Catch up....

What a month this has been already... First my cousin got married in Salt Lake and we all went down for the festivities!! It was a blast. I think it was the funnest wedding I have ever been to, or maybe it was just because all of my awesome family was there!!! Either way it was so much fun my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing! My Uncle Brad and Megan doing their Daddy/ Daughter dance!! It was priceless!!

One of the very few pictures of all us in our 'nice' clothes.

My mom, Aunt LaRae, Aunt Tammy and Taelor. Love these girls!!

More family- Aunt Jennifer, LaRae, Tammy, mom, Grandma and Uncle Brad.

Then we had a week of normal stuff before we jetted off to St. George and Mesquite for a baseball tournament. It was alot of fun. I only wish we hadn't brought the chilly weather with us. One day was nice in about the mid 70's and the rest was cloudy and chilly!!! But the boys played well and had a great time......

and THEY WON!!! Whoo hoo!! Go Sun Devils!!!

13 and shiny!!

It is so hard for me to believe that on February 23 this boy or..... young man is now a (gulp) teenager. I feel so cliche when I say "I rememeber when..." But it is true. Life has a way of going by way to fast. Before you know it your a mother of a teenager!!! Braedon is a good kid (stay the way!!) who loves his family....most of the time. He stills likes being with me and hanging out which I like too!! He is always being "Braedon" as we call it, but whether he is teasing, or being goofy he is our Braedon and we love him!! We can't imagine our family without you!! Happy Birthday!! Showing his manliness!! Grrr!

We love to watch you 'do your thing' whether that is baseball, football or basketball. We have and always will be your biggest supporters!!

I love when my kids get along!!! They are so fun to watch play together!!

Showin off his killer smile!!

A little tender moment with the brother and sister....ahhh!

This is him at one of his many goofy moments. My kids love to shove blankets in their clothes and try to see how big they can get!! I think mission accomplished!!

He has had many bike crashes, sports injuries, falling mishaps, basketball hoops being slammed down on himself after a good slam dunk but never a black eye. So it seems it took 13 years and some messing around with his cousin to fix the problem of saying' Never a black eye.' Funny thing is after all the things that have happened to him he got this by running into a wall. Poor kid!! But now he can't say he never had one!!! We love you buddy!!

Feeling some love....

Taelor has a friend named Tenley who has a brain tumor. She and I have been wanting to do something special for her and finally decided on a pamper party. So together with the help of a few other moms we put together this party. It was a surprise for Tenley so when she came over she had no idea what she was doing at our house. I explained to her that there would be some girls coming over to do hair and nails. She was very happy!!! The smile right then and there made it all worth my time and effort. She is such a sweet little girl with an adorbale personality!! I hope she felt all our love and continues to feel it as she goes through chemo!! We love you Tenley!! Fancy nails!! Oh la la!!

The pros doing the nails. Thanks girls!

Taelor getting her hair done being goofy like always!!

Tenley and her pretty mom Kim!! Had to write that Kim!!!! ;0)

My pretty girl

She had her first dance recital Thursday night. She was very nervous but fought through it and came out and dances her little heart out. She was worried she would forget some parts but she did great and from what I saw she didn't mess up to me!! She loves getting all fancied up in outfits and makeup so this was a day she had been counting down for. She has a vibrant personality and it was a fun proud moment to watch her do what she loves!!

11 years....

Dawson turned 11 years old yesterday. It is so hard to believe that he is already 11!!! He is such a joy to our family. He is a very thoughtful, kind boy who loves his family!!! We are so glad he is part of our family and we feel very lucky!!! Dawson diggin into his Strawberry Shortcake!! It was so good!!!

Everyone is testing each others flexibility!! It was pretty funny!! We had a good time and Dawson was a happy boy!!

December 2010 in pictures

This has been a busy end of the year for us. Not many pics taken but this is what I got. I put the pictures in the wrong order. So the go from Christmas and then to the beginning of December!! Oh well!! I hope you had a great Christmas with your family. I know we did!! We got lots of new games for the Wii and PS3!! Wipeout was a Christmas day favorite!!

Dawson, Mary Ann, Taelor and my dad telling stories on the Love Sac. We got this big boy from my in laws for Christmas!! It is a beast, and a comfy one at that!!

My dad and Dawson doing one of many puzzles together!!

Braedon scratching his lottery tickets from his stocking!! His winnings didn't pay out to good though.... but he is a little richer!!

Taelor in ALOT of new clothes!! She put this whole outfit on and said, " I don't care if I don't match, I like it!!" The kid loves clothes!!

Dawson got a dart board for Christmas along with many other things. He said he got everything he wanted!!

Taking in a ping pong game!!

My dad came to visit from Wisconsin and bought the kids a ping pong table for Christmas!! They are getting really good at it too!!

So this is our little bitty Christmas tree!!! We were supposed to go cut one down but I had a terrible pain in my side and got to go to the clinic and have a CT scan instead. So my mother in law came and took the kids to the local tree stand and got stubby instead. It was a perfect size for them!!

Dawson carving it out!!

Braedon giving his best shot at sled-boarding in the front yard on a huge hill of snow!!

Taelor trying her hand at sled- snowboarding in the backyard on a kid made hill.

Shane and Taelor making sugar cookies. Boys did too they were just out of the picture!!!

Kids playing in the snow storm we had before Thanksgiving. They had a blast!!

Being Thankful...

I am thankful for so many things. I am so thankful for Shane and the wonderful husband and father he is. He works hard for our family and never complains about doing it. He has an amazing work ethic I only hope our kids one day possess. He is so much fun to be with and is always doing something to make the kids laugh. I love him and I can't imagine our life without him. Taelor is a very special girl. What would we ever do without Taelor!! She loves her brothers, me every now and then and adores her Daddy!! I am thankful she is part of our family. She is always willing to help or doing some kind of service for someone in the house. She loves to cook and do whatever she can to make people happy! I love you!!!

Dawson, I am thankful for your sweet kind spirit and for the laughter you bring into our home. You laugh all the time, even when you probably shouldn't (that is genetic though!). Everyone loves you and it seems as though everyone wants to be doing something with you all the time. I am so glad you are part of our family and I thank our Heavenly Father for each of you everyday!! I love you!!

Braedon you are a great kid. You love your family and are not embarrassed of us quite yet which I think is great!! You love to tease but are quick to defend anyone teasing your brother or sister. They look up to you a great deal. I am glad you are part of our family everyday!! I love you!!

My mom..... I am thankful for her friendship. She has always been there for me no matter what and I know she always will. I love to spend time with her and I am glad we live so close so that my kids can learn of her wisdom and greatness. I am thankful you have always been my stability in life and that you are always there when I need you!! I love you!!

My dad.... our relationship is not that of a conventional one because I only saw him for a couple of weeks in the summertime. We have had our ups and downs together but right now I am SO incredibly grateful for him and his continuing friendship to me. He has gone through some tough times lately and I am so glad I was able to be his listening ear even though we were 7 states away. Our relationship has gotten so much stronger this last year. I only hope it continues to grow. I love him alot!!

My in-laws are great. They are a lot of fun to be with. They are our vacation buddies. I am glad we have them to lean on should we ever need them. I am grateful she raised my husband with the knowledge of things he knows. Without him and his talents our life would be much different and for that I am thankful for her and her on going love and encouragement to Shane. Thanks for all you do!! I love you both!!

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful, but isn't it funny how we never realize what we are thankful for until Thanksgiving rolls around. We think of certain things through the year as things happen to us but we don't take the time to really appreciate them until now. I am going to try and be more thankful through the year. I am also thankful to those friends that read this blog. Without each of you, whether we talk or haven't seen each other since high school you have made a difference in my life somehow. I am thankful that our paths crossed and I met you!! Happy Thanksgiving!!