Extra Ella B-day Pix

With a HEARTY thanks to Sawa-Bo-Nana & her Picassa album, I have stolen a coupla more pix from the joyous occasion. I thought they were too cute not to share...

The cake!Walking with Papa to see her big surprise!Ella checkin' out the goods!

Here she is jumpin' on and going for it! See that determination? ...She must get that from me. :)
Here's Daddy and Mia-babes.
I thought this was a funny shot- here's Lance and myself trying to get the cake lit. There's teamwork!

Oz

From long ago, a friend is gone.
His quiet life, not meant to last.
Today I said a silent good-bye,
He was loved, now a piece of my past.

Memorial Day Weekend Part 2

The gravesite never changes -it takes my breath away every time I walk up to it, and it feels like my heart could explode the entire time I stand there. The picture of my parents was taken at John's grave. --It's the look of peace.

I love that there are important days like these where John's memory is brought into focus.

We all had a GREAT time hanging out together and spending quality family time.

This was during an exciting 'CATCH PHRASE' game! FUN! Too bad Lexie is really bad at it. You know I'm kidding, Lexie!

Here's miss Tessa -the stone! She is shameless with her stare, and you can't suck a smile out of her if your life depended on it... unless you're her MOTHER.

Here's Benny-babes in deep contemplation.

Here are the Troublemakers -and that's with a Capital T!!! Noah and Lily are besties until something goes amiss... Then it's each man for himself!

My sister Mary and I had a lot of fun on Monday together. The party had fizzled, and folks were coming and going. Mary passed on the movie that others were going to to hang out with me! I miss her! It was a lot of fun to shop and get lunch and play "GO" -which is a game I LOVE and only have to cheat minimally... Thanks for the fun times, Mar.

:) I love my family! Excellent weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

To get the party started, we (Lance, Chaedon & Ella -no stinkin' way am I spending the night on the ground while I'm pregnant!) went camping on Friday night!! We went with Scotty and Candace

and Aneesa and Chaston. Here's Chaedon with Chazzy and Ella, they're wrestling.I think Chaedon lost!

Here's a chatty Lance while the kiddos wring each other's necks!
Here's my boy on my girl's bike! It was a precious moment.

The kids look like they've had a little too much sugar!

Yeah, Mia got some too!
I'm starting to notice in my token self-portrait that I'm looking more haggard as this pregnancy goes forward. I'll either stop posting these shots, or maybe post them as a record that I can use to extort something from the new baby for the noticeable toll she's taken on me!

Here's the daddy.

Lance taught Chaedon how to use the chain-saw. *Good ole' father-son bonding.

CUZZINS

Aneesa is AWESOME with babies -she loves to make Mia laugh!

It was a great night -while I lasted. Lance tells me that the kids were awesome and they had a fun time. I'll pick up the rest of the weekend in the next blog entry.

I'm sure you'll see lots o' camping pix this summer. It's our favorite thing to do! ...Even when I'm driving home late and snoozing on a comfy bed! :D

PreSchool Graduation 2009

Last night was a fabulous evening! We attended Ella's PreSchool Graduation!

Ella won the award for animal lover for a few reasons, says Miss Kristie. She said that Ella always brought one with her to school (usually a pokemon, but there are many others) and took care of them... When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said "An Animal Doctor" -I'M SO PROUD! Is it too soon to base my retirement on the career success of my child? Here's Miss Kristie talking all about Ella!

Here's Miss Lynn with Ella. She has been one of the most incredible and important people in Ella's short life! We LOVE her so much!

Here's Ella and Miss Kristie!
The graduates! Class of 2009!

The attendees: Mia-babes!

Me -in a VERY hot and bright sun!

Nanny! Ever supportive, she's the one who found this preschool for us in the first place. Lance was scheduled and unable to make it -so it was sure nice to have another adult with me along for the wild ride.

Congrats Ella!

Our New Home

Here are some of the pictures of our home. Yes, that's a lovely diaper basket on the entertainment center: a must-have. These are all livingroom. Le Kitchen-

These were taken at Mother's day, so we have flowers and gifts on the table... ...Ella gifts on the other table.

One of the bathrooms.
Both Ella and Mia's rooms still need a bit of work -I'll blog them later on, I'm sure. Nice to have a record of our home -it's where the kids are growing up!

In The Pursuit Of Happiness #8

This is the last of these entries. What made me happy today? Well, let's see. What makes me happy any day?
Jewelry
Alveys mint-melti's
Freshly manicured nails
French kisses
The Office
Home-scenty candles
Camping
A great conversation
Shopping (for fun stuff, NOT groceries!)
Little girl cuddles
Flowers
Family
Testimony
Clean house
Fresh laundry
New babies...

I could keep going, but don't need to. I have so much happiness in my life -it's humbling. Thank you, Lord.

In The Pursuit Of Happiness #7

Moms are DA BOMB. Today my sweetheart of a mom picked me up from work and even helped me pick up my babies from Miss Lynn -the best PreSchool teacher in the world. Lance had our van but needed to sleep earlier because of all of his extra hours over the weekend.

Today it made me happy to see my mom and Granny kicking it in Granny's mini-van, toolin' around town. When I got in, they told me tales of Albertsons lines & sales, tales of shaking their hands infront of the car vents with people thinking they're crazy in the winter, and they even simultaneously applauded that other cars who stopped for ducks even though it nearly made mom rear-end them! They're quite a pair, and I love them dearly.

In The Pursuit Of Happiness #6

Today I saw Lance for seconds. He worked a double shift last night (3PM to 7AM) then came home for 8 hours and went back for another double -same hours. What makes me happy? NOT that he's working that hard, but that he's working that hard for us. My gratitude can't be put in to words, but I do need to say thank you, Lance. I love you.

In The Pursuit Of Happiness #5

FARMER'S MARKET TODAY! One of the happiest pieces of my day -of my summer! I love going to the Cache Valley Farmer's Market. This morning we headed out for some breakfast and lingering in the great out-doors! Ella was excited to go -as was Chim-Char, her Pokemon. No, I probably didn't spell it right, but I can't say that I really care. The fact that I know his name is disturbing enough.

Lance and I quickly figured out that kids stop whining (it was a bit nippy) when you give them SUGAR! Look at this beautiful flower loli-pop!
Mia got a new flower for her hair and a very blue and sticky face.

I didn't take a picture of it, but we stopped by my friend Steph's booth "Little Bright Boat" and saw some of her FABULOUS creations! Ella got a fun home-sewn dinosaur, whom she seems to be absolutely crazy about. Thanks Steph! We'll see you a lot this summer! :)

Can you see the blue glow?

This is the "pick me up" look. It was a lovely morning -definitely full of happiness!

*If you missed it, the "pursuit of happiness" is a series of 8 (one daily) things that just make me happy that day. It's fun to recognize how good life is!