Friendship

Yesterday I got to watch my friend Tiffany's little boy for a while. He is so sweet. He always has his hat on and has to tip his head way back to look at you.









They wanted sippy cups with water in them, so I gave them each one and pretty soon I look over and Rylee had gotten 2 measuring cups out of the drawer and given one to Jordan.


So they had fun shaking the water out of the sippy cup into the measuring cup and then drinking it out of the measuring cup. It was so cute. It was fun for Rylee to have a little playdate for a change. We also went to the lake for a walk with them today and had fun playing at the park.

Spring dresses

Here are some pictures of the girls in their spring dresses that Grandma Sherri bought them. Rylee would not cooperate so her pictures are not the best but that is what you get with an almost 2 year old.

Tulip Garden

We went to the Topeka Zoo yesterday for preschool and then headed over to the Tulip gardens. They were so beautiful. Rylee wouldn't hold still long enough to take a picture but I got some great ones of Paige. She is my little poser.

Puddle Jumping

There was a severe thunderstorm watch today and it started raining really hard. So what did I do I took the girls out to play in the rain.

We got so wet and dirty but it was so much fun.

We went over by our garage and found a huge puddle to jump in.

By the time we went inside Rylee was so cold that her teeth were chattering but she had the biggest smile on her face. We all had so much fun.

Volcanoes

So you all thought that being out here in Kansas we were in trouble of being hit by a tornado but you were all wrong. It is a volcano that has struck us.

We thought that it would be fun to make a volcano with the girls. So we got out the baking soda and vinegar and the food coloring.


The girls loved it. After words Rylee kept walking around saying "Big Bubbles". It was really cute, and a lot of fun.

Closing Social

Last night was the closing social for the JRC. We had a BBQ at one of the local parks. It was a blast. Really good food and fun entertainment. Earlier in the day we had gone to another park for Isaac's birthday party and then we went to this one. When we got home the girls were filthy (so was the bath water), and they were so tired.



This is Rylee's friend Annie. Rylee loves it when Annie comes around.















Paige was being a little monkey climbing in the tree.








Rylee and Jack had so much fun playing in the rocks. Pretty soon they were both dumping rocks onto Rylee's head.




This was how Joni and Annie got the rocks out of Rylee's hair. Thanks girls!!










This was the girls at the end of the night. Freshly scrubbed, matching nightgowns, and sleeping on the pooh bear couch. Rylee would not hear of Paige sleeping by herself. It was so sweet.

Roller coaster weak

Oh my what a week we have had. It started out with lots of laundry and dishes to do and then some appointments and it ended with a friend in the hospital and us taking care of their beautiful little girls. The first night we had all 3 and then the next couple days I got to have their youngest one Ella. She is such a sweetheart. She always has a big smile on her face. She was really attached to me which was nice. Tonight when I took her home I was a little sad cause she is such a sweetheart. Their girls are so sweet and so nice it was a joy to have them around.







Here is a picture of the four girls watching a movie in our bed. Paige loved having a sleepover.

Big girls now

We put the girls to bed a little late last night cause Paige had a birthday party. Maybe 2 hours later Rylee woke up crying so Blake went in to check on her. Well pretty soon he comes and tells me to go tell her that I am still here and we will come get her in the morning. So I go in and tell her this but she won't settle down. She keeps crying and pointing to Paige saying "Paigey, my Paigey" So I asked her if she wanted to sleep with Paige and she got all excited. So I had a thought that maybe I was opening a can of worms but I put her in bed with a very sleeping Paige. Rylee snuggled right in and went to sleep really quickly. It was so sweet to see them cuddling and sleeping so peacefully. They have an amazing bond with each other and love each other so much. I am so grateful.

Sally's Surprise

Last night was a blast!! We went to Las Fuentas for Sally's surprise birthday party. It was great to be able to get out again. I had eaten at home with Blake and the girls so that I could just go get dessert. I asked the waitress what they had and nothing sounded good until the cheesecake. (Anyone who knows me well knows I am a sucker for cheesecake). 5 minutes later she came back out and said sorry we are out of cheesecake. I was so sad, so I just sat and drank my soda and had so much fun hanging out with the girls. Thanks all for a great night.


At the restaurant they also had a little karaoke stage. So Michelle, Rachel, Sally, and I got up and sang (It was more yelling cause the music was so loud). It was hilarious. i never would have done it by myself but it was a ton of fun.

Conspiracy

Why is it that when you have a fun night planned everything conspires against you so that you can't go. We were having book club last night and it happened to be a night that I didn't work and the girls were being little stinkers, so I needed this night to go out. Anyways all day there was a sever weather watch but it was sunny and nice outside so I didn't think anything about it. So I was leaving and as soon as I walked out the door with my umbrella the wind started blowing at 70 miles per hour and pouring rain. It about ripped my brand new umbrella away from me, but my stubbornness prevailed and I held on (it was brand new). So now that I am soaking wet and sitting in my van that is rocking and there is lightning all around, I think that maybe I shouldn't be going out in this weather (what do you think). So I dash back inside an then finally it lets up and I went for it. We had a great book club. It was so fun. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Oh and the best part was that I finally got an Italian soda that I have been craving for 2 months. Hopefully now the weather will realize that it shouldn't try to stand in the way of a desperate mom that needs to get away for an hour.

Really Sleepy

It was so nice last night. I thought that it was funny that Rylee was just playing by herself and that it was kinda quiet. So I thought I wonder what happened to Paige. So I went in to investigate, cause usually at our house it is not a good sign if someone is quiet. So I went into their room and Paige had put herself to bed and she was sound asleep. It was really nice that I didn't have to hear I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, I'm not sleepy yet, I have to go potty. I guess she was just really tired.

Cheap tip

My friend Stacey put a great tip on her blog and it works so great that I thought that I would pass it on. Instead of buying really expensive jet dry to get really clean spotless dishes, just fill up the little holder thingy with vinegar. It is way cheaper and it works so good. I put it to the test the other day and I could not believe the difference. Also I figured out that if you put some water and vinegar in the sink and wash your shower curtain in it it comes out really clean. You just need to remember to dry it off. I love cheap fun tip that work so I hope that you all enjoy.

Paige Elizabeth

Paige is now 4 years old. She weighs 38 pounds and is 40 inches tall. Her 4T pants are getting to be to small for her and she wears size 10 shoes.

Paige has been such a blessing in our family. She loves to hide and then scare you when you come by. She has been very enthralled with her Barbies and Ponies lately. She is very much into make believe things.

Paige has been loving preschool this year. She has learned a lot of new things. She can now count to 20, she knows what each letter sounds like and what words start with that letter. She loves to sing and dance. She is always singing a song and a lot of time she is making up a song to go along with whatever she is doing.

She has started to take some classes through the parks and recreation department and really enjoys it. Right now she is taking a little athletes class where she is learning about soccer, basketball, volleyball, and T-ball. Next she will start a tumbling class.

She is also a new sunbeam at church. She absolutely loves Sundays so that she can go to Primary. We have been working with her and she now knows the first 3 articles of faith. She is really smart and learned each on in a week.

We are so lucky to have this sweet little girl in our family. She brings much sunshine into our home. We love her so much.

Rylee Sue

Since we are using this blog as a journal I wanted to write down some things about each of my girls at this age.

Rylee is now 23 months old. She weighs about 21 pounds. She wears size 3 diapers and size 4 shoes. She is just growing out of her 12 month clothes.

She is an absolute delight to have on our family. She brings a smile to our face all the time. She is very much her own person. She loves to do things by herself. She wants to do everything that Paige does, she follows right behind trying everything.

Rylee has really started to talk a lot the last couple months. When she sees someone she loves to say Hi daddy (or whoever it is she sees). To say excuse me she says "memo". Other things she says is don't get me, thank you, please, here mommy, no no no, wub you, hug, kiss, and lots of others. She also will say the prayer at dinner. We say a word and then she repeats it.

Her imagination is as vivid as Paige's. It is fun to have her come up and say "bite mommy". And she will have pretend food in her hand for you to eat. And she likes to dress up with Paige.

We love having Rylee Sue in our family. She is constantly doing funny things to make us laugh. We are glad that she came to us and love her so much.

Firestation

It was my turn to teach Preschool on Thursday and so I thought that it would be fun to take them to the fire station. I think that they liked it. They were all pretty quiet. Sally and I loved it though. They gave us a tour of the building and trucks and then they let the kids get in the truck and look around. Unfortunately it was pouring outside so they couldn't pull the truck out and let the kids play with the hoses, but it was fun anyway.

Easter Baskets

This is a little late but I was really proud at how these turned out so I wanted to post some pictures of them. I made these little cupcakes for easter dinner. All the kids loved them.

Tortellini Soup

Here is the soup that I made the other night. And let me tell you that it was as delicous as it looked. It is a great soup to make if you want to clean out your frdige cause you can throw whatever vegtables you want into it.

Tortellini Soup


5 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 (16 ounce) package prepared cheese tortellini, thawed
10 ounces spinach, rinsed and chopped
Zucchini
Carrots, sliced thinly
1 package onion soup mix


DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Combine tortellini and spinach and bring to a boil; reduce heat slightly and boil for 7 minutes. Drain and add to the tomatoes, broth, carrots, zuchini, and onion soup mix; simmer for 20 minutes. Serve.

Roll Recipe

Here is the roll recipe I made the other night. I did make a few exceptions. I don't have a bread machine so I put the yeast, warm water, and sugar and mixed it. For half of the flour I used freshly ground wheat. I also ended up using a lot more flour than called for so check it and see. And the last thing was that I didn't have any lemon extract so I left it out. Hope you enjoy, we sure did.

Diana's Hawian Bread Rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon honey
5 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
2 tablespoons butter flavored shortening
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast


DIRECTIONS
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle for a 2 pound batch; press Start. The dough can be a bit sticky, so you may want to add a little bit more bread flour as it mixes.
When the dough cycle is complete, turn the risen dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide into twelve equal pieces. Form the pieces into rounds and place on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Scrumptious food

I know that I haven't blogged in awhile but I just had to get on and say that I just made a beautiful pot of Tortellini Soup and these gorgeous whole wheat rolls for dinner. I wish that you could all taste it because it is so delicious. I just can't wait for Blake to get home so we can eat. We have been trying to eat better and exercise lately, so that we can meet our goal by June. This soup has tortellini, zucchini, carrots, spinach, and tomatoes in it. So yummy. The rolls are made with molasses and freshly ground whole wheat flour. Oh they are so good. Okay now that I have bragged enough and made you all hungry I shall go set the table so that we can eat. Hope you all have a good night.