A dozen years!

12 years ago we started our lives together! I love this picture of us right before we walked out of the church as a married couple. We have had a great dozen years!

Here we are...

12 years
11 European Countries
10 jobs (between us)
9 brothers & sisters (married in,step, & natural)
8 pets
7 cars
6 camping trips
5 moves
4 kids
3 houses
2 rentals
1 visit to Canada
(and new hair styles)

... later and still looking good!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

Carnival party

This weekend we celebrated Pipi and J.J.'s 4th Birthday with a Carnival theme party. It turned out great thanks to all the help that I had from family and friends. We set up our side yard to look like a carnival complete with tents, games, food, and prizes! I think the kids had a blast, and it really did run itself once it was set up...which means that I didn't have to do the entertaining.

There were so many cute pictures that I had a hard time deciding, so this is another long post. You won't be disappointed with all these cuties though!

View from the front of house. It was very colorful. Thanks to all my Friday night house guests for blowing up about 150 balloons for me. It just wouldn't have been the same without them!


L.C. was in charge of the snow cone booth. He ran it all day...not sure how many he had himself.
excited about the prizes and took the tickets very seriously.


My funnel cake man...he made these all day, and filled the air with a carnival-like smell...yum yum!


This was the lemonade, popcorn, cotton candy stand. Yes I sent the kids home with a sugar high!


Oh the prizes...they were so excited about getting their prizes! I collected and searched all over for these.


Sack races!


Tug of war...girls against boys!

The 4 year old Birthday girl.

These girls love each other, and love being silly together. I just love Lou's face here!

Pregnant people can clown around too! We were glad to have Aunt Jamie join us this year!


J-birds cake was a ferris wheel. He was sure serious about blowing out those candles.


This was my Pipi's cake...I think it turned out quite cute if I do say so myself.

I live with these two clowns. Jeff entertained with his juggling act!

Cousin Lynnlee was a trouper and dressed up with us!


My crazy hair boys!

Kindergarten graduate

My sweet boy is moving on up. They had a cute graduation ceremony in their class!

WE ARE WARRIORS!

**This is a really long post...didn't realize it until I went back and looked at it!

What a blast we had today at the Warrior Dash! It was crazy crowded, but such a neat festive atmosphere. The weather turned out great after a hazy morning.

Jeff before the race.

Me before the race.

Ax throwing...that's supposedly what real warriors do! Below are just some of the obstacles that I was able to get pictures of before the race.


This is the wall that we had to climb up using a rope. This one was not so bad.


Kinda obvious, but we had to go over these tires after we swam/walked through the lake.


After the tires were the 3 walls to climb over. This was not too bad either. One guy who was beside me busted it on the last one and fell flat! I don't have pictures of a few obstacles because they were back in the woods, but there was a cargo net we had to climb over, some junk cars to get over, run through the forest on a path just wide enough for your foot, a huge mud hill (come to think of it most of the course was muddy) that they kept watered down. I slide on my rear, and Jeff said he kinda surfed down...until he fell in a big mud hole...and lost his shoe...the one with the race time chip attached, so he had to dig it out. He ended up running the last part of the race holding his shoe!


This is the mud pit...as if you couldn't tell. We had to crawl under the barbed wire. The guy in camo is just one of the many people that dressed up in a crazy costume!

After the mud bog we got in this lake and had to go over the logs. I chose to roll over them face first, and was able to rinse some of my mud (was completely covered except face) off!


This is the last thing before the finish line. Don't know who this girl is, but she looks cool jumping!


THE FINISH!!!


Jeff after

We only trained for the race by doing Crossfit workouts...and I think we were pretty well prepared.


Me after

Check out these Warriors!!!



I think this is called the green sneaker (or maybe shoe) project. They collect shoes, clean them up, and send them to people who don't have shoes.


After the race you can clean up in the lake (which looks muddy to me). We just changed clothes in the parking lot. In the top left of this picture is where we had to run through the lake.

I mentioned that there were all kind of costumes. We were watching runners before our race, and this girl next to us was cheering for everyone. All of the sudden she said "Jesus". Jeff looked at her wondering why she had said this and then looked out and saw "Jesus" running the Warrior Dash (was very funny)...I guess that this is a good reminder that He is everywhere!!!

**We would love to have a bunch of people to do it with next year...any takers???

Twas the night be-four

Well this is me four years ago! You probably didn't pay attention to how horrible I look because of the enormous belly (I had to stand sideways to reach the faucet on the sink)! And you can't tell how absolutely miserable I was carrying almost 12 pounds of babies! I was just over 36 weeks along, and this was the night before I delivered the Pipi and J.J. It is so hard to believe that my babies are turning 4 tomorrow.

It is crazy how life works...there are so many days that I just wish would hurry up and get over with...but as those days go by I am sad about my children growing up.

Today I made a big deal about this being the last day EVER that Pipi and J.J. would be 3 years old. I kept saying that they would NEVER be 3 again and so on and so on. So tonight after we put everyone to bed (while we were watching Lost), we hear Pipi upstairs just wailing. I went up there to see what was going on, and here is how the conversation went:

ME: Pipi what is wrong?

PIPI: I don't want to turn 4!!! (crying very loudly)

ME: Why don't you want to turn 4?

PIPI: I want to be the same person that I am now.

ME: You will still be the same person but just 4 instead...you will be able to do a lot more things...

PIPI: (really sobbing) Well I don't want to be 16!

ME: (very confused with this) You won't be 16 for a long time, but why don't you want to be 16?

PIPI: (still sobbing) Because then you won't hold me!!!!!

ME: (my emotions struck, and I lost it)...(wiping tears) I will hold you anytime you want me too!

I think I got her to settle down by telling her that she would get to open her presents tomorrow. She said hummm, and then rolled over.

I guess that I need to get used to the idea of them all growing up...BUT I don't have to like it!!!

Who needs friends when you have a twin...they did this together most of the day today! God sure knew what he was doing when he gave me twins to entertain each other.

How many can you do?

This boy is simply amazing! He stopped at 10 only because that was all we told him to do...I think his record is 21...what's yours???

He is growing up so fast, but the other night as I was tucking everybody in he asked if I would lay with him. I really was ready to kiss everyone and be done with the night, but I decided to stay. I know that one day, not too far off in the future, that this 9 year old won't want anything to do with me.

It was only about 5 minutes that I stayed, but it was one of those simple memories that I will keep.

We chatted about the day and laughed a little.

I left his room with a big smile on my face.

Often times it takes little moments like this to bring life into prospective. Thanks my sweet L.C. for doing that for me!


I just read this on another blog and it was also such a good reminder to me on one of my crazy I really want to beat my kids days...

"Let everything I say be good and helpful so my words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."

Nut case

I TOLD YOU HE WAS A NUT!!!

So yesterday he comes outside after I had sent him back in to get dressed, and says

"I'm all dressed!"

It is rare that a day goes by that we don't crack up at this boy, and his smile is infectious...

Need I say more??!!

growing up

GOING...

GOING...

GONE!!!

My babies are growing up fast, and I don't like it one bit! This is one of those milestones that makes them seem so much older. The tooth fairy will be visiting our house tonight, and this boy could not be more excited!!!