Runner up picture

Briana got to bring home her runner up drawing from school yesterday. It's going up in her room for display next.

Here's what she has to say to the girl who's picture is hanging up at the zoo.

Just kidding.

It's cookie time!!!

Guess what we picked up after school today!! Girl Scout cookies!! Briana immediately brought all of the boxes of cookies in the house and got to work.

These are the supplies she gathered together for cookie organization.

Only certain people were allowed to touch the cookies. The rest of us were only allowed to watch. Can you guess who was allowed to help and who wasn't? I'll give you a hint. It was a one person operation. Someone even tried to help and was FIRED from her duties. Luckily, she was a good sport about it.

Ellie tried to help. She couldn't keep her little nose out of all those delicious cookies!

Who can blame her?

As Briana was filling cookie orders, she remembered that someone from Mike's work had ordered THIRTEEN boxes of cookies!

It was truly amazing.

Briana may have to get a job at the cookie distribution center. She's definitely found her calling.

Also, it is snowing outside.

And I have nothing to make for dinner. Solution? Girl Scout cookies for dinner! Guess how we are feeling about that?

Camera Case

It took me two days and three cuts of fabric, but I finished my camera case today! I love how it turned out.

I got the pattern from this blog and then I just added the fleece flower to the front.

And, as an added bonus, my ipod fits in there too!

Happy President's Day!

In honor of President's Day, the girls got the day off of school today. We enjoyed the luxury of being able to stay up late on a Sunday night, and the girls were getting along fabulously.

Ellie relaxed all night too.

I woke up this morning to the sound of giggling. I came down and the girls were playing on the computers (no surprise there!). I came into the kitchen to find this:

"What is going on with the barbies?" I asked the girls.

"They're laying out, Mom." they replied. I should have known.

After the barbies finished laying out and we had lunch, Briana whipped this masterpiece together.

Her very first pillowcase! She did all the sewing on her own, and it turned out fantastic! She's already planning on sleeping on it tonight.

This afternoon, the girls and I got creative and made some houses out of toothpicks and marshmallows.

I made a giant hotel that is currently on the verge of collapse. Briana made her dream house, complete with a pool. Sydney was true to character, and made a minature house for herself.

She had to break all the toothpicks in half to make hers smaller than everyone elses. I wonder if it's the perfect size for a smurf?

Pop Rocks

A video about poprocks, made by Briana.
Turn up your volume and enjoy!

Runner up!

Last week during school, Briana's class drew pictures of a memory they had of going to the zoo. Briana drew an amazing picture of her and Mike photographing an elephant. The kids all displayed their pictures in their classroom and then voted on who's picture they liked best. Whoever got the most votes gets to have their picture displayed at the zoo, and they get a pass for free zoo admission for one day.
Tuesday at school, the kids voted. Briana voted for herself and her friend, Josie. She said she could hear a lot of kids whispering during the voting and she overheard a lot of "vote for number 2!" whispers. Her picture was number 2.
Yesterday, the kids found out the results. And, Briana was the runner up!! She is super excited about this honor. She said her friend Holly won. So, if anything should happen to Holly's picture, guess who's picture will be hung up at the zoo? That's right! Briana's.
She is very proud to be the runner up, as she should be.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I think this might be the BEST Valentine's Day ever. I got to go to the girls' Valentine's parties at school. They were super fun.

Look what Mike and the girls surprised me with!

They are the best!

And, Briana created an amazing pizza for dinner.


It was delicious and good lookin.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Uglydoll by Stacey

This past Christmas, Lila recieved an ugly doll from Mike's parents. It was one of her favorite gifts (ranking right up there with the Justin Bieber calendar we got her), and Briana instantly wanted one of her own. Well, after I finished making Sydney her amigurumi mouse, she suggested that I make Briana a crocheted ugly doll. It was a fantastic idea and I got started on it immediately. It took six days to finish, but I got it all done today. It was a perfect get well present for my sick Briana.

Sydney Kate, Toothless Wonder

A True Story written by Sydney Kate

I went to mamaw's house I went to the basement I watched toy story 2 mamaw told my to wait two days then I asked if I could pull my tooth out so I pulled it out then my mouth was very bloody so I got a glass of water when I spit the water back in it turned red when my mom came to pick me up she was very excited!!

Well, there you have it! Here are the photos to accompany the story.

The End!

Valentine's Cake

Check out this cute cake the girls and I whipped up on our snow day!





It's one of those Pillsbury Valentine's cake mixes and I used my flower decorating pen for the frosting. Well, I should say Briana and Sydney did most of the flower-ing. It's cute, and it's delicious.

The Plain White T's and ME!

This past weekend, Shannon and I went to the Plain White T's concert.

We were certain that the Plain White T's would want to call us up onto the stage to sing along with them. When that didn't happen, we didn't get discouraged. Especially since after the show, the band sought us out and requested that they get their pictures taken with us. How could we say no? They are the Plain White T's, after all.

Shannon and I with the guitar player.

Me and the drummer.

Me and another guitar player/singer.

Me and the lead singer (Sydney just informed me his name is Tom Hagenson. She learned this from watching iCarly.)