Spring Pictures 2014

I have been so bad about getting the kids pictures taken.  I cannot believe that it has actually been since 2011 that they had them done.  Time just seems to always get away.

Sebastian (6), Abby (4), Austin (15), Gabe (8)

Thanksgiving 2013

We had the family over to our house for Thanksgiving.  Abby helped me with all of the cooking.  She is such a cutie and such a great helper :)  After we prepared the feast, the family came over and we ate yummy food and then relaxed and watched some good ol' Thanksgiving Day Football :)

Happy Birthday/Thanksgiving dessert to Austin!

Austin's 15th Birthday!

Austin is one of the lucky ones that shares his Birthday with Thanksgiving every so many years.  This has it's pros and cons to it, I'm sure he could elaborate more on that than I could but since this is my blog I guess we'll leave it at this.  One of the pros is that you are sure to be with family on your actual birthday, one of the cons is that your birthday is easily forgotten among the Holiday.  This year his birthday was shared with Thanksgiving, he said he enjoyed spending time with the family :)  (We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house).  He already got his MAJOR birthday present at the beginning of the month, Max.  He did get a few other things from us but most of all was excited to get his Colorado Hockey jersey that grandma gave him.

 

 

Silly Kid!

So hard to believe that I have a 15 year old!  The time goes so fast and then I wonder where all the years have gone.  This kiddo makes me so proud!  He is a great kid, gets good grades (for the most part, lol), loves to play sports, and has a tender heart.  I am one proud Mama!

Happy Birthday Kiddo!

Sebastian's 6th Birthday Party

Sebastian has his first "friend" Birthday party this year!  He chose to have it at The Little Gym.  He invited all of the boys from his kindergarten class and a couple of boys from our neighborhood.  He was so excited to play with all of his friends.  What a great place to have a party, they did all of the entertainment, presents, served cake and ice cream, and clean up!  All we had to do was show up and of course pay :)

 

 

 

What a great time.  He had so much fun with all of his friends :)

Abby's 4th Birthday!

My baby girl is now 4?  As much as I love to watch her grow and learn it just seems to be happening too fast!  She is my last baby but she is no longer a "baby".  She is so smart!  She is a little sponge and just soaks it all in.  She loves to learn and is always eager to share what she has learned.  She loves going to Challenger pre-school.  She has been doing ballet now for a little over a year and just absolutely LOVES it!  She also loves doing gymnastics.  Abby is definitely a girly girl!  Anything pink is her favorite and of course something she "always wanted".  :)

Grandma Marci and Great Grandma "Nana" came over for cake and presents.

Austin's Early Birthday Surprise!

For Austin's whole life he has wanted a dog.  We have attempted to have a dog on 2 different occasions when he was about 3 years old which didn't end up working out well.  Since then he has begged and begged for a dog and for years we have told him "no".  I have tried to explain to Austin that if he can't even keep his room clean how on earth is he going to take care of a dog?  Well 12 years later I bring home my little teacup Yorkie, Ruby.  As soon as Austin saw her he said "I have wanted a dog for my whole life and you bring home this tiny thing?".  I started to feel a bit guilty and began researching dogs that don't shed.  (Dog hair is the biggest reason that I have not wanted dogs). I discovered that Schnauzers don't shed so I was on a mission to find a pure breed.  I found one in Indiana which was almost 8 weeks old and could be flown to us soon.  We decided to surprise Austin with his new puppy for his 15th birthday.  I got a hold of the dog breeder and sent her a payment and made arrangements for the flight.  In the meantime I had done my very best to convince Austin that a dog is a lot of work and maybe it wouldn't be a good idea.  I was trying to make sure it would be a complete surprise and that he had no idea that a puppy was coming.  Well unfortunately I did my job but I did it too well and the day before the puppy was to arrive, Austin told me that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get a dog!!!  Ugh!  Really?  What have I done?  Oh well, too late.  The next day, on November 8th Austin had football practice and while he was there my Mom and I drove to the airport to pick up the cute little dog.  I was so nervous and couldn't wait to see the puppy in fear that I had been scammed.  As soon as I walked over to the baggage claim area, right there in the office was a dog crate with a black schnauzer.  What a relief!  We got home just in time to get in the house before Austin got home from football practice.   When he walked in the front door we were sitting in the front room with Max.  This was the expression on his face, he didn't quite know what was going on.

Once he took it in for a minute, I said "Happy Birthday".  Once it set it what was  happening he was pretty excited!

This is Max!

8 weeks old 

5 lbs