Church BBQ Contest

Back in July, our church held the 3rd? annual BBQ Contest. Anyone who wants to can enter a rib and/or chicken contest. The people who do the smoking spend a large chunk of the day at the park tending to their food. Then, the rest of us get to bring a side and enjoy. It was a VERY hot day, in fact there was a heat advisory, but we went anyway. Who can turn down free smoked meat, I mean, really?




The church leaders finally figured out how to get Chris more involved - by eating lots of smoked meat. They asked him to be a judge this year. Who would say no to that?

The Judges Table



Elise was having lots of fun. We didn't stay super long because of the heat but it was just about right.


Here's Jake hanging out. He was about 2 months old in this picture. He didn't seem to mind the heat and stayed very calm. He loved it when I let him drink water out of my cup and didn't seem to care that he dribbled it all over himself.



This was one of those evenings with a newborn where even though it was a little bit of a hastle getting everyone ready to go and be where they needed to be, it was nice to get out of the house for a bit of family time outdoors. The girls were having so much fun playing at the park with friends. There was a big group of kids planted in the sand of the volleyball pit. After the bbq, we went to DQ for some cold refreshment and then home for baths!

Things the Girls Say

If I'm going to make good on my goal to write twice a week I better get going. I just have to remember that I don't have to have pictures in order to post.

The girls have some things that they say that I want to remember.
Each of my girls has had a saying that they've used to express how much they love us. Ava would say, "I'll keep you forever". Elise says, "You're in my heart." Very sweet.

Lately when Elise is sad (like from me saying no, she can't have cookies for breakfast), she'll say, "Mommy, you make my heart sad." yeah...

Today, after Elise pooped in the toiled (we're working on that), she asked if she could have a tootsie roll. I said yes, but got distracted taking care of Jake. Both girls came in while I was changing his diaper and said I forgot to get them a tootsie roll.
Elise says, "Mommy, you make my mouth sad."
Then Ava (who we usually give a treat to too), says, "My teeth are crying!"
I rolled my eyes and laughed at the same time.

In related news, the other day Elise comes out of the bathroom and says, "Mommy, Daddy I pooped in the toilet!" We started to get excited and then she quickly said, "It's invisibile." So now when she really does go she makes sure to say that she went "for real".

Also today, I asked Ava to get me a onesie for Jake because the one he had on was wet from all of his teething drool. I joked, "bring me a onesie - but not a twosie...or a threesie." Ava comes running back to my room with a onesie in one hand and a pair of pants in the other. She holds out the onesie and says seriously, "Is this a twosie or a onesie?"

Other quick things. Elise says mumember for remember, noonicorn for unicorn, calls oranges womens (lemons), banama for banana and furfect for perfect. We've tried to correct her on all of these things but they seem to be unchangeable at the moment and we're kind of ok with that.

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH!

Hi All -
My NEW photography website is now up! Check it out and let me know what you think!




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Photography News

Been working on my photography business. Tomorrow, we launch a NEW WEBSITE! Check out my photography blog for more info!
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Labor Day Weekend Stay-cation

On the Saturday before Labor Day, we decided to do something as a family We weren't going out of town so we decided to have a stay-cation and went to the Topeka Zoo. It's a great zoo for family with children because it is small and well shaded (I'm pretty sure I've said this lots of times). The weather was gorgeous! We were trying to decide whether to go on Saturday or Monday (Labor Day). I'm glad we chose Saturday, (a), because of the nicer weather (Monday was hot), and (b), because I was sick on Monday and Chris was suffering from major allergies. Here are some pics (with captions) of our day.
Here's Chris and the girls, oh wait, can't say that anymore! Here's Chris with the kids getting ready to tour the zoo.
Here's Jake first time facing out in his carrier - first time with Daddy carrying him. So cute! Jake did very well. He took a cat nap and seemed content most of the day. I've noticed he likes being outside for the most part.
The girls making silly faces saying, "take a picture!"
I guess we went on a day where they were celebrating an anniversary or something so that had a big to-do with the elephant enclosure. The elephants were "painting" canvases that you could purchase. I have a few thoughts on this. Yes, elephants are wonderful, fascinating animals - really, they are. However, they weren't really "painting" like I've seen on tv. Ok, fine. That's ok. These elephants paint with their snouts? or the end of their trunks. They would pick up the paint from the tray and then paint a little on the canvas (one elephant just wanted to eat the paint and smear it on himself...must have been a toddler-elephant), then the trainers had the "blow" on to the canvas too - a type of splatter-painting I suppose. All I have to say is GROSS! I'm sorry but while I'm happy to support the zoo by purchasing my ticket, I can't make myself purchase a canvas of elephant snot that wasn't really painted as much as it was sneezed on. I'll save my $20 - $100 for something else - like concessions. or not....but enough about elephant "painting"! ;)
"Elephant snot for sale. Get your elephant snot!"
Ava and Elise thought it was cool and walked along the fence to view the artwork or snotwork if you will. Ok. I'll stop.

Looky - here! One of the giraffes wanted to either spy or get in on the action. I thought this was a cute pic of the girls looking at the tall little guy.
One neat thing was that a baby hippo had been born a few weeks prior to our visit. Look closely and you can see him by his mama. We stood and watched for a while so we could catch a glimpse of him between his hiding behind mama and lying on the ground.
We got to see a rather famous little giraffe up close that day. Hope, is a young female giraffe born with a hoof deformity. She has special shoes made every four weeks to help remedy the problem. We got to see them muzzle her and then give her medicine. It was interesting because there was quite a crowd gathering with lots of little children, watching as the corralled the giraffe into the area. We were all admiring this beautiful creature when one of the zookeepers whipped out a muzzle and started wrestling with the giraffe to get it on her. There were definitely some gasps and dropped jaws, especially from children, because it looked like they were hurting her. I explained to my girls what was happening and the Hope didn't like taking medicine just like they sometimes don't.

After the zoo, we went to another favorite spot, Gage Park. We played at the park for a while while Chris and Jake waited in line for the train. We got to ride the train (counter-clockwise this time), and had a lot of fun. After that, we finished off our staycation by eating at The Olive Garden. Sometimes it is hit or miss - this time it was good.

Kickoff to Soccer Season!

Soccer season has begun! Ava has been playing soccer for a few seasons now. Last season, Elise started to show an interest in playing so we decided to cross our fingers and let her try it so this post is about her inaugural game. So far she seems to have a lot of fun, although being only 3 1/2 has its disadvantages. Above Elise is kicking her very first goal kick. She'd never practiced one before but did pretty well (after a couple of tries).

Here is the mom/aunt/kid/baby blanket. Note Jake getting fed by Aunt Kelly so Mommy could photograph.

A few things about Elise at this age:
1. She is SUPER SPUNKY! She's sassy, aggressive, easily excited, FULL of energy, and a fighter...meaning she'll stick up for what she thinks is best. We played a game one time where Mommy was pretending to be the wolf, Ava and Daddy were the sheep, and Elise was supposed to be the shepherd. Instead of trying to get the sheep to follow her away from the wolf, she comes and tries to "fight" the wolf, aka Mommy, and she meant business. She was going to protect those sheep at all costs. She's also been known to try to throw a few punches at a Mommy or Daddy or any other kid who makes her sister Ava cry. We then have to have a sit down talk with her of course.

Well, on the soccer field. Her spunkiness was evident. You could hear me across the field yelling, "Elise, no pushing!", "Elise, no hitting...kicking...". She wasn't very happy with one of the kids in particular and I think she wanted to "fight" him a little. NO matter her size or her age, she's ready to duke it out. While this is all cute and funny for us to watch because we know she doesn't quite get it, the good parent side of us has let her know that is not OK.

2. She has tons of ENERGY and tries very hard. I swear, since the womb, Elise has been an energetic one. Elise being my second, I remember thinking, "Man, this kids moves a LOT!" She continues to be the most wiggly kid we've know and can bounce off the walls at any moment. As a result, she gets tired and it comes on all of the sudden...then the whines and cries start - but we try and understand and try to work with her.

On the field she got worn out pretty quickly but was determined to give it her best. I'm almost embarrassed to say but Elise didn't quite notice or care when the ref would blow the whistle. (I think she didn't quite understand). She saw it as her opportunity to get the ball and start kicking it around. I honestly think she didn't get it. One funny moment was when someone had scored a goal - she ran into the goal and gave the ball a good kick. The ref also knew her name already within 2 minutes of her playing.

3. Elise is EXCITABLE. Elise gets excited so easily and it shows. Last year in gymnastics she hopped up and down for half of the class with a big smile across her face because she loved it so much. Same with certain aspects of soccer. She just grins and grins when she does a good job.

Overall, Elise had fun, did some running, did go after the ball with some aggressiveness, although her shorter legs and size and her lack of experience, meant that the older kids got more touches. Ava had a good time too. She's started to go after the ball more and is one of the bigger kids this year. The point is that they have fun, get some exercise and fresh air and learn some athletic skills.

See Ava in the back? Go, Ava!!

Here she is - our new little soccer player with a huge grin! Stay tuned for a season recap later on.

I'm Back

I've been doing some thinking about how I spend my time and what is really important and what is not. I've decided that blogging IS important - at least for the family history - record keeping aspect of it. I LOVE looking back on past posts and seeing the pics and reading the stories, some of which I've already forgotten! I feel sad that I haven't kept up these last couple of years and I realize that I'm missing out on great opportunities to record the things our little family is doing so that we can look back and remember again. I don't think I'll ever regret spending time updating the family blog. I might regret not doing it though (already do).

SO...Here's my goal. From now until the end of 2010, I'm going to post 2 times a week (even if it's twice in one day).

I'd also like to pose a CHALLENGE to all of my blogging friends or readers of this blog. I CHALLENGE you to do the same. Post 2 NEW BLOG Entries EVERY WEEK left in 2010. I think you'll find that you will enjoy it and will be oh so happy you did it in the years to come.

Any takers?

It's BUMBO Time!

CLICK TO ENLARGE! (I posted this last pic of Ava because I think the first one of her in the bumbo is a little distorted for what she really looked like.)

I did this side by side of Ava and Elise after Elise was born and now I have to add our 3rd little one. So the first pic is of Ava, the 2nd of Elise and the last, of Jake.

So what I want to know is...WHO LOOKS LIKE WHO? I've got to get some baby pics of Chris and I up here too.