The pictures in my mind today...

...are these.
{Beauty}

{Warmth}

{Together}

(Success}

{Smiles}

{First Timers}

{Patience}

{Family}

~~~

All photos taken June 2010 by my bro-in-law, Greg

Motivation

{Isn't this the cutest scrapbook paper?!}

When I get tired of organizing and/or cleaning, I remember what is waiting for me

once it's all finished.

Just a bit more 2010 fun!

Ryan got a couple of new Nerf guns and swords for Christmas and his birthday, so he took it upon himself to teach Emma how to be a "real fighter."

Em had a hard time "lookin' tough!"

We spent the 28th at Wahooz! with the Amy, Carson, Wyatt and Trevor.

Carson was much too interested in the game he was playing to turn and look at me.

Amy and Trevor

Emma loved this dancing game.

Trevor helped Amy wack the cats.

Emma had a great time wacking the cats, too.

Waiting in line for laser tag

Trevor helped Amy play "Deal or No Deal."

Emma was able to "buy" a long pink snake with her tickets. She's wanted one of those for a long time!

Ryan and Carson both bought BSU .... getting ready for next year's games!

And there were a few of the little grabby guns.

Me and my hoodlums

~~~

New Year's Eve

Just the four of us

A game of Life and Sharp Shooters (both of which Emma won!)

Scouts chocolate covered popcorn

Watching the ball drop

Fireworks out the front windows

Then bed

::The end of 2010::

::2011::

I hope for

~

More of others, less of myself

~

More quality time with family, less wasted time

~

More simple enjoyment, less stress

~

More creating, less collecting

~

More laughter, fewer frowns

~

More exploring, less staying in

~

More faith, less doubting

Ryan and Emmalee's Birthdays

We decided to have the kids' birthday party on Dec 24th before the

Christmas Eve festivities began. By the time the kids' actual birthdays rolled around, there would have been no one here to celebrate with us!

The boys had plans to go to Fast Lane for racing (more on that later), and the girls

were just going to stay home. Nana came up with the idea to surprise Emmalee by

taking her to Build-A-Bear, her all-time favorite store.

Mom, Grandma Theresa and I headed to the mall. Once we got there, Mom sat on a bench and called Emma over to her. She asked Emma what her favorite store in the mall was. Mom told her that we were going to Build-A-Bear and she could pick anything she wanted, and here was Emma's reaction...

...totally priceless. That's one happy face!

She had spied Clarise in the window when we were at the mall earlier in the month, so she headed straight for her.

She had such a look of concentration on her face. She was very concerned that she was going to overstuff Clarise and kept stopping to ask if that was enough.

Ahhhh...thanks, Nana!

Nana and Grandma lending a hand.

This is my favorite photo! Emma's look of pure joy with Nana looking over her shoulder in the mirror. So sweet!

We made it back to Fast Lane just in time to take a group photo of the racers before they hit the track. Included are: Dad, Bob, Johnny, Brandon, Ryan, Dustin, Violet, Amanda, Uncle Bob,

Emmalee (she says she'll race as soon as they have a pink car) and Scott, with

Jeannie in the front. Randy R, Matt and Max came after the photo was taken.

Ryan and his favorite racing buddy.

The Racing Grammy with her granddaughter, Amanda, who I

babysat when she was an infant. Sigh...

My camera does not take very good action shots, but I liked these two.

That's Bob on the left and Ryan on the right.

Here's the birthday boy after the first race, which he won!!

And he got his best time so far...22.157 seconds.

After the trips to Build-A-Bear and Fast Lane, we all headed back to the house

for cupcakes, icecream and a few birthday presents.

Ryan ~ 10 :: Emmalee~6

Grandma and Grandpa watching the kids open their presents.

Got his "lipstick!"

Emma has wanted a lava lamp since she saw one on our trip to Arizona.

She was quite excited to get it and plugged it right in so it would warm up.

I've always thought that my kids were at least of average intelligence. Bob looked over after

the lava lamp had been plugged in for a couple of hours. The kids wanted to see if it was hot to the touch, so guess how they were going to test it? With their tongues!!! Bob saw them just as they were about to put it to the test. Oh my!

I went the easy route this year and made the kids' favorite Hershey

cupcakes from scratch (simply the best chocolate cake and frosting recipes ever...found on the back of the Hershey Cocoa Powder container) rather than

making shaped cakes and decorating them (for hours).

Trying out their gifts.

Thanks to everyone who helped the kids celebrate their birthdays!