Jolly in Idaho

Carving hearts!

2011-11-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

As we carved the pumpkins, I realized that something about the inside of a pumpkin scares little kids. My children pick up worms, play with beetles, chase down spiders and squash them, but putting their hands in the middle of a pumkin completely terrifies them! Hannah is past that now, even though her first two years carving pumkpins was difficult to get her hand in there. This year, I physically had to force Elayna's hand into her pumkpin. After much screaming and hesitation, she finally put it in. I was able to convince her to pull out all the loosened guts. Looking at the pictures you can see her anxiety...oh well, if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger!

Once the pumkins were gutted, Elayna decided she wanted to have a heart nose. After carving a somewhat successful upside down heart, Ed had to show me up and carve some fancy heart eyes and nose for Hannah's pumpkin! :) Oh well, both girls were happy with their pumpkins, and that is all that matters! Another hectic, yet enjoyable Halloween!

Halloween Party

2011-11-02T21:08:00.000-06:00

Hannah was invited to her first Halloween Party this year! She was entirely overwhelmed with all there was to do! With all the kids, Elayna and I decided to stay and help out. There was decorating pumpkin contests, bean bag tosses, scratch creations, pizza, candy, and my favorite...no-hand-donut-eating contest! Watching the donut hit Elayna in the eye was hysterical (I know, I shouldn't laugh). Hannah also got some donut up her nose! LOVED IT! By the time it was over, my kids were EXHAUSTED! Lots of fun, good times.

Transformation!

2011-11-02T20:44:00.000-06:00

So, cheap mom didn't want to buy a blonde wig for Hannah for Halloween, so to make up for it, I told her I would make her hair equivalent to Cinderella's, but in the red-headed version! Ironically, it only took me thirty minutes to put her hair up in a flipped over bun with ringlettes down the back and around her face. I then smashed her crown together to fit the bun and TA-DA Princess Cinderella was created! The key piece to the costume was the glass slippers (thank you Wal-Mart), completely sparkly silver glitter with a bow...what more could a little girl want!

BOO at the Zoo!

2011-11-02T20:18:00.000-06:00

This year, we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo on opening night. The girls are big into the princess scene right now. Hannah was a very dazzling Cinderella, while Elayna was quite a cute Rapunzel. While there, we ran across Lilly at the childrens zoo. Ironically, she was also a dazzling princess! I gave them the whole first hour to trick-or-treat around the zoo before I made them pose for a couple pictures. Hannah has the timing completely off and I caught her glancing away...or dodging the camera! None-the-less, they were cute!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-02T19:51:00.000-06:00

This year, Elayna was able to pick out her own pumpkin at the pumpkin patch! She enjoyed running through the pumpkins and quite liked the large ones, but decided that the best pumpkins were the size of oranges. It took some convincing to get her to choose a pumpkin that is carvable.
Hannah on the other hand is a true pumpkin picking pro. No green, no white, no holes, not too tall, not too short, no cave-ins, can we say OCD!!! Finally she ended up with the most perfect pumpkin!

First Day of School

2011-08-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

Well, today Hannah started Kindergarten. It is her third year at Holy Rosary. She went from twice a week when she was 3, to three times a week when she was 4, to all-day kindergarten. It is kind of nice having uniforms. I never have to worry about what she is going to wear. I just wish she would quit growing...or stay in the same size for at least one school year! None-the-less, she was over joyed to be back with her friends. Her and a handful of kids all started when they were three and have become best friends. The teacher is already having to base a seating chart around that! HA!

Elayna, was back at day care. Although she started back three weeks ago (part-time), today was her first "official" day. She got home and was exhausted! Needless to say, she was in bed by 6:30...and sound asleep shortly after!

Reservoir Lake

2011-08-10T11:04:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we went camping in southern Montana. Ryan, Chase, the girls, Cooper, Holly and I went up first thing in the morning. It was our plan to get there and set up camp for mom, dad, Ed, Maggie, and Beauregard. When we arrived it was colder than I anticipated. The girls quickly put their jeans on. Within the hour it started raining. By mid-evening, it was hailing the size of dippin dots or BB's. Once the hail stopped, the second vehicle arrived! Good timing! We had a relaxing evening and chilly night of sleeping. The next day we did most of our activities. We went swimming in the lake (although Hannah was the only one brave enough to jump in), fishing, and took a hike around the lake, not to mention EAT! All the fish we caught went into the frying pan and were gobbled up promptly. Elayna actually ate a whole one herself. Hannah on the other hand is still afraid to try new things, but eventually ate a couple of bites. She actually said it was good, but she hates fish. Kind of an oxymoron if you ask me! Ah kids! We also enjoyed a late night thunder storm...I was able to catch one streak of lightning. Overall, it was a great weekend. We survived with minimal mosquito bites...although Hannah did get one on her eye lid that promptly made it swell almost shut!

New Goggles!

2011-08-10T10:36:00.000-06:00

Hannah has really taken to swimming! While shopping, she asked if she could get a pair of goggles. We found a relatively inexpensive two pack so each of the girls could have one! They looked so cute. Sadly, Hannah's goggles snapped and we had to fix them. I think I will just buy a decent pair next time!!!

Hannah's Photography Take 2!

2011-07-31T15:23:00.000-06:00

So, Hannah asked if she could take my camera and take pictures around the yard. Of course I was a little nervous that she would bury it in the sand box, but never-the-less, I gave it to her. I was truly amazed at some of the pictures she took. She was able to capture some great pictures. Everything on both of these collages were taken by her and unedited by me. All of my other collages I edit and take out all the background stuff. A couple of my favorites are their feet, the tennis ball, the worm, her wolf pup, and Elayna on top of the tree house (head view). She didn't use the zoom at all. (I never told her about it. I was trying to minimize the number of buttons she had to push!) She asked for a camera for Christmas. I asked her if she wanted Santa or mom and dad to get it for her. She told me mom and dad so we could get the right one! Of course, she wants a purple and silver one...boy do I have a task in front of me!

Congratulations!

2011-07-31T14:46:00.000-06:00

Well, Hannah's T-Ball season is over. She ended up playing fabulously. By the end of the season she was about 70% focused on the game and 30% focused on twirling, jumping, and picking dandelions! That is a huge increase from the beginning of the season. She was playing hard, hitting well and running SUPER FAST (thanks to a new pair of shoes). We bought her some new shoes and she was convinced that the shoes made her run fast...not her. Gotta love kids!

Ross Park

2011-07-31T14:33:00.000-06:00

A week ago mom took a day off to spend with us at Ross park. Jaime, her kids, mom, Elayna, Hannah, and me enjoyed relaxing in the tubes, splashing in the water, and picnicing in the sun. Fun day for all!

New Hot Tub

2011-07-31T13:43:00.000-06:00

So, we FINALLY got a hot tub. After years of complaining of aches and the NEED (I say this because I want to believe we needed it) for a hot tub, we finally broke down and got one! The girls looked at it as a mini swimming pool. They eventually found out that they couldn't swim in it very well. It has been nice taking them in there after dinner as a nice way to relax before bed. Love it!

Playing in the Sun

2011-07-08T23:29:00.000-06:00

When it gets hot, the kids surely love to get wet. Somehow, we came across two different kid sprinkler items. One was from mom, the other was in the garage...can't remember from where. In any case, the blue ring actually pushes out the water quite forcefully. Elayna hated it since it was always over her face! The hopscotch however, was perfect for Elayna since she could walk across it without getting her face wet. Although, she quickly found out that once you step on an edge, water comes blasting out (hence the wet face). With the weather this nice, we have been playing outside often, and picnicing almost daily. We are into BBQ'ing everything! It was a fun week, except for a minor sunburn that Hannah attained. She kept laying on her back and scooting across the hopscotch. Well, apparently that made the sunscreen come off quicker than I had planned and she has a small sunburn. I don't think she has ever had one before. One thing is for certain, she doesn't like having one!

Hannah's Photography

2011-07-08T14:24:00.002-06:00

So, the more I scrapbook, the more Hannah wants to! AHHH, Ed would be so proud. The last time I scrapbooked, Hannah sat with us for almost three hours scrapbooking herself! So, while we were in Yellowstone, she asked if she could take a picture of us. Her argument was that she needed to practice for when she got her own camera to make scrapbooking pictures! Of course that argument was enough for me! Not so sure Ed was too thrilled about it! In any case, here is the picture she took. Not too bad if you ask me!

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T17:28:00.001-06:00

For the fourth, we took it relatively easy. It started with a simple game of double deck pinnochle, which turned into and epic battle in which the women were victorious! Then, we went to Lowe's to buy some PVC pipe to make the game ladderball. Our BBQ at the Jolly's started at 5, and we alternated partners and teams from 5-9:30 when we walked to the fireworks. Ladderball was quite fun! Thanks Rachel for introducing us to it! The firework display was nice. I spent most of my time trying to figure out my camera. I was able to get a couple of nice shots! Finally we walked back home to let off our AWESOME fireworks! I love the 3ft rule for Idaho...nothing can go above three feet...of course many people don't follow that rule. Elayna and Hannah both liked the sparklers, mainly because they could hold them I am sure, but Elayna kept holding on to them well after the sparkle was out. Since they are now made out of a straw type material, it slowly made it to her finger. That was the last sparkler she held. I now have a daughter who is afraid of the sparkler! All-in-all a good day. Nice and relaxing.

Yellowstone 2011

2011-07-07T17:07:00.000-06:00

Fourth of July weekend we decided to take the girls to Yellowstone to camp. Normally we spend one long day running around the park seeing the sites. This time we decided to take it a little easier and spend one night in the park. We stayed at Bridge Bay Campground, very nice place. By spending two days in the park, we went on a couple of hikes that we haven't been on before. Hannah did surprisingly well. She walked well over two miles the first day and one the second. Elayna walked to entire 2/3 mile loop on her own, and then down another 3/8 mile to the brink of upper falls. She was way too tired to walk back up the switch backs though. Luckily for us, as we were driving, we saw two bear sitting off the road. The amount of people stopped was insane! I have waited my entire life to see bear in Yellowstone, we have gone there yearly since I was 8, and now I have seen them two years in a row. I guess the time of the year matters! Hannah wasn't that excited to see the bear. To her, it was just another animal to check off.

We took the girls for a nice dinner at the Lake Lodge, bit of advice, make reservations ahead of time! Afterwards, we went back to camp and built a fire to make smores! We used cookies with chocolate as the base, then fancy campfire marshmellows for the inside (although I am not convinced they are any better than normal marshmellows! By the time we made it to bed, it was well passed their normal bedtime; compounded with all the hiking, the girls were exhausted! All three of us slept in two bags zipped together, while Ed slept by himself! Wipe a tear! The next day we leisurely made our way to Old Faithful and then out. The new visitors center at Old Faithful was kind of nice, but it looks a little to modern for my liking. Lots of information inside, especially for kids. Not to mention, a cool place to get out of the heat! After Old Faithful, we made our trip back home. Great weekend!

Puppy Face

2011-07-07T15:19:00.003-06:00

A week ago we went to my father's company picnic. Hannah was so excited when she finally made it to the front of the line. She asked to look like Beauregard (my mother's puppy). She was so proud of her face! I think they did a fabulous job!

Braids

2011-06-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

So yesterday the girls played in our little swimming pool for a couple of hours. Afterwards they decided to go down the slide in our backyard which had a hose running at the end of it...WELL with wet swimming suits and wet grass, the girls flew off the end of the slide and went skidding across the grass for five or more feet. Needless to say, they thought that was the coolest thing they have ever done. HOWEVER, by the time they were finished they were a muddy mess!!! Hannah knows that if we take a bath in the middle of the day, I will braid her hair in her "little" braids. Although her braids are bigger than I would like, after getting through Elayna's hair, my patience was running out! The good things about them is that I am off the hook for doing their hair for a week!

Guacamole Face

2011-06-21T17:32:00.000-06:00

Need I say more? Alex...BEWARE!!!

Sand Dunes

2011-06-21T17:01:00.000-06:00

Right before the Jolly's headed back to Georgia, I took them to the sand dunes for one last chance to get dirty with each other. Other than the wind blowing like crazy, it was a perfect afternoon. Elayna was very hesitant at first to climb up the sand. The other three girls ran up the hill as fast as they could...three steps up, one back, three steps up, one back. Eventually they made it to the top with Elayna still sitting at the bottom. After an hour or so of being beaten by the wind and sand, we called it quits. If I learned something from that experience is that sand doesn't mix with wind...or sunscreen. The sand stuck to them like glue!!!! Needless to say, all four girls needed a good scrubbing when we got home.

First T-Ball Game

2011-06-21T16:54:00.000-06:00

One week after school let out, Hannah had her first T-Ball game. Sadly I was unable to make it to either of her first two games. Ed took some great pictures though. Her team name is the Tigers and she is playing with the kids from the Small World (where she went to day care before Holy Rosary). She has been hesitant all season claiming that she is no good, but we try to assure her that she is just new at it and it takes practice. She can consistantly hit the ball to the pitchers mound, or just past and runs like a pro. When she is in the outfield, she can be caught throwing grass and chewing on her glove...not many balls make it past the pitchers mound. Her favorite position is catcher. In this league it is the most active position since she is the one who gets to put the ball on the T!

Ponce Wedding

2011-06-21T16:38:00.000-06:00

Well, I took very few pictures at Sara and Alex's wedding. Actually, these may be the only pictures that I did take! It was a very BEAUTIFUL wedding. Nice outdoor ceremony, with dancing, DJ, food, and drinks afterwards. The colors were gorgeous, brown and teal, and all the ladies look amazing...uh, I guess the guys did too ;) Elayna went home with my parents early, so I didn't get any pictures of her. However, Hannah stayed and danced the night away! With a normal bedtime of 7:00, when 9:45 hit, she was exhausted! She had been dancing straight for almost two hours! Needless to say, she fell asleep on the way home. In the beginning when noone was on the dance floor and Abby asked me to dance with her, I shrugged and said "what the heck"...it isn't often I get to dance with my nieces. Shortly after, Hannah, Adrea and Sara joined in and I was able to take a couple of pictures. I truly had a great time!

The Jolly's Return

2011-06-21T16:23:00.001-06:00

So the "other" Jolly's came back to I.F. for a couple weeks! It was SO great to see them again. Our visits seem to be yearly and each time my nieces have grown a foot...or at least it seems that way! After many days of rain, we were finally able to go out in the back yard and just relax. Ed, Dave, and Abby played catch with a softball. It was quite entertaining watching them fight for the ball. Often times one, or both, ended up laying flat on the ground! Abby on the other hand is a natural! She has a nice arm on her! In the mean time, Elayna, Hannah, and Adrea ran around on the small park we have created in the back yard. It was so nice to just enjoy being with each other, too bad the two weeks flew by that quickly. Before we knew it, they had to head back to Georgia.

Pre-K Graduation

2011-05-29T21:00:00.000-06:00

This year Hannah graduated from Pre-K. The performance was fabulous. They did a small skit of Stone Soup, each child had a small speaking part. The parents had to work with them to memorize it. I was so proud of her. After a couple of kids speaking they would sing, two more speakers, sing some more...etc. They continued this until the book was finished. It was quite entertaining. Then they sang two songs afterwards. I always record one song, but half way through the second song, I had to start recording...it was too cute not to. In the pictures are Mrs. Copp, her artwork, and her besties.

Copper King Hotel

2011-05-22T23:01:00.000-06:00

This weekend we went to Butte for Dawson's graduation party. After the party was over, we went back to the hotel for a bit so the kids could swim. The hotel pool had a huge water slide to go down. I was able to get some pretty good videos of it. The only problem with the slide is that the pool it emptied into was quite cold. Then, the hot tub was scorching! We couldn't find a happy medium. Elayna's lips turned blue in the big pool, but her whole body was bright pink in the hot tub. It literally took two trips down the slide for my nails to turn blue. Can't believe that Hannah went down that thing probably thirty times. Thank you Ed and Ryan for putting up with the freezing water!

Hannah's Birthday

2011-05-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

This year for Hannah's birthday, she wanted to have it at the gymnastics center. For their small rental fee, you virtually have free rein of the facilities. It is a controlled environment where the children could run and release all energy. We rented the building for 90 minutes. We weren't sure if this was going to be enough time (factoring in cake and presents), but it turned out to be perfect. After 90 minutes the kids were all either too tired to continue or too hyper and needed a little cool down time. One of their favorite things was putting the foam blocks onto a trampoline and jumping with them. I was able to get a decent video of it. All of Hannah's friends were very generous. She recieved several Tangled items, Disney princess, and outdoor type toys. Of course once we got home, we had to play with most of them. The first to make the table was the play-doh (these were in the gift bags). The kids were quite content with this, Hannah even made a very cute little girl. Elayna wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but enjoyed smashing it none-the-less. After that was finished we had to go outside and draw on the sidewalk withour new chalk. Hannah made a tulip family while Elayna drew circles or swirls or whatever it is a 2 year old thinks they are creating. In any case, our sidewalk was very colorful.

The next morning was her real birthday. We had a small family party. Hannah wanted grilled cheese sandwhiches and tomato soup for her birthday meal...easy for me, I guess! Once again, she made out like a bandit. She received all the clothing she will need for the summer, plus the last couple of toys she has been asking for. We make three toy lists a year. First is the Santa list ("Put it on your list for Santa"), then the Easter Bunny list ("Put it on your list for the Easter Bunny"), and lastly it is the birthday list ("Put it on your birthday list"). Now comes the long haul...back to the Christmas list. All-in-all it was a great weekend. Hannah is doing very well and she was very greatful. She is now in the process of writing all of her Thank You cards. She is almost done.

Pedicure

2011-05-22T22:27:00.000-06:00

As is tradition, my mother and I took Hannah to the nail spa to have her annual birthday pedicure. We usually get several throughout the summer, but it is on her birthday that we get our first pedicure of the year. The people at the shop know her and treat her nicely. She loves the kids chair with the DVD player on it. She also convinces them to draw on all ten toes instead of just the big one. Can't believe she is getting so big.

Phillips Wedding

2011-05-22T22:21:00.000-06:00

Becca and Brandon had a very beautiful wedding. Her dress was gorgeous. Both hers and Rheya's dresses were made by the brides mom (I believe). The center pieces were very elegant and the cake was beautiful. Darius and Rheya were quite excited, and Hannah enjoyed being there with both of them. Elayna was unable to make it since she had a 104.4 fever, otherwise the picture in the upper left would be perfect with the phrase in the background.

Volleyball BBQ

2011-05-22T22:07:00.000-06:00

So, our end of the year BBQ was fun. Our season was rough, but none-the-less fun. All the girls advanced their skills and mastered the "push-up". As you can see from the photos, they had nothing but respect for Ed. It's a good thing he is just a big kid!

T-Ball Lessons

2011-04-30T14:16:00.000-06:00

Today was Hannah's first T-ball practice! We were a little nervous since she didn't even know what baseball was. In any case, we took her out and practiced throwing and catching. She started to figure out her throw and had a couple of nice ones. She was unable to make any catches (unassisted), but did manage to ground many balls! She didn't like the ball to pass her, so she was diving all over to get it. She swung quite nicely, she still wants to hit it from three inches away, but by the end of practice, she was taking a full swing. Since it was their first practice, they made sure all the kids made it on base, and ran all four bases. She did seemingly well compared to the others. Her skills were right with the bulk of the pack. Maybe this will be something she will eventually love. We are just trying all the options now with the hopes of finding a sport she can continue with. Can't wait for the first game!

Ed's Birthday

2011-04-30T13:59:00.000-06:00

Thought this was too cute to not post! Ed turned 31 the other day. We attempted to make a 3 and a 1 out of the candles, but it wasn't pulled off very well. The one turned out ok, but the 3 looked like a bunch of candles thrown inthe same spot of the cake! Oh well. Happy birthday ED!!!

Easter Dinner

2011-04-25T13:03:00.000-06:00

Easter dinner was at Amy and Ryan's house. It was a delicious ham, potato salad, green salad, rolls, fruit, cake and ice cream. (I really need to start taking pictures of our meals!) Afterwards, while dad took grandma back to the nursing home, we walked to the park. It was such a gorgeous day. Mom and I handled the kids on the toys while Amy, Ryan, and Ed broke Hannah's new soccor ball in. It was quite entertaining at times since it has been many years since we have kicked a soccor ball. While waiting for her turn to kick, Amy kept Holly and Maggie entertained with their ball. Holly has about fifteen pounds to lose to be at "ideal" weight...whatever that means! Maggie on the other hand seems to be in pretty decent shape and was running circles around Holly. Hopefully the weather will continue to get better so we can have more and more park ventures. After everything we did throughout the day, the kids crashed as soon as we got home. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Easter

2011-04-25T10:39:00.000-06:00

Easter was a very peaceful day. We started out seeing what the Easter Bunny brought the girls. Hannah was so excited to receive Tangled. She has been asking for it for a month. I kept telling her to put it on the Easter Bunny list. Elayna also got a movie. Of course, it was Dora Egg Hunt. After checking out what the Easter Bunny brought, we put on the Easter dresses and were off to church. Afterwards, we went to "big" grandma's house for breakfast and to get another Easter basket. Here he brought them books, sunglasses and sandals. Finally, we stopped by "little" grandma's house where the Easter bunny brought them more books and sidewalk chalk.

Coloring Eggs

2011-04-25T09:21:00.000-06:00

After the Easter Egg hunt, we came back home and dyed Easter Eggs. We had thirty eggs to color. They did fairly well for the first twenty four, but became bored with it and wanted to go outside.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T08:59:00.000-06:00

Saturday we went on an Easter Egg hunt at the church. There were about 40 kids in all. The area they used was the size of a baseball field. About a third of it was coned off so the kids three and under could be successful and not overrun by the big kids. The eggs in that area were sitting on top of the grass and very obvious to find. There were only 4 kids under 3, so Elayna was very successful...that is until the first egg broke open. Once she saw that there was candy inside, she was DONE! She has a huge sweet tooth. Hannah had the other two-thirds of the field to scavange. When they shouted "GO" all the kids ran in the same direction. Ed yelled at Hannah to run a different way and she did. She had her basket half-filled before anyone saw what she was doing. She also found a very coveted "golden" egg. Besides looking quite shiny, it had no more value than the other eggs. Still all the other kids were talking about it and Hannah felt like she found a huge treasure.

Elayna Turns 2!

2011-04-18T16:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my baby turned 2! Oh where does the time go? As is fitting, we had Dora everything...cake, outfit, gifts, sheet set, wrapping paper. I had a little too much Dora by the end of it. For a combo birthday gift, my parents pitched in for a trampoline inclosure! Ed is already trying to teach Hannah that it is a wrestling cage! HA! Oh well, I feel a little safer now than I did. Also, Elayna received a Dora house, Dora Castle, Dora Mermaid, Boots stuffed animal, clothes, and a couple of miscelaneous other gifts. Hannah was only a little jealous. Lastly, we took the crib bars off of her crib and turned it into a toddler bed (wipe a tear). It is official...Elayna is no longer a baby! :(

New Pet

2011-04-18T16:22:00.000-06:00

In 2000, we just moved into our first apartment. In the giant mail bin was a package for Ed. It was a MGD box wrapped in duct tape. When he opened it up, there was a big plastic owl inside. From then on, almost yearly we received an owl in the mail. For Christmas's and birthday's Ed would get owls from my father. Soon, all other friends and family jumped on the band wagon seeing who could get him the most unique owls. I remember one that was picked up at a garage sale for 25 cents. When he unwrapped it, it had the price tag still attached (on purpose) and dust on its eyes! Hilarious. Although he won't admit it, I think Ed has developed a love for owls as well. I guess one would after 11 years of owl gifting. In any case, Ed came running in the house the other day wanting us to look at something. We gathered the chidren up and looked up in our pine tree. Wouldn't you know it, there was an owl living there. Under the tree were tons of pellets full of bones and fur...kind of neat actually. I guess we finally received the real thing!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2011-03-19T22:50:00.000-06:00

Today mom turned 51! Although I am not sure Elayna completely comprehends what a birthday is, Hannah was VERY excited to celebrate! Grandma decided she wanted an all chocolate cake. Hannah read the baking instructions to me and then we mixed it for the required amount of time...low speed for 30 seconds and medium high for 2 minutes. I used the opportunity to work some more counting with Hannah. Once we got to 30 with me counting odds and her the evens, we switched it tomedium high and counted to 120 in the same manner. Although I think it was actually more like a minute and five minutes, it was a teachable moment. As the cake was baking, both girls took a well needed nap. When they woke up, we frosted the cake and wrote happy birthday gma in green frosting. (Harder than it looks, actually, it doesn't even look that good.) We had baked chicken, mashed potatos and gravy, sauteed mushrooms, and fresh green beans with garlic for dinner (all pre mom's request), then we had Hannah's fabulous cake! Once grandma blew out the candles, I let both girls lick the frosting off the bottom, of course, Elayna forgot what lick meant and decided to take a huge chunk out of the bottom! She promptly spit it out! Funny moment! It was a great birthday, the only thing missing was Amy and Ryan! :(

Day at the Park

2011-03-19T22:24:00.000-06:00

Last week, we went to the park with the girls. The sun was very deceiving! It looked like it should be warm, but it was not...such is Idaho I guess! None-the-less, the girls enjoyed a day outside. Elayna loves sliding and Hannah is working on keeping a swing moving by herself. Once Elayna's nose started to turn pink, I took her to the car so Ed and Hannah could play tag for a little while. Hannah is getting quicker and stronger. Can't wait for the weather to warm up completely. I hate this in-between stuff. In the winter we can sled and ski, in the summer we can swim, ride bikes, and go to the park, but during the spring when it is all melty, the girls and I get a little stir crazy!

Final Days Skiing

2011-03-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

This was our second to last day skiing for the season. Hannah is skiing like a pro! Last week Ryan, Ed, Hannah, and I went up for a half day. It was seemingly beautiful, but terribly cold. Wind chill put it at about -2*F. We took her down every hill that Kelly's had to offer and she handled better than most. In fact uncle Ryan and dad fell more than Hannah did. Today, however, she took a spill, as I watched my daughter fall like a rag doll, roll approximately three times with skis flying in all directions, I realized that noone is invincible, especially Hannah. It took several minutes for her to gather her senses and realize that she was OK. We put her skis on, but she was hesitant for the rest of the day. Finally by the end she was getting her confidence back. I tried to tell her that people fall all the time on the ski hill and you need to get back up and keep on skiing. This was her first major fall...I remember mine. My confidence was shattered! The fact that she skiied the rest of the day through...I am so proud of her!

Blast Off!

2011-02-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Well, Elayna is growing like a weed. She is now at the point where she has become more independent while playing. Of course we sat within 3 feet of her the whole time, but we let herself attempt crawling out of a ball pit in which she was so rapidly sinking! Her vocabulary is growing daily. She is starting to use her manners appropriately (please and thank you). Now if only we could teach her to say "excuse me" instead of "uh-oh"!

Hannah is now more active than ever. I was lucky enough to catch her in a couple pictures, but for the most part was a small blur on the camera. Besides non-stop running, she continues in gymnastics twice a week and has become a pro at skiing. Yesterday we took her down every run at Kelly Canyon and she did it without hesitation! I am so proud of both girls!

Last Day of Ski Lessons

2011-01-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Sunday was Hannah's last day of ski lessons. Her teacher was amazing. She was going down intermediate runs without hesitation. She was even attempting small jumps...although when she actually "got air" on one of them, I think she freaked herself out. Never-the-less, she still kept attempting the jump. She is quite the pro now and graduated with flying colors! I highly recommend her ski instructor, very patient, yet manages to get great results out of the kids. All five of them were racing down the mountain. The run that you see in the middle left took them just about 2 minutes from top to bottom...not bad for four year olds!

Grandma's House

2011-01-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls playing at grandma and grr's house. Most are of Elayna since Hannah was with us skiing. While we were out freezing on the slopes, Elayna was playing with stickers and hiding in the laundry. She is growing way too fast!

Like a Pro

2011-01-09T21:50:00.003-07:00

Here she is taking turns like a pro. By the end of the day she was going down the beginning slopes, not the bunny hill!!!

First Day Skiing

2011-01-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

So, for Christmas, Hannah got a nice pair of skis, boots, coat, snowpants, helmet, goggles, gloves, hat, long johns, and wool socks. She wasn't quite sure what it was all for, but today she found out the hard way. We enrolled her in ski lessons at Kelly's Canyon and she did FABULOUSLY. The started out on the bunny hill from 10-12. Then, they get a 1 hour lunch break to warm up. If the class is doing well, they take them on the ski lift. Each child is to ride with a parent, so Ed and I became helpers for the class. There were two teachers and four kids; very desirable class sizes. She had a decent first run down the mountain, but after a semi-decent fall, she became hesitant. The second run down the hill was SLOW GOING. She convinced herself she couldn't do it and it took the teacher almost thirty minutes to get her moving. She slowly made it down the hill, but up again we went. This time she rode up with daddy and she came off the lift with a little more confidence. She was a little slower than the rest of her class, but she made it down with minimal falls and NO help. Once at the bottom, she begged to go again even though class was over. The teacher told us we could take her up and we did. She came down like a pro. This was all after one day of lessons. She has three more weeks and she will be outskiing me! Once back to the car, she was starving and exhausted. She had a lite snack and fell asleep. She did a great job! VERY PROUD OF HER!!!!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning was anything but boring. In fact...it was controlled chaos, sometimes without the control. In the end the girls were incredibly excited, happy, and eventually worn out! Both received everything they wanted...and more! Thanks to all the friends and family for everything you do for us. Our girls are definately spoiled. :)

Christmas Eve

2011-01-09T20:43:00.001-07:00

Well, it is about time that I update the blog. Ed always sends out a Christmas letter stating that I update occasionally, and for some reason, this time of year is sporadic at best. I do hate to prove him right. In any case, here is our Christmas Eve outfits. Hannah was very proud of her hair and she looked very beautiful. She certainly is growing up fast. Elayna LOVED wearing a big girl dress and enjoyed her dress shoes just as much.

Santa Letter

2010-12-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

So, Hannah wrote her first Santa letter this year. In the past years, I would write the letter and she would try to copy the letters. This year I helped spell the words and sho wrote it herself. She wanted to make sure that she told Santa about her Rupunzel Barbie. At the end she wanted to make sure Santa knew what Elayna wanted since she can't write yet. How very cute is that!

A couple of days later, I told Hannah to keep a look out for anything that might resemble Santa's mailbox. I drove up and down the street three times before she saw the 20ft tall Santa. Once she did, her eyes lit up and yelled "I see it!" Walking up to it you could see the sparkle in her eye. I haven't seen a smile that big in a quite a while! Love it!!!

Shoveling with Daddy

2010-12-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday we had some weird snow. It dropped a couple of inches of powdery snow and then crusted over to create a hard shell. Hannah was very intrigued with it. She asked if she could help daddy shovel. It was tough, but she helped with the entire driveway. She did a great job. When she was finished, she was wet and cold. We came in for a little hot chocolate and watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Amazing how something so trivial as shoveling snow could make her so happy.

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we spent the day baking all types of goodies. Elayna wanted to be quite involved, but that meant eating and trying absolutely everything. To keep her occupied I sat her down with a spoonful of frosting...ironically this kept her busy for close to an hour! Hannah on the other hand is starting to understand the concept of measuring and actually is very patient and precise.

One of our baking highlights was sugar cookies. It was the first time that Elayna actually was able to make a few cookies; eventhough her patience runs out quite quickly, as does her attention span. It has developed into a father/daughter type tradition.

By the end of the day we had been baking for over seven hours. We were all tired and the girls went straight to bed. All-in-all it was a great day.

Scooting Chairs

2010-12-13T19:57:00.002-07:00

So a couple of days ago Hannah and Elayna grabbed their stools and decided to drag race in the kitchen. I knew that it was probably scratching the floor, but the way they were giggling made both Ed and I chuckle. I grabbed the camera and was able to catch a little of it. This went on for close to ten minutes before they started to tire out. Amazing how cute the two are.

Tree Decorating

2010-12-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

We decided that we would put the Christmas Tree up this Thanksgiving break. Normally December is chaotic, so it was either put the tree up in November, or a couple days before Christmas. The only problem with putting a tree up that early is that there isn't many options out there. We finally were able to find a few trees at Home Depot. Hannah was VERY excited to pick a tree. When we got home, we started the task of decorating. As is tradition, Ed and Hannah put all the ornaments on the tree while I take pictures and help keep the baby busy. This year, she wanted to be a part of the tree decorating. She ran ornaments from me to Ed. She even tried to put a couple on herself. I don't think she understood that you actually have to hook the ornament to a branch. Each time she would set it on the tree, it would promptly fall off. She would reply...UH OH! Quite cute. When it was all finished, Hannah asked if she could put the angel up again. She enjoys putting the last thing on the tree.

OH, Holly was actually quite klingy during the whole process. She would almost climb completely into our laps everytime we would sit down, hence, the big head picture!

Matching PJ's

2010-12-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

So, we were walking through Costco when Hannah spotted some pajama's for Elayna that matched a pair she already had. When I claimed that Elayna doesn't need ANYTHING let alone clothes (she has inherited so much from when Hannah was little) Hannah's lip stuck out, her eyes got really big and she started to cry. "I just want her to have jama's like mine." How could I say no at that point. Looking at the smiles on both their faces, it was definately worth the $8. PRICELESS!!!!

SNOW!

2010-11-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, they said the snow would come and they weren't lying. Went into work for 45 minutes and decided that it wasn't worth it. I grabbed Elayna from day care and came home. As I shoveled a grass path for my mailman, Elayna tromped around in the snow. She did okay until she saw that it wouldn't come off her shoes... After the drama, I took her inside and gave her a nice warm glass of strawberry milk. Hopefully it will let up enough that we can go build a snowman!

Glasgow 2010

2010-11-21T23:14:00.000-07:00

Well it took a while, but here it is. Ryan, Ed, dad, and I went on our annual hunting trip to Glasgow. It took a couple of days to get up there, but once there the fun began! Ed and I took the high blind watching out both sides of a hay stack for several hours when out walked a nice 5x5. Ed took a shot and the buck fell. Ryan also took a shot at one later that same evening, but it proved to be too far away and lived to see another day! Dad shot his buck the next evening. He and Ed were waiting in a ditch when all of a sudden several does and a couple bucks came out of nowhere and started jumping the ditch they were in. He looked around and a nice 5x5 was approaching. He took a shot and the deer fell. The next morning, I spotted the freakishly big 4x4. I scoped him and as I was about to take a shot, he walked behind a tree and disappeared! I had an angle on all directions of the tree, so unless he was walking away directly behind the tree, I knew he was still there. I finally spotted his antler, he had bedded down behind the tree. I attempted to move to a position where I could get a body shot and he bolted upright and ran away. In the mean time, I found Ryan and the two of us split and chased the deer through the trees. As I was glassing a nice 3x3 buck, I heard movement off to my right and saw 50+ deer running around the trees. I saw my freakish 4x4 and took aim...but he didn't stop running and soon disappeared into the forest. I looked at the remaining deer and spotted another large 4x4 and wasted no time in aiming. I took one shot and he disappeared. Knowing I hit him, I sat there as buck after buck jumped into the forest. Ryan eventually caught up to me and to his luck there was another 4x4 still in the field. He took aim, but the deer never stopped moving and eventually got away. As we walked up to where we thought I shot mine, we saw that it had run 20yds or so and fell over. We called out to our driver to come pick us up and all of a sudden Ryan's 4x4 came running back at us at full force. Ryan ran for the nearest ditch in hopes to cut it off. When he got there he ducked down and started pulling out his rifle. The buck did not see him and almost sat on op of him...needless to say, Ryan also got his 4x4! This was his first big game kill! All-in-all it was a great trip, lots of hunting, laughs and stories to tell. Some are shared for all to hear, but others follow the golden rule "what happens at hunting camp, stays at hunting camp!" :) Here's to next year!

Trunk or Treat

2010-10-29T22:41:00.000-06:00

As is tradition, the Jolly family went to the school carnival as themed characters. The past two years we told Hannah what would be a cute costume, leaning her towards the direction we wanted her to go. This year however, she was adamant that she was going to be a princess! Ed and I didn't know what to be to compliment a princess outfit. Two years ago we were Scooby and the gang, last year we were all football players and Elayna was the ball. So, finally it hit us! This year we were characters from Super Mario! The hardest part was getting a costume for Elayna. Turning her into Toadette was much harder than it looked. In the end, she was very cute! Mom made Hannah's princess dress. We tried to make Hannah look as close to Princess Peach as possible. She was very happy with the way it turned out (eventhough she still claims she is Sleeping Beauty).
Once the actual trunk or treat started, Hannah and Lilly (the cat) held hands the entire time! It was so adorable. Hannah walked her through the line to each car helping her pick candy out. By the time we made it through the line Elayna was almost asleep. My kids go to bed at 7 and two nights in a row it has been pushing 8. It is amazing how they both turn into pumkins after 7! Here's to another year!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-28T21:54:00.000-06:00

Tonight was Elayna's first night carving pumpkins. The veteran Hannah kept giving her positive feedback, and how to's! It was very cute and fun! When Hannah first carved pumpkins, she was hesitant to reach into the pumpkin guts, and didn't really enjoy touching them. However, she eventually did and actually started tasting the pumpkin. Elayna on the other hand wasn't just hesitant, she flat out refused to put her hand in the pumpkin. As we tried to reach her hand in it, she almost started screaming. She did eventually touch ONE seed and the lid. She was more content to lie under the table and play with the pumpkin sticker rather than anything that was ooey and gooey! Once finished, we sat the girls in the living room and took many pictures! They were loving the photo shoot. However, all good things must come to an end and at an hour past bedtime, we took the pumpkins and put them on the table. Hannah, understood and started getting ready for bed, but Elayna was enjoying the CLEAN pumpkin way too much. She threw a tantrum and screamed and yelled for the pumpkin! Of course, I thought it was cute and took a picture of it. With little effort we were able to calm her down and both kids crashed in less than 15 minutes. All-in-all it was a great night. Can't wait to show everyone our costumes tomorrow!!!

First Kill!

2010-09-25T22:42:00.000-06:00

Well, sadly I didn't get to go bird hunting this year. The season was only one week long. However, that didn't stop the boys from taking the day off and enjoying a much more successful day of male bonding. From what I understand, Ryan took the first bird down just after the got there. Not bad for his first kill! Later, dad was walking and a huge random rooster flew out almost over his head. This left Ed feeling a little jealous (although he will never admit it) and wanting his bird even more now than before. So, dad and Ed headed out on a huge trek through the sage brush to try and get Ed's bird. However, they had no luck. In the mean time, Ryan was sitting on the top of the ridge waiting for them to circle around. Again, from what I understand, Ed and dad made it to Ryan where they briefly talked and turned towards the truck. Apparently, not more than 20 feet from where Ryan had been the entire time, another sage hen flew up and Ed was able to take him down. A successful day for all...and Ryan became a huntersman!

Oh, the random picture is of two sage hens who apparently took off and ran into each other in the air!

Outdoor Girl

2010-09-19T21:15:00.000-06:00

Sadly, we didn't make it camping this summer, but we did have many day long excursions. Labor Day we took the girls to the childrens fishing pond near Shelley. Although the pond produced nothing but Chubs (Ed is a pro at catching those!!!) Hannah was proud to say she caught them. The rules of the pond state that the number of poles in the water cannot exceed the number of children present. She loved the fishing!

Yesterday, Ed, Ryan, dad, and Hannah went hunting for the opening day of Grouse Season. I was in Boise so I missed her first day hunting (wipe a tear). That's ok, without the mighty female hunter, they weren't that successful. We will have to post pictures of Hannah's first success later! It was none-the-less a great day for her. We started her right by setting the alarm for 4:45am and hitting the road at 5:15am. Duked out in her orange, she trudged behind dad slowly...but surely. After a long morning of hunting she came home to a two-and-a-half hour nap. I can't wait to take her out!

Queen for a Day

2010-09-19T20:23:00.000-06:00

So, last year dad purchased a package at Holy Rosary's annual wine auction. It was "Queen for a Day", which included a personal shopper at Macy's when the store wasn't even opened, facials with Clinique, Lancombe, or Este Lauder, hair styles at Austin Kade, and lunch at Johnny Carino's. We finally cashed in on the prize. Mom, Amy, Mandy and I spent the day living the life! After trying on more clothing than I could stand, I opened a Macy's card and made a "small" purchase (the package included a 15% discount!!!).The facials were subtle yet glamorous. The hairstyles were at Austin Kade, a beauty school. The ladies were extremely nice there and I truly enjoyed my curly style. As you can see, the middle left picture was our pre-makeover look and the top middle was the new us! We were able to flaunt our new style at Johnny Carino's and enjoyed a very delicious lunch. I had a great day with the ladies and I would LOVE to do it again!!!

Little E

2010-08-30T21:56:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have two children. This time of year is very busy for Hannah, but Little E is always there to lend a helping hand. Today she helped dad find his shoes, waited at the door and told stories with Hannah and above all, looked beautiful as ever waiting to leave. She is developing at a rapid rate. Although smaller than Hannah was, she is equivalently as smart. She is up to 20 understandable words and seems to be learning new ones regulary. Her newest word/s is Thank You. Although not enunciated perfectly, it is quite obvious she is attempting the phrase. I am very proud of her as well. We are very lucky parents to have such beautiful daughters.

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well, Hannah started her second year of school today. She is in Pre-Kindergarten. Last night we spent thirty minutes trying on all the uniforms she had outgrown. ARG! Luckily we have enough dresses and shorts to last through the school year, we just need to replace her brand new pants with a bigger size. Who knew she was going to jump two sizes in six months. We took her out to dinner at Cafe' Rio aka Rainbow Chairs. She loves it there. After trying to get anything out of her on the day, we put her to bed knowing she had spaghetti for lunch (mainly due to the newly stained uniform shirt) and that she had her picture taken. Otherwise, I can only guess what she did. My overly talkative four year old had very little to say...? I am proud of her.

Fishing at Roberts Gravel Pond

2010-08-30T21:11:00.000-06:00

A week ago we went to Roberts Gravel Pond. Ed has a new goal to catch every sport fish in the state of Idaho. When we arrived it started raining and blowing! Being the prepared mom, I had a sweatshirt for Hannah, but forgot one for me. Before we could get the lines in the water, there was a "hook tying meeting" for the boys. Luckily for Ed, he caught the Yellow Perch, might I say MASSIVE. Even Hannah was able to haul one of the beasts in. All-in-all it was a great day, cold, but none-the-less memorable.

BTW, we have caught many of the Idaho sport fish already, but Ed wants to start over with a picture proof to go along with the chart. This Massive Yellow Perch is a perfect way to start the pictoral representation!!!

Swimming Lessons

2010-08-30T20:42:00.000-06:00

Hannah finished her summer of swimming lessons. She moved up the ranks quickly. She started the summer unable to swim effectively to being able to swim halfway across the deep end. She also successfully jumped off the diving board, and swam to the edge without assistant. When I saw her approach the edge I was on edge. As she jumped off I felt my eyes water, I can't believe she is doing all this at 4.

Lagoon

2010-08-30T20:27:00.000-06:00

August 14 we took the girls to Lagoon for their first time. We spent most of the day swimming. However, we were able to take Hannah on some rides and she is FEARLESS!!! She would ride everything if we would let her!!! As the day wound down, we headed back to the hotel where I took Hannah swimming...she is swimming so well! After the weekend I realized how big my little girl is getting! Not to mention Elayna who rode her first solo ride...the carousel.

Reunion

2010-08-11T17:03:00.000-06:00

Well, Hannah and Darius were finally able to play again! It has been almost a year since the two of them played with each other. Hannah and Darius have been friends since they were 6 months old. Yesterday we invited them over for a pool party. This pool, quite amazing if you ask me, has two separate sections, a deep and shallow side as well as a slide in between. The rainbow on the top has a sprinkle that squirts everywhere when a hose is hooked up to it. Aunt Amy and Uncle Ryan gave it to the girls for their birthday's. There were very few incidents, Hannah only dunked Darius once! All three kids (Elayna thought it was too cold) were freezing at the end of three hours, so we brought them in and watched Aladdin, a nice rest time from a very exhausting day! We finished the day with chicken kabobs, rice and salad. By 7:00 my kids were turning into pumpkins. A nice warm bath and a drink of water and they crashed.

Learning To Ride

2010-08-11T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hannah was no stranger to bikes, she just hated them! Finally, two weeks ago we decided it was time to face our fears and learn to ride! Big grandma and Grr bought Hannah a new "big kids bike". Hannah was very excited...at first. She started out hesitant, but slowly started peddling. As you can see in many of the pictures, she didn't look at the road as much as she looked at her feet. This proved tragic when she started turning unexpectedly and over corrected landing in the middle of the street. Her knee was scraped up pretty bad and she refused to get back on. We managed to convince her to at least ride the bike back home, where she promptly parked it. The next day, Ed and I knew we had to get her back on it, or her fear would remain. We rode around to my in-laws house (approximately 8 houses away) and it took us almost 30 minutes. Never-the-less, we made it without any accidents. With a successful ride behind her, she was starting to enjoy being on her bike. She is getting faster and faster. She has had another crash, the handle bars came down on her chest leaving a bruise, but she picked herself back up and got back on without incident. She now understands that everyone falls once and a while, but we should keep trying and never give up. I am so proud of her!

Playing

2010-08-11T16:24:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Stevie and Lily's house for a BBQ. While there we were able to eat some fresh fruit and vegetables out of the garden, harass a couple of chickens, and play with their pet duck Lucy (who may actually be a Lou). The girls loved playing with Stevie and Lily and running around with all the animals! We finished the evening with a BBQ shrimp dinner...YUM!

Summer Fun

2010-08-11T10:23:00.003-06:00

Well, as many of you know, we took our longest road trip yet! Many called us crazy, but none-the-less, we made it with most of our sanity still in tact. The trip started in Idaho Falls on June 24 at 3 pm. We decided for the first leg of the trip we would drive through the night, hoping that the kids would sleep most of it. We made it into Nebraska, but at 3:00am we decided to pull off at a rest area for a couple hours of sleep. We probably could have gone on, but it seems the deer in Nebraska have a suicide wish! After almost hitting 3, one of which I am sure lost its tail, we decided it was time to stop until it was lighter. Shortly after 5, we started out again. We stopped for breakfast at a local restaurant and changed for the day. Once finished, we started on the road again. We made it to Evansville, IN at around 9:30pm (our first stop).

We had nothing special planned for Indiana. We just wanted to catch up with friends and relax. While there we ate at many good restaurants, played some poker with friends, watched the world cup, ran through a down pour, and melted in the humidity. As we were packing up to leave, I was saddened to realize that it may be a while before we return. Three days later we started leg two of the trip.

This one was much shorter. We left about noon on June 28, and pulled into Grovetown, GA at 10pm. It was a bittersweet arrival as I saw my nieces run down the stairs. Where did the past year go! They grew entirely too much and I missed it!!! Hannah, Adrea, and Abby went straight up and started playing as if they had never been apart. They were inseperable for the entire week! All three slept in the same room sharing beds back and forth! We kept busy the entire time. We went back to Atlanta and saw the Georgia Aquarium and ate at The Varsity. Shortly after, we headed toward the Atlantic coast. It would have been a crime to drive all that way and not see it. We went to Hilton Head, SC, where the ocean was very warm. After playing for several hours we drove further up the point and ate at The Salty Dog Restaurant (yum yum)! The end of the week was July 4. We danced around with sparklers and lit a few fireworks. The following day we started the third leg of the trip.

We left the Georgia close to 8:00am on July 5th and started for San Antonio, TX. As much as we wanted to get there, we didn't want to pull another all-nighter! We made it as far as the Louisiana/Texas border and stopped for the night. With a leisurely start the following morning, we arrived in Converse, Tx around 2:00pm. With the sweltering heat...we promptly set up the kids pool and all jumped in. (You can see Ed sitting in it on a previous post.) The four days we spent in San Antonio were very relaxing. Everything we did revolved around the kids' naps and were activities that would keep them occupied. A couple of attractions we stopped at were the San Antonio River Walk and, of course, The Alamo. We ate at two fabulous restaurants, The Rainforest Cafe and The Salt Lick, I highly recommend both! As the week ended, we were saddened that we had to leave. July 10, we started for home!

Again, we didn't want to pull another all-nighter, and being in the car was started to wear on us, we made it as far as the New Mexico/Colorado border. We tried to push through as quickly as possible, but we did make a couple of unscheduled stops. We made sure to buy a shot glass from Roswell, NM, (now we can say we've been there) and one from the Four Corners. I was disappointed at the Four Corners. It was under construction and the closest we could get was 25 ft away. The whole thing was blocked off! We never did stand in four states at once. Oh well, maybe on the next cross-country trip...YEAH RIGHT!

Finally, 19 states and 2.5 weeks later, we were back home. It was close to 8:00pm on July 11. The girls were exhausted and Ed and I were worn out! We needed one more day to chill, but that wasn't meant to be. 8:00 the next morning we were back at work.

All-in-all it was a great trip. We saw many old friends and family and lots of new sites. Here are a handful of pics that were never posted previously. For the specifics of the trip check out my earlier posts.

Idaho Falls Air Show

2010-07-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

Today we went to the air show. Both set of parents, Amy, Ryan, Mandy, Lilly, and Stevie all went. It was awesome and the kids seemed to enjoy it, all things considered. It was VERY VERY HOT, we kept dousing the girls with sunscreen and both left with minimal burning, thank goodness! Hannah kept busy walking between all of us and watching the planes. Elayna was content to sit in her stroller and snack. By the end of the show, I was figuring out the timing on my camera and was actually able to catch many decent pictures. Keep in mind, I have a small Canon Powershot, nothing fancy, but it seems to work just fine! By the end of the show, we were all ready to leave. 5 hours in the heat is enough for anyone, especially young children. The walk back was quick, it is nice living only a couple of blocks from the runway. All-in-all it was a good day.

The Alamo

2010-07-09T09:37:00.000-06:00

After the Children's Museum, we went to The Alamo. It was interesting to see. We were able to get a few photos from the outside, but no photos were allowed on the inside. When you enter the Alamo, you have to put away cell phones, cameras, no food or drinks, and all hats MUST be removed upon entering. We weren't sure how strict on the rules they would be, but we saw one of the ushers make a man remove his hat. Rules are rules! All kids did well, but by the end, they were ready to take a nap. It was a long day, but well worth it. Ed grabbed a shot glass and I was able to find a cool little Christmas ornament. One more day of vacation then we make the 24 hour trip back! *sigh*

Children's Museum

2010-07-09T09:09:00.000-06:00

After eating at the Rainforest Cafe, we took the kids to the Children's Museum. It was a very unique place, like no other I have been to. There was a small toddler room where Nara and Elayna could play safely. Sadly, you had to be three or less to go in the room. Hannah was sad, but loved the opportunity to see many of the other things the museum had to offer. She and Ed pushed their faces into a body sized pin art. It was quite cute when their faces came through! After an hour and a half, the little ones were getting quite tired and we heading to our next stop...The Alamo!

Rainforest Cafe

2010-07-09T07:48:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we went to the San Antonio River Walk. While strolling in the rain, we stopped for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe...how fitting. When you walk inside, it was immediately made to look like a rainforest. Animals were hanging all around, moving and making sounds. There were waterfalls and fish tanks as well. The food was delicious.

Painting

2010-07-09T07:33:00.000-06:00

Well, yesterday Joy thought it would be good to let the kids paint. I definately DO NOT have the patience to manage something like that!!! It was a disasterous mess...however, all three LOVED it!!! Hannah enjoyed running her fingers through the goo. Elayna was hesitant at first, but eventually jumped right in. Nara was a pro and went to work immediately. In the end we had a greenish-blueish-redish-orange table, not to mention the children, and three happy little ones. Good idea! Glad I thought of it! :)

The Salt Lick

2010-07-07T19:41:00.000-06:00

Once again, our dining experience was determined by a Man vs. Food episode. Ed watched the Austin episode which included a place called The Salt Lick. We ate at two other Man vs. Food recommendations in Pittsburg, one was good, the other was not so much. However, Mike and Joy both claimed that this place was good. When we finally arrived in the middle of NOWHERE, the place was pretty busy. Every table was a picnic bench style. Right inside the door was a big grill with mountains of meat...a true carnivores delight! Elayna did well eating the baked beans and ribs. Hannah enjoyed the ribs, brisket, and of course bread. Mike, Ed, and I all got the Family Style platter...aka...all-you-can-eat meat platter. Both girls could eat off of ours rather inexpensively. Nara wasn't very happy this lunch outing. Joy jokes that it is because we were eating all that meat!!! :) We think that she is cutting her first molar and having a difficult time with it. All-in-all it was a great lunch experience. Tomorrow, off to another great lunch outing.

Fun in the Sun

2010-07-06T23:29:00.000-06:00

Well we arrived in Texas at 2. HOT AS HECK! So, we decided to play in the little pool. Hannah was so happy to finally get into a pool that she was jumping and splashing everywhere. Elayna is used to a rambunctious sister, but Nara had a little trouble adjusting to the constant splashing! Especially when Ed whipped out the HOSE!!! Yes, he started it. By the end, Ed, Joy, and myself were completely drenched in our clothes. Nara, adjusted well to the noise, hussle, and bussle. Elayna, put up with splashing in the face, hose attacks, and getting wiped out by Hannah more than once. Hannah was in heaven. She was so content to play in the water that she almost seems oblivious to the house getting shot at the back of her head! When we left Idaho, it was still in the upper sixties. She hadn't had the opportunity to swim in the backyard yet. We have a semi-busy week planned. Keep watching for updates! Oh, you may notice the minor road rash on Elayna's forehead. Yes, she lost a battle with the sloped concrete driveway. She scuffed both her knees, and her forehead clear down to her nose. She cried for about 30 seconds then was fine. What a big girl!

A few more states!

2010-07-06T22:59:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it to the last stop on our two week vacation! Here are a couple more states we went through. We started at South Carolina the day before we headed to Texas. While driving, we stopped at the Stennis Space Center on the Louisiana/Mississippi border, but it was closed for tours at that point. We still took a couple of pictures and read one sign before it started to down pour on us!!! The streaks across the Nasa sign are rain drops! We finally made it into Texas early this morning and stopped to take a picture of the star and flags. Hannah was awe struck when she saw the size of the star. We will be here for four days! Here's to another great week.

Fireworks

2010-07-06T22:44:00.000-06:00

Well, it was finally dark enough to light a couple of fireworks. All four girls barely made it. Elayna was especially tired. We had a nice small collection of fireworks; enough to keep the girls' attention. We had a couple of confetti poppers, I was actually able to catch Abby's going off!!! Dave, however, couldn't get his gun to shoot. All the girls enjoyed the sparklers. They wanted more and more of them.

Fourth of July Beauties

2010-07-04T14:59:00.003-06:00

We had these outfits picked out about a month ago. Last year, we had to scrounge at the last minute. This year, we prepared ourselves early!!! Beautiful ladies.

Here are the girls' Fourth of July outfits. All four of them are gorgeous! We are getting closer to having everyone smile in the same photo!!! Sooner or later it will happen!

Butterfly Beauties

2010-07-04T14:28:00.000-06:00

Again, to bide our time while waiting to eat, we found a small area that had face painting by donations. All three girls wanted a butterfly. I was thinking that the butterfly would be put on a cheek, but it was literally FACE painting, covering the entire face. All three turned out adorable. They were all extremely proud to walk around with their butterfly!

Abbitude!

2010-07-04T14:18:00.000-06:00

After we left the beach, we drove a little further into Hilton Head to eat at The Salty Dog. When we arrived, the wait was around an hour. This pier was dedicated to the story of Jake "The Salty Dog". So, while everyone was off checking out gift shops and looking around the pier, Abby and I stayed to feed Elayna goldfish. I took advantage of the moment and captured some great poses of her. As I was taking the pictures, I was wiping a tear, realizing how quickly my little neice is growing up!

Atlantic Ocean!

2010-07-04T14:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we went to Hilton Head, SC. It was a beautiful day. The light breeze was around 20 mph (not really a breeze), but it was so warm that it was welcoming. The water was warmer than almost every hotel pool I have been in. It took us three hours to arrive at Hilton Head, but it took almost an hour longer to find a parking spot. Good idea to go on a Saturday during the Fourth of July weekend! We found a nice spot and played in the ocean for three hours. Elayna went in on occasion, but after getting wiped out by a wave once or twice, she was content to play with the sand...that is, after we convinced her she shouldn't eat it! Hannah, Abby, and Adrea all took to the ocean like fish. They almost never left the water. Dale, Ed, and Dave herded the girls, while SiRan watched Elayna. Melissa and I took advantage of the day and relaxed as needed; going in and out of the ocean as desired and lounging on the sand at other times. Sadly, we had to leave. We put the girls in the car, where Hannah and Elayna promptly fell asleep. They just aren't used to the constant hussle of vacation life!

Ed Got Iced!!!

2010-07-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

So, we saw an episode of Tosh.O where a man was getting iced. Apparently, if someone can get a Smirnoff into your hands without you knowing about it, you were just "ICED" and have to get on one knee and chug it! Well, Dave, thinking this was a good idea to try on Ed, actually succeeded!!! Luckily for Ed, we had just bought some delicious GRAPE Smirnoff. Watch out world, Ed is ready to pay someone back (that is, for those men who aren't a fan of Smirnoff)!

Good Nap

2010-07-04T13:20:00.000-06:00

We have been playing so hard this week that the girls all seem to be exhausted. Elayna went down for a nap the other day and when she woke up, you could see her hands imprinted on her face. She slept so hard that you can actually see her fingernail! Funny funny.

Georgia Aquarium

2010-07-01T08:45:00.002-06:00

Tuesday, we went to Atlanta to pick up Dale and SiRan. While there, we took advantage of some of the sites. We started at The Varsity, a famous hot dog place. The dogs were delicious! Amongst the ten of us, there were NO leftovers!!!! The next morning we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. Here are some pictures that turned out nicely. We weren't allowed to use a flash, so many of them were blury, but many more yet turned out. The whale shark (bottom right hand corner) was pushing 30 feet long!!!! When it swam by, Hannah's jaw dropped, priceless. We had been to aquariums where you could touch the rays, but this aquarium, the rays actually wanted to be touched. They swam to the top of the water so you could pet the top of their heads. When one came out and touched Hannah she jumped back. It startled her. I guess she wasn't expecting it to be so slimy. There were also sharks swimming around the tank. Every time one would swim past, she would pull her hand out. She wanted nothing to do with touching a shark. Especially after seeing the one in the upper left hand corner from underneath it. By the time we went through the entire aquarium (four hours) Hannah was once again exhausted. Elayna slept through the beginning of the tour, and Hannah slept at the end. Both girls are having a hard time adjusting to the time change. Also, when Abby, Adrea, and Hannah get together, sleep is a thing of the past. Giggling, wrestling, playing, and joking, sleep is NOT an option! Today, we are spending the day relaxing and catching up. Tomorrow, off to the beach! South Carolina, here we come!!!

Indiana

2010-07-01T08:10:00.002-06:00

Well, Indiana didn't disappoint. We stayed with our friend Dave. He lives across the street from a little park. We thought Hannah would LOVE that. I took her outside for a grand total of 30 minutes before the humidity hit her hard! She was doing everything she could to hide from the sweltering heat. The actual temperature fluctuated around 90 degrees. The humidity made it unbaearable for her. The next morning, we ate breakfast with one of Ed's coworkers and his little girl. We decided to take the fun inside and play at the mall at their little play area. It was much cooler and more desirable! It was donated by Deaconess Hospital (where Hannah was born!) so all the toys were medically related. I put Elayna in the ambulance and she stayed on that for twenty minutes! I tried to find Hannah and she was hiding in the wheel of the abulance. When I asked her what she was doing, her response was priceless! "I am hiding in my oil spill!" How did she know about the oil spill? Crazy. After running around for an hour and a half or more, they were all exhausted!!! Elayna fell asleep in the parking lot, and Hannah fell asleep just as we left the parking lot. Both girls slept for more than THREE hours!

That evening Bill was able to put together a poker game. It was there that we met up with the most friends. With eight other players, besides Ed and myself, we focused less on the game and more on catching up. After six hours of playing (three games later) we finally left. Sadly, we said goodbye to all our friends. Hopefully we will make it back there someday.

There is always room available in Idaho for a visit out west!

We Made It!!!!

2010-07-01T07:15:00.002-06:00

We started Thursday afternoon at 3pm mountain time and made it to our first destination, Evansville, Indiana at 10pm central time. Not bad considering we had Hannah and Elayna with us. It only took us 30 hours, six more than the estimated map quest time. We were planning on driving straight through, but once 4 deer and an owl all tried to commit suicide, we decided it was time to pull off. One deer was so close we had to hit the brakes pretty hard! Once in Indiana, we were able to catch up with several great friends. We were sorry we couldn't see everyone, but time limited us. As when I moved away, I had a difficult time leaving.

At about noon on Monday, we left for our second of three destinations...Grovetown, Georgia!!! We were able to make that trip in a little less than 9 hours. Elayna has adapted to long car rides and hardly complained. Hannah is a natural born traveler and was as good as gold! I now sit in Georgia awaiting the fabulous week with family! We just got back from Atlanta visiting the World's Largest Aquarium. Pictures to be posted soon.

ALIENS!!!!

2010-06-21T17:39:00.000-06:00

So, Aunt Amy and Uncle Ryan came back from New Mexico. As is tradition, they brought the girls back unique hats. Here they are posing as little aliens. It only took ten minutes to try and get a picture with both looking and smiling. This is the best I have! Cute cute!

Mink Creek

2010-06-21T14:57:00.000-06:00

For Father's Day, we decided to go hiking at Mink Creek in Pocatello. It was a very nice little hike. We only made it about 400 yards before SiRan found what she was looking for. It is some sort of edible plant that grows all over a hillside. Her and Dale pulled off and started picking. Ed, Hannah, Elayna, and I kept on walking. We wanted to make sure that Hannah was good and tired and had her exercise for the day. We definately succeeded. When we started back down the mountain, we stopped to help pick. Hannah was an expert, she could spot them a mile away. Even Elayna got into the picking mood. I think she was copying what we do. She picked up a nice chunck of dirt and immediately ate it! Oh well, what's a little dirt. When we finished, I decided to walk Elayna down without the backpack, in hopes to tire her out as well. She walked the entire 400 yards down the mountain, only stopping once to throw pine cones. I enjoyed the day. There is nothing like a little fresh air.

Swimming Lessons

2010-06-21T11:13:00.000-06:00

At the last minute, I decided to put Hannah and Elayna into swim lessons. I called and they were COMPLETELY out of available slots. Two days later, they called and had a slot available for Hannah, but still no slot for Elayna. On the day of the first lesson, I showed up with both Elayna's and my swimsuit in the hopes that some mom decided at the last minute to not take the mom and tot course. Luckily for me, that was exactly what happened!!!! Elayna was the youngest in the class, and her strides were minor compared to the others. We worked on putting her under water (without crying), and floating on her back. By the end, she was kicking, going under without much resistance, and floating on her back for 10 seconds without thrashing!!! She excelled at her front float and she loved to jump off the edge into my arms...weird! Although she made some major strides, we will be retaking the class next year. Elayna is a Shrimp for one more year.

Hannah was a completely different story. Although I couldn't watch too much, the teacher informed me she was way ahead of the class. She can swim forwards, and back stroke (both with the floatation device) as well as hold her breath for 5 seconds. She never complained and always did what she was told. She graduated from the Pike's class to Eel's. I am so proud of her! When we get back from Georgia, it is swimming without the floatation device...here goes nothing!

Fishing Day '10

2010-06-21T10:48:00.001-06:00

This was the second year we went to Fishing Day at Freeman Park. Last year, we started catching fish immediately. This year was a little slower. We met one of Hannah's good friends, Josue, there and the two were quite successful; each catching three by the end of the three hours. Ashley, Ed and dad managed the fishing with Josue and Hannah, mom managed Elayna, and I ran the camera. Elayna wasn't quite sure what to do, but was perfectly content picking things out of the grass and walking the trail. We were also able to catch up with the Andersons. They always treat Hannah like a princess making sure she feels on top of the world!

Circus

2010-06-21T10:25:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, my dad gave us tickets to the Jordan Brothers Circus in Blackfoot. Hannah was SO excited. When we got there, we saw that you could ride the elephant, or a pony. I was excited for Hannah to ride the elephant, but she only wanted to ride the pony. So, we negotiated both. I truly believe that the circus makes most of its money on riding the animals! While we were watching Hannah ride the pony, the ticket taker asked why I was watching with Elayna. So, I was able to throw her on a pony for a couple of laps around the ring. She giggled and smiled hugely. Although the circus started at 8 pm, an hour past bed time, the girls did quite well. When we finally left (at 10) the girls were exhausted! Not surprised that they fell asleep in the car. Can't wait until next year!!!

Blast Off!

2010-06-20T23:32:00.000-06:00

We finally took Elayna to Blast Off for the first time. It was hysterical watching her climb into the ball pit and get almost completely submerged! Hannah of course wasted no time in teaching her how to dive completely under. It was quite entertaining. BAZINGA!!!!!

Yellowstone 2010!

2010-06-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Today the girls and I drove to Yellowstone to meet up with Robin, Roger, and Regan from Indiana. When friends are in our backyard, we will make a little trip to say "HI". It didn't take long for my social butterfly to make "best friends" with Regan. At one point, Hannah was walking Regan on the leash I brought to keep Hannah near by...too cute. She also enjoyed being spoiled rotten. Everytime she even slightly complained about walking, she would get a luxurious shoulder ride. At the top of Dun Raven Pass (elev 8800+ ft) we stopped and played in the snow (which was still three feet deep!). I attempted to snap a quick pic of the girls near Mammoth Hot Springs, but the wind was blowing so hard that both had a hard time smiling...check out the bottom second from right hand corner picture. We finally finished the windy, rainy, cold, yet somehow still quite enjoyable day at the Upper/Lower Falls where we were finally able to snap a picture of the six of us with Lower Falls in the background. It was great seeing everyone...hopefully others will let us know when they are in our neck of the woods!!!

As is standard for Yellowstone, the buffalo were prevalent. We entered into the park and saw a bald eagle nest almost immediately. Too bad I couldn't get a decent picture. Then, as is always the case, the buffalo had us backed-up! All the buffalo shots are from a car. The bottom right hand picture had a buffalo closer than I wanted! I rolled my window up before he came around the mirror!!!! All the fields were scattered with baby calves. Amazing how red they look up against an adult. At Mammoth Hot Springs, two Blue Bird's kept flying right beside us. This is the paler of the two if you can believe it. As we headed away from Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw several small herd of elk. Both elk pictures are bulls ironically, again I took them from the car, so I didn't realize the small bull was actually a bull until I was making this collage!!! You can always tell when there is something worth looking at...the traffic will always be backed up for miles. When we approached a bend, shortly before the Petrified Tree, we saw something messing around in a tree. Wouldn't you know it... a BEAR!!! I was so excited to see one that I was too slow in taking a picture. Luckily for me, Roger was on the ball and captured him nicely. Finally, our last documented picture is of a ferocious chipmunk visiting all the tourists at Lower Falls. Cute.

I was worried how the girls would handle an entire day in the car, but they did fabulously, keeping each other company, giggling, tickling, and sharing toys the entire time. Hannah would sing and Elayna would join in (more like loud babbling, but it was cute anyway). We made it home at 9:00 and both girls CRASHED!!!! It was a very long, fun-filled day for them.

Wake-Up Call

2010-06-03T08:17:00.003-06:00

Well, Elayna has found the lid drawer. Yesterday she started playing a couple of lids like cymbals! As entertaining as it was, I wasn't able to get it on camera. This morning (at 7:00) she was more than happy to beat them loudly for me. Ed (getting 30 more minutes of sleep) was not very impressed. All I could do was laugh!

Hannah's Preschool Graduation

2010-06-02T15:16:00.000-06:00

Well, Hannah graduated from preschool (wipe a tear). As all mom's say, she is an amazing child! Highlights from this year were recognizing and writing all letters of the alphabet, counting to 39 consistantly, and writing her first, middle, and last name without help. She also has developed great manners, using please, thank you, your welcome, and most importantly, EXCUSE ME, when needed. I am a very pround momma...I know she will continue to impress me. CONGRATULATIONS HANNAH!!!

Pinata at Graduation

2010-06-02T14:51:00.002-06:00

Hannah's graduation class had two pinatas to destroy. This was the first pinata. Hannah hit and missed eventually taking down a piece of tissue paper. The next go round I gave her some secret coaching. I told her to go up there and Fred Flinstone the pinata. Wouldn't you know it, she clubbed that thing so hard she blew it off the string and broke it right open!!! Sadly, there were about eight kids who still hadn't had their second turn...I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!!!

Hannah Turns 4

2010-05-31T12:27:00.000-06:00

Oh how sad it is when your oldest has another birthday...Hannah is growing up way too fast!!!! This year was her first year to have a "birthday party" with kids from school. We decided to have it at a local park...CHAOS!!!! I guess that is good though. Hannah and her friends enjoyed playing at the "big" park. Her friends were very generous and bought her many new princess dolls for her doll house. In fitting with the theme, we ordered a princess cake. It was truly beautiful and all the little girls were in love with it!

The next day, we had a small "family" birthday. It was the grandparents, Aunt Amy and Uncle Ryan. She had two more cakes...one was Tiana. She felt soooo special. We took her to the "little" park by our house and her and Elayna played all over everything. Hannah is a GREAT big sister. She takes care of Elayna better than I could have hoped for!

Happy Birthday Pumpkin Pie!!!

Mother's Day Walk

2010-05-31T09:55:00.000-06:00

These pictures were taken on our Mother's Day walk around the river. We stopped at the memorial and let Elayna stretch. Hannah enjoyed looking at the artillary gun while Elayna just enjoyed getting out of her stroller. Oh, and of course, Holly absolutely loves walks, especially around the river.

Baby Geese

2010-05-31T09:41:00.000-06:00

For Mother's Day the girls and I decided to take a walk around the river. There were many new baby geese walking all over. I was able to get quite close to one...although momma goose soon eyed me and was quick on the chase. Thank goodness for a decent camera. I was able to snap some nice photos regardless of the "wild goose chase".