Happy 5th Birthday, Addison

Dear Addie,

My sweet, sweet girl!  My sweet FIVE year old. I can't believe you are five.  You are growing up way too quickly, but I must admit I LOVE the stage you are in now... just LOVE it!!  You have always kept our lives interesting.  You are as stubborn as they come, Addie.  You stand your ground and don't let anything change your mind.  If you set your mind to something, you NEVER give up! 

Your stubbornness is still as strong as ever!! But in so many ways you have changed.  The little toddler who wouldn't let you comfort her, hold her or even touch her at times, can now spend hours cuddling on the couch.  

You LOVE life and everything and everyone in it.  I am amazed by your love of life.  You've been through so much in just 5 short years and yet you hold no grudges.  I only wish I had half of your forgiveness.  Your smile is contagious!!!  It lights up a room and melts my heart.  And boy do you know how to use that smile.  There are plenty of people who will do just about anything to please you Addison, and you know just who they are!!!  

You are smart!  So smart that you often get frustrated when you can't quite communicate your needs.  You know all of your letters, numbers, and shapes.  You can work an Ipad and Iphone better than most adults.  You pay so much attention to what is going on in the world around you and you never, ever forget!

You love to brush your hair, put on makeup and twirl around in pretty dresses, but most days you'd rather be kicking a soccer ball or playing catch with your brother.  You love to ride horses and play in the dirt.  You LOVE Minnie Mouse!  You could watch it over and over again!  

You are such a special little girl, Addison.  You are loved by so many.  Not a day goes by that your daddy and I don't talk about how amazing you are and how lucky we are to have you as our little girl.  I can't imagine life without you in it.  I love you so much!

Happy Birthday,

Love, Mommy!

This year we celebrated your birthday Minnie Mouse style!  It was a small party, but perfect!!!  You shined the entire time!  This was the first year you actually truly and genuinely enjoyed your party!  It was amazing to watch!

Some of the "minnie" touches and a deliciously beautiful ice cream cake!!

The BEST friends as girl could ask for!!

You were so in love with this balloon!!!!

Silly Boys!!

Cub Scouts

Drew is a Tiger Cub in Cub Scouts this year and he loves every minute of it!  There is always a project or activity to work on and a badge to earn!!!  A few weeks ago they had a Pinewood Derby Race. All the kids built a car and raced them against other kids their age.  Drew's car didn't win this year...but received a ribbon for "Most Colors Used"  :)  He was thrilled and earned his Tiger badge after completing this event!  Cub scouts is sure to keep us busy!

Family Fun!!!

Last week Matt's brother and family came to visit for the week!  It was an incredibly fun week for everyone.  Temps were warm, so we spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool, swimming and just hanging out.  The kids all got along fabulously!  I so wish they lived closer to us!!!


Colby just LOVED Addie and took every opportunity he could to hold her hand, cuddle with her or pick her up and carry her around :)

Lots of love and laughs :)

A trip out to the desert, that didn't go quite as planned, but the kids still had fun!

We then moved over to my mom and dad's house for a cook out!  The kids hung out by the pool...

Silly faces!!!

S'mores!  

Cousin love!

Drew and Colby we inseparable!  Neither of them we happy to see the other leave at the end of the week!

Addie is always in search of someone's plate to eat from...other than her own!

Silly Boys!!!

Beautiful girls!

The week ended far too soon!!  Wish we could have spent more time together.... hoping it won't be so long next time!

Beaches and Baby Showers!

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated a new baby coming into our family!!  We spent a beautiful weekend at the beach, in an amazing hotel and had a wonderful time with the family.  The kids loved the beach,yet again,  and had a great time sitting by the pool!  There is something so magical about the beach sometimes that makes you never want to leave :)......  

.... but when you do, you crash!!!  That fresh breeze and smell of salt water is exhausting!!

And it's always a good time for a dip in the pool....

.... and to relax and take in the sun!

Someone is becoming quite the little model!  She could have stood there all day posing for pictures.  Apparently my 5 years of shoving a camera in my face is finally paying off!!

And she wants to be photographed ALONE!!!

Apparently Drew would rather play than get his picture taken these days....

.... but he smiles anyway!

 LOVE this girl!!

After the beach we headed to the baby shower.   Arwen's brother had just had a beautiful baby girl....

.... And Drew was fascinated!

My cousin, Kevin, and his wife, Arwen, were expecting a little boy the end of April.  He came a bit early and was born on March 17th.  Welcome to the world Baby Eamon :)  They have lots of cute stuff to help get them started!

One-of-a- Kind Onsie designed by Drew :)

It was such a wonderful, relaxing weekend and we were so happy we were able to be there to celebrate!  We can't wait to meet Eamon very, very soon!