Catch-Up..........

Wow! It's been a while since I was on here and updated anything (not to say I haven't been looking at other blogs). Let's see, since September we have been doing the school thing, including some awesome field trips! Shaylie is still doing her class at Throwdown (when we actually make it there). We are also enjoying Activity Days. Marc is still busy as ever at work! He has also been training a lot more with Ricky Lundell and improving by leaps and bounds with his Ju Jitsu. I have just been being a mom and loving every minute of it! I help in each of the girls classes each week and try to go on their field trips. In September Marc surprised the girls with a trip up to Lagoon! We had a blast and ended up going back up the next weekend and used our "bounceback" passes. On our second excursion Shaylie's best friend Taylor went with us. We had a blast and are looking forward to going again next summer. We had a great Halloween which consisted of some tasty pizza at Great Grandma Messick's house (pretty much a yearly tradition), and some trick-or-treating, plus a Halloween party the weekend before at a neighbors. Marc's Grandad passed away in October so we had an unexpected trip to Arizona for the memorial. Our Thanksgiving was wonderful and low key (just like I like it)! Great food, family, games, relaxing ......... what more do you need? Here are some pictures from the past couple months! Hopefully I will be better at updating instead of doing "catch-up" posts every few months.

McKinley and Shaylie by the fountain at Lagoon!

L to R: Taylor, Shaylie and McKinley on the Music Express!

Marc and Shaylie on the BLAST OFF!! Shaylie was nervous but ended up enjoying it quite a bit!

McKinley and Mommy!

McKinley, Taylor and Shaylie enjoying a nice treat while at Lagoon!

Marc and I at our VERY much deserved Ruby River dinner after Lagoon with 3 kiddos!

Shaylie - The cutest red-headed Ninja around! McKinley - My little Pirate Princess!

McKinley and her pumpkin (Yes, her hair is partly colored from a Halloween party earlier that evening.) Also, if you look close you can see that she is missing 2 teeth!

Shaylie and her pumpkin! This year she drew the design, cleaned out the gunk, and carved it pretty much on her own.

The girls cute pumpkins!

L to R: Shaylie, Kambre, Great Grandma Winni holding Karter, Kallie, and McKinley

Shaylie's birthday pictures!

This year on Shaylie's actual birthday we just gave her a few presents at home and then took her out to dinner to celebrate. The following Saturday was her party. For Shaylie's party she chose to have a swim party with her friends. We had the pool as well as our slip'n'slide out for the kids and all in all I think they had a great time (it was a little chilly in the water though). Here are a few pictures from Shaylie's birthday this year.

Shaylie with the flowers her daddy bought her for her birthday!

Shaylie with her very own copy of Twilight. She had been begging for quite sometime to read it and I was able to hold her off until her birthday so we could give her the book.

Making funny faces with grandpa at the restaurant! I'm sure the people around us thought we were nuts!

Shaylie in her birthday outfit for her party!

The kids at the party.

Shaylie in her mass of presents! The kid made out like a bandit AGAIN!

Shaylie is 9!!!!

Today, my beautiful Shaylie turned 9 years old! I can't believe how fast time goes by (cliche I know). It doesn't seem that long ago that she was a new little baby and now she is 9 years old and in 3rd grade. Shaylie is an awesome kid and I can't imagine my life without her. Shaylie is a great person with a lot to offer (if you know her you know what I mean).

To honor her on her birthday here's a list of nine things I love about her:

1. Shaylie is a very loving child and enjoys spending time with her family. She loves to help with her sister and her cousins (she is the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family).

2. Shaylie is an AWESOME student and is always at the top of her class.

3. Shalyie is willing to help others with just about anything.

4. Shalylie loves to play with her little sister and be the "teacher" and teach her new things.

5. Shaylie is a very social child. She enters new situations very easy and with a lot of confidence. She is able to make friends at the drop of a hat.

6. Shaylie is very athletic! She amazes me with some of the things she is able to do at her age!

7. Shaylie is a WONDERFUL reader! In fact I have a hard time keeping up with her and providing books that she hasn't already read a million times.

8. Shaylie is a quick learner. She loves to learn new things and is always asking questions and wanting to know all about different things.

9. Shaylie is a stubborn girl and knows what she wants. Now some of the time this is a major source of stress for me, and sometimes it causes us to fight, but I am very grateful that she has this quality. She knows her own mind and knows what she wants to do. She has goals and likes to achieve them.

Here are some then and now pictures of Shaylie!

Shaylie at 15 months old!

Shaylie at almost 2 years old!

Shaylie - August 2009

Shaylie is an awesome kid and I know I am a better person for being given the opportunity to be her mother. I love her with all my heart and know that she will do great things in her life. Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you!!

*We are having her birthday party on Saturday and I will post pictures of that next week.

School Days!!

Well it's official, I am now the proud momma of a 3rd grader and a 1st grader! I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was changing diapers and cleaning up mess after mess. Now I'm walking them both into school and leaving them there for the whole day!

Yesterday was also a busy day for us, we had to get the "1st day of school outfits" picked out and laid on their dressers. We also had to figure out what to do to their hair to maximize the cuteness. LOL If you have daughters you know what I'm talking about.

Both girls were thrilled to go to school and see all their friends and get to work expanding their cute little brains! Shaylie was her usual self this morning, confident and ready to rock! McKinley was sooo excited, but a little nervous at the same time. She kept asking me questions about what she would be doing now that she is in 1st grade, and how long she would be there, etc.... We made it to the school and took Shaylie to her class first, she of course just walked in like she owned the place and had done it a million times. I love that girl! I was pleased that she graced with me with a picture of her outside her class and one with her teacher. Next, McKinley and I headed over to her class. We got the picture outside her room and then headed in. She was holding my hand and I felt her grip get a little tighter as we were going into the room. She was ok and happy that one of her best little friends from Kindergarten was there and excited to see her. We got her backpack put away, her lunch selected, and the picture with her teacher. Then I turned to McKinley and told her it was time for me to leave and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said "I'm going to miss you mommy!". At that point I almost lost it, I mean my BABY is now a 1st grader and will be gone all day at school. I held it together and gave her another billion hugs and it was time to go. She had a couple tears going down her cheeks but her cute teacher took her by the hand and got her busy helping with some papers. I made it to the car and cried a little bit on my way home (I'm such a baby.) I can't wait to pick both of them up and find out all about their great first days at school!!!! Here are some pictures from this morning, enjoy!

How cute are these girls!

My beautiful 3rd grader!

My adorable 1st grader!
Shaylie and Mrs. Manning

McKinley and Mrs. Holden

Pictures.........finally!!

Last week I finally got around to taking the girls to get new pictures done! We had a lot of fun getting them ready and doing their hair. I do have to say that I miss them being little but pictures were SOOOO fast and easy this time! They held the poses they were put in and smiled without being bribed. Here they are.................ENJOY!
My girls start school tomorrow! I can't believe that Shaylie will be in 3rd grade and that my baby, McKinley, will be starting 1st grade!!!! I'll post pictures of their first days of school soon.

Parent Job Description

I found this and thought it was too cute not to share!

PARENT JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term team players needed for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic
environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24-hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case this time the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets, and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have the ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION:
None. Your job is to remain the same position for years, without complaining, constantly restraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses! A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays, and no stock options are offered, this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

FOOTNOTE:
There is no retirement - ever!

Hogle Zoo

To kick off summer break for my girls my aunt, cousin and I decided to take them to Hogle Zoo (as you can tell this post is a little late). The weather that day was PERFECT, it was about 75 degrees and a little breezy. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back! Here are some pictures of our day.

Kindergarten Graduation

That's right my baby has officially graduated from Kindergarten!! I can't believe that the school year is over already (well Shaylie still has one week left, but Kindergarten is done). McKinley had a blast in school this year and was not ready for it to end. She loves her teacher and all of her friends in her class. On Friday we went to her graduation and the performance was too cute! They sang a few songs and some of the kids had speaking parts (McKinley did and she did AWESOME), they did a slide show of the kids during the year and then did the "presentation of the graduates". It was great and I even got a little teary-eyed watching my baby walk across the stage and "graduate". It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I brought my new little baby home from the hospital and now she's 6 years old and moving on to 1st grade!

McKinley and her teacher, Mrs. Carpenter!

McKinley's 6th Birthday Party Bash!!!!

This year McKinley chose to have a Luau themed birthday, so we bought leis for everyone (and a special one for her), we got a palm tree pinata, purchased a "hawaiian" dress, we decorated with pineapples and flowers, and I made cupcakes with umbrellas, palm trees, and hibiscus flowers in the tops of them. We had originally planned to do the party outside so the kids could play on the swing set and do games outside, unfortunately the weather did NOT cooperate at all. Instead of being a warm, sunny day it was a total down pour of rain ALL day so we had to move the party inside. Even though we had to change things up a little bit (we had to pull out Dance Dance Revolution instead of the swing set) we still had a blast! We ate BBQ chicken, fresh fruit kabobs, veggies, breaksticks, pasta salad, and of course some brightly colored cupcakes and ice cream! Very yummy! McKinley had a wonderful time playing with all of her friends and family and as always was TOTALLY spoiled in the presents department! Here are some pictures of our fun!


On McKinley's actual birthday we just had a few presents at home and then went out to dinner with some of our friends!

McKinley is 6!!

I didn't get this post done yesterday on her actual birthday, but my BEAUTIFUL McKinley Trinity is now 6 years old!! It is hard for me to believe that my little baby is now a 6 year old. We have enjoyed having McKinley in our family and can't imagine what it would be like without her. McKinley is one of the funniest little girls I have ever met! She loves to tell jokes and do anything crazy that will make someone laugh. She loves to be with her family and loves to be mommy's little helper (still). McKinley is in kindergarten and is at the top of her class! She is reading pretty well and is doing awesome with her spelling and math too!

McKinley, we hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday! Happy Birthday baby girl, we are so glad that you are in our family and can't imagine life without you!!

Here are some "then and now" pictures for McKinely.

McKinley Trinity Brewer
May 7, 2003
7 lbs. 5 oz.
19 in.

Pictures from the birthday party to come!!