Happy Birthday

Today is Daniel's birthday! So, how did we celebrate?!.....I took a nap...I went to a baby shower...I went to Wal-mart. Who's birthday was it?!...I know. What a nice guy huh?! In my defense I tried to offer a few fun options....or at least offered to make him breakfast...and I got him a cool sony e-reader from a doorbuster deal at wal-mart. Anyway, Daniel's a great husband and father...if there were awards for that sort of thing...he'd get many. I always tell him it's not fair the twins like him better than me...it MAY have something to do with the fact that he can and will hold both of them when they want him to. They love their dad!

The above picture does a good job of emphasizing the different face shapes of the boys. Henry is on the left...and Max is on the right....the guy in pink is of course Daniel.

Have you ever been asked, "If you could live anywhere, where would you live?" I'm almost positive if Max in particular was asked this question he would answer, "that's easy...the dishwasher". Whenever I open the dishwasher he comes running like a zombie(that's really how he runs...arms out in front...teetering from side to side). He and Henry truly believe there are treasures in there...or something....anyway here's proof. Also, I don't want any flack for the pink binky...he's secure...and he likes pink....as do I.

In other news Andrew has become a really good reader. He likes to read to me and Daniel. I don't always appreciate the books...or the repetition but I appreciate that he enjoys reading and is getting so much better. Tonight I told him how impressed I was with his reading. He asked "What does impressed mean?...does that mean you're really sad about it?" I immediately told him no...it meant that I was proud of him and thought he was doing exceptionally well. What kind of parent would say, "I'm really depressed with the way you've been reading." ?...not me. Anyway glad we cleared that up and that he asked instead of thinking that.

I am thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches I remember just how much I have to be grateful for. To start, I have a wonderful and healthy family to be thankful for. They mean the world to me. Each member of my family makes me smile several times a week. Let's start with the twins. They ARE crazy. They keep us going a million miles a minute. Henry and Maxwell remind me so much of Andrew. To make a long story short...they are needy needy babies....but have such sweet michevious smiles. They often break into our pantry when I'm not looking and the other day for the SECOND time managed to open a bag of cereal and proceeded to help themselves. Hank was the leader in this instance. He means nothing but business when it comes to eating cereal off the floor. Ohh and Max gives high fives now...I've worked on this with him. I tried with Henry but accidently hit him instead of his hand and since then he looks at me suspiciously any time I try to give him a high five.

Ashley cracks me up. The other day when getting ready for bed she said, "I'm very pleased with our property mom". I was a little puzzled but assumed she meant that she was starting to really like and enjoy our home here. I told Daniel about it later and then we both asked her what she meant by "our property". She then told us, "A property is a community of waste". In other words she is very pleased with our community of waste. It made me think a little bit(just a little mind you) about my efforts as a housekeeper.

Holly is often finding herself in trouble these days. She's very familiar with the counting to 10 system we have and then the follow through of sending her to her room when she deliberately disobeys(pretty much every time...somebody help us :) ). She's such a kind hearted girl that she likes to pay it forward with her brother. Lately she's been counting to 10 and then trying to shove Andrew to his room. She usually only does this when we are already threatening him....always trying to help us out.

Ahh and then there's Andrew. He's mostly our most obedient child....but he has his moments. He's growing up so fast. I got to eat lunch with him today at school and I listened as he and his friends made a schedule for what they will play every day at recess this week. They all decided on a star wars harry potter rotation. He is learning so much in school. Last week he came home with this beautiful piece of ....well art I guess. When I first saw it I started to tell him how not cool it was to draw something like that....but he stopped me mid-sentence with something about how his teacher had explained that that's where the pilgrims went to the bathroom. I guess she had it coming then. Anyway not one of his classiest drawings but still amusing to those with immature senses of humor(me and Daniel).

tag I'm it

My SIL Jessica tagged me and I don't really like doing these but I like her so I will give it my best effort.
1. What's your favorite food to eat? to prepare? same or different and why?
My favorite food to eat is bread...any kind of bread: garlic, cinnamon, bruchetta, wheat, white..I love bread. To prepare....hmm cookies. The difference is I'm confident that I can make cookies well and so it's worth making.
2. If you could have one talent what would it be?
I wish I could sing....so that I would want to hear it....like Ariel. Man was I dissapointed as a kid when I found out I did NOT sing like Ariel.
3. What is your favorite thing about being married?
Having someone to talk to about whatever...whenever. He IS obligated to talk to me at any time...and he doesn't seem to mind. :)
4. Best childhood Christmas gift?
A cabbage patch doll. It was close to all I got that year and I loved it. She had blonde hair and purple clothes. I loved that doll. If only it were so easy.
5. Favorite thing to do in the autumn?
My favorite thing to do in autumn is probably go to a pumpkin patch with the kiddos. That sort of has it all....Cider...pumpkin donuts....pumpkins...hayrides. I love autumn.
6. Most awkward moment with someone you didn't know?
I'm sure I've had many but as a kid one time in the gym I dropped some money at lunch time and I raised my hand and told the person who came over "ummm that was mine"...and they were like "ummm what are you even talking about". I felt pretty dumb and it was quite awkward.
7. What would you name your own grocery store?
Foodios. Probably not but it's the first thing that came to mind so I figured just go with it. :)
8. Wooden versus mechanical pencils? pros and cons?
I'm going to go with wooden. They're reliable....and that's so much more important that cool or impressive. You can always resharpen wooden whereas the lead always falls out of the mechanical and the eraser does too. I had many annoying experiences as a kid with mechanical...I'm so sorry wooden pencil that I ever took you forgranted.

Get Carded

Ever since the year our first son Andrew was born our family has tried to send out Christmas cards to each of our family members and friends. This would be one way to let everyone know...where we are...what we now look like(good or bad)...and(although I'm guessing noone realizes this) a glimpse of what our style is through the card's design. At first I tried relentlessly to get a "good" family photo that would represent the Ames family at Christmas time. Then I would select some mediocre card template to put our awesome picture on and be satisfied but not thrilled with the results. Last year I got a Christmas card from a family that shall remain nameless and noticed they got their card from http://www.shutterfly.com and it was awesome. I can't say their picture was perfect...though it was good...but the design from the card made all the difference. They have such cute designs and really have good options that represent our family's style. I seriously can't believe how many options there are. For once...that will be the hard part about our Christmas cards....trying to narrow down all of the adorable options that fit our family to a T....instead of worrying about who is making a face or whether or not our outfits coordinate the way I want. Just look at all the amazing options here http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/holiday-cards Anyway, one of my favorites is the Seasonal Chic 2010 design. It just looks...well...chic...is the best way to describe it and I'll probably be putting our family photo on there and mailing em out to everyone this Christmas. If I don't do that one then I'll go here
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/christmas-photo-cards which has more specific Merry Christmas cards instead of just Happy Holidays. How important is it to you to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays? I'm glad they give you the option. I love merry memories blue and sooo many more. I guess now the only surprise will be which card I pick to send. So look for yours in the mail! :)

hunger games and high school P.E.

Let me start by saying I never read the Twilight series. Everyone else did but I just had no interest in the life of teenage vampires. Even the movie seemed a little ridiculous to me. But more power to those who loved it...it must be somehow good if millions loved it. I have, however, started reading the Hunger Games series(all the rage right now around here)...and am half way through the 2nd book, Catching Fire. It's been a while since I've read a book that fast....it really sucks you in and I don't feel like I can go about my daily life until I've read all 3. Don't worry the kids are being fed. Anyway, I couldn't help noticing some similarities between the Hunger Games and my experience in high school P.E.

First a little background on the book. The story goes that after a series of natural disasters a group came to power and divided the remaining people into 13 districts...each in charge of a different type of production for the whole. Life in these districts wasn't good causing inhabitants of district 13 to revolt. There was a war and many died and the result was 13 was obliterated and the group in power tightened their fist. They made things worse in the districts and as a punishment established the annual hunger games. Every year 2 children ages 12-17..err...18....are picked through a lottery from each district and are put into an arena where they must fight and survive until there's only 1 victor left. This is obviously devastating to the districts each year but for the group in power(The Capitol) it's very entertaining and watched on their televisions. People are allowed to send provisions for the contenders in the arena....but most can't afford to except for those in the capitol and they of course only help those who prove to be the most entertaining...or who can win the crowd over. I won't give any more away for those who will read it. Like I said before I couldn't help but notice how similar this is to high school P.E.

In high school it was mandatory for me to take P.E. all four years....so in a way from age 13-17 I was selected to be put into this arena. While in P.E. class I was ruled over by P.E. teachers who usually because of some unresolved issues from their high school years were happy to be in a position of power where they could watch others suffer. They were so similar to "The Capitol"...in trying to punish me for something my ancestors did to them...maybe they were made fun of in high school. While in the arena of P.E. class we all were forced to compete athletically and socially until those who were the most popular and athletic won out and the rest were shamed(by the teachers....yes I saw my p.e. teacher make fun of students) or were embarrassed in front of their peers...making them lose out socially. Or like those from the capitol...the teachers would help those they considered athletic or who they were friends with. Dodge ball is the most obvious example of all this....the coaches clearly got a lot of entertainment out of this forced game where many people got a playground ball to the face....ouch. We all knew this game was ridiculous but if you didn't fight you got hurt. Daniel just told me though that dodge ball is no longer allowed in high school P.E. Thank goodness....there's hope for my kids making it through P.E. I'm a victor though....I made it out alive. At the time I wasn't ....ohhh how I dreaded P.E.

Moving on. Here's a picture of HOlly when I found her one day going through my makeup. I can't believe she knew to put the eye makeup by her eyes. She also frequently "robs" me...taking everything out of my wallet.

And today I went to put something for goodwill in the van...and when I got back I found these two crazies in the pantry....having pulled everything from the bottom shelf on the floor and eating cereal that spilled as a result.

Also, I love this picture of the 2 of them side by side drinking bottles.

Finally, last weekend we went to St. Louis for some fun with friends. Here's a picture of the oldest 2 with their friend Hannah in front of the penguins at the zoo.

hobos and weddings

So much has been going on that I find it hard to even write this post. In fact...I have to bribe my daughters to let me do this....a treat to follow this post. For anyone who is interested come on over. My sister Sarah got married this weekend. That meant that the whole weekend was consumed with wedding festivities. We all had a great time and everything went really well. Friday night we had a bbq at the my Brother-in-law's parent's house. I of course took my camera and before I could say cheese Ashley was posing like a model....hmmm should I be worried? :)



You'll find these pictures in no particular order. Here's a picture of my favorite twin sons doing what they do best climbing around and getting into things. For those who are curious...Henry is in the front and Max is in the back.

Lately the babies have been happy to play in the basement with their older siblings....and I must say I'm happy to let them. Henry spends a lot of time singing Karaoke down there and he and Max frequently fight over the coveted plastic microphone.

These two looked so cute on the day of the wedding. Andrew was the ring bearer and Ashley and Holly were flower girls. They got their hair done and looked like little dolls to me....the kind of dolls that you get from a boutique...before your daughter cuts their hair and colors on their faces. :) I'll post more pictures of them soon....sadly this is really all I have.

Sweet sweet Henry has such an infectious smile. He is such a good guy. He allows many people to hold him without hesitation. He's grown rather fond of his grandpa lately....it's so nice that he's happy to have someone else hold him. Max...on the other hand likes me so much he got me kicked out of the gym last week because he didn't want to be in the childcare anymore. I'll take that as a compliment I guess.

There's that adorable girl again. She's going to be trouble I already know.

Holly sat on a bench that was just her size and I just had to get a picture. I'm so lucky to have such adorable and sometimes even sweet ;) daughters.

Later that night I couldn't find Holly anywhere ....I mean anywhere so we looked all over town for her. Finally we found her under some newspapers on a bench in the park. She would have no trouble being a hobo as you can see from this picture below. We love her even if she's frequently mistaken for a homeless girl.

zoo time

I got a new camera last week and so I tried it out at the zoo and on my children. I still have much to learn in the ways of photography but at least I've got some adorable material to work with!

About 6 months ago I got a Bonzai Palm tree from my dad and was certain it'd be dead within in a week. Recently it sprouted a new branch....which for the first time made me feel like a successful nurturer...odd that I have 5 children and hadn't felt this before. Anyway, here's a picture of the new branch on my thriving plant.

This is the result of a long and fun day at the zoo. Moments like these are few and far between. A random guy at the zoo yesterday told Daniel he knew which twin was older. He said he knew because the older twin is always slightly bigger than the other. Max is the older one. Which one is Max? The one on the left is Max. That guy was full of baloney by the way.

We got to pet the rays at the St. Louis Zoo yesterday. We were also "lucky" enough to get to feed them if we so desired. I thought the kids would like to so I bought some food. Turns out they were too scared and couldn't really reach....so that leaves me with a handful of raw fish to hold out and let the ray glide over my hand and suction food off of it. It was SO cool and creepy...I jumped every time....it felt like they were going to bite my hand off....but I still have both hands and all 10 digits.

The three mustketeers...Ashley, Holly, and Andrew in front of the Elephants at the St. Louis Zoo yesterday.

Ash is such a cute girl. I made her pose a few times to test out my new camera on the perfect subject.

Henry has a great big smile and he's currently winning the competition for favorite twin...for his smiley personality.....with Daniel he's winning anyway. I appreciate Max's fireball self.

Here's my little Max and his camo helmet. He gets lots of extra attention and sympathy for wearing the helmet....not to mention it's a great head protector when he's less than graceful.

recent happenings

a lot has happened since my last post....so much in fact that I've probably forgotten most of it. The twins have been growing like weeds and are both in the 95th percentile for their height and like 75th for weight....and that's not taking into account that they were born 4 weeks early. Maxwell recently got a helmet...not because he's a bike-riding baby....but because his head is mishapened....if that's how you spell that. Anyway, he's supposed to wear this helmet 7 days a week and 23 hours a day. The idea is that with this helmet his head will be forced(not painful) to grow into the space where his head is currently flatter...and sort of round out to make it symmetrical. Now you might be picturing this sad looking baby with a nerdy looking helmet. Erase that picture immediately from your mind and picture an adorable baby with an awesome camouflage helmet. Anyway hopefully this sweet helmet will give him a perfectly shaped head in the end. I will post a picture of this as soon as I get a camera...mine had a meltdown.

In other news Andrew has a loose tooth...his first...which he's extremely excited about. This of course brought on the toothfairy conversation. Andrew asked me if there really was a toothfairy and I said "kind of.....ummm go ask Daddy". A while back Daniel and I knew this couple where the wife told me about her childhood and feeling so betrayed by her parents when she found out about all the lies they'd been telling (i.e.....Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc)...and I mean REALLY betrayed to the point that she told us that she and her husband had decided to be straighforward with their kids and tell them the truth that these things were not real but were fun traditions. Anyway that may seem extreme to you but I kind of agree with that philosophy. I have a hard time looking my kids in the eye and making up a story of how Santa gets in the house and how his elves do this and that or why the tooth fairy wants their yucky bloody tooth. So, Daniel and I kind of agreed we'd just tell them the truth....and so far we've just avoided the questions. Till the other day. Andrew did as I said and went and asked Daddy. And, back he came telling me there is no santa, no tooth fairy, no Easter bunny, etc. Wow...I don't know if I was ready for that. But, how can I expect them to believe me about other things if I straight up lie about these things. Well so I'm everyone else's worst nightmare. My kid will be the one ruining their kids' warm and cozy beliefs in Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. Sorry. :)

In other news I just turned 28. I've never really felt old till now. I'm uncomfortably close to 30 and I find I'm liking less and less the clothing style options out there for me. That is a bad sign in case you were wondering. But I'm doing my best to swallow some of the current trends and stay young. No one need get offended by the fact that I feel old at 28 . Afterall you're only as old as you feel...right? Though recently I had a feeling I've never had before. I found myself being jealous of my kids who were playing outside with the neighborhood kids....what a weird feeling that was. There are lots of things about growing up that I wouldn't want to repeat, but for some reason the other day I really wanted to be one of them playing outside with my friends. weird. On my birthday I took the kids to The Field Museum in Chicago. It was a lot of fun and we got to see lots of dinosaur exhibits. Here's one that I saw that didn't make me feel any better.

Thank goodness I'm a human being and not a T. rex.

Is it ok?

Lately I've been thinking about how much I love our house, decor, yard, and just everything about it. We are blessed to be able to have a house as nice as this....and to have been able to pick what we wanted. I find myself staring at the builtin bookshelves or our newly furnished library(partially furnished...ok just a couch) and thinking wow that looks so nice. But then here's the thing.....is it ok really to have things this nice? Does anyone really NEED granite countertops or leather couches when so many people have so little. Shouldn't I be spending my time and money on better things? When I'm old I don't think I'll look back and say my goodness I loved that couch...instead will I regret not living in a meager home so that I could do all I could to help others? Don't get me wrong. We do donate to charity...but is it enough? The way I just justify our nice house is that I want to create a nice and cozy place for my family...a place to create warm memories in....a place where the kids want to be....and a place where their friends want to be(not the obnoxious ones of course :)) Couldn't this be done in a small house with linoleum kitchen floors? About now you might be thinking....sounds like you've been reading too much Walden....but seriously how does anyone justify so much luxury? I somehow do it....sort of put those thoughts on the shelf while I happily host bbq's in my big pretty house. I know those things(a pretty home, nice clothes, toys, etc) seem to make me happy....but I also know that kind of happiness is only temporary and won't bring the kind of happiness I'm really interested in. Anyway food for thought. I'm really interested in your thoughts on this.

Hi there--my name is Daniel. I've been asked to guest host the blog. For Andrew's primary class in church, he was recently given an assignment. Each child in his class was given a cloth bag with the following instructions: "Help your child find a photo to bring of a person they know that loves them. Your child will need to explain how they know that the person loves them." Any guesses about the photo Andrew selected? He chose a baby picture of himself, circa 9 mos old. Unfortunately, we don't have an electronic version of that particular photo, but here's another one of Andrew from North Carolina from 2006 or 2007.


Caption: "My love for me runs deeper than any river. Knowing how much I care about myself gets me through those tough times. Sometimes I get choked up just thinking about how much I mean to me....man...(excuse me)...ahem...I just really, really love...myself."

It's a wonderful life

Over the past couple of years it's become more and more apparent how similar our lives are to George and Mary Bailey's lives from It's a Wonderful Life(I love this movie and the writing in it especially). Let me try to elaborate. George and Mary knew eachother from a young age....so did Daniel and I. I was a very sweet girl....sort of waiting for Daniel to come around....and so was Mary. When George and Mary finally got married they weren't very well off and lived in a shabby home.....Daniel and I lived in a 1-bedroom apartment even a year after having our first son Andrew(no idea how we made that work). The BIG similarity is that Daniel dreamed of getting out of this town...had every intention to and in the end here we are in the town we grew up in together. Part of that similarity....Daniel followed in his father's footsteps to work as an accounting professor at ISU.....just like George Bailey took over his father's job at the building and loan. Just like George Bailey learned that you don't have to do "Big" things to be happy we're finding we have a pretty sweet deal right here in our hometown. But, upon occasion(during the stressful moments) we find ourselves saying just like George Bailey "You call this a happy family?! Why did we have to have all these kids?!" ;) And then we laugh and realize things aren't so bad. How could they be when we get to see hairdos like this....

and carrot covered faces like this...

I love my kids and lately I've been thinking I can't believe how blessed I am to have such adorable babies...and oh yeah the other kids too ;) Right now the babies are in a standoff in their walkers....neither one willing to budge so the other can go about his way....or maybe being 6 month olds...they don't know how to budge....I'll stick with the first story. Ahhh I'm going to miss them when they're older....better get in all the hugs and kisses I can while they can't run away or look embarrassed.

Andrew's birthday

6 Years ago on Easter Day Andrew Ames was born(getting me out of a few last finals before graduation) To celebrate.....Saturday we went to the zoo. The kids had a good time....I was a little underwhelmed by Miller Park Zoo....and felt sorry for the animals in their tiny habitats....but whatever it takes to give Andrew a Happy Birthday! ;) Saturday night after the kids went to bed I decided to make Drew a spongebob pinata....because I think it's good for kids to get rewarded when hitting someone with a stick until their guts fall out. Anyway I'm quite proud of it and the kids were so excited to beat the life out of it. Andrew said it was a good job, but both he and Ash noticed the imperfections. I was shocked to learn that the stripes were usually a little higher on his socks and other various mistakes I made. Here it is.

Not too shabby. We had a party on Sunday with my family....grilled out...hit the pinata...had cake....and blew bubbles...it was great and Andrew had a happy birthday.

The twins are getting more and more active these days...with the help of my new best friends...the exersaucers. Occasionally they run into eachother and are aware of one another.

the cutest thing ever

Tonight just before Daniel and I took our assigned twin and headed off to bed.....Daniel checked on the older 3 kids as he usually does. When he went into Andrew and Ashley's room he noticed neither of them were in their beds. He looked around the room and couldn't find them. At this point he would've been really worried if he hadn't been able to hear Ashley's crazy loud snoring. Finally, he found them.....asleep....in their closet.....on top of storage boxes....with their little turtle nightlight. Earlier in the day Ash had mentioned something to me about sleeping in the closet and I just said no closets weren't for sleeping in and that was that. They never asked again and never mentioned the closet. When we left them at bedtime they were tucked in their beds. This is probably the cutest thing they've ever done. They made a bed on top of boxes with their blankets and hopped right in there....a 2 ft wide space....and fell asleep on this lumpy narrow bed in the closet. This makes it all worth while.

A day in the life of an Ames

In order to accomplish all that we need to on any given day, Daniel and I have had to become very efficient. This means our days are packed full and require nonstop action. First let me start off by saying we've decided to try homeschooling Andrew. Just when I thought life couldn't get any more stressful :) This might make you think...."why would you do that to yourself...add more stress to a very stresssful situation?"...well most of you already know...I sent out a sort of manifesto on why we're homeschooling. Essentially we've decided it'd be best for our kids and so we have to at least try it....so trying it we are....successful I hope we'll be...and other yoda thoughts. We may not, however, succeed....we'll see how it goes. So let me give you an idea of what our days are like.

To start....Max and Henry are ready for daylight savings. They get grouchy and demand to go to sleep around 7...7:30 these days and are waking us up at something like 5 every day. They must love the sun like their parents. Too bad we've doomed them to a life of gray skies in Bloomington, IL. :) Don't let these innocent looking guys fool you...Ohh and try to guess who's who...I'll let you know at the end.

So we wake up at 5.....try to get them to sleep until 6:15ish and then finally get up and change both of their diapers and clothes. We then get breakfast around for Andrew and Ashley who luckily dress themselves. I feed both babies and we both hold one baby while we try to eat our breakfasts. Then Holly wanders out of bed around 7 and one of us will change her and get her dressed. Then we get her breakfast and start cleaning up all of the kids mess from breakfast.

I just realized this could be the longest most boring post ever so I'll try to speed it up. We've scheduled 4 45min blocks for "school time"...one being language and reading...one being math...one being art...and the last one being science/history. So we have those dispersed throughout the day. At 9:30 every day I've started going to the gym and taking all 5 kids with me where they have childcare included in the family membership. I know they didn't have us in mind when they made up that deal. Oh well....Seller beware. My gym time will eventually become the kids' "P.E. time" as well. They also get 1 hour of tv time every day around 1 pm. One day a week we go to the children's museum from 11:00-1....and 1 day we have playgroup.

Then Daniel gets home at 4 and we "relax"...like that ever happens...for a little bit and then start dinner and have it around 5....then clean the dinner mess... and then Jammie time at 6. Then we have a school/reading time until about 7 and then it's teethbrushing and scripture readin time. Next, the older 3 go to bed. Keep in mind all of this is done while holding a baby...each of us. In addition, we are following each kid around picking up their various messes along the way. Phew....it exhausts me just thinking about our days sometimes. Daniel and I then watch a movie(or fold laundry) and then I get all the kids outfits out for in the morning and my gym bag ready...anything to make the morning easier..etc. And that's our day in a nutshell. I find that I'm happier when my life is nonstop and have less time to waste on surfing the net and shopping...my two favorite time wasters....so there you go.

In conclusion I've decided to make a t-shirt....that way I can cut down on all of my courteous responses and just point to the shirt. It will read "Yes, I DO have my hands full!" and maybe I'll add..."And I'm HAPPY about it!" By the way Henry was on the left and Maxwell was on the right. Henry has a wider head...but his isn't as funny shaped in the back...ahh well. They're the cutest babies ever as far as I'm concerned.

Our changing family

Here's a post just to remind people that we still exist and we're ever changing...some of us for the better even...like the following cuties. Max is a big big smiler these days. He's the more dramatic one between the two of them. He smiles bigger and also gets bigger frownie faces. I prefer the smiles...but can't help but think the frowns are adorable too.


Henry though seems to be a little more mellow...good-natured most of the time....though not a pushover...he lets us know when he's had enough. Also he's somewhat of a comedian like his father....just look at the nametag he made out for himself at a social event. I think it fits him perfectly.

My sister's getting married in September and so we went to a bridal expo where we got all kinds of free goodies....a feather boa included. Holly was less than amused when I asked her to pose with this boa. She's a no nonsense kind of gal.

I thought this picture was really cute of Holly. She's wearing a dress Ash wore a year ago....they're 2 years apart....hmmm. Kind of looks like she has a wig on though...I dunno why. Anyway, what a sweetheart.

More pictures to come but for now this will have to do. Our lives are still crazy as ever...but when you think about it...what better way is there to spend your time? Raising kids....helping them to survive...and helping them become hopefully good and nice people.....investing in a family...kids that visit us when we're older and harrass us the way we harrass our parents now....how fun. Life is good.