Merry Christmas 2008

Shame on me. I think I'm the only mom in these United States of America who did not take any pictures of her children on Christmas! I'm sorry. Here's my lame excuse, my camera eats up batteries and I actually ran out of batteries on Christmas Day. My camera died and therefore no pictures were taken. I went to Sams today and bought a 50 count pack of AA batteries! Maybe I'll just buy a new camera.

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Lindsey and I will be traveling to Virginia for Leah's baby shower in January. I promise I'll post pictures after the trip!

Happy New Year, 2009!

Nan and Ray

Lindsey and Ashley's Nan and Papa Ray were able to visit us this past weekend! Lindsey helped mom and I make Paula Dean's Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Cake, which is a wonderful dessert for parties! Lindsey had fun doing the "Christmas dance" with Nan and enjoyed wearing Ray's Virginia Tech hat!

Trimming the tree...

This was the first year that Lindsey really enjoyed decorating the family Christmas tree. As you can tell from the photos, she took the job seriously.

Ashley and Summer are having fun as well!

Some have asked why Lindsey looks so "rough" sometimes. Well, I'll tell you why! She hates having her hair brushed and if we get it styled- usually a ponytail or pigtails- in the morning, after nap it's all over the place. Notice the upside down visor? It was from Emmi's birthday party in Denver! I must say, she is a lot like me, in that, she doesn't really care about her hair too much.

Thanksgiving in Roanoke

We were very thankful to be able to travel by CAR this Thanksgiving. Say what you want about long car rides, but I love being able to pack what I want (without having to pay for it), and I love not having to rent a car! We have a DVD player in my van so Lindsey and Ashley get to watch cartoons on the long car trips.

These are pictures of Lindsey playing with my dad. In the first picture she is signing "more" rather forcefully. She had a lot of fun!

Lindsey was a Mouse!

I was really reluctant this year to take Lindsey trick-or-treating, but Paul insisted. We shopped on Halloween and found this costume marked down! I was thrilled to only spend $11 on a costume that she'll probably be able to wear next year too!

Halloween 2008

Ashley and her friend Emily were bugs for Halloween this year. Cute!

Ashley's hair...

Ashley got her hair cut yesterday. She also had the stylist put in red streaks in her hair which turned out a lot better than what I had expected. Ashley likes it and I like it so I hope all of you people like it!

Our new home!

This is a picture of our new home here in Ohio. We love it so far! As you can see, we're already having problems with a really big mouse :)

Lindsey is two!

On September 26th we celebrated Lindsey's second birthday with family. Grandma Adams made her a chocolate cake.

Lindsey enjoyed opening a few gifts. She got a dress up outfit and a cowboy hat! As well as some others.

Beans

Gay, Paul's mother, always had a bucket of beans for Ashley and her cousins when they were little. I thought it would be good idea for Lindsey. This is a picture of her playing in her bucket of beans!

First day of school in Denver!

Ashley is in eighth grade this year. She was given the option to start school in Denver on August 13th or wait until we moved and start in Cincinnati, which was not until September. She decided to start school in Denver so she could have some "extra" time with her friends.

She has adjusted fairly well here in Ohio. She has good days and bad days where she misses her friends in Colorado.

Paul's Fourtieth Birthday!

I had no part in this! Actually, Paul's boss, Randall, did it at work for him. I thought I should share it with you all.

Happy Birthday Husband!

Paul turned 40 years old today. His mother had a birthday as well. Happy Birthday to the both of you!

As you all know we are moving to Cincinnati soon. Paul has not been given a release date so the details are still unknown. We'll be making a trip to Cinci in September to look for a new home. My mom is flying here to stay with the girls, thanks Mom!! (I don't know what I would do with out my mom- she helps us out so much.)

Our house is up on the market. We've had 5 showings so far, which is more than we ever had when we tried to sell our house in Cincinnati. I might post the link to the house later on when I have more time.

Ashley and Lindsey are doing well.

The rumors are true...

Paul accepted a new job this week which means we will be moving back to Ohio!!! It will be so much easier to see our family and friends. Please pray for Ashley and Lindsey as they will have to make more adjustments. Ashley is starting the eighth grade which is combined with the high school in Ohio. Pray that Ashley makes good friends. I'm not so worried about Lindsey. We don't know when this move will happen yet though. Hopefully the house will be put on the market next week. Oh, and pray for a buyer for the house. We took quite a hit when we moved out here- we lost all the equity we had because the market is so terrible. Our last house sold for $20,000 less than what we paid for it! Yikes.

Ashley had a doctor's appointment today for her yearly physical. She is 5 foot 1 inch and her doc said she probably isn't going to grow any taller. Otherwise she is healthy.

Lindsey has a cold, but still is playing and sleeping ok.

Keep looking on the website for more information about the move.

Mount Evans Road

This video is of the rode to Mount Evans. "The road to Mount Evans began in 1915 as part of the Peak to Peak Highway, a road system that would connect Longs Peak to Mount Evans and Pikes Peak. The dream of linking these three 14,000 foot peaks by roadway proved unfeasible at the time. Today, the Mount Evans road remains the highest paved automobile route in North America." This information was taken from a brochure that we were given at the base of the mountain.

The Elk

These elk were right off the side of the rode where we were driving. There were probably 6 that we could see.

On top of Mount Evans...

Did you know temperatures drop 3-5 degrees for every 1,000 feet of elevation gained? When we started the trip it was 90 degrees, here it was 52 degrees.

Lindsey and Mommy at Echo Lake

Lindsey doesn't like to pose for pictures much anymore. This was the best we could do.

Mount Evans

Today we visited Mount Evans with the exception of Ashley, who was invited to go to the amusement park with her friend. This is a picture of Echo Lake. We stopped and had a picnic here which was an experience! The outhouses here had no doors! We relieved ourselves very quickly.

Facts about Mount Evans- Elevation 14, 264 feet above sea level. It sits above the treeline. "Above the treeline, there is only 40% of the oxygen available at sea level." Signs and symptoms of altitude sickness include shortness of breath, fatigue, headaches, nausea. To relieve the symptoms one must move to a lower elevation and drink plenty of water.

Ashley is back!

Ashley flew back from Ohio this morning. She said she had a good time but was glad to be home. School starts here on August 12th! I think she's anxious to reconnect with her friends here in Colorado before school starts up again. I'll post pictures from her camera later on when I get the chance.

Watch out!

Hello everyone! I think I'll start posting silly, "Just for Fun," pictures every once in a while. If anyone objects please let me know.

I think Lindsey is the only child in the world who signs "more" when it's thundering outside :) She likes the noise I guess?

My beautiful sister...

My sister played lacrosse during her senior year of high school. I've always liked this picture of her, isn't she beautiful? She is expecting baby Shank in March.

Just for fun!!

I thought this would be fun for you guys to see!

Need I say more?

Lindsey and Mommy on the Carosel

Lindsey loves the Carosel at Elitches! In fact, she really loves all the rides there!

Catching some zzz's

Lindsey finally fell asleep after a long day at Elitch Gardens. Sweet Dreams!!

Lindsey and Emilia at Elitch Gardens

Lindsey and Emilia giving kisses at the park 2 weeks ago!

How could I forget?!

My friend Cali is pregnant and is due in March as well! I can't wait to buy more baby stuff!

Recent News...

I've got some good news concerning our family, as well as some bad news. First the good news. My sister, Leah, found out recently that she and her husband are expecting their first child in March! Congratulations to the Shank family!

My mother, who within the past year has finished nursing school, has found a new job on a Mother/Baby unit. She will be working nights but she is really excited! I'm happy for you mom!

Now the not so good news. My dad's wife Mindy has two blood clots in her arm from a recent I.V. start. Please keep her in your prayers as blood clots can be fatal if they break and travel to the lungs or heart. My dad has to give her shots, but I think she would say that he's being a competant nurse :)

Ashley is having a wonderful time with her friend Summer in TN. Katrina, Summer's mom, told me that Ashley has no reception where they are staying. I'm sure Ashley is beside herself since she can't receive or make any phone calls or texts! I talked to A the other night, she says she having a good time at the lake. She was able to go to Kings Island with Summer and Emily last week. And I've had fun "cleaning" her room. I actually threw a lot of junk away.

It's hard to believe the summer is flying by like it has been. Ashley starts school in August, Paul turns 40 in August, and Ashley's cousin Addy turns 1 in August! Please, everyone have a safe and fun remainder of the summer.

Elizabeth

Teenage Patriotism!

Ashley, Kayleigh, and Summer (visiting from Cincinnati, OH) showing off their version of patriotism.

Sarah and Lindsey playing babies. Do you see the size 5 diaper on her wee little baby? Lindsey likes to feed her babies and she likes to burp them. My mamaw knitted a blanket and pillow for Lindsey's babies this past Christmas. Her babies get lots of naps with the blanket and pillow.

Lindsey and Cousin Sarah

Sarah just graduated with a double major from University of Pittsburgh. She is working in L.A. now and enjoying her life! Thank you Sarah for coming to visit with us!

Pigtails!

Lindsey doesn't like to have her hair done, so for me to actually be able to put her hair in pigtails was incredible! We were going to see Fourth of July fireworks the night this picture was taken. Sarah, my cousin on my mother's side, came to visit us from L.A., California.

Smilebox...

I thought it would be fun to send a Smilebox greeting! I had to use old pictures though because I couldn't figure out how to get recent ones on the computer to use. No news on moving back to Ohio yet. We really want to move but it looks like God wants us to stay here for the time being.

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Make a Smilebox free ecard

Lindsey Nicole eating lunch at Elitches

Lindsey having fun with a Dr. Pepper bottle at Elitch Gardens on Thursday. She got to spend the day with her sister, Ashley, for Ashley's birthday.

Italy September, 2007

This video is from our room off our cruise boat.