March 7- My Goalie Girl!! Today was the Soccer Playoffs...unfortunately we didnt' win, but they played the best game they've played all season. Too bad they don't have a couple more games, they are starting to get the hang of this and work together. Regan loved being goalie today. She stopped 3 attempts and the goal that was scored was by a bounce that went over her head. Hopefully she'll grow alittle before next season. :) She has matured so much and I think she might actually have a little bit of her mother's athleticism in her. She's definitely got my competitive nature...that's okay. I'm a proud momma of 2 beautiful, smart and talented girls!!
March 6 - The Weatherman was Right!! Well, the weatherman was right...another day of warm weather. It actually made it up to 77 today, but this was at 4:06 pm and it's still 75.5. Course the weatherman is saying it's gonna be back in the 30's next week with a possibility of snow. That would just be our luck. We better enjoy it while it lasts. Today would be a good day to go hunting...anyone game?
March 5 - Warm weather has come!! Today was one of three days of warm weather we're supposed to have, according to our local weatherman. We all know how much weathermen really know, so Rylie and I took advantage of the the warm, but windy weather and skipped naps and played outside. It's been a long winter so she spent alot of time reacquainting herself with the sandbox. This picture represents her so well...a girly tomboy! Making a mud cake in the back of a yellow dumptruck!!
March 4 - Magnolia bud. I don't know if the everchanging warm weather has got my Magnolia tree confused or if it's really time to start budding, but it is. There are little buds popping up all over the tree. I'm hoping this year that it will completely bloom and not partially like it did last year. There is a cornfield across the road from our house and I don't know if some weed spray made it's way over to my tree or if it's just a little tempermental (like it's owner) but it just didn't look very healthy last year. I love the smell of the Magnolia blossoms and the beautiful flower that it produces. Guess we'll just have to see what these little buds are gonna do. I'll keep you posted!
March 3 - Red bird, Blue bird. These two glass birds sit on my windowsill in my kitchen. Anytime I do anything at the sink or in the kitchen for that matter, these two birds are there to greet me. These birds once lived on the windowsill of my grandmother. Growing up, she had all kinds of knick knacks that grandma's have, but for some reason I always loved these. When she moved to Indiana, she no longer had a windowsill to sit these on. I was so excited at the thought of them making a home on mine. Maybe someday they will move to a new home at Regan or Rylie's house. Course, might be kinda hard with Rylie, she says she gonna live with us til she's 40. In any case, I love these birds and they can perch on my windowsill for as long as they want.
March 1 - The birds have returned. Today we saw some house finches at our bird feeder. The blackbirds and grackles have been frequently visiting since we've had nicer weather, but today brought birds we enjoy seeing. Now begins the 3 times weekly bird feeder refills. The girls, Dan and I love to watch all the different types of birds we get to come to the feeders. We even have 2 chipmunks that have been known to gather the seed that falls to the ground. Can't wait to see what winged creatures we'll see this year!
Feb. 28 - Last Game of the Season. My girls have loved soccer this year. They have really improved as the season has progressed. One of their favorite parts of soccer besides playing is the "Spirit Tunnel" the parents do after every game. We all get our purple pom poms and wave them in a tunnel for the kids to run through. Shaun Mac has been an awesome coach and has taught them they just need to make sure and have fun. Winning isn't everything..good thing since we only won 1 game...but they didn't care. They had fun!! Thanks Coach Shaun for making soccer so much fun!! We love You!! BTW, Regan said she did learn alot this year from Coach Shaun and definitely wants to play again next year!! Rylie too!!
Feb. 27 - Law and Order. We all have those shows that we can watch over and over again, especially when there's nothing else on. I'm a Law and Order junkie. I love Law and Order...I've probably seen every episode and it's rerun more times than I care to remember. I love lawyer type shows and used to think it would be cool to be on a jury. I always wanted to be picked for jury duty...now that my husband is a cop, that probably won't happen. I do watch SVU and Criminal Intent, but I think the regular old Law and Order is my fav! Love Jack McCoy!!
Feb. 26 - No Trustpassing! I always knew the day would come when Regan would start to limit the visitors to her room..however, I didn't think it would come at 6 1/2. Tonight when I went to put her to bed, this was hanging on her door. I giggled thinking back to when I so badly wanted my own room to I could put a Keep Out sign on it for my sisters. Needless to say, I didn't get my own room until I was a sophomore in HS and I was so used to sharing my room, I let them come in pretty much all the time. I had my moments and I hope Regan is only having "moments". I want her and Rylie to be close and to stay close. By golly, I'll make them if I have to!! :) BTW, ask Regan to show you what a duck lip kiss looks like. Trust me, it's a little wet!
Feb. 25 - Is that Larry? Tonight I was watching TV with Dan...of course another show that he TiVo's on a regular basis. Destroyed in seconds...why you would want to watch other peoples misfortunes via destruction is beyond me...needless to say, this has become a daddy daughter show. Great mom, I know. Anyhow, tonight at the beginning of the show they were showing this party and some of the guests and this guy looks just like my BIL Larry. I had Dan rewind it a couple times so I could get this picture. I know, kinda stupid, but it was amazing to me how much this guy could have passed for Larry. The only difference between this guy and Larry is..Larry's tatoo is quite a bit bigger. And the cup would probably have been bigger too!! :) Love you Larry!
Feb. 24 - KiKi's Basketball game. We finally made out to see KiKi play basketball. I personally would have loved to see her play volleyball, however, basketball is what she chose. And she's really good...It's hard to believe our little KiKi will be a freshman next year!! It has been so cool watching her grow up and I look forward to all that is yet to come!! I hope she knows how much we love her and that we will always be here for her...Dan has a special little spot in his heart for KiKi. He may play the Papa Dan gig...but he really does love her. My girls look up to her so much..and so far, she has been an awesome role model. (No pressure, KiKi) Regan is so much like her it's kinda scary...but at least if she turns out like our little KiKi, I'm sure to be a proud momma!! I Love You, KiKi...don't ever forget it!! Thanks for loving my girls!
Feb. 23 - Brownie's Plea for Help. Today after I picked Rylie up from preschool, we had some errands to run, so we didn't make it home in time to have lunch with Dan. When we did get home, this is what we found. Rylie was in the middle of changing Brownie's clothes that morning when we had to leave for school, she thought he would be okay until we got home. Obviously not!! His note reads:
Feb. 22 - My Fireplace. I absolutely LOVE my fireplace. I love the smell of the wood burning, I love watching the flames make shadows on the walls, and I love how much my fireplace saves on my NIPSCO!! We love to camp and have bonfires. We even have a fire pit in the backyard that Dan made last summer because we have bonfires so much. (I'll have to remember to get a picture of that this summer) I grew up with a wood stove for heat, so I'm used to the ...cutting the wood, carrying in the wood, keeping the stove full, but most of all, enjoying the warmth and comfort that it brings. The smell of the wood burning reminds me of when we used to go help my dad cut wood when I was younger. My sister and I would make houses out of the split wood, while my younger sister and brother tried not to wander to far. As long as we could see my dad and hear the chainsaw, we weren't too far away. I would never allow my kids to do what we did back then!! This past fall, Dan asked if I would help go get some firewood. I thought this would be just like the old days..so I told my girls how much fun we had when we used to go with Papa. When we got to where the wood was (someone's back yard...some trees had been cut down) we discovered that there was a "playground" and a tree swing for the girls to play with while we loaded the wood. Course, when I was younger, we would spend hours out in the woods and wouldn't be ready to leave when we had to. Let's just say the girls barely made it an hour...with the playground and tree swing. Oh, the good ole days. Obviously, I don't "expose" my girls enough to the good ole days for them to really enjoy them....
Feb. 21 - Another Soccer Saturday. This is my niece, Olivia. This year my girls and their 2 cousins got to play on the same soccer team. It made it easy to see them all play. This picture reminds me how blessed and lucky I am to have my family so close to me. Very rarely do more than a couple days go by, when we don't see my sister or nieces and nephew. I take for granted how close they are and am constantly reminded how lucky I am. I'm so glad we are all so close and I love the fact that all the kids will grow up together. (We just need to get Justin and Lisa to move back and we'd all be here together!) I do wish Rebekah and Luke lived closer or we could visit more often. I hope they know how much we love them and think of them. I am truly a blessed woman.
Feb. 20 - The M & M jar. At my house we have a jar (I know a big jar) that I try to keep full of M & M's. Of course the only time it stays full, is right after I fill it. My husband is a chocoholic. My addiction is coffee, his is chocolate. He gets kinda grumpy is there isn't any in the house, thus the M & M jar. Today when I was taking the picture, Rylie just happened to walk up behind the jar and ask me what I was taking a picture of. She loved the picture...she thought it looked like her head was in the jar with the M & M's.
Feb. 19- - Off to School. Days like this make me wish time could stand still. I don't really want them to grow up. I love how cute she looks all bundled up and how big she looks getting on the bus. Before I know it, she'll be asking me for the car keys and what time is my curfew. Dear Lord, please prepare me for what's to come, but let me enjoy this time now to the fullest. I don't want to miss a single second!
Feb. 18 - Rylie's portrait. Rylie was painting today and decided she wanted to try and copy Regan's picture of ET. I don't know about you, but I can see a striking resemblance. Maybe my girls will be famous artists and paint something great like Michelangelo......no, I'm sure it will be better than the Sistine Chapel!
Feb. 17 - Burgerberger Tuesday. Today was my Tuesday to have my nieces and nephew for the day. However, when they came today, Isaac had decided to stay home with Ahmed, so it was just us girls. With no where to go and nothing planned to do, we spent the day watching movies and hanging out in our jammies. Love those jammie days!!
Feb. 16 - President's Day. Since Regan had the day off school for President's weekend, and we had just returned from our first trip to Disney, she decided she wanted to paint some pictures of things from our vacation. My favorite all time ride is the ET ride at Universal Studios. My sweet Rylie, is scared to death of ET, don't know why, but we had to bribe her to ride the ride and she vowed she probably wouldn't do it again. However, Regan loves ET and loved the ride. This picture obviously was my favorite. Rylie thought the picture was pretty good too.
Feb. 15 - Thank you!! Remember back in January, my girls went to their first sleepover at the White house. Well, my good friend, Crystal, had already gone above and beyond on her sleepover and we knew the bar was set very high. Today we got this Thank You card from Olivia for attending her party. The girls opened it and brought it down to show me their feet. Their feet you say....yes, my good friend, Crystal, took a picture of all the girls in their slippers and socks with their flashlights and made it into a Thank You card. What a great keepsake of their first slumber party!! Thanks again Crystal for making their first slumber party great!!
Feb. 14 - Plane Ride home. The girls thought it would nice to draw pictures for the pilots thanking them for flying them home safely. As we disembarked the plane, the girls went to give the pictures to the flight attendant to give to the pilot, when the flight attendant told them to go ahead and they could personally deliver them to the pilots. They got to meet Captain Tom and personally thank him for doing such a good job flying. They thought the cockpit was really little but really cool!
Feb. 13 - Cocoa Beach, FL. My girls absolutely loved playing at the ocean. Rylie spent the entire day, collecting shells while Regan thought she had to jump every wave. Regan was quite surprised the first time she fell in...she said that the water didn't taste like the water at Lake Michigan. She wasn't too crazy about all the salt. We took a long walk down the beach and on the way back, Rylie thought it was cool for us to be following our shadows. Of course, I thought it warranted a picture. (Not much doesn't warrant a picture from me!)
Feb. 12 - Epcot. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who isn't afraid to show public affection to his children. I love to just hang back and watch them interact as they are walking. It makes me so proud to be a wife and mom...these are the kind of moments that cancel out all the bad ones. (Not that we have any bad moments in the Koepke house)
Feb. 11 - Swimming at the Condo Pool. After a shorter day at Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), the girls begged us to go swimming at the pool at the condo. My wise husband had told me not to pack suits, because the weather would not be warm enough to swim anyway. Lucky for us, he was wrong. Also, lucky for us, there was a Walmart right down the road from the condo. On the way back, we stopped by and picked up these cute little suits. I was very surprised at their lack of swimsuit selection considering its Florida. Dan quickly reminded me that it was still winter there. 80 degree weather in the winter; I could get used to that!!
Feb. 10 - 1900 Park Fare. After another long day at the Magic Kingdom, we surprised the girls with tickets to 1900 Park Fare. It is an anniversary celebration of Cinderella and Prince Charming's Happily Ever After. Not only are Cinderella and Prince Charming present, but her stepmother and 2 stepsisters are there also. And boy do they really go at it. It was quite entertaining. The buffet....was phenomenal!! The perfect buffet for princesses...pizza, corn, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese. The adults could eat all the prime rib you wanted. The desserts...as my dear friend, Ashley, says....slap your momma good!! It was a fun dinner and the girls loved meeting Cinderella.
Feb. 9 - Fireworks at Magic Kingdom. After a very long day at the Magic Kingdom, stayed for the fireworks and we weren't disappointed. I took alot of pictures throughout the day, but this described the day best. Regan told us that Disney World was really a place where dreams do come true. She said that Rylie wished to go to Disney World for her birthday...so she is already thinking about her birthday wishes!
Feb. 8 - Sea World. My girls love animals, especially sea animals. But more than animals, they love rides. Sea World doesn't have many rides, much less ones that are "thrilling". They do have however, the steepest and faster water ride that I have ever been on. That is pure terror that you see on both my girls faces...but when it was all over..they wanted to do it again!! This was one of those water rides where you get really wet. Which at first I was completely against, but then I remembered we were in Florida and it was 75 degrees. Bring on the water!!
Feb. 7 - Universal Studios. Our first park visit was to Universal Studios. Picking just one picture is gonna be really challenging this week...I'm sure I'll take lots of pics! This picture makes me giggle every time I look at it. My husband is a Police Detective and usually he's the one "taking" people in. The girls loved the fact they were taking their daddy to "jail."
Like I said, picking one picture is gonna be kinda hard. We had dinner that night at Bubba Gumps...great shrimp. Don't we make such a nice family. :)
Feb. 6 - Vacation bound!! For months now, Dan has been planning our vacation to Disney World. The girls had wanted to go and we wanted them to be old enough to remember the trip. We originally planned to go in August..but I thought it would be too hot. Then we contemplated Spring Break...nuts! After more research, we found out starting with President's weekend it just gets busier and busier...so before President's weekend it was. We had to pull Regan out of school for 4 days (another story for another day) and we knew we wanted to try and keep it a surprise. We picked Regan up after school and went to my parents house, telling the girls we were going for a family drive and I needed to use the bathroom, so we could stop at Papa's house and use his bathroom and see if he wanted to ride with us. (Papa was our chauffer) The girls bought into it until we reached the airport, then we just told them we were going on vacation to Orlando. Regan didn't put together that Disney World is in Orlando. I think she was too excited to analyze it...first plane ride for both girls. My plan was to keep it a surprise as long as possible...maybe even until we actually got to the Magic Kingdom. Sometimes even though it isn't our plan, it couldn't have turned out any better than if we had planned it. Upon arriving at Orlando International Airport, we are disembarking the plane to go find our rental car to use on our vacation in Orlando, when.....the flight attendant proceeds to say to Regan and Rylie, "Have fun at Disney!" The look on the faces of my two little girls...I couldn't have planned it better!!
Feb. 5 - Florida here I come. Today as I began packing for our vacation, I thought this birdhouse covered with snow summed it all up. Tomorrow we are headed for 80 degree weather..going to join our feathered friends. The sad part about our vacation is it's gonna end and we'll be back to our snow covered house. My little feathered friends won't be back until the snow is long gone. Something tells me I'm gonna be asking myself why I live in Northwest Indiana. We definitely get to enjoy all 4 seasons!
Feb. 3 - Rylie ER Visit. Today was Rylie's 3rd ER visit. Her first was when she was 3 months old she contracted some type of viral infection and spent 3 days in the hospital, the second was last year when she fell down the stairs and we thought she broke her arm (just a bad sprain and ugly bruise) and her third, today, she fell while playing with her cousins and just happened to land on the exact corner of her desk, gouging her eyelid. (For those of you thinking her 3rd was the rock in the nose...we didn't actually go to the ER for that, the doctor removed that in his office) Since it was her eye, I wanted to make sure everything was okay and also to make sure it wouldn't scar. It being Tuesday, I had my nieces and nephew, so I had to "dispose" of them before trekking to the ER..I'm not crazy. (4 children in an ER = bad news) Luckily, my grandmother was also with me, so I dropped them off at my sister's house and headed to the ER. At the ER, we had the best ER nurse, she was great with Rylie. The doctor, however, was obviously new. He preceeded to tell me it was very superficial and it wouldn't even scar. He didn't feel it needed any stitches, just a little surgical tape to hold it closed for a day or two. I'm not kidding when I say the longest wait of the entire trip was waiting and watching him try to find a piece of surgical tape. You'd think being at a hospital, it would be everywhere. Apparently not!! Long story short...the whole experience helped Rylie with her winking. (She can only close her left eye and with it taped shut...great practice.)
Feb. 2 - More Snow. We have gotten more snow this winter that we've had in quite awhile. Actually the last time we had this much snow, we lost power for 3 days, we moved in with Shawn and Ash and Shawn and Dan saved Katie and Jim from death by hypothermia. Anyhow, we've gotten alot of snow. I'm quite tired of it. We got so much snow this last time, it gathered on the window sills...I don't know that I've ever seen it like this in "real life." (as Regan would say) This is looking out my front window, snow still coming...It is peaceful looking. Maybe this is one of those images I need to file away to help remind that God has many ways to getting us to slow down and enjoy what he has created for us to enjoy. So, enjoy!!
Feb. 1 - Superbowl Sunday. This is the first year in a while that we didn't have any big plans for the Superbowl. It was actually pretty nice to just be home in my PJ's (of course) and not have to wait on anyone. I never used to be a football fan. My husband and a good friend of his had season tickets to the Bears back in the late 90's, so I started watching more of it then. (Always thinking I would get that glimpse of him at the game) It then became a Sunday afternoon ritual to watch whatever games might be on. Some of our best friends, Shawn and Ashley, are football fanatics (to say the least!) Shawn played in college and Ashley was a cheerleader, so they obviously know alot more about football than I do. This past season, Ashley and I, got to be a part of the Fantasy Football league with some guys from work. We actually did pretty well...we were in the top 4, most of the season. We got knocked out of Playoffs, but ended up 5th overall. Not too bad for the "bamagirls." Let me digress for a moment...we decided we needed a name and I of course thought we needed Tshirts. Ash is from Alabama..thus the "bama" and we're girls, so that part was kinda obvious. Anyhow, I made up these cute Pink Tshirts that said "bamagirls". During this year's season, we also had a Presidential election which lead to the inauguration of our current President, Barack Obama. Needless to say, we were mistaken for
Jan. 31 - Coach Shaun. Here's my girls with their soccer coach (and our good friend) Shaun. He is an awesome coach and the girls are actually learning and doing better because of his advice and coaching. Who knows maybe they'll actually score a goal before the season is over. :) And our Spirit Tunnel is getting better every week!
Jan. 30 - New Coffee Pot. Here's a picture of my new coffee pot..I love that I can just put my cup under and it automatically dispenses my coffee. The only draw back is that this is only a 10 cupper and my last one was a 12 cupper. We'll have to see if that really is an issue...if so, that just means I make 2 "pots" instead of one!! My husband asked if the coffee tastes any different, and of course I said yes, otherwise I'll never be able to get another new one if they all taste the same. Excuse me while I go make another cup...
Jan. 28 - Emma and Nanny. Today was another day I had my nieces and nephew for the day. Only today, my grandmother came along to spend the day with us. I LOVE this picture. Emma was goofing around and huggin and kissin on Nanny...of course, Nanny loved it. I am so glad my kids and nieces and nephews are able to know their great grandmother and spend time with her. I have so many wonderful memories of her and my grandfather when I was growing up...camping, trips to the little store, watching movies, The Price is Right and fried chicken every Sunday. When my kids think of their Nanny I'm sure The Price is Right and doughnuts will come to mind.
Jan. 27 - Biggest Loser Night. Every Tuesday, my family and I gather at someone's house to have dinner together and weigh in. After watching the TV show, Biggest Loser, for quite a few seasons, we have begun our own biggest loser contest. Each week we pay $3 to weigh in and the person that loses the most for that week only has to pay $2. We started this back in October and are having our finale on April 12 (Easter). We took December off because, well, it's just hard to be good in December. My first photo was of me actually on the scale but then I decided to take a picture of the scale before I got on. It kinda reminds me that every day is like an etch a sketch. When those numbers show up, I can either show everyone my wonderful "artwork" or I can shake the heck out of it and start over again. I love do overs!! Sometimes too much...Did I mention the $3 weigh in fee...well the winner with the largest percentage of weight loss wins the pot. Oh, I forgot to mention, if you gain any weight that week, you must pay $1 for every pound you gain. Brian had to pay $7 last week...what does that tell you!! I'm guess the "pot" should be around $600 by the time all is said and done. I'm gonna need that to buy new clothes when I win!! :)
Jan. 26 - GNO!! First of all, Happy Birthday Kiki!! I can't believe you're 14 today!! Love you!! Tonight Regan and I had a girls night out, while Rylie had some daddy Rylie time. We went to McDonalds for dinner (I tried talking her into anything but that!) and then got our dessert to eat at home. Our fav...Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard!! YUMMY!!
Jan. 25 - Sunday night movie night. Sunday nights are usually movie nights at my house. Usually we rent a kids flick and a "big" kid's flick from our local Redbox. Can't beat $1 movies!! Anyhow, one of my favorite kid flicks was on TV tonight so we watched it. This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie, I don't really know why, it just makes me laugh. If you don't know what movie it is....think Ashton Kucher and Martin Lawrence....guesses anyone??
Jan. 23 - Build A Bear. Here are the finished products from our visit to Build A Bear. (Rylie's gift card for her birthday) As you can see, even though it isn't Regan and Olivia's birthday, they both got an animal too. Aunt Tara is such a softie!! Rylie's animal, a dog named Brownie, got a special outfit since she was the birthday girl. None other than a Chicago Bears Cheerleading outfit. We'll be ready for next season!! The Bears could definitely use all the help they can get !
Jan. 22 - Where's the Ring? Most people probably wouldn't notice or even think that it's a big deal, but today's picture disturbs me alittle. One of the first things I notice about someone is whether or not they are wearing a wedding ring, and then what does their wedding ring look like. I may not remember your face or your name, but I'll probably remember what your wedding ring looks like. Weird, I know. Anyhow, did you notice that Michelle Obama is not wearing her wedding ring?? She is fashioning a beautiful ring which I'm sure cost more than I'll see in my lifetime...however I have to wonder why she would choose any other ring over her wedding ring. I love my wedding ring... I never take off my wedding ring...it is my most prized material possession!! I know I don't need a ring to remind me how much my husband loves me, but I love the fact when people see my ring they know I'm married.
Jan. 21 - The Koepkemobile. Today's picture is of our family mode of transportation. I was one of those moms who didn't think I needed a minivan, and really did NOT want one!! I was quite happy with my Grand Prix and getting the kids in and out didn't seem to be too much of a chore. After attending the Chicago Auto Show and sitting in different minivans, just to see if I might like one, I fell in love with the Odyssey. I thought "one day if I ever get a minivan, I would like an Odyssey." In the summer of 2005, we became the proud owners of our Honda Odyssey. I love my van, love the room, and love that my kids can get in and out very easily. Until about a month ago, unbeknowst to me, I found out my husband really doesn't like the van and only got it cause he knew I loved it. Needless to say, this baby is last til my kids graduate!! At least I hope it does...I really don't want another car payment!! Note to my wonderful hubby: notice how clean the van is (thanks to a free car wash coupon)...I really need to working on keeping the van alittle cleaner. It really drives hubby crazy.
