another tooth down....thanks to Gwen

Yesterday during "quite time" (which is the time they are supposed to be laying in bed looking at books quietly while i get a little break) I could hear a little commotion going on in the girls room.  This is pretty normal - "quiet time" is usually never quiet they usually sneek into each others beds and play - which is fine with me - as long as they stay in their room to insure I get my break. :)  

Anyways yesterdays commotion sounded a little different.  I could hear Addie's voice was muffled - so I went to investigate.  When I went in - my sweet Gwen ;) - was sitting on top of Addie's head.  I told her to get off and then Addie sat up and said " my tooth! she just pulled out my tooth!"  She was not upset about this at all - she had been wiggling that thing for weeks and I honestly was very glad to see it gone - grossed me out. So we all started laughing and then I ran and got the camera so I could video them a little.  The camera died before I got too much but it is still funny.  Notice the slight look of terror on Gwenny's face as she tells me what happened as she is still not totally sure of my reaction to her attacking Addie and causing her tooth to be ripped out of her face. :)

Also the picture of Addie is not my favorite - but it documents the occasion.  It's not the best picture of her plus she just looks too old. :(

Phair Play

MLK weekend we were invited to join our friends - the Phairs - to go camping.  They had reserved a yurt over on the coast and asked us to join in their fun.. It was pretty last minute but we decided to go.  I checked the weather and saw it was supposed to be nicer there then here which gave me more motivation to go.  Plus it was a yurt and not a tent. :)

It was just for one night but we managed to pack in a lot of fun in a short time.

We made s'mores, roasted hot dogs, made tin foil dinners, the kids went in the canoe on the lake with Sam and Joel while me, Lisa and Jackson walked the trail around the lake, we walked to the lighthouse which was close to the campground, went to the beach, the kids got soaked, and buried in the sand.  It was a great trip - the beach was perfect and the whole time was so fun. 

roasting marshmallows - the kids loved it!  Sam had a very hard time with this - he dropped 3 into the fire.
typical Sam-Joel behavior
gwen with the cool flashlight head gear
joel got a little carried away while burying the girls.. hmmm 
addie frolicking in the water :)

i put jackson up off the sand so he didn't eat tons of it
i just like the look lisa is giving me here -- ahh lisa :)

going fishing - but catching nothing

addie and jackson excited to be in the heated yurt
trying not to freeze while walking to the lake in the morning

lucky girl

this year I turned 29!!  yikes - only one little year till 30 OR as I told my aunt - it's may just be the first of many of my 29th birthdays ;)  

the morning of my birthday some friends from church invited me and the fam over and made us choc chip pancakes for breakfast - it was soooo nice and so good!

my family always has taken extra care of me on my birthday since it is so close to christmas - they don't want me to feel gipped. this year was no exception -  I felt very special and very loved.  grandma hanne and aunt jette were able to come and even my brother in law extended his trip so he could be here - thanks thomas! most of the family was there and our good friends joel and lisa joined in too. it was a great group. between christmas and my birthday i felt pretty spoiled with all my gifts.  no sam did not cut his hair (which was top on my list) but he made me the most bestest goodest (i know those are not words) cakes ever!!!  it took him 2 days to make me the ice cream cake i requested - "what baby wants - baby gets" ;)  anyways it was very sweet how much time and effort he put into it and it was a hit.  it was delicious!  thanks sam.  so needless to say - it was a good year for me

birthday girl with her little man jackson
this was the second attempt at blowing out my candles. my thunder had been stolen a minute before when i first went to blow them out and my niece blew them out 1 second before me
THE CAKE!!! mmmmmmmmmm

christmas with family

This year we were lucky enough to spend Christmas with my whole family plus we got a bonus of having Sam's sister Raeleen and her family (which is party of my family just as much as my blood) spend a few days with us over the break too.  My girls were in heaven - cousins every where.  I was in heaven too - nothing makes me happier than seeing our kids play with each other - they love each other so much.  All of them. It is fun to watch -- pretty loud and chaotic but fun. 

With all of the chaos I managed to not have my camera with me ever - so I am very limited on pictures.  

The babies!  Hard to believe but Jackson is NOT the oldest in this picture - the tiny little lady next to him is - crazy huh? 

Gwen with Faith sleeping after giggling and playing for a long time before they passed out
Addie and Devyn finally sleeping after a night of fun - so cute
Family picture after a dinner out with my whole side of the family - dinner was a gift from my  Grandpa Bill and Grandma Marva
The whole Halladay clan

the things I do for my niece.......

So my sister Misty asked us - her sisters and mom to participate in my niece Mercedes 4th birthday party.  It was a princess theme and she wanted each of us to dress up as Princesses.  Well we agreed but weren't really thinking about the lack of adult Princess costumes.  So Misty did her best to come up with some free "princess" dresses for us.  I told her we were gonna look like the "ghetto" disney princesses.  But the kids enjoyed us anyways.  I pulled out my wedding dress from 8 years ago and with the help of Sam and my brother in law Tim they were able to stuff - and I mean stuff my body into it and barely zip it up.  I am not kidding - my ribs hurt so bad, I could hardly breath all night and I could not bend at all.  Even after the party was over and they released me from my dress, my ribs were still sore for at least a half hour. 

Addie and Gwen were so excited to see me in my dress and wanted to dance around with me.  All the kids dressed up in their own princess dresses and it was a fun party.  Plus I got to get another use out of my wedding dress. :)

Me as Cinderella, Alicia as Belle, Jessica as Sleeping Beauty, Mom as Alice in Wonderland and Paul as the Mad Hatter ????

                                       Gwen was having her own kind of party ;)

                                          The birthday girl Mercedes with Addie

I thought it was Beauty and the Beast...... not Cinderella and the Beast...oh well... we'll live happily ever after!

waiting........

so I am sure you must keep checking my blog to see what amazing new things I have been up to - however you will have to keep checking back  because for some dumb reason blogger is not letting me upload any pictures right now.  So I will wait until it lets me - otherwise my blogs are very boring.  So things you'll have to look forward to: my niece Mercede's 4th birthday party, some Christmas, my birthday -- very exciting things - so make sure you check back..............