Happy St.Patrick's Day!

Those of you who aren't Irish, or don't celebrate St.Patrick's Day, you probably won't care about this post, but we ARE Irish, well, I am more than anyone else, and we DO wear green today!! My family has always celebrated this holiday, my entire life, so I make my children and husband wear green, though that is about the extent of our celebration!! Each year I take their photo on the steps, so this was today...

By the way, taking 3 kids pictures, even the older they are, doesn't get any easier for me! I took 8 shots, and this was the best one...you tell me...any ideas?!

Alex is turning 8 - part I

Today we celebrated Alex's 8th birthday with my family-with cake and ice cream and homemade pizza!! It was awesome! Alex said he wanted a white cake with chocolate icing and said that he didn't want any specific design- bless him! I did, however make this one for him to his surprise and it ended up looking really good! He got fun gifts from Grandma and Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Sean and even Great Aunt Trudy! So great! Here are some cute pictures...

Our Crazy Daizy

I call Celeste our "Crazy Daizy" because she is a ball of fun! I love her sweet personality- from the mischevious eyes to her chubby toes- she is such a gem to have in our home! We so love her. I love that she is passionate about what she wants when she wants it- so typical of a toddler! I love that she loves her siblings and that she is a cuddler- my other two weren't as lovey as she is, and it is just fine with me since she is our baby. I never let the other two sleep in our bed, but this one...well, I admit I don't mind as much...she comes in around 6 in the morning, every morning and snuggles with me until we officially get up around 8. Dana is getting up about the time she comes in, so she is the warmth I need to stay sleeping! I love her at these moments, because I forget about all the crazy things she has done the day before, and I just soak in her sweetness- there isn't much sweeter in life than a sleeping child! I took these photos the other night, and as she gets older, she makes funnier faces and poses, so these are so her at this stage of the game... She has the biggest brown eyes, and they speak volumes! I am thinking of getting her hair trimmed for the first time, but I love the curls, and I am afraid they won't stay after the cut! She has fine hair, much like mine and Leah's, so she will probably eventually have a short do, but for now, I love the length! She's too much, our little "Crazy Daizy"!

Leah Loves to Learn!

Tonight Leah received the "Character Education Award" from her school! She was chosen by her Kindergarten teacher as the student who demonstrates all the character traits they have learned- in and out of the classroom: honesty, determination, respect, responsibility, and caring. These are great attributes and I know she demonstrates all of them very well. As much as she and I struggle to understand each other, she is a really amazingly loving and sweet little girl! We love her so much and are very proud of her! Way to go, Leah! Keep up the good work!

Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny, Weeny, Pink Bikini

Were you honestly thinking it was my size?! Yeah right! Is this not the cutest little bikini you ever did see? Well, there is a story behind it...are you ready?! I was in Old Navy back in the late fall shopping the "stuff n save" sale, when on a shelf I saw this adorable bikini for $4.97. I thought that was a fairly decent price for a suit from Old Navy, so I bought it for Celeste for the next summer...well, a week or two later, I was back there (see a trend?) and I saw a shelf with about 20 more of them in many different sizes, now marked 97 cents! Yes, 97 cents for this adorable pink bikini! I couldn't believe it, so I ran home, found the one I had bought and the receipt, luckily, and headed back to the store. I grabbed 5 new suits, in exchange for the 1 I was returning. After ringing me up, the store actually owed me 12 cents! Ha ha! The clerk said I got the "deal of the day!" Well, since it is getting warm (somewhere), I thought I would put these up on ebay and see what they sold for. Now that ebay has lowered their fees, it was only 15 cents to list them starting at 99 cents. I figured I'd start low, since I only paid that for one anyway. So, I listed them, but was multi-tasking at the same time, (not always a good idea), and I set the shipping at $3.50 each! These things weigh like an ounce or something-seriously, they are tiny. Well, I didn't notice until a day or so later, but people had already been bidding, so apparently they didn't think that was an astronomical amount to charge for shipping, even though I do! So, with the auctions closed now, here is the rundown...oh, and I kept one for Celeste!! (I had to, she is still young and edible in a two-piece!) Leah was sad I sold her size! She is a big girl now, and I just can't show her tummy anymore...so sad...

Sold 4 suits for a total of $28.25

Isn't that crazy?! I love it! Now, I just have to collect the dough and ship them off!! Maybe I will head to Old Navy for more bargains! This rarely happens, but I am glad with the outcome!

The Sun is Shining!!

The sun has come out- the first in DAYS!! It is so beautiful glistening on all the snow! It is still freezing, don't get me wrong, but the sun has shown itself, and soon all this will melt-hopefully soon!! Yes, church was cancelled this morning, but some of the guys went out to shovel out anyone snowed in- which was probably many people in our ward. Still, there is hope that Blizzard 08' is over and now we can get on to Spring!
To help speed things along, I painted my toenails (this one is for you, Cindy!!)

Snow is falling all around...

I think I used this title when the leaves came falling down...but now it is snow, and I mean SNOW! More snow than I have seen in years-in fact, they are calling it "Blizzard 08'"!! Isn't that crazy! I do love snow, from the inside, but it is really heavy this time, and has accumulated a ton overnight and into the day! People are seriously snowed in, and I heard that the National Guard is going to be called in to help relieve people who are stuck! We are making headlines here!! Dana and I shoveled our drive for over an hour and a half, and it was so much work! I hope I never have to do that again! I kept thinking about when I was younger, much younger, when my brother and I would shovel our neighbor's driveways, (for money of course), and I didn't seem to mind, but now no one is paying me, and I am getting older, so it was just not as fun as I remember!! The pictures are really pretty, and the snow drifts are amazing...you can get an idea of the depth by seeing Alex and Leah trudge through the back yard! Maybe, just maybe we can get out of church tomorrow!! I don't see many people out shoveling, and there is no way you could drive out of it! I'll update when I know more...


Here are some pics from the day...

I love these drifts on our roof- they look so cool!

Even I shoveled, sunglasses and all- it was really bright with so much snow!!

Summer Reminiscing

As I was running this morning on the tread (3 days this week! Woo hoo!), I was looking at a picture slide show on the computer of our vacation last summer to Myrtle Beach. I thought of how warm it was, and how I loved the summer sun! It was June and it was already so nice outside! I thought of how we are going to get a bunch of snow today, so I thought looking at these today would offset the freezing weather today! So, here are a few of my favorites...

We love the beach!




Love the bikini shot!
Daddy and the girls really love the hot tub!

Oh, and we booked a trip back this year in August!! I can hardly wait, and this time, Grandma is coming with us- the kids are ecstatic!

It's the little things...

Today we went to storytime at the library and Celeste got her hands stamped- a favorite new thing for her! She was so happy to get them, and even more excited to show everyone at home! I know you can't really see the image, but it doesn't really matter to her- she is very proud of her stamp!
Also today, Bonnie and Autumn came over with their girls for lunch- it was so fun just hanging out and it is really good to just chat about life and all that is funny! And a lot is funny! We laughed and ate and those are 2 of our favorite things, I can assure you! My girlfriends mean a lot to me, and I love spending time with them whenever I can. We are planning some fun outings, for when the weather finally warms up- like jaunts to different parks and lunch outings! I can't wait!
It is the little things in life that can mean the most!

Chapter 35

Okay, so yesterday was our teaser Spring day, and today, it dropped 30 degrees and is raining- hard! Figures, since I actually have places to go today, so no bother taking a shower and doing my hair, the rain will just make it it's own style! I planned on running this morning, but as I came down to the basement, I see water going into our drain! Water?! From where?! Could it be the torrential down pour from last night into today?! No, wait, my basement is waterproofed- we have never had rain come in! Now, I have to call the company to come and fix it, which means a whole shuffle of my now organized basement- but so important, because water damage is never good! It's not that much water, but any is worse than none! So, no run today, darn, because after my run yesterday, the body fat count went down to 26.4%- amazing, since before the run, it was 28.7%! I see the light, it is not that accurate, I know, but it is still fun to see the numbers decrease!
On a lighter note, I just got this picture from my mom on Sunday of Leah and my niece, Adriana- they are just a few months apart and are the best of friends. They love spending time playing at Grandma's house, and this was when they stayed the night together last month- I just loved this pose of them- so cute all bundled up on a walk they no doubt talked Grandma into taking in the cold- Grandma does what Mommy won't do!!