Happy Anniversary, Babe!

Yesterday was our 14th Anniversary. Time flies!!! :)

Spoiled!

I had an awesome Birthday!!! My mom spoils me (and I love it)! She gave me a new video camera, and she took me out for lunch to Red Lobster where we got what was probably the priciest item on the menu (and definitely the most delicious). Wood fired lobster, scallops, and shrimp. So good! Carson gave me the necklace I am wearing here, and Chuck gave me the soundtrack to TWILIGHT. Love both those gifts too. Mom also bought a cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory for my B-day dessert--we got half vanilla bean and half lemon raspberry. Both were so yummy! (Of course I had both. I'm not ashamed to admit it.) OK, then here's the icing on the cake. My sister (I LOVE YOU, DINA!!) gave me a laptop! It is a really cute pink Dell. I know I'm spoiled, but I can't help it! :)

I also have to say thanks so much to all my good friends who are so nice to remember my Birthday even though it is at such a crazy time of year. The cards, gifts, calls, and e-mails were so nice and so appreciated. I love you guys!!!

Mom is here!

My mom is here visiting us for about 6 weeks, and one of the nice things about having her here is that she takes lots of great pictures! Here we are before church on Sunday. Here is Mom with the kids. :)

Kids with Santa

At our Ward Christmas Party on Saturday, the kids got to visit with Santa. Cheyanna wanted nothing to do with him! (It was a breakfast party--that's why the kids are in their PJs.)

Charlie's Violin Concert

I usually forget to take my camera to Charlie's violin concerts, so I was happy that I finally remembered and got some pictures of him playing. In this first picture, all the kids went out into the audience to play for their families. :)

It was hard to get a good picture of him with the group because there were SO many kids up there, and since Charlie is so tall, he was on the back row standing in front of the stage. You can just barely make Charlie out in the middle of the picture right below the bass.

Chuck's Work Christmas Party

Here's a picture of Chuck and I heading out to his work's Christmas Party.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

We put up our tree last week. It is a revolving tree, so it spins around so that you can see all the ornaments. So Monday after dinner, Cade and Cheyanna both went into the front room where the tree is. After 5 minutes, Cade comes up to me with a "whoops!" expression on his face. He is holding some broken glass--the remnants of an ornament he made in Kindergarten last year. (I know better than to buy glass ornaments in a house with 3 boys!) When I asked him what happened, he answered, "I thought it was plastic." That didn't answer my question, so I got more specific, "HOW DID IT BREAK?" His answer, "I tapped it on the ground." So to see if he was right that the ornament in question was plastic, he decided to smash it on the tile and see if it shattered or not. Typical boy move.

Now Tuesday morning, as Charlie and I were waiting for his ride to school, he turned on the Christmas tree lights, and this is what we see....

Cheyanna had tied her little sheep on one of the branches, so it was getting a ride around the revolving tree. She had stayed by the tree for almost an hour the night before, entertaining herself quitely (and not breaking anything!) I am SOOOO thankful to have a sweet little girl!!! It is such a welcome change after 3 rowdy boys. :) I don't know why, but seeing that cute little sheep riding around the tree made me really appreciate having a girl. I am thankful for all my kiddos, but thank Heaven for little girls!

Carson Down on the Farm

Carson's class took a field trip to the farm, so I was able to experience the farm all over again! They had some crazy looking chickens--a few breeds I had never seen before.

Here is Carson with his best friend, Tyson.

Carson had fun feeding the animals.

Hopefully Charlie won't be taking a field trip to the farm this year!! It was fun, but twice is enough for now. :)

School Pictures

I just got my kids' school pictures back this week, and here they are! Cade is in first grade. Carson is in 4th grade.

Charlie is in 6th Grade.

Our Cruise!!!!

My mom is the best mother ever! She took my family and my sister's family on a cruise for the week of Thanksgiving. We had such an awesome time!!! We flew to FL, where we boarded the ship at Port Canaveral. First we sailed to Cococay (Bahamas), then St. Thomas, then St. Maarten. The beaches were sooooo beautiful. The ship was so nice, and had so much stuff to keep us entertained and the food was really abundant and delicious! The kids had a blast doing all the fun stuff, and getting to be with their cousins. I probably posted way too many pictures of the cruise, but for those of you who wanted to see every detail, here it is! :) The pictures are in random order, but you get the idea. Here is our ship. Here is our whole group on Formal Night. Dina's family is on the left: Scott, Dina, Madeline, Rebecca, Parker, and Logan (Eric stayed home this time). My Mom is in the middle, and my family is on the right: Chuck, Cherene, Charlie, Carson, Cade, and Cheyanna. (I listed family members by age, not by where they were standing/sitting in the picture below.)

Cruisin' Fun

The boys at the Bahamas. They went snorkeling with their cousins, and found some big conch shells. Charlie found a whole Sand Dollar too. The water was a little cold for me, but it was a beautiful day, and the adults enjoyed the sun and the scenery. :) Chuck and I did get in the water at Magen's Bay on St. Thomas. The water was the perfect temperature, and it was a beautiful shade of blue. The sand was so soft and white too.

Here is Charlie at the Bahamas

Cheyanna and Cade loved dressing up as pirates for the Kid's Club Pirate Parade. Here is Cheyanna the Pink Pirate.

There were some cool sand bars at the Bahamas, and that is where the boys found the big shells. From the beach, it looked like people were walking on water because the sand bar went out so far. Here is Charlie, Carson, and me on a sand bar.

This is a picture of the ship leaving Port Canaveral to start the cruise!! (Sorry these are out of order.)

Port Canaveral is just a few miles from Cocoa Beach, were I grew up. As we were departing, I took this picture of Cape Canaveral, and in the distance it turns into Cocoa Beach.

Here is Pirate Cade!

Here we are after dinner and before one of the shows. Every night all the kids went to the Kid's Club to play while we went to the shows or relaxed.

Here is Charlie on the Rock Climbing Wall on the ship. He did really well! He made it to the top and rang the bell. I missed it because my mom, Dina, and I were at the Spa, but Chuck took these pictures for me.

Here is Carson rock climbing.

Another picture of beautiful Magen's Bay...

Cade LOVED the beaches! He had so much fun playing in the waves and making sand castles that he never wanted to leave.


My mom took this picture of Charlie and Carson, and I like how it is out of focus.

We had all the kids sit together at a table in the dining room, and the adults sat at the table next to it. At times the kids' table got a little rowdy, but the waiters were so nice, and no one seemed to mind. Cheyanna ordered chicken fingers every night, with chocolate ice cream for dessert. The other kids were a little more adventurous, and tried a variety of foods off of both the kids menu and the adult menu. Here is Cheyanna with her cousin, Logan in the dining room.

My mom took this picture of a palm tree, and I just love it.

Cruisin'

Me and Carson out on a sand bar at the Bahamas Chuck, Charlie, and Carson on the sand bar

Cheyanna and Logan played so cute together.

Carson did great for his first time Ice Skating. This picture reminds me of the dance from the movie, "Can't Buy Me Love." Anyone remember that one? :)

Carson, Rebecca, and Madeline Ice Skating on the ship.

Cheyanna is giving me a thumbs up on the bus ride to Magen's Bay. Chuck and I on the bus to Magen's Bay on St. Thomas

Cheyanna at the Bahamas

Carson at Magen's Bay

Our cruise ship is the one in the middle.

Here we are shopping on St. Thomas (the little kids stayed at the Kid's Club on the ship instead of going shopping with us).

Here is Dina's family on St. Thomas. Chuck and I in the dining room on formal night

Here are all the kids (except Cheyanna who was throwing a fit about not wanting her picture taken) at a lookout point on St. Thomas.

Every night while we went to dinner, our Stateroom Attendendant would leave a towel animal when he cleaned our room. Charlie's favorite was this monkey. :)