The Barnum Fam

Camden

2012-01-15T17:19:00.005-05:00

Our little Camden is so much fun! We love him so much and all of us can't get enough of him. He is a pretty good little baby so far, sleeping most of the day and night. He just wakes every 3 hours to eat and then goes back to sleep. We have all enjoyed having another baby in the house and love to see his little facial expressions when he is awake. We can't hold him enough and have to force ourselves to set him down so we can get things done.

I decided to mess around and try and get a few cute pictures of him while he was still small.

I love the innocence of little babies. So cute!He is always so serious!! Every time he is awake, he looks so serious and has so many little wrinkles in his forehead.
All of the kids feet. {Addie, Camden, Macie} I love my kids!!

Addie Christmas concert

2012-01-15T17:10:00.002-05:00

Addie had a Christmas concert for her preschool back in December. She is going to a Catholic school and it has been pretty funny to hear the things that she is learning. When we signed her up they were all excited saying that she was just in time for "the Jesus celebration". So here are some pictures of the "Jesus Celebration!" They sang about 16 songs and it lasted at least an hour. Kind of crazy considering these are just 3 and 4 year olds!!!
I love her facial expressions!

Loose tooth

2012-01-15T16:49:00.003-05:00

Here is a video of Macie losing her first tooth!! She lost it last night after a few weeks of looseness.

Stitches

2012-01-08T18:57:00.002-05:00

It's official....I am the worst mom ever!!! Last night I was feeding Camden around 3 am. I went in to check on the girls and Addie was awake and needed to go potty. So I took her potty and then tucked her in. About 3:45 Addie came into our room because she hadn't fallen back asleep yet. She came in to tell me she loved me and then was headed back to bed. On her way out of our room she tripped and fell into our dresser. I picked her up and calmed her down and felt around her face to make sure she was ok and then carried her back to bed. Keep in mind that it is 3:45 am, it is dark, and I am very sleep deprived....Around 7:30 the girls woke up and came into our room...Addie is saying that she needs to go into the bathroom to wash her hands because they are all dirty and Macie is saying, "dad!!! look at Addie's face, she is all bloody." So he gets up and takes her into the bathroom to check things out and that is when I hear him say "Addie we are going to have to take you to the dr. This owie needs some stitches." It is at this point that I get out of bed to check out the damage. Sure enough, she had a nice gash right above her left eye and it was deep and still bleeding. She had dried blood all around her eye, with blood down her neck and all over clothes and all over her bed. It was exciting!!! So, Geoff took her into the Dr. office and they gave her 4 stitches. Geoff said that she did amazingly well. She cried when they gave her the shots but held completely still and then she was all quiet and still when they were sewing her up. We were expecting them to have to strap her down and have a ton of nurses in there to help. They said that they were shocked at how good she did and that she was one the best patients they have ever had. So now she has 4 stitches and sports a princess bandaid. She has been great about the whole thing and does really well with not touching it. I feel awful that I sent her to bed with this, and didn't even notice it. I didn't notice it because when I was holding her, I had her bloody head against my shirt and was feeling the wrong side of her head. So when I woke up my shirt was bloody as well. What a fun thing for us to look back on!!

Setting up the Trampoline

2012-01-08T17:40:00.002-05:00

On Monday Geoff, my dad and my sister headed out to set up the trampoline. I was feeding Camden in the meantime but when I was done I went to check out the progress. Upon opening the door, I burst out laughing. It was quite the site. They had gone around and put every 4th spring in and that is about as far as they got and then this is what they looked like......
Like I said...hilarious!!! It was taking all 3 of them pulling and pushing with all of their might. Let's just say it was fun to watch. They finally thought of another way to make it work that went really fast. In the meantime, I am pretty sure that Geoff was wondering what I was thinking buying this.

Shrek the Halls

2012-01-08T17:15:00.005-05:00

They have a hotel here called the Gaylord. It is HUGE!! They do an ice show each year that is supposed to be awesome. So, with my parents here we decided to check it out. I was a little nervous taking a week old baby into this show where they keep the temperatures at only 9 degrees mostly because we didn't know how long it would last. But we decided to brave it anyways and just make sure he was wrapped up really good. It was a really cool thing to see, however, we all agreed that it was overpriced and might be a one time thing.

Waiting to go in.It was such so neat that they could do all of this out of ice.Grandma and the girls. Addie did not like the coat that we had to wear.Grandpa, Grandma and the girls.The girls sitting in the outhouse.They had some ice slides that you could go down and Addie was really excited to try until she got on the slide. Then she got scared, on the slide.Here is the employee trying to get her back up the slide. Pretty funny to watch since it is ice.Macie going down the slide. She went really slow because she wasn't sliding on her coat like she was supposed to. So she wasn't very impressed. My dad and sister however, came flying down them.At the end they had the nativity scene which was pretty cool. After going through this and being in the 9 degree weather for an hour, I decided that I didn't miss the cold winters that I have known my whole life. You quickly forget how cold the winters really are when you don't have them.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-08T16:53:00.003-05:00

On Christmas Eve we headed over to Bass Pro Shop because we heard that they had a pretty wonderful Santa land. We got there and found this carousal. The girls really wanted to ride it and as we were debating if we should let them (aka...trying to see how much it would cost) an employee says "do they want to ride? It's free!!!" So with that info...the answer was a definite yes! After the carousal ride, we walked around a bit. All of their employees were dressed like elves. Macie was pretty impressed that Santa let his elves come to this store to help out. As we were walking around we happened upon a little station for the kids where they could write a note to Santa and put it in his mailbox and then you could decorate some cookies to leave out for Santa. Next it was time for Santa, but the girls opted not to sit on his lap and to just leave him a note instead.

Addie on the carousal.Macie enjoying the rideAunt Nana decorating Addie's cookies while Addie licks the frosting. She couldn't frost them because it got her hands to messy.Macie frosting her cookies.

As Geoff and I were getting ready for bed on Christmas eve, he mentioned that his parents always took a picture of them sleeping on Christmas Eve and I though that that was a great idea, so we went around and took pics of all of the little ones sleeping and dreaming of Christmas morning!!

MacieCrazy AddieLittle Camden

Christmas!!

2011-12-30T12:37:00.004-05:00

Christmas morning this year was long!! The girls didn't wake up until about 8:15 and we even had to wake Addie up. She was not happy. By the time we got up and checked out what Santa had brought and had breakfast, it was time for church. Church was only supposed to be an hour....an hour and 45 minutes later everyone got home!! Painful! Especially on Christmas day!! Right after church we blessed Camden and then finally got around to opening presents. It wasn't until about 1:30 that we were actually done. The girls were pretty patient and were so overly excited when it was finally time to start opening presents. Addie was hilarious to watch. She would open a present, look at it, and throw it into her pile..and when I say throw...I mean throw. It was pretty funny. They were totally shocked to see that Santa had gotten their lists because everything that they asked for Santa brought. Macie was particularly excited about this. All in all Christmas day was great and we will always enjoy the memories of another Christmas season.The gifts and tree Christmas morning.Macie waiting to go out and see what Santa brought. She was sooooo excited. It sure made Christmas alot of fun this year.Addie with grandpa trying to wake up. Macie checking out what Santa brought her. She got a barbie and dog training pool, barbie car, hula hoop, and a walking dog.
Addie, Grandma, and Macie checking out her new kitchen. Addie got the play kitchen and a hula hoop.Camden in his new bouncer. He got the bouncer and a little sock monkey.A little picture of our Christmas baby. Best Christmas present ever!!!Opening presents. Macie showing us what she got.Her new hello kitty shirt!!Addie sitting in her pile of stuff, showing me what she got.At the end of opening presents we had one last surprise for them. Here they are "opening" it up.and the reaction..... Let's just say that this is the best investment ever!!!!! It has already provided hours of nonstop play!!!

Camden's Blessing

2011-12-30T12:29:00.002-05:00

My parents and younger sister came into town over Christmas to help out with the girls and the new babe. It was so nice having them here! While they were here we decided to bless Camden. We did it on Christmas day right after church at our house. It was small and nice and worked out perfectly. It was so nice to have some family present for it. I was sure that the blessing outfit would be huge on him, but it actually fit and he looked so cute! I am so grateful for a husband who holds and honors his priesthood and that he was able to do this. We are so blessed.
The family. The girls were so done waiting to open their presents. It was all we could do to get them to say cheese!!!

Baby Camden

2011-12-18T21:21:00.006-05:00

On Friday, December 16th our little Camden was born. He came a little earlier than planned. I was feeling not so good for about the last 2 weeks. I was constantly dizzy and in a lot of pain all of the time. I had my Dr. apt. on Friday morning and in talking to him about how I was feeling, he said that we could decide what we wanted to do as far as having the baby. I called Geoff and after talking it over with him, we decided that it would just be best to have this baby and be done with all of the pain and everything else that was happening....so...after a phone call to the dr., we were headed to the hospital. It all happened pretty quickly. Our families didn't even know about it until we were getting prepped for the c-section. It was definitely the best c-section that I have had yet. It went really well and very smoothly. The Dr. was quick and we were in out of surgery before we knew it. We got to the hospital around 4:15 and Camden was born at 5:55 pm. He came out screaming loud and clear and would not stop! He was not happy!! He weighed in at 6lbs. 12 oz. and is 18 1/4 inches long. It was a different experience where our child was not wisked off to NICU right away. Geoff got to hold him and bring him over so I could see him. It was really nice.
Next it was off to recovery. While there, the NICU Dr. came in and told us that they were going to be taking him into NICU because his breathing was to rapid and he was straining more than they liked to see, so off to NICU he went, however he was only going there for observation with no intent of admitting him and the high hope that he would pull out of it on his own before midnight. They were going to give him 6 hours to try and do it on his own and if it didn't happen, then he would have to be admitted to the NICU. I was very vigilant in calling the NICU to check on him, I am sure that they were annoyed by me....but I wanted to make sure that we didn't have to go this route if at all possible. Every time I called he was doing good and they were planning on moving him back into the normal nursery. Around 2 am I FINALLY got to see him and hold him and feed him. He was healthy and good and got to be in the room with me the rest of the time. It was such a different experience. How nice to have the baby in the room with me all of the time. It has been nice to be able to feed him and change his diaper and hold him whenever I want.
I have felt so blessed throughout this entire experience. Everything that I prayed for was answered and I have felt such love and peace throughout the whole thing. I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who is here for us and watching out for us and hearing our prayers. We are so thankful for this healthy little baby boy in our family and can't wait to watch him grow.

Addie holding Camden for the first time. This little girl loves this baby, but does not love that she doesn't get to be held all of the time now. She has been replaced!!! And we can already tell the next few weeks are going to be alot of fun with her!!!! We tried to prepare her, but I am not sure that she really understood how changed her world would be!!

Geoff and the kids. Everyone is so happy....

Here is Macie holding Camden for the first time. This little girl cannot get enough of Camden. She is constantly asking to hold him and touch him and wants to see him all of the time. She gets so excited everytime he opens his eyes and when he cries she rushes to see what it wrong. She is going to be such a good helper!!

Camden with the girls. They are checking him out seeing how little he is.

Me and my kiddos. Let the fun begin!!

Geoff and Macie checking him out. I love this picture!!

In this picture, Camden is grabbing Macie's finger and that is about the coolest thing ever!!! See the pure joy in her face!!

Pilbrits and Mainflower

2011-11-14T20:35:00.004-05:00

Tonight Macie wanted to sing a song for us that she has been learning at school. It is about the pilgrims and the mayflower. Here are is my favorite part:
"The pilbrits sailed the ocean blue in 1492. They sailed here in the Mainflower in 1492."
I was really trying not to laugh, especially since these lines repeat and we kept hearing this over and over, and Geoff was laughing....She gets done and Geoff says "it's pilgrims and mayflower". At this point Macie and Geoff start getting into an argument. Macie says "those words just don't sound right to me" and proceeds to tell Geoff that he is wrong!!! SO funny especially because neither of them were going to back down.

Ear Booger

2011-11-12T20:55:00.005-05:00

Macie cleaned out her ears tonight. She pulled the Q-tip out of her ear, inspected it and when she saw ear wax on it, this is what she said:
Macie: "Ewww, mom look...Ear Boogers."

All I could do was laugh!!

pregnancy

2011-11-06T16:39:00.002-05:00

Here is a little update on the pregnancy. It is going well. I am now 31 weeks along and ready to be done. I have officially hit the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy, you know when it is hard to bend over, hard to sleep at night, hard to be comfortable...ever. It is alot of fun! We are continually getting ready for this little guy to arrive and are still trying to think of names. If you have a boy name that you like feel free to pass it along. He is a VERY active little guy....makes me nervous for when he actually arrives. I do NOT do well with super active boys. He is constantly moving and you can see my stomach move in all different directions several times a day. It is a lot of fun to feel and watch this happen.
The other morning I was holding Macie on my lap trying to wake her up and she was not waking up, then all of the sudden this little guy kicked her sooo hard that we both jumped. She was then wide awake and won't stop talking about it. She is always asking if he is awake and trying to feel him move. She says "I just love that baby". It is so cute and she is so excited for him to come.
Addie is getting warmed up to the idea of having a boy instead of a girl. She still says that she doesn't like boys, but when I tell her that the baby is going to like her and love her and want to play with her and be her friend, she says "ok, I will be nice and like the baby." She is so funny about this whole boy thing.
We have set the c-section date for the 22nd of December. So in about 6 weeks, this little guy will be here and we can't wait!!!

Science experiment and sprinkler

2011-11-06T16:24:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to do some fun project with the girls once a week after school and thanks to pinterest, I have been able to find some way fun ideas. This past week we decided to do a baking powder and vinegar experiment. So, I got the pan ready with little mounds of baking powder and the girls squeeze bottles full of vinegar and we headed outside to see what happens. They chose some colors to add to the piles of baking powder and then they squeezed out some vinegar to watch the bubbles and "volcanoes" flow. It was fun and they really enjoyed it. The pan all ready. I love Addie's face in this. She is impressed with just the piles.Squeezing out the vinegar and watching the bubbles. So cool!!Then they wanted to play in it, so I let them.We then decided that it was pretty warm out and that the sprinkler would be fun. The grass here is pretty prickly, so we put the sprinkler in the driveway. They loved it. I thought for it being the end of October, it was pretty fun!They then found some balloon ends that floated. Then they realized that they could race them in the crack of the cement. So fun and so cool that they can float like that. The girls were loving this and it kept them busy for quite a long time.Ready, set, go!Here they are telling their balloons to go!!! and Win!! It was a fun little afternoon. I just hope that the girls can remember these fun times, because I sure do!

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T15:38:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!! Here is a run down of what we did for Halloween this year. First a few days before Halloween we painted and carved our pumpkins. Here are the pics for proof!

Macie painting her pumpkin. I don't know what the face is for.

Addie painting her pumpkin.The end result. Addie's is the black one and Macie's is the colorful one with a stem.

After painting pumpkins it was time to carve the big pumpkin. Geoff doesn't really enjoy the whole seed/gut part of the pumpkin, so I took over making sure that the girls partook...I feel like they need to know how much fun it can be to get messy and play inside of the pumpkin.Here are the girls checking out the insides and what it looks like. I love Macie's face.Here she is taking out the guts! SO fun!! And for those of you who want to see me prego...here is the pic. I am 30 weeks along in this one. Macie with the guts...seriously though, I don't know what is with this face.I love this picture!! I got up to take a picture of Geoff carving the pumpkin and immediately the girls swarmed in and took over, leaving him no room to work and the girls basically on top of him. SO FUNNY!!! So, when I told him i was taking a picture, this is the look that I got!! Awesome, no...Here they are hard at work.The finished face.Checking out the candle inside of the pumpkin. Here he is all lit up.We also have these fun potato head pumpkin pieces that the girls love, so they put those around the other edges of the pumpkin that we weren't carving.

Halloween this year was alot of fun. The girls were both old enough to understand it and want to participate. They chose their costumes and told me what they wanted to be. Macie at first found this cute costume in a magazine that was supposed to be a cute/scary fairy. It had the wings, a witch hat, and a cute little skirt to it. I thought that I could replicate it for fairly cheap and I did...and then she got vampire teeth from school and told everyone that she was now a vampire...with wings...and she never wore the teeth with her costume.....everyone was very confused to say the least, but she was happy. Addie was a bumble bee, with the same costume, for the 3rd year in a row. That costume has now been used for the past 5 years and still looks good. Awesome is all I can say. It was a good Halloween with a few festivities on Saturday that we went to and then trick or treating on Monday. They had fun and now have a TON of candy! It is quite disgusting. It was weird not being with our friends in Cleveland this year. It is the first year that we have gone by ourselves. Not quite the same or as fun. The girls missed their friends as well. Here they are in their costumes. Addie the bumble bee and Macie the "vampire". (She is trying to be scary! AHHH!)Here they are trick or treating.

The Farm

2011-10-23T15:48:00.002-04:00

On Saturday we were invited to our Bishop's wife's family farm. They hold a Halloween party there every year and have a ton of fun things to do. When we got there the girls headed straight for the tattoo and craft table. They got a couple of tattoo's and decorated a Halloween bag for the pinata. Then we basically didn't see them for the rest of the night. The Bishop's daughter and her friends took the girls and played with them and took them on all of the rides and everything else that was involved with the night. The girls had a great time and cried when it was time to leave. They can't wait to go back!Addie going for a horse ride. Not sure what to think. The only way she would get on this was if her friend Addie rode on it with her. (Yes they have the same name.)Loving it! She was so cute the whole time with this perma grin on her face. She got off of the horse and said, "I want to do that again!"Macie waiting her turn for the horse ride. She had already gone on her first one by the time we got down there. So, we have pictures of her second ride.She just hopped on with some random girl. I am pretty sure that she rode the horse about 4 times throughout the night.Addie waiting for Macie to be done.

Then the girls went on a hay ride. It really was so nice to basically have babysitters the entire night. These girls were so great and the best part is that they wanted to take my kids and play with them and show them a good time!! After the hay ride and horses, it was time for the pinata!Shortly after Macie, the pinata broke off of the string, so everyone else got to hit it on the ground. Which worked out great for the little kids. It was such a fun night, on such pretty property and the girls are already asking when we can go back. I think that we might have to own some horses in our future!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T15:25:00.003-04:00

On Friday we went to a local pumpkin patch to have a little fun. It wasn't quite as fun as the one in Cleveland, but the girls had a good time.They 2 mazes that were just for kids...no adults allowed!! Kind of scary to send your kid in there just hoping that they make it out ok!Here is Addie trying to pick up a pumpkin. She is such a goofball.Macie so proud that she could pick this one up. She took this whole pumpkin patch thing very seriously!! We were not leaving there until we had found the perfect pumpkin! Here she pondering on which one we should choose.And while Macie is serious about this pumpkin business....Addie could careless and is more worried about having fun!
Then we moved onto the bounce houses. Those things are soooo fun!! (No, Sara, I did not do these pregnant like we did when we prego with the first ones!! haha!!) The kids had blast and could not do them enough times. I love Addie's super woman pose on this!! When the girls saw this, they had to get measured. Every time they drink milk we have to measure them to see how big they have gotten. They are obsessed with getting big and seeing how tall they are. Funny girls! The best part is that they really think every time they drink milk, they grow!Addie's height.And the pumpkin cut out. The girls had a fun time and we can't complain either. We just couldn't believe how hot it was....still....Finally we ended the day with a hay ride around the pumpkin patch.

JOKE

2011-10-16T15:54:00.003-04:00

So, On Monday I had another ultrasound to make sure that things were going good with the baby. During this ultrasound we checked the gender to make sure that it was really a girl.....and to our great surprise....it wasn't, it is a BOY! Holy cow!!! Shock, disbelief, excited...these are just a few of the things that we have felt. We can't believe that we are actually having a boy. We were sure that our home was going to be a home filled with girls and we were completely fine and excited about that. I liked that it was a girl because we already had everything for a girl and I wouldn't have to buy anything. I had already made headbands and bought matching outfits for the girls and everything!!!

Geoff was not able to come with us to the ultrasound because he was at work, so he called me to ask how things went and then he said "so, it is a girl right?" at this point I wasn't sure how I was going to answer because I wanted to see his reaction in person, so I went along with it and just said "yep, a girl." When he came home I had dinner on the table and on his plate I had this sign:

He was so shocked and just looked at me, mouth open, in total disbelief!! It was pretty funny! Then he says.."are you serious? Why didn't you tell me when I called?" I then proceeded to tell him that I wanted to see his reaction in person, so I didn't know what else to do!! HAHA!!

Needless to say we are all excited and are getting used to the idea...well, all of us but Addie...she "doesn't like boys and doesn't want to have the baby anymore!"

Rain!!!

2011-10-16T15:38:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday it actually RaIneD!!!! So, naturally the girls wanted to take full advantage and who am I to say no when we NEVER see rain!! I can't pass up a good play in the rain opportunity! So before church they got all of their gear on and headed out with their umbrella's. I am pretty sure that they stayed out there for an entire hour. They could not get enough!! When it was time to come in, they insisted that I take a couple of pictures of them in their wetness....
They had ditched their umbrella's about half way through their play time, so they were pretty wet!So cute! I love that they know how to have fun and don't care if they get wet!

School Carnival

2011-10-16T15:32:00.002-04:00

Macie's school had a school fall carnival that we were able to go to a couple of weeks ago. The girls had a blast! They stuck with the games that only cost a ticket or 2 and always came with a prize. Their favorite one was the fishing one. I am pretty sure that they did this one like 5 times.
Addie picking her duck.Here they are fishing.Old pilgrims. Macie was pretty mad that we made her be the boy....she was just taller.because she was mad, we had to do this one as well so she could be a cute flower. Silly girl!

Sayings

2011-10-09T15:32:00.003-04:00

There are a few things that the girls have said lately that I really want to remember.
Macie came home from school about 2 weeks ago and was complaining that the boys on the playground were kissing her, they were chasing her down and making her kiss them!!!....I did nothing about it the first day she said it, but the second day, I emailed her teacher. She said that she didn't like school anymore and wanted to just stay home, so I knew that something had to be done. We finally got the whole boy chasing thing taken care of when she comes home and says to me:
Macie: "EJ (a boy from her class) is in love with me."
Me: what? How do you know this?
Macie: He told me. He tells me every morning that he wants to kiss me.
Me: What?!!! You don't kiss him...right?!!!
Her: No!! That is gross!!
Me: (sigh of relief)...What do you say to him?
Her: okay.... and he called me sweetie (at this point she starts to giggle)

I don't know what we are going to do with her when she is older if it is already this bad!! AHH!! Thankfully school has been going better and she is making friends and actually is enjoying going to school.
Addie goes to school once a week and loves it!! She asks everyday if it is her school day.
When we were reading scriptures the other night, she was copying what Geoff was reading and this is what came out:
G: And it came to pass..
A: And it came to pass..
G: that Alma
A: that Elmo
I was laughing so hard because every time he would say Alma...she would say Elmo and think nothing of it! So funny
On the way home from church today Addie says: "mom, I'm happy because our home is close to the church." So random and so funny that she would think to say this!!

I love my girls and the things that they say! Life would be soooo boring without them around!

Painting

2011-09-25T19:30:00.004-04:00

Here are a few things that we have been doing to keep busy lately.Puffy microwave paints. I found this online and new that I had to try it with the girls. To say that they loved it is an understatement. You make this paint and put it on cardboard and then put in the microwave and watch it puff up. Pretty cool. Macie is making a house.
Addie is making a blob. She actually sat and did this for about 45 minutes. AMAZING, seeing as I cannot get her to do anything artsy for more than 10 minutes at the most. And she keeps asking when we can do it again.Addie's final picture after it had been in the microwave.Macie's final picture.Since starting school, Macie is really tired. We have found her asleep on the floor a few times. This night she was asleep on the sleeping bags with books all around her. Poor thing has so much she wants to try and do when she gets home, but can never find all of the time that she needs.Here is Addie.....Being goofy...and thinking that she is being silly. Funny little girl. She on the other hand, could stay up all night.

Addie starts school

2011-09-25T19:26:00.002-04:00

Addie has a started going to a preschool one day a week. She LOVES it!! She loves having something special just for her. She has to pack a lunch and gets to do some gym time with it. I can't believe that she is big enough for this, but really needed something just for her. It is so cute to take her and pick her up and hear all about her day.

The Park

2011-09-25T18:04:00.003-04:00

Now that the weather is cooling down a little bit, we feel as though we can actually go out and explore without getting heat stroke. Last Saturday we went to an area park to check it out. It was a really fun park. The girls were in heaven. I feel like I haven't been taking a whole lot of pictures of them lately, so I took the camera to capture them in the fun. Here are a few of my favorites.

Macie swinging. This summer she learned how to pump herself. Hallelujah!!! She is getting so big.Here is Addie. She is such a cheese ball. Still feels like she needs to sit in a baby swing.Macie at the top of the climber.Addie showing me her "really cool trick". Macie climbing the rock wall. She would go all the way around and thought that she was pretty cool. She could not get enough of this toy.

my man...observing the children and looking good if I do say so myself!!Addie in the tunnelMacie coming out of the slideLeaving the park.

Sea World

2011-09-11T16:04:00.004-04:00

Over Labor Day Weekend, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and the places we live close to and headed down to Austin and San Antonio for the weekend. On Friday we got into Austin just in time to head downtown to the congress bridge where over 1 million Mexican bats fly out at the same time every night. It was pretty cool/gross/neat to see so many of them. It takes them over 1/2 hour to fly out from under the bridge and a lot of people go there every night just to see it happen. Here is our picture of the bats. Awesome....I know.
On Saturday we headed down to San Antonio where we hit up Sea World. Geoff and I were pretty hesitant to go and do this with the girls being so young, but we are soooo glad that we did. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. We all had a blast and would probably do it again if we could. Here are a few pics of the adventure.Macie on the Merry go Round.Addie and Geoff on the Merry go Round.Here are the Sea Lions. They were hilarious. It was so fun to watch them. Geoff and I found it so fascinating how well they train these animals.Here they are waiting for the Sea Lion show to start. This was Macie's favorite show. This is all she would talk about. She thought that it was hilarious.This is what Macie and Addie were doing almost the entire show. Quite funny. She just could not believe what she was seeing!!And this Sea Lion was just Huge!! I am sure that it weighs a ton and it was actually quite ugly.Here are the girls and Geoff on another ride. I was pretty positive that Addie would NOT like this ride and I was right. But, she did alot better than I thought she would, however she chose not to go on it again.This is another show. It had the dolphins and the acrobats and some of these beautiful beluga whales. It was seriously so neat. Again, Geoff and I were left completely baffled at how they can do this type of thing with such animals.Here are the girls during this show. They are in their swim suits because we had just gotten done with the swim park there and we were still wet.And here are the dolphins.
On Sunday we headed to the Alamo and Riverwalk. It was interesting to see, but hard with 2 little girls that were completely exhausted from the day before. I mean, Macie was crying that she was tired after walking for only 5 minutes. So, we didn't last to long.The Alamo.The girls at a pond inside the Alamo. This was, naturally, their favorite part.Here we are on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. They are on a bridge over the river.The last thing that we did was take a boat ride through the riverwalk. It was very beautiful and interesting. After the boat ride, the girls were done, so we called it a day and headed home. It was a very fun trip and we had a great time.

Swimming Lessons

2011-09-07T13:42:00.002-04:00

The girls have been doing a lot of swimming the past few months. They love it!! Macie especially has become quite the little swimmer. She does a really great job and can swim anywhere!! She is a fish! Addie is finally getting to the point of actually being brave enough to stick her face in the water! It is huge progress...trust me! Just getting into the pool. Macie will not hold still for any picture. Once she is in the water, she doesn't stop for anything. Addie showing me that she can hop on one foot.Addie putting her head in the fountain!Macie swimming.

The girls have also been in some swimming lessons. It has helped Addie become a little more brave and it has been fun for her to have some type of lesson that is just for her. Macie is so good that she doesn't want to go anymore "because they aren't teaching me anything new and I already know how to swim." Macie taking a breath before she starts.Just getting done with a longggg length of the pool swim.Addie learning how to use her arms while she swims.Addie learning how to kick.

A little update

2011-08-31T13:16:00.003-04:00

Macie has been in school for a week now and it is going ok. The first few days were a little rough, for everyone!!! She came home from school the first day and when I asked her how school was she said "It was soooo boring!! We didn't learn anything. We didn't learn letters, we didn't learn numbers, we didn't even learn what equals means!!" She was actually really upset and it was all I could do to not laugh. I thought for sure that she wouldn't want to go back, but the next day she was up and ready to go. So, the second day got done and I asked her how school was, she said: "It was soooo boring!! All we did was sit around all day. It was so BORING!!!" She then asks what we did throughout the day and when she finds out, says that she doesn't want to go to school anymore. Luckily, the next few days were a little better and she didn't have to many complaints. She still says that it is boring, but I think that the first 2 weeks are a little slower due to testing and things. Anyways, it should be an interesting year!! Wish us luck!! HA!
Addie has been a wreck since Macie has been gone. She has to be entertained CONSTANTLY!!!! It is has been a big adjustment for both of us. Seriously. She is very needy and I think that it has been good for her to have to play by herself and fend for herself a little bit instead of always having Macie there to do things for her. She is going to be starting a little preschool class 2 days a week and is really excited for that. She is getting so big and loves to be able to things by herself.

Pregnancy

2011-08-31T13:12:00.000-04:00

As many of you may have picked up on in a previous post, we are pregnant!!!! We have wanted this for a very long time and are soooo excited to finally be announcing this!! I am 21 weeks along and it is another girl!!!! The girls are sooo excited and talk about the baby all of the time. They can't wait until around Christmas time when the baby will come!!!
I have been keeping a little journal throughout our trying to get pregnant process and thought that I would share it. It is not something that I would normally do, but I had a cousin who did this same thing and posted it in the middle of my trying efforts and it helped me, so I think that this is just something that I need to do.

Jan. 18, 2011
Trying to get pregnant this time has been particularly hard. With Macie, I got pregnant right away. It was kind of a shocking experience to be honest, because we thought that it at least would take a few months. With Addie I got pregnant within 2 months of trying. With this one, it has taken us about 14 months. Which I realize is not a long time for some people, but for us, it was a very long time and a great learning experience.

Ever since I had Addie my body has not been normal. My periods come whenever they decide to and my weight has been crazy. About a year after I had Addie, I lost about 15 lbs. for no reason. We could not figure out why. I couldn't gain weight even though I was trying. I was eating all of the time and alot. I finally went to the Dr. about it and he ran some blood tests to find nothing wrong. So, I went about my life and started working out again and all of sudden I slowly started to gain weight and thought that maybe the possibility of becoming pregnant would be a little easier now that I was a normal weight (for me). But, alas, still no sign of pregnancy. There were at least 3 months where we were for sure that I was pregnant because my period was missed, but then it would show up at about week 6 or 7. Really disappointing. There were a lot of tears shed, especially during those months where I feel like I was teased with false hope. (With the first 2, a positive pregnancy test didn't show until I was 7 weeks along. So I really did think that I was prego a few times.) Even Geoff said one of the times that we thought I was prego and we weren't, "oh, how sad, I was getting so excited at the thought of another one."

I finally went to the Dr. after trying for 7 months and not getting pregnant. He put me on Clomid.

Macie asks all of time when we are going to have another baby. She has been asking on a daily basis for about 6 months now. To the point that she says: "mom, if I am a good girl, can we have another baby?" Sad.

Addie has been going around telling people that there is a baby in my tummy. Only for me to quickly turn around and assure whomever she told, that I was not pregnant.

March 2, 2011

Today I found out that I am pregnant!!! I am so excited!! I had tears in my eyes when I read the test! I just can't believe that I am actually pregnant. This is something that we have wanted for so long, that it almost seems surreal. I am 6 1/2 weeks along. I was on clomid with this one, so now I am just hoping that it is not twins!! haha!

The due date is October 31.

March 8, 2011

Miscarriage. Just a simple word until you live through it. Yesterday afternoon I started cramping a little bit. Not enough to make me think anything, just enough to make me notice. Then I started bleeding. Alot. I knew that it was not good. The cramping became so painful. I told Geoff that I thought that it was truly unfair to make me go through the physical pain of it when I am already having to deal with the emotional pain of it. Not fair. I was curled up in fetal position half of the night. (warning: if you don't like details, stop here)

At about 4 am I went to the bathroom, there was my little baby in the toilet. I wanted to pick it up and hold it, to say goodbye. It felt so wrong to just flush it down without even a second thought. I went to bed and cried. Saying goodbye to something you have longed for for so long is a very hard thing to do. I wanted that baby so bad. I wanted to get big and pregnant, to feel it move inside me, to see if we were going to be having a boy or girl, to tell the girls that they were finally getting a sibling!!! It would have been so fun.

I know that this happened for a reason and that it is a good thing. I just can't believe that I am going through this. That this is happening to me, to us. It is things like this that make you cherish every second that you have with your family and make you realize how truly blessed you are.

May 24, 2011
Today we got another positive test. I am so excited again, but don't want to think about it to much or get my hopes up. We just are hoping that this one is going to last and that this time we will be blessed with a little sweet baby in the end.

June 7, 2011
Went to the Dr. today. He said that the baby looks good and healthy this time with nothing wrong. I am 8 weeks along. He drew my blood today as well and told me that everything looked good and normal. He also told me that it looks like there is only 1 baby. (I was worried that it could be twins because I was on clomid again.) The due date is January 8, 2012.

July 18, 2011
We told the girls tonight that they are going to be big sisters. That we are having another baby!!! They were a little confused and then excited and then I think they forgot about it because we didn't mention it again! (We are going to Idaho tomorrow and told them not to tell anyone because we want to surprise them.)

July 21, 2011
I went and had an ultrasound done today by my friend here is Pocatello. I am 16 weeks along, so we were hoping that we would be able to tell what it is. We got a pretty good look and are pretty sure that it is another girl!!! So exciting. I think that it is just what we thought and kind of what we were expecting.

August 3, 2011
We just got from Idaho. Told the family that we were expecting!! They were all sooo excited! I had the girls go downstairs in pj's that said big sister on them. The reaction was great!! This is the first time that I have announced to them in person that I am expecting. So fun!

We basically can't wait for this little baby to come into our home. We are ALL sooooo ExciTed!!
The due date for this little girl is Jan. 8, 2012 and we can't wait to meet her!!!

First day of Kindergarten!!!

2011-08-22T13:54:00.002-04:00

Today is Macie's first day of Kindergarten. SAD (for me and Addie, not her). She was sooooo excited and has been counting down the days for about a week now. I cannot believe that she is old enough to be going to school all day. It is so scary. She is still so little. I start to have all of these little thoughts like, "what if she can't open her juice box for lunch, or what if she can't find her backpack, etc." It is quite funny actually. I am just so worried for her, yet I know that she will be just fine and love it. I can't wait for her to come home so I can hear all about her day!!!
First day of kindergarten.Sisters!! Addie has no idea that her best buddy is about to leave her for the entire day!! Let's just say that it is going to be a LONG year!!! So cute! I love my girls!!Here is Macie in her classroom all ready to go. She is so happy and excited to be there.

Hot Air Balloons

2011-08-22T13:42:00.003-04:00

On Saturday morning there was a hot air balloon launch and race. I had seen the signs for it and finally remembered to look it up Friday night (thanks to Geoff's reminder). It started at 6am and the balloons were supposed to be up in the air around 7:00. We debated on going, if it was worth waking up that early, and in the end decided to just do it. So we woke up bright and early, picked up some donuts on our way and headed out. We are so glad that we decided to go. It was so much fun and the girls loved it! There were about 15 balloons and we got there just in time for them to start blowing up. It was a nice relaxing morning as a family.
Eating our donuts.Here are the balloons getting ready.Starting to take off!Just hanging out...say cheese!Make a funny face!! Addie looks really excited doesn't she!In front of the Smokey the Bear hot air balloon.Then there was little beach right off of the park, so we went to check it out for a few minutes. We wish we would have brought swim suits, because even at 8:30 in the morning, it was hot enough that we could have gone for a swim!Addie posing for the camera!

Idaho Trip

2011-08-04T14:10:00.006-04:00

The girls and I just got back from a little vacation in Idaho. It was so much fun!!! It was great to see family, especially my little brother Tyson who just got back from his mission, spend time with extended family, and escape the heat of Texas!! We stayed busy playing with cousins, and aunts and uncles, and of coarse Grandma and Grandpa. The weather was perfect and playing outside was so nice and enjoyable. The girls and their cousins put on a show for us about every night. Macie wore a costume around the house for about the first 2 days that we were there. We had to convince her to take it off. We were able to go to the Bradley Family reunion while we were there and had a great time at that as always!!! The girls love the Tetons and are building great memories from them and I love that. It is fun to watch them grow and interact with my family. It was a fun time!Posing for me in their dance costumes.I bought the girls some cute new pj's. The reaction was just what I was hoping for and exactly what I had invisioned.

Playing the golf game with Grandma and NanaAddie taking her turn on the bungee swing. She loved it! Although we were a little nervous to let go.Macie taking a turn on the bungee swing. It took her a few times to like it, but in the end, we could not get her off of it!Addie doing the penny hunt. She got $3 exactly in change.Here is Macie doing the penny hunt. She got $3.72 in change. We went into Driggs later that day and they both bought a little stuffed animal with their money.Here are the girls participating in the family "Olympic games". Here is Macie shooting water balloons.And here is just a cute little picture of Addie in the tent.

Addie Turns 3!!!

2011-07-18T15:36:00.005-04:00

Today is my little Addie's birthday!! Crazy!! She is 3 years old. She has been waiting for this day for about 3 months. She tells everyone she sees when her birthday is and how old she will be. I just can't believe that it is already here.

Here are a few things about Addie at this age:

-She is CRAZY!!! Seriously-we don't know what to with her half of the time and the other half you are laughing your heads off at what she is doing.

-She loves to sing. In particular: I am a child of God and Children were gathered round Jesus.

-She is a complete ham...she will do anything to make people laugh

-She loves Rice and cheese.

-She adores her older sister Macie and loves to play whatever she is playing.

-She is very, very sensitive.

-She is so fun loving and we don't know what we would do without her!!

We had a little bbq on Saturday night with some friends and did the cake and singing then.She chose a guitar cake this year. I am not sure why, she just really liked it, so thanks to online tutorials...this is the result.Here she is as we sing her happy birthday!Here are the kids singing.Here she is blowing out her candles! So Cute!This morning she woke up at about 7:30 and walked into our room and said: "Can I open my presents now?" How do you say no to that....so away she went. Here she is with the first present. (polly pockets)Here she is with her princess shoes. She chose these out at a store about 6 months ago and I have been hiding them ever since. I don't think she even remembered.These are my little ponies. This is her baby doll. She was super excited about this. It is just what she wanted. It came with a bed and baby swing. The girls have been fighting over it all day.....She is trying to put the binkie in the baby's mouth.

Happy Happy Birthday Addie!! We love you!!

Things we've up to

2011-07-10T18:52:00.003-04:00

Here is a little update on our lives. Geoff has started working and is really enjoying his job. The girls and I are hanging out and learning how to play without friends constantly around. It has a been a harder adjustment than we anticipated, but we are slowly making friends and doing things. We are getting used to the heat here and are doing a lot of swimming. Let's just say that we all have a good tan.Here are the girls on their first day of Gymnastics class. They were sooooo excited!!!Here is Addie with a bunch of tape on herself. They thought that they were hilarious!!We have been doing a lot of swimming. Here is Macie showing me that she can swim the whole length of the pool and keep her head underwater. Pretty cool.Here is Addie showing me her swimming moves. I LOVE the goggles on this kid! Hilarious!!Macie jumping into the pool. Each time she tries a different trick. She is crazy and loves the water!
A friend told us about Chic Fil A eat more chicken day, where if you dress up like a cow you get a free meal...so we did it with her. Totally not a me thing to do, but we are desperate to hang out with people so we went along with it and it was actually alot of fun!! The kids loved it and I loved the adult interaction!! Here are the girls and their friends in their cow outfits!

The first of Dallas

2011-06-24T16:16:00.003-04:00

We moved out here rather quickly and did not have a place yet...luckily, I have an aunt who lives here and we were able to stay with her for the week while we found a house and waited to move in. It was a fun week. She was constantly trying to find fun stuff for us to do!! Here are a few of the things that we got done before it was moving day.We stopped by downtown Grapevine. They had a train and some really neat little stores. We got there a little early and had to wait for some of the things to open. Here we are waiting for the glass blowing to open so we could go and watch.Next stop was the lake. They don't really have any good beaches here...LAME!! But the girls enjoyed the water anyways. This is Macie pointing to a boat out in the water.Here is Addie and my Aunt Ann. They are finding rocks!
This one is very random, but Geoff went in to check on the girls one night and found this...Addie has her foot right in Macie's face! Looks comfy no?!!My dad came down here to help us move in, which was a huge help!! thanks Dad!! While he was here we thought that we would check out the Zoo. We had the coolest experience with a Gorilla while we were there. We went to look through this glass window and the Gorilla noticed us and came right over to us, sat down right next to the window and just looked at us. He looked so nice and sad that he was in there. The girls thought that it was pretty cool and so did we!!!Here is the Gorilla looking right at my dad. Crazy that all there was between us is this peice of glass. We literally could have touched him. It was sooooo cool!!Macie and my dad taking one last look at him. He seriously had the saddest looking eyes. You just wanted to give him a hug and set him free. It was a fun trip to the zoo even though it was blazing hot!!

The Last of Cleveland

2011-06-22T16:02:00.008-04:00

Here are a few of the last things that we did before leaving Cleveland. We hit up our favorite spot to feed the ducks. When this duck wouldn't eat the bread and kept hissing at us, we wondering why...Then she stood up and we saw this...(notice the eggs). We decided that we should probably leave her alone after that.

We went to a hot air balloon show that we supposed to be awesome!! It was not! It was totally LAME!! All it was, was 3 balloons in a parking lot that blew up and then never even took off! Waste of time! But hey, we got a family pic out of it! They really liked the noise!We thought that we should hit up our favorite water park one last time, so we went to Kalahri!! Here are the girls enjoying the water!! And here is Geoff going down a slide. I love this picture. It makes me laugh!
A little family pic while we waited for the park to open.Geoff's parents with the girls!We went to Chagrin Falls while Geoff's parents were in town.

Macie made a money man out of all of her money....pretty cool and creative I thought!

We said goodbye to some AMAZING friends!! Life will definitely not be the same without these guys just down the street!!

Macie, Geoff, Trent, Cole, Spencer
Macie, me, Laura, Addie, Suzy, SydneyAll of the kids!! Cole, Jake, Addie, Sydney, MacieAnd said goodbye to our wonderful home!! We truly LOVED Ohio and can't believe that our journey here is over!

Life

2011-06-20T14:19:00.002-04:00

So it has been awhile since I posted anything. Life has been a little crazy around here. We have spent the last 4 months trying to decide what we are doing with our life and then once we figured that out, we needed to find a job. So, in March we started the mad search for a job, flew Geoff to a few interviews, and then waited and waited and waited to hear back from any of them. We heard from several that they wanted him, but then someone would be out of town or the Dr. would be to busy or something. Anyways....graduation came and went and we were still there in Ohio just waiting to find something.
Finally the phone call came...we got a job in Denton, TX. They wanted Geoff to go to a training in 3 weeks and then start right after that. So, we got the phone call on Thursday, May 26th and we were packing the moving truck one week later on June 6th. It was fast, but we are just thankful that we have a job and we were able to find a place to live in such a short amount of time.
We are now living in Denton, TX and are all moved in and getting to know the area. It is SUPER hot here and it hard because everyone stays inside. You NEVER see anyone outside unless they are at a pool. We are adjusting to our new life and are excited to see what the future holds!!!

I will post pics of the house and things once I catch up on all of the other blogging that I need to do!!

Graduation DaY!!!

2011-05-16T14:35:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, May 15th, 2011, was graduation day for Geoff. He graduated from Dental School and is now officially: Dr. Geoff Barnum!!! How awesome is that!! It was a such great day. The ceremony was really nice and the memories and friends that we have made here will last a lifetime!! We can't believe that it is already over and that we are done and moving on with life. Here we are before leaving.Here we are trying to figure out his gown. The zipper was broken and kept catching, but we finally figured it out!!Here is our family pic with the gown on! Such a cute little family!This is Geoff and our good friends Trent and Spencer. We have been neighbors the whole time we have lived here and it has been so fun!!! Thanks for all of the wonderful memories!!This is the start of the ceremony. Here is Geoff walking in. Don't mind the guys head in front of the camera. He stood up right as I was taking the picture!! Arrrg!!Here he is receiving his Diploma/Certificate/Dr. Degree!!So proud!!! Babe, you are amazing!!Here he is when all was said and done! Great job Geoffy! I love you!!

Macie Dance Recital

2011-05-16T14:30:00.000-04:00

Macie had another dance recital last week. Here are a few pics from her dances.

Before the recital started.

With the girls in her class that are all in our ward. (Mckinley, Macie, Mishayla, and Halle)

Doing her dance moves.

What a cute performer!! Macie did such a great job!!! She knew all of the dances and smiled the whole time!!! Great job Macie!!

Macie turns 5!!

2011-05-08T19:54:00.004-04:00

Macie had her 5th birthday on Thursday, May 5th!! I can't believe that she is 5! Old enough to start kindergarten!!! CRAZY!!! She had a great birthday full of presents, friends, and treats! She was able to take some treats to school and then after school had a little birthday party with a couple of friends. After the party we did a little BBQ with some friends and celebrated a little bit more. It was a fun, tiring day.

This is the doll that Macie got for her birthday! She loves it!! She is pretty sure that it is real because it talks and tells her what she needs.This is the Yahtzee game from Grandma and Grandpa Barnum. She is showing us how it works.She is a little excited for this one. We went to the store earlier this week and she said that this is the toy that she really wanted for her birthday and that when she got it, she would say "mom, that is the toy from the store that I wanted!!" Anyways, I had bought this exact toy on clearance about 2 months ago and was going to give it to Addie for her birthday, but when Macie saw it and said that, I just had to give it to her.Here is the game that she requested for her birthday party. When I asked her what games she wanted to play at her party this is the one that she came up with. She wanted a tree with a nest and then birds that had to find the nest. Awesome!Here are the kids opening gifts.Here she is blowing out her candles. She doesn't like cake or frosting, so we made brownies and had ice cream with them instead!Here is Tony, Macie and Halle waiting for their brownie.Here is Addie, Cole, and TrevorHere she is hitting the pinata. This is a tradition and always will be because she was born on Cinco De Mayo!!Here is Addie giving it a try!

All in all it was a great birthday!! Thanks to everyone who called, (she actually got quite tired of people calling her. With each new phone call she would sigh and answer the phone all annoyed!! It was hilarious!!) sent or gave her present, or just told her happy birthday!! It really made her day!!

Easter

2011-05-01T17:40:00.006-04:00

This year was a lot of fun, but also snuck up on me. I was not ready for it to come as fast as it did. None the less, we still fit in a few fun things and had a great day. Here are a few pics of the festivities. First our city had an easter egg hunt. They moved it inside because of the weather, but it was still alot of fun and the girls came out with a TON of eggs!!Here are the girls before the easter egg hunt.Macie finding eggs.Addie finding eggs.Macie's overflowing basket. I actually had to tell her to stop picking up eggs because they just kept falling out.Addie showing me her basket. She is sooo strong.The group of kids that we met there. (Jack, Macie, Addie, Sydney, Cole)

Then we colored some eggs.Here are the girls coloring their eggs with crayons.Here is Geoff working with the dying of the eggs.The girls putting the stickers on the eggs. They loved decorating eggs this year. They are getting so big that all of this stuff is getting to be so fun!!

Easter morning the girls slept in. As in, Geoff and I got out of bed at 9:00 and had to wake them up. WOW!! Is all that I have to say!Here is what the easter bunny brought the girls.The girls seeing what they got.Macie checking out her barbie.This year the easter bunny hid eggs around our house. Here is Addie finding them.Here is Macie finding them.Here are the girls in their easter dresses. Addie is NOT happy in this picture. I forgot to take a picture before church and she doesn't get a nap, so after church on Sunday's she is a mess!! Anyways, that is why her eyes are all red, because she wouldn't stop crying!! This is the only picture I have of her halfway smiling!Geoff went to Dallas this same weekend for an interview and he stayed with my Aunt Ann while he was there. She sent him home with easter gifts for the girls. They got to make the necklaces that they are wearing and she sent them the cute little pursed that they are holding filled with eggs. So nice!! Thanks Ann!!

Big girl bike

2011-04-17T18:35:00.003-04:00

One week ago Macie decided that she wanted to take the training wheels off of her bike. We were a little apprehensive about this and told her that once we took them off, we were not putting them back on. She decided that this was ok and wanted us to take them off, so we did. She did really well. After only about 6 times of us helping her up and down the street, she was doing it all on her own. She was pretty wobbly, but she was doing it. By the next day she had it down and was doing great! So fun!! She is so proud of herself and loves to ride her bike!Here is Addie on her bike.She just learned to ride her bike too!Geoff helping Macie. For those of you who are wondering, this is a great rear end workout!Here she is coming back toward the house. She was so excited she could not wipe that smile off of her face. She also could not stop laughing. Neither could I. Watching her was hilarious!!! Because Geoff had ahold of her she would just be laughing and looking from side to side, not watching where she was going at all. It was soooo funny!!The girls then pulled out their sunglasses and thought that they were so funny because they put them down by their mouths for a mustache!

Happy Birthday Geoff!!!

2011-04-17T18:22:00.003-04:00

Thursday was Geoff's 28th birthday!! We celebrated the day by sleeping in, making french toast for breakfast and having friends over for dinner and cake! We had the Welch's and the Bjarnason's over. I made Cafe' Rio for dinner and then we had strawberry trifle for the cake! It was a fun filled day and the girls were so excited that birthday season in our home is finally starting. Geoff opening his presents.The girls helping Geoff open presents. I wrapped 3 of his gifts knowing that the girls would want to open one as well, that way everyone had a present!Some of the gifts! I bought these at the end of last summer on clearance. I have been waiting a long time to give these to him!Blowing out the candles on the cake. The kids were really excited!The adults singing happy birthday!

I also wanted to congratulate Geoff on passing Boards and finishing everything in clinic!! He can now graduate and become a dentist!! Only 4 more weeks until graduation!! CRAZY!! Good job babe on finishing dental school!! You are amazing!!

macie funny's

2011-04-09T19:55:00.006-04:00

Today Macie had a play date. On the way home from the play date Macie asked if she could watch some cartoons when we get home. I said that I wasn't sure because it was such a nice day outside and we will probably be outside. She responded with: "but mom, I have been playing outside all day, I need a rest and my breath hurts" It was all I could do to not burst out laughing!! I said: "your breath hurts?" and she replied: "ya" like it was a totally normal thing. Also today Macie has been learning how to ride her bike without training wheels. After she did it once all by herself, she said: "I learned how to ride a teenager!!" so proud!!! I seriously don't know where she gets these things and they are sooooooo funny!!!

It's Raining, It's Pooring

2011-04-09T19:18:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday it was raining all day long. There were a few small spats of thunder and lightening, but mostly just rain. The girls HATE the sound of thunder!!!! Seriously! They will both immediately put their hands over their ears and then start to cry. Funny and annoying all at the same time. We had had enough of being inside all day, so I got the girls rain stuff out and sent them out to enjoy playing in the rain!! So fun!Getting ready to jumpLooking to see if Geoff is home yet.Singing: "if all the raindrops are lemon drops and gum drops, Aaaa, aaaa, aaaa"Addie saying: "say what?"Macie in actionAddie in action It was all fun and games until....the thunder hit.....and then it was all over and the girls ran for cover.Cover your ears!!!

Haircut

2011-03-26T10:18:00.004-04:00

This past week I feel as though I have had an initiation into motherhood. This week 2 major things have happened that I feel every parent goes through, yet I have somehow escaped for the past 5 years.

The first one was that Macie decided one night to get a pair of scissors to cut some paper. Well, I trust Macie alot and did not think anything of it. She came back downstairs and put the scissors away and then Addie comes into Geoff and I and says very proudly: "Macie cut my hair!!" A few seconds later Macie waltzes in with a sly little smile. She knows that she did something naughty and against the rules. We have had many conversations on what scissors are used for and for what they are NOT used for and she definitely knows the difference. So, Geoff and I take a good look at the girls hair...Macie took some nice length off of hers in the front and then she took a couple of chunks of Addie's from the back. All I could do was grab the camera and try not to laugh. I was sad, yes, but it is not bad and I can hide it very easily until it grows back out. On Addie you can't even tell, she is just a little thinner in the back than she already was. Here are some pics of the damage.See the length difference in the front area, by her hand?Here is a front picture. She is very upset in this picture because she knows that she did something wrong. Look at both sides and you will see where she cut.Here is all of the hair. She was very nice and cut it all straight into the garbage. I didn't even have to clean anything up!Here is Addie's hair.

When I asked her why she did this, she said: "because I wanted to cut my hair and you wouldn't do it." It is a very true statement. She has been asking me for weeks to cut her hair and I always tell her no. I guess now I know that I should listen to her requests so she doesn't take matters into her own hands!As a result of her hair cutting, Macie got a trim because her hair was totally uneven where she cut it. She was soooo happy!!!Here we are cutting the back.Addie wanted a turn, so we pretended to cut her hair. She thinks that it was for real, which is all that really matters.Here is the hair that was cut. So sad. But as Macie said this morning: "It's ok mom, hair grows back."

The second is that Addie wet the bed during the night. This is the first time that I have ever had to wash sheets because of an accident. And it is kind of Geoff and I 's fault for not taking her potty before bedtime. She made it clear until 6:45am when she had her accident.

Snow cave

2011-03-09T12:25:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we had a really good snow storm. It dumped so much snow that even Geoff got the day off, which never happens!! So, Geoff, Trent, Cole, and Macie headed outside for some snow fun. They were outside for about 2 hours and let's just say, that in those 2 hours, the boy scout came out in both of the dads. I was quite impressed when I came out to see what they had done. All in all there was an igloo, and 3 tunnels- all connecting!! It was so cool and so fun for the kids (and I am sure the dads)!!!

Macie and Cole inside of the igloo!!Macie showing me how she can crawl through the tunnel!A picture of a couple of the tunnels!When Addie woke up, she wanted to go down and see what they were doing. Here she is taking a look inside of the igloo!! She thought that it was pretty cool! She really wanted her snow stuff on so her bum would stop getting wet!Geoff helping Addie get out.

girls

2011-02-25T10:15:00.002-05:00

Here are a few random pics of the girls doing some funny things. They clipped these pens to their shirts and thought that they were pretty cool.Macie being crazy. She really likes to put a towel on her head like mom. Here she is trying to be scary!!

Conversation with Addie:

me: Addie, take that necklace out of your mouth.
Her: no, because I want to.
me: No, that is yucky!
Her: ok, I put it in my nose.
me: No!! That is disgusting!
Her: ok, I put it in my eye! ........

She thinks that she is sooooo funny!!

Presidents Day

2011-02-22T14:35:00.002-05:00

Macie talking to my parents:

"I don't have school tomorrow because it is President Monson day."

funny

2011-02-18T13:52:00.002-05:00

The conversations of an almost 5 year old......

Halle: "Macie, are you feeling better today?"
Macie: "Ya, a little, I had to stay home yesterday and read books in my moms room."
Halle: "How BORING!!"
Macie: " I know. I had to do that after lunch. Lame huh!"
Halle: "ya, lame!"

Then on Wednesday Halle was at our house for lunch and this is the conversation that took place:
Halle: "Macie, guess what?"
Macie: "What?"
Halle: "My mom and dad kiss on the lips."
Macie: "Ewe! That's gross!"
Halle: "I know"
Macie: "Who kisses who?"
Halle: "My mom kisses my dad."

Hahahaha!! So stinking funny!!! I love, love, love to listen to her and her friends talk! The things they come up with are hilarious!

Macie also said this the other day: "Hey mom, I need a short sleeve shirt and short sleeve pants."

I love this age!

sleep

2011-02-17T09:08:00.000-05:00

So, I went to check on the girls last night and this is what I found. So stinking cute.
Melts my heart.

Life

2011-02-15T09:12:00.005-05:00

I find that February is such a boring month. You are so ready for winter to be over and for it to be spring. There is really nothing going on and you just exist from day to day. Seriously....so boring!!! Maybe it would help if I had a project or something to work on, but when you are trying to sell your house, that is the last thing that you need, more junk. Anyways...here are some fun pics of the girls to keep you entertained.

Cute little Addie

Cute girls

Macie being goofy

Macie saying cheese

Addie on her cell phone

Geoff and I went on a date,a double date!! It was a ton of fun! It has been a long time since we have been on a date with friends. We went out to dinner and then tobagganing. It was soooo fun!!! This was one of the things that was on my check list before we move! Thanks Laura for making it really happen!!

Ice Skating Lessons

2011-02-08T14:01:00.003-05:00

Macie has been in Ice skating lessons for the past 5 weeks. She liked them, but did not love them. She has asked me if she can just stick with dance. (Ok, twist my arm!) She started off the first week using a little metal push thing that allowed her to stay up and get used to the skates. By the second week, she didn't need the helper and was off and skating. She did an amazing job and learned very quickly. She was the only one in her class that was able to advance to the next level.the metal helperskating on her ownComing over to say to me. She was very excited about something.Her little skating feet.

makeup

2011-02-08T13:56:00.001-05:00

Macie: "mom, I like your makeup....it looks beautiful on your face."

A few of my favorite things

2011-01-27T15:44:00.005-05:00

The girls have been doing so much lately. Here are a few things that I absolutley love that they do:

Addie asks if we can play Dr. every day before she takes a nap. So cute.

Macie gets excited about learning. She now knows how to write almost all of her letters. She loves to write her name and is asking all of the time how to spell things.

Addie said to me today: "mom, put my shoe on right now! or you will go to time out" sooo funny

Macie loves to try and lift Addie up. She tells Addie to get onto the couch and then has Addie fall into her arms and she carries her around the room. They both love it and think that they are sooo funny.

Addie has an ongoing joke. First, a little background, when Geoff went to Oklahoma for his interview, he taught Addie how to say Oklahoma. When she said it, we would all laugh because we thought that it was so cute. Now whenever you ask her a question, like, what do you want for breakfast, she will say "Oklahoma cereal" and then start laughing her head off. She truly thinks that she is sooooo funny. It is quite hilarious.

Macie likes to put her arm around Geoff and smoosh their faces together and then say "best friends" She truly thinks that they are best friends. So cute.

Hearing Addie say "oh man" in the right way. Hilarious.

Macie calls her teachers at school "Mr.Kate and Mr. Erin" instead of Ms. Kate and Ms. Erin. She just can't figure out the Ms. thing. It is really funny and I love to hear her say it. In return, her teachers call her "Mr. Macie".

Watching Macie and Addie play and laugh together...melts my heart.

On Monday when we were doing family night, I was getting ready to do the lesson, and Macie jumps up and says, I want to do the lesson tonight. (Geoff and I looked at each other shocked, because we have asked her to do this before and the answer is always no.) So she runs upstairs and grabs a paper that she made in church. It was a picture of the manger scene. She then proceeded to tell us the whole story of Jesus and who was there in the manger. It was such a sweet little moment. She was so proud of herself and now says that she wants to do the lesson every week with the same picture. :)

Macie has a such a sweet and loving way about her. She truly cares for those around her and wants to be everyone's friend. She is very responsible. She makes her bed everyday without having to be asked and cleans up her room as well. She loves to surprise me with her clean room on a daily basis. I have to close my eyes and walk into her room and act completely surprised. (Which I do, and I act EXTREMELY happy every.single.time. becuase I want to encourage her to keep doing it! So far it is working!) She says that she likes to do it because she knows that it makes me happy. What a sweet heart.

Addie is a fire cracker. She is hilarious and knows it. She has quite the sense of humor on her and will be making us laugh our way through life. She is almost impossible to get mad at because she always trys to do something funny and make you laugh or you just have to say it in a more serious tone and then she listens. She loves her mommy and loves for me to hold her. I could hold her all day long and it still wouldn't be enough for her. She acts kind of shy around new people, but then warms up and is fine.

I love you girls so much and just want you to know how you were at this age and what types of things you did.

Things we've up to

2011-01-23T18:34:00.005-05:00

We have been having a great time lately. The past few weeks have been full of fun. There has been alot of snowing. Alot of singing and dancing, and alot of playing with dad. Addie has been to the Dr. for her 2 1/2 year old check up and has gained 3 lbs which puts her at 26 whole pounds. She has also grown an inch since July. So she is now in the 25% for height and 5% for weight. Growing girl. Macie started doing ice skating lessons. She has been for 3 weeks now and is liking it. She gets better every week. Alot better. It is fun to see her grow in different areas and try new things. Although she still says that she likes dance better and wants to get back in a dance class. Dancing to Hey Now.Addie's awesome hair!! Static!!Macie dancing. She is always very serious when she dances.Macie's splits!Addie's balancing move. (She fell over about .2 seconds after this!)Sisterly Love! I am in LoVe with this picture!!! So Cute!Burying dad under all of their toys!!! Can you find him?Geoff reading the girls some stories.
And last, but not least, a movie of the girls singing to Phantom of the Opera: I.LOVE.IT. It is seriously hilarious!

Sledding

2011-01-09T18:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we went sledding. It looked like a good day. Then we stepped outside and the sun went away and when we got to the hill....it was FREEZING!!!! We were able to get a few pictures in the little amount of time that we were there. Addie got to go down once before she and I headed to the car to warm up. Geoff and Macie stayed out for about 10 more minutes getting their last runs in. Macie could have stayed there all day. There is something about being a kid and just having a good time despite how cold it is. I couldn't even feel my hands, so I am sure that hers were freezing!
Macie coming up the hill after heading down all by herself. Last year, that wasn't even an option. This year we had to beg her to let us take a turn with her!! She is just getting soooo big!Geoff and Addie trying to stay warm and waiting for a turn on the sled.All three of them going down the hill. Addie was ok in the beginning, but then about half way through, there were some girls who were not paying attention and Geoff had to "put on the breaks" as Macie said. (AKA...put down his feet to slow down). Anyways, when he put his feet down, a bunch of snow flew into Addie's face and she was not happy!! One turn on the sled was all it took for her to know that she did not like it!Macie coming up the hill again. She went down by herself and here she is telling Geoff that she almost ran into those same girls, but then she "put on her brakes" and wiped out and got her face wet in the snow. She even said that she yelled "watch out" to them, but they did not listen!Here she is going all by herself. So brave!

Dodge Ball

2011-01-07T18:50:00.003-05:00

Back in October Geoff played in an intramural dodge ball tournament. We went to watch thinking that we would only be there for about 1 hour. (They did this same thing back in February and lost after only 2 games, so we were only there for about an hour and we were expecting the same thing this time!!) Little did we know that they would go on to WIN the entire thing!!!! We were so proud of him and the other dental students!! They were pretty stoked as well. They were particularly proud of the all girls team that they beat which allowed them to win more than the original 2 games!
What made it even more fun was that we were in this little area with all of the kids for about 4 hours watching!!!
When I say little area, I mean a little bench with a screened in window!! So much fun!! (Actually the kids did really well and just ran around and played together, it didn't really seem like we were there for that long.)Here is Geoff in action. Way to go babe!! We think that you are just sooooo amazing!

cell phone

2011-01-07T18:39:00.003-05:00

Tonight at dinner Macie gave us a glance at what our future would be like. She had a play cell phone and came down to dinner talking on it. She then got about 4-5 more "phone calls" from her friends during dinner. When I asked her what they were calling about she said they were all so excited about the sleep over they were having tonight that they had to keep calling her. I had to actually ask her to tell her friends that we were eating dinner and that she couldn't talk right now. Then to make it even more real, I had to actually threaten her with taking her cell phone away because she wasn't eating and was "talking" on it to much.....Is this really what we are in for?!!

House For Sale

2011-01-06T14:19:00.004-05:00

Our time here in Cleveland is nearing an end and the time has come for us to put our house up for sale. It is a bitter sweet thing to do. We have truly loved this house, the neighborhood, and all of the memories that we have here, but we are also excited to move on to new things. Here is the house blog for anyone interested. If you know anyone moving to the Cleveland area...let them know about my house!! http://www.barnumhome.blogspot.com/

2011

2011-01-02T18:33:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!! We had such a great New Years Eve!! We started off with going ice skating!! There is a rink here in Cleveland that is outside and is free. You just have to rent the skates. It is a synthetic rink, which means that the ice is not real, it is actually just some type of boards that click together to make a rink. To say that it was interesting is an understatement! It was very hard to ice skate on, but it was still alot of fun!! Geoff and I had a good time, and Macie loved it. We are now thinking of putting her in ice skating lessons to see how she does. Here are some pics...
Macie getting on the ice for the first time.Addie running around the ice rink.Macie and I skating together. At this point my legs just kept spreading farther and farther apart. I.could.not.stop.laughing!!Macie trying it out on her own. She actually did a pretty good job.Geoff and Addie taking a break. Love this picture!

Then later, the Welch's came over and we had a little party for the kids. They got to run around in their pj's and play horns and noisy toys and march around in a parade.Here are the kids doing their noise parade!Outside ringing in the London New year!! (We counted down to the London New Year for the kids! They loved it!!)Doing some silly string!And some bubbles!The Welch'sOur first family picture of 2011!! (technically it is our last family picture of 2010, but hey, now it can be both!)

Then Later, after the kids were sleeping, we threw a little adult party. It was way fun and was a great way to ring in the new year!

Happy 2011!! We are excited to see what this year has in store for us! There are sure to be many big changes, but we are ready and can't wait to see what they are!

Bowling!!

2010-12-31T15:47:00.003-05:00

On Christmas eve, we went bowling with our friends. To say that it was embarrassment on my part is an understatement!! I don't think that I have bowled this bad in years!!! I guess that it just means that we need to go more often so that I can get my game back!!!! Geoff on the other hand, did amazing!! Macie had a good time and was really fun to watch. She was sooo excited about each and every ball she threw. Even if she only 1 or 2 pins down. So stinking cute!! Addie had fun just watching and eating treats!

Geoff taking his turn.I asked Addie if she wanted a turn and she said yes. So here we are ready to give her a turn, only to get up there and then she chickens out and decides that she would rather watch.Addie watching.

This is a video of Macie bowling!! LOVE it!!!

"Feed Me!!"

2010-12-31T15:30:00.002-05:00

The other night during dinner Macie was having a really hard time focusing and eating her meal. The rest of us were all done eating and she had only had 2 bites. (She was too busy talking the rest of the time!!) So we all had left the table and she was still there, by herself :( eating. She started asking Geoff and I to come and feed her, which of coarse we said no to. We are trying to teach her a lesson here after all. .....In the meantime, I am in the kitchen doing dishes and Addie is crying at my feet for me to hold her, so I tell her to go and feed Macie her dinner just to try and get her out of the kitchen for a few minutes so I could finish.
Next thing I know, Geoff is telling me to come and see what the girls are doing. Addie had pushed her chair closer to Macie and climbed in and started feeding her. What a good little sister Macie has. The best part is that they both stopped crying and started laughing!! "Say AHHH, Bacie"Addie feeding Macie. They thought that this was soooo funny!! And so did we!!!

Addie food

2010-12-31T15:21:00.003-05:00

Addie lately has done some pretty funny things when it comes to food. Here are a few that I have caught on camera.

The first couple of pictures she was helping me with dinner and kept telling me that she wanted some cheese which was sitting out on the counter. Well, I hadn't gotten that far yet and was busy cooking when I turn around to see her taking bites out of the huge block of cheese. Disgusting!! But hey, she was happy and enjoying it so who am I to argue?!

Here she is taking a bite.Showing me the cheese.

The next few are from when she was eating lunch one day and wanted some more chicken nuggets. So while I was cooking her some more, I came into the dining room to check on her and this is what I found her doing.....

Licking her plate clean of all of the extra ranch dressing that was on it. Gross again!!! But hey, this girl LOVES her ranch and can't get enough of it!!Licking it clean.Trying to get more!! Just look at that devious face!!

Cruise

2010-12-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Geoff and I were able to go on a cruise. It was an early graduation present for Geoff. Geoff's parents were nice enough to fly out and take care of the girls for us while we were gone. Thanks!!! We had a great time. It was nice to go on a trip just the two of us. It is something that we have never done and talked about doing all of time. So, we bit the bullet and we went. It was a 5 day cruise with stops in Grand Caymen and Cozumel, Mexico.

The weather was supposed to be great! Right?! Not so!!! We packed for summer and brought only one jacket and one pair of pants. Well, we ended up wearing that jacket and pair of pants almost the entire time. The first night on the boat there was crazy big waves. The boat was rocking so much that I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that we were going to die!!! Seriously!!! There was a drawer in our room that everytime the boat rocked back and forth it would open and close-that's how bad it was. I seriously laid there and just prayed that we would make it through the night. Geoff got sick the next morning and just laid in bed to try and sleep it off. He was feeling better by the afternoon, but the boat had stopped moving so much. The weather the next few days was about the same, cold and windy and crappy. So, we didn't do as much sun bathing as we had hoped, but still had a good time with no kids. On Tuesday we were supposed to dock in Grand Caymen. Our boat got almost all of the way there, only to find out that the weather was to crappy for us to dock and they wouldn't let us in, so we got to turn around and head to Cozumel instead. Wednesday in Cozumel was a pretty good day. We were at least able to hit the beach and swim and snorkel a little bit. Thursday was by far the best day. The sun finally decided to shine and we were warm and finally got to wear our shorts. Because of everything that happened, I don't know that we would choose to go on a cruise again, although we did have a pretty good time, just not quite what we were expecting. Here are some pics. Here we are at the airport.In Cozumel in front of our boat.The boat.What we were doing almost the whole time on the boat. If we were on the deck, we were all covered up because it was so cold.At dinner the last night.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-28T14:01:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone. This Christmas was soooo fun. The girls are at an age that we were able to teach them the true meaning of Christmas and they understood it and they were so excited for Santa and understood that to. It just made it so fun. Christmas day was nice and relaxing with the girls busy playing with their toys and Geoff and I just hanging out with them and doing a puzzle while listening to Christmas music. So nice. Here are a few pictures of what the girls got. Addie in her new ball pit. She loves it!! At first I was a little worried because all she kept saying was that she wanted a baby, but as soon as she saw this, she forgot that that is what she wanted. All day whenever someone would ask her what she got she would say "I got balls!"Macie checking out her stocking. She got the dollhouse in the background. We really haven't seen much of her since she got this.The girls also got a swing for the basement!! They love it!! It is so fun to hear them down there playing and laughing because they are pushing each other in the swing.Here is Macie with her present from Grandma and Grandpa Bradley. Personalized luggage!! The girls love them and keep asking me when we are going to go on a trip so they can use them. Thanks mom!! So cute!Here is Addie with her luggage. It is so funny because the luggage is about as big as she is, but she is so in love with it. She was having a fun time pulling it around and had to put the backpack on right away.Here is Geoff with is IPod docking station. Just what he wanted. I got a fondue set, just what I wanted. It was a great Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!

Getting ready for Santa

2010-12-26T20:07:00.005-05:00

This year we decided that Santa's reindeer might want some food. So, we cut up some carrots and put them in a pan with water and then froze it. When it was frozen we took it outside and hung it on a tree for the deer to eat while Santa was here. The girls loved it and were excited to see if the reindeer had eaten their food.Cute little Addie helping me hang it up.Macie standing by the carrot wreath.Here are some pics of the girls on Christmas Eve by Santa's cookies and milk. We made him cooies that have reindeer on them. Macie thought that he would really enjoy those.

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-26T19:45:00.007-05:00

Here are our Annual gingerbread houses. We did these with the Welch's. Macie and Addie actually enjoyed doing one this year which was really fun. It was fun to see what they chose to decorate and how they chose to do it. Here are some pics.I love this picture!! Addie is such a ham!! Anytime you tell her to say cheese, she does this!! Love it!Geoff working hard at his house.Geoff and I working. The girls are off playing while their houses "dry".

Here are Laura, Cole, and Trent working on their houses!!

Addie putting on her decorations.

Macie waiting to decorate.Macie almost done. (notice the standing candycane with a smaller candycane ball on top. This was her north pole and it was all her idea.)Macie beside her finished house.Addie by her finished house.

Santa's Inventionism

2010-12-26T16:52:00.005-05:00

Here in Cleveland they have a Santa's Toy Inventionism. I looked into doing it last year, but didn't register in time, so we weren't able to do it. We made sure to fit it in this year though and we are soooo glad that we did. It was so cool. The kids (and adults) loved it.

Here is the group outside the entrance. (The Welch's and the Barnum's)Inside hearing about what we do inside the workshop. Invent new toys for Santa!!Here everyone is putting on their thinking caps and getting inspiration.Macie is drawing her invention on the wall!!Macie and Cole making their newly invented toys

Next up was making new puppets for other kids. (These were super cute! It was just a plain puppet with a bunch of different velcro eyes, arms, hair, etc.) For those of you who are do it yourselfers...these would be super easy and the kids loved them!!Family pic by the puppet tables.

Then we got to go and learn how to make snow for the places who didn't have any. This was also super cool. You mixed a little of this magic snow in with some water and it made what felt like real snow. It was super neat!!!Here are the girls playing in the snowThe last thing was that you got to build a new toy with these tinker toy things. Here is Macie showing me the wand that she made. (In the beginning they asked the kids if they wanted to wear a lab coat, so that is what Macie is wearing.)Here is Addie building her toy.

At the very end, you got to sit on Santa's lap. (They wouldn't let any outside photography in there. so no pics of Santa) Macie actually sat on Santa's lap this year and told him what she wanted!! (a doll house) She was very proud of herself and we were all shocked that she actually did it!! Yea Macie!!

At this same building they had a talking tree. Here is Macie asking the talking tree a question.Here is Geoff and the girls outside of the talking tree. They all thought that it was sooo cool!!

-For those of you who live in the Cleveland Area.....Do this next year!! It is sooo fun and totally worth it. It is at Tower City!!-

Playing in the Snow!

2010-12-26T16:42:00.002-05:00

Geoff went out to shovel the other day and the girls wanted to join him. Here they are in their snow gear playing in the snow. I love the snow suit that Addie is wearing because when she wears it, it reminds me of Ralphie on the Christmas story when he can't move. So funny!
Addie..happy to be outside.Macie's snow angelAddie showing me her snowJust a really cute picture of Macie

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2010-12-04T15:24:00.004-05:00

About 1 week ago, we put up our Christmas tree. It was quite exciting and the girls loved helping. Macie is so excited this year and is at a really fun stage with all of this Christmas stuff.Trying to figure out what comes first.Pulling everything out of the box and handing them to dad. (don't mind the crack, for those of you who are around Macie alot, know that this is just part of who she is. For those of you who aren't around Macie alot, don't judge, I have tried EVERYTHING to prevent this and I can't figure out a way to stop the crack from showing, any suggestions would be appreciated!)

Addie putting her ornament on the tree.Macie showing me her cool ornament she made last year.Macie putting her ornament on the tree.Geoffy putting his ornament on the tree. (just kidding, he is just helping!)Me, doing the final touches!

Horray for Christmas!!! I love this time of year and can't believe that it is already here and is already going to be done so soon!!

The First Snow

2010-12-04T14:57:00.005-05:00

So all of this happened back in November, I just never got around to posting it.

We had our first big snowfall of the year and it was probably the best snow that we have ever had. It was PERFECT for making snowmen!!! Geoff and Macie headed outside to build. Here they are in the process.

Here is Macie rolling her ball.Here is Geoff rolling his ball.Here is Geoff putting his ball on top of the bottom ball, which broke under the pressure and now Geoff's ball is the new bottom ball. (I wish I would have gotten a picture of his face!! It was classic!)

Here is Macie rolling her ball. She is taking a breather because her ball was getting to heavy. Right so...it is big!Putting on all of the finishing touches!The Snowman!!Addie and I inside watching. (She was pretty sick when all of this happened.)

Geoff starting a snow ball fight with Macie. (I love this picture!! Look at their faces...Geoff's is one of complete joy and Macie's is one of complete Terror!!)Geoff catching Macie off guard with this monster of a "snowball"! (Don't worry, it didn't really hit her, it landed right in front of her!)Macie going in for the kill!! Geoff acting afraid!Geoff getting Macie back. This time he really did hit here, but with a normal size snow ball this time. ( I am loving these action shots!)Macie running away from the snowball thrower. Run Macie Run!!!

Bunk Beds

2010-11-24T15:15:00.003-05:00

This morning I was in the girls room getting Addie dressed when Macie said: "Hey mom, let's make some bunk beds today for our babies." After I thought about it for a minute, I said:"ok, we can try." (Geoff is taking his boards test today and we needed something to do). So out to the garage we went to try and find some scrap wood that would work. Success was had by all and about 1 1/2 hours later (with some breaks in between), we had bunkbeds!! The girls are sooo excited. I was also excited. You see, for about the past 2 weeks Macie has been using every pillow in her room as beds for her babies/animals. It drives me crazy because there is stuff all over the floor and she gets mad at me when I pick them up. So, now they have a bed to put them on and no more mess for me. Also, last week when Geoff was gone at an interview I was bored, so I got out my scrap material and went to work making little sleeping bags for the girls babies. (They were supposed to be for Christmas, but this was just to good of an opportunity to give them to them.) Now with this bed and the sleeping bags, the girls are all set for bedtime with their babies. The bunk beds
The VERY happy girls! (One of these days when I am bored again, I will paint it and really make it look cute!)

Dance Recital

2010-11-21T18:56:00.005-05:00

Macie had another dance recital yesterday. She is getting so good and so big. I love to go and watch her and see how much she has learned. She really does enjoy it. When I ask her if she would like to try something else, she is very adamant about continuing in dance. She took this dance recital very seriously. She got on the stage made sure she was in the correct spot and in the correct starting position and then held her head up high and waited for the music to start. It was pretty comical.

Geoff wasn't able to be there for this one because he was at an interview, so I recorded the dances. Instead of using our normal camcorder, I decided to use the video option on the normal camera. Well halfway between her second dance, it turned off and I have none of the second dance!! AHHH!!! I was so aggravated! Now I just have to hope that someone else has it recorded! Oh well. Here are some pics of her dancing. I have been trying to upload one of the dances, but blogger is not working with me so we will have to see if I can get it to work!

Posing before the dance.Getting ready.The end pose.Watching to see what is next.The sassy turn. Doing a cool move.

Halloween Party

2010-11-06T13:57:00.008-04:00

This year, I decided to throw a Halloween party. Why? Because I found so many cute Halloween foods to make and cute decorations and I needed to find a way to use all of these ideas without making my family obese from the amount of treats that I wanted to try and make. So we invited a few friends and told them that costumes were required and had a good time.

Here is the food table:

Here is the drink:

Here are the oreo balls.

Here is the witches brew.

Here are the eyeballs.Here are the owls:Here are the spiders going up the stairs...probably my favorite idea that I had. Looked totally cool!

Here is the mantle, there is a vinyl spider web on the mirror, but it is kind of hard to see.

Here are the dressed up couples: (These pictures aren't the best because we forgot to take pics of each couple, so all of the pictures are of the couples in action while playing a game)

First we have the Flinstones (the Jannuzzi's)

Next we have the Cowboy/Cowgirl (the Waite's)Next is Whole milk and Skim Milk: (the Corry's)And then there is us.. we went as a bank robber and his bag of cash...made the morning of the party!!

Patterson Farm

2010-11-06T13:27:00.005-04:00

This year we went with the Jannuzzi's to a place called Patterson's. It is a pumpkin patch where you can go and choose a pumpkin, or you can choose to go to their family play land. We have never been to the family play land, so we decided that in case this is our last year here, we should do it before we move. Here a few pics of the excitement!!

The kids on the wagon ride out to the Family fun.

Macie riding a bikeAddie on a bike. I love her face in this. She is trying so hard.

Here is Geoff pushing the girls on these death machines. Seriously...because the kids are the ones that steer these things....

They have these huge slides to go down. Here is Macie having a turn.Here is Geoff and Addie.

Macie and Trevor going down the slides.Nancy and I going down the slides. This was soooo funny. I was just going along for a leisurely ride down the slide, and then Nancy yells out "ready, set, go" and I automatically think "ok this is a competition", so I start pushing myself down as fast as I can and then she sees me passing her and she decides, "Oh, maybe I should push myself to so I can win". Well, as you can see in the picture, I am obviously doing the "Oh yeah, I just won dance!" And she is trying to get ahead. Well, she tried to get ahead at the wrong moment because we were right at the end of the slide and she ended up flying off the end of the slide and totally biffing it!!! It was soooooooo FUNNY!!Here are the boys on the stilts. Jeremy says that stilts are WAY easy, Geoff and Nancy caught on and were actually able to walk a few steps, I did not catch on.This is the face that I was making the whole time. Everytime I would get up on them, I would automatically fall. I could not stay on these things for the life of me!!Here is Nancy trying it out.Here is Macie having a good time walking with Jeremy's help.

Pumpkin Time

2010-11-06T13:17:00.002-04:00

For Halloween this year we opted not to carve a pumpkin. Instead, each of the girls got a small pumpkin to paint and then we did this.....
It's like a Mr. Potatoe Head for pumpkins. I bought it last year on clearance thinking that the girls could have fun with it while we were carving the pumpkin. Instead, Geoff took it and was having to much fun making faces, that this is what we did.The girls took them all out and would make face after face after face. They loved it. So did Geoff because he didn't have to carve a pumpkin!The end result...a pumpkin with 4 very funny faces!!Addie showing me her paint for her pumpkin.Macie in deep concentration working on perfecting her pumpkin.

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T18:28:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween. This year for Halloween the girls were a bumblebee and a ladybug.(The exact same costumes as last year!) Lame...I know...but I am to cheap to buy a new one every year...and they don't know that they have a choice! I actually bought Macie a new costume this year, but she refused to wear it and insisted that she wear the ladybug again, even though it was way to small. Oh well I guess. This year we went to a Halloween Carnival the week before Halloween. It was alot of fun. The girls got a lot of fun toys at it. We also went trick or treating with our good friends, the Jolivettes.

Macie FishingAddie FishingTrying to find duck with a dot on the bottomMaking masks.

Addie getting ready to trick or treat.Macie waiting to start trick or treatingThe group (Addie, Charlie, Macie, Tony)Addie Trick or Treating. She only did 4 houses this year and then she was done. She wasn't to into it and wouldn't say anything when she went to the door. She would stand there and stair at them. It was a little to embarrassing for everyone involved, so I went back to the MaryPat's house with her and helped MP pass out candy.

Dentist time

2010-10-28T14:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday the girls went to the dentist, (aka dad). Macie went first "so she could show Addie how to be good." She did so well. She was a little worried that Geoff was going to do this gross fluoride thing that she can't stand, but he pulled through for her and gave her a much better flavor this time...frosting. She left the dentist much happier this time than last time.

Addie was next and she loved sitting in that chair. She felt so big. She did pretty good and followed all of the directions. They both got new toothbrushes, a sticker, and a toy. They were very good and both have very healthy teeth!!

Macie in her cool glasses waiting for dad to start.Say Ahhhh. Addie in her glasses waiting for dad to start.All done. :)

Thanks babe for being such a great dentist!! The girls LOVE to come and see you. I don't know that I can say the same for myself, but at least someone is happy to see you at the dentist!! :)

Birthday Party

2010-10-28T13:56:00.002-04:00

On Sunday Macie came downstairs and announced that it was her and Addie's birthday's and that we were having a party. So, she decorated the living room and we played games. Then we gave them each a banana muffin with a candle in it, sang happy birthday and then they blew out their candles. It was a really fun night spent together as a family, doing something that the girls love. It is these moments that I will remember.
Blowing out the candles.Eating their muffins.

No More Diapers!!!!!

2010-10-28T13:52:00.004-04:00

It's official. Addie is potty trained!!! It is sooooo great!! She has done a great job with it and loves to wear big girl panties.

Glitter Party

2010-10-18T15:25:00.003-04:00

Last night the girls decided to have a "glitter party". Geoff and I did not know about said "glitter party". The girls were playing really well last night in their room and all I could think was, wow..they are playing so nicely. Jump forward about 1/2 hour later and them coming downstairs because they were fighting over a toy...and that it is when I noticed that they both had glitter in their hair. At first it didn't register and then I thought "something is not right here," so, I asked Macie why they both have glitter on them and this was my answer "because we were playing glitter upstairs!" So Geoff and I go upstairs to see what she is talking about and I think I almost cried when I saw the mess. (note to moms out there who think that buying glitter is a good idea...it's not!! Don't do it!! Buy crayons instead!) It took Geoff and I about 45 minutes to clean their room. There was glitter EVERYWHERE!!! I dont' think that I have ever swept and vacuumed so much within a 12 hour period. Everytime I go upstairs I see more glitter!!! Ahhh!! I am sure that this will be happening for a few weeks.
It was a total of 2 small containers of glitter and a bunch of sequins as well. We have had several talks with Macie lately about getting into the craft stuff and I thought that she had learned her lesson the last time, because I packed up half of the craft stuff because she kept getting into it and wouldn't listen..apparently it didn't seek in. So, today I packed up everything that has to do with crafting and told her that we were all done until she can learn to listen. I guess we will see if this makes a difference or not. I am sure that she will just move onto getting into something else.
My only regret about this whole thing is that I don't have a picture. I don't know what I was thinking! It would have been so much better with picture proof. I think that I was to upset to think about it.

scary girls

2010-10-14T12:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Macie decided that she and Addie should take the halloween window stickers off of the window and tape them onto their face. So we started taping and applying until Macie thought that all looked good and the stickers were where she told me to put them. The end result is actually kind of scary. They thought that they were pretty silly. They really liked it until it was time to take them off and that's when they learned that tape hurts when you pull it off!! A life long lesson that is always good to know!

The girls posing with the pumpkin.

So Scary!!

Addie realizing that she doesn't like the tape anymore and that it is starting to hurt a little.

Macie doing a really cool pose!!

Playing in the leaves

2010-10-04T19:56:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that fall is actually here. It just kind of creaped up on us. The weather here was all beautiful and within one week it went really cold and fall hit. I didn't even get to enjoy the leaves changing color on my tree this year. SAD. Anyways...here are the girls having a fun time in the leaves.

Macie jumping in

Throwing them in the air

Addie getting brave enough to enter.

Throwing them in the air.

Bathroom Redo

2010-10-04T19:51:00.004-04:00

About a year and a half ago our house had water leaking into it due to extremely heavy and large icicle buildup. The insurance company came and told us that the water was coming from no where and it would never leak again. They told us to just paint over it and not worry about it.
Flash forward 8 months and our tiles under our window start to pop out of the wall. We leave them for a few months hoping that they would just fix themselves. When they didn't change and just kept getting worse, Geoff took a tile off to see what was happening. Well, the wall basically caved in on itself and there was mold behind it all. So...I called the insurance company telling them all that had happened and they reopened the old claim, so, long story short...we have a new bathroom on insurance. Yea for us!!!
The project started last Thursday and was done by Saturday. They replaced the tub, took all the tiles off of the walls and put drywall up instead, ripped the peal and stick tile off the floor (along with the old tile that was underneath that) and put in new tile, took everything that was in the shower down and put tile in the shower. They added a fan, moved the electrical outlet and added a vanity with a new mirror for more storage.
During the whole redo, we had a few technical difficulties. When they were taking out the bathtub it caused a few issues in other rooms of the house. Our computer (which shares a wall with the tub) had about 15 holes in it from the nails popping when they pulled the tub out. Our downstairs bathroom ceiling (which is right below this bathroom) had a nice area that was popping out like it was going to be a big hole. (I thought that all of this was bad) Then came the next morning when I woke up, walked downstairs and saw towels on top of the fridge, my purse on the counter "airing out" and a bucket in the bathtub. My first thought was "oh no, you have got to be kidding me" mostly because my purse was COMPLETELY soaked!! It had had water dripping on it all night!!!! ARGGG!!! So, the bathtub had been leaking all night and no one knew. The water dripped clear down to the very basement (that's 2 floors!!!) Our contractor said that everything would be ok and that it all looked good. He had to patch the ceiling in the kitchen (that is where it was leaking into) and I had a lot of cleaning up to do!! Let's just say that we are glad that it is over and we now have an absolutely beautiful bathroom that I am totally in love with!!
This whole process was so fun being able to choose out all of the tile and vanity and everything else. It is so gratifying to see it all come together and actually look great!!! It gets me all excited for that day when I get to choose everything out for our future home!!!

Here is what the bathroom used to look like:

Here is what the bathroom looks like now (the pictures don't do it justice)

The shower

Baseball Game

2010-09-16T10:46:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we got to go to an Indians Baseball Game. It was sooo fun. Our seats were with a bunch of other dental students. They are ok seats, but still kind of far out. About half way through the game my friend MaryPat called me and told me they were there too and they had gotten tickets through her husbands law firm. They were only 4 rows back from the dugout and had a ton of seats by them. So.... we ditched our seats and went down to sit with them!!! It was a party!! There is such a huge difference between sitting up high to down low!! I don't know if I can ever go up high again after knowing how much fun the lower field is!! Thanks Marypat and Greg for such a fun time!!

Macie does not look happy here because she isn't! She cried most of the game. It was to noisy for her. She didn't like the cheering, the talking, or the fireworks. Oh well. Hopefully she gets over this soon because life sure would be more fun for her if she wasn't so scared.

Barnum Family Reunion

2010-09-08T08:36:00.006-04:00

This is the last part of our trip out West. Sorry it has taken me so long to blog these, but the pictures have been a bit of pain to download and file.

Anyways, Geoff's side of the family had our First ever reunion. It was soooo fun!! Our sister in law's family has a cabin in Park City so that is where we stayed. All I can say is relaxing, beautiful, perfect weather, fun! It was so fun to get together with everyone and see you all again. We can't wait until the next time. Here is a rundown of what we did. (warning: lot's of pictures)

The girls on the swingset

Family picture in the hammockEverybody playing Bocce BallMost of the family took a little drive to this beautiful lake. Here is Geoff, Macie and Lauren playing in the water. Heather and I stayed behind because of sleeping kids. We headed up to Park City to try and do the zip lines and slides. Here is Macie on the Merry Go Round.Here is the rest of us on the ski lift. As we were getting on the ski lift the worker said "just so you know, it might start raining on you." We were thinking..um..ok. So we get on the lift and about half way up, it starts pouring rain on us. So, we get to the top and wait for a suburban to come and pick us up to take us back down to the bottom because they had closed everything. Lame!Oh well I guess. At least we were able to get a refund for all of the tickets and Macie had a good time on the rides that she did. And in Brocks words "at least we got to ride the ski lift, that was pretty cool."

We played a family game of minute to win it. Here is Grandpa in the action. We all thought that this was either genius or cheating :), either way, he won.Here is just a really cute picture of Macie.We did family pictures while we were there. Here are grandma and grandpa with all of the grandkids before we left.

Here is Geoff and all of his siblings (Jay, Heather, Geoff, Troy)Here are all of the grandkids at the picture spot. This was sooo funny, because by this point Addie and Lauren were totally done. I am pretty sure that we did not get one picture with either of them smiling. At one point, Lauren was picking her nose and Addie was lifting up her shirt finding her belly button. Hilarious!!!! Here is the rest of us trying to get all of the kids to smile. HAHA. I don't know what was funnier watching us or the kids.We also went to this really great pool while there. It was so great because Macie and Addie could do anything they wanted. Here I am jumping off of the high diving board.Here's Geoff diving off the low dive. It looks like he is going to belly flop...but I promise you, he doesn't.Here is Addie swimming. They had a water slide and let anyone go down it who wanted to. You could hold your kids or they could down by themselves with a life jacket on or without and you could just catch them at the bottom. Awesome. Macie was in heaven. Here she is at the top of the water slide.Here she is coming down with GeoffHere she is at the bottom. She ended up going down all by herself and loved it. We couldn't get her away from the slide. Addie also went down with Geoff a few times and actually liked it. It was a ton of fun.

Thanks Barnums for such a fun time!! We really can't wait to do it again! It was the perfect ending to our trip!!

Blue Angels

2010-09-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we went downtown with some friends to see the air show. Every year on Labor Day Cleveland has an air show with either the Navy or Airforce flying. This year it was the Navy Blue Angels. It was sooooo cool. It is soooo amazing how 4-6 planes can be so in sinc and together without missing a beat. They were flying right at each other at some points and at the last minute would turn so they didn't hit. It was INSANE!! And really noisy. We haven't gone to this in years past becuase Macie has an issue with loud noises, but this year we decided that we didn't really care and just wanted to go and see them. So we went and we sure are glad that we did. The girls actually did better than we thought. And although Macie was saying the whole time that she just wanted to go home, she really enjoyed it. On the way home all she could talk about was how cool it was. She sat and described to us with her hands what the planes did in the sky and what her favorite moves were.

Here is how much the girls were enjoying the show!! HAHA! At least Macie watched. Addie watched too, it just took her a little while to warm up.

Here is Macie's happy face. (She is saying "I want to go home!!!")

Here they are in flight. So cool!

Here are five of them. Just look how together they are!! CRAZY!

Back to School

2010-09-07T12:24:00.000-04:00

Today was Macie's first day of school. She was soooo excited. Especially becuase her really good friend Halle is in her class this year. She has been counting down the days since Geoff went back in August, so I am glad that I don't have to hear "when do I start school mom?" anymore.
Anyways, this year was kind of bittersweet sending her back. We had a great summer. It was a lot of fun, really relaxed and chill. I don't know if I am ready to be on a schedule again, but alas, here we are back on a schedule. Oh well. I guess that it is good. I suppose that I should get used to this since next year she will be in kindergarten.
Have a fun school year Macie!

Standing with Addie in front of her school.

The Gateway

2010-08-29T19:40:00.000-04:00

While we were in Utah, we went to the Gateway one day and let the kids play in the fountains. At first Macie didn't know what to think and then her older cousins started running in the water and she got more brave. Addie I don't think even got wet, she just sat with us the whole time and watched the kids play.

Say cheese. Addie, Macie, Garrett, Brock

Getting all wet in the water.

Swimming Lessons

2010-08-29T19:37:00.001-04:00

In July Macie took swimming lessons. She LOVED them. She went from being afraid of getting her head wet to dunking her head under and holding her breath and swimming. It was totally worth it!! We now have a little girl who loves to swim and is confident in the water.

Learning to kick

Learning to use her arms to swim

Coming back to the edge from doing bobs (putting your head under the water)

Tetons 2010

2010-08-15T18:39:00.003-04:00

Every year my entire extended family meets for a family reunion in the Teton mountains. It is a party and something that I have looked forward to each year of my life. This year was my girls first time going and I am soooo excited that I have been able to pass on this wonderful tradition with them. They are already asking when we can go back and are constantly asking about the cousins that they played with there! Thanks to everyone who came and for making this year soooo fun!
The girls gathering their pennies from the penny hunt. Macie made out with a whole $4.62 and Addie made out with $2.96. Let's just say that their penny jars are now full!!Macie launching the water balloons. She loved this. Geoff or my dad would catch it every time and she was able to reuse the same water balloon about 5 times.Addie and Grandma enjoying watching the water ballons.Macie playing in the river. *notice the shirt...each year the kids also get to make a shirt, Macie's is decorated on the back*Geoff in the river. It was a pretty hot day and Geoff decided that he would go for a swim. He led 2 other boys out there with him who were trying to get wet, but their moms didn't want them too. Once Geoff got in though, they had nothing else to say. By the way...the water was freezing!!

Goggles

2010-07-19T17:00:00.002-04:00

So this past 3 weeks we have been at the pool everyday because Macie is taking swimming lessons. Well, as a part of those lessons, Macie has been wearing goggles. Addie is always very sad that she doesn't have a pair and snatches Macie's whenever she can. So...for her birthday she got a pair of goggles too! (Thank you target dollar spot!)

Here are some hilarious pics of the girls with their goggles on!! I dare you not to laugh!!!

Addie's Birthday

2010-07-19T16:42:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to Addie! Yesterday was Addie's birthday. She is now 2 years old. Oh my goodness!!! Where has the time gone?

For Addie's birthday we did a little bbq in the yard. We borrowed my neighbors bounce house and let the kids jump and have fun. It was great. Here are a few pictures from the party!

The CupCakes.
Addie blowing out the candles. I was impressed that she did it all on her own, but in looking at these pictures, it looks as though every single one of us was blowing right along with her. haha
Addie eating her cupcake
Sisters!!
Opening presents. It was pretty great watching her open presents. As she would each one she would start to squeal with delight. It was classic.
Here she is saying "shoes!"
This present had to be opened immediately. After which she promptly put them on and loves them. She even wore them to the pool today!
Looking at the princess cd player.

I think that it is safe to say that it was a pretty successful birthday. She loves all of her presents. She loves them so much that she REFUSES to share a ANY of them with Macie. Which has caused a little conflict in our house to say the least. Hopefully the sharing will get better so we all can enjoy the new toys!!

Water Fun

2010-07-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

Geoff had a late night the other night and I was trying to make dinner. Addie kept crying at my feet wanting me to pick her up, but my hands were busy with dinner, so this is what I did to keep her entertained. It worked like a charm!! I now let her play in the bathroom sink when I brush her teeth and do her hair because she sits still and she doesn't cry! It's perfect!!

Filling the cup

And dumping it out!

It did get my counter and floors all wet, but hey, they needed cleaned anyways so it totally worked!

Big Girl

2010-07-16T13:59:00.000-04:00

So about a week ago, we had some big changes in our house. Addie went from a crib to a toddler bed, and we got rid of the high chair!!! Alleluia!! As sad as it is to say I don't have a baby anymore...I am totally thrilled with the changes! It is kind of liberating to get rid of everything baby in your house. The clutter of all of that extra stuff is gone! It is sooooooo nice! Now if only I could get her potty trained...

Addie jumping on the bed

Laying in the new bed. Super happy.

Getting out of the new bed. This has got to be so fun as a kid to be able to feel this new freedom of getting out of your own bed instead of being in a cage all of the time. She has been doing really well with this. She loves that she can get out at night and play with Macie, but that she can still go to bed when she wants. She also still takes super great naps!!

Cute girls playing in the bed.

4th of July

2010-07-09T15:02:00.004-04:00

Happy 4th of July! This year we stayed pretty busy enjoying the nice hot weather. It was the first year we didn't go camping for the 4th and it was the first year it didn't rain!! Go figure! Anyways, We spent the whole weekend celebrating. On Saturday we went to a parade. On Sunday, we were going to go to fireworks, but Macie chickened out and we decided that it wasn't worth going just so we could listen to her cry the whole time, so we skipped them. On Monday we headed out to the beach and then had a bbq at our house. So fun!!

The kids at the parade.

Making silly faces. I love how Addie is trying so hard to be big and just copies what ever the rest of the kids are doing.

Addie looking so cute.

Waving to the police car. I love this picture because it shows just how much Macie REALLY hates loud noises. She is trying so hard to have fun, but can't stop plugging her ears because of the siren. To funny.

A cute little family picture.

Here are all of the kids enjoying their snow cones.The gang doing fireworks. (Sparklers and poppers.)Addie checking out her sparkler and looking like she is really enjoying it.

Macie was terrified to do the sparklers in the beginning, but she eventually warmed up. Here she is in all of her excitement telling me "look mom, I'm doing it!!"Both girls doing their sparklers. Even though Addie looks disgusted with Macie's sparkler, I am pretty sure that she isn't. This is just a classic Addie face. (Although I am sure that something happened to make her look like this.)Geoff and I. We both had sparklers ready for some child to take them, but then no one wanted them, so we got to do them ourselves!! Ahh, the childhood memories just came flooding back!

Growing!

2010-07-03T13:51:00.000-04:00

Lately, Macie has this obsession with getting big. At first it was cute, then it got annoying, now it is just part of our everyday life. She used to hardly ever drink milk, then one day Geoff told her that it will make her bigger and she all about drinking milk. At every meal she will request milk, take a drink and then say "mom, you want to see how big I am?" Then she will proceed to stand up and show us. She is pretty sure that she grows taller everyday and I am not telling her otherwise. If it keeps her drinking milk, and eating healthier because of it, then why not let her think that!!!

Here she is showing us how big she is.

Drinking her milk and showing us how long her legs are getting.

Just a cute picture of Addie, poking her nose with a fork!!

Disturbing?

2010-07-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else think that this is disturbing???
While folding laundry this week, I was noticing how close in size Macie's and Addie's shorts are. Macie's shorts are a size 4T. Addie's shorts are size 18 months. Can you guess which is Macie's and which is Addie's? It's no wonder everytime Macie wears shorts Geoff says "who wears short shorts? Macie does!"

For Aunt Tina

2010-06-20T17:02:00.001-04:00

Our Dear Aunt Tina sent the girls and I really cute bags. It was such a nice little surprise. The girls were thrilled to get them and we use them each week for church. Here are a few pictures of the girls with them.
Thanks again Tina!!!!

The girls

Addie Saying "cheese"

Train Musuem

2010-06-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

Sometime last week we heard on the radio that there is a free train musuem close to town. So, when looking for something to do on Saturday, we thought that we would try it out. Let's just say that we were expecting something totally different...like real trains. Oh well. The girls still thought that it was cool even though we were done in about 1/2 hour. Geoff and I decided that it is just a bunch of old retired guys trying to find something to do, so they build train tracks from their childhood.

The girls looking at a big train

Some of what it looks like.

Pushing the buttons. One of the buttons made the cows dance and the other button was a train horn. This was their favorite part!!