She's at it again...

This time it was Payton's things, though. Hayden waited until the girls were at school and I was busy hooking the computer back up. She went in the bathroom and got into Payton's makeup. (At least she kept it in the bathroom.) I didn't know she was doing it until she came to me all puckered up with glitter smeared all over her lips and eyes. She must know she is too cute to get in trouble.

A typical afternoon

The afternoons at our house are pretty typical. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Taylor and Payton go to gymnastics. On Mon, Wed, and Fri. they come home, whine about something/anything, have a snack, then play. I took pictures on Monday of what the afternoon scene at our house looks like when the weather is nice.

The girls sat on the daybed and ate a whole container of blueberries in about 30 seconds. The picture you don't see is when Taylor comes in crying because she didn't get her fair share. After I promise to "buy more tomorrow" she goes back outside like nothing ever happened.

Taylor loves to sit on the daybed and read her assigned book for the night. On this day she was reading Judy Blume's "Superfudge." (Unflare those nostrils, mom.)

Hayden was busy building a "bonfire." This is one of their favorite things to do in the backyard. They gather sticks and pine needles into a pile on the back porch. One of them is always convinced that if they rub two sticks together long enough, they will start a fire. They always need a fire for the campout they are always planning.

And on most afternoons, someone is usually running around without pants on. That just happened to be Payton on this particular day. I don't know if she was surprised to see me with a camera or surprised that I just caught her with 4 pieces of gum in her mouth.

She has gotten brave

As you all know, Taylor recieved her heart's desire for Christmas: a beautiful pink acoustic guitar. The girls generally share all of their toys with each other. But there was an exception made for this little treasure. Nobody is allowed to play it without Taylor's permission. Well, Hayden has not let this little rule stop her. She waits until the girls are at school and I am doing laundry, dishes, etc. Then she sneaks into Taylor's room, shuts the door, and jams. Of course, she always gets caught. However, on Saturday, she got BRAVE. When Taylor was downstairs, Hayden ran into her room, didn't bother to shut the door, grabbed the guitar, got a pick, and strummed on that thing as loud as she could. I finally caught her in the act, so I ran to get my camera (only for the blog of course.) About the time I take the picture, Taylor hears the guitar and starts running up the stairs yelling. Hayden seemed very pleased with the whole situation. Once Taylor came running, Hayden put the guitar back, no questions asked and just went about her day.

My first layout of the new year

I have been in a little bit of a scrapbooking funk lately. I don't think I have actually done a page since October. So, I finally took that time today to sit down and do something. I actually pulled these papers out and picked out a sketch to work from the other day. But, today seemed like the perfect day to work my magic (ha, ha!) I always feel kind of guilty to sit down and scrapbook when I have a billion other things to be doing. So this was my little reward after folding all the laundry, organizing two closets, scrubbing the shower, cleaning the kitchen, and playing dollhouse with Hayden. And here is another layout that I started at a crop on October and never got around to finishing. I finally finished it 3 1/2 months later. I am sorry that it has not been photo edited to crop and fix the lighting. But, I just didn't feel like taking the time.

Anywhoodle, we've have nixed the idea of going to a parade to night because it is FREEZING. After last weeks experience, I have learned my lesson. Hopefully it will warm up in the next couple of days and we can enjoy Mardi Gras before it is over. The Senior Bowl is also this weekend so everyone in this town is in Par-tay mode. I guess I will celebrate the festivities by getting a bag of Hershey hearts (thanks for putting that thought in my head, Lynne.)

Baby, its cold outside!

Mardi Gras has officially started. Last night was the first Mobile parade. And today, was the Spanish Fort parade. The parading organization is called the Krewe de la Spaniards or something like that. I promised the girls we would go, so off we went to brave the freezing weather. Aiti came with us and was a little more patient with the constant whining, than I was. It was in the upper 30s and the wind was whipping through the Eastern Shore Centre. Did I mention we were freezing? We had been out there almost an hour before the parade actually made it to the spot where we stood. Hayden had been begging to leave for the entire hour leading up to the parade. But, when she finally saw the police car leading the parade, she figured it would be okay if we stayed until the end. Once the floats started coming the girls started jumping up and down and screaming. They were too cold to actually catch anything or pick anything up off the ground. So, Aiti and I were left to pick up everything thrown our way. My hands were so numb, and when I tried to catch the beads, it stung like I was trying to catch a brick. So I resorted to just letting everything hit the ground, then pick it up. My hands didn't thaw until we were half way home. We left with two bags of beads, three stuffed animals, a few moonpies, and a bunch of gum. We have been to this parade every year for the since Hayden was a baby. So I wanted to go more out of tradition than anything else.

As soon as the last float and the firetrucks passed, the whining commenced, again. So we dropped Aiti at home and went in search of a remedy for the cold. This is what we found:

Nothing cheers these girls up faster than some chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate from Panera Bread. And I had the best Smokehouse Turkey Panini. (Smoked Turkey, Bacon, cheddar cheese, and sun-dried tomato mustard) I also let the girls pick out some desserts. So we all shared a cinnamon roll, a chocolate chip cookie, and a chocolate chip muffin top. YUMMY!! Being there sure did make me miss Riley, though.

We are thinking about hitting a few more parades over the next couple of weeks. But that will not happen if it stays this cold. Hopefully Bryan will be able to come with us, too. He had a meeting and a stake youth activity today.

Aren't they pretty?

The girls got out of school early today and were enjoying a little play time in the backyard. So, I interrupted them for a few minutes to play with my camera. I took these pictures without the flash then did a little photo editing to fix the color. I don't know why they seem a little hazy, but I think the girls look beautiful anyway.

And here are few things I have said today (that I wonder why they even have to come out of my mouth):

- It is a toilet, not a couch.

- Why did you take all of your clothes off?

- Stop trying to laydown in the dollhouse.

- You can't eat cereal with a straw.

- Keep your spit to yourself.

Just another fun night

We love Sundays around here. We love going to church, but after that is when the really party starts. On what other day can you come home and put your jammies on in the middle of the day and not feel bad about it? (OK , maybe I am the only one that does that.) Sundays at our house usually mean watching football all day for Bryan, nonstop playtime for the girls, and usually a nap for me. I didn't take a nap yesterday, but the rest of the family stuck to their normal Sunday routine. We even snuck in a hardcore game of Trouble. We are competitive and intense about this game thing. If you are in this family, you are in it to win it! YEAH! Ok, maybe Bryan and I need to back off a little but, losing builds character, so we won't have any sore losers around here. So here are a few pics from our fun evening.

Payton is crossing her fingers that Hayden doesn't get a 6.

Hayden rolled patiently through about 10 turns before she finally got a 6 and was able to put her piece into play.

When she finally rolled that 6, she was SO happy!

Bryan couldn't resist letting out a little cheer when he sent one of the girls back to start.

Hayden was the winner, but only because the game went on FOREVER and we finally said whoever gets the next piece into HOME is the winner. So she won and I don't think anyone else cried. That is amazing. We ended the night with these little girls all snuggled up in their robes waiting to hear "Fancy Nancy."

Of course, I had to make the usual bargain: If they will be good for one pretty picture, then I will take a silly picture. So, here you go.


On a side note: I'm bringing sexy back.

A great picture from a great trip

This is one of my favorite pictures from our recent trip to Utah. This is just a small moment but it tells so much about our trip. Obviously, the kids were so happy to be together, just doing whatever. On this night, I came into Trent's room (where we slept) to find these girls reading in bed. Lynne and I had been out to dinner at Dave's restaurant and they were just waiting patiently to be tucked in when we got home. But this picture also tells so much more. In the background you can see a bowl sitting on the back of the bed. That bowl was used for multiple vomiting episodes for several children. I was afraid they weren't quite over being sick, so I kept it by the bed just in case. The rest of Trent's headboard is empty of all of his things. This only happened after repeated requests by him for my girls to leave his things alone. They didn't. He wasn't happy, I wasn't happy, and they weren't happy after the punishment. The clock shows sometime between 10 and 11 o'clock which was the frequent bedtime for the girls on this trip. Sometimes even later than that. I love looking at this picture because it is a glimpse into such a happy memory.

A Funny thing

I know it has been a while since I've updated. And I will update with Christmas pictures soon. But, I just wanted to post something funny that I saw yesterday. I was at Brunos getting some groceries. And at the register there is a little old lady getting a "carry out." (That is when you are to old, pregnant, or lazy to wheel your own cart to the car and put the groceries in.) So I see her and the Brunos employee in the parking lot on the way to her car. Now remember she must be about 115 years old or something. So she points the way to her Cadi parked in the first handicap spot and hobbles over there. She pops the trunk with her little remote thing and the nice young man starts loading her bags in. Then he reaches in the cart and pulls out a case of beer and puts it in the trunk. Now I don't know why I find it so amusing that this little old lady is buying a case of beer,...but, I just do. So I'm picturing in my head her sitting at home getting plastered while watching Antique Roadshow or something like that. But then, I realize. If she couldn't put her own groceries in her car, how the heck is she going to get them out?!? So, I'm thinking she is just going to have to drink that 24 pack of Coors before she gets home. So next time you see a little old lady with perfect hair, wearing a sweater in 80 degree weather, driving a navy blue Cadillac, she isn't driving bad because she is old. She is driving bad because she is drunk.