September 12, 2011

My babies started preschool today, and without a tear shed from either of them, I might add....ok, so I got a little choked up for a second, but I didn't shed any tears. I was so proud of them for running to get on the bus and for looking so tiny next to it. They are big girls now, even though they will be my babies forever.

Olivia Grace - 1st day of preschool

Lauren Kylie -1st day of preschool

During their bus ride to school I was driving, hoping to beat the bus to their school so I could take pictures. It worked well, without even speeding. Once I got there, luckily I found their teacher right away (Ms. Angie, she's the best). She goes on like the helicopter parents aren't hovering, she's a pro! No, I didn't stay long, but I did watch them walk in a line to their classroom (of course snapping picture after picture). One mom stayed right with me as she walked with her daughter too....so no, I'm not the only helicopter mom out there. I just love my girls and I want them to know I'm proud of them and I want them to remember their first day as I will.

Waiting patiently for the bus to arrive!

Sept. 6, 2011

I guess it's been a few months since I've been on here....hmmm....sorry about that. It's either because I've kind of been a "single parent" or it's been I haven't had time to think, see, or do anything since January when Jerry started the Police Academy! I think I'm ready for him to be done....sort of. He did have a 2 week break right before fall classes started and he did kind of ruin our nightly routine, but it was kind of nice having him home in the evenings to help with the kids.

This summer flew by. Jerry had class every other weekend (Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, YES, even Sunday's) and the weekends he didn't have class, he had internship. So needless to say he was busier than ever and I was still a "single parent" during the summer...more so if you ask me.

Ally started school today, first grade! WOW, she's getting big and more sassy by the minute. She really thinks she's hot stuff with her sparkly shirt, vest, and jean capris...oh and don't forget the Twinkle Toes shoes (I do kind of feel bad for her teacher, those shoes are really obnoxious!).

All the neighbor kids at Ally's bus stop!

The little girls don't start school until next Monday and in their eyes it couldn't start soon enough. I think they've been begging to go to school for at least 9 months, if not longer...yes they are crazy! We had a nice home visit from their teachers tonight (Miss Angie and Miss Sue). The preschool program the girls are going to is State funded, so they require 2 home visits per school year. I'm really excited for the girls because they are so excited, however, I'm a little sad and nervous for them...they're so little and so young to be riding the bus by themselves and they're not too good at listening (following rules). Please pray for all of us!

I guess this update is a quick one, frankly I'm sure there's been more that's been happening, however, like I said earlier, being a "single parent" really doesn't give me much time to write, post, or remember what happened the last 3 months, let alone what happened yesterday!....oh yeah, yesterday Jerry and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary....HA, that's pretty good memory, if I do say so myself!

April 20, 2011

Today was one of those days when you wake up (after not sleeping well) and remember that you have to be in a mode of work (because you have a big meeting), even though you know that in a few short hours you will be spending time saying your last goodbyes to a friend who passed on to be with his Lord at the early age of 34.....

Today I attended a funeral like no other I had ever been to. Every funeral, since my dad's I cry no matter who the person is, if I've known them or not, I shed tears because I remember the day that I had to say goodbye to my dad... and that will be a memory that is embedded in my head for the rest of my life.

Today's funeral was for a high school friend, he actually graduated with Paul, but he was a dear friend to me in high school. He coaxed me over and over to attend Young Life, and come to find out he was still coaxing anyone and everyone he could to follow God up until the day he died. I hadn't talked to him in many years, probably since high school, or shortly after that at least, but I will never forget his bold and powerful, crazy and funny, honest and fair, friendly and loving personality. He put a smile on everyone's face and he knew how to be that person that everyone loved. Today, I yet again learned a lesson from him, and though his body is in the earth and I will not be reunited with him until I pass on, his passion for God and the way he lived his life will be a reminder for me to serve the Lord and do right with Him.

Derek with be forever missed by many, but his legacy and his love for life, his love for his family and friends, and his love for his Lord will forever live on through so many people. What an inspiration he was and today's funeral was nothing less than inspirational!

April 4, 2011

Spring has sprung...or at least we're being teased a little here and there. It's got to be here soon enough, so I thought I why not think spring and then maybe it will turn into spring.

Spring brings many things...

1. a "pond" in our backyard

2. rain = mud

3. dog poop in the grass from all winter long

4. wind like you've never heard (because we don't have trees at our house or anywhere near by)

5. sand/dirt in the house

I can't wait to get outside to do the yard work and oh, did I forget to mention buy new shutters (that the wind blew off) and paint them? Yay, I can't wait (can you hear the sarcasm?) Yes, spring is great! Don't you think so?

On a side note. Saturday we had the girls birthday party. After contemplating IF we were going to have one or not, I finally got my act together and decided they deserved one, since we've never really had a big party for them before and Ally gets one every year. They wanted a "princess party" but I have a hard time doing all girly girl parties when half the guests are boys. So instead of a "princess party" we did more a "royalty party." There was dancing at the royal ball, castle cake and ice cream eating on "fine china," castle building with sugar cubes, and a hunt for dragon eggs. It was fun and the girls had a great time! Of course their favorite part was the

presents! Thank you to everyone who came to help celebrate the lives of our four year olds!

March 17, 2011

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY LAUREN KYLIE & OLIVIA GRACE!

Another year older....for the girls that is. They turned 4 today and it was one of those days where I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Don't get me wrong, I am happy they are growing up, I'm not a big fan of the baby stage, or the toddler stage, but soon they'll be going off to school and then they get a sassier mouth on them, and then they become pre-teens, then teens (Lord help us), and finally they are out of the house....hmmm, that about sums it up.

These last 4 years have flown by. I can remember the day I found out I was pregnant, then we found out we were having twins, the pregnancy was HORRIBLE, and then they finally arrived. It all seemed like a month or so ago. Now they're 4 and sassier and naughtier than ever (well, not today, but you get the idea).

Lauren is still my space cadet. She loves being a free spirit and practices very hard on ignoring her parents...she's actually pretty darn good at it too. She's very quick witted. She says the funniest things and doesn't even think about what she's saying half the time, it just comes out. She's also a couch potato, LOVES tv and movies! Although she's the type that watches a little bit, talks a LOT, plays a little, and then repeats the process over again. She can't sit still for long, it's like she gets bored and needs to hear herself talk. I here "momma" about 500 times a day from her, I've recently thought about changing my name because of her. She LOVES dressing up like a princess and loves pretending she's a mom, a dog, a cat, a baby, and even a daddy sometimes.

Olivia (OG) on the other hand is my cuddle bug. She loves her back rubbed, her back scratched, and loves to be held. She loves to share her stuff with other people, she's very sweet. She loves to do crafts and actually sits there and works very hard on her pictures or whatever she's making. Her latest thing is writing her name. She can write it forward and backward (not sure what that means, but she can do it). She loves picking flowers, coloring pictures, and dressing up in dress up clothes. She would love someone to read to her all day long. Reading books are one of her favorite things to do. She also loves riding her bike, ice skating, and swimming.

They are both fun loving little girls. They recently in the last couple months started sleeping together again in the same bed. The last few days they've been sick and while being sick they're not sleeping the best. Unfortunately they keep waking each other up. Last night was one of the worst nights, so I tried moving Lauren back into her bed. Neither one of them wanted to partake in that. OG screamed bloody-murder, to the point I thought she was in SO much pain (being sick and all) I thought about taking her to the ER. Turns out, after I asked her what hurt she said, "I want to sleep with Lauren." So Lauren moved back to OG's bed and they fell fast asleep (for awhile before the next wake up). They really do have a close bond and it's fun seeing them together. They sure do love each other and we love them so much!

Today we spent the day together, even though Ally was at school, we still had a fun day. First thing this morning they opened their presents before Ally got on the bus for school. Then around 11:00 we went to the movies, we saw Despicable Me. After the movie we came home to relax a little bit (since the girls have been sick for 4 days straight). We did play outside for a little bit before Ally got home from school. Then Ally and I ate some dinner (the girls didn't want anything), Jerry went to school, and I took the girls to the Children's Museum. We all had fun, too bad the girls weren't feeling that great. The saddest part is, they didn't even want cake!

March 7, 2011

I know I said I would update this a little bit more often...and I know I've failed to do that, but on my defense, life is crazy. You try raising 3 little girls practically by yourself. I know I'm still married, but Jerry is a technically a single parent during the day and I'm a single parent at night 4 days out of the week (well, 5 for Jerry). So life is BUSY. Good, but busy! By the time I put the girls to bed at night, I just like to sit and relax.

I've been trying to find a hobby to do after the girls are sleeping. Frankly I've come up with a couple things, but I'm too darn tired to even think about doing anything after they are asleep!

It's been 2 months since Jerry started the Police Academy. TWO MONTHS! Holy cow! It seems like it was last week. Time sure does fly when you're having fun!...well fun for him at least. He loves the academy. He's learning things that excite him and interest him....and to go along with that, I'm learning a lot too...and getting a little freaked out by things. Now that he only has 8 more months to go, I think I get a little more scared everyday...not that I think about it everyday, but when someone asked about it or asked about him and how things are going, I get a little freaked out. I know he's a smart guy and uses his head wisely, but there are a LOT of crazy people out there! REALLY CRAZY PEOPLE!

Let's see, what's been happening in our world lately? I honestly don't know....I took Ally skiing for the first time. She did awesome, which really isn't a big surprise. She's a natural athlete. She was going down the hills by herself by the end of the day. She love it and wants to go again.

Over my birthday weekend Jerry and I got away without the girls. We went to Traverse City with our church for a couples retreat. It was really fun and much needed. We hung out with friends and learned about the 5 Love Languages. Something that I had already heard about, but it was interesting to go through it together at a retreat.

Last weekend we went to the Double JJ Resort with my parents and Paul & Amy. The girls had a blast and we were ALL exhausted by the end of the weekend.

I guess that pretty much brings you up to speed on what's been happening in our lives. Next week is the girls 4th birthday and it kind of shocks me that they'll be 4 already. I can't imagine them going to school in the fall....starting preschool is a big deal, but more about them next week...stay tuned.

January 10, 2011

The day has finally come...Jerry starts the 2011 GRCC Police Academy today. He did have an orientation last week Thursday, Jan. 6, but today starts his classes. We didn't have time to talk before he went to class because he came to my work to eat, get dressed, and swap cars...while I was working and didn't have time to really focus on him (unfortunately).

This will be our life for the next 10 months. I really hope it goes fast...I'm not so sure I'd make a very good single parent. Nights are hard for me. I miss my girls all day long while I'm at work, but when I get home I'm exhausted. I have a hard time playing when I'm all crashed and burned out like that. If today is any inclination of what these 10 months will bring, I am going to dread the weekdays.

After Jerry's orientation last week, when he walked in the door, Lauren saw him and said "daddy, you look handsome." He was all dolled up in his uniform, looking mighty handsome, if I do say so myself. He has two specific uniforms, one for physical training (PT) and one for the classroom. This picture is obviously of his classroom uniform (class A uniform is what it's really called).

Jerry will be in class four nights a week from 5-10:15 pm. Since I do not get out of work until 4:00 (on a normal day) he will be bringing the girls to my work at 4:00 so I can turn around with them and go back home. It's the only way he can be on time for his 5:00 class. It will be interesting getting used to this new schedule, but it will also be weird after the 10 months having dinner as a family again every night. I think that will be the hardest part...not having dinner as a family.

The girls and I are so proud of Jerry for going after his dream...I just pray PT doesn't kill him and these 10 months go fast!

January 2, 2011

The first post of the new year, my last night of an 11 day break, the start of a new week. My 11 day break was a great one, it did start off a little rough and it did end a little rough, but in between was very nice, relaxing, and fun.

I had to work a 1/2 day on Wednesday, Dec. 22. When I got home I ate lunch and went out to play in the snow with the girls. After a two and a half hour adventure outside, I came in to rest while the girls played for a little bit. All of the sudden Ally & Olivia came downstairs from playing nicely in their rooms and were talking about Ally's nose hurting her. Come to find out, Ally had stuck a Barbie salt shaker up her right nostril of her nose. Unfortunately it was too big and too far up for me to get it out...so off to the Urgent Care center her and I went. I'm pretty sure she learned her lesson. From there things just got better.

Christmas Eve we went to my mom's for dinner and Christmas with her and Bob, and Paul and Amy. It was very nice.

Christmas morning Ally was the first one up at 7:00 wanting to open presents, but being the mean mom I am, I made her wait until the girls woke up (never wake a sleeping baby!), so I took a shower and right after that the girls woke up. We opened presents and Lauren was the only one who wasn't happy with some of her presents, but she got over it. Around 10:00 Jerry's mom and Ken, and my mom and Bob came over for brunch. After we ate, the girls opened their presents from Judy and Ken. It was a very nice and relaxing day at home.

After the Christmas festivities were over we cleaned up the house, organized a little bit, and spent time with family and friends. My cousin Kristi and her family came for a visit from North Carolina. It's always a fun time when they come for a visit. We try to see them as much as possible since they only visit twice a year. The week was filled with some much needed family time which included Chuck E Cheese and ice skating.

New Years Eve we spent at our house, Kristi & her family, Julie (Kristi's sister) & her family, Patti (their mom), my mom & Bob, and Paul & Amy all came over for a total of 20 people at our house. We ate, the kids played, the adults drank, laughed, and caught up. Memories were made!

The the rough ending started....I woke up around 3:30 am on New Year's day and got sick...not the kind from drinking too much. It was not fun! After sleeping in until 10:00, I got up feeling about 80% better than I did, but still wasn't feeling 100%. Later in the evening, Olivia started crying. She was complaining about her ear hurting. She cried for about a 1/2 hour then I gave her some ear drops and then she fell asleep on me. She took a 2 hour nap and thought that was good enough...she was up until about 11:30 last night. Today she seems much better, but her eye is a little goopey and she's had a cough for just over a week now. We might be calling the pediatrician tomorrow.

So today brought on a weird thought. Six years ago today, Sunday, January 2, 2005, Paul, Jerry, and I were at dinner with my dad...the last dinner that we ever had together. I actually had a very sad moment today about it, but it was literally that, a moment. This time of year is very weird for me. I always get nervous that something's going to happen to someone I love, because it happened once and it could happen again. It's the weirdest feeling and I can't explain it, but it is always a happy time going back to work the day after holiday break because I know things are ok and everyone I love is ok too. In a couple days things will hit me and I'm sure I'll have a break down at some point during the day, but I will be ok. These past couple months I have thought about my dad more than normal. I am still angry with him for not taking care of himself better when he was alive but I think his death is finally hitting me. I'm not sure what's provoking it, but I have been thinking about him, crying about him, and missing him more and more all of the sudden. This week is going to be a hard one because the dates and the days are the same as they were six years ago when the event happened. Please say a prayer for my family, including my aunts, my uncle, and my brother.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

December 3, 2010

I can't believe it's December already. Thanksgiving seems like it was a few weeks-a month ago, but it was just last week. We had a great 4 days of family time. I can't wait to have 11 days off at Christmas.

We're all doing great. No sickness (knock on wood) and just as normal as can be. We are struggling with finding Jerry a job but there are prospects out there and we keep praying every day and night that he will get something soon. It is a little stressful for me because I'm such a worry wart and feel like I always need to be in control of things...this is one thing I have learned I cannot control. God is in control of this and I am trying with all my might to let him lead the way. Although it is hard, I feel like I'm sitting patiently waiting for his big plan to kick in. Feel free to pray with us that Jerry will get a job soon and that we'll be able to pay all our bills again soon. :) Thank you!

The girls are still as silly and naughty as can be. Lately I find them nearly nude when I walk in the door every day from work. I'm not sure what that's all about beside them pretending they are cats and dogs.

Ally's school is going great. She's learning to read and write. She's counting to 100 (with the help of the game Shoots and Ladders). She loves playing in the snow! I've said this sense she was born and still say it today "she would live outside if we let her." She loves the outdoors whether it's hot or cold.

Lauren is just Lauren. She's my space cadet and my sweetie pie all at the same time. She's been pretty stubborn with her eating habits lately and I'm a little concerned, but I will know if and when it's time to call the pediatrician, so don't worry, time will tell... She also is my couch potato and she's my princess. From the time she wakes up in the morning to the time she goes to sleep at night she's got her purse on her arm and a dress on her body.

Olivia, she's just another character. She's really into painting, she like to create pictures worth a million bucks, too bad they're always on coloring book pages. Olivia is my stubborn child. She always wears a scowl on her face (I wonder where she gets that from) and she holds her own pretty well. I guess being the baby she needs to do that. She has her moments of tender love and care and she's so sweet sometimes you can't even stand it.

Thanksgiving was a great week. As I reflected on what I am thankful for, many things came to mind. Of course I'm thankful for my husband and my 3 healthy, beautiful, naughty girls. But I was also thinking that I'm thankful for HEALTH, life, and love. I have really been thinking about my dad lately and how he would've been 60 this past October. He was taken from this earth way too early and he never met his granddaughters, he never met his daughter-in-law, and he would've loved them ALL so much! I'm not sure why this year has been one of the harder ones without him, but he has been on my mind more these last couple months more than ever. I am thankful I have my step-mom back in my life. I am thankful that I have my step-brothers back in my life. I am forever thankful for my mom, step-dad, brother, and sister-in-law. I love them all so much!

This Christmas season we are going to reflect and rejoice on the day Jesus was born because between him and God, we are so thankful for many things in our lives and we know the big plan is bound to come and bound to happen soon, or at least start to happen soon for us.

Next year will be in interesting one. I'm sure it will be stressful, I'm sure it will be eventful, I'm sure it will be filled with memories, and I'm sure it will bring happiness to our family. I just pray it will bring the year that we've all been waiting for for many years. God is good and I have faith He will bring the good to our family, the good that we need.

November 12 & 13, 2010

Jerry has been waiting for this day to happen for about a year and a half. He's worked hard in his classes, worked even harder during his MCOLES physical test, and after his 65 page application was turned in, he waited nearly two months to get an interview for the Police Academy. November 4 at 8:00 am, he was sitting in a small conference room with the Director of the Police Academy, 3 uniform police officers from around the county, and one cadet from this years academy video taping the interview that would get him into the 2011 GRCC Police Academy!

November 11: Jerry went to the mailbox about 4-5 times waiting for the mail to arrive. He was waiting on a letter from the Police Academy to see if he got in or not. After waiting all day, he finally realized that it was Veteran's Day and that the mail doesn't come on Veteran's Day. So....

November 12: Again, he waited around 1/2 the day until the mailman finally brought the mail. Too bad, the letter wasn't in there. While I was at work, my good friend, Bo, who happens to be a GRCC Police Officer and a Police Academy Instructor stopped by to see me. I kept pressuring him to ask the Police Academy Director all week if Jerry got in or not. He kept teasing me that he wouldn't tell even if he did find out. That afternoon he found out and later that evening he text me and said "tell your husband he's got a busy year ahead of him." Right then and there I ran outside and told Jerry that he got in!

November 13: He finally got his letter of Congratulations and he starts the academy on January 6/7.

We are all so proud of him and everything he has accomplished this past year and a half to get to where he is right now! Now we just have to get through the next year, specifically January thru October. It's going to be a long year for all of us, since all his classes are in the evening from 5-10:30 pm. Please pray for all of us, because you know we will be!

November 3, 2010

Right after Halloween, right after being Glinda, the good witch, for Halloween, Olivia found some scissors in the basement and decided to give herself a haircut. When Ally saw was she was doing, Ally said, "you can't use scissors" and proceeded to take them from her and finish the haircut for her. About 10 minutes later they came upstairs to show Jerry what they had done and he was more than livid. The story he got was that Ally had cut OG's hair. So the consequence that followed was to sit in her room for 15 minutes, then call mommy at work to tell her what she had done, then pay for OG's new haircut, and no treats (candy) for a week. Later on in the day the truth started coming out that Olivia found the scissors and started cutting her own hair first, then Ally finished it up. So naturally, OG had to pay for her haircut along with Ally and they both lost treats for a week.

After the duel effect of OG & Ally....

During the professional cut....

And after the cut and a bath...not too much better, but at least the back is even again.

Hopefully they all learned a lesson from this tragedy!

October 9, 2010

And to think I was doing pretty well at updating this thing. I missed Ally's birthday post! I'm a terrible mom!

5 years ago, from 8 lbs. 4 oz., now she's 39 lbs. 4 oz.

Ally turned 5 on Sept. 29. We had a cowboy/cowgirl birthday party for her. I made her a horse cake and we took all her little friends to the Cavanaugh Farm (60th & McCords) for a horse pulling wagon ride. It was a perfect day for this, not too hot and just a slight chill in the air. After the wagon ride, we came back to our house for presents (Ally's favorite part) and cake & ice cream. Overall she had a fantastic time, after she finally came down from her bedroom to meet her guests that is.

The week prior to her birthday was a little rough. I'm not exactly sure what was going through her head, but she decided to be difficult with everyone, which is very out of the ordinary for her. We threatened to cancel her party but she knew we weren't going to do that, so it was an empty threat, which didn't held her attitude any. After her birthday things started slowly getting back to normal for her and as of today she's 99% back to my sweet baby (5 year old) girl!

In the last 5 years Ally has grown into a very sweet little girl. She has never been a cuddler and remains my only child to not be a cuddler. She's loving kindergarten and meeting new friends everyday. She's going to start Girl Scouts and I have volunteered to be one of her troop leaders. (This should be interesting...not for her, but for me.) She has learned to ride her bike without training wheels, she's very helpful, honest, loving, caring, shy, quiet, and friendly! She makes friends very easily and loves being with her friends. The other day she told Jerry that Ryan from school asked her to be his girlfriend. So I guess now she's even got a new boyfriend. Ally has a hard time expressing herself, but she gets that from both of her parents, so we can't fault her too much for that one. She has an excited side, a silly side, and she's very sarcastic (like her mom). She's a jokester and she loves having fun. She's into crafts, going for bike rides, writing, and playing with her friends.

Our baby girl is growing up, but I'm so excited about who she's turning into! Happy (late posting) 5th Birthday Allyson Jae Seevers! We all love you so much!

Sept. 7, 2010

Today was Ally's first day of kindergarten. She's been so excited for school to start because this year she gets to ride the bus. I'm not so sure what's so cool about the bus, but it's cool to her. Last week at we went to Alto Elementary to meet her new teacher, Mrs. Pierce and we got to take a bus ride with Ally. The whole time we were at her school all she kept saying was, "can we go on the bus now?"

So this morning I woke her up around 7:15 because I wanted to make sure she was awake, fed, dressed, snap a few pictures, and at the bus stop by 8:10. The bus is scheduled to pick her up at 8:19, but of course the first day was a little late....like 15 minutes late (but who's counting). By 7:35 she was ready to go out the door, unfortunately she wasn't fed yet, her lunch wasn't made, and it was a little too early to stand at the bus stop.

At about 8:10 I went outside with her and her sisters to snap some pictures and a bus came down the street and stopped in front of our house. I was a little dumb-founded since Ally's bus stop is two houses down from ours. A couple seconds later the bus driver kept going and stopped in front of our neighbors house. A minute later the neighbors came out and Jack the little boy hopped right on the bus. Jack is going to preschool this year. He was so cute getting on the bus...and then it hit me, my little girl is going off to kindergarten, and she's taking the bus, and I started to cry. I cried watching the neighbor boy get on the bus to go to preschool, hello??? What's wrong with that picture. I guess it was good to get it all out at home, without anyone noticing because when it came time for Ally to get on the bus, I was fine. Snapped a few pictures and waved her off.

Of course, then I went to her school to see her get off the bus, walk her to her classroom, take some more pictures, and give her a big hug and kiss! Oh and then I came home early to see her get off the school bus (which was 25 minutes late, but who's counting) and she was so CRABBY she wouldn't even talk to any of us. WOW, what a day! From high to low in a matter of a few short hours. She was exhausted by the end of the school day and she was SO hungry, since she didn't eat much all day, that I hope this doesn't happen everyday.

At dinner she started telling us a little bit about her day, but it was like pulling teeth, she just didn't want to share her exciting day. I guess I'm not too surprised, but I was hoping it would be a little better than reality.

We'll see how she does on Thursday...it's a new chapter in Ally's book and I have good feelings for her about this year.

On a side note...today was also the day that Jerry turned in his Police Academy Application. Please pray he gets in. He will then start in January 2011.

Sept. 3, 2010

Today Jerry had his PT (physical training) test for the police academy. This test consisted of:

16" vertical jump (which he did 21")

30 sit ups in 60 seconds (which he did 33)

30 push ups in 60 seconds (which he did 30)

and

1/2 mile shuttle run in 4 minutes 38 seconds (which he did in 4 minutes 20 seconds)

That means he PASSED and does not have to try again AND he gets to turn his Police Academy Application in on Sept. 7.

We're so proud of him and now we just pray he gets into the academy which starts in January!

August 24, 2010

After our trip to Pentwater, Ally decided she was big enough to ride a two-wheel bike without training wheels. My best friend told me to take her training wheels and her pedals off and let her balance for a few days. Knowing Ally, she's one determined little girl...she practiced for about 10 minutes right away, then a few more minutes here and there. Within 24 hours she was riding around with pedals and with OUT training wheels. The only problem is, she's a LOT faster without training wheels than she ever was with them. I guess I'm going to have to take bike rides from now on just to keep up...no more walking for me.

August 19-22, 2010

We went to Pentwater camping for a long weekend!! It was our first real camping trip of the summer...yes, we know, summers just about over. I guess our summer was extremely busy with other things. We all had a great time and the best part was we got to spend some much needed time away from life with great camping friends!

(Going up the stairs): Lauren, Averi, Ally, Logan, Olivia

Averi, OG, Lauren, Ally, Logan

All the kids...Kiersten, Jordan, Logan, Ally, Averi, OG, Trenton, Lauren

The ONLY bad part about the whole weekend was the "hurricane" that came through. The motorhome leaked in places that I didn't even know existed! Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper on Friday night and Saturday morning. Water was getting to me every which way I slept, so around 3:30 am I ended up sleeping on the floor...the water dripping on my forehead was the last straw!

August 17, 2010

I couldn't stand it anymore...the girls hair was out of control....so I cut it. And if I do say so myself, it didn't turn out too bad (for my first time cutting hair)!

Here's Olivia getting ready for her haircut first. She was a little nervous...as I was too, but I couldn't show that to her.

Lauren went second...as I was cutting her hair, she was tilting her head...I didn't notice until I was just about done. Needless to say, I had to start over and make it even since it ended up on a nice slant. Her's is a little shorter than OG's.

Ally went last, but not least...I cut a couple inches off of hers. Her hair doesn't grow as fast as the little girls. Plus her hair looks a lot better shorter because it's so fine.

This was NOT the end product (but close enough)...because once everyone's hair dried, I had to put them back on the table for touch ups.

August 6-8, 2010

Last weekend we went to Amy's family's cottage near Baldwin. Paul & Amy, my mom & Bob, and all 5 of us went. We left on Friday, after I got home from work, with directions that Paul had emailed me that morning. I didn't quite read over the directions until we started on our voyage and once I started reading them Jerry and I were cracking up. The directions went something like, follow this sign, and turn left before the dirt road, and go to the yellow blinking light, and go past the guard rails on both sides of the street, and look for the wooden long trash bin...I think you get the point. You will all be happy to know that Paul did know what he was talking about and frankly our directions were better than the ones he gave my mom and Bob because they got lost and we got there just fine, no problems what-so-ever. On the way home we just took M-37 the whole way! Here are some pictures from our FUN and RELAXING weekend.

The girls jumped right in the lake and swam most of the weekend.

Even Buddy (our dog) and Corky (Paul & Amy's dog) swam most of the weekend.

Grandma, Lauren, and Ally play Hi Ho Cherry O first thing Saturday morning...because it was too early and a little too chilly to go swimming yet.

The girls and Aunt Amy making sand castles.

Me and my sunbathing beauty/partner Olivia Grace.

Buddy taking Lauren for a swim (she was holding his tail and he didn't care too much).

Uncle Paul took us for a ride on the three wheeler through the woods.

What a great weekend!

August 3, 2010

Last week we went to visit Jerry's grandma since we haven't seen her in awhile. She lives in an assisted living home and is doing pretty well. For awhile we thought we might lose her this year yet, but she's doing much better than she was at the beginning of the year. She loves the girls so much and every time we see her she takes LOTS of pictures....and so do I.

Jerry's grandma Irish is our only living grandparent since my grandpa passed away last fall and Jerry's grandma Jo passed away the fall of 2008. She holds a special place in our hearts.

July 27, 2010

I guess it's been awhile since I've posted anything. I wonder if anyone still checks this...if so, sorry. Life has taken a turn down the busy street the last few months and I just haven't had time to update the blog or even think about it. Again, I apologize.

I'm not going to update you with everything's that been happening, only because this post would be WAY too big. Instead I'm going to try my hardest to post little happenings from now on, but don't hold me to it because life does get in the way sometimes.

A normal work night I usually am in my room by 10:00/10:30 pm. Last night I decided to watch a movie with my husband. The movie ended around 11:00 and when I was heading upstairs in the dark I noticed something on the stairs. I nearly screamed because it scared me, but then I realized it was just my little Lauren. We never even heard her come down the stairs, but yet, there she was sleeping right in the middle of them. So what did we do, take a few pictures.

Luckily she didn't fall down them while she was sleeping. Crazy little girl...