In case you were wondering...

THIS is what happens when the baby & the big sister start sharing a room & nap time gets interrupted! Go ahead & laugh, we did!

Katy's BIG milestone

Katy started doing this (watch the video!!!!) earlier this week & Mark was able to catch her on video yesterday. We are SOOO proud!

Mr. & Mrs. Donnie Kaufman

My beautiful sister-in-law, Sarah, got married to a really great guy, Donnie Kaufman, on October 10th, 2009 in Billings, MT and we were so blessed to get to be there for that. Lizzie & Katy were the flower girls and Grandma Dee made them the CUTEST dresses. We had such a fun time in Montana, seeing family we hadn't seen for awhile & meeting and getting to know new cousins. We are so happy for Sarah & Donnie and so glad they are our family! Here are some pictures from the reception.

One of the favors were purple m&m's in cute little jars. This is the aftermath for Lizzie!


Jalen danced ALMOST as much at this wedding as he did at Mark's & mine!

Instead of a traditional cake Sarah wanted a cupcake cake. Her topper was a precious moments figurine, a tribute to the collection she's had since she was young.


Mark got to "play" DJ for the reception. He had fun & Lizzie liked being up there with him.


Jay was having fun, Lizzie wouldn't come near me so I nabbed my Katy for a quick photo. She was SUCH a good girl for both the ceremony & the reception. She did pretty good for picture time too!

Jalen's Birthday

This is the AWESOME cookie cake from Wal-Mart

The toy Katy "picked" out for Jalen

From Mark & me, does he look excited? Well, he was!

A Spiderman piggy bank from Grandpa Chip & Grandma Dee. He LOVES it!

His old Bumblebee transformer broke so Uncle Andy got him a new one. He was VERY happy!

A Ben 10 Omnitrix (whatever THAT is!), thanks Aunt Rachel, Uncle Spencer, Maddie & Ian!

No Girlfriends!

Too lazy to make a whole cake I made 2 dozen cupcakes instead!
Happy 8th Birthday Jalen! We love you & are SOOO glad you're a part of our family!

Jalen

So Jalen turned eight yesterday & while I am happy to have such a big boy around I sometimes miss what he was like when he was little. Here is an awesome video from kindergarten ( I think!) to illustrate how cute & fun he was back then. He's still cute & fun, just in a big boy, kind of grown up way!

Cute pictures of the kids & something unrelated

*DISCLAIMER: The following post has NOTHING to do with the pictures.
I just wanted to share my cuties with you.

I just found out this morning that the older brother of a friend of mine from childhood had died in a plane crash earlier this week. He was also best friends with my older brother & he and his wife came to my brother's wedding 3 years ago in California. He was 32 years old & he and his wife had (according to the article in the paper) 6 small children. He was a really nice & funny guy. I remember having a crush on him when I was a young teenager. He was handsome & he let me borrow his leather jacket once. I felt so special wearing it, like I was prettier & older & "cooler" just by having it on. His brother (my friend) was always there from 3rd grade all the way into my adulthood. We lost touch around the time I had Jay but I still consider him a friend. He was loyal and we always had fun when we spent time together. My heart is aching at the thought that he is sad and that I can't comfort him. I want more than anything to be able to tell him how much I still love him & how sorry I am that he has lost his brother in this way. I think of the wife and children left behind and I want to cry. I have been blessed with a kind, loving husband & beautiful, healthy children. I thank Heavenly Father for every day I have with them and pray for more days for a long time to come. My heart & my prayers go out to the families who lost this man.