Nicole and Jessica Get Riding Lessons

Tim is finishing up with Nicole and Jessica's horseback riding lessons.

"Great job today, ladies.  You stayed focused and that's what I need from you every week.  So climb down and. I will see you next week."  (Tim)  

"Can we go around one more time?"  (Nicole)

"Please?"  (Jessica)

"Okay, one more time."  (Tim)

Sylvia has just arrived to pick up Jessica.  She walks over to Rod, who has been observing the girls.

"Rod, it's good to see you, again.  How's Danielle and the boys?  It's been awhile since I've seen them."  (Sylvia)

"Everyone is doing well."  (Rod)

"I'm surprised to see you here, today.  I was expecting Melanie."  (Sylvia)

"Well Nicole wanted me to come see her ride."  (Rod)

"That's great.  From what I can tell from watching her the past few weeks, she's getting really good."  (Sylvia)

"Alright ladies.  Remember what I told you."  (Tim)

"Hi Dad.  Hi Ms. Sylvia."  (Nicole)

"Hey sweetheart.  Put both hands on the reins, please."  (Rod)

After the girls finish, Tim heads over to greet Rod and Sylvia.

"Mr. Taylor, nice to have you come by.  As you can see Nicole is making great progress."  (Tim)

"Okay, so let's go ask my dad if you can come, too."  (Nicole)

"My mom better say yes, or I'm going to be mad."  (Jessica)

"Well thanks for everything."  (Rod)

"No problem.  Come back and see us again soon."  (Tim)

"Dad can Jessica come camping with us?"  (Nicole)

"It's fine with me, but you need to clear it with her mom."  (Rod)

"Ms. Sylvia, can Jessica come camping with us?"  (Nicole)

"It's okay with me, but we will need to make sure it's okay with her dad."  (Sylvia)

Nicole and Jessica starting hugging and jumping up and down.

"I said we needed to clear it with your dad, first."  (Sylvia)

"I know, but I know Dad will say yes.  He always says yes."  (Jessica)

One last picture of Tim with the beautiful horses.  (I need to find a couple of saddles).

Let The Games Begin! (Photostory)

The ladies have finished their lunch and now it's time to play a few games. 

"Okay ladies, it's game time!  My sisters and I are in charge of games, so I thought we'd get it started with a little baby shower bingo."  (Grace)

Lauren looks on as she tries to get baby Shay to take a nap.

"My little assistants will help me pass out the bingo cards. Only one per person, please.  This is not your local church bingo."  (Grace)

There is laughter in the crowd.

Valerie looks over her bingo card as she takes a sip of wine.

"Is she almost sleep?"  (Racquel)

"Are you kidding?  Those beautiful eyes are wide open."  (Lauren) 

"So, Kendra and I will alternate calling out different baby items.  The first one to get bingo, and call it out, will win a gift.  Good luck everyone."  (Grace)

It takes about 20 mins before Tanisha declares BINGO!  Her prize is a gift certificate for a massage at the local spa, owned by the Coopers.

"Well that was fun.  Now we will move on to one of my favorite games called 'What's in your purse?'  The person who has the most points after I call off all the items, will win a gift.  There are different point values for each of the items.  The more obscure the item, the more points you get."  (Jacquelyn)

"I will give you all a moment to get ready."  (Jacquelyn)

"We should both have a good chance of winning this game."  (Valerie)

"You know I almost cleaned my purse out this morning.  Good thing I didn't."  (India)

Tanisha decides to get a little dessert.  She's sitting out the next game, since she won the first one.

After Lauren's failed attempt at getting baby Shay to sleep, Racquel convinces her to put the baby in the stroller and play the purse game.

Shay seems to be fine entertaining herself.

Tanisha is doing what she does best....eat.  Where does she put it all?

The purse game ends and you won't believe who accumulated the most points.  It was Vanessa.  Yay!  Her prize was a gift card to Target for $20.

Dominique moves on to the third and final game called, 'Guess the waist'.  She passes around a roll of ribbon and the ladies are instructed to cut a piece that is the size of Kendra's waist.  The person closest will win a prize.

Robin leads her daughter, Courtney to the restroom. 

There are side conversations as the ribbon makes it's way around the room.

"Let's see if we can win another game, Alicia."  (Vanessa)

"Okay, so I'm going to demonstrate where you need to place the ribbon when you come up here."  (Dominique)

Looks like little Kourtney is sitting this game out.

After all is said and done, and all the ladies have tried their ribbons, Valerie comes closest to the actual belly size.  She is thrilled with the win, and gladly accepts her gift bag filled with spa-like goodies.  

Baby Shay eventually falls asleep, even with all the excitement in the room.  

Next up, Kendra opens some gifts.

Drama in the Morning (Photostory)

It's about 6am and Ciana is still sleeping soundly.  That will change soon because this is about the time Leslie gets the kids up and ready to start their day.  She always prays for a drama-free morning.  It makes getting to work on time, much more feasible.

(That dresser is the one from the nursery set.  Eventually, I will paint the top.)

Leslie enters Ciana's room and stares at her for a while.  She enjoys seeing her sleeping so peacefully.

She bends down to pick up Ciana's sleeping buddy, Cuddles.

"Ciana?  (pause) Good morning sweetie.  It's time to get up."  (Leslie)

Ciana lifts herself up and stretches a little bit.

"Are you ready to have a wonderful day?"  (Leslie)

Silence.

"Here, you hold Cuddles, while I get your clothes ready."  (Leslie)

Leslie turns on the light, then heads to the closet.

"How about a cute little dress, today?"  (Leslie)

"I want to help, Mommy."  (Ciana)

"Here we go."  (Leslie)

"No Mommy.  I want to wear the pink one."  (Ciana)

"What pink one?"  (Leslie)

"That one!"  (Ciana)

"This one?"  (Leslie)

"YES!"  (Ciana, excitedly)

Leslie gathers clean underwear and Ciana decides to squeeze in a little play time.

"Honey, it's not time to play. We have to finish getting ready."  (Leslie)

"But I have to ....  I have to write sumtin for my teacher."  (Ciana)

"Okay, you have a few minutes.  I'll be back in a second, then we get dressed.  Okay?"  (Leslie)

"Kayyy."  (Ciana)

Leslie returns after a trip to the bathroom and of course Ciana is still working on her project. 

Leslie finally has to remove her from the desk or else be late for work....again.

Leslie used to pick out clothes the night before, but Ciana always changed her mind about what she wanted to wear.  It proved to be just as time consuming as selecting clothes in the morning.