Thanksgiving

OK, so I have been ssooo bad about blogging lately. But, I think things are back on track now so I can get things updated!! We had a great Thanksgiving this year!! The week of Thanksgiving didn't start out very good. I got sick, then Maycee, then Braxton. We literally quarantined ourselves from the rest of the family. We called my bedroom the "Den of Death". We kept telling Haylee and McKynlee they couldn't go in the den of death or they would get sick and we couldn't go to Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving! That was enough motivation for them :) Luckily we didn't share the love with everybody else and we were all better just in time for Thanksgiving Day! Mark went golfing in the morning with his Dad, Bob, Ty, and Jordan. They had a great time!! The weather was amazing. Of course MarLene made an AMAZING dinner for all of us. Even though every time she cooks it feels like Thanksgiving, she always manages to exceed every one's expectations!! It was so yummy. After we ate we got to go out and play on the golf course and enjoy each others company!! It doesn't get much better than that. I am so thankful for my family. I feel so grateful to have such a loving husband and such great kids. I love my parents and family so much, and owe so much to them!! I had a great childhood and I owe that to my family!! I am also very lucky to have married into such a wonderful family. They are so good to me and our kids! I love them so such, and can't imagine life without them!!

Daddy's Birthday

We were able to celebrate Mark's birthday on November 9th. He is such a great guy so we wanted to spoil him a little bit. We started the day off with sending him off for a massage. Then he went to lunch with his friend Brian. Then his parents came and watched the kids while he and I went to Milt's for yummy prime rib. It is such a cool restaurant. They set out bails of hay and apples on the ground so the deer will come down the canyon to eat. So, we sat there and watched all of the deer out the window! It was a really fun night.................................................

But at the end of they day the little butt got what he really wanted a little puppy!! I know what you all are thinking...I still can't believe he talked(tricked/coerced) me into it. But you know Mark, he ALWAYS gets what he wants. His name is Max and he and Beau have been really cute together! The kids absolutely LOVE him because he is small and they can pick him up (the poor dog). I told him if he ever doubts how much I love him just look into little Max's eyes and he will quickly remember! Happy Birthday Sweetheart. We love you!! Thanks for being the BEST husband and Daddy ever!!

California

Well, it's that time of year again to head to California with the family. We started this little tradition 7 years ago, and what a tradition it has turned out to be. We go every fall with Mark's family. Every year it varies a little bit as far as what we decide to do. This year we went to the San Diego Zoo which was so much fun. Maycee is the only one that has ever been to a zoo, and it was when she was really little. Mark gets mad when I say that, because they've been to Disneyland and Sea world a bunch of times. He says it makes them sound deprived or something (which we all know they are not :). Anyway, the kids had so much fun!! Their favorite thing was all of the monkeys and chimpanzees. They could have watched them for hours and laughed their little heads off.


The weather was insane. It was between 80 and 90 degrees all week. We could not have had better timing. So, we spent tons of time at the swimming pool. Our kids also love the koi pond. They think it's funny when they latch onto my finger.





Of course we spent the majority of our time at the beach because we love it so much!! We body surfed and got Maycee, Braxton, Bailey, and even Grandpa to come in and enjoy the waves. It was so much fun to see them all having such a great time. It was really crazy because the water was really clear (a little to clear) because Mark saw a 4 foot leopard shark and a seal whiz right past him!! Holy Crap!! I'm so glad that I wasn't in the water when that happened. Needless to say we didn't tell the kids until we were done for the day :) We also spent a lot of time at the tide pools. Our kids absolutely love it there. We found so many things this time. They love to hold the little hermit crabs and stick their fingers in the sea anemones so they squeeze your finger. We got a picture of a huge one. We even saw sea urchins. It was really fun. We are going to have some marine biologists on our hands!


The funniest part of the whole trip was on Grandpa's birthday. Mark and I got to go golfing with him which was a blast. We never knew Mark had such a good arm (and I'm not talking about his swing)!! We went to Joe's Crab Shack. We had never been there before, so we were excited when all of the waitresses stop to dance and their are disco lights and everything. Our kids and Grandpa got up and danced with them and we laughed our heads off. Well, after our waitress saw how uninhibited Grandpa was with the dancing I guess she figured he was a good sport. Next she brought out a wig, mu mu, ukulele, and stuffed him up nice and made him sing Happy Birthday to himself (by himself). He ate it up and then we all sang to him. I don't know if all of us have ever laughed so hard!! What a fun day it was for us all. Happy Birthday Grandpa Rick!!


The trip ended with a great Halloween. We met up with our good friends Dave and Jamie. It is always so great to see them. It was so fun to see little Mackenzie and catch up! What a great neighborhood to trick or treat at. The houses were decorated to the hilt and there were kids everywhere. They had a blast!! Another great year in California!

The Big Day

 

Well, it's official all of our girls have their ears pierced. When we started out with Maycee we really didn't have an age in mind of when they could get their ears pierced. We just figured when they were old enough to ask us and really want it we would let them. We never imagined Maycee would ask at age 3. We told her it would hurt and feel like a shot, but I guess us girls will do anything to look pretty lol. So, that kindof became the age. Maycee has told both of her little sisters that they can get their ears pierced when they turned 3. (What a good little mommy she is :) Anyway, Kynlee's birthday came and went and about a week later she stopped in her tracks and said, "Mom I never got earrings for my birthday!" It was a Monday night and Mark and I looked at each other and told the kids lets get in the car and go get Kynlee's ears pierced!! Everyone was so excited!! Maycee and Haylee were telling her it didn't hurt that bad and that she could do it. They only had one girl working there so she had to do one at a time. She didn't even cry....she was so tough!! Now she has pretty earrings like her sisters. It doesn't get better than that!!

Lake Powell

 

We were so excited for another trip to Lake Powell...our favorite place ever. We went the second week in October and the weather was amazing. It was between 80 and 90 degrees the whole time. The water was a little cold so we didn't swim as much as we usually do, but it was still such a great trip. We had our friends Jordan and Melissa and their family come and we had a blast. Our kids played so cute together and they made us the best dutch oven food ever!! We seriously ate better than we ever have. It was such a great trip and the company was fantastic. I know I've said it before, but I LOVE that place.

Happy Birthday Mark!!! Love the new body art!!

Mark, you have mad skillzzzzzz! Happy birthday big guy!
Love, Your Favorite Lil' Sis

McKynlee's 3rd Birthday

She was such a sweet little baby.
She is getting so big!
Check out Haylee's face as Kynlee was opening her presents...she was SO

excited for her sister to get presents and not her!! Ya right!!
I can't believe our baby is 3!! It was McKynlee's birthday on September 29th. Time has seriously flown by. Mark was out of town on her birthday so we took her to dinner and celebrated the night before. We went to a hibachi grill where they chopped up food, lit the grills on fire, swirled knives around, etc.. Our kids mouths dropped as their eyebrows got singed. It was so funny and cute. We loved it!! The next day we had a few little friends come over for a princess party!! All Kynlee wanted for her birthday was cupcakes...so she had her little friends and cupcakes and was happy as can be. It seems like just yesterday that we welcomed her into the world. She is our little comedian..and SSOOO loud!! Anyone that has been to our house can attest to that!! But she has the cutest voice ever, so it's O.K. She is quite the little "bootie shaker" and loves to tease people (especially Haylee because she has the best reaction with her squealing/crying). We can't imagine life without her. Our family definitely wasn't complete until she joined us! We love you Kynlee!! Thanks for always bringing a smile to our faces.