My Two Favorite Pics of the Girls and Our Favorite Guy in Iraq....We Miss Him!

Finally.... a new post....Fun trip to Phoenix

It has been forever since I've posted a blog..... I am hoping with my new Mac that blogging and uploading pictures will be a lot easier. So we'll see.... We recently went to Phoenix for Nate's graduation from Fuller seminary and had a mini vacation as well. It was super fun. We are really proud of Nate...the first in our family to get a Mater's degree.... the only problem is...he thinks he's smarter than everybody else... :)

My girls discovered splash parks.  At first they were pretty timid and didn't want to go in, but  Emma, my brave child, started running toward the water... Gracie soon followed.  They loved the splash parks so much, its so much fun to see the girls playing together so well.

Heather's parents came to see Nate graduate too and stayed at a Wyndem resort in Phoenix.  They were super nice to let us use the beautiful pool.  We had a great time swimming and laying out while the boys were golfing.....the babies loved it too!


Gracie and Emma found this dolphin on the bathroom floor (kind of gross ) while we were changing....they probably had just as much fun playing on it then the pool.

Tantie and Gracie at the resort....look how pretty the palm trees and mountins are....sooo fun!

The whole gang at the Diamondback baseball game.  The girls did great for a long baseball game....however, it was air conditioned, we sat in the all you can eat section, and they had a great kiddie play area.  I'm not yet ready to take Emma to a 100 degree Redhawks game.

Emma and Gracie love their Uncle Nate!

I am so proud of Gracie.  She has been TERRIFIED of all dogs,  but this week she and Nellie became friends.  She was even letting Nellie kiss her hand and Gracie was able to pet her!  Big Breakthrough!

Weight Loss Update!

Weight Loss Update!

I finally hit the 50 pound mark!

I started at 184....three weeks after I had Emma.....and I'm down to 134! In almost 15 months......

Here is a pic, about a year ago in California...I don't know why the pic says 2004. :)
Before Pic!

After Pic! 50 pounds gone!

Also, if you look closely, Gracie had fallen off the slide while we were taking this picture... Poor Baby, bumped her head!

Sesame Street, Cookies, Backyard Fun

Two Tinkerbells playing with their Daddy Doll! They think its hilarious. Gracie's favorite thing is to throw Daddy down the stairs, and yell "Sorry, Daddy, Are you okay?" and then just laugh! :)

Gracie loves dressing up, and is already talking about our trip to Disney World when Steven gets back!

Playing in the backyard, Emma is pretty much OBSESSED with this car, so much so, that my dad is constantly bringing it into the house! Gracie just shoved her little bum in the car, which Emma liked for about 30 seconds!

Emma and Grace loved making sugar cookies with Mom....Emma was absolutly covered in icing and sprinkles, and Gracie just had a few little spots on her cheek. How can we have one super clean kid, and one wild crazy kid who is always dirty!

Sesame Street Live....Pretty Fun, not sure if it was worth the money, but the girls had a good time....I personally, couldn't wait for it to be over, pretty annoying!

Oklahoma Fun!

Gracie went down the slide all by herself for the first time and loved it.  She was cracking me up, by going down the slide feet first on her stomach, and you could hear her skin squealing all the way down. Her hair had a little static in it :).




Let me out!!



Yes, Lindsay and I climbed all the way to the top, I must say that the McDonald's on Mustang Rd. has the best indoor playplace for Mommies.







Riding the car at the commissary.....our kids normally do terrible at grocery stores, but when they had a friend...they did fabulous!





Sweet Korbin and Emma, I love Emma's hat....she was working it!




Emma is such a cheeseball!


Gracie and Kylie loved their mini ice cream cones.




I know its been awhile.....a long while, but our family has gone through some big changes the last few months. Steven is playing in the sandbox....and we have moved back to Oklahoma to be with our families so I can have help with the girls. I got a fabulous job, and our goal is to get rid of all of our debt in the next few months. I already paid off our TV and credit card, so all that's left is student loans and cars! Yeah! I am going to try to update this daily or every few days, mainly for my handsome hubby, so he can see what's going on with the girls. They are going to grow up so much in the next few months. Thursday, we went to McDonald's with my childhood best friend and her kiddos. We have been friends since we were 4 years old, and we are convinced our babies will marry someday so we will be family! :)

Fishing Trip, Marine Corpes Birthday Ball, Aquarium, and more....

We have had such a great few weeks. My parents came last Friday and stayed until Tuesday to watch the girls during the ball. Steven and I went to Atlantic beach and stayed at the Sheraton for the Marine Corpes Birthday Ball. We had such a wonderful time, it was like a late anniversary present for us, since we were never able to celebrate our five year anniversary. Happy Birthday USMC! I borrowed a dress from a friend and felt sooo much better than two years ago when I was much heavier sucked into a too small dress! :)

div>We went to the life and science museum in Duram, NC and had a great time. It had a science museum, imagination play area, petting zoo, butterfly garden, music park, and train ride. I would highly recommend it for families. Gracie and Emma had a great time.....Gracie especially loved the butterfly garden, she kept pretending to fly like a butterfly the whole time. Super cute. The weather was awesome, super warm, and the trees were beautiful. Here are some cute pictures from the day.

Steven had a super long weekend, with the USMC birthday and veteran's day, so we went to the NC aquarium. The girls had a blast with their PaPa and MeMe to play with. Mom and Dad aren't as fun as grandparents. :)

This picture is hilarious. Gracie was refusing to take pictures and just closed her eyes and went limp....Way to go ruining the pictures, Gracie!

We were looking in this huge two story aquarium and next thing we know, Gracie is on the floor pretending to be a fish.

Papa and Emma.

Gracie kept saying, "Scary Snake" over and over as she was looking at the snakes at the museum.

Sweet baby sisters.....best friends.




Gracie caught her first fish....with Daddy and PaPa's help.

Daddy and Papa are trying hard to make this prissy princess a fisherwoman.

Menu Planning Monday, weight loss, silly pictures

Hi, I'm starting Menu Planning Monday, to try to get organized at the beginning of the week so we can save money on our meals. My goal is to only spend $50.00 each week on groceries and eat out only 1 night a week. This week we only want to spend $30.00 because we went over on our budget last week....partly due to our football part which was cancelled! :(

Here is our Menu for this week:

Monday - spaghetti with whole wheat pasta, salad, green beans, bread

Tuesday - Chicken Macaroni grill mix, broccoli, bread, pumpkin pie

Wednesday - leftovers

Thursday - Orange Chicken, fried rice, veggies in the mix

Friday-Chicken pot pie with biscuits, baked apples

Sat - Eat out

Sunday - breakfast for dinner (my favorite)

Weight Loss Update: I made goal last week! I have been doing weight watchers for 10 months and have lost 38.6 pounds! I started at 184, now I'm 145....and went from a size 16 to a size 8! I still want to lose 10 more pounds, but since I'm within a healthy weight for my height, 5 more weeks and weight watchers will be free! Yea! I think it has been worth every penny. I have been on a diet my whole life and this is the first time that I have actually done it!

Here are some silly pictures of the girls. I was walking by the playroom and noticed Gracie sitting in there watching TV....wearing my red stilettos! I also caught Emma in the dishwasher...her favorite places to play are in the toilet, the dishwasher, the pantry, and the refrigerator. She has a huge playroom with tons of toys and she loves to be in the dishwasher! Crazy!