Meet Tyrone...

... The turtle! So, I was on my way to the store this morning for a meeting when I saw this little turtle crossing the road. What do you do?? Of course, I parked the car in the middle of the road and scooted him across. Then I was like... "Hallie would love this thing!" So I scooped him up in a big glass jar (yes mom, your punch jar!) and took him home. I was going to be late for work, so I dropped him off in the recycle bin and told Ryan to get him some food and water and stuff. When I got home I introduced Hallie and of course it is her new best friend. She named him Tyrone. (must have watched Backyardigans this morning!) We are wearing gloves and washing hands and being safe, don't worry. Reese loves to watch him, but isn't sure what to think. Just another pet at the Ladwigs! (If anyone knows what kind of turtle he is let us know, I took lots of pictures so you all could get a good look at him!)

Another ordinary day....

Okay, so I have so much to blog about I decided to put it all in one post. Our days are filled with so many "picture worthy" moments my camera is practically smoking by time the girls go to bed!! :) I love taking pictures (as you all know by now) and so many of the things that happen in our day don't make the blog, because they are just the ordinary things of our day. So, today I am sharing some favorites from my past week... Here we go (in no particular order)-- all pictures can be clicked on to see larger.

This week Hallie got a new apron in the mail from Grandma Tricia, she was so excited to try it on, of course she thinks you ONLY wear the apron-- and there is NO changing her mind!!! All ready to make Halloween cookies...

Reese seized the opportunity to snatch up the spring one!! She thought she was hot stuff, and wore this until bed!

Miss Hallie is a scrapbooker in the making!! {Big Grin!!} She made this thank you card for Grandma Tricia, which is normal... but then before mailing it off she took it in the other room and took a bunch of pictures of it!! :) Where does she get that?? hehe She even zoomed in on the details!! {Loving it!!}

Here are some of my latest creations.... (and a couple older ones that made this slide show for a contest submission) I entered the October Afternoon Designer Contest. It is a brand new company with the CUTEST line! We saw them at CHA and fell in love! Won't hear anything for a while, but will let you know if anything comes of it. You can check out their website. October Afternoon. I also added a page I made of my dad and I and another fun one for Reese!

Reese's big thing lately is going into Hallie's room getting underwear out of her drawer (thankfully not the basket!!) and wearing it around the house on her head!! Kinda cute, but will definitely regret this later in life when I scrapbook this in high school!!



On Saturday I worked at the store and taught my class. It was LOTS of fun! The ladies were talkative, funny, and great to teach! (Thank you guys!!) Saturday night was the annual Silvis Moonlight Parade-- followed by fireworks. We will absolutely go again next year!! It was like a normal parade, only everything had lights and glow sticks and everything! The firetrucks were lit up really neat, there were a couple great floats, and the high school band really got into it! They all had at least 20 glow things on themselves and their instruments. The flag girls' poles were lit up!! (very neat) Also, in addition to TONS of candy... the girls got lots of glow bracelets and necklaces and stuff. Fun times!!

Sunday was another busy day for us! I of course save everything until the last minute, so Hallie and I had some errands to run, then we were off to Blessed Beginnings Preschool for the final orientation. Hallie had a lot of fun and met some new friends. She says she is still "a little nervous", but hopefully she will love it!! Then we were off to Alissa's baby shower! It was a fabulous shower! I would have to say I think the best I have ever been to! :) The food and decorations were over the top! :) Great sundae bar and everything!! Hallie took lots of pictures. As we were getting ready to leave Hallie said, "I don't want to leave yet, I want to wait for the baby to come out!" -- That would be a long wait... October 16th.

Today, Princess Hallie (self proclaimed for the day)decided she wanted to have a picnic in our kitchen for lunch. I agreed, since the floor needed mopping anyway. It turned out to be quite fun-- and Hostess Hallie did a wonderful job.

Okay, so I know that was a lot, but just wanted to share with you all the things that happen during the week that don't make the blog. Have a fun week! (Last week of summer vacation!!) I can almost smell that crisp autumn air and warm spiced cider candle burning!mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hallie's new "little" friend...

So this is Hallie's newest "friend". She found him on the window today! This thing is HUGE!! I used a ruler to measure him.... and..... he is 5 1/2 inches long!!!!!!!!! Scared the crap out of me when she found him! My little bug collector has read him stories, sang him songs, played her whistle for him, and even made him a "scrapbook card". We have had him "at our house" for about 4-5 hours now... we'll see how long he stays! As much as I HATE bugs, it is kind of interesting to see him up close! Here is a picture of Hallie reaching up by him so you can kind of see how big he is in comparison to her. (about 2inches or more longer than her hand!) That's all for now... I am sure she will be telling "huge bug" stories for a long time!

What a Day!

Reese had a great brithday! We hung out at home and played all day. We went for supper at The Filling Station. Reese ate TONS of mac 'n cheese and french fries!! Afterwards we headed out to Chuck E Cheese for some more fun!! Reese loved the rides, the games and THE COTTON CANDY!!! We all had a great time. The night ended with a new dollhouse for the birthday girl and lots of cake! :) Thanks for all of the birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Princess Reese!

Wow, I can not believe that it has been a year since we brought little Miss Reese home! We love you... Momma's "Muffin", Daddy's "Pooh Bear". Can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

American Idol

Happy birthday to me!! :) My mom got me American Idol tickets for my birthday, I know... way early-- but this is typically when I get my gift, 'cause I can't wait!! So Ryan, Ross, Christi & I hit up the great state fair!!! It was an night we will never forget, that's for sure! It ended in a way I never would have seen coming....

Check this out....

I have a blog for you all to check out... Lori Hamann has started a blog with her screen art on it. They are tooooo cute! I love them all. Great for front doors! Just thought I would share. http://lnhamann.blogspot.com

What a weekend!!

We started off heading back west with a stop at Adventureland in Des Moines. We had a great day... but man was it HOT!! So after we spent the evening in my mom's pool cooling off!

Next up... Grandpa Great's 80th Birthday party in Anthon...

We finish our weekend celebrating Reese's first birthday! Thank you to all of you who stopped byfor the fun!!

Is this Hallie or what???

I saw this You Tube video on Jennifer Pebbles' blog and had to share it with all of you! Hallie and I watched it twice in a row-- she thought it was so cute, and so did I! Just made me think of all the times Hallie is pretending with her "puppies". Oh, the innocence of childhood! Watch it all the way to the end. It is so cute!! 'bout makes ya cry!

American Idol

Last week we went to the American Idol Tour Concert in Moline. It was a great show! We had a blast! :) Enjoy my remix-- watch your volume, there are video clips in it. (and no, that isn't me screaming in the background-- it is the 10 year old girls behind us!)-- and sorry it is a little cut off on the right, maybe Jess can help me fix that... hint, hint!!

American Idol Tour

Coming Soon!...

We had a FUN weekend!! I have been working on the slideshows and everything to get them ready for the blog and the videos are taking a while to get on! So sorry the updates aren't ready yet. I will keep working on them. In the meantime I saw this picture on someone's blog and it made me laugh, just had to pass it on! :) Have a good day, I promise I will have American Idol, Grandpa's birthday and Reese's birthday pictures very soon!











(click picture to enlarge)

Yipee!

I won the contest that I entered the Halloween book in!! Here is the link to check out the post-- you can see what I won, too! Reminisce

Off to see Idol Concert!!! I will post lots of pictures I am sure!

Reminisce Halloween {10.31} Book

Here is a book I just made today using the NEW {10.31} Line from Reminisce. I went a little popdot crazy, but I love how it adds dimension. You can't see it well in the pictures... guess you will all have to see it in person! Also, the frame on the front is just a frame I cut from chipboard and used Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder.

Baby's Gotta New Pair of Shoes!!!

Okay, so I got Reese the CUTEST pair of shoes!!!!! Kim was telling me how cute they were and I was having a little doubts, but thought okay, I'll try them. They came in the mail today and they are TOO CUTE!!! She thinks she is hot stuff, too. The video was taken right away-- so she is still a little hesitant. Those of you we will see this weekend I am sure she will have them on!! -- Oh gosh, almost forgot to tell you what they are!!-- They are squeaker shoes!! They squeak when she walks :)

Of course I had to show a video, to get the full effect!

Official Bix "Pics"- link edited

We got a letter in the mail with the website to see the "official" race pictures. Just click here
Hallie's bib number is C739
Reese's bib number is A61

I tried to make links directly to the pics & the website has it blocked-- Sorry. Let me know if you have troubles.

Creative Playground

This is scrapbook designer, Donna Downey... Once a month this newsletter is sent out... you can click here to sign up. In each "issue" it gives a challenge. Then the following month she posts some of her favorites. Last month was Shopping Tags-- you had to use your shopping tags in layouts, mini books, etc. I took the challenge and made a CHA book using all the clothing tags we collected over the course of the month. I was so excited to see I was part of her selection!! Here is some of the book. (stay tuned for next month, I will try and do the challenge again-- this time uses old books)

The month before was using trash. You had to use things you would usually throw away or recycle. I made a 12X12 inch page, but chickened out in sending it in... here is that page. I know I am a dork, what do you have to lose by e-mailing?? I learned, if I make something I will send it in!! I used a paper grocery sack, cardboard box, screen, toilet paper rolls & plastic sacks. The quote on the page says "The history of our grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children's children. It is into that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future."

Thanks for looking :) I will try to post more of my scrapworks.

Rivers, museums, parks, dogs and more....

This morning we headed off to Dubuque, Iowa to meet Becky, Levi & Patty. Our first stop was the Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. I have to admit I wasn't excited about it... but to my suprise it was nice. We had a great time seeing HUGE catfish, alligators, sting rays, and lots of other fish and wild life that live in the Mississippi River (not just in IA and IL). They also had boats to tour, a train museum, and and lots more! Never thought I would say this... but we might have to go back :)

Next stop was the park. We went and let the kids play to burn off some energy. They had fun playing pirates in the boat like playground. We even caught the ice cream man for a little treat. We finished up the park with a picnic (in the back end of Patty's SUV).

Finally, our night came to an end with the Dog Races. Hallie has been asking to go to dog races all summer! A lady down the street has 5 greyhounds that she walks everyday... so Hallie got the idea to go to the races :) It was lots of fun to watch.

Thanks for the fun day guys! We'll have to meet again!

A Day on the Go-- updated with new pictures

We had a fun day Wednesday! We started off going to "Bookworm". It is a free movie for kids at the theater in exchange for a book report. So Hallie colored a two-page report on Clifford. We'll try and go again next week :)

Next, we were off to Old Navy (for returns) and then to Michael's (Crafts) I just had a few things to get... but hit the jackpot!! I found the $1 wooden "paper" dolls I had been looking for, some fun stuff for the girls in the $1 bins and the spray I needed to make my own rub-ons (to my non-craft friends I know you are just reading blah-blah-blah, but I will post pics when I get them done!!)

After that adventure we were off to the Garner's (Kim's). We packed up the kids and went to lunch at Sonic!- YUM!! Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon talking scrap, chasing frogs, and having a fun day. (Kim has the rest of the cute frog pictures on her camera, I will post them when I get them from her!)- hint, hint Kim

Today I have to work, so J-Dubb (that's a Best Buy name for Jessica Weber) is going to come and stay with the girls. I'll report any adventures tomorrow.

Here are the rest of the pictures from Kim- Thanks! (Poor Hallie was borrowing a pair of capris that were a bit too small-- you'll see :)

Here is a video of Hallie catching one.