Family Reunion

Over this last Christmas (2010), we got all the puppies together!
We were dog-sitting Bentley, Elisa & Josh were in town and brought Mimi, and then we stole Lacey from my parents to complete the reunion.

Seriously, it was so fun!

They all just formed this little circle and were enjoying being together sooo much!

From left to right - Tiger, Bentley, Jasper, Mimi, and Lacey (you can barely see her - she's wearing the pink dress in the picture above!)

So much Love!

Christmas Surprises!

Yes - I know, I know... Christmas was A LONG time ago...

But I forgot to post these adorable pictures!

My lovely puppies decided to take my cabbage patch doll out to the back yard and had a little fun with her. Thankfully, they didn't tear the actual doll - just her clothes.
So, my sweet mother saw the tragedy and took the doll home and then proceeded to MAKE her a new dress and under-garments (bloomerish type).

I actually like this dress better than the original!
(It was a light blue, shiny -fancy dress.)

The bloomers - underneath! - Seriously, I was so excited. It was such a thoughtful gift.

My mom said that she had so much fun making it... Hmm.... I think I can find her some other than doll clothes to make :)

Count down from the BIG day!

It's a....

We went to the doctor's office the 23rd of December and had the ultrasound that was supposed to let us know whether we are having a boy or a girl.

(Daniel and I in the waiting room)

Well, the baby didn't cooperate as well as we were hoping. The umbilical cord was right between the legs. The doctor kept wiggling the device around, trying to move the cord or the baby. Finally, after tipping me back on the table, he was able to get a more accurate reading. He said, "I think I got it now." I asked, "How sure are you?" "Hmmm.... about 98%."

(Ultrasound of the baby showing her fist)

We had him put the baby name in an envelop we had prepared to be opened on Christmas.

Christmas eve - or at 12:01 am on Christmas morning -
we opened the card.

The anticipation was killing us!

We were so excited to see that our little girl Vivianni will be joining us in just a few months!

So exciting!

Family Home Evening at the Cox's

We got a call on Monday night and were invited to have family home evening over at the Cox's - my brother and his family. Dallan had called and specifically requested that Daniel come over to help make sugar cookies.

Austin gave the lesson - which was excellent. It was about the Holy Ghost and he used a lot of candles - as you can see in the picture below.

All were very focused and quiet during the lesson - especially when he was lighting the candles!

Afterwards, we made sugar cookies - all kinds of fun Christmas shapes!
(Dallan is adorable in this picture!)

Ruthie and Michelle were working hard to get theirs done.
(I love that she had flour all over her face!)

Then, Daniel took the kids outside and jumped on the trampoline with them!
(To wear them out for the night!)

Michael then shared with us this beautiful rendition of "Frosty the Snowman".
Dallan knew most of the words, too.

Special Visit!

I came home from work on Monday and received a very fun visit. I looked out the window and said to Daniel, "That looks like the Berg's car." He said, "Who's - huh, that's funny." Then these two girls I didn't recognize started walking towards my front door. When I asked who they were here to see, they pointed behind them, and there was Jessie!!! She was in town picking up there stuff so she could drive it to Florida! So fun. We visited and before she left, took a few pictures.

In front of the house.

Showing off my big pregnant belly.

Now these next two I should give a little background. We started talking about "changes" that happen to you when you're pregnant. So, before leaving, Paul's (Jessie's husband) sister grabbed some grapefruit and handed them to Jessie ...

Quite the model, right?

But, this one.... this one shows her true talent - look at her face! Agghhh - I laughed so hard! (Still laughing as I write this!)

Thanks so much for coming by to visit! And to Paul - no - you can never be replaced!

Daniel's Birthday

We celebrated Daniel's 33rd Birthday in

Pinetop, AZ!!!

Daniel loves to go camping! But, with it being cold and me being pregos - camping was not on my list of things to do. My aunt was sweet enough to let us borrow her cabin (it's a little over a 3 hour drive) and I got to surprise him with a super fun getaway trip - his favorite thing. He told me, "This was the best birthday yet! Can we do it again next year?"

So, as you can see, there is some cake missing... yeah - well, Daniel kind of had some before I could sing to him. But that's okay - it was his cake and his birthday. I told him he could just eat the frosting if he wanted to :)

Daniel went for a little drive while I was making dinner. When he got back, he quickly got me in the car and took me to go see these deer! They were about two minutes from the cabin. We counted 11 of them!

This is Woodland Lake!

It's about a five minute walk from the cabin.
It's got this beautiful pave walk all they way around it.

Us right by the lake
- they have this cute little bridge as you arrive.


We also visited Greer, AZ - about a 45 minute drive from the cabin.

There was this little stream going through the town.

My hotty hubby - posing GQ for me :)

An awesome picture - thanks to camera timers!