Somebody turned 3!

Ella turned 3 today! I can hardly believe it. Where did the time go? We had a fun day of opening presents a bit here and a bit there. Nana made french toast for breakfast and I made spaghetti for dinner (Ella's choice). We had some friends come over for dinner and of course had cake. I made my first cake with fondant and I think it turned out pretty well. Ella wanted a polka dot cake with the colors of Strawberry Shortcake (yes she is still obsessed), so that's what we did! I do have to give credit to many others who helped out (Marissa helped with the fondant and Brady did quite a bit of fondant coloring for me...turns out you need a back for that!). She loved the cake and presents she got. All in all it was a fun day, and I have a big 3 year old!

The cake

Our little gourmet chef! She got a chef outfit from her Nana and Grandpa including an apron, mits, a hat, and a few cooking items. Ella got to open presents with Grandma Karen on the webcam. She got a Strawberry Shortcake pool and a ladybug lunchbox!

She has been wanting a grocery cart and food for a while so it was time! Only issue is, Carter LOVES it and Ella does not want to share yet. Guess it's a nap time toy for now.

Blowing out the candles...

Playing with Luke, having a scream competition. Why do they do that?!

Carter was a big fan of the cake!

Ella and Lily in their matching jammies ready to have movie night for her birthday. Aren't they cute? Thanks Nana!

Ella got a pinkalicious puzzle for her birthday, so we finished her first 60 piece puzzle! Kennedy, the picture is mostly for you! And Kearis, sorry about that! I wanted to save the date on it but didn't actually get around to doing it until today. =) More posts to come soon...I promise. =)

Family Pictures!

Thanks to our amazing friend/cousin Alicia, we had family pictures taken while we were in California. There were so many cute ones that it was hard to choose! These are amongst my favorites. Enjoy! =)

Micah, Shannon and Cody visit =)

Micah, Shannon and Cody (Ella has named their baby for them) came for a visit last week. We had a ton of fun! The first of our outings was to the river. It was over 95 degrees so the water was very refreshing! Micah and Ella had a blast in the water!

And Aunt Shannon was very good at making sand castles for them to smash!

We went peach picking. Let's just say, Micah should not be left to his own devices. Haha. He brought some home with earwigs! And this was on our hike to see a waterfall. It was so HOT and so beautiful. It was a pretty steep incline so we worked hard that day!

Finally making it to the top we got to cool off in the river.

Aunt Shannon was a trooper. Pregnant and all, she didn't complain at all on our hike. I did complain, I will admit. Those kids are heavy!

One of the beautiful views from the top.

The waterfall. It was a beast!

And this was at the top. It was cool and beautiful and we didn't really want to leave, but of course we did end up having to leave.

Come back soon guys! It was a blast!

Carter turned one!

Carter turned one year old yesterday! Here are a few of the things he is doing these days.

• He is walking around like he is a pro.
• He is climbing everything in site (including into the bathtub!)
• He loves to dance to anything that has a beat
• He LOVES to use drumsticks on anything in site. I am pretty sure we have another drummer on our hands!
• He loves his sister and loves to torment her lately. He will climb in her chair to make her mad, or even smack her at times. Naughty boy!
• He is such a snuggler most of the time. He loves to cuddle in and give you a big hug and kiss whenever he gets the chance.
• He throws anything he can, and has a really good arm! We may have a future baseball player.

I love this boy. He is such a handsome sweet little thing. I can't believe it has already been a year!!! Time is going too fast! And for those who have asked, here is a video of Carter walking. Don't mind my taping skills, my back is broken okay? =)

On another note, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary last week and a birthday for me! For the anniversary we all went out to the Old Spaghetti Factory and had some mediocre food, but the kids had a great time. Then for my birthday Brady smoked some excellent tri-tip for me and picked up McDonald's fries for the side dish. (They are my favorite for those of you that don't know). Ella and Brady made me some chocolate lush for dessert. Mmmmm....=) All in all it has been a fun week (except for the broken back...more of that to come later).

I love my family. =)

Mom's Early 50th!

So I am already getting bored sitting here on the couch so I figure I might as well get caught up on blogging. While we were in California we decided to surprise my mom with a 50th birthday celebration. She won't actually be 50 until October, but since we won't all be around then we celebrated it early. We went down to the beach to have a corn roast. Those of you that know her know that is one of her favorite things to do. We had a great turn out from a lot of friends and family. Some traveled a long way to be there, thank you to all who came out! Here are a few pictures of the event. Enjoy!

This is Ryland, the little boy my mom worked with for a couple years at school. They are buddies.

This is Barbara, my mom's best friend from when she was a preschooler. They haven't seen each other since high school, so it was really fun for them to get together again!

This is Miss Su, my childhood dance teacher and very close friend. I love her so much!

Emmy and her "flower girl". (Ella thinks that title is pretty special).

Cass and her bestie (oh besides Ella that is!).

Cass and her very best friend. (Or so Ella tells me).

Miss Su and Kerry. Thanks for driving down! Ethan, Ella, Malakai, and Carter. Those are some cute kids!

I love these two guys!

Oh sunset at the beach, how I miss you.

Ethan and Ella checking out the train going by. So cute.