part II

Our California visitors came to stay with us for a couple days of their vacation, and we were so glad! I thought it was so sweet because Audrey and Alex went to go and get some coffee in the morning, and they brought Carson and Kylie some hot chocolate. They looked so cute sitting around the table having some morning drinks. We took them to dinner, to one of our favorite and most romantic restaurants......fondue of course.......yummy!! We had the best time. I dipped one of the dessert items (which I thought was cheesecake) into the chocolate, and it tasted so funny. Kyle and Alex said it was a lemon bar. It was hilarious....because it definitely wasn't a lemon bar, and they were so convinced it was. They were cracking me up. We finally asked what the heck it was. It was sponge cake.....the strangest sponge cake I ever tasted. Oh, well. The rest of it was great. My poor Lex was sick too, so thankfully my mom was there taking the best care of her!

My mom also wanted to cook for our visitors. She make some super great food. Audrey and I were busting up laughing, because she asked Alex (who is very tall as you can see) to help her reach something, and the difference in height was just too funny. They both thought it was funny too, when I showed them the picture, so it was o.k. that we were laughing!

I get to see my Odd 1 again next week, we both said that we are feeling a little spoiled. I could get use to it, but I will try not to let myself!
My kids loved having them around too. They are the type of people that are just naturally great with kids. They spoiled them too, so that always helps.

Our Mini vacation With my Odd -1 and Alex

We just got back from a wonderful little getaway with our good friends. Audrey and Alex are celebrating their second anniversary here in Idaho. They are able to celebrate in a winter wonderland........how romantic!! It is sooo wonderful to see them!! I miss them more than words can say. Here are some pictures of our trip to McCall.......
We had breakfast at the Christmas house. I ordered one of their famous cinnamon rolls on the side. It turned out that my food actually looked like the side dish, instead of the cinnamon roll. We all ended up sharing it. I can't believe the size of it. ha.ha. They have a Christmas store all year long. It was so cute inside

Then we had a horrible experience at the swimming pool!!! I could not believe what happened there. We had to try really hard not to let it ruin our entire trip. The kids had been looking forward to swimming more than anything. So we took them. When we got inside the pool, there was an older couple in the hot tub. They were staring at us, and I figured that they thought the kids were cute. Boy, was I ever wrong!!! The kids got in the pool, and were having the BEST time ever. This lady started glaring at me, as the kids were laughing and playing(if looks could kill, I would no longer be here!) she got out of the hot tub, and let out a really loud scream. By this time, other elderly men had arrived, and they were enjoying playing with the kids in the pool. She continued to stare me down and I tried to ignore her the best I could. I knew she was going to eventually come over, and I thought if she hits me, then I will push her in the pool.That is how evil her looks were, I thought she was going to get physical! The time soon came, that I saw her heading over to me. She then pointed at me and called me a Four letter B word, and Kyle a 7 letter B word, and as she was shaking in fury she said that she couldn't believe that we would be so selfish as to take our kids into the pool. All I could think to tell her, was to come back after 9pm for the adult swim. Kyle was just staring at her in a shocked state from the pool (I was outside the pool). She then said she was going to go and tell the resort attendant, I told her to go ahead, and reminded her that she was a child once too. The sweet elderly men were then so kind to us, and felt so bad for us. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the moment. A few of them also went in and explained the situation to the attendant, because they felt so bad for us!! We did manage to not let it ruin our trip, and ended up joking with Audrey and Alex about it. She called us B&B........ha.ha.ha. And then she was thinking of all these cool things I should have told the old grouch. It worked out good that I contained myself, because we gained a lot of respect from our spectators. he.he.

Here is our happy family before oscar the grouch came over =0) This man in his 80's told me that if she came back, I needed to send her over to big Jim and he pointed to his muscles!! What a cutie.

We had the opportunity to go on a hayride, to feed some wild elk. It was AMAZING!!

There were over a hundred of them. I was a little nervous as they all started coming toward us. They feed off of the Hay that we were sitting on. It was just crazy.

We all LOVED it!This big boy was eating right in front of me. His antlers were just about touching me. He did make me a little nervous! He also made the other little elk nervous, because they all cleared a spot for him as he came walking over. Again, it was AMAZING!!! The snow was beautiful, and it was coming down the entire day.

We had a blast (with the exception of Oscar the grouch) =) I love my odd 1. She brought the kids beautiful outfits and toys, so they were instantly friends with her!he.he.Can't wait to see them again tomorrow, for some more fun!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

This was so fun!! A lady at church told me about this website, and said to try it. I have been told a few times that I look like Kate Winslet, so I wanted to see if she popped up, and sure enough she did. A funny story about that was when my dad and I took Carson to get his haircut. A man sitting next to Carson told me that I looked like her. When we got to my car my dad said " Well I don't think she is very good looking". I thought.........well I told him "thanks a lot dad!, I have been told that I look like her a couple of times". Oh, well........I will just let myself think that he has bad taste. he.he. Let's see you try this Melissa.......you know Carrie Underwood will come up at 100%!! Let me know =0)

Luck of the Irish

Kylie hit the jackpot. Maybe because St. Patrick's day is almost here, her lucky Irish blood is helping her out! She put just one coin in this game with a dump truck and her coin went right in the truck, and then the truck dumped out all the coins, and hit the jackpot! For once they were able to pick out some nice toys, instead of the little cheap stuff! She got 350 tickets with that one coin! We were all so excited. And here is the lucky girl with her daddy. (you can't tell that she likes him or anything in this picture=0) ).

And he bought them each a piggy bank, and let them pick out the color. Of course Kylie picked purple.......her favorite color in the whole world. She wants everything purple. I guess I messed up by painting her room pink! Carson picked out the pretty green one.

Speaking of being lucky....Kyle and I feel pretty lucky to get to hang out with these three little people everyday. They are fun to be around (most of the time), and say really funny things everyday. Here are some pictures of us playing after church. I like to get pictures of them in their cute outfits..............

and they like to take pictures of me. Here I am with my big 1 year old!

And with my handsome little man! Kylie was the photographer for this shot.

And last week we had a day of sun, and somewhat warm weather. So we took advantage of it, at my parents house. Here are my little monkeys in the tree. My mom and dad found a free swing set for them, and they love it. They take breaks in between swinging to do a little climbing.Lex was enjoying the warm sun too, and again reminded me of her age! he.he.

more tree monkeys!

Soccer, Love, and more...

Carson and Kylie have been on a soccer team for the last couple of months. It was a good experience for them. They met new friends, and had a fun time. They were pretty bashful during the games. I even held their hands and walked around with them during one, so that they would play (it was pretty low key). The last game was on Saturday, and it was so fun. They each got a pretty medal, with their names engraved on it. Here is Carson checking his out.....

They did well at the goaly position, because they could stand together, and have us close by.At the last game they got to play with this floating UFO thing. They had clowns, and they got a soccer cup with candy inside. They loved that part! After the game, my parents came over to give the kids their Valentine's presents, and babysit so that Kyle and I could go out.

They gave them these cute little plates. Lexi got one too, but hers was too large to fit on her high chair.I had also bought a ton of candy to give out at church. My mom and Kylie helped me to put them into pretty bags. Of course we sampled them along the way=0)

Here are the kids on Valentine's Day. The girls had cute matching dresses. I thought it was funny how Lexi was showing us how old she is in the picture.

Kyle and I bought them this pop up train tent for the holiday. They love it, and actually play with it! That makes us happy!

And here are a few random pictures of the last week.........

These are the hair bows that my friend taught me how to make. She made most of them in this picture. They are fun and easy to make.

Kylie fell asleep with her balloons, and her horse (she sleeps with the horse every night). It was really cute and funny!

Here they are in cute matching colors. Lexi is in one of her new Birthday outfits.

Carson having a yummy superbowl cupcake. That frosting has some serious food coloring in it. I have a funny, gross story about the after math of it. I am sure you can imagine what it is!!!he.he And here are two of my munchkins taking a very bubbly bath. Lexi would have been up to her eyeballs in suds=).I have to be VERY careful to keep all soaps in high storage areas. Otherwise this happens, and I am always out of soap! It gets expensive, but makes for a cute picture.

Fun to be One!!

Happy birthday to our little sweetheart!!! She had an amazing day. I think that is obvious just by looking at the cake =) It turned out so pretty.............that is probably because I ordered it. he.he. If anyone wants the name of the cake lady, just let me know. It tasted super good as well. Even though she is only one, I think she knew the day was just for her. There was so much to celebrate..........her being in our family for a year now! She has been such a blessing, and it is a miracle that she has survived all of us.=) We had a Valentine/cupcake party for her. Here are some pictures of her big day.................

The cake- Yellow (homemade) cake with chocolate ganache filling, buttercream icing, and fondant around the bottom. It was pretty tasty!And of course a miniature one, just for her.
We also had a some lasagna, chicken, salad, and rolls. Thanks mom for catering!

This is Ranae, Kyle has known her since he first moved to Boise. She is the kind of person that is hard not to love and become attached to. She was his mom away from home. She and her husband are great people, and we were so glad they came to party with us!

The birthday girl and I

It took her a minute to figure out what to do with the cake,

but she figured it out!when the cake got into her eyes, and up her nose, it was time to call it quits.And also time for a bath

I found this cute cupcake pinata, and filled it with good stuff. Carson and Kylie loved it. We also made goodie bags for some of our friends to take to their relatives. I guess I had been expecting more little kids to come. Carson and Kylie didn't mind having it all to themselves. he.he.
It was a pull-string type, which is great for smaller kids, and much safer too!=)Carson found these cool heart glasses inside. What a handsome little man.

And Kylie was a BIG help with the presents. Lexi got adorable clothes, beautiful hairbows made by my friend Christen, Birthstone (amethist) earrings from my parents, toys, and gift cards and money from our friends and family in California.

Thank you to everyone who came, and to those who sent their love from far away. It made her day extra special.

These were the cute party favors that I made. The ice cream cone had conversation hearts and a fortune note inside that said "Thanks for celebrating with me". The top is a snow ball. They turned out so cute. Kyle was a huge help with these,

and so were the big brother and sister!and here is a centerpiece that I made from suckers. Thank you Angela, for the adorable idea. It turned out really cute!

Between Chloe, and my new church responsibility.........last week was just not my week, to say the least. It was wonderful to have something so great to smile about! We love our Alexis Brielle. I can't believe she is already a big one year old. Time sure flies when you are having fun. Thanks again for all the phone calls from our families and friends who couldn't be here.We missed you! Happy Birthday again, Lexi!!!!!!!!!!!