Our Family

Back to School

2011-09-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ethan started 2nd grade and Megan started preschool recently. They are both very excited to be in school, meeting new friends and having all kinds of new experiences. I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

Welcome Home Devan

2011-09-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Joel's youngest brother Devan returned home from his mission last month and we were able to get the entire family together for a reunion. It was great! We spent the weekend up at a cabin at Shaver lake. That Sunday we were able to attend church together where Devan gave a wonderful talk... has it really been 2 years! Pictured above is all 10 grandkids at the cabin. Of course this picture will be out of date in a few weeks when Ashley delivers baby #11.

Ethan just thinks the world of Devan. It was a great experience writing and receiving letters from Guatemala for the last couple of years. He is so excited to serve a mission of his own someday. Of course, he still wants to go to Texas like his dad though.

Six Flags

2011-07-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

We purchased season tickets to Six Flags this year since it's just an hour away. Because we are there about every other week I have not taken the camera for pictures. I finally decided to snap a few last time we went. I often take the kids myself while Joel is working. We have been so lucky to have such a mild summer this year, it has been really nice to be outside.

During the week the park is not very busy, so we are often the only ones on a ride. Megan decided she wanted to ride in the back by herself. She was Miss. Independent that day!

There are several great shows at the park. We have seen the killer whale show, dolphins, wild animals, elephant, Looney Toons, and pictured above the kids are watching the sea lion show.

At the wild animal show they brought out several of the animals for the kids to pet afterwards. Although Megan did not want to touch any of them, Austin could not get enough of it.

She's 4!

2011-05-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Megan turned four at the beginning of the month. Wow, these kids are good at reminding how fast time flies.

Megan got her friend a princess bath doll for her birthday 2 weeks prior. That's all she could talk about wanting for her birthday since. We got her that and the leotard and ballet slippers she needed to start her ballet class that week. She was one happy girl!

We are not having parties this year, except with the family, so we celebrated by playing at Chuck E. Cheese for the afternoon.

She is still really into princesses this year and wanted a princess cake so here is my attempt to fulfill that wish. It didn't turn out great, but she was happy. Luckily it looks better in the picture than in real life.

Everyone was excited to eat it!

Easter Celebrations

2011-05-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

All the pictures we took of the kids in their new Sunday clothes were quite silly, but at least they were happy. This is the best picture I got of the three of them. Perhaps they are so happy because of all the candy they ate before breakfast.

Austin was very excited to dig into his basket!
Megan picked a peep as her first treat.

The kids helped me make a special cake this year.

The day before Easter we enjoyed a beautiful day in the backyard dying eggs.

The Friday before Easter we got together with friends from the neighborhood and ward to have our annual potluck and Easter Egg Hunt.

Austin

2011-04-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

The closer Austin gets to his 2nd birthday the more he seems like a little boy and less like an infant. Since we jumped into a bunch of home improvement projects last month he was very eager to help. He got his hands on a paint roller while were were working on our ceiling and painted his pants, shirt and nose. We decided the pack-n-play was a good idea.
So, Austin loves to use the potty. Every time I put him on the toilet he goes. When I ask him if he wants to go, he runs to the bathroom, but he can't tell me when it's time. We tried to officially start potty training today. I bought him big boy underpants and put them on today. I took him potty every 20 minutes and we had a great morning. However, after nap I decided to give him a little more time between bathroom visits and of course he had a little accident. The difference between him and the other kids was that he didn't really care. Megan and Ethan would stop in their tracks and start crying once they realized they wet themselves. Austin just kept on playing. Maybe he is not quite ready yet... guess we'll wait a little longer. But what a big boy for wanting to go... yeah Austin.

Megan

2011-04-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

We just got Megan her first 2-wheel bike and she is a natural. We were going to wait and get one for her birthday, but when I was at the DI the other day they had one just her size, pink and purple Barbie for $8. I couldn't resist.

Megan's hair is finally starting to grow into "big girl" hair and less baby hair. Every once in a while the curls turn out really good and I have to take a picture.

Ethan

2011-04-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

Ethan has been very busy since turning 7 in March....
He decided he wanted to participate in the school science fair, so he did a project on water. How much water do you use in the shower... and how much water you could save if you took a few less minutes. Okay, it was my idea, but I was hoping it would encourage him to shorten his showers... it's helped a little.

Ethan has been a strong participant in the box tops collection contest. His class is number one in the school collecting over 2000, more than any class has collected in the history of the school, and Ethan has brought the most in his class. The cars here represent each class and although his class looks like they are right along with everyone else, that is because they have lapped the whole school already.

Baseball season is in full swing and he is loving it. He is in the rookies this year which means no tee or coaches pitch, it's all the boys. They are doing great. Pictured here is his team, the Pirates, during the opening day parade.

10 years, a mortgage and a mini van later...

2011-02-17T14:08:00.000-08:00

Wow, how lucky are we, 10 years later and still crazy in love. The last 10 years have flown by so quickly, yet I cannot imagine not being married. Here is a quick blast from the past... I didn't realize how young we looked, or maybe I didn't realize how old we look now.

3 Decades Young!

2011-02-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

So it finally came, the big 3-0, no matter how hard I tried to stop it, it came. Just kidding, I am very excited to be 30... something about it makes me feel a little more mature. Okay, I know I'm not, but Ethan did ask me when I got up that morning if I felt taller. "No" I replied, "but perhaps a little bigger though." I have to admit, curiosity got the best of me and I did dig into my closet to see if my wedding dress still fits... YES! I can't be doing that bad then.

So I didn't have the greatest week. Don't get me wrong, my parents came into town, which meant I got to have a lot of fun playing with my mom, while the boys worked, but it was a very busy week. And although I purposefully planned nothing for my birthday I spent the day cleaning, doing laundry, dishes and taking Austin to the doctor because after 5 days of crying, it dawned on me he might have an ear infection... yes he did. We picked up some quick take out since all the kids have been sick, we couldn't go out, watched a children's movie and fought the kids all the way to bed.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed, come on, 30 only comes once, I wanted a "me" day. So I took it out on my sweet husband (who did get me a very thoughtful gift) because... well... we got to go to San Francisco for the weekend for his 30th... with no kids.

So Saturday comes, and back to reality life is... cleaning house, running errands and entertaining children. Walmart is, of course, on the list of things to do every Saturday, but what isn't is coming home to my house full of my closest friends, and their families, decorations, food and cake waiting to be celebrated, my 30th birthday.

So thank you to my loving husband, for a sweet surprise and a great birthday. Of course, now that I know he can pull that off, I am going to expect a little more come Mother's Day... hahaha

Everything... and the kitchen sink!

2011-01-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

We have slowly been updating our kitchen over the last 2 years. We started with the range, then the dishwasher and microwave. We painted the walls green and got window treatments. Last summer I painted the cupboards and added knobs, and in October we replaced our fridge. Finally, this weekend we replaced the sink and faucet.

Merry Christmas

2011-01-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

We decided to start a new tradition in our family. I have heard of several other families doing this an always wanted to. On Christmas Eve, everyone in the family gets to open one present from mom and dad. Inside are new pajamas to wear to bed so when we get up in the morning to open gifts and take lots of pictures we still look decent.

We had a great Christmas this year. Ethan got a skateboard from Santa, although I still think he is a little young.

Austin caught on real quick that there was candy in his stalking.
Megan got a play kitchen from Santa this year, however, I think Austin has enjoyed it more than she. All she really cared about was her Tangled Princess from her Aunt Ashley... great job Ortegas!

The boys can finally have an even fight with their light sabers. Ethan got one several year ago and decided he wanted to get one for his little brother this year... it was a big hit.

Grandma Cheers and Santa Fears

2011-01-02T20:02:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Higginbotham came to visit just before Christmas so the kids got to open a few presents early. It was like waking up Christmas morning twice this year. They were just thrilled with their gifts and it kept them occupied for one more day!

Austin loves kids, Austin loves our 13-year old babysitter, Austin does not love adults outside mommy and daddy... Santa was no exception. Although I may have traumatized my child, I thought this picture was priceless.

This is as close as Megan would get to Santa, and you may notice I didn't post a picture of Ethan with Santa... he wouldn't even go near him.

Howdy Halloween

2010-11-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I like to do a family theme for our Halloween costumes. This year we did a western theme, although Austin would not wear his hat, he was a cowboy too. This picture was taken at the end of the night at our ward harvest festival, so we were tired and falling apart, but you get the idea.

Austin enjoyed the treats, while everyone else enjoyed the games. I couldn't post the picture, because I look ridiculous, but I thought you should know I kicked Joel's butt at the donut eating contest. So what does that prove.. um... that I'm the bigger pig, I guess.

Pumpkin Farm

2010-11-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

As a preschool group, we went to a pumpkin patch as a field trip just before Halloween. One more little girl is in the group but not pictured here. The kids had so much fun. There is a petting zoo, train, tree houses, giant slides and so much more.
Austin and I were riding one the rocking horses. He really got a kick out of the whole thing.

A few of our kids playing on a wooden fire engine.

Design on a Dime

2010-09-13T22:39:00.000-07:00

At the end of July I decided to give my kitchen cabinets a makeover. I have been thinking about it since we moved into the house and when I finally accepted the cabinets were not going to paint themselves, I dove into the project. I didn't get any before pictures, but I found this one I took of the kitchen just after we moved in.

Here is what it looks like today...

We have not put the knobs on yet, accept this one on the left of the microwave.

I am pretty proud of myself, I think it turned out pretty good. I have to give some credit to my dad who gave me the confidence to do this. There wasn't a summer or holiday weekend growing up that we weren't knee deep in a project around the house. I guess he knew someday I would buy a bank owned home that needed a lot of work, or maybe he just liked to torture his kids...
thanks anyway!

Lake Tahoe

2010-09-04T20:08:00.001-07:00

We threw the kids in the van and headed up to Tahoe Saturday for a little vacation away from the valley heat. We were not sure what we were going to do, but once we found this beautiful beach, we were hooked. The kids love sand so they were in heaven.

The water is pretty cold, but not as bad as I was expecting. We got in to about our knees. Megan a little deeper... so she could keep up with our knees.

Austin just sat in the sand playing with his bucket all day. There was so much sand all over him... I'm so glad I brought my baby powder.

It was such a beautiful day we didn't want to leave. Below: we enjoyed our picnic lunch. Austin was so proud to be sitting at the table like a big boy with his brother.

Snip Snip

2010-08-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Austin and Megan both had their first haircuts this last Saturday. I took Megan over to our local Great Clips and she was so proud to be sitting up in a big salon chair. The stylist said she has a 3-year old daughter also and was great with Megan.
I have been struggling with Megan's hair because the top half is straight and bottom curly so at age 3 Megan already has layers, but I think we took care of the problem. It turned out so cute.

Austin's hair is so fine and blond, I love it, but it was getting a little long. Joel and I worked together to cut his hair and he did a great job holding still for us.

He looks so much older now. He is walking so good now too he seems to be growing out of the baby stage and into a toddler. sniff sniff. We gave him a lollie for being such a brave boy!

Sunriver, Oregon

2010-07-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a great week in Oregon. Joel had some work up there to do over Independence Day weekend, so the rest of us tagged along. It's basically a small community of vacation rental homes, shops and outdoor activities. Pictured here is the home we rented. It was great having 3 bedrooms, a full kitchen, even a washer and dryer while on vacation.
The deer here were not afraid of people. This picture isn't great, but there were 4 deer wandering between the two houses across the street. They came all the way up to the road before heading down the street. The kids were thrilled to see them. Behind Ethan is a neighboring vacationer who was riding bikes with the kids.

We rented a trailer from a local bike shop so we could go on a family ride. There is over 30 miles of paved bike trail around the area. All I can say is, Emily, I can see why you want to move to this state, the scene is amazing and there is so much to do!

Birthday Boy

2010-07-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Austin had a great 1st birthday. We celebrated a little early since we were traveling on the 30th, but I don't think he noticed. Here you can see he had plenty of help from big brother and sister opening his gifts.
Austin didn't have a fancy cake, just a pile of cupcakes, but he sure did enjoy them.

He took his first step on Father's Day and is trying more and more each day. Unlike my other two who didn't have the desire until well after their first birthdays, I can tell Austin wants too. I think he'll get this walking thing down in the next month.

All I want for Christmas...

2010-07-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

So Ethan finally wiggled those 2 front teeth all the way out. Of course you have to get the traditional pose for the memory book and this is the look he gives me. I realize vampires are a big thing right now, but I didn't know I was mother to one.

Summer Time

2010-06-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's official, Ethan has graduated Kindergarten. He had a great year and I still cannot believe how much he has learned. His last day was May 27th and it was cool and raining. We sure did enjoy a nice long spring this year, but I think summer has finally arrived. It's swimsuits and sunscreen from here on out.

We finally took the training wheels off Ethan's bike and well... he just got on and started riding. No one held his seat, or helped him balance, he just jumped on and went. Guess we waited a little long to take them off.

Megan started gymnastics a couple weeks ago and just loves it. She has terrible balance and is so easily distracted, but she sure is proud of herself, and it is so fun to watch. We may have to keep this up after the summer.

Austin is growing so fast. He just broke his 7th tooth and we are expecting number 8 shortly. His blond hair is getting long now and is a lot of fun to play with. He will stand on his own without holding on to something, but not quite steady enough to take a step. I'm sure he will take after his brother and sister and walk well after he turns one.

My "purse"onal best...

2010-05-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I don't normally like to toot my own horn, but I just thought these little invitations turned out so cute, I had to share. Our next Relief Society meeting is based on the scripture, D&C 24:18 which says: And thou shalt take no purse nor scrip.... soooo... we're taking the purse and running with it for our theme. No, I don't have a cricket, and I didn't have any kind of pattern, I just squeezed every ounce of creativity I had in my brain and came up with this little idea. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

Our Little Princess

2010-05-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

We threw Megan a little Mommy and me, princess party. I invited several moms and their little girls over for crafts and and games. We decorated crowns and frames and played stick the princess in the castle (pin the tail on the donkey).

I made a tower of cupcakes which looks huge because of the angle of this picture. It was an adorable kit I got from Michael's and Megan loved it. Cupcakes are always so much easier than cake when entertaining 7 little girls.

Extreme Makeover: Closet Edition

2010-05-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

This picture does not do justice for the condition our closet was in, because I had already unloaded all my clothes before I remembered I wanted to take a picture. So I spread Joel's across the bar to make it look full. A while back the rod actually broke because it was to full and the supports were coming out of the walls. As you can see the whole thing is bowing and everything was ending up on the shelf or the floor.

BEFORE

AFTER

Wow, it has been so nice since we did this, I don't even want to put the sliding doors back on. Does anyone know where I can get really large bi fold doors?

Take me out to the ball game...

2010-04-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Some good friends of ours in the ward invited us to a Rivercats baseball game last weekend. It was a lot of fun. We didn't get home until after 11 pm, but the kids had no problem staying up. They also had no problem getting up at 7 am the next morning.

Rivercats won!

We took advantage of dollar hot dog night. It's amazing that the same cheap hot dog we make at home tastes so much better when you wrap it in foil and eat it in a stadium.

T-Ball Time

2010-04-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Ethan started t-ball a few weeks ago and absolutely loves it. Joel is the assistant coach and they are both having a great time. We lucked out that the team is the Giants, which is Joel's favorite baseball team anyway, so we won't have any problem getting shirts for everyone to support the team.

Happy Easter

2010-04-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Guilty... we let Austin have his first cupcake on Easter. The kids and I baked them between conferences, then we all decorated them after dinner. I couldn't stand watching Austin sit there looking so sad... he devoured it!I said, "Megan, show me how you decorated your cupcake"...little miss attitude.

It's become our tradition that the kids follow a trail of candy filled eggs to their baskets on Easter morning.

An hour later, Austin woke up and joined the festivities.

Here's a picture of all my kids.

Disneyland!

2010-04-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Disneyland, and it was amazing! I don't know why we waited so long to go back, but we all had a blast. Austin wasn't quite sure why we were dragging him around this place but he did enjoy the parades, small world and the Tiki Room.

He may be my little prince, but I guess he's not a king yet.

Ethan was so proud that he could control when they went up and down.

After a long hour in line, Megan and I got to meet Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Jasmine. They were so cute with her and she had no problem chatting it up with all of them. She mostly talked about Cinderella, he favorite princess, but unfortunately we didn't get to see her.

We got to have a private character meeting with pluto because we are Disney Visa members, so finally somthing we didn't have to wait in line for. Austin got a kick out of it and just wanted to grab his wiskers, Megan, however, was terrified.

Tinkerbell! Do I really need to say anything else...

Yummy, cotton candy! Yes we had our cheesy day where we all wore mickey mouse shirts. Just a few days before we left Joel says, "are you going to make us all wear matching shirts".. well, I imediately jumped online and discovered the Disney Store had all their tee's on sale. Well, I couldn't afford not too then!

Fun in the tea cups.

Howdy Y'all

2010-03-07T20:31:00.001-08:00

We had a party for Ethan's 6th birthday this last weekend and it was a blast. We had a great turn out, in fact, I expected only half the kids to come, so I let Ethan invite... well too many, and almost all of them came. Luckily, we have awesome friends and they all RSVP'd so we were prepared. We had an airbrush design on his cake so they put his picture right on the frosting, it was really neat, and completely edible.

Bytheway, it was a cowboy themed party, so we gave little cowboy hats to all the kids, they looked so cute! Here are the kids collecting candy after the pinata was broken...

... and here we are breaking it. (I never get my pictures in the right order.)

Megan was so cute and delicate during her turn.

We had a shooting game, where the kids shot down soda cans with water guns... it was a big hit.

Date Nights

2010-02-25T14:04:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would clarify...

Joel and I leave the 2 older kids at home with a sitter all the time to go on dates, however, this was our first night to leave Austin with a teen sitter. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not ready to leave my baby with anyone, except Daddy or Grandma, until they are at least 6 months. Maybe I am a little crazy and attached but that's just me. So what do you guys think, how old do you start leaving your kids with a teenage babysitter?

Night on the town...

2010-02-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

For our anniversary Joel and I went down to historic downtown Folsom. We had dinner at great little urban restaurant and saw an off-broadway musical at an adorable little theater on Sutter Street. It was called "I love you, your perfect, now change". We thought appropriate for an anniversary date. It was so much fun. I was laughing so hard one time, I was crying. They acted out every possible relationship situation from the first date, to riding in the family car. It was our first night leaving all the kids with a babysitter, so I was a little nervous, but we all made it through in one piece. We love our babysitter.

9 Happy Years!

2010-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Joel and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary today, I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I am so thankful for the life and family we have created together and wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. I think what I love most about this man is that I love who I am when I am with him. He has really challenged me to be a better person and I hope I have done the same for him. I look forward to growing old with you sweetheart!

Family

2010-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, this picture was taken several weeks ago but I thought I would post it anyway. Here is Grandma and Grandpa Lafferre with all 12 grandkids at the zoo. We went just after Christmas when we were down for a visit in Fresno. Every time Megan talks to Joel on the phone she tells him, "we went to the zoo today", referring to this trip... I assume because we have not been back since. Then goes on to talk about the monkeys because they were quite vocal that day. Apparently it left quite an impression on her.

Our little Austin is growing so fast. He is 7 months old now and just a ball of joy. You can tell from his hair that he is going to be very smart... although he doesn't like to follow all the rules. His 3rd tooth finally broke through the gums, however it is not where we expected. It is on the top, but on the side. Humm.. the middle 2 will come through any minute, I'm sure.

CAN HE FIX IT?... YES HE CAN!

2010-01-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

I have to say I am pretty proud of my handyman. Saturday our dryer quit, just would not start no matter what I did. So Joel jumped online with the model number, got a few ideas, opened it up, ran to Sears... about 1 hour and $15 dollars later my dryer is running like the day we brought it home. I don't know if it his love of "saving a buck" or need to be "the man of the house", but so far he has fixed our garbage disposal, washing machine, bathroom fan, installed all our appliances and now the dryer. Now if I could just get him to put his plate in the dishwasher...

Game Day

2010-01-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

There are many important days in a babies first year when we pick out special outfits in order to dress them up to fit the occasion. For example, his blessing day, first Christmas...

first Texas bowl game...

Unfortunately it was a disappointing game even with their #1 fan routing (and drooling) for them.

So we started potty training Megan this week. We decided to stop diapers, cold turkey, and go straight to panties. She has done great! She figured it out the first day and hasn't looked back since. A few weeks ago she wouldn't even sit on the potty and now she spends so much time there she actually took a little snooze. She has only had one accident and has already gone #2 a couple of time. Any mom who has gone through this knows that can be quite an accomplishment, especially in the first week. Go Megan!

Christmas

2010-01-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

Ethan and Megan had a great Christmas. Ethan loves to build and create and got all the right stuff for that. As for Megan... well... she is definitely our little princess.

It's amazing that Santa knew Austin needed a new car seat!

Unfortunately this is the best picture we got of the three of them on Christmas Eve. Here is our Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus in a mega saucer acting out the first Christmas.

Ward Christmas Party

2009-12-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

A lovely dinner of ham, turkey and all the fixings.

Waiting for Santa... of course, as soon as he showed up, she ran screaming and crying...

Ethan enjoyed his visit with Santa.

Random Sampler

2009-12-10T22:01:00.000-08:00

Since it's been a while since my last post and a lot has happened, I am just going to give you a few cute pictures.
Austin is just over 5 months now and his personality is really starting to show. As you can see in the picture above he is jealous of my teeth and trying to take them. Since that didn't work, he decided he would grow his own. His first tooth popped up just today.

Autumn, Austin and Elizabeth at Thanksgiving with the Lafferre's. Autumn is oldest, born on May 5, Elizabeth next born on June 29 and Austin came just 24.5 hours later on June 30.

Ethan playing Wii at the Higginbotham Thanksgiving. He really got into that skateboard game.

Enzo, Isaiah and Megan having a good time together.

Austin tried solid foods for the first time the other day, yum!

Autumn Leaves

2009-11-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

We have this beautiful tree in our backyard that just dumped a bunch of leaves all over the ground. Ethan was so excited to rake them up but I said, no way, lets get some pictures in them first. Three weeks later we finally got some pics...

Happy Halloween

2009-11-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

We're off to Neverland!

Happy 1st Halloween Austin! Doesn't he look thrilled? At first glance you may think that he is dressed like a lion, but actually he is a lost boy from Peter Pan, dressed like a lion. As you all know, I like to have family themes for Halloween and this year, inspired by Megan's sudden love of Tinkerbell, we were all characters from Peter Pan.

Thank you Jennifer for letting us use Kaelyn's Tinkerbell costume. Megan was so happy to wear it.

Here is my home-made version of Peter Pan... I did sew the hat myself.. thank you.

Not pictured is Joel and myself. I was Wendy and Joel was Captain Hook. We had lots of fun at out Ward Harvest Festival and then took the kids trick-or-treating around the block in our neighborhood.

I made 72 cupcakes in less than a week this Halloween season. For the school bake sale, Ethan's class and then the Ward cupcake walk. I decided to get a little more creative this year and this is what I came up with.

Monterey Bay

2009-10-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

We recently took the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and had so much fun. So much fun, in fact we decided to become members. Megan's favorite part was Nemo and Dori of course and Ethan really liked the sharks.
Laugh all you want, but I'll have to say toddler on a leash was the greatest thing. Megan was so happy that she got to walk on her own and I was so happy that I didn't have to worry about loosing her. It has a little backpack she wares and can hold her snacks and stuff, so she felt like such a big girl.

Brrr... it was cold out by the water, but so beautiful.

Even Austin was a happy camper the whole time. I think he was just glad not to be in his infant carrier. He sat up just fine in the umbrella stroller and took a nice nap in it too.

Austin's Blessing Day

2009-09-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

We blessed Austin this weekend. Here is our family outside the church immediately afterwards. It was a beautiful blessing, and of course Austin "sang" the whole time. Luckily it was soft enough we could still hear Joel.
Here are the men that stood in the circle. From left to right: Cory, Grandpa Higginbotham, Joel, Austin, Grandpa Lafferre, Santiago, Jason and Mark. We feel so lucky to have such a support in our family.We know there were several other uncles that would have loved to have been there too but time and circumstance did not permit. We still love you too.

Here is everyone who came in support. I was great fun too see everyone again.

Catching Up

2009-08-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

I take way to much time in between blogs and can never really fill you in on what has happened since the last, but I will give you a few highlights.

Austin is almost 6 weeks old now and is starting to show his personality. He has been smiling for me for about a week now and it is a breath of fresh air. He sleeps really well at night... last night he gave me two 5 hour stretches, only waking up at 2:30 to eat and right back to bed. What a good boy!
Ethan is back in soccer for his second season and is really pumped. His team is called the Black Knights and they had their opening day parade yesterday. It was hot, but loads of fun.

Ethan also had his first day of Kindergarten this week. He was so excited and everything was great until a little girl sitting behind him during carpet time threw up all over him. Luckily he was still excited to go back the next day. His teacher told me another child started coughing in class on day 2 and Ethan jump out of the way faster than you could believe.

It is really nice because his elementary school is just a few blocks away, so as long as it is not raining, we get to walk to school. On the first day they asked the parents to stay for a quick meeting, otherwise Megan and Austin accompany us in the double stroller.

Here are all the grandkids on the Higginbotham side, minus Austin, who was home with a sick mommy. We'll have to get a new picture around Christmas with him and the other 3 babies who are on the way.

Seems like yesterday Joel brought me home to meet his family and Devan wasn't even in Young Men's yet. Now he is off serving the people of Guatemala. We will miss him, but are so proud of his decision to serve a full time mission.

The original seven.

Fruits of our labor...

Here is the first tomato and strawberry from our garden. We planted a little late and didn't expect much, but have gotten quite a few cherry tomatoes since then.

I just have to say, I've got the cutest kids, and most of the time, they love each other to pieces.

For Father's Day Joel got himself a gas grill and here is a picture of our first Bar-B-Q. My dad came up to pick up my mom. She spent the first couple weeks of Austin's life with us and boy was she a life saver. Joel's dad happened to come up the same night, to get ready to catch a plane the next morning. My dad cleaned up the yard while Joel's dad helped him put the grill together. We quickly remembered how nice it is to have our family around.

Big brother and sister

2009-07-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Austin came home Wednesday afternoon and Ethan and Megan just couldn't get enough of him.

First meeting at the hospital.

Austin James

2009-07-01T20:36:00.001-07:00

It's a boy! We welcomed Austin into the world at 3:54 am on Tuesday, June 30. He was 8 lbs. 6 oz, and 19 1/2 inches long. Mom and baby are both doing great.
After a hard days work, Austin decided to kick back and relax for a while.

Look at that cute little dimple chin!

Growing up too fast!

2009-06-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ethan came to me several weeks ago and told me his tooth was loose. I didn't believe him at first, I thought you at least had to be in kindergarten, but sure enough it was. It fell out not long after that and the tooth next to it is about to come out now.
Ethan had a great year in his preschool class. His teachers were awesome and just adored him. They always got really into whatever they were doing, so it was no surprise when they had such an elaborate graduation. I was hesitant at first to put him in (this class was 5 days a week) but he proved he was ready and now we are both prepared for kindergarten.

Summer Fun

2009-05-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, after a couple days of record breaking heat, we went ahead and picked up a little pool for the kids. Actually it's 10' by 6' so Joel and I can fit in it too. After putting on my first Enrichment night and finishing my math class (with an A!) I feel like I am on summer vacation. It has been great, we spend almost every afternoon in the water.

Joel took this picture about a week ago so I am probably even bigger now, but I only have about 6 weeks left. I can't believe how quickly this pregnancy has gone. I still feel really good, but am getting anxious to meet my little boy or girl!

So we finally did it, we bought our van. I never thought I would say this, but I love it. Maybe it's because we have been living with only one car for the last several month, I don't know, but it is really nice to have. I was really surprised (maybe not) to see how quickly Joel got the other half of the garage cleaned out so we can fit both cars in. I still think we are the only ones on the block that actually use their garage for cars.

Megan's Birthday

2009-05-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

We were down in Fresno the weekend of Megan's birthday, which happens to be the same weekend as Grandma Higginbotham's birthday. It was a lot of fun visiting all the family, and we had a nice little celebration for the birthday girls.

Party

2009-04-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

It's become a little tradition in our ward for someone to host an Easter egg hunt/potluck during spring break for all the young children, so this year, with the new house I decided I would do it. It was a lot of fun and we had a great turn out. We had about 12 moms and 30 kids!Everyone brought about 12 eggs per child, so by the time we got done hiding them, the lawn was covered. We took the kids out in 2 shifts, 3 and under and over 3 years old.

This little girl in our ward just took to Megan when she got there. I didn't have to worry about her the entire time. It was really cute.

Some of the kids preferred to play inside.

Her are some of the kids checking out the goods after they collected their eggs.

Easter

2009-04-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Megan just loves her Uncle Cory. She will not leave him alone when he is over and she just thinks he is the funniest person! He was cracking her up the entire time they were at our house for Easter.
We had a little egg hunt in the back yard for the kids.

I'm so bummed this picture came out a little blurry, because I think it is so cute. This is Sunday morning when the kids came out and found their baskets.

New Toys!

2009-04-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I would want to invest any money or effort into the yard this year.. until the weather turned so nice. It's been 68 to 75 degrees the last several weeks, and we really only go in to sleep. Needless to say, we bought a few new toys.

It's a pretty simple set, but the kids love it.

Joel takes us out to eat all the time now.

Ouch! Ethan got a little close to the lawn mower after they finished using it. Yeah, it's still hot.

The weeds almost look like grass when you mow them.

Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-04-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

We didn't do much for St. Patricks Day except wear green and eat green cupcakes in the afternoon. The kids really enjoyed them though. Who am I kidding, I probably ate 3 by the end of the day... I just don't look as cute doing it.

Let is Snow!

2009-04-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

After weeks of rain (and snow in the mountains) we had a beautiful warm weekend. We decided to take the kids up to the snow for a day of play. Unfortunatly so did everyone else, but we found a nice little spot and had a great time with our discs and boogie boards.

Ethan had a blast, he just couldn't get enough of it, but it wasn't until Megan realized she could eat the snow that she decided the trip was worth it. She sure was a happy girl after that.

Matter of fact...

2009-03-04T21:08:00.000-08:00

So Ethan has become know as the matter of fact kid. He says it like it is, and can always explain what is going on. Here are some examples of our recent conversations.

I always have these weird vivid dreams and usually Joel is the one that gets to hear about them in the morning, but since he was out of town this particular morning I shared with Ethan. I told him that I was dreaming that my front teeth were falling out and I kept trying to put them back in but they wouldn't stay. I told him I didn't know what to do.

His response: "Put them under you pillow mommy, then the tooth fairy will leave you money."

One evening Ethan was really enjoying dinner (I don't remember what were were having) and kept going on and on about how great it was. He asked me how I made such a wonderful meal. I simply told him that I was just amazing.

His response: "So... you have no idea"

Happy Birthday Ethan!

2009-03-02T10:10:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but Ethan just turned 5! We are so proud of him though, he is such a sharp kid, and so much fun to be around. His preschool teacher just can't say enough good things about him. He is a big helper around the house and has just learned to tie his own shoe.

He is our little engineer, so for his b-day we got him a huge box of k-nex. He has had a blast with them, just building on thing after another.

Okay to Burn Day

2009-03-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon and we though boy it would be nice to have a fire in this beautiful fireplace of ours. We had a few logs left from our camping trip last summer, so Joel jumped online to see if it was okay (what a joke) and it was so we made the most of it. Ethan remembered we had some leftover hot dogs in the fridge so we made dinner over the fire. The kids has so much fun, and I just love the smell of a fire.

Okay, there is really no point to this picture here, I just thought it was really cute. I guess if there was a point it would be, look, she is finally growing so hair!

We've got company!

2009-03-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

We've had a lot of company over the last month and is has been great. Ashley, Santiago and Isaiah came up over presidents day weekend. We had a big Sunday dinner with them and Cory, Jess and Brady, and played an exciting game of ring-around-the-rosies after.

We have so many musical instruments around our house, so when we got out the guitar, we finally got the kids settled down for a group picture.
My parents came up at the end of January for a week and it was great. My kids certainly kept them busy and we were able to celebrate my birthday together, which was lots of fun.

The day before my parents came, Mark Jenn and their kids came up for a surprise visit... and yes it was a great surprise!

Melanie's Top Ten List

2009-01-24T20:04:00.000-08:00

Here are the top ten reason my new house has made my life easier. Not hard to find reasons after living in an apartment for several years, but it was hard to narrow it down to ten ... here they are:
1. After a lot of blood, sweat and tears, it's ours, we pay our own mortgage, not someone elses!

2. We can roll on the carpet without wondering what's been spilt on it, whose cat or potty training child has peed on it, how many muddy shoes have walked on it. Only ours, and our guests.

(There was a picture of our car in the garage here, but I accidently deleted it. I'm tired and am not going to fix it.)

3. We don't have to walk three blocks from our carport to our front door, we have a garage! One of our first goals was to get enough boxes out to fit the car in. It only took 2 weeks.

4. Tile under the table. No more getting the Resolve out after every meal.

5. I don't have to be showered and ready for the day to drive the kids to the park. I can just shove them in the back yard, snuggle up on the couch in my robe, slippers and watch Oprah. (Yeah, like that really happens)

6. I now have somewhere to put our food and a way to keep the kids out. We have a pantry, with a lock.

7. I never have had to go to a laundromat, but I have been using stackables for the last several years. I can get the laundry done in half the time now.

8. I no longer have to listen to Joel complain about my hair in the sink. We have double sinks in the master bathroom and a little place to sit in between to do my makeup.

9. You get a two-for deal here. Look past the mess and appreciate the fact that we have this little section (that holds boxes we need to unpack for now) that we haven't figured out what we want to do with... what... extra space! The second part is the big-ol' window. We now have some natural sunlight coming in our home because we have big-ol' windows all over the house.

10. Finally, you have to look close to notice this one, but our furniture is not touching eachother, or the walls, and there is nothing stored under them either. Wow, it all fits!

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour, and you are all invited to come visit anytime you are in the Sacramento area.

2009-01-11T17:55:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a while now but a lot has been going on. We are getting ourselves settled in our new home and it has been quite an adventure so far. Each project has lead to 3 or 4 new projects and at least 2 trips to the hardware store, but we are learning where everything is and how everything works. I think Ethan knows the names of more tools than I do now. We feel like our hard work is really paying off and the house we bought is quickly becoming a home.

My morning sickness is starting to ease up (knock on wood) and I have reached the "I just look fat" stage in my pregnancy. Everything is going really well though and it seems to be going much quicker this time.

As soon as we unpack the camera I will post some pictures. We love you all and are so grateful to everyone who has helped this transition go a little smoother.

For you, Cory...

2008-12-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

So the other night my brother-in-law, Cory and wife Jessica were over at our place visiting for a bit, when Cory very casually reminded me that it has been a while since I updated our blog, so I guess it is time for an update. It's not that there hasn't been anything going on in our lives lately, it's that there is too much going on lately and I just haven't had time, so I apologize... and this one's for you.

So for a quick overview of what has happened the last few months, we'll start with recent and work our way back. December 5th was our Ward Christmas party. I didn't get a good picture of our family but here is a cute family I thought you might like. Actually this is the Dyal's, who put the whole thing together. It was a "Christmas in Nauvoo" theme and it turned out amazing. (By the way, thanks for your stuff mom, it was a big help!)
The day after we returned home from Thanksgiving in Fresno, we put up and decorated our Christmas tree. The kids had a blast and Megan has been really good about leaving the ornaments and gifts alone!

While in Fresno, we got together with all the old friends. Since we are all old and ugly now we just take pictures of our cute kids and remember the "good old days". Is someone else going to have a girl so poor Megan can get a break from all this testosterone?

Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Lafferre's was a lot of fun. All the cousins had fun eating together in the kitchen. The only one you can't see is Megan because she is below the camera.

Back at the beginning of November Ethan's soccer team had a pizza party where they celebrated the end of the season and received their trophies. He had so much fun playing and can wait to play again next year. His coach call him "most improved player"!

We'll have more great news to post in the next week hopefully but we don't want to ginks anything before we get the keys!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

So, I tell the kids to go stand by the fireplace so I can snap a few pictures of their costumes and what is the first thing they do... "how does Santa get through here with all this stuff in the way?" You know it's bad enough the stores all skip Halloween and Thanksgiving but now my kids are already trying to figure out how Santa is going to get in and bring them presents. IT'S HALLOWEEN! Go get some candy...

At the ward party there were a lot of extra visitors. We actually thought we might be combined with another ward because we didn't recognize half the group, anyway, some people thought Megan was the Engineers little brother, so I decided to put bows on her antennas so their would be no confusion tonight.

CANDY!

Ward Party

2008-10-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

After a long hard evening of games and trunk-or-treating, our little bumble bee decided she needed to take a break and have a treat.
No he's has not out grown his love of trains, and probably never will.

Dressed up and ready to go!

Back to School

2008-08-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ethan has had a big month. Not only did he start soccer, but he stared preschool on Monday too. He was thrilled about the idea of going, and was not disappointed when he started. He has been bored at home lately, so I knew I needed to start something. I was hoping for something just 3 days a week, but they have a great little program at the elementary school across the street from us, so we went for it. It's 5 days a week 3 hours a day, so he will be ready for Kindergarten next year. Since Megan naps in the morning still, I have decided to take an independent study math class through ARC again. We are just really excited to be back on a schedule!

Soccer Mom

2008-08-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

It's official, I'm a soccer mom. I suppose I don't fit all the criteria of the definition, but Ethan has begun his first season of soccer (and I do drive an SUV). We are very excited for him, and so far he is having a blast. His team is the Flying Ninjas and pictured below are 3 of his teammates. They held a parade for the league last Saturday. Behind the boys, with his head cut off, is his Coach.

Ethan played his first game a week ago and although he wasn't quite sure what he was doing at first, he caught on pretty quick. His team is in gold.

Family Camping

2008-08-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is how the kids looked about 10 seconds after we got to the camp site and this is how they looked for the next 48 hours.

We decided to take the kids camping before Joel headed back to work. We only stayed a couple of days, but that was enough. We had a lot of fun and the kids loved it. But after two days of bug spray, sunscreen, and sweat, we were ready for showers!

We brought a lot of things to do, including baseball, football, and games.
We spent most of our time by the water. There is a great little beach on the edge of the river and the kids had a blast in the sand. It was everywhere by the time they were done. Megan looked like a she had sand paper wrapped around her legs.

Smores is a must when camping. Here Ethan is enjoying his first taste. Megan was asleep in the tent already. She was so great. As soon as the sun went down we would put her down in the tent and she wouldn't make a peep.

Pioneer Day

2008-07-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Our Stake celebrated pioneer day Saturday, July 19th. The primary put on a parade and the kids were encouraged to dress authentic and decorate their bikes or wagons. Well, we don't have anything pioneerish (yes, its a word) so we went patriotic. Ethan had a lot of fun and threw out candy to the crowd. He was quite a hit!

They had a lot of games and booths including fishing, ax throwing, snow cones, popcorn and a lot more.
Above: Ethan caught the "big one" but threw it back.
I competed with one of my young women (Roni) in a game of stick pull. Okay.. yeah, she beat me... twice.
Joel and Ethan helped support our Ward in the tug-a-war. Yes, we lost that too, but in the picture you can see our ward consisted of a couple of men and a lot of young women. Well, the other ward had about 20 young men, and we held our own for quite a while. So... huh!

San Francisco... again..

2008-07-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun in San Franciso on Joel's birthday, that we decided to take the kids back the next week. Oh, and Joel had a job interview with a dental supply company there too. I guess that had a little to do with it. He got the job, so I guess it was worth it. He is now the Northwest territory manager with Curasan. He will be in charge all of sales for Northern California, Oregon, Washington and some of Idaho. We'll ship him back east for training in a couple of weeks, then throw him to the wolves. He is very excited with the opportunity. Guess we'll have to put the family business on hold for a little while.

We ate dinner at the cutest place. It is called the Rainforest Cafe and the entire place feels like your deep in the jungle. They have a variety or tropical fish all throughout and life-like elephants, gorillas and other animals all around, that move and make sounds. The main floor is a gift shop and the next two floors are restaurant.

Independence Day

2008-07-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

This year for the Forth of July, Travis, Summer and their boys came up and stayed a couple of nights with us. It is starting to become a little tradition of ours. In the morning we met Cory, Jessica and Brady at the Roseville parade. It was a lot cooler this year, than last, so we didn't mind sitting out in the sun.

Above: Ethan and Kabien watch the cars drive by.

Below: Summer, Melanie and Jessica take advantage of the lawn chairs.

That evening everyone met back at our place for Taco Salad and cookies... yum. Later we drove over to the Placer County fair grounds for the fireworks show. Below: all the boys were lying on the blanket watching, it was really cute. Megan spent the whole eveing lookin for more cookies. She is our little piglet!

Below: Megan and cousin Brady discuss the benefits of life without hair.

Ahhh... what a cute family!

On our own...

2008-06-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

For those who haven't heard, we started our own business about a month ago. Joel has been working in the staffing industry for the last 2 1/2 years and figured if he could do it for someone else, he could do it for himself... and he was right. Our company is called CalCoast Recruiting, and you can visit the website at www.calcoastrecruiting.com for more information. It was a little scary at first, but quick success made the transition a lot easier. It is also so nice to have Joel around more, since most of his work is on the phone or computer.

The Big 3-0

2008-06-30T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, Joel turned 30 on Friday! We had a little cake and some gifts at home with the kids then his mom came up on the train that evening and gave him the best gift he (we) could ask for... at night away, just the two of us. I am embarrassed to admit that we have not been away without the kids since we had them. We won't let 4 years go by again.
Saturday morning we headed to San Francisco. We fall in love with this city all over again everytime we visit. We even ran into a few celebs while we were there.
Ha ha, just kidding, but we did enjoy the Wax Museum. Neither of us had been before; it is a lot of fun.

YW Pre-Camp Overnighter

2008-06-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

We arrived just afternoon and set up right away. We had one giant tent for the girls and one for the leaders. We camped at the Feather River, and I think it was hotter there than it was at home, so we really enjoyed the water.

Besides the duck you see below, we had quite a bit of wildlife to enjoy; Gofers (watch out, you might break your ankle in a hole) lizards, beatles the size of my hand and thousands of mesquitos, all of which decided they liked my blood!

I have been in a Young Women's presidency for... well... forever, pretty much, and this was my first time to camp with the girls. I know that's pretty bad, and it wasn't even "Girls Camp". Anyway, we had a blast. Our girls our so silly all we really have to do is sit back and let them entertain us.

Memorial Weekend

2008-05-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Cory, Jessica and Brady came to visit for a couple of days and Ethan couldn't get enough of them.
Ethan gave Jessica a makeover one evening... boy, do we know how to treat our guests.

The Sunday before Memorial Day, on the way home from Leslie's (Joel's cousin) wedding, we drove the long way home and stopped in Vacaville. We visited the cemetary where Grandma and Grandpa Tenney are. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to see all the flags. We took it as an opportunity to teach Ethan a little about the holiday.

Megan's One!

2008-05-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Megan's 1st birthday Saturday with a BBQ at the park. We had lots of friends and family there and it was lots of fun. I meant for these first 5 pictures to be last and last to be first, but I never upload them right. Anyway, here is Megan, and Ethan, and Mommy, opening some presents.
Ethan, Megan and Isaiah were having a good time playing with the balloons.
A few of our guests: Hillary and her baby Samual (not pictured), Angela and daughter, Sarah and Jessica with her kids Madison and Ethan.
Paige and Sidney, Leah, her kids Mason and Ali, and a bunch of others not in the picture.
Grandma and Grandpa Higginbotham, Santiago, Ashley and Isaiah came all the way up from Fresno to party with us.

Our birthday girl took a great nap the morning of her party, so she was in a great mood. She even kept her hat on the whole time.
We had a pull string pinata for the kids so everyone could try. It was a lot of fun, and no one got wacked with a stick!

Candy!!
Megan didn't want to look at the camera, she was too busy figuring out how she was going to get some of that cake.
Yum, sugar! She dove right into that cupcake, and ate every bite.

Stake Enrichment

2008-04-16T20:21:00.001-07:00

Our Stake Enrichment had the theme of "Small and Simple Things". Many of us were asked to set up a booth displaying an idea for FHE, scripture study, or Sunday activities.
My booth was a FHE idea. The idea was to grab your camera, your kids and get in the car. Drive around your town and take pictures of yourselves in front of your school, work and all your favorite places to go, to keep a record of your personal/family history. I gave it the "Yearbook" theme because our lives are changing every year, and well, I just had a lot of fun with it.
Here are a few pictures of friends that also participated.

Coloring Eggs

2008-03-26T15:23:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun coloring our eggs and there were no serious accidents!

Easter Party

2008-03-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Every year, just before Easter, a bunch of us in the ward get together and have a little party for our preschool age kids. Of corse all the siblings come and participate too. It got a little big this year. I think I counted about 25 kids!

It's Ours!

2008-03-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

After 14 grueling months of car payments, it is officially ours. Well, I guess nothing is ever really ours, because if we don't register it with the DMV every year, the goverment thinks that it is theirs... but at least we don't have to waste any more money on interest.

EThan's 4th Birthday

2008-03-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

Ethan had a great birthday on Saturday. Grandma and Grandpa Higginbotham came up to visit. He couldn't wait to open presents, so Ethan dug in before lunch.
We went to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and had a blast. Ethan ran up to Chuckie and gave him a big hug. He was feeling very grown up.
Although he has pizza sitting in front of him, Ethan ate as much as Megan. None. He couldn't stop watching all the exciting things going on around him. Bytheway, Chuck E. Cheese has really improved their pizza since the last time I was there.
We played lots of games, drove cars, ski ball and won a grand total of 29 tickets. Ethan cashed in his tickets for a small piece of taffy. Whooo hoo!
When we all got home we enjoyed a delicious cake!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

2008... so far!

2008-02-23T09:55:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it's been a while, so here is an update.

Joel started his new job in January. He manages the Roseville branch of Pacific Staffing now and is doing great. I celebrated my "magic birthday" (27 years old, on January 27th) and we just celebrated out 7th wedding anniversary. Ethan started primary this year and is happy to be a Sunbeam. His teacher is always telling us funny stories and here is one she shared with us last night:

Last Sunday they were talking about Daniel and the Lions Den. She was showing the class the picture and asked the kids what they though he was praying for... suggesting that maybe he was praying that the lions would not eat him. Ethan responded, "No, he is praying that the lions will eat the guys outside the den". Thats our Ethan, he doesn't miss a beat!

Megan is learning new tricks every day. She is almost 10 months, crawling, climbing and cruising. She loves table foods and anything she finds on the carpet and can put in her mouth. She is starting to sleep through the night!!! As long as we have a very structured day. At her last doctors visit, he told me she would probably walk before her first birthday.

We'll post pictures as soon as we download some.

Getting ready for Santa

2007-12-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

Ethan picked out a few cookies for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.
He set baby Jesus next to the plate so we would all remember the true meaning of Christmas.

It's Christmas!

2007-12-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Santa came!
He brought a 100-piece farm set for Ethan...
... and a Leap Frog playground for Megan.

Ethan was so excited to open his gift from Grandparents Lafferre to find a box of cereal. He was jumping up and down yelling "It's my cereal, it's my cereal!" It took a minute to calm him down and have him open the box to find an even better surprise, Thomas the Tank Engine video games.
How does a few, pretty packages tucked nicely under the tree turn into THIS!
Daddy and Megan taking a snooze before dinner.
Yummm... Christmas dinner. We had ham, zucchini casserole (thanks Leah, great recipe) and potatoes.
Somehow Megan got herself stuck in this box and couldn't get out.

Ward Christmas Party

2007-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

Joel sang during the program at the party.
The kids both did great with Santa. Ethan was very excited to see him and Megan just looked at him and sucked on her candy cane wrapper, again.
Megan and Sarah

Sarah is the daughter of a woman in our ward that works with me in Young Womens. She was born about 2 weeks before Megan.
Race to the candy cane. Megan wins!

"Graham Cracker" houses

2007-12-26T16:09:00.000-08:00

December 10th we attempted to make a house out of Graham Crackers, frostine and leftover Halloween candy. "Attempted" is the key word here.
Anyone who knows Ethan, knows alot more candy ended up in his mouth than on the house.
Megan was a happy girl when we gave her her first candy cane. It was still in the wrapper, of course, but she started tasting it toward the end.

Oakland Lights

2007-12-26T15:59:00.001-08:00

December 8th we headed out to the Oakland Temple to see all the lights. We met up with Travis, Summer and their family, then went out to dinner afterwards. The boys enjoyed walking (hahaha, running is more like it) around and around the water fountain.
It turned out to be a pretty cold evening (I know, I know... Brett, a nice fall day, right?) Poor Megan was all bundled up but her nose still turned pink.
It's a little blurry, but the lights were amazing!

Trimming the Tree

2007-12-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

As soon as we got home from our Thanksgiving trip to Fresno, we got all the Christmas decorations out of our shed. We had fun decorating the tree for Family Night. We hung a few of Megans toys on the bottom branches so she can pull them off and chew on them.