January

Here is Nykelle enjoying her first ride in the snow, she could go all day-literally.

Look Who's One!!

This little angel turned one on January 5th. What a blessing she has been in our lives. She is just starting to walk and is talking up a storm. She loves books and she is already a little mommy, rocking her babies from side to side. Her favorite is emptying anything in sight: drawer, cupboards, baskets, purses. Sure makes it hard to keep a clean house. She is not a dainty eater. She is covered in food from head to toe by the end of each meal. After going through multiple outfits a day, I have resorted to stripping her before each meal. Although, this isn't an option in public so I will warn you now because when she is done eating it is always fun to have a food fight, as food is thrown in all directions. Honestly, it has been such a joy to watch our family dote on this little one. When one of us calls out that she is doing some adorable act, we all come running. We can't imagine our lives without her. Thank you for coming to our family little Elle. We love you!

Cake time fun!

She sure had fun opening gifts with an audience. She quite enjoyed being the center of the show.

1-2-3, Who do you see? Two of these are Nykelle, 1 is Liv and 1 is Averee. I had Olivia and Averee's pictures taken at one year with this yellow sweater and can you believe after 9 long years I still had the sweater and had Nykelle's picture taken to match.

The Hustle and Bustle of Christmas

A gremlin lived under my tree this Christmas season...and her name is Nykelle.

I love Christmas, it is such a magical time of year. I can say that having this little one around sure does open my eyes and reminds me to treat everyday as if it were Christmas. It was so fun to watch her excitement about the little things that my older gremlins don't get as excited about anymore. Such as...the ornaments on the tree, wanting to handle each one, taking them off the tree one by one. The Christmas lights, she would sit in such awe on light rides, practically jumping out the window at each new found discovery. The two times she sat on Santa's lap, there was no wailing or tears (even though she is very stranger shy), she just looked at him inquisitively. She loved the sounds of bells ringing, loved hanging with me in the kitchen, was such a trooper as my shopping buddy, and rocked around the Christmas tree to holiday tunes. She definitely made this season magical.

We hosted Justin's family Christmas party shortly after we returned from Seattle. The kids look forward to this every year. Of course Santa dropped in to say "HOHOHO."

We try to calm the children long enough to set the mood for the Nativity story. All in all it was a good night full of new cousins meeting, food, and fun.

Christmas Eve pajamas.

Christmas morning was crazy fun. We had to wake the baby (the middle/left picture), she was a little glossy eyed. That's okay, I'm sure she will get revenge on the older ones in years to come. She loved her babies. As soon as she ripped enough to see what was inside "O-baby", "baby." Adorable.

Averee loving her new Christmas dress, and I think her eyes bugged out of her head when she opened her I-pod.

Do you see a running theme? You're only an obsessed little girl once, right? Yes, she did get a few things that were not "Jacob" related.

The boys. Braedon loved his weights from Grandma and Grandpa Drake. He is saving for a weight bench now. Brock is enjoying his array of toys. Santa was very good to all of us this Christmas. Really, I know who I'm thanking for everything good in my life and I don't think he lives at the North Pole, but he does make things in my life very magical. And I will be thanking him in my prayer's tonight, and forever.

Seattle in December

We decided to go for a quick family get-away before Christmas to Seattle. We had a blast!Day#1 we spent at the Aquarium. The kids enjoyed touching all the creatures of the sea.
(Liv's favorite)

We also went on a harbor tour, very relaxing and fun to see seattle from the water. We had a great guide. (Averee's favorite)

Day#2 we went to the top of the space needle: awesome. (My favorite) They even had a Space Santa, Nykelle wasn't quite sure of him. Then we went to the Science Center where we could have spent the entire day and then some. We watched a movie on elephant's, my children were well educated on their habits if you know what I mean. Very cool place. (Braedon's favorite)

Day#3 we went to the Flight Museum. Another place we could have spent a day or two. We went on the AirForce One jet that JFK used, WWI and II museum full of fighters, music, etc of that time, space museum, and history of flight area. Needless to say extremely cool. (Justin's favorite)

Day#4 was a very wet Seattle day and our last stop was the Zoo. We didn't get to see its entirety, but we did get to see the baby gorilla named Uzumma meaning "bearer of joy to the family" which reminded us of our little monkey who has definitely brought alot of joy to all of us. Averee made friends with a penguin who would follow her finger, swimming up, down, and all around. All in all, it was an excellent trip with many hours spent at the hotel pool as well, of course. We can't wait to go back again some day.

Beauty School

So my brother came over one night in need of a haircut and wanted to give my girls a lesson in beauty school.
When it came down to it I don't think either party was 100% sure, but the party must go on...

...success! Thanks Sean! You truly are a sport. The girls had a ball.

Nine is Fine!

This little sweetie celebrated her 9th birthday on November 6th. After quite a few years of "friend" parties, I told the kids this year was a "family" party year. That didn't stop us from having a FINE time, though. In her usual style Averee chose to follow what her sis did for her b-day. I didn't have a problem with that we went for pedi's, had a great lunch at her choice The Pizza Factory, and came home for a partay. Let me also mention that Ave was also going to have her ears pierced like her older sis, but mid-way through lunch she looked over at me and said "Mom, I'm going to wait to have my ears pierced." That was FINE with me. Averee was my baby for 8 years. She didn't like the idea of losing that spot at first, but I tell her she will always be my baby. I sure am glad she is the opposite of her older sis in that way. She is in no hurry to grow up. She is my sweet, snuggle buddy. She is a big helper--always cleaning and babysitting. We love you A, you are one FINE little gal.

Getting her pedi.

Look at those FINE looking purple/glitter toes.

Yum, Yum.

Her grandma made it a colorful rainbow day. Cake, balloons, toes, jacket. Thanks grandma!

One FINE day!

Happy Halloween!

Our little flower fairy.
My older girl's made it easy on me this year, homemade costumes. Score!
This is Grandma Averee.

Our nerd Liv.

Zorro revealed. Brock didn't want to disguise his face.

Family Pictures

Here is a sampling of our latest family pictures. A few things I learned: #1 Babies need a decent nap before having their picture taken if you want them to smile. #2 The more children you have the harder it is to get a photo where everyone is looking and smiling with their eyes opened. #3 If you have had a baby recently and you suffer from a little bit of muffin top, invest in some spanx for family pictures. #4 If you have a great photographer you end up with some pretty fabulous pictures anyway. Thanks again Kristina. You are the best!