When Bad Things Happen To Good Cats...

Poor Chevy...

Not only is Chevy "required" to put up with Ashley carrying him around by his neck, he is now "required" to play princess dress up. the least she could do is let him be the prince. Good ol' Chevy, not a whole lot rocks his world.

Ashley is 5

My baby girl is 5!!! I can hardly believe the words I type. My baby girl is more than just my baby...she is beyond words. Anyone who knows Ashley knows exactly what I am talking about. She has an opinion and is not afraid to share it, to believe it, to not change it. She is my baby that was "never going to happen". Maybe that is why she acts the way she does. She is against all odds baby, instead on winning the lotto, I got Ash and I am so happy I did. She will guarantee to drive me CRAZY everyday, but is also the one I guarantee makes me smile!! Happy Birthday my Ash a Ley!!!!


Happy "twins" Ashley and Ryan after our play date at McDonald's. Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!

Some random pictures of our "party", just a small little something with Jodi's family and my parents. Andrew could not make it, but we thought of him often:)!!




Ash wanted a picture of her and Chevy!!




We are the hostess with the mostess at Camp Chaos, we, I should say Isaac even offered "arm painting" as a party option.

Kyle's "football" that ran after the large amounts of paint were used.
Grandma's pink and purple heart with blue flames behind it. Again, a little less paint would be good. Jennie, he is still looking for his lessons:)!!!.

Allison was in charge of "decorations". I 100% LOVE the Ashley sign, it will be saved forever!! Fantastic!!!

This is the big top cupcake. It did not bake as planned, but it was OK. She was thrilled and that is all that really matters I guess.

Ashley and her Ashley doll (her name is Ashley until she thinks of a name she likes more!). Side note, not sure I was really wanting to get the girls American girls dolls, so glad I did, them love them!!! Notice the matching pj's?? Ash had to change her and her doll's clothes before we could do anything else!!!

Not sure why this one is at the end, but he in concentrating so hard (notice the tongue). He just wanted everyone to have a good time. Thanks Mom for being a good sport and letting him paint your arm, you too Kyle. In case you were wondering, faces scare me a little with "white kids" I would rather have their arms break out than their faces:)!!!

Happy Birthday my favorite 5 year old, who now feels so old, "like a mom"!!!

Happy Birthday, my loves!!!

All in all I think Allison and Isaac's birthdays were a success. They seemed to have enjoyed it and as always got spoiled by everyone. I think we are finally done with birthday parties for the eldest TenBrink kids. We have one more "combined" birthday party with the TenBrink's when everything calms down a bit. In six weeks time, I have all three of my kids, Jimmy and my father-in-law's birthday. Good times!!!




A cute picture of the girls in their matching clothes. I guess I should say coordinating. I am not a big fan of matching, I prefer coordination. Who wants to wear the same shirt for YEARS??? I think it has something to do with being the youngest child. I do reserve the right for matching dresses at Christmas and Easter...come on, I am a mother to girls:)!!!!

Can you just feel the love in this picture??? Allison was going to give him a hug, Isaac felt a little different:)!!!

I am not sure what their wish was, but I wish for them to be exactly like they are. To be confident kids that know that they are loved beyond measure!!! I hope this year they stay happy and healthy. I love my babies so very much!!!

Hula Hoop

Yes, Ashley has learned a new trick and she is beyond proud of herself. She is a hula hooping honey!!! I guess taking the VERY large stance helps and lack of Jimmy's hula hooping genes can not hurt either. If you are ever having a bad day, ask Jimmy to hula hoop for you...guarantee you pee your pants!!!

Happy 7th Birthday Allison and Isaac

Did you ever wonder what a "brand new" 7 year old looks like? Wonder no more....

I went to bed last night with two 6 year olds and woke up with two 7 year olds. What a blessing they have been! Jimmy and I were talking about wanting just one baby and being blessed with two last night. It is one of those blessings that just does not get old. Another blessing, that they are still here...alive, functioning, learning, being. Given Jimmy and I are their parents, this really is a good thing. I can only imagine the things we will learn in the year to come. I use to get very worked up when the kids had a birthday. I was sad that they were getting older. I am not sad this year. I am just in awe of them. Every day they are just a little...cooler!! The things they know and continue to learn amaze me, they amaze me. Thanks for being MY kids! Thanks for always being yourself, good or bad. Thanks for bringing a smile to my face because you said some crazy joke that made no sense, you crossed your eyes like a goof ball, you cry because the drama is just over flowing out of you, you play a mean game of wii and ds, you draw a beautiful picture, you read....GREAT, you cuddle with your mom, you make me feel like the BEST mom in the world.
Happy 7th Birthday to my most FAVORITE 7 year old's in the whole wide world!!!!

B-O-R-I-N-G

I think my life is kind of boring, not a lot going on, so why blog about it. BUT my lovely sister and her handsome husband "suggested" that I update my blog.

Yes, my life is boring, but I am totally OK with that. I get enough excitement being married to Jimmy dealing with him, racing and his business. Did I mention that he sells salt in the winter and it "forgot" to snow the month of January and most of February...that adds some excitement!!! Add the crazies to the mix and you have about all I need to keep me on my toes.

We have not done a whole lot the past few months but stay locked up in the house. It was cold and I don't do cold!!! Well, minus having a cold. I seem to do that rather well. It has lingered for the past several weeks, but I do believe I am on the mend.

Spring finally came and we have been trying to enjoy it BEFORE the snow starts again this weekend. My kids are very outdoor kids. They would swing and play in that stupid sandbox all day long. The girls have "grown-up" this year and have decided to start driving Isaac's quad too. They are both doing a great job. In the words of Allison "I only hit one tree on the way to Aunt Jodi's pond!" Yes, I am proud of only ONE tree!!! I decided to take the kids on a walk on Tuesday, Jimmy got Isaac's 4-wheeler out, Allison went "running" and Ashley rode with Jimmy...some walk I know!!! I decided to walk to the mail box by myself. It was such a nice night. I looked at my watch to see what time it was (to make sure I had enough time to get home and get the kids in the tub, this time change thing is killing us!). I went on my solo walk and was gone 7 minutes, yes a FULL 7 minutes. In that time, Ash decided to "learn" to drive the 4-wheeler, Alli hit a tree and Jimmy managed to fall into Aunt Jodi's pond. All of them were screaming "Where have you been?" and "What took you so long?" Seven minutes people!!! You would think Jimmy could have it under control, but no, he is the ring leader!!

(sorry, she was moving and is out of focus)

Ashley also got invited to her first birthday party. She was beyond excited. Thanks Kerri and Addy for the invite. Part of the extra excitement was Jennie and La La Land painting faces. As ALWAYS, they did a wonderful job. She was thrilled that she got to get her face painted and the big kids didn't AND she got to wear it to Lowes and dinner. Oh, the GREAT things in life!!!!


Yeah, life is boring, but good!!!!!

snowy days

What can I say...the weather here has just been terrific!!! NOT!!!! What can you do when it is freezing cold outside and it just keeps snowing and snowing and snowing....and your husband has a giant smile on his face and says pennies from heaven...ENJOY it and take the kids sledding!!!
Yes, that would be Isaac's naked foot. I swear those kids' boots eat their socks!!!!

Ashley and her "normal" sitting style.

Even a crazy dog to go with the chaos!!! He loves to be outside, throw in snow and some kids and his world really does not get much better:)!!!