First Day of School

Today Annalee and I had our first day of school. She did awesome!! I was really worried about how she would do (because she cried for a couple hours straight last week at Ladies Bible class). Her teacher said that she had a great day and even went to sleep on her nap mat, or nat nat as she calls it! She also loves her "pack pack" but it almost made her topple over because it was too heavy. My class is great also. I only have 12 kids right now, and 2 weren't there today, but somehow 10 four year olds made me very tired by the end of the day!

Sad Day

Today we were shocked to find that Sadie had died in the backyard. We have no idea how it happened, but we are sad. Micah went out to feed her and mow the grass and discovered her. She would have been 8 years old this year in November.

When we were in college, Micah wanted a bulldog for Christmas. I couldn't afford one, so I picked the next best thing...an adorable weimaraner! I met a really sweet lady at the Embassy Suites to pick her up. My mom went with me and we had such a great time loving on her sweet little face and belly. She was a perfect angel on the hour long car ride, until we stopped for fast food and then she turned into a crazed beast trying to get to our food. From that day forth, her appetite ruled her day! Somehow she managed to eat an entire quiche, a chicken fried steak, a bowl of grease, a week's worth of protein bars, a basket full of rolls, and many many other things that were left unattended in her presence. She loved to cuddle, so it was a sad day for her when Micah and I got married and she was officially kicked out of the bed! She was full of energy, a excellent guard dog, and an all-around great dog. Orange was her signature color. For some reason I always bought her an orange collar, I thought it looked good with her gray fur. Here are some pics of our Sade.



this is my favorite one of her and Micah...sitting in his front yard in college


this was right after I picked her up at the hotel


Merry Christmas Micah (sorry it's sideways!)


her first birthday...yes, we had a party


and yes, there were doggy guests!

Back in the Saddle

Goodness gracious it's been a crazy month!! The main things that have kept me running like crazy were Micah's oral surgery (to have his wisdom teeth out), Micah's 2nd surgery to have his infection cleaned up, Rachel's wedding, workdays for pre-k, open house for pre-k, major computer problems, Annalee's sleep troubles, working and shopping the greatest consignment event for babies and kids and just trying to maintain a decent household!! I have pictures for most of these occasions, but they will have to wait until I have more time! I will leave you with a cute pic of Annalee and her cousin at Rachel's wedding. She was the flower girl and he was one of the ring bearers.

First Piggies!

I never thought Annalee's hair would be long enough for pig tails, but now it is! The only problem now is getting her to sit still long enough to fix it!

I don't know why I can't get this picture to be turned right, sorry!

We managed to make it back to Colorado this summer! This time around we brought Annalee, Mama Jo, and Papa. We had such a great time in the mountains. The weather was amazing...I don't think the temperature ever got above 75 degrees! We went on 2 multi-mile hikes in the Rocky Mountains, went to a James Taylor concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater, saw lots of wildlife, ate yummy food, shopped a little, and just enjoyed the outdoors and each other. A big thanks to Mama Jo and Papa for all their help with Annalee!

Happy 6 Years Hon!! I love you!

Good Times

Karson and I were able to have a baby-free shopping day at Canton on Friday! Thank you grandmothers!! We hit the ground running at 6 am and we were shopping before we knew it. Although, we may have been a little too eager because we had to wait a few minutes for all of the booths to open. I was on the hunt for a kid-sized dining set among other things. By the look on Annalee's face below I think she approves! I plan on sanding it down and re-painting it...I just haven't decided what color yet. I also found a super cute night stand for her big girl room, it's pink and was only $35.00!




At dinner with Mama Jo, Caleb and Papa.


Sweet cousins


Keep scrolling down to see our fun day at the circus.

The Greatest Show on Earth

We recently went to the circus with Kandi, Jack, and Katie. Kandi scored some awesome front row tickets, so we were right in the middle of the action!!! Literally. The ring master talked to Kandi, the main clown handed Annalee a hat, and we were on the jumbo-tron during one of the death-defying acrobat acts. (which took place directly above our heads, yikes) It was so much fun even if I was a nervous wreck the whole time! Thanks for inviting us Kandi. Annalee loved her first visit to the circus. She sat so still in my lap for the majority of the show and just watched and pointed.

Before the show


Watching the clowns


The hat that the clown gave us (it supposed to look like his crazy hair)



The circus wore us out!

What to do with babies?

Last night I was trying to find a website that has a list of activities to do with babies. You know, places to go, things to do with kids under 2.

I wasn't very successful.

Karson and I wanted to take the girls to do something baby-friendly that didn't involve them being in their strollers. We ended up going to our church and playing in the toddler play area, which turned out to be really fun for them.

What do you do in our area that is fun for your little ones? I need some suggestions because Annalee is starting to get really bored with me this summer! Thanks!

Seriously???

I've been on the hunt for a new shower curtain for my bathroom.

A. I was tired of my decor

and

B. I accidentally shrank the existing one in the dryer-big time!

So after searching for one for about 6 months, I thought the search was over. I was flipping through the new Pottery Barn catalog and found this wonderful creation.

I fell in love with it because the tile in my bathroom is the original chicken wire tile (from 1922) with a light blue border around the edge. I love the tile and don't want to get rid of it, but that means that I have to work around the light blue.

I was so excited, so I hopped in the car and headed up to the local PB only to find out that they don't have it in their store yet. No problem, right, just order it online....wrong! I went home, got online, and discovered that this item won't be available for shipping until the end of August!

Why on earth would you put something in a catalog that isn't available to buy yet? This really frustrated me! I was looking forward to redecorating my bathroom this weekend, I guess I'll have to wait another month.

Just had to vent, thanks!

Here are some more 4th of July pictures. Thanks Aunt Ray Ray for sending them my way!

I love this one of Annalee loving on her baby doll. Also, please note her red sparkly flip-flops that I found at a resale shop for $2!


My sweet girl just being happy!


If you can't eat a cookie with Papa, who can you eat one with? :)


Nice group shot, but did you notice the bunny ears on Rachel's head. Thanks complete stranger!!

Yankee Doodle

We had a great 4th of July celebration this year. We started off the day with a cookout and swimming at a friend's house. The guys even made a gigantic slip and slide down a huge hill. It was pretty entertaining to watch. Sorry, no pictures of that. Later in the evening we went to the Botanic Gardens to hear the symphony play patriotic music. It seemed like about half of the entire city was there. I've never seen so many people in one yard like that before! The fireworks show was amazing!! They were firing them off directly behind the stage (so it seemed). A red hot ember landed on the blanket in front of us and a lady had to pour a glass of water on it to put it out!! I was a little terrified of catching on fire, but we survived. Here are some pics of the concert and picnic. Rachel took some really cute ones on her camera that I'm still waiting to receive, so I'll have to post them later-hint, hint! :)

Dress Up Time

This is what Annalee did when I told her it was time to get dressed! Not exactly what I had in mind. :)




Trying to fill her daddy's shoes!

Annalee's Day Day

For several months we thought that Annalee called all babies 'day day'. Then one day she started saying 'baby', so we just assumed that she figured it out. Well, Yvette and I have realized that she stills calls David 'day day' and in the same moment will point to other babies and say 'baby'. Could it be that one of her first words was David (or day day)! It's precious! Here's a pic and a video of Annalee's day day!

A Water Table, or a Teeny Tiny Swimming Pool??

I think we need to go to Target and get a baby swimming pool!

(Of course, she climbed in here on her own!)

1,100 Mile Callused Feet Vs The Ped Egg

***Warning***


If you are disgusted by feet-DO NOT SCROLL DOWN!! May be inappropriate for small children. (Annalee literally wept when she saw these feet!)
































Uncle Josie recently returned from hiking 1,100 miles on the Appalachian Trail for the last 3 months. His feet took quite a beating. After asking how his feet felt, he took off his shoes and showed us. It was at this point that Annalee started screaming and crying at the sight. Seriously. He was curious about my Ped Egg after seeing it on my blog. Conveniently, I had an extra one that I sold him. (Don't worry Karson, I bought you another one!) Then he got to work. Here are some before and after shots of the atrociousness.









Before



After



About the Ped Egg, Josiah was quoted saying, "Before I used the Ped Egg all I had was club feet, now I can soar like an eagle!"

Hello Ped Egg, Goodbye Calluses!

Umm, have you heard of the Ped Egg yet? I definitely hadn't until my super cool friend Karson let me in on the newest craze! Remember the "slicer" they used to use at pedicure places that are now outlawed, well, this is it's replacement!! You yourself can own your very own Ped Egg for only $9.99. Just stop on by your local CVS, Walgreens, or any other place they sell "As Seen On TV" products. I just used it and I am way impressed. I felt very safe using it (if you follow the directions) and at no point was I endanger of slicing my foot off. I kinda have a collection of pedicure type products and this one is legit people! No more excuses for nasty dry feet in this house anymore! :)