All Kinds of Crazy

Grace Island Cheese Crisps

2012-01-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

I was asked by a friend to try a product and blog my thoughts. First, here's a little bit about the product. Grace Island Specialty Foods produces a unique product-baked cheese crisps. They are truly baked cheese, something that I love anyway. Each batch is made with just cheese, eggs, sesame seeds (to hold everything together, I guess) and various seasonings. Because the crisps are gluten free, sugar free and low carb they are a very healthy snack for my little ones. I tried each flavor, Parmesan, Asiago, Romano and Baby Swiss. My favorite was definitely the baby swiss. The flavor of the Baby Swiss was much milder than the others. The others were a little too salty tasting to me, but I am more inclined to sweet things anyways.

As for my kids, Annalyse loved them and wouldn't stop eating the crisps. Ruby, on the other hand, refused to eat any. She tasted one and pushed the rest away. Oh well, she's two so what can I say. I had some family over and they seemed to like the crisps as well.

Would I purchase this product on a regular basis? Probably not. The crisps seem to be so rich in taste that we probably wouldn't eat them as everyday snacks. Plus the fact that only one child in our house likes them. I generally try to buy snacks that everyone will enjoy. We will probably purchase Grace Island cheese crisps for special occasions which call for crackers, dips and cheese balls.

I definitely recommend cheese crisps to all moms and parents that are in search of a tasty and healthy snack. I am a little reserved about the price, but I realize that healthy snacks aren't always the cheapest. I am grateful for the opportunity to try a new product and share my thoughts. To try Grace Island Cheese Crisps follow this link http://graceislandfoods.com

Christmas 2011

2012-01-25T12:51:00.000-08:00

Here are the girls just after presents and breakfast on Christmas morning. They are waiting for mom and dad to get ready for church. Can you tell Ruby got lip gloss in her stocking? It's all over her face.

I don't know what I did to Annalyse, but she is not happy.

Getting over it.

We bought Sam his very own Transformer for Christmas. He didn't know what to do first, play with his toy or put together Ruby's big nursery gift. He was slightly torn. But let me tell you he plays with that toy at least once a day.

Here is Ruby's big nursery set from us. There were so many pieces. Guess we should have put it together before Christmas.

The girls really didn't know where to start on Christmas morning. Ruby just wanted her daddy to open his present from her...

so that she could play with it. That's right, Ruby wasn't satisfied with the Transformer so she got her dad a baby for Christmas. And it couldn't be just any ol' babydoll from the store. It had to either have a carrier or a bottle. Only the best for her daddy.

Our little elfbaby.

What a big girl...and still cute. I made a poinsetta bow for her hair to match the outfit.

Too cute.

My Hubby

2012-01-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

My wonderful hubby bought us a Minivan last night so that I did not have to climb through the back hatch of the old Pacifica to get a third child in the car. He is so good to me. We decided that this was a must with our growing family, only to have the car he was driving break down on him this morning on the way to National Guard training. How unfair for him. I am at home with a beautiful, running vehicle and he is stuck on a highway fixing a car. I love my husband so much. He deserves a car that runs. It's been two years now of non-running vehicles for him. But the dilemma is now that we just bought a nice vehicle with a nice payment so we are not able to get him an actual nice car. I love you, Sam Zollman. I will make it up to you.

Zollman Five

2012-01-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

We have been the Zollman four for a little over a year now, but that is about to change. We are soon to be the Zollman five. Sam and I were trying to wait for baby number three, but Heavenly Father planned life a differently for us. Yay!!!! We will be graced with Baby #3 in August. It's crazy how fast our family is growing. Life is great, stressful, but great. I was just telling Sam last night that we face a lot of challenges by having a very young family,(e.i. no money, no sleep, no money) but I would so much rather have these joyous challenges than different ones. At the same time, please allow me some room for venting in the future. After all, we will have three children under the age of three so there will be plenty to vent about, but for now I am not going to worry. I am just happy and telling myself that I can do this. We can do this! ;)

Thanksgiving at the Parents

2011-12-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

Anna's First

2011-11-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

Annalyse is one now, crazy!!! We had her birthday party the Saturday after her birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, Joey and Grandma Great came home for the weekend. All of Sam's family came and even Amy and George made the trek to our house from Indy.

Anna got some great gifts. She had so much fun with the bows too.

Yes, it was a costume party. Thanks to everyone who dressed up.

And Rich dressed up like a goofball.

So cute.

Love you, Nana.

These cake pictures are a little backwards, but here is me trying to figure out where to begin to clean her up.

Annalyse loved her cake. I must say it was pretty delectable.

She was hesitant at first, she didn't quite know what to do with it, but she soon figured it out.

Happy Birthday!

So serious.

Oh yes, the elders made the long trek from upstairs to come enjoy the party.

We had chocolate covered marshmallows, candy corn mixture and mummy hot dogs.

Anna's costume was a spider one, so it seemed only fitting that the cake match.

Love this picture of the ladies, but if you look to the left it gets a little scary. What is Joey doing? Don't worry, he wasn't trying to kiss him. He was just talking to him or something.

There's my little spider. And Joey came as a basketball player.
Happy Birthday, Annalyse Margarite. Love you.

Halloween at the YMCA

2011-11-16T12:28:00.000-08:00

We invited the Olsens to the Y for a Halloween party. There were bouncy houses in the gyms, candy in the hallway, pumpkins and caramel apples in the basement, and boat rides in the pool area. They even turned the diving area into a pirate ship and the diving board into a plank.

There were gold coins, bones and bodies floating in the water. Ruby never acted scared at all. It was just a lot of fun.

Trunk Or Treat

2011-11-10T04:23:00.000-08:00

We has our annual Trunk Or Treat at church. Each auxiliary decorated a pumpkin and we all voted for our favorite one. I thought this one was hilarious and very reminiscent of Kung Fu Panda.

This was the winner. Of course, it sparkles.

My girls were so cute.

Our little spider.

Annalyse insisted on doing everything the big kids were doing, whether I was ready for her to or not is another story.

Ruby was so interested in all the costumes.

Forget the brush, that's what I have fingers for.

Kendallville Branch Halloween crew.

Love the hat!

Ruby voting for her favorite pumpkin.

The Relief Society had cookies for decorating.

The Primary room was a pumpkin patch. Each kid was given a clue at the door and they had to match the pumpkin to the clue.

Ruby was such a big helper. She helped set everything up and she helped tare down as well.

Anna was ready to go home and get out of that costume.

Our Baby

2011-11-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl turned one on October 26. She is so sweet and it has been a wonderful year because of her. She makes us laugh so much. It's crazy how fast they learn things and it's even crazier how quickly the year went.

All day long, I just kept thinking about what I was doing exactly at that time last year. For instance, when Annalyse woke me up at five thirty that morning I sat there thinking how I was in the shower having contractions with her at home at five thirty the previous year.

Then I remembered how we took the back roads to the hospital and I would make Sam come to a complete stop when I was having contractions because the bumps in the road only added to the pain.

Once we got to the hospital the weather turned scary. They closed all the windows and curtains because debris was flying around outside. There was even talk of a tornado so they put all of us in the nursery because it had no windows to the outside. There was one lady still in her bed because she was just out of a c-section, one woman cramping and in obvious pain from giving birth the day before, one couple ready to leave, one woman rocking back and forth in pain because she was ripped off of her pitocin so she could be in there and then there was me. My contractions were not close together yet so i just dealt with it. It was interesting.

My little tornado.

For Anna's birthday we treated her to lots of pizza at Pizza Hut. She loves pizza!! Then all came home and played on the floor as a family.

Annalyse took some time to fix her piano.

As soon as she turned one it seemed like she started saying a bunch of new things. The very next day she surprised us with words like "Mimi", "Bebe", and "Bopa."

Just one more tweak.

Aha! It's fixed.

We love our little tornado. It's been a great year.

Zollman Clan

2011-11-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

We had our third annual Zollman cook-off. The challenge this year was muffins. Shalon made her famous pumpkin muffins, Rob made blueberry muffins and I made cheeseburger ones. The winner though was Danielle with heavenly green tomato muffins. Congrats, Danielle. They were amazing!!

There is always a warm fire to sit by.

And wagon rides.

Beautiful Morgan.

It wouldn't be a true Zollman event if there wasn't four-wheeler rides.

Beautiful.

Hello there, Kali.

New Bathroom

2011-11-08T07:29:00.000-08:00

This entry is way outdated but Sam remodeled our bathroom while we were in Texas with the Skinners. As you can see here he is giving it some serious thought.

So gross.

I am so glad I wasn't home for this. I would have gone crazy over the mess.

I love how he showed the whole process.

The finished product. Love you, honey. It looks great!!!!!

Chicago

2011-11-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

We visited my parents in Sycamore, IL at the beginning of October. We were thrilled to see them and to see how happy they are in their new home. My mom took us to a pumpkin patch just outside of town. We had a blast. First with the maze...

Then, the wooden tractor...

And in the Pumpkin patch...

We were a family of punkins...

Then the girls crawled through a wooden train.

And Ruby tackled the haystack.

The girls had to get a little bit of playtime in on Grandma and Grandpa's porch before we left for home. It was a great weekend and we had so much fun. Love you Pattersons.

R-Me-B-Y

2011-11-08T03:47:00.000-08:00

We started teaching Ruby how to spell her name and tracing it on paper. She got a little confused along the way though. I asked her one day to spell her name for me and she said R-Me-B-Y. Apparently, she thought I was saying R-you-BY to her that whole time, instead of the letter "U". Oh well, we will get it eventually. I asked her if she wanted to learn how to spell Anna's name as well and she just said, "yeah, R-Her-B-Y".

That's my goofy girl. Ruby has been a little particular lately. She has to arrange her toys a certain way, or her clothes, or the markers in the box have to be turned the right way. She also helps me around the house a lot. She loves to mop, sweep and take care of Annalyse. My mom took Ruby shopping at a clothing store. She turned around and Ruby was hiding behind the check-out counter arranging their staplers.

She is also a shopper. We often go to Walmart out of boredom or for actual shopping. She always asks to take a look at the toys. Then all week I hear that she wants this baby and that baby and the stroller that goes with it. She loves to take care of her babies at home. She is always carrying one and she even nurses them. She is a little mamma.

Ruby went shopping at Trader Joe's when we went to see my parents.

So funny. The other night Ruby looked at the sky and said, "The Moon is flying in the Sky." She is so smart.

We started having Family Home Evenings weekly again and Ruby has decided that every night should be FHE. When we say it is family prayer time she runs to the piano and picks out a song, then hands us our scriptures and the book of pictures that go with the scripture stories. She is a hoot. She even says her own prayers now. Of course, she asks for Heavenly Father to bless each family member at least a few times.

One of Ruby's favorite jobs at home is to reline the trashcan after I take it out. So every Sunday at church Ruby empties the trash can by the front door on our way out. Then she relines it and dirties a clean-x only so she can have an excuse to empty it and reline it again.

Daddy is one of Ruby's favorite people. She loves him sooooooo much. And of course, I am obsolete when Daddy is around. But I don't mind so much. They are a great pair.

Chuckie Cheese Style

2011-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

That's right, the Pattersons and Zollmans party Chuckie Cheese Style. Even Jordan Stogdill joined us. I know he was just waiting to let his inner child out. But here is the catch. Guess whose birthday it was...

Mindy's!!!!! We were so excited to celebrate Mindy's birthday with her at Chuckie Cheese's. We had dinner and a live show, and then played games for a couple hours. It was grand. Mindy even got a shake maker as a present.

Ruby had fun, but the talking rat (Chuckie) kind of freaked her out a bit. In fact, when we got home all she could talk about on her way to bed was that she didn't want Chuckie to touch her.

Annalyse riding on the carousel.

Mindy went straight to the Ski Ball area. It has always been her favorite and she has always been great at it. Jordan was anxious to test Mindy's Skills.

My handsome man. Yeah, I didn't see him half of the night. I think he tried every game in the place.

Ruby riding the bike.

Oh it's on!

Ruby loved the horse ride.

I think these two had a good time.

Watch out.

Did ya get it?

One happy family!!!

My Man

2011-10-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a more handsome man?! I love my husband so much. Look at those brown eyes. It's hard to describe how much I love him exactly. I just know that I could not have imagined loving anyone so entirely. He is my hero, my companion, my best friend. I am so grateful for him and I wonder everyday how I came to be worthy of him.

Texas Continued

2011-10-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Chapter Three: IKEA

Sarah took us on a day trip to IKEA in Dallas. It was my first time and I was so excited. Amazing!!! It was like a beautiful museum.

Ruby found a few things she wanted to take home as well.

Mindy and Mother took us all to the Puple Pig Cafe for some good ol' Texas BBQ. It was pretty darn good. We will be visiting it again, I am sure. ;) The following day we left to go home to Indiana. It was very hard saying goodbye to the Skinners. Texas is just too far away. We were up until midnight almost every night and we were exhausted and ready for our beds at home, but we had a wonderful and memorable time.

Chapter Four: The Trip Home and The Arkansas Black Hole

Are you ready for this? We weren't. We had a slow start heading home because we were not anxious to leave the beloved Skinners. Still we got on the road. We were planning to drive straight through and make it home by three in the morning. Then we hit the black hole called Arkansas. Seriously, what is up with this state.

I was driving on I-40 and the water pump went out. So my power stearing was out and the car was basically just coasting, so I pulled over the side of the busiest interstate I had ever been on. We called Daddy and asked for advice, then looked up a couple tow truck numbers on the internet and found where we were on the map. It was eighty something outside and pretty miserable. Poor Joey, Mommy and my girls were stuck in the back of the car. Mother started stripping the girls down to cool off even.

When Mindy finally got ahold of a local tow trucker they told her they could not pick us up unless they had a mile marker. We were about half a mile away from one, so Mindy got out on the passenger side, hiked over the guardrail and walked the half mile. There wasn't really much space to walk on because on the other side of the guardrail was a small rivine. I was so worried that we would never see Mindy again.

Finally, a State Trooper came along and answered all of our prayers, but pay attention because the story is going to get a lot more interesting now. The trooper saw that we had babies in the car and offered to arrange a ride and service for us. He said he would stay with us until we were all settled. He called the nearest tow truck company and repair garage (we were limited because it was a Saturday) and the tower said that they could just hoist us all up on the back of their truck. The trooper said, "I beg your pardon," in the best southern accent you can imagine. Then he proceeded to tell Mindy that Triple HHH would be towing us. With his thick accent it sounded like he was saying triple AAA, so Mindy corrected him and said that we did not have service with triple AAA. He repeated himself a few times and we finally understood what he meant.

The tow truck arrived and they only had room for two people. The trooper offered for Joey, Me and the girls to ride in his car. When I asked if I should get their car seats he said that I would be riding in a state trooper car so who would be pulling me over. Really, I wasn't convinced that he would be the safest of drivers. Nothing else had gone so well for us in that state but I went with it. Joey climbed in the front and the girls and I went in the back. No joke, when we got in it was an M-16, Ruby and Me and Annalyse, with a shotgun hanging in front of us. It was a very memorable ride in the squad car as I tried to keep my two year old from playing with the multiple weapons in the vehicle. As cars drove by they kept staring at me and girls in the back seat as if to say, "what did you do?"

Once we got to the repair garage the trooper began to reassure us that we were in good hands. Then the garage door got stuck trying to open. They couldn't get our van in. The trooper tried kept reassuring us that we "should" be fine, but we should stear clear of the building across the parking lot. He said it was full of truckers and bad stuff, but we "should" be okay. We knew it was a bad sign when the trooper was reluctant to leave. We went inside out of the heat to a small waiting room (pictures to follow). As we waited the man working on the broken garage door opens up the door yelling out to his coworker, cussing him up and down, then yells that he is going home and slams the door. Next we hear his truck leave. We were convinced we were never getting home. Then when we asked the toothless receptionist if we could use the restroom she said we shouldn't because she doesn't even use it. She said it had never been cleaned. GROSS!! Black hole, people, black hole. How do people live in this state.

Finally, they got smart and just lowered the van off the tow truck and pushed it in the garage. We started to notice that Mindy was spending a lot of time out in the garage. We figured out why. The guy fixing the van was a very grungy looking Thor-like man, according to Mindy. She said he caught her looking at him and he just smiled and lifted his shirt up to wipe his face, showing all of his stomach muscles to her. At least Mindy was having fun.

They weren't joking about the building across the parking lot. We went in to use the restroom and we had to cover our eyes and plug our noses. It was aweful.

Ok, so we are stuck in Arkansas in a run down repair garage with dirt and grime everywhere and Thor working on our van. Then a little boy shows up with a grown man's shirt on. He starts asking us if we have snacks and stuff to do. So we share our snacks with him and we plug in the computer and let him watch movies with Ruby. He starts telling us that he lives upstairs with his dad because the police man shot his house and blew it up. Oh dear. At one point I was on the phone with Sarah, explaining the events up to that point, when I have to put down the phone and yell out to the kid's dad, "do you want him to have that saw." Oh dear. Sarah was probably thinking that we were going to die.

Here is the view from our holding cell into the garage.

Our holding cell. We just tried not to let anything touch the floor.

We added a few more holes to the wall.

We waited about six hours for the van to be fixed before we were finally able to leave. Needless to say, we stopped at a hotel for the night. Mindy was the only one who struggled to leave. She would like to see Thor one more time. As for the rest of us, we will find a different route to Texas next time. One that does not include Arkansas.

Provo, UT Girls - BYU Divine Comedy

2011-09-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

Had to post this. It's hilarious and so accurate. Click on the CC to really understand the words.

Halo - Divine Comedy

2011-09-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

Click on the CC to really understand the words.

Firebolt - BYU's Divine Comedy

2011-09-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

To really get the most out of this amazing!!!! video click on the CC button.

Dean St. Newbies

2011-08-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

The Pattersons have officially moved. They now dwell at 2412 Dean St. in Sycamore, Illinois. Their home is lovely and their neighborhood is friendly. They are already loving their new life in Sycamore.

We stopped at the candy store on the way to see them.

Yes, that IS a CHOCOLATE fountain. I'm in love. I want to live in the little house at the bottom of the fountain.

Candy, candy, candy!!

Ruby is rocking these awesome glasses.

And she even found some for mommy.

Awe!

Yum.

We visited the park in the center of their housing addition.

Stud.

What a beautiful place to live.

Joey's new school. He is now a Sycamore Spartan.

Moving Day

2011-08-19T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's official, the Pattersons are relocated. They left their home old home in Albion at one in the afternoon and called at seven this evening saying they had arrived at their new home in Sycamore, IL.

Grandma softened the blow by bringing chocolate for everyone.

Oh man!

Oh man, Oh man!

The loading Sem-i looked hilarious parked on their tiny street. They didn't have to pack a thing. The company payed for packers and loaders. Only three-fourths of the truck was filled.

We made sure we were there to say goodbye.

And give our love. Love you Pattersons!!!!!

A Trip to Remember

2011-08-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Introduction

The following is an account of the before, during and after of our unbelievable trip to Texas. I say unbelievable because that is the only word that can possibly describe our entire experience. We are grateful to have been fortunate enough to go and to survive and return safely home. This is dedicated to Mindy, who I owe more than just a wet wipe. I hope my retelling of this story does justice to our suffering and our joys.

Chapter One- Jail Bird

Chapter Two- On the Road

Life was smooth sailing until we hit a snag in Memphis. For some reason the state of Arkansas is a black hole for strange happenings and strange people. We ended up taking an unplanned and unnecessary three hour detour after Memphis. Okay, we got lost. I still swear that it was the garmin that did it. The fact that I was sitting in the navigator's seat had nothing to do with it ;). We pulled over at a gas station on the Arkansas border and asked for directions. And this is a true story. I only embellish a little. On the way in I stepped in something that looked like baked vomit then by the front door there was a bucket for putting out cigarettes, but it was filled with water and who knows what else because flies were swarming around it. We go inside and the floor of the gas station was littered with dead things, maybe because the lady who was preparing the food was spraying the counter tops and food area with bug spray. Seriously, she is standing there spraying while there is open food and bait sitting on the counter. Pretty sure my hand got sprayed in the process. I must say these people were very helpful and very kind and only a few of them had teeth. Mindy couldn't hold it any longer and had to go to the bathroom. She braved the bathroom, but when we got back in the car she declared, "I need a wet wipe and someone owes me big time because I couldn't even use the toilet paper." To make matters worse, a few miles down the road she swore she had gotten bit by something because her foot had started to itch really bad.

Chapter Three- Sanctuary

We finally made it to Sarah's. Hallelujah!!! Oh how I've missed my oldest sister. It was amazing to see her and her family again. We had a blast. Mindy was inspired to buy us all cool Halloween sunglasses. We put them on and started to dance around the house. Actually, we snuck backwards into the boys' room while they were playing the Wii and turned around to show them our awesome glasses and started singing and dancing to "We Like to Move, Move It." Two of them laughed and joined us, but Joey and Brandon just buried their heads so they didn't have to watch. It was awesome! And a perfect start to our week.

My beautiful sisters.

Don't be jealous.

We visited TCBY almost everyday. It was so refreshing because the heat was so bad. The shop was really cool too. Neon lights and colors everywhere. It was kind of a Mormon party the first day, because the cashier was from Sarah's ward and then there were six or eight elders on their P Day there as well, plus us. It was cool.

Choose your flavor on the wall.

And then choose your toppings. You weigh it and pay by the ounce. Now if only I could get paid for how many ounces I weigh. I would be a wealthy woman. Haha.

Princess Lydia.

Madeline is so big now. She is walking and talking. Love it.

We visited the wildlife museum. Ruby's favorite was the Zebra.

Anna and mommy.

My little Punkin.

General store.

Sarah is wishing the candy in the display case is real. Me too!

They should measure by cuteness.

ummm...yep, that's by big sister.

Is this what Heaven is like?

So many choices.

There was a playground outside the museum with an old fire engine for kids to climb on. It ended up being a great prop for pictures.

My mother was in heaven with her seven grandbabies.

Yes sir.

The stud brothers.

Beautiful Ruby.

Awesome Aunt Mindy.

Our week was also full of craft projects. We have started to make crafts every time we see each other. These are rolled fabric flowers for our little girls' hair.

We also went bead shopping and made some really great bracelets. Every lady went home with some bling.

Mike's company built this really amazing organic store called Fresh.

We went after the kids were asleep and ate chocolate hazelnut gelato on the deck of this store/deli/restaurant.

Sam says this is called Jacob's fruit. I have no idea. I just had to take a picture because it's weird looking.

Fresh has special parking and hook ups for shoppers with electric cars. The building also has a large rain barrel on their roof and that it used for watering the landscaping.

Everyone helped deflate Grandma's air mattress every morning.

I think we tired Maddie out.

Joey really got into playing with the kids.

We also visited the Train museum downtown Tyler.

Ruby got to drive the toy train. Fun!

Conductor Todd and Conductor Ruby.

Grandma even got a conductor hat.

Yep, it was hot.

There is more to come, but there is a break in the story to tell you that Mike also had jury duty while we were down there. Although he could not tell us anything to do with the case we were able to figure out from the news that he was on a jury for a murder case. It was pretty brutal and poor Mike had to deal with a lot that week. We love you Mike. Sorry.

Thirsty, Thirsty in Texas

2011-08-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

We made it to Tyler, TX and it is oh so hot. So here is all I am going to say to you from the hot, dry state of Texas...I am thirsty, thirsty, thirsty.

My Children

2011-08-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few choice moments and Rubyisms from the past few days.

I asked Ruby to pick up puzzle pieces before we could leave to go to grandma's. She leaned down and picked up only two. I asked her once again. She looked at me and said, "my back hurts," followed by a grin. How does a two year old know that trick?

Ruby found our temple recommends on the desk last Saturday and brought them to us, saying,"Mama Dada Temple." She is so smart. I honestly have not spent much time talking about the temple, other than showing her our wedding pictures. I certainly did not explain to her about temple recommends. So smart.

Everyday, I sit Annalyse next to Ruby at mealtime and everyday she screams when Ruby touches her or her chair. Today, I was sitting right next to Anna and Ruby reached over and grabbed Anna's chair. I immediately heard, "MaMaMaMa" from Anna. She is only nine months old and tattling on her sister. To make it even funnier Ruby puts her hands over her eyes everytime she gets caught. Apparently, she thinks that I won't be able to find her if she covers her eyes.

Ruby also has a new phrase. If you ask her to do something she says,"Oh, Yeah, Uh Huh." Every time. Hilarious. I wish you could hear it.

I love my girls!

Friends and Flowers

2011-07-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mindy invited Ashlee, Jocelyn the girls and I to the Botanical Gardens since Ashlee is here visiting. Thanks Mindy.

Beautiful Rainbow of flowers.

There was a 60's theme. It was kind of fun.

This was my favorite flower of the day.

The desert area was definitely without color.

See what I mean.

I asked Mindy to pose and this is what she gave me.

They were so cute, just peering into the coy pond.

Love my girls.

So glad to have you back in Indiana, Ashlee and Jocelyn.

Groovy.

Peek-a-boo

We had a great day hanging out with flowers and great friends.

P.S. I would like to direct your attention to the button at the right, which says "pathological picture taker"...so true.

Dear Sam

2011-07-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Girls, Girls

2011-07-26T20:05:00.001-07:00

This is our life...baby dolls and purses, backpacks, shoes and dresses. These are only a few of the baby dolls and purses floating around our house and car. And every night they return to their baby doll size pack'n play.

Our little girls aren't so little anymore. Annalyse is pulling herself up now. She especially loves to pull herself up to peer into the toy box.

Ruby found a new seat today. I caught her sitting here three times, just putting on shoes or "nursing" her baby doll.

Assembly Line

2011-07-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Having babies so close together is mostly a wonderful thing. It's definately interesting. Sometimes it's even like an assembly line. For instance, today we came home from church and it was baby #1 remove dress, change diaper, put play clothes on, put in high chair and assemble plate of food then grab baby #2 to remove dress, change diaper, put play clothes on, put in high chair and feed. It's crazy.

So, confession time-I am a mom who yells. I try not to. I pray that I won't but something always upsets my plan. I mean, seriously, from the moment I wake up it's assembly line to change diapers, get the kids dressed and feed them breakfast. I normally don't get dressed, smelling acceptable and fed myself until ten and we wake up at 7:30AM. Seriously, I don't feel like doing a happy dance and singing a merry ol' tune when I see a plate of food being dropped or thrown overboard by not just one kid, but two. So am I a bad mom? I know that yelling is not the most righteous thing to do, but it is the fastest and easiest stress reliever I can think of. If you only knew how often I feel like yelling and I don't then you might be impressed, but the truth is that to be a good mommy I must not yell. I must remain calm and pray for patience, forget myself and laugh more.

DIY

2011-07-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

I tried to tackle some DIY projects this week. Here is part of our new wall decor in our bedroom. Since all four of us share the same bedroom for now I decided to devote some of the wall space to the girls. Besides look how cute and colorful this is.

Of course, we needed another frame for the rest of the bows.

Speaking of hair accessories, I have fallen in love with rosettes lately. They are just so feminine and shabby chic. I found a tutorial online and here is the finished product. So fun.

Sam took this out of the vent in our bedroom before he remodeled it. He wanted it to be a wall hanging, so one year later I finally painted it and now it is ready to hang.

Birthday Girl

2011-07-19T20:12:00.001-07:00

This is Ruby after everyone went home from her party last Saturday.

It was a Firecracker party, since Ruby is our July Firecracker baby. We had cupcakes with poprocks on top, star marshmallows and cake pops. Everything was red, white and blue.

Uh oh, little sister envy.

Ruby really enjoyed having everyone over. She gave lots of love after opening her gifts.

Another purse from Grandma Jan.

More bows!!!!! From Corrie.

Nana and Papa got Ruby a Dora plate set and Nana made her a huge hooded towel for bathtime. Thanks Nana and Pap.

She almost had the tiara thing figured out.

Sam and I got our birthday a bubble blowing lawnmower. She was trilled. Yay! I can't believe our Babydoll is two years old.

Air Show

2011-07-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

We went to the Angola Air Show with my parents. There were hot air balloons, but we missed them. We did get to see a bunch of RC airplanes, a parachutor and kids games. Ruby got in the moonwalk twice and waited until all the kids got out to jump. Then us adults had to go in after her.

The "M" Word

2011-07-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously...Monogamy, people, monogamy. When did it become overrated? Because it's not. It means being soley devoted to one's spouse physically AND emotionally. Don't worry folks, my marriage is sound I am just on my soap box. Again, I am not talking about my marriage. Sam and I are completely devoted to one another and to our family. I was going to post this on Facebook, but the truth is that I probably would get all kinds of hateful responses because sooooooo many people have had feelings for someone during their marriage or have done worse. In fact, I don't even mean to sound hateful I just feel very sad, disappointed and frustrated for those who find themselves involved with anything close to infidelity. Satan is attacking families. He CANNOT win. I know everyone has their own side to a story, I have just heard a few too many lately and frankly had to speak out about it.

Zoo Crew

2011-07-05T19:59:00.001-07:00

Thanks Becca, Emily and Meghan for a fun trip to the zoo.

It was Anna's first time at the zoo. She kind of enjoyed the experience. And when I say kind of I mean that she enjoyed it as long as mommy was holding her.

A Mother's Joys and Worries

2011-07-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Joys first...after spilled jelly, yogurt, spaghettios and something the color red had christened the inside of the refrigerator today we decided to clean it. Sam took the bottom apart and cleaned for me, while Ruby tested out the temperature. Once we were all done taking pictures and saying how cute it was to climb in the refrigerator we had to have a serious talk with her about never doing that again because it is unsafe. Oh man.

Annalyse is crawling and after two months of non-stop whining and crying she is finally happy. She loves being able to kind of keep up with everyone and follow us around the house. Today she was crawling around talking and squealing to herself. Of course she hit the ground running with the crawling thing and I must be out of practice. On her third day of mobilization she unloaded our bookshelf, opened the drawer with our sheet music in it and dropped a remote with batteries in it and then ate the batteries that fell out. Seriously, this all happened within ten minutes.

Now worries...I realized tonight that I must always be aware that I am showing love equally to both of my girls. I always feel that if I am hugging and loving on one the other might feel left out, even though they are both under the age of two. Still, I never want them to feel that I love one more than the other. The truth is that when you have the first child you have all the time in the world to sit and play and read with them and love on them. It's all about them and only them. Poor second child, third and so on. They will never have that. Poor Anna, it's never just about Anna. I guess the consolation is that Anna is growing up with a playmate. Oh well, that's enough worries for now. If I started stating all of my worries you might have me committed.

Family Photos

2011-07-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Girls and Arts on Main

2011-06-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

Ruby showed us her new trick last night. I have no idea where she learned it.

Annalyse is getting soooo big and grown up. She is kind of crawling...basically, she can crawl but she chooses not to.

Anna's tongue come out when she is smiling, crying and even in her sleep. I went to lay her down the other day and her tongue was just hanging out.

She loves her daddy.

There's that tongue again.

Art on Main in Kendallville. There was a huge chalk circle in the middle of main street for kids to draw in.

Ruby carried the chalk around.

Daddy helped Ruby with her drawing.

We also painted.

And played in the sand.

Funny Times

2011-05-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wish you had a video camera that could just capture all those random great and funny moments? I do...all the time. I would capture things like Ruby making Anna laugh by dancing around and making funny faces, or Ruby grabbing the hymn book off of the shelf and practicing her singing and chorister skills, or I would love for everyone to see how sweetly Ruby cares for her babydolls, taking them in and out of the babydoll pack and play (seriously, it is made for babydolls) and cover them up in blankets. Ruby even bounces around with the babies, humming in their ears and making the "shhh, shhh" sound. She is also very good and finding ways to torture her father and I. For instance, she is the master of sitting on her Dad's head while he is trying to take a nap on the couch. Of course, there are alot of other moments that should probably not be for public viewing, like Ruby and Mommy's temper tantrums ;)

Easter

2011-04-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

Moments

2011-04-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went through the drive thru at Dairy Queen before heading back home with our Redbox movie. Sam placed our order of two blizzards (I always share mine with Ruby), and we immediately hear "I want Meeilk" from the back seat. Ruby surprises us everyday with all the new things she is learning. Apparently, this week she has learned how to place an order for "Meeilk".

All about Anna

2011-04-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Anna and Ruby have been best friends since the beginning. I mean really good friends. Can't ya tell. Yep, lots of love here. Beautiful sisters. They really do play together often and Annalyse smiles the brightest when Ruby is around. Of course, she also sleeps the soundest when Ruby ISN"T around. Ruby is a great helper. She likes to dress and undress her sister alot. Ruby is bringing the '80's aerobic exercise look back. Kisses for Anna. Happy Baby! Big girl! What's that? We have beautiful and happy babies. So cute.

Thank Heaven for beautiful, healthy and happy baby girls.

Yummy?

2011-03-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Annalyse had her first bite of cereal a week ago. She wasn't too sure about the taste, but it filled her up. She has been reaching for everyone else's food lately and watching us so intently, but apparently her cereal didn't taste quite as good as expected.

Rebuttle

2011-03-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

So I will now share my thoughts on the previous post about weighing one's spouse and such. Here's what I think now that I have thought more on the matter and read what others have posted. We do all need to be accountable to someone and for most of us our best friend is our spouse and who better to montior us but our spouse. We do need to take our health more seriously. Heaven knows, I do. And, once again, our spouse should be sharing in our goals. Having said all that, I think that if I were in this woman's situation I would feel that my husband's love was conditional. The act of him insisting on weighing me every morning to monitor and make sure that I meet his criteria for his 'ideal' wife would make me feel as though his love for me was based on that criteria. What if I gain a pound this week. Is he going to love me the same this week? If I gain three pounds will he even want to touch me? Am I suddenly unattractive to him because the scale pronounced me overweight? Do years of memories and children and building a life together hinge on a couple extra pounds? That is how I would feel. Maybe this man and wife feel differently about one another. And I am sensitive about MY weight so this is a sensitive topic for me. On that note, I started to think about the times that I say things or do things that may lead my husband to believe that my love is conditional. Am I any better than this guy weighing his wife. My method of measurement may be different, such as the number of dirty socks laying around the house, but if I am keeping track of it, even in my mind, and pointing out this fault repeatedly to my husband I am just as bad. I do this and I punish him, in my own way. I don't want him EVER feeling like my level of love varies upon how many times he closes the toilet seat or how many socks make it to the hamper. I LOVE YOU SAM!!! UNCONDITIONALLY!!! Just some more food for thought. Thanks for all the comments by the way. This stay at home mom needs more adult discussions.

Debate

2011-03-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

I heard a story about a man who weighs his wife every morning and requires her to stay within a certain weight range. I didn't hear what the penalty is for going outside of that range, but it made me mad just thinking about it. Then I talked to my best friend about it, raving that it was unrighteous dominion. My friend said that to make that judgement we would need all the facts. They asked what was this man's motivation. I don't know if I am ready to accept that there is even an argument in favor of requiring your wife to be within a certain weight range. So here is my unretorical question for you bloggers: Is it unrighteous to weight your wife or I guess any partner every morning, placing restrictions on their weight? Please tell me what you think.

p.s. Thank goodness my husband doesn't do that. He would have had to leave me a long time ago if it were so.

Journaling

2011-03-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

So I went into Dollar General in search of one thing and came out with five, one of which was a new journal. I am a sucker for journals. I had this brilliant idea that since I am up until midnight everynight anyways, why not journal while the kids are in bed and Sam is asleep or at work. Brilliant thought, but now I have decided that it's so much easier to just blog at night. Hahaha. Oh well.

What a Week

2011-03-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

What a week!!! Two mile markers for my girls. First, Ruby found her elbow and second, Anna, rolled over. So exciting!!! I'm so proud of my girls. Even more exciting was spending the week with the Skinners. My brave sister came up to Indiana for one last time with her five children in tow. She gave plenty of wanted and needed sisterly wisdom and taught me to make hair bows so I don't have to spend a fortune bows for my girls. It was a great time. A crazy, but great time. There were seven and sometimes eight children at my mom and dad's house for the week. Four and sometimes five of those kiddos were little girls fighting over the dollys and play phones. It was great. They are all safely back home. Love you Skinners.

On a super sad note, our friends, the Shorts left to move to Utah. We love and miss them so much. Love you Shorts family.

Where is Ruby's Elbow?

2011-03-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

As previously posted, Ruby has had a heck of a time finding her elbow. When I ask Ruby where her elbow is she points to her wrist and says 'elbow', but when I ask her where her wrist is she points to her wrist and calls it her elbow. Today Ruby finally found her elbow!!!!!!!! I was almost as excited to find her elbow as I was when she first rolled over. Oh, the mommy moments.

Here's another funny moment today which I owe to my preschool swim class. I was teaching this little boy to swim on his back and then his front and as he struggled he said very matter-of-factly that "it's the water that's the problem." Too bad we can't learn to swim without water.

Family Update

2011-03-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would update anyone and everyone who might occasionally read the "All Kinds of Crazy" Zollman blog. Sam is still toughing out the third shift. This week has really killed him. In fact, he is still asleep on the couch at 10:25 pm and has to leave by 10:30pm. Hmmm....why is he still asleep on a Thursday when it's his day off of school? Because intelligent me decided he needed to up his vitamin intake since he lives on two hours of sleep a day. I divied out all the vitamins this morning between Sam, Ruby and I, packed the girls up and left so that Sam could have a full, uninterrupted day of rest. The flippin' vitamins kept him up all day and he could not fall asleep until eight thirty this evening.

Annalyse is chunking up quite a bit and is so cute. The doctor's comment at her appointment the other day was that she was definately not malnourished. I wonder what gave it away, the rolly thighs or the huge cheeks. She smiles and laughs and coos. Her favorite person is Ruby. Ruby loves her too, but of course all the toys are only on loan to Annalyse. They really belong to Ruby ;) When I lay them on the bed to get changed in the morning Anna will just stare and laugh at her sister and Ruby will roll around giggling and laughing pretending that Annalyse is tickling her, which makes Anna laugh even more. It really is very cute.

Ruby is the glue of this family. She makes sure that everything and everyone is in its place. Her favorite person is Joey. Her favorite phrase is "yippy skippy". Who says "yippy skippy"? "Boppa" or Grandpa. Ruby can 'meow' better than any kitty around, but she still makes a growling roar sound whenever you mention a cow. Someday I will take her on a barnyard safari and we will discover the real sounds that a cow makes. Oh, also, Ruby will very proudly show you her eyes, her ears, her mouth, her nose and so on, but if you ask her where her elbow is she will always point to her wrist and when you ask her where her wrist is she will point to her wrist and say elbow. I must have been tired the day that we were learning body parts and I pointed to the wrist and said elbow. I promise it only happened once and I have corrected myself evertime since, but she is convinced that her elbow and her wrist are one in the same.

I am still teaching swim lessons at the YMCA, which is halarious because I don't swim. I stick to the classes that are taught in the shallow end, like the baby and mommy class, the preschool swim and the arthritis class. I love it though. It gets me out of the house and Ruby goes swimming with me every Monday. She is going to be an amazing swimmer. She really loves the water. I continue to gain baby weight even though I am not pregnant. It just sounds better to say it that way, rather than just saying that I gain weight because I eat out of boredom and depression. Ummm...I love my calling. I teach the music in primary, which is the calling that I never wanted to have. But I love it after all. My laundry is never done, but I am learning to deal with it and I love my family. That sums it all up for now.

So Why Am I Complaining?

2011-02-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

We have been very blessed in our marriage. We have two beautiful and healthy little girls. We have a warm home that will one day be paid off and then rented out. We have one semi-functioning vehicle. We have wonderful callings, wonderful family and we are in good health. We love each other and that's more than some people can say. We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we live it and love it. So why, with all of these wonderful blessings am I complaining?!

After almost a year of unemployment, Sam has a job-another blessing. He works third shift, goes to school full time and magnifies his calling of Branch President. He never gets a full nights rest, so when date night rolls around he falls asleep in the car on the way to our destination or on the couch during a movie. I don't blame him, but it does cause marital discussions and romance to go down the tube. I can't blame him, I can't blame his calling and I can't blame school and we need the job. So why am I complaining when we have been blessed with a much needed job in a time when jobs are scarce?

It hit me that I borrowed money for four years of college, only to work one year towards paying it off. I am grateful for my degree and I feel rather accomplished when I sit around talking with other stay at home mothers because I have that degree and that's not one of my life's questions anymore. How selfish is that? Sorry, but that's the nasty proud side of Laura. I have something to fall back on and I am glad. So why am I complaining?

I get to stay home with my children everyday, and clean the house all by myself everyday and go to bed all by myself everyday. So why am I complaining?

This is me on a bad day. Sorry, world.

You Know You're Married When...

2011-02-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

Sam and I have come to realize that we have joined that not to elite group of tired mommys and daddys. A few short years ago we would enjoy at least one night a week out as a couple. We might flit about going on a shopping spree at Hobby Lobby, followed by ice cream/dinner and a movie, probably a late night one even. Then come home and enjoy the other benefits of being a married couple, not caring about interruptions or the hour. We would sleep in the following morning and spend the post date day lazing about and enjoying our free time. Now, we might be able to get away for a date night once a month and we still have a child in tow. Instead of trying to figure out how much money we could spend in one night, we now try to figure out how to spend the least amount of money and still enjoy a date night. And romantic rondevues are cut short because of crying babies or because we are just worn out from a day of work, kids and other.

Here is an illustration for you: Sam and I planned to have Ruby spend the night with my mother and we would use our Comets hockey tickets from Mindy to have a date night. Dinner and a game and then Sam would come home and sleep before he had to leave for National Guard the next morning. Sam had already been awake for over twenty-four hours with work and school, but we had planned the first date in a while and were going to follow through. Sam came home from school and got dressed, while I got ready as well. He put on his comets jersey while I fed the baby. Then we found out the game didn't start until 8pm. So we thought we would just leave at half time. Then we said "ok, let's just eat at the game and leave at half time". Five minutes later changed our minds and decided to catch an early movie and fast food. Once in the car, we shortened our date to just a movie in Auburn. Once in Auburn we decided that all we really wanted was supper. Sam looked at me and suggested "Steak'n Shake"...drive thru and a redbox movie. So that's what we did. We grabbed drive thru and returned to Kendallville with our redbox movie. Sam fell asleep within twenty minutes of the movie and the baby and I joined him once the movie was over at nine pm. We are definately an old tired married couple.

Annalyse Margarite Zollman

2011-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

We had a little photo shoot. Annalyse Margarite Zollman is three months old. She weighs over 12 lbs now and is 23 inches of pure adorable.

Seriously?

That's right, so cute.

Best friends and sisters.

Chipmunk Bean

2011-01-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

Catching Up

2011-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

We needed to play catch up with everything that has happened in our family. So here are a few pictures to catch you up. Just start at the bottom because they are posted in reverse order. Oops. I need to remember the scripture that says "and the last shall be first and the first shall be last" when posting pictures on the blog. Enjoy!

Ruby decided to change her babydoll. i didn't even ave tohelp her. She knew just what to do.

Chocoholic! She'll do anything for a fix.

Annalyse loves her baths.

Ruby and Daddy on Christmas morning.

If you couldn't tell, that's Annalyse and her present, which won't be able to truly be used until next year.Seriously, what do you get a baby for Christmas.

There were more gifts, as you can see, but Ruby couldn't move past her big coloring book and crayons on Christmas morning.

See, what I'm talking about.

On Christmas Eve, we opened gifts at Nana and Papa's house. Every kid got to play Santa's helper for a little bit and pass out the goodies that Nana and Papa put together. Things like, cereal and brownie mixes and candy and candy and more candy. There were thirteen grandkids with thirteen gifts to hand out each. You do the math. It took a while.

Sam and the Elders won our Gingerbread House making contest at the Branch Christmas party. Then they went on to make another one. They had quite a good time. I think Linda Routsong is still a little bent that they won instead of her group.

We decorate with Nativities and Snowmen at Christmas time. So here is our largest and favorite nativities. Sam bought it for me on our honeymoon in Nauvoo. It is the first of our collection. We now have nearly 15 nativities and counting.

There has been an endless debate between Sam and I since we were dating-real Christmas tree or fake. I won this year and here is the result- a beautiful eight foot tree with lovely lights and an amazing star. We loved it!!! And aside from the jabbing pain of the needles, Sam is sold on real Christmas trees. I love being right.

Ruby was Daddy's little helper.

The Skinners came to visit for Thanksgiving so we celebrated Christmas early with them. Maddie has grown so much and she makes the cutest little elf.

Beautiful Ruby!

We love our family.

Yeah Ruby was a great helper until she found out that cookie dough tastes REALLY good.

Yay for Christmas cookies.

Ruby has loved Annalyse from the beginning.

Crazy cooks at Halloween.

I think she likes her.

Pretty girl!

Ruby and Annalyse are already best friends.

Proud daddy.

Annalyse Margarite (Pearl) Zollman

Stats: 21 1/2", 8.2 lbs, Beautiful Babe

Nickname: Lil Miss

Nana loaded the kids up with Halloween goodies.

We had a Fall Party at the Zollman's Corunna Homestead. We had a Bake Off where pumpkin was the main ingredient. Of course, the Sam Zollman family won ;) with pumpkin doughnuts. The judges were the honorable Patterson clan. And there was a vote as to what Nana would be for Halloween. The Rich Zollman family voted a hula girl.

Always good eatin' at the farm.

And four wheeling.

I made a covin of marshmallow witches.

Wow!

2010-08-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Who knows what inspired this hysteria, but Ruby was just waiting in the car with Sam when she developed a crazy personality. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

2010-07-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sam and I celebrated his 28th birthday today in Fort Wayne. We picniced at Foster Park, the sight of our first date (this time around). We walked around and enjoyed the flowers.

They were gorgeous and we made sure to take pictures of the ones we want in our garden someday.

Wouldn't that be lovely to have in your front yard.

This was the heart shaped gazebo in the Bridal Glen.

Happy Birthday, Love of My Life!!

Zoo Crew

2010-07-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Our summer is just full of activities with the Skinners. Aunt Sandra treated us all to a day at the zoo. Ruby overheated and needed a Dora popsicle to cool down. I think the ants probably loved our little bench when we left. It was all covered in melted popsicle.

Our girls just kind of sat around all day.

We had to get a picture in front of the pretty butterflies.

Wow that's a big lion. Todd kept pointing out that this lion was a cousin to Bob the lion in the African exhibit.

And here is our zoo crew.

Fourth of July

2010-07-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Ruby and cousin George got to play together over the holiday weekend. She was dressed up in her festive stars and stripes dress that we have been waiting forever to wear.

A Day at the Beach

2010-07-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Ignore the pregnant Mama and focus on the happy baby at the bottom of the picture. Ruby loved her first trip to the beach. She was rediculously happy to be in the water. She rejected the shallow end and pointed out towards the deep stuff. I think she really liked the floating and swimming around with Mommy there as a safety net.

When she finally discovered the sand she had a blast. And like everything else, some ended up in her mouth and some in her diaper.

Daddy showing off his little sunbathing beauty.

The Skinners had fun at the beach as well. We love having you home, Skinners.

1st Birthday Party!

2010-07-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

Ruby looked like a little Birthday Princess.

There were cupcakes galore. It was the theme of the party. Shalon even bought Ruby a cupcake apron.

She had to have one for each hand.

And, of course, chocolate was the favorite.

There were no crumbs left on her seat or tray by the time she was done. All you could see was some frosting on her face. She didn't want to waste any cupcake.

Isn't she so cute.

Daddy helped her open her gifts. Everyone was so sweet and generous. Thank you, everyone.

Paper!!

She loved her baby doll.

And her new stroller for pushing the baby was a hit as well.

Sly Hands and Cheerios

2010-06-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

Ruby's reach is lengthening as i found out last night when I heard the crash of cheerios to the floor.

She graciously offered some to her mother.

And when it was time to get up she took some with her.

Cousins

2010-06-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

Tayden and Ruby just love each other. Really, they only show kind affection towards one another. He feeds her his bananas and holds her hands to get her to walk and she just adores him. They are so cute together.

The kids loved playing around on our couch yesterday. The whole family came over and they piled on the couch. No nap time for these guys.

Of course, I hovered near to make sure there were no casualties to the hard wood floor.

Ice Cream

2010-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ruby had her first ice cream cone today.

I think she liked it. What do you think?

Garden Time

2010-06-11T04:55:00.000-07:00

So, I can't tell you how excited I am that it is garden season again. We are still not done planting at the Pattersons' because of the blessed rain and busy schedules, but soon. Last night my father and Ruby and I planted corn, beets, green beans, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. There is so much in the ground already that has started sprouting. It's beautiful (pictures to come). I do believe that I will scrapbook about it this year.

Funny story about my dad, Ruby and I planting last night. So, Ruby was sitting in her stroller, watching us lay plants in the ground. My dad kept joking about the moon coming up as he was bending over in front of poor Ruby. I took his place when he went to get more water and then I hear "Laura, don't traumatize my grandaughter, let me do that," to which I replied, "And that won't traumatize her." Then he points to my pregnant belly and tells me he is talking about that grandaughter (by the way, we think we are having a girl). I told him I thought he was talking about Ruby. We both just laughed and continued on our merry planting way.

Yes, we are having a girl, well 80% sure we are having a girl. The first time they tried to look, she crossed her legs, the umbilical cord was in between her knees and she had her hands over her special area. Modest little thing, huh. On Monday they checked again and she moved around the entire time, but no little boy parts stuck out, so girl it is.

Any votes on the the name? We are sticking with the whole "Our little Gem" theme for our daughters. We have chosen Annalyse Margarite, which Margarite means Pearl or we also like the name Bella Joia (sounds like Joya), which is Portuguese for Beautiful Gem. We have been very torn between these names. Well, we have until October to decide.

Mudpies Anyone?

2010-05-25T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I ate dirt, so what!

Ruby helped garden yesterday. She discovered that dirt and rocks are more fun to play in than sitting in a stroller while watching mom.

Would you like a mudpie?

Really, Ruby thought they were quite tasty.

My little garden gnome.

Zollman/Meyer Clan

2010-05-22T11:44:00.001-07:00

Zollmans and Meyers are coming over for lunch tomorrow. Nana and Papa bought the groceries and brought them over. Here is just the main course ingredients. That's right, that's a ten pound log of hamburger. It takes alot to feed this clan.

Potty Time

2010-05-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Ruby had a really bad bottom rash so we spent the morning airing her out. I put down a big blanket to catch all the stuff a diaper normally would. Yuck! It definately did the job. That wasn't fun for mommy, but Ruby really enjoyed her freedom. :)

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

2010-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our second anniversary and although I did not remember that yesterday was THE day we still managed to make it special. Seriously, how pregnant and brain dead am I that I did not remember my own anniversary. I blame it on the pregnancy, which means I blame it on Sam. We laughed at the fact that I have been pregnant for both of our anniversaries and we did get pregnant on our honeymoon (which was followed by a miscarriage), so maybe we were even pregnant on the evening of our sealing. Weird, sad and funny all at the same time. Maybe that was even an overshare for you all, but we got a kick out of it.

To celebrate this wonderous anniversary we went all out and ate at the finest restaurant our budget could afford. That's right, we ate McDonald's ;) Then we went two blocks uptown to the Strand and watched Iron Man 2 for only nine dollars. Great movie, by the way. It was way better than the first.

Truly we had a great night. I'm married to the most wonderful man. He works so hard to provide for and care for his family. He also was not offended that I did not remember the anniversary either, which is wonderful as well. Love you dear.

Ruby News

2010-05-15T19:00:00.001-07:00

Ruby is ten months old now and her personality is definately coming through loud and clear. She has always been a sweetie, but she also has an ornary said. Of course, that only comes from the Zollman side. This is a facial expression that we love dearly.

Sam is Ruby's favorite person. She isn't happy in the morning until she sees her daddy. She kicks and squeals when he walks in a room. Sam calls her his little "babydoll" all the time and the other day Ruby called him babydoll back. Too cute.

That's right, my little girl is a talker. Ruby can say "amen", "all done", "more", "babydoll", "apple" and a few other words here and there. In fact, after the sacrament was passed in church yesterday and everyone had said "amen", Ruby echoed "amen" very loudly. I think everyone heard her.

One more cute story. Ruby is the gassiest and poohingest girl ever. She will read this one day and yell at me I know. The other day was playing on the floor in the living room and passed gas very loudly and for a long length of time. She looked around the room and behind her to find out where that loud sound was coming from that had so rudely and loudly disrupted her play. HALARIOUS!

Frankenmuth Couple's Retreat

2010-04-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Sam and I attended a Strong Bonds couples retreat for National Guard couples in Frankenmuth, MI. It was so wonderful. We stayed at the Bavarian Inn, which was very impressive. This place had five levels. The bottom level was the family fun center with six different pools and a waterfall. It had a huge arcade area for families, an inside jungle gym, and miniature golf, plus gift shops. It was grand. National Guard paid for everything which was wonderful and what's even better is that they paid us both for being there. Of course, that check won't come for a couple of weeks.

Here is the back side of the Inn. We crossed the covered bridge to the Bavarian Inn Restaurant to take this picture. At first they tried to give us a bedroom with two double beds. Being that this was our first time alone, that is without a baby, in nine months we immediately changed that to a king size.

We went sight seeing at Bronner's Christmas store. Sam lept at the chance to talk to the big guy in red.

The picture is suppose to go the other way, but oh well. This is just a glimpse of the endless sea of bobbles and tree decorations at Bronner's.

My handsome hubby. We attended classes throughout the weekend that taught couples how to better communicate. The room above where he is standing was one of our classrooms.

This was the view from our balcony. They had the tower below chained off so we couldn't climb up in it to see the view. It felt like we were in Harry Potter or something.

Baby #2

2010-04-15T09:34:00.001-07:00

Baby Zollman #2 gave us a great picture at the midwife's office the other day. You can see both legs and arms. I think he or she is sucking their fingers and you can't see it in this picture of a picture, but the ear is visible as well. Our little one has a strong heartbeat and is looking great. It's so weird. With Ruby I was right on and could tell you just what the baby should weigh and look like at whatever day of whatever week I was at the time (which I kept rigorous track of), but I am so distracted during this pregnancy so far that I had to ask the midwife how far along I was. Oops. I will have to look at the calendar more closely. We are so excited to welcome another little one in October. The official due date is October 22nd. So Sam will have a child born in his birth month and I will have one born in mine. How wonderful! That makes it easy to remember. Anyways, for those wondering, I feel wonderful. I have had little to no morning sickness, thank goodness. The midwife said the baby is doing a lot of major developing right now and so I feel drained constantly. The fact that three days after we moved into the house we started remodeling doesn't help with that either. By the way, the living room is coming right along. I will post about that in a couple days when I have all of the before and after pictures ready to go. So I feel great, just tired and we are so excited. Sam is so cute. He wants a girl this time. We will see what Heavenly FAther is sending us.

Ruby and George

2010-04-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

Out for a stroll.

They held hands almost the entire time, like a little old couple.

Play time

Ruby giving George some pointers on crawling.

Easter

2010-04-06T12:09:00.001-07:00

Who has the longer tongue?

Our little Princess Ruby.

Auntie Mindy and her peeps.

Papa had his arms full.

Which one should I eat first?

Aunt Sandra bought the dress. Isn't she beautiful?!

Random Ruby

2010-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

"Mom, not another picture."

Ruby loves to hoard her toys under the bouncer.

"hello up there"

Bad hair day.

"Let me show you how it's done, Dad"

"I'm being attacked by the homemade decorations."

Loving her daddy.

Tada.

Enjoying the moment, but looking forward to...

2010-03-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

I realized I haven't written in a while because there hasn't been too much exciting stuff going on, but then I realized that everyday is exciting and wonderful I am just so looking forward to other things like....

-The Snow to Melt
-50, 60 and 70 degree weather
-Walks in the warm sun
-Planting the garden
-Moving
-Getting my scrapbooking caught up (I told myself it has to be done before we plant our garden)
-Sarah and the Skinner kids to come home for July
-SUMMER!!!!!
-Ruby's first birthday party (I don't really want her to turn a year old, but I have a cute party planned already)
-Canning

And a whole lot more that I can't think of or that sound really cheesy. Ruby and I have been trying to stay busy. We have scrapbooked a lot lately. Yes, that's right, my little seven month old insists on being a part of it and loves to sit on my lap and hand me everything she sees. We are up to Halloween. I will hopefully finish that tomorrow.

I am selling Lia Sophia now. I love it! And I am actually making some money at it. Last week I had a great party and now I have possibly two new recruits as well as some cash in the bank. Things are going great. Sam is helping where he can, trying to make this a family business as much as possible, but he is still super busy with the branch and work. We had thought about other business ventures prior to Lia Sophia, but they required Sam's full attention and we knew that wouldn't work right now. So, we took a different route. This way I can work for my family and stay home with Ruby.

Ruby is learning to crawl. Recently she has mastered the motion of moving from the sitting position to rolling on her belly. Occasionally she will push herself up on her knees, but the rest of the time she just looks at me like "what do I do now" and then proceeds to cry. She is so sweet and still has the two little teeth in front. There is a third one somewhere that is just taunting her. All the signs are there, but it won't show. Maybe soon.

There. Am I caught up now? I have some other good news in the works, but it is too early to share just yet. I'll catch you up soon.

Semi-Formal

2010-02-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

Corrie asked Joey to the Dekalb Semi-Formal. Her hair was beautiful, her dress was beautiful, she was just beautiful.

How cute!

Work it, Corrie!!!

14 Days of Valentines

2010-02-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

We are celebrating 14 Days of Valentines. Everyday when Sam comes home from work or church he gets to read his lovemail in his Valentine's box. Each card has an "I love you because" statement on it. The only let down is that there are way more than 14 reasons why I love my husband, so I will just have to let him know in other ways, once Valentine's is over. Yesterday he had a Finneus and Ferb Valentine from Ruby for being the best Daddy and one from me for being an amazing husband and father. We love you, honey!

Happy Baby

2010-02-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

Ruby is such a happy baby and laughs often. She was on a roll the other day, laughing at anything and everything she saw or heard. Who knew mommy folding laundry could be so halarious. I mean, I don't bust up with laughter everytime I fold underwear, but maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I should look at it the same way as Ruby. Then I might enjoy it more.

First Christmas with Ruby

2010-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

She looks like a little Christmas munchkin in her hat. We had the best Christmas yet. Ruby and I woke up early and got the house ready and food in the oven and then took a nap with Daddy. Then we sat on the couch and read The Living Christ together, afterwhich we said a family prayer of thanksgiving for the Awesome reason for the season. Then we opened our gifts. Here are some pictures.

We love Belle at our house.

Ruby and Daddy enjoyed opening gifts together.

And Ruby was just interested in the paper.

Merry first Christmas Ruby Ru.

Holiday Highlights

2010-01-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

Ruby and George celebrating Christmas while Uncle Joey holds them.

Aunt Sandra bought the bear...

with a ruby on the front.

Christmas brunch at the Pattersons'.

Ruby unwrapping her Christma PJ's from Grandma Jan.

Grandma insisted.

Morgan playing "chubby bunny" with her favorite treat, green olives. No one challenged her.

Corrie wrote a story with rights and lefts and criss crosses in it for our gift exchange. We sat in a circle and passed the bags around according to the directions in the story.

We all had so much and took home some neat ornaments.

The finale to the Patterson baking days.

Patterson Baking Day...s

2010-01-04T19:37:00.001-08:00

Grandma Jan, Ruby and I got together for some Christmas baking days. We made three double batches of cookies and spent two days doing it. Wow! And here are the pictures to prove it.

Mr. and Mrs.

Cookies...

...cookies, and more cookies.

Ruby is a big helper. She watched and watched us patiently throughout the day and could not wait to get her hands on the cookie making stuff.

Ruby looks out at the spoils of the day.

Mommy's little cookie helper.

Smiling girls.

We love roll out cookies. It has always been our family Christmas tradition. I have to admit that I miss the days when both of my sisters were there to help.

Mother is the best cookie decorator ever. Give her an Excedrin and she is good to go.

Ruby just hanging out.

Away in a Manger: Nativity Exhibit

2010-01-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Kendallville Branch had a Nativity Exhibit for our Christmas party. There was live music. In fact, Brandon and Liberty Stump came and sang for us.

The Hepworth kids made their gingerbread Nativity. How cute.

There were lots of beautiful Nativity scenes.

Thanks Kendallville Branch for sharing your Nativities with us.

And here is our live Nativity, after the three kings got done hitting each other.

Family Pics

2010-01-04T19:07:00.000-08:00

Ruby in one of her Christmas dresses. Isn't she so cute!

We decided to show our family off in front of our little Christmas tree.

Then we took a relaxed picture with Sam in his "Trophy Husband" shirt. He is the trophy husband!!

Baking Day

2009-12-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Christmas baking day with the Zollmans and Meyers. Of course, we went to Nana's for our special day.

This isn't even half of the finish, plated product.

Jello popcorn was heeping over. I love the colors. It's also one of my favorite treats now. Imagine that. Laura likes something that is not covered in chocolate.

Ty was a great babysitter while I helped in the kitchen.

Nana and Ruby took a time out to do some laundry.

Ruby liked her new playpen.

Nana, Nana, Nana. :)

Trev andNana made little candy molds.

And yes, we all spent the whole day eating. Who wouldn't.

2009-12-16T18:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXXwtFWpAI8&feature=player_embedded

Rolled Over

2009-12-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Ruby rolled over for the first time today!!!!!!! She did it all herself, from start to finish!!!!!!

Christmas Season

2009-12-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas!!! I probably love a little more now because I don't work a full time job outside of the home and so I am more free to make things and find fun activities to occupy my time and Ruby's time. For instance, Mindy, Ruby and I went to Breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning. We had a fun time and Ruby...

met Santa. She was fascinated with this man in red. She just looked him up and down. It was fun to watch.

We love Aunt Mindy.

Then, the Zollmans introduced Ruby and I to the Bethlehem exhibit at Fairview Missionary church in Angola. AMAZING!!!! They had everything. First we sat and listened to live music while we waited to enter the exhibit. Then we entered Bethlehem on the morning after Christ was born. As we entered we saw the three kings planning their trip in a distant land. Then we met the shepherds who visited the babe the night before. The head of household signed the census and then payed our taxes before entering the city. Then we walked through the Bethlehem market place. There were slaves, beggars, dancers, roman soldiers, and merchants. It was AMAZING!!! The floor was covered in sand and they had live animals. At the end we were greeted by the inn keepers and directed to the manger. Then we saw baby Jesus and his parents in a dark room with a single light on their family. AMAZING!!! Have I said that enough?! I loved it. In fact, I went back the next day with the Patterson clan. They loved it too. If you are interested and want to put it on your calendar for next year the dates are December 4 and 5. It is already on mine. AMAZING!!!

Yummmm....

2009-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

I gave in and started Ruby on cereal. She couldn't stop giving me that look at supper every night. You know, the look that says, "Mommy why aren't you feeding me?" She loves it.

The first time Sam put Ruby in her high chair I cried and wouldn't talk the rest of the evening. I can't believe that she is getting so big. It's so sad and wonderful at the same time. Now she loves sitting and playing in her high chair while I cook or clean in the kitchen.

We are so blessed to have such a healthy, beautiful and happy baby.

Say hello to the camera.

Here is a video of Ruby's first bites of cereal. We gave it to her on Thanksgiving. We figured this way she could join in the feast.

Texas Thanksgiving

2009-12-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

Peeling Thanksgiving potatos is a family event.

We had an eventful Thanksgiving with the Skinners. While waiting for the turkey to get done we noticed that there was water gushing out the back of the house. Mike went inside and found that the toilet had been overflowing for more than an hour. Sam and Mike worked hard to suck up all of the water on the tile and then from the carpet. Mike later said that he was very grateful for having a reason to get the shopvac that he has always wanted.

Sarah and the boys moved all of the stuff out of the wet closet out into the hall, including a sleeping Lydia. We finally ate our Thanksgiving meal a few hours later.

OMG!!! So I took over 150 pictures on our trip to Texas to see the Skinners so this is a really long blog. Here are the two girlies enjoying a Thanksgiving movie.

Which one is showing more?

Downtown in Tyler.

Outside the train museum. Todd wasn't feeling photogenic.

Let's weigh the baby.

Ethan is counting to see if there are really 101 Dalmations.

We visited a wildlife museum that also had an old fashion general store in it. Lydia was in awe of the candy display. She screamed when her mother had to pull her away to move on to another exhibit.

Zollman General Store.

The pictures are out of order. Here are the Skinner train engineers in training.

We really enjoyed the train museum. A train even went by while we were there. A Tyler native told his wife that he never had an electric train growing up, so his wife bought one for him for Christmas one year and put it under the tree. That sparked an expensive and extensive collection that now fills this old train station as well as another storage building in town. Don't even think about it Sam! :)

Lydia was not having fun at the Train Museum.

Introducing the new Wildlife Museum exhibit...Ruby Ann Zollman.

Watch out Brandon!

Nobody throws a party like the Monkeys.

Do we blend in?

What a beautiful family. We love you Skinners. Thanks for having us.

Testimony

2009-11-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

I have such a newly found testimony of food storage. The past few months have been a constant struggle for our family. There have been a series of unfortunate events that consisted of family moving away, surgeries, hospitalizations, major illnesses and unemployment. It seemed that one thing after another kept happening. There were so many reasons and excuses for us to be depressed and caught up in sorrow, but we came together weekly and or daily to plant, prune, harvest and preserve our food storage. We all worked so hard together and built each other up while providing for our families. Lately, my dad and I have worked so hard to put away these pears and apples we purchased at the auctions. When he went to work last week at his new job I realized how close this effort to put away our food storage has brought our family. It's not just about the food. I could easily have gone to the store and bought fifty cent cans of vegetables, but it would not have brought me closer to anyone or any understanding. I know that the prophets have counseled us to grow our own gardens and put away food storage for a purpose. We grow together when we work together, not to mention that it is healthier. The Zollman and Meyer clan had a Pickle Party and a Salsa Party. The Pattersons and Sam Zollman families have more food storage than ever before. Great memories were made and relationships were strengthened because we chose to heed the Lord's command. We have been truly blessed and I am so excited to have such great council from the Prophets.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Ruby was a ruby fairy for her first Halloween. We found her wings, tutu and wand for a dollar each. Ruby trick or treated at both sets of grandparents' houses, went to see Grandma Grape and then went to the Hammans' for her first Halloween party.

She is the cutest fairy I've ever seen.

She really enjoyed her wand. She was eating is by the end of the night.

Taking a break in between visits.

Had to get a picture of the back.

Chili Cook Off

2009-10-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Aunt Sandra invited me to be part of the Wolf Lake Chili Cook Off to help raise money for the Wolf Lake Hospital. How fun! For weeks now we have been eating different variations of chili and I don't think we will be eating it again for a while.

There were six entries. I was number five (great number!). The whole family went, Parents, Mindy, Joey, Sam, Ruby and I. I must say that we had the largest following out of everyone there. :)

The judge's choice award went to Betsy, but she and I were tied for People's Choice, but one vote later and I was awarded the trophy. My name will be engraved later. I tell ya, it's the simple things, but I was so excited to go home from the chili cook off with a trophy. Vote for #5!!!

2009-10-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I saw these on youtube and just had to share them, I knew that Hilary Weeks was a wonderful and inspiring singer, but I didn't know she was so funny too. But, I guess having a sence of humor is required to be a mom, right?

Fall Family Pics

2009-10-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some fall family pictures of the newest Zollman family. You can't tell, but it was raining a little and yet Ruby didn't fuss until the end.

Grandpa Dave took the pictures at Hidden Diamonds park for us.

Canning Fools

2009-10-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

We have been a bunch of canning fools this summer. Here are some pictures of what we have canned.

This is the list:

-Tomato Juice

-Spaghetti Sauce

-Chili Sauce

-Pizza Sauce

-Dill Pickles

-Sweet Pickles

-Relish

-Bread and Butter Pickles

-Zesty Salsa

-Becca's Salsa

-Green Beans

-Stewed Tomatoes

-Dilled Green Beans

-Wax Beans

-Lima Beans

-Peach Salsa

-Beats

-Apple Pie Filling

-Chocolate Raspberry Sundae Topping

-Red Raspberry Sauce

-Jalapeno Jam

-Peaches

-Peach Jam

-Mulberry Jam

-Grape Jam

-Apple Butter

-Pear Butter

-Stewed Tomatoes

-Ketchup

Yet to Come:

-Applesauce

-Sweet Pickled Pumpkin

-Kohlrabi

-More Jam

Apples

2009-10-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

We have a been a bunch of canning fools. Here is our latest project. My dad and I spent the morning canning pie filling. Aren't they beautiful?!

Here is the pie made from our homemade pie shells we froze the other day and the homemade apple pie filling we canned this morning.

Three Little Punkins...Kind Of

2009-10-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

So I saw this idea in a scrapbooking magazine for a fall baby picture. You set your baby in the middle of two pumpkins and then the title of the scrapbook page is "Three Little Punkins". I was so excited to try it. I have been waiting for the perfect day. Well, here's how it went. Here is the first picture. If you are wondering why her eye is pink it's because I got dirt in it when I tried to move the flowers.

In this picture she is cold and the wind is blowing across her face

She was literally trying to roll away. And yet I didn't give up yet.

Finally a smile, but only two of the three "punkins".

I don't even know about this one. We will just try again next year.

Busy Birthday

2009-10-18T20:22:00.001-07:00

I wanted to sleep in a little on my birthday but my daughter decided that I needed to wake up early instead. We cleaned up at home and did some laundry. Then we went to my parents' house and organized the scrapbook closet. Then my dad and I worked on making apple butter. While the apple butter cooked we decided that we wanted to make up some pie shells to freeze for the holidays so we went to work on that. My dad mixed them up and I rolled them out. We made good time and pumped out a total of nine and a half pie shells. This one is actually a kiddie-size pie, filled with our very own homemade apple butter. It turned out very well and we were super proud.

Sam told me to get dressed up and he took me out for my 25th. It was our first night out since Ruby was born. He took me to Casa Grille for supper, which was where we ate on our first date. I love it when he takes me out for dinner...it means I don't have to cook ;) Then he surprised me with Coldstone ice cream. Ahhhhh!!! I love this man...and I love Coldstone! It was a great birthday and a busy one. I wouldn't have had it any other way and as I thought about my 25 years of life I realized that I truly have everything I have ever wanted. I am married to the man of my dreams and I have the amazing gift of being a mother to Ruby. I love my family and I spent the day improving our food storage and bonding with my father. And of course the day had the perfect ending with ice cream and my hubby;) Happy 25th to me!

Emmatown Auction

2009-10-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

We have discovered the Emmatown auctions. The first time we went we had so much fun bidding. It was kind of hard to stop. There are so many vegatables and flowers that you can get for amazingly low prices.

It's definately the place to go if you are looking for some produce to can. This time we met up with the Powells and the Stumps and split a set of 10 boxes of Apples. We went home with four of the ten and also a half bushel of pears.

I was dying to bie some pie pumpkins. I am just building up the courage to buy only a couple off of someone who bids on one the the big boxes.

Here are the boxes of apples. There were Idareds, McIntosh, Red Delicious and Empires.
Oh man it is so much fun!!

Thriller

2009-10-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Sam and I attended the Super Saturday in Huntington with our youth. They started out with completing a few service projects. We helped supervise the indoor one since we had the baby with us.

The youth took different Laura Numeroff books, like "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" or "If You Give a Pig a Party," and acted them out. They made their own costumes and sets. It was amazing. They video taped everything and sent it to the pediatrics unit of the local hospital.

Madeline was the cat in "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" and Joey was the narrator.

There were craft items everywhere as they built their sets and their costumes.

After the service projects we all attended a Hoedown at the Knechts' barn. This is everyone learning to do the bump. They even had Brother Davis call the square dances. The youth had so much fun and Sam and I had fun watching. We were very impressed by Brother Davis's calling skills as well.

Corrie, Toni and Joey were taking a time out during the song "Thriller"...

but, obviously, President Shumard wasn't. He jumped right in during the song. Watch the video to see him in action! Sorry, it really dark.

Just a Few Pictures

2009-10-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

Always the center of attention.

Someday I will roll over.

Our tired little gamer.

Enjoying some family time at Nana and Papa's.

Surprise!!! Everytime I take her picture she looks so startled. Her eyes aree ginormous.

Papa's little pal.

Corrie is always whispering in Ruby's ear that she is the favorite big cousin. She is teaching her young.

Georgy Porgy

2009-10-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Introducing Baby George Thomas Allen Haulk. We went to visit George and Amy yesterday in Indy. He is so cute and teeny, teeny tiny. He has a head full of reddish hair. Notice he does not fit in his clothes very well.

We called him a beach bum because he had the beachy look with the fun hair and tan skin.

Proud Mom and Baby Georgy Porgy.

Even prouder grandmas with their babes.

Awe...look out. Think of all the fun they are going to have...and all the messes they are going to make:)