Happy Birthday Jared!

Jared turned 32 this year...and since it's not really that big of a deal for him and he had just spoiled me on my birthday...I wanted to throw him a party. We have been talking about getting a Wii since it came out, but it always seemed to be surpassed by more important & less expensive gifts. I just did it one day. I wasn't even planning on it and then as I walked by on my way to get a cake mix in Walmart...there it was. I felt guilty and crazy buying it, but knew that we would have tons of fun! 

So for the party...I wanted to tie in the gift (since I felt like it was a pretty big deal for us). I invited 8 couples and had a Wii BOWLING TOURNAMENT! I will admit that I struggled trying to set up a tournament bracket that the guys wouldn't make fun of and that made sense. I finally called my dad up and he emailed me the perfect tournament! Thanks Dad! It was so fun. We had plastic bowling pins for the kids to play with and then for party favors I found Wii candy dispensers (kinda like Pez). I had so much fun planning the party and keeping it a secret from Jared. He deserved it! We had a fun night playing (some of us learning) bowling. Jared LOVED his gift and has been playing it ever since. I mostly use it to humble him (haha ya right) and I want to box him everynight as a workout. I don't know if it's just me, but I get so into it that I'm sweating by the end. It's fun!!!

I am so happy that we get excited for birthdays and holidays at our house. It's so much fun and I hope that my girls learn to get just as or almost excited as me! haha. Happy Birthday Jared! We love you.

What a fun "Pink Party"!!

We have some of the funnest, most creative friends. They always have a fabulous party in the making which turns out to be so much fun. In May it was the "PINK PARTY"! Everyone was to be dressed in some sort of pink and get ready for a night of food, friends, fun, and dancing!!! We danced the night away...it was such a nice break and so much fun to let loose for a few hours. haha. The guys were such good sports and looked amazing in their pink shirts! Everything was pink...pink bread for sandwiches, pink candies, pink pop and juice, pink cotton candy, pink cookies, pink chocolate covered fruit, pink chips, and pink decorations! Jared and I had such a fun night together; what a fun date! I love that we have such good friends who know how to have a great time. They understand the break we need away from kids and give us a chance to "date" each other again. Thank you for such a fabulous evening and memories that we will have forever!

I have to say that we saw some pretty amazing dance moves that night. haha. It was so fun!!! Did I already say that a few times??!!

The decorations were so awesome. These girls spent so many hours planning, preparing, and working on this fun night! I love the "rock star" feel that was in the room....such fun decorations and music videos! 

Jared and I were talked into doing the "Ross & Monica New Year's Eve" dance routine at the Pink Party. We had such a blast "practicing" before hand and I would have to say that we were a hit at the dance. haha. Jared is such a good sport to put up with some of my craziness. (I tried to upload it but it wasn't working...any tips of making it go faster??!!)

Birthday Bowling & Elle Update

Elle was taken BOWLING  for a birthday party of a little girl in our ward and she LOVED it!!! It was so cute how into she got. She was very good at throwing the 5 pin ball down the lane (with a little bit of help from Mommy so it actually made it to the pins..haha). Okotoks has the cutest bowling alley...slightly white-trash, but fun with all the disco lights. Anyone who wants to experience it- just let us know. We would be happy to entertain within our own little town. I love teaching Elle new things and seeing how excited she gets learning. She is at such a fun little age. Picking up on new things all the time and really listening to what we are saying/doing. I love this little princess.Since I was giving an update on some of the new things that Elle is learning, I thought that I should include a few more pictures as well. We went to Southland Leisure Center with the Baker family one FHE and Elle was so brave on all the waterslides. It was so much fun. 

Some of the BIGGEST news in our house is that ELLE IS POTTY-TRAINED!!!! We are sooo excited and proud of her. She did pretty good with the whole learning bit and caught on really well...it just took a little getting used to doing the #2. We are LOVING no diapers! What a big girl Elle is getting to be. We love you.

Conquering Fears!??!?!

What an adventure....Jared and I were invited on a triple date. I was really excited to meet up with some old friends and do something crazy, fearful, and adventurous. We went ROCK-CLIMBING!!!  Now, just a little bit of history- I am terrified of heights. I don't like ladders, I cried when I went repelling, and peed my pants last time I went rock climbing in high school cause I was so scared! haha. So this was a huge deal for me. I was very nervous when we actually got there and I started to remember all the past times that I had freaked out over heights. I got hooked up and Jared told me to try the wall. I went about 3 ft and had to come down. haha. I went back up to the same point that I was and went 1 more ft and came down....I did this all the way up the wall. haha. Needless to say, it took a long time &  I did alot of climbing, but I made it to the TOP.  I am so proud of myself. Jared was so proud of me. I conquered something that has been haunting me for a long time. It might seem so silly to someone else, but I did it! What a fun date. I really LOVED being able to trust Jared as he belayed me. I felt like he was in control of me climbing and falling- he kept the rope tight the entire time! Jared is so good to me. I love going on dates with him, especially really fun dates. I don't ever want to forget why I married this guy and how much I love him! Thanks for the invite friends...We should do it again sometime.

Magrath Graduation 2009

My little sister graduated this weekend and we had so much fun helping her get ready. She looked beautiful!!! It was so much fun to see all of my friends from highschool too...funny that we all had siblings in this graduation class. I LOVED seeing all the dresses and Elle & the little girls insisted that they were all "Princesses". We are so proud of MiKenLee and earning the Pure Math 30 award!  

A group shot of all the "Princess Dresses"....that's what Elle kept calling them.

The little girls, Elle Mia Ava & Paige, all joined in the celebration by getting to wear princess dresses themselves. The "fairy godmother" who made MiKenLee's dress made twirly dresses for all 4 little girls too! They LOVED them and had so much fun dancing at the dance. 

Family photo...it was so fun that almost everyone was able to be there for Miken's grad. What a fun weekend we had being all together! I especially LOVED laughing with all my sisters.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I wanted to make a tribute to my mother today. She is such an amazing woman and such a great example to me. I never would have thought how hard and rewarding being a mother is. Thank you mom for being such a great person and teaching me to be the best mom to my girls! I love you!!

I had such an amazing day today! Jared is so good to me and spoiled me ALL day long. I didn't have to change any diapers, make any meals (except Paige of course), wipe any boogies, or put any babies to sleep. It was a day of pure relaxation! I even got a patio set to rest my feet on our new deck...life doesn't get much better than that!!! I love my girls. They make me want to be a better person and I am so glad that I have them in my life. As crazy as life gets, I can't imagine life without them. They make me smile...I just can't get enough of these two. I LOVE them!!

I LOVE all the mom's in my life that are such good examples to me. Thank you, thank you for being there for me when I needed advice, a shoulder to cry on, or a listening ear when life gets hard. 

Give Away...Little Pink Orchard!

 

This is the cutest little store with some fabulous homemade items. Everything is 1/2 price right now and she is doing a give-away with one of her pillows. I am so excited because I absolutely LOVE this bird pillow...it is my favorite. She even does custom made pillows....so Fun! Hopefully I am the lucky winner and able to have this pillow on my couch to look at everyday. haha. Go and take a peek at the site: 

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7195444