On your holiday...

"On your holiday, on your holiday I hope you had a very nice time..." For those of you who aren't familiar with the Wiggles, that's a verse to one of Anna's favorite Wiggles songs. We did have a nice time over the holiday weekend although we worked our booties off outside trying to get our landscaping looking decent. We moved plants, did away with some, and planted new as well as mulched around the entire house and trees. That's a lot of work to get done with two little girls who like to visit the neighbors when you're not looking. :0) Here's a few pictures of the end result. The girls had fun playing in their pool. I got this froggie pool and a rainbow one on clearance last fall at Walmart. The water was cold, Audrey didn't love that part, but they did have fun splashing one another. Hard to believe this was the girls last year on Memorial Day...

Sepia pics

I love sepia pictures. Here's a few recent snapshots.

Hot and Humid

We've had some hot, humid weather lately that's preparing us for summer. It's been great to get outside and play every day. Surprisingly, Audrey does very well leaving on her sunglasses. Anna had a great time scrubbing the bird poop off the swing set. She did a great job and even had fun doing it. baby + bucket + water = Happiness ... Audrey had a great time soaking herself!

Pretty Piggie Tales

Audrey, 14 months Anna, 14 months Audrey Anna - she loved the Chic-Fil-A cow!

Latest Garage Sale Bargain

We've definitely gotten our $11 out of this toy. The girls have had tons of fun playing with this and I don't even have batteries in it yet. Our subdivision had garage sales this past weekend and I had lots of fun "shopping" and finding a few bargains. Peekaboo!

14 Months

Getting a picture of this little stinker is NOT easy! She doesn't hold still for a second and if she does, she plays shy and won't look at the camera. She is not shy, don't let her fool you! :) So thankful for this little bundle of energy. She loves to wrinkle her nose. This is Anna at 14 months. You can definitely tell the girls are sisters!

Happy Mother's Day!

We went to the sportsmans club tonight for a picnic and it was a lot fun. Audrey did ok staying on the blanket as long as we kept food in her face and Anna loved it as you can see from her goofy grin. The weather was beautiful, we're so thankful for a nice sunny day after lots and lots of rain. I am also so very thankful for these 3 blessings that have taught me so much. Being a mother is everything I expected and everything I didn't expect. They've taught me more about being selfless than anything else could and for that I am greatful as that is what God calls us to be. I didn't anticipate that child rearing would help me understand God's unconditional love, His forgiveness, or the total dependence on Him that I would need to survive. I thank Him for what I've learned, what I'm still learning, and for holding my hand through every minute of every day.

Fishin' Buddies

After our picnic, Michael and Anna just had to go get their poles wet. They didn't catch anything but we didn't stay very long. Mommy was getting tired of chasing Audrey who wanted to head straight for the water. I think she needs to wear a helmet and a flotation device at all times just in case she happens to get away from us and we can't prevent her from something unsafe. I think she'll make a great fishergirl or at least she'll love the water and will have fun scaring all of the fish away. Maybe they can use her for bait, she does smell good most of the time. :) Speaking of smells...Anna just had to use the outhouse there near the pond so yippee, I took both girls to the outhouse while Michael loaded up the poles. What a great way to end our outing!

Shake Your Booty!

We love to dance, it's no secret! It's healthy to dance so we turn on some dancing music every now and then, in this case it was the Grease soundtrack, and we shake our booties. Anna is working on her spins. Thankfully she'll be starting dance classes in the fall and hopefully they can help her master these. :) Audrey usually can't refrain from bopping around a little and clapping her hands whenever she hears music. It's in our blood!

Oreos - YUM!

It's amazing how much I've relaxed with the second one. I don't think Anna had her first Oreo until last fall at almost 3 1/2 and here Audrey is not even 14 months and she's having them for afternoon snack. She's definitely much more of a sweets lover than Anna. She must get that from her Daddy. :) Anna loves that they turn her tongue black. Notice her wild, sweaty, curly, out of control hair. She had just woke up from her nap and quickly put her headband back on thinking her hair was fixed. HA! I couldn't wait to get a brush on it. :)

TOMS - Love 'em!

I spent my birthday money on a pair of TOMS. You might've seen the AT&T commercials advertising them. It's a pretty good deal...a pair of shoes for me and a pair of shoes for a needy child. I love these pretty pink polka dot shoes although my husband thinks they're quite silly. He's missing out because they're way comfy too.

"Hold Me!"

This is Audrey's new way of saying, "Hold me!". She's been doing it a lot lately with her being in pain from teething.

Goofy Girls

If it's raining outside and you can't go for a stroller ride, just take one inside. The girls had so much fun playing like this. Audrey looks like she's saying, "Ha Mom! I fit in here!" Anna had her own real live "doll" to push around although the "doll" only stayed in the stroller if it was moving. Kind of reminds me of shopping with her.

Cute Composers

What kids don't like to pound on the piano? Personally, I don't know any. Michael is wanting to start Anna in piano lessons but I'm still unsure about it. I think she might be too young and I really want her to get a solid grasp on reading letters/words and numbers before we teach her to start reading music. She definitely loves to play though, and her little sister is right there with her! Audrey's already got the hand motions down!

New River Gorge

It's said to be the second oldest river in the world behind the Nile River. The New River Gorge is definitely something to see but the bridge that was constructed to cross it is incredible! Last weekend Michael and I were greatly blessed with a night away by ourselves. It was wonderful to eat dinner, breakfast, lunch, and dinner again just the two of us while not having to entertain or feed any little people. We were able to sleep in (HEAVEN!) and take our time shopping and sight seeing. Can't thank my parents enough for watching the girls, so glad they did great while we were gone! I took this picture while we were driving across the bridge. You can see the small strip of river down below only the river is not just a small strip when you're standing next to it but hundreds of feet wide, we were just up that high when crossing over it. You can see the bridge we were just on to the left of us. If you look closely through the clouds, you can see the river. This was taken from a much smaller bridge over the river. Although the weather wasn't the greatest, it was neat to see the clouds in the mountains. We saw this a lot when we lived in TN. The mountains are sooooo pretty! God's creation just amazes me. It's amazing how small the bridge looks when you're several hundred feet below it. There were some beautiful water falls and wildflowers. It was so nice to take it all in just the two of us and not have to worry about entertaining two little ones in the car. :)

Lovin' the outdoors

This is why we need nice weather to play outside in daily. Otherwise, Audrey finds things to play with in the house that are not toddler friendly. Yes, that's toilet paper she's dragging over her shoulder. I'm glad Audrey likes to swing. It's the safest way to have her outside as she's confined and can't take off or get into things she shouldn't. :) Although, if she's in the swing, she must be swinging high or she's not happy. She loves it best when her sister pushes her...the rougher the better. She's a tough cookie! I love this picture of Anna. Anna was so excited to get sand in the sand table a few weeks ago. I think she would play in the sand all day if I let her. The slide has become Audrey's favorite. Before we even sit her down at the top she starts scootching her bottom to make herself go. She's not afraid of anything right now - scary!

Planting Posies

I always loved to plant and care for flowers with my mom growing up and now I get to do it with my girls and it's so much fun. If Michael would let me, I'd have pots of flowers everywhere. Before the girls came along, I had many indoor house plants that I enjoyed caring for but now we're down to just one small one that's up high, safely out of reach from little hands. Moving so many times has also helped eliminate house plants as movers won't move them and they're not easy to move ourselves so...I have to fulfill my plant/flower itch with outside flowers. I'm so glad the girls are into it as well. Anna was so excited to pick out her own flowers to care for. She loves to check on them and of course watering them is the best! Audrey was all about wearing Anna's gardening gloves.