Halle is 7 and pierced!!!

Has another year really gone by? This firecracker of a girl the the love of our lives.

She is so fun, determined, happy, energized, loving and strives hard to always do the right thing. This year she had 2 requests for her birthday (which she planned 5 months ago),

Chucky cheese & pierced ears.

Here we are at Claires Boutique for the ear piercing. This was such a fun moment for a mom! Nona was here to assist too. Halle was really nervous but also excited, and the video I took was priceless! She did not shed a tear:)

And here she is...

Off we went to Chucky Cheese which hasn't changed in 25 years. We brought along Halle's cute cousins Annalie and Ellie

Hitting the Slopes!

For Christmas I gave Chad and the kids a ski day up at the Canyons. I wish I could have been there. It sounded so amazing and was one of those moments as a parent where your heart is filled with SO much joy to watch your kids enjoy something new in life. Chad had some camera issues so we only have a few pictures of Halle, but Cohen was right there being tough and skiing his heart out all day. When Chad picked him up from ski school he had fallen asleep in the snow...lol

Such a ski bunny I'd say...

Halle's Winter Recital

Halle is meant to be on stage. She lights up and you can't take your eyes off of her when she is there. She had a darling recital back in December and danced her heart out. We love her teacher and all her friends that dance with her. Dancing to a little "Jingle Bell Rock"

We are proud of you Halle and hope you make it all the way to Broadway...

ok I will settle for the Nutcracker;)

{flashback}

Yes we have been married 10 years and it was time to travel and celebrate!!!.... we went to Hawaii on the island of Kauai (back in November) and had ourselves a lovely time. On day 2 Chad took our camera into the water to snorkel with it and hence we lost some pictures... these ones here were taken with my cheap and barley functioning cell phone but at least we have a few to share.

Here we are eating at the famous "Hamuras" which is a local dive and so yummy! If you like Top Ramen then you would die over this place. Kauai is so layed back and peaceful and it is so fun to hang out where the locals are and pretend this is your stress-free life. We loved going to open markets and cruising around the little shops in town.

Here we rented bikes and cruised along the coast. It was breathtaking and so much fun. We stopped and bought some fresh coconut ice cream at a little farmers market and Chad relaxed on a hammock. I love how slow time moves in Hawaii. There is so much life to enjoy.

Yes we cruised around in style...kindof a tradition which started on our honeymoon and much insisted upon by Chad


Snorkeling at Pompei. One turtle sighting and plenty on "Nemos" and "Dories" I just loved sitting on the beach here and watching the waves crash on the black rocks. I also missed my kids a ton because there were so many little kids swimming in the bay and running around with sand buckets. Chad and I decided here that next time we go to Hawaii, they get to come:)

Happy 10 years! It was amazing to reconnect with my hubby and a much needed vacation for us

{Christmas Snapshots}

Going Natural

After some major difficulties with our artificial, perfectly lit Costco tree, we decided to go natural this year. Chad was determined to cut down one down from a tree farm and so we made the trek up to Ogden, only to determine it was FREEZING and the trees were yellow, long needled, sparse, over priced and did not smell like Christmas Trees...so we headed back to good old fashion Lowes and found a great Nobel Fir. my goobers...

James was apparently pooped after biting all the tips off my new candy cane ornamnets:)

James turns 1

This little boy is the most spoiled little thing on the planet. I can't help it. He may be my last. He is rocked all the time...doesn't sleep through the night ...held constantly...played with and entertained by all of us all the time...fed with me still holding the bottle and is the love of my life -as is the rest of my family;) He is not quite walking yet but he is a climber. I have never had a baby actually climb out of his high chair and be sitting on the tray waiting for me. He can also give some pretty mean scowls when things don't go his way. Again, spoiled. He has 8 teeth which he has had since 6 months and eats most everything. Chad is also proud of his "college football thighs" cause he is a chubby thing.

He turned 1 in November and I did something out of the ordinary (says my mom). We had a small, simple and delightful party. Just the 5 of us. There was a store bought cake, 3 balloons, 1 present and lots of smiles. Maybe I am slacking or maybe It is all we need. Halle made the cutest card for james...a picture of her and him taped on 2 forks. I saved it in his keep sake box cause it was so dang cute. He didn't love the cake too much (prob cause it was store bought). He mostly just played with it like play dough. shrug.

Chad was determined to have a family picture with party hat "horns" (???) Needless to say James was not thrilled...but at least Daddy is!

We love you James!