COURTNEY TURNS ONE YEARS OLD

I am trying to back track as you can see. I am going back to all the stuff I did not post when I should have.

This is a picture of Courtney on her first birthday. We had a simple little party and invited only the Morris Family and Lane Family. It was so nice to stand around and stare at our sweet beautiful little girl. She was eating up the attention and putting on quite the show for us.

She loved the Cold stone Creamery Cake I got her and enjoyed opening her gifts. She was so pretty in pink!!

we just call him "Bank"

Our dear sweet little "bakey" is a all about the money. He counts his money daily and exchanges denominations periodically at the bank. Sometimes he is in the mood for a couple large bills and lots of dollar bills. Other times he is in the mood for lots of little money and no large bills. He will not spend it for anything. He will loan it to you if you must but, reminds you constantly to pay him back. Thankfully, he recently just put all his cash into the bank after Our Bishop told him about a devastating flood his family had endured when he was about his age. Blake did like hearing about the possibility of his money being washed down to river if a flood suddenly came through our house. Mike and I were relieved to know he put the money in a much safer place. Although, we miss having our bank to borrow from.

Off to see Santa and ride the train

Our community Association puts together a Santa visit every year. This particular year they also included a train for the kids to ride around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Mike was waiting for Courtney to wake up from a nap (I was with Sydney at the Disney Princess on Ice Show) so they arrived as it was ending. They did not get to sit on Santa's lap, but they did get to see him drive away in his SUV (while talking on his cell phone). The train conductor was nice enough to give them a ride before he began to put it away. They also got to see a real reindeer. Afterward, they went sledding down Chaparral hill. Mike told me he took Courtney down the hill on
his lap and allowed her to ride down with Blake. If you could only see how steep this hill is then you would understand how panicked this made me feel. He said that she really


enjoyed herself and kept wanting to do it. This still did not make me relax about it. And even though he tried to convince me that she is our high adventure baby ...Dad was on the couch that night:)

Dress Up

My sweet girls were helping me clean up the basement the other day. Except their idea of cleaning up was to try on all the dress up clothes. We had a great time together as always and actually did get the basement cleaned.

Courtney tries so hard to be like her big "sissy". She put on shoes and carried a purse with a camera and phone in it. She carried the baby around while she pretended to be the mommy.

It was just darling to hear her repeat Sydney's soft words to the baby. The funniest was when she would take a picture of me (which she did about 50 times) holding the baby. She would place the baby in my arms and ask the baby if she could take a picture ("picture baby?"-she would say). She would then prompt the baby to say cheese and smile. It was oh too cute.

How could I be so lucky to be their mom?????

Holiday Cheer

We went to our friends, the Mulligans, for dinner this evening. We had a really great time with their family. The kids had a great time playing and decorating a gingerbread house together. We are blessed to have such good friends.

Thanksgiving in Pahrump

My sweet sister, Dana, captured this wonderful memory of the past Thanksgiving. We spent it at my parents home in Pahrump, Nevada. All my sisters, brother-in-laws, my Aunt Barbra, my cousin Blair and his best friendand almost all of my nieces and nephews were together. (We were missing Ramsey, Ricki, and Amed).

My parents sweet little house was just perfect for the occasion. The food could not of been more delicious. Spending time together as a family is what this special day of Thanksgiving is all about. We enjoyed plenty of great conversation and catching up.

Not to take away from any of our previous Thanksgivings because they are always such a special time but, this just topped them all. I am so glad we each came to celebrate together. I Love you all very much!!!!

Brotherly love

You would think I was lying if I told you they never fight. So I won't lie to you-they fight like cats and dogs! Thank goodness they are quick to forgive and forget. They really do enjoy one another most of the time and especially because I remind them daily to have "brotherly love".

Are they starting to look more like me?????

Dressed for church

We are planning to send out New Years cards this year instead of Christmas cards. This is because I am an unorganized mess (Well.... that too... but really there is a higher purpose). The kiddos have been asked to be in their cousin Chris' wedding on December 29th. Blake and Tanner will be the ring bearers and Sydney and Courtney will be the flower girls. We just know the pictures will be irresistible, so we wanted to send them out to everyone. So for now, please do not think for one second that we do not want to wish you well this Christmas season. Stay tuned.....

Courtney is gettting so big

Here is a darling picture of Courtney. Isn't she getting big???? She is growing way too fast. I can hardly handle it. She talks in full complete sentences and is sharp as a whip. She brightens our days with her warm smile and sweet disposition. She loves to play "get you" and tell on whomever is not "nice". I could just eat her for breakfast-she is so delicious. yum....yum!!!

Sydney and mom went on a date

This past Saturday, Sydney and I went on a date to see Disney on Ice Princess Wishes. We both had a blast and Sydney said every part was her favorite part. She even wished she could watch it again and again and again. We had great seats, a snow cone, and pizza. I was so excited to spend time with no one else but my sweet Sydney Jo.

Did I tell you I went to Boston in the fall?

Yes, I really did. On the 12th of October I went with Mike (yepper.... only Mike...no kids) on a business trip to Boston. We spent 2 nights, 1 full day, 2 half days touring the city (well, actually Mike was stuck in some fancy hotel while I toured the city). It was so refreshing to be totally on my own to see whatever I wanted to see. Sydney could not understand why I wanted to be by myself and not with her. I reassured her that I always prefer being with her but once in awhile it is okay for mommy to escape. The kids were in the safe hands of my in-laws (thank you-thank you-thank you) being spoiled with soda and pizza.

I was able to see freedom trail in depth, read an entire book (Eclipse), eat at a Magianos, tour Fenwick Park (I know I am weird, most ladies would of chosen to shop), and tour an art gallery. It was a cheep and refreshing trip. And now I can finally say I have seen Boston in the fall.

Tanner's 7th birthday

Tanner just celebrated his 7th birthday. He had a full birthday weekend which started on the eve of his birthday at his favorite chinese restaurant. The next morning, his birthday, was greeted withbreakfast in bed. He was served pancakes, bacon, strawberries, and whip cream in the form of a smiley face. Mom added a trick candle in the middle of the pancake nose. Tanner was fooled as he tried many times to blow out the candle. We all got quite the kick out of it.

His close guy friends, Drew, Josh, Jeremiah, Jake, and Tyler arrived shortly after breakfast. We had a little set back at the field house because they did not have space for us. Mom was especially sad because she had gotten a baby sitter to watch the girls while she run around with the boys. Thankfully we persevered and found the nearest church building gym to be empty and began a good game of basketball. We were kicked out after 30 minutes and so we returned home. We played a volleyball game (yes...in the house) , made slime, and shake and make vanilla ice cream. All the kids loved the ice cream and especially loved that we were able to eat the cake and ice cream before the pizza.

After the party we headed to Blake's basketball game. On our way home from the game we dropped off Mike and Tanner at batting practice. We picked them up and headed for Monkey Business to join a birthday party the whole family was invited to. It was a cold winter night and Mike helped a stranded car get off the median. Once we were back in Stonegate we drive around and looked at Christmas lights.

At last it is Tanner's actual birthday. We headed off to church where he was sung to in Primary. After church we played in our backyard and built a fort in the snow. Tanner and mom went to a baptismal preview to talk about Tanner's baptism which is now only 1 year away. After the preview they drove around to look at Christmas light again.

On Monday morning we headed to King Soopers (grocery store) to get lion house frosted cookies with candy cane sprinkles for his class. He was sung to again at school and then after school was able to pick out a new Element skateboard. At last his birthday is complete...until next year....

I cannot believe he is 7 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was at the baby shower honoring his uproaching birth. I love my little Tanner fanner fo fanner so incredibly much. I am so especially grateful for his loving heart and honest spirit.

Halloween

I wanted to post some pictures of my kids from Halloween. My wonderful little man, Tanner, was the cutest clown you have ever seen. It warmed my heart that he wanted to be a clown and He is the first child of mine to let me paint his face.
Sydney was an East Side High Cheerleader (by the way, Mike wanted me to tell you that his junior year they defeated East High and extended their 18 game loosing streak in football). She even let me put a few curls in her hair and of course her everyday pony tail. She wants me to sign her up for cheerleading camp. The recreation has a class coming up that I think she would enjoy.
Blake was.....you guessed it....A GANGSTER. What can I say I was weak when he told me that just because he wanted to dress up like a gangster did not mean he was one. He also reminded me not to judge people. In the end he looked very hansome in the pinstripped suit and did a wonderful "put your hands up and give me all your money" impersonation.
Courtney was a moo cow. She looked darling and when asked what a cow says she would always say moo. Although, she said that for any animal you asked about, up until yesterday.
We had a great time at our Ward trunk or treat where we got lots of candy. We had a fun time at the wildlife experience where we got lots of candy. We had an enjoyable time trick or treating around our neighborhood. Courtney and Blake were the champion trick or treaters. The rest of us were cold and decided to go back home and give out candy.