Missed Highlights From 2009

OK, I have gotten a lot of flack for not posting for so long. Shortly after my last post I decided to go back to school, which has taken up most of my free time. I am taking some pre-requisites to enter the nursing program. It has been a crazy time for me, but I am loving it. Anyway, because this is our family journal I need to briefly recap some events that I missed from 2009.

SUMMER 2009

We spent the 4th of July at my sister Angie's house in Enterprise. We had a barbecue and the kids went swimming and played in a motorized tunnel that my brother-in-law rigged up. Everyone was there except for my brother, Rob, and his family. It was a great time!

We had plenty of opportunities to swim last summer. It's a necessity in this hot climate :)

I caught the kids playing so cute together outside--love these moments!

McKenna turned 6 years-old last July. We had her party a week before her birthday because we were traveling to Salt Lake and Boise during her actual birthday. While in Salt Lake, she was able to bring her best friend, Elena Bunker, with us to the zoo for a birthday celebration. We went to Olive Garden that night for dinner as well. I think she had a really good time.

My cute little birthday girl!

We had a good time in Boise visiting Brian's dad and stepmom. We went to Roaring Springs, a water park, and had a blast! We were also able to visit a lot of Brian's extended family and had a great time with some of his cousins. It's always nice to see family.

Grandpa and Andrew

All too soon it was time for the kids to go back to school. They have fabulous teachers this year and we couldn't be happier with their progress in school.

Fall 2009

We have about 10 big trees in our yard, so the kids were excited to play and jump in the leaves.

McKenna buried in the leaves!

Alex turned 9 in September. Brian's mom came out to spend time with us, so she was able to participate in the festivities (although I didn't get pictures of her while she was here). His birthday was on a Saturday so we took Alex and his friends to Iceberg for shakes and then we went to the movie and saw Ice Age 3. He had a great birthday!

Yummy shakes!

"The gang" right after the movie--he even let his sister come!

My life for the last 6 months!

Halloween was not very fun for us this year. 3 out of 4 kids had the Swine flu (or so the doctor said), so it was kind of miserable. The kids still wanted to participate in the festivities, so we let them.

Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger and Strawberry Shortcake. I didn't even bother dressing Andrew up this year.

Thanksgiving was very quiet and low-key this year. It was only us with my parents--everyone else went to their in-laws for Thanksgiving. It was nice to kick back and relax with my parents.

Every year we have a Christmas party with my family 2 days before Christmas. It was a lot of fun this year. Here are a few pics from the evening.

Christmas was wonderful this year. It's fun to watch the magic of Christmas through the eyes of our children. They are such a joy to us, and we love the time we spend with them and the traditions we have created with our family.