b'day party

saturday was a busy day with soccer & birthday parties. the day started off early with isaac's soccer game where he really came out of his shell! he scored 2 goals too. :) the team he played against was his friend carson's team. i brought isaac over to carson's house late in the afternoon for his birthday party. but prior to that party was lauryn's.
we celebrated lauryn's birthday a week early since dennis will be out of town & returning the evening of her real birthday. we decided to have the party at our house which was a big deal since i don't think we've had that many people (20+ adults & kids) in our place. we thought the halloween theme would be the easiest thing to do & have the kids wear their costumes. the kids all looked so cute! i had every intention of getting a picture of all of the kids together, but...well, you know how that goes sometimes. here are the pictures from her big day!

making a wish!


yum yum yum yum yum ~ delicioso!


showing off her goodies

trunk or treat

last night was our church's annual trunk or treat celebration. the evening was full of carnival games, cookie decorating, raffles, bake sale, face painting, & CANDY!
every year there are about 25 vehicles all decked out with halloween decor & are parked in the parking lot. the kids then get to go from car to car to "trunk or treat" and get their candy. it's a lot of fun!

bamm bamm & pebbles


isaac & his friend elijah enjoying their cookies


lauryn hoopin' it up

THANKS TO DOLLY GRANDMAfor making the costumes ~ she put in a lot of work to get them done & sent to us on time so the kids could wear them for the occasion last night. they are adorable!

bugged out!

more isaac-isms:


he calls this a COProach




he calls this a Mug

question for you: where is the coproach when you see a mug speeding down the highway?

bye kids!

here is an update on how potty training for lauryn is going. she's doing great!! it's been 10 days since the first time she tinkled in the potty chair. she has now gone up to 6 times a day. (HUGE smile on my face!) i don't have to fight with her to get her to go, just ask her & she's on board to try. most of the time she'd rather be on the big toilet with the blue's clues seat instead of using the potty chair. today, there is even more news to share because (drum roll please) ...
she dropped the kids off at the pool. :) :) :)

my friend al

this morning as i was bringing isaac to school, there was a car in front of me (not far from our house) w/ the license plate ALSBENZ. it made me think about how i always wanted a mercedes so the l.p. could read JNZBNZ....i'm still dreaming about that one. anyway, dropped off isaac & then had to drive to bring lunch to my wonderful husband. lauryn & i are almost home & are stopped at a red light. i realize that the car in front of me is ALSBENZ. isn't that weird??? it makes me wonder what goes on in the universe to cross paths with someone ~ again ~ that you don't even know. FREAK~Y!

girls just wanna have fun

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

shout to the lord

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

yippee-ki-yay lolo

lauryn looks rather cute here covered in chocolate pudding, wouldn't you agree? but looks can be deceiving...remember my post from yesterday "who's the boss"? in case you thought that was just an isolated incident, you're wrong. she gives me directives every day. today lauryn thought that she should be the one to clean herself up after this yummy mess was made. uh, yeah, right....like i don't think so! i didn't agree to abide by her rules so she threw one of her royal fits. but i forgive HRH because....

yes, you guessed it! today she used her royal throne fo' real yo!

da dum, da dum...get it yet???

here is isaac for his first game of soccer this season. the name of his team, as chosen by the kids, is the sharks. funny thing ~ the team we played had the same name!

let's just say the sharks won...

isaac was a bit tentative, not really going right after the ball. he had some really good kicks & stopped the other team a couple of times. this season is quite different from the previous 2 seasons. instead of 6 players from each team on the field, there are 8. also, each team has a goalie now. the games are also quite a bit longer. the "i guy" was tired out after the game!

way to go isaac!!!

who's the boss?

apparrently lauryn THINKS she is....well, she kinda is.....sometimes....

this morning isaac, lauryn, & i were in MY bathroom getting ready to brush our teeth. i pull the stool out of the closet for lolo to stand on so she can reach the sink. right away she's got her little boss pants on because she's pointing & telling me to place the stool in front of MY sink. no biggie, i usually put the stool at den's sink just 'cause it's closer, but i'm flexible (figuratively, not literally). once the kids are brushing, i get my toothbrush ready. as i am brushing & using MY sink at the same time as lauryn, she points to the other sink telling me to use that one. i continue to use MY sink & she continues to tell me to use the other one!

who's the boss? MOMMY

who's BOSSY? lolo

the world according to isaac

according to isaac, this is a...

saxaHORN

according to isaac, these are...

marshPILLOWS

according to isaac, these are...

PUPcakes

oh, to be so young & innocent again...

i love books!

today i got some alone time so i decided to wander around barnes & nobles for a few hours. i am now in 2 book clubs & was in search of one of the selections ~ the sunflower by richard paul evans. i searched it on amazon to see what it was about, but apparrently, i didn't pay attention to who the author was when i looked online. when i got to b & n i was completely surprised because the book that i found there was very different. the one for my book club by richard paul evans is about 2 people who find love unexpectedly after they've both experienced tragedies with their respective engagements. the sunflower book i found on amazon is by simon wiesenthal and is his memoir of time spent in a concentration camp & the ability to forgive. i am much more interested in the one that is not my book club pick. so now i have composed a wish list of books i'd like to read ~ but now being part of 2 book clubs, don't know when i'll get the chance to read them. :) you can click on the title of each of the books below to see what they are about. tell me if any of them interests you or if we have different tastes in books.
The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews
Dawn & Day by Elie Wiesel ~ these 2 books are the last 2 in a trilogy that begin with Night, which i already read
Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Roots by Alex Haley
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

the tortoise & the "hair"

this is tim's habitat in isaac's room. isaac adores him! the light is to remain on during the daylight hours & turned off at night. dennis gets him new food each morning ~ tortoise food, usually along with some fruit. he also cleans out his water dish because tim drags sand into every day. can you see tim coming out of his log?




thank you to all of lauryn's family members who contributed to her beautiful hair. the picture doesn't do her justice, seeing all of the different colors. as much as dennis & i would like to take credit for it, we know we had help from grandmas & grandpas, etc.
i'm thanking you now because, who knows ~ she may be cursing all of us later in life for it! i can't imagine that happening, but i hear teenagers can be difficult. :)

lauryn & kaylee

here are some pictures of lauryn with kaylee, the girl i've been babysitting 2 days a week for the last month. she's a sweetie, although she's still getting used to her surroundings here. kaylee is pretty much my shadow throughout the day, following me from room to room. lolo gets jealous sometimes, but they get along pretty well for the most part. the other day i took these photos of them.
i think you can tell by the pictures that kaylee is pretty quiet & reserved, and lauryn.....well, she isn't. :) but if the tables were turned i'm sure they'd be in the other's shoes.

1st day of preschool

today was back to preschool for isaac...he's been looking forward to for quite awhile. i must admit i've been eager for the start also! he was so excited about it last night that he was up until 10:30. school starts at 9:30, but at 7:30 he was worried we were going to be late. his teacher, mrs. zimet, gave him a big hug when she saw him. some of the kids had been there the previous year with isaac, but there were plenty of new faces, too. omg, he's growing too fast!