Pretty in Pink...

Don't pee on Elmo

2009-05-08T21:39:00.002-05:00

Yay...I am happy to say we are potty trained 99%!! I really was a lot easier than i thought it would be. I just had to realize they would do it in their own time. Fortunately it was simultaneously. We went and bought all kinds of fun undies. Rae and Ri love Elmo so who better to start out with. We also bought some princess panties in honor of our recent trip to Disney. The only negative to the whole potty training thing is their tooshies are so tiny with no diaper we can hardly keep their pants up. I have been a bad blogger I know and I promise I'll try to get better. Oh yeah the title...that's what we say when we put their panties on and they respond with "i no pee pee on Elmo...no, no." Ah, my babies are growing up.

Disney 2009

2009-04-06T17:39:00.003-05:00

We are back from Disney. What a great family vacation. It was awesome. We had such a great time we are already thinking about when we are going back. The weather was amazing and other than it being more crowded than we had hoped it couldn't have been better...oh wait maybe it could've been a little longer. (o: I'll try to post more pics soon.

Americheer Nationals Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-16T20:59:00.003-05:00

We had an awesome Valentine's Day weekend although it was not your typical Valentine's Day. Makenna had a cheer competition. So grandma Rita kept the twins and we were on our way. The competition was about a two hour drive from our house so since it was a two day competition we decided to get a hotel and make a fun little get away out of it. The girls did amazing. Saturday they had some mistakes but Sunday they more than redeemed themselves. Out of 9 teams in our level our girls took 2nd!!! We were so excited...they were flawless. In this picture the girls are in the middle of doing their back handsprings. I wish it was a better picture but you get the idea. It was a great weekend but we sure missed our little girls.

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-02-02T15:50:00.009-05:00

Where a Kid can be a Kid...

won't both be able to fit in there together much longer.

Riley playin' a game...i luv how she's standing on her tiptoes

Rae loved the horsey...Riley not so much

Notice Rae won't look at the camera...completely on purpose! no joke.

Riley smiling at the camera...this my dear friends is extremely rare.
(they prefer to hide from the camera)

Rae Rae checking out Chuck up close.

Can you tell they loved it. Kenna and Chloe were there too but they didn't hang out with Mom and Dad much. They did grace us with their presence for dinner. They had a great time too. Next time they can't run off without a couple of pics first.

11 years ago

2009-01-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

I became a mommy...something I dreamed of and thought may never happen. Today I feel so blessed that I have become a mommy to four wonderful little girls. I am also in shock at how fast time goes. My first born is 11! Say What?! In two years I'll have a teenager. UH-OH, I can't believe it. I couldn't be more proud of my Kenna Bear who by the way will probably not allow me to call her that much longer. She is definitely becoming a young lady but she will always be my baby! I never realized how much I was capable of loving until I had my children. It is the best gift God has blessed me with. I feel honored to be my girls mommy and I look forward to watching them grow. I use to be sad that my girls were growing so fast but now I am truly looking forward to seeing them turn into young ladies. Don't get me wrong if I could stop time I would but it's neat to think of all the fun stages we have to come and the few not so fun times. Hey by the time Rae and Ri are teenagers I should have it down. Happy Birthday Kenna Bear...Mommy and Daddy love you so much!!

*We loaned our camera to a friend but have no fear we pulled out the old one and I got a few snapshots. I'll try to post them tomorrow.

Milestones

2009-01-11T20:32:00.002-05:00

i know i've been mia sorry about that things have just been kinda busy and the blog suffered. first i need to say happy belated birthday to my mom her birthday was yesterday...i luv u so much ma i hope you had a great day! now on to the girls. we are starting to hit some major milestones. reagan and riley haven't been doing the greatest with the potty training but it's day to day. they don't quite get it yet but they will and i'm not stressing. okay that's not a milestone but here are a few. rae is little ms. independent her most recent show of independence is how she will get herself dressed for the day. i'm not talking about the simply pulling her pants up i'm talking she will wander off and the next thing i know she has taken off her jammies and put on clothes...shirt, pants, shoes, coat and all. silly little girl...she is always ready to go. riley doesn't do this at least not yet...haha. they have finally decided it's not the worst thing in the world to have to get their teeth brushed josh and i are extremely excited about this one. they are strong and it was an all out battle. they are starting to try drinking out of big cups...this we will take slow whether they want to or not. ;) which leaves me to the next thing...their vocabulary. they are full blown talkers. they carry on conversations just ask gramma rita as they insist on calling her everyday! oh and another thing they seemed to have finally gotten past is the biting. this is huge

Reagan and Riley's new years resolution

2009-01-05T16:00:00.003-05:00

....okay well maybe it's my new year's resolution. ;-) i'm ready to be done with diapers although i'm not real sure i'm ready to run to the restroom every 10 mins. i guess you gotta take the good with the bad. :o)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T22:57:00.023-05:00

Kenna and one of her bffs, Tori

Chloe with her cousins Sean and Darian

Happy New Year...officially midnight! yay!!!

Christmas Cookies...YUMMY!!

what better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to make cut out cookies.
we were so excited to go over to aunt Rhonda's house to decorate cookies...they are so yummy i could seriously eat them until i get sick and i did. delicious!

Reagan couldn't resist a little lick

at first she wasn't real sure about the mess

Chloe worked hard and made beautiful cut outs!

all of the kids working hard

Christmas Time...

oh how i wish we had a fireplace to hang our stockings...especially when it's 20 degrees below zero!

Chloe opening her presents...she got clothes, furry crocs, brown boots, kit & ruthie (american girl dolls), a nintendo ds and accessories and games, scrabble, and more.

kenna was so excited she had been begging for a cell phone and we had her pretty convinced she wouldn't be getting one. this was probably her favorite by far but she also got a purple nano chromatic ipod, clothes, boots, ds games and more.

my Chloe she was so excited Christmas was finally here!

Rae Rae loved her chair and baby and doll and doll blanket...they (Riley got the same things) also got bouncy seats for their babies and clothes and of course there was more.

it was so cute Rae tried to put on all of her clothes she unwrapped...so cute. notice she has a jacket on that was a gift too. silly girl...she's gonna love clothes like her mama!

Riley with her twin baby and her bouncy seat...(santa brought the twins american girl bitty twins)

they loved opening gifts so much so that chloe let them open some of her gifts. :) what a sweet big sister!!

Ri Ri

A little game that's good for the soul

2008-12-12T13:02:00.003-05:00

TO PAY IT FORWARD!

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to post on Loren's blog over @ The Dressler Family Blog "Pay It Forward" post. Thank you so much Loren!! I am very excited to play along!!
Here is how it works:
The main focus is doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward. I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!! If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog.
So get to it!! If you are one of the first 3 people to comment on this post, please send your name and address to my email! realtor_hunt@yahoo.com

*OH and if you have never seen the movie Pay it Forward....you must go rent it now! It is awesome. Get some tissues too cuz your gonna need them.

S-L-A-C-K-E-R

2008-12-11T21:09:00.002-05:00

Yep, that's me. I'm really sorry...I don't know what's wrong with me I just don't have it in me lately to blog. Maybe it's the busy-ness of the holidays I'm not sure but I'm gonna try to work myself out of it. We all go through it, right?! Riley is so sick right now poor little baby. Rae is learning how to throw major temper tantrums and in the meantime their vocabulary is growing off the charts. They are little people who just talk up a storm. They LOVE to call their gramma Rita and will pick up the phone and ask..."i call ma?" that's what they call her. We have a police officer statue that sits on our end table next to our couch. I put a random (by that I mean I found it laying on the floor) ponytail holder with a bow on it that belongs to one of the many baby dolls in our house and Riley walked up to it the other day and said "daddy have a bow!" They call it daddy because it's a policeman how cute. We never called it that they came up with it all on their own. Anyhow, I received another award ...I know I can't believe it either especially with how bad of a blogger I've been lately. So I will try to post about that within the next couple of days and I am also participating in a very cool pay it forward thing. Loren is so awesome I found it on her blog and I can't wait to do it myself. I. love. the. elf. We so didn't have one and I cannot wait to start this new tradition with my girls. So anyhow other than trying to find the perfect gifts there has just been a lot of the usual running around like crazy going on here. I promise I will try to do better. Oh and as soon as I get my lights working again on our Christmas tree I'll post some pictures. I hope you are all doing well and I promise to post soon. Please keep an eye out for the pay it forward...you won't want to miss this one! :)

Thanksgiving...WOW!

2008-12-01T22:10:00.016-05:00

Thanksgiving...what a great day. We missed some of our family that couldn't be there and no doubt it would have been a better day had they been but it truly was a blessing to be around so much family. My parents live in Florida so we don't usually see them during the holidays. Good thing my honey has such a big family. This year we use the gym at our church becuz seriously with 100+ people having Thanksgiving together it really doesn't matter how big your house is...it ain't big enough. There was soooo much food and more importantly so many desserts! ;)

2 tables of desserts with some duplicates in the frig...did i mention there is a best dessert contest??? did i mention i won 3rd place and didn't even officially make anything...i'm just that good! ha! any ideas how i won and didn't even make anything??? anyone??? hmmm???

if you look real close the cake in the aluminum foil pan is shaped like a turkey. how cool is that!

my mother in law is one of 17 children...yes you read that right...17!!! here are a few of the bunch. oh yeah and no twins...imagine that!

Santa comes to our family Thanksgiving every year. Look who couldn't wait for him to come!
They line up around here...don't have to tell them twice. :)

do you see why i don't even bother takin' my kids to the mall to have their picture taken with Santa...i took several, look at Santa's face and THIS is the best one I got.

now she wants to smile...Riley what a little turkey!

i think this is Rae and Abby...she kept saying, "I wanna see Abby."

so cute.... no doubt they were discussing their Disney vacation plans for March.

Rae Rae...no smiles for mama...no way!

Santa brought the twins Dora coloring books and crayons...their favorite! now if he woulda just brought our dehumidifier from our basement they would have had there favorite thing to color on. :)

everyone opening their gifts

Chloe and Riley..."hey, who gave Riley a sucker???"

the next day we skipped Black Friday and headed to the movies to see Bolt...what a great movie! this was Reagan and Riley's first movie so of course I had to get a picture. i really didn't mean to blind the guy sitting next to them with my flash 2 minutes before the movie started...oops! we had a group of about 30 with us for the movie and then we headed to McDonald's. they never saw us coming!

best pictures i could get from my seat (right next to them) i didn't want to get too close to the blind guy he may have hurt me! i did say i was sorry like 10 times and actually he was very nice.

then it was off to Amazone where they had a great play area and laser tag! can you believe my husband the one i love shot me 9 times!!! uh huh...he said he didn't know it was me. have i mentioned we've been married 14 1/2 years!!! he won first place and we had 25 people just in our group. i think the policeman had an unfair advantage!

thank you so much aunt Rhonda you did it again!

Okay now I'm getting a BIG head...

2008-11-19T21:19:00.008-05:00

Look what I got. I am so honored that someone would think of me and want to give me a bloggie award. Loren you are an amazing young woman who is going to make a great mama...thank you for thinking of me.

The qualifications to receive the award are:

A. Display a cheerful attitude.

B. Love one another.

C. Make mistakes.

D. Learn from others.

E. Be a positive contributor to the blog world.

F. Love life.

G. Love kids.

The Rules:

1. Must link it back to the creator

2. Post the rules

3. Choose 5 people to give it to

4. Recipients must fit the characteristics above

5. Create a post to share this

6. You must thank the winner

The only thing I dislike about awards is that I have to decide on a select few to pass them along to. :( It is so difficult! My list of favorite blogs just keeps growing and growing!! ( i copied this from Loren's blog but it is so true!) So here it goes, in no particular order:

1. Jen @ http://joshlauren.blogspot.com/

(i know i gave you girls the other award but when i read the first rule of receiving this award I pictured both of your beautiful smiles...you are always smiling and I love you!)

2. Janeen @ http://www.littleski.blogspot.com/

3. Lindsay @ http://www.adam-andrew.blogspot.com/ (you are an amazing woman with such a

glowing love for the Lord)

4. Kimberly @ http://adventuresofsugarmommy.blogspot.com/ (i am so glad i "met" you!!)

5. Tara @ http://mommy2lboys.blogspot.com/ (i love your blog!)

Thanks again Loren...i love your blog and will read it forever!!!

okay ... i wasn't gonna do it but i have to cheat a little because Candice is so deserving of this award too I can't leave her out!

Suggestions Anyone???

2008-11-19T20:53:00.003-05:00

Watch out Disney here we come...in a couple of months! We are planning a trip to Disney this coming Spring and how cool is it that just as we were scheduling our reservation they offered a great deal. Buy 4 nights and get 3 FREE! They are also giving a $200 visa card to spend at the parks however you want...CAN'T. BEAT. THAT! Josh and I took the big girls the summer before I got pregnant with the twins. About 2 1/2 years ago. We knew we would go back and kinda had it in our minds to go back in a couple of years. After the twins were born we decided to wait until they got a little older not that they'll remember any of it but they are still free (until they turn 3). We also didn't want to go back in the summer becuz it's way too hot and very crowded. Spring sounds just right. Anyhow, when we took the big girls we only scheduled one character meal which of course was "Cinderella's Royal Court" well this time we would like to schedule one for everyday or at least 5. I need suggestions...I really have no idea where to start but I do know that I have got to get our reservations scheduled asap... they fill up quick. So if you've been to Disney what was your favorite Character meal?... or even one that may not have been your favorite but that you would definitely do again. Please I would love to know...don't be shy. Oh and any other tips for taking little ones would be great too. Kenna and Chloe were 5 and 8 at the time. Thanks!

sNOOOOOOw

2008-11-17T23:08:00.005-05:00

i am not ready...i am not ready...i am not ready. so any of my bloggie friends in those oh so toasty states have say 4 extra bedrooms? hmmm? it's way to early for this, i mean after all it's still fall according to my calendar.

Pictures x's 2

2008-11-16T16:46:00.009-05:00

My Babies

(they look so much alike in this picture)

Riley and Reagan

A couple of weeks ago I took the twins to get their 2 year old pictures taken outside. The weather was so nice and I thought autumn pictures would be so pretty. Just one problem...they are not into getting their pictures taken at all and it gets dark really early now. I hate that part of fall...the time change. Anyhow, Julie did a great job considering there is zero cooperation of Reagan and Riley's part. They did pretty good considering we were at a park and all they really wanted to do was run around and play. We may have to taken them to an indoor studio next time. Here are a couple of cute shots.

This didn't last long Rae kept trying to push Riley's hands off.

they love to give each other kisses (most of the time)

i'd like to thank the academy

2008-11-15T01:48:00.005-05:00

So I've been blogging for quite a while now and guess who just got their first award...you guessed it...ME!
Thanks to my new best bloggy friend Kimberly over at Sugar Mommy.
Aw thanks so much for thinking of me as you can tell it means a lot to me. Seriously who doesn't loved awards!

So, here are the rules to receiving this award:
1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
Instructions:
On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well.
To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as
To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget.
Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

My Five Fabulous Addictions

1. hmmm, of course my family. yep there's five of them...i mean the immediate ones. my girls and my honey. i luv 'em to death!

2. Facebook incase you haven't figured that out yet. I promise I'll get better at posting. :0)

3. Ice Cream. Love it Love it Love it. when i run in the evenings i run right past a dairy queen and i have no problems sending my honey to get me one so i can replenish the calories i just burnt off. ;0)

4. shopping...i luv it. although i will easily choose to buy for my girls before i buy for myself. my honey gets upset about that one. can't help it!

5. Snuggles and Sleep. that was kim's answer and i'm gonna have to agree. i love my cuddle time with my girls and my man and i lovvvve my sleep!

I pass this award to my 5 Fabulous Bloggy Buddies (in no particular order):

1. Janeen @ http://www.littleski.blogspot.com/

2. Candice @ http://www.ccluv.blogspot.com/

3. Jen @ http://joshlauren.blogspot.com/

4. Triplet Mama @ http://lovingmytriplets.blogspot.com

5. Loren @ http://dressler-family.blogspot.com/

Christmas time

2008-11-15T01:35:00.003-05:00

it's right around the corner and i'm getting so excited. i have gotten a few things for each of the girls. i get so excited when i order something and get it in the mail. today one of kenna's presents arrived and i was so glad she wasn't home...whew. that coulda been bad! i got the twins their anywhere chairs from pottery barn and will soon be placing my annual order with american girl. i'm really surprised they've never sent me a thank you card i mean really. anyhow, it's great the twins were girls cuz we have lots of girl toys around here. don't get me wrong there is always room for more. we love our baby dolls. today the sitter told me how she was amazed at how the little ones love to carry their baby dolls around. they always have a doll in their arms when we are home. if it's riley she usually has a thousand other things in her arms too. we call her our little horder. she will fill her arms completely full. it's so cute! i've bought each of the girls a big present and a few smaller ones. shopping really gets me in the holiday spirit. i love CHRISTmas. so how many of you have started your shopping???

okay here's some pictures

2008-11-12T23:33:00.003-05:00

sorry i didn't get any pictures the day i promised. my little turkeys are not in the cooperating stages of picture taking. they have also been at their grandma's house the past 2 days. i missed them so much! i have never been away from them that long...it was way too quiet around here. josh has been working third shift and then going to school during the day. sleep is a treat for him this week and will be the same next. he is going to training so that he can be an instructor for the police academy. something he has wanted to do for a long time. i've had to work so grandma said she'd keep her grandtwins. they love their grandma rita, i don't even think they noticed i was gone. :( since i didn't post pictures when i promised i felt bad. i am not one to break a promise things have just been crazy around here. i don't think i've posted these pictures before and they really aren't that old but since the weather has changed it seems like forever since we've had shorts on. these were taken at my family reunion on sept. 1st.

the whole gang

daddy is holding reagan (i think) mommy has riley (i think) and you know kenna and chloe

*i'll have to look through the pictures again and make sure which is which. i knew i shoulda stuck with my original plan of always having the same baby on the left in all of their childhood pictures! :)

dr. appointments and updates

2008-11-08T13:35:00.003-05:00

wow, i know i have been a baaaad blogger lately. it's still facebook i must admit...did u know there are games on there?! okay back to the blog because this is where grandma and papa wallace catch up on their grand babies since they are so far away. yesterday i took the twins for their 2 year check up. they actually turned 2 in september but the doc said to go ahead and wait til the end of october or early november so they could get their flu shot at the same time. i was so worried they'd end up sick and we'd have to cancel their appointment. the Lord was with us and we all stayed healthy. the twins did really good although they knew something was up when they stepped on the scale. they were okay in the room until the nurse wanted them to lay down to be measured. ri was first and started crying immediately. she wanted no part of it. if only that was the worst part. anyhow, we were quite late for our appointment but did call ahead and let the doctors office know. so in between our apt the next patient came. no prob our fault the doc had started examining riley and excused herself to take care of the other patient and came back to us. we love our pedi she is amazing and she really takes her time. she was very impressed with the girls using sentences and talking so much. she said they looked great and seemed to be coming right along. she always asks if we have any concerns or questions and usually we don't after all we've been here done this before. well except for the twin part. i think i may have mentioned before that riley is quiet the chicken. she's afraid of just about everything. the latest thing that she does is she is terrified of shiny floors...yes shiny floors whether it be tile or hardwood EXCEPT for at our house. she's fine and we have both. we noticed it a couple of months back we were at Kohl's and she started acting very strange and walking funny. i thought she just needed her diaper changed or that something was irritating her. i changed her diaper she walked around the bathroom fine, walked out onto the carpet fine but the very minute she stepped foot onto the tile she PANICKED. it was so weird. she was terrified and wouldn't move. we had to carry her. since then she has been that way anywhere we've gone that has "shiny" floors. the girls schools you name it. she will hold onto the wall or grab the closest person whether she knows them or not and she doesn't like strangers so that tells you how bad it is. the doc said she's never heard of that before. maybe ri just has a bad case of anxiety. has anyone out there ever had a child afraid to walk on a shiny surface. i'm not real concerned about it just more curious. oh and by the way she is fine if she doesn't realize it or if she is holding on to something i.e. doll stroller, stroller, hand, etc. and now for the official weights:

reagan 25.12 pounds

riley 24.7 pounds

i don't have their height close by but reagan was about an 1" taller than riley. reagan was in the 25th percentile and ri was around the 23rd.

*i'll post pictures later...i took my camera but the memory card was at home...i hate when that happens. anyhow i'll take a picture of each of them today and post it.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...oh and kari this one is for you! ;0)

tag...i'm it

2008-10-31T21:50:00.003-05:00

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED by my awesome girlfriend Jen!

This is what you have to do.......

1. Go to your pictures

2. Upload the 4th picture of the 4th folder

3. Post it

4. Tag 4 of my friends

( Okay, I am just saying in advance.... SORRY!) but at least it's an easy one....right? right! :0)

Chloe is holding her cousin Jude in this picture. Jude is now 4 so that would probably make Chloe about 3 1/2 years old in this picture. Amazing how much the twins look like their big sister. She loved holding her baby cousin and giving him a bottle. I guess this shows how bad I need to clean out my picture files on my computer. ;0)

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN...........Tag~ your it!

how about everyone that reads this consider yourself tagged...it's easy and it's fun. you may also realize it's time to do a little picture cleaning on your computer too.

P.S. i tagged several of you to another little somethin' down below. It's under the pumpkin bash post. It took me several days to do that one I just couldn't think of anything good. ;0)

Trick or Treat Balloon Game

2008-10-29T15:15:00.005-05:00

this was a lot of fun and the kids absolutely loved it. so here is a fun little game for your next halloween party. depending on the number of kids or even adults decide on the amount of balloons you will need. could do several balloons for each person to allow for more than one round of the game. simply fill out little slips of paper and on some of them write "treat" and the rest write a trick. (ex. "sing the theme song to the munsters.") we even had "kiss your sibling" cuz we knew that was such a horrible thing to make kids do. blow the balloons up and insert a "trick" or "treat" in each balloon. choose one person to randomly pick a balloon and pop it...they either get a "treat" or have to do what the "trick" says. after they are finished they pick the next person or i guess you could sit in a circle and go around. be creative and have fun...it will be sure to please!

Best Pumpkin Bash EVER!

2008-10-28T16:27:00.021-05:00

Saturday afternoon I took the girls to Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Dick's annual pumpkin bash! Seriously, one of the best parties ever. Aunt Rhonda is an amazing lady...she thinks of everything. Usually, it is at her house and is mostly focus on the big pumpkin carving contest. Let me tell you I've seen pumpkins made into things I'd never think of in my wildest dreams. I mean they're okay, ha ha =P (that's for all the family out there reading this that participate). This year it was an overnighter at a "campground." It was all planned out...1:30p.m. pumpkin carving, 3:00p.m. scavenger hunt, 3:30p.m. judging and winners announced 6:00p.m. food and I'm talking lots of food, 7:00p.m. games, 8:00p.m. tye dye t-shirt craft and pumpkin craft, 9:00p.m. campfire. The big girls stayed overnight in the cabins and I took the little ones home. It was so much fun, I know my big girls will remember this forever. Thanks Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Dick for the wonderful time...we love you!!! Jeri you were amazing too!

Chloe working hard on her pumpkin

Makenna not likin' the pumpkin guts so much.

the big kids built this tee pee...we may have some architects in the family one day

the twins loved running around outside

run rae run

chloe and the twins sitting around the campfire, i don't know why i didn't get a picture of the campfire.

my baby girls...Riley and Reagan

a pumpkin eater and a mummy (my pumpkin)

show offs! ;0)

chloe's pumpkin was an owl...cute right except i wanna know who rated it as a moderate in level of difficulty??? guess who had to carve it?!

Kenna's kitty pumpkin...she did it all by herself.

Rae and "Old Mom" aka josh's grandma. the girls all call her old mom even the babies. it's so cute to hear them say it. Ri gets a little afraid so she chose not to be in the picture.

my big girls...kenna doesn't usually wear make-up we just got back from her cheer competition. notice she's givin' chlo bunny ears...yup that's my big girls!

trick or treat balloon game. thanks jeri it was a hit!

Rae was getting sleepy and snuggly...I think Aunt Rhonda was too.

and last but not least our tye dyed pumpkin t-shirts!

CAN'T WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!

400th post...WOW!

2008-10-24T13:37:00.005-05:00

What better way to celebrate my 400th post, than with a little game. ;0)

So my wonderful friend...love her so much Janeen tagged me. Read the rules above and I'll try to make this a good as possible. I love things like this. Here goes nothing:

1. my parents have 7 children and I am the only one that is left handed. Both of my parents are right handed. I have an uncle that is left handed and my paternal grandfather was left handed.

2. i have extremely unique handwriting and get comments about it EVERYtime i write or sign something. if only i had a dollar for every time seriously i'd be rich!

3. i am a worrier. always have been. can't help it!

4. i have the best intentions. i always want to be the one to pick up the phone and call a friend i haven't talked to in awhile or send a card to someone who has lost a loved one, had a baby or a birthday. Unfortunately, I always drop the ball. matter of fact i have a congratulations card on my dining room table for our pastor and his wife who had a baby like a month ago. i so desire to do better!

5. i believe that God made my husband for me. no doubt in my mind that we were meant to be husband and wife. if you knew the story of how we met you would totally agree!

6. i love my girls and wouldn't trade any of them for a boy but i feel sad for my hubby that he does not have a son to carry on his name. he is the last!

7. i broke my left arm four times growing up all before jr. high...remember i'm left handed!

Okay so here is my 7:

1. candice

2. dusti

3. tara

4. casey

5. loren

6. sugar mommy

7. jenn

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-22T21:33:00.003-05:00

lets be friends

2008-10-22T21:25:00.003-05:00

if you read my blog and you too are a facebook fan then add me...i would love it. oh i think you can click on my facebook link on the side and it will take you to my page.

**i promise posts are coming.

blame it on facebook

2008-10-21T22:12:00.003-05:00

cuz that's where i've been. i love finding old friends and that is definitely the place to do it. although i do have a myspace i find facebook more grown up. if you don't have an account your missing out but be careful it's addictive.

*oh yeah, look for a new post very soon. we've had some fun things goin' on.

October 15th

2008-10-15T12:21:00.003-05:00

thinking of all those who have lost a precious little one!

finally pictures!!!

2008-10-13T20:26:00.005-05:00

here's my girl loving her new look!

back view...thick thick thick hair! she get that from me,
we have crazy thick hair in our family :0)

*side view*

really it's not uneven in the back...(notice long strands) it's just that kenna

had been playing with it so the part wasn't quite right.

so here you have it pictures finally

sorry for the delay blogger was giving me fits!!

Locks of Love

2008-10-11T14:20:00.003-05:00

Kenna has been asking to get her hair cut for quite some time. I am always somewhat hesitant because my girl loves to twirl her hair...she always has. From the time Kenna was a baby and had enough hair to hold, flip, twirl she has been all about it. I really wanted her to think about this instead of just rushing off and doing it. After all, if you know Kenna and you know how long her hair is it will take a loooong time to grow back. Thursday evening I had a hair apt and Kenna begged to come along. Well, she had gymnastics so she couldn't but she begged me to schedule her an apt to get her hair cut. She wanted it like mine. How sweet but how short! I mean especially compared to how much she has. I was okay with the thought, Josh not so much. He was afraid his baby would look too grown up. Alas today we did it. Kenna got her hair cut. Let just say at least 10" maybe more didn't measure it. It's adorable! She loves it!!! As we were walking in knowing that Kenna wanted a shorter "do" i was compelled to not waste a gift. We've thought about locks of love for a long time but this was such a short notice thing that we didn't have much time to research it...or to even check if our salon did that. When we got there and Kenna climbed into the chair I asked my awesome stylist if they participated in the program. She said YES, and that just made it all seem right! Daddy handled it so well especially after finding out his princess' hair would help another little princess out there somewhere. Kenna had so much hair we got 4 ponytails worth! I didn't take my camera because I was running behind and didn't want to be late but the stylist let me take a picture with her camera so when I get the pictures I'll post them. For now I will add pics of a before picture and after. **okay maybe i'll add pictures later since something is up with blogger**no spell check either so forgive me if i spelled something wrong...i love sp ck**

power outage = no posting

2008-10-06T13:43:00.002-05:00

so we had a major power outage this weekend and when the power came back on everything was good EXCEPT for our computer monitor. Yes, so now we have to get a new one. Could be worse coulda been the whole computer!!!

down on the potato farm

2008-09-29T21:18:00.022-05:00

i know from the pictures it looks more like a "pumpkin" farm but every other season of the year it's a potato farm. the fabulous pto had a family fun day for the entire student body. seriously how cool is that! it's big bucks but this is the second year they have done it. we had such a great night. last year the twins didn't really get to enjoy this year it was completely different...they were walking around and had a great time. makenna and chloe absolutely loved it. this year they thought they were big enough to walk around with their friends. so unfortunately we didn't get quite as many pictures of them. there was so much to do. they had a potato sling shot, water races, corn slide, corn maze, donkeys, bunnies, and goats, and the best homemade french fries...of course, it's a potato farm! So YUMMY!!!

My big girls stopped just long enough to pose for a picture before we headed in.

Riley and Reagan with their best friend Kenzie checking out the bunnies.

Chloe and Kenna racing the rubber duckies. Go Girls Go!!!Chloe with her cousins Darian and Sean!

Reagan not too sure about petting the donkeys

Riley ran and hopped back into the stroller, absolutely no interest in touching the donkey or being anywhere remotely close.

mommy and chloe

Riley and Reagan

Hey, there's are big girls and some of their friends. ;0)

Reagan's new "look" see that face...she does it all the time and will do it on command. Silly girl!

sometimes she has a hard time keeping a serious face...see the smirk!

Rae giving her baby a piggy back ride

Riley was so excited to get on daddy's shoulders.

she's a good mommy, she gave her baby a piggy back too!

Riley took Rae's baby when she wasn't looking. She always has to carry two babies around and she usually also has a blanket for her baby and a purse. My girlie girl! She is singing to them in this picture SO CUTE.

Riley milking the cow

Rae Rae milking the cow

(Rae)

now that's what you call a rocking horse!!!

(Ri)

Riley finishing off mommy's lemonade

THE END!

don't forget to add yourself

2008-09-28T16:36:00.002-05:00

thanks to everyone who has added themselves to our followers...i love it. thank you so much it really means a lot to me. i don't think everyone understood so i'll just say it once more and i'll move it up so that it is easier to find. see to the left it says "follow this blog"...click on that and add yourself. you can even display your picture very cool! if you have a blog yourself add this gadget it's really easy. hope everyone had a great weekend!

follow along

2008-09-25T21:09:00.003-05:00

okay, so it looks like it's possible i have quite a few readers out there. although most of the time the comments are only from those that have become "friends." blogger has a new gadget that allows followers to show themselves. so come on i promised i don't bite...show yourselves. it's nice to see that there are people out there reading and if you leave a comment sometime i will return the favor.

**oh yeah it's on the left in the side bar...so easy to do!

GUILTY!!!

2008-09-25T21:00:00.002-05:00

i am so happy to say that. guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty!!! i am so glad that my hubby can put this behind him. the trial was this week and it was a tough one but still i cannot imagine how hard for little manny's mommy. in case you don't remember what i'm referring to here's a refresher.

HERE'S ONE OF THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:

He murdered his girlfriend's toddler, according to the nine women and three men who deliberated the fate of an Orrville man who told police the child's fatal injuries likely were the result of two falls.
Following several hours of deliberations, jurors in Wayne County Common Pleas Court found James Vincent Gray, 38, guilty of murder, two counts of endangering children and involuntary manslaughter stemming from the child's Feb. 28 death. The murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
A single count of felonious assault was dismissed Tuesday afternoon by Judge Mark K. Wiest.
Kristin E. "Manny" Dixon Jr. died at Akron Children's Hospital, where he was flown on Feb. 25 from Dunlap Community Hospital where his mother, Staci Williams, and Gray took him after Williams arrived home from work to find the toddler lying on the floor with his eyes rolled back into his head.
His death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head and ruled a homicide, according to the Tuesday testimony of a forensic pathologist who examined the child's body the day after his death. The medical examiner denied suggestions the fatal wounds were the result of the child running into a wall or falling onto a hard metal object.
But in closing arguments, Defense Attorney Andy Hyde said the child's injuries could have resulted from a running fall onto a metal vacuum cleaner, an accident Gray reportedly admitted witnessing even before police involvement.
Hyde argued the child had a poor diet, which could have prevented him from healing as would a well-nourished child.
Pointing to cuts and bruises documented in photos of Manny's head, torso and feet, taken both before and after his death, Assistant Prosecutor John Williams argued "this baby was beaten all over his body."
"We don't know what exactly happened between (Gray) and Manny during those four hours they were alone together, but we know a number of things happened that placed these marks all over his body," Williams said, suggesting members of the jury, on closer inspection of the pictures, "may start counting how many (bruises were shown in the photos)."
The verdict, Williams said, was "what I asked for and the evidence supported it."
Hyde disagreed.
"I'm disappointed in the verdict. I think the prosecution threw several charges out to see what would stick and (the charges are) inconsistent with each other. And this jury found him guilty of them all," Hyde said.
He noted the murder conviction indicates Gray killed the child as a result of abuse, while the manslaughter charge indicates Manny's death was the result of excessive discipline.
"It just seemed like emotion took over for logic," Hyde said, who cautioned jurors in closing arguments to set emotion aside and not find him guilty of murder because the child died after being injured while with him.

wordless wednesday

2008-09-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

2008-09-18T21:15:00.004-05:00

tonight i was at my sil house and she was telling me about a recent topic on Oprah. my heart sank as she told me what it was about and that she recorded it and saved it for me if I wanted to watch. being a mother of four little girls scares me to death when it comes to the topic of sexual predators. i am truly terrified! they are out there lurking, waiting for the perfect time pretending to be a friend just to get close and gain your trust. i don't know if anyone had a chance to see this episode but to sum up a small part of it they spoke to the center for exploited children and one of the growing trends is video taping and swapping pornographic material over the internet. they actually have cartoons out there the predators are creating to desensitise children to this. there are instructions on how to rape/molest children starting at the age of 0-12months and up!!! i think i had tears running down my face within the first few minutes of the show. the police officer said something so profound on the show. he said it's like being in a life boat with children all around and only being able to save a few. the resources are not there and children are suffering many at the hands of their own family members and so called friends. my heart is aching. they had a map with red dots all over it 15,000 to be exact that was one day worth of tracking...ONE DAY. with the available funds right now only 2% of the predators are being brought to justice. there is a bill in the house please take a few minutes for our children's sake and write your senators. Oprah has a letter you can copy and paste and a link that gives you the email for your state senator. i sent it to both of our state senators it took less than 2 minutes. all i could think about was how this is happening and chances are i know someone or of someone that this is happening to. the technology is out there to track these monsters down. they have it down to longitude and latitude all they need is more man power. they are feeding it live on the internet while they are raping babies. please we need to protect them they can't protect themselves!

if you could would you please

2008-09-16T13:50:00.003-05:00

please, please, please, consider checking out this site and helping this wonderful mama win so that she can help another amazing family who has helped so many people and so that they may continue to do so.

our little rae rae

2008-09-11T21:00:00.002-05:00

loves to wear her daddy's hat!

"the big 2" sniff, sniff

2008-09-10T22:24:00.008-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Rae Rae and Ri Ri

you both wanted to keep playing with all of your new toys. you did NOT want to stop so that you could eat your birthday cupcakes that mommy insisted you have because your party is not for another week and she HAD to get a picture on your actual birthday. Rae succumbed after tasting the icing, Riley you... not so much.

Happy Birthday baby girls! We can't believe you are two. You have come into our lives and made such a huge impact. Our lives would not be the same without you. We love you so much!!!! You've completed our family in ways we never imagined! You are such smart little girls and are learning more and more. We have learned not to take our eyes off of you for one second. The things you two get into. How about we just say "everything." ;0) You keep us on our toes but we wouldn't trade one second of it. Your smiles light up our days. We love how you both now say "I two." These years have past in what seems like days.

We love you sooo sooo much,

Mommy, Daddy, Kenna, and Chloe

gotta watch those cats

2008-09-08T20:48:00.004-05:00

ah, my chloe cracks me up! she is such a funny little girl even when she's not trying. i was sippin on my diet pepsi today and almost started to choke just thinking about the conversation she had with her grama rita yesterday. here it goes:

a little prelude if you will.

we are driving in the van, me, grama rita, chloe and the twins. josh was working and kenna stayed the night at a friends. grama rita had lost her cell phone and was using a replacement one that was quite old and tattered. grama rita was saying how she needed to see if her old cell phone (the one that was previously lost still worked) cuz the replacement one she could hardly hear out of. here's the convo:

chloe: grama you found your cell phone.

grama rita: yeah, Uncle Mike found it.

chloe: where did he find it?

grama rita: it was in their refrigerator in a bag.

chloe: hm, grama does Aunt Pokey and Uncle Mike have a cat?

(me and grama rita look at each other like huh? where'd that come from)

grama rita: no, why?

chloe: cuz you have to be careful cats do things like that. (just as serious as you can be)

grama rita: what put cell phones in refrigerators?

chloe: yep!

grama rita: my cat doesn't do that.

chloe: well cats do things like that. have you ever seen tom and jerry? if jerry can get chicken out of the refrigerator than cats can put cell phones in them.

silly chloe this one i will remember. so, if you have a cat be careful and if you lose your cell phone you may wanna check the refrigerator.

does this bed make my butt look big???

2008-09-06T21:58:00.008-05:00

Silly Ri Ri that's a baby doll bed!

Rae Rae thought it was pretty funny she wanted to give it a try too!

Good thing I have two big girls...we have lots of doubles around here. This is particularly handy when you have almost 2 year old twins who are not real into the whole sharing thing. ;0)

my new favorite picture

2008-09-06T21:53:00.002-05:00

this was taken last weekend at my family reunion...i absolutely love it!

a life saving gift

2008-09-05T07:56:00.003-05:00

A couple months ago i was reading one of my favorite blogs Quilao Triplets. Casey posted on her blog about how important it is to donate blood. She also mentioned her preemie triplet girls required multiple blood transfusions during their nicu stay. I was so touched by Casey's post that I decided that night I was going to donate. I am terrified of needles, the meer thought makes me want to throw up but how could I not share something that can change possibly save someone's life because I was afraid. Just this week our church hosted a blood drive, the salvation army came to the church gymnasium. The sign said "emergency" you see summer is the slowest time for donations. I knew in my heart this was the time to overcome my fears. Please don't get me wrong I was scared especially since I had never done this before. I dropped my girls off at gymnastics/cheer practice and decided to head on over to our church. I called my sil to ask what the protacol was for donating so I wasn't completely oblivious. When I walked in there were only a few people, I proceeded to sign in. I explained to the lady this was my first time and that I was extremely nervous which in a weird way helped. She gave me a first time donor sticker and off I went. Apparently, there is a quick test they do to make sure you can donate. I almost didn't make it and I was completely devasted I had gotten up the nerve and now could possibly be turned away. My iron level was questionable. They did another quick test and I came back right on the line...38 the absolute lowest you can be to donate. I did get to donate and once the needle was in it was a piece of cake. It didn't take long at all and it was so gratifying. It felt amazing knowing that I could help someone. I will donate again no doubt about it!

race #3

2008-09-01T21:48:00.002-05:00

well, i ran my third race today. another 5k ( 3.1 miles ) i can honestly say it is getting much easier. my time was my best yet at 28.57 compared to my last 5k time of 31.54. the race took place along a trail it was so pretty i really tried to enjoy the scenery around me. the weather was great! i think the temp was right around 70 degrees...perfect! my next race is a 4 miler and is in a little less than 2 weeks and then it's on to the big one 13 miles, yikes! i'm excited but nervous 13 miles ain't no joke. no pictures this time we forgot the camera and didn't wanna turn back. hopefully next time although, my photographer will be working ;0) so we'll see. hope you all had a wonderful labor day weekend ours was extremely busy but lots of fun. i'm tired so i'll try to post more about it later.

you said it babies

2008-08-27T21:30:00.001-05:00

well maybe

2008-08-25T22:49:00.003-05:00

a little. people always comment to us how they think Rae and Ri look just like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen when they where on Full House. I don't know after looking through pictures I'd have to say not as much as you'd think if you just go by memory. I use to get that a lot when Kenna was a baby, never with Chloe. Which is really funny since the babies seem to look more like Chloe when she was little then Kenna. Hmmmm......

that's a wrap

2008-08-22T07:51:00.005-05:00

the first week of school, over already. I can hardly believe summer break has come to an end. I feel like this summer has gone by in the blink of an eye. I love love love fall but I'm just not ready yet! The girls have loved their first week of school and all of the new things. Chloe loves her teacher and I think I'm gonna too. She is very sweet. I think Chloe is gonna have a great year. Makenna loves her teacher(s) and especially is lovin' all of the perks of a being a 5th grader! Her school was just completed last winter so it's brand new and might I say very nice. We're talking plasma tv's in the lunch room nice. Smart boards in the classrooms and her personal favorite her very own locker!!! So to honor this special event in my little missy's life we blinged it out. We found the cutest locker decorations... jewels, mirrors you name it! So we made it through the first week we'll see how they feel once the homework starts kicking in. I still can't believe how quick my "babies" are growing up.

Kenna's second day of school, things were so crazy around here we didn't have a chance to get the first day of school picture. :0(

Kenna walking into school with her friends and our neighbors. I told Josh to get a picture of my girl in front of her school. I guess when you're in 5th grade that's probably not so cool. So this is what I got but I'll take it.

Here's my little Chlo-Chlo she starts an hour + later than Kenna so we did get her first day of school picture. I can't believe my baby is in SECOND grade!!!

riley small fry-ly

2008-08-21T22:18:00.003-05:00

Little Riley...officially the baby of our family by 6 minutes. Riley is our little spit fire! She may be little but she is mighty. Riley is a fighter...if she wants it, look out cuz she thinks it's okay to take it. Riley knows right where time out is in our house. Actually, she really doesn't mind time out. It's almost as if it was worth it. Don't get me wrong she's a lover too. At times Riley is more willing to give hugs and kisses then Rae. Riley will say/sign sorry too. Rae prefers to just give a kiss and move on. That's the rule in our house once they get out of time out. They must say their sorry and give their sister a kiss. Lately the twins have been getting a long much better. It's so nice. I can't remember the last time I saw teeth marks on one of them. OH wait yes I can it was yesterday...OOPS. It's definitely getting better though. Reagan and Riley play together all day while their big sisters are outside playing or at school. We love to sit and watch them interact. They absolutely crack each other up. They feed each other, and rub each others back, adorable. Riley loves to do mama's hair. Usually, once I have finish doing her hair she will grab the comb and fix mine up all nice and pretty for me. It usually hurts, we need to work on that ;0). Riley is talking extremely well and just like Rae will tattle tell in a heartbeat. Riley is so sweet, she loves to cuddle, she loves baby dolls and blankies. She loves to walk around carrying a play purse or diaper bag and a bottle for her baby. Ri will also walk around saying..."mama, shhhh (while holding her finger to her mouth) baby sleeping. She says it over and over and over again and seriously I'm not even talking when she tells me shhhhh. She also says it if tinkerbell our dog is sleeping. Of course, she doesn't say it in a quite voice. Something else Riley likes to do is while we are in the van going somewhere she likes to call our names...mommy/daddy and then she says boo-boo while she points at her knee. She will call me until I turn around to look and then she points at the place there once was a boo-boo. This can go on and on until my neck hurts from turning to see what she wants. Riley loves her big sisters so much. She asks about them all of the time as well as daddy. (Riley) "Mommy, where daddy go?" (Me) "Daddy's at ...." (Riley) "Oooooooo". Riley is pretty tiny. When we are out in public I get asked all of the time how I tell them apart. Riley is definitely more petite. She is hoovering around 21 pounds and she'll be 2 in less than a month (which is CRAZY). We call her small fry. Ri has the cutest little smile but it can be devious. She sometimes flashes it after doing something she's not suppose to do...turkey! Riley uses her sign language daily, this i love. It is so cute. Her favorite foods are grapes, bananas, oatmeal, gold fish crackers, mac and cheese, cheese sticks (Colby), and pretty much anything mommy and daddy are eating. Her favorite sign is candy! Go figure. They hardly ever have candy but she knows what it is and will beg for it. Our neighbors name is Andy and Rae and Ri always call him Candy and they sign it while they say it, so funny. Josh and I never imagined in a million years we would have four children two of which would be twins and although we are exhausted we wouldn't change it for anything! Our babies may have been a huge surprise but we feel extremely blessed. I wish I could keep them small. I love all of their new stages I just wish I could slow them down! I'm going to try to post a video soon so you can hear their sweet little voices.

wordless wednesday

2008-08-20T21:20:00.001-05:00

through a mother's eyes

2008-08-17T20:43:00.006-05:00

today after church we took the girls to do some last minute school shopping and as we approached one of our favorite shopping malls i was glancing out the van window. the cemetery where my sister is buried is along the route to the mall and i mentioned to Josh how i would like to stop and show the girls and tell them a little about their aunt. it's really a sad story, one that now that i am a mother touches me far more than it did as a child growing up. you see my sister diana lynn was born premature, nowadays she would be considered a micro-preemie. thirty six and a half years ago there wasn't a lot that could be done for a baby that needed so much medical care. my sister passed a way when she was just four days old. i wasn't born yet actually i was born just a little over a year after her passing. i can remember going to the cemetery with my dad and he would recall how he came to know his baby girl had died. his sadness even so many years later was so apparent. he would tell me how my sister was transferred to a different hospital than where my mom had given birth and how that day he called the hospital to tell them he was on his way to see his tiny baby girl and they told him (over the phone) she had passed away. my dad had to go tell my mom who was still in the hospital recovering that her baby girl would not be coming home. he would talk about the funeral and how tiny she was...like a baby doll and that she had a head full of beautiful black hair. i could almost imagine what that day must have looked like. it breaks my heart to think that when i was younger i believed that it must have been easier to deal with a loss of a newborn because they really didn't "know" her yet. i saw the sadness on my dad's face and heard it in his voice but never in a million years did i really understand. today at the cemetery my heart was broken. i know diana lynn is in heaven but it brought tears to my eyes and an overwhelming sadness to my heart to think what my parents must have gone through all those years ago. today i wondered what diana lynn would have looked like, would she have been married, had children, would we be close? even now as i type this my eyes weld up it's so different when you look at things with mother's eyes. i love my sister and have decided to make more time to visit and remember her.

You're a beautiful soul

2008-08-15T23:10:00.004-05:00

ah my chloe...our little lover. so full of hugs and kisses. she is such a sweet little girl the perfect big sister and little sister. chloe is a little mommy to her "twinnies" as she likes to call them. often times i can hear her lovingly disciplining them. i usually don't even say anything because it is so sweet and she never does it with anger. she will do anything for her babebers (another name she has given them). she'll get them sippy cups, get snacks for them, change their clothes, let them play with her favorite baby dolls/toys, she also loves to help get them out of the tub and ready for bed. they love her so much. the last few nights after i've put the babies to bed rae has cried "i go nite-nite with chloeee", or when i walk in the room and she is screaming she'll say "mommy where chloeee?" it's so cute. chloe also adores kenna, so much so that she drives her crazy. when kenna has a sleepover at a friends house chloe misses her so much. chloe loves her special time or cuddle time as she likes to call it with mommy and daddy especially her daddy. it seems as though my little chlo has grown up so quickly. she went from my baby to my sweet little girl (although always mama's baby) to a SECOND grader! chlo-chlo, peanut, pipsqueak, toe head...just a few of your nicknames. please continue to grow and love with all your heart the way you do...you are truly an amazing little girl! chloe is a little smartie too...she learned to tie her shoes at barely 3 years old...she was a flier in a competitive cheerleading team at the ripe age of 5 and just starting kindergarten. chloe loves to read and is very good at it...she is currently a brownie girl scout with the best leader there is...okay it's me ;0), she is in gymnastics and is working on perfecting her back handspring, she loves the Lord and is such a polite little girl. the Lord has blessed our family by giving us chloe mariah, our very own angel!!

4 miles

2008-08-14T15:18:00.003-05:00

so i haven't been running as much lately...still running at least 2-3 times a week but with races coming i know i've got to pick it up. this morning i am happy to report i ran 4 miles. it was tough but it felt great...once i was done ;0). anyhow, i have several races coming up. a four mile race on sept. 13, this one is in the evening. it will still be daylight but i'm really excited for this one. the next race is sept. 27 and it's a HALF marathon. i sure hope i can do it! and then the BIG one...hopefully i will have the opportunity to run in the Disney's Princess Half Marathon. we were already planning on a disney vacation with some family and dusti and i along with our girls are so excited to plan our vacation so that we can participate in this race. it is so neat, even my girls and their cousins allie bari and abby can run/walk/ or crawl in the race. i've also signed Makenna and Chloe up for a kids fun race with me when i do the sept. 27th race. it feels so good to be out there running...i do absolutely love it. here's a little gross fun fact...my pretty toe nails that i didn't want to clip for the florida 5k are officially dark purple and i presume will be falling off. yuk! next time i will definitely listen to my brother he warned me ;0). anyhow, i've decided to pick up my running schedule to a minimum of 5 days a week. i'm also eyeing a 5k on sept. 1st.

shampoo, rinse, repeat

2008-08-09T23:12:00.009-05:00

Rae decided since she is the "big" sister she was going to give Riley a bath today. Surprisingly, Riley let her. I love it when they show their love for each other, it's so sweet. Notice Rae has an outie belly button. So does Riley. It's funny to me that they are so similar. They also both have a crooked tooth on the bottom...same exact place except opposite sides. I think they are mirror twins because their hair patterns are reversed, even though I always part their hair the same direction. If they write with opposite hands then we will know for sure...right now it's too soon to tell. Anyone out there with mirror twins?...supposedly it is very rare.

a girl and her shoes

2008-08-09T22:50:00.003-05:00

I always figured with having four daughters at one time or another they would raid my closet. Uh-huh just never figured it to be so soon :0). Rae and Ri have been loving Mama's shoes lately. They must get this from their big sisters because Kenna and Chloe's new thing is trying on shoes when we are shopping at my stores. I love my girlie girls!!

She was actually walking pretty good in these. What can I say she's a natural!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-06T14:32:00.004-05:00

that's my girl!

Fun Times

2008-08-04T09:08:00.006-05:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Twinsburg...

2008-08-03T16:35:00.004-05:00

Twinsburg Twins Festival Aug. 1, 2, and 3, 2008

5k race #2

was awesome! I have 200+ photos from this years twins festival...crazy. I'm gonna try to get them uploaded and make a slide show to share with all of you. I'd love to meet some of my multiple mama friends in Twinsburg one day. This festival is for all multiples...twins, triplets, quads and more. It's a great time you've just got to experience it first hand. i also ran my second 5k this weekend, i didn't make my goal of under 30 minutes but I did improve my time from my first so I'm happy with that. I did it in 31.52 minutes...not too bad considering there were lots of hills we're talking Amish country folks! I'll post pics soon PROMISE!

Makenna my 1st born

2008-07-30T10:01:00.004-05:00

Wow, what to say about my Kenna bear. She is such a sweet little girl...her heart is enormous. She absolutely loves her baby sisters (Reagan and Riley) and although she fights constantly with her other "baby" sister (Chloe) it is quite obvious how much she loves her. Makenna is my first born, she made me a mommy something I long to be so bad. Something at one time I thought I would never get to be. Maybe I have shared before I'm not sure but Josh and I tried to conceive for over 2 1/2 years. We were tested but all we got was you have unexplained infertility. Devastating to say the least. I always thought that when we were ready to have a family it would be a piece of cake. I have been blessed greatly. I have my girls all four of them...if I'd have only known then. With going through so much pain trying to conceive when I finally found out I was pregnant with Makenna we cried and cried we were so happy. I was a nervous wreck. I worried A LOT. Since I thought we would never have a baby of our own being pregnant almost felt like a dream. I even remember feeling like it wasn't really me when I was having her. I fell in love. Finally, a baby my baby and she was here. Makenna was 3 before Chloe was born. She was my little buddy...it was me and her all evening while daddy worked 2nd shift. Where has the time gone??? She is 10 years old already. A little lady that I am so proud of. Makenna has went from being the oldest of 2 children to the oldest of 4. I worried how it would effect her and even though I know people meant well I use to hate when someone would comment to my big girls when I was pregnant with the twins how much they were going to have to help. To me it sounded like their new babies were going to be work for them. I use to reassure my girls that while I may need some help from them I would not make them "help" all of the time. Josh and I have stuck to this...they are our babies and our responsibilities not Makenna and Chloe's. Sure I ask for help now and again but I try very hard not to tell them to do something but more ask them if they could help. When we go to the mall or store they prefer to skate around on their heely's then to push a shopping cart, I get that and I give them that. Josh and I try very hard to give the "big girls" special time and show them how it can be a benefit to be the older siblings. I will leave it at that after all I wanted this post to be about Kenna. Jordan Makenna Hunt is an absolutely amazing little girl she is stylish and beautiful. I love her smile, her giggle, the way she still calls me mommy. Her favorite color is Purple (at the present time), she LOVES Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. She loves to play with her friends and have sleepovers. Watching the Disney Channel is one of her favorite past times...she is not real fond of school but gets involved. She has been on student council for the past two years. She has a great group of little girlfriends who have been friends since Kindergarten. She is involved in Girl Scouts and is presently a Jr. Girl Scout, she does competitive cheerleading and gymnastics. She is definitely my social butterfly. One of my favorite things about Kenna is her sincerity. If Makenna has a bad day and is on the crabby side she will apologize for acting that way. That's my girl and something I try to do so to see her do something like that makes me extremely proud. Oh, Kenna I wish I could keep you my little girl forever but I know you are growing up. I love you so much and no matter how old you get you will always be my little girl!

the informer...

2008-07-29T22:38:00.005-05:00

rae can you give mommy a kiss?

My little Rae Rae is sooo sweet! She is talking like crazy and it is adorable. One of my favorite things she says is "yes"...not just because it's a nice break from hearing "no" constantly but because she pronounces it so clearly and it is soooo stinkin' cute. Rae's vocabulary has grown tremendously in the last month. She can say just about anything. Some of her favorite sayings are: where did he/she/they go? ~ i don't know~ i go outside~me up please~i want walk~i want play~i want snack (she doesn't always grasp that I can't magically make snacks appear when she decides she wants one...like in the car for example)~i want drinkee~where my cupee go?~binki are you (when looking for her binki, meaning where are you)~i want out (she picked this up on vacation meaning she wanted out of her pack-n-play)~she also says "i wanna kiss" but not nearly as much as i'd like her too~and really the list can go on and on (she doesn't say that, that is me speaking...just makin' sure every one's following along ;0). The other thing Rae has become fluent at is tattling. I can't imagine where she gets this from (totally being sarcastic). I tell Kenna and Chloe all the time she gets these little habits from them. Anyhow, if Rae feels wronged in anyway shape or form she will so tell on the perpetrator. Uh-huh, she will and does believe me. All day long Rae will tell. It usually comes out something like this...mommy, Riley no me. Usually meaning Riley won't share. She also will tell on Chloe, Kenna, Tinkerbell, daddy you name it NOBODY is safe. She will even tell daddy if mommy says something or does something she doesn't like. Usually sounds a little something like this...daddy mommy no me. Sometimes there is some jabbering in there too but she makes her point. My little informer maybe one day it will pay off...look out Kenna and Chloe cuz Rae will most definitely tell. Riley is starting to catch on to this and has started tell as well. I'll post about my little Ri Ri small fry tomorrow.

Okay so really I thought it would be higher

2008-07-29T11:28:00.003-05:00

75%

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating

i can't help it...i love to blog and believe me i read LOTS of 'em!

Say what?

2008-07-28T13:51:00.004-05:00

check it out who wouldn't want to win an ipod? i know i would. i can already picture myself running listening to my very own ipod with the songs i picked on it ;0) no offense honey ...thanks for letting me use yours! :0*

*oh and for your chance to win click on the link above!

check out this link if you're in the mood for a tasty new recipe or something fun to do with the kids, then if you're a local friend you can invite me to dinner :0) yummy!

Replay

2008-07-27T13:20:00.002-05:00

I thought in honor of the upcoming twins festival i would repost our pic video from last year. Can't wait to go...we are registering our girls this year.

home sweet home

2008-07-26T21:50:00.012-05:00

our vacation in a pictorial nutshell...

daddy and his girls

papa and his babies at the pool

hmmm...which one is which??? any guesses?

me and my guy

my kenna bear ~ josh took this picture from the balcony of our condo 6 floors up.

i love my new camera!

rae rae not missing out on her nap even if it is at the pool

Chlo-Chlo

our girls

the babies hanging out at broadway at the beach...we love that place!

it's true the vacation is over. it was amazing though. lots of time with family, lots of yummy food, lots of sunshine, lots of swimming, lots of laughter, lots of high fives, lots of aches, lots of driving, and lots lots more. one of my favorite things about summer is taking a family vacation. we feel very blessed that we are able to do this with our girls. to fill their childhoods with memories. this year we did more than most. we spent a week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and then it was off to Panama City Beach, Florida we made a pit stop in Georgetown, Kentucky and then travel home. In between there was lots of fun...we played on the beach, went swimming daily in grandma and grandpa's pool, rode race cars and played mini golf, played lots of fun video games at the arcade, went to King's Island amusement park, ate at some of thee coolest restaurants, and i ran my very first 5k. In some ways it seems as though we were on vacation forever and others in simply a blink of the eye it was over. Our favorite restaurant in Florida was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville we actually ate there twice...it had such a great atmosphere. Our girls loved it! We also ate at a restaurant called Sharky's it was right on the beach. They had a playground for the kids and we attempted to get some more beach pictures of the girls. Kenna and Chloe were easy the babies however did NOT like the sand. I don't know if I've ever mentioned just how big of chickens they really are. They are afraid of just about everything and if a stranger comes on too strong they run crying the other way...not that, that is a bad thing. My goal was to get a beautiful picture of my girls strolling on the beach to have enlarge and put on a canvas. This is not the year that is going to happen. I digress maybe next year. I did get some good pictures just not one that is worthy of spending hundreds of dollars on. I ran my first 5k, words cannot describe how awesome an experience it was. Please do not get me wrong it was not easy, it was hot and i was extremely tired but it was worth every drop of sweat! I can't wait to do it again. Did i mention there is a 5k this coming weekend? Uh huh, and I'm really considering doing it. It's Saturday morning and we are planning on going to the twins festival in Twinsburg OH this weekend so I need to figure out if I have time to do both. I want to so I most likely will...it's a burning desire in me. Kinda hard to explain but running is constantly on my mind. I want to just get out there and start accumulating the miles. My personal goal is to get up to 4 miles this week and add a mile every week after. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Above are a few pictures from vacation. We took about 1000 so it's definitely going to take time to go through all of them. I'm going to try to put together a slide show that's the easiest way to share. As much as I miss the beach already there is a part of me that is glad to be home. I missed my friends, family and neighbors.

1 down, definitely more to come

2008-07-19T13:15:00.008-05:00

wow, seriously i can't believe i did it. i knew i wanted too. i thought i could but it's work. of course it is. we were up and on the road at 6:30am. the race started at 7:30am which is a good thing considering it was already 79 degrees. i believe the race temperature was right around 88-90 degrees. some of the trail was in the shade so that was a welcome relief. i am really proud of myself and very eager to run my next race. i can't believe that i would ever be able to run three miles and actually consider it to be "not that far". what's next??? well, i'm gonna start training for a 10k because this time i know i can do it!

my bro took home a medal too. his time 25 mins 40 seconds (good job)

check it out i got a medal...very cool. (see the guy on the bench behind me with his hand on his shoulders, he finished in 17 minutes...CRAZY)

see my time...not the thirty mins i had hope for but for my first race i'll take it

ah yes, the finish line and just in time!

just the beginning. the guy pushing the double stroller behind me passed me pretty quickly :0)

me and my brother dave...he lives in Florida

Me and my cheerleaders before the race

beautiful weather...

2008-07-17T23:44:00.006-05:00

has come our way ... thank you Lord!

we have been having lots of fun perfect weather or not. life is good. last night we took the girls to the beach to try to get some pics, rae was not too happy about the sand as you can see in the pictures. we may give it another try. this is short but i'm really tired. oh, one more little bit of news...two days until my first 5k. i can't wait!

the Sunshine state???

2008-07-13T19:10:00.002-05:00

somebody forgot to check the memo we ordered sunshine. come on seriously does it have to rain for the full 2+ weeks we are on vacation??? okay, so it didn't rain EVERYDAY we were at Myrtle Beach but it was always in the forecast looming overhead...we did get rain but it wasn't a complete wash out. today is our first day in Florida and guess what???... thunderstorms!!! Uh-huh just when i thought we were gonna have a nice day at the brand new PIER Park i'm talking almost a million square feet of shopping every womans dream and every husbands nightmare. i have been waiting, anticipating and then just as we walk out of Margaritaville after enjoying the most amazing lunch here it comes. i'm thinking it followed us. you think??? well, i'm a pretty positive person so i've decided we are going to enjoy whatever sunshine we get for however long lounging at the pool. after all there is bound to be some right? right! still need to upload photos probably tonight. thanks for all your well wishes! oh yeah and get this the babies did so good on the drive here i could hardly believe it. if they have a major breakdown on the final trek (16 hour drive) home i so can not blame them. we are thinking about making a pit stop at cousin doug, dusti, allie and abby's house on the way home. now i better go call and make sure that's okay with them before they read this :0) it's a good halfway point.

6 days until

2008-07-13T19:01:00.003-05:00

my first 5k! today i finally put on a pair of running shoes after an inflamed ankle and a broken toe...it has been two weeks since i ran. and here are the results:

3.11 miles in 33 min.

i will admit it was hard getting back into the swing. the first mile was a piece of cake the second not so much. BUT with the race 6 days away i knew i had to get back out there. the last mile really kicked my butt but i am proud to say i did not quit. the ankle seems to be completely healed and the toe well it hurts but i could get my shoe on with minimal pain and it really didn't bother me during my run. thank you Lord! i am planning on running tomorrow as well hopefully it will be a little easier...what i can dream ;0).

We made it!

2008-07-09T22:34:00.002-05:00

We are in full vacation swing...the weather could be better but it could also be much worse! Lots of clouds and a little rain and very little sunshine...but I still got a tiny burn today. The girls are having a blast. Makenna is loving the ocean and Chloe is loving the lazy river. The twins aren't quite sure. Riley cruised the pool in her car float while Rae opted to stay and watch from the side lines. All in all we can't complain. Reagan and Riley did extremely well with the car ride. We left our house around 1:00am and Ri slept most of the 10 hour drive. Rae slept about 5 hours and then decided she was up...very unlike her but to our surprise she was in a great mood. Things started getting a little hairy the last hour or so but we stopped for a late breakfast and that made the last leg much more bearable. Tinkerbell is at the kennel we will pick her up Saturday and then head for Florida. Hopefully, the drive goes just as smooth...what? it could happen. Okay, so not likely but for now I'll continue to dream ;0). Okay, time to tuck the babies in bed...it is way past their bed time I know but that's vacation for you.

I'll upload pics soon!

ya know what goes good with a bum ankle?

2008-07-03T21:36:00.002-05:00

a broken toe! Ouch...that's right ladies and gentlemen I broke my baby toe. On the flip side since I haven't been able to put on a running shoe and run my ankle is feeling much better :0). we leave for vaca in 2 days and I have sooo much to do...imagine that. Packing for a family of six for several weeks is not an easy task. i'll try to update a little while i'm on vaca but it probably won't be until we hit florida. our first stop is myrtle beach...we love it there. pray for good weather and I'll see ya (you know what i mean) l8tr.

My name is Rachel

2008-06-27T21:58:00.003-05:00

the yellow tendon ... yeah that's the one that hurts!

and I over-pronate. Yep, and it's not good! Actually, it's bad. It has kept me from running for 3 days...not good when you are in training. The bad thing, I am not going to wait it out. Nope, I'm going to break down and buy really good running shoes and get my butt back out there. See I thought I just had a sore ankle because my body was getting use to running. After running my 2.25 miles I was a little sore but not bad. I walked the next day as usual and then the following day started my run. I was determined to run 3 miles. I'm so there I can feel it. My ankle had other plans. Rounding out my mile and a quarter my ankle decided we were done. I decided since my ankle was not cooperating that maybe I should follow it's lead BUT I could still get my walk in right?! WRONG...not this day. That was enough for me I gave in and made a doctors apt. All my doctor's (friends with advice) around me had diagnosed me with several different problems so I decided I'd go ahead and call the real deal. PRONATING that's my problem! Hmmm, I wouldn't of guessed that. I don't feel myself doing it but it makes all the sense in the world. Especially when the doc rubbed his thumb right up the tendon that was Killing me slowly or should i say rapidly and I about jumped off the table. Anywhoo, really not a whole lot he can do. Take time off and let the inflammation go down. Get better running shoes and possibly tape the ankle in question. Done! I will not let this get me down. I know the problem and I've got solutions to help me through. Besides, I cannot be the only runner that pronates. Right?!

wordless wednesday

2008-06-25T21:57:00.003-05:00

can hardly wait!

2008-06-23T21:37:00.001-05:00

gettin' better

2008-06-23T09:25:00.003-05:00

after three days down on what seemed to be a possible stress fracture...i'm back and better than before. sure there is some pain but nothing like friday when i went to run and just couldn't do it. lots of ice, lots of ibuprofen and unfortunately no walking (except for the everyday stuff) & no running for three days help me have a much better day today!

2.25 miles in 22 minutes

i'm hoping by friday i can do the a full 3 miles...really i could've kept going today i just didn't want to over do it after what i just got over. i'm getting there...YAY!

hand, foot and mouth for 3 please

2008-06-22T19:37:00.002-05:00

i think not but that's what we have. makenna has been spared. the twins only have blisters on their feet and have been fine i.e. not fussing or running temps. poor chloe has got it the worst. her mouth is covered, she has hardly eaten. she has a few blisters on her feet and hands but hardly noticeable. her mouth totally different...i'm talking totally covered including her tongue. she has been in quite a bit of pain. i think we've almost gone through a whole tube of oragel. i took them all to the doctor on friday and here are the twins stats.

reagan 23lbs. 32inches

riley 22lbs. 32inches

(this is pretty much how it's been since birth~reagan in maintaining her 1 pound over Riley)

To the best dads I know...

2008-06-18T20:13:00.005-05:00

I'm so sorry that this is late. Please know that you are amazing men...Men that mean more to me than they will ever know. There is a saying somewhere by someone that says, "a girl will grow up to marry someone like her father." I know that this is true for me. I have the best dad in the world. He is such a loving father. I remember always being daddy's little girl while growing up. I remember laying in bed at night as a child crying at the thought of something happening to my daddy. He worked a lot and he worked hard. He loves his children and grandchildren so much. One of my favorite little girl memories is laying in my bed at night with the covers pulled over my head and my dad coming in and saying, "hmmm, where did she go" and "i wonder where my girl is" and of course just hearing him say that I would giggle and then he would tickle, tickle, tickle me. I also remember my dad always singing to me and my brothers...songs his mom would sing to him when he was a little boy. Although, my dad does not live close I think of him everyday! I wish my girls could know and love him like I do. Don't get me wrong they love their grandpa booder very much but only get to see him a couple of times a year. They love love love to hear me tell them stories about when I was little.

This brings me to my next favorite dad...my amazing husband. Josh is the most wonderful father and husband. He far exceeds what I had always wished for. He reminds me so much of my own father and when I tell him this he takes it as a compliment. He sings to his girls all of the time...usually songs he has made up. He can do a mean ponytail and has also perfected a messy bun. My hunny can paint the tiniest of toes and does because he loves his girls! He is a daddy to FOUR little girls and he loves every minute of it. He is such a great role model and I can only hope and pray that one day our girls will find a man that reminds them of their daddy!

oh yeah...

2008-06-18T07:09:00.001-05:00

2 miles...26mins.

(also walked an additional 2 miles)

TALKING SENTENCES!

2008-06-13T09:10:00.004-05:00

How can my sweet little babies be speaking 3/4 word sentences??? Already. It's very cute and I love hearing them talk but honestly I'm not ready for them to grow up. So here's what Reagan said last night..."sissy bite you." What?! Riley had bit (really bad) Reagan about a half hour before and I was taking her out of her stroller and asked her, "what did sissy do to you?" Plain as day she said it. Reagan also insists on carrying around two babies at all times. Hmmm...I think she thinks this is the norm. She will walk around saying "i got two babies." Some of their other favorites are "where'd they go" if someone walks away/out of site and "i don't know" if you ask them where someone/something went i.e. binki or sippy cup. Rae is definitely the more talkative one she is always talking~ lots of time babbles with a recognizable word here and there. They will both ask for a "drinkee" or "cupee", they say "binki" and sing the binki song, they say gramma, and papa, chlo-chlo and nenee (kenna), mommy and daddy...lots of times hi mommy or hi daddy (adorable), Reagan said hot dog and cheeseburger last week...she talks very clear. That is when she speaks words I know. They have their own language. I'm trying to blog all of this because unfortunately I never started baby books for them :o( Rae and Ri have a huge vocabulary. I'm sure if I tried to write every word they say I'd leave out more than I'd probably remember. I do want to make note of the words they have truly perfected and use most frequently. Any guesses??? Think about it...they're twins...they have to share almost everything...do you got it? Yep "MINE" and then of course "NO" we hear these words a lot. And to think I thought being twins they would be really good at sharing. Completely. Opposite. They are terrible at sharing, they will get into a knock down drag 'em out fight over something. They bite and push and scratch...it's bad. We have to really keep an eye on them. If you hear one crying it's probably because the other did something. Ah twins, gotta love em. We are learning time out. I'm sure they'll have it perfected before they turn 2! haha.

1 down lots more to go

2008-06-12T22:17:00.003-05:00

i did it... for the first time in my life i ran a mile without stopping (even though i really wanted to) but it won't be the last. nope, i'm in training mode. i have committed to run my first 5k on July 19th in Panama City, FL. yep...that soon. so you see i really have to start pushing myself. i've been running every day but usually a quarter of a mile then walk a quarter than run a quarter (you get the picture). well, i sought out some advice from my brother who i will be running the 5k with and apparently i was doing it wrong...no surprise there. maybe even overdoing it. well, now i am committed to running every other day and walking 5 miles or so on the off days. this girl is motivated! i'll actually be running on my vacation...who woulda ever thought! not me that's for sure, i'm so excited!! so this week it's a mile non stop next week i'm shooting for one and a half if not two. i don't just run a mile and go home...in case that's what i gotcha thinkin' i run a mile then walk a quarter than run a quarter/half and then walk i try to get in at least 4-5 miles in a day. i love it and can't wait to see my own progress. p.s. if there are any runners out there reading this i'd love any advice.

wordless wednesday week 2

2008-06-11T21:51:00.004-05:00

*photo editing done at PICNIK

wordless wednesday

2008-06-04T20:41:00.002-05:00

look at my

2008-06-01T21:59:00.007-05:00

uncle's new car. Don't I look fabulous in it?! I tried to tell him that but he still wouldn't let me keep it. ;0)

this is my dad, me and my uncle John (this is really his car ;0)

see how cute i think i am...j/k

look no hands!

had to get a picture of the back.

I luv this

2008-06-01T21:36:00.002-05:00

Picture!!!

Baby Wardrobes...

2008-05-31T22:20:00.003-05:00

Here's some of the damage we did at the mall a couple weekends ago...let's just say Gymboree was havin' a pretty good sale and anyone who knows me knows how I love a good sale!

Your welcome gymbo! ;0)

a little baby gap in there too!

daddy's girl

2008-05-31T21:51:00.002-05:00

Last weekend my honey participated in a county wide policeman's memorial service. He had a short part in the program and knowing how my hubby loves his job and does it with such passion I was excited to be there with our girls and and watch as he take part in such an honorable ceremony. That however did not happen. Makenna got pretty sick the night before and it last through the next day. So I stayed home with Kenna and the twins but Chloe insisted she go with her daddy. It was so cute...she wanted to be there for him with him. So I got my little Chlo already and she and daddy headed out. They looked so cute together. When she got home she told me how good her daddy did and that they got to stay and have lunch after the ceremony. What a special day for her. One I'm sure she'll never forget!

it's all about the zoo

2008-05-27T09:46:00.001-05:00

we love the zoo

2008-05-24T20:39:00.003-05:00

No doubt about it we go to the zoo every year. Sometimes a few times. This year I could not wait to take the twins. They love to look out our front door and watch the birds and squirrels...remember the picture/post. So I was pretty excited. They really did like it for the most part but fear did get the best of them quite a bit. All I kept thinking was they could not believe how big the "squirrels" (elephants/hippos/giraffes...etc.) where. After all, aside from cats and dogs and the occasion Amish horse drawn buggy that goes by our front door they've never seen animals that size before. It was a great day the weather was warm not hot. Not a cloud in the sky. Not too crowded and we were with our family...perfect pretty much sums it up. I know you'll probably find this hard to believe but I took somewhere in the ballpark of a million pictures today so I think I'm gonna have to do a slide show ;0). Here's a family one for now.

My big girls

2008-05-23T19:48:00.003-05:00

Kenna and Chloe sure do love each other. They fight a lot but when they get a long i love it. Sometimes I will over hear them talking and it is so sweet. They are there for each other. I'm sure as much as they love their baby sisters this has been life changing for them. They are amazing big sister and the twins absolutely love them. Periodically throughout the day the babes will ask where is Nenna or Chlo Chlo (they love them so much). As soon as the big girls get home from school the babies stand at the gate and yell for them and they (Kenna and Chloe) always make sure they come right in to see their babies (as they are referred to in our house). I love seeing my girls interact and as much as I want time to slow down I look forward to watching their relationship with each other grow into adulthood. Sign* I have such a great life...thank you Lord!

P.S. isn't my hubby the best! (referring to the post below) ;0)

The Truth!

2008-05-22T08:57:00.006-05:00

Okay, so I am hacking into my wife's blog for the day. What Rachel forgot to mention was that it was also her BIRTHDAY!!!! (okay she did put it in very small above the picture I did not even see the first time) My wife posted yesterday how it was our anniversary and how special our marriage is. But the TRUTH is I am the one who is blessed. Almost fifteen years ago God led me to the exact time and place to meet Rachel. Let me share a short story with you and you will really understand how obvious it is that we were made to be together.

Rachel and I both grew up in the same large city just in different areas. In fact we went to the same high school, but because of the size of the school (and the fact she is two years older) we did not know each other, in fact I don't believe we even met. Well, Rachel's senior year her parents moved her to the town we now live in (about 40 minutes away). That very same year, I made a decision to move in with my Dad (my parents were divorced since I was very young).

Okay, so it ends up the very small village that my Dad lived in was about three miles from where Rachel was living. Well two years later, I was working at a pizza shop. One day while I was working, all the guys were going crazy talking about this HOT girl that was working at the gas station right next door. They kept saying "man you gotta go see this girl she is beautiful". (And as you can see they were SOOO right). So I found my way to the gas station to see this girl (with some free food of course). Well from there, I found out she was also from the same large city and struck up a conversation. Then I asked her out.

I will never forget our first date was June 16, 1993. When I picked her up she took my breath away, and I have not been able to breath since. God truly blessed me with a wonderful wife who is a great mother to our children. Sometimes in life you never know why you are going through things or what God has in store, but ultimately he has a purpose. God placed Rachel and I in these two small towns in the middle of nowhere on purpose so that we could meet, fall in love, be married and raise our children up to serve him. So again, I am the lucky one!

Happy Birthday Beautiful (belated on here)
P.S. I tried to find a picture to add, but my wife is the one with the camera all the time so I really could not find one!

Happy Birthday to Me &

2008-05-21T20:22:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my awesome hubby! I cannot believe we've been married 14 years. I have been truly blessed. I do believe that God made my honey specifically for me. It's crazy how our love just keeps on growing and our relationship keeps getting stronger. Okay enough of the mushie stuff...did i mention how lucky i am...okay, okay...i just can't help it today is one of my favorite days!

when we grow up

2008-05-19T19:23:00.005-05:00

we wanna be just like our big sisters. today when they were at school we found their Nintendo ds' mommy let us play until she was finished taking pictures and then she took them away. something about way too expensive for little ones to play with and that Kenna and Chloe would be really upset if we broke their games. it sure was fun while it lasted.

i love my sister

2008-05-18T21:10:00.004-05:00

The babies...ahem...I mean twins ( I can't help it they are my babies) have just recently found a new game. Holding hands...yep, that's it. Holding hands. They love it and it's pretty cute. They fall and sometimes one is walking one way while the other is walking the other but once they grab a hold they do not let go. Today they played like this for a half hour straight. They'd fall down giggle and get right back up and hold hands again. Gotta love the bond of twins!

More Reasons....

2008-05-18T20:53:00.006-05:00

why I love my new camera.

these last three pictures were not photo shopped...nope you can do this right on the camera...sweet!

totally random pics

2008-05-12T13:07:00.011-05:00

so apparently it's not cool to say you've taken 232 pictures and then not post any for over a week. sorry things have been pretty busy and lately i've just totally drawn a blank when it comes to blogging. we did do some major damage at the mall this weekend leaving a sick daddy at home. it's hard not to spend lots of money when shopping for 4 girls. summer's right around the corner. i'll try to post some pics of our new wardrobes later.

silly riley

rae pretending she's talking to gramma rita

twins

uh-oh riley

look at those baby blues (reagan)

chloe at swim lessons...working on diving

perfect seat

stayin' warm after bath while mama gets jammies

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-11T22:20:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to wish all of the wonderful women out there a very

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

...and to our moms Judy and Rita thank you so much for being there for us you're both such amazing, strong, loving women and we love you so much!

is in it

2008-05-05T14:28:00.003-05:00

I was going through Chloe's school papers and came across this. Is in it so cute!? I love these cute little things they do. She used to always write 85 like this 8e5. My little Chlo is so smart!

Miss Molly's

2008-05-03T22:05:00.004-05:00

Me and my little Chlo got to spend some Mommy and Me time together this afternoon. Our girl scout troop went to Miss Molly's Tea Room for our mother/daughter lunch. It was so nice (and yummy) to get to have this special time with Chloe. She is my sweet, sweet girl. She is so full of love. Everyday she gives us tons of hugs and kisses and always wants to sit on our laps and cuddle. So, it was really nice for today to be just about me and her even if it was only for a couple of hours. Kenna usually comes along but she had a sleep over she didn't want to be late for. It was a spa themed party and she is a girly girl. These pictures were takin in a cute very unique toy store that is oh-so conveniently located in the same building as the tea room. There was a lot of I wants going on but I am proud to say no pouting when we left empty handed. I did have to remind her she had just gotten a new webkinz to add to the other dozen she already has last weekend. It was a good day and the rain decided to clear up for our drive home. I love the times that I get to spend with my girls one on one.

232

2008-04-30T21:29:00.003-05:00

that's the number of pictures i took with my new camera in one day. my hubby said i should really go through and delete some before i download them on our computer and use up all of our memory. would i do that???

Guess what my big girls want...

2008-04-30T20:58:00.002-05:00

uh huh...a budgie. Did you know that's the actual name of a Parakeet? I didn't. It all started a couple of weeks ago. It was a warm Sunday afternoon and we decide to go to lunch after church. We had a great lunch just lovin' up the warm weather, went for ice cream at Cold Stone and the pet store was in the same plaza. The girls love pet stores. Of course, this wasn't one of those pet stores with all the cute little puppies. Nope, this was a pet store mostly catering to pet supplies. Anyhow, they do have fish, a couple of cats (for adoption) and some lizards. Oh and lots and lots of birds. The babies love birds. Every morning we hear them giggling and we know they are peaking out their window watching the birds in the backyard. So seeing the birds we decided to show the babies up close. No surprises when they just giggled and giggled. The big surprise (kinda) was how the big girls begged and begged to buy a bird with some of their birthday money they had been saving. I tried to teach them a lesson (insert: lecture) about how to be a good pet owner you should really think about what is involved in taking care of what ever animal you are considering purchasing or adopting. Josh and I told them how important it was to really think about your decision and not to just jump into owning a new pet. We said that they had never mentioned wanting a pet bird before and they have no idea how to even take care of a bird. Hmmm, you think they were listening? Anyway, it sounded good. We said maybe if they do research and still thought they wanted one we would "consider" rethinking our decision. For now no birds. Well, can I tell you as I sit here by my computer there is a STACK of print offs from the internet about "training birds to accept petting" and "first aid for sick and injured birds". Chloe had library at school yesterday guess what book she chose. Yup, a book about taking care of birds, more importantly the kind of birds she wants. She had me read it to her last night. So now what? I know for a fact they will take care of the birds maybe. maybe. the first week. Then guess who will be taking care of the birds. ME. I said birds because apparently they get really lonely so you should have at least 2. Oh, but don't worry cuz they most likely won't mate in a small cage if you accidentally get a boy and a girl (this is what the book says). I wonder if the book about dwarf hamsters says the same thing. Oh wait...she was pregnant when we bought her and had absolutely no idea. Long story ;0). Anyhow, so I went to look at a house tonight and the potential seller had "2" budgies. How perfect. So I asked him what he thought. He said really they are the best pet and so easy to take care of. I don't know what we'll do but I don't think we'll be buying any birds before vacation. Do they kennal birds?...kidding. On the upside I think Tinkerbell would love having birds in the house. :0) The idea is growing on me but I am not rushing into anything. The book was really informative...did you know you should "shower" your birds once a week? Seriously. Kenna was amazed that birds only had to shower once a week but people have to shower at least every other. That's my girl.

I know I can do it

2008-04-24T21:32:00.002-05:00

For quite sometime now I have been contemplating running a marathon. It is something that has always lingered in the back of my mind. Well, I have decided to do it. I just recently started running and building up my endurance. Just. Started. So I won't be running a marathon next week but hopefully sometime in October. I have always tried to stay in shape. Not always been successful but I try *most of the time*. I enjoy eating too much to diet. It's one of those things if your not suppose to have it I want it more. I have also always enjoyed the feeling of being physically in shape. A little fact about me *ever since I was a little kid I have done sit-ups/crunches. My younger brother and I use to try to out do each other. Seriously I have been able to do 100+ crunches for a long time. Even still now I can...don't always want to but I can. Maybe it's age getting to me knowing that it's even more important to exercises the older you get. I don't know but I'm motivated. I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact that we will be going to Myrtle Beach this summer for a week and then to Florida for another 10 days that's got me wanting to get more into shape. I want this to be a lifestyle for me not a uh-oh it's time to wear a swimsuit thing. So I will post my progress not to brag but to somewhat be accountable. It's always good to have accountability. Right?!? So, so far I have ran 1/2 a mile without stopping not too good considering a marathon consists of 26 miles but hey it's a start. I usually walk a couple of laps and then try to run a couple (I've been going to a track to run...easier to keep track of distance). Wish me luck I'm pretty sure I'll need it.

got a new camera

2008-04-23T22:11:00.002-05:00

guess what that means??? lots of pictures...as soon as i figure it out. thanks honey! luv ya lots!!!!

Pretty in Pink...

Don't pee on Elmo

Disney 2009

Americheer Nationals Valentine's Weekend

Chuck E. Cheese

11 years ago

Milestones

Reagan and Riley's new years resolution

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A little game that's good for the soul

S-L-A-C-K-E-R

Thanksgiving...WOW!

Okay now I'm getting a BIG head...

Suggestions Anyone???

sNOOOOOOw

Pictures x's 2

i'd like to thank the academy

Christmas time

okay here's some pictures

dr. appointments and updates

tag...i'm it

Trick or Treat Balloon Game

Best Pumpkin Bash EVER!

400th post...WOW!

Wordless Wednesday

lets be friends

blame it on facebook

October 15th

finally pictures!!!

Locks of Love

power outage = no posting

down on the potato farm

don't forget to add yourself

follow along

GUILTY!!!

wordless wednesday

Help Pass Senate Bill 1738—The PROTECT Our Children Act

if you could would you please

our little rae rae

"the big 2" *sniff, sniff*

gotta watch those cats

does this bed make my butt look big???

my new favorite picture

a life saving gift

race #3

you said it babies

well maybe

that's a wrap

riley small fry-ly

wordless wednesday

through a mother's eyes

You're a beautiful soul

4 miles

shampoo, rinse, repeat

a girl and her shoes

Wordless Wednesday

Fun Times

Twinsburg...

Makenna my 1st born

the informer...

Okay so really I thought it would be higher

Say what?

Replay

home sweet home

1 down, definitely more to come

beautiful weather...

the Sunshine state???

6 days until

We made it!

ya know what goes good with a bum ankle?

My name is Rachel

wordless wednesday

can hardly wait!

gettin' better

hand, foot and mouth for 3 please

To the best dads I know...

oh yeah...

TALKING SENTENCES!

1 down lots more to go

wordless wednesday week 2

"the big 2" sniff, sniff