Farewell. . .

Barney!!!

Today, our "dear" little pet gerbil has gone to find his family. He will be "missed" greatly!!

Brynn has said for sometime now that Barney needed to find his family and "have 10 babies". She has also said when Barney leaves we will get a puppy. . . THIS IS NOT HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON!!!

We are now pet free!!! Hopefully, we will stay this way for a while!!!

It's Official. . .

My baby is becoming a big girl.

Last Sunday, we decided to switch Addie to the forward facing carseat.

She has HATED riding in the car, particularly the carseat, her entire life. I am not exaggerating 1 bit! She screams and cries pretty much every time we put her in it.

This is her now. . .

Do you notice the smile?

Yes, this is much much better than the screams and cries!! She was so happy to be able to see something other than the back of a seat!

The only bad thing about the new car seat is when she falls asleep!! No more just carrying her into the store still sleeping!!

Oh well, it is worth to be able to see her pretty smile!!

Fashion Statement. . .

What does my child want to wear out on a day when the temperature is in the 90's . . .




No folks, your eyes are not deceiving you. Brynn is in fact wearing snow boots in the middle of the summer with her swimsuit cover up!

Normally, I would not let my child leave the house unless she had her coordinating outfit on with a matching bow.

Today. . . I did not want to fight that battle. It was just not worth it.

And for all you faithfully readers who are just dying to know. . . we did in fact go to more than 1 place dressed in this well fashioned outfit. Target, Ingles, and Firehouse.

You never know. . .these could become a fashion hit!

I have learned in my short parenting life that you(the parent) must choose the battles and this is definitely not 1 of them!

July 4th Celebration. . .

*I Know This Post Is A Little Late But I Kept Forgetting to Post It*

We had a great July 4th. We were blessed to spend the day with our friends the Waddells.

Our patriotic toes courtesy Tracy Harrison

We met at the pool and the kids had fun swimming. Addie is becoming such a good little walker, but this has become an issue when we go to the pool. She wants to jump right in with the big kids, so I have to keep my eye on this little sneak. Unfortunately, a storm came up and we had to leave the pool a little sooner than expected.

A sweet moment

Sisters

Dancing while eating Cheetos

Addie in her float

We had dinner and then the guys went to get some fireworks.

This is the ice cream cake I made that gave me frost bite!! It turned out so pretty but my poor little fingers suffered the consequences!! Not to worry, I have regained felling them!!

The kids (Jake and Brynn) seemed to enjoy the sparklers! Addie was out before really getting to see any of them and Ella was not into all the noise!

Ella hiding from the fireworks

Jake watching the fireworks

Jake and Brynn with sparklers

Another Year Older. . .

Yesterday was my 25th birthday and it was a great day!

I took the day off of work so I was able to sleep in, something I have not been able to do in awhile. Addie has gotten up earlier than usual (5-6 am) this week, so I was in need of some extra sleep.

My dad came over to watch the girls so that I could run some errands and also go to lunch with my dear friend Natalie. We went to Ice Cream & Coffee Beans. YUM YUM!! This is 1 of my favorite places to go for lunch. They have the best vegtable soup. I really enjoyed our grown up converstion without any interruptions. Thanks again Natalie for having lunch with me!

My parents took us all out to dinner to another 1 of my favorite restuarants. . . Copper River Grille! It is SOOOO GOOD! I think I could eat there everyday and not get sick of it.

Pictures from Dinner. . .

Addie having her favorite meal. . .

My Parents. . .

Thanks again Mom and Dad for a great dinner.

I would also like to say THANK YOU to everyone who wished me a happy birthday.

Oh. . . I almost forgot to mention my birthday cake. I don't know how I forgot about that (it's the best part!) The girls at the shop made me 1 of my favorite cakes . . . homemade pound cake. . .as my gift! It is very delicious. Thank you guys. I am blessed to work with such a great group of girls!

Well, that was my birthday. . .

It was fun while it lasted, too bad I had to get up this morning and head back to work!

The New Do. . .

OKAY...

OKAY...

I hope you like the new look. . .


Sorry, couldn't get her to lok at me long enough for a front view.

Haircut. . .

Tonight, I took dinner to some friends who just had a baby. While I was there I touched up their youngest son's hair.

During our dinner, I started looking at Addie's hair and decided her poor little hair was beginning to get the "mullet" look!! I asked Brandon if he also thought this and he said "WELL. . . " Which means YES.

So...

I figured since I already had my hair stuff at home, little Addie could have her very 1st haircut!

We sat her in her bumbo seat in the kitchen chair. I thought see was going to squirm right out of the seat until I put the cape around her. She just sat there playing with the cape and watching Brynn (who has taken a new interest in being the person in charge of operating the video camera).

Addie did such a great job. No tears! (I am fully certain she had no idea what was going on. )

She is now mullet free...

with a cute little bob...

well, almost! Those side still need to grow in a tiny bit.

And, being the great mom I am, I have no pictures to post. Sorry :( We video, so I forgot to take a before and after pictures.

What Do You Do When. . .

You have a babysitter . . .

1. You go to lunch with your friends. Woo Hoo!!! We actually had a conversation without having to get up, numerous times, to take someone to the bathroom.
2. Women get a pedicure!!! It was very relaxing and nice to have some girl time. Plus, our toes got a muuuccchhh needed make-over....at least mine and Rhonda's :)
3. Men go to the movies to see Batman. They enjoyed it. Hey, they're men.
4. Women go to the mall and get a great idea for a surprise for our husbands.
5. Women make a quick trip to the Dollar Store for our gift.
6. The best surprise you can give your husband...

I know...

I know...

Who in their right minds toilet papers their own car? Apparently, we do!

Just for future reference, if you plan on going to the movies at Spartan 16, you car is being watched very closely. My partners in crime and I had only been vandalizing my car for a few minutes when....4....yes, 4 employees, 1 being the manager, came out to see what we were up to. We quickly assured them that it was my car and our husbands were inside watching the movie. They were nice enough to not call the police on us and 1 of the girls even took our picture when we had finished our masterpiece.

I had some pictures of our men coming out of the movies and finding their newly decorated ride, but they didn't turn out very good:(

We did good keeping a straight face with them when we saw them, but they knew it was us along!

It was a great day all in all spent with some really great friends! Love you guys!!

Like Father, Like Daughter. . .

As many of you know, Brandon works for his dad who owns a cabinet shop. Brandon has grown up around this most of his life.

At an early age, Brandon and his brother would go down to the shop and "help" their Dad work. Brynn has been no exception. She loves to go down to the shop to help her Daddy and Papa work. They are nice and play along, letting her hammer the nails in a scrap piece of wood or paint (with water) on a scrap piece of wood.

On Wednesday when I went to pick the girls up from my in-laws, Brynn came running up the driveway. She had been working and wanted me to see what a good job she was doing.

Luckily, I had my camera and was able to snap a few pictures. . .
Isn't she doing a great job?



I guess this is where Brynn gets her hardworking skills from!!