FingerPainting...Starring: Destiny and Jordi!! with special appearances by Mac and Addison!

Hello!

This morning/afternoon have been great. Pretty easy going here. The day started off with a nice run for me. Then we headed to church; the girls did not want to leave the nursery! Since church, we have just been lounging around and planning for my sister's bridal shower! There will be more to come on that later!

I was so excited to do this post because I know the special bond between cousins and it is so much fun to witness my daughter and her "cousins" playing like I played with my cousins. First off, here are a couple of quotes :

"God made us cousins, because he knew our moms couldn't handle us as sisters." -Anonymous
The above quote makes me think of my cousin Lili. I am so lucky to have found such a wonderful friend/cousin/sister/kindred spirit in her.

"Cousins are many. Best friends are few. What a rare delight to find both in you." -Anonymous

Here are a couple oldy pictures that reminded me of the pictures that I took of Destiny and Jordi together! This is a picture of Me, my cousin Ted, and my cousin Lili enjoying some ice cream cones at my grandparent's farm near Towner, ND.

Here we are in the tub...gotta clean up after those sticky cones!! (Ted and Lili: sorry for the nudey pic! Ha!)

Here are the three girlies in the tub! It was so much fun for me to recreate such a wonderful time shared between cousins.

Here is our finger painting adventure! Jordi and Grandma Dianne are starting out with some yellow paint.

Destiny rolled with her favorite : BLUE!

Big brother MAC had to step in to show the girlies how it was done!

He's practically a pro!

Dirty hands!

While the kids painted, the dogs played. Dusty and Dakota had a blast!

Addi enjoyed some sunshine on the deck.

Funny hat!

The girls had VERY messy hands (and clothes and EVERYTHING!)

Time to wash up!

Addi joined in the splashing!

After painting, the girls worked on their dance moves while I enjoyed a chat with Auntie Dianne.

I sure miss chatting with Auntie Dianne, hope you are doing well! After the dance, it was time for some rest so we headed home to take a nap! What a fun day! Destiny really misses her Jordi and Mac!

BONUS PIC ** Here's a pic of Destiny in an outfit that her "uncle" mikey gave to her after being deployed in Afghanistan. She loves her uncle mikey!

I'm off for now!

Enjoy today!

this *n* that

Good Morning!

What a beautiful morning it is! It has been so fun getting up and doing INSANITY (my workout program) with my sister! This morning it was so nice and cool, I decided to take a little jog after my workout video was over. I love the sun rise in Williston. It is just so beautiful! Matt called a bit ago and said he will be spending his day relaxing. He is currently living on base in a barracks room. The weather in Washington is hot so I don't blame him for wanting to stay in doors all day!

I decided to take some time and look through the pictures on my "big" camera. I am excited to share with you some from our first days in North Dakota.

Here is a great shot of Grandma and Addison.

For Destiny's 3rd Birthday we wanted to do a theme in her presents. Matt and I got her the whole collection of Lady Bug girl books (by David Soman and Jacky Davis) These books are great! Destiny got her first one from her Grandma Sally and she loved it so much that we decided to buy her the whole set. Grandma Sue and Pa got her a Lady bug girl costume and she LOVES wearing it. In fact, this morning that is the "outfit" she picked out to wear for the day!

The girls have had some fun times out in the froggy pool. It's only fun until the mosquitoes come out!

TODAY: This morning Addi had a mini fashion show in her pretty little dress. Here's one of the many pictures taken. She's kind of a stubborn model.

Here are the girls in their cute outfits they got for their birthdays.

We have gone to the outdoor pool 2 times now and both the girls have a BLAST! Here Destiny is playing with "Kaya", a friend she made a few days ago!

Destiny in her monkey swim suit! We are prepared for the Australian sun with the long sleeved swim suit!

On the agenda today:

lazy times in the morning

cook lunch for bekki

go to Christmas in July at the Lewis and Clark State Park

Shall be a wonderful time!

Tomorrow expect a cute post starring DESTINY and JORDI: FINGER PAINTING!!! I came across our photos from the finger painting party and thought I would share them tomorrow (or later today!)

Enjoy today!
Jill

My...oh....My Mona

Good evening!



I hope every one's day was as wonderful as mine. I have decided to embrace every second I have left in the U.S. I want to take full advantage of my time spent in Williston. I don't want to run myself ragged, or be too busy to enjoy the time I have with people. That said, I want to live in the moment and not live with the feeling of, "I'm leaving in a few months." So here is my first day with my new attitude!



This morning we paid a visit to my great auntie Mona's house. We call her SUPER great auntie Mona because she is just that special! I love her and I love visiting her house. Oh the stories she tells are so great and I love being able to be her hands and feet as I run around a do a few chores for her as we visit.

Here are the girlies in their cute matching outfits! Thanks to Grandma Sue they look so cute! They were sitting next to each other, eating crackers, and putting their heads on each other's shoulder! Sisterly love!

My favorite flowers that grow in my Mona's yard. I call her my Mona because that is what Destiny calls people she really likes. She'll say "my Pa" or "my Sue"...It's so sweet. So Mona is "my Mona".

Auntie Bekki and I took the girlies to the pool for a swim! What a great day! Enough cloud cover that none of us got burned by the sun! Destiny loved splashing around with the other kiddos and met a new friend named Makaya! Addi used the little floaty ring and walked around the whole pool! It's sad to say it folks, but my girlies are growing up more and more each day!

On the way home from the pool Addi crashed. She was sooooo tired!

Shortly after we arrived home from the pool we had a knock at the door. To our surprise my cousin's were over for a visit! My cousin Hank from Towner, ND (where my dad was born and raised) and my cousin Robin and her daughter Kaylee stopped by.

Destiny and Kaylee became friends over leftover candy from the 4th of July parade and soon were playing with the little people collection.

Destiny and Pa were in charge of the grilling tonight. Yummy veggies and Kabobs were on the menu! My mom is such a great cook! Nothing like eatin' momma's home cookin'!

DustyRose enjoyed the sunshine today and the yummy smell of the kabobs cooking away. Dusty has been out of sorts since our arrival here. She does not want to leave the yard at all. I try to take her on walks and she stops, dead in her tracks and turns for home. Well, tonight we were able to get a little farther than we have the last few nights and I hope this means that she is feeling a little more comfortable here. I have been worried sick over this. If anyone has some advice I would love to hear it!

Destiny took a pit stop from cooking to water Grandma's flowers.

Now the girls are sound asleep and I am headed to dreamland too!

Enjoy today (or tonight in this case)

Jill

Up To Speed

Hello Every one!

Today I want to take a moment and catch every one up to speed and get on track with my blog. So here are some pictures and the story of our adventure to N.D. from W.A.

Bekki and Brady were in the lead with Destiny in tow as Mom and I followed with Addison and Dustyrose! We were quite the crew. Our trip was fast and furious...we made very few stops, but survived! The girls travel so well. The trip started out kinda rough. My vehicle (which I really dislike) had a flat tire so Brady filled it (Thank you BRADY). We missed the ferry we wanted to take by just a couple of seconds, then the later ferry had mechanical problems so we left even later! From there on it was smooth sailing.

We arrived at Missoula, MT just in time to eat some dinner at Johny Carinos and enjoy a dip in the pool! Destiny swam all by herself with the floaty around her waist! My baby is growing up!

Addi is getting so big. One of her favorite activities is brushing her teeth, like her big sister!

We woke in the morning and took off. We were fortunate to have a little time to stop in and visit my Grandpa Harvey in Billings, MT. He is doing really great and it was fun to see Destiny run right up to him and give him a great BIG hug! He is a special great Grandpa!

Here is a family shot! The girls weren't too into it! haha! Please excuse my "traveling" look!

This was Addi Sue's first time meeting her great grandpa! She is so on-the-go that this photo-op was short and sweet! Grandpa loved seeing her!

We arrived in Williston late at night. The day after, my family went to my all school reunion picnic. Destiny and Addi loved the bouncy house! Here's a great shot of Addi and Grandma!

We took a trip to visit Great Grandma Ilene. She recently had a stroke and I really wanted to see her. She looked so great...you could not even tell that she had a stroke! She looks beautiful as always! She had banana bread and cookies for us. Destiny loved "performing" for Great Grandma 'lene.

Addi and Great Grandma Ilene.

This brings us to today! A morning spent at the brand new park in Williston. It is great! It is modeled after the city itself. The toys are made to look like oil rigs, the water tower, different buildings in town, and of course a barn! Addi liked the wood chips best! haha!

Destiny loved the slide that came down from the "water tower". The water tower in town is near my parent's house and ever since Destiny was a little girl she has called it "The Big Blue Ball!"

Well, I have been busy making some yummy soup and fresh picked rhubarb crisp! I am going to have a great meal tonight! Hope you all are too!

And now you are up to speed! Expect many posts about an upcoming wedding *wink wink*

Enjoy today!

Jill

Thumbingo...Peachmango...Flamingo!

Today Destiny wore a shirt with a bright pink flamingo on it. As I was getting her dressed I told her that it was a flamingo and that a flamingo is a bird. Her auntie asked her what was on her shirt and with a big thumbs-up she replied, "a thumbingo"! Later, I asked her what was on her shirt and she said, "a peach mango". Haha! She's quite the character!

I thought I would post some of our photos of our last days in Washington. I'll explain each photo!

Addi sitting in the poppies by Destiny's preschool. Poppies grow all over in Bremerton. We would get them in the middle of our front yard! They are too pretty to be a weed though!

We took a pit stop for some tea and fruit at Destiny's friends new house! We had to take the opportunity to take a couple last pictures!

Bekki and Brady came out to Washington a few days prior to us leaving. They helped us ring in Destiny's birthday with a lunch at Hi-Lo Cafe. That is one of our favorite places to eat! They even brought Destiny a yummy cupcake!

For the evening meal we ate at Fugiyama in Silverdale, WA. It is a hibachi grill type place so they cook on a hot plate right in front of you! Addi enjoyed the show!

The birthday girl, on the other hand, was a bit afraid of the fire. She spent most of the meal sitting in some chairs behind our table.

Here he is cooking our food! yum!

One of our last days in Washington we took the time to enjoy the library and fountains with Miss Jordi Flo. We had a great picnic and the girls had so much fun splashing around!

A lily for my Lili, I miss you!

Here is Destiny on her last day of school. She loved the tire swing so much! She really enjoyed her preschool class!

Our last evening in town we had a little get together with family. Here is a shot of the three girlies peeking out the window at Auntie Dianne!

Here are the boys and Destiny too! Pierce, Soren, and Mac were fun to have around that night!

Just looking at these pictures makes me miss my friends and family in Washington so much! Hope you are all doing well. We certainly were blessed to be stationed in Washington the last 6 years and have so much family around there. Thank you, family, for being there for us! We with really miss you and we already do!

Enjoy today!
Jill

The Birthday Blog!

Hi Everyone!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged! Life has been a little crazy and a whole lot hectic! ha! The girls and I are finally in North Dakota. We had a great trip here and I will post pictures and stories about that later. For today: here are the pictures from the girls birthday bash! We had the party on Sunday June 27th. It was celebrated with a whole lotta family and some friends! We had lots of yummy food, banana splits and cupcakes with princesses on top! We had a BLAST! I didn't take too many pictures because we hired a photographer. Here is a link to some of the shots that she got from the day: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=187817&id=101381062479&ref=mf

Destiny is all smiles. She loved her "blues clues" party hats!

Addi had to try one on too!

Dusty wasn't much into celebrating!

Here is one of the yummy banana splits! YUM-O!!

Addi doing one of her favorite things: emptying Auntie Lili's cupboards

Destiny and Dusty await guests at the top of the stairs.

Here are the flowers that Matt bought for the girls. 3 roses for miss Destiny and 1 Lily for miss Addison. This has become a tradition in our family.

I hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July! I will be back tomorrow with another blog!

Enjoy today!

Jill