Abbie Turned Ten!

I can hardly believe that my "little ladybug" (what we called her as a baby) is now 10 years old! She has grown up so beautifully! She loves to read, have friends over, is a great helper & is starting to get the baby-sitting bug (she's done little stints here-and-there for me)!

One birthday tradition that I've carried on from when I was a little girl was making a birthday sign for each of the kids on their birthday...it's not especially fancy, but I think they like it! On the night before her birthday, Abbie asked if I was going to make one (she hadn't seen me working on it) and I told her "if I had time"....of course, I was going to have time!! :)

Here's some pictures from Abbie opening her gifts...she wanted some "mystery games"...

She also asked for an Ipod...(you can't tell that's what she got, but it's in there)...
And also a new pair of shoes...
For her birthday cake, she had asked for Peach Dessert! YUM!!! (For some reason, our pictures from blowing out her candles were either blurry or too dark to see what was happening...so, this is the best ya get, sorry!)

After the boys were in bed, I gave her a pedicure...she felt pretty special!
This is the finished product!!...pink & purple with little silver flowers on her big toes!Happy Birthday, Abbie! We are so glad you are part of our family & such a terrific big sister to Annie, Parker & Connor! I know they love you tons, just like Daddy & I!!! I hope you had a good day!!!

Updates Coming Soon....

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Please don't think,
I've forgot about you!

Our home computer has been in the repair shop....getting a much needed increase in RAM, fixing the CD drives & other stuff that I could say, but I have no idea what it means...LOL! I have pictures ready to upload, and updates ready to share, but you'll have to wait just bit longer. Once my computer is back, I'll make sure to add them to our blog!! :)

Soccer Season Starts!

Parker is loving it already!! He plays hard, works up a sweat, has loads of fun and has even scored a few times, too!...what could be better?

Just some random pictures from his first game...he's #2!

Our Pre-schooler, Parker!

Parker started preschool on Wednesday morning. He loves preschool!! He has been asking me for weeks, "How many days until I start preschool, Mom?" So, when Wednesday arrived, he was one excited boy! He was up, getting ready & begging me to fix breakfast before the sun was even up!

One fun fact about Parker, is that if you've been lucky enough to spend anytime with him in the last few months, you know that he LOVES Transformers! So, as we did our school shopping...we came home with a few Transformer items...

1st...a backpack! What 4 yr. old boy wouldn't think this is awesome?!!?

2nd...some Transformer shoes! (Optimus Prime, of course!)

3rd...some new Transformer underwear (they don't sit in his drawer long...he wears them as soon as I get them washed, LOL)!

Lucky for Parker, he talked Gramma C (she spent a week here with the kids while I was at Young Women's camp) into adding to his Transformer collection, by buying him plate, bowl and cup that are just his own!

Then, of course, Matt added to the collection too....we have a Transformer poster in the boys room...

... the Transformer movie (I'm sure we'll be getting "Revenge of the Fallen" when it's out on DVD)...

...and we picked up the soundtrack to "Revenge of the Fallen" (it's pretty good, especially if you like Linkin Park, Green Day, etc)...

And, I forgot to mention that even the Easter Bunny knew that Parker loves Transformers, so for Easter Parker got a Transformer swim towel in his Easter basket (it's been used almost EVERY day this summer!)....

I love my Parker! He brings a smile to my face every day and I love how much he loves Transformers!! Isn't he cute?

P.S. Just in case you are wondering, Parker does have some Transformer action figures (4 or 5 at the present time, thanks to Grandma Judy & birthday/Christmas presents) and several other Transformer items...I just thought I'd included enough pictures for today!! :)

First Day of School Pictures!

So...what better way to get back into blogging after summer vacation than by posting pictures from the girl's 1st day back to school?

Abbie and Annie looked pretty darn cute, if I say so myself, and had fun picking out their own outfits for the first day back!!


Of course, they had to show off their new "Wizards of Waverly Place" backpacks...

Here's Abbie...

and Annie....

And all four in front of the school (I was LOL at Parker's and Annie's expressions)...
We are all excited for the new school year to begin & I think we're going to have a fantastic year!!

Two Piano Players

Abbie and Annie had their Spring Piano Concert a few days ago...both of them did fantastic! It's so fun to be a mom & watch their improvement over the last few months! Both of them received awards for practicing over 50 days in a three month period. (We do have a rule that the girls get up at 7am and practice before school!...it works pretty well for us!) They have a fantastic teacher who is helping them develop a love for playing & practicing as well!! I love that! So...

Here's Annie playing her recital piece:


And Abbie playing her's:



And here's both of my beautiful girls after they finished!! Good job Annie & Abbie!!

Family Band Time

So...last weekend when we were in Utah for the Memorial Day Weekend, Matt & 2 of his brothers and a BIL (brother-in-law) put together a family band. I think the guys had quite a fun time & it was a blast listening to them! Matt played the bass, Kyle was on the drums, Jeremy was one of the guitar players & Nate was singer & guitar. There were a few "extras" too...Annie and Graham are pictured below...

A closer up of Kyle & Matt... (incidently, Matt played the bass, and cello, and serveral other instruments when we were dating, but somehow it kinda got lost in between undergrad, law school, 4 kids, moving, and life in general...so, for me, it was really fun to watch him play again!)

Here are some other "extras":

Connor with his messy face and all...gotta love the grin, though!!

Parks sure looks like he was having a blast!

And here is Lincoln, Parker and Annie...

You'll have to wait for the release of the song to hear what they played....Jeremy's working on mixing it and putting it all together! :)

Preschool at the Zoo!

Parker's preschool took a field trip to the zoo last week...all the animals were out, it was just a little bit overcast, but not too cold, and the kids had a ball! Here's some pictures from our fun morning!!

Aren't these kids cute?....there's Talon, Parker, Jackson, Tanner, Sadie & Emry! (If you look closely, you can see the head of the crane peaking up over the sign!)

The boys really liked seeing the lions!!...they're back there behind them...

We were able to spot the giraffes without any problems!...this was the first time we were able to see them outside of their enclosure (our zoo just got giraffes a few months ago)!

Parker then had to "drive" the Safari Truck!

Connor loved watching the penguins!...he looks a little lost here, but I promise, he had fun!!

And, of course, we have to take a picture on the Komodo Dragon! It wouldn't be a trip to the zoo with out it!! :)

A Girl's Night Out!

The youth (the 14-18 yr olds) in our stake & 5 others participated in a dance festival that was held last Saturday. Because I'm in Young Women's, I thought it would be great if I could go and watch them perform. Luckily, the Beehive advisor, that I work with, wanted to join me...so, we invited another friend along and we all brought our daughters. We figured since we were already going to the dance performance, we might as well enjoy dinner together too (though I forgot to take any pictures at dinner)! We all had a fantastic time! Here are the girls...aren't they cute together?

Alexa, Camrie, Abbie & Annie getting ready for the dancin' to begin!

Me, Carly & Jodie (Abbie snapped the picture for us!)

Thanks for a fun Girl's Night Out!! :)

A Little Project

I love doing little projects...especially making little things that I "need" around my house. A favorite, lately, has been magnets for our fridge...who doesn't need magnets, right? So, a couple of months ago, I made these adorable little black & white ones... (sorry for the glare)


I have loved them! They look so cute & are super handy! So, while I was at the craft store a few weeks ago, I decided to try a new kind of magnet...they had these extra large clothespins, that I just painted black, mod-podged the paper on, and then added some cute ribbon....ta da!...


Now I have both kinds on my fridge...very handy, and pretty darn cute, if I say so myself! :)