Jiu Jit-Jit-Shoe...

Doug competed in his 2nd-ever Jiu Jitsu tournament this past weekend; all-in-all I would say he did pretty well. Out of the 14 people in his weight class, Doug placed 4th. The two guys who beat him ended up placing in 1st and 3rd. The girls loved seeing their papa out there....they know he does "jiu jit-jit-shoe" but they rarely see what it is, so it was a lot of fun getting to see all of his hard work and training pay off on the mat.

Our niece and nephew also competed earlier in the day (unfortunately, the girls and I missed their matches...sorry guys - I'll try to be on time for the next tournament); T took first in his weight class, and although L didn't place, she put all those boys in their place and showed them that girls can do jiu jitsu. Great job to both T&L for all their hard work...you two are awesome!!

Below are some pics of Doug during the tournament; I tried getting a video clip on here but the file size is too large so it won't upload...if anyone knows how to edit the file size of video clip, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Although Doug had hoped to take a medal home, he did manage to go home with the cutest girls in the stands. Medal or not, Roo (Jiu) and AK (Jitsu) were so proud of their papa.

Thanks to those who came out to see Doug compete; I know he greatly appreciated the support. And, thanks B&B for the pics and video clips...next time I'll make sure to grab my camera before I leave the house!

A Taste of my Own Medicine...

Last night, I asked the girls to go into their bedroom and get their PJ's on while I finished cleaning up the family room. After 10 minutes of neither seeing nor hearing them, I figured they must have found something to distract them from their objective, so I figured I would go back there to investigate. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted with the following as I entered their room:

Me: "Hey girls, what are you doing?"

AK: "Mama, go put on a movie. We doing homework."

Me: "But girls, it's bedtime. You need to put your homework away and get your jammies on, please."

AK: "No Mama. We have to do our homework. It's very impor-nant. You go away now. Go watch a movie."

Hmmmmmm...I sure got a taste of my own medicine, didn't I?! Although I have never actually told the girls to "go away" while I worked on homework, it made me realize that even though the words may not have come directly from my mouth, that is how my "suggestions" to put a movie on have come across to the girls. The whole 10-second conversation made me realize I need to watch what I say, and how I say those things...I should never make it seem that homework is more important than my girls.

I guess it's a good thing I only have 4 more classes with UOP! After that, I won't have to worry about any more online homework....Yippee!!

Good Reads, New Links...

So, I added two new links to my sidebar. The first is for a site titled "Whatever." I discovered it earlier today as I was searching for some new dinner recipes. After perusing through the blog and reading some posts, I decided it is definitely one I'll have to return to...I just love the vibrant colors, photos, and happy "feel" of the blog. There is so much on this blog that [I hope] will inspire more creativity, craftiness, and happiness in my domestic responsibilities.

"Whatever" led me to another blog...one that discussed recent ordeals and trials of a small Kansas family. I was moved and humbled as I read about the family's roller-coaster ride through stage 4 cancer with their baby girl Cora. In just 3 short weeks, the family's life changed forever. I feel so bad for the family, even though I have never met them; the whole thing made me realize just how many blessings I have...family, friends, religion, good health....and most especially, my husband and two little girls. I cannot imagine what these parents are going through right now, but I figured that maybe I could help out by posting a link to the benefit project that is going on in there behalf; the second new link is titled the "Cora Paige Project."

Now I am going to get off this computer and get some extra snuggles and kisses from my two beautiful girls. I realize there is a LOT in my life I take for granted, and I need to be more appreciative of all that I have...after all, who know what tomorrow will bring?

Quack, Quack...

So, lately the girls have been in a bit of an animal phase - they love pretending to be different kinds of animals, and they get a kick out of having me join in. The other day, we were waddling around the kitchen pretending to be ducks (one of their recent favorites....apparently they think it's funny to see their mama's big bootie waddling around like a duck), when the following conversation took place:

Roo: Mama, mama...Hi mama.

Me: Hi Roo.

Roo: Mama, look at me. I a baby quack, quack.

Me: That's right Roo, you're acting like a baby duck.

Roo: Yeah mama...I a quack quack, and you're a BIG quack!

Me: (laughing) Yup...I'm a quack Roo...a mama quack.

Roo: (laughing because her mama is, not realizing the humor in what she just said).

So, there you have it folks, it's official...I'm a quack....a BIG quack.

A Little Bit O' Scrapbooking...

So, I finished my accounting class and decided to take a 3 week break from school....which has left me with a little extra free time. I decided to use that time to catch up on some much needed scrapbooking....not the paper kind of scrapbooking, the digital kind. It's a little bit easier for me to work on the computer with the girls, and I don't have to clean up the mess afterward. I'm still a newbie at the whole digi-scrapping thing, but here are some of the pages I've made lately. NOTE: Some of the pages were done in response to a "challenge" from the scrapbook site I frequent (http://www.scraporchard.com/) ... you get points for completing challenges, and at the end of each month you get a discount coupon based on the number of points you accumulate. The discounts are an excellent motivator, but it's even more rewarding to finally make a dent in my scrapbooking! Enjoy...

And, in case the scrapbook pages don't provide enough pics of the girls...here are some new ones from the past couple of days.

(AK - playing shy, not wanting her mama to take pics of her pretty face)

(Roo-loving it up, trying to get all the photos that she can)

Cloud 9 and Good Eats

So...I'm not sure what started it all, but lately Roo and AK have been obsessed with climbing trees. Every time we pass the smallest shrub, the girls have to stop and test it out to see if it's something that's climbable. Well, they hit the jackpot on Friday while hanging out with their cousins and they found the perfect climbing tree. Honestly, they could not have been happier...they were on Cloud 9 and had an absolute blast. Here are some pics of their fun time in the tree branches.

Valentine's Day was also a lot of fun. In the morning, Doug went out shooting with his dad and our brother-in-law Bryce, which left me and the girls to ourselves. AK and Roo got their toe-toes painted V-day style (translation: pink and sparkly), then they let me experiment with some up-do's on their hair. After lunch, we went to Fresh n' Easy to pick up some desserts, Sport Chalet to get some cupid gifts for "our man" (a.k.a. Papa), and then to my SIL's house for a fun and festive (not to mention absolutely delicious) V-day dinner, consisting of steaks, potatoes, salads, asparagus, yummy bread rolls, and Martinelli's? (can we say YUMMY?). We had a wonderful time, but we did miss not being able to see all of our family and friends. So, since we weren't able to be with all of you on the official "Day O' Love," here are some pics to help you share in our fun! Enjoy....

Roo...making silly faces in hopes that I won't snap the photo, and admiring her pink with blue sprinkley toe-toes.

AK...avoiding eye contact at all costs, loving her pink-on-pink toe-toe selection, and singing one of her all-time favorite songs "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" while waiting for the nail polish to dry.

I don't quite remember what started this, but the girls and I ended up waddling around the kitchen quacking like ducks...they thought it was hilarious, but I just loved hearing their sweet giggles.

1.) "Mama...I no want a picture" 2.)"Don't take my picture, mama...hmmph" 3.) "Okay fine...CHEESE!!"

"Mama, here am me!" (Basically, AK's game of "now you see me....now you don't")

The kids table (L), the adults table (R), and seriously...what would Valentine's Day be without beautiful roses to share?

Doug's highlight of the evening...getting serious snuggles from Roo (AK was on the other couch, snuggling her dear ol' Cheetah friend)