A week in review

The first week of first grade is done. It's been a great one for Raegan. She got STAR student on Thursday, meaning she was the best behaved in the class for the day! I've told her that she'll get $5 for each STAR student and then at the end of the 6 weeks she can buy something with the money. Yes, I'm buying good behavior!

We had a weekend full of events. Soccer game Saturday morning and one that got canceled at the last minute in the afternoon. Sunday, birthday party, pictures, and dad's birthday dinner at Bubbies. We also played outside for a long time on Saturday night. The weather was just too nice to stick to the normal bedtime/nighttime routine. The girls had a blast! They love to dig and just be outside. Here are some pictures from the week.






Raegan made a train out of the girls' toys. Mallory loved it but Samantha was fussy for some reason and just wanted off the train!

2 weeks ago Raegan had a spot on her bumm that looked like a spider bite. We took her to Russell because it was growing, quickly. He said definitely a spider bite and it would heal. Well this is what it looked like in 2 weeks. So we went back to Russell. Now it's a fungal infection that could be a result of the bite or could have been a fungal infection all along. Either way, it's getting better with the Lotrimin AF! But isn't it nasty!


Mallory has been pretty laid back at the dinner table. Little brat!

1st Grade!

Raegan started 1st grade today! I can't believe it! We did our normal first day of school routine. Got ready and took the girls to the sitters. Then had donuts. Then on to the school. Raegan has Ms. Walker, who moved up from kindergarten this year. I'm really excited about having her as a teacher and know that it will be a great year. Not to mention the tons of friends she has in her class. She really got lucky! Anyway, on to the pictures...





And a comparison picture from last year, kindergarten. Raegan has gotten taller but has actually lost weight. I wish I was built like she is. LOL!

The Beach Trip...finally!

It's been about 3 weeks since we took our 6th annual girls' beach trip. I've been super busy with work and unable to get to blogging about our trip. So here goes.

*The ride down and back was uneventful. Girls all did fabulous but Mallory wasn't too into sleeping and was more of a "talker". Such is my child!
*I got stuck in the sand in the minivan the first day there and failed to remember that the emergency brake was on while about 10 people were trying to push us out. Oops!
*No napping was not much of an issue. We only had one major meltdown but that was after a day at the beach and then the dolphin boat. Dinner out was not a good idea. My fault!
*The twins have absolutely NO FEAR in the water. They LOVED it and ate lots of sand too!
*We missed Noreen and Ellie terribly. But we were lucky to have Aunt Cindy and Erika there for 2 days. What fun it was catching up with them!
*Raegan and Sloane had very few arguments. They are so lucky to be such close cousins. I've wanted this since Raegan was born! I love watching them interact and Sloane is such a good helper with the twins. Such a lucky girl Baby Ellie is!
*The Bubbie funded the trip again (or did Grandpa). Thanks Bubbie! It was a BLAST and I can't wait until next year!

So on to some pictures. Well lots of pictures! Please enjoy.

Ducks, Aggressive Ducks!

Raegan loves to feed the ducks. So we decided to take the girls to feed them yesterday before it got too hot. The twins LOVED them! I was a bit worried because some of these ducks are quite aggressive. And they stand head to head with the twins! But no one lost any eyes or fingers and they had fun. We'll do another duck trip soon!

15 months!

Things are going great. We are both walking and have been for awhile now. We are still eating really well but not too fond of the soy milk that we're given. It's much better on our tummies than whole milk but it's still nasty. Mom keeps us up on calcium with cheese and yogurt and we really like that. We've had a great summer. Trips to the pool, playgroups at playplaces, playing outside. You name it, we've done it this summer! We start back at Mrs. Sherry's full time on Wednesday. Mom is sad about it but we'll have fun regardless. AND we'll be sleeping on nap mats! Wish Mrs. Sherry luck!

From Samantha- I'm still a fiesty little thing. I like to take things away from my sisters and I SCREAM anytime Raegan comes close to me. I'm not sure if she's going to pick me up or knock me over so I must scream regardless. I'm talking alot lately. The words I use most are: maaaaaa, mal, shoe, snack, water, bathtub, nana, grandpa (he likes this one), and several others. I'm really using words in context and mom is happy about this. Here are my stats:
30.25 inches- 43rd %tile
21 pounds- 21st %tile
48 in head- 94th %tile LMAO!

From Mallory- I'm still quiet a good majority of the time. But I have a quick fuse. When my sister takes things from me, I tend to try and bite her. I have a good bite! I am still a momma's girl and really want to be around her when she is in the vicinity. I like to follow her around whining until she picks me up. She doesn't think it's much fun but I do! I'm also using some words but tend to jibber jabber like I'm talking in complete sentences. You just can't understand me! Some of my words include: momma (of course), bathtub, shoes, nana, and a few others that I can't remember right now. Here are my stats:
31.75 inches- 85th %tile
24 pounds 9 ounces- 75th %tile
47 in head- 80th %tile (even the nurse double checked their measurements. haha!)

And just a quick video. They LOVE sitting on chairs and couches these days!

RIP Uncle Wally 7-1-51 to 7-25-09

My uncle passed away this weekend at the young age of 58. He lived the life of a rockstar for far too many years but has recently gotten his life together and really enjoyed living with his wife Sherry. Wally had a passion for sports and a love for animals. He will be missed by many.

We will head to Iowa, probably for the last time, in September. A memorial will be planned for that time. Uncle Wally was a donor and his long bones and skin were able to be donated after his death.

Surgery for BOTH Ellies and some pictures

Well I was wrong on Ellie the dog. She didn't injure the same leg that had surgery earlier, she injured the other one! Nice! So some arguments happened at my house. I've canceled my housecleaner. Bryan bought a car (to fix and sell). And I've scheduled surgery for Ellie's ACL after much conversation and compromise. I am taking her to another vet though. I found someone that will do it much cheaper than Dr. Greg. While it makes me sad not to use him for the surgery, I have to save money on this thing! The consultation with Dr. Gieb is scheduled for Monday morning and they will most likely operate that afternoon. I'm not looking forward to the kenneling and leash walking but I can't stand to see her limping around.

As for Ellie from the Bellie, she also is having surgery. Ever since being born, she has been a noisy little thing. A month ago they discovered that she has an extra flap of skin somewhere in her throat. I don't know where people. Sorry. Anyway, they are concerned that it's not getting better and also concerned about her airway. They suggested surgery to cut the flap of skin off. It is scheduled for August 4th. Poor little princess. I'm hoping that Aaron and Noreen allow me to be there and I plan on leaving the babies at the sitter. Luckily this is the day before I head back to work. I'm nervous for Ellie but know that the surgery will go fine. She will spend one night in the NICU as a precaution. :(

This is the Pink Bandits indoor soccer team that Raegan is playing on right now. They have had a great season. They have one more game this coming week and then they will start Summer II!

The Twincesses had their first playdate. Raegan was in art camp in the morning, along with Taylor and Madeline. So we got the little girls together for a playday. It was fun! Can't wait until these 4 are playing soccer together like their big sisters!

Schlitterbahn. It was so much fun and we are going to make it an annual trip!





The Twincesses got these cute robes from my friend Erin. They wore them for the first time a week or so ago. And Raegan got hers for Christmas. They looked so cute in them!