Beware: Loads of Pictures!!

Sam and I made it home from Mexico safely and we were greeted by 2 cheerful, giggling, smiley girls! We had a great time, but really missed them A LOT! The report was that they did exceptionally well and Jenna only broke down crying for us one day. Apparently, Jocelyn had no clue that we were gone, (sad huh?) and Jenna only wanted me when she got in trouble, as if maybe I would say that it was okay for her to throw her toys at Mikayla's face?!

The pictures will tell you how our stay was: (and they are in no order except the one that Blogger uploads them in.)

Here is Sam and Mandi having to take the "backseat" since Frank and I both easily get carsick.


Seattle Airport-waiting for deparute: Sam is...excited...or caffeinated?


Sam and I wishing that our surroundings were actually the resort we were staying in. This was a Palace that we walked through and gawked at. Maybe one day when we are rich and famous...


The beach from "The Palace"


Mandi and I in costume experiencing the Mexican culture


Frank and his buddy. They look a little alike, don't they? (Just jokin' Frankie!)


Tulum beach. Blue sky. Turquoise water. Palm trees. Need I say more?


The Mayan Ruins at Tulum


Tulum from a distance


Why are we posing here, and not swimming down in the water? I don't know.


More fascinating Ruins


Back at our resort beach (which wasn't a Palace, but was definitely nice!)


Awwww. The beauty.


The little Love-birds!


This is basically what we did...all day long.


Oh yes, and this too! After having kids, I forgot how nice it is to read things other than, "Caring for Your Toddler" or "Raising them Right" etc. I and never read at home with a Strawberry Pina Colada sitting next to me!


We took an all-day excursion to XCaret, which is a natural, fresh-water, water park/zoo. This is an area that we snorkeled through. It was beautiful. Most of it was dark, and under caves. Truly amazing, but then there were areas that were open and where light could shine through.


A fresh-water beach at the same park. The large building is a restaurant. We laid out at this beach towards the end of the day. It was very relaxing!


Our friend-a large Iguana!


Sam had fun playing with the colors on our camera, and I love how this one turned out.


Part of the park that we snorkeled through.


Sam sitting in a Mayan Throne...wearing Hawaiian swim shorts...fitting huh?

Mandi and I eating our invisible food in a Mayan Hut. Hey Mandi...your legs look a little red!


We had an amazing vacation, but we are glad to be home to our girls!
A HUGE thanks to Amy and Nate, for moving into our house and acting as a "mother and father" to Jenna and Jocelyn. Also to Juliana for being the "big sister" and helping with all the teeth-brushing, clothing, feeding, etc. And to Isaiah and Mikayla for playing with them.
Another HUGE thanks to my parents for stepping in when Amy needed a break, or when she had 4 different places to be at once, with 5 kids! Thanks for keeping them overnight and spoiling them rotten!
And one last HUGE thanks to Sam's parents for putting their fair share of baby-sitting time in as well! And, not only that, I came home to a remodeled pantry...a wonderful birthday surprise! :-)

Kid's Castle

I took the girls to Kid's Castle this morning at Gymnastics Plus. For those of you who don't know, it is a big jungle gym with slides, rope ladders, spongy stairs, ball pits and more. I have been considering doing Jenna's 3rd birthday party here and wanted to make sure that she would enjoy it. And enjoy it she did! She even made some friends there. She was really brave in going through it without me, but she also enjoyed just playing in the ball pit with Jocelyn. Jocelyn was a lot more apprehensive, but not unhappy. She just preferred to stay with me on the outside. She went down one slide and it completely freaked her out. Jenna was right there to comfort her though! They were very cute!

Some Pictures

Dancing the night away...

My little "Mohawk"



The girls with Mikayla



Mikayla showing the girls how to get their hair wet

Poop or Peep?

While we were getting ready this morning, we heard Genevieve yelling from the bathroom:
"Dad! Can you wipe me? It's not Holy Guacamole, it's just peep!"

Are you calling me a lame blogger?

I know, I know, it has been awhile.

So, to make up for lost time, I will add an assortment of pictures, stories, and what nots.

Jammie time


Genevieve and Jocelyn watching a movie ever so attentively.


Ugh, sigh, (wiping my tears) We finally found Zoe a REALLY nice home. My only regret: I want her back! :-)
Long story, my friend that took Zoe had to get rid of her due to her insane amount of energy. We found a young couple with no kids that will give her the life she deserves. We are going to start looking for another Dane after our trip.


Jocie in all her glamour


Princess Genevieve


Cheesy Jocelyn posing with Uncle Matt at Christmas


Yes, we are taking a trip! We are going to Playa Del Carmen, just south of Cancun. We leave in 3 weeks from tomorrow! We are going with our good friends Frank and Mandi and our kids are staying home with our family. Here is the resort we are staying at. Ah! Can't wait!

On a more serious note, my sister has been struggling with DAILY migraines. She has been seeing an assortment of doctors from general docs to neurologists, to migraine specialists, to local docs, to Seattle docs...you get it? She has done everything that everyone has suggested still with no results. She is under a very strict diet (not a weight-loss kind) but one that prevents her from eating any foods that have migraine-triggering ingredients. Let me tell you this - she is living the life no one would want to live right now. She can't have normal healthy things like lemons, lentils, or cheese (just to name a few of the thousands.) On top of that she had to completely give up all caffeine. No more coffee for her...not even decaf since it has traces of caffeine. Not only does she take care of her husband, 3 kids, puppy, my 2 kids, dinner, laundry, transporting to/from school, basketball, church, etc, but she does it with a good attitude.
Poor thing!
I am heading to Seattle with her next week for a follow up appointment.
Pray for her that she may start to have some relief from these debilitating migraines and that she may have the strength to stay positive.

On a lighter note, Sam and I will be celebrating our 7th anniversary next week! Wow how the time has flown! I can't imagine spending those years with anyone else! Not only is he my husband and the father of my daughters, but he is also my best friend!
7 years ago...honeymooning in Jamaica.

Happy New Year!

Our plans for New Years Eve this year were at first a bit sketchy for us. A group of friends were getting together at Sam's brother's house for our annual party. Kids are always welcome, but all of the other parents got babysitters to make it a bit more enjoyable. Here lied the problem for us. Our babysitters include family members who would already be there, or girls that were old enough to be out partying themselves. So, our options were: A) go with the girls at 7:30 (the starting time, as well as their bed time) and know that we will only be able to stay until 9:00 or so when they break down crying, throwing fits, and fall apart, or B) stay at home by ourselves in the arms of each other and enjoy one anothers love and friendship all by ourselves. We chose option A! :-)
And I am glad we did, because I have never, EVER, seen my girls behave so well! Being the only kids there, they entertained themselves as well as all of the adults. I didn't hear one single cry, wine, fit, wimper, or anything from them....and we stayed until 12:45! It was literally amazing!
At 11:00 Jocelyn started to get really tired (but not winey) and you could see her eyes get really heavy and red. I remembered that ironically, I had the playpen in the car, so we set it up in the bedroom next to the extremely loud kitchen and livingroom where Rock Band on the Wii was being played, and she went right to sleep.
We had an excellent evening!
The girls slept in only an extra hour New Years Day morning, but woke up in great spirits!
I was nervous for the afternoon because we were going to celebrate Christmas with Sam's family. I thought for sure that the girls would lose it, being completely sleep deprived. Again, I was amazed at how well they did all afternoon! All five of the McCoy grandkids that are age 4 and under played really well together and it was a very enjoyable day. We ate, opened gifts, continued to eat, watched Damian on his new sled, ate some more, and more. We then celebrated Chelsy and Jeneane's birthdays and then ate some more! :-)
(I will attach pictures later.)
Although this Christmas season has been fun and entertaining, I have to say that I am looking forward to getting back into a schedule and eating less! :-)

Random thoughts from Genevieve

As the girls and I were driving down the street, Jenna pointed to "Jack In The Box" (a place we never eat.)
The following conversation took place:
Jenna: I wanna eat there!
Me: Not this time.
Jenna: Why not?
Me: Because we are going home and we have food at home.
Jenna: But I wanna eat there!
Me: No, Jenna (now trying to think of a better reason then "we have food at home")
People only eat there when they don't have food at home.
Jenna: Huh?
Me: You are lucky that your mommy and daddy feed you at home because some little kids don't get to eat good food like you.
(This was me trying to switch the conversation to show her how lucky she was.)
Jenna: Some little kids don't have food?
Me: No, some kids are very hungry because their mommies and daddies can't feed them. You are very fortunate that your parents love you, take good care of you and feed you because there are lots of little kids out there that don't have it as good as you.
Jenna: (just sits quiet)
Me: That is sad huh?
Jenna: Yeah, it's sad because they have hiccups.
Me: Uh....yeah....sure