Snow Day 1-20-11

This picture says it all........my snow angel:) Everytime it barely snows she says she's going to go out and make a snow angel!

The girls playing w/ their "sister" Ginger...


The pretty pine tree across the road from us..



The girls in the road after sledding down the hill


Gin attacking Danielle & yes, she did go down the hill w/ us a few times...



Ginger always sits & looks off towards the woods for deer or anything moving including the cat!

div<



Kayla w/ Olivia & Ginger looking on....

Eric spent a couple hours shoveling the walk & porch.


Danielle w/ the 6 wk old kits...look how big they are already!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all:) Our plans are the same as normal....

I'm finishing up at work today, then off Christmas Eve...plans for that day are to watch Prancer & possibly watch Prancer Returns. We have Christmas Mass at 4 p.m. at St. Martin's, which is another tradition that I love. After Mass we go to my mom & dad's for gift opening & small meal. The girls always get tons of stuff & go crazy! Then we go home & prepare for Santa's arrival. We place cookies & milk out for his snack. The next morning will be an early awakening by one of my girlies I'm sure...I always love the first pics of Christmas morning. I love the "sleepy eyes" of my girls in the pics. Kayla has always insisted for years, every since she was little to have me & Eric open our gifts first, before them, which I think is sweet. She likes to "savor" the moment. We get ready for Brown's Christmas at my Aunt Peggy & Uncle Gerry Mattingly's house around noon which is always great fun & great food & more gifts of course. Best of all is visiting w/ family & especially Papaw Brown. The next day the Abel side will come to my house for gifts & visiting.

It's a busy time, but it's a traditional time. I couldn't imagine just staying home & doing nothing. What's the point? Family is the whole point. Knowing my Papaw is growing older & the love I have for my parents only makes me want to get out Christmas Day & have a wonderful time w/ lots of picture taking!!!!!!! I will post pics next week as I have a new camera that I love:)

Merry Christmas to all.....

Jamie

Trick or Treat & Rabbit Shows

Been going to alot of rabbit shows here lately. Below is a couple pics of Danielle at the Chrisney RBA. Had a good time. My spot received Best of Breed & got a couple really nice ribbons.





Carving the pumpkins...


Jack-o-lanterns finished & in order of age...Kayla, Danielle & Olivia...

Below is Danielle as a ghost & Olivia as a pumpkin...

Olivia Jean the pumpkin...

Kayla as a "teenage vampire"..here she doesn't have her teeth in..

The girls w/ Josh (my bro)he always dresses up every year & goes w/ us..

Josh as Michael Meyers..

Wedding, Reunions, etc:)

Update in pics mainly...trying to get caught up again as usual....

Olivia is finally potty trained all the way..we started her on Aug 17 & within a few days she was completely trained! She slept in a diaper for the first couple weeks but has slept with only panties on since the first week of September!!!! She is rockin & rollin I'm tellin ya--she was just ready:)

We had our 2nd Annual

Brown/Lingenfelter Family Reunion at the Washington Park..took this view from the paddleboats...isn't it pretty?!

The cousins on the train..

Kayla took this of me at my cousin Glenda's house for Labor Day...

Danielle jumping in Glenda's pool..

Olivia enjoying Glenda's hot tub:)

My cousin Levi Brown married Lindsey Mattox the first weekend of September..Olivia was a flower girl along w/ cousin Haylie...she did good but refused to throw petals!

Kayla & Danielle were program distributors..haha look at this funny pic:)


Left to right is the groom Levi, his Dad Clifford, his bro CJ, my bro Josh & in the front is our Papaw Brown at the church.

I love this pic...the photographer told them to get in groups of 2 and act like they were having a conversation...look at Liv & Landon "talking"!
The couple's son, Hunter, & Olivia..
My 3 beauties...look at all that fancy hair!
I took this one before the wedding...really like it.
Danielle before the wedding. My tomboy cleans up pretty good, doesn't she?!
Olivia Jean w/ curls!!!! She came in 3rd place out of 26 in a Pretty Princess contest w/ these curls!!!
The wedding party..
The girls at the beauty shop:)
Cousins at rehearsal...Landon, Hunter, Haylie, Olivia, Kayla & Danielle at the church.
My brother w/ my girls....looks like a proud uncle, doesn't he?! He was quite the stud that day:)

Back to School 2010-11

Kayla & Danielle returned to school last week. We hated to see the Summer end. We enjoyed sleeping in, VBS & especially Myrtle Beach!!! But, all good things must come to an end...

Danielle is 9 & in the 3rd grade & Kayla is 12 & in the 6th grade! Ginger had to be in every single picture!!!!

Kayla has really grown up over the Summer..looks like a little lady now, doesn't she?!

Danielle...always posing for the camera..


Acting silly....




Waiting on the bus....


Olivia fell & hit her head against her sunglasses the day before & had a swollen eye---looks funny!

Having 3 girls in the house....

There seems to always be something interesting going on in the house with 3 girls growing up in it. Kayla just turned 12 in July which technically makes her a pre-teen (at least that's what she tells me all the time). That's so hard for me to comprehend. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to get pregnant w/ her. She's definitely showing the signs. I think she spent a whole weekend in the bathroom curling her hair w/ the curling iron. Ever since she was little, even if it's just to walk up to the neighbor's house, she will change her clothes & comb her hair or style her hair. I remember when she started preschool the arguments we'd get into because her clothes had to be perfect. That's definitely where her and Danielle differ. Danielle would wear polka dotted shorts w/ a striped shirt & I'm dead serious. It's funny how those 2 will argue, but will stick up for each other so adamantly. I never had a sister, but I know that's what sisters do. It's pretty cool actually.

Danielle turned 9 in June. Being the middle child it seems sometimes she tries harder to get attention. She's very dramatic & can make tears roll out of her eyes in a second. She's always fun, ready to go anywhere, will normally do anything we ask her help for w/o a fight. Eric always asks her to help him if he's working in the garage, trimming trees, building rabbit cages, etc. She usually goes & actually enjoys being out there w/ him. Kayla would throw a fit & does not want to get all dirty....:) I think out of all 3 so far she is my tomboy. She's like me in that she does not really want her nails painted & only wants to wear "everyday" clothes.

Olivia is getting ready to hit the 2 1/2 yr mark on August 12. She's pretty funny, but man she knows how to get things in this house. She knows how to turn the faucet on & start throwing a fit or crying to get a certain TV show on or to get us to do something w/ her. I think she'd stay outside in this 100 degree heat all day if we let her. Why do little kids do that? Sweating like a dog but wants to stay outside...She can say anything! She likes to push the button to close the automatic doors in the van & the other day she said "watch yourself!". Usually she's yelling at Ginger the dog. All hours of the day we hear "Gin, quit licking me!" or "Gin, come here now!" She bosses that dog like crazy. She is doing a good job learning colors & knows almost all of them. She can count to 11 or 12, but usually skips 2 for some reason. She can sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Happy Birthday & Elmo's World. Oh boy, Elmo...don't get me started. Totally addicted to Elmo just like Kayla was. We have to take her to a Sesame Street Live one day like we did the girls! We have 25 episodes taped on the DVR & she actually requests which ones to watch. She says birthday, dinosaur, noses, bikes, jumping, drums & we know which episode to pick. She had her first sleepover 2 weekends ago thanks to my brother. She was in the truck to go home w/ Eric & he took her back out & asked her to stay! She did & had fun & did not want to come home the next day! She saw her first movie at the Jasper 8 last week thanks to my friend Alysia. She was watching the girls one day last week & took them to see Ramona & Beezus & said Olivia did good for that too.

Can't believe summer is almost over. It goes especially fast when you have girls in school. When it's time for enrollment you know summer is coming to an end. Kayla will be in the 6th grade this year & with the East school closing, she will be going to the Jr. High this year. I know she'll be fine, but it's scary for me to think about. Danielle will be in the 3rd grade this year & excited to find out who her homeroom teacher will be. Registration is next Mon & Tues. I asked my sitter when she was ready to tackle potty training & she said we'll wait til the kids go back to school. So, in less than 2 wks we'll be in panties!!!!

Myrtle Beach & Grand Champion Rabbit!

Wow--what a busy last few weeks we've had. First of all, we left on June 26 at 4 in the morning for the BEST vacation I've had in my entire life I'd have to say. We arrived safely in North Myrtle Beach around 7 p.m. that night. My mom & dad, bro Josh & his girlfriend Alysia, my Papaw Brown & my family of 5 stayed in a condo called Crescent Shores. We stayed on the 15th floor, had 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, large living room & kitchen area, washer & dryer, HUGE balcony & loved every single minute of it! It was so nice to leave the hustle & bustle of normal, every day life. No bills, no alarm clocks, no housekeeping or lawn mowing, just a wonderful relaxed time. I'm so glad my Papaw got to go too. He'll be 80 next year. He mainly stayed at the condo & slept on the balcony listening to the ocean roaring.


This is a pic of when we first got to our room & balcony!!!!

Ahhhh finally here.......

The girls were very excited needless to say!

I love this pic w/ the lights of our condo behind everyone. Here's our first walk on the beach. Josh, Olivia, Alysia & Kayla.

My Dad got his pants wet cause he went out a little too far. We were almost delirious from driving so many hours!

My Mom w/ Liv in the ocean & Alysia. She liked it the first couple times then decided she'd rather swim in the pool or play in the sand.

The early morning view from our balcony. We rented these umbrellas & chairs a couple days.

Love this pic too! Liv looking out over the balcony one morning in her jammies.

Crescent Shores condos that we stayed in on the 15th floor. Looking at this pic it's the one on the right.

Our sand castle.

Papaw's master bedroom & huge bed overlooking the ocean. He had a sliding glass door in his room too!

View from living room into kitchen area.

One of the bedrooms at the condo....
Papaw enjoying the living room which overlooked the ocean.

Kayla next to a huge palm tree on one of our walks.

Our family on the balcony...never mind my face!

The girls next to the fake jellyfish at the Aquarium...

Aquarium still...

Me w/ my stingrays. I could sit all day and watch them. So graceful..

Danielle w/ Mr. Ray....

Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville at Broadway at the Beach.

The girls outside of the shops w/ a stuffed bear at Broadway at the Beach.

Liv walking the boardwalk...

Love this one of her walking off....

It was sooooo hot that day!

Olivia looking into a crazy mirror. Look how huge she looks. She thought it was hilarious!

Josh, Eric & the girls.

Eric & Danielle outside of the KISS coffeehouse at Broadway at the Beach. Loved this and all of the real memorabilia inside.

Our bedroom we stayed in.

Looking off our balcony & down to the wave pool & hot tub. Next to this was the kiddie pool, big pool & another hot tub.

Eric actually in the water! Wow, that only happens once every 3 yrs! LOL

Alysia w/ Olivia walking at night on the beach.

Liv found a huge hole someone had dug.

Pap walking the beach. He just got his pants wet. I entered this pic in the open class at the fair and got a white ribbon.

I loved this one too. She was loving the sand!

The girls taking their boogie boards to the ocean & Liv upset that they were going in!

Here she is crying cause the girls were heading to the ocean.

Olivia in a clamshell at the Ripleys Believe It or Not Museum.

One of the beautiful crepe myrtles that's everywhere in SC & NC.
My Dad, Danielle & Papaw Brown heading to board their helicopter.
Papaw looks like his hands are on the steering wheel--too funny!
Kayla in our helicopter. See the boy behind her--his g-ma actually lives in Jasper & owns the freakin Schnitzelbank restaurant! Isn't it funny no matter how far away you go, you always find someone who knows someone near you, etc? Too funny!
The view of Myrtle Beach from our helicopter...
We did Old Tyme Photos..can you believe they actually let me take a picture too?!
We celebrated Kayla & Danielle's b-days on the beach. They turned 12 & 9 on July 12 & June 12.
Me & my girls on the beach. This was a great day. It was just us & my mom.
Olivia feeding the birds. Her & mom threw potato chips on the sand & we had about 10 at a time fly down & pick them up.
The ocean the morning of our departure...I did not want to leave :( I'd go back in a heartbeat!
Eric & Olivia waking up early for us to get ready to leave for home...........
The whole group...Papaw, mom, Liv & me, Josh, Alysia, Kayla, Danielle, Eric & Dad....
Kayla won grand champion rabbit this past Sunday at the fair. She won w/ her Florida White rabbit Rose. She won grand reserve 2 yrs ago w/ a rabbit named Rose Marie...must be the name! We are soooo proud!

Danielle during Future Showmanship this past Sunday. Bob Dages on the left who is our Rabbit Supervisor & the judge this year is the lady in the front & she's from Spencer Co.

Danielle & Kayla w/ the trophy!!!!!!!!!!

Kiersten W (Dages g-daughter), Kayla & friend Laken showing Dutch rabbits.

The posters from this year's fair. Kayla's on the top which was Photography & on the bottom is Danielle's that she did of her dog Ginger.

Auction night....look at her smiling & trying to suck up! Haha! Eric in the red shirt.

Lynne Ellis (running for Martin Co judge) purchased the rabbit, Kayla w/ Rose & the queen Ashley Hawkins. Lynne purchased it for $300.

All in all, we've had a wonderful summer! We've had Relay for Life, vacation, 4H fair & we look forward to going to a bunch of rabbit shows throughout the whole year. We are becoming ARBA members (American Rabbit Breeders Assoc) & hope to get lots of wins! This is something we really enjoy. When Kayla won Grand Champion it was like when a basketball team wins a sectional for us...it was an awesome victory. All the kids did so well & we look forward to next year. As for Olivia Jean, she ran barefoot all week in the animal barns! She's not afraid of anything. She even drug me thru the nasty pigs--yuck! She loves the goats. Think she can talk her Dad into showing goats when she's that age???!!!! HA!