I think this photo says it all...

Texas Rodeo

We had a fun time at the Rodeo last Friday. The weather was as beautiful as the company was fun! Click on the link to see our activities.

Welcome to the Hive

This poster and special little notes of welcome have been hanging on Kathrine's door for almost a month now. We finally had to take it down, (as Claire was very interested it pulling it off periodically) so we took a photo to immortalize it. What a thoughtful thing for her fellow beehives to create this poster and all of the notes of encouragement as she entered into Young Women's. It was delivered (and hung) by her Aunt Shana, who Kathrine gets to enjoy as one of her Beehive leaders. Lucky girl!

Daddy Daughter Night

For mutual this last Wednesday, it was a Daddy-Daughter Progressive Dinner. I thought it sounded like a pretty fun idea! Before the activity the YW's president asked for about 10-15 photos of all the girls from birth to now. Kathrine and I looked all through our old photo albums to pick out several photos and had fun reminiscing about all of the things we've done over her 12 years. (I thought that was half the fun!)

Taylor was able to go as well, as a server. I was extra happy for her because I knew she would have a great time being with Kathrine (at the big girl activity:) and with her Dad!

When they came home it was all smiles and laughter!! I had fun listening to all of the details from everyone.

Horray for Daddy's AND daughters.

Newborn Humanitarian Kits

For our Relief Society Birthday Celebration this year our ward decided to do Newborn Humanitarian kits. Everyones generosity was amazing. We were able to put together 100 kits. All of the items and fabric were donated by the women of our ward. This evening we gathered to sew the blankets together and assemble the kits. I thought it was pretty inspiring to see all of these women, heads down, working so diligently to get this goal accomplished. It was wonderful to walk into the cultural hall and hear the buzz of the sewing machines.



I see why the beehive is a symbol of unity and hard work. I think these women were a true example of that this evening. We were able to complete 75 blankets, and several women volunteered to finish the 25 remaining blankets so we can ship the kits to Salt Lake as soon as possible. A BIG thank you to everyone who donated, planned, sewed, executed and attended the event. The evening was finished off with some spiritual thoughts by Jill Smith and a DVD put out by the church detailing exactly where and who these humanitarian kits go to. The birthday cake was delicious too!!

I'm so grateful for this organization of women inspired by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It's such a blessing to be part of the largest women's organization in the world who's goal it is to uplift and take care of one another. Chairty NEVER faileth.

Take me out to the ballgame

This post is for Logan's Grandma Karen. I've been telling her how stinkin' cute this baseball boy is and I finally got some photos to post to the blog. I don't know who is having more fun with T-ball, me or Logan!! Whenever he has a game coming up, he lays out his uniform and we talk all about when it is and what positions he thinks he might play. Then the day comes and he gets dressed and I can hardly stand how CUTE he is!! He is having a GREAT time with all his buddies, sitting in the dug-out, running the bases and sliding into home.

I wish you could see when they are in outfield and their coach says, "Players ready..." and they all stomp down into their ready position and say, "Arrrrrr." They are the pirates, it is soooooooooooooo cute. Can't wait for the next game!! The girls like to make up cheers for him. It's pretty fun.

Girls Weekend

This past weekend a group of girlfriends gathered to travel to Houston for the Time Out for Women Conference. Several of the women left early Friday morning to get to the hotel and enjoy the spa. My friend Shekendra and I left a little bit later because of babysitting issues and went to the Houston temple. A temple neither of us had been to before. The temple was in one of the most beautiful settings I can remember. It's quite small, and surrounded by large pine trees. The landscape was so pretty, maybe because it is spring and several colorful tulips adorned the grounds. I was glad we finally made it there, because we were pretty lost for a bit. We finally met up with our group and had a wonderful Italian dinner and headed to our hotel. I was beginning to come down with some sickness and didn't have the energy to party the night away like some of the other women, but it sounded like they had a lot of fun!

Saturday we awoke bright and early to begin our conference only to be disappointed by the host and a few of the speakers. I was ready to give up at lunch time, but gave the afternoon speakers a second chance. This year, I would personally say, they had 2 good speakers, the rest left a bit to be desired.

Not to leave on such a downer note, we took the rest of the afternoon to shop at this great place recommended by Summer Adams called Sam Moon. I LOVED it. I can't wait to go back. It was like a huge indoor swap meet, only with a better quality of items.

Overall, it was a great weekend to spend with the girls, to chat, relax, eat good food, and enjoy one another's company. Thank you to everyone involved in planning and everyone who attended!! Also, a great thanks to Chris who held down the fort at home. ;)

Star of the week

Taylor was the star of the week this week at school. We had the chance to sit down and look through a bunch of her old photos. It was a little stroll down memory lane to take the time to shuffle through all the photos of her as a baby and toddler. She enjoyed looking at all the pictures and listening to stories I told her about each one. After we picked about 30 photos, we made a poster with them.

One of the special things I got to do was to write a letter to her. Sometimes I'm especially glad for school assignments, (sometimes I'm not) but this one, it was nice to take a few minutes and reflect on things only about Taylor. I wrote her special letter and her teacher read it to the class. When she got home from school that day, I asked her about how things went....She said, "I was so glad there wasn't anything embarrassing in it!" I was glad too! We love her and it was hard to limit my letter to one page. I kept reducing the font, so I could fit most of the things in I wanted too.

Friends & Food

February 22nd, we celebrated my friend Debbie Chase's 4th baby coming into the world. I visit teach her and she has become a good friend of mine. We all met at the Melting Pot to enjoy dessert. It was extra good this time because we got to try 4 different fondues. I've only had one flavor before, and each of these were delicious. Debbie is one of those good down to earth people you can talk to about anything and everything. I was happy to have this chance to celebrate with her.

Girls just want to have fun

When Chris got home from work we were ready to go eat and bowling. We took the kids to Rudino's and enjoyed yummy pizza. Someone stopped us and asked if they were all our kids. YA RIGHT!!

From Rudino's it was off to bowl our little hearts out. When everyone had the proper shoes, we put up the bumpers and let the balls fly. (And I'm not kidding when I say some of the balls flew, rather than rolled down the lane.) Chris and I played Logan, and he won. It is such a crack up to watch him chuck the ball down the lane.





Claire got in on the action too. All of the girls gave her one of their bowling turns, and Chris and I gave her a couple tries as well. She had such a great time dancing to the music and running all around. I brought the ice cream cake Kathrine requested to Main Event and we enjoyed it while taking turns bowling. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I know I did!








When the bowling was done, it was time to return home. Kathrine and I had prepared special treats to dip in chocolate fondue, then we went up to the game room to have an American Idol sing off. Kathrine and her cousins came in first place. Around 11:30, Chris and I called it a night, put the Pink Panther movie in for the girls and hit the sack. Very fun time had by all!!

Birthday Sleepover party

To properly celebrate the importance of the 12th birthday we deciede to throw a slumber party for Kathrine and a couple of her friends. We had a great time with all of the girls. While everyone was arriving Kathrine was playing her specially created CD she burned with all of her favorite songs right now. She had it playing loudly throughout the house to set the party mood. Even Claire was shakin' her little boo-tay!









When everyone got here were had a couple of warm up games to get everyone involved. The first game was to see who could eat a cake doughnut hanging from a string with no hands first. I was impressed with the girls determination!! We had a winner and lots of entertainment to boot. The next challenge was to see who could eat a Ritz cracker, then take a piece of Hubba Bubba gum, chew it up and blow the first bubble. It was a close call, but I think Kathrine had the first real bubble. Everyone was cracking up and THAT made it even harder to get the bubbles blown. :)

Day at Lake Austin Spa

Today, my sister, my Mom and I enjoyed a day at the spa. It was my Mom's birthday present from my sister and I. As I have mentioned before, this place is so serene. We had a few treatments, ate lunch, laid out by the lake and took naps in the hammocks. It was a beautiful day. One of my favorite things was laying in my hammock and watching a little wood pecker furiously peck away at the tree trunk above me. With the breeze blowing, the water rippling, and the wood pecker working so hard, it was like a scene out of a movie. We had a wonderful time together. Happy Belated Birthday Mom!





In my haste to get out the door on time, I forgot my camera, so I wanted to include just a couple stock photos from the spa. This last one is where we had lunch together. It was delicious and nutritious!!

Audge & Sophie Stay With Us

Lucky us, Audrey was able to stay with us for a couple nights while she was here. Usually we get to have her longer, but with Taylor and Kathrine being sick, we tried to keep Sophie from catching anything. The nights she was here, we were able to baby sit for a short time, while Audrey and Kathrine went out together. I think at first Sophie didn't know what happened to her, but soon she and the kids were playing together.

This really made me realize what having one more would be like. It was evening time, with dinner, baths, and bedtime to tend too. I was appreciating how easy life has become with children who are mobile and feed themselves. Aside from that, it really made me want another little one in the house. The kids love her so, and take such great care of her. It would be nice to have another little baby in our home :) Sophie is so well natured and pleasant. We love and miss her tons!

February 19th 2007

Kathrine turned 12 at 6:05 am! She was 12 before she even woke up. We had a mini celebration before school. She was able to open a few presents and have crepes (her favorite) for breakfast. Here's a photo of Chris and her before he had to leave for seminary.


Later in the evening we had Grandma, Grandpa, Audrey, Sophie and Bryce over for dinner. We served stuffed pork tenderloin, (another one of her favorites) with a potato casserole, a yummy salad, fresh bread and our favorite family drink, Root Beer!! After dinner we invited a few extra guests to share in the festivities and dessert. Kathrine's cousins came over and also her best buddy Katie and her family. We enjoyed some special order cupcakes and ice cream.




We always love any reason to celebrate with family and friends!

The Big 4-0

Well, Chris turned 40 today. I had all these plans to celebrate big, but Chris kept insisting he didn't want a party. We ended up celebrating at home with the kids. They each purchased something for him and made homemade cards. Later this evening we went out with Jeff and Shana for dinner at one of Chris's favorite resturants, PF Chang's. Unfortunately it was Valentine's weekend, so several of our friends had other plans. It was very low key, and according to Chris, that's JUST what he wanted to begin with. (I already told him, I don't think I want a party either, maybe just a cruise to the Greek Islands or something :)

Here we are minus Kathrine, she was the photographer for us today. Happy 40th Birthday Chris. We LOVE YOU!! Later this weekend, we had our family over for dinner and dessert. Audrey was still here visiting and it was nice to have some down time together with Mom & Dad.

The Fariy Tale Ball

Today was Logan's Fairy Tale Ball at school. He dressed up as a perfect gentleman. I think he looks so handsome dressed in his Sunday best, I didn't think there was a princess there who could resist him! Claire and I went to school this morning to watch the parade. It was so cute to see all of the princesses, princes, dragons, villains, and knights. They paraded all through the school so all of the grades would have a chance to see how snazzy they were.
Isn't he the cutest?
Here's Logan with one of the princesses he lives with everyday. Claire and Logan are so sweet together. He takes good care of his little sister.

I hope one day Claire can meet a prince as sweet and loving as her older brother to take her to her Fairy Tale Ball. Claire and I didn't get a chance to stay for all of the festivities since it was Chris's 40th birthday today, we still had a couple birthday surprises to tend too. :)

The Queen has Arrived

I had to include these pictures of Claire. She thought she had arrived today. I had been cleaning my sheets and all of the pillows and the comforter were stacked up on my chair. She climbed right up and sat there like she was the 'Queen of Everything.' She is so cute and such great entertainment for our family. I'm sooooooooooooo super happy we have her!!!

Valentine's Family Dinner

Tonight we celebrate our family and how much we love each other. I had fun getting the table ready for everyone and using our homemade valentine's as decoration. We enjoyed a quiet candle lit dinner together and we each had a chance to tell something we love about each person in our family.




I am truly "DELIGHTED" and blessed with each person in our family. I love this sign because it expresses each day my feelings towards my children and Chris.

Here we are all together. I am truly blessed beyond what I deserve!

Happy Valentine's Morning :)

This morning, Chris and I had a little gift for each of the kids. We usually make Valentine's a family affair since we celebrate our anniversary just days before this holiday. It's always a treat to wake up to a little gift. I get to wake up each morning to 4 gifts from our Heavenly Father, so I think it's only fitting to celebrate them at this time of year. I love my little valentines!


Later that morning, Claire and I were able to go to school and help out with the Valentine party in Taylor's classroom. It was super cute. We brought heart shaped turkey sandwiches, strawberries, and pink punch. Then the kids each got to make a little craft. We had a lot of fun hangin' out with Taylor and her classmates!!