Thanksgiving in Maryland

We were so lucky to travel to the East Coast with the Kidd family for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Tami and I spent a fun day shopping at a barn sell and various swap meets. We didn't find much but were very inspired. 

Tami made us all some unforgetably amazing pizza. I'm still thinking about it. 

Since we were going to be in NY on Thanksgiving Day, Tami and I thought it would be good to do a little feast the Sunday before with the Fullers(my aunt and uncle). It was our first time cooking the turkey and most of the trimmings. It was okay, but we all prefer our moms cooking. Despite the mediocre food it was a beautiful day and we were all in good company.

The highlight of the day for the kids was playing outside on the Kamerath's swings.

They have a giant hill in their backyard with a rope swing tied to one of the tall trees.

I have to admit that it was a little terrifying to see my little girl flying so high in the air.

It's nice to see these too haven't out grown snuggling.

We spent monday touring the mall. We've been there so many times I didn't really take many pictures. Jared was excited to finally take a tour of the capitol, we hadn't been since the new remodel. It was actually a little disappointing and nothing like the self guided tour we tour as teenagers so long ago. 

Lydia turns 7

We celebrated Lydia's seventh birthday with blue birds. I was surprised when she made the suggestion. Blue birds are so hip right now. She helped make most of decisions on how we celebrated, including the fabric for her skirt, what colors to use, and the flavor of her cake. 

I still can't believe how big she is getting. 

She was a good sport to wear a party hat for her mom. 

Admiring our hard work. 

Everyone loved the cake not only the decor she chose but the yummy chocolate mint flavor she picked. 

Opening gifts in the birthday chair.  She was excited to get some new clothes, a purse and a webkinz. 

She didn't want to go to bed that night, for in the morning, "my birthday will be over."

firebirds soccer

We just finished another great season of soccer. 

Lydia played with a great group of girls and had an amazing set of coaches. She really learned a lot this year. I'm excited to see how much stronger of a team they will be next year as they incorporate more strategy into the game. 

It's been fun to see Lydia develop into a real player. She spent her first season dancing on the field, her second being polite and this last year being really aggressive. 

What can I say about Grayson's team?

Well, they are a crazy bunch of boys who love each other dearly. They aren't the best team. In fact they didn't win a single game, but they sure do have fun together. Plus I love all the mom's. They are our soccer family.

The highlight of the season when Grayson had his first header. I wasn't there, but I heard about it for days from everyone who saw it. 

Easter Best

I made the girls Easter dresses for the first time this year. It was a lot of work but the girls loved them and they looked gorgeous. 

After all the hard work I wanted to get a few good pictures of all the kids together. I soon realized how hard it is to get all four kids to look at the camera at the same time.

Grayson thinks he is hot stuff, and so do his sisters. 

We took our pictures in my mom's beautiful garden. Every spring it seams to take my breath away. 

Easter 2011

We celebrated Easter with the Kidd Family at NaNa's annual easter party. This year Papa had his first egg decorating contest. We all had so much fun making something to enter. 

Grayson won first place and $20 for his golden metallic egg. 

I made some fun egg shaped cake balls.

It was freezing this Easter, but we still went outside to plan the ballon game and have an eater egg hunt.  

As always we had way to much candy and the kids had to get extra baskets to hold their loot. In fact, I'm pretty sure the Easter bunny didn't bring much the next day. 

The kids were sure lucky to have Jarred and I to help them eat all that candy. 

Kate is Four

 Kate was counting the days after Clair's birthday and Finally got her day to celebrate. 

I love these pictures they capture her beautiful eyes and fun personality. 

She requested a strawberry shortcake birthday since strawberries are her favorite thing right now.  She supervised the making of her cake and even helped put on the polka dots. 

She's been eyeing the bitty twins in Lydia's catalogues for months. It was fun to grant her wish. 

She also got a suitcase full of clothing and accessories. 

She loved them so much she didn't want to take them out of the suitcase and drug them around the house  for days. I was worried the suitcase was a big mistake every time I heard it go bounding down the stairs or she would scream for me to come open it. 

Eventually she was okay with leaving it in her room and learned how to open and close it by herself. 

Her favorite outfits are the PJ's. 

She likes to swaddle her babies and put them to sleep. 

Happy Birthday Kate! Our lives wouldn't be the same without you. 

Build A Bear with Kate

To make Kate's birthday special I took her, Clair and her best friend Camilla to build a bear. 

I'm not a fan of build a bear but I knew she would love it. 

She picked a dog and named her six. The name didn't last long, that night it was simply puppy. 

Her favorite part was grooming her dog and giving her a bath. 

Fiesta!

We had a little fiesta with my dad's family and I couldn't help but share some of the pictures. Not many people own several sombreros, my crazy dad does.  He also made some amazing carnitas tacos.  If you've ever wondered where I get my passion from, it comes from my daddy.