Finally~ some real birthday girl pictures!

Someone turned 13 months old this week and since she is getting a teeny tiny bit over her bad, awful, terrible to deal with, case of 'stranger danger' we decided to go for round #2 at the picture place. We got a few decent pics before she decided she had had enough! And Belinda~ she LOVED wearing her squeaker shoes that you guys got her for her bday! Jason held her little hand and helped her walk all around the store (nope, still not walking. She's a slow poke at walking like her brother was...she just crawls everywhere still. But that's o.k. This makes her still feel like a baby to me and not a pre toddler!), eliciting many smiles and laughs, and she loved the noise! This gave me lots of time to order a few pics and not get mega confused with the whole process like the last time!

Our party princess.
She was "Tu-Tu" full of laughs and giggles!

Oh stop it Mom! xo

BBQ time!

Oooh, this is a good one for BBQing time! I got this recipe from a local magazine when we took our vacation to Florida earlier this month. Who knew I'd come back with a keeper of a recipe? I didn't, that's for sure! I figured we'd just come back with lots of super fun memories and some left over sand in our bags!!! ;)

Grilled Sunshine Sweet Potatoes

2 pounds sweet potatoes; peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt

Overlap 2 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place sweet potatoes in the center and crimp foil to form a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and carefully close foil crimping well to ensure no spillage. Place on heated grill and cook for 30 mins or until potatoes are tender. Serve warm.
Makes 6 servings.

A playdate to start the week off right!

Caroline's boyfriend and future sis in law ;-) Elise, came over for a playdate a few days ago (yes, I'm a bit behind with blogging!). This was our first real 'try' of the new playroom and it worked out GREAT! We took our game table and a few other things out of the formal living room and put in a wall unit with lots of baskets to store the baby loot and Bryce's Wii. The kiddos were awesome and got along so WELL! Belinda and I had a blast watching them and it was so relaxing to get to have adult convo while our kids were also having fun and entertained. You up for a rendezvous next week B?!?

Click on this pic to blow it up and check out Caroline's look! How funny that I caught this on film!
Toys, toys and more toys to chew on! But boy was it F-U-N guys!

Jeff~ this pic is for you dear! Caroline has a toy purse with this play lipstick in it. Edward found it and was marching all around chewing on it! Too cute not to snap for bribery in years to come, right?!? I'll email B a copy!!!

Our little ray of smiley sunshine!

Bryce and I hit the shopping circuit the other day and came home with an Elmo water sprinkler/play mat for Miss Priss. Before bath time we let her have some 'naked time' to play on it. As you can see...she wasn't so sure what to make of it at first. Next time I'll have a suit on her so you can see the mat and how funny she looks standing on it. Yes, that's right... STANDING! I think she could walk if she wanted to but she just stands. If she realizes she's standing on her own she immediately falls to her toosh or grabs on to our legs. Bryce was a late walker, too, so she's following in his footsteps. No worries though~ I don't want her to grow up any faster than she already is!!!

Oooh, this is fun after all!

All sweet and smiley after a bath. (picture out of order...should be at the end of the post but I'm not about to load them all again today! Sorry folks!)

Yea~ I loved my Elmo play mat! Thanks Brycey for finding it with Mommy!!! xo

Update on Dad

Just a quick HUGE thank you to all of our friends and family we had spoken with about Dad that said some extra prayers for him today. IT WORKED!!! I thought this would be the easiest way to let you guys know that he made it through surgery with flying colors and was fine and dandy when the kiddos, Jas and I went over with dinner. Thank you again a million times over!

Corn + Fun Memories = A GOOD LAUGHY TIME!

This past weekend Jason went to a local farmer's produce stand in town and came home with lots of corn on the cob... YUMMY! As we were having dinner Bryce piped up, 'Remember how Gran used to eat corn on the cob?'. He then demonstrated the "type writer" move that she used as she devoured her cobs (one of her fav summer sides!). It was such a fun meal that night. My boys laughing and talking about~ and demonstrating for me~ the different ways you can eat corn on the cob, all the while having such fun memories of my Mom. I am so glad that Bryce still remembers some of these neat things. I hope he continues to have these fun memories of her pop into his head as he goes through life!!! He can pass his stories on to his baby sis so she can learn to 'know' her Gran like he did!

Caroline's first bites of sweet corn on the cob! So good! That's my girl!


For those of you that know Jason well you know that he bought this motorcycle when he was in high school. Yes, he's held on to it all these years! When we moved it back to the US from Germany a few years ago he had to drain all the fluids and it's been in our shed out back ever since. The movers broke the blinkers, messed up some chrome on it, lost the mirrors, tear in the leather seat...to name a few repairs needed. So, when Bryce was helping Jason clean out the shed (in prep for a killer neighborhood garage sale coming up!!!) he asked if he could help his Dad to get it up and running again. He is DYING for a ride around the block on it! So...this will be their father/son project when they have down time. What fun! I'll take pics as they go along...

Sweets For The Sweet!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! My first encounter with whipped cream was this weekend after I finished my breakfast of yogurt, blueberries and Cheerios. What a lucky girl I was! I like my Mom and Bryce's way of thinking already!!!

This fluffy stuff is divine y'all!

Yummy Yummy in my Tummy Tummy!

Mmmmm.... Good! But, it is taking FOREVER and then some to get it all eaten this way, so...

...forget it~ I'm going in for the kill!

Did someone say swim time?!?

Yep, Mommy did yesterday and boy did Miss Priss think it was fun hanging out in her blow up pool!

Oh boy this look is so Caroline in a nutshell!

Bryce...what is that look for buddy?!?

Oh, I see...spraying your sister. Let the tormenting begin! ;)

Not to worry. She liked it!

What a little comedian!

We all know kids say the funniest things, right? Well, Bryce cracked us up on our vacation and I just remembered this morning what he said (I try to jot down the things he says that are cute so we can tell them to him when he's older and maybe has kids of his own!).
So, he and Jason were watching TV after Caroline went to bed and B started dozing off. Jason told him it was time to hit the sack and he would tuck him in, say prayers, etc... and Bryce responded with, 'It's o.k. Dad. I can still listen. I just keep loosing my eyes'. After Jason got him all settled in bed for the night he told me the funny. I just stared blankly at him. I could not wrap my brain around what B meant and how it was so darn funny to Jas. I must have been WAY overtired at this point, too, because it later dawned on me that he meant even though he could literally not keep his eyes open he could still hear! Major, major DUH moment for me, right?!? Oh my gosh I might need MY HEAD examined! Happy so close to the weekend day to all...XO

Fun Family Vacay To Florida!

Fun Family Times In Florida!
Click the ocean photo above and it will take you to the One True Media site to view the photo montage! I have no clue why the photos are all blurry either. Jason and I were even commenting on how our new camera took such great shots. They look crystal clear in our 'My Pictures' folder so your guess is as good as ours!
If anyone reading this post knows how to put the 'One True Media' montage onto the blog entry and have it show up the correct size all ready and set for the reader to just hit 'Play', please comment me and let me know. I can't figure it out and am so very stumped! Thanks muchos!

Well hello! We drove (yes, we might very well be bonkers for attempting this with Prissy Pants for such a long distance) to Florida on July 5th and stayed a week. Caroline did not like the ocean or beach and wanted nothing to do with either for the entire week, minus the last hour we were on the beach on the last evening before dinner. She is one HOT MESS let me tell you! The pool, taking naps, mini golfing, the pirate cruise, hanging out on the balcony...all of those things we way more up her alley! Now Bryce on the other hand LOVED his second trip to the ocean. The first time I took him Jason was deployed downrange so this was Jason's first time playing in the ocean with him, building sandcastles, and doing all of the fun beach things there are to do on vacation. I am so glad he got to join us this year! I am already trying to figure out where we will go next year. I'm thinking a winter vacation for a change. We shall see!
Thanks to everyone that has emailed me and been so patient while I took day upon day during naps and bedtimes to figure out how to put the photos on a site to transfer to here with captions. My brain hurts now, but it's accomplished and I'm so happy! xo

I know, I know... A week late, but here it is!!!

Happy Fourth Of July To Everyone Reading! (late 4th of July post that is!) We hope you all had a wonderful, fun filled and fantastic family day celebrating our freedom. Hope you remembered to thank a past or present soldier that day! We gave ours hugs and smooches! ;)


My little man all decked out and ready for sparklers in his flag shirt!

Miss Priss had no problems hamming it up for me!

Stand still for a photo with my awesome big brother? No way Jose! With him holding my hands I can make him walk me all about the back yard, Mom!

We didn't go to the fireworks in downtown St Louis as we have in years past. We put the kids to bed early (that was the game plan, but of course, Miss Priss knew we were up to something and woke up for several hours that night which is not like her at all!). We started our trek to Florida at 3:30am on the 5th. So....we caught a wonderful fireworks show from our top floor balcony that was put on by the resort next to ours the night of the 5th. It was just as fun as the ones back home so Bryce was in heaven! xo

Biker Babe

We are on a vacay in Panama City Beach, Florida, but I had a post saved to put up this week while we are away for anyone that is checking in with us! Hope your week is as sunny and fun filled as ours is so far!!!


Hi Dudes and Dudets! Check out how cool I am in my pj's and my big brothers shades. I was just getting myself in the zone for what I did with my family later that day...


Still cool in shades. They are so neat (with my pacifier in to complete the look, of course~ that's just how stylish I am!) that I had to wear them all around the house!

Whoooo hooooooo~ my 1st time out on a bike ride!

Come on Mom, put the camera down and get to pedaling chica!


Yippee!

Dirty little birdy feet!

Hmmm, you ask? What could have caused our little princess to get such dirty feet???

Why, her first 'real' time crawling about outside of course! For at least a half an hour Miss Priss just crawled from one side to the other of our front porch last week.

Then she had an 'Ah Ha' moment (as Oprah calls them!) and ventured out past the front porch and into the flower beds.

Oooh, new territory to conquer!

Oh yes, this can be quite fun I think! It will surely make Mom's life harder now that she'll have to deal with grass stains from me as well as my big brother, but she won't mind I don't think...

I'll just have to repay her with lots of my cuteness and lovin'!

What fun my time exploring was!

So now you know why my tiny toes got so dirty!