Pinewood Derby 2010

Conner and Ryan worked really hard on Conner's Pinewood derby car this year. Their hard work paid off, and Conner took 3rd place. He was so excited to place, and we were very proud of him!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year...my house was a little more chaotic than usual, but FUN, FUN, FUN! My sister and her cute kids, and my mom all came to town for Easter weekend and a couple days more. It was so much fun to have them here, and so very sad to say goodbye. Until July...

Gracie's 1st birthday

Where has the time gone? I can't believe my baby is a year old already. It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home to meet her brother and sisters. Gracie is a busy little girl, and we are so blessed to have in in our family.

Gracie at 1:

words she utters...
dada, mama, go,

food she likes...
apples, yogurt, goldfish crackers, grapes, cheerios, chicken, mac n' cheese, french fries (I'm a health nut...obviously)

She's not walking yet, but does the cutest "turbo crawl". She walks (while holding) around furniture, chairs, peoples legs, etc.

She LOVES her soft white blanket with pink polka dots.

Gracie's birthday fell on the Saturday before Easter this year. We spent alot of her birthday doing Eastery things, so I guess the theme was Easter :).

mom and dad with the birthday girl


birthday cake....store bought,what a lame mom I am for not making a cake on my baby's FIRST BIRTHDAY. I had big plans, I was thinking "ladybug" theme, but when my family arrived from out of town, all plans got pushed to the wayside.


group picture

opening presents with daddy's help

birthday snacking...

a favorite pasttime...swinging. She really gets the giggles when she swings.

our favorite baby in the world

Where did January go?

I can't believe we're into February! Where did January go? We've been keeping busy, and had a few fun things happen in the month of January. First and most exciting, we celebrated Brianna's 4th birthday. That was fun, with the "puppy party" theme she chose. She had 2 little friends come over. They each adopted an unwanted pooch...stuffed of course. They decorated collars for their pups, we played "pin the tail on the puppy", and "I have a little doggie". Everyone had a good time, especially our birthday girl.










Gracie is now 10 months old...where has the time gone? She obliged me with a photo shoot to commemorate the day. Here are a few of the unblurry images. I tell you, at 10 months they NEVER hold still.






We're still plugging along, waiting for the economy to pick up, but we feel so blessed~~ Healthy, Happy, and loving our sunny days!

I resolve to...

It's that time of year again...time for New Year's Resolutions. I'm taking a cue from my sister in law, and only doing three good ones.

1. GET MORE ORGANIZED! Life would be easier, if I could organize myself. I've never been good at this. I was the schoolgirl who bought a different color folder for each subject, with the intent to keep things beautifully organized throughout the year. Two weeks into the school year, and I was jamming every single paper I received into my backpack, and zipping it shut to hide the mess from view. This is my home in a nutshell, and my "backpack" nowadays is my Master bedroom closet It's a catch-all, and I DESPISE going in there. Thus I resolve to get more organized...especially that darn closet.

2. TO CONNECT ONE-ON-ONE WITH EACH OF MY CHILDREN. I'm mostly a "hands-off" parent. I let things take their course, and help out where I need to. I'd really like to be more involved in my children's lives, but involved as they need me. Weather it be more cuddle time, more listening time, or more play time. I'd like to be "there" for them more. This is probably a no-brainer for any other mother alive, but it's definitely something I think I need to work on.

3. TO BE MORE HEALTHY. I know this is a go-to for everyone in the new year. There are things that I struggle with that I really need to get through to be more healthy this year. I am going to work hard on overcoming some bad habits for a more healthy me in 2010.

There are, of course, hundreds of other things I need to work on to improve myself this year. I'll start with these and see how I do.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas 2009

Wow, it's been too long since the last post, but I feel like I've been CRAZY busy with the holidays, and traveling to Utah. What a wonderful Christmas we had! We were able to celebrate here, in AZ on Christmas Eve, and then we packed up our junk and headed to Utah. We flew on Christmas day, and arrived in SLC around 9:30. We spent the rest of the day enjoying a WONDERFUL Christmas. The kids were so excited to see everyone and open gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. We spent most of the day at Mom and Dad's, but went back to "The Condo" around six that evening. We were able to have Christmas dinner with Ryan's mom and Kyle (his brother). Michele made the whole meal, and cleaned up after she was done...it was FABULOUS! Warm Ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and more, all devoured by even the tiniest member of our family. We opened MORE gifts and enjoyed Michele and Kyle's company until very late that evening. I anticipate Christmas for, what seems like ages, and it comes and goes so quickly. My heart always aches a little when it's over.

Thanksgiving weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, spending the day with some dear friends. There was lots of DELICIOUS food...a pot luck, and I only had to make a salad, appetizer, and special drink. I ate too much, but had a wonderful, relaxing day. I'm so Thankful for great friends and family!!!

The Friday after Thanksgiving we went to the "Scottsdale Train" park. The kids had fun exploring, and playing on the playgound. Ryan and I had fun relaxing in the beautiful weather!

Brianna aboard a caboose in the museum


Conner and Jocelyn


Waiting to ride the train...


still waiting...


and waiting...


and waiting...








Posing just inside the entrance. What great kiddos I have!