Thanksgiving Day Hike

SIX (or a 1 and a 5)

big sister is always there to read cards, and help open packages

The kid wanted a pogo stick, where did that come from?

so happy to be a 1 and a 5!

she is something!

Halloween 2008

Minne Mouse and Dorothy, all ready for the great candy caper!
Minnie Mouse in our backyard!

Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, or Wendy, from Wendy's restaurant?

Loooovvveee the freckles!

This is the girls all bundled up to go out and see the pumpkins all lit up. It is cold here so Sophie is bundled in her coat, and Syd is using her blanket. Brrrrrr.....

Here they are, mine was supposed to be a spooky cat, yea, that didn't work out. Sophie was so patient and carved this wonderful spider in its web. Patience really does pay off!

Scott, the official scraper outter. He found a new tool this year and works like a charm.

Sydni is learning to be just like dad. Actually she just loves the gooey stuff in the middle. It "feels good" she says.

Note the tongue sticking out as she concentrates. She worked literally for an hour just to get the outline. Then I carved it for her. Not really ready for carving. It turned out awesome as you can see in the photos.

EIGHT

This is the day before eight. We had a small family party at home. First, we headed to Sophie's favorite restaurant, The Golden Coral, for fruit buffet. Then we headed back to the house for cake, ice cream, and presents. The kid raked it in I tell you!
This is September 19, 2008. Here she is 8! This is at Libby Lu's where she invited her dearest friend Molly. They had their hair done, nails done, and make up was eveywhere. This is Soph's before shot!
Yes, they paint their nails and then dust the tops with glitter! It's pretty spectacular!
This is the rockin' girl look! It's also a look of pure happiness!

A place for girls! Scott, poor guy, he is surrounded by pink and purple smelly things.

Happy Birthday Sophie!

We've expanded! Lucy is her name, and being a member of the Amick family is her game.

Sydni thinks she is just adorable! At 9 pounds she is easy to pick up and boss around. Here is the greatest part...she doesn't care! She loves to be loved!
Dumped into someone's yard she was free to us! We have got to get her housebroken but Louie is loving this little sweetheart.

An Evening with friends...

We originally started as 10 adults and one child (one couple is obviously missing). We now have 13 children between the 10 adults. That's right, we're outnumbered! We had the best time getting together with our old friends. We started a small group when we started attending our church 9 years ago. We were all newly married, without children, and full of ourselves.

Now we are full of children, occupations, and doing for others.

We have grown in more ways than one...

Especially Baked, in an Easy Bake Oven!

Sophie's oven was a gift at Christmas, we haven't used it all summer but we pulled it out to bake some fudge cookies. Anyone know if the batters ever expire? There's no expiration date and we have had them for a while!
Sydni, always wants to get in on the action. This is hard because she can barely see over the counter and mom is terrified that she will be burned by the oven!

I have a red plate I use for when someone is grumpy or having a bad day. If you get the red plate it means that you are even more special then normal! This is how big the cookies end of being! Daddy says, "just a little taste, yum!"
Ever tasted Easy Bake? Yuck, it's disgusting!

Off to School

Sophie, 7 is off to second grade

Sydni, 5 is off to kindergarten

Mom was an emotional wreck but we have made it through two whole days of school. I start the new year on Monday.

Pre-School Graduation

Today, I watched as my little girl went from Pre-school to a new school adventure. I am so proud of her and all her hard work. She is so bright, and creative, and imaginative. We are so very blessed to have two healthy, happy, girls that love life and all that it has to offer.

Arrrrr! I'm a Pirate...

Sophie's school carnival had a theme and we played it to the max! Love the butterfly t-shirt and the skull and crossbones head scarf! Nice! It was a blast and Sydni can't wait until Sophie's school is her school. Soon baby girl, soon...

A Weekend With the Grandparents

Daddy, trying not to tangle the fishing lines! We didn't catch anything! The lake was cold and the fish were still sleeping. We did have fun watching the geese and ducks! Louie thought about getting in but decided against it. Too cold!
All through our marriage we have several of these pictures. Scott took it, I always wonder what they will turn out like. This is pretty great actually!
Scott's mom with the girls. One goofy and the other pretending not to notice anyone!
Shake what your mama gave you! These girls know how to get down and boogie!
Scott's mom and dad. She loves to dance and he loves to just stand and watch. Sometimes she even makes him hold her hand while dancing! This was one of those moments!
My in-laws have a home away from home down in Southern Indiana. We took a weekend and just got away. We fished, and hiked, danced with a state senator, and enjoyed our time away from home.

A Day At Metea Park

Sophie, is truly a tree hugger in this photo! I love those blue eyes!!!!
Sydni with two pine cones she picked up, no worries Aunt Sharon, we follow that rule of leave no footprints while out in the woods. She placed them nicely back into the needles where she found them.
There could be not better sisters than these two, one minute ready to pull each other's hair and the next defending!


Over spring break we went to Metea Park, a local nature preserve her in the Fort. The girls and I hiked. We went through the woods and down a very steep embankment. It was a little chilly that day but it was fun to get out and about during that week.

A Day at the Toledo Zoo

The beautiful butterfly emerges from its cocoon! Wait, nope, that's just Sydni at the zoo's new butterfly exhibit. Pretty cool though huh!
Sophie, age 7, on top of the zoo's bronze statue of a tortoise. Same picture when Sophie was 2 at the zoo. Ah, the memories! (Mostly, she just complained that I made her get up there and take the pictures!)
Sydni, loves to just ham it up! We had so much fun and it was cold and rainy, but we had a lot of fun.
Aunt Sharon would love this exhibit! The baby elephant was born two years ago and it gets better every year. They were out that day exploring and we got the greatest shots of them. We love the elephants!
The girls and I love the baby elephant. We stayed and watched them a long time. We couldn't see the hippos though, they were inside and their enclosure was fogged over with Hippo evaporation! Sydni has decided that we should sell all that we have and move to Africa. Or, we could just go to the Toledo Zoo more often!