Pics from Chelan

Leslie Lounging in the pool

Leslie catching the water dripping from her swim diaper

Lindsay playing with her shadow

Lance and Bobby on the tubes.

Look Ma, No Hands

A walk with Great Grandpa and Grammie and Auntie
Sno cones with daddy

Boat ride into town for BreakfastSad to say goodbye!

Week at Lake Chelan!

Anyone who knows us knows that Chelan is our absolutely favoritest place on earth. So you know that a whole week at Lake Chelan was a dream come true!! We spent the entire time either on the lake or at the pool with a few naps in between. SO MUCH FUN!! We will post the pictures as soon as I can find my camera cord.
This week we are getting ready for the big wedding and house/dog sitting for our friends Kim and Brian. (more on both later)

Happy Birthday America!! And Grammie, and Aunt Linda!!

Wow, today is a day for birthdays. And as (mom) Grammie says, "The fireworks are all for me!" And knowing my Grammie, I'll bet she was absolutely thrilled to have a baby on this day.

Fun in Washington

The girls have been havng fun In Washington. Here are a few pictures of our visit so far:two cute girls in their matchy matchy outfits!

A visit with the Greatest Aunts!

We celebrated Papa Jim's birthday with a little bowling. Lindsay had lots of fun. We had a lot of time to watch the ball go down the lane. :-)

Lindsay's Big Bat

Last Wednesday night we went over to some friends as we were celebrating Drew's fourth birthday. Drew is into baseball big time. He and his dad play in the yard all the time. While we were there, we decide to go out a play with all the kids, each taking turns at the plate. Knowing that Lindsay does not understand how to hit, we passed on her turn. After she watched some of the kids hit the ball, she worked up the courage to give it a shot. What you see in the video is her FIRST swing. You can tell it was her first swing by my amazement and by Kyle (Drew's dad) falling over after delivering the pitch. We had a ton of fun. Also, she does not slide into home. She happens to fall down at the right time with one leg out in front. And for Katie to get the whole thing on tape.....that was pretty cool too. We were pretty excited!



Sorry for not updating in while. It has been tough while in Washington and out of our normal routine. Stick with us as we will get back at it.

Our trip to visit alive and dead relatives.

It sounds boring but really, it turned out to be very interesting. I remember listening to my grandmother drone on and on about how we were related to this person or that person, blah blah blah. (With all do respect, Grammie) But I really shut out much of what she said, I was being polite and trying to show interest, even if i didn't feel interested. When Grammie died, my mom took up the cause and like her mother, often bored me with facts about distant relatives that meant very little to me. So I have to say that I was completely surprised that I truly enjoyed our trip to see dead people.
I guess now, I am going to have to stand up and say, "My name is Katie, and I am interested in geneology." There, I said it. As geeky as it sounds, I enjoyed researching our dead ancestors. Really, it is researching history, with a name and a face to it. My mother's family goes back to the Mayflower, so researching her family, means researching American history. I have always loved history, but I think this geneology stuff really makes history more interesting because you can place your family in a historical perspective. I really Geeked out! Anyway, here are some pictures from the last week, including my short visit with friends and family before I left for Ohio.

Lindsay and Leslie Scare Lily.

Mom, Jan and I at a gravestone, the guy that ook the picture wasn't really familiar with digital cameras, we were lucky to get this one. Milan, OH This guy lived next door to the Edison's when Thomas A. Edison was a young boy. Maybe he gave Edison the idea for the lightbulb??

Mom and I at a civil war veteren's gravestone in Athens, OH. We actually have a picture of this guy. He walked all the way to West Verginia to join up because Ohio was too slow to join the Union for him.

A visit extended.

The original plan was this: The girls and I fly to Washington, they stay with grandparents while I go to Ohio on a trip with my mom and her brother. When I got back to Washington, we were going to leave the next day for Texas and then be in Texas until June 25th when we were going to leave again for Washington, driving this time. But things chaged. Lance and I decided it would probably save us time and money if the girls and I just stayed here until after Brent's wedding. So now Lance will also be more fee to make bussiness stops along the way here.
So we are here in Washington. An unexpected but fun turn of events!

Katie's New Toy

Katie got a new toy tonight. She followed the directions really closely!

Week in Review

We've got some catching up to do. I know it's been a long time since our last post so we will try to make it up to you.
This week the weather has been much better. We started out with some loud storms but no more getting caught in them! We have a cute/funny picture of the girls in one of the thunder storms. They huddled together in Lindsay's bed.
As the weather improved, the pool opened and we have tried to get good use of it. The girls aren't too sure about the big pool but they love the kiddie pool!
Other pictures from this week, fun faces at the table and Leslie got her head stuck, and a picture of John, which I think is pretty good!
We had a pretty busy week but this weekend is even busier. Lance is watching the girls while mommy scrapbooks all weekend. We also have two open houses so pray for our house to sell!!

A gift from Lance and yucky storm.

So Lance is in Washington to start his new job. The first morning that he was gone (yesterday) we received a fun gift from him. It was a cookie bouquet. The girls were very excited, and we only have one full cookie left.
Last night the girls and I went to our usual Wednesday night church functions. The forecast wasn't good and I instinctively thought maybe we shouldn't go, but I went against that (plus I just wanted to get out of the house) and went to church. by the time we got to the parking lot is was raining pretty heavy but not windy. When it was time to leave you would have thought we were in a hurricane. The rain was completely horizontal and you couldn't get 2 steps out of the doors without being nearly soaked. After an attempt to get the car that left me completely soaked (I could have gotten in the shower with my clothes on and would not have been as wet as I was last night) I was standing in the lobby not knowing what to do when a friend's husband (who probably saw me running around the parking lot like a crazy person) took my keys from me and pulled our car up so we could load up. I wish that was the worst of it, but it wasn't. We drove home through the storm, later I found that it was probably the worst of the storm. I have never been driving in a storm like that. The streets were like rivers. I now understand how people get stuck in this kind of thing. You can't even see the high water because it all looks like high water. Anyway, I prayed our way home and was glad when we got home that the power was not out so we could pull right into the garage. I think that next time, I will have to trust my instincts and stay put!
I had typed all of the above before our outing today. I think I should report on our crazy day today as well. We went to a thankfully uneventful playgroup today and on our way home I decided to check out Old Navy, not to buy anything, just to look. Anyway, when we got back to the car I somehow hit the lock button on my key chain and then after putting Leslie in her car seat and grabbing keys I closed the door and went to the other side to put Lindsay in her seat. The door was locked and the keys in my hand were only house keys! So I tried all the other doors only to find that they, too, were locked. So without wasting a moment, I ran inside and called 911 and they came to get Leslie out. I was pretty proud of myself that aside from shaking, I kept pretty calm. Lindsay and I tried to entertain Leslie with peek a boo but she started to get a little miffed at us just before the EMS guys showed up. She was probably in there less than 15 minutes but she was pretty sweaty when we finally got to her. It was warm, but at least the sun was covered by overcast clouds at the time. Anyway, you can probably guess that I am really ready for Lance to be back!

I will add pictures of the cookie bouquet later, I am too tired to mess with it now, and I am headed to bed.

Today's Weather Pic's and Video

We survived, however watch the news tomorrow to see the damage in the Metroplex. Many many tornados reported and it will be interesting to see what damage was left.

10" of Rain in 5 hours!!!!

Lindsay enjoyed catching rain with her tongue.

I tried to snap some lightning, but it took more than fifty shots to get these "OK" ones!

Leslie's Poop

Today's Weather

We got nailed today. I think there might still be some to come. While watching the TV and the damage from around the metroplex. Lindsay asked if she could jump in the TV to go help rebuild a house she saw that had damage from a tornado. I guess if we ever get hit, we have one helper.

Last Chance for Relay for Life!

I am participating in the Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer society this weekend. It is your last chance to donate for this great cause!! I am really excited to be participating and hope to make it a tradition!! Thanks to everyone who has already donated!! Here is the link for for my donation page:

Apples!

A couple days ago, the girls decided to eat some apples. Katie was not home and apparently I was not being as good of a parent as I should of been. I think Sportscenter was on! :-) The movie explains it all.

Tornado Closet

Last weekend you might of seen the tornado that hit the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We we were not sure what type of weather we were going to get, so we prepared the closet just in case we had a close call. We did not, matter of fact we did not even get hail. Just some light rain. Thank you to everyone who called to see how we faired. The attached video is of the girls playing in the closet as we waited to see what would happen! :-) Sorry for the sideways camera. I shot it with the digital camera instead of the video recorder. I also did not know it was black and white until it was over. Anyway, it is still fun.

Hanging with the Lepps on Good Friday

Had a great time with the Lepp's in Durant, OK on Good Friday. Leslie is copying the cows with her "MOOOO" in the one movie. The other movie is of the girls playing in the back of the Lepp's rental car because of the wind and the cold. We actually had snow flurries and 25 degrees on Saturday. CRAZY!!!!

EASTER FUN

Easter Egg Hunting!!!
Thank you Auntie Heidi!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we had a Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood. Here are a few pictures of the girls. There are many new posts, so make sure you scroll down the computer screen!

Before & After

Lindsay was wearing a shirt that was too small. After Katie took this picture, she asked Lindsay to fix her shirt. The second picture is after Lindsay fixed the problem! :-)

PLANTING

We planted some white and purple plants to liven up the yard. White and Purple for University of Washington!!!!

Daddy's shirt sleeves

I had my first Church league basketball game on Tuesday night. I needed a shirt with no sleeves, so after cutting off the sleeves, I gave the sleeves to the girls.

Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes

Lindsay and I saw the Disney Princesses on ICE last Saturday! We went to the American Airlines Center in Dallas. This is the same arena where the Dallas Stars and the Dallas Mavericks play their games. LOTS OF FUN!!!

Easter Started Early

Today the girls got a package in the mail. Here are a few pictures.

Thank you Mom.

Leslie's Cage

Easter is almost Here!

Easter is almost here. For those of you interested, the following link is to our church's website.

First Baptist McKinney

AND

This next link is for a website set up for Easter Sunday at our church. This is NEAT! The gospel message in the video is AWESOME.

WHATS UP WITH HEAVEN?

Date Night?

Lance had planned a long awaited date night for us last night. Something that he planned about a month ago. So there was much anticipation for me the last week. Before the date, Lance had to go up to Shawnee, OK for a day of meetings and was going to be back just in time for us to go out. The girls were set up to go to our friends and neighbors the Maddock's. Lindsay was equally excited about that. Anyway, at about 5:30 Lance called and said he was stuck in the little town of Coleman, OK with an oil pump with no pressure. I researched and found that the nearest VW repair was near Dallas so he had it towed 100+ miles and got a ride from the tow truck to Melissa. Needless to say Date night didn't happen.
Normally, the story would end there and it wouldn't be much to blog about except we aren't done. Lindsay and Leslie were in bed and asleep by the time Lance got home. I went to sleep shortly after and slept good until about 12 am when I woke to him yelling and both girls crying. He had Leslie who had vomitted her entire dinner on him and Lindsay had been woken by the crying and yelling and was scared, we thought. Soon both girls were vomiting. So we cleaned them up and put them to bed, sat in the media room and 20 minutes later we were doing it all again. At one point we actually had both girls over the toilet taking turns. We decided to sleep in the guest room so we could have a quicker shot at the rooms. It became a guessing game as to who was pathetically calling for us because they both sounded the same and usually when one would start, the other would not be far behind. I can't count how many times we did that last night but the last time was at about 7:00 am and I am not totally convinced that it is over even 7 sets of pj's and 4 sets of sheets later. Lance and I decided we have NEVER had a night like that, not even with itty bitty babies waking up all night to feed. This takes the cake! The good thing in all of this is that I think we now have both girls trained in leaning over the toilet so as to attempt to save their pj's! :-)

A bonk on the head.

Leslie gave momma a little scare yesterday. She was standing on a chair in the kitchen and somehow (I didn't see the fall, just the landing) she managed to knock the chair over and she landed face down, noggin first on the hard tile floor. Normal bonks are not a concern usually, she has fallen on the tile before. But this time, the expected reaction did not come. She sucked in her breath for a big wale and it really ended up sounding a little more pathetic. Then the crying didn't stop, she wouldn't let us put her down, and she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep (nowhere near nap time) and her personality just disappeared. So, I walked her around and made sure she didn't go to sleep. I called the pediatrician just to get advice on what to look for. Before they could call back, she vomitted her breakfast. I know that is not a good thing after a bonk on the head so I called again and they told me to take her to the ER for a CAT scan. So after a little tears on my part I called Lance and had him come home. No sooner than we got Leslie in the car, she bagan to act more like herself again. She was playing peek a boo and giggling and smiling again. So we called and were able to get her in with a nurse at the ped instead of going to ER. We just kept watch over her through her nap and through the night. She is doing fine, other than a purple little knot on her head. After an hour ordeal, I am very glad that it was nothing serious. Whew!

Copy Cat

Lately Leslie will do anything Lindsay does. This can be funny but also a problem. Lindsay puts on a dress, Leslie needs to put on a dress. Whatever Lindsay has, Leslie must also have. Lindsay makes a funny sound with her mouth, Leslie tries her hardest. She so wants to be 3 1/2 like her sister we call her a 3 year old trapped in a 1 1/2 year old body. We all know that 3 year olds don't always do what they are supposed to do, so of course, Leslie follows Lindsay into this disobedience. We had our first group spanking yesterday. I came out of the bedroom and see Lindsay and Leslie each standing on a kitchen stool. They both know that is is a BIG NO NO. Leslie will stand and climb on anything anyway, so to see her big sister standing on the stool, she thought that was pretty cool. When I came around the corner, both girls squatted because they knew they were in trouble.
Monkey see, Monkey Do, Monkey Get in Trouble Too, has become our new motto in the house.

Lindsay's Puppet Show

Lindsay and I (lance) played with some puppets tonight! Lots of fun and I am sure more pics to come.

19 months

Well, another month has gone by. It seems like Lindsay was just this age! The other night I was putting PJ's on Leslie that I had just cleared out of Lindsay's drawer. Lindsay had worn them well past fitting but they fit Leslie perfectly right now. Leslie is already wearing 24month clothes.
This age is so much fun! Leslie is a little copycat. She will mimic nearly anything that you say or do. It is really funny when she gets to jabbering and her little head shakes. It's hard to explain through typing but she acts like she is having a completely understandable conversation with you. The other night she was particularly stern about something and kept going around to the three of us and talking with her head shaking and her finger pointing. What are we going to do when she starts really talking to us that way? I guess she is going to be a director. Watch out if you do something different than what she wants you to do, she will let you know by throwing herself back and throwing a perfect fit.
Another taste of her personality comes every time I put her in the van. If I don't strap her in right away, she will find her way up to the driver's seat and pretend like she is driving. When I move her to the appropriate seat, she won't have it. She is rarely satisfied with the car seat.
Leslie's vocabulary is growing daily. Mostly she will mimic sounds, but her favorite phrase is aw man! She finally says "peas" instead of just frantically signing for please. Mostly she uses a lot of pointing and nodding and other non-verbal communication.
This child never stops moving. As long as she is awake, she is in constant movement. It is a rare moment if I can get her to sit on my lap for some cuddle time, but when I do, it is a very cherished moment.
Lindsay, who is nearly 3 years, 7 months old is really our little girl now. She is very independent and I realized recently that I am able to rely on her a lot more for helping me with Leslie or taking care of things herself. She is quite the dramatic one though. She loves to put o shows. The other night, while Lance was watching them in the playroom she nearly sang the entire song "Part of Your World" from Little Mermaid while dancing on the stage. Currently, her favorite cartoon is Charlie and Lola (I have to admit, I love that one too). She loves it because the little girl Lola is just like her (so she says). I will catch her pretending she is Lola all the time. Which is a good thing because Lola is a good girl with a great imagination (OK I guess she is a lot like Lola).

The weather here is getting nice. If it was always like this, I guess everyone would want to live here. It is really quite perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. We get to go to the park a couple of times a week and even play in our yard. It is really nice to get out of the house. We have been busy with Bible Studies, small group, playgroup, me tutoring, Lance refereeing Upward Basketball. Too busy, sometimes, but life is good!

A visit from Grandparents.

Grandpa giving the girls a swing.




OK, so I know that it has been a really long time since our last post. But we have been busy! For the last 10 days, we have had guests in our home. Grammie and Papa Jim came to visit! It was lots of fun! Unfortunately, the weather was frigid the whole time they were here. And of course, today it hit 70.
So since the weather was not cooperating we tried to find some indoor activities. We visited the local malls and played in their play areas. We also went to an indoor play area one afternoon where Lindsay and Leslie had the entire place to themselves!! Much to their joy and a picture-taking Grammie's. We did get a chance to go to the park in our neighborhood two times while Grammie and Papa were here, but we were pretty bundled.
One of the highlights for the girls was a valentines present from Papa and Grammie in the form of a play kitchen. They are in heaven with that thing. Both girls love to make various concoctions. I can't tell you what they are because often Lindsay will use made up words to describe what she has made. Leslie will just pass out plates and say dee-doo (thankyou) as she hands them to you. Lelsie loves to serve water that she gets from the kitchen's sink. Lindsay discovered that she can combine her new kitchen with her stage and become Rachel Ray. She spent an evening while Lance and I went on a date (what's a date??) playing Rachel Ray while Papa Jim played cameraman. We will try to post some of the video, but Lance is going to have to do that because I don't know how.
Leslie also learned some new words while Grammie and Papa Jim were here. She learned how to say Pampa and she says Grammie but it sounds a little more like Bobby. The best thing though is that she loves to say "oh man!" The girls have been a bit spoiled with all of the personal attention this week. I am going to miss having someone there to watch the girls and play with them all the time. (Don't get me wrong, I love to do that too, but then my house would never be clean if I did that all the time!)
This weekend when the weather got a little better we went to Dallas to see Dealey plaza and then we did some shopping at Southlake (a fun little place you will have see if you visit us), we ended the day with a dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse (Mmmmm).
Anyway, we had a great visit and wished that we could get on the plane with them when they left. We miss them already! They left with a picture that Lindsay made them. It was Grammie and Papa walking on the plane. It was a very good picture and I know that Grammie and Papa will put it in a special place at home.

As a side note- we heard that our friend Rich Durost was going to be landing in Dallas today (on his way to Kuwait, then Iraq) too and then we found out that his plane was the plane that my parents were leaving on so we got passes to go to the gate and got to see Rich for a little bit of time. It was short but sweet.

Would you say that is pure joy on her face??












Lindsay on a calf at Southlake.












Leslie getting a ride at the playhouse.












Lindsay and Leslie finding other things to do with their bowls.