Halle's 9th Birthday!

Halle couldn't wait for her birthday this year. Somehow I got ahead of myself and wrote "Halle's 10th Birthday" on our calendar. I don't know what I was thinking but I am happy to say she is only nine. Early Saturday morning, she walked into my room and asked if she could open her presents. Everyone except Halle was asleep so I sent her to the office to look on the computer. We had set up an e-mail account for her which she discovered and it already had 17 messages from family wishing her a happy birthday! That was definitely a highlight of her day. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes and nice things you said to her - she loved it.

She couldn't wait to open her presents.

I love how all of the kids get so excited when it's someone's birthday.

Halle and her styling sunglasses.

Kate and Jack are always willing to help open a present

This is Halle opening presents in the car for her birthday party. She isn't excited or anything!

Halle invited four friends to come and get their hair, nails and makeup done. This is their before picture.

Here is Halle's before picture.

She's hoping it turns out cute....

Here's her hair from the back. All of the girls kept saying, "I wish my mom could do my hair like this."

They all got their nails done.

Here is their after picture. Aren't they cute?

Instead of cake and ice cream, we took the girls to Jamba Juice. All of the workers sang Happy Birthday to Halle and decorated her cup with stickers. It doesn't take much to make a nine year old happy.

This is Halle with her good friend Brynli. It was a nice group of girls and they had a great time. That night Harmon and I took Halle and Lacey to Tepanyaki for their birthday dinner. Halle had such a nice day and definitely felt celebrated. We love you Halle!

I Think They Like Him...

Once in a while I am able to catch a tender moment. These two little ones love their dad and he loves them so much. It seems our kids are growing up way too fast and the time that two can fit on dad's lap will soon be gone. . .

Jack is 5!

As much as I tried to talk Jack in to not turning five, I couldn't convince him. However, he did promise me that he will stay five. I absolutely love this kid and his age. I wish he could stay this sweet, innocent, funny, loving little boy. I think I love him so much because he loves me so much. I wake up to him hugging and kissing me and get lots and lots of, "I love you Mom's" throughout the day just because. This year he had a couple of friends come with us to Chuck E. Cheese (still pronounced Chuck E. Jesus by both Jack and Kate).

Here's Jack with his buddy Josh. Josh and Jack go to preschool together and he lives a few doors down.

Jack and his buddy Austin. Austin also lives on our street. We are so lucky to have so many kids in our neighborhood.

With Chuck E. himself.

I guess this is Jack's cool look. I can't tell you how many times they rode this monster truck.

We are mean parents and made Jack wait until Harmon got home from work to open presents.

Jack takes his wishes seriously - I hope this one comes true - whatever it was!

Jack was so funny with his candles - he blew them out one by one! We were all cracking up. Don't look too closely at the cake or you will discover my lame spelling error. That is why I never do the birthday cakes - what was I thinking? Never again.

Toenails for Dessert

So, we went to Uncle Doug and Aunt Carol's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration today in Lindon. It was wonderful to see everyone and visit with them. They served all sorts of pies from Marie Callender's. Kate chose a slice of banana cream and Jack chose a slice of raspberry. (The first slice landed on the floor, but that's another story). Anyway, Jack asked me what kind of pie Kate had. I told him it was banana cream. I asked him if he would like to try a bite of it. He looked at it and thought a minute and said, "I would if it didn't have toenails on it!"

Cute Kate

Kate is wearing one of my favorite little outfits she got from Christmas, although I am pretty sure she would look cute in a potato sack. I need to look at this picture often because she is entering the terrible threes and I am losing my patience. The other day she said to me, "That's the problem, Mom. You're not the boss." Can you picture that coming out of this sweet little girl?

California for the Holidays

We had such a great time in California for the holidays. We hadn't told anyone we were coming and it was fun to surprise my family. Ashley and Todd were in town already with their kids and Sunny and Steve also spent the holiday in California. It was so fun to all be together. Everyone was there except Sam and Lindsay and their kids. They were excused though since Lindsay had just had Ruby.

Harmon and Jack relaxing at the beach house.

Kate's ready for the nice weather with her flip flops on.

Everyone enjoying the view of the beach.

Harmon tried to keep up on work while he was gone. I don't know how you could concentrate on work with that view right in front of you. The Leany's home is so beautiful and relaxing.

Lacey, Jessica and Bailey had so much fun together.

Lacey and Jess.

Lacey and Bailey have really missed each other since Bailey moved last year.

Everyone went out to lunch at Ruby's Diner in Laguna for Jessica's birthday. We were lucky enough to be seated by ourselves on the roof (so was the rest of the restaurant).

Bailey, Lacey and Jessica.

We had a celebrity sighting while we were at the beach by the Montage. Can you tell who it is?

Jack and Kate.

Kate getting her feet wet.

I don't think they stayed dry very long.

Enjoying the beach...

Kids are always so fascinated with birds. Kate is no different.

We promised the kids we would take them to Disneyland. We decided that the middle of the week would be the best time to go. I guess we should have consulted the weather. The weather had been gorgeous the whole time we were there. However, Wednesday, it drizzled the WHOLE day (except for the first couple of hours we were at Disneyland). I also have to add that it was gorgeous the rest of the week as well. It was definitely a bummer. Once you've paid to get in there is no turning back. So here was our day at Disneyland. This is Harmon and Jack with their driver's license from Autopia.

Lacey and Halle waiting for Autopia. Halle was a little nervous and excited because she got to drive her own car.

Harmon and Jack.

Lacey already found something she would like.

The threesome.

Bailey, Lacey and Jess in front of Sleepy Beauty's Castle. It is so pretty at Christmas.

Sage and Halle. I don't know where Sage comes from.

Waiting for Honey I Shrunk the Audience.

Sweet shades. Kate was a little scared of the movie and didn't want to keep her glasses on.

Looking our best.

More glasses.

Kate's excited to go on Dumbo.

Jack loved controlling Dumbo.

By this point we were quite wet and so tired.

I exist every now and then.

So cute.

Me and my favorite boy.

Kate is at the edible stage. I love that cute little face.

Jack has had enough. We still had a pretty good time, in spite of the weather.

On Saturday, we took the kids to the Great Park in Irvine to ride the "hot air balloon." This is Kate as we waited for our turn.

The cousins waiting.

This is the balloon we rode up in.

Halle has done this before this past summer. She is a pro.

Harmon and Kate. It makes me nervous just looking at this picture.

Lacey is also a seasoned balloon rider.

Ashley and Chase.

I think I look a little pale. I'm glad I did it but I don't need to do it again any time soon!

The fam.

Saturday night we met up at Capo Beach to have a bonfire to celebrate Toby's birthday. Jack loves to roast anything and kept saying he wanted another hot dog just so he could roast one.

Steve, Sunny and Grace.

Bailey and Lacey. It was 80 degrees this day. Boy, were we in for a shock since we were leaving for Utah the next day. Some things just aren't fair.

Sunny and Harm.

Happy Birthday Toby.

Sage and Halle are best cousins. They love being together.

Such cute girls. They had the best time with each other this trip.

Gracie and Kate.

Jack with a marshmallow mustache.

Kate is the biggest baby freak and couldn't get enough of the baby.

The kids started dancing and chanting around the fire!

Next thing you know they are worshipping it... Time to go. We loved our California Christmas.