Bugs!

There was a stink bug in our room and the girls had to check it out.  Annabelle wasn't sure about it but Ariel wanted to touch it.

 

Hiking Riley Trails

We went for a "hike" on Sunday evening.  I put the word hike in quotations because I am using the term very loosely.  The main reason is the shoes Annabelle chose to wear.

 

Erica gave her these jellies last summer and she has loved them to death.  If you click and make the photo bigger you will see that they have come apart at the toe area and her toes are sticking out.  Yet she loves them and felt they would be perfect for hiking.  That is, until she got the first rock in her shoe then this is what happened.

James had to carry her for most of the hike.

We started out by reading the map, which is something Annabelle really likes to do.  

Before we even got started I had to get some pictures on these big rocks they had at the entrance.

We brought along a bag to collect some nature things.  Both girls enjoyed finding lots of things to put in the bag.

We found a great tree to take a picture in.

We found this mossy area and I told Annabelle it looked like fairies might live here and she should have her picture taken like a fairy (she is going to be a fairy when she grows up, but right now she can't figure out why she doesn't have wings).

Annabelle was pretty excited when we noticed a balance beam made out of a tree!

Then Ariel had to try it too.

We were able to see some animal tracks on the trail.

We went by the water and looked at cattails, flowers, and threw acorns into the water.  Isn't that a precious daddy/daughter picture?

Back at home we were able to check out the nature we had collected.

 We found some litter and we were able to talk about how we want to keep the Earth clean.

Annabelle picked it up and put it in our bag to take home so we could throw it away.

We hope you enjoyed following our "hike".  Stay tuned as we try to do a few more this fall. 

 

Deuteronomy 10:14 

Heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD your God, the earth with all that is in it.

Bedroom Makeover

Since Ariel was born we have had the crib and Annabelle's bed in the same room.
We are done with the crib (for those of you who know us you will know we pretty much never even started).
A couple weeks ago I took it down because I was just going to have two twin beds in their room.  
Chelsea was moving to Florida after getting married so I was going to take her bed and the matching one and use those.
We got one bed set up and then realized that we didn't have the screws for the other one.
So Annabelle has the big bed with the feather bed on it and Ariel has the smaller bed with just a mattress.
Since the beds aren't ready they aren't really (ok, not at all) sleeping in them.

I had been thinking about the bedding for the girls and what I wanted and if I would be able to buy two matching bed sets.  Then one day this summer Chelsea brought me two complete matching bed sets from Pottery Barn.  The little girl she nannies was going to be getting new bedding.  This included the fitted sheet, the flat sheet, a duvet, a quilt, 2 pillow cases, and the pillow sham.  I now have super cute bedding for the girls.  I just need new curtains up and to buy some new pillows for them and a feather bed for Ariel.

I am not much of a decorator and haven't really done much to the condo because I feel it is just a stepping stone until we buy a bigger home.  I was thinking that it would be cute to hang a butterfly or flower from the ceiling. This website:  www.butterflycraze.com has some super cute things that I would like to use in their room.

The walls are going to stay the same color because I am super super  (plus 10 more supers) bad at completing a painting project plus I don't think a pinky room would be good for resale.

Here are some pictures of the bedding.

Ariel feels really special in her big girl bed.
I don't have a great picture of the whole bedding but you can see how excited they are.
Thanks Chel for thinking of us!

My Little Maids

A few weeks ago my dust buster died.  It was a sad day over here (I think we all cried).  We were given this dust buster at a wedding shower (5 years ago) and used it many times a day.  I used it to clean up my pile when I swept, to clean the hair off the bathroom floor, to get way down in those deep dark crevices of the couch.  I like it so much I usually give it as a wedding present (I know I'm so fun)  

When it died I didn't really know what to do.  Right away I wanted to go buy another one, but then I realized that I hadn't gotten a paycheck from work and maybe a dust buster wasn't a top priority (I did have the girls' dust pan that I could (and did) use).  So I waited and waited and then we had this idea to have a garage sale.

After making a decent amount of money getting rid of junk I decided to go and buy the dust buster that I needed.  I had been using the red Dirt Devil one and really liked it so my plan was to get that again.

 
Well I got to Target and there was only one of these on the shelf and it was hanging half way out the box.  I was unable to even look at it.  I was disappointed and figured I would just go to WalMart and see what they had.
But then I noticed this:

This wonderful invention was only $1 more than that other wimpy thing.  This is a 3 in 1!
With this you can use it as a dustbuster, put the handle in it and push it around, and then add that wheely thing and push it even easier.  It also comes with one of those pointy attachments to get into small places.

So I brought this home and James was probably thinking "Oh no another cleaning thing"
(I have the Monster Steamer and the Bissel Floor Steamer).

I got it out and put it together and figured if it wasn't great I'd just return it.

But this is what happened

Yes, she is actually cleaning everything from under the table



(Don't mind the stain...I spilled pink pain 3 years ago).

My girls have been cleaning machines.  They love this light weight vacuum that they can actually use.  Annabelle did the whole kitchen floor and the granola bar that Ariel crumbled up.

It's Been Awhile

I haven't blogged in over a week.  I am still getting into the routine of working, brining the girls to playgroup (daycare), making dinner, keeping the house clean, and getting the girls in bed.  I think I've got it figured out, now I just need a couple more weeks of practice before I am good at it.

School has been a little busy for me as I was working hard to get all the new kids tested who speak another language.  Then our schedules are just a bit tricky to figure out.  Hopefully this week I can find a routine at work.

James is super busy at work and has been working quite a few hours.  He goes in around 7am every day and is home around 5:30.  He doesn't stop for a break at all throughout the day.

I'll be blogging more regularly as I get my life a little more organized.

I will leave you with some super cute pictures of my girlies.My sister in law, Michal, took these pictures of the girls at Chelsea's wedding.  She takes beautiful pictures and captures the perfect moment.  Check out her other work on facebook - search for Yourgloryreflected Art.  She is pretty much good at everything artistic.

Yum Yum

Ariel enjoyed her first s'more on Monday.

From the Mouth of a 3 Year Old

Annabelle, like many 3 year olds, says the cutest things.
These are just a few from today.

*When I take a drink it goes in my body and down my leg like a slide.

*Q:  What does the doggy say when he doesn't have any                  kitties?
  A:  Potato!

*Do you know why I cry?  Because I don't want to do the things you tell me to do.

Waiting

I had an interview today.
Last week Grand Haven called and wanted to interview me for the preschool position I applied for.  The cool thing was that I hadn't actually submitted my application yet.  
I felt like the interview went well.  Hopefully they call me tomorrow and offer me the job.  If not, then it was another practice at answering interview questions for the perfect job the Lord has chosen for me.

You keep praying and I'll keep you posted.

What I'm Loving

Doing crafts with Annabelle on this rainy day.  
She loves all crafts and gets so excited.


We made the sun catchers.  
You put the little beads in and then melt it in the oven.
(Excuse the blackness, I'm not the best photographer)

We also made a bracelet and necklace.

We don't have pictures but we did a

magnet and ladybug project.

I'm loving that I got to hang out with my mom and sisters right before Chelsea gets married.

I'm loving the spinach and artichoke dip I ate at Applebee's and the 1500 calories that went along with it.

 

I'm loving my husband - just because.

What do you love today?