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

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!!

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

Update

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..........

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.