Neigh!!!!

Look at your baby blues! Allie, I love that your eyes are just one shade darker than Addison's. Looking in your eyes is like looking into the most beautiful cool water. (sorry about the hat)

Watching the parade with Jimmy and Uncle Seth.


Snuggle baby...

We are having so much fun in spite of all this cold weather! In fact, we are enjoying the cold weather very very much! We have had fog each morning and it is an interesting phenomenon to explain to Addison.
Jimmy and Addison are having a BALL together. He turns in to a wild man under Addison's influence. lol. LOVE IT! I am saying she is good for him, his parents may not agree. =)) Right now they are running down the hall and Robin is grabbing them and throwing them in to the huge bean bag. Giggling galore! besties.
The other night we went to Hermiston to have our traditional chinese dinner with everyone and afterward we were planning to go to the fairgrounds to ride the horsedrawn carriage through the Christmas display, well unbeknownst to us, the Christmas parade was coming right by our restaurant! Addison, Jim and Allie all liked the llamas I think. =) Then it was over to the fairgrounds to drink hot cocoa, sit on Santa's lap for the first time and ride the carriage. super fun. Addison was interested in looking at Santa, but not sure about it entirely. But she sat and sorta smiled and they took her picture. No big deal. lol. She is pretty tough to impress right now. =) But later she did run back over and give Santa a high five.

Two more days of especially thankful me!

I am thankful I have happy children. I recognize this blessing daily. I will see a happy smile or hear a joyous laugh and just take a second to say thank you.
Cheese!!




I am thankful that the mysterious glitch in my car that made our drive up here an adventure is soon to be fixed. Thank you Swain GMC! and better yet, it will be free due to it being a warranty issue. Yay! Yet another example of why worrying does NO good!

I am thankful my family is healthy. From Great Grandma right on down my family has healthy habits and is health conscious and I appreciate that. Thank you Great Grandma for going to Curves every day and setting such a good example for the rest of us. I think of you when I am feeling lazy and don't want to get out and go. So Everyone---be like your 81 year old Grandma and keep doing it!!

I am thankful that Seth, Rachel and Jimmy are coming to Mom's today. They, in fact are on their way right now! I can't wait to see Rachel's preggers belly and I can't wait for Addison to play with "J - JIM". =) They will have so much fun! (cross your fingers =)

I am thankful for mobile technology. Thanks to Brian I was introduced to the itouch, now I am addicted to mine. I am also thankful for my treo because I can do EVERYTHING from it and on the go, that is important. Keeping in touch is vital, especially this time of year.

I am especially thankful that special friends got some amazing news. We could not be happier for you! Yay!!!

Farm girl for a day...

Yesterday was quite the exciting day for Addison. She spent the morning swinging and playing and the afternoon being a farmgirl gathering eggs. What a day!
*Please notice her very authentic boots....classics.

Addison and Grandma Vandecar headed out to gather eggs.




Addison showing off her loot.



I only put this picture on here so you could see that yes I was present and supporting my daughter in her farm-girl experience. =))

Home Sweet Home

We are home! and it is everything I had hoped for. =)
The girls (and us) are having so much fun seeing all the Grandma's and Grandpa's.

Allie hammin' it up with Grandpa Vandecar


A quick pic of just us at my parents house

This may possibly be my most favorite picture of her ever.

Having snack at Aunt Nichole's

very thankful vacationing me ;)

We just had dinner with gma, gpa, grt gma, Seth and Jimmy. heaven! I love my family. Its always good to see everyone, the mooore the merrier!
I am thankful for my friend Crystal whom i think i have known my whole life. I am looking forward to seeing her little family soon.
Jimmy told me tonight at dinner that there was a girl over there that looked like me. "How so Jimmy?" "well she has kinda messy hair too" LOL! Jimmy brings me joy. I cant wait to see them all on Wednesday.
I am thankful for the Tarters. Their house is one of my most favorite places to stay. They genuinely love my girls (and us too probably ;)
I am thankful for safe travels. I hope I am not jinxing us since we r only at The Dalles, but so far so great! ;)))

thankful on the go...

i am posting from my treo so i have no idea how this is going to look. so beware ;)
Dr. Edralin called this evening to let us know that Allie's culture showed NO GROWTH! yay! my vaca just got even better!
i a thankful my girls are awesome travelers. we r driving now and have driven 16 hrs in 2 days without ANY crying. i do not believe it! These girls are road trippers!!
i am thankful for dairy queen. Cali does not have nearly enough of them.
Allie had the most ginormous blowout today and although it got all over my shirt and hers, I am thankful it did not get on her car seat. There is nothing worse than traveling with a poopy car seat. ugh. throw it out the window.
I am thankful that at the end of this marathon driving day i know that Nichole will have wonderful comfy beds all made up for us and ready for us to fall in to. Thank you Nicki in advance! 15 more miles to Salem!

Thankful me

1~ Today is why we should not procrastinate. I am not normally a procrastinator, Robbie however is a seasoned veteran. Thankfully he is not bad about everything, just the things he is not interested in....like old reports that have to be done before we can leave tomorrow. Yes, the night before and he will be working on for HOURS to come. Oh Robin, I think you will never learn. lol. but back to the point, I am actually thankful that instead of doing his paper this afternoon, he put our Christmas lights up. YAY! I love Christmas!




2~ I am thankful the girls are so good about going down. It took each of us about three whole minutes to put them down tonight and it's a good thing, because once again, I had not packed anything and have done it all in the last two hours. whew!
3~ I am thankful Am lives in Elk Grove. and that Elk Grove is between here and home. It gives us a good opportunity to see them more. I asked Addison if she wanted to go see Sam tomorrow and she said "WAM! YA!!!! Whoo hoo!!"
4~ I am thankful for carmel apple cider because I am having one before bed tonight and it sounds yummmy.
5~ I am thankful that my car is big because I have a feeling we are going to need every square inch of space, including the thule. lol. Little girls need a lot of stuff. =)
I want to go wake them up right now so bad. They are so sweet.

Thank you very much

I just put Addi down and we were singing Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. She has progressed from just getting the "beam!" parts to getting the last word of every line. lol. She cracks me up.
I am also thankful that she is getting to be a LITTLE more of a snuggler. She will ask us now occasionally to rub her back and that is cute. (It almost counts as snuggling). I will still be rocking her before bed when she is like 6 because that is the only time in the day she will let me snuggle her. lol
I know I have been wishing for cold, but it was sure nice to put some of our Christmas stuff up today without having to wear coats. Addi was napping, but Allie was crawling around in the grass in a jacket with a hood and was just fine. Ahhhh, nice.
Still thankful Rob was home today instead of in Pasadena for court. yay!
Okay, since I have not packed a single article and we are leaving in less than two days, I guess I had better get on it! I am saying in advance that I am thankful that Rob will be willing to help me, but that is probably wishful thinking. He is upstairs researching car options as apparently he is getting rid of his RX-8. i don't know. I married a car guy, what can I say????

Dismissed.

Normally that word has negative connotations. But today I love that word.
Robbie was headed to Pasadena for a big felony trial today, but at the last second the case got dismissed (temporarily, pending re-filing by the DA's office). What does that mean to me????? That means my husband showed up unexpectedly with starbucks and scratch-its. =) Yay! Scratch-it lottery tickets are my guilty vice. dumb I know.
Anywho, it was SO nice to see him standing there all happy. and now he is outside putting Christmas lights on our house. yay! My anxious day of waiting to hear how his testimony went has now been replaced by a wonderful day of Christmas decorating. Whoo hoo!

More!

1~ I am thankful for Dr. Edralin. He called today to let us know Allie's test results that just came in. It was news on the good end of things, still more testing to come, but we know she'll be okay. It's so nice that when we are stressed and scared and he is our help, that he is so good to us. He is honest with us and I appreciate that. He has ordered more antibiotics and more testing for when we get back to make sure our little girl is healthy and will stay that way.
2~ I realized the other day that it is almost time to order the next blog book. Otherwise known as "Volume 2". YAY! I can't wait to work on that project.
3~ I just fell asleep on the couch downstairs while both girls were playing on the floor and Rob was studying for court tomorrow. I am so tired after all these days of stress, and now Robbie is putting Allie down and I am thankful for that. Adds is out and now Al is too. Thanks Rob.
4~ Allie's teeth. This is more of something I am trying to be thankful for. At one of her drs appts last week, Dr. Edralin told us that she has 4 coming in right now. Seriously, I almost screamed. As if she doesn't have ENOUGH to deal with. But I know they have to come in some time, so I am thankful they are coming in. I guess.
5~ I am super tired, so I may possibly be even more sappy than usual, but I have to say...I am thankful for my husband. I am glad I chose him 8 years ago and I am glad every day that he chose me. He is a wonderful partner and is truly the ultimate Dad. He was born to be a Daddy to these little girls. He makes my life easier and I appreciate that. I am looking forward to spending this vacation with him and have even planned, for his bday, our first date night since before Addison was born. Yes I have agreed to leave the girls with my mom. (waaaaaaaaa.) and actually go on a real date with just my husband and I am trying to be excited about it. really...

Allie feels better!!!

1~ Allie feels better. I could not be more thankful for anything in the world right now. She was completely motrin free and had no fever whatsoever. She smiled and laughed and chased Addison around and it just brought tears to my eyes. I feel like I can breathe a little. I will breathe A LOT better after Dr. Edralin calls with the results of the cultures tomorrow. I am glad my baby feels better, but we need to know what caused this horrible illness. Then I will know she is really ok and I will really breathe...and sleep.
2~ I am thankful for the Orcutts. Brian comes to my rescue all the time. He is probably getting tired of wearing his super hero cape for me, but I am grateful. I swear that man has a bat-phone. And I can tell Marilyn is a good nurse because she has this crazy calming effect on people. Which we all know I desperately need at times. Oh and thanks to Grandpa Orcutt too. =) Addison loved him by the way. She signed Grandpa all night!
3~ I am thankful for my Dad. He is the guy to call in a health crisis. He has knowledge and can put anything to you in a way that just makes sense, while at the same time making you feel cautiously optimistic.
4~ VACA! Today marked the first day of vacation for Robbie. YAY!
5~ I love the holidays!!! We put our Christmas tree up tonight and it was wonderful! The Christmas music was blaring, Addison was dancing and it just made me appreciate my little family even more. It's so much more fun to be, because I have them to be with.
Merry Christmas! oh wait, Happy Thanksgiving first! =)

Happy Girl!

Addison is saying "Cheese!"


Yes we are putting up our tree. and yes it's fake....it has to be up for over 6 weeks! I want everything up and done when we get back just before Christmas. I want to walk in to a Christmas wonderland house. =)

Yes she may possibly be the smiliest child in the world.
Thanks to Kris and our Sweetie Lisa for this fabulous beanie. So glad it fits again this year!

Thanks!

1~ I am thankful for really good friends. With Heather and Lisa I can be out of touch for like a month and then talk and we've never missed a beat. I am bad at keeping in touch sometimes, but I want you girls to know I love you and I am thankful for you. (So come visit me!!!!)
2~ I am thankful for Dr. Edralin. We were at his office last night at 8 to get Allie taken care of. He is a great doctor. I have absolute confidence in him.
3~ I am thankful for faith.
4~ Sans court, this is Rob's last day of work. I am so glad. If Addison asks me one more time "where'd Daddy go?" I might go crazy. =) She looooves her Daddy soooo much.
5~ Allie has had a horrible fever the last couple days, but last night at dinner time Robbie had her laughing up a storm. He was hitting himself in the head with a fruit snacks box and then pretending to fall down. Both girls were just cackling! I had to hold Addison on her bar stool or she would have fallen off. Just seeing her laughing like that reassured me that things would be okay and Rob knew that I needed that. I am thankful that even though he is a little dead inside, he knows I am not.

Thank heavens!

This morning I am thankful for the following:
1~ I am thankful today that I am not done having babies. I am so content right now with our little family, but I know we aren't done. Maybe a boy?
2~ I am thankful the girls play so well together. Yesterday we were doing house stuff and while we were running around the girls were chillin' upstairs with us playing for almost an hour. I wouldn't have believed Allie would go for that a couple months ago. Now, yes! yay!
3~ I am thankful that Addison will have one cousin to play with while we are home on vacation. Jimmy will be there and he is three, hopefully they will be besties =) If not, atleast she'll have someone to tease. Remember, Addison's is my daughter and Jimmy is Seth's son...enough said.
4~ I am thankful Rachel is pregnant. I can't wait for Owen to get here and I have secretly been praying he'll come A LITTLE early so I can meet him before we come back to California. and I LOVE the name OWEN.
5~ I am thankful Allie is sleeping so good. She's been taking a 3 hour nap every day and sleeps 10 hours at night, eats and then sleeps about another two. I am totally hoping that holds up on vacation, but I am not holding my breath. =) We'll see.

Yes, More.

1- Today I am thankful for magic erasers.
When I was going through and picking out clothes for Allie from Addi's stuff, I also found some shoes. These were my favorite shoes that Addi wore at that age, but i had forgotten how scuffed and yucky they were. Enter Magic Eraser. Two minutes later, they were as good as new. yay!

2- I am thankful for the recipes that remind me of my childhood.
I am not an outstanding cook, but I like to think I am a decent baker. I do it very often. I enjoy it. Today I made my Grandma's banana bread and it brought back a lot of good memories for me. I like to think the girls will make it for their families when they grow up too.
3- I am thankful that I feel like part of a team.
I am a counselor in the primary presidency and I serve with three GREAT ladies. As some of you know, I am continuously striving to remain antisocial, (LOL, kinda) however these ladies don't give me an inch and I am thankful for that. We have a common goal that we work toward consistently and that is rewarding. Being part of a team is one of the things I miss about working. But I have that again now and I am thankful for it.
4- I visited a store today that brought true, real, joy. It was not a shoe store, or a boutique. It was a parent/teacher prep store in Palmdale. I walked in and I am pretty sure I heard angels singing in my head. Every workbook you could imagine was in that place. I am a fanatic about workbooks. Just the thought of workbooks makes me almost want to homeschool. (Almost.) They had bulletin board supplies and posters of shapes and ABCs, and states and capitals. It was WONDERFUL. I could have stayed all day. I will be frequenting it often. I am realizing more than ever that I Love education. Not my own of course, but that of my children. =)
5- I am thankful for my comfy bed and that my sweet husband is home in it and not at work.

Just some cute pics of the girls

Al was attacking me while I was trying to take her pic. Smiley girl This is Addison playing her A, B, C game we discovered on my itouch. She loves it. I just snapped these pics right before church because I love this dress but it's getting too small for her =( I wanted a pic to remember how cute she looks in it. I can't wait for Allie to wear it. Thanks Grandma Lady.

Oh A Shift.

Okay, so A shift was supposed to serve me in so many ways. It was supposed to be a calm in the storm that is Robbie's graveyard work. It was supposed to let me send him off without a second thought of him possibly encountering any danger.

A shift has let me down.

But first it tricked me.

The first day of A shift, he called to complain that he was doing traffic enforcement in a school zone. Those darn soccer moms were not parking in the appropriate place for dropping off their future soccer moms. darn them.

I, needless to say, got a kick out of his frustration. I love you A shift. That was day one.
Then day two hit like a brick in the head and it's been raining bricks ever since.
Let's see, fighting with and arresting a ginormous drunk woman who was over 3 times the legal limit and wanted to fight with him. (and her husband).
Encountering another driver this morning who got asked politely, I am sure, if he wanted to be tazed, after squaring off to Rob, for not leaving the scene when Rob told him to... ? The answer was him running away at the sight of the taser.
Arresting another drunk driver, but I can't remember the circumstances as I have completely blocked them out as a defense mechanism. sad.
And this is all in a period of four days. On A SHIFT!!! Dang you A shift for not living up to my peace-loving expectations. I will hold a grudge.

Give Thanks.

I thought about taking today off as Sunday is a day of rest, but then I realized that Sunday is also the best day to be thankful. soo....
1- I am thankful for the primary kids. Today was our program and they did GREAT. They all said their parts and sang so exuberantly. It made me extra proud to work with them. Way to go kiddies!
2- I am thankful that at times I channel Amber and am an organized person. Now that Allie is growing into more of Addison's old stuff, it is SO nice that I created a system. Each size has a different box in the top of Allie's closet and I can simply go to said box and pull out what is season appropriate and away I go. I needed warm jammies the other night and waaalaaa ~ warm jammies in the 12 month box. Easy.
3- I am thankful Rob is off for the next three. for so so many reasons....
4- I am thankful vacation is less than a week away. VERY thankful. Six weeks of bliss. and no one better try to plan one minute of my vacation for me! I am sticking to my guns this time. seriously.
5- I am thankful that Addison is old enough to reason with now. She understands when I tell her that its not time to get up from nap, she needs to eat her granola and then close her eyes and go back to sleep. Yes I am glad that Addison gets it. lol. A 1 and a half hour nap is insufficient.

Yes. She is sound asleep...

Poor Sweet Addi. She was eating her grilled cheese, I ran up to put Allie down. I came skipping down the steps, talking to Addison, and then came around the corner and saw this. !!! It's a definite first. How did she not fall off the stool? I don't know. She is so sweet. We went for a long walk in the cool wind today, that must have worn her out. =) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 3 of Thankful Me.

1- I am thankful for my mom.
As I am growing up I find myself saying things I remember her saying to me, and it makes me smile. And when I smile in some pictures I can see her there. I also see she and Grandma Leavitt A LOT in Allie. She is such a little Leavitt baby and I am glad that I love that.
2- The courage to be independent.
I can remember my mom saying when I was little that she could be a gypsy. That's funny now, but I totally understand what she meant. I am thankful that it was normal in my family to grow up and move away. And that is a gift she gave every one of us. My siblings are in Alaska, Michigan, Portland and Sacramento! I know she would have loved to have us close, but I have had experiences I would never have had otherwise and it has made me a woman and mother in my own right instead of so and so's daughter. Does that make sense? Anyway, I am thankful for it. and it makes going home that much more special.
3- I am thankful for the garbage man. He hauls away all our stinky diapers and waves to Addison when we are outside when he goes by. That makes me laugh.
4- Having hot chocolate with Addison in the morning when Rob is at work and Allie is still sleeping.
5- Dancing with Addison. We rock out while I make dinner and she has got some great moves. Robbie always laughs when he is home to watch cuz Addi really goes to town. It's hilarious. Oh why does she have to grow up?
6- yes number 6, i am especially thankful today =)
I am thankful for Grandma Smythe. She is the perfect Grandmother, kind of a cross between a guardian angel and a fairy godmother that will kick you in the tush when necessary. yes that is my definition of the perfect grandmother and I have her. She is steadfast. Always.

Give thanks

1- I am thankful for my primary calling. I have sharing time this week and I am way looking forward to it.
2- A SHIFT Yes it's unbelievable, but Rob is actually on A shift for the first time since like two years ago! lol. He only agreed cuz i begged for a change of pace and because of the two months he's on it, we are gone for six weeks of that. lol. But whatev, I kinda love it. I don't know if I just love the change from graves or if I really like the shift, but I am very happy right now cuz we went out to lunch together today and he is off in 22 minutes and we'll get to have dinner together and I LOVE going to bed together at night. It's nice. and also I am getting way more sleep cuz he goes to bed right after the girls at 7:30pm. I know....we are SO old. =)
3- Cold weather. I would be more thankful if I could actually experience some. (It got up to like 80 today). But all the more reason to be looking forward to vaca. Oregon will be plenty cold and I can't wait! (remind me of this when I am cursing the freezing rain in the gorge!)
4- Traditions. I grew up in a family rich in traditions and I am thankful for that. I am looking forward to carrying on those and creating more for my girls. We are a family of traditions for sure.
5- Tovah. I will not say why at this moment, but I am especially thankful for her today and she knows why! =)))))))) lol

Things I am thankful for...

My sister in law Jana is doing a thankful blog and each day putting down things she is thankful for. This seemed like a good idea to me and sometimes its good to just chill and remember to count your blessings. So thank you Jana and here we go...

1- Robbie. Of course. He is patient to no end. He puts up with the beast I often am. When Robbie asked my parents if he could marry me 9 years ago, the word my dad used when describing me was "volatile". lol. It was funny then and it's funnier now that I have mellowed, but I still appreciate that I can sometimes be "difficult". So Robin, I appreciate you. and I also am thankful I have a hot husband. Is that bad?

2- My girls. They are the meaning in my life. How did I get this lucky?


3- Robbie's job. Wait, I am not thankful that he is in harms way alot. but I am thankful that he has a job he loves. He comes home happy every day. I am thankful for that.

4- Pumpkin spice creamer. I wait patiently every fall for this to come out in the stores and then I mix it with milk to make my own yummy steamers. Almost as good as Starbucks and a twentieth of the price. =) 5- My house. i love my house. It's perfect for us and I am thankful every time I come home that I get to live here. Thanks to Robin for making that possible.

*Not all posts will have pictures, but as the girls are still napping, I have time today. =)

Happy Halloween!

We were lucky enough to go to Elk Grove again this year for Halloween. We headed north on the Wednesday before and came home Sunday as Rob had court Monday morning. It was a great trip and the girls had so much fun with Auntie Amber and Uncle Spencer and especially Sam who Addison called WAM. She loves Sam.


Sorry Am, this is what you get if you make a bad face at our camera. lol


This desk was Addison's dream come true. Art central!!


Allie and Uncle Spencer clowning around. besties.

Amber's primary was having their Halloween party so we got to go to that. FUN! trunk or treat and everything. And this cupcake was the spoils from Addison's first win at the cake walk. She won three times. =)))

Allie breakdancing. lol

pink monster. look at the picture behind her to the left, she is recreating the scary guy there. =)

Helping Amber peel apples for apple dumplings. She makes the BEST ones in the world. MY FAVORITE. YUMMMMMMMMMM