3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!: February 2014

Friday, February 21, 2014

Rainbow looms!

After receiving a rubber band loom for Christmas to share, both girls have really taken off with it. So with the upcoming trip, we decided to get them their own looms, a book of projects and travel cases. It was a huge hit!

Madalyn designed these by herself! I'm so proud of her! Lizards! Marissa helped her tweak them to get them together better. :)

Some more projects...

Both girls are really good at following the directions to make what they want to make.

Can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Soooo, this is the LAST blog for 2 weeks. I know, I know! You will all survive I promise ;) When we get back I'll have a ton of stuff to share with you! See you all soon!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Fun in the snow!

If we are going to get a ton of snow and have the temps we have been having, we might as well have fun in it. Unfortunately, the kids haven't been able to go out a ton due to the temperatures, but Sunday was warm enough to go out for a bit. So we headed to Doug's parents, even though no one was home and built our famous jumps on their PERFECT sledding hill :) We had a couple of tubes that were failing at the whole sledding concept...hence the next couple of pictures :)

Marissa got hers to work, although she couldn't hit the jump.

The girls decided to get a "scoreboard" and keep score of the runs. They have been watching a bunch of Olympic runs, can you tell?

There she got it!

Doug giving the "broken" tube another shot....

Almost!!! LOL

Daddy only got a couple points for that run, according to this judge

He wouldn't give up with them!

The judges, taking their job seriously....

Madalyn and Daddy take a run together....

....Daddy dumps her off....

Run Madalyn, RUN!

And she catches him and finishes out her ride ;)

Madalyn really struggled staying on those tubes :)

Hopefully as things start warming up we can have a couple more days like this!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Blog Fail :(

I made it a goal starting January 1st that I was going to blog 5 days a week EVERY week....Yup, its the middle of February and I failed already! We have been EXTREMELY busy getting ready for our trip south, puppy sitting two extra dogs, having family in town from Maine and just regular life. Please forgive me! From here on out, it's only going to get crazier. Tomorrow and Friday I don't have a ton to do so I should be able to catch up a little bit. And then everything is downhill ;) I'll be taking 2 weeks off from blogging as we travel and spend a much needed vacation together with as little electronics as needed. There will be some more surprises to announce when I come back and I'm sure there will be a TON of pictures to share. So I'll make up for it, don't worry! :)

For now, stay tuned for Thursday and Friday posts! :)

Monday, February 17, 2014

Lazy Day

What a lazy bunch of kids ;) About 20 mins after this picture was taken, I had 4 sleeping kids in the house! Score 1 for me!! ;)

Friday, February 14, 2014

Jealousy....

This right here is jealousy at its best...

LOL "She is in my spot Dad!"

Thursday, February 13, 2014

The finished project...

Here they are in the drying phase....

Now I'm just going to say that for anyone wanting to do this project, the least amount of glue that gets on the balloons the better. Obviously some will, but we covered our balloons thinking that it would help the string stick, which it did, but it made it more difficult to get off later ;) We did it though!

Awesome project! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the great craft!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Special Project

I have no idea what these things are called but they were interesting to make! LOL

First step....fill the balloons.

Filled!

Step 2....blow them up.

Step 3....Let the mess begin...I mean...Dip the yarn in glue and place on the balloon.

Step 4... be sure your hands are good and covered in glue ;)

Success!!!

I'll post pictures tomorrow of the finished projects!
(P.S. Thanks to Dad for taking the pictures for this post!)

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!