First Family Vacation- Day 1

We went on our first family vacation last weekend. We drove down to San Antonio, which is normally about a four hour drive, but when you're traveling with three kids it takes a little longer. I think we made it in five and a half hours. The kids actually did really well (with a little help from the Nintendo DS).
When we got there, we checked in to our hotel and headed to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. The kids LOVED it!!! We walked along the river for a while and checked out all the neat little shops, and the girls bought a few little souvenirs. Then we took a boat tour and got to learn some history about the river and all the buildings around it.
We also visited the Alamo. Olivia really enjoyed actually being in a place that she learned about in her history book.
We ended our first day at the Rain Forest Cafe for what we thought was going to be a nice dinner and fun experience for the kids. Boy were we WRONG!! Every ten minutes the animals all over the restaurant come to life, and every thirty minutes there is a thunder and lightening storm. Ashleigh was TERRIFIED!! She covered her eyes and cried the entire time. Needless to say, we will NEVER go back.

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Father's Day Fun

On Father's Day, we had Andrew's parents and sister over for a barbeque. It was a beautiful day, but extremely hot. Andrew's mom bought the girls water balloon slingers, so we decided to beat the Texas heat with a good old fashioned water balloon fight. The girls weren't ready to stop when we ran out of balloons, so we started dumping buckets of water on them. We all had a blast

Emily Goes to the Dentist

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Emily went to the dentist a couple weeks ago. We had to take her to 3 different dentists before we found one that could do anything to her. The first one tryed to take x rays and she freaked out. They recommended another dentist that specialized in pediatrics. When we went to that dentist she started crying the second they asked her to sit in the chair. They sent us to ANOTHER dentist where she could be sedated. It actually worked out for the best. The entire staff at the last dentist was wonderful!!! She didn't cry even once. They made friends with her and earned her trust before they did anything else. (I guess the other dentists didn't have time for all that.) They took x rays and examined her without any sedation. She ended up with 4 cavities!!! We did go ahead and have her sedated for the procedure. They gave her the medicine and I sat with her in a sperate waiting area. She was sitting in my lap playing on Olivia's Nintendo DS. Twenty minutes later she topples over to the side, drops the nintendo, and tells me she feels funny. By the time the nurse came out to get her, Emily couldn't even stand up on her own. The nurse had to carry her off to the back. About 30 minutes later they returned. The nurse was still carrying her and Emily had a big smile on her face as she proudly showed off her bracelet, animal balloon, and super bouncy ball that the dentist gave her for being so brave. She didn't cry once, even when they gave her the shot. She was still heavily medicated, so I carried her to the car and we started the 40 minute car ride home. Emily spent the entire time telling her sisters all about her experience at the dentist. The funny thing is, Olivia and Ashleigh weren't in the car, they were at my mom's house!!! After several hours, and a nice long nap, she was back to her normal self.

Olivia's New Look

Before

Olivia's hair was very long. Almost down to her butt. It was very pretty, but hard for her to take care of. It was also VERY hot under all that hair in this Texas heat. She wanted to cut it into a chin length bob and donate it to locks for love, an organization that makes wigs out of real hair for children with cancer. They cut off about 11 inches. She LOVES her new look and is happy that her hair will be used to make a sick child feel a little better.

After

Officially a 4th grader

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Okay, so it's been a while since I've updated this thing. So get ready, we've got a lot to catch up on. Olivia is out of school for the summer. This picture was taken on the last day of schhol at her awards ceremony. She received 9 different awards for the year, as well as honor roll. Yay Livi!!!! We are so proud of her. She's glad summer is here and looking forward to 4th grade!!!

The Head of the Monkey Household

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This is Andrew. The head monkey. (He doesn't really like to take pictures, so my options were quite limited.) Andrew has been an electrical contractor for the past ten years. He's VERY handy and can fix almost anything. He works very hard so that I'm able to stay home with our girls, and I'm very thankful for that. Since he's always working he doesn't really have time for any hobbies other than spending time with his family when he can. Other than that, he's a pretty shy and quiet kinda guy and we love him very much!!

Meet Sasha, the Best Dog Ever!!

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Meet our dog, Sasha. This picture was taken March 6, 2008, her 12th birthday!! Yes, we had a birthday party for the dog. We wore party hats, sang Happy Birthday, and had cupcakes. Yes, Sasha had a cupcake too (with no frosting). You may think it's a little strange to throw a birthday party for a dog, but this is no ordinary dog. This happens to be the very best dog in the whole world!!! She's as much of a part of the family as the kids are.

My Big Accomplishment

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For those of you who don't know, I graduated, with honors, from Concorde Career College last July as a Medical Assistant. I was working for a wonderful doctor in Arlington for a while. He specialized in Mohs Micrographic skin surgery, which is a surgical technique used to remove skin cancer. I worked primarily in the front office, but was also able to assist in a few surgeries. I recently stopped working and am back to full time mommy duty, for now. I must say, I gained a whole new respect for working moms. Hats off to all of you because it was NOT easy. Next year all three of the girls will be in school and I plan on going back to school myself to earn my nursing lisence. Until then, I'm where I'm needed the most. Exactly where I'm supposed to be.... home taking care of my sweet girls.

Meet The Monkeys

Olivia, the oldest monkey. Olivia is growing up fast. Although she thinks she is a teenager sometimes, she is only 9. She has many interests these days. She LOVES to sing and pretend she's a rock star. She is very into Hannah Montana. Her great love in life is animals, especially horses. She loves to draw, write her own stories, and make lots of different projects. She apparently got the creative gene from my mom. She's very smart too. She is in a program at school for gifted and talented children. She'll be starting 4th grade this year and we couldn't be more proud.

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Emily, monkey in the middle. One word to describe Emily?? TROUBLE!! Emily is 4 now. She's a girl that knows what she wants and will do whatever she has to to get it. She's definately the most stubborn of the three (wonder where she got that from), but she's very loving and sweet too. She's also vey smart. They all are. Geniuses actually (that came from my side of the family too). She loves to sing and dance, ride her scooter, and drive her big sister CRAZY!!!!

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Ashleigh, the baby monkey. Ashleigh is three and she definately knows she's the baby. She uses that to her advantage every chance she gets. She's sweet, loving, and VERY sensitive. She too loves to sing and dance, play outside, and drive her sisters crazy. Ashleigh is the shy one. It takes her a lot longer to warm up to people than the other two, but once she does, she will melt your heart. Ther is nothing in the world like one of her big squeezey hugs.

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