Valentines Day

 

The kids looked so cute in their Valentines shirts I couldn't pass up a picture. They all had fun Valentine parties at their schools on Friday. We just hung out, rode bikes, saw a couple of great episodes of Man vs. Wild (one of our favorite shows) and made cookies. It was a fun day!!

Maycee's Baptism

 

What an amazing day it was!! We couldn't have planned a more perfect day. We had so many family and friends that came to support Maycee in her decision to be baptized. She is so mature for her age and has such a tender heart. We went to the church at 5:00 p.m. where they had a really neat program. After she was confirmed she sang "When I Am Baptized" and did such a great job. We are so proud of her and feel so lucky to be her parents. What a neat day Maycee we love you so much!!

Maycee's Birthday

 

It is unbelievable that Maycee just turned 8 years old!! Time has gone by so fast. For her birthday Mark took flowers to her at school and brought donuts for the class. She was so excited..he was definately the hero!! That night we went to Circus Circus with the family. It is one of her favorite places. We played some games and won some stuffed animals. Her favorite game is the horse race where you roll the balls. She always kicks her Dad's butt at it!! We went to The Cheesecake Factory and it was ssooo good. She even got her own Cheesecake and they wrote her name on the plate in chocolate. Pretty fancy!! To bad she doesn't like cheesecake. Oh well, the rest of us were kind enough to eat it for her hahaha!! We got her golf clubs for her birthday and she is so excited to be able to start golfing with Mom and Dad.
The next night she had a swimming party with her friends at the Rec Center. She got spoiled rotten of course and loved being the star of the show. Our little girl is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady. We can't wait to see her baptized in February. We love you Maycee!!

Christmas

We had such a great Christmas season this year. The kids are at such a cute age and have been so excited. Mark and I kept telling ourselves that this was a good thing, there's only a small window when Christmas is so magical and wonderous. I honestly don't think they could have asked how many more days any more. But, when all the excitement was said and done on Christmas Eve we all sat down and talked about what Christmas was really about!! Grandma and Grandpa spent the night Christmas Eve. We had steak, shrimp, artichokes, and huge crab legs. Braxton was in HEAVEN!! His Dad was kindof excited too!!
Christmas morning was adorable!! We saved the best for last. We had a present under the tree that didn't have a tag. When all the presents were open we told the kids to gather around it and if they could guess who the present was for they could open it. Then the doorbell rang and our amazing neighbors (I have to include his wife too) brought over the newest member of our family Beau!! He is a 2 year old Lhasa Apso. The kids have been begging for a dog for so long.....well since we had the last 1 or 2 but who's counting right? Anyway, I think our family finally found the dog for us!! We decided we would let someone else train him and get him through the puppy stage and then we would take over. Maycee let out a blood curdling scream and the other kids just sat there with big eyes and giggled. They LOVE him!! He is such a good dog. Welcome to the family Beau!!

Santa Claus

 

We got to see Santa twice this year. The kids were so excited!! Maycee and Braxton both asked him to bring them Sliders. Haylee wants skaters (roller skates) and McKynlee wants a bike.

Dad's Birthday

 

Well, I thought I couldn't let today go by without wishing my Dad a happy Birthday. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars that I have such an amazing Dad. I have so many great fun memories of camping, boating, running. One of my favorite memories is riding my bike with him running beside me. My bike was to big for me so whenever we had to stop to cross a street he would run up to the side of me and hold my seat so I didn't tip over. Then when it was time for us to cross he would give me a little push and we were off again. Anytime I would see him at one of my cross country races I would somehow kick it into another gear and start passing people because I wanted him to be proud of me!! He is such a hard worker. I remember going in to the office and having him be so patient and teaching me data entry and ten key. He would say I don't care how long it takes you to add up these numbers but don't look at your fingers. Thanks to him, I got pretty dang good at it!! He has taught me to be honest, work hard, and appreciate the things that are really important in life. As you can see from the pictures he's also a great Grandpa to my kids. I love my Dad more than I could ever say!!! Happy Birthday Dad!!!
P.S. It is also my brother Dave's Birthday. Pretty cool that they can share this day..and the day wouldn't be complete if I didn't wish him a Happy Birthday too!! Hope you have a great day Dave. Fortunately for you I haven't taken lots of pictures of you...I'll have to fix that for next time. Happy Birthday!!

Thanksgiving

 

We had such a great Thanksgiving! Most of the family came down and joined us. It was great weather until everyone came and then it was cold and rainy!! Of course!! Oh well, it just gave us a chance to spend "quality time" together indoors. There were 28 people so it was definately cozy, but a good cozy LOL!! Maycee wrote a play about 3 weeks ago that she was sure that her cousins would be DYING to be in. After a little persuasion she got some of the older cousins and all of the little ones to participate. It was very cute, all of the little girls got to ride in on the Mayflower (that's what the pictures are). We made indian hats, candy necklaces, and Christmas ornaments. The kids had a great time playing foozball, the Wii and just hanging out. We had a great time!! Thanks to everyone that made the long drive...you made it a very special Thanksgiving. We really missed those that couldn't come because of work and can't wait to see you at Christmas!!