Our Trip to the Fish Hatchery

It was such a beautiful day today, so the girls and I decided to take a walk to the fish hatchery down by the American River. We didn't see very many salmon jumping, but we did see a few. These fish are just gorgeous! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch them jumping on my camera.

Chris and I had a date night last night and let me tell you, it is so nice to get out and be alone with my hubby! To take a break from the normal routine, to be able to have a conversation with out interruptions or jealousy, to finish a meal without whining and crying, and to just enjoy a few hours alone with my dear sweet husband. :)

Anyway, we have been hearing so many good things about the movie Fireproof that we had to go see it. People at Chris' work have mentioned it, my girlfriend mentioned it to me, our church talked a little about it, and even some of the people at the grocery store where we shop told us about it. So, we went on Sunday. The movie was great! The message was great and very true. I can't really explain it, it is just one of those movies that you have to see. It made me even more grateful for the wonderful relationship that Chris and I have together, and just like the movie suggests, we couldn't have the relationship that we have without Jesus Christ being in the center of our lives.

I am so impressed with myself! LOL I applied some of my chemistry knowledge to a real life situation. The twins had an aquarium mobile in their room that stopped working about 5 months ago. I had put it in a box and was going to throw it away, but it got left in the garage. I found it the other day and tried to make it work, but nope, it didn't work. So, Chris threw it away. Yesterday in Chemistry I learned that if the prongs where you put batteries are corroded, you just have to use some sandpaper to get the corrosion off the object will work again. Well, guess what? It did work!!! I was going to go spend $30.oo on a new one, but I just got this one to work again with a little sandpaper. :) Oh, and if the prong is broken, you can just fold up some aluminum foil and use that as a conductor! Isn't that sooooo cool??? :)

Ginger saying hi

I forgot to post this the other day.

The day after Ginger died, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Maddie quietly said, "Do you think that is Ginger's way of saying hi to us?" I couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth, she is only six, yet she understands so much. I told her yes, it was, that Ginger was thinking of us and telling us that everything will be ok....

Happy Election day and Happy 7th Anniversary to us!

Wow, what a day it has been. The day started off with the excitement of sharing my 7th year being married to my wonderful husband, and the excitement of the election. Chris and I both proudly voted early that morning.

I have to say that I am SO disappointed in the results of the election. I had faith that America would choose the right leader, and they didn't in my opinion. The rest has been deleted....

Happy Halloween!

We had so much fun tonight! Maddie's cousin Kaitlyn came over, and so did my dad, my brother and SIL. and my friend Karla with her husband Ron and their two daughters. Maddie was a Hula dancer, Lucy a puppy, and Ava was a kitty. The twins did SO well Trick-or-Treating. They were a little confused at the first house, the second house was a little better, and by the third house they were ecstatic! They were running from house to house saying "trick-or-treat", and "thank you!" They were so excited to get candy in their bucket. :) Maddie, Kaitlyn and Taylor did so well too. They are all so darn cute!!!

Oh, and more good fun news. Madeline lost her first tooth today!!! :)

Ginger

There is no easy way to say this, so I will just say it... Ginger died today. It was totally out of the blue that this would happen today, I just didn't expect it. I knew it would happen one day sooner or later because of her seizures, but I just didn't think, or want, it to happen today. I wasn't ready to say good-bye to her. I know this may sound silly, but if I could have just gave her some love and attention and said good-bye to her it would have been a little easier. I just rushed out the door to school this morning...who knew that I would never see her again.... One of the harder parts of this whole thing was explaining it to Madeline. She was so happy when I picked her up from school, and then Chris and I had to tell her. She has been crying all night, and it is just heart breaking to see her in so much pain. We made a scrapbook page of Ginger tonight, and for now we are going to hang in on our refrigerator. We just miss her so much and never knew we could or would until now. And now it is to late to see her again.

Look what the cat brought in!

My neighbor came frantically knocking on my door yesterday and said, "look what you cat has!" Laying on the concrete is my cat, acting like a proud king of his newest catch. I don't know what we are going to do with it now? I am trying to figure out how old it is, (I think a fledgling), and what kind of bird it is. I am pretty sure that he got a broken wing from the cat, so we will try to nurse it back to good health and let it go.

Maddie's class trip to Fog Willow Pumpkin Patch

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch yesterday with Maddie's class. It is so much fun being a mommy to a first grader. All the kids are so excited and eager to learn, they still cuddle with mom or dad, and they listen at this age. It was also nice to spend some one on one time with Madeline... something we don't get very often.

Both the girls now have big girl beds. I didn't want to do it, but I had to. Ava already had a big girl bed, but Lucy started climbing out of her crib a lot, probably 5 times a day. I didn't want her to get hurt climbing out, so we made the transition. Now her and Ava think this is just great. They have the ability to get out of their beds with no problem. Chris and I found them happily trying to wake up their big sister at 8:45 pm last night, and then they were giggling when we told them to go back to bed. (we actually out them to bed at 7:00 every night.) They got out of their beds many times until about 9:30, then they decided to stay. I know I have quite a challenge ahead of me trying to keep these girls in their beds, but at least I can feel better about Lucy not getting hurt while her and Ava are getting into mischief.

Oh, I would also like to note that Lucy is the instigator in all of this. After I had put them back to bed for the 8th time last night, I stayed and listened by the door. This is what I heard.

Lucy: "Sissy, down."
Ava: No response
Lucy: "Sissy, get down."
Ava: No response
Lucy: "Sissy, DOWN!" I hear her giggling
Ava: Giggling
Then I hear thump, thump. The door opens, they see me, laugh hysterically and close the door and then laugh some more.

Our very own Pizookie!

The other day we got a flyer in the mail from BJ's restaurant and Brewhouse. On the back was a picture of a delicious desert, their famous Pizookie! After seeing this picture many times over and over, we decided we would try to make one ourselves... This turned out SO good, maybe even better than the restaurants! Ava absolutely LOVED it!

Separation Anxiety?

I thought I was going to get really lucky and bypass the separation anxiety stage with the twins. They have always done so well when I drop them off at the gym, church daycare, or left them with the babysitter. (With the exception of when they were younger, but I would classify that more as stranger anxiety than separation anxiety.) Now, everywhere I go, I can't drop the girls off without a major meltdown. It doesn't stop with just that though. They cling to my legs while I am cooking dinner, they want me in the bath with them, the insist that I watch Elmo, they demand that I hold them during Maddie's soccer games and practice, they cry when I put them down for nap or bedtime, and it almost seems as if they want to crawl back in my belly when they are sitting on my lap. They both insist on being carried everywhere, and let me tell you, holding 50+ pounds of two kids that are very capable of walking makes my arms want to fall off! Most people (unless you have twins) have very little idea of the feelings you get when you have two babies (well, now toddlers) going through the same stage at the same time. The frustration you feel is really quadrupled, not doubled. It is incredibly draining, both physically and emotionally!

Fun at Donner Lake

You know, out of the 20 some odd years that I have lived in CA, I have never been to Donner Lake until this weekend. I have passed it many times, but never stopped to see how pretty it was. Anyway, this weekend we were supposed to go camping, but the weather called for rain and snow in the sierras. So, we frantically tried to come up with a new plan. One of Chris' co-workers owns a cabin up in Truckee right next to Donner Lake. Chris called him and made arrangements for the family to go up there for a few days. YAY! It was so nice to relax where the air is a little bit more fresh and crisp and the trees a bit more green. Ahhhh...

Apple Hill!

We had a great time today up in Apple Hill today. We go up there every year, but usually not until November. It was nice to go while the weather was still warm this time! The girls had a blast eating apples, going for a train ride and riding ponies. This was the Lucy and Ava's first pony ride ever, and by the look on their faces today while they were riding the pony, I think we are in trouble for the future! Each one of our girls is going to want a horse! LOL Actually, all four of the girls in the Siler house will want a horse. ;)

Oh Lucy!

This is how I put the Lucy and Ava to bed every night. You can see the shirt and the sleep sack, and underneath the sleep sack they have on a pair of pants......... And this is what I walk into every morning and after every nap! LOL

MMMMM.. I love coffee!

How do you go about getting coffee and "treats" at 7am on a school morning while trying to get three kids ready and out the door by 8am by yourself?

You have a wonderful, thoughtful, kind, caring, considerate, loving, and gracious husband that delivers it to you with his fire engine, that's how!

Door + little fingers= OUCH!!

These girls have the biggest fascination with opening and closing doors. I try not to let them do it because I am always afraid that one will get their fingers stuck! Well last night after bath, Lucy slammed the door closed on Maddie and Ava while they were playing a chase game, and Ava's innocent little thumb got closed in the door jamb... She screamed and cried for so long... poor little girl. I thought we were going to have to go to the ER, or at least urgent care, because her thumb was swollen about twice it's normal size, her finger was a weird bluish, reddish, purple color, and half her finger nail turned purple. It is so heart breaking when your kids get hurt... But, I am so thankful it didn't turn out worse than it did.

First I want to say that I have found the best babysitter ever! Kristin is soooooo wonderful! Well, today after church Madeline got to go see and ride her horse!!! Madeline is in LOVE with horses, like most little girls her age. She tells us almost daily that she is trying to save enough money so that she can go buy one! LOL

Ava actually let me put a head band in her hair today! This child hardly even lets me brush her hair, and now I get to put a head band in it?!!! YAY! She even wanted her picture taken. :)

We had and AWESOME soccer game today! Our girls won, 4-1! And even better is that they were playing a 2nd year team of 7 year olds! This is the first year for almost every player on our team, and all the girls are only 6! Wow!

Another nice thing that happened is that Chris came by on the fire engine to watch Maddie play. :) That is one of the nice perks of Chris' job especially since he is working where we live. :)

"Lucy, you are always getting into mischief!" That was what Madeline said when she was trying to do an art project and Lucy kept getting into everything. LOL Ava and Madeline are so content to just sit at the table and draw. But Lucy on the other hand is taking the markers and drawing all over her body, the table, sticking glue sticks in her mouth, or paint brush markers up her nose. LOL I am continually amazed at how different all three of these children are, but especially at how different Lucy and Ava are. I guess nature won in the nature vs nurture debate in determining the innate qualities in these girls!

Just some cute miscellaneous pics of the kids. We are still hanging out at home waiting for everyone to feel better. :)

Madeline told me last night that one of her teeth hurt and she thought it might be loose. According to our family dentist, Madeline would be on the later side of when kids normally start loosing teeth, around 6. Well sure enough, about 2 months after Maddie turned 6, she has her first loose tooth!!! I got a little emotionally about it when I wriggled her tooth this morning... this is just another sign that she is really growing up!