Baby Dean's Blessing

 Yep - so we drove down to California for Baby Dean's blessing and of course, the day before, we HAD to visit the American Girl Doll Store with the Davis cousins because HOW FUN IS THAT?!

 I was so glad my mom could join us.  What a treat!

 Matching dolly hats for the cousins!

 We had to stop at the Los Angeles Temple on the way home to add another temple to our collection!

 It was a dream come true to see Hailey with her fun cousin, Olivia, at the American Girl Doll Store and Cafe for lunch.  They had an absolute BALL and actually, so did the moms!!

 Dean-O!

 Tony gave such a beautiful blessing and here is the whole darling family with Baby Dean!

Cute Little Faces

Last Saturday we had such a crazy busy day.  This is what I found on the couch at the end of the day.  Two cute smiling faces! 

 That didn't last long and then Hailey was ZONKED OUT!

 still - I love these faces!

 Speaking of cute little faces, these are the faces of my darling nieces and nephews.  Almost every 3 day weekend we get together somehow and plan a lunch at the park.  My sisters and I talk while the kids run around and play.  It's a little bit of heaven for me!  This is our last Sister's Lunch before Melanie's family moves to Idaho. :(  I will miss those little faces . . .

 These faces are the scene of a typical Family Night at our house.  

 Kids wrestling (usually started by Kohler) and everyone just loving being together.  I LIVE for Family Nights!

 I am so thankful the Lord set in place programs like FHE that gives families a chance to "stop the world for a minute" and just sit and talk, cuddle, learn, and laugh together.  

 (I must have smooched Hailey's face a hundred times that night!)

One More Cousin Sleepover

We have a rule in our house about sleepovers - basically we don't do them . . . unless it's with cousins!  Back in the spring of 2005, my sister, Melanie and her then, 3 children, moved to Arizona after years of us begging to live closer to each other.  It was a dream come true!!!  Whenever we had the chance, we let our kids get together for outings to the zoo, parks, swim parties, and sleepovers.  Every morning we made monster pancakes (McKenna's favorite) and brought out every pillow we could find in the house to make the most snuggly forts/beds ever!

 Here are Kelsey and Kohler (with Spencer in the background) and McKenna on the left and Sydne on the right.

 They would play "restaurant" many times - serving the finest foods!  ha ha  (looks like it was marshmallows that time!)

These are two of my sisters, Mary Kay with her daughter Maya on the left and Melanie and her daughter Rylie on the right.  (this was at a swim party at my house celebrating their move to Arizona!)

 Almost 8 years later, here is what Rylie and McKenna look like. This thumbs up was in reaction to a text their mom sent me showing them what their new house in Idaho Falls looks like.  Yes . . . they are moving . . . When they first got here, we really hoped for about 3-5 years.  Melanie's husband, Tim, works in the corporate world and it is customary to move around bumping up the corporate ladder.  We feel so fortunate to have had them here for almost 8 years.  It was our dream for our kids to grow up together and we have tried our best to get to each other's musical events and special occasions.  

Last weekend, Melanie, Tim and Sydne flew to Idaho Falls to secure a home and register the kids in school.  So, we had one last sleepover with McKenna, Rylie, and Keegan.  The next morning, we headed out to see a movie with Tom's ortho patients and their families.  

 We saw Wreck-It Ralph.  It was really cute!

 Yep - we are super proud of Tom.  He really does a great job and is so loved by our staff and referring dentists.  

 Here are the cousins hanging out at Hailey's soccer game!

 I love Keegan's little belly hanging out there! ha ha

 At Spencer's flag football game, Rylie and I were freezing!  Luckily, I brought some hot chocolate from Kea Lani and then we snuggled up to Tom to get warm.  Rylie even gave Tom a back-rub!   How nice of her---she is such a doll!

 Then, what sleepover weekend wouldn't be complete without a good dog washing!?!  We put Rider in my tub and gave him a good bath.  Well, Kelsey gave him the bath - she always does.  

I think Rider was in shock from getting all that attention from so many kids!!!  It took all of us to keep him from shaking water all over my bathroom (I don't like that!!) so we tackled him with towels before he could get a chance to shake.  He actually did it anyway under the towels and it made us all laugh!

 We have had so much fun with them living here.

 It's hard to imagine life without them here in Arizona.

I think when they drive away next Saturday, I'm gonna need a mask to put on to cover my teary eyes . . .