Kaycee...

Well, little Miss. Kaycee is doing great! Getting cuter every day...she is now 5 1/2 months old. Time is flying by. She is rolling over. Wanting to crawl, but just spins around. :)
Sits, briefly, and falls quickly!

Can you guess what she is doing here??
Well, this is her way of sleeping! Bury her face in her hands, and crash!

Otherwise, she looks like this...

and then my heart melts... Here is Kaycee sitting with her sweet cousin, Emily...

To All The Mom's Out There...

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom,

I made and ate hot meals.

I had unstained clothing.

I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom...

I slept as late as I wanted

and never worried about how late i got into bed.

I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before, I was a Mom...

I cleaned my house each day.

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom...

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom...

I had never been puked on,

Pooped on,

Spit on,

Chewed on,

Peed on,

or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom...

I had complete control of my mind,

My thoughts,

My body,

And my time.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom...

I never held down a screaming child

so that doctors could do tests,

or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom...

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put it down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so smallcould affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom...

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom...

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth...

The joy...

The love...

The heartache...

The wonderful fulfillment...

Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much...

...before I was a Mom...

-Author Unknown

Happy 40th Rich!!

The benefits of having your very own blog...is being able to wish anyone you want a Happy Birthday...with any pictures you want...without their approval!
So, today, I am taking advantage of this benefit,
by wishing my brother a Happy 40th Birthday!!!

So happy to see life is giving you what you deserve...

even if you did take some funny pictures over the years!

(*Your lucky, because I had a couple of GOOD pictures I was going to scan,

but they weren't clear enough.)
Wish we could have been there to celebrate with you!

But will definately be there in September...Hope your day was great!

Happy 40th!!

Goin' to School!!

Ryan has been counting the days until he can "go to school". We got a letter that the school was putting on a special night for 3 year olds. Basically to prepare them for school, down the road. Well, since getting that letter, Ryan has been so excited! Everyday asking, "Is today the day I go to school?"

Well, the day came and he, of course, wanted to take the bus. Well, no bus...too bad. :) But, he was willing to take the truck. So Ryan put on his Cars backpack and we went to school.

Truth be known, I dread the day my Little Bear starts school. Who else will tell me 27 times every day, "Mom, I love you."

They got to make Bunny ears, color, dancing string, and a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star! Ryan wants to know, "How do dey know dat is my faborit song??"

This is Ryan's friend, Nolan. He is just a few days younger than Ryan. Nolan's older sister is Nicki's BFF, Julia. And his other sister, Kayla, is in Joe's grade. They are good friends too and Kayla is only 3 days younger than Joe. We figured it is just fitting that Nolan/Ryan (get it??!!) be great friends too!

We didn't plan their names, but we figure they will be great baseball fans!

Ryan was so excited to get home and tell his dad all about it.

"Dad! You won't believe it ! Dees things are mine! They let me keep they!! I got a book, and bubbles, and glue, and colors, and beads, and dis, and dis too! But I don't know what they are. And I got cookies and juice and it was so much fun! I can't wait to go to school!!"

I can...

I have become my mother!

Dear Brother...
I thought there was something important you should know. I have become...OUR MOTHER! Yes, it is true. There are a few things she did to us, as children, that made us become the fine, upstanding adults that we are today.
One of them being shown in the picture above.

I am sure you remember this. It was, oh say, back in 1980. You, of course, were being mean to me. As usual. And our mom, got tired of my feelings being hurt, and sided with me...oh wait. THAT NEVER HAPPENED! Bwhwahahahhaaa!
The real story is...we were doing our usual bickering...OUR MOTHER...probably got sick of hearing it, and made us sit together and HOLD HANDS! What mother does that??!! Well, that would be OUR MOTHER, of course.

From thelooks of this picture:
Me, in my AYSO Golden Girls soccer shirt, sporting my lovely soon to be Dorothy Hammel haircut, and California sun-stroked freckles...didn't seem to mind as much as you.
You, in your usual baseball attire...can't seem to remember the name of your team. (Guess I was focusing too much on your lack of hand holding.)

Well, looks like we both survived that horrific day. We are both grown, mature adults, with children of our own.This iswhere you see, how I have become OUR MOTHER!!
This picture was taken last summer. Nicki and Joe for some odd reason were bickering! (Must have learned that from their uncle, of course...)
Well, The MOTHER, in me came out...They were told to sit on the lawn for 10 min. Holding hands, as employees, and neighbors all drove by...
WHAT KIND OF MOTHER AM I??!!

Then, this morning, it happened again. All's I wanted was a nice, quiet shower. I heard the pounding on the door. I shut off the water, and heard the yelling. I asked them very nicely to wait for me outside the door.
I came out, very calmly tied their hands together, told them to hold hands, and they could finish making their lunches and eat their breakfast, while holding hands.
Yes, it is true. I have become OUR MOTHER.

Even worse...I enjoyed it.

Yes...I did. As our MOTHER probably enjoyed it as well. You see, she enjoyed so well, she took out her camera. As did I. But those pictures will remain in the vault for the next 29 years, as ours did. Maybe I can black mail them with those pictures. Maybe I won't.

Nicki seemed to enjoy it more than Joe. Must be the girl thing.
But they both seemed to come unglued when I told them I might need them to go out to the barn for milk.
"NO MOM!! NO!!! All the workers will see us!!"
Thinking I might have been enjoying it a little too much...and thinking, "OUR MOM would have made us go out to the barn..."
I kindly grinned, told them they could take their tie off and could get their backpacks on and go out to the bus.
With the warning, "Next time, I will make you do that on the bus all the way to school."

So, here you have. My written confession.
I HAVE BECOME OUR MOTHER.
Truth be known...It was kinda fun.

Hope your trip was fun!
Your Loving Sister

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

OK...Well, I have given you two ample time to share your news with the world...Now it is MY turn!!

Whoever didn't know...well, they will now!! :) ha!!
Congratulations to Richie and Rustie!

They done got themselves engaged and will

be gettin' hitched in September.

We couldn't be happier for you guys and

cannot wait until the special day!

We love you...

Meet Nicki's 4H calf...Margo...

Guess who is rolling over now??

Who me??

My friend, Tracy, who I went to school with (cough) 20 YEARS AGO (cough, cough)!! I was so lucky that she came to Seattle and we had a FABULOUS day. The weather was good, the food was good, the company was good...It could not have gone better!
We went to Pikes Place Market...where Tracy was lovin' on the fishies...:)
Thanks so much for coming up Tracy...it was so much fun and was great catching up with you! Until next time...:)

It's a BABY!!

Well, aren't you all just a bunch of smarties??!!
Must be alot of belly recognizing going on out there, as I couldn't seem to put this one past ya!!
You guessed it...it's a BABY BELLY!!
And it belongs to my SISTER....Danielle...The BABY, herself!!
As you can tell, Baby Kate is growing just fine.

DISCLAIMER**
Not to worry about the knife in the other hand though...nothing was harmed during the taking of this picture!