Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Happy Birthday Tori!

It is hard to believe that my second baby girl is FIVE! My-Oh-My time flies when you have kids!

Tori celebrated her birthday last weekend with her friends at The Little Gym. It was a great party. She had tons of fun playing with old and new friends.

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IMG_2199 Tori's sisters surprised her with her very own fish. Alli had been saying for the last couple of months that she wanted to get Tori a fish for her birthday. She picked out a beautiful red Beta for her sister. Katie wasn't let in on the process until right before we gave it to Tori. She is horrible at keeping a secret!

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We surprised Tori with an American Girl doll. She was so excited to get her very first AG doll!

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Victoria Grace- Happy Birthday My Sweet Girl!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A Morning Surprise

This morning we woke up to snow! I'm so glad we had time to get out in it before Alli had to be in school. And I'm so glad I held on to those snow boots!

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What a great way to start off our day!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Back to Blogging

After being in our new home now for about three weeks, I am finally feeling pretty settled! Every box in the house has been unpacked and closets are now getting organized. The garage will get unpacked this weekend and all will be done!

I have to admit, I LOVE being here! Pete says I am on a Texas high! It just feels really good to be here. Familiarity is comforting and makes me happy! The first week we were here, I think we ate Mexican food at least four times. And the girls have already had more than enough Chic-fil-A.

The girls are in full swing of things at school. Alli has her first field trip this week. And Tori and Katie have a preschool Thanksgiving show next week.

Halloween was a lot of fun. We met up with some neighbors and ran into a few 2nd grade girls that Alli had already met. She was in her happy place!

Last week we celebrated my 35th birthday.......now that just sounds weird! Thirty five!

 

IMG_1305 Alli's second first day of second grade. (And there is that Texas flag! I love it!)

IMG_1307 Tori and Katie (not wanting her picture taken) before school on School Spirit Day.

 

IMG_1310 My little Butterfly, Cheetah Girl, and Judy Jetson.

 

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IMG_1352 On my birthday with my girlies and

IMG_1364 my awesome husband!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Count Down

In just six days we will be making our way down to Texas for good. We will be leaving New Jersey, the place we have called home for the last two years. It has been a lot of fun for the whole family. We came here with the attitude of it being a big family adventure. And what a great adventure it was! We have experienced many things, things that we would not have done living in Texas. I look back on the past two years and am very thankful for our time here. I have always wanted to live in a state where I could experience seasons. I thought it would happen after college, before marriage or before kids, but it was so much better this way. I love that my girls will have memories of snow (maybe only through pictures for Katie). I love that we saw a bear walk through our front yard! (and I say love because we are all safe inside looking out the window!) I love that the girls have seen the trees turn from green to red, orange and yellow. And that they got to burry themselves in the leaves when they fell from the trees. And I love that we were able to drive to very cool places like New York City, West Point, Philadelphia and  Washington DC.

Though I love that we were able to enjoy all of these things, I never felt at home here. Things are just different....it is hard to explain. Maybe it is an unexplainable feeling. A feeling of home that your insides just yearn for. And for me, the yearning never went away. It is not one of those feelings that left me sad and unable to get from one day to the next. It's just there. Some days it is stronger than others. And some days I barely noticed it, if at all.

People like what they like and they like what they are use to. For example, I recently had a conversation with a woman who visited San Antonio for her sons boot camp graduation. She said she rented a car but gave up trying to drive around because the highways were so confusing. WHAT!?! YOU THINK TEXAS HIGHWAYS ARE CONFUSING? I couldn't believe it. Because I love Texas highways. They are so not confusing! And we have access roads! If you miss your exit, no biggie. Take the next one and turn around. Can you do that in Jersey? Never! Because there are no such things as access roads. Another example, a conversation with another mom. She says, "You mean you put eggs in a tortilla? And it is a what? A breakfast taco? Sounds interesting...." From the look on her face, it looked as if it sounded more disgusting than interesting. But what Texan doesn't love breakfast tacos? I guess I just like what I like because that is what I am use to.

Goodbyes are never easy. Especially when it is, most likely, forever. My hardest goodbyes will be to my closest friends here. They were my saving grace. God just happened to plant the three of us, all new to the area, in the same Bible study small group. They have blessed me tremendously. And have made my life in Jersey all the more better. I will also miss our church. That is probably the place that felt most like home. Even though, I must admit, I wasn't sure what kind of church we would find here. But God Bless Jersey! There are Christians here! (Just Kidding!)

Top 10 things I will miss (not including friends- that is a given!)

  1. Fall - it is the most beautiful time of the year here in Jersey. I was so anxious my first Fall here. I spent every morning studying the trees, watching and waiting for the change in colors.
  2. Our yard - we have a great big yard with these unbelievably tall trees, these huge rocks for the girls to climb, and the beautiful pond that Pete built. We have wild fruits and veggies that grow in our yard. We have bunnies and chipmunks every where. Dixie is going to be so bored in Texas. She will not have any little critters to torture chase!
  3. Proximity - I already mentioned this, but I love that we could drive to such cool places in just a small amount of time.
  4. Alli's school - I really like Alli's school. I love that it is so small. There are only 3 classes in each grade level. And she has had wonderful teachers. Her current teacher is throwing her a Goodbye Party! She is so sweet to do that!
  5. Gas pumpers - this has been very enjoyable! I haven't had to pump my own gas in over two years!
  6. Shoprite - this is my local grocery store. I wont miss the grocery store itself, but I will miss being able to shop from home for just $10 an order! I have been grocery shopping from the comfort of my home for about two years. I never had any problems with my order - it was the best!
  7. Our neighborhood - we live in a great little neighborhood. There are 17 homes in the hood and everyone knows everyone. Everyone knows everyone's kids and even their dogs. It has been great.
  8. No sales tax - I love not having to pay sales tax on clothes and shoes!
  9. Strombolis - I never had a stromboli until I moved to Jersey. I am glad I waited to indulge because I am sure it would not have been as good.
  10. Cool summer nights - need I say more? Who doesn't love a cool night after a nice hot day?

Monday, October 5, 2009

Happy October

The Pumpkin Patch

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Alli had her class bear, LDC, for the weekend

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Oktoberfest with our friends who live right next door.....for the next two weeks

A little German music

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Pete joins the band

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Face Painting

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Bouncy House for our little ones

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And Rock Climbing for our big girl

IMG_1117 Look at her all the way at the top!

IMG_1131 She is so proud- and so were we.

A little dancing with their friends

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Katie and her boyfriend

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We'll miss our neighbors!

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

First Day of School

The day has finally arrived! I think we were the last school in the country to start! Alli actually started last week on September 10th, but that still seems very late. Tori AND Katie started preschool today! For the first time as a mommy, I will have some time to myself three days a week. I'm not too excited about it because preschool, like kindergarten, is only two and a half hours long. I can not get too many things done in such a small amount of time. But I am very excited for the girls. They have been talking about going to school together for a few weeks now. All three girls seem to have very wonderful teachers.

IMG_0807 My big second grader.

IMG_0813 At the bus stop. Alli was sad when I told her that she will not be taking the bus when we move to Texas.

IMG_0835 Tori's second and last year of preschool. She is really growing up too fast!

IMG_0836 My baby! She was being a stinker this morning and would not smile for me.

IMG_0837 But I caught her with a little smile!

IMG_0840 Katie loves that Tori is at school with her. And what will I do when we move to Texas and they are in school for five hours! Now that sounds exciting!

In a few weeks, we will do this all over again. But that is a good thing! We will be moving back to Texas in just a few short weeks! We have a contract on the house and will close here on the 20th of October.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Playing With Our New Camera

For our 11th anniversary, (which is this Saturday!!) we decided to buy ourselves a better camera. We, and when I say we, I mean Pete, have been having fun playing around with it and are amazed at how great the pictures look. Alli had her first soccer practice tonight. I think Pete took about 450 pictures. I hope that I will actually take the time to learn how to use it....

Here are just a few of my favorites from the new camera.

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IMG_0491 Katie loves this little boy!

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I love how the action shots come out!

Monday, August 31, 2009

Weekend Away

We squeezed in a little vacation and headed down to DC this past weekend.  Pretty soon the girls will go back to school and Pete will be commuting between here and Dallas. So our family time is precious and we are trying to get in as much as we can.

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DSC_0349 Feeding the ducks in the reflecting pool

DSC_0361 The Washington Monument

DSC_0356 Alli and Carson in front of the Lincoln Memorial

DSC_0365 An amazing sight- it is such a neat place

DSC_0400 This is the World War II Memorial. It is beautiful.

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It was a great day! I was so proud of the girls because they did so much walking and so little complaining! I love DC. I think it is an amazing place. We hope to visit there again when the girls are a little older and can appreciate the history.

The night before going to see some sites, Pete and I went out with our great friends Pete and Jami. Our family time is precious, but so is our mommy and daddy time! We went to the Kenny Chesney concert and had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends. We will sure miss hanging out with them when we move....whenever that is!

DSC_0305 Tailgating before the concert

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DSC_0308 Pete grilling some great chicken....with his wrench.

DSC_0314  Jami and Tara

DSC_0313 The bean bag toss

DSC_0317 Pete and Jason

IMG_0531 The girls had a fun time with the babysitter!