TWO FOOTBALL GAMES, TWO PARKS AND A FITNESS TRAIL!

See didn't I tell you I was busy? We have had at least 2 football games per week and 2 volleyball games per week (I know, I know.. I only took pics once of Britt's volleyball games and wouldn't you know when I got home I realized that I had forgotten to stick the memory card in before I left. Nice!! OH well.. there's always next year. I hope!

Ok so first are the 2 football games. One was Marcelo's who is doing ok in football, but asks to quit at least twice a week..lol. And one is Cody who is still doing FANTASTIC! He is always being tried in different positions, he plays the ENTIRE game too! He plays offense, defense and special teams. The poor kid never gets a break... and he LOVES it. The really good thing about this is that he is doing better in school, keeping his room cleaner and just seems happier! And boy does he LOVE to talk about football!!

So without further ado, here are the football pics of Marcelo and Cody..

So we have really been parking (I know that's not a word) it up lately! The day after the babies' birthday we decided since it was a gorgeous day that we would take the girls to a nearby park that has a bunch of fairytale themes. It's really cute, albeit a little rusty and in need of a good paint job. We also got some really good fall shots of the kids!

And here are the pics from the 2nd park we went to. This was from last weekend. We decided to go visit my grandma but decided to stop at a park along the way. We were going to cook out on the grills there but SOMEONE bought the charcoal without the lighter fluid in it and then didn't bring lighter fluid so .... well we had a nice dinner at my grandma's. LOL. It was still good. :)

And lastly we went on a fitness trail. Oh this was so fun. This was also at the park that was near my grandma's. I had done this trail when I was little and had such fond memories of it. Well it was still really fun, but they had really tamed down some of the equipment. I guess too many people got hurt and complained. WHINERS! We had such a good time goofying around and walking in the trees and I can't wait to do it again!

Did you notice Britt likes to hang upside down??

KALIA & SOFIYA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Yes I know I already did a birthday post but that was for their actual birthday. This one is for their birthday party that I held late this year due to having Brittani's big ole' party a couple weeks ago.

We had a nice little birthday party with just a few close relatives. We had a nice time chatting and catching up and watching the girls oooo and aaahhh over their Little Einstein's cake, Little Einstein's toys, and Little Einstein's movies. Did I mention it was a Little Einstein's party? The girls just LOVE Little Einsteins so how could I resist? :)

The girls got a very special surprise gift for their birthday... do you know what it is? ;)

MY BABIES ARE TWO!!!

Ok so I know I'm posting this late and I apologize but I have been a little busy with football, football, and volleyball... and ok.. I procrastinated a bit too. So pretend I'm posting this about a week and a half ago, ok?


On the girls' actual birthday, we woke up early and had homemade waffles!! YUM!! The girls loved them! Then it was bath time (to rinse off all that syrup!) then we were off to the zoo. It was just me, the girls, Jeff and his girlfriend Stephanie. It was a GORGEOUS October day and we all had so much fun. The girls were actually very interested in the animals this time. (they are very interested in learning animals and animal noises at home too) They kept staring, laughing and squealing all day. They just loved the penguins, mainly because one of the huge ones was rubbing up against the glass right in front of them. He was there forever and they just giggled and giggled! It was too cute! They also loved the monkeys (bitty's as Kalia calls them) and the baby elephants. OH they were so cute playing together. We went in the aquarium and stayed there for a bit looking at all the fish, sharks and turtles (teetles as kalia calls them). Then they were off for a quick play on the little playground (we had to drag them away) and they slept the whole way home! They had a great time at the zoo!!

When we got home we made one of their favorite dinners - chicken nuggets and homemade mac & cheese. YUM! A cupcake each finished it off! I think they had a pretty good birthday, don't you?

BRITTANI'S SWEET 16 PARTY!

YEP you read right! Britt is turning 16 (tomorrow!!!) and we celebrated her Sweet 16 by throwing her an amazing party! We had slushies, cotton candy, karaoke, milk chocolate fountain, white chocolate fountain, lots of candy everywhere and to top the night off ~ a whip cream fight and a chocolate slip n slide! I didn't get near the pictures I would have liked because I didn't have someone (that I won't name ~ DEBI) to help remind me and guide me so I was running around aimlessly most of the time trying to make sure everyone had a full glass of slushie and a cotton candy in hand!

It was a blast and I'm hoping that it will be a day she will remember forever! (I'm thinking she will because she told me it was "the best night of her life") I LOVE YOU BRITTANI!! HAPPY SWEET 16 BABY!!! (crying, crying...)

Britt picked out this cake online, and was in love with it, but I told her there was no way I could get this cake for her and she was soooo excited when it arrived!!

This is not what she wore the whole night, she changed after a few hours of hard partying LOL.

Time to eat!!

Random photos ~ Britt and the girls doing karoake, the flowers I gave Britt for her special day, the babies looking cute and waaaay too much weight on the trampoline! LOL

THE CHOCOLATE SLIP N SLIDE!!

ALL ABOUT TUESDAY!!

My Tuesday update for this week is a GREAT one. She is doing FABULOUSLY. Getting stronger every day and definitely kicking this cancer's ass!!! GO TUESDAY!! She is still in the hospital in the oncology ward (not the PICU, YAY!) but the family is hoping she will get to go home, even if for just a couple days before her next round of Chemo.

Just look at this beautiful face... Look at her smiling. She is fighting so please keep helping her by praying for her and making donations to help the family cope with the huge medical bills. You can also still purchase Tuesday apparel to spread the word about her fight against Neuroblastoma and remember that ALL profits go straight to the family.

Please rememeber to go to the family's website and share your prayers with them EVERY TUESDAY. They really look forward to reading them and realizing every day how many people (many complete strangers) pray for and truely care about their little girl.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING!

Don't stop now!!

BEST BROWNIES EVER!

Ok so as I'm sitting here stuffing my face full of brownie, I started to think that I have to share the recipe with you all because this recipe is the best brownies EVER! I seriously have to stop myself from eating them all!! This recipe has been passed down in my family and now I am passing it on to you. I took them to Brittani's volleyball game the other day and everyone LOVED them! And they are pretty easy to make too!

Here is what you will need:

3 sticks butter (or margarine)
6 tsp Cocoa
6 eggs
3 C sugar
2 ¼ C all purpose flour

1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large jar marshmallow cream

chocolate icing (receipe below)

1. Melt butter then mix with 6 tsp. cocoa. Let cool.

2. Add 6 eggs and 3 C sugar and beat well.

3. Add flour, salt, vanilla and walnuts (if desired).

4. Spread in 12 x 18 well greased pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

5. White still very hot (right out of the oven) spread marshmallow cream evenly over the top.

6. Now cool completely then top with icing (recipe below - this is the best part so DO NOT skip the icing recipe below!!). (FYI - I keep them in the fridge since the icing has milk in it.)


Chocolate Icing:
3 T Cocoa (heaping)
2 C powdered sugar
½ C Crisco
¼ tsp vanilla
Dash salt
whole milk

Mix everything together then add milk til smooth and creamy. ENJOY!!! And be sure to let me know how you like them!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

We didn't really do anything exciting for labor day weekend. Friday we went to the Pirate game, Saturday we had Marcelo's football game, Sunday... ummm.. I can't remember what we did Sunday LOL... I guess we just hung around the house and Monday we invited my parents over and we swam in the pool and cooked out on the grill. Just a nice fairly lazy weekend. But it was so nice just to enjoy one of the last weekends of summer with family.

I'm not sure who this is, I think it's Kalia but boy doesn't she look like Marcelo??

The girls enjoying blowing some bubbles with daddy.

Sooo serious..

What?? I didn't do anything!!

So not a baby anymore, but a big girl. :(