This morning we were getting ready to walk out the door for Bible Study and Natalie was supposed to be putting on her shoes so we could go. She comes back looking like this! She has a penguin visor on, penguin slippers and she is singing into her microphone.  Not any particular song...just singin' at the top of her lungs. 

I can't believe how big she is getting. She seems to be growing like a weed. Every time I look at her she has gotten taller or she has added new sentences to her vocabulary. I can't believe she will be three next week!

Another Day At The Zoo

We went to the zoo again today...or yesterday I guess. We went during the week without Shane. My van was filled to the brim! Three babies and four adults. We drove the hour and a half to the zoo and when we got there it was crazy field trip day or something. There were at least a dozen buses filled with kids. It's not really that big of zoo to have that many people in it. :) We still had fun though. Dane brought a leash thing for Nokie but Nokie was happy in the stroller or Dane's arms so I put it on Heidi. I have never been one to like the idea of leashes for kids. Just seems a little strange. But...I have to say it was the greatest thing ever...at least for Heidi. She is a crazy run everywhere before you even know she's gone kind of girl. She had a blast running around the entire zoo not really realizing that I had hold of her. She loved the aquarium. She ran from fish tank to fish tank. Very cute. I love this shot of Dane and Noke....it's cool how their reflections are showing.

 

This is a pretty cool shot of my mom and Natalie too. That big 'ol lion walking around in the background was awesome.

Dad and Heidi in front of the lions. There is a female lion behind him. I'm just glad that they are all in there and we were over here! 

We sat down to eat lunch across from the monkeys. They were having a shouting contest with the other monkeys and swinging from tree to tree. Really loud! They used to have the best corn dogs and french fries at this little food place but they said they didn't carry them anymore. So sad. Instead we got mushy fries and hamburgers that tasted like cardboard. Boo!! At least I brought some food for the girls to eat!

Nokie was super tired near the end of our visit. She is used to taking her naps much earlier and did not feel like being at the zoo anymore. She was pretty happy though when Dane put her on her shoulders. After seeing the elephants we pretty much did a speed walk through the rest of the zoo. On the way home, Heidi was out in two seconds after walking/running the whole zoo. Nokie was a little over tired and finally fell asleep 20 min into the ride home and Nat only slept after everyone else fell asleep. So the ride home was pretty peaceful!

Silly Girls

So last night the girls are in the kitchen eating some yogurt and I'm in the living room, and all of a sudden I hear Natalie laughing hysterically. A great big belly laugh. So I go in the kitchen and they are both making faces at each other. Seriously...I have the cutest girls ever!

Have you ever had one of those moments? Where no matter what has been going on, or how crazy things may be, everything just seems perfect? I had one of those moments tonight. I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. I don't know about you, but that is one of our favorite meals. So yummy! Anyway, we are sitting down to eat and I mix my peas with my potatoes, like always. Natalie sees me and she does the same with her food. Usually she won't go near peas but tonight she tried them mixed with her potatoes and she loved them. So then I showed her how I would take my potatoes with peas in them, dip it in the ketchup and then pick up a bite of meatloaf. The perfect bite. She did the exact same thing! So cute! And she ate a ton. :)

So then after dinner, Shane and I are cleaning up the kitchen. The girls are being great and it's almost bedtime so I ask them if they'd like to color. We get out the crayons and the paper and we start coloring. I'm coloring with Heidi and Natalie is coloring her own. Then she decides she wants to help me and Heidi color so she moves to the other side of the table. Shane comes to sit at the table and Natalie hands him her paper and some crayons and tells him to color too. And that is my perfect moment. The whole night seemed wonderful, but in that moment I wanted to freeze time. We were all sitting at the table together coloring. It was so peaceful and happy. 

Such a beautiful spring day! Everything is so green. We got our yard spruced up a bit...I can't wait to plant some flowers. This is a picture of what we see behind our yard. I love that we don't have people living behind us. Thank goodness for water drainage areas. :)

 The girls have been playing on their play set non stop lately. Natalie likes to drive us around. It's not easy for me to climb up into their play house but when I do she loves it. Heidi just started climbing up the "rock wall" on the play set. It scares me half to death! She is such a crazy dare devil!

That is Heidi's favorite look. Like...don't mess with me...I can't see you...I'm going to do something that you don't want me to do...all wrapped up in one look. I love this shot of Natalie. She looks like such a big girl. I can't believe she is going to be 3 next month! So crazy!!

The Melting Pot

 

As part of my birthday, my parents took Shane and me to the Melting Pot for dinner. We had such a great time!! We left at 5 and drove all the way to Columbia, SC and didn't get home till after 11. Dinner was so much fun. We got a table with two fondue pots so that we could try different things. We took our time and enjoyed every course. Our waiter was great. He was new and very funny. (Don't touch my glass!) The best part, of course, was dessert. We got Yin and Yang,  which is dark chocolate and white chocolate and then my parents got the Flaming Turtle, milk chocolate, caramel and pecans flambeed at the table. So cool! They were both really yummy. My favorites were the strawberries and brownies but I think everyone else liked the cheesecake and bananas. Fine with me! I got all the stuff I liked best! It was really great just being able to hang out with my parents and talk and really enjoy our meal. A great birthday gift!

 

Yay for Birthdays!

Chocolate Cake...but not just any chocolate cake. My famous chocolate cake, and chocolate frosting with chocolate chips cake,

Papa Johns Pizza,

and Presents!! YAY!!

What a perfect day! The night before my birthday I made a cake and cupcakes. I thought all the kids would like those better. Anyway...I let Natalie help me decorate the cupcakes. She got to add sprinkles. She was so excited...we celebrated by eating one. :)

I have to say that my favorite part of the whole day was eating cake. I know...it's so sad. But I have been missing my sweets and it really hit the spot. :)

The other favorite part of the day was having my family around to celebrate with.

Rose Marie and Me

Me and Daddy

Sabrina and Kingston, Heidi trying to give Kingston a kiss

I was so excited to actually blow out all the candles. This might have been a first for me!

My cute girls

Heidi did not want to give Shane kisses. She's so funny

I love this picture! Natalie and Bumpa are so cute together!

Opening some of my wonderful gifts