One year

Today is Katie's 1st birthday. I simply cannot believe it. Where has the last year gone? My baby is fast becoming a toddler. I am so excited to see her as she grows up, but sad that I will not have the experience of the 1st year again with her.

She has learned so much over the last year. She walks now (when it doesn't slow her down), eats "people" food, babbles to communicate her needs, and plays with her big bothers. She is such a busy little thing, constantly on the move. Katie defiantly has likes and dislikes and she will let you know! She screams when her brothers are eating something that she things she should have, like a popsicle, or a sucker. These are her favorite treats. She is quick to smile, but slow to laugh. And so her laughs are valued like gold and the person that can get them from her is usually the hero of the house for the moment. She is so sweet, and such a monster... a very spoiled little girl. We would have it no other way!

You have changed so much. Just look at how big you are now. You were the most beautiful baby, you had so much hair! When they brought you to me after your bath, your hair had been done. The nurses had fun fixing it. And now you are the most beautiful little girl. Curly dark hair, BIG eyes. So sweet. Katie you really are a princess to your family. We are so thankful that we were blessed to have you in our family. You bring us so much joy everyday.

So to you little Katie... a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I love you.

Summer Haircuts

Tonight I finally gave the boys their buzz cuts. This is really not the most attractive look for them, but they are happy with the low maintenance haircut and I am happy that I will not be cutting hair again until about the time that school starts.

toddling along

Not the best video, I know. But the subject is priceless!

happy happy joy joy

Here are Brandon and I on our family outing to the out-put. The pictures of him came out great, but not so much of me. But I love these pictures because it is of the two of us. The one on top Marissa took, but we took the other two. You can see that I had the zoom into close on one, but it my favorite. I LOVE MY MAN!

Family Outing

Tonight we went to Hinckle Family Fun Center with Brandon's brother and his family. It was such a great night! The kids had a great time running through the course and getting a "holey one." My boys tried really hard to get the ball in the right way and they did really well at it. But I think that my niece Carly had the right way of playing all along, she would run up to the hole and drop the ball in. Way to go Carly! Afterwards we came to our house and had pizza and ice cream. It was a fun night for us. We love having family near us. It is great that our kids can be friends as well as cousins.

My cute boys had a lot of fun. I tried to get a picture of all of them, but they would not hold still long enough!

Gabe

Carly

It was fun for me to get pictures of Brandon tonight. He doesn't really like to have his picture taken but he didn't fight to hard tonight! Of course, not to many are up close.

Here he is teasing Marissa about her golfing. And below is Aaron. Nice cheesy wave!

I guess the only person that did not have a great time was Katie. She was fairly content in her stroller and I think that she enjoyed watching the other kids. But still, I know that she would have liked to get out and be with the others. Sorry cutie! Maybe next time.

Self-Portrait Tuesday

"we have the chance to honor our history during this time of year. to remember how our nation came to be. to remember those who have lived and died to protect the things we hold most dear. no matter what country you call home, there is opportunity here to celebrate every homeland. every nation. i hope you will recognize these challenges - they are all borrowed from patriotic songs. and there is so much room for creativity within these lyrics."

tuesday, june 3rd the emblem of the land i love

I love the challenges that Lelly gave us for June. I LOVE American History. It is rich and fascinating. I am glad that we live in this wonderful country that gives us so many opportunities. And here in New Mexico today we get to exercise one of the greatest privileges of living in this country... we get to VOTE.

Today is the Republican primary. And although the Presidential nominee for that party has been decided, there are other races that we are narrowing down today.

There are still countries out there today where the citizens have no say in their leaders. We do! When we vote we get to choose those people that we feel are best qualified to make decisions on our behalf. Now, I know that many times we are choosing the better of the to evils, but it is still a choice that we get to make. And in my personal opinion, when we vote, we earn the right to complain about our leader(s)!! LOL!

So there it is, my soapbox for the day. Enjoy the blessings of a Democratic systems. If you would like to follow the results of our election please go to this website: http://election.kob.com/

Sorry that there are no picture. Technical difficulties. Please check back!

Surprising myself

I had to run what I consider a stressful errand this morning. I had to go the Hyundai dealership to get my oil changed. It always takes them a while and I had the kids with me. So I ran out the door as soon as I got everyone ready and come back about an hour and half later. I go in to the kitchen to start cleaning the breakfast dishes and I find it already done! WOW! I was so surprised until it dawned on me that I had them while Katie was eating her breakfast. Talk about a blonde moment on my part! But being forgetful aside, the dishes were still done and I was happy.