Sunday, February 20, 2011




the ABCs of a Baby Shower - So much fun to celebrate a new baby boy coming soon to Ashley and Bobby. The sisters put together a fun day to help get the nursery started and share in the joy.


Since the invitations were ABC, we continued with that theme and had fun with the alphabet


C is for Coconut Cupcakes (thanks Barefoot Contessa!)


D is for Donut holes (9 dozen)




T is for Tulips

spring baby = tulips and daffodils



Since Haley Mae is our only girl and getting so big, she got to have girls day with us and share in the baby fun

They are adding baby #4 to their family in May and Haley is praying for a sister







Heather, Brooke and baby Brooklyn
The twins made their  debut - Emma is a new woman and happy to be out of the house!

Mentioned to Heather last week I was gathering goodies for us to make a diaper cake when she got in town.  She was NOT on board and thought we should upscale the shower a bit.   After sending her a few online pics she agreed it would be a fun centerpiece, but thinks it needs a serious name change for appeal.


We've lived here long enough to have friends that have watched Ashley grow from a toddler and it was an absolute joy to celebrate with them on this new milestone for her.

 Life truly is a blink and we look back with gratitude for the many friends and strong family that bless the journey with their love and support.

Love ya'll!!!  xoxo

Friday, February 18, 2011

Finishing February

first lil frog of the season!

Brookie turns 17!   Crazy how fast this year has flown by!   We had a  family party with her favorite salmon dinner and grasshopper pie ... looking forward to a fun friend party in a few weeks!   Happy Birthday sweet one!!!!

We took Tanner and Caleb on a field trip to Home Depot.  Check out the crazy look in Caleb's eyes to drive ... happy this is adult trickery and he really can't control the wheel!    

cuddle time
the wolves are restless waiting to be fed


belly check 2-21-11

We had tickets to the BYU/TCU game and were excited to support the Coug's (Jimmer) in Texas.   Heather was a bit anxious to sport a simple tshirt and just had to dress it up a bit with a collared shirt :)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

February Fun






the Beib


Heather's been giving Tanner the Bieber comb over and he may even work on becoming a child prodigy



Zoo Daze    We are zoo friends and scoot over there as often as we can. Springtime at the zoo can be most entertaining!


 Heather didn't expect us to have an 80 degree day (welcome to Texas!) and didn't have many clothes options, so we raided my closet at the last minute. Tricky because we are 3 sizes or so apart, but being her creative self, went to the zoo Heather style - fashionable!





Heather loves elephants and this one decided to show off for her


Whew! A big day and grateful to ride the train back to the beginning





Haley Mae had a special invitation to sing "I Love to see the Temple" at YW's New Beginnings. She dressed up like a princess and sang like an angel! We weren't the only ones with tears!

 Such a special spirit and testimony of why the scriptures encourage us to be humble as a child.
I love you Haley Mae - inside and out!!! xo







Valentines Day

I work hard to show love every day, but still fall victim to the commercial lures of Valentines Day!  It's fun to gather do-dads to send Heather a box of pinks and reds and remind her love spans the miles.  We miss her so much!

We decided to give the marrieds a date night out and we'd keep all the little people.   Destination - Freddy's.

Buckling up the tribe is the worse part! Don't get me wrong - it is a good thing - but what a pain! We are the pre-carseat generation, our crib rails were too wide, fed you peanut butter and honey - how did y'all survive? I am grateful you are a more educated generation and our little ones are so protected, but also happy ignorance was bliss in our day!

The manager of Freddy's was impressed we had the tribe under control and all eating. It's amazing how chocolate ice-cream dangled in front of you keeps the teeth chewing.

By the way, notice what a good helper my valentine is :)

Let's play "LOOK"

We wanted to go to Lowe's next but were deterred by the time it takes to buckle in/out!

 It was a fun outing and much easier than when we took them all swimming at Lifetime a few weeks ago!  Swimming, showering, drying, dressing AND buckling the 5 of them was an optimistic endeavor!  Love em to pieces!  xo









Girl Scout cookies & milk?
Caleb is happy to be big enough to share the tower with Tanner making kitchen time so up close and personal.

Night time routine - splish splash in the tub, cookies n milk (if you eat your dinner :)), story time, prayers and nightie night.  We love when Tanner calls us and Brooke for family prayer!







Superbowl party! Caleb (the youngest on the arm rest) was rocking out to the half-time show! We loved the commercials and the kiddos all wanted to watch the music in the middle.




Haley loves babies - especially Caleb!






Monitoring growth - Ash is 7 weeks out and Chris is 15 weeks out (I think)
















We got the frigid cold temps that were predicted (as well as the rest of the nation), and those wonderful ice storms that leave you nothing to play in. Finally we rose above the teens to get some snow and an invitation to dig out the toys.

We had 4 days off of school and seminary!  :)





This is the original Zinger the kids all grew up on and as you can see, still love! Steve has been rebuilding it lately to get it to run better for the next generation.

Tanner tried his snow skills with the battery 4-wheeler - not too bad!  Needs hand warmers!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Joys of January

Superbowl madness was crazy in our neck of the woods with many festivities to tap into. Unfortunately mother nature did not cooperate and sent revenge upon Jerry Jones in the form of freezing temps and our infamous ice storms! Rumors had it ice lock-down was eminent so the night before doom, we loaded up the troops for Sundance Square in Fort Worth to do a little team and celebrity stalking.


Justin and Ryan did the lighting for this Texas sign which was set up next to the ESPN booth becoming a great back drop and center of many photo ops for visitors (and us)

So many live remotes and cameras around, we quickly became 'camera chasers.'

Brooke and Todd couldn't resist a little "show time"



Channel 21 was broadcasting live (I know, who watches channel 21?) and if you look closely on their little monitor, you can see Tanner in the middle of the two women ...  his first cameo performance!

Every time the camera would scan the audience, Todd would hoist up Tanner, and Ryan would hoist up Olivia, and the 4 of them were wild fans.

You probably had to be there to appreciate the fun, but we did call up Ashley at home to watch our silly antics on live tv and she was entertained.



Ashley is nanny for sweet lil Anthony, who quickly became a family member and enjoys whatever the day brings. Today it was lunch and story time with Haley Mae at school.







Baby bump monitor - Ash 1/15 10 weeks to go!


We did a little roadie down to San Antonio for Brooke's Regionals

The team took a disappointing 7th place but we had a great time shopping, eating and being girls




















We are tickled pink and blue to have this little package of two now home with Justin and Emma! They are an answer to many prayers ... many tears, and so very grateful to have them in the family circle all safe and well!

Counting blessings - two by two!   Tender mercies!  xoxo