Little by Little

OMG Too long!

2011-10-09T22:35:00.007-04:00

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WOW School has started and man I'm behind. This working full-time thing and being pregnant is wearing me out. :0) Don't even know who reads this, but I haven't been writing in my journal either. But I'm hoping that changing my thinking to what Desi does and just makes her blog her journal will help.

We've been to school, I got transferred due to numbers and am now at Lakeview Elem. Went from part-time to full-time away from my babies. :0( But everything happens for a reason and am so Extremely thankful that I know my Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me. This has been a growing year for me and will continue to be as I'll be working with ESE students. I taught 2nd grade at Harmony for 2 weeks then got moved to Lakeview 2nd for two weeks, then 3rd grade co-teaching. So 29 kids and 2 teachers. Going better. Certainly a struggle for me emotionally missing my babies. Then found out I won't get the 12 weeks I was hoping for from maternity. Waiting to found out exactly when I come back and glad I saved my days last year and I can have Chris's days too so I can stay home about 6 weeks. 1.5 weeks to go!

So we went camping this weekend since it's been BEAUTIFUL outside and the last chance we have before the baby, no name yet, because of the SUPER busy month we have. So we went, and yeah it rained, A LOT! Girls said a prayer that we would be safe and we were. A little wet but not nearly as bad as I was thinking. Wind was totally not what I was expecting, crazy. Enjoyed line dancing, pony rides, petting zoo, and birthday cake with 70 year old G-pa. Had pizza instead of hotdogs cause it started to rain again RIGHT after I got the fire started. So, no smores but did get that yummy chocolate birthday cake! And how is it that our car looked like we were moving when we only were camping for 1 night!?!

We've been to the Reptile show, yes the girls were really into it. Reagan has been catching lizards and frogs like crazy. Kylie got her started on it, but Reagan is better. One family gave Reagan a really cute wooden bracelet cause she put a bunch on, danced around singing like she was a pop-star, Nothing Strange about that. But they just thought she was so incredibly cute, cause she is! So they let her have it and I didn't bring my purse in:0) They wanted to take home a turtle, or rabbit. At least it wasn't a snake or spider they wanted!

Ripley's Believe It or Not with Jared, Chrissy and Mom and Wonder Works and Trick or Treating at Sea World so far this month on top of camping. And mostly for free cause we're teachers! LOVE IT. The pictures aren't in order but I'm sure you'll figure it out. Went to the thrift and Kylie is going to be a witch finally, she's been asking for 3 years. And Reagan is going to be little Red Riding hood. Kinsey will be a princess. I usually like to go themed but since I'm not going this year cause I would have JUST had a baby, I didn't force it on them. Next year, Something good!

Kylie is on the local swim team so we do that MWF and Reagan has been doing Cheer, last week I believe. TTH for that. Chris is gone from 7:30 to 6:15 Tue and Thurs and I'm working full-time at a school about 20 min away. He does youth on Wed. nights and I'm in the Primary pres. So yeah, we're BUSY! Kinsey is a trooper and just enjoys life. Loves the i-pod and speaks AMAZINGLY well! Plus, she can really rip it on her scooter!

Kylie is LOVING 2nd grade and doing AMAZINGLY well. Loves to read! Reagan is thrilled to be a Monkey, like Kylie was when she was in K. Great teachers! She's working on her writing and identifying her numbers.

Me, I have 1.5 weeks like I said, and am feeling big, but not too uncomfortable and grateful that my pregnancies are so easy. Excited to start weight watchers next month though. :0)

Chris is glad to be back at school with the youth. He really does have a special place in his heart for them.

All in all we're so super blessed and are thankful for all of our many wonderful blessings and pray for all of our family and friends!

Summer Summary

2011-08-06T23:13:00.006-04:00

I've been so bad about taking Pictures this summer. But a lot has happened. Chris and I got to go on a cruise in June, Kylie turned 7, Reagan turned 5, Kinsey potty trained, and Chris is teaching next year, oh and we're having a boy we found out! Just some fun summer stuff, like movies, beach, Go Karts, water park, mall, friends, pool, girls camp, and youth conference a bit, temple, Library, Face Painting, Mascot Games, shooting, camp fires, ice skating, bowling, VISIT FROM HOLLYWOOD, etc.
Kinsey was wanting to learn to swim until I found her jacket I had stored away and now she realizes she can be so much more independent (which is probably her most fav. thing!) She did get stitches. Mom calls me when we're helping at Youth Conference and tells me not to panic but they are going to the hospital, Kinsey needs stitches. So calmly we go but it took 45 min to get there, luckily we got there before she went back. She did GREAT! enjoyed time with just mom and dad, but not getting
the stitches when she saw them. She even was singing her favorite song, Jingle Bells, while fighting the tears as they were on the 3rd stitch and Adams the nurse joined in. Not a fun experience and she got 5 of them! But she didn't bother them at all and was so wonderful.
Kylie has ants in her pants and is always wanting to play with a friend or go buy something with her money she earned or found or got for her birthday. But she's really good about getting her chores and homework done before she goes because she really wants to go! Also really good at Hoola Hooping. She's won the last 4 contests she's been in, and catching Lizards is alos a new passion. We're getting her signed up for the swim team when school starts! M W F for that. She's excited to find out who else is in her class for 2nd grade.
Reagan is so spacey sometimes it's just too cute. Not spacey like dumb, just off in her own happy world. She's so happy and sings all the time and is just so sweet and precious. She does get emotional and can get pretty upset, but we're working on being 'Calm and Kind.' She shared her birthday presents with her sister so well and most everything else for that matter. She has gotten her confidence in the pool back -Yeah!- She's excited to have the same K teacher as Kylie did and go to school with mom. She has a harder time concentrating than Kylie does and hasn't learned as many sight words as I would have liked but is getting her numbers down.
Kinsey, is potty trained, which I already posted about, but talks so well and has a blast with her sisters. She loves Barney and Dora and getting treats for going on the potty. Her friends Ella and Jack Jack from church she talks about all the time! She loves wearing princess dresses and her minnie shoes she got for going potty so much. Sweet mama's girl, and will miss me so when I go back to work this school year, but at least it's still part-time!
Chris, finishes his old job this wed! And since he's staying in town for work, back at the Middle school teaching Spanish, and the Jetta is on it's last leg being 10 years old and having 185k miles on it, we opted for a smaller motorcycle payment instead of a car payment. We'll have my mom's car for a back up, but he's super excited about it and so are the girls, especially Kylie and Kinsey, they LOVE it!
Me- feeling big, but that's expected having only 11 weeks left in my pregnancy, and eating treats everyday, so most of it's my fault. Can't wait to do Weight Watchers again and setting goals. Yeah, I know I could have done that during my pregnancy, but I'm too far gone now LOL! Love that summer dresses are now coming on sale cause that's my school wardrobe :0) I don't mind Kinsey's pool jacket at all because she is independent and easier at the pool and park, and I get to swim some laps to counter those cookies. But would like her to swim on her own too for safety reasons. Looking forward to going to the last horrah for the summer and heading to Weekie Watchi Springs for the mermaid show and small water park.
Ok, that's us in a Summer Summary! Hope you had a blast and enjoyed your family :0)

Happy 5th Birthday Reagan!

2011-07-18T17:25:00.005-04:00

It was all about the Donuts for this girl! She LOVES Donuts. That's what she asks for when we go shopping and only eats the icing off the cakes, so got an idea from another friend who did it for her son, and we had a donut hole tower! She asked if Santa could come to her party and bring presents but the real Santa not someone in a suit. I suggested that he give the gift bags as the presents, but that was shot down. So we had an Egg hunt instead. :0) We were supposed to have a pool party but with the storms we had it at our house instead. We were able to tidy up in time cause it wasn't too bad and most everyone made it. YEAH!
+ Thanks for coming out. It meant a lot to her :0) She is into dancing, singing, singing, MAKEUP, dancing, being loud, dressing up, and so on. Just ask our neighbors, they hear her and even new Just what to get her for her birthday! Cause she has had a make over shop on the front porch most of this week. But when she started painting her nails in the car we put our feet down about that! We also went to the Polynesian and rode the little boats there. She had won tickets with Chris when we visited some friends there and they played a Disney trivia game. Good times! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REAGAN! ps Kinsey is potty trained! (sorry pictures aren't in order)

Happy Birthday Kylie!

2011-06-26T09:24:00.004-04:00

Kylie turned 7 this month. Next month is Reagan's 5th Birthday. My how time flies! Kylie is a FABULOUS reader. She is a tom boy and Loves to wear the same 3 pairs of shorts over and over again. She got a new bike for her birthday that is just slightly too big but she has learned to manage just fine! She is a great big sister, especially to Kinsey, still haven't figured out why is comes and goes with Reagan though. She enjoys hanging with her friends and playing on the computer. Her favorite color is light blue and her favorite singer is Taylor Swift. We all love Taylor Swift so we made a little trip to Ft. Lauderdale to check out her concert for Kylie and Reagan's birthday presents! We happened to be gone, again, for Kylie's birthday this year so we took her out to dinner with a couple of friends and ....Got her EARS Pierced the Wednesday before. I'd say she had a very exciting birthday. Love you Kylie!

What a Week-end!

2011-06-05T22:36:00.006-04:00

Monday we went to Dwight Howard's Picnic for Memorial Day after we went to the pool party here in Harmony. Tues. Chris and I both had productive meeting at the church for the youth programs we're blessed to be part of. Then Reagan had a Water Day with her class on Wed. that we got to go to. That night we all went swimming and then Chris and I went on a date. Thursday was Kylie's fun water day that I got to go to too with my class! Friday I got a Job part-time again at Harmony after a great Father's Day Celebration with my class! Teaching 2nd grade this time :0) Then Friday night Chris got a really good deal for tickets in Ft. Lauderdale for the girls birthday. To TAYLOR SWIFT! Their first concert! What a blast! Gram was so kind to watch Kinsey, who I took to the Dr. on Sat for her ear infections, poor thing. She's acting like everything is fine though, only difference is a fever. What an AWESOME Kid! Then Sat. night we got free tickets to the Silver Spurs Rodeo! Wow. We actually found time to pick up the house a bunch. Today I got to teach Sharing Time for the kids at church and then a yummy potluck. I haven't made dinner all week! Crazy! Reagan has her graduation celebration in the am so I'm excited to see that and go to my first Dr. appt. in my 20th week of this pregnancy. I'll get scheduled for my ultrasound then. So exciting. Gotta go get ready for the last week of school! Then potty training, birthday celebration, and CRUISE coming up.

Gator for Dinner?

2011-04-12T23:08:00.003-04:00

Yeah, so I hear the dog barking and see she's facing the neighbors yard, when no one is over there. Thinking a cat is out there I say to her "Oh Zoe is there a cat out there again?" I look toward the neighbors deck and don't see anything then about one foot under Zoe's nose my eyes turn to... Yep, the Gator! Of course it goes under the deck right before the neighbors come out. I show them the pic. I took for proof. Some nice men who work with the neighborhood came and got it out. The Conservation center said to just let it move on. It probably would have skimmed on by unnoticed if Zoe hadn't have been out there. But better her then the kids!

Spring Break!

2011-04-02T22:50:00.005-04:00

So glad that the rains came this week and not last, during our Spring Break. So sad Chris couldn't join us. :0( I did have a WONDERFUL time with the girls and hardly spent any money. Kept the house clean because we were out so much and started off on Monday with a heavy cleaning day, First Thing First. Then off for Ice Cream and bathing suit shopping, for my mom and Kinsey only. Forgot to bring my camera there with us, but this place, which I had been hearing about, Literally Makes the ice cream right in front of you and you can even wave the fog from the Liquid Nitro. away. We got two to share between the 5 of us and didn't finish it all. Tuesday it was off to The Magic Kingdom, for our next to last time there. The girls were able to trade in their broken parasels for new ones. They had saved money and used Christmas money to each buy one, but they broke before we even left the park. So glad Virginia remembered us and gave them new ones. Wed. we went to the movies, nothing great, Rango, had to look it up I had forgotten, with a friend of theirs and then the beach which was FABULOUS! They stocked up on shells too. My mom met us there. Then Thursday we hit the water park! And Birthday dinner for Chris and my Mom and Benihana's. Yum. Kinsey had a fever but with the power of the priesthood and some peroxide in the ear's, she's doing GREAT! Pool Party in the hood on Fri and naps for Kinsey and chill time for Kylie and Reagan. We all got to hit a few golf balls with Chris that evening.
The girls did so well that week. Kylie started to get a little greedy, but she got over it quick thank goodness. Sat. We went to Studios at Disney with Chris then a b-day party for Kylie's friend from school, and then Chris and I got a Date! Dinner and a Predators game. They played well. And sharing time went well on Sunday after a wonderful Sacrament meeting. All in all GREAT Week. But again, wish Chris could have been there Monday through Friday. I'm extremely grateful for my job which allowed me to have that opportunity and the support Chris gives me.

ok ok

2011-03-06T22:09:00.002-05:00

So this really isn't working out how I thought. The pictures are not posting in the order I'm uploading and describing so hopefully you can make sense of my descritions. Also it only shows the most recent post so go back to the older posts to see the other 2 I did tonight. I'll post more later this week.
In this post we have John Kruk, Frank Thomas, Urban Meyer, Dick Vitale and the girls with Stuff the magic mascot.

More ESPN photos

2011-03-06T21:43:00.002-05:00

Teddy Bruschi former Patriot stud
Me and Dr J. Yes I was snapping the pic myself so it didn't really work out so great.
Tebow as he's signing Kylie's poster and I'm trying to get my hat to him.
The girls standing next to a Dwight Howard cut out
Kylie hooping it up.

ESPN the Weekend

2011-03-06T21:12:00.004-05:00

Here are some of our pic's from the festivities this weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The Highlight was definitely Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer...Go Gators! I got my UF hat signed by Tim and Kylie had an ESPN poster she got signed by Tebow, Dr J, Jason Richardson (plays for the magic) and a few ESPN personalities. I'll post more pics in posts to follow. The pictures below include ones of me with Celtic legend Kevin McHale, Chicago Bears legend Mike Singletary (the lady who took the picture didn't know what she was doing so unfortunately it came out blurry). Oh and there's me with ESPN personality Collin Cowherd.

This is how we roll... 3 girls in a 2 seater (they all 3 take turns either riding up top or walking beside and holding the string we tied to it).

Play Dates!

2011-02-23T22:57:00.004-05:00

For some reason we got away from these, think it was the Holidays, but now we're back! Monkey Joe's, the two cuties I babysit pony ride, trampoline, and power wheel at their house!, Disney on a teacher work day I was off for but had 5 kids. I couldn't have done it with out Kylie. We certainly took it a LOT slower than usual, and had a great time!
Back in Jan. we had our Winter Carnival here in Harmony. We love our town! Kylie got to do rock climbing, Reagan and Kinsey went sledding, and got to check out the horses they will bring in for lessons.
Enough about the kids, Chris is trying to find a teaching job, he misses it dearly, so prayers are welcome :0) and I love love my job and being with Kylie at school and knowing what's going on there and how to help her, and being able to spend time with Reagan and Kinsey. Who, by the way went #2 all on her own last week and just let me know when she spread it on the seat. LOL. We're potty training tomorrow!

WOW 3 months!

2011-02-23T22:13:00.004-05:00

Ok, so Kylie lost her first tooth 3 wks. ago and is about to loose her 2nd. But the teeth behind those are already in. Crazy! So I won't get any of those cute toothless pictures for a little while still. :0) She made Shorthorn Roundup (honor roll, but you have to have all A's in 1st to make it.) And was able to go to an icecream party at school. She even got to go to a 'Daddy Daughter Dance' the Friday before Valentine's. I suggested to Chris to get her a flower from the dollar store or something, and instead he got her a corsage! Those crazy florists are making a killing this month! We are able to enjoy a night out on V-Day thanks to my mom! We went to dinner, go-cart racing, a carousel swing 250ft. in the air, and then a movie! We were out til after 1am. Chris said it was good to feel like a kid again, but... Then he paid for it the next day :0) Work ya know. I had the day off ;-) Tonight he is actually on a date with Reagan. She has been patiently waiting her turn. She wanted to go to the Justin Beiber movie, but I reminded her she's been wanting to go to Chuck E. Cheese, which Chris was glad about, because he's not THAT into Justin B. certainly not as much a Reagan, who is our girly girl with lipstick (lip gloss or chap stick)and magnetic earrings, and hair having to be just right. She's our most sensitive one too. Like when we watched Ramona and Bezus and she cried when Ramona ran away. It all worked out, thank goodness. Ok, looking at the pictures I just put on, all 157 of them, YIKES! It's official we are getting a new camera! Chris has been researching for a few days now and found a good one. Maybe I won't be so embarrassed and post more often, yeah right!

White Christmas, sort of

2011-01-09T21:11:00.005-05:00

Christmas in Florida, We celebrated Christmas Eve with my brother Jared and his girlfriend Chissy. My mom was glad they came over and so were the girls! Chris and I were kinda tired from staying up late many nights wrapping and packing. Santa brought the girls American Girl Dolls and Mickey and Minnie for Kinsey. They got great presents at Mima and Papa's house and their favorite gift came from Grandma Judy. A MICROPHONE!! They all can't wait for their turn and were so sad to leave it behind until we got back from VA.
Yes, we took off Christmas night for the 13 hr. drive that turned into 21hrs. Really slow driving and accidents we had to drive around and stop for an extra meal because it was taking so long. Chris did FABULOUS though! Thanks babe for taking me to see my dad, lisa, sis stacy, Hollywood and the Lynch crew! We hit one popular patch of ice and got stuck for about an hour until the tow truck pulled us out. He got there pretty quick which was nice. Kylie said a prayer and we had 2 cops, 1 ambulance, and 6 civilians come by to help us out after the prayer! Nice people. Heavenly Father answers prayers so wonderfully. Thanks for answering Kylie's prayer! When we arrived we had 13.5 inches of pure white snow! The girls were so excited. Then the next day they were too cold in 15 min.! So Lisa Stacy and I had a nice snowball fight. We went bowling, out to dinner, Hockey game,saw chickens,and played games with my family! Took Hollywood (my grandma) to wally world too. Got to visit friends and see new additions to two different families. Oh, and Kinsey had a febrile seizure. That was fun/nervous. Poor thing had an ear infection, which to her just looks like she has a cold, like the rest of us. Stacy had pink eye too. Kinsey came out of it about 2 hours later. Chris was so worried. We had a friend come to the hospital for a blessing. Again, Heavenly Father answers our prayers! My dad was there for the whole thing too. Thanks Dad! It was great seeing everyone. Love you and thanks for the trip and snow! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T15:11:00.006-05:00

As usual I'm late, and I didn't even take a nap last Sunday, but had a baptism and dinner to cook though. So today I'm posting! We had a great week off. I was able to get my chores done on Monday and enjoyed the rest of the week with the girls. Friday and Saturday we had a good time with Chris off. Went to see Tangled and decorated with some lights and hung out with the neighbors. Saturday was off to Disney. Thursday we went to Mima's and PaPa's then Grandma Judy's and Papa Tim. Good food and fun.
To build up to Thanksgiving the girls each had a feast I was able to go to. Yeah for part-time!!! Reagan had a brunch and Kylie had lunch, different days thank goodness. Kylie had a little play where she was the first narrator. She memorized her part in two days, but for some reason, nerves I guess, she read it very well. She also sang 3 songs, but my camera died even though I charged the batter all night! Good thing I had a back up :0) Reagan only did one song. Glad she did one, but bummed it was just one. So here are their pictures from school. I know I didn't even take any the day of. If you did, please send them my way!!!

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:44:00.003-04:00

Here are just a quick few photos from this weekends festivities. I downloaded about 400 pictures of our cameras today from the last 2 months and there are some good ones. So I told Amber that's her honey do list tomorrow, go through them and post the good ones on here for you all to see. But because Mee Maw insisted I take lots of pictures this weekend here are the Halloween ones right away. The first one is Kylie being wrapped up in TP like a mummy. This was at a neighbor and classmate of Kylie's halloween party. The rest are self explanatory shots from tonight and the last is from the ward trunk or treat on Friday. Kylie's wonderful teacher came out to the church for a bit and this is a shot of her and the girls. They just love her and were so excited she came!!!

Family Pictures

2010-10-18T07:00:00.005-04:00

Ok, so it was long overdue, about 6 months. But we were able to take family pictures on Oct. 3rd. My neighbor Amanda was kind enough to do it for us. My how the girls have grown since last year when we took them! Love our little growing family. We've really been enjoying the weather and fall festivities. We got to so see Kool and the Gang for Reagan's favorite song 'Celebration.' Saw some amazingly wonderfully decorated houses for Halloween, I worked the school carnival all sat. More to come this weekend. Just don't like the girls getting the greedy gimmies so Sat and Sunday we played it cool and caught up on some rest. Miss you all!

Cheer-Leading

2010-09-12T18:07:00.003-04:00

So Kylie and Reagan (now that she is old enough) are both cheering this year and have games every Thursday evening. So far they have had 2 and just love them! Enjoy this cheer courtesy of the Harmony Longhorn Pop Warner Flag cheer team.

Busy but fun Weekends!!!

2010-09-12T17:26:00.004-04:00

So the last 2 weekends have been alot of fun! We love getting out together and enjoying all the reasons we live in FL as you will be able to see as I recount our activities. So last weekend for the holiday Friday night Amber and I went on a date night to Disney Quest and had fun playing all the games. Saturday morning we took out the sailboat our community has here on our gorgeous lake. A couple weeks ago I took the sailing class so now we have that option in addition to the canoes, kayaks and pontoon boats. We love getting out on the water! Kylie was nervous though on the sailboat for the first time as every time it would keel (or lean a little to one side, which is normal) she would freak out thinking we were going to tip over! After the boat there was a neighborhood labor day party with pizza and a pie baking contest. We just enjoyed hanging out with neighbors and playing in the splash pad. After all the morning fun we came home and cleaned house while Kinsey napped then went down to the Magic Kingdom for the evening (I love living in Cetral FL, the weather, water, and parks! Why would u live anywhere else?). On labor day we spent the morning doing lots of much needed yard work (so much playing lately it had been neglected). Then we went down to Blizzard Beach and Disney Quest for the evening. This was the first time the girls had been to disney quest and they liked the pirate simulator and all the kids games. What a great 3 day weekend! Now this weekend was the primary program for Amber and the girls. So Friday night they had a rehearsal/pizza party and so Kinsey, Gram and I grilled some steaks and played at the house while the rest of the family was rehearsing. Then when they got home from the church we went over to the 2nd half of the Harmony High football game. Saturday there was a big stake wide Relief Society activity that Amber and Dale went to so I loaded up the crew and took them down to Disney's Hollywood Studios and we had a blast! We got to see a special pass holder preview of the new Tinker Bell movie "The Great Fairy Rescue" and the girls loved it. Then that night Amber and I got to go out to dinner just the 2 of us (always nice) Thanks Gram! Then to top it all off today was the primary program and it was great! Kylie and Reagan sang beautifully and Kylie just looked great up there singing every word with a smile! That primary song leader (Amber) really did a great job with the kids!!! Man I love our little family! We are so blessed and have so much fun. We would love for all you guys our friends and family to come out and play with us! I am going to post some random pictures from these last 2 weekends and try to post a video clip from one of the girls cheer-leading games.

Kids say the darndest things!!!

2010-08-25T20:03:00.002-04:00

So last night Amber runs into the grocery store to pick something up and I am out in the car with the girls circling the lot. Well we were talking about going to DQ to get a Blizzard and Reagan says to Kylie all excited "YOU'RE GOING TO GET A LIZARD?" Then just a minute later I see a guy walking through the parking lot and tell the girls look at this guy he is a grown up but is really short. Kylie upon seeing the man says oh yeah, "he's a dork!" So as I am trying to hold back my tears of laughter I ask her what did you say, just to be sure I heard it right and sure enough she repeats in total confidence he's a dork. OK, now I can't hold it in and as I am laughing I tell her you mean DWARF not DORK sweetie. You never know when it will happen but man kids can instantly have you cracking up. I love my girls!!!

Our little Dancers

2010-08-22T21:43:00.003-04:00

So Amber and Dale went out tonight to Give Kids the World and of course daddy let's the girls watch some tv (while I check out my fantasy football stuff and before our walk and their father's blessings for the start of school. No I don't just turn on the tv and forget it for those of you who were thinking that). Well Kylie Goes into the DVR and finds one of there favorite shows...so you think you can dance (they like any show where people perform and are voted off but especially love dancing). So here is what happens when the dancing show or really any music is on... Kinsey especially is so cute, I just had to share.

Happy Birthday Reagan!!!

2010-07-10T11:00:00.001-04:00

We Love you cutie pie!!! I enjoyed our date to Magic kingdom last month. Dad

Bowling and other fun stuff!

2010-05-28T21:52:00.008-04:00

We went bowling today. We all had a good time, even Kinsey. She helped me push the ball down the lane a couple of time. Then I had to catch her before she ran down the other lane, but was late, and slipped and fell on my butt! Then Kylie went to a sleepover, Reagan on a Date with Dad, Me and Kinsey went home and a friend came over with her son and played with Kinsey and chit chatted with me. And i worked on the photo's and blogged! Yeah.
Last night we had pizza at the pool before Chris went home teaching. It was really nice to have Chris there so I could actually swim with the other girls. :0)
Mother's Day went well, we had a really good time at Mercedes and Enrique's house. Thanks! Kylie and Chris were jumping off the dock, the top of the dock! WoW. Reagan and Kylie barely got out of the pool while we were there, for 3 hours. We took the cute pic of the girls for mother's day for the grandma's.
Kinsey has had one thing after another with her this month. Runny nose, Pink eye, virus with high fever and vomiting, rash, now runny nose again. Poor baby. Besides the fever, she has been so good! I just love her! I just love all my girls! I just love my Family!

Kylie!

2010-05-28T21:20:00.006-04:00

So back in April I got to go to the zoo with Kylie!! FIELD TRIP. I turned in my slip right after school to be sure that I got in! We had a great time and Kylie keeps asking to go back. I'm sure we will with the rest of the clan this summer. They have a great splash pad area, cause that's why you go to the zoo right?!? But it wasn't too big, so it only takes a couple of hours in case your little ones get tired and it's fairly close too. And my favorite part was the aviary. It's so cool having the birds come right up to you. Kylie enjoyed feeding the Giraffe's. Glad I got to have that one on one time with her. We don't get much of it. Love ya Kylie!
Oh, and her class had a special Mother's Day breakfast for all of the mom's. I was able to attend that as well. Thanks MoM! I've really enjoyed watching her grow this year. Learning to become a better friend, how to work a little bit harder and stick with it even if it's tough. And learning to read. She is SOO GOOD! She's on the principal's list for knowing 200 sight words. Pizza party next week for her to celebrate. I'm so proud of her.

Easter!

2010-04-12T12:02:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter! Our Savior is Risen today! And while there was General Conference on this weekend, we didn't get a chance to listen to much of it. Thank goodness for DVR!!!! I am so very grateful for this day and age in which we are so very blessed to live in.
We started out the weekend with some old friends and their little girls' 2nd birthday party.Girls had a fun time. So did we. Chris enjoyed watching a Magic game he had missed. Again, thanks to DVR lol. We worked in the yard and got the fence in and the castle up for the girls and the dog. Now to get some grass down to keep the dirt out of the house. Maybe today :0)
Sunday we had some family over, it came in waves so we weren't so overloaded at once. So that was nice. And good yummy food to share. We love you all. And the girls were so excited to have the Easter Bunny come, find and dye eggs. Thanks to all who came! We love you all. Hope your EAster was good too. WE didn't take pictures of the girls sitting pretty in their dresses, but we will. My mom got the girls dresses this year. They all were so cute and just perfect for each of them! Thanks Gram.

First Birthday!

2010-04-06T22:56:00.003-04:00

Kinsey! WE are soo very Blessed you have you. Happy First Birthday. She fell 3 times that week, 3days in a row and scraped her little nose in the same spot each time :0(. But she's a tough cookie. Hugs and kisses from mom and she's right back at it! She loves shoes and book. She is really gentle with books too, which is surprising for this age. She adores her sisters and the rest of the family. Especially her Gram. She enjoys being outside. Slides are fun and so are puppies! We have to get her use to the water again for the summer, but she's gonna do fine. She uses sign language which helps a lot, but she says a few words (I swear I hear them.) Like 'I did it' and 'all done. Kylie told me the other day she wasn't excited to have a baby because I was going to make her throw away stinky diapers, but now she's really glad we have Kinsey. And I haven't asked her to throw away stinky diapers. We love you Kinsey!!!

Computer SAvY

2010-03-09T22:08:00.002-05:00

Where is our computer? Where did it go? Oh, it died!! That's what happened. My dear friend Meagan is allowing us to borrow her computer, hinse, no pictures this time. We've been having a lot of fun lately though. Play dates. Warmer weather so more playing outside. Gram moved in last week and the girls are thrilled! Now going through the stuff so I can get my bike out of the garage :0) Yard sale this weekend! Chris's birthday was Monday. Nice to spend sometime with him. I just adore him and he is so much better at showing it then me. But I try. Kinsey will be 1 on Friday. So wild! Love her dearly and so thrilled that she has curly hair!!! Ok, hope all is well. I'll post pictures when we ever get a computer :0)

Christmas Day

2010-01-24T22:35:00.006-05:00

Sorry this is late, tried to post pics. but was having trouble at the time and now I'm finally getting back to it.
Dad, Lisa, Stacy, Hollywood, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Reggie, Gina, Aunt Dee, Uncle Adrian, Nate, Desi, Syd, Jack, Honey, Natalie. I sure did miss you guys!!! We enjoyed our time with Chris's family though. Reagan did get that puppy that swims to her, WAy to go SANTA. And Kylie got a camera from SANTA "And I didn't even ask for one, SANTA is SO SMART!" Way to go Santa!! Kylie also got a big roll of paper, which didn't come with nearly as much excitement. Don't know why :0)
The girls got scooters at Mima & Papa's house, which Kylie still asks if she can go outside to ride her scooter. Good food, I didn't have to cook anything tehe. I tried to help clean up but I have this little girl who gets into things she's not supposed to when she isn't at home in her secured area. Thanks Kinsey :0)
We went to Grandma Judys for dinner and again had good food and got to hang out with their favorite uncles again. Kyle and Jared. We got to see their Great Grandma Nena, what great presents! An awesome pink coat that Kylie has been wearing everyday since it's been in the 40's in the am. Thanks Nena! And more Barbies, delicious smelling gingerbread GIRLS and so much more fun stuff to play with. Thanks everyone! Kylie bought a barbie with her money from Aunt Dee and Uncle Adrian and Reagan bought a zebra and hot pink purse because Stacy has one like that. All of the other money we put toward Disney passes and get to go until April now. WE LOVE DISNEY!! Thanks so much for such a blessed Christmas. I hope yours was just as good or better!

Walking Already?

2010-01-07T23:40:00.004-05:00

Yes, Kinsey was 10 Months on the 12th of this month, but she started walking on the 5th. She is right on schedule for our girls. Kylie was the day she turned 10 months, Reagan a week before that. So let's get ready to keep everything a little higher, stairs blocked off, and so on. She is so proud of herself. Clapping now and started high fives a week ago. Daddy was the first to get one of those. :0) I love when she growls back at you too. Had to take her out of church today because was so loud talking and squealing. So we kicked a ball around, she was right on with that too! What a fun lovin girl she is. LOVE IT!!

FINALLY!

2010-01-07T23:01:00.004-05:00

Christmas began on Christmas Eve with my side of the family. Jared and his girlfriend Chrissy and my Mom (aka Gram) came over. Gram sure did fill the bottom of our bare tree!!! We were also blessed to have Chrissy's Dad, and 3 other friends from church come over. Good food and good fun. And because the girls got to bed late and passed out on our way to drop off our 11th gift for our neighbors, we got to sleep until 8 on Christmas!!!
I asked the girls to hold up their gift high so I can see them, "No, Higher Reagan" She sure did try :0) Aren't their dresses pretty, Thanks Gram!
And do you see Kylie's puppy, well Reagan got one too and thought it was so cute. I had to tell Kylie that she was getting one because she wanted to buy one while we were shopping with Hollywood in VA after Thanksgiving. Well, Reagan had asked for this puppy who swims to you from Santa. On Christmas morning I get woken up at 8 by Reagan saying (in a really stern upset voice " Mom, I didn't want the puppy that barks and wags it's tail, I wanted the puppy that swims to me. Santa didn't bring me a puppy that swims to me." Me "Well, did you go downstairs and look to see if Santa brought it to you?" R-"Yes and it wasn't there" M-"did you open your present from Santa" R"I did't see one" (all of this in a sad voice) M-"Well, let's go downstairs and check. C'mon dad, it's Christmas"

Waiting is the hardest thing to do...

2010-01-07T22:53:00.003-05:00

So we have tons of fun for Christmas.. and getting ready for it too! We did the 12 days of Christmas for a neighbor girl and her family. The girls had a good time running up and dropping it off. Many a nights I had to do it because they had glass doors and sometimes went to bed late. Once Reagan went up there and the dad was right there on the phone at the door, then another time we drove by and they were looking for their present. Goofballs! We plan on doing this again each year :0)

We also got to decorate our house, KYLIE LOVES THAT. "Let's put that here, and this there, and oh this looks good here" I finally had to say that the decorations had to stay in the house, once I found them in the garage several times.

We got to get together with some neighbors and decorate ginger bread houses, though Reagan ate pretty much all of her decorations. I should have taken an after picture, sorry bout that. I'll try to do better, my new years resolution. My first one I've really made :0)

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-21T22:30:00.003-05:00

Okay so we are not allowed to get a fake tree, only real or Chris won't touch it. So the traditional christmas tree hunt was made to good ole Home Depot. We usually get a Frasier Fir but tried a Douglas Fir this year because of the fragrance and yes, a cheaper price. BOY was that a MISTAKE! It has shed soooo much. I have swept up 7 + dustpans full of pine needles and only more are falling off each day. When we were hanging ornaments we were basically stripping the needles and leaving sticks. SO SAD. Definitally going to get a Frasier Fir for future references!

Swimming... IN DECEMBER!?!

2009-12-21T21:51:00.003-05:00

So all those friends of ours whom we love who get snow, You can KEEP IT!! We get to go swimming in DECEMBER!! LOVE IT. These are some pictures from our last trip to Aquatica for awhile, our tickets expire in Jan. and don't think we'll make it back before then. It has dropped below 80 and that's too cold for me to swim in :0) Kinsey is a trooper and does the lazy river even though she has to wear a life jacket she doesn't like. She puts up with it for a while, what a trooper. WE had a blast though being one of the few families there. Good Times!

Thanksgiving...Finally!

2009-12-21T20:39:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving Vacation! We got to go to my dads for Thanksgiving. A short but nice trip. The girls just LOVED Aunt Stacy. And she was such a good sharer :0) We enjoyed the park and Hollywood, who's always looking good. While we had a playdate Chris got to ride Hogs, and I had to inform a friend that they weren't real 'hogs' but Motorcycles. Silly Dana.

We also enjoyed the cooler weather. A nice walk in the woods, shopping with Hollywood. When packing we had a tough time finding things for the girls to wear. Good thing we have tights!

I was glad to have help with the girls. And one day I came back and all our laundry was done. WOW! Thanks Lisa!! A TON!

GAmes, good food (magic cookie bars, etc) and Fun with Aunt Denise too. She was so sweet with the girls, funny too. Thanks for letting us hang with you Denise! Good times were had by all. Thanks Lisa, Stacy, and DADDY!!!

Aren't me and my sister so cute together? :0)

Make Overs by Stacy!

Kids Say the Darnest Things...

2009-11-19T21:14:00.006-05:00

Where do I begin.?. So lately my mom keeps reminding me I need to write these down. So here they are to share. Two birds right!

Kylie and Reagan were helping me make chocolate dipped peanut butter balls (buck-eyes) the other day when AHHH CHEW! Reagan sneezed right in the WHOLE bowl of Giradelli Choco Chips! Then Kylie proceeds to chew them and SPIT them out back into the bowl!!! YUCK! I threw those out! Explained that I don't mind a mess when they help me bake but what is up with that? Some angry tone and why did you do that? Kylie "I just wanted to soften them up" Because we needed to melt them to dip the balls.

FHE, Family Home Evening. Which Reagan says "I have a great idea, let's have a family home evening!," about every other day. Which I love but we don't get to do. My favorite is when I get to say, Yeah, Let's do that and she gets so excited!

So I was talking about how Jesus fed the 5,000 with so little. I compared it for Kylie to her whole school and Dad's old school all eating one loaf of bread that I was holding. "Could this happen?" "no." Me, "Well, Jesus did it!" Kylie "HOLY CRAP!" With all amazement and seriousness in her voice.

Reagan is a shop-a-holic. She has about 12 purses and yes, everyone has something in it. Some, to the max! She will stop looking for a place to hide during Hide-n-seek to shop and then get bumbed that she didn't get to hide.

Kylie "Who is the loudest mom?" "Well, Reagan is the loudest singer, you (Kylie) are the loudest talker, and Kinsey is the loudest screamer." Why my neighbor felt the need to ask me "Did anyone ever tell you your kids are loud?" I will never figure out :0)

Kylie is loving writing now. She asked me to walk her in to school today so that I could see her pilgram and what she was thankful for. She was so excited to show me. She was thankful for ME!!!!!

So we're taking bets on when Kinsey will start walking. All she wants to do is stand!!! Our friends were kind enough to give us a walker and she is enjoying that, so am I :0) I think it will be by Christmas. That's 5 weeks. And I only have 18 more lbs. to loose from her :0) Not her fault I like cookies. Which I haven't had n e in 3 weeks now. YEAH ME! Gotta Love those Girls!

Updates posts

2009-10-18T22:01:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to let you know I published a few posts tonight. I hope you get to check them all out and enjoy! Love ya and Miss ya!

Kinsey

2009-10-18T21:52:00.002-04:00

7 months and counting! What a beauty she is. She's eating with her fingers now and holding her own bottles sometimes and trying to stand up. When she sits in the back of the stroller she grabs the front chair and trys to stand up. She loves to jump and has such great balance when I hold her like a cheerleader on her two feet. She loves the pool and can sit in her little floaty now for a few weeks, what fun for me now!!! I can swim hands free! Don't get me wrong, I certainly don't leave her there to just float while i swim, I stay right by her. She has curly hair, which I ADORE! FInaLlY. That's the best thing I got going for me, I had to pass it on :0) She is very patient and tolerant of her sisters and our running around. She is spending her first night in her room with the girls. Let's see how that goes. She sleeps 7 hrs. uninterupted and Kylie and Reagan are sound sleepers so it should hopefully work. :0)

Play Dates!

2009-10-18T21:22:00.005-04:00

So with school in and me babysitting a darling little girl Ella, so good and pleased to watch her, we make Monday errand/tidy day, Tuesday storytime day, Wednesday is splashpad/park, Thursday playdate day, Friday is lunch at school day. We've gone to the St. Cloud Lakefront, park, Universal Studios to see Barney, Boat, Friends houses and friends here. Good time! It gives me a time to get to know the moms too. I really love doing the outside activites too! Like the horse back riding with the Pratt's on a Saturday. And now that the weather is BEAUTIFUL the outdoor activities will be even more enjoyable!

Girls...All I really want is Girls!

2009-10-18T21:07:00.003-04:00

What fun we've had since school has started! Cheerleading, playdates, babysitting, and exercising. Oh and random Happy Birthday USA dinner parties and neighborhood parades. Yes, In September. But Our neighbors were kind enough to hear us sing "You're a Grand Ole Flag." We enjoyed the cheerleading games this year and the new cheers. Reagan still has her favorite, 'Go Fight Win' cheer. She'll get to cheer with her sister next year so that will be extra cute. Ok, I'm gonna post a few more post tonight since I got the time. :0) I'll get some video of Kylie cheering when I have some memory on my camera.

Kindergarden...

2009-09-09T22:59:00.002-04:00

Kylie started school two weeks ago now. CRAZY!!! I Hate how she is gone all day!!! Then it's rush rush rush to get everything done before bed. Tues. is the worst for me with cheerleading and babysitting in the afternoon. But she really enjoys school and her friends. Wish I knew more of what goes on those 7 hours she's gone. She's such a good girl, she has her moments, but I just love her and sissy misser her too! I like hearing what stories she does share with me, like the girl who didn't even ask and peed on the rug at school lol.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-09-09T22:43:00.002-04:00

SO I'm 28 now. Not 30 though :0) I had not one, but two surprises with my friends there to celebrate with me. One, a party at my house with friends from the local side of town, the other dinner with friends in Orlando. Yummy! Great times with family and friends! I got my video camera working again which I really wanted. Life is good. Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes!

Summer!

2009-07-22T23:13:00.004-04:00

We're just having FUN this summer! Aunt Dee came to visit Gram and us this past week and the girls loved having her to play with. Especially Kylie because they had a little dance party in the back seat. We're playing with friends from the neighborhood and trying to something special everyday, even if it's something simple like swimming in our pool, but inviting a couple of friends this time. Chris is refing basketball games now and looking for something more permanent soon now that summer is half way over. AHHH! Kinsey is growing like a weed and eating cereal now. She's doing really well at keeping it in her mouth too! Reagan, plays her little parts and is so into it that she won't even answer you unless you call her by her roll, but may correct you and once you get it right she'll talk to you :0) So funny! But NOT when she sneaks away from the splash pad and goes to the sandbox and doesn't tell you but doesn't answer you! FREAKY. Thank you Heavenly Father for keeping her safe! Me, I'm enjoying my family. I love summer evenings and I'm hoping to get a little more of this baby weight off soon with a few walks and bike rides. And WOW, 10 year high school reunion this past weekend. Didn't go, but I did get in touch with a few lost friends. Oh, I have to buckle Kylie and Reagan in their seats for meals, or they get up and play. Reagan was still playing, and as you see she fell! She's okay. Hope to see them soon. Hope all is well with you!

Yard work

2009-07-09T23:26:00.003-04:00

So I'm cleaning the garage, Chris is doing the yard (don't worry, Kinsey is taking a nap and I have the monitor and Kylie and Reagan are playing with a friend in and out :0) And then Chris yells at me to get the shovel, so he's gonna kill something. We have a few black racers that go between our house and our neighbors house, and this doesn't look like one of them. So Chris kills it. Then we find about 14 eggs in our yard. After a little research, it was a baby racer, so we're safe, except one tried to get in our house several weeks ago when I was working in the garden. I came onto the porch and it was about to go into the house where I had left the door cracked a little. That's Florida for ya!

Birthdays!

2009-07-09T23:09:00.002-04:00

Kylie had a little pool party for her 5th birthday and we're gonna do the same for Reagan's 3rd tomorrow. Crazy that we have three beautiful girls and one is going to school in a few months. I'm gonna miss Kylie so much when she goes and I know Reagan is too. We're so blessed!!

We're BACK!!!

2009-07-09T22:11:00.006-04:00

Had a FABulous time in VA. We were so glad to see my dad, Lisa, Stacy and Hollywood and all the other fam. that allowed us to hang with them or crash at their pad! I loved hanging with Hollywood. She was so helpful with the girls and was there for us whenever needed. We got to hit up the water park in Williamsburg and then treated to a delicious home cooked meal by Aunt Dee and Uncle Adrian. Thanks!

Busch Gardens was eventful since the first 30min. we were there Chris rolled his ankle and was put in a wheelchair. Should have got a pic. of that too! The coasters were cool and I actually got to ride them all! YEAH! Not pregnant and had someone to help watch the kids :0) Thanks Stacy and Lisa! Kylie rode BIG BAD WOLF and loved it. She had to be cool like her aunt Stacy! I think our fav. part, certainly for Kylie was having a pool in the backyard. Gotta get one of those! Dad was nice enough to put us up and take some days off to spend time with us. Love ya DAD! The weather was great! 88 in VA. and 88 in FL. is so different. We were sweating in St. Augustine within the first 5 min. HUMIDITY!!

Love seeing my family though and glad to be able to. The girls were AMAzing!!! one of the best trips as of yet! Glad we got that big car last April. Chris did a great job driving. Thanks babe for taking me to see my fam.!!

thetwirlingdandelion

2009-05-23T21:01:00.001-04:00

Love ya DES! So I think my sister-in-law is super awesome! She's started making these darling little outfits for girls and boys. Just wanted to let you know.
Check her out at http://www.thetwirlingdandelion.etsy.com

It's Our Anniversary

2009-05-21T22:40:00.002-04:00

Eight years and counting!!!!! May 18th. We're enjoying lives challenges together and laughing along the way thanking the Lord for all of the 'adventures' we've had. We were able to spend a night and day together without kids, just us. We went to Aquatica Seaworlds waterpark here in Orlando even though it was raining. We were going to get wet anyways! But there was hardly anyone there, that was great. I got to play my favorite game with Chris at dinner, "I love you because..." It makes me feel special because he has some good ones that make me smile. I hope we have an eternity to look forward to. Thanks for all of your friendships and support that's made our happiness possible. Especially the grandparents help with the kids!

Time flies. . . when you got three kids!

2009-05-15T22:23:00.007-04:00

So it's been a while, as usual. How Desi does it so often I don't know. Way back to Easter, Kylie was so sweet and invited our neighbor over. How thoughtful! She really is. One of the many reasons I love her. Then you see a picture of Kinsey sleeping. That's seems to be a rare occasion these days. She is awake most of the day, maybe takes a few 10-15 min. naps but sleeps great if you are holding her and about 8 hours at night. Wish she would take at least one nap during the day so my shoulders can have a break, but she is a good happy baby. Her sisters really love her

and my mom helps out too which is nice. We had a short but nice visit with my Dad, Lisa and Stacy. (I need pictures by the way..) We enjoyed the facilities here in our lovely town of Harmony and played b-ball. Kylie and Reagan really enjoyed their fun grandpa and aunt. Grandma got her baby fix!

We love living in Harmony. Chris is teaching at the school and enjoys the staff and students. There are several kids to play with and lots of activities and events. We live less than an hour from the beach and get to go when Chris is ref. basketball. He doesn't like the beach too much.

Kinsey has been smiling for about 3 weeks now and is nine weeks old. She's doing great!

Reagan loves to sing, she picks up songs so fast and wishes that she could go to school with Kylie. Her teachers at church are her favorite and she loves going to her class. She is also really good at puzzles.

Kylie is learning to read and she's loving it! She also loves to practice writing her letters and numbers. Coloring and swimming are her favorites.

We all really enjoy the theme parks around town and Chris found an amazing deal on all of the Anheiser Busch parks. Better than just one pass for two years. Bargin Shopper! So we went to Seaworld last Sat. and Aquatica this weekend.

Spring Break '09

2009-04-10T09:24:00.002-04:00

What fun having daddy home this week. He has to work today and tomorrow, but we've had a bunch of fun this week. Sunday the girls had their neighbor friend Emma spend the night. First sleepover on record for us. Monday we went to the water park in Tampa, but it was kind of chilly. Kinsey and I braved the lazy river! Then after staying in a hotel we went to BG the next day. Chris understands now why my dad got so upset when we wouldn't ride the roller coasters and were old enough. I think he got bored on the carousel and the spinny spider. Not too exciting for us but the girls had a blast. Wed. we played at a friends house while I babysat, the girls had been missing Kaylee and Kara. Then Thursday another fun day with daddy! We went to the movies, then bought a kite and went to the beach to try it out. Way better than the dollar store kites! It actually worked :0) Who knows what fun we'll have this afternoon helping Gram move! And tomorrow is a ward breakfast and Easter Egg hunt. Totally a fun week, but for now while dad is working we need to too. We're gonna go clean the girls room and the bathrooms. Yippee! All play and no work makes for a messy house :-x I love having a fun family, Thanks Chris!

3 Weeks and counting

2009-04-02T21:16:00.008-04:00

So the Kinsey is doing well, me too. Thanks to all of the ladies who brought dinner over the first few weeks after we had Kinsey. That was very helpful and delicious! The girls are just loving her, sometimes a little much :) They are excited to have her as part of our family. Reagan keeps telling everyone that we're going to have a boy next. We'll see in a few years.

We've been busy as usual. Though we've really only driven to Orlando once with Kinsey since we've had her, that was a little tough. I had a meeting for YW and Chris took Reagan and Kylie to Aquatica. Great Dad, and I'm so Jealous I can't go swimming yet. We went to the pool yesterday with friends and it got pretty hot! Today we got our garden started, Tomatoes, squash, oakra & green beans. Kylie planted some flower seeds too. Just trying to have fun and make memories together. I sure am looking forward to some rest next week with spring break :-) I think Kylie is going to miss pre-k though. She just loves it!

Sorry about the pic. of me and Kinsey. I took it myself and didn't have make-up on yet. I feel naked w/out mascara. And the pic. with kylie's eyes closed Reagan just looks so cute. Hope all is well with you and thanks for your thoughts and prayers! tried a video to be as cool as my sis in-law, Desi. Hope it works for ya.

More pictures from our new arrival

2009-03-17T14:16:00.003-04:00

Look at Mom, up and about (and beautiful)! She's amazing!!!

Proud sisters!

Another beautiful baby girl

2009-03-16T11:23:00.003-04:00

Kinsey Elle is finally here!!!! She is cute and the girls just love her! Kylie has been such a great big sister/helper. Both girls are just constantly wanting to check on her to be sure she's ok and always wanting to hold her. We'll try to post some pictures tonight.
(19.5 inches and 7lbs 4 oz)

One last post about Disney...

2009-03-11T22:44:00.002-04:00

The girls riding shotgun in the monorail.

So Kylie really lucked out on our last trip to Hollywood Studios from being picked to be a part of the High School Musical show to having the Sheriff from Robin Hood play games with her it was a great day.

More photos

2009-03-11T22:09:00.004-04:00

Kylie took this picture of us with Pluto

Our Disney passes expired at the end of January so we went as much as possible that month and here are a few more of the photos from all the fun. Man we miss being able to go so often but we're enjoying the playgrounds, golf course, lake & other ammenities here in the neighborhood more.

False alarm!

2009-03-01T16:51:00.004-05:00

For the first time during my 3 pregnancies I had a false alarm. So embarassing. I had been contracting all day and it just kept getting stronger and later in the evening. So, we went in. And I was still only dialated to a 3 like the dr. had said 3 days earlier. Oh well, my neighbor is a LMT and said she knows which buttons to push on my feet. Maybe I'll ask her later. :0) It worked out well because we were able to still have Chris's 30th birthday party! Now that that is over, I'm ready. We had a fun time with a couple of neighbors, old friends from Orlando, newer friends from the St. Cloud area, and of course our Great Family who made the trek out here. Chris got motorcycle lessons for his birthday present. Not a motorcycle, just lessons. I think he had fun, at least I hope he did.
I went to the temple yesterday with the girls and the primary. It was nice just being there and teaching them a little more about the house of the lord. We've been talking about how you need to get married in the temple and why it's so important so we can be a family forever. And while the brother giving the tour asks about that and someone answered that we get married Reagan announced that she was going to marry Parker Pratt. Too cute. The Pratt's are great and I wouldn't object!
Well, we'll post some pics of the pary when I get some. I knew I would be too busy to take pics and left that up to Chris's dad who is SOOO much better than many people I know. Thanks Mike!
We love you all! Oh, if you get a chance to leave Chris a message for his birthday before March 4th that would be WONDERFUL! The number is 1-866-978-2234 ext. 4. Just follow the instructions. Thanks!

Pictures are from Jan. and the last trip to Disney before the passes expired. Need to upload from the camera, will do tomorrow, I want my Sunday nap:0) and Kylie has been into taking pic. and took the one of Chris and I.

Thanks for your votes

2009-02-24T09:22:00.002-05:00

So if you hadn't heard yet, we didn't win. We appreciate all your support though, getting us all the way to the top 5! Well we've been very busy and have lots of photos to post so hopefully we can get that done before the baby comes. Speaking of the baby we are still trying to decide on a name but Kendall looks like the front runner right now. Also Amber according to the doctors could deliver any day now and will not make it to her original due date around March 10. So keep us in your prayers that we can get everything ready and that Mom and the baby will do well. Thanks! I'll try to post again tonight with some recent photos.

We're in the finals please vote one last time!!!

2009-02-11T17:52:00.002-05:00

We made it to the final round for the huggable hubby contest! Please go again to Magic107.com and vote for me. Our picture is the family fairy picture from Halloween with the name Christopher under it. You can vote until Friday at noon then they'll announce the winner that afternoon. Please let your friends and families know as well so they can vote. We'll need them all to win! I feel good about it though. It'll be a nice 30th birthday present. Thanks for your help.

Please vote

2009-02-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

OK we made it to the semi final round today. Please go to magic107.com again and vote for us so we can make it to the final round top 5. Thanks guys!

We could use your help/vote!!!

2009-02-02T12:37:00.001-05:00

Amber signed me up for Magic 107.7's huggable hubby contest and we could win a trip to Mexico (the land of my mission!!!). Please go to Magic107.com and find the link for the huggable hubby contest then look through all the photos and you'll see the one of us from Halloween (the fairy family) then after you scroll through all the photos you can cast your vote (hopefully for me even though there's an adorable old man in there). There are several Chris entries so note that Amber put me in as Christopher and the link to vote is usually right UNDER the photo after you have seen them all. I know this is a long shot but hey if everyone we knows votes and my fairy costume gets me some pitty votes from those who don't know me maybe we'll have a shot. Feel free to encourage your friends/family to vote for me as well. Thanks!!! We love you all.

Pictures!

2009-01-14T22:35:00.005-05:00

So on my behalf, our internet isn't working and we're snagging our neighbors until we get our new modem. I'm glad my husband found time to atleast update you and I get to do the fun part! We really enjoyed spending time with family we don't see too much. Thanks for putting us up Dad and Aunt Dee. And thanks for a girls night out Aunt Sharon. We love you all so much!

More Pictures!

2009-01-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

Our little entertainers

2009-01-14T09:00:00.003-05:00

I forgot one funny little side note about the girls. They've always been into music and singing but lately Reagan has really gotten into it! She is constantly singing and is pretty good. She picks up the words amazingly quick for a 2 year old and sings them loud and proud! One of her favorite past times of late is standing in front of any mirror she can find and singing and dancing. She can keep herself entertained forever, it's so cute! Then the other day I'm sitting at the dinner table with Miss Kylie, while Reagans napping and Mom was at Stake meetings, having a nice daddy daughter talk about obedience. She has been really good but like any kid has her days where she doesn't want to listen and insists on doing things her way. So anyways I ask her if she has trouble at school being obedient and she says no. So I ask how come you can do it all the time for Miss Tommie (her preK teacher) but not all the time for us at home. She looks at me and in all seriousness says....."Everybody makes mistakes.... " So I'm just waiting for the Everybody has bad days and sure enough after a brief pause she gives it to me! Now for those of you who have no idea why that's funny those are lyrics to a Hannah Montana song! Now I don't know if that was her plan from the beginning or just after she said Everybody makes mistakes the song clicked in her head and she had to do it but either way it was funny cause she seemed so serious. So I held in my laughter and said I know sweety we all do make mistakes but it just seems yours have been a little more frequent so lets try to have fewer bad days. Well it worked cause she seems to be doing much better! Thanks Miley!!! Man I never would have believed me if you would have told me 5 years ago I'd be quoting Hanah Montana lyrics or that I would even know the songs. What has my world come to?????????? I used to be cool!!!!!!!!!

Our crazy life!!!

2009-01-14T08:35:00.002-05:00

Well another month has gone by without a post, sorry! Things are just crazy! Working full-time, refing at least 5 nights a week, serving as ward mission leader (going on splits weekly) and finding time to home teach be a decent father and husband isn't easy. Add to the mix school now for me and I'm toast! I have to go back and get some online courses in order to keep my teaching certification and of course I waited until the last minute (honestly I had to wait for the refing money to be able to pay for the courses) so now I'm cramming in 6 classes this last term!!!! I started last night and feel like it's going to be a big challenge and very time consuming but at least it's only for a couple of months! Well Amber has all the recent pictures and I asked her to post them but she to has been very busy. I know she put them on our home computer and I'm sure she'll get them up soon. Maybe tonight since I'm taking the girls out and off her hands for the night. They are so cute and we got some great photos especially over the holiday break with family. Amber is keeping busy with being a full-time Mommy (which is really full-time since I'm so busy and rarely home!) as well as cleaning houses on the side for some extra dinero. She cleans about 4 a week and babysits a couple days a week as well so yeah she's just as busy! Oops I forgot her Stake YW calling which is taking here away this weekend on a Priest/Laurel retreat. I don't know how we do it all sometimes! Even with all the crazyness we're still as in love as ever and manage to find family time on a pretty regular basis. Sunday night we had friends from the ward over and Monday we went to a friends house for Family Home Evening. The girls love getting together with their little girlfriends and we're so blessed to have such great friends like the Melicks & Hansens. We've been enjoying the last few weeks of our Disney passes and going tons! As a matter of fact we were at Magic Kingdom Saturday night and I'm taking the girls to the Studios this afternoon and we'll be at the parks again both Friday and Saturday while Amber's away! The girls love it and it's easier for Dad to keep the entertained there versus at the house which they just tear up anyways!!! We're gonna be bummed when the passes expire in less than 2 weeks. I can't possibly include everything we've done over the last month especially the details of our trip so I'll leave that to Amber when she posts the pictures. Hopefully we can post more frequently and keep the posts shorter and with photos. I promise we'll try! Lastly we're looking forward to a nice long weekend as Friday is a teacher work day I'll be done early and Monday we're off for MLK day! Our wonderful friends the Hoffs are coming out Sunday night and we are camping and caoeing at the new camp area in Harmony down by the lake. It will be a blast as the weather is supposed to be perfect and our girls love playing with their kids. We're so blessed to live in such a wonderful little community with awesome amenities. Please feel free to join us anytime for camping, golf, boating, whatever! We'd love to have you guys over.

Never enough time...

2008-12-09T14:16:00.002-05:00

Well it's been about 3 weeks since I last posted anything and for good reason! Basketball season is here and I have been refing games almost every day which keeps me on the run and also takes time I would normally use to grade papers, do lesson plans, etc. So needless to say things are a little hectic and I'm feeling swamped! But I just had to get on here today to let everyone know we're still here and have had some nice "moments" in between all the crazyness. We went down to Hollywood to visit our wonderful friends the Sophies for about 5 days leading up to Thanksgiving and had a really nice time. We don't get to see them but maybe 2 or 3 times a year so it was nice to have that much time off school to just relax down there and enjoy not only the great company but the gorgeous weather! Our camera crapped out on us about 2 months ago and we finally got a new one in the post Thanksgiving day sales so I'll post some new pictures soon. Our internet at home has been out as we are switching providers which will finally happen I believe on Thursday. So once that is up and running I'll get the new pictures up. Let's see we went and got our Christmas tree Saturday night after one of my games and Kylie REALLY got into the holiday spirit! She was so focused on decorating and it was just soo cute (and honestly a little annoying as she kept pestering us about decorating EVERYTHING until it was all done). We wanted to do it in spurts and she just wanted to go, go, go until it was up to her standard! Also on Saturday we participated in the St. Cloud Christmas parade which is really a big deal here. Kylie rode on the Harony Pop Warner float with the other cheer leaders and football players as I walked along side handing out candy. She did get down and walk some of the way helping hand out candy as well but she didn't last the whole 2+ miles. It was kinda hard to get in the spirit though since it was so hot! I couldn't believe I was sweating in a Christmas parade!!! Nate & Desi that little tidbit was for you, hope you're enjoying that lovely Michigan winter! Finally last night we had a nice night at home as it was my one night off this week! We had a nice little Family Home Evening lesson on how the candy cane is a reminder of the Christ. For those of you who haven't seen that before it's great for kids! The cane is in the shape of a shepards staff and you share a scripture referencing Christ as our shepard. It is hard like a rock so you read a reference about Christ being the rock. Finally the colors white and red represent his purity and blood so you share scriptures that dicuss his pureness and his blood which was shed for us. Then we had ice cream and layed down together as a family to watch Alvin & the Chipmunks. Well I gotta run, tons of work to do but I'll post photos later this week! We love you all and hope you're having a joyous Holiday Season!
PS: Thanks to Brenda and Dale for getting Amber some much needed time out without the girls this weekend. It's tough this time of year with all the games I'm working for me to take her out or even just watch the girls so she can get out. She really enjoyed it!

More photos

2008-11-17T14:54:00.002-05:00

These are from Key West and our 2nd stop (last day) at Disney's island.

The view from the famous Key West Conch Train as we returned to our ship.

We just had to get the I pee in pools shot and she loved it!!! (Disregard the other shirts!)

Kylie in the water at Disney's Castaway Kay.

Reagan playing in the sand at Castaway Cay.

Kylie posing on her mat in the lagoon at Castaway.

More photos

2008-11-17T14:31:00.003-05:00

So nothing exciting to talk about this week other than the start of Basketball season. I had my first games last week and not only look forward to the check but the excercise as well. I decided to start taking advantage of the fact that I work at a place with a full gym and weight room and so today I'm starting to lift for the first time in years! I need to get into shape and hopefully with reffing several games a week and lifting 3 times a week it will happen. All my jeans are getting tight so I know I need it. Amber is the only one in our house whose clothes should be getting tight. Well here are some more photos from our trip. These are of the beach on Disney's private island.

Getting off the ship, Max was there to help hand out towels.

Mommie & Kylie turned Reagan into a sand mermaid while Daddy was snorkeling in the lagoon.

Here's the final result!

Our.......

Oh well!

2008-11-11T11:50:00.003-05:00

Well the big game didn't work out the way we would have liked but it's hard to win when everyone at the game knows what you're going to run on offense! It was a very frustrating loss as the kids played hard but in my opinion were hampered by lousy play calling. We ran the ball on at least 90% of our downs even when we were down by 3 with less than 3 minutes to go and needing to drive down the entire field and score for the win. We continued running the ball up the middle of the field (clock management?????). Anyways we needless to say did not drive down the field and score but lost by 3 points. OH WELL! Boy do we miss our friends the Andersons in so many ways!!!
What happens on Halloween when you're on a Disney Cruise with 3 women??? You get sucked into being part of a fairy family! Here are some pictures from Halloween for your viewing pleasure and guys I don't need to hear it, I already know. What's a Dad to do??? I've got a strangle hold on my last shread of masculinity and promise not to let all the estrogen surrounding me kill it. It's time to get Kylie into sports!!!!

At least I got black wings & a tutu...right????

Tonights the night!!!

2008-11-07T09:25:00.004-05:00

Tonight is the infamous Harmony versus St. Cloud High School Football game. For those of you not familiar with this game it is a huge in town and district rivalry. These 2 schools, players, fans, etc really do not like each other at all! Just to let you know how big it is this is the only game they presell tickets to the students for, as they anticipate a sell out. Also last night as we were getting home from the Magic game at almost midnight I saw that the big bright stadium lights were still on! There was a girls soccer game earlier that evening which would have been over by 9pm so I thought unless somebody was doing last minute prep work on the field they forgot to shut off the lights. So I went by and saw not a soul or car anywhere near the stadium and called our principal on her cell phone (again almost midnight!). In a tired voice she tells me they are leaving them on all night in an effort to ward off any would be pranksters or vandals from the rival school!!!! Yeah this will be some affair! Oh and I forgot to mention they are undefeated in district play and we have one loss so this game is for the district championship as well!!!! We are really looking forward to a big night and some fun tomorrow with our wonderful friends the Hoffs. We're going to go to the Festival of the masters art show at Downtown Disney then have a sleep over Saturday! We hope you all have a great weekend and here are some more cruise photos for your enjoyment. These are from the Mayan ruins we visited in Cozumel.

The girls loved climbing on the ruins, that they were allowed to, but this surprised us as Kylie is usually afraid of heights. She just all of a sudden went over started climbing and kept going until she got to the top. Now as she was carefully working her way down I will admit she kept saying "Oh I shouldn't have done this".

We saw several iguanas but this was the first one and Kylie actually saw it and pointed out to us!
This was the main structure at this site. GO MAGIC!!!!

Bad news comes in pairs or is it triples??? And of course more photos

2008-11-05T15:43:00.005-05:00

Well besides the reality sinking in that we will have an extremely Pro-choice Democrat/ultra-liberal/socialist...president I got hit with another bit of upsetting news when I first got to school today. For those of you who are familliar with HHS you'll undestand the loss... Our beloved principal Mrs. Pace is leaving to be the Counties deputy Superintendent over all middle and high schools. This is not only a huge loss for the school as she is amazing but for me as she is one of the main reasons (besides being so close to home) I wanted to come here. She's sticking around until they find a replacement and there's no word on who that will be. She assured me that all would be ok and she'd find somebody who shared her amazing vision...We'll see. Well of course here's 5 more photos for your' viewing pleasure. After playing all day on there island we got bikes and rode across the island to a lookout tower where you could climb up to see the entire island and the ship off in the distance. Well you can see the before and after photos, they were tuckered out! I zoomed in on the ship from the tower and that's what the middle photo is.

Cruise photos

2008-11-05T10:25:00.004-05:00

Splashing in the puddles outside the ship. After our first night we stopped at Disney's Private Bahemian island and had a great day but as we were getting ready to head back from the beach to the ship it started to pour and did so for about 10-15 minutes. Once we got back to the boat it was no longer raining and there were big puddles on the dock which we naturally couldn't resist splashing and playing in!
Kylie posing by the big artwork hanging at the top of the atrium.

The girls at the tea party with Alice and the mad hatter. Don't worry, Disney gave everyone Apple juice in their tea pots!

Reagan with Stitch at the dance party.

Reagan & I doing the Strawberry slide or some crazy cha cha slide type dance during the character dance party.

More cruise dance photos

2008-11-04T15:31:00.003-05:00

Kylie having fun at the character dance party
The girls dancing with Donald! They had a big character dance party one day which the girls just loved!

Reagan made a friend on the dance floor.

Kylie and another twirl move. Check out Reagans moves off to the side.

And surprise...another spinning dance move. Love the tongue!!!

Our girls love to dance!

2008-11-04T15:19:00.003-05:00

These are more cruise shots. It only lets me post 5 at a time for some strange reason! These are from a family dance party we went to on the formal night. Kylie and Reagan just love to dance!
They get it from their momma! Not to bad for being 4 months away from the due date eh! Dats my babys' mamma!!!!!!!!

They both love to spin with dresses on so you can imagine there moves this night incorporated many spins!

Father daughter dance

Some more cruise photos for you're viewing pleasure

2008-11-04T12:54:00.002-05:00

Shark attack in Cozumel!
So Cute!!!

Daddy, Minnie & Kylie

Reagan is ready for the drill but looks a little concerned this may be for real! Those life boats aren't as nice and NO CHARACTERS...OH NO!

Kylie will brave the seas!

More photos

2008-11-03T12:55:00.002-05:00

Reagan & Daddy finishing dinner after Mommy had to take sissy who was literally falling asleep at the table back to the room. I'll post those photos of exhausted Kylie later, they're hilarious! Princess Minnie and us.

Kylie in one of her favorite places onboard, the Mickey pool!

Reagan in the Mickey pool. This is actually on of his ears (the pool is actually 3 pools designed as Mickeys face with a slide that Kylie loved!).

Belle & the girls.

Cruise photos

2008-11-03T12:46:00.004-05:00

Here are a few random pictures mostly from dinners.

We're Back!

2008-11-02T20:17:00.002-05:00

Well after 7 wonderful nights aboard the Disney Magic visiting Castaway Cay (Disney's private Bahemian island) twice, Cozumel and Key West we're back to reality. The trip was sooo nice! Just being together as a family with absolutely no distractions was nice. Since I did no work the whole week I now have alot of catching up to do and also since we took 250 pictures I'll need some time to go through them before posting. Don't worry though as soon as I can get some up I will. I'll probably just post a few each day with a little more info on our trip. I'd again have to say though the best part was just having everything taken care of for us and no phone, work, calling nothing to do but be a family and have fun. The girls of course loved all the characters and Halloween on board the ship was fun. It's amazing when you don't have to prepare a meal or go to any meeting/appointment or even the store or anywhere how much time there really is in the day and how much fun our little family is. The girls behaved very well and everyone got along great! The best port I think we all agree was Cozumel as we rented a Jeep Wrangler for the day and drove around exploring the island. I loved being back in Mexico using my Spanish and just being with the wonderful people there. The girls also really enjoyed the stingray encounter on Disney's island thanks to our great friend John. We got into a lagoon fed the rays as they swam around us then snorkled around the lagoon watching the rays. Well I got a million thins to do but will post pictures asap.

The tradition continues

2008-10-16T22:26:00.003-04:00

Another beautiful girl to be expected the middle of March. Maybe on Chris's 30th Birthday! Don't ask about names yet, we'll let you know when we know, way later :0) Thanks for all of your votes, prayers, and comments. We love ya! I didn't get any pics. with Chris in there today at the parade, he was distracting me when he went by super fast. Reagan couldn't keep up and Kylie didn't wear her socks so her shoes were hurting her. Sooo, they rode in the convertible with the HC princesses. I don't blame them, I like convertibles too! Love ya again. Oh, just a pic. from a bday party Kylie went to for the boy who likes her in her class. She likes him too, as friends though!!!! (I hope :)

~A~

The big day

2008-10-16T12:06:00.001-04:00

OK so this afternoon we are going in for a sonogram where they hopefully will be able to tell us the sex of the baby. Most of you voted boy so we'll see if you were right. I'll try to post the results tonight but if not definitely by tomorrow. After the sonogram we have the homecoming parade in which Kylie will be walking with me and my Teenage Republican students in her cheer outfit then the Freshman & JV football games so it's a busy afternoon/evening!

New feature

2008-10-13T16:56:00.002-04:00

Ok so some of you have had this forever but I just finally added a playlist of some of our favorite songs (including the girls disney ones) and clean comedy routines. The list is huge but I figured I selected the random play so everytime you come back you should hear different songs and I'll occasionally update it as well. I also thought it is something that you can leave our blog minimized while you're working on other stuff and just here some good tunes and funny stuff. Enjoy!!!

More photos

2008-10-10T22:28:00.002-04:00

Photos of the girls playing in the rain/mud in between Sundays sessions of conference

2008-10-10T22:26:00.002-04:00

Free handbags!

2008-10-10T21:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a website Desi had on her blog where you can win free handbags. Check out this link...
http://www.handbagplanet.com/

This crazy world!

2008-10-08T11:39:00.003-04:00

On Sunday I got a call from my Mom saying Tims' son Timmy had been killed apparently shot during a robbery attempt. Our condolences go out to our sweet Papa Tim and the rest of his family. It is so sad anytime somebody loses a child and especially to senseless violence. The ironic thing is Tim is probably the most gentle sweet man I know. I honestly don't know if he's ever even smashed a bug and those of you who know him know what I mean. This world is just spinning faster and faster out of control and it seems everytime I watch the news Orlando is just getting more and more violent. Yet another reason I love living out in Harmony! I also recently got my concealed weapons permit and would recommend that anyone living in Orlando do the same. Take the class, buy a gun (if you don't already own one) and familiarize yourself with it. Once you are comfortable with it, carry it for not only your safety, but your loved ones around you. I honestly would not go into Orlando now without it! Well that's my little push for personal protection. Again our thoughts and prayers go out to Tim and his family. We love you Papa Tim and we'll see you tomorrow night.

This past week...

2008-10-08T11:17:00.002-04:00

Well over the weekend we went and visited the grandparents, so we could go to the temple and watch conference which was nice. The girls sooo love their Papa and watching them crawl up into the recliner with him it's just precious. Conference was great and it was honestly the first time in quite a while that I stayed awake and actually heard all the talks! If I had to pick just one favorite it would have to be the talk on grattitude that I believe Elder Bednar gave on Saturday. I also of course with my new calling enjoyed the many talks on missionary work but really felt that spirit during the grattitude talk. With times getting so tough I think it's especially important that we count our many blessings. Our family is so richly blessed and one of our greatest blessings is the love in our lives from you guys, are amazing friends and family. I will post a link to this talk once it is available but one of the things he talked about I think all should do is offering up a prayer of grattitude. I have done this several times and it always fills me with grattitude, cheers me up and brings the spirit. You can feel Heavenly Fathers love when you simply ask for nothing and just take time to thank him for all he's done for you. He also mentioned a scripture which Pres. Monson also later quoted about his anger being kindled against those who do not recognize his hand in all things. Well in between sessions we had lunch with Grandma Judy, Papa Tim and Norks which was nice. We also got to see all the work Kyle & Norks have done to their house and even got to see uncle Kyle briefly. The house looks great and the girls just love their uncles! They do such a great job with the girls, especially Jared. We also took the girls to the park and just enjoyed the gorgeous weather on Saturday. It was nice to be back at my Dads house for the first time in a while and all the work looks great. Our Orlando daycare is back in business and nicer than ever!!! Well we went home for the Sunday sessions and just watched them online (nowhere near as nice as Papas' big screen tv!). The girls went out to play in the rain in between sessions and found some mud. I'll have to have Amber post the pictures soon. Finally the elders came over for dinner and then took the girls to see and feed a monkey (orangatan?) on our way to take them home. Aparantly these people own a circus and keep this monkey on their personal property not far from our neighborhood and have given the Elders permission to feed it whenever! The girls were a little timid at first but in the end wanted to go back and see the monkey again. Well other than our date night where Amber took me out for Thai food, which I love and she doesn't care for (so sweet), and we went and saw the movie Eagle Eye that's our week in a nut shell. Eagle eye was good and we would recommend it. Everything else continues on same as usual. Until next time...Remember we love ya!

How did I ever do it???

2008-09-30T16:18:00.002-04:00

I don't know how I was able to stay sane and teach middle school for 2 years. I am working in an after school program at my old school once a week and the kids are driving me nuts! I'm so used to my High school students now that the maturity level, lack of listening skill, etc of the middle schoolers is making me pull my hair out. I could never go back now. The high school kids are just much more mature and focused, I love it!

More photos from this weekend

2008-09-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

Moments/These are the days/You're gonna miss this

2008-09-28T19:45:00.006-04:00

And whatever other song you can think of that talks about the memories we make and special little moments we have being with our children. That is what this weekend was all about as we had alot of fun playing together. This weekend was long but fun (That's what she said [just a little somthing for all you fellow office fans!]). For those of you who don't share the love for our favorite show, just disregard that last comment as you won't get it. We went to the HHS (Harmony High School, where I work) football game Friday night. It was the first home game of the year and unfortunately they just got worked! I didn't get to see much though, as I was manning a table with my Teenage Republicans club seeking donations and helping people get registered to vote or update their registration. For those of you who need to do that, get it done ASAP I know our deadline is 10/6 which is this week!!! Anyways on Saturday we went to the Magic Kingdom in the morning for a special annual pass holders premier of the new Tinkerbell movie. It was really nice as we were given treats, little tinkerbell toys and even got to have a meet and greet after the movie with the director, producer, writer & of course the fairies!!! The girls enjoyed it and Kylie even won a prize during Tinkerbell trivia. She was given a nice tinkerbell card making kit. She was so excited about the prize that she just couldn't wait to use it. We went over to Epcot in the afternoon to walk around the world and meet the princesses. This was really nice as we got to spend time with Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Aladin, Jasmine, Genie, Snow White, Dopey and of course Mulan! Mulan was the whole reason for the trip over to Epcot as Reagan is officially obsessed with that movie. Mulan was awesome, as we were the only ones there waiting (we're such geeks!) for her when she arrived, she spent probably 5 minutes with just Kylie and Reagan. The girls just ate it up! She walked with them holding hands, took the usual photos and gave them her autograph but she also sat down on the bench where I was hanging out and just visited with the girls. She also gave Reagan a big kiss which left a mark on Reagans cheek, soooo cute! I had a chance to go to the UF Ole Miss game, but I'm so glad I kept my promise to the girls, as these moments are the ones we'll all cherish. They were just so happy and I would've missed out on all the Smiles, laughter and excitement as well as cheers! Reagan so loves the cheers Kylie does that she is constantly reciting them and all day as we went around the park and even as we ate lunch in the restaurant she was just cheering at the top of her lungs which everyone got a kick out of! Kylie just giggles and giggles when Reagan goes into cheerleading mode (as long as Reagan isn't yelling/cheering in her ear which she does on occasion). It is just so precious! I don't think we'll be able to afford to do the Disney passes again next year but what a great purchase they were for us this year. We have become total Disney geeks, as we constantly are spending our family time in one of the parks, but they are just so fun. Well afterwards we had a surprise 30th bday party to attend for a friend who lives near us. Kylie was so excited to use her new card making kit she won and made our friends bday card! After the party Amber & I went out with our wonderful friends the Hulings, who we hadn't seen in forever. We had a good time down at the comedy warehouse on Pleasure Island. It was the last night as Disney is closing all the clubs on PI and we had never been but heard good things. We were able to see 2 funny shows and had a blast laughing at some of the crazy drunk people wondering from the other clubs. Well this post has gotten very long so I'll wrap up in just a sec. I have figured recently that this would be my journal as we've been counseled to write regularly in a journal and I suck at doing it. So occasionally I may have these long posts but I want to be sure to preserve all these special little moments. Finally today after church and naps Kylie and I painted her new little birdhouse which was alot of fun as well. Reagan is glued to the TV watching Beauty & the Beast and Amber is at her stake youth meetings so this daddy daughter time was nice. I'll try to get as many of this weekends photos posted as possible so you can all enjoy these moments as well. We are so blessed to have such sweet little girls and I know that "These are the days to remember" and intend on making the most of every "moment". I also don't need the song to tell me I'm "gonna miss this" as I can't help but think of how sad it'll be when they get to that age when it's no longer cool to spend the entire weekend just hanging out with Mom & Dad. I hope I haven't put you all to sleep and want you to know we love and miss you all!

PS Amber heard the babies heart beat this week and we'll go together next month right before our cruise to see if they can determine the sex! As soon as we know we'll pass it along

High School is a whole different world!

2008-09-24T20:05:00.002-04:00

Don't get me wrong I love it and don't think I could go back now to middle school. The kids are so much more mature, focused & well behaved. It seems to be alot more work though. For example I was there until 7:30 tonight and still am not completely caught up! Oh well, at least I'm truly enjoying it alot more. The teachers are also great and I have a wonderful department as well. They are begging me to coach the JV basketball team but I am sticking to refing. I can set my own schedule, work less hours, have less hastle and actually make more money! Another thing I'm doing this year is I started a TARS (TeenAge Republicans) club on campus which is fun. The principal and the school as a whole seems to be very excited about it. We are actually doing a big push this Friday night at our first home football game as well as next week during lunches to get those eligible voters registered for the November election before next weeks deadline. We're also going to organize a debate and mock election for the entire student body. I'll keep you up to date on how those activities go. Finally as this blog is concerned I know many of you maintain blogs of your own so please send me the addresses so we can follow them and post the links here for everyone. Well I hope you all have a great weekend! We're off to Disney (again, man we love those passes!) to see a special sneek preview of the new tinker bell movie and so Reagan can meet Mulan. She has developed a recent obsession with Mulan so this will be a big day for her! We'll take photos and be sure to post them next week. I'll also try and post some more cheerleading photos tonight.

Our Little Cheerleaders!

2008-09-19T12:35:00.006-04:00

Lucky me, I'm team mom. One of the many perks of staying home with the girls this year. Kylie finally was getting into it last night. She's the youngest one on the team and yes, one of most uncoordinated! Still so cute. They both are. Reagan is our unofficial mascot. She gets a kick out of watching any age cheerleaders. Go Longhorns!

Love ya'll!

And the new calling is......

2008-09-18T08:11:00.002-04:00

Ward mission leader. Which is actually exciting because I had a feeling since the bishop first told me he would be making changes that 's what it would be. The spirit was whispering to me all week new ideas and things that could be done in the ward with respect to missionary work. It was cool when the bishop told me because this is the first time I've ever really had such a strong feeling that I would be called to a certain position. The bishop is also very excited to be working closely with me and really wants to get the work going. I think we actually have been doing pretty well as we have had lots of baptisms over the past 2 & a half years we've been here but there is always room for improvement. I look forward to serving with the Elders as some of the sweetest spiritual experiences come through misionary work. Well Kylie has a game tonight so I'll try to get some pictures taken to post over the weekend. Finally all of you who are in my address book should have received an email from me last night about Obama. I don't normally get involved in political emails and I know it can be a touchy subject for many so I apalogize if I offended anyone but it was so shocking to me and I truly felt it had to be shared. I have heard of partial birth abortions (which I personally don't agree with) but this was way worse! On a happier note we love you all and hope you have a great weekend!!!

No news is good news...I guess

2008-09-15T12:18:00.000-04:00

Well as I was just reading the new posts to Des & Nates blog I decided to check ours out and see what my dear wife had done in the last couple of weeks...nothing! Well I guess no news is good news as everything in our world continues as usual. To Ambers defense she has not been feeling well lately as this pregnancy is giving her a little bit of a run for her money. Nothing serious, just the usual occasional nausea and lack of energy but for her it is strange as the first 2 pregnancies were so easy. It's a little strange for me as well trying to adjust to a tired wife versus the constantly energetic go getter Amber we're all used to. Well anyways the news for us has been callings. Amber was just called into the Stake YW presidency!!! She's finally graduated from primary, yeah! I have been told by our bishop to expect a new calling as I have been "pigeon holed" into YM now for too long. He actually said I hid many skills and attributes that would be very useful in other areas, wow! So we are expecting a call to be the ward mission leader as ours was just called to be the new Elders Quorum president. We'll let you know what happens there. The girls are doing great! Kylie still loves school and Reagan loves getting daily mommy time just for her. They also love cheer leading!!! Kylie has started cheering for our pop warner flag team and Reagan has memorized the cheers and does them now all the time. As a matter of fact I was helping out in nursery yesterday and a relief society sister game in to do a cheer about Enrichment night for the nursery sisters and Reagan all of a sudden stopped playing and sat down real still just devoting all her attention to this "cheer leader". Then once she was done Reagan began doing her cheers!!! It is so cute! Every week at Kylies game Reagan wants so bad to be out there with the team. Well I guess that is it. Sorry no pictures this time but our camera is broken :{ we need to get it fixed or replaced as soon as we have the funds. Hopefully tonight I can download some stuff from the video camera so we'll at least have memory there to take still shots. For those of you who are aware of my parents problems with the house things are looking up and they expect to be back home within a week!!!

Finally!

2008-08-28T21:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the help of my husband and my blog savvy Sis-in-law, and the fact that I don't have to teach school this year and have a little more time on my hands (YEAH!) I can update our blog a little more frequently! So, You're welcome :0)

This summer was fun. It was nice having Chris home for like 6 weeks, but our pockets are sure feeling it :0) We went to VA to visit my dad and other family members of mine and some friends. The girls sure did like having a pool right in the back yard! Also, Aunt Stacy was a ton of fun. Did I mention I out shot Chris when we went with my dad!

Then we went to Tennessee. Chris has been trying to get me there since I met him 10 years ago. Yep! Ten years. Only married seven though and still happy! We went to Dollywood and rode some pretty cool roller coaster and silly kiddy rides. Then to a water park, which they said Kylie was too short for any rides. Bummer! Also, horseback riding and tubing, which were my favorites. We just had a lot of fun being a family, and I loved not having to clean house.

Kylie started Pre-K this year and is loving it. She says she doesn't want to go to school at night sometimes, but that's just because she doesn't want to go to bed. She's not fooling me :0) Chris started teaching Spanish I & II at the High School across the street. Go Longhorns! He's really happy there. The ninth graders don't get on his nerves Nearly as much as the sixth graders did. Plus, he's a lot closer to home. Reagan has enjoyed being with me one on one for a little bit each day, though she wouldn't mind going to school either with her big sister every once in a while. I love getting to be with Reagan too.

Well, we're all doing well and I'm going to post some Pics. Next I'll put Kylie's cheerleader pics on. She had her first game tonight and what so cute. They all were! Next year we might try swimming. She's so good at it.

Two months and counting.

2006-09-11T22:23:00.000-04:00

Little by Little Here's a little update from the Sorrough family of four now. Regan is 2 months old and starting to smile and talk. So cute! Kylie thinks so too. Sometimes a little too much :0) She did well with her shots too. Only cried when it happened and slept most of the day with her fever. She's just over 12lb and 27inches. She's doing much better with her weight and nursing than Kylie did. I am too. Kylie is potty trained! She's only 26 months and tall and thin, so it's hard to find panties that fit. She has a toddler bed now we're trying to keep her in for naps. She's so smart! We went to Disney a week ago and she just loved all the characters. She use to be scared of them but really enjoyed them this last time. We got to see the Wiggles and the princesses. There was supposed to be a hurricane, but it was hardly a rainy day. There was hardly anyone at Disney and Chris had the day off! Tons of fun. We also got to enjoy a visit from Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Stacy for my birthday. We all enjoyed seeing them. Kylie and Stacy had a ton of fun together. Kylie also got to be a flower girl in Uncle Kyle and Aunt Norka's wedding on my birthday. She looked so beautiful. She danced the night away!

We're enjoying Chris's new job. He started teaching spanish at the St. Cloud Middle School. 6-8th grades. It's all beginner spanish so easy lesson plans. Only one all day. He finds it very rewarding too which is nice to see him happy. His commute is a lot less so he's home earlier. When we get to be home.
I'm enjoying the girls and they are a pleasure to be home with. I'm trying hard to loose the baby weight. Too many sweets and not enough exercise when I was pregnant. Oh well, maybe next time :0) Two down two to go. Recovery was so easy this time.

New Addition

2006-07-13T23:15:00.000-04:00

We have a new baby in the house! Baby Regan Lyn Sorrough was born on Monday, July 10th, at 11:26pm. She was 7lb. 9.9 oz. and 20 inch. A little bigger than Kylie. She is happy and healthy and a great sleeper! :0) Mom and baby came home on the morning of July 12th and mom is doing GREAT! Daddy is back to work and all of the usual. He stayed the night in the hospital with mom and baby the first night. Regan loves sleeping on his chest. Kylie loves being a big sister and gives Baby Regan lots and lots and lots and lots of kisses! She's geing a good helper and still such a pleasure. Bed time is a little rough because it seems I'm needed at the same time and Kylie is having a little trouble with that. She's a big girl though and still get lots of attention, she deserves it.
Thanks for all of your love and support. I'll get pictures out soon. We both think she looks a lot like Kylie did when she was born, a good mix of mom and dad. Here is a website where you can see her first professional photos: babyregan
It should take you right there.
Lots of love to our friends and family. We'll keep you posted.
Love,
Amber, Chris, Kylie & Baby Regan

First Shot

2006-07-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

Hello Family,
A few friends are doing this now, getting all computer savvy on me and so I thought it would be a good idea to try. Never know until you try right!
We're all doing great. Awaiting our second addition to the little family any second now. Surprised she hasn't come yet. Don't worry, even though we don't have a definite name we have some picked out and won't leave the hospital without one.:0)
Chris is working on getting a job teaching. He wants to teach High School Spanish and coach b-ball. Hopefully all will work out for the best. The Lord has blessed us plenty and we know he will continue to. What's meant to be will be.
Kylie is so smart and stink'n cute. She loves to sing and dance. She talks so well and is such a good little helper. I can't wait to see her with her new baby sister :0)
Her favorite song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and ABC's. She likes the usual Barney, Elmo, Disney movies, etc. We have pretty good tans going too. Loves the pool and likes her swim suit that helps her float the best so she can do it on her own. Shoes are her favorite accessory.
I'm loving the mommy thing and just trying to spend more one-on-one with Kylie before it runs out. Getting the usual done that needs to be taken care of. We stay busy though. We haven't had dinner as a family at home in over a week. I've been babysitting or Chris at church, or volunteering at Give Kids The World which is always nice.
Well, maybe this will be ongoing, that would be nice.
Hope you all enjoy.
Love yah
~Amber, Chris, Kylie and Baby?~