Christmas Morning 2008

There is nothing like seeing the excited faces of your children on Christmas morning. I think Santa got it right this year! It was fun to watch Jared who wasn't quite sure what was going on, but liked what he saw. Madison knew what was going on and lead the way! Kate was just in heaven with the whole thing.

Christmas Eve Dinner 2008

Christmas Eve dinner was a success! We had Ham, sweet potatos, Mashed potatos, fruit salad, cranberry relish, green bean casserole, and rolls. We opened Christmas Crackers and wore the crowns, and played with toys that came inside them. Uncle Tony was our guest and he gave the kids some adorable christmas straws to drink the traditional grape juice mixed with sprite.

The kiddos

I love these pictures of the kids from our family photo shoot. It shows their little personalities. We had fun, but it sure was cold! We went to Memory Grove in SLC. A freind from Cary's work took the pictures, and she did a great job. Audry Hall Photo, I think that is her web site name as well.

Kates First Performance.

Kates dance recital at the festival of the trees was absolutely adorable! She looked so adorable in her costume, and did a great job with her dance. I think she was a little shy with all the people watching, but she did well. She was very excited about her "first time performing on a real stage!"

Smiles come in all shapes, sizes and places!

Smile!

Look what I found in my Chocolate diet shake one morning. I don't drink these very often, and the way they taste, it really helped to see this!

I hope this makes you smile, they are contageous you know!

M.A.S.P.

I am starting a new cause! Mothers Against Styrofoam Packaging!

So, I'm on the phone enjoying a good conversation with a freind I haven't talked to in a while, when my little 4 year olds starts yelling "Mommy come quick!" So I run, and there is my little 2 year old, saying "SNOW!" If only it really was snow, that would be so much easier to clean up!!! Sigh! Oh that little one, and the messes he makes. I think I will wish upon him a child just like him when he has children of his own. He is a sweet heart most of the time so thats not such a cruel thing. Although it's not very fair to his future wife. Notice his shirt says Mr. Funny...yea not really so funny! Ok, so its funny now! I'm not sure wich is worse to clean up though, styrofoam or water and potting soil all over your bathroom sink, bath tub, and inside the cupboards, or marker and crayon on the walls. The crazy thing is, he does all this in such a short amount of time. What will he do next? I'm afraid I will find out all too soon!

Annual October Trip to Gardner Village 2008

Our annual trip to GV was once again, a total blast! Jared was new to the whole thing so, as you can see he is quite wide eyed and awed about it all. The weather was perfect, and the fudge was yummy! We love this tradition!!!

The Last of the 30 somethings.

Wow your so old! Cary has turned 39!
We celebrated his birthday for about 4 days in a row!
We had his family and J.J. over on Wed for Cary's favorite desert, and gifts, and then on Thursday we had freinds over and had his favorite spaghetti made by me. On Friday he had some friends from work come for dinner. On Saturday his mom watched the kids, while Tony and I took Cary to Red Iguana! (His mom paid the bill too! What a nice mom!!!) We had a great time!
I hope this year is wonderful for him.

Madison's Amazing Eyebrow Trick

Maybe its because, I'm her mom, but this made me LOL!

His Little Hands.

Ok, so I am going to wax a little sentimental here, but I just have to.
I was holding Jareds little hand today as he was leading me somewhere, and I just thought about how warm, and soft his little hand was, but in contrast how strong and firm he held my hand. He is my little man, but someday I will probably be feeling very fortunate if he holds my hand. When he is a teen, he may not even want to touch my hand, as an adult he may be too busy, or have his wife's hand to hold. So I am going to enjoy every minute I can to hold these warm, soft, little, most of the time dirty, hands. And hopefully as the years go by we will have these momets to treasure, and hopefully he will always remember that I love him.

Cardboard Boxes Make The Best Toys!

Kids just love a good cardboard box! Kate has moved in, and I am wondering if she is preparing to become a hobo some day. Well, you can only go up from there. :) She had so much fun with this box for a couple of days, and it reminded me of a favorite book my mom used to read to me when I was a little girl. You 'gotta love those cardboard boxes!

The First Snow 2008

T

Kate was so excited for the first snow!

She woke up very early and started yelling "Snow, there is snow on the ground everyone!" She immediately got herself dressed in her snow clothes, scarf and all. Jared really wanted to join her so he quickly threw on the first pair of shoes he could find. Unfortunatley they were Kates sandals, so he had to just watch for a moment until we found his snow boots. There is nothing like the first snow!

Baptism Day

What a special day! Madison was Baptized by her daddy, and many of aunts and uncles and cousins were there. Not to forget all of her grandparents. We had a wonderful luncheon at our home after and everyone seemed to have a good time. We are so proud of Madison for choosing to be baptized.

Getting her ears pierced.

Madison and Olivia, both 8 years old now, were able to get their ears pierced FINALLY! Holly and I took the girls to Clair's in the Mall to get the deed done. It hurt a little, they said, but it was worth it. How cute! I love that they wanted to go together to support each other.

The Fire Pit

We decided to put a fire pit in our back yard,

and almost as quickly as we decided, it was done

thanks to help from Tony and a couple of neigbors. We invited Cary's family over to celebrate the first fire. It was a warm night but we enjoyed sitting around the fire and watching it burn while we ate dinner and had good converstations. We all smelled like we had been camping, but it was worth it. We have already had several fires in it to share among freinds. Good times!

Good Freinds

Kate and Jared have so much fun together. Thats the great thing about having siblings. You always have a freind!

Our Scuba Trip in Bonaire, Netherlands, Antilles

Everything was so beautiful
In Bonaire, The colors were
so vibrant, and the water
was so clear. The diving was
amazing! I want to go back
and do it again.

Room with a veiw in Bonaire

This was the veiw from our room, it was so nice to sit on the porch and relax, and some times

we would eat lunch out here after a dive.

Mothers Day 08

I had a great Mothers Day! My Mom (white shirt) and my Mother-in-Law (green shirt) both came to dinner at our house. We had a fabulous BBQ dinner that the men mostly prepared. And yummy cheese cake for desert. It was fun to just be together and chat.

First Hair Cut

Getting a first hair cut can be a hair raising experience.
But as the process continued on with his sisters cheering him
by his side, my little guy calmed down and made it through.
What a handsome boy! He is 21 months old...It took him a while
to get enough hair to cut.

A little behind

I am always a bit behind

it seems, I just wish it came

off as cute as this bitty behind.

I will add more posts soon.