Missiles, Projectiles, Torpedoes...

Yes, this is apparently what my family considers our brand-new DECORATIVE pillows. I bought them thinking they were an inexpensive and "homey touch" to the living room. They see them as ammo for their wars, and I see them as a little color to rest against the couch...silly me!

















"GOTCHA DAD!"






The only casulty from the devastating decorative pillow onslaught:

Spoiled Rotten!

As of late last night, we are now the proud owners of a 2001 Ford Winstar--our new reliable vehicle! I didn't ever think that I'd be so excited over a van in my entire life. I'm so grateful, however, for the Grand Voyager (nicknamed 'Gilbert' because he looked like a giant grape on wheels) that was passed around my family for years. Since it went dead, we were able to look into another van.

I FOUND this! Ryan helped a little, (okay A LOT) and we eventually got this awesome new van. It's a Ford Winstar and it drives like a dream. It's got such fun stuff on it and it's so fun to be in. Here's what it has that we DIDN'T have before:

-heater that works!!
-AIR CONDITIONER that works!!
-back hatch stays open in its own!!
-the blinkers work (and there are these cool little arrows on my side mirrors that blink too--which Dawson just LOVES.)
-the windows are automatic, no PHYSICAL rolling up or down required!!
-THERE ARE TWO, count them, TWO sliding doors that open at....the touch of a button! I have a remote control for my van! How exciting is that?!
-I have a little mirror that allows me to see what's going on in the back!

AND.....

My most FAVORITE part about this is that I have a CD player AND a cassette player! I can play Erasure all day long while the kids can listen to a whole seperate tape! Ohhhhh, I'm in heaven.




It's got under 81K miles on it and it's just awesome. No transmission issues, no brake line leaks, no noisy struts, no leaking transmission, no broken tail light, no dented bumper, no more standing under the back hatch hoping that it doesn't come slamming down on your head (which hurts, by the way), and best of all, it runs when it is supposed to!




I'm so THANKFUL for my uncle for giving us Gilbert a few years ago. I appreciate the love and thoughtfulness of that gesture. I appreciate all the work that my parents put into it. I'm so grateful for their help.

I love my new van! It's awesome! Ryan has officially and permantantly become a passenger, not the driver!

Splenda-ism

"The sweet life is measured in sprinkles and smiles."

(on a Splenda packet)

I thought this was cute!

One of these things is not like the other...

They're all siblings and related. One has had blonde hair for his whole life. The other two are dark hair and dark eyes and have round faces that look alike. Guess who!

Go THROUGH not around

I turned around for just a minute to make dinner and I heard Carter grunting and making these funny sounds. Out of the corner of my eye I see him: his poor body stuck in the chair and then when I tried to get him out of there, he was stuck underneath the desk with his face plastered against the dirty hardwood floor! He tried to crawl THROUGH the chair instead of AROUND it. Sure, makes sense to me!

April Fool's Birthday

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A little over six years ago, I was expecting a boy. I had dreams about a little boy with dark hair and dark eyes. At our ultrasound at 20 weeks, I was told that it was a boy and he would be born in March of 2002. I was overdue and finally induced on April 1st, 2002 and lo and behold, the joke was on US!


We had been talking while I was in labor about April Fools jokes. "What IF we had a girl, ha ha, April Fools!" When our baby finally arrived, we were told it was a girl. Everyone around the room laughed as we were waiting for the "April Fools" to follow her last announcement...except she never said it. It really WAS a girl!

We named her Ryanna, after her daddy. She had these huge brown eyes and lots of dark hair. When she was a baby, she always smelled pink. She had colic and made us crazy, and she was always dramatic; but she's such a sweetheart to her brothers. She's a princess and knows it.


Happy Birthday to my six year old girl!



This was the present from Grandma and Grandpa Holdaway. She got 4 Junie B. Jones books, a Curious George book and a DARLING outfit for summertime! She'll look adorable in it!



Here are some fun pictures over the last few years: