January isn't usually this fun

Celebrating with Kellen and Caleb, the Birthday Boys. Love them so much!

Watching Kellen's basketball game.

Em making her quilt in a day.

Cutie boy Cameron, always so happy even though he wasn't feeling well.

Happy first birthday Harlan! He has been through so much in his short life and been an inspiration to me as has his amazing family. He sat up for us at his party and loved playing with his cards, books and meeting all his family.

Cierra did an amazing job on the party and we had a great time.

Uncle Darren meeting Harlan for the first time.

Erica and Jill at the party, her hair is so beautiful and her little skirt so darn cute, we love you girls.

The boys were there too and I'm glad I got this picture of them because they were busy playing games the whole time and I didn't get to see enough of them.

Out to dinner with Em, it was so wonderful to have her visit even though it was so short.

Happy New and Go DUCKS! This was just before Jenni and Michael left after Christmas. Such a fun time and we hated to see them leave.

Well, I started this post a month ago now so I guess it's time I finished it since February more than half over. We had a great January though considering it is usually my least favorite month of the year. We drove to Portland six times but it was all worth it, February has been quiet and we enjoyed the rest and are getting geared up for March and the arrival of the BABIES!!!

Christmas 2010

First stop, Cinnabon. This became a family tradition when the kids were little and we would go to Valley River Center for family home evening and see Santa, look at the decorations and sometimes buy our $5.00 gift. Actually it was $3.00 back in the day.

Michael's fabulous $5.00 gift from Dad.

Cierra and Michael brought Harlan for a visit on Christmas Eve which was so special for us. They came by last year too and we hope they make it a tradition. Harlan was so happy and we just loved spending time with them.

Love this picture of beautiful Jenni and her baby bump... coming right along. It was so fun to feel the baby moving all around and see how are excited they are for the arrival of their very first baby.

We were able to celebrate Marc's 34th birthday by going out to dinner with them and watching the boys while they went out on a date. Cameron's first Christmas!

Isn't she beautiful??? We were doubly blessed that Steph and Jaron also came home for Christmas and brought Evelyn to meet the neighborhood. We LOVE her!

Last minute photo before Darren, Jill and family left for home. I am disappointed that I didn't get one before Marc and Connie left and also Brad and Kristy.

Battleship was the game of choice this year, Joseph loved playing grandpa, Michael, Jenni and Kellen.

SURPRISE! Baby shower for Jenni...so much fun!

This old race track is still a favorite with the kids. I remember when Nick and Ben used to play with it and Justin literally played with it all day. CUTE!

More cuteness. These are my Duck fans in their matching pj's.

Kellen and Caleb love to play Clue and Jenni and Michael love to play with Kellen and Caleb so clue it is.Love this picture of Connie and Cameron all smiles. He is the happiest little guy and he was very sick at the time but you would never know it.

As you can see it was a wonderful Christmas, I wish I had written close to the fact but the memories come flooding back as I review these few of my favorite photos. It was wonderful to have family around us and we loved being in contact with those who couldn't be here and sharing gifts, cards and warm wishes.

So Grateful

We were very grateful to be able to spend Thanksgiving with Emily and Steve in Las Vegas this year. Michael and Jennifer were there too and we had a most wonderful time. It took all of us to prepare the meal which was a lot of fun. We gave dad the job of peeling the apples for the pie and he was very good at it, he said it comes from peeling so many potatoes on KP duty in the army.

Em making her delicious pie crusts, we made several batches since we had A LOT of pie, pumpkin, apple, blueberry, cherry and pumpkin cheesecake, all delicious.

We called for help from Michael every time we needed a can opened. Carly never strayed far from Michael, he is great with the kids and they love him.

Easton and I making the crust for the cheese cake.

Here is the whole gang at Nick and Christy's home on Thanksgiving, they were the perfect hosts and we love being with them and their adorable daughters, Regan and Alice. You can't see Jenni's tummy but there are three pregnant bellies right in a row there, it was pretty cute. Christy is due very soon and worked so hard that day taking good care of us and wouldn't let us do any of the work, she is amazing and we appreciated it so much. The weather was beautiful all week and Emily took us on a great hike, and to the Cactus Gardens all decorated with Christmas lights and our favorite spot, the Ballagio. Everyone else in town wanted to see the conservatory and light show too, it took us a half hour to get from the parking lot to the street, we enjoyed the time visiting but others weren't as happy, there was a lot of loud horn honking and shouting going on. We went shopping at midnight on Black Friday, the girls are busy here figuring out our plan of action. We were in and out of Kohls in a half hour but not so lucky at Target, we put our items back and left as the line was all around the store. We had great luck at the outlet mall later in the day.There was a lot of time for games, resting, reading stories and just visiting.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing these two cute pregnant girls and feeling their babies moving all around. So fun and exciting!! A BIG thanks to Em and Steve for inviting us!

I love this time of year and Thanksgiving, I always feel we have so much to be thankful for and that I could never properly express my gratitude. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, can't wait to hear all about it.

CALIFORNIA

We had a great time on our annual visit to Melanie's house over Veteran's weekend. One of the highlights was our visit to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, it was excellent and really fun for Dad to point out all his expertise to the kids, they had been there before and enjoyed showing us around.

We went to Hobby Lobby, a huge craft store that had just opened in Roseville and that place is amazing, lots of good deals on Christmas decor and anything you could possibly need for your crafting pleasure. The girls in the group LOVED it and Dad was a good sport. We went out to eat to some yummy places and this is Joshie entertaining himself outside of Red Robin as it was a long wait, everyone went to all the places we went all week end because of it being Veteran's Day and people had the day off.

We now have a second generation Cinemark employee, Bethany was hired recently and is enjoying making money, driving herself to work and school, so grown up! Luckily she only had to work one shift while we were there.

We took the kids swimming at the motel, took our walk to the railroad tracks to try out Nick's new remote control vehicle, went to church, had a Duck party, played games and just had a wonderful visit.

I was glad that Dad went along this time and the drive was really beautiful with Fall leaves, snow, California sunshine and yes, Oregon rain. I did miss my train ride experience but only a little tiny bit. Thanks Sorensens - we love you and had a great time!

Catching up with Grand kids

We have been really blessed this year when it comes to spending time with our family. It is never enough but looking back and considering the distance between us and the busy lives, it's been great. I went to Las Vegas to be with Easton on his 5th birthday which I can not even believe he could be five. I gave Bruce ample opportunity to come along and he declined and has complained ever since that he didn't go since he missed these adorable faces.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EASTON! We love you.

We have been to a couple of Marc's football games and the bonus is spending time with Connie and the boys. Kellen is a ball boy and it is so adorable to see this little tiny guy running out in the middle of all those huge football players to give them the football. Caleb is usually tired after a long day and falls asleep right on the bleacher. This is Cameron all snuggled in with GG, his great grandma who drives from Junction City to EVERY game. She is amazing. GO TIGERS! They are undefeated!It was truly amazing the Harlan was well enough to make a visit to our house, what a blessing to see him out of the hospital and doing so well. We just loved having them and I wish I had a picture of the whole group. Darian was very excited to hear Mitchells had a trampoline after being cooped up in the house and attending a wedding so we let her get some wiggles out. She is adorable and I was grateful for the chance to get to know her a little better.

Our last picture of Seth was his 8th grade picture, it was time for a change! He has grown into quite the handsome young man.

Here is baby Harlan at 9 months old on his first visit to our house. So adorable! We hope he comes back real soon. He was a little tired from the trip and the wedding but was rolling over and being happy for us.

Next was our annual visit to another Tigers game and the pumpkin patch with Marc and Darren's families. The weather man said rain but just like last year we were spared and it was warm at the game and beautiful the next day for the kids to pick out their pumpkins. They love being together and made every minute count, besides the football game, the boys had a slumber party, went to Kellen and Caleb's football and soccer games, out to lunch and the pumpkin patch all in 24 hours.

This was Erica's first time at the pumpkin patch, isn't she adorable?

The whole gang at the corn maze.

Just look at this adorable smiley, three month old baby Cameron. He is so CUTE!

Thanks Connie and Marc for a very fun time. We love you!

From there we drove on to Seattle for a fun filled three days with Darren, Jill and their family.

We love to visit their ward with Bishop Jolley and Erica loved me this trip and let me hold her all through the meeting. Dad and Darren worked in the yard and house all day on Monday and I had a great time with Jill and the kids playing outside and at the park.

Erica is loving learning to feed herself. She loves her dolls and lets her brothers give her hard hugs and is patient with them, she walks really well and is full of smiles and cutenes.

Time to try on the Halloween costumes, aren't they just adorable. Love these boys!

Happy Halloween!! I am loving these beautiful fall days.

Blogging is exhausting and my show is on.