Our Family

My Little Dancing Queen!

2011-05-29T10:45:00.004-04:00

Last week was Rani's dance recital. She was so stinkin cute in here tutu (with her underwear handing out the sides of her leotard)! she was having so much fun posing for the camera - she cracks me up! It was so fun to watch all those sweet little girls dancing their little hearts out and trying to do their best. The best word to describe it is, precious! So fun!

2011-05-29T10:31:00.006-04:00

getting better...

2010-11-17T23:02:00.011-05:00

I'm getting better...I have cut my time in between posts in half! I have been on a six month schedule, but look at me posting just three short months later. Not bad, not bad.

Reason for my ambitious posting...free shutterfly cards!

Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards! How awesome is that?! I'm super excited to actually have some cute Christmas cards this year. Shutterfly has so many cute designs and creative cards. I have never used shutterfly, but have lots of friends who have recommended them for all their cute cards, calendars, and photo albums. I've seen some of their super cute calendars and have loved them. The website seems user friendly and I think the prices are fair. For My Christmas card I'm thinking I love this one -

and this one..

and this one...

How cute are they! They have so many different designs to choose from.
Check out all the cute stuff here
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

I think I might even do some birthday invites from them too. I love all the different styles they have lookie here

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/invitations

And then after the birthday I can even send out some way cute personalized thank you cards like these

I might even get a few Christmas presents checked off my list from here

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

I can't wait to get started on all my cute new shutterfly projects!

First Day of School!!!

2010-09-02T10:51:00.005-04:00

Today is Rani's first day of school! I feel Naked. 2 whole days a week to myself...what to do??? Rani had no hesitation to go in her class. Usually it's the kids hanging onto their moms, but nope, it was me hanging onto her. I better get used to it with that independent child of mine. Here's to years of me hanging onto Rani and her getting bigger and bigger every day! Love you Mash.

unsanitary, but oh so fun!

2010-08-13T22:16:00.006-04:00

Man, I wish I was 3 and could just sit on the counter in my underwear and frost the heck out of some very unfortunate cupcakes! Nobody call the health inspector on me!

...and yet not a single cavity to be found!

6 Month Review!

2010-05-03T01:05:00.002-04:00

I really need to stay on top of blogging. I can't believe it has already been another 6 months since I was trying to catch up from the last time! I'm pretty sure nobody even checks this blog anymore, but for you loyal followers,(like my mom!) here you go!

In the last six months we (and when I say we, I mean Danny!) have finished graduate shcool, moved home for the holidays with no idea where we were going and then finally ended up in the great state of Texas! I'm not even going to try and write all that I should....I've tried - 3 times and it's just too overwhelming! I will, however, promise to be better and try to blog more than 2 times a flippin year! So for now a few slide shows is about all I can comitt to! I'll let the pictures tell the story. :)

Sheesh!

2009-11-13T00:38:00.005-05:00

I'm not even going to try to write about the last 6 months! It's been busy, it's been fun, it's been a whirlwind!!! Here's some pictures for a quick recap..it may possibly be the longest slide show ever!!!

2009-11-13T00:38:00.001-05:00

2009-05-26T16:13:00.003-04:00

Man, I love this little girl. She is so much fun. I don't know why people don't like 2 year olds. I love them. They have so much personality and spunk. I laugh all day because of my sweet, sassy 2 year old. I think everyone should have one!

Another One Bites The Dust!

2009-05-19T22:40:00.003-04:00

We're droppin like flies out here. So sad, we lost Anglea! She's on to bigger and better things in sin city, but we had to have one last trip to Mcnasty's with the kids! We will all miss her. :( Costco,the mall, Target, Mcdonalds and girls nights just won't be the same with out her!

Last weekend we found another little hidden treasure out here - Turkey Point. It was ABSOULTELY beautiful!!! I have been told about this from the all the locals for qutie some time, but just have never gone. Man, I'm glad we did. The Chesepeake Bay is georgous. You can't tell, but just behind us is a huge drop off. There are just these huge cliffs right behind us. (This is when you consider using leashes on your kids!) The pictures just don't do it justice.

Catching Up

2009-05-01T15:13:00.006-04:00

I"m still really amazed at how some people (I won't mention any names!) can keep up with everything. How do people find time to blog, facebook, have kids, make dinner, clean the house, etc... I'm going to blame my lack of keeping up with computer stuff on my poor typing skills! We have had some pretty busy, but really fun weekends recently. Easter was awesome. Holidays are so much fun with kids. Rani loved the all the Easter egg hunts and festivities. By Easter morning she was really getting used to it all. We had recently went to the church for a special Easter playgroup/egg hunt, well, come Easter morning we are getting her loaded in the car and she just kept saying "I yuv Eeser time". She would say it in this dreamy little voice like she was just so happy and content, and life could just not get any better. Man, she cracks us up. She was a little disappointed to find out there was no Easter egg hunt at the church that day, though.

A few weeks ago we went out to Lancaster co. It is so beautiful out there. I love going out there and escaping the craziness of Newark. The Amish are so neat. I'm really going to miss all the fun new things we've been able to do out here. And who knew the Amish did BBQ?! (And just in case any of you are thinking I'm totally tacky for taking a picture of the Amish, don't worry I did it really discreetly!) We also discovered a new park that we absolutely love! There is a dog park there too, so it's great for Rani. She so needs a dog!

UD had there annual "Ag Day". We took Rani mostly because there were going to be animals there and it was free. It was flippin hot that day, though! I'm pretty sure Rani got heat stroke, but that's a small price to pay for a pony ride, right? The only part Rani didn't love was meeting the mascot. Apparently giant blue chickens aren't her thing.

Yay!

2009-03-27T14:50:00.003-04:00

I'm sitting here at the computer, totally defeated. My child just won. After a long morning at the gym and a trip to Target and Old Navy I thought Rani would be good and tired - nope. I just tried to put her down for a nap, a process of which that took 35 minutes! Forget that it's already almost 3:00 and the whole time I'm telling myself this is not worth the fight, she's is so not going to go to bed tonight if I let her sleep. Still, I'm determined, (As determined as possible for Stacee.) and I will win this little battle. They say pick your battles, so why I chose this one is a mystery to me. We both knew who was going to win from the start. Finally after 35 minutes of crying and whining,(Rani, not me!) I relent and go in and get her. Stinker. As soon as I get her out of the crib she looks at me with her most pleased Rani face and says "Yay, I did it"! We all know who runs the house. It's going to be interesting when she's a teenager!!! Last Sunday at church Rani was really struggling. We hadn't even gotten through the first speaker and she was all over the place. The minute the speaker finishes and everyone says amen Rani goes "Yay, we're done"! She continued to do this after the Choir sang, and again after every speaker. I'm glad those around us thought it was funny, I was totally embarrassed!!! Oh, my funny, stubborn, smart, way more determined than me child. I just love her. :)

Partay!

2009-03-17T13:48:00.004-04:00

Saturday the group went out to dinner to celebrate Joe finishing up and getting his PhD. We went to Don Pablo's - one of the very few decent Mexican restaurants out here - and had a lot of fun. They hand out pieces of dough for the kids to play with and Rani kept asking me to make her an elephant?! My elephant wasn't Worth taking a picture of, but Anne's on the other hand...kicked my elephants trash. Surprisingly, Rani did pretty good at dinner. We've really been trying to work with her to sit still and stay at the table. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but for Rani it's like asking her to be in a straight jacket! The kid LOVES ice cream, so we bribed her. She also loved seeing Joe in the "big,funny hat", apparently they don't have a song they sing for getting your PhD (weird) so they brought out the sombrero and sang Happy Birthday instead. We're so happy for Joe he is going to be sorely missed!

Then we headed on over to the Isom's for a "Pie (as in 3.14) Day Party. They crack me up! We had pie and played Guitar Hero. The kids ran around in their jammies and had tons of fun too. The little boys were so serious about playing the game it was so cute. All we needed was the microphone and we would have been complete. I'm not quite the rock star on the guitar I'd like to be, but someone get me a mic and I'll show you some mad skills!

Potty Training Attempt?!

2009-02-25T14:26:00.005-05:00

I'm thinking it's time to teach her what this "pitty pink circle" is for?! I want so badly to keep putting potty training off, but after she thought her "pitty pink circle" was a necklace, I've decided to commit to thinking about potty training. We'll see how it goes.

This is what she does when I ask her to smile...everything but.

Eew Nassy Mud!

2009-02-15T14:30:00.003-05:00

My child is a struggler! We had some much needed nice weather last week and we decided to go to the park with some friends. I think we got a little over zealous - there are reasons you don't go to the park in February. There was mud everywhere, which wouldn't have been too much of a problem if I wasn't a struggler too! I was not paying attention and Rani took off straight into the mud. I wish I had my camera for the actual moment of the fall and the moments right after! It was hilarious. She just sat there frozen, not sure what happened or what to do. Being the super mom that I am I dropped my bag, hiked my pants and ran to get her.(I use the term "super" loosely, considering it was me that let her run right into the mud in the first place.) She was TRAUMATIZED! Needless to say she was not happy and neither was I, because we had been there a total of 5 minutes and I need the park time as much as she does! Luckily there happened to be another mom there we knew and she came running to me holding a pair of her little boys sweatpants. I was sooooo grateful, it totally saved the day. unfortunately she continued to struggle. She fell a number of times even after the "nassy mud" insident". Rani is now completely terrified of mud or anything that resembles mud. Any time we walk outside she makes a WIDE girth around whatever she thinks is mud and says "watch out the mud, mommy. Eew Nassy". I love it, she's so funny. The other morning we were watching Daddy walk to the bus out the window and she says "Bye Daddy. Have good day. Watch out the mud Daddy". Lesson of the day - don't go to the park in the middle of winter, and if you must, pay attention to where your kids are running to!!!

"Stingy Rays" and Birthdays!

2009-01-27T22:10:00.011-05:00

For Danny and Rani's birthdays we decided to take advantage of the discount "Friday's after 5:00" discount at the Baltimore aquarium. (It may or may not have mostly been for Danny!) Despite a few tense moments in some killer traffic in down town Baltimore- anyone who knows Danny or Rani knows what I'm talking about - we had a lot of fun! Rani was just loving running around, up and down the ramps and trying to climb on everything. She loved the "stingy rays", now when we play charades at Seema's she loves to lay on the ground with her arms and legs spread out and tells everyone she is a stingy ray!

Then we had a few friends over for some cupcakes. Rani loved it. I think we've celebrated her birthday about 7 times. She is still singing "happy birthday to you me". Her favorite thing in the world right now is to have people sing to her and blowing out candles! I can't believe she is two already. That girl is the greatest challenge I think I have ever come across...and my greatest joy. She is so stinkin smart. (I heard her count to 27 the other day!) She has more personality than I know what to do with!!! Here is a little tribute to my Spunky, smart, sassy, sweet, adorable little girl!

RANI"S FAV"S:
*Singing
*Counting
*Books
*Broccoli
*ANIMALS!!!
*Running
*Chocolate
*Riding in friends cars
*Frosty
*Eatin straight peanut butter
*Singing happy birthday to herself
*Cooking
*Watching Daddy get on the bus
*Doing anything by herself
*Hide and Seek
*Mini marshmallows

Rani's Not So Fav's:
*Riding in the car
*Sitting still
*Riding in the car
*People who don't play hide and seek
*Riding in the car
*And last but not least, RIDING IN THE CAR!

Rani's catch phrases (Everything starts with "Uh")
*"Two seconds guys"
*"Uh help you?"
*Uh play with me?"
*"Uh by myself"
*"Sing it Mommy"
*"Uh hold you?"
*"Uh ride in EEbels's car?!"
*"How a doing?"
*"Hi guys"
*"Hey, hey, shake uh booty"

Happy birhtday, I you my Ranster Montser!!!

LONG TIME NO BLOG!!!

2009-01-27T21:50:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. Where have I been?! Let's see...I've been in Utah for Christmas, then it was Danny's b-day, then Rani's b-day, time just flies! It's taken us a little while to transition back from Utah. I think we had too good of a time - Danny and Rani especially. Rani (Truth be told - Danny too!) thoroughly enjoyed her animal time. It was like her own personal heaven there. Dogs, cats, horses, cows, she can never get enough. We had a little pre b-day party for her so family could come. It was nice, last year was a little sad for me having no family on her first birthday. :( It was a fun trip here are a few highlights of the other highlights!

WOW, Christmas is over already...I'll be changing my music now!

2009-01-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

Sorry. It's been crazy and busy as usual, but I will do you all a favor and kill the Christmas music! No time for a real post yet. I'll get to it, but I should probably finish unpacking first!!! (I HATE very few things as much as I hate packing and unpacking!)

Super Fun...And Not So Super Fun

2008-12-14T22:40:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy few weeks - I'll start with the good. Danny decided we need to something a little Christmasy with Rani. We would've liked to go see Santa but since they charge you way more than it is worth or than what we can afford we decided to make a ginger bread house instead. The only problem is, ginger bread houses really start to add up too! We used cheap graham crackers, made the frosting and got some nasty candy from the dollar store - all of which make one ugly, ghetto ginger bread house! We improvised and used a taco chip for a Christmas tree(my idea!) and used some marshmallows and pretzels for Rudolph. Rani loved it and had so much fun. By the end of the night we were cracking up at ourselves and the things we could make. Danny was particularly proud of his "Christmas dino".

Then I had a pre-birthday party at the Cheese Cake Factory. It was awesome. I have such awesome friends that will drive all the way up to King of Prussia for me to go to my happy place for dinner!

Then the bad...Danny and I wake up Saturday morning feeling pretty good about life in general. We're looking forward to a fun filled day of grocery shopping at walmart, running some errands and then if we are feelin crazy we might head to the mall or Target, until we go to get in the car. Someone has totally bashed in our window and stolen our gps. As you can imagine it was a pretty sad moment for us. We only have one car so there goes our weekend! Nobody can fix it until Monday. The worst part is driving to the closest gas station to vacuum out all the mess of glass that this lovely person has left for us. Danny pulling out his mad engineering skills riged a blanket over and through the window. It actually wasn't too bad, just a little noisy. Some days we're just done with poor grad student, nasty apartment living, one car driving, east coast living life. Saturday was one of those days. I'm going to tell myself that this person (most likely a drunk college kid) really needed to get this gps to buy a wheelchair for his disabled little sister for Christmas. It will make me feel better. What are ya gonna do?!

Nothing Like Acting Like You're 16 again!

2008-12-08T18:47:00.004-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. I'd like to say it's because our computer bit the dust (which it kind of did), but it's mostly because I've been pretty busy...and lazy! I'm working on a borrowed lap top and decided to steal the collage I made off my friends blog so I can post SOMETHING.

Here's me and the girls at the midnight showing of Twilight. It was so much fun. We stayed chatting until there wasn't one single person left in the theatre! I was thinking we were such big dorks for going to the midnight showing of movie about vampires...until we saw half of the ward there too. (Most of whom are much older than me) It was awesome being a little irresponsible, staying up that late and giggling at "Edward" with all the other 15 and 16 year olds! Sometimes you just need to act like a teenager again. I'm so glad I have big dorks for friends who want to do these silly things with me! (As for the movie. I'd give it a 6/7. It wasn't bad, but not fabulous either. Didn't like Bella, Edward grew on me once they layed off the pink lipstick, and Jacobs wig was ridiculous!!! Didn't do the books justice, but who am I kiddin? I would totally see it again!)

Party At The "Mavericks" House!

2008-11-16T21:46:00.003-05:00

I completely forgot to blog our "grown up" Halloween party at Angela and Kevins house! It was so much fun...no kids, just us grown ups getting "mavericky" and being big dorks laughing are heads off at eachother. We had a best costume contest and Benny and June (Jenny and Jed) totally took the cake! Their costumes were awesome. Although the plain and with nuts candy bars were a close second! Miss Sarah Palin and MR. John Mccain were awesome hosts!!! Thanks guys.

"Chick 'n Cheating"

2008-11-12T23:28:00.007-05:00

I realize it's the middle of November, but what do you do?! Halloween this year was awesome. It was like a week long event. We started off with Trunk-r-Treating at the church and then went to a really fun "mom and me" dance class during the week with Leslie and Isabel/super cute Yoda! (You can tell by the pictures how thrilled Rani was to be there! She was, however, really excited about the bar to hang from. All these cute little girls doing plies and my child is hanging like a monkey. The poor lady kept having to tell her to get down, which is "Rani" for "what, you want to see me do it again?!" Next time we'll do a Mom and me gymnastics class!) Then we ended the week with an awesome night of - as Rani says - "chick 'r cheating" in the old neighborhood. Rani LOVED it. She is still talking about the "fun houses" and "knock uh door" and recapping who was what. She insisted on carrying her broom and pumpkin-full of full size candy bars the entire night. The hat we barely got on her for a few pictures. It was a lot of fun, though. These holidays just get to more and more fun with Rani. Can't wait until Christmas!!!

4 Lucky Girls With 4 Awesome Husbands!

2008-10-28T23:40:00.006-04:00

A couple of weeks ago me and my four good buddies (Sorry to all my other good buddies out here who couldn't come!) did a girls trip to N.Y.. Thanks to Angela and her no nonsense way of doing things, we actually didn't just talk about it...we did it! Also to her credit, her dad totally hooked us up with the Marriott Marque in Times Square for...FREE 99! It was awesome. Killer view, sweet service and prime location. The trip was so much fun and we are all so lucky to have super supportive husbands who say - "sure go ahead, leave me with the kids for the weekend. Go spend money, giggle, have a pillow fight and eat like sumo wrestlers"! Thanks again Boys!

Mmmm...food! We had some really good food. We basically skipped lunch, unintentionally, everyday trying to get as much in as possible. While in China town I found an Asian pear (my FAVORITE) the size of my head. It was happiness in the form of a fruit. Really. I was so happy eating it, I wish I had one right now. Also in China town, Ang and I split a giant bag of fortune cookies, which later, me being me, I left at the restaraunt. It got thrown away, but as luck would have it we were dining at an Asian restaraunt... so they gave us a big bag full of their fortune cookies. (Who says the service is horrible int the city?!)

Some memorable moments:
*Me pulling yet another "Stacee" and walking right into the cable on the bridge (nice timing with the camera, M.J.!)
*The beginning of M.J.
*Angela shooting up in the bathroom at Carmines
*Waiting FOREVER late at night to get into the oh so popular
Serendipity...which we ended up leaving and not even getting anything. They expected us to pay $8.75 per person. All we wanted was to share some frozen hot chocolate! The menus were ginormous and of course the seating was super squishy. Oh, well. (Sorry Les!)
Getting a cab back to the mainland from Brooklyn. Leslie and I dying from a serious poor choice in footwear. People trying to steal a cab from us when Angela blurted out "swiper no swiping". And Jenny's priceless face in the pic inside the cab!

2008-10-28T23:31:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite things we did during the trip was walk the Brooklyn Bridge. It was really cool. I felt guilty doing it with out Danny, he would have loved it.

We went and saw Hairspray. It was hilarious, and good thing too. We waited in the half price ticket line for like an hour. It was worth every penny! (Any Cheers fans...Norm played the mom, sooo funny)

More Fun Pics!

2008-10-28T21:49:00.004-04:00

Whata Man, Whata Man, Whata Mighty Good Man...

2008-09-30T22:13:00.002-04:00

I'm not one to post long gushy make everyone nauseated while reading posts, but I came across this picture a few days ago and feel like I need to give Danny a shout out. (Yes, I just said "shout out"!) This would be my super cute husband lugging Rani and the ever so demasculinizing purse while taking his mom to her treatments at the hospital. Need I say more? This last weekend I went to the beach with some friends for a few days. Danny jumped at the opportunity to have a daddy/daughter weekend - probably to get a break from my constant micro managing! I am starting to doubt my abilities as a stay at home mom! I came home to a spotless house, a happy child, dinner on the table and ALL the laundry done...AND put away! This from a man who see nothing wrong with using a laundry basket as a dresser/closet. I was so impressed. I should've known. The whole weekend I'm thinking "boy is he going to appreciate me when I get home, it's not as easy as it looks" (giggle giggle). Turns out if you're Danny Bilbao it is. It is so like him to rise to the occasion and go above and beyond. He took Rani to see the goats, went to get his suit fixed, and went into the lab! I am so grateful for him. I could not have chosen a better father or husband. He works so hard and has made so many sacrifices for our little family and unfortunately I don't tell him how much I appreciate what he does nearly as much as he tells me. Love you Bilbs!

Nobody does fall like the northeast!

2008-09-30T21:32:00.005-04:00

Out here fall is kind of a big deal, what with all the apple picking, hay rides and fall festivals. It is actually really fun. (score 1 for team Delaware!) We went apple picking at a fun little place over in Maryland with some friends. The apples were so yummy and so cheap and to top it all off there is a petting zoo! Rani has now replaced her obsession with the "sourses" with the goats. She loves those crazy little things.

Isabel, Mikey and Rani having a sample

Some of those apples in the background were the size of Rani's head

The escape artist

Tell me this thing doesn't creep you out?!

Danny the goat whisperer. Stafford wondering to himself if Danny isn't enjoying himself a little more than the kids?!

Yet Another Utah Trip...

2008-09-18T14:18:00.011-04:00

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while now, but of course have put it off time and time again. Those of you who know me know my little brain struggles and I tend to get overwhelmed easily. I really wanted to do a cute slide show or even a collage, but I just don't have the time to do it. Oh well. Utah was fun, and a whirl wind as usual. Too many people and fun things to do and NEVER enough time, but I have to just be grateful for the time I do get. We are lucky to have so many wonderful parents, grandparents, cousins, siblings and friends to come home to. Rani developed a not so healthy obsession with "sources" (horses) and "cayots" (carrots). She demanded to be taken out to the horses behind Shelley and Lee's house to feed them carrots first thing in the morning and would continue this until we put her to bed. It got pretty bad, I'm convinced she is going to hate us if we don't get her a horse for her second birthday! Peach Days was fabulous and trashy as ever, at one point Danny asked me why all the people from Elkton flew out for Peach Days! (Sorry Elktonites!) Most of all it was good to see family and Shelley. We are so grateful that she is doing well and being such a trooper. I just wish we could do more to help, but what do you do when you live so far away?!

One of MANY trips to feed the stupid horses.

We thought we;d give the ferris wheel a try...

Not so much. She was not very happy.

2008-09-18T14:18:00.008-04:00

Rani's other cute cousin - Jaxon

Pickin some peaches, which by the way, were some of the best peaches ever!

Rani and Nanna

RAni hanging on for dear life on the merry-go-round

2008-09-18T14:18:00.005-04:00

Rani with her cute cousins Jarron and Cobey

Enjoying a little "totter totter" time with Bompa

Buddha the kid magnet

Rani having a "cayot" melt down. It was pitiful.

2008-08-25T20:56:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was pretty eventful. Friday night was the premier of "Cheetah
Girls - One World" (Don't make fun, but I have been so excited to watch this with the girls. We have been planning this for over a month!) We had a big back to school/cheetah girls party at Seema's. It was so much fun. Sometimes I wish I was 8 again! All these cute little girls giggling at the movie...I loved it! I totally forgot my camera, sorry no pics. But I did remember my camera for Saturday. It was Niam's birthday party. Nobody parties like the Patels! I'm still trying to figure out if it's an Indian thing or a Patel thing?! We started out at Chuck-e-Cheese. It was a lot of fun watching the kids be scared to death of Chuck-e himself. Then went on to Seema's for dinner. I love this family. I can't even describe how much I will miss them when we leave. They have been so good to us and we feel like part of the family, I will be forever grateful.

2008-08-25T20:50:00.003-04:00

The birthday boy!

Danny and Rakesh on kid duty.

I totally wanted to climb up and play int the thing that goes around the ceiling - so I did! It wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it was going to be. It seriously hurt my knees, and I'm pretty sure the thing was shaking under my weight as I was climbing around!

Switch. Me and Neha on kid duty with Rani and Rysa.

Danny and Rakesh laughing at the poor little kids who are scared to death of ChuckE.

2008-08-25T20:48:00.002-04:00

Eating in shifts is so the way to go.

The guys

The girls

2008-08-25T20:41:00.007-04:00

The girls are really into taking pictures. They love to take turns and pose. Here is me and sassy, crazy, everything should be covered in glitter Marisa. One time Danny and I went to pick up take-out with the girls and we drove past the park. I said to no one in particular "we should go to the park, that would be fun". A few seconds pass and I hear Marisa say in her very most bored Marisa voice, "I'd rather get my nails done". Danny and I busted up!

Me and My sweet Kaylen.

Here is rani with the Ba's. (It's a shortened term for Grandma)

"One of these is not like the others!" Here is my white trash baby with all the cousins in the pool. Oops, mom forgot the swimsuit.

2008-08-25T20:29:00.003-04:00

Check out Niam's sweet ride. Danny was so jealous, really, he was kind of mad he doesn't have one.

Shortly after Niam gets in he guns it and about takes everyone out! It was hilarious. I love Neha's face in the background!

Look how proud Paranj is!

Rani and Jaya aboard the Paranj Express. Rani really likes Paranj. We pulled up to the house the other day and she kept saying "Ponch, Ponch". I finally figured out she was saying Paranj. She cracks me up. She used to refer to them all as "Kaylen", it was her collective term for the whole family.

2008-08-25T20:26:00.003-04:00

Nothing says happiness to Rani like a cupcake. She adores them. There is actually a really cute cupcake store on main street, by campus that we have taken her to just to get a cupcake!

She also loves to share...I love Danny's face in this. He was shaking his head and saying no, but Rani doesn't take no for an answer!

2008-08-25T20:10:00.004-04:00

Rani loves these dogs. They are under the pool table at Seema's, she's loved them since she was like 6 months old.

Winding down with Kaylen. Kaylen is like Rani's big sister she will never have. She has got to be the sweetest, most thoughtful and responsible little girl. I love, love, love her.

Horsey Rides, Hair Cuts, and Hop, Hop, Hopping!

2008-08-19T12:56:00.004-04:00

I gave Rani her first hair cut. Nothing major, just got rid of the mullet! She's been rockin the rat tail for quite long enough - I just didn't want to cut her hair yet! This was before the cut.

Rani gets so excited when Danny gets home, she immediately runs full force to him and lunges. I love it. Danny got home from running the other day and she just clung to him. She loves the horsey rides, and who wouldn't?! If I could get Danny to give me a ride on his back all around the house I totally would!

Rani's new favorite thing is to hop. She loves to hop, hop, hop all around the house. I came out of the kitchen the other day and she had put these socks on and was hopping around. (Yes, those I are my frumpy socks. And no, I don't wear them out in public or anything. They are strictly for home use, I love them - they keep my feet warm so don't make fun!)

Cute FREE Bag!!!

2008-08-11T21:28:00.014-04:00

Found this on a friends blog, though I'd give it a try. Check it out. She has some super cute stuff! (It ends 8/15/08)

http://lilatuellerdesigns.blogspot.com

Rehoboth Beach!

2008-07-31T23:37:00.003-04:00

While Danny was in Maine I got to go spen a couple of days with the Patels at their beach house in Rehoboth. It was so much fun, and nice to get out of our stinky, ugly apartment for a few days while Danny was away.

2008-07-31T23:30:00.003-04:00

I love this picture. It was serious competion, every Patel for himself!

Why go to the beach when you have a hot tub in your back yard?!

Enjoying some rides on the boardwalk!

2008-07-31T23:21:00.004-04:00

I made poor Marisa squish herself into this tiny boat to ride with Rani, but Rani LOVED it! Row, Row, Row your boat was her song of choice for a few days after that.

This is Rani saying "cheese", she looks like it hurts. The poor girl has been trained, she sees anything that even looks like a camera, she automatically gets her game face on and says cheese.

I totally loved this ride. Don't let this timid little tea cup fool ya, it was definitely not for the faint of heart. (Unfortunately for Niam, he was terrified the whole time!)

2008-07-31T23:15:00.003-04:00

One of my very most favorite things about the east coast is fireflies. At night all the trees look like they have twinkling Christmas lights on them, I absolutely love it!

Philly Zoo!

2008-07-27T16:45:00.003-04:00

Luckily I have friends who take pity on me and invite me to go do fun things... at their expense! Our friends just got a season pass to the Philly zoo -which includes two free guests- and was so nice to have us come along. It was way fun, and some of the perks of having a pass is getting to park right at the zoo, which is awesome. It's like having a death wish, parking in the neighborhoods around there!

2008-07-27T16:21:00.004-04:00

All 4 kids checking out the tigers who were actually playing right by the glass

Rani seizing this opportunity to bust a move on her younger, more laid back Friend Derek

If that's not cute, I don't know what is! She's such a little cougar!

Oh my Rani, she did this just about every time I tried to put her down. So, like a sucker I carried her the whole time. (No one wants to be the one with the screaming child!)

Rani's impression of a giraffe

Memory Game

2008-07-23T11:39:00.001-04:00

I am totally relunctant to do this, but here goes...

Here is a fun little game... leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time or a long time, anything that you remember! Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. On your mark... get set... blog those memories!

Oh ya, and those of you who have known me for a long time - keep it clean.

Can We Say Downgrade?!

2008-07-22T12:34:00.002-04:00

From this...

To this!!!

Unfortunately our 2 years of palying house are over! There are some benefits to the move, though. We are now really close to school so Danny can just ride his bike, which frees up the car for me! It seems like forever since I had a car to just go and do whenever I wanted. (Yesterday I went to the dollar store...TWICE, just because I could. It was great.) The apartments are clean enough and safe enough and that's all that matters, although central air would be nice.

Our Fancy Party At Moshulu!

2008-07-08T22:03:00.006-04:00

Seema had a suprise 40th birthday party for Paranj at Moshulu up in Philly. It's on a boat in Penn's Landing. It was sooo much fun. Tons of fancy food with waiters walking around serving them on trays and everything. We had an awesome view of the city and the river. Thanks for the invite Seem, we'll probably never do anything that fancy again!!!

This is the kind of party we were about to attend...nothing like pullin up in your sweet Honda right next to the Jaguar!

View from the boat

I think that is the Ben Franklin there in the background?. If I'm correct that is the bridge that takes you over to the very lovely city of Camden, NJ. Whatever you do don't let anyone talk you into going over there after dark!!! (That means you guys shelley and Lee!)

Our partying gift was this bottle of wine. Danny said we should keep it as a momento and let it age. He's such a dork!

2008-07-08T21:42:00.004-04:00

Danny and Seema's brother-in-law Rakesh

I went up to the bar (which, by the way, I was feeling pretty awkward doing, espeacially since I was odering a virgin pina colada and the girl totally gave me a weird look) and then I can not find Danny anywhere. That would be him over there having the time of his life while I'm wandering all over the boat looking for him!

Philly Skyline. Philly's great - from afar!

Life Is Starting To Get Back To Normal!!!

2008-06-24T12:39:00.004-04:00

We went to the beach last weekend with some friends and had so much fun. Danny and I feel like we are finally getting back on track. It truley has been 3 long, trying years, and we are just now starting to get the hang of better balancing our time in the chaos and stress that is graduate school! It has been a really long time since poor Danny has had the physical or mental energy to do anything but survive. We thought it might be a nice change to try and start LIVING and not just SURVIVING! I am so lucky to have a husband who is so driven and such a hard worker, but even luckier to have a husband who knows when to take a step back and refocus on what is really most important.

Rani and Mikey enjoying some beach time. Rani LOVES Mikey, he is so stinkin cute with her, if only she'd sit still long enough for him to explain to her all about his Transformers, they'd be best friends!

I love the board walk at Rehoboth. Games, rides, giant buckets of boardwalk french fries, what more do you need?!

2008-06-24T12:16:00.002-04:00

After what seemed like a ten mile walk with chairs, coolers towels, backpacks, and kids (Anybody seen the intro to "Yes, Dear"?!) we made it to our spot. Danny, who usually is a big, fat wuss when it comes to cold water, decided he needed to prove his manhood with Stafford.

After some male bonding time in the waves, leslie and I decided it was our turn. While out in the water this is what happens when you leave the dads alone for an extended period of time!

Look what we found! But what to do with it?

Danny recruited a local to have some fun with Satfford! He thought he'd see how close it could get before Stafford would scream like a little girl!

UTAH!!!

2008-06-20T11:25:00.004-04:00

I realize there is like 9,000 pictures here, but for some reason I am an idiot and can't figure out how to do collages? So if any of you who are reading this would like to throw me a bone I would really appreciate it! We had so much fun in Utah seeing everyone. Sorry so many pictures, but we were there for 6 weeks, that's a lot time to take pictures!

Nice shot Grandpa. I told you your driver was the way to go.

Nothing like sneaking your kid on the golf course!

Rani was a big fan of the golf carts.

SO MUCH FUN IN UTAH!

2008-06-20T11:09:00.005-04:00

It's all fun and games on the air matress until someone falls off. Seconds after this was taken Cobey totally ate it and fell off!

If rani could talk I know she would beg to go back to utah just to see the horses!

Memorial day at Grandpa Phil's grave. We love you and will miss you so much Grandpa.

Danny was trying to block the sun but Cobey thought he was supposed to put his hand up too! (I LIKE YOU COBEY PENNER!)

Danny and I got to go on a quick date while we were in Utah. We drove around trying to decide what to do with our free time - that we NEVER get - and decided we were parched. Good thing we had a sippy cup in the car!

2008-06-20T10:54:00.005-04:00

My Rani-Llama

Rani had a lot of fun playing at Grandma and Grandpa B's with Bailey

Add Turtles to her list of dislikes! We went to Willow park in Logan and Rani loved it - except for the turtle. She wouldn't go near it. She is so Random???

Good thing Bompa is skinny!

2008-06-20T10:38:00.003-04:00

Seat belts - terrifying. Large, charging, hungry geese - not a problem? I think the ducks and geese were running from Rani!

After a long day at Nanna's sometime you just need a bottle

Oh, uncle Buddha we miss you!

Jarron was so cute with Rani. They had so much fun together.

2008-06-20T10:27:00.003-04:00

Fun on the "jumpoline"!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty

Rani's look of confusion as to why the kitty just won't play with her???

Still looking for kitty!

So much fun in Utah!

2008-06-20T10:15:00.005-04:00

Oh look we're having fun....

Until someone tries to buckle Rani!

Look at my pretty face

Such a good grandpa. Between the horses and the swing poor grandpa was busy.

HOT, HOT, HOT!

2008-06-11T11:06:00.007-04:00

The East Coast is on Fire! It has been soooo hot and humid here, it's unbearable. (I feel like I live in Texas again!) We had some major weeds to pull last weekend and poor rani, who would live outside if she could, kept trying to go back inside. She was dripping sweat!

Make shift pool, since we have absolutely no time or energy to open ours before we move!

As a result of the heat we stay inside, and this is what happens when a 18 month old gets bored! She put three layers of pajama pants on over her shorts, don't ask me why??? And when I tried to take them off she got so irritated with me, telling me "no, no, no"!

DO YOU THINK IT'S TIME TO UPDATE?!

2008-06-08T15:58:00.005-04:00

Wow,it has been a crazy few months! I knew it was time to blog when I told my friend Leslie that I hadn't blogged for a while and she said - "yeah, I know". Sorry! So... right where I left off, My mom and dad came out a day after Shelley, Amy, Kim, and Jaxon left. We had tons of fun going to Philly, the Inner Harbor, and Lancaster (Amish country), Rani of course, screamed most of the time in the car, but I really do think she's getting better! This is all I can get time to do for now, I promise I will keep updating this week!

Posing with Nanna outside of Independence Hall

Right outside famous Geno's right in the heart of ghetto philly!

2008-04-25T22:08:00.002-04:00

Shelley, Kim, Jaxon and Amy came out to see us. We had tons of fun. (Despite all of Rani's screaming in the car!) Here we are at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore - which I love! We went to the Aquarium there and loved it! Definately worth the trip.

The dolphin show was so cool. Another calling I missed in life - dolphin trainer. I could totally do that. Rani was completely entertained for once!

2008-04-25T21:50:00.005-04:00

Rani loved looking at all the fish once we could get her to stay in our arms.

Rani is forever trying to get away. You'd think we'd be skinnier as much as we chase her! She refuses to be normal and sit in her stroller. It's sole purpose is to carry all of our crap - not Rani!

Again, trying to get away, even if it's with the sharks!

Here's Brucey!

Oh, cute Jaxon. So quiet, so mellow. How would it be?!

2008-04-25T21:47:00.004-04:00

Here we are at Hershey park. As you can tell, Rani was not a huge fan of this ride. She ended up crying almost the whole time. Poor Jaxon couldn't understand what was wrong with her.

Shortly after the dragon ride!

2008-04-25T21:36:00.005-04:00

It was pretty chilly, but Rani and Jaxon loved the rides.

Rani's favorite thing was rocking out to the merry-go-round music. She's such a spaz, you gotta love her!

2008-04-20T21:18:00.006-04:00

WOW, I am a big fat slacker. Sorry! We have had a crazy month between going to Florida, having tons of family in town and our child deciding to go through her "terrible two's" at 1. So, I'll keep it short. Florida was awesome. The Ellen show was so fun - Paula Dean was on!!! I'm her biggest fan. I was sooo excited. (Danny told me I'd have to restrain myself or we'd get kicked out!) We went to Disney world one day and loved it, weather was beautiful and leaving Rani with Shelley was the best decision we've ever made! Here are some pictures!

Danny TOTALLY made me do this! For those of you who don't know - this is "Flo Rida"! (He sings this upbeat, but somewhat ghetto fabulous number you're listening to right now!) He performed on the previous taping and just hung around after and sang the song again. Everybody was going up to him and getting autographs and pictures so Danny thought it would be funny to make me do it too! He was laughing hysterically as he practically pushed me up to him and took the picture. As you can tell, I was laughing too and so completely embarrassed! He was actually pretty nice, though, a little sweaty but nice - I'm a dork.

Here is a group of all the winners with Ellen. People were being all pushy to be able to stand next to her. It was funny.

2008-04-20T21:11:00.003-04:00

Our hotel was in Universal Studios, so it was awesome to just be able to walk right over.

Us on Pirates of the Carribean.

On the Jaws ride, which actually turns out to be kind of lame!

Danny eating nasty sushi in Japan in Epcott.

Can you see the Ginormous bats in the background? I thought I'd leave in the red eye for effect!

2008-04-20T21:06:00.004-04:00

Here we are in Animal Kingdom, Danny's home away from home!

Me being the bird whisperer.

Danny's long lost best friend. He was so giddy about this thing you'd think it was Beyonce!

Check out my sunburn. Ouch.

Florida Here I Come!!!

2008-03-20T15:38:00.006-04:00

Dreams really do come true!!! (Just kidding) But, really I have been absolutely dying to go to Florida and to all the parks down there. It is so accessible to us here on the east coast. Even with the cheap air fare and short plane ride, it does still cost money, which we don't have. Well, I was getting dinner ready a couple of weeks ago and had the Ellen show on when I heard a commercial for a contest to win a trip to Universal studios in Florida. I just thought I was being funny and decided to enter online. What do you know - I WON!!! There was a lot of chaos trying to get all the legal paper work in, and prove I live in Delaware, but it's all taken care of now. The trip is for next week, I can hardly wait! We get it all payed for(except food)and we get tickets to the parks and to the taping of the Ellen show in Universal Studios. The hotel looks awesome, it's actually in the park. I have a WONDERFUL mother-in-law that is flying out a few days earlier than her original trip date to come stay with Rani. We really debated on wehter or not to take her. Danny is so funny, he said -"maybe we should do it as a family vacation, Stace. We don't leave family members behind". I love it! (He absolutely loves his Rani) Anyway, I'm so excited. Danny and I have been in desperate need of a date, let alone a trip! I'm a firm believer in entering contests now! I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back. Yay!!!

We finally got our new camera! It was such nice wether the other day and actually felt like spring, so I took some pictures. Rani had so much fun playing outside, now she stands at the glass doors and bangs on them and then looks at me and signs "more". She's so funny, I can't wait for more nice days to go outside and take advantage of the yard before we have to move :(!

Kaylen an Marisa came up last sunday to say hi and decided they needed to give themselves pedicures. Rani was sooo interested and HAD to do it too. So I gave her a cotton pad too. She sat down and watched the girls. pretty soon I look over at her and she is taking her sock off and rubbing the cotton on her toes too! She is such a girl!

Rani The Llama!

2008-03-13T20:06:00.008-04:00

Our Camera bit the dust! I haven't had any new pictures because our stinkin camera decided it was time to go to camera heaven. Danny ordered a new one on line and it is taking FOREVER to get here. Just a random picture of Rani... AND her two front teeth! Landon says she looks like a llama!! Give the girl a break, her other teeth will come in! (Whatever, Buddha!) She is so flippin funny these days. Danny and I have so much fun at night with her, just laughing at her. She is soooo palyful and googfy - so her fathers child. She may look like me, but her personality is all Danny! They both keep me very entertained :).

It's kind of fun to look back at old pictures and see how much has changed! I can't believe how much Rani has. She was such a chunk, look at those legs! This was at Cape May beach (in Jersey). Rani was NOT a fan of the ocean, she prefers pools and tubs!

Daddy-daughter moment at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I love that place! The poor people that come to see us - if anyone flies into BWI I force them to stop at the Inner Harbor (sorry Shelley and Lee!) to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. It's My heaven on earth, and I don't even go for the cheesecake!

HELP!

2008-02-24T21:30:00.002-05:00

Am I an idiot??? No one answer that. What am I doing wrong? I can't seem to make the picture of me, Danny and Rani (on the side bar) any bigger. It gives me a headache just to try and look at it! Does anyone know how to fix this?

The Story Behind "Rani"

2008-02-17T22:01:00.005-05:00

Lately there has been a lot of confusion with Rani's name. I know it's different and she is probably going to hate us later on in life when nobody can say her first OR her last name, but there is a reason why we gave her that name. Probably some of you reading this don't even know how to pronounce it, which is why I thought I'd take the time to explain, for those of you who don't already know. When she complains about her name later I'll tell her to look on the bright side. Chances are she will never have to deal with the first letter of her last name being included in her first name. You know, like in 2nd grade when there was five thousand Jeremys, so you would call them Jeremy R., Jeremy H., Jeremy B. etc!

So, here it is...her name is Rani Ana (after my Mommy) Bilbao. (People are so going to think she's foreign!) You pronounce it like - Ronnie, not Rainy. It's an Indian (Dots not feathers!)/ Hindu name that means "Queen". It is actually a pretty popular name in India too. I love when we go to the Indian restaraunt to eat or to Costco and the cute little Indain ladies that give out the samples start to play with Rani and then ask her name. As soon as I tell them their faces light up and they say, "is Indian name"! They are even more happy when I tell them how we spell it. Anyway, we debated on several different names, but none that seemed to stick. The name Rani was suggested to us by my very, very good friend Seema, who is like a sister to me. She told us of a very popular and might I add gorgeous Indian actress named Rani Mukherjee. When she suggested the name both Danny and I automatically loved it. It fit. Seema and her family have had such an impact on us while we have lived so far away from home. We have been completely submerged in Indian culture and it's been so much fun. I love the food, the clothes, the stories about Krishna and most of all the smells. (The smell of curry and cardamom will probably bring me to tears when we move from here!) So, the name just clicked. They are our family away from family. The name means so much to us and it will always remind us of our Indian family in Delaware that we love so much!

Seema and Rani at the super bowl party. Not the best picture of Rani!

2008-02-17T21:56:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-17T21:50:00.002-05:00

We ate WAY too many sugar cookies. Both Marisa and I got sick to our stomaches!

Yes, that's Rani's big old foot right in your face.

Me and my sweet Kaylen.

Happy Birthday Ranster Monster!

2008-02-04T22:59:00.001-05:00

Thank you Acme! I got this cake for FREE! Acme (aka Albertson's) gives you a free 1rst birthday cake and being the poor, cheap girl that I am, I totally jumped on it. For a brief minute I felt like a big fat slacker for not making the cake myself but I got over it. I was just expecting a little individual cake or something, but no, it was a whole cake! They kind of messed up the colors, but beggers can't be choosers. Did I mention it was FREE?!

Could it get any better? Naked cake eating!

2008-02-04T22:40:00.001-05:00

Hmm, what is this?

Kinda squishy, but I like it.

Yes, yes I do like it!

Ugh. Cake hang over! No, no just one more bite. I promise I won't puke!

As Promised Jess!

2008-02-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the final pictures that Jesse did for us. Sorry Jess, I couldn't wait to put up the finished ones. I love them, they turned out great! ( I just wish Rani would have smiled a little more!) Thanks again Jess!

Bilbao Family Pictures At Last!

2008-01-20T19:15:00.001-05:00

Here are our first official famly pictures- it only took us about a year to do! Jesse Peterson did them for us, and I think she did a fabulous job. These aren't the final cut. She still has to touch them up, but I couldn't wait to post them so some family could see them. Rani was for some reason in a very serious mood.(Maybe beause it was flippin freezing!) Her poor little nose is red in most of them! Oh well, we'll take some more next summer or something!

2008-01-20T19:09:00.001-05:00

2008-01-20T19:05:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-05T15:18:00.000-05:00

We had an awesome Christmas this year. It was fun to watch Rani open presents and play with her toys. I think she had more fun ripping the paper than with most of the toys, though.

We got busy opening presents when I noticed it had gotten quiet. Quiet is never a good thing with Rani, last time she got quiet there was no diaper and some poop involved. Anyway, I look over and she's just going to town on something, turns out it was danny's beef jerky from his stalking. She's as gross as her dad, nothing like beef for breakfast!

Give Me The Keys Woman!

2008-01-05T15:10:00.000-05:00

Check out what Santa brought Jaxon! He took Rani for a ride in his new wheels in the basement. Danny was so jealous, no really. I think Danny was dissapointed it wasn't for him! It's probably a good thing it wasn't too. I wouldn't even let Rani ride in that thing if Danny was driving. Those of you who have been in a golf cart with him understand!

Oh Grandpa

2008-01-05T15:05:00.000-05:00

Rani is really into copying right now. She loves to watch people and do what they do. You can just tell the hampster is on the wheel when she looks at you! She just stares and tries to figure out how she can do what you're doing. Scary!

Rani loved hanging out with her cousins Jaxon and Libby!

2008-01-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

I love Jaxon and Rani's faces in this picture. They look so irritated, maybe Grandma was taking too long with the pancakes!

It Snowed!

2007-12-12T22:28:00.001-05:00

It snowed here for the first time this year last week so I took Rani out to play in it. Turns out she's not a big fan of cold stuff! She was ready to go in after about 3 minutes.

Happy PhD

2007-12-02T23:15:00.000-05:00

Fun times clebrating Rohit's PhD. Rani was so happy for Rohit she wanted to wear the sombrero too! She looks like she had one too many margaritas!!!

The Group!

Congrats Rohit!

2007-12-02T22:56:00.001-05:00

Our waiter did a pretty good job of getting us all!

Yay! Rohit is now officially DOCTOR Rohit! The whole research group went out to celebrate at a mexican restaraunt. He got to wear the sombrero while they sang "Happy PhD" to him...he's such a good sport!

I Love Fall!

2007-11-27T21:55:00.000-05:00

The leaves out here were so pretty I couldn't resist forcing Rani to take some pictures in them! She was not the most cooperative, but I got a few cute ones. It was all I could do to keep her from eating the leaves! We had a big storm and some strong winds so now all the leaves are gone :(. Had I known that was going to happen I would have put her in a cute outfit and tried to get a few more. Oh well. Danny and I are determined to get them into photoshop and do some fun things to them. I wanted to make them sepia but have the leaves in color, but we'll see.

Gobble Gobble!

2007-11-23T19:25:00.000-05:00

Here is some of our Thanksgiving fun - EVERYONE was out of town except for us, the neighbors, and our good friend from school Rohit!!! We had a lot of fun, though. The boys had a Halo tournament and got completely killed by a 9 year old! Rani found her new best friend - she fell in love with Rohit! He would walk by and she would just lunge for him. It was so cute, he will be the best Daddy! Danny said the food was awesome, I couldn't tell...I have been so sick I litterally couldn't taste a thing. :( Irene made the awesome turkey, stuffing and gravy. She was great, she even busted out the Martinelli's for us. I love that stuff! I made rolls (which by the way a friend from church gave me the best and easiest roll recipe!), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and of course the pies. Anyone who knows me knows pies are my thing!

Girls Weekend!

2007-11-13T21:48:00.001-05:00

We had a girls only sleepover in Park City and it was soooo much fun! Katie, don't be mad at me!!! This was a cute picture, I had to post it! We stayed up until 3:30 in the mornig and then got up at 7:00 (thanks to Aubs) to go shopping. We are so too old for that. I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard! I'm so glad I got to see you all. I forget how quirky we all are in our own ways, nothing like being delirious in the middle of the night to help you rmemeber! I love you guys!!!

Fun times in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard!

2007-11-13T21:37:00.000-05:00

Riding on the tractor with Grandpa. Apparently this is one of Jaxon's favorite things, Rani wasn't so sure!

2007-11-13T21:34:00.001-05:00

Rani is lucky to have so many wonderful Grandpas!

2007-11-13T21:32:00.000-05:00

HELLO!

Rani and her crazy cousins! This was the best we could do to get them all together for a picture....Sad!!!

2007-11-13T21:24:00.000-05:00

Cuddling with Buddha!

2007-11-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

Trip Home!Oh, Utah!!! So much to do, so little time! That's the story of our lives. We had a lot of fun at home, but we just wish we had more time.

2007-11-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

I feel like Rani finally got to know her cousin Jaxon!!! It was so fun to be able to see Kim, Tony and Jaxon this time.

2007-11-01T13:59:00.001-04:00

Last night was a lot of fun! We went around the neighborhood with our good friends and neighbors. The scary man in the mask is our friend Dave. (He belongs to the witch on the left!) Surprisingly Rani wasn't too freaked out by him. The witches are Seema and Irene, my surrogate big sisters. I love them to death, they take such good care of us. The kids all had so much fun. (Check out Marisa in the blonde wig, she's Hannah Montana!) Hilarious, espeasially if you know her! She was sooo funny.

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

We had an awesome halloween. Rani was so good in her costume, she didn't even mind having the hood on! Danny just kept cracking up at her and how cute she looked.

2007-10-20T22:02:00.001-04:00

2007-10-18T21:16:00.000-04:00

I have been Tagged by Aubrie!

The rules:Player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and posts a comment letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read our blog for the rules.

I'm a HORRIBLE speller!
I miss, miss, miss my family and friends in Utah.
I'm a pop addict. Anything with carbonation is my friend. (People out here make fun of me for calling it "pop" instead of "soda"!)
I think my husband is one of the funniest people I've ever met. One of the reasons, among many, why I married him.
I love to bargain shop. Seema and I get such a thrill when we find good deals!!!
I am deathly afraid of sharks. I swear I got bit by one in Texas! Danny makes fun of me and says it was a crab, but it wasn't!!! It took a chunk out of my toe. One of the more scary moments in my life. Nothing like having something bite your foot in murky ocean water and then trying to run fast out of it!

2007-10-18T21:08:00.001-04:00

It is still summer weather out here!!! Today it was a very humid 80 degrees. Rani is still wearing her 3-6 month summer clothes with her big baby belly hanging over her pants, it's hilarious.

2007-10-17T16:45:00.000-04:00