Rock of Ages

Acid-washed jeans, big hair, spandex and mullets.

That can only mean 1 thing....

Welcome back 80's!

Last month a friend organized a group get-together to go and see Rock of Ages. There was only 1 catch: in addition to a night at the movies, it was also a costume party.

The opportunity to rock my leg warmers, high heels and hair jacked to Jesus? 

You don't have to ask me twice!!!l

It was such a RAD night!

Like, totally awesome, man.

The movie was totally bodacious. Like, bad to the bone. Afterward we were all stoked to gather at Todd and Jolina's house to chill out, eat some grub, hang with our gal pals and party hearty.

It was totally gnarly.

For sure, dude.


80's Lady with her Top Gun

So happy to have Shawna with me - someone who's not afraid to rock some leg warmers with high heels
PS Wish you could have experienced just how tight and true to Top Gun fashion those jeans were. All I can say is that it takes a REAL MAN to roll in some tight and light jeans!

Custom shirt by Shawna - be jealous

Somehow I didn't get the feeling Allen was acting much?

Rocker Dude hanging with Top Gun? An unlikely couple.

What time is it? 
Time for....JELL-O SHOTS!

Thanks for hosting Todd and Jolina

Totally into character

Such an awesome group! I'm sad because Nathan and Elizabeth snuck off before I had a chance to get shots of them, too. :( I suppose that means we'll have to do it again?!

Have you seen God's power?

Here's Ash with her creation from VBS night #4. I'm not sure what the caterpillar signifies, but I do know she touched my heart in a massive way on the drive home from school.

I was asking her about what they learned, what they talked about and what they did. When she said "We learned about Jesus' thorn of crowns", it took a second (and a decipher from Jake!) for it to register. I asked her why they gave Him a crown of thorns and she replied "Because they were trying to hurt Him. That's not nice, but He was okay. He was still nice and good."

Hearing those words come from an innocent 4.5 year old was one of the best gifts I could have ever been given. That night as I was putting her to bed I squeezed her a little tighter and loved her a little fiercer. She's such an incredibly spirited girl. We are so lucky and blessed.

So proud of herself

Say what Natty Kat?

So if you've ever heard Natty talk, you know she's VERY passionate about every.single.thing that comes out of her mouth. From the color of the sky to the flowers she picks; if it comes out of her mouth, it comes out with conviction and devotion. So when I heard her chitty-chatting to herself about something on the couch I wasn't surprised at the tone of her voice. 
It's WHAT she was saying that had me scratching my head more than HOW she was saying it.


"My foot won't turn around! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, FOOT? TURN AROUND!"
What does that even mean???

Trust God

Night #3 at VBS....SUCCESS!!!
Midget is *SO*SO*SO* excited for her concert tomorrow night where she gets to showcase the things she's learned. I admit, I'm pretty excited, too. I imagine she'll put on an unforgettable show!


Stink-eye for her Savior! 

It's IDP power, Baby!

There's nothing quite like seeing your husband's business-name in a national magazine.
Unless it's seeing his name AND the parts he not only designed but manufactured as well. 
Something about the whole experience makes me crazy with love and respect for him.
Knowing Jake built Irate Diesel Performance on a prayer and a dream makes the whole experience even grander. As IDP grows and prospers, I can only hope that Jake takes a minute to give credit where credit is due.
Because behind every successful man is a woman, right?
Nope. Not this time.
Honestly, folks, other than support and an occasional parts-run, all of the credit, all of the accolades, all of the gold stars go Jake. So Jake, congratulations on yet another article in Diesel Power magazine. You've created a successful business, you're working hard and it shows. Your girls are so proud of you!
Now get back to work!
PS Next time you're in the grocery store, pick up a Diesel Power mag, flip to page 175 and  you can read about IDP and see more pictures. Trust me, you'll be impressed! 


In addition to being called "diesel gurus" later in the article, under the picture (the one with all of the parts, red background) it says "Irate Diesel Performance definitely did its homework when creating T4 mounting systems for '94 1/2-'03 Power Strokes. Not only are the kits affordable, but the quality and fit and finish is outstanding..."
They're saying these things as if we didn't already know it. Congrats, Jake! That's all you, buddy!

Firsts for us

Today marks day #10 since Ashley's asthma went berserk. She's still been coughing up a storm and has  generally been under the weather. I had half a mind yesterday to call and make her an appointment for this morning, and boy am I glad I did. And even though the diagnosis didn't come as a surprise to me (bronchitis), I still walked away with another "first" under my belt.

2 minis. 2 sets of bronchitis. 2 antibiotics.

While Ashley was getting checked-in by the nurse, Natalie stood by patiently waiting. Well as patient as she knows how to be. And when she started coughing, the nurse said "Sounds like whatever Ashley has, Little Sister is fighting the same thing. You might want to get her checked out since you're already here."

2 birds. 1 stone.

So what started as an asthma flare, or in Natty's case a simple bought of hair fever, quickly turned into a bacterial bronchial infection. 

I can't figure out if this makes them lucky or just plain unfortunate.

Either way, both of them will be on a 3-day course of antibiotics which will hopefully wipe out whatever infection is in there.

And in the meantime we'll do our best to distract them from any outside activities. 

Which, up until now, has gone over like a lead balloon. 

We finally get outside weather and instead of basking in it, we're all hunkered down inside around the AC unit.

Go figure.

Looking super sick, yeah?

Good thing our pediatricians waiting rooms are fun and entertaining 

Because it's summertime, and normal kiddos aren't sick, the doc's office was bare. That meant that he had the time to get out his super-duper otoscope (the thing that they look in ears with) that has a giant LCD read-out screen (naturally he got this awesome toy AFTER Natty's million-and-one ear infections, so we never got a chance to play with it). We looked in Natty's ears and saw that her tubes are still securely in place. Here's a pic of the pic - the flesh color is her ear canal, the whitish stuff her ear drum and that blue circular thing is the $100 hardware that keeps her ears clear (which in turns keeps Daddy and Mommy happy). Awesome, right?!

Trust in the Lord

Looks like it was another successful night for Midget at vacation bible school!

So excited to tell me the story about when they rolled the rock away from the tomb and "Baby Jesus" was gone

PS As far as Ash is concerned, Baby Jesus never ever grows up and *always*always* stays sweet Baby Jesus

Hooray for Daddy

Around these parts we love Daddy. So when Father's Day comes around, we like to show him how appreciated he is. And to do that, this year I let Mom do all the food preparation.

But the entire time she was working, I made sure to tell Jake just how special he is.

That's got to count for something, right?

Matching "I love Dad" shirts, naturally 

This was Natty's stance once Jessica showed up with Molly - ain't nobody gonna lay a finger on Natty's food!

Sissie and Poppie

Midget happy as a clam to snuggled in-between Papa and Nana

Ashley's always more than willing to share her cake pops. And when I say always, I mean only if she's sharing with Aunt Shawna. Anyone else and you're just plain out of luck.

Taking a minute to snuggle with 2-Nana

Some call it molesting, Shawna calls it love

Enjoying a nice bowl of Nana's special coconut cream pie ice cream, but keeping her eagle eye on Molly's whereabouts 

Strange

Cake pop take 2

World's greatest Son In Law

Don't force it or anything, Jake

Guess who's fave playing spot this belongs to?

Super Ashley!

I would say whatever I was doing to her, Ash found it really annoying

Aw, precious

Loving the heck out of this guy

A sure-fire way to upset a mini? Steal her swing.

One fabulous family of four (and a quarter)

Um? Something you care to share, Shawna?

Jessica's first attempt at corn toss. Let me just say my back got tired of carrying her the entire game.

Helping Nana with the dishes

Evidence of a stellar Daddy? One that isn't afraid to retie the pink hair bows that come out of his daughter's hair.

More evidence of a stellar Daddy? One who cuddles and rocks his baby girl when she's partied too hard.

Gotta get the group shot!

Focused on shedding that crayon of it's paper sleeve

Thrilled to be reading Elmo books with Jessica 

"Everything is possible with God" - Mark 10:27

Tonight Ashley attended her first ever vacation bible school (VBS) and golly did she have a wonderful time! She's been excited all day long talking about her school, wondering if they'd have snack and what the recess situation would be like.

Yep. That sounds about on par for Ash.

There was a bit of chaos when we first arrived as people where getting signed in, finding classrooms and making name tags. In true Midget fashion, she seemed a bit unnerved by massive amounts of people running around and when someone cut in line right in front of her, she gave them a stern talking to (God help the person that breaks the rules). But once we arrived in her classroom and she met her teacher (Miss Melissa whom she already knows - what a blessing!), she was off like a bullet. She even said, "Mommy, you can leave now!".

Yeah that would have been sweet except that it wasn't all cute and precious like. Instead she was full-on "Dude. I've got this handled. Be gone. Make haste. There's the door. Don't let it hit you."

Again, sounds about on par of our Ash.

When I came back to pick her up, I got to stand back and watch her practice her song and dance. Seriously. There's nothing sweeter than watching your first born make something her own. And when they bowed their heads and repeated their closing prayer, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I can already tell the concert on Thursday evening will make me crazier with love and admiration for her. 

I can hardly wait!

PS Our conversation on the way home:

Me: Ash, what did you learn about at VBS?

Ash: Oh just God and Baby Jesus and stuff.

Me: Yeah? Like what?

Ash: Well we learned about welding. How to weld. When to weld. Where to weld. Welding is pretty important, Mommy.

Me: ****totally speechless****

So excited to be at VBS - gotta snap a pic before we walk inside

Name tag made? Check.
Adorable smile? Check.
Excited for God? Check!

A self-portrait, blond hair and all!

Sheridan Days

Just like last year, we let the Sheridan Days Parade kick of the parade season. The mere mention of the "P Word" sends fits of excitement careening through the girls. It's great because it gives me the opportunity to let my youth out (not that I'm OLD or anything!) and get crazy excited at a parade (I admit, it's not ALL acting) all in the name of mothering

The things I do for my minis, right?

Taking a stroll with Nana while we wait for the parade to pass us by

Love my Ash-a-Roo...

...and my Spunky Spunkmeister

3 lovely ladies 

Taken seconds after Ashley broke free and bombarded Papa (carrying the Mexican flag) - I wasn't able to capture the exact escape as I was reeling Natty back in from her great getaway which involved her running half way down the street toward Papa. It seems those (hideously) bright yellow shirts are the Mini's way of knowing exactly where Papa is, at all times. 

Ozone the Clown - our favorite clown! 

Dancing to the marching band

After the parade the Sheridan Masonic Lodge hosts a dinner; the girls love eating all their watermelon and taking a tour of the lodge room 

It's pretty difficult to smile when you're trap's full of watermelon, and yet Natty Kat still makes it look adorable!