The Perfect Tree

Today was not a normal monday here. Dana took the day off from work. We all slept in til 8:00 this morning. Which is in record book territory for our girls. We had lots of projects planned for our day. And got the most important of them accomplished. Daddy got the x-mas lights up on the house and mommy got all of the outdoor x-mas decor out and finished. But the biggest "To Do" for the day was getting our Christmas Tree. Which for Kennedy is the epitimy of excitment. So we headed off the Pine Lake Tree Farm this afternoon and had an awesome time.

Daddy and "His Girls" walking up the big hill to the cabin.


Heading out to the fields!! The girls could have rode the hayrack for hours.


The tree farm is beautiful, the smell is nostalgic and the memories made here are forever.

Here the girls are in front of "The" tree. They were standing so still just like their mommy begged of them to do. I got the perfect picture of them w/ our tree. Don't you think? Ok..not exactly.

The girls were like frozen statues while watching the man cut our tree down.

Load'n her up! There ended up being 3 trees and 3 families that rode back on the hayrack together. It was a load!

Our tree getting the "shake down"

Gentry was in total transe mode while they shook the needles out of the tree. She really loved watching it but she was more infatuated w/ the John Deere tractor. Naturally.

Silly Sister

The sun was setting in the woods and it was time to head home with our perfect tree. Which turned into our HUGE perfect tree. It looks like Big Foot in our living room. But the girls love it...and that makes it perfect.

"Overseeing" Daddy watering the tree. Hopefully by tomorrow night it will be decorated.

Thanksgiving Today

Well today has been full of wonderful food, family and relaxation. And we are thankful for all of it!!!

We are thankful that this one's pink eye is better and is no longer "in the beginning stages of pneumonia".........however still a runny nose





Playing w/ mommy's old toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house



Constructive block building w/ Great Grandpa Charlie's old blocks


The men taking their afternoon nap. There are two others snoozing in this picture that you can't see. They are such a lively bunch. Tell me it's this fun after your Thanksgiving meals too?

A good game of Apples to Apples in the afternoon


Aunt Deanne enjoying the game.....but in the end I won!

May God Bless you all w/ many things to be thankful for during this holiday season!

The Kitchen Cabinet Reveal

well you have all been very patient. your time has finally come...or shall i say mine! to show you what our kitchen looks like now! new hinges, new knobs, new handles, sanding sanding sanding, staining and varnishing. walls painted, trim painted, sleep and sanity regained!

before

after (the walls actually look darker and the cabinets are super shiny b/c the light was filtering in quite nicely when i took this pic in the morning)

before

after (the cabinets looks pretty darn dark in this picture. way darker than in person)


knobs

hinges

handles

and for those of you wondering...yes...i made the cabinets look distressed on purpose.

Party Hardy!

well the weekend is almost wrapped up. our toy stock pile has multiplied by at least 2x's and we are all pooped. yesterday was kennedy's big party. it was awesome. we all had the greatest time. but kennedy had the best time of all. at points it was a little overwhelming for her. trying to share all of her new gifts with 5 other little kids is so hard and no nap is so hard too. but overall she did well.

here are pics from the party if haven't seen some already.

kennedy opening up her scooter from mom and dad the morning of her birthday. she is seriously a "pro" on this thing. looks like she's been doing it for years. might i add she is crazy fast on this thing too. yikes!

kennedy and "her girls". maddison, kennedy and bailey

birthday girl all geared up!

party party!

her ice cream cone cupcake cake.......the cake is actually cup cakes frosted all together. it was really cool!

time to blow out all 4 candles!


diggin' in to the cupcakes and icecream. can you see the mess on their faces? !

doll house play

playin' in the playhouse after presents and cake/ice cream!

i am sure most of you know but for those of you who don't, you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them and get all the details!!!

4 Years Old!

4 yrs ago today we welcomed our first born daughter into this world. We did not know the sex of our baby and mommy thought it was a boy. So she was definately a surprise, but she was perfect.

She weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 19.5 inches long. She had the cutest chubby cheeks at birth. And I had an 18.5 hr labor.

When we got her home the only way we could get her to go to sleep was by running my hair dryer. It would make her fall asleep w/in seconds. It totally made sense though. After all she listened to that sound a lot while I was pregnant w/ her!!

Happy 4th Birthday sweetheart! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you can imagine. You are part of me and part of him, you are perfect. We would lay down our lives for you. It's so hard to believe that 4 yrs has gone by already.



Kennedy w/ her daddy. You could tell how much she already loved him by her amazed eyes.

I was already doing her hair before we even left the hospital

We had no idea she would have so much hair!

You make us so proud every day. You are a wonderful big sister. You are caring, loving and bossy. You are the chief and everyone else is the Indian. You love to help mommy cook. You are Daddy's little girl. You will "help" him w/ any project in his shop. And he always lets you. You are the messiest eater in the world. You have allergies. You are smart. You are fun. You are hilarious. You are perfect. We love you Kennedy Reese.