Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Swimming Class.

Monday nights here are busy nights for us...... Do you know why? Because it's swim night! The girls love it and are getting better every time we go! Not to Jinx myself, but Amelia is even getting a bit more brave. She was even jumping off the edge to Bryan last night and not so freaked out about it all. Maybe a bit more comfortable. Norah is doing great, she kicks and moves her arms at the same time. It's really great!

My friend Judie (gramma judie, as amelia calls her) came along for a helping hand this time around. She got in the water with Bryan and the girls and helped out. She LOVED it. The girls had fun with her too. I decided to just just sit on the side lines this week and take a few pictures. It was fun to get this view of the girls in the water. Next week she is going to come along again and take pictures of us in the pool.

Ready to go in the pool Gramma Judie!!
The girls and daddy in the pool.
Swimming. Getting the hang of things.
Amelia and her teacher, showing Gramma Judie how to do things in the pool.
Swimming is fun!
The floaty on her back was something she hated at first, but I think it's giving her a little more confidence now.

Norah, LOVES the pool!
My little fish with daddy.
She even does the back floating well.
Happy to be in the pool with Gramma Judie!!
Daddy and his girls after class. Tired girls.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Another Weekend...More Fun!

We had a nice weekend here. Let me share with you.

Friday I went shopping with my mom and started to get things for Gracie's shower that is on Saturday. We are doing a pink and brown poke-a-dot theme. It's cute. I really hope she likes it. I'm really excited giver her this shower. Mom and I had fun picking out everything. Felicity is going to help us out too.....Friday evening we are going to get together and make all the food. I sure hope the shower goes well, I really want it to be nice for her.

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Saturday Bryan had to work, so the girls and I woke up and relaxed a bit and they hung out and played while I cleaned a bit and did some laundry. This weekend was the Apple festival, so we went downtown to the parade. The girls LOVED it. Amelia came home with TONS of candy and loved to wave at all the people in the parade. It was pretty cute watching her run to get the candy. I wish I would of taken a picture of her......

Here they are watching the parade.
Saturday evening our friends Matt and Nicole came over to visit with us for a while. The girls were still up when they arrived and Amelia LOVES Matt. He usually plays with her, this time he was flying her all over the living room....talk about fun for a two year old.
After the girls went to bed, the four of us hung out and had a few drinks and chatted all evening. It was nice to catch up with them, we hadn't seen them in quite some time so to was nice to spend some time with them. They are getting married in December and Byran is actually in the wedding. Nicole caught me up on all the wedding details and what they are planning. We are really looking forward to the wedding...It will be one fun wedding I bet!

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Today we went to Decatur for the day to visit my mom, dad, brothers and sister-in-laws. We hung out at my mom and dads most of the time and also went over to my uncle Toms to pick out pumpkins in his garden.

Little miss Show off. Playing around on the windmill.
Norah lovin' on my Brother Jake...Such a sweet picture. She had just woke up from an nap and was still tired.
Little Miss Cool...Jake gave her these sun glasses today and she thought she was something pretty cool in them.


We then went over to my Uncle's house to get some Pumpkins in his HUGE garden. He had some massive sized pumpkins out there. We took a few home and flagged out BIG one to get in a few weeks. Here are some cute shots of the girls out there.

Picking out her pumpkin.
Taking a break.
A pumpkin we picked and brought home with us today.
Which one is the best? Lots to choose from!

Norah with her first pumpkin.....she wasn't to sure what to think of it.
Remember the sunflowers I took pictures of a month or so ago......here they are. My brother cut a few down for me to take home....so the birds here at my house can enjoy a nice treat. Aren't they Huge?!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Life With Us The Past Few Days.

This is just one of those catch up posts.

Things here have been well. We are all feeling better now. Norah still has a bit of a cough. But she is doing better than before. We have been doing our daily grind.....Gym in the morning, fun in the afternoon...and naps for the girls in between. That is our life here in the Rodgers household.

Since the weather has been so nice, we have been spending a lot of time outdoors. I have been able to get some pretty fall flower pictures, and also some cute pictures of the girls.




My neighbor has these beautiful flowers growing up her deck....I love them, aren't they so pretty?


Rhiley and Sara came over and we were actually able to get the girls to sit still for a picture. What cuties they can be.

The girls and I went for a little walk and the church down the street had these pretty flowers blooming. I love Mums anyway, but they were just so colorful, bright and Cheery!


They smell pretty too....
Yes, it's fall time...the leaves are falling....

Tickle time...Bryan was supposed to be getting the girls ready for bed last night, however I had given Amelia some Smarties (candy) to late in the day and she was WIRED...so it became tickle time, instead of calm down and relax time. Norah was CRACKING UP! It was funny!


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Sick.....Go Get Adjusted.

Being Sick...being sick isn't fun. Which everyone knows. We have all been sick here for the past two days. Me, headache, stomach-ache, achy in general. Bryan, stomach-ache and Norah an icky cough. Amelia, is fine, which make us all more stressed....her being almost two makes mommy and daddy more tired. Bryan actually skipped out on work today to stay home to help me out and also to get some rest himself. Sometimes downtime is NEEDED in life.

We all went to the Chiropractor this afternoon. Seriously, getting adjusted is so amazing! I really swear by it! It makes you feel a thousand times better. I actually was feeling better before I left the doctors office. Your spine is hooked to EVERYTHING in you body! If it isn't working and out of alignment it makes things happen....hence getting sick.

Yes, in case your wondering, the girls do get adjusted. I feel it benefits them in many ways. But basically it makes them healthy and feeling well. We haven't been there in quite some time....so it was time for us to go. Amelia has been getting adjusted since she was probably a year old and Norah has been getting adjusted since just after birth.

My kids are quite healthy and rarely do get sick, (thank the Lord) which I feel is awesome! I hear some people say they have to take their kids to the doctor ALL the time. I feel bad for them. It must be hard to have to deal with that. People need to take their kids to get adjusted! They just don't know what they are missing out on....seriously!

Who wants to be one Medication all the time? I sure don't. Your body knows how to help itself, so let it. Getting an adjustment is an easy way to get better and make you healthy. Find a Chiropractor......

A quick story....
Norah has this rash all over her for a few months....her medical doctor couldn't figure it out. Gave us some cream to put on her and eventually said it was probably said it was eczema. I told out Chiropractor about it.....he adjusted her lower back, the next morning it was gone....GONE...like it hadn't ever been there. Yes, Amazing! It hasn't been back since. I tell people this story all the time....I think people should be aware and look into new things.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Happy Fall To You All! First Day Of Fall!

I love this time of year! Bonfires, hayrides, Pumpkin picking, and so much more. I love sweater weather, and going for walks on a cool afternoon. I love living in Michigan where we have the change of colors, and the leaves on the trees become this vibrant fire explosion, and our Landscape is like a painting. It's beautiful!

I love to rake up a pile of leaves and jump in....drink a glass of apple cider and eat pumpkin pie. Oh YUM, Pumpkin pie! The smell of burning leaves, and the smell of the cool air coming in on a cool afternoon....you know the smell...the smell of winter. The clouds get thicker and the days get shorter and night time comes earlier everyday.

The music of my season (yes, I have a music of choice for Fall) is jazz and blues, my favorite is Norah Jones or Ella Fitzgerald....or the man himself BB King. It's a happy, yet a cool, relaxed-back feel. It helps you prepare for that what is to come, it's the calm before the storm......the ever famous Holiday season, which yes it is to come, if we like it or not. However, I do. I do like the holidays, but the warm fall season, surely makes me prepare for the busy time of year to come.

Enjoy your fall season....it goes quickly, before we know it the leaves will be gone and the snow will be flying!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

My Baby Beauty!

We did a little mini photo shoot with Norah today. I put on Amelia's old Tutu from Last Halloween and got some sweet pictures of her. Isn't she a sweetie? Take a look:






Norah Is Nine Months Old!

Norah is Nine Months old! She is getting so big! Here is her official monthly sofa Picture! Yes, she is one happy baby!

The Greatest Show On Earth!

A few months ago mom and I read Water For Elephants in our book club. Once we were done reading it, we thought we should go to the circus.....so what does my mom do.....she runs out and gets us all tickets for the circus.

Yesterday afternoon we got to go to the Circus!!! Oh, My goodness, I was a kid again!! What fun we all had!

We drove up to Grand Rapids to the Van Andel Arena to see The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.....The Greatest Show On Earth! It was that too it was SO much fun!

My mom bought tickets for Her and my dad, The four of us (Bryan, I and the girls), my brother Matt, Felicity (his girlfriend), my brother Jake, his wife Gracie and my Grandma and Grandpa. Jake and Gracie had things come up and weren't able to make it. Which was a big bummer.... But we all had a wonderful time.

We had fantastic seats...4th row almost center, but more toward the left side of the ring. I hadn't been to the Van Andel before, but it was a cool place to see a show.

The Van Andel Arena where the show was held.
On our drive into the city, we saw the circus train.
The Greatest Show on Earth!
Me clowning around....before the show started.
We were able to go down into the arena to get up close before the show, here was one of the Elephants, she came out to do a few tricks for us all.
Bello, the head clown, I suppose I would call him. He was a riot...He was in love with one of the pretty ladies, that was the premise of the show.
My grandparents came too.
Norah was amazed with it all.... this was the look on her face for pretty much the first hour we were there....it was so neat to watch her.

Amelia was in Aw too...she was the best to watch, she was dancing and smiling and just glued to the show!
Tricky dogs....
Five High.
Beautiful Arabian horses!
The Tigers...how cool they were!
Swinging though the sky! Awesome!
Now the Elephants! I loved them! They are so massive, yet so gentle! Such an awesome thing to see!
This one is kind of a Family Joke, If anyone has ever read the Dr. Suess book the Sneetches, some of the Sneetches have a star on their bellies, and some don't. A few of the Elephants had stars, and It made me think of the book. My Grandpa reads the book to us every Christmas eve....All of us grandchildren could probably recite the book to you. We love to hear the story each year. So this photo is for my Grandpa.
The acrobats....they were super cool!
Here we are after the show....the girls had a blast and so did we!
With the exception of my mom and dad....we went to dinner with my grandparents after the show.
Here is my grandma reading the program book from the circus to Amelia. (let me tell you we have read it Many, Many, Many times today too).
A cute picture of my grandparents leaving the resturant after dinner.......Amelia loves the nose now.....she didn't want anything to do with it yesterday. Check her out...Silly girl!
Thanks for looking, we really did have a blast!