tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74134002313814629402024-03-05T07:46:26.518-08:00Mower Family AdventuresMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-23067386813091059522011-07-25T06:45:00.000-07:002011-07-25T06:45:53.104-07:00June trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Summer has flown by! We started out in June with a trip to Utah, Idaho and Bear Lake. The Utah trip was a short one day visit where I ran the Utah Valley Marathon with my dad. It was both of our first marathons. The experience turned out to be a good one. I was really glad to be done with the training but the race was not as bad as I thought it might be, I actually enjoyed it, although I couldn't walk normal for days after!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> This is me after I finished.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdd7K9ErJ_hEF8PrPOpla14Ly-vNxngpkunk4TKcNnr0ZgCNXSvo094cud2TvY57ldDlyhE1ekav507t1BZFkv94OK7O62-l9-LiiA-GMomUL6pWhgilb5Ic20OTRZQXZOCCfytiuGek/s400/011+-+Copy.JPG" width="300" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was fun to share the experience with my dad. We trained in separate states but talked on the phone weekly to swap stories of our long training runs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My kids told me that Ben's medal from last year looks cooler than the one I got. There was a bounce house slide at the end of the race that my kids enjoyed playing on.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qsdcpR17U1W6mpC5uD0nYSB53RDMdYeWqbkE9ArBeqsacMzk2FLtYIpZnn6wHRLfBZMdrJMO-fBRtkewzwuXAmJtH3a_mZzMHq5JPv8lWDkugQWXkiMbwVfPLSc2R0LkSD6goBkD7D4/s400/014+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After a shower and some lunch we were off to Idaho to visit Ben's parents. While in Idaho we went to a place called Craters of the Moon. We took Caleb and Mia, our kids cousins. It is full of lava rocks and caves formed by lava flow. The day we went was SO windy. We climbed to the top of a cone and played in the wind. The kids are pretending to fly into the wind.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ben is ready to fly away! </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and Ben at Craters of the Moon. </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We participated in the Jr. Ranger program and the kids all got sworn in as Jr. Rangers and earner a badge. They thought the badges were pretty cool. </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next day we walked to the park and the kids had fun playing tag. I didn't get any pictures of Jacob and David because they were running around so much. Tanner enjoyed the swing the whole time.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67nRQZw2zsqH_-AIIW0L1i_kNk6iI_xn2efSjg3xB0XZZVT-ZwtYqa8C2ZK2Yken6uvBEmZrul__Mhn7xBbj_oUYok-GQatbgYFnvsbRfqZLFAyDfQ8rJ4mn_ihpnceyTwEIB1Ei_K7o/s1600/080+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67nRQZw2zsqH_-AIIW0L1i_kNk6iI_xn2efSjg3xB0XZZVT-ZwtYqa8C2ZK2Yken6uvBEmZrul__Mhn7xBbj_oUYok-GQatbgYFnvsbRfqZLFAyDfQ8rJ4mn_ihpnceyTwEIB1Ei_K7o/s400/080+-+Copy.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Madeline liked going down the slide</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After the park, we walked to Rockland Pharmacy and bought the cheapest milkshakes ever. They are served old style at a bar in a glass and cost $2.00</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWwzZVps9RJjA7eGCg2CsgUhCBaiPgifERlDbJ26LL3HmdTkgY_KQgssWN3IncWP0hb92rLcwwO7DheTdY_YJ4E-ezmsjWB_x5NuAyYQg72QgvzgY9oZQKceGDEFleJRJdDhtuL37xSzk/s400/085+-+Copy.JPG" width="300" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One evening we had a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzpZESWbY2sAT1DeunC_vNnOWbbWE-euOTMdzNs5WVc1oQsv3-4KCp-_560VELSe3t1_-VZTu5PQ5xzhrA8QpXVtoldJSh4HL66olqKq05nZmcfqRFF1MCLGZ-LLijE4bNASkJV5VptM/s400/090+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After Idaho, we went to Bear Lake for two days with my family. While we were there it was really cold so no one got in the lake but we did swim in the heated pools, played tennis, bought milkshakes, played games together, wrote and performed a tribute to my grandpa to the tune of Rebecca Black's song Friday, and we had a family 10Krace. It was a fun packed two days. There was also a kids fun run Here is Jacob rounding the corner at the end of the run.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUcof8EQDTWhx1j8Z7mdjGV-wswBcjDfy03rKKiIoWrcmnvidUTNI4v3u_z0S6eLxpDoYQAjPtoYDQJrkqu1RpUHlMYdQAwzwelyENbBoEdRn9cDqDGt-NNJw0qpSK88acbwYT9_BmX3k/s400/092+-+Copy.JPG" width="300" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">David also participated in the race and did well.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd_9XeImo8kBJxxDJ8wpzj-nXT4MXWzZ4KNoPMlBErrjJjXMStJ2FV0ofz4bggrs5X3vFCM20f7JHtwhCnRVqAEzXGKoPK9vs57A1J3BFnXV0t_jMXrBL_Ke7mA-YNm6tFgRCTz4lwm0/s400/093+-+Copy.JPG" width="300" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the immediate family that was able to go to Bear Lake. My brother, Ryan, got off his mission two weeks later!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft-V_fft5dKcA57_RSiCjBqP5WM6e6D_YLKbGtNwnA1I_KAca2WrjG6RHKbndFyFunq_43Qoy63VSdJssNzK9coe_BxsHNI-Ms7shlL4m81zQfUQIwgrRYbORjZdQ4Ms8h_XZbGyVkMU/s1600/096+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhft-V_fft5dKcA57_RSiCjBqP5WM6e6D_YLKbGtNwnA1I_KAca2WrjG6RHKbndFyFunq_43Qoy63VSdJssNzK9coe_BxsHNI-Ms7shlL4m81zQfUQIwgrRYbORjZdQ4Ms8h_XZbGyVkMU/s400/096+-+Copy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-13175101179934877382011-02-16T11:11:00.000-08:002011-02-16T11:11:29.351-08:00Life as the 4th child...<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tanner has a different life then Jacob did as our first child. He has siblings to "play" with him. Whether it be dressing him up with coin eyes, </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBoakae_GGEtdGD6wqnOB4r_-AqBgMZaOBfAAW2Xo48tMl9NoH5SoBdV_RvpqL6XAZX95cTOs7L19hvi0Qfz7lamJyRgFaFPPwtHuIj-_qVrm5kXdJbKjduiasFJPrME6ZBCS_YyXnXI/s1600/IMG_3002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBoakae_GGEtdGD6wqnOB4r_-AqBgMZaOBfAAW2Xo48tMl9NoH5SoBdV_RvpqL6XAZX95cTOs7L19hvi0Qfz7lamJyRgFaFPPwtHuIj-_qVrm5kXdJbKjduiasFJPrME6ZBCS_YyXnXI/s400/IMG_3002.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Or helping him try on the new shop goggles<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5rEFxnf0Wcj4h-iajLB6gcbXVKFmKcc8ueZgZHBgDpCwMwpsm1zLTkVy9X1Y8is5AxS_rs-r9bYmDuKxFoK1btFFtDTZSGJjzlfFSvT3OUZcAdgk6XM1Z53lYLWj1pcG6OloKq8QjqQ/s1600/IMG_3015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG5rEFxnf0Wcj4h-iajLB6gcbXVKFmKcc8ueZgZHBgDpCwMwpsm1zLTkVy9X1Y8is5AxS_rs-r9bYmDuKxFoK1btFFtDTZSGJjzlfFSvT3OUZcAdgk6XM1Z53lYLWj1pcG6OloKq8QjqQ/s400/IMG_3015.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Or creating a statue.(Don't worry they aren't actually sitting on him.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtN3fHx-eDoyOIa9lnvQDgevocus1YLnhiX-iuuLA4UJPdVt3H3VLYQuFuqTRtkIcr8XEdfoeL359GXrYZ5ZFVBMq2oeoJ916MrD6C1Z2X6w9c1ewimKFqISC4iuXzL2ver1fU2ORu364/s1600/IMG_3138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtN3fHx-eDoyOIa9lnvQDgevocus1YLnhiX-iuuLA4UJPdVt3H3VLYQuFuqTRtkIcr8XEdfoeL359GXrYZ5ZFVBMq2oeoJ916MrD6C1Z2X6w9c1ewimKFqISC4iuXzL2ver1fU2ORu364/s400/IMG_3138.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or sweeping the floor so you can play. (I have no clue what was happening here, I didn't take the picture or hold the broom over his head. I found the picture when I was putting the pictures on the computer.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjS-KksMnwGAzRKBxEuaffg2ilVv4azUreGzv3ms4oqd8eESBiAwuIopbDDNuW2T15_8tffngfaE-bjAR-jMV4q6EWbdkbIm2_le9g8at4X-ZxOrb-lmo-BxxY9_gRoobWnBzvPD8ISY/s400/IMG_3099.JPG" width="300" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One thing is for sure, siblings love to share their Valentine's candy with their baby brother. I was wondering why Tanner was being so happy and quiet.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44-mJZe9DxepRkR6AdEqs_ockp4q0EYZ9hscPPK1QWM0M9VVfQ3mTDmYSyPR7j0ev3y7rPZ2eXxHzSqZmNuaASymwBTPiv5SWA01Ysa6egwU7wdBio_WsewCNWUWH-oSTZE1YgiKFUyQ/s1600/IMG_3181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44-mJZe9DxepRkR6AdEqs_ockp4q0EYZ9hscPPK1QWM0M9VVfQ3mTDmYSyPR7j0ev3y7rPZ2eXxHzSqZmNuaASymwBTPiv5SWA01Ysa6egwU7wdBio_WsewCNWUWH-oSTZE1YgiKFUyQ/s400/IMG_3181.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
A baby brother is also a good way to get rid of the Nutella toast you don't want to eat. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But mostly having three older siblings makes for a happy life with so many people to love you.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeePYaIlYDODXp6PFhkqFAq0SRf7TloroWv3qZSf2g89HHR8WNFn14FY1bBd2hy9FC5IYWCluDwKlJI5pjB9FWwIiwT9a9edT_fsCVOxz7TeyuSGZdokmrcZ8VgayAhVFRLyjIVFyGEno/s1600/IMG_3144.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeePYaIlYDODXp6PFhkqFAq0SRf7TloroWv3qZSf2g89HHR8WNFn14FY1bBd2hy9FC5IYWCluDwKlJI5pjB9FWwIiwT9a9edT_fsCVOxz7TeyuSGZdokmrcZ8VgayAhVFRLyjIVFyGEno/s400/IMG_3144.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-19632914132194494212011-01-23T19:07:00.000-08:002011-01-23T19:07:56.726-08:00Jumping For Joy!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is how we spent our Sunday evening while Ben was at Stake Priesthood meeting. The kids were excited to see their jumps caught on camera!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUaiXxq2rMWXDKH0XC6rvxlTF9hWGQAgBTONh-znbHBY4EPvSBXq4GxoCSNXVN50V57fHavGaPeqq_gR_nR6F5GSlbH71h63s0y1Msuv0nkXy-uJc_g9S_l_Bt3nzovCfroEIt1MWpAbQ/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUaiXxq2rMWXDKH0XC6rvxlTF9hWGQAgBTONh-znbHBY4EPvSBXq4GxoCSNXVN50V57fHavGaPeqq_gR_nR6F5GSlbH71h63s0y1Msuv0nkXy-uJc_g9S_l_Bt3nzovCfroEIt1MWpAbQ/s640/IMG_2998.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhGT_o8rjRkh2NLjz2RCkTo5llLMI_aM6iQZGJxmkYgD6Ar5fhORjoxZch5lWcn2uCspWUR5OLpZoQWCcqEhFd2H4Se7RnrjixmtpCVqMVF8hdZYZb9ybG6sJX33SZHzjPfEY0cdhHHE/s640/IMG_2983.JPG" width="480" /></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiUL3K267pclZumQhue2KEbZR_5BgysYXjYqQbPtP7KErkVssqC02WMam6nSXGQGrLpAXWFslbv2eECdGfWuXWPCltFkQ8IwfQkdgquDoeYQE1yczi_dh7MyR5K0UvXzFXrqVVqqWEUg/s1600/IMG_2986.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiUL3K267pclZumQhue2KEbZR_5BgysYXjYqQbPtP7KErkVssqC02WMam6nSXGQGrLpAXWFslbv2eECdGfWuXWPCltFkQ8IwfQkdgquDoeYQE1yczi_dh7MyR5K0UvXzFXrqVVqqWEUg/s640/IMG_2986.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKk8Tv15JoodEhlv_Lv1HHemS954LBumhVf6hkVVei9Nb0Ye0WQLgce-Opi6CNyRfjJcVR5oo9xQwMtLm5M6Vfgu6mtTP5MM-6iYimaf2pDT3dvRyH2elvcghpm78mTKPdsl-Ah5C9B8/s1600/IMG_2987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvKk8Tv15JoodEhlv_Lv1HHemS954LBumhVf6hkVVei9Nb0Ye0WQLgce-Opi6CNyRfjJcVR5oo9xQwMtLm5M6Vfgu6mtTP5MM-6iYimaf2pDT3dvRyH2elvcghpm78mTKPdsl-Ah5C9B8/s640/IMG_2987.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi132kvHAktUs-z0bf9WwlROrFC90ZgNLhp6VBLHofSeFy_k-MSaAHOolnjw90HJoofmA1HXxgjDPuyBShXZoBN6dJHsJKlBXMvAijEB_9iouCvgDQxMs9GitPZfEZJxlPnnavoIa5SMzE/s1600/IMG_2992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi132kvHAktUs-z0bf9WwlROrFC90ZgNLhp6VBLHofSeFy_k-MSaAHOolnjw90HJoofmA1HXxgjDPuyBShXZoBN6dJHsJKlBXMvAijEB_9iouCvgDQxMs9GitPZfEZJxlPnnavoIa5SMzE/s640/IMG_2992.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-53228590586347520192011-01-11T12:10:00.000-08:002011-01-11T12:10:30.493-08:00My Christmas Present<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ever since I was a little girl I always wanted a window seat. Our house had the perfect window for a window seat but it was never the priority project. Lucky me, my dad and Ben built one over the Christmas break! I love how it turned out! The guys spent two days from start to finish, paint and all. While they were building, my mom and I shopped for fabric and made the cushion and pillows. Under the window seat is storage that we put books from an entire bookshelf in. The front doors hide the books for a cleaner look.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoI0oA7VY87UuwfQQweFKVsWqmBPb568vceRRSdT27mBBnRHR3M3SVTEIvdwDS5N56GRDzGdxjUe594Mq0F756esPb1ZxCyeEIAC6TPwjAemkcWUz778J9ek5MZfE19MSr0S6525Dh_ow/s400/IMG_2941.JPG" width="400" /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Our living room used to be a bit of this and that with zero seating. Now two bookshelves are removed, the computer desk is gone and it is a bit more like a living room.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3-DV4pWwWmWu7CaazWsHjY7MRpoTt6-93uBXvvb_MdJcaNxr11JzWSq3a2RnWOL33a5TnBvTHHzepoY_0KmiBImvgIQexF1dmS6sV5Ci_q16t3C6kmcyN8kxUUqOycccenepB_PaeR4/s1600/IMG_2889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy3-DV4pWwWmWu7CaazWsHjY7MRpoTt6-93uBXvvb_MdJcaNxr11JzWSq3a2RnWOL33a5TnBvTHHzepoY_0KmiBImvgIQexF1dmS6sV5Ci_q16t3C6kmcyN8kxUUqOycccenepB_PaeR4/s400/IMG_2889.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>I painted this rocking chair we had in the basement and hung family pictures where the bookshelf used to be.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQW14PMGoQOTQnRYneIZ_q9DShML5bfDHGmgrX9wudTE2MIP0hU7Q5cQbIEIzLHeW63rIwLDaVVkhFsa7RL3IxYWjOwRnfAy29vB0EGa8XxQGqWt9BzQjhBEhqRYEtIYlSMKE_9TkBlpI/s1600/IMG_2890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQW14PMGoQOTQnRYneIZ_q9DShML5bfDHGmgrX9wudTE2MIP0hU7Q5cQbIEIzLHeW63rIwLDaVVkhFsa7RL3IxYWjOwRnfAy29vB0EGa8XxQGqWt9BzQjhBEhqRYEtIYlSMKE_9TkBlpI/s400/IMG_2890.JPG" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was really excited about the pillows. Pillow forms range from $8-$20 so it would get pretty expensive to make 8 pillows. I had the idea to buy the $2.50 standard bed pillows and push the stuffing tighter and sew across the top to make a square pillow instead of a standard bed pillow. It didn't take much time and made a great and inexpensive pillow form. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjcUy4o96GwpATpzQvELANalS3ihCJ3mpbINw6yDix0yg84fLd5EV1pEqW_-gqNaKVZOf3TqRlEGkaWCmFoD6KpWdHdGByC0Cr42jCKzy1xd6Nik3dfV6FSlAuXeAufBBL4uHEVU8yoA/s1600/IMG_2946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLjcUy4o96GwpATpzQvELANalS3ihCJ3mpbINw6yDix0yg84fLd5EV1pEqW_-gqNaKVZOf3TqRlEGkaWCmFoD6KpWdHdGByC0Cr42jCKzy1xd6Nik3dfV6FSlAuXeAufBBL4uHEVU8yoA/s400/IMG_2946.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanks mom and dad for all your work and money! Thanks Kevin and Laurel for the curtains! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-54615005036777468502010-12-15T13:27:00.000-08:002010-12-15T13:27:18.587-08:00Christmas Time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the past couple of years I have wanted to make picture ornaments of our family from past Christmas's. I finally did it this year. I made 8 ornaments for the past 8 years and also made 10 more so that as the years go by I can just add the picture and not have to re-make ornaments every year. Here are two done and hanging on the tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq04tCfNSeImTdc6FXQiR7bu7cY-aHAjguZb049aGAjCRZapRyyfE_HsrUBkbLkiNlysQMCrXev8-znxEDIznz86AICmpDoXoFl83nOhH3bnOfOi3Gvt5gffiXJpupnR-iyKmtUqEYME8/s640/IMG_2775.JPG" width="480" /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zWRL7g6YkNFYLfoiQDB8EgVQMSIErQqmLxncWMzH946E5vsAH9_cU9MafQeTNmOpVhjdD6hOr70hAwrlM1UgYS0BKf4xakZ4Muikdy3kbdg3Ut00d7ShT1ltnXgQ0r0dJWv5tsHGK4o/s1600/IMG_2772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zWRL7g6YkNFYLfoiQDB8EgVQMSIErQqmLxncWMzH946E5vsAH9_cU9MafQeTNmOpVhjdD6hOr70hAwrlM1UgYS0BKf4xakZ4Muikdy3kbdg3Ut00d7ShT1ltnXgQ0r0dJWv5tsHGK4o/s640/IMG_2772.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I copied the idea from <a href="http://memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com/2010/11/photo-garland.html">here</a>. I LOVE this blog and read it all the time. She has great ideas and opinions. I followed the tutorial except I used foam board instead of wood. For $6 I was able to cut out 18 ornaments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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Just for fun, here are some cute photos of Santa baby and his siblings</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-69274002019160841342010-12-10T13:50:00.000-08:002010-12-10T13:50:56.214-08:00Lullaby and Goodnight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CZaxhsqtTAWVCqPirdnaXg2iKcYSSoByHWfSifiMtgYeGs-Ciy60bFHO68XKCLfG099sEQ5k05GHYd-NihOGi_w5LQwxd2cK8SwMh95yLTx2_mHo8EULQtFYxPMFigS4q7JXAh4f3wM/s1600/IMG_2751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CZaxhsqtTAWVCqPirdnaXg2iKcYSSoByHWfSifiMtgYeGs-Ciy60bFHO68XKCLfG099sEQ5k05GHYd-NihOGi_w5LQwxd2cK8SwMh95yLTx2_mHo8EULQtFYxPMFigS4q7JXAh4f3wM/s640/IMG_2751.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I was switching a load of laundry today and set Tanner down on the dryer. He was hungry so the next item on the agenda was to feed him. However, after I switched the laundry he was sound asleep comforted but the soft vibration of the dryer. I Love it!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-91989299594803523292010-12-09T06:57:00.000-08:002010-12-09T06:57:50.960-08:00Race Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpXm1_LByATTkOyHIYQtNa56QmuUXKAmKm1DFqy22NaeXOoV5_MYOERyp20j-lHXOoDQf873ZEpS3o4hKcLGumPa09UkjZVeJyU0ajPFfeE3m07-wcd2d3KlR1sgHFxbYiWJrVGfqA_Q/s1600/IMG_2701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Jacob and David ran their first race on Thanksgiving this year. They had a lot of fun participating and being a part of race day. Our plan was to have one of us at the start line and one at the finish, unfortunately the race was a bit disorganized. By the time I had ran all over trying to locate their race numbers we only had one minute to pin them on and then they were off. Ben and I were left at the start line with two extra coats, a car seat with a baby inside(heavy), a diaper bag and a two year old. We really tried to run to the finish line to see them cross, but we missed the big moment. The boys still had fun and got running bags with a bunch of free stuff(garbage), snacks after, and a race day shirt. The race this year was just .25 miles but Jacob says next year he wants to run the 5K. We are proud of our little runners!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpXm1_LByATTkOyHIYQtNa56QmuUXKAmKm1DFqy22NaeXOoV5_MYOERyp20j-lHXOoDQf873ZEpS3o4hKcLGumPa09UkjZVeJyU0ajPFfeE3m07-wcd2d3KlR1sgHFxbYiWJrVGfqA_Q/s1600/IMG_2701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpXm1_LByATTkOyHIYQtNa56QmuUXKAmKm1DFqy22NaeXOoV5_MYOERyp20j-lHXOoDQf873ZEpS3o4hKcLGumPa09UkjZVeJyU0ajPFfeE3m07-wcd2d3KlR1sgHFxbYiWJrVGfqA_Q/s640/IMG_2701.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-69936268466778847172010-12-05T16:23:00.000-08:002010-12-05T16:23:32.300-08:00Sugar Anyone?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On Friday we were babysitting some of our friends kids and decided to make cookies with everyone. When we asked one of the boys to put the sugar away, this is what happened. When the sugar spilled I was grateful I laughed instead of getting angry. There are times when I get really angry about things kids do but I find they are getting less often, and I am laughing more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17g_sij3pFa3Uxa3CHRynP21bxiwdyXNKCV-aHs2_AGy-CjPaaE3C48orntgLNDdVCumHYBP8XNYtDKNkxas19bLEem5_ZHbsoVyKpp5iApFRTi22M9DIHxrEfWH1LqQ3oxla4t2z3cU/s1600/IMG_2742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17g_sij3pFa3Uxa3CHRynP21bxiwdyXNKCV-aHs2_AGy-CjPaaE3C48orntgLNDdVCumHYBP8XNYtDKNkxas19bLEem5_ZHbsoVyKpp5iApFRTi22M9DIHxrEfWH1LqQ3oxla4t2z3cU/s640/IMG_2742.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-25063992929572542392010-11-30T17:08:00.000-08:002010-11-30T17:08:14.394-08:00E-mail from my 1st Grader's Teacher<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; font-size: small;"> I want to bring to your attention something that happened yesterday during our indoor lunch recess. The children could not go out because of the wind chill. If you are receiving this email, your son or daughter was involved in this situation. I was having my lunch when this happened and the children were being supervised by two very competent teaching assistants. </span></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; font-size: small;">From what I understand about what happened, after a day long investigation, a group of six students were experimenting by eating hand sanitizer. The idea I believe originated with one of my girls, when she suggested the other people in the group eat the hand sanitizer. I have spoken to all the people involved and they all tried the sanitizer and confirmed no one was forced to eat it. They all just made a really bad choice. The ladies watching the children realized something was not quit right when the children kept requesting to go to the bathroom in pairs or small groups. They definitely were hiding the hand sanitizer from the teachers and after they asked the two different teachers to go to the bathroom, or go get a drink, the teachers caught on to the fact that something wasn't right, especially since they all looked guilty of something, and did not allow them to go out any more. We had used hand sanitizer to clean our hands before lunch instead of soap and water because we were running late getting to lunch. I have since put the hand sanitizer away in my cabinet. You have my promise I will not leave it on the back counter any more. </span></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; font-size: small;">I sent the group to the principal's office, but unfortunately he was in meetings with classroom teachers all day and wasn't able to talk with the group. I am sure he will be talking with them tomorrow. Some of the children were almost bragging they were going to see the principal. I need your help to stress the seriousness of the situation. I spoke with the entire class about the seriousness of eating the hand sanitizer. I also stressed making good choices for ourselves and not doing something because someone suggested it or told you to do it. I told the children they needed to think before they did something to make sure it was safe, no one would be hurt and no one would be in trouble. They all knew it was wrong, because they were being secretive when they were doing it. I appreciate you talking with your child and helping drive home the point they need to make decisions for themselves. All the children involved were blaming someone else and saying they did it because someone had told them to do it. No one seemed to realize they could have said no and walked away. I asked them several times if anyone made them do it and everyone said no, that they were just all trying it. I think this can be a great opportunity to help your son or daughter learn how important it is to learn to say no to friends. I know you all can think of a situation that might happen in a few years where your son or daughter will be tempted by friends to make a wrong decision. I think it would also be helpful if you could tell your child he/she has the power to protect others by letting a teacher or adult know when something like this happens in the future. They were more afraid of getting in trouble than of getting very sick from what they were doing. Thank you so much for your help with this and I appreciate your support. </span></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-40777542105240025992010-11-25T06:47:00.000-08:002010-11-25T20:26:20.565-08:00Houston TripIt has been three months since I posted and a lot has happened in the past three months. I am going to attempt to blog a bit more often and keep my posts up to date.<br />
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</a></div>Last week I went on a trip to Houston to visit my brother and sis-in-law, Kevin and Laurel. They wanted some help organizing their house and I love to organize so they bought me a ticket and we went to work. We worked on their office/craft room and took it from cluttered and unorganized to clean and pretty. I had a great time with them and I am excited about the way the room turned out. I wish I had remembered to take some before pictures but I didn't. Here are some after pictures. My camera was on the wrong setting and some of the pictures are a little blurry, but you can still see the room.<br />
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I had a doctor's appointment in the morning and my blood pressure had been a bit high for the last week. Since I was so close to my due date the doctor told me to go to the hospital right then to get induced. It was a crazy hour trying to arrange child care for three other kids. I had people set up to help, but a lot were too far away or didn't answer their phone. <br /><br />It was 2:00 when I was all hooked up to the IV and the pitocin started. Around 3:00 I got an epidural making everything wonderful and he was born at 5:40 after pushing through one contraction. It was an easy labor and delivery and I am feeling really good now. Here are some pictures of baby Tanner. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYXXjECit9G7bZPaYgPeeAANiabVLxoZa9LyXwhUvuFa3NLeXoJLom_6o4qm3usezghQj2qENXwRe6KHKnnQ_4p_bSy0EXSRLCsAwirLZzsxI_KIHnFYt8XPniMPD3rDHqWNj84d17Qg/s1600/055.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYXXjECit9G7bZPaYgPeeAANiabVLxoZa9LyXwhUvuFa3NLeXoJLom_6o4qm3usezghQj2qENXwRe6KHKnnQ_4p_bSy0EXSRLCsAwirLZzsxI_KIHnFYt8XPniMPD3rDHqWNj84d17Qg/s320/055.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509082159212094850" /></a><br />Tanner weighed 7 lbs. and was 19.5 inches tall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aW9P3pdBtHsbWW_ETgZOQ7Wm7cel7t0GUctxyUV8lhiu1DyTARh71BfFOQNUxKp2lNuUHpYoQBl0EM1unkJb1YsWNVwLKPZl-ascHlJQzSA_gZ8tmTgJiTF18-LDaCsMuP0dlGSRc-8/s1600/057.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8aW9P3pdBtHsbWW_ETgZOQ7Wm7cel7t0GUctxyUV8lhiu1DyTARh71BfFOQNUxKp2lNuUHpYoQBl0EM1unkJb1YsWNVwLKPZl-ascHlJQzSA_gZ8tmTgJiTF18-LDaCsMuP0dlGSRc-8/s320/057.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509082150406012178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcYzI398h6BwLDEaDlCXQPNCkmD51eTC9NkFKjmnM71SwxCBWn4OaVRpaWtbhIVjHemLgLoQCI6IHqHFcSVZ5OLEpwTvImAbQ_S8J3YjAHKRHCaAJaijWY3cF-BnUBvbdSWgpK8Ozzxg/s1600/058.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcYzI398h6BwLDEaDlCXQPNCkmD51eTC9NkFKjmnM71SwxCBWn4OaVRpaWtbhIVjHemLgLoQCI6IHqHFcSVZ5OLEpwTvImAbQ_S8J3YjAHKRHCaAJaijWY3cF-BnUBvbdSWgpK8Ozzxg/s320/058.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509081682934005250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBH8rjdsp3hAn9a3_Wrl_Q-MahWBLdk5NlFgGrOBsT7ZbXWof15mS2d8m1fCKkbYzQX-oovxme6z05jepbVPzEJWmE1uzsOC2nJ9msiNX3yUWCtZV8MfR_SoZGDBmSHbMHxzL4l_bB8OI/s1600/061.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBH8rjdsp3hAn9a3_Wrl_Q-MahWBLdk5NlFgGrOBsT7ZbXWof15mS2d8m1fCKkbYzQX-oovxme6z05jepbVPzEJWmE1uzsOC2nJ9msiNX3yUWCtZV8MfR_SoZGDBmSHbMHxzL4l_bB8OI/s320/061.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509081673195604098" /></a><br />Jacob, David and Madeline are very excited to have a new baby in our family!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nNNJ6soV4pdjpgyjX5mZZgD9yL_wpuZrbWPZR6Od9HMd353bMST4L_6BbCctGDfovlehBizOqc6iewd98qYKUBSjapZHEqePDChu2ADGuJ3pjFrw2zsqfODVlyKFBgGc7kdxmw5IIDQ/s1600/080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_nNNJ6soV4pdjpgyjX5mZZgD9yL_wpuZrbWPZR6Od9HMd353bMST4L_6BbCctGDfovlehBizOqc6iewd98qYKUBSjapZHEqePDChu2ADGuJ3pjFrw2zsqfODVlyKFBgGc7kdxmw5IIDQ/s320/080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509081665143671378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2V6BNm5_zuzgDO25hs_xhRh3F92njBnrrFCJ0LFshS1bGDqLHfkfhyGnvuiULg_JMCN8FNi5rAv345j9rOycAsq_g5r-NAm6g2G4Y5LmAflgreOan_QLsP_4YpIj7g5nvPUspvGkklP8/s1600/084.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2V6BNm5_zuzgDO25hs_xhRh3F92njBnrrFCJ0LFshS1bGDqLHfkfhyGnvuiULg_JMCN8FNi5rAv345j9rOycAsq_g5r-NAm6g2G4Y5LmAflgreOan_QLsP_4YpIj7g5nvPUspvGkklP8/s320/084.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509081658743203522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggGyYDmhFf5ec4GI7k73i7FDV3GyZDrutP-cqa7sGjJJv6Xc_Y51NcOMct8sQjYchzC6I6ErtpDRqNmy2EZ1QH1vyd4KjsPfUebt1yOCSenyMWgSdUqxy-g9jmWHNAR72aRaVCTduZZc/s1600/115.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggGyYDmhFf5ec4GI7k73i7FDV3GyZDrutP-cqa7sGjJJv6Xc_Y51NcOMct8sQjYchzC6I6ErtpDRqNmy2EZ1QH1vyd4KjsPfUebt1yOCSenyMWgSdUqxy-g9jmWHNAR72aRaVCTduZZc/s320/115.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509081654488983698" /></a><br />All ready to go home!<br /><br />Ben took a week off of work and it was so nice and fun to have him around. Today he went back to work, bummer. Tanner is a mellow baby and sleeps a lot. I hope he continues to be an easy baby because the rest of life(the other 3 kids) is a bit chaotic!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-33001192504090209892010-07-24T20:59:00.000-07:002010-07-24T21:05:09.681-07:00Could you please take the toys to the basement?David and Madeline are so obedient and promptly took all of the toys to the basement. Aren't they great kids?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0BesiDRsVQiZKfzn7piWuxZralXUf7nI-Y2M2BPMFSTuphJBZKF5c4VjFTeqSrqgs1GsybG-1htBl1Zyl5PxB0dltettLIjdRl5FyDwmh3tc3cjEQzGtIc20Mzc66BPTJUCvdkWhs58/s1600/IMG_2097.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0BesiDRsVQiZKfzn7piWuxZralXUf7nI-Y2M2BPMFSTuphJBZKF5c4VjFTeqSrqgs1GsybG-1htBl1Zyl5PxB0dltettLIjdRl5FyDwmh3tc3cjEQzGtIc20Mzc66BPTJUCvdkWhs58/s320/IMG_2097.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497689223620236626" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-19618404501967212442010-06-16T18:42:00.000-07:002010-06-16T19:08:55.441-07:00Utah Valley MarathonLast Saturday Ben ran his first marathon. He said he wanted to run one to "check it off his list" but now that he has done one I don't think it will be his last. He was out of town the week before the race and flew into Salt Lake on Friday at 8:30 and had to wake up at 3:30 the next morning to catch a bus to the start of the race. <br /><br />We went and watched Ben run by at about mile 21. Here he is running by and looking strong. The kids liked to watch for dad and see him racing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsL9nt5s0z0GrxEbd0_AVcUmWRjDIbE7DYE8_z5flpVEjgwGeuAnykBZsNMiqmb-2QwEDy4wbz5mvsRpCiaI7iO506-6r2Cklf3WG8uVKN_dfrcjyBPttaE_8QRcNIqPNgOWOZKkxmWI/s1600/IMG_1944.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsL9nt5s0z0GrxEbd0_AVcUmWRjDIbE7DYE8_z5flpVEjgwGeuAnykBZsNMiqmb-2QwEDy4wbz5mvsRpCiaI7iO506-6r2Cklf3WG8uVKN_dfrcjyBPttaE_8QRcNIqPNgOWOZKkxmWI/s320/IMG_1944.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483553779164153362" /></a><br /><br />Here he is after the full 26.2 miles. Ben said you can't forget the last .2 because it is the hardest. The first half of the race was in rain which helped contribute to the bloody nipples you see. There were a lot of men running with bloody nipples. Poor guys! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCPwPo5a2Njgg4-2SFuHtar1lzJfAvNKDSQXPFuOK_jKJ68tAL1SlRLhfRBKhj86LJDDNqeJVFsvXIbOQiRmMHEZYrFTbBsnOmJp29NTVSrrsBH7jK_EHEwvQX_x8XR4otJFi4gnpMvQ/s1600/IMG_1947.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfCPwPo5a2Njgg4-2SFuHtar1lzJfAvNKDSQXPFuOK_jKJ68tAL1SlRLhfRBKhj86LJDDNqeJVFsvXIbOQiRmMHEZYrFTbBsnOmJp29NTVSrrsBH7jK_EHEwvQX_x8XR4otJFi4gnpMvQ/s320/IMG_1947.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483553753971763762" /></a><br /><br />The kids didn't really want to pose for the picture, but here is the attempted family shot.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjShbE6DgHrU5VMbKL7Y6Ry6e8UiODFRg-c68hnGSZ6bqrvc9Rt_9XQfNUxyG-oesmcisbmdmAuzQamr0hrbaNB97zHvprK_BCJGWJCSrtyH7Xpc7KiJAruqO0pk7mwNOiwmVGyZNGWNk/s1600/IMG_1948.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjShbE6DgHrU5VMbKL7Y6Ry6e8UiODFRg-c68hnGSZ6bqrvc9Rt_9XQfNUxyG-oesmcisbmdmAuzQamr0hrbaNB97zHvprK_BCJGWJCSrtyH7Xpc7KiJAruqO0pk7mwNOiwmVGyZNGWNk/s320/IMG_1948.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483553732344440850" /></a><br /><br />Jacob wanted to practice his photography skills with Ben's shirt and medal. Not too bad for a 6 year old.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RF8GTVnhyphenhyphen4WgOFQlvG1cuQSSrergqx6pMj47rAdMHM3kRRVsL5r8hrlKX5FfYNhAl4MMfyYswuau1zNdDHcws1ZsmbhroJLK8cpbU2nN6MO_DgPlPc6R2LEOII49zXAlJqnBAzALBjM/s1600/IMG_1952.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RF8GTVnhyphenhyphen4WgOFQlvG1cuQSSrergqx6pMj47rAdMHM3kRRVsL5r8hrlKX5FfYNhAl4MMfyYswuau1zNdDHcws1ZsmbhroJLK8cpbU2nN6MO_DgPlPc6R2LEOII49zXAlJqnBAzALBjM/s320/IMG_1952.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483553714560398578" /></a><br /><br />Ben and I decided to run this race together last December and then 2 days later I found out I was pregnant. I am proud of Ben for doing it on his own, but some year we will do one together when I am not 7 months pregnant!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-73170225994380263892010-06-04T08:58:00.000-07:002010-06-04T09:02:25.561-07:00Daddy DaughterI have been feeling a bit uninspired about blogging lately. But I don't want to go forever without a post so...<br /><br />Ben and Madeline went to our ward's daddy-daughter activity awhile ago but I just came across this picture again today. Madeline had a great time going just with Ben. The boys and I had fun at McDonald's and getting ice cream. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEOgC0Xpv2rMekop8Ij0EBOXLxU-7JeHpzJNqFOAPtDRH0Z1_tIId_N_qJpDJFuIs5V1xEhGMPe5_1dfnudB82SMxtFpsCLDBZ8iYF4mELvs604NPBYESjb599knqxIidh9GeZUhFrpI/s1600/Mower_DaddyDaughter_OldFashioned.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgEOgC0Xpv2rMekop8Ij0EBOXLxU-7JeHpzJNqFOAPtDRH0Z1_tIId_N_qJpDJFuIs5V1xEhGMPe5_1dfnudB82SMxtFpsCLDBZ8iYF4mELvs604NPBYESjb599knqxIidh9GeZUhFrpI/s320/Mower_DaddyDaughter_OldFashioned.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478949044746013762" /></a><br /><br />It is always fun to watch children get older. Madeline has been growing up a lot lately. She now sleeps in a big bed, plays at the neighbor's house, puts her shoes and socks on by herself, and is attending her very first birthday party tomorrow. She will make a great big sister!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-51381007493980689452010-05-12T06:21:00.001-07:002010-05-12T06:34:27.419-07:00May 12 really??Really it is May 12 and we woke up to snow? Where is the warm weather? We are having a birthday party this afternoon for David, I was hoping to have lots of it outside. I wonder if the sun will come out and melt all of the snow away?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oy5Mg3lhm_3Uv3w0mtJwJicpelGqMSmP80-psHdSZnpcies9kbevHPXUfRDWKmOAQm-7tmAMWWpyvZmy2TjwcaRveqRm7ufMXu0P9t4teWo8_2cioh2hEeC126GUpo7jrP3-uL9oZEI/s1600/51.+March+2010+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5oy5Mg3lhm_3Uv3w0mtJwJicpelGqMSmP80-psHdSZnpcies9kbevHPXUfRDWKmOAQm-7tmAMWWpyvZmy2TjwcaRveqRm7ufMXu0P9t4teWo8_2cioh2hEeC126GUpo7jrP3-uL9oZEI/s320/51.+March+2010+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470373323000158034" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-41775346673632518082010-04-04T06:59:00.000-07:002010-04-04T07:01:51.180-07:00It's a boy!I had my ultrasound this past week and as you already know from the title, it's a boy! The baby looks healthy and everything is going well. Some of my friends and cousins are also pregnant and it seems like nearly everyone is having a boy. Girls are in short supply right now:)Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-31906237134146452572010-03-24T17:58:00.000-07:002010-03-25T06:17:17.404-07:00Canyonlands Half MarathonLast weekend I went to Moab with three friends to run the Canyonlands half marathon. It was a fun weekend! We drove through the mountains outside of Denver on Friday through a bad storm. It was scary in a few places and we weren't sure if we could make it up some of the hills. Luckily everything turned out OK and we made it to Moab in good time. <br /><br />On Friday evening we picked up our race packets and then went out to dinner and had an early bedtime. This is me and my friends after we picked up our packets.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLOvqDDyhwxqDtVKt_Yf9kRVAT3xxyf1LZ8r6lZatkGu9R52WP5jGHa9cwoqN3fkKaAtxFQkEIBg3hJzj27SQVn5RwGBCZvkVWWXCPXRhQPj-fAKBrN5z2zrX-J71tHeIKMdB0nUpLZM/s1600/DSC00828.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLOvqDDyhwxqDtVKt_Yf9kRVAT3xxyf1LZ8r6lZatkGu9R52WP5jGHa9cwoqN3fkKaAtxFQkEIBg3hJzj27SQVn5RwGBCZvkVWWXCPXRhQPj-fAKBrN5z2zrX-J71tHeIKMdB0nUpLZM/s320/DSC00828.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452393945297213010" /></a><br /><br />Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to run. We had to wait at the start for about an hour and a half. For one hour we had warm clothes on but when there was a half hour left we had to take our warm clothes off and put them in a drop back to pick up at the end of the race. It was so cold! <br /><br />The week before the race I had a bit of spotting which concerned me a little with being pregnant. I debated whether I should run the race or not and decided to just take it easy and enjoy the run instead of getting a good time. I ran with my friend for the first 6 miles and was feeling really great. Between mile 6 and 7 I started feeling a bit more tired so I decided to slow down and let her run ahead. I put my music in, and zoned out. It was one of the BEST runs! I loved it! I didn't care how fast I was going, how many people were passing me, or any of the things I usually think about during a race. I just enjoyed the beautiful scenery, my music and a nice jog. The best part of the race came when I crossed the finish line and got a PR(personal record). I was amazed that I took it easy and still managed to beat my last half marathon time by 3 minutes. My final time was 2:06:52. Not super fast, but I keep getting better and I finished feeling great. Here is the 4 of us after the 13 miles.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTousIuv39nlYKGGWM3E8uGhvh3uGeoz_Ig2gW5jzcAebfGwLr23xWwcOd-KdReDhljhl8MPTK__ATaIrKUxSqzPIybAQy-lPtXZScxYw0fjwVyl0Gne5YjKF0onl6LVOZO6lS5UcL4g/s1600/DSC00830.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTousIuv39nlYKGGWM3E8uGhvh3uGeoz_Ig2gW5jzcAebfGwLr23xWwcOd-KdReDhljhl8MPTK__ATaIrKUxSqzPIybAQy-lPtXZScxYw0fjwVyl0Gne5YjKF0onl6LVOZO6lS5UcL4g/s320/DSC00830.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452393937591792786" /></a><br /><br />After the best chocolate milk and other snack food we headed back to the hotel for showers. Then we went to Pasta Jays and enjoyed a delicious meal.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDGlpUmS27Layjk_nKQR0hZqkvTYFv9oKbIRGJA4U4owcvTtDAauknC9fCY2O1lGNsSfSUQi1DOsb8Uk7sZq7gLBI0Bp-hQUuB_Fndf5F4VIny-Hob5lGH_QkFy9rnrMM8O8n8JJCMqs/s1600/IMG_2501.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDGlpUmS27Layjk_nKQR0hZqkvTYFv9oKbIRGJA4U4owcvTtDAauknC9fCY2O1lGNsSfSUQi1DOsb8Uk7sZq7gLBI0Bp-hQUuB_Fndf5F4VIny-Hob5lGH_QkFy9rnrMM8O8n8JJCMqs/s320/IMG_2501.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452393912379727538" /></a><br /><br />After our lunch we went to Arches and hiked a bit. Mostly just easy walking. It was good to stretch our muscles out a bit. I was thinking about climbing into this window but it was just a bit too much of a stretch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_nW2PPt5vyOt9Ovvo-xwWqla_vZIP7kMP5h63jWODLdUkz2kBy4dfMKFDy_nnhQNwOo2XcehyphenhypheneA7VzB8BchQ7wcl_ml6HcDM9xojTpyIjdEFH5NsdExFn2jM9q77Qqx4QbYuMEq21sY/s1600/51.+March+2010+032.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_nW2PPt5vyOt9Ovvo-xwWqla_vZIP7kMP5h63jWODLdUkz2kBy4dfMKFDy_nnhQNwOo2XcehyphenhypheneA7VzB8BchQ7wcl_ml6HcDM9xojTpyIjdEFH5NsdExFn2jM9q77Qqx4QbYuMEq21sY/s320/51.+March+2010+032.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452393920959093202" /></a><br /><br />We ended the night with a dessert party! We had tagalog ice cream and grasshopper cookies with hot chocolate. The best part of running 13 miles is all the food you get to eat after! It was a fun weekend away without kids or responsibilities. I need to do that more often.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-12133017747165657042010-03-16T13:52:00.000-07:002010-03-16T18:30:12.416-07:00Bedrooms and BlocksOver the past 6 months I have been working a bit here and there on our bedrooms. Jacob and David moved to a bigger room so they could have two twin beds instead of bunk beds. There are enough night time accidents at our house that it was getting really tiresome to constantly by re-making bunk beds. Even though I am still washing sheets and making beds the same amount, it is a lot easier on a regular twin bed.<br /><br />Ben painted the pattern on the walls to add a little fun and color. This is Jacob's side of the room.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBZv1PcyQUxc-RF8ecFDAjH2lGAtJGmypEOYry9fe7jjP0jBcHlw32nWVvGsiJAxYRFr6rc6sVjCHN3L2tNBgo6wBsyMId0-tt8xnq5f0UpBcBL84QJj3jmdtTSPpIasuvVyBs-e0PEo/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+021.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBZv1PcyQUxc-RF8ecFDAjH2lGAtJGmypEOYry9fe7jjP0jBcHlw32nWVvGsiJAxYRFr6rc6sVjCHN3L2tNBgo6wBsyMId0-tt8xnq5f0UpBcBL84QJj3jmdtTSPpIasuvVyBs-e0PEo/s320/51.+March+2010+021.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449406823882545106" /></a><br /><br />This is David's side of the room. It looks a lot cuter when you see the whole thing instead of each side separately. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKtnRJ_6_XCf-nMrqMSqFf27zR8Yop2KdrTgRv3xJ1YPiKCrCKWwd6pUFG6rOEo8zFttbk662bmzjmU8H_b9g3-d9JQd9j8fW6-ownzjoj1ZZRbSOjIyXz0X1KxunsU8ALRqCDp_yC-o/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMKtnRJ_6_XCf-nMrqMSqFf27zR8Yop2KdrTgRv3xJ1YPiKCrCKWwd6pUFG6rOEo8zFttbk662bmzjmU8H_b9g3-d9JQd9j8fW6-ownzjoj1ZZRbSOjIyXz0X1KxunsU8ALRqCDp_yC-o/s320/51.+March+2010+020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449338439710930850" /></a><br /><br />When we moved the beds around, the twin bed frame in Madeline's room was taken for the boys. I was really excited when I found this bed on Craig's list for $120. I love Madeline's new bed, now if she only wanted to sleep in it instead of her crib.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4U80LqVA4ah_JsGdSqd2H8gL5eoFK-jO6R7rKIF_CnnYmEoYTYThXvt8Q0prCjNw-gvfzqQmTXJFc7t7kfAoLtKIYO2BzlaLpzIzAZjak0Vgxfir0vDN0prZgmfglyYpPl8Y11utAuk8/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4U80LqVA4ah_JsGdSqd2H8gL5eoFK-jO6R7rKIF_CnnYmEoYTYThXvt8Q0prCjNw-gvfzqQmTXJFc7t7kfAoLtKIYO2BzlaLpzIzAZjak0Vgxfir0vDN0prZgmfglyYpPl8Y11utAuk8/s320/51.+March+2010+024.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449338432704349874" /></a><br /><br />I got new bedding for our room last summer but it was too cheap and quickly fell apart. I really like the new bedding and pillows. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5niP4xKZEqllZT_qi_ogvVyjybzQopIorg1f2g8d-nZdskRNisOwbBH64EsemZkqPFW6Tkw-FMhpfgTL0iNZuYPi1VbjqwPZiaCEUJJF93OmwQbU45QLkGiC5Pnm4nQcTqT3tetd2EY/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+025.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5niP4xKZEqllZT_qi_ogvVyjybzQopIorg1f2g8d-nZdskRNisOwbBH64EsemZkqPFW6Tkw-FMhpfgTL0iNZuYPi1VbjqwPZiaCEUJJF93OmwQbU45QLkGiC5Pnm4nQcTqT3tetd2EY/s320/51.+March+2010+025.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449338420845583842" /></a><br /><br />On Sunday, Ben and Jacob had a block tower building contest. Ben got 40 blocks before it toppled over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5uH2gRg_LVk0eNw35Q2GpeXkLwYHuOltsvS8RYiryBvPw9WZPPOIY8WF5SkIQr-vE_9wfvDvtouA32wpDdYFHhvCvKCMfxTgk-e5qlCTjhyphenhyphenkNMiB9TmoiC0M8-R-KuAgy4OD2sgnPE0/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT5uH2gRg_LVk0eNw35Q2GpeXkLwYHuOltsvS8RYiryBvPw9WZPPOIY8WF5SkIQr-vE_9wfvDvtouA32wpDdYFHhvCvKCMfxTgk-e5qlCTjhyphenhyphenkNMiB9TmoiC0M8-R-KuAgy4OD2sgnPE0/s320/51.+March+2010+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449338408999439650" /></a><br /><br />Jacob got 30 stacked before his tower fell over.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjorjhfkKM1Ubpbw48t7eneB_fN9wCj_y2XAq2LNo3Ygw9vNpN_xMnh_GnFBiibBiSG1kAIQcbBJNz5JZWIILWiMlec96Nw3_1KDIE6EyHM1NDPFPjqdVl9FC-yE1oYyZBlXjWpzEQFdw/s1600-h/51.+March+2010+019.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjorjhfkKM1Ubpbw48t7eneB_fN9wCj_y2XAq2LNo3Ygw9vNpN_xMnh_GnFBiibBiSG1kAIQcbBJNz5JZWIILWiMlec96Nw3_1KDIE6EyHM1NDPFPjqdVl9FC-yE1oYyZBlXjWpzEQFdw/s320/51.+March+2010+019.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449338397434790786" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-13518383999734799272010-03-05T06:33:00.001-08:002010-03-05T06:44:03.271-08:00Simple PleasuresYesterday at the store I splurged on a few things that really make me happy, I would like to share them with you.<br /><br />1. Flowers- I love to have fresh flowers in my house and tulips happen to be one of my favorites. Ben is pretty good about bringing flowers home occasionally and sometimes I just buy them because the kitchen looks so much happier with flowers on the table.<br /><br />2. Ice Cream- Yes I love ice cream but this is seriously the best kind I have had in a long time!! I didn't even know how good it was until I bought it yesterday. The actual cookies are ok, I like them but I don't have to have them. The ice cream is a different story, delicious! You should definitely try it especially if you like ice cream, peanut butter, and chocolate.<br /><br />3. Aquafina flavored water- I love this flavored water! I hardly buy it because who wants to spend money on water? This kind is worth paying for once in awhile especially when it is on sale! A yummy treat for 0 calories!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionVwTlrAWiGQ0htWTJ-siO93jHJLWmZsCPtAKg_rquOZhc7VFpV2mg9vvQJmMLzLHfh7w0jePwMtE-nIq9WeQ9EOBZxaVs_A1mZfQJJq7NW7zWBoBE-WhAPeAo0v9C25tkXTBElle7co/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+035.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEionVwTlrAWiGQ0htWTJ-siO93jHJLWmZsCPtAKg_rquOZhc7VFpV2mg9vvQJmMLzLHfh7w0jePwMtE-nIq9WeQ9EOBZxaVs_A1mZfQJJq7NW7zWBoBE-WhAPeAo0v9C25tkXTBElle7co/s320/50.+FEB+2010+035.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445158092383202146" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-77171261261585610022010-02-25T06:41:00.001-08:002010-02-25T07:24:44.407-08:00Our Kitchen MakeoverI recently refinished out kitchen cabinets. They were the 90's oak look before. The real problem is that they looked old, there was sun fading and a bit of cracking in a few spots where the wood wasn't holding up really well. I sanded all the old finish off and then re-stained with the same color I did our kitchen table in. I like the new look and with the table finished in the same color, there is a nice flow.<br /><br />This is the before kitchen<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVaXEvcgeCmZuNzgpGp3e_8_SSpWvXAcqeuToYielKk6hdBPL_xdFzkpEbp4vpr_UFCHOj-SNMrDXXW1gtjCqJqU-XKGuzudplbvU-nc6hphOm74nPLBWhpNPw-UU2YyeBgRXPunF-7E/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+015.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVaXEvcgeCmZuNzgpGp3e_8_SSpWvXAcqeuToYielKk6hdBPL_xdFzkpEbp4vpr_UFCHOj-SNMrDXXW1gtjCqJqU-XKGuzudplbvU-nc6hphOm74nPLBWhpNPw-UU2YyeBgRXPunF-7E/s320/50.+FEB+2010+015.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193998153950994" /></a><br /><br />This is during the process<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrtHyCWSMLb5PTDM5gw0NIY_uj788JYoNz7XlrmTgzUYLzra_jpVjNGf6pc5uANugU-J6E3i0T1uSvySX_oaD6ihOk8lTjOhRcuLgQhMsnPgpFhcqmpyQe_56UesoMPn29sqQ3KgacOQ/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrtHyCWSMLb5PTDM5gw0NIY_uj788JYoNz7XlrmTgzUYLzra_jpVjNGf6pc5uANugU-J6E3i0T1uSvySX_oaD6ihOk8lTjOhRcuLgQhMsnPgpFhcqmpyQe_56UesoMPn29sqQ3KgacOQ/s320/50.+FEB+2010+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193362554689506" /></a><br /><br />Almost half way done. I did the top half first and then the bottom so the kitchen wouldn't be in total disarray during the process.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNK8C9WskeMJ3prPKhGJXbc3kFk6ShyphenhyphenPejUL0eqpJf6yAiXj1glDeGMYj1pEWXh62mfjrIIdl8ldc3MEF0FH8J95Jo7M8B0-49BWBHrQ5Dl2b3WhwfoS_eQ4SK60Gf5Uz563hjp_0TFw/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+027.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNK8C9WskeMJ3prPKhGJXbc3kFk6ShyphenhyphenPejUL0eqpJf6yAiXj1glDeGMYj1pEWXh62mfjrIIdl8ldc3MEF0FH8J95Jo7M8B0-49BWBHrQ5Dl2b3WhwfoS_eQ4SK60Gf5Uz563hjp_0TFw/s320/50.+FEB+2010+027.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193358271491938" /></a><br /><br />You can see in the top right corner of this picture that we had to glue a wood veneer to the side of the cabinets. It was a cheap cardboard/plastic material that was sun faded blue. So we bought a thin wood, glued it on, and then put stain and polyurethane on. It turned out nice.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuGy_ADBDEgExsnEPWVOg42XW9TEbl99No66XI9qjiLO9LIjZal-bWvJnaahgYXI7CHTjUNiaTZOnsUMhN4oiAHhcUWye3posM0ghjw_f_NTv6uV81lGJa1dKmIE6NM56au_x-YTqQ5g/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+028.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuGy_ADBDEgExsnEPWVOg42XW9TEbl99No66XI9qjiLO9LIjZal-bWvJnaahgYXI7CHTjUNiaTZOnsUMhN4oiAHhcUWye3posM0ghjw_f_NTv6uV81lGJa1dKmIE6NM56au_x-YTqQ5g/s320/50.+FEB+2010+028.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193345813318322" /></a><br /><br />Here is the finished project. I am not a photographer and I don't think these pictures quite do it justice but that is just my lack of photography skills.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGYUQ-SVUoS9hjG7hG9-8GSOC3NCgh8XDaA4s8UviH6-rYo-KdIK_tSxHcDPZsknQDKRV750zgMxV2JbUIqpJAigNMbYLHyA_YlTw3qnsDvwnCwWPXzEnqBIvHKOvZ_oK385GlIP9xXw/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+033.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGYUQ-SVUoS9hjG7hG9-8GSOC3NCgh8XDaA4s8UviH6-rYo-KdIK_tSxHcDPZsknQDKRV750zgMxV2JbUIqpJAigNMbYLHyA_YlTw3qnsDvwnCwWPXzEnqBIvHKOvZ_oK385GlIP9xXw/s320/50.+FEB+2010+033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193337874338706" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DwuiGHUgj20fPe_YZ8ElP8ooLnInUSgEzCmvmTt_y5t-LYcCw36S_8Q_HsaYoVDAheUnrP5fdyAdNcsBnB3RegVwyQd8DEshX684CIM1se4MGYryHyU4Zy2WJ2-DKmNOtxZVy3gWL1c/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+034.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DwuiGHUgj20fPe_YZ8ElP8ooLnInUSgEzCmvmTt_y5t-LYcCw36S_8Q_HsaYoVDAheUnrP5fdyAdNcsBnB3RegVwyQd8DEshX684CIM1se4MGYryHyU4Zy2WJ2-DKmNOtxZVy3gWL1c/s320/50.+FEB+2010+034.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442193328789782450" /></a><br /><br />The project only cost $100 for new hardware, sand paper, wood veneer, stain, and paint to re-paint the walls. Now we just need to find some money for new stone counter tops:)Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-82192057369037039902010-02-14T07:33:00.001-08:002010-02-14T08:13:31.356-08:00Happy Valentines Day!Happy Valentines Day to everyone! I had a few little gifts for Ben and the kids on the table in the morning. Jacob woke up early and helped my decorate the table. He was really excited to participate but disappointed that his box of chocolates only had four chocolates in it. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtsjDy7rwFzFESUCoWWOMkDB6ZzfyQFO1WHFA7vjht78azdAQQ9GvMq_z6zjqPSk2_9ZY6uW8J170wcQqK720j5lG30iddthj_Gnzw8z4fgbUA0q5e-3heZP3meHugXUwgaw7iYaXdsk/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+023.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtsjDy7rwFzFESUCoWWOMkDB6ZzfyQFO1WHFA7vjht78azdAQQ9GvMq_z6zjqPSk2_9ZY6uW8J170wcQqK720j5lG30iddthj_Gnzw8z4fgbUA0q5e-3heZP3meHugXUwgaw7iYaXdsk/s320/50.+FEB+2010+023.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438126055400629986" /></a><br /><br />Jacob made me this beautiful necklace in school and wanted me to model it so he could take a picture. I know, it is gorgeous!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzBoaeBhKgrN7gNtiQZiRaHgl_mwR5HE0WReKL5Bp2Z1vsSUYazXByj20ouGc7rJ_jO0ex-15uGyhyphenhyphenQxccQkqUvcEpvfgKGkyNI8clTwIB4vroJ_itkz1olrHhR0DZVVMMEcc5kMWDfk/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzBoaeBhKgrN7gNtiQZiRaHgl_mwR5HE0WReKL5Bp2Z1vsSUYazXByj20ouGc7rJ_jO0ex-15uGyhyphenhyphenQxccQkqUvcEpvfgKGkyNI8clTwIB4vroJ_itkz1olrHhR0DZVVMMEcc5kMWDfk/s320/50.+FEB+2010+018.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438126045864745346" /></a><br />There was no school last Friday, so we made sugar cookies for some of our friends. The boys had a fun time frosting and loading the cookies with sprinkles.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NSKIqRg_cy1TLWlP-QWgG6O0hLC0FmF8yYAGnu7RNF7Q4cCq_ZFgk2bOgYtUywBGpsOIokeXkzWhjbxkm7bwUDevy-L7TEOGA2jEVio-S6R8yOp7pROd6dG-2NXiG5m4KQXjiL4JvUc/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+019.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9NSKIqRg_cy1TLWlP-QWgG6O0hLC0FmF8yYAGnu7RNF7Q4cCq_ZFgk2bOgYtUywBGpsOIokeXkzWhjbxkm7bwUDevy-L7TEOGA2jEVio-S6R8yOp7pROd6dG-2NXiG5m4KQXjiL4JvUc/s320/50.+FEB+2010+019.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438126033630265954" /></a><br /><br />Ben made me a wonderful valentine with sweetheart candy sayings. What a creative guy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BZrEexMsbpSYGt1iJ8Y4ufpDyT75IZFuWJCs7M74o5I9TuDqYa97dGvWNKL6VgVLnUkdKvDQA6wrU5FhJ3S4YJvCYVS3PQIgomwCedAPLGxNKTu4cTM8ITsTbCJz4yVEaGo4hvWDWD8/s1600-h/50.+FEB+2010+024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BZrEexMsbpSYGt1iJ8Y4ufpDyT75IZFuWJCs7M74o5I9TuDqYa97dGvWNKL6VgVLnUkdKvDQA6wrU5FhJ3S4YJvCYVS3PQIgomwCedAPLGxNKTu4cTM8ITsTbCJz4yVEaGo4hvWDWD8/s320/50.+FEB+2010+024.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438126024722411506" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-49659696844984768282010-01-20T10:39:00.000-08:002010-01-20T10:45:58.022-08:00Good News!Baby Mower #4 is on its way. I went to the doctor yesterday thinking I was about 10 weeks but the ultrasound said I was 9 weeks and 2 days. Not quite as far as I had hoped but not a big deal. I am due August 20 and I am feeling great. <br /><br />I was amazed how much you can actually see a baby in the ultrasound pictures. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2E-PtKvN9jKm_Ht7jBphYioDcCWLSavzaxB_tqMRCjbqupujC1_Mizt9E5jZrvViEiuXRBdN8GgIPZxBGI-PKImdHbzLb1WCw7eYsX-U_WdUcT6rdqBGWUQHO6Bmes6SMNXMA-tr3BMg/s1600-h/49.+Jan+2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2E-PtKvN9jKm_Ht7jBphYioDcCWLSavzaxB_tqMRCjbqupujC1_Mizt9E5jZrvViEiuXRBdN8GgIPZxBGI-PKImdHbzLb1WCw7eYsX-U_WdUcT6rdqBGWUQHO6Bmes6SMNXMA-tr3BMg/s320/49.+Jan+2010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428894094567499362" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-42946048624492282112010-01-15T12:06:00.000-08:002010-01-15T12:24:57.162-08:00Birthday WeekLast week Madeline and I both had birthdays. I had a great birthday! My friend took me out to lunch the day before. When I got home from running in the morning Ben had made a breakfast cake for me. Another friend came over in the morning and we made cards together. In the evening we went out to dinner, bought some presents and then finished the night with an ice cream cake from Basking Robbins. Thanks to my family and friends who called to wish me happy birthday!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeXqSzFT9-ZU6sjFFiEeyhIcY-kJLThM1pmqb3vBqPxc6JRJG-gmZYjHHQYvndVV4HOUz6Bvz1Rks6ikQtA9XKP4m-15YP5xv9scQlyEEYJrR0gXg3NQM3wAiCDa68IexMdyfTZQTknw/s1600-h/49.+Jan+2010+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeXqSzFT9-ZU6sjFFiEeyhIcY-kJLThM1pmqb3vBqPxc6JRJG-gmZYjHHQYvndVV4HOUz6Bvz1Rks6ikQtA9XKP4m-15YP5xv9scQlyEEYJrR0gXg3NQM3wAiCDa68IexMdyfTZQTknw/s320/49.+Jan+2010+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427062772037653202" /></a><br />Madeline had her 2nd birthday on Sunday. She wanted a horse cake. I am not sure if she realized what a birthday was but she knew it was a party!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXErKkZZyk5nn0GbHasiIC1D9XakCyVqm_CCY2Xb08kYPgKlv9K2x2FdoT_th9lPP2wsNLVXhfIFmwM9DoHa2w-vQ3cPTY3p3w7smcdrAj0zHmabEGR85nxDWhWpkrwNIWjDsuBPQ5w6g/s1600-h/49.+Jan+2010+002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXErKkZZyk5nn0GbHasiIC1D9XakCyVqm_CCY2Xb08kYPgKlv9K2x2FdoT_th9lPP2wsNLVXhfIFmwM9DoHa2w-vQ3cPTY3p3w7smcdrAj0zHmabEGR85nxDWhWpkrwNIWjDsuBPQ5w6g/s320/49.+Jan+2010+002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427062767696727522" /></a><br />David gave Madeline an Elmo ball and then wanted Madeline to give it to him.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTMWXjFrblhyphenhyphenar29lyYqTCv2rs6ALVDi357hUE-f8f4vMiXLRj6f_T73IGB6EL5ihRQXKBn3v48JZZHo0O0cyqFAcsH9e7mAX9A9QsM07ttYuadIyWtuyYf1AK21fF2cCNEUL2TZ_vIw/s1600-h/49.+Jan+2010+011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZTMWXjFrblhyphenhyphenar29lyYqTCv2rs6ALVDi357hUE-f8f4vMiXLRj6f_T73IGB6EL5ihRQXKBn3v48JZZHo0O0cyqFAcsH9e7mAX9A9QsM07ttYuadIyWtuyYf1AK21fF2cCNEUL2TZ_vIw/s320/49.+Jan+2010+011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427062763149215378" /></a><br />Jacob gave Madeline a horse. She loves the horse and "rode" it around all evening.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQyqx9QjU4hWxQPaTxJoy8VdWsxOLYk9IT-jLO9neoAtDqhCRidq88gOZpxS8G2VzZPwGLmFe1wxrwbjWcdz2XyOLZD3DcD-LZ0EeC79fU3kCVS6G8T3u_KRM_CLUDiQ1TCv7MF7YJIY/s1600-h/49.+Jan+2010+016.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQyqx9QjU4hWxQPaTxJoy8VdWsxOLYk9IT-jLO9neoAtDqhCRidq88gOZpxS8G2VzZPwGLmFe1wxrwbjWcdz2XyOLZD3DcD-LZ0EeC79fU3kCVS6G8T3u_KRM_CLUDiQ1TCv7MF7YJIY/s320/49.+Jan+2010+016.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427062760732778290" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-2694972542300713362010-01-04T06:40:00.001-08:002010-01-04T06:56:06.882-08:00Christmas 2009We had the Mowers, Ben's parents and two brothers, come to our house for Christmas this year. It was fun to have family around for Christmas and still be in our own home. On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner, played the candy bar/dice game, had a nativity puppet show narrated by Luke 2, read the story of The Other Wise Man, and ended by singing Christmas songs. It was a fun Christmas Eve!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoimfa7Q3soFbibBd6XOJDyAKtu6XT5emPL3GlQ6OK4iuSCtV700x2hU0o8JwWBXgJJ4-CxqOU5_tCHxBgEDPdpIcd3cBFtQVCxe14u1mboI2U2Pq05V4YUT-GvhEFKYPao7R9yqg5dE/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoimfa7Q3soFbibBd6XOJDyAKtu6XT5emPL3GlQ6OK4iuSCtV700x2hU0o8JwWBXgJJ4-CxqOU5_tCHxBgEDPdpIcd3cBFtQVCxe14u1mboI2U2Pq05V4YUT-GvhEFKYPao7R9yqg5dE/s320/48.+DEC+2009+006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422896279017459474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GKEWUQctqs0FO_E0L0MLUgtE7IHFj8AGJ6ATilSOuhGrnJmIE0svbmeoFzfr_ug07EhrBIVQttFjTIHk-jAOZvJ-_F_z0SKmcNmmec4uCc-gZIhNG2-oQuiq9DCv1WjaGWlji3uUHnI/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GKEWUQctqs0FO_E0L0MLUgtE7IHFj8AGJ6ATilSOuhGrnJmIE0svbmeoFzfr_ug07EhrBIVQttFjTIHk-jAOZvJ-_F_z0SKmcNmmec4uCc-gZIhNG2-oQuiq9DCv1WjaGWlji3uUHnI/s320/48.+DEC+2009+002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422895899133371506" /></a><br />We were able to sleep in until 8:00 on Christmas morning because our kids were tired and do not yet know to wake up really early on Christmas. It was nice and refreshing to get extra sleep.<br /><br />Jacob and David are discovering all of the fun things in their stockings.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSzFWoLsnPoFlel1eWJwGmYHTyz_F5tPh0JtrSjbh28_WC1mleF-nswsNnDX_Wc-ArBVxsKpkl7vd9_DanwD04s5KbUYxcLzQ7pdqlPzR08pWfMs1Y_CHDPrxF2Z1QrMFi0qg64AdGmA/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSzFWoLsnPoFlel1eWJwGmYHTyz_F5tPh0JtrSjbh28_WC1mleF-nswsNnDX_Wc-ArBVxsKpkl7vd9_DanwD04s5KbUYxcLzQ7pdqlPzR08pWfMs1Y_CHDPrxF2Z1QrMFi0qg64AdGmA/s320/48.+DEC+2009+011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422895895824752722" /></a><br /><br />Ben's dad was dressed and ready to go. Here he is opening a Subway gift card, his favorite place to eat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohQRMVf8T7khSOePf7RW6-HFKclzdUPZF5oaU0bP5-xY_0eHgpo0Kkh3pwlHIzKdHm_n6v_qZIlc7_NHs87q4c-FpC1vBdtcFZt-MfYfLe4ZhKtuPvKLhFKc7QG0iopH-NeyDJe7qHQY/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohQRMVf8T7khSOePf7RW6-HFKclzdUPZF5oaU0bP5-xY_0eHgpo0Kkh3pwlHIzKdHm_n6v_qZIlc7_NHs87q4c-FpC1vBdtcFZt-MfYfLe4ZhKtuPvKLhFKc7QG0iopH-NeyDJe7qHQY/s320/48.+DEC+2009+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422895887077463170" /></a><br /><br />Madeline got a lot of dolls and baby supplies. She loves playing with her babies!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbH5AklShDp_FYIl9llOXRTk-JGA6WH1l2wHpSBMoPsCdIf0od9NqI8pBsDMshjDyNCcejvfiLUw8rx4lkIQMbGO2B5ZZSRYKByobyuzJeL4okY9QdVdfza0XGaZWxkf-mxjpNx3XAYQ/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbH5AklShDp_FYIl9llOXRTk-JGA6WH1l2wHpSBMoPsCdIf0od9NqI8pBsDMshjDyNCcejvfiLUw8rx4lkIQMbGO2B5ZZSRYKByobyuzJeL4okY9QdVdfza0XGaZWxkf-mxjpNx3XAYQ/s320/48.+DEC+2009+020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422895879454183970" /></a><br /><br />Our family before we started opening presents on Christmas morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrKEG4aC7ZXPFf07bZ4py3fajZivi-BOfZcE0pEbiqZJXazX2wJepHOBdMx5KMEcow86lE6gcJbpTIOByu4j7EFb1i9CGGBY0QvIHUrKVSNn-qKoWhWwL2OpBE5vP2rcparCYvLvK2z0/s1600-h/48.+DEC+2009+012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrKEG4aC7ZXPFf07bZ4py3fajZivi-BOfZcE0pEbiqZJXazX2wJepHOBdMx5KMEcow86lE6gcJbpTIOByu4j7EFb1i9CGGBY0QvIHUrKVSNn-qKoWhWwL2OpBE5vP2rcparCYvLvK2z0/s320/48.+DEC+2009+012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422895875866901506" /></a><br /><br />My brother and sis-in-law came to our house for New Years Eve and day. We had a good time with them! We were a little lame on New Years Eve and ended up going to bed around 10:45. However, we had already celebrated the New Year at 9:00 because we set our clocks ahead for the kids. They really wanted to stay up until midnight so we tricked them. <br /><br />Happy New Year to everyone!Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7413400231381462940.post-49852084513202820102009-12-13T19:56:00.000-08:002009-12-13T20:14:13.857-08:00I Am A Blogging SlackerSince I have not been very consistent with my blogging, here is a month-in-review.<br /><br />Chef Ben in his Thanksgiving turkey hat.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6dvBzKu8ga_tkdaO-aAfWkhCcmJes0RK0Io-F6dgdvoSJ_ujEty0Tbo3rtj5sxlNdT3Kh8-rfH7s_fuzQ5oGPZx6sE-WUpzdJ8GkTNNpdPF3SS2o9ynMDAabw-PujJsuaTIbqng0OSk/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+089.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr6dvBzKu8ga_tkdaO-aAfWkhCcmJes0RK0Io-F6dgdvoSJ_ujEty0Tbo3rtj5sxlNdT3Kh8-rfH7s_fuzQ5oGPZx6sE-WUpzdJ8GkTNNpdPF3SS2o9ynMDAabw-PujJsuaTIbqng0OSk/s320/47.++NOV+2009+089.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414937648438240898" /></a><br /><br />My parents and my brother, John, came to our house for Thanksgiving. This is John getting ready to drink the whole bottle of sparkling grape juice. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_pK2ih2XhzlI0Eh1ja0zf-B3gh-Xn-Ck38iZnWhf2Vjz4-tsEwSmHS4B6gi7B1fjh8lRDqrM0ArAC_OhaDgSbrrySRSqoXFwAi9k9GtS7JkblLKIPNa6L8_snccDq_B2sgGOsy8RZvc/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+097.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin_pK2ih2XhzlI0Eh1ja0zf-B3gh-Xn-Ck38iZnWhf2Vjz4-tsEwSmHS4B6gi7B1fjh8lRDqrM0ArAC_OhaDgSbrrySRSqoXFwAi9k9GtS7JkblLKIPNa6L8_snccDq_B2sgGOsy8RZvc/s320/47.++NOV+2009+097.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414937643324538754" /></a><br /><br />Making apple turkeys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPsZep7xP87O5tDXj2Av0glkmJxVEGcXp-EqJFeiFCkvxrhpz09w4LXuS4jjLfD9_OAWnIU4UETtiABXU9ucYceL-hYBruoI_NDxs6uOq068jQbCCeUbG71LuY-v0UA1euPXtGHhCqLY/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+090.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPsZep7xP87O5tDXj2Av0glkmJxVEGcXp-EqJFeiFCkvxrhpz09w4LXuS4jjLfD9_OAWnIU4UETtiABXU9ucYceL-hYBruoI_NDxs6uOq068jQbCCeUbG71LuY-v0UA1euPXtGHhCqLY/s320/47.++NOV+2009+090.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414937633128593586" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62Qtj1C6ehtwlEREoxpMf51ipzqtQyy424c2BggvKZmhyphenhyphenSaWAzK5eIsZsyxpitIQYrqwByRy8Te96AVyzwmpUnhyphenhyphengIcTjQmRtUuCowP5B_OONS7LwLqUzX_9LznZQYxLWQ7HToB5I-GE/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+095.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62Qtj1C6ehtwlEREoxpMf51ipzqtQyy424c2BggvKZmhyphenhyphenSaWAzK5eIsZsyxpitIQYrqwByRy8Te96AVyzwmpUnhyphenhyphengIcTjQmRtUuCowP5B_OONS7LwLqUzX_9LznZQYxLWQ7HToB5I-GE/s320/47.++NOV+2009+095.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414936990919600882" /></a><br /><br />Here are the kids on a cute bench at the mall.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXA_3nr4UrNVuHPNhj4ELOWExfD2uXLv83fFh5AqDZKe5oGrlVaPJ0nfSq12K8CQmcb1uoqjGdYUwfE3q3na7vGgI4Z4k6updFTzwW6TSz3paA2myWaFQrIuicmen7dDOQbE1Lq4SrptY/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+112.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXA_3nr4UrNVuHPNhj4ELOWExfD2uXLv83fFh5AqDZKe5oGrlVaPJ0nfSq12K8CQmcb1uoqjGdYUwfE3q3na7vGgI4Z4k6updFTzwW6TSz3paA2myWaFQrIuicmen7dDOQbE1Lq4SrptY/s320/47.++NOV+2009+112.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414936984125515970" /></a><br /><br />I had a piano recital for my students last week. They worked hard on their pieces and did a great job!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCVu3gKLTIAGiiyOMoLMmLmvbAT5fOyljgllYFljfvnRPvEv0K4J2_aQA9eFDlrvIR-bn1CNOg5sUFNF8guQJ_ylxaH2N0LzeP3nBbCOS85tHXFLDaa74RFQ29DtorKoSZWEo3qG9FTA/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+113.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCVu3gKLTIAGiiyOMoLMmLmvbAT5fOyljgllYFljfvnRPvEv0K4J2_aQA9eFDlrvIR-bn1CNOg5sUFNF8guQJ_ylxaH2N0LzeP3nBbCOS85tHXFLDaa74RFQ29DtorKoSZWEo3qG9FTA/s320/47.++NOV+2009+113.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414936981341759298" /></a><br /><br />Every year we grow paperwhites. We put the bulbs in a pot of rocks and fill it with water. In about 2 to 3 weeks we have live flowers in the winter. These are some of the prettiest paperwhites we have grown.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPD2Ss1zYqs5hqq41jFY3ObWW99pjxAJcCFZJJcCh3CBhKZBDzWIIDRcv5IEd-u0ToIo_372Qm5SPMBxYe88xmThsH7nH4mODrn1ChSVKb3TQOejvqPmGDZL2TYR41qkymHKGj3NrGSk/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+123.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPD2Ss1zYqs5hqq41jFY3ObWW99pjxAJcCFZJJcCh3CBhKZBDzWIIDRcv5IEd-u0ToIo_372Qm5SPMBxYe88xmThsH7nH4mODrn1ChSVKb3TQOejvqPmGDZL2TYR41qkymHKGj3NrGSk/s320/47.++NOV+2009+123.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414936972344040882" /></a><br /><br />Because we have a vaulted ceiling, we decided to buy a giant Christmas tree. We had to buy additional ornaments and lights to decorate it because it was so much bigger than past trees. We also had to borrow a ladder to put the star on and to decorate the top 3 feet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnt1U7_xLhFMiA6vZ9v1i8lK8FLv-0w0IrI_UCwO-sQdRA_KCWGuAboGTvYy8Zemdf4JXNCLfpcJTwjedv6Q57Jppni5rgxxUcCiGotpv485lxo7z8VO-vcQtRSDgchnBCLDOsELqhNs/s1600-h/47.++NOV+2009+125.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnt1U7_xLhFMiA6vZ9v1i8lK8FLv-0w0IrI_UCwO-sQdRA_KCWGuAboGTvYy8Zemdf4JXNCLfpcJTwjedv6Q57Jppni5rgxxUcCiGotpv485lxo7z8VO-vcQtRSDgchnBCLDOsELqhNs/s320/47.++NOV+2009+125.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414936966452295346" /></a>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00237701252684561618noreply@blogger.com5