Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to my favorite couple! My mom and dad are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary today. We are all very happy you two met and fell in love. Thank you for being such and amazing example to us all. We love you both very much and hope you have a wonderful day!

Twilight

I have to say that seeing Twilight was one of the greatest moments of my life! I absolutely loved it! I went with Joe's sister Ruth, her friend Jessica, my niece Miranda and Rae. We had a blast and I don't think any of us wanted the night to end!

Annie Valentine Owen

Nate and Cari had their sweet little baby girl on Thursday afternoon at 2:58. Annie weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and she is 19 inches long! She is so adorable! Cari and Annie are both doing great! Congratulations Nate and Cari we love you!!

Too cute!

I've never had a baby smile and laugh so much. We love our little Daria! She is hilarious!

She did it!

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Daria rolled over today for her first time! Isn't she cute? I have about 50 pictures of her rolling over and laying on her tummy! I just can't get enough - I am so proud! After she rolled over a few times I just sat there taking pictures and she totally started laughing. The next post will have cute pics of her laughing - it took me long enough to figure out how to get these pictures in the correct order so I don't want to add anything else and mess it up!

Wind cave

On Sunday we went with the Skinner family up the Wind Cave trail at Ussery Pass. All I have to say is what a hike! I am so proud of all the kids - they made it all the way up the mountain. It was very hot and we went in the afternoon. I also want everyone to know that Ruth is Sheera! Ruth had Herston in the baby carrier and then had to carry Ethan up on her shoulders! She is pretty tough! We have decided to start a tradition. On the first Saturday of every month we are going on a hike with the Skinners. Good times!

Did you vote today?

I voted today and I am wearing my "I voted today" sticker. I am proud that I voted and I feel cool wearing my sticker but then I picked up Owen from school and he had this really cool hat! How great would it be if you got one of these hats instead of a little sticker?? Maybe voter turn out would increase!

More pictures!

Trick or Treat!

We had a great Halloween this year! Emma was the cutest little witch, Owen was a super cool ninja, and Daria was a sweet little pig! We started the night off at Grandma and Grandpa Young's ward party - every year they have chili and scones. Then we were off to the Owen's. Steven made his famous Philly cheese steak sandwiches so everyone in the neighborhood was there. Owen, Emma and Daria went trick or treating with Nick and Jack. We saw Ellie and Nate while we were out. The kids had so much fun! We had our 3 ninjas, a witch and a pig! Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday Ellie!!

We love you and hope you have a fantastic day and a wonderful year!

How much does your hair weigh?

Today Emma was looking at my hair and she said, "Mom, my hair is longer than your hair". She then ran her fingers down the length of my hair and counted "1...2...3...4...5...6...7..." and then she did the same thing to her hair but she counted really fast "123456789 - see my hair is nine pounds." Then she asked me how much pounds my hair is. It was pretty hilarious!

California time!

First day at the beach! The weather was perfect. The kids had a great time. Thanks Hilly Bill, Katie and Ellie for making it so fun for Owen and Emma! Hilly Bill is Emma's new name for Hillary.
Balboa Island with Nana and Grandpa! We have walked around Balboa so many times I can't even count but it never gets old. The first day we were in CA we made a list of everything we wanted to do and this was at the top of the list. We got to do everything on the list except get a balboa bar:(
Santa Barbara Pier. We visited Nate, Cari, Grace and Ben at their new house in Montecito. We had a blast. The kids were very sad to leave. We miss you guys!
Can you even tell Cari is pregnant and due next month??
I love this picture. One of the older girls took this on the nature walk. It just cracks me up. Kids are so cute!
I have a ton of pictures from the trip - I will have to do a California time part 2 and maybe 3 or 4! We can't wait for next summer! Thanks Nana and Grandpa and Nate and Cari for having us. We love you guys!

Can I please have some goldfish?

For fall break we went on a trip to California. Grandpa bought a few snacks for the kids for the car ride home. Emma asked all day to have some goldfish but I told her she had to wait until we were driving back to Arizona - as soon as we hit the freeway she asked one more time and Hillary took a picture of the happy moment!

Belated birthday post for Owen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OWEN!!! My little guy turned 6 today! I can't believe it. I feel like a bad mom today. Owen woke up at 5:30 am and wondered where his decorations and presents were (for my kids birthdays I decorate one chair with ribbons and a birthday sign and put their presents on the table). I felt horrible. I was too tired last night to do it and I thought I would wake up before him! So we decorated together and then he got to go and pick out his birthday present with Joe. He got a new BMX bike - it is pretty nice! He is very excited about his new bike. I will post a picture asap - i loaned my camera cord to someone and they have not returned it yet! After decorating we had a yummy breakfast (waffles) and got ready for Owen's party. We had both of our families over for hot dogs, pineapple, chips and cake. Owen requested the gourmet lunch menu! We had a great time. At the end of the day Owen said to me "Mom, this was the best birthday ever!"
I am so grateful for Owen. He is the sweetest boy and he is so caring. I will never forget the first time I held him. I think a first born holds an extra special place in a mother's heart. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such an amazing little boy. He is just so good! I love him more than he will ever know. Happy birthday buddy - I love you!

Wal-Mart Special

Owen tried BMX racing for the first time last week. He LOVED it! Joe said he did awesome! The first time he went down Joe said that Owen was so scared but he just got up there and did it. I am so glad I wasn't there because Joe said it was very scary to watch. Nate(my brother) was asking Owen when he was going to do a race and if he was going to win. Owen replied "I won't win the race. I will come in 8th place because my bike is a Wal-Mart special". We all laughed. If he keeps it up and likes BMX he can get a new bmx bike for his birthday - then maybe he will win!

Emma's first day of school!

Today was Emma's first day of pre-k. She had such a great time. I love her teachers. I think she is going to have a great year! When I picked her up from school her teacher told me that Emma was so good and so smart. I love Emma!

Emma has lost her mind!

Today during our Sunday nap time we all climbed on Owen's bed(does anyone else have family nap/snuggle time?) and were all just goofing around and of course Emma was a little crazy! Joe said "Emma has lost her mind" and then Owen said "I found Emma's mind. Here Emma". We laughed so hard! Owen is pretty funny. I remember one time Joe told Owen he was a crack up then Joe told Emma that she was a crack up. Owen's light bulb went on and he said "hey, we are the crack up family"!

Up to ten

I just have to share this website with all of my friends and family who have small children. When my nieces were little (they are now 14 and 12) they were visiting my mom and dad in CA and my mom found this website. It is such a great site for little kids! There is a free section where you can play hundreds of games, color, play music and make crafts. Emma LOVES it and could play on it for hours! If you haven't already checked it out you should! Here is the address www.uptoten.com

Oh. I forgot to tell you when you get to the website click on up to ten free and then select Boowa and Kwala. It is kind of silly but kids love it!

Daria's blessing

Sunday was Daria's blessing and it was such a nice day! After the blessing we had all of our family over for a little party. We had such a great time and we are so grateful to all of you who came to share this special day with us.