Pink & Brown....

Yes, I'm talking about my "new look"...what do you all think? I'm pretty pleased with it, I've been looking for one that was pink and brown for a long time now. Of course, I still wouldn't mind being able to add a few things to make it more me, but I guess that won't happen unless I learn how to do all that stuff that's involved in making your own background...which is probably way above my realm of understanding! :)

If any of you are wondering....we're all doing pretty well around here for the time being, things can change so fast around here though. Last week Jacob came down with a stomach bug which lasted about a day; a few days later I came down with it...thankfully it was on my "rest day" (for my running schedule), unfortunately it was also the day before I needed to do my long run, which for that week was 5 miles. I managed it though...I didn't feel real good around the 2nd mile and then again around the 4th mile, but I was able to do it so I was pretty pleased with myself. :) And so far the girls haven't shown any real sign of getting the bug, which is a relief.

Running overall is going alright...it's extremely hilly around here and there's no direction I can run in that doesn't have at least one huge hill. There's probably not even a half mile stretch with no hills, that's pretty sad, especially when you're starting out....I just keep telling myself that in the long run it will be better. So, yes at some point it better start paying off! :)
Yep, the girls are as ornery as ever! Some of these pictures are from last month...this was actually from when we spent a few days in Columbia at my sister and brother-in-law's home.
Crawling up and down the hallway was lots of fun....hmmm, not sure why, other than it was a new place.
Crawling up the stairs was, by far, the most exciting thing ever for them! Bethany knew right what to do, so she followed Abigail right up the stairs....so, of course, that meant I had to be watching them like a hawk! Bethany also liked to crawl up a step or two than just think she could sit herself there on the steps....they like to give their mom heart attacks I believe!
Abigail thinking she's pretty cool....hmmm, she needs to work on keeping the slobber in the mouth though, I think that would be wonderful and make for much better pictures. :)Bethany following suit, except for the slobber (thank goodness). Abigail would constantly have to pull Bethany's hood up too when she would have hers on....I guess she didn't want to be the only one wearing a hood!See?! Abigail trying to pull it up and Bethany doesn't want it up....it's a common occurrence when they wear these outfits. They do love each other though....ok, most of the time....they have their moments like any other kids! :)

Running....Oh, & Kitchen Update!

Wow, how time flies! I never can seem to catch up on everything and I just made things busier on myself by adding in some "outdoor running". I say outdoor because I always feel like I'm on the run, but I've actually starting getting out in the mornings and running to hopefully be able to run a half marathon in June. We'll see though....having two kids definitely doesn't make it easy to get out and run, but when the weather warms up I'll be able to get the BOB stroller out and go running with the girls. Abigail asks me every day about going running....hopefully she'll be just as excited after she figures out that she'll be riding not running! This morning I ran 3 miles (for my long run), it felt like a long ways for me, but I'm so behind in the training schedule....I guess it would have helped to have been checking into training schedules so I would have known to have gotten started running sooner. I have such a bird-brain sometimes! I'm trying to catch up, but that means having to push myself a little more....which isn't a bad thing, but I do what to be careful and not hurt myself. I'm really worried about that because then I wouldn't get to run the marathon and I REALLY REALLY WANT TO! So, besides running it's been all the normal hustle and bustle of life with 2 girls and half a kitchen! The kitchen has been making progress though...it now has a ceiling and it's first coat of mud....which is way too enticing for 2 little girls that like to be in everything....I try to keep them out, but they like to follow their daddy around and that stuff does look like it might be fun to play in! :) Just saying....mind you, I haven't tried it out to know for sure! We also have a fridge which is wonderful to have; the little one we had held just the bare minimal, so having a nice huge fridge is extremely nice! Plus, we got it off of craigslist for $100 and it's almost brand new! Yeah, you can't get much better than that! In the next couple of weeks we'll be ordering our cabinets and counter tops, then we'll be getting a stove and sink and then we will be set....I can't wait! I will definitely be posting pictures of the finished product and any that I have of before.....you know...."before and after pictures!" ;)
I do have bunches of pictures, that are now on my laptop, so I will be posting pictures very soon, but this will have to be all for now because if I don't post this I might not get around to it and then it will be another day before you hear anything from me!

I'm Back!

Ok, I haven't been really gone, but I have been gone from the blogging world for a long time now. Pretty sad I know....hopefully you all missed me some! We went to spend some time with 2 of my sisters and brother-in-law 2 weeks ago...it was suppose to be a 3 day visit, but due to weather (and enjoying our time!) we decided to stick around and then just head down to visit my family. So, what was originally 3 days turned into a week...it was really nice though and we had a fun time! I do have pictures, but I have yet to take them off the camera, I will get them off soon and I do have some pictures of before we left so that will have to suffice for now! :) I mean the Olympics are going on right now and we actually have a way of watching them....so, yes that's what I'm doing in the evenings! It's been nice to actually get to see the Winter Olympics this year...I can't even remember when the last time I saw the Winter Olympics was, but it's been a long time. My favorite part is definitely the figure skating, but I do enjoy the skiing too. Of course, I've been doing other things besides watching the Olympics.....like taking care of two ornery little girls....oh and working out. Yep, I've managed to keep up with P90X and hopefully next week I'll be able to get out and start running a little....I'm excited about that since it's been my goal since starting P90X. It has been difficult for Jacob and I to workout with Abigail and Bethany running (and crawling) around, but somehow we manage. :) Speaking of the cuties........"Bubbles" as Jacob and Abigail call her!
No smile from Abagail, but at least she's looking at the camera, which is getting harder and harder for her to do lately!
"The guilty ones!" Taking the clothes out of the basket and putting them back in multiple times turned out to be quite amusing for them and they spent probably 15 minutes doing nothing but that! Abigail did get frustrated with Bethany when she'd try to put all the clothes in the basket and Bethany would be pulling everything back out again! See that little "evil" smile! :) She was enjoying taking everything back out of the basket while Abigail ran around trying to get it to all "stay in the basket!"
Aww, but how could you be mad at a little girl that looks this sweet!
Abigail has decided she likes her pacifier now.....tell me why she couldn't have decided that the first 6 months of her life when Jacob and I were desperately trying to get her to like it! Kids, they never (ok, not usually) do what you want them to do when you want them to do something! Oh well, you gotta love them anyways!

Coconut Meringue Pie

I had my first attempt at making Coconut Meringue Pie....and I'm sure it could always be improved, but I was very happy with how it turned out since I had never made it before. I was especially worried about the meringue, but I think it turned out really well and I'm looking forward to making it again and trying to make it even better. I had more meringue I could have used and I think next time I'll put the extra on to make the meringue even bigger and prettier...then I might be able to say it was perfect! :) See, it could definitely use more meringue! :) I'm still happy with how this one turned out though. The two hours of baking were definitely worth it to see how well it turned out and how yummy it was! Mmmm....happy memories! Jacob was pretty happy with it too since it's one of his favorite pies, so I'll be making it again real soon for him and he wants me to make it for his granddad who really likes coconut meringue pie. So, plenty of practice coming up for me and Coconut Meringue Pie...hopefully I'll get a lot faster at making it! :)

I also know it's been forever since I've posted, but a 3 day trip to see my sisters and brother-in-law in Columbia turned into over a week long trip, but lots of fun too though! So, lots of updating to do.....sometime soon I promise...with pictures!

Roses & Love

Jacob is good to me in so many ways and the other day he surprised me with flowers "just because". He does things like that a lot...like yesterday he bought me a Snuggie because I hate wearing socks so my feet are always cold and I'm usually cold whenever we're sitting around watching movies or reading. So, now I have a leopard print snuggie....I had seen all the advertisements/commercials for them, but didn't think much about them....I love mine though! It's really comfortable and lightweight...perfect for sitting on the couch reading a book or cuddling with Jacob while watching a movie. :) I haven't gotten a picture of it yet (I'll try to do that sometime) but I do have more pictures of my flowers. :) I love the white lilies! I don't think I used to like them that much, or at least I hadn't seen enough of them to know I liked them, but I really think they're pretty and they last for quite awhile too. Of course, I love the red roses too....you can't go wrong with roses no matter what the color....or at least that's what I think. Even colors I don't normally like I like when it's the color of a rose....roses just make any color pretty! I try to dry every rose Jacob gives me, so these roses are already drying to then add to my basket of roses that Jacob has given me.
My wedding bouquet is in there too (I thought I had a better picture, sorry) and I believe almost every rose Jacob has given me....I think there was a few that got to the point beyond drying before I realized it. They even survived being stuffed in a cabinet (just as they are) and being driven across Kansas in a U-haul and then being packed into a storage unit for almost a year....they don't look bad considering the facts! :) I know they won't last forever, but I think it's neat to have that many of the roses Jacob has gotten me....especially the half dozen that he gave me the day he asked me to marry him....I can still pick those roses out. They were the biggest roses I had ever seen! I wish I had gotten a picture of them the day he got them for me because they were beautiful! I actually have a picture of one of them because I held one of them when we got a picture together, that we later used as our engagement picture, but you can't really see how big the rose is in the picture........This was the day after Jacob asked me to marry him! I love him so much and I keep loving him more and more.....you know, that's a really good feeling to be so in love with someone and know they love you just as much back. I love you Jacob even more than the day you asked me to marry you!

Back To A Routine

The goings on around here have been about the same....hmmm....which I suppose is good, I kind of needed things to slow down and get back into a routine. I'm getting into a pretty good "workout in the mornings" routine....definitely about time I did that! It feels really good to be working out and feeling a little better about myself...this is my 2nd week doing P90X and I can already tell a difference. Jacob started doing it with me this week, which is nice and makes it much more fun to do...we end up laughing a lot! :) Of course, he wants to do the yoga (UGH!), but it must be good for me, so if he wants to do it I'll do it with him...it will be better doing it with someone else....I think....I hope! Tomorrow is yoga day, but he's probably going to be leaving in the morning to help do some things for his granddad, so if that's the case, I'm going to skip the yoga and do cardio instead. :D Yes, the cardio is an option if you don't want to do certain things...like yoga...and I've never done the cardio disk, so it will be interesting to see what it's like. Hmmm....other then working out I haven't been doing too much. Jacob's grandma has been staying with his parents the past week so I've been spending a little more time upstairs visiting and letting the girls spend time with her. She's his grandma on the Close side and I like her a lot...she's always been friendly and nice towards me, whereas some of the family on Jacob's mom's side of the family take a little more warming up so they come across as less friendly. I think they've finally all accepted me though so that's a nice feeling! :)

Abigail took control of Bethany's play phone...she looks pretty intense about it too. :)
Now for "silly time" with the babies!
Bethany was being the princess for this picture....she's a perfectly cute little princess too! :) Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have to post, due to the fact that I can't find the battery charger for the camera and of course I didn't realize it was missing till the battery died and when I went to get the spare battery it was dead too. So, I have got to find the charger...I need to put that as my #1 thing to do because until I find it I can't even take pictures of the girls...I have no clue where it is either because I don't think I've used it down here yet and I have no idea where I would have put it. I believe I have been slowly losing my brain ever since having kids....hmmm, I wonder if that's normal or just me! :)

Jacob With His Little Girls

I think this is such a cute picture! Abigail loves "reading" books and Bethany is getting a little better about actually sitting there and not constantly trying to put the book in her mouth...of course she did have her doll so that helped! I love watching the girls with Jacob....Bethany has really bonded with him and gets so excited when she sees him! She's always trying to reach for him so he'll hold her and if he says anything to Abigail she has to try to get his attention so he'll look at her...it's so funny! Yep, definitely a daddy's girl! Hmmm....our red wall looks good as a background for pictures...I'll have to remember that! Or at least I think so, I'm no expert when it comes to photography, but I think it looks good! :)The girls love these porcelain persian cats that Jacob's mom has...the only thing is keeping them from breaking them....so, they don't play with them very often! Oh, and I just have to bring to attention how good-looking Jacob looks in this picture....yep, I love him sooo much and he knows it! Alrighty then, back to pictures............. :) At some point she'll keep something in her hair.....I hope. Whenever I put something in her hair she tells me that "daddy thinks it's pretty" (that's what I would always tell her so she would keep it in), but then she usually takes it out a few minutes later and then when I catch her at it she repeats that "daddy thinks it's pretty" and brings it to me to put back in her hair....then we repeat it all again! One of Abigail's favorite things to do is have Jacob (or me) draw circles, triangles, etc on the carpet with our finger and then tell her to sit or stand in the circle and so on. One day Jacob had a lot of fun making circles for her to stand in and then making a triangle (a little in front of her) and telling her to put her head in it! They had a lot of fun doing that and this picture I took when Abigail got off balance after attempting to put her feet, head and hands everywhere Jacob would draw circles...they both thought it was pretty funny too!
She loves her daddy so much!Bethany loves her daddy....and rides on his head! :) She likes his hair a lot too, but I don't blame her because I really like Jacob's hair (it's really soft!) and he's enjoying not having to get it cut, every other week or so, for the military.
Yes, Abigail already plays PS2 with daddy and grandpa! Ok, not really, but she does like to have her own controller so she feels like she's playing with them...it's pretty cute. She's actually figured out though that hers isn't hooked up so she usually wants to switch with Jacob! :) Here they are again...the PS2 couch zombies! :) Even Abigail looks to be getting into it, especially in the first picture! The game they're playing I actually really enjoy playing and watching so it don't mind it too much. :) Champions of Norrath....the first PS2 game I ever played. Jacob and I played it on our honeymoon since he was sick and we couldn't go out very much and then we played it for a couple months....till my "lizard" started getting better then Jacob's "wizard"! :D It was a lot of fun and I still give Jacob a hard time about it!