Happy Halloween...

from my little angel and cowboy! Hope you all have a good one!

Pumpkin carving

Last night we celebrated J.T.'s birthday by carving some pumpkins. The kids had a great time.... J.T. did not want to touch the guts of the pumpkin though. Here's a few pictures...




I am not really sure what is going on here....

My baby boy is FOUR!

Today is J.T.'s 4th birthday! I really can't believe how fast time goes by... Here's J.T. and I, four years ago, the day we left the hospital. Look how tiny he is!


We celebrated J.T.'s birthday on Friday night with the grandparents and our friends. We had a party at the Ferndale Pizza Company. Here's J.T. playing a driving video game.

All the kids seemed like they had a great time. They sure were silly!

Since we had a John Deere themed party, J.T. wanted to wear all the John Deere clothing he could find!

It's no secret that Andy wants another baby... He insisted that I hold baby Evan at the party to see if I might get baby fever again!

Today for J.T.'s actual birthday we took brownies to his school to celebrate. His teachers made him a birthday crown too. What a goof ball!

I think J.T. enjoyed the brownies!

J.T. is very excited to have his own bike, especially because it's a John Deere one! He even got to help his Daddy put it together!

Student of the Month

Today Abigail's school had its monthly "Student of the Month" assembly. Thank goodness Abigail's teacher had given me a heads-up that she was one of the two kids in her class getting the award. Andy and I were able to go to the assembly. It was a pretty big deal to get this award, but it's an even bigger deal to Abigail that her buddy, Nolan, also received the award in the same month that she did. Congrats to Abigail and Nolan!

Watch out! Crazy driver!

My parents bought this motorized Jeep for the kids to share. J.T. is a wild man when he drives. If you are anywhere near him, watch out for your toes! Here's a couple pictures of J.T. with the Jeep from today, while Abigail was at school.

I haven't seen Abigail drive it yet, but I will try to get some pictures of her on here sometime soon.

Happy 9th Anniversary...

to us! Yes, that's right.... today is our 9th Anniversary. It's really hard to believe. Here's one of our wedding pictures. Many good things have happened in the past nine years... too many to list here! Don't we look young?

It isn't everyday...

that my sister turns 30! My sister Mary is celebrating her 30th birthday today..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY! In honor of this milestone, I am going to post a few cute pictures of Mary when she was little. I really tried not to pick any really embarrassing ones.....

Here's Mary as a baby...
In case you didn't know, Mary didn't like to have her picture taken when she was little. In this picture, she obviously didn't want her picture taken.... she really didn't care that she was wearing a bikini while riding a horse.

Can you see that she has a black eye under her left eye? I gave her that... on accident of course. My cousin Karl and I were playing tug-of-war and she happened to be laying on the floor right behind me. I stepped backwards and stepped right on her.

Isn't she cute?

This was Mary's kindergarten picture. Look how serious she is....

Mary used to collect elephants and it all started with this stuffed elephant, Einstein.

Fast forward a few years... Life didn't turn out too bad, did it? Lots of good things have happened in the past 30 years.

Mary, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. 30 really isn't that bad! Enjoy your day!

The Giacomini Sisters

Here's a couple more pictures of Mary and I as we were growing up....

Mary was NOT happy about having her picture taken.

She got a little more photogenic as she got older...

We sure have grown up, haven't we?

Mary, thanks for being such a wonderful sister over the past 30 years! Enjoy your birthday!

Who is it?

I was going through some old pictures for a project that I am working on and came across this totally adorable picture...



This picture was taken in the fall of 1980. Do you know who it is? ;)

Attention Men: 9 Words Women Use

My friend Julie sent this to me awhile back and I think it's hilarious but true.

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't do it!

5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.

8. Whatever: Has the same basic meaning as #1. It also means that she doesn't necessarily accept your answer or excuse.

9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3.

Ladies do you use any of these words?

Welcome Evan Travis!

This morning our friends Christina and Clint had their baby and it is a BOY! They didn't know the baby's gender so we were all surprised. He was 8 pounds, 13.4 ounces, and 19 1/2 inches long. Everyone is doing well. I was at the hospital this morning to take pictures after the birth. Here's one of Evan...

I really can't tell who he looks like....

Family day at the ranch

Look! Girls can drive tractors too!


The kids and I went to the ranch to help Andy feed hay to the calves on Saturday. They had a great time riding in the trailer helping Andy feed while I drove the tractor.

Just for fun

Guess who?

Happy Birthday Shelley!

I know this is a little late but I wanted to send out some birthday wishes to my friend Shelley in Arkansas! Enjoy being in your 20s for one more year.....

Back in the dark ages today

We have been without internet service all day! I just didn't know what to do with myself.... not being able to check my email all day just about drove me crazy! It's amazing how dependent we are all on technology! I am very thankful that our service has been restored. If you wrote me an email today and haven't heard back, I am trying to get caught up!

John Deere Green

While J.T. and I were waiting for Andy at the ranch this afternoon, J.T. wanted to sit on the tractor. I took a couple pictures of him because he was wearing his John Deere hat and a green shirt...

And the cycle begins again...

If you've read my last couple of blog posts, you know that it's been a very busy time on the ranch for us. I thought we would have a few days in between shipping out last year's calves and the beginning of this years' calving season.... not so! (No, Andy, I am not complaining....)

After I picked J.T. up from preschool, we went to visit Andy at the ranch and see some of the new calves. They are all less than a week old. I always forget how tiny they really are when they are born. Here's a picture of J.T. standing next to one that's two days old.

When we went to see the calves, I didn't have any idea that we would actually see a cow give birth. Believe it or not, I have only seen two calves born in my entire life. Here's a couple pictures of the minutes-old calf. The cow is doing her duty of licking him clean (aren't we glad humans don't have to do that!)...

It took the calf a few minutes to figure out how to stand up...

Just thought I would share....

Cattle drive

Today Andy had several guys helping him out on the ranch. They had to drive some cows from one ranch to another.... and then take another bunch back up the ranch where they started. The kids and I took lunch out to Andy and his crew. I also invited Berwyn to come along. It was a beautiful day out there. I took my camera along and took a few pictures....

Here they come from the corral down the road.

They had to cross the river before they could go up the road to the upper ranch.

Here's a quick one I took of the kids. They were NOT cooperating.... Can you tell?

Andy said things went very well so that's always a good thing!