Happy 2nd Birthday Heidi!

 We celebrated Heidi's birthday today at the park. A couple problems but it turned out really great. First...the balloons weren't ready when we picked them up. So then we were late to the park and all the tables were taken...except for the ones right by the play area. It wasn't too bad...they just had dirt under them instead of concrete so we all kept getting bit by little ants. Then the final little hiccup was that fall starts tomorrow. Not today...tomorrow!! It was so hot!! The kids didn't mind though. They played on the playground for a while until we were ready to open gifts. When it was time to open gifts, Heidi wasn't all that interested. We moved through them really fast! She got some of the cutest clothes and great toys. Actually...now that the girls are in bed I'm going to go through everything again to get a better look at it. :) After gifts we did cupcakes. Heidi really loved blowing out her candle. Thankfully the wind didn't blow it out first. She pretty much ate all the frosting off of her cupcake and then she was over it. All the kids were ready to go play in the water. Heidi loves playing in the water. Natalie liked to play in the water too but more on the outside of the water. Heidi was all in the water and totally loved it. It was a great party for her. :) We took millions of pictures. Shane wasn't able to be there so I wanted him to see everything. My Dad video taped for me too....everything!! 

 Sisters...showing off their pretty outfits

 Seriously....how cute is that??

 Had to get a picture with my birthday girl. The first shot she saw a puppy. :)

 I love her piggy tails

 Heidi's cupcake and her funny face.

 She really liked it!

 Natalie was so happy

 Silly Nokie

 Jacob and Jayden

 Dane ran the girls through the frog

 They loved it!

 Ava and Jacob...so cute!

I think she had a good birthday!

A Good Day

Today was a good and very busy day. This morning I dropped Natalie off at Mom's and took Heidi to the mall. It's so much easier to shop with only one kid!! We went to the bookstore so I could get some books for Heidi's birthday tomorrow. Thankfully Heidi doesn't pick up on stuff like that. :) Then we came back and picked up Natalie and Nokie to come back to our house for lunch and some play time.

They all wanted to sit together :)

While the girls were napping I made cupcakes for Heidi's birthday. I found this recipe for rainbow cupcakes. So so cute! But they took FOREVER! Over an hour just to fill the cupcake tins. And then I made chocolate cupcakes too just to make sure I had enough.  After naps we played and colored. Then I got Natalie ready for her soccer game and fed them dinner. Nat's game was awesome. She is really getting the hang of this whole soccer thing. Totally cute! She is so excited to play. She runs everywhere, not actually looking at the ball. She looks at us cheering at her while she runs. She has started taking the ball away and trying to run with it. I was so proud of her! She pretty much plays the whole game but by the last quarter she is totally done. Playing in the dirt, picking up rocks, not even paying attention. :)

 This is what I mean by looking at us while she is running.

 She took the ball and ran with it!

 Love this shot of her really going for it

 Takin a break!

 Getting a little worn out

 Chasing the ball

 This was the first time she took it from someone. You see how surprised she is by the fact that she is actually kicking the ball!

 So tired!

My happy girl

After the game we came home and I threw the girls in the bath and got them ready for bed. After they were asleep I got to frosting all the cupcakes. Lots and lots of cupcakes. :) I love how they turned out.

 So now after sampling my cupcakes, I'm finally sitting down and I really feel like I'm going to fall asleep right in my chair. Now I have to go clean all my dishes and then head to bed. Where is my husband when I need him?? :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

 My mom watched the Ultimate Recipe Showdown probably about six months ago and saw this recipe on the show. It didn't win (They didn't like the glaze on top but to me that was the best part!) but she asked if I could make it for her birthday.  Man, was I glad that she did!! It was so good!  It was really rich so you didn't need to eat much.  It kind of tastes like a brownie with peanut butter cups in it but more peanut buttery. It was pretty easy to make so I added the recipe if you want to try it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

Ingredients:
    * 1 cup butter, melted, plus more for pan
    * 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
    * 2 cups sugar
    * 4 eggs
    * 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
    * 1 cup all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 cup chopped peanut butter cups, about 8 pieces (recommended: Reese's)
    * 1/4 cup peanut butter, plus 2 tablespoons, heated in microwave at 10 second intervals for easy spreading
    * 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
    * 2 tablespoons warm water, plus more as needed
    * 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter 2 (8-inch) circular pans and line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl combine the 1 cup melted butter and cocoa and stir until the cocoa is dissolved.

Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and mix well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, flour and salt and combine until the flour is no longer visible. Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups and divide the mixture between the pans. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Run a knife around the edge of each pan and turn out onto a work surface.

Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate or a round platter. Spread the 1/4 cup of peanut butter over the first layer and top with the second layer. In a bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, the confectioners' sugar and water until a glaze forms. Add more water, if needed, to achieve desired glaze consistency. Pour the glaze on top of the torte, spreading it out with a small knife allowing it to drip over the sides. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and drizzle over the glaze. Cut into slices and serve.

Natalie sure liked it! :)

Another Day Down...How Many To Go??

I'm so tired!! The girls are wearing me out! They have too much energy and move in too many different directions! It's a crazy thing to be a mom. Here are these kids that you love more than anything in the whole world and yet they still can drive you crazy! I love that I am a stay at home mom but sometimes I'd love to just be able to get away. I keep looking forward to my 10 days in Alaska. Even though I'll be FREEZING it will be nice to have to time with Colie and the kids without having to worry about my kids! And I have to say that I am loving the idea of Shane being in my shoes for 10 days. :)

Natalie had a soccer game tonight and she did really well. She actually went after the ball a couple times. She made contact with it three times in the midst of the game. I was very impressed. Once she kicked it and the little boy who was trying to kick it plowed right into her and knocked her down. But she got right up and kept playing...woo hoo! The other two times she went for the ball she ended up kicking it in their goal. But hey...at least she was playing.  :) The last half of the game she was crouching down playing in the dirt. There are a ton of dirt patches on the field. Too much of a distraction for a 3 year old! She told me that playing in the dirt was more fun than soccer. :)

 On the way to practice.

After the game....sweat and dirt mixed together. She was a mess! You should have seen her hands!! They were so covered with dirt I couldn't even get it all off with a baby wipe! Let's just say we had bathtime as soon as we got home! 

This is the cutest video! Heidi is talking so much now. These are her cute phrases that I love so much. 

Four Generations

Today was the first day of BSF...Bible Study Fellowship. It's such an awesome Bible study! You can click on that link to find one near you or to find out more about it. They are international and everyone goes through the same book at the same time. They are also interdenominational so everyone can come and just learn about the Bible. Each year you study a different book of the Bible and this year is Isaiah. I am so excited. One of the cool things about this Bible study is that they teach your kids while you are learning. They don't just babysit them. They teach them the same things you are learning but in a simpler form. My girls love it and this year Dane and Nokie are going too. So now all four generations of us girls are going together. Pretty cool. I'm very excited about what I will be learning this year.

Daddy took the pictures before we left this morning. This is in their front yard...isn't it pretty?? The lighting on this last one turned out awesome. You should go professional Dad!! :)

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1.02.28

No pictures today...just feel like typing. I just bought our tickets to San Juan! Yay! I found an awesome deal and even perfect flying times. Shane and I have been going over our excursions on all the islands. We've got it narrowed down to one excursion for each island.

In Barbados we are going to do the Taste of Barbadoes. We get to tour a rum factory, get free samples, learn to make rum punch and tour an old plantation. 

In St. Lucia we are going to go horseback riding through the hills and jungle and then end at the beach where the horses go swimming with us on their backs. Sounds amazing but a little scary!

In St. John we are going to do the zip line. I am so excited about that! And scared!! What can I say...I'm a scaredy cat!!

In St. Marteen we are going to a Tiki Hut Snorkel Park. It's a floating platform in a protected cove with food and drinks and lounge chairs. They teach you how to snorkel in a 4 ft deep area and then let you go on your own. Shane really wants to do this one but...what do you know...it scares me. :) So I'm going to try it but if it's too scary or I don't want to do it as long as Shane does then I can just lay out with a book. 

Our last stop is St Croix. This is the only one we aren't sure about. We are either going to do nothing, since it is our last stop and just walk around and hang out at the beach or go on an ATV excursion. You get to ride a two person ATV through the jungle and then go on a two person jet ski in the ocean.

I soo can't wait for our trip! While Shane has been gone we've been doing video chat so that the girls can see him. After they go to bed we've been trying to plan our anniversary vacation. The girls have been handling him being gone pretty well. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to an elbow in my face. That was the second time Natalie has crawled into bed with me and gone to sleep. She has never done that when Shane is home. If she has ever come into our room at night she just stands by the bed till we notice her and take her back to her room. She is so silly.
One thing that I have decided to do while Shane is gone is to run a 5K. Not that I have to run in a race...just that I can physically run the 3 miles. I am not a runner. I ran a mile in 6th and never did it again! I always walked or maybe jogged a few steps. After watching Shane run the marathon I decided that I wanted to learn how. So I found this website that teaches you how to run a 5K when you have NO running ability whatsoever. Cool Runnings is the website if you want to check it out.  So I've been going to the Y and hopping on the treadmill. I'm still at the baby stages but I'm proud that I'm actually running. :)

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1.02.28

A Few of My Favorite Things

Shane has been gone for 11 days now. It has been....I don't even know the right word for it. Taking care of the girls, taking care of the house, not going insane...let's just say it has taken some getting used to. :) So through all the crazy,  I've been been trying to keep track of the things that make me happy. Things that help me realize how good my life really is.

How can you even look at this face and not instantly be filled with joy?? 

Thank you Steve and Melissa for introducing my kids to The Backyardigans! They love this show and when I need a little quiet time...this does the trick. Plus...it's not irritating like Barney. It's actually really cute and I usually end up singing along.  Heidi likes to dance with them when they dance and Natalie likes to pretend what they pretend. It's great!

The girls just started liking popsicles. We have tried giving them to the girls before but they never wanted them. Now...they love them! Yay! The other day we sat outside and all had popsicles together. It was a great end to the day. 

I went to the Christian bookstore and while the guy was finding a book for me, I found a discount wall of books. A whole wall!! It was so much fun! I had to control myself and only get a few books. These should last me a little while at least. :) I love books...definitely something that makes me happy!

While Shane is gone, I am mowing the lawn. Crazy, I know! I have never actually mowed a lawn before today but this morning I did it! I was so proud of myself. I mowed the front and back and it only took about 45 min. And it was a GREAT workout!! Yay for me!

 Daddy was practicing with Nat before her game. She was having so much fun with him. He kept trying to get the ball from her and she would take it back and make a goal.

 

The best part of the whole day was watching Natalie play her soccer game. The coach was away for a wedding and one of the moms filled in. She was amazing! The regular coach is good but you could tell that the fill in coach was a mom. She was soo good with the kids! This is the most fun Natalie has had playing soccer all season. The coach was out there encouraging the kids, keeping them focused on the game and giving them high fives. Natalie didn't have much conact with the ball but she ran all over the field with the other kids. Smiling away while we cheered for her. Makes a momma proud. :)

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1.02.28

It's Official...

I'm going to Alaska!!! Woo Hoo!!! Mom and I are going up to visit Colie and the kids over Thanksgiving. I am SO excited! We are going to be gone for 10 days...although 2 of those days will be full traveling days. Did you know that it takes 10-11 hours to fly to Alaska? That's pretty crazy. You know what else is crazy?? That we are going to Alaska in November! I'm going to freeze to death...I just know it! I just can't wait to hang out with Colie and Gracie and even Luke and Matthew if they decide that hanging out with their Aunt is cool enough for them.  :)

Day Three...It's Getting Darker

So day three after Heidi face plants into the bed rail of Natalie's bed her bruise is getting darker.  She pretty much looks like Rocky. My cute, sweet little girl has a black eye! I don't know why I feel the need to take so many pictures of her bruise. It kinda goes with her personality...I just think that when she gets older she's going to think it's pretty cool. :)

 

This one shows her bruise the best.

 Look at this sweet girl! It was so hard to get a picture that really showed how bad her bruise is. I took lots!! This doesn't show her bruise well but it's still my favorite.