She's just a real stright shooter with "upper management" written all over her

Just some Sunday photos.....

Grace wanted me to "take a picture of my flip-flops from the dollar store, and my cute outfit"

Alison wants YOU to enjoy the rest of your Sunday......

One of the many reasons......

.....Dads shouldn't be left home alone with the kids while Mom's at work......because Dads think that quiet kids in a house are a good thing......they don't realize that mom left her purse where little ones can reach it with enticing, shiny little tubes in them......who knew Alison's mom even left the house without her lipstick?

18 Months!!

Yesterday was Alison's 18 month birthday......time flies! Ashley took her to get some photos taken Saturday morning...Ali wasn't the most cooperative subject they'd ever seen, but 18 months is supposed to be a tough age for photos.

Not scared of the camera, at all........ Ashley got a picture with Grace at 18 months and wanted to do the same with Alison
One of the smiley pictures they got.....they zoomed in on it for the actual prints...
The saddest little girl in the world......

Dolls and Swings

It's been a looooooooooong time since I've posted any video on her of the girls! Here is some video Alison playing with her baby-doll.....she loves to feed her and push her around in the stroller. There is also some clips of Grace and Ali playing on the swing set.

Check back later this weekend for some pictures from Alison's 18 month photo alert.....*spoiler alert* Don't look for a lot of big smiles.

The whole thing.....

I forgot to include a picture of the entire swing set in the last group......

"How much would it have cost to have them build it for you?"

Happy Father's Day Weekend! What did we get my dad? The opportunity to drive 380 miles and spend 12 hours building a new swing/play set for the girls in our backyard! (Note - Don't ever exchange gifts with us!) It was a lot of hard work, but the girls really liked it a lot! Here a few pictures.....

Papa gives Grace the tool she'll need in her job as project "foreman"......
......her hands "cuffed" so she can't get in any trouble....... Grace helps Papa measure.....she got to hand him the square and made sure he had his "distructions" (a blend of directions and instructions.....and it sounds appropriate too).....
Grace hanging out on the deck tower after that part was built......
Posing with the monkey rings.....
Alison gets her first taste of the new toddler swing.......

I know where these guys will be all summer.....
Ali's legs just kept "bicycling".....
A close-up of the joy......
Grace and her friend from down the street, Tecola......

Play Day '08

Today was State Farm Play Day......for those of you that aren't familiar, State Farm puts on a carnival for employees and their families every June at State Farm Park.......it's a very cool thing that they put together......there are a lot of rides like you'd see at a city fair, food tents, games for all the kids, food tents, face painting, balloons, food tents, crafts, and, most importantly, food tents!

It was kind of a rough start to do the day....Ashley had to log in (work from home) Friday night at 9:45 PM......I had gone to bed at 9:15, and when Alison got me up at 4:30 and we came downstairs, Ashley was just finishing up!! She didn't expect to be up all night, but she was......so she went to bed right after that and slept until 7.......

The other rough part was the rain......we've gotten a lot this spring, and this week was no exception......about 90 minutes before the start of Play Day, we got some huge rain! Luckily it stopped right before the gates opened.......it was VERY soggy the whole morning though...we squished and squashed thru the bog and had a lot of fun.....this was Grace's 3rd Play Day and Alison's 2nd.....although the rain took away the couple of things that she could do at her age (inflatable jumping castles).....Alison did really well, and hung out in the wagon most of the day just people watching.......we were amazed at how well she did, and how much she ate (corn dog, pizza, strawberry shortcake, donuts, and ice cream).......a huge family nap when we got home!

Alison getting ready to lay down after a hard day and to prep for Play Day........
First thing we went to was the face paint (Grace's idea)....Alison actually let them do it....this kitten is usually scared of people....
Not so sure about it after a few minutes.....

Grace the butterfly (although she asked them if she could be an elephant, but they didn't have that as a choice) proud of her paint....half of it was cried of later after an "incident" with a helium balloon floating away.....
Alison adds some "ink" in the form of her new tattoo......
Grace shows off her island princess tattoo.....
Grace got to ride "big kid" rides this year since she's right at 42 inches tall

Grace and a classmate from Pre-K, Sydney, getting ready to ride the "scrambler".....

Alison hanging out in her hoopty.....
Trying cotton candy for the first time.....she wasn't crazy about it.....
Grace rode a couple rides with a friend from Sunday School, Emma (they'll be in the same school class next year too)......
Alison LOVED the school bus........

Pooh-jama Party

The final theme day of the week at Miss Nichole's was Pajama Party.......Grace and Alison decided to go with a Pooh Bear theme for the day.......


Grace poses while Alison throws a fit abo0ut getting her picture taken......
Maybe she just needed a drink.......I've had those days myself........
Posing together..........
Big Sis with a half-hug for her homey.......

The Miss Match Game

It was mismatch day today at daycare......I hope it doesn't hurt your eyes too much!


Even the tooth brush doesn't match........

"Do these shorts make my butt look big?"

Wild Hair

A few photos of the girls over the last few days...

Alison is super excited about the first day of June...

Alison posing before church Sunday morning...

Wearing a new summer tank top from Aunt Vicki and Uncle Ted...

Alison's never far from her two favorites...a glass of milk, and Teddy.....
It was crazy hair day at the sitter's today....
and Alison went with the mohawk look....

Grace wanted 5 pony tails.....
......and she got them.....
kicking back......
One more aerial view of Alison's tails....