Count Your Blessings

"Count your blessings . . . name them one by one . . ."

OK - Kohler, Kelsey, Spencer, Hailey, Sydne, McKenna, Rylie, Keegan, Maya, Nate, Eden, Will, Luke, Olivia, Tate, Hayden, and Parker.  

These sweet blessings are my children and their cousins---my neices and nephews whom I adore!  We had such a great weekend spending time with family.  In fact, everything about this weekend was wonderful.  I didn't want Monday to come!  Since Friday was a holiday (no school!), cousins came over to play so the moms could go  shopping and out to dinner.  I just wish that Ali and Suzanne could have been there (my mom would have loved to come too!)---but it was just Melanie, MaryKay and me.  We sat and talked over dinner for 2 hours and I watched Melanie and MaryKay try on every leather boot in the mall!  We all bought matching sweaters (same style, different colors) at The Gap, and just had a ball being together.  My sister's kids all spent the night on Friday night (except Keegan and Will who slept at their own homes).  The older teenagers slept in Kelsey's room and the guest room, but the little ones wanted to sleep in a FORT they built!

There is Maya's head, peaking out of the fort!

Silly Hailey, Maya, Rylie, and Spencer slept in that fort all night!

The next morning I woke up to the smell of waffles!  Kelsey, Sydne, and McKenna made waffles all by themselves.  However, they only made enough for themselves and I ended up making another breakfast for everyone else!  ha ha  I made buttermilk pancakes, either blueberry or chocolate chip and we dyed the batter red--that's what Rylie wanted.  ha ha   Then, they all went out and made chalk drawings on our driveway.  It was SO pretty!

Here's Hailey, Rylie, Spencer, McKenna, Maya, and Kelsey

McKenna and Rylie - such beautiful girls!!

I love that they are still in their pajamas out there drawing!  Of course, I was still in my pj's taking the picture!  ha ha

I asked Spencer to give me a roller-blading pose, and this was what I got . . . nice form, Spence!

He is seriously one of the most angelic, loveable kids you will ever meet.

Sydne decided to try out Uncle Tom's guitar.  She is super talented!

Of course Kelsey drew the "I love Justin Beiber" picture.  ha ha!

After the chalk drawings, the older girls went shopping at the mall and I was able to sit and talk with my sister, MaryKay who came over for about an hour.  I had just talked with my mom on the phone for about 30 minutes before that-----it just felt really good to SLOW down and not worry about the things I always feel like I need to get done.  I just sat, smiled, and listened . . . it was wonderful!