Eating at 11:30 PM!!??!!

Ok, so you might wonder why I'm sitting at my kitchen table eating chicken and tator babies at 11:30 pm and all I have to say is....I'M STARVING!!!!

I couldn't sleep because my thoughts kept going to different types of food and different places I love to eat....Warren's fries, El Matador's entire menu, McD's Big Mac, etc....I just couldn't stop!! And the more I thought about each food item the more hungrier I got!! My stomach was doing twists and turns because it was so hungry. Finally I crawled out of my nice warm bed (and I didn't get a nap today so I really wanted to be sleeping) and found myself elbow deep in the refrigerator looking for something yummy to eat.

Now this is a great step for me because lately nothing has been sounding good. The thought of most foods would make me literally gag! I've been living on almost nothing because food has NOT been my friend. I'm not sure if this is a sign of things to come but I'm hoping so. It all started when I was cleaning up from Hannah's after school snack...she had Froot Loops (yes, nice and nutritious, I know). As I was closing the bag, which only had a small handful left at the bottom, I got a whiff of the colorful fruity cereal. My mind starting going crazy...THEY SMELLED SO SO SO GOOD!!! Better than anything, really! So, for the next little while all I could do was sit on the couch and smell the Froot Loops within the bag. I looked like a horse with it's feeding bag on...completely pitiful!! I had Greg bring me home a new box, which was heaven. I nibbled on a few, smelling each one before I put it in my mouth (the blue ones smell the best) and to my surprise, they seemed to sit fine on my stomach. From there I moved on to strawberries....YUMMY!! Then it was time for bed...and now here I sit chowing down on chicken!! I guess, if this is a sign of good things to come, I can credit my YUMMY YUMMY Froot Loops with my change in appetite! Those little, yummy, colorful, tasty, fruity circles are a life saver. I think I may buy stock!!

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be 12 weeks. I'm free and clear to speak openly about being pregnant with twins (yes, if there is anyone out there who hasn't heard yet...TWINS!! Holy Cow!!). Gregor wanted to be cautious (wait until 12 weeks) and for the most part, I think I did a decent job of not telling everyone. It's been a very very rough pregnancy so far but, as I've said, I'm hoping this midnight feeding is just a sign of good things to come!!! :)

Yes, I'm still alive...barely!

I just wanted to let all of you know, who are wondering if I fell off the face of the earth, that I am still alive. Not feeling the best lately...hoping to improve in that area within a few weeks or so. I have tons to blog about and can't wait for my energy to return so I can do just that!! Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Aruba Vacation-Part 2

Ok, so on with the show...


One of my favorite things we visited was the old ruins. I just love stuff like that because I try to imagine what life was like back then. I like how it's just so full of history!! If walls could talk!! Again, I was amazed that there was no one there to make sure the site wasn't vandalized. That's just crazy to me! Here are some pics...


Here we are standing in the doorway. I can't believe the entire place was carved out of a rock, or I should say, a HUGE volcanic rock!! Just crazy!!

Here's a pic that shows part of the rock that it was build from. You can't see really well here but the rock is it's wall and then they broke up the stone smaller and build around it. Very cool especially considering the fact that they didn't have power tools!!

Here's the inside view...I just can't help but wonder what it looked like when it wasn't in ruins.

Here's Dare-Devil Steve taking a pic from the highest point. He had to scale a couple of walls to get there!

So this was a pit carved out of the volcanic rock that Aruba is made out of. At first I didn't think much of it until we realized that on all four corners there were broken off posts/bars. As I took a closer look, I realized that it had been covered by something at one time or another. We all decided that it was some sort of jail or torture chamber that was covered by bars so that no one could get out. Then when the tide was high, it would fill with water and possibly drown the people within it, or at least freak them out a bit, as it filled with water. We all took our turns climbing down into the pit. I have to admit, it was somewhat freaky to think about what may have happened in the pit, especially when I had crawled down inside of it but it doesn't look like it phased Greg at all!!

Here we are posing infront of the beautiful water, on the top part of the pit. It really was very beautiful!!

Here's little Elsie...she was such a good little girl on this trip!

Here is a pic of a stone tower I made on the beach, just outside the ruins. These little & big towers were EVERYWHERE!! Again, no plaque or anything to explain what they were or what they represented. Mine is the middle one in the pic. I'm hoping I didn't build some "tower of prayer" to some strange god that I'm not suppose to be worshiping!! I do plan on looking it up on the internet and see what I can find out. If I do, I'll let y'all know! It would be fun to return a few years from now and see if it's still standing but I'm sure I won't get that chance.

After we went to the ruins, we went to go see the Baby Natural Bridge. There was a huge Natural Bridge that collapsed in 2005 right next to the Baby Bridge, wish I could've seen it before it was just a pile of rocks! Here's the collapsed Natural Bridge...It doesn't look too big from the pic but if you scroll down, I have a photo that will put it all into perspective.

Here's a pic of the Baby Bridge...check out all the trash in the water!! Not sure where it came from but I'm assuming from out at sea.

I asked Greg to take a pic of me sitting on the edge of the baby bridge. He didn't want me to get that close to the edge because he was afraid I'd fall.

Here's the pic that will put all the "size" stuff into perspective. This is a pic I took when I climbed on top of the collapsed natural bridge. It's the same height as the edge that I climbed onto. Now if you look in the right-hand top corner you can see a man fishing. Yes that little white speck is a man. Click on the pic and you'll be able to see him better. Put things into perspective, doesn't it!


Here's a pic of Steve, Ashley & Elsie checking out the waves.

There was an actual blow-hole that we, of course, had to take pictures by. It was so cool!! Never seen one of those in person before. You can see a little rainbow in Ashley's pic. I think Steve was being "bah-humbug" when it came to "blow-hole" pics.

Poor little Gregor cut his toe on the "you'd never believe how sharp this volcanic rock is" rocks. But don't worry, I took care of him. Nothing a little wet-wipe can't fix! :)

Well, there's part 2. Good times!!!

Part 3 is on it's way!

Aruba Vacation-Part 1

So, we have been planning a get-away to Aruba for about 6 months now. Our friends, Ashley & Steve, came with us. We left our little ones (except Elsie, she came with) with friends and family!! Thanks again Catey for watching our children!! Nine kids @ church?!? You are one brave woman!!
Anyway, once we were at the airport, it all became real. We were on our way!! YIPPEE!!

So after our 5 minute stint in 1st class, compliments of Steve ;)...we were on our way to Aruba!! Here are the guys during our layover...


Here's Greg curled up in a chair attempting to take a nap. Remember, he's 6'3"!!!


Looks like Steve opted for the more comfortable route...Ashley's shoulder.


We finally made it to Aruba after a very, very, very long set of flights. I personally didn't think it was too bad because I slept most of the way. Steve got a few minutes of shut-eye BUT Greg & Ashley didn't have a visit from the sandman. Needless to say, they were exhausted by the time we got to our rooms.


Here we are bright-eyed & bushy-tailed and ready for our 1st full, non-zombie-fied day in Aruba.


Greg and I on the steps of the lighthouse. We had hoped that we'd get to tour the lighthouse but that wasn't the case. Infact, most of the tourist stops in Aruba are pretty much a "self-serve" kind of thing. No history plaques, or stats to read. No tour guides. No marked paths or "watch out for cactus" signs (Greg could've used that). It was pretty much just walk up to the item of interest and check it out.


While we were taking pics of the Lighthouse, the "LOVE MACHINE" drove up. Ashley had to get a pic of it for Livy because it was pink!! We took advantage of the mobile attraction and took pics infront of it. Here's Greg and I lovin' the Love Machine!

The back of the Love Machine was pretty funny. It's bumper sticker said "Real Men Love Jesus". For a moment, I thought we had somehow went through the "time-traveling Tunnel of Love" and found ourselves in Texas!! Who knew there were others out there, besides Texans, that would sport such a bumper sticker! Of course, our "real men" had to pose for a pic of the lovable sticker.

The island of Aruba was a pretty weird "tropical" place because it was covered by cactus!! They were everywhere!!! What kind of "tropical" island is a desert? I thought this pic was funny because the cactus are practically on the beach and you can see the ocean right over the hill. Very, very odd!!

When we drove by this house, I just had to get a picture. It's yard was like a Christmas themed yard sale/thrift store!! The picture doesn't do the yard justice because it all wouldn't fit into the frame of my camera. But believe me, it was quite a sight to see!! Now, if you can, zoom in on the pic and notice the poster on the side of the garage...it's on the right-hand side on the white building. Go ahead, check it out!!!..........................................................................................................................Now, you might be saying, since when does a pin up of a girl go along with massive Christmas decorations, to which I would reply, I have no idea. They must feel that Jesus is ok with young ladies exploiting themselves!!

Now, if you don't have a Christmas tree to decorate because they don't grow on your island, what do you do?? You use the cactus across the street from your home of course!! Don't be silly!! Obviously they didn't feel that decorating their ENTIRE yard was enough so they decorated the cactus across the street.

So that's it for part 1....hope you enjoyed it.

Part 2 is coming soon!!

Why Not?

So, I just sat down to quickly blog about our fun trip to Aruba. I had meant to do it by now but it has been just crazy trying to get back into a groove, especially with Thanksgiving!

But I had a few extra minutes this afternoon so I thought "why not?" Well, I'll tell you why not!! I took over 600 pictures while we were there!!! How am I suppose to do a quick post when I have 600 memories I could chat about!! HOLY SMOKES!!! Looks like Aruba's gonna get it's own vacation book!

So, I've decided I'm still going to blog about Aruba for my friends and family but I'm gonna have to do it is sections. There's just TOO much to share to put into one post.

Over this next week, I will try and get all the sections done. It looks like I'll have to do about 5 sections because I've chosen abt 50+ photos to share.

Please bare with me...It'll totally be worth it!! :)

Happy Halloween!

So every year I try and make sure I take the time to make my kids Halloween costumes. There have been a few exceptions thus far but for the most part, I make it happen. This year the kids went as cowboys! It took me quite a while to find exactly what I was looking for for Hannah's costume but I think it came together great!! Hannah helped unpick the ruffle that was around the edge of the skirt so I could use them as patterns for our new fabric. I really lucked out and found the jacket, already complete, at a local thrift store! I was so excited!! And Gabe's was fun to make and I was surprised that it turned out as cute as it did! I had messed up when cutting out the pattern for his chaps so I had to improvise. And for someone who only sews about twice a year, I'm not very educated in the "let's improvise" area of sewing. The only thing that didn't work out was boots for each of them. I looked everywhere...thrift stores, ebay, craigslist, etc but I couldn't find any that were in good shape and at a decent price. I can't believe how much cowboy boots are!!! It's crazy!!! But I think the costumes turned out great even without the boots, though with the boots would have made it that much better!! The kids seemed to have a great time trick-or-treating and the weather was surprisingly nice! It was a great day!!


Hannah in her Cowgirl outfit


"Howdy there, partner!"


Strikin' a pose!

My handsome little cowboy!

On our way out to Trick-or-Treat! You can't tell by this picture but the kids have mulitple layers of clothing on underneith their costumes. Infact, Gabe found it very difficult to walk in all of his. Hannah or Greg kept having to help him up the stairs cuz he couldn't bend his legs all the way. I thought it was rather funny!! :)

We brought the red wagon along to carry the candy when it gets too heavy for the kids to carry.

Grandma and the kids!

3rd Annual Ball's Halloween Party!

So it's become a tradition in our neighborhood for the Ball's to throw a Halloween party! We all look forward to the event so they better not think of canceling it!! Anyway, Greg & I couldn't decide on what to dress up as then I remembered Greg's FAVORITE Jazz wigs that we got at a game a few years back!! PERFECT!!! We'll go as MAJOR Jazz Fans!! Greg wasn't overly excited about the choice but I was in charge. So after a trip to the thrift store to find some jersey's and a couple of tubes of face paint, we were good to go!! Our outfits cost us...$6!! Pat on the back for me! :)

Here are some of the people who were at the party. I'm only putting those I know won't be upset that I did. If you were there and wouldn't mind me putting your photo in, just let me know and I'll add you!!


Here are those CRAZY Jazz fans!!! I can't believe Greg let me paint his face!! What a good sport!


Here's Catey & Aaron or Little Red Riding Hood & the Big Bad Wolf!!


At the ward Halloween Party, the Hanks told me I would appreciate Ashley's costume....Ummmm, not so sure of that but I do have to say it was very creative!

Here's Ashley demonstrating her costume...a cat that's been ran over by a car, or she may want it to be a Semi because she can't stand cats!! I guess everyone has their flaws!! ;)

The Monsens...Tiffany is pregnant and so she came as an oven with a bun in it and Mike came as the Baker.

Ok, so I can't remember who the Leatherwood's were. They were from movie that I had never seen. Something like...Yeah, I don't have a clue! Sorry!! But I do have to say that Melissa will look HOT when she's old and grey!

Here are the Holtz. Maryanne is a Yankees fan but I'm not sure exactly what Aaron is. A can of Red Bull?!? Anyone??

I thought this was really creative as well. Rheanna is pregnant and so she went online and googled "costumes with robes" and this is what popped up. She's the swine flu & Justin is the doctor. Notice the actual box of Tamaflu (or whatever it's called) in his hands. Bet you didn't guess their kids just had H1N1.