Brooklyn's 4th Birthday Party!

Well I survived another birthday party! Actually Brooklyn's have never been that big with lots of kids so I can handle it! She had 2 little parties. One was last night (the actual day of her birthday) that we had with my parents as they were both working for her party today. And we had to have her party today as Chris was night shift last night. So my parents came over for supper, cake and presents...

Here are some pictures of Brooklyn enjoying her festivities this afternoon with her friends...

Brooklyn, the caucasian Dora!!!!!

My baby's turning 4 :(

Well, the title says it all! Brooklyn turns 4 on Monday and I am very sad!!! I joke with her that she's suppose to stay small because she's my baby and she tells me "I suppose to get big mom!" This is true but as all you mothers out there know, this fact of life is not always our favourite!

I remember a few years back when Chris and I decided that we wanted to have another child and I just assumed that we got pregnant so 'easily' with Alyssa that this happen again. This was not the case....we tried for 7 months. I wanted a spring baby and she came in the middle of fall! I was also soooo sick with her...losing 25 pounds in my first 4 months (why can't my weight come off like that now?!?!). I also had blood tests come back that caused me to have an amniocentesis done at 20 weeks. The doctors were concerned that she had down syndrome and after weeks of waiting and praying , we got the results back and she was fine. I decided at this point to find out what we were having (many of you know I hate surprises!!). For a little while, deep down I was hoping for a little boy but as soon as the doctor said that we were having another girl, I was ecstatic!!! Another girls to dress in pink and purple and to dress the same as her sister!!! Brooklyn took her time entering the world being 8 days late but when she was ready, she CAME! 4 hours later, I had a 9 lb 14oz CHUBBY, adorable baby girl!!! And now 4 years later, I look at her, the little girl that she's become and I am so blessed to have her. God knew we needed her and she needed us. She is a huge blessing in our life giving us laughter, joy, a little frustration (some days!) and happiness. She's fearless and brave, willing to try everything. I can't imagine our life without her. We will be having her birthday party on Tuesday as Chris is night shift on Monday so I will be sure to post pictures of her big day!

Sunday afternoon quad ride!

Sunday was a beautiful day here in Nevada so we took the oppertunity to snag my parents quads and took the girls out for ride into the canyon behind our house! The trees were gorgeous so I took the oppertunity to snap a few pictures of us!

Aren't we a good looking family?!?!

Throwing leaves!!

Me and Brooklyn!

Me and Aly!

Me and my hunny!

Me and Brooklyn riding!

Alyssa and Chris riding...he let her drive later on!

Thankful for so many things...

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. My uncle and aunt and 2 cousins had a safe trip here and we had a blast visiting them for the few days they were here! It worked out good for Alyssa too as she had 2 days off of school so she could enjoy the company too! Brooklyn cried herself to sleep when she realized they would be leaving the next day. She didn't want them to go and wanted us to move there. Trying to console and reason with an almost 4 year old, I realized, was a losing battle so we ended that discussion with "I'll talk to daddy about it!!" The girls played so well together. My cousins are closer to my kids' age than I am so it was great that they could all spend time together. The most favourite game of the week was restaurant. They even had a name for it...BELA...standing for Brooklyn, Emily, Lauren and Alyssa!!! Very clever, I thought and we spent the whole time "eating" plastic food!!

Lauren, Brooklyn, Emily and Alyssa waiting patiently for turkey!
Silly faces!

Alyssa, Brooklyn and Emily taking a break from playing to pose for a picture!!

Lauren!!

We had our huge turkey dinner (that I ate waaay too much of which is why I hit the weightroom pretty hard the following days!!) on Monday and celebrated Chris' 28th birthday. And as you can see from the pictures below, I'm the best wife ever!!!!

Chris opening his present from me!!

It didn't want to come out very easily!!! What is it??????

That's right....a Wii!!!!

Blowing our his candle with a little help from Brooklyn! Chris never gets a birthday cake...it's always pumpkin pie but that's what he loves!!

Now for my list of things I am thankful for:

• My healthy family-especially where medical is not cheap, I am extremely thankful for this!
• A great job for Chris that allows me to stay home with our girls
• A warm trailer that we pay very little for-yes it's small and we're hoping to get something bigger but I am very thankful that we have a place to call home!
• Our church-my spiritual life and walk with Jesus has definitely grown since we've joined this church!
• Great friends both near and far
• Food, always in abundance
• Scrapbooking
• Clothes (also in abundance!!!)
• 2 vehicles that run beautifully and allow us to get from point A to B without any trouble!
• Phone, tv and internet!!
• The love for my family and from my family!

Yay for the weekend!

I am so glad for the weekend!! I am definitely going to take advantage of Chris being at work at the whole bed to myself in the morning (as long as I don't get some early morning stragglers!!). With taking on this little house cleaning job of mine, I am POOPED by the time the weekend comes. If I'm not cleaning other people's houses, I'm cleaning mine or doing something with the church....Bible Study, Mornings for Moms or the luncheon.

Speaking of Mornings for Moms.....for those out there that pray....I would really appreciate some prayer for this. I have a had a real burden on my heart for the moms of Round Mountain. Especially young, new moms. There is nothing here for them to do. In Snow Lake, there was Moms and Tots which was a God-send! I was a young mom, my husband was at work all day and I sat in the house ALL DAY, with a baby, staring at the walls. Then I was introduced to Moms and Tots where I could get out once a week for a couple hours and socialize with not only other adults but MOTHERS!!! Ones that new exactly what I was going through. I got some pretty great friendships from that. And once we moved here, there was nothing like that for the moms of the community. So with the pastors wife and another mom, we've started our own little group. We're meeting twice a month on Wednesdays for 2 hours! We're hoping that there will be a need and meet more often. We had our first one this past Wednesday and 2 moms came which is a good start but hoping for more as we get going.

Anyway, I am enjoying the amount if busy-ness that I've become (if that makes sense!!). I still have Mondays and Fridays that I don't have anything "booked" and my weekends are free too! So I'm still able to have a social life and spend time with the girls....and Chris too!!


Speaking of Chris (hahaha)....we'll be celebrating his 28th birthday on Monday! My aunt and uncle and their 2 girls are coming down from BC for a few days and we're going to enjoy a HUGE turkey dinner on Monday! My dad has actually driven to San Diego to meet my uncle and family (they flew there) and will spend a couple days there and then they'll drive to Vegas for 2 nights then they'll be here from Monday til Thursday then they're off too Reno/Carson City where they'll fly back home. We're all very excited to spend some time with them! It works out good for the kids too as Alyssa has Monday and Tuesday off from school. So good times should be had by all!!!

On a side note from last weekend, the town had a Western Playday for the kids and Alyssa and Brooklyn participated! They had a little category for preschoolers and Brooklyn took part in it! It started with Mutton Busting which is riding sheep! She had never done this before but watched a few kids and thought she could do it. Well, they got her on the sheep and open the gate and she came bounding out!! She held on for about 3 seconds and then fell off and if anyone knows Brooklyn, you'll know her landing wasn't graceful or was she quiet about it. She hit the ground and starting screaming!!! It was cute and she was fine but I think it scared her a little!! Then she did stick horse barrel racing and roping and did fine with those!! She now wants a stick horse for her birthday which is much more affordable than the pony she wanted not too long ago!!! Alyssa did AWESOME in her categories!! She was up against kids that live on farms and ride horses like everyday. She has had maybe 10 lessons but got Bud trotting around the barrels and poles!! She also did a couple partner races. She never won anything but had a great time. It was a long day but still fun! This is where they won their rabbits. At the very end they had a barnyard scramble where they let chickens, rabbits and ducks loose in a little pen and if the kids caught it, the kept it!! I encouraged the girls to collect the rabbits and they both did and for about 5 seconds it was a good idea. Now I'm running scrambling trying to find something to get these 2 rabbits home and to be able to have them at home. Luckily someone let us borrow their big dog kennel but after a couple days the novelty wore off and I was looking for someone to take them off our hands. I was going to let them loose in the dessert but one of my friends said they take them. Brooklyn had a hard time saying goodbye! She got quite attached in the few days we had them but once they were gone, she was fine. We're maybe thinking of getting them hamsters but we'll see!!! I have just a few pictures of the day as I was mostly video taping and my mom used her camera for picture taking!!

Brooklyn "roping"

Brooklyn getting a ride on a horse from a guy that said "You must be Chris' daughter!!" They work together!!

Alyssa and Bud doing Poles!

And they're off catching animals!!

Alyssa first caught a chicken for Mary, her horse riding instructor!!

Flicka (Brooklyn's bunny) on the left and Snowflake (Aly's bunny) on the right!
Alright....I guess that's a big enough update!!! I hope everyone has a great weekend and eats themselves sick with turkey and pumpkin pie!!! I know I will be!!! And next month is American Thanksgiving and I will be celebrating that holiday too!!!!