for everyone. Except, now that I think of it, ME!

And to the reason we came.

This is "Dad's Tree"

That's what his kids call it. It's been 9 years since he passed. Some of his ashes from his original memorial are still on the ground. It was a very emotional visit, especially for Casey and his sister Bobbi. Casey has been back several times since, but his sister Bobbi had not been here for the 9 years.

It was a little confusing for the kids. The boys were crying as we tried to explain. I told them we have lots of pictures that Casey can share with them, and lots of great stories about a Great man who we all miss dearly!

Summer has begun!

2009-06-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

So I was checking out my blog thinking, "huh, I haven't had much to say lately." So I uploaded pics off my camera and HELLO! I've got tons of fun stuff to tell ya'll about!
We had a super fun water day one weekend. Totally white trash style invention (of mine) to put the slide of the playset into our super awesome blow up pool. lol. Classy...

But hey we all had a blast!

And the boys "graduated" (seriously???)

from kindergarten (sniff!)

Steven above and Austin below

with their super awesome teachers!

I was soooo impressed with them!

Family shot after graduation. Oh look at Ella, cooperative as usual :-)

And perhaps the biggest, or should I say smallest, news of all...

I am an Auntie!

Brittany gave birth to sweet Hallie Jane Wright on May 28th at 8:02 am.

Check her blog for way cuter pictures!

Super Wonderful Mother's Day!

2009-05-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30, yes AM, to the sound of Ella telling me she had "cocka pants." Joy. I roll over and there is no Casey. Weird. Change Ella, put her back to bed. Look outside and Casey's truck is gone. So I go back to bed. Lol.

Turns out he got up super early to pick up my fave for breakfast. Dunkin Donuts!!! Notice a theme? They are all chocolate!

Gift #1 Casey took the kids to a pottery place and made me a plate with each of the kids handprints on it! Soooooo perfect!

Gift #2 They got me ('cause I am the game fanatic) Disney Scene it 2nd edition. Yes!!!We went to Casey's Mom's for brunch and mimosas (yummy)

It was so nice to get together and just relax.

Then we came home and took a nap :-)

Random pics of the kids being gorillas...

Then for dinner my whole family came over and Casey grilled steaks and baked potatoes. It was a wonderful, relaxing meal with the whole family.

After we settled down for the night, the 5 of us played Disney Scene it. Casey and Steven were beating Austin and I so Austin asked if he could be on their team. (So rude! Didn't he understand the theme of the day? It's all about me! J/k) It came down to the 'final play to win' and we lost because Casey and I shouted out the anwser at the same time, but he says he said it first... blah, blah, blah.

I totally let him win.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And imagine my surprise when I uploaded my pictures and found over 100 random shots taken by...

Some of them were hard to figure out, but there were some really good ones. A budding photographer perhaps...

definitely her favorite things

Totally a self portrait!

Yes. I realize she took the camera outside. yikes.

April Update

2009-05-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update from the month of April. Just think, soon I'll post May! :-)

Field Trip to Superstition Dairy Farm

Steven's class. Steven is in red and Auz is in blue, (and Austin's "girlfriend" is in pink)

Yes, she's a whole head taller than him. How do you like this introduction:

Austin: "Mom this is Maureen, but I call her Mo Mo"

Me (later): Austin is Maureen your girlfriend?"

Austin: "yes" (smiles)

Steven: "I have lots of girlfriends, Avery, Jordyn, Savannah..."

(the list went on...)

We learned a LOT about cows! Like they weigh 1500 lbs! Geesh! And they eat a lot of food! And that they give us delicious milk and icecream, which was yummy!

Family Fun Night Bowling

Let's start this story by saying 'Poor Casey' and get it out of the way :-)

It's friday night. I've been home with the kids most of the week. Casey has been working.

I want to get out of the house, Casey not so much...

But 4 against 1 wins :-)

And we had a lot of fun!!!

With their red slurpees thanks to DadWatching Steven's Ball rolling, rolling, rolling...What a fun night!

Summer is scaring me...

2009-04-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

Seriously. I need some ideas on what to do with my crazy trio this summer. They are in this wonderful phase where none of them really gets along. It's wonderful. So instead of locking them in different rooms or hiding under the bed, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep two 6 yr olds and a 2 yr old happy???

Mother's Day Makeover Contest!!!

2009-04-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

You deserve it!
Ladies!
The salon I work for is having an awesome Mother's Day contest!
Write in and tell us why your mom deserves a day of pampering in
100 words or less.
Deadline for letters is April 30th.
What's in it for Mom you ask?
Facial
Makeup Application
Color, Cut, & Style!
And:
Dinner at Red, White, & Brew including
Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert!
I wanted to make sure all the awesome ladies in the neighborhood knew about this! The "winner" will be pampered on Fox 10 News on Friday May 8th! We will also be pampering some of the other deserving moms to free services as well.
So get your kids to write a little something about why you deserve this, cause I know you do!
Letters should be dropped off at Beau Monde Salon and Day Spa at Gilbert and Chandler Heights
www.beaumondesalonanddayspa.com

Update!

2009-04-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

So here's what's been goin' on:
I finally painted Austin and Steven's Room (they decided they wanted to share again) but I couldn't move the bunkbeds by myself (these are the dilemmas you have when you wake up on a monday morning and just decide to go buy paint without telling anyone). So I only painted the two walls. I'm still working on a big sign to hang over the closet. The boys said they want it to say 'Hunters Only'. They really want a hunting room and so far all they have is one picture of a deer...

And we went to Frys to enjoy the FREE Spring Activity where the kids got to decorate cookies, do a Peep Toss, and make cards. At the end all the kids got to choose an egg. The boys' eggs both had candy inside. Imagine Ella's disappointment when her egg had a lonely token in it! Turns out the token meant that she won this big Easter Basket! Ella was totally unaware of the 'awesomeness' of this and still just wanted some dang candy!

Where's the candy!

And Steven lost his first tooth a couple of weeks ago...

followed by Austin losing his second tooth...

And then, last night Steven lost his second tooth...

The tooth fairy is a regular visitor at our house now!

(And we're going for broke!)

Sorry the pics came out so blurry....

Other than that it's the usual chaos, and she took my toy, and I can't find my shoes, and I don't feel like doing my homework.....

Our getaway...

2009-04-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

A little late....

Here are the pictures from our cruise. It was great to have time just the two of us to eat, sleep, and... relax. (What did you think I was going to say?)

Breakfast waiting to board the ship

Just getting on the ship
Catalina was my favorite. We have been before but this time I was old enough to drive the golf cart! Yes!

And we played on the beach, but we only put our toes in because it was COLD!
A gigantic icecream sundae! Am I on vacation or am I dreaming?!

The cruise was Sunday-Thursday, but most of these are from the day we went to Catalina Island. It had a day in Ensenada, but we didn't want to chance it in Mexico, and there was a day at Sea.

Taking the tender boat back to the ship. We were trying to get pictures to show the boys how BIG the ship was.

Me, I don't know! Being a dork!

I couldn't decide, on the last night, between the

baked alaska or the melting chocolate lava cake.... so I got both!

The kids made us a gigantic banner to welcome us back home! So sweet.

The super sentimental part is that this was the last sheet on the roll from when I was a kid and we made banners for special things. Ahhh.
Casey totally saved it.

A little surprise...

2009-03-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

I know I still need to post pics from the cruise and some other stuff from our busy lives, but I couldn't resist sharing this crazy story with you all!

Thursday at 1:00 in the morning my mother in laws dog would not stop barking so Casey's stepdad went outside to check it out. He got a flashlight and checked out their horse. He looked at the back of her and thought her intestines were coming out of her you know where. He yells at my mom in law to get out there cause something is WRONG. She hurries up and gets dressed and turns on the flood lights out back. They look around and see this little white stripe out in the pasture. And what do you know it's a brand new foal!!! Imagine their surprise since they didn't even know she was pregnant! They weren't breeding her either! We all just thought she was fat! The vet had just been out the week before and given her shots and said to cut back on her feed, cuz she was so fat! lol! Poor girl! They had even just had her shoed. Can't believe no one knew and she had this little babe all by herself! Best they can figure she got knocked up when they sent her to the trainer a year ago. I told them they better give him a call and find out "who da daddy." lol! here's a pic of the little boy. He still needs a name.

Disneyland Birthday!!!

2009-02-24T09:14:00.000-08:00

For Austin & Steven's 6th birthday we totally surprised them! We got them ready for "school" friday morning and then we loaded them up in the car. We admitted to them that we weren't taking them to school but to a surprise for their birthday. Then we drove for over 6 hours without them asking another question. I couldn't believe it! Everyone was awesome in the car (thanks to DVDs!) When we arrived at the hotel we started asking them if they knew where we were. Austin looked around and asked, "where are the mountains?" He thought we were taking them camping, because that's basically the only place we ever take them :-) They started seeing the Disney characters on signs and finally figured it out. They were so excited!!!
The picture above shows the boys in the shirts I made them (with the help of my fabulous friend Breezy- who actually made them for me) Their shirts said, "We're 6 Today! Our birthday wish is to be Jedis!!!"

Here's Ella whose shirt said "Birthday Boys' Little Sister. It's not about me...today."

After the Winnie the Pooh ride

Mom and Dad (the best parents of the day) on the Jungle Cruise

The boys (and Ella) wanted their faces painted. Hey, it was their birthday so they got it!

But by the end of the day I was happy to wash it off and see my little guys again. They got a lot of attention in the park. Especially Steven, who was stopped by some Japanese tourist who wanted a picture of him.

The boys' favorite part of the day was when they were chosen for the Jedi training! First they trained them and then, oh no!, Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers showed up. But the force was with the boys and they fought off Darth Vader, with some help :-)

Austin "the snake" Jedi

Steven "the Tiger" Jedi

Proud with their Official Jedi Certificates

Ella's favorite part of the day was (finally) meeting Mickey Mouse!

She ran up to him and gave him a big hug!!!!

Posing with Mickey

And then it got even better! We met Winnie the Pooh and...

Tigger too!

Steven said his favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear's Astro blasters and Austin's was Star Tours! (which we rode twice)

On our first day we went on alot of rides!

And Ella was tuckered out!

Day 2:

Finding Nemo, then Space mountain again, the matterhorn- which we kinda snuck Ella on to.... and Small World. And we were just getting started!

I was impressed with Ella. It seemed like she was scared of nothing, and we had taken her on some big rides, and then she freaked! She hated this wiggly bridge on the Pirate's Lair Island (formerly Tom Sawyer's) Maybe because her brother's loved bouncing it...

But Daddy got her across safely

More rides

and more picture taking by mom...

and Austin totally impressed us by climbing up this rope at Tarzan's place in NO TIME!

Austin rode Splash Mountain 3 times! He is definitely our adrenaline junky!

Steven would try anything once but then he was done.

Taing our pics in the California Adventure letters even though we never ventured over there...

But there's always next time....

And once again we wore Ella out!

It was such an awesome first official family vacation. The kids were great! We never were able to lose them in Disneyland, even though it was packed! I can't think of how it could have gone any smoother or better!

Star Wars Birthday Party

2009-02-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Look who's having a birthday!

We had the boys' birthday party early this year because we have a big surprise in store for their actual birthday. They had a Star Wars Clone Wars Party for the 'fam' at the park.

Austin and Steven with the Sith? or Obewon? Or just their silly grandpa...

Blowing out the candles!

Our super-cute nephew Wyatt enjoying the cupcakes and candy!

The boys finally got their Nintendo DSes that they have been asking for!

Austin

Steven

Britt showing off that baby bump!

This is how Ella spent at least half of the party...sleeping!

(Maybe we could cut back some of those cookies, LOL!)

The boys were hardly heard from since.... until the batteries died.

It was the easiest, most low-key party yet. I loved it.

I had a chance to run around with the kids and there was no clean up. That's the way to do it!

Can't wait until this weekend when the boys find out what's in store!!!! hehe!

Sick?

2009-02-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

I took Austin to the DR yesterday because he had this terrible cough. The DR said he wasn't sure if it was viral or bacterial so go ahead and keep him home for a few days. The Dr said, quote, "It's not like he's learning algebra" He does have some fluid in his left lung so the Dr said it could be 'walking pneumonia'

Does this look like walking pneumonia to you?

He is feeling better already, thank goodness. But I have officially declared it a pajama day! Austin and Ella have been watching cartoons all morning and I watched a 2 hour show on THS about Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. It's almost noon so I think I should go brush my teeth now and maybe wear my high heels while I do some laundry so I don't feel like a total bum. :-p

Superbowl Party at our house!!!

2009-02-03T09:55:00.001-08:00

Casey invited the 'guys' from work and their families over for the superbowl, which turned out to be a Blast! There was tons of food! We got brats from The Pork Shop that were amazing, Jalapeno, Green Chile, and Cheddar. Everyone else brought sides, and appetizers, and desserts. It was awesome since I am a big food advocate. I think food is great :-) Here is Casey's brother, Joe, Casey and Ella waiting for kick off. I was very polite to snap these pics before the game since I was standing in front of the TV...hehe Waiting for the Cardinals to kick some Steeler butts exceot for Tim (boooooo! just kidding) and Steven who decided to root for them even though I had him put on a red shirt.

Ella ready for kick off!!!

Ruthann, Reid, and my guys

The kids getting some air

Okay and here is Casey's brother in 'his corner.' He was so into this game! He was jumping up and down and yelling so loud all his veins were popping out. He is the sports freak in Casey's family and I think he got most of the sports-watching genes thank goodness. I was so worried he was going to knock over our brand new TV!
I told Casey at the beginning of the get together that I wanted to get a picture of all of us in our red shirts. 'Wait til after kick-off' and then 'not right now' cause the game was exciting. Then the party was over and there was no one to snap a picture. I did get this one with Ella if that counts?

Have you seen me?

2009-01-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

What? What's that skinny girl? You miss me? I miss you too!

Oh yeah, and this pic is after the twins, they were 2.

So since the New Year I have been doing the whole Bob Greene Diet thing. Eating my 5 small meals a day, blah, blah, blah. I've worked out a little (not as much as I should have) and still been eating my chocolate late at night. What? That's not in the diet book??? Are you sure?

So 2 weeks into the new year I proudly stepped onto the scale in my undies and TA-DA,

no wait, what does that say? I gained 1.4 pounds, thank you very much!

Ok. So then I went pee. (Too much info)

Back on the scale.... still gained 1.4 pounds.

Screw it. I went to McDonald's and got a hot fudge sundae and a chocolate chip cookie.

THE END

Monday monday

2009-01-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to the Y with my friend Cara to re-check it out and see if Ella would go to the kid center. (Which she did!- yeah!- but with her friend Hailee) So first we went to the "Above the belt" class which was arms and abs.
Yes. I am totally up for this. Ok. First thing we do is lay on our side and do this like sideways push up things... Oww. Serious. Ella is keeping me buff (and blow drying hair) but whoa my neck. But it was good. Feel the burn. Then we did weights for our arms WHILE laying down and balancing on the ball. Ok. I would just like to say that my butt is more sore than my arms from just trying not to wiggle back and forth and fall flat on my back on the floor.
Then we had our feet against the wall below the mirror and facing away while laying on our sides on the ball. (Hope you are getting the visual) Let me just say I should not have looked back. While doing this side crunchie things I am looking at my stomach all slid off to the other side (dang twin-skin) and my saggy butt.
Oh yeah, working out is totally an ego boost...NOT!
So after the class I hit the tread for a mile and pick up a happy Ella from the kid center.
All in all. I never fell off the ball. I totally loved the class and the tread. (ok the tread more love, but the class pushed me- so I secretly like that)
Now my butt is sitting on the computer instead of going grocery shopping. But, in my defense grocery shopping with a wiggley 2 year old who won't stay in the cart is not a walk in the park. And I hate being the grouchy mom in the grocery store...
Last time I went grocery shopping I had all 3 kids. I have a funny from that chaos though.
There we are in the dum dum dum- cereal aisle.
And Ella grabs a box of "Cookie Crisp" Cereal. I tell her to put it back because I am not paying $4 for a box of cookies for breakfast. Ella says to me, "I yike" while nodding her head. Well while I'm distracted and not following thru with keeping the box from her, she rips it open! Austin is totally stressed and says, "Oh my gosh, Mom, look what Ella did! She opened the cereal. That's stealing. All four of us are going to jail!"
I laughed out loud. From the mouths of babes! I love this stuff. Sometimes my kids just totally crack me up and I can't believe I GET to do this.

2009

2009-01-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

Ahhh. 2009. At first I thought I had no 'resolutions' persay to make. I made the comment to Casey, "Oh you know. Get in shape. Pay off debt. Go on a vacation as a family. Build my business further." But since making that comment I really started to dive into each subject seperately. Can't I have it all?

Get in shape. Don't roll your eyes. I found an old picture of myself that was very inspiring to me. Here I thought because the scale, pretty much, was where I wanted it to be I was satisfied. When I saw this picture I realized I have been lying to myself. Why has it been harder to get back my body after Ella than it was after the twins? Doesn't that sound a little backwards? She is a much more demanding child. No doubt. Even this morning as I laid on the floor and did a workout video, she screamed at me for the last 5 minutes until the video was over and I turned it off. It wasn't enough to lie next to me for her. (I'm not evil, I just can't give her her way all the time.) I was working out at the Y after she was born, but at 9 months old I was tired of getting everyone to the gym, just to be called back because she was screaming. So since part of my 2009 resolutions is budget I am faced with the question "what can I give up in exchange for a gym membership?" instead of making the excuse that I can't workout because Ella is always pulling on me. So there. I will Get in shape (which may also include losing 2-4 lbs. but that isn't my focus.)Pay off Debt. OK. There is a simple saying that keeps ringing in my mind. "You're either paying interest or earning it." I think that should pretty much sum up this section. No seriously. Without getting into numbers we are getting smarter about debt and accepting the fact that our 'house investments" have taken a dip and are going to take longer to profit from than originally thought. Who's with me, huh! So in 2010 I hope to no longer be paying interest, other than houses, because I am going to work my hiney off in 2009. And maybe then I'll start earning interest! ha.

Vacation. This doesn't sound like a resolution does it. Oh but it is. We saved saved saved last year for 2 vacations for this year: one as a family, one as a couple. Last year we had a 'practice vacation' if you will at the Hilton in Phoenix. This year we have planned our first official Family Vacation. TADA! And even though it hurts because I want to use that money to pay off debt, I have decided that the memories are important. And what if? What if the economy puts us in a spot where vacations are unheard of for quite some time. There is only so much time I get these little cuties to myself before they have friends, cars, and college.

YOU ARE SWORN TO SECRECY. THE KIDS DON'T KNOW WE ARE GOING YET.

Can you tell what the marquee says? :-)

Last but not least.

Business. Another saying comes to mind, "With great risk comes great reward" or something someone lied about like that. I took a leap of faith this year and went full time at work. More than doubling what I have to pay to be there and adding the cost of daycare. I just did my totals for the year and was disappointed. I made exactly the same amount the 2nd half of the year as I did in the 1st except that my expenses were so much higher. So I have found myself wandering the library, internet and Barnes & Noble as if the answer is waiting to jump out at me. More clients. At a time when people are pushing off color and 'just a getting a haircut', how do I make more money instead of less? So I am working on how to advertise the most cost effective way.So today at the library I borrowed 5 books and I bought one at Barnes & Noble: Bob Greene's Diet book, 2 Disneyland guide books, Life Laughs (just for some fun inbetween), and A valentine's Amelia Bedelia for the kids. I bought Rich Dad Poor Dad, for all my financial answers.
I hope all this rambling inspires someone or at least makes sense. I debated whether or not to post such personal information but I think that such a public statement will hold me to it. At least I hope!

What a Wonderful Life

2008-12-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

Okay this has to be my favorite Christmas picture. I was so glad to go to the Christmas lights with my family , except Chip :(, this year.
So, a couple days before Christmas my friend Katie called and asked if we could hide her kids' christmas present until the big day and of course I said YES! Who can resist a cute little boxer puppy? Well as it turns out my female boxer has no maternal instincts and was a little rough with him and so was Ella...
Katie I hope your cut pup is ok! Sorry if we did any permanent damage...And here are my digustingly cute parents (Who are such a great example to me. I hope I am disgustingly cute to my kids when I've been married for almost 30 years)

And here I am with Ella and my great Aunt Ennid, so I guess that's Ella's Great Great Aunt. Wow she looks good!

And the boys got a picture with her too!

And Casey with his Grandpa, who I know is a hero of Casey's. I was glad to get this great photo to remember him by later on.

And my stinkin cute boys!

This is Christmas day. Austin and I are showing off our new shoes. Austin got the 'Z' strap Skechers he kept talking about and Casey got the Jessica Simpson shoes I mentioned a couple months ago. The story of when he bought them is hilarious when you have a minute.
Christmas day we went to Casey's Mom's and they had Karaoke. Ella was all over it! She wanted me next to her but not in her spotlight! If I tried to sing the words with her she put her hands in my face in protest!
It was a truly great Christmas spent with all the people I love most! I love that the holidays give you a chance to reflect on how many wonderful people you get to have in your life and (pardon the pun) What a Wonderful Life it is!

Twin Questions you probably shouldn't ask:

2008-12-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

Now that the boys are almost 6 (holy cow!) I would have thought people would stop asking these things. If you have asked me any of these in the past please let this be a polite way of warning you against asking parents of twins these somewhat retarded questions again, and I still love you:

1. Are they twins? What was yourt first clue? Why did you even ask? Why do you need to know?

2. Are they identical or fraternal/paternal/maternal? Seriously? Can YOU tell them apart? But since we spent $150 5 years ago to find out for sure, ourselves, I'll let it slide. For the record: Identical.

3. Which one is older?Why do people feel compelled to know this? Birth order is not really important. You're talking about a matter of minutes between births, (13 minutes for mine) not enough time for anything meaningful to impact their personalities. Now that they are old enough Austin knows that he's the oldest and Steven chimes in that he's bigger- both true.

4. Which one is the good one? Seriously, again? Well right now he is, but give it a few minutes and things could change!

5. Do twins run in your family?Because I don't want to have to give a genealogical breakdown every time I'm in the grocery store or the Doctors office for now on I will just reply "Yes, up the stairs, down the stairs and around the couches."

6. How come their names don't match? Okay I inititally thought that would be cute but am now grateful that Casey forbid it.

7. How do you tell them apart? Well they aren't photocopies, their twin brothers. Spend 2 minutes with them and you'll be able to tell one from the other even if you can't remember which is which. But to be honest I have scolded the back of a head with no response and then eventually realized that's not who I thought it was.

8. Did you have them "naturally?"This is really personal question, and one which strangers have no business asking. But to all my friends I don't mind bragging that I had them: with drugs, and through the old-fashioned route of exit.

9. Do they have their own language? This is actually a well thought question in my mind. And yes, when the boys were younger they communicated in a languauge only they could understand. And the only thing I ever really picked up was that Steven went by 'Trom'.

10. Do you ever dress them alike?When they were babies we did because people bought them matching outfits and I was grateful to be able to dress them. Now they have totally different clothes in each of the closets because we have been so blessed as to rotate clothes among some friends, that way none of us spends a fortune on clothes. They have very different styles. So in reference to question #7 the better dressed one is Steven. Austin sometimes puts together the most, lets say, "creative" outfits. But then again he is my artist.
11. Weren't you worried you might have twins again? Of course! But obviously we took that chance, Have you met Ella?

You'll shoot your eye out!

2008-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well this year I got in on the action. Not because I wanted good stuff in my stocking but because I wanted Ella in the picture- not crying! The boys were so excited to see Santa, "He's here!" Steven asked for a bike and Santa told him there are 2 rules for bikes 1) he must always wear a helmet 2) he can only ride when Mom says. (High Five Santa!) Then he asked for a "tendo DS" (ouch!) I reminded him that Santa has to bring presents to a lot of kids and maybe we can work on that one for his birthday (Nice save Mom!) Then Santa turned to Austin and asked him what he wanted. He had this glazed smile on his face like, "I am sitting on Santa's lap, holy cow" It was so cute. Then he found his voice and said he wanted a bike and a Nintendo DS as well and Santa repeated the rules.
When we were done Steven said, "I didn't even ask him for a gun." Why I asked him, "because you'll shoot your eye out!" LOL!!!!!!!!

The Christmas Sugar High has officially started...

2008-12-17T08:09:00.000-08:00

Well we kicked off the christmas season right! With Sugar Cookies. Casey's fave. I let the kids roll em out, cut em out. The works. This letting them make a mess thing is liberating.
We already ate all of the sugar cookies (and we gave some away) but then last night for Bunco I made TOFFEE, which is like my holiday heroine. lol. Seriously once I start I keep sneaking into the pantry and eating more when no one is looking. So if anyone would like to help a good cause and would like to have some toffee, I would consider it an intervention.

See I even let Ella create by herself. You can be so proud of me now.

Ella Bella's Par-tay!

2008-12-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

No that's not really her name. I am not that Lame!

Here are the best 2yr old party ever pics. (OK I exaggerate, but it was fun)

I made her this tutu which she strutted her stuff in the night before,

but when the party started she refused to wear it! Ugh!

Ok her she is happy- notice the tutu off to the left? what a stinker! There's a song in my head that seems appropriate, "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to..."

I think that's Ella's Life Theme song

Playing hot potato

It was a dress up party so all the kids wore their costumes.

From Left: My handsome hubby (sorry you got a little cut off Babe)

Holding Ella, Then Me holding Ella's BFF Addyson, Casey's nephew Reid, then Aaron E, then Ryan E who Ella calls Bubba and is her future husband, then my Austin as Batman, Caitlin E, and little Caitlin our neice. Missing in the photo is Steven as wolverine. Whew! That's a lot of favorite people!

Oh, speaking of favorite people here's my Prego sista' and her hubby. (I know what they are having but you'll have to check her blog for an announcement. I won't spill!) Aren't they the cutest!

And here's another of my favorite people! I had to show off this pic of my friend Carrie (Ella's future mom in law) cuz it shows how dang skinny she is and I love to embaress her! :-)

Happy Birthday Ella

2008-12-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe my baby is 2!!! Here is her pictures from the last two very fast years! I can't believe how much she has grown (and how much hair she's grown!) This little girl is diva, drama, and personality X 10!!!

To all my Decorating Diva Friends! Help!!! SOS!!!

2008-12-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

So, even though I still need to paint A & S's rooms, I am doing Ella's big girl room so that she can share her crib and changing table with Baby Wright- coming May 2009 to a family near you! :-)

Right now her room is pale pink on top and pale green on bottom which go with some of the ideas but I am totally willing to re-paint for cute factor!

Here is the bed I plan on getting:

So cute huh!
Here are some bedding options:

Which can go with the green and pink she already has??? Like this kind of:

Or all Hot pink and black like this (totally inspirational in absolutely the highest hopes of coming anywhere near this cuteness!)

Or do I go flowery like these:

If I did this style I would paint flowers and make it all garden-y

Holiday Photo

2008-12-03T15:56:00.001-08:00

The traditional, much expected, Christmas 2008 Family Photo- you're welcome.

I love all the attitudes! Austin's all into it, Steven thinks he is too cool- as usual, and Ella's like how much longer are we doing this (which coincidentally is what Casey is thinking too) And I'm just happy that someone is taking my picture on a day that I am: A) dressed B) wearing makeup, and C) No one has gone for a swim in the much tempting waters behind us!

Thanks Breezy (and Carol) for all your hard work making us look half-decent and happy all at the same time!

Happy Birthday Aunt 'BB'!!!!!!!

2008-11-26T05:27:00.001-08:00

I love my little sister! Today is her 23rd birthday! She is the most beautiful girl I know! She is funny and sweet, and a little grumpy if you try to wake her up- which is hilarious! She is an awesome decorator and her house is super cute! She is going to be an awesome mom!!!! I love you Britt Bratt! The boys and Ella say, "Happy Birthday Aunt BB!"

This is the birthday cake I made my sister to celebrate at Thanksgiving. It was way harder than it looked!

Cover your eyes Nikki and just skip the rest of this blog. It is not to be viewed by professional cake girls!

First amputate Barbie's legs...

Then hold her torso in with toothpicks, which was Casey's idea.

Maybe he's done this before...

Tada! Cinderella Barbie Cake

(Pretend your impressed)

Thanksgiving Turkeys!

2008-11-26T05:21:00.001-08:00

I have to admit these cute Turkeys were Steven's idea. He saw a picture on a frosting coupon and asked if we could make them. I actually had fun helping them create these little turkeys (I usually get totally stressed over the mess) I am learning... Even Ella decorated one, but she ate it before I could snap the photo. The boys were so proud to take their turkeys to Thanksgiving dinner (which we had on Sunday).

Ella

Steven

Austin

Entertainment center for sale!

2008-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

I am selling my super cute, heavy entertainment center if anyone is interested! I have it listed on Craigslist and have had a few interested but thought this might be another place to get it shown. Casey is dying for a new TV (to hang on the wall--boys...) SO if anyone wants it let me know. It's 7 1/2 feet tall and almost 8 ft wide. It is 3 pieces and very heavy solid wood. It's center has a 34" opening for a TV. I know these aren't as popular now with the new tv's, but I LOVE IT!!!!

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/fuo/915011976.html

Temptation

2008-10-26T20:52:00.000-07:00

I have given into temptation before but have learned restraint. Tuesday as I walked through the mall, by myself, without a care in the world, it hit me- hard. There before me was the sexiest thing I have seen in a long time where it was concerned. I walked past several times before, to see if anyone else had spotted it too, then I headed straight over. I slipped off my shoes, first the left and then the right. As I stood on the cold marble floor I took a deep breath and grabbed ever so tenderly the object of desire. It was beautiful. Love at first sight and then deeper once it was with me. A perfect fit together. The display was just my size. A moment together was all we shared and then the pesky sales lady came over! "Can I get you another size?" No 6 1/2B was a perfect union hugging the curve of my foot ever so perfectly. "No" I said. "Aren't they cute? I just sold some the other day..." Blah blah blah lady. Leave me alone. Can't you see how happy we are? I slipped off the shoe and turned it over. Would they be mine? $79 bucks! Ouch! In another life that wouldn't have bothered me so much but Christmas is just around the corner. I put them back on the display and told the lady no thank you. I disguised my enthusiasm. It was hard to walk away. But alas, I did. If you can find the right ones online, I could not. And would like to buy me an early Christmas gift... These are them but in the color like the ones on the bottom. Hot sexy red and yet sophisticated black. Ahhhhh....Aren't they soooooo cute!

But in this color scheme

Trunk-R-Treat & Pumpkins

2008-10-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

We "practiced" Halloween on Saturday night at the ward trunk-r-treat. It was a LOT of fun! We didn't decorate a trunk this year. (Since we won last year we thought we should give everyone else a turn. haha! No seriously there just wasn't time!) Here are the kiddos in costume: Steven- Wolverine, Austin a Blade Ninja, and Miss Ella a ladybug.

Then the next day we picked out our pumpkins. Thank goodness Ella just loved this one that already has a little face! It will be enough to carve with the boys. I'm sure I will post them when we do that!

Daddy's New Monster Truck

2008-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

So what the hey? I buy a Minivan and Casey buys this 'Monster Truck' ?(that's what the boys call it)

Casey came home a week ago Friday and was like "Hey I saw this truck today, want to go look at it?" I thought he was just joking but... Here it is. I have to admit it's pretty sweet. But I think he needs some steps because when I try to get in I have to put my foot up as high as my waist to hoist up into it! :-)

Kids posing in front of the truck

Whatever makes him happy!!!

Something about tires....

Ella is as tall as the wheels, the boys noticed.

Ella's First Hair Trim

2008-10-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone freaked when I said I was going to give Ella a hair cut. All I wated to do was cut her bangs and trim some of the baby fuzz off. They all chilled out when they saw the finished product. Now she can see! It was hard to stop cutting. The more I cut the curlier her hair got.

You can see she still pulled out her bow though :-)

Yeah, she kept her bow in!

2008-09-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Miss Ella-Bella-Cinderella

Fall Break- Fun at the Zoo!

2008-09-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

We got to the Zoo early, just as most of the animals were eating.

Steven, "Mom it's right there!" Austin totally chill...

All the kids wanted their picture with the Baboons.

But the Splash Park (Yakulla Caverns) was definitely a favorite after walking all over!

Wow Ella is tall... I've never noticed how big she is next to the boys, considering there is a 4 year difference! She's not even 2!!!

Thank you, thank you to my awesome sister

for coming to the Zoo with us and helping with all the kiddos!!!

I had so much fun hanging out with you! I miss you all the time!

And as we left we found the brick that my mom and dad

got how many years ago. It was so cool to find it!

(Brad & Brenda, and Ashley Brittany Chip)

The Mini Van Debate

2008-09-17T19:27:00.001-07:00

HELP!!!!

Would you ever drive a minivan? Do you drive one and love it? Hate it?

We are going through the minivan debate.

Minivan Pros:

*More room.

*Easier to put Ella in her carseat (it matters when she weighs over 30 lbs and I have to lift her into the middle.)

*Cheaper.

* Slightly better gas mileage.

*Get a DVD player this time :-)

What would you drive?

1.Honda Odyssey

2. Toyota Sienna

3. My Ford Edge

Mini Candy Apples

2008-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ok I got this idea off someone's blog. Too cute!

Ok to be totally honest, I was a little stressed by the time we were done and snapped this pic. But the kids and Nanna had a lot of fun and it was very 'rewarding' when we were finished.

Labor Day Fun!

2008-09-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

It was so exciting to have 2 days in a row together with the whole family. We decided to celebrate by going to Build-A-Bear. On the way I had this sneaky idea to save money and asked the boys if they would rather do build-a-bear or get Transformers. I guess you can see my evil-money-saving plan worked! But we still took Ella. Than we went to Dairy Queen. Yum!!!

Too tired for Candy???

2008-08-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Here is Ella after our Monday errands. We went to San Tan Ford for an oil change (that took 2 hours! and made us late for the DR) and Ella got her well check with some shots ;-( After her brave little face at the doctors I gave her a sucker, so what if the DR joked about her being in the 90th percentile....

I never get over these cheeks!!!
I looked back to find Ella totally passed out. Too tired even to enjoy her sucker, or maybe she's just saving it for later???

Side job...

2008-08-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Casey did a roof as a side job. Totally his money for hunting or whatever and he was so super sweet and thoughtful with it! (Like usual) First he brought home flowers for me, pink! And then he said that we needed to go to Costco and re-stock. (I cut costco out of the budget for the slow summer months)

So we filled 2 carts full at Costco and Casey said, "I don't think this is going to fit in your car." I replied, "Don't underestimate MY car!" So we filled it all up and there was still room for more! Which of course I rubbed in his face. You are looking at $365.05 worth of people food, dog food, and toilet paper! We are officially stocked!

Student of the Week

2008-08-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

Austin got student of the week. His teacher sent home a little paper saying that they were having a special assemby and that I was invited to come. Of course I was there! After I saw his certificate I realized it looked exactly like one that Steven had brought home and no one had ever told me that he was getting it! Ugh! I asked Steven about it very apologetically and he brushed it off saying, "Yeah, I got that like the first week of school..." Ok then. Guess I'm off the hook???

But look at my Austin he was beaming with pride!

He's the shorty on the left ;-)

Mini Me!!!

2008-08-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Oh so proud! Ella and I went shopping at my next to favorite store! (Only second to Steve Madden) Ella wanted to carry the "purse." She wandered all thru the mall with her VS bag getting lots of, "look how cute!"s. But then she left it behind in Children's Place and I was kinda freaking out because it had my bra in it! LOL! Hey they aren't cheap (but totally worth it!)

Racing Time!

2008-08-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

I took Casey out for a 'surprise night' for his birthday (which he hated, not knowing where he was going) I took him to F1 Race Factory in Phoenix. First clue I gave him was that he could wear casual clothes. Then after he said how much he liked my hair that night I said, "too bad it's going to get ruined at our first stop." Then he got this smile on his face and said he knew where we were going. So I asked him where... "We're going to ride a mechanical bull aren't we." What! Uh no. Sorry honey. He also guessed that we were going to the shooting range again. No. Sorry. Wrong again.

Even though he hated not knowing where we were going he had a great time when we got there. (It was a long drive too. It's on Washington and 48th st!)

I was so determined to win! I'm sure that you are shocked by my competitive nature, not! I was the first car in line and was sure I would keep my front place status, but then as we got around the first curve all these people started flying around me all aggressively and I thought they were going to crash into me! So I moved over and everyone passed me! I was so ticked so I was trying to catch up with them when Casey, who had been right behind me, passed me for the second time! I came in 12th, out of 12. Ugh! Next time I'll try to check my Mommy driving habits in the locker room!

After dinner we went back to Firebird's for some yummy steak. But get this! We had to take most of our awesome dinners home because we filled up on cheese fries at the racetrack. I wasn't complaining though when we ate our cheesecake out home, while we watched a movie at midnight. (Seriously, midnight! We were like kids again, lol)

Casey's Birthday

2008-07-31T18:06:00.001-07:00

I surprised Casey with a Seafood Favorite of his (I hate seafood, yuck!) for his birthday dinner. KING CRAB LEGS! As you can see by the picture he was very happy. The rest of us ate chicken. The boys both tried the crab and Austin said it was good and Steven said it tasted like "poison chicken" but he liked it. Who knows!

I made him rainbow chip cake, he said it was a childhood favorite. Nanna and Lito (my mom and dad) stopped by to give him a birthday card just in time for cake.

Everyone singing him Happy Birthday
Very happy with his present.

(New steps for his truck, it must be a guy thing)

Ella & Mom Mondays

2008-07-28T15:14:00.001-07:00

I'm a little unsure of the whole working five days a week thing, I think everyone knows, but there is a good part. Ella and I have Mondays together just the two of us. Today we went to the mall to look for a birthday present and we treated ourselves to Dairy Queen. I say 'we' but I'm sure you can see who got my love for icecream!

Tooth Fairy

2008-07-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Austin lost his first tooth! I was out shopping when I got a text from Casey of this gross picture of Austin with this bloody spot where his cute little tooth use to be. I screamed in the store and totally embarrassed myself. (So I showed the girl at the register the picture so she would understand, and I beamed with pride for my little guy.) It's probably a good thing that I wasn't there for the actual pulling-of-the-tooth because I got light headed and nauseous just looking at the picture.

That night he put his tooth under the pillow (in a Ziploc baggy) and dreamed of the tooth fairy. She rewarded him nicely with a $5 bill. The next morning at breakfast Austin told us all about his money. I asked Austin, "What do you think the Tooth Fairy does with all the teeth she buys from little kids?" Austin didn't even hesitate and responded, "She gives them to the King, and he puts them in a machine and they make books." Wow! I had to laugh inside at that one! This silly boy! I love him!

First Day of Kindergarten!

2008-07-21T12:29:00.001-07:00

It's a big day in our house! Austin and Steven started kindergarten!!!

Here is Austin ready to go in his transformers backpack:

Here is Steven's cheesy face, ready to go out the door with his Spiderman backpack:
At the bus stop just at the end of our street:
Uh, bye!

Love you!

Of course I jumped in my car so I could see them in their classes!

Here is Austin in Mrs. Ryba's class. I really like his teacher, and he sits right in the front so hopefully he'll pay attention and not goof off.

Here is Steven in Ms. Greffe's class (I think his teacher is younger than me!)

He sits in the back but he usually aims to please so I think he'll be ok.

Ella just had a fit when her brothers got on the bus and drove away. They were waving bye in the window and my heart melted. They are so big, but they are mine, and I didn't want them to go.

Kindergarten

2008-07-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that the boys are starting kindergarten on Monday! We are going to meet the teacher tomorrow night. Yesterday in the mail we got their teachers' names and a HUGE list of school supplies to buy times 2!!! We also got their bus schedule in the mail. I told the boys I would drive them but they said they want to ride the bus. The bus stop is just down our street so I am sure it will be a fun little walk everyday seeing them off. I haven't cried yet...

Camping at Bear Canyon Lake

2008-07-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Bear Canyon Lake

Austin and Steven playing

Ella's camping face

Mom and Dad did most of the cooking!
The boys played so well together!

Baseball and swords and sticks,

First time fishing for the boys. They caught a couple of "crabdads"

Casey proud of his huge crawdad

He showed the boys, they didn't like the pinchers so close to them.

Ella and Caitlin

Steven and Reid

We all had a great relaxing time in the cooler weather. We had some rain that would come and go, it was so nice. We played cards and layed in the hammocks. We finally got to use our gumby trailer and it was perfect! The food was good and the company was even better! We went with Colby and Misty's family (casey's brother and wife) and Mom and Dad, and us! (and the dogs!)

They were 'dog' tired after the long weekend!

2008-06-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

Hilarious! Thank you Nikki! Copy and Paste this on your blog. Remember to fill in the blanks on yours and leave an example for your bloggin friends.

Face it, Ashley, you are about the greatest thing since Taco Bell. No one else can shake it like you can. Your best friend says you are the wild-est person in the world. but you also adopted a homeless cat.So, Babygirl, today is the day you're going to stop beating up on yourself fro being lazy, silly and nice And if people give you a soft time, just tell'em they can take their mama and bounce it up their foot!

Face it,YOUR NAME HERE , you are about the greatest thing since FAVORITE FOOD. No one else can VERB like you can. Your best friend says you are the ADJECTIVE-est person in the world. but you also HONORABLE THING YOU DID.So, FAVORITE ENDEARMENT, today is the day you're going to stop beating up on yourself fro being NEGATIVE ADJECTIVE POSITIVE ADJECTIVE and POSITIVE ADJECTIVE> And if people give you a ADJECTIVE time, just tell'em they can take their NOUN and VERB it up their BODY PART!

Here kitty kitty...

2008-06-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok so after Ella got stung, by what we think was a scorpion last week, I was on the hunt for solving the problem. No Mom should have to go through that with their little one. I started warming up to the idea of getting a cat after someone told me they eat scorpions (what!) We went to Petsmart and this little kitty had all the right boxes checked, kids, dogs, etc. They said she was a great family cat. She had it all. But I was still skeptical. We spent some time with her and found her to be the most laid back cat ever! I let the kids, including Ella, go after her and she was just chill. I brought Casey back to meet her, but still couldn't get over the idea of having a cat after being a 'dog person' for all my life. But by friday I still couldn't get this little love bug out of my head so here she is at home with us. We named her Lola.

Memory Game!

2008-06-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

I got this off of my friend Carlie's blog. It looks like fun.
Here are the directions:1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-06-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me. 25 again...

25 things about me for my birthday:

1. I love water, especially crushed ice!

2. I am addicted to the internet (not much else to do in QC)

3. I makeover random people I see (just in my head)

4. I'm an icecream freak! If there were a shortage on ice cream I would stock the deep freeze and not share. sorry.

5. I've never missed an episode of Grey's Anatomy.

6. I watched every episode of American Idol this year and picked David Cook as my fave at his audition and take full credit for him winning. ;-)

7. Basically I'm a television expert.... Gotta love DVR

8. I love BIG hair!

9. I wrote a short story in 7th grade that my friends loved and now I'm writing a book that I hope to publish someday.

10. I (heart) MFY and can't believe I never fulfilled my dream of working there.

11. My first job was at a drycleaners (that I kept working at even after I got robbed) Yeah it was scary.

12. When I'm having a frumpy day I wear cute shoes to make me feel better.

13. Key phrases " hey girly" and "do you know what I mean"

14. On my way to work I sing REALLY loud in the car the whole way there to get me pumped and in a good mood for my clients.

15. Like most moms I will do anything to not have to make dinner.

16. For my birthday my only request were, "I don't want to cook and I don't want to plan our date."

17. (WOW, this is harder than it looks) I love Steve Madden shoes!!!

18. I broke my biggest "when I'm a mom rule" and put a huge little tikes playset in the front room. (It will be outside though when the weather cools down.)

19. I am learning to like my curly hair.

20. I live for vacations with and without the kiddos.

21. My hobbies are scrapbooking and photography. I love photographing interesting places and things that we have seen mostly on vacations

22. My favorite fast food is Taco Bell, unless there's a Dairy Queen within a 5 mile radius and then I will totally forfeit "real food" for a Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzard! - Yeah it's all chocolate!

23. I would love to convince Casey to go to Mexico someday. I hear there are some great places to visit.

24. I'm more of a ride quads in the mountain then lay on the beach kinda girl. hey I have pale skin

25. I managed to type this with Ella standing on my chair in front of me. Always leraning new talents!

26. I am secretly 26 now but you can't tell anyone!

Havasupai

2008-06-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

The whole family ('grown-ups' only ) went to Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon, as promised to Dad that we would! It was almost 11 miles in. We camped down by the falls. The second day we went to Mooney Falls, which was awesome!!! We had to climb through the walls and hold on to chains. It was crazy! One of the most exhilerating experiences in my life. I wish I could show those pics but my computer won't download the cd for some reason. :-( But it was all very beautiful!!!

Casey and I

Oh yeah, but Britt, Mom, Guffy, and I took the helicopter out! My first time in a chopper!!

Waterpark Fun!

2008-06-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Think she'll float!

I have been meaning to post this for a while! Sorry everybody!

We went to the Hilton for a family fun weekend. We had a blast!!!

Freestone Park

2008-06-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

Bowling Night!

2008-06-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Bowling Night was so much fun!!!

Everyone crashed as soon as we got in the car. LOL

Summer Fun Days!!!

2008-06-03T11:36:00.001-07:00

So in honor of my last summer home with the kids *sniff* (the boys are starting Kindergarten and I am going to work Full-Time, whoa!) I have decided to make the FUN DAYS calendar. Every Tuesday and Thursday there is a picture turned over of whatever "fun day surprise" I have in store for the kiddos. I have everything from make cookies to the dinosaur museum hidden on the calendar for the next 7 weeks of summer. I can't wait to show the boys what fun stuff we are going to do!

Camping...

2008-06-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so after all our preparation for our big campout it was a bust. I'm sure we weren't the only ones who had big plans for memorial day weekend. It was snowing where we were going to camp so instead we parked our gumby trailer over at Casey's Mom's house and "camped." We still roastet marshmellows but things weren't completely authentic to camping. For one, the horses would whinny which would make our dogs bark, then the neighbors dogs would bark, and so on. For two, we got biscuits and gravy for breakfast :-), and third- I went shopping with Casey's Mom and sister the next morning and got a new purse. Way better than camping IMO, but Casey is still holding out for 4th of July weekend.

Tribute to the BEST DOG EVER

2008-05-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Rest in peace Ginger.

She was the best dog a family could ever have!

Playing in the Rain!

2008-05-22T19:21:00.001-07:00

Steven jumping in the puddles
Austin jumping too
Ella didn't know WHAT was going on
"This is cool" We're allowed to stomp?
Who says Moms can't have fun too?

Austin & Steven's Preschool Graduation!

2008-05-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Austin was such a stinker at graduation, being totally silly. But it was his day!
Steven being his charming self

Austin & Steven are officially preschool graduates! Hooray! (Not really, I liked the 2 1/2 hours to myself) They were so wiggly during the ceremony because Austin's cap kept falling off. It made me realize that they might have been the class clowns... Sorry Ms. Randall!

Cleaning the trailer

2008-05-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Don't be jealous over our fancy trailer! Just kidding!!! Ain't she a beaute? Last weekend we spent an entire day cleaning 30 years worth of dust out of her, but she's spotless now!

2008-05-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

We are all so excited to go camping this weekend! We cleaned out our entire trailer! No Joke! I took down all the curtains, pulled off all the cushion covers, and washed everything. Then I got my trusty bucket o' Pinesol and washed down the ceiling, walls, inside the cabinets, under the stove. You name it! It already smells like the mountains ;-) Then I went inside and saw the disaster that had taken place by my three little muchkins and wanted to sleep in the trailer! Oh well!

2008-05-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ella Ashley soon to be 18 months! So much personality! Such a silly girl with so many "faces." She keeps us all entertained!

2008-05-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Pic of me and the kids, taken for Father's Day. I am already racking my brain trying to think of am appropriate gift for my awesome husband. (Although he did just treat himself to a "leveling kit" on his truck. Does that count?) I wish! No , he deserves so much more!

Promise

2008-05-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

I, Ashley Brooks, promise to be more consistent in posting on my blog. I have left the world for too long and can't understand half of what I am doing on this blogspot. Excuses aside I will be more diligent in keeping the blogging world posted on my triumphs and mishaps.

The End

Our Songs

2008-01-08T18:41:00.001-08:00

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Happy 1st Birthday Ella!

2007-12-12T09:46:00.001-08:00

2007-11-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

2007-11-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

Can you tell who's who?

6 years already!

2007-11-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

Casey and I celebrated our sixth anniversary this year. It has gone by so fast! There have been a lot of curves we didn't expect! (Like twins!) But our boys are great. They are almost five and have such personalities! Last December we had our little girl Ella. She completes our family (and then some) She is a handful! With a mind of her own, the little tricks I thought I knew from raising the boys don't work on her. She is a sweetie most of the time but right now is cutting 6 teeth at once (four are molers) Poor girl. So I guess it's pretty obvious that Casey helps a ton! I could not do this all on my own. I love you Babe!

Just to do a little shopping

2007-11-19T10:10:00.000-08:00

I took this picture last week after a shopping attempt. In order to get through Ross with three kids I bribed them! I gave them all Airheads (blue) including Ella, who loved them! Here's proof I'm not as good of a mom as I had planned ;-)

Hopping on board!

2007-11-19T10:00:00.001-08:00

My sister sent me an email of her super cute blogspot and told me I should make one. We just had family pictures taken yesterday for Christmas so as soon as I get those back I will post them!

C and Me Plus 3!

We finally bought a house!

10 years

October so far...

Austin & Steven turned 8

Ella's Sweet Shoppe

Mama Schell Says: 40 Bags in 40 Days

House hunting

Ella's Bedroom 'Update'

Mini Projects

My "FRO BRO" No MO

Ok! Ok! I'm Back!

To whom it may concern

Halloween!!!

Our Halloween Rock Video

Arizona Science Center and the LIGHT RAIL!

October Break!

IO-WANNA move to IOWA

Update

The "Me Bag"

Catch up!

~~~~~~~Puppy Love~~~~~~~~

Steve's Memorial Camping Trip

Summer has begun!

Super Wonderful Mother's Day!

April Update

Summer is scaring me...

Mother's Day Makeover Contest!!!

Update!

Our getaway...

A little surprise...

Disneyland Birthday!!!

Star Wars Birthday Party

Sick?

Superbowl Party at our house!!!

Have you seen me?

Monday monday

2009

What a Wonderful Life

Twin Questions you probably shouldn't ask:

You'll shoot your eye out!

The Christmas Sugar High has officially started...

Ella Bella's Par-tay!

Happy Birthday Ella

To all my Decorating Diva Friends! Help!!! SOS!!!

Holiday Photo

Happy Birthday Aunt 'BB'!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving Turkeys!

Entertainment center for sale!

Temptation

Trunk-R-Treat & Pumpkins

Daddy's New Monster Truck

Ella's First Hair Trim

Yeah, she kept her bow in!

Fall Break- Fun at the Zoo!

The Mini Van Debate

Mini Candy Apples

Labor Day Fun!

Too tired for Candy???

Side job...

Student of the Week

Mini Me!!!

Racing Time!

Casey's Birthday

Ella & Mom Mondays

Tooth Fairy

First Day of Kindergarten!

Kindergarten

Camping at Bear Canyon Lake

Here kitty kitty...

Memory Game!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Havasupai

Waterpark Fun!

Freestone Park

Bowling Night!

Summer Fun Days!!!

Camping...

Tribute to the BEST DOG EVER

Playing in the Rain!

~Puppy Love~~