...there's a new boss in town

Here's Roger with our new puppy Marley, she's a West

Highland Terrier, more commonly known as a Westie.

We've had her for a couple of weeks now and are slowing getting into a bit of a routine. We are crate training her and she is doing great! She has been sleeping through the night until she hears us get up in the morning, then she's ready for the day! We finally got the fence put up in the back yard and that really helps. It looks like we have a new baby in the house with all of the toys and extra "stuff".

She's getting used to staying out in the yard or sleeping on the porch by herself for a little bit at a time. In the beginning she wouldn't stay out unless Roger or I went with her or sat on the screened in porch where she could see us.

She loves running circles around anything and still runs into things because she gets going so fast. We've really been entertained by watching her play. She already has quite the personality.

She's been very interested in Melody, she watches her all the time. They are finally getting used to each other and attempting to play. Melody does a lot of paw swatting, but so far the claws haven't come out! Here they are in a stare down....

It was so cute, Marley would inch up closer and closer to Melody-almost nose to nose-but I started laughing so hard the camera was shaking to much to get a good picture!

She really likes Roger to play in the yard with her, here she is chasing and playing with the basketball. We're definitely getting a lot more exercise with her around.

Grayson Turns 4!

Come on aboard for Grayson's 4th birthday jump! It was a blast.

He wanted to have a bouncy house and that is exactly what he got,
it almost filled up the entire back yard.
G and M got to play in it for over an hour before the party even started.

OK, so my photo didn't rotate- but you get the idea,
Jamie made a cute sign for the back yard.

Joel said G was literally shaking while he watched them unload the house and get it ready, he was so excited and couldn't wait to get in!

M was not too sure of it at first, he wanted to watch from a safe distance, in the swing.

But, it didn't take long to get him interested, he quickly saw that he was

missing out on some fun times...

Nienie even got in to take him down the slide.

Oh, this is so much fun, notice his hair-it's wet and he is already so hot,

and the party still hasn't started!

OK, let's get momma in on the action!

This is what happens when they realize they can "climb up" the "slide down" part.

Aunt Kelsey is lending a helping hand...

"How about a race to the bottom?" Uncle K.K. even joined in on the fun...

Someone is getting daring....

The theme for the party was Mickey Mouse. Jamie made the cutest banner to hang up, and look at the treat bags. The little Mickey shapes are Disney paint samples,

how cute is that!

Just look at these adorable cupcakes...

Aunt Sissy helped with the final touches.

Getting ready to sing Happy Birthday, and feast on those yummy cupcakes.

"Make a wish and all of your dreams will come true!"

Finally, after a slight meltdown (because he was so exhausted from playing non-stop in the bouncy house) he got to blow out the birthday candles.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Grayson, I love you!

Our Trip to the Aquarium

Can you see that Morgan is excited that we are on our way to see the fishies at the Aquarium? Actually, he made this face when I asked him to "smile for Neenie". Since the weather was so cool on Tuesday we decided to go to the Aquarium instead of the Zoo. (Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't like to be even the least bit cold, especially when it is windy outside.) Even the "big" kids were excited about going. We all loaded up and headed to Jenks. The kids have such a fun time when they are all together, I love to just sit and watch them interact with each other--they're so funny--I just love my kids!!!
Don't they look like they are having fun? We were still laughing after Kelsey and Jen "climbed" over the back seat from the rear of the car to get in. With the two car seats and the head rests, they couldn't get in any other way. Jen was already getting concerned about how they were going to climb out of the car in the middle of the parking lot without anyone seeing them. Oh well......

Our friendly driver, Jamie. Does she look like she's having fun?

The Aquarium was very crowded, guess we should have expected it to be over Spring Break, huh? We still had a lot of fun and the little ones loved seeing all of the exhibits.

Caleb, Grayson, Jen and Morgan...

Morgan and Kelsey, viewing up close!

Grayson and the stingrays...

Aunt Sissy and Morgan.....

It was so dark inside it was difficult to get very many good pictures, but I did get enough to document our trip!

Grayson had a great time! I guess we wore him out!

My Beautiful Daughter

Oh my, in less than 3 months my baby girl will graduate from High School. I try to keep thinking and talking about it, hoping it will lesson the impact when the day finally arrives. So far, it's not working. At this very moment I'm getting a tight feeling in my throat and holding back tears, not a good sign, huh? I was sad when my other three kids left for college, too---but, it seems way different when it's the last one. I'm very excited for Kelsey and try to stay focused on that. She actually asked for the picture above to be taken. I hope it's because she wants a daily reminder of how much her mom loves her!

.....a dear, a deer, and a layout

We had a very laid back, relaxing weekend. It was the first one in a while that the weather wasn't snowy or I didn't have anything in particular planned to do. We were lucky too, Caleb came home to visit and none of his buddies were "home" for the weekend, so he spent the entire time with us. It was really nice to have the four of us hanging out together, nothing extra special, just being together. He comes home less often as time goes on, so I really cherish the time he is here. Not looking forward to the last one leaving the nest.....
Roger had been noticing some "droppings" in the middle of the yard while going out to get our mail this week. He thought maybe we had had some visitors......and as you can see, I caught them in action with my camera tonight. There were 3 or four deer just hanging out in the front yard. It was already dark so the pics came out almost totally black-- with 2 big shiny circles (eyes). I lightened them up as much as I could--not perfect, but enough to see that they were really there.....

And finally, I finished another layout this evening of G with his art easel. He loves to draw and color....and two weeks from today, they will be here to visit. I can't wait!

.....creative fun!

Just sharing a few layouts I finished up today. They were all in different stages of completion, just needed final touches! Layout above and below are from Christmas 2008, the year we celebrated in Carrollton, right after Morgan was born. In the picture above, Grayson is "writing" on his new art easel from Neenie. Below is Kelsey enjoying a makeup kit from Sissy Jen.

Close up of above layout.

Below is Morgan's happy smile, these pics were taken this past holiday season.

Morgan again, last summer. He has sure grown a lot since then.

It's a happy day when I get to spend a bit of it on scrappin'.

.....they make me smile!!!