The Poty's

Summer Fun!

2011-08-08T09:50:00.001-07:00

Wrestling with Daddy!

Swim Lessons!

The Circus!

The Zoo!

The Children's Museum!

The Cast Comes Off!

2011-08-08T09:37:00.001-07:00

Makayla did really well the month she spent in the cast, she never complained about it at all. She didn't cry until after the cast came off and her arm was stiff from not moving for so long. This only lasted a few days before she was moving normally again. We did some exercises for a month at home after the cast and the doctor thinks she's doing good and won't need any physical therapy for it.

Makayla turns 3!

2011-08-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

On June 12, 2011 Makayla turned 3 years old. My how the time flies! We had a western themed party at our house. The kids "paned for gold", rode horse back, and broke a 10 gallon cowboy hat pinata.

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Breaking News...

2011-06-03T16:06:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago our little monkey decided to climb out of her crib and in doing so she fell breaking and dislocating her arm. They had to put her under to reset it which went really well. She'll be in a cast until June 13 the day after her 3rd birthday.

After she came out of the anesthetic she was loopy and wanted her picture taken.

She picked a green cast with sparkles and Addisen just couldn't understand why she wouldn't have picked pink.

Easter

2011-05-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Carnival at Great Grandma's

2011-04-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma lives in a retirement apartment and every once in a while they host an event for the kids to come over and participate in. A couple weeks ago they had a carnival that we took the girls to. Showing off they're balloon creations with Great Grandma.

Addisen got her face painted for the first time. It took some convincing to get her to do it, she thought it wouldn't come off. She loved it so much we couldn't wash it off for three days!

Addisen and Great Grandma

The girls tried cotton candy for the first time and didn't like it.

Makayla trying to knock over the clown.

Who Doesn't Love Zoo Pictures!

2011-03-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Zoo Crew Hard to believe they are 4 years old

Princess Abby!

Cheese!!

Fire and Fireworks

2011-03-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

These are 2 things us Poty's love! And fireworks are now legal in AZ!

Roasting hot dogs with Daddy

Burning stuff

Sparklers!

Showers

2011-03-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

I noticed that I've never posted any pictures from the baby showers we've hosted in the past months.

I had a jungle themed baby shower for Misty. Who was expecting baby Sabastian.

and we played the gross what candy bar is that game :*)

We had a polka dot themed shower for Marc and Kristin who were expecting baby Kaitlin

Marc and Kristin

We played baby Jeopardy guys vs. girls

We had and owl themed shower for Kelli and Kyle who was expecting baby benjamin

Kelli and Kyle

And the boys played beer pong, classy!

Addisen's Christmas Performance

2011-02-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

Addisen was so excited for her performance. The kids worked on songs for a good month before to get ready. It's Feb and she is still singing Christmas songs she likes them so much!

Addisen's class singing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Our little singer!

Hansel and Gretel

2011-02-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

The girls made a gingerbread house this past Christmas with the help of Raquel and Dawson that were visiting from Canada. Addisen was so excited about making it she couldn't stop to nap and when she was done we had to photograph it from every angle. So, when she had friends over a few weeks later I never thought that she would want to eat it but, she did. The only problem was that I had bought the kit on clearance after Christmas last year so you can only imagine how hard the candy was on it.

Christmas

2011-01-05T13:45:00.001-08:00

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Nutcracker Tea

2010-12-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Mid November the Hackett House hosted a Nutcracker Christmas tea. Grandma P, Grandma L, Great Grandma, The girls, and I went and had lots of fun. They served Nutcracker themed food and had the ballerinas there to dance, take pictures with, and entertain the little girls. The kids were encouraged to where costumes but, not many did so Addisen took hers off shortly after we got there, Makayla wore her little red ridding hood costume from Halloween and got many complements. The whole experience was fun and we're talking about doing it again next year!

Adddisen with the ballerinasMakayla really took a liking to nutcrackers this year and only wanted her picture with him.The girls enjoying their deserts

Proof Makayla drank tea like a lady, she practiced before going and some days it wasn't good.

This and That

2010-12-20T10:02:00.001-08:00

Carosel ride at zoo lights
Makayla reading a book and watching football My two little bakers

Playing dress up Daddy snuggles

Halloween

2010-11-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

The long awaited Halloween pictures!

The cousins
Addisen the sorceress

Makayla as little red riding hood

Makayla and Daddy drawing out the details

Addisen cleaning out the pumpkin

The carving

Makayla checking out her pumpkin

Everyone with their carved pumpkin

Addisen and Makayla ready for trick or treating

Grandma the hippie

Excusses Excusses

2010-11-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

I could go on and on telling you why I haven't posted anything since Sept but, I'll spare you and just get you caught up on what you've missed.

Day trip to Sedona. Some shopping for the ladies and some golfing for the guys

Friend's birthday party at the railroad park.

Addisen teaching Makayla how to ride the tricycle

Mom and Dad took another trip to Vegas. We discovered a new chocolate resturaunt, it was yummy!

The Lake

2010-09-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went with Grandma and Grandpa to the lake. The girls had so much fun playing in the water, eating snacks on the table (it's funny the things that amuse them), and going for a ride on the tube.

Makayla on the tube with Daddy

Addisen on the tube with Daddy

Addisen and Grandpa jumping in

Makayla the new driver

First Dentist Visit

2010-09-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

I also never posted these. The girls both did so well at the dentist, I was shocked I thought Addisen would cry and then Makayla wouldn't want anything to do with it. Well, I was wrong Addisen laid there for about 45 minutes while they cleaned her teeth and Makayla wanted in the chair so bad it wasn't funny.

The hygienist explained everything to the girls and let them look at all the instruments and had them wear special sunglasses so the light wasn't too bright.

Makayla's first hair cut

2010-09-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

I was looking through pictures and realized I never posted pictures of Makayla getting her first professional haircut. I have to admit I have trimmed her bangs and they don't always turn out great, she doesn't sit still! When she got her hair cut by Shelly the lady who does my hair Addisen went first and showed her how it is done. After seeing Addisen she was more than happy to climb up into the chair and do just what she was told, she did so good and looked so cute when she was done!

Addisen showing her how to do itHolding perfectly still while getting her bangs trimmed (doesn't happen at home).Getting some layersAll done!

Addisen starts Pre-K

2010-08-30T10:54:00.001-07:00

Addisen started back to school two weeks ago. This year we decieded to send her to monasorri school in hopes that she would learn more than some silly songs. She is going Mon through Fri 8:30 to 11:30 and seems to like it for the most part. We've had some tears durring the second week and she has said that she wants to stay home with me, I really think it has to do with Makayla and I doing things without her. She likes to drill me when we pick her up about what Makayla has done while she's been at school. Most of the time Makayla walks around asking for Adda and would love to stay at school with her, kind of funny. This morning was a good morning so hopefully that's a good sign that she's adjusting to the new schedule and new school and we won't have anymore tears just happiness to go have fun and learn.

So Big

2010-08-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the girls birthdays they had their annual well check. Addisen now weighs 45lbs which puts her in the 95% for weight and is 43 inches tall which is the 97% for height. This might explain why she now wears a size six and is only four. Our little Makayla weighs 25lbs which puts her in the 30% for weight and is 35 1/2 inches tall which is the 80% for height. Both the girls were troupers Addisen had to get 4 shots to get ready for kindergarten next year and Makayla had to get one, so I took Daddy for back up and we went for donuts afterward!

Addisen gets a "big girl bike"

2010-08-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

The deal has been for the last 8 months or so that if Addisen stopped sucking her thumb she could have a big girl bike. Well, in the past couple of weeks she had finally started to say that she doesn't want to suck her thumb anymore which is a huge step in the right direction. She would usually say she didn't want the bike she wanted to suck her thumb. After she finally agree to not sucking her thumb and proved it to us we took her to the bike store and she picked out a purple bike. She was between sizes of bikes so we got the a 20 inch so it's a little challenging for her to get it going since it weighs a little more than the smaller one but, it will certainly last her a long time and little Makayla might actually get her own when the time comes instead of getting a hand me down.

Addisen turns 4!

2010-08-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

July 18, 2010 Addisen turned 4! I can't believe she's 4! We had her party at the house and brought in a jumping water slide, it was awesome! Addisen had requested that she have a flower party so her invites and cake were flower themed and the kids were going to take home a painted pot with a flower in it but, they had so much fun in the water we never got to that part.

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8 states, 2 provinces, lots of family, and 6 national parks in two and a half weeks!

2010-07-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

We took a road trip to Canada to visit family and had some great adventures. The kids did so good in the car, I didn't get the DVD player out until the last day driving home. They did really well staying in different houses and staying in hotel rooms and meeting new people. We definitely made some great memories that we will never forget.

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Makayla turns 2!

2010-07-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

On June 12, 2010 Makayla turned two. She loves animals so we had a zoo themed party complete with a petting zoo.

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Summer Fun!

2010-06-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

Melynda, Kelli, and I will only have a few weeks that we are all home at the same time this summer so were trying to maximize our fun while we can. We kicked off the start of summer break with a visit to the Phoenix Children's Museum. It was awesome, the kids had lots of fun and mommy got a work out helping Makayla climb through their new contraption called the climber.

Makayla in the climber, a three story maze of tubes, stairs, and lookouts all made from recycled building materials. Abby, Addisen, and Gabriel at the highest point in the rocket

The girls going through the car wash

Checking out at the store, Addisen buying, Makayla ringing, and Abby bagging

This thing was a hit, you put stuffed spiders on it crank them to the top where a fan hits them and sends them flying

This worked with suction the kids would put the cloths in and it would suck them through the tubing and out a hole at the top.

Havasupi Trip

2010-06-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

It's family tradition to hike to Havasupai villiage an Indian community at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and explore their beautiful waterfalls every Memorial Day weekend. Daniel and I haven't been able to make the trip for awhile. Since the last time we went they had a bad flood that didn't effect the villiage but changed the path of the water creating two new falls and causing the first fall called Navajo falls to go dry. No matter how many times we go and how much it changes I am still amazed at the beauty.

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World Travelers!

2010-06-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

The girls officially have passports!

Addisen's Spring Performance

2010-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

Before the end of the school year the kids put on a singing performance for their families. I could see a difference in Addisen from Christmas time to now. There are some times when it just hits you that your kids are getting older and this was one of those times. She really knew all the words and actions and was very excited to do it, you could just see a difference in her. Her favorite song that they sang was the bubble bee song, she sings it daily!

Addisen and Gabriel in the back row, they are the 2nd and 3rd tallest in their class.

Addisen and Gabriel with Mrs. Gray, their music teacher.

Dad's sweat shop

2010-05-02T13:15:00.001-07:00

This morning Daniel was making sand bags to help keep some signs standing in this windy weather we're having and the girls of course wanted to help. In ten years from now it will be like pulling teeth to get them out side shoveling rock so Daddy is enjoying the "free" help while it's voluntary.

Daddy's little helpers

Park Picnic

2010-04-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

After we picked Addisen up from school today we had a picnic lunch at the park and then the girls played on the playground.

Addisen has pretend picnics a lot so I thought it was time to have a real one.
I can't believe how big the little one is getting. She tries so hard to keep up with her big sister and is succeeding more and more each day.

Bean Sprouts

2010-04-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

This month at preschool they are learning about growing a garden. They have planted flowers and seeds and are watering them and watching them grow. They also got to start their own bean plants. Last Friday Addisen brought her little sprouts home and over the weekend Daddy and Makayla helped her plant them.

Daniel's Birthday

2010-04-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Daniel turned 30! For his birthday we had everyone over for a poker tournament. The birthday boy came in 3rd to Edward and Melynda who decided to split first and second place (How cute!).

The girls helping Daddy open his gifts

The birthday boy and his poker chip cake.

The boys played basketball
The girls played some hand and foot

There were some drinks involved (No you're not seeing the picture wrong that's kyle front and center with two drinks in his hand!)

And Daniel on the floor again, only this time it was posed :*(

Easter Sunday

2010-04-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

Easter was really fun this year with the kids. Both girls loved there Easter baskets and really enjoyed hunting for eggs. Addisen was so excited for the Easter bunny to come and told me Easter morning that she dreamt about him comming to our house.

The girls checking out their Easter baskets.

Makayla loved looking for the eggs and was very excited when she found one. Skittles was interested in what she had in her basket and was trying to take a peak without Makayla knowing.

The girls trying out their new bubble blowers.

That Easter bunny knows these girls love their bubbles, he left Makayla a bubble machine at Grandma and Grandpa Poty's.

Makayla and Addisen Looking pretty!

Spring break trip to the zoo

2010-03-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Last week was spring break and since our weather is finally getting nice here we decieded a trip to the zoo was in order.

Here we are zoo!

The girls petting a goat. Makayla thought she need to sit down on the really gross ground to do this.

Come back goat!

Makayla really wanted to pet the horseuntil it licked her
Addisen's not quite as big as a burro, yet!

A little monkey came right up to us which thrilled all the kids. (he's the little brown thing in the bush).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today we went to lunch with Melynda and her kids and then took the kids to the outside mall and let them play a bit before checking out a few stores.

The girls having lunch
Addisen and Gabriel being monkeys in the tree
Mommy and her girls
Makayla loves the slide

Edward turns 30 and we go to Vegas!

2010-03-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

March 4th Edward turned 30 and the boys headed to Vegas leaving the wives behind for the night. They had some "guy time" and then the girls met up with them Friday afternoon for some lunch. Then the girls were off to do some shopping while the guys did some gambling. Friday night the girls were headed out do to some dancing which turned into lots of talking in the room and then some wondering looking for food and me passing out before the food. Saturday we walked the strip, had some lunch at Margaritaville which has turned into a must when we are in Vegas, then us girls checked out the new hotel, and did some more shopping before getting ready to have birthday dinner with everyone at Bennihana. After dinner we had plans of going out and doing some gambling but that turned into more talking in the room. It was great to see everyone and to get to do some catching up.

Proof we were ready to go somewhereThe fountians of Bellagio are always amazing no matter how many times you've seen them.Clown car, nine people in our seven seater car. I don't think were cheap we just like a good adventure!The group minus Kyle who wasn't feeling well (no, not from drinking)Melynda and I had to try the frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's before we left town. It was delicious!

Then and Now

2010-03-13T09:29:00.001-08:00

Then

Now

Fire station

2010-03-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Addisen has a friend that loves fire trucks so we asked Grandpa Long if he could take us to his old station so the kids could see where the firemen live and the trucks up close.

Citrus

2010-02-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we went and picked some citrus not too far from our house and some of the pictures are just too cute not to share.

Snow!

2010-02-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

I realize a lot of you that read this live in snow and don't see the excitement we do with it. We have had a pretty wet winter here in AZ which has resulted in a good amount of the white stuff up north. Two weekends ago we took the kids and went up north with the Hache's to play in the snow. The kids lots of fun sleding and throwing snow at each other.

Monster trucks

2010-02-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago the Daniel and Edward took Addisen and Gabriel to see the monster trucks. The kids loved it! Addisen was so excited to go, she talked about it all week long before they went and is still talking about it. She's told me that there was a truck that looked like a dog, it even had a tongue that went in and out and that she thinks it's so silly.

The truck parade

New Years

2010-02-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

This year we hung out at home with the kids for New Years and were in bed before midnight, yes we are getting old! Grandma and Grandpa Poty and the Hache's came over to light some fireworks that Daddy brought home from New Mexico. They were awesome and the kids loved them. New Years Day we had our friends over for our traditional fondue feast.

Addisen and Gabriel watching the fireworks (they shot over the roof of our house)Addisen spining a sparkler

The table set for fondueThe girls minus Kelli who had to take Kyle to the ER for stiches for a little accident that happened while the boys played football earlier in the day.Everyone enjoying desertA few days earlier some of us got together to bake. We made somethings that we could serve with the chocolate fondue. Above were making homemade marshmellows.Taste testers!

Christmas pictures, only a month late

2010-01-28T21:32:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year we went to my parents on Christmas eve and Daniel's parents on Christmas. Both the girls enjoyed all of the festivities this year. Makayla collected all the bows off of everyone's gifts and came home with a couple boxes full of bows to play with, don't know why we buy her toys! Addisen was really into Santa this year and was super excited when she woke up and saw that he had came.

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18 months old

2010-01-20T09:58:00.001-08:00

In all the December craziness Makayla turned 18 months old. At her doctors visit she weighed 23 lbs 10 oz and is in the 30 percentile she is 33 1/2 inches long and is in the 80 percentile for length. She is very busy, exploring how things work and how they break. Daniel and I placed bets on how many Christmas ornaments we would loose this year and I won, she broke 5 (just at our house). At Grandma and Grandpa Poty's she even tried stomping on a few with her bare feet after she broke them. The joke is that we need to start a demolition department for her to run.

December

2010-01-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Our month of December was a busy one filled with many festivities leading up to Christmas.Every year we do a progressive dinner with my family so we can check out everyones Christmas decorations. This year uncle Mike made cookies for the kids to decorate on the desert stop.The night ended with all the kids getting new Christmas jammies from Grandma and Grandpa. Addisen and Gabriel had a Christmas program at school. They had worked really hard learning songs and motions to go with them. They were really cute!Addisen and Gabriel after their big show.

We had breakfast with Santa. He came around to the tables and talked to each of the kids. After breakfast the kids got to go and sit on Santa's lap and talk to him some more. Both girls did really well, there were no tears this year! Addisen was in the car when I got the phone call to confirm our reservation when I hung up I told her we were going to have breakfast with Santa and she says "was that Santa on the phone? The real Santa?" and I of course told her it was and she was so excited. The whole week leading up to it she kept saying she wasn't going to cry and that she hoped that Makayla wouldn't cry either. She's seen the pictures from the previous year of her crying with Santa.

The girls with Santa
Addisen helping me decorate cookies

My taste testers

Addisen with her decorated gingerbread men.

Just when I felt like I had all the baking under control I realized I hadn't heard from Makayla in a while. This is her new "sneaky" thing to do, I'm not sure how many rolls of toilet paper we've flushed now.

ok so it's been a while

2010-01-11T14:59:00.001-08:00

Well, since the last post we had Thanksgiving, took a trip to Vegas, I turned 30, and we did a lot of things leading up to Christmas, and then we had Christmas. I think we'll cover the before Christmas events in this post.For Thanksgiving we went to Daniel's parents house for dinner. Thanksgiving was also Phil's birthday so this is a picture of the girls helping open his gifts. After dinner Daniel and I headed to Vegas. This trip was mostly for shopping, who am I kidding I think every trip to Vegas is for shopping. We were some of the crazies out shopping in the middle of the night on black Friday which, paid off in some awesome deals. One of the best was at Children's place where I got two pairs of jeans, two pairs of Capri's, a dress, and four tops for $23. Daniel enjoying some cotton candy at the Planet Hollywood buffet.

Daniel sent me out of the house on the day of my birthday party so he could get the house ready. This is what I came home to.

Terri, Melynda, Misty, and IFor my birthday Daniel made beautiful food trays, a big giant 30 for the front yard, he hired a bartender from Sanctuary (a resort that serves the most awesome drinks), and invited my friends to celebrate, he also got me a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling/frosting birthday cake. The night was awesome, thanks sweety!

You know it was a good night when it ends like this

Updates are comming soon!

2010-01-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

Hi all I'm sorry to be disappointing all our readers but, our computer has been having issues it won't let me download photos off our camera or upload any that are already on it so it's kind of hard to update the blog. The good news is is that we are expecting a new one to arrive sometime this week. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year!

Thanksgiving feast

2009-12-08T19:04:00.001-08:00

Addisen's school had their version of a Thanksgiving feast the day before Thanksgiving. I say their version because I'm pretty sure there wasn't any chicken nuggets or tattor tots at the first Thanksgiving. I guess according to the director that's what kids will eat so that's what they go with, most there were shocked to hear my kid had never seen a tator tot before. All the kids made a place mat and a cute turkey hat to use and wear for their feast. I voluteered to help out so I got to see them in action saying there prayer, "feasting" on the meal, and a singing some songs before school ended. Later that day I was sitting next to her while she was eating a snack and watching a movie and I asked her what she was thankful for and I was shocked at her answer, she said that she was thankful for mommy, daddy, Makayla, and Skittles.

The feast

check out the turkey hat

Singing songs at the end of class (Addisen is in the right corner)

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

We really have so much to be thankful for this year....

Our two beautiful healthy girls,

helpful and loving parents,

A new house,

the company having work even if it's out of town,

and awsome friends

Zoo Lights

2009-11-23T06:32:00.000-08:00

This year the hospital company picnic was at the zoo in the evening when they were doing zoo lights. The animals are sleeping but, they decorate with all kinds of lighted animals. Addisen is really on a javalina and coyote kick lately so she was very excited to see that they had included a display of them.

Addisen says "the coyote is hiding watching the javalina's"

Daddy and his girls on the carousel

Trick or Treat

2009-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

The girls had so much fun trick or treating this year. We went with a group in the Hache's neighborhood since there's not many houses around us. Addisen and Gabriel ran from house to house so excited to ring the door bell, say trick or treat, and get candy. Makayla was reluctant at first but, when she saw that food was involved she was totally into it, it was super cute.

Daddy and Addisen carving the pumpkin

All the cousins in their costumes

We stoped by Great Grandma's so she could see the girls

The trick or treat bunch

The purple butterfly and Robin Makayla the duck Putting her candy away (she loves putting things in bags and carring them around)

Fall Festival

2009-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

Addisen's preschool had a fall festival for the kids the Friday before Halloween. It was like a school fair where they got to play games and get prizes. Different families made the games for the children to play, Daniel made the hole in one game (very fitting don't you think?). I volunteered to help out since it was held the last hour of class. Addisen and all the kids had lots of fun and got to take home lots of little prizes to play with.

Addisen and part of her class coming out to the festival

Fishing

Addisen and Gabriel getting their prize for digging up the hidden treasure

Trying for a hole in one

Addisen and Mommy

"Up North"

2009-11-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

The company has two jobs "up north" one is in Dilcon and the other is in Chinle. Addisen always says Daddy, or Crazy Grandpa, or Uncle is "up north" when they are gone working. Last week Daniel had a meeting and was just going up for one night and timing was right with the job to let us tag a long. It was really cute when we got there Addisen says "is this up north?". It's nice that she now has a concept of how far and what it's like "up north". We picked the perfect day to go because it was snowing and Addisen was so excited when she woke up and saw all the snow that had fallen while she was sleeping.

Addisen checking out the snow first thing in the morning

Addisen driving the big loader with GrandpaDaddy teaching Addisen how to make a snowball, she hit Grandpa right in the mouth her first shot and left him with a mouth full of snow.

Canyon De Chelly covered in snow (it's only about 10 minutes from the job site)

Mama's little helper

2009-10-28T07:40:00.001-07:00

Makayla loves our new washer and dryer. She helps pick up whatever falls on the floor and puts it where ever it needs to be. She also wants to wear whatever she can get her hands on out of the dryer. In the above picture she is wearing one of her shirts and a pair of my pajama bottoms around her neck and a pair of Addisen's underwear on each arm while clutching a few other items she thought she needed to complete her ensemble. She's just too cute!

Camping

2009-10-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a group of us went camping outside of Payson near Christopher Creek. We had a great time hanging out with our friends. It's seems we are all so busy we just don't get to sit down and hang out like we used to so it's always nice to go on a trip and catch up.

The very packed car, I rode with a 5 gallon jug of water on my lap, Melynda had 4 pillows and a couple blankets, and Terri was squished next to us. The girls (minus Kristin) It never ceases to amaze me how boys will always be boys and they can make up and play games all day. The annual launching of the leftovers with the water balloon launcher. Kelli insisted no muffins this year so we had bagels and they just weren't as much fun.

Baking

2009-10-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was baking some goodies for Daniel to take with him up north as they get a job started in Chinle, AZ (it's in the four corners area). Of course, Addisen is a big helper and likes to dump all the ingredients into the bowl for me and Makayla is always around when there's a chance she might get food.

Preschool update

2009-10-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

We're at the six week mark already! Last Friday we had a conference with Addisen's preschool teachers and things are going very well. She is now excited to go and doesn't cry anymore, what a relief. Her favorite thing to do is art, she comes home everyday with multiple masterpieces. They are learning spanish and just the other day Addisen came up to me and said "hola, that means hello" followed by "adios that means bye". They are working on reconizing the letters in their name and will soon be learning to write it. How fast they grow!

The front door

2009-10-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

A few people have requested a picture of our front door. So, here it is.

More cakes

2009-09-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm taking another cake class. This time the class is on fondant and gum paste and I'm really enjoying it. The cakes look so nice with the fondant on them and there's still real icing underneath so it doesn't really matter that no one eats the fondant. I've learned to make flowers and other decorations with the gum paste, it's much more forgiving to work with than buttercream is.

This was the first two projects. The first week we covered the cake board with fondant and then the second week we did the cake and learned how to drape the fondant and make cut outs with it.

These are the flower we made in the third week of class.

15 months old

2009-09-28T08:09:00.001-07:00

Wow, can you believe little Makayla is already 15 months old? Well, I can't and I guess that's why some days I'm just amazed at the things she does. I still view her as a baby so when she completely understands something I tell her to do it blows my mind. She started walking about a month ago and is very good at it now, she's almost ready to run. She is starting to repeat sounds of words and uses a few of the signs I've tried to teach her. At her 15 month check up she weighed 21 lbs 2 oz and is in the 20th percentile she is 31 inches long and in the 60th percentile for height.

Boating

2009-09-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had a family outing a few weeks ago to the lake. It was Makayla's first time out on Grandpa's boat. She did really well and had lots of fun, she even got in the lake. The next week we met my parents up in Lake Havasu for the first weekend of their vacation. The girls had a blast. Makayla loves the water so when we first got there and she saw the lake she started trying to take her clothes off. If she wasn't in her swimsuit she was carrying it around with her hoping someone might put it on her. Addisen loved playing on the beach and feeding the ducks. Both the girls had fun on the boat and the both went on the tube, Makayla who has no fear seemed to fall asleep in it with me.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Science center

2009-09-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the AZ Science Center. They were having a lego exhibit and if you don't know Daniel is crazy about legos and Addisen likes them too. I was a little disappointed with the lego part but, they had a great exhibit on the forces of nature. We learned about earthquakes, wind and sand erosion, waves, and much more.

Working hard on their castle

Posing with their final product

You could make mounds of sand and see how flowing water interacts with the formations

This was demistrating how wind affects water movement. I thought the picture was funny, it looks like they were posing for an action shot.

This was in the interactive physics exihibt, it's a pully chair.

Addisen started pre-school

2009-09-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

On September 9, 2009 Addisen started pre-school! She goes three days a week for three hours at a church by our house. The week before she started we had a meet the teacher day where we went and got to spend sometime in the classroom together, this went very well. On the first day of school she was very excited, I don't know if the excitement was about school itself or the fact that Gabriel is in her class. Drop off went well, she walked right in and started playing with the playdoh when I picked her up the teacher said that she had cried some. The next two days when I took her she started crying about ten minutes before we left and was still crying after I droped her off. If we even mentioned going to school at home she would cry and tell us that she didn't want to go. Addisen even hung up on Grandma when she mentioned it on the phone. Luckly, we have moved past the phase of crying. She's not really excited about going but she is walking in on her own two feet to the classroom and not crying about it. She tells me that she misses me when she is at school but, that she has fun. When I drove by the school yesterday she pointed out that was her school and sounded happy about it so hopefully in the next week she will be more excited about going.

Addisen on her way in, very proud of her new pink backpack.

Addisen and Gabriel

Family picture

When they get there they find their name and have to take it and put it up in the classroom

The first day when she went right in and started playing

Well, it's offical we've moved!

2009-09-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

We moved just over two weeks ago and we are finally starting to be settled here. It was kind of a rushed move since we rented our house in Queen Creek and needed to get out so they could move in. Our new house still had a few things that needed to be finished on it so for the first week living here we had people working here too. When we moved in we hadn't got our certificate of occupancy yet so we didn't have a gas meter which meant no hot water, stove, grill, or dryer. It was a little like camping for the first two weeks. We finally got our certificate last Tuesday and our gas meter on Thursday so we are now taking hot showers and giving our kids baths. Don't worry we were still taking showers they were just cold and the kids were getting baths at the grandparents houses. We had no problems with the kids adjusting they love there new rooms and house, I'm sure it helped that they spent a good deal of time here while it was being built. The boxes are slowly disappearing and things are starting to fall into place. We still don't have our drive way in, that should hopefully start next week. I unfortunately miss placed our cameras in the move so I didn't get any pictures of the move.

Three year stats

2009-09-11T11:22:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Addisen's 3rd b-day she had her well check up. All went well except when they had to look in her ears, she very sensitive about her ears so, there was some crying. She now weighs 38 pounds and is in the 92nd percentile for weight, she is 39 1/4 inches tall and in the 90 percentile for height. As for the thumb sucking she's getting better about keeping it out of her mouth without a band aid on it. I have caught her a few times and told her I was going to have to put the band aid back on if she doesn't keep it out and she definitely doesn't want a band aid on it so she'll take it out. I think I am going to get some stuff to make it taste bad, I've been telling her that when she gets older her thumb will start tasting bad in preparation. I've just been so busy lately that I haven't ordered the kind I want (it's only available on the internet).

I'll do it myself!

2009-08-13T16:20:00.002-07:00

Makayla would rather feed herself than have us help her so, here's how the enchiladas, beans, and rice went the other night. We are actually lucky that she wore a bib she doesn't think she needs one of those anymore either. She's happy naked with food head to toe.

Thumbs up!

2009-08-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

August 2nd Addisen was playing in the entertainment center even though she had been told not to when she smashed her thumb in one of the cabinets. She went to Daddy for sympathy and I heard him say "oh it's your sucking thumb" so, I took the opportunity to tell her she needed a band-aid for her owie. She has had a band-aid on that thumb since then and I'm happy to report we haven't seen her suck it. We have seen her go to put it in her mouth but then she thinks about it and doesn't. We're not sure how long we will leave the band-aid on probably another week or so until she breaks the habit of wanting to stick it in her mouth.

The boxing has begun

2009-08-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we are moving. We listed our house for sell by owner and found that now is not the time to sell it, people are only looking for a smoking deal. So, we placed our house up for rent on craigslist. In less than 24 hours we received 6 phone calls and 3 emails and rented the house to the first person that came to see it. We got a little more than we were expecting and signed a 2 year lease which made us very happy. The people that rented it need to be out of there current house by Sept 1st so that means we need to be out of here before the end of the month. We are hopeful that our house will be done enough to move into, if not we'll live in the toy hauler until it is. In the last couple of weeks (I'm sure you've noticed the lack of updating the blog) I've been packing. It may come as a surprise to some of you but, I'm really enjoying it. At first Addisen really wanted to pack her stuff because she wants to make sure we take her toys to the new house. After a little explaining that I want her to be able to play here until we move so were not going to pack her toys until later, I've finally stopped finding her toys in every box I get out to put stuff in. When the pile was smaller Addisen thought it was a really fun place to hang out as you see in the above picture. Makayla just thinks it's fun to try and take everything out of the box as I put it in. Both girls have been very good through the process and I've been able to really get a jump on the boxing.

Garbage picker

2009-07-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's cute little Makalya going through the garbage. It was another one of the house is too quite moments. Luckily there really wasn't anything gross in it. Skittles doesn't get in the trash (it's usually in the cupboard) so she was enjoying it as well.

What a year!

2009-07-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

I know I say it all the time but, I really can't believe Addisen is three years old. What a fun year we have had with her. She's gone from wearing diapers to fully potty trained, from barely talking to saying full sentences, from not knowing to being very inquisitive and asking why almost constantly. She loves: reading books, building things, playing in the water and going swimming, making crafts, riding her bike, watching movies at Grandma's, picking beans and feeding the ducks at crazy Grandpa's, helping Momma cook, wrestling with Daddy, playing with her little sister, and when her friends come over to play. She is such a caring little girl, she wants to kiss your owie to make it feel better, feed her sister when she cries (Makayla loves food), and to tell you she loves you and wave bye when you leave. It's truly amazing how fast they grow up.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Addisen!

2009-07-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Addisen turned three and got to have her birthday party on her birthday! She asked to have a ribbit party (frog party) this year. So, after some searching we found some cute frog ideas for her party. It was so cute to see her get so excited about her friends comming over to play in the water with her and to share in her big day. The whole week leading up to her party she would ask if her party was tomorrow and we tell her how many days she had to wait. The day of her party she kept asking if her friends were here yet and I kept telling they would come after her nap. So, needless to say she didn't take a very long nap. When it was finally party time all of the kids including "crazy grandpa" played in the water, ate cake and cookies, and planted little seed plants to take home and grow. It was so sweet, after her party when everyone had left I was picking up some stuff and she came up to me and thanked me for her party, it was so precious I could have cried.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The girls first camping trip

2009-07-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went camping with Daniel's family. There was a recent purchase of a very large toy hauler for work purposes which convently can be use for play too. The girls had a good time and we discovered that Addisen is really into fire and burning things just like her mom and dad.

The new toy

Addisen and Daddy roasting a hot dog

Steven and Addisen

It was a little hard with Makayla since she doesn't walk yet and everything goes in the mouth

So in Love

2009-07-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

The last six years of your lives have been very eventful and full of so many blessings. I can't imagine life without Daniel or our two sweet little girls. In the grand scheme of things Daniel and I have been in love for much longer than six years and with each of those passing years we have come closer and fallen more in love with each other. Looking back on all of the pictures from the 13 years we've been together it makes me realize how truly blessed we are to have each other as friends, lovers, and partners in life.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Six year anniversary

2009-07-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

July 3, 2009 marked our six year wedding anniversary. This year Daniel planned what was going to be a surprise trip to Vegas but, he can't keep a secret so he told me two days after he booked it. He did how ever surprise me with tickets to see the Cirque Du Soleil show O which was amazing. It's so nice to get away for a bit and reconnect with each other.

Our view from the Mirage

Going to see O

Our view from the Wynn

Lunch at the Wynn country club before we left

Last weeks "field trip" and this weeks "field trip"

2009-07-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before (I think) each week Melynda, Kelli and I have made it our goal to get the kids together and do something fun. Last week we went to Cerreta candy factory and this week we went to the Tempe splash pad. The candy factory was a bit of a bore at first since the tour we were going for turned into a crowd of people standing around listening to a lady go on and on about what they make there without any demos. But, after that the kids got to make a candy pizza which they all enjoyed doing. The splash pad is always fun, the one in Tempe is really big and has lots of things for the kids to do.

The kids trying a sample

Makayla wondering where hers is

The kids making there chocolate pizzas

Makayla at the splash pad

Abby and Addisen at the splash pad

When the house is too quite....

2009-06-24T15:17:00.001-07:00

The kids might be destroying something. Today it was Makayla's closet and room. All of those plastic bins had clothes, bibs, pj's, ect in them and the wicker baskets were full of toys. I had been meaning to go through her closet but, this wasn't really the way I had in mind.

Summer Fun

2009-06-23T11:27:00.001-07:00

Last Friday we went to the Mesquite aquatic center with friends so the kids could swim. The center is really cool it has a lazy river, two big water slides, two toddler water slides, and a fun water playground. On Friday nights between 6-8 it's free to go. Addisen and Daddy waiting for the big blue bucket to fill up and spill out

Last week Melynda, Kelli, and I took the kids to the zoo. We spent some time looking at the animals and then the kids had fun playing in the splash pad to cool off and it's seems we always end the day with a ride on the carousel.

Here are a few pictures of us swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's this past weekend. This adventure ended in a water fight between Addisen and Me.

12 months old

2009-06-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

Makayla had her 12 month well check yesterday. She now weighs 18lbs 6oz which puts her in the 10th percentile for weight and she is 29 1/2 inches long and that puts her in the 60th percentile for length. She is healthy except for a diaper rash we can't seem to get to go away. The doctor tested her for anal strep which luckly was negative, when the doctor did it he said it wouldn't be fair for her to have that after all the sickness she's had in the first year. She's starting to balance a bit on her own and will walk if you give her your hands to hold onto. She's crawling all over the place, her and Addisen are really starting to turn into double trouble. She has six teeth now and really knows how to use them, I watched her the other day put a animal cracker in her mouth then reach in and pull it to her front teeth so she could break it into pieces. It's just so much fun to see her discovering new things everyday.

Happy Birthday Makayla

2009-06-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had Makayla's first birthday party. It was butterfly themed and I may have taken it to a bit of an extreme but I had fun making all of the stuff and it turned out really cute.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A joyful year

2009-06-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today Makayla is one years old and it seems like just yesterday we had her. She has brought so much joy to our family over the past year. As parents you get to see things and enjoy things through a childs eyes and it's been such a blessing to have Makayla to experience this with. Over the past year we have made so many special memories that we will cherish forever with our "little peanut" Makayla.

This and That

2009-06-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while and was noticing some pictures building up so here's what's been going on around here.

We got a new quad. It's the blue one and it's techniquely mine.
Makayla trying out Daddy's bike
Addisen and Makayla sharing a snack while we clean the garage
Melynda brought her kids over last week and the kids played in the water.
Makayla in the grass, you'll notice that she is trying not to touch it. She just hasn't figured out how to get the last foot off the ground.
The kids having a otter pop at the new litttle table, it folds flat for storage, it's great!
Makayla trying her first popsicle
Addisen the sniper fairy looking to attack
Daddy and Makayla thinking they should run for cover
Christopher turned 10 last week and we went out the the new Toby Keith resturant for his birthday, he's a big fan. For his birthday he got tickets to go and see Toby Keith in concert.

Makayla helping Daddy work on his quad

Check out how dirty her feet are, I really had to scrub to get her clean.

Cake # 3

2009-06-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

This week in cake class we learned how to make the rose. The instructor says it's the hardest flower to learn how to make, I guess I'll find out when I take the other classes. I didn't think it was to difficult. The hardest part was transfering the flowers from the parchment paper onto the cake, mostly because my frosting had sat in the car for a little bit and got soft.

House update

2009-05-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted about the new house. A lot has happened and we are getting closer to moving in, everyone around here has there own opinion about when it will actually happen. The major thing that's going on right now is tile both inside and on the roof. The house is painted inside and out, we have cabinets, and the electrical is mostly complete. For those of you that have heard the front door story (very long story, sorry, not going in detail) we now have it and it was installed on Friday, yippy! I really haven't taken a lot of current pictures but here are a few of the most recent.

Front of the house, there will be stone where it's still gray (picture was taken before the door was installed)

Makayla's bathroom fully tiled

Kitchen cabinets before the doors were installed

Great room ceiling

front entry dome

Cupcakes

2009-05-28T07:40:00.001-07:00

I thought Tammy would appreciate a picture of my cupcakes I made for Memorial Day. There supose to look like fireworks.

Camping and Quading

2009-05-26T07:43:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we went camping with Toni and Nathan and a bunch of their friends. We went up to the cinders it's an old volcano area, I had no idea we had a volcano in AZ (I must have missed that in school). The ground is covered in small volcanic rock that is black and in some places it's red. The area is just outside of Flagstaff so it's heavily wooded and very pretty. The boys took there quads and had a good time riding, they have some unbelievable hills that we watched other people ride on. We had a good time and are now looking to buy another quad.

Happy Campers

Daniel and Nathan making breakfast

They call this hundred dollar hill and the picture doesn't do it justice for how steap it was. The dust toward the top of the picture is someone comming down.

This is called red bowl I thought this was impressive until I saw hundred dollar hill

Daniel doing some figure eights

Old Friends

2009-05-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Facebook I've found some old friends from high school. There were a few people that I had lost contact with and had really hoped to find them at our high school reuion, unfortunatly they wern't there. Shortly after the reuion someone at work explained to me how facebook worked and what to do with it so I tried it out and found everyone I was hoping to find. If I would have discovered facebook a little earlier I wouldn't have gone to the reuion and from talking to the people I've come in contact with I think that's why hardly anyone went. It's really quite amazing how the internet keeps people in contact. Last Friday I had lunch with Lauren and Misty, the three of us had been friends from junior high through high school and then Misty and I lost contact with Lauren. It was like old times, none of us had changed we're just married and I have kids now.

picture from my 16th birthday (left to right) Me, Daniel, Pat, Lauren, and Misty

Me, Lauren, and Misty

Cake #2

2009-05-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

This week I had some issues in making the cake. I got a little greedy with the jello/strawberry filling I made and when I went to frost it the filling started to ooozz out of the center and mix with my frosting. I was ready to give up and make another cake but Daniel talked me out of it and helped me salvage the mess I had made (probually because it was already 9:30 on Sunday night and he wanted to go to bed and not stay up another 2 hours while I made a new cake). When I was packing up to go to class I dropped a tupperware container on it and put a dent in it and then had to try to smooth that out. So, after all of that here's how it turned out.

Puppy love

2009-05-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

I had to share this because I'm still laughing about it. Skittles must have ate something that made her sick. She started to vomit on our chair so Dad's quick goat thinking kicked in and he took her to the toilet.

A visit to Mom's work

2009-05-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Makayla had a urinary track infection (UTI) a couple of weeks ago. This being unusual for a 10 month to have we had to have some testing done to make sure there wasn't a problem with her kidneys or bladder. This required a trip to the hospital for some outpatient testing. So, the girls got to check out where Mommy works while they were there. The tests for Makayla showed that everything inside was normal and functioning corectly which was very good news.Makayla in the "gowned" waiting area between tests ( they didn't have any gowns small enough for her)

Addisen checking out my co-worker Gyneth's desk :*)

My first cake

2009-05-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

I signed up for a cake decorating class with my friend Misty. It is every Monday for 2 hours and it's four weeks long. Every week we have to bring a frosted cake to class to decorate and each week we will learn different techniques for decorating cakes. So here's how the first one turned out.

And here's what went on at home with Dad

I'll have a sloppy Joe

2009-05-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

We had sloppy Joe's for dinner tonight so I saved some of the plain hamburger for Makayla to eat thinking the sloppy Joe mix would be too messy. Well, she decieded that she wanted to be like the rest of us and have a sloppy Joe, bun and all. I gave her a bit of Addisen's to start since she wasn't eating the plain hamburger she munched that down and then started eyeballing her Dad's sandwich so she had some of that and some of mine. I'm pretty sure she ate a whole sloppy Joe by the time she was done.

These are great!!!

A much needed weekend!

2009-05-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Melynda and Edward were going to visit his family in Las Angeles this past weekend and had decieded to join in on a little b-day surprise for Ernesto in San Diego on Saturday. They mentioned the trip to us and told us we were welcome to join them if we wanted to. It was hard to make up our minds since Daniel has been working so much we felt like we needed time together but felt bad leaving the kids since they haven't got to see him much. So, after much deliberation we decied to go and I'm really glad we did. It was so nice to have some time just to ourselves and have some fun with our friends as well.

Daniel and I left Friday after work and when we got there we checked out the Gas Lamp District where we enjoyed some yummy food and a very large cocktail.

Saturday morning the two of us went to Coronado Island and had a wonderful breakfast outside.

We then checked out the beach. After the beach we went to the outlet mall in Carlsbad, where the deals were a little disapointing.

On our way back to San Diego we stopped to pick some strawberries. They were sooo delicious!

We also stoped to have a look at the flower fields, they're pretty amazing.

When we got back to San Diego we met up with everyone and went out to dinner for Ernesto's birthday and then hung out at the hotel with everyone that evening. Sunday morning we went to a cute little farmer's market by Ernesto's place. They had every type of food you could imagine and it was all good (we really did try quite a bit of it). I really wish we could have more things like that here.

We really had a great trip, it was nice to spend some quality time together and I came back feeling like I'm a more patient Mom. Sometimes you forget you need to take a break to recharge your batteries. I'm also taking a cake decorating class (more on that later) so Daniel is getting some one on one time with the girls every Monday night.

Monster Trucks

2009-04-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

Daniel and Edward took Addisen and Gabriel to go see the monster truck rally last Saturday. Daniel bought the kids some ear muffs to wear to block out some of the sound since it's really loud, we had showed Addisen them a head of time so she could get used to the idea. So, everytime you would mention to her that she was going to see the monster trucks she would say you have to wear something on your ears while she made up and down gestures by her ears. I guess the first ten minutes of the car ride was pretty entertaining because Gabriel kept saying "were going to see monster trucks" and Addisen would say "you have to wear something on your ears" this went on and on back and forth between the two of them. The highlights that Addisen keeps talking about are, some of the cars had fire (the jet cars), they crush on top of cars (bigfoot smashing cars), and of course you have to wear something on your ears. Daniel said that she really had a good time and it was very cute seeing how excited she got about the cars/trucks when they went by them, he said there was a lot of excited clapping going on.

Addisen with "something on her ears"

"That car has fire"

Kiera's 1st Birthday

2009-04-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

The birthday girl with Mommy and Daddy
On April 17th Kiera turned one year old. It seems like just yesterday she was born, I know I say it everytime one of the kids has a birthday but they just grow so fast. We celebrated at Melynda and Edward's house the Saturday after and of course the kids had lots of fun.

Addisen taking a swing at the pinata

The "kids table"

This won't be legal for too much longer: Gabriel "the pimp" having three girls sleeping in his room

Four Generations

2009-04-17T16:31:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot recently how lucky I am to still have my Grandma and for her to be in such good health. Having lost my Grandpa five years ago and Daniel's Grandma three years ago it's made me realize how blessed my kids are to still have a Great Grandma that can still do so many things with them. I've heard a few times while we we're all out shopping or having lunch that it's not offen you see four generations together and that really makes me remember how fortunate my kids and I are.

Make a Smilebox postcard

Easter

2009-04-15T09:37:00.001-07:00

Easter was lots of fun this year. Addisen was excited to see that the Easter Bunny came to her house while she was sleeping when she woke up Easter morning. She did really well searching for the eggs the bunny hid for her and was thrilled with what came inside. After breakfast we headed to my parents for early dinner and more egg hunting. Then we were off to Daniel's parents for a later dinner and more egg hunting. Addisen was just as excited the first time she hunted eggs as she was the last time. Makayla liked her Easter basket too, it was filled with all of her favorite baby snacks. We had a great day watching the girls experience Easter and spending time with our family.

Addisen and Daddy coloring eggs

The girls in their Easter dresses

Addisen and Daddy hunting for eggs

2009-04-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

Daniel turned 29 on April 10th, the count down is on to the big 3-0. We celebrated with friends the weekend before at our house, Daniel and I went out for a nice dinner on his actual b-day, and at the end of the evening he was surprised by his Auntie Jan, Uncle Brian, Reid, and Brynn comming in from Cananda. This year is the first year Addisen is catching on to things like birthdays and what goes along with them. She was very excited to buy his gift, make him a pretty card, and call to wish him happy birthday a couple times. I really think she helped to make his day extra special.

Edward and the birthday boy

The girls helping to open Daddy's gifts

Addisen helping Grandma put the candles on the cake

Happy Birthday Sweety!

Western Days

2009-04-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

At my Grandma's apartment they have family nights every once in a while. Last Tuesday they did a western theme complete with an old guy singing old country songs. Great Grandma loves to show off her cute little great grandchildren and who can blame her ;*) so we always go.

Gabriel turns 3!

2009-04-08T17:13:00.001-07:00

Well, I didn't want to post before Melynda but I'm going to anyway. Tuesday April 7th Gabriel turned 3 years old, I really can't believe it our babies are growing up. Melynda and Edward had his party last Saturday and the kids had a ton of fun. They rented a big bounce house for the kids to play in, Edward grilled, and the kids had races on their bikes.

Addisen bouncing

Daddy and Makayla hanging out in the bouncer

The four two year olds and Emily enjoying their cupcakes

Addisen racing Daddy "the crab"

and Addisen wins!