Mom?!

I know, enough already?! Well, that's been our family for the past year. I hope that you have enjoyed catching up and we'll look forward to post'n another blog next month! See ya'll -

We're Finally Up to Date!

So, now we are finally up to date! St. Patrick's was a traditional masterpiece! This year we even drew in a crowd and my Mom's sisters, Aunt Mary and Marian came for a visit and cooked an Irish meal fit for a leprechaun. Easter was yummy, with Grandma's famous dark chocolate bird nests and a meal fit for an Easter Bunny, or ten! The egg hunt was Scott's highlight and the girls looked absolutely gorgeous.

Abbey turned five! Chase was in a school play and represented the Southern states in his cowboy costume. That's right, we remember our Southern roots with pride! We went camping for Memorial weekend and enjoyed Grandpa's good ol' dutch oven cook'n. Abbey graduated from Pre-school and is anxiously awaiting Kindergarten.

Now, we are into the month of June and both Chase and Abbey are officially swimming without water wings and actually diving off the diving board and swimming in the "deep end." Abbey was in her first dance recital with costumes, a stage, and everything! Chase participated in his first Cub Scout Regada and he painted his boat red and gold! A congratulations goes out to two of my brothers, Alan and Chad. Alan brought a baby boy into the world this week, while Chad will be bringing a little one in January! The more the merrier . . . I always say.

Valentine's and Potatoes?

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays! The girls got all dressed up in red and I made a giant chocolate heart cake with pink icing. Then I got to fly up to Boise, ID to visit my brother, Dave and his family. Also, just recently, my friend who makes my life wonderful just moved on up to the land of taters. It was so much fun to be able to catch-up with family and share a bit of laughter with a friend that I miss terribly!!!!!!

Christmas 2005

Ho-Ho-Ho! Christmas has arrived and this year we spent the holidays in Denver, CO! Snow, here we come! It was wonderful to be able to see everyone. Liz and the kids came down from Ohio and Tory made an announcement that they would be expecting their fourth sometime in August! Great grandma McColley looked beautiful as ever and Jenny and I were given an afternoon off as we enjoyed lunch and shopping together. Now that's a Christmas present.

I was able to meet up with my adorable sister-n-law's baby sister, Emily. It was great to meet her husband and hug her bump of a tummy. She looked fabulous! We went sledding, to an old farmhouse restaurant, played games, ate tacos, and most importantly . . . we made memories. We sure love those guys.

Disneyland 2005

Who doesn't love Disneyland?! We had a blast with the Flinders herd as we met in Vegas and raced each other to California . . . as only the Flinders would. The first evening we were there, we settled into our hotel rooms and then went down to Huntington Beach and enjoyed playing in the ocean as the tide began to come in.

We woke up early the next morning to be at the park bright and early! The kids could not wait and going as a parent to Disneyland is equally, if not more exciting. We spent the next two days going back and forth to Disneyland and California Disney and then we packed up and caravaned home. It was absolutely perfect.

October 2005

October was so much fun! Of course, it is Chase and Reagan's Birthdays. Chase was Baptized and became a Cub Scout. We went to the funnest place on earth (Disneyland) with the Flinders family and our kids developed the neatest relationship with their cousins, those Egberts.

Summer 2005

Yeah!!! Summer has arrived . . . I love summer time! The kids celebrated their last day of school with Cold Stone ice cream after Chase received two awards for Reading and Humanities. The 4th of July was another memory maker with parades, watermelon, and fire works in Boulder City, NV. August was busy with last minute camping trips and school shopping. And . . . Fall has arrived and here comes school again!

May Mania

The month of May was absolutely insane! Reagan officially sat up; Yeah :)! Abbey turned four with a touch of magic from Harry Potter. Chase won "Best Actor" for his part as the troll in, "Three Billy Goats Gruff." We visited Sea World in San Diego, CA and Abbey graduated from her first year of Pre-school.

I adore the picture of our family at Mission Bay in San Diego. If that's not a reality shot?! Gotta Love It . . .

Spring Has Sprung!

These photos come from April 2005. "Spring Fever" has definitely set in as Abbey is losing her marbles. The girls are inseparable! They absolutely love being with one another and I have proof for when they grow older.

Chase, along with the rest of Newton Elementary's First Grade, had a very successful Field Day. Chase came in first place in the "Sitting and Bouncing" race. If any of you have had the privilege of watching Chase maneuver his therapy ball around the home then you would know why he was truly the Champion of this event!

Where Do We Begin?

I thought that I would go back as far as my digital camera. We became proud digital owners on the eve of Christmas 2004, but it took us until March 2005, to learn how to use the little bugger. During the month of March, David, Chad and their families were able to visit for a few days during their school Spring Breaks and Easter was wonderful, as usual.

The visit with all of the nieces and nephews was absolutely perfect. It's good to get together to better understand why we do the things we do. I love the picture of all of the kids. We're not such a bad looking crew! We played down on the Vegas strip at Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden to look at the beautiful white tigers and their very own dolphins. The kids loved being with their cousins and getting "up close and personal" with the animals.

Easter was terrific! I love Spring time and this year was as extraordinary. The kids came running down the stairs with their eyes wide open to see what had arrived in their baskets. Reagan was officially initiated with her first Easter dress that had tiny little pearls sewn all the way around her peter pan collar. She looked so darn cute! The speakers in church were amazing, but nothing topped the holiday more than having "Grandma and Grandpa" share their first Easter with us as Las Vegans. A huge perk to having your parents live so close is that your children undoubtedly know that they are sincerely adored. Thank goodness for special grandparents, on all sides!

Hey Everyone:

I thought that maybe this would be a fun way to stay in touch with one another. My best friend moved to Boise, ID about 18 months ago and this is how she keeps me posted on all of the wonderful memories they are making in Boise. We miss our friends tons and tons, but it is always nice to see newly posted photos with weekly comments. So, if you're interested, respond to the postings and let us know that you're out there!