Happy 76th Birthday Papa Cecil!!

Papa and Nana took a long overdue vacation awhile back, so we had an impromptu Papa Party when we went for Sunday dinner!

Normally we find the same amount of reasons that we love the birthday boy as they are old, but I don't think Papa would want us to go on and on about how amazing he is, but here are a few things we love about him:

Papa is always happy to see us.

Papa always says "hello" when we arrive.

Brooke says that Papa is always nice to her.

Easton said that he is nice too, and listens to him.

Annie said that she loves him, and she can't wait to give him a special Christmas present.

Papa is a very loving person.

Papa is always trying to learn more about God and what life is all about.

Mattison's (as Madie is going by from now on) favorite thing about Papa is that he is always interested in what is happening next in her life.

Papa was a kind dad to John, so now John is kind to his children.

Papa is a hard worker.

A.J.'s favorite thing about Papa is his laugh.

A.J. also loves that Papa shows interest in everything in A.J.'s life.

Papa loves Nana!!!

Papa is so proud of Aunt Leslie, our daddy, and every single one of his grandchildren.

Papa loves to see any of his grandchildren perform whether it is in a piano recital (which is long) or a football game (which is cold), he is there and loves each one!

We love you Papa!!

Tymber was obviously VERY excited!

Each of the girls picked a special gift for Papa.

We asked them if they wanted to create something for him or buy a little something...

Annie chose to draw a picture for him and help him open his gifts. :)

Brooke gave him an original piece of pottery she made in school.  She loved this bowl, and knew Papa would love it too!

This is Easton pretending to hold his note for Papa, which was left on the counter at home. :(

Papa read each and every card that these beauties created just for him!

Ellie chose an original Ellie pinch pot! These are great for holding little odds and ends.  (Great for small earrings too Nana!)

A better focused pic of Brooke and Papa with Tymber jumping in!

We love you Papa!  We are lucky to have you in our lives!!

Happy Halloween 2012

Halloween 2012

So fun, and low-key!!

Life began to get hectic and a little stressful.  I began to realize that I wasn't loving October like I did every year.  I looked at my kids and saw how excited they were about Halloween this week and we headed straight for SIMPLICITY.

I decided that everyone was going to recycle costumes we already had. I didn't even think about buying candy (John ran across the street to buy some at 5:45pm.) And we let the night just go as it did, full of fun and freedom, and it was fabulous!

We started the day making cupcakes for Ellie's party!  We greeted her with yummy food and lots of picture taking since her teacher had to leave town unexpectedly.

It was great!  A friend of mine watched the little girls, so Ellie got me all to herself and I just soaked up being with this cute girl!

Annie tried to "smile" in her THIRD costume of the season!

It was very sunny!  

On that note: Denver was beautiful! 74 degrees and gorgeous!

We did watch hours of coverage of the disaster in the East, and prayed for everyone there.

We are trying to come up with an idea for us to rally as a family and serve those who need help out there.

Ellie jumped on the chance to take pictures of friends after dinner before we all headed out trick-or-treating!

The cheerleaders showed their spirit through their smiles! 

I have no idea what the concern was over, but I loved the face! 

 Camille and Annie posing.  I love their matching dimples!

Tymber with her crazy smile! 

 We love you Christiansens!

Dr. Morrison taking time out to NOT be a compassionate, sweet doctor, but instead a creepy chainsaw murderer!

The kids LOVED it!

 Dave was hitting the streets with his little man below as a "gangsta!"

Beautiful mother and baby! 

Sweet Lindsay...

...gangsta Davis 

 Sammie the nice witch!

 Cortney loving the ride

 Annie spent the whole evening looking for the "freaky" houses.  The sweet ones with cute pumpkins and friendly ghosts had no appeal for this girl.  It was so cute!  "Oh look mom, there's a freaky one!"

Sammie and Katelyn 

 Annie mesmerized with the goblin with Dori!

Finally, after hours of looking, Ellie found Emma!

These girls are so adorable! 

The most fit woman I know sporting the largest ref costume I have ever witnessed!

Thank you Rings for yummy homemade goodies and friendship! 

Annie, Megan, and A.J. taking advantage of seeing each other on a school night and helping out with trick-or-treating!

Easton had a couple of friends join us from school!  They came up with costumes in 5 minutes in the basement.  Easton and one friend were "stay-at-home" dads with baby dolls strapped to the front of them!  Too funny!

Jay hanging out with the gang! 

 Tymber half-dressed and happy!

 Cooper heading home after a great night!

 Then I headed to pick up Brooke from her first time trick-or-treating with friends!  (Their dad accompanied them thank goodness)

Once we got home they did their annual assessment of their haul, and we skipped hot chocolate and headed to bed~! 

I loved every minute!  I didn't stress out!  I soaked up their excitement, memorized their faces as they ran from home to home, and listened to every funny and scary story.

Loved.every.minute!