She'll be coming around the moutain,,,,

or should I say over the mountains??? Anyway, around or over, Rebekah (who lives in Alaska) will be here in 20 hours and counting!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! I can't frickin' wait!!!

A little end-of-summer spruce up!

Elisabeth's Room

Bella's Room

Elisabeth and Isabella's rooms were looking a little tired so we made a few trips to Target and WalMart and VOILA! .... a cheap make-over!!

The trouble with scissors.....even the teeny, tiny ones

I must say, she didn't cut nearly the amount off she could have. And she didn't cut off little snippets, either-she went for nice long pieces. When I asked her why she cut her hair, she said, "It was too down." I think she meant 'too long'.

Give it up, Mommy!

I really thought I could convince Isabella that she liked dolls. I bought every Asian doll on the market, showed her little babies, big babies, babies made for toddlers. I even saved all of Elisabeth's baby dolls and enticed her with Elisabeth's best Lee Middleton Dolls. Nothing. She wants NOTHING to do with babies. While I was sorting through her toys yesterday, I came upon this sweet, little, chubby baby that could go in the bathtub. That night, while I was running her a bath, I put the baby in the tub-thinking she could play with her. She went into the bathroom and came out of the bathroom, carrying the soaking wet baby doll. "I don't like this. Take her away." I told her to take the dripping baby back into the bathroom and put her ON the toilet to dry. When I went in into the bathroom, this is what I found:

I won't mention that she peed in the toilet first and then put the baby in. She looks really upset by this, doesn't she??

I am in trouble....

I only have 11 days left to do a make-over on Bella's vocabulary before she starts preschool. Today, in Wal-Mart, she was riding in the cart and one of the wheels got stuck. The cart lurched forward and then I heard it. "You scared the SHIT out of me, Mommy!" I thought for sure I had misunderstood her so I asked her WHAT she said. Even louder, she said, "I said you scared the SHIT out of me!" I am in so much trouble. Maybe I will have Todd do the pick ups and drop offs.

Why hand soap and a 3 year old with a water bottle don't mix:

This is what the back of her hair usually looks like in the morning...

This is what it looks like when you mix Bath and Bodyworks handsoap AND water together....

Almost a goner....

but he is still alive and kicking! Our 'first born' Thomas, a "I'll run away if the door is open", "pee on the couch when you are looking or not looking", "not listen when you call me to come in", "jump over the gate that was put up so I stay in the kitchen" peke-a-poo, started getting sick a few days ago. He stopped eating, stopped running around, and stopped being his normal, ole' good natured self. Being that he is 15 years old, we figured it was the end. Todd and I sat and had a good cry - remembering when he was a puppy and he would bring him to visit when I was living in Rochester. If anyone had been looking at us (we were sitting on the swing in the back yard), they would have thought we were nuts with all the boo-hooing we were doing. And then we had a good cry because we hadn't exactly been the best 'dog' parents since having kids. B.E. (Before Elisabeth), we actually dressed Thomas and Maggie up in Baby Gap clothes. Ridiculous, I know. A.E., they are lucky if we remember to feed them let alone outfit them in expensive designer wear.

So....we, as a family, take Thomas to the vets on Tuesday afternoon, thinking it would be his last hours with us. Instead of sending him to doggy heaven immediately, we opted to investigate what could possibly be wrong with him. Hundreds of dollars (I am estimating because I don't want to know how much it is actually costing us), he is up and walking around. He is still very sick but 100% better from when we brought him in. Apparently he had a kidney infection because he is unable to drain his entire bladder. Lucky for us and him, there is a medication that will help him empty his bladder-that and special food, antibiotics and frequent trips to the vets, he should be fine! Wow. How much money do you invest in a 15 year old dog??? I am not sure...hopefully when the time is right, we will know.

Miscellaneous pictures I found on my iPhone...

Pictures from the hotel in Maryland...these were the couches outside in the courtyard.
Eating breakfast after a swim.
The pool.

Bella playing a game at Dave and Buster's. She would kiss the token and then put it in the machine....she won hundreds of tickets....I think we may have a gambler on our hands.

Uncle Blake showing off his shooting skills.

Elisabeth doing what she does best....just like her Mama:)
Bella on her trial run to her new preschool....
Eventhough she was only staying 30 minutes, she insisted on packing her lunch and carrying her backpack.
Her favorite activity at her new school is this 5 person bike/carousel. Luckily one of the boys got on and started pedaling FAST so that she didn't even have to do the work!

Her second favorite thing to do...watering flowers. I don't think she will have any problems finding things to do:)

From Major to Lt. Colonel Blakeslee A. Connors

Elisabeth wore this Nanny-made dress 9 years ago for another one of Blake's ceremonies.


Blake and Alison

Elisabeth and my dad



Notice the bangs curling ....humidity!!!

Four generations....


Blake taking command...


The part of the ceremony where Blake become Lt. Colonel:)

My grandmother placing the Lt. Colonel badge on Blake's uniform - Blake was named after our grandparents...Freda and Jim Blakslee.
Incoming Commander (Blake), Colonel, and Outgoing Commander

Our Family (minus my sister and other 2 brothers)

Alison and Bella with the Colonel.





Blake and Alison's new house....

The elevator (IN THEIR HOUSE) a.k.a. the 'sweeper keeper'.



Blake and Ali in his new office:)

We just got back from my brother's Change of Command Ceremony at Fort Meade, MD. We knew it was a big deal as he was taking over the new position as Commander of Charlie Squadron for a special operations group. What he didn't tell us was that he was also getting promoted from Major to Lt. Colonel at the ripe old age of 38:) It was a fabulous few days....my mom, dad, grandmother, and some of Alison's family were there. We stayed in an awesome hotel (Aloft) that was super modern and had awesome bedding (for those of you who know me, know that I am a huge bed snob-especially in hotels).