Dave, Neala, & Kids

MLK Day Hike

2012-01-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

It was really cold on MLK day, but since we had the day off and we had been cooped-up in the house, we decided to take a hike near a local creek. We all bundled up, found some hiking sticks (to be like Grammie) and took off. We had fun on our adventure and we need to do this more often. We even enjoyed snacks along our way. Also, everyone had to have a backpack. Dave carried snacks and water, Alex carried some cars and a superman, and Aubrey was the smart one and didn't carry anything. Her backpack was the lightest.

P.S. I was on the trip too, but didn't really like the pictures of me...so they will just stay on my laptop. My hat was a little silly looking.

Bear Fun

2012-01-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

We went to a friend's Build-a-Bear birthday party over the weekend. Alex and Aubrey enjoyed making their bears. They are currently sleeping with their bears as I type.
Aubrey named her white bear, Goki. Alex named his brown dog, Alex.

Staying Warm

2012-01-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

Marissa is staying with us. She flew in a week ago.
We are having such a great time with her.
Alex and Aubrey were very excited to get these scarves made especially for them.

Flying

2012-01-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, we normally don't do encourage this, but we let Alex and Aubrey jump from the chair. They had a great time. Dave caught some of the jumps on camera. Alex was a Super Hero and Aubrey was Super Princess.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2012-01-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

We celebrated the New Year with our neighbors. We brought in the New Year with a fun wrapping game and the chicken dance (thanks to Dave for coordinating events). Then we did the countdown to the New Year.

Here are the kids taking turns at a game trying to unwrap a gift of 4 lolipops.

Doing the chicken dance and counting down to the New Year.

Secret is that the countdown for us happened at 8pm. So the kids are asleep and now we can go to bed. : )

Christmas Morning

2011-12-30T22:03:00.000-05:00

Waiting on the steps to go see and open their gifts.
They had just opened their new books that were left in their bed.

The excitement in their eyes and face as they see all their new toys.

Playing in the wrapping paper!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T22:14:00.000-05:00

On Christmas Eve after we came back from church, we celebrated Jesus' Birthday with a small cake and we opened presents. Alex and Aubrey thought it was great to have a birthday cake. They are the ones who insisted on wearing their birthday hats for the special occasion

After the cake, we opened their Christmas Eve gifts.

Here they are in their Christmas pajamas. (Thank you Aunt Kendra and Uncle Rob)

Just before we went to bed we set out cookies for Santa and some milk. We also added some oatmeal and raisins for the reindeer. This picture doesn't show it, but just before we went to bed, Alex insisted that the reindeer and Santa needed an apple or else they might get a tummy ache from eating too many cookies.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:36:00.000-05:00

We Wish You a Merry Christmas,
We Wish You a Merry Christmas,
We Wish You a Merry Christmas,
...and a Happy New Year!

Best Christmas Gifts

2011-12-18T13:44:00.000-05:00

Now that I have kids, sometimes the best Christmas gifts are those made by them. These are the beautiful Christmas tree towels that Alex and Aubrey made for us at preschool.

Christmas Songs

2011-12-17T14:09:00.000-05:00

Here are Alex and Aubrey's rendition of Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Alex Singing from Neala n Dave on Vimeo.

Aubrey Singing Jingle Bells from Neala n Dave on Vimeo.

(Please ignore the quality of the video....it was just taken with my camera which doesn't have the best video quality.)

Dance Class

2011-12-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

This fall, Alex and Aubrey took a "Little Dancer's" class at a local rec center. They really enjoyed it. Aubrey loved getting dressed up in her dance outfit. Their teacher was great and really patient with the kids. She made it fun for them.

Making Cookies

2011-12-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Dave's Mom helped us decorate some sugar cookies. Alex and Aubrey did most of the sprinkles and decorations. Dave's Mom and I had to move fast with the frosting to keep their attention, as you can see in the final results. Yes, they are edible...even if they aren't the most beautiful cookies.

Family Picture

2011-12-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

After church on Sunday, we stopped at a local park and took some family pictures.

Story Time

2011-12-02T22:43:00.000-05:00

Story Time with Nanny

Green Friday

2011-11-26T07:34:00.000-05:00

On the day after Thanksgiving, we went with Dave's Mom to a local garden shop (among other places). Alex was fascinated by the train set up outside and Aubrey loved her arm painting.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

We had Ghatool and her family over for Thanksgving. Ghatool watches Alex and Aubrey during the week. She and her family are wonderful and love Alex and Aubrey so much. We were glad that they were able to come over for Thanksgiving. Dave's Mom was also able to join us for Thanksgiving too. We were very thankgful to have everyone over.
(One of these years, I am going to remember to get my camera out while we are eating dinner. I always seem to forget.)

On of these years I will actually take pictures of us eating and sharing together, but maybe that time is just meant to be shared at the moment.

Fall Leaves

2011-11-21T21:50:00.002-05:00

Ok, is it crazy for me to admit that I like to rake fall leaves. Well at least once or maybe only once. Then I like them to be all gone and my yard clean again. I think Dave wants that too. Most of the time he collects them with the lawn mower, but on Saturday, I suggested that the kids help us make a pile so they could play in it. Alex and Aubrey are great workers and took their job of making a pile very seriously.

But after just a couple minutes, it was time to play. They loved playing in the leaves. There was even a pile of leaves at the bottom of the playground slide that they would slide into (for some reason, I don't have any pictures of that). We can't wait to do it again next year.

And, if all the leaves that fell after we raked and mowed on Saturday would miraculously disappear, that would be great too!

Some of Our Favorite Things

2011-11-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

Alex still continues to be fascinated by trains.

Aubrey's new favorite activities are crafts and playing with playdoh.
This weird color of playdoh is caused by mixing dozens of colors together.

Picture Time

2011-11-16T21:13:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, we went out and got some pictures taken. It's our somewhat annual trip to a professional place. Here are a few of the pictures that were taken.

Halloween Day

2011-11-05T22:54:00.000-04:00

Halloween night with the neighbors.

Even Dave, Marissa, and I got all dressed up.
(I am not sure why Aubrey looks so sad. She was excited the rest of the time)

Alex and our neighbor A who was also a spiderman.
They had fun being spiderman together.

Checking out the candy.

And more candy and this is just a quarter of what she got.

Carving a Pumpkin

2011-11-05T22:44:00.000-04:00

On the day before Halloween, Dave carved a pumpkin with the kids.

However, halfway through the pumpkin carving, "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,"on the laptop won the kids over.

Fall Farm Fun Day

2011-11-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

Alright, I am going to apologize now because I just couldn't decide which pictures to put on the blog. So I put more than normal. But I like them all. We went to a local farm where they have huge slides, hay rides, hay forts, kettle corn, dinosaur slides (Alex's favorite), and so much more. We have been going for the last 3 years. We thought we might miss it this year because the weather was not cooperating on the days that we could go. But we finally had a nice day on Halloween so we went in the morning and had a great time. It was cold when we started, but the sun warmed everything up and it ended up being a great day.

We were so glad that Marissa (Dave's daughter) was visiting for the weekend and that we were able to check out the Fall Farm while she was here. Alex and Aubrey think its great when their sisters and brother comes to visit.

Alex on the Dinosaur slide. It was his favorite slide of the day. Aubrey was afraid of it, so she wouldn't go on it. But as we were leaving, she did say that next time she would go on it because she wouldn't be afraid anymore.

There is a new sheriff in town!!!

Making Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

2011-11-04T22:34:00.000-04:00

On the evening before Halloween, we decided to make some Pumpkin Oatmeal cookies. Alex, Aubrey, Marissa, and I all made them together. They were delicious.

Fall Festival Fun

2011-10-29T21:32:00.003-04:00

Yes, right now it is snowing here. So I am so glad that earlier this week I went with the kids to a local fall festival pumpkin playground. The only time we had was a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. So we took the drive to the pumpkin playground and had some fun. We took a hayride, climbed on a pretend train and tractor, and went down a lot of slides. It was a great way to spend an afternoon while the weather was nice. I am so glad that we went, especially since right now (just a few days later) it is raining/snowing outside.

Ballet Class

2011-10-29T21:20:00.001-04:00

Aubrey and Alex take a Little Dancers class. Aubrey loves it because she gets to dress up in a ballet outfit.

Opening A Package

2011-10-29T20:55:00.003-04:00

Aunt Kendra mailed Alex and Aubrey a Halloween package. They were so happy to open them and play with all the goodies.

Twin Group Halloween Party

2011-10-23T20:36:00.003-04:00

We went to a local twin group Halloween Party on Saturday. Alex was Spiderman and Aubrey was a Pink Princess.

Having fun at the craft table.

New Blog in the Family

2011-10-20T07:24:00.004-04:00

My sister, Kendra, has started a new blog. Come follow along as she and Rob start a new adventure with a baby girl arriving in January. I can't wait to be an Aunt on my side of the family. : )

http://rob-kendra-n-ourlittlemonkey.blogspot.com/

Fire Station Fun

2011-10-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

Our local Fire Station had an open house last Saturday. Alex and Aubrey enjoyed trying out the fire trucks.

(Why is it that the one picture where they are all looking forward is the one with Dave pointing his finger at the camera. I guess this picture just shows how hard it is to get them looking at the camera. I probably had 10 other pictures taken at the same moment and this is the only one where they are looking straight ahead.)

Alex and Aubrey even had fun bouncing in a Moon Bounce.

Looking Into a Fountain

2011-10-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

I just really like these pictures.

Trademark Show

2011-10-18T21:24:00.001-04:00

We took a trip to the US Patent and Trademark Show last Saturday and had a great time.

It took awhile to get Aubrey to get close to the characters, but she finally decided they were ok.

Alex posing next to He-Man

Alex with a Michigan State University Spartan (for my Mom)

We couldn't leave without sitting in a Caterpillar.

Boo!

2011-10-15T15:07:00.002-04:00

I don't think any words are needed.

What to do with a Happy Meal Box when you are done eating...

2011-10-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what to do with a Happy Meal box after you are done with your meal. Well here you go. Just put it on your head and watch a movie on the laptop.

(Please know that we really don't go to fast food that often, we just happened to be away from home at lunch time when we went out to McD's)

Kendra's Baby Shower

2011-10-15T14:37:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, I went up to Michigan to celebrate with my sister, Kendra. She is expecting a baby girl in January and we are all so excited for her. It was great to see Kendra and the rest of my family too. It is times like these where I wish I were closer.

The hostesses and Kendra
(Bridget, Bethann, Andrea, Aunt Julie, Me, Kendra, and my Mom, Bonnie)

Kendra's Mom (and mine too!), Kendra, and Kendra's Future Mother-in-Law.

Out to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-02T21:48:00.001-04:00

Do we go to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard....do we not go....do we go...do we not go? That is what we went through this weekend as we looked outside at the rain sprinkling down and as we looked up at cloudy skies. We finally decided to just hop in the car and take the hour long drive out to the country to see what would happen. It sprinkled/rained on and off all the way there. We almost turned around a couple times. But when we finally got to the pumpkin farm, it stopped raining. Thank goodness. We had a great time searching through the field to get a pumpkin. However as you can tell by our many layers of clothing and the wind-blown hair, it was very very cold and windy.

As you can see, there are no apple picking pictures because we decided that stomping through one wet muddy field was enough for the day. As the next few weekends are busy, we may have to wait till next year to go apple picking.

Bike Tow

2011-09-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

Alex loves to tow his bike around from his tricycle. If he is not towing his bike, he finds something else to tow. He likes it when we give him tape...any kind of tape will do...even tape that was already used. He will find a piece of cardboard and then tape it to his bike. Then he tows the cardboard.

Basement Bathroom Remodel

2011-09-24T21:58:00.000-04:00

We knew when we bought our new house, a year ago, that we would have to do some simple remodeling on the basement bathroom. We knew we didn't want to do it right away, but we decided to take on this task last month. Here are the results.

This is a picture of the bathroom from the house listing. The bathroom was usable, but the cabinet was starting to fall apart and it just wasn't our style.

And this is a picture of the bathroom after all the work which included a lot of wall repair, some new paint, and a new sink/cabinet, toilet, and mirror. Dave did all the hard work! Pictures don't do it justice. It looks even better in person.

Thank you Dave!!!

Attempting to get a picture

2011-09-22T22:47:00.005-04:00

On their first full morning of preschool, we tried to get another picture. Well this is our attempt at trying to get a picture of the both of them looking forward and smiling. This has become a difficult task for us. : )

(Aubrey had a run in with the pavement so she has a little sore under her nose.)

I wanted to add that their first real day of preschool went well. They both almost ran into the classroom. They knew there were lots of fun toys in there....and there was paint. : ) Paint ended up being the hard part of the day. Aubrey painted a picture during class and it was left on the drying rack to dry. She was really upset when she had to leave without her painting. She was happy to get her painting the next week. I am so glad that we found a nice preschool for them to go attend. At first Alex and Aubrey didn't want to go to preschool, but now they are so excited to go. I think they weren't quite sure what preschool was all about, but now they realize its fun.

Starting Preschool

2011-09-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

Alex and Aubrey have started preschool. Why are they growing so fast. They are in a 2 morning a week program for 3 year olds and they love it.

(Aubrey wouldn't cooperate for her single picture. That is how a lot of our pictures look like these days.)

Taking a Break

2011-09-22T22:30:00.001-04:00

Sarah (our neighbor), Alex, and Aubrey taking a break during a neighborhood bike ride to enjoy some apple juice and banana bread.

Box Time Fun

2011-09-22T22:24:00.000-04:00

We fixed up our basement bathroom and here is one of the boxes from the new stuff. Alex and Aubrey played with it for hours.

Fun at a local Festival

2011-09-22T22:20:00.001-04:00

We went to a local festival with our neighbors. We all had a great time. Alex, Aubrey, and Sarah got to take a ride on a carnival ride while we were there. They all had fun spinning it around.

Here is Alex checking out an ambulance. I think he thought they were going to drive around, so he was a little upset when he had to get out.

Dot Time

2011-09-03T21:55:00.001-04:00

Getting a Haircut

2011-09-03T21:49:00.000-04:00

Aubrey getting a haircut from Barber Alex. It turned out great!

Dressing Up

2011-09-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

Ghatool (Alex and Aubrey's Day Care Provider), gave Alex and Aubrey these handsome and beautiful outfits. Aubrey is so excited to be dressed up. Alex had to be convinced that his outfit was a superhero outfit in order to put it on. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Alex with his outfit on with his red supercape on overtop. : )

Future Firefighters

2011-08-20T22:36:00.001-04:00

Alex and Aubrey got to check out a fire truck at our twin picnic

Where's the Elephant?

2011-08-20T22:30:00.001-04:00

Posing in front of the Giant Elephant Ears that Dave planted this spring.

Need an update

2011-08-18T12:09:00.003-04:00

Ok, I know...its been 11 days since my last post of pictures. I will try to post some pictures this weekend. : ) My sisters are probably refreshing their internet right now hoping the next post is up.

Faces of Aubrey

2011-08-07T13:33:00.000-04:00

Fort Frederick

2011-08-07T13:08:00.000-04:00

Another detour on the way back from Michigan was
a quick stop to Fort Frederick State Park.

Idlewild Park

2011-08-07T13:00:00.000-04:00

On the way back from Michigan, we stopped near Pittsburgh and went to Idlewild Park. Alex and Aubrey had fun!

Whoa!

Tractor Fun and a Bike too

2011-08-07T12:55:00.001-04:00

Thank you to my Aunt Julie for letting us borrow this tractor while we were in Michigan. Also thanks to my Mom for finding the pink bike. They were a huge hit.

FAMILY

2011-08-07T12:54:00.002-04:00

While we were up in Michigan, we took a family picture.

Alex and Aubrey were taking a much needed nap.

Mom, Andrea, Paul, Kendra,
Rob, Neala, and Dave

Also, we would like to welcome two new members to the family. Kendra is expecting in January, so soon Alex and Aubrey will have a new cousin. We also welcome Rob (Kendra's Fiance) to the family.

Spray Park Fun

2011-08-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Spray Park Fun in Michigan.

Playground on the Beach

2011-08-03T21:20:00.000-04:00

We found a playground on the beach near Lake Huron. Alex and Aubrey love playgrounds and a playground on the beach is even better.

Croswell Swinging Bridge

2011-08-01T15:48:00.001-04:00

During our trip up to Michigan, we drove up to the small town of Croswell and walked across the Croswell Swinging Bridge.
Grammie even took a walk across the swinging bridge for the first time.

Trip to a Butterfly house

2011-07-23T08:55:00.000-04:00

During our trip to North Carolina, we went to a Butterfly show/house. Alex and Aubrey loved to see the butterflies on their sugar pads. They liked that they were able to hold the butterflies in their hands (but they didn't like it when they flied onto their heads). Thank you to Jennifer for suggesting this place to us. We were fortunate that it was a beautiful day (it was cloudy, but that was good). Maybe we can go again next time.

Trip to a zoo in North Carolina

2011-07-23T08:45:00.000-04:00

Swinging Twin Cousins

2011-07-23T08:40:00.000-04:00

We went to North Carolina last weekend to visit Dave's Mom.
During the visit, we also got to see Dave's Niece's Twins. We actually got them all to sit on the swing together.

Long Truck

2011-07-18T21:56:00.000-04:00

Friends, meet Long Truck....Long Truck, meet Friends

This is Alex's current toy of choice. He refers to it as LONG TRUCK. So if you ever happen to get Alex on the phone, he is sure to mention his LONG TRUCK. Currently it is in Alex's bed. He sleeps with it every night.

Oregon Coastline

2011-07-09T13:32:00.001-04:00

Trip to the Pacific

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

During Dave's trip to Oregon he took a trip to the beach with Dave's sisters family. He had a great time.

Dave and Wanda

Rachel, Rebecca, and Emma

Carson and Shelbie's Wedding

2011-07-07T21:37:00.000-04:00

Dave was out in Oregon last weekend, celebrating the wedding of his nephew Carson and beautiful bride, Shelbie.

Shelbie and Carson

Richard, Shelbie, Carson, and Dave's sister Wanda

Dave's nieces Rebecca, Emma, and Rachel

Wanda's 4 kids together.
Rebecca, Rachel, Carson, and Emma.

Dave had a great time out in Oregon. He was glad to be able to join in the celebration.

Picnic lunches

2011-07-04T13:38:00.002-04:00

We have been eating a lot of picnic lunches lately. This one happened to take place during our family bike weekend last weekend in Maryland. All the families packed a lunch and we ate it halfway through our bike ride. Fortunately Alex's favorite sandwich is peanut butter and jelly.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary

2011-07-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

Well we have survived 6 years of marriage and it has been a wonderful adventure. I couldn't have asked for a greater man to share these years. I am so happy that we are together.

(Picture taken back on the day of our wedding rehearsal)

Up in a Tree

2011-06-28T08:14:00.000-04:00

Just hanging out.

Backyard

2011-06-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

Just sharing some flowers from our backyard.

Rocknocerous

2011-06-18T21:40:00.001-04:00

We really enjoy the music group, Rocknocerous. They play great catchy children's music. We listen to their music in the car all the time (when the kids are in the car). We saw that they were having a free concert at a local county park, so we decided to stop by.

Playdoh

2011-06-18T21:37:00.000-04:00

Alex's Playdoh creation with the help of a green pine cone from outside. Creativity!

Dutch Wonderland

2011-06-16T23:00:00.002-04:00

Took an overnight trip to Dutch Wonderland up in PA last weekend. We had a great time.

Congratulations!

2011-06-06T08:10:00.006-04:00

We have been meaning to post a congratulations to Dave's daughter Marissa for getting her Associates at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. That is a great accomplishment and now she is off to Arizona State University. Yay, Marissa!

As Aubrey would say, "You're silly, Marissa!"

Awaiting the Delivery...

2011-06-06T08:03:00.002-04:00

... of our new bicycle trailer. I can't wait for it to be shipped to the local bike shop. I just hope it works for us. Alex is starting to get too big for his bike seat that fits on the back of our bikes. We have ordered 1 of these and are going to make sure we like it before ordering another one. Hopefully it will come in by the end of the week.

Tour De Cure Bike Ride

2011-06-05T15:40:00.001-04:00

Today we participated in the Tour De Cure bike ride for the American Diabetes Association. Alex rode with me and Aubrey rode with Dave. We did 20 miles and had a nice time. I have been doing this ride since 2000. It is great to do a ride where we can raise awareness and money for a good cause. We are always thankful for those who support us.

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-29T21:28:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, we decided we were going to go down to Richmond, VA,. Our last minute plan was to leave on Sunday, stay overnight and come back on Monday. Even though it's not too long of a drive, we had decided to stay overnight so we wouldn't feel rushed. So this morning we packed up the car and headed out.

First stop of the day was to check out Pocahontas State Park because we saw they had a fun pool with sprinklers and water park type stuff (I am not sure what to call it). We had fun. As usual, Aubrey was a little hesitant, but Alex just went right in the pool and down the slide.

After being there a couple hours we realized that Alex wasn't feeling well, so we decided to hop in the car and drive around so he could sleep a little bit. We started driving around and during this time, Dave and I realized that maybe we should not stay at a hotel and just go home after we had finished what we wanted to see. We weren't sure we wanted to deal with a sick Alex at a hotel room, so we were able to cancel our hotel reservation. But we had one more stop to make (Alex wasn't terribly sick or we would have just headed right home).

The only other thing that we really wanted to do in Richmond was to check out Cold Harbor Battlefield National Park . We found it and enjoyed walking around. The weather had turned out to be beautiful, so it was nice to see what nature had provided. There was also a somber feeling to realize how many people may have died where we were standing. It felt very appropriate to go there on Memorial Day Weekend. We are going to try to do something like this on every future Memorial Day weekend. It puts a reason to having the day off. We need to remember what happened in the past got us to where we are today.

Only problem with the day is that we just didn't have it in us to take any pictures. Just wasn't a picture taking day. I wish I would have taken a couple, but I just wanted to see the day through my eyes and not through a cameras.

(BTW, we are thankful that we decided to come home because Alex isn't feeling well and it wouldn't have been fun in a hotel room.)

Dave's Birthday

2011-05-22T14:18:00.002-04:00

Celebrating Dave's Birthday. The kids wanted all of us to wear birthday hats.

I just want to add that I made the carrot cake for Dave from scratch. Cream cheese frosting was made from scratch too. Aubrey did help quite a bit by stirring the ingredients for me. Can I also add that it was really good. At least I thought so.

Sharing

2011-05-22T14:18:00.001-04:00

Sharing....yes, it does happen every once in a while.

Opening Presents from Aunt Kendra

2011-05-22T14:08:00.005-04:00

My Mom brought Alex and Aubrey's birthday gift from Aunt Kendra. Alex and Aubrey love opening gifts....but who doesn't. : )

Odds and Ends

2011-05-22T14:05:00.001-04:00

Here are are few other pictures of my Mom's visit.

Grammie, Bonnie, Dave, Aubrey, and Alex waiting for the Metro

Dave and his favorite Mother-in-law

There is always a puddle to play in. : )

Trip to FDR Memorial

2011-05-22T14:00:00.001-04:00

During my Mom's visit, we went to the FDR Memorial. My Mom's friend, Bonnie, drove with my Mom from Florida to here and then she helped with the drive from here to Michigan. We are very glad that she could join us.

Aubrey and Grammie

2011-05-22T13:38:00.001-04:00

(Alex didn't want his picture this week.)

Grammie in town

2011-05-18T21:51:00.002-04:00

My Mom (Grammie) is in town and we are having a good time. Can't wait to share some pictures.

One Persons Junk is Anothers Treasure

2011-05-09T13:51:00.004-04:00

Alright...the truth is out. We sometimes take stuff from the trash or from "Please take me" signs. Trust me though, that we don't do this very often and we are picky and only take things we need.

Here is a dresser that had a "Needs a new home" sign on it a couple years ago. We saw it when we were driving around one day. It did need a little work...new dresser handles, a little polish and some holes needed to be filled. But this has become my dresser and it works perfect and matches Dave's dresser and wardrobe. So it was FREE plus the cost of handles, polish and a little wood putty. Oh, and Dave's hard work to make it nice.

Here is a chair that we have in our backyard. When I lived in a townhouse with my sister, Andrea, and a friend...we saw that our neighbor put this in the trash. I think at the time, it was painted black. So we got the 2 chairs and my sister spray painted them blue (her favorite color). Since then, they have been green (my color of choice). Every couple years they need a new coat of paint, but I have to admit that they are very comfortable chairs and I still have them. Our neighbor had only put out 2 in the trash. Dave and I were doing a bike ride one day and saw another person put out 2 more in the trash that were exactly the same. So we rode back home and got the car and went back to pick them up. We tried to do it quickly because it is a little embarrasing. But now we have 4....all spray painted green. We love them. They just need a little spray paint every now and then. (I only regret that we didn't get the table that was in the trash too.)

It is kinda hard to see in this picture...but that blue that my sister used must have been some great spray paint because it sometimes shows up after the green paint gets chipped.

Our latest treasure find was this sandbox. A neighbor had it near the end of the road. So Dave asked if they were getting rid of it. Sure enough they were. Dave cleaned it up, added some play sand, and it has made a perfect addition to our back yard. Of course, it is a little faded. But I am sure if we had bought a new one (which we were going to do) it would have faded within a year too.

Birthday Gathering

2011-05-01T21:24:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, we had a Birthday gathering with some friends of Alex and Aubrey's and their families.
Aubrey is fascinated with her birthday cake.

Getting ready to blow out their candles

Alex and Aubrey ready to play with the spiderman on his cake.

Having fun on the playset with our friends.

Aubrey and her friend Sarah.

The Alnoor family celebrated with us. We are so glad they could join us.

We rented and moonbounce for the day and everyone had a bunch of fun...even the big kids (aka adults).

Just a silly picture of the four of us before the moon bounce company came to pick up the moonbounce.

Opening Gifts and Playing with New Toys is the BEST!

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

Birthday Gift

2011-04-29T14:08:00.000-04:00

Alex and Aubrey having a great time with their gift from Ghatool and her family. Alex and Aubrey have spent a lot of time playing on it these last few days. In fact they ate dinner at it the other day.

3rd Birthday!

2011-04-29T13:58:00.000-04:00

Celebrating Alex and Aubrey's 3rd Birthday on April 28th. Wow, they are 3 years old. It is hard to believe that they are already 3. It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant and they were born.

Blowing out their birthday candles.

(BTW....I goofed on the cake, I decided to get an ice cream cake at the store and then got stuck in traffic. I turned the AC on really high, but still it started to melt. We put it in the freezer when I got home, but it still was a little melted. Oh well, we all still liked it anyway. We are going to have another cake for each of them on Saturday with a few friends.)

Another use for Easter Baskets

2011-04-25T21:59:00.002-04:00

It was such a beautiful day (actually it was a little hot) that we decided to pull out the sprinkler from Aunt Kendra. I would never have imagined using a sprinkler in April. Alex and Aubrey found a new use for their Easter baskets, too.

Easter Egg hunt in our Backyard

2011-04-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

On Easter afternoon, we did a little hunt for eggs in our backyard. With all these egg hunts, Alex and Aubrey were getting the hang of it. The only thing was.....

....Aubrey thought that the pink and purple eggs were hers. : )

Easter Morning at Church

2011-04-25T21:45:00.000-04:00

Here is our family picture on Easter morning. Wow are Alex and Aubrey growing up too fast.

Aubrey with her pink gloves and purse from Nanny. She wore the gloves the entire time she was in church.

In front of our church.

Easter Egg hunt

Bunny Cake

2011-04-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

Alex and Aubrey checking out their Bunny Cake on Easter morning. They liked the licorice and jelly beans.

Here is a picture taken before Alex and Aubrey started taking it apart.

Decorating Easter Eggs

2011-04-25T21:35:00.001-04:00

Earlier in the day on Saturday, we had colored the eggs. Then Alex and Aubrey took baths while the eggs dried. After the baths, we decorated the eggs with stickers.

Our new playset

2011-04-25T21:22:00.000-04:00

Playset is finished. Yeah! Alex likes playing on the climbing wall and Aubrey likes the swing and they both like the slide.

Great thanks to Dave and Jamison for all their work. I know Alex and Aubrey will have fun on it for years to come.

Alex and his trains

2011-04-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

Aubrey and her Cookies

2011-04-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

Fun with Jamison

2011-04-16T21:38:00.001-04:00

Jamison was here for a week and Alex and Aubrey just loved him. They had fun playing with a big kid.

Jamison trying to master track building.

Aubrey is offering Jamison a cookie.

New Spiderman Hat from Nanny

2011-04-15T21:39:00.000-04:00

Alex posing with his new Spiderman hat fron Nanny.

Princess and Superman

2011-04-15T21:32:00.000-04:00

Trip to the zoo with Jamison

2011-04-15T21:25:00.001-04:00

Today, it was such a beautiful day that we went to the zoo. Last time we went it was cold and much less crowded. But, nonetheless, we had a great time.

Neala and Jamison

Dave trying to get the 4 of us to look straight for a picture. Note that at least the girls got it right. : )

Jamison and his Dad

Walking back to the car after a long day at the zoo.

New Playset

2011-04-15T21:20:00.000-04:00

We finally started building Alex and Aubrey's new playground. Here is a picture of them on it with it more than halfway done. We actually have it finished, but I guess I never took a picture of the finished product and it is dark outside right now. They love it. Dave built it with his son Jamison.