New do!

Went and finally got my hair done after a LONG 9 months.  I'm not even sure how much she cut-off, but it was a lot!  I wanted to donate my hair to locks of love, but they need 10 inches and I would've ended up with a buzz cut. :)  Addilyn just looked and looked at me trying to decide if I really was her mommy, so cute.   Anyway, I love my hair stylist and as long as she's cutting hair I will follow her wherever she goes!  I'm really happy with the new cut and color....even bangs which I haven't had since 8th grade!  Anyway, just had to share because I was excited about the "new look"!  Now off to enjoy this gorgeous fall day!

boring...

We're pretty boring around here for the most part....not a whole lot going on around here that's exciting, however,  I guess I lied because Andy did severely sprain his ankle playing basketball with guys half his age on Monday! ;)  A fun trip to the ER and a couple x-rays later (which = big bills from the dr. coming our way) and we find out that luckily it's not broken but he does get to be on crutches the rest of the week.  Ella was actually excited thinking Daddy might get a cast like she had, but we are glad that that is not the case.  Praying for quick healing instead.  In other exciting news, I subbed on Thursday and it was my first time in the classroom in 3 years.  It went really well, and I even enjoyed myself, but I was exhausted when I got home.  It was a nice change of pace, but I'm glad that I didn't have to go back today and could stay home and "recover"! :) I sub again next week and am hoping to mostly just do it on Fridays, but when a friend calls I try to work it out so I can sub for them.  It's probably a good thing since we'll have some extra medical bills next month! Ugh!  Well, I'll throw in a couple cute pics of the girls at bath time since that's really the only reason anyone is reading this blog, right?! :)

It's the little things....

That can make your heart want to burst because it's so full!

Blackberry Pickin'

We finally made it out to pick some kind of berry this summer....if you can even still call it summer!  I love to pick strawberries (to make the yummiest freezer jam like my Gramma Bev) or blueberries because they just freeze so well and the girls love to eat them by the handful, but unfortunately we never made it this summer for either one of them. :(  A friend from Bunco  has an awesome farm out on Sauvie's Island, named none other than Sauvie Island Farms and they still had Chester Blackberries that were ripe and ready. Which are thornless I might add, YAY! (Check them out at: www.sauvieislandfarms.com)  Danny & Mom came with us and we picked 18 1/2 lbs. just for us...not sure how much they ended up with. :)  Ella filled up her own little container, but then got bored and started eating them all out of the container.  Addilyn just stuffed her face with any blackberry she could find....didn't matter if it was red, green, or even moldy!  Yuck!  Oh well, they both had a blast and I'm now soaking their clothes that turn out to be great bibs apparently....here's to hoping they won't stain.  Addilyn went down for a nap as soon as we got back and Ella and I got right to work....you must take advantage of every minute you can when you have a 19 month old! We already made a yummy cobbler that is making the house smell so wonderful.  Next we started the process for jam with Ella mashing the berries....needless to say she is now in the tub!  The rest I washed and froze.  Now I'm just waiting for Andy to pick-up some more sugar so I can finish the jam.  Clean up the messy kitchen or try out the warm blackberry cobbler...hmmm?? ;)

Aren't these gorgeous?

Notice the splatters all over her....even on her face!

Why yes she's naked, don't you cook that way? ;)

Bath time....

The finished product-YUMMY!

First Day of Pre-K!

Ella was so excited for school to start and so was Mommy! :)  Last night we had 3 outfits picked out and she said, "Mommy, I just don't know which one to choose....they are all soooo cute!!"  Yes, we have a little fashion diva at the age of 5....I can hardly wait for the teenage years! ;)   Not quite sure exactly what our new routine will look like since she goes from 12:30-3:00 Monday-Thursday.....why, yes that is smack dab in the middle of Addilyn's nap time!  Ugh!  I'm praying that I can either find someone to carpool with in the neighborhood or else I will have my friend's daughter that lives in the neighborhood come and stay at the house while Miss Addi naps and I pick up Ella....pretty sweet babysitting gig if you ask me. ;)

Bandon by the Beach....

My grandparents have a little place in Bandon (about a 4 hour drive, but worth it!) and we were lucky enough to use it again this weekend.  Boy, did we luck out!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we had the best time just playing at the beach.  We found the perfect little spot with a spectacular view and rocks to block the wind.  We soaked in the sun, played in the sand, explored the beach, ate lots of yummy seafood, and got in lots of R&R....just what we needed before school starts!

Walking around downtown Bandon....lots of cool windsocks & kites!

Down by the pier.

This is the view from our little spot!  Love these pic of Andy & Addilyn!

Finally caught Ella for a picture!  She just ran and ran up and down the beach!

Run baby run!

This is probably my favorite pic!  Addilyn was chasing the seagulls saying, "Duck Duck!! Duckie!! Quack! Quack!!"

My girls! :)

We made Ella into a mermaid! ;)

Our Labor Day baby....

I can't believe that 5 years ago today, this precious baby girl was born and on LABOR Day weekend no less!   After 19 hours of traumatic labor,  sweet Ella Grace was born by emergency c-section.  She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long.  The Dr. accidentally cut her tiny cheek because they were trying to get her out so quickly since she was in distress....she still has a faint scar there. :(  Once she was out though, she was just fine and cried nice and loud for us all to hear!  She has blessed our lives in so many ways and we thank God daily for our miracle baby that has brought us so much joy. (For those who may not know, we tried for 2 years to get pregnant and went through numerous infertility treatments, and literally right before we were going to start invitro we found out that I was pregnant!  It truly was a miracle!)  Happy Birthday to our sweetie-we LOVE you!!!

Birthday Present....

GG Bev and GGpa got this adorable dress for Ella's birthday!  She has worn it now 3 days in a row.....I'm guessing she doesn't like it?! ;)  She wanted me to take a "silly picture" and a "cute picture"(her words, not mine) in her "winter dress" as she calls it.  She cracks me up with the little things she says, but I think it's sad that the weather is already turning yucky....come back summer weather, PLEASE!!