3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!: August 2013

Friday, August 30, 2013

Enchanted Forest

After our trip to Darien Lake this year, we had no intentions of going to enchanted forest this year! However, when we were at our local county fair, Madalyn won 2 free tickets!!! So plans were changed and Doug took a day off of work so we could go. It was a beautiful day, a little on the chilly side, but beautiful non the less! :) We did some water rides, although I have no pictures of them. Our favorites were the water rides that had family tubes :) So much fun!!! Once we got too cold to stand it anymore, we changed and hit some dry stuff. Of course the girls wanted to go on the balloons....although they weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be.

We walked through the story book land...

Took a ride on the infamous Water Safari dog...

And visited Cinderella!

The kids loved the train...

We saw peacocks and found one of their eggs that they had lain!

LOL These next three pictures crack me up. I should have just called the first one good!

We walked through the "cemetery" and found a headstone that had one of the girls' friend's name on it so we had to take a picture of it.

Overall it was a great day and we really enjoyed the family time together!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Hijacked camera and some soccer picture:)

For the third season in a row, both girls played soccer. This year was a huge difference in their skill level! I am so proud of them and all the hard work that they have put into this. Unfortunately, I coach Madalyn's team and since I'm the only one there, I don't have pictures of Marissa yet anyhow. They should be coming at some point in time!

On the last night of soccer, I had to take team photos with my camera...naturally I forgot it and had to call my mother in law for help :) She brought it down and left it with a friend from church. We finished our game and then took our team photos. When I got home, this is what I found on my camera! I left the butt shots out of the post for your sake ;)

Here is my team from this year! They were a great team and I really enjoyed coaching again :)

I love this picture of her ;)

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Blueberry Picking!

On a Monday morning, I got a phone call from a friend at church asking us if we wanted to go blueberry picking. Since I didn't happen to have any extra kiddos that day, we decided it would be a fun activity for the day! It was the girls first time picking any kind of fruit like this. They had a lot of fun, although the novelty wore off quick ;)

Pretty soon, they were claiming bushes as "Marissa and Madalyn bushes". The bush had to give permission to the adults before we could pick from them! LOL

All done! The crazy kids need to go pick some more ... they still had way to much energy!

The girls put those buckets on their heads and started dancing away! Of course when I pulled the camera out, Madalyn slowed way down! LOL She cracks me up!

Monday, August 19, 2013

Church Picnic

Our annual church picnic was about a week ago. We had it at a different location this year because everything else was booked up. I knew there wouldn't be any playground or sandbox there so I brought water balloons and bubbles, along with 2 cases of match box cars. When we got there we found out that someone had forgotten to turn on the water for us so the water balloons were out. Unfortunately, I had already told the kids the plan for the day :( I felt bad!

However, thank God kids find stuff to do no matter what! They all played really well together and made do with just the cars and the bubbles :)

Friday, August 16, 2013

Marissa and "her" crew

Marissa LOVES animals....she had quite the little mob following her around at Brian and Jen's place :)

They breed French Bulldogs so if you are ever looking for a new addition, feel free to check them out at www.thebenedictfamilyfrenchies.blogspot.com

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!