Black Friday Sledding

I had zero interest in any form of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I do it every year, I hate it every year, and I finally got smart and stayed away from the stores on Black Friday. And I loved it!

Instead, we went sledding!

Gangsta Cousin Bridget is taking a much needed break from hiking up the hill time after time.

Jocelyn absolutely loved sledding...if you went slow...and didn't get snow in her eyes...and didn't go in circles...in other words, she is definitely not our snow-lovin' girl. But she enjoyed watching everyone!


Genevieve is our more seasoned sledder. She went a few times in our lap, and then preferred to do it on her own, with a smile on her face the whole time!


You can't sled down a hill, unless you first hike up it.

Must she make me sound so mean?

My mom was watching the girls the day after our first snow storm. When my mom asked if they played in the snow the night before,Genevieve replied, "I asked my mom if we could build a snowman last night and my mom said, 'Dang it Jenna, No! Because we don't have any carrots!' "

And just to clarify, this conversation did not take place between my lovely daughter and I. In fact, there was not even a conversation about a snowman. So, someone, who shall remain nameless, likes to make up stories.

And yes, I have been known to use the words "Dang it!"

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Here are some things that have been happening in my life:

1) My sister-in-law Chelsy and her husband Matt welcomed their third child Demetri into the world on October 26th. We are so excited to have another nephew (in a world dominated by nieces!) And a cute one he is!

2)I got to pull my niece Mikayla's first tooth out. She smiled while I did it. And then after I did it, I found out they were having family pictures the next day. Oops! :)

3)Sam is Mr. Athletic lately, running and biking more miles than I can count. He is even considering biking 100 miles from Portland to the Oregon Coast in May.

4)I have a new hobby. Well actually, I can't call it a hobby since I have only done it once, but I enjoyed it so much, I plan to make it a hobby. Shooting. Yep, that's right. I went to target practice and had a blast! My weapon of choice was a 9mm semi-automatic gun. Oh yeah, and I also shot a rifle. Talk about an adrenaline rush! No worries though, my teacher is a SWAT team member (by night) and Dentist (by day) and safety is his forte.

5) One recent day, my sister-in-law Rachel was babysitting Jocelyn for me while I went to a doctors appointment. I got the dreaded "Carrie I need you to come home ASAP" call from Rachel after Jocelyn and her daughter Bridget were "disagreeing" over who should be sitting in a chair, resulting in Bridget falling face forward on a corner bookcase, hitting her front tooth...hard...pushing it straight up into her gums/bone. I know, sounds horrible. It was. We got her into my office and got an x-ray (that's right, she is a pretty awesome 3 year old patient) and Dr. Brown sent her to the Oral Surgeon. We thought for sure it was going to have to be pulled and that she would need general anesthetic. Fortunately, the Oral Surgeon decided to leave it to see if it works its way back down on its own. So far, it is looking really good. She still looks like she is missing her front tooth since it is still pushed so far up, but it is looking better and she didn't have to have unnecessary surgery at such a young age! Oh, and the best news is that Rachel hasn't disowned me or Jocelyn as family members! :)

6) And finally, the most difficult news is that of 2 close family friends that have recently been dealt cancer in their lives. Jan, the wife of Thomas Dyer whom I have previously credited my continuance to this blog for, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Dyers are 2 of the most thoughtful, caring, and generous people that I have ever met and Jan is not deserving of this, but takes it with a smile and is very optimistic. It is very hard to see her stricken with this, especially since she is the bread winner in her family as her husband has struggled with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for many years.
Also, Ron Hartley, who is the Godfather to both of our girls, has been dealt Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He will be going through 6 months of chemo to try and rebuild his platelet count. Ron and his wife Sarah are very instrumental in our girls lives and the girls completely adore them. Ron is the goofy guy that plays with them at their level, but also talks to them and enjoys carrying on conversations with them. I have many visuals in my head of Genevieve sitting with Ron at church, her arms completely around his neck! As Godparents, Ron and Sarah go above and beyond with our girls. They make a point of spending quality, one on one time with each of them, on a very regular basis. As Ron goes through Chemo, his immune system is obviously shot and so we have to keep the girls away from him, something that is very hard for him to accept. We hope and pray that God has a longer, healthier life, free of cancer planned for Ron.
Our hearts go out to them and our prayers are with both families.

McCoy Family Photo Shoot

For all of my non-facebook friends, (and for my facebook friends that would like to see the video again) the following is a small slide show of some of the pictures taken during our family photo session. Enjoy!

http://animoto.com/play/n4Z9Z86lW9MmU8C5FKAlbg

Odd Eaters

I sometimes wonder about my children.

For example: One recent day, we took the girls to Red Robin for dinner. On the kids menu, you get to choose 1 main dish, 1 side dish, and 1 drink. Genevieve's request, "mandarin oranges, salad, and french fries...(long pause)...actually, just mandarin oranges and a salad."


Another day, Genevieve woke up feeling like she was going to thrown up. After sitting at the toilet for a little bit, she said she was hungry. I offered some dry cheerios. She asked if she could have something out of the refrigerator. I asked what she wanted. After looking through it, she decided...she just wanted a salad!

Now Jocelyn, has always hated food unless it is a starch or a carb. However, we force her to eat what we are having for dinner each night. We had a salad the other night as our main dish. I put some left over shredded BBQ chicken in it to make it more substantial. We all started eating and Jocelyn didn't move. I looked at her, her arms crossed over her chest, her head tilted slightly down, and her lower lip drooping down below her chin. "What's wrong Jocelyn?" I asked her. In the grumpiest, snottiest voice she replied, "I'm mad at you because you put chicken in my salad!" Seriously, I think she may end up being a vegetarian.

And so it begins

I am not the typical sappy mom that can't keep it together when dropping her daughter off for her first day of preschool. Not that there is anything wrong with the moms that do. That was just not me. I was thinking more about the coffee date, grocery shopping and even working out that I was going to be able to do without kids. However, watching Genevieve climb onto a school bus with her class to go to the Pumpkin Patch was different. It pulled on a few heart strings. I got a little "blurry" in the eyes. And then I drove myself to the Pumpkin Patch to make sure she made it okay. :) She is officially a big girl in my book!

The kids had to listen to the 3 rules of the tour at the Pumpkin Patch.
A close up of Genevieve shows that she is definitely her momma's child. Taking in every rule as if she might not see another day if she fails to follow the rules.

The hay maze

Genevieve talks frequently of her friend Quincey from school. Here they are 2 peas in a pod, smiley at Mrs. Sullivan.

The slide. Genevieve was proud that she went down the bigger, faster slide and that Jocelyn only stayed on the smaller, slower one.

And here is the teachers pet, walking hand in hand with her. Did I mention that she is her momma's child? ;)

Who knew you could roast "smarshmellows" at a Pumpkin Patch?

The evidence.

Wow! My Jocelyn looks pretty grown up too! What is happening to my babies?

Genevieve insisted that she could carry her own pumpkin. That lasted for 2.6 seconds.

Here is a little story about this last picture. I wanted a picture of both girls with their pumpkins. Not too much to ask is it? And I can almost guarantee that 99% of parents would have wanted the same. So, when I asked them to get down in front of their pumpkins, and Jocelyn immediately did, while Jenna fought with me about it, I made a threat. I told her that if she didn't pose for the picture, I would not let her take the pumpkin home. Mean, I know, but I wanted the picture! When she continued to argue about it, I made another threat. Not only will I not let her take a pumpkin home, but I will also take her animal cookies out of her lunch box. Its amazing how important some things are!! :)

So, I hope you like the picture!

Precious moments!

Why sleep in our own beds when we can cuddle in one?