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. :)

D7174F00-4EC4-9B03-76DA-378B85429B4A

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. :)

D7174F00-4EC4-9B03-76DA-378B85429B4A

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.

Worse the Next Day

Poor Heidi! She woke up this morning super grouchy and looking like she played in a boxing tournament.  She is definitely the toughest little girl I have ever known!!!

What a Day!

The girls have been a little crazy this week. I don't know what is going on...maybe it's the moon or they are ganging up on me...who knows? I just know that I have been VERY happy when bedtime comes around. I think really that they are both just growing and learning and figuring out their world. It's just crazy for me because they are going in different directions, wanting different things or exactly the same thing. We are having a lot of trouble with sharing lately which leads to yelling and grabbing and then time outs. It makes mommy very tired!!

Tonight we had Natalie's soccer game. I was trying to video the game so Shane could watch it later, Heidi was trying to run onto the field so she could play too and Natalie kept having meltdowns because a little boy kept taking the ball from her.  She would be in the middle of the game and someone would take the ball and she would just run across the field crying into my arms. 

 She was so happy when she got to actually have contact with the ball.

She got so dirty! She kept kicking the dirt to kick up dust with all the other little girls. I think that was her favorite part of the day. :)

After practice we ran to Walmart, got some dinner, talked to Daddy on the computer, took showers and got ready for bed. After getting the girls in their pjs, I told Heidi to get on Nat's bed with her so we could pray together. While she was running to the bed she tripped and face planted into the bed rail of Natalie's bed. Poor thing got an instant bruise right under her eye. I got her an ice pack (which she loves) and some motrin (which she also loves...bubblegum flavor) and then held her while the girls said their prayers. When it was time for her to go to bed she wanted to take the ice pack with her. Poor baby!

 iPhone pictures...a little bit blurry

I'm scared to see what that will look like in the morning!

So I got my cd of pictures from Mitzi last week. The pictures of the girls turned out amazing!! We had such a fun time getting the girls' pictures taken. If anyone in So Cal is in need of pictures for their kids check out her website. Photography by Mitzi. I ordered all the prints and had 3 blown up to 8x10. Yesterday I went to Michaels and bought frames. (40% off sale on frames!)  I hung them up when I got home and I love how they look. I actually got inspired by being in Mitzi's house. She had framed pictures of her kids on the walls. It looked so cool that I wanted to do the same thing. Thanks Mitzi! :) So here is what they look like. 

I have the pictures on the wall by my computer. The little peacock at the bottom of the screen is my calander. :) Lots of smilies today...must be in a good mood!