MOTHER'S DAY

Okay, here goes! I am having issues with posting entries on my phone, so I thought I would try the new Ipad! It's pretty cool and slick, but I'm embarrassed to admit that Ryleigh can run this thing better than me!! Before May leaves us, I wanted to post a very late happy mothers day entry to all the special moms whom are loved by us and who keep up on us via the blog, but especially our own moms! None of our moms were around on Mothers day (my mom in Nebraska, Jason's mom in Colorado and his stepmom on her way to Texas), so Jason and I and the girls just hung out. Jason did let me sleep in and when I finally did awaken, Jason and the girls had the following gifts ready for me!! The first one was made by Ryleigh at school and is so special to me because it is her handprint!! The second one is a paper flower made by Jason and the girls while I was sleeping......origami, my hubby is so talented in so many ways!! Im not sure how he did it either because Reese is a handful right now and I can barely get a meal cooked alone because she is into everything. Anyhow, then Jason took a picture of the girls and I together on Mothers day (as you can see, we all had to wear dresses or skirts on this day)! I am so thankful that God has given me the chance to be a mother and then to give me the girls he did, makes me feel "triply" blessed. The key is to remember that on days when they make me go crazy.....gotta love them!! So, again, happy late Mothers day!!

A mini vaca during a long vaca!!

I always do this to myself every year because I'm always afraid to use it too fast, but by the time my anniversary date starts getting closer, I find myself in need of using a few weeks of vacation. Unfortunately, you can't carry it over too far into your next year. So, I had 11 days off in a row. This is something I don't normally do, especially since our daycare has sporadic ones throughout the summer and I use them for that. And, I have another one coming up here at the beginning of June!! Vacation is always good, but there was a part of my vacation that really was not fun and that's because the girls all got sick, and let me tell you, not all on the same day. Fevers, cough, etc. Ryleigh missed school on Tuesday and then Jason and I got off to a later start on our way to Texas for Shea and Josh's wedding. Luckily, my parents aren't afraid of sick kids and encouraged us on our journey to Texas, childless!! I have never been away from any of my girls for more than 1 or 2 nights, so 4 nights was a lot! I really did miss them and it was so great to be greeted by their hugs when we picked them up! We had fun on our way to Texas and really had a lot to talk about other than the girls.We drove straight through, left Thursday at 5:30 pm and arrived in Dallas on Friday morning at 8. I almost had my first ever road kill in Oklahoma.....a mountain lion, but I missed him barely!! Texas was fun, too and interesting! Shea was a beautiful bride. I have pictures, but since it's getting late, you'll have to wait. It was kind of fun sitting back, relaxing, without worrying what the kids were up to. Jason even said at Thatchers party, "I betcha these people think, "oh, just you wait, your time is coming"." One gal even said to me, I just don't think I could do more than one kid, this is exhausting!" Haha, try 3!! We just smiled, sat back and enjoyed ourselves!! We drove straight through again on Sunday with Jason's dad aboard and arrived in Northfield at about 1 am. I did want to add this one photo of Jason and I at the wedding because I think we both look so rested and relaxed!! :)

A little bit of everything

Reese loves her daddy. She sees that he is a jungle gym for the other two and she wants to join in on the fun:

 Being silly:

 Growing up to quickly, she's starting to use her utensils to eat instead of just her fingers (yes, I make them boxed mac-n-cheese every once awhile, call me a bad mom) and check out her hair, some days nothing fixes it, not even wetting it down:

 Remember these, I found them at the dollar store and had to get some to show the girls how I used to eat them when I was a little girl:

 Reese loves her babies

 we think????

 Off to the store:

 Kisses from daddy, do you see the nice bump above her eye, this kids falling a lot, you'd think she just started walking in the past month or something................

 The girls found a frog:

 Helping us moms get ready for a garage sale:

 Went to check out the lake (and there were people swimming in it already, crazy peeps, it's middle of May in MN)!!!!! 

 Watching intently as Jason shows her how to blow

 Are we going to blow or eat:

 We're gonna eat it:

 What did we catch here:

Our sweet little "Reesey" pie:

 I've never had quite the adventurous, ornery, do everything you're not supposed to, trouble making little girl, but here she is dancing on the chairs by the fire pit.

 Yep, it's been warm enough for some sprinkler action and laying out:

 And of course, throw in a few storms here and there. This one set the tornado sirens off 3 times, these clouds were just rolling, it was incredible to see. In a matter of seconds it moved from over a little past our houses,

 to right above our heads:

Dentist visit (5/14)

So, I wouldn't normally post every time the girls have a dentist visit, but since it was a first for Landree, I thought I'd better share, especially since I shared Ryleigh's first! I am one proud mama to report that again, we have NO CAVITIES!!! Way to go girls!! Originally it was only a check up for Ryleigh but since it seems to take 8 years to get to set up an appointment, I asked if there was any way to slip Landree in that day to get them on the same schedule!! And, they were able to!! Landree was ok with the hygienist, but she was a little scared of the dentist. Luckily, he has children the same age and was able to get her to look into a mirror while he counted her 20 teeth!! Ryleigh had some X-rays done and her 6 year molars are about to come in any day they thought. She also appears to have what looks to be some loosening of her front teeth. They told her she might not have them on her next visit and she was so excited about this. (I'm sure because some of her classmates have started to lose their teeth!) It did take Landree a little bit to get up in the chair, but after watching big sister do it and be brave, she went for it. She got a ride in the chair, got to watch cartoons while her teeth were cleaned and got to pick out some toys when she was all done! They even picked out a toothbrush for Reese (who by the way could sit for hours if someone just brushed her teeth the whole time, it's hilarious)! Here she is ready to go:

 Taking a peek at the mirror:

 Keeping her mouth open wide while watching cartoons:

 A little leery:

 I wanted to see their big pretty teeth after they were all done and I thought I had them both looking at me, but my phone is not as quick as my camera and this is what I got (Peggy thought it looked like Landree was going to take a bite out of Ryleigh's arm with her newly cleaned, sharp teeth)!!

Time

The indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole (per google). Don't have enough...........don't use it wisely..........have too much...........slow.........fast.........yesterday..............tomorrow ...........today............passing..........short............fleeting........... wasted.........constant.............unstoppable...........infinite........ bad...............good.............first............long..........confusing... hours.............minutes............seconds............I'm sure the list could go on and on. I was thinking about time tonight. What would happen if I decided to just let go, see what happens, would time not disappear so quickly. What would happen if I didn't have a deadline every time I turned around, a place to be every second of every day. Would I be bored......perhaps. Would life go more slowly..........perhaps. And, as the girls get older, I'm sure time will just slip by even faster. What I would give for maybe just 10 minutes (and to skip all the stuff in between...well most of it anyways),  to go back to my childhood, back when time didn't matter so much, when the hot summer days wore on for hours. Not a care in the world. Life was simple. Didn't have the thoughts that make me go crazy sometimes. Didn't have all the worries or worry about what people thought or constantly trying to please every person I care about or don't care about but have to deal with. If I had more TIME.......oh, if I had more. All you special people would know how truly special you are. Perhaps I would call more often, send a note/letter/card more often. In all this passing time, though, you are all thought of often...my family and friends. Time is precious these days, though. Most importantly, all of my time has my girls in it. Whether at work or home, these girls are constantly in my thoughts. Everything I do, every decision is for them. Therefore, they get my time. I hope everyone understands that, I sure do when the vice versa comes into play. Maybe I don't want to go back into time. I have all I've ever wanted and more right here, right now ( I just needed some special people to point that out to me)! And, I've always liked being busy. Instead of just rushing through it, I need to learn to embrace it, embrace the here and now, the present. Not worry about if my time has been wasted or was spent wrong. Wow, that was maybe a little to deep, maybe not deep enough................... The one thing I do wish I had a little more time for was photoshop (insert smiley face). But, instead, here is what you get: We took some TIME last week on my day off to have a little fun at the nearby petting park. Reese is my first child to not be afraid to let the animals feed out of her hand for her age. Ryleigh is just now loving it and Landree is still a little leery. We got to pet sheep, cows, goats. The horses and pigs weren't out. And the llamas would rather be looked at then pet or fed, along with the fish.