11 Years Today!

yup, 11 years married....10 years dating = 21 years! yikes! wouldn't change a thing!
although, it would be nice to know a good babysitter right about now. we miss you allison. :)

had an early soccer game this morning. then back home to load up our bowflex. we sold it to a really nice couple. our ceilings were just too low in our basement and to be quite honest i didn't really want a huge contraption sitting out anyway. i really like having a multi purpose space w/o sweaty equipment. unfortunately our tred mill remains but it's a good reminder for me... i had better get my arss moving again!

terry came home with the girls shortly after we had the heavy stuff loaded (go figure) with a beautiful bouquet, ballon and cake! the girls were so cute and excited, they could hardly wait to give them to me! they shopped the night before with dad also. he's so good about including them and making them feel as though their pulling one off on me! :) they told me they were going to the grocery store w/ dad! it's great!
better spend time with the family. i think terry is done in the garage. have a great wk. end!
hugs...

Stuff...

just thought i'd pop in and post a few pictures. i said i would be better at posting so i had better follow through with that, huh!
not much is new....oh wait, we have a new addition to our home! fargo is back!

terry drove back to ND last weekend and picked him up from grandma and grandpas house. he was so excited to see us. i'm sure he was a bit confused at the changes but he has settled in. we have an underground fence that he isn't real fond of....it only took twice for him to figure out he shouldn't go past a certain point. although, when he saw the ups man the other day he bolted and didn't stop. ran right through it. i feel bad for him when he goes through it as it shakes him up pretty good. but he stays right next to me when we're outside. only bad thing is he can't quite reach the woods behind our house. when we lived in AK we taught him to poop in the woods, which he continued to do while living w/ g & g. so now he just poops in the bushes.
he looks so little in this picture but he's actually alittle over 90 lbs.
i had some requests for house pictures so here are a few of those. i haven't taken any indoors yet. i still feel like it's unfinished and still so many things i want to do....so you'll have to stay tuned for those.

a few friends that hang around. could do without the snake!
found a few raspberry sprigs amongst the flowers. they were yummy!

kati's first day back at gymnastics. i really like her coach. she takes class serious and it's not just play time for the girls. kati has really improved in just the 2 classes. i think she will start taking 2 classes a week or taking a dance class of some sort... rather than playing soccer. she isn't that interested in playing.
lauren in her second week of school....


lauren's first game! she started practice earlier this week and her first game was today. and she shoots & scores!

nancy...those were for you! :)

so that's it for now. need to get some things done around here! enjoy your weekend!

Long Over due Update!

greetings! wow, it's been a while since i've checked in. life has kept us busy!
we recently made a move to the chicago area, which consumed much of our summer. it's hard to believe it's almost september! we're getting settled in and are loving our house and neighborhood. the girls started school this week and are both very happy! they really like their teachers. lauren was excited to find out she was on the 2nd floor and had a locker! cool stuff. we've jumped right into our routine of activities....lauren started gymnastics last night and kati will start on monday. we're getting the soccer schedule lined up as well. so it's pretty much back to noraml for us.
the transition from st. louis to chicago went smoothly. terry is adjusting to his commute, he kind of liked working from home but does like the structure . the girls and i like having him home every night for dinner as well. he won't travel nearly as much as he did with his previous position either.
i have to run but will leave you with a few photos of the girls on the first day of school....
lauren started the 3rd grade and kati is in kindergarten.

Happy New Year

hard to believe another year has gone by. i know that sounds redundant but seriously, where does the time go?

our christmas was wonderful. my parents were here for 2 weeks. we celebrated laurens' birthday, christmas and new years together. i really miss being with our families during the holidays (or anytime for that matter) but to have my mom and dad here was a blessing. the girls had a great time with papa and nana.

so today is the 2nd day back from holiday break and the girls already have a day off. guess it started to rain in the middle of the night and with the temps dropping it turned into an ice rink on the roads. so we're home baking cookies...gee, just what we need after the holidays! ha ha

i was fortunate to have a few photo shoots over the holiday break as well. here are a few shots from them...both families were so much fun to work with. great personalities and so easy going.

i like black and white! :)

haven't made any new years resolutions yet but have lots of things that i would like to work on or accomplish! i turn 40 this year! yikes. i remember when i was little and 40 seemed soooo old! i don't feel old and i hope i don't look old. so i'm thinking i'll "embrace" 40 and make it a great year to remember, rather than dwell on the number! i have far too many things to be greatful and thankful for!

Wednesday...

poppin' in to say hi. haven't talked with many but hope Thanksgiving was nice. we had a good time in wisconsin. the girls reconnected with their cousins and had a blast. as for me, seeing my dog Fargo was my highlight (sorry guys, no offense! it was great seeing you too :) i miss him. but i know it would be challenging to have him here. anyway...

trying to get ready for the holidays. lots going on. with lauren's b-day being so close to x-mas it makes it even more hectic. i'm hoping this year will be her last "big" b-day party. we're having it at "incredible pizza" w/ 13 girls. they have go carts, mini golf, tons of games and the pizza buffet etc.... should be fun!

my dad & mom are coming dec. 19th. so i'm trying to prepare for that.... planning a class party for lauren's class, a cookie exchange, a couple more photo shoots, an ornament exchange, swim lessons, a rams football game, dinner w/ friends and so on and so forth! i'm so glad i decided to put up our holiday decorations before Thanksgiving...everyone thought i was crazy but what relief not having to deal with that as well! i did managed to get our x-mas cards ordered! check that off the list! i always have ideas and things i want to do and create for the holidays but the days just fly by! it's only the first week in december and i'm feeling defeated already! uhg.

here are a few photos from a shoot i did a few weeks ago.

i know....cute kids, right! i think i had maybe one or two shots that didn't turn out. closed eyes or looking away...other than that they were all amazing!

and a few more from another shoot...ya, more cuteness! poor "D" wasn't diggin' the camera! unlike his sister who "ate it up!"

Catching up...

just a quick update...and some photos to share. thanks again auntie kim and aunt shari, grandma donna, nana & papa for the halloween goodies for the girls!
they get a kick out of getting packages in the mail. they loved everything! here they are dressed up for the big night. lauren was madam dracula and kati was mini mouse.



we had a fun halloween night. we started a tradition last year with some neighbors to get together in a driveway with food, beer and a fire pit. the dads stayed back while the moms took the kids around the neighborhood. it was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect!


i had a couple of photo shoots over the weekend. these are just a few photos from one shoot. this is a friend/neighbor and her little girl. she was a lot of fun to shoot. very serious personality. but man she's cute!

oh, and here is my new car! it's a volkswagon passat cc. 2009. such a fun car to drive. the color is called light brown...not a real good pict. as far as showing you the color. we've never really been big car people but it's always fun to get a new one.

and just because this picture cracks me up! we took the girls to the pumpkin patch a week or so ago. they fed the goats and little horses. i don't know if they had fed them yet or not but the look this little guy is giving kati is too funny.


have a good week!

4 months later.....

i'm pretty sure i have lost all fellow followers by now. ha ha even family members gave up on my ability to keep my blog updated. life just seems to keep us busy and i guess the last thing to go by the way side, is my blog. so to try and catch you up to date...

* busy summer.... lots of activities and family trips. we traveled back to nd for my grandmas funeral. (sigh) had the girls involved in vbs (3 of them). swimming lessons, a cooking class and gymnastics. we also managed to throw in a family wk. end getaway to a tree house... nestled in the tree tops along a river. (very fun wk. end) and then for me there was the 1st of many golf lessons to come. terry bought me a pair of clubs a few months back but i have only taken one lesson but really enjoyed it. school started in august and just 2 weeks later we took our family vacation to san diego for 7 days! what an amazing place! we just celebrated our 10 yr. anniversary last week. can't believe it's been 10 years already. we can actually celebrate a 20 year milestone, as we dated for 10 years prior to getting married! so in a nutshell that was our summer and now we're here. almost october! i've had a few photo shoots with some neighborhood friends (their children) and have a few more lined up so i figured i had better update my blog with a few new photos. looks like i need to clean up my blog too.....i haven't designed for a scrapbook co. for a year now.....need to get those links off, huh. i haven't created a single page in almost a year as well. i have so many photos to go through it seems so daunting at this point. so anyway, check back soon and maybe i'll have a new post! :)

here are some favorite photos from our trip to San Diego:

LaJolla! so pretty!

lauren is feeding the seal...see the fish?








i updated my flikr photo box to the right also. i added some of the photos from my recent shoots.