And some of my boys

I had to take some of the boys as well, even though they are a little harder to get a decent photo of. Man, they run fast! ;)

A few photos

I took some photos during our picnic Saturday night after our family photo shoot. :) I can't believe how big Ella is getting. People have said that she looks like me and if that is true, I take it as a huge compliment. This child is beautiful!

Family photos

We had our family photo shoot yesterday! It was really fun working with Sarah. She graduated a year (I think!) behind my sister in high school, so I knew her for the most part. It was a really, really gorgeous day - not too hot but warm enough for the kids to wear shorts. Eric picked Palisades State Park for the location - it has rock walls, a river, a big bridge.

I kinda wished I had asked him more about it - I wanted a little more room for the kids to roam free so Sarah could capture some free shots, and this place was a little dangerous, with all the cliffs and stuff. But, I am positive she got some good ones anyway. The first shot in particular I am hoping came out - she had us sit and hang our feet off a little bridge, and I think that will be a good one.

And, we got to see where Eric, in his college days, climbed a rock cliff named The King and jumped into the river below. It's illegal for a reason! My gosh.

Anyway - this is Sarah's shop. She does a great job and I am so excited to see what she has for us!! The really great part is that she will give me a disc so I can scrap the photos like crazy! I'm thinking of having stretched canvases done for the living room as well.

http://www.sarahstormart.com/

An amazing chiropractic experience

So. I finally got to the point of no return with my back, and had to make a chiropractor appointment. I've never been to one before, so I was scared pantsless. Turns out I had a reason to be.

She was a totally normal looking chick. 35-40 years old, I'd say. Dressed in nice black capri pants, dressy little black and white patterned shirt.

Things went well at first. She did a little poking around and found that both my hips were out and had rotated back. No wonder I was in pain. Damn slip & slide.

So, she tells me she is going to pop them back in place. Commence being scared even more pantsless.

She lays me on my side, crosses my leg over and bent up. She pokes around my back and then does a full-on body slam onto my hip. Scared the ever-loving hell out of me. I started laughing hysterically. I just wasn't expecting that. Then, she has to do the other side, and by this time I am ready to run for the door.

Good grief.

Anyway, I'm still in pain. Eric is home with me today and my amazing sis is coming tomorrow so I can rest my back and not lift the chunk-a-dunk twins, so that hopefully my ligaments will heal and hold my hips in place where they should be.

Chiropractor - 1; Tali - 0

Home sweeeeeet Home

Man, do I love my bed. Seriously. There is just nothing better.

We had such a great time in Okoboji. Decent weather (for the most part) great food, sun. I golfed for the first time ever! WOW!

I filled a memory card (should have taken 2). I have been deleting and editing pics for hours. I think I broke Facebook uploading!

For now, I'll put a few of my favorites here. :)

Age ain't nothin' but a number ... right?

Last weekend my parents got a Slip & Slide for the kidlets. They just loved it. Sunday my sister and I decided we should try that sucker out. It had been about 15+ years since my butt had slid down one.

Now, 6 days later, I am still in pain. My lower back is totally wrecked and I'm making obscene noises when I bend over.

I am thinking that 29 is a tad too old for the slip & slide. Lesson learned.

Blood Diamond

Eric and I have been crazy with Netflix since January. We have been watching a ton of movies that passed us by when I was in the hospital and the boys were tiny and we weren't doing anything other than eating, sleeping, and feeding babies.

Last night we watched Blood Diamond. Amazing movie. I'm so glad we watched it - and more people should.

T - 3 days

Yikes. We leave for the lakes in 3 days. I have 4 packing lists going and I've packed almost a full suitcase of crapola for Ella so far. I haven't started packing for myself yet.

We'll be gone from Sunday through Friday. The worst part of this kind of thing is that we gotta pack like all of our summer clothes since we won't be washing stuff and we aren't the Hiltons with a crazy huge wardrobe. So, unless we all wear junk clothes on Saturday, I'm gonna be doing laundry at midnight Saturday night.

Meh.

Let the "change of location of craziness" ensue. I'm hoping to get a tan on my pasty behind. August isn't too late to get a tan, right? ;)

Mmmm

I bought some Emerson brand Cocoa Roast Almonds today in the dark chocolate. Holy shamoley. I recommend them!!

2 Years

Two years ago, Jacob and Boden were 20 days old. They looked like little old men, wrinkly, skinny, little to no hair. Flippin' cute.

Today, they are 2 years and 20 days old. They have full heads of curly hair, no wrinkles (except those caused by excess chub), and they look like little dudes. Even more flippin' cute.

I'm blessed.

I love my kids, even when they are bat shit crazy and I feel like running screaming from the house. All 3 are flippin' cute.

And, I really, really love my husband. He puts up with me. And, you may not know me, but that is saying a lot. I'm a total pile. And ... (yep) he's flippin' cute.

Yay!

My blog has a sweet new design, courtesy of Nikki Beaudreau Designs! I won my choice of awesome blog templates from Nikki today on Facebook. I chose this design, from Tangerine Sky. My favorite kit by her to date!

Chasing the Sun

I really, really love Liz's new kit. The colors are amazing, the papers are way yummy, and the ribbons are just perfect. You would not believe the layouts the other ladies are creating with this. Total "I'm not worthy" moment! Check the kit out here: Chasing the Sun

But - anyway - here are 2 I did on Friday:

Caught in the act

So. Ella likes to pretend she hates it when the boys sneak into her bedroom. But, the reality is - she loves it. In fact, since her room has a doorknob cover on it, she has to let them in her room in the first place.

Anyway - they have these little Strawberry Shortcake movie parties. Every so often I see her dragging one of the boys by the hand, into her room. Then ... "Strawbuh-buh-buh-buh-berry, Strawberry Shortcake!"

So, tonight Ella had left her room open, but was in the kitchen with me, making supper. Soon I heard that fabulous theme song, and I peak into her room. Sure enough, I see this:

I mean seriously. How flippin' cute is that? So, then I say, "Boys!" And I see this: