Happy Birthday Marian!

Marian,  I can remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. I had wanted to be a Mommy for as long as I could remember and the day had finally come! You were so beautiful and sweet. I could watch you for hours as you would lay there looking up at me with your beautiful brown eyes. Now, 8 years later I am still enjoying every minute with you. You are so creative, sweet, compassionate and smart. God has given you a soft heart and I pray that you will follow hard after Him all the days of your life. Thank you for the precious gift you are to all of us.

Here are some pictures of Marian's birthday party with her friends from school. We did a "Little House on the Prairie" party. Marian and her friends love Little House and often play it at school. I thought this would be the perfect year to try it. Thanks to the internet, and things like pinterest I was able to get some great ideas from others! It was a ton of fun and the girls had a blast! We made our own butter, did covered wagon treats and they got to wash clothes with a wash board and hang them on a clothesline. I was so thankful for Grammy and my friend Deanne who helped out. And a big thanks to Jon (who took the pictures....too hard for me to be behind the camera AND host the party) and Grandpa for their help too-- especially the last minute clothesline they put together.

Cinnamon rolls for the birthday breakfast

Marian had her best-friend Kai over for a sleep-over the night before the party.
They have matching "Little House" night dresses that Kai's
Grandma made for them last Fall. How cool is that?!

I was so thankful to have the extra hands when we were making
the covered wagon treats. Picture of the finished result towards the bottom
of the post....almost forgot to take a picture of these! 

Munching on the popcorn

The girls were hilarious with dancing. I found some fiddle music on
Pandora and all on their own they starting dancing. They circled up
and sent one person to the middle at a time to do some dosey-doe.

Shaking up some butter. We used baby food jars and whipping cream.
It was so much fun and actually worked....whew! I was hoping it would turn out. 

Probably the favorite part of the party for all the girls-- hand-washing the clothes.
They LOVED using the wash board and hanging up the clothes.

Marian and Kai all dressed up

Probably my favorite picture from the party.
I think Marian could have totally lived in the 1800's.

Tah-dah! Here are the covered wagons. Jon and I got the wheels
all prepped the night before...don't think we've laughed that hard
together in a long time because they kept falling apart.
Our mantra was "our marriage is more important than these wheels!"
I'm so thankful for such a sweet husband who would stay up late
helping me with my crazy ideas!  

Some decorations =) 

A little dancing with Daddy after the girls left.


We were definitely exhausted, but such a rewarding party.
This was super fun. Macy asked if she could have a Little House party for
her birthday...hmmm....maybe I'll feel up to doing another by next Fall. =) 

A little behind...

I'm a little behind on blogging.  Hoping to get back on track. We had such a nice Easter. The week leading up to Easter we usually walk through the final week leading up to our Lord's crucifixion by reading from Scripture what happened each day. It is always a meaningful time and really prepares us as a family to celebrate His death and resurrection. It seems with every year our kids' understanding grows and it is such a blessing to watch as they engage in the story and contemplate the cross. It never grows old celebrating our Savior and His sacrifice for our sin. 

Here are some pictures of the girls decorating Easter eggs. It's so fun to watch them be creative. It's also nice that they're older and these kind of activities aren't so stressful. =) 

Spring Break

We were blessed to spend the girls' Spring Break in Arizona as a family. We spent a few days with Jon's Mom, Sister and our adorable niece and nephew. Then we drove a few hours and met up with my Dad, Kathy and my Grandparents on the Colorado River. We stayed right on the water and spent so much time in their pontoon boat, as well as in the pool. It was so restful and fun. It really was a treat, to say the least and awesome to be in 80-90 degree weather for the week.

Here are some pictures to document the fun...

Cousins! 

Holly, Jon and Mom
It was so great to see them after four years.
I am so blessed with such a sweet mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Marian doing her flips with Daddy

These two are so much alike! Two peas-in-a-pod.
They clicked immediately and had so much fun together. 

Love this little guy.
Will is almost 6 and the sweetest little guy ever! 

Macy with Auntie.

Such a great picture of these two.

We were able to catch Will's last football game.
It was so much fun to watch. 

We did a little photo shoot with Grandma.
More pictures to come on my photography blog. 

Marian was awesome, getting the best smiles for me. 

So precious.

Never thought this photo shoot would be
so much fun. It was precious to watch
all the cousins laughing so hard together. 

 After saying a tearful goodbye to Auntie, cousins and Grandma, we headed to the Colorado River. 

Playing in the sand with Daddy 

Our "home" for the week...nope we definitely weren't "roughing it."

My Grandma and Grandpa were able to drive up from Cali to be with us for the week. It was such a blessing to be with them too. 

It was so fun to be at the River with my Grandma and Grandpa, because I grew up
going to the River and staying in their motorhome. Brought back lots of memories. 

On the boat

Kathy has such a servants-heart.
She truly is amazing. 

Lots of fun driving the boat with Papa. 

The water was FREEZING but we tubed anyway.
Definitely made us hang on a bit tighter. =) 

Our precious girlies. 

This is how Macy started out on the tube at the beginning
of the week....her signal to go slower!

Marian and I taking a wild ride. 

Surprised that we are still on the tube. 

No hands!

The girls went with Papa to the pool a few of the mornings and did
water aerobics with all the elderly ladies. They totally embraced
the girls as apart of their group and the girls loved it. 

I just couldn't stop smiling while watching them.
They tried so hard to do every move.