Dinner on Dad

For our birthday's we always either go out to eat and the birthday person picks the place or we eat at home and the birthday person picks the meal...this year my dad wanted to stay home and grill up some steaks on his new toy. Mmmmm they were YUMMY!!

Morgan was trying to help "Pop" blow out his candles.

This is my silly daughter saying cheese...everytime the camera comes out, even if you aren't taking a picture of her, she says cheese and makes this silly face!

My dad was teaching Morgan and Ashlyn to give knuckles...Morgan caught on and now she goes around saying "knucks" and holding her fist out!

Another picture of Morgan and Mel...I had to beg my sister to let me take a few, we don't get to see her all that much with her work schedule sometimes!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today we celebrate the birth of my dad! He has been there every step of the way in his family's life. My dad's family is the most important thing in this world to him. He has ALWAYS put us first. There were times when he would get a bonus from work and spend it on his 3 girls...my mom, sister and I. He walked me down the isle, even when he did not approve the first time, and held me close as he gave me away. He walked every step with my sister as she purchased her very first home by herself. He is a man that just keeps giving.

He is also the BEST Grandpa/Pop that any kid could ask for. Zach and my dad are hunting buddies and Handi Mac buddies. My dad started his own Handi Mac business a few years ago and had shirts made...his said Handi Mac and Zach's said Handi Zach. My dad has taken Zach on many hunting and quading trips. He adores Miss Morgan more than words can explain. He even tries to beat my mom to her...He had a cup of coffee in his hand one day and asked my mom if she wanted it...my mom looked at him in confusion and asked why...he told her, because I need both of my hands so I can pick up my granddaughter...all of this was being said as they were walking up to meet us at the train park! He is a pretty sneaky man!

As we celebrate you today Dad, I just hope you know how much we all love you and care for you! You are our "Number 1".

I did it...

Finally...I have been trying to create my own blog backgrounds for sometime now. I figured out how to create them...but then I was having trouble actually uploading them onto my blog and them actually fitting. So after a few days of hours and hours spent on the computer I finally did it! I am having so much fun creating these...that I have created a few for back ups so I can change them out every month! I can create one for you too, if you are interested!

Happy Blogging!!

Presents...Presents...and more Presents

Christmas Eve was spent baking, eating and visiting my sister at work. We always open 1 gift on Christmas Eve and it is always the gift the my Nana and Grandpa send us. So this year we took the gifts and some goodies to my sister at work so we could keep the tradition going.

This is the goody I bake them...a Santa Pizza Cookie. Cookie dough on the bottom (baked for 20 min.), melt a bag of white chocolate chips and cover with pretzels, m&m's, gum drops. Then drizzle the left over white chocolate over the toppings. My sister said it was a hit! I had to hold myself back this holiday season from all the goodies...as it would not be good for my marathon training.

"Pop", Morgan and "mama" at Melissa's work. Morgan has started calling my dad Pop...which is neat because my dad's father's nickname was always Pops. Both of my parents decided that they would let Morgan pick their "Grandparent" names. My mom's is still "mama" for now.

Mel and Mom after we opened our gifts.

Christmas day was spent at our home. I made French Toast for breakfast, we opened gifts, played in the backyard, put new toys together, and played Yatzee, Pictionary, and Catch Phrase. Along with all that fun we had food to munch on all day. What a blessed family day we all shared together!

Morgan is opening her Mickey Mouse Movie and Zach was opening his movie UP.

Zach was entertaining the babies...I think her just liked playing with their toys better! :) We are ALL kids at heart!

Morgan got a kitchen...I picked this one because it will match our kitchen in our new home...once I am done painting (can't wait to close and get the keys)!

Morgan LOVES Minnie Mouse...what good is a kitchen without an apron and a chef's hat.!!

My Mom made Zach a new blanket for his bed. His current room is done is skateboards, and that is what we are keeping it when we move, so we found some blue skateboarder material and my mom made a blanket. Homemade gifts are the best!

Morgan and Ashlyn (our cousin) after opening presents! I am so glad my Aunt and cousin were able to join us on this special day!

We had a wonderful Christmas. Zach also got a MP3 Player, Star Wars Lego sets, books, clothes (lot's of them), new shoes, movies, candy, Battleship, a Nerf Machine Gun, and I am sure much more. Morgan also got a Minnie Mouse cupcake set for her kitchen, Little People Ferris Wheel, Leap Frog reading set, clothes, a V-Tech pink laptop, and much more. I decided to put over half of Morgan's toys up on the shelf until we move...they will be easier to move if they are still packaged up!

I hope your family has a VERY Happy New Year!

My memorable moment for 2009

Choosing my most memorable moment for 2009 was a hard pick for me. I decided that the best memory I had was all the visits I had with my cousin Michelle and her son Wesley. She got married last December to Schylar...he enlisted in the army and sent to boot camp, then stationed in Germany. Through this time Michelle was without her new husband, having and taking care of their baby. It was a long 8 months for her, but her time paid off. On Christmas Eve she boarded a plane that took her and Wesley to Minnesota, then onto Amsterdam, then into Nurnburg. This family was brought together on Christmas Day and were able to celebrate their sons first Christmas together.


Here we are in August at the Children's Museum in Phoenix.

Here is Morgan touching Michelle's belly. This was taken in February at the Denver Airport.

Another of Michelle and Morgan in February. We flew to Colorado to join in on the fun of Michelle's baby shower.

Here we are in May...My cousin Stephanie also had a baby this year. This time we visited Colorado for my cousin Chelsi's high school graduation.

Wesley and I in May.

Michelle and Wesley in August at the Children's Museum.

Me, my sister and Michelle playing a little Beer Pong while she was her in August.

Morgan and Wesley shopping at Target in October when Morgan and I visited Colorado again.

Michelle and I pretending to eat all that frosting. We were frosting all of our Halloween cupcakes that night.

Morgan and I are looking SO forward to our trip to Germany in 2011 to travel Europe with them. Schylar will receive orders soon to be deployed...please keep him in your prayers as he has to once again leave his family for a year. Good Luck to The Woods Family. We LOVE you all so much!

Most memorable moment in 2009...

Hello fellow bloggers...

As 2009 comes to an end I am challenging each of you to blog about your 1, yes only 1 Most Memorable Moment from 2009. It can be anything that you have done, with anyone. Tell us the story behind your memory and share a picture or 2 with us. You can post this now, or wait until December 31st!

Happy memories to all of you!

Three Days of Celebrations

Over the past three days we have celebrated quite a few events. I decided to break them all up into their own posts to share them with you.

Happy Birthday Princess

Along with watching 2 little boys during the week, I also babysit my sister's dog for her when she works her 24 hours shifts. Her dog's name is Princess...and if any of you know my sister she is the farthest from girlie as any girl can get. She does NOT like pink, or tutu's, or any of the trash, as she calls it. Well....her dog just happened to be at my house on Friday which was the dog's birthday so we celebrated "Princess" style. I am such a good AUNTIE! :)

Presents from Grandma

My mom went shopping on Friday and bought Miss Morgan a few fun items.

She LOVES her Grandma!

Sundogs Game

On Friday night we packed the truck up and headed to Prescott Valley to celebrate Christmas with Shawn's family. The town has a small hockey team called the Sundogs...so with his family being hockey fans we decided to head to a game. Here is Zach with the mascot.

Morgan and Daddy watching the game. Morgan clapped and cheered the whole night..she even danced when the music came on which lead our family to the "Arena Screen" for all to see. Morgan just kept shaking her bootie and the crowd was laughing at her. She is such a ham sometimes!!

Christmas with the Shero's

Saturday was filled with video games...Madden, Wii bowling...basically whatever the guys could keep themselves entertained with!
Morgan and Zach by the fireplace.

The stockings are hung and waiting to be peeked in...

Shawn and I. Every year I always get us matching clothes for our Christmas celebrations. A few years it was pajamas, and the other years we have done shirts. This year I picked green shirts for all of us. Zach and Shawn had matching shirts with the Grinch.

Presents, Presents, and MORE Presents.

Aunt Danielle and Morgan.

Opening her first gift...she had so much fun!

Zach also had fun opening all of his gifts.

Frosty's Run

Sunday morning we woke up at 5:15a.m. and loaded up the car to leave Prescott by 6:00a.m. so I could go run a 10 mile race in Phoenix. When we arrived to the race site it was pretty cold. After about a mile into the run I warmed up and ran along. My time was 1 hour 54 minutes. I beat my time by 6 minutes, so I was happy! (That is me in the maroon tank).

Jeni and I after the race.

Cabela's

We finished our Sunday with a trip to Cabela's with my parents. We wandered around and found a few items that we needed, stopped to get another picture with Santa, then had some lunch in the cafe upstairs.
Grandpa took Morgan to see the fish inside Cabela's...she loved it!

Miss Morgan

Just a video of Miss Morgan being silly....this is usually how it is around our house. Silliness all day. She has started to add so many words to her vocabulary these days. She will try to say almost anything you ask her to. Our dog Paris is her favorite...every morning when she wakes up she always asks for "Pa is". She has found a new joy for snowmen during the holiday season and Minnie and Mickey Mouse are a sure thing to make her smile! Morgan is still weighing 20 pounds. She is eating almost everything we eat for dinner...some nights she is a little picky. I continue to feel so blessed each and everyday that I get to stay home and be a mommy to her!

Holiday Fun

We started our weekend fun on Thursday night this past week. We loaded up the car and headed to the Adobe Train Park by my parents house. I never even knew this place was there until my mom received a flyer in the mail about train rides and Santa Claus...so we decided to check it out. This park is AMAZING! The trains that you ride are small, and look like real steam engines. The owners have designed numerous tracks through the desert and set up scenery along the way. We did not see everything as it was dark out and they only took us on one track that was decorated with Christmas lights, but we will definitely be going back during the day to see the rest. Morgan had her first visit with Santa at the park...she wanted NOTHING to do with him and would NOT leave Grandpa's arms.

Here are my parents and Morgan loaded on the train waiting for departure! It was SOOO cold out!

Once we were done on the train ride, we headed inside to see the very tiny trains that were set up. Zach was able to control one of the trains and even wear a conductor's hat. We had a great time at the Train Park.

On Saturday morning Morgan and I headed to Cabela's with my mom to visit Santa again. This time Morgan was even more upset!

After pictures with Santa and a little shopping Morgan and I headed to the Orpheum to watch a Christmas Ballet. This place is amazing! Morgan was in complete awe through the entire show and clapped at the end of all the dances.

After the show we waited outside to congratulated Tatum and Skylar, our friends who performed in the ballet. Morgan was having fun running around!

Here we are with Miss Tatum...her brother did not want to be in the picture, but they both did a terrific job! Morgan and I will continue to make this an annual tradition now. Along with the Nutcracker, which we will start next year with the Bondi girls!

Speaking of the Bondi girls, we also went to watch them dance Saturday night at Glendale Glitters. They were each in 2-3 dances and again did a terrific job! Morgan LOVES watching the girls dance!

In between our two dance shows we headed to Scottsdale for story time with Mrs. Claus. Morgan was okay with her.

We sat and listened to Mrs. Claus tell us the story of the Gingerbread Boy. She ran around and captured all the kids attention.

We left our house at 8:30 a.m. and did not arrive home until 10:00p.m. we were both exhausted. I was so grateful Miss Morgan slept until 8:30 to let her mommy catch up on some sleep. Today we are cleaning a bit then baking treats for our fun weekend ahead.