Boat Ride at Buffalo Springs

Pop and Granny took the girls on a boat ride around the lake. They love the outdoors and every aspect of the lake experience. We had lots of fun cruising the lake, and plan on doing it again very soon!

Not sure if putting Mak behind the wheel is such a good idea...
They love their Neenaw and Poppa!

I think she's pouting because it was Sydni's turn to steer the boat.

Daddy and his mini-me.

Pop and Mak, cruising the lake!

Dinner at the Crusty Crab, Buffalo Lake

Buffalo Lake has a cute diner called The Crusty Crab which makes the girls think we are going to dine with Sponge Bob every time they hear the name of that place! We had lots of fun eating catfish with Granny, Pop. Carla, Jeff, Poppa and Neenaw, Moe and Darlene. Makenzi took a few of these pics, so keep that in mind!

Always posing...goofy girls!
Pop and Mak

Sydni and Daddy

Granny Deb and Mommy (I was in the process of coming down with whatever it is I have today...hence the pale and hideous face).

Neenaw...pic by Mak!

Another pic by Makenzi...telling Sydni to "be silly"

Making Poppa take out his teeth..nice!

Movie With Belle!

The girls love the movies, and even more so when they have their best buddy, Belle Bennett on hand for the festivities! Just like Emily and Bryan are Mommy and Daddy's movie buds, Belle is now the girls' favorite movie pal. We recently saw G-Force in 3D with little Miss Belle, and had a ball!

Emily, Annabelle, Makenzi, and Sydni wait patiently for G-Force to start! Love the 3D glasses!
Playing in the arcade afterwards. Go Belle!
This kid has the CUTEST face. Look at those eyes!
Makki has her gun, ready to shoot the bad guy.
Posing like pros outside of the theater...I don't guess their mommas ever make them pose! Need more practice, huh?!

KLBK Interview 2004

This video is from 2004 when KLBK came to our home to interview Donnie. Sydni was only 3 months old!

If Lady Ga-Ga Only Knew...

My sisters and mother will shake their heads knowingly after reading this post, but I have a stupid habit of being.... well, stupid, when it comes to all things song and dance. Donnie finds it endearing yet annoying at the same time, but lucky for him I've passed this ADORABLE trait on to Sydni and Makenzi. We love to sing at the top of our lungs, shake our booties (Makki is the very best booty shaker, I know), and just BE SILLY from time to time. Case in point, one of our favorite songs on the radio is "Poker Face" by Lady Ga-Ga. We change the chorus, "Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face", to "GOPHER FACE" and then we make the faces below. Donnie is mortified when we do the face in public places, but we giggle SO MUCH when this song comes on....I bet you will never hear the lyrics the same way again! Ha!

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Sydni's Gopher Face

And Mommy's...Donnie is so proud of his hot wife! Ha!

Backpack, Backpack! (In the tune of Dora...)

Our neighbor and friend Hannah, works for Stephen Joseph Gifts ( a uber cute line of kids gifts and clothing) and gave Sydni an ADORABLE cheerleader backpack for her birthday. Being the sweet friend that she is, Hannah also brought Makenzi a smaller, quilted version of Sydni's leather backpack. Here the girls are modeling their gifts! Sydni is ready for her first day of school on the 24th. Pray for Mommy and Daddy....both of us have already teared up over just the THOUGHT of our precious angel starting Kindergarten!

Sydni's last week of daycare before "big-kid school" starts, as she calls it!

They love their new bags!

Sydni also has the matching lunch carrier with her embroidered name! Hannah pretty much gave her every item with the "cheer theme" Stephen Joseph has! She has a rah, rah pencil pouch, wallet, and coin purse!
Makki's is so cute and soft! She LOVES IT!

Welcome to My Classroom!

Take video tour of my 8th grade classroom...I had just put a piece of gum in my mouth before shooting this, so please pardon my chomping. And no, I don't get on to my kids for chewing gum, so I don't want to hear about the teacher's use of it! ;) I love my classroom and preparing for a new year. This will be my EIGHT year to teach, and like my daughter's growing, it has flown by. The age bracket I teach (13-14 year olds) can sometimes be a challenge, but I feel like I am in my element with 8th graders. I love the fact that they are not "too cool" to be silly with me, but are mature enough to be deep and surprisingly complex in our classroom discussions. No matter what you might think about 8th graders, it really is a wonderful age to teach! Bring on the 24th! I'm ready to meet my new group of kiddos!

My door, "What Mrs. Hart Read This Summer". You can't be a Reading teacher and not actually read, right?! I try so hard to read as many teen novels in the summer, but also mix in a few books that are more my age and interest level. I was able to read quite a few this summer!

Part of my Twilight wall, and reading area. Love my fun chairs! If you ever have casual seating you need to get rid of, let me know! I can't have too many bean bags and gaming chairs!

My awesome principal let me have new tables and chairs instead of bulky desks. Group work will be so much more fun this year!

Mrs. Hart's 8th Grade Reading Room

Ya gotta have "PLOT" to have a good story!

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

I had a feeling that Sydni's recent piercing would inspire our little one to do the same. She woke me up this morning asking if she was "gonna get her ea-ahs pierced" and I told her that she could. We loaded up that afternoon and headed back to Claire's for a repeat performance. She was a trouper and didn't seem scared until the actual puncture happened. Sydni had spent the entire ride to the mall telling Mak that it didn't hurt, but you could see by the look on her face after the deed was done, that she thought we were all full of poopy! Not a tear was shed, but she wouldn't talk to any of us for a few minutes afterward! Here are picks from the experience, and below you will find a super-sweet video of Syd talking to Mak before her piercing. Sydni didn't know I was recording the first part of it, and I was so happy to capture one of the many sweet conversations the two have with one another. Even though they can throw punches like cage fighters, they really do adore each other most of the time!

On the way to the mall, they were holding hands. Sydni was more excited about the ordeal that Mak!
I held Sydni in my lap during her piercing, but Makenzi wanted to do it by herself!

Marking the lobes to make sure the punctures are even...Donnie supervises!

Granny Deb, Donnie and Sydni are there for moral support!

Just after the fact, and you can see her eyes are a little puffy. I think I would much rather her cry than hold it in...I'm not sure why!

Sydni Reassuring Mak Before the Piercing!

New Clothes, New Earrings, READY FOR KINDERGARTEN!!

Syd and I had so much fun today. I forget how special one-on-one time is for your children! After dropping Makenzi off at Granny Deb's (who is not a fan of shopping), I made the mistake of telling Sydni that she was in charge and that this was HER day! Little did I know that she would take that statement and run with it! We went to the mall and immediately went to The Children's Place to see if they had the dresses she had seen on-line. They had the dresses and then some, because we left the store with most of their fall line!
She also saw a commercial advertising the rhinestone toe Sketchers (this kid can memorize commercials line for line...remember her telling me that "cash for gold can save you money"???) and wanted a pair of them. I had absolutely no clue what she was talking about and promised her that we would try to find them. She has a 6th sense for shopping, and spotted them while walking past Journey Kids. We left with the last size 11 pair, so I guess it was destiny! She was so pumped, and had to put them on and wear them out of the store! I must also mention that she changed into an outfit we purchased in The Children's Place and wore it out of the store as well. (My Nana used to let me do stuff like that, so I think she has passed her love of fashion and accessories down to Syd-o.) I'm going to have to hide her new clothes to keep her out of them before school starts! Sheesh!
On the way out of the mall we passed Claire's (a jewelry store), and I casually mentioned that she should end such a big day by getting her ears pierced. Please keep in mind that she has been wanting to pierce her ears for over a year, but has been too chicken to actually follow through with it. I was shocked when she said, "Sure, Mom!" like I had just asked her if she wanted a piece of gum or something. There was already a lady in front of us about to get her baby's ears pierced, so I figured that she would back out after hearing the little girl scream! Much to my surprise, she followed through and left the store with two diamond studs in her ears (fake, mind you, but don't think she hasn't already mentioned that Daddy needs to buy her real ones...yeah, right!). Here are pictures of our newly punctured daughter:

She is so proud of them! I can't keep her away from the mirror!
Her goofy grin!

Posing like a pro!

"Aren't they beautiful?" she asked me, as I was taking her picture.

When the Girls Steal My Camera...

I'm not quite sure what she's trying to convey with this face! Ha!
The messy playroom closet...I guess it was worthy of a picture.
Dirty legs...I think Makenzi's.

The cursed playroom. Match, lighter fluid...how I would love to clean this room!

Dirty feet, dirty playroom floor...nice!

I love that my 3 year old can sort of center the objects she's taking a picture of...random shot of my Fiesta cream and sugar set.

Attempting a self portrait...I wonder where they learned this artform from?

This is her "I'm a little you-know-what smile!"

So natural and rustic...nice lighting, Mak.

A shot of the flower arrangement...I love how it is so random!

In this series of shots, I can just imagine what Mak was telling her sister..."Show me a silly face, Sydni."

"Now, be serious, Syd!"

"Show me, aloof."

Sydni finally gets a turn, I guess!

I went to download pictures today, and discovered why the lense of my camera was a little grubby. Apparently, I have freelance photographers in my own home! Who knew they could have so much fun with the camera! Check out my budding photographer's exclusive pics below...I can just imagine the giggling that took place during this shoot!