The Riggs Family

18 Month Pictures!

2009-07-16T10:07:00.007-05:00

Tatum and Linkin turned 18 months on July 2nd, so we went out to a park and took some pictures. We love the pictures and they did so good! It was fun to just let them play on the slides and swings. They are getting so big... we can't believe 18 months have come and gone! Here are a few of the pictures that were taken, wish I could post them all, but there were sooo many... hope you like them!

Happy Anniversary! -composed by Mark

2009-07-12T14:51:00.005-05:00

10 Things I love about Kristi (even after 6 years) 10. You are so sexy! 9. You are even more funny than me, and that is hard to accomplish! 8. You make the best meat,maccaroni dish! Even though I dont like it, I know you think it is Amazing!! 7. You have the SEXIEST blue eyes! 6. You are such a good mom to our kids.... maybe because you seem to be so on their level in so many ways.....hmmmm ??? 5 GOLDENNNN RINGSSSS ba da bam bam....... is not something you expect (YES!!!!!!!) 4. Did I mention you are extremely SEXY! 3. You put up with me. 2. You laugh at my jokes, although you never seem to buy into my sarcastic lies... you need to work on that a little. 1. Like Mary Poppins....You are Perfect in Every Way! (Except for the few items listed above) HAPPY ANNIVERSARY I LOVE YOU!

Not that anyone still reads this...

2009-06-16T15:09:00.006-05:00

I am not sure anyone still reads this, but that is probably because I have been horrible at updating. Well, some big news... this is Timorie, she was born yesterday June 15th. She weighed 8lbs 9oz and is 22 inches long! Big Girl!

Oh, she is my brother's baby girl! BRET and JES welcome Timorie Prinz into this world at

8:04 PM Congrats big brother! Also, Bret's birthday is June 15th and Jes's birthday is June 15th, so their family of three have the exact same birthday... what are the odds?

The rest of these pictures I took this past Sunday. I thought they looked so cute ready for church. Tatum and Linkin are getting so big!

Nursery only three more Sundays, not that we are counting or anything ha ha!

Oh my goodness!!

2009-05-01T17:42:00.002-05:00

So, last night Mark and I put Tatum and Linkin to bed and then I asked him to adjust my back... while he was adjusting me we heard Linkin gagging in the bedroom. A lot of parents would be concerened, but... our two little darlings have taught themselves how to gag themselves with their fingers to the point of throwing up... yes... Bulimic 16 mo olds! Anyway, we ran into the room to stop Linkin from doing it and it was too late he had already (you know) on the carpet. So, I was cleaning it up and Mark was leaning over Linkin's crib when Tatum fell out of her crib!! (Good parenting huh!!) The cribs are on the lowest setting and she managed to swing her leg up on top and pulled the other one with it and toppled over. My heart stopped! Can you believe that? I am so glad I was in the room when it all happened!! So, Mark unscrewed the rail and took it out and now her mattress is sitting on the ground in her crib! What a monkey girl! Crazy times~

Finally an Update!

2009-04-25T12:14:00.004-05:00

So, here is an update of pictures that we have been meaning to post for awhile. Tatum and Linkin are getting so big! They love to learn new things, dance to music and to laugh! It is so funny how much they want to learn and copy, although they are not really talking yet...

Love to go for a stroll in our wagon

Getting so Tall

Tatum loves her mini-quad

Getting ready to go down the slide... such a pretty girl

Silly Boy!

Here are some pictures of our backyard. After about a month of construction, they finally finished it and we love it. Tatum and Linkin love to have the screen door open so they can run in and out.

Sorry, it's been a while!

2009-03-05T12:58:00.002-06:00

You would think that I would have no problem updating this blog since I stay home with Tatum and Linkin all day! However, these past couple months have been pretty busy for us. Mark and I have been getting his office ready so he can start seeing patients, which he can in the next couple days YEA!! We have had workers in our backyard for 3 weeks installing our landscaping, and they finally finished. I will post a picture once I take one of the finished product. It turned out really nice, just took forever! Mark's sister, Kyndall, is engaged and is getting married next Friday, March 13th. We are so happy for her and Tyson. He is such a great guy!

This is one of their pictures they took up in Utah! They look so good together!

Tatum and Linkin are getting so big! Tatum now has enough hair to put in a pony tail or two little pigtails! I will post pictures of them as soon as I transfer them from the camera! Hope all is well with everyone!

One Year Pictures

2009-01-23T15:44:00.007-06:00

Okay... so I know I have been a huge slacker with updating the blog. I hope to do better now!! We are loving it in our new home in Surprise. I finally got all the walls painted, but there are some rooms that I am going to do a design, but that will come in time. We are, finally, getting the backyard landscaping put in, and I know that Tatum and Linkin are going to love it because they love going to the park and running around. Mark is getting his office together and he will be able to start practicing in the next week or two and I am coaching volleyball for Club Arrowhead and still doing the "in home spa escapes" which I absolutely love! I still can't get over it... my babies are one!! We had some family pictures taken a couple weeks ago by the AMAZING Natalie Montez!! She does amazing work. If you are in the valley and looking for a photographer, I highly recommend her! Here are a couple pictures...

Happy Birthday to our two Miracles

2009-01-03T21:17:00.002-06:00

Here are a few pictures from Tatum's and Linkin's Birthday party! We had so much fun! We want to thank all of our family for coming and we now have enough toys to last until Tatum and Linkin are 5!!

This day is a very special day, not only for Tatum and Linkin, but for Mark and I too! They truly are "our two Miracles"!! They are the best babies ever and are always so happy... the wait was well worth it! I hope you enjoy the pictures... as you will see, they loved the cake!!

One of the Best Weekends Ever!

2008-12-15T11:46:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I am sure most of you have a few of your "best" times ever... well, over this past weekend Mark and I just shared our fourth "best" time ever!! The previous three, in no particular order, are: Wedding Day, My College Graduation Day and the Births of Tatum and Linkin. Well... on Saturday Mark Graduated!!!! He finished up Chiropractic School and received his Doctorate Degree! I am so proud of him. These past three years have gone by so fast and there were many changes in our lives. Parker School of Chiropractic is not an easy school by any means, the schedule and classes are very demanding and many students drop out after the first trimester (yes, his school goes by trimesters, not semesters)so this is such an amazing accomplishment! CONGRATS to MARK, what an Outstanding Achievement!! (Pictures will come shortly)

Playing with our Cousins!!

2008-12-08T10:36:00.004-06:00

This past weekend Tatum, Linkin and I went out to Kristen and Gmo's house to spend the night. Tatum and Linkin had so much fun playing with their cousins, Tate and Brooklynn. I enjoyed having some adult interaction and seeing how much fun all the cousins had together! Here are a few pictures that were took.

Brooklynn and Linkin ready to get to the park

Tatum, Linkin and Brooklynn wanting to get out of the wagon and play

Tate giving me his biggest smile!

Tatum is having so much fun in her own swing

I love this picture! Linkin is so happy playing outside

Tate was so cute, he wanted to push Tatum and Linkin in the swings

Brooklynn loved the swing, she just sat back and relaxed!

Bath time with everyone! Cute boys!!

Love this picture of Brooklynn, she is soooo cute!

House update: The house is coming along great, my mom and I are almost done painting. As soon as we are I will post some pictures. Until then... be happy you are not painting every wall in your house!!

Move Update

2008-11-20T09:29:00.004-06:00

Tatum, Linkin and I are now in Surprise, AZ. Mark had to stay back to finish up school, but will come here for Thanksgiving and then head back to TX again for two weeks and then be back for good. We are slowly getting everything settled in... unpacking and painting. I wanted to post some pictures of the house for you to see, but I have tried three times, it says that they are done and uploaded to the blog, but they never come up... any ideas?

A month gone already???

2008-10-24T20:07:00.004-05:00

This month has gone by so fast! We have been super busy lately and I have neglected our blog, so before all the pictures of the babies... a brief update of this crazy month. Mark's mom, Sheri, came to visit at the beginning of October, then Mark's dad and his wife, Suzie, came two weeks later. The day they showed up we received a great offer on our house here, so we sold our home (well kinda, closing is not until Nov 7th) So, every night once the babies are in bed Mark and I pack and pack and pack. Our house looks so bare with all the decorations gone, but I am liking the look because it means AZ is just around the corner. My mom will be coming out next week to help finish up the packing and then we will fly back to AZ with the babies Nov 8th leaving Mark behind. Mark will drive out for Thanksgiving, but it will be a long two weeks without him. So, that is what has been going on over here... below are just pictures of the babies from the past month. (I don't know why they are so big, I chose medium size like always... sorry)

Tatum waiting to get in the car for our nature walk

Linkin waiting patiently too

Mark left a pack of Ritz crackers on the couch and this is what happened to them

Wanting to play outside in the rain

Please mom... I think she really wants to go outside, what do you think?

We went to a Pumpkin Patch while Mark's dad and Suzie were here

Linkin wasn't sure if he liked the feel of grass on his feet

This pumpkin was almost bigger than Tatum

I thought this picture was cute. Linkin gets this face when he gets excited and flexes his body... you can see all his teeth!

Another year older.... wiser too?

2008-10-01T14:11:00.003-05:00

For those of you who don't know, Mark's and my birthday are a day apart. His is today and mine was yesterday. So, we get to have a couple of fun days. I will admit that it is completely different with two nine month olds. Before, we would just hop in the car and go to dinner and be back whenever. Yesterday I got to choose where we were to go... which means pick a restaurant that if the babies are loud it won't bother anyone and where service is pretty quick to make sure we get home for baths and bedtime. So, we went to this restaurant called "Love and War". It is super yummy! Mark would rather have a meal at home than wrestle with the kids so he wants me to make stuffed shells. Another yummy meal. So....

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!

Mark wanted Funfetti Cupcakes, which I made into a cake

Mark made me an ice cream/brownie cake.

It was excellent!

Time goes by way too fast!

2008-09-15T14:30:00.002-05:00

8 1/2 months have gone by so fast. There have been so many changes and milestones reached with Tatum and Linkin, but we know the next 8 months are going to be more eventful. We have a lot going on right now and we are hoping it will all settle down shortly. We are currently trying to sell our home, which is taking a lot longer than we thought. Mark is finishing up his last few months of school. He graduates mid December and let me tell you how excited I am. He has done so well these past three years, but I know he is ready for the classes to come to an end. We are, also, building a home in Surprise, AZ. We thought it was going to be done in Dec when we move back, but we just found out that it is going to be done before Halloween. Figures!! If we were in a rush to move in, the house would have taken forever, but NO! It's like they have every construction worker in the city out there! But we are way excited because it is in a neighborhood where they are building an elementary school right across the street, so we plan on being there for a while. These next few months are going to be huge changes for the babies. I am sure they will start walking, talking, eating regular food, gaining even more crazier personalities and much more. They are so much fun! I can't express enough how lucky I am to be able to stay home with them everyday. So, here are a few pictures of the joys of our life:

Such a pretty girl with such a loud voice!

Linkin was a little confused between his hat and his shorts!

Crawling to the camera

Can you see his teeth? Looks like she is thinking hard about something!

What an innocent face!

7 Years Already

2008-09-10T13:45:00.003-05:00

Can you believe it has been 7 years since the 9/11 attack? It is weird for me to think our kids will read about this event in their history book, yet we lived it. Remember how the entire nation came together and helped one another, what happened to all that? I can still remember where I was when I heard the horrible news... I was living in a Mesa Apartment with Heather (Kinneberg) Fogelson. I just woke up and was about to get in the shower to get ready to go to work and Heather was at the sink curling her hair and said that we were under attack. I thought she was saying that we (her and I) were under attack and I said "whatever" then she pointed to the TV and I froze. Can you remember what you were doing the exact moment you heard or saw the life changing news?

August Fun

2008-08-31T20:22:00.003-05:00

I know I have not updated in a couple weeks, so here are some pictures that were taken throughout the month! We can't believe how big they are getting! It really is true how fast they grow and change... almost makes me want two more... key word: ALMOST!!

Having fun at the park

Daddy and his little princess

Linkin showing off his new hat

I love this picture of the two of them! Linkin is already trying to be just like dad...wearing the same brand hat!

Pretty Tatum, I love this color on her!

Cute babes! They just love posing for pictures.

Getting comfy in Daddy's arms

I love this picture! This was today, right before church. I can't believe how grown up Linkin looks! What a handsome little man!

Only in Texas... and Birthday Shout Outs!

2008-08-18T08:41:00.004-05:00

So, one day Mark, Tatum, Linkin and I went for a drive. We were driving through an older part of town and came upon a neighborhood that was a little run down. We were commenting on some of the homes and how people can really let their yards go astray and the things they leave out on their front lawn. You wouldn't believe all the items we saw! Well, anyway... we kept going on about the things we wanted to do to the yard at the house we are building in Surprise, AZ.... then we stopped the car in disbelief. What? How Could? Why? We didn't have our camera or our phones with us, so we decided to drive back and take a picture. So... whada ya think? You like?

Yup, only in Texas will you find a Purple house with Pink polk-a-dots and yellow shutters!

Happy, Happy Birthday to you... From Me!

Happy Birthday Jo! (Aug 17th) Hope you had a great day!

Happy Birthday Sheri (Mark's mom) Next year we will be there to celebrate with you!

Happy Birthday Launa! How old are you again... I keep forgetting :)

Posing For Pictures and Being Big Helpers!

2008-08-12T14:22:00.002-05:00

Here are a few recent pictures of Tatum and Linkin. They are both so active now. Crawling all over the place and now they are both pulling themselves up on everything! These next pictures Tatum and Linkin were "Big Helpers" I made a strawberry pie for some friends and the babies wanted to help clean up...

Round Rock, Texas

2008-07-29T13:12:00.003-05:00

My brother, Bret, came to Texas to play a baseball game against a team in Round Rock (about 2 1/2 hours from us), so we decided to take a trip down to see him. Bret had not seen the babies yet because he has been gone with baseball the whole time, so it was fun to see him. This was Tatum and Linkin's first baseball game ever and they did really well for a 7:00 PM start (which is when we feed them last and put them to bed). We had a lot of fun and wish we could have stayed longer. We think Uncle Bret had fun too!

Chillin' in my own chair It was a little hot out, can you tell????This is what they are paid to do??? Bret was called in to clean up another player's mess. 1 out and bases loaded! He did great and got the save!

Sweet Tatum

2008-07-29T13:02:00.002-05:00

Tatum is so funny! She makes us laugh all the time with her funny noises. She has started babbling with food in her mouth, which is not fun for the person trying to feed her, but it is pretty funny. She is so sweet and loves to give kisses. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Sweet Tatum!

Picture with Mommy Pretty Smile I love this picture... Can you tell I Love her so much!!! Being comforted by Linkin Pretty Girl Here she is talking away like normal!

The Many Smiles of Linkin

2008-07-29T10:08:00.001-05:00

Linkin has so many different smiles! He smiles all the time, especially for the camera. Tatum smiles all the time too, but when the camera comes out she looks at it trying to figure it out! So, here are some of my favorite pictures of Linkin with all his different camera smiles!

Laughing at Mommy Eating yummy sweet potatoes Crawling to get the camera Sweet boy Big Smile This has to be one of my favorites because it is such a funny smile This is how I found him in the morning, he must have been playing peek-a-boo with his stuffed animals

5 Incredible Years

2008-07-13T12:55:00.003-05:00

July 12, 2008 we celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary. What an amazing 5 years it has been with many wonderful memories created. I am so grateful for such an incredible husband who, I think, is the absolute best. He makes being married so easy, fun and always exciting. I know that I am so lucky to have found Mark because he is so amazing! I love him soooo much! I just hope all of you are as happy as I am because you deserve it!

Engagement Pic

Can you guess what pic this is? hmm tough one

Just having fun

My brother, Ryan's, Wedding

Just days before Tatum and Linkin arrived

AND... we were able to get out and catch a movie, which is a forgotten event in our home. Thanks so much Launa... you are the best!

4th of July Weekend

2008-07-06T10:32:00.002-05:00

We had such a fun weekend. Mark's mom, Sheri, came in town for a few days and it was so much fun. We went and took their 6 month pictures, had a 4th of July BBQ with our good friends Jon, Launa and their three boys, had Woolley's (the best frozen custard ever), had Shaved Ice, and just hung out and played with the babies! Sheri is such an amazing Grandma and the babies just love her so much... they were sad to see her go. So was I, the help was soooooo nice. Here are a few pictures we took to capture the weekend.

Linkin sportn' his Red, White and Blue and showing

how well he can sit up

I love this picture of Sheri and Tatum... aren't they so cute!

Tatum fell asleep on Grandma's shoulder, so precious

Here everyone is in their 4th of July attire!

Linkin and Grandma

Grandma, Linkin and Tatum just minutes before Grandma left. Can you see the sadness in the babies' faces... they didn't want Grandma to go!

Babies, Babies and more Babies!!

2008-06-27T19:37:00.002-05:00

Here are quite a few pictures of Tatum and Linkin that we have taken in the last couple weeks. We can't believe how big they are getting and how much they are eating! They are so active and we think Linkin is going to start crawling any day now, but we will have to wait and see! Can you believe they will be six months in a couple days? Where does the time go?

Linkin loves his walker

He loves to chew on the shapes

I put both of them in one crib after I bathed them...

Linking kept turning around to follow me wherever I would go! What a big smile!

He's got Tatum pinned!

I just love this picture of Mark and Tatum... so sweet!

Playing with Daddy!

Pretty Tatum! She loves her daddy!

Playing together

Pause for a quick picture

Mommy and her beautiful blessings!

Linkin is such a momma's boy!

This is how Mark found Tatum in the morning!

She is always so excited to see us when we walk in!

Just For Fun

2008-06-07T20:54:00.002-05:00

These are some pictures we took just for fun. Linkin and Tatum are in such a fun stage right now. Always laughing, smiling and babbling (crying here and there too). It makes me sad sometimes when I put them down to sleep for the night, because I just want to play with them!

Our Handsome Linkin

Linkin just loves to walk all over. He could be

crying like crazy, but once you get him walking he is all smiles!

Pretty Tatum playing on the Activity Mat

Isn't she just so Precious?? Well, we think so anyway :)

They are starting to play together now, so it is fun

to watch them interact with one another.

A few cute pictures

2008-06-04T07:54:00.004-05:00

These pictures were taken with my cell phone, so they are not the clearest... I just can't get over how fast they change.

Tatum is always smiling and happy.

She just loves to cuddle with you. One day we will see

some hair on top of that adorable head!

Linkin is all smiles too! He just loves to stand on your lap and wiggle around. He is getting so big... 16.5 pounds already!

Tatum will fall asleep any way possible. She is placed on her belly and rolls to her back to play and then will just fall asleep!

I think this picture is adorable! He loves his little "bunny bear". He cuddles with it when he falls asleep.

Here we are at Costco. Linkin is getting a little too big for the cart... his toes are popping out!

A day out...

2008-05-21T19:17:00.005-05:00

A day out is really rare for me, Tatum and Linkin, so when Mark is here I try to think of things we can do to get out of the house.

This is a water fountain about 10 min from our house in Irving.

Linkin was not as excited about visiting the fountain as I was

Tatum was awake and told Mark she wanted to feel how cold the water was

Pretty girl! Tatum and I soaking up the sun

We went to a baseball game... Here is Xander running to back-up first base.

Here Parker hit the ball and wanted a triple, so he decided to take the short-cut and go straight for third skipping first and second!! We had a Rock Band party with Launa, Jon and the boys... so much fun!!

Mark and Jon rocking out! Although I did not get a picture of Jon's real talent... he got 100% on the singing part! Go Jon... I am going to call the Church Choir Director and sign you up!

Our Band, minus Launa, she was taking the picture

We finally updated!

2008-05-15T15:41:00.003-05:00

Okay, so the babies are no longer 3 months old, so I figured I should update. We were able to go back to AZ for a little bit to visit family. We were so busy there with visiting, going to the hospital twice for two new births and family parties. I had wanted to spend time with friends, but the time went so fast... I hope my friends forgive me. So, there are four new posts with lots of pictures. I hope you enjoy them!

My Brother is a Daddy!

2008-05-15T15:30:00.002-05:00

My brother, Ryan, and his wife, Josie, had their baby boy, Aryn James, on Sunday, May 4th. He weighed 6lbs 3oz. I was so excited Aryn came when I was in town visiting. I was able to visit in the hospital and spend some time with Aryn, Ryan and Josie.

So sweet! Looks like a mini Ryan (not that Ryan is sweet ha ha) Aryn with his proud mommy and daddy

Aunt Kristi getting to hold brand new baby Aryn!

Cousins!!

2008-05-15T15:18:00.003-05:00

Brooklynn eating lunch! (Kristen and G-mo's girl)She is definitely a momma's girl. Brooklynn is so active, crawling everywhere and smiles all the time! She is 4 1/2 months older than Tatum and Linkin

TATE!!!(2 yrs old) Brooklynn's older brother. He was so cute with Tatum and Linkin. He was calling Linkin "Blinkin" and wanted him to go play in his room. "Cousin want to play in my room?" He was holding Tatum too, I wish I had my camera for that one! He is so sweet! Ashlyn (Josie and Ryan's daughter) holding Tatum. Ashlyn was getting so excited for the birth of her brother that she was holding Tatum for practice. (I tried to get her to change some diapers, but that didn't sound to appealing to Ashlyn!)Brand new second cousin Grady James. He was born on Saturday, May 3rd. 7lbs 7oz. He is the son of Mark's cousin Johnny and his wife Jamie!! We were so happy we were in town to go to the hospital to visit.

Babies with Grandparents

2008-05-15T14:59:00.004-05:00

Linkin absolutely loves his Grandma Sheri. He laughs so much when she plays with him.

Grandpa Mark allowing Linkin to show off his talents!!

Linkin lovin' on his Grandma

Grandpa Randy getting Linkin to wave to the camera

Tatum sitting with GG (Great Grandma). This was Tatum's first time meeting GG Tatum loving her Grandpa Grandma Suzie loves her Tatum!

Tatum and Grandma Donna... not sure which camera to look at!

Hanging out at the swim party with Grandma Suzie and Kaylie

Random Pictures

2008-05-15T14:38:00.002-05:00

Mark and Kyndall eating yummy salsa from Matta's (we wish we had some in TX!!)

Beautiful Aunt Kyndall and Tatum

Linkin loves his walker, especially chewing on the shapes

Mark thought it would be funny to turn Tatum's hair bow around... so this is Ninja Tatum

Mark and I were eating dinner and had Linkin in his high chair. We did not move him at all, this is how he was sitting... Cracks me up "I'll just chill here while you eat dinner"

3 Month Pictures

2008-04-18T13:43:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Mark and I took Tatum and Linkin to our friends house to have their pictures taken. Charlene did a great job! Here are a few pictures from that day.

You know... it's funny... They are always smiling at home, but as soon as that camera came out they became shy!

Odd or Not So Odd?

2008-04-12T18:55:00.001-05:00

Thursday around 3:00AM a horrible storm hit the Dallas/Ft Worth area. Our tornado siren went off and we lost power at 3:30AM. We called the electric company and they said the power should be back on by noon. Well, that didn't happen... our neighbor came by and said that she was told it was not going to come on until Saturday. So, we were gone all day and came home before dinner time to feed Tatum and Linkin. We didn't want to strap them back into their carseats to go get dinner so Mark came up with this great idea...

Looks not so good... but it is spaghetti with tomatoes and sauce all made on the grill.

Here is the master chef at work!!

Okay... so this next picture is only about a mile from our house. What are your thoughts about it?

Hmmm, should we try to make a session? :)

Dabbling in Photography

2008-04-06T17:57:00.003-05:00

Ever since my freshman year of high school, in my photo class, I have wanted to get into photography. Well, now that we have a nice camera and an amazing computer program that I play around with, I have decided to mess around and see what I could do with my most perfect candidates...

Playing with our camera

2008-03-31T22:11:00.004-05:00

I love our camera! It captures the best pictures...

Mark came home and found the babies like this... So my parenting is a little different than usual ha ha

Here Linkin is running across the room at 3 months. What a big boy!

So Beautiful

Linkin is always full of smiles

One of our favorite pictures of Linkin

Our Happy Babies!

2008-03-19T15:39:00.002-05:00

Tatum and Linkin are smiling a whole lot now, but it is hard to catch it on camera! Here's what we could get...

Tatum just waking up from her nap

Sitting and waiting for the bath to be ready

Linkin just got done eating and loves to talk!Looks like he is yawning, but he is just talking away!

So adorable!

We Made the Marquee!

2008-03-11T19:02:00.004-05:00

This may sound a little strange, but outside my Doctor's office there is a marquee that advertises procedures that the office offers, and if there is a birth they post it up for all of Dallas to see! Here are the pictures we took. Kind of weird, but pretty cool too!

Did you know that bouncers can be multi-functional?

I don't know if you can tell, but it is snowing... this was only last week! You can see the ground was starting to turn white. I love the beanies!

Twins Difficult?

2008-03-06T13:55:00.002-06:00

Lots of people ask me if it has been hard with twins... My response to that is you train them young to feed themselves ha ha

Linkin is feeding himself with the most amazing invention ever!

I would have to say this was a great investment!

Tatum being so sweet

Here she is allowing me to take her picture

Here they are in the cute outfits my good friend from Chicago, Niki, sent them.

Honestly tho... it has been so much fun with twins. I would not say that it is difficult at all, just very very eventful!

Baby Blessings

2008-03-03T13:38:00.001-06:00

Tatum wanting out of her dress!

Tatum being calmed by mommy.

This is Linkin in his little Pinocchio outfit......

So pretty!

Linkin loves it outside.

Dad trying to get Linkin to show off his standing skills...but Linkin just wanted to sit.

The 4 of us!

The babies love Grandpa!We are so glad he was able to come and we wish all of our family could have been there!

"You are my brother..."

2008-02-26T22:09:00.000-06:00

Okay, so for those of you who watch American Idol, you may recognize the guy, Renaldo Lapuz, in this picture from the Dallas Auditions!

Well, here he is again, this time posing with Mark and I

We only had our cell phones with us, so these were taken with the cell phone camera! It was the craziest thing... we were leaving our mall at 8:30 at night and we walked by him and I thought he looked familiar. We got a few feet past and I looked at Mark and said that is the guy from American Idol who sang that "You are my brother... " song. Mark went back to verify and then introduced himself. The singer had his hat with him that he wore on the audition and he got it out and took some pictures with us! Crazy huh?

San Antonio Trip

2008-02-19T12:06:00.000-06:00

We decided to take a "last minute" trip to San Antonio to visit Mark's Uncle, Doug, and his Family. It was nice to have a change of scenery and to be able to relax for a couple of days. Here are a few pictures from our visit...

Here is Doug holding Tatum! I love her face

Taylor was such a big help. She loved holding, feedind and playing with Linkin and Tatum... and the babies loved her too! Here Luke is enjoying his cartoons

Jared didn't really want his picture taken, but he was a good sport!

Weston with his crazy hair... I love it and can't wait until Linkin's hair grows out

Doug and Jenny being silly! Thanks for having us!

Now, prepare yourself for the many faces of Linkin as he is making a surprise in his diaper for Mommy! I am busy here! Uh-oh this is going to be a good one One last push ought to do it! All better!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T16:04:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!! We hope everyone enjoys this "Hallmark" Holiday! We love all of you!

Our Sweet Babies!

2008-02-11T19:58:00.001-06:00

Here are our sweet babies! Mark put them both in the boppy and they fell asleep together. I couldn't help but to take pictures of them!

Tatum on left and Linkin on right Linkin was a good sport as Tatum kept moving to get comfortable.

Getting Bigger!

2008-01-30T18:08:00.000-06:00

We went to the Doctor today! Linkin is now 7lbs 13oz and Tatum is 7lbs 6.5oz. It is fun to see their little bodies gain fat. They both have round bellies now and chubby cheeks! Amazing what happens in such little time!

Linkin chillin' in his swing Tatum posing for the camera Linkin was a little confused why his sister was screaming next to

him and why we thought it was so cute we had to take pictures. Here Linkin is putting his head on Tatum's shoulder

telling her everything will be okay!

More Family Pictures

2008-01-23T19:40:00.000-06:00

Mark, Kristi, Linkin, Tatum, Suzie and Mark

These next few pictures are from our trip to a Studio! During the session, because it was the naked newborn session, we were taking risks... Tatum peed on me and pooped on my mom. Linkin peed on the photographer and pooped on Mark's arm. Even though we went through all that, we got some pretty good pictures!

Linkin and Tatum

Our cutest baby boy, Linkin

Our sweetest baby girl, Tatum

Our family picture

More Baby Pictures

2008-01-19T12:01:00.001-06:00

Mark's Dad and Suzie came in to visit. They have been great help!

Linkin likes to have his hands up all the time. Here it looks like he is trying to bother Tatum, but it doesn't phase her at all!

When Tatum is wide awake she will look all around with her mouth wide open!

Linkin is enjoying his playmat!

First Family Picture

2008-01-10T10:47:00.000-06:00

Here is our first Family Picture

There have been a lot of people asking how I am doing... I am, actually, doing really well recovering from a normal birth and a C-Section. I have been up and around from the day after they were born. Mark has been updating the blog the entire time, which has been nice for everyone to see pictures. We have been getting pretty good sleep...Tatum and Linkin are sleeping between 3.5-4 hours in a row. They are relatively easy babies. We have not had an episode yet of uncontrollable crying. I think we have just been blessed with easy babies! My mom is staying with us to help out for a while and Mark has been off for school break the entire time. I am extremely sad that he has to go back to school on Monday! Well, we hope everyone is doing well and I am sorry if I have not been the best at returning phone calls, I still love all of you!

More baby pictures

2008-01-07T21:14:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Linkin in the bath

Bundled in bed

Little Burritos

Bath time

Mommy and the twins

new babies

2008-01-05T04:06:00.000-06:00

Linkin on Daddy

Aunt Kyndall and Tatum

Linkin

Tatum

Pics

2008-01-03T04:29:00.000-06:00

Linkin - left Tatum - Right

Tatum sleeps with her mouth open just liker her mom

Babies

2008-01-02T23:09:00.000-06:00

Okay so I (Mark) am in charge of sending out the info....and I am struggling with the pictures, it's either my computer or me.....so I am saying it is the computer. BUT, the jist of the story is that Tatum was born a natural birth first at 9:06 am, 7lbs 3oz 19in long. Then an hour and 10 min later stubborn Linkin was born C-section at 10:14am, 6lbs 5oz and 20 1/2in long. They were both healthy and were in with mom and dad shortly after birth. Kristi is doing really good for 2 different births and we hope to go home by Saturday. Big ups to Kyndall for helping us out...she even changed a couple black tar diapers!

Baby Update

2007-12-26T19:09:00.000-06:00

We just wanted to let everyone know that the babies are NOT here yet!! However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... My doctor set a date to deliver them, next Thursday, Jan 3rd. I will be 38 1/2 weeks by then, so we have high hopes both babies will be coming home from the hospital when I do. We will make sure to post pictures once this amazing event happens! We hope you had a Wonderful Christmas and have a safe New Year's Eve!

Time's Up??

2007-12-16T14:52:00.000-06:00

I am hoping that this will be the last post before the babies arrive. We did have a name change... for the girl, we are thinking we are going to name her Tatum Reese, instead of Reese being her first name. We still like Linkin Mark for our boy, but who knows, everything could change when they arrive. This picture would have been the picture we would have sent out for Christmas cards, but we decided to wait and send pictures after the babies are here. So, keep your fingers crossed that these babies come soon because being 36 weeks along with twins is not the most comfortable thing in the world :)

Got Elfed?

2007-12-02T19:50:00.000-06:00

I received this email from my friend, Launa. Check out this link, it is really funny. It takes a second to load. Watch it, then create one of your own! We had fun creating our elves!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1143512984

Thanksgiving Weekend

2007-11-28T16:40:00.000-06:00

Sheri, Kyndall and Kristi standing in the snow on Thxgiving Day!

Kyndall and Sheri (Mark's & Kyndall's mom) posing for the camera!

Mark getting ready to leave for his intense game of the ward Turkey Bowl in 35 degree weather. By the way his team won!

Mark and Kyndall trying to stay warm hanging Christmas lights in the freezing cold!

Kyndall is not used to the cold weather...can you tell. (that is a strawberry in case you were wondering)

Here I am making homemade dinner rolls, I guess I wasn't completely helpless.

Update of Random Pictures

2007-11-19T09:09:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has taken a while to update but the doctor ordered me to bedrest because I was in the hospital with pre-term labor contractions. (That makes 5 hospital visits in 7 months, pretty good huh?) These are just random pictures that have been taken over the last couple weeks. Most are of baby items because they will be here anytime now.

Linkin's bed

Reese's bed

Swings

Bouncers

Car seats

High Chairs

Nursery wall we painted

Layla in the wreath Kyndall is going to make for our door

Gecko failing to get in the house. We found him smashed in the door jam. Yuck!

Mark being silly

This is Mark taking pictures of me that I didn't want.

Kyndall grabbing the camera and taking pictures of herself.

Bret & Jessica's Wedding Weekend

2007-10-30T09:17:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Oct 20th Bret and Jessica were married! Mark and I drove the incredibly long 15 hour drive into Phoenix on Friday. (I am no longer allowed to fly :( ) The weekend was a lot of fun, I just wish we would have taken more pictures, but we were busy on the dance floor :)

The Bride and Groom!

Bret and Jessica on the dance floor. If anyone wants any dance lessons, make sure to call Bret, he has all the moves!

Crazy Ryan... no one ever really knows what he is up to!

Okay, so I think this is one of the only pictures Randy and Donna (mom and dad) have taken together since before Mark and I were married! Mark and I waiting to walk in to the dinner reception

I think Ashlyn is just as excited as we are for the babies to get here!

This was not part of the wedding weekend, but I thought it was funny!

Lots and Lots of Pictures of our Fun Day!

2007-10-08T20:52:00.000-05:00

Here are quite a few pictures we took during an eventful day! For those of you who keep asking me to post pictures of how big I am getting... well there are a few in here where you can tell. I hope you like the pictures!

Mark in the middle of his football game Look at this studly quarterback! Mark kind of got confused where to stand for this picture Can you guess where we went? Kyndall and I just inside the fair grounds We were really hungry and found hot dogs for $1... Crazy price for the fair! But they were really small!

Our cute family picture Posing with the rockstars (nice side view of my huge belly) Posing with the Wizard of Oz Another great profile shot of my belly!

Kyndall was so excited that OU beat the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl

that she was jumping for joy outside the stadium!

Crazy kids playing in the water Kyndall gettting more wet than she thought she was going to! Kyndall loves Texas... especially all the talk about how

"Texas Football" is so much better than everywhere else... Just ask her!

Our Birthday's!!

2007-10-01T19:31:00.000-05:00

Well, Sunday was my birthday and Monday was Mark's birthday! Mark's mom, Sheri, flew in for the weekend to spend some time with us and Kyndall and to do an early celebration of our birthdays. Here are some pictures from the two eventful days!

This is an ice cream cake that Mark and I made for my birthday! We made brownies on the bottom and let that cool, then put super soft strawberry ice cream on top, then topped it with fresh strawberries and bananas, then froze it for like 3 hours. It is so yummy... we are still eating it! Here is Mark opening a card. If you look closely you will notice our beautiful wrapping paper is Christmas... we were too lazy to go buy birthday paper! This is Mark while he was opening a gift he really wanted!

This was the gift he really wanted.

Layla decided she wanted to join the crazy party we were having!Mark wanted to give a cheese smile after he was done opening all his gifts!

Baking Mishap

2007-09-18T21:56:00.000-05:00

Have you ever greased a pan when it tells you not to? Have you ever wanted bigger cookies, so you put huge spoonfuls down? Well, Kyndall and I did! We wanted to make "pizookies" and we were so excited for the cookies to be done. Then we smelled something burning... we opened the oven and this is what we saw... The burning smell was the cookie spilling over the sides of the pan onto the bottom of the oven. We could not stop laughing! In the end, the cookies turned out really flat, but super yummy!

Brooklynn is Born!

2007-08-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Brooklynn Rachelle Lane born August 24, 2007.

Brooklynn takes after her dad weighing 6lbs 13oz.

Shots, ouchy!

Won't be posted long.....

2007-08-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

Kristi gets so annoyed when I talk about high school Mtn View days, (Which is one of the main reasons I bring it up sometimes, I get a good laugh!) So this post may be deleted in a few hours by her, so check it out while you can. For those of you who know the history behind this picture shhhhhhhh! This picture is taken when we won State my senior year 1999.

The Worker, The Student and The Bum

2007-08-16T18:33:00.000-05:00

Here is Kyndall. She is currently working at American Airlines Headquarters. She has her own cubicle and, if you look closely, she has her own badge! Here is Mark. He is currently a student at Parker Chiropractic College. He enjoys lectures all day and studying all night. Here is Kristi. She currently sits at home all day waiting for the Worker and the Student to come home. She enjoys bumming around and taking naps.

Wii Had Fun!

2007-08-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

This weekend Kyndall moved in with us! Mark Sr. and Kyndall drove the 15 hours and arrived on Friday. Saturday we all relaxed and played a few games on Nintendo Wii. We all had a fun time, especially when Kyndall started boxing!

A Quick Update

2007-07-31T20:29:00.001-05:00

Here are Mark and I (if you look close you can see my bulging belly)

Mark playing around with the camera

This is soup all over my face... Mark made me laugh at dinner and he knows if there is food or drink in my mouth it will not stay there while I am laughing. (I held a napkin up that is why it is all over)

Most Recent Pictures

Here is one of the babies face (looks pretty scarey)

Here is the other baby's face

This is the first one they were looking at to try and find out if it was a boy or girl. It was not being very cooperative, but the doc is pretty sure it is a girl (not 100% sure though)

This one is very noticeable... Look by the little plus sign and just to the left of it... Yup it's a boy! So, it looks like we will be blessed with one boy and one girl!

2007-07-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

"Its" Waving!

Sheri and Kyndall's Visit

2007-07-15T18:58:00.002-05:00

Sheri, Kyndall and Mark went on a tour of Texas Stadium

Here is a future Dallas Cheerleader

Mark and Kyndall relaxing on the 50 yard line

Sheri and Kyndall keeping the bench nice and warm for the upcoming season

Panoramic view of The Ballpark in Arlingtion from the cheap seats, which are the best seats for fireworks!

Alexa's Wedding Weekend

2007-06-25T20:26:00.001-05:00

We had a very eventful weekend! Mark's sister, Alexa, was married so we flew into PHX for the weekend. However, our trips to Phoenix never seem to be too relaxing due to all the driving back and forth from the East side, where the Riggs family is, and then to the West side, where the Prinz family lives. We had a lot of fun visiting all of our family, it was great to see everyone. Here are some pictures from our short visit.

Here is Alexa and Darryn... aren't they so cute?!!

Kristi, Mark, Kyndall, Sheri, Alexa, Darryn, Kristen, Tate, G-mo

Tate, Mark and Suzie

Jessica and Donna (at the Prinz's playing bean bags)

Ashlyn... she is getting so big

Bret and Kristi (I can't believe he is on the Cubs now... how will we ever root for them?!)

Randy and Kristi

Here we are at the reception, we had a great time!

Here is a panoramic view of where the Reception was held. It was in the backyard of Aunt Debbie's

Artists at Work

2007-06-16T14:02:00.001-05:00

Okay, so we know that it maybe be alittle early, but with Kristi having to go back to work in a couple months we figured we would get this done when there was time.

This is the room before we started

This is almost half-way done

Only the sky left to do

Upclose of the cute Zebras

And the finished project

We are happy how it turned out and the crazy thing is we didn't have to buy any paint, we had it already from all of our other painting projects. We figured a "Noah's Ark" theme would work for either a boy or a girl. Mark says that this is the only "Noah's Ark" item allowed in the room. He doesn't want an overflow of animals and I agree.

Our Turn

2007-06-07T08:38:00.002-05:00

Summer is here Yea... No more teaching, coaching and grading for Kristi. Mark is still in school studying everynight, but it is one step closer to being done. Kristi is babysitting this summer for a family near the school she teaches at. It is a real rough job... take them to camp, take naps and lay by the pool! However, the most exciting news for us is that it is finally "our turn".

After many years our dream is coming true

I know it is not much to see, but it is the white blob

Oh... by the way... we are having twins

We are still early in the pregnancy, only 8 weeks, but it seems all our family know so we thought we would post our pictures. Kristi is doing fine, not really sick, just really exhausted and always hungry (like that has changed!) We are extremely excited for this adventure, but nervous also.

House Pictures

2007-02-16T09:10:00.001-06:00

In case we forget. New dining room. Even though this 4 piece puzzle looks easy to assemble, Mark broke more than a few commandments putting this thing together!

Christmas Time

2007-02-16T08:22:00.001-06:00

Kristi's new sweater.

Mark's new entertainment center.....don't touch it, it might just fall apart, it did once already!

Since it has been 2 years since we last had a Christmas tree up at our house we might at well display it on the blog, even though it is a little late.

Us!

Snow day, well a 1/2 inch or so, taken with a cell phone camera so its not that good of a picture

A New Project to Keep Us More Busy!!!

2006-09-24T18:54:00.001-05:00

We have company coming this week, and I wanted to decorate the other spare bedroom upstairs. I didn't know what I wanted to do, until I saw a binder that my student teacher had with her. So, I took a picture of it... I decided that I wanted the room to look like this. So, I had to draw the flower free hand, then it was off to Home Depot for the colors. Here is a picture of the room before Mark and I began the project. After a few hours of drawing flowers and painting, we finally finished!!! Yes, we know it looks like a little girls room, but I think it is really cute.

Here is one of the flowers that is painted on the wall!

We have one bedroom left to decorate. So, I think Mark wants to decide what goes on the walls this time!

Our Family

2006-08-27T19:16:00.001-05:00

It seems as though everyone puts pictures of their family on their blog, so we decided to post pictures of ours!

Mark and Kristi getting ready to leave for church!

Here is Milo soaking up the sun on the window ledge.

This is Layla. She thinks sitting under the chair will protect her.

Milo and Layla on the window ledge... They love each other a lot!

Maybe one day we will be able to put different pictures of our family up, but for now... here are our beautiful kids!

Visit to McKinney, TX

2006-08-21T22:11:00.001-05:00

Kristi

We are in Mckinney, TX which is about a half hour north of Dallas. We are up visiting the Gourley's on Saturday in their HUGE community pool!

Cardinal Stadium

2006-08-13T11:50:00.001-05:00

AZ Cardinals!

I didn't know that so many people were into new architecture in the valley, because we all know they aren't there to watch football. Did Pamela Anderson really become a Cardinals cheerleader? It all is starting to makes sense now.... [-Mark]

Welcome Back to School

2006-08-12T09:20:00.001-05:00

Getting ready for all the new 7th graders at Coppell Middle School North!

Sand Volleyball Champs!

2006-08-10T23:22:00.001-05:00

Sand Volleyball League Champions! This picture was taken with a cell phone camera so it wasn't the greatest.

Beautiful Form!

Homemade corkboard and frame with pictures for Grandma's birthday!

Mark's smily face!

Camping in San Clemente

2006-08-01T20:03:00.001-05:00

Here we are on our very first camping vacation together.

Laying in the pop-up camper trailer.

San Clemente State Park Camp Grounds- with showers, bathroom facilities, and a 7-11 right around the corner -- this is Kristi's idea of roughing it!

Our last night there.

Aaron and Aubrey, our cousins who we met up with in Carlsbad.

Mark after another long day of surfing! At least that is what we tell people....

4th of July with Family

2006-07-19T15:09:00.002-05:00

These aren't just any cowboys, they were the 3 main cowboys who run the rodeo!

Cowgirls at the Stockyards in Ft. Worth, Texas!

6 Flags over Texas! July 4th Holiday.