The Brewer Family

Six Flags Over Texas!!

2011-07-12T12:42:00.006-06:00

After our fun-filled 4th of July we decided to go to Six Flags Over Texas on July 5! We have never been to Six Flags and were very excited to go on all the rides! We were able to share the fun day with the same awesome people we went boating with the day before (in case I haven't mentioned, we have the best friends)!

We are living in Shreveport, LA and it is roughly a 3 1/2 hour drive into Texas to the Six Flags park. So we drove the 3 1/2 hours there, stayed in the park about 10 hours, then drove the 3 1/2 hours back home. LOL What a long, busy, fun day it was! The kids were wide awake and excited on the drive in to Texas, on the drive home it took roughly 30 minutes for all 4 of them to fall sound asleep. It was beyond HOT while we were at the park, roughly 102 that day (plus the humidity)! I couldn't believe what troopers the kids were! It was so hot, shade was limited in some areas, we did a TON of walking and they did AWESOME!

Shaylie and McKinley were complete ANIMALS when it came to the rides! Both of them went on any ride they could that they were tall enough for! Who knew they were such adrenaline/thrill junkies................I did! We got a glimpse of this at Lagoon when we took them, but their thrill loving has definitely grown since that time. :D Talk about AWESOME! Ever since we took the girls to Lagoon, McKinley has talked about how much she wants to go on the rides "Blast-Off and Re-Entry" (they shoot you straight up/down in the air very quickly). She wasn't quite tall enough for them at Lagoon, so we were hopeful she would be tall enough to go on the Superman ride at Six Flags. Unfortunately she was still to short for the ride (poor kid was not happy about this fact). She was able to go on some other rides with Melinda and Strider while Owen, Andrew, Marc, Shaylie and I went on the Superman ride.

The Superman ride at Six Flags blows the Lagoon "wanna be" rides out of the water! Superman shoots you up into the air 32 1/2 stories!!! Then shoots you back down to the ground. Shaylie desperately wanted to go on this ride since she LOVES the ones at Lagoon, however once we got over to the ride and she could actually see how far it shot you up she was having second thoughts (there were a few tears too). Marc and I knew she wanted to go on the ride so bad, and that she would be mad at herself for not going if she chickened out. Marc and I didn't let her back out of it. We sat on either side of her on the ride and held her hands. There was a LOT of screaming once the ride took off, a few tears (tough chicks cry too), but in the end she was THRILLED she had done it! That ride was NO match for the Brewers! Hopefully next time McKinley will be tall enough to join us!

I didn't take many pictures while we were in the park, we were too busy having fun! Here are some of the pictures I took, enjoy!

Our cute little family after a LONG, fun-filled day in the park!

Thomas!

Mr. Link after going on a couple rides, which he LOVED!

Waiting in line for the Texas Giant, can you tell it was HOT?!

Link on the "mini" Superman ride! He had a blast!

Shaylie, Strider and McKinley........McKinley had to settle for the "mini" version.

Strider and McKinley

Shaylie taking Link on his first ride at the park!

Shaylie after conquering the Superman ride! She really is a SuperGirl!

32 1/2 stories is no match for us! AWESOME ride!

Owen and Strider

Marc, McKinley and I on the top of the Oil Derrick (Shaylie was in the restroom). This takes you higher than the Superman ride! Crazy high, but what an awesome view of Dallas!

Link and Thomas on the train.

Marc and the girls setting off on adventure in the park!

4th of July!!!

2011-07-12T12:08:00.011-06:00

Cross Lake

Our 4th of July celebrations this year were very different! Instead of being at home in Utah and going to BBQ's, doing fireworks, swimming, water fights, etc. we were in Louisiana. We were fortunate enough to have GREAT friends with us to celebrate the holiday! Not only were we with some new friends Andrew (Marc's co-worker), Adela and Thomas (their adorable 1 year old), but we were able to have Owen, Melinda, Strider and Linkin Leatham come out and stay

with us for a week!

For the 4th of July we rented a barge from a local marina, Barron's, and went out on Cross Lake! It was beautiful and we had so much fun riding on the tubes, swimming in the lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and making some WONDERFUL memories!

Below are some pictures from our wonderful day!

Andrew, Adela, Tomas, Melinda and Link (sleeping under the towel).

Shaylie and McKinley swimming in the lake!

Thomas...........he is such a cutie! I love his big, brown eyes!

Melinda

Thomas and Link driving the boat!

Marc and the girls swimming!

Adela (after Andrew pushed her into the lake)

Shaylie and McKinley

This lake is AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL!

Owen took Link on a ride on the tube and he LOVED it!

Hydration...............I know you're shocked we had diet dew on the boat!

Owen and Linkin

Marc and Link (Owen and Melinda in the background)

Shaylie, Strider and McKinley hanging out at the front of the boat!

My hot hubby rockin' the life jacket! We promised the kids we would ALL wear the life jackets. Safety first!

Andrew and Thomas

Marc and Shaylie

Owen and Strider

Marc and McKinley

Owen fell off the tube............

Marc and Owen testing the tube out!

Owen and Strider

Marc and the girls!

Gorgeous lake! We had so much fun boating and exploring the lake.

We're still alive.......

2011-07-11T19:27:00.010-06:00

I know it's been a LONG time since I last posted on here but life got in the way. We are all doing wonderful and enjoying life to the fullest!

I'll start with the girls........WOW are they growing like weeds (even little McKinley is growing fast)! Shaylie is 10 1/2 and just finished up 4th grade (I'm feeling OLD to say the least)! She is still as beautiful and sassy as ever! McKinley is 8 and just finished up 2nd grade (my baby is not such a baby anymore)! McKinley, what can I say, she is still the cute little thing she's always been! I love these two girls more than I can ever express and I still feel completely blessed to be their momma. I am still working for Nebo School District in the Title 1 program. I love it and am excited to give it a go again this coming school year. Marc has started a new job and is now working for Reliable Controls and LOVING it. He started working for them in April and we knew there was going to be travel involved, but we had no idea what all that would entail. On the very first day after being at work for about 2 hours Marc texted me saying that he would be flying out to Dallas, TX that same evening!! I was totally blown away that they were going to just throw him in and make it a "sink or swim" sort of thing. Needless to say he has flourished (not a big surprise) and is LOVING his job. Marc has already been made the Lead Engineer over a LARGE project stretching across most of Louisiana (and neighboring states). The girls and I are benefiting greatly from Marc's new job......................WE ARE NOW LIVING IN LOUISIANA!! With Marc being put in charge of this project he has to be out here in Louisiana A LOT! This was going to mean being out for 2-3 weeks at a time and home for only about 1 week.......BLAH! After talking about it and trying to figure out how to still have "family time" this summer that didn't include a wiped out dad from traveling so much and working a ton of hours, Marc decided to see about moving us out here with him. Long story short, Marc's work has put us up in a fully furnished 3 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment here in Shreveport, LA. This way we still get to see daddy EVERY day and have the weekends together all summer long while enjoying a new part of the country. None of us has ever been out this way so we were pretty excited to start this adventure!

After a VERY LONG 2 days (roughly 24 hours of driving) in the car we made it to Shreveport, LA. Ever since we got here it's been a whirl wind of exploring! We have gone swimming countless times (I have had to check the girls for gills a few times.), found some beautiful parks, explored the country, seen some beautiful buildings (and some not so beautiful buildings), hit the malls, etc....... We have been here a little over a month and so far we LOVE it! We've got about a month left and I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for us.

July 1 - 8 we were fortunate enough to have the Leatham family come visit us for summer vacation! We had a fun-filled week with them! We did a LOT of driving (it's about 3 1/2 hours to Dallas, TX where we picked them up and dropped them off at DFW airport), went to the outdoor mall and watched Transformers 3, went swimming at our pool, rented a boat and went out on Cross Lake and did some tubing and swimming in the lake, went to Six Flags Over Texas, etc.....

It's looking like later this month we'll be moving a little further south to Baton Rouge with Marc before we head home for school to start. We're excited to explore down south too! Baton Rouge and New Orleans here we come!

Now, here's what you've been looking forward too...................PICTURES!! Enjoy! (Clearly in NO particular order - I'm too tired.)

Shaylie and McKinley with some friends they made at the hotel, Payton and Emily.

You gotta stay cool somehow........

BEAUTIFUL, Catholic church!

A little frog we found on the railing by our apartment.

The girls after getting their hair cut. Aren't they ADORABLE!

Just a little lizard I almost put my hand on while going down the stairs.

Marc and the girls at the outdoor mall in Bossier City.

My two cute girls! Notice the Riverboat in the background. There are some old riverboats docked on the Red River in Bossier City, they have been turned into casinos.

Marc and the girls swimming in the hotel pool.

Showing off their new swimsuits!

This sign was a godsend, we were so sick of being in the car!

Marc and the girls in front of the fountain at the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier, after taking advantage of the "All You Can Eat" crab (and other seafood) on the buffet! Man were my girls in heaven!

I'll try to post about our AWESOME 4th of July boating on Cross Lake, and our trip to Six Flags Over Texas soon!

Flashback Photo!!

2010-02-24T20:00:00.003-07:00

Here are my BEAUTIFUL girls in September 2004! Shaylie was 4 years old and McKinley was about 16 months, my how time flies!

Update

2010-02-09T16:53:00.007-07:00

Well, again it has been quite some time since I was on here and actually updated anything. I suppose I should go back to Christmas and begin there..............

Our Christmas season was quite enjoyable again this year! We tried to simplify things and tried to make sure that the girls were thinking about more than just themselves. To help this we did a neighborhood food/clothing drive as well as a family food drive (at the Messick family Christmas party). Both were a pretty good success and the girls were able to help box things up and then go deliver the food items to the Food and Care Coalition in Provo. The clothing items that were donated were sent up to a friend in the Salt Lake area that donated them to the Road Home shelter. All in all I think it was a success and my girls both had several questions about why we were taking the food there and what it was for. We have done this in the past with them, but they were younger and didn't really understand what was going on, this year was different and both said that they were grateful for the things they have and that they felt bad for people that needed the help, especially the kids. We also went through our toy boxes and cleaned out and donated old toys that were no longer in use to a family in my parents ward that then took the items to Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Our Christmas tree this year was another "Shaylie and McKinley" original!! They picked the tree, decided on the decorations and decorated it! It was perfect!

On Christmas Eve we did a little sledding (although it was not quite as fun since the snow was not as deep as in past years) and A LOT of relaxing! Christmas Day did not disappoint! We had a lovely day spent with family and yummy food! What more can you ask for? The girls both got plenty of loot to store in their freshly cleaned out toy boxes.

New Years Eve was spent hanging out with friends and celebrating a birthday. We had a great time visiting and playing games all night long!

During the girls Christmas break at school I received an AWESOME phone call from the principal at their school. She called and asked if I could come in for an interview for a Title 1 Technician position I had applied for! I went in and interviewed and got another call a day later telling me that I got the job and could start on January 4 (the first day back to school)! I was absolutely THRILLED! I had been trying to find a part time job that would still work around the girls school schedule and was not having any luck. This job is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! I go in at the same time as my girls do and work until 1pm. I can still go and help in their classes in the afternoons and I get to be around them all day. So far I am really enjoying my job! I get to help in different classes as well as tutor one on one with a few different students. I look forward to seeing the progress as the school year continues!

Here are a few pictures from our holiday season...........Enjoy!

Notice the pink sparkly Santa hat for the tree topper!

The girls on the Christmas eve!

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

2009-11-28T15:38:00.013-07:00

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!

2009-09-15T21:48:00.010-06:00

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!!!!

2009-09-02T12:08:00.007-06:00

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!!

2009-08-19T09:29:00.009-06:00

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!!

2009-08-18T11:37:00.011-06:00

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

2009-07-27T22:00:00.003-06:00

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

2009-06-28T20:25:00.010-06:00

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

2009-05-24T00:23:00.006-06:00

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!!!!

2009-05-23T23:53:00.008-06:00

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!!

2009-05-08T10:21:00.005-06:00

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!!

My BEAUTIFUL McKinley!!!!

2009-04-25T21:37:00.012-06:00

I cannot believe that my little McKinley will be turning 6 years old on May 7! We are getting things ready for her birthday party and since both my girls have decided that they LOVE making their invitations online so we can put their pictures on them we went out on a "photo shoot". McKinley had a lot of fun playing around and being the center of attention, and I had fun taking her picture and watching her do her many poses and faces! It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful weather the other day so I got her all dolled up and we went out in search of some fun locations to take pictures. Here are just a few of the MANY pictures I took, enjoy!

Easter

2009-04-17T16:45:00.013-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter! The girls had fun discovering what they got for Easter, which included CANDY (obviously), new shirts, jelly bean pooping bunnies, kites, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, etc...... After enjoying ourselves at home we got ready to go to a BBQ at my mom and dad's house in Santaquin. We had a great time and it was actually warm enough for the kids to play without jackets! The kids had an Easter egg hunt and loved every minute of it.

Even Princess, our dog, got in on the action, she stole an Easter egg during the hunt and ate the gum out of it!

L to R: Caleb (my nephew), McKinley, Andy (my nephew), Shaylie (my grandma and sister-in-law are in the background)

Fun in the sun!

2009-04-07T08:43:00.007-06:00

So yesterday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside and since it has been so stinking cold lately I decided to take full advantage of the warm weather. I did a little exercising outside in the morning and after McKinley was home from school and fed we walked to the park and played for around an hour and then walked back home. It was great! After Shaylie got home from school the girls rode their bikes outside until it was time to go to Shaylie's MMA class. All in all it was a GREAT morning and afternoon! I did however overlook one tiny little detail...........................when you are as albino as I am you have to wear sunscreen or risk looking like a lobster within a very short amount of time. As you can tell I overlooked the sunscreen and managed to get a lovely sunburn!
The picture doesn't really do justice to how dark red the burn actually is..........it almost looks purple in spots. Oh well, live and learn right.

Here are some pictures of summers past of the girls enjoying the warm weather and outdoor fun!

Shaylie sporting her "gases" at age 1!

McKinley hanging out in the wading pool at age 1!

Marc and the girls near Escalante, UT in September 2005!

Here's hoping the weather stays warm and that I remember to wear sunscreen!

St. Patrick's Day fun!

2009-03-18T16:05:00.011-06:00

This year for St. Patrick's Day I decided to actually do some fun stuff with the food the girls ate. We always wear green, but this year I decided to go the extra mile and do a little more. For breakfast the girls ate cheerios in green milk, nothing too over the top or exciting but fun none the less. For dinner I made BRIGHT green German pancakes, green eggs, bacon, and vanilla pudding with green sprinkles for dessert. I was going to color their milk for dinner green too, but both girls decided purple would be better. We had enough fun with it that this will probably become a fun tradition each year! Here are some pictures of our fun day!
The girls in their cute St. Patricks Day shirts!

Eating their cheerios in green milk!

Our SUPER bright green German pancakes! YUMMY!!!!

Fun with cousins!

2009-03-17T10:12:00.007-06:00

Over the weekend McKinley and Shaylie had the great opportunity to spend time with their cousins! Marc's brother Kent and his family came up on Saturday and spent the night. All four of the girls (yes you heard me right, 4 girls in one bedroom with the oldest only being 8) had a blast! The noise and mess levels were astonishing at times but we made it through without any major fights or injuries, so I suppose you can say it was a successful weekend visit. We do wish they lived closer so the kids could play together more often. Here are some pictures of the kids together.

L to R: Kallie (5), Shaylie (8), McKinley (5), Kambre (7), and Shaylie is holding Karter (3 mos.)

L to R: Kallie, Karter, Kambre

And just for fun here are two lovely pictures of my princesses!!!!!!

Sugar and spice and everything nice..................

................and a little bit CRAZY!!!!

Flashback!

2009-02-27T22:08:00.003-07:00

Shaylie and McKinley in February 2004! Shaylie was 3 1/2 years old and McKinley was 9 1/2 months.

CoLd WeAtHeR+sNoW= fUn SnOw DaYs!

2009-02-17T13:50:00.007-07:00

Since the weather has been quite cold and provided us with some great snow we have taken advantage and gone sledding! We love to go out and play in the snow for a while and then come in and warm back up. Here are some pictures of our fun sledding/shooting trip out on the west dessert with my family!

Shaylie coming down the hill on the little tube!

My dad with McKinley and Caleb, my nephew!

Snow Angels anyone? McKinley was having a blast!

The beginning of a snow fort..........to bad we weren't there long enough to finish it.

Christmas!!!!

2009-01-01T19:00:00.012-07:00

The Christmas and New Years holidays are always busy, enjoyable times for our family and this year was no exception. We have had a great time during the month of December spending time together and doing fun things. Before school ended for the holidays McKinley had a Christmas program with the kindergarten classes at their school. We took the girls to Spanish Fork and went through the Festival of Lights (pretty much a yearly tradition for us). We had a wonderful Christmas (with plenty of presents), we spent the day going to grandparents houses and spending time together, along with playing with some AWESOME new toys! The girls have had a blast playing with friends and family, as well as staying up late and sleeping in. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Here are a few pictures to share our fun with you.

McKinley before her Christmas program! Could she be any cuter?!

Decorating daddy with stickers!

Exploring the WONDERFUL WORLD OF PRESENTS on Christmas day!

We LOVE Christmas clothes!

Our doll stroller/bed obsessed cat, Tigger, taking advantage of the new double stroller McKinley got for Christmas!

After a LONG, exciting, fun-filled Christmas both girls crashed.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

2008-12-15T16:38:00.007-07:00

My girls are thrilled with our Christmas tree this year! Marc and I let them pick the tree, choose the decorations, and decorate it all by themselves (well with limited help anyway). As such, this year we have a cute little tree (McKinley can nearly reach the top of it when it's on the floor) that is decorated with purple lights, silver, red, purple and pink ornaments, candy canes, and a Santa hat for the tree topper! To most people it doesn't mean anything, or win any awards but to me it's the BEST TREE EVER! Shaylie and McKinley had a blast doing it all by themselves (WITHOUT fighting I might add) and they could not be more proud of how it turned out! Here are some pictures of the girls with their tree!

CHRISTMAS MAKES US CRAZY!!!!!!!!

Our cute little family!!!!

Thanksgiving!!!!

2008-11-28T18:40:00.010-07:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and this year was a great one! We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house in Santaquin with my parents, my brother and his family, and us. We had a WONDERFUL meal and then watched a movie and had fun visiting while the kids played games together. All in all it was a very relaxing day, what more could we ask for.

Shaylie and McKinley have been helping more and more in the kitchen now that they are getting a little older, which is fun, but also more work. This year while we were deciding who would make what for Thanksgiving my girls decided that they wanted to make something by themselves to add to the menu. I agreed and figured out a dessert that they could make ALL by themselves that wouldn't take a whole lot of time or effort, but would still let them feel as though they were contributing. We decided on a Strawberry Banana pie! The girls cut up the banana's, mixed the strawberries and bananas together and poured it into the pie shell. It turned out great and they had a lot of fun doing it. Here are some pictures of them making their masterpiece!

Cutting up the bananas!

Mixing it all together!

The finished product!

Great Grandma Winni

2008-11-28T18:13:00.006-07:00

Marc's grandma, Winni, was able to come up from Eager, Arizona and stay with us for about a month! Both Shaylie and McKinley were thrilled and loved having her here (anyone who knows my kiddos knows they LOVE their grandparents and can't spend enough time with them). Shaylie and McKinley loved coming home everyday after school and having her there, they also liked it when mom and dad went on a date and great grandma Winni was able to babysit them. While Winni was here she was able to spend Halloween with us, attend Shaylie's baptism, go to Shaylie's school program, and spend lots of time at home visiting. Unfortunately Winni had to leave to go back home on the Monday before Thanksgiving, so we decided to have an early thanksgiving dinner with her (NO ONE can complain about having two big, YUMMY dinners). We all really enjoyed having her here and being able to spend time with her (it's a LONG drive to her home in Arizona and we aren't able to make it often). Here are a few pictures from her visit, enjoy!

Snuggling in bed with great grandma Winni and watching a movie!

4 generation picture with the girls, Marc, Jerri (Marc's mom) and Winni (Marc's grandma)!

The girls with BOTH their great grandma's!
L to R: Winni, Shaylie, McKinley, Inez

THANKS FOR VISITING GREAT GRANDMA WINNI, WE WILL MISS YOU!

Marc

2008-11-13T12:56:00.011-07:00

Well, I'm probably a terrible wife because I meant to do this post yesterday on Marc's actual birthday, and now it's a day late. In my defense, I was busy helping in kindergarten and 2nd grade, making Marc a very tasty birthday dinner (not to toot my own horn, LOL), and taking care of a sick kid.

Yesterday was Marc's 28th birthday and I just want to wish him a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY (late)! We have not always had the easiest times together but through it all I never stopped loving him and I think our relationship is stronger now that we have made it this far (9 years in December). Marc is a great husband and dad, he always makes sure we are taken care of to the best of his abilities and I can't thank him enough for that. Marc is a very intelligent person and works very hard at anything he puts his mind to, and for that he is a wonderful role model for our children of how to be an assertive, self-starter in life.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Marc with our beautiful girls! Enjoy!

In the hospital right after McKinley was born.

Escalante 2005

Disneyland 2007

Marc and Shaylie with their medals at the grappling tournament in May!

Marc and McKinley at the Art City Days parade in June!

Straight or Curly?

2008-11-10T11:01:00.006-07:00

Well, the girls were sick over the weekend and we still have a little bit of the sickness hanging on, so I decided to keep them home from school today just to make sure that they are entirely better before I send them back (I hate when parents send their kids to school sick and get my kids sick!).

Since it's a crappy day outside we will be inside pretty much all day and we decided to get a little wild with McKinley's CRAZY curls! I have yet to see my baby girl with straight hair, so, we pulled out the flat iron and gave it a whirl.............she doesn't even look like the same kid! Those who know my girlies know that Shaylie has beautiful straight hair, and McKinley has the cutest ringlet curls around, well that changed today! Today both my ladies have STRAIGHT hair!

Here are a couple pictures to share our fun this morning!

Here's a picture showing her cute, cute curls:
Now, here are some pictures of her with straight hair:

Antelope Island

2008-11-04T13:48:00.008-07:00

As I was going through pictures on our computer I found a file of pictures from our trip out to Antelope Island the first part of October. We went on a ride with my parents and my brothers family out to Antelope Island. We walked through the ranch houses and the barn and had lunch at the bistro on the island. It was a nice relaxing weekend and I decided to share some of the pictures, enjoy!
Marc with Shaylie, McKinley and Caleb (my nephew) standing on a fallen tree over yucky water (thank goodness no one fell in).

This buffalo was RIGHT NEXT TO THE ROAD! Seriously if I would have opened my car door I would have almost touched the dang thing he was sooooo close! My girls were THRILLED to see one that close and could not get enough of watching him drink from a rain puddle on the ground.

Shaylie's Baptism

2008-11-04T13:26:00.005-07:00

On Saturday, November 1, 2008 Shaylie was baptized by my dad. Shaylie decided all on her own that she wanted to be baptized, so, we went ahead and got everything going for her. She was thrilled to have her grandpa be the one to baptize her and could not stop smiling the entire day (maybe it was the sugar from trick-or-treating the night before, who knows LOL). I am proud of Shaylie for making her own choice and following through with it. I only hope that she will continue to be proactive in her life and she continues to grow. Shaylie is a very bright, loving, funny, imaginative little girl and I cannot imagine my life without her! Sometimes it's hard to believe that she is 8 years old already, it seems like it was not that long ago that the doctor handed me my 8 lb. baby girl. Thanks to everyone that was able to come and support Shaylie on her special day.

Shaylie with her grandpa Messick!

Our little familiy.

Group picture with everyone there!

Sleeping Beauty and the Spider Witch

2008-11-01T11:37:00.009-06:00

Well as always we had a great Halloween, and we hope the rest of you did as well. The girls had school, but were able to wear their costumes to school (which they both LOVED). They had cute parades that I got to go watch and see all the fun costumes. Once the girls were out of school my mom and I took them Trick-or-Treating here on main street in Springville. After main street we went up to Provo to my brothers (the house I grew up in) and had dinner with my mom and dad and my brother's family. After dinner we got the kids back in their costumes and went out to get MORE candy! Here are pictures from our adventures during the day, ENJOY!

Shaylie as a SPIDER WITCH!!

McKinley as Sleeping Beauty!!

Resting on the lawn during Trick-or-Treating on main street! Could they be any cuter!?

Here are my nephews: Andy = cute puppy dog and Caleb = little devil (LOL)

PuMpKiN fUn!!!!

2008-10-30T23:34:00.007-06:00

Here are some pictures of the girls cleaning out their pumpkins and the finished products (FYI I carved both pumpkins so my girls would still have both hands for trick-or-treating, LOL). We can't wait until Halloween to try out the girls costumes! Happy Trick-or-Treating!!Shaylie with her pumpkin, it's a spiderweb with a spider coming off the bottom!

McKinley with her pumpkin, it's a witch!
Both pumpkins once we put them outside!

And the WINNER is............

2008-10-21T10:26:00.005-06:00

On October 11 Marc fought in the Ultimate Combat Experience, Round 29.14. The fight was originally supposed to take place earlier in the summer, but due to a shoulder injury Marc had to postpone the fight. This was not Marc's first time in the cage, but it has been awhile.

Marc fought against Mike "Sugaloaf" Crisman and he did awesome! As usual I was nervous enough for the both of us, and Marc was totally cool with the whole thing. Their fight was the main event and they fought under the "pro" rules. Marc was able to win the fight at the end of the first round by putting on an armbar forcing Suga to tapout!!!!

I couldn't take my camera in but below is a picture of Marc before the start of the fight that I got off Ultimate Combat's website. Here is a link to their website http://www.ucombat.com/Index.php. Check out their website and watch on the WB30 in the next few weeks and you can see Marc's fight on TV!

Living Planet Aquarium!

2008-10-14T14:16:00.014-06:00

For a fun family activity we decided to go to the Living Planet Aquarium. We went up with my parents, and my brother and sister-in-law and their two cute boys and had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from our adventure!

Shaylie and McKinley

McKinley and my nephew Caleb

My newest nephew Andy! Isn't he a cutie!

Shaylie, McKinley and Caleb

Jellyfish!

Octopus!

McKinley and Shaylie looking throuh the tank!

Birthday Update (finally)!!

2008-10-14T13:30:00.010-06:00

Well, as you can tell it's been a while since I updated our blog (shame on me) and unfortunately it's not been due to lack of things to post about, but you all know how life goes sometimes.

I suppose I should start off with Shaylie's 8th birthday party.........it went great! Thank goodness the weather cooperated and didn't rain on us. Shaylie decided that she wanted a Hannah Montana/Luau theme.........luckily for me my sister-in-law was able to get me Luau decorations from her work for free! So after purchasing a few Hannah Montana items we were in business! I do believe that she chose the "Luau" theme so that she could have an excuse to make it a swimming party as well (not like I care, LOL). Between the pinata, swimming, cake/ice cream, sandwiches, decorating cupcakes, and playing around I was pleased with her party and we were are tired by the end. Shaylie had a blast and got plenty of stuff!

Here are a few pictures of the decorations:

THE AWESOME HANNAH MONTANA/MILEY CYRUS GUITAR CAKE!

THE PINATA!!!!

8 ............ already?!

2008-09-02T19:53:00.012-06:00

You read right...........Shaylie is now 8 years old! I can not believe that 8 years ago we were waiting to see what our baby girl would look like, how big she would be, etc..... Shaylie came into this world as a beautiful 8 lb. 20" baby girl with dark brown hair............she is now a BEAUTIFUL 8 year old young lady! Shaylie is in 2nd grade and loving it! She is an EXCELLENT reader, loves math and spelling, as well as sports! Shaylie is no longer doing jiu jitsu (unless you count playing with daddy at home), instead she is playing soccer in the city league here in Springville. Shaylie is bright, funny, sensitive, caring, a quick learner, a good student, and a good big sister and friend. I can't say enough about my "baby" girl, I love her so much and can't imagine my life without her!

Since Shaylie's birthday fell on Tuesday this year we just celebrated with her at home on her birthday and are doing her party this weekend. I'm sure there will be even more pictures after the party!

Here are a few pictures from a "photo shoot" I did with Shaylie for her birthday invitations (I love my camera!)...........enjoy!

Even though this last one is not of just Shaylie I thought it was too cute to not share. This is Shaylie and McKinley with their BEST FRIENDS, Taylor and Rylee! Cute kiddos and great friends!

McKinley is in Kindergarten!!!!

2008-08-27T10:19:00.011-06:00

That's right, McKinley started Kindergarten TODAY! I am now officially old, my baby has now started school. I can not believe that she is old enough to start school!
McKinley was soooo excited to go to school, and not just any school, but the same school as her big sister! McKinley and I spent quite a bit of time last night going through her school clothes to find that PERFECT outfit for the first day. When I got the girls up to start getting ready for school McKinley double checked with me that today was in fact the day that she would go to school, it was too cute.
After getting ready we grabbed the girls backpacks and headed to the car. On the drive to the school I asked McKinley if she was still excited to go to school and she said yes, but that she was a little nervous too.
When we got to the school we dropped Shaylie off at her class and then McKinley lead the way to her classroom (which just happens to be right around the corner from Shaylie). We were one of the first there but McKinley walked in and went right to work. She put her backpack away and her homework folder in the bin (complete with her first homework assignment finished), and went to find her seat.McKinley was excited that her teacher remembered her name and welcomed her to the class.

McKinley with her teacher, Mrs. Carpenter!

I was sad to leave my baby at school, and I have to admit I did cry a little (but not until I was in the car). I know she'll have a GREAT first day and that she will do wonderful this year, learn new things, and make new friends I just don't think that I was as ready for this BIG day as she was.

2nd Grade........YEAH BABY!!!!

2008-08-20T10:47:00.009-06:00

I can not believe that today is Shaylie's first day of 2nd grade! The summer went by WAY too fast and before I knew it we were school shopping. This year is especially hard for me because I'm not only taking Shaylie to 2nd grade, but I will also be taking McKinley to Kindergarten this year! Shaylie was soooo excited to go to school today she woke up on her own and couldn't wait to get ready. Shaylie had some great friends in her 1st grade class last year and her two best friends are in her class again this year which makes the first day even more exciting!

I decided that since it was the first day of school for Shaylie that I would make something she loves for breakfast so I made cinnamon rolls as a little treat for her special day. After getting ready for school Shaylie, McKinley and I loaded into the car and headed for the school. Shaylie was excited and talked the whole way about how she couldn't wait to see her friends and her new teacher that she already loves (we met her yesterday at the open house). We walked Shaylie in and it was like she had been going for months already, she walked right in like it was nothing and started their morning routine like she'd done it a thousand times. I was a little choked up and sad that we wouldn't be hanging out like we have been but she was totally fine! (Dang kids, shouldn't they need "mommy" more than that,LOL.) Shaylie allowed me to take a picture with her and her teacher but then I could tell it was time for me to leave.

I'm glad Shaylie is so independent and ready to be there, I just wish I was as ready for her to grow up as fast as she is. I know it's cliche to say, but kids really do grow up to fast! I can't wait to pick her up later today and hear all the stories of how GREAT her first day was!

Shaylie with her new Hannah Montana backpack and the dress she wanted to wear for her first day!

Shaylie with her new teacher, Miss Van Natter!

McKinley starts Kindergarten next week so check back for an update with pictures from her first day!

sWiMmInG!!!!

2008-08-14T20:26:00.011-06:00

As you are all aware it has been HOT lately so the girls and I have done what we can to stay cool while having fun and enjoying the sunny summer weather we're having. We've eaten MANY popsicles, had water fights, watched movies (We LOVE central air!), swam in our own pool and gone to public pools. Here are some cute pictures of the girls doing what they LOVE, playing in the WATER at Veterans Pool (I only have pictures of them in the kiddie area, I didn't take my camera into the big pool)!

McKinley posing after coming out of the waterslide! Too stinkin cute!

Shaylie right after coming out of the waterslide! So cute!

McKinley using one of the many valves to squirt water out into the pool, and posing AGAIN!

Shaylie holding her breath and swimming under water!

Me and my girls!

Me, enjoying the sun!

4th of July Celebrations!!

2008-07-29T09:45:00.011-06:00

I know it's a little late but I figure better late than never, right? Anyways, our 4th of July was great! We had a BBQ with my parents, my brother and his family and Marc's mom. We swam in our new pool and ate GREAT food. Later on we took the girls to the Stadium of Fire to see Miley Cyrus! Shaylie and McKinley were absolutely THRILLED and had a blast! Marc became the BEST dad in the history of dads by getting those tickets for his two favorite girls! We all enjoyed the Blue Man Group, but by far and away the highlight of the evening for our entire family was Miley Cyrus! Shaylie and McKinley were in heaven watching her do her little performance and singing along with all the songs, and Marc and I loved to watch their cute little faces in awe of what they were watching. Here are some pictures of our day, enjoy!

Grandma Jerri, Grandpa Messick, Marc, Nicole, Shaylie, McKinley and Caleb enjoying the pool!

Shaylie and McKinley at the Stadium of Fire before everything started!

Blue Man Group

MILEY CYRUS!!!!

Sitting with dad enjoying the music!

Catch-Up

2008-07-14T21:00:00.012-06:00

Since I haven't been staying on top of updating our blog like I should I decided that I would do a "catch-up" post. We have been busy bees lately and with the weather finally deciding to stay warm I don't see us slowing down at all. Since McKinley's birthday party Shaylie and Marc competed in a grappling tournament, Shaylie took 3rd in the kids division (I was beyond proud!)! McKinley graduated from Preschool! We also went to the zoo with my family, several shooting trips, the Carnival, the Springville Art City Days Parade, days at the park, swimming, etc., etc., etc. Well here we go with the pictures, ENJOY!

McKinley with her teachers on Graduation Day!

The Grad! Did I mention I love this girl!

Shaylie wearing her medal! She did awesome and we were totally proud and impressed by her (she was the smallest one in the kids division)!

Marc and Shaylie in their medals! (I love this picture of them.)

Shaylie and McKinley at the parade!

Marc and McKinley at the parade.

Watching the parade.

I'll post pictures from the 4th of July soon! (maybe)

Finally.......Pictures!

2008-06-14T13:41:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures taken at McKinley's 5th Birthday Party (finally)! We all had a blast, even though the wind was COLD! Thanks to those who were able to celebrate with us!

McKinley blowing the candles out on her Princess cake!

Hitting the Princess Pinata!

Standing next to her Barbie Jeep Power Wheel!!

McKinley and Shaylie in the new Barbie Jeep!

McKinley is 5!!!!

2008-05-07T15:34:00.005-06:00

Well, it's official ......... McKinley is 5 years old! In honor of her birthday I'm taking an idea from others and am going to write 5 things I love about McKinley. I have to say it's hard to choose only 5 things because I love that little girl so much and there are many wonderful qualities that she posesses.

1. McKinley has a very bubbly personality! She can make friends with anyone in no time and loves to play with her friends whenever she gets a chance. McKinley has the type of personality that lights up a room when she enters.

2. McKinley genuinly cares about others. She can't stand it if someone is hurt or sad, she wants to know what happened and what can be done to make it better.

3. McKinley is very smart! We've been working with McKinley to get her ready for kindergarten and she has picked up on everything very quickly. Her preschool teachers are very impressed with her learning ability as well.

4. McKinley is a very funny little girl! She loves to make you laugh by telling jokes, making faces and just being herself.

5. McKinley loves her family! McKinley loves to go on walks and bike rides with her family and play with mommy and daddy, but one of her very best friends is her big sister Shaylie. McKinley LOVES to play with her big sister and tries to do everything just like her.

There are many more things I love about my little girl, but I will save them for the coming years lists.

This is McKinley wearing her birthday crown from preschool and holding the presents her big sister, Shaylie, gave her.

***McKinley's party is on Saturday so don't worry there will be plenty of pictures to come!!!!

McKinley is turning 5!!!!

2008-05-01T14:46:00.009-06:00

As bittersweet as it is my baby McKinley is no longer a baby and will soon be turning 5 years old! McKinley's birthday is on May 7 and she is absolutely THRILLED that she is having another birthday and that she will be 5 years old. Since her birthday falls in the middle of the week we are doing her party the Saturday after. In preparation I was trying to get McKinley to decide what invitations she wanted (so I can get them sent out before the party, LOL) and Marc had a great suggestion that we just make her one online and do them that way. Well we took her daddy's suggestion and look AWESOME! I decided not to use just any old snap shot we had already so I got McKinley all dressed up and did her hair and then we went out in search of a great picture (Even though it was FREEZING this morning and I made her wear a dress, she was a great sport!). Poor McKinley was sooo cold that she had to wrap up in her coat between pictures due to the frigid wind. All in all it was worth it cause we got some beautiful pictures of her and she had fun doing it. Here is what her invitations ended up looking like.........

Here are a few of the other pictures from our "photo shoot" this morning.

A look back.............

2008-04-02T18:39:00.021-06:00

As I look at my two beautiful girls I can't help but be a little sad over how BIG they're both getting! So to make myself feel beter about my "babies" not being babies anymore I decided to post some pictures of them showing their growth through the years. Enjoy!

Here's my chubby baby Shaylie! She was about 3 1/2 months old!

Here's Shaylie at about 7 months old!

Shaylie at 14 months!

Shaylie at 2 years old!

Shaylie at 3 years old!

Shaylie at 4 years old!

Shaylie at 5 years old!

Shaylie at 6 years old!

My BEAUTIFUL 7 year old Shaylie!!!!

McKinley at about 2 months old!

McKinley at 3 months old!

McKinley at 7 months old!

McKinley at 15 months old!

McKinley at 2 years old!

McKinley at 3 years old!

My BEAUTIFUL 4 year old McKinley!!!!

My Dancing McKinley!!!!

2008-03-31T21:02:00.003-06:00

I was organizing videos on our computer and found this one of McKinley and had to share it! LOL She is sooo freakin' funny. Enjoy!

Easter Bunny and Guns?!

2008-03-26T12:20:00.014-06:00

Well I hope all of you had as great of an Easter weekend as we did! After getting to sleep in (which at our house is a rare occasion for mom) McKinley woke Marc and I up telling us "Mom, that big Easter bunny left us CANDY and eggs!". After getting up and doing the regular morning activities (baths, breakfast, hair, etc...) we went over to Marc's mom's house. After visiting there for a bit, and the girls getting some very cute porcelain tea sets (with Disney Princesses on them), we packed up and headed out to Goshen to go shooting. Marc has purchased a few guns and we took them out shooting on the west side of West Mountain. The girls have fun shooting the guns and hunting for caterpillars while we're up there! After our shooting fun we went to my parents house for a BBQ (first one of the season, WAHOO) and Easter Egg Hunt! The girls got to color Easter Eggs, hunt for eggs in the backyard, and play outside in the FRESH AIR! Here are some pictures from our fun filled day, enjoy!

Shaylie and McKinley in my parents backyard. Easter surprises! Hunting for caterpillars! (After finding them the girls keep them in the empty shotgun shells, LOL.)

Shaylie shooting Marc's new .223 rifle, and McKinley shooting the .22.

Coloring Easter eggs!

Hunting for the Easter eggs!

Awards, Hair Cuts, Tea Parties, and Jiu Jitsu!!!

2008-03-20T13:23:00.015-06:00

It's been a while since my last post on here so I decided I should do a "catch up" post and let you know what's been going on since Valentine's Day.

To start it off, Shaylie received an award at school for basically doing her VERY best work in all areas. Shaylie is on the highest reading level in her 1st grade class (the level she's on for take home books would normally be for 4th grade), she gets 100% consistently on her math and spelling, and is an all around great student! She was thrilled that her daddy was able to make it to this award assembly to see her.

Both girls were in need of getting their hair trimmed up so I took them to Great Clips here in Springville and had my friend Bailie cut their hair. Ok, Shaylie got her hair cut and McKinley got a trim (as many of you know we can't actually cut much off of McKinley's hair). Shaylie and I decided to go short with her hair so instead of her hair being down below her shoulder blades it is now a little above her shoulders, and she looks ADORABLE! For McKinley it was the same thing as usual, a trim, just to even out the left and right sides, and she still looks as CUTE as ever! (Maybe someday McKinley's hair will grow and she'll get an actual hair cut instead of a trim.)

Just look at those curls!!!!

Shaylie's cute short hair!!!!

One morning after dropping Shaylie off at school I was busy cleaning and realized I hadn't seen or heard McKinley so I went into the playroom and found that she was busy having a teaparty with her dolls! Let me just say it was too cute! She had set the table and had "everyone" in their own chairs.

And last but not least, the girls had evaluations in Jiu Jitsu last week! Both of them did AWESOME! Shaylie recieved 2 stripes towards her "high yellow" belt in the youth division, and McKinley earned her "green strip belt" in the Samurai Kids division!

Working the heavy bags! (I was able to get both girls at the same time!)

Hopefully you enjoyed this round of pictures! I'll try to be better about posting more often. Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

HaPpY VaLeNtInEs DaY!!!!

2008-02-14T19:04:00.014-07:00

Happy Valentines Day! Today I tried to do some fun stuff for the girls so for breakfast I made strawberry muffins in Valentines paper wraps, did their hair with cute Valentines ribbons in it, and put them in heart shirts. For dinner I had to continue with the "festivities" so I made heart shaped french toast and vanilla pudding with pink and red sprinkles in heart shaped tins for dessert! All in all we've had a great day eventhough poor McKinley woke up with a high fever (103.4) and not feeling well. For a fun evening activity we're going to put on our jammies and watch a movie together! I hope your holiday was as fun as ours was. Here are some pictures taken throughout the day.

Here are the yummy strawberry muffins I made for breakfast! My super cute Shaylie eating breakfast! Shaylie's cute hair do!

My poor sick McKinley (she was trying to be happy).

Even though she didn't feel good she was a trooper and got all cleaned up and in her cute Valentines Day shirt! What a good sport! McKinley's cute hair do! Our YUMMY dinner (notice the heart shaped french toast)! Dessert...........yum! Here's the LOOT!

What a good big sister!

2008-02-13T21:44:00.003-07:00

So this week I have been a single mom as Marc has been away on a business trip and won't be back until late Saturday evening (I'm quite jealous of where he got to go too!). The girls and I have been doing the usual things that dictate our routine for each week, such as jiu jitsu, preschool, school, homework, etc..... and but for a few instances it has been a great couple of days and everything has gone smoothly. Well tonight it snowed quite a bit and I wanted to get most of it shoveled off of the driveway and sidewalks so that it didn't have a chance to freeze making my job even more fun in the morning before taking Shaylie to school. So I go outside and do my little thing and when I come back in I find Shaylie and McKinley have done EVERYTHING I asked them to do before going outside. The girls had cleaned up all the toys, gotten their pj's on, put their dirty clothes in their hamper, straightened up the living room, playroom, and bedroom, and brushed their teeth (I know that sounds like a lot, but if you were here to see it there really wasn't that much to do, mostly straightening.). After completing all of these tasks Shaylie took it upon herself to have McKinley pick out the book of her choice, sit down on the couch and read it to her! Can I just say how AWESOME it is to come in and find that they did what I asked and that they were getting along so well!!!! I may not be the perfect mom, my kids may not be the perfect kids, and sometimes I'd like to pull my hair out but then there are moments like this that make all the bad days worth it! Not to get all sappy, but when I see my two beautiful girls acting so great and doing what they know they should and then going the extra mile with each other it really makes me feel absolutely blessed to have them in my life. I try my hardest to be a good mom and teach them the things I know I need to, but there are those days that I feel like an absolute failure (if you're a parent I'm sure you know what I'm talking about), but then my girls turn around and reward me with stuff like this. I know it was nothing huge and extravagant but it doesn't have to be to make me feel great! Well now that I've bored you to death with my rambling here's a picture of my girls tonight reading on the couch.

If you look close the book they're reading is Mermaid Dora, so you know that Shaylie let McKinley pick it out! I love these girls so much!!!!

HANNAH MONTANA in 3D!!!!

2008-02-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

So for a treat today Marc decided that we would take the girls to the Hannah Montana 3D movie playing at Provo Town Center! Shaylie and McKinley were both quite excited about this and were COMPLETELY entranced through the WHOLE movie! In case you have questions as to how much our girls LOVE Hannah Montana just scroll down through the Halloween pictures and you'll notice that Shaylie was dressed up as Hannah Montana. Not only do they rock out to her music on a VERY regular basis (Shaylie even has her albums on her MP3 player) but if there is an episode of Hannah Montana on TV you'll find both girls sitting in their room watching it. Here are a few pictures I took of the girls with their 3D glasses on after we got home .............. if you'll notice they are both wearing Hannah Montana t-shirts!

Shaylie and McKinley are CRAZY for Hannah Montana!!!!

Snow and Playing with Daddy!

2008-02-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

So lately there has been A LOT of snow coming down and the girls have enjoyed playing in it (to a point). Here are some random pictures of the girls in the snow and playing with Marc inside where it's warm!

Here's some pictures of the girls playing with daddy!

Here's our dog Princess sleeping through all of the excitement!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of my cute girls with their daddy! Getting ready for bed and ready a quick story, can you tell McKinley chose the book!

ChRiStMaS

2008-01-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

I know it's past Christmas but I'm finally ready to post some of the pictures from our fun filled holiday! As soon as I get the videos I took on Christmas loaded onto my computer I'll post some. Hope everyones holiday was as good as ours was! Enjoy!

With Great Grandma Messick!
With Aunt Jean!
New Christmas jammies from Grandma and Grandpa Messick!

Sledding on Christmas Eve!

2007-12-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

In my family on Christms Eve we have gone sledding or playing in the snow up the canyon since I was quite small. For the last few years Marc and I have done the same with our kids. This year we went up Spanish Fork Canyon and had a blast! The snow was DEEP and the road was slick, but it was still a whole lot of fun! There was my mom and dad, my brother Ross and his family, and my cousin Scott and his family. After sledding we went to my mom and dad's house and had hot chocolate, and then clam chowder to warm up. Here are some pictures from our afternoon of fun!

McKinley being a cheeseball for the camera!

Shaylie being a goof!

Shaylie coming down the hill!

Marc and McKinley coming down the hill!

Marc and Shaylie

Even our dog, Princess, was having a lot of fun!

Marc

McKinley sliding on her butt!

This shows how deep the snow was................it came up to Shaylie's thighs!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas tomorrow! After things settle down we'll post pictures from Christmas day. Merry Christmas!

New Jiu Jitsu Belts!

2007-12-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

Well on Saturday December 6 both Shaylie and McKinley tested for their new belts in Jiu Jitsu. McKinley tested and received her orange belt in the Samurai Kids class, and Shaylie tested and received her low yellow belt in the kids class. That same night Marc tested and received his purple belt (leaving only brown and black not conquered). Here are a few pics from that night, ENJOY!

Shaylie and McKinely warming up on the heavy bags.

Shaylie throwing McKinley

McKinley doing a throw!

Shaylie doing a throw!

Shaylie

McKinley

Taking a rest with Daddy!

Sensei Pease putting McKinley's new belt on her!

Sensei Pease putting Shaylie's new belt on her!

Our Beautiful Girls!

2007-12-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

We had these pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids in October, and I'm finally getting around to posting them! LOL Oh well.........ENJOY!

Thanksgiving

2007-12-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pics from Thanksgiving in Arizona with Marc's grandma!

Marc, Leon (Grandad), Shaylie, McKinley & Winni

Lake off the side of the road on the way to Show Low, Arizona.

Playing at the AWESOME park across the street from Great Grandma Winni's house!

Not only was there a WONDERFUL park, there was a skate park hooked on to it as well!

Shaylie and McKinley with Great Grandma Winni!

Happy (late) Thanksgiving!

2007-11-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little late but I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We had two this year, YUMMY! The Saturday before Thanksgiving we had our early Thanksgiving with my family at my mom and dad's house. We then left for Arizona the next day (Sun. November 18) to spend the holiday with Marc's grandma and family down there. The girls got to spend time with their Great Grandma Winni, Great Grandpa Leon (Grandad), Uncle Chip, Aunt Lilly, cousin Natasha, and Grandma Jerri (mom and dad don't really count). We spent the week in Eager, Arizona and boy is life different down there! Hopefully this weekend I'll get around to posting some pics of our trip down there. Have a great weekend!

hAlLoWeEn FuN!!!!

2007-11-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Well the post is a little after Halloween, but we still had a fun evening! On Halloween both girls wore two separate costumes (one to school/preschool and one for trick-or-treating). Marc and I took the girls around to a few houses in our area, up to the "safe Trick-or-Treating" on University Ave. in Provo, and then around my old neighborhood, ate pizza with Great Grandma Messick, Grandma & Grandpa Messick, and Ross, Suzanne and Caleb, and then went to Grandma Jerri's. We had a very fun and long night, and scored a BUNCH of candy! Hope your holiday was as fun as ours, enjoy some of our pictures!

Shaylie's pumpkin!

McKinley's pumpkin!

School costumes, Shalyie was a Ballroom Dancer and McKinley was Snow White! Trick-or-Treating Costumes - Shaylie was HANNAH MONTANA and McKinley was ARIEL (who would have guessed)!!!!

The many poses of Hannah Montana........

The many poses of Ariel.................

And last but not least..............the past couple of years we have dressed our dog up as Darth Vader (she is not the happiest with it but we have a lot of fun doing it to her). This year was different, while at the store the girls found a new costume for the dog...............since our dog's name is Princess and she is in fact a girl not a boy, Shaylie and McKinley found her a princess costume. Enjoy!

Halloween's past, as Darth Vader dog!

The new and improved..................PRINCESS DOG!

Pumpkinland!

2007-10-30T13:47:00.000-06:00

For a fun activity my mom and I decided to take my girls and my nephew, Caleb to Pumpkinland in Orem. McKinley went there on a field trip with her preschool class earlier in the week, and Shaylie went there last year with her kindergarten class. There's a corn maze, play ground, light alley, animals, and of course.......PUMPKINS! The kids had a blast and we had a lot of fun watching them! Here are some pictures!

Shaylie, McKinley & Caleb

My mom with the kids! LOL Grandma's rock!

Cute pumpkins!

DiSnEyLaNd!!!!

2007-10-17T16:53:00.000-06:00

FINALLY...............I'm actually getting around to posting some of the pics from our vacation. I would love to post all of them for everyone to see, but I was PICTURE TAKING MAD WOMAN and there are WAY toom many. Hope you have as much fun looking at the pics as we were having while they were being taken!

These pics were taken right after we told them where we were ACTUALLY going for our VACATION! (The crazy hair is due to a 10 hour car ride.)

Inside the front gates of Disneyland on our 1st day!

On the Buzz Lightyear ride we got to shoot the bad guys!

Just some cute shots of the girls!

DAY 2

DAY 3

On day 3 we took a break from the parks and instead took the girls to the Aquarium of the Pacific, Santa Monica Beach/Pier, and a Dodgers baseball game in the evening!

McKinley is petting a baby sting ray!

DAY 4

We surprised the girls and took them to lunch at Ariel's Grotto where we got to eat with the Princesses! They got to meet and talk to Ariel (of course), Cinderella, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Wendy (from Peter Pan). They had a blast and loved every minute of it!

Vacation!!!!

2007-10-04T14:18:00.000-06:00

I haven't quite gotten to it yet, but we took the girls on a SURPRISE VACATION! We left on September 23 and came back on September 28. Marc and I decided that it was time to take the kids to Disneyland..........WOO HOO! Well, we got everything planned and reservations made and then had to wait for a whole month before telling the girls. Shaylie and McKinley didn't even know we were going on vacation let alone where we were going. They finally figured it out on Saturday evening when I was packing up the clothes bags and getting everything ready to leave the next morning. As soon as I get caught up with work stuff and things around the house I will actually post a blog with pictures of our vacation!

McKinley is in PRESCHOOL!

2007-09-19T16:33:00.000-06:00

So I consider myself a pretty big slacker of a mom................she actually started preschool on September 5 and I'm just barely getting around to posting the blog about it. Oh well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her right? Anyways, so far she is loving school! On the first day she was soooooo excited to get ready for school and couldn't wait to get there (we went the week before and met her teachers and saw the whole school). When we got there she was still thrilled, but when Marc and I turned to leave she got tears in her eyes (which didn't make it any easier for me to leave my BABY at school) and then ran into the back room. We went ahead and left knowing that she would be fine in about 2 minutes, plus we both had our cell phones with us "just in case". I have to say that I'm proud of myself because I did not lose it and bawl like a baby after dropping her off, I merely had watery eyes and didn't talk for a bit because I knew I'd cry if I did. McKinley's preschool goes from 11:30 - 1:30pm and I have to say that those were the LONGEST 2 hours you can imagine. Finally I got to go pick her up and she was EXSTATIC about everything they did that day! She loves her teachers, the animals at her school (Myrtle the turtle, two hampsters, and a goldfish), she loves the other kids and of course all the fun toys that they get to play with during "recess". Here are a few pics that I took that day...........ENJOY!

McKinley in her "First Day of Preschool" outfit!

The coolest 1st grader and preschooler you'll EVER meet!

Finding the apple shaped name tag with her name on it (and a pretty cute hair style too)!

Ready to learn!

McKinley with her teachers, Shelly and Amanda!

What did you do all day?!

2007-09-11T14:01:00.000-06:00

I got this off of my Myspace Bulletin.......................I thought it was pretty cute and very accurate! Enjoy!

What Do You Do All Day? A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply. She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it." Send this page to another mom..........PRICELESS!!!!

Bridal Veil Falls

2007-09-02T19:00:00.000-06:00

Today was Shaylie's actual birthday so we thought that since we had already done the party thing that we would celebrate in a different way. We took the girls and hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls and then went out to dinner at the restaurant of Shaylie's choice (unfortunately her FAVORITE place was closed, dang it Tucanos). Here are some pics from our little adventure!

Marc, Shaylie, McKinley and Princess on a bridge along the trail to the falls.

Shaylie and McKinley playing in the water at the base of the falls.

Marc playing in the water! (The mist from the falls felt great since it was quite HOT!)

Marc and the girls!

Me and the girls!

Looking down at the highway and the falls below.

Bridal Veil Falls

Shaylie is 7!

2007-09-02T18:34:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics from Shaylie's 7th Birthday Party! We had the party a week ahead of time due to the holiday, but we still had a lot of fun!

Here's the birthday girl in her new birthday outfit!

The Bratz cake! LOL Shaylie had this picked out 3 months in advance!

PINATA FUN!!!!

McKinley, Caleb (my nephew), Shaylie, & Taylor (Shaylie's best friend)

We also took some pics with the grandma's and grandpa's that were there, ENJOY!
Shaylie and McKinley with their Great Grandma Messick (who happens to be 90 years old)!

Shaylie and McKinley with Grandma Jerri (Marc's mom)!

Shaylie and McKinley with Grandma and Grandpa Messick!

1st Grade!!!!

2007-08-21T10:05:00.000-06:00

Shaylie started 1st Grade today! I can't believe that she'll be at school all day long. She was sooooo excited and nervous she could hardly stand it! Shalyie loves school and I'm sure she'll be at the top of her class again this year! We are so proud of her and her sister!

Shaylie in her outfit for the first day (striking a pose as usual)!

My two cute girls before leaving for school!

Shaylie outside her new classroom.

Shaylie with her teacher, Mrs. Olsen.

Although, if school makes them look like this we may reconsider............

McKinley's a yellow belt!

2007-08-21T09:36:00.001-06:00

McKinley and Shaylie have both been taking Jiu Jitsu and loving it! Marc helps in their classes and they are both enjoying doing the stuff daddy LOVES! Both girls are doing exceptionally well in it and on August 11 McKinley was able to test and move up to a yellow belt in the Samurai Kids program! Shaylie started in the Samurai Kids program as well, but since she is doing so well and is big enough and old enough she is moving into the Youth program instead. Shaylie had more then enough stripes to earn her yellow belt in the Samurai Kids, but it takes more hours to get the yellow belt in the Youth program so she will test for her yellow belt in December sometime, hopefully Marc will get his purple belt at the same time! Here are a couple photos!

McKinley with her new belt, certificate and gum from grandma Jerri!

My Crazy Girls!!!!

2007-08-13T17:19:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pics of my two girls, they should give you a glimpse into their personalities!

McKinley being the cheerleader!

Shaylie striking a pose!

Making daddy's new toy even cuter!!!!

Cruisin' with daddy!

Getting Started!

2007-08-13T17:03:00.000-06:00

Marc and I have been married for 7 1/2 years and we have the two most beautiful daughters ever! Shaylie, our oldest, is going to be 7 years old on September 2, and McKinley, our youngest, turned 4 years old on May 7. Both our girls take jiu jitsu lessens and are having a blast hanging out with dad more! I work "part" time four mornings a week and spend the rest of my time being mom. I love the balance I have now between work and home, I still get the adult interaction I crave, but still get to be home most of the time with my girls. Shaylie will start 1st grade this year and can't wait to go to school all day long! McKinley will be in preschool and is absolutely psyched at the thought of "going to school"! Hope you enjoy our blog!