The Big Green Tractor Dance

I've got three videos of this and had a hard time choosing which one to post. Oh my, life is good. Getting ready to host Thanksgiving dinner. "The Usual Suspects" will be joining us: Grandpa Terry, Pala and her family, Uncle Tom and Aunt Betty Jean, and maybe Kendra and her family. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Pre-Halloween Post

I'd sure like to be the mom the girls remember made great Halloween costumes, but I just don't know if I'm cut out for it. Our friends want Makenna and Maddee to go as Dora and Boots from Dora the Explorer and Makenna's cousin, Rowan, will go as Diego. Well, Dora will be easy enough, but not sure how to make the monkey outfit for Maddee. And of course, I want to take it one step further and have both John and me dress up. I think John could dress up as Swiper the Fox and I could go as Isa the Iguana. But the more I think of it, the more I really like the M&M outfits from last year!

In the meantime, I'd like to share these pictures of Makenna reading to Maddee. I know it's the first of many activities they'll do together.

And here the girls are modeling new pajamas from Aunt Melodie and Uncle Russ. Maddee isn't really modeling hers, but she's holding onto them because they are really, really soft.

September 2009

My niece gave me a bad time about not updating our blog, so while both girls are miraculaously napping, I thought I'd take a minute to upload the latest picture I have taken.

John is busy chasing after cows here at the ranch, "up on the hill" in Fort Bidwell (which is far enough away it's usually an overnight trip), and in Tonapah, Nevada (which is definitely an overnighter, actually about 3!). Although we would prefer he didn't have to stay overnight, Makenna and I take advantage of it by having our own little slumber party, which in Mom terms means that Makenna gets to sleep in mom and dad's bed. We stayed up late watching "Dancing with the Stars" and already have our favorites! Now we'll have to see how the girls do tonight.

Maddee, of course, enjoys just hanging out. She loves her big sister as she smiles at Makenna all the time. She's a great sleeper and likes to be in bed and asleep by 8 p.m. and has been sleeping until 5 a.m., sometimes later. Of course, everytime I brag on her she proves me wrong and wakes up around 2 or 3, but I certainly am not complaining. She's a great baby!

The weather is beautiful right now. Makenna helped me wash our car this morning while Maddee supervised. In visiting with Kelsea yesterday, who is going to school in Laramie, she shared with me that it was snowing. We were "skyping" (a free way to make video calls) and I could see that she had several heavy layers of clothing on. I jokingly asked if it was cold and she told me it was snowing. Hee-hee, and people ask if I like living in California!

I'm slowly going back to work. A day or two here and there. Will be back full time on October 5. While I will miss the girls, we still have the world's best nannies, Tori and Hannah. They make going to work easier.

I hope to do a better job keeping the blog updated, at least monthly updates would be good. Thanks for reading.

New Addition

We welcomed Maddee Jo to our family on Sunday, July 12, at 7:58 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs. and 6 ozs. and was 20 inches long. Makenna is a wonderful big sister. Once or twice during the day Makenna will get up on the couch and ask to hold her little sister. She's been a big help.

As has my Mom who got here on Tuesday, about an hour before we got home from the hospital. It was perfect timing. We've put her to work cooking and baking, and, of course, spoiling her granddaughters!

Patio Boat

Well, I'm sitting here updating our blog which means we're not at the hospital having a baby. You've got to know I find that extremely disappointing. Ah well, at least I have a chance to show off our patio boat. We've been fishing a few times - it's been great fun. The best thing about it is the side panels that allow Makenna to run around on the boat without the worry of her falling in. Having only been on the boat three times, I think it has already paid for itself and more! Now we just have to get our barbecue grill on it so we can have hamburgers and hot dogs while fishing.

Baker Sign

John and I will soon be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary. While that may not seem much to many people, neither of us can believe how fast it's gone by and how lucky we still feel to have found each other. The reason I share that little bit of trivia is during the past 5 years, poor John has learned about "Vickrey time". If you are at all familiar with Vickrey time, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't know, suffice it to say we tend to be late. So some of you following this blog will not be surprised that I am just now thanking Uncle Scotty for a beautiful Christmas present! I've been meaning to do this for the past 6 months, but now you know I have the Vickrey time to fall back on.

Uncle Scott made this sign and surprised us with it when we went to visit him, Aunt Gayle, and Grandpa Dail last Christmas. Thank you, Uncle Scotty!! Also we want to thank Aunt Gayle for Mr. Potato Head! You know the one with 50+ pieces! :)

Easter

What a wonderful Easter! The weather was beautiful, the food was great, and the family was fun. We started the day by opening a few gifts the Easter Bunny dropped off at the house. M danced around her Easter "basket" excited to see new books, her very own cell phone, and a bubble machine (which we are still trying to figure out).

Dad then tied up a swing we recently received from some friends and they spent a lot of time during the morning in the swing. I think it's M's new favorite pasttime!

J's family came to our house for the day and spoiled Miss M! We all ate too much, but then were able to relax outside as the weather was beeeee-autiful! Eggs were hidden and then found. And somewhere during the day Dad was talked into getting Stella, the pony, so M could show off her riding skills.

It was truly a great day!

Bath Time Singing

I was in the kitchen doing dishes when I heard this "noise" coming from the bathroom. I'm so thankful for technology! Imagine never getting this recorded!

Stella

Stella the Pony

One of M's "late" Christmas presents was a new pony named, Stella. This is M's first ride on Stella. We will be getting a saddle soon in hopes that M doesn't have to hold on so tightly to Daddy.

Christmas Eve 2008