This is a Test, only Test

Of the new blogging system!

Our Family here in TN spoiled us for Christmas by buying us a new computer tower!! (it has a MASSIVE amount of storage for pictures! Hooray!!) and my dear dear friend (okay, more like a sister really) came and installed it for me today!! So, let's see how it does posting some pictures!! Shall we? I am not going to take time to discribe them all, just get some up!! I plan to do posts for all the event s we have missed over the last few months, but this will get us started!  LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Preparing....

Okay, this is way back in like May- Memorial Day weekend to be exact, but here it is none the less.  The following pictures are what my kitchen looked like while I was in the process of making 2 texas sheet cakes and 2 dutch ovens of potatos.  What? you ask could we possibly been preparing for............

THIS!!! Yup that is a pine wood derby car in progress!!

The brackets and line judge.

The Gallery.

Uncle Mark manning the starting line.

Ben's Car at the line.

Ben and Lucy waiting for their cars to come down. (note the car pictured above is not Lucy's hers was Doc from Cars.)

New Do's

Both kids got fresh new do's before we went to see Grammy, these are when Clara first got her bangs and Ben went to an off the ears and above the collar cut.

I can't get these to rotate! but this is how I was dealing with her hair..... she was getting tired of up do's.

This is how uneven it was in the back. The middle had finally grown down below her collar so I decided it was time to even it out a bit.

But not before I had French braided it! (this was actually a couple days before)

Not completely solid, but much better.

and the bangs. Now when I look at pictures before the bangs it just doesn't look right. I think she was meant to have them.

He was not in the mood to cooperate, hence the only picture, but it is a cute one!

Indications

I just noticed that each of the 3 previous years on this blog have had an average of 161 posts. That is pretty good! That means a post about every 2 and a quarter days!  This year so far..... 32, 33 if you count the one you are reading.   That is a post about every 11 days. It sounds better that way.  Either way you look at it I dont see me getting 128 posts in between now and the end of the year.  I see this situation as indicative of 2 things. 1) The ever progressing decrepidness of my computer, and 2) the kind of year it has been.  So, here is to trying to hit all the good stuff before the year ends!! Whish me luck!

There you have them!! The two highlights or our lives! Matt and I sure are blessed!!! All indications point to life with these two is OUTSTANDING!!!

New State, New Passtimes

When we got back from camping it became clear that we did not have enough things to keep two minis busy. the toys were all things grammy had gotten when ben and I were out visiting before clara was born. So we headed off to Tuesday Mornings (among other places) where I found a great deal on a dress up box for Clara and a fire station floor puzzle for Ben.  Both HUGE hits, so much so that we brought them home!

Always my princess!!



He may have a future as an engineer. he is always building something!

Exhaustion, the key to sharing!

They were soooo tired after an amazing Yellowstone trip that they just laid around for a couple days and watched movies!! and they even shared the favorite TV chair!!

Some really positive brother-sister interactions came from our trip out west! They are in a getting along well phase! I am enjoying it!

Lost and Found

I apparently started a post with this picture back on June 27, I dont remember all the details but I can tell you we are at our favorite chinese buffet and clara is making her first go at chopsticks!! too cute to pass up!

Back and Forth

For the next little while I will be jumping back and forth between things that happened a while ago and current happenings.  I want to get some of the older stuff cause when I have the blog printed I dont want to have sooo much missing. But for the same reason I dont want to neglect the current happenings. So, like a sitcom in flashback mode we will be revisiting some great Mini moments!!

Yellowstone 2011:



yup that is a bear. a nice big grizzly.



Grammy helping Ben see his first bear! He was Super Excited!



Checking the trail map, wouldnt want to get lost on our walk to the marina.

They really loved the boats!

Dolly and her blanky, let me just say this thing needed like three washings when we got home!


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Ben balancing and drinking his green slush, this and the boats were the saving grace to camping for Ben.
I think I have met the limit for a post. ...... To Be Continued

Soon!

I will be back, Soon! I promise!  To any friends and family that still check in here, I will be posting regularly again soon. There are a number of reasons and excuses I could list, but I am not going to! Just know that Ben and Clara are doing great and I will be sharing their fun antics with you all again soon! Next week is the goal! Love to all!