cody dad grad

Celebration Confetti Graduation Announcement

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30 Photos Day One

30 Photos Day One


This is a pretty classic photo of me with my main man, Pooh.

30 photos

So being a scrap booker, I have been telling my story in pictures for years. I justncame across this idea and thought it would be a great way to tell my story a but differently. I know it is intended to be a Facebook activity, but I am not convinced I want it on Facebook just yet. Anyway, here is the list:

LET'S START THE CHALLENGE! :)

The themes are:

Day 1 a photo of yourself
Day 2 a photo of your room
Day 3 a photo of a view behind your window
Day 4 a photo of a place where you study/work now
Day 5 a photo of some interesting place in your town
Day 6 a photo from your childhood
Day 7 a photo from your last summer holidays
Day 8 a photo from your most far-away trip
Day 9 a photo from a place you call to mind most often
Day 10 a photo of you with your best friend
Day 11 a photo of you reading
Day 12 a photo of you dancing
Day 13 a photo of you using Facebook (easy!)
Day 14 a photo of you eating something tasty
Day 15 a photo of you with a celebrity
Day 16 a photo of your pet
Day 17 a photo of your favourite toy
Day 18 a photo of your group of buddies
Day 19 a photo where you looks weird ;)
Day 20 a photo where you have different hairstyle than now
Day 21 a photo where you have any funny costume
Day 22 a photo where you woke up already
Day 23 a photo which have any metaphor
Day 24 a photo you feel is important to you
Day 25 a photo you made when you felt very happy
Day 26 a photo you are ashamed of
Day 27 a photo made already (maximally 5 minut before share)
Day 28 a photo of your favourite part of your body
Day 29 a photo of your favourite item in your home
Day 30 your favourite photo ever!!!

Another Year in Review

January
We started the year with a New Year's party at home and then had dinner with Amy & Loyd on New Year's Day.  

Connor turned 9 and Rafa turned 17.  Trey and I went to a John Pointer concert with Hope at the Granada Theater.  It was lots of fun.  I went to Vegas to visit Cody.

It was SO good to see him.   We spent the weekend at the Circus Circus hotel when we weren't shopping.

February
Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet.

Connor finished his requirements for his Wolf badge.

We went to the Dallas Zoo for a day.  Cody is 16.

March
Mariah broke her arm and threw a wrench in our plans for going to Florida for Spring Break.

We took Connor and Marc to Tanglewood for a few days and then I joined Hope in Austin for Phantom of the Opera.  

April
We had the kids for Easter.

We colored eggs and went to Amy & Loyd's for an egg hunt.  I celebrated being 41 and we went to the Dallas Zoo.

Trey played softball with the ward team.

May
Trey and I went to Vegas to visit Cody, Taylor, and SharNell.

We did some bowling and some shopping.  Trey took his boys camping for the Fathers and Sons campout while Mariah and I joined several sisters from the ward at Emma Phillip's dance recital.

The next day we went to the grand opening of the Giants of the Savannah at the Dallas Zoo.  We also hosted a Shrek party with food provided by McDonald's to celebrate the release of the newest Shrek movie.

Trey started his new job at GIS.

June
Monet graduated from Leander High School,

so we spent a weekend in Austin to help Hope celebrate.
I taught summer school.  Jimi came to visit for a few days.

We met my Aunt Elsie at the

Dallas Museum of Art for late Night.  Trey entered a new decade.

and we went bowling with some friends one afternoon.

Taylor is 22 and Alex is 13.

July
We went to my cousin Sam's for the Fourth of July.

It was fun to celebrate with family. Then we went to DISNEY WORLD!!

 It was a great week in Florida enjoying the parks and beach.  It is always so good to see my Daddy and Di.  We got to spend some time with Mother and Roger too.

August
I went to Vegas with Jimi and Scott.

I LOVED having my three boys together with me.  We also took Alex, and Rafa to Six Flags for a day.

September
Back to School and Back to Seminary.  Grandma Bailey came to my house for the first time.

We had some dinner together before I went to see Dave Mathews band with Hope, Sam, & Samantha.

October
Marc turns 5 with a Monster Truck party.

November
Jimi is finally 21!  Trey and I stayed home for Thanksgiving and then celebrated with his family the day after.

December
Mariah turns 8.  She celebrated with a party at LaMadeleine and Galleria Ice Rink.  I took a quick trip to Wisconsin to visit Jimi.  We have the kids for Christmas this year, so that will be lots of fun.  Taylor graduates from BYU-I with a Bachelor's Degree in Education.

Mariah's Baptism

Baptism Sparkle Purple Baptism Invitation

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Happy New Year

I am a sucker for New Year's Resolutions.  I make them every year.  Some I keep.  Some I don't. But at least I have goals...Last year, I wanted to lose 20 lbs. (I lost 10).  I also wanted to do 52 endowment sessions: the equivalent of once a week.  I did about 32.  I also wanted to reduce my debt or get rid of it altogether.  Well, that one I didn't do so well on.  

So what's up for this year?

I want to lose that other 10 lbs.  I did really well last year from January to July.  Once August hit with going back to work, etc. I hit a plateau.  I am back at it now and I am hopeful to get back to my Weight Watchers Goal Weight.  I am a lifetime member.

I also want to try to do 52 endowment sessions.  I think that is a good goal.  This year our "kid night" is Wednesdays.  Last year it was Tuesdays.  I am going to try to go to the temple every Tuesday night.  I tried going on Thursdays last year, but by Thursday night I am usually too tired to do much of anything.  Maybe this  plan will work.

Debt...well....right now I am not sure how I am going to do that.  I read an article in Reader's Digest about going on a spending fast. RD Spending Fast article

It sounds interesting...I am going to think about what things I need to spend on and what my "Latte Factor" is.  I am sure there is money that I spend that I could redirect...

I should really change clothes and head over to the temple.  Might as well get a head start on that. 

The year in review

So, our year: 
In January, Connor turned 8 and was baptized. We traveled to Logan, UT so that Trey could perform the baptism. The children were living in Logan with their mom and grandparents. It was a beautiful baptism and Connor was thrilled with the new scriptures we got for him. Rafa turned 16 in January too.  


February brought Trey's shoulder surgery. He is back to playing volleyball again this fall and grateful that it went so well. Cody turned 15.  


In March, Rafa and Alex spent the week with us for Spring Break. We went camping at Lake Fork and the boys did some fishing.  

By April, the kids' mom decided that she wanted to move back to Texas. That was an answer to our prayers! The kids moved in with us while their mom found housing and a job. They were with us just about full time until August. April also moved me into a new decade. Yes, I am 40! Mary came down from Chicago to help me celebrate. We had Hope join us with her siblings and mom too. It was fun! Hope and I went to see Fiddler on the Roof in May, to NYC with Dominique in July and to see Wicked in August. We have celebrated well!  

In May, Trey took me to Florida for Mother's Day. We spent a day at Disney and another day at the beach. Thanks Dad & Dian for taking such good care of us!  


In June, Alex turned 12 and moved into the Young Men's and Scouting programs at church. He just advanced to second class this past week and he has his eye on Eagle. We are very proud of him. Poor Jim "almost" did a back flip on a trampoline and broke his leg three days before his dad's wedding in Hawaii and had to miss the trip! Taylor hit 21. He is an adult for sure now!  

July was one shining star of the year! We got 6 of our 8 kids together along with Taylor's new fiance (he proposed two days before our vacation) and Jimi's room mate Scott at Fort Morgan, AL. We rented a house and spent a FABULOUS week swimming, eating, playing and sunning ourselves. The big kids could not have been sweeter to the little ones and the little ones came to adore their older brothers. Jim even managed to enjoy himself in spite of the cast on his leg. (see family photo) Mary and her family met us there too. They baptized Nathan in the gulf. That was a beautiful event. We found out that getting a table for 16 is highly frowned upon in Gulf Shores restaurants!  

August quieted down for us. The little kids went back to live with their mom and we found ourselves with an empty nest again...at least part time. Trey's brother Richard got married on the first and Mariah was one of their five flower girls. I made her dress and her cousin Kami's.  

September 5, 2009 our Taylor married his darling SharNell in Rexburg, ID. Trey and I met Jim & Scott at the SLC airport and drove up to the wedding. Mary and all of her family were there, my brother and his wife came, and I got to see my Cody for the first time in over a year. Cody lives in Las Vegas with his dad and step-m0m. The wedding was absolutely lovely. The bride and groom could not have seemed happier. We are so happy to welcome SharNell into our family.  

October brought Marc's 4th birthday. We celebrated with a Rock Band party which he loved.  


November brings Jim to a new decade at 20. Hard to believe I was his age when he was born!  

And here in December, Mariah turns 7. We had a fun party with Princess dressup and make overs then we went to Penney's for a photo shoot. It was precious. The little girls LOVED it and the pictures are priceless.  


Our life is very full and we love it. We have the little kids one night a week, every other weekend, and anytime their mom needs help. Alex comes over one night a week too and two weekends a month, but one of those weekends is a campout with Trey who is his Scout master.  


I am teaching Early Morning Seminary too. I love it. I am exhausted all the time, but the "pay" is worth it. We are so blessed....life is really good!