Family Traditions

When I was a little girl, I received a blanket from my Grandma Elliott with my name on it. It was a tradition for her to make one for each of her grandchildren. When her great grandchildren started arriving, she made them one too. Unfortunately she passed away several years ago, but her tradition lives on thanks to my Aunt Shirley and cousin Jamie. They have continued on my grandmother's wonderful tradition and have spent hours making each great grandchild a name blanket. I still have my blanket, my boys all have theirs, and now Mya has her own. I will cherish them forever and be reminded of my loving grandmother. Thank you so much for continuing on this family tradition Aunt Shirley and Jamie!

Black Line 5x7 folded card

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How to win over a 1yr old....

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My parents decided to drive to CA to spend Thanksgiving week with us, which made the holiday so much more exciting! I love being around my parents and am so thankful for their sacrifice to come and see us. We hadn't seen them since June, so my mom (aka Ge/Coleen) had to win over the heart of Mya Coleen in a short amount of time. Well of course she knew just the way to any girls heart....FUDGE!!!!
Mya knows sign language for "more" and she energetically signed it after every bite of fudge Ge offered her. She was attached to her from that point on!

My mom wanted to have a pre Christmas celebration with us, since we would not be seeing them this year, so we spent hours shopping for gifts. My parents gift to Kenny & I was the purchase and grueling hours of installing gas fire logs. I love the finished product and Kenny & I have already enjoyed cuddling up next to the fire!!!
This picture was taken at 5:30 am! My mom wanted to let the kids open their gifts from them while they were here, so we wrapped them up in one big pile and left them in the middle of the living room floor. I swear my kids can sense when there are presents in the air! All of them were awake and in my bed by 5am, and since Ge and Grandad were still on KS time, I was sure they were already awake. I told the kids that there was a surprise down in the living room and they all bolted down the stairs. Unfortunately, this was the first morning my parents were actually still asleep. They were quickly awoken by 4 children bouncing up and down, eager to know what was in the big red pile.

What fun to celebrate Christmas morning in November. I could really get used to having 2 Christmas mornings! Thanks Grandad and Ge for the fun times. We Love You!!!

Send Money Please!

Drew lost his 1st tooth! For the last few years he has seen friends lose their 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd tooth. He has been eager to lose his teeth too and to be visited by the Tooth Fairy. However, he grew very anxious as his first tooth started to get loose. He didn't want it to hurt or bleed and was even brought to tears at the thought of someone pulling it out. So it was actually a blessing in disguise, when Ian punched him in the face and it fell right out! There were no tears, no anger, just a little pearly white tooth that he spit into his hand. This all took place in the shower, so luckily the tooth didn't go down the drain.
This was the letter that he wrote to the tooth fairy. It reads, "Dear Tooth Fairy, Tonight I lost my first tooth. I lost it in the shower. Ian hit me in the face in the shower and it fell out. Please give me money?" He folded his tooth inside the letter and placed it under his pillow. He was so delighted in the morning when he saw a letter written to him from the tooth fairy, sprinkled with fairy dust, and $5.

Ian also wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy. His letter read, "TOO Fare can you make me lose my tooth? I want money. Ian Summers." The Tooth Fairy left him a letter too, encouraging him to brush his teeth daily, so that he has clean and healthy teeth. She promised him she would return at the loss of his 1st tooth and to not hit his brother!

Pushed to the Limit....

As I was eagerly awaiting my husbands return from church meetings, grilling hamburgers on the grill, & cleaning up the kitchen....Owen was "Painting" the bathroom upstairs!!!

With My Bobbi Brown Makeup!

Just on the top of the lid was a layer of lipstick, another layer of mascara, and a bottom layer of foundation.
It took a whole container of clorox wipes to clean it up. Luckily, Ian helped me and kept saying, "Owen isn't the boss of anyone anymore right mom?"
Besides the fact that my bathroom is a mess, and my make-up is ruined, I am sooo annoyed that the kid didn't use any toilet paper! Seriously, how many times do I need to remind him to actually wipe!
I threw him in the shower while I started cleaning. By the time I got to him, he had put his lovely pink hand prints all over the inside of the shower. Plus, he took the cap off my Redken shampoo and "made bubbles!" I ended up having to use my Clinique make-up remover all over his body several times to get all the mascara and lipstick off. And to top it all off he also ruined his GAP church pants!

How It Breaks Down
Make-up ruined = $250
Clorox Wipes = $4
Clinique Make-up Remover = $15
Gap Pants = $20
Redken Shampoo = $21
My sanity = Priceless

I'm taking it out of his college fund.

Kenny walked in to see what all the commotion was upstairs and all he said was, "You better get the camera!" when I talked to Owen after I cooled down, he kept saying "Sorry mommy. I was just making it pretty! I like you!" I just gave him kisses and told him to NEVER touch mommy's make-up again.

Halloween 2010

Drew & Mya went as pirates. Ian was Obi One Kenobi & Owen went as Thomas the Train.

The Big Apple

My 5 day excursion to New York City was fabulous. My sister in-laws have gone every year for the past three years, but due to me either being pregnant, or nursing, I have never been able to go. Kenny encouraged me to go this year, saying he could handle the 4 kids, soccer games, soccer pictures, church, schedules, packing lunches, chauffeuring to and from school, homework, bath time, bottles in the night, etc......without any trouble. It didn't take more than one, "You should go and have fun," from Kenny before I said, "Thanks...I will!"


This was my 3rd time to go to New York, but my first time to go in the fall. I forgot how beautiful the leaves are as they are changing colors. The weather was perfect for walking the streets, which we did a lot!

We stayed at the Jane Hotel http://thejanenyc.com/. It was a cool hotel, one with a lot of character and history. In 1912, the survivors of the Titanic stayed at the hotel until the end of the American Inquiry into the ship's sinking.

I loved the wood work and tiling in the main entrance.


The rooms were TINY!!! We shared a community bathroom with the whole floor, which wasn't bad. I did get a shot of a European's back end, who didn't even try to cover up. I just brushed my teeth beside him and tried to keep a straight face!


We went to the Museum of Natural History where I payed $20 to get a great nap at the planetarium. After a red eye flight and walking around it was well worth the money, even if it was for only 20 minutes. > Later that night we went to the Broadway play. It was pretty funny, and I loved seeing Sean Hayes & listening to Kristin Chenoweth sing.

We went to Cafe Lalo for dessert, which is where "You've Got Mail," was filmed.

Kim, Johanna, Catherine, Connie, & Carol

Central Park was beautiful.

In my opinion, the two things New Yorkers are most addicted to are Cigarettes & Cupcakes!

We tried to stop for cupcakes here a couple of times and there was always a line outside the door.


We did find the best cupcakes ever though in a trendy little market in the Meat Packing District.

I think I averaged at least 2 cupcakes a day!

Our other days were spent shopping, only to stop to eat, then back to shopping, cupcake breaks, more shopping, eating again, & devouring more desserts!

My favorite dessert spot was Chocolate by the Bald Man Max Brenner.

We started our dinner with a chocolate milk shake appetizer!

I had a chocolate pizza, covered in marshmallows, and drizzled in peanut butter.
The chocolate was sinful!
Kim's beautiful dessert!

We spent one day bike riding all along the Hudson River. We stopped to view the Statue of Liberty and a 9/11 Memorial.

My lil' vacation was wonderful! I bought lots of clothes, ate amazing desserts, and was in the company of great family.

As always, I was definitely ready to go home and be with Kenny and the kids. I came home to four happy, well taken care of kids, and a smiling husband. The whole house was clean, the laundry was done, the dishes were all put away, not even a toy was out! Kenny said to me the next morning as I was frantically making lunches and scooting the boys out the door for school, "I had the kitchen clean before I even left to take the kids to school." I replied, "If you can do this better then maybe I should go find a full time job and You can stay home!" He smiled and said, "No thanks!'