Miss America 2013 Weekend

How's it going with everyone? I'm getting pretty close to healthy again and so grateful to be that way. I've spent the last couple of weeks waffling back and forth between feeling human and feeling run over by a truck.

But in the middle of all the yuck was a yearly tradition that makes me happy and exhausts me at the same time. I'm, of course, talking about Miss America weekend. 

We were almost all here this year. Courtney just had a week of vacation and this was her weekend to work so had to miss. Boo!

Myla's baby stroller got a lot of play time. Not just for the baby dolls! 

These two were so funny. 

We tried to take a picture of all 3 of them.... you see how well that worked out

 This time next year our Jamie will be living somewhere else. Her hubby, Justin, has joined the Army and at this point they have no idea where their first post will be. We're thinking we need to all just meet in Vegas next year! 

This years picks

It's really fun to watch how all the girls have learned to look forward to this tradition- as much as (sometimes more) than the 3 "founders" of this madness.

She's ready!

 This year came down to these two. We've taught them a little too well maybe. This was taken seconds before they found out who won.

No drama around these girls

Think she's a little excited? They are our friends for sure.

Courtney, as last years winner, also missed out on crowning Gabi. Olivia was soooo excited to do it for her. 

Miss America 2013

xoxo

Lissa

I Heart Faces Photo Contest~ Best of 2012

Of the HUNDREDS of photos taken in 2012 this is one of the last. Taken as a gift for their Mommy & Daddy they had a lot of fun & so did I!

It's a wonderful life

Since I posted the other girl's Santa photo I had to do Myla's too. 

I love Christmas. And there are 5 little girls that make it so much fun! They are all at such great ages, there were many happy squeals throughout  the morning.

Courtney and Ray had a bit of a glitch with their Christmas morning. I guess Grace decided to get up and open ALL the gifts. Lucky for her, her sisters were very understanding. 

It's so hard to wait to open all these pretty packages

This one has her uncle's wrapped around her little finger

She knew exactly what to do with those wrapped boxes

She love the hat her Aunt Amy made her and "The King And The Lion" movie

4 is a magical age for Christmas. Everything was just what she wanted!

Blurry photo complete with closed eyes courtesy of Miss Gabi

She has him playing Dora so she can watch  ☺

Don't worry, this baby bounces. She was right back on after this. 

Another Gabi shot

Rapunzel doll with matching dress from Nana & Adam 

Danee is so creative! She made this adorable kitchen for all the girls. It stays at their Papa's house to play with.

And if you want to talk about creative, this one wins the prize. I love clocks. I have a wall that has clocks or photos of clocks that I've seen but couldn't bring home. Big Ben being the perfect example of that. This kid knows me inside and out. Danee made her way around Kansas City and took photos of different clocks. And while that would be so cool in itself she kicked it up a notch or two. There are 9 clocks- 1 for each of my babies and their babies. The times she recorded on each clock represent each of their birthdays. So Danee's clock is top center and the time on it is 2:25- her birthday is February 25th. And on it goes. EJ said she'd get up and say "I gotta go!" and he'd know she was off to a clock. Truly one of the very best gifts I've every received!  ♥

:

Adam & I do our Christmas on Christmas night. After all the craziness of both of our days it's nice to get home, put on my pj's relax. 

 Love my coffee makers!  ♥

I hope you all had as good of a Christmas as I did!

xoxo

Lissa

Christmas sleepover with the Reece's Pieces

The girls came a couple weeks before Christmas and a great time was had by all. We had all the normal things going on. Coloring, movies complete with popcorn, manis and pedis, games and tea party.

There was also quite wrestling match 

 We used my Christmas dishes for our tea party. I bought these Christmas of 1989 and love them. I need to find more so I have enough settings. 

The girls decided they don't really like tea though.

 We went to Bass Pro to visit Santa too. We got there early enough that the line wasn't around the store!

She's getting so stinkin big!

She wouldn't sit with him when they went for preschool but decided this was "the real one" She looks so serious but she chatted with him a while before the photo. This one is getting too big too.

Oh Maggie Beth. Our little 4 year old space cadet. She's such a sweet girl. So excited to see Santa too!

These weekends get easier and easier as they get older. I hope the day never comes that they don't want the spend the weekend with us. Can't wait for the next time!

xoxo

Lissa

Starting 2013 right...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well, we made it to 2013, past the Mayan end of the world and everything! We're still working on our Zombie Apocalypse plan around here though. Can't be too careful.

I have so many things to share right now. So many memories to be recorded, put in black and white to prevent them from becoming those wisps that fade away with time. Some are so good that when written it doesn't do them justice. Some are pretty bad and scary. 

The last couple months of 2012 were a roller coaster ride. The high points were sky high. The lows mostly involve my dad's health and those continue to be a struggle. I'm much more optimistic but it's still a worry. It's hard to be all these miles away. My brother and sister, like always, have stepped up and helped in so many ways. Feeling very guilty about that for sure.

Here's a quick peek at the best thing about November...

We took a little trip. Halfway across the Pacific Ocean. Funny thing about being that far away and being gone as long as we were, you relax. We still had phones and tablets. But email was checked only once a day. Instagram  was the most used bit of tech that I used.

Fun partner in crime

I had a "few" of these

Waikiki at sunset. It gave me a lump in my throat. Corny, but so true.

The water was only a few feet from the covered lanai 

Ate quite a few of these... from different places

Did as much of this as possible... the sand time AND the beer

We even went to one of these. So much fun!

There's a lot more of our island days to share, as well as the holiday- they're coming soon!

Do you make resolutions? That's kind of a tricky one for me. I usually start the year with some ideas of how I want to make the new one better. Sometimes they stick, sometimes not. One that hasn't stuck in recent years has been to loose the Columbia weight that I put on when I moved here- 5 1/2 years ago. I do some minimum gym time, and do well for a while and then I get a better offer. Food, wine, beer, TV, computer, friends- they all seem like better offers. So the only goal I'm going to make on that front is to be wearing a pair of my favorite Levi's again. Not sure how many pounds it'll take but I want my butt in those jeans. Oh, and they need to actually look good.

I want to be a better writer, a more consistent one. I've said this before too, but if it's something I REALLY want, I'll be able to achieve it. 

There are a lot of upcoming events around here in the next couple of months. Miss America,  6 birthday's , a new grand baby- Gwen. I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

We love 13's in this family, so here's to making 2013 a great year. 

xoxo

Lissa