Let the Fun Begin

I love this time of year! We are so THANKFUL for our family and to those who filled our bellies with the yummy food. Love this time of year because we get to celebrate Jesus and its such a fun time in our community of friends and neighborhood. Already our house and street is getting sparkly. The girls SO "get it" this year. Each year gets better and better as they get older. They have already thought out what they can make and sell to give proceeds to POETS. That is such a beautiful gift when you see your child's true heart. The fun begins here during Thanksgiving and the celebration continues. Oh Whitney, you are so loved! Uncle B and Auntie My lov'in on Jeffy.

Sweet lil' Finley isn't into me taking pictures these days. I will just have to be sneaky about it!

How sweet are these girls! Our little Bennett June is the high light of family nights. She is six months and has mastered crawling and standing up already. Watch out world, she is one to keep an eye on!You can always count on Aunt Jojo to have a baby in her hands. One of the first words out of Ava's mouth were, Bella. Its really sweet to be able to see them grow into freinds and have so much love for each other.

And the love I have for this one....

Its so fun to have this place where I can really look back at these pictures and truly feel blessed and not just say it.

Another night of Thanksgiving goodness.We were so excited to have Brian down from Texas for the week and were very stuffed from the turkey's he fried. Here he is a little tuckered out, as those Texas people would say.

Mimi and Papa were able to join the Rices for some celebration and always lending an extra arm or two.

Spreading the love on a loving day.

These girls are darling! I don't know if its the age, the tiny little bodies or the cuteness but they are amazing. And together, I just can't get enough of them!

We are so thankful for all of our Grandparents. The girls are so blessed to have their "greats"be such a big part of their lives. G Pops is about to turn 80 in January and he is the best. He always gets down to the girls level and is crazy with them. Be careful not to egg him on, he just might end up in a head stand or something, seriously! They got the girls a ton of things as usual. Books, pens, writing pads, super soft new bear (why are our girls so into stuffed animals?), a new sweet baby and bassinet and the cutest cheetah jacket. Wow, we are Thankful!

Christmas Picture?

As we were getting ready for Thanksgiving the girls were getting decked out in cheetah galore. Sofia and Bella made hair clips, planned special outfits and even used cheetah fabric to add to Bella's top. They were so cute and sweet about the whole look they were going for. I thought it would just be perfect if I was able to get a Christmas picture, ya right. Although, I didn't get a picture, I love looking back at the few shots I took because Lilah was cracking us up. She LOVES the camera more than any baby I know. We are just having to much fun with this little one. Notice the last picture? Rubi saw this and screamed out of excitement that Dora made it into the Christmas card. Another giggle from the girls that I love to think about.

Almost 80 in November

We love days like today! The only things that are missing are 2 big
girls and waves. There's always tomorrow!

Lessons of a Lifetime

Some of my two favorite books these days. The Are and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet. I had the pleasure of attending her "Baking Boot camp" last year for my birthday from my mother in law, Candy. She autographed my book saying, Here's to all the sweet things in life". You'll appreciate her guiding you along as you tackle any of her recipes. Another one is The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall &Fizz Carr. This is an the best book ever! I try to include the kids in the kitchen but sometimes it is just a pain. This gives us projects they really can handle. Did you ever know that just by putting heavy cream in a jar and shaking it makes butter?

We captured a few that the girls were so excited about. Bella and Sofia waited patiently for there rolls to be done. We noticed that fresh baked bread can be smelled from outside. Spread with our homemade butter you would think we lived on Little House on the Prarie.

Karate chopping was there favorite part.

Sofia was very serious about her bread and Bella just wanted to have a ball with it. Am I relating our kids view on life to making bread?

These really are more than cookbooks, they encourage us to be together in the kitchen and that's really what matters. Gift idea for anyone???

More summer pic's I LOVE!

I came across these pictures that I just had to journal. I love that my pops went paddle boarding before we grabbed a bit to eat with Terri and the boys. Go dad, go!

I love uploading my pictures to find Sofia and Bella have gone wild with my camera. There is usually a really great picture or two and this is one I love. Mostly because I found them cracking up after the curtains fell on them. This girl is just one big party!

Fun times with cousin, Shauna and boys. We LOVE to be with them!

Another one of those "could of been cute" pictures. Even though as a mama I think they are just the sweetest things, I just wish I could get all of them looking at me. That is what I would really love!

LOVE the smell of our garden. The veggies were out of control. It was the best project we have ever done together as a family. Our sweet neighbor, Linda, just brought strawberries for us to plant. We can't wait to get back into the groove of gardening. Thanks Linda!

Sofia got her ears pierced (tear, tear!) while back to school shopping with Granny and Grandad. She has been asking for the past 3 years and we finally broke down. I cried along with her because it was such a step towards becoming a big girl. We love this moment and won't forget it.

This captures almost every picture I take of all 4 of them.

We made this sign for our garden and loved it for a minute. So fun but such a bummer it was washable, oops! So many of these pictures with our Dahl's rolls! How can I resist them? Aren't they so lovable?

This picture sums up our summer and what we think of it! Us+water=IN LOVE

First Day of School

The girls were so excited for there new school. We've met new friends,
love seeing familiar faces and excited about there teachers. I hope
it's a great year!

Harvest Crusade, 2009

Jeff and I were able to escape on a date, thanks mom, and enjoyed a fabulous night of Greg Laurie and the Harvest Crusade. I have never been so this was a new experience and we suggest everyone should go next year! We always get so excited when Third Day comes on the radio, so to hear them live was awesome.

Dennis Agajanian is one of my brothers fav's so Brittney took me down to take a pic with him. She also let me have a lemon bar and some coffee, yummy!

We did not plan on the coordinating plaid but Jeff and I had fabulous seats thank to you, sweet friend!

Johnathon and his sweet gal, Brittni!

Here is a little video of this great band that we were able to enjoy.

Paint time!

It's a fun day today, messy too!