"It's not a fun party without cake!"

Happy Birthday Dylan! He turned 4 yesterday! We've been celebrating all weekend. Yesterday we had ice cream to celebrate and Dylan says, "Where's the cake? It's not a fun party without cake!" I agree, but we had eaten cake Saturday for a friends party, Sunday for Dylan's family party, Monday for his friend party...and I just didn't want to make another cake.



Sunday we had family over. Dylan's party was.....Pirate themed (he didn't get a pirate party last year when the rest of us had our pirate party.)

The top 3 things Dylan wanted this year:
1. Orange Monster Truck
2. Orange Underwear
3. Orange Shirt
*The monster truck could not be found!


Thanks everyone for all the nice presents!



Monday was our mom swap day, which also happened to be my turn so we just had a small party with some of his primary friends. There are 12 Sunbeam age kids and they all partied at another party on Saturday, so instead of a party with everyone we used the mom swap time as his party.


Then yesterday we did stuff Dylan wanted to do...Hardee's for breakfast, Target to spend his birthday money, and dinner at Moe's.

I know he had a great birthday! He keeps asking me (as I type this) if it's his birthday today and if he's 4.

Happy Birthday to our sweet Dylan!

She walks in them better than I do!

Morgan loves shoes! It's a girl thing! She got some play shoes for Christmas which she loves wearing around the house. But...shoes are shoes and she'll wear dad's, Eli's, Dylan's, and any shoe she finds at Chick-fila not in a cubby. (I've actually had to wrestle a pair of pink rubber boots from her once.)

She's wearing my shoes and her feet fit perfectly in the toe part...that girl can walk better in those shoes then I can.

Your Vote Counts!

So, I need your help....vote for one picture of Morgan and one picture of Dylan.

I know I'm a little bias, but I do think I have the most adorable kids! So I saw an add for a baby contest and the winner gets a college scholarship, so it's worth at least an entrance photo! How hard could taking a photo of them be? Dylan was great, smile and ham it up for the camera. Morgan, however, had a different approach. The first few pictures she'd look up and smile, then she started running from me. For weeks now I've been trying to take a picture of each of them. Seriously, she runs when she sees the camera. She refuses to look up and she runs. It actually makes me laugh.

Remember - one picture of each! I must submit the pictures next week.

Thanks!

Dylan #1

Dylan #2

Dylan #3

Dylan #4

Morgan #1

Morgan #2

Morgan #3


Morgan #4

It's a plague...

and we are on day 10. The kids have been sick again - you know the not fun stuff that comes out from both ends! (We had just cleaned our carpets from the bout in December)

And today, I have felt icky all day and have a huge lump in my throat that just won't go away.

Seriously my friend suggested we move out of our house. We have been sick every month since October and all have lasted for 10+ days.

Keep us in your prayers!

Such a girl!

Having a girl is so different from the boys. They came out making boy noises...she came out kissing babies and loving shoes. So I was cleaning my bathroom and Morgan got into my nail polish bag. I was curious....she loved it! She sat still, smiled, wiggled her toes, and laughed.

Pretty toes Morgan!

Still pretty!

Checking them out.

Morgan is happy!

Still Couponing

and LOVING IT! We've increased our pantry food storage by nearly 1 month plus we have at least 6 months, some even a year's worth on our hygiene products. THANKS KENDRA FOR TEACHING ME TO BE BETTER WITH COUPONS. I've always used coupons, but Kendra took it to a whole 'nother level!

So today I did a trip to Food Lion and saved 77%!

I got:
5 boxes of cereal (which keeps 6 months to a year)
2 boxes of powdered Gatorade (which keeps until 2010)
2 Gillette men's razors
2 Gillette men's shampoo

Retail Total: 61.26
Total Out of Pocket: 14.08
Savings: 77%

Yea me....our 2009 goal is to get at least 3 months of pantry food and 6 months of food storage (canned/jarred) food. And I'll use my normal grocery budget to do it. (Well we might splurge some with our income tax for Bishop's storehouse stuff).

Wish us luck...and let me know if you want to learn some mad coupon skilz!

Happy New Year!

Top 10 things that made us SMILE in 2008!

10. Neal still has a job
Which we are thankful for everyday
9. The Monster Jam Truck Show
The boys could fit in the rim of the tires
8. Devon's 30th Birthday Party - Pirate themed murder mystery dinner
Neal is next - aarrgghh
7. Singing together as a family
Eli's favorite "Listen to the still small voice" Dylan's favorite "I am a child of God"
6. Morgan's first ear surgery and recovery went smoothly
Children seem to handle those kinds of things better than adults
5. Food Storage - it's fun, REALLY!
Canned meats, water storage, and basic staples
4. Listening for what our kids will say or ask for in their prayers
To get an E at school, for the United States, and to live Happily Ever After
3. Watching our kids snuggle with each other
The boys gently hug Morgan while she softly rubs their heads
2. Family vacation in the RV - especially the mouse experience
Charlotte and Boone North Carolina
1. Celebrating 10 WONDERFUL years of marriage in New York City
We look forward to the next 10