Fall Memories

1. Madison to Mommy on the phone from Grammy's house at the end of the day:
Madi: Mommy, me sick.
Mommy: Oh, well then I guess I will have to come and get you and take you to my meeting
Madi: Me sick, mommy go home
Mommy: Ok Be right there.

Upon arrival to Grammy's house:
Mommy: Grammy, I heard Madison say she is sick, whats going on?
Grammy: Oh...I didn't hear that part of the conversation...she isn't sick, she has been perfectly fine all day...I guess I need to pay more attention to her conversations...
Mommy: I guess Madison has figured out how to get Mommy to come home from school...Ha Ha

Madison's first successful attempt at playing hookie...2.5 years old.

2. Emma to Daddy on the day he stayed home from school to play with the Girls all day:

Emma: Mommy work. Daddy stay home. No Shelly today.
(Shelly is our babysitter on Fridays)

Emma's first successful spoken paragraph...1.5 years old.

Happy Winter

Winter is Here!

 Madison asked "Play Outside Mommy Please"

 So we brought out the sled...

 and the dogs...

 and the mittens and gloves...

 to enjoy the beautiful

 Wyoming

 Winter day

Happy Winter Everyone!

Madison Singing

This is one of two great videos I have of Madi singing the alphabet song. Here she is playing the piano while singing. The other video she is playing the drums...however, she was in the process of getting dressed when we filmed the other one, so she isn't wearing a shirt...I am uncomfortable sharing that one online, so let me know if you want to see it and I will get it to you.

Emma Lea's New Favorite Thing

Emma has discovered the names of her facial features. She loves to point out the new things she is learning. This is great...however, we have all learned to cringe when she yells "eyes" and sticks her finger into you eye...we are working on being gentle. Ha Ha..

Conversations with Madison

Madison is really growing up. She is talking like crazy and loves to carry on conversations with us. There are a couple of conversations that she repeats on a regular basis. Here are the two most common conversations with Madison. 

 This first conversation occurs while we are driving to and from Brandon's parent's house. The route takes us right past the fields where my dad puts up hay every year.

Madi: Mommy! Hay!
Me: Yes, baby. Hay.

Madison: Mommy, Papa hay!
Me: Yes Madi, Papa makes the hay.
Madi: Hay Horses (which sometimes is the word, but most often is just her clicking her tongue which is how we call the horses.)
Me: Yes, the hay is for the horses.
Madi: Auntie Rawr hay (Auntie Rawr is my sister Jenni, somehow Madison decided her name was Rawr and it stuck.)
Me: Yes Auntie Rawr picks up the hay.
Madi: Yeah.

Nine times out of ten that we drive by daddy's hay fields, Madison and I have this conversation. Love it!

 The second conversation we have consistently is when Madison sees the moon. She recently discovered the moon and points it out anytime it is in the sky.

Madi: Mommy! Moon!
Me: Yes baby, I see the moon.
Madi: Me go moon
Me: No baby, you can't go to the moon, it is a very, very long ways away.
Madi: Me go MOON!
Me: Okay, sometime a long time from now, you might be able to go to the moon.
Madi: Sis go too?
Me: Sure, Sis can go to the moon too.
Madi: Okay!

 I am enjoying having these conversations with Madison. I know all too soon, they will be gone, and I will beg for my daughter to share her discoveries with me.

I also hope that you enjoyed the pictures scattered throughout. These were taken since the last post, and I never feel like a post is completed without sending a few pictures along the way.

And we are back to the grind

As I posted as my status on facebook, one week down, 35 to go. Brandon and I just finished our first week at school with out new classes. So far I think it is going to be a great school year.

Madison and Emma Lea aren't going to have a chance to get bored this year. They are splitting their time between Brandon's mom, my dad, and my aunt Misti.


The days are starting to feel like fall. The cooler nights are sure nice, but I am afraid that the first frost isn't too far away. It was 42 degrees last night. Brr. I am sure not ready to lose my garden. I have really enjoyed getting it started this summer. Not excited to see it get covered in snow.


I am sure loving watching the four babies in our family play together. They are getting to spend more time together now that summer is coming to an end.


Not sure if you can see it, but Aiden and Madi are both in the car while playing in our backyard this afternoon. I just overheard Madi say "out bubba please" and the. Process to climb put over him and then sit down again next to him. They sure do love being together.


So much for baby proofing the back steps. The kids figured out how to climb through the back of the steps. I guess I will have to figure out how to block off behind the steps.


Two weekends ago, Brandon and I attended our ten year class reunion. It was crazy to see how our classmates have grown up and still pretty much stayed the same. Jessica and her two year old triplets made the trip up from Denver to attend. Emma spiked a fever the day of the barbecue in the park, so Madison and I went and had a good time.


Madi and Emma have found a new favorite cartoon. "Bubble Guppies" is now the only thing they want to do. We have limited it to special times only because otherwise they would watch it all day. Here they are getting to watch Bubble Guppies in mommy's bed. Extra special!


Well, I suppose I should take advantage of three out of four kids sleeping and start getting dinner figured out. Here's Emma saying bye for now.


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Summer 2011

So. Summer came and went and I realized that I haven't written here at all. Maybe I will get better now that our routines are starting up again.

School starts on Monday. This will be my seventh year already and I am much more ready to get started this year than the last two. Might have something to do with not having a new baby this year.

Well let's see. I guess my summer wrap up should start in June. This was our month to work on projects. Our roommates moved into their own apartment which opened our basement back up to us.

We spent quite a bit of time cleaning, organizing, and painting so that we could set up a guest bedroom and sewing room in the two basement bedrooms. I chose two shades of blue for the guest bedroom and have decorated with navy, white and gold. I love how it turned out and can't wait to have some company.

Madison was very excited to graduate into a toddler bed. It really only took her a couple of nights to figure it out. She is now a pro at sleeping in a big girl bed.


We also hosted a huge garage sale in June. That required quite a bit of time organizing, pricing and setting up. Family members described the pole barn as the "walmart" of garage sales, and we really had a lot of things. We were pretty successful with the sale and still have everything set up for a fall garage sale here in a few weeks.


Madison wearing a hat and carrying a purse she found in all of the garage sale stuff.

I finally had time to start working with my flower beds. I am really enjoying growing flowers and I am excited about the roses that are thriving.





We welcomed our nephew Damian Theodore Cone on June 22nd. He is an awesome baby and we love our Teddy very much. It is pretty neat to have two girls and to have two nephews. The four kids are going to grow up together and that is awesome.

Madison calls her cousin Aiden "Bubba". When Teddy was born she decided that his name is "Baby Bubba" and the name stuck. So now the boys are known as "the bubbas." Haha.

I guess that brings us to July. As much as June was focused on projects, July was focused on vacationing. We pit 5000 miles on my van in the month of July. Man were we busy. The first weekend in July Brandon, his grandma Marie, the girls and I drove to Colorado City. The girls and I stayed with my grandparents for a week while Brandon took his grandma fishing in the mountains with his extended family from Texas. We all had a great trip and were ready to be home after our 10 day trip.


The girls with Mimi.


Eating with Creighton. Who also goes by Bubba.


Madison and Nanny


Emma Lea and Nanny



Emma and Great-Great Grandma Boyce.

The following weekend, my parents watched the girls while Brandon and I went to Denver for a Braves vs Rockies game. It was our first overnight trip away from the girls together since Emma was born. We had a great time and really enjoyed the awesome seats we had at the ball game.



I decided that two years was too long to go without seeing my good friend from college, Mary who lives in Nebraska. So the weekend after we got back from Denver, I took a mommy vacation to go see Mary and left the girls with Brandon. It was awesome to get the catch up with her. She had an entire day of pampering arranged for me which felt great. Thanks Mary.


My new haircut.


My pedicure.

The girls and I took a day trip to Rapid City and Storybook Island with the Fischer Triplets. The girls had a blast.











We then got some terrible news that my Grandma Linda was diagnosed with advanced stage four renal cancer. So we made another trip to Colorado City to visit with her and to show our support before she started treatments. We love you Grandma and are praying for you.




Finally, the last weekend in July, we had a welcoming party for Teddy. My mother in law hosted the party in her back yard where she has an amazing above ground pool. Since it was a pool party, it had a luau theme complete with piña coladas and leis. Here is the cake I made for the party.


I guess that brings us to August. August always seems to be over in a flash. We have been working on finishing a few projects, spending lots of time in the swimming pool, and absorbing the last bit of free time we will have for a while.

Brandon and I have worked on getting our classrooms ready this past week and I guess we are as ready as we will ever be for students to arrive on Monday.

I suppose I should close for now. I hope to be better about updating. But no promises. Haha.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (which might help me be better about posting) :)

Location:Hitt Dr,Gillette,United States

May 2011

Well, May has come and gone with a quickness. Our lives were sure full this past month, with school coming to an end, two toddlers, and preparing for a massive garage sale.

Brandon and I are officially done with the 2010-2011 school year. We are both now tenured teachers and that feels good to know that we both have secure jobs. Brandon was very busy this year with trips to Las Vegas, Rapid City, Houston, and now Laramie. (I think I got them all...) He also coached the Robotics team and Skills USA.

Emma Lea has sure become Daddy's girl lately, and she is sure missing him this week while he is gone in Laramie for a conference. Emma is running everywhere these days. Grampa Bruce entered his '68 Chevy pickup truck in a local car show this past weekend, and Emma loved it out at the show. She would grab my hand and just start walking, dragging me along with her. It was cute!

Madison is definitely two years old. She is into everything, has her own opinions about things, and her favorite word right now is "no". She is loving getting to be outside and would be outside all the time if we would let her. This week is finally nice enough to let her be outside most of the time. I think we got over 5 inches of rain in May and it was either too cold or too muddy to go outside.

I was very busy this spring as well. I was teaching 4 different subjects at school, including three for the first time, and trying to keep up with a household of three toddlers. I am very excited to have the next few months off to try and make a dent in the projects that seem to pile up during the school year, and to spend lots of time with my girls!

The girls are in a race to see who is going to talk first. They are both adding a word or two to their vocabularies every week. It is helpful that Madi is now starting to be able to say what she wants. we are getting closer to talking all the time.

Next weekend, we are hosting a HUGE garage sale. Merchandise for the sale has filled our pole barn and garage. Wow! If you know anyone in Gillette looking for furniture, clothes, housewares, lamps, books, dishes, game consoles, or is looking for a car or motorcycle, please send them our way on Saturday and Sunday.

After two years, Brad and Amber will be moving out of our home in the next week or so. They have found an apartment and are anxious to get set up before baby Teddy comes into this world. Amber will be 37 weeks this week, and she is anxious to meet her little boy. We will be busy getting them moved out while we are also preparing for a garage sale. Sounds like a busy week.

I think we are going to stick fairly close to home this next month. At least I don't know of any travel plans for June. I am hoping to get the yard going and I guess my dad has figured out how to get us sprinkler systems and so we will be trenching and installing those this month too.

So far in July we will be spending quite a bit of time in Colorado. The 2nd-9th Brandon will be taking his Grandma to Wolf Creek Pass to go fishing, and I will be taking the girls to my Grandparents in Colorado City and Pueblo to visit. My two Great-Grandmas live in Pueblo and don't get to see the girls very often, so this will allow everyone to get to spend some time with them.

Well, the girls will be waking up from their naps soon, and I still have quite a bit to do before they get up.