Memory Lane...

*there is an error in the slide show*
In a photo, you will see a picture of a card and the caption says "dri". Don't know what happened... but it is a card that we sent to my parents when we found out we were expecting Carly. It is now in her baby book :)
And apparently at 5am I can't spell Kindergarten either :)
One last thing... if you click on the picture- it blows it up for you... I just discovered that! LOL


I am a genuine packrat. I have kept so many memories of the past, that it is almost out of control!

With that said, I have Rubbermaid tubs made of memories for each of the girls- oh, and then a family tub. Carly and Abby both have two (but desperately need a third), Isabella has one, and the family as a whole-has one. I have collected small and large, simple and not so simple items over the last 12 years. I appreciate every bit that I have and love thinking back to the times when the memory was first made :)

The above slide show were just a few of the things that I have kept.
I must mention, not only do I have their boxes, I have stuffed their baby books to the limits. I have pictures, movie tickets, concert tickets (Wiggles in concert), wrist bands for various events, material from baby items, parts of combs-cut out of hair, first drawings...you name it! These things are so crammed into the books that 1)Carly's 3 ring binding has ripped from the spine and 2) Abby's had to have page numbers added so I could keep the book in somewhat of an order! I have also made a deal with the tooth-fairy. She has agreed to return the lost teeth to me...so I have a special "tooth bank" that has each tooth that has fallen out of Carly and Abby's mouth. Each tooth has a special slot and can be marked when the tooth was lost.

Yes, I am obsessed.

As I sit here, I try to think of my "favorite" item or items...but I can't come up with anything in particular. They are all very special to me...which is why I have not let go of them! I hope that someday the girls will enjoy going through their memory boxes, and keep whatever items they want to hold on to... but for now, since it is the girls' stuff, I feel it is not my place to throw them out. Yes, I have let go of MANY things...but for the most part, I have kept what stands out as "firsts"...and we all know kids have thousands of "firsts"!


February 2008 desk-top calendar. This was found in Isabella's box. To be honest, I had no idea it was there...so it was fun to read :)

A bill found in Isabella's box. It is for her stay in the nursery when we had her... something like $1400.00/$1500.00!


A mix of items in Isabella's box.
My pregnancy journal (have one for each girl), hospital cap and gown, diaper, blanket and outfit we brought her home in.



Abby's baby book





Carly's baby book





An In-N-Out Burger Bulletin... we are photographed (bottom right) at the Arizona Picnic...Abby must have been two :) I have no idea who the boys are...but whatever!

Announcement in the Redding, CA newspaper when Abby was born

Autographed t-shirt of Carly's. We also have Abby's autographed Tori Hunter shirt... along with my Joe Nathan shirt :)

Abby's baby book. These are the chest monitor sticky things, bracelet and stickers from her first trip to the ER. If you can make out the third from the bottom...we had to take her in because she was unresponsive... it was a very scary time. The hospital in AZ we took her to specialized in geriatrics, so they had no idea how to treat her (DOH!), so they transported her to Children's Hosp. in Phoenix... to this day we have no idea what happened. But obviously she is fine now! Thank goodness!

Carly's baby book. Random stuff from Disneyland and Sea World. Also the receipt from her first "back to school" shopping. Wiggles concert ticket and a Halloween festival ticket :)

On that same page I also wrote down some cute quotes that she had made :)

Randomness of Abby's. Pregnancy journal, award for a program she was in, some award a friend gave her, report cards!

Newspapers, Newspapers, Newspapers! I have the front page for TONS of memorable events over the last 12 years. Obama elected into presidency, Saddam being executed, 911, Bush's war in Iraq, etc. This one is the front page of the Duluth News Tribune when we had the blizzard in April 2007. That blizzard was CRAZY!!!!

I have enough cards saved from the years, that I could open a Hallmark store! Here are a few that I pulled out of Carly's box. I have most birthdays saved AND baby showers too :)
I also have VHS tapes of the girls. Come to think of it, I better have those digitally converted before VHS becomes the next Beta...or 8 track! The tape in this photo is of Carly being wished a happy birthday on one of the Fox morning news stations. I want to say we lived in Arizona.

So as you can see, I have a lot of stuff. More than half you have not even seen! And just think... now I have the computer...so I can make more memories for them on here...ON TOP of the items that I continue to collect!

I need help! :)