all things pumpkin...

Wow, I am so far behind! I realize I'm now three weeks past Halloween, so I'm summarizing our Pumpkin festivities into one big post.

Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch...

Our church Trunk or Treat. Marc wouldn't wear his costume and Abby spent the entire night parked by the bean bag toss and stealing lollipops out of the treat bucket.

My good friend Lois talked me into a trip to the Dallas Arboretum. This place is amazing! The flowerbeds and pumpkin displays were fantastic. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. This will be an annual tradition for sure.

I'm not one for carving pumpkins and especially not while the kids are so young. So this year my friend Angela had the brilliant idea of painting pumpkins. The kids loved it and the clean-up was easy!

And finally the big day. Marc agreed to wear most of his costume (no boots) and we made it to all of 5 houses in the neighborhood but we had fun!

We hope you had a fun Halloween too!

my wonderful wife

I just want the whole world to know how wonderful my wife is. She has done such an amazing job of taking care of not only two kids but also a husband who can't even walk or carry kids or put dishes away or any of the things she has to do all by herself ever since I broke my leg. She has been so kind and loving and has done so much for me that I can't do for myself, and she's done it all with a smile on her face. The other day I tried to take my first couple of steps in my walking cast without crutches (which didn't work) and we were laughing because Steph now has 3 toddlers instead of 2. I won't humiliate myself by putting that video up, but let's just say I can't walk nearly as well as this one of Abby, and won't be able to for another month or two:

These videos are old, but I'm so proud of Abby for how well she's walking, especially when it's not exactly easy to learn when you have this going on:

And even while refereeing those two, Steph still found time to help me get things I can't reach, help me shower, make the house more wheelchair accessible, then help me with my cast and stuff when I graduated to crutches, and do all the other things you never realize you can't do with a broken shin. She even calls me at work to remind me to ice it and keep it elevated because, you know, it looks so professional to have my foot up on the desk all day:
She's the best girl a guy could ask for (wow, that totally sounded like Wally on Leave it to Beaver, didn't it?). She even took me to see U2 even though I know it isn't her favorite band in the world:

and she let me count going to see the Cowboys get their first regular-season home win in the new stadium (finally) as "family night":

and she didn't even mind that I couldn't dance or do anything at the wedding reception, which actually turned out to be cool because we got to just hang out with Grandpa on the couch:

and she's just been a wonderful wife and mother, and the kids and I are so lucky to have her. We have had so much fun together as a family and we've been very blessed, although I'm looking forward to being able to put Abby up on my shoulders and run through the house, or go do this with Marc again (and Abby soon) because I love how he says "yeah" after every shot:

and not only because it's such good bonding time, but also because it's hilarious to see a little kid walking with a big golf bag:

and especially to grab a burger in the clubhouse. You'd never know it from this picture, but Marc always has a great time up there, especially when he's dipping the fries in BBQ sauce and feeding the ends to me, and then eating the rest of each fry himself without sauce. Hilarious.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to being able to do all of these things again, and in the meantime I just want everyone to know how wonderful my wife is and how much I appreciate her.

off to the races...

Stroller races = mom gets two minutes to prepare dinner and kids have fun until someone starts crying.

check out my new walking shoes...

That's right, I'm walking! 

yumminess...

Since Marcus broke his leg I've been trying to cook at home a little more. I've spent a lot of time searching the internet for new recipes to try and I am in love with this food and recipe blog:

All I have to say is YUM-O.

We have tried the Southwestern Beef Wraps, the Black Beans, the Lime-Cilantro rice. Tonight we are going to try out the Black Bean Soup. And I cannot wait to try out the Flank Steak (although that will be on hold until Marcus is off crutches and back to grilling again). Check it out and look at all the yummy Autumn recipes on the left-hand side of the blog. There are enough yummy treats to start the pre-holiday weight gain now.

rain, rain, go away...

It's been cold and rainy for days and days on end.  We haven't been able to play in our backyard in almost two weeks. Enough rain already! Which has me thinking. We live in a very religious state where most people go to some form of church every week. About three years ago there was a very, very dry summer and all we heard on the news was how bad the drought was getting. So what did we all do? We prayed. And prayed. And I know our church asked us to fast about it and I'm sure we weren't alone in our efforts. And so what happened the next year? It rained, and rained, and rained, and rained. We had flooding everywhere.  The lakes were unusable for most of the summer because all of the boat ramps were under water. During this time I remember reading a news article where a church official (but not from our church) in Austin was quoted as saying something like "Last year it was so dry that we all prayed and prayed for rain. And well, I guess we all prayed a little too hard."  And this year we're starting to have a repeat of events. The summer was very, very hot and dry. I heard many times on the news about how serious the drought conditions were in many parts of Texas. So what did people start doing? Praying for rain. And boy are we starting to get it. So after all this I think I've finally learned my lesson. I'm going to stop praying about the weather in Texas. 

wedding weekend!

Marcus and I flew to Utah this past weekend to see these two get hitched. I was having major anxiety about leaving the kids because it was the first time we were flying away from them. I may or may not have cried the entire way to the airport, then again during dinner at the airport, and then again on take-off. But don't worry...once we arrived in Utah the waterworks stopped and we had a weekend of fun! 

This was definitely one of the most fun weddings I've ever been to (you put on a great show auntie). Brad's family is so fun and I've known most of his cousins since I was very young. His brothers definitely dance like no one is watching and add to that my uncle and his brothers and they sure put on a show for all of us. I wish I had video to share.

And seriously, how cute are my cousins? I love these girls.

We had so much fun with my family and the only bad part was that the trip was less than 48 hours. The best part of coming home? Marcus and I arrived home to two happy and peacefully sleeping babies, a clean house and clean sheets on all the beds. Amazing.

summer whites...

I love doing laundry. I love clean, fresh clothes/towels/sheets and I LOVE discovering new laundry secrets (and then sharing them with everyone I know). So here's my latest laundry discovery: 

Pile your white clothes into a sink and add enough hot water so the clothes are covered. Then add 1 cup liquid Clorox 2, 1 cup liquid Biz Bleach (also a color-safe bleach found in the laundry aisle at the grocer), and 1 cup liquid cascade. You can increase or decrease this amount but make sure that you're using equal amounts of each. I just kind of mix the detergents around by hand in the water and once the water seems nice and mixed I let the clothes sit overnight. Come morning I squeeze out the water from my clothes, pop them in the washing machine and wash and dry as you normally would.

Your summer whites will thank you! And PS this also works to help lift those pesky yellow "age" spots that suddenly appear in white clothes when they've been packed away all winter.

***Disclaimer: I was told that you could use this formula on colors as well. HOWEVER the first time I soaked clothes like this I soaked a blue onesie and when I'd washed it I noticed the neckline had bleach spots. I'm not sure if it was from this or a previous laundry *accident* but I haven't used it on colors since.

guys' weekend

It was awesome to have the guys in Dallas for the BYU vs. Oklahoma game, one of the great moments in BYU football history:

The Dallas Cowboys' new stadium is amazing, and the 160-foot TV (the largest HDTV in the world) was so cool that I kept having to remind myself to watch the field:

It was a great game, and it once again got us talking about the BCS and a possible shot at a national championship (which, sadly, as of half an hour ago, isn't a possibility). But it was still fun to have the guys in town and to be there for such a historic moment in BYU's generally-heartbreaking history. Most of all, it was just fun to watch how much Marc loved spending the whole weekend with both his grandpas.

Unfortunately, my broken leg kept us from doing all the things you're supposed to do on a guys' weekend--like this (that's me standing fourth from the left. And no, we don't realize we're too old for this).

utah pics

a few pics from our Utah trip last month. family picture (click to enlarge):

some brother-sister time:

and "bouncy time":

and learning to stand up:

and cousin time:

then we set up for a family party with about 60 people (family parties are big when you're Mormon), which we had to move inside when the weather turned just a couple of hours after this picture:

it got cold, windy and rainy before i was able to see what it's like to jump off a diving board on top of a mountain:

so we moved the party inside, and marc tried his first free throw (Hoosiers style):

and then we hung out by the fire to warm up a little bit. then i went for a ride on a four-wheeler, and i don't remember much after that (you know, because of all the morphine they give you at the ER)

the wedding...

Labor Day weekend Marcus's friend Chris and my friend Jen tied the knot. We set them up at our wedding and while it's taken a little while (they've never lived in the same city) they got married! It was such a lovely wedding and my first time inside the Salt Lake temple. Marcus couldn't make it because of his broken leg (doesn't make travel easy) and my dad and father-in-law and brothers already had tickets for the BYU/OU football game in Dallas when the final wedding date was set.

 

One thing that was so fun about the wedding was that it was a mini reunion. I got to see all these friends (pictured above) from New York that I hadn't seen in over five years! I also got to see Corey & Ashley (sorry, no pictures of them) again because Corey is Chris' brother. I've known them since college and I wish they would move back to the great state. We miss you guys!

I love this picture because I think it's so sweet how Chris is staring at his lovely bride. Aren't wedding days so much fun?

Because I had a small role in the beginnings of their union, Chris & Jen asked me to tell the story of their dating and courtship at the reception.  They laughed throughout the story and no one seemed offended so I think I accomplished my mission.

And what post isn't complete without a picture of my little travel companion? She figured out how to open the bathroom cabinets and would play under there like it was her own hideout. 

What a fun weekend! We missed Marcus and Marc but we are all so happy for Chris and Jen! And PS they are my third successfully married couple to date--anyone out there need some setting up? 

it's been 8 years...

And I still remember the beautiful clear skies

And I still remember the sirens and confusion on my walk to work that morning

And I still remember being worried sick about my dad

And I still remember the eerie walk back to my apartment

And I still remember watching the towers fall from our windows

And I still remember the boat ride to New Jersey

And I still remember the 5 mile trek to the train station in Jersey City

And I still remember the haz mat suits and scene as they waited for the bodies that never came across the river

And I still remember the peace that came over me as we drove into my parents' driveway in Connecticut

And I still remember waking up the next morning wishing it was all a bad dream

And I still remember so much more

I will never forget

I love my country, I love my freedom and may God bless America

guess who's one???

Our little Miss Priss is one and I'm sitting here wondering where the time has gone?! Abby and I were heading to Utah for a friend's wedding on her birthday so in true Ryan form she got several birthday celebrations.

The night before the big day we had a little family celebration since we wouldn't all be together on her big day. I was feeling a little guilty that Marc had a big first birthday party and Abby wasn't going to have one so we invited the twins over for cake and ice cream.

  

She was less than thrilled with her first taste of cake. After lots of screaming and crying we got her out of the chair. The cake festivities lasted all of about 5 seconds.

The next day we flew to Utah. And boy did she perform for people on the plane. She was cute as can be (unusual for Abby + airplane rides) and she loved all the birthday attention she got. When we got to Mama and PawPaw's house she changed into her birthday dress (cousins Addie and Delaney wore it on their first birthdays) and we ate more cake. Yummy!

 

I love this picture of the three of them! Abby loved having the undivided attention of her grandparents and my cousins for a few days. She was so, so cute! 

And I'm posting her cakes so you can see the difference. Above please notice the not-very-exciting grocery store cake I got Abby. And below please notice the birthday cake my mom got for her. When I opened the box I asked my mom if it was Abby's wedding day or her first birthday? She didn't think the joke was that funny. But the cake she got sure was yummy! I just told Abby not to get used to it--her wedding cake won't be nearly as fancy.

Thanks mom & dad for hosting us! And Happy Birthday little princess! We love you so much and are so grateful you are part of our little family. 

request for prayers...

There is a darling little boy in our ward (congregation) named Bridger. He is a very sick little boy and today he is having a bone marrow transplant. So if you wouldn't mind sending up a prayer or two for him, his donor, and his sweet family I'd certainly appreciate it. They need lots of prayers and support right now.

just another day of wheelchairs and water

We had a fun Saturday. Abby decided she wasn't going to let Daddy's broken leg get in the way, so she raced me in my wheelchair

and then she decided dinner wasn't on the table fast enough, so she took matters into her own hands.

Then we went outside, and Marc fell into his usual pattern, starting with playing with the water...

then drinking the water...

then sitting in the water in his clothes...

and finally, relaxing in his own little pool. It's not a fun Saturday if you don't go through 4 changes of clothes, right?

we're kind of a mess around here...

Marcus wins the award for being the biggest mess in our family right now. Last Saturday night Marcus and his friend Ben went four-wheeling on the ranch and Marcus and a four-wheeler and a tree got into a fight and the tree won. Marcus and the four-wheeler? Not so much. He broke his tibia (shin) and has been laid up in bed ever since. Lucky for him the swelling was so bad he had to travel home on the airplane without a real cast, just a splint. You should ask him how much fun that was (not.fun.at.all). The kids and I came home a week early with him to help him out and he got casted as soon as we got home. I think he thought the real cast would solve all the pain issues and he would go on his merry way. Wrong. Pain meds and crutches are still his best friends and will be for some time. And he had to have his cast cut down both sides and wrapped in an ace bandage to alleviate swelling. He's definitely hurting the most.

And then as soon as we got home I got a major cold which I think has turned into bronchitis (self-diagnosed, of course) and I haven't been able to hear out of either ear for almost a week. They clogged up because of all the congestion in my head when we were driving down the mountain to head to the airport and then between that and the airplane they are still clogged so everything sounds to me like I'm hearing things through water. So if I haven't returned phone calls, that's why. Sorry.

Marc has a cold too. And is coming off an ear infection. And has broken out in hives two days in a row and I suspect it's a food allergy. Boo. Poor thing. 

And Abby is cutting four teeth at once. Poor little girl.

So we're just a house of sickies right now. And when our new church congregation got wind of it all today they came to the rescue. Our Relief Society president brought dinner and offered a wheelchair for Marcus to use. Her counselor, my dear friend Michelle, brought over brownies, gave Marcus advice on his broken leg (she's a doctor), cleaned up my entire kitchen with two-day-old dishes and took out my trash. Unbelievable. And another girl from our congregation called to see if she could watch my kids while I go to the doctor tomorrow to see what's wrong. I cannot believe how kind and thoughtful everyone has been! And now I'm just hoping the next week proves to be a lot less eventful than the past week has been.

our boots are packed...

And we're heading to the ranch! We'll see y'all in two weeks... And for those of you who have asked--yes, Marc wears jeans with his boots, not just a diaper. :) We take our "smiling" pictures whenever we can get them.

more than friends...

Monday night we went to dinner with the twins (and Ang of course). It all started so innocently...

And before we knew it holding hands led to hugs...

And hugs led to this...

I think we're going to have to keep an eye on these two...

in abby news...

Abby, who as of a month ago couldn't bear weight on her legs for more than 15 seconds at a time, walked all the way across the room today using the little push walker! I can't believe it! She just might learn to walk on her own before she turns two...

the twins are back in town!

Let the play dates resume! Our little friends were reunited after the twins had been gone for almost a month. Marc would ask almost every day "And Jesse and Jocey and Marc?" Which in toddler speak means, "are we going to see Jesse and Jocey?"

I'm saving this for their future wedding video...

so you think YOU can dance?

Actually, I KNOW that I can't dance but I certainly love watching it. And this season of So You Think You Can Dance has me hooked. So much so that I did something last week that I've never done before...I voted for a contestant on a television show. I've never gotten into reality contest shows much before (sorry Idol fans but it's not my thing) but I want Kayla to win so desperately that I pulled out the phone and started dialing. And tonight I voted for almost 10 minutes for the four that I want to make it to the finale. So if you watched tonight's episode...GO VOTE!

And PS am I the only one that thinks Brandon *kind of* looks like Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? 

and we're back...

We moved in a month ago today. And it's pretty much taken me that long to feel like life has gotten back to normal. Sure we still haven't hung anything on the walls and the office is still a disorganized mess, but today was the first day since we started preparing to move that just felt normal. And our wireless hasn't been set up (or rather we can't figure out how to set it up) so I spend about 1/100th of the time on the computer that I used to. And maybe that's a good thing? But tonight I finally returned to blogging and reading blogs. So if I haven't read and commented on your blog in a long time, I apologize and I will be visiting soon.

Ah...it feels good to be back.

Aren't these two cute?

happy birthday marc...

I can hardly believe my little boy turned 2.  And although it's now 12 days after his birthday, I'm still posting about my favorite two-year-old. One thing that I can't capture in a picture is that he is the sweetest little boy. He has the sweetest little voice and he loves to talk and hug and jump and laugh. He loves being with his family and he keeps us entertained all day along. And here are a few more of Marc's two-year-old loves:
Marc loves cake. We don't have it very often but when we do he gets really excited. He loved having everyone sing to him on his birthday and when Grandma Ryan brought out the birthday cake he yelled "yay cake!" But he also knows that his mom loves cake (maybe even more than he does) so he decided to give me the first bite. What a kid!
And even though he loves cake, Marc loves fruit more. It doesn't matter what kind it is he's never tasted a fruit he didn't like.  And lucky for him he has a dad who feels the same way and spoils him with yummy fruit all the time. I hope this never changes.

Marc also loves music. He loves to play the piano, he loves to drum and he loves to sing songs. When he's going to bed at night if he doesn't fall asleep right away you can often hear him singing songs to himself in bed. It's absolutely the cutest thing.

Marc's perfect day would include being outside all day long.
And the only thing that would make that perfect day even more perfect is if there is water involved.

But more than anything Marc loves his dad, mom and baby sister. When we go in to get Abby when she's been napping he'll say "Hi baby, good sleep?" and when she starts crying he rushes to her and says, "Abby, what happened?" I love what good friends these two are becoming. 

Happy (late) birthday Marc! We love you so much.

more fun in the sun...

After spending some time with the Ryans in Arizona, the kids and I went to stay with Spence and Rach and kids for a few days to get in some Critt cousin time. It was so hot! 110-115 degrees every day we were there so we spent a lot of time in the water. These 3 are just 15 months apart and they had so much fun playing together.
Abby tried hard to look cute while keeping cool (and pulled it off too!) 

One of the best places to stay cool? At the mall. Rach, her sisters' Grace and Chloe, and I took the kids to the mall to eat and then play. Lez and Linc test drove a jet ski.

Abby just chillin' in the stroller.

And boy did the kids love this!  They have a little water area at the mall.  All 5 kids loved running through the fountains. What a great idea.

We had so much fun playing with our Critt cousins and we can't wait to see you guys again soon in Utah. Thanks so much for hosting us!

fun in the sun

Well, it's been almost two weeks since we blogged, so here's all the stuff we've been up to:

As you can imagine, things have been crazy for us the past couple of weeks. Here's a "before" picture--the "after" ones will have to wait, since we're still not quite done getting settled into the new house.

Last weekend we were in Arizona to see my brother Rob, who just returned from Brazil, and the rest of the family:

Rob really enjoyed getting to know his nieces and nephew:

and we had a great time with the family:

it was about 480 degrees in Arizona so we spent a lot of time in the pool (here I am pretending I can still do all the stuff I could do in high school, like the double flip. Now it's more like a flip and 3/4, which hurts):

Marc mostly hung out in the shallow end, but we're looking forward to some diving board action next summer:

Abby had a great time with her cousins and enjoyed all of Grandma and Grandpa Ryan's fun toys:

and Marc really liked playing drums with Uncle Rob (I have some hilarious video but I need someone to teach me how to edit it and add music and stuff. Any volunteers?):

Marc had the first of what turned out to be several birthday parties (and cakes):

and another one in Texas:

and, of course, he loved his balloons more than the presents:

Thanks, everyone, for such a great time. We had a great time with the Ryans, and Steph and the kids got to stay an extra couple of days and spend time with Spencer and Rachael and their kids. I don't have any of those pictures, but Steph will blog that part of the trip. Marc and Abby are lucky to have four wonderful grandparents who love them, and we're looking forward to seeing Steph's family in Utah soon.

our new backyard...

Just became a whole lot more fun!  We hope you'll come over and play with us.

Thank you so much grandma & grandpa!  We love it.

all boxed up...

The paperwork has all be signed and we're pretty much all boxed up. 

Which means all the toys are in boxes already, so...

the kids having been sharing one toy all day.

Dear backyard, how I'm not going to miss you.  

I am just so grateful to all our packing helpers!  Marcus ended up having to go to Mexico for work this week so cousins AD and Alli drove down from OKC to save the day.  I cannot thank you both enough for all your hard work and effort getting us ready to move. And Lois, thank you so much for packing most of my kitchen!  And thank you to our dear home teachers Scott and Baylor for packing our garage in 90+ heat at night.  You have truly gone above and beyond.

And to my sweet husband: I know you weren't thrilled about the idea of moving in the first place but thank you for going along with my crazy ideas, listing the house, selling the house, loving the new house and being as excited as I am about the move.

Tomorrow's the day!  I can't wait!

welcome home rob!

Marcus' brother Rob came home from serving a two-year mission in Brazil for our church and lucky us - his layover was in Dallas!  

We got to spend about 20 minutes catching up with him.  It was so fun getting to introduce him to Marc and Abby.  Marc was born two weeks after he left so he hadn't met either one of them.  We love you Rob, we're so proud of you for all your hard work and we couldn't be happier to have you home.  See you in Arizona in two weeks!

we've got two on the move now...

After weeks of rocking on her hands and knees, Abby made her crawling debut today!  Sorry for the diaper look, but apparently it's easier to move in a diaper than in a dress.  

cowboy up

When dad came to Texas we made sure he left cowboyed up. Watch out NYC!

oh what a night!

It all started at about 6:40 pm.  It was grandma and grandpa's last night with us and they wanted to say good-bye to Texas with some texas bbq. We were all going to go to Dicky's but since there appeared to be a thunderstorm on the horizon and the kids hadn't napped we just sent Grandpa instead.  I called Marcus and told him the change of plans and to instead just come home.  I put on Backyardigans while Marc drank his milk and walked into the kids' bathroom and that's when I heard the sirens going off.  I got the kids, took them into our closet (one of our only interior rooms) and my mom turned on the news.  Sure enough a big cloud rotation has formed and guess where it was heading?  Right behind my house, seriously.  Mom kept the tv on and we decide to go to the kids' bathroom instead (less junk to fall on us, just in case).  Power goes out.  We say prayers. Kids look thrilled...

Mom calls dad and he says they have everyone at Dicky's on lockdown and I called Marcus to find out why he wasn't home yet.  He tells me he drove by the new house on the way home and once he heard the sirens he started to head home.  Not a chance.  He got to the major road behind our house and he got stopped.  Cars were headed the wrong way on the road because no one dared go through the intersection as the lights looked like they were about to fall off and heading that direction meant driving straight into the storm.  A large commercial real estate sign goes flying by his window wizard-of-oz style.  Marcus, who makes fun of me every single time I get the kids in the closet when the sirens go off even after the straightline winds incident last year, starts to worry.  He notices the birds flying the opposite direction and decides to follow them.  He heads to the golf clubhouse near the new house because it was the safest place he could think of.  It's hailing.  He parks under the carport and runs in only to have the big, heavy doors slam him in the rear on the way in and everyone is staring at him.  He gets to the tv and notices the big, blinking epicenter is right near our house.  Meanwhile my dad is at Dicky's with...I'm not lying about this...storm chasers.  Yep, that's right, you know the kind.  You've seen them on the weather channel chasing storms and here they were right in our town! They were going wild - so thrilled that they were right under the storm!  They ran outside hooting and hollering as the winds were circling above (not a joke). Apparently the storm passed right over Dicky's.  When all was said and done the tornado touched down about 5 miles from our house. What excitement!  A thrilling way to send gma and gpa off in style!

Marcus and I went out to survey the damage in the neighborhood.  There is a lot of this...

A few fences collapsed.  Roof shingles misplaced on pretty much all the homes that line the golf course.
Here's a tree that snapped in two...
But this is my favorite.  The huge oak (I think) tree at the clubhouse down the street.  Marcus is standing in front of it so you can see how big it is.
And after all is said and done, guess what dad brought home?  Dicky's bbq.  And it was even warm.

fhe at chuck e cheese...

Grandpa treated us to a fun night at Chuck E Cheese for Family Home Evening. We met up with Angela and her sisters' Colette and Michelle and each of their kids.

Marc decided he was a little too skittish to ride the rides, but guess what little girl wasn't?  My little Abby is already looking forward to her driving days.

And what game Marc did have fun with?  He and Jesse kept running up to the top and throwing the balls down in the gutter. About 20 games of gutter skee ball later we earned just enough tickets for two tootsie pops. I consider that a success, don't you?

here's what happens when babies don't nap...

the rainforest...

My parents decided to stay and visit for three weeks and we've been having so much fun with them here!  On Saturday we decided to go to the Rainforest to have some fun in the sun.Remember this?  Well Marc isn't too sure how he feels about the water this year. Hopefully he feels differently by next week because he and Grandpa are signed up for swim lessons.
I swear he put that cap on sideways himself.  I guess this was his way of getting a little street cred at the pool.
Abby is seriously the happiest baby I've ever met.  She is always so smiley so I was shocked that she HATED the water.  Screamed and cried any time we went near it.  Granted it was cold but she much preferred to relax on the lounge chairs.  Girl after my own heart!
And totally unrelated (except that she's wearing her swim coverup) but Abby is getting so close to crawling.  Part of me is excited for her because I know she wants to be able to follow us around but part of me is scared to death of having two mobile children under the age of two!  How do you moms of twins do it?!

we've been blessed...

We sold our house!  Well, almost sold, that is.  It's under contract and the option period is over. We have to be out in less than 30 days and we were honestly a little freaked out about the timing. So we've spent the past week and a half researching school districts and neighborhoods and commute times and in the end we found a house we love only 5 minutes from where we currently live.  We can't wait.

ahhh...

That's all I have to say about last weekend.  Okay, maybe a bit more.  It was the big 3-0 for me and there was no better place to spend the big day (or weekend) than in Austin, Texas with Marcus and my family...kid-free!  

This was the view of the hill country out of our room... 

We ate (a lot)...

We did a little of this...

We played a little mini-golf (I lost)...

We ate again...

And we spent a lot of time at the spa and sleeping in.  I was in relaxation heaven until Monday morning when I saw that this was on the itinerary:

Yes, that is my mom, Miss Cathy.  And if you know me at all you will not believe that I went shooting at the gun range.  I was peer-pressured into it - even my mom was excited to go!!  How could I not?

It was such a wonderful weekend! Thank you mom & dad, kelli & jeff, spence & rach, and marcus my love for making this a wonderful and relaxing birthday.  I love you all!

for the grandparents...

It's obviously a work-in-progress but he's getting there!

it wasn't pretty...

My finger and my sewing machine had a little "incident" tonight.  The needle is not supposed to bend like that and the incident wasn't pretty.  My finger will heal, but I'm not so sure about the machine.  Sorry Ashley, Elle's bibs are going to be a little late...

being homebound wasn't so bad...

It all started out so sweetly. 

Basking in the sun...

Eating bubbles...

Stealing cookie dough...

Until today.  We've had a lot of this...

homebound...

Well, with three "probable" cases of swine flu reported not only IN our home town, but at the elementary school just down the street, I'm pretty certain we won't be going much of anywhere for a while.  Call me paranoid but with a 21-month-old and a 7-month-old I'm just not willing to take chances.  Thank goodness for food storage!