Suzi, Ryan, Lilly & Kate

Emma's first week and my birthday

2011-11-05T08:12:00.008-06:00

Just 3 days after being home from the hospital I was ready to get out of the house. I love Bay Beach Park which is a small amusement park in Green Bay. We packed the girls up and headed up there. It was so fun to still have my mom in town to help.

Alot of the rides are small and perfect for the girls. They only cast .25 so they can ride as many of them as they want.

Kate really wanted to ride on the ferris wheel. Ryan took her on it. Look close and you will see little Kate.

Grandma with the girls!

Here is proof that Emmalyn and I were there. I didn't really feel like having many pictures of me taken.

The next week my mom did all kind of fun things with Lilly and Kate. I hate messes so the girls loved being able to finger pant with grandma.

Grandma cookies are the best!

Ryan can do it all!

It was so nice that Emma was born in the summer time because the girls could play outside all day. This year they really loved riding their scooters.

My girls have been so lucky to have great friends while we are living here. They also loved to catch butterflies together.

Ryan put a "surprise" BBQ together for me for my birthday. Emma was only a week old here.

Friends

This is the cake the girls picked for me.

Ryan did a great job of putting everything together. My girl friends also helped him remember the little things like plates and forks. Thanks to everyone who brought a dish. It was a great birthday.

Sadly all good things come to an end. It was hard to say goodbye to my mom. I loved having here for nearly two weeks.

Sweet Emmalyn

2011-10-26T22:42:00.009-06:00

Well on August 2nd Ryan and I headed off to the hospital so I could give birth to my sweet baby Emmalyn McAffee. I was so blessed to have my mom in town to watch the girls for me. Here is my last pregnant shot with Emmalyn.

This was my third induction so I was hopeful that all would go smoothly. Everything went fine until my epidural did not completely work. I keep feeling really hard and mean contractions. All morning they kept adjusting things but not much helped. It took some of the edge off but I could not believe how tense I was and I just could not relax at all. They checked me at 11:50 am and I was only a dilated to a five. They adjusted stuff with my epidural again and I finally got more relief. At 12:15pm I really started to feel my body pushing the baby out. I called for the nurse and she checked me and I was crowning. They called my doctor and told me to try not to push and wait for the doctor. It is a mazing by the time you have your third baby your body can just take over. My body could not wait and my nurse Kara delivered Emmalyn at 12:44 pm Aug. 2 20111. She was just a peanut weighing 6 lb 9 oz and 18" long. We had not fully decided on her name before she was born. As soon as she was born the nurses were checking her over (I think they were being a little over concerned because my doctor was not there) and Ryan said yep she is an Emmalyn. He wanted to text and call everyone. I just wanted to hold and look at my baby before we settled on a name. I finally got to hold my little girl. She was wide awake and just stared at me. We had a moment and then I let Ryan tell the world of the birth of our little Emmalyn.

Emmalyn had little bruising because she was not in the birth canal very long. She was perfect in every way.

I love how excited Ryan gets for the birth of each of our babies. I also hate how skinny he always seems to get right before I give birth!

My mom was able to bring the girls to the hospital soon after Emma was born. They loved her the moment they met her!

Our first family shot.

Just the girls!

My mom! She is the best!

My nurse Kara checking Emmalyn out.

Some of my friends came to visit that night. From left to right: Becky Jackson, Rebecca Poulsen, Brittney Checketts, and Denise Christensen. I have been so lucky to have amazing friend while we are here in Wisconsin.

Emmalyn all dressed and ready to head home!

It was so hot here in August. We made it home safely and all is history now. Emma keeps growing and her sister are still as in love with her as they were the day they met her. I feel so extremely blessed to be the mother of three beautiful, creative, loving, strong and healthy baby girls!

Summer Catch Up

2011-10-26T21:21:00.007-06:00

Oh how I miss summer! I miss the warm weather, the playing outside all day and of course the pool! I have not blogged in awhile thanks to the birth of my third baby. I feel as though I am finally getting the swing of things and now I am playing catch up.

One of my favorite things about summer time is our BBQ. This was our Father's Day BBQ.

I am so lucky to have a great little family. Ryan is amazing with the girls and they love to do things with him. We found the time to do a little fishing this summer. The girls loved the fish and the worms!

I love the 4th of July!!!!

I love the weather, the parades and 4th of July outfits!

We were so lucky this past summer that Ryan's brother Richy his wife Marie and their amazing kids Linus and Wren came for a visit.

Our little town has the best parade!

More fishing. The kids had a double hook up with fish.

Richy and Linus!

I also love going to Bay Beach Park. They have tons of rides that are only .25 a ride. Because I was so pregnant this summer I did not get to enjoy any of them. Here they all are waiting to go down the giant slide on a potato sack.

At the end of July Ryan completed another triathlon. He was the fastest in the pool of his age group.

He lost some time during his transitions between advents.

He ended up taking 2nd in his age group. He is always #1 in my book!

One of the biggest parts of summer that I miss is our time at the pool. My girls are water babies for sure!!!

As much as I miss summer I do love the holiday season the is approaching quickly!

So proud!

2011-07-13T10:58:00.004-06:00

I am so proud of Ryan. He has worked so hard to train for the triathlons that he does. He often gets up every early in the morning to be able to fit his workouts in and not take time away from the family. This past June 18th he completed the Scheels High Cliff Triathlon. It consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 22 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. It was amazing to watch him accomplish it!

Here is Ryan getting everything set up in the transition area.

The proud and sleepy family waiting for daddy's race to start.

Ryan's number.

The swim.

Time for Ryan's favorite part the bike ride.

Each time Ryan would come into the transition area to switch to the next even the girl would chant "Go, daddy go!"

Off to run the 5k.

At the finish line!

Ryan's friend Nate Gabor also ran the race.

Ryan had another Tri coming up July 23. I can't wait to go cheer him on. I also can't wait until I can start running again.

Daddy Daughter

2011-07-13T06:52:00.002-06:00

My Lilly just loves hanging out with her Daddy. Back in June they went to a Daddy daughter dance together. Lilly was so excited to get to go on a special date with her daddy!

I love that Ryan takes time for the girls! I hear they danced and dance and had lots of yummy treats!

Lilly's Big Race

2011-06-21T06:27:00.006-06:00

On June 4 Lilly ran in her first race. It was the "Smart Run" which benefits the Cedarburg school system. Lilly was so excited for her race. She made sure Ryan did plenty of training with her the week before.

Lilly is the little kid in the middle. She was one of the smallest kids there.

And their off!

Each kid got a medal at the finish.

Lilly with her friends Kenzie and Madison.

Post run stretch. Lilly had a great time. I hope she grows up loving exercise!

Well look who is 2!

2011-06-20T07:30:00.006-06:00

That is right my baby is now 2! It is amazing how fast the years fly by. Kate was very lucky in that we celebrated her birthday 3 times this year.

When my parents visited in the beginning of May we had a small family party for her.

Every year the girls get a new birthday hat.

Kate was spoiled by both set of grandparents! Kate had such a bad ear infection at the time and was kind of grumpy. She was very happy though when she got to open presents.

On her actual birthday June 2 we celebrated all day long. She got candles in her breakfast. She loves candles!

That night we went to dinner. Kate loved the brownie they gave her for her birthday. It was hard to sneak a bite.

Our last celebration was the next day June 3. We had a big BBQ with some of our amazing friends here. Kate loves having friends over. In fact it is usually the first thing she asks for in the morning.

When picking out her birthday cake, Kate insisted on getting one with a baby carriage. She loves playing with her babies. She is going to be a great big sister!

Things I love about Kater:

She is very independent. Loves to be a big kid.

She is very loving. She loves to give hugs and cuddle. She often says "I love you 200!"

She is very expressive and talkative. I am amazed at her vocabulary.

Kate is still a great napper. She sleeps 2 plus hours at nap time.

Kate loves to play in the water.

Kate loves to dance and sing. All the time!

Kate is generally happy happy. She loves to be silly and laugh.

Kate loves to ride her bike and scouter.

Kate is a ray of sunshine with lights in her eyes! I just love that I get to be her mother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATE!

Memorial Day

2011-06-20T05:39:00.003-06:00

I just love holidays. I love the parades, hanging with my family and friends and all the good times that happen around holidays. This year for memorial day we went to the local parade with our friends the Poulsen's.

Kate has decided her favorite part is the drums!

The rest off Memorial Day was spent cooking ribs for a rib cook off. The guys tended to their ribs for hours while they ladies hung out and watch the kiddos run through the sprinklers.

It was finally time for the judging. As wives we were tasked with picking a winner. It was such a hard choice. They were all amazing!

Brian ended up winning the contest and Ryan got second. We have a trophy that gets passed from each person when they win.

I was so surprised that the kids even loved the ribs!

We are so very lucky to have so many wonderful friends living so close to us.

Lilly is in training

2011-05-31T07:13:00.003-06:00

I love that Lilly wants to be like her Daddy. Ever since Ryan and I both got into running Lilly has been asking to run. Ryan has taken her a few times and she does really well. Our little town is having a smart run for little kids. It is just a half mile route. We signed Lilly up and she is so excited for her big race this Saturday. Because I am nearly 7 months pregnant I had to put my running shoes away for awhile but Ryan has been helping Lilly get ready.

Stretching before a run is very important.

Can't for get to stay hydrated!

I can't wait for her race on Saturday.

Kids Bowl Free!

2011-05-26T08:09:00.005-06:00

My friend told me about this great program called Kids Bowl Free. Kids can sign up for 2 free games of bowling everyday all summer long. For an extra $25 the parents can both enjoy bowling all summer long. We decided to do it and we have loved it so far! The girls love going to the bowling ally. They are so cute and dance around the whole time.

I just love my little family!

Nauvoo

2011-05-24T06:13:00.003-06:00

We were so lucky to have my parents come visit the first part of May. I had been counting down the days until they came. I am so lucky to have such a close relationship with both my parents. I love the encouragement and uplift they bring. They just brighten my world.

As part of their visit we decided to take a trip to Nauvoo IL. My Dad had never been there and with us living only 5 hours from there it was something we have been wanting to do ever since we moved here nearly 3 years ago.

The girls were packed in and ready to go Monday morning when Kate complained of her ear hurting. Just the day before I had taken her to an urgent care clinic because she had been complaining that her ear hurt. They said her ears were fine but I know in my heart they were not.

Kate fell asleep on the drive. When she woke she was not a happy campier. Her ear was draining a lot of fluid and you could tell she did not fell well. I tried to just give her ibuprofen and survive it.

We made it to Nauvoo (finally! I don't recommend road trips when you are 6 months pregnant). We got checked into our hotel, went swimming and got set for our next day of adventures.

The church offers free guided tours of Nauvoo. It was the perfect way to see old Nauvoo. The girls loved the horse drawn wagons we got to ride in.

The Nauvoo Temple is just beautiful. I tried to imagine how hard it was for the early saints to pack up and leave their beautiful temple behind.

After spending sometime in old Nauvoo we decided to head to Carthage to see the church sight there. Seeing the Carthage jail was a humbling experience for me. I have a testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith but this just strengthened it.

On the way back to Nauvoo Kate had had enough of her ear infections. She was not happy at all. (I had tired to call my pediatrician for some meds for Kate. She said she did not feel that it was an ear infection just some ear wax drainage. I was so frustrated!) We found a small walk in clinic in town. They looked at Kate's ear and it was clearly infected. We finally got some meds for Kate. I was so relieved knowing that Kate would be out of pain soon.

Our last day in Nauvoo was filled with fun for the girls. We took them to the pioneer games area. Lilly loved dressing up and playing house.

Kate loved the pioneer games there. It was nice that Kate was finely happier. A sick kid in pain is no fun.

Our last stop was the black smiths shop. Lilly just loves her ring they made for her out of a nail.

Despite Kate being sick we had a great time in Nauvoo. It was great to be with family and be reminded of all the early saint gave up for the truth of the gospel. They had so much faith and perseverance.

The party!

2011-05-21T12:48:00.007-06:00

Saturday May 7th Lilly had her 4 year old Birthday party. She wanted a princess (and prince) party. We kicked things off by having everyone decorate their own crown.

Next it was time for games. Grandma taught them how to play one potato two potato. They also had a bean bag toss and pin the crown on princess Ariel.

One of Lilly's big requests was to have a pinata. It was somewhat of a chilly day but we made it work.

Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head. What do you wish this person with a bump on the head!

(The kids had never played such a game when opening presents. It was a classic when I grew up.)

Lilly really wanted a cake with a crown on it. So my mom helped me make this cake for Lilly. I love the way it turned out. (It tasted great as well.)

Well Lilly's birthday celebrations finally came to an end. She had such a great day. I was exhausted. I am so proud of my Lilly and the amazing girl she is!

Lilly's the big 4!

2011-05-21T07:07:00.005-06:00

This year our princess Lilly got to celebrate her birthday twice! We celebrated her actually birthday on May 1st and then she had her party May 7th. Lilly was so excited to turn 4. She had been talking about it for months. Most of her friends are 4 and she really wanted to be the same age as them.

Lilly started out her morning by requesting a tea party even before breakfast. Ryan was a good sport and complied.

Lilly is wearing her birthday hat I made her this year. Every year I make the girls a new birthday hat.

After breakfast and a quick change we let Lilly open some gifts.

This is how Kate felt about Lilly getting gifts.

Lilly was kind and tried to let Kate help just a little.

When we asked Lilly what she wanted to eat for her birthday lunch she quickly replied "shrimp". Lilly really loves shrimp!

Later that day Lilly and I decorated her cake together. She choose a strawberry cake with strawberry filling and a butter cream frosting. It was delicious!

We had a few friends over that night to help celebrate Lilly's Birthday and eat all that cake. It was a great day! Lilly can't wait for her party on Saturday when she thinks she will be really 4!

Ballet Girl

2011-05-19T07:38:00.006-06:00

On April 30th Lilly had her dance recital. She has been taking ballet for a year now and absolutely loves it! I love to see her confidence grow. She loves to be with friends and to perform on stage.

Kate was so proud of Lilly! During her recital she keep yelling "There's Lilly!" These two really do love each other.

Ryan was a proud daddy that day. He got Lilly the balloons and the lilies. Lilly was thrilled to have a lily flower.

My little girl is growing up. The next day she turned 4 years old. I just love the girl she is growing into.

Check out Lilly's dance video by clicking HERE!

Easter

2011-05-15T10:34:00.004-06:00

We had a great Easter even though the weather did not really cooperate. It has been such a cold and rainy spring. The girls had fun at Kletch park on Saturday finding Easter eggs. After meeting the Easter bunny Lilly turned to me and said "Mom she really should be resting for tonight." That is my Lilly always thinking.

Sunday morning the Easter bunny spoiled the girls. They had some much fun finding their eggs. Poor Lilly was not into the whole Easter thing. I thought she was just tired but later that night had a fever. I had no idea she was coming down with a cold. I felt bad that we had exposed our friends to her cold that night when we had a fabulous Easter dinner with the Jacksons, Sessions and Bates. We are so lucky to have great friends to spend holidays with.

Lilly and Kate chilling on the couch with their new princess cups.

Birthday Time

2011-04-20T07:16:00.003-06:00

Ryan turned the big 31 this year! Of course he had school that day but we were able to party at night. Lilly picked out this baseball cake for him at Costco.

I tried to surprise Ryan by having a bunch of friends stop by for cake and ice cream. He started getting a clue when he finally saw the big cake and I needed help decorating. I am just to tired these days to be able to pull it off by myself.

Of course it was not nice weather that day so we had to have the party inside. We had so many nice friends stop by. The house was defiantly full and Ryan had a great day!

Ryan's birthday always kicks off the birthday season at our house. The girls are so excited this year for their own parties to come.

Lets go fly a kite...

2011-04-20T07:10:00.002-06:00

Lilly got a Tinker Bell kite for Christmas this last year. She has been so patient in waiting to fly it. Finally one Monday night it was nice enough and windy enough to give it a try. Tinker Bell did pretty good on her flights. The flights did not last that long because the wind was just not constant that day. But the girls had a blast just the same.

We are hoping to have even better luck with the kite at the beach this summer. That is if it ever becomes summer around here.

Potato Heads

2011-04-17T18:50:00.002-06:00

I love Potato Heads! Lilly made these the other day all by herself. I was so happy that she kept herself busy long enough for me to make a blanket for the new baby.

Left to right:(In Lilly's words) Kate is the stinker who would not wear her shoes, next is Lilly with lip stick, then mamma she later added a bag to me because "mammas love bags", last Ryan.

Betty Brinn

2011-04-11T07:12:00.006-06:00

We just love going to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum here. The girls are at such a fun age were they are more independent and know how to play and have fun.

Kate loves anything with wheels. She loves to drive the big truck there.

Lilly makes some of the goofiest faces lately when she smiles for the camera.

I think one of Lilly's favorite things to do is to pretend she is a post man. She gathers up all their pretend mail and delivers it all over the museum.

Kate pretending to take to grandma on the phone. She does a lot of laughing when she pretends to talk to grandma.

Lunch time is one our favorite things. Kate will only eat a sandwich if we are on a picnic. These are some friends that joined us at the museum.

The girls and I at craft time.

Time to be silly!

Kate was so focused on coloring her flower pot.

Kate found this light that just fascinated her. She ended up take her socks and shoes off because all she wanted to do is see the light on her foot. What a silly girl!

And of course they love to dance.

This will make Ryan happy. The girls love brushing the giant mouth.

I am so very grateful for the children's museum that gives us a place go as we wait for spring to come!

Afternoon stroll

2011-03-29T05:31:00.003-06:00

Some days I think it is never going to get warm here. My girls are starting to go crazy always being inside. Yesterday Lilly had this great idea to take her baby for an afternoon walk. She really wanted to walk her baby into town and to the park but settled for just a walk around our apartment complex. They were both so happy to be outside but with a high in the low 30's we were not out long.

I hope spring gets here soon so we can spend many more days outside!

Spring Break '11

2011-03-22T13:37:00.007-06:00

We started off Ryan's spring break by taking the girls to the children's museum. They were so excited!

Lilly fishing.

Kates favorite thing there is to drive the train. She could spend all day there!

It was so nice to have Ryan around. One day we treated ourselves to ice cream.

One of the little girls in Lilly's dance class is moving so they did their recital piece early for all the parents to see. I can't wait to see her recital in May!

It was great that Ryan got to join us and see Lilly dance.

In the middle of the week the whole family got to go with me to an ultra sound appointment. We found out that we will have baby girl #3 join our family this August. We were a little shocked because both Ryan and I thought it was going to be a boy. We are happy to complete our family with a another baby girl!

(She did not feel like having her picture taken so we did not get very good ultra sound pictures.)

I wanted to do some outlet shopping and the Jelly Belly factory happens to be close by so everyone was happy that day.

We finished the week by taking the girls to the zoo. They absolutely love the zoo! They also loved the new tractors there that you can pretend to drive.

No trip to the zoo would be complete without a ride on the train!

On Sunday Lilly and Ryan grilled up some fish and vegetables. Lilly loves cooking with her daddy.

We love when we get to spend time with Ryan. He was exhausted by the end of most days. It made me happy that he got to see what it is like being home with the girls each day. I love being a stay at home mom but I will admit it can be a challenge at times.

I can't believe we only have one more spring break before Ryan is done with dental school. The years seem to be flying by.

Surviving January and February

2011-03-04T06:46:00.006-07:00

In January and February it seemed all we could do is survive! I have been so sick with this pregnancy. More sick than I ever was with Lilly or Kate.(The baby is due the first week of August) I spent a lot of time on the couch. My poor girls watched more TV than I care to mention and Ryan had to help out a lot around the house. I think I am finally past the worst of it and now I spent my days playing catch up and trying to get my house back on track.

The girls learned how to lounge on the couch and the joy of staying in your pj's all morning.

Ryan and Lilly started to do more cooking together!

We had some good snow storms that cancelled school. I didn't mind having Ryan home for an extra day but I am sick of the snow.

(Lilly and Kate are in the pink our friend McKenzie is in the blue.)

It seems as though Kate has grown up over night. She is no longer a baby that is for sure! She talks in sentences, wants to do everything herself (she says "I do it!) and is a light in our family.

Lilly is a great big sister (most of the time). She loves playing with Kate and loves to be my helper. She is LOVING preschool and I can't believe all that she is learning. She is so excited for the new baby to come. She says she can't wait to be a bigger big sister.

Lilly earned a trip to McDonald's. She has a sticker chart and if she goes to bed and sleeps all night she gets a sticker. After three and a half years she is finally constantly sleeping through the night. I can't believe it. I thought this day may never come.

We love going to the play area at our local mall. The girls love to run around and get all their wiggles out. Kate loves the fish there. I think she thinks they are her friends.

Lilly's favorite thing is to pretend that she is fishing. After she catches the fish she cooks them up and we all have a great feast!

We have had lots of puzzle time. The girls are getting really good at putting all of our puzzles together. You have to be in proper puzzle doing position.

(On your tummy, legs in the air!)

Kate showing how goofy she is.

We love our local Children's Museum. It is also great to have friends to go with. Thanks Poulsen girls!

And finally in February Lilly had a field trip with her preschool. They went to a critter supply and got to see and touch all kinds of animals.

Well I am not going to lie. I am so glad that January and February are over. I am dying for warmer weather and days where we can play outside. I can't wait to find out on March 17th if a baby girl or boy will be joining our family. I also can't believe that Ryan is completing his third year of dental school. We have started talking of where we want to go from here. My biggest requirement is somewhere warmer and closer to family.

Happy March everyone!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-18T05:18:00.006-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was busy just like every other year but great just the same. We had a small Christmas in our little place in Wisconsin on Dec 18. Later that day we were off to Utah and Santa thought some of the gifts would be better in Wisconsin.

The girls were very excited!

That afternoon we got on our flights to Utah. Lilly is a great flyer. She loves the whole experience always has. Kate on the other hand does not like to be restricted to on area. She started to fuss and the most amazing flight attendant came to us and said we could let her play at the back of the plane. Kate was in heaven opening all the little doors and exploring. Lilly even got to get into the action.

Our flight attendant had Lilly sit in his jump seat and pose with a glamour magazine. Lilly even got to say hello to everyone over the speaker.

In Utah we stayed with both sets of grandparents. Lilly loved making gingerbread houses with Grandma Patty and her cousins Sierra and Tristan.

We even found time to do a little sledding. The girls loved it!

The girls loved cooking and playing with Grandma Lois.

Cute cousins! Lilly loved playing with her cousin Madison. They were like to peas in a pod.

Christmas Eve was spent at my parents house. It was fun to have both my brothers and their kids there.

We watched Mr Krueger's Christmas on Christmas Eve. Have you ever seen it? I had not watched it in years. I was so struck by the scene where he goes to see the baby Jesus. He thanks him for always being there for him. He says he has always been able to hold his head high because Jesus has always been with him even through the tough times. So many of his words were just what I would want to say to the Savior. It really helped me remember why we have Christmas.

It was so fun to have my brother KC and his wife Amber and son Easton join us for the magic of Christmas morning.

Easton got a train set or "choo". He was so cute with it.

Over the rest of the break we were able to squeeze in Lilly's first ski trip. She absolutely loved it!

Lilly got a play doh dental kits from Santa. She loves playing with it with daddy. She now wants to be a mommy and a girl dentist.

Lilly also got to have her first sleep over with her cousin Madison.

Christmas break was great. It is always nice to see family and make great memories together!

Snowman

2010-12-13T06:29:00.006-07:00

As a gift we got a "Build Your Own Snowman Kit". I thought it was so cute. I didn't realize that it meant the I had to be the one to build the snowman. On Sunday church was cancelled do to the windy and snowy conditions. Lilly was going crazy just hanging out inside all day so we decided to let her play in the snow. She then reminded me about the kit we had received. The problem is that Ryan was sick. So I had to build the snowman. Lilly and I ended up having a ton of fun and freezing together.

We build our snowmen on our little porch so the neighborhood kids don't knock it down. Lilly also likes to open the door and say hi to him throughout the day!

Santa

2010-12-12T14:34:00.001-07:00

We made it to see Santa on Saturday. The girls were both very excited!

Kate ended up backing out. Lilly still had fun but she was a little nervous at the same time.

She told Santa that she wanted a violin for Christmas. He told her to be a good girl and to be happy with whatever she gets. Lilly has been trying really hard to be a good girl. I hope that does not all go out the window after Christmas.

Lilly's little friends

2010-12-12T14:26:00.002-07:00

The other morning I decided to try and get all the germs out of our house. No one likes being sick for Christmas. This included washing all of Lilly's little friends. I guess I did not realize how much these stuffed animals mean to Lilly. She helped me gather them up and put them in the wash. Then she said that they wanted her to stay near and watch them. So that is just what she did!

She was so happy to have all her friends safe and sound again!

Happy Eating!

2010-12-01T06:02:00.011-07:00

This Thanksgiving we loaded up the family wagon and drove the 11 hours to Pittsburgh. Ryan's brother Richy and his family leave in Pittsburgh. We love visiting them and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has some of the best food. This was definitely an indulgent week.

The girls did so good the whole ride there. (Maybe it helped that for days I have been telling them that we were going to be in the car all day. It made it sound really fun. )

The morning before we left the girls were so excited. As soon as we hit the rode to pick Ryan up from school the girls were out.

We did not make it to Pittsburgh until midnight and we were exhausted.

The next day we went to the fabolus Oakmont Bakery!

The jacked up turkey sandwich.

This was my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. It has a layer of cheesecake and a layer of chocolate cake. It was to die for!

The girls got turkey cupcakes.

Wednesday night the kids helped to make the brine for the turkey.

Of course Thanksgiving morning we watched the Thanksgiving day parade. The kids were so inspired by it they had their own parade.

Then there was the howling in the smoke as Uncle Richy smoked our turkey.

Lilly just loved holding my new niece Wren. She could not get enough of her.

This was a FABULOUS turkey. I loved the flavor and how moist it was.

Ryan made his heavenly green bean casserole.

We also had a baked stuffed brie.

With the help of Grandma Joy the kids made these turkeys.

Lilly and her cousin Linus!

Richy took Ryan and Linus to a Pittsburgh Penguin Hockey game. They were third row in the corner. They had a blast!

Gotta love Christmas lights!

We were honored to attend the blessing of Wren Elizabeth McAffee.

What a fabulous time we had. We only wish that we lived closer to family so we could see them more often.

My Lilly

2010-11-10T19:53:00.002-07:00

Yep this is my little Lilly growing up so fast I can hardly believe it. This is her preschool photo. She loves preschool! I was hesitant to put her in school already. She seems so young but she has just loved it. It is only 2 1/2 hrs a day twice a week. Perfect for me and her. She loves the structure it gives our days and to be able to look forward to something. I rarely post just about one of my girls but this one is dedicated to Lilly.

She loves...

To write her name and do what she calls school work. (Practicing writing letters and numbers)

To play pretend and loves to go on her own adventures all around the house.

To be a helper and check on her little sister.

Kate and really wants another brother or sister.

Art and coloring.

Her daddy. She gets so thrilled when Ryan comes home.

To be outside. Lilly could live outside. She loves the dirt, bugs and the freedom.

Lilly can't wait to be big and grown up. Every morning she asks me if she looks any bigger. She will say " I did a lot of growing last night." I wish I could get her to understand that life is so great right now and being big in not always fun. She often tells me she want to be big so she can be a girl dentist and a mommy.

Basically Lilly is fantastic and I can't believe how truly blessed I am that I get to be her mother!

Halloween

2010-11-04T09:10:00.010-06:00

This year we celebrated Halloween for an entire week. The girls loved being able to dress up so many times. We had a Care bear and a Kitty this year. Kate loved her costume so much that sometime she would take it to nap with her.

On Monday we went trick or treating at the Medical College of Wisconsin. It is so nice that the med school does trick or treating. The girls got a ton of candy and we did not have to get cold and go from house to house.

Kate is so independent. I really think she thinks she is 3 years old. She walked the entire time and wanted to hold her own bag even though it got pretty heavy.

Lilly also had a Halloween party at her dance class. It was fun watching all the girls dance in their costumes.

Then Lilly got to dress up for her preschool party. Have I mentioned how much Lilly really loves preschool.

On Friday night our friends the Gabors threw the best Halloween party. Ryan and I even dressed up. Ryan as Mr. Clean and me as a french maid.

My girls love to dance! Good thing their daddy is a good dancer as well.

Saturday we went to the zoo for "Boo at the Zoo". It was a ton of fun. More trick or treating and seeing the animals what more could you ask for?

After church on Sunday we finally got to carving our pumpkins. Lilly thought it was fun until you had to get your hands yucky and then she just supervised.

Kate is at such a fun aged. She is cracking us up all the time!

After dinner we had friends come over for home made scones. I love having people over and cooking!

Happy Halloween!

A goal a year in the making

2010-10-16T18:38:00.005-06:00

One morning last October (2009) Ryan got up early to leave and run the Brigs and Al's 8k run to benefit Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. As I lay in my bed after he left I felt awful about myself. I was terribly out of shape. Here my husband was heading off to run 5 miles and I knew I could not even run a block. I decided right then and there that next October I would be running in that race. I had already begun my weight loss journey but decided to step it up. The winters here are very cold so I didn't start running until spring 2010. At first I could hardly run a block. I felt as though my heart was going to explode. My lungs would hurt and my legs ached. I kept pushing through it and before I knew it I could run 2 miles with out stopping. In July I decided I should run a 5k before trying the 8k in October. I found a 5k I could do when visiting family in Utah. So Aug. 21 we drove up Provo canyon to run my first 5k.

Ryan ran the 5k with me. I was so nervous about the race. I was already running 3 miles a day at that point but the race still made me extremely nervous.

I am ready! I think?

Ryan and I at the starting line. As I stood there waiting for the race to begin tears came to my eyes. I was really proud of my self. At this point I had lost nearly 70 pounds and gone from not even being able to run a block to running 3 miles!

My dad and mom came to see me run along with my mother in law Patty. It was great to have them there.

Ryan is amazing and finished long before me.

Lilly ran across the finish line with me!

I felt so amazing at the end of the race. Yes I was sore but I had done it. I had ran the whole thing. (Which was my personal goal.) The course was more up hill than I anticipated and the altitude did not help but none the less I did it.

October 9 came really fast. I had been trying to keep up with a good running schedule but was falling short. The weather cooled here and Ryan had to go to school earlier in the morning than in the summer. Once again I was really nervous about my race. I kept running though and finally registered for the race. Ryan was going to run the race with me but injured his knee one day while training for it.

The day of the race I was more calm then I thought I would be. My parents had come to town the night before and it was great to have them there to cheer me on and help with the girls. The Brigs and Al run was much bigger than I had anticipated. They had over 15,000 people participating in the events that day with over 3,000 runners. I knew the 8k (just over 5 miles) was going to be hard but I was so determined to do it.

The run was INCREDIBLE!

All those people running through the streets of Milwaukee. It was so great to be apart of it. It turned out to be a really sunny and unseasonably warm day. It was down right hot during the run. There were two small hills that just wore me out. And of course the last mile was the longest mile of my life! But I pressed on and ran the whole thing with out stopping!

Again Lilly ran across the finish line with me. I teared up after crossing the finish line. Not because of the ache in my right shin but because I had accomplished my goal! A goal that I doubted many times.

My cheering squad!

Thanks to Ryan for making me run on so many days when I REALLY did not want to.

To my friend Jaima for checking up on me,

and thanks to my parents for being there!

And thanks to everyone else who supported me along the way!

(I have the most amazing friends and family!)

Summer is over?

2010-09-24T06:06:00.010-06:00

Oh where did the summer go? Ryan and I were talking the other night about how much we love summer time here in Wisconsin. We were sad to realize that next summer will be our last here. I never thought I would be sad at the thought of his schooling coming to an end but I am a little. There is a certain sense of safety in school. Now we have to start making some big life changing decisions. But we did have a fabulous summer. Here are some highlights that I have not posted before.

The Ozaukee County Fair is held in our little Cedarburg every every. It is the best! It is free to get into and they have some cute things for the kids to do.

This year they had a sand box full of corn kernels. Lilly could not get enough of it. We visited it several times.

It was hard to get Kate to understand it was not to eat. She finally got it though.

Another higlight at the county fair for Lilly was getting to help the magician with his magic show. She and her friend Macie were picked to help with a special magic trick. The girls were laughing so hard that in the middle of the trick Lilly looked for me and says "Mommy I really have to go pee!" and she ran off stage. We got her to the potty fine but it was so funny! The magician gave her a million dollar bill for helping. Lilly was thrilled!

Bay Beech Park oh how I love thee!

Bay Beech is a small amusement park in Green Bay. The ride are only .25 each and there is no entrance fee. The day we went was a little overcast so it was not busy at all. The girls were able to get on each ride with little to no wait which was perfect! Kate was not so sure about the rides. AT first she would love the ride but then as she went around and could not see us she was a little unsure. It was the cutest thing! Lilly had so much fun with her friend Miles!

The merry go round was the favorite ride for sure!

Our summer also include lots of swimming. Lilly took her first swimming lessons at the local pool. We spent many days playing there.

We also went swimming at a near by lake with our friends Jodee, Brooke and Rachel. I am so glad my girls love the water almost as much as I do!

Oh how I love summer! Of course our summer ended with a trip to Utah. Hopefully I can get to posting that soon.

The Beach

2010-08-04T08:07:00.003-06:00

I LOVE summer time and the beach. I am so glad my girls seem to love it as much as I do. This awesome beach is in Sheboygan WI. This was just a great Saturday that we got to spend together at the beach.

Lilly and I

2010-08-04T07:49:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago I was in real need of a pedicure. I hate going by myself to the salon so I decided to take my little buddy Lilly. Lilly was excited to go on a special date with me despite the look on her face. (I think she gets sick of me always taking pictures.)

Lilly loved the bubbles during the foot soak. But the scrub really tickled.

I loved being able to spend a little time with Lilly. I am amazed at how fast she is going up. I pray that we can always be buddies.

4th of July

2010-08-04T07:23:00.004-06:00

With the 4th of July being on a Sunday this year we celebrated on the 3rd of July. We went to a fun little parade in the next town over called Grafton. We all love parades!

In the afternoon we took the girls to the movie Toy Story 3 with our friends the Sessions. I was nervous about the girls making it through the show. They did amazing. Lilly thought the show was so funny and Kate even sat and watched it.

After the movie we had a nice BBQ. It is great having good friends. We then headed to lake Michigan to watch fire works with the O'Neills. Milwaukee puts on quite a show. In fact it was almost to long.

We had such a great and long day! My girls are such troopers. Ryan and I love to go, go, go. The girls keep up with us pretty well. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Strawberries

2010-07-31T06:23:00.005-06:00

We are lucky to have great farms and orchards so close to us. Lilly saw her favorite cartoon friend "Caillou" go strawberry picking and she has been asking to go ever since. At the end of June I finally took the girls strawberry picking before the season was over. Let me just say we had a blast! Kate thought they looked so good that she just could not resist and kept eating them. She also kept throwing them back almost as fast as I could pick them. Lilly got the vision and was a great little strawberry picker.

Lilly was very proud of our strawberries. Everyone that came by got to see our strawberries. Kate was not so helpful. She was trying to put them back the whole time.

Proud Lilly!

Kates favorite part of the whole thing was the dog that was there. She really loves animals. It was hard to get her to say good bye to the dogie.

High Cliff Triathlon

2010-07-30T19:19:00.006-06:00

I am a little back blogged. Back in June Ryan completed his first triathlon. I was so extremely proud of him. Two years ago Ryan started talking about and researching triathlons. Honestly I never thought he would actually do it. Not that I didn't have faith in him but it was a tall order. I just couldn't see it happening. Well June 19 2010 Ryan did it! He completed a 1/4 miles swim. (With the choppy water he ended up running through the water rather than swimming most of it.) Then was a 22 mile bike trek. And he finished things off with a 5k (with a good size hill). What an accomplishment! We stayed the night before the race in Appleton WI. Needless to say the kids did not sleep well in the hotel and we were up most the night. We then got up bright and early because Ryan had to be to the race by 5:30 am.

Here he is after getting painted with his numbers 1082. (I guess this is to be able to identify him).

Supportive and proud family.

Ryan's home teaching companion and friend Nate did the triathlon with him.

Ryan pumped and ready for the swim.

Swim completed now time for a bike ride.

22 mile bike ride done.

Time to start running. They had to run up a huge hill. I would not have made it!

The finish line! I have to say I was nearly in tears when Ryan came across the line. He had been training and working for this for a long time. He has lost 63 pounds. He is so dedicated to his training. It has really helped me lose my weight. He completed the race in 1 hour 46 minutes. (His goal was 2 hours)

Congratulation Ryan! I am so sorry I ever doubted you. You are amazing and dedicated!

Utah in June

2010-06-25T13:09:00.006-06:00

I got a bonus trip to Utah this year. My mom had surgery where they placed a device to fix a hole they found in her heart. (It is called patent foramen ovale (PFO)). She was very lucky that they even found the hole. Her surgery went really well. And she seems to being recovering great!

We loved the excuse to come see family and that is mostly what we did. I did get to see a few friends. I loved being able to catch up with them.

Here are a few highlights of our trip.

The kids picnicking with Grandma.

Left to right

Easton, Savannah, "Amma", Kate and Lilly

This was maybe my favorite moment. My mom just retired from teaching school for the last 32 years. She used to keep her guitar at school and sing with her first graders but now she plays for us!

I love a fire even on a hot summer night. The roasted marshmallows never tasted so good.

We had a few rainy days. To beat the rain we took Lilly and Kate to the play area in the mall and let Lilly ride the carousal.

The Grandpa's took the girls fishing at a little fishing pond. I think Lilly like feeding the fish more than anything.

Kate giving Cash kisses.

Ring around the roses.

Madie and Lilly had a lot of fun together.

All in all we had a fabulous trip!