Friday, March 23, 2012

January 6th

 January 6, 2012 - Adia woke up a TEENAGER!

She LOVED her siblings waking her up with a donut and a beautifuly sung Happy Birthday!

  
Then a great girlfriend showed up, dressed all cute, and told her they would be going to get some breakfast... Adia felt loved!

 On the way out the door... so fun!

The back story is that we had decided to put Adia in school over the Christmas break and found out it started January 2nd... I wasn't ready to let her go that soon and really wanted to spend her birthday with her so I told the school she would be starting a week later.  The Vice Principal asked me why and when I told him he said "what a great idea."


Adia didn't know but her dad and I had planned a special day for just the 3 of us.  While she was at breakfast I dropped all her siblings off with Grandma & Grandpa.  When she got home and I told her it would be just us for the day she sounded like a tired mom "oh, maybe we should just stay home, relax and enjoy the quiet."  Made me laugh.  She was so thankful for that gift and G'pa Paul and G'ma Jenny should know it was probably one of the biggest treats of the day!


But instead we opted to go get our nails done... she got gel nails and they looked great!  She also got her eyebrows waxed for the first time and loved it!  She wasn't thrilled that they were red for hours after and wished I would have warned her.  




Adia had been asking her dad for awhile if he would take her to Sushi on her big day but he kept acting like he would have to see how his day went.  Truth is he has been way busier at the office than we are used to so it was believable that he might not be able to.  Of course, he wouldn't miss such a big occasion though and planned on meeting us for sushi then taking the rest of the day off to hang out with us.  After our lunch we walked across the street to see the new Sherlock Holmes... I was bored to death.  The two of them loved it!
After the movie we had one more surprise up our sleeves for her... my parents were waiting at the mall to take her shopping for new school clothes and get her a nice steak/lobster dinner (she's been spoiled in the food department from Papa for way too long).   But getting her to the mall was harder than we planned.  She wanted to stop at Target to spend some money she had... she was shopping and shopping and shopping and kept talking and talking and talking.  


Finally we got her to the mall where my parents were hidden inside and when she found her Papa she was over joyed!  A few minutes later she saw Grandma and was so happy!  Here is a shot of her and the boys who can't get enough of her!  I think she felt very loved!  



The next day she had her first tournament of the season and ROCKED it!


And then, 2 days later, my baby girl went to school (a public school I might add).  I had prayed so much about the decision I knew it was what God had for her.  I had been so strong and at peace about it...


But then I saw her walk out the door and LOST it!  I couldn't believe she was doing this.  I couldn't believe how old she is, how amazing she is, what a great head she has on her shoulders, what a confident little thing she is, how beautiful she is and so much more.  


Her dad called after dropping her off and said she looked so nervous... that was the longest day of my life.  I couldn't wait to pick her up and hear how it went.  My stomach hurt all day and the tears were ever flowing.  But when I saw her walk to the car at 2:04 I could see it in her eyes - she liked it.  She got in the car and with a huge smile said "I LOVE it".  


And I LOVE her - my teenage daughter who has defied the odds and turned out AMAZING!  She is a gem of a lady and I am so proud to be her mom.  This past month of having her in school we have learned so much - we learned mom is too hard on her, she is even smarter than we thought, she has no problem standing up for her beliefs, she is well liked, she is tall for a 7th grader and more.  It's been a journey for sure and she continues to make us proud for so many reasons.  I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this crazy girl of ours who seems to think she is already all grown up.  



Thursday, March 1, 2012

Family Bike Ride

This year for we got the big 3 kids and ourselves new bikes! We have been wanting to do this for a while but getting good bikes for 5 people is NOT cheap so we have waited and waited. As much as we are opposed to Black Friday and the ridiculous consumerism it represents we used it to our advantage this year and got half off all the bikes - plus we got humbled a bit in the process of taking part.

So the day after Christmas we took the new Christmas bikes, Adison's new birthday bike and our little Kaden monkey (who just kind of wraps his legs around his dads bike) for our first official family bike ride! It was so fun and so tiring and all of our butts were sore for days to help us remember the wonderful family event.

Ready to ride!



Here are some pictures of the kiddos who were not only thrilled with the bikes but enjoyed the new helmets almost as much,

Best shot I could get of Kaden in the helmet... he was SO EXCITED about the shark fin.
He seriously just holds onto Kyle's bike like this the whole time... it looks so funny!

Princess Adison!
Who is a TROOPER and can handle her own out there!
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Crazy Kenyon!

Beautiful Avery!


Annoying Adia who tries to ruin all of my pictures!

We took a ride around Lake Natomas in Folsom and it was SO BEAUTIFUL! I think we stopped and played by the water more than we actually rode bikes but hey - it's still considered a bike ride! And I LOVED the chance to snap some shots on my new camera! That was my Christmas present from Kyle and I am so thankful he is giving me another chance to take care of a camera! I have such good models that love to pose and make the me feel so talented!

My silly son

I have about 1000 just like this!

This little guy wanted to stop and have a snack every 2 minutes... it's amazing how excited oranges can be!
This is where little boys belong!

Gosh I love these girls!
Bit I don't love how old they are looking... Adia needs to just stop!

Kenyon doing his norm - showing off!

Avery planned this shot and although it isn't all that great it makes me smile since I remember how much Adison and her wanted to take it and how not cool Adia thought it was.
Plus it shows off my Adia's super oober strong arms! The girl really is SO STRONG!
Since this trip the kids have gone on a few more with Kyle while I have been at classes and things. I think our family might just make a lot of GREAT memories on these bikes! So glad we finally gave in and bought them.