{fun with max and color splash}

1 of the fun photo apps on my phone is "color splash"...
Max was being funny one night....
funny photos ensued....
and my cute slipper socks :)

{behind the scenes photos}

so, I missed out on the cute photo of Max when it started pouring down a rain/snow mix...
so, Jake volunteered to try to get him to re-en-act it....
it's a close copycat, but I've gotta be quicker on the trigger....

{B is for Birthday, Brooke, and bulldog}

January 17th Brooke turned 4!!

{these pics are out of order and that's just really sad}

She wanted cupcakes and who am I to deny my favorite girl??

Whenever I ask her to smile, she gives me this "bulldog" grin...
the dentist said she might grow out of it ;)

There was also brownies and ice cream, and sweet pork tacos....

mmmmmm so yummy!
My mouth is watering just thinking about them again :)

modeling a hairclip bday present....
she hasn't worn it since....

Happy Birthday to our beautiful girl!!!

{Year End wrap-up ..OR.. I'm tired of playing catch-up!..OR..Totally Random stuff}

She say's she wants to be a wrestler when she's a big girl!

*another way I justify taking my iphone to church*
I am the assistant ward organist at church now and I haven't really played the organ for about 20 years so I take pictures of the settings I think sound right cuz I don't know how the memory buttons work and I don't play every week and I forget :)


~
No Pictures, but we had a fun family Thanksgiving with Jim's brother-in-law's family.
We had way too much Thanksgiving dinner though!
I think we will have a different meat this year....I'm still kind of sick of turkey.

~

For my birthday I got fancy cupcakes, which I LOVE, which seem to be the trend right now.
Cupcake/Bake shops popping up all along the Wasatch Front.

These were from the Sweet Tooth Fairy in Provo. YUMMY!

~

No pictures from Christmas but let's just say, the kids got everything they wanted and more and at this moment they are all basically grounded from all their gifts or could care less about stuff that was the most important thing a month ago. We spent just a little more than we had budgeted so that is progress, but I always feel the desire to return everything around the middle of January :) *Note to self!!! Less IS More!!!!!

~

The day after Christmas I drove the kids out to Cali to visit the farm and the fam. It was cooold out there! but no snow!! That's important :) It was a fun trip but I think I've had my fill of California for a little while again.

~

Finally!!! Happy NEW Year!!!

Next up! 2010!

{First real snow in November}

Halloween 09

October is for Grapplers

Jake tried his hand at Wrestling.
For as aggressive as he is with his brother,
it didn't quite translate into that killer instinct on the mat.
He had fun though and got a cool medal at the tournament.
Maybe next year we'll try again!

{my favorite girl went to school}

She is going to a little "joy school" type playgroup and

SHE LOVES IT!!!

{new(er) in the shop}

{Introduced last Fall}

{I don't know what they're pointing at}

We were at a water conservation garden and there was a pasture across the street....

maybe they saw a cow or something :)

{Fall Soccer}

Sam the soccer star!

{1st day of school}

{this is how we do 3rd grade at our house}

{the big 1st grader}

{ready for school}

1st trip to the dentist

{Brooke had fun, Max was wiped out}

August was the first trip to the dentist for Brooke, Max and Jake. I know what you're thinking, and yes I'm a bad mother when it comes to dental health. Just ask Sam who had to undergo surgery to have a tooth removed and a bunch of work done. Poor kid! You would think after all that he would want to brush his teeth, but no, still it's a big fight. Anywho.... Brooke and Max had no cavities and Jake had about 10, sooo I guess we will try harder.

Ahhhh-gust!

Yay! I'm almost caught up!

It helps that I didn't take a lot of pictures the rest of the year :)

We discovered this bakery in American Fork

I had heard of it on several blogs and Jim went to it while I was still in California in July, so, when we all got home we had to go check it out!

DEEEEE-LICIOUS-NESS!!!!!

We also got a couple of their meat pies to go, but I didn't take a picture and I ate most of them before we left the building..... more yummy goodness! Take my word for it :)

When I am older and aloner I am retiring to Mendocino!

My family decided to have a family reunion of sorts back in July and so we drove out to California with all our camping gear and stuff to spend a few days at the beach. Now let me clarify...I drove the kids out to Cali and Jim flew out that night. Not my first 10.5 hr drive with them alone and certainly not my last! We went to the Mendocino/Glass Beach area of Northern California....the COLD ocean, even in the middle of summer! Needless to say, we had some fun, I remembered that I will do anything else in the world to avoid camping ever again, but the kids liked it. Except for the part where it was really cold, and DIRTY! and wet and we didn't bring enough clothes....and I don't like campfire smoke, and..... don't get me started :) but I wouldn't mind living in the town of Mendocino when I'm old, it's beautiful and right there at the ocean and just a cool place.

20th HS Reunion in NM

We took a couple other road trips in July. Including one down to New Mexico for Jim's 20th High School Reunion! We had a great visit with his family that lives in Albuquerque and met a bunch of his HS friends. One guy brought the Oscar he won for work on that "Benjamin Button" movie and let everyone take pictures with it. :)