Happy Birthday Tyrone Connor

Tyrone turned 7 on March 9. He was waiting patiently in his bed for us to come sing Happy Birthday to him. Tyrone gets so excited and loves this tradition. He opened his presents and was so excited that he got his own scriptures with his name engraved in gold on the cover. He had requested a bottle of caffeine free Pepsi on his birthday wish list and was so pleased to get it. He got a science kit from his cousins Autumn and Kami, who came to stay for the weekend. We went to a special screening of a new movie called The Croods which was lots of fun. Next Tyrone had some friends over to the house and they played and had lunch. I made him some cupcakes for that party. Later that evening, we had the rest of the family over for cake and icecream. I made a chocolate malt cake that was DIVINE and Tyrone got to blow out his candles and make a wish. I can't believe my little Tyrone is 7 years old. I still remember him as a chunky little baby. He has always been trying to grow up too fast, walking at 10 months old and asking never-ending questions. He loves to ask questions about everything and he loves being given responsibility. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and is a very loving kid. I can't wait to see him continue to grow into a young man. We love you Tyrone!!!

Happy Birthday Lucas!

Lucas celebrated his 31st Birthday on January 28th. We woke him up singing "Happy Birthday" and let him open his presents. The kids were very excited because the boys had picked out a gift for him and the girls had also picked one out. Lucas loved all his gifts. We had breakfast, sent the boys off to school and went and got donuts with Niamh and Isla. Lucas had planned to go to work that night, but ended up taking the day off. We went and took Gavin and Tyrone out of school early and went to Metro Pizza for an early dinner. We don't always take the kids out to eat because it's usually crazy, not to mention kind of expensive. It was fun and the pizza was yummy. I think Lucas had a pretty great day. We also celebrated his birthday the weekend before by going out with his mom and his siblings and their wives and my sister and her hubby. We went to our favorite sushi place in Las Vegas; Ta Ta's Asian Bistro. They have the best sushi. Our favorite are The Yao Ming rolls. We had a really fun time, eating and chatting and then we went back to Lucas' mom's house where we had cake and icecream and talked some more.

 

 

 

Floyd Lamb FHE

We went to Floyd Lamb State Park one Monday night for Family Home Evening. It was a treat because Lucas had taken the night off work and we finally had some nice weather. We only live about 5 miles from this beautiful park which has over 2,000 acres. Every time we go, which is rare, I ask myself why we don't get a season pass to go there more. There are several lakes, where you can fish or have a picnic or barbecue. There are walking and bike trails also. They also have lots of geese and swans, the kids enjoyed seeing. The highlight of our outing was that the kids got to play in the leaves. They rolled in them, threw them up in the air, threw them at each other. We don't have those kind of trees in our yard, so they loved being able to have that many leaves to play in.

Merry Christmas!

Ethel M. Chocolate and Cactus Garden Wonderland

One night we went to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory to see their brilliant Christmas lights in their cactus garden. There are about half a million lights covering their cactus garden. It is truly beautiful and wonderful to see. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the pretty lights and different decorations all around the gardens. Before we left, we did the quick Chocolate factory tour and got our free sample of chocolate on the way out. We were quite the crowd with all the Abbott cousins. Afterwards, we went to Grandma Abbotts house for Hot Chocolate and Texas sheet cake. It was also Aunt Cindy's birthday. She passed away almost 2 years ago, but we still celebrate her birthday because she always looked forward to her birthday and loved celebrating it.

9 Year Wedding Anniversary.

Lucas and I were 9 years married on December 5. We were able to go out to dinner at a lovely Mexican Restaurant. Then we did some Christmas shopping and went to see the latest James Bond movie; "Skyfall." It was a memorable day. I can't believe it has been 9 years since Lucas and I walked out the doors of the Las Vegas Temple as man and wife. We do have some things to show for it; 9 years, 4 kids, 5 moves, shift changes at Lucas' job, lots of trips and lots of ups and downs. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life. Lucas is such a cheerful person. He is rarely moody or down. He is constantly making jokes and making me laugh. He is an amazing father to our kids, he plays with them, teaches them, loves them, makes them laugh. He is a hard worker and never complains about going to work, even when he doesn't get a lot of sleep. He is my rock and I don't know what I would do without him. I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life and eternity with this man. I love you Lucas!!

 

 

Family pictures

We went to Red Rock last Saturday to take some family pictures for our Christmas card. I just figured we would set up the tripod and take a few pics of us. The day was perfect; overcast and cool. Red Rock is beautiful this time of year with the colors of Autumn against the multicolored mountains. We just let the kids run wild and tried to grab them when we saw a photo opportunity. Then out of nowhere it began to snow. It was pretty cool, the snow was not wet or cold but more like perfect little balls of styrofoam. It didn't ruin our play time. When we were done we got in the van and headed further up the driving trail. Then it began to snow pretty hard and was covering the ground. It was 34 degrees at one point and we were happy that we were in our cozy van. We did let the kids out for a minute to run around in the snow. It was a perfect fall day. These are my favorite pics: