Christmas Day

It took a few attempts to get a family photo. Take 1, missing a couple people. Take 2, someone is wearing a grouchy face. Take 3, this one has to work because Liza is maxed out on how long she will be still.

Christmas Eve

Oh the excitement of Christmas. The girls did some baking with grandma to pass the time until present opening began. Then they dug into the gifts. Cute cat hats from grandma and grandpa. Doll accessories, Barbie furniture, it just kept getting better. Cuddly blankets from Grandma Bear. Wait what's this? Cute packages from Aunty Mandy. Can't wait to see what's in here. This is going to be good. WHAT THE.....why would aunt Mandy send me a toaster. I think I'll hide behind the couch and holler. "Hey Liza, what's your favorite gift?" NONE!!!!!! Maybe Santa will remember that you don't like toasters. Although you did hug a certain stuffed monkey and play with a certain doll.

Blame It On the Cats

They claim the cats keep getting into the presents. Hmmmm.

Christmas programs

The girls had their school Christmas programs last week. Isabel's class sang and danced. Liza was a shepherd in her program.

Happy December

Meet Charlie

Charlie having fun with Barbie. Meet Charlie, our elf on the shelf. He showed up after Thanksgiving and every night he flies up to the North Pole with a behavior report for Santa. Every morning he is back but always in a different spot. The girls really enjoy finding him every morning.

Ken having a little fun

Cousins!

Mt. Rushmore August 2012

I am way, way behind on blogging. Our home computer is sooo slow that it is pretty much obsolete. We can use phones and tablets for everything but no USB connection for photos. So I am waiting for a tech advance or a new laptop. These pics are from our trip to Rapid City this summer. The girls really liked going to Mt. Rushmore.

Our summer in review

Playing in Medora

In July we took our annual trip up north. We were hoping for cooler weather. It doesn't seem right to have temperatures that high and no palm trees in sight. The girls got to go to Medora , spend time in Dickinson Bismarck, and take a trip to the Black Hills. The gators were at Reptile Gardens.

Our summer in review

Our summer started with a return trip to Jimmy Buffett and lots of swimming. Isabel competed on the swim team this year while Eliza cheered her on.

Sweet Dreams

Eliza has taken her bedtime stalling tactics to new levels. She still tries the water, extra story, bathroom routine but she has upped her game. She started by adding in a few deep questions. "Mom what is God made of?" Now a lot of people would have jumped on the lessons opened up by this question. They would have quoted scripture, lectured on morality, perhaps talked of love and forgiveness . But it was late and I was tired so I said, "Fluffy stuff like marshmallow cream." She moved on to probing questions on Santa and Easter Bunny. I know she's questioning their existence. "Mom why do they only come out at night?" She's on to me. I'm not sure Liza and I can coexist in a world without Santa and the Easter Bunny. They are a major component of her behavior plan. As in Use your manners missy or Santa won't bring you the latest plastic Littlest Pet Shop house complete with 83 small parts guaranteed to clog the vacuum. Last night she was pretending her stuffed animals were passing gas and dissolving into convulsive fits of laughter. When reprimanded she would reply, "Mom it's not me, it's Hello Kitty." Perhaps when you're expected to believe a fat, red-suited man enters your house in the dead of night via the chimney and a man sized bunny cleverly hides colorful, plastic, candy-filled eggs also in the dead of night it's not such a leap to think you can convince your mom that your stuffed animals fart .

Salem Sue

All the times we have driven I-94 we have never stopped to take a good look at Salem Sue, the World's Largest Holstein Cow. The girls were impressed with the 6 foot tall fiberglass cow perhaps because it broke up the monotony of haybales and prairie. Some classify Sue as a tourist attraction. Its fun to snap a few pictures but I would argue that Wal-Mart provides more entertainment. And probably more photo opportunities judging from the people of wal-mart website. It brought back memories of the time I was sitting in my living room in Dallas watching the news and the story was about a desolute prairie with more cattle than people. A land where only the hearty dare to live and you might run into a true cowboy. The story as you might have guessed was on western North Dakota.

Going to grandma's

I have now answered the question, "When are we going to grandma's?" 1,793 times. I guess they are going to keep asking until the answer is TODAY!!!!!!!

New Furniture

Once upon a time we needed new furniture. This was 7 years ago when we had one smallish, relatively quiet, immobile child and 2 lazy cats. So we decided to stretch our dollars and get more out of our money. That way we would have cash left over for activities like date night and going out to eat. Besides we were only going to be sitting on the furniture. It's not like we were uncivilized, swing from the chandelier, jump on the couch kind of people. Fast forward 7 years, 4 pets, and 2 children later. That couch we were only going to be sitting on has doubled as dining table, trampoline, jungle gym, bed, food storage, coloring book, scissors sharpener, scratching post, and the safe island in a sea of circling sharks. It has served as fort, tea party hot spot, doll house, boat, and fashion runway. Now looking a little worse for the wear but really not horrible, all things considered it is time to retire the old furniture. This time we knew that date night really means passing out on the couch after high fiving the success of early bedtime for the girls. And going out to eat? I'd rather cut my arm off than try to keep an over active preschooler contained in a booth so she can play with her overpriced preservative laden food. Our new furniture was delivered yesterday along with the new rules, #1 being we will eat in the designated eating areas. Designated eating area being defined as one with a table and chairs. Counting indoor and outdoor space as well as the bars we have 6 eating areas. Isabel looked at the new living room and said, "Oh good, you got little tables for us." Maybe I'll get to pick out new furniture again in 7 years. Meanwhile I have to get Liza down from the chandelier.

Summer Fun

We have been keeping busy so far this summer. Isabel is a fish. I can't believe how much she has learned being on swim team. She may even swim the fly stroke at the meet of champions. She also does gymnastics. Eliza just enrolled in gymnastics too so she can burn off some energy. Her favorite phrase right now is, "Hey dude!" I've even heard her say it in her sleep. She has started quoting commercials and will come up to me and say things like,"Hey dude did you know Happy Nappers make all your dreams come true?" Isabel turned 8 this week. She had 7 giggling, energetic girls over for a slumber party. I'm still recovering. Almas was nice enough to come over and help keep things under control. Eliza now insists she had another birthday and is 5. I'll remind her when she is 30 that once upon a time she wanted 2 birthdays/year. We are looking forward to the Olympics this year and of course the girls are ready for the annual visit up north. Pictures to come once I get them uploaded.

Spring has Sprung...Straight into Summer

The end of the school year seemed to fly by in a flurry of projects, end of year tests, and parties. We jumped right from spring weather to the hot summer heat. The girls are tanned and Isabel has already competed in her first swim meet. They couldn't wait for school to be out but now they miss their friends. Isabel is planning a big swim/slumber party. I have a list of projects that has mostly remained untouched. We are enjoying sunshine and Scooby Doo reruns, trips to the library and lazy afternoons in the pool.

Happy Birthday to Me

Four years ago today I had my day all planned. Subway for lunch, a routine check-up, then home to watch Oprah. Liza had other plans. Instead of Oprah I was wheeled to Labor & Delivery and hooked up to all kinds of machines. Liza arrived at 6:49 and was the easiest, sweetest baby. Although she made up for that with her toddler years. Today she had a special day with mom and announced to anyone who would listen, "Happy Birthday to me!"

These Boots Are Made for Walking

The boots, in all their splendid glory



Pose #1



Pose #2





Isabel got her ears pierced over Christmas so we decided to shop for some earrings on Saturday. We. Were. Only. Going. To. Get. Earrings. We weren't going to be enticed by those Presidents-President's-Presidents' (I hate trying to remember grammar rules) Day Weekend Sales. Oh no not us. We went in to look at earrings and 2 pair of boots, 4 outfits, 2 headbands and about 12 pair of earrings later we were home again. Isabel spotted a pair of boots that she simply couldn't live without. They met every grade school girl's shoe requirements: pink, sparkles, hearts, and {gasp} HIGH HEELS!!! Having learned the hard way on numerous occasions...

Flashback: Isabel runs in the house to show off her newly pierced ears while Liza flings herself on the garage floor under the SUV to scream and cry for a bit.

...we had to get a pair for Liza too. Both girls had to immediately try them on and prance around. They have spent all weekend begging to go to McDonalds, the ice cream shop, the park, the mall, etc. so they can show off the new boots.