happy birthday dave

dave didn't evev try to blow out the candles, he just let alexis do it for him as if her birthday six days before wasn't enough. do you see how he is just staring at that 36? i wonder what he is thinking, if only i could read his mind.


i'm not even sure this was dave's birthday, i think the kids were much more excited about the whole event.

Gavin crawls

Gavin started crawling on Alexis's Birthday. He is everywhere and I am having the time of my life keeping up with him. He is really busy!

hb alexis

Alexis turned six. I can't believe all those candles. She had a wonderful Birthday. She unwrapped a present every two to three hours, went to Peter Piper Pizza, decorated her own cake (it was an angel) and had a pinota! We didn't do parties with friends this year, it was our first year ever not to. I was really nice to just be us and in love and do our own thing.

Alexis is divine! She just loves Heaven and Angels. She talks about them all the time and how she wants to have wings just like the angels do. Alexis loves anthing soft, pretty, pink, snuggly, cute, or BLING! She is my little princess with an opinion. We just love her and are so glad we get her forever.

Photoshoots

Check out my photoshoots of my girls on my photo blog!
http://diphotography.blogspot.com/

So Arden got all dressed up too!

So Arden wanted in on the action, but with out backdrops! She was adorable! More on my photo blog!

Alexis photoshoot

Every once and a while I just do a photoshoot with one of my kids. Today was Alexis's day and she was all over the whole shoot. She decided what she was going to wear and how I was going to do her hair and all the poses. I'll post the rest of the shoot on my photo blog!

Happy Birthday Spencer

I hate to go from Christmas to the next event so soon, but thats just how it is for us. Spencer turned 4 on Dec 28. We had two treasure hunts for him, one in the morning and one after church. He had a great birthday and played with all of his presents. I love Spencer so much, he brings so much happiness to our family... and he is Super.

Christmas

One of the things that made this Christmas so memorable for me was when Arden opened up her scooter, it was one of the last presents to be opened and she had already opened up her heelyies. I think she thought she was only getting heelyies and nothing else, which was kinda nice that she was so excited about just that. When she opened up her scooter she was shocked, she looked at me knowing that the scooter was from Mom and Dad and not Santa and she could not stop saying Thank You. I have it all on video, it was so cute to see her so thankful, that just what a parent needs after all the shopping and work that goes into making Christmas magical!

Snow, snow and more snow!

My kids are all snow bunnies, the snow doesn't bother them at all, they love it. Dave built this ginormous hill in our back yard and the kids slide down it all day long. It's kinda like a marble madness hill that goes one way and then the other. Its really fun at night sledding in the dark!

Polar Express

I've been meaning to blog for sometime and I have to admit that I have let the Holiday slow me down. We went on the Polar Expess one really snowy night. It was magical, especially for Spencer who was all about the train and going to the North Pole. Alexis had a tummy ache and really didn't have a good time. Gavin was bouncing the whole time. Arden didn't believe that was the real North Pole, but she thought that was Santa because his beard was real. The kids fell asleep in the van on the way home and slept in!

Superman

Yes, I live with my own personal Superman, its true. Superman just had to get in on the photoshoot action. Won't these look great blown up real big on canvases in his bedroom. My Super Hero. I love being a stay home Mom and being able to do stuff like this during the day!

He's so cute I just had to!

I took these 15 minutes ago!

Thanksgiving Day

Alexis doesn't really like to wear these pants since she found a staight pin in them the first time she wore them, and since she is naturally a phobic, well I don't blame her really. But she was more than glad to put them on for her cousin since her cousin has similar pants, yet, well over the top, but none the less they are the pants that inspired Alexis's!

Decorating

The kids loved being home just decorating and helping out in the kitchen.

Bum naked.

Nothing like a beautiful naked baby. So perfect and sweet and FAT!

Girls home.

It was fun to have the girl home from school to get ready for Thanksgiving!

Spencer rides.

This post is long overdue. On Nov 3 Spencer asked me to take his training wheels off. I promptly said no like any other sane mother and told him he had to ride Alexis's bike first since Alexis's bike is the same size as Spencer's but without training wheels. So Spencer feeling super as uaual got on Alexis's bike and with a little help from me learned to ride! The next day I took off his training wheels and they have just been collecting dust ever since. The training wheels are so worn I think we will just throw them away! My parents were there when Spencer learned to ride, that was fun to have them see Spencer be super bike rider and learn so fast!

I'm so Thankful

I am so grateful for my family. I have the best parents and the best husband and the best kids. I love my brothers and sisters and am so grateful for all I have. I am so blessed. We have family with us for Thanksgiving and it has been so much fun to have them here. Our kids are so excited to have the cousins visit. Our family is so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. Life is Good.

boyz

Gavin is so animated these days. He has groun so much it is sad. He is almost sitting up now. Sleeping through the night a lot and just happy! He has the best smile that lights up my life!

Secrets of Flagstaff...Free Ballet

So I was thinking about the "secrets of flagstaff" ya know the things you find out about after you have lived here for five years or so and you wonder why the heck nobody ever told you. So I thought about making this post so people can comment and leave there secrets about Flagstaff...

Number One
For example every December NAU puts on a "Lolly Pop Ballet." It is a dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker. All the best acts are practiced in this FREE matinee. My kids have no idea they aren't at the real Nutcracker. The ballet never stops, its a real nonstop dress rehearsal. We dress up and go out to eat. Every little girl should go! My girls think it is so magical and it is, they dance like ballerinas for weeks. I love it because it is free and I remember my Mom taking me to the Nutcracker when I was little.

The Lolly Pop Ballet this year is on Dec 6 @ 2pm. A handful of ticket are still available. You can get them at the NAU ticket office at the Student Union Building. They are open at 10am mon-fri. Hope to see some friends there!

Number Two
This may not seem exciting to all but my kids love it. At the truckstop behind Little America they have .49 cent ice cream cones and they are huge. A super cheap date with your kids!

Number Three
Not really a secret but a great favorite is swimming in Oak Creek canyon!

Number Four
Most everyone in Bellemont knows about the Williams Aquatic Center.

Number Five
Santa rides in on the train to the train station. My kids went nuts. I'll try to find out when it is all happening and post it!

Number Six
The Polar Express in Williams at the Grand Canyon Railroad Station.

Help me out!!!