photo 242...

"I hoe it....I hoe it....I hoe it"

Landry LOVES these white cheddar cheetos and I love that they don't make a giant orange mess everywhere. She also LOVES to hold things...especially what she thinks are "grown up" things.

When I am making her lunch, she thinks she is starving and can't wait the few minutes it will take for me to finish making her lunch. So instead of putting cheetos on her plate, I usually give her a few to keep her from getting under my feet while I am getting her lunch ready.

Today she came in the kitchen and here is the mini convo we had...

Landry: I chee-oh...I chee-oh

Mommy: Do you want a cheeto?

Landry: Yaw....yaw. I hoe it, I hoe it. {running to the pantry and waiting patiently for me to open the door}

Mommy: Can you say I want a cheeto please?

Landry: peeeeese. I hoe it, I hoe it.

Mommy: You can hold the bag of cheetos, but you need to sit down so they don't spill.

I handed her the bag of cheetos to hold and she immediately plopped her tiny hiney down on the kitchen floor and ate a few cheetos. I of course, being the "Mammarazzi", had to grab the camera!

photo 241...

Brach's Candy Corn.

Another reason I love fall!

These are a HUGE hit in our house....yepper...even Little Landry loves them!

photo 239...

I love Fall.

Another reason I love fall is the fabulous decorations. I would love for my house to get decked out for this season, but I am horrible at decorating. I see so many cute things in stores and magazines, but never know how I would display them in my house.

This is one of my new decorations that I will use every year from here on out. I LOVE how these little pumpkins look in this vase that sits on our kitchen table. This is the same vase I use as a decoration by changing what is inside through Christmas. After the pumpkins, I will put pine cones in it, then after that I will put Christmas ball ornaments inside.

photo 238...

my very, very novice sewing skills....

Ashton has a small pillow on her bed that she has had since she was around 15 months old. The original pillow case was made by Mamo-the-Great (Bobby's Grandma) and it is so special to Ashton. She sleeps with this pillow every single night...because of this, she has worn out the original pillow case to the point that I couldn't fix it.

She was upset that the pillow case was worn out and was even more upset when I told her it couldn't be fixed. She asked if I could "sew her a new one". I thought to myself....sure I can do it...it can't be that hard.

Since Ashton LOVES and I mean LOVES anything zebra and pink, I decided to make her new pillow case just that. {She wants her entire room to be zebra and pink}. The pillow case isn't perfect and not even close to it, but she will be tha-rilled when she wakes up tomorrow and her pillow case is finished.

We'll see how long this one lasts....I am sure it won't last as long as the orginal! It could possibly fall apart when I wash it tomorrow before she sleeps with it.

photo 237...

No more Tee Ball....

Today was Ashton's first game in her new league. She moved up from Tee Ball to full-on softball....with umpires, score keeping, 3 strikes and you're out, and really cool softball decals for your helmet.

Coach Bobby {aka Daddy} gave each of the girls a softball for their helmet after the game today for a game well played. From here on out, they can earn these neat little decals for lots of different things.

Many more details to come on the family blog and lots of pictures!

photo 236...

NOT a good way to start the day....

If Bobby is a friend of yours on Facebook, this is what he was referring to when he said, "not how I wanted to start my day".

My sister had Lasik done today and had to be at the doctor's office at 7:30. So Landry and I took Auntie Megan and dropped her off while Daddy got Ashton ready and off to school. He was also going to watch her at FML since she was a "Movement Helper" on stage today and I got to see her do the same thing last week.

Anyway, after we dropped Megan off, I decided to drive-thru Chick Fil-A and grab some hashbrowns for Landry and a chicken biscuit for me. Well.....as I placed my order and drove around the corner to the window I was instantly blinded by the early morning sun shining directly in my eyes. I didn't see a pole and the rest is history. I heard it and thought to myself...."That really didn't just happen. " So after I got my order I pulled around to the parking lot and got out to see and YEP....that really did happen. Dang!

I was so annoyed....but Bobby was even more annoyed. I do have to say that he gets speeding tickets and in our 11 years of marriage, I have NEVER had a ticket and NEVER damaged a car.

I hate that we have to pay to fix it....and I hate that my car has this nice little "owie" on it! I guess I wasn't meant to have stopped at Chick Fil-A.

photo 235...

Landry's new FAVE....

Those of you who know me are probably shocked that I bought a "character" shirt since I am not a big fan. I am all good with jammies and shirts that don't have pictures of giant characters but.....you also know that I give in every once in a while.

I shall explain....today Landry and I ran into Old Navy since their "Baby Sale" was ending today and Landry needed some jammies. While I was perusing the other fall stuff on sale, I hear Landry saying "Emo, Emo, Emo". I look down and she has pulled this Elmo shirt off the table and is in L-O-V-E! I tried to take it and put it back and she said "no...Emo me , no.....Emo me". So I decided that since Ashton has a couple of HSM things that Landry should have her an Elmo shirt.

Her love didn't stop there. Nope.....She wanted to hold it in the car on the way home. Then as soon as we walked in the door she wanted to wear her new Elmo shirt. I took it off for lunch so it wouldn't get dirty and she freaked....tantrum and all! I put it back on after lunch and she slept in it for nap. I let her wear it for the rest of the day, but the brown pants she had on didn't match so I wanted to change her pants since we were going to pick up Ashton and then we were going to Target. She had a meltdown when I was changing her pants...she thought I was taking off her shirt.

I am not sure how much she is going to love it when we put her jammies on tonight and have to take off her Elmo shirt. It might be lots of fun and our neighbors might just complain about the fit she is going to throw.

She loves her some Elmo....and she loves her new Elmo shirt!

*sidenote on her hair....while we were shopping and before she spotted Elmo she pulled out her hair....ponytail holders and clips. NICE! The pic just after we got home.

photo 235...

Our first Guided Reading Book of the year....

Now that the teachers are finished with their beginning of the year testing, Guided Reading has begun. Ashton is so excited to be reading this book and the crazy thing is that I remember reading this book when I was little which makes Ashton even more excited.

photo 234...

Ahhhhhhhh....Fresh Fall Air!

Today was a fantastic fall day with the exception of a little bit of rain....we opened the windows for the first time in I don't know how long!

photo 233...

Full blown piggy tails on our littlest girl....

...and I just love them to pieces!

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yummy pizza....lots of little girls...presents....a SUPER cute pizza cake....goodie bags....and FUN! Just a few words to describe MACY GWYNNE'S Birthday Party at California Pizza Kitchen!

Happy SEVENTH Birthday Macy G!

photo 231...

Movie Night at Casa de Bryce...

Tonight is "Movie Night". We usually do it on Friday nights but we have were supposed to go to the Balloon Festival last night...so we are moving it to tonight.

Ashton has wanted to watch this movie for a while now, but it hasn't been in....but it was today! We are going to have a picnic in the living room for dinner so we can start it early. That means Lan-Lan P gets to watch some of the movie before she goes to bed.

A picnic in the living room +
a movie +
two freshly bathed little girls +
popcorn and skittles for the 3 big people and crackers and mini M&Ms for our littlest girl + family time =
A fantastic way to spend a Saturday night!

photo 230...

Walk-a-thon or Run-a-thon?

Today Ashton did her Walk-a-thon for school and she had a BLAST! This picture was of her running just after it began~I love her facial expression! It was such a great fundraiser and I will have lots more pictures and details coming soon on the family blog!

photo 229...

Chattin' with her BFF...

Today is Macy's birthday...she turned SEVEN! We called to wish her a Happy Birthday this afternoon. The phone call began with Ashton dialing and asking for the Birthday Girl....then she, Landry and I sang Happy Birthday to Macy. Ashton needed to talk to Macy by herself then of course the whole time Landry is in the background yelling "I Tot, I Tot, I Tot". So after Landry was finished, it was my turn. Well after about a minute Macy asked if she could talk to Ashton again.

So those two girls probably talked for about 10 more minutes. She was cracking up and giggling and loving it. I snapped a picture because it was too cute.

I am sure in a few years we will be begging her to get off the phone with Macy. Those two girls are just like their Mommas!

I love these two SEVEN year old girls and I love even more the friends they are to each other!

photo 228...

so proud of this girl....

This picture you are looking at is a picture of our Ashton Raley typing a "thank you" email....using the correct fingers....and doing it all by herself! Let me explain...

Ashton has a Walk-a-Thon at her school on Friday as a fundraiser. They are trying to raise enough money to get a shade cover for their playground which they disparately need for these hot Texas days. {Last year they raised money to buy a few adult trees for the playground to provide shade, but discovered they still needed more shade}.

On Monday, she sat down at the computer and typed out her email to family, chose who we should send it to, and was so proud of herself. It took us FOREVER because she wanted to use the skills she has been learning in computer class. She did a fabulous job with the email!

I couldn't believe how well she was typing...she was thinking about what she needed to type and how to spell it, which finger she was supposed to use, and where it was on the keyboard. I had her type the email last year too and she loved it. She was even more proud of this one.

So back to today's picture....as we got a response from the email she sent out, she would send a reply thanking them for supporting her. It took us two days to complete the thank yous only doing a couple at a time. But she finished them and is excited about her Walk-a-thon on Friday. Landry and I are going to make her a banner and go support her and cheer her on for her walk on Friday~Daddy has a meeting he can't get out of so he can't go with us. She is so pumped!

photo 227...

Flu Shots!

Today Bobby and I got our flu shots. It was perfect...right after Ashton finished with dance we headed over to get our shots. They didn't hurt a bit.....the girls get theirs next week so the flu can stay away from the Bryce house.

I think I have pretty much scared my kid and made her a "hand washing nazi"...is that bad? Not if she keeps her hands clean and doesn't get the flu!

photo 226...

A new flavor of Air Borne...

Very Berry is my new fave when it comes to Air Borne. I have been drinking this today because I DO NOT want to get Bobby's and Landry's cold. I really don't like colds.

photo 225...

practice...practice...practice!

I made these flash cards for a certain little second grader so she could get faster at her math facts. We took them with us on our trip so she could practice. They will live in my car so she can run through them while we are out and about.

photo 224...

our little monkey....

After Landry woke up from her nap today she needed a little snack and was super excited to eat her banana all.by.herself.just.like.a.big.girl! This was the first time she has eaten a banana like this. She was a happy little camper eating her banana and watching a show.

photo 223...

Walking down memory lane....

This is the place where Bobby and I met. We were really excited to bring the girls back to see where Bobby grew up for pretty much his entire life and where I lived twice.

You read the sign correctly....the name of the town is "Knob Noster" and the population is in fact 2,462 which does not include the Air Force Base that is based there. The Air Force base is how both Bobby and I ended up there since our dads were in the Air Force.

We had a good time at the reunion and it was neat to see the area again and to see our old friends!

photo 222...

Rain...rain....and more rain

We left today after Ashton got out of school and headed back to Missouri for my class reunion. Not long after we got on the road it started to rain and storm. It rained the entire way through Oklahoma, but stopped in Missouri and didn't rain on us again until we went through Oklahoma on our way home.

photo 221...

Big A...Little A

This morning just as I was about to get Little Miss Landry ready for the gym, Miss Jill called and asked if we could keep Allie today. Her babysitter canceled and what I needed to do could be put on hold so~she came to hang with us.

Ashton was so surprised when we went to pick her up from school...and tickled too! I had to snap some pics of my BG holding Allie. Allie was loving the girls!

photo 220...

Bedtime Ritual in the Bryce House...

One of the things Daddy has done with both girls and still does is "shoulder rides" and "piggy back rides" to bed. Landry gets shoulder rides (Ashton did until she got too big) and Little Miss Ashton gets piggy back rides.

Landry squeals and giggles and loves looking at herself in the mirror. Daddy stops in the doorway to their rooms and lets them "touch the top". Ashton gets the "piggy back dump truck" onto her bed which makes her giggle!

It is the little things that I love the most. I love that my hubs does stuff like this with the girls....this is something I am sure they will always remember.

photo 219...

20 Months Old...Today!

photo 218...

Brilliant Idea...

Once again we have the need to do something to our house. We are painting ALL the plain white walls a light khaki color and changing the red accent wall.

We found out that Home Depot has these fabulous little "test" containers of paint that you can buy. You tell them what color you want and they mix up small container instead of a full gallon.

We brought them home so we could make sure we liked the colors we chose. So if we don't like them on our wall....we are only out $2.95 and didn't waste a whole gallon of paint.

photo 217...

I wish I could do this....

My sweet friend Gina is SO talented...you should see the cakes she has made for her kiddos' birthdays. The one that stands out in my mind is the Treasure Chest for their Pirate themed party. It was awesome with TONS and TONS of details.

Anyway, today we went to Grayson's and Anna's birthday party (their birthdays are 10 days apart) which was a lot of fun. Grayson requested a football cake and Anna requested a HSM cake. I am always amazed at how talented she is. She did a fantastic job on BOTH cakes!

Gina is who taught Jodi her tricks...and Jodi has taught these tricks to me.

AWESOME JOB MY FRIEND!!!

photo 216...

The girls' new fave these days...

My kids are just like me and love pretty much anything in the "Bread Group". Crackers is one of their favorite things to snack on. I was so excited to find these the other day....they are the perfect size for Landry and they don't make a giant mess like the normal size crackers. I don't know how they taste...I can't bring myself to eat them since I ate so many of them when I was pregnant and really, really sick.

Now, if only Ritz would make just regular mini crackers without the peanut butter and cheese we would be set!

photo 215...

Homework....

One of the challenges we have in our house is homework....with a toddler who wants to be all up in her Big Sis' business! When Landry sees Ashton bust out the paper and pencil she immediately wants a "pen-ul". So since this is when I need her to be busy while Ashton reads to me, I am trying to only give Landry a pencil when it is homework time. She has a pink pouch with all of her own stuff in it (pencils, notebook, folder with dogs on it) just like Ashton. This is very helpful especially since last year Landry played during homework time and didn't care as much what Ashton was doing.

This usually only occupies her for part of the time... then when she realizes Ashton is sitting in my lap reading to me and she doesn't have my undivided attention (like she gets all day long) she sometimes has a meltdown (like she did today) and has to make several trips to the corner!

photo 214...

New Kicks for Lan-Lan P...

Yesterday we bought Landry a new pair of tennis shoes. She was SO excited to try on shoes and didn't want me to take them off. We finally found a cute pair and she absolutely LOVES them!

photo 213...

Tuesdays...

As I said all of last year....Tuesdays are B-U-S-Y! Well this year, Ashton's dance class begins at 3:30 instead of 3:45 which means we have to leave straight from school.

Since we leave straight from school, there is a lot of "stuff" that I have to pack and bring along.

Here's the run down:
* Landry's diaper bag
*Ashton's dance bag (with dance clothes, shoes, and hair stuff so I can whip out a bun for ballet)
*snack and a drink for both girls
*Landry's "dance bag" full of stuff to entertain her while Big Sis is dancing
*Misc. things needed for Miss Jodi

Then we have all the same stuff to lug back in the house when we get home plus her backpack and lunchbox.

Thank goodness this only happens once a week!