Pics from the ‘Ole iPhone

So, I’ve got nothin’…just living “Groundhog Day” over and over again around here.

(Ok, ok…that’s a little dramatic~ just haven’t had lots to blog about lately).

Perfect timing for an iPhone picture blog post!

 

This is Andrew~ channeling his best impersonation of Uncle Dan and his bare chest button-downs. (tee hee)

 

 

I received this picture from my friend…Joe, Uncle Ed, & buddies~ heading to Vegas. Yah…we don’t get out much. I love that excited little nerd.

 

 

So I blew him a kiss for a safe flight.

 

 

…and took a picture of MY current surroundings. (Mom was just as excited)

(and to all those “concerned” for the safety of myself and my children, YES, these pictures were taken at a full traffic STOP)

 

 

Wear something yellow day at school…aren’t they cute? B, S, A, E

 

 

We have already decorated for Halloween/fall around the Steece house. Pumpkin candles are in full effect. You should have seen the kids while I was decorating~ they were going NUTS with excitement! It was hilarious. Ben insisted on a picture with the jack-o-lantern.

 

 

 

Almost every day when I pick up the kids from school~ we meet up with Aunt Ashley, Cousin Carter, Baby Sawyer, Auntie Liz, K & M for some park fun… and so I can have some “adult time” with my 2 besties.

Last week we were at Veteran’s Park in Arlington and the kiddos wanted a picture in front of the memorial. (It was also pink/purple day at school). A, B, S, E

 

 

 

So, Joe and I have been praying/talking/stressing about moving houses, closer to his work. Do we try to sell? Do we stay? Back and forth & back and forth we go. We have been talking about projects we would need to accomplish to prepare for this lovely housing market (i.e. finally taking down all the wallpaper!)…

Well, don’t leave me alone if I am bored/frustrated/stressed out. I started researching how to remove wallpaper and just went to town in our kitchen! LOL. Surprise, Joe! Yep, THIS IS HAPPENING.

(nevermind that huge mountain of clean laundry to fold on the couch …’tis my life)

 

Has anyone taken down wallpaper? (on a newer house…apparently older houses have tons of glue, etc. and it can be a beast to remove)~ it is so easy and actually cathartic when you are stressed. Give it a try! tee hee. Joe jumped right in to help and now we are about 1/3 finished with the kitchen.

 

…which brings us to yesterday… a super awesome barf bug! When Joe texted to ask how we were doing, I sent him this picture:

 

Thank goodness it hit quickly and left quickly. So far so good, no one else has shown any symptoms (*crossing fingers*).

 

So that is what we have been up to…

 

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Making a Difference, One Life at a Time

As many of you already know, I am a proud registered nurse and have been for 12 years.

From an early age, I knew that I wanted to help people, animals... pretty much all living creatures!

Nursing school was one of the most difficult challenges that I have ever faced in my lifetime. However, I am one of those "special" people who just LOVES to learn. Quality education is so important to me and I believe that it is one of the many factors that lead to my career success.

I am blessed to be a part of such a compassionate profession, where I can make a profound difference in the lives of my patients and families every single day. My passion has been in the Operating Room and Recovery Room. ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Surgery is such a scary endeavor for many people, and I like to make the experience as positive as possible.

Give a little sunshine to one person, and hopefully they will pass it on... making a difference in the world... one person at a time, ya know?

My last official day as a nurse, before I was ordered to strict bedrest with my quadruplets in 2007, was a very sad day for me. I had no idea when I would be able to go back to nursing. A huge part of my identity was being a NURSE and helping others. I definitely had to get used to idea of other nurses having to help ME! Total role-reversal!

Last day of work~ 15 WEEKS Pregnant and Cooking 4 teenie tiny babies

The next several years were EXTREMELY BUSY!!! (as you can imagine)... I was using my nursing skills in a completely different way. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we would be blessed with 4 precious miracle babies... life has been a crazy blast!

Fast forward 3 years later, when my kiddos started preschool twice a week...

Mama was finally able to go back to work as a NURSE (and interact with adults)! HEYYYYOOO! (Yep, I sure did take this picture on my way to work after a LOOOONG 3 year sebatical, LOL)

Now that we have 4 amazing, exhausting, fun, very demanding 5 yr old quads, I actually go to work for a BREAK! Yes, work is a break for me! My coworkers make fun of me because I bounce around from patient to patient with a big 'ole smile on my face----so happy to be working again! I hope you all do something you love, and if not~ go chase that dream, peeps. Life is too short.

Nursing is my ministry

“How has a nurse made a difference in your life?”

(Please leave me a comment, I'd love to hear about it)

Because of my love for nursing & quality education, I am truly impressed with Capella University:

Capella University is a rigorous and supportive learning community that transforms your education into work that makes a difference in the lives of others.

At Capella, you will develop the knowledge to help others reach their potential. Your degree will change more lives than just your own.

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Waco Weekend

Last weekend, Joe went to Vegas for his 10 yr anniversary fantasy football draft with his best friends… so the kids and I headed on down to Waco to play with Papa & Granna.

 

Papa took all of these pics.

 

 

So much sass in this girl

 

 

The whole motley cru… don’t let these little angelic faces fool you~ they have been absolute PISTOLS lately.

 

 

Ethan and Andrew

 

 

Mom and I snuck out of the house to get our nails done and left Papa to fend for himself…tee hee.

 

 

Ethan still loves his little Diego tricycle

 

 

Drew has mad skillz on this big wheeler…just like his Mama used to!

 

 

Stay outta Ben’s way---he’s super fast, but has great control.

 

 

Little Miss Priss will fight anyone who dares to TOUCH her Dora tricycle…

 

 

Shiloh dog, enjoying the beautiful, COOL, Saturday morning.

 

 

Caught you, Ben! This is the same tree that my bro and I used to climb onto the roof and jump off of. Yep, I’m waiting for payback on that one.

 

 

All dressed and ready to cheer on our Ags (A, E, S, B)

 

 

Fun times at Kiddieland (a staple of every Waco trip)

 

 

Pure bliss

 

 

Love this picture of Sav on the carosel

 

 

Me and my Momma

 

 

Drew- having a blast on the ride that goes about 1.3 mph. LOL

 

 

Up, up and away!!!

 

 

Sweet Granna & Papa~ we love you guys so much! Thanks for spoiling my kids rotten this weekend. (I really enjoyed the detox when we got home… heh, heh)

 

 

 

Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins, of course! (A, S, E, B)

 

 

 

Poor Dad missed out on all the fun…

 

 

 

oh wait, what’s that? Don’t worry~ he had his ice cream too. I received this picture from my brother-in-law (in Vegas) around 3am on Sunday morning. Such a GOOB!

 

 

We went to church on Sunday, out to eat, and to the Children’s Museum…however, there are NO pictures of this day. The kids were a “15” on my 1-10 annoyance scale.

Joey 2 Shoes couldn’t get home soon enough!!!!!

 

I love my kids, I really do---- they are just driving me absolutely NUTS right now with the NOT LISTENING, not following directions, attitudes, whining, tattle-telling, etc.

I’m completely outnumbered & currently flying the white flag.

Mama needs to suck it up and regroup!

 

Great Wolf Lodge with G&G!

Last weekend, Grammy and Grampy treated the kids to a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. It was uh-may-zing!

Checking in…the boys had a front row seat (A, B, E)

 

 

Our room was SUPER cool and had a kids’ cabin!

 

 

Naturally, Ben claimed the top bunk! (Funny how they all migrated toward what they have at home)

 

 

Umm, E is a wee bit excited about his bed

 

 

Drew~ thinking this is the coolest place ever! And we haven’t even gotten to the waterpark yet…

 

 

Sav, Ethan, Drew, and Ben

 

 

I’m trying to be better about taking family photos…(the kids had a school project and the most recent family pictures were from Easter & early summer! oops)

 

 

Let the fun in the sun begin!!!

 

 

Waiting for the wolf to howl, followed by a massive downpour!

 

 

I believe this was the first time they experienced the drenching, and it freaked them all out…Ben was so scared he fell down! LOL

 

 

The highly entertained audience… Grammy, Dad, and Gramps

 

 

Andrew and Ethan chillaxin’…solving world problems

 

 

Love. This.

 

 

duck and coverrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

 

 

Dad joining in on the fun

 

 

a pensive Drew…

 

 

Moving this partaay indoors! Sav showing off the kiddie section

 

 

Drew behind the water gun

 

 

Slip sliding away…

 

 

Ebud cracks me up…he’s doing stuff like this all the time~ throwing up double thumbs or number 1’s…crazy kid

 

 

So sweet…Savi and her Grampy (she’s definitely got the men in her life wrapped around her wee little fingers)

 

 

About to be splashed by the giant water bucket!!!

 

 

Joey and Benny way up top

 

 

Can you find the whole gang?!

 

 

Ben dumping water on some poor unsuspecting soul…heh heh

 

 

Indoor story time every night…yep, this was the best shot Dad could get…tsk, tsk

 

 

Slapped on some dry clothes and headed out for a bite to eat (Ed and Jess came along!)

 

 

Oh, did I mention that the kids missed their nap (yep, they still nap 2.5 hrs every day) and were super exhausted from playing in the water??? Not so thrilled about dinner…

 

 

…like I said

 

 

LOL! Poor dudes!

 

 

We promptly put them to bed and at some point, Andrew had stealthily secured a rice crispy treat, but fell asleep holding it! Good grief, son. He sure did wake up happy to find it there…a little early morning snack, if you will.

 

 

 

Had a WONDERFUL nights sleep, and started all over again the next morning!

This picture PERFECTLY depicts the insane amount of humidity in the indoor waterpark. Not to mention the chlorine BURNS your eyeballs…but the kids loved every second!

 

 

Grampy getting in on all the fun!

 

 

Ahhhh, outside~ fresh, clean air! G & G scored a nice covered area

 

 

KIDDIE cocktails!!! Yippieeee!

 

 

After droppin’ some mad skillz on the bean bag toss, the kids scored some super cool sunglasses!

 

 

I love this crazy kid and that electric smile. (Drew)

 

 

More Labor Day fun~ free face painting!

 

 

My little patriotic butterfly baby girl

 

 

Not sure what these yay-hoo’s were going for…but they are somethin’ else. (notice the exact same positioning?…such GOOBS!)

 

 

…speaking of Cheech and Chong~ this was Ethan and Andrew the entire weekend. (The lifeguards hated them…they kept dunking each other and were giggling nonstop)

 

 

Miss Priss shakin’ her thang during the hula hoop contest…

 

(Fun Fact: Mama won the adult hula hoop contest…yep, it’s a hidden talent. Sorry folks, no pictures of that one, heh heh)

 

 

That night, we celebrated Grammy & Grampy’s anniversary at The Gaylord Hotel’s Old Hickory Steakhouse. (What amazing grandparents to spend their anniversary around tons of screaming kids at a waterpark, right?! LOL. Definitely memorable)

 

Ebud got a kick out of the shuttle bus

 

 

Mama and her handsome little Benny Boo

 

 

Sweet Savi (with flowers err horns in her hair…depends on the situation at that exact moment) and gorgeous Grammy

 

 

Drew yelled that he wanted HIS picture taken from the front of the bus as well…

 

 

Another family photo

 

 

Before Jess took this picture, she said: “Okay, everybody act normal!”… this is what we got. Yep, that’s about right! LOL

 

 

Ed and Jess! LOVE them, they spent the day with us.

 

 

Me and my lil’ girlfriend

 

 

Dad and Ethan (2 of the most intense people you will ever meet~ very similar. I keep threatening to lock them in a room when they start obsessing over things. Ha! Grammy gets it…)

 

 

Drew and “Gramps” (as he has started calling him)

 

 

Grammy & Benny

 

 

The Beautiful Couple and their celebration of love & marriage! Still Best Friends after all these years. Love them.

 

 

This picture cracks me up to no end!

Mr. Ben was determining the wine selection for the evening…

 

 

Gig’ Em, Mr. Giggles!

 

 

Dessert time!

 

 

Of course the boys spotted some trains outside of the restaurant (thank God they were not moving anymore or we would have never gotten them back to the hotel…well, without a fight anyways)

 

 

Saying bye to Auntie Jess and Uncle Ed…love them

 

 

The foursome in front of the creepy figures (~coming from the girl who hates anyone who doesn’t talk, dressed in a mascot uniform) that sing: “There’s nothing to be scared of here…” (yep, anyone who has visited the GWL knows the eerie little jingle. It is STILL stuck in my head!)

B, E, A, S

 

 

Yet another family pic…you can never have too many! (okay, okay…so I had SERIOUS Mommy guilt when I realized we hadn’t taken a single picture of all 6 of us in a while)…

 

 

An enthusiastic thumbs up! What a GRRRRREAT weekend had by all! (Andrew)

 

 

Me and MY BFF…love him

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary Grammy & Grampy! Thank you SO much for taking us to the Great Wolf Lodge! The kids were in heaven.

 

We all love you so very, very much.