one, already

Mmmm…. birthdays mean cake!

This babe of ours has been around for a whole entire year.  Just as I have gotten used to the idea of having a baby around, she has turned into a toddler.
Miss Claire has two teeth, nearly mastered walking, unruly hair, squawks when demanding attention, waves bye bye, gives kisses, and is doted on by everyone in our little family.

the birthday of a thousand celebrations

{Maybe not a thousand…but more than one}

Not only did Paige have the Best Party EVER!!… she was also ready to be baptized!

Something that we’ve talked about for a while was turning this:

into a super-special-baptism-dress for Paige. [try to ignore the super cheesy bridal pose]

Paige pleaded with me to not use my wedding dress, because she wants to wear it one day for her wedding. It was futile to try to explain to her that she would most likely change her mind by the time that day comes. We were able to compromise by using only the detachable train from my dress. My sister’s very talented sis-in-law, Lu, transformed it into this:

Paige felt like such a princess. She didn’t even complain about her photo shoot in 110 degrees - just smiled and kept getting sweatier. Funny how much easier that becomes when it’s all about you.

Her baptism day went nicely. Paige was thrilled and all smiles and said she “felt good” about being baptized. We had gobs of family come to support her and join us for a luncheon at our house afterwards. We’re so proud of our Paigey!

sweethearts day

Happy Valentine's Day Babe!

I {heart} you!!











[This is us circa 1995, getting our flirt on during our engagement photo shoot. Can you see it in my eyes that I knew he wanted me?]

happy day

Happy Birthday to you.....
Happy Birthday to you.....

Happy 35th Birthday to my mom today!! (I had to at least make you older than me)


**Edited to add**

Faith, Sara & I decided to be spontaneous and make a surprise trip to Pine to wish Mom a Happy Birthday! It was so much fun!! We were practically giddy making an overnight road trip minus kids and hubbies. The planning started late morning and by dinner time we were having a surprise birthday barbecue. Woo-hoo! Grandma Shumway helped us with our plot and never once gave us up. We're very sly. We pulled an all-nighter of cards and gabbing. When I say all-nighter, of course I mean we made it to midnight. :) We do have children to care for the next day after all. It was great fun to pull off a [very small in numbers but big] surprise party. I guess the key to a successful secret is planning it in only 6 hours - there's not a lot of time for it to get out.

happy father's day

Happy Father's Day! I asked my kids to come up with some things they love about their dad and this is what they came up with:

Taylor: Dad is fun, smart, hard-working. I really liked the time I got to go camping with you and the boy scouts in Bulldog Canyon.

Paige: Daddy is strong, smart, fun, silly and wonderful! My best memory is when we went bowling with Daddy at his work. (We met him at a casino in the city where he was working.)

Gabriel: I love it when he sings to me. I love it when Daddy takes me places with him - especially the store, where I get a cookie. [okay, he didn't say that exactly, but I know that's what he's thinking]

Thanks for being a wonderful Daddy to our children.
~~~~~~

A big shout out goes to my dad on this special day. When I was really little, I used to like to help Dad out in the yard. Sometimes, when I'm on a walk and I see those same flowers or plants, I remember those times, out in the yard, asking if I could work with my shirt off, too. :) Hope you're having a great time on vacation!

~~~~~

I so appreciate the influence of fathers. Todd's dad, Craig, passed away shortly after we had celebrated our 1st anniversary. I didn't get to know him well, but I know how much Todd looks up to him. I see the example he was as a father through my dear hubby. Todd recalls his dad often coming home from work and seeking out each of his children to greet them and ask them about their day. He always felt loved by his dad.

~~~~

I can't leave out Todd's step-father, Don. I get to claim seniority as far as marrying into the family goes, but to our children, he is Grandpa, and they love him. During our Sunday dinners he always has a grandchild hanging on his arm or eating off his plate, and he's okay with that. As a jack of all trades, he's always willing to help any one of us on a project - no matter how long it takes to complete.

operation: secret birthday trip

Taylor and his mommy spent 3 days in Washington, D.C. This top-secret birthday operation has been in the planning stages for a couple months, but Taylor lacked the proper clearance and was not briefed on the details until the night before we left. When he was making gift requests for his birthday and was met with, 'We aren't buying any presents, it's already planned out' he was apprehensive. But I think he got over it.

This picture is his 'My Mom has taken a million pictures, but I'm forced to smile yet again in front of The Capital Building. Will this torture never end?' look. Despite there being an absence of sheer happiness on his face in any of the pictures, I know he had a great time. We'll just chalk it up to him being generally reserved in nature.

My friend, Shane, was a most gracious hostess, knowledgeable tour guide, skilled taxi driver and awesome travel agent who made all of our arrangements and tolerated our indecisiveness. Since this trip was for Taylor, we let him have the final say in most of the planning - except for the things we kept secret from him altogether.

So here's a not so brief run down of our activities:

Day 1
Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum: lots of airplanes and Taylor showed off his skills in the simulator. Shane's daughter, Emma, and "Tay Tay" hit it off immediately and she insisted they hold hands through most of the day.

Chick-fil-a: somehow became a highlight of Taylor's day - he must have been hungry.

Arlington Cemetery: beautiful! Although I've seen pictures, it was better than what I expected. Taylor loved the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the way the soldier would tap his shoes together at each turn.

Gravelly Point: a grassy area on the edge of the airport where the planes fly in real low before they land. Received high marks from Taylor - even got a few visible smiles.

Marine Corps Sunset Parade: loved it! Shane was able to score tickets through her friend and Taylor was captivated the entire time. It's amazing the way they keep synchronized, we were in awe.


Day 2
The Mall: Walked around and saw all the memorials: Lincoln, Vietnam Wall, WWII, etc.

Pentagon: yes. How cool is that? Again, Shane hooked us up with a friend that works in the Pentagon and he gave us a tour. He took us into one of the Army briefing rooms and Taylor sat in the Secretary of the Army's chair and we watched an army movie. So thrilling. Taylor had to double check afterwards if it was okay that he tell his friends what he saw in the Pentagon. There was a sign that read "What you hear in this room, stays in this room" and he took it very literal.

Spy Museum: for Taylor this was a must see and he had a great time.

Day 3
National Cathedral: We went because I wanted to. It was beautiful, but the highlight for Taylor was the bathroom. He made 2 trips just to use the unusual hand dryer.

Air & Space Museum at the Smithsonian: Taylor was up for another round of airplanes. Grandpa Crosby had given him some money before we left and told Taylor to spend it on our trip. So each day Taylor was OBSESSED with going into all the gift shops to spend the money that was burning a hole in his pocket. Here, he finally had that opportunity.

Military Exhibition: Taylor's dream come true was across the street from the museum. A huge tent set up with all sorts of booths complete with guns and military guys. On the lawn were tanks, helicopters and all things previously unknown to me but amazing to 11 year old boys. We rushed through as they were packing up for the day.

Mike's Restaurant: Shane and her hubby, Jason, graciously treated us to a delightful dinner where Taylor branched out and tried calamari, salmon and crab cakes for the first time! Topped off with my new favorite - chocolate waffles.


Day 4
Both Taylor and Shane's birthdays - (also my sister, Sara's)!!

Had a quick bite to eat and headed back to the Military Exhibition so Taylor could get his hands on all the guns they had there before we left.



One Army guy even challenged Taylor to a push-up contest. Tay did great and earned a t-shirt and praise for his form. He tried on a parachute and bullet-proof vest, but he was mainly interested in the GUNS!!

We had a great time together. Taylor doesn't often get so much alone time, I'm not sure he knew what to do with so much of it. Hopefully it's a happy memory that he'll look back on and know how much he's loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back on the home front, Todd took care of everything from therapy to bus schedules to medications - in his own way. While there was no home cooking going on, they stayed busy and happy anyway. Thanks Daddy and great job!

i (re) do

Friday night, Sara and Justin officially said 'I do' (again). It was a not so small (even though it was only family) and not so quiet (many small children) ceremony.

We had food, fun, tolerable drama, paper wedding bells and a ceremony that again binds them as man and wife.

Many good wishes to the happy new(-ish) couple!

bringing in 2008

We brought 2008 in with a bang, I'll tell you! We started out with a fabulous fondue dinner at the Hoopes' house, with more food than we knew what to do with. Amber doesn't mess around when it comes to dinner parties. It was different and fun and as a bonus, the kids loved it!

We came back to our house to have a chocolate fondue dessert and await the New Year with a pajama party and some cards. Most of our 'guests' were under the age of 10 and were excited to be allowed a late night.

Sara, Justin, Paris & Hayden & Ethan joined up with us and everyone was treated to a few noisy fireworks and sparklers. The kids lined up outside and 'oohed' and 'aaahed' and thought it was fun to see what shapes they could make with the sparklers as I took pictures.

We found a cable channel that enabled us to celebrate the new year at 10:00 rather than 12:00 and we toasted with Martinelli's cider. Huge. Party. Taylor didn't even make it to the 10 o'clock celebration and is disappointed in himself today. The rest of the crew (besides Paris, who never did rest her eyes) called it a night shortly after. We 'grownups' even called it a night before the stroke of midnight. Does that make us boring?



Wishing you a happy 2008!