Ginger Snaps

One weekend, I was asking Dave what Brian and I should do to entertain ourselves.

His response: You should babysit my kids and make me gingersnaps.

And since I'm not opposed to pleasing Dave, Brian and I did just that.

Katelyn loved helping us make the cookies.

She's going to be a cute little homemaker one day considering she loves to bake and sew and she's only five.

And she impressed me with her discovery of a natural smile for the camera (sometimes the children struggle with this). It was pretty adorable watching her and Brian roll the dough into balls and then roll it in sugar.

Of course, Reese, once she discovered what we were doing wanted to help as well. 

This resulted in a very sugary Reesey-babe. And a very sugary floor.

But Brian was cute and helped her wash the sugar and dough off her hands.

One of Reese's favorite things is to have me flip her upside down.

And of course this results in Katelyn wanting a turn.

I love these little girls and their antics. 

And it was fun to babysit and make cookies with Brian.

I feel like living with Dave and Nat has really been the best thing for me. And I hope that when our time in the same house is over that I will have picked up even a little of how brilliant Nat and Dave are. I cant stress enough what great parents and people they are and how much I look up to them and how they are raising their children. I know this period of time will come to an end. But I am grateful for the relationships it is allowing me to develop with Dave and Nat and their kids. And the person they are helping me to become. I've always looked up to Dave and Nat and I love having the opportunity to see how they operate on a daily basis. They do so many little things that I love. Being single can be lonely. Because even if you like your roommates, they arent a family. And I have really loved having a family to be with these last few months. Its just nice to have someone to take care of and to take care of other people too.

Life is Happening

I'm fighting obesity and encouraging everyone else to as well

I went to Utah

I realized just how much I love these little people and living with them.

I went to Hawaii.

I did a photoshoot with my cousin Brittany.

I started working.

I'm loving my new crew

I'm dating this boy.

I'm happy. Really happy with life.

Christmas At the Lowry's Part II

Oh Hello Cute little Troll Dolls.

Christmas At the Lowry's Part I

Dave and the children got together one night to make a gingerbread house. 

The icing was a little less than set and a little messy. 

The children placed the candy wherever their little hearts desired as their dad iced.

Ryder spent the majority of the time eating the candy.

Katelyn spent the majority of time dictating how the candy should be placed.

They were quite darling.

I just think that Dave is a great dad. And while part of me was sad when they moved into our house (cause I currently have children who have overtaken my room), the bigger, better part of me is so glad that I get to spend so much time with their family and witness all the cute things that come with having a family. I love Dave's little family. Even though sometimes his children are insane. 

But they call me Aunt. And its weird but quite endearing.

Ryd may have had the right idea though... cause that candy wasn't half bad :)

Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was pretty classic. Except for the addition of my Grandma - which was very uncommon. We made chinese food. I was in-charge of making the wontons. Which as it turned out, I was a bit of a bum about. I got distracted by making t-shirts till I wanted to die. But I couldnt stop until they were finished. So my momma made the filling. And Dave, Katie and my dad helped me wrap them. Katie was surprisingly efficient. And a bit of a task master "I done! More! More!" I now see why people used to love child labour. Those little fingers were very very quick and efficient. I did manage to cook them. But aside from the first batch in the oil, they would not brown. Still, they tasted just as good as they always do. So all in all it was a success. 

My family has gotten very proficient at making chinese food. Of course all the beforehand prep helps to make it quick. 

Cashew Chicken, Ginger Beef and Wontons are the staple.

In fact, I wish I had some of that right now.

So to prevent myself from getting all oily when cooking the wontons, my mother tied a table cloth around my neck. And then I decided that having an apron of sorts might not be a shabby idea during dinner. Arent I precious? And yes, I'm pretty sure that table cloth has been around since the beginning of time. 

After dinner and the clean up, we opened our christmas eve present.

I was happy to see the return to the Christmas Eve tradition of pajamas.

For those of you who dont know it, Ryder is a bit of a riot. 

He staged this photo and had me take it to show off his super cool Christmas PJs.

Also please laugh at this video. I know its sideways - I always forget I do not have the technology to turn video right side - but Ryder definitely was like "Auntie Missy... you should make a video of me... K ready go." Its funny people. It really is. 

For real I dont know what he's doing. But his little MC Hammer dance is awesome.

Katie was also funny. But then again, she is most of the time.

She was walking on her dad's chest. And uncle Matt wanted a little of that action for his back. Which definitely wasnt gonna happen. So Dave stepped in. Katie always wins if its a battle of wills.