baby pollywogs!

amy & gracie

ethan & aiden

hibler family

A & E set up at river road park swimming lessons for the twins!…they really do like the water a lot!…im happy A&E are doing this…its good for the 4 of them!…this is about the 3rd session…first time using the life jackets…they swim for about a half hour…by then aiden is all a “shiver”…haha…

an afternoon at the park

ethan called yesterday (3 jan) to see if we’d (russ and i) babysit the twins  at our house while he took his wife out to a movie…..we said sure! it was a nice day….we fed them some lunch then off to the park….this is the first time we’ve had them and used the stroller to walk to the neighborhood park..just down the road a bit….

i think im not going to do jello again till they know how to eat with a spoon…that gets everywhere but in the mouth!

teeter totter

ok gracie….hold on tight while grammie leaves you to take a picture….steady gracie…steady……(please dont fall)

merry go round

russ and kids go s l o w l y around….and by this time the weather take a change and begins to get pretty chilly

gracie

on our way back home

 

gate to keep the dogs away from the twins

little buggars!

man!…russ and i both realized we are only young at heart! hahaha…i wanted to take just a tiny little nappy……no way!…A&E got out late so we had dinner together then off they went!…whew!

surprize for russ!

today, from russ’s uncle bill, he recieved from fed ex the most beautiful pendleton blanket!…its a limited edition honoring the rose bowl university of oregon vs ohio state playing jan 1 2010!russ loved it!…now he has his “snuggle” to watch tv with too! haha

russ's pendleton blanket

russ says…….THANK YOU UNCLE BILL!

cottrell christmas 2009

its hard to believe christmas is over…seems like i start getting excited about christmas as soon as halloween is over….i feel great!…usually i feel theres no pressure…black friday comes and i buy stuff on sale….and check the ads right through to christmas…in fact i must say this year i felt pretty good right up to christmas day…i was pretty organized for me….(i think this year im going to start/make the christmas stocking for the twins and ethan…im gonna have to start to look for the right wool socks!….)anyway..christmas went well…the 4 of us decided we would wait for A&E and twins to arrive to open our gifts together…well….we all agreed lets just open one…mistake!!….we opened all that had our names on the tags! hahaha just couldnt wait….A&E and twins arrived about 2:00 pmish…they opened their gifts and we then sat down to christmas dinner….thanks to our good friends the friars we had a honey baked ham…if you dont know this…honey baked ham takes away about half your time in the kitchen…you dont have to cook it..and its the best tasting ham ever!….mashed potatoes, green bean casseroll, rolls, and deviled eggs…apple pie dessert…as it turned out of course..twins not too hungry…it took amy more time to put the food on their tray than it took the time they ate…..just about time we are all done eating amy gets to sit down for dinner! haha…at least she had quite time while everyone else cared for the twins….A&E didnt stay too much longer  for the twins started to gettin’ whiny little  fussy britches for they hadnt had a nap….i cleaned off the table and stacked up the dishes…turned off the light and sat in the lounger for the rest of the evening…the whole house looked like a bomb went off in it!…and i just didnt care…i was glad the day was over….but it was a good christmas!…..here are some pictures of the day

christmas eve 2009

santa came 2009

rusty passing out gifts

rusty/gnome= reminder $200 1st place!

belle got her U of O snuggle!

ohmygosh! who took this picture??

aiden getting a little help from grampa

ethan -nothing on but belles snuggle!

gracie with toy from santa

aidens rain gear from ralph and mary

christmas dinner...wheres amy??

aiden feeding belle mashed potatoes

aiden still trying to feed aunty b

jackpot! how far will that spoon go in?

theres amy! finally eating xmas dinner!

gracie loves ryder

santas little helpers!

i bought these cute little santa outfits thinking what a cute picture it would be with santa…well…this year no way going to see santa at the mall…the lines were forever long so i decided id take my own pictures of the twins in there cute little outfits!…shit!! what a bust!….i bet i took 50 and never was there a kodak moment!…happy, whiny, sitting or standing, hats on hats off, one looks at the camera the other doesnt, always moving around and not staying still….making “grammie cottrell” very sweaty, irritable, and making me wish id just wait the hour and a half to set them on scarry santas lap and watch them realize the difference between me and him! anyway!….i just ened up with a bunch of candid shots!….forget the kodak moment!

whew!….just posting these pics reminds me of the whole ordeal all over again!…little buggars!….hopefully i will be able to post the picture amy finally got of them sitting on santas lap when we went to pizza christma eve!….i get an “evil chuckle” when i see it…heh heh heh

see what i mean??….all they had to do was sit still ,keep their hats on, and give a cute little smile when I wanted to take there piture! maybe next year ill show this picture to them for a reminder…i bet i get a “kodak moment”! heh heh heh ho ho ho!!!

thanks for thanksgiving!

i love thanksgiving!….its a total holiday for just being with friends and family and doing what i love most….eating!….for me its starts with making a copiule of  pies the night before…(10 -11:30 pm)…trying to get a little shut eye and not doing so well for thinking of the order i have to make/cook / prepare the big meal and all the fixings…up and at them at 5:00 am!…make coffee…i take a little time for the paper and ads…cook yams, make ”dads stuffing “for the turkey…simmer the organs/turkey neck for gravey…stuff the bird and set in the fridge,get showered and dressed for the day…..all this goes nice like clockwork….10 am comes and the bird in the oven…A&E and the twins come over….high chairs, toys, diaper bag, etc etc etc noise noise noise! (im thinking ive got to get my kodak moment with the twins once they are dressed in their clothes i bought them for thanksgiving)…turns out…they are alittle cranky so we all go back to amys and try to put the twins dow for a nap….also take the side dishes  over to cook in amys oven…the DARLING babies dont want to nap…..so we get them up waiting for the yawn to nap…no      yawning….after an hour i have things to do at home to get ready for the dinner…so bob (long time friend of ours) and i go home…i set the table, stuff the celery, fix the cranberry, make the devil eggs…(have a little wine) etc etc etc….remember…its hot in the house!….by the time ive done all this A & E and the twins come back…..no nap!!!….belle and rusty put twins in their new thanksgiving clothes!…the bird is done….we set out food to cool for the twins and get them started eating…for they a bit cranky for something to eat….(noise, noise, noise)..ill let the pictures take the story from there…

turkey on the big yellow platter!

aiden waiting for food

gracie waiting for food

bob, belle, rusty and russ hub a dub dub…thanks for the grub!

ethan, gracie, mike, aiden(mr noise maker) and robin

mr fussy britches..in his new thanksgiving outfit!…ha! too hot to wear, done eating and wanted down to run around!….amy still hasnt gotten to sit and eat ..yet!

gracie like to be held….so when she wanted out of her high chair…she went to “aunty b” where she was helped and encourage to eat from her uncle rusty….and she did a pretty good job too!

trying to get a kodak moment…no success!

another attempt…ugh…

belle and gracie

ol fussy britches….too hot and too tired…after we all ate…(and amy was at thanksgiving dinner…i never did get her in a picture!) we packed the hiblers up and they went back home to give the twins a nap and prepare for 5:00 pm dessert at their house! yum!..

anyway…..like i said thanksgiving was ate too much , too much to drink, hot in the house…and noise noise noise from you know who!

i cant wait to do it all over again at christmas! big tired yawn!!!….(in 5 hours…black friday here i come!!!)

 

“L O S E R”!….

our baby boy

dad…..can i borrow $20.00?…can i borrow the gas card?…sure….can you rake the leaves for me sometime soon?….sure!..ill do that!…thanks dad!

"loser" stamped on his head

i hope he pays himself the 9 bucks an hour he offered his son 4 days before! hahahhahahahhahaha!!!

oh im such a spoiled “bitch”……!

i must clear my conscience…..long story…..friday i attended an event that i made a bunch of cookies and i needed to display them for folks to eat for dessert….i had a big yellow platter and knew it wasnt big enough so i search in the (thanks to belle) organized pantry and found another 2 yellow platters! the pictures below

3 yellow platters

yup...3 yellow platters

the biggest one i bought for myself a few years ago(in rememberance of one my mother in law had used for many years at thanksgiving)

well now comes the “spoiled bitch” part about myself…..the other 2 platters  my sister in law got from her dear mother…her mother gave them to her….( im not sure if my sister in law ASKED for them or if her mother gave them to her because she wanted her to have them)(doesnt matter SHE got them) and now that im sorta confessing….i really didnt know there was 2 yellow platters just one….my mother in law served the thanksgiving turkey on a yellow platter….well i think you can see where this is kinda going….i secretly coveted that yellow platter(plus there was this very old worn out piece of cork that my mother in law had a huge big-eyed needle stuck in it that she used to sew the stuffed turkey up with i coveted that too!)

a n y w a y…….years and years ago candy came to oregon to be with the family for thanksgiving ! im sure we all had a wonderful time…we always did/do when we are together….when she had gone back home she had called me to say that they  had made it back safely and just in passing she said “mother” gave her the yellow platter!….i can remember the “stunned” feeling i had…”you have THE big yellow turkey platter?” i might of waited till i had talked to MY mother in law…but maybe i didnt…i remember letting my sister in law know that i sorta WANTED that big yellow turkey platter along with that old cork with the big-eyed needle. now my mother in law to me was the best damn mother in law anyone could have…seriously…she was my mother here on the west coast…and she had a mischievious sense of humor….im sure when i told her that i sorta wanted that big yellow turkey platter with the old cork with the big-eye needle in it…we chuckled….she really didnt know i had coveted it….for i hadnt actually asked for it YET!…

a n y w a y….me being the person i am….i let it go….i actually never dwelled on the big yellow turkey patter until thanksgiving! and then when my sister in law always calls and asks how we’re doing  i seem to ask in my “sneary” way….are you going to use the big yellow turkey platter at thanksgiving?….doesnt matter its over..i dont have it and you do!..we always chuckled about it….an im sure mother always did too…

a n y w a y ….a few years ago….we got a package from candy…i dont remember the occasion…she more often than not…gets very generous to us and im sure she decided to include “A ” yellow platter that she says was moms…..i was surprised but…it had been so  so so  long ago that i had seen the big yellow turkey platter… but it looked  smaller than i remembered but i was grateful !..and i told candy that….we laughed and chuckled about it..then she says well mabe it was the “other” yellow platter that she has…..well…like i said at the beginning of this long story/confession….i didnt know there was 2 yellow platters…she said “sometime ill send the “other” yellow platter”…im sure….i said something  like …”oh no candy…you dont have to do that..its ok”(thinking….ya…good…cuz i REALLY like that big yellow turkey platter!)….anyway….a few weeks ago..candy does ANOTHER one of her generous deeds and sends a box to amy (clothes for the twins) and includes the big yellow turkey platter! (but doesnt tell me)…when i go over to visit amy….i see a big yellow platter!….wow amy where did you get this big yellow platter?…(you know what im thinking….is this the big yellow turkey platter my mother in law use to serve the turkey on at thanksgiving that all these years ive coveted??) amy has this great big smile on her face and says  ”yup! and its mine!” she started laughing and said no aunt candy sent it for you!….(well its about damn time!!…how long have i wanted that big yellow turkey platter?)

anyway……because my daughter belle cleaned out/organized my pantry and i had this function that i need some platters…i realized that wow!!!..i have 3 big beautiful yellow platters and im so excited about it!!! hahaha so now after this whole long winded story from my guilty conscience i want to say to my sister in law , CANDY thank you!  thank you!  thank you!  from the bottom of my heart for Mother’s  big yellow turkey platter!!(and ill keep the other one too!)(greedy bitch eh?) i love you sister! hugs…(oh ya i cant let this go….i suppose youve lost the old cork with the big-eyed needle stuck in it that she used to sew up the stuffed turkey with eh?

mushrooms everywhere!

mushrooms under lilac tree

mushrooms under holly trees

no kidding!!…i havent seen so many mushrooms all over the place!..ive seen mostly on peoples lawns and at school…even my own yard!…we might have a couple pop up but not like this!….im the masses!….maybe i ought to go see if there is any “wee folks” under them!! haha

lil trick or treaters

checkin out spider man

lil monkey

 

today was the twins 2nd halloween holiday…i think they werent too sure what was going on…they sure looked cute in there costumes…gracie was a lamb and aiden was a monkey.(though he looked like a little bear cub to me) haha…they had their hibler cousins go trick or treat with them maddie ,snow princess, very pretty, and alex spider man, very cute costume on him too!…belle and i visited just before they all left to for candy to watch the rest of the oregon duck football game so i dont know how much candy their parents begged going door to door! haha..im sure all was fun!!