Iowa and Christmas party

We went to Iowa for Thanksgiving. The girls had a blast and the weather was actually nice. Strange for Iowa. On the way up, we stopped in KC to see my college roommate, Jenni. She just moved into a new beautiful home and had her 3rd girl. So I like to tease her that she's copying me, since we just moved this summer and also have 3 girls. Jeni and Brecklyn:

Me and Jenni with our 6 girls!

On the way from my parents' over to Russ' mom's house, we stopped to see my good friend, Dana at her parents' house. She lives in California now, so we hardly ever get a chance to see each other. I hadn't seen her little girl yet and she hadn't seen Rylan.

Chelsea, Becca, Caleb, Maddie and Rylan:

We had Christmas at my mom and dad's. The girls were so excited! I like it because it spreads it out a little instead of a ton of toys all at once. The best new toy is a big wooden Barbie house. Yes, we thought we were going to have to get a trailer to get everything home, but we made it. We only had to tie Maddie's headboard and footboard on top. Dad wanted to send home chairs too, but we thought we'd look a little too much like the Clampetts with those tied on top.

Russ and Rylan reading in Grandpa's reading chair:

The giant barbie house:

We also had Russ' work Christmas party. It was at a really nice hotel, so I got to get all dressed up. So fun. I borrowed a dress, had a friend fix my hair and off we went- with NO kids for a whole 7 hours!!! It was wonderful. In Russ' office are 14 people that also go to church with us. So it is really fun going to his office party, because I actually know quite a few people there. So much fun!

Me and Russ, all dressed up:

Me with my friend Tracy:

Me and my friend, Sherry:

Me and my friend, Pam:

Tracy, me and Pam:

My friend Heather and her baby bump:

Yes, they actually got Russ out on the dance floor. Everyone circled around when he walked through the middle and "danced".

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!