Wait...What?

I don't know if y'all heard a scream about 20 minutes ago but um, yeah, it was loud. I secretly left the house (secret from the kids) and met my brother in law to pick up my niece, Baby Girl. She hasn't stayed with us in quite some time and I was so excited to see her. When we got home, I wasn't sure if my three kids were asleep or not (it was right near bedtime). We came inside, oh so quietly. Baby Girl peeked into my room to see if Sophia was sleeping on my bed. She whispered back, "She's awake!" and I told her to say BOO! to Sophia.  Oh the screams and giggles!! So much happiness and excitement! It was worth the temporary ringing in the ears. Even the husband, who's not feeling well, was all smiles. What an awesome way to end the first day of the new year. The beginning? Oy, that was rough. I didn't go out, ha! Like I would've had the time. I worked until ten last night and was back to work at 7am. Yes, there are places open all night...

Mr. Mario is here to fix the problems you have...... Mr. Mario's technique is..............different no?

The fashion bug hit the house today when the girls woke up. And yes, they took full advantage of that extra hour. Bah. After our pancake and eggs breakfast, I painted their nails and then they did my hair. I love letting them do my hair. I know it's going to look so crazy but it feels so good. Like I took a ten minute nap. Awesome, party of one? Awesome? The fashion struts on the catwalk didn't go as "high fashiony" as the girls were hoping for. The silliness all happened after the one walk. Enjoy...... Alice in a messy Wonderland.  The Doctor with a baaaaad bedside manner. Alice and her spot o' tea Alice's closeup Why yes, this is exactly how doctor's pose for ID shots.  Didn't ya know that? Buzz buzz buzz Loverly Ladybug  Scaredy Cats Sad faces Um roaring attacks? Couldn't tell ya. My fave from the shoot. 

She's having a stellar hair day I think! My Peanut and Baby Girl Our friend Alex riding in the Jane cow car and loving it! My Peanut posing like a diva in her cow car (I missed the name, mighta been Nancy, eh, who knows?) Alex and his mama, our friend Ashley I don't think she liked riding the pony one. little. bit. Nope, not at all. I thought for sure this one would be a screamer and the little stinkpot jones surprises me and laughs.  Also? She loves touching the hairs. She did this with the goats last weekend too. Textures people. Textures.

Baby Girl is ready for spelunking next year. She looks mighty cute. I think she's ready!

I found these on an old camera card and holy toledo! My little chunky boy! And the girls!! They are so stinking cute - all of them!!

I love them all but 1/2 of them gave me whatever poopie crap they had. And by poopie crap, I don't mean issues with that exit area. They gave me a froggy voice and cloudy head. Topped off with congestion all up in the head. Awesome! Thanks kiddos! Good thing I love ya.

Big Bows - ahh they take me back........ I Love The 80's!!

Why is it that we can't leave the hotel (any hotel) in  a good mood? It seems that every single time we go somewhere over night, we have a great time while we're there but when it comes to leaving the hotel? Never a good ending. We had a great time at Mandy's wedding this weekend. The girls were great in their role as flower girls. Matt and Mandy got married at the top of the little hill leading to the barn and the guests all sat on hay bales. It was a great ceremony and there were no major meltdowns. Not from my batch of children at least. Wishing well at the farm The reception (or respetion as Baby Girl calls it) was great. The kids got to do a scavenger hunt and though they thought there was a prize at the end of it all, alas, there was not. Not a single person knew what the hell they were talking about, especially the children themselves. The kids did the Chicken Dance (banned at my wedding) and we all did the Hokey Pokey. Baby Girl fell in love with the kitties....

A Love Story (albeit a one sided love story in the end but still...) It all started with him. An innocent farm cat. Minding his own business.  This cute thing (my niece) comes along and poof! Instant friends. Inseparable. They frolicked in the driveway. He, loving on her. She, showing the love back. He started to pull away. Wanting his freedom. Needing to run amok on the farm. He's a free spirit, this one. Doesn't want to be tied down to one lady friend. So she watches. From a distance. This is how she was for the next 1/2 hour. On the way back to the hotel, she cried. The entire 8 miles. Was she sad that she isn't in the wedding? Was she sad she didn't get a gift? Did she want to bring the farm kitty home? No. No to all of the above. This precious girl that I love more and more every time I see her was crying for one simple reason. She just loves that kitty so much. Nothing else. Just the love in her heart. If that doesn't touch your heart then yo...

Our oldest niece and one of her favorite uncles, my sexy beast of a husband. 

We had a scavenger hunt geared towards everyone going to school this year. That was a hit, no if ands or buts about it. The kids had a blast, especially the Monkey. She followed the big kids everywhere and was screeching in excitement right along with them! We had a cake made with a school house on it with crayons, chalkboard and pencil decorations piped on it. Our baker also sent along a portable chalkboard that opens up to hold the chalk and eraser. Super cute. We learned to roll over. We also learned we don't like being on our tummy. At. All. I think we can name this photo "Aww crap!" We got to meet Paul Allen, the voice of the Minnesota Vikings. He's the one with the whitest, biggest smile I've ever seen on a man! Really nice guy. We even got our photo put on the KFAN website. The husband was very excited to see his girls on there.

The Littlest Little Baby Girl The Monkey Girl The Dictator The Sometimes Serious One and The Sometimes Crazy One

Fluffy and I. Have I ever mentioned she's the best sister in law evah? Tis true. Me with Cousins M and A (who was due after me and had her baby this past week) The Monkey and Auntie K All the girls and let me tell you the struggles with this one. This is shot #7 of 9. We've got The Dictator, Monkey, Baby Girl, Cousins T and B. And finally, the husband came to me one day and asking just what the heck was going on on the stairs. I asked him just what the heck was he talking about. Well, clearly a Care Bear needed some help.