April 29, 2008

• The Update

  I know, I know.  So I'm just going to move on...  This is where we left off:

  

  Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!  Just had to put that one in one more time.

  The girls did some painting:

  

  And some dancing (with Daddy):

  

  And we bought a set of hot rollers!  Luckily there is enough left for Livi after I do my own.  If you look very closely in the first photo, you will see that I have some in too.

  

  

  

  And the end result:

  

  

  

  Then a week or so ago we went to Tulsa to see the zoo.  Tulsa is only two hours away!  We stopped at the Oklahoma Welcome Rest Area to have a picnic lunch:

  

  

  

  

  

  FYI, we think Norah spilled her water in the car, and her pants were drenched.  They were laying in the sun, and were almost dry by the time we left.  Daddy finished them off under the hand dryer in the bathroom.  Then on to the Zoo!

  

  

  It is not as nice a zoo as the MN Zoo--especially since the animals don't have near enough room.  I did love that about MN; the animals were in an environment similar to their natural one with room to roam.  Not so much here.  More like the Como Zoo, but times one and a half.  Does that make sense?  There were lots of neat animals.  Including these ones, dancing to the music in one of the pavillions:

  

  

  

  

  We didn't bring a stroller, and the girls got tired quickly being out in the hot sun and not having much of a nap beforehand.  So there was a lot of this:

  

  And on the other side:

  

  Then we had a monumental occasion around here...Norah Kathryn turned 2!!!  The cake was a joint effort--Jon chose the shapes and baked the cake, I came up with a design and frosted it.  We make a great team!    Norah calls it her "Oinky Cake."

  

  The Birthday Girl:

  

  We took our cake over to Grandma & Grandpa Rustad's house, and they supplied the ice cream, coffee, and milk.  Norah had so much fun!

  

  

  

  

  

  This present was from Grandma & Grandpa Rustad.  It has quickly become the new favorite baby around here!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Norah got a ton of packages in the mail too!  Special thanks to Grandpa John for the handmade puzzle!  Thank you shout outs to Catherine, Stephanie, and Jenny too!    And Karly, we know yours is coming, LOL.

  Then this past weekend I got to fly to Montana for my sister's bridal shower.  By myself.  Without the children.  Alone.  Have I made my point yet, lol?  I have never left Norah overnight before, and the last time I left Olivia was when Norah was born.  Can you believe it has been two years???  Jon found a ticket for a great price, and we jumped at it!  I had to get up at 2:30am to drive to Tulsa on Friday morning, because the ticket was half the price of flying from Bentonville.  I picked up a couple books on CD, and listened the whole way without getting tired once.  Then after an entire day of sitting on airplanes and making mad dashes in the airports to make my connecting flights, I ended up in Billings to surprise Jess, Leighton, and Dad.

  It was a blast, and I'm so glad I got to go!  We had a lot of fun, and I didn't even worry about the girls.  Daddy, Liv, and Norah had fun too, but I think we were all ready for Mama to come home when she did.  Here are some shots from that weekend.

  Grandpa Collins holding his newest great-granddaughter, Katelynn Marie, who is six weeks old.  She stopped crying every time she heard his voice. 

  

  Teresa styling Grandma Collins' hair:

  

  The gift table: 

  

  Bryant, Katelynn's two-year-old brother (both children of Sara & Brant's):

  

  

  Jacob (Teresa's oldest) holding Katelynn:

  

  Grandma Collins: 

  

  Leighton holding Katelynn.  Despite that look on his face, he did hold her for a VERY long time!

  

  Grandpa & Grandma Collins:

  

  Jess, Leighton, Katelynn:

  

  Teresa with her crew: McKenzie, Jacob, and Jeremy

  

  Jess snapped a photo of me too:

  

  Auntie Susie, who hosted the whole weekend event.  Thank you; thank you; thank you!!! 

  

  Auntie Mary holding Katelynn:

  

  Shower Games...can you guess which one this is?

  

  And guess who was the bride for the other team?  Also check out the train carrier...

  

  The "brides" (though one looks a lot like Mother Theresa, and the other looks like a hippie)

  

  Mother Theresa says to the Hippie, "Are we getting married? Because I think that's illegal."

  

  Here's Jess with the rehearsal bouquet I made out of all the ribbons from her shower.  Can you see the one made of duct tape?

  

  This is Jess and Gail, Leighton's mom:

  

  And now, since I didn't have my own girls around to take lots of pictures, I had to take lots of pictures of Sara's!  Here are my favorites, some both in color and sepia:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Hope you enjoyed the update!  I would say I promise it won't be so long until the next one, but I'd rather just say I'll try.  And I will try!!!

  • 1:53 pm
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