a very merry birthday bash

Today Kennedy turned 8 years old! 8 years old I can't believe it! The first thing that she wanted to do today, when she woke up was...go and get her ears pierced. Also, she could hardly wait for Grandma Brooks to get here from Las Vegas.

We all got up early to have our "traditional birthday breakfast"of cinnamon rolls, OJ and scrambled eggs. It was fun to decorate the table and have breakfast together while we watched Kennedy open her presents before school.....Grandma Sandra sent her special gifts ahead of time and of all the gifts that she received (other than her baptism) Kennedy's favorite gifts were from both Grandmas. A month of cooking classes from The Young Chefs Academy from Grandma Sandra and soft pink scriptures from Grandma Brooks.

a little nervous......before the ears are pierced

but still smiling after...

A VERY MERRY BIRTHDAY BASH!

the very next day...

we celebrated kennedy's 8th birthday

with a fancy luncheon & dress up party

with all of her friends

at our house!

the invitations...

the flowers...

the party favors...

the fancy dresses... the choices... the birthday girl...

the toast...

the food...

heart shaped pb&j's

chicken crossiant sandwiches

fruit

chocolate cake

sparkling cider

the friends...

the castle...

the fun...

the fancy slippers...

the pose...

the cake...

THE END...

life is too short

I read this today and loved it....so I thought that I would share it! Life Is Too Short,Break The Rules, Forgive Quickly,Kiss Slowly, Love Truly,Laugh Uncontrollably, And Never Regret AnythingThat Made You Smile. Life May Not Be The PartyWe Hoped For, But While We're Here, We Should Dance... Author unknown

meet the powers...

Ralphie just turned 10 and is in the fourth grade. He is such a loving and helpful big brother. He enjoys playing tackle football, riding his bike, playing with friends, skate boarding, video games and exploring in his fort in the desert. This past summer he attended surf camp in CA and now that is something that he and Tom can do together. Although Ralphie would rather be playing than be at school his grades are excellent. Straight A's last quarter and honor roll this quarter. Baby Chloe' loves him and would rather be with Ralphie than her own Mother.

Kennedy is turning 8 next week and is excited to be baptized and FINALLY get her ears pierced. We are planning a "fancy” luncheon and dress up party for her and 12 of her friends here at our home. Kennedy got the idea to borrow 13 pairs of Aunt Ali's high heel shoes for the occasion. Alycin has so many fancy shoes.....that the girls will be in heaven. Aunt Ali is going to come and help do make-up and hair. It will be lots of fun! We are so thankful to have her close and a part of our lives. She is our only relative here! Kennedy loves school and has straight A's. Actually, she is quite competitive too. She recently took fourth place in her school spelling bee out of the entire second grade. She loves to ride her bike, bake, draw, and is currently in a little Show Choir Class that sings. She is excited and loves to perform in front of people.

Luke is 4 years old and enjoys pre-school. He is a happy little guy that always has a smile on his face. He loves to give kisses and hugs and often likes to ask “Are you full of love and joy today?” He is full of energy and personality, enough really for the entire family. I can’t believe that so much personality is wrapped up into such a little body. Luke loves to talk especially to strangers. Just this week at the grocery store he introduced himself to a complete stranger……“Hi I’m Lukie what’s your name?” If they don’t answer him then he will keep trying to talk to them up and down each isle until he gets noticed. You really never know what will come out next…..once I told him that I was going to break his fingers if he touched that something again and his reply was….”W E L L if you do then……Heavly Fater will just glue them back on”! I love that kid!

Chloe’ our baby sister is growing up fast. She is 10 months old now and weighs just over 22 pounds. We are so grateful that she is here and a part of our family. Chloe’ is big and bald as ever! She loves to eat her food and if she had more teeth (she only has 2) would down a steak I’m sure! Some of her nick names are Poopers, Lola, Lilli Pea, Birdie and Little Doo Doo. Chloe’ is still not sleeping through the night and loves to wake her Mother about every other hour. She loves to clap, make lots of noise, is crawling full force now and gets into EVERYTHING!

I can’t believe that I’m almost 40 years old! I recently attended my 20 Year High School Reunion in good old Las Vegas and I must say….what a blast. How fun it was to see so many good friends from that time. It was like I was in a time warp. We kind of all still looked the same only some with more wrinkles, balder, chubbier, funnier, but all of us definitely wiser. I am glad that I went. I am grateful to be a Mother of 4 beautiful healthy children. I’m so thankful that I am able to stay home with each of them. In November I was released from the Primary after 4 years of working closely with the Children. That has been hard on me because I miss them. Church is an important part of our lives and I am a better person because of it. A few of my favorite things are: spending time helping in the kid’s classrooms, traveling/shopping @ flea markets with my best friend Kim, planting flowers…that make me happy, photography, doing anything creative!

Tom continues to work hard building up Marathon Financial. He enjoys playing tennis 3 times a week with a group of friends and loves to take the kids boating and jet skiing when ever he can. In December right before Christmas he took Kennedy to Hawaii. Just the two of them enjoyed snorkeling and one on one time together. Tom is a wonderful father and great example to our family…..the most adventurous one too! His new project around the house is designing and creating our new back yard. I can’t wait until it’s done!

dad's challenge to the family

O.K. so I get this e-mail from my dad this week that challenged each one in our family to share a family inspiration letter with everyone. He says it best.....

Dear family, I would like to, as a family, start a family inspiration letter. I hope you will all take a few minutes and add to the chain. It would also be wonderful to hear how and what you are doing, your accomplishments and the good you are doing in the world. We love you all and hope the best for you. One line is better than none to get started. Don't procrastinate! Be positive!

There is no better way to inspire an inspiration letter than with a challenge, thanks dad! I created this blog at the beginning of the New Year for my family hoping that I could jot down here and there funny things that happen throughout the week, silly things the kids say and some of their accomplishments a long the way.

I have found that with 4 kids it's hard to just remember it all. A lot of the milestones and funny things that they say and do are forgotten if you don't stop and write it all down. This is my new challenge for this year in 2009. To take time for the "little" stuff that matters most! To stop for a moment and just be, call a friend or family member that you miss, write a thank you note or just try often to remember who and what it is you love!

bald is beautiful

Just look at her....bald as ever and proud of it! I can't believe she is 9 months old with only a few little seedlings on top! Chloe' loves her bath time and surprisingly still fits in the sink just fine at 22 pounds.

merry christmas!

The million dollar photo that took forever to shoot! 4 kids with 4 different ways to say "Cheese"......it's all about being grateful for that one shot of many that says "Merry Christmas" I'd forgotten how quickly a 9 month old can lose interest and be done. Ralphie, Kennedy and Luke said that I took the "Merry" out of Christmas after trying over and over and over and over....to get that one special shot.