You might be a redneck if...

(this one I took...)

For Nick's birthday, I bought him tickets to see Jeff Foxworthy. Kelly & Weston came with and it was a good time! Jeff was so funny! We had the absolute worst seats in the house though, completed with sitting next to THAT PERSON! You know that person... the one who laughs entirely too loud at the jokes that should only warrant a chuckle, that person that while he laughs even harder at the jokes that should warrant a regular laugh keels over and hits your leg (as if you didn't hear the joke too). And, according to Kelly who had the misfortune of sitting directly beside him, that person who smells like soup... and not the good kind! Despite THAT PERSON, it was an awesome evening that included a story about a guy getting his nipple bitten off by a beaver, many stories about his book signings at Walmart and the encounters with many rednecks there, a very well supported theory on age and size appropriate clothing (if you are over 15, you should NOT have "juicy" written on your bum...) and of course, ending off with his signature "You might be a redneck if..." jokes. It was a good time!

Aunt Gigi

Nick's sister and her now husband (pictures to come) are so much fun! Our kids just adore them. Nick's sister is Meg but Liv decided to call her Gigi and it's just stuck. Her husband Jorge is a complete riot, he's just so much fun! They are wonderful together, both so happy and a bundle of fun! I can't wait to see them with their own kids in the future 'cause our kids think they're the best! They watch our kids for us overnight whenever we need to get away (which surprisingly has been a couple times this summer) and are frequent guests at our dinner table. I love having them around, they bring such a happiness to our home and our lives! Oh and the pictures... ya, they pretty much speak for themselves, if they were your aunt and uncle wouldn't you think they were awesome? (I love how in the 1st one you can see Nixon on the swing watching them... he looks confused).

Fun at the ranch

Our dear friends Kelly & Weston have this amazing Ranch not too far away. We have so much fun going out there and hanging out, whether it be photo shoots with the girls, horseback riding, quadding, dirt biking, or just hanging out having a BBQ, it's so much fun. They're some of our closest friends and I love just hanging out with them. We can sit and gab for hours and never get sick of each other. I love that it's not just us and Kel & Wes though, their kids are a riot and we have so much fun with them too! They pile our kids around and take them on the quad or just out to play. These pics are of the kids hanging out in the horse corral (also very useful for children) and of Ashley sporting a hot look of liv's sun hat and some dirt biking gear!

The amazing talents of Miss Stephanie

So my sister-in-law is an amazing aspiring seamstress! A couple of months ago she came by with this dress for Liv that she just whipped up! She is amazing! She doesn't use patterns or anything and just dreams up designs and likes to try new things out. I thought this dress was so sweet, not just because it is absolutely adorable, which it is, but because it was just out of the blue, she just thought of Liv and wanted to make her a special dress! Liv loves her new dress and I think what she loves most about it is saying that her Aunt Stephanie made it for her! I love my sister-in law and am so happy to spend my life with her, she is one of my dearest friends, and although life has been getting in the way of us spending much time together lately, she's wonderful and I love every minute I get with her!
This dress is just the beginning of the amazing talents of miss Stephanie! (more to come... more to come!)

Edmonton Bound!

So we had a ton of fun this summer, and it all started with a trip to Edmonton. Nick's cousins live up there and we have so much fun with them! We just hung out and played for a few days and went to West Edmonton Mall were liv (somewhat due to her massive hair) was tall enough to get on a bunch of the rides. She had so much fun on the little airplane that goes surprisingly high for a children's ride! We went to the park and had a barbecue with some family home for a visit from the states and Europe and just had an overall blast! I love having family that your close to and get along with so well! It's also fun that they're not too far away and a weekend trip is easy to do!

Watching the Sea Lion show at West Ed:

Liv Flying a plane!


I love family!


A Day at the park with a cousin!

the two peas

My little Bruiser:

so I am pretty sure that Nixon is going to be "that kid" You know who I'm talking about that kid in school who always had a scar or broken limb, that kid who's parents get called to come in 'cause he was showing off on top of the monkey bars and now needs stitches, or a cast... or both! I am confident in my thought that Nixon will be "that kid" because he already is! No broken bones yet (knock on wood) but he's got scrapes and scars like crazy! Last week he cracked his back on the side of Liv's beds while doing somersaults and jumping, so I went to console him and he pushed me away and did another somersault over her foot board! Also, if you were to look at his back, you'd see a pretty nasty looking scar from him running through the house and jumping onto the couch so hard that he bounced off and fell onto a toy! These particular pictures are from a run-in with he vacuum earlier this summer. He was running around and tried to tackle it and cut his eyelid. Lucky no stitches, but it did turn into a tough little scar! These pictures remind me of what guys look like after a boxing or UFC match, swollen and cut up! I don't know if this is typical of all little boys, but I am DEFINITELY noticing a difference across the genders! Liv was busy, but busy playing where Nixon's busy getting into as much mischief as he possibly can between naps and meals. He keeps me on my toes... that's for sure!

My girly tom-boy!

I have so much fun dressing up my kids! I know everyone says it's not as fun dressing up boys but I totally think it is! Girls though... they're just a whole different kind of fun! Liv loves to get all pretty and have her nails painted and put on a new dress! Now, any of you that know me know that I'm not super girly... I clean up just fine and can act the part, but it does take a little effort for me to get in touch with my inner "girly-girl" and yes, she is in there beneath a few sports injuries and concussions! Liv is the perfect balance though, she'll get dressed in a pair of tights and a pink shirt, occasionally a tu-tu) and then go out back and collect worms and bugs. She is a girly tom-boy, it's awesome! She has no problem wrestling with her dad and brother and then strapping on some ballet shoes! The first pic I just love, she's in an adorable little outfit and just hanging out, the other pics are her in a cute little tunic dress I bought for her. I love how photogenic she is!

Here we go again!

Ok, so I'm not even gonna mention how long it's been since I last posted (I'm sure you are all aware of my summer slacking) or how crappy of a blogger I am. I'm just gonna go ahead and start again and as I do the song from "OK GO" seems to come to mind... so "here we go, here we go, here we go again"!!!! (funny story about that song to come in a future post).

I don't even know where to start.. so how about at the top of my picture list! So here are some pictures I took months ago of the kids playing in our bookshelves. They're so funny, they both just love small spaces and hiding anywhere they can find. So often I'll go upstairs and hear giggling coming out of either the linen closet or liv's closet. sooo funny! I do love how much they're starting to play together though. They're definitely falling into the brother/sister role and one minute they're the best of friends and the next they're ready to rip each other's hair out... literally! But they've been so much fun and even though there are many trying times, I've had so much fun watching them grow into little people with their own likes and dislikes and interests and crazy reasoning for all sorts of things. Those kids brighten my days and just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I may complain and stress a lot, but I love being a mom, and I just adore my sweet little babies!