Broderick Family

All about ANDIE!

2012-02-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

I see many of my friends make fun lists of what their kids do. So - I decided I would journal about some of the things I see in my triple A's.

Andie - You are 5 years old, and so smart. You've already lost two teeth and just keep growing, despite my request to you to stop growing. You LOVE to learn. You are in Pre-k and top of your class. You love to read, spell, draw, sort, do patterns and recognize and question so many things. You love to play outside, ride your bike, sidewalk chalk and you're best friends with your sister, Ali. Your favorite colors are pink, red and blue. You love chicken nuggets and ask for them anytime I ask you what you want for dinner. You also love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You eat one every single day for lunch! I love it.

Some funny things that I love about you. You are very conscientious when we are driving and have been from a very young age. Once you learned it - you always watch the stop lights. You remind me often that green means go, yellow means slow down and red means stop! Your new favorite thing to do is ask me how fast I am driving. "Mom, are you going slow, medium or fast?" I usually say medium. Then you say, "Mom - the speed limit says 45, that's medium?" You are quick to inform me on any speed limit sign you see. Thanks for helping me me a good driver.

You also LOVE to help me cook in the kitchen. You are very anxious to watch whenever I am making anything and often ask if you can make your own sandwich. You especially love if we get the "cookie maker" out and love to make cookies.

Andie, you also love to do anything to do with media, but especially music. You have always had a keen ear for music. You love to sit at the piano and play through the recorded songs. You love to listen to and dance to songs on the ipod. You have all of the cd's memorized in the car and know which numbers are your favorite! "Mom - can I please listen to #5 now." or "Mom - please skip it to #11." I love how smart you learn things. The other day, you and Ali were watching Sound of Music and Ali wanted to see the puppet show. You said, "Ok, then we have to rewind it. Ali rewind means to go back and fast forward means to go forward and we need to go back!" You memorize things so quickly! You also love to play on the Wii (when Dad is home) and you love to play pbskids.org and starfall on the computer! We could also say that you love Netflix and your taste in cartoon switches every few months. You are currently on a "Shaun the Sheep" kick, but you also love leapfrog, dragon tails, super why and many others. You love to watch movies - and your favorite has always been CARS, but you also love RIO. You even love Mamma Mia, because "I love the music." I love that you love music so much!

Most of all Andie - I love that you are learning and striving to choose the right. You are great at saying your prayers, reading scriptures with the family (and you read the verse all by yourself!) and learning your articles of faith. You are working on #12 right now - but have memorized the first 11. That is amazing for a 5 year old. You are great at listening - especially with a little motivation. You love to help pick-up and you love to vacuum. You are also great at helping put the clean clothes away. You are a great big sister and a very good friend to Ali and Adalyn. You love primary and your teachers. We love you so much Andie!!

All about ALI

2012-02-06T16:28:00.001-05:00

Dear Ali,

Where do I begin? You are 3 years old and 10 months.....soon to be 4 in April and you are HILARIOUS!! You love your big sister Andie and desperately want to do anything she is doing. It's hard for you too - because you are the same size. A lot of people expect more from you - because you look older than you are - and you might get that a lot in your life. But, hang in there!

Ali, you are one of the funniest little girls that I know. You are such a great helper - and just love attention (and need attention!) You would rather help me load the dishwasher, fold the laundry, clean the bathroom or do just about anything else then play by yourself. You love to color. You got a new coloring book for Christmas and sometimes we color 2 or 3 hours a day! I actually think that coloring book is now full.

You are very sweet to those around you. If someone is feeling sad or crying (and you're not to blame for their sadness) then you will try to comfort them by giving them a toy or giving them a hug. If I ask you to do something, you simply say, "ok." The only time you get really sad is if you are tired....then it's a no win situation. :)

You just became a Sunbeam at church and LOVE it!! You love being in Primary and your teachers say that you are such a good example to the other children in the class. This makes me so happy! You are learning the articles of faith every night with Dad. Although you only ever say you know #1 - you repeat the others pretty darn well - you're just shy about it.

Ali - when you are around those you know, you are very loud, fun and a "scary animal". You give the best facial expressions of anyone I know. You are constantly in your own little world from being a scary dinosaur one minute to a little meek kitty cat. So many times during family scripture study you are humming some tune, just singing life along. You are good to repeat when it's your turn to read - but then you go back to your imagination! It's so fun to watch you!

You are so smart too!! You surprise me many times, with things that I didn't realize you were paying attention to. (only because you are humming your own tune!). In fact, a few weeks ago - you said, "Look mom, I spelled your name!" And sure enough - right there on your paper it said "Ali" and "Mom." Good Job. Which reminds me, one of the best things about you is your name. You always get the right letters and always write them in the right order, but not in the right order. For example: You will say aloud, "A....L.....I" But then, I look at your paper and it reads, "I L A" or "I A L" or "L A I" or "L I A". It's great. But many times you do get it in the right order...ALI!

Ali, did you know that a lot of things "make you do" a lot of things. Another example. I found you in the bathroom the other day. The floor and walls were all covered in water - the towel was completely soaked. I asked, "Ali, what happened?" with all seriousness and a straight face you say, "The water just made me play!" I love it! You are hilarious!

You are a wonderful big sister to Adalyn and also a wonderful little sister to Andie. I know it's hard being a middle child - and you often feel like you don't get enough attention. But we love you so much. I love your endless giggles - that come out with just about any gesture or look. I love your pretty smile and sense of fashion. You wear the greatest outfits and shoes! It's great. We love you so much Ali!!

All about ADALYN

2012-02-06T16:28:00.000-05:00

Dear Miss Adalyn - YOU, are SO FUNNY!!! I am loving this stage and struggle with this stage all at the same time. It's a good thing you're so cute - because some days.....you really know how to test the limit!

Where, oh where to begin with you! You are 20 months old....crazy to believe. You LOVE your sisters and think you are as big as them - therefore making life very fun and interesting. You love to repeat words and just about anything we say. "Hello, Cee Ya, Bye-bye, Wuove ew" You are very good at communicating. If we asked, "Do you want a drink of milk?" You quickly respond "YEAH!" or "NO!" Same thing with crackers, lunch, breakfast. You also have hollow legs - did you know that? You can out eat about any one of us. When we dish you up - you are ready for seconds before mom and dad even get to the table. Lately I even start you out with more and you still chow down. You are very good at asking, "more, more?" and saying, "Peas" and "Ssane Sue" (Thank you).

Besides eating, your next favorite activity is "wach movie?" The moment you wake up, you run into mom and dad's room and turn on the little TV. You love to take out the Videos and exchange them for another one. You'll watch anything. If you're downstairs - you are CONSTANTLY getting into the DVD's (which drives me crazy!) I will try and kindly ask you to stop touching and you just say, "wach movie?" I say, "You want to watch a movie?" You respond, so excitedly, "YEAH!" then you go grab some remote, sit on the couch and wait for something to pop up. Once it's on - you go put the random remote back and go back to the couch. After about 5 or 10 minutes, you get bored and start closing the doors on the TV. Other interested parties (aka Ali) get frustrated and the TV ends up being turned off. 10 minutes after that, you repeat the above said by saying every so sweetly, "Wach movie?" As if it's a brand new idea!

Miss Adalyn, you love your "baby, binky and blanky!" You are good and keep them in the crib for sleeping time - but you get so excited to see each of them - and ALL of them must be present before any sleep can be accomplished. You like to hold a second binky and rub it by your eye to fall asleep....so silly.

You love to sing and dance. You LOVE "Popcorn Popping", "Ring around the Rosie" and "Shake, Shake" If I could, you would love me to sing those non-stop all day long. You also love to play with the ABC toys and you love to play hide n' seek. You always come running to me and say, "hide, hide" You also love to tackle. If anyone is laying on the floor - you will run full force and jump on them or just fall on them. You love to climb on everything - get stools so you can see everything. You are all over!!

Adalyn, you are also so sweet. If you see a certain stuffed animal or toy that belongs to one of the girls, you take it too them and say, "here." They don't even ask for it, but are always grateful to you. You love to go to nursery and play with your friends! You love Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Tys! Anytime we are on the computer you say, "Granma!" I say, "You want to skype with Grandma" and you get excited, "YEAH!" Then you always point to grandpa picture too - "GRANDPA!" You love to play with our phones and always say, "Tys!" I say, "Do you want to call Tyson?" again, "YEAH!"

We love you so much little Adalyn. You are so much fun, even when you're crazy! We love your little smiles (including your crazy eye cheese!) You're just great!

Princess Planks

2012-01-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I was showing Shawn some of the different exercise positions I frequently do in class. Here, the girls are teaching their princesses how to do a plank. So funny. Good Job Girls! Rapunzel - good form, Cinderella, you need to get your rear end down and Snow White needs to not let her back sag.

Next was stretching. You can see Ali and her team fell over. Andie and her team are doing great! Such funny kids!

Luke 2

2012-01-10T12:16:00.000-05:00

I thought that I had lost this picture, then it showed up on my computer desk today. So, I thought I would scan it real fast to make sure it's always saved. Andie drew this picture on her 5th birthday. I think it's a great depiction of Luke 2. Good Job Andie!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! We are so blessed and are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, His birth, His life and His ministry. We're grateful for the knowledge of eternal families. We love all of our extended family members and wish you happiness this Holiday Season!

Love,
Shawn, Molly, Andie, Ali and Adalyn

Happy 5th Birthday Andie

2011-12-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe just 5 years ago - little Andie joined our family!! She is the best little helper and we love her so much. Here are some 5 fun facts about Andie. (at the bottom of this post is more fun facts.)

1) She has memorized 10 (almost 11) of the 13 Articles of Faith. They are the basic beliefs of our religion. You can click on the link to read the first 10 that she has memorized. She will probably have 11 down in the next day or two.

2) She is SO very smart! She loves to read (she is reading out loud what I am typing right now.) I was approached by her teacher after the first month of Pre-k to see if we wanted to move her into Kindergarten. I said no, but Andie is definitely in that range. She must have some sort of photographic memory, because if she is exposed to a word once, she remembers it instantly. It's very fun to see her love for learning.

3) She loves Lightening McQueen and anything Cars. But, as she says, "I do not like Cars 2, but I love Cars 2 things." referring to the movie. If you've seen it, the part where Lightening McQueen might get caught and die - she was hysterical for his life - almost ready to burst into tears!

4) She loves her sisters. She is such a good big sister and LOVES to play with Ali (most of the time.) I just asked her what her favorite thing to do was and she said, "Read books with Ali!"

5) She is mom's #1 fan, and I love it!! She is always cheering me on, tells me I'm the best and gives me the best hugs and kisses!! She definitely loves any time she gets with mom and dad and we love spending time with her! She's such a great helper and despite my request to her to "stop growing!" she loves to grow! I hear more often then not, "Mom, I am growing, and one day I will be 28, like you and be a MOM! Then you will be a GRANDMA!" Good thing she still thinks I'm 28!

It's amazing how they grow!

December 18, 2006

Age 1 - on her birthday with Uncle Tys, who was getting ready to go into the MTC.

Age 2 - So many of her pictures look exactly like Adalyn!

Age 3

Age 4

Age 5!!! Do you notice the change in the color of cake? Yes - this year, blue was requested - not pink! My little girl is growing up!

We had a wonderful day celebrating Andie's Birthday. Unfortunately for her, she didn't feel very well. We confirmed this morning, that she has an ear infection. She toughed through church, as it was the ward Choir Program (and mom is the choir director!) When we got home from church, she was tired and not feeling well - but wanted to open presents.

Thanks Grandma Nicholls for the fun hair styling set!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa T for the dress-up clothes for LISA!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Broderick for the much needed long sleeve shirts!

Meet Lisa and puppy!

Andie's pre-k program is part of a early reading grant program and each of the kids got this leapfrog toy! It's been Andie's favorite spelling all sorts of words!

Adalyn LOVES the baby! Good thing there's a few more shopping days until Christmas!

Ali loves the hair accessory kit!

Andie is queen of "I don't know!" I finally got out of her that she wanted a blue flower cake, but had no preference to flavor. So, we made a brownie cake and had "pink" drinks! (Raspberry Sherbet and Sprite)

She managed to keep some energy for the afternoon, but by 6:30 was ready for bed. We are continuing the birthday celebration today by visiting Chuck E. Cheese for family night. That was one other thing that she wanted to do!

We also took cupcakes into her class on Wednesday. Here is Dad enjoying one when we got home.

Andie and some of her class mates. The girl in the yellow shirt to the right is her little friend Amy. And the kid in the blue at the bottom is another friend Damon. She told me all the rest of everyone's name and seems to have fun with everyone.

Ali got to join in the birthday fun at school. I LOVE this picture of these two cute sisters!!

Andie we love you so much and still can't believe you are 5!! Happy Birthday!!

More Fun Facts:
Favorite Color - Blue
Favorite Toy - My new presents and Lisa, my doll
Favorite Fruit - Apple
Favorite TV Show (on Netflix) - Dragontales
Favorite Lunch - a sandwich (PB&J)
Favorite Game - playing the wii with Dad and pbskids.org
Favorite Snack - goldfish and letter crackers
Favorite Song - CARS!! (Life is a Highway!) and Christmas Bells are Ringing
Favorite Book - Cars!
Best Friend - MOM!
Favorite Cereal - Marshmellow Matey's
Favorite thing to do outside - play sidewalk chalk
Favorite Drink - "pink" drink
Favorite Holiday - Christmas
Favorite Breakfast - Waffles
Favorite Dinner - Chicken Nuggets
What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom!

Stats

2011-12-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

haha - this is the best picture I have of the girls together. This picture was taken last Thursday - when it was an awesome 75 degrees out and felt like springtime!

We went to the doctor this morning for a well check-up with Andie and Adalyn! I really wish I would have pulled out the camera for that, as all three girls were sitting up on the table, while the doctor was checking their heart, eyes and ears.

Here we go!
Andie - 5 years old
Height - 44 inches (75%)
Weight - 42.8 lbs. (50%)

Ali - 3 1/2 years old
Height - 44 inches (yes - the exact same) (off the charts)
Weight - 49.3 lbs. (off the charts)

Adalyn - 18 months old
Height - 35 inches (95%)
Weight - 27.2 lbs. (90%)

There you have it. Andie is evening out. Ali and Adalyn are still on the tall side of the scale. They are all growing consistently, which is the most important. So, even though Ali is just as big as Andie - she is consistent on the curve!

Washington DC

2011-11-26T10:58:00.000-05:00

Last week, Shawn and I were fortunate to have a little trip to our Nations Capitol. A HUGE thanks to our wonderful friends, the Palmer's for watching the girls! Although we missed them, we had a great time without them.

Warning: There are a few pictures with this post - but only about a tenth of what we took. I will put up a slide show next, for those interested. You will have to come to the blog though, to watch it.

FIRST STOP! Cafe Rio You read that right, there is a Cafe Rio in Virginia and happened to be right on the path of destination. It was fun to visit, especially as it was near the end of our 10 hour drive. Definitely not as good as those back home (I thought the tortillas were as thick as flatbread!) but it sure was great to have a feeling of "home" on our trip.

DAY 1 Get ready for a whirlwind of DC, packed into 4 days! We had a great first day, which ended with a visit to the Washington DC Temple. It really is a gorgeous as the pictures. It was so peaceful and we really enjoyed being able to go to the temple together. Usually, we have to switch off, because of the kids. We were very blessed in this trip! If we had done nothing else, but go to the temple, it would have been a wonderful experience. The temple is enormous - we were curious to know which temple was the largest in the world? I know L.A. is pretty big. Does anyone know?

Now, let's rewind to the beginning of the day. I had arranged for us to take a tour of the White House, which we did. However, you are not allowed to take anything, but a photo id. So, pictures to come later. It was interesting but really, it wasn't much. We are happy that we can say we've been inside the White House - that's cool.

Our next stop was the Capitol. Again, I had arranged for us to take a tour - but we had picked up the backpack with our wallets/phones/camera/food, etc. Of course, when we get there, no food or water was allowed inside - so we didn't take our tour. Oh well. The capitol building is so big - the picture doesn't even do it justice. It was definitely a very quiet morning as far as tourist - so it was fun to be on the grounds with nearly no one around.

We then stopped into the National Botanical Gardens. It was very pretty and warm! It was definitely cold this first day in DC. It was a quick little look around - but fun to see and "check off the list."

Next down the street was the National Museum of the American Indian. This also didn't take us too long to tour, mainly because we wanted to spend time in other Smithsonians that were of more interest to us. We did take a few pictures though. It was amazing to see all of the bead work they do, and how to make rugs, etc. It's definitely interested to think of how this culture lives. I was reflecting back on the knowledge of the Book of Mormon, of the Lamanites and Nephites and appreciated this museum because of that. Wondering how did they ever survive on this continent? I am definitely grateful for the day and age I live in. I don't know if I could have lived as a Native American. It is interesting their experience though, and I appreciate them for it.

Next stop was the Air and Space Museum. This was the one that Shawn was most excited for. I think he liked it, but wished there was more "space" than "air" inside the Smithsonian. It was really cool to see all of the aircraft, rockets, and equipment that has traveled into space, landed on the moon or mars, or collected star dust. There are many more pictures we took, but I'll save them for the slide show! Amazing for those who learned how to fly, who landed on the moon and do so much to explore and discover. This was definitely a fun place to visit and we spent a few good hours touring all around.

Last stop of Day 1 in DC was the National Archives. This was SO very cool, and of course, you couldn't take pictures. Does this building look familiar? If you have seen the movie, National Treasure, then it does. This is where they house the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, etc. It was very cool to see it all hand written, and the signatures of so many from history. It definitely gave me a sense of gratitude for our founding fathers, for this wonderful country that we live in and for the freedoms that we have. I was reminded of the story and mural in the St. George temple, when President Woodruff had vision of completing temple work for the founding fathers of our nation. It's neat to combine gospel knowledge with "state" knolwedge - to know those men are good men. It was really fun to visit the Archives. Thanks for Jenn (Ricky's wife) for mentioning it to us, because it was not on my list of places to see - I had looked over it.

The architecture in DC is really fun to look at - this is just a random picture of some of the old buildings. Shawn incidentally caught the "I love DC" truck - we thought it was appropriate! :)

This are my cousins, whom I haven't seen in 10 years or more. Ricky and Jonathon. It was fun to talk with them and catch-up with them. Ricky was kind enough to let us stay with him the first night, as we had a slight change in plans when we received our White House Tour. John was awesome and drove down with his cute little family from Delaware. He does work close to Ricky's house, but it was nice of him to bring the family. He's holding the newest addition, little Jordan (who is 10 weeks old.) Thanks again guys, for the fun time!

As was mentioned previous, we ended the day visiting the DC temple and visitor's center. Then we headed down to Alexandria, VA where we stayed the rest of our trip. It was fun to be at the temple visitors' center and brought back so many wonderful memories from serving my mission at the LA Temple visitors' center. We kept an eye out for Elder Young, but we never saw him.
DAY 2 - We were geared up and ready for another exciting day in DC. We got to sleep in a bit, which was wonderful. No kids to wake us up and demand breakfast! Again, the pictures loaded a little out of order, but that's ok. Here is a picture of the Washington Monument at night. It was closed because of the earthquake from back in the summer/fall. As our trip progressed it became the point of laughter, because we could take a picture of anything and have the Washington Monument in the background. So, we have ALL angles of this beauty! I did like it lite up at night though.

Here we are on the metro. There was track work on Saturday and Sunday, so we had to take a bus for part of the ride - on Monday, we were SO grateful the metro was up and running again. It was a quick way to get into town, and fun to learn to navigate.

Today we made only 2 stops. The National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History. Those two Smithonians took all day for us to tour, and by the end, we were very tired and had brain overload, but it was great nonetheless.

This American History had what you would expect, American History. We saw more information and artifacts on most of the wars that have happened in the United States. We saw part of the Berlin Wall, part of one of the buildings steal beams left over from 9/11. Artifacts and information about all of the US presidents as well as ball gowns (mostly inaugural ball dresses) from all of the first ladies. Pictured below is the hat that President Lincoln was wearing the night of his assassination. Along with an American flag that was displayed during the funeral procession.

Then, we found all sorts of fun artifacts. The ruby slippers from the original movie, "The Wizard of Oz", a dumbo car from Disney, records (you know, the big round black things that used to play music), Michael Jackson's hat, a mask of Simba from the Broadway play, Lion King. The original puppets from the Muppet's. A baseball signed by Lou Gehrig and a gymnastic leotard from Nastia Liukin who was in the Beijing Olympics. The Olympic Torch from the Olympic games in Los Angeles. These are the skates worn by Apollo Ohno in his victory race from the past Olympics (which I remember watching - very cool)

We saw historical musical instruments, carriages, pianos, and even a home from the slavery period. Below is a picture of "The Jefferson Bible." Thomas Jefferson created a bible titled, "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth" where he took and cut passages of two bibles and made his own. I thought that was really neat, seeing as he was an historical figure of our time, yet - saw and tried to understand the life and ministry of Christ.

Then we saw things such as coins, including a $100,000 dollar bill. We saw how electricity was discovered and the first light bulbs and the progression of science in that matter. We saw the Julia Child's kitchen (watch the movie Julie and Julia and you'll see it too) and then inventions of all sorts of things. Shawn even tried the interactive wind sailing experience. We saw a life preserver from the Titanic, and other artifacts. Then the history of transportation in the United States. From hand crafted raw-hide boats to trucks, trains, trolly's etc. This car is an automatic car and drives all by itself through video surveillance. It was fun to watch the movie of it and the races it's been in. Amazing what technology can do.

Then, we headed next door to the Museum of Natural History. This is where all the dinosaurs, fossils, lots of animals from sea to land. Here is Shawn with a triceratops.

We saw all sorts of taxidermy on just about any animal you could think of. I had to take a picture of this snake skeletons for my mom. She loves snakes. (hehe). We got to see cocoons and even a butterfly trying to make it's way out of one.

Then we saw mummies and bones. They displayed many bones broken in various places. Like a skull with a bullet shot, or cracked. They showed a knee replacement and hip replacement. I thought it was kind of fascinating, but Shawn was grossed out by it all.

Then we got on to see diamonds, gems, pearls, crystals and every type of rock or jewel you could think of. Here is the Hope Diamond, displayed in a Harry Winston wreath for the Holidays.

After all of that, we then saw more historical artifacts. My favorite was the capsule that they used just last year, to rescue the trapped miners in Chile. It was very humbling to see all that, as I still remember vividly being stuck on the computer watching and waiting like so many others as they lowed the capsule and brought each miner to the surface. I'm still amazed that they all survived. Who would have ever thought I would see that capsule up close and personal?

An interesting thing to note, that maybe helped me become a little more sensitive to all of the history of our nation. On the displays and artifacts of events that have happened in my life time, things that I remember vividly like 9/11 and the Chilean mine rescue. There was definitely a mood/emotional change when I saw those things, a silence and reverence so to speak around them. It had me thinking, I didn't experience the many wars this country was in, but I am sure those who did have that same sort of reverence in regards to this history. I am full of gratitude for all that has happened and hope that I can always so genuine concern for tragedy that has hit, even if I didn't personally experience it. It was very cool to see all that we were able to see that day!
DAY 3 - We started the day off at 8am church. It was nice to take a break from everything and go to church. We came home and took a nap and then headed out that afternoon to meet up with our dear close friends Blake, Saleela and Sufyana! Blake is/was Shawn's best friend growing up. I meet Saleela in person last year when they came to Atlanta for a quick trip. Since, they have had a beautiful little girls, Sufyana (6mo.) and it was so great to spend the afternoon with them.

Blake, Shawn and Sufyana. She was the cutest little thing. At one point I had her laughing so much - it was so fun. We didn't take many pictures, as we get lost in conversation when we are with Blake and Saleela. It was funny, as if we had to remind ourselves we were at the zoo. "Oh yeah, look at the Elephant guys!" haha - we had a good time together.

Thanks again, Blake, Saleela and Sufyana, for spending the day with us. We can't wait to see you guys again! After the zoo, we headed back to the hotel and just relaxed that night. We had to gear up for our last day in DC, which we knew was going to be a long one. The hotel we stayed at was awesome. They provided a wonderful breakfast each morning. We would grab a muffin and banana for lunch, then on M-TH they provide dinner. So, we took them up on all the free food we could, Monday night they had lasagna. It was so delicious after our long day - and nice that we didn't have to buy food. In fact, besides Cafe Rio, we only had to eat out one other time. It was great. (one of the reasons we were able to go to DC was because everything was free to visit. I was able to get our hotel for $50/night on Priceline. So, we basically paid for the hotel, gas and a few souvenirs! Very affordable, even for students like us!)
DAY 4 - OUR FINAL DAY I will start out by saying, we walking just under 8 miles total today. That is just from site to site. It does not include walking around the sites and museums. Needless to say - we were exhausted by the end of the day, but it was all well worth it.

We started the day out at Arlington Cemetery. We stopped by the JFK memorial with the eternal flame and the tomb of the unknown solider.

We missed the changing of the guard by about 7 minutes, but were able to witness the changing of the wreath. A school was there, and presented this Christmas wreath. It was neat to see, there were 4 students, who got to "march with the soldiers" which I am sure will be memorable for the rest of their lives. This brought me back to my high school trip, when I visited DC with the A'capella choir. I was mentioning to Shawn, I remember bits and pieces of DC, remember seeing most of what we saw, but I don't really remember this history behind it all. This time in DC it was fun to see it all again and have a little more understanding to it all. (hence the lengthy detail about the trip.)

We also saw a 6 horse carriage carrying the casket of someone who was being buried that day in the cemetery. It was sad to see. An American flag covered the casket, someone had lost their life, perhaps overseas. We don't really know.

After what I am sure was a mile or two walk around the cemetery, we start off on our 8 mile adventure. Here we are, crossing the Potomac river to head over to the Lincoln Memorial.

This was our first stop, the Lincoln Memorial. It is very big. The Gettysburg address is carved into the stone of either side of him (not shown). That was cool. It was very fun to see this.

Then we headed over to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial (via the Korean War Memorial). The MLK Jr. memorial just opened a month or two ago. So, we were some of the first to see it. It's amazing the detail that someone can chisel out of stone.

Then we walked around title basin, to the FDR Memorial. Here Shawn is standing with him.

We continued our walk over to the Jefferson Memorial. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for this walk. It was overcast, low 60's. It would have been miserable any warmer and/or wetter. It was forecast to rain, but didn't really start drizzling until 4pm or so.

Then we headed over to the Holocaust museum. We just went through a small section "for kids", but it was enough to give us the heavy feeling of tragedy that happened during that event. Next, we headed over the the Bureau of Engraving and Printing - where they make money. This was so fun to tour. They had a stack, in $10 notes of one million dollars! Crazy! They print money 24 hours a day, every single day of the year, except Christmas (I believe.) It is crazy how much money is printed. This was definitely a highlight of the trip. (remember, more pictures will be in the slide show to come.) One of my favorite signs on the tour was "Tomorrow Only - Free Samples!" haha, tomorrow will never come!

After that, we wanted to head over to the White house and get a picture in front of it, since we couldn't take our camera with us on the first day. Oh wait....FINALLY, we are directly in front of the Washington Monument - rather than taking a picture of all angles and lengths away.

And, here is the white house. We stopped in between the two and picked up our souvenirs. We got the older girls a t-shirt, Shawn got a cool________ I don't even know how to describe it. Maybe best said as a paper weight, showing many of the sights. And, I of course got a spoon.

After the White House, we headed over to Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot. That was a neat presentation with the history of the story. Then, over to the house where he died.

We ended the day with the National Gallery of Art - where we saw so much. We only had about an hour to tour around and get completely lost! This place was huge! We saw a few Rembrandts along with many, many more. I really like this picture, of course, the camera does do it any justice.

And Shawn got a picture with George Washington.

It was a perfect day to end such a wonderful trip. We actually went back to the hotel and went to a movie (the newest of the Twilight saga). It was nice to sit and relax after so much walking.

We're so grateful for this trip and again for our friends for watching the girls. We had a wonderful time and it was fun to see everything. Who knows if we'll be this close to DC again, or how long it will take for us to come back. Hopefully, it was a great trip for Shawn to completely forget about school, and come back and have the energy to finish and push through this last year of school.

We were able to stop on the way back and have lunch with another cousin, Ryan Pratt, and his cute little family. Thanks Ryan and Jessica, for taking the time to have lunch with us. They took us to this yummy little BBQ place! If you go visit Ryan, definitely go there to eat.

It was great to see the girls again. Adalyn was SO excited and had the biggest smile on her face when we walked through the doors. It has been nice to just be able to relax, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and time to spend with the family, before we're back into the normal schedule again on Monday. They girls have been having so much fun playing with each other. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! Life is great!!

Picture Day

2011-11-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Andie had school picture day back at the first of October. We took pictures before school and they turned out just as cute as the ones from school - we just don't have to pay $40 to print them. :)

What a cute little 4 year old!

Neighborhood Fun

2011-11-05T13:38:00.001-04:00

Since we moved in, we've had a few more families join us! The girls love playing with all of the kids. Here is the line up of some of them, by age. Poor William, he's the only boy (besides Adalyn's little friend!)

We LOVE to play sidewalk chalk and go through it quiet quickly! Here are some fun pictures!

Kyle was their babysitter one night.

Adalyn running away with the chalk bucket.

Adalyn eating the chalk (we're working on that one!)

It sure is fun having friends to play with!!

Fun from Russia!

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

(again) Back in September, we got an awesome package in the mail.

We'll our day started out like this. The girls and I were having fun with the self-timer on the camera. I would set it on the table and then run over and jump in the picture behind them. I thought some of them turned out pretty cute!! (I really should so the bloopers!)

My three princesses! I love Adayln's pig tails!

This one was successful in getting BOTH legs behind the girls, without knocking anyone over!

Later that day, Shawn came home from school with a fun package in the mail. My youngest brother was fortunate enough to visit my parents in Russia and they sent back some prizes for us! Here we are with some chocolate. We didn't really care for it - the "milk" chocolate was weird and the "dark" chocolate tasted like our milk chocolate. Then we concluded that they must make their chocolate with Vodka! There was something in it. ;) (Note to Mom: Do you guys really eat the chocolate from the box with the humming bird? I think Tyson called it birds milk....it was nasty!")

Shawn got an awesome green tie! Thanks! He's even worn it to church a few times.

The girls with their Russian Strawberry Shortcake coloring books. Grandma also sent them a watercolor book, you know, the kind where you just use water and a brush?! They don't make those here anymore. I wish they did - they are perfect, even Adalyn enjoyed coloring all the pages in that book!

Goofy Face.....It's a little blurry, but glad we caught it. She's practicing her Grandpa Nicholls face! :)

The ultimate prize was these little puppies. They were a zipper purse (supposedly used for pencils!) The girls LOVED them. Adalyn was the first to get hers, and she got the pink one. I'm glad we caught her expression on camera! Priceless!

All the girls with their puppies - who spent several weeks sleeping, eating and driving EVERYWHERE we went!

Finally, I think this was a soccer type jersey sent for Shawn - but I took it instead. How do I look? It's comfy - I enjoy wearing around, although I do get questioned a lot. But, I'm always proud to tell people my parents live in Russia. Then I really get the questions and looks. It's a great missionary tool when you then get to explain WHY they live in Russia!

Thanks Mom and Dad for your service and dedication. Even thousands of miles away, you're still thinking of us and making us feel special! We love you!!

Funny with Sonny

2011-11-03T08:06:00.001-04:00

Ok - these pictures are back from September 19, 2011. Yes - I warned you I had some catching up to do! These are just some funny random pictures.

Adalyn enjoying an apple.

Ali posing funny faces for the camera. (she does this often. I need to post a page just about Ali!)

Baby not too sure.....I love her little glare.

We were invited to dinner with some friends and got their early, so we headed to Toys R Us for a few minutes and let the kids play. It was fun to see what they were interested in.

Adalyn LOVED this little car. Good thing we have something like it at home - and she plays with it (when there are batteries!)

On to Sonny's BBQ. The first time we ate here, I think I tried too many "new" / southern foods - it did not sit well. This time, I stuck with only 1 BBQ sauce and not too many crazy sides. It was good. If you ever come visit us and you want southern BBQ, we'll take you here!

All the kids!

Thanks Hess' for the invite!

It is always fun to go to dinner - especially when the kids out number the parents (which happens more and more!) We had a good time together.

Trunk or Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T13:41:00.000-04:00

I've never quiet understood why our church does a trunk or treat. I always thought it was to replace the running door to door - making it safer for the kids. It should be on Halloween, right? But no, we have to dress up twice and prolong the inevitable sugar high all weekend long.

Ali, not sure what to think of the whole thing....hmmm

Let me introduce you to our cute little lady bug! She did NOT like her costume, unless she was outside. It was the funniest thing. The minute she was outside, she didn't pull at the hat or make a fuss. But inside - she hated it. I think that just proves the already well known fact - Adalyn LOVES going outside....(even if she has to dress like a lady bug to do it!)

Let me also introduce you to Rapunzel (aka "Tangled") and our witch! The girls chose their costumes this year. I was a little nervous, knowing there wasn't much room in the budget. So, I went the last week of September to a local thrift store and found these sweet costumes. Ali's cost $1 and Andie's was $2.99. SCORE!! Ali's had quiet a few holes and was all tattered and torn on the bottom - but nothing a sewing machine and surger couldn't fix. It looked great!

Rupunzel after Flynn Ryder has cut her hair, when it's short and brown! :)

Our cute little witch!

Little lady bug, running all around.

waiting patiently to get a donut....which of course she loved.

The high-priest were in charge of the trunk-or-treat. Yeah, you get what you should expect with men in charge. I can say that, only because Shawn was one of them, and he did great. The high priest group leader didn't want to open the church, because he didn't want to clean up. So, we were all stuck in the pavillion, FREEZING cold, with a light rain.

Shawn did his best to provide games, but you can only do so much with a 5 day advance warning. Shawn was dressed as "Shaggy" from Scooby Doo and was playing a math trick with all the kids. There was also a duck pond, a bean bag toss and a cake walk (that no one ended up doing.) Oh well - it was cold and we all just wanted to go home!

Bean bag toss.

Of course - they did buy 10 dozen Krispy Kream donuts...which were gone in a jiffy!

Andie decorated her face with all the stickers on the ride home....what a goof.

We did take the girls trick or treating last night (on Halloween.) They were all so cute. There were SOOOOOOOO many kids out and who knew that parents dressed up too? Anyway, we did 1/2 of a street in one neighborhood and called it good. The kids got tons of candy and were so excited.

Cute little parade of cute little girls. Adalyn many times just got a piece of candy and just left her bag on the porch and walked away. It was fun to see how fast she caught on to the idea - she loved it. By the end, she was holding her bag wide open, walking straight up to the doors. :)

We had a great Halloween (again? as Ali's asked!) Hope you did too!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-01T13:21:00.001-04:00

Finally! I've taken time to sit and upload pictures to the computer. Prepare youself for hopefully a lot of updates. We'll start off first with PUMKIN CARVING!

Ok, not really. I had to sneak this picture in. I saw craft caramels at the store and decided we wanted to make caramel brownies for a treat. :) The girls and I had a great time - they were in charge of unwrapping all the caramels (and they loved it!). The brownies turned out more cake-like - but were still good. We'll have to try them again sometime. It's always fun to cook with the kids though!

On to the pumpkin. This is our pumpkin (Ali picked him out!) This is the first time we've ever carved a pumpkin! I was a little excited, but also no looking forward to it, knowing I would be the one doing most of the work. GROSS!! However, it was the funnest thing we've done in a while - a great family night too!

Each of the girls (and Shawn) got to pick out a shape and design the pumpkin. Isn't he cute? I thought we should stop there!

But alas, we continued on. We're all lined up, ready to see what the inside of a pumpkin looks like!

Helping scrape out the seeds (smelly and slimy.....yuck!)

Andie's turn.

Adalyn LOVED it - she would have done the whole thing. She thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Mom concentrating on getting it nice and clean. I tossed the spoon and just started digging with my hand. Totally gross, but much more productive!

I laughed each time I pulled some "guts" out. The girls would cover their faces completely grossed out. I love having girls!

Adalyn's turn to help saw out one of the eyes.

Now it's Ali's turn. Andie helped out too, but we didn't get a picture.

Dad's turn. The girls had to almost beg him to help. He was content being the camera man! I love Adalyn's intense look - she was so into this!

20 minutes later - there is our pumpkin! Lightening bolt eye brows, triangle and circle eyes - you get the rest!

Here he is all lit up! Best part of the whole evening! The girls thought it was SO COOL!!

Here's my proud little family with our little pumpkin. (Don't you love Andie's bib?" She was being funny."

Happy Halloween!

A little southern culture

2011-10-10T10:39:00.000-04:00

We had an extraordinary weekend and I thought it would be fun to share. On Friday night, Shawn and I went to a new restaurant called GRAZE burgers. We have this fun coupon book, so we can always try new places. The menu was interesting. We were in for a treat.

We decided to try everything new - well, we didn't have much choice. So, we ordered this burger and the burger below.

We also tried sweet potato fries. Neither of us had had those before, and to be honest, we didn't really like them. We realized we had never had a plain sweet potato, it had always been doused with brown sugar and marshmallows. So, it was a new flavor and texture.

Not too bad right. Until.....I tell you what those burgers were made of!! :)

The first one was Gator....Yes, Alligator!! The burger was called Gator Hater. I actually really liked it and Shawn thought it had a funny taste.

The second one was Bison! This was our "safe" choice, and it was just fine. I thought it would have been better with BBQ Sauce.

It was definitely a fun date night - one for the remembrance book!

On Saturday night we were invited to a fiends house for a fall festival. The kids had a lot of fun - and everything was so cutely decorated. They had soups, salads, desserts of ALL variety!! They also had homemade root beer and hot apple cider. It definitely help ring in the fall weather. However, the highlight of the night - too keep in theme with the weekend (well, at least our weekend) was the Opossum Stew!

Yep - you read that right! We also tried this little guy in stew.

I had to get a cute little picture - so it's not as bad to think about. If think about it like my friend LeAnn, "We're eating a part of the skunk family, who hangs from a tree" it's kind of gross - but just look at that cute little guy - he's not gross. It tasted a little like dark meat turkey, just a little more greasy!

So there you have it. All you who live out west - come down south and we'll show you a good time! (or an upset stomach) We feel great and can now say we've eaten even more exotic things. :) Happy Fall!

Havin' Fun

2011-09-20T19:36:00.000-04:00

I really don't know where the time has gone. I promised myself, I would blog about these pictures, before I downloaded the camera again. Let's just say, we've been having fun!

Adalyn has become QUEEN of the TV. She is hilarious, as you can tell she's trying her hardest to be just like the other girls. She is constantly going up to the tv, or bringing us "her" dvd to watch. Let's just say, she loves Baby Newton & Baby Neptune. It's fun to watch her.

Don't you love the jump rope? Anything to try to keep her out of the movies. She is also queen of the rocking chair. If you attempt to sit on it, and she is wanting to sit on it - she'll let you know!!

Mom has been having fun with pink sponge curlers. They girls look so cute! But, they never want me to put their hair in curlers. I remember thinking that many times as a little girl. "I don't want the curlers!" But now I COMPLETELY understand why my mom always put them in my hair. A) SUPER EASY hair style the next morning. B) SUPER CUTE too!! Sorry mom for complaining so much!!

Isn't she so cute - all ready for school, with 2 minutes spent on the hair in the morning!! I love it!

Can't seem to rotate this picture. I took it one Sunday afternoon, the girls were playing "school". Andie of course was the teacher and Ali was the student.

Girls being girls.

Notice Adalyn in the picture above? Comfortably drinking her cup of milk! If she's not dominating the green chair, then she is dominating the table! Too Funny. So, in an attempt to help her, we pulled out the pink cooshie!! Such a big girl!!

Ali's turn for pink curlers! I actually love her little pose in this picture. After 3 years, Ali is finally smiling for the camera!!

Ready with her hair all curly. She definitely moves a lot more during the nights, so not as many tight curls in the front - but still adorable!!

Labor day we had a get together at one of the neighbor's house. Here is Adalyn and "Baby Clark!" I watch Clark 3 days a week and the girls just LOVE him. Adalyn, once again, trying to be like the big sisters, wanting to hold baby Clark!

Who got a hair cut? And lot's of it?

Here's the back of it!! Nice and short!

It's ALI!!!!!!!!!! Look in some of the above pictures for the before picture. She looks so cute. What do we BOTH love most about this hair cut? 3 quick brushes and she's ready for the day. No more trying to tackle and detangle. Yea for short hair. Bonus - I cut it myself!!

We're keeping busy around here - and enjoying every minute of it!!

Soakin' It Up

2011-08-19T08:21:00.000-04:00

I wish this was a post about getting out and soakin' up some sun!! It's too hot to do that. We actually woke up to rain this morning, which is a nice change. Should cool down the day....hopefully!

No, I am referring to things learned by Andie. I wanted to record them, to remember them, because they are so funny! So, here are a few favorites.

What I wished I'd learn in PreK
"Mom. An author writes the words and an illustrator writes the pictures!" (Mom sitting with mouth wide open) "Yes Andie, that is right!"

"Mom, a compliment is when you say something nice to someone." LOVE THIS ONE!!!

Andie: "Mom. What's a jewel?"
Me: "It's like the diamond in my ring, or a ruby, or a sapphire." (I obviously don't know how to explain it.)
Andie: "It's like something that is shiny on your necklace or bracelet or ring?"
Me: "Yes. Did you learn about that today in school?"
Andie: "No, my body just told me to ask it."
Me: "Your body?"
Andie: "YES! My body just knows things. I didn't learn it in pre-k."

"Mom. We do bubbles and duck tails."
"You get to play with bubbles?"
"No. When you walk in the hall, other doors might be open, so you have to be quiet. We do bubbles in our mouth." (She then demonstrates by closing her mouth and puffing her cheeks out.)
"That's a good idea. What is a duck tail?"
"A duck tail is so you don't push or shove or touch people." (She then puts both hands behind her back and makes a 'duck tail' crossing her fingers.)
Then she says, "Mom - it is really fun!" As she walks around the room with a bubble in her mouth and a duck tail demonstrating how to keep quiet while walking the halls of the school! So funny!!

Brown and Peach

2011-08-11T09:11:00.000-04:00

Last week, while waiting in the parking lot of a grocery store for a friend, Andie says to me, "Mom - some people are brown." I said, "Yes, they are! Probably a lot of kids in your pre-k class will be brown too!" Andie said, "Yeah, but there might be some peach!"

On Monday, Andie started Pre-k. It is a state-funded program, in the elementary schools. She goes all day, everyday and absolutely LOVES it!! This year is the first year that the elementary schools required uniforms. So, she can only wear navy, black or tan bottoms and then a solid polo shirt on top. We're one of the lucky schools that aren't restricted to the color of shirt - so, of course, Andie was decked out from head to toe in HOT PINK!! She looked so cute!!

She picked out her backpack - and then a friend in our ward does embroidery, so we had her name put on it! She also picked out her lunch bag. It is huge, but usually is the only thing in her backpack, so it works!

Day 1 The first day was great. She had the biggest smile on her face and talked non-stop the whole ride home and about 30 minutes afterward, telling of all the fun things they did - giving me the play-by-play! I asked her if there was anything that she didn't like and she said, "Mom, I didn't get to ride the bus." I also asked her, "Did you make any new friends?" Andie, "YES! Lot's of them?" I asked, "Do you know any of their names?" She said, "No - there were too many!" That night, when Shawn asked her what her favorite thing about school was, she said, "playing on the playground" (recess - of course!!)

Day 2 We decided to let Andie ride the bus home on the second day of school. The girls and I were out waiting, and waiting and waiting. Finally, the cell phone rang, "Ms. Broderick?" "Yes" "Are you coming to pick up Andie?" "No, she was supposed to ride the bus home." OOPS! The school forgot to put her on the bus. We load up in the car and headed up to the school, go into the office and Andie comes in with her teacher. She runs to me and then loses it, and has a big meltdown - alligator tears and all. Her teacher looks at her, then at me and says, "I don't know what's wrong, she's been completely fine." Here, I am thinking, "Poor Andie, she thought I was never coming to get her, school has been out for about 50 minutes now." I give her a big hug, tell her everything is going to be ok.

We leave and she is crying all the way out to the car. I get the girls in and finally have a chance to get on Andie's level and look at her. I say, "Andie, sweetie - what is wrong? I'm here, you are ok." Crying in between words, she manages to say, "I......didn't.....get.....to......ride.....the.....bus.....home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I had to control myself from laughing. Here, I thought my daughter was all sad because she was stuck at school - WRONG! She is sad because she didn't get to ride the bus. I told her that we would wait for the bus to figure out their schedule and try again in a few weeks.

We make it home and I ask her how her day was and if she made any friends. She said excitedly, "Mom, they are all the same friends!" I said, "That's good. Do you know any of their name or who sit by?" She finally had a name! "Mom - I sit by Isaac!" Cool!

Day 3 Again - school is great!! She looked so cute in her navy jumper!! She has a big smile coming home and tells me all about her day. I asked, "Andie, did you make more friends, what are their names." This time she replies, "Yes! I am friends with Isaac, Owen and Amy!" I say, "That's great!!" Excitedly she continues, "Mom - guess what! They are peach just like me!" Again, I had to do all I could from laughing. I said, "That's good. Do you have any friends that are brown?" She said, "Yes, but I don't know their names!" I said, "That's good - you can be friends with everyone! Anything else?" "Mom, how many more days till I can ride the bus?"

So - school is going great. If we could just get her on a bus, it would be all her dreams come true! and hopefully, we can soon look past the brown and peach and we'll be set to go!! :)

Reading

2011-08-11T09:06:00.000-04:00

Andie has really been picking up on her reading. Last night, she read the entire book, Go Dog Go to me. I was shocked and amazed!! She is doing so great!

Salad, Rolls, Cookies, & Cake

2011-07-22T10:42:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been loving the website, Our Best Bites! Every recipe I've tried from them has been delicious. A few weeks ago, we had this salad at Bunco, and I've wanted to make it ever since. So I finally did! I found frozen ciabatta rolls from Walmart that were AWESOME!! I seriously thought, "I never need to go to Macaroni Grill for their bread anymore - I just need to buy these rolls! I ended up using fresh blackberries for the dressing, but I do prefer the strawberries instead. It was still so delicious - a perfect summer dinner!

Also, I have FINALLY found the best chocolate chip cookie recipe!! Many of you know, I love to bake, and grew-up making a different batch of cookies nearly every Sunday at my house! However, I really never liked to eat the cookies once they were baked. I just liked the cookie dough. I few months ago, I tried a new recipe and thought, "This is pretty good." When Shawn came home and tried it, his first response was, "Have your tried Laura Lowe's recipe?" Ok - my, what I thought at the time, pretty good recipe must not have been as good as Laura's. So, I e-mailed his coworker and got the recipe. I didn't try it until last weekend - HELLO - I've made it twice now (not good for the hips!)

So - I will share with you, what I think is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe! Trust me! Now, this is what Laura shared with me. I've included all the instructions - but will tell you what I do. I microwave the butter (all of it) for 2-3 minutes. You have to watch it, so it doesn't boil over - but it does give it a good flavor. Also - use dark brown sugar - it really enhances the taste. Note: The dough will be gooey and you might think, Add more flour - wrong. Just refrigerate it a little to help it set back up. (they don't tell you to do this, but do it!)

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the episode: The Cookie Jar

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I use chunks and chips! or chips and mini chips)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking
sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes.
Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3
minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large
heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and
yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture
stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until
mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no
flour pockets remain.
4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches
apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will
require 3 batches.)
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to
set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer
baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

They also had some technique tips, that I thought were interesting. Click here to read those.

Finally for this post - I turned 30 yesterday!!! Hard to believe, I guess. I don't feel any different, but supposedly it's a big deal! :)

Shawn and the girls did a wonderful job at making me feel special and they sure did spoil me! Shawn took Andie and Ali shopping, and it's always fun to see what they think is "your favorite!" Which happened to be raspberry truffles, dark chocolate, and bright pink nail polish! (according to Andie and Ali!)

Since the beginning of the month - the girls got the pink bag and christmas bag and have been filling it with pictures and drawings for my birthday. Andie has been most funny about this. She would draw something, show me and then say, "It's for your birthday! I'm going to put it in your birthday bag (hers was the Christmas bag) and hide it, so you can't see it." Then she would go put it next to the couch! lol - it was so funny.

They had fun blowing up balloons and hanging up the birthday sign with Shawn. I was laying in bed just laughing (waiting) as I heard them shrill and giggle with excitement.

Overall, we had an average day. We (the girls and I) went visiting teaching and babysat for a friend from the ward. Shawn is taking his comps right now, which means he writes a 15 or so page research paper each week, with a new question at the beginning of the week for the next 4 weeks! He's been staying up well into the night every night this week and leaves for school at 7:30am. It's a busy time for him - but a major step for his dissertation - so we are happy!

That night, I treated myself to a favorite dinner. Tri-tip, homemade rolls, raspberry jello, mashed potatoes and of course Chocolate Cake, with Chocolate Frosting!

I always thought it would be fun to have all of your candles in the cake. The girls loved it too! The lighter was hard to use, requiring both hands - but definitely fun to light 30 candles!

Posing for a picture before I blow them out!

We liked this picture the best - with all the holes!

The girls sure enjoyed the cake....well most of them.

We have found that chocolate does not sit well with Adalyn - poor girl. Hopefully she's grow out of that (could you imagine a life without chocolate?) So, instead of cake, she got jello, which she LOVED!

It was a great ending for a great day!! Andie took this picture of the birthday girl! All day long she would say things like, "Mom, how about you decide what's next, since you're the birthday girl!" It was great!

I love my little family - and extended family too! How blessed I am to have all of you! Thanks for all the birthday fun!!

Date Night - UGA Campus

2011-07-18T19:50:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, our wonderful neighbors offered to watch the girls so Shawn and I could go out on a date. It was great. We didn't have any plans and decided to do something we'd never done. So, we went and parked downtown and walked around for a bit - looking for a place to eat. We ended up at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. I likes their fries, did not like their hamburgers....but, that's me.

Anyway - we decided to walk around North Campus, and since I always have my camera with me, we had a little fun taking pictures. Shawn's never much of a fan of my ideas - but he indulged me! Besides - it's great to have to show our kids in the future!

So - here we are. I believe this is the academic building. It's very southern to find the big columns - and was fun for a picture!

We had to take a picture of this big PINK tree for Andie. She would have loved it.

Close up - it was so bright and pink! I loved it!

This is a southern magnolia! I'd always heard of them, but would have never been able to identify them. Fortunately for us, the tree had a tag on it - so now we know what a magnolia tree looks like!! "A magnolia from Mongolia!" (ha ha)

Here, Shawn is posing in front of the campus chapel. The doors were locked, so we couldn't see what was inside.

This is Herty Field. Where the first UGA football game was played.

So, naturally - we posed to play a football game. This was the first of many "set the timer and run" pictures. It was fun!

This is the fountain on the other side of Herty Field. Some kid was out taking pictures and offered to take ours. I like this picture - because the way the fountain is, reminds me of the Salt Lake Temple, with it's spires.

This is the Terry College of Business. Many of our friends from the ward go to this building!!

Gymnastics Camp

2011-07-12T18:14:00.000-04:00

Last week, Andie and Ali went to Gymnastics Camp. They had such a good time, and I also enjoyed the 3 hour break. They went every day from 9-12. They loved taking a snack each day!

The theme for the week was "Experiments". Each day, the girls would come home with a new experiment or craft. The first day was the yellow bag. They mixed corn starch and water, then got to pick their favorite color. When you played with the mixture in the bag, it was liquid. When you let the bag sit, it would harden up.

The second day, they had plates with paint on it. They got to blow through a straw to spread the paint around and make a picture. The third day, they made googles to help them see. Ali was kind enough to display all of her experiments for us!

On the last day, they had a parent show for the last hour. We loved watching them and all the "gymnastics" they learned! Adalyn on the other hand, was not a happy camper!

Each day, the gym was set up with different courses - I took video of the girls doing each of the rotations - they were hilarious to watch. They were having a blast - which is the whole point. If you ever want to stretch out, we know some good exercises that involve making pizza, pie and pancakes!!

They sure had fun!!

In case you can't tell - Andie is in purple and Ali is in blue. It was hilarious watching them...let's just say, Ali was in her own little world most of the time. I finally thought to video it, so you don't see it in the videos, but they are still fun to watch!

Enjoy!!

I love Ali's kart wheel in this last video!!

4th of July 2011

2011-07-11T14:51:00.000-04:00

On Monday, we had such a fun day. The girls and Shawn went swimming (we love having a pool) in the morning, while Adalyn took a nap and I got some things done around the house. After lunch, we played games - the girls LOVE Yahtzee. Then we went outside to play. They rode their bikes for a while, then it started to sprinkle - so they got their boots on and started puddle jumping!

That evening, we had a BBQ picnic with our friends from the complex. There are 8 lds families, plus 2 apartments with missionaries (4 elders and 2 sisters) that live in our same complex now - with another family moving in on Thursday!! It's crazy to think we were the only ones here 3 years ago - glad we've convinced so many to move our way!!

We made red and blue jello jigglers!!

The girls had fun playing with Sparklers

that is, until Ali touched one, and burned her index finger and thumb!! It had just finished and she grabbed the top to throw it down - poor girl. She is fine, but it was a sad moment!!

Friends out talking and enjoying the evening!

Happy 4th of July!!

Waiting for the fireworks to begin (all of which were small and made no sounds!) I love Ali's face, looking at Andie with the thought, "Should I be worried)

Brielle, Andie and Ali

Little miss Adalyn didn't want to sit for very long

I love this picture too!! Ali had a ice pack for her fingers - but enjoyed it more on her face. I also love that she's holding on to Adalyn so she won't get the fireworks!!

We hope you had a fun and safe 4th of July. According to Andie - it's the 4th of July until my birthday - so party on!!

4th of July - Colbert Parade

2011-07-11T14:29:00.000-04:00

We went to the "ever so entertaining" Colbert parade again this year. It's funny to see what they might have as the entries. This year, we did not see any confederate soldiers walking along with union soldiers as prisoners - but it has been done....rather, we had the slide and pool set up for the dog!

Ali enjoyed the parade from the stroller, at times.

Shawn and the girls, also our friend Joy.

Broderick Family Photo - as best as we can get.

The first of the "mini" caravan

The one and only marching band!

Baby enjoying the show!

The mini 4x4 - always fun to watch.

This was a new entry - a mini truck and 5th wheel!! I don't know how those people drive these things!

Slug Bug - YELLOW!!

The most comfortable ride for sure! Yes - we are in podunk country out here!!

Collecting candy from street - we came home with probably 2 lbs. of hard tact sweets! yucky!!

Commence the tractor parade - I think there were about 15-20 tractors!

The highlight of the parade (for Shawn) the Delorian!!

Hence all the pictures - "Can you take me back to the future?"

We sure had a fun time. The parade was on Saturday. We were done about 11:00am, then came home and went swimming, had a picnic and a fun relaxing afternoon!!

Wii Fit Fun

2011-07-09T13:30:00.000-04:00

The other day we were having fun playing the Wii Fit. Adalyn was getting jealous and wanted to have a turn, so I recorded it. It's hilarious to watch ALL participates in the video. I love how at the end, the two older girls act "sad" like the wii characters on the screen, because they didn't do well on the game.

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

2011-07-09T12:58:00.000-04:00

Where did these pink hands come from? (yes, they have been washed SEVERAL times)

Sidewalk Chalk Paint - of course. I know, you're asking yourself, "I didn't know they made sidewalk chalk paint!" That is because it is a Broderick house exclusive.....made by yours truly, miss Andie and miss Ali!!

You have to rub your hands around, lots and lots

Very good, Very good.

Mom's art work.

I love all my girls!

Paint pallet and hand prints.

Ok - we'll let you in on the secret. Take a drink of water, you know, because it's HOT outside. Don't swallow - rather spit it on the ground (I know, disgusting!). Then use your favorite color and color as fast and as hard as you can. Continue by rubbing your hands all in the "paint" and decorate the sidewalk as desired! (or your clothes, face, hair, etc.)

Life is great, especially as a kid!

Happy Summer!!

Summer Reading

2011-06-22T17:07:00.000-04:00

With swimming lessons in the morning, we always miss story time. However, the library is a great place to visit in the afternoon - when it's too hot to go outside. Here the girls are playing and having a fun time together.

The library also has a summer reading program, which the girls are participating in. For every 10 books you read, you get a prize. We kept forgetting to bring out reading charts when we visited the library. Yesterday we finally remembered. The girls have read 38 books so far. They got a sticker, a certificate and got to write their names on a castle and put it on the "30 Books" wall.

Here they are coloring a picture. Our library has a great children's section. We love going to story time - they read books, sing songs, usually watch a little 5-10 minute book on video and then have a craft. It's great entertainment.

On to other things. Adalyn is walking everywhere!! I think I've mentioned that before. She's been so funny at swim lessons lately, I had to take some pictures. She walks around exploring all sorts of things!

Up and down, up and down! Her favorite is to walk behind the bleachers. It's my favorite too - because it's shaded.

Stop and look at the park behind us.

"Back to the end I go!"

I finally printed out our spring pictures and got two more frames (Adalyn finally has her own frame after 1 year.) :) I liked the arrangement I came up with on the wall....what do you think? (*THANKS* to my great neighbor, Heather, who came over to help me hang these!)

That's been our fun as of late.

Adalyn's First Birthday!

2011-06-06T10:31:00.000-04:00

Adalyn had a great birthday. Thanks to grandparents, for your love and support. She was spoiled - and it's so fun to watch her get excited.

Here we are, all set up the night before! We're getting good use of our birthday banner. It's so fun having pink all the time!!

Adalyn got this little scooter, and we gave it to her on Saturday. She loves riding around on it. I like the wheels, they all turn in any direction, so it's easy to get around!

Sunday Morning, the girls were up bright and early, as usual. This time however, they were excited to celebrate Adalyn's Birthday

Andie took this picture of Shawn and Adalyn before church. Very cute!

Still loving her scooter!

I love her pretty blue eyes. I can't believe my baby is 1 year old already!!

haha - don't you love the progression of her ponytails. This is after church, don't worry, it get's better!!

Two musical story books!! She loves these books and was getting so upset at Andie and Ali whenever they would try to sneak a peek and play with it. It was fun to see the youngest take charge!

Ready for lunch in her birthday chair!

Time for another present. She would open a present, play with it for a few hours and then discover another present. It was fun to watch.

Birthday Cupcakes. We had strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Would we think of having anything else but a pink cake? Of course not!!

Enjoying lasagna for dinner! Love the orange face!

Time for another present. This little piggy is so cute. You put the coins in, then pull the tail and they come out of the snout! She loves it, and again, was very possessive. She doesn't quiet understand the tail part yet - she once all of the coins are in, she gets a little grumpy trying to get them out. It's funny to watch.

Andie was trying to be a good helper and teach her how to pull down the tail.

Yeah, it worked!!

"Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to YOU...."

She was very excited for her cupcake!

and so were the sisters!! We were skyping with Shawn's parents, and Ali kept saying, "Mom - I want a cupcake, I WANT a CUPCAKE!!" They had to wait the whole day, just looking at them, until it was time to eat them. They sure enjoyed them!

Ponytails were done by the end of the day.

She enjoyed her treat!!

Happy, Happy birthday miss Adalyn. We sure do love you. She will go to her year appointment on Thursday. I'm guessing she's about 20 lbs. and 32 inches tall. She has 10 teeth (yes, the bottom molars FINALLY came in!) and is walking all over. She is a joy to have and a wonderful little sister!

Here are some video's from her fun day. We finally got down her little dance with her hip swing. Then, the musical drum (is going to be SO fun). Musical parades every day, I'm sure! Finally, Adalyn enjoying her cupcake!

Swimming Lessons

2011-06-06T09:39:00.000-04:00

The girls started swimming lessons on May 25th. They go every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for a 40 minute lesson. They are doing so great!

Ali was/is a little scared of her teachers letting go. Last year, this little girls was all fish, this year she has to build up the confidence again!!

Ali is learning to kick and blow bubbles.

Many times she just lets her teachers drag her around.

Andie is doing SO great!!!

She also blows bubbles, jumps, kicks, and swims with her arms

Swimming to the edge!

They both also go underwater, Ali's just about to be dunked.

They are both doing so well. Andie even jumped off the diving board last Wednesday. She insisted on having goggles, then she would do it, and she did!! (with a little persuasion from her mother!)

Good Job Andie - Great Job Ali - we're so proud of both of you!!

(PS - Here is a video of Andie jumping off the diving board. Yes, I told her she could pick out a birthday present for Adalyn if she did it! I was so bummed with myself, as soon as she went in the water, I accidentally stopped the video. Oh well - I guess I was just too excited to take a picture!) :)

Our First Dental Visit

2011-06-03T15:58:00.000-04:00

Even though we love uncle Steve, we decided we better not wait till we see him next to see the dentist. Andie and Ali had their very first dental visits a few weeks ago, and they did great!!! So, Steve, these are for you!!

Ali sitting in the chair, waiting for the hygenist to come.

Andie was right next door, in another chair, waiting too!!

Ali getting ready for her teeth to be "pink!" Here she is having them cleaned.

Andie loved the little suction tube! (Ali laughs, "Andie's sleeping!)

Adalyn got to hang out with Andie, but did not enjoy much being stuck in her stroller!

Ali having her teeth flossed.

The picture doesn't portray it well enough, but I loved how little Andie was in the chair. So cute!!

"ok mom - I guess I'll try to be happy!"

Cute little Ali, almost all done!!

"Ali, show us your new, clean teeth!!" (love the smile!)

Andie was in charge of holding her own suction. After a few minutes, I finally took it and put it away!!

Side by side - Andie on the left, Ali on the right!

The Dentist was checking Andie for cavities!!

Ali's turn for the dentist to check.

We're happy to report that both girls are cavity free. They both got a new pink toothbrush and a prize.

Good Job Girls!!

Happy Birthday Shawn

2011-05-23T17:02:00.000-04:00

We also celebrated Shawn's birthday on the 16th. He turned 32!! My good friend was kind enough to let us drop the girls off so we could go to lunch. We tried a new Mexican restaurant, Aqua Linda, and it was VERY delicious. I especially enjoyed when they came to sing to him!!

We had all of the member families that live in our complex over that night for cheesecake and homemade strawberry-banana ice cream. I think he had a pretty good day!!

Happy Birthday Shawn - we love you! You're a great Dad and Husband!!

Ward BBQ

2011-05-23T16:54:00.000-04:00

We had a fun ward BBQ the week we got back. It was good to see everyone and the girls had a blast. Here they are playing a water balloon toss.

They loved playing Tug-o-war! In fact, this morning, they were playing again with me with their jump ropes.

Adalyn with her little buddy Anders....Thanks Heather for holding her! :)

Adalyn wasn't too sure about the grass....it was funny watching her keep her one leg lifted.

The kids also liked playing in the sand volleyball pit - although, I didn't catch a picture of them.

More water balloon fun.

Let the Summer Fun being!!!

Utah Trip - Home at Last!!

2011-05-21T16:22:00.000-04:00

After a fun month, it was time to go back to Georgia. (warning: this is a bit long...but a good story to remember!) We were all so sad to leave our cousins in Utah. Andie said, "Mom - I want to stay at David's house! We can skype Dad everyday!" Isn't she considerate? She did not want to go. I told her, "Dad misses us, he loves us and wants us to come home." She said, "I want to live in Utah, I don't want to live in Georgia." It definitely was a great time.....we can't wait to go back again someday!!

So, our story of the travel home. We were supposed to fly out of SLC at 12:45. We got to the airport just before noon (cutting it close, I know.) I went to the kiosk and signed us in, to find out we weren't flying out until 2:30. (Good - I don't have to rush.) I then looked at my phone to see that our airline had called about 15 minutes earlier to tell us our flight was cancelled and we had been re-booked to 2:30. Because of this, checking bags was free - YEAH!!! So I was able to unload another bag I was planning on carrying on. This was good news.

We were about the 5th party in line to check the bags - AN HOUR LATER!!!! we made it to the counter. Everything looked good. So, we said our last goodbyes to "the other uncle tys" aka Perky aka Eric. Headed for security. It was just past 1:00, so we had just over and hour to wait for our flight. We get to the gate and find out it had been delayed another 30 minutes. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player. After yet another delay, we finally left Salt Lake at 4:00pm.

Here are the girls *finally* on the flight home - well the first flight. They did really good on the airplane! Every plane we took.

We flew into Dallas/Fort Worth, arriving at 7:30 - which was the time of our connection flight - oh no!! No worries though, they took us and parked us on the tarmat, because our gate was busy. The captain then came over the speaker and said "We could be waiting for 30 minutes to 2 hours!" My first thought, "Oh man....this is going to be a longer plane ride than I thought!" Plus, we had already been delayed 4 hours from our original flight!!

So, I called Shawn to see if he could look up our flight, if it had been delayed. He looked it up and guess what - it had been cancelled!! Fantastic - now what? The airport gave us another gate, so we only had to wait about 20 mins. rather than 2 hours. We get out and of course, no one is around to tell you what to do next. I get in line for a flight going to Canada (might as well flee the country, right?) I got up to the person and said, "I'm not going to Canada, our flight was cancelled to Atlanta and I'd like to know what my options are?" (Thinking in my mind - Yes, I'll take the hotel, dinner and free tickets you would like to offer me.") The lady said, "Well first of all, we don't offer any compensation because this is weather related." (bummer!) "They have you re-booked on a flight for 5:30pm tomorrow." In my mind I'm thinking - "Are you nuts, you do realize I'm traveling with 3 kids, by myself and you expect me to stay in an airport overnight and all day tomorrow?" So, I calmly ask, "What other options do I have?" She said, "There is a flight scheduled for 9:15, you can wait on standby for that!" So, we voted for that. It was about 7:30, that would give us plenty of time to find the gate and hopefully get some dinner.

We get to the gate to find that the flight was delayed (surprise!) until 11:00pm. (by the way: All of these delays were because of tornado threats and thunder/lightening storms IN Dallas.) So, I call Shawn, give him the current plan and then we go find some dinner. We get back to the gate about 10pm, children now getting tired. Well, the flight was delayed for an additional 45 minutes and as people were boarding at 11:45pm, I was realizing that we were not going to get on that plane. I was regretting not finding a hotel at 7:30 and somewhat enjoying a good night sleep.

Instead, here are the girls, waiting somewhat patiently as Mom tried to figure out what to do next. I asked the lady if we could fly in to Greenville, SC or Birminham, Augusta, Savannah, Columbia - ANYWHERE - the next morning, there was no way I was going to wait till 5:30pm for our flight to Atlanta. So, she booked us on a flight for 8:30am to Birminham, AL. It's about 4 hours from our home, but worth it to GET home. I really, was blessed with cooperation from my lovely daughters. If they would have been having melt downs with me, it would have not been good.

So finally, as I'm in tears with Shawn telling him the new plan, I was tired, frustrated and just trying to find a place to sleep. We were told to head to Concourse D and we would find couches or more comfortable places to "sleep". One lady was so great, she was waiting on standby as well and brought us 3 blankets and said, "You're doing great - hang in there!" So, I wiped the tears, toughened up again and found us some cots and a cozy little corner. By this time, it was about 12:45am. Ali feel asleep pretty quickly, as well as Adalyn. Andie didn't finally fall asleep till about 1:15am. Just before then, she said, in a tired, exhausted voice, "Mom! We don't belong to Texas, we belong to Georgia!!" Andie, I couldn't have agreed with you more!!

She finally fell asleep, and I tried to cozy in with Adalyn. I might have got maybe 40 minutes total worth of sleep, in about 10 minute intervals. Andie woke up around 3am and had to go to the bathroom, Ali woke up too. Fortunately, we were by this really nice old couple, whom I had to just say a prayer and put my faith in Heavenly Father as I asked the lady (who slept about as much as I did) to watch Adalyn while I took the girls to the bathroom.

It was THE LONGEST NIGHT EVER!!!!! I would look at my phone after closing my eyes, thinking, "Surely another hours has passed!" Nope, maybe 15 minutes, usually just 5. Finally at about 5:30am, everyone was awake, the airport was getting busy again - so we gave us trying to sleep. We still had 3 hours to kill. So - we went and found some breakfast. Then we got on the train.

Ali was so loopy, lack of sleep!! They carried around their little blankets. We went to where the gate was supposed to be, to find out they had changed it to the other side of the airport. So, we got to ride the train again - definitely the highlight of the Dallas airport.

Finally - they were ready to board our airplane. Adalyn was done for the day (at just 8:30am).

Ali lost her energy, and just laid down on the floor, waiting for "group 4" to be called.

Andie, with her messy hair and tired little eyes, was just so excited to hand the lady our tickets!!

And we FINALLY made it almost home - to Alabama. We were all so excited to see Shawn, the girls ran to him as soon as they saw him. Our luggage we found out was in Atlanta, so we just had to swing by there on our way home. We all slept for the first two hours - poor Shawn, exciting crew he just picked up!!

We I picked up our luggage, I told the lady we were supposed to not fly in until 8:00pm that night, so I was glad our luggage had been sent on the 11pm flight the night before. She said, "Oh, you're lucky - they've been canceling flights out of Dallas this afternoon and are supposed to have a big storm again tonight, so you probably wouldn't have made it!" CRAZY!!! SO glad we decided to fly somewhere else.

We did stop at a Golden Corral on the way home for dinner (at 3:30) - we hadn't eaten all day. The girls were exited to get some food!!

Ali, I think had just enjoyed some ice cream.

We were HOME AT LAST about 5:45pm, we all took a shower, read scriptures, said prayer and I was in bed at 7pm and didn't wake up till 9:30am the next morning. I have a great husband!! He got the girls in bed, woke up with him and took care of them. They were so funny when we walked in, "MOM....LOOK!!!" They pointed out all the different things we had, the tv, computer room, toys - as if they had been lost and were now found.

I'm so grateful for the wonderful trip that we had, despite the difficult journey home. I have such a wonderful family, immediate and extended. We love them all so very much!!

Utah Trip - Final Days

2011-05-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Finally - we made it back to David's house for our last few days. Andie was so excited. We went out to Texas Roadhouse on our last night, it was yummy!! Time to say goodbye!!

Ali was saying she was scared (aka, stalling to go to bed.) I came in later to find this....cute sisters, best friends forever!

We got to get together with some of my friends from high school for a lunch BBQ. Adalyn was so relaxed, feeding herself on Natalie's chair.

Ali and Hannah enjoying one final picnic.

Andie, wanted to actually sit at the picnic table.

Frances, Rachael, Natalie and Me. Rachael was in town from Omaha...it was great to visit with them. I don't have the picture of us and all of our kids. Just added twins to Frances, 5 to Rachael (only 3 were with her), 2 to Natalie (with one on the way) and of course, my 3 kids. We missed Jenna (who has 4) and Dorothy (who just had twins).

"I love to see the Temple." Here are the girls in front of the Provo temple. We passed by the Mt. Timpanogos temple several times, but never got out to take a picture. It was so nice being close to so many temples. I wanted to, but never got the chance to take the kids to Salt Lake and visit Temple Square, I guess we'll just have to plan another trip!!

Utah Trip - St. George

2011-05-21T08:16:00.000-04:00

Our final stop on our trip was WARM, SUNNY, St. George - to visit Jill and her family!! The girls had a great time, and basically lived outside all day, everyday!

They all fell in love with Ritz instantly. Especially ALI - I don't have a picture, but anyone can tell you, she was Ritz' best friend. Adalyn enjoyed following her around as well.

Andie and Ali loved the trampoline.

Kate in the swing

Amber learned how to make frosting flowers in achievement days and decorate this cake for Jill for Mother's Day. Good Job Ammo!

I think Andie and Ali enjoyed a picnic outside almost everyday!!

Kylie and Kate were content to eat inside.

Sisters

Adalyn loved this little scooter....but would let us know instantly if she got stuck!!

We were so lucky to have such a fun day on Wednesday. Ashlyn had a first grade program, and she did awesome!! The girls loved going to her school and watching her!!

Triplet's!! These three had so much fun together....especially at the cookie table after Ashlyn's program. I think they all had 3-4 cookies each (or more!)

After Ashlyn's program we got to go to Amber and Ashlyn's softball game. They won!! Kylie's little friend joined in the fun for the game and the 4 girls had a blast!!

Ash would come hang out with me when she wasn't playing.

After the softball game, we headed back to the school for Amber's choir concert. It was SO fun and entertaining. Again, my girls loved it. Amber, you and the choir did such a great job - music, actions, energy - it was great!! It was definitely a busy day, but as Jill said, "Momo, here is a preview to your life in about 4 or 5 more years!" She's definitely busy!!

Adalyn enjoying the tire swing,

and the trampoline. I love her hair!!

Almost all the girls - we're missing Kate. What fun cousins - and ALL GIRLS!!! No wonder we had such a great time!

Little miss Adalyn, sitting in a camp chair, thinking she was all grown up!!

"Give me the camera Mom!"

Amber teaching Andie and Ali how to play catch.

At this range, they were great...giggling the whole time!!

Again, we're missing Kate - she must have been down for a nap. Cute, cute cousins!

LET'S GO SWIMMING!!! Ready and waiting for the mom's to come. We had so much fun swimming in their pool. Andie went down the slide 3 times and Ali was brave enough to try it once. Thanks Stan and Jill for all the fun!

Another picnic, this time all the big girls joined the fun!!

Uh oh....where did my cookie go? This is what happens when you give a chocolate covered mint oreo cookie to a 2 year old....Kate sure did enjoy it! I was the good aunt and asked her questions like, "Kate, where's your ears? Kate, where's your hair?" That's what aunts are for, right?

Ali posing on Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day. Jill and Molly

Finally, all of the kids....3 are looking, 4 are not...oh well!

Andie wanted her picture taken too, but it was very windy and bright.

As you can see, we had a great time in St. George. Thanks again, Jill, Stan, Amber, Ashlyn, Kylie, Kate and Ritz for letting us come and stay for a week! We miss you and hope we can visit again sometime!!

Utah Trip - Pratt North

2011-05-19T16:37:00.000-04:00

We came back from Idaho - to this...

YUCK....COLD....SNOW!!!! Yes, our next stop was at Pratt North (Cedar Hills) and it was cold and snowy....no fun!

But, we had plenty of fun playing with Emma, Carson and Harrison

and of course - remodeling the bathroom while Jared was out of town. I don't know before pictures - but we painted it blue, added the bead board, painted it white, tile was laid and the mirror was framed. Thanks to Uncle Tys and his friend Alex....they installed the floor, bead board and Tyson cut the wood for the frame (hence only 3 sides rather than 4 - but it still looks good.)

Emma has a PLETHORA of dress-up clothes and the girls were having so much fun!! I love Ali's little outfit - our southern belle!

Car, Car of course, was Buzz Lightyear - and a very entertaining one at that!

Thanks Pratt North for all the fun! It was great to be spend time with you!!

Utah Trip - Meridian ID

2011-05-19T14:17:00.000-04:00

After Pratt Central, the girls and I loaded up and headed up to my grandma's house in Idaho. We spent Easter weekend up there and had a great time. The girls loved playing with Sydney, Emilee and Kenzee (my cousins). It was great to see the Young and Nicholls families as well. Congratulations to Cameron, who received his mission call to Washington DC South, Spanish speaking!! He'll be a great missionary. Also, congrats to my aunt Michelle, who was remarried and sealed in the Boise Temple to a great guy...Uncle Cole - I guess. We're happy and excited for you!!

The girls had a great time with Sydnee...as you will be able to tell.

They also loved being at grandma's house - yet again, many new and fun toys to play with! Ali loved and wore many different back packs.

Sydnee loved playing with Adalyn

Silly Girls

Emilee got to sleep over at Grandma's on Friday night. Andie was in 7th heaven....getting to sleep by Em. Thanks Emilee!!

We're at grandmas....and ONLY at grandma's would you find this much Easter Candy. We had fun filling all them for the kids. I like we counted 120 eggs or so. The kids (Nicholls, Youngs and Andie, Ali was asleep) loved the Easter Egg hunt. Andie got 36 eggs....and was kind enough to share with Ali when she woke up!!

Thanks Grandma Nicholls, you're the best!!

Finding their Easter baskets in the morning.

The girls and I stopped by this park one afternoon....they had so much fun running around. It doesn't look like it, but it was actually really cold that day, so we only stayed for 15 or 20 minutes. Well worth the stop.

They loved all the musical instruments you could play!!

My kids LOVE making music....so this park was perfect for them.

Ali wanted to go in the baby swing. I tried to convince her she was too big....but she won.

To think I spent all that time in Idaho and didn't even get a picture with my grandma or my kids and her. Whoops!! Thank you Grandma for letting us come to visit - it was great to see you! Thanks to Scott and Shannon as well for the fun time, and Michelle - it was good to see you!!

Utah Trip - Pratt Central

2011-05-19T09:19:00.000-04:00

The girls and I spent the last month in Utah and Idaho. We had a great time and already miss our family and cousins!! I have LOT'S of pictures - so be forewarned...this will be the first of many posts.

We started out at Pratt Central - aka David and Abbey's house. Andie and Ali LOVED spending time here and anytime we ventured somewhere else, they would ask, "Mom, when can we go back to David's house?" We also spent time with Eric, Liz and of course, Uncle Tys. Thank you ALL for being so hospitable....we had great time!!

The first morning, my girls were still on GA time. So- at 5:00am, they were ready for breakfast and play!! I set up a table downstairs and let them at it. It was great staying there, because I could close the door to the stairs, and there were PLENTY of toys to entertain (of course, everything was new to them.) Thanks Grandma T for keeping all your stuff.

"Hey, I have a chair like this at home - cool!"

Pig Tails....Adalyn's hair grew a lot while we were out. This is in our first week, pay attention to pictures near the end, you'll see how it thickened up and got a little longer.

Andie and David were inseparable....she would just follow him around. David is only 10 days younger than Andie and they played a lot together before we moved to GA - so it was fun to see them together again.

Adalyn loves waffles....and eating whatever you're willing to feed her.

Ali discovered Liz' oatmeal stash. She didn't like Grandma stools, so she would always eat at the table.

We loved being right across the street from the park, and playing with the wagon and green scooter. 4 cute girls!!

Shawn's brother, Cade, and his family just moved to Utah county and live not even 2 miles from my parent's house. Here is Adalyn and Kien playing together. It was fun to see Sky, Kayala, and little Kien. (Cade and Summer too).

Molly, Kien, Adalyn

Adalyn enjoying being outside.

Little Kien

Adalyn was loving being with all the kids, trying to walk and of course, grab and eat whatever snack they were all enjoying!!

She also loves to play TACKLE!!! (Sky is in the background there)

Here is Emma Lou, another fun cousin to play with.

Ali, our concert pianist....with her concert hair style and all!!

Andie, the beautician, stylin' all the my little ponies.

Adalyn found her own fun toy to play with

UNCLE TYS!!!!

Andie and David....once again!! Little goofs!

Ali and Abbey.

We had so much fun. It was great to get to know David and Abbey again. Abbey is hilarious....she takes a day or 4 to warm up to you, and is just this cute little shy girl....until she gets to know you.

Thanks again Pratt Central - your turn to come visit us in GA!!! We love you!!

Happy Birthday Ali - THE CAKE!!!

2011-04-07T15:35:00.000-04:00

If there's anything Ali's been sure of the last few days it's that she's going to have a birthday, she is turning 3 and she'll have a RAINBOW cake. We had a lot of fun making it, and it turned out cute!! I love being a mom!!

I used skittles to make a number 3

Spell out her name

and make a rainbow.

I was SOOOOO glad it didn't tip over!! It was close on a couple of occasions!!

It's definitely the tallest cake I've ever made! I used 4 straws to help sturdy it! Food Network Cake Challenge, here I come! (not!)

Surprise!!! Rainbow Colors inside!!

The girls loved helping me make the cake yesterday!

Birthday Girl!!

I'll post more pictures soon!! She's had a great day so far!

Sneak Peek...

2011-03-28T14:13:00.000-04:00

Our neighbor's co-worker took the girls pictures on Saturday, right before our weekend long thunder storm. These are their Easter outfits - I made their skirts, and I think the girls look so cute!! I'll post more pictures when then come.

Thanks Amy!!! We're excited to see the rest!

Our First Cast

2011-03-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

ok, not really...but I am reminded of a cast. A weeks ago, Andie put all of her socks on one foot. I thought it was so funny. Then the other day, her and Ali came downstairs again, with multiple socks on. Who knows where they think of these funny things.

Here are the layers and layers. Too cute.

We have had such nice weather. The girls have enjoyed lunch out on the front porch. They love "picnics!"

Little baby continues to grow. She loves to pull off the towel hanging on the fridge and any papers or magnets. So, we have to be careful what we put on it.

What a cutie!

My new style. Andie and Ali "braided" my hair the other day. Don't I look fantastic. They were so proud of their work - Andie too the picture.

Little Adalyn, feel asleep on the floor before I could get her to the crib. (NOTE: the bottle was empty two hours before, and hadn't made it to the sink. I guess she used it as a binky. No, I do not put my children down to sleep with a bottle.)

Adalyn's First PB&J. It must be that she "has" to keep up with the sisters! She screams and screams if you don't give her what we are eating. She started at lunch again yesterday, so I decided to give in and give her a sandwich. She LOVED it and ate it all up. That's normal, right, for a 9 1/2 month old to eat table food. haha - I would have never done it with child #1, but baby #3, doesn't even phase me.

She also loves her sippy cup. She's growing up way too fast!

My beloved 4 year old

2011-03-15T20:27:00.000-04:00

I had to write down a few of the conversations Andie has had with me the last few days. She is killing me - so whiny, "cant' do anything", doesn't listen to a thing you say. AHH!!! Nevertheless, she is rather hilarious with what she comes up with. I have the hardest times not cracking a smile during our conversations.

Scene: Andie and Ali are upstairs, supposedly cleaning their room. Mom is downstairs with Adalyn, sewing. Andie, whining as she comes down the stairs.
Mom: Andie, don't come down until your room is clean.
Andie: But Mom!! I can't find my heart.
Mom: You can't find your heart? What heart?
Andie: The one in my tummy!
Mom: (really tired of the excuses) Andie, why do you need your heart?
Andie: Because, my heart doesn't want to clean my room!
Mom: Your heart doesn't want to clean it?
Andie: Yes
Mom: Well, you better get back upstairs and find your heart and tell it, it wants to clean your room.
Andie: (goes back upstairs crying now) But, I CAN'T WANT TO CLEAN MY ROOM - MY HEART DOESN'T WANT TO!!!
Mom: (thinking to self) Where in the world does she come up with these things?

Scene: (set a few days ago) Andie (again) is in charge of cleaning up the books in the computer room.
Mom: Andie, please clean up the books.
Andie: I can't want to!
Mom: Andie, you need to, you are the one that played with them.
Andie: I want to grow back down. I don't want to be 4 - being 4 is too hard, it's too hard for me to clean!
Mom: (Thinking to self) Oh goodness - if you're this much trouble at age 4, what do I have to look forward to?

Scene: Andie not wanting to go to bed. Just an hour previous, ate a complete dinner, plus a piece of bread, plus some extra fruit. (basically more than Shawn and I)
Mom: Goodnight Andie
Andie: Mom, my breath hurts
Mom: Your breath? How do you even know what your breath is?
Andie: It's in my tummy
Mom: Why does your breath hurt?
Andie: I think my breath is hungry.
Mom: I think your breath is tired.
Andie: No, I think it's just hurt because it's hungry - It wants a snack.
Mom: Andie, close your eyes and go to sleep, we will feed your breath in the morning.
Andie: (starting to cry) But my breath really, REALLY hurts
Mom: (turns out lights) Goodnight Andie and her breath. (Thinking to self as she's walking down the stairs) How does she know what her breath is?

"What are you three dears up to?"

2011-03-11T11:32:00.001-05:00

"Up To? Up To? UP To?" Have you watched Sleeping Beauty lately? We have. I love that movie.

Anyway - here are a few photos of what us 4 dears have been up to! (Sorry Shawn - I don't have a picture of you studying hard at school!)

Cute little baby, swinging on an airplane. We took some friends to gymnastics, and I didn't realize we had to stay and wait for them. Adalyn, in her pj's was having a grand ole time.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting - MY FAVORITE!!! This had a pudding mix in it as well as mini chocolate chips. Needless to say - it was very moist and delicious.

It looks so fun and fancy on a cake plate. I enjoying baking!

We've had some really nice weather - 70's - so we spent some time at the park.

Adalyn LOVES to swing, we put her sideways so the sun wasn't in her face. She's too cute!

After the park, we went to IHop for free pancakes on International Pancake Day. My friend LeAnn decided to do the same - so we all joined in the fun - 10 girls and Shawn enjoying pancakes.

We were all heading out and I turned to look for Ali to find her eating pancakes her friends didn't eat. Silly Ali - she cracks me up. I love her face!

We "swapped" out the toys the other day. A few months back I had put some away and so we exchanged them and found the dress up clothes....they girls were so excited (at least for the first day)!

Andie giving Adalyn a little bike ride. Adalyn loves playing with her older sisters!! Do you like her hair - the pony tail on top fell out. :)

Ali, what are you doing? "Coloring!" I loved how she was sitting - so funny.

Water Coloring - the girls love to "paint" and I finally gave in. It wasn't as bad as I thought it could be - they had a fun time.

Basically we just try to do whatever keeps us busy and entertained. I went to my first RS activity last night, that I wasn't in charge of! After 2 years - it was great to just attend and not stress about the evening. I do find myself bored...since I went from being "SUPER busy" with a church calling to "trying to find something" to do with my new calling as the ward bulletin specialist. I'm enjoying it though. It's been a good break.

We have Spring Break this next week - but no plans beyond that. I saw that "Tangled" is in the $1 theater, so maybe we'll try to take the girls to the movie. I would also like to go to Costco - but again - nothing big or fancy. That's life for now, and that's just great.

Hope everyone is well!

How do you like your Bananas?

2011-02-24T16:23:00.001-05:00

The other day - I ate a PERFECT banana!! I thought of my grandma and how we were the perfect banana pair when we lived together. She loves them a little green, and I love them with brown spots. These also would have made great banana bread! YUM!

When I vacuum downstairs, I always have the girls put the shoes on the stairs. Shawn was picking up one night and thought it would be funny to line all the shoes we had downstairs on the stairs....it was a fun surprise to turn the corner and see all our shoes!! I think Shawn was shocked we had so many pair!

So, the girls don't really using tanning lotion - my lighting is funny on this picture. I wanted to show them in their cute dress and skirt I made for them!!

Ali - learning to write her name. No, I didn't teach her a thing, she watches Andie. All of the sudden she said, "Mom - look ALI!" So, we had to snap a picture! Pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old.

The pink boots and the pink skirt make quiet the duo!!

Decorating sugar cookies for Valentine's Day "ALL BY MY SELF!!"

Rolling out the dough

Ali and her cookie - I love the gallon of sprinkles!!

This picture is for Jill. I was on the phone with her, stirring a pot of cream of broccoli soup, when a bubble popped on my hand!! (bottom right!) It hurt so bad and blistered instantly. It burned for 2 hours...OUCH!! Just yesterday, the blister skin finally came off. I burnt it on the 9th of Feb.

One day Ali was playing on star fall (a reading website). Adalyn had crawled under the computer desk and so I wheeled Ali out of the way to reach Adalyn. I turned around to tell her sorry and saw that she was asleep - it was so funny!

I think her face says it all!!!

And so does this one!! What a funny baby!

Just some random pictures I thought I would share with you all! Have a great day!

More sewing fun!

2011-02-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

I made this dress/jumper last August. It was the first thing I made from a pattern and I had a lot of help from different sisters in my ward. It was a great learning experience. However, it ended up being way too big for the girls.

Then, I cut out the skirt in October.

Yesterday....I finally sewed the skirt together. I think it turned out so cute and I was glad that I could sew something in just over 4 hours (the girls were with a playgroup swap for 3 of those hours.) It was nice to have some alone time and nice to accomplish and complete something! The best thing about these....I got material from a sister in our ward who was "cleaning out" and didn't want it. SCORE!

I'll post pictures of the girls sporting their new outfits, when they wear them on Sunday. They are sooooo excited and ask me, "Is today Sunday?"

(Thanks for reading all the other posts before this. I take pictures with good intentions to share them, and finally have. My computer was uploading really fast today, which always helps!)

We live such a great and blessed life!!

Set the timer....

2011-02-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

I decided one morning, to take pictures of our day-to-day. Ok, it really doesn't get this bad all of the time, but yes - we're not perfect! So, the girls and I decided to set the timer for 25 minutes to see what we could get done..

BEFORE
We had the missionaries over for dinner and I didn't clean up afterward....it had been a long day. Plus, the dishwasher needed to be unloaded

The kitchen table

The family room

The computer room

AFTER
Dishes are almost done!!

Clean

Clean - yes, you might just say, "She put it all on the freezer!" Wrong. That is bags and batting of material and collected items for our quilting project. I get to store it till the 10th - and well, yes, the freezer is up and out of the way from little hands!!

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you just get to work. 25 minutes really isn't that long. We could have sat and watched a cartoon or something, but we decided to be productive and felt good in the end. I'm so lucky to have Andie and Ali as such good helpers!!

Bulldogs

2011-02-04T14:48:00.001-05:00

We slowly continue to attempt to take pictures with the 40 or so bulldogs around Athens.

Ali and I were at the Mall while Andie was at a primary activity day and found this girl dog, all dressed up!!

Another day, we were driving around, just trying to get out of the house and decided to stop by this bulldog. He represents an electrical company.

It will be fun to see all of the different dogs together...once we get them. :)

UGA Gymnastics

2011-02-04T14:42:00.000-05:00

Shawn had no school on on MLK day, so we went to the UGA gymnastics meet. We had a great time. They hand out free pom, poms - so that always helps to keep the girls entertained. Adalyn slept the entire time!!

Go Gym Dogs!!!

Snow & Boots

2011-02-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

The 2nd week of January, it snowed on the Sunday night and shut down Athens for 4 days. We received only about 7 inches, but I guess that's a lot when you usually don't get any.

We decided to get the girls some boots so they could go play. It rains a lot in the spring too - so we figured they would be put to good use

and we were right. I think they wore them EVERYDAY for the first 2 weeks, even if we didn't go anywhere, those boots rarely left their feet!

I was trying to capture what all the fields looked like - big ice skating rinks!! It was cool, in the bottom picture you can see how the ice had big cracks in it. Needless to say, it was not play snow, but fun to stomp in!!

Quilting & Blanket Project

2011-02-02T19:32:00.000-05:00

Our Relief Society has a goal to make and donate 50 blankets or quilts to give to local shelters and safe houses. We had a sister in our ward use pillowcases as a top to her quilt. I liked the idea, so found some pillowcases on sale. (Striped material). I decided to make a clip quilt with them, the blue is fleece. I thought it turned out pretty cute - the first blanket I've ever made!!!

Andie was sad I was giving it away, but I explained it was for someone who doesn't have a blanket and she said, "Mom, that's a kind deed!" It was cute.

(PS. - Our stake has a goal this year to "do a kind deed to a member of your family daily!" We ask each day after scripture study what each of us did as a kind deed. It has been fun to watch the girls, constantly throughout the day say, "Mom! I just did a kind deed!" Good goal, we are seeing more kindness in our home for sure!)

Curlers

2011-01-28T12:51:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I rolled Andie's hair in curlers. The front turned out ok, but the back didn't work, because it was still damp.

Then, yesterday - we decided to have a little fun!!

Once again, their hair was still damp and it turned more into a "PUFF" 80ish style hair due, than cute little curls. Maybe we should get pink sponge curlers!!

Gotta love having all girls!!!

Giggles

2011-01-27T09:41:00.000-05:00

What happens when you are super sleepy and mom starts shaking some puffs at you? Come watch and see....I think little Adalyn is super funny!

Florida Trip - Final Day

2010-12-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

The morning before we drove home, I was able to do a session at the Orlando Temple. Shawn was planning on also going, but he wasn't feeling so well - so we decided to head home. We stopped on our way out of town (since it was only 15 minutes from our hotel) and took some picture. We also stopped at the distribution center and a LDS bookstore.

This temple was SO amazing beautiful and so BIG!!! We have been assigned to the Columbia South Carolina Temple while the Atlanta temple has been closed for the last 18 months. It is a small temple and when I walked inside Orlando I was blown away by how big it seemed.

We are so excited for the Atlanta temple to be rededicated this spring!! We've enjoyed going to Columbia, but look forward to the hour and 20 min. drive rather than the 3 hour drive to get to the temple.

We're so grateful that our family is eternal and for the blessing of the gospel in our lives. Shawn and I were discussing how wonderful our trip was and if we had only attended the temple and didn't worry about the theme parks - it still would have been worth it!

What a great way to end a great trip!!

Florida Trip - Day 2

2010-12-30T21:31:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, the 22nd, we went to Magic Kingdom with Stephen and his family!! WOW - THANKS for all the fun!! It was so great to be with them and enjoy the day together. Here are a few (ok, 17 pictures) highlights from the trip.

Riding the Carousel with Mary Poppins

I loved that they said Adalyn had to be buckled on her own horse. She loved it too!

Stephen and Logan

Andie and Logan waiting in line for the BIG "little kid" roller coaster. We sure had a lot of fun getting to know Logan. The little kid is a stud, full of LOTS of energy!

Meeting Mickey and Minnie! I found the girl's shirts at Target for only $5. I was sad when I could only find Adalyn and Ali's size. They were out, however destiny took over. I called Cammie, who was still in Utah and asked if she was stopping by Target, to see if they had any. Sure enough, they did! So, all three girls were matching! They were so adorable!! Everyone loved the shirts, including Minnie!

Trevor and Adalyn. Trevor is such a little cutie. Adalyn is 6 week older than him, but he is a little heavier. Such cute and fun babies!!

"CINDERELLA, CINDERELLA, CINDERELLA!!!" This is what you heard from little Ali as we entered the room full of Disney Princess'. It was so cute! She was SOOOOO excited!

Belle

Sleeping Beauty! She loved Adalyn and asked if she could keep her till 5pm. :)

Me and my brother

Happy Babies!!!

Here was the castle, all lite up for Christmas. It looked amazing, like it had snowed. We had a great time and were so lucky to spend it with family. The girls had a wonderful time too. It was fun to take them on all the rides. Andie and Ali were even tall enough and brave enough to ride Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. Ali LOVED splash mountain "MOM! We got wet!" While Andie had the look of horror! Andie enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain and when we got off that one Ali said, "Mom, that was too scary for me." Oops. Oh well, how many kids at age 2 1/2 can say they've been on those rides. So fun!!

As you can see, by the end of the day we wore them out good. We watched the electrical parade and then headed home. They fell asleep on the walk to the car. We saw the fireworks as we were walking in the parking lot.

We had a great time. Thanks again Steve and Cammie for coming to our corner of the country!!! We sure love you!

Florida Trip - Day 1

2010-12-29T22:54:00.001-05:00

The week of Christmas, we drove down to Florida to see my brother and his family. They were visiting Orlando from Alaska, and we figured this would be a great opportunity to see them. (you know, since Georgia and Alaska aren't really to two closest states in the country!) We had a GREAT time and were so glad we went!

We drove down Monday and little baby looked to cute in the "bath" that I had Shawn snap a picture. The sink in the hotel was just perfect. Speaking of hotel - did you hear of our great deal? I always use price line if we have to get a hotel. We've found that 2 1/2 star is the perfect rating for us. It always includes a HOT continental breakfast and is a good hotel. Well, for this trip - I got our hotel for $27/night. It ended up being at the Marriott Suite, so the room was BIG, with two TV's and a separate room with a couch and a little kitchenette. It was awesome. PLUS, we got an awesome free breakfast every morning and parking was free - so it was a great deal!! Anyway, back to the trip....

The first day we went to Sea World as a family. We saw all of the shows - basically one every hour - it worked out great. The girls had so much fun and we were ALL so fascinated by the animals and what they've been trained to do!

We saw the dolphin and whale show, then Pet's Ahoy! That was an awesome show done by mostly cats and dogs. The routine was hilarious and simply amazing how each animal played their part. I think nearly 50 animals were used in that show.

Then we saw Shamu and his whale friends. I wasn't too impressed with their show. We decided we liked the dolphins better because they flip around and such.

We all LOVED the sea lion and otter show....Clyde and Seamore. It was hilarious and the sea lions are really active and funny too!!

We were excited for the "Polar Express" ride, but you had to be 42 inches tall, so we got to walk it, rather than take the train. Oh well. Andie was a little bummed, Ali and Adalyn knew no difference. The girls have come to love the movie and have watched it many times this month.

Next we got to watch the Sesame Street Christmas Show. This was definitely the favorite of the girls. They were giggling and laughing and singing right along to the Christmas carols. It was great!! It's so fun to see your kids SO happy!!

The night ended watching an ice skating show. It was also very entertaining and fun to see.

We went to other shows and saw other things, but I decided to try and cut back on the many pictures. Maybe once I get all my posts done, I will do a slide show of all the pictures from our trip.

We sure had a great time and really enjoyed Sea World. Great memories!!

Andie turns 4!!!!

2010-12-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not - my little girl is growing up!! I deny it fully! It has been the talk of the town (well, household) for at least 6 months now. "I'm going to be FOUR!!!" So, naturally, we tried to do what any set of parents might do - we made her big day as special as we could!

I even decorated a chair, just for her - and of course...

EVERYTHING was wrapped up in PINK!!

Boy oh boy - did we hit it right!! Look at the smile on her face. And she absolutely LOVED the streamers and balloons on the ceiling fan!

She picked out her own birthday breakfast. Waffles from the freezer and "Smiley" juice

Present Time

She was excited for everything....

....and so were her little sisters!!

She got new shoes from Grandma T - and of course had to wear them from the get go. (We didn't even get a chance to take off the bands - she just wanted them on!) Thanks Grandma T!!! (and Grandpa too!)

The big gift, was a "laptop" from Mom and Dad. She loves it - but I think Ali loves it just a little bit more. It teaches letters, phonics, games, music and more. They have had a good time with it so far!

Sporting her new birthday outfit from Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks again!

Of course - we had to get picture with the "birthday" chair. She really thought that was the coolest thing and was so sad when I had taken everything off 2 days later.

We had a RS Service Auction in November and I won a decorate cake. So - I had her make the cake for Andie's Birthday! It was perfect!! Thanks Sara! (They are actually Andie's primary teachers as well - so Andie thought it was extra special!!")

She loved the butterflies!

We invited a few neighbors over for a Wii Mariokart tournament against Andie. She sure loved playing with them. We had dinner, cake and ice cream and a really fun day! Thanks also to Grandma and Grandpa Broderick for her new coloring books and crayons and Grandma Nicholls for her birthday money! She chose to get chicken nuggets on our trip to Florida!!

We sure appreciate all of the support to help Andie have a great birthday!! She is such a wonderful daughter - a great big sister and a wonderful friend! We sure love you Andie!!

What a BUSY month!

2010-12-27T11:50:00.003-05:00

Just you wait - we have had such a fun month. Rather than start with Christmas and work backwards, we'll start how we had planned. I've just not taken the time to post the following. Enjoy.

FUN CRAFTS As it's been getting colder outside, I decided the girls needed to keep busy with some crafts this month. Really, nothing outstanding - but simple and fun for them.

They enjoyed making "countdown" chains with their friend. Andie made a birthday countdown and Ali made a Christmas one.

That took so much out of them - here they are relaxing!! I love this picture.

Next we made SNOWMEN out of cotton balls and I made a snowball (I'm holding it with Adalyn.) They sure had fun making these.

Then - I decided to make CIRCLE SKIRTS

These were relatively easy

And turned out adorable.

I think the jackets completely make the outfit!!!

I didn't make one for Adalyn because I couldn't find the jacket in her size. However, she did have this adorable pink dress and shoes my grandma had sent when she was born. With it being cold, I put a white turtle neck under it, but she still looked so cute!!

My cute little girls!!

Next, time for some BAKING What do you get when you mix RITZ, chocolate chips and peppermint extract?

Homemade girls scout cookies. My niece Amber had made these in achievement days - so we had to try them!! They were DELICIOUS!!!

During the 2nd week of December, our good friends went on a cruise - so we played parents to SEVEN little girls. We had a blast and love these little girls to death!!

We had homemade cream of broccoli soup for dinner one night - and I had ordered bread bowls to go along with it. YUMMY!

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

We had a LOT of candy!!

And the girls had a lot of FUN

As you can tell - ALI didn't really follow the rule of "no eating too much candy while you biuld"

SANTA That night, we had the ward Christmas Party! The girls were excited to see Santa!

Adalyn wasn't quiet sure what to think!!

Ali kept calling him "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

After Santa, Andie kept thinking it was CHRISTMAS!! So, we made another countdown - the one like Curious George, in "A very MONKEY Christmas!"

Andie wrote all the numbers by herself. Very good Andie!!

HAIRCUT At last, I caved and decided to cut the jewish locks. :) Here is the BEFORE

I know she is going to LOVE me for this picture when she's older.

And AFTER

We've had a very busy month, as you can see. Still to come...Andie's Birthday, our trip to Florida (Sea World and Magic Kingdom), and of course CHRISTMAS!!!!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy December

2010-12-03T11:05:00.000-05:00

Let the decorating and baking begin!! I love this time of year!

The girls got an early present, because it's been colder outside. So glad EVERYTHING seems to come in pink and purple.

Andie decorating the fridge with our magnetic nativity

Oh Ali....thanks for smiling!

Adalyn LOVES playing in her little chair. It's fun to see her growing up (all too quickly!)

Happy Holidays!!

Our little mover

2010-12-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

This little girl is LOVES to get around and she is getting fast! Of course, when we pull out the camera, she is uninterested.

Slide Show of Charleston

2010-11-03T17:16:00.001-04:00

Enjoy!

Charleston, SC

2010-11-03T16:23:00.000-04:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about our little family vacation, back in the beginning of August. We headed to Columbia, SC and then to Charleston for a few days. We loved it, and at the time, was a much needed get-away from Athens.

We left on a Wednesday morning and arrived at the temple 10 minutes after the session started....we were so close. Since it is a small temple, they aren't open all day, so we had to wait till 5:00pm for the next session. We decided to go check into the hotel and take the girls swimming.

Adalyn was barely 2 months old on this trip and her first time in a swim suit.

However, she ended up sitting in the car seat, because the pool was a little cold.

Fun, nonetheless for the girls. They loved having their dad to play with.

Shawn and I switched off that evening attending the temple. He took the first rotation, which I thought would be easy. He could take the girls to get some dinner at Wendy's and by the time they drove, ate and returned, I would be about done. As I came out to the car to exchange, I asked how everything went. Here was the report, "We went to Wendy's and were having a great time. Then all of the sudden probably 20-30 jr. high age kids started coming through the doors and I thought, time for me and the kids to go. Then we've been sitting here in the car, watching a movie and baby has a major blowout!!!" I look at Adalyn, who is sitting in only a diaper...because we had left everything at the hotel.

Shawn then heads to the temple, I'm hungry, it's about 7:00pm and I decide to just go to Walmart and get her a onesie, rather than driving all the way back to the hotel....it would be faster, and I could pick up something to eat. So, the girls and I head into Walmart, I have baby covered with a burp rag, it's August = Hot and Humid. We head back to the baby section and I'm looking at a little outfit when I hear Ali complaining, "MOM! I'm all wet!" I look over to find her holding her skirt in the middle of her legs and peeing straight onto the floor in Walmart. "OH MAN!" I grab a wipe from my purse and clean it up as beast I can while thinking, "I guess Ali gets new pajama's." I can laugh about it now and I am pretty sure I was laughing about it then. When Shawn came out of the temple and asked how my "session" went, he looked at me and said, "I had it easy."

Needless to say, it was a great start to a great vacation.

The next morning, we headed on over to Charleston. We had such a great time in Charleston, I LOVE Charleston. We decided that night, to just walk around down town, try to find a place to eat and plan our next few days.

The girls had a blast playing in this water fountain. It was hot enough, that they were nearly soaked, but dry within 20 minutes or so.

We ate that night at "Bubba Gump's" We ordered the coconut shrimp, it was delicious and definitely a fun environment to eat.

That evening, it was 8:00 or 8:30 by now, we took the girls swimming again. This time Adalyn joined and she had fun just lying there. It was such perfect weather.

The next day, we decided to take a boat harbor tour of Charleston. It was such a perfect activity. It was very hot and humid that day and ended up raining most of the afternoon. However, we happen to chose the boat tour that had air conditioning. It was fun learning the history of the south. The girls had fun, because they were on a boat. All the picture I took, I'll put into a slide show, make sure you check it out.

While waiting for the boat tour, we walked around this little museum. It was pretty cool, to see civil war stuff.

Thanks to my good friend Kelly, for loaning me this baby carrier. It was perfect!

The last day in Charleston, we went and played at the beach. I was more prepared this time, learning from when we went with Shawn's parent's in Savannah. Don't you love baby's bed? Who says you can't have fun at the beach with a 2 month old? Regardless of my attempt to keep to sun from her, as you can see, she is well covered. She still managed to come home with a binky tan. It was cute, but still not sure how she got it.

Not only was I prepared with Adalyn, I bought some sand buckets for the girls. They played all day long and had a blast.

Baby slept most of the day. Shawn and I switched off sitting with her and playing with the girls.

They had a lot of fun building and watching out for jelly fish. This beach had so many jelly fish, Shawn would pick them up and toss them under the life guard tower. It was funny. I'm grateful for a protective husband.

We had so much fun and it was a great family vacation. I'll post the rest of the pictures in a slide show, so come and check it out. Yeah for Family Fun!!