So Far...

SWIMMING... in Nebraska! I am surprised that The water wasn't one big brick of ICE! I NEVER, NEVER want to live in Nebraska in the Winter! I don't know that I have ever been that cold!
Ell-bell Chillin. She obviously feels the same way about NEBRASKA as I do! She would only "swim" in the HOT TUB :) That's my girl.

Two little Monkeys Jumpin' on the bed. After 9 hours in the car, can you blame them?!

My little man... He was running up the stairs at Grandma's house to go Play with the toys. He slipped, fell, and hit his chin on the hardwood. He busted it right open. He Freaked out at first but then he calmed down and was the bravest little boy ever! He was adorable at the Hospital. He was answering all of the questions the nurses asked like he didn't even need us there. "Is he allergic to any medication? " "No" says Tate. WHat?! He was adorable. He even asked THEM some questions :)

Sorry... Had to post this one. He was so tough! I am so proud of my sweet little boy. He HATES blood and needles or even the thought of them! He was So nervous... but did great. I had to grab my camera and take a picture to show him so that he would believe it was bad enough for stitches. He just wanted to leave it like it was!

SEVEN stitches! We really have had a great time. Tate and Ellie have loved "sleeping over" at Grandma and Grandpa's and playing with their Cousins. Tate also has Strep throat! LAYLA- Tate could really use some Kisses!!! :)

We Made it!!!

We made it to Good old Kansas City safely. I have lots of fun pictures to post.... it will take me a few days to get them on here I'm sure. Merry Christmas to everyone. We love you all!

.BaBy GrAcie.

Here She Is!

Thanks for the pictures Jamie... Ellie said on the way down to the hospital, "Mom, what's that baby's name?" I told her, "It's Gracie." She said, "Oh yeah, Gracie. She is my very Favorite!"

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jeremy!...... We LOVE you!

.Baby Gracie.

Sounds like Baby Gracie is here and she is JUST FINE! Yahoo!!! 5 lbs, 8 oz and 18 inches long. We love you baby Gracie.

Ahhh!!

My sister's water just bRoKe!!! I'm going to be an Aunt again! It's supposed to be a girl and I think they are going to name her Gracie Maddison?! This will be another Peemie baby though so will everyone say a little prayer for them!

.Turkey Day.

Okay, Okay... I know I'm way late on the Turkey Day post but here it is anyways :) We had a really good day. Jeff's dad flew in from K.C. and his brother Jeremy came over for dinner. My family all came out- except for Sara (we missed you guys). We ate Turkey, Mashed potatos, corn, stuffing, yams, more Turkey, rolls, jello salad, egg nog, and lots and lots of pie- including the DELICIOUS pumpkin cheesecake pie Mindy brought! Yeah, I am pretty much still suffering from the pants fitting a little too tight! Oh well....
The kids loved their "cute little turkey". They wanted to watch my every move as I prepared the Turkey for eating... sick, huh?

The BoYs can't have a Holiday without football... I swear! Either it's on the T.V. or in the back yard. Even when it's not offiicially "football season" there is always NFL Europe or some other conspiracy to provide some entertainment for these men.

. My Taterbug.

El-bell and Ry-guy! Family is great, isn't it! I love you all. I hope to spend some good time with everyone this Holiday Season.

+Annie.

This is for JesIkA!

Okay, Okay... Here they are! I have been tagged by Jesika to post some wedding picutres. I told her they didn't make digital cameras way back then and I don't have a scanner so I took pictures of the pictures. Here you go...

Shannon and Chad were our "Brides Maid" and "Best Man". Jeff was roommates with Chad- that's how I met Jeff:) Shannon and I were working at the Pool as lifeguards.

Oh Man! I forgot to tag somebody! I tag Layla and Miss!! he,he... Can't wait!

Fall FuN!

SO... I can remember playing in the leafs with my Brother and Sisters when I was younger.. much younger.. and it just makes me laugh at how much fun we used to have. We would rake the leafs up and jump out of trees into the big pile of leafs (like it was going to cushion the fall at all). Well, we raked the leafs in our backyard (okay.. Jeff raked the leafs) and the kids had their first experience jumping, "swimming", and fighting in the leafs. It was super cute to watch.

Do as I am doing...

Okay. I rarely remember embarrassing things that happen to me but I have one fresh on my mind that I thought you would all get a good laugh at. A few Monday night's ago, during family night, we let Tate choose the closing song. Well, he chose "do as i am doing". The action he chose to do is to jump up and down while turning around. Well, it was night time- and who wears their bra at night? Well Jeff and I were laughing hysterically because we knew what was going on and the kids just thought we were having a great time. Picture the "If I do it high or low, if I do it fast or slow..." ha,ha,ha. It was funny! Needless to say we now have to sing that same song, with that same action EVERY FAMILY NIGHT! I now stay fully dressed for family night :) ( I think this post takes care of all the times I have been tagged by everyone about quirks and embarrassing stuff).

Can't hardly wait...

I love this time of year... mostly because I know Christmas is around the corner. I have been thinking about the traditional candy making day at my house and can already feel my pants getting tighter! I have been making a recipe book for my ward and have so many fun recipes from everyone. I can't wait to try them out! Here is one of my favorites that I am already craving... thought I would share it. Melissa, I want your pretzel recipe! I did have it in my hot little hands and then I forgot it at your house last year.... craving those too (wink, wink).

Growing like a WeEd!

I can't believe how quickly Tate is learning to recognize his "sight" words and sound out his letters. I thought it would be forever until he was reading but now it's coming quicker than ever. Tonight he wrote this little note and showed it to us! It says Don't like it! It was durring dinner sio I thought he was talking about his dinner but then he told us that it' s a picture of a boy holding a bug. he, he... How cute is he! He is getting so smart... I love it.

No Time To BlOg!

So, Hopefully your week has been as busy as mine cause I have felt like I am going crazy! We of Course did the whole Halloween thing tonight..... we went to Grandma Cindy's house. Grandma fed us and gave us way too many treats. Jamie also handed out loads of candy to the kids.... Thanks guys!

We went to Grandpa Craig's house. He gave the kids tons of candy. The kids carried around pillowcases this year... an old tradition that we are going to try to bring back. Both kids thought we were crazy when we showed them their "bags" but they got over it!

Tate learned to ride a bike without TRAINING WHEELS! It only took him a couple of days of practicing on his friends bike and he learned how to do it all by himself! He loves it! He said to me, "Mom, don't you remember when you could ride without your training wheels and how fast you could go? Wasn't it so much fun?" He is such a cutie!! Thanks Parker for letting him borrow your bike!

Any of you who know my husband well enough know that he loves jets and flying! Well, my little Tate is the same way- no surprise! Jeff borrowed this flight suit from a friend to wear to work today for Halloween.

This is how far we go at my house with the whole flying and Pilot thing! Tate loves to fly airplanes on Jeff's laptop, he has a flight simulator game. Tate flew airplanes with this REAL pilot helmet on (I'm sure Jeff did too when the kids were in bed and I was at work)!

Maddox

Maddox rocks! You will be able to order Any Family Meal at the take out on Nov. 5th and the profit (10 dollars for family of 4 and 5 dollars for family of 2 meal) will be given to Daryl and Ashely Larsen. Any meal people! Eat Extra! This is an awesome opportunity to help people we love by eating. Please remember to mention the Larsen family name when ordering and/or paying. Keep getting the word out. I can't believe how well the word is spreading, but we have got to keep it up.

.Larsen Family Fundraiser.

Most of you know Daryl and Ashley Larsen. For those of you who don't, they are a young couple here in Perry, who just lost their baby to a rare lung disorder. Their loss is truly a tragedy. They are now experiencing the beginnings of what will be a land slide of medical bills. In an effort to aide them, there will be a one day fundraiser at the Maddox Steak House. On November 5, you can call Maddox at 723-2916 and order the Turkey Steak dinner. You can choose the 2 or 4 family meal at the regular price. All proceeds will then be donated to the Larsen family. You do need to remember to mention the Larsen family name when ordering. You can then pick up your meal at the take out window in the back of Maddox. It will be for lunch and dinner. Please spread the word.
Feel free to copy and paste this post on your blog.
+annie

Look Who's Three!

This is my baby girl when she was just a couple of days old.... where has the time gone? We have enjoyed this sweet little GIRL... never a dull minute! Love you Ellie.

Halloween Birthday Party!

We had a really fun Halloween party for Ellie's birthday! We had Cinderella, A pretty little Devil, Bumblebee Transformer, Squirt, A KC Chiefs football player (go chiefs!), a Fantastic Four guy, a cute frog, A scary mask guy, Elvira, Joe dirt, Gothic Grandma (my favorite), a pretty witch, a Knicks player, a 50's girl, and a nurse. We played a game outside and then had a pumpkin decorating contest! Here are some of the pictures!





Ellie blowing out the candles on her Jack-o-lantern cake.

Gothic Grandma, I didn't think mom would even dress up but holy cow- she really stepped it up! Thanks Mom!
Squirt and scary mask man... all in one!
Cute little Frog and Cinderella!
Thanks for the Make up Jamie! I think this is what Ellie will look like for the next few years :)
Ellie on her way to bed... yeah, she had to sleep with most of these things! Thank You everyone for making Ellie's day so special, she had a great time! We love you all.

MaGa!

ELLIE got a surprise in the mail this morning! Her Grandma and Grandpa who live in KC never miss a holiday or celebration without sending a package! They are awesome! It is hard to have Grandparents living so far away but it has it's perks too.... my kids get packages in the mail and they love it! Tate and Ellie were both so excited, they were shredding the box to get it open. Ellie has been soooo excited for her birthday that it was super fun for her to have a little early birthday surprise today! Thanks Maga and Papa!
She got Polly Pockets that instead of changing the clothes, you swap the heads and bodies! They work great for Ellie... she is loving them!
Birthday Girl!
Ellie with her surprise birthday Package!

Polly Pockets... she also got a Strawberry Shortcake movie and the Barbie Diamond Castle DVD! Spoiled stinker :) Both Tate and Ellie also got Halloween shirts! We + Maga and Papa!

...they say the darndest things!

Tate came walking out from his room today and said, "Mom, I'm movin' out!" He had Ellie's Barbie fishing net swung over his shoulder filled with his favorite airplanes! I just laughed at him and said, "Wait! Let me get the camera!" What a character....