Tuesday, December 28, 2010

So much to post about. We had both a great and difficult trip to Florida(more on that in another post). We hosted Christmas Eve with our dear friends, the Frith's, and my nephew Michael, and his wife Melissa. It was a lovely evening with good food, and great conversation. Christmas morning was so much fun.....Ellery was not only excited to open her gifts, but she also loved to watch everyone else. Dane was thrilled with his Buzz Lightyear toys and was actually completely occupied for at least an hour(a new record for him). We spent Christmas afternoon/evening with Darin's extended family at his aunt and uncles' house. The children had a great time playing with their 2nd cousins and we enjoyed seeing the rest of the family. All in all, a great year and we are so very blessed!


Cousin Ryan, Grandma & Darin.
Nana and Papa.



Aunt Donna, Uncle Mike, cousin Denise, cousin Ryan.



























































Monday, December 13, 2010


Could you just eat them up?








The dancing queens. Ellery and her best friend, Tatum, take tap and ballet together twice a week. Last week they had pictures, so I snapped a few of my own. Could these two be any cuter?

Friday, December 03, 2010




Before--awful carpet.






Sorry, bloggies for my long absense.....we have been some busy beavers around here. As I mentioned about a month or so ago, we decided to rip out our ugly, cheap carpet and replace it with hardwoods. The result--beautiful and much more functional.

Monday, November 22, 2010















Listening to instructions for the scavenger hunt.






Concentrating on decorating his fairy house.










Ladybug apples.






















It has happened.....our baby is now 5--officially NOT a baby! We had a "fairy" party on Saturday, complete with pixie dust, fairy wings, Peter Pan hats, toadstools, and wands. It was a great time and I feel fortunate that Ellery has such nice friends(not to mention that I like the mommies, too). On a side note, almost all of the ideas you see here were borrowed from other blogging sites--thank you bloggers for posting such wonderful pictures of your ideas so I can steal them!!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010




Our sweet girl is turning 5 in just one week. I adore this little girl--her sweet heart and her love of others. We are so proud of you, Miss Ellery, and can't wait to celebrate your birthday next weekend!

Sunday, November 07, 2010





























































































Yee-haw. Here are some pics from our trip to Texas. Ellery and Dane's cousin, Addie, was there visiting with Aunt Dawn. Ellery and Addie are six weeks apart in age and always have a ball playing together. The first day we were there, we took the kids to the Texas State Fair. It is difficult to compete with the Texas state fair......the food, the livestock, the people, the shopping, the rodeo, and of course, Big Tex. Ellery and Addie participated in the "kids rodeo" and it was precious. The children are given hats and some chaps and have their very own "pretend" rodeo.....it was adorable. Dane was disappointed he could not participate--next year(you have to be 3). Thanks to grandma and grandpa for taking us and walking all over the grounds for the little ones.

Monday, November 01, 2010




















I LOVED Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head!






Sorry for my long absence, we were in Texas and Scottsdale for about 11 days(more on that later).
This year it was our turn to host the annual neighborhood Halloween party. Being a parent somehow allows you to transform into a kid again.....dress-up, and get your creative juices flowing. Halloween has taken on its magical form again and I love it!! Can you tell that Darin and I were supposed to be Barbie and Ken from Toy Story 3?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010





























Last weekend, we took the kids to the "pumpkin patch". In quotes because this was not the usual pumpkin patch where you walk through muddy fields and search for your perfect pumpkin to actually cut from the vine. This was the local pumpkin patch with bouncy houses, rides, and a small petting zoo. The children loved it and had a great time, but I do miss the mess of the real pumpkin patches. Notice the attire on the children.....it was a hot day and I did not feel like forcing them into their fall/halloween attire on this day(Yes, Carrie, I know I should have for the sake of the pictures).