PARTY ALL WEEK LONG!

Wow, what a whirlwind this week has been! We have taken the meaning of party to a whole new level! Nothing like celebrating birthdays for a whole week straight! Jordans birthday was last Tuesday....the morning started with a cute little surprise for her. One of her good friends managed to get a picture of her when she was younger. (I wonder how :) He made a bunch of copies of it and hung them all over the church and and in her seminary room, so when everyone came to seminary they would know it was her birthday! Jordan loved it!!! She had a great day at school and that night, she had a softball game, so the whole family was there to support her. We even made a great big "Happy Birthday" sign to hold up in the stands. After her game we were able to celebrate at Chili's with Grandma, grandpa, Uncle Skip, Kristi, and Davey.Davey and Kristi gave Jordan a gift card to the movie theater! She loved it! (since she usually has to pay for her own movies!) We kind of did a 2 in 1 and sang to both Jordan and Cody....they were happy because they got yummy birthday shakes! :) When we got home, Jordan went up to her room to find that some of her friends had come over and decorated her room. It was so cute...streamers and heart notes everywhere! Jordan loved it.....her friends had put cut out hearts all over her bed. The next morning when I went in her room, she still had them all in the same place. She must have slept so carefully not to mess them up! Jordan had a great birthday. A big thank you to all those who made her day so special! As a mom, I am so grateful for the good friends Jordan has. Jordan is a very social person and it is nice to know that the people she is hanging out with have the same values as she does. They build her up and are such good examples!!! Thank you FRIENDS...you know who you are!!!

Cody was our next birthday of the week. Thursday the 18th was his special day! I can hardly believe that my baby is already 7 years old! That doesn't seem possible! It seems like yesterday he was just a brand new baby! I can't imagine our family without him. He is the comedian and life of the party at our house. From the day he was born he has been different from our other kiddos....a little bit crazier, louder, daring, and willing to push those buttons.....but we wouldn't have him any other way! I realized this year that Cody has never really had a birthday party....it is always a quick, invite a couple friends and we will grab dinner and invite them over to play. Unfortunately, this year wasn't much different. (I have promised him that next year he will get a nice BIG party!) BUT....We were a little bit better this year! He invited a couple of friends over and we took them to The Zone, where they have muliple bounce houses! The kids had a great time burning off energy before coming back to the house. I told Cody I would make dinner for he and his friends. He could have anything he wanted.....what did he choose....PANCAKES! Wahooo...easy for me :)So we had mickey mouse pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream...yum!!! Then we sang happy birthday and had his favorite...ice cream cake!Cody was in heaven...friends, cake, and for presents...LEGOS!! He was so excited to get Legos.. he actually has them all already put together and has his own little "village." My little Cody is growing up! I love the fun different stages each child goes through, but it is sad when your babies aren't babies anymore!

The party continued Friday night! The kids had their school winter dance! The boys get most excited about the cookies, sodas, and running around with their friends more than the dance. Cody hooked up with a couple of his buddies! Matthew and Garrett are his best little buds! Every year at the dance the fifth graders get to do something special. Paige is the big 5th grader this year which meant time for some square dancing! She stayed in from recess and went early before school to practice, and she did awesome! She looked like a natural! Paige and her partner we so cute! They took their dancing very seriously. I loved watching Paige twirl around the dance floor! Paige loved having her independance and took off right away to be with her friends. I'm not sure we saw her the whole night. Does this mean she is getting older???
I had to leave the School Dance early to make it over to Jordans birthday party. She had a combined party with a friend of hers. Believe it or not, they were born on the same day, 30 minutes apart, and just cities apart from each other. CRAZY!!! Jordan and Kayden had a great time sharing their birthday.....once they are older parties are great! You don't really have to plan much....they just love hanging out and they pretty much come up with their own stuff to do. My friend and I did plan a few fun games to play with the kids. We decided to do birthday banana splits....so we put their candles in the ice cream and sang happy birthday!! I know I say it all the time...but what a blessing to have such strong youth in the area. I am so grateful Jordan has such good friends. All these kids are great! What a blessing!!

So our party week comes to an end......(thank goodness!) I think a major diet is in my future from a week of sweets and yummy treats!!! But well worth it! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!

Dare I say it - Jordan is 15 today!!!!! I can't believe it! Where has the time gone??? Yes, in just a little while, she will have her permit and will be behind the wheel. SCARY!!! I remember when she was teenie tiny and I would play dress up with her like she was my doll. I loved trying new outfits on her and taking pictures!

She was such a sweet little thing! The great thing is that she is still sweet, kind, generous, caring, and has grown up into a wonderful young lady! She loves being with her friends! She loves her brothers and sister! And isn't afraid to get crazy with her family!Jordan, you bring so much joy to our family! Your brothers and sisters adore you. Thank you for the example you are to them! We love you and are so very proud of you. Have a wonderful birthday sweetie!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

I love Valentines Day and all the LOVE that comes with it! My favorite part about it is that I get to spend the day with the people I love the most! MY FAMILY!!! The night before, Rick took me out to dinner with some friends! It was really fun, and with the NBA All-Star game being in town, the restaurant was very packed! Come to find out, the table next to us were professional athletes! One of the guys was a football player for the Kansas City Chiefs and the other played for the Raiders! (sorry Jason - no autographs :) But really nice guys! After dinner we went hot tubbing! It was so much fun! Sitting outside in what felt like zero degree weather until the wee hours of the morning!
The next morning was actually Sunday, so Rick and I wished each other a Happy Valentines Day and off to Stake Conference we went! When we got home, Rick made a sandwich for me. Joking I said, "what, your not making me a heart sandwich!" Ask and ye shall receive! My sweet husband made me a heart sandwich! It was the best heart shaped sandwich I have ever tasted! He also gave me my most favorite valentines day presents ever! Snapple and a Twix Bar! Yes, there is a story behind this! Let's just say I have somewhat groomed Rick into the sweet, romantic man he is today. Our first year of marriage, Valentines Day consisted of last minute flowers. I explained to him, all I want is for him to think (ahead of time) of something that I would like. Put some thought into it! So the next year for Valentines Day, I woke up to flowers, a card, a snapple and a twix candy bar. Rick left for work very early, so I know he had to have actually thought of that atleast one day in advance. The card said, I wanted to get you your favorites...snapple and a twix. That was the best Valentines Gift ever!!!! So I got my favorite again! Thanks honey!!!! The real truth is - that Valentines Day isn't just once a year around here...Rick is pretty great about showing me he loves me all year round! For fun, we decided to make some Valentine sugar cookies and let the kids decorate them! I didn't have the recipe I wanted, so the day before I had called my sister for the recipe. She called back and gave the recipe to Jordan. I asked Jordan for the recipe and she even rewrote it so I could read it. I started putting all the ingredients in one by one, following the directions exactly. But something just didn't seem right. BUT - I figured, it had to be right! I'm sure Jordan copied the recipe down word for word. When I saw ingredients listed more than once, I was a little worried. So I called my sister back just to confirm what I was doing was correct. I got her on the phone and I started reading, "1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup shortening, 3 eggs and cream together. She confirmed that was correct, so I continued....4 cups evaporated milk....just then she busted up in laughter....4 cups she chuckled! It should be 1/4cup....." I had thought it looked a little runny!!! We both had a good laugh and found a few other flaws in the recipe. Well, needless to say, I dumped out the mixture and started over. I have come to realize that is what a teenager does best....focuses on way too many things like friends, boys, music, etc... and sometimes in doing so, can't focus all their attention on one thing...I was sure to tell my sister - until Jordan grows out of the teenage phase...just give the recipe to Paige. We had a good laugh!!!! The cookies turned out great and we had a blast getting creative! This cookie was my favorite! The kids had a fun time decorating. (and tasting too!)
For dinner, we headed to mom and dad's house. Mom had the table decorated so beautiful! And believe it or not, this was the first time in 8 years that they have lived in the house, they have used the dining room table! We were special!!!! Dinner was great!!! Dad made a ham, we had all the fixins, sparkling grape juice, and the best part - eating by candlelight!
Valentines Day is about being with the ones you love....I loved spending the day with mom and dad and my family!
Me and the girls!!!Dad and the boys!!
Some of my favorite pictures are of the kids on Valentines Day! Here are the kids showing their love!!!!

Snow In Texas!!!

Who would ever believe we got almost a foot of snow!!! It was AWESOME!!! I think they said this is the most snow ever! We all knew some kind of winter weather was coming, but never knew it would be what it was. Thursday morning all the kids woke up hoping to see snow. Jordan woke up for seminary and as we left, the streets were bone dry. Absolutely nothing! She went into seminary at 5:45, I settled in the backseat for a little snooze, and when I got up to climb into the driver seat, I couldn't even see out the window. The snow had covered my window and was coming down in huge snowflakes. The kids were so excited thinking they wouldn't have school, but nope - off to school they all went. Rick stayed home that morning, but figured he better head into work. He was smart and came home early because the snow was suppose to get worse as the day went on. This is what the first batch of snow looked like. The kids had a full day of school, but before dimissal they announced school was cancelled for Friday! They were so excited when they got home. The were in the house for about a minute before they pulled out all the winter gear. It literally had snowed the whole day! Paige went off with a friend to a hill nearby. Looking at the pictures you would think she was in the mountains somewhere. Paige and some friends had a snowboard they used as a sled. They had a great time!
She had a blast relaxing on the tube, sliding down the hill!
Chase, Cody, and their buddy Colton were bound and determined to make a great big fort. I think they did a pretty good job! They were ready for a big snowball fight! The snow really started coming down and the kids were loving it. Cody was so excited it was snowing! He was the first one to throw on his clothes and head out the door! He was taking in every bit of the snow....even tasting it! He reminded me of the little boy in the Christmas Story who stuck his tongue to the pole!I really think Cody would have slept in his fort if I would have let him. The boys stayed out until it was dark. I couldn't believe it! When the time came for them to come in, they didn't realize they were absolutely frozen. I felt so bad for them. They took off their clothes and their little legs were bright red. SO - I offered them a hot tub!!! The best around!!! My bath-tub! They were all over that! They put their swimsuits on (since their buddy was with them) and we filled it full of hot water and bubbles. They jumped right in!They stayed in there for about an hour! They loved it! That night at about 10:00 the snow was still coming down. So Jordan and I ran out and played a little!!We couldn't believe how white it was outside. I opened all the windows and just watched for awhile! When we woke up, this is what we saw!!!SNOW EVERYWHERE!!! Even the streets were covered! Everyone was home, and as soon as the kids woke up, they were ready to head back out again. This time it was my turn to join in the fun! I got to play, build a snowman, and have a snowball fight. Rick and Cody went to work! Cody was so sweet, he went into the garage and grabbed a broom to wipe off all the snow from Ricks car. And Rick was busy shoveling snow, so I could get my car in and out of the garage! (yes, here in Texas we have to use a garden shovel...sad I know :)The kids bundled up again, with more layers on this time. We could hardly see Chase he had so many layers on. Paige was busy at work building her snowman! A mighty fine snowman if you ask me. And tasty too!The neighbors across the street built an awesome snowman too...so we had to steal it for some pictures! Again, the kids stayed out in the snow for most of the day! What a fun couple of days!