Valentines...A 3 Day Event!

{I finally got a moment to post!!! Yeah!!}

We had a great Valentine's Day this year that lasted a couple of days. That is my style of holiday, make it last as long as possible! Ours started on Friday, the day before Valentine's Day. The kid's friends, Justin and Elizabeth, hosted a Valentine's Day party at their house. There were 9 kids the oldest being 3 and the youngest 3 months old. They decorated cupcakes, played pin the lips on the heart, and played with all of their fun toys. Here are some cute pics to follow...Decorating is a serious thing around here!The kids actually lined up and stayed for a picture! AMAZING!! Charlotte is missing from this picture, but these were all the big kids. Kaden and Justin were twins for the day!! Maddy looks like such a big girl!! She's growing up too fast!


Day 2 was Valentine's Day. Bryce had to work all day, so the kids and I just hung out. This was the first Valentine's Day night in a few years that Bryce wasn't working, helping others have an enjoyable night at the restaurant. So we decided that instead of fighting the crowds, we would have a mellow night at home and enjoy the time we had to spend together as a couple and as a family. Life gets so busy, it's nice to chill for a night! So I decided to put my cooking skills to the test and made a pretty tasty meal. It included chow mein, orange chicken and cream cheese wontons. After prepping all day and cooking all evening, I then realized why people go OUT to dinner!! However, it was pretty yummy and fun to make a special meal for my family. I guess the kids were feeling the love also because as they were playing in the bath, Kaden out of the blue wrapped his arm around Maddy and said, "Mom, cheeeeese!!" Maddy was soon to follow and out came the camera. Priceless moments of pure love! I'd have to say, it has been difficult and a lot of hard work raising two kids 13 months apart, but at this stage, I am so greatful they have each other and already share such a special bond. We finally put the kids to bed and enjoyed some chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, or "bubbles" as the kids call it! I truly LOVE Bryce with all my heart! He is a great companion that is a great support and always encourages me to do my best! Although our lives haven't seemed to be a "piece of cake" I would never want to walk through it with anyone else...I love you! Muah!

Ok, Ok, enough of the mushy gushy huh!! :) Day 3 of our Valentines was on the Monday to follow. My mom and sisters came up for a belated Valentines Day party. We were determined to have it even if it was late and to bake/decorate cookies with the kids... It was quite a hit! I didn't know how well a couple of 2 year olds would do, but I was impressed!!Grammy taught Kaden and Gracey how to roll out the dough. I didn't know he could be so patient!They had a blast with the cookie cutters. Kaden of course wanted to make all of the cookies a "BIIIIIIG Heart!!"While the big kids made cookies, the little girls hung out with Harmony and of course Maddy ate... suprise, suprise!! (For those of you who don't know Maddy as well, she is our resident garbage disposal...no exaggeration! Seriously!!)Test the frosting...All is well, ready to decorate...Final product...DELICIOUS!!This is Gracey in a nutshell! :)A day with all the grandkids and Grammy would not be complete without our best attempt to coral the lil' guys and force them to say "cheeeese" a million times! They are all good sports!Like I said...our best attempt!Can you believe that these are the babies!!Our afternoon ended with a little Mother-Daughters date! Jamie so graciously watched ALL 4 kids while we went to a movie. It was such a treat! As you can see we take celebrating seriously in this house!! Stretch it out as long as possible. I always love a reason to have a party!! What's next...St Pattys??

Rainy Day Project

My mom and I decided to do some arts and crafts on Friday since it was raining all day. I've been wanting to make something to hold all of Maddy's hair accessories instead of just shoving them into a small box. So we dragged the kids to Michaels to get our supplies, put them down for a nap when we got home, and started our crafts. We made 2 bow/headband holders and some flowers to attach to her headbands. It was easier than I thought it would be and a lot of fun to do it with my mom! Thanks Mom! Thanks kids for taking good naps for us!!
This one is for of her flowers and bows.
PS Don't mind the hideous wood paneling in their closet!
This second one is to hold all Maddy's headbands. This girl isn't hurting for accessories!!These are the flowers we made! I'd have to say they turned out pretty cute for our first time. We make a good team Mom! We had a little system going by the end!Final products; headband and all!Of course we had to model a couple of them. Maddy LOVES wearing her headbands! In fact if there happens to be one laying on the floor or she gets one out of the diaper bag, she attempts to put it on and then goes along with her playing, crooked and all!Kinda a funny face there girl! Maddy has mastered taking pictures and saying "cheeeeese" as you can tell!No headbands for Kaden, just a cute smile!!

Amazing Weather: Round 2

We are enjoying our second wave of awesome 70-80 degree weather!! I hope all of you enjoying the snow don't hate us in SoCal!! :) So we decided to head to the beach on Saturday with a whole gang of people. We went with Bryce's parents and Grandparents visiting from Washington, Jamie, Justin, Andrea, and McKenna; and met Eric, Harmony, Skye and my mom there! We were quite a crew! Unfortunately I was busy taking pictures of all the kids so I don't have evidence of everyone there! It was SO beautiful! A few weeks ago I went with my sisters to the beach and Felicity said you know whenever I start to complain about it being so expensive to live down here I will remember that we are chillin' at the beach in January! I SO agree. We are very fortunate to live so close to the beach and be able to enjoy it all year round! So here are the pics!Daddy and his lil' chunky monkey!
PS. Look how skinny my hubby has gotten! All that hard work pays off!!Daddy and Jamie with Kaden in the FREEZING water!COLD, but HAPPY!! Cold water doesn't ever effect kids!Maddy was the definition of water baby!! She could not get enough of it and would just book it into the waves without a care! Try to catch me!!Justin burying McKenna's toesies with sand. What a sweet moment! Grandma playing with Maddy in the water. She's on her way to walking, but not quite there!Skye was all about exploring the sand!!Whats a beach day without a wagon ride! I think Justin got his workout for the day!Also being burried in a necessity! Skye really is that teeny compared to the other kids!! What a cutie! The End!!