Birthday Girl!

I can't believe it...my little girl is 8! Abbie is such a joy in every way. If I had the opportunity to relive any day in my life her birth would be in my top 2. She was born so perfect....a rarely given perfect 10 from the second she came into the world. The entire staff of the newborn nursery unit wheeled her into my room together to see the mom of the "most beautiful baby ever born at the hospital". (I'm sure they quickly realized that her mom had nothing to do with it!) Our family waited so long for her and we cherish her every day. Abbie can light up a room with her smile. She is the perfect combination of princess and tomboy and although we are sad that she is growing up, we are so proud of the amazing little girl that she has become.

These are our favorite things about Abbie:

Dad: Her hugs, her kisses and her smiles. (He calls her "cutie pie")

Mom: I love her belly laugh. You would never guess that a laugh like that would come from such a tiny little thing! I also love that she likes to be my buddy and do girly things with me.

Tayler: She is so hyper and is always flipping upside down.

Tanner: Even when Abbie is in a bad mood, she plays with me and wants to be with me whenever I ask.

Carson: She snuggles with me in the theater and watches movies.

Brooke: "Abbie!" (She loves her big sister. There is no one that can get her to laugh like Abbie can.)

We came into the dining room to find that Abbie had decorated it herself....complete with place settings written on her balloons!

Her "Littlest Pet Shop" cake was just about the most exciting thing that she had ever seen!

Abbie finished off the day with High School Musical 3 and a sleepover with her cousin, Caitlyn.

I love this picture. I just happened to snap a candid at the end of the day when she was sitting looking at her new lavender beach cruiser. Her face looks so peaceful and content....I can't help but wonder what she was thinking. Hopefully this means that she had an awesome birthday!

Happy Birthday Abbie!

We love you!

Our Lil Dragon!

Carson started karate a couple of months ago and was promoted to gold belt a couple of weeks ago. (Yes, I am behind again!) It has been such a great experience for him. He has an awesome instructor and is able to attend with three of his best little friends. It works out great for the kids and their mommies that couldn't do it without the carpool! My camera has been having issues so Tiff took these pictures for me. I wish that I could take credit. She is amazing! Maybe my camera will have to be "broken" more often! He is such a fun kid and it was such a fun day!

Look at that form!

The little buddies!

This is the new screen saver on every computer we own. That face!

Waiting and wondering if he made it....

Officially a gold belt!

One of the cutest members of Carson's fan club that day. I love this picture!

Congratulations Cars! We love you!

(Thanks Tiff!)

May I have this dance?

At the elementary school that our kids attend, it is a tradition for the 6th graders to have a Valentine's Dance. In the months leading up to February, the students are taught proper dance etiquette like how to ask a girl to dance and how to lead a lady off of the dance floor when the song has ended. Instead of their regular P.E. activities, the 6th graders learn dances like the Waltz, the Cha-Cha, the Jitterbug and lots of fun line dances. It is a great chance for the kids to become comfortable with each other and Tanner actually learned a lot. The parents are invited and encouraged to attend and Erin and I had so much fun! Tanner ripped up the dance floor!

This is Tanner in the middle of a huge group of boys showing off his moves!

A girls choice dance...yes one of the tallest girls in the class asked one of the smallest boys in the class!

Just line dancing!

Tanner tried to teach me how to Waltz. Apparently I'm not the best student. He was very eager to lead me off the dance floor!

This is our lady of choice for Tanner. What a perfect pair! If you look closely, you can see the moms planning the wedding in the background!

Tanner asked Brooke to dance the last slow dance of the day. These pictures melt my heart.

Thanks for the fun times Tanner!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Birthday to Brooke!

Our little "Princess Baby" turned 2 today. It is always a bitter sweet thing to watch your baby grow up. Brooke is such a blessing to our family. She is truly a miracle. Her journey here was hard but what a blessing it was to hold a healthy, beautiful baby girl in my arms for the first time two years ago today. Brooke has taught me that the things you appreciate most in life are the things you work the hardest for. We could not imagine life without her!

I asked each member of our family what their favorite thing about Brooke is. The first response from each person was "everything". After thinking about it for a minute this is what we said....

• Dad: I love her smile. One of my favorite things about each day is when I walk through the door from work and Brooke drops everything she is doing to run into my arms yelling, "Daddy!".
• Mom: I love Brooke's gray eyes. They can light up a room. I love her belly laugh too. I love when she snuggles with me and we read the same books over and over. My favorite thing about her though is how much she loves me!
• Tayler: I love when Brooke comes into my room each night to dance on my bed. She loves to be scared. It is so funny to see her really scared and then a second later she starts laughing and yells, "Again!".
• Tanner: I love that Brooke is so hyper. She will try anything and jump off everything!
• Abbie: Brooke is the best sister ever. I love it when I make her laugh. I love her cute blonde curly hair too.
• Carson: My favorite thing about Brooke is ....... EVERYTHING!

We love you Brooke!

Happy Birthday Princess!

Temple Thursday

Tonight we were able to go as a family to the open house of the new Draper temple. It is a beautiful place where the Spirit is so strong. It was so fun to watch the different reactions of our kids. Brooke loved the "cows" next to the "wimming pool" (baptismal font) and kept telling us about them not so reverently. Abbie stood in awe at the brides room and whispered that she can't wait until "Kristie gets to stand in there". Tanner has convinced us that we need to go back again next week because he loves the way that he feels when he's there. Carson keeps saying "I love the temple" over and over again even hours later. Tayler felt the Spirit so strong in the Celestial Room that we almost couldn't get him to leave. He just sat on a chair and looked so peaceful. We were able to stand as a family in front of the mirrors in one of the sealing rooms. The kids loved that you could see us forever and ever and Erin and I left so thankful that this is true. We are so blessed to live so close to so many of these beautiful buildings. What a great experience to share as a family. I know it is one that we will not soon forget.

What am I going to do with this hair?

We love Brooke so much. She is so full of life and we could not imagine our family without her. But.....what am I going to do with this hair? She starts out every day with perfect blonde curls and by noon usually looks like this.

I know that I was sooo spoiled with Abbie. She would sit and have her hair done as long as I needed her too. She still cooperates without complaining and my "masterpiece" stays in place all day. We so appreciate the different personalities of our little girls but I think this hair situation is going to be the end of me!

Happy Holidays! (a lot late!)

We have had computer problems for a while and so I am very, very behind and very, very overwhelmed with all of the catch up that I have to do. I figure Christmas is a good place to start. We had a great day full of sugar, family and snow. It snowed so much on Christmas day that the boys snowmobiled in our front yard! Christmas is always a fun day to relax and reflect on the important things in your life. We are so blessed and are so thankful for healthy, amazing kids that continue to keep us busy and out of trouble! We are also very lucky to be surrounded by our wonderful families. Happy (late) Holidays!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Christmas.......we cherish every moment with her.