Eating and Fun :)

Kylie loving on the chili I made, complete with Daddy's goldfishy additives.

"Can I help you with something?"

The stately Bud E. Clifton :)

McKenzie being McKenzie

More Fall :)

Fred the Bunny assisting with the leaves :)

McKenzie's shadow :)

A big jump into a not so big leaf pile :)

Still loving it......

Cider Mill and Long Weekends

Life has been so incredibly busy lately, I don't even know where to start. Balancing working 3 jobs, going to school, and all the while managing the house has proved to be a very overwhelming task. This evening, I went to lay down to sleep before my shift started on Tutor.com and I slept HARD for about an hour and a half. When I woke up to two little girls jumping all over me and not feeling the greatest, I now know I need to cut back. As much as the money is fabulous, I have to cut back my hours of tutoring online. Adding 10 hours/week to my schedule, most of which is up to midnight or later, I just am drowning. But, life is GREAT.

My girls are wonderful and my husband is pretty great, too :) Yesterday, while daddy was working on boat stuff, I drove to my favorite cider mill and had a blast with my girls. On the way home, I crashed an old college roommate's house and we had a great time catching up. It's moments like yesterday that take your breath away :) Life is so fast. So, so, so, so fast. I think sometimes I get caught up in the race that I forget to see who is running alongside me. Without my teammates, I know I couldn't finish the race, so I know, too, that we all need to run together.

Here's a pic of the girlies from the Cider Mill...the only good one I got since I was all alone. I was so distracted, I left my 1/2 gallon of cider there! Stink! Alas, so is the life of a mommy, who knows that she couldn't do this without her husband :) Thank you, Jesus that he's still with us :)

Chicago

Final family pic before heading home :)

Oh so sleepy...

She is too :)

I slept later in the day :)

Chicago

My twins taking off their shoes...Kylie is her shadow :)

And of course, Chicago Pizza!

Michelle and I -- 10 years later :)

Schmook and I....7 1/2 years later :)

Chicago

Family shot...and yes...McKenzie IS under the penguin :)

Me and my schmook... :)

Shopping in the Disney Store!

Feeding the pigeons while Mama and Michelle buy popcorn :)

Chicago

Catching some TV before bed :)

Early morning sunrise...pretty, huh? :)

Kylie was hungry and looking for some breakfast :)

And while waiting, she decided to build a tower instead!

Chicago

Kylie checking out the fishies....

Daddy and McKenzie waiting for the 4-D movie to start :0

The dolphin/beluga whale/penguin show :)

The girls getting ready for dinner...gotta love the view :)

FIELD TRIP :)

We went to McKenzie's first ever field trip with her preschool on Thursday. It was to a pumpkin patch/apple cider mill. Even though we don't celebrate Halloween, she picked out a pumpkin to bring home and we colored it instead of carving. We had cider and doughnuts and saw some animals. Very fun, but FREEZING! It was about 32 degrees that morning and bone chilling windy. But, we had a good time :)

A covered wagon, but we didn't get a covered one.....

Huddle up to stay warm!!!

Family photo op on the wagon. Kylie doesn't look too happy.

Found the perfect pumpkin! I love this picture :)

Sunglasses and Fluffy...Errr....Zach

Daddy picked up the girls some new sunglasses while at Rite Aid the other day :) They love them. While traveling back home while doing a flip-a-roo with Mama, they stopped in Auburn Hills/near Pontiac and a nice woman living in a one bedroom apartment asked if she could give McKenzie a present. Turns out, it was a big pink duck! She reminded us to give hit a bath before McKenzie snuggled with him. Well....it seems this duck (once named Fluffy...now Zach) has replaced our beloved Luke E. Clifton. I am very sad and not sure what to do. If you have ever seen Toy Story 2, you know what I am talking about :( Alas, such is the stage of toddlerdom I guess. I miss Luke E. already. He sits quietly on her bed, awaiting her return. In the meantime, Zach has become her constant, faithful companion.

Fun at Home :)

Kylie helping Mama clean...ALWAYS wear a helmet when dusting :)

Daddy taking over bath night....Bubbles...Bubbles...and MORE Bubbles!! :)

Did someone mention bubbles? How do we get out of here?

Mama's Organizing, But Where Are The Girls?

About a week ago, I took on the biggest task of my life: organizing the girls' clothes. When finished, I had 19 bins full of clothes organized from newborn to 3T. I also had five garbage bags full of "unusable" clothes. Rob did a great job near the end of keeping McKenzie and Kylie entertained! Thank you, honey :)

I'm not as happy as I look here :)

Kylie discovering boxes....Tascha discovering....Well...Nevermind :)

Peek A Boo!

McKenzie had a riot!! :)