First Day of 2nd Grade

Yay! Then again maybe not. then agian...

k, i'm going to make this really short.  jeff has been trying to get a teaching job in cedar for a couple years.  it just wasn't working out.  when derek got the job in page he started looking at the teaching jobs there for jeff.  long story short on may 6th we found out jeff got a job in page.  we (derek and i) were SO STINKIN' EXCITED!  so all of us (derek's siblings except for jace and nancy) went to texas roadhouse to celebrate.  it's the first time we've all gone out i think.  it was a good time!!  anyway, come to find out jeff and kristina didn't feel too good about the job in page.  derek and i were upset to say the least!  we were just a little excited of the thought of them living SO CLOSE to us.  and i was super excited to think that i would get to see elea every day and do her hair!  but they knew what they were doing.  jeff ended up getting the perfect job in st. george.  so now when i say "we" i mean EVERYONE is very very happy for them! 

twickstows

the girls get home from school around 2:50pm.  so on this particular day i wasn't surprised when i heard a knock on the door around that time.  i was surprised, however, when i opened the door and this HUGE tumbleweed fell in on me!!  i was thinking that it blew up and hit the door.  then i started wondering where kate and ann were.  so...

 i went outside and this is what i found...

they were standing around the corner laughing at me!!  they dragged the dumb thing home!  they are such tricksters, or as annie would say, "twickstows"!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Annie!

annie's birthday was February 13th.  i felt like i had some serious birthday partying to do for annie this year, because i failed so miserably last year.  annie's birthday last year would have been nonexistent if is wasn't for shauna, so i had to be sure and do her proud this year!  i think we did ok!!  the night before taylor and i decorated with streamers and balloons.  the next morning after annie opened her presents we all loaded up and went to lake havasu city to go swimming at a indoor mini water park.  then we picked up little caesar's for dinner.  next we had strawberry shortcake... her favorite.  i let her have 3 pieces and she thought she was in heaven!!  since it was the night before valentine's day derek, myself, jenn and spencer went out on a date.  that was probably the best part for annie.  she LOVES hanging out with her cousins without grown ups... i'm not sure that's a good thing!!!

annie had 2 gift requests.  she wanted a remote control car, and the New mario bros Wii.  i don't think she realy thought she'd get either, so she was pretty excited to open up the "big" present! (thanks G & G Sullivan!)

she was even more excited when she opened up the next gift and is was the Wii game!!  that game is SO fun!  derek and i play it with the girls all the time and it's hilarious!  (thank you Grandma Helen!)

annie got a game, some make-up and a Wii karaoke game with a microphone from G & G Oliverson.

 

jeff and kristina hooked annie up with a dry erase board and markers for her room.  she's always writing on mine (drives me crazy!), so i knew she would love this!

the one thing annie was most excited about was the becks came to kingman!!  it was a blast having all of us smashed into our little house!  there were airbeds everywhere!!

they came friday night and annie was beside herself waiting for kamryn to get here!  she kept asking me every 10 minutes if they were closer!!  they are the best friends... and partners in crime!  they are alway giggling and being silly (i'm affraid naughty might be part of the equation too!)

 

annie had a school project due the monday after her birthday.  she had to build a robot... THANK GOODNESS jordyn was here to help her out with that!  annie loved having jordyn help her, and it turned out really cute.  i wish i would have thought to have a picture of annie and jordyn with the robot.

i really can't believe annie is 7.  she has grown up to be a beautiful girl.  she loves to have her back rubbed and her hands and arms tickled.  she LOVES to cook and always asks to help with dinner.  she's hilarious and loves to tease and be silly.  she very tender hearted.  she can be a bit dramatic, but usually if 

you call her out on it she's get a mischievous grin (refer back to the teasing and being silly)!  

i love this little girl so much, and i feel so lucky to have her as my daughter!  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE BANANIE!

Annie & Alexis (june 11th... crack of dawn)

Annie LOVES Alexis. (sometimes a little too helpful with her!) Annie loves to get her out of bed, and out of her highchair. She loves to hold her and play with her. Annie's really good at finding Lexis's "banky" too. (binky!!)

Our 2 beautiful blued eyed girls!!

February, FRIDAY the 13th

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY ANNIE!

on the 12th derek left for oregon for a trial team competition. the night before any of my kids birthdays i decorate with streamers and stuff. that night i felt so crappy, so i decorated...but not too much. friday morning at about 5:30am i got a phone call from the girls' school informing me that school was cancelled due to the weather. i got up and looked out the window and it was cloudy. tired and confused i just went back to bed. i had been sick with a sinus infection for a few days and i was kinda out of it. my plan for annie's birthday was to get up friday morning and go get her present, cake etc...while she was at school. then after school we had a party planned at "pump it up". i hadn't felt good all week, so i left all the shopping for friday morning. well, by 8:55am the snow was coming down and at 9:30am i tried to leave and there was already so much snow i couldn't get out of my parking lot. (above: this is what you do on your birthday when it's a blizzard outside and your mom can't get off the couch!!) ya, so there's poor annie, no present from her family, no birthday party because it had to be rescheduled, no school, no dad, a sick mom, and there's a blizzard outside!! oh, and she said, "you didn't decorate as much as you usually do, but my chairs looks pretty." luckily i have the most fabulous friends. allie took sami for me for a couple hours in the morning and helped out with dinner. shauna planned a little party for annie. she decorated with pink streamers and balloons etc. we went over to her house to eat and stuff. they saved me. oh, i did let annie and katelyn make cupcakes...luckily allie had a cake mix and frosting!! anyway, on saturday i took the girls to walmart and katie picked out annie's present. she wanted to get her "real" makeup so we pick out powder, eyeshadow, lipstick, blush, and even mascara! oh, and katie got her a little pink, sparkly caboodle. annie was very happy with the gift and now my girls go around everywhere looking like "ladies of the night"!!! sunday night derek came home...THANK GOODNESS! monday morning we had annie's birthday party at Pump It Up. i think the kids had a great time. and even more important...i didn't have to do anything but show up! oh, we got annie's cake at costco. it had strawberry filling and all the kids were freaking out because there was strawberry jam on the cake! that was cracking me up!

i was thinking back 6 years to when annie was born. she was my easiest delivery, but my hardest baby. i can't believe how fast time has gone by. she has grown up to be a beautiful girl. these are the youngest pictures i have of her on my computer...i haven't gotten around to scanning the pics from before the digital age!!! she is and has always been hilarious. she reminds me a lot of my brother...just a goof. she loves to make people laugh. she talks nonstop like my sister! she is fashion savvy. she loves looking pretty. she loves to get dirty. she wants her hair to look perfect. she loves having her arms, back, face, legs rubbed and tickled. she loves to snuggle. she loves her sisters...to the point she's smothering!!! ;) she is sensitive. she's a drama queen! she's our not so little blue-eyed annie bannanie.

Halloween 2008

ok, so these pictures are in no specific order!! i just had to post this one...she has such blue eyes!! annie's not very happy about this...she really wanted to be the only one with blue eyes...she still tries to tell people that alexis's eyes are hazel!on thursday i had my hair cut and colored. oh, and i had my eyebrows colored and waxed too!! i LOVE the cut. i like the color too...i'm just still trying to get used to it. (if you can't tell, it's alot more brown than usual.)

annie wanted to be tinkerbell this year. we did a homegrown version, because i refused to spend $30+ on an official tinkerbell costume. so i asked kristina to made her tutu, and we found her some way cute fairy wings. i loved it...i think annie looked so cute!

our tradition is to have pizza on halloween. we had the evers and goates over for pizza and then we all went trick or treating together. this is my fabulous friend, allie, slicing up the pizza for the kids!!! (there used to be a pic here, but allie made me delete it off!!! apparently she doesn't allowed prego pics of herself!)

jack-o-lantern, hannah montana, monkey, belle, skeleton, vampire, lion, tinkerbell, batman (AKA: alexis, katelyn, creighton, samantha, ben, alex, amelia, annie, jackson)originally i had planned on sami being a witch for halloween, but she was having none of that. she loved getting all dressed up with makeup and stuff.alexis just chilled in the stroller while we trick or treated. this is the first time she sat up in the stroller, and she really liked it!!it was fun to have kate dress up like hannah montana, because she didn't even need a wig!!this is annie with 2 of her good little friends. (of course the boy is alex! he he he)

PICTURES

alexis and samantha are my little buddies. the past few weeks have been a little trying. nursing a baby and potty training do not go hand in hand. especially when you're trying to potty train samantha. BUT...we have made leaps and bounds. she hasn't pooped her pants for 2 days, and she only had one accident today (she was here with derek... ha ha ha totally joking honey!) we went running around town yesterday and today, and she did great. and she's sleeping through the night in underwear too. i called my mom the other day freaking out because i wanted to put sam back in diapers...i'm so glad she talked me out of it. anyway, she can be so sweat too..i mean, just look at her. what a cute, funny little kid!! and alexis is an angel. she has slept through the night every night for a week now...AMAZING! some nights she doesn't go to sleep until midnight, but midnight until 7:30am is sleeping through the night if you ask me. tonight she went to sleep at 9pm, so i'm curious to see if she wakes up in the middle of the night or not. oh, and she's been smiling alot more. anyway, i love my little baby girls.

annie went to a princess birthday party, and while she was there she got her hair done. i thought it looked so pretty. i need to learn how to do it like this.