In all our glory!

What else is there to do on a Sunday evening?

Big Boy Birthday!

Our baby boy turned ONE! It was a busy week with Isaac's Birthday, Pinewood Derby, and then Ian's Birthday all in a row, but what a great way to finish it off! His actual birthday was Friday, but a flaming muffin was pretty much all we did in way of celebration.

Of course he loved it!

Who really needs to do more than that when you have a dog kennel?

It's really his favorite place to be. Maybe I should lock him in there a little more often! Sure made packing easier...

That evening we went to Thatcher with some friends, the Jones', to spend the weekend and we had a proper celebration on Saturday. We probably could have even done without that, because Grandma and Grandpa have a doggie door!

Grandpa recently built a fire pit, so we roasted hotdogs for dinner.

The smoke was a little much, but we perservered.

Ian felt that since he was now one, he should be the head hotdog server.

After dinner, we let Ian dive into his cupcake. I had tried to make him a cake, but it stuck to the pan and crumbled. I wasn't too heartbroken because none of my kids thus far have done anything more than cry at their cake.

It only took Ian a minute to get warmed up.

I'm sure he would have preferred a whole cake!

So much fun!

It was just as fun watching him open presents as it was watching him eat his cupcake. He would take all of the tissue paper out of the bag, peek inside, and then stuff it all back in.

He took his present-opening job very seriously.

I'm sure he loved it all!

My older boys and their friend Caleb were lucky enough to all show up in the same pajamas. They rock!

I think Ian had a fun birthday weekend, but even if not, I sure enjoyed it! Thanks, Jones' for sharing it with us. Ian has been pure joy in our family. We all adore him and he can do no wrong (or at least it's quickly forgotten!) We love you, Ian! Happy Birthday!

Pinewood Derby

It's pinewood derby time again! Isaac was so excited to get his car built and defend his title from last year. I did my best to prep him with a possible loss. It's a good thing I did! We were racing on a three lane track and the "Speedwave" came in second a couple of times and third all the rest. Fortunately he had a really great attitude and still had a fun time. His birthday was the day before, so he raced with the Bears.

Caleb, Isaac, Mack

Mack's car won first place for the Wolves. They were pretty excited.

He was awarded "Most Torpedo Like" car and everyone received a ceramic Napa race car.

First place or not, those are some pretty awesome cars!

What a fun night. I love cub scouts!

Isaac is Nine!

My boy is nine! Instead of a party this year, I told him he could invite a couple of friends and we'd go play at Funtastiks. It ended up evolving into a party anyway. So much for saving money! There was no school for MLK Day, so it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate! Eric has been working nights - sleeping days, so he wasn't planning on making it, but Isaac really wanted him to be there so he made a special effort to wake up and make a showing. He only lasted about 20 mins, but insisted on being in the picture to prove he was there. What a good Dad!

We were all set for pizza, arcade, and bumper boats. As a bonus, they threw in a round of mini golf. What a fun surprise!

One of the great things about Tucson is that we have 70 degree weather in the middle of winter, so bumper boats with lots of squirting is still a great option. Mack, Carter, and I got stuck with a boat that didn't squirt very well, so we basically just had to take it. Lame!

Carter, Caleb, Amy, Isaac, Talon, and Mack. What a fun bunch of kids!

Isaac's birthday cake got smashed on the way in, but it still held candles and still tasted great!

He blew out all nine candles in one breath! Way to go!

On his actual birthday, we had Crispy Creme donuts for breakfast. We let him light his own candles until he got the "I hope I don't burn down the whole house" look on his face.

He blew out all nine candles again. Lucky kid! It's going to be a great year!

When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he told me he liked surprises. Works for me! We thought he (and the rest of the family :)) would have a lot of fun with a new basketball and hoop. I think we nailed it!

Isaac is such a great kid. He's so much fun to be around and makes life all the better. Happy Birthday!

It finally happened

Eric has wanted a dog ever since we've been married. I've had a lot of really good excuses as to why we didn't need one, but after 10 years, my excuses ran out. I was pretty safe until we moved into our house, but since then I've been slowly caving. Since I knew the day would inevitably come, I've been looking around - hoping to at least get something I could handle - rather than the big manly dog, raised from a puppy, that Eric has always dreamed of.

My sister made the match for us. Her friend, Susan, was wanting to find a new home for her dog and Cari thought we might like to have her. Not only would they give us the dog for free, but her kennel, leash, food, grooming supplies, etc. right along with her. Who can pass that up? If we love her, wonderful. If I struggle (because I would be the only one), then we find her a good home and we're not out a couple of hundred dollars. She had also been an outdoor dog, only coming in at night to sleep in her kennel. What a dream! So Wednesday I drove to Gilbert and back and Annie is now apart of our family.

The kids have loved her from the very first second. I'm not sure who adores her more - Isaac or Ashlyn. Carter really likes the idea of her. He's still warming up a bit, but tries his hardest to pet her. Even Ian gets along with her well.

Eric and I had been having territorial debates and we finally concluded that she would be allowed in the back part of our house only. When we first brought her home, she would run crazy through the entire house, with the whole family chasing her, anytime anyone would open the sliding door. So when she was inside, we kept her on a leash and I was ready to take up the territorial debates again. But by Saturday Eric had her off the leash and she knows where she can and can't go. Every once in a while she tries to test it, but its nothing like when she first got here. She doesn't bark, she doesn't dig, she chases birds, and she doesn't chew - much. She has a few other behavioral problems that we're working on, but she's making great progress. Her and Ian are quite similar. They both mess with the trash, climb on things they aren't supposed to, eat food under the table, etc. Annie is learning faster than Ian and doesn't understand why he still gets all the special privileges!

We took her for a family walk and had a great time. We found the cement hill by our house to be the perfect place to exercise her. Most of us played and watched while Isaac did all the work.

He'd run her up the hill (she was usually right with him but found something to sniff)...

Across the top...

and right back down again.

Ian thoguht it was great fun!

So that's our dog! We sure do like her!