Crew is THREE!!!!

It came and went way to fast.  Yes, the last 3 years went by fast, but what is even more sad is all of the time and effort put into the cutest little Car Party I will ever throw was over in a FLASH!  It has almost been a week, and I still have most of the decorations up because it was so much fun.  Crew is now THREE!!!

Crew's Cars Party Itinerary:

Arrival Activities:

Play with cars on the vinyl car track as kids arrive

Color cars pictures as kids arrive

Main activity: CAR RACING

I spray painted a simple race track on the lawn in the back yard,

kids decorated card board boxes like cars with stickers and crayons

Then we went outside and RACED!

Each of the kids received their own Piston Cup with their name on it!

Happy Birthday to Crew!

We sang to the birthday boy, ate cupcakes, carrots and grapes, and then opened presents!

Pinata!

You can't go wrong with a Pinata at any age really.

The kids all wanted a turn, and after one croquet stick was broken by my nine year old GIRL,

we had the adults help the kids out a little until the candy was spilled.

Goody Bags

We gave out simple goody bags (brown paper bags with racing checks and a cars sticker)

Inside they had a Cars PEZ dispenser, Disney Cars stickers, a Car pencil, and a bouncy ball.

Don't forget, they all got to take home a bag of candy from the pinata and a Piston Cup from the Races.

The parents loved that I gave out so much candy. :)

Kadie even made Crew a decoration, and she drew it free-hand!

The Goody Table (below)

A display of the Piston Cups, yummy treats, and goody bags.

And a little shrine dedicated to Crew, the birthday boy.

  

The Happy Birthday Table (below)

    

 

The RACE TRACK and the RACES

 
Crew's favorite part was waving the flag and saying
"On your mark, get set, go!"

Even the teenagers wanted to race...

PINATA!

Kadie actually broke the pinata stick in half when it was her turn.
Her little arms are stronger than they look!

Favorite Gift: EVERYTHING!  And he wears his Cars sunglasses every day.

This was later that afternoon, after a wardrobe change due to frosting mishaps.

I think he had a good time!

Happy Birthday Crew!

Zoo Day!

I love going to the Oakland Zoo with the kids.  It is the perfect {small} size of zoo and still has all of the animals a kid would want to see.  You can rush through the whole zoo in an hour!  Or, just take your time and spend 3-4 hours there like we did today.

We didn't have any plans, but my friend Kristina invited us, and we always have fun with her and her kids.  The weather was perfect, and the kids were so excited to spend time with friends and animals on a no school day.

It couldn't have been a better day.  Beautiful weather, fun friends, and not at all crowded...until we got to the picnic area.  We set up camp, and got out food while the kids played by the lily pads, the bunnies, and on the pretend giant bugs.  Kristina and I were in the middle of a fun conversation when I heard some yelling.   I look over to see a woman yelling at the "rabbit hole" slide.  Apparently a child was blocking her crying child from getting through.  I recognized the pink leggings and knew it was Laney.

I almost ran over, but stopped myself when the lady's friend joined in trying to get Laney out.  Because they were yelling, I stayed back, embarrassed and not wanting them to know Laney was mine.  Isn't that horrible!  I am kicking myself for not running over now.  I should follow my intuition.  But it isn't exactly the first confrontation I have had about Laney.  Sometimes I just want the whole situation to disappear.

To make a long story short, Laney was at the bottom of the slide.  This woman's daughter went down the slide and bumped into Laney, so Laney turned around and scratched her.  Yes, Laney overreacted, but she is 6!  I wish I would have gone over and figured out what happened and thanked the lady for ganging up on my 6 year old and scaring her to death.  But I didn't.

The best part was that after all of that "avoiding" I tried to do, Laney then comes running over to me yelling "MOM! Crew is in the bunny cage!"  I then had to run past all of the mom's who were looking for me during the first shenanigan and then coax Crew out of the bunny cage.  Poor Crew was just being a 2 year old and was having the time of his life chasing rabbits.

I also wish I would have said something sarcastic to the woman who said "He is scaring the bunnies to death!" when I passed her to find Crew.  Seriously, those poor bunnies probably loved getting some exercise today.

Laney got a "talk" about treating others the way you want to be treated...the never-ending saga with her.  I tried to explain to Crew that we can't go in the rabbit habitat, but he was just so excited to tell me about it I don't think our talk sunk in.  After all was said and done, I also wish I would have taken a picture.

The First Valentines Day...

12 years ago, Josh and I celebrated our first Valentines Day together.  We had been dating for about a month. I remember him buying me a bear that had a pillow that said "I love you", but I honestly can not remember if he had said that to me yet.  I will have to read my journal to find out, but we were at BYU-Idaho, so one month equals like a year in Mormon time, right?  I do remember him having a DTR (determine the relationship) talk with me and telling me that he was only going to date me, and it was cool if I wanted to date others, but if I was...could I just let him know.

On Valentines Day, my roommate Kari, who also happened to be Josh's second cousin, was on a double date with her man Kendall, and Josh and I.  It was a cold, snowy, and VERY WINDY night in Rexburg.  We had plans for dinner but they fell through when the power went out and nothing was open.

We drove around laughing and trying to find anywhere to eat.  We even thought about going to a grocery store and buying sandwich stuff and cookies.  We finally saw some lights and followed them, soon realizing that they were the lights of the Hospital.  The Hospital had power!  So we parked, and wandered inside to find an amazing cafeteria with food and power and had our first Valentines Dinner there.

I sort of had a hunch I might marry this guy, but little did I know that I would deliver our first child at that very hospital just 2 1/2 years later.

The last 12 years have been really amazing.  Sure there have been ups and downs, highs and lows, but after 12 years together Josh still knows how to make me laugh, and he is always trying to find new ways to surprise me and make me happy.  We probably only get the chance to spend about 5-10% of our time together these days, but we try to make it worth it as a couple and with the kiddo's.  Work hard, play hard...that really should be our family's motto.  We have spent 12 years creating a life and world together that no one knows as well as us.  I would dare to say that all we have gained together from when we first met 12 years ago, is absolutely, definitely and infinitely priceless.

Happy Valentines Day!
xoxo

6 Years of Sassy

This little princess is now becoming quite the young lady!

I am so glad that I have documented this little girl through the last 6 years.

Some of which you can read on this blog, like...

when she used all of the orange frosting...

or all of the silly outfits she used to come up with.

I love Laney, and really who doesn't?  I mean, yes...you will probably end up getting scowled at or have her stick her tongue out at you at some point...but you will also be entitled to her sweet hugs and her telling you she loves you and why.  Laney also gives a mean foot massage, and she likes to do it. 

She is {very}sassy and sweet and now also SIX!

February 6, 2009...the beginning of sisters!

2 years old...the beginning of Sassy Laney  

Somewhere between 3 and 4 her chub just got chubbier. 

Once Crew was born, she knew she wanted to be a mother. 

When Kadie had her Wizard of Oz party, Laney discovered she loved disguises. 

This year, she discovered she loved spying.

Thank you for so many fun times Laney, I am sure that we will experience a thousand more...

and each memory is worth {at least} a thousand words...

Happy Birthday Laney Bug!

Santa...Super Cool or Super Scary???

Our church Christmas Party was last night.  Our kids were SO EXCITED to see Santa.  Unfortunately... up close, Laney and Crew didn't like him as much.

Kadie walked right up, sat on his lap and told him she wanted a Xia Xia pet.

It took like 10 minutes to calm Crew down just from taking him in the same room with Santa.

Laney wised up once she heard them announce that Santa was leaving in 15 minutes.

She was able to tell him what she wanted.  {A Spy Camera}

Then the primary kids sang a few songs.  Laney refused to stand with them.

Kadie was hidden, although we could tell where she was standing because of her green hat.

Merry Christmas!  I love this season. :)