Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had a very busy, but wonderful holiday season.

I slacked on Christmas cards this year, but we wish you all the very best and hope the new year brings lots of joy. Love you all!

Hear's a few highlights...

Brookie turned one!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone (I know everyone says that), but I really think having a holiday birthday made it really feel faster.

She's signing 'hot' or 'fire', not sucking on her finger, but either way she's adorable! We've LOVED having this beautiful girl in our family for a whole year.

Here's the kiddos in their new PJs.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Shaw!

For months, Ty wanted a guitar that turned into a piano. I know, intense. Well this year, Santa totally pulled through.

Brookie with her new doll saying 'Baby'.

We've resisted getting too many 'girly girl' things, but she loves her baby.

We got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with Kev's family, but I somehow made it through without any pictures of the kids with their cousins. So trust me when I say it was full of fun!

New Years' we were able to finally get together with my whole family (this pic was the closest thing we got). That hasn't happened for years, so it was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time playing with the whole gang.

This was Jordo's gift and he wore it ALL night!

And this was what Brooke loved. Why do we ever spend money on kids under two? They just like the paper and boxes anyways.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and here's to 2011!!!

Seven Blissful Years

On the 17th, Kev and I celebrated seven wonderful years of marraige. He planned a get-away to Las Vegas and it was just the break we needed. My sister and brother-in-law were saints and took our three kids for a few days so we could enjoy our vacation with no worries. When we called to talked to the boys, they would say hi and quickly pass the phone on, not missing us at all. They had a blast with their cousins for a few days, Brookie did great and we loved the time without them, though we love them dearly!

For my birthday, which is a month earlier, Kev surprised me with tickets to Blue Man Group while we were there. It was amazing and much better than we both expected. We highly recommend it to anyone that gets a chance to see it.

This one was for the kids, but who doesn't love a picture with an M&M?

We picked and chose what there was to see on the strip and of course hit Bellagio.

This is a chocolate fountain! I had to borrow batteries from another tourist to get this picture, but it was worth it.

The Bellagio turned their flower garden into a Christmas scene and it was beautiful. This polar bear is made completely out of flowers.

We wouldn't of missed watching the fountains.

Our kind passer-by photographer missed a better opportunity for a photo, but that's alright.

The Bellagio fountains are a must see when down in Vegas.

We had so much fun and looking forward to many more anniversaries. I am so much happier than I ever could of imagined and it just gets better every day. I don't know how I got so lucky to marry and spend eternity with someone as patient and selfless as my stunning husband, but I do know I am blessed and am grateful everyday for our eternal marriage.

Fall Became Winter

Fall and winter are fun times for kids. The weather, the holidays, the cozy PJs. Good times! Here's some of our cold weather fun.

Cute kids in cute PJs. Also Brooke's moment to shine. She naps during a lot of the fun and so she doesn't appear much in the pics. But we love you lots Brookie!

Cold weather brings basketball!

We are lucky to have parents and grandparents that share their tickets. The boys love the hype, the cougar and the popcorn. With the crazy atmosphere, I don't think Brooke blinked once.

Raking's a pain, but piles of leaves are nothing but fun.
Jordo's style is frog style.

Ty gives it his all, just like he does with everything.

Not much to say, just makes me smile.

If Brookie was in it, this would be a Christmas card.

Then on to snow. Too soon in my opinion, but not soon enough for the boys.

Here's a little story about my boys and how different they are.

Here is Ty. Starting the perfect snow ball, being ever so careful.

Even after the snowmen have been built, Ty is holding onto and protecting his snowball.

Yes, he did ask for his picture with it.

Now Jordo.

Here's his snowman.

Then for kicks, he started having a snowball fight with it.

Any guesses on who won?

And as if the balls weren't enough, he finished Frosty off with a good beating. He was quite proud that he came out on top.

I love my kids and love that they are so unique. It makes life exciting.

Ty is Five!

On Friday, Ty turned five!

He was so excited for his birthday, we were on the countdown for quite some time.

Now he tells me, "I can do that, cause I'm five!"

or

"I don't need that, cause I'm five!"

Do you need a better reason than that?

We of course had to have a #5 candle, that we had weeks in advance.

He requested a basketball cake.

That was something I could handle.

We were so lucky to have his cousins come up for his birthday.
Braden, Josh and Cody celebrated at Pirate Pizza with us.
The pirate made them a bit nervous, but we managed a picture.

Of course, a few presents, still sporting the pirate hat!

Ty, we love you SO much. You are an amazing kid with so many talents. We can't wait to see what you will do in life and the things you will accomplish. It blows me away that you are five! We are so proud of you and are so lucky to have you in our family!

Happy Halloween!!

Our little family had SO much fun this Halloween.

Full of traditions, fun, and of course, too much junk!

Here are our pumpkins. Brooke's is the little spider (thanks to Nicki for the great idea),

Ty's is the carved spider, Jordo's is the middle one, and the black cat was mine. I saw it in a magazine and thought it would be cute.

The boys came up with their ideas all on their own, including the nose in Jordo's.

We aren't typically a matchy-matchy family, but after a friend made these capes for the boys, it just seemed like a good idea to do one for Kev.

Like father, like son. They boys loved being just like Dad, and Kev was a great sport.

With all the darkness of vampires, we brightened things up with this cute fairy.
At ten months she is walking all over the place now. But with two brothers to keep up with, we knew it wouldn't take long.

Here are my three adorable kids!

I had to put this one on.

Brooke started to know the flash was coming and she would squint whenever the camera would come out. Little smartie-pants.

Happy Halloween! Bring on Thanksgiving and the holiday season!