Sometimes your bed just isn't good enough for nap time...

Reading in her "fort"

My little photographer

This is what happens when Acadia gets ahold of my camera...

What's better than a fashion show??

First bath in the new house!

I love her....

Our first dinner party

We love our house. Have I said how much we love our new house? Because we LOVE our new house!! And from the moment this house was brought to our attention by a friend, I wished that I could have asked my Grandpa for advice. I wish I could have brought him here to ask for his opinion. He was so proud of us when we bought our last house and I felt weird doing something - making such a big decision, without his advice.

So it was very important to me to have my Grandma and mom over for our very first dinner party. It felt symbolic in some way to me. Grandpa's rocking chair is in our dining room and I look at it every night. It was awesome having Grandma and mom over for dinner - we had a great time!!

We asked Acadia to take a picture of the group :)

And here's one of them!

Look who's potty training!

New neighborhood

We LOVE it here. Love it. We've only been here a month and know everyone on the street, with the exception of a few houses. The kids go in and out of each other's houses, which is awesome and the parents are amazing!! We love everyone here :) We had some neighbors over for coffee the other day - Matt and I say daily how happy we are with our move - we feel so lucky!!

Biking

Now that we're in EJ, we can walk/ride pretty much anywhere we want - parks, grocery stores, bakeries. We've never had bikes before (or at least never used them) so we went out last week and bought me a bike. Matt's birthday was on Friday and both our families went in on GC's to Dick's so he could by a bike too. He got an awesome bike, too!! Thanks guys!! He loves it!

We didn't have the kids for Matt's birthday weekend so we went on a bike ride to test our new bikes out. So fun!!

BBQs

This summer and fall were filled with LOTS of BBQs! One of our favorites was at Beth and Jim's house. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends.

Mommy's Advice

God forbid something ever happen to me before you're too old to really remember me, here is some advice for you. Now I can sleep easy at night...

Acadia and Emma ~

• Respect your elders and help them when you can.



• Do something nice for someone, just because. Even if it's just as simple as bringing them flowers or making them a meal. It will make their entire day.



• Don't wear too much make up, spend too much time on Facebook or wear your skirts too short.



• Don't let any boys take advantage of you. Or girls for that matter.



• Be kind to your friends. It's not "cool" to make fun of people so avoid people that make fun of their friends at all costs. And never make fun of your friends. They are someone's son or daughter.



• Do your homework on time and listen to your teachers.



• Don't drink (a lot) before your 21. In fact, don't drink a lot period.



• Never. Ever. Ever. Get into a car with someone who has been drinking. I don't care how late it is or how much trouble you *think* you will get into - call Daddy for a ride. He won't be upset - he just wants you safely at home.



• Remember how important family is.



• Love each other. Be kind to one another. Stay best friends with one another.



• Don't do things to fit in that you wouldn't do in front of Daddy - that includes smoking and drinking. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, DON'T.



• Call your Grandparents often. They love you almost as much as Daddy and I do.



• Read a lot - education is important.



• Do something you love - happiness is more important than money.



• Travel.



• Try something new - knitting, learning a new language, sewing, running - you will feel good about yourself after your accomplishments.



• Do something at least once in your life that scares you - sky diving, rock climbing, etc.



• Be good to your body and be careful about what you put into it. It's the only body you have.



• Don't walk alone at night



• Have fun at your prom but don't drink
  


• Don't put your drink down at a bar and don't do shots. And don't go to any after parties at strangers houses.



• Pay attention when you drive - never text and drive. Never, ever drink and drive.



• Marry someone just like Daddy



• Be good to Daddy. He loves you more than any man I've ever seen love his kids...



• Be a good person. Hold doors open for people, say please and thank you, talk to the clerk at the grocery store and the maids at hotels. You are not better than them - they are someone's Mother and they are working hard. Don't look down on anyone.
  


• Talk to Sissy if you need advice on anything female related



• Have Daddy teach you how to change a tire, how to mow the lawn and how to start a grill. You don't need a man. You can do everything for yourself.



• But. When you do meet a man. And I know he'll be good to you (he'd better be good to you or Daddy will hurt him) - be good to him too. Love him. Have fun with him. Laugh with him. Raise babies with him. Enjoy your life with him.



• Lastly - read this blog. See how I loved you. Read about all the adventures we went on. All the dance parties we had in our kitchen. All the birthday parties, bike rides, picnics, dinners, movie nights and amazing memories we had together as a family. Don't forget about me, but don't be sad I'm gone. Watch the videos of us together when you miss me. Know that I did everything for you - put you first - every single day of my life. That I loved you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. Know that you two were the best things that have ever, ever happened to me. I love you both.
  

Love,
Mommy

Death, dying and other fun topics

I had a dream last night. Or a nightmare? Yes, I would say this should be classified as a nightmare. That I had a heart attack. Yikes. Random, I know. It felt SO real. And I woke up with my heart beating out of my chest, in tears. I went into check on you two - to watch you sleep and hear you breath. And I stayed up for the next 3 hours thinking of all the things I haven't told you, God forbid something happen to me when you're young.

So the next couple posts, bear with me, are going to be perhaps a bit morbid?? But I know I'll sleep better knowing I've said these things to you.

Home schooling

My friend Cindy kicked my butt into home schooling again! Although not on purpose - I read her blog and realize that it's been WAY too long since I've planned art/learning projects for my kids. This month's topics are "Daddy's birthday" and "back to school"! We started out by making school buses...

Our first BBQ

We had our first BBQ the other night and we had so much fun!! I love our backyard and the girls had a great time eating outside. Can't wait to do this again!

Sometimes...

Fairy princesses just want to color...