Life Lately: December!

Yet again slacking on the blog! But here is what we've been up to this month!

We finally got our Christmas tree up and decorated. It was later than usual this year... and the kids were bummed, but it got done! I love pulling out the ornaments and looking through them each year. And yes I bought myself another new owl ornament this year--the tradition continues! ;)

Mom and Dad's dog hurt her tail somehow and they had to take her to the vet to get it looked at and they had to remove a lot of her tail :( It was so pitiful. She was on painmeds and wearing a cone the day we went over to have mom and dad watch the kids while I went to my work christmas party. But the girls helped out and took good care of her ;)

I got to go have lunch with the kids, and they were happy! Brooke was kindof embarassed I was taking this picture, and I didn't even get a pic of Caleb at all.. they are getting so grown up! Rachel was in a crazy hyper mood because she was getting to sit with her best friend, Allison. 

Rachel is doing so well in school and can even write her name in cursive now! 

My BFF Joanne and I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert together last week! A family member of hers WON tickets and gave them to her,and she picked me to go along with her! (so sweet!) We made it to Charlotte without really getting too lost (ha) or hurt and after standing in a really long line to pay parking (who knew they had machines to pay now?!) we finally got in about ten minutes after they started. 

It was my 6th time going to one of their shows, and Joanne's 1st. We had a great time! We were sitting reallly high up, thank goodness we can handle heights! And the show was amazing as expected! Everyone should go at least once-- highly recommended. It was a fun girl's night out :)

Joanne also gave me my CHristmas gift early. I love my owl and have added him to my Christmas decor. The kids loved them too and I think the were trying to steal him away, haha.

My niece Bekah turned 12!!! I cannot believe that! Arnold and I started dating right around the time she was turning 1 year old! She is such a sweet girl, and loves to read like me!! ;)

Bekah had her birthday party at this really cool painting place. She picked the layout, an owl, and they had an instructor show the kids how to paint it and follow along. There were only 2 boys there so they got different colors and kinda went off on their own, but everyone did great and had a lot of fun! Even the adults were getting in there and watching and helping.. including my perfectionist husband ;) We can't wait to go back sometime and maybe do the "Mom and Me' or "date night" painting sessions. We hung the owls on their bedroom walls when we got home :)

The other night I FINALLY got to hold one of Erika's twins! They were born a few weeks ago of course, but have been in the NICU! Actually Rylee is still there for a few more weeks, but Reagan had gained enough weight to come home! So when I finally got my hands on her I was in heaven! Be praying for Rylee, I know Erika wants all her family home together soon! :)

We had our lifegroup Christmas party the other night and had a mexican dinner and a white elephant Christmas gift exchange. We had to bring something from home that was funny or unloved and wrap it up and chose by numbers. Arnold actually got a WHITE elephant.. it was hilarious. BUT, it ended up being stolen away and we ended up with a Who's Who of the Bible book ;)

Our crazy lifegroup! Everyone was holding up the gifts they got. THere were some CRAZY ones like a half eaten cake, and a used retainer! (gross!) Those people are creative! And I love them bunches! :)

Thankful!!

I haven't posted in forever, but with it being Thanksgiving, I wanted to write my yearly list of what I was thankful for this year.....




1. My amazing hubby who works hard for us every day.

2. My 3 wonderful kids, who I love to the moon and back. Brooke is so sweet and friendly to everyone she meets. She has been dealing with a mean bully this year but has really learned to stand up for herself. Caleb is just like me, and has even been getting in trouble lately for reading during math class (ha.) Rachel is our sweet little clown, who will still curl up in my lap and let me read her stories. I love it.

3. My brother and his family get to come into town this year for Christmas! I cannot wait to cuddle my new niece and get to play with all of them! I am having a fun time picking out Christmas gifts for the girls.

4. My CFA job is going pretty well. I have had to miss some time due to a kidney issue, but my boss has been understanding. The people I work with feel like family. We have a good time talking, laughing, and bringing in treats for each other to eat.

5. My kids have amazing teachers this year. I think this is my favorite year so far in the school years. The teachers all care about our kids just like they are family, and are helping them learn so much and really make sure they are made to feel special.

6. My BFF Erika recently had her twins, Reagan and Rylee. They were 7 weeks early but actually were bigger than they expected and doing well! They are having to stay in the NICU for at least a month, but at least they are in good hands with some skilled drs. We went down to visit them one evening and unfortunately didn't get to see the babies that day, but got to visit with Erika. I miss her and hope they all get to come home soon!

7. Speaking of friends, I really have some of the best friends. They are supportive, fun to be with, and always listen to me whine or freak out (which I do alot!) I made a new friend recently, Rosie, who works with me at work. I am so thankful for her because she makes the days go by so much quicker, and we're always chatting about the kids, and Christmas and stuff... she is very crafty too and has already made Rachel a special bow and necklace :)

8. Always thankful for my parents, who do so much for me I don't even deserve. With me working so much this year they have saved me so many times. Mom basically raised the kids over the summer while they were off school, ha. They have taken the kids to dentist appointments, and picked them up from school when I was working late-- brought me meals when I had particularly hard weeks-- just everything I could imagine and more.

9. Our church-- We really have found a great church and are part of a big family. We have had to step back from lifegroup this season due to being so busy, but hope to start back eventually. We love everyone there and I love getting so close to everyone's babies. I love those babies like my own!







And a few other little things I'm thankful for--


~ Mom and Dad's delicious thanksgiving meal yesterday, that I didn't have to cook ;)

~No cavities for Brooke or Rachel at their dentist appts this month!

~This season so far has been warm-- I really don't like it being very cold!

~Extra Christmas money this year from working

~Getting to go to the TSO concert with Joanne on Dec 8th!

~Fuller House Season 2 is coming to Netflix next month, ha!

~Black Friday sales on books--time to pick up a few new ones! ;)

~Getting our Christmas cards ordered already-- at a great deal!

~Brooke's doing pretty great at the 5th grade so far!

Life Lately!

WOW! It's been a long time again since I wrote in my blog. So here's a big ol random post about what we've been up to lately.....

The kids started school-- 2nd, 4th, and 5th grades. Can't believe it's Brooke's last year in Elem. school. Rachel has seemed to make a lot of new friends. Caleb is getting in trouble for reading in class.. just like his Mama used to! ;) And Brooke is trying so very hard-- she is doing ok but we still struggle with her focus! It's hard to know what to do to help her when we've already tried so many things! 

The girls started cheer again! Their daddy has been awesome about taking them to their games on Saturdays, because I;m usually working. I did ask off for their homecoming game, though!

We went to the fair. The kids wouldn't let us miss it! It was SO hot and miserable out there! We spent so much money for such a little time. But the kids enjoyed it. Brooke is such a daredevil and went on the Cyclops. I won't even go on that. She convinced Caleb to try it out and he said NEVER AGAIN! haha. He is just like me. 

Brooke had her first big project for 5th grade. She had to make her own restaurant. We named it Queen B's :) She made a good grade on it. 

My new niece Cecilia Rae was finally born, almost 2 weeks late! We went with Mom and Dad for the weekend to Florida to meet her! She was so sweet and I wanted to cuddle her forever. 

It was Brooke's first time on a plane and she loved it. She got so excited over everything we did. We stayed right on the beach and so we had to get some pictures. We also went on a boat ride with my SIL's father, which was pretty fun. 

Just recently hit my 6 mo anniversary at the CFA. We got new uniforms and this is what I'm wearing. I look like a chef, haha. Everyone says I look all fancy now. It is supposed to be cooler, but I'm not too sure about that- I still get really hot back there! Recently we lost an employee and I had to work extra hours and it about killed me, haha. But we had someone recently get hired on and thankfully I get a day off again! (that's how I'm actually writing this blog today! ;) 

Brooke and Caleb went to a church summer camp for the weekend. They had a great time and learned all about Jesus and met new friends and didn't shower very much... eww! Arnold actually went along too as a counselor. He had a blast and came back singing camp songs ;) I am so glad they all had that experience together :) 

Brooke and Caleb were all ready to go! I think they were a little nervous but did fine. 

I became CPR certified! I took an afternoon class and it was with a bunch of people I didn't know, so kinda scary for me, but it went well. And I practiced on dummies and mechanical babies.. and I passed ;) Even if I almost broke my baby doll... lol long story. CPR is harder than it looks.. there is a lot to remember! 

My sister in law got married at a small outdoor ceremony. The girls had fun at the reception playing with their cousins and getting dirty in the creek. 

Rachel and I got a lot of bonding time when Arnie and the kids went to camp. We went to the movies to see Kubo-- which was actuallly pretty amazing! I loved the story and message, and the music was nice too. We went out to dinner and they gave Rachel a free icecream they had accidentally made. We also went to the pet store to look around, and to let Rachel pick out new earrings (recently got her ears pierced) and she got to ride the carousel too! She was spoiled that weekend! ;) 

Caleb's 9th Birthday!

I am way, way way behind on blogging. But before it got too much later, I wanted to write about Caleb's birthday. Caleb turned 9 years on August 8th! We had a fun day of celebrating with him.. he wanted to go see the movie "Nine Lives" about the cat. It got really bad reviews, but we took him anyway. It was actually better than expected. Cheesy, but cute. We let him take along his best friend, Tucker. Afterwards we had dinner at Mellow Mushroom. His grandparents joined us for dinner. They brought his gift, which was a new lego set. He had to go home and put it together right away, and play with his Dad. We gave him our presents a few days earlier, and he thought I was the coolest Mom ever ;) Mostly legos and video game stuff, all he is really into these days! I can't believe he is 9 already! our sweet Bobo! 

I am also posting the yearly survey I do for each of the kids, to remember details and what they were into each year...

***Caleb at Age 9***

Clothes Size- 10/12

Shoe size- 3

Going into Grade: 4

Favorite Color: black

Favorite Toy: Legos

Favorite Animal: cats

Favorite Food: pizza

Favorite Drink: dr pepper

Favorite Snack- ritz bitz

Favorite Dessert- brownies

Favorite Season: summer

Favorite Holiday: thanksgiving

Favorite Restaurant: 5 guys 

Favorite Game: Lego Batman 3 

Favorite Tv Show- Teen Titans

Favorite Movie: Batman vs Superman

Favorite Book- Goosebumps

Favorite Thing to do: build legos

Favorite Thing to do outside: go look for rocks 

Favorite part of school: gym

Favorite Thing to Wear: jeans and camo shirt

Best Friend: Tucker

What are you afraid of? haunted houses

What do you want to be when you grow up? lego designer 

What do you want for Christmas this year? Jurassic World legos,

xbox games- ghostbusters  

What do you want to be for Halloween this year? The Joker

What do you sleep with everynight?  kyloren

Rachel's 7th Birthday!

Rachel recently turned 7 and we celebrated all day long! She and the other kids left with their grandparents for the beach on the day of her actual birthday, so that Friday Arnold and I took off work to do some fun stuff together. 

Rachel in her new dress, all ready to go :)

She got some great birthday gifts. We got her a new bike because she had outgrown her new one. She also got some nightgowns, craft set, a few toys and a new Beanie Boo :)

We are part of the Barnes and Noble birthday club so we went by there to get her free birthday cupcake. Caleb and I shared a big cookie and Caleb got some Orange juice too. 

She had a giftcard from some family so she was dying to go to Toys R Us and spend it. Got some girly legos, a new DS game, and a shopkins display case. 

We went shopping at the mall for awhile to get some last minute things they needed for the beach like new sunglasses... Rachel also spent more of her birthday money. girl loves shopping like her Mama ;)

The kids had been bugging us forever to ride these dumb animals in the mall, but its so expensive.. so we decided on a special occasion we would let them. They loved it. Rachel chose the Panda, caleb chose the dog, and Brooke chose the pig. We walked around the mall with them and tried to keep them from running into people, haha. 

And off they go!! 

We had lunch at Cici's pizza! 

Rach showing off her cute new purse she got. 

Snuggled up to watch Finding Dory at the movies! We all loved it. A few parts made me and Rachel cry. Poor Rachel was so upset and clinging to me, haha. But the movie was good! 

Outside the movie theater afterwards. 

We had a birthday party for Rachel with some close friends and family.. nothing fancy, just some outside playing and some cake and snacks. Thanks to Mom and Dad for hosting at their house since the parks were all booked up! 

Rachel loved her Shopkins cake. We couldnt actually find the theme anywhere so we got a pink and green cake and then added some of her shopkins from home. 

Had to get a family picture! 

Rachel got some sweet gifts from our friends and family! 

Had to get a pic of my BFF Jess and sweet Holden! He has really grown! 

Joanne being crazy like usual.. with the water guns ;) 

Rachel's Birthday Interview

***Rachel at Age 7***

Clothes Size- 8

Shoe size- 1

Going into Grade: 2nd

Favorite Color: violet

Favorite Toy: chubby puppies

Favorite Animal: otters

Favorite Food: pizza

Favorite Drink: sprite

Favorite Snack- jello

Favorite Dessert- icecream

Favorite Season: winter

Favorite Holiday: christmas

Favorite Restaurant: chilis

Favorite Game: animal jam

Favorite Tv Show- teen titans

Favorite Movie: good dinosaur

Favorite Book- elephant and piggie books

Favorite Flower: roses

Favorite Thing to do: play computer

Favorite Thing to do outside: ride bike

Favorite part of school: recess

Favorite Thing to Wear: dresses

Best Friend: emeline and allison and kenzie

What are you afraid of? Slappy from Goosebumps

What do you want to be when you grow up? An artist

What do you want for Christmas this year? legos 

What do you want to be for Halloween this year? A princess

What do you sleep with everynight?  Pupster the stuffed dog

 Party theme this year: Shopkins

Recap: Month of MAY!!

It's ABOUT TIME for a new blog huh? Can't believe its been almost a month. I have a new job and it takes up all my time and I'm always tired now! But anyway, here's what we've been up to in the past month! :)

Rachel's class went on an end of year trip to the Zoo! Arnold went with her class and they had a great time. They were calling for rain but thanfully it didn't rain too much on them. They bought ponchos at the last minute! Arnold spent his day with a bunch of girls, running around looking at animals and taking pictures. Rachel had a great time and even touched a snake! She also picked out a cute otter to bring home-- she said the otters and the penguins were some of her favorite animals of the day :)

Rach lost another tooth! it had been barely hanging in there forever!

I had to work on Memorial Day, but my dad took the kids to their neighborhood pool! Arnold went with them too. It was opening day and so it was packed, and they had lots of fun stuff. They had music, fog machine, food, games and all kinds of stuff. Brooke loves swimming and would stay in a pool 24/7 if we would let her! She talked about going all week long. 

We've been spending time over at Mom and Dad's house! My dad cooks the kids ribs and they love it. Meanwhile, I eat chicken because I don't eat meat on a bone! ;) 

My pretty pineapple earrings that Arnold bought me showed up! I have been wearing them alot!

The kids like to play around when we go shopping and they loved these Emoji pillows. 

We've been going on pletnty of icecream dates of course! 

Arnold took the girls to the Father Daughter dance at our church! This was their 2nd time going and they had fun. They had a sealife theme this year, and they had real golfish on the tables as centerpieces. Some girls took them home, but I'm glad Arnold said our girls couldn't! haha. We don't need another pet! 

That same night I took Caleb to a local baseball game and we were celebrating my good friend's 30th birthday! It was a surprise and she got to throw out the first pitch and everything. The weather was great for me but Caleb actually complained about being cold! We ate WAY too many snacks.. hotdogs, peanut, dippin dots, you name it. I loved spending the evening with my Bobo. However after awhile he was bored and tired so we went on home. We didn't stay for the concert that had afterwards. 

Caleb had a checkup at the dentist and he got another perfect report! He has never had a cavity before, just like me! I guess we both have good teeth shape? Brooke has been plagued with bad teeth, poor thing. 

We took the kids to see the new Angry Birds movie. It was pretty funny! Arnold said they had too many adult references, but I don't think it was that bad, I think it went over the kids' heads. We can't wait til later this month to see Finding Dory and The Secret Life of Pets!

Two weeks ago I started a new position at work-- in the kitchen! A girl that had worked there forever moved, she trained me for a week and now I work back there in her spot. I doubled my hours (and my work load) and I come home SO exhausted. But I am excited about better paychecks! ;) I don't actually cook the chicken, but I go in early and set up the kitchen, cook soup, bake cookies, assemble sandwiches, and stuff like that. I like who I work with, although I am still learning and I feel too slow and overwhelmed a lot of times! And it is HOT back there! We take "freezer breaks" and actually stand in the deep freeze to cool down! It feels amazing! A lot of people have started and quit the kitchen staff after just a few days so I feel proud I am hanging on still! :P