Happy Birthday Taylor!!

Every little bit counts...

We have a roof! :)

Tibial Torsion

Well, it finally came time to take CJ to the Physical Therapist for his legs. He has been pretty pigeon-toed and bow-legged since he was born. At the eval, they decided that braces would not work for him, but that both his hips rotated out, and his feet in. The left leg is the worst. If his knee is placed facing forward, his lower leg and foot kind of make an L shape. The therapist also said that CJ has tibial torsion, which means his actual tibia bone is curved. The treatment for right now is straps on his legs to help train his muscles to turn the correct way, and to strengthen his muscles in the right place. For 6 months we will use the straps and then see how it looks. The therapist said this may not work since his actual bone is part of the problem, so if it doesn't work, then CJ will need to see an orthopedic doctor. I thought it was interesting that tibial torsion is from the way the baby sits in the womb. Now we just strap him up everyday, but I think that 6 months is going to be a LONG time!

Trusses

Watch our Progress!! :)

Keith Urban Concert!!

The night was unbelievable! Keith Urban is so amazing. JoAnn was so sweet to take me to his last concert with her, so I was SOOO beyond excited when she invited me again this year. The concert was amazing, even better than last year, which I thought would be impossible. He is such a great entertainer! Thanks so much JoAnn, I always have a blast with you!!!

1st Day of Preschool

For Preschool we are doing Mother Goose Time Preschool, which is like Joy School, but different curriculum. There are 6 kids in her class. The first house was ours, and Kaitlyn did not understand that school was at our own house. She wanted to GO somewhere. Hopefully she will get over it, since it will be at our house 3 more times before she gets to GO. :)

All of the kids did really well. They had fun playing together, and I was actually surprised at how well they listened. I hope that is a trend that will continue. They are seriously the cutest bunch of 3 year olds ever!

CJ was a busy body and wanted to play with EVERYTHING! He will be my preschool challenge! :)

Labor Day

Labor Day is generally a nice day off for most Americans... but not around our house. We had a hard working crew that worked for endless hours to help us get the floor in the new house. Thanks to ALL of you who helped!!

First Day of Kindergarten

We've Only Just Begun

Here it is... the first phase in the building of our new home!!

FINAL ROUND- Please VOTE!!

Please get out and vote for THE COWBELL CREW. It is the final round, so every vote is needed!! Thanks for your support. Here is my page for this round. :)

A New Addition

I want to introduce you to the newest member of the family. Miss Josie LeeAnn Fox! She is such a sweet little girl. Dean and Lindsey are so happy! She is a tiny little girl, but both Mom & baby are doing well!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Batle of the CT's Round 3

Go Vote NOW!!! (voting closes tonight at midnight EST)
The Cowbell Crew! :)

The Oregon Coast

The Andrew Family Reunion at the Oregon Coast was wonderful. After many months of dreading the drive, we left on Wednesday night. We did have some "minor" trouble on the way. We made it after a long 14 hours to Manzanita on Thursday evening. Our hotel was right on the beach, and beautiful. It was a bit chilly for my taste. My idea of a beach vacation is soaking up the rays while laying on the beach. That did not happen in Oregon! :) We did have a beach day, and the kids didn't mind how cool it was. We flew kites, played in the ocean, and built things in the sand. There was also a swimming pool at the hotel, so we spent some time there as well. We were able to see cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and most importantly... Grandma Ruby. It was nice to see her and to visit. We all love her so much! Casey and I decided that family vacations are tough, but worth it. We loved the time we were able to spend together.

Custom Fonts on Blogger

I have had quite a few people ask me how to get the fun font on my blog. Go to Kevin and Amanda's site for AMAZING stuff.
(image is linked)

The Polls are OPEN!!

Hey everyone! I am participating in a scrapbook contest with a team of 4 other ladies. Anyone can vote. Please go check it out and vote for me and my Rockin' team. We are THE COWBELL CREW. To vote, choose the Designer Category and scroll down to our name. Also, some of the Sweet Shoppe Sugarbabes are competing in the Store Category, so vote for them there. Only one vote is allowed per person per Category! Thanks for you support... now go VOTE!! :)

DigiScrapAddicts Battle of the CT's Contest

Chocolate Girl

Most of you know this title is NOT referring to me...

Thursday I got upset at Kaitlyn for going into CJ's Room while he was napping. She sobbed "Mom you just broke my heart!" A little more sobbing, then she said, "I think if I had some chocolate I would feel better."

Mudlucious

Giddy Up

On Monday we were invited to go to the Horse Parade with the Ballard's. Casey was still working, so I decided to be brave and try it on my own. First we went to the Sonora Grill for a wonderful dinner, thanks Steve and Emily, then outside to watch the parade. The kids had a great time. Taylor loved the miniature ponies, Kaitlyn loved all of the Rodeo Princesses, and CJ just liked to wave and say Hi to EVERYBODY in the whole parade! He cracks me up! Thanks for such a fun time...and for helping me venture out on my own Angela and Emily!!

I am a BABE!!

Check These Out!!

One of the Designers I create for, Britt created these templates based on some of my scrap layouts!! You can go snag them from her Britt-ish Designs store at ScrapMatters!!

My little Firecrackers

Here is a peek of our 4th of July... more pics to come soon!

Hall Family Camping Trip

This past weekend we had a WONDERFUL time camping in the mountains of Thatcher, Idaho. All of the Bruce Hall family went to Dean & Lindsey's for a weekend full of fun. We went fishing, had canoe races, did crafts, rode horses, rode 4 wheelers, had smores, and shot clay pigeons. Everyone had a great time. It was fun to spend time together as a family, and to make some awesome memories with our kids. Here are a few photos of some of the highlights...

If anyone is interested... I know I will be signing up!!

False Advertising??

Today was quite a mommy day... I never know what Kaitlyn will do next. She was playing with Taylor and her friend Sydney and this is what happened. She found these in their room...

And this is what she decided to do...

This picture was taken after 5 washings with Oxi Clean!! Does anyone else think the package is mismarked when it says WASHABLE MARKERS?!? Oh- and PS... it is just as bad all over her face, hands, and legs!

Kaitlyn also had many other items on her to do list today:
Jump off the top of the TV
Dump out the water bottle and hairspray bottle all over the bathroom
Wake up her brother when he was almost asleep for the night by running in his room and screaming
Punching her sister in the eye

I am now seated at the computer with a bowl of my favorite ice cream, trying to cool off from the troubles of raising 3 little monkeys.

Something I did today...

Ok, I know, I know! I thought this would NEVER happen to ME! I have become a BAD BLOGGER!! I am so ashamed, and hope that no one will judge me for it.

There is WAY too much that has happened since FEB. (my last blog post) to recap. I will tell you there has been some good, and some not so good things going on. I think that MAYBE my life is a little more together today, so I will officially begin to blog again. There are NO PROMISES being made here... I may become a bad blogger again, but I sure hope not.

I thought to start blogging again, I needed a BIG debut... a new blog look, but I didn't do that. Instead I decided that WRITING on the blog would be a good start, and just as good as a fancy debut.

I will tell you I have been scrapping away. I have been trying to keep a separate blog for scrapbooking stuff, but I am obviously having problems with THIS blog, so if you are sick of my scrap stuff, then you are invited to ignore those posts. ` It has SO become part of me!
I have also been working on getting caught up with my Project 365, so hopefully I can get some of those posted as I go.
HURRAY for me… I am back!

Toot!!

Just tooting my own horn for a minute... Here is a FREE template created from one of my layouts. Go download it NOW!!

http://www.sweetshoppecommunity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23274

Just a Reminder