One Smart Cookie

Did you know that Krispy Kreme Doughnuts rewards your child for good grades? My friend told me that last week. Anyway they'll give you one doughnut for each "3" earned on your report card (3's are the highest.) They'll give each child up to 6 doughnuts. We went over there and it was great! Abigale was thrilled with this super cute hat too and was proud of herself that she got good grades and earned these doughnuts. She was so proud in fact, she was happy to pose for this picture! I thought it was also funny she happened to be wearing this particular shirt which I didn't notice until just now. Way to go, we're proud of your hard work at school!

Preslie Turns 2

How blessed we are to have this little sassy sweetheart in our family! We love her to pieces and feel lucky to have her. I can't believe she's already 2, time has really flown by. She had a great birthday. She chose to go out to McDonald's for her birthday dinner, what a suprise! Alan and I were thrilled let me tell you. She loves Elmo so she got two Elmo dolls, an Elmo camera, a new bike, dress-up clothes, new outfits, books, and a couple movies. We appreciated everyone celebrating her birthday with us. Happy Birthday little sweetie, we love you!

A little side-note, I am terrible at making cakes! Not my talent that's for sure. Preslie's aunt Jessica made her a darling set of birthday cakes. She's lucky to have an aunt that knows she needed an awesome cake this year, Thanks Jessica! We loved it & Preslie was excited!

THE 14 DAYS OF VALENTINE'S!

THIS IS THE MAILBOX...

THESE ARE THE HAPPY CHILDREN THAT LOVE THE MAILBOX!

Alan started this special tradition in our home last year. He did the 14 days of Valentine's Day for the girls and I. Every morning we'd get up and something new would be in this special mailbox for each of us. We decided it was so fun we wanted to do it every year & that mom and dad would do it for the girls instead. Every morning they wake up excited to see just what kind of suprises await them inside the mailbox. It's a fun way to let the girls celebrate Valentine's Day with us and for us to show them just how much we love them. Thanks to my sweet husband we'll enjoy this fun tradition from now on!

Our Girls Trip to Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

My mom and two of my three sisters went on a fun weekend getaway to Lava Hot Springs. (We missed Tanelle, she's pregnant and been pretty sick.) We had so much fun and laughed more than we've all laughed in awhile. I love my relationship with my mom and sisters and am grateful always for their friendships in my life. We had some laughs over the fact that we thought we were staying in this really nice bed and breakfast and it ended up being a dive and the food was horrible. That's okay though because it just gave us more laughs and jokes for the trip. It was a totally stress-free weekend; we soaked in the hot pots, got massages, watched movies, made crafts, went shopping, played games and got lots of chances to just talk! Thanks mom & thanks to all the sweet husbands that made this possible!

It was freezing, this is what we looked like so we could go swimming.

We tried these nifty mud masks and looked pretty scary but got some good laughs about the fact that Chantel looked totally creepy in this get-up.

This is me laughing so hard I'm crying because the food was so nasty and the little resturant so dirty it took everything I had to gag down my one and only bite before we went and tried another resturant.

Games-lots of games and suprisingly competitive games might I add!

Enjoying the totally awesome hot springs. We stayed in there for hours.

Then the dares began...That's right even Grandma rolled around in the snow! I'm not sure why we all thought this was so cool when we were teenagers. It just hurts!!!

Trying to make the most of our meal, after we talked to the locals we found some awesome places to eat and suffered no more!
Made these super cute journals that Mechelle came up with, she's so crafty!
The most special part of the trip...Our "super nice"(According to the website) room has only a curtain to give you privacy on the toilet! Nice~

TO MY SWEET HUSBAND

To my husband: I love you! I love your laid back, fun personality. I love your sense of humor that makes hard times in our life together easier. I appreciate your hard work to support our family. I appreciate your sense of committment to our family and willingness to work as a team with me to raise our family. I love you for your thoughtfulness and sensitivity to my feelings. Thank you for being grateful for all I do at home for our family and always remembering to thank me. It really means a lot to me. I love you for always trying to better yourself, you make me want to do the same. Thank you for the man you are, I am proud to be by your side for eternity and lucky to be your wife! Thank you for letting me go and enjoy the weekend with my mom and sisters, you brave, brave man!

I love you!

KUED Reading Party

This day was mostly about Abigale but we all enjoyed ourselves. We took the girls down to the KUED Reading Party. Abigale had to read for at least 20 minutes a day for a month to earn the invitation to go. She did it and is getting to be a pretty good little reader. They had lots of different characters from the TV shows they enjoy there to take pictures with. They had tons of different science experiments, art projects, craft projects, snacks, face-painting, free books, magic shows and a neat drum program. We're proud of Abigale for working hard to earn this, it was worth all the effort she made, & she's already looking forward to next year. Way to go GIRL!!!

Abigale's favorite parts of the day: Buddy from Dinosaur train-we love this show at our house it teaches all about dinosaurs and we love it because Buddy's adopted. You all know how much adoption means to us so we think it's pretty cool that there's a cartoon out about it now. She also loved the face painting, making slime, and the drum show.

Our Kitchen Re-Model

What the kitchen looked like when we bought the house... Alan and I worked hard together and had a great time upgrading the kitchen. We along with family and friends; painted A LOT, installed a dishwasher, a new refridgerator, we added trim and knobs to the front of the cabinets, installed-baseboards, beadboard, chair rail, and crown molding. My dad and brother-in-laws came over and helped Alan do the finish wood work. We were so grateful for everyone that helped us finish our kitchen.

And the final result is...

There's still a few things to do like a new counter-top and decorating (of course, my favorite part) but we're thrilled with how everything turned out. Thanks everyone-we're lucky to have friends and family like you that love us!