Summer Stuff!

Well my computer won't load these pics correctly, but anyways here is a pic of Olivia doing her music routine at VBS this past summer..

My bff Jenny got married this past summer also..here she is w/ her goddaughter Olivia and Kayla and Danielle..this was at her reception at Stolls.

Kayla & Danielle had a together-birthday party this year at the city pool for something different...it was the hottest day of the year I believe. My van said 112 degrees when we pulled in!!! Everyone was melting including the cake, but it tasted excellent as always & made by Heather Arvin of course! She did such an awesome job on this w/ the cute little cell phone and all the little sayings!

My cousin CJ & his daughter Elyse! She didn't end up staying long because she was tired and it was so hot!

Olivia Jean swimming at the girls' party...

...and if my computer would be acting right I have alot more pics to upload including the girls' trip to California, Grand Canyon, Florida, Martin Co fair, State Fair, first day of school and first day of preschool BUT computer gone crazy!!!!

Happy 11th Birthday "Dobbi"

Today is my Danielle's 11th Birthday...my, oh my, where has the time gone?? Below is a pic of the 1st time big sister Kayla met her newborn sister Danielle Erica..She is sitting on Uncle Josh's lap & asked the nurse "why is Danielle's hair pink?" This is how Kayla always fed Danielle...we had just gotten home from the hospital and she of course had to be the first one to feed her. She always put her hand on her forehead and pushed the bottle in! Danielle is my strong-willed, athletic, funny, giggly, intelligent, sensitive, bighearted middle daughter..if I wanna hear a joke I ask Danielle. If I want a person to play ball with I ask her. I love all my girls and they each have their own special, unique qualities that make up their peronalities. I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming and how smart she is. She has made straight A's since she started school and dang near made perfect attendance since Kindergarten too. This past year she did achieve perfect attendance for the year even though 3 days before the last day of school she had the flu! She was determined not to miss a day and I'm proud of her for achieving this goal!!! What a blessing God has given me w/ my 3 beautiful girls and I'm happy to be their Mommy each and every day..even when some days I wanna pull my hair out, I know they are nothing but a God-given blessing! Happy 11th Birthday to Danielle Erica Abel...better known as Dobbi at home:))

Dance Recital 2012

Well another successful year of dance...the recital was on Friday, May 4th for my girls. It was another really good one. Ive lost count almost, but Kayla has been doing this yearly since Preschool and she is now in 7th grade & Danielle started in Kindergarten and she's now in 4th grade. I still have all of the little costumes & t-shirts, shoes, etc. Hard to believe my girls are this big. I'm glad they are still really interested in dance, jazz & tap. I enjoy seeing this side of them.

This is between breaks, them acting goofy w/ Danielle holding Kayla and K's friend Deanna holding Livvy Jean LOL.

Danielle and one of her bff's Aspen...looking good!

...and w/ Olivia...who says she's gonna dance next year!

Danielle and another bff Brittany Walker..(our babysitter's daughter also)..

Kayla is second from the left here w/ her group of talented young girls who are rapidly turning into young ladies. Makes me sad, excited, unsure..all at the same time!

..Until next year..I might have 3 girls dancing next year, Lord help me now! ~~~Jamie

Took my "baby" Olivia Jean to register for preschool at Little Scholars on April 21st..she liked all of the toys & play things of course..wouldn't talk much to Mrs. Brenda or Mrs. Peggy. Can't wait to see how this really goes this Fall! She will be 5 in February so have to send her this year or she'll be almost too old for K-garten and I only like sending them to 1 year of preschool so this will be it!

Danielle collected enough money for the Jump Rope For Heart for the American Heart Association this year to qualify for a free ticket to the Pacers game at Indy. She took another friend, Chelsie Sutton, along who also won a free ticket.

They enjoyed all kinds of fun games & freebies including face painting..

Their favorite was watching the team mascot, Boomer, doing all kinds of flips & stunts..here he is after a jump off the mini trampolines..he flew up above the basket!

Here is a closer up view of Boomer...

These two are quite a bit alike as far as favoring sports and activities versus girly things!!

Here they are in the middle doing Boomer's boot camp..whatever he did, they had to do!

Of course the big banner inside the Banker's Fieldhouse.."To other states its just basketball, but this is Indiana!" Love it!

~~~JAMIE

Easter 2012...hunts & four wheeling!

The first egg hunt of the year for my girls is usually at our church, St. Martin's in Whitfield..Kayla is old enough now that she is actually the one helping to hide the eggs! Below is Olivia hunting at the church w/ her friend Ella.

Danielle & Pop Fegan...Pop always helps to find the eggs that are really hard to find!

We went to the Martin Co 4H egg hunt & Danielle actually found a prize egg..a silver one at that so she received a prize basket w/ goodies inside. Here they are getting ready for the pic for the Tribune.

I had to post this picture..anytime Olivia wants me to take a picture of her, she does this crazy looking pose! What is this? She has a half-grin & puts her arms in weird position! She thinks her new silky pjs are fancy!

Well you can definitely tell my girls are growing up! Grandma Fegan bought them Easter clothes this year instead of the typical Easter dress so here they are in their style of clothes, ready for church! Olivia had on a dress though:)

I love Easter morning...that crazy Easter bunny always puts the baskets at the front door! I love the girls' morning faces too! Glad it wasn't raining this year because it makes for such a mess and a hard time on the bunny!

Here are the "Brown" cousins at Easter at Papaw Brown's...left to right is Haylie feeding baby Elyse, Kayla, Olivia & Danielle..love them girls!

Pop brought his "train" to Papaw Brown's for Easter and it was such a hit he never stopped! It has 4 compartments so all the kids young & old alike enjoyed rides! Yes, we did get pics of me, Josh, Levi & CJ riding too!

Olivia Jean found an egg at Papaw Brown's!

Gearing up for our big four wheeler ride--look at Hunter Lee on his green four wheeler---cracks me up!

Golf cart, 4 wheelers & lots of fun!!!

This pic is of all of us on our four wheeler rides, the 1st pic has my Dad in it and not me and the 2nd pic, my Dad got off and let me on mine LOL...so we each are in the pics you know!

Landon loved riding w/ Josh because they got muddy! If there's a mudhole to be found, Josh Ed will find it!!!

Looking forward to out next big ride on Father's Day!!! Hope you all had a very blessed Easter season as we sure did! ~~~Jamie

Birthdays, Cousins & stuff...

We attended our cousin Hunter's 6th birthday party at the Skate Palace in Jasper and they had a jumpy-thing party...the floor was covered in blow-up things to jump and play on. The girls all had a blast! In this pic below is Olivia on the left wanting to ride a "turtle" and Haylie pushing Danielle on the trike.

Here's Olivia getting ready to slide down the bouncy thing w/ Hunter beside her...they loved it! What a cool idea for a party...

Every year the 4th grade classes have a "wax museum day"..this is where each student chooses a person from Indiana who has became famous or done something outstanding in one way or another...Danielle had Anne Baxter, an actress born in Michigan City, IN, and starred in "The Ten Commandments" and lots of other movies...this is her doing her wax figure pose! What a great job!

We absolutely love getting to babysit our gorgeous baby cousin Elyse Brown! Here she is w/ her crazy older cousin Olivia Jean!! Liv looks so old next to her!

Had to include some pics of our newest bunnies..we had 25 new kits born all together, had a handful die, but most survived and now our rabbitry is busting at the seams w/ 61 rabbits....this is our full-time pastime and we love it. Can't wait to attend shows, sell rabbits, buy rabbits, etc etc! Below is pics of English Spots & Dutch...love our little "Country Bunnies Rabbitry" and trying to get our barn built! It will be awesome!

I have been so busy...will post more pics later of Easter and more happenings! ~~~~Jamie

Rambling about Spring..mainly Easter!

Even though we got close to 2 inches of snow last night, I am so ready for Spring. My favorite holiday has always been Easter..love so many things about Easter. I love the reason we celebrate & going to Easter Sunday Mass. Don't foget new Easter dresses & outfits w/ pretty colors of lilac, pink, yellow or green. I love coloring the eggs to help out the Easter Bunny on Sunday morning. (I've learned many techniques over the years such as dipping my fingers in bleach afterwards or having colored fingertips for many days). I love watching the girls, fresh out of bed, hunting for the eggs outside that the Bunny hid in special places & then circling around to find their baskets on the front porch. I love the fresh green grass, the sprouting Easter lillies, the buds & flowers just poking out on the trees & bushes. Cadbury eggs & jelly beans & peeps! Our Easter Sunday tradition for many, many years has been a long 4 wheeler ride in the afternoon while having a get-together at my Grandpa Brown's house. This is our annual first ride of the year also so we have tons of fun w/ lots of four wheelers & riders of all ages. I hope to take Olivia this year. The little ones usually end up falling asleep before we arrive back home.

Looking forward to my annual egg hanging in the tree in our front yard too. I have started standing on the ladder in some spots as the tree has grown over the years. It's a flowering crabapple so usually by the time Easter is over, the pretty leaves & flowers have started taking over.

Mainly, Easter is the start of Spring to me. The start of warm sunny days, quit running the furnace all the time, and more playing outside til dark days!