New playset

After months of promising we would buy the girls a swingset, we finally got one! Becca, especially, couldn't wait. She is our outdoor kid and it has been killing her that there is "nothing to do" outside. She woke up this morning and said, "I can't wait to get home from school so I can play outside on the swingset!"

I was a little worried when I saw how many pieces this thing had. And just in looking at the instructions, I felt like I needed to take a college level class to understand it. When Russ and John went to buy it, John looked at the display and said, "This should only take us 3-4 hours". Ha! It took 4 hours LAST Saturday and then about 5-6 hours this Saturday. The instructions even say 9-12 hours!


The girls were having fun playing the leaves while we worked.

But we had a rhythm. I told the boys that I was the brains of the operation and they were merely the muscle. In other words: I read the instructions, got all of the pieces out for that particular step and then they put it together. While they were putting it together, I got the next step ready for them. It made it go so much faster that way. We had a lot of fun doing this, and only had a "few" extra pieces. Why do they do that to you? It makes me feel like we forgot something! Russ was a little disappointed that they didn't have any major screw-ups to have a fun story to tell. Me on the other hand- so glad our story is only that it took us a long time and no one lost a finger.

extra pieces

The finished product.

Concert #2- AC/DC

AC/DC. What can I say? When Russ asked me if I wanted to go, I said no. After a little convincing, I decided to go with him. Boy am I glad I did. This concert was awesome! I had no idea I liked so many AC/DC songs. And no, AC/DC does not stand for after Christ, devil's child. They got their name from one of their younger sisters who looked at a sewing machine and saw ac/dc on it. They thought it fit because of the type of music they would be playing would have so much electricity and excitement in it.

We had great seats for this concert. I was just glad to have a seat this time. :)

Russ looking like a crazy rocker, me just looking crazy.

Me and my friend, Carla. We had so much fun with Terry and Carla. I'm glad we went together.

Mitzi, This mullet is for you:

Train tracks on a big screen with a train sound getting louder and louder.

This could only mean "Rock 'N Roll Train"!

Brian Johnson- lead singer.

"Back in Black"- love this song!

"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"

It was a little scary to watch these old dudes dance. I hope they didn't hurt themselves. Brian Johnson is 62!!!!

"Thunderstruck"- LOVE this song!!

"Hells Bells"

Terry and Carla rockin' it to "Shook Me All Night Long".

Mitzi- I took this one for you too- total '80's. Carla and I wondered if their jeans were pinch rolled. :)

"Whole Lotta Rosie"- yes she's a giant blow up doll on top of the locomotive. She tapped her foot to the beat and moved back and forth. It was a little creepy, but cool at the same time.

Angus Young is amazing guitar player, but he is also one freaky lookin' dude. He's like 56. Crazy!

"Highway to Hell"- this song is also not what most people think. It's about a teenage boy who is trying to sneak into his girlfriend's bedroom.

"For Those About to Rock"- we salute you!!

I loved it. I had a blast. I never would have thought that I would enjoy it that much, but I did. So glad Terry and Carla went, they made it even more fun. I am now a huge fan of these amazing old rockers. Way to go old guys- but please don't gyrate so much, I'm afraid you'll break a hip.

Fall Festival

Our church had a fall festival last night. The girls had so much fun. There were lots of cars in the parking lot that did "Trunk or Treat" and fun games inside for the girls to play and to get candy. Maddie loved the magic mirror because it told her she was "fancier" than Snow White. Becca loved the bounce house and Rylan, well she just wanted that scratchy skirt off and wanted to eat more candy.

Becca IN the bounce house, Rylan outside of it. She was too scared to go in with Becca, so I just held her right on the edge and let her jump.

As they stood next to Snow White and talking to the magic mirror (which was so awesome! Way to go Jamie and Susan!) Rylan kept sneaking candy out of Snow White's basket and putting it in her sack. It was crackin' me up.

We have called Rylan our little ladybug since she was born. She had a ladybug birthday and so it was only fitting that she was a ladybug for Halloween. I added the big poofy skirt on to her costume.

Mckenna and Rylan

Becca had originally wanted to be a ballerina. But one day at Wal-Mart, she saw the leopard mask and decided that is what she HAD to be. Add a leotard, skirt and tights and we have a little Leopard.

Maddie was the difficult one. But she has been every year. That girl comes up with some crazy ideas. This year, she decided to be Fancy Nancy. It's a series of children's books that Maddie loves. Nancy wears LOTS of different Fancy clothes, so we looked at all of them before deciding. She went with the dress that was on her birthday plates from this past spring (we actually didn't end up using them because Maddie chose to take 2 friends to see the Hannah Montana movie instead). So you be the judge. Pretty close huh?

It took a LOT of hairspray to get her hair to stick up like Fancy Nancy's.

Maddie and Jaylee


Maddie was pretty excited because she got 3rd place overall for best costume. She's placed 3 times now. She is a very creative kid. I have let her pick her costumes every year since she was 3 and she has done a great job. It will be fun to see what she comes up with next year!

U2 concert

Last night was one of THE coolest experiences I've ever had. Russ and I got to go to the U2 concert in the football stadium. We had gotten general admission tickets, so we would be on the field...standing. I was not looking forward to the standing part. In fact I kept questioning Russ on why we didn't get seats. But after Bono walked by us the first time, we were so stinkin' glad we didn't get seats! Being on the field (and getting there early enough to get a good spot) was AWESOME!!! Even with the rude people trying to push in front of us. I just pushed right back. And I was so happy when the weed smoking girl beside us got too high and had to sit down and then didn't feel well and left only 3 songs into the Black Eyed Peas. I couldn't take a whole concert of that.

I admit that U2 sang a few songs that I didn't know- from their new cd. But this concert was so impressive, I didn't care what they sang. I did get goose bumps when they sang "Amazing Grace". That was cool.

Black Eyed Peas opened for them. They were really good. I'm not a huge fan of them, but I really like a few of their songs (especially "I've got a Feeling"-I was sooo ready to do the flashmob dance) and they were an awesome band to open for U2. They really got the crowd excited.

This tour is called U2 360. Their stage spun around so the people that were "behind" the stage could have a front view too. There was an inner circle of people and then a track around them. There were two bridges that went from the stage to the track. We were on the outside of the track. It was amazing! So here are a "few" pictures. Since Russ is so tall, he was able to get above everyone else and take great pictures:

This is what they called their spaceship. See how there is an inner ring of people, then a circle around them? We were just on the outside of that circle directly across from the stage.

The monstrous stage.

We got there an hour early, so we sat for a while.

We were so excited to be at this concert!

Having a concert outdoors in a football stadium is so awesome!

That black ring is a huge screen.

Once it got dark, the Black Eyed Peas started.

That's Fergie.

I think Russ liked taking pictures of Fergie. :)

All 4 of the Black Eyed Peas.

You can't really tell, but the lighters are no longer. No people pull out their cell phones as lights to wave at a concert. It was neat.

The beginning of U2.

We were so excited!

Bono just came out on stage!!!

Edge walked right past us on the track quite a few times. It was so cool!!

Edge and Adam.

It rocked when they were just RIGHT THERE!!

There were two bridges that went from the main stage, over the inner circle people, out to the track. This is Edge and Bono each on their own bridge as the bridges are moving together.

I thought they were going to crash!!

Bono pulled a kid up on stage and sang to him. He even got to run around the track with Bono and in the end, Bono GAVE the kid his sunglasses. Can you imagine being that kid???

I was so excited when Bono (and the kid) stopped right next to us to sing. I made Russ take a picture of me with Bono in the background.

What a Rockstar!

Now this is a really cool picture. That is Bono on the huge screen and right under it you can see him on stage singing.

Edge and Larry.

Here they are again on the track, right next to us!!

The big screen was so awesome.

Bono playing his green guitar.

A red circular microphone came down for Bono to sing in. His jacket also had red lights that shot out from it. He even swung on the hanging mic.

Singing into the red mic.

The end of the concert was just awesome!

Everything lit up.

Bono walked the rail while holding the mic (which had now turned blue)

This was amazing. They are one of the world's greatest bands. I am now a true blue fan. I even bought a cute tshirt!

For those of you who may be interested, here is there set:

U2's Set List : Breathe, Get On Your Boots,, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Beautiful Day - with snippet of God Only Knows, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Stand By Me, Stuck In A Moment, No Line On The Horizon, Elevation, In a Little While, Unknown Caller, Until the End of the World (lyrics), The Unforgettable Fire, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix), Sunday Bloody Sunday, MLK, Walk On
Encore 1: One, Amazing Grace, Where the Streets Have No Name

Encore 2: Ultraviolet, With or Without You (lyrics), Moment of Surrender (lyrics)

Say What????

Yesterday I went to the local Office Max. I put Rylan in the seat and buckled her in, I helped Becca get into the basket and Maddie went around to stand on the front part. We do this just about every time we go to a store. Well, we weren't allowed to at this Office Max.

I had just started to push the cart when a huge, and I mean like as tall as Russ but maybe 75 pounds heavier, Office Max man stopped us. He was very intimidating- he looked like he used to play football. Here's the conversation:

Big scary guy: "Oh no no no".
Me: "Excuse me?"
Big scary guy: "She can't ride there." meaning Maddie
Me: "Why not?"
Big scary guy: "It's too dangerous."
Me: "What?"
Big scary guy: "She could fall and hit her head and we are liable for all of that."
Me: "Are you kidding me?"
Big scary guy: "No, she needs to get off the front of the cart."
Me: "Seriously? She rides on the front of carts in EVERY store we go to."
Big scary guy: "Well, she's not going to here."
Me: (I was actually pretty mad at this point, because how ridiculous is this? Plus, Maddie had a blister on the back of her heel that was hurting) "I have never heard of anything so crazy before. She would fall like 3 inches."
Big scary guy: "Well, she needs to get down."

So I made Maddie get off. There was a bunch more that I was thinking, and wanted to tell this obviously crazy man, but I just wanted to get in and buy my label maker tape and get out.

If she did fall, she would fall down maybe 3-4 inches! And I know there are sue-happy people out there. But why let kids get in the carts at all? What if Becca stood up and fell out? What if Rylan got her buckle undone and fell out? How nuts is this? And if Maddie did fall, it would be either my fault, or hers. I'm not going to blame Office Max and their carts for my child falling 3 inches!
Crazy.

First Day of School

Yes, I know it's been a week since the first day of school, but my computer and pictures do NOT get a long very well. Most of the time that I'm uploading pictures to the computer or to facebook, my computer completely shuts off on me. Right in the middle of something. I don't know what the deal is. In fact while typing this and uploading pictures, out of no where- off- TWICE! Russ has said we were going to get a new computer. Well, I'm ready!!

Anyway, enough complaining....

The girls are loving their schools. Becca is in PreK and Maddie is in 2nd. Since we moved, Maddie is at a new school. So far, she loves it and I am really impressed with it and her teacher. Becca's teacher is fabulous. She was also Maddie's PreK teacher and we love her to death.

On the first day of school, I asked Becca how it was. She said, "Ms. T didn't even notice my toenails." I told her that her teacher had a lot of toenails to look at on the first day. Then Becca says, "Oh well, at least I was the cutest one there." The girl does not lack in the self-confidence area, that's for sure.

Becca got in the car the other day and her teacher says, "Becca doesn't let me forget anything." I said, "Becca's a lot different than Maddie." And the look on her teacher's face said it all- 'yep, TOTALLY different- MUCH louder and more outgoing and isn't afraid to tell the teacher when she forgets something.' Gr-ea-t, can't wait for parent teacher conferences. (sarcasm implied)

I always take a picture in front of the entertainment center to see how much they've grown since last year.

All three girls in front of the house.

Maddie at her desk.

Becca on her reading couch.

Ready to learn! Or tell the teacher what to do. Whatever comes first.

Say cheese

Whenever I take pictures of the girls, I say, "say cheese". Rylan caught on to that and poses for me now. It cracks me up the way she throws her head back, squints her eyes and shows her teeth. Hi-lar-i-ous.

With Uncle Eric:

With Grandma:

With Aunt June:

With Daddy:

With Merma:



At her birthday party: