Birthday Day!

Day 27
Today was LuLu's (sometimes also known as Kaylani) birthday. She turned the big 3 today and we just love her! So we went and they played with chalk and played in the pool and had a barbecue and watched her open presents. Your typical birthday party. I was really happy Kenzie invited us and it seemed like Lu had a great birthday!

We had to leave early because we had a dinner planned for the birthday's that Grammy and Grampy would be gone for! Nolan got a new book and some plastic rings! He was pretty excited and screamed at me till I got it all the way out of the package! We also had fun playing badmitton and croquet. I've never played croquet but I just don't have the patience for it. Or I didn't tonight at least and towards the end people started hucking balls across the yard and flinging the little fences. That was my cue to be done!! But it was tons of fun (even with out a net for badmitton-haha)

Here's Brookelyn in her par-tay outfit!

Twilight

May 30th

Day 26
We didn't do much on Saturday. Went to a friend's grand opening party...that was fun!! And then I decided to highlight my hair but by the time I got my hair through that super sexy cap I was TIRED, but I was definitely not giving up all that hard work for nothing!! So I set in with my Twilight book and read a couple pages and then when when it was done I took pictures of my new hair do :) It's super blond and I super love it! You can find the pictures by either going to my flickr or going to my face book (I'll probably upload them all tomorrow!!)

Twilight is my favorite book. Yeah some people say it's lame but I don't care I love it all the same! (Hahaha I'm a poet and didn't even know it!) I'm so excited to watch the New Moon Movie Premiere on the MTV Movie Awards!!

The Start to My Day

May 29

Day 25
The start to my day deserves a little tribute. Every morning I have my cup of coffee while the kids drink their sippy cups and eat their breakfast. The day doesn't start until I have this milk-brown beauty.

Historic Browne's Addition

May 28

Day 24

Catching up

May 27th

Day 23
I slacked a little. So sue me ;)

On Wednesday I had to run to the library that's across the street from the river so I walked a little bit over after I got done and took a couple pictures of the surrounding areas! There's a mall (a rather small one that I almost NEVER go to), the library, the river, some beautiful bridges and lots lots more. This summer I want to take a ride in the gondola and take pictures going over the river! That would be amazing!

This is the Monroe Street Bridge. I'm not 100 % sure that this is the official name of it...but it's the bridge on Monroe! LOL

Allergies = No fun

Day 22
Starting last night I got the worst allergy attack! Benedryl makes me super drowsy so I only take it when I SERIOUSLY need it. So all day I've been dealing with the itchy throat, watery eyes, stuffed/runny nose (you know, when it's stuffy one second and you can't breathe and then it's completely runny the next), and don't even get me started on the sneezing!

I feel like crap but that doesn't stop the kids from getting up at 730 AM. They don't understand that mom is sick and just wants to sleep in and it's go go go when the kids wake up until Dad gets home. And even then Moms don't get breaks. I decide it would be worth the suffering trip to Walmart even if I were ONLY in need of tissues. Nice, super soft tissues with LOTION. But we also need more stuff for dinner and diaper wipes too.

In the Kleenex department I stand there for probably 5 minutes solid wondering if I should spend the extra 46 cents to buy the ones with vicks cause...what if I don't even like them? It would be a waste of money! But in the end I decide that it wont be a waste cause I'll use them even if I don't like them, it'll just be a lesson learned!

So I get them home and they're FANTASTIC. I'm not getting paid to advertise them or anything! They're AMAZING. It's Puffs plus lotion with Vicks! Try them! When I'm having issues breathing I just hold one up to my face!! Sure beats rubbing that nasty stuff on you!! I did have a nice little picture all lined up for you of the box of tissues (lol!) but as I was loading the pictures on to my camera I saw this adorable little boy:

Happy Memorial Day

May 25

Day 21
Memorial Day wasn't going to be anything special this year. We were just going to hang out and catch up on house work and stay in our PJ's all day. But then Glenn decided he would invite his Brother, Jesse, and his wife, April over for a barbecue. So we all had to finish cleaning the house and take showers and get dressed. I had orignally bought outfits for the kids for the Fourth of July but Memorial day is just as good of a time to wear red white and blue as the 4th!! So Brookelyn wore her adorable new outfit!!

And this is the picture of Brookelyn telling her Daddy a story. (She's quite the talker...I have no idea where she gets it from!)

Manito Park

Day 20
My most favorite place to take pictures in Spokane is probably Manito Park. I haven't found any prettier place than that! Lilacs are in FULL bloom and they smelled SO good. The second you pull up next to the Lilac Garden the smell over powers everything! So we walked around and looked at the different colored lilacs and took some pictures there, then we decided to walk up to the rose gardens in hopes that something would be in bloom. But alas...no Roses :( Does anybody know when Roses bloom? June maybe? Oh well! We'll just have to go back! Then we went to the Japanese Gardens because Brooke LOVES the waterfall and looking a the hugemongous Koi fish!

This was my favorite picture of the day!

I would walk 500 miles....but not in flip flops

May 23
Day 19

Yesterday we spent the day at my dad's house again. My family is still in town so we wanted to spend another day with them! Julie, Grandma Carol, Aunt Kathy, Shelby and I decided to pack up their kids in the double stroller and pack them the 3 miles around the lake. Once we got to the other side of the lake, Brooke, who didn't have shoes on, started whining that she wanted to get down. Nolan, who was tired, but fighting it, kept chucking his bottle to the ground. Then me and Shelby stopped to pick Brookelyn some flowers, and adjust Nolan and give him back his bottle. So in doing all this, Julie, Kathy and Grandma got quite a ways ahead of us, and me and Shelby were left battling the mosquitoes out of her hair and off the kids. I ended up with 5 or 6 itching, annoying mosquito bites and Brooke got FOUR on one leg! Bug repellant...does not work. And one piece of advice. Don't wear flip flops to walk around the lake unless you're quite sure your feet are completely used to them. And even then, your feet will probably be black by the time you're done like mine were.

Peek-a-Boo!

May 22, 2009

Day 18
Today Nolan experimented with using a spoon. He didn't actually ever put the spoon to his mouth, he just basically dumped spaghetti oh's all over the high chair and made a huge mess LOL.

We went to my dad's house today because my Grandpa Harry, Grandma Carol (they're not together, but no it's not awkward LOL), Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Kathy are visiting from Hermiston Oregon! Today was my grandma's birthday (Yes, I was polite and didn't ask her how old she is now!) And the sun was shining today and it was just beautiful so we let the kids play around in the yard before dinner and while the sun was out! The kids played shy with the new people at Grandma and Grandpa's Jeppsen's house, but that's pretty normal for them!

Nolan's digging the little toy they have in their yard. (Which is actually ours but we're not aloud to have toys here so, at least they get to play with it SOMEWHERE!) He likes to try to climb up the slide and play peek a boo in the holes!

Don't feel like writing.

Day 17
I'm a little upset tonight.

So I'll just leave you with a picture and the knowledge that today we had a play date with my friend from high school, Amy and her daughter, Caydan. I've missed them so much it's crazy!! We had lots of fun!!

And then we had a Doctor's appointment so this is where the picture came from, I was pretty excited that they actually both looked at me! Nolan is 23 pounds (Brooke's only 26!) and in the 100 percentile for height!!

Living Situations

Day 16.
I wont live in this cheap, breaking down apartment forever. Someday, I'll live in a nice house with a yard, and a washer and dryer. Jealous people will come over and say I pay too much, or have horrible neighbors, or should have moved to a different town. I know that no one will really unhappy for me, but no one will be completely happy for me and say I made a good decision. But that's OK because I'll look back on a time when I lived in the most inexpensive 2 bedroom apartment I could find. It came complete with a manager who never took, nor returned my phone calls, takes two or more weeks to actually fix something major in our apartment, (And usually we realize it was never really fixed at all!)

I wont forget our smelly but generally nice next door neighbor, and their dog that I can hear breathing through the wall at night. And the lady who parks next to us and gave us a dresser for Nolan that is 87 or so years old.

I'll remember every single annoying neighbor that lived above me. Starting with the girls who partied all night and cried to their friends about how sorry she was for sleeping with her boyfriend the next day, even though it wasn't really her fault while she threw all their garbage and cigarette butts in the lawn and on our porch. Everyday I had to clean it up so my kids could play outside, even though we aren't aloud to have any type of toys, balls, small swimming pools or anything in our lawn.

I'll look back on the people who live above me now...because the lady has a mustache and goatee and the man yaps our ears off the second we walk out the front door. And they sound like a heard of elephants when they walk across the floor. And I'm really afraid if they get in the tub at the same time as me with that leaking problem that their tub will fall on top of me and squash me to death.

I'll remember the punks that live all the way upstairs that opened his front door and got mad at me for slamming my car door too loud at 11:00 AM. How dare I...after he partied his little heart out till 6 that morning!

And lets not mention the nosy couple that stares at us, and probably everyone else in the apartment complex when we drive or walk in. Or the the guy with the lazy eye that smokes outside my bedroom window in the summer and the annoying lady with the scrunchies and the pants pulled up above her belly button and her jean jackets. (We think they were having an affair but who knows cause he was "going back to his wife".)

But I'll also remember introducing Silas to his new toddler bed, bringing home Brookelyn from the hospital, Silas' 2nd birthday, crying over Brookelyn's first birthday, preparing to bring Nolan into our growing family, bringing Nolan home, crying over Brookelyn's first trip to Oregon with out mommy and daddy, and then her 2nd birthday, watching marathons of Harry Potter and Little Mermaid. The play dough that stuck to the kitchen floor, and the gum that never came out of the carpet in the hallway. And most of all watching the kids grow and teaching them every step of the way.

We may not move out today, probably not even tomorrow. But soon we'll have a house with a yard for more space and most importantly new memories. And even though I say I hate this place...it's been our home. I wont be sorry to leave it, no...don't get me wrong. Not one bit, will I be sorry to leave it. But I will take our memories...and put them in the baby books and photo albums.

Hopefully soon I can post pictures, for you, of a new house and a new life!

Bath Time!

Day 15
I went an applied for a job today!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Tonight while Glenn was giving the kids a bath Brookelyn yelled at me "Mommy, come take a picture of me!!" She was SO super proud of herself! After two and a half years she's not afraid to lay back in the water on her own!

Sick Day

05-18-09
Day 14

Yesterday Nolan woke up at 4 AM with a pretty high fever, so I gave him some Tylenol and when he woke up he still had a fever so we went into the doctor just to have everything checked out since Brooke needed to go in anyways. Turns out Nolan just had a bug that had to run its course.

We also had an appointment to look at a duplex in Medical Lake. It was nice but the landlord seemed like he was leaning more towards the other person who was looking at it (and he still hasn't sent me the application so that pretty much confirms it). So my Dad barbecued for us. I was extremely thankful because Nolan, being sickie all day, just wanted to be held all day long and I did not feel like cooking! But Nolan actually fell asleep and had quite the nap in the crib over there! You could just tell my handsome man wasn't feeling well, even when he was sleeping!

Yard Sale!

Day 13.
As you can see I haven't exactly figured out where to put the day that I'm on or how to word it but I like this one for now!

After our long night, we all slept in (I actually woke up before the kids but on my own accord for the first time in a LONG time) and stayed in our PJ's for a good first half of the day. Glenn made us eggs for breakfast! They were delicious cheesy eggs!

It was beautiful outside, so after reading the first quarter of the last Chronicles of Narnia book (I'm so mad at the beginning 2 characters that I could hardly put it down!), we all got ready and went over to April and Jesse's to do the yard sale! We had a whole bunch of people in the beginning and then not so many people towards the end! But we always have fun over there anyways!

Here's April setting up the yard sale!

Torch Light Parade

Yesterday we had some friends, Sarah and Brian come to Spokane from Colville to visit and have dinner. We went shopping and then started barbecuing and afterward their daughter, Caylie (7 months), was just being SO cute I had to set her up and take some pictures of her and of course the lighting was all wrong and at first there was really bad shadows so we moved her to the other couch and tried again. She is so adorable! Oh, and Brian let me use his big, super expensive camera! I kept forgetting to let it auto focus though. But it was still fun!!

We also went to the parade but I couldn't get a decent picture of pretty much ANYTHING that was actually in the parade because my camera sucks in the dark. If I use night mode, everything's all blurry and using regular mode wouldn't catch anything..I did get a couple that I could lighten with photoshop, but it was nothing really post worthy! I got ALOT of pictures of my family though! And one decent picture of a fire truck!!

Hiking? Or not...*11*

My friend Heather (no I'm not talking about myself-haha) and I decided to take the kids on a hiking trip. We drug the kids all the way to the Valley and couldn't find the place where we wanted to hike so we turned back around and came back to Spokane and went to Manito. The kids played with the ducks and chased squirrels and looked at fish and played by the waterfall.

We had a nice picnic lunch. Or what should have been nice if all 4 kids had sat down at once and Rylan and Nolan weren't switching cup and spraying themselves with juice all the time! Haha. But it was fun anyways and we laughed-alot!

Here's Brookelyn and Haden by the waterfall!

Dinner and a Movie *10*

I've been wanting to see the movie Bride Wars since it was in the theater! So today Glenn suggested we invite his brother, Jesse and Jesse's wife, April and their kids over for barbecued chicken and a movie! They came over and about half way through cooking the chicken, the propane tank ran out! So we ended up cooking them on our little griddle, and they tasted just as good! We had chicken sandwiches (I actually cut mine up and put it over a salad!), salad, baby carrots, and hot dogs. Well, the kids had hot dogs!

Bride Wars was FANTASTIC! I'm definitely going to watch it again because with 4 kids running around, it's hard to keep paying attention to the movie! I took several pictures, but nobody was really "into" having their picture taken.. except for Robert of course, he's always so cute. I got a few of April flipping me off, the kids not looking at me, and this one of Glenn!! Telling me not to distract him while he was cooking! Haha! It was a fun night! I'm going to be super sad when they move back to Arizona!

Mommy's Little Photographer *9*

I should have known there would come a day when the camera turned around on me. Me and the kids were playing in their newly cleaned room when I decided to go get my camera because Nolan was being a little ball of cheese. When I came back and sat down on the floor ready to snap some pictures. Brookelyn then exclaimed "NO MOMMY WAIT!!" And went and dug through (and yes all those toys that I had JUST cleaned up were now back on the floor) her toy boxes till she turned around and said "MOMMY SAY CHEESE!!" And started taking pictures of me with her Tinkerbell Camera. So we took turns saying cheese and taking pictures of each other! When I get my new camera I'll give her this crappy little digital camera and I'll teach her not to put her fingers in front of the lens!

My Summer Project. *Day 8*

My kids have always had the best of the plastics world. plastic toddler beds, plastic toy boxes and plastic dressers. The small plastic-ness just seemed safer. Until Nolan. Even after we bought Brookelyn's big girl bed, we kept her plastic dressers. He pulled Brookelyn's pink plastic dresser on top of him almost everyday for a couple weeks. So when we went to April's yard sale and found the big beat up, but sturdy, white dresser, I decided it was time to let the last of the plastic go! (We didn't techniqually get rid of it, we just put some toys in for the time being till we find a decent toy box!) I traded April for 2 of our little plastic dressers (she needed them for her boys' toys).

This dresser definitely needs some TLC and this summer I fully intend on making this dresser a part of Brookelyn's room.

My Flowers *Day 7*

One week and going strong! I'm so proud of myself!

Today was one of those lazy days. Not much going on so we stayed in our PJ's and just hung out all day. As a result I didn't really take pictures of anything all day so I thought I'd show you the flowers I got for Mother's Day!

Mother's Day *Day 6*

(05/10/09)
Yesterday was Mother's Day. I woke up with a VERY sore throat, cramps, and just a general all over yucky feeling. I laid on the couch and even though Glenn offered many many times if I wanted breakfast and coffee, all I could croak out was "No Thank You". I felt AWFUL. Glenn went to the store in the morning to get some more milk and stuff and came home with a beautiful boquet of lillies! My favorites! So around 3 or so I started to feel better so i got up and took a shower and even blow-dryed my hair!

We went over to my dad's house for spaghetti cause I felt like crap and didn't want to cook. While we were there I wondered and wondered what I should take a picture of. The cat? He was too quick anyways. The kids? They wouldn't sit still, not even for two seconds to get a decent, non blurry picture! So, I decided to do a self portrait. Since it was mother's day anyways, I might as well! The first one I took, I realized that I still, very much, looked sick. So I put my new sunglasses on, (which I love!! I've been told I look like a cop, an airforce pilot, a 70's porno director, and Elvis!) and tried again. This is what I got!

Jr Lilac Parade. *Day 5*

It's not that great of a picture, but today we went to the Jr. Lilac Parade to see my little sister Maggie play her trumpet. Brookelyn was the center of attention and everybody just thought she was so super cute. Everyone gave her a bunch of candy and when the toy cart man came around, Daddy just had to buy her a dog on a leash, which was actually extremely cute but light pink. Brookelyn dragged that thing face first right back up to the sidewalk! When Medical Lake Middle school came around the corner Brookie and I stood up in the street and screamed "MAGGATHA!!! HI AUNT MAGGIE!" Which made her laugh and broke her concentration! I almost forgot to take a picture of her! So I only got one!

Brookelyn wanted to ride the gondola when she saw it up in the sky. (A sky ride that goes down over the Spokane river waterfall, you can see pictures of it here: Then we rode the carousel and Nolan and Brooke LOVED it! Nolan was all smiles! Except of course when I was trying to take a picture!

So now we're going to the park to play and let her ride her skateboard (we found Silas' old helmet so she's super excited and wont take it off!), and then over to April and Jesse's to celebrate April's 29TH birthday which was actually on Wednesday but who has time celebrate during the week?!

And here's one of my many beautiful sisters, in the Jr Lilac Parade! Next weekend is the Lilac Festival! Should be lots of fun stuff to do and lots to take pictures of!

Pretty flowers at Tree House Park! *Day 4*

(05/08/09)
So yeah yeah, into day four I slacked... A LITTLE! I DID take the picture, but I was working on the edit and we went out, by the time we got home it was *technically* today anyways, so I decided to wait!

It was hard to choose only one picture because we went to this super great little park that my friend Heather refers to as "tree house park". We will definitely be going there more! They have 3 different little play structures and swings and a sand box and even a basket ball and tennis court! Rylan did his cute little waddle walk and even came over and sat on my lap for a little while! And I was so proud of Nolan, he didn't try to eat the bark chips! Not even once! So after we let the kids run their little hearts out while the sun played peek-a-boo for an hour and a half, the sun finally decided to "take a nap" and went behind the cover of a big gray cloud! The wind picked up and it got pretty cold so we packed the little ones up in their strollers and convinced Brooke and Haden to go on a walk to find some pretty flowers and rocks!

We walked up this little gravel trail into the trees and away from the playground where we found all these pretty flowers! I picked four flowers for all the kids and then Haden and Brookelyn picked flowers for me and Heather. I gave Nolan and Rylan both a flower and Rylan threw his on the ground and Nolan tried to eat his. Apparently flowers taste good because he kept putting it in his mouth!

I wanted to take a picture of some of the flowers that were gathered together and it seems that Haden wanted my attention cause he sat RIGHT on my flowers. LUCKILY I got the picture first! Haha!

Sibling Rivalry is Sure to Come *Day 3*

Which is why I'm enjoying every single moment of them being best friends. They always have someone to play with (unless they're giving mom a hard time and not napping at the same time! but even that I'm sure they band together on!).

Today Brooke ran in the living room from the kitchen and said "Noners, come look real fast! There's a kitty! Let's open the door!" So Nolan, in a contagious effect of Brookelyn's excitement, got up and booked to the kitchen. (Man that kid can crawl probably faster than I can run) I grabbed my camera on the way to the kitchen in case of a photo opportunity (We do have porcupines that live in our back yard!) And this is what I saw...Brookelyn telling Nolan ALL about the cats!

Permission to Take Pictures *Day 2*

Today I had my daughter's permission to take pictures. After breakfast she ran to her room and I told her to pick out some clothes (HOPING that they would either match or I could at least talk her down to something semi-matching)! She picked her white pants (THANK YOU!! Almost any shirt she could have picked out of her drawer would have matched the pants!) but then got side tracked when she found her hat and sunglasses in her top drawer, so I got to pick the shirt that actually went with the pants :0)

We set Nolan in his high chair with a few crackers, and although we eventually wanted to try a couple with both of them...he wouldn't cooperate, so we got NOTHING from him except one picture of him sticking his tongue out in determination to get away from me and the camera! LOL

Then we got to setting up our little "studio" which Brooke thought was pretty cool cause she got to lay all over mommy's super soft blankie!

So we did some pictures of Brookelyn without the hat (until she remembered it) Then some with the hat, until she got bored and started playing peek-a-boo with it, which is about the time I showed her the pretty sunglasses to distract her while I hid the hat on top of the TV. Then she got frustrated because she couldn't see (it was too dark when the sun hid behind the clouds) so we finally put the sunglasses on top of her head and got this beautiful picture:

She wasn't even looking at the camera, but I still love it!

There was a few other good ones in the making but this was the last! Now both the kids are finally taking a nap and I'm off to go do whatever it is that mom's do during nap time!

Baby Feet *Day 1*

Today was going to be a plain old boring day, probably just me and the kids hanging out in our PJ's and if I dared, getting dress and venturing to the park in the some-what decent weather. But then the WIC office called me and reminded me that I had missed my appointment yesterday and asked if I could bring the kids in to make an appointment for next month and to pick up my checks at 2pm! I got Nolan to take a nap and then Brookelyn and I hopped in the shower but not two minutes in, who do I hear crying? I should have known that we could never take a B-A-T-H with out Nolan who is crazy about taking baths. So I hurry up and finish and fill up the tub with water and get Nolan out of his crib and into his bath. Once I got the kids out of the bath and fed them lunch I realized I had about half an hour before I had to be leaving the house and on my way to the WIC office! I got out of the house 15 minutes LATER than I had planned and got to the WIC office with 8 minutes to spare!! Then I decided that the kids were being pretty good so I braved a trip to Walmart by myself with both the kids. And of course they both fell asleep on the way there. I decided to snap some pictures but OF COURSE. . . I left my camera at home! Oh well, that is what camera phones are for :)

Every time we get in the car without fail, Nolan takes his socks off. I can't wait for summer when we don't have to even put them on anymore! So here's my picture that I took today. Nolan's precious little baby foot :)

The beginning.

I found this group on cafemom where you take at least one picture everyday and post it for everyone to see, critique, whatever. They had this website where they got the idea: and I decided to make a blog of it. Since most of my blogs end up going no where because I run out of things to talk about and I feel repetitive. So although I love writing them, I don't end up finishing them.
This is the link that was posted on the cafemom group!
http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/
I'm not starting with January 1st, I'm starting with May 5th 2009. I'm no professional, and sometimes, my best pictures are self portraits :) But this will be an interesting way to remember my life! And it will inspire me to take creative pictures on the most boring of days. Keep an eye out for my first picture ;)