Everyday is a New Day!

At least there's a little sun!

2012-02-13T16:49:00.001-08:00

I'm so glad the sun has come back out these last few days. Even though it's pretty chili outside still, the kids have been able to go out and play and not get soaking wet! They are having a blast with their Uncle Charlie who's been staying with us. Levi is in heaven having another boy in the house to play with!

Took a few pictures today, I like testing out my zoom lens Chad got me for Christmas! It's awesome! I can't wait for Spring pictures!

Back to the Blogging Business!

2012-02-09T10:23:00.001-08:00

It's been well over a year since I posted anything on here, and so instead of doing a recap of the last 17 months, I think we're just going to start over!

So here is my official "first" blog! To start, why don't I give everyone updates on the big stuff going on with my family right now.

Our house: We are still in the process of building the house. It seems like every time we think we're getting close, something else comes up and pushes our move in date back a couple of weeks. At this point we've stopped setting a "move in date" and are just trying to be patient! Chad and I were over there last night just sitting on the floor of the master bedroom thinking neither of us wanted to leave lol. One thing is for sure, when we do move in there is going to be a big party!

The kids: Avery is turning 5 in a couple of weeks! WOW. She'll be starting kindergarten at Bickleton next August. She is overly excited! Mostly about riding the bus... Layla and Mal turned 3 last month, and the terribly 2's were only the beginning it seems. They are typical 3 year olds! We'll be doing homeschool preschool with them when Avery is in school. And then there's Levi! He is 18 months old now, and stubborn as ever. It's so funny how different their personalities are when you compare him to the girls. He is all boy! And we love it :)

So there is the short and skinny of it all! I'll keep up the blog, at least for a while... ;)

New pics!

2010-09-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

I love messing with this new photo editing site! (Thanks Mia ;) ) Since I got my new camera I have been loving a few of the pictures I've taken! It's been about a year now since I first bought it, and now with this software I can really play! Here are a few of my recent photos. If you want to edit any of your own pictures go to www.picnik.com and try it out! It's a whole heck of a lot of fun!

First day of preschool!
Mr. Levi
Ballon Rally Horse Ride!
My beautiful Avery
The Prosser Fountain!
At Nana's Pulling the wagon!
Layla and Mal taking a ride!
My beautiful Mal :)
Smiley face Layla!
One Big Momma! Eeeeew!
Softer picture
My handsome Levi

Such a Big Helper!

2010-09-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few recent photos of the kids. The other day we got to take a quick family day trip to the cabin. Chad decided he was going to fill up the woodshed with the wood outside the cabin, and Avery quickly jumped in to help. She had her helper day at preschool yesterday too and we decided we would take in some photos of her helping her daddy at the cabin so everyone could see. It was a fun, relaxing day together! So glad we were able to make it up there at least one last time before it gets too cold! I'm sure we'll be heading up once the snow starts coming down :)

Happy Money Saver

2010-09-16T15:36:00.001-07:00

I needed to add this to my blog becaues this giveaway is AWESOME! One of my favorite money saving blogs to visit is www.happymoneysaver.com (formerly www.fistfulofcoupons.com). Now that she has changed her domain name, she is having a giveaway for a new toshiba computer! I get an extra entry for adding this to my blog, so crossing my fingers!!! Check her website out. It is a really great way to save money and figure out how to coupon shop!

Levi Michael Barnhart

2010-08-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

Born 8/6/2010 at 4:45pm weighing 7 lb 12 oz 19.5" long

Just can't get over this picture

2010-07-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

The Cabin and a Few New Toys!

2010-06-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month we went up to our cabin for a fun day! We roasted marshmallows, played in the dirt, and Avery got to try out her new bike!! She's actually doing really good on it as long as she's on farely solid ground lol. Chad of course had to give it a shot too before she rode it.

Last month Chad and I went to Auburn to check out a four wheeler he's had his eye on for a long time. We came, we bought, we left, and it's been a blast playing with it since then! I don't think a day goes by when he doesn't ride it. Avery hears him turn it on outside and she goes running hoping for a ride! She's already told me that Pappy has bought her a 4wheeler too and is going to pick it up... Not sure where that came from lol, but she loves going on rides with her daddy! I must say, I have really liked riding it around too. Of course I'm not doing anything too crazy being 7 months pregnant, and I think my 4wheeler riding days are over for a couple of months, but it was great getting on it at the cabin and a little bit here at home!

The latest update on the Barnharts!

2010-06-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

Things are going well in the Barnhart household. It's been an extremely mild spring. I can't believe we haven't had to water our lawn yet this year and it's June! lol. We did have a little sun a while back and I got some pictures of the kids playing out in the blow up pool at Katy's house.

A couple weekends ago Chad and I were able to take Saturday and part of Sunday off and go to our cabin. Of course we had to make a stop before the cabin and pick up Chad's new toy... a 4wheeler. We're having a lot of fun with it! I have pictures but they are on his camera so I'll have to get them off of their some other time. It was a fun day with just the two of us, and the kids have been nothing but excited about the 4wheeler since we brought it home. Avery asks to go for a ride constantly, and loves taking off with her Daddy. The twins have been happy enough riding a little around the yard. After Avery got to ride it for the first time she told me that Pappy ( my dad ) bought her a 4wheeler too and that he has to go pick it up... She hasn't let up on that idea yet lol.

Other then that, the baby and I are doing great! I can't believe I'm 30 weeks along already. Time has been flying! Of course now the last 10 weeks are going to go by very slowly I'm sure lol.

We still have the puppies here at the house, and Avery can't keep her hands off of them. She wants to love on all of them all of the time. I love this picture I got of her holding a puppy. She's growing up so fast! I look back at picture from just a few months ago and it's hard to believe how big she's gotten.

So that's the latest! Hopefully I'll have more pictures later on this summer when the weather clears up outside a bit! As for now, I'm enjoying the extra time this rain is giving me with my hubby!

Homer and Marge's Puppies!

2010-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have created a new blog for the dogs for selling purposes! So instead of posting two blogs I'll just send ya on over to my other one! http://homarge.blogspot.com.

It's been way too long!

2010-04-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I haven't blogged in such a long time, and it definitely has not been because there's been nothing to blog about lol, it's because I've had no time!! So here is a long story short.

For spring break weekend my sister, my two cousins Dawn and Mo, and the all the kids and I went to Lincoln city!! Thanks to my Aunt Barb and Henry we were able to stay in these awesome condos right next to the beach. The weather was pretty lousy most of the time but we still had so much fun! There were sooo many pictures that I loved from that week, but I don't have the time to put them all up lol, so I'm adding a couple of my favorites at the bottem of the blog.

When we got back we had Easter Sunday at my mom and dad's house. It is always fun getting the family together! Avery had a blast hunting easter eggs but by far her favorite thing was the gigantic bunny Chad... I mean the Easter bunny, brought her in her basket. I've never seen a smile so large on her face lol. I'm so glad that we were able to be back for that Sunday! I always want my kids to know the real reason we celebrate Easter and our church does such an awesome job of teaching that. He is risen!! Thank you Lord.

About a week later I went in for my 22 week ultrasound. Baby looks good! And no, we don't know the sex, but we know it's a healthy baby with ten fingers and ten toes lol. Can't wait to meet him/her! I'll add a photo of the ultrasound as well. I know there are a lot of pictures on here, I just couldn't stand to leave some of them out lol.

so that's the jist of the last month or so!! I'll try to be a better blogger!

Vacation and other stuff

2010-03-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

Last week Chad and I were lucky enough to take 5 days and go to Las Vegas together thanks to my wonderful sister Katy who gathered up the courage to watch all three of my girls!! Thank you Katy!!! We had so much fun! I wasn't able to take a ton of pictures but I took a few from on top of the Stratusphere, some at the Hoover Dam (not nearly as impressive as we thought it would be by the way) and a couple at Freemont Street. We were also able to go to the Gold and Silver Pawn shop (Pawn Stars). We saw Ric walk through the store really quickly but that was about it. Not a whole lot in there to rave about actually. And it's SUPER small!! it's amazing to me that they can fit a camera crew in there at all lol.

We had the best weather while we were there. Warm, sunny!! Was great! When we got home we had a couple days of nice weather too before it turned yucky again lol. Avery and I spent a lot of time outside in the sun! I got a couple pictures of her jumping up and down on the porch. A few of these pictures crack me up with pig tails flying. I think we were both glad to be back home! :)

Busy Winter!

2010-03-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

It was quite a ride this winter coaching basketball. I still can't believe it's over, at least for now!! But I wanted to put a picture on here for the team at the state tournament. We ended up getting 7th place in state. I was so proud of those girls! We also had one girl, Katelynn Clinton, make the all state tournament team top 5! She was also the player of the year in our district. She deserves it! Such a hard worker. I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls for my first year. They hold a very special place in my heart and I will definitely never forget them!

A couple weeks ago we spent some time at my mom and dads. The weather was so nice we decided to spend the day outside. We played basketball and the kids rode around on the power wheels. Makes me long for spring!! It's almost here!! It feels like it's here already. I love the sun! Chad and I went to Las Vegas this last week too, but I will put up another blog before too long with some pictures of that trip. Just a short update on what's been going on with us!

Heading out!

2010-03-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

It's been so busy around here lately with basketball that I haven't had a chance to blog much. I'm so happy and proud to say that the Bickleton girl's basketball team took 7th place at the state tournament this last week! I'll post a little more on that when we get back!

Which brings me to my next subject, Las Vegas! Chad and I are heading out today for a much needed vacation, just the two of us, to sunny (hopefully) Las Vegas. We'll be gone until Friday so when I get back I'll be sure to update you all on what's been going on with us the last month or so! Katy is braving this next 5 days and watching the kids for us. What an awesome sister I have!

We'll see ya when we get back!!

Happy Birthday Jojo and Avery!

2010-02-02T14:08:00.000-08:00

Birthday Prince and Princess!

I loved this cake!

And... Joey even proposed! lol

We had a great Saturday this last weekend celebrating (a little early for Avery) Avery and Joe's 3rd birthday! I can't believe in a little less then a month my little girl is going to be 3 years old. I'm glad they got to celebrate together. They really do love each other, and I love watching them together! Thanks to everybody that was able to make it!

Another sleep over!

2010-01-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

Avery and Joe have so much fun together, but let me tell you what, sometimes they can get it REALLY big trouble together too! Like spreading cinnamon and paprika all over Avery's room the other day for instance... But I had to put this picture up of them attempting to change Mal's diaper. I was folding laundry and heard Mal fussing so I walked over there and, not to my surprise, they had Mallory on her back with her pants down and her old diaper off. Avery had pulled out a new diaper and was trying to put it on, but couldn't quite figure it out. I had a good laugh about this one. Thank God it wasn't a poopy diaper they took off!! And the headbands? Yeah, not sure why but Avery loves to pull out the baby's headbands and put every one she can find on her head. Joey likes to do it when he's here too, I suppose it's because he doesn't have stuff like that at home to play with because of the lack of baby girls in their house lol!

Anyway, I love that kid, and even though they can drive me absolutely up the wall, I love when he comes over! The pictures of them on the swing crack me up too. We go to Katy's and they can swing on that thing all day and you can see their smiles from a mile away! They really are good kids. Thank you God for those kiddos!

Happy 1st Birthday Mal and Layla!

2010-01-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

The Presents!

The Cake!

The Bath!

The Haul!

We had a great time on the 10th celebrating the twins 1st birthday! I can't believe they are a year old already! Not too much to say, the pictures show most of the action. I was a bit surprised with the cake situation. I figured Mal would be the one to dig in and Layla would be daintier, but it was just the opposite! One of the greatest things about them turning a year old, no more nursing! LOL. I am so happy that I've been able to nurse my kids, but let me tell ya what, I am really happy to be done nursing twins! I'm proud to be able to say I made it a year!! I love you girls! And I think God every day for giving me the both of you! What a gift for me! Now on to 2... Not so sure I'm ready for that :)

Christmas... a little late I know!

2010-01-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun this year on Christmas with two more kids to celebrate with! We had Christmas morning at our house. We woke up, opened stockings, and opened presents with the kids. It's so nice to be able to have a little time just for our family! the kids got lots of fun things! Mallory was more interested in eating the paper and the bows then anything, and Layla just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to miss out on anything!! Avery loved ripping open her presents. I think this is the first year she really really enjoyed Christmas! It was so much fun to watch her!

Christmas afternoon we went to my parents house and spent the rest of the day there. Lots of family around! It was fun as usual. The kids love being able to play with all their cousins! And of course there is a lot of treats to go around!! The girls opened up a few things when we first got there. Avery was especially happy with the tinker bell doll she got from her Nana I think! She hasn't put that thing down for a second since she got it lol!

After Christmas day we got together with Chad's parents at our has and had a great time with them too! Of course there was a little pinochle, and a lot of laughs. Avery had definitely figured out the present opening thing by then and was ready to go when she saw them come in with presents!

All in all it was a great Holiday season! We had fun on New years with Jeff, Jani, and Brian! And today we celebrated the twins 1st birthday at my mom's house! It's been a busy couple of weeks!! I'll be posting a birthday blog in a day or two!! I can't believe they are 1!

The Big News Around Town

2009-12-20T08:44:00.000-08:00

So the rumor has been getting around that I'm pregnant??? How could that be!? Yes, I'm pregnant and Chad and I are expecting our 4th (hopefully only 4th!!) baby!! I don't know how far along I am and won't know until I see the Dr. but I'm kind of guessing that the baby would be due the first of August. No, we aren't crazy enough to plan something like this!! It was a bigger shock to us then it was to any of you, believe me lol! We, however, believe that this baby has GOT to be God sent because there is no other way, besides God, to get pregnant while on the pill, and nursing. I want to make that clear to people, I was on the pill AND nursing lol. So no, we were most definitely not planning on having another baby this soon. We're starting to get excited about it, and will deal with other things as they come, but having your prayers and support would most definitely make things a lot easier!!

So yes, the rumors are true. I am a fertile mertil! Now, to take care of that problem LOL. Love you all, and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Bickleton Lady Pirates!

2009-12-09T23:16:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd give a little update on the basketball team I'm coaching. We have 9 girls, 8 that are able to play right now (one's out with an injury until the end of the month). They are some of the hardest working girls I think I have ever coached. They're in it to win it, that's for sure! I love coaching girls who will do whatever you ask without the slightest wince. I'm so proud of them so far, 2 wins 0 losses!! Hopefully we can keep the winning streak alive :) Thanks so much to my mom as well who has been braving watching the kids for me when Chad is at work/gone. I definitely wouldn't be able to do this without her! Love you Mom! Here is a picture of the crew! Of course I had to throw in a couple fun ones too!

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T19:31:00.001-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year at Katy and Mike's house. We deep fried a turkey(super yummy) and the kids had a lot of fun playing in the leaves. Mallory loved the food, as usual, but Her favorite were the buckeyes that Katy made lol. Chad went hunting that morning before dinner, but the pictures I have are actually of birds he got a couple days earlier. He got one Thanksgiving day too, but we didn't get a picture of that one. I guess, concidering this is my Thanksgiving post, I should add a few things I'm thankful for lol. I'm so thankful for my family and friends. I am so surrounded by people who love and support me that my heart is bursting with joy. Thank you Lord Jesus for what you have done for me in this life. And thank you for that ultimate sacrafice you made for us all. I feel like ending with this bible verse is significant, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.", Psalm 107:1.

Family Vacation!

2009-11-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

These are pictures from the trip. all of them are taken from the car. We saw some beautiful scenery on the way down! We went down hwy 97 in Oregon, cut over to hwy 101, and stayed on 101 down the entire coast of California. It was awesome until we hit Salinas, and then it was pretty much just desert the whole way lol. We also got to drive through rush hour traffic in San Francisco and Oakland... not fun

We spent our first night in Eureka, CA and saw the redwood forest. It is one of the neatest things I think I have ever seen. These trees are huge beyond belief. We got to drive through one, and then we couldn't drive through the second one because of the cargo on top of the car. It was a site to see!

When we finally got to Palm Springs, we did a lot of swiming. Avery was in Heaven. Who'd a thought you could swim outside in November lol.

On Monday through Wednesday we went to Anahiem and went to Disneyland. That was so much fun! Avery loved it. She loved the rides, the parade. I think her favorite ride was the toon town rollercoaster or the carrosel. Not sure.

On Tuesday we went to the California Adventure park and the kids got their faces painted. They all turned out so cute.

Here we are trying to pull the sword from the stone lol.

Here are the characters that Avery got to have her picture taken with. It was the neatest thing to see her face when she saw the princesses, although I think Pluto was her favorite.

Every night they have a firework show right during closing time. These pictures do it absolutely no justice, but I caught a little bit of it! During the show, they sing a song about "remembering the feeling". There is no way to describe that feeling you get when you're at Disneyland. It's magical!

They also have a parade every night for Christmas. Here are just a few pictures of the characters that were there.

On the last day we came to see Chad's grandparents. They live down there in the winter. It was nice getting to hang out with them for a little while. Chad's Aunt Rae and her husband Jerry were also there.

After visiting Grandma and Grandpa, we went to the air museum. It was so neat seeing some of the planes that flew in past wars. We got to go into one, a bomber I think is what it was, not sure . It's hard to believe that men spent so much of their time in these tiny quarters.

So that's pretty much it! We spent a couple days driving home through Nevada/Oregon/Idaho, but I could have taken one picture and it would have been what it looked like the entire way lol. A whole lotta nothin. We had a great time. Thank you so much, Mimi and Pappy, for the greatest Christmas present ever!!!

Going on a Family Vacation!

2009-11-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. We're taking off this afternoon to begin our trek down south. We'll be gone for about 11 days total! I'm really excited, can't wait to get out of here and give my camera a real work out lol. I'll be putting up a LOT of pictures when I get back I'm sure!! We'll miss everybody! But we'll be sure to have extra fun for all of you!

Ta Ta!

Visit from Uncle Charlie and an Update on the Girls!

2009-11-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Avery loves to get visits from Charlie. They have a lot of fun together when he comes over! Yesterday he came to the house and they had fun with the crazy glasses they got for Halloween. Avery is so serious. I couldn't get her to smile for the life of me lol.

A quick update on my kiddos. Avery is as stubborn as ever lol. She's a good kid, but definitely has a mind of her own. She's almost totally potty trained now! Yippee! Just needs to wear a diaper when she's sleeping, or playing with Joey! lol. No, she does pretty good. I knew she was close to being totally potty training the other day when she made me make a pit stop on the way home. Now that she has "pee'd on the rocks", as she calls it, I think it's safe to say she is definitely close!

Layla and Mal are growing fast! Both of them have gotten their first teeth. Layla got hers on Oct. 20th, and Mallory got hers on Oct. 30th. Now we're waiting for the other two that look like they are coming in right behind them to push through. They are both talking quite a bit! Layla loves to say Uh Oh, and wave bye bye. Mal waves bye bye, and growls a lot LOL. They both say Momma and Dadda, but only tend to say Momma when they are upset. Go figure! Everything's going pretty well in the Barnhart household! I can honestly say I feel blessed every day for my beautiful girls! There are plenty of times I feel like pulling my hair out! (the plight of any mother lol) But there's not a day that goes by where I don't get plenty of hugs and kisses from my little girlies, and every frustration melts away. Thank Heaven for Baby Girls! Now, ask me when I have three teenage girls running around the house if I still feel blessed... Come Lord Jesus!!

I was snapping pictures of the kids this morning, and I got this one of Layla. If it weren't for those darn boogy noses!

Avery being a silly sally

Mal... that girls always got her thumb in her mouth!

Avery decided she was going to be a princess today. She draped herself in the curtain in the living room and kept saying, "Momma, I beautiful Princess!" I couldn't resist taking these pictures. She is a beauty!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun Saturday night! Avery was a carebear, Mallory was a spider, and Layla was a giraffe. Avery did really well trick or treating. She got a little tired towards the end, but was pretty content sitting in the stroller for the last couple of houses. There were a lot of kids that went with us! When we got back to Katy and Mike's house they had set up a "fortune teller" stand. My very theatrical mother was, of course, the gypsie lol. Chad had also dressed up and stood at the door when they opened it. I think he scared the kids pretty good. Avery wouldn't even got to him! He had a gas mask on with these glow sticks in the eyes. It was spooky looking!! All in all it was a fun night. The kids had a blast, as usual. Can't wait to see what my mom cooks up next year!
Chad in his spooky costume. I kept trying to get a decent picture without the flash, but if you move an inch it's fuzzy. You get the idea though lol.

My 100th post...

2009-10-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

I've seen a lot of people do this, and I thought I'd give it a shot. I figure, if I only get half way through and can't think of anything else, I just won't post it! So if you see this, it means I made it lol.

1. I'm starting this post on Tuesday night, but probably won't be able to finish for a couple days!

2. I love my new camera! I use it all the time. I think Chad is getting annoyed with me snapping pictures at him lol.

3. I love that my sister and I share a bond that is unlike any other because we both have a relationship with Christ!

4. I love Jesus Christ and will never feel worthy of what he did for me on the cross, but am just getting to the point where I am completely accepting it.

5. I have three amazing daughters!! Two of which are twins!

6. My daughter Avery has some weird obsession with poop. She calls everything poop.

7. My husband works physically harder then any man I personally know, and I am so proud of him.

8. Did I mention that he is also my best friend, and I love him to death

9. I met a girl whom I concider to be one of the greatest friends I've ever had only just this year, and I don't know what I would do without her already (yeah, it's you Jen!)

10. I believe that I am a member of the greatest church on this earth with the greatest pastor on this earth!

11. I'm looking forward to taking Avery trick or treating on Saturday, but not looking forward to fighting with her over how much candy she can eat lol.

12. My birthday is Friday and Chad and I are going to dinner with Jeff and Jani at PF Changs!

13. My cousin Jeff and I share a birthday!

14. I think my nephew Cole is one of the funniest people I know, maybe one of the cunningest too, but definitely the funniest.

15. My Mom and Dad only live a quarter of a mile down the road from me in the house I grew up in, which means I have basically lived in the same area my entire life lol.

16. I think that my Mom and Dad are the greatest parents anyone could ask for, and I love them so much.

17. I can't wait to take off in a couple weeks to go down to California with my family! It's going to be so much fun.

18. I'm wondering what Avery will think about Disneyland, but I have no doubt she will enjoy every minute of it!

19. I'm the new girls basketball coach at Bickleton High School!

20. I'm not sure there is a school smaller than Bickleton High School... lol

21. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are three of my favorite days of the week. Saturday I have worship practice, Sunday we have church, and Monday I have mainstream. Three days of great worship with some fantastic people!

22. I really hope the Lord comes soon because I'm scared of my kids growing up in this world.

23. Jane likes to feed my kids cookies, but I love her anyway lol.

24. I miss my Papa, and can't wait to see him again in Heaven!

25. I'm worried about my family and friends who aren't saved and pray for them constantly.

26. I'm still in shock that I gave birth to two babies at the same time. I don't thinkthe shock/amazement will ever wear off.

27. All of my daughters middle names come from people who mean a lot to Chad and I. Avery is named after my sister, Layla is named after Chad's mom, and Mallory is named after my mom.

28. I wish my sister lived closer so I didn't have to only see her once a week/two weeks.

29. We have three dogs, Homer, Harley, and Marge, and I love all three of them, although they make me want to rip my hair out at times.

30. I'm not sure we'll ever have a nice yard, because we love dogs too much lol

31. We live in a run down double wide trailer, and we are REALLY looking forward to being able to get out of here one day!

32. I get so many hand me down clothes for my kids from people that I never HAVE to buy clothes. This doesn't mean I don't, but I don't have to. Thank you to all of you who give me clothes!

33. Just in the last couple of years I've become much closer to my two cousins Dawn and Mo, and love doing things with them and my sister. We have a lot of fun together!

34. I wish my cousin Mia lived closer so we didn't have to wait months in between visits. Love you Mia!

35. I was a little annoyed tonight that biggest loser was cut short because of NBA stuff... I hate the NBA.

36. I love college basketball!

37. I'm a Pro-Lifer, always will be. I can't imagine truly believing that the "thing" inside of you isn't a life.

38. I need to go grocery shopping very badly!

39. I really don't like to dust, so if you ever come to my house and there is dust on the window sill or shelves, now you know why!

40. My oldest daughter Avery can be so naughty! I keep saying, "it's because she's two Emily, don't freak out" but sometimes I feel like she is way naughtier then other two year olds!

41. My sister's son Joey and my daughter Avery get along so well, I love to watch them play together.

42. I don't love to watch them be naughty together!

43. Chad, the girls and I are going to go to the Redwood Forest, and I'm so excited! I've never been.

44. Chad and I went in with my sister and brother in law and bought my grandparent's cabin in Goose Prairie.

45. I wish we'd had more time to go up there this year. But I'm planning on going up a lot next summer and a couple times this winter!

46. My friend Jen has the same camera I do, that's where I first fell in love with the camera, so it's all Jen's fault!

47. I'm so happy that the summer is over and that Chad has more time to spend with us, he works too hard!

48. I have eaten my mom's and my sister's taco salad hundreds of times, but up until this year had never made it myself.

49. I love to bake, and I fancy myself a decent baker!

50. I just went on a girl's scrapbooking weekend this last weekend and had a blast. I got a lot done!

51. I had to take the twins to scrapbooking weekend, and Layla decided not to let anyone sleep Saturday night. Sorry girls!

52. Chad and I are worried that if we decided to have another baby, we'd have 3! lol

53. It's funny how you think you know how you're mom feels, and then when you have children you realize you had it all wrong!

54. I think it's funny when I hear things come out of my mouth that my Mom used to say to me, and I swore I would never say.

55. My mind is constantly wandering, and I will laugh outloud sometimes thinking about random things. Sometimes this makes me look a little silly.

56. Because my mind wanders, it's hard for me to focus on conversations for long periods of time. So fi I ask you to repeat yourself, I'm sorry in advance!

57. I had a much sharper brain before I had kids, now I think it's been blended into oblivion.

58. Now that the temperature outside is cooling down, we have these huge brown house spiders showing in our house. Avery thinks they are awesome. Me, not so much...

59. I'm on the worship team at church and I love everybody who's involved with that.

60. I feel so blessed to have the opportunities I have to travel places and see things others might not be able to.

61. When the wind blows it sounds like the roof is going to blow off of our house.

62. One time it actually did...

63. I still miss my first dog Maggie. I hope we get to see our old pets in heaven, because she was my best friend when I was little. I loved her.

64. My cousins and I used to have a club when we were little. We would have meetings on the bus ride to school. It was called the Helpers club.

65. I'm pretty sure we never really helped anyone.

66. I have a letter my cousin Matt wrote to everyone in the club and everytime I read it I laugh so hard I cry.

67. Jane made some 7 layer dip for mainstream on Monday, and I'm still thinking about it... It's sooo good!

68. I have a horrible sweet tooth.

69. My cousin Jeff and Jani moved up on the hill a few years ago and I couldn't be happier! We do quite a bit together.

70. Even though my Mom and Dad live very close, I see them more in town that at their home lol.

71. My parents have become two of my best friends. I love that I can tell them anything and know that they will be honest with me.

72. My pastor and his wife are like my second set of parents. I love them like they were my first.

73. Pizza is by far my favorite food and I could eat it every day. I know because when I was in college I worked at a pizza place in the CUB and I ate pizza every day lol.

74. I miss playing basketball competetively, and have dreams about it a lot.

75. I love those dreams where you are running, and you never get tired. It feels so great!

76. I hate to run in real life lol.

77. I just got done watching the Hannah Montana movie, by myself, and I loved it.

78. I'm wondering why blogger is all of a sudden double spacing my numbered comments when I put them in here in single spaces... hmm

79. Layla got her first tooth on the 20th and has one coming in right behind it! Mallory's teeth are right there too. It's always exciting when your kids get teeth, not sure why, but it is!

80. As of today I have all the girl's halloween costumes, and I can't wait to get them on them and take pictures with my awesome camera lol.

81. I got a birthday card in the mail today from Nedra Smith, she never misses a birthday or an anniversary! She is an awesome person.

82. We are doing a Christmas play for church, and I have a small role. It's going to be so funny!

83. We did a long study of Roman's 8:28 in church and it is now officially my favorite verse in the Bible!

84. I think Avery's favorite thing to do is throw rocks in Katy and Mike's pool. Sorry guys!

85. I think her second favorite thing to do is rip the paper off of crayons...

86. I want to paint the wall behind the kitchen sink but I've been waiting for my cousin Becky to have another WOW blog to do it lol.

87. I think my cousin Becky is one of the strongest people I know having overcome everything she's been through, and I love her for it!

88. I am the 8th person in my class to have twins (that I've heard of). Our graduating class was 197 people.

89. I'm so happy I have a husband who not only supports me as a stay at home mom, but wants me to be happy with whatever I do!

90. It's almost time to take Avery's power wheels and put it in Mimi and Pappy's garage to stay out of the winter weather. Thank you so much for letting us store stuff in there Mom and Dad!!

91. I hear so many horror stories about in laws, and I feel very blessed to have the ones I have, they are great!

92. Our neighbor had a huge vegetable garden this last summer, and kept our fridge fully loaded with zuchinni, onions, cantaloups, watermelons, jalapenos, cucumbers, and much much more!

93. I'd like to have my own garden next year, but I won't do it unless I can do a raised garden. It'll probably be a small one!

94. My mom's cousin Toni gave me a rooster lamp for my wedding, and originally I wasn't really sure about it (just being honest people) but I'm so glad I kept it and have it on my desk because now every time I look at it it reminds me of her :)

95. Same goes for the glass bowl that Mable gave me sitting on my dining room table! I miss those gals.

96. There is no better feeling then the blessed reasurrance I have that, no matter what, God has set asside a place for me in heaven, and I will see so many that I love again!

97. I love roller coasters, and haven't been able to go on one in so long because of beign pregnant every time we go to a theme park. I can't wait to go on one again in a couple weeks!

98. The thought of anything infinite or eternal is so mind boggling, and people wonder why we don't understand everything God does...

99. I can't believe I only have one of these left! This wasn't as tough as I thought lol.

100. I have the most wonderful people in my life. You all know who you are! I doubt everyone I care about will read this, but those that do, thanks for taking the time out of your busy busy lives to read a little randomness about me. I hope I didn't bore you lol.

Carving Pumpkins!

2009-10-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

The other day Chad walked in the house with three pumpkins, one was gigantic! Ever since he brought them Avery has been beggin me to play with the pumpkins, so today we decided we'd better get it done so we're not rushing to do it at the last second! I decided it was best to wait for the twins to go to bed, so ended up staying up way too late, but Avery had a blast. She loved sticking her hand in the pumpking guts, or "pumpkin poop" as she called it... We took out all the seeds, cleaned em up and baked them too! Once Avery got ahold of some seeds she wasn't quite as interested in the pumpkins, but she did draw a face on hers for us to cut out. Ok, so we did a little editing on the drawing. All of them turned out great! If you're looking at the finished pumpkins, Avery's is on the left, Mine is in the middle, and Chad's is on the right. I was so glad Avery liked it. I was thinking she might get bored or crabby, but we stayed up until almost 11 and she was excited about it the whole time. I love to carve pumpkins!

The, "I'm enjoying my camera too much" blog...

2009-10-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

It seems like fall has finally arrived! We had really cold weather, then it all of a sudden it was too warm for fall. Now, it's perfect. The sun has been shining, well, off and on lol, and we've been really enjoying the outdoors. I have been taking way too many pictures with my new camera, and just can't help but share some of them. It's so much fun to catch a great picture. Of course I won't be printing them all off, so I figure I'll put em on here :). Hope everyone else is enjoying the fall as much as I am so far!

A breeze came up and Avery and Jo were chasing the leaves fall from the trees. It was so cute.

Jo and Avery playing outside myhouse. Jo has started posing for me lol, it cracks me up.

Playing in the grass outside Mimi's house.

Gracie, Charlie, and Abby playing outside Mimi's house too. Those kids had a lot of fun together!

Hangin at the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today Katy, Jani, Mary and I took all the kids to the Country Mercantile pumpkin patch in Pasco. We had a lot of fun! I was able to really play with my new camera and I love love love it!! Before we left Katy's I went outside and snapped a couple of Avery and Jo playin.

They are such goofballs! Best buds one minute, and screamin at each other the next lol. I love to watch them together.

Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch. It was a really nice day! We actually got a little bit of sun. Everybody stayed farely happy, even the babies!

These next four pictures are my favorite ones from today. They turned out really great!

The lovely miss Avery, one of the few times she wasn't scowling today...

Eli with his big toothy grin!

This is my friend Holly's daughter Fiona. That red hair is awesome!

Here's the Jo, posing like a real man lol. what a stud!

WOW Results!

2009-10-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

This last week I decided to join in on the fun at my cousin Becky's blog and do another WOW (Within One Week) project. This chair has been aching for a coat of paint! When I first looked at it, I figured I would do green and brown, I like those colors together, I had the paint. But the more I thought about it, the more I said to myself, "Come on Emily! You need to get out of the unisex color mode, you've got three girls for goodness sakes!" So I went all out, and did two shades of pink lol. I put stipes on the sides and the back, and under the
seat, then did a solid shade on the back and the top of the seat so I can put a rub on on later if I want.

Here was Chad's chair a week ago. I waited and waited to get to it because I was dreading pulling out paint with kids around, but I made myself do it yesterday and am very pleased with the results:

Doesn't Avery look happier lol. She wouldn't let me take a picture of just her in the chair, she had to hold Layls...She was so excited to see it this morning! I still would like to get a rub on for the back, maybe the Letter A or a flower, we'll see. The hard part is definitely over! By no means is this chair perfect, there are little flaws everywhere. I spent so much time taping, untaping, taping again, and I still messed up in a few places, but all in all I think it turned out really cute :)

New Camera

2009-10-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

I bought myself a new camera, and I've been snapping pictures like crazy. It's been too fun!! The weather hasn't been very nice lately, so everything has had to be inside, but I love how fast this camera is!! A lot of these photos, especially the ones of Avery, were taken in darker rooms, and still turned out so nice, no blur. Anyway, I figured I'd throw a few pictures up here.

Layla and her tongue. I swear she's always got that thing sticking out lol.

My beautiful girl. She looks so sweet in these pictures, but she sure was being a pill that day!

Mal in her pumpkin t-shirt. She's such a sweetheart. She's going to be my little helper, I can tell already :)

I have to say I feel so blessed with the kids God's given me. Before I had kids, I always said I wanted boys. I just felt like I wouldn't be a good momma to little girls. God knew better. I love my girls more then I could have ever imagined loving anyone, and I feel like I really got the "pick of the litter". I wouldn't trade em for anything... Most days LOL!! I can't imagine life without them.

My Smarty Pants

2009-10-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Avery can almost sing the ABC's all the way through correctly. Here is her version of it lol. Still, I think it's pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old!!

Also, some of you that are my facebook friends have seen this video, but I was asked to put it on my blog because other's were having a hard time seeing it. So, here is the "love hate relationship" video of the twins. They really do loving kissing each other :)

W.O.W.!! It's about time...

2009-10-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

My cousin Becky is throwing another W.O.W. (within one week) blog giveaway! If you want to join in on the fun go to Becky's blog and link your site! Anybody can do it! The more the merrier!!

My wow challenge this week isn't a really hard one, but one that's been a long time coming lol. This chair was Chad's chair when he was a little kid (hence the C on the back of it). His parents gave it to us a little over a year ago and Avery sits in it all the time, but it's a little blah, so I said when we first got it I was going to paint it and put some sort of rub on on the back of it... Well here it sits over a year later still blah. SO, that's my challenge for this week, to paint the chair!! I've got some extra paint sitting around, some pink and some green I think, so we'll see what comes of it! And hopefully I can get to Tri-Cities to grab a rub on or two to put on the back. I think a flower would look cute! I'll get back to ya in a week with the results!

Babysitting.

2009-10-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the girls and I headed to Katy and Mike's to watch the kids for a couple days. katy and Mike were celebrating their 12 year anniversary, WOW. I'm so proud of them. We had a fun couple of days. Yes, there were moments of insanity lol, but all in all, the kids had fun, and we all survived it! Here is a video of the kids having a summersault contest lol:

The Finished Product

2009-09-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

So, to me, it doesn't look that much different but I spent some time on it lol. Once I got everything kind of mucked out of the closet and realized that I didnt' want to take too much stuff apart I ended up putting a lot of it back in just the way it was. I was going to go get a couple shelves, but with all of us being sick the last week, that didn't happen. I got to thinking about it too, and I really didn't want to take up the space at the bottem of the closet because as the girls grow out of their clothes and I can restore them outside of the house, I'd like to do what I did in Avery's room and be able to put a little toybox in there.

I did take the plastic bags of clothes and put them in the proper tote (size wise) And I did remove a couple of totes that are going to be handed down. I went through the blankets, sheets, and mattress pads at the top of the closet and reorganized them. I took a few things down and got rid of them. I think the problem with having tiny babies is that you are constantly moving up in clothes size so you really can't organize enough! Now with two babies, each one in a different size (Mallory is one size ahead of Layla) it's even harder... I think As long as I can keep the clothes somewhat seperated into sizes and put into a tote, I'll be fine.

So, my wow project didn't really turn out quite the way I anticipated it would, but I know where my kids clothes are, and I can get to them. Well.. At least for another year or so lol.

W.O.W. Project

2009-09-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

My cousin Becky has a blog contest every once in a while called W.O.W. (Within One Week) I decided this would be a good project.

The twins closet has a lot of stuff in it. totes with clothes up to 24 months, carseats, backpacks. I'd like to bee able to get a closet organizer and get it organized enough so I don't have to dig through stuff to find the things I need. We'll see whether I get it done or not. I'm going to town today or tomorrow to look for a good closet organizer for a decent price. Let me know if you have any good ideas! If you would like to do your own W.O.W. project, you should go to Becky's blog and link your blog site! It's a fun contest, and you get a little bit done in the meantime.

Carnival fun and a trip to Mia's

2009-09-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a little bit since I've posted a blog, and I've been doing a lot with the kids lately, so I figured I had to get on here and post a few pictures. On Labor Day weekend, we went down to the carnival in Prosser with Katy and her kids, and Dan and Heidi and their kids. Avery got to ride her first carnival ride! She love love loved the roller coaster. I was cracking up. She would have a very serious face, and then randomly scream because all the other kids were screaming. I guess she takes her rides very seriously. She also rode on the strawberries, the airplanes, the train, and the spaceship! It was a lot of fun.

A couple days after that I went over to visit my cousin Mia. Her daughter sage is 1 1/2 years old, and her and Avery had a blast together. I don't think Sage was quite ready for Avery, but it didn't take long for them to start playing. If you want to see more pictures of that trip, visit Mia's blog.

There is a picture on here where Joe is getting off the ride, yeah they had to stop it cause he was getting a little nervous lol. But then we took him over to the roller coaster, which he didn't like the first time through, put him on it, and he was putting his hands in the air and having a blast. Funny what kids will like and not like.

I absolutely love this picture. It turned out so well. Don't let Avery's face fool you, she didn't want to get off the ride. In fact I think she rode it three times in a row. They let her, Haylee and Maddie stay on lol.

We had a fun week, and were glad we were able to make it to Mia's for a few days. The girls did really well on the trip! Didn't have any trouble getting any of them to sleep, so that made it a lot easier! Thanks Mia for letting us invade your home for a few days! I'm sure it's a little different going from one kid to four lol, but we survived!

When you're watching the video, notice the blank stare on Avery's face when she's on the planes lol. I don't know if she was dazed after the roller coaster, or bored because it wasn't as fun a ride, but it was cracking me up. If she's anything like her father and I, she'll be riding the scary rides before she knows it!

God's Chisel

2009-08-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

This video was sent to me by my friend Jen. It's awesome. It's message is good for everyone. Please watch it! I know it made my day when I did, and I'll probably watch it over and over again on the days I need that little extra pick me up. Thank God for reminding me that he is the one holding me up, not the other way around!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY

3 Crazy years!

2009-08-25T21:28:00.001-07:00

Chad and I are celebrating our 3 year anniversary on the 26th, tomorrow!! Three years and three kids later we are not exactly in the place we thought we would be, but God had his own plan, and let me tell you what, it's worked out great for us! I love him more today then the day we married, and I know that there are only more great things to come. He's an awesome father, and an even better husband than I could have ever imagined. Chad, I love ya babe, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life hanging out with ya!

Daddy you need help??

2009-08-17T12:03:00.001-07:00

I took this video when we went camping at Rimrock. It cracks me up. She is so brave! I don't know too many two year olds that would walk out up to their necks in water to "save" their daddy. I love the "Daddy you need help? Ok, hold on Daddy" part. Cracks me up everytime. She kept wanting him to pretend to need help so she could save him. They had a lot of fun in the water that day!

Family vacation, Skamania, and Dawn's

2009-08-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

I've had the awesome opportunity the last two weeks to go one a great family vacation, another vacation with my mom and dad, and then another short trip to my cousin Dawn's. I had so much fun doing all three things! There were tons of pictures, so instead of posting a million pics I just did some collages of some of the things we did...

At Bonneville Dam we were able to watch this helicopter take off. We just pulled into the dam right when it was leaving! Was pretty cool!!

We checked out the fish ladder and all the other fun things. Ethan came along too and had lots of fun with Avery and Charlie!

At Dawns the kids had a blast. Avery got dirty every day, shocker huh... lol. Not sure why Gracie is making that face in the bottem picture! The kids "helped" Dan cut up the wood from the tree the neighbor cut down while we were there.

On our family vacation we got to go to my grandparents Rimrock cabin, our cabin at Bumping, and Mt. Rainier. It one of the greatest family vacations we've had yet. We had a great time!! Mal and Layla even got their first tastes of chocolate ice cream... You can see Layla was instantly in love LOL.

Coleslaw and So Much More!

2009-07-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

Avery's been all about dressing Mal up lately. Here are a couple photos of the things she's pulled out of her toy box to dress her up.
She has to make sure her hair goes with the lovely glasses.

The bunny ears I bought for Avery her first Easter

To make matters worse, both Mallory and Layla are pulling themselves up to stand already in their cribs... guess it's time to move the mattress down!

Coleslaw and Avery had so much fun last week! He was up here for 4 days and spent his time between our house and Mimi and Pappy's house. Avery loved having him around! The last couple days she's woke up and immediately asked where Coley is. I think we'll have to have him up again real soon. Here they are riding the power wheels.

They played with the very dried out playdough quite a bit too, but seemed to be able to make a few things out of it.

Here is Coles... uhm.. House? lol. At least that's what he told me it was LOL.

Getting ready to run through the sprinklers.

I love this picture for some reason. The way he's looking at her lol. They really did have a blast! And Avery loves her Coley Man. Thanks for staying with us Coleslaw!

Oh, and I can't forget to add the picture of the cherry pie Cole and I made. It was super yummy. Didn't last very long either!

Dirty Chad??

2009-07-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Who ever said it had to be Dirty Harry. Here's Chad with his first "kill" of the year. He got this coyote right before dusk and was very proud because he'd shot it with his Encore pistol with the 22-250 barrel on it. Here is my warrior husband with his trophy coyote.

" Do you feel lucky coyote, well... do ya??"

Summer Fun

2009-07-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen watched my kids for me the other day so I could go to a luncheon with some people from church. She is AWESOME. Anyway, I came back after the luncheon and hung out for a while longer, Avery wanted to run through the sprinklers, as usual, so Jen and Andy set up the sprinkler outside. She had so much fun She even got Jen in there with her. I had to run through a few times too. It's so funny, she runs through and squeels. I love it. The only nice thing about 100 degree weather! Cooling off!! That kid really does love the water doesn't she!

This next picture is of my cousin's daughter Amy holding Mal. Becky came to Katy's on her way to her mom and dad's and stayed for a night so the kids and I decided to come and visit. I'm glad I got to see her! Amy loved holding those babies. She kept reassuring me that she was really good at holding on to babies, that she holds Ben Ben (her brother) all the time lol.

Mal doesn't look too upset about it does she!!

Lots and Lots of Videos! (Cannon Ball Parade Included)

2009-07-11T10:32:00.001-07:00

Here are 4 videos from the last week. There are two videos of the girls eating their first bites of solid food, one of Mallory scooting army crawl style, and one mantage of the "cannon ball parade" as it's been come to be known as. I'm sorry if I missed your cannon ball! I got in the pool and joined in on the action after a bit. I must say, I am still very impressed with Uncle Norris's double flip!! But my favorite has to be Katy's, well, whatever that was, at the end of the video LOL. What a goober. Oh, and forgive the quality. I had to compress them down quite a bit to fit them all on here!

4th of July, and a visit to Mo's!

2009-07-10T09:10:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted 4th of July pictures until now, but I've been gone!! Sunday after church I left and went to my cousin Mo's to visit and have some fun. Dawn and her kids were there too. We had a blast. Avery even went swimming in the lake all by herself! Well, she had water wings on, but I was still impressed!

The fourth was a blast! We went to Katy and Mike's and swam, and ate, and visited with great friends and great family. I'm so glad that my sister is willing to open her doors and throw a great party. It's a lot of work, and I really appreciate it! So here are a few pictures of the last week. I also have some great videos, but will wait until I have them edited to do a video post of the cannon balls on the 4th. The pictures are a little out of order, but I added a lot, so I didn't want to go through and rearrange them lol.

Mo and I were making fun of this picture forever... I'm not sure what kind of pose this is lol, but it cracks me up.
She looks so sweet there doesn't she? How deceiving a camera can be!! lol

Aunt Barb reading Avery a bedtime story

Avery IS coloring on paper here, the paper is just brown, but as you can see, she didn't hesitate to color on everything else around her, including Mo's walls!!

Avery and Berg ( or as she likes to call him, Boogy) after a climb in the dirt mound

Just a taste of the kids that were around this last week. the babies were never in need of attention!! Devon was so good with them. He even sang Layla to sleep the day we left lol. So cute.

Uncle Norris and Mia holding Avery and Sage.

Chad celebrating his countries independance lol.

I love this picture. We only got her to hold one sparkler because the first one she held sparked a little too much and she ended up getting a tiny little ember on her hand. She had fun though.

Mike lightening Avery's sparkler. cool picture!

There were lots and lots of kids, and TONS of sparklers lol. I have a few pictures thatmake it look like their yard is on fire!

Andy making faces at Mal

Jen making Layla smile! Love this picture

She is such a beauty. She was playing in the kiddy pool here.

This was the morning of the 4th, getting ready to go lol. What a goofball.

My Beautiful Girls

2009-07-01T16:35:00.001-07:00

Avery is growing into such a beautiful girl, and the girls are almost 6 months old!!! On July 5th, they will be half way to that huge one year milestone. So sad. I love these pictures we just got taken, just had to share them with everyone!

Miss Avery and her sissies

2009-06-29T19:45:00.001-07:00

A week ago, Avery and I went to visit Jo and Aunt Katy. Avery always has fun with Jo Jo. My cousin Mo was there with her kids.

Avery probably torturing the poor Burgler to death.
Riding Mike and Katy's new lawn mower

Oh yes, the Barbie jeep is back in full force people.

Lately my little miss Avery has been getting into quite a bit of trouble. Today she took the lotion and smothered it all over Layla and Mallory's hair...

You may not be able to tell, but she looks like a grease head

As does Layla...

Today she really played hard. We went over to my mom and dad's house and she ran through the sprinklers with Belle (their dog) and wore herself out. We got home, I made dinner, and by the time we sat down to eat, well, just see for yourself!

And I swear, I try very hard to get that hair out of her face, but she keeps pulling rubber bands/barretts out of her hair!! This was shortly after a bath though. Lucky she didn't get food in it. LOL. It's been fun so far this summer. We're looking forward to lots of play time with cousins and friends. See you all around!

Just a few updates

2009-06-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

I took Layla and Mallory in for their 6 month check up on Friday. So far so good! They look "strong and healthy" the doc says. Mallory was 15lb 6oz, and Layla was 13lb 11oz, so she is falling a little behind lol. Now she is almost two pounds smaller then Mallory. I'm pretty sure it's because that kid is in constant motion! She wants to go go go! Layla is working on crawling, she wants to completely skip the scooting stage I guess, while Mal is scooting up a storm. She's got the army crawl going on pretty well.

So there you have it. My three girls are growing too fast! I'm dreading what it's going to be like in the house here in a short while when I have two babies crawling too fast for me to keep up with! My brother suggested I bunji them together so they can't go anywhere... was funny at first, but then I started thinking hmmm... Kidding. Here is a picture I took a while back of Avery and Maddie. Maddie came over to hang out for a day and we had lots of fun making cookies and taking baths. I've been wanting to post it but hadn't found the time, so here ya go! Happy summer everyone!

Maddie and Avery enjoying a chocolate chip cookie dough beater! mmmmTaking a bath, or as Avery likes to say, "momma, I washin"

Babies in Motion! Whaaaaat????

2009-06-14T13:43:00.001-07:00

Layla is scooting, and what's to crawl really bad! Her and Mal are just over 5 months old. This is not what I want to be happening right now lol. Mallory rolls everywhere, but isn't really interested in crawling or scooting yet. Thank God!! I was really not looking forward to having two mobile babies in the house! As soon as I put Layla on the floor, she see's something she wants, and goes for it. Of course this usually results in a screaming baby because she can't quite get there as fast as she would like to!! Mal just sits there and a stares at her screaming sister and sucking her thumb most of the time lol. Here's a video, it's a little long, but I wanted to try to get all the kids in it! It is probably a little fuzzy too. Because of the length of it I had to compress it down quite a ways!

Letting the cat out of the bag!

2009-06-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Chad, the kids and I went up to bumping lake with Katy, Mike, and their kids. We went to work on... OUR CABIN!! It's true. We went in with Katy and Mike and bought our Grandparents old run down cabin at Goose prairie. We weren't going to tell anyone until we signed the papers, but the papers are drawn up and ready to be signed, and I just can't stand it any longer lol. We had a lot of fun! It needs a ton of work. There are a lot of things needing fixing, but we are really lookign forward to getting it back into shape. The weekend was great because Chad got to spend all weekend with his family too! We took off Friday morning and got back Sunday night with no interruptions, that hasn't happened for a while in May for Chad!

Here are a few pictures of the cabin and us having fun in the cabin! Can you believe we slept 11 people in this tiny thing this weekend? It has a loft, and when we get it to the point where we feel comfortable sleeping up there, it'll be a lot better. But for now, sleeping on the main floor is all I'm willing to do!! There was a lot of Mice, a lot of Dirt lol, but we still had a LOT of fun! Can't wait to go up again!

Layla and Mallory had to spend most of their time in the play pen, we stole Eli's quite a bit because it was bigger (thanks Eli lol) They still had fun though!

This is the side of the tiny cabin. The 2x4s are for the winter to keep the snow from breaking the windows! Can you See Chad on top? lol.

Chad and Mike worked really hard on the roof putting ridge cap up and sealing some stuff off. So glad he was able to come and help!

There is a little creek that runs right next to the cabin, but it's going to be dried up here in about 2 weeks. So sad because the kids loved playing in it. Here's Chad and Avery throwing rocks in.

This is all the stuff we threw out of the loft!!! Lots of mouse nests, eeeewwww. Thanks Mike and Chad for getting rid of that stuff, I didn't want to touch it! lol

Mike and Chad in the loft window. Working hard!

This was our sleeping arrangement... KIDDING. We just put the kids in with us in the morning to play. It was a little too packed for sleeping lol.

The sun shining on Chad's face looks freaky hahah. here's Chad with his girls!

Here's a little shot of the front of the cabin. I'll keep you updated as we do more stuff. Avery is sitting here looking at the pictures as I put them up saying, "Momma, I go to the cabin!!" So glad she had fun. Looking forward to lots more fun in the future!

I think this picture is in no need of a caption... They got in plenty of trouble this weekend together LOL.

Avery's Tub Tunes

2009-05-28T11:46:00.001-07:00

I had to post this video because it cracks me up. I think she's saying "go" at the beginning of it with that weird look through the corner of her eye look she gets... enjoy!

Yard Sale update

2009-05-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

Just a random picture I threw in there.

I had a couple people ask me how we did on our yard sale.. Let me just say it was a LOT of work, I am completely worn out and ready to go to bed, BUT!!! It was TOTALLY WORTH IT! Combined Katy and I made about 700 dollars. I was shocked!!! Most of that was made in the first day. I was so glad when it was over though lol. But it was well worth the effort. My friend Ali asked me on my last blog entry if I felt liberated getting rid of all my "junk".... oh goodness yes. I can't believe how much nicer it feels in this old run down house. Even though most of the stuff we got rid of was tucked away in cupboards and closets, just knowing it's gone and I don't want to worry about it anymore is like a weight off my shoulders!!! And no Ali!! I won't be accumulating more junk lol.. Ok I probably will, but all that means is that there will be stuff for another yard sale here in a year or two!

One of the great things about this, is that Chad is now very excited about getting rid of his "junk". He said he wants to go through all his stuff and throw it in to the pile next time. You know how long I have been begging him to go through his junk so we can get rid of it! lol. I guess it took a good yard sale to kick him into gear. But I can't complain about him too much. I spent three days at Katy's house (btw, thank you soooo much for letting us do the yardsale there!!! I know I probably left a huge mess for you, love ya sis!) , and figured when I came home there would be a nice mess awaiting my return. But to my surprise, I walked into a house that was as clean as I'd left it. Dishes washed, bed made (yeah, that one REALLY shocked me), and clothes in the hampers. Thanks Babe! I love ya.

Besides that, it was a fun weekend. Joey and Avery had lots of fun, and got into LOTS of trouble, but played themselves silly and were easy to put to bed every night. I'm burnt from laying in the sun today by the pool, not a good idea, but it felt good at the time haha. Layla and Mallory are worn out from just being in the heat, but everybody's in a good mood, and excited to start planning for our next big yard sale.

stuff we've been doin!

2009-05-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, Chad's granparents came over to see the babies and Avery. It was a real nice visit. I'm really glad they came over.

Here is a picture of Avery after Chad did her hair... He found two clips lieing around and put it up. Actually, he did a better job then I thought he would have for a first timer lol.

Now, here are the scary pictures!!! Katy and I decided it was time to muck out our houses and have a yard sale. I could not believe how much JUNK I had around this tiny little house until I started going through every nook and crany to clean it out. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in just a few years. I'm so glad to be getting rid of this stuff!!

I'll give everyone an update on how the yardsale goes. Hoping for a good turn out so we can get a little extra cash for Chad's trip and a new BBQ!!

Some recent pics

2009-05-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

The other day I ran to town to go to the chiropractor, and Heidi came over to sit with the girls. When I came back, Haylee and Maddie stayed with me for a couple more hours. I caught a really cute picture of them on the couch.

Front left to right, Mallory, Layla, Back, Maddie, Haylee, and Avery

This is just a crazy do for Avery. We had her hair up in a really high pony tail all day and when we took it out this is what it looked like for a while until it finally calmed down lol. Crazy hair is an every day occurance for miss Avery.

Homer "rolling over"

2009-05-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

I love our dogs, but Homer cracks me up the most. (He can also drive me the most insane! lol) He is such a goober! He gets so excited when we give him a treat that he wants to run threw the motions really fast, and he tries to take short cuts lol. Here is an example...

Sometimes he'll do that 10 or 15 times before he finally decides to really roll over. it's hillarious. He gets lower, and lower and lower, then finally he rolls on the ground. Always gives Chad and I a good laugh, thought it might give you one too :)

Baby giggles and new hair styles

2009-05-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a little experimenting with Avery's hair, and this is the latest do:

It stays in for a while, but then the pony tails start to fall out. I was surprised she actually doesn't try to pull them out like usual. Other then this lovely hairstyle we got going on here, I have a video of Layla laughing, Mal blowing bubbles, and Avery being a stubborn little girl lol. Enjoy!

Tricycles and Chuck E Cheese's!

2009-04-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

This last week when the weather was really nice, we went out and Avery decided she was going to ride the trike. She got right on, and started speeding down the driveway lol. No, it took her a bit. Her legs aren't quite long enough for the pedals so she can't push the trike over big rocks and things, but she's doing pretty good! She also fell of the tricycle at one point and got her first road rash lol. But she got right back on and kept riding! What a big girl.

Tonight we went to Chuck E Cheese for Charlie's birthday. Avery wasn't so sure at first, of course she'd just woken up for a 5 minute nap in the car which is never a good sign lol, but after a bit of waking up, and a LOT of sugar!! She was having tons of fun. Pappy held the babies for a while too. He was loving on Mal. Here are a few pictures, and a couple videos for everybody!

She wasn't so sure about this ride at first lol.

I think she started to warm up to chuck e cheese's after this car ride.

She even got to talk to Chuck on the phone!

Then he came out, and she was all smiles. I thought she might be scared of him, but she really liked him!

They are singing happy birthday I think right here.

Pappy with Layla and Mal. Mal is the one looking this direction.

Nice smile Pappy.

I love this picture. I don't think he knew I was snapping picture of him at this point lol. She was really having fun on this tricycle!She fell down!!! Here's her batlle scar lol.
and just a second later, back on the tricycle, road rash and all!! What a kid.

Pictures from my cousin

2009-04-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday, my cousin Megan and her hubby Ted came to Granny and Pa's. Ted took a couple super cute pictures of the kids. I hope you don't mind me posting these Ted and Megan! They are just too cute not to share.

This was a pinata that my granparents had gotten. It was, at one point, an egg, but when it broke it split perfectly in two. I love this picture. Again, if you notice, Layla has the deer in the headlights look, and Mallory is very chill. lol.

Here are the five babies that were at the party on Saturday. All born within 5 months of each other. There are always babies in the Andrews family! From the left, Mallory, Eli (Katy's son), Ella (Megan and Ted's daughter) with the huge smile on her face, Brodie (my cousin Trisha and Darryl's son) and Layla.

Easter Saturday and Sunday

2009-04-14T22:55:00.000-07:00

So Iknow I must be like the last person on here to post an Easter blog, but better late then never! Saturday we went over to my Granny and Pa's house and had lots of fun visiting with family and hunting for Easter Eggs. Then Saturday night we went down to Nana's and visited with more family! It was great, until Saturday night when Avery got sick on Nana's white carpet... not so fun. Then she got sick AGAIN on Nana's hard wood floor.. so maybe it wasn't just sweets. So we go home, and she gets sick in the middle of the night in bed. Oh man, I felt so bad for the kid! She woke up on Sunday feeling a little tiny bit warm, but nothing terrible, but her tummy must have still been upset because she had some not so nice diapers. So, Easter was fun... lol. It was really hard missing church on Easter. I even cried a little Sunday morning, but I knew I couldn't take her to church the way she was. Then, I hear about how awesome it was!! But it's awesome every Sunday.

Even so, with everything going on, we managed to have a decent Eater Sunday. Chad's parents came up to the house so we didn't have to drag Avery down town, and we ate a nice dinner, and she got her Easter basket. I'm so thankful for what God has done in my life, and in my family's life. On Easter, it only reminds me again of how powerful he truly is! The fact that he had/has defeated death!! WOW. Thank you Jesus! He is risen, He is risen indeed! Avery Sunday morning.. doesn't she look lovely lol. I don't think she was feeling all that great even though you never would have known by the way she was running around!
She loved these little windmills.

Saturday at Pa and Granny's. She was trying to figure out how to open her egg.

With her cousin Ella. Isn't she a doll.

I love this picture, something about the expression on her face makes me smile :)

This is just one I threw in... this is what happens when I get sidetracked with screaming babies and I'm trying to fill the sink with soapy water.

What a great big sister!!! I love all three of my girls. God has been so good to us. Layla cracks me up (she's baby on the right) she always has this stunned deer in the headlights look on her face LOL. And there's Mal, with a totally chill look on hers. So funny.

Terrible Twos and 3 month old twins!

2009-04-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything so I thought I better get something up!! My babies are getting bigger! Avery is definitely a two year old!! She finds anything and everything to get into, and she's figured out it's not very easy for me to run after her when I've got to babies hooked to me lol. She's been making many messes. But she's also doing really well with potty training! Today she even went in the bathroom and got on the potty all by herself and went! Then she proceeded to get off the potty before Mom could go wipe her bottem... Oh well, she did a good job!

Mal and Layla are 3 months old now, and getting really strong! Just today Mallory rolled over from her belly to her back, and Layla's been doing that now for a little while. They are so close to rolling from their back to their belly. It's so funny to watch them try. They just need that little extra umph. Everything is going really well! I also go their pictures taken a little over a week ago and will be picking some out. If you want to see the ones that were taking, go to www.sunnywrightphotography.com and click on "enter main site". Once in there, you can click on "proofing" and enter the password threegirls and you can see the pictures. There are so many good ones I don't know which I will choose!! If you want great pictures taken of your kids, she is definitely the one to go to!

Mal and Layla watching cartoons with Avery lol.

Yes, she is sucking her thumb. She doesn't like the binky now because she's only satisfied with that thumb in her mouth!! I love it. Layla is trying, but hasn't figure out how to open her hand up to get that thumb into her mouth. She's close though :)

This is Avery's lovely outfit. She insisted on wearing this little white tank top and pulling the straps off. What a goober!

Dr. Apppointments, BBQ and a Haircut!

2009-03-25T10:33:00.001-07:00

There's been quite a bit going on lately it seems like in the Barnhart household! On the 17th, Layla and Mal went in for their 2 month well check. Here's what we got on them, Mallory weighed 11 lb 3 oz, and was 21 3/4" long. She's really gotten to be a little chub. Layla is still just a little over a pound behind. She weighed 9 lb 12 oz and was 21" long. Avery had her 2 year well check about a week before that. She weighed 30 lb 6 oz, and was 34.5" long. They are all goign to get their pictures taken this coming Monday! I hope the weather's good so we can get some outdoor pics, but I'm not holding my breath...

Last Saturday Chad and I decided to throw a little BBQ for st. patricks day! We had quite a few people over, and of course it started raining on us, but we all scrunched into our little house and had a lot of fun inspite of the weather! Thanks to everybody that came and brought yummy food!

After a lot of nagging by Mimi, I finally decided it was time to take Avery in and get her hair cut. It was really hard to part with the mullett, but we did it. I was so heartbroken at the thought of cutting her hair for some reason, but when it was done, I was so glad I did it. It turned out really cute! She did pretty good for her first hair cut, no crying, no screaming (which shocked me lol). It helps that the place that cut it, monkey dooz, has cool seats and cartoons to watch while they cut your kids hair. And best of all, she got a sucker!

And and Mike

Cyle sitting with all the kiddos.

This is similar to the cake that I had that day, but the one I made for the BBQ was white. Still, pretty cool huh!

She wasn't so sure about getting her hair washed, that was the hardest part, but she still did pretty good. She made me hold her hand LOL.

Once she hit the Barbie Jeep car seat, she was perfectly fine.

She started to fuss after a bit because she wanted down, but the sucker calmed her right down. Shocker right? lol.

This is the final product in the back. I know, cute!

And of course I had to buy a little barrett to put in her hair to keep those bangs out of her face. We're still trying to let the bangs grow out, so I didn't get them cut at all.

So there's a little of what's been going on. I can't believe she's had her first hair cut! I think it was so hard for me because it means she's getting older. I love ya monkey!

Twin Update!

2009-03-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mallory and Layla are doing awesome. They are now just over two months old and growing, and growing, and growing! I am pretty sure that Mallory is still at least a lb. heavier then Layla, and she is definitely still longer! They have their two month apt. This Tuesday so we'll see what the scale says then :)! We still aren't sure whether or not they are identical, but I have decided, literally just like five minutes ago, that I just can't stand now knowing anymore. So I am going to get one done as soon as I get a chance. There are times when they look so much alike to me, and other times when they look so different! I was just saying earlier today that I thougth they looked quite a bit different, and then tonight when I was feeding them before bed, I looked at them and thought, oh yeah, they could definitely be identical. It's their eyes that get me. Layla has these huge eyes, and Mallory's eyes aren't quite a big. We'll see. I guess I wouldn't really be surprised either way.

Personality wise they are both so different too. Mallory is a screamer! if she wants something she's gonna let you know it! Layla is quieter, and when she cries, it just sounds so sad, it could break your heart lol. They both smile a lot, Layla has this huge gummy grin, and Mal has more of a sly half smile grin. It's so adorable. I can't wait to see what they are like when they get older. Well, yeah I can. They are really good babies, and don't give me too much trouble at all. I'm so lucky there! Here is a picture I took a couple days ago of them on the floor. They're getting real strong, and holding their heads up great! Layla is on the left, and Mallory is on the right. It was the best picture I could get of both of them with their heads up. Usually one has their head up, and the other has theirs down, then they switch, switch again, etc, etc... lol. Taking pictures of these girls and trying to get them to smile at the same time is going to be tough!!

A Braid? No WAY!

2009-03-11T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today after Avery's bath, I was playing with her beautiful mullett, and I decided to try to put a braid in. It actually worked, and has stayed in all day. Ofcourse the bangs fell out pretty quickly, but here a picture of the first braid lol.

Are you cracking up yet or what? LOL. She thought it was really cool...

I don't know if any of you remember this outfit when Avery was a baby, but it was one of my favorites. I was so excited when I found it in a box of clothes yesterday that I threw it in the wash this morning and put it on Layla as soon as I pulled it out of the dryer. Here's Layla in the piggy outfit.

Little Drummer Girl

2009-03-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

A couple Sundays ago Avery got on the stage at church and started drumming away on the drum set. We all had a good laugh. She really thought she was something! And who knows, maybe I have the next Lars Ulrich on my hands. Oh man I hope not!! There are also a couple pictures of her at Nana's brushing Joey's hair with a my little pony brush. Then she decided that she should brush his teeth too LOL. Hey, a brush is a brush right?? Not much I can say about those pictures... Love you Jo Jo! Now the poor kid has hives... I used to get them when I was little. Dr. says he doesn't really know if they are caused by a virus or an allergy, but he said that if they go away in like 10 days and don't come back it was probably a virus, and if they stick around, it's probably something she is allergic to. Hope we get rid of em here in the next week and they never come back!! We'll just blame it on Aunt Katy for using a new soap on her the other day ;) Kidding...

Mallory smiles

2009-03-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

I finally caught Mallory smiling on camera. Here's the first smile picture. It's not a great one, but she was sitting on my lap and started smiling so I grabbed the camera to try to get a quick shot and this is what I got. She's been smiling nwo for a couple of weeks, but I just couldn't quiet catch it!! Now if I could juts catch Layla smiling on camera lol. :) enjoy! OH, and yes... that is red hair. Both Layla and Mal have quite a bit of it. We'll see how long it lasts!!

Father Daughter Dance and 1st Sleep Over!

2009-03-01T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last Friday Avery and Chad went to the Father Daughter Dance at the trac in Pasco. I was so glad they got to go together. Avery looked so pretty in her new dress! It took Katy and I a whiel to get her hair to do much of anthing lol. I am so thankful for the time that Avery gets to spend with her Daddy. I hope this becomes a tradition every year. Jeremy (Uncle Norris) and Mia came over from Olympia and he took Sage to the dance too. Mike and Gracie went, and Dan took his two girls. It was nice to have a little bit of time at Katy's with just the mom's!! Well, and Jo, Eli, Cole, Ethan, Hayden, Charlie..... lol. It was nice anyway.

After the Dance, Jo decided that he wanted to have a sleep over with Avery, so we brought him home with us to try it out. It actually went really well! We had a little rough patch at about 2 in the morning and both him and Avery ended up sleeping with me lol, but he woke up in a great mood and him and Avery had a lot of fun! Here are a couple pictures of Jo in his pretty pink jammies (he had a little accident the night before...) and Avery with her beautiful bed head morning hair going on. She had lots of hairspray in her hair the night before!! lol. I think these will make some pretty good blackmail pictures in the future.

Birthday Cakes and Big Girl Beds!!

2009-02-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 2!!! Avery turned two years old yesterday. We had a big birthday party on the 14th with Joey and Coleslaw, but we decided to have a little party at home on her actual birthday. I made a little cake, and we got her a big girl bed (btw Andrea, thank you so much for the princess stuff!! she loves it). She was so excited when we went to pick it out. And of course the first thing she wanted to do was jump on it. Tonight is her first night sleeping on it, and surprisingly, she fell asleep about ten minutes after I shut the lights out!!! I was shocked. I knew she'd like it, but I figured she'd try to get out. We'll see how tomorrow at nap time goes. Happy Birthday girly!!! I love you more then you know :)

Fun weekend

2009-02-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

This last weekend, my friend Jen and I went over to the Seattle area to visit a friend of mine I haven't seen for a long time. Whitney was up for a few days from Folsom, CA. Her daughter Dayna is such a ham. She is adorable! We had lots of fun. Here are a few pictures from the short trip.

Jen and Mallory

Whitney and Layla

Avery and Dayna

And!!! I am at Katy's house, so I'm finally able to put up the video of Avery on the bungee. So here ya go!

Party Time!!

2009-02-17T10:06:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we had a birthday party for Avery, Joey, and Cole and Garland's Gymnastics in Kennewick. It was so much fun, Chad and I have said that we're doing it there every year!! The kids all loved it, and Avery especially loved the sling shot part. My cousins, Dawn and Mo, also came over for the weekend and stayed with Katy. I spent most of the weekend there visiting with them. it was a lot of fun!

Avery never took that sucker out of her mouth. She didn't even take it out to blow out her candles lol.

This was definitely her favorite part. She's getting ready to bungee across the room. I have a video but can't put it up...dial up...

She really liked the zip line too. I was surprised she was able to hold on all by herself!

This picture cracks me up. I wish I'd a gotten a good one of her looking at me. After she went down the slide her hair was full of static.

My cousin Dawn with the twins.

Cousin Mo with the twins.

Layla and Mallory after a bath. Can you tell who's who???

The babies are doing so well. Growing fast! I'm not sure how much they weigh, but I know that they are a LOT bigger then they were a month ago lol. They're smiling now, of course I can't catch it on camera, and they are cooing a lot. I'm planning on taking them and Avery in soon for Avery's 2 year picture, and their first photos, so I'll be putting those up as soon as I get them!

Tough kid I got here...

2009-02-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

Avery has had it pretty rough the last week or so. She got her finger slammed in a door, she fell of Chad and I's bed the other day, and then at my mom and dad's last Saturday she got burnt on the fireplace. Not sure exactly how she got it, but it looked like it hurt! Poor kid. She's pretty tough though. she hasn't complained at all about the finger or the burn. Her back is better now, it's kind of scabbed over. It never blistered, which was made it easier to take care of!! but it looked pretty ugly there for a while. Here's a picture of that burn a day or two after it happened.

Chocolate Face

2009-02-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

I always figured I was the biggest sweet tooth/chocoholic that there was. That is until I had my first daughter. Avery loves loves loves loves loves chocolate. Well, anything sweet really. I gave her a tiny little cup the other day with some chocolate chips in it because I was making brownies and she HAD to have some. I didn't realize such a small amount of chocolate could make such a huge messy face lol. She's not exactly the cleanest eater out there... Love you kiddo!

Too Cute

2009-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday me and the girls went to go visit my sister. Katy watched them for me while I went grocery shopping and when I got back this is what I found...

Layla had fallen asleep on Mallory's shoulder in the swing lol. Some of the things those girls do just slay me. Lately when I'm holding them both on my chest they'll even hold hands. It's adorable. Anyway, things are going really great. Right now everyone but Chad is sick with a yucky cold in this house, but it seems to be going away as of today. Layla and Mallory are growing right before my eyes, I swear they go to sleep and wake up a different kid every day. Their looks are changing constantly! I'm completely convinced that they are identicle, but will have to do a blood test to find out for sure.

Avery is the best big sister anyone could ask for, well, except for my big sister of coure :). She loves her little sissy's and gives them plenty of hugs and kisses. She makes sure that when they are crying she finds a binky to put in their mouths and/or a blanky to cover them with. The only problem I have had with her is that she wants to play with them too much!! lol, but out of everything I could have delt with I'll take that "problem" in a heartbeat. I'm loving being a momma of twins, there's nothing like it. But ask me how I feel about being a momma of twins when they are like 2 years old, and I might have a different response LOL!

Short trip to Olympia

2009-02-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

My cousins Mia and Ashley. Mia has Mallory, Ashly has Layla
Nana and Muriel. I think Muriel has Layla

Here's Katy, Mia and I with our youngest.

This last weekend Katy and I took the babies and went to Olympia for Toni's funeral. Avery got to stay home with Daddy. We had a nice time. The funeral was really nice. We got to see a lot of people that we hadn't seen in a long time! Toni was my Nana's niece. We loved her so much! She was such a great lady. I wish I had a picture of her to put up on here. She was just one of those people who never gave in to her illnesses. She just kept pushing on. I'm so glad I got to have her in my life for the period of time I did. Although we only got over to see her a few times, she definitely made an impact on my life. I'd love to believe that when life throws obstacles in my way that I would be able to handle them the way she did :). Love you Toni! And can't wait to see ya again.

New Car!

2009-01-28T00:09:00.000-08:00

Chad and I went down to Hall's on Friday and finally decided to buy a new car. Well, new to us anyway. We bought a 2005 Chevy Tahoe Z71 LT. We LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It's so nice to have a car we can comfortably fit all three kids into and have a little extra space!! Oh, and the built in DVD player is nice too. I think that's Avery's favorite feature lol. I thought I'd put a couple pictures on here. I will put up more pictures of the girls soon. It's tough to get a great picture right now because they are sleeping a lot! Things are going really great though. They are growing and growing and growing!! Almost a month already, crazy!

Our new family members!!

2009-01-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Avery getting into the baby powder... I wasn't very happy about this one! I swear she waits until I'm feeding the twins and then she knows I won't be able to stop her for a while. What a stinker.

Happy Big Sister!

Mallory is on the left, Layla on the right

Big Cousin Eli! Layla on the left, Mal on the right.

Your guess is as good as mine...? I think Layla is on the right lol.

Their first pictures outside the operating room.

Hi everybody!! I know I haven't been on here, but, AGAIN, I have no computer, so I'm putting up these pictures at my sister's house.

Things have been going really well!! The girls are growing like weeds. Avery didn't take any time to adjust. She doesn't have a jealous bone in her body, although she has been finding lots of time to get into trouble. I've been getting a little sleep here and there, but for the most part I feel great!! Let me tell you what, giving birth to two babies instead of one is a piece of cake. I could have done without the pregnancy, but the labor and delivery was really easy!

Chad is doing great too. He's pretty smitten with his three baby girls, and is ready to start teaching them how to hunt and fish at a moment's notice. I still can't believe there were two girls in there!!

thanks to everyone for all your prayers!! It's been two weeks, can't believe that either, and things are going as smoothly as they could possibly go. Hope to see you all sooner or later!

sleeping at the table

2008-12-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my mom and dad watched Avery for me while I went to the Dr.. We came home to pick her up and this is what we found. She had been eating pizza and fell asleep at the table. I guess she had tried to put her face right in her plate first, but then my dad went back and got a pillow for her to sleep on. She was completely out of it. I laughed so hard. Thanks for watching her for me mom and dad!!

No new news really on the baby front. We're still just waiting for them to arrive, which could be any day. The non stress test I took yesterday went really well, they were moving like crazy. Baby A, the lowest baby, is head down and staying there, so no C-section will be planned, YAY!! I will let you all know when they arrive. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! I'll be putting up some Christmas pictures after Christmas day. We've already had a few Christmases, and have a couple left to go, so I don't want to have to do 10 different blogs lol.

Finally a Christmas tree!

2008-12-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

On Monday when I was in Yakima, I finally picked up a Christmas tree. I wanted to get a small one to put on the table because I didn't want to have to deal with a lot of decorations, putting up and taking down a Christmas tree while I'm so hugely pregnant lol. We found a cute little tree, of course when we got it home and put it in the stand it wouldn't stand straight at all, but oh well. I'm just glad we finally have a little more Christmas cheer in our house!! Avery is very happy. Ever since people started putting up Christmas lights on houses she yells every time we pass one and says "Pretty lights!!". So now she has her own pretty lights in her house. We also got a chance to go outside and play in the snow a bit. It was cold, but not quite as cold as it has been here. She loved it. It's snowing now, we'll see how much we have to play in tomorrow! And yes, I can't believe I got two blogs up in one day too... it's amazing.

New Snow Jacket

2008-12-17T10:26:00.001-08:00

We got this coat for Avery a while back figuring we'd need a warm jacket for winter. She's been wearing it a lot more lately, obviously, but what's funny is that she wants to wear it in the house all the time, that and her new snow boots. That coat is really warm, you'd think she would fry in it, but she doesn't care.

She's actually wearing her rain boots in this picture, but whatever works. She just likes boots in general lol. I don't think we'd bought the new snow boots yet when I took these pictures.

Belly picture, and two hicks

2008-12-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

I have had a few people ask me to put up some belly pictures. Here is the most recent. I would like you to all know I am being very brave putting this up, because I have one of the ugliest pregnant bellies in the world lol. I am 33 weeks and doing great. Sleep has been quite a bit better the last few days. I'm still uncomfortable, but I'm pretty sure I can expect that to stay the same until these kiddos arrive. I've been a little concerned the last week or so because I don't feel baby b move hardly as often as baby a, but today baby b is making feel a lot better by dancing around in there quite a bit!! So here it is, the babies belly.

Secondly, I was at Katy's house yesterday, and Avery and Joey were wearing these cowboy hats around. Just thought it was a cute picture. I tell you what, these kids get into so much trouble!!! spitting milk all over the place, breaking Katy's christmas ornaments, turning on the tub and getting their clothes all wet... they are going to cause so much trouble when they get older!

November stuff

2008-12-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

So I know I've been terrible about blogging, but I really haven't felt like sitting on the computer!! So I thought I'd get on here real quick and post a couple pictures from last month. Just to keep everybody updated on how everything else is going, here's a little info. I've been goign to the Dr. every two weeks. Everything is looking great, I'm feeling miserable lol, but the babies are right where they are supposed to be. I just found out at my Dr. apt. yesterday that baby A (the lowest baby) is finally head down, woo hoo!! So that means I most likely won't have to have a C section. They are moving around like crazy, and growing fast. I think it's pretty crowded in there. I have another ultrasound scheduled for Dec. 22 to make sure they are in a good position and check their growth, until then I am going to start going to the Dr. every week and he's making me go to the hospital everytime I go see him to have a non-stress test done just to make sure the babies are doing fine.

Other then that, Chad and Avery are doing great. Avery has no idea what is in store for her real soon, but she's been really good with Katy's baby Eli, and so I'm hoping she's going to be really good with our two new ones. She's feeling a little left out I think because I can't lift her up anymore, but she's getting lots and lots of attention from her daddy which has helped a ton. Chad has been able to be home a lot, and he's been awesome. It's a good time of year to have twins that's for sure!! Thanks to everybody for your prayers, looks like they are working. Can't wait to show everybody pictures of the twins!! Just a few more weeks to go.

Ultrasound pictures!

2008-11-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

These are ultrasound pictures taken this last Monday. I am 28 weeks and doing just fine. Babies look healthy and are growing!! Can't wait to actually see them outside of my belly :). This is Baby A. This baby is slightly larger then Baby B. If you can't tell what you're looking at, it's a profile picture. The baby's head is on the left facing up.

This is baby B (slightly smaller then Baby A). This is another profile picture. The baby's head is on the right and facing up. It's a little tougher to see the nose because there is a little hand behind the face that fogs up the profile a little bit.

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T14:16:00.000-07:00

This last week was a busy one! On Wednesday Avery and I went to the pumpkin patch with Mom, Charlie, Dan, Heidi, and all their crew. We had lots of fun, but it did take a little bit to get Avery into it, but she ended up really having a good time. Then on Friday it was Halloween!! Avery dressed up as a kitty cat. She was so excited that morning when I showed her her halloween costume. She wanted to be in it all day. We went to Katy and Mike's and went trick or treating over there, then went back to their house where my mom had set up a whole spooky set up with a cauldren and everything. Mike and her had also set up some really cool stuff in the garage for the kids to play with. There was a pinata, pin the stem on the pumpkin, and tons more. It was a lot of fun!! But we were definitely ready to go home when the day was over.

Avery threw a fit when we first got to the pumpkin patch. She threw herself on the floor and was screaming and yelling. Of course I had to take a picture, what a wonderful mother I am...

When we finally got outside she was a little happier. She got to ride on the duck.

Next we took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

This was the first pumpkin she picked up, but not the one we ended up taking. It was a little yucky on the other side.

Here's her cheesy smile. The pumpkin next to her is the one she picked out.

Then there was the straw maze. She did really good actually. I didn't have to help her too much. She just followed the other kids.

Here's her and Maddy. They had fun together.

Here's her kitty outfit. I was surprised she didn't rub the face makeup all over her face in the first fifteen minutes lol.

Who is this lady?? She wasn't scared, surprisingly. She was just super curious.

Avery and Joe were more interested in destroying the pumpkins then knocking down the pins I think. The pumpkins didn't last very long after they got ahold of them.

6th folder 6th picture

2008-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

My sister Katy and another friend, Cassie, did this kind of blog. You find the 6th folder in your pictures and pick out the 6th picture in that folder and post it. Here is a picture of Avery attempting to dress herself in my t-shirt lol. It was taken this last July. She likes to pull whatever she can out of the laundry basket while I'm folding and put it on herself. I would have older pictures but as most of you know, my computer crashed last summer and I lost all my pictures, so all my folders are pretty recent, but this one's a good one anyway. Hope you all do this, it's fun to see what picture pops up!

Having fun in the nice weather!

2008-10-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

This last week the weather has been awesome!! We've been outside every day playing with the dogs. Chad's been working really hard trying to get our lawn extended a little bit. It's looking really great! Avery got to ride on the tractor with him for a little bit too! Also, a friend of Katy's gave Avery her daughter's old VW Bug car stroller. It's Avery's new favorite toy. She loves that thing!! Anyway, here are a few photos from the last week. Hope everyone else is enjoying this great fall weather as much as we are!

Riding the tractor with Dad!

Her new car. She loves honking the horn lol.

I had to throw this one in. I always try to catch Chad when he's playing guitar hero because he makes the funniest faces. He saw me trying to take this picture so he exaggerated a little bit lol, but it's not too different then his regular guitar hero face...

Fun at the Cabin

2008-10-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Chad, Avery, Charlie and I went to the cabin with Katy, Mike, and their "entourage". We had so much fun. Chad and Mike went hunting Saturday and little Sunday, and Katy and I took the kids down to the reseviour (sp) that their emptying to play. It's always fun for me to watch Avery play with other kids. Her and Joey have so much fun together, when their not fighting lol. Most of the time in the cabin was spent trying to keep both of them from climbing the stairs. They would climb about half way up and then look at Katy and I with that, "You think you can catch me" look. All the other kids had fun too. Cole and Charlie really got into playing in the mud in Rimrock. Gracie was busy chasing babies and being a little mother hen lol. She's so helpful!

They also had fun playing with the neighbor kids. The cabin next door has some new owners. They had 4 kids, 3 that were there, and they were all similar ages to Charlie, Gracie, and Cole. They built forts and made banana boats. Katy and I liked it because we got the cabin to ourselves for a short bit! Here are a few pictures of our fun weekend.

Eating Lunch down on the Beach!

This is the best picture I could get of all of them. The bigger kids ran directly down to the water so they are too far away to really see lol. Avery and Joey attempted to follow, but didn't get anywhere fast with all the big rocks to climb over.

Two little trouble makers. They knew they weren't supposed to be climbing those stairs!!!

Avery's favorite seat, Eli's carseat! Joey tried to climb in with her at this point, but Avery wasn't too happy about it. I was cracking up because she was screaming and yelling at Jo, but when I took the camera out she stopped, looked at the camera and said "Cheese!". When I put the camera down she went back to screaming and yelling lol.

And of course I had to throw in a picture of Eli. This is what he did most of the weekend...

My bathroom's done! YAY!

2008-09-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to paint my bathroom for a long time, and finally, a few days ago, I went over to my mom's and stole some old paint from her so I could just get it done. After putting the first coat on, and then putting it off for a few days because I didn't want to go back to painting, it's finally done!! So it's not the bathroom of my dreams, at least it's not as ugly as it was before. It used to be half blue, like royal blue, and half white. Wasn't pretty. I'm happy with it. It feels good to have at least one thing that I want to get done before the babies get here done!

Next I have a couple picturse of my girl. She love love loves corn on the cob. It's hillarious to watch her eat it. I swear this kid can clean an ear of corn faster then I can. I couldn't help but take a couple pictures.

A little to cramped in the crib...

2008-09-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

I walked into Avery's room this morning while she was still sleeping, and had to get this picture. She's been doing this the last couple of weeks, sticking her feet out of the crib. It cracks me up. I think she's just like her dad that way. Chad likes to stick his feet out the end of the bed and hates for them to be covered by blankets at all. The ball above her head is this glow ball that she's had for a long time, it's basically her night light. Good thing she won't be in the crib too much longer lol.

Is that what I think it is??

2008-09-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

Two heads???!!!

Yup! Chad and I are having twins. I know, I'm still a little shocked myself. We're super excited, still trying to get used to the idea, but we are really excited. Please keep us in your prayers that the babies stay strong and healthy. They look really good right now!! There is always a small possibility with twins that I could go into premature labor, and that I may have to go on bed rest, which is not at all what I want! But as long as those kids are healthy we'll all be happy. We still aren't going to find out the sex of the baby, oops.. babies! So now we have to come up with two girl names and two boy names. And although my due date is going to stay at January 24th, I will definitely not make it there. Dr. tells us that most women pregnant with twins will go into labor on their own at 36-37 weeks, and that he won't let me go past 38 weeks. So it looks like we're going to end up with a couple early January or even late December babies. Here are some face pictures of the two kiddos.

Baby B

Baby A

So, there ya go. I can't believe it myself. It's amazing. After getting over the initial shock of it all, all I could do was just thank God for giving us two more blessings. What a great gift!

New Nephew

2008-09-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

I know you are all dieing to see him, so here he is!!! Elijah Scott Isley, born 10:18 am Sept. 9th, 9lb 12oz, 20.5" long. He's doing pretty good. They did have to keep him in the nursery, and probably will overnight tonight because his blood sugar is a tad low and his color was a bit on the purplish side when he was born. If you're wondering what that big bandage is on his left hand, that's where they put his IV in for his blood sugar. He's bright pink now, and his blood sugar is doing great. Katy is doing fine, but stressed about not being able to be with him 24/7, but that'll all change tomorrow. So keep them all in your prayers! Her are a few pictures of big sis with her new little brother. I think he looks a lot like Gracie and Joey, so basically another Mike baby!

Amazing!

2008-09-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds silly, but last night I was praying because we've got all this stuff we have to get done before the baby comes. It seems like there is no way we are going to have enough money to get those things and now having to think about buying a new computer, well.. it was stressing me out. So this afternoon I come over to the computer and I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a shot. After 5 days of it not wanting to turn on, and I did try every single day, for some reason it just decided it would work. THANK YOU GOD! It's just one thing we don't have to worry about.

It's been a while since I've put pictures up, so I've combined 3 blogs into one. The first pictures are those from our vacation. We went to my grandparent's cabin on Rimrock. It was a blast. Avery loves throwing rocks in the water. The picture where she is crying is after she fell in the creek. I'm sure that water was freezing, but I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Then there are pictures of last weekend. My cousins came over for a visit from Spokane (Liberty Lake). Angie and Ben Abshire and their 4 beautiful kids. Their daughter Sarah is close to the same age as Avery, so it was fun watching them play. And of course they all loved the slip n' slide.

Last but not least, my kitten had her kittens today. Our cat is almost a year old. We were definitely not planning on her having kittens, but it happened. Of course, since we didn't really want kittens, she had to go and have 6!! Well, 6 so far. I'm pretty sure she's done, but it's hard to tell. She's doing really good though, and the kittens are adorable. Super tiny! If you want a cat let me know lol.

So that's that for now. I'm sorry I haven't kept up very well, but I swear something is always going wrong with this dang computer!! Thanks for the comments on earlier blogs. At least I knwo there are people who want to keep up with my family :).

No computer... AGAIN!

2008-09-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

UGH, I'm sorry to have to tell everyone this, again..., but I have no computer. A couple of days ago I left my windows open and went over to my mom's house for a little bit. The wind picked up and when I got back home the wind had knocked over my boquet of flowers I got for my anniversary right onto my computer. SO, there was water everywhere, and the computer won't even start. Anyway, We will have a new computer, but who knows when. Hopefully I can borrow my sister's until we have a computer, but I'm not sure our hardrive, which I think was salvaged, will work in it. So, that is why I have not been blogging. It seems like something is always going wrong with our computer/internet lol. I'll still be checking everyone else's whenever I can get to a computer.

Chubby Cheeks!

2008-08-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

First off I just wanted to let everybody know that I am still alive!! I was gone for about a week, and then when I returned home my internet was out of commission for a while, but I'm back! We're all doing great here. I'm feeling just fine, no bad pregnancy symptoms at all! Avery did finally get over her yucky flu, and Chad and I are going to FINALLY be able to take a short little family vacation next week.

Last week my mom and I went to Idaho to help out my cousin's daughter at the fair. Avery loved every minute of it. Of course we were all happy to be back home. She had a great time seeing all the different animals, especially the sheep, she loved the sheep! I'm really hoping she won't want to show one when she gets older, talk about an annoying animal lol. Here are a couple recent pictures of my kiddo.

Growing too fast

2008-07-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

Avery has really been working hard at putting her own clothes on lately. Of course she doesn't quite get it right. I love this picture though. she pulled a shirt of mine out of the laundry basket and put her head through the sleeve. She was wondering around forever with this thing on, it hung down in the front like a dress, so she'd twirl around and try to make it fly up lol. What a monkey. She's been sick the last couple of days, so we're hoping she gets over that soon!!

Who needs toys?

2008-07-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Avery decided a while back that her toybox would make a much better toy then her actual toys. She threw them all out of the toybox, which to this day has become a daily occurance, and sat in there reading a book. The pictures are a little fuzzy, but I'm sure you get the picture. Sometimes she looks at me while she's in there like, "so are you gonna push me around or what?" She likes being pushed around the house in the laundry basket, so I suppose this is just a bigger basket lol.

New outfit

2008-07-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

The other day I bought some of those foam puzzle pieces that go together. You can make squares or matts with them. Avery loves them, or at least she loves tearing them apart! The zero is her favorite though. She had it on her head for a long time as a hat but it wouldn't stay so she decided a skirt was good enough. I can tell already I am going to have a dress up girl on my hands.

I'm Back!! My favorite recents of Avery

2008-07-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. I'm finally back!! I tried to put a post up yesterday, but for some reason it just wouldn't let me get to this page! Finally!!! Anyway, I'm glad to be back in the blogging world. I have quite a few good pictures of Avery last month, but nothing really compares to these, I love em. Hopefully the butt shot isn't too risque lol. This was at Mike and Robyn's (Chad's parents) home just a couple weeks ago. I have lots more pictures to add as the days go on. I was really sad when my computer crashed though because I lost quite a few pictures. Pretty much every picture I've taken over the last 6 months or so. At least picasa kept the ones I blogged! It is good to be back though!!

computer crash

2008-06-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if I haven't been keeping up with everyone's blogs lately, but I have no computer! About a week ago it decided not to boot up, and of course I still have yet to take it in to the computer guys in town. Soooo, I promise I will try to keep up as much as I possibly can. I'm writing this at my sister's, and I'll check email and stuff at my mom's house every so often. It shouldn't be too long once I finally take it in to get fixed!

Avery and Dodo

2008-06-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

I was looking at some old pictures yesterday, and I came across a couple of Avery and her cousin Joey. She calls him Dodo, I love it. She's always been quite a bit smaller then him, but this top picture cracks me up. They are only 24 days apart. I think this was taken just a few days after she was born.

This is my favorite picture of Joey and Avery. We went and got their 6 mo pictures taken together, and had them use the saddle prop. There was no situating them here, they just sat there and posed themselves. I love this picture! I love the mischievous look on Avery's face lol. I really hope they'll be good buds forever.

They sure do have a lot of fun together now, that is, when one isn't pummeling the other one over the head with something. Joey loves to smother her in kisses, and Avery likes to, well, she just likes to beat Joey up lol. I have so many pictures of Avery and Joey in Hawaii, and almost every single one of them is of Avery pushing Joey down. Joey has started fighting back though!

I'm pretty sure as long as things like this are going on, Avery and "Dodo" will get along swimmingly! It's so fun having a cousin so close to the same age, and Avery definitely loves her big cousin Dodo.

Marge and Avery

2008-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

Almost a year ago we got our third doggy. She's Avery's dog, and both Avery and Marge know it. It's so funny to watch them together. Avery kisses her and pats her belly, and Marge acts like she's just in the lap of luxioury. She's a good dog, just wish we could get her to stop digging holes!! Any suggestions?

Next year we're going to let her have puppies with our dog Homer. Homer is half chesepeak half german shorthair, and Marge is pure bread german shorthair. I guess they call the cross pointer bays. They should be some really pretty dogs. Good hunting dogs for sure. Those dogs love birds!