Catching up...

Over General Conference weekend ( Oct. 4-5) we went to Wolf Creek with Scott, Heather and their girls. We love spending time together and all of the kids get along so great. The kids are so funny when they are together. Ally and Avi disappear almost immediately. They go off on their own and play non-stop. They are great friends. Madi and Caden like to hang with Alexa or with the adults. They are funny though. They have a lot in common and love to just hang out together. It was such a great, relaxing weekend. We watched the morning session on Saturday and then Avi and Hunter both were heading back to their soccer games. Neither of them wanted to leave the condo. As it was, both games were rained out and so they got their wish. Scott had the great idea of Ice Blocking. The kids had a blast. It was definitely a big hit. When they came back inside they were freezing and wet. Some nice warm Hot Chocolate and warm bathes were just what they needed to warm up. As always there was tons of great food, fun games and laughter. Little Kendall was such an angel. She is just an amazing baby girl. She was so good and she even slept through all of the noise and chaos. Grandma J'Leanne joined us for the day on Saturday and then on Sunday Grandma and Grandpa Holmes and Grandma J'Leanne joined us for the day and had dinner with us. It was a great day. Thanks Grandma J'Leanne for the use of the condo. Thanks Scott and Heather for inviting us to spend the weekend with you!!!

Oh yeah, we did have one mishap....... We had used all the dishwasher detergent and didn't want to call for more. So, Heather told Wade to use just a couple of drops of liquid dish soap. Not long after he started the dishwasher he walked into the kitchen area and was quite surprised by the steady flow of bubbles escaping from the dishwasher. Of course he didn't think that just a couple of drops of liquid soap would really be enough so he used a couple of squirts instead...........

As you can see, we had a bit of a sudsy mess!!! Hmmm, I wonder if he will ever believe what he is told. We did have a great laugh at his expense!
Ahhh, memories!

Ally is growing up!!!

My Ally-bug is growing up! She has desperately wanted to have her ears pierced. On the morning of Sat., Sept. 27th she came upstairs and said that she had a dream that she had her ears pierced. I smiled at her and told her she would have to talk to her Dad about that. She gave her big, puppy-dog eyed smile to him and went over and gave him a hug. He just smiled at her. She walked away from him knowing that he wouldn't let her. I mentioned to him that maybe we should let her do it before she was much older. I then reminded him that Alexa was older and she was awful about letting us take the posts out. He shrugged and had that 'I give up' look. He then told me he didn't care if she had it done. I went and told Ally that she could have her ears pierced. She was SO excited. We went that afternoon to The Silver Loft at the Newgate Mall. Alexa and her cute friend Ashley went too. They were being so cute with Ally. They were helping her pick which earrings and then they were trying to keep her from getting too nervous about it. She chose her Amethyst posts, her birthstone. After it was done they were telling her how cute her earrings were. Ally said it hurt a little bit, but she has been all smiles ever since. She is also very diligent about cleaning around her earrings. She got all of the way to the bus stop one morning and remembered she didn't clean her ears so she ran back home. I told her it was ok, she could do it after school. She ran back up to the bus stop but the bus had already come! So she came back home, cleaned her ears then I drove her to school!

Birthday Party Candids

Super Man!

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is 74 yrs old today. I view today as a gift. As positive as one may try to be when dealing with an incurable cancer it has been hard, at times, to believe that he would be here for his birthday. It truly feels like such a blessing to be able to celebrate his birthday with him.
On Saturday we were able to have a big birthday party for him. My sister, Corrie, chose a 'Superman' theme. Definitely very fitting. We had the party in Wellsville at my brother, Dustin's house. There was great food and a lot of laughs to be had by all. Our niece, Ashley, agreed to come to Wellsville to take family pictures. Our original plans were to have them taken in front of the old barn at our old house. However, due to a conflict with the present home-owner, that did not work out. Dad wanted to have the Wellsville Mtns as our back-drop. That was easy since all we had to do was walk out Dustin's front door for that back drop.
Unfortunately the rain played havoc for a while and then cleared up leaving a beautiful rainbow as an extra birthday wish.
It was so great to have us 7 kids with Mom and Dad for pictures. Thanks to Dustin and Carrie for the use of their home for the party! Thanks to Ashley and Dwight for driving to Wellsville for pictures! Thanks to Corrie for the amazing 'Superman' cake and Nancy for the great food and organizing the party! It was truly a party to be remembered!!!
Our Dad has been our *hero* for all our lives. How fitting to honor him on his birthday as a 'Super Man'. I found a tile for him that says "If you don't believe in heroes, You haven't met my Dad". We all feel this way about him. He is an amazing example for all of us. He continues to live his life with complete faith and love.
I love you Dad!!! You made it to your birthday, YEAH!!! Now we can look forward to your next birthday and many more to come!!!

Happy Belated Birthday...

Wade's birthday was last week on Sept 18th. Unfortunately, it was quite uneventful. We had chili for dinner and he requested a fresh peach pie for his birthday 'cake'. We had pack meeting that night too. It's always fun having a birthday on a weekday. So between everything going on that night he managed to open presents and have his pie.
Ron's birthday was on Sun, the 21st. All the family gathered for his birthday and had cake and ice cream. It is always fun to get together and hang out.
Happy Birthday Ron!
Happy Birthday Wade!