Pierce Post

Labor Day weekend

2011-09-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

We were so happy to get out of the 110+ degree weather this past weekend and head up to the cabin again. It's so refreshing to be able to just let the kids run around and play outside.

Jake ready for combat with his "gun"
bang, bang!
Oh no! He's been hit!
Not sure if he's all the way dead though...
Better finish him off just to make sure.
Now, what's wrong with this picture? Lol!
Jake and Gav just chillin in the hammock while sharing an old fashioned orange soda.
Life just doesn't get much better than this.
Love the orange mustache.
Jake getting ready to eat a grasshopper. This one is for Grandpa. ;)
Kailey playing with a baby horny toad that Jake caught. There is always some sort of reptile/amphibian creature waiting to be caught by Jake. :)

Of course they wanted to keep it, but we let it go.

Gavin "fixing" his Jeep.

Cute Ashlyn chomping away on that finger. She's been doing that a lot lately since she's teething again.

Jake picked a dandilion to share with Gav.
The forest is full of beautiful dandilions like this.

Well, at least there was until my kids got to them all. :)
Maybe he should blow a little bit harder. ;)
Then Kailey wanted me to take some pix of her in her Halloween costume...
So we did.

She'll tell you that, "fairies are real because the tooth fairy is real."
We had to get a matching one for Miss Ashlyn too!

I think we'll call her the slobbery teething fairy. ;) Oh well, still cute anyway!

Piggies to love

2011-08-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Jake and Kailey each got a new pet guinea pig. I found them for a great price on craigslist and figured that I would rather them spend their time this way than playing video games or watching T.V.

I think that they make really great pets. They like to cuddle and eat right out of your hand. Jake named his Piggie.
Kailey absolutely adores hers that she named Teddy. The moment we brought them home she was pushing it in her stoller, putting doll clothes on it, and having a tea party with it. She has always dreamed of having her own little pet like this.
So happy! Can you tell?

So adorable

2011-07-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

I find it absolutely adorable how she looks for her little belly button...

and how she rubs her blankie against her nose with those chubby little fingers. In fact, I find everything about her absolutely adorable!

I just love...

2011-06-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

those little curls that flip up in the back.

My Ballerina

2011-06-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Kailey did a such a great job today at her ballet recital. It's always so fun to watch her light up on stage. I will have to post a video clip later once I get the DVD.

Btw, we made her wash that stage make-up off right away. It scares me how grown up she is looking!

Nappy Hair

2011-06-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

I love Ashlyn's cute natural curls. I love them even when they're all nappy!

Birthday Party Pics

2011-06-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

I had fun this year planning Jake and Kailey's Birthday parties. I'm glad that I spent time and effort into making their days special. I wanted make the most of it since I will probably only get away with doing silly parties for a couple more years before they're "too cool" for that.

Jake wanted his party theme to be:

Chronicles of Narnia! The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. My sister and I had fun making his invitations while she was here visiting. Thanks again Aunt Kimbee!

The white witch had frozen creatures in their cups that they had to rescue...

We had popcorn and strawberries with a chocolate fountain (Jake's favorite).
Kailey obviously enjoyed it too!
Aslan cupcakes...

We also played pin the tail on Aslan, and had a lion pinata.
His favorite gift was the battlemaster from Mom and Dad.
The foam swords were a big hit as party favors. Happy 9th Birthday Jakers!

Kailey wanted her party to be a Tangled theme. Here is a pic of the front door.
We had a treasure hunt to find the lost sachel. Of course it had enough tiaras for each of girls to have one.
They had a contest to see who could get Flynn's nose right.
Pascal blowers.

It was Jake's idea to hit the pinata with a frying pan. Lol!
Lanterns of course.
They decorated braids with flowers and colored pictures of Rapunzel.

And we also painted the wall that I coved with paper.

Happy Birthday Kailey Girl!

Swearing in

2011-05-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

It has been an eventful last couple of weeks to say the least. We have celebrated Jake and Kailey's birthdays, our anniversary, last day of school, and Justin being appointed to the AZ House of Reps. We are welcoming a relaxing memorial day weekend. I cut and pasted an article that I thought you might enjoy reading. I am pleasantly surprised at how kind the press is being...so far.

Escaping his ‘comfort zone:’ How an experience in Rio and a Vince Lombardi quote led Justin Pierce to a House seat

By Caitlin Coakley - caitlin.coakley@azcapitoltimes.com

Published: May 27, 2011 at 8:05 am

Republican Justin Pierce, a labor attorney, takes the oath of office May 25 for his appointment to the District 19 seat vacated by Kirk Adams. Pierce’s wife, Cortney, stands next to him while retired Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles “Bud” Jones administers the oath and House Speaker Andy Tobin looks on. (Photo by Ryan Cook/RJ Cook Photography)

Justin Pierce remembers when the calls started coming in.

Former House Speaker Kirk Adams had officially announced his resignation and the precinct committeemen for Legislative District 19 were beginning their search for a replacement. Pierce, a labor attorney, son of Arizona Corporation commissioner and former state lawmaker Gary Pierce, a grassroots activist and generally affable guy, was on their list of people they’d like to see in the House seat.

But Pierce, wasn’t nearly as confident at first.

“My response was, ‘keep looking.’ I wasn’t interested,” he said. “I was doing great in my practice, and I was in my comfort zone. Things were going along just fine, and the last thing that I wanted to do was disturb that.”

Every time he hung up the phone, however, Pierce would get “a nagging feeling.”

After all, he had wanted to eventually run for office since he was 19 and traveled to Rio de Janeiro for two years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Being in a Third World country, he said, made him realize how important it was to protect the integrity of public policy in the United States.

But was it the right time?

Pierce, 36, said he finally sat down and talked about the prospect of getting into the state Legislature with his wife Cortney. At first, her reaction was the same as his: “Isn’t there anyone else?”

But Pierce said he ultimately decided that there was more to life than finding and keeping a comfortable routine.

“I finally started making those phone calls back and said, ‘I think I’m in,’” Pierce said.

What surprised him most was the swell of support that quickly followed and ultimately buoyed him to a majority vote support from the district’s precinct committeemen in the very first round of voting — an outcome that Wayne Gardner, LD19 GOP chairman, said was remarkable, considering Pierce was one of 11 candidates in the running for the spot.

“He is very well-liked throughout the district, has a good base,” Gardner said. “That’s how he got his majority vote.”

Pierce has been involved in politics at the grassroots level since before he could vote. In high school, he said he recalls many hours spent hammering yard signs into the ground and sticking flyers on people’s doors. On election days and nights, he said he was usually on the phone urging people to get out and vote.

Though he became a precinct committeeman when he turned 18, his experience with grassroots politics had not translated into a desire to launch his own campaign.

“There seemed to be a lot of people in politics who were in it for themselves,” he said, “whose egos never seemed to be pure, and I stepped back and said, ‘I would never do that.’”

It was the trip to Brazil in 1994 that started him thinking. He recalls witnessing firsthand how poor policy can have an effect on a country.

When he first got into Rio de Janeiro, Pierce said he bought a bus pass for 100 cruzeiros, which was the country’s currency at the time. In four months, the price of that pass had ballooned to 1,000 cruzeiros.

“The inflation was terrible,” he said. “People couldn’t save their money — if you got your paycheck and just put your money under your pillow, you couldn’t get by.”

It was an experience still fresh in his mind when his plane touched back down on American soil two years later.

“I remember looking around and going, ‘we are so blessed.’ And I kind of made a promise to myself at the time that I would stay involved, and one day it would be incumbent on me to put my name out there and actually run,” he said.

Pierce didn’t immediately start filing exploratory committees. He spent the next chapter in his life finishing his education, first getting a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Arizona State University, then graduating from Georgetown University’s law school. He returned to Arizona in 2003, degrees in hand, to start his career. Meanwhile, he continued to serve at the grassroots level as a precinct committeeman.

The combination of his education, career as an attorney and political experience means Pierce will be prepared for the Legislature, said seatmate Rep. Justin Olson, who endorsed Pierce at the district meeting.

“He’s spent the past several years as an attorney, arguing conservatively before the 9th Circuit Court, successfully,” Olson said. “What stands out most about him is the tremendous amount of experience and talent that will be very valuable to the state and to the district.”

Fellow LD19 politicos describe Pierce as a likeable, smart man who has sat on the sidelines long enough. Gardner said he has suspected for years that Pierce would eventually hold public office.

“I think it’s just been a question of time — when was the right opportunity, what was the right office that he wanted,” Gardner said.

Even Adams said he had approached Pierce about running for the Legislature, though Adams said he stayed out of the race for his replacement because he felt like it wouldn’t be appropriate to get involved.

“The number one thing about Justin is that he is very smart,” Adams said. “He is very educated, and he is very thoughtful. I think that will serve him well.”

The deliberation that Pierce put into his decision to run is the sort of thoughtfulness his political supporters tout — a willingness to take in as much information as possible and change his mind if necessary.

“He is very good at looking at the pros and cons and anticipating any unrelated consequences,” Gardner said.

To describe his political philosophy, Pierce favors an anecdote about legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The coach supposedly gathered his team members one day, held up the football and told his players, “This is a football.”

The lesson, Pierce said, is to always make sure the fundamentals of any activity, from sports to crafting legislation, are solid. To him, those fundamentals are life, liberty and private property rights.

“The question I would have for just about any legislation is, ‘Does this legislation protect life? Does it protect property? Does it protect liberty?’ If it doesn’t, it’s probably not a good bill,” he said.

His top priority as a lawmaker, he said, is to make sure government lives within its means. With the Legislature making drastic cuts and balancing the budget last session, Pierce said the next step, which he intends to push, is to set aside money in the state’s rainy day fund to prepare for the next economic downturn.

He acknowledges that socking away a portion of the state’s money will likely mean more budget cuts, even as state revenues are improving, and he said he is prepared for the criticism that will follow.

“That’s going to hurt a little bit. It might hurt a lot,” he said. “And some people are going to suffer because of that belt tightening, and I feel terrible about that. But we cannot afford another ‘rainy day’ like the one we’ve just had.”

Pierce also said he intends to serve with respect, both for the institution and his new colleagues.

Though he said he will stand up for his convictions, he hopes to do so in a way that people who disagree can respect, and he vows to treat those with whom he may disagree with respect, in turn.

“I’m not here to alienate people,” he said. “We may not agree all of the time, but I want to be someone that isn’t about ego. It’s not about me, it’s about the people around me.”

REO Speedwagon

2011-04-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

We surprised Jake this last weekend by taking him to see his favorite band in concert. REO Speedwagon! He loves all of their music, especially the song titled "I can't fight this feeling." We had great seats as you can tell from this picture. The drummer threw one of his drum sticks to Jake at the end of the show, but a girl in front of us intercepted it! I KNOW! Rude huh? Oh well, the singer made up for it by handing a guitar pick to Jake. Oh, how I wish I had my camera right then. They don't allow you to take cameras in, but at least Justin was able to take this picture with his phone. It was a great night.

Spring Break

2011-03-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break we headed up to my in-law's cabin. The kids were pleasantly surprised to see that there was quite a bit of snow still on the ground to jump in.

Kailey said, "look at me Mommy, I'm the Ice Princess."
Gavin had a blast throwing snowballs. (Notice the snowball implanted on Jake's shirt)
I Love this sequence:

Liberty enjoyed the snow every bit as much as the kids.
And Ashlyn enjoyed her green St. Patrick's Day cookie. Check out this sequence:

She rubbed it into her hair! Bath time.
The kids also had a lot of fun making a Leprachan trap.
Gavin got to help set it up.
They patiently waited while dreaming about what they were going to do with the gold if they actually caught one.

What the? We actually caught one!

This face pretty much sums up Kailey's reaction. "Mommy!" she said.
I'm still laughing at Jake's reaction. He said, "You're weird." Darn it, he's getting too old for stuff like this! Oh well, Gavin liked it:

Corvette

2011-03-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

Okay so, the love of cars didn't start nor does it end with Gavin. To be honest, it stems from their Daddy. Jake has been trying to talk Justin into trading his BMW for a Corvette. Well, that isn't likely to happen anytime soon. However, my in-law's have a really nice neighbor that took Jake for a ride on Sunday. He was in Heaven.

He is still talking about it and thinks that Daddy should definitely get one! Sorry Jake, it ain't happening.

Gavinisms

2011-03-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

I just have so much fun with my Gavin. He has me wrapped around his little finger BIG TIME. Here is an example of a conversation we had as I was tucking him into bed a little bit ago:

Me: Ni-night cute guy

Gavin: I'm not "cute guy", I'm Gavin

Me: Okay

Gavin: I'm not "okay", I'm Gavin

Me: LOL

Gavin: I'm not "funny", I'm Gavin

Me: yes you are

Gavin: I'm not "yes you are", I'm Gavin!

He just cracks me up (no pun intended).

Oatmeal for Mommy

2011-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

Just some more everyday moments that I adore and want to remember...

Gavin loves it when I make him oatmeal for breakfast. He likes the instant, but LOVES when I make it on the stovetop for him. It is his favorite meal. I found it adorable that he was pretending (along with Ashlyn) to make some oatmeal for me today.

He also had to blow on it for me since it was "too hot".
Silly girl! Playing peek-a-boo through the oven door.

Painted toes

2011-02-25T11:54:00.000-08:00

Kailey loves to get a "pedicure" from Mommy. I am willing to do anything right now to make my poor girl feel better. She has been sick for quite some time now. She was diagnosed with Strep last Tuesday along with Jake and Gavin (Ashlyn had pnemonia). She seemed to be getting better until Monday night when she spiked a fever of 103.7. I took her back to the doctor the next day, and he said that it is possible that her body is resisting the antibiotics to cure the Strep...or most likely, it's a new virus that she is fighting off. We changed her prescription to a stronger antibiotic, but she STILL has a fever today. I'm not really sure what's going on. I think it is really strange that she has had a fever for 5 days. I called the doctor a couple of hours ago and am still waiting to hear back...
in the mean time we will make beaded necklaces (her other favorite thing to do with Mommy).

Guard dog

2011-02-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

If only I could train Liberty to stop Ashlyn from climbing on couches, coffee tables, and chairs too.

Party in the Pits

2011-02-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Gavin's dream finally came true as he got to meet Gravedigger in person! He is still talking about the BIG monster trucks.

Kailey's favorite truck:
HAD to buy Pit Passes so that Gav could actually TOUCH a monster truck.

We can't wait until next year!

Pure cuteness!

2011-01-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Gavin's Lighting McQueen balloon from his birthday is still staying afloat after 6 weeks! I have gotten so tired of looking at the thing, that I finally got some scissors the other day (while Gavin wasn't looking)...then, as I was about to kill the balloon, I noticed out of the corner of my eye how excited Ashlyn got all of the sudden as she saw me holding it. So, I decided to let her have one last chance to hold it...

and love it...
and make friends with it...

and play peek-a-boo with it...

Great! Now how am I suppose to get rid of it?! I'm not that heartless. Shoot, after this one dies I'll probably even run to the party store to order her another BFF. Guess I better get use to balloons floating all around the house. ;)

A rare phenomenon

2010-12-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it actually snowed at our house today! The kids were riding their scooters out front when little white flurries began to fall.

I quickly grabbled my camera to document this very rare experience.

It didn't really stick to anything but the top of our heads.
Check out this big snow flake in Kailey's hair.

Gavin wanted to catch some too.
We then realized that we better pick our citrus in the backyard before it freezes at night.

I think Jake wins the blue ribbon for this one!
Can you guess whose basket this belongs to with the fire truck inside?
What a fun day to have on Christmas vacation. I'm sure we will not forget it.

Savoring this Christmas because...

2010-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

it breaks my heart to think that this is probably the last Christmas that Jake believes in all of the magic.

Ashlyn enjoying the paper more than her presents, of course.
Gavin so happy that Santa brought a Lighting McQueen bike.
Santa brought Kailey art supplies and a Rapunzel doll. She loved opening this cat that she could hear meowing under the tree. lol!
Santa brought Jake his electric scooter that he had been anxiously awaiting. Please come again next year Santa Clause!
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Where's you nose, Ashlyn?

2010-12-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

And her response is always:

Just don't ask her where her mouth is next. ;)
What funny little girl!

Ashlyn's favorite thing about Christmas was...

2010-12-29T11:49:00.000-08:00

the tree! As you can see: (scroll down to view the sequence of events)

"I can't believe that mean Daddy took my ball away!"
Stay tuned. More Christmas pix yet to come.

Happy Birthday Gavin!

2010-12-06T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last week Gavin got to blow out 3 birthday candles on his Lighting McQueen cake that he had been looking forward to for weeks...

Yesterday, I finally got around to shooting some of his 3 year old pics after church.
He looks so grown up in his suit.
He thinks he is even grown up enough to tie his own shoe lace :)
I adore this face that he always makes. I can totally hear him saying, "Hey!"

Here he is pretending that the bricks are a train track. He kept saying, "chugga chugga choo-choo"

I also wanted to capture some pictures of Gavin in regular clothes, just playing around, and being himself...
So, this evening I took him over to my Dad and Uncle's property where they park their big trucks, backhoes, and machinery (Gavin's favorite place to go).
He had fun playing with his toy cars there...

He loves his fire truck hat.

I made him change though...

I ran over to him right after I snapped this picture, realizing that he was probably about to rebreak his collar bone. Yikes! Btw, we are so glad that he gets to have his brace off now.

I love that he always tries to pick up as many as possible at one time...

He had an absolute blast racing his cars down the back of the trailer...
over and over and over again.

Cuteness!

Don't you just love those little dirty fingers showing how big he is?

Happy Birthday Gav! Mommy loves you SO MUCH! Can't you just stay little forever?

I give up...

2010-11-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

on trying to keep my back door window clean.

Lick marks on the outside from the dog, and lick marks on the inside from Ashlyn. It's a lost cause. Good thing they're both really cute though!

"More gratitude give me"

2010-11-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

click on the link:

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

When I reflect upon the things that I am grateful for...it is humbling to me. I start to think of all the many things that I have been blessed with, such as my wonderful husband, kids, faith, house, freedom, health, beautiful earth, etc...and realize at the same time...that I should make a more conscience effort to be grateful in my heart every day of my life. I believe that if gratitude always had a place in my heart, then many character flaws would naturally subside. Yeah, I think it is that simple, yet overwhelmingly profound. I have so much to be grateful for and I just hope that I can always remember the importance of keeping gratitude always. "More use would I be."

I can't believe...

2010-11-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

how much Liberty has grown in such a short period of time! It seems as though every time I turn around to look at her, she's bigger! See what I mean?

which means that something else keeps getting bigger too!
Thanks Justin for picking up the dog poop...sometimes. ;)

My niece...

2010-11-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

is three!

gotta love the courtesy smile...
I just love her curly hair (she got it from her mama)...

she blends right in with the party poms

she's so sweet with animals and babies...

Her cute shirt says, "I'm only here for the cake and presents"

sisters

tired of all these pictures!

Thanks for playing/putting up with me Sydney! I'll let you play with Gavin next time. :)

For Veteran's Day...

2010-11-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Jake, Kailey, and I went on a hike with Grandpa Griffin...
up to the Wind Cave at Usery Pass...

Jake had to show how cool he was by touching the cactus (or is it cacti?) along the way...

we had to take a few breaks for Kailey to rest...
and climb boulders...

and eat...
Just happy to be outside and NOT in school. :)

almost there...
woo hoo!
we made it!
it was pretty cold up top...
and there were a lot of bees (notice the bee on top of Jakes head)...

we had to take a few pictures though before we headed back down...

We can't wait to go again!
These pictures make me laugh...

She snatched Papa's hat. I think it looks cute on her.
And Daddy's other perfect little girl turned 9 months on Thursday too! Since we were busy getting ready to go hiking, I only had time to snap couple pics after her bath in the morning before we left.Checking her cute self out. Can you blame her?
A kiss from Daddy. Awah.

I'm with the band

2010-11-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

Peek-a-boo!

I see you!
Since school pictures didn't quite turn out this year...
and photography has been my creative outlet lately...
we decided to have a little fun with a few of his Dad's guitars. (btw, this guitar brings back memories from when his Dad I were dating.)
I'm surprised that Jake actually liked these shoes. I thought they were kinda fun.

This is Justin's first electric guitar that he got when he was 15. (ah, so sentimental)

Jake also had fun playing in his Grandma's sister's backyard. He found all kinds of old things to play with...

He even found a ladybug. Too bad it wasn't a lizard or a snake. ;)

Ladybugs are cool though.
I Love this picture...

Yeah, I think Gavin looks a quite a bit like Jake.

"where are the keys to this thing?"

They found that the best thing to play on though, was the tall twisty slide. They can't wait to go back! (without Mom's camera)
Later this month, I have to post Ashlyn's 9 month pics, Gavin's 3 year old pics...and then I hope to take a healthy break from blogging for the month of December. Won't that be nice?

lunch time

2010-11-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a few pics of Ashlyn in her high chair. It happens to be one of her favorite spots. FOOD!

It happens to be Liberty's favorite spot as well.
"Could you please accidentally on purpose drop a few more?"

her 1st halloween

2010-11-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love the leg warmers? Yes, the 80's are back...now that's scary.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

Here is what the other three kids looked like in their costumes.

"Team Jacob!" Actually, twilight had nothing to do with Jake's costume choice...more the fact that he could scare his sister so easily with it.

Here is our little Buzz Lightyear. I couldn't get him to smile. The only expression I had time to capture on him was: "Uh oh, I really have to pee."
Ashlyn as a cute fat kitty cat. She is always a happy baby.
She kept hanging on to her costume like it was a blankie. I just love her to pieces!
Hope you all had a fun Halloween. We sure did!

Rapunzel, let down your hair!

2010-10-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

We had a little fun with Kailey in her Halloween costume. Hope you enjoy!

Let this be a lesson...

2010-10-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

to NEVER climb on counters again!

Poor Gavin ended up with a broken clavicle (collar bone) yesterday morning. I am sorry to say that I didn't see exactly how it happened. I still feel guilty that I wasn't there to catch him or prevent this from happening. I was making beds upstairs when I heard a cry from Gavin that I had never before heard. That is when I rushed down stairs to find him sobbing with his face planted in the arm of the couch. I asked him where he was hurt, and he responded by pointing to the right side of his head. I couldn't see or feel any bumps until I moved the collar of his shirt. I noticed a lump on his collar bone and decided it was best to head straight to urgent care.

He didn't cry at all while we were there...just a very solemn look on his face. He even was cracking a smile, just after this picture was taken, as we sang his version of isty bitsy spider. He likes to sing itsy bitsy Lighting McQueen.
Another smile came as he played with the syringe and his water.
So now he has to wear this figure 8 strap for the next 4-6 weeks. We told him that it is like Buzz lightyear's space pack. He likes that idea since he already has the costume for Halloween. The hardest part will be keeping him from injuring it again. After all he is our "wrecking ball." The strap is scheduled to come off around his 3rd birthday. We can't wait...
Love you Gav..."To infinity and beyond"... xoxo

Vanity

2010-10-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

Justin thinks he is so funny by taking pics with his phone of his muscles and then sending them to me. Ha ha! Hilarious. What is even more hilarious is when I catch him flexing and admiring himself in the mirror when he thinks I'm not looking! Oh puleez (gag).

I think he might even be more vain than me now. lol!

Okay...so I'll admit that effort of getting up at 5:00 every morning is starting to pay off. ;)

Good Morning Ashlyn

2010-10-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

I love waking up to this...

I think it is so cute how she loves her blankies...

and thumb...
these pics make me want to go wake her up right now and kiss her!
sweet little tiny fingers...
peek-a-boo!

I love this stage!

"Tangled"

2010-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

Kailey wants to be Rapunzel for Halloween from the new Disney movie coming out called "Tangled." I guess that works for her...

And Jake wants to be something very very scary...

Boo.

Yum

2010-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Gavin is like me when it comes to eating doughnuts. We like the frosting on top the best.

See. Food.
And Kailey...well, she just likes the whole thing. A lot.

Axel F

2010-10-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

over and over and over and over...

He has been OBSESSED with this song for the past few months. He had been playing the first few measures that he picked up by ear over and over again. I finally got him the sheet music and his piano teacher helped him figure out the rest. He played this song for the talent show in front of his class today. He was so happy and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I noticed quite a few heads bopping up and down with the beat. It was pretty funny.

You did a great job Jake! Love you SO much!

"Yes, I am brave"

2010-10-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, while Jake and Kailey were playing "snake" with their rubber snakes in the backyard they ironically came across a real one! Jake said he heard it rattle, but was pretty sure that it wasn't a rattle snake. Well, we certainly can't have rattle snakes living in our backyard, so I went to check it out. Right away I could tell it was a Coach Whip snake (non venimous), but it was pretending to be a rattle snake by vibrating it's tail against the dead leaves (I guess I have learned a thing or two about snakes with all of the snake books Jake shows me). So then I coaxed it out of the bush and got it to go in a plastic container.

Then my Dad came over and helped me put it in Jake's old tank where his corn snakes use to live. I say "used to" because they died a couple of month ago. Yes, very sad, but now we have a dog. :) Anyway, Jake asked to keep it, but I am not at all okay with an aggressive snake like that! He kept it locked in the tank for a couple of days and then we let it go out in the desert.
We had to get a couple of pics and play with it before we released it (click on this pic to make it big. the snake it sticking it's tounge out too!) Gross Dad!Kailey's turn...
Jake is going to be the next Steve Irwin. (hopefully not!)
I'm trying to figure out why we have so many animal adventures around our house. A friend has convinced me that they must me telling each other that our house is the cool hang out spot. ;) So, stay tuned for the next animal adventure that we might have...

Homework

2010-09-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Gavin wants to be just like his older brother and sister. He likes to do "homework" too.

He was making me laugh how he would watch the eraser as he moved the pencil around. He looks cross eyed!
Another one of my favorite everyday moments is when Kailey plays with Ashlyn on her bed before bedtime. I love the look on her face...

Splish Splash, Ashlyn's in the Bath!

2010-09-30T16:01:00.000-07:00

I love that cute chubby hand...
This one makes me laugh. It's like she saying, "Oh yeah pig, you want a piece of this?"
"Yeeeya...that's what I thought. Who's squeel'n now?"
She always splashes herself in face...
and this is her expression afterwards. lol!
then comes my favorite part. I get to love her up in her cute little duckie towel.
She is even more yummy after her bath. I could just eat her up!

I'm pretending...

2010-09-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

that it's Fall. It's a little hard when it's still 90+ degrees outside, but the leaves in my backyard are starting to change (even if it's only to one shade of yellow). I love this time of year.

Although who could dispute the beauty of the AZ sunset...

(I took this pic the other night while Jake was looking for sedimentary rocks by the river to earn his geology belt loop)
Jake thought he was cool because he could balance on an iron beam that was next to where we parked. (btw, this image reminds me of one recently taken by an awesome photographer in my ward. So, Jen if you happen to be reading...thanks for the inspiration. You're the best!)

Kid Date with Mommy and Daddy

2010-09-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last, we took Jake and Kailey on a special date with Mommy and Daddy. On Friday Jake chose to eat at El Charro and then go bowling. He had such a fun time. He is still talking about it and can't wait until next month when he can go on another date with us. I wish I had taken pics, but I didn't bring my big camera (I will next time). Justin got a new phone on Saturday and was able to take a few pics of Kailey on her date night with us. She chose to go to Make a Wish and paint a ceramic piece that she picked out.

here she is choosing a paint color...
Isn't she cute?
working so hard...
she now has this proudly displayed on her dresser (next to her tiara)

Weekend Fun

2010-09-19T08:57:00.000-07:00

So what do you do for fun in AZ? Well, on Friday we went to the AZ Museum of Natural History. The kids love to see the dinosaurs there...

Pan for gold...
and stare at the fish. After that we met up with Daddy to eat at El Charro. (we eat there usually once a week.)
Then on Saturday we took the kids to Usery Pass Nature Center, in the desert, for a presentation about scorpions with Ranger B. Then we headed out for a scorpion hunt...
We were a too late to catch up with our group because I had to feed Ashlyn, so these are the only scorpions we got to see...
Thanks Grandpa for buying the kids scorpion suckers. Jake still has dead scorpion on his dresser. BTW, it freaked me out when I went into his room this morning.
Yummy.
Kailey had her blacklight ready to go...

Notice the tarantula in the background. Maybe we will hunt for those next week...

Liberty Sit!

2010-09-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

The kids have been helping train Liberty to come, sit, laydown, stand, and roll over. It cracks me up when Gavin tries to help too. He tells her to sit...with an "sh." It is so funny to hear his little voice, "Wiberty, $%*#!" I guess I just have to make sure he gives her that command outside. ;)

Everyday Moments

2010-09-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

I love to sneak up on my kids sometimes and watch as they are busy entertaining themselves. It makes me laugh how he seems completely unaware of me taking pictures of him. Oh, how I love this precious boy...

I am obsessed with his cute feet. Can you tell? I just want to squish them!

Ashlyn is 7 months

2010-09-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

A while ago, my Mom had asked to see some pics of Ashlyn sitting up. Of course she wasn't very cooperative today...

She kept wanting to pick the flowers (reminds me Kailey)...
and the grass...
just lay there and be cute...
lean forward to try and get the camera...
and play with Jake. Oh well, maybe we'll try again later when I have more time.

Orthopedic Foam

2010-09-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

While I was getting ready the other morning, I put Ashlyn in Liberty's new doggie bed that hadn't been used yet. I put a couple of toys in there with her to entertain her, but I guess she was too comfortable to play...

Of course Gavin saw me taking pics and wanted to help (I think it's precious how he he is holding his camera upside down)...

monkey see, monkey do.

Poor Puppy

2010-08-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

We have actually survived our first week with Liberty...or should I say she has survived us! Well, barely. Between Gavin (aka the wrecking ball), poisonous toads, and almost falling through the banister we are lucky to have her with us. Yes, this is a picture of her wearing a cast. Last Friday, I left her alone with the "wrecking ball" while I ran down stairs to get a towel. When I came back she seemed fine just laying on the floor. I got in the shower and then heard her start to whimper as she hobbled toward me. I thought that Gavin had somehow broken her leg. I hurried and got out, then rushed her to the animal hospital. $500 later, they told us that she had a fracture in her foot...

Yesterday I took her to my vet's office for her shots and asked him to check on her foot. He looked at the x-rays and determined that she does NOT have a fracture after all. So, he removed the cast which makes us all very happy. She still is limping a little bit, I guess it may take some time for the sprain to heal. I am thinking I may have to fight to get my $160 back from the animal hospital that they charged for the cast. I just hope that it won't get ugly enough that I have to play the "my husband is an attorney card." ;0)

So, now you may be wondering about the toad. I had already heard about poisonous Colorado River Toads from my hair dresser. He told me about how he almost lost his golden retriever to one of them. I also have been noticing an unusual amount of frogs around our house lately (and trust me, so has Jake) which is probably why I wasn't too surprised to actually see one in front of my garage door as I pulled up Sunday evening. I told the kids to stay in the car while I got out and grabbed a bucket to catch the giant toad. I put it an old mop bucket and then surrounded it with plastic wrap. I waited until Justin got home, and asked him to take care of it. He took it out to the desert to release it. I asked him to take my camera with him and take a picture of it. FYI, these toads are illegal to own because idiots actually lick them to hallucinate (learned that from a google search) Gross huh?

And as far as the banister incident goes...well, at least it was just the first level with only two steps up. I heard her whimpering as I was standing in the kitchen. I rushed around to see what was wrong and I found her dangling with her hips caught in the railing...poor thing. I didn't think she knew how to climb stairs, let alone fit her body through like that. Man, I can't even remember having this many close calls with my children in all the 8 years I have been a mom. What next?! With my luck she will probably get sprayed by a skunk! Been seeing a lot of those around lately too.

Our new baby

2010-08-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Meet the newest member of our family. She is a 7 week old purebred Golden Retriever puppy. She also comes from a line of champion show dogs (I hope that will play into her obedience training). She was born on the 4th of July so we named her Lady Liberty. We call her Liberty. Isn't she just the cutest thing? We adore her!

Jake woke up at 5:30 this morning before school started to play with her.
Kailey probably thinks she is still dreaming.
I am looking forward to the memories that we will create together...playing catch at the park, going on walks, just having her always there to keep you company, and of course the fun and laughter while playing with the kids...childhood is too short not to have a family dog.

Yeah for Gavin!

2010-08-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Looks like we will be shopping for big boy undies tomorrow for Gavin. Jake and Kailey also think we need to throw a potty party. Thanks for setting the standard Darci. ;) I guess I should find out how you made your poop cupcakes.

We also have another little stinker hanging out around our house...GREAT! Jake and Kailey had left bird seed out and apparently, skunks like bird seed. I guess I will be cleaning the patio in the morning and hopefully I won't get sprayed.

Updated Family Picture

2010-08-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you Jeannie! These picture were also taken at our last trip to the cabin.

Just the girls
Just the boys

Ashlyn's 6 month stats

2010-08-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the boring post, but since this is my journal/scrapbook, I need to post some numbers and basic info about Ashlyn since she just turned 6 months yesterday:

Height: 25.5 inches...............50%

Weight: 15 lbs 14 oz..............50%

Head circumference: 42.5 cm...50%

The poor girl got shots and cut her 1st tooth yesterday. Of course she is still smiling...

Out little ball of perfection! XOXOXOXO

I Believe in Fairies

2010-08-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time spending this past week up at my in-law's cabin. While we were there, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful mushrooms and moss...

butterflies, and flowers. It reminded me so much of a place where you could capture a fairy...

Sure enough, I caught one!
and I think I will keep her forever...

Don't you just love this outfit?!

Sorry, lots and LOTS of pictures!

cleavage shot. "Oh dang!"

She still sucks on that thumb. I think it is so cute!

Also while we were there, Jake (with help from dad and grandpa) caught a tree frog and another lizard! We had to let them go though. We are running out of room for reptiles. ;)
He had fun trying to catch a fish, but no such luck. Maybe next time.
Kailey tried too.
Daddy and Kailey...
Gavin had the best time picking up rocks and throwing them into the water. Hmmm, I wonder why we couldn't catch any fish..
He was so cute, every time he would throw one in he would clap and cheer for himself...
I told him not to go in water to get the rocks anymore...
I guess that hurt his tender feelings. Here he is pouting to Grandpa...
I really enjoyed taking pics of brightly colored mushrooms.

I had to get one more picture of this baby before we left. Justin was a good sport to help me take this picture. He didn't want to at first. He figured I would just tell him that he did something wrong. Ha, imagine that! I think he might be encouraged now since he did such a great job.

A visit with my sister

2010-07-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

I honestly have to say I have never seen such stunning blue eyes on anybody besides my niece McKell. I could just take pics of her all day...except I know she has better things to do. She is such a busy little "chippette." Sorry Kimberly, but that's honestly what I think of when I see her. She looks like a little animated chippette from Alvin and the chipmunks. She is so cute!

I'm sorry that we never had a chance to have a real photo shoot since I got we got sick with strep throat and had to leave early, but here are a few pics that I snapped one evening.
The swing in the background make this look like a hospital bed picture. lol.
I miss this little angel face...

I miss my spending time with my Mom and having her be able to love on my kids too. We had a great time at Lagoon. It was a long trip that I took by myself with the 4 kids, but worth the memories.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-26T20:12:00.000-07:00

For this year's 4th of July we got to participate in a parade for my father-in-laws campaign. I thought that the kids would be very excited, except that Kailey seemed a little nervous while I was doing her hair. I tried to reassure her by telling her it was really no big deal, but maybe she was just unsure about her "elbow-elbow-wrist-wrist" technique. ;)

Gavin was busy as usual hanging on to his trucks. (who cares about waving at the people)

Yeah, I think these girls better get use to the idea of being on top of floats...beauty queen

material I'd say ;)

Jake remembered seeing light sabers for sale at last year's celebration. He was so happy that he got to blow, I mean spend some of his money on ANOTHER light saber.
Some guy was letting people hold his pet boa constrictor at the fire work show. Jake was in heaven!

Love the Chubbs

2010-07-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

I seriously can't get enough of those thigh rolls. They are too cute! I am enjoying them for now while I can since rolls don't seem to stick with us in our family. Love them while they last...as long as they are not on me. ;)

Jake the Snake

2010-07-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

"Jake the Snake," wow, I can't believe I am actually calling him that. In fact, that was my only hesitation back when I was picking a name for him. I was worried that people might call him that...so here I am, ironically enough, using that silly nick-name that seems most appropriate for my son. I sure love this guy!

Doc Hudson

2010-06-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

I was thinking it was time for a Gavin post cause he's just too cute.

"Was that float'n like a cadillac or sting'n like a beamer?"
Hmm, maybe it's time for a new paint job...what do you think? My Mom bought this ride on car for Jake when he was about 18 months old. Looks like we've sure gotten plenty of use out of it...well, between the kids, sprinklers, and the AZ sun...Ka-chow!

Fun in the bouncer

2010-06-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a few cute pics of Ashlyn as she was playing in her bouncer today. Enjoy!

love the piggies!

Memorial Day weekend

2010-06-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share a few random pics that I took this past weekend while up at my in-law's cabin. We love being up there to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather, scenery, and family time. The kids always have a blast doing what kids do...

Kailey loves to go down the slide even if the static electricity does this to her hair...
Jake just being a goofball while climbing up the slide...
Check out the worm! Looks like it may have gone down the slide a few times too!

What the?
Hang on girl!
Jake wanted me to post this pic. He thinks it's cool.
Ashlyn was cracking up at Grandma Pierce while Aunt Brittany was holding her.
I love that she is always up for having her picture taken...if only the others would be so cooperative.
Typical Kailey, adoring the plant life...even the weeds!

A NOT so Happy Birthday for Kailey

2010-05-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Kailey has been looking forward to her Birthday for months! She talked about it constantly. She even coached me on how exactly to decorate her rainbow dash birthday cake. She had to have purple flowers in her hair, and a rainbow colored eye with a heart...just like the real rainbow dash.

and the cupcakes HAD to have pinkalicious frosting...
She woke us up at 5:00 in the morning on her Birthday. Unfortunately, not because she was too excited, but it was because she had thrown up in her bed. So, so, unbelievably SAD! It broke our hearts. :( She had caught a very nasty flu bug that has been going around. We had to cancel the pool party and everything. The next day, after we came home from the doctor and gave her the anti-nausea medicine he prescribed, she finally felt like opening a few presents.
She was very excited that she got the snow cone machine that she had been asking for.
along with ponies, Mary Poppins, Pinkalicious book, and of course...
Rainbow Dash!
We will be saving her cake until she feels up to eating it. But for now, just this... "Pinkalicious," right?

We love you Kailey girl and hope you get feeling better soon so that Daddy can take you to Sunsplash!

Sunkissed

2010-05-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

Kailey and I had fun shooting her 6 year old pics today. I was hoping to get some more of Ashlyn for her 3 month photo's as well, but she spit up all over her clothes. So, I'll have to get back to her sooner or later. I absolutely LOVE the outfits! And I have been wanting to take pictures at this location (The Orange Patch) since I got my camera. I think we captured a few keepers. What do you think?

A Special Day

2010-05-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe that I have a child old enough to be baptized! And I thought that the first day of kindergarten was hard. We sure love this guy and am grateful that he understands the importance of his decision to be baptized. We are also grateful to have such a great big brother for our other children to have as an example. What a sweet boy! We are so pleased with all that he is. We love you so much Jake!

Happy Birthday Jake!

2010-05-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the snake cake that I made for Jake. The best part was the edible chocolate rocks. They looked so real. Jake wanted me to put his favorite kind of snakes on it as well...albino corn snakes.

Yeah, this is a little morbid...
Jake thought it was great!
He woke up to these decorations...

Jake loves to u-tube video clips of Steve Irwin, so I decorated the house with pictures and sayings that Steve Irwin was famous for using...

The kids went on a scavenger hunt for snake eggs that had clues written inside. The final clue told them to go to Jake's Mom. When they came to me, I asked them each a snake trivia question, which was then rewarded with a plastic snake. Jake's reward was not exactly plastic though...
He was VERY surprised and so was everyone else.

He loves his new albino corn snake that he named Viper.
And Kailey loves her new snake as well. Her Birthday present came just a couple of weeks early.

Jake's new pet

2010-05-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Thank you Grandpa Griffin for catching a lizard and gecko for Jakers. He couldn't be happier.

Here he is admiring and longing to hold them...

A few hours later, he gets his wish. He just had to find out if the lizard was male or female.
He was very glad to find out that it's a boy. You can tell from the blue markings on his belly.

This kid is all smiles...

even when it is biting him.
Kailey was feeling a little left out, so she had to go and dig up a pet of her own. :)

Her Blessing Dress

2010-04-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks again Mom for making this beautiful dress! Here are the pictures finally that my sister requested. Enjoy!

She loves to grab her dresses lately...

and put them in her mouth. Yep, here we go with the "everything in the mouth" stage. (this picture makes me laugh because it looks like she is attacking her dress.)

Looks like she is saying, "Mom, just get this giant dress off of me now."

2010-04-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows Kailey, they know that she loves to draw. She is always drawing and taking her pics to friends at school. Here is just a sample...

BTW, this picture makes me think of this song: "you wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a chicken boo." (inside joke for my sisters)

I had to post this for my Mom. When she was here visiting, Kailey asked her to draw a dog. So now ever since, Kailey tries to immitate how my Mom drew that dog. So cute!

A mommy pig and her piglets.
I bet colton and Gripp will get a kick out of this one.

This picture reminds me of how she said, "I can't wait for Papa Mott to come so we can talk about horses! We both love horses."

Ashlyn and Gavin found a new Hobby

2010-04-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Looks like we have ourselves an official thumb sucker here folks. It's really cute, but I'm a little worried about how hard it might be to break her of it.

Ashlyn says, "Oh yeah, well I'll just flip you the birdie if you try and break me of this habit." :)

Notice how red and slobbery her poor little thumb is. Awww.
Now how could you EVER say no to this little guy? Can you see how he melts my heart? He is just too sweet.
"Of course I will play ball with you." (I'm quite surprised at how well he can actually hit. Even the balls I pitch, which is really saying something)

Monkeying around

2010-04-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

I guess sitting in church for three hours today made my kids go a little crazy. They came home and decided to climb the walls, literally. I bet Jake thinks he is cool like spiderman now.

Kailey just doing her "thing"

Btw, in case you weren't aware, Jake is OBSESSED with snakes. He is crazy about lizards too, but mostly snakes. It's all he talks, thinks, reads, and dreams about.

Somehow his adoration has turned my sweet Kailey girl from this...
to this... (just so you know, I did not ask her to pose for this picture in any way. She really LOVES snakes now too)

2 Months Old

2010-04-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some of her pretty little smiles.

Love the drool.

Better than her Baby Dolls

2010-03-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

Six Weeks Old

2010-03-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn now weighs nearly 11 pounds and has grown 2 inches. She is getting to be a real chunk. I love that she is so alert and will coo and smile frequently (unfortunatly though, I couldn't get her to smile for these pics since my face was hidden behind the camera). I also have to brag that she is still sleeping through the night! I honestly feel like I hit the jack pot when it comes to easy happy babies.

A Wee Bit O' Irish

2010-03-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

I can't help it. She is just so photogenic. I love this sweet happy girl. Happy St. Patties!

Obsession

2010-03-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

I just had to capture a few moments of Gavin doing what he does most of the time...playing with his cars and trucks. He has quite the obsession with vehicles. Anything with wheels, including strollers and vacuums, he gets very excited about. Gotta love the bed head too.

2010-03-04T17:40:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn is 3 weeks old today!

She is starting to get those nice chubba lubba inner thigh rolls. Woo hoo!
I was having fun with Gavin at snack time today. He is just too cute!

Kailey is excited for the tooth fairy to come tonight.

Peaceful black and white

2010-02-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

Some pictures are just better in timeless black and white.

I love her little tongue sticking out.
Gavin likes to share with Ashlyn. He is trying to hand her a truck puzzle piece in this picture. I often times find a collection of cars right by her.
I love her lil' tiny girl eyelashes.
She makes me laugh with the way she holds her legs. Always so straight.

Too sweet not to share

2010-02-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn 9 days old

2010-02-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to have too many pictures of this girl? Is there anything in this world more precious than a newborn? I just love this little angel and would love to keep her this way if I could. I feel like I have to take lots of pictures because I know how fast they change.

My new diaper bag

2010-02-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

I love this fun diaper bag that Heidi Baker made for me. She is so creative. I was waiting anxiously to see what she would do with the left over fabric I had from Ashlyn's blankies. I am really happy with how it turned out.

More pics of Ashlyn baby

2010-02-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few more pics for you to enjoy of Ashlyn. Sorry if this makes you cry again Mom. I guess this is the next best thing to seeing her in person though, right?

I love this one. She is so cute when she tries to focus on something and it makes her go cross eyed. She found her hands a couple of times today and her feet also. That was really funny to watch when she found her toes. In this picture, she is probably looking at her hand and wondering what those mean nurses did to it. Poor thing has a big bruise from where they drew blood.

Ashlyn's eyes

2010-02-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures of Ashlyn with her eyes open. It is rare at this age that they are ever open. She is one sleepy baby girl. I had to wake her up last night after a 5 hour stretch and then again after another 4. I just need her to gain her birth weight back at least before I let her go longer without eating. After she does that, I most surely will NOT be waking her up at night. She weighed 7lb and 3oz when she was born, and today at the doctor she weighed in at 6 lb 10 oz. So, we are on our way back up in weight gain since leaving the hospital at 6 lbs 8oz. We just adore this little angel and wanted to share a couple pics of what she looks like with those sparkly blue eyes opened up.

this one is sweet too with her eyes closed.

She's here!

2010-02-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

We are so grateful and blessed to have our sweet baby girl here! The kids are so happy I was able to bring her home today. I am also looking forward to a nights rest without nurses popping in all hours of the night to check vitals. In fact, I am going to head off to bed right now, but I just wanted to post a few pics that I know you're anxious to see. I will post more later. I need to take some with her eyes open. Kailey gets so excited when she opens her eyes and "smiles" at her. I don't think she believes me when I tell her that its gas. :)

Gavin's new haircut

2010-01-22T12:58:00.000-08:00

While I was helping Jake with his hair this morning, he asked me if we could give Gavin a haircut that matched his. I decided that I would go ahead and try it since he is getting so big now. After all, he won't be the baby anymore pretty soon. So, here are a few pics I snapped of him while he was playing with Kailey. They were being so cute together...

Kailey likes to "make beds" for her brother, dolls and animals. Gavin plays along and pretends to go to sleep on the bed that she tells him to. It cracks me up. He is such a faker!

Time for a photo shoot

2009-12-30T21:24:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to take Gavin's two year pics for over a month. Now with Christmas over, I was finally able to find the time to do it. The weather was great, kids out of school, and Dad and Jeannie were available to tag team it with me. It was lot of fun except for the part where I had chase after Gavin as he was getting too close to the busy street. Yeah, this photo shoot may have cost me pre-term labor and all, but I guess it was worth it. ;) Hope you enjoy...