Our Family

Last Post for this Blog!!!

2008-05-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! :D

Just letting everyone know that I have updated us to a newer blog. I will keep this one as is, but will be adding all our family photos to the new one from now on.

You can check it out at http://connmusictoo.blogspot.com

This will make it easier for me to keep just one blog to display everything. Our older blog would only let me update posts. The newer ones let you add side pics, lists and links.

Have a great night. Chat with ya'll soon!

PS...mom I posted those flower pics we spoke of to the newer blog. Enjoy! :D

Sunday Family Moments

2008-05-25T14:40:00.001-07:00

We just had the best...I mean the BEST day. Adam is so great. It was all his idea for us to take advantage of the beautiful weather and get out of the house. So we did. All day long. We went to lunch at the mall. Then it was off to the Locks! We got there just in time to watch a huge ship going through. What fun. A nice lady offered to take a picture of all of us together. This picture is my new desktop.

After the Locks, Adam took us to the beach. It was the most beautiful day ever. The water was cool and the girls squealed as they put their feet in. Pretty soon they were kicking and splashing one another. :) This was so fun.

On our way back from the beach, Adam got curious and looked around and then pretty soon we were all going down the hill and under the bridge! :D

Midnight Movie and Drive-In Moments

2008-05-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

We got the best invitation Wednesday Night! Travis, our friend said that he was putting together the new Indy movie and we could come watch it with him at midnight. We took him up on it and had such a great time. We got home a little after 2 am. Travis let me take a picture of the movies upstairs. It is so cool to watch him clip and tape movies together. He has done it for so long that he's amazingly fast.

Saturday night Adam and I took our girls to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was sooooooo fun! We had already gotten to see a midnight showing on Wednesday night, thanks to our great friend, Travis. When we took our girls we could focus on explaining the movie and Snack Bar trips. :D It was such fun!

Free The Portland Four!!!

2008-05-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Baptism on Sunday

2008-05-19T07:38:00.001-07:00

May 18th, 2008 was a very special day in our church. Our girls got baptized! :) Although I video taped their actually baptism, I have a couple of pics to share.

Here they are waiting on the platform while Don shares a few words. From left to right: Olivia, Kayla, Courtney, Michaela, Alex, Sam, Jessica, Trevor and a young man we didn't know.

Here is a picture of Sam and Alex after they were baptized, drying off and watching their friends coming after them. This was Michaela's turn.

Then Courtney.

And finally Juliana. (She was a surprise baptism at the end.) :D

It was a very happy day and the girls were so thrilled.

Alex's Cultural Celebration at school

2008-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

Alex had her Cultural Celebration last week. She was responsible for sharing about Egypt. She was so cute when it came time for her to share her speech. :) I was very proud of her for speaking louder than usual and really enunciating her words. Very good job Alex! There were three speakers invited to join us who each lived in a different country and could tell us all about the differences there compared with America. They were from Russia, Sweden and Germany. We got to see their currency, pictures of castles and taste some of the different foods they eat there. An excellent time was had by all and I was thrilled to share this with Alex.

Sam's Band/Chorus Recital

2008-05-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Sam had her band/chorus recital. Adam had the day off and got to see her perform in the afternoon at school. She did a great job, they all did! :D

Sam was sporting a black eye from a run in with a friend on the playground earlier in the week. So, we applied lots of purple eye shadow and she was just beautiful. Here are pics of her ready for her evening performance. She was wonderful!

Samantha & Poetry

2008-04-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Every year there is a Poetry Speak Out at our girl's school. Every grade, every class has the opportunity to recite a poem in their classroom. A winner is chosen in each classroom. So, there are 3 kindergarten winners, 3 first grade winners, 3 second grade...and so on up to 6th. These children have a Poetry Speak Out in front of the whole school and one winner is chosen to represent their grade. Sam was chosen to represent the fifth and sixth graders of her school at the Poetry Speak Out where she said her poem along with the winners from the other elementary schools in our town. She won!!!:D We are so proud of her! Here she is with her teacher, Darcie Fregoe! Thank you again, Darcie, for coming out to support Sam. She loved having you there.
Sam is posing with all the other school winners before this speak out began. Their picture will be in our local paper.

Here is our beautiful Sammie, thrilled to be bringing home another award to put on her dresser. :D

Styling Grandpa's Hair

2008-03-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Sam & Alex were having fun with Grandpa's hair. :p

Adam's Movie Room

2008-03-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Adam had asked me to post some pics of his movie room for Jeremy, after they talked about it on the phone the other night. Here they are!:)

Sam's Second Piercing

2008-02-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

After talking it over at dinner Saturday night, Sam got her second piercing Sunday afternoon. She was so excited. She never cried and she said that barely hurt at all. :O This morning, they looked perfect, no redness or swelling...just like she'd had them for years. Amazing. She just loves them.

Callie, Alex and I at the new Mac Together

2008-02-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

Callie decided enough was a enough yesterday and she was going to be in on the new computer too. LOL She sat in various positions before deciding on this one. She is so cute. Alex came to check things out after a while too.

We won't have wireless set up until March (their earliest app time :O), so until then...I've been heading to McDonald's (and Wifi) with the girls. They have really enjoyed eating out a few times...and I've gotten to go on-line while we are there. Fun!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T11:11:00.001-08:00

Here is our Valentine's surprise from Adam. Flowers, aA box of chocolates and a card for each of his girls. :D I love Valentine's Day!

Snow Fall and Fun!

2008-02-14T11:07:00.000-08:00

My Dad asked me (while driving through Florida yesterday) what our weather was like. :D LOL There are no words Dad. So, here are some pics of our snow and our girls at play. Enjoy!

Sammie's 12th Birthday

2008-02-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Here is Sammie making her wish...then she posed like she was blowing out her candles. LOL She blew them out before the camera was ready. :D Ahhhhhhh...the times to remember. Later this week, when we are all over this evil flu that's going around, the girls and I will make Sam's birthday cake from scratch. We'll celebrate with the rest of the family next weekend at Pizza Hut! One more year and a teenager will live in our house. :O

New Fish Tanks

2008-01-27T14:29:00.001-08:00

Sam, Alex and I went to Walmart the other day and they decided to spend their allowance money on new fish tanks for their room. Alex chose the purple one with a very large god fish. Sam chose the green with 6 little tiny fish. (Could they be more different!?!?!) :D Alex's fish is named Lava. Sam's are , Volcano, Joey, Henry, Sammie Jr, Speedie, and Angel. Gotta love the family pets. :)

Saturday Morning Breakfast

2008-01-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Adam left for work this morning around 9:30 am; the girls and I decided on such a cold morning, it was time for some blueberry pancakes. :D This is a pic of my plate...with blueberry tea.

Sam stood by the pancakes waiting to flip them. Alex mixed up her English Breakfast Tea with some milk. :) (It's fun that they both have distinctly different taste buds.)
Alex's were done first. So, she took them in to watch some cartoons...I mean it is Saturday after all. :p

Sam was busy flipping them and smiling when she did it right.

All of the pots and pans were out of the oven because after breakfast I would be baking. The oven was pre-heating.)

Last minute I offered them Whipped Topping. (like at Cracker Barrel :D) They jumped at it. A great morning and then off to play outside they went. Good Times.

Homemade Play Dough

2008-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

Sam came home frustrated the other day. During Art Club she finally got to work with her favorite medium...clay and they only gave the children about 30 minutes. She was so sad. (She loves sculpting things.)

So, with the girls having today off, I made some homemade play dough for her to make things as long as she wanted too!

They loved that the dough comes off the stove warm. (I love that their isn't any color in the dough...and I won't find pieces of orange and red all over the place.) :)

You just put it in some containers and it keeps for up to three months!

I've included the recipe for others who might like to try this with their children. :D Enjoy!

Homemade Play Dough

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 cups of salt

6 tsp. cream of tartar

3 tbsp. of oil

3 cups of water

Dissolve the salt in the water and then dump the rest of the ingredients in the pot. Stir quickly as it will turn into dough really fast. (I had the ingredients already measured out in seperate little cups ready to pour in when it was ready.)

Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes until it is play dough consistancy. Viola! Play Dough! (If you want colors, seperate the dough and add food coloring. I've done this step before...only to wind up with a mess...so...we stick to plain and let them paint it once it dries. Two crafts in one.)

PS...although not toxic...it could make a child or animal sick to their stomach to eat this...there is a lot of salt in it!!!!! Just a warning!

New Artwork

2008-01-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

We finally got up our new artwork from James French! We just love it. It's called Lock and if you are interested in seeing or purchasing any of his artwork you can visit him at www.thejamesconcept.com. :D

More Homemade Goodies

2008-01-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago I finished this bag. I just used fabric I had in my storage tub under our bed. It was a fun project and I got a new purse/tote to use. :D

Growing up my Mom used to make these clover rolls for sides at dinner. I just found a recipe for them and added my own healthy twist with three kinds of flour. I can't wait for my Mom to see this picture...she loves these rolls. ;)

Homemade Pillows

2008-01-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my Sis-In-Law, Andrea, I've gotten my sewing machine back out! :D This is such a fun and useful hobby. Today, while shopping, I picked up a single yard of fabric on clearance for $4.00 a yard. Shockingly cheap for the weight of this fabric. I brought it home and in exactly one hour...I had 2 new pillows for the ottoman. Fun, Fun!

I'm getting ready to redecorate the kitchen a bit and I've decided on a deep red as accents to both our living room and kitchen. Bringing together both rooms. ;) Making these pillows was a great way to get started!

Thanks for the inspiration Andrea! Much love. :)

Alex Turns 9!

2008-01-07T08:07:00.001-08:00

Our baby girl, Alex turned 9 today! We can't believe how old our girls are getting. It's just amazing. After blowing out the candles on her strawberry "little debbie's" cake :D she squealed...this was the best birthday ever! LOL

All weekend long starting on Saturday morning...Alex got her way...as Sam's birthday gift...she woke up early to play with her sister (she really loves to sleep in...so this was very generous on her part. :D) Alex got to choose where we ate...where we sat at the theater (they saw Alvin and the Chipmunks again while we watched Juno)...she was on cloud nine when Daddy brought in the blue slushies!
She was so excited when we took her out shopping last night. Grandma and Grandpa had given her $10. for her birthday...we chipped in $25. and she got a new Tomb Raider game and she couldn't hardly wait to play it. She and Sam jumped in the shower together...they didn't want the other playing the game first! Oh, man...do you remember being that excited??? We actually had to make them eat their Taco Bell like it was broccoli and peas! It was really fun.

I kept coming in to see all the levels and Lara's cool house with all of the "sweet" rooms! :D LOL To hear your children talk in a different style than your own is so funny. Everything is sweet this or there are knuckles clashing to symbolize something they did that was awesome! Too funny. I love being a mom!:D

Snowy New Year

2008-01-01T15:38:00.001-08:00

I just had to take a few pictures of our weather outside today. :O I can not remember a winter with more snow than this one. It's just shocking. When I opened our garage door...the snow was up to my knees and I had to start shoveling before I could even take a step outside.

Talent Show at Church 12-31-07

2008-01-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone. :D Last night we had a Talent Show at our church. It was amazing to see all the talent our little NTC has! AMAZING!!!! There was comedy, singing...dancing...a body movie (a scene acted out with music and no words...this brought tears to everyone in the congregation)...and artists got to show their beautiful works. And they were all truly...beautiful. I didn't take a ton of pictures because I knew how they turn out because of the size of our church, but here are a few of the highlights we did manage. :D
Mom Conn was the first member of our family to show her talent. We got to see her picture of Ian, and two watercolors. Everyone was just amazed by how great they are. (Of course!) :p Then she shared her testimony about art and picking it back up and I cried. What a beautiful story of God's ability to restore that which was lost!

Next came Sammie. The audience ROARED with applause when she finished! She was so nervous and still had incredible timing and hit every note. We were so proud of her.

I put Alex's pics first because she was called back up at the end to lead us all in the song, "Awesome God". :D The minute she got up on the platform everyone went..."Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." She did so great...we were so proud of her as well. Heather Ramsdell commented later, "Sure we asked her if she wanted to be on the kids worship team and she said...no. Then she ends up leading us all. Now if that isn't just like God to call out her gift. LOL". Like I said it was just an amazing night.

Heather Ramsdell's daughter Gabe sang a veggie tales song and had others join her in the end. (This kid can sing too...great control.) Sammie is in there somewhere. :D

This is Don Curry ya'll! LOL He was so funny...we all laughed and laughed. This was obviously a skit, but holy cow was it a good one.

Meghan, Mary, and Jae-Jae did a skit on Christians Who Don't Do Anything (another song from veggie tales) and Adam played the music for them. They were so funny...you can just make out Adam in this picture as he is smiling so much I had to try and get a pic of it. They were a riot!:D

Here we all were in practice.

Who were the people to go on last, last night? Adam and I. It's becoming a tradition for us at this point. We were the last to be water baptized the year before...and last night I sang a solo for the 1st time in 30 years. Adam played the music for me. He is the most wonderful husband ever. I mentioned to him that I think I would like to do Live For Today just this week. His only opportunity to get the music ready was Saturday night. He spent the few hours we did have finding the right beat, preparing the chords and creating the right sound to play. It was such freedom to get to sing again...and not just in my living room. Woohoo! God is just so good.:)

This is the most special gifted man I have ever known and I am so privileged to call him my husband, my friend, and my partner for life.

Happy New Year ya'll. Posperity, living life more abundantly and happiness, this is my prayer for all those we know and love. God Bless.

Presents From the Caron Family's to our Girls

2007-12-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Our girls were positively glowing from all the money and candy they received from my side of the family. :D They will be shopping their entire vacation! Thanks Nana, Papa, Uncle RC, Aunt Jeanine, Torrie & Brandi! We love you all.

Missed Loved Ones

2007-12-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

I've been staring at our presents as I download all the pics and it dawns on me that this is the first year of my life I'm not posting pics of my side of the family. I've started crying. Hearing all the laughs from those in the living room...I don't want to ruin their fun...but I miss my folks. I wish they had been able to come home for the holidays...maybe next year.

I miss you Mom and Dad....and I love you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. I hope you come home soon for at least a visit. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO Shel

Callie at Play on Christmas Morning!

2007-12-25T09:16:00.000-08:00

This is my smallest baby...Callie. :D She has so much fun with all the presents and wrapping paper...the tree and the tinsel...all the holiday decorations are her Christmas presents. (I can't wait to clean up our livingroom and have everything back to normal. LOL Not very Christmas of me huh?!?!?! After several weeks of moving things off of the end tables so that I can clean...I realize why I don't have knick-knacks! :D)

Our Girls

2007-12-25T09:13:00.001-08:00

I actually took so many pics...there is just no way to post them all...but here are some highlights!

Andrea and Jeremy's Gifts to Everyone

2007-12-25T09:10:00.001-08:00

Homemade Presents!

2007-12-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

These are my special homemade gifts from our girls. I just love them! The Plate is from Alex and the Sign is from Sam. I'm so blessed!

Daddy's Opening His Stocking

2007-12-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning Stockings 2007

2007-12-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

We woke up and our girls were ready to go. They patiently waited while I took a shower and blew my hair dry! After getting Adam in the bathroom to get ready...the girls got to open their stockings! I didn't know it, but Sam had made sure my stocking was stuffed with dark chocolate mint yummies! (She knows me so well! :D) LOL We had a great time and now they are snacking on all their candy while Daddy finishes getting ready and I put on my make-up! We'll call Grandma and Grandpa up and they will come over with Aunt Reba too! Then we'll open the bigger gifts. :)

Growing up...this is how my mom made it bareable for RC and I to wait for Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Tootie to come over to our house. All the adults would want coffee...flapjacks...we just wanted to open! :D So, we opened our stockings. It's so fun to watch my own children doing the same thing!

Christmas Eve 2007

2007-12-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the family tradition I grew up with and we still continue it to this day...PJ's the night before Christmas! Here are our girls freshly showered and soooooooooo excited to open their first present! :D There was nothing but wrapping paper left on the floor as the flew to their bedrooms to put on their new PJs!

Sam came out first. Cutie isn't she!?!?!

Alex was next...she was so funny. Hers was a bit large, but she will totally grow into it. In the mean time Daddy will make her laugh about her wrinkly ankles! Isn't she adorable!?!?!?

Merry Christmas Eve Ya'll! Much love!

Shopping for our First 'Real' Tree

2007-12-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we left the house a little after 11am to go hunting for a real tree! :D (This is Sam, Alex, and my first real one...ever!) We all had our favs. Alex picked 1st.

Sam picked next. Then me! (Ok...I wasn't being realistic at all...but it was so fluffy and big! :D)

Adam's choice was just sad. He said it reminded him of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special tree. Wow...now is that a sad looking Christmas tree or what?!??!!:O We finally settled on one we all liked and no one would answer the door to sell it to us. :( So, we waited until we were done with our Christmas shopping and went to the lot on the other side of the town. (The one Mom Conn recommended.);)

This place was so way better. Selection...help...it was great!
We all browsed around, but kept coming back to the same tree.

Here she is! It was a tight fit, but we got her home!

Callie was so curious we were very concerned for the future of our new tree. :D But she eventually settled in.

Poem From the Internet

2007-12-12T14:12:00.001-08:00

I read this poem on one of the sites I like to visit and it so spoke to me that I had to share it with all of you. Be all that you can be! Love you all!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Christmas in our Living Room

2007-12-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

Since I had the camera out anyway...I strolled around our living room snapping pics of all the things we've collected from our girls over the last few years. Every table has something they purchased from the $1 store or they created with their own hands at school. :D Every year is different...with new additions. We are so blessed.

This dish was full of soft peppermints at the beginning of this week. :) Guess it's good that I only opened the one bag and saved the other in the cabinet to restock it! These little paper glasses are so cool! You look through them at any light and you see snowflakes or snowmen or stars. We all get to enjoy them every year!

Snowmen are my personal favs this time of year or could you tell!?!?! :D This is a snowman that sings and plays holiday tunes...he's been with us fro 2 years. The girls made us the snowmen pots at school. They both had the same teacher a few years apart, so...I was lucky to get one from each of them.

These are candle holders that Alex made me by pushing her little thumb into the play dough. Then they painted it. Too Cute!

The tree will be coming home with us on Saturday, we are all so excited! (Including Callie who will be hard to keep out of it. :D)

God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

2007-12-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

Here are our girls after finishing their second snow person...this one represents Alex. (they said) :D

Sam was hard at work on the Callie Snow Kitty.

Alex worked on the Sammie Snow Person.

Up close pic of the Callie Kitty. Sammie was so proud! :p

Here are our girls with the whole family of snow people. Sam, Daddy, Mommy, Alex and Callie.

They asked me to stand next to the one that was me!

We turned around to see Callie watching us from the window.

A fun night!

The Making of A Snow Man!

2007-12-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

I heard a knock on our front door as the girls were playing outside and when I opened it...this is what I saw. Three large snowballs, two little girls and a question. "How do we put these together to make a snow man?" LOL :D I loved this and the way it was presented so much...I grabbed the camera, my shoes, hat, mittens and came out to join in the fun!

I informed the girls that after many years of experience making snowmen :) that you really should only roll the bottom ball. They get too heavy to lift after that and so you start building the second ball...on top of the bottom and so on until the snowman is built! Ok...watch me and you do the same! :D

I finally stepped back and said...ok...decorate away! Sam had run in the house at this point and found brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds and a carrot...while Alex ran across to our lilac bushes and grabbed some branches. (Our poor, poor lilac bushes!) :D

Piece by piece our snowman came to life! :D

They were very proud of their snowman.

Here he is in all his snowman glory! :D As soon as I came in to download these they started to work on the next one. They have one more and we will have a whole snowman family out front! I will post a few pics of all of them when they are done!

Sam's Chorus Recital (Evening)

2007-12-11T14:16:00.001-08:00

Sam had her evening Chorus Recital last night. She and all the children were awesome! Mr Warner the music teacher is just amazing. What a gift he is to our school!

At the end, they had a bit of a cast party. :D Cookies, drinks and a chance to socialize with all your friends who were in the recital. I snapped a few quick pics or our girls with Michaela! They are all so beautiful. Don't cha-think!?!?! :D

Happy 13th Anniversary To Us!!!

2007-12-03T10:14:00.001-08:00

We woke up this morning to a snow day at school...the girls squealed loudly upon finding out! :D LOL Remember what that was like!?!?!

Today is our 13th anniversary. We can't believe how fast the time has passed and we are so blessed to know this weekend we are getting away by ourselves to spend time together! God is so good. :) (And so are our parents one set who offered to take the girls for us and the other who sent up extra money for us to have a nice meal while we are out together! Thank you to all our parents for helping make this an anniversary to remember! XOXOXOXO We love you all.)

Success Board Assembly

2007-12-03T09:57:00.001-08:00

Friday afternoon both our children received Success Board Awards! Samantha for being an Academic Ace and Alexandra for showing incredible respect & extreme politeness towards her teacher & everyone! We are so proud of both our girls. We are so blessed by them and who they are growing up to be and by the school God has blessed us with that encourages them to be all they can be. :)

This is, my dear friend, Nanette's daughter receiving an award also. I thought Nanette might like to see the pics I took of Michaela! Congrats Michaela you are doing great at school and you are so beautiful! (Just like your Mama!):D

Girls at Play in the 1st Good Snow of 2007

2007-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

It snowed really good last night and the girls were dieing to play out in it all day. Yes, it's 4:37 right now...and getting dark already.

Band Concert 2007

2007-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Last night Sam had her Christmas Band Concert. She did a great job and we were so proud of her!

Sam's school band played at Tommy's Downtown

2007-11-24T15:18:00.001-08:00

Tommy's downtown hosted a visit from Santa! While everyone waited for Santa to arrive, the elementary band played Christmas songs. Santa led the last one when he came in. (It was very exciting for Sam because channel 10 news showed up to video tape the event for the news.) This was a lot of fun! :D

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-11-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

Well, our Thanksgiving was a very relaxed and wonderful one. It started with a fun phone call to my folks in GA.
Followed by cooking and then transporting. We all got together at Mom and Dad Conn's house. The food was great, the conversation funny and the games...well...very competitive! :D LOL A good time was had by all and ended with Dad and Princess having a good snooze. After food, but before napping Jeremy called to wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day! PS...thanks for the computer advice Jeremy...I'm sure there will be a few more calls before one is finally purchased! ;) God Bless our family that is far away...hope your day was equally fun and relaxing. Love you all! XOXO

Thanksgiving Eve 2007

2007-11-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

Well, it's snowing already! :) Surprise, surprise.
Alex was playing on the computer with her doll from Aunt Andrea and Uncle Jeremy...had to take a pic of that too! She was moving the doll's hand to push the keys on the keyboard. Too Cute! :D

Daddy Verses Sammie :D

2007-11-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

This is so funny...had to share. :D On Sunday afternoon Adam and I were playing Galaga on his arcade game. He beat me to say the least and put his score in the #1 spot, bumping Sammie from the top.
The very next day, Sam played the game until she could put her score in the #1 spot.
Last night, Adam came home and played until his score reached 108,000 and put that in the top spot!
Laughing this morning he kissed her good-bye and said top that one! :D
She just brought me a hand written note to give to him when he comes in tonight.
"138,350! That is my Galaga score! ha ha! Crash and Burn my friend, Crash and Burn! I am the new champion! Beat that! Love your arch enemy, Sam. It's saved too...go see!! :D "
I ask you...do they get funnier than Adam with our girls?!?!? I think not. LOL
The saga continues....

Chocolate-Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

2007-11-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

These little beauties are just delightful! :D Had to share a pic. I made them in a total rush tonight and was thrilled with the simplicity of the recipe. They are a wonderful treat with Turkey Day coming up!

The description that won me over:

These pillowy treats take a note from Thanksgiving's "it" pie, combining pumpkin and spice-so nice! :D YUM!

I found the recipe in The Everyday Food Mag. by Martha Stewart, the November issue. It's a good thing! :D

Heroes Unmasked

2007-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Heroes Unmasked at church.

Halloween Parade at School Oct 31st!

2007-10-31T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here are our girls at school! I went to Alex's class first. There I put on her make-up, helped her into her dress, sprayed her hair with silver glitter (loaned to me by another mother pictured next) :D and took off for Sam's room!

Here at Sam's room, I put on her make-up and glittered her hair. Then I took pics of her with her friends and one of her classroom. They were so excited!

Next came the Parade. The kids got to walk around the school showing off their costumes! :)

I think the highlight of this for me was walking into Alex's 3rd grade class and hearing the boys gather around me....saying...let me stand next to Alex's mom...hey...I'm almost taller than her! Ahhhhhh....to be so short third grade boys are impressed...is something to be proud of! LOL :D

Our Girl's Oct. 31st, Morning

2007-10-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

With their hair in curls and their fake nails applied, our girls were off to school! :D

I leave in just an hour to help them get on their outfits and make-up before the school parade starts. Fun, Fun! More pics later today and then after the Heroes Party at church tonight!

Bringing Up Little Girls!

2007-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, this day has no pics to go along with the post, but it was so funny, I had to share. Today, our girls learned being a girly girl isn't all it's cracked up to be. They much prefer to throw a baseball, go fishing with Grandpa, play tag and wrestle! LOL
They have been begging me to purchase them fake nails. They found them in the beauty section (at Wal-mart), in their size and haven't let it go for two months. So, I thought about it and finally purchased them a pack for Halloween. They are both dressing up pretty and I thought they might like the nails to go along with their costumes.
With their excitement at seeing them and even more begging (I'm such a push over.) we put them on tonight. At 4 pm they went on. At exactly 5:30 pm, they came off! :D LOL
You should have seen them eat their dinner and when Alex asked for, "Little help here!?!?!" after using the bathroom...I about died laughing. They asked how in the world women wear these things...they are so pretty, but how do they get anything done???
And there you have it. The appeal and glamour of fake nails shot down in record time and my old Nan's motto is even more true than ever...you learn something new everyday.
May all their lessons be this easy to learn. (and this much fun for Adam and I to watch!)

Sam's Palm

2007-10-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sam's 6th grade teacher went after and received a government grant for her class. She used it to outfit her classroom with palm's for the kids, and a whole computer system. They take their tests with a remote at each of their desks. :O It's not the classroom I grew up in...to say the least, but we are so blessed that she is in this class and is receiving such a great education! Here she is with her palm, doing homework. ;) {She said she would teach me all about it!}

Shelly and Callie

2007-09-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

After our visit with Jeremy and Andrea, I fell asleep and Adam snapped this pic of me and Callie together. He said he sees this every night. Some things never change...here is the first pic he ever took of the two of us sleeping together when she was just a baby. Luckily, she no longer sleeps across my neck...she's about 10 pounds now! LOL :D

Visit with Jeremy, Andrea, Ian and Sawyer

2007-09-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

Cousin Jay's Wedding (our family)

2007-09-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Aunt Merredith and her gift with pics we have some amazing family shots from our cousin Jay's wedding on Saturday. :D Thank you Aunt Merredith!
Here are some random shots from the wedding. I'm hoping to see shots from others in the fam on their blogs. Much love ya'll!

First Day of School 2007

2007-09-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here are Sam and Alex on their first day back to school! :D They loved it...I took pics of them all the way until they crossed the highway with Uncle John!

A Days Events

2007-08-14T05:29:00.000-07:00

Adam found them this at Plattsburgh mall. It's a piece of stone that has two shark teeth in it. So, they each got to dig their piece out. They loved this. {Again...I was baking during this. LOL came out to take pics and see their progress!}

Our girls loved the cookies and tea! :)

Nature Walk

2007-08-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa took our girls for an overnighter on Saturday. This is a nature walk that they went on. It was one of many fun things they got to do with their grandparents that day. Every time we called to check on them they were laughing and having fun. After seeing these pics, we know exactly why. Our kids are blessed with lots of love on all sides! :)

Church Picnic 2007

2007-08-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again! Church picnic time! :D There were friends, food and fun....good times.

Summer Fun

2007-08-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of pics of the girls over the last few weeks. :) Random moments of summer fun, if you will. :D They each got a turn holding and feeding Jonas French on Sunday afternoon. They both came home saying they love babies.

Here is a picture of Alex's playing dress up in a new dress from her friend Michaela Herne. :D Michaela and Nanette are always so generous with us...and Alex gets all kinds of lovely hand-me-downs. This is just one of the items from two large bags of clothing, shoes and rollerblades! Thanks again you guys are such a blessing to us!

After trying out her new rollerblades from Michaela, the girls were hooked. We went out and found a pair for Sammie and they've been living on them ever since. :D Summer fun...does it get better than this?

Last, but not least, we've been baking too. :D Bread, rolls, biscotti....our house smells wonderful all the time.

We are so blessed, what a great summer!

Water Park, Last Day of VBS 2007

2007-07-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of VBS. Our church had water slides come in and all the children loved it! :D

After being a good daddy and visiting with everyone...Adam wandered into the church and this is where I found him. :D He loves playing his keyboards! {I love seeing him happy!}

Good Times!

Homemade Strawberry Biscotti

2007-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Good evening! Sam and I baked some treats again today. Just thought I'd share a pic of our latest creation, strawberry biscotti. :D Yum! I had an end piece when the first came out and they were still soft. We can't wait to have them with breakfast tomorrow.

{For those who don't know, biscotti is a hard Italian cookie...that gets soft in tea or coffee. It's a wonderful treat and I loved this recipe.}

Kefir Rolls with our Girls!

2007-07-13T05:18:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning, our girls and I started baking together. :) They made their first batch of Kefir Rolls and they did a great job!

This is going to be our summer that they learn to cook. I will post pics of their accomplishments as the summer progresses! :D

2007-07-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of our lovely home without the fence! It came down about two weeks ago and we love it. :) I mowed the lawn today and it was so nice not to spend two hours trimming afterwards.

Fireworks July 3rd, 2007

2007-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight, in our weird little town, they celebrate the 4th...with fireworks on the 3rd! :D Crazy...let's not even go there, but it's always fun. Tonight, my Mom came with the girls and I. We had a great time. Thanks for coming Mom! XOXO

Talent Show (Evening Show)

2007-06-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

These are pics of the evening talent show. It was so much fun to watch all these kids ham it up! :) They were great.

This is a pic of my beautiful friend Nanette and her lovely daughter Michaela. :)

Talent Show (Daytime Show)

2007-06-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

The girls were both in the talent show this year. Alex played Zero Tolerance on the keyboards and Sam dance with her two friends. (Their friend Michaela sang, so I included a pic of her too! :D) This is the day performance.

Sam's Final Band Recital

2007-06-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

Samantha had her final band recital this week. :) She did a great job. At the end Adam took a few pics of Alex, Michaela, and Sam together. Good friends, good fun!

Pioneer Club

2007-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Pioneer Club ended for the summer last night. This is a class the girls get to participate at in our church every Thursday night. They each won 5 badges that I ironed onto their vests this morning. They were so excited to show their friends at school. :) The pics start with the youngest class and go up to the oldest. When kids are 12 they start attending the Cross Current downtown. So, Sam has one more year to earn badges and Alex has 4!

Alex's Success Board Assembly

2007-06-01T06:57:00.001-07:00

Alex was on the Success Board again. :) We are so proud of her. She has worked very hard in 2nd grade. It's hard to believe in three weeks, they will be out for the summer! Woohoo! :D

The Circus

2007-06-01T06:47:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, I was really, really sick, so, Adam took our girls to lunch, the Pirates of the Caribbean movie and then to the Circus. They came home extremely happy and I had the whole day to rest. Here are some of the highlights of their time out with Daddy. :)

Our New Nephew!!!!

2007-05-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Sawyer Benjamin Conn. :D Andrea did great! We are so happy for them and can't wait to hold the little stinker ourselves. Love you guys.

Afternoon of Fun

2007-05-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today, after I went shopping with my friend Connie (and daughter Candace), Sam brought home two girls from school, Crystal and Alex. Then Heidi from down the road came over and they all practice a dance routine for the talent show coming up. Connie stayed and watched too. :) It was fun.

Alex was very excited with the new play check book I had gotten her...and Candace was equally thrilled with her new jewelry from her mom.

Here is a group shot I had the older girls pose for. Alex, Crystal, Sam, Alex and Heidi. :)

Alex and Candace decided to join the bigger girls while they danced. This was cute to watch.

Here is a pic of my new friend Connie and I .:)

Adam, Sam and Alex doing yard work

2007-05-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

This Sunday evening, while I prepared to go to Heidi's surprise baby shower :), Adam took the girls outside to teach them to do yard work. I loved this and ran out with the camera to catch all the action. ;D They did great and now we are going to pay Sam to do the lawn. Hallelujah! I've done it for 6 years. I love this.

New Hair Cuts!

2007-04-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

The girls went to JCPenny today and donated their hair to locks of love. Aren't they beautiful in their sweet bobs!?!?! :D

Sam's Chorus & Band Recital

2007-04-26T18:18:00.000-07:00

We arrived early and got front row seats. :D Grandma and Grandpa showed up and we all had a great time! Sam was amazing! What a great kid!

Playing with Daddy

2007-04-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

The other day, Adam came home from work a few hours early and sat down to thumb wrestle the girls. LOL It turned into this and I just had to get the camera. These are the important moments...the ones that really count. :D

Easter 2007

2007-04-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Easter morning 2007 at our church. Mom brought the camera so we could get pics. :) It was was a great morning. Followed by lunch at Mom and Dad's and then a trip home in the snow. :O Yup...that's right snow! It was a really nice day.

Easter Eggs 2007

2007-04-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Easter Eggs this year were a lot of fun. I even got to do 5 myself. :D I took the first 4 or 5 pics and Sam finished! LOL Our girls are just getting so big.

Alexandra's Gymnastics Recital

2007-04-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Here is Alex at her Gymnastics Recital. LOL She was so adorable. She would just barely slide over that vault and let out a little yelp as she would slip through Mr. A's hands onto the mat. She did a great job and we are very proud of her.

Alexandra's Success Board Assembly

2007-04-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Alex is sitting against the blue in the back row. :D She was on the Success Board this month and we are very proud of her! She received an award.

Samantha's Gymnastics Recital

2007-04-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, these are pics of Sam's Gymnastics recital, but they are all out of order. LOL :D I haven't figured out how to upload more than 5 pictures and keep them in order yet. (The new google account is weird.) But they are all here. Hope you all enjoy. She did great! We are so proud of her.

Callie's New Toys

2007-03-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Callie was soooooooo cute yesterday night. We brought her home a squeaking stuffed mouse and a beta fish. She rolled and played with the mouse and then sat to watch the fish swim. It's like her new TV or something. LOL :D

Sam's 11the Birthday Slumber Party

2007-02-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

The birthday festivities started right after school with Michaela and Megan coming home with us after school. Pizza came and shortly after..so did Victoria! :D We have a full house and the girls seem to be having a good time! :D Let you know if I survive this! LOL Right before bed we will be watching Narnia and having popcorn...movie candy....yum... Tomorrow morning we will all to McDonald's for breakfast...and then off to their homes. A good time had by all....and no sleep. :D

Saturday Morning

2007-01-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Adam came in to find us all watching Veggie Tales this morning! :D He smiled, grabbed the camera and said, "Oh, I have to have a picture of this." It was so much fun. I love Saturday mornings!

Mike and Lis Visit 2007

2007-01-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Mike, Lis and Keira Kim came up for a visit this weekend! :D We went over to visit them after church and Dr. Kim took pics. Here are the two Mike sent us today. :) Thanks everyone. We had the best time! What a great family the Kims are!

Alex Turns 8!

2007-01-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

Alex turned eight on Jan. 7, 2007! :)
She had a great birthday. Thank you everyone who sent gifts, cards, and money.
We took her to Pizza Hut with all the Conn fam and the wait staff sang along with us as they brought the cake. :) (I forgot the camera at home after taking these...so, I don't have any pics of that.) But she had the best day! :D

Our New Year's Celebration

2007-01-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

On New Years Night, Adam and I re-dedicated our lives to God and got water baptized. :D We were the last to go up. Adam got the opportunity to talk before he got in the water. I sat behind him on the step crying. :)

Then I entered the water and spoke myself. I cried some more. :D It was a great crying though.

Then Dave and Don prophecied and prayed.

Amazing. Just Amazing. There are no words.

WooooooooHooooooooooo! :D

Then it was Adam's turn. He was so serious. Again they prayed and prophecied. Awesome, just awesome.

Adam came up ready for the good fight!

Dad met us at the back with the camera. We were so happy! There are no words to describe our joy! We are finally, after all these years...serving our God! With our whole hearts!:D

Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Andrea's Christmas Gift

2006-12-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

Just, yesterday, the girls and I started the present that Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Andrea sent. It was a rag doll that we could make ourselves. (Which couldn't have been a better gift since Adam had given me a sewing machine for Christmas. :D)

Alex's doll was finished first. I had just finished putting the hair on when I handed it to her and snapped this pic. She loves this doll! :)

These dolls were simple to assemble...but wow...turning their skinny legs and arms inside out, once they were sewn...well, that was a bit of a test. LOL :D
I was also able to give them each really full hair! Each doll kit came with the option of brown or orange hair...and our girls chose opposites. So I had twice as much yarn to work with for each doll. ;) Worked out great!

These were awesome presents Aunt Andrea and Uncle Jeremy! Too cool ! Thanks again! Much love. :D

Christmas Morning 2006

2006-12-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning! I came out quietly to take a pic before the girls woke up. :D

Grandma and Grandpa were the first to arrive!

Then Reba showed up!

After a good wrestle, the girls were ready for presents! LOL :D (I can't wait to see Andrea and Jeremy's boys in this pose someday! )

Callie was just as peaceful as she could be through everything.

Sam and Alex opening gifts from Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Andrea! Thanks you guys! :)

Adam spent the morning giving out presents to everyone.

Sam and Alex with two of the gifts from Uncle RC, Aunt Jeanine, Torrie and Brandi! Thanks you guys! :)

Here they are with the rest of the gifts...including hair scrunchies. (I had them face each other so you could see them both!:))

Callie came out to inspect everything as the boxes started opening. She loves boxes! :D

Thank God for Aunt Reba's toy assembling skills. :D They came in very handy with these new doll houses. Daddy unwrapped their new barbie limos...and I opened individual barbie dolls. With all of us chipping in...the house was almost cleaned up and back to normal by the time Aunt Reba left at 2 pm!

Thank you everyone! We love you all! God Bless you each...may this new year to come bring more blessings than you thought were even possible! Much love!

Christmas Eve 2006

2006-12-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve Night was spent opening a few gifts, making cookies and watching movies. :)

We recently sold our big screen tv, so, now we watch movies in the livingroom with a projector and screen. We can pull out the screen when we want it and fold it up for storage in our closet when not in use. Very handy. ;)

Here we are in our new pj's. :)
Sam took a quick pic of Adam and I just as the phone rang. After this pic, Adam talked to Jeremy while the girls and I made sugar and gingerbread cookies! :)

The night ended with the girls bringing out their sleeping bags and pillows...after the movies they got to sleep under the tree with all the presents!

Christmas Specials at NTC

2006-12-17T18:03:00.000-08:00

Oh Wow is God moving in our little Upstate NY Church of NTC! :D We just had two lovely Christmas Specials. The first was to raise money for our local food pantries. Praise God we made more than our goal! :D It was called Christmas in Song and they did a fabulous job bringing God praise and honor through song. Here is how the church was decorated that night. And these are tables of cookies and treats that were served after while people visited. (I had the honor of helping sell tickets at the door for the second year in a row...I hope I get asked for this duty next year. It was awesome. :))

Our second special was a Christmas worship song expressed with dance and flags, on the following Sunday morning. :) This was tremendous. We all felt totally uneasy...not completely prepared, but wanting to give God our all. Where our skill and preparation ended...God was there and in the end...His glory was there and so our hearts were blessed to be used by Him. These are some behind the scene practice pics Adam took and a few of the actual dance.

Group shot at the end of practice, right before we ran up to get dressed and ready. I love this group of women!:)