Birthday Boy :)

Although the Vikings let us down last Sunday (Saints didn't deserve the win), we still had cause to celebrate! Ash and Raeg worked hard planning Brad's birthday. The day before, while Brad and I were on a long walk, they baked a moist french vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting. It was baked, frosted, and hidden by the time we returned home... and it was super delicious! In the morning the girls got up and made Brad a yummy birthday breakfast consisting of biscuits, eggs, sausage, and hash browns.

In the afternoon we took Brad out to dinner and then came home for dessert.

Blowing out the candles.. Brad got a little winded as he had to blow them out a few times. Ash and Raeg picked sparkler candles that had a tendency to relight. (This made up for not having the proper amount. ha) Didn't they do a great job on the cake?! (and all by themselves! I was proud of them) Raeg made sure to decorate the side of the cake with Brad's age so he wouldn't forget how old he's turning. ha!

And what's a party without a silly string war

It was glow in the dark, so we waited till evening. Unfortunately we didn't think about it needing to be exposed to light first in order to glow. Oh well, still made for a fun time and helped relieve some of Brad's anxiety before the game. LOL.


Happy Birthday Brad. We hope you enjoyed your day and felt as special and loved as you are!!

Playing at the Park

The other day we took Logan to the park. After a few gray cloudy days, it was fun to have our Florida sunshine back.

Logan had fun swinging, sliding with Ash, and riding Clifford with Raeg. The girls are convinced Logan is going to love roller coasters when he gets older because he seems to have no fear... the higher he goes the bigger the smile.

Ash talked Raeg into the spider. They used to swing like this a lot when they were little and Ash wanted to relive the moment. ha. I think the dialogue this time went something like this:
Ash: "Raeg, let me get on"
Raeg: "Ash, we're too big.. you'll kill me"
Ash: "No I won't" (as she sticks her left leg in over Raeg's kicking her side)
Raeg: (reluctantly begins to swing) "grrrr. Ash, ouch!"
Ash: (giggling) "weeeeeeeeeeeeeee.."
Raeg: (laughing with Ash) "Ash you're pushing my butt out of the swing"
Ash: "This is fun"
Raeg: (no longer laughing) "Fun for you.. you're on top. My legs hurt..get off"

Not quite how they remember it. Being little has it's perks.. like the ability to do the spider pain free.

On our walk home we came upon a 'turtle town meeting'. lol. There were over 20 turtles and 1 lonely gator resting on the bank. We had never seen that many turtles together at one time. Maybe they figure there's safety in numbers. ha

KK's 10th B-Day Sleepover

Last Saturday Ash & Raeg helped their good friend Katie celebrate her 10th Birthday.


yummm.. cake.

Skittles and a DS game. What more could a girl want? :)


The girls were up until around 3:30 in the morning playing games and talking.. Raeg was so ready to come home. Sunday was definitely a day of rest for us.

Sweet Victory

Today we reveled in Minnesota's win over the Cowboys. Next stop... New Orleans.

'Vikings Pride' after the game. Brad, Ash, and our neighbor Jared (fellow Vikings fan).

Today we're...

..enjoying sleeping in on a gray Saturday.

..waiting for morning coffee and Raegan's delicious pancake breakfast.

..taking Ashlynn to drama practice. (her performance is in two weeks!)

..getting birthday presents for Raeg and Ashlynn's friend Katie.

..taking the girls to Katie's for a birthday sleep-over! which means...

..spending the evening alone, just the two of us, doing whatever. Going out to eat, watching the sunset sink into the gulf, midnight naked wii bowling tournament. (just kidding.. Raeg said, "that's not even funny, it's just wrong and embarrassing". I think I just traumatized my daughter. lol), Ok, Barnes & Noble for coffee and true crime books maybe? Who knows.. with the night to ourselves, our options are limitless.

Whatever you have planned, enjoy your today!


Raeg's Mickey Mouse Pancake

Logan's 1st Birthday!

Last night we had so much fun helping the Phares celebrate a very special day ... Logan's 1st Birthday!

Janelle made a delicious chocolate birthday cake for Logan.

Doesn't he look cute in his birthday shirt? .. such a big boy.. It's hard to believe he's been in our lives a year now. (What a joy it's been!)

Time for presents!

Family photo.. What a great looking family. (These guys have really blessed our lives.. We're so glad God allowed our paths to cross)

It was a great party. (with a yummy lasagna dinner) I'm grateful we got to help celebrate Logan's 1st Birthday.

Knitting with Janelle

Our neighbor Janelle gave the girls cute knitting bags for Christmas which included knitting supplies and lessons! (very cool gift) Janelle loves to knit and is so good at it. I was eager for the girls to learn from her.

Raeg and Ash had a really good time at Janelle's today and I think both of them were surprised by how much they enjoyed knitting. It was fun to see the progress they had made on the hats. Ash said she actually had fun learning how to knit and Raeg walked in the door proclaiming, "I love to knit now!".
Thanks Janelle for sharing your talent with the girls!

Desert Sands

Here's a short clip of Raeg practicing one of her songs for a music festival she'll be playing in next month. Notice the fancy camera work. ha. (sorry about the quality).

Can you spot 'em in the tree?

There are 3.. :)
(1 beautiful cardinal and 2 gorgeous blue jays)

We awoke to the most beautiful sight out our back window. A tree filled with colorful birds looking for breakfast. (which unfortunately they found very little of, due to the squirrels who keep knocking it out. ha)

There were actually 2 cardinals, but the female was lying low in the bushes when I took the first picture.


We need to replace our squirrel feeder so the birds will have a better shot at finding something in theirs.

Christmas Clean-Up

Ugh...We spent the majority of our afternoon packing Christmas decorations back into their storage bins and organizing closet space to contain them until next year. It's fun decorating, but putting it all away after the holidays sure is a job.

We got to watch Logan this evening which is always a pleasure. Ashlynn loves Loggie and is such a big help. Her and Katie bundled him up for a walk around the lake while Brad and I finished putting bins away.


Later she gave him his evening bath...

He was having a good time until it came time to wash his hair. He wears that cute little foam visor to keep soap and water out of his eyes. I don't think he's too thrilled about wearing it. ha.

After bath time Ash snuggled into the rocker with Logan and read several bedtime stories.

Saying Goodbye to 2009

Happy New Year!!!! Welcome 2010!!!!