Merry Christmas!

These kids (+ Zoe) are ready to decorate the tree!


Enjoying our annual golf cart rides with Great Grandpa McInturf!


Great Grandma's Christmas village, and you can see the training running in the back too!


All 15 of the great grandkids


Ready for Christmas Eve service


The men prepping the oyster stew


Oyster stew, followed by Swedish meatballs, and lots of other deliciousness, with my handsome little man.


This cookie tray is brought to you by Grandma and her 7 little helpers - good job kids!


It doesn't matter if it's already Christmas Eve, it is time to put up some Christmas lights! (The house had just been painted that day, so we couldn't really put them up any sooner.)


A precious letter to Santa, from Tommy.










































Our tree was in the middle of the living room this year. We enjoyed the advent calendar readings around the tree each night - so pretty.


Purple slippers make Macy happy.


Allie is ready to start taking tennis.


Tommy loves his wristbands. I think you get stronger just by wearing them.


Jack and Daddy received a very generous gift from Tommy - Guitar Hero for the Wii.


Allie made this scarf for me!


Ready for fun at Grandma and Grandpa's


The Green Machine was a big surprise!


Parachute fun.


It was a very blessed Christmas. How did it come and go so quickly?

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

I got to spend the whole day with the birthday boy (he had the day off of work)!!! If this is what my man looks like at 40, I am one lucky woman!!! We had a fun and relaxing day, followed by an evening out with great friends. We discovered the band Diego's Umbrella that night at the Crescent Ballroom - so much fun!


Here he is with 4 of his 5 biggest fans. They were excited to have pizzookie in honor of his birthday.


We celebrated with the whole family at the LOVE park. It has the perfect hill for ice-blocking - the Arizonan's version of snow-sledding.


The 40-year-old himself with his picnic spread. Both are lookin' good!


All the kiddos on the LOVE statue. I love those kids!


The perfect evening for some apple crisp. Happy Birthday, Honey!

Happy 8th Birthday Allie!!!

This precious baby girl is turning 8!










































We had a party on her real birthday (the day after Thanksgiving this year). It was over at the park because it was such a beautiful day (not to mention that our house was a bit of a construction zone - a later post.)


With Grandma and Grandpa Weber


With Grandma and Grandpa McInturf


With all her cousins (just missing Max and Sophie!)


The next day, Grandma took her to get her ears pierced! She was super brave!


This girl is awesome! I love who she has been for the past 8 years, but I also love the girl that she is becoming. She is so sweet and thoughtful, and smart too. We thank God for her everyday, and pray that He would grow her into a woman after His own heart. Happy Birthday sweet AllieBear!

The fun and busy month of October!

Below you can watch a video synopsis of our fun and busy month of October. Sometimes it is amazing how many things you can fit into one month. At least I know the time was not wasted! You'll see that we had fall break, a trip to Greer, Jack's birthday, duck hunting, lots of playing with neighbors, princess bible study, flag football, and the start of a home addition in the front yard. Oh! And halloween!

Greer in the fall

Six cousins having a fun adventure through the woods.

The whole gang!


I love, love, love the aspen trees!

We played lots of Hello Kitty Monopoly.

There were several bites, but only one fish was caught by the grandkids. They all loved fishing!

This dog loves our trips to Greer as much as the kiddos.

Everyone enjoyed some yummy smores!

It was a great fall break trip!

Happy 9th Birthday, Jack!

Celebration #1 with McInturf cousins.

Celebration #2 at the cabin with Bates cousins.

What does this 9-year-old boy choose to do on his birthday? Go with Daddy and Grandpa duck hunting! No shotgun for him, but he loved watching them hunt.

This is his lay-out blind. Looks like a pretty comfy way to hunt!

Here's my two big boys with a nice duck that Daddy got (Can you find them in this photo? They are pretty well camouflaged!).

We thank God for Jack each and every day. What a blessing! Happy Birthday, Jack! We love you!

Tommy's Big Trip

Each of my older kids have had the chance to go on a big "airplane" trip with Grandma and Grandpa. Now it was Tommy's turn. He flew out to Rapid City, South Dakota.

Super excited to go on his first plane ride! He wasn't too concerned with saying goodbye to mom, just ready to go! But I still got my hug and kiss.

First stop: Mount Rushmore. This photo was taken from the little hike they took to get closer to the mountain.

Next stop: exploring the Wind Caves!


I think they were out geocaching near this lake. So pretty!

Tommy is looking at CrazyHorse. It is a huge sculpture of Crazy Horse, a well-known native american war leader. It is a work in progress, but it will be magnificent when it is complete.

The view from the car window in the drive-thru bear habitat. There were lots and lots of bears!

Last stop: Dinosaur Park!

Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for taking each of the kids on such special trips. Tommy sounds so grown up as he talks about his big adventures. He loved every bit of it!