Giving it another go...

This year one of my new year's resolutions is to blog again. To be honest, I am glad 2011 is over. Last year was hard and it kept me from blogging at all. I regret it so much. I took pictures but I have no words to go with them. My blog books are among my favorite possessions and I really want to have one from every year. I will still try to make one for 2011 but I'm sure there will be much less wording along with the pictures. So, I will try my best to blog so that I don't forget the daily events and adventures of my two crazy girls!

Lyla at 6yrs old

Here is another post I never actually posted but wrote in August.

Lyla at 6 years old:

*has a terrific smile

*is fearless and will try anything

*can climb a tree really well

*has tons of energy

*won't wear anything remotely girly, basically lives in vbs tshirts

*still says her "r" like a "w"

*still loves Scooby doo

*still loves Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning as hot chocolate

*still loves to ride bikes, run fast, climb everything, and basically be wild

*still likes to play cars, pirates, and construction worker

*draws a little more than she used to but not very much

*weighs 41 pounds (25%) and is 45.5 inches tall (52%)

*loves to explore the river

*is turning into a picky eater

*when you ask her "What's up?" she says "good" every time

*is a red belt in karate, the highest ranking belt for her age group

*played softball for the first time and like it

*she bats right handed even though she's left handed

*still prefers to play with boys

*still loves her friend Ford

*is a good swimmer and loves the ocean and will "ride" the big waves

*is still NOT a morning person

*hasn't lost any teeth and doesn't even have a loose tooth yet (Aug.)

*likes to take pictures with my camera

*will eat peanut butter and jelly every day

*loves to have us come eat lunch with her at school

*cries when she's mad or her feelings are hurt, not when she's physically hurt

Grace as an 8 year old January 2011

The post I never posted about Grace being 8. I actually wrote it last spring but it was left as a draft.

My baby Grace turned 8 in January. (I know, I'm hopelessly behind in blogging. I think I will just have to give up on the idea of catching up. But, I want to write this out so i don't forget any more.) She chose to have a friend go out for the night with us for her birthday. We went to McDougals and then ice skating. The girls had a blast. They really did well ice skating. It made me nervous because I was afraid someone was going to fall and hit their head. They used the push things for a little bit but pretty much did it on their own. They were really wet by the end of the night though from falling so many times. They didn't want to leave but Eric and I had aching ankles so we finally persuaded them to leave.

Here are some things about Grace as an 8 year old.....

*She wants her hair to be as long as Rapunzel in "Tangled".

*She is still very sweet to others and aware of the feelings of those around her.

*She is a very good reader but doesn't want to read for fun.

*She enjoyed playing softball for the first time this year.

*She is really tall.

*She loves hot dogs.

*She loves cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Coco Pebbles, anything sweet).

*She eats a whole lot more than when she was little!

*She loves spending the night as a friends' house.

*She was in the jump rope club at Hunter's Bend.

*She still plays with her doll house but uses little animals instead of people.

*She loves stuffed animals.

*She loves to swim and go to the river with Eric.

*She wants to sleep with Lyla every night now.

*She can be very strong willed but after she calms down she always apologizes for throwing a fit.

*She tells me she doesn't want to grow up and I tell her I don't want her to either.

*She still says "Sweet dreams. I don't know how much I love you because I love you so much and I love you" when I kiss her goodnight. But she says it so fast she runs all the words together and you can't tell what she's saying anymore.

*She always wants to know what we're going to be doing. She likes keeping a calendar on the fridge of events coming up.

*She still likes to wear skirts and dresses but not nearly as much as when she was smaller.

*She loves to watch movies at night with all of the lights turned off.

*She loves having friends over and going to friends' houses.

*She asks me for hugs all the time and says "I just feel like I want a hug."

*She's super sweet and I wish she'd stay 8 years old forever!

I need to write that down...

This is an old draft that I forgot to ever post from June or July last year. It's just a few funny things that Lyla says.

Lyla..."Mom, why do you look pretty but you have big burps?"

Grace and Lyla....Independix=appendix

Lyla..."It doesn't care" means "It doesn't matter"

Lyla..."My legs are frisky". (said when she was cold and had goosebumps.)

New Year's Eve 2010

We had our annual New Year's Eve party this year with Dan and Amy and Joni and Larry. We did have a few new ones with us this year too. Shannon, Stephanie and Greg joined us as well as a friend of Eric's from work and his wife. We changed it up a bit this year by going out to dinner rather than fixing everything ourselves. It was fun but every year I think, I'm getting too old for this! Ha!

These are the only pictures I took this year...

Our New Bathroom

I've been revamping the downstairs since the fall. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, we (really Eric) finished the bathroom. The bathroom had this really dark brown faux finish on the walls from the previous owner. There was a large dark vanity and dark mirror too. Eric put up bead board, painted the walls a light blueish gray and we bought a new vanity. I actually sold the old vanity on Craigslist for the same price as the new vanity from Lowes!! How's that for decorating on a budget? The new vanity doesn't have as much counter space but it really does fit the bathroom better.

This first picture was taken as a remembrance of the little mishap we had in the middle of the remodel. Eric had to take the bead board off of the wall that he had already put up because the new vanity was smaller and didn't cover the seams in the bead board. The problem came when he pulled the bead board off. Evidently, he had accidentally nailed the bead board directly to the water pipe! So when the nail was pulled out....let's just say it reminded me of "Old Faithful", except it was shooting sideways instead of up! Water went everywhere! Evidently, the nail puncture had been leaking this whole time too. It was really a blessing that he pulled the board off and discovered this rather than letting it leak forever without knowing it. Fixing the pipe was a big pain in the rear for Eric but he finally got it done. The wall was put back and the vanity was put in. It looks great. I really love it. The bathroom is really small so it's hard to get a good picture of the entire thing. These are the best I could do.

Build a Bear

The day after Christmas we took the girls to Build a Bear. That was part of their Christmas from my parents. It was very busy but they all made really cute animals. Grace made an adorable bunny. Lyla made a really cute dog. I actually can't remember what Reesi made. That's what I get for waiting until the last week in May to write a post about Christmas! Elye made a reindeer. Elye was so cute carrying that big box. It took forever. Mainly because Lyla couldn't decide on the clothes for her dog! I have no idea where she gets that trait? *wink, wink*