little doll

When Mary was three months old, we put her in this ADORABLE dress and hat, and had her picture taken. We call it the "mad baker" picture.  It has been a favorite for sure.  She is so stinkin' cute! Look at those cheeks, and those sweet, round, blue eyes. 

We hung the picture on the wall.

Then, when the boys were three months old, we had their pictures taken, and hung those on the wall. I can't get over each of them, and their cute chubby bellies, fat cheeks, and kissy faces.

It has sure made a cute wall of babies!

Ben and I slapped our wedding picture up there as well, for proof, that somehow these adorable babies did come from us.

Now, Molly is three months old. Yeah, I know, let's not talk about it plea se.

We put her in the same dress that Mary had, and about died from the cuteness of it all!  Poor Ben was trying to take a nap, and I woke him up to show him how cute Molly looked in the dress. I couldn't wait.  He gracefully smiled and Molly smiled back at him, then he caught a few more zzzz's before the massive photo session ensued.

 We did get a picture that looks similar to Mary's.

That picture is currently getting the background fixed, so it will be the same background as Mary's.  When it is done, we will print it off, and finally, our baby wall will almost be complete.

We are done having babies, but we have one last picture we are going to hang on the wall,  When we get that picture, I will post it.

With the other babies, this picture was the easiest one to take, because we didn't want a smile in the picture.  They just looked at the camera with their adorable baby faces, and snap...picture done.  No spending hours jumping around like an idiot trying to get a baby to smile.  These three month photo sessions were always the easiest.

Molly was the opposite.  We couldn't get her NOT to smile.  She loves being held and looked at, and she just kept on smiling away. It was great.  We seriously got over 30 pictures of her, before we finally got one that looks the closest to Mary's.  We love every single picture though.

Here are some of them. 

Oh sweet Molly Grace, you are cute as a button!

11 years

Ben and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary yesterday!

We went to dinner at Claim Jumpers, a yummy steakhouse here in Heber.  We talked about the past 11 years, and the next 11 years. 

It really was amazing to look back at all we have experienced since our wedding day 11 years ago.  Six moves, 5 babies, 5 cars, one job, 4 miscarriages, awesome wards, awesome friends, graduating with our Bachelor's, Ben getting his MBA, changes in our families, changes in us, and so on. 
We have a good life, and have been blessed beyond measure.

It blew us away to realize where we would be 11 years from now, especially where our kids will be.  It was almost too much for me to handle, and made me grateful for the crazy days of having all the kids home right now, safely under our care.  I am sure we have so much more to experience and go through, good and bad. 

I am so grateful that I have the peace of mind in knowing that whatever lies ahead for us, Ben will be by my side.

I am so luck to be with this man!

Happy Anniversary!

christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.

We did our traditional French toast breakfast at Kneaders.  That stuff is absolutely amazing!  It is by far my favorite breakfast.

That evening we went over to our friends house (the Delories) and ate Nachos and played games with them and some other friends.  The kids also had a dance party, which was pretty funny.

When we got home, it was time to open our jammies, and put out our stockings.  The kids were so excited, and it brought the magic back from my own childhood.  We tried twice to leave cookies and milk out for Santa, but Luke kept eating it!.  Silly boy. 

Once the kids FINALLY fell asleep, Santa came.

Around 6:30am, excited whispers could be heard, and I admit, I was excited myself.  I couldn't wait to see my kids experiencing all of the magic and excitement that Christmas brings.

We looked out the window, and found a wonderful gift from mother nature as well!  It has been a very dry and warm winter, so this was awesome!  Perfect timing for a beautiful white Christmas!

We said a prayer of thanks for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for this special holiday, and then the festivities began!

 

 

It was a very fun gift giving year.  I felt like each person had a gift that I knew for sure they would absolutely love.  I was right!  That is a great feeling for a mother.

 

Mary was rendered absolutely speechless when she opened her ipod touch.  She hugged me for a long time, and didn't say a word.  I have yet to see her without it.  I was so excited to give this to her, and it was a killer to keep a secret for so long.  Totally worth it!

 

Sam flipped out when he saw the electric motorcycle that he has been asking for, for three years now.  He starting jumping up and down, and his grin could have split his face.  It was priceless!

 

Luke just kept screaming "tractor, tractor" over and over again, when he opened his tractors.  He takes them everywhere, and even sleeps with them.

 

William was so relieved that Santa had remembered that he wanted a power rangers robot.  Santa was even cool enough to bring two of them!

 

Molly was just happy to be there, and she loved her new little crinkle blanket, that she can also suck on.

 

Ben's gift was one I was really excited about as well.  I got him a bracelet with all of the kids' birthstones in it.  When I though of the idea, I knew it would be perfect for Ben.  He said that it is probably the most special gift he has ever had. 

 

Ben did great for me too.  He got me some much needed running shoes, the new Lady Antebellum album, and an awesome down comforter. The Red Robin gift card was an awesome surprise as well!

 

It was just one of those Christmases where everyone was so happy to give and to receive.  It was tons of fun!

 

The kids with their favorite gifts.

 

Luke and Molly had their afternoon naps, and Luke made sure to put is tractors down for a nap as well.

she has a little line in her hair from her headband

Luke had his first day in MONTHS, where he didn't trash the house, and scream as loud as he could all day.  It was wonderful!  He just made himself a little fort, put all of his toys in it, and happily played.  Talk about a Christmas miracle!  He is so dang cute.

Later that evening, when all was said and done, Sam walked up to me and said, "Mom, thank you so much.  This was the best Christmas ever!"  I could tell he truly meant it. My heart melted.

Christmas is my favorite time of year!

double digits

It's official, Mary is 10 years old.  This sounds so cliché, but I just cannot believe it.  It is pretty crazy, but also very fitting.  Mary is definitely not a little girl anymore, and thank goodness, she is not a teenager yet either.  She is just right.

Mary's Birthday celebrations were spread out during the week.  She had her party the week before her Birthday, she opened cards during the week, I did her room the day before, and so on.

Her actual Birthday was good though.  She opened presents in the morning, and we did the big "room reveal."  She completely loved it, and grinned from ear to ear.  I was so relieved and happy that she loved it so much.

I took Mary and the kiddos out for ice cream and French fries (so good together, really, try it).  Then Mary invited two of her friends over and they hung out all afternoon. 

That evening we had her Birthday diner of steak, potatoes and salad.

After dinner, it was off to the hair salon.  One thing Mary really wanted for her Birthday was to get some purple hair extensions.  I was very hesitant with this, but the hair lady told me it actually was really cute, and wasn't a big deal at all.  So, I went along with it.

The lady was right, Mary's hair looks adorable!

Mary LOVES it.  She had a great Birthday.

We sure love Mary, and she has such an important and special role in our family.  She is such a great helper and friend.  She is extremely athletic, talented, funny, pretty, determined, friendly, artistic, creative, fun loving, and spiritual.

We love you Mary Girl!  Just please, don't get any older on us.  ;)

Fun Facts:
4th grade
Mrs. Foy is her teacher
Closest Friends:  Tagg, Jet, McKenna, Lydia, Bailey
Sports:  Tumbling (level 7), Park City Freestyle ski team, soccer, swim team, diving, competitive cheerleading, piano
Hobbies:  crafting, drawing, sewing, inventing, making forts and club houses
Favorites:  animals, melons, mystery books, ipod touch, Once (The show), accessories, beach, lagoon
Dreams:  marine biologist, Olympic tumbler, dolphin trainer

mary's "mature" and super cute room

A few months ago, Mary informed me that her "under the sea" room was just too "little girlish" now. 

The next day, I noticed that she had taken down all of the fish from her walls.  I told her that she could have a new room, but it would have to be for her Birthday.  I wasn't about to paint and re-decorate a room, just because.  She agreed to make it her Birthday present, so we have spent the past couple months picking out colors.

Mary has great taste, and knew exactly what she wanted. 

I spent 8 hours yesterday painting and decorating, in order to get her room done by her Birthday, which is today. 

It was not easy, considering I had 5 kids to take care of, and Ben was working.  It took some serious juggling, and tons of energy and time, but I got it done.  I must love my daughter. :)

I didn't let Mary see her room until this morning, after she opened her presents.  Her squeal said it all. Mary does not squeal, so that was a huge reaction coming from her.  She absolutely loves it!  I must say, I think it is adorable.

Happy Birthday Mary! 



The ceiling was a light blue, so I had to do 3 layers of white to cover it up.  That took the longest, and was crazy hard to do. The blue and pink colors that Mary picked out are so bright and fun.  It was actually fun to paint with such cute colors.   It looks great!

She really wanted a white down comforter for her bed, so she got that for a Birthday present.  The fun curtains were another present.  She LOVES those...of course. 

The two things she wanted the most were Chinese lanterns and a saucer chair.  She has style!

Her shelf holds her sand collections, and her medals, autographed shirts,  and trophies from tumbling and gymnastics competitions.  She drew an amazing picture of a bird to put by her bird cage, and she is convinced that her pet bird, Doby, loves it.  I know I do.

Another thing she really wanted was lights.  That part was easy, considering lights are for sale everywhere right now.

All of those pictures are of Taylor Swift.  They came with her new album.

Mary got a doorbell this morning, and also a safe to keep her special stuff in. (Luke has a talent for getting into Mary's special things)

 The doorbell is a huge hit!  Mary thinks it is great, and so do her brothers.  They love to ring it, and she loves to have them ring it. It cracks me up. 

So there you have it...a room fit for a 10 year old.

 Excuse my while I go cry about time going too fast,  and freak out with the fact that I have a child in the double digits. 

sunday pictures

She is growing way too fast, so I feel like I have to capture everything!  I guess it just comes with being the youngest.

bruise anyone?

Ben crashed on his bike, and amazingly, said that he didn't even feel pain in his leg at all.  He was more concerned about his head, because that is what hurt.

That day, his hip was so swollen, it looked like he had a bowling ball in his leg.  We contemplated getting it drained or something.  It was amazing!

The swelling decided to drain, and it created the lovely bruise in the picture.

The kids truly think he is super cool and super tough.

He must have a seriously high pain tolerance!

party hardy

Mary's Birthday party was yesterday.  We decided to do a bunch of "Minute-to-win-it" games.  There are two people that do a certain task, and they have one minute to do it.  Whoever does it the best in one minute wins.

It turned out to be an absolute riot!  Mary has some hilarious friends, and I can totally see how they are all such good friends.  They all have fun-loving, positive, random personalities...exactly like Mary.  She has a great group of friends!

The party was absolutely crazy, but the kids had a blast, and I kept reminding myself that it was only 120 minutes of madness, that would create memories for a lifetime.  Worth it...yes.

We put gummy bears in the bottom of bowls and covered them with whip cream.  The kids had to get the gummy bears from one bowl to another, without using hands.  ;)

Knocking over water bottles with tights on their heads.  There was a grapefruit in the legs of the tights

Shaking bells out of shoeboxes

wrapping in a roll of toilet paper

 

There were several other games, but I couldn't get pictures of them.

The games ended with a giant toilet paper, wrapping paper fight.  Totally nuts!

The last game was "clean up."  So fun. hehehe

Mary opened presents, and obviously her friends know her well.  She got lots and lots of craft stuff.  ;) She was thrilled.  Her friends are so nice.

The kids ate loads of chocolate ice cream topped with whip cream, gummy bears and skittles (Mary's choice for her Birthday treat) , and then hung out until the party was over. 

The hooligans:  Jett Cherry, Lydia Muelstien, Lexi Johnson, Avery, McKenna Garner, Tagg Charchenko, Bailey Sweat, and Ben.

I don't think my ears stopped ringing for hours after the last person left, but the party was a success, Mary was smiling and happy, and it was so much fun!   Whew!  We love you Mary!