Nohle News

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was full of surprises and fun. In the weeks leading up to Christmas we went to see neighborhood lights, saw two different Christmas ballets, had an ornament making party, went caroling, and attended a winter chorus concert. Santa dropped off Snowie the kitten a few days early for Brooke and then brought her a brand new big easel with all the trimmings! Carissa got a new tablet, video camera and data on her phone! Our Elf, Chippy watched over us all through the month of December and must have sent good reports back to Santa. Aunt Summer and Bella came for the whole week leading up to Christmas and we had so much fun seeing movies, eating out, and getting our toes done. What more could you ask for from a visit with your aunt :)!

Early visit from Santa

2011-12-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

Brooke was so good this year(yeah right)that Santa made a special early stop to drop off her new kitten, Snowie. Snowie was abandoned at the shelter, half starving at 4 weeks of age and Santa decided that 8 weeks old was long enough for him to wait for his forever home and new Mommy. Brooke LOVES this little boy as does his cousin Bella who has enjoyed being pounced on at regular intervals. I have to say he is all boy and likes to get into everything! We will be lucky if we still have a Christmas tree on Christmas Day! :D

Christmas shows!

2011-12-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

We always talk about going to see the Nutcracker ever year and never do abut this year we finally made it! Not only did Carissa and I go to see the Nutcracker put on by the World Ballet of Tallahasee, Brooke and I also went to see the 12 days of Christmas put on by Hannah Bergstom school of dance. Both shows were fantastic! Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of Brooke at her show because she was boycotting pictures that day :(

Dentist

2011-11-14T14:22:00.001-08:00

So Brooke had her first visit to the dentist today and just so she wouldn't be afraid I got my teeth cleaned first. I have to say it was the most interesting cleaning I've ever had as my daughter repeatedly fired questions at me and expected me to answer while simultaneously maintaing a wide open mouth. She then decided she needed a closer look so she proceeded to stand directly over me and peered into my mouth while the hygienist worked giving me the pleasure of hearing s play by play of what she was seeing. (Some of which I would have been just as happy not hearing)Then it was Brooke's turn. She climbed up ready to go and took everything in stride. Unfortunately we did not get a clean bill of health and have to go back to have two cavities filled :( I suspect we will have our first experience with nitrous oxide come Thursday.

It's been a while, so I'll keep it short

2011-11-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

I have been very slack in posting to my blog for the past year so at the request of my grandfather I am trying to catch up a little. The Nohle's have been very busy the past year. We now have a junior in high school, a new middle schooler and a new kindergartner! Brett is now driving and working (at Subway of course!)and getting ready to start thinking about colleges(wow, I'm old!). Carissa is a baby buck a Deerlake Middle school and is active in chorus and travel volleyball with the Tallahassee Jr's. Brooke is in kindergarten at Maclay and is loving her teacher and being in the lower school. Her favorite parts are seeing her 4th grade buddy on Friday's and recess of course! She's also taking tennis and dance lessons and has also been involved in T-ball and volleyball this past year! I will post more of the past years events soon Grandpa!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween. Our house was graced with the presence of cleopatra and an FSU cheerleader who didn't want to carry any pom poms and decided after two streets she'd had enough! No problems here, maybe we'll get a clean bill of health from the dentist! : )

First days of school

2010-08-23T15:50:00.001-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Brooke had her first day of pre-k at her new school on 8/16. She loves her new teacher and seems to actually love wearing uniforms, go figure! She has made fast friends with a couple of girls in her class already. Carissa started 5th grade today and she and her friends are enjoying their top dog of the school status. Here's to a great year!

Mini horses

2010-08-22T15:34:00.001-07:00

The girls got the opportunity to go with Aunt Liz to a miniature horse farm. They had a great time seeing the dog-sized horses and even got to see a few babies. Per Brooke, they were "so cool".

Cool Caverns!

2010-08-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

In our never ending quest to find cool things to do on hot days we decided to visit the Marianna Caverns. Aunt Terri was in town this week and she and Grandma joined us for some fun cavern hiking. We saw lots of interesting formations, and even a few critters like bats and salamanders. The temperature in the caves was approx. 65 degrees just like all natural air conditioning!

4th of July

2010-07-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

This year we spent the 4th of July with Deborah, Deana, and the kids at Walt Disney world. We spent an evening at downtown Disney, battled the crowds and heat at Magic Kingdom and saw an awesome fireworks show over Cinderella's castle. We were exhausted by the end of the weekend but it was worth it because we had a blast!

Fun with the cousins

2010-07-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend visit from two of our North Carolina cousins, Kim and Lindsay. It was a rare treat and the girls had a blast playing rock band and swimming. We miss you girls!

Swimming lessons!

2010-06-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Brooke is taking swimming lessons for the first time this year. We started out kinda slow and I wasn't sure we would make it through, (ya know the whole going under the water thing), but she went everyday like a champ and has even decided she wants to go back for more. Good bye swimmies, hello deep end!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, my wonderful father-in-law and my wonderful grandfather. Missing my wonderful step-father.

Sleepaway camp

2010-06-18T04:34:00.000-07:00

So Carissa is getting ready to go to her first real sleep away camp. Sure we've done sleepovers and maybe even two night deals but this is FIVE, yes that's right, FIVE nights! Fortunately two of her very good friends will be in her cabin. I have to say though, although five nights is a lot, the list of items she has to bring with her is indicative of at least a three week stay! Can't wait to get my first camp letter :)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:54:00.001-07:00

We had a busy weekend this year starting with an egg hunt at our house with the girls and their friends, planting Easter flowers, the Easter bunny and brunch with Aunt Liz and Grandma. Carissa was very excited as always and couldn't wait to find her basket. That crazy bunny hid it in the dryer this year! Brooke on the other hand was not as enthusiastic about getting up and her wonderful mood extended to the restaurant for brunch where her only desire was to fling crayons at the bunny wandering around from table to table. Whoever said life was boring never had kids!

Birthday Celebration #3

2010-03-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well today was Brooke's school birthday celebration. She decided in lieu of cupcakes she wanted cookies with pink frosting and pink sprinkles. Amazingly enough, Walmart does carry them. In honor of her cookies, Brooke also dressed in pink from head to toe. Tomorrow is Brooke's actualy birthday and ironically we will not be celebrating except for doughnuts for breakfast : )

Birthday celebration #2

2010-03-11T06:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes birthdays last a while around the Nohle house so tonight we had family birthday celebration #2 with the family. Gigi, Bumpa, Aunt Liz and Grandma Artini came over for Brownie cake (Brooke's choice) and presents. Brooke got a new zhu zhu pet with accessories from Mommy and Daddy, along with a new puzzle, bathing suit, computer game,lots of books, a Dora movie and a Nihau Kai Lan playset(on Nick Jr. for those of you who are unfamiliar).
We all got sugared up with brownie cake and ice cream and had a great night. Stay tuned for next week when we have the school celebration :)

The Happiest place on earth

2010-03-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

So this year, instead of having a party for Brooke's birthday, we decided to go to Disney since she had never been. We stayed on site at Port Orleans French Quarter and had a great time. Arrived Friday night and took the ferry over to Downtown Disney where we met aunt Summer for an delicious dinner at Rainforest Cafe and a little bit of shopping. Headed to the Magic Kingdom the next morning where it was just cold and rainy enough to keep the crowds away (woo hoo, no lines). I think the longest we waited was 30 minutes and that was for a meet and greet with the princesses. We actually had NO WAIT at space mountain! The next day we had gorgeous weather as we headed to Animal Kingdom where Carissa and I rode the Expedition everest roller coaster (SOOOO FUN!) and saw lots of animals and characters. Brooke was a real trooper and was not scared of anything, not even the Haunted Mansion or Dinosaur. I have to say for being not quite four I was pretty impressed. Overall we had a great time although I am not quite sure that Brooke gets the whole Disney instead of a party thing, she keeps asking when we are having cake at Zoinks.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T06:22:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day at our house is always a fun day. The kids woke up to surprises of goody bags and cuddly Valentine blankets and pillows and then got a special treat of pink, chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. (Yes, I am a cool mom)

Mom and Dad got treats too and the biggest treat of all is that Gigi and Bumpa are babysitting while we go to the movies, yay! Hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Rest In Peace

2010-01-31T18:15:00.000-08:00

Rest In peace Larry

You will always be loved and missed dearly

You were an amazing human being and to me you will always be an amazing Dad

Larry V. Johnson

1949-2010

Look who got contacts

2010-01-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

So they have this relatively new thing in contacts called Ortho-K. They are this cool type of hard contact lense that you wear at night while you are sleeping and they re-shape your eye. Then in the morning you take them out and can see all day. I think of it as braces for eyes. Anyway, with sports and everything glasses can be difficult so we decided to try them for Carissa. Not only was her vision 20/20 after just one night but eventually she will not have to wear them every night and could possibly end up never having to wear glasses or contacts at all! Is that cool or what! I wish they had this kind of thing when I was her age. As you can guess, getting them in and out causes a bit of drama but it is worth it. Yay Ortho-K!

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-01-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

How 9 and 10 year olds celebrate New Years:
-pizza
-custom made ice cream sundaes
-popcorn
-movies
-playing rock band until 2 a.m.
-camping out in various parts of the house

Hope everyone had as much fun as these girls! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a very Merry and blessed Christmas. Aunt Summer and Aunt Liz spent the night and were here to wake up with us on christmas morning. I think we were more excited than the kids, we actually got up first!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-12-09T03:50:00.001-08:00

Kerry and I were away this past weekend so we celebrated his birthday a day early with the kids, Grandma, and Aunt Liz. We ordered some yummy pizza and had this awesome cookie cake from the cookie company that we got in Daddy's favorite flavor, gingerbread. (This is the first I realized that they come in flavors other than chocolate chip, go figure)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1st haircut

2009-12-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well Brooke has been begging the past few days to get her hair cut. She wanted it "like sissy's but not like a boy" so I finally bit the bullet this morning and took her to get it cut. I would definitely say the process was torture for me but fortunately she enjoyed it.

Before

The first cut

After

A Riddle

2009-11-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

What has brown eyes, brown hair, and is ready to fight for a deal?

You guessed it!

Alicia, heading out at 4:00 a.m. for some Black Friday shopping.

(Unfortunately for Kerry, he got dragged along too : )

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving. This year Kerry and Carissa did all of the cooking and clean up while Brooke and I relaxed and hung out. Do I have the best husband or what girls! Dinner was delicious and now we are all ready to slip into a triptophan coma!

Family visit

2009-11-21T06:04:00.000-08:00

This past week Aunt Ronnie, Uncle Dave and Olivia came to visit on their way back up north after spending a few days at Disney. We cooked out and goofed around and had a great time.

Key lime pie, yum!

2009-10-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

Aunt Summer came to visit for Halloween and brought fresh key limes with her to make a pie. I am now ruined for ever having key lime from a store again! Key lime pie with fresh key lime juice is my new favorite dessert!

Trick or Treat 2009

2009-10-31T06:58:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween, Carissa was an Angel and Brooke was a kitty (Influenced by the Dora Halloween movie of course!) Carissa joined her friends up the street for trick or treating so as not to be slowed down by her younger sister and Brooke's best friend Hanna joined her for some slower paced trick or treating with the mommies and Aunt Summer. Daddy stayed behind to pass out candy and watch the world series. We definitely won't need any desserts for a while!

Pumpkins and Decorations

2009-10-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

It seems like Halloween crept up on us this year so our decorations weren't as extensive as usual but still are cute. The kids went to the pumpkin patch and each chose a pumpkin to carve and we finally finished them Halloween morning. How's that for last minute! As you can see the pumpkins tend to reflect each child's personality. Carissa's is pretty happy, Brett went for the scarier look and miss moody Brooke wanted a sad pumpkin.

Things that make you go Hmmmm.......

2009-10-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

When I went into Brooke's room this morning to wake her up, this was the first thing I saw:

I had to ask myself, is this some sort of penguin funeral? An animal sacrifice? The other animals paying homage to the great penguin? Knowing Brooke it could be any of the above depending on her mood. When asked she replied " It's a big circle". Yeah, got that much. As long as I don't start seeing any cats, dogs, or human dolls as the center of attention I think we are okay : )

Bubble overload

2009-09-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when....................

you leave Daddy alone with the bubbles and the jacuzzi!!!

Spongebob's BO

2009-09-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Kerry: Squeezes some Spongebob squarepants body wash into Brooke's hand

Brooke: (Looking at the yellow gel) " Is this what SpongBob smells like?"

Kerry: "Um, yeah, sure."

Brooke: (Takes an exaggerated whiff) " Mmmm, smells good "

First Day of School

2009-09-01T12:21:00.001-07:00

Brooke and Carissa on the 1st day of school. They are growing up so fast! Carissa started 4th grade this year at Killearn Lakes Elementary and Brooke is in the 3yr-old class at Annsworth Academy.

The Nation's Capital

2009-08-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

This year the Subway Convention was held in Washington D.C. so Kerry and I took the opportunity for a kid-free weekend while the girls enjoyed some two on one time with their aunt. We didn't have a lot of time but managed to get in some quality sight-seeing, ate at a few good restaurants, shopped and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. For all of my friends with child dominated households, I highly recommend the occasional adults only weekend. We had a blast!

Rainy day play

2009-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Brooke wanted to go swimming and was really disappointed when it rained. So I said "Hey, you have your bathing suit on right? Go for it!"

Forget expensive toys

2009-08-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

You know how the kids always play with the wrapping and the cardboard boxes more than the toys. Well, the same goes for cheap pet toys......................

Forget expensive toys, this Christmas I am going to shop at petsmart. Brooke had more fun with Aunt Summer's cat toys this weekend! LOL!

This is what happens when.......

2009-07-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

YOU LEAVE A 3 YR. OLD ALONE WITH THE SUNSCREEN!!!!

Happy birthday grandma!

2009-07-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Artini!

Family Vacation Part 3

2009-07-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

On the way home we made a couple of stops at Babyland General and the Georgia Aquarium. Babyland general is where Cabbage patch dolls are born and we got to tour the clinic, see tons of adoptable babies and see the birth of a new cabbage patch baby. Carissa found a baby of her own and named her Alaina Rose. Kerry also insisted we fulfill Aunt Summer's request for a blonde, blue-eyed girl in a purple outfit. It took some doing but we found her. Welcome Alaina Rose and Eve Melva(we didn't get to pick that name.
After leaving the clinic we went to the Georgia aquarium where we saw lots of amazing fish, huge whale sharks, a giant manta ray, beluga whales and sea otters among other things. It is a beautiful facility and has these great observation areas. I recommend it to anyone who wants to have some fun, air-conditioned entertainment.

Family Vacation part 2

2009-07-15T07:02:00.001-07:00

After leaving the Buffalo area, the Nohle family headed to Watertown where we got to see even more family and friends. We rented a lakeside cottage for the week and enjoyed beatiful weather and lots of camfires with lots of smores! We celebrated the marriage of Uncle Jerry to Aunt Becky, went on a boat ride with grandpa and had a family cookout. We slso visted the Amish store and got some really great dip mixes and treats. And last but not least frequented our favorite ice cream places, Pennick's and Trolley. We really enjoyed our time there and were sad to leave.

Family Vacation part 1

2009-07-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

The Nohle Family headed north the past few weeks to visit family and friends in New York. Our first stop was the Buffalo area where we celebrated the 4th of July, Carissa's birthday, spent time in Olcott and enjoyed seeing family and friends we haven't seen in a while. The girls really enjoyed getting re-acquainted with their cousins Olivia and Harrison and Aunt Summer even got to join us for the weekend. Kerry got to eat Buffalo wings, in Buffalo and we were introduced to a great local marinade called Chiavetta's that we stocked up on to bring home with us. For all of my southern friends and family, if you are interested in trying it you can order it from www.buffalofoods.com. The weather was chillier than we are used to, especially watching the fireworks but it was a nice change from the Tallahassee heat.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Wishing all of our friends and family a Happy Father's Day!
We love you!

Surprise

2009-06-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 20th we threw Carissa a surprise party for her 9th birthday. Aunt Liz kept her and Brooke busy all afternoon so Aunt Summer, Daddy and I could get the house ready. A bunch of Carissa's friends came over ahead of time and when Carissa came home she got a big surprise. Then she got an even bigger surprise when she opened her new cell phone from Mommy and Daddy!

End of the season

2009-06-08T07:16:00.001-07:00

Well, it took me a little bit of time to get the pictures off of my camera but on May 20th, Carissa had her last softball game of the season. The Wildcats did a great job and a few days after the last game celebrated with a dinner/ trophy presentation at Beef O' Brady's. Carissa was a little sad to see the season end and is already looking forward to next year.

What's up with movies these days?

2009-05-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

Just a random thought about movies these days. Kerry and I were watching a movie called "Quarantine" the other night. Yes this was a horror movie. Kind of a cross between the slasher type and the mind-bending type. Anyway, I was thinking about it later and realized that movies have really changed. In the past, even in the worst horror/slasher movie, someone gets away at the end or the bad guy finally gets destroyed in some way. Well, not this time folks. Not one person made it out alive in Quarantine except the bad guy, NOT ONE!!! Everyone one else died a horrible, gut-wrenching death. So, I ask you, what does this tell us about movie makers today? Are they so jaded that they can't even give us a glimmer of hope that things will work out in the end? Or are they just realists that are just telling it like it is. Saying to us "Listen folks, all that happy ending crap, NOT GONNA HAPPEN, so put your big kid panties on and deal with it."

Just my Random thoughts.

Girl Scout picnic

2009-05-18T06:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was our end of the year barbecue for girlscouts. Everyone brought food and Kerry grilled up some yummy hotdogs. The girls played soccer and ran around the playground and it was HOT!!!!! Everyone was wiped out from the heat by the time we got home. Although it is always a lot of fun when the families get together, this year was even more fun because the girls were bridgeing up from brownies to juniors. They had a ceremony on an actual bridge and received their new vests which are now green instead of brown. Congratulations troop #48!

Zoinks

2009-05-16T15:07:00.001-07:00

Today Brooke went to a really fun birthday party at this place we have called Zoinks. Kerry has taken the kids before but this wa my first time going and it was so cool! There are all these huge jumping things for the kids to play on and it also has little rides and games where you can win tickets for prizes. They have cute birthday rooms if you are having a party and a very cool lounge type area for parents who just want to let their kids go wild while they relax. We will definitely be going back to this place!

Ye Olde Medieval Faire

2009-05-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 15th Killearn Lakes Elementary's third graders participated in the annual Medeival Fair. The kids spent the morning playing different games. I missed this part but heard there was a Maypole and other types of Medieval type games. The kids then had a Medieval feast. (you know the typical Medieval times foods like hot dogs, mac and cheese, apple juice, etc.) Some of the kids were in costume and some of the kids (like my child) opted for more modern apparel, and all of the teacher's were dressed up. Overall, everyone had a great time and enjoyed to break from regular school work.

Happy Mother's Day 2009!

2009-05-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of our friends and family may you be mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, mothers-to-be or a surrogate mother to someone. I spent my morning getting a foot and hand massage at the Nohle spa while munching on hot tea and chocolates, yum! Then we joined grandma and aunt Liz for brunch. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

The countdown

2009-05-07T17:44:00.001-07:00

I realized today while in Carissa's classroom how close to the end of the school year we really are. It's hard to believe there are only a couple of weeks left!

Mother's Day Tea

2009-05-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today at school Carissa's class had a Mother's Day tea. They did a little presentation for the moms and then waited on us as we were served cake and sweet tea. While we were being served we were also presented with a special book all about us individually. The kids did such a great job and obviously had worked hard. I am truly blessed and felt very special.

Stay back ladies, he's taken

2009-05-06T17:07:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share a couple of pics of my man looking all tan. I wish it were that easy for me!

The gift of time

2009-05-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

So, the clinic that I work for at FSU, like everyone else is suffering budget cuts and since I don't take students in the summer, I offered to drop down to three days per week until fall. Yesterday was my first weekday off and I have to tell you I am not exactly hating it (Although this may change when I get my paycheck). I was so productive. After dropping off the girls at school and the dog at the groomer, I worked out, tanned, ran some errands, showered and became presentable, made a pasta salad, and did some laundry, all by NOON! Then I ran more errands with my adorable husband, cleaned some more and caught up on Brooke's scrapbook. Yes, I know, I am amazing(Just kidding). But seriously, time is such a valuable gift to give yourself.

Joining the workforce

2009-04-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday, April 23rd was "Take your child to work" day. Carissa went to work with Daddy and helped him open one of the stores. She even got her own shirt, visor and nametag so that she would look professional. She helped to make bread, prepared teriyaki chicken and chopped up crab, a job which she described as disgusting! After a couple of hours Kerry took Carissa to experience the other side of restaurant ownership, PAPERWORK! Woo hoo! Carissa has decided that she does not want to own a Subway when she grows up, instead she wants to be a vet.

Happy Easter 2009!

2009-04-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

The Nohle household had a busy and fun-filled Easter weekend this year. We started the weekend with a Easter party and egg hunt at our house with lots of eggs, snacks, and friends. I went a little wild this year and hid over 550 eggs! It took me about two hours to disperse them throughout the house and the yard, and it took the kids about 60 seconds to find them! We had three prizes this year of very large chocolate bunnies. Jacob took 1st place, his little sister Cameron took 2nd place, and Julia got 3rd.

Sunday morning saw Brooke up first and she needed a lot of convincing to wake up her sister before searching for her easter basket (the bunny always hides them at our house) and her dulcet tones could be heard throughout the house as she sweetly woke her sister with "WAKE UP CARISSA!!!" repeatedly in a voice that could only be described as old truck driver.

We proceeded to search for baskets. That crazy bunny left Brooke's in her car in the garage and Carissa's in our shower. Good thing for her neither Kerry or I were up first or she might have had some very moist treats.

We'll be heading to brunch soon with Grandma and Aunt Liz. Hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day!!! Happy Easter!

New York City

2009-04-03T06:05:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I went to New York with some of my girlfriends, Lauren, Stephanie, and Christine last weekend for a girls getaway trip. We did a lot of shopping, ate at a great restaurant called Ciro(I highly recommend it if you like Italian), saw Wicked (which was EXCELLENT, again another high recommendation), and walked A LOT! We only got lost once when we took the right train, the wrong way on the subway and headed for Coney Island instead of uptown. Even that was fun as I entertained my companions with an original tune about getting stranded in Chinatown and lost on the subway. (There's always a silver lining people!) This was my third trip to NYC but I still saw so many things I hadn't had a chance to yet and still could have stayed longer.

Softball Season

2009-04-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

We have had been practicing for over a month and last week Carissa finally had her first softball game. Her team, the Wildcats, did such a great job and really worked together as a team. Carissa is really enjoying it and says this is her favorite sport so far. Go Wildcats!

Finally remembered my camera!

2009-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well, here they are, I finally remembered to bring my camera to a soccer game. It was a beautiful day, sunny and breezy! Carissa did a great job as usual.

Yippee, She's three!

2009-03-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

Friday the 20th was Brooke's 3rd birthday and we celebrated with lots of family and friends. Brooke started the day with a special treat at school. Then, in the evening we had a blast with a party at Chuck E. Cheese and ended the festivities with a special present from Mommy and Daddy this morning...... Brooke's 1st car! She is somewhat of a reckless driver but loved every minute of it. Even when she crashed into things she would laugh hysterically and never once got nervous.

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY BROOKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stupid and Shut-up

2009-03-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

So, you have a new baby and you wait and wait for the day they say that first word, always hoping it will be mama. And then they say more words with cute little mispronounciations and sound substitutions. Then your precious little one starts to socialize and her vocabulary increases with leaps and bounds. Soon she is stringing words together, using please and thank you and again you think to yourself "oh how smart she is", "oh how cute she is". Then your incredibly talented child starts school and spends ever increasing amounts of time around other children and away from you. She comes home singing songs and telling you stories about her day. She begins to use pre-school talk and uses terms like "our friends", "good choices" and "bad choices". And then it happens..........

My beautiful baby girl once again has expanded her vocabulary. What are the new additions do you ask?

"Stupid" & "Shut-up".

Spoken very clearly, I might add. No problems with S's for this little lady.
She uses them very appropriatelyas well in such phrases such as "Stupid, Mommy (or Daddy or Carissa)" or "SHUT-UP Carissa (or Bubba)". On top of that she has also discovered that these words while not acceptable are also fun to lie about saying.

For example:
After saying "Shut-up, Carissa" (Within my earshot) she spies her sister coming to tell on her and yells loudly "I not say it! I not say shut-up to her!"
And will argue this point to her last breath. Apparently my oh so clever girl has not yet realized that sound carries. At other times she will just blatantly say these words in front of you with a big grin that says "I just dare ya to do something about it".

And so we add to the ever increasing list of "things Brooke needs to be disciplined for on a daily basis"

Congratulations Clark Family!

2009-03-15T06:03:00.000-07:00

My good friend Leslie Clark and her husband John have been waiting to adopt a baby for some time now. Well, a few weeks ago they finally got the long anticipated call and went to pick up their new son, Kyle. This weekend was a shower for Leslie and the guest of honor was in attendance as well. He is a beautiful healthy baby and very calm and sweet. After hovering for about half an hour, I finally got my chance to hold him. Congratulations Leslie and John.

Spring soccer

2009-03-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well the last soccer session is underway and Carissa had her first game this past Saturday. It was probably her best game yet and of course I did not get any pictures because I was home with a sick Brooke. She was a little worried before the game because the other team had two of her good friends on it and she didn't want to make anyone angry (She's such a worry wart). However, she was able to put her worries aside and played like a champ. Hopefully next time Saturday I'll be able to get some pictures to add to this post. : )

Another year already

2009-03-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Kerry and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past Saturday with some quality time together. We did some shopping, went to dinner and saw a great movie called "Taken". I love Liam Neeson! Special thanks to Aunt Liz for giving up her Saturday to spend it caring for my little angels.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T03:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's (or as Brooke would say ValenTIMES)Day everyone! Hope you are having a chocolate,flower,or activity filled day with your sweetheart! My two little sweethearts had parties at school yesterday and were styling in their Valentine garb. We just finally got rid of all the Halloween candy and have now been bombarded again! Hopefully we'll get rid of it by Easter :)!

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Nohle

2009-02-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went down to Silver Springs and met Grandma and Grandpa Nohle for a visit. We had a great time seeing all the animals and taking the glass bottom boat rides and even got to see Eddie Money and Rick Springfield in concert for free. For some of you that is dating myself but I don't care, I thought they were great! Here are a few pics from the trip. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Aunt Summer!

2009-02-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

It is Aunt Summer's birthday today! Unfortunately we can't celebrate with her today but we will make it up to her when we see her in a couple of weeks. Hope you have a wonderful day, we love you!

Skating party

2009-01-31T10:30:00.000-08:00

Our friend Jacob had his 7th birthday party at a skating rink and invited the whole family. This was Brooke's 1st time on skates and she seemed to like it. However, after a little while she decided running around and dancing in regular shoes was more fun. Carissa's friend Jordan is Jacob's older sister so they had a great time hanging out together too. I have to tell you though some of the music they played was back from when I was a kid going skating. I guess good skating music doesn't change!

Rest in peace

2009-01-20T14:07:00.001-08:00

It is a sad day in the Nohle household today. When we arrived home we found that our beloved Cookie had moved on to greener pastures. We will miss him dearly and hope that you will join us in a moment of silence to remember.......Cookie.
Thankyou

Campout

2009-01-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

Over MLK weekend Carissa's girl scout troop had a mother/daughter campout. Of course the night that we stayed out was the coldest one yet and the temperature got down to 12 degrees! But after all we are strong, independent women(yeah right)and decided that a little cold weather wasn't going to stop us. We did crafts to earn try-its, the girls worked on a cooking patch, had a scavenger hunt, learned to tie knots (parents watch out), participated in a flag retirement ceremony, ate s'mores and generally had a great time.

In anticipation for the trip, I dug out my hiking boots and bought a sleeping bag.(No I did not already have one). We packed up what creature comforts we were allowed to take and headed out while Daddy and Brooke headed to the Jacksonville zoo.

We stayed in the lodge which had a huge fireplace. That, combined with layers of clothing and hot chocolate and we were all set. The girls got to interact with a few other troops and spend some quality time together.

Overall we had a great time, however I think next time I am going to see if there is any sort of patch they can earn for discovering the wonders of room service and spa treatments at a nice 4 star hotel. After all they should be well rounded right?

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:30:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone has a happy and prosperous year in 2009! We love you!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:39:00.000-08:00

We had a really great Christmas this year. It was our first year in the new house and we had a lot of fun decorating. We went to Grandma's for pizza on Christmas eve and then had another celebration at our house with Aunt Liz. Aunt Liz and Aunt Summer spent the night so they could be there to enjoy Christmas morning with us. Santa came to visit and brought a bike and play kitchen for Brooke and a new Nintendo DS and electric scooter for Carissa. Apparently Mommy was really good this year too because even though he doesn't usually bring gifts for grown-ups, he brought Mommy a laptop! Overall it was a wonderful Christmas spent with family and friends and we hope everyone else had as good of a time as we did. Merry Christmas!

Lights at Oven Park

2008-12-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Tonight we went to Dorothy B. Oven Park to see the Christmas lights. The girls had a great time and we got some really cute pics. Hope you like them!

All aboard!

2008-12-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

Carissa saw a kit for making a gingerbread train while we were shopping at Target and just had to have it. Tonight she and her friend Alaina put it together. They worked very hard however I don't think this train will be making any trips to or from the North Pole.

Christmas party!

2008-12-17T15:56:00.000-08:00

Our friends Lauren and Willie decided to have a Christmas/housewarming party and invited us to help warm their home. Here are a few shots from the party, somehow they are mostly of Brooke.

What God wants for Christmas

2008-12-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

Carissa participated in the Christmas program at church entitled "What God wants for Christmas" on December 14th. She was a reader and had a fairly long speaking part. She did a great job and we are very proud of her!

Side note: Brooke was supposed to be a sheep and I got her into the costume long enough to get one picture at which point she decided she no longer felt sheepish and returned to the nursery.

We are Wicked bound!

2008-12-16T05:59:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, I am going to NYC in March with a small group of girlfriends for a long weekend getaway. We have been planning this trip for some time now and booked our hotel and flights long ago. We also planned to see a show while we are there but hadn't yet decided which one. Well, yesterday we booked it and we have center stage, orchestra seats to see Wicked! How exciting is that. In just 3 short months on 3-27-08 (which is coincidentally also my birthday) we will be on Broadway, Yay!!! Growing older may not be so painful this year :)!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-12-04T16:20:00.001-08:00

Today is my lovely husband Kerry's 38th birthday. Older and with less hair than he used to have but still an awesome husband and father. Happy Birthday, we love you!

Deck the Halls

2008-12-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

As is tradition in the Nohle household, we put up most of the Christmas decorations over Thanksgiving weekend. It rained a lot though so we did not yet get the lights up on the house. Kerry has assured me that he is going to do them however, we are now a week past Thanksgiving and still no icicle lights. Hmm......

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-28T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to Grandma's house so I didn't even have to cook! Unfortunately I got very few pictures but as you can see, Brooke inherited the family trait of sticking olives on her fingers at holiday meals.

A real day off!

2008-11-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

So today I am celebrating my first real day off since school started. This was the first Saturday morning that I did not have to get up and be somewhere. Brooke is sick so no gymnastics, soccer doesn't start back up until December, no birthday parties, no appointments, and no brownie events. I didn't know what to do with myself this morning, my house is spotless, all the laundry is done, the kids are fed and dressed and even have their teeth brushed. It is a rainy, overcast day so any kind of outside activity is out. I think I'll indulge myself and watch a movie while Brooke takes a nap : )!

The River Otter

2008-11-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

Carissa had her first major project due today. She had to pick an animal to research and do a tri-arama depicting it's habitat (this is like a diorama but it is shaped like a triangle). Carissa picked the North American River Otter and below is the finished product. Good work Carissa (with just a teenie bit of help from mom and dad).

Jaguars, tournament champs

2008-11-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well almost. They were the runners up which I thinks is pretty awesome especially considering that a lot of the girls had never played before. They started playing a single elimination on Monday and made it to the final two this evening. Way to go girls!

Trick or Treat 2008

2008-11-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween Brooke finally got to be her own character instead of a accessory to her sister's costume. I tried hard to get her to go as a genie's lamp but she was having none of it. What did she end up as you ask? Really you have to ask? She was Ariel of course! We had several other firsts this year. Daddy did the trick or treating with Brooke and Mommy stayed home to watch tv and pass out candy : ), and Carissa went trick or treating without us for the first time. Since Halloween fell on a Friday night (as it should be) she was invited over to her friend Alaina's house for trick or treating and a sleep over. I did manage to snap a few pictures before she left. And finally, what do you think of my decorations? I think I did pretty well myself. Brett even stopped by at the end of the night to show us his costume. No, we did not buy it.

Pumpkin carving

2008-10-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

So we had our friends Shane and Nicholas over on Saturday to visit and carve pumpkins. I have to say, I think we did pretty well!

Carissa's pumpkin

Shane's pumpkin

Brooke's pumpkin

Nicholas's pumpkin

Indian Summer or Indian Fall?

2008-10-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

As you can see, when you live in Florida Indian Summer goes on and on.

Winnie the Pooh

2008-10-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, October 12th, Brooke, Aunt Liz and I went to see Winnie the Pooh at the civic center. Most of the patrons were, as one might guess, approximately 5 years old or less which brings me to an interesting question. Whose big idea was it to have a Winnie the Pooh show at 1:30 in the afternoon?!? Obviously, whoever schedules events at the civic center has never had the pleasure of escorting a napless toddler!

Two sport talent

2008-10-13T18:50:00.001-07:00

Well, as I previously mentioned, we are very busy this fall in part because Carissa is now playing not just one but two team sports along with brownies and gymnastics. I finally got some pictures of one of her volleyball practices. Yes that's my girl with the overhand serve. (Did I mention this is her first time playing!) Go Jaguars!

Warner soccer 2008

2008-10-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I FINALLY got some pictures of Carissa during a soccer game. It seemed like it was one thing after another and I hadn't yet taken any pics. So here they are. The ones where she is in green she is goal tending and has a second jersey overtop her regular uniform, and the red jersey is her regular uniform shirt.

Coastal clean-up

2008-09-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, Carissa and her brownie troop went to Panacea to help clean up the beaches and parks. The troop was assigned an area in Woolley park and as you can see by the second picture they did an awesome job cleaning up. Way to go troop #48!

Biker babe

2008-09-16T16:25:00.001-07:00

Brooke has finally gotten the hang of pedaling! (Yes she is still wearing that Mermaid bathing suit. I hid it but she found it)

I'm a Mermaid!

2008-09-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Brooke got a new Mermaid nightgown from Aunt Liz. Can you tell she loves it!

Sickie Season has started

2008-09-11T05:42:00.001-07:00

Well, we got off to a good start but evidently it was not meant to go on indefinitely. I was just thinking to myself yesterday, "wow, Brooke hasn't been sick yet in her new classroom" (I should have known better than to even think those words). This morning Brooke woke up crying saying her ear hurt and then would not eat breakfast. So it has begun, the fall sickie season.

Brookism #1

2008-09-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

So Brooke was playing with her dressing skill buddy (This doll that has different skills they can practice like zipping, snapping, buttons, etc.) and she successfully accomplished the button, after which she announced loudly "I did it!" Wow I thought to myself, what a brilliant child, and I proceeded to tell her so by saying " You are such a smart girl!" To which Brooke responded.......

"No, I Brookie!"

It's raining, it's pouring......

2008-08-24T03:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is STILL raining here in Tallahassee. Fay has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but she obviously hasn't gotten the memo. It has been raining since Friday (It is now Sunday). We haven't sustained any damage to the house, although a tree is blocking the drive through at Subway. There are quite a few roads closed due to flooding so getting out of the house is not so much of an option since yesterday afternoon. We have had some entertainment thought. After running some errands yesterday, Kerry and I were coming home and saw some teenage boys playing in the water to show how deep it was and one was in water up to his shoulders, that was a sight. Then later, Kerry was pulling the paddle boat in and one of our neighbors came by in a canoe, right into our backyard because the lake was swollen. We are lucky though, many of our neighbors docks and boats were afloat, but since we don't have a dock and our house sits high and quite a ways in from the lake, we're doing okay.

Hurricane Day!

2008-08-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

Well, We had our first hurricane day of he school year today in response to tropical storm Fay. For you Northerners, this is equivalent to a snow day. Both the girls schools were closed and they stayed home with daddy. Mommy still had to go to work as FSU did not close. So the girls and daddy ran errands (yes they drove around town) and Carissa spent her day (voluntarily) doing extra chores to make money to go the the build-a-bear workshop. (As if we need another stuffed animal in this house!)

Back to school!

2008-08-19T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year again! Carissa started third grade yesterday and Brooke started a new room, coincidentally room #3 yesterday. Carissa is still at Killearn Lakes and over the past year they built a new wing with 10 or 12 classrooms. As luck would have it, Carissa's teacher, Mrs. Collier, was one of the lucky ones and is the only third grade teacher in the new building. The classrooms are state of the art and absolutely gorgeous! We are very blessed! The class also has a new gerbil (glad I'm not the teacher) but he/she doesn't have a name yet. That is one of the tasks for this week. And here we are, starting next week the craziness begins. This fall we are doing soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and girl scouts. (Yes, I like a challenge). So if some of you don't hear from me for a while, no worries, I didn't die, I'm playing chauffer.

It's potty time!

2008-08-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months of observation and psyching us out, Brooke used the potty for the first time! It happened about 30 seconds after I mentioned m & m's, hmmmmm.........

Morning routine

2008-08-03T04:19:00.000-07:00

Lately have been tired all the time and I was wondering why. Then I started to think about what I do from day to day, starting with my morning routine.

-I get up at 5:30 so that I am ready before I get the girls up.

-I let the dog out and feed and water the animals, then go get Carissa up.

-I wake up Carissa, pull out her clothes (if I didn't the night before) and put them in the bathroom.

-I wake up Carissa again, remind her to get dressed and clean the litter box and then head to Brooke's room.

-I walk on eggshells trying to wake Brooke up as gently as possible so she will be in a good mood and then sit on the floor with her diaper and 3 different outfits and coax her out of bed.

-Once Brooke has crawled out of Bed I change her and we go through the ritual of deciding what to wear (I actually have this one nailed, I ask her which outfit she wants me to put back until there is only one left and that's what we wear for the day), while calling to Carissa a time or two to make sure she is on track.

-Then I make breakfast. While the girls are eating breakfast I make their lunches, do Brooke's hair and gather their things. I tell Carissa to eat or hurry up once or twice and I tell Brooke to eat 237 times ending with threats to throw her food away.

-Finally we brush teeth, get shoes on and load up in the car. Getting in the car alone takes ten minutes with Brooke because she likes to do much of this process herself. Combine that with Tallahassee heat so that by the time I get in the car I have a layer of sweat forming on my body (ugh, why do I even bother with make-up and a shower!) Then to make matters worse, I have to get Brooke in and out of the car again when we drop Carissa off and out of the car and into pre-school when we get to her school, all before actually heading to work!

And I wondered why I am tired at the end of the day! And I only have 2 kids!

I think I am going to write the Olympic committee and request that morning routines be included as an event in the next summer olympics. I think I could pull out a gold on a good day!

What do ya'll think!?!