The Harrells

Growin' up

2011-05-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Jack is about to finish his first year of school. I'm so proud of us both for completing a year of homeschooling.
It's neat to look back to the begining of the school year and see all that he's learned in 9 months.
I'm glad though that this school year is coming to an end and we get a LONG summer break.
I think next year we are going to try a co-op that will meet once a week in addition to the homeschool PE class that he takes 2 days a week.
Jack turned 6 right before Christmas and has lost 4 teeth throughout this school year.
He has already had a lot of firsts in 2011: got stitches, joined a soccer team, caught a pigeon,
caught a ribbon snake, and won first place in a mutton bustin competition at the Houston Rodeo. Here are some pictures of our Big Boy...

God Creates Cool Stuff!

2011-03-22T19:16:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I need a better title for my new blog series. Someone gimme somethin'.

I was making pizza dough today and I put my nice little ball of dough in a bowl to let rest and rise.
I love coming back to my once small, dense ball of dough to see it doubled in size and super fluffy.
I started thinking,"how does God come up with this stuff?" "Yeast?"
It's these little granules and it's a fungus and it magically
(I use this word for any scientific stuff I don't understand)
makes the dough nice and fluffy. Crazy! I am daily amazed at God's creation.

So In this new series I would like to find different creatures, food, plants, anything really, that show off God's handiwork.
I will try to maintain this new series,
including pictures because pictures make blog posts
awesome but I'm not making any promises!

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."
Psalm 19:1

Web Sharpening

2010-10-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just doin' a test on a new web sharpening method...

Here is a side by side comparison. The one on the left has been sharpened for the web. I can't tell a difference. Hmmmm...

MacroMonday

2010-10-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here it is:

Even though no one got the exact answer I'm calling the game. And we have 2 winners this week. The first winner is Shannon. She had the almost-exactly-right-answer, "butterfly wing." As you can see, it actually was a dragonfly wing. Courtney is the second winner with the most creative and impossible answer, "an old metal bed frame found on the bottom of the ocean floor from the Titanic." Congrats girls!! And thanks for playing everybody!

Here is one more pic:

Almost Macro Tuesday

2010-09-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I am cuttin' it close today! Here is today's photo:

That

round

was

short

and

sweet!!!!

Nicely done Karen!! I bought some pistachios and ohter nuts yesterday in hopes of choosing a slightly healthier snack than I have been eating (chips). We'll see how that goes.

MacroMonday

2010-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Get your thinking caps on and let the guessing begin!!

We have a couple of winners this week! Kim was the first to correctly guess pine needles, Elizabeth was the first to correctly guess trampoline and Katie was the only person to put the two answers together. Way to go girls!! (BTW I did fade the picture slightly to make it a little trickier)

The weather was nice and windy today so we had some fun out on the trampoline. The kids are dying for me to jump with them but I realized today just getting on the trampoline and sitting in there with them while they jumped had them pretty excited.

MacroMonday

2010-09-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yay

I

Win

This

Week!!!!!

Macro Monday

2010-08-23T13:11:00.001-07:00

Here ya go guys! Let the guessing begin!

Our winner this week is Katie!!! YAY Katie!! That's 2 weeks in a row! Thanks for playing everybody! Apparently I can't end a sentence without an exclamation point!

Macro Monday is Back!

2010-08-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

MacroMonday is back but I have made one big change...no prizes. Actually, I take that back, there is a prize, MacroMonday Glory! And maybe even a Facebook shout out. It will be totally worth the time and effort you put in pondering these challenging photos.
We will be taking it easy this week (there were some requests to "dumb it down"), but get ready, the intensity will increase and I expect all of you to keep up. Good luck!

YAY KATIE!!! You are the winner! Come back next week to play again!!

Herman Park Fishing?

2010-02-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

My mom tells this hilarious story about when she was a little girl and her Dad took her to the zoo to go fishing. Ya know, in that little pond by the food court, where there are 150 year old Koi. Eventually, some zoo keeper came up and told them that they had to pack it up. Well, I don't know if you are supposed to go fishing in the Herman Park pond either but we sure did. And Jack loved every minute of it.

The park was super crowded on saturday. Surprisingly, we were the only ones who brought out pole.

Caption Needed

2010-02-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

This pictures totally sums up Tilly right now at 23months. She is constantly coloring or writing. And usually on a place that she shouldn't be, like our bed, or the wall or my bible or the grout or Jack's door or the hall door or our dining room table, or Jack's bed. Now that I'm listing off all the places she has colored, I think I might take pictures of it all and make a collage to show you.

Anyway, I love this picture and thought it could use a clever caption.

MacroMonday

2010-02-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

Here goes it:

The PHOTO:

The PRIZE:

YAY Carol, you are this week's winner with the correct answer of "the thing you use to wind your watch." Great job, however, I think I was a little easy on you this week, therefore, next week it's gonna be really hard. Come prepared!

Photo essay: Waking the Tilly

2010-02-09T13:46:00.000-08:00

Macro Monday is Back!

2010-02-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

After a LONG holiday break, Macro Monday is back. I'll remind everyone of the rules just in case you forgot:
1. You have unlimited guesses
2. The guesses must be posted on the blog, not on Facebook
3. First to guess correctly wins

So, here we go...

The PHOTO:

The PRIZE:
You are playing for heart shaped ice trays/jello molds. If you live far I promise I will try and mail them Tuesday so you will get them before Valentine's Day:)

And the winner is...KAREN!! You'll be so proud of me, I mailed out your prize today!!

A visit to the zoo...

2010-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

and a ride on a train.

We saw small feet and BIG feet. This is a real elephant foot. It was quite exciting to touch and see up close. A little elephant fact: Elephant tusks and feet are hollow.

Jack was very intrigued by the elephant foot. Here he is listening to the zoo keeper give us all the info about the huge elephant foot.

And what trip to the zoo would be complete without a train ride.

MacroMonday

2009-12-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

The Photo:

The Prize:

I love this week's prize. Brad and I have been on an Arrested Development kick this week, hence this week's prize. You are playing for a Never Nude T-shirt (Size Large). If you haven't seen Arrested Development, please contact me ASAP so you can borrow it. Good luck guessing!

Way to go Carol! You got it exactly right! I just ordered the shirt Sunday, so it should be in sometime this week.

Lukewarm Chocolate

2009-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

We bought our Christmas tree tonight. We thought we better go tonight while it's still cold, it's just more fun that way. We thought it would be fun to stop on the way and get hot chocolate for the kids. Well, when you buy a kids hot chocolate from Starbucks, they apparently are too afraid to actually make it hot; so what you really get is lukewarm chocolate. I guess I shouldn't complain, they're just trying not to burn my babies. Jack and Tilly loved it anyway, it just didn't keep them very warm.

Uploading Surprise and Xmas PJs pt.2

2009-11-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

I take 99% of the pictures in this household so when I was uploading photos from my camera I was pleasantly surprised to find a few shots Brad took of he and Tilly.

This was the only shot of the series that wasn't out of focus and had most of both of them in it.

MacroMonday

2009-11-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

The PHOTO:

The PRIZE:

We went to IKEA, yet again, and you're reaping all the benefits. This week you are playing for a super fun cutting board. Remember, you can guess as many times as you'd like. Good Luck!!

Sorry it took so long to post this. Courtney was the winner. You guys are getting too good.

'Tis the Season...

2009-11-28T19:50:00.000-08:00

to wear super cute Christmas PJs :)

MacroMonday

2009-11-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

The Photo:

The Prize:

I know you all want this handsome fellow hanging on your wall but unfortunately this isn't the actual prize. This week's prize will be a 12x12 photo of your choice. Send me your photo. I can order your photo as is, or if you want, I will make a couple of edits for you to choose from.

DING, DING, DING!!! We have a winner! Susan, email with the picture you would like me to order.

Bottle Caps

2009-11-22T18:05:00.001-08:00

Sorry Karen and Anna that it took me so long to post this. I got the bottle cap magnet idea from none other than Martha Stewart. She has a great video tutorial here.

A few tips and pointers...

-I didn't laminate my pictures before I put them in the magnets, they turned out fine.

-I bought the smallest size package of resin that was sold a Michael's (& used my 40% off coupon). The package contains 2 bottles that you mix together, I think they are 2-3 oz bottles. That would probably make 100 magnets.

-I used other lids as well and those turned out cute too. I just went into my fridge and found jars of stuff I haven't used in 6 months.

-The 1in. hole punch is a MUST! I bought the one with a scalloped edge, only because they didn't have the smooth one, but I love it. I bought mine at walmart for $10 but they also sell that at Michael's for the same price, so buy it there with your 40% off coupon.

I can't think of anything else right now, but if you have any questions, just let me know.

Fall

2009-11-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

Macro Monday

2009-11-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

The PHOTO:

The PRIZE:

Bananas not included.

WooHoo, GO Carol! You are this week's winner. I'll be watching to see if this Mango Green Tea shows up at this year's Christmas Party;)

OOops, apparently I forgot to resize the photo. Actually, I just remembered, I wanted yall to see the actual size of the wrench.

Awesome

2009-11-03T06:32:00.000-08:00

You can totally tell that Tilly has an older brother. Here are a list of some of her new phrases that she's picked up from Jack:

"No way"

"Oh, tool" translation, "Oh, cool"

"Awesome"

Macro Monday

2009-11-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

MacroMonday is here. Leave a guess.

THE PHOTO:

Does this one help??

YAY Dad, you are this week's winner!! It was in fact,"some sort of pouring spout on the side of a box"

THE PRIZE:

The winner will recieve 5 personalized bottlecap magnets.

MacroMonday

2009-10-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Here is this week's photo. Remember, there is no limit on the number of guesses and the first to guess correctly wins!

GAME ON...

YAY LINDSAY!! She is this week's MM Champ! Here is the zoomed out photo:

The prize:
You are playing for this precious miniature rubber spatula. I betcha didn't know a spatula could be precious, did you?

Macro Monday

2009-10-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

I'm running behind today. Just finished taking the MM prize photo, lots of laundry piled up, the kids want to go outside, so this will be brief and to the point. Don't forget, your comment has to be left on the blog to count...Facebook guesses are not counted:)

The COLOR version:

THE PHOTO:

The WINNER: Courtney, with her 3rd guess, was able to win this week's MM. It was indeed a football, not the real deal, but a football nonetheless. Although, Justin's Nerf ball answer was sooooo close. Thanks for playing everybody!

THE PRIZE:

MacroMonday

2009-10-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

What on earth are you looking at? If it makes you feel in better, Brad didn't know either. Well, he had some guesses but they were all wrong. Hehehe. Let the guessing begin.

We went to IKEA this weekend and I knew that while I was there I would pick up this week's MacroMonday prize. I love IKEA, it's so bright and fun. And they have a little play area where you can drop your kids off to play while you go shop (1hour max and your kid has to be potty trianed). Jack loves it! Tilly wanted to go too but alas, she isn't potty trained. Anyhow, on with the prize. You are playing for these things that are called placemats. I'm not quite sure who uses them but I can guarantee you that these would not last 10 minutes in our house before they had oatmeal gooped on them with no hope of getting it out of the crevices. Then after the oatmeal cured each little peice of bamboo would be pulled out and used as a sword, or some other type of weapon. But, I hope someone out there will be able to enjoy them.

Yay Karen!! She is the week's MacroMonday winner. Brad said, "I thought for sure this was going to be a stumper." As always, thanks for playing everyone.

a little bokeh and some Tilly

2009-10-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Macro Monday

2009-10-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Anna, I have a feeling this is your week. Oh no, did I just jinx it? Wait, I don't believe in jinxs. Or do I? Let the guessing begin!

The Prize?? I don't know either. I'm about to go walmarting, so you know it's gonna be good. Come back later to see the prize and who the winner is:)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YAY, ANNA!! She is this week's MacroMonday winner!! So much for jinxs. She was the first to correctly guess piano keys.

For the prize...Anna, you are now the new owner of these cute Op socks.

TreeHouse progress

2009-09-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Getting closer

MacroMonday

2009-09-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hhmmmm, what could it be??? Leave a comment with your guess.

We have a winner!! Elizabeth was the first to correctly guess, car antennae. But my favorite guess of the day was submitted by Kaleb. He guessed "a black rubber spoon cutting through a waterfall of milk." Thanks for playing everyone!

I'm so excited about this week's prize! I hope you will be too. You are playing for this super cute scarf. Now, I know it doesn't ever really get cold enough down hear to wear a scarf but Katie was telling me that you can wear one of these bad boys with just a tee, skip the jacket, and you're good to go. And stylin' to boot.

***Prize disclaimer****It takes me forever to actually get the prizes delivered.

Prize Tracking Status: Heidi, I just finished your prize yesterday and will mail it this week. And Emily, I still have your prize on my bar, I will bring it to church Sunday:)

MacroMonday is back

2009-09-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

Our cable was out last Monday and Tuesday of last week, so I was unable to do MacroMonday. Although, honestly, I wasn't going to do it anyway. We had just gotten back from a weekend in Galveston and I hadn't gotten a prize or anything. But, onward we go. Here is today's picture:

This week's prize is so fun! The winner will get these personalized bottle cap magnets.

We did this little craft while we were at the beach house and they turned out so cute. I can also make them into pins that can be pinned on your purse or diaper bag.

Jack chose the pictures for the majority of our magnets, hence the race cars and helicopter. The winner can email me 5 pictures and specify if you want magnets or pins, or a combo. So leave a comment, take a guess, today could be YOUR day to win:)

Courtney was the first to correctly guess Q-tips as this week's MM image. However, since she was going to make the magnets with me anyway, I am going to accept antoher winner. So Heidi, who also guessed q-tips, is our other winner. YEA Heidi!! Email me some pictures and I'll work on the magnets this week.

Downtown Date Night

2009-09-06T21:52:00.001-07:00

Jack and Tilly had a slumber party at Mom and Dad's last Friday, which meant date night for Brad and me. I wanted to go eat Downtown but we weren't sure what we wanted. We decided just to go park and walk around until we found something that looked good. Unfortunately I chose a pair of shoes that, while very cute, were very uncomfortable. So we only walked around for 30 minutes or so before I called it quits. We then decided to go to the Orignal Mama Ninfa's on Navigation. It was SOOOOOoo good. Brad and I got chicken fajitas. Oh man, it is the BEST!

Macro Monday

2009-09-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Even though today is a vacation day, Macro Monday MUST go on. Be the first to correctly guess, in comment form on my blog (facebook does not count) and you will win!
******I added another picture...hope it helps!**********************
Elizabeth was on the right track when she used clues from other blog posts:)

WooHoo!! Emily is this week's MacroMonday Champ! It was indeed a parking meter (from our date night in Downtown). Thanks for playing everyone!

This week's prize is a Pampered Chef mini-whipper... not reccomended for whipping children.

Tilly Update

2009-09-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

It seems like ever since Tilly hit all the major milestones, I quit blogging about her changes. I thought I better write some down before I forget. I did her one year calendar but haven't done much since then. I think Lindsay was saying that she keeps a journal and jots down cute things that her kids said/did...I need to do that. This short little post will have to do for now.

I guess I should wait till next week when Tilly has her 18month checkup so I can throw in her weight and height stats, but I'm at the computer now, so this will have to do. It seems like in just the past couple of days she is starting to talk more and more. She really trys to repeat everything. Her first "sentence" was last week when she put her hand in the air and said "up high" (we always play the "up high, down low, in the hole, too slow" game). She calls oranges apples. When she wants us to watch her do a trick she says "mam", it really does mean "look at me". She calls me Mommy, and Brad, Daddy. She says love you, "Uh-whew". Just yesterday she told me when she pee-peed. She also can take off her diaper:) She started drinking milk 2 weeks ago and I happened to give it to her in a bottle because our sippy cups were dirty and now she will only drink it from a bottle. I know, you're all rolling your eyes. But honestly, I like it. She never drank from a bottle and now I get to rock her and pretend like she's my little baby. I know, another HUGE eye roll. Oh, and one more thing. She is starting to copy people. I was standing in the living room with my hands on my hips, and she came over and stood right by me and put her hands on her hips. It's the cutest thing. She does it with Jack too, and pretty much any kid. She will watch what they are doing and then follow right along. I love that little girl!

Macro Monday

2009-08-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like this week we are going to have 2 winners. Courtney was the first to correctly guess that the photo was a lamp. However, the more specific answer was a lamp shade, therefore, Karen is also a winner.

Will today be your day to win big? Be the first to correctly guess this week's photo and you'll be the winner!

THE PHOTO:

Here is another angle:

What's the prize?? A pencil bag made of recycled pretzel bags! I didn't make them, but there is a website that gives you information about sending in pretzel/chip bags for cold hard cash, that is, if you are a non-profit organization! I guess you could go Costanza on 'em and have them make the check out to the Human Fund.

Some (i.e. Brad) might call it trash, others (i.e. me) might call it neat, cute, or clever. I'll let you be the judge:)

I thought these were so great that I bought one for myself!

The Butterfly Center

2009-08-24T18:50:00.001-07:00

We went to the Museum of Natural Science last week with Courtney and her kids for one last HooRah before Mark started Kindergarten. While we were there we decided to check out the butterfly center and I'm glad we did. It seems like there are no butterflies in our neck of the woods so it was great to be able get up close and see all different kinds. They did have a few rules about no chasing the butterflies or catching them, but you were allowed to let them land on you. The kids would sit/stand so still trying to get one to land on them, but we had no such luck. They were, however, able to get right upclose and get a good look. Here are a few pictures of the pretty butterflies.

AND, since I am in love with Tilly and Phillip's hair, thought I would post a couple of pictures that showed off the cuteness:)

Macro Monday

2009-08-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

YAY for Donna! She won this week's challenge. Donna, It looks like you won't be enjoying the coffee but at least your girls will. And Jaime, I'm sorry, you were at a complete disadvantage living out of state. I'll keep that in mind for next week.
Here is the BIG picture :

I added a new/more zoomed out picture. Now can you guess it?

Happy Macro Monday to you all. Be the first to publish the correct answer on my blog and you will be the winner and MacroMonday Champ Title holder for this week.

This week's prize is courtesy of Marnie. Thank you, Marnie!!! You will be competing for some coffee from the wonderful Colorado Coffee Exchange (Kyle's Aunt & Uncle own the shop).

Have fun!

Macro Monday

2009-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yay!! MacroMonday is finally back. I've missed hosting the game and I hope yall have missed playing. Take a guess at this week's photo:
If you can be the first to correctly guess the object, you will be the new owner of this Typhoon silicone spatula (The one you're playing for is red)

Elizabeth was the first to guess correctly identify the object as the stems of eye glasses! Yay, Elizabeth! You are now the proud owner of a new pretty red spatula! I would like to point out that Anna and Carol were the only ones to specify that they were Brad's glasses. So Anna and Carol win second place. The prize is MacroMonday glory:) And lastly, the winner of most creative guess goes to Mark, who guessed "2 streams of chocolate."

Summer 2009, the rundown.

2009-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Before I start this post let me just say that there are tons of pictures below and they are huge! I didn't have time to make them a more managable size. Now on with the post.
Wow, this summer is just sailing by. I thought I would give a quick summary of our summer. We started our summer out with a trip to Lampasas to see Jack & Misti and the girls. They got a new pool this year and we had so much fun the entire weekend. (Note to self, we must go do that again soon)

After that was Church Camp. This was Tilly's first year, and she had so much fun. Jack's favorite part was making creations with the Wiki Sticks.

Next was the 4th of July. We had a cook out at Mom and Dad's. The hi-lights were hot box, sparklers, and popsicles.

Then we did the Circus. Mom and Dad took 6 of the 7 grandkids to the Circus. The kids had a blast. Tilly's favorite part, cotton candy. Jack's favorite part, the motorcycles in the cage. (BTW Me, C & K went too)

Then in late July Brad's sweet Grandmother, Katie, passed away. We headed to Florida for the Funeral. Here is a picture of GranKatie holding Tilly last summer. She loved her Great-GrandKids SOO much.

Florida Hi-lights:
Visiting family; I wish we all lived closer.
Jack got to fish with Daddy and Uncle Brent on GranKatie's lake where he caught his first fish.
Going to DisneyWorld. It was a lot of fun. Jack's favorite part, the Goofy Airplaine Rollercoaster.

And our last summer event was our annual family reunion in Bastrop,TX. We had so much fun, I'll try to post pictures later. If I don't publish this post today, it will be another 2 weeks before it gets done. So that's all. This should have us all caught up. MacroMondays will resume this Monday.

Jelly Toast

2009-07-26T16:58:00.001-07:00

Clearly, the side of the island is where your Jelly Toast goes when you are finished.
Thanks, Tilly.
And apparently I haven't learned my lesson because Tilly did the same thing with her American Cheese slice last week except it was on our living room wall.

Macro Monday

2009-07-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, Monday is here again and you know what that means...GAME ON! I never know when I'm posting these pictures if they are super easy or not. So, if this weeks MM is too easy, it's going to be so hard next week that I'm not even going to know what the picture is. Here is this weeks pic:
And this weeks prize is probably geared toward the men, but there may be some ladies out there who like a little Bruce Lee action too (Courtney???). The winner will recieve this Bruce Lee DVD collection. It includes, Fists of Fury (the only one I've ever heard of), The Chinese Connection, Bruce Lee...The Man, The Myth and 5 others.

Ding, Ding, Ding!! We have a winner. Kyle, literally seconds before I posted the entire picture, commented correctly with: a knife sharpener. Way to go Kyle! That's 2 wins for the McGinn Household. Yes, I am keeping score.

Here are the pictures...The first picture is the actual picture I used, just cropped. In both pictures I saturated the background (our living room wall) which gave it the pink color.

Macro Monday

2009-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Here it is:

Be the first to correctly guess MacroMonday and this AWESOME shirt could be yours:

PS-It's a mens size Medium

Attention!! We have a winner! Danny not only got the answer right, but he was the first to post a guess. The correct answer was Caraway Seeds. I used these once for a recipe and never used them again. Which would explain why I poured them all out, took a picture, then threw them away.

Macro Monday...CHEATERS???

2009-07-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

First to correctly identify this weeks photo gets this t-shirt (it's a mens size Large):

PS-I ordered the shirt on Saturday, so I won't get it till sometime this week. Winner, you must be patient. If you sass me about this issue, I reserve the right to choose a different winner.

YEA for Courtney!! She was the ONLY one to guess correctly, without cheating (I'm so dissapointed that I even have to write that). I would also like to point out that if you click on this weeks picture, it does take you to my photobucket account, but you wouldn't be able to see the entire guitar picture without clicking on the arrow to view the rest of the album. But to make sure my little pupils don't have any temptations next week, I'll make sure I don't post the zoomed out picture.

The Big Picture, revisited

2009-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

*****************************UPDATED***********************************
The way I was enlarging my pictures was making them very pixilated (See June's Birthday post for evidence). So I found a BETTER way to make 'em bigger. Here is the new link.
Comment if you have any questions. I'll try to answer them, but I can't guarantee anything will work when we're done talking :)

Woohoo! I figured it out!! Okay, I didn't really figure anything out, I was just able to follow some instructions. Here is a link so you too can make your picutres bigger! Have fun!

we are F-A-M-I-L-Y!!!

2009-07-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw these letters I knew immediately that I wanted to take some pictures by them. It was VERY hot today and the shade wasn't going to last long. But we managed to get a few keepers. Let me just say taking pictures of an entire family is HARD. I don't know how people do it. So, without further adieu (Don't worry, I wiki'd that word, so you know I spelled it right), here they are:

UGH!! This is driving me crazy! When previewing this picture, before I publish, you can see all of the letters in "Family," but once I hit publish, it gets cropped. I've already resized it, don't know what to do now. Everytime I think I have it figured out, I get confused again! ***UPdate***WooHoo! figured it out...pwned blogger*****

Macro Monday

2009-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

For today's MM please guess the item on the left. The first person to guess correctly will win. The prize this week is a fun little doo-dad from the container store:

(You'll be winning the pot clip, not the stock pot)

PS-If you're an out-of-towner, it takes me about a week to actually make it to the post office! If you're lucky, I'll get it in the mail sooner:)

****************************UPDATED*****************************

This week's MM was a picture of my oven mits that hang (magnetically) on our fridge. Spencer was the first and only person to guess correctly! Spencer, I'll give Erika your prize.

Here is the zoomed out picture from today's contest:

Come back next week for some more fun!

Salty post

2009-06-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING....Macro Monday

2009-06-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

I decided I wanted to start a new tradition...Macro Mondays. Since I'm having so much fun taking pictures, I thought this might be a good way to get a little more practice in (and make a game out of it too). I'm hoping to post a new macro picture every week. Some weeks I'll just post a fun picture and others you might have to guess at what it is. This week, you might have to guess. It's nothing fancy, but I'd like to see how quickly some of you can guess what this is. Winner gets this book (truth be told, I bought it at Ross on Saturday, thumbed through it and it's just not something I'm into, but you might like it) If you live close, I'll deliver it personally. If it's one of the out of town girls, I'll mail it to you:)------------Updated---------------------
Yay for Tammy & Elizabeth who both correctly answered today's trivia. This is a picture from Coppertone's WaterBabies sunscreen bottle. Here is a bigger picture:

Happy Birthday JUNE!!

2009-06-20T19:19:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Sweet June turned 3. Kyle and Courtney had us and Mom & Dad over to help celebrate (Jeff and Lindsay were in Dallas). The kids did some swimming and slippin sliding and ate some yummy My Little Pony Cupcakes. It was great to get to spend time with the McGinns again since they had been out of town for 2 WEEKS! We are so glad they are back. I made June the cutest hotsling that matches Courtney's, but she wasn't too sure about it. Hopefully she'll warm up to it and I can take some picutres of her wearing it. Here is a picture of the Birthday Girl and her Mama

Be Careful

2009-06-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Katie was a little worried that Lorelai might slip and fall at the splash park so she made her where a helmet. I thought it was little overboard but I didn't say anything.

Isn't she cute??

JUST KIDDING!! Lorelai was testing out Jack's bike helmet. Katie has been bike riding all over Pearland wtih Little Miss and she needed some protection. GO KATIE!!

Learning Photoshop

2009-06-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

The other day I had a chance to gave a photoshop lesson from Laura (She took Tilly's 6 month pictures, She is great and I highly recommend having her take your pictures!) So I've been practicing photoshop again. There is so much you can do with PS that it's really easy to go overboard. I'm trying to hone my PS skills and find a good balance of making my pictures great without making them look too unreal. Here is a SOOC photo I took of Anna a couple of months ago. The 2nd is how I PS the picture back then and the 3rd is putting to practice what I learned this week. It will be intersting to see how I use photoshop next year.

Photo essay: I can do it myself

2009-06-02T10:18:00.001-07:00

Don't give up on me

2009-06-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not ready to quit blogging yet. Although, my lack of recent posts might tell you otherwise. I'm not very good at juggling facebook and blogger but I'll try to do better. In the meantime, enjoy (looking at) this tasty sandwich I made for dinner the other night. Sometimes, if I don't make an actual meal for dinner, I'll do a sandwich with the works. Because a sandwich with onions, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce really does make a difference...right?

Can't think of a title for this post

2009-05-12T19:22:00.001-07:00

So, Katie and I went to this field that is filled with beautiful wild flowers to take pictures of our girls. However, there were a few problems along the way: bad lighting (we got there too early), ants, mosquitos, and Tilly (she does not want to look at the camera, in fact, I think she purposefully looks the other way). Anyway, I didn't get any good shots. Then after that we went to the park and got some of them in the field. Tilly mostly ran and played with Jack while Lorelai sat ever so sweetly on her Great Grandma's old suitcase.

And this is why we call her Princess Buttercup...

2009-04-26T19:49:00.001-07:00

Tilly gets to "help" daddy mow. We were out playing while Brad mowed. Tilly kept reaching up to Brad as he mowed by. Like he could say no to the sweetness:)

Easter

2009-04-12T17:55:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful time today at Marnie and Poppy's. We had a great lunch followed by a very exciting easter egg hunt. The bigger cousins had a lot of fun scavenging for all the eggs. Tilly wasn't so interested. I think she picked up one egg and then she was off to get a stick or go swing. You can tell from the pictures that she was ready for a nap.

I love getting group shots of ALL of these cute kiddos!

Dr. Phil

June swingin'

Jack showing me his loot.

Here is Tilly sneaking candy from Mark's bucket!

Me and my little bunny!

Ready for a nap!

Brad trying to get Tilly to pick up an egg...she went for the swing instead!

Tilly swinging...we always tell her "hold on tight!!" sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

PS-Lindsay, I'm sorry I didn't get any pics of just your boys. I completely failed at my aunt duties!!

2009-04-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

June and Tilly

2009-03-30T13:36:00.001-07:00

Tilly loves June.

June loves Tilly.

I love them both!!

Napkin Skirt

2009-03-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

My mom has been helping/teaching me how to sew. I don't have a machine, so I go over to her house to sew and get instruction. I've been having a lot of fun, although it always seems to take a little longer than I planned on. Anyhow, I'm always on the look out for some cute fabric, and when I was shopping for a birthday present for my mom this weekend, I came across the cutest napkin. Darn, I just realized I should have taken a before picture. Oh, well. Anyway, the napkin had the cutest ric-rac and crocheted border, I immediately thought it would make a cute skirt for Little Miss. AND the napkin was on sale for $3.95. I didn't have a pattern so I took the napkin over to Mom's; she looked at it, then we took it to Nancy's. She showed us just what to do. Nancy is AWESOME. There's not much she doesn't know how to do. Once we talked to Nancy about it, we went back to Mom's started sewing and we were done in an hour. It was such a relief because the 2 dresses I've made so far start out quick and easy then I run into little glitches and then it takes WAY longer than it should. Another great thing about this skirt is that it fits a one year old and an almost 3 yearold. Here are pics of Tilly and June wearing the skirt.
I know the quality of this picture isn't that great, but I wanted you to see how it fits length wise on a little one.

Pigtails and MORE rodeo!

2009-03-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Brad and I took Jack and Tilly to the Rodeo tonight and had a great time. Jack was so excited to go on the carnival rides. When he went the other day with Marnie and Poppy it was VERY cold and rainy so they weren't able to ride any rides. Anway, he wanted to go on all the big rides, he was too short for most of them but we found a few that he was tall enough to ride. He loved riding them but when he would get off the ride he would tell us it was scary, then he would say he wanted to do it again. Tilly had fun too, we took her to the petting zoo area and she loved looking at all the animals but she didn't want them to get too close to her. As for the pigtails, I am now able to get just enough hair to give Tilly tiny pigtails. I love it! I can't wait for her hair to grow longer. Here are some pics from the evening:

Rodeo

2009-03-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

"Oh boy," is all I can say about the little rascals that are going with Marnie and Poppy to the rodeo tonight. We got the kids all decked out in rodeo gear and they were so excited. I tried to take a few pics, and I am posting the BEST of about 100 photos. Mark and Jack are SOOO goofy and the pictures will prove it. Here ya go:

Sweet June is SOOOO compliant, she did everything we asked of her.

I love this picture. She is so cute!!!

Jack shooting with his hand gun.

I have NO idea. Just being silly I think.

Bumpin' booties. They thought this was HILARIOUS!

This picture sums up the photo shoot perfectly.

The best shot of the whole bunch.

Tilly Stats and a Cute Birthday Dress

2009-03-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Tilly went in for her 1 year check up today and did so well. She was so happy and so talkative to the nurse and doctor...until she had to get blood drawn and 3 shots. But she did get a sucker when it was all over with and that cheered her up really quickly! Here are some pics I took on her b-day in a new dress my mom got her for her B-day. Tilly's new tricks: She is "talking" all the time, she is usually jibber jabbering, but today she said "Joe" when she saw him and she gave him a hug. She can also say baby (her favorite word), and mama, dada, bubby (jack), up and uh-oh. But her best trick is pointing and grunting to tell me what she wants:) Her other new trick is kissing. However, she will not kiss on command, it has to be her decision and her timing. But I'll take what I can get. I love it, it's the sweetest thing. Oh, almost forgot the stats: weight 20.2lbs (25th), length 29inches(50th), head...can't remember, but they said it was in the 75th percentile, I think they measured wrong.

Tilly Turns ONE!

2009-03-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yea for Tilly!! She's one, well not till tomorrow but close enough. We had so much fun at her party today. We were originally going to have Tilly's party on the weekend, but March booked up so quickly that we decided on a weekday party. It was PERFECT! Brad took the day off, we let Jack skip his nap, and we played on the moonwalk all day. Tilly had a lot of fun too with all her friends and cousins. Marnie and Poppy took long lunch breaks to come celebrate too. Sandra was going to come too but she got sick:( I made a giant cupcake, partially covered in fondant, and I also made mini cupcakes. I think I'm over using fondant. I used it for Jack's Lego Cake too and it's a lot of work and never looks like I want it to. Probably because I watch ace of cakes and expect it to turn out like a cake on that show. So, all in all, it was a great day. The weather was perfect and all the kids got along great! If your on facebook, some of these pics might be repeats.March 11, 2008 we got to meet sweet Tilly!

The little cupcake dress that Tilly is wearing was made by yours truly (with the help of my mom)I love theses 2 pictures of Tilly and Lorelai. They crack me up. I need to figure out how to stitch these two pics together.

old post

2009-02-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

I forgot about this post and found this draft last night. Videos from when I babysat June and Lorelai. Again, if you're on facebook, these might be repeats (well, one of them is).

The Kirklins

2009-02-22T16:29:00.001-08:00

Okay, if these pictures don't make you want to have a newborn...you're crazy. Christian is so sweet & cute and his big brother is pretty sweet too.

McGinns

2009-02-20T18:54:00.001-08:00

New pics of Prince Phillip (that's my nickname for him) or as Brad likes to call him, Pilly Cheesesteak :) ...and the other McG's too.

Phillip being cute.

Mark loving on Phillip.

.
The whole fam.

Junie being cute.

Phillip being cute.

AND...Action!!

2009-02-12T20:26:00.001-08:00

Okay, I could play with photoshop all day. If you have photoshop, download some free actions and go play. Start at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ (thanks, Karen). OR simply google "free photoshop actions" and voila! BTW I do try to take pictures of Jack too, he's just not down with it. Anytime he sees me with the camera he looks the other way. Tilly still doesn't mind, she's just so fast and busy, it's hard to keep her still.

11 Months

2009-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, my little teeny tiny baby is not so teeny tiny anymore. I can't believe Tilly is 11 months old today and in only one month she'll be 1! Tilly is taking more and more steps everyday but she is still crawling full time. Her favorite place to be is outside, which is great right now, but it's gonna be brutal come summer time. Tilly's newest trick is talking on the phone. She loves holding the phone up to her ear and saying oooohhhhh (which is hello). When I don't have Jack in the car, I let her ride in Jack's carseat facing forward and she loves it. I'm looking forward to getting her a carseat and being able to see her little face in the mirror. So, that's the update. Now for pictures:Tilly talking on the phone.

I taught Tilly how to look out the window to wait for Daddy, she loves it! I have to get my timing right because Little Miss will only wait so long.

Sweet siblings

2009-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Brad watched the kids yesterday while I went to get a MUCH needed hair cut (I hadn't had one in 6 months). It was so nice to drive around with no kids in the car and just jump out of the car without having to unbuckle kids or carry a diaper bag. It's funny how only a 1 or 2 hour break can really rejuvinate you. Anyhow, while I was gone he took some cute pics of Jack and Tilly playing together. Tilly loves Jack, and Jack loves Tilly. He nicknamed her Cherry Pie. But since he can't say his "r"s well it sounds kind of like chili pie. And Tilly loves for Jack to hold her, and she loves climbing on him while he's laying on the floor playing.

Photoshop

2009-02-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I got photoshop and I couldn't be more excited! I have NO idea what I'm doing, but I'm having fun playing with it. Man, I really don't feel like typing out everything that I'm thinking. I'll just post some pics. Maybe if I start my post before 11pm I'll do better. Sorry, more words and pictures later.

Miss Independent

2009-01-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

***Update****
Wow, Tilly amazes me! She refused ice cream today at Moreno's because I wouldn't let her hold the cone. Who refuses ice cream for any reason?? Now that is a strong will!

Tilly decided this week that she no longer wants me to feed her; she can do it herself. This morning I tried to feed her some yogurt and she just turned her head. Then I asked her if she wanted to feed herself, and I handed her the spoon and she ate it up. Well, she ate what she managed to get in her mouth.

Winterfest

2009-01-12T18:30:00.001-08:00

We went to Pearland's Winterfest this past Saturday and we had a blast. It was very windy and very cold, unlike last year. We went for the first time last year and I was 8 months preg. with Tilly. It was much more fun this year with Tilly on the outside. It was $12 for our whole family to get in, once you're in everything is free except food and a few special carnival rides. Jack got to ride a mechanical bull, play in snow, tube down a snow hill, watch a mini-circus show (where I was sure the guy in the circus act was going to fall to his death), and many other fun actvities. Tilly had fun just watching all the people and crawling in the grass. She's so easy to please right now. I almost forgot to mention the yummy food. Jack and I shared a GIANT corndog and fries, Brad had some sort of steak sandwich that was very tasty. We also had cotton candy, hot chocolate and of course, funnel cake! It was an all around fun day. I would definately recommend taking your family next year!

Tilly enjoyimg her funnel cake.

This was the guy Iwas talking about. I've been to the real circus and have seen this same act, it IS really cool. But this guy was very wobbly, and he did trip a few times. I was SOOO nervous for him. Then to top it off, Jack said, "I can do that. I'm gonna do that when I get bigger"

Blogger Slacker

2009-01-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hello out there! Long time, no post. I really just haven't felt like sifting through pictures and thinking of stuff to write about them. So here is a very short summary of our Christmas and New Year. We spent Christmas Eve at the McDaniels (very fun, got to see Susan), Christmas Day we woke up at our house and opened presents, then we were off to Marnie and Poppy's for more presents and the "Big Breakfast", that evening we went to Sandra's and did Christmas with the Harrells. As for New Years, we went up to the church, played a little Rummikub, the kids got to do a pinata and we were home by 10:30, asleep by 11. My how things change when you got little ones. So that's that!

Quick Jack story: Brad does Jack's bedtime routine with him every night, they read, sing, and pray. One of the songs they sing is Blue Skies and Rainbows, they sing it EVERY night. Well, the other night they were reading from his picture bible, and Jack saw a page with a rainbow and Adam and Eve on it and Jack said pointing to the picture "Hey, it's like the song, Blue Skies and Rainbows" then he asked Brad (pointing to Adam and Eve) "Are those the Blues Guys?" Apparently he as been singing Blues Guys and Rainbows for the last year and we never noticed.

-Tilly started blinking on command tonight, it is TOO cute. Here is a video. And yes, she is holding 2 thermometers.

Jack turns 4 (well, almost)

2008-12-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jack's B-day today, lego style (his actual birthday is Monday, he'll be 4). We had a little party with his cousins and he had so much fun. We were able to get Jeff and Connor as well as Anna and Kirk to come too. Jeff is definately a Lego Master. Within 5 minutes of busting out the legos, Jeff created an AWESOME spaceship. We were all amazed. I also had my fist experience with fondant icing. It was a little tricky at first, but once I got it to the right consistancy and color, it was really fun. It was kind of like working with play-doh. The night ended with a pillow fight of course. Here are some pics from our fun party.

Lovin' my new toy!

2008-12-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas came early for me this year in the form of a new camera (rebel xsi) and I didn't have to wait to open it! I am having fun with it, but VERY overwhelmed. I'm trying to take all the pictures in manual mode and with no flash. My results are hit or miss; I really don't know what I am doing. Katie came over and gave me a quick over view and I've been checkin' out photography websites and blogs. Here are a couple that turned out okay.

This picture was taken in the car today; gotta love that natural light :)

I took this picture at night with just our living room light on, no flash. I know, it's kinda dark and noisy (like my photo lingo??)

I'm looking into auditing a photo class at one of our colleges around here. However, I haven't found one that teaches digital photo, it's all film/darkroom. If I find one, Katie is going to take the class with me :)

Out like a light

2008-11-22T19:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of Tilly taking a nap the other day. She was OUT!

Tilly Trick

2008-11-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, here is Tilly's new trick! I love this stage so much. It's so fun to watch her learn new things.

Tagged

2008-11-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

Heidi tagged me to post my 6th picture from my 6th album. So here it goes. Our 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th albums don't even have 6 pictures. There are only 2 or 3 blurry/dark pictures. I have NO idea what's up with that. Here is one of them. Jack playing, I guess.
So, here is our 6th picture from our 5th album. This was taken pre-kids. Brad was painting this dresser for Jack's room. So exciting.
And here is our 6th picture from our 10th album. Jack is about 2 months old. I can't believe he's about to be 4 next month! Here is our 6th picture from our 6th album in 2008. It's a picture of me before church, 3 days overdue, 2 days before Tilly was born. Look how "swollen" my face was! The VERY next album is Tilly's BIRTHday. Okay, I'll go ahead and post a pic from there too.

I now tag karen, jenny, amy, courtney. Post your 6th picture from your 6th album on your computer. Or something close to that.

Asthma/Allergies

2008-11-01T20:37:00.001-07:00

So, Jack has had this cough that has been going on for about 3 weeks now. We had been alternating cough suppressants and expectorants that only worked so-so. We finally took him to the doctor today and got a diagnosis: Asthma+Allergies(very mild Asthma). When I think of asthma, I think of Mark's horrible wheezing, and his inevitable hospitalizations. I didn't really think that this lingering cough could really be asthma related. However, the Dr. today said there are many varying degrees of asthma, Jack's is VERY mild but is causing this annoying cough. So she prescribed him some albuteral and zyrtec. It has worked wonderfully!

Halloween

2008-11-01T06:14:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun last night Trunk n Treating. Unfortunately I didn't do a great job taking pictures of all the cars. My parents built the walls of Jericho, Nancy had a fishing pond, Lorena had a pinata, the McDaniel's had a Pirate trunk and the list goes on. Our trunk didn't have a specific theme, we were handing out glow bracelets, so we decorated our trunk with those. Here are some pics from the evening. I was a Kangaroo and Tilly was my Joey

Jack was the Bumblebee Transformer.

Lorelai was a Southern Belle.

Maci and Madison, so stinkin' cute!

Here is our trunk. Anna helped us assemble all 200 glow bracelets.

We need to work on baby proofing our house

2008-10-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

The OTHER Brad

2008-10-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

This is a picture I took of Brad after I told him dinner wasn't ready yet

Yes, we are always this nerdy, it's just the way we roll.

The Girls

2008-10-26T14:45:00.001-07:00

The Little's came over the other night when their internet was on the fritz and Shawn had a paper due. We had fun visiting with them and watching Lorelai do her super fast bear crawl. Here are some pics of the girls playing together so sweetly:

Ikea Desk up for Grabs!

2008-10-20T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We are clearing out our office to make a room for Tilly... finally. Our computer is now in our living room but we still have a large desk that needs a new home. Brad spent many hours at this lovely desk studying, but the time has come for us to say goodbye.

Product dimensions
Width: 55 1/8 "

Depth: 29 1/2 "

Height: 29 7/8 "

Max. load: 66 lb

Guess what...

2008-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Miss Matilda started crawling on Saturday. She's still a little slow and wobbly, but she can get around. We tried to take pictures/video but our memory card on our camera is jacked up. Which brings me to my next story. Brad and I were trying to figure out what was going on with the camera. This is what happened...

Brad: "It's the memory card that's messed up"

Me: *examining the camera/ taking out the memory card* "Are you sure? Did you blow on it?"

Brad: "No (in a some what of a defensive voice)...Yeah"

We both started cracking up, remembering the good ol' days when your nintendo game would be on the fritz and you had to blow on it to get it working. Or wedge a butter knife in there; that worked like a charm. BTW, blowing on your camera's memory card does not work.

So here is a picture of Tilly sitting/leaning on the slide the day before the camera "broke"

Proofs

2008-10-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Swing by our photographer's website if you want to check out the rest of the photos from our shoot. The password is our little one's name.

6 months

2008-09-25T12:03:00.000-07:00

Tilly is now 6 months old and has so many new tricks! She had her check up this week and had to get 5 stinkin shots, poor girl. She weighs 15lbs and is 26.5 inches long. She is babbling ALL the time now. Tilly's newest trick is pulling up. Here she is pulling up on Brad's leg:
We also recently had her 6month pictures taken. We got a few of the whole family too. Here is a link to our photographers blog.

Princess Tilly

2008-09-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we took Tilly to Claire's and we got her ears pierced. She looks too cute. We brought a sucker for her (thanks for the suggestion Katie) and it was a great distraction. She cried a little after the first ear and then she really screamed after the second ear was done. But she calmed down within a minute as she sucked her lollypop. Here are the pics:

Look at the little girl's expression as she watches Tilly.

This picture was taken right after she second ear was done, she was not happy.

Ike

2008-09-21T12:42:00.001-07:00

We survived Ike and had the same damage every other house had: fence down, tree down, and shingles missing. We got our power back on 24 hours after it went out. Here are a few pics from the Pre-Hurricane Party at the Property and post Ike pics

Fun Weekend

2008-09-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful, long weekend. Brad and I went out on a date while the McDaniels babysat the kiddos, we went swimming, we went to our church's annual ice cream social, played some softball, and ate dinner with the whole family on Labor Day at Carol & Mickey's. Here are some pics: Gotta love those dimples (or is that cellulite??)!

Weird drool

2008-09-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

The photo below has not been doctored in any way. Tilly rolled over on my leg and when I pulled her up, this is what I saw:
I yelled at Brad to get the camera. When Brad arrived on the scene he said, "Too bad it didn't look like the Virgin Mary...we'd be rich"

Wildlife Park

2008-08-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

We had a great time today with Marnie at the Wildlife Park in Dickinson! It was super hot but the excitement kept us distracted. We had buckets of food that the ostriches went crazy for. They would come right up to the jeep and make themselves at home. Joe and June weren't afraid of the ostriches at all, they both wanted to feed them by hand. Mark and Jack (&Tilly too) were convinced that the ostriches were going to peck/attack them. As we pulled into the park, before we got into the jeep, Jack kept saying, "They're going to destroy us, Oh no, they're going to destroy us!" But Marine reassured them that she would wring their necks (the ostriches that is) if they tried to attack. That made Jack feel better. He would ask her periodically throughout the tram ride if she was still on for wringing some ostrich necks. Notice the picture below, neither of the boys will look at the camera, they are both watching out for the sneaky ostriches.

It's hard to tell from this picture but the longhorn is HUGE!

I took these pictures one after another, both Mark and Tilly are keeping an eye out for one of those mean ostriches

FYI: Joe did get pecked/bitten by one of the ostriches (I think it is the one in this picture), it left little teeth marks and even made him bleed a little!

Pirates and Princess Party

2008-08-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

Marnie and Poppy had a super fun party for the GrandKids on Saturday. This was the 2nd annual themed party (last year's theme was sock monkey). This year was Hawaiian/Pirates&Princesses. Marnie and Poppy made an elaborate treasure hunt that included an actual buried treasure. Here are some pics from the party.

Here is the sail on the ship (It reads: Poppy's Pirates)

X marks the spot. Here lies the booty.

Tilly watching her cousins & brother

The boys eating their Pirate food: Fish sticks and fruit kabobs

A failed attempt at a group picture

And for some reason we didn't get a single picture of June so here are some pics from last years sock monkey pajama party

Nothin' says I love you like a little Salt & Pepper...

2008-08-21T12:45:00.001-07:00

shaker, that is. When I first saw these s&p shakers I knew I had to get them for Brad. Our anniversary was the first excuse I had to buy them. I know, not the most romantic gift, but so perfect for a chemist. Brad absolutely loves them. So if you have a little scientist in your life, I highly recommend them.

Big Girl

2008-08-20T11:50:00.001-07:00

Here are a few new pics of Tilly sitting up like a big girl.

7 years and 5 months

2008-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today Brad and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary and Tilly turning 5 months. Marrying Brad was the smartest thing I ever did, although I really think it was an answered prayer. My parents told me that they had prayed, since we were babies, for all their children to marry Godly spouses. And we did. What a blessing!
Lets take a moment and look back at how I got to be Mrs. Bradley Green Harrell.
It all started long ago when Brad came walking into church, late, and I laid eyes on him. He was definately the BMOC (I'm giggling as I type). I had a total crush, but I immediately thought, he's too old (I was 16, he was 23). Well, as luck would have it, Courtney got a job working for Sandra. One day I got a call from Sandra asking me to babysit little Allison (You see, Courtney had been asked but declined and suggested me -Thanks, C). I said yes, and while I was there Brad made an appearance, we talked for about 5 minutes, then he was off on a date. Grrrr. Now he knew I existed. Of course I was too shy to ask him out, so I got Kyle to ask him to go play tennis, and I would always show up. Spencer would play tennis too and apparently he would always get mad at me for flirting with Brad and interrupting the game. And that is how I got to know Brad. Thank you, Kyle. So the first offical date was when MIP had a Christmas dinner and I didn't have a date. Sandra asked Brad if he would be my "escort". He obliged. Thank you, Sandra. After that we started emailing each other and we officially started dating in January of 2000. And the rest is history!

Me and Brad outside the U of H Religion Center (Sorry for the poor quality, we don't have a scanner. That's right, I took a picture of a picture)

As for Miss Matilda, she is growing so fast. She is starting to sit up and she reaches for EVERYTHING. She loves being in her walker rolling around trying to follow me. She is so sweet and we love her so much.

Here is a picture of her during bath time last night.

Little Jack

2008-08-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Wednesday is our day to go have lunch (or heat up lunch) with Grandma Buna. Well today while we were sitting together having lunch Jack asked her, "Can you get new again?" I don't know if she knew what he was talking about so I quickly said "no". Then, of course, he says "why?". It would take entirely too long to write out the conversation that followed. It was priceless.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, when GrandmaBuna wasn't wearing her bridge, he asked her if she put her teeth under her pillow for the tooth fairy. She just laughed.
GrandmaBuna is so sweet, Jack's questions never seem to bother her a bit.
I am sometimes so scared to hear what is going to come out of his little mouth when we are in public. He's so innocent and truthful.
One time he told me that my belly button was moldy. Ouch! I have no idea what that means, but it can't be good. FYI my belly button was clean.
And Donna, Jack is dying to go inside your house. Everytime we are over he is looking under Buna's door trying to see inside your house. Today he was asking, "I wonder what it looks like inside Donna's house?"