Sea World with the Girls

Last week our wonderful babysitter, Maribel was sick for most of the week. So this meant I got to play hookie from work and have some fun with the girls. We got Sea World passes this year so with the warm weather back for a spell, we decided to head on over. It was nice knowing we could just take our time, and not feel like we had to squeeze a ton of action into one day. We visited the penguins, sharks, and sea lions. Brooke was so excited about the idea of feeding them, so I splurged and bout the expensive tray of stinky fish. She had a blast tossing it to one sea lion in particular who would bark at her every time she stopped to take a break.

Ali didn't want anything to do with feeding the animals, but cheered her sister on anyway. I love this picture below. Check out the face on that prissy little 4 year old!

We made it to the Shamu show too which I think I might have enjoyed more than the girls. Brooke says he wants to sit in the splash zone next time, so we'll plan ahead with the ponchos and give that a whirl.

It was a fun day with my girls and no pressure to clean the house and no getting distracted by the millions of things on my to do list. I hope we're good about doing it often!

A Kayak Picnic

Sunday was a beautiful day! It was a perfect opportunity to get the kayaks out on the water. Steve found a way to rig them up so that the kids could ride along with us comfortably. He attached little seat cushions and back rests for both of them. We started off on our way and before we got too far from home we had our first gator sighting. It's a bit nerve wracking to see a gator when all you have between you and it is your dinky plastic boat. Ali wanted to say hi to it so she started yelling "Gator! Gator!" until he disappeared under water. I kept telling myself that age-old lie.. He's more scared of us than we are of him!!We continued on up stream and found a shady spot to eat some lunch in our boats. The girls had fun spotting turtles and birds and we picked up some trash along the way too. It was a great little outing and just reminds us of how much we love our river!

Operation GI Jane

Back in August I was invited to be a part of a new ministry at our church. Northland Moms4Moms was coming together as a way for moms to get together, support each other, learn, grow, and have fun. I was asked to be a part of the planning committee and serve as the Community Outreach Coordinator. Michelle, our fearless leader, had discovered through prior conversations that I had a passion for service and thought this role would be good for me and I loved the idea and jumped on board. Each month we choose a new way to serve others. In October we did a food drive to help a local food pantry get stocked up for Thanksgiving. In November we assembled small suitcases full of clothes and toiletries for children entering foster care. In December we went caroling at a nursing home. And for January we collected items to send overseas to a group of women serving in Afghanistan. So this week our pool table has been covered in shampoos, soaps, snacks, socks, and much more. We collected enough items to be able to send five care packages overseas. This whole experience has been so rewarding for me. I love being involved in this ministry. I've met some lovely ladies and I get to stretch my social work muscles which have long been neglected since becoming a mommy.

Ali and her Big Girl Bed!

Our little Ali as getting big! Now that we have successfully conquered potty training, we're moving on to the next milestone.. The Big Girl Bed! It's actually just her crib with one side of rails removed, but it means the world to her. She can get in and out of it all by herself and so far, she's been good enough to STAY in her bed when we put her there. In fact, the first night I put her to bed in it, I told her that when she wakes up and the sun is shining, she can come wake up mommy and daddy. She thought that was pretty silly. I was looking forward to the idea though. Usually Steve and I get awoken with a "Mommy! Daddy! I'm AWAKE! Come get me!" I really liked the idea of her being able to get out on her own and come crawl in bed and snuggle with me in the mornings. However, she is still hollering in the mornings, and I keep reminding her to get out on her own. But I'm sure that like with everything else, she'll catch on soon.

Carson James

I love this picture of Brooke and Carson.

The girls team up to give Carson a bottle.

Lizzie - Day 2

Brooke sprung out of bed this morning with one purpose... To get back to playing with Lizzie as fast as she could. She carried the little lizard with her around the house and watched morning cartoons with it too.

When the girls and I headed outside for a walk, and I noticed Lizzie was missing, Brooke said, "I put her on my bookshelf!" I sent her strait upstairs to retrieve it. We then started collecting things in the yard to create a lizard circus. Brooke assembled a box of sticks, string, and leaves so Lizzie would have a place to play.

Sadly, Lizzie took a leap for freedom sometime this afternoon and has not been seen since. Brooke is heartbroken but I'm sure there are pleanty of other lizards in her future

Cows and Lizards

Every six months we have to round up all of our zebu cows to do a number of things to them. We give them wormer, check their height (since they are a miniature breed), tag them, trim their hooves, and so on. Matt has been nice enough to come over and help Steve with the two-day task.

Brooke was more concerned about lizards than she was about cows today. There were a ton of lizards running around the fences of the corral and she would not rest until she had caught every last one.

She got really attached to one in particular. "Lizzie" was her companion for the rest of the day. Lizzie is a baby lizard with no tail (I'm not sure if that's Brooke's fault or not) and Brooke had that thing either on her shoulder or in her hand until bedtime. Amazingly, Lizzie really didn't seem to mind! She wanted to take it to bed, but I felt like I had to draw the line!

Ali's Haircut

Ali's hair has been a bit unruley lately. Her baby hair was one length and her new hair was another. Her hair was always falling in her eyes and she refused to wear barrettes. So while Brooke was in school we went to the kiddie salon.

She loved getting to sit in the yellow taxi and watch Happy Feet while she got her trim. Such a big girl with her cute new do!

Bacon

A little over a week ago we started to notice that something was digging up our grass and making a mess of our pastures. It was obviously a hog looking for a snack. Well, nothing gets Steve more fired up than going head to head with nature. So he brought home some traps and strategically placed them around our property and baited them with corn. Every night and every morning, he and Brooke would take the buggy out for spin to see if they had caught anything yet. Day after day, they'd come home disappointed. On Tuesday night, right before dinner, Brooke said, "Mommy, I'm going to pray that we catch the piggy in the trap." So she prayed the sweetest, most grown-up prayer. And I prayed my own prayer, asking God to please come through with this one so my daughter could witness the power of prayer. This morning when they went to check, they found a humongous 200+ pound hog in their trap. Brooke came running into the house bursting with joy! We all loaded up on the buggy (Steve, Brooke, Ali, Me and Mrs. Maribel, our babysitter) and drove out to take a look! That hog was stinkin' mad! But Brooke is so proud and excited and has seen first hand that persistence overcomes resistance. I personally am excited about grilling some pork ribs!

Merry Christmas to me!

We picked up my Christmas present this weekend. It is a 12' Wilderness Systems kayak, and I love it. I'm
hoping to get out on the water in the mornings before everyone wakes up. I guess it's one of many new years resolutions.


-- Post From My iPhone

Happy New Year!!

We had a very low-key and family-friendly New Year's Eve this year. We were at our favorite spot in the world.. home. We took the buggy up to the front pasture and shot off fireworks with the girls. They loved them all, but quickly became bored with sparklers after they saw the mortars! We ended up with a really cool fireworks show thanks to Steve's recent trip through Tennessee and a quick stop at the fireworks store. Ken joined us and the girls were thrilled to see him, as always.

Ali with a sparkler

Brooke with a sparkler

After we put the girls to bed, we started the grown-up party which included brats and champagne (quite classy.. I know). We grilled sausage on our backyard fire pit and it was TASTY! So tasty, we had to take a picture! We rang in the new year and hung out by the fire until about 2am. Not long before that we were surprised by some river traffic. Our neighbors were out paddling in the dark and came by to wish us a happy new year. Not a bad way to start 2009. Happy New Year everyone!