FHE with friends

So I have this sweet friend, Kathryn, that I love, and love her kids too.  They moved into our ward just a few months after we did, we were paired together as visiting teaching companions, and have been good friends ever since.  We have a lot in common, and she's just plain funny.  I have such a blast when we hang out.

Our husbands both travel quite a bit so this past Monday, she and her kiddos invited the girls and me over for family home evening.  We had sushi, Mac and cheese and fruit for dinner, a great lesson followed by some games for the kiddos, and strawberry shortcake and sundaes for dessert.  FHE is great anyway, but when you get to spend it with friends it can be even better.  We love the Millers!

Fiestaware Tent Sale

On Friday, my sweet neighbor Joan and I took a road trip to West Virgina to check out the twice a year tent sale at the Homer Laughlin outlet.  They're the people that make Fiestaware.  Before I met Joan I had no idea what Fiestaware is.  It's basically bright colored, oven safe, lead free dishes and serving ware.  I'm not a big color person when it comes to my dishes, I think my next set will be white, but I thought it would be fun to add some colorful serving pieces to my kitchen.  And color I found!  We arrived in Newell, WV at about 10 am, about a 2.5 hour drive from Medina, and we stood in line until noon when we got in the tent.  Fiestaware isn't cheap stuff, so when they have their big tent sales in June and October, people come out in droves.  The prices are rediculously cheap.  And, the pieces they sell are their "seconds", which means they're not 100% perfect to sell in the store, there might be a bubble, small chip, discoloration, etc.  I got a beautiful platter, in flamingo(pink) for $15 that retails for $90., score!  I got some pitchers, some spoon rests, baking dish, chip and dip set, and a crock to put my kitchen utensils in.  I'm pretty happy with my loot!  It was so fun hanging out with Joan.  She's a great lady and all we do is laugh when we're together.  A great day for sure.

The Beginning of Braces

In September the girls had dentist appointments and after they had their teeth cleaned the dentist came in to evaluate.  She pointed out to me that Addyson has a cross bite, and you can definitely see it.  I'd never noticed it before, but I tend to not look at my kids bites that often;). Dentist said Addyson should see an orthodontist, so we did.  Ortho determined she needed first, an expander for 6 months to a year, then braces on her top teeth after that.  I thought all of this was happening at a younger than normal age, but the ortho assured me the younger we can start, the easier it is to correct the problem.  So we started the process this past Tuesday.  We took little one in to get x rays taken, impressions made and spacers put in.  The hygienist told us Addyson would be pretty sore from the spacers and she really is.  We've been keeping up on Advil as needed but it's still painful for her.  Luckily the pain is only supposed to last 3-4 days.  We are on day 3 now.  Next week she gets her expander put in.  She's been a trooper, but for a kid that's pretty sensitive to pain and anything different it hasn't been all that fun.  Proud of her.

A Tea Party and a Lunch Date

Delaney got invited to a little girl at church's birthday party, and it was a princess tea party.  Right up this kid's alley.  My friend Kathryn offered to take Lane since she was taking her daughter to the party too.  I took her up on her offer because I thought it would be a fun opportunity to get some one on one time with Addyson.  Laney had a blast at her party, Ryan got some time to veg out at home by himself, and I had a pretty sweet lunch/mall date with our oldest.  A win win for everyone in our house.  Love me some Saturdays

Party Time

On Saturday night from 5-8 we had 22 kiddos at our house, two of which were our girls, but past like 15, who's counting?!

We had Addyson's birthday party and this year she asked for a dance party, so dance party she had.  There was lots of One Direction music, Karaoke, air hockey, dancing, a piñata, cookie cake, pizza, shushes, soccer playing, and just a good time.  Ryan converted the shed outside to dance central along with karaoke and the air hockey.  I think the kids had a blast and I think the adults were worn out.  :)

9 Year Olds Rock

On Tuesday we celebrated a certain oldest child of ours 9th birthday.  Wow.  9??  Not sure where the time has gone.  I love to tell Addyson cute and funny stories about her when she was in my tummy, a newborn, toddler, etc.  she loves hearing them and I love telling her.  As cliche as it is to say, I truly feel like we brought her home to live with us just yesterday.  Now she's a big rock star of a third grader.  She's such a good kid.  She drags her feet when I asked her to do stuff sometimes, but what kid doesn't??  She's so funny and can tell a good story.  I love her quick wit that she gets from her dad, and I love her caring side, too.  I couldn't have chosen a better big sister for Delaney.  Those two are like two peas in a pod.  Addyson is a great example for lane and I love her for that.  She makes nearly perfect grades in school, loves church and learning all about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She helps us to stay obedient even when it might be difficult.  I cherish her and am so grateful that Heavenly Father chose us to be her mom and dad for eternity.

We had fun celebrating her birthday and these are some of my favorite pictures from the day.  I love you, Addyson/woodgie J!

Official

After living in Ohio for 14 months we finally decided to make things official.  Said goodbye to the TX plates today.  A sad day for sure...