Riding the Wheel

This is why I love those quiet, peaceful, sleeping moments! Morgan is always on the go, and she'll try anything for a laugh. This is one of the crazy moments when I am just reassured that she truly is her father's daughter. We were at Tabi's house, and for those of you who don't know, her mom Tommie recently had surgery on her neck and is staying with them until she gets better. She has to use a wheelchair...which Morgan has found to be quite fun-whether it's set up or not. We were all sitting around talking, Tabi's girls were running around getting ready for soccer, Taegan was doing homework, and we look over and Morgan was doing this...

We pulled it out into the middle of the room so Tommie could see what she was doing. She was doing this completely on her own the first time...the way it was tilted must have been enough to get her started. It was so funny...especially when she got off and was so dizzy she couldn't stand! She is seriously hilarious...I love her!

Sleepy-head

Ok, so I know we all love our kids more than we could ever explain, but I don't think there is a mother out there who would argue that it isn't just a little more peaceful when our angels fall asleep! They are so sweet and cute and quiet!! Morgan cracks me up because she falls asleep in some of the funniest positions. Here are just a couple that I snapped lately.

It was a long day for all of us...she fell asleep with Daddy tickling her stomach (she so gets that from me...I love my back and stomach being tickled, and now she asks for you to do it all the time!!)

So precious!

Can't quite remember what we had been doing this day, but it was obviously exhausting...I'll have to remember so I can do it more often!

Some new decorations...

When we were out in Arizona, we went to the AWESOME home decor store called Kirkland's (and no, it's not connected to Costco). Nick was very nice about letting me get some new things for the house (he was being very generous and really couldn't say a whole lot considering all the bullets he had been buying while we were there)! Terrie came over a few days later and helped me hang the new things and rearrange some of the stuff I already had. Here is how it turned out when we finally finished!

I love this thing...you can't tell in this picture, but some pop out more than others, giving it some extra depth. And I know...I need some more flowers in the other vase, but they were out when I went to get the ones I wanted so I have to wait!
This just cracked me up...Morgan kept getting in front of me as I was going around taking pictures, and she was taking pictures of me! She kept saying "say cheeeeeez" as she followed me around, so she pops up in a bunch of the pictures! Made me laugh...This is the living room...obviously. I should have opened the curtains, but it was hot and too bright. Use your imaginations!This is the clock Nick got me a while ago...it used to be above the fireplace, but now it's above the couch by the door. I still look above the fireplace to see what time it is...drives me nuts!This picture is a little blurry, but I didn't feel like redoing it! Terrie got me these four pictures for my birthday, and I stole the mirror out of my bedroom (can you steal from youself when it's still in your own house?).This is just another one of Morgan taking a picture of me. Although, for those of you who have seen my bedroom, we did move the dresser...HEAVY! This is one of the walls in my bedroom...possibly my favorite. Every morning when I wake up, I see this big picture of Morgan and it just makes me grin! I've had the saying on the wall since Christmas but just put it up. I absolutely LOVE it...it's like a sticker that you "scratch" onto the wall. Think I'm going to have to get some more...and take 8 months to decide where to put them!I got all of these at Kirkland's too. It's all above our bed and I love them. However, I was the one that hung them, and they are all heavy metal, so I really hope we don't have a big earthquake during the night because I SO do not promise that they'll stay!

Phil's 24th Birthday

So this is Phil...Nick's baby brother. "Baby" only in age...he's over 6 ft. a college grad, works as a seasonal firefighter and is getting on full time with the Kern County Fire Department in the next acadamy. Any takers?? Just kidding...sort of. He just turned 24 in August and we went to dinner then back to Terrie's for cake and ice cream. As you can see, he is just as ornery as his big brother...I just wanted a picture of the birthday boy and he was making that as difficult as possible. Happy birthday anyway!

Phil and Nick have the same sense of humor...that's why I get along with him so well!

Morgan really liked Phil's cake too...or at the least the oreos that were on the top!

Arizona Cousins

Over the last few months, we have go to see our family from Arizona a few times. They (Nick's sister and her family) were here in June, and then we were there in August. These are some of the pictures we got when we were all together...the newer ones are the ones where Isabella's hair finally grew out and is laying down instead of standing straight up!

Grandma Terrie with her two girls...the third granddaughter was born 2 days after we left!
Preston just hanging out...being the cool 13 year old that he is
Isabella(1), Max (3), and Morgan (2) playing with Papa's blanket in his chair.

Preston and Max playing with the keyboards.
Isabella...here she's just standing, but when we were there in August she was walking!
Preston and Jango (Katie and Paddy's dog)

Max and his dog!! (Well, the one out of the toy box anyway)
The three toddlers playing in Grandma's living room.
Morgan got to open a birthday present from her cousins when we were out in Arizona...she was SO excited about her new Dora playground set!

For Morgan's birthday I was so excited for her birthday present. When we were in Idaho last summer, my parents have quads that we were riding the whole time. The only way I could get Morgan to eat when we were camping was if she was sitting on one of them. So I thought it would be SOO fun to get her a big-wheels quad. I had wanted to get it for her for Christmas, but things happened and we waited too long and we weren't able to get it. I almost missed out again for her birthday, but thankfully it came on time. Tabi and I put it together when Nick was at work, got it all charged up and kept it hidden until her birthday. It was the last present that she got to open...I was so anxious and much more excited than she was. So Nick goes and gets it, brings it out...and Morgan FREAKS! She didn't want it, wouldn't touch it, wouldn't sit on it and DEFINITELY wouldn't ride it. I was so upset. All the other kids were wanting to, but I wanted her to ride it before it got ruined. Days went by, and then weeks, and then a month...and she still wanted nothing to do with it. But FINALLY, one of the first weeks in August, she did it...sort of. She at least rode on it with Tylee, and then Tori. Once she finally did it she loved it. At first she would only ride on the back, but eventually worked her way to the front. But she still wouldn't drive it...only hold on and have the girls drive. Then, the next morning, she woke up and was wanting to ride it again, but the girls weren't there and I'm a little bit, okay a LOT bit, over the weight limit. So I put her on there and was holding on to her, showing her how to do it, and she loved it! The problem is that I had to run beside her and keep her from plowing over my garden and wasn't able to take any pictures! But here are some of the ones I was able to get from the night before when she was with the girls...

A Day at the Park

Morgan absolutely LOVES the park. Everytime we drive by she asks to go to the slide and swings...and gets very upset when we don't get to. But when it's over 100* outside, the toys get really hot...and there is NO shade on them. She really needs a swing set at home...one more thing to add to Nick's to-do list! These are just some of the pictures I snapped the other day when we were there.