Grey's Easter Pictures

This year I took Grey out to get Easter pictures taken in her new yellow Easter dress.  She looks so pretty in yellow.  Most of the time she was not too happy to be having her picture taken.  She likes to give the camera dirty looks or serious stares when it is in her face.  Here are some of our cute pictures.

 Not so happy any more.

 Grey looks like she is laughing really hard in this shot.

 Trying to escape.

 Posing :)

She is a beautiful little girl!  I just love spending time with her!

Grant is 17!

March has been a big month for Grant.  During spring break he studied and passed his driver's permit test.  Hesitantly, he has started to drive.  He isn't thrilled that he is driving my van.  He wants to drive the car; however, every time we need to go somewhere, we need to take the van.  He has even driven a few miles on the crazy I-10 freeway.  He is getting better at lane changes and slowing down before he makes a right turn.  Although my nerves are a little frayed from being in the passenger seat as he practices his driving skills, I'm excited that he is FINALLY driving.

This month was also Grant's 17th birthday.  He is finishing his junior year of high school.  So much will be happening in this next year with him.  It was fun to spend one more juvenile birthday with him.  I tried to get him to invite his friends over for a party, but he gave me a dirty look like I was nuts.  I anticipated his response.  He is so much fun to tease!  Mitchell, Perry and Grey came over to celebrate his birthday.  Grant's birthday dinner request was Parmesan Bow Tie Pasta Skillet.  This Italian dish has lots of cheese in it.  We had garlic French bread and salad to go with it.

Grey was a wonderful help to Grant in opening his presents.  She may not have shown any interest in opening her own birthday presents a week and a half earlier, but she loved helping Grant with his!

 It's nice to see Grant & Mitchell joking and laughing together.  

Let the unwrapping begin! 

Grey immediately joins Grant to unwrap his gift. 

Grant has a HUGE tool box with a few tools inside.  The toolbox he currently has doesn't hold all of the tools he has acquired.  Grant does a great job of putting his tools away so he can always find him.  This new box will help him stay organized. 

Grey is back for present #2. 

Grant receives a power tool set.  It is a cordless drill and saw.  Now he will have to help out on the upcoming family project :) 

Grant's favorite dessert:  Rainbow Poke Cake aka Jello Cake. 

Here's to another great year for Grant with more maturing and happiness to come!

Grey's 1st Birthday!

It is so hard to imagine that Gray turned one last week.  She is such a sweet baby with a wonderful temperament.  She gives the best hugs, loves to climb the staircase, tries to grab your phone whenever you aren't looking, and still puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.  I love having her in my life.

Perry planned an incredible lady bug birthday party for Grey.  The party was complete with black and red decorations as well as live lady bugs to take home with each family.  As an added bonus, we had matching birthday shirts.

Loved the shirt design!

Grant was the only one who didn't want a super cool red birthday t-shirt.

Grey looked adorable in her lady bug onesie and black & red sparkle tutu.  She played with lots of the balloons before the party started.  They were too much fun to pass up.

 Grey sampled some of the yummy party food.  She liked the mac & cheese cup cakes.

 Grey let Max have some of her food.  She is so good at sharing.

 Grey didn't have much interest in the massive pile of presents.  She just wanted to play with the balloons and scoot around the room.

 Grey ditched the balloons for this kid cell phone.  She wouldn't put it down for the rest of the party!

 Grey is giving her traditional stare down to the lighted candles.  She always gives a serious look when she is unsure of something.

 The trick candles were a bit of a challenge to blow out.  That's not fair!  

 Grey had no problems devouring her cupcake!

 I think she wants more!

Aunt Brenda brought a special headband gift for Grey, her mom, her grandma, her great-grandma, her great-great grandma and her great-great aunt.  Unfortunately, two of the people on the list were not able to make it to the party and pose for our headband picture.  They will have to get their adorable headbands later.  

Mini Town 2014

Each year in February, the school I work for takes a group of 80 kids up to Prescott for a weekend camp.  The camp goals are to help develop leadership skills, create awareness of stereotypes and first impressions, and to build positive health friendships.  I volunteer every year to be a part of this great program!

This is our entire group.  There are 8th grade students, high school and college kids who were group counselors for the weekend as well as teachers from our school.

This is my wonderful group:  Aja, Seth, myself, Lienna, Madi, Sarah, Jill and Jeremy.

Eileen, Katherine & I are sitting in a group because we all have the same birth date! 

 My discussion group performed a skit.

 I played the mom.  I just happened to have a Jersey accent for some reason.  (I must be hanging out with my good friend Janine too often!)

My discussion group grew close in the short time we were together.  I'm excited to be obnoxious when I see them in the hallway everyday.  I guess I'm just using that as an excuse to be obnoxious...I tend to be obnoxious whenever I want.  :)  

Our First Family Adventure of 2014

On Saturday, January 4th, our family headed out to the desert near Four Peaks.  We brought three dirt bikes, two ATVs, water, snacks, and lunch.  We were ready to have fun in the dirt.

 The ATVs and dirt bikes were carefully arranged in the truck bed and trailer so we could fit all of them.  I'm glad I didn't have to help unload, they are all super heavy.

Mitchell & Perry are ready for an adventure in the desert without their baby.  Perry's mom had the lucky job of watching her at home.  These two sure know how to ride fast!

 Perry likes to ride the 80.  It is difficult to start up but she prefers two wheels over four.

 Grant likes to ride the ATV.  He still needs to get some better riding gear (gloves, chest protector, boots). 

 Mitchell LOVES to ride!  He has a helmet camera attached so he can record his adventure.  He was able to record over an hour worth of footage while we were out.

I have no riding gear.  I am wearing an old helmet that the padding is rotting out of and a pair of my winter leather gloves.  I'm glad this was all I needed for today.  I haven't ridden an ATV in several years much less one that I would have to shift while I was driving.  Within a couple of minutes of practicing, I had the shifting down and was ready to get out of the parking lot.

 Brent was the "fix it man."  He adjusted brakes, fixed loose spark plugs, adjusted high idles, and more.  He did an incredible job making sure all of the bikes worked and stayed working so we could have fun.  He put many hours in prior to this trip too.  He really wants this to be a fun family activity that we can do often.

 Mitchell was goofing off on one of the ATVs and riding circles around Grant.

It was absolutely a beautiful day to go riding.  The weather was perfect!  The desert was green, there were incredible views of the mountains and the terrain covered with Saguaro cacti. The only injuries to report are Mitchell's scratches from a prickly tree he rode too close to, Grant's tailbone being sore after riding the 80 (its too small for him), and a sticker I found in my leg after we came home.  

Thank you Brent for creating an AWESOME first adventure for 2014!