Merry Christmas!!

We had such a fun Christmas this year! Starting off with Christmas Eve, Adam, Kelsey, Maya and I had a "Guitar Hero Jam Session"! Basically Adam and I battled back and forth all night and the girls took turns here and there. Everyone had fun just being together and hanging out. Following our Jam Session, the girls opened up their Christmas Eve gift. Any guesses to what they got...

Pajamas of course!!!!

Christmas morning was filled with excitement! Santa brought Kelsey and Maya the gifts they wanted, Maya's tea party and Kelsey's hair salon! And of course Mom, Dad, grandparents, and aunts went overboard as usual with the gifts. The girls were in HEAVEN! Kelsey was extremely excited this year for Christmas. Not because she was getting gifts, but because she was soooooo excited to give me the gift she picked out for me. Kelsey's school has a shop around the holidays called "Secret Santa". You send your child to school with a certain sum of money and they are able to buy gifts for their family at this shop. Kelsey could barely contain her excitement when she got home from school with my gift. She asked me every day if I wanted to open it that day or wait until Christmas. Finally on Christmas morning, after her and Maya opened their Santa gifts she said, "Okay now its moms turn to open my PRESENT!!". She picked out a cute little blue necklace for me. She was thrilled that I liked it and wore it all day long! Next she insisted Adam open his gift from her and Maya. I love that Kelsey is already beginning to understand that Christmas is more about giving than receiving!

After presents we went to my girlfriend Mia's house to have an extremely delicious brunch with her and her family. Then it was off to Richfield to have Christmas dinner with my in-laws. My mother in law is from Australia and this year for the holidays her sister, niece and great nephew came over from Australia to spend Christmas with her!!! It was so fun to visit with them and they brought everyone such cute gifts from the Land Down Under! Speaking of cute gifts, my mother in law got all of the granddaughters these cute nightgowns for Christmas. As soon as the girls opened them they all insisted on wearing them right then! It was so darling!

In total, my inlaws had 30 people for Christmas dinner!!! It was crazy, loud, and an absolute blast! We had a Very Merry Christmas and I hope all of you did as well!!!

And we cant forget the Birthday Girl!

While we were in Richfield it was Kelsey's actual birthday. My sweet sister in law Heidi woke up and made cupcakes that morning to help us celebrate her turning the big 6!!!! Happy Birthday Kelsey! I cant believe you are 6 years old. I love you so much and could not be more proud of you. You make me smile everyday and I am so blessed to have you as my daughter!!! I LOVE YOU BUGGA BOO!

December Happenings

Wow this month is FLYING by! We have been so incredibly busy lately...but lucky for you those of you who follow my blog I have actually been remembering my camera!!!!

These are pictures of Kelsey after her Christmas Dance Recital. She performed a tap routine to the Cheetah Girls song "5 days until Christmas". It was SOOOOO cute! They did such a great job and we were so proud of Kels. In keeping with there Daddy Daughter tradition, Adam got her pink roses for a job well done! Great Job Kelsey!!

Zac is taking a guitar class this year at school. He really has a love for the guitar and is getting very good at it! He practices everyday and it is paying off. These are pictures of him after his concert where they "rocked out" to Christmas songs. Keep up the hard work Zac! We are so proud of you!!!

And finally this week was Kelsey's VIP week in school where they learned about all things Kelsey. Of course Kelsey was THRILLED it was finally her turn to be VIP. She and Adam made her VIP poster with pictures of her favorite vacations, memories and family members. On Tuesday Adam and I went in to her class to talk about Kelsey and answer all of the students burning questions about her. For Kindergarteners they asked very insightful questions!! Enjoy VIP week Kels! To us you are a VIP every week of the year!!!

Kelsey's 6th Birthday Party!!

For Kelsey's 6th Birthday Party she wanted a "Fancy Nancy" Party! For those of you who are not familiar with the Fancy Nancy books, they are about a little girls who loves all things fancy. She loves feather boas, jewelry, makeup, tutus and high heals. She insists on making everything and everyone more "fancy". So in keeping with the Fancy Nancy Spirit, we gave her a very "fancy" party. She invited 22 of her closest friends (all 22 came and they were VERY well behaved!) and they all came in their "fanciest" ensembles. We had them accessorize themselves with feather boas, necklaces, rings, bracelets and of course make up!

Then we took their picture and had them decorate the frames their pictures were going in.

Here are Kelsey and Maya's finished frames.

And here is the winner for "Best Pose"! Isnt she darling!

After the girls decorated their frames, they moved on to decorating their felt purses, followed by decorating their cupcakes. Then we read the Fancy Nancy book and had a very "fancy" lunch. The girls each got "fancy" glasses to drink out of and they had to eat holding their pinkies up! Here is a picture of their fancy glasses and Kelsey's friend Kwincee showing everyone how to hold their pinkies up!

Then we moved on to cake and presents. My mom stayed up until 3am baking and decorating this cake for Kels. It is a gigantic cupcake cake! She did such a great job, dont you think?

Kelsey got so many wonderful gifts, she was in HEAVEN of course! Happy Birthday Kelsey! We love you so much!!!

Happy Birthday Maya!!

Well the baby of our family turned 3 on Friday! I cant believe she is already 3, it feels like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms at the hospital. Maya has been the sweetest child from the second she was born. She is everyone's "favorite" and brings such joy to our family. We promised Maya she could get her ears pierced for her 3rd birthday. She was so brave! She only cried a little bit! She loves to show off her new "big girl ears" to anyone who will look!

Saturday Maya had her very first birthday party! It was short and sweet, just like Maya! She had a great time and got some really fun gifts!! Happy Birthday Maya! We love you!!!!

Thanksgiving Holiday

Well once again life has been so crazy!!! Kris, Tylre and Erin came to town last Saturday for a Pre-Thanksgiving visit. It was also Tylre's birthday, can you believe she turned 17! Where does the time go??? When I first started dating Adam, Tylre was 7! Unfortunately, Kelsey got very ill while they were here, so she was not able to play with Erin as much as she would have liked. Next time they visit, hopefully we will all be healthier! It was still great to spend time with them and we miss them already!!

This year Thanksgiving was at my house (hooray!) so my parents and Lea came up for dinner. The turkey was AWESOME!!! I brined it in salt, brown sugar, oranges, lemons, rosemary and thyme. It was soooo moist and tender....yummy yummy. The day after Thanksgiving my mom and I hit the stores for some Black Friday retail therapy. We didnt really get any awesome deals, but that didnt stop us from shopping! We had a great afternoon and got the girls Christmas shopping almost completed. When we came home, Adam and my dad had gotten out all of the Christmas decorations and were setting up our tree. We spent the rest of the day setting up Christmas, while my mom spent the time helping the girls decorate "their trees". My mom is the most patient and loving Grandmother. She spent all night making these paper decorations with the girls. I think they turned out pretty cute!!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on what I am truely thankful for. I have so much to be grateful for in my life. I have the most wonderful parents, I love them more than words. Everytime I am with them, I am reminded of what a wonderful example of love and affection they are. They are phenominal grandparents and my girls just ADORE them. I have such a great husband. Somehow, I lucked into finding Mr. Right at age 18. How often does that happen? Even though I am crabby in the morning, pessimistic, and not very patient, he still loves me to pieces. I think true love is knowing another persons downfalls and still wanting to wake up with them the next morning. He helps me up when I have fallen down (literally) and always knows how to put a smile on my face. I love him. I have the most gorgeous, smart and kind children (but I am not biased at all!). They are my greatest joy and fill my heart with warmth and laughter. They are each uniquely wonderful and I love them all desperately. I am fortunate enough to have several people in my life who are true friends. Real friends who love me through and through and I love them. They listen to me cry, vent, and laugh. Some who have been with me from grade school and others shorter amounts of time. Either way my friends are different, amazing, funny and strong woman who I lean on through good times and bad. I love you ladies!! Finally, anyone who knows me knows I am grateful for my two sisters Rae and Lea. My hearts. I love being part of our trio. I cant even imagine my life without them. We are so much more than sisters, more like soulmates. My love for them is without measure. I am grateful to have grown up in a home where my parents emphasized the importance of family. So basically to wrap it all up, I am grateful for, love, life and health. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope yours was as memorable and filled with love as mine!!