C-R-A-Z-Y Week

This past week has been a whirlwind. First, Jason and his dad went on a little fishing trip up North and stayed in a cabin. The first night they were gone, I had a couple girlfriends over for a movie and wine (we watched Bridesmaids), the second day, well, I was caught up on the house cleaning and somewhat on the laundry and decided to go spend the day and night at my parents. Sunday, I came home to Jason and our anniversary. We went shopping (yes, with the girls) as we got some anniversary money and I had a gift card to AE that I found while cleaning my purse (it's a couple years old, but it still worked and I got some new stuff)!! Then Jason and Ryleigh went hunting, if my memory serves me right, on Tuesday evening. We met baby Samuel. We had an Urgent care visit for Landree as she fell at daycare. Ryleigh got sick this morning with the stomach flu. She was supposed to sing the National Anthem at her school's football game this evening with the Seniors, however the flu has kept her in bed all day. Poor thing. Reese had her 6 month check up. When we went to the Quint family reunion in May, one of Jason's relatives had some friends (our age) who just moved to Mankato this past winter. We were going to have our first play date tomorrow with them, but cancelled as I didn't want them getting sick, so that was a bummer. They are heading back to GC this next week, so when they come back we will try again. And, through all this, I've managed to make it to book club (excited to be hosting it in Nov.), making hair bows, sewing holes and buttons on clothes, and I've made parts of the girls' Halloween outfits. They are all ready for Halloween. I must say I am on the ball this year! Jason and I have our own Halloween party we will be attending here in a few weeks, so we need to figure out our costumes next! Also, I missed Ana's birthday yesterday (terribly sorry). Hope your day was as awesome as you are. And, Happy 5th Anniversary to Ryan and Ana today! Love you guys and hope to see you soon!

Some fishing pictures (very proud of Jason for remembering the camera and taking some photos). Jason told me they caught around 20 fish, here are some good ones! Danny and his Northern Pike:

Jason and his small mouth bass:

Grandpa Danny and his Walleye:

Danny getting the boat ready:

View of lake from cabin:

A pretty sunset:A foggy morning:

Here's Ryleigh in her camo. Jason decked her all out with face paint. For her first time hunting, she did pretty good for about an hour, he said. They didn't see any deer until they were leaving when they spooked a yearling and doe. But, they had lots of fun and I had to save the message Ryleigh left me when they were on their way home!

Reese had her 6 month check up today and is weighing in at a 16 lbs, 2 oz. and is 25 3/4 inches long. It's fun to see how she stacks up with her sisters. At this same age, she is exactly the same height and weight as Ryleigh. Same height as Landree, but 2 lbs heavier. I always new Landree was my peanut! What else with Reese, she has no teeth yet, loves peas (and really any food she tries), sitting up so good, loves her toes, loves to give kisses and hugs, sleeping through the night and is one of the happiest baby's I have ever met! Here she is this morning:

Reese & Zoee: Baptism Day

Cousins, Reese & Zoee were baptized together on 9-10-11! Now, that will be an easy date to remember! It was a fun filled day with family pictures, picnic in the park, and baptism all in one day. It was so awesome to have Reese and Zoee baptized together! They were both such pretty little things in their little baptismal gowns! Both of them were wearing their mommy's baptismal gowns from 30 and 31 years ago, which was also pretty special. They are definitely Our Little Blessings! Here is a slide show of the baptism. We had fun afterwards as well, celebrating with family, food and gifts. The perfect ending to a great day!

12 Years Ago Today...........

I married my BEST FRIEND. The one I LAUGH with, LIVE for, DREAM with, LOVE! Jason, I love you more than words will ever be able to express. I am so thankful every day for you being in my life. It doesn't seem that long ago when I fell in love with you and I am thinking that is a good thing! In fact, it seems just yesterday that I was head over heels for you. Maybe that's because I still am. You still manage to give me butterflies .........and I am with you when you say you love our life together! I am not good at expressing my deepest thoughts and really wouldn't want to on here anyways, so thank you, thank you, thank you for loving me and giving me your all (and for the most beautiful, precious daughters any woman could ask for)! Here are a couple of songs I want to dedicate to you, Jason. Sometimes, some songs, just explain exactly how I am feeling better than I can say in words. And, you know best how much I love music! Enjoy and I love you!

I like this picture of us, so I cropped out my brother and Kelli:

Jason's look kind of scares me in this picture:

Here we are being our normal, funny selves. You have to have a little fun to be happily married this long (and it's really easy when the one taking your photos is one of your great friends):

Princess Reese

Here is a picture of Reese in her baptismal gown (I wore this when I was baptized in Dec of 1979 and both Ryleigh and Landree wore it as well when they were baptized)! Isn't she a little Princess. I promise I will get more pictures posted as soon as I get a new slide show figured out. (See below)

So, I wanted to make a slide show to post of Reese and Zoee's baptism, but slide.com is closing and is no longer making slide shows. Now, I have until March of 2012 to get all my slide shows exported to picasa. Hopefully this won't take to long, but I do have 109 slide shows presently. Ahh! Then, in order for you to get to see all the baptism photos, I have to find a new site to do slide shows. BUMMER!

On another note..........a good one..............Ryleigh is little miss popular at school. The other evening on our walk after supper, Ryleigh had rode her bike a little bit ahead of us and stopped to talk to this little boy. By the time we got to them, we had figured it out that he is in her Kindergarten class. Anyways, the mom of the little boy said, "finally, we get to meet Ryleigh.....we hear a lot about her every day!!" (Thank goodness, he wasn't one of the two little boys who get in trouble every day that we hear about daily)!! That isn't the first time we have heard people/parents say that they hear a lot about Ryleigh every day. Luckily when I ask, it's always good things that their children say about Ryleigh!! Phew! Then this morning, it was raining and I had to bring Ryleigh into the gym. We were trying to find kids in her class, but I only really know one other little girl in her class. All of a sudden as we are looking for her class, 3 little girls shouted, "Ryleigh, we are over here, come here!!" She looked up at me and smiled.

Sitting pictures

I have more sitting in her baptismal gown, but I will save those and share with the baptism post! And, you will see sitting pictures going from most recent to past. Don't ask, I'm tired!! :) Anyhow, I have yet to do a post on Reese and Zoee getting baptized as well as a post with pictures from my brother and Kelli's visit. I missed posting on 9/11, but NEVER FORGET was deeply etched in my thoughts. Jason and I talked about what we were doing that day. I remembered being at work, getting a lady ready for the day and no one would answer me on my walkie to help me, so when I walked out to see what was going on, everyone was surrounding the television and we just stared at it in disbelief thinking it was a bad dream. Later, I was unable to reach any family and my brother had, at that time, recently joined the military. Also, later that day we were unable to reach my grandparents who were to be on a tour at the Pentagon when it got hit. Jason remembered being at home and the UPS guy dropping something off for us. He said him and the UPS man just sat there together in silence watching it on TV. Anyways, onto a lighter note, and much cooler, the weather has recently changed. We did have a beautiful day yesterday reaching 80 and we took advantage of that by going for a walk after supper. I cannot go for a walk without Reese falling asleep in the stroller. She loves that stroller ride! Anyhow, looks like it might get a bit warmer over the weekend, but this 60's-70's is beautiful!! And, on another good note, Nebraska won again, so we are now 3-0!!! GO BIG RED!! Anyhow, here are the sitting pictures of Reese!!!!

"Baring" it all: 09/08/2011:

Next: 09/01/2011. I thought since she did so good the day before, I might as well get a couple of cute ones in this adorable outfit before the cold weather hits us:

First captured seating position, pretty forward yet: 08/30/2011

Reese is 6 months old!

Miss Reese Leora turned 6 months old on Sunday!! She is getting to be such a big girl! Lets see, what are her milestones?? Well, she started trying to sit up about 3 weeks ago and can now sit by herself for a pretty good period of time. When she gets tired of sitting, her face usually lands on her toes and she starts grunting. It's the funniest thing. Otherwise, this new found seated position has given her a new freedom, one which she enjoys very much so she can see her sisters much better. Lying down then, when not sleeping, really irritates her as she cannot see the world around her! She is eating many different veggies and fruits and loves her cereal. Sometimes, you can't seem to get it in her mouth as fast as she would like. And, if mommy is home and not spooning it in, she gets kind of irritated with whomever is trying to feed her, therefore, mommy must hide if someone else wants to feed her. Crazy girl! She is such a snuggler and gets so excited to see you if she hasn't seen you all day, it's the best! She is babbling up a storm and is giggling at things SHE thinks is funny! Her sisters, especially Ryleigh, can make her laugh or smile at the drop of a hat. This evening, she thought it was hysterical to be kissed in the palm of her hand! She's been sleeping through the night for a while now. If she gets cold though, at night, she will let you know! She has a check up next week, so I will post her stats after that. I wouldn't be surprised if she's over 15 pounds, but we'll see! She is wearing 6-9 month clothes already! I am so happy this little bundle of joy is a part of our lives.....the four of us just love her to pieces............and I think she loves the four of us right back!! Right now I am posting some lovely pictures my friend Ana took. Look at those beautiful baby blues!! I have more of her sitting that I will try and get on here soon! Oh, and that reminds me....................HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN--hope your birthday in China was good!!

CUTE!

So cute! This couple is trying to learn how to use their computer. I laughed when I saw it on my friends FB page and just had to post it!

Ryan, Kelli and Zoee came to visit!

Ryan, Kelli and Zoee came to MN for a few days! It was fun to get to see my brother since I haven't seen him since December and it was great to see Kelli and Zoee again in a few weeks time period. Isn't Zoee just precious!! Ryan flew into Minneapolis on Labor Day and so mom, dad, Reese and I went to pick him up. Before we headed home, we stopped at the Mall of America. I didn't buy a thing, which is weird. It was great to hang out with him the whole day. Then I had last Thursday and Friday vacation from work to hang out with the three of them! Friday we had Kelli's family over as well and had a bonfire in our new firepit. It was lots of fun telling jokes, having a few drinks and just hanging out with each other. Saturday, we had family pictures with the "Zabka's", swam at the pool at the hotel for an hour and then we had a picnic in the park with Kelli's family joining. Then Saturday evening, we had Reese and Zoee baptized together. Of course the girls were excited because Grandpa Danny and Gramma Terri came to celebrate as well!! And, the boys were excited to watch the Huskers game. I am thinking we are going to get beat a few times this year. Anyhow, we barbecued on Sunday and then Sunday evening, I said goodbye to Ryan, Kelli and Zoee. It was sad, and of course, I cried. I don't know when I will get to see them again. Hoping it will be real soon. Landree was so cute as she kept calling them Aunt Ryan and Uncle Kelli. Anyways, it was a great weekend!

Some sweetness....

Congrats to Jerhod and Nicole!

Congratulations go out to our friends, Jerhod and Nicole on the birth of their 3rd baby, a boy! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Samuel Bronson joined two older sisters, Grace and Evelyn a week ago yesterday! His stats: 9 lbs. 3 oz., 15" head, 22 inches long.................he came out within an hour of pushing and was all natural...................can you say..OUCH!! Can't wait to meet this little guy, so excited for Jerhod and Nicole on their little miracle!

Where do I begin??

Let's see, I left off with Ryleigh going to Kindergarten, so I guess I can start there. This was Ryleigh's first full week of school and besides being more tired in the evening, she seems to be enjoying it a lot. Of course, she likes to tell Jason and I that she doesn't remember what she has done that day, but we eventually get it out of her (with just a little bribery)! Today, though, she told me she LOVES Kindergarten. I know this sounds crazy, but in just the short time she has started school, she all of a sudden seems so much older! I have some other "first" days photos I need to share, and will eventually I hope, cuz it's with her "best bud"! And, since she loves playing on the I-pod (especially Angry birds) we downloaded a new educational app and it's secretly awesome as she loves it! Just a few shots from August that I snapped:

Our "star"!

Ryleigh Grace made the front page of the Mankato Free Press today: Can you find her? I was pretty excited and bragged about her, she was like, "yeah, no big deal, they showed me at school". It was fun to get texts and messages from friends who saw it. I wasn't even aware until her t-ball coach told me this morning as I was leaving from dropping her off at school. I think it finally hit me, when I read the Class of 2024. WOW, that doesn't seem to far away. Anyhow, she is loving school. Tuesday when I dropped her off, she took a few snap shots, hug and kissed me goodbye and ran off to the playground. I was kind of like, "ok, hmm, is she alright, should I go talk to her teacher, do I leave for work now??" It was weird to let go and let her be independent. So, I turned away and started walking to my car, looking back periodically to make sure all was okay. I didn't get any phone calls and she is alive and well, so all was good. So, here's the picture on the front page of our paper today:

If this doesn't pump you up, I don't know what will!!

GO BIG RED!!! Excited for the Husker game tomorrow! It's "red out" around the world, too!! I just wanted to post this for game day tomorrow since I probably won't blog until who knows when. My brother, Kelli and Zoee will be here next week! Anyways, this video is pretty awesome. Gives me goosebumps. Growing up as a child in Nebraska, we lived and breathed Husker football. Although I never went to a game until I was in my early 20's, whether they were on TV or on the radio, we RARELY missed a game! Even when I was in high school and at cross country meets, my dad would have it playing in his ear if they were playing at the same time, keeping Ryan and I posted on the score! Yes, I was a Husker fan living in the land of KS, but once a HUSKER, always a HUSKER (especially when you're born a HUSKER)!!



And last years tunnel walk:

Ryleigh's First Day of Kindergarten!

Ryleigh had her first day of Kindergarten today and she had a great day! Yay! The past few weeks have been so fun preparing for this day.........buying school supplies, buying new shoes, buying new clothes, buying a lunch box, getting everything ready and here it is....came sneaking up on me quicker than I would have ever thought. It's hard to believe when your baby is born that they will one day turn 5 and go to Kindergarten. I can't believe that day has arrived for us. I was doing so good too, not shedding a tear and then I decided to go peek on her last night before I went to bed. I held the cell phone light up to her and memories came flooding into my mind of when she was a baby and throughout her little life to this very moment. She, at least, was having a very good dream as she smiled and giggled in her sleep. I didn't want to wake or scare her, so I covered up the light until she stopped stirring and then I peeked again. Then I checked on Landree. Then I crawled into bed next to Jason and started crying. Poor guy. He just cuddled me and that was it, that's all I cried. It's funny...you have these times when you think something will go a certain way and they end up completely opposite...well that has now happened to me a a lot in life. What I am getting at is, there are moments in my life where I thought I would cry and then, they turn into being some of the happiest days of my life where I am too happy to cry. The first time was when I married Jason. I think I was the giddiest, happiest bride and had so much fun, I had a "permagrin" on my face. (We won't mention when the photographer brought some photos to my reception and he mistook Jeremy as Jason and had tons of nice photos of my brother-in-law and none of my husband at the church--yes still a little bitter about that one:)! Anyhow, didn't cry a tear when any of the girls were born.....had "permagrins" on those days too! And today, well, I was so excited for Ryleigh, no tears. I was close, but I did this swallowing trick a friend taught me and it worked, along with my annoyance of this dad who got in the way of my camera when trying to take a picture of Ryleigh going into school....he (the dad) was RUNNING along side of his son with a phone camera snapping picture after picture, looking like a goofball, making a scene. And Ryleigh thought I was annoying with a camera??!! Haha! She even asked me to not take any photos at school. I asked her if I could with the little camera and she said, "sure, but can you leave the big one in the car?" Fair enough. I even got a hug and kiss in front of all the kids, so that was the best tip of the week! So, on the way to the playground, I could tell she was starting to get a little nervous. While getting ready this morning, she was excited. She had her outfit all ready to go, we braided her hair with "Pocahontas" braids, she was ready. Luckily, her friend Natalies mom noticed the nervousness and had Ryleigh help her find Natalie, which helped. They stood in line together then after the bell rang and it was nice to know that she knew someone. They had this event after dropping your kids off called, Tears or Cheers. It was fun and I didn't cry there either, some moms were though. I visited with the ones I knew and had some oj and muffin and then headed off to work. On the way out of the school, I ran into Ryleigh's class. They were doing a bathroom break and a tour. She looked lost, kind of in her own world. I got out to my car and on my way to work started thinking. I hope she is okay, hope she starts looking like she's having fun, what if she cries, will they call me, will they help her open her fruit cup at lunch time, oh goodness. Time then, to turn on the jams! Jason picked her up and she called me at work to tell me what a great day she had and that she had a surprise for me waiting in her back pack. RELIEF!! BIG RELIEF!! So, when I got home, she filled me in. They read a book (a very good one that we read at home), made a hand puppet, a note with stickers for mom & dad, colored, played, rested and just had a good day! Another plus...she wants to go back!!! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall or just see inside Ryleigh's brain to tell you more about how she feels, but you only get what she's told me and the reactions I've seen. And that, my friends and family, was OUR first day of Kindergarten!!

Excited and Happy:

Our beautiful Kindergartener (telling the neighbor boy she's off to Kindergarten):

On the way to school:

Walking up to the playground/school:

Standing by her friend Natalie waiting to go into school: Here is the goofball dad who got in my way. Ryleigh is right behind his arm: