July 2nd Family Party

This year we celebrated our July 4th a little early. My brother Doug was in town from Ohio and he had to fly back on Sunday, so we had a family get together on Saturday! Here is a pic of the kids and I before we left. Eric is behind the camera. :(

Just the kids!

We held the party at my sister Robin and her husband John's house. They are always nice enough to host our bigger family events! Thanks Robin & John!

Here are just a few random shots. Here is some of the kids.

Preston playing with his cousin (one of Millie's twins) not sure if it is Cyrus or Wyatt!

The "older folks". My dad and 2 of his brothers and one sister in law.

Another shot including my mom.

Another pic of the group. My brother Doug is sitting to the left in the chair. Too bad his wife and daughter couldn't come. We missed them!

Just hanging out.

Hi Clarke!

It was fun to be able to spend the day with my family. All my siblings came, but we missed many of my neices and nephews. They just have their own families now, and everyone is busy!

She had the perfect back yard with canopies to provide shade for all of us.

We had a potluck lunch with sloppy joes, and plenty of sides.
Then to top it off there was POPSICLES!!

And even fudge bars!!

We hope you all had a fun 4th of July weekend!

Happy Easter!

Christmas Day 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!!!!

The tree:

First morning moments:

Cade's little pile:

Alyssa opening a gift. I LOVE Cade's face!

Preston wanted Monopoly really bad this year! Grandma pulled through!

Jaida loving her Candy making kit!

Alyssa with a jewery/ribbon kit!

Jaida & Alyssa with some more "girly" stuff.

Cade sportin' his new Curious George outfit!
I can't believe how much he loves that little monkey!

We didn't get any really good shots of the kids and all their stuff at the end. They had plenty of it, and we didn't have room. Our living room is so small, so we moved things out as quick as possible! I also discovered something as I viewed the photos Eric took on Christmas day. I was in most of them and I didn't like what I saw!

As you can see by all the pictures above, I am not in any of those. I skipped over several, and there was definately some cropping involved.

A New Year's resolution was made that day for myself, and I was determined to stick to it! Please see the post above this one for details. :)

Christmas Eve 2009

We have never really made it a tradition to open up a gift on Christmas Eve. This year our family was so blessed that we decided to let them each pick one. Here they are opening a gift of their choice! Here is Cade just getting started.

And Alyssa very excited and being the drama queen that she is. :) (P.S. Both my girls did get new pants for Christmas as you can see they were desperately needed.)

Jaida opened a couple of very cute sweaters! Here she is holding up one!

And Preston, loving another remote control vehicle to add to his collection.

Christmas Day pictures still coming.........

Thanksgiving.....Finally!

We were able to go up to Eric's grandmas for Thanksgiving in Wyoming, and it was really nice! It had been almost a year and a half since we had been up there, so Cade was MUCH bigger to her!

Even Preston always seems to grow a few inches in between each visit!


Eric doesn't change too much though. :)

We did have a few guests join us for dinner this year!

It was great to also be able to see and catch up with Grandpa McConahay as well!

Here is a picture of Eric's cousin Ashley, her husband Steve, and their daughter Adisyn. They have since (on January 14th 2010) added another little girl to their family...Brinlyn.

Eric's Aunt Diana, and another cousin Brandy.

All the kids. Cameron (in the blue/white stripe, and Chyann the blonde on the bottom left are his cousin Brandy's kids.) Then all my kids, and Adisyn (Ashley's daughter) also seen in the photo above.

The weather was so nice the whole time we were there. The kids LOVED playing outside!

I do love the holidays, and it is always nice to get together with family! We also very much enjoyed Eric being back home, and were not looking forward to him going back to work. But it was inevitable. We headed home from Wyoming on Sunday morning, and were able to stop by Eric's dads one more time and say goodbye!

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!

Thinking Christmas!

I know I am prejudice, but Usborne Books make the perfect Christmas gifts!! We have books for everyone whether they are young or old!! Our books are fun and entertaining, yet educational and thought provoking! Here are a few examples:

Wind-Up Race Cars is a fun, interactive book. Wind-up the cars, and watch them race through the story! Your little ones will love it! (3 others in this series)

Our touchy-feely books are highly popular, and great for creating hands-on, sensory awareness!(Many titles to choose from!!!)

See Inside How Things Work! For all those kids who are always asking WHY questions, with flaps to lift! (17 more in this series)

Optical Illusions cards. Great for quiet time, waiting rooms, car rides, road trips, and small enough to fit in their stocking! (Many other flashcards/games to choose from.)

Perfect for your little craft lover! Help them use their imagination by creating fun projects all season long! (5 more in this series hardback, and over 15 more options in paperback)

And of course the favorite search books, with a brand new one Christmas style!
(10 more in this series)

Choose from over 1500 books on my website or email me to know more! Aren't sure what to buy? A little overwhelmed? Just ask for a personal shopping appointment! (I will come to you, bring a few books to show as examples, go through the catalog, and make a few suggestions). Bang, Christmas shopping done and you haven't even left your house! I would love to help anyone/everyone, so tell your friends!

www.ubah.com/HOS148944

Also, now booking holiday shows, so earn all your Christmas gifts for FREE! Mention this post and receive an additional $20 in free books the night of your show!
I can also do catalog parties/eShows as other options, even if you are not local. Just ask!

Christmas Countdown-Day 25

Christmas Day was very simple at our house this year. We enjoyed all the gifts we received, and being together as a family!!!

Preston loved his erector set and race track!

Jaida loved her Moon Sand and Littlest Pet Shop Set

Cade loved his little race track with cars!!

Alyssa was in disbelief in actually receiving the "real" make-up kit she asked Santa for!

Needless to say, we had a great day, and as you can see by the above photo a nice mess to clean up!!!

We also need to give a big shout out to all of our grandma's & grandpa's out there for their awesome gifts! Between their several grandparents they received: magnadoodles, sweats outfits, new gym shoes, snow bibs, a Noisy Animal book, pajamas, a paper airplane book, and some sticker/art books! Thank you! Thank you!