Daily Nuggets

Puppet Show

2012-01-30T20:43:00.003-07:00

Ryann, Cara and I decided to put on a puppet show for Rich yesterday. We colored our bags and turned them into puppets. Then we set the stage and started playing pretend.

Cara wasn't quite figuring it out.

That made her really sad. But eventually I cheered her up.

I had a fun time! Happy day after my birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2012-01-29T19:43:00.004-07:00

Since it is my birthday I thought I would write a few things about myself. Most of you know me, but some of these things may surprise you. I am trying to keep them just about me, not my parenting or being a wife :)

1. I was in 4-H growing up. I raised pigs and sold them every year to make money. Sold them to people who liked to eat Ham. I grew attached to the pigs, but I never had a problem selling them because I knew what I got into when I started.

2. Speaking of pigs... The money I saved while raising pigs I used to buy my car when I turned 16. I drive that car to work every single day. It almost has 200,000 miles on it. It does not have hubcaps because they made an annoying noise because they were loose so my husband took them all off. It is ghetto.

3. My favorite candy of all time is tropical flavored starbursts. I will eat other candy of course but forever this will be my favorite candy.

4. I have the biggest sweet tooth I know. Seriously. Try to prove me wrong. I dare you.

5. I wrote in my journal every single day of middle school and high school. People can't see how I can blog almost every day, but this is not new to me. I essentially am just keeping my journal every day- plus adding a few pictures.

6. Those journals have just about every boys name in it that I went to middle school and high school with. To say I was boy crazy is an understatement. It would really be embarrassing if I wrote them all out. Rich thinks it is awesome because out of all those boys I had crushes on, I chose him.

7. My job at church is the substitute primary teacher. BEST JOB EVER! I can say no, I get to be the fun teacher every week, and I am never with the kids long enough to get annoyed of them.

8. I try to wash my hair every 3 days. I love dry shampoo and I hate blow drying my hair. Enough said.

9. I hate shaving my legs. During high school I spent an entire basketball season without shaving my legs. I pretended it was for basketball, but really I just hated shaving. Obviously my hatred for shaving was greater than my boy craziness... and now all those boys who are thinking they missed out are happy Rich got me ;)

10. #9 is another reason why I LOVE tights. Tights are the coolest thing out there. I love purple ones and silver ones and grey ones and footless ones and I do not have enough tights.

11. I don't wear heals very often. It used to be because Rich is so close in height that I didn't want to be a lot taller than him, but now it is because I am just too clumsy to walk in them.

12. I am a certified nurse midwife. Basically I am a nurse practitioner in an OBGYN office who delivers babies as well. I write prescriptions, give orders in the hospital, and manage low risk patients. I deliver the babies and a doctor is not there with me. (gasp! That is the most frequent question I get- "when does the doctor show up?")

13. I cry. A lot. It is in my genes. I cry probably almost every day. I cry when I am happy and sad and I cry with patients sometimes before they even start crying.

14. My favorite holiday is Halloween.

15. I love hearing birth stories. I love women telling me about their wonderful experiences and how they brought their children into the world. I don't care if it was a c-section. I want to know how it felt and how amazed you were and I am honored when women share these things with me.

16. I am honored when I am invited to a birth. Any birth, but especially the birth of a friend. Some people think it is weird, but being there as a doula or a sister or friend or a midwife is so amazing. Birth is such a sacred place and to be invited there to serve that woman is amazing. I am not asking to be invited- I know that isn't anything I would push on anyone, but truly each life I have been blessed to witness enter this world has connected me with such a love that I couldn't deny that it is my calling in life to serve women in this capacity.

17. I didn't cut my hair until I was in the 5th or 6th grade. I wore it in a braid down my back almost every single day and I had to put my hair over my shoulder in order to go to the bathroom. Talk about rapunzel.

18. Growing up I had imaginary friends. Lots of them. I had imaginary horses too... except they were bikes that I would tie a shoelace to the handle bars and pretend I was riding my horse.

19. I love to exercise. I hike or run at least 5 days a week. I like to tell myself it is because I want to stay healthy, but really it is because I want to be able to eat all the candy I want without having to worry about getting fat.

20. I was my senior class president and now I have to plan my class reunion. Thankfully I have an awesome group of people who are willing to help me- cause seriously I have a lot of stinkin things on my plate and I can't seem to whittle away at them all.

21. I LOVE being pregnant (even though I gained 55lbs with Cara). I LOVE giving birth. If it weren't for the child and the money and the potty training and that I had to work, I would have babies every single year.

22. I am a super fast reader. No joke. I get sucked into a book and BAM it is done. However, rarely if ever will I stay up late to read. Reading after midnight? Absolutely NOT! I enjoy my sleep way to much.

23. My running shoes are almost over 5 years old. They give me blisters if I walk in them and they give me blisters if I run more than 3 miles in them. I just bought new ones (really cheap ones) and I am trying to break those in before I toss my old ones.

24. I have a horrible memory. I think that is why I blog/ journal. I don't remember what happened a couple days ago, I don't remember dates, meetings, birthdays, or what patient I saw 5 minutes ago.

25. I have horrible depth perception. If there is a pothole on the road and I am trying to miss it, I will 100% certain hit it. I have stopped trying to avoid these because I know that I will miss it more often if I just ignore it.

26. I love "special" dates or times. Like when the clock reads 11:11, I think that is awesome. When the date of the year is 9-10-11 I think that is awesome as well. I also have a really cool friend who likes these things as well and we have stayed in touch since middle school because of these dates. In fact- I got an awesome package in the mail from her for my birthday (THANKS!~)

27. I love baking but I don't like cooking. I hardly ever have the right ingredients for cooking so I use substitutions all the time. I will have to say it used to scare Rich for a long time but now he is totally used to it and is always very impressed when I cook a meal. And when I bake he knows it will be amazing- and if it isn't then I eat it all anyway, so no worries.

28. I understand almost all medical Spanish. I have worked for a year and a half where all of my employees are Mexican and their first language is Spanish. I am finally, this year, starting to speak to my patients in Spanish because I know I need to get over it and just do it.

And that is it folks. I am off to watch a movie and cuddle on the couch with my husband. Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes.

Seriously Spoiled

2012-01-28T23:19:00.002-07:00

I can't get over how much fun and excitement this week has been. I have so many wonderful friends.

Tonight I had some sweet girls come pick me up and take me out on the town. By 7:30 we were in Scottsdale after having dinner and wondering what to do. I said, "Wait! We should go dancing!" So we started looking up clubs on our phones- and then we realized it was 7:30 and there was no way we would make it until a club even opened for us to go dancing.

Even without dancing we had a blast and I was home by 10:30 to kiss my sleeping girls. I am exhausted but it was so sweet of them.

On the way home we pulled over as soon as we saw my birthday fireworks going off.

Technically they weren't my birthday fireworks- but I can't think of any other reason they would be going off so I assume they were for me.

Then I had to take a picture of this Cheshire cat moon. Isn't it purrdy??

Then when I got home I started uploading these pictures and Rich brought over some cards and packages I got in the mail. Besides my amazing family- one of the packages I got was from a middle school/high school and now blogging friend for life. It was the sweetest package- each small gift was individually thought of just for me. I almost started to cry because of all the sweet things that have happened to me this week. AND IT ISN'T EVEN MY BIRTHDAY YET!!!

(i will show pictures of my package later)

Also- I should mention that our 2nd buyer backed out of our house a couple weeks ago- so we prepped the house again and put it on the market last night. Today we had 6 showings and an offer already came in, for $10,000 more than we were asking for. Miracle, seriously.

Up tomorrow... a special birthday post all about me!!

(Wait, i think today was all about me too... oh well! It is my birthday and my blog :P )

My Day in Review

2012-01-27T23:44:00.002-07:00

I figure since it is my birthday weekend, I would post somethings of my day.

This morning my girls convinced me to cuddle with them instead of doing the dishes. Don't let Cara fool you, she was so excited for the extra attention.

I love that we have turned off the TV in the mornings. I used to turn it on so I could get ready in peace- but guess what? I love having little ones run around my bathroom and help me pick out my clothes and beg me to wear makeup (only Cara begs- Ryann could care less).

Then I had a SUPER BUSY day at work, but when I got home, my little helper helped me to make pizza for dinner. Mickey Mouse and a rainbow.

Then we topped it off with a game night with friends and these AMAZING cookies. I swear, this girl has 1001 recipes on desserts to make using chocolate and peanut butter. She should make a cookbook.

2 more days until my birthday! But the celebrating has been going on all week.

Peas Please

2012-01-26T21:23:00.001-07:00

I caught Ryann putting all of her peas on her fork today. I remember doing that.

What a little cutie. Can you believe she is almost 5???

Awesome Zoom

2012-01-24T20:12:00.002-07:00

I love my new camera because it is new and has all these functions and I am getting a lot better pictures than my camera's before. Plus it isn't broken so that is awesome.

Rich's favorite is the ZOOM!

Here is a normal shot.

This is with the zoom on full power.

Here is another zoom shot of me and Ryann.

I do have to say that is pretty awesome.

Anticipation

2012-01-23T21:59:00.002-07:00

The anticipation of going to Disneyland was almost as much fun as actually going. Okay, not really, but still.... soooo much fun waiting and counting down.

The girls were great about it. They were so excited to sleep in their princess sleeping bags at the hotel.

I guess i forgot to mention that we did the entire trip without a stroller.

Now who does that??

It was tough but we ended up having a blast. I carried the girls a lot and everyone else (Rich's family) helped out a ton too.

Just in case you were wondering, my feet have recovered and I was able to go running this morning without a problem.

Characters

2012-01-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I forget how much the characters at Disneyland mean to little kids. I remember it was cool to have the autograph books- but standing in line for a high five or a hug? No way.

Until Cara comes along. Cara wanted a picture with EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER. I said no more often than not, but she was often in tears until she saw the next character or distraction. Cara would walk down the street and grab my hand and say, "MOM! I need a hug from tigger!!" or "Mom! I want a hug from Daisy." on and on and on. We often gave in if the line was short- but she was just in heaven knowing that each of these characters were there to see her and play with her and high five her.

It didn't help much when the characters really were there to interact with her. She was so smiley and giggly each time one came to her that often they would grab her hand and walk down the street with her. It was so incredible to see the time and attention they spent with her.

Jake- from Jake and the Neverland Pirates was there. He played hide-n-seek with Ryann and Cara. He walked with Cara up and down to street- tried to convince people to give her things or blow bubbles for her- which he succeeded. She got stickers and bubbles and high fives and it was so much fun for her.

Pluto here is pretending to bite Ryann's head. She was pretty sleepy, but she thought it was funny.

Cara and Minnie.

Cara and pluto. They danced for about 10 minutes before the parade began and that girl likes to shake her booty!

Happy Birthday Rich- Disney Edition

2012-01-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday we celebrated Rich's 34th birthday. We started off the morning by Rich getting his "birthday" pin so he could start counting the number of times people said "happy birthday" to him. Rich couldn't keep track there were so many!!

Then we headed down to be in toon town for the "honorary citizens" where we got to go in an hour early and take a lot of pictures with the characters. The girls were so excited to be there and having so much fun. We probably went on the roller coaster there 4 times.

Rich spent some time for his birthday having a tea party at Minnie's house. Outside of Minnie's house there was a wishing well. Ryann says, "I wish I can marry Xavier!!!" down the wishing well... every father's dream to hear his (almost) 5 year old wish for a future husband already...

Later on we met up with Buzz Lightyear and finally got a family picture. Ignore my dorky shoes. The boots I had been wearing the day before made me a little bit sore- so I decided for function instead of fashion.

(now that is a huge birthday deal for Rich! His wife finally choosing a practical route.)

We finished off the night we ElecTRONica and world of color.

Happy birthday Rich. I hope it was wonderful!!

Bugs Life

2012-01-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

My girls favorite video at Disneyland/ California Adventure... A Bugs Life.

Cara didn't keep the glasses on for most of the movie. But when they were on she was hysterical.

Ryann made Rich take her a couple more times on the trip.

Flowers from a patient

2012-01-17T20:26:00.002-07:00

Today I received a potted flower of hyacinths from a patient of mine. I helped to deliver her baby over a month ago. They are gorgeous and smell amazing and it was really thoughtful of her. As I held her sweet newborn boy I was reminded of the precious gifts that are given to us on this earth.

However, earlier today was a rough, emotional, day at work for me. I spent almost an hour with a patient who recently lost her 15 year old son. We cried and talked and I know her grieving process is so fresh and so young that it touched me to my soul. I felt inspired to spend extra time loving on my girls and reminding them that I needed their help to become a better mother.

Both experiences today were for my profit and learning, things I needed to hear and to learn. I am reminded to stay humble and thank the Lord for all of the things that I have, because without his hand in my life I don't know how I would continue to stay positive and ready to face another day.

Petting Zoo

2012-01-16T19:25:00.002-07:00

Ryann wasn't a fan of actually catching the chickens, but she sure wanted me to take a lot of pictures of her with them. She touched them a couple times, but never caught them herself.

She liked feeding the goats.

And she really liked the llama (or camel according to Cara).

What a fun birthday party!

Birthday Week

2012-01-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to post Rich's favorite pictures of the birthday party in honor of his "birthday week."

He turns 34 this week and I am trying to remind him every day :)

He is so lucky to have me.

Anyway... Rich missed this birthday party we went to this weekend because he was watching a very intense football game... but this was his favorite picture when I told him the story behind it.

Here is Cara, she is trying to feed some straw to the animals in the petting zoo.

She is yelling, "COME HERE CAMEL!!! COME EAT CAMEL!!"

This wasn't an exotic petting zoo, but I guess a llama looks a lot like a camel to a 2 year old, wearing Incredibles panties, pants falling off, girl from Arizona.

French Braids and Pony Rides

2012-01-14T16:39:00.002-07:00

I decided that since Ryann was going to ride a horse today she should have some french braids. Here is my very first attempt at 2 french braids in her hair.

Pretty successful, I mean, they stayed in.

We had a lot of fun at a friend's birthday party today.

Both Cara and Ryann were able to ride the horse with painted hair a couple times.

I have about a thousand more cute pictures but this one below I had to sneak in today... this is the moment her face paint was revealed... she was so excited on how pretty her "fairy face" was.

Happy Birthday Jaidin and Jillian! I can't believe it has been 6 years since I fell in love with that sweet newborn baby I was watching in my home once a week for a year.

Free Lunch

2012-01-13T20:37:00.003-07:00

I never go out to lunch. Basically in the past 20 months at my job I have been out to lunch 3 times.

Today I wanted to go. Not sure why I wanted to go, I just went. The girls in my office took me to a place called "Lenny's Burger" because they said it was delicious.

It is in downtown Phoenix and it was very crowded. When I got out of my car there was a scruffy (as in not much better than homeless) man helping someone change a tire. He came up to me and asked it I would be able to buy his "lady" (probably his mother) a small hamburger since she was so hungry and hadn't been able to eat all day.

He didn't ask for money and he was doing service for someone else so without hesitation I took her inside and bought her the biggest meal I could find on the menu. It was small and simple and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to do this for someone today.

Yesterday on facebook I had a friend post, "have you done any good in the world today?" I want to challenge you to do something good for someone this week. Pay for their toll, pay for their meal, help pick up the toy that their kid threw across the restaurant, let them merge into your lane, anything.

This man who helped someone change a tire will never understand how he helped me today. I feel so blessed because he presented me with the opportunity to serve. He was grateful and I am sure he is happy that his "lady" got a meal, but it will last a lot longer for me than it will for her.

I know that I am blessed on a daily basis but this has touched me today, it has reminded me that I am so fortunate and there are so many people out there who love me.

Cuteness of Ryann

2012-01-12T20:10:00.002-07:00

Ryann has fallen in love with the game "Guess Who"

We have a Marvel comic book guess who game.

She has actually won once or twice.... without Rich letting her win. She also has been a much better eater lately, but at dinner time she always wants me to feed her. It is so much quicker and less messy- but I am trying to be patient and not shovel food into her mouth when she is being lazy/slow.
She also likes to make breakfast for herself every day. This morning it was toast. She didn't actually toast it, she just smeared jam all over it, but she ate it right up.

Sock Puppets

2012-01-10T21:08:00.002-07:00

I turned around as I was getting ready for work today. I saw these cute little sock puppets talking to each other. I believe their names were "socky and socker."

Pretty clever huh?

She was hysterical. She thought she was sooo funny. It was awesome.

And see this little stinker below... she looks so innocent. Not so much. She spent 1 hour and 25 minutes at the dinner table without eating her dinner. We finally put her straight to bed. I was exhausted and worn out and at my wits end.

So now I am going to sneak into her room, stare at her cute sleeping face, give her a kiss, and remember how much I love her.

80 degree weather

2012-01-09T20:19:00.001-07:00

I will take it. Thank you.

My girls don't have any complaints either.

Hiking in Pictures

2012-01-08T10:01:00.003-07:00

Yesterday we headed down for some major hiking in Tucson to celebrate my cousin's birthday. We were watching some friend's kids so we brought them with us. It was fun and exhausting and there weren't many major melt downs.

I love Cara's hair in the picture above. She was mid jump.

Everyone was very interested in uncle Bob and looking at his pictures.

Cara had a lot of the hike in style- on my back.

And finally the real reason we went hiking. To spend time with my aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a great day and we celebrated by having root beer floats after. Delicious.

Thanks for a great day!!

Worth 1000 Words

2012-01-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say this picture describes Rich to a tee.

Do you know what he is celebrating?

We won a game of tic-tac-toe with a 9 year old.

Oh, to be a child again.

Wait... he isn't... he is... RICH!

Problem Solver

2012-01-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

My little problem solver. I love her.

Hazel

2012-01-05T21:32:00.003-07:00

I need her.

When is the next 3 day weekend?

I think I need my hair done then.

Maybe for my birthday? A trip to Utah to love on my baby girl niece Hazel.

Busy Girls

2012-01-04T20:49:00.002-07:00

2 year olds are extremely busy.

Within about 30 seconds I snapped these pictures of Cara:

Oh my.

Cute Ryann is showing off her horse dress from Auntie Ashley.

Thanks Auntie!

We love you!

Yellow Bathroom

2012-01-02T19:15:00.002-07:00

Wow, this new camera thing is taking a lot longer than I expected to figure out. And mine isn't even a fancy pants one... here are my cute girls in the bathroom.

The very YELLOW bathroom.

Wait a minute... what happened? Oh, the flash! Seriously? Yup. Look, my bathroom looks nice and white and clean.

Cara's face is another matter. This chocolate covered mess of a face is why we got in the bathtub to begin with.

New Camera, New Year

2012-01-01T20:39:00.004-07:00

So I am testing out my new camera that I got from Santa (black Friday special) and I know there are a lot of kinks I am going to have to work out. Fortunately Ryann is more than willing to pose for pictures.

Yes we ended December with a bang- we went swimming!!

Ignore the messy house. I promise that it is clean now.

Last Christmas Post

2011-12-31T18:03:00.003-07:00

Remember THIS POST on my Thanksgiving place cards? Well, I decided to make Christmas place cards out of toilet paper rolls and a Christmas tree centerpiece with a paper towel roll.

Quite festive if I do say so myself.

This time I used scrapbook paper instead of felt. Had a nice Christmas touch if I do say so myself.

Thankfully I am NOT a Photographer

2011-12-30T20:03:00.004-07:00

AMAZING DRESS!

By the look of my pictures that I post daily on this blog, we all know I am not a photographer. Well, here is the deal... I should never, ever try to photograph a wedding. Seriously, I have so many shadows and glares but I love taking pictures and hopefully their professional photographer will turn out a lot better than me :)

Cute one of the couple outside the temple.

With their photographer in the background. Sweet.

Here is a picture of some of my favorite people in the world. What an awesome family who all at some point in time have babysat my children. And fed me. And housed me. And let me swim in their pool. Fed my fish. etc etc etc. Basically what "adopted" families do for each other.

These 3 handsome men. I can't believe how grown up they are getting.

Wedding Hat

2011-12-29T22:07:00.002-07:00

We went to a wedding today. Rich thought it would be awesome to switch up his "wedding hat" and wear a new one. If you have ever been to a wedding with Rich (or if he unfortunately came to yours...) you know that he likes to wear his hats.

This hat is special though.

This hat I won for him at a white elephant gift exchange. No joke.

The wedding and reception were wonderful, but I will wait to post pictures of the bride until she can post her own on facebook and such.

Still Celebrating

2011-12-28T20:05:00.002-07:00

The girls have been acting like it is Christmas every day this week. Ryann wore her Christmas PJs again and asked if I would take her picture in front of the tree. I told her "only if you hold still." Boy was she still.

I also forgot to post a picture of Rich with his new superman watch. He was too busy looking at it to take a good picture with it. But we do get a nice glare from his head.

And this was of Cara and her beloved candy cane. She later dropped in on the bathroom floor and it landed in some hair. So that was the end of her candy cane. You better believe there were tears.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

What do you do with your old gingerbread houses?

I remember growing up my mom always made fresh gingerbread and real icing you could eat and we always had brand new candy to decorate. (maybe I am imagining this, but I believe that is the way it was)

Now there are kits. Kits that expire and you buy the day after Christmas to use for the next year.

Seriously?

Yes, I am guilty of this.

So we had new gingerbread men that we could frost and eat, but the house itself was old and hard as a brick.

That didn't stop Ryann and Grandma Mingo from decorating their hearts out.

I think it will be in the trash tomorrow.

And seriously, I don't think Ryann will notice it is gone with all of her other toys lying around.

Hexbugs and the Nativity

2011-12-26T21:00:00.003-07:00

Ryann and Cara both picked out 2 presents for their daddy. A t-shirt and Hexbugs.

The Hexbugs were a hit because Ryann and Cara wouldn't stop playing with them. Ryann even made a little cage out of the Nativity set so the Hexbug could run around in and she wouldn't lose it.

Rich finally had to confiscate them today because he wanted a chance to play with them. This usually means he will be taking them to work. That is the only safe place he has to not lose things or have them broken.

That's life as a daddy:

Hide your toys at work or your kids will steal/break them.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:36:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas... and we are just getting started!

Have a wonderful day and I hope you are all able to spend time with those you love.

We love you and Merry Christmas.

Santa Train

2011-12-24T16:45:00.002-07:00

I was lucky enough to get my Christmas present early!!

My sister in law Katie surprised me with family tickets to ride on the Santa Train in the beautiful Napa Valley.

We had to take pictures with every character that was on the train.

I tried to have the girls wear matching clothes, but Auntie Ashley busted out a horse dress for Ryann and thoughts of matching clothes were shot. Ryann wasn't about to take off this dress for anything!

It sort of looks like Cara is flipping us off, or trying to pick her nose.... I am sure it is one of those two things. You decide which. Either way both girls were happy with their messy candy cane faces.

Worst picture of my girls, but cute picture of Auntie Katie.

See you soon Hazel

2011-12-23T13:16:00.003-07:00

I am about to cry my eyes out. I already know it. We are all packed and ready to go make our 12 hour drive back home to Phoenix and I am just waiting to kiss my sweet sister and her precious baby goodbye. I can't stand it.

I think Devyn felt like she was in pretty safe hands. My dad (OBGYN) was there, her sister who is a labor and delivery nurse and me who is a midwife. Seriously we have this birthing thing down pat. (haha!) I love the fact that we all come from different places to bring such diversity to the way we deal with pregnancy, labor, birth, and breast feeding. I think I will have to break that down in a post someday, to just talk about how we all bring something different to the table.

Ryann wants to know when we are coming back to see Hazel.

Isn't she perfect? I am going to be sooo sad on my drive home. Hopefully I will start thinking about Christmas in just 2 days and get happy again!

Minus One

2011-12-22T14:27:00.001-07:00

My parents took Christmas card pictures with all of the grandchildren on Monday.

But fortunately they are going to have to retake them all.

Not because of these crazy girls being silly for all the pictures, but because their newest granddaughter was born this morning.

I will wait for my sister to share her story before I post it here. But after she shares her story then I will share all of my thoughts on it :)

Let me tell you. I am in love. It was amazing. There isn't anything much sweeter than a brand new life entering the world to a family that loves her so very much.

Ice Skating

2011-12-21T14:16:00.002-07:00

Ryann and I were able to go ice skating yesterday thanks to my wonderful mom! We went downtown and laced up our skates (yes, there were some small enough for Ryann!!) and off we went. Ryann was very nervous at first and spent a lot of time hanging on the railing, but by the end she was doing a lot of it on her own.

She fell once or twice and thought it was hilarious! She just giggled and laughed and thought it was so funny.

Thanks Grandma! Next year maybe Cara will be big enough to go with us too.

Trip

2011-12-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Let's just say we are having A LOT of fun!!

yikes

2011-12-19T13:54:00.001-07:00

I seriously haven't pulled out my camera more than once.

I better get cracking.

Maybe today I will get some good ones. I will keep you posted (literally- I will post pictures if I take some!)

Playing Kitchen

2011-12-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Cara and cousin Dean spent a lot of time cooking up their food for Uncle Cory.

They like playing in this little hideout in my parents house. It is perfect for 1-3 year olds. Ryann is even a little big for it.

Cara needed to feed Uncle Cory because he spent so much energy pushing her a Ryann around the house on the little play car.

Ready. Set. GO!

Come back and play Uncle Cory!

On The Road Again

2011-12-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

This road trip we have a super sweet set up thanks to the *H family. 2 screens for the DVD player!!

Cara didn't seem to interested. But we made it to our final destination safely!

So Close

2011-12-14T20:20:00.002-07:00

Almost done with Ryann's Christmas present. Rich might say otherwise, but he has really enjoyed spending the time and working on this present. He loves working with tools and creating a vision into a reality.

I love that Ryann helped vacuum up all the sawdust that was in the garage, without finding the present hidden in the corner under some blankets.

Thanks Heidi!

2011-12-13T20:09:00.002-07:00

We have a wonderful friend who is so thoughtful and is always thinking of our girls. Seriously, she spent some serious time and effort picking out the perfect gifts for my girls. Cara has yet to remove the sweatshirt she bought her (except for a bath), and Ryann hasn't let the unicorn "buttercup" out of her sight.

Cara, Ryann and Peyton getting ready to open their presents.

Ryann and Buttercup

Cara's new sweatshirt and Pascal

Merry Christmas Heidi! We are excited to bring over your present soon!

Primary Sharing Time

2011-12-12T18:38:00.003-07:00

Ryann was chosen to dress up on Sunday for sharing time. Being the totally responsible mother I left my class to take a picture of the nugget. Doesn't she look cute??

Christmas Dresses

2011-12-11T15:02:00.002-07:00

We won't be at our church ward for the next two Sundays so I dressed the girls in their new Christmas Dresses this week.

I thought it would be great to take a picture of them by the Christmas tree.

Picture #1 "CHEESE" says Cara.

Picture #2, I say, "CARA, open your eyes."

she says, "I CAN'T!"

Picture #5,326

Just hug and have fun.

I'll take it.

Getting Closer

2011-12-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

We are getting closer to the finished product. Rich started painting today!

Temple Lights

2011-12-09T20:18:00.004-07:00

Cara seriously ruined every picture from the temple lights tonight.

Not enough that I won't post them... because I am notorious for posting horrible pictures of my children.

Ryann, mommy, and Cara. Seriously Cara! What kind of face is that?

And doesn't Ryann look so grown up?

Next picture is just Cara and me. Why the cookie in the face? That cookie will make your whole face red for the rest of the night. Ugh. By the way, we let the kids pick out whatever warm clothes they wanted. Cara really wanted this long knitted hat, purple sweater, and penguin scarf.

Cara and Daddy. I kind of knew this picture would turn out horrible. Cara has some weird anti-father phase. She really isn't a fan of her daddy. We are working on this though. Maybe planning some daddy daughter dates. Any ideas for this one?

After Rich let her go she said, "I want a picture by myself!!!" So we had to let her and she just smiled her little heart out.

Best picture of the night was silly Ryann and her daddy. This girl loves her daddy big time and she will love him even more when she wakes up Christmas morning and finds what he made for her.

Ryann's Turn

2011-12-07T20:03:00.002-07:00

Ryann actually looked at the camera for this one!

Many of you who know Ryann know that it is a struggle to get her to look at a camera.

She was very very focused on this picture. Had to get it perfect with the tongue and all.

Neener Neener Neener

2011-12-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

Cara was having fun making silly faces at me.

But I can't decide which one is my favorite.

What do you think??

Snow Time

2011-12-05T19:21:00.003-07:00

I am sure there is snow somewhere in Arizona, just not in my little area. However, this weekend we did find a cute neighborhood that our friend's live in and they had some snow for the kids to play with!

We came a little under-prepared. ie... no gloves.

Ryann and Cara were not sure what to do with their cold hands.

Ryann was overly dramatic I believe. Come on, look at that face.

Cara was just as dramatic though.

Cause look, 5 seconds later she was happy as a clam.

Final Recap of Christmas Party

2011-12-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

I usually try to take pictures of all of the tables at the Christmas party, but I didn't make it to them all this year.

I think I took too many pictures of this cute little girl dancing with this cute little boy.

This was the Feliz Navidad table.

The "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" table. Seriously, those kids ate through it and were off playing hungry hungry hippos before you could even blink.

The Mele Kalikimaka table

Our "Jingle Bell Rock" table, Rock Star included.

The "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" table, included punch from mouth wash containers, and a real dentist :)

Tables I didn't get were "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," "Blue Christmas", and oh so many more that were so fabulous and fun. It was such a great night and I am always impressed with the ability of my ward family to come together and make a night spectacular.

Stollen Camera

2011-12-03T15:48:00.002-07:00

Usually it is Ryann and Cara that steal my camera. When that happens I get a lot of weird pictures of ponies and dolls and pictures of the TV.

When Rich steals the camera I get pictures of weird bearded men...

Santa Cowboy Grandpa?

Elvis?

Yup, that sounds about right.

Christmas Party #1

2011-12-02T21:29:00.002-07:00

Christmas Party number 1 is over and done. I would have to say it was a success and we had a lot of fun. I have quite a few more pictures, but here are a couple of my favorite.

Cara and her Daddy.

Ryann singing her song with the primary.

My little munchkins.

The family.

No smile on Cara... what? This girl smiles at everything!!

Baby its cold outside

2011-12-01T19:10:00.002-07:00

Now that it is December we need to think about wearing more appropriate clothing outdoors.

Ryann wore this outfit 2 days ago, and it was perfect, but now that it is December I need to get out those winter clothes...

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-11-29T20:59:00.003-07:00

We started decorating our Christmas Tree! We have been placing certain ornaments up higher and higher this year than we did last year.

We have also spent a lot of time collecting them out of bedrooms, purses, pockets, and blankets. These little ornaments are all over the place! Is there an ornament fairy? Or just 2 sneaky girls??

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-11-29T20:59:00.002-07:00

We started decorating our Christmas Tree! We have been placing certain ornaments up higher and higher this year than we did last year.

We have also spent a lot of time collecting them out of bedrooms, purses, pockets, and blankets. These little ornaments are all over the place! Is there an ornament fairy? Or just 2 sneaky girls??

Gross Out

2011-11-28T22:09:00.002-07:00

WARNING!!!

Please do not continue reading this post if things like food stuck in someone else's teeth gross you out. I am serious. This post is not for the faint of heart.

Okay, so you have been warned. This first post is the Santa that the girls got to see this weekend at the Festival of Lights. Ryann said, "Santa, don't forget my house!" and he pointed at her and said, "I will NOT forget your house!"

She was soooo excited and happy and had to tell everyone about it.

And here is the gross out part. Seriously she wanted to take a picture and she was eating Cheetos. I almost threw up in my mouth when I saw this picture on my camera. But how could I not save this picture for her future husband and children.

All wrong. So wrong.

Sunday Stroll

2011-11-27T18:27:00.002-07:00

I accidentally ripped part of my big toenail off today.

Seriously, gross.

Why did I tell you that?

Maybe because I couldn't keep up with these girls even if they were going at the same pace on our Sunday walk today.

Which, by the way, they weren't on the same pace. Cara had to be pushed cause her little legs are too short to reach the peddles on her trike and Ryann was cruising on her scooter- that was supposed to wait for Christmas but she found it and demanded it.

That girl has us whipped. Seriously. But look at how dang cute she is with her little helmet on and her boots on the wrong feet...

Thanksgiving Recap in Pictures

2011-11-26T07:31:00.004-07:00

Cousin/Uncle Rob with his pilgrim.

About time my husband and I have a cute picture together.

The delicious turkey (my first was a success!)

Rich's siblings.

My turkey on the unbaked cherry pie.

Our place settings. My inspiration was pinterest.

All together it was quite the amazing day.

Beware Bad Guys

2011-11-25T17:02:00.002-07:00

The highlight of my Thanksgiving dinner was Ryann eating her "chicken bone."

She demanded a turkey drumstick and she actually went into her room and cried until we finally figured out what she wanted.

Once we did she was in heaven. She ate that thing, more than half of it. She ignored the rest of the Thanksgiving meal though.

The best part though is when she takes the drumstick in her hand and starts hitting it in the palm of her other hand. She looks at me and says, "mom, if a bad guy comes to our house I am going to hit him with my bone."

bahahaha. I seriously couldn't stop laughing. That girl cracks me up.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:09:00.003-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving.

Today is such a wonderful day. I am making my very own turkey. I guess at age 27 and with 2 kids you should probably be able to make a turkey. We'll see.

I also made my apple, cherry, and pumpkin pies.

I have some fresh spinach and artichoke dip as well as a delicious sweet potato dish.

My mother in law is bringing the rest for us to cook over here.

The house smells amazing.

Rich is off to play football. I took a picture of his ridiculous outfit because it was too good to pass up. He was walking around the house "jamming" to his music from his ipad. He is the best dork ever.

Even better was when he said, "I totally need to get pumped up for football- I better turn on backstreet boys."

True story. Please tease him about it. Most of you who know Rich know that this is how he is, but still, he deserves to be mocked for that one.

Here is a quick list of some of the things I am thankful for... in no particular order:

Rich, Ryann, Cara, the rest of my family (i wont name you all)... even my not really blood family like Levin and his new wife because I can't be more happy for anyone in the world right now, for my baby niece in my sister's belly Hazel, for Facetime, pinterest, my job, the miracle of birth, a warm house, a car that won't die even though it is 12 years old (the echo!), for my ward family, my best friends, the baby in Heidi's tummy that we pray for daily, for prayers, for prayers from a 2 and 4 year old, for the innocence of a child, the song "see the joy", my savior, a living prophet, scriptures, my brother on a mission who is serving so selflessly, apple pie, my friends, the women I visit teach, my sitters who watch my girls faithfully, blogging, black friday, cameras, phone calls on my commute, hiking, seasons, freecycle, Laborlooks, the dollar store, and my wonderful relationship with my savior. I know my savior and I love him and he knows exactly what I can and can't take- he blesses me in my times of need and teaches me every day through trials to push me to be more humble, patient and to become a better wife, mother, and person.

Jumping Bags Video

2011-11-23T20:10:00.001-07:00

Jumping Bags

2011-11-22T21:14:00.003-07:00

Ryann looks a little CRAZY in this picture... but she and Cara were having so much fun using these bags to jump around in. I will post a hilarious video about them tomorrow.

Can't wait for Thanksgiving!!

Rock Band

2011-11-21T19:34:00.002-07:00

This is a very momentous occasion. Rich actually let the girls play! It wasn't just pretend. It was so cute to see them stare at the screen and have absolutely no idea what they were doing.

Maybe Rich is finally accepting that he has no boys to play video games with so he better teach his daughters?

I don't believe they got any encores for their performance, but they sure had a fun time playing with daddy.

Thanks love!

Hazelnut spread

2011-11-20T15:43:00.002-07:00

For Devyn's baby shower last month she made home made hazelnut spread- very similar to nutella. Cara and Ryann both told me that they wanted chocolate on their pancakes so I whipped this out and as you see below, it was heaven.

No forks necessary.

Delicious.

Pinkalicious Card Game

2011-11-19T08:15:00.003-07:00

The girls got a cute surprise gift in the mail yesterday... a Pinkalicious card game.

These girls LOVE pinkalicious.

I find myself saying, "you get what you get and you don't get upset" a lot because of that book. It is oh so fitting some days.

Thank you auntie Devyn for sending us this game. We have played it A LOT!

The girls wanted to call you when we opened it up this morning at 7, but I thought I would let your prego self sleep and we would call you later.

Breaking Dawn part 1

2011-11-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rich was out of town this week so I knew there was no way I was going to go to opening night of Breaking Dawn. However, a wonderful dear friend was helping to host an event at a movie theater in Scottsdale and her husband volunteered to watch all of our girls.

Around 8 I dropped off my girls (turns out they didn't sleep well) and I went out to the theater. I played a couple games (see Pin the Mustache on Charlie game below) to win some prizes and free movie tickets.

Then I took my picture with the extremely handsome Embry from the series...

Finally I topped it off with the movie. I don't care what people have to say about it. I loved it. I loved the ways they changed it from the book and I love the parts that they stayed true to the book.

I think my girlfriend was a getting a little annoyed with me because I kept saying the next line of the movie before they would say it. Oh well, she offered to let me come (did I mention it was for free and I ended up winning 6 free movie passes? Oh yeah, I scored on this one!)

Riding a Broom

2011-11-16T20:34:00.002-07:00

"Look at me! I'm riding a broom!"

I hear this about 2 to 3 times a day. She thinks it is hilarious.

If only she would learn to sweep while she was riding her broom.

Tuesday Mornings

2011-11-15T20:30:00.002-07:00

Every Tuesday morning we drive down the freeway to meet up with a friend who has been watching the girls one day a week. Sometimes we get there first, other times she gets there first. The days we get there first the girls love to come up to the front seat and play with me and push all the buttons.

I was surprised that they both are trying to look at me. This is one of the best pictures I have of them together right now. I love it

Dinner Time!

2011-11-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

We went out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday this weekend. It was wonderful even if the girls got a little crazy. I wonder where they learned that from??

Time to eat.

Toddler Model

2011-11-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

I think Cara is ready to start her career in modeling... She has given me quite the crazy poses lately.

What child does this?

This last one was she wanted me to take a picture that she was eating her asparagus. She only ate it because Ryann ate it, and then she only ate one part of one.

Hiding in the Jail

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

Ryann was very convinced the other day that the bath tub was "jail."

I recently put a ban on Spiderman cartoons and I believe that is the culprit.

Instead of time out Ryann has been telling Cara to be good or else she'll go to jail.

hmmm....

I guess that lesson has to be learned sometime.

I did think it was pretty cute and funny that Ryann was hiding in the tub, so I grabbed my camera to take a picture. What happens when I grab my camera? Cara wants to be in the picture too. Cara came flying down the hall and jumped in the tub just in time to get into the picture too.

Silly nuggets.

ps.. happy 11.11.11

2 Whole Days!

2011-11-10T09:09:00.001-07:00

Yes, we know it has only been 2 whole days since you flew home on your airplane... but can you come back? We really miss you!

We want to play some more, and go to the zoo again (maybe actually go inside the zoo instead of just walking around the outside. hehe), eat some yummy chicken and hot dogs, go to mcdonalds, play hide and seek, go to the mall, sing songs, watch movies, and play games and puzzles.

We also would like to take a walk, feed the ducks, and go to the park again. Our mommy and daddy try to do these things, but they are way more fun with grandma and grandpa.

**Ryann finally gave up the nickname Paca for my dad**

Cornocopia

2011-11-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I crocheted a cornocopia for a Thanksgiving decoration. I thought I was so crafty and clever as I filled it full of fake food from the girl's kitchen set.

It is really cute, I promise.However, you will probably never see it actually used/displayed how it was intended.

For the obvious reason that it is way more fun to put on your head than stuff with fake food.

Busy Weekend

2011-11-08T20:58:00.002-07:00

We had a busy weekend with my parents in town... they were only in town for about 3 days and it was way too short. But I was happy to see them anyway. We ate a lot of Halloween candy and played a lot of pandemic.

What is pandemic you ask?
One of the best board games ever.

Pillow Cases

2011-11-06T14:55:00.000-07:00

How come no one trick or treats with pillow cases anymore? I remember thinking the bigger the bag, the more candy I could get. Never really worked out that way.

Anyway, my cute girls learned how to take off their pillow cases this weekend and thought it was too much fun to play with them.

Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth

2011-11-05T08:10:00.002-07:00

Here is my devilishly handsome husband. I have talked a lot about the "house beard" since he has been growing it out. We listed our house to attempt a short sale on August 10th, we got a 1 buyer within a couple weeks. Then that buyer backed out and we got another one 5 days later. So for the past couple couple months we have been waiting on the bank.

We were attempting to do a short sale without ruining our credit so we were keeping up with our mortgage payments. The bank finally approved the short sale but our mortgage insurance did not. Which in the long run means we were denied the short sale. So now we have to make the horrible decision on whether or not we ~~start missing payments~~ shave the beard.

It was a no brainer for me... "of course you shave it!" I told Rich. He wasn't so sure. He wanted to keep it until we sold the house. Since we technically didn't sell the house it took a lot of convincing for him to shave it.

I was quite surprised when I downloaded my pictures today to the computer and saw these beauties.

He was having way too much fun.

Let's just say he may or may not have kept the mustache, but I will let you in on a little secret- he looks much more handsome today than he did yesterday.

My costume!

2011-11-02T20:12:00.002-07:00

I forgot to show the picture of me dressing up for Halloween! I was a hippie midwife of course.

I forgot to wear my sunglasses in this picture. but they were stylin as well.

I did have a patient look at me and say, "is that your Halloween costume or some kind of religious thing?"

She was 17.

My Cara Kay wanted a picture of her throwing out a peace sign too.

Love her.

The Haul

2011-11-01T19:35:00.001-07:00

Wow. Our kids had a blast trick or treating. These bowls are now going on top of the fridge and hopefully they will stay there for a long time.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:45:00.000-07:00

Wow, soooo much candy for these 2 girls. I can't believe it! Thankfully they are young enough we can take it away, put it into huge bowls and avoid fights later on.

Also great for bribes.

This picture is Ryann pretending to be scared of an angry bird. She missed seeing her cute cousins in costume, so she thought this was a good substitute.

Cara is all cheesy grin here and I love her more and more each day.

Is that even possible??

A Day Later

2011-10-30T08:29:00.004-07:00

We recovered from the carving party. I think my kitchen floor saw the worst of it since we carved the pumpkins on $1 store tablecloths. Super cheap and quick clean up! We just threw it all away.

Here was our group picture. Who leaves a chair in the front of a picture? Obviously we do.

Rich was proud of ~~his~~ Ryann's pumpkin.

Cara was happy eating her 2 donuts and finally a cupcake.

Ryann coloring her pumpkin before we carved it, but after I had scraped the pumpkin guts out.

4th Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

2011-10-29T16:13:00.005-07:00

For the past several years we have been carving pumpkins with friends. Year after year as our children get bigger and bigger we start lowering our standards. 2 years ago there was a princess castle. An ELABORATE princess castle with toothpicks to hold things in perfect spots.

Then last year we still had some very intense pumpkins:

And now we are getting older and wiser and realizing that the kids don't really care too much what happens with the pumpkins, so the patterns are easier and easier.

This year we even had a battery operated pumpkin carving knife.

My favorite pumpkin was the 3 hands, a sweet and simple outline of the family that grew from last years party till now. (The just told me that last year at our party was the day they found out they were pregnant!!!)

I also love our friend Tom and his "typical pumpkin"

Compare last year to this year:

There seems to be a theme of pumpkin parts coming out of the actual pumpkin.

And here are the pumpkins that we put together.

Rich likes circle noses for some reason.

Do you notice Ryann wrote her ABC's on our pumpkin?

I guess it is a smart pumpkin.

Cara just colored on this guy, Rich says it is his Picasso pumpkin

What? No pictures of the girls?

That's right folks. Save that for another day!

Halloween Sneak Peak

2011-10-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here I caught Cara after dressing her in her Supergirl costume. Then I realized I wanted a better picture of her with Ryann.

Even though at the time Ryann was being a little nugget and bugging me.

So then I get them together and both won't stop looking at the full length mirror we have.

I did a lot of snapping and "woohoo"s to get them to look at me.

It finally worked. Sort of. But then I realized Cara wasn't smiling and both girls' hair was a mess.

Then I told myself this is the preview as in dress rehearsal for Halloween.

Deep breath.

So then I tell Cara to raise her arms up high because I want to take a picture of her pretending to fly like supergirl.

Remember how Ryann was bugging me and being a nugget?

Yup, she decided to be the mermaid who would SWIM right in front of the camera.

Boy was she proud of herself (while looking in the mirror the whole time) for being so clever.

Finally I shooed Ryann off and got a blurry, not good lighting with my broken camera, picture of Cara pretending to fly.

The end.

Holy Crap

2011-10-27T08:29:00.001-07:00

Seriously, who teaches this girl her language?

Almost every day Ryann tells on her for saying "stupid"

I guess holy crap it better than stupid??

It is now, since I am laughing at her and encouraging her to say it.

Thanks Again

2011-10-26T19:30:00.002-07:00

Here is my wonderful host and hostess from last weekend.

Aren't they cute??

We drove up Provo Canyon just to feel the beautiful weather and look at all the changing leaves.

We don't get changing leaves in Arizona.

This is how happy I was to be outdoors in a sweater!

Baby Shower Wrap Up

2011-10-25T19:40:00.002-07:00

Some of the finishing touches- look at this cute bow that I made?? Yes, very much in love with this cute little one that little Hazel will wear.And here are the picture frame bow holders I made. They are totally loaded with clips now, but this was just the first batch of bows that I put on. Do you see the multi colored bow at the top on the right frame? Yup, that is her "tie dye" bow... some of you may know that Devyn was in charge of the tie dye at summer camp this year and has about 20 tie dye onesies.
The cupcakes were delicious! (thanks Patti and Jamie!) I ate 4 on Saturday and 1 1/2 on Sunday. No Joke. I had to stop because they were gone.
And the crepes were from Me Crepes at the Alpine Village in Provo, Utah. So delicious and so filling! I was surprised that I could even eat a cupcake after finishing it. (thanks mommy!)
Well Baby Hazel, you sure are loved. I can't wait to meet you and hopefully be there to gently help you out into the world. A true gift would be that I would be there to love and support and encourage your mommy during one of the most amazing times of her life. I wasn't able to be there for your other aunties so please help me out and let me shower you with kisses during those first few moments of your life. I am so amazed with how much love I hold in my heart for you already. What a great joy it is to be an aunt and watch your mommy grow with love and excitement as her body changes, molds, and shapes to hold you perfectly inside of her.

I'm Home

2011-10-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

This was my last travel weekend until Christmas time!!

So I was pretty happy to come home and see this little nugget waiting for me!

Baby Shower Part 1

2011-10-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome Baby Hazel.

The "breakfast and bows" baby shower was so much fun.

Almost all of our "wagner" cousins (from Provo) made it to the shower.

Devyn looking beautiful of course.

Here is the homemade "hazel"nut spread (just like nutella- but we had to play on the name Hazel). Devyn made all of these herself!

Cute decorations.

And more to come later!

Baby Shower Success

2011-10-22T23:17:00.001-07:00

I will post all the baby shower pictures when I get home tomorrow night. But let's just say I am slightly obsessed with baby Hazel.

sNEAK pEAK

2011-10-20T23:02:00.002-07:00

Here is a little "sneak peak" of a game we are playing at Devyn's baby shower on Saturday!

I am sooo excited!

Our theme is "breakfast and bows" where we are going to eat crepes and make cute hair bows for little baby Hazel. I will hopefully have pictures up before the weekend is over!

Contigo

2011-10-18T20:47:00.003-07:00

I think everyone who owns a Contigo Water Bottle is in love with them. Seriously. I have a friend who like bought out costco when they were there.

Well guess who has them for their little nuggets.

Yup, that's me.

We only use water in them and it is soooo nice. They are easy to use and there aren't any gross parts and they never leak.

My absolute favorite. Dishwasher safe.

HERE

Dinner Monster

2011-10-17T20:25:00.004-07:00

My little Monster Cara... can you tell why we have a hard time getting them to eat? They were doing this little dance before i took out the camera and I just had to laugh or else I would cry in frustration.

How can someone cry with such cute little nuggets?

Playing Pretend

2011-10-16T20:57:00.002-07:00

Ryann is getting more and more creative every day. Here she is pretending to "play dead" Like a puppy would play dead.

She only does it when she tells herself, "Play dead!"

Then I told her I was going to take a picture so she smiled for me.

We should probably work on her acting skills.

Colposcopy Course

2011-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am off to Tucson today through Sunday for a comprehensive colposcopy course.

Basically some extra training for my job.

Don't miss me too much while I am gone.

And please don't tell Ryann I took her notebook to take notes.

Rich didn't want to give up his ipad and I thought it would be too much of a temptation to play angry birds throughout the entire course... so I settled with a good old fashioned notebook.

Dizzy

2011-10-12T20:49:00.003-07:00

This shouldn't make you dizzy, it was making Ryann dizzy.

Not sure if you can hear in the background, but Rich is saying to Cara, "flush the toilet." and Cara replies, "I can't, I'm too busy"

Machine

2011-10-11T21:40:00.001-07:00

Here is the "machine" that Ryann made. She wrapped the hose around her bike. Not sure what the machine was supposed to do, but I do love her imagination!

Beard Continues

2011-10-10T21:03:00.003-07:00

We are getting closer and closer to selling our house... come on bank!

Which, means, closer and closer to shaving the beard.... come on Rich!

We tried to take a family picture at the pumpkin patch. We had to retake the first one because mountain man over here was squinting and couldn't see without his sunglasses on.

And Ryann was picking her nose.

At least Cara Kay was smiling in both pictures.

We can't win them all.

My Little Ropin' Cowgirl

2011-10-09T19:47:00.002-07:00

Ryann was loving trying to rope this little bull by the horns.

She was much more impressive than Daddy or Grandma Mingo

She roped him on her first try!

Showing off her muscles!

Face Painting at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-08T21:22:00.002-07:00

Basically Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I am going to be out of town for the next 2 weekends, so I knew that we needed to get my pumpkin patch fix in ASAP.

We took the girls out to Dewitt Stables in Mesa (they had a groupon!) and had a blast. Grandma Mingo and Auntie Vicki came with us.

Oh- and I posted almost all of these on facebook too, so you may or may not have seen these. Sorry.

Ryann wanted a "rainbow color butterfly"

Cara wanted a pink and purple butterfly.

And cute Cara Kay was loving petting the pig at the petting zoo.

A girl after my heart.

I loved raising those piggies growing up... ahh the memories.

Outside

2011-10-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

The girls are in heaven being outside every morning while mom is getting ready for work. Even better that they aren't watching TV!

So can you guess who is taking these pictures?

Our painted rocks.

The bike and trike

I bet you can guess now... look below.

Yup, That is our girl. She is a master of the camera.

I love my Ryann!

Hair Bows

2011-10-06T21:38:00.002-07:00

Cara doesn't like bows or clips in her hair... that is until she found out how many we had.

She has been asking me for bows or clips for her hair all day.

She thought she was hot stuff when she looked in the mirror yesterday after I did this.

Look at that smile. What a happy nugget.