I know it has been awhile...

I know it has been awhile since my last post, I guess life just gets a little busy sometimes. Everyone on this end has been well. Emma is doing great in school, she just got her first report card and it was very good. She is in dance again this year and just loves it. Jacob is FINALLY talking alot more. He started telling people his name but he says yeahcob. He cannot pronounce his J's that well. He is such an awesome kid. He makes me laugh everyday.

A few weeks ago we went to a birthday party at a jumping castle place. It was so much fun, even for Alex and I. I think Emma may be having her next party there. I love the idea of no cleanup!!

This year was the first time I hosted the Thanksgiving dinner. With a little help from my mom everything turned out just perfect. The turkey was so moist and flavorful and all the sides were so good. I could eat this meal once a week actually maybe not if anyone watches "The Biggest Loser," you must have heard how many calories this meal has. :)

Here is the table before it was full of wine and food.

My Dad and I.

Brandon pretending to be drinking. (what are we teaching him :)

After Thanksgiving Alex, my sister and I went to brave the crowds and go shopping. My mom took the kids to town to ride the trolly. They also went to the park and out to lunch. Thank God for my mom, she is such a great Grandma.

Weekend in Phoenix

Finally the family is complete!!

This past weekend I made a long anticipated trip to Phoenix to meet my newest nephew (and may I say he is one of the cutest babies ever). He has come all the way from Guatemala to join our family and I have been waiting for over a year to squeeze those chubby cheeks. I had such a wonderful visit just hanging with baby Alex and Alicia. Of course it was a very short trip so I had to try and get all the hugs in I could. I miss everyone so much already. Hopefully Christmas will come fast.

Oh my gosh, just look at those eyes.

Alex is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. He is so precious.

On Saturday morning Gina surprised me with a day at the Spa. We went to one at the Chandler Mall (I forget the name) and got one hour massages and then we got spa manicures and pedicures. It was so what we needed. We got to totally relax and catch up with each other. We have decided we need to do that ALOT more often. Do I have the best sister-in-law in the world or what???? Love ya Gina!!!! After the spa is was off to the mall to do some shopping.

There is another new member of the family and his name is Aiden Bennett. He is a little over two months old and so perfect. We had a family get together over at Aunt Lori's, and of course the little ones were the star attraction. These kids are going to be spoiled in this family. It was so great to see everyone, it has been a long time.

(me holding Aiden)

(Grandma and Alicia, I love this pic)

(Three generations, we just need Julie and Aunt Lori to make four)

Thanks for everything Gina and Juan. Love ya's!

A very busy week full of great memories

Stef, my best friend of 12 years came to visit us. She was able to come up by herself without any kids so we thought what better time then to do a girls night out in San Fransico. After I picked her up from the airport we went to our hotel by Pier 39, otherwise known as Fisherman's Warf and starting having fun. We spent the entire day sightseeing and shopping and then at night Stef treated me to a very nice dinner at a little Italian resturant in Little Italy and then we checked out a couple bars. It was such a great trip...we always have the best time together whether it is sitting in bed talking or out on the town.

(Stef in the front of our house)(this is us trying to take a pic with the camera's timer)Well Stef was visiting we celebrated Emma and Kaitlyns b-day (they share a birth date).
We just had a small get together with the family. We cooked the usual, hamburgs and hotdogs and had some yummy icecream cake for dessert.
And the most exciting event this week was that our baby girl started kindergarten. I don't understand how she is already five, seriously where does time go? I was pretty emotional on the walk to school but Emma was very excited. She started school the day she turned five so we got to bring cupcakes for the whole class. I was thinking that may score her some brownie points with the other kids :)

The birthday girl

Saying goodbye to Mrs. Kirk. Emma had a great first and second day but by the third day she didn't want to go anymore. It was heart wrenching to leave her at school crying. When I asked her that night why she didn't like school she said "it was to much work." Oh boy, we may be in for a long 18 years. She has been doing great this week...we shall see.

Oh Canada

A few weeks ago Emma and I went to Canada with my family to visit my Grandma and some great friends. Unfortunately Alex and Jacob had to stay home this time. (Girls have all the fun :) I was born and raised in Ont. Canada but have lived here for almost 15 years...wow. It is always great to go back and visit and reminisce. We went by my old house and school to show Emma, I don't think she cared very much :)

(Carol,mom, Kait,Casey,Emma)

We went to the beach ( Lake Huron ) where I spend many weekends. Of course we picked the one day that it was cold and windy. The kids didn't seem to mind. Brandon got in the water and Emma and Kait jumped the waves.

This was all of us with my Grandma and Aunt Shirly (Dad's sister) out at our favorite resturant, Swiss Chalet. They have the best chicken ever and it comes with an awesome dipping sauce...YUMMY.

(Grandma and Dad)

My Grandma turned 90 this year and is just as beautiful as ever.

Me and Bran sipping on some milkshakes.

These are two of my oldest friends. Brian and Lynette (the picture in the back was painted by Brian). We can go years without talking and when we get together it as though we have never been apart. We had a great Vacation, we spent alot of good time with my Grandma that I will cherish forever. We had some great family photos taken of my whole family but of course they were not on my camera.

This and That

I thought I would just post a couple pictures from what has been going on lately. A few weeks ago Brandon was in a swim meet. It was pretty cool, school's from all over came and camped out at the pool. It was quite the event. He did really well.
A few days after that the family went to the community pool to cool down.
Emma had a play date with two of her friends from dance. They had a lot of fun. Hopefully she will get at least one of her friends in her kindergarten class.
Last weekend we went to the Lake with Kaitlyn. The kids had a blast. They surprised me by swimming in the water because there was icky seaweed in some places, it didn't faze them. Jacpb mostly cleaned the drift wood up and chased the geese.
The last picture is of a bear, it is hard to make out but the glowing dot is his eye and you can see the outline of his body if you look close. This bear has been getting into our garbage almost every night. At first it was pretty awesome to see a bear in the front yard...now it is just a huge pain in the butt. One night he ran with one of our garbage bags in his mouth and we had to hike down a hill to clean it all up in the morning. Alex put a vice grip on the can to keep it closed, so far it is working.
Anyways sorry this blog is a little choppy but I just wanted to get a couple pictures up. Hope everyone is doing well.