Teddy Bear

This is part of the bedtime routine lately...

The girls love it!

1..2..3 Strikes You're Out...

My work gave us tickets to the Spokane Indians baseball game (they are really good right now...#1 in the league!). Unfortunately my camera battery went dead so I didn't get too many pictures. The towel Marcus is holding was given to us at the front gate. It rained all day so these were handy to wipe the seats. Also, the crowd waved them during the game and the kids really got into it too...even Marcus!

Emma woke up saying "baseball game" this morning and we didn't hear the end of it until we got there. She was so excited. She had a blast too.

Olivia wanted to stay and throw the baseballs around. There was a game at the gate where you pitch the ball to see how fast you can throw...Olivia kept pointing and saying "I do...I do". We had to pick her up and carry her away.

And of course...the beer garden...the girls' kept Daddy company while he drank his beer. Wouldn't be a complete baseball experience with out the beer :-)

100+ Degrees

It was HOT this weekend; over 100 degrees Saturday and Sunday! We stuck close to home...Marc actually did a lot of work in the yard, but the kids and I stuck close to the pool and drank lots of water.

I had to include this picture to show Marcus' teeth that are coming in. He's handling it pretty well...I don't think I would handle it as well if I had 3 teeth coming in at one time!

Pretzels were the snack of the weekend...even Marcus had a few!

We had a pretty good weekend overall even with the heat. Hope you all had a good one too!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Marc's birthday! We had steak, potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner and Marc's favorite...Costco Cake! Yum! The girls did a good job of saying "Happy Birthday Daddy" a million times today. It brought a smile to Marc's face every time :-) They were also really excited to eat cake tonight...what a treat!

Marcus had two more teeth poke through on top today. So, now he has three on top and two on bottom. We tried out some corn and potatoes for dinner tonight. He loved it! He is very independent and would much rather feed himself than be fed. He's growing up much too fast.

We also want to wish Auntie Tracy a very Happy Birthday!!!

Fetch Marcus!

Just a little competition for Tucker :-) It's been pretty entertaining since Marcus started crawling. The girls still get such a kick out of it. It is hilarious.

Funny Faces

The girls were in a crazy mood tonight. They were running around the house making these faces. They were so proud, they decided to pose for the camara (lately it has been hard to get them to pose). Pretty cute.

They also begged me to do the timer poses. I thought this one turned out pretty cute.

Years, Days, Minutes Tag

I was tagged by Melinda. This one is kind of fun...a walk down memory lane for me...here it goes.

20 years ago I was...15 years old (opps, did I just give my age away?). Honestly, all I can imagine I was doing was wishing I was one year older so I could drive and probably aggrevating my older sister, Sabrina...I was pretty good at that :-)

10 years ago I was...working at Safeco Insurance (my first "real" job and start to my insurance career), living in Rathdrum ID and just about to get engaged. Marc proposed just after his birthday which is Aug. 14th.

5 years ago I was...one month into my new job which I am still at today (yes, still insurance...can't get out once you get in...ask anyone in insurance :-)).

3 years ago I was...about to give up hope on having children. Actually August 2005 was the due date of the large payment for IVF. So 3 years ago we were struggling with many emotions but made the payment and went through the process. It was extremely hard physically, emotionally and financially...but I am so greatful we did it. I wouldn't trade it for the world. We got the absolute best result a Mom and Dad could ask for :-)

So far this past year I...found a wonderful caring daycare for my children (we love you DeeDee!) which helped to make it easier to go back to work after Marcus. I figured out how to keep control of 3 children under age 2 and still be sane! I have supported Marc in his decision to sell his business and building and start a brand new career (a dangerous one at that!). Oh, I also cleaned out my pantry and filing cabinets and sold lots of baby clothes and started a blog :-)

Yesterday I...baked cookies, hung out with great friends and played with my kids all day long (I love weekends).

Next year I will...go on vacation. I don't know where, but the last 2 years my vacation days were used for maternity leave. It will be so nice to get those vacation days back and actually take a real vacation. Plus, Marc will have a great job so we can afford a vacation again...maybe Disneyland??? :-)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Chili Party

Our neighbors, Scott & Julie (the best neighbors you could ever ask for by the way) throw a big bash every year where they provide yummy chili and we all bring side dishes, corn bread, desert, etc. Today was the big party. While Scott was getting everything ready for the party this morning, he had a little mishap. He was outside walking on his beautiful rock path when he twisted his foot and literally tore his knee cap. He yelled but no one heard him...actually Marc heard him but thought Scott was making fun of him because he was being lazy on the hammock. Scott ended up going to the ER after calling the dispatch himself (he is a volunteer firefighter so knew how to get in touch with them and luckily had his phone on him). All of this didn't stop the party from going on though. What a trooper (I'm sure the drugs helped a little though).

The kids had a great time. They were the hit of the party. Emma remained as social as ever and Olivia actually did quite well too. At one point, Olivia was playing baseball with three boys that looked about 8 or 10 years old. She had a blast and they were very nice to her.

Marcus is definatley a dog person. He loves all dogs. This is Elsa, Scott and Julie's dog. Elsa was very nice to let Marcus pull and beat on her.

This is our friend from New Zealand, Mark. He comes to visit every year and stays for a month or so. It's always fun to get together with Mark.

Thanks for the great chili party Scott and Julie! We had a wonderful time as always. Can't wait until next year...and get well soon Scott.

Demonstration

The Avista Lineman School did a demonstration for the families this morning. They were mainly educating us on the dangers of powerlines and assuring us that our loved ones are definatley safe when working on them...Ok...if you say so...
This is showing a hot dog touching 7,640 volts...the hot dog burst and was not to pretty afterwards. The hot dog demo represented what would happen to a human...YIKES!

The girls got to wear pink hard hats during the demonstration. They thought they were pretty cool...pretty cute if I do say so myself :-)

Marcus seemed to enjoy himself too. He was pretty quiet and clapped a few times during the demonstration.

This demo was to show what happens if a human (yes, another hot dog) touches their vehicle while a powerline is on it. Very Dangerous! They recomend you jump out of your vehicle and then hop away from it to get out of the danger zone of the electricity. Do Not Touch the outside of the vehicle by any means!

Olivia was a little bummed about the jeep demo, she wanted to drive that jeep.

Here they are showing what happens when a kite gets tangled in the power lines...do not fly your kite near power lines. This was an Elmo kite.

I think Emma was a little bummed that Elmo got burned.

We all had a good time. It was fun to see what Daddy has been doing these past few months. I also learned a lot about power lines and electricity.

Tag

I've been tagged by my sister-in-law (Two Monkeys). To recap the rules (mainly for Mom and Aaron...yes I do expect you to participate :-)) you are suppose to photograph the rooms without cleaning, wiping down or hiding anything...we want to see how you really live. Ok...here it goes...just remember, I work full-time and we had a garage sale this weekend...

1. The Fridge

Baby's milk and beer...what a combo!

2. My Closet

Sad but true, these really are the only clothes I own (+ those you will see in the laundry room).

3. Self Portrait

I can't believe I'm even posting this. I truely look like this as I am typing...no makeup and so tired! Mondays are hard!

4. My Favorite Room

Marcus' room because right now this is the one place we get alone time together...at one o'clock in the morning...but I cherish every moment :-)

5. The Kitchen Sink

Thank goodness we had pizza tonight...No Mess!!!

6. The Laundry Room

No fair on this one. This is literally the only room in the house that we haven't touched since we moved in so no, this is NOT my decorating style. Also, please refer back to the top regarding working full-time and having a garage sale...I'm not really caught up on laundry...if only there were more than 24 hours in a day!

7. The Toilet

To most, this is nothing too exciting...to me, it is an object of frustration right now as I'm trying to potty-train two 2-year olds!

8. What the Kids are doing right now

Ahh...sleep...for at least a few hours. If only it was for the entire night, yes, that's right, I'm still not getting a full night's sleep...ugh.

9. My Dream Vacation

It's still too hard for me to leave the kids behind so that makes my dream vacation Disneyland! I just can't wait to see my children's eyes light up as they view this magical world. Plus, I've never been and I hear it is amazing!

10. My Favorite Shoes

It would be Flip Flops all the way, but since I can't wear those to work, I had to throw a few others in there.

So there you go...the world I live in. Now, if you haven't already been tagged by Tracy...you are officially tagged by me...YOU'RE IT...can't wait to see your world. Have Fun!

8 months old

Marcus is 8 months old today. He is officially crawling and his favorite place to be is his sisters' bedroom...no surprise there :-) He also cut a new tooth this weekend and is working on 2 more poor thing. He's a trooper though. I can tell it hurts, but he's still such a good baby.

Our good friends the Cunningham's came over for dinner tonight. Maddy entertained the girls....

While Jake caught all the grasshoppers in our yard (there are a ton of them this year for some reason).