Longboat Key

Well, its that time of year again that the family goes to Long Boat Key. 24th year, now. And, maybe the last. Since my grandfather has passed, my grandma is selling the condo and has no desire to go anymore...understandable. So, we all went for one last time. It was bitter-sweet. I had a blast with the girls swimming and playing in the sand, yet it was sad to have to watch my grandma go through my grandfather's belongings and get rid of all the things they once shared. We went to some of our favorite restaurants and went shopping down in St Armands Circle. I took a ton of pictures....here are just a handful. Hana and Maddison spent the majority of their time in the pool. It was nice because they were the only kids there and they had the whole thing to themselves! You can't go to the beach and not get buried!And, you can't go to St Armand's and not go get some Big Olaf's ice cream. I did the same thing when I was there age.I LOVE this picture of Hana with Grandma.One night before dinner, we were waiting for everyone and the girls took a ton of pictures. Here are just a few....On the balcony waiting for the sun to set I love this last picture. It is a statue in the park as you are leaving the Key. It always reminds me of my grandparents!

Goodbye pink tutu's, hello green mini hogs?

I guess Bryan is tired of all the tutu's and fairy wings and the thought of having a little boy has really gotten to him. I was making dinner last night when he came home and was out playing with the girls. I kept seeing something go by the front window...thinking they were just racing or something. Then, the girls all came in screaming, "Mom, you have GOT to come out and see this. It is SO awesome. It is SO cool. Come NOW!" I put my stuff down and went outside to nothing. And then all of a sudden from around the corner of the yard came this....

The kids think it is the greatest thing ever, even though they have not gotten on it. And where is it now, you ask? Oh, just sitting in the middle of the unfinished mess that we call "Baby Reid's room".

Maddison

Hana has lost 8 teeth now, and every time she does, Maddison cries because she wants it to be her turn. Well, a couple months ago, she got so excited when she had a "wibbly" tooth. And, for the past few months, all she does is wiggle it. The past couple days, it has been just hanging by a string and she hopped in the car after school with a big smile on her face. No tooth!!! Here she is in all her glory! (She had a rodeo party at school today celebrating Rodeo Day tomorrow, hence the hat!)

Craving Chocolate?

...I was. Check out what I made tonight. If you are like me and like the brownie batter better than the brownies, click HERE to my recipe blog and make this recipe. Your waistline may curse you, or me, for it, but it is worth it!

Check out....

the creepy baby widget (to the right under the girls picture). I always thought they were wierd, but I had to. (I figured out too, that if you click the part where it says how many days left, it will also tell you how many weeks left, how many days along, and how many weeks along...just in case anyone is wondering!)

Valentines Day

Saturday was the first day in a long time that Bryan was home all day! We enjoyed every minute together as a family. A huge plus...it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so we took full advantage of that. That night, instead of getting a sitter and going out just the two of us, we decided to stay home as a family. Bryan grilled out the most delicious filets and I cooked some of our favorite things...which included twice baked potatoes (one potato exploded in the oven), fried okra, jello with marshmallows for the girls and lots more.

Here are just a few of the snapshots I took...(and a couple the girls took!)

Bryan trying to steer the mule...I think they just ended up going in circles

I did it again...

Ever since we had to get rid of Red, our bloodhound, years ago, I have been begging Bryan for another one. His answer, always "NO". Well, in one of my pregnant hormonal breakdowns a couple weeks ago, out of nowhere, he told me if I wanted, to go online and find a bloodhound. Which, I did. He flew in yesterday and Chloe and I had to pick him up at the airport. And this time, this dog is here to stay...for good. No more getting a dog and getting rid of him. He and Tex are keepers. Especially since he came already housebroken. How great is that?

He likes to eat and sleep. My kind of lazy dog. Even Tex is too hyper for him. He wears him out. Name? That one is undecided. The girls are calling him Copper, Bryan is wanting to call him Roy, or Elroy....guess who is probably going to win this fight. Sorry Bryan, 3 against 1 here....

We are having a...

BOY!!!

Happy 30th!!!

Bryan turned the big 3-0 on saturday. To celebrate, we went out to a fabulous dinner with some even more fabulous friends. And, I know, I am such a bad wife, I didn't even get a picture with him. I dont even have any new pictures of him on our computer and our scanner doesnt work. So, a pictureless blog entry will have to do. Anyway, happy birthday to the love of my life!!!!

1 year later

Has it already been a year since my family lost this little guy?

"We love you,

We miss you,

We will never forget you"

"Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam"

Chloe is a Sunbeam (the 3-4 year old sunday school class at our church). I no longer have any children in the nursery. Not for a while, at least. I think she was the most excited out of the girls to be in Primary. She was so happy to get out of nursery and join the big kids! And, she has been doing great. She even goes to class with no tears! Now, if only I could get her to let me do something with that hair....

Here are the new Sunbeams being welcomed to Primary. Seriously, my child could at least let me brush her hair!

Camping

When Bryan mentioned to me last week that some families were going camping, I have to admit that my first reaction was not one of excitement. Personally, if we are going to spend a night away from home, I would rather go to some hotel or Grandma's condo on the beach....not camping. I guess since I had never really been before, I just had bad expectations. But, things started looking up when I was preparing for the trip and Bryan told me not to worry about anything, he would take care of it all. Groceries, gear, everything. All I had to do was get the girls things together. I like the sound of that!!

And that is how it went. The kids were occupied the whole time with their friends, the men cooked every meal. Bryan set up the tents and I didnt have to do anything...not even wash the dishes after we ate! (He cooked us steaks and snow crab claws...how is that for camping food?) The only thing I really did was make s'mores. Rough, I know! This was Chloe's spot for the evening. Right in front of the fire!

One couple was there who dont have children at home anymore, so they brought their toy instead...They gave the kids rides all day and all night...it kept them entertained for hours!

The men cooking dinner...they even made a bunch of cobblers for dessert.

Saturday, the boys brought out thier toys. Bryan got the tiniest little pistol I have ever seen. We were sitting there making fun of it, saying if he ever pulled that out on someone, they would just laugh at him...until he shot it and it shut us up...that thing was loud. I even tried to shoot it and my ears were ringing for ever. Thats the last time I ever make fun of a pistol again! We all said how we wished we had been able to do it for a few more days. It ended up being a lot more relaxing than I expected!

Disney

My best friend of about 25 years was in town doing Disney with her family. I was not about to brave the parks with the girls...way too busy for me. So instead, we opted to go to Disney's Marketplace for lunch and shopping. I ended up getting down there a few hours before she did, which was fine. We walked around, shopped, had lunch, the kids rode the train, and we finally got to see some of Bryan's work from the past year!

This was one of several things that Bryan had been working on at Disney this past year. I was impressed seeing the final project! This one was taken from behind the bandshell... And this is obviously the front.

When Lisa and her kids got there, the first thing was of course, the train again, and then off to Goofy's candy shop! The time spent was short, but it is always so good to see her and the little ones!

Christmas

Christmas came and went with very few pictures being taken. Christmas day, my mom and her husband Mike came out. We had our traditional Swedish meal that I grew up with and Bryan does not like very much, but he got over it! The kids got way too many toys, as usual! Even baby Melick got gifts. "Santa" had left the baby a "Bass Pro Shop" t-shirt in my stocking!

The next day, Bryan's family came out and we did Christmas all over again...with way too many gifts and so on!

It ended up being a great weekend, though.

Maybe next year I will take more pictures!