Beautiful Crazy Life

Rainbow Party!!!!

2012-01-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

Our little Kate turned 5 on January 19th! I can not believe my baby is 5 I can't talk about it she is so old, therefore so is her mom! We had decided like way back in October that we were going to have a Rainbow Party! We had lots of fun ideas and I think Kate really enjoyed herself!

It was fun doing all the rainbow food. It took pretty much all day to make the cake and the individual jello cups. I got the glasses at Ikea and they got sent home with them in their goodie bags. We had a total of 12 kids participating in the party (9 girls and 3 boys) and a few other older siblings running around with Dylan.

We had also invited our babysitters Kylie and Macy to come help which was so nice to have extra hands! Macy did all of the girls nails rainbow colors and brought some cute American Girl nail stickers to put on.

We had a couple crafts making rainbows out of paper plates using paint and cotton balls. We only had a couple colors so we could talk about mixing and show the kids how to make different colors. Kate wanted to make bracelets and we modge podge colorful fabric to the little wooden dolls and they colored the hair, and faces. I think even the boys enjoyed themselves and they all got their nails painted too!

I about passed out blowing up the balloons for the rainbow banner! I totally copied Design Mom but about 1/4 of the size she did!
(A little blurry too much movement)!

FIVE!?!?

2012-01-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

Things we love about Kate!

1. She loves to help out around the house or with anything as long as she is with us!
2. She has such a wonderful imagination! I love listening to her play!
3. She has a creative ability of working in odd words she hears into her vocab ex. when she is mad yelling out "I am so fired up!" Where did she get that from Marc?
4. She is extremely honest in everything! Might be just her age but man she just says whatever she is thinking with out any hesitation.
5. She loves to sing and dance! She was so excited that she had ballet class on her birthday! Some favorite music these days are: Annie, Sound of Music, Wicked, anything from Glee and of course all the Disney Princess Movies

We love you so much Kate and we are incredibly thankful to have your sweet loving face with us everyday! You bring so many smiles to all around you!

I had made this dress before we went to Utah with the vision in my head of getting her pictures taken in Utah with all the great buildings painted in such fun colors! I also knew that if I did not have the picture before Christmas I would never get the invites out in time! So excited with how they turned out! I did them in my new Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and had them printed at Kinkos so I could get them the same day! On the left of the picture I sewed 3 layers of the party crepe paper and frayed them. Where do my children learn to pose?!

My Girl

2011-12-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

I am sitting on the couch wasting time on the computer just relaxing when my kids that have been in bed since 7:45 keep coming down. Dylan is reading a book and asking me questions and my Kate is trying to make the house look nice before her friend comes over tomorrow at noon. She is totally bussling around like I do picking everything up and putting it away. There was a lot out from Christmas and she has carried all her things to her room and continued to clean everyone else's stuff up. Pushing in chairs, getting all the dinner dishes together, and I think I hear her sweeping the kitchen! Oh my what have I created?

My boy

2011-12-12T22:40:00.001-08:00

My sweet Dylan he always wants me to make him things and after I finished his pajama bottoms he came up with the crazy idea of the eye mask. He does like it pitch black when he goes to bed so I whipped these out and he has worn them for a week straight! Crazy boy I sure love him tons! He is totally out but made the face with the flash-sorry bub I couldn't resist!

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Owie

2011-11-23T16:23:00.001-08:00

I was trying to hurry and do laundry, pack and of course finish a skirt for Kate I wanted to take to Utah with me at 10:00 at night when I was being stupid cutting fabric with my rotary cutter sideways instead of up and down when I sliced my middle finger on my left hand. I have never done anything like that before! Good thing my parents were over- we got a hold of Dr. Rollert (my boss) and he kindly met us at the office around 11:30 to give me two stitches.

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Sneak peak

2011-11-23T16:18:00.001-08:00

We all know I love birthday parties and with kates in January I feel like I need to plan a little early to accomplish everything I want to do. So my friend Anna made her girls a really cute dress and we were at the quilt store nod day and Kate found this cute rainbow chevron fabric. We had talked about a rainbow party so we had to buy it of course!
My original plan was to take the pictures at the salt flats while we were in Utah but that didn't happen...these are just a couple Tracie took on my phone so not the finished project.

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I love my cousins

2011-11-16T13:16:00.001-08:00

Anne and Ali rock it

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Buck Up

2011-09-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Not a day goes by that I think...I should blog about this and you all know I have failed miserably....I have the excuse computer too slow... don't have good pictures... or have not downloaded them and don't feel like dealing with that, so into a list it goes for when I finally get around to it. And then I feel like I can't just start because that would be weird right?! NO IT WONT! That's what I finally told myself tonight so here goes onto the REAL post.

We have a new pet. Long story short we sold our house lived with my brother for 5 months bought new house did a ton of renovation and somewhere in there I promised my kids a new pet when we were settled. So after lots of talking and research we decided on a bearded dragon. My wonderful cousin Jon taught us all about them and hooked us up with one that is 3 1/2 years old and needed a new home. We picked him up a couple weeks ago and he has become a wonderful addition to our family.

I had to work all day today and the new stay at home dad had the kids. I called at 5 to say I was driving home and was informed they were outside with Rango letting him soak up some sun. Got home 40 minutes later I could see all the people outside and asked where Rango was. I was told they had put him back so I left it. It is now 9:30 and we just had major drama! Here is the timeline:
8:00 kids in bed
8:30 lights out
9:00 Dylan yelling Rango is not in his cage! I had assumed sneaky Kate had him in bed with her so I head upstairs and Dylan goes running out the front door completely frantic! The thoughts going through my head were not good. Apparently Kate had taken him on the front porch swing and covered him with a pillow and forgot about him! The poor thing is freezing, Dylan is bawling and Kate is fake crying just for effect.

Can you say Good Night!

My baby is 7!

2010-05-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Dylan! We love you so much and can not believe you are 7! You are truly an amazing kid so much and kind and loving! Hope you had a wonderful day! Dylan woke up to a room full of balloons breakfast in bed and cupcakes to bring to school! His family party is Friday night and he is so excited! And finally he got what he has been asking for since Christmas an nintendo DSI!

Easter 2010

2010-04-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter on a little family vacation to Glenwood Springs and then off to the Mugleston's for a wonderful dinner!

My Head...

2010-04-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

I NEVER stop thinking and lately I have been thinking a lot of the same things and can not turn my brain off so I thought it might help if I write a few things down. I wonder constantly how I can get everything done that I want to and that I need to, to create a balance in my home raising a healthy and happy family. My thoughts:

1. Nutrition and Exercise- For years I have had different influences in my life that have made me want to make what goes into our bodies a higher priority. Lately Stacie has been working at Dylan's school to have a garden and now she wants to help turn the school lunches around. It inspires me because her daughter always brings a sack lunch but she is concerned about the whole community, so I really want to try and do better with my family.

Has anyone been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution? Find it and watch it! He is truly amazing! I have a dinner group with two of my friends where we cook for each other once a week to help us cut back on the time we have to spend in the kitchen. My goal is to make truly healthy good meals. My night is Tuesday nights and I want to share what I make on my blog with the recipe and picture. Maybe Laura and Mindy can be food critics for me???

Along with eating healthy I need to be better at my EXERCISING!!!! Every week I swear I come up with a new plan that I think I can follow and continue. This week I only ran once! My goal would be to go 4 times a week to do 15 minutes of yoga every day, and do weights on the days I run.

2. Housekeeping/Laundry- Why why do I stress about this so much? It should be so easy and I struggle! I keep hoping if and when we move into a bigger house I won't feel like the walls are closing in and every time I turn around there is crap everywhere!!!

3. Friends and Family relationships- I love all my friends and family so much and it frustrates me that it is so hard sometimes to keep in touch! I get so bummed that I can't keep up on my blog and when I check other people's blogs I find out things like my sweet amazing cousin is pregnant!?!? I had no idea! Blogs are so good to keep people connected but I miss talking and getting phone calls when exciting things happen in my loved ones lives! I am always wanting to do things and show my love and I can not keep up!

4. Teaching my kids- I am always thinking up things that I would love to do with my kids to open their minds and learn from me and not just what they learn from school and from their church teachers. It seems though whenever we are home we are taking care of picking up, bathing doing our thing and they need to be able to play!

5. Creating- I love my crafts, hobbies or whatever you want to call it but sometimes it is hard to find the time to partake of the things that make me tick. I also have a hard time drawing the line at all the things I would love to do! I love my crafting friends who feel like I do and for our wonderful husbands who let us craft to our hearts content almost every Thursday night!

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, background or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf
I Love this!

For now I guess thats all folks!

Cool

2010-03-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

My Little Dylan is growing up way too fast! I was at his school on Wednesday to help him with a project. I did not know what to expect and when I got there the kids had picked a partner and had to build a house together. Dylan's partner was a girl and they were the only boy girl partners in the class. That night in bed we were talking and I asked him if he picked Grace or how they became partners. He said that he wanted to work with Grace because she is a very creative person and thought she was cool... It was also St. Patrick's Day and their teacher had given all of them green beads and he said that Grace was so creative because she had wrapped her bracelet around her wrist and the teacher made a comment on how creative Grace is and Dylan said all the "cool" boys copied her!

I have a picture to add but this freaking computer is not letting me! I really dislike technology sometimes!

Sewing Machine

2010-03-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

I am in the market for a new machine. I think I would love a Bernina but the cheapest is about $700, so I have gone to a few shops and found a Elna in my price range that I like and a Viking 1800. Does anyone have any opinions? It is so hard to compare the two when they are at different shops and people are so opinionated on the ones they have to sell...AM I making sense? Please tell me anything you know I would appreciate it!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy Valentine's Day Weekend! On Thursday I was at work when Audrey received a phone call from the school informing us that Dylan was not feeling well. I raced over and sure enough he was very pale but also very sad he could not attend his Valentines Day class party. We got home and had him snuggle on the couch with a movie, I ran at 3 to collect his valentines and shortly after I got home he threw up all over the couch! I am not so prepared at this throw up thing since I have only done it myself twice that I can remember! So after a lecture from Marc and a good scrubbing of the sofa Dylan was back on it with a bucket right next to him. In the meantime I was feeling very frazzled I was suppose to leave in the morning to go to Utah to visit Tracie for the weekend. As you can imagine I was worried that we would be up all night, Kate or Marc would get it or I could get it and having to travel that would suck.

Dylan was in bed by 9 after having only two more barfs and slept all through the night! Audrey kindly came over and spent the night so we would not have to drag the kids to the airport at 7am- (and to be on standby in case others got sick)! I made it to Utah just barely on the second flight-I was starting to think my trip would be canceled :(

Friday night we went to dinner with Tracie's parents and off to the Gymnastics meet, then rode the Trax to see Valentines Day (Loved it) than found out Trax quits running at 11:15 (only in Utah)! so called a cab to get back to our car. Saturday was spent shopping shopping shopping! It is so nice to go without our rugrats and Utah has some sweet fabric stores! Sunday (Valentine's Day) Tracie made us heart shaped pancakes and her parents came by with homemade turtles packed up so cute with a lip gloss tied to it! We spent the day trying to get a little more organized for when her house sells but I think I left her in a bigger mess! Derek and Carly along with Tracie's parents came over for a wonderful dinner of chicken chili and a yummy spinach salad. Monday we did a little more shopping before heading to the airport (which I got on the first flight but it was a little delayed). Thank you Tracie you are a wonderful host and I loved seeing you and Duncan!

Marc and the kids had a great weekend as well. Kate had dance Sat. morning they went to Chuck E Cheese and on Sunday to Marc's parents house for dinner and Talladgea (no idea how to spell that)! I was happy to be home and I think I was missed a tiny bit...

Today

2010-01-28T21:05:00.001-08:00

I had to work today and nothing much happened except banging my head so hard on cabinets I almost passed out (I have a shooting pain down my neck and into my left shoulder), then having to go to the dentist to have my first EVER filling and I am not a wuss but that pretty much sucked! I was so numb (which I am grateful for) from my left ear over my nose and across the middle of my face to the other side. I walked back over to work where I got laughed at because I was so noticeably numb it looked like I had had a stroke:( Then I had to go re certify for CPR which is very hard to do when half your face is numb!

My 2 cents for the day is 2:30. Always remember if you have to give CPR 2 breaths for every 30 compressions! I hope I never have to do this but I am so grateful I could if I needed to. Look into taking it if you never have!

I have to add a picture of course! A favorite lately they always want to sleep together and they spoofed their babysitters that it was ok so when we came home I had to capture my perfect angels who love each other so much!

Happy Birthday My Sweet Kate!

2010-01-19T18:21:00.000-08:00

Kate is 3! My tiny girl is growing up so fast I can hardly believe it! She is constantly making me smile even when she is being naughty! Kate LOVES her big brother and is always sad to see him go to school! She is constantly telling us she loves us sooo much and always willing to pass out hugs and kisses. She is very independent, has a strong opinion about her clothes and her hair, loves all her friends and talks about them all the time. Kate is very much a girl and loves playing dress up (I can't get her to leave her clothes on and put the dress up clothes over the top, so I am finding various articles of clothing all over the house), she has the whole pretend thing down and always wants to be the mommy and make everyone else join in, Barbies are something she enjoys especially the movies. She also loves The Little Mermaid, Lilo and Stitch, and Thumbelina. Kate LOVES to dance and listen to music. She started a ballet tap class on Saturdays and Loves it! Her favorite song right now is Uncle Crackers You Make Me Smile! When she hears it on the radio she yells turn it up I can't hear my song and then she sings right along. We are so incredibly blessed to have our princess in our lives! We love her so much and hope she has an amazing birthday! Kate-YOU Make Me Smile!

Big Day!

2010-01-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Pettiskirt!

Well the big day has arrived! I think everyone had a ton of fun! When Kate was not on a horse you could find her brushing the miniature horses.

Thank you to everyone that came to be with Kate on her big day! She received so many wonderful gifts and had so much fun! Just a side note one of the ponies is pregnant can you tell? One of the miniatures is as well but I did not get a good picture! We got to see the baby pony moving around it was so cool! Thank you again we love you so much!

Hello Cupcake

2010-01-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

I bought Hello Cupcake around Dylan's birthday and absolutely love the cupcakes! They are so fun and it is hard not to plan your party just because you want to make certain cupcakes! In September I helped Dr. Rollert (my boss) make the shark cupcakes for his son's birthday party and he really wanted to help me make mine so tonight Audrey, Rollert and his Friend Paige came over and we whipped this out so fast! The book wanted you to use white circus peanuts and make white and brown horses (way cuter)! I found some on line and they were like $4.00 for one pound but they wanted to charge $11.00 for shipping! So once again I had to draw the line somewhere! I went with the My Little Pony look and we did orange, brown and pink. Still cute.

I already had the cupcakes made so we just had to decorate them. I used a Devil's food recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcake book and they were yummy! That is a great book for yummy tasting cupcakes and much prettier!

Pettiskirt

2010-01-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

I have been looking and thinking about pettiskirts since shortly after Kate was born-wanting one sooo bad! My dear friend Lindsay's wonderful amazing mom heard about them from Lindsay and whipped one up for Edy, which Kate is wearing in our Christmas card picture. I decided I wanted to tackle making one but I needed to know that I would have help if needed! So I searched the Internet for free tutorials sent everything I found to Debbie and eventually bought directions from a lady on ETSY. I talked about it all the time and my very talented friend Jaime decided she would make one with me! (of course the first time I mentioned it to her she wrinkled her nose and told me no) Anyway we decided on colors and ordered our fabric.
It showed up on a Tuesday and by Friday our skirts were finished! They both look awesome except Kate's is huge it fits Dylan better than Kate! I was not going to start over she I wrapped it up with a matching headband and gave it to her about 30minutes before her big party! She loves it and I am definitely planning on making more!

Stick Horses

2010-01-11T21:57:00.000-08:00

If anyone knows me at all I love throwing my kids their birthday parties! We have been talking about Kate's party since probably the beginning of December and she keeps saying she wants a pony party. She has been in love with ponies ever since we went to Utah and got to ride Tracie's dads Papa's ponies.

I was telling this to my aunt Debbie and she started talking about My Little Ponies when I jumped in and said no real ponies...Debbie said she should of known :) Also Marc has put up with all my crazy ideas one night in bed before Christmas I was babbling away when I said, "you know I cant stop once Christmas is over I have to go right to Kate's birthday party" he just responded don't be too crazy! Too late!

I wanted something unique and hopefully homemade that wasn't junk for the party favors and decided I would make stick horses for all the girls and boys under 4. We have so many people who love us and I have a hard time leaving anyone out but what 10 year old boy needs a stick horse right?! I had to draw the line somewhere! So my search started deciding how I was going to pull this off. I found a ton a really cute stick horses and made up my own. Hopefully they will stay together and get played with! It took me about 3 evenings to finish them and they were done a week before the party. I have never been so organized!

Merry Freaking Christmas!

2009-12-19T20:15:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful 2009! I know we have! I love my kids so much and this year I really wanted to try and capture their personalities in my picture for my card. I always have so many crazy ideas and can't always pull them off by myself and this year for my card I had amazing friend and photographer, Stacie (you must go to her blog and check out the pictures in large scale!) help me pull all my ideas from my head and get my Christmas card accomplished! She also put together the groupings of the kids to hang more pictures on my walls!

I hope these pictures make you smile or even giggle a little when you see them!

I am still Here!!!!

2009-11-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

I am so overwhelmed that I have not updated in sooooo long. This is my journal and I would like to print it after Christmas so just a heads up I am slowly trying to catch up! This post will stay at the top because I put things in order so just keep scrolling down (if you are interested)!

We are doing great just so extremely busy and any down time I have I have not been at the computer...

Cute things Dylan has said to me TODAY: mom why do girls like me sooo much? Oh maybe it is because I am so funny do you think so mom? and When I fell down trick or treating mom I started to cry and daddy said how about some candy so I had a piece and it totally made me feel better so I think whenever anyone gets hurt we should give them candy immediately!

Kate thinks she is a princess and I always catch her singing, dancing and checking herself out in the mirror! She has a very strong opinion about her clothing and hair and likes her schedule in the morning: up potty eat get dressed no being lazy for her!

Dylan 6th Birthday

2009-05-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to have Paige and Tracie visit us for Dylan's Birthday! Tracie was a life savor in helping me pull everything off!

Audrey came over and painted all the kids faces for Dylan. Originally we were just going to do tigers but some of the kids started requesting other animals and Audrey couldn't say no- they turned out AWESOME!

My cupcake obsession! Cute huh?! They look a lot like the pictures in Hello Cupcake!

Tiger Kate

Tiger Paige

Elephant Patrick

Cheetah Grant

Tiger Ella

Tiger Stella

Tiger Ben

Tiger Hannah

Cheetah Jenna

Tiger Calvin

Elephant Owen

Tiger Lilly

I think everyone had a wonderful time! They got the ears and tails to go with their faces and we did a craft and some games. Tracie made an awesome BINGO game with pictures of animals and we found the noise they make and made a CD for them to hear the noise and guess the animal. Thanks to everyone who came we love celebrating with all our friends and family!

My big 6 year old

2009-05-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday my sweet Dyl! He wanted an "animal" party so I took it and ran! We did an animal Safari party and Audrey came and painted all the kids faces. We gave them tails and ears to match! (More pictures to come, I have been a total slacker lately)! We used this picture of him in the invite- he said it was a little scary but not as scary as some of the others we picked as to not make anyone cry!

Dylan is very sweet, smart, loving, and athletic! He is so obedient, loves school and gets along with everyone in his class. He is an awesome big brother always helping Kate and including her in everything he does. He had field day at his school the other day and gave up some of his turns to let his sister have a turn without me saying anything! I love you so much Dylan and I am excited to have a fun summer with you! A wonderful mothers day having his birthday fall on it this year!

Dylan Soccer Pictures

2009-05-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is Dylans last time he gets to play with the Dragonflies. We are so sad to leave all these wonderful families of all his girl team mates! Next season we will have a new coach and be on a team of all boys.

I should of zoomed in a little more those pictures captured Dylan and the use of his tongue when he plays soccer. He loves playing defense and protecting the goal (they don't really play with goalies yet)

Grant and him had a huge collision- I can not believe I got it with my camera!

More of that Tongue!

He is so comfortable with Coach Jeff. I am placing a couple pictures to show how sweet my little boy is!

Happy very late Easter!

2009-04-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

We took these pictures at least two weeks before Easter hoping to get Easter cards in the mail before Easter and now it is a week after and they are still not done... Wonderful Debbie helped me make Kate's dress that she absolutely loves and I got Dylan's outfit at the Polo outlet-this is the second go around of shirts I had originally gotten him pink and boy did I hear it from Marc and all his brothers! Anyway :) we went to my friend Stacie's house to use all her natural light and nice walls and I am pretty sure it is my fault (or should I say Kate's) for her going into labor at 3:30 in the morning and getting the phone call so her kids could come over! Kate was not being very cooperative and poor Stacie was on her hands and knees trying to make her smile and stay in one spot! I will post more pictures later-very funny! Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and don't keep checking your mailbox for my Easter card because I do not think it is going to happen:( but I already have 20 copies of this picture so if you want one let me know!

My sweet Husband

2009-04-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Marc turned 33 on April 15th and at the end of the month he passed his PE exam which is a huge deal for him and his career! We love him so much and appreciate all he does for us as a family! He is so good with the kids and play swith them all the time. He is constantly asking me what else he can do to help me and always telling me how much he loves me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

Kate and her own obsessions...

2009-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Lotion-can I say anything else?! Except maybe I have washed her hair multiple times a day this week for the amount of lotion she has rubbed into her scalp! We have gotten really good at laying on the counter and using the sink!

Jill Pregancy Pictures

2009-04-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

My friend Jill and her beautiful family! I love photographing them because I really do not have to do anything-they always turn out cute!

Hailee giving baby brother or sister a love

Stone Family (bunch of goofs)

2009-04-02T19:55:00.000-07:00

My moms Maiden name is Stone and we don't all get together as much as we should. This gathering came together because one of my moms Uncles passed away. It was Pete's birthday and of course we had to celebrate! Kate always picks the boys to hang out with!

My Uncle Ron thinks he is so funny! He knew immediately that I would be posting these pictures on my blog and couldn't help himself. He lives in Florida with his family but when I was in high school he and his wife owned an auto body shop that was close to my school and they so kindly offered me a job. I had lots of fun hanging out with him and Jeanine and Tyler when he was born. We went on lots of trips together boating for long weekends. Sure miss you guys!

Our Day

2009-03-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

We had a busy morning today. Got Dylan to his last day of school for spring break, came home got Kate and I ready picked him back up to take him to a new pediatric dentist that is in the building I work in. We arrived early and Dylan had his first xrays taken and thought that was pretty cool. He went right on back with the hygienist and wanted me to wait in the waiting room. Everything is great no cavities and Kate's teeth look awesome as well.

I switched Dentists to try and save us a little money. Being in the dental field we do not have insurance so a lot of Dentists give professional discounts and as sad as I am to leave our current Dentists we were only getting 10% off which has been nice but I thought I would just try these guys and hope for more. I went to make him his next app. and pulled out my wallet to pay and they did not charge me anything! I was shocked! I thought maybe 30% off! I teared up a little bit so nice and we so appreciate it!

My mom had meet us there (her day off) and we headed over to have lunch at Chili's. It had been a fun and productive morning and when we got back to school Dylan was so excited! He said this had been the funnest day ever and ran off to show his class his extra set of xrays they gave him so he could keep them.

The day continues to get busier! Poor Kate will probably only get about a n hour and a half nap and then off to Warren's house she will go so I can help at Dylan's school for the book fair and then we have student led parent teacher conferences. I am excited to see what Dylan has been learning and how they do this. It is an adventure for all of us!

I have a lot of fun things planned for spring break next week if any one wants to join let me know! I am so thankful for kind and generous people and for my sweet Dylan how the littlest things can totally make his day! I hope he will remember his childhood and continue to be such a happy go lucky kid!

Little Helper

2009-03-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Weird pictures I know but what my tiny girl did brought tears to my eyes! I was in the shower and Kate was finishing up her oatmeal by herself in the kitchen. I got out and we had to rush to get out the door. I went into the kitchen to make sure she finished and I could not find her bowl anywhere! I immediately thought that d*** dog got up on my table and took off with her bowl! We left the house and later that afternoon after I had laid Kate down for a nap I went to load dishes in an empty dishwasher and I found this! My 2 year old had loaded the dishes all by herself! What a thoughtful good girl! I know two pictures are a little over kill but what can I say I am a proud Mama!

Happy (late) St. Patricks Day

2009-03-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

We love Holidays especially when we are dictated on what to wear and what to eat! The weather here has been amazing in the 70s! Lots of trips to the park and playing outside! Friday we had Marc's family over for corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. I also made a blue cheese fondue dip that was very good! Wendy made rolls and Grandma and Kerrie made a yummy dessert! We had lots of fun! Dylan is so proud that he can jump off the porch and touch our flag!
Don't you just love Kate's hairbow? At 5 the night before St Patty's day I called a friend and asked her if she would make me a felt shamrock so at 10 that night I was picking it up and glueing it on to a clip! I am a little nuts I know! Thank you so much Steph you are the best! I owe you one!

Little things

2009-03-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

On the way to church yesterday Dylan says to me, "Mom I hope Kate always stays little" when I asked him why he said, "because whenever Kate sees anyone she waves at them and smiles with her tongue sticking out!"

These are the moments I have been meaning to write down so hopefully I will be posting more frequently with all the little things that happen around here!

Hats!! made with love from Gigi

2009-03-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

Another photoshop lesson. I am going to print this on a matboard and it will have the white borders around. I love the middle picture of the two of them. It took all of 5 minutes to get these pictures, such good kids!

In your prayers

2009-02-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

I had this post a while back and my friend Tracie has been keeping tabs on this family and baby Grace. Check it out again and please remember to keep this wonderful family in you Prayers.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2009-02-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

A wise Aunt once told me to write down books that I have read and a little something about them so I can remember and have a wonderful resource. I have failed miserably in doing this so with my resolution to update my blog more and the fact that I am fully participating in book club I am going to do this!

This was last month's pick: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I loved it! I read it under a week! It is a collection of letters written after WWII between an author, her publisher and people from Guernsey Island. I highly recommend, if a lot of characters confuse you you might want to write new ones down as they appear and their relation.

Other favorites recently are: The Pillars of the Earth by: Ken Follet EXCELLENT! Very long but sooo good!
Well I can not remember the names of the other books I wanted to mention, oh well!

Happy Valentines Day/ Photoshop Lesson

2009-02-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

My friend Stacie is always doing wonderful things with her pictures. I was at her house the other day and she had a collage with four photos in a row of her kids in hats. I loved it and asked her if she could do it for me if I took the pictures. Do you know what her reply was? If you give a man a fish he eats for a day if you teach a man to fish he can eat forever. I just looked at her and she said why don't I just teach you? So anyway this was my first photoshop lesson. I knew I wanted to use a picture for my cards and hopefully make a collage. Thank you so much Stacie we will see what I can do on my own!

Before:

Huge difference! We I uploaded these pictures I thought they were terrible and did not know if we could fix them.

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Happy Valentines Day! We love everyone very much!

Hailee's Valentine Pictures

2009-01-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jill asked me to take Hailee's Valentine Day pictures, she says she likes using me because Hailee is comfortable with me and we can get it done quickly. I have been taking her pictures since she was born and I just love watching her grow! Here are just a few of my favorites!

Kate had to get in on the action!

Bathinette

2009-01-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

I feel the bathinette deserves its on post. This was one of my obsessions the past year. We were at Debbie's house and she pulled out a bathinette that she had gotten in Germany of course! I started searching the Internet for one and did not have any luck. About a week before Kate's birthday I decided that we could make it. We meaning my parents and myself. I had my mom pick up the one from Debbie's house so my dad could look at it to see if he could make the frame. Long story short we ended up at Home Depot and the fabric store. The hardest part was figuring out how to make the tub part. I love this because it folds up and stores so easily. Kate loves it because she is obsessed with water. After the party we filled it up and Kate and Dylan had a ball. She needs to work on keeping the water in the tub but it was fun!
That is her new water baby- she floats and dries very quickly. She is the baby tidoo by Carolle.

The tiny girl after a very busy but fun day!

Kate's Birthday Party

2009-01-24T20:52:00.000-08:00

Kate had two birthday parties. A family one at the Mugleston's and a friend and family one a week later. She loved all the attention and tried to sing along! She knows what cake is and when the Dr. asked her at her two year appointment if she had cake she shook her head yes so hard and got all excited. I think she thought he was offering her cake!

Look at that beautiful smile!

She knew exactly what to do and did not need any help blowing out her candles!

I keep attempting my manual settings I took this one and then I get nervous and switch back to automatic... I think this one turned out good!

She loves all the play food!

Auntie Brenda made her a beautiful scarf!She loves the singing again!

Aunt Audrey had to rescue me in the preparations of the party and frosted her cupcakes for me they turned out cute.

All the kids at the party: Dylan, Owen, Ellen, Hannah, Kate, Lilly, Ellinor, Ben, Calvin, Stella, Jessie and Jenna

It was not very warm outside but it was so hot in the house that I decided when it was cake time to put them outside to cool off and to keep the crumbs off my floor!

Kate received some wonderful gifts: wooden puzzles with the velcro a birthday cake and vegetables, grocery cart and food, a little cabbage patch doll with a pink tutu like her, a strawberry shortcake doll, some ballet crocs, a blanket crocheted around for her baby, a cute apple outfit for this spring, a dress with smocking on it for this summer, a tea set in a basket, a princess plate, bowl and silverware, a high chair for her babies, pj's, two color wonder books with markers and triangle crayons, and a bathinette with a bath baby with a hooded towel and robe for her baby.

The party favors we did were Kate's favorite things. All the girls got hair clips with their name embroidered on them (Etsy), each family got a cd that I put together with her favorite music and everyone got a ring with ribbon sewed on to dance with.

I think everyone had a wonderful time I know Kate did! Thank you everyone for coming! I love being surrounded by the people who we love and love us!

Stock Show

2009-01-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

We made it to the Stock Show the last weekend it was in town, late in the day and it was really cold outside! It seemed a lot different to me this year and I was a little disappointed. The children's area did not have near as many animals that they could watch and see and everything cost extra. When we left it was after six and we went to our favorite local restaurant Rico's and had pizza. A fun family outing!
The kids had fun looking at the guinea pigs and rabbits that were for sale. They had a little petting zoo with goats, pigs, and sheep. There was a carousel with real ponies and Kate loved watching them!

I love her dress. Tracie sent it to us Kate got lots of compliments!

Having fun on the Tractors!

Happy Birthday Kate!

2009-01-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

Here is our tiny girl- her big 2 year pictures! I am just in shock at how FAST the time is going! I know deep down it is really bugging me because I am totally obessing over my house and her birthday party!

We went to my moms on Sunday to celebrate and while we were singing she was clapping and trying to sing along and blew out her candles no problem! A couple days later we took her to her two year check up and the Dr. asked her if she had a lot of cake and she was frantically shaking her head yes super excited!

Words Kate attempts to say:
mom, dad, dyl, max, pops, sam, aud, anything starting with a "b", baby, belly, bum, bow, ball, balloon, bird, she loves saying ewwww, me and still the grunting.

She is a wonderful daughter and sister. Her and Dyl have so much fun together! She loves playing dolls and will stand there rocking them swinging just her hips back and forth so fast! She loves all the attention she gets from her Uncles and Aunts and Cousins. Kate is definitely strong willed but I have learned certain tricks to keep everything under control and to make her think it is all her ideas!

We Love you so much Kate and wish you a very Happy Birthday!

These next four pictures I used on the front of her bday invitation. I will take a picture and post later!

Wearing and sitting in everything she got for Christmas while at Grandmas and Pops house!

She loves curlers but her hair is still so short it looks funny when I take them out!

Pictures from when we did our Christmas card pictures!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

We hope you all had a wonderful and safe Christmas! We love you all very much and hope to see or hear from you very soon! To everyone who sent us a card thank you very much- I absolutely love getting them and hearing all about your wonderful families!
Just a side note I have been playing catch up so I can publish my blog at the end of the year so if you are bored scroll through I put them in by date so keep going!

Christmas

2008-12-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas morning we were able to open presents, relax and have a big breakfast before heading out to Grandma and Grandpa Schafer's house. Dylan received a math puzzle, build a bear reindeer and cool hat, a robot crab, a remote control car that can go in water and on land, a cool soccer shirt that mom made for him, some board games and in the stocking under ware, bubble bath, phone,and car cup.
Kate received a new baby with a mimi (binky), a cradle handmade by Papa and a cool hat, bottles and baby things, her own back pack, princess little people and blankets for her baby.

Kate LOVED opening her presents. By the time we got to the Schafer's she just wanted to open everyones presents!
We also celebrated some overdue and early birthdays! Happy Birthday to Kevin Aunt Wendy, Grandpa and Me! The Taylors were not able to make it to Christmas because they were all sick!

Bandit and Max beat after the long holidays!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T22:30:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas Eve at the Mugleston's. Everyone was there except Carly! We had the traditional Mexican dinner and lots of fun! Christina's parents were able to join us and we had lots of wonderful company! I made (with lots of help from Wendy and her mom) pj's for the kids. I only wanted to do pants for Dylan and found the cute Peanuts shirt from Target! We also got them croc slippers.

Kate received a new red outfit, a tutu with a cute shirt, headband with a flower,a princess chair and a stuffed bear.

Dylan got a hand held leapster, kung fu panda and a car chair.

All my wonderful siblings!

Notice Kate's Tutu underneath her pj's? We could not get it off of her!

More Handmade

2008-12-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

A box we painted and modge podge for Jenna, inside we placed all kinds of crafting supplies!

I can not take credit for this one, it was such a great deal on ETSY I do not think I could of made this for the price I paid. Little bag 2 diapers burp cloth and bib for Lilly's baby.

This was for Jared. He is into this book Wimpy Kid. This is my new favorite craft. Freezer paper painting. Thanks to Stacie who had us all over and gave us step by step instructions. I made one for Dylan with his silhouette kicking a soccer ball that turned out so cute!

Annual cutting down the Christmas Tree

2008-12-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

This year we almost did not make it to Fraiser. We had all planned to go the Saturday after Thanksgiving and that morning Marc was checking weather conditions and it just did not seem like it would be fun so we postponed it until the next weekend. Well that whole week we hemmed and hawed whether we should waste another day and Friday night we decided it was not wasting but a fun family trip. It was not terribly cold and the kids sure had a great time!

Funny though Marc's parents were in a rush to continue driving on to Glenwood springs? to pick up a car for Kerrie. Hers was in an accident and the body was pretty bad this guy had her exact car with a good body bad inside so Dad was going to switch everything out for her. (I hope I did not butcher the story)! And Scott and Jane were in a rush to go to some festival in Georgetown so they were in a rush as well. Anyway we had just finally gotten our kids and ourselves bundled up and sent with the dads to start looking (Kate was famished so Wendy and I were hanging back feeding her) when here comes Dad with his tree already! That was it he threw it in the back of the truck and away they went! I just got a chuckle out of how fast he was!

Sweet baby Caroline! She was not going to get cold!
Here is our tree, do not be fooled there is a huge tree behind it making it look much fuller than it is. I could not get a good angle!

Sweet husband's bum and the handsome boys helping him saw and push it down.

We needed Chris's help- he joked right at 6 in huh Marc? ( that is the biggest around you can chop down and it was pretty close but it was the tree I liked so anything for his sweetie right)?

Best of buds! So glad we live close to family!

Beautiful Hannah!

Mischievous Kate!

All of us with our tree! Poor Max he legs were huge snowballs!

On our way down Marc and Dylan were determined to go sledding so we pulled off the highway where all the back country skiers ski and across the highway they went to go sledding! I was sitting on my window taking pictures- they were so far away so thank you Dad for my awesome lens it sure comes in handy when I am lazy and cold!

Poor Dylan just could not stay on!

Kate's obsession with blowing her nose- I finally had to hide the tissues!

Hand Made...

2008-12-05T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is either the first of many posts or the last depending on how my Christmas season goes. I have been hanging out with people that have been influencing me to do more hand made gifts so I am all geared up we will see how it goes.

This is the first a knitted cupcake turned into an ornament. I love how it turned out and it was fun bringing it to the RMOMS (my work) ornament exchange. Even though I was an hour late because I was finishing it! I always under estimate myself when doing all my little projects!

So hopefully soon to come: freezer paper tee shirts, a craft box, doll diaper bag, scrapbook for one of Marc's brothers, bedding for a doll cradle that my Papa is making for Kate, and last pj bottoms for all the boy and bigger girl cousins and nightgowns and matching ones for their dolls for all the little girls (with the help of Wendy and Marc's mom of course)! I am pretty sure that is it unless I get ambitious and want to drive my husband nuts!

Lost tooth?!?!

2008-12-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

Every night is something at our house! I was brushing Dylan's teeth tonight and saw something white in the sink, I thought wow I can not believe he still has a piece of popcorn stuck in his teeth from a couple hours ago. I went back to do another round of brushing and this time his spit had blood in it. I started screaming, " Oh my Dylan look" and I pulled his teeny tiny tooth out of the sink and he took off running down the stairs to show his dad his very valuable treasure! I had tears in my eyes while he explained to all of us what happens when you loose a tooth. I asked him if he had noticed it was loose and he told us yes, why he chose not to share that info with us I do not know! I have been telling myself for about two months now that I need to find him a tooth fairy pillow but decided to look as soon as he had a loose tooth. Very sadly his little tooth is under his pillow in a ziplock! Any good ideas for the perfect tooth fairy pillow?

Love you so very much my sweet Dyl! You are growing up way to fast!

My Night....

2008-12-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

I have been a total slacker... My day today was so good! I woke up on time took Max for a run, got ready had the house picked up and was at Wendy's house by 10. Her mom was there to watch the kiddos and we shut ourselves in the office and sewed Christmas pants and nighties for our kiddos to open on Christmas eve. They are turning out so cute! Kate and I stopped by Tutu and Franks to say hi on our way home and got home by 4. We hung out did Dylan's homework ate dinner well some of us ate dinner Kate gets very impatient so she finished before we sat down so I stripped her down to be in her favorite state (no clothes). She came prancing into the kitchen in my new shoes ($15 at the nine west outlet!) and covered with blue marker. I immediately told her not to pee on my shoes and went to inspect where the marker came from. We had to rearrange the front room for the tree and there is a chair next to the phone console with a cup of pens. Kate climbed up and helped herself!

I know this is totally normal but Dylan never got into anything that wasn't his so I am learning! We did baths and Uncle Jeff came over to eat and take Marc to the Nuggets game. We baked cookies and I let the kids stay up late to watch a Christmas special on T.V. About half way through Kate had a melt down and I tried putting her to bed. Long story short at 8:15 I had two crying kids. One just too sad to tell me what was wrong (he said) and the other screaming at the top of her lungs at me. I decided to move Dylan to my bed where I found out he was crying because he was afraid of when he got old enough to move out that he does not want to live by himself (?!?!?!?) Where did that come from? I of course told him he never had to move out of Mommy and Daddy's house ever and he calmed down and went to bed.

Kate on the other hand is still carrying on in her crib. I rocked her for a minute and tried to lay her down. She was gripping me around the neck and putting her legs on the crib to try to stay out. Anyway, she went to bed in Dylan's bed like an angel! Happy Tuesday!

Daddy is going to have a lot of rearranging to do when he gets home!

First snow fall!

2008-11-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

Late November and we are just getting some snow! It has been insanely warm here... nice but a little weird. Dylan was so excited to get outside and play. Kate had fun once she got out there and was willing to let dad help her around. I stayed on the cement in my robe and slippers getting threatened by my dear sweet husband with snowballs. Lucky me I had my camera and I do not think he wants to buy me a new one!

Dylan loves to eat snow, as long as it is not brown or yellow he says.

This is the position Kate was in for most of the morning!

I did not want to invest in girly snow gear so besides the pink gloves everything she is wearing is hand me down from Dylan. Poor girl but seriously how often is she going to wear this stuff?

A boy and his dog sharing his snowball...gross D!

A happy dad to play with his kids in the snow, so mom can stay warm inside making the hot chocolate and snacks!

Beautiful Pies...

2008-11-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sad huh! These are the only pictures I have for Thanksgiving this year. I was up very late the night before making these pies and I was so happy with how they turned out. (By looks only- one is pumpkin the other strawberry rhubarb Marc and I do not like either so I can not be accountable for the taste)!

I think Sean and Dylan enjoyed the pumpkin we came home with a few pieces and Dylan finished it off!
I am pretty sure my dad enjoyed the strawberry rhubarb! Thanks Lindsay for the recipe!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

BOO! From our little ghosts to yours! Hope you had a scary Halloween!

I wanna win!

2008-11-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

On another photographer's blog that I love to watch I found this post to win christmas card templates! I would love to win these because I am so terrible at the computer! Check her out especially if you are in the Utah area! Wonderful pictures Sara!

Estes Park

2008-10-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

We had our annual trip to Estes Park to hear the Elk buguling. It is so neat to see these animals so close and watch how they interact with each other. As the sun started setting we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park to park our cars and see hundreds of them and hear them calling each other. We were there well pass dark listening and tail gating. My parents had come and Mom made yummy chili and Marc made hot chocolate. Kevin and Robin came as well and Audrey and Sam. Lots of fun!

We have never seen them swim before!

Dylan was a little grumpy with me because I wanted to get a family picture and he was getting cold!

I feel like I have not gotten very many pictures of Kate and all her lovely expressions! She is such an entertaining little girl! All DRAMA!

This is the best we could do... Oh well we we'll have to try again before Christmas!

Now he decides to ham it up!

Ok, Sam is either really tall or I am really short?! Let's hope it is the first!

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa!

Being a girl, with my girl

2008-10-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

I Love having a little girl! She is so much fun to dress and be with! When I had Kate Aunt Shonnie told me that I would get to know of the most wonderful bond between a mother and daughter. At the time I did not believe her, but she is absolutely wonderful. This morning I was getting ready and Kate came in and stood on top of the toilet and copied everything I did. I brushed my hair and then laid the brush down she did the same, I put my hair elastic in my teeth and Kate shoved an entire elastic in her mouth! She tests me so much and can be so loud- except when she sings then she uses the softest nicest voice!

Marc took these pictures about a month ago right before church. I wanted to show off my absolutely new favorite dress and Kate's Easter dress again. For as long as I can remember I have wanted my own baby to throw on my hip with her full dresses and carry around church. On Easter with Kate in her dress and too young to attend nursery I was walking in RS talking with the new sisters and it hit me how it felt. I know I am corny but I love having a baby with me and she is getting too big too fast!
I am constantly checking on her in Nursery to see if she is upset so I can just go hold her a little longer.

Grosgrain: Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY!!!!

2008-10-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

Grosgrain: Red Riding Hood Jacket GIVEAWAY!!!!

This blog is amazing! She gives away a ton of wonderful things that she makes- go check her out! Wish I was that organized and nice!

Free Cake by Cakes by Karen!

2008-10-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

I was just wasting my time (I should be cleaning etc.) on craig's list and you can call Cakes by Karen and get a free 6in Cake whenever you want! I am picking mine out tomorrow afternoon! I got chocolate with raspberry filling. Here are the two phone numbers I have 303-693-7454 (aurora) 303-355-1300 (denver)

Enjoy!

So Busy...

2008-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

I can not believe it has been a whole month since I have last posted. We have been extremely busy so let me catch up.

I was called the end of August from a good friend Brenda that I used to work with at the oral surgeons office. She was very desperate in needing some help so I volunteered to go in about 10 times in September. I am now "working" for them on a permanent basis at least every other Wednesday and when ever they are short staffed. It is so funny how things happen I was not even looking or wishing to have extra money but here I am.

I do not know how moms working full time do it! It is hard trying to juggle everything! For September I could go in after I dropped Dylan off at school and my good friend Lindsay had just mentioned to me how she wished she could get a little part time job before she has her baby in October, so I asked her if she would watch Kate and I was so happy so agreed! She is a wonderful mommy and Kate had so much fun with her and Calvin. In fact on Friday I got to her house and Calvin saw me walking up to the door and started yelling my name and the next thing I know Kate is yelling and I am getting excited to see her when I walk in the door she looked at me and yelled NO and ran to Lindsay and would not come to me! I guess she is a lot funner (is that a word?) than me. Starting next month Marc is going to take Dylan to school on Wednesdays and my mom offered to watch Kate and to meet me at the office in the morning because I will need to be there by 7:30. After school Dylan is going to go to a friends house and on my off weeks her two boys are going to come to my house after school to play.

The beginning of the month was a touch crazy. Dylan started Soccer and has practice two nights a week and games on Saturday. He is having a blast-8 kids on a time 2 boys and 6 girls! We watched some friends kids for a week from the third to the ninth with the weekend off. I woke up on the third around 4:30 am with the worst stomach ache and tried to will myself to go back to bed. At six there was a knock at the door, India and Ezra had arrived so I got up and pushed myself to get two kids ready for school. Marc took them and by the time he got back I had an appointment at my Dr.s office. Long morning short I had a cluster of cysts on my ovary that were bursting and causing the pain. Apparently there is nothing to do for this so I got sent home with pain pills and went to bed. Thank goodness for Audrey who came to mine and Marc's rescue! She came right over and took care of me, picked India and Dylan up from school did dinner and everything else until Friday night while I just laid in bed listening to the chaos. I feel much better now but I have been very tired this month.

In any spare time I made invites for a baby shower I helped to host for Lindsay ( I will post pictures they turned out so cute)! Made a nightgown for Lilly and her new baby for her bday, and working on things to hopefully sell in my Etsy store. I have knitted some booties, lots of hair snap clips, and knitted some flowers to turn into clips. Wendy and I got together for one day and made 60 empanidas to put in our freezer and like 75 mini meatballs each to stock our freezers with good food when we have no time.

Marc and I went on a real date finally! We went to dinner and to Avenue Q. It was a wonderful night and I laughed so hard. I had a girl's night one night and we went to the sing along Mama Mia- lots of fun! Four of us went and then one other girl was in the theater and that was it!

Here are just some random things I want to mention:
Kate got her first haircut
Dylan has scored in all his games (not necessarily in his net...)
Stake Fair at the church was fun
Dylan had a Fun Run at school to earn money
He had individual pictures at school already
His school had Math night where we had a pizza dinner and played games around the gym and we had Movie night at the school while parents could attend the first PTSA meeting.
Book Club we read Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy ( really good)
Dylan had his first field trip and I got to join him while Audrey watched Kate. We went to a Park to find signs off fall and collect things off the ground. It was fun to be with the other kids in his class and see him with everyone.
Our ward already had their Primary Program and I always love this Sunday. The kids are so cute and Dylan said his part so well and I could hear him singing he was so loud!

Hope I did not bore anyone to much! I can not believe how the days just fly by and how much busier we seem to be and Dylan is gone from 8- 3 five days a week! I promise I will upload some pictures real soon! I have not been using my camera as much as I would like because I really really need a new lens, hint hint my birthday is just around the corner but I also really want a bike with a trailer hmmmm. Hope all is well with everyone!

Dylan's First Soccer Game

2008-09-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

I am so bugged! When I upload pictures it just gives me words not the pictures so it is really hard to add captions under each picture when I can not see what I am looking at, so here is the whole thing!

He is such an good player and team sport player. There are eight kids on his team 2 boys and 6 girls. They have all played before and this is Dylan's first time so it is tons of fun to watch.

Kate's favorite thing is Navair. She is our neighbors dog that use to play with Jackson at the dog park all the time. She thinks she is there for her own personal stool and pillow. They also got a new puppy that looks almost exactly like Jackson that Max has befriended. Having these big dogs around really makes me miss Jackson.

Kate's 1st haircut

2008-09-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I had my hair cut with Becky and asked her if she could do something with Kate's stringy hair. I love it all even now kind of in a pixie cut. She did so good, I think she loved watching herself in the mirror! Thank you

The above two pictures are the before... I know she did not have a ton but it was bugging me!

Combing her hair! She loves that bink!

Etsy Store

2008-08-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

Put you thinking caps on! For a while now I have been wanting to open a store on Etsy. I would be selling all kinds of things like hair clips, tutus, baby bracelets, knitted purses, maybe some handmade cards or tags and anything else I decided to try! I am having a very very hard time trying to decide what my store name should be and what images I should then use for my store banner. I would LOVE any and all suggestions and if I pick your idea I will send you something from my store for free!

Please help me out here people! I want it to be amazing! If you can think of a little introduction about me and my products that would be great as well! I am not good with words!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

10 days down...

2008-08-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

So Dylan finished his tenth day of school today and we are looking forward to a four day weekend! He has done very well only one day of tears! At lunch on his third day he started crying and when asked what was wrong he just said he missed his mom. He went to class crying and couldn't get control so his teacher sent him to the nurses office where he told me he just got to lay in a bed until he stopped and then went back to class and ate his lunch. He has never said that he doesn't want to go or have a hard time in the morning getting ready to go.

I am extremely tired (not so much an early riser or early to bed) but we are having fun adjusting to our new schedules. Dylan also started soccer and LOVES it! On the team of eight there are only two boys and the other one broke his wrist at recess today so Dylan is again surrounded by girls! He does not seem to notice!

1st Day of School Treat

2008-08-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

I found this idea in a Family Fun magazine and had to make them because they were so easy! I used my homemade chocolate cake receipe, store bought cream cheese frosting (ran out of time and my block of cream cheese was not quite defrosted), the chalkboard is a graham cracker dipped in chocolate, the piece of chalk is black licorice candy and the apple is an m&m. So cute and easy! I also added raspberry filling I had left over from my mom's birthday cake that I bought at a cake speciality store, yummy!

On our way to School

2008-08-20T11:51:00.001-07:00

My Dr. and friend gave me two really good ideas for each school year, one: have the kids hold up the number of the grade they are in and two: buy the really nice gift copy of Oh The Places You Will Go by: Dr. Seuess and have each teacher towards the end of the year write a message to the student. I am going to do both but I am also going to place a wallet sized picture of the teacher with the student next to what they write.

I LOVE his backpack we decided to get. It fits him nicely now but it should last most if not all of elementary school. We got it from LL Bean. I also finally decided on the type of water bottles I want my kids to use and chose the Sigg brand.

This is the outside of Dylan's classroom. Each room has a door that the kids line up at to go inside and come out of when we pick him up. My last look at the door before we went home for the day.

First Day of School Breakfast

2008-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is my beautiful creation for breakfast! The mangoes were not quite ripe so we used strawberries for the nose. Dylan enjoyed it but was a little sleepy and not quite awake yet. Kate inhaled hers and is much more a morning person like her dad.

Tomorrow...

2008-08-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

So we a starting a new chapter in the Schafer family tomorrow. No more being lazy in the mornings- or late nights either! I will have to be up around six because Dylan has his first day of Kindergarten! These last five years have been wonderful, he is my little buddy and I am going to miss him terribly! It is a big deal for me (and him)! Today he had assessment testing at noon and around ten I found myself crying! We went to the assessment and when he was done I went to introduce myself to the teacher and started crying again! What is my deal?! I knew it would be hard but I did not think I would start the day before school! He has not seemed to notice and is excited to start. He will go from 8am-3pm (which I think is too long)! I feel we are ready though!

We searched high and low for the perfect backpack and thanks to Tracie's help we found one from LLBean that we really like. His lunch is packed, a whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into fourths, a reusable cupcake liner filled with raspberries, carrot sticks with hummus to dip them in and a cheese stick. The sandwich is in a plastic container and the rest is in one of those little metal lunch boxes all placed inside his lunch bag which is like a brown paper bag made out of oil cloth. (trying to limit our waste, and I will add pictures later)

Tomorrow is supposed to be only sixty degrees so his first day of school outfit is going to have to wait and he does not own a pair of jeans without holes, so off to cold stone and old navy after his assessment testing. That made me feel better!

Tonight we read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Wood and I had to make Marc read it because I new I would start to cry. (If you have never read it I highly recommend it for a child that is starting anything new.) I was doing the dishes and listening to them in the other room when I felt the tears and then I heard Dylan's ewww gross comment and I had to chuckle. Everything we are doing is for me! His personality does not need all this preparation, well, we will see tomorrow morning.

For breakfast tomorrow I am going to make a smiley face on his plate with pancakes for the eyes, bacon for the hair, a mango nose and a banana mouth. When he gets home from school I found some first day of school cupcakes I am going to make for him. I will take pictures instead of describing them, all I can say is so dang cute!

I hope I can keep it together tomorrow! Marc is going with us so it should be fun! Wish us luck! And no rain in the morning so we can walk as scheduled.

What Jane Austen character are you?

2008-08-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

On Susan's blog she had this quiz and being a Jane Austen fan I had to take it! The questions were hilarious! Go ahead and take the test and then read the book with the character you are most like!

Take the Quiz here!

Do I sound anything like Emma?! Here is a description:

You are Emma Woodhouse of Emma! You like being the queen of your social circle (small and provincial as it may be), and feel it's your duty to help those less influential than you. You often meddle in the affairs of others, though you do it with a pure heart. You are often deluded in your flights of fancy, but your good intentions and creative spirit make you someone anyone could like

It's A Bella Boutique Giveway

2008-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I have a tiny obsession with hair bows for Kate. I have been looking at this site on etsy and Laurel came across a site giving away bows! If you want to win go to Bethany's blog or you can just go to It's a Bella Boutique and do some shopping! Very cute and very reasonable! Make sure to check out her buy three sets get one free!

Cannery Specialist?!

2008-08-04T21:11:00.000-07:00

Seriously that is what my new calling is! The whole Relief Society Presidency was released and cannery specialist is my new calling. I am actually pretty excited to learn more about home food storage and how the cannery works but... I really do not know where to start! How do I get ward members motivated to participate and excited themselves about canning? Does anyone have any suggestions or handouts or websites? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Denver Firefighter's Museum

2008-08-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to the Denver Firefighters Museum thanks to Brett and Chad who told us about it! It was a free day and they had a block blocked off with all kinds of activities outside. It was tons of fun even though it was 100 outside and Kate was extremely tired! We had never been to the museum before and it was very interesting. It was not very busy either which was nice, Kate could walk and we didn't have to worry about her getting knocked down or lost!

Dylan putting out a fire!
This fire truck was like Red from Cars they had water shooting out into the street so people could cool off- which was Kate's favorite part.
Sliding down a pole
Driving a fire truck- even Kate wanted to dress up!

What?!? 18 months old already!

2008-08-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have totally lost my baby! She is so independent and does not need me very much! Kate has attended nursery 2 times and is doing pretty good. I have to admit I was feeling very cautious and not wanting to let her go. The week before she turned 18 months I was contemplating not sending her (we are combined with another ward and I do not know anyone in nursery and to top it off they placed a piece of red paper over the window so you can not see your child at all) when during sacrament Miss Becky Pratt whom I love so dearly and Kate loves as well was called from me in Relief Society (she was education counselor) but then was placed in Nursery! Kate gets a little sad when we drop her off but goes straight to Becky and stays put. Also Becky tore off a little corner so I could peek in at my baby! Thank you so much Becky you are an answer to my prayers! Poor Marc would still have to be dealing with her because I am not good leaving my kids!
I love so many things about my little Kate:
-her stubbornness
-the way she loves all the animals
-she gets so excited when she sees someones belly
-the way she communicates with us lots of huh or uhh or patting her belly meaning come with me and I will show you
-she already knows how to pitch a mean fit! She got mad in the tub the other night and stayed in an empty tub screaming at the top of her lungs for a good ten minutes! I kept going in to see if she was ready to get out and she would shake her head no and continue screaming. When she finally got out she got mad again and started hitting me in the face so to the rocking chair she went until she calmed down.
-she slept with us for like the 2nd time the other night and I loved having her with me even though I woke up exhausted!
-loves playing outside getting dirty and going down the slide and swinging

Derek's Graduation Present

2008-07-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

My parents were asking Derek what he wanted for graduating and he said just a hug and a kiss and then smiled and said from Carley! So they called her and flew her out as his surprise! She hid in Audrey's room and I acted totally stressed so he would come help me. Right before his party we blind folded him, and I think he had a little bit of an idea they both had the biggest smiles I have ever seen and could not get rid of them! It was so cute and I got teary eyed! I am a sucker for LOVE!

Aren't they beautiful?!

Transformers on Colfax

2008-07-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

Whenever we go to the zoo we drive by a tattoo parlor and on the side of their building in the alley they have a cool transformer drawing. I have always wanted to stop and take pictures of Dylan in front of these huge pictures! ( I know I am probably referring to them in the wrong way graffiti maybe?!) My photographer friend Stacie mentioned to me how fun it would be to go take pictures in new areas to find some cool areas and get a feel of them. So I got to pick first and this is where we ended up. Dylan was excited and got himself dressed because it was "his" photo shoot! It ended up not taking very long because he was running up some steps and tripped on a rug, while he was sobbing he said, "no more pictures mom!"

Here are some things that I love about my little Dylan:
1. he keeps using the word freakin whenever he is upset at me like mom the light is freakin green why aren't you not going? I have told him that freakin is probably not the nicest word and to remind mommy and daddy if we say it as well...
2. he is so curious about EVERYTHING!! how it works, why, can he try etc. leaving church on Sunday he was asking us if the back tires turned when we turned. After some discussion with Marc he came to understand the tires spin but the back axes does not actually turn.
3. he is so sweet with his little sister always looking out for her
4. he has a ton of energy and desperately needs school to start! I can not entertain him as well as i should
5. he loves to play games, board and card games with mom and baseball, soccer, chase anything more exciting with dad
6. he is experiencing so many emotions that he has not felt yet lately. Wanting to spend the night with friends but not wanting to leave mom where before he never even had a second thought! It is so hard for me I just want to wrap him up in my arms and not let him experience sadness!
7. he is turning into a fish! he loves the water and is doing so well this summer in the pool!
8. he loves taking things apart and putting them back together, so grandpa gave him the lawn mower engine and he has his own tool box with tools to do anything he wants

First Tomatoes of Summer

2008-07-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

Here are the first tomatoes from our garden! I am so excited that something is actually growing! Dylan loves going out and picking them running in the house to the bathroom to wash them and popping them in his mouth!

The dad will play while his family is away

2008-07-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Marc has a fairly recent new hobby that lately he can't seem to get enough of, FISHING! While we were on our little road trip Kevin, Marc and Max made their own trip to Basalt. You get off in Glenwood Springs and head towards Aspen. It is about a 31/2 to 4 hour drive. They had a lot of fun for three days!

Derek Graduation

2008-07-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the 16th Marc dropped us off at my parent's house around 7am and we loaded up into a rental mini van with grandma, pops and Sam (Audrey was too busy in school) and left to start the long trek to Rexburg Idaho for Derek's Graduation! We made a few stops and did pretty good I thought! We had dinner in Jackson Wyoming (pretty neat town wish we could stayed a while) Thursday we checked out campus went swimming at the hotel and just relaxed. Friday we swam in the morning naps in the afternoon and Derek's graduation was at 6:30- about 8:30. The kids did pretty good Kate did not sleep so well and was extremely off schedule, but no big melt downs. Saturday we checked out got Derek out of his place and headed to Utah. Sam was going to EFY in Montana but he was meeting people in Utah. We stayed with Tracie and Paige and just relaxed and got to bed waaay to late. Sunday morning my family picked us up and we were off by 9:30. On the way home for most of the trip I got to ride with Derek and mom and dad took care of the kids. we had a fun time and we were really glad to be there for Derek. Now what is he going to do you ask? i do not know and I am not sure he knows, when he does I will pass it on! These guys were way to friendly for my liking. We are at a rest stop somewhere in Wyoming eating lunch and they sure wanted some!
Driving to Jackson we saw this Hawk- huge nest on top of a electrical pole I think.
Derek got the kids these tee shirts last year for them, so of course I needed a picture in front of a BYU Idaho sign. The sign was just beating on them. Notice the new temple in the background?

We are all so proud of you Derek!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

2008-07-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Hannah! Wendy was only going to do parties every other year, but she got talked out of it! I loved Hannah's party this year, it was a cooking party. She had six little girl friends and Ben and Dylan. Wendy made them all aprons and they made cupcakes, frosting. and homemade ice cream in baggies. We had a ton of fun! They took home a 2 cup measuring cup filled with their own spreader, washcloth cook book filled with the days recipes and candy! So cute!

Cute kids! They love each other so much! Notice the mark on Dylan's head that is from his injury yesterday.

Sprinkler time

2008-07-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

It has been so incredibly hot lately that in the evenings when we are all a little cranky and tired but too early for bed I have turned the hose on and let the kids strip down and go crazy. Marc came out to see what all the commotion was and decided to join in... goofy boy no bathing suit for him he wanted to show Dylan he was trying to be just like him! They were having so much fun and Kate was squealing so loud! Right after this picture was taken Dylan decided he had enough and jumped off directly behind Marc. I did not even have time to open my mouth to warn Marc when he bonked into him and pushed him head first into the fence! Huge goose egg and cut immediately! Marc felt so bad!

Dancing in the rain! This boy has moves!

Schafer Family Picture

2008-07-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

After we camp we always take a lovely family picture. All of us usually have hats on and feel so gross, so this year I voted to do one after the blessing since we were all there and looking good! I will post the camping one when I get it!

Baby Caroline's Blessing

2008-07-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

It was so great to be able to have Caroline's blessing after the Schafer family reunion. A perfect ending to a perfect week! Everyone was there to support this special blessing to Chris, Wendy, Ben and Hannah! Congratulations you guys!

4th of July

2008-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! We always start our day by heading to Marc's parent's cabin to have a bbq. It is behind Boulder near Wondervu. The cousins come and we have fun just hanging out playing games, (Laurel and I worked on her jewelry) and the kids love exploring the outdoors! We always do a family shot outside on the big rocks. Around 5 we pack up and head to Georgetown where we play on the playground go to some shops and get some delicious ice cream. At dark we sit in the baseball field with hardly anyone else and watch them shot the fireworks off the side of the mountain. We had a wonderful time!

All the love birds! above Craig and Laurel, below Kevin and Robin

I saw the side of this building near all the shops in Georgetown and had to take Kate's picture. I wanted to change the coloring in photoshop but can not figure out how to use this action I just bought. Grrrr maybe I will and can post later.

I thought she looked so dang cute for the fourth! But what do I know?!

Matthew and his mom

Quite comical, we always take a cousins picture on the fourth and probably waited a little too long (at least for Dylan) this was the closet you got to see his eye balls. I was getting so frustrated with him everyone was waiting and he was being so pouty!

This was after...
Miss Emmalee... so pretty thanks for posing, it was getting pretty dark

Schafer Annual Camping Trip

2008-07-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

I was extremely lazy on this camping trip. I did not pull out my camera once! These are 5 of 8 pictures Marc took and Laurel always has a ton but I have not gotten them yet, hint hint! This post should be done by Marc, get those boys together and you get a lot of laughter and inside jokes!

All the cousins, Kerrie and Robin lined up in Brian's (Pete's) truck with Jeff standing outside!

Marc was trying to get the two lovebirds in the corner!
Being lazy in the hammock!
Kate performing grandpa's trick! She loved it!

THE Mugleston Family Reunion

2008-07-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

What a gorgeous family Huh?! I can not believe it is over and that we really pulled it off! We had a ton of fun and I can not wait until the next one! Thank you soo much everyone for coming and especially to Kendall for Saturday and Jen for Sunday. The food, company, activities and aatmosphere were amazing! On Saturday we had a bbq little volleyball, football, water balloon fights, the kid wading pool with tug a war and lots of catching up. Sunday we had an amazing family dinner with the best desserts ever and a wonderful devotional about our family and little tid bits of info from Tutu amd Grandpa and their lives. It was amazing how much I did not remember!

Kate did not want Derek to leave!

Pappa's horses

2008-07-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

Can you guess who's who? When we visit Paige we always have to go see her pappa's horses. Dylan's foot is a year behind from Paige so last summer he wore her old black boots and black hat. We were getting ready to leave and Dylan informed Tracie that he needed a cowboy hat and boots before we could ride. So he ended up with last year's boots two toned pink. He totally did not mind and was so excited to ride Jett again!

Kate was not afraid at all.

These two cuties are Paige's cousins, Alan and Seria. They are so good with Kate and Dylan! Alan is rally good on a horse! It is always fun to see them!

Kate and the Dogs

2008-07-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

Kate fell in love with Duncan! He is such a sweet dog and it was fun to see her interact with a much bigger dog. I maybe only had a tiny pang wishing we would of gone bigger, but every time he accidentally knocked her down or she tried to sit on him like a pony and he would stand up sending her flying I was happy with my decision!

I think she felt like Max was getting ignored!

Birthday's in Utah!

2008-07-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tracie and I thought it would be fun to celebrate Kate and Dylan's birthdays late and Paige's birthday early so we could all be together. We made some of their favorites: BBQ beef sandwiches, homemade macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob. For dessert we gave them a big bowl of vanilla ice cream and all the toppings we could think of so they could pile it on! We opened presents and played pin the tail on the donkey a few times. It was very fun!

Kate did not like the birthday hat!
Our lovely decorating job! The kids hide up stairs so we could surprise them! Cheesy but they loved it!
Kate got a koala bear pillow that you can un zip and pull out a fuzzy warm blanket!
Dylan got a box of magic tricks, and we gave Paige two new hair bows and one of the tutu shirts I made. I can not believe I did not get a picture of her!

Happy Birthday Sean!

2008-06-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

We love you so much! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!

A girl and her doll

2008-06-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

My tiny Kate is growing up so fast! She loves her babies but loves them even more if they are naked! Looking a little scruffy her hair is finally growing but a little wild!

Photographer Jamelle Kelly

2008-06-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine came to visit for a few days with her darling daughter Naomi. The main point of the trip was to do senior pictures was her cousin and any others. I wanted to be her little helper bee and we had three evenings and 6 or 7 kids to take pictures of. It was so much fun to watch Jamelle and try to soak up some of her knowledge. All the kids were so cute/handsome! I can't wait to see the profs! You can go here to see some of the final pictures!

Wardrobe change!
I love how big Jamelle's smile is behind that huge camera!
Handsome Sam

The light was my job! It was so fun to get it ready and in the right spot. I also got to hold the reflector and sometimes a white umbrella!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-06-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you so much and hope you have a wonderful day!

Best Friends

2008-06-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Our dear fiends Tracie and Paige came to visit us for the first week in June. We had so much fun! We went to the zoo on a cool day and got some of these pictures in front of their beautiful roses. Tracie is a closet expert in gardening and planting and helped me plant my tiny garden, which we planted two tomato plants one grape and one beefsteak, one bell pepper, 4 strawberry, cilantro and basil. (my basil is doing amazing is anyone wants any)! We also planted 3 rose bushes two of which I received for mother's day from my parents. We also put some things in the bed with my aspens ans planted a hanging basket and pot for my front porch! They all look amazing!
This shows how small my Dylan is and how big Paige is! Her birthday is July and just turning 5!

Tracie and Paige- such a beautiful mom and daughter! Tracie you are a wonderful mom, thanks for being such a great friend! Little background about how we met, they were living in my neighborhood for two years and we met at the park, didn't know each other very long but totally clicked and have stayed in touch and make lots of visits!

Keep scrolling down! There is more, I do not know why I have a huge blank space and can not get it to go away!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2008-05-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Weekend we always go to Grandma and Grandpa Schafer's for a BBQ. It happened to be a very cool and very windy weekend. And Grandma is always prepared so all three grandkids were able to fly kites! They had a lot of fun and I think Dylan was the most successful in keeping his flying!

Spiritual Uplift

2008-05-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

My mom, Sam and I went to Susan's ward for their Standards Night to hear one of Susan's friends from Orem speak to the youth. Susan worded this evening so perfectly I would like to just send you to her blog to read more. We had a wonderful time and recommend her CDs to everyone! There are some amazing people out in this world! Thank you for the invite Susan!

Professional Family Picture

2008-05-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Over the incredibly busy weekend we made time for some pictures with Stacie. She did a wonderful job especially with what she had to work with! You can go here to view all of them if you'd like or to her blog to see just a few!

Rockies Game

2008-05-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I wanted to hang out with Derek and Carlie and Marc was given 4 pretty sweet tickets to the Rockies game so we all went and then we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory! We had a wonderful time! I was also very excited that Christina offered to baby sit and came to my house because my kids were so tired from the long weekend! Thanks Christina and Ella we owe you guys!

These pictures were taken with Derek's phone, did you all know you could email your pictures to yourself so you can download them? I learn something new everyday!
Good Luck with school you two! We had a ton of fun! Love having company that is easy to talk to!

Baby Caroline

2008-05-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday May 17th baby Caroline finally came to be with her wonderful family! We were all so excited to see her and the next day we went to the hospital to see her!

Dylan was so excited to hold a tiny baby!
Kate finally showed some jealously when I held her! It made me feel good!
Poor Wendy was trying to nurse and this is the chaos in the room! People kept poking their heads in a took a second look with all the people!
Jeff catching up on the daily news.
Kids goofing around on the foot of Wendy's bed.
Kate's favorite game to play with grandpa
Oh how sweet tiny feet

happy mom and dad
We love you Caroline!

Late Mother's Day

2008-05-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

This year I had Marc's family over for mother's day and Derek was going to be in town the following weekend so we decided to celebrate on the following Saturday. Christina invited us all over to her house for a brunch. The food and the company was wonderful! Christina caters and I think used to be a chef! We had yogurt parfaits, the best french toast ever, eggs, sausage and an egg and ham keish that was sooo yummy!

Christina loved my apron that Tracie gave me so i called the cutest store in Utah and got her one just in different colors!
My wonderful brothers had the idea to get mom a bike for mother's day. She got a new job and could ride her bike to one of the offices it is so close to the house. It is very cute pink with a basket of course! We love you Mom!

This is why we need a family picture- can't see Sean or Dylan!
Dylan and Ella sitting on Sean's scooter! Aren't they so cute?!

Audrey's Graduation

2008-05-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wow this day sure brought back a lot of memories! I can not believe it has been 12 years, is that right since I graduated from high school. We are so proud of you Audrey! You need to keep going in the right direction and find out what makes you tick and go after it! Be a good girl, remember who you are and follow your dreams!

This is the only good picture of Audrey in her gown. She had to turn it in before she came out to meet us!
For Derek, Sean and my graduation Anna Hansen gave us leis. The girl (me) got a carnation lei and the boys got a money lei. So my gift to Audrey was a carnation lei. I was going to buy one but waited till the last minute and Susan told me that she knew how to make one. Thursday (the day before graduation) I was making phone calls to find enough carnations in the right colors and then I went to Susan's house to make it. I was very excited how it turned out and Susan just happened to have that ribbon and made a great bow! Thank you so much Susan!
Siblings
Grandma and Papa Stone
Mom and Dad
Sisters
Zack, Audrey and Nick
Miller Family
Yates Family
Tutu and Frank Thacker