Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best mom in the whole world!! I hope you have the best day ever. Thanks for being so great and for teaching me so many things.

We love you as much as the nation!!

Thanks for being such a great mom, grandma, mother-in-law, and person.

Love Nat, Bryan, Niah, Chloe, and Little Brother

Happy Birthday to My Littlest Sis!

My little sister Kaitie Bug turns Sweet Sixteen today! Happy Birthday to you Kaitie!! I still remember the day she was born. My mom went to the hospital before my siblings and I left for school. My Grandma Saundra was going to come and pick us up if the baby was born. I remember being so worried that I would miss my grandma coming to get me, so I stayed in from recess so I wouldn't miss the announcement over the classroom speaker. Finally, it came. Good thing I stayed in from recess!! I ran to the office as fast as I could and there was my grandma waiting for my sister, brother, and I. We drove to the hospital and got there about ten minutes after Kaitie was born. All of us wanted to hold her. I'm sure we got in big fights about who's turn it was to hold the baby! I'm glad that Kaitie is part of our family and that I get to be her big sister.

Kaitie is such a sweet girl! We love you Buggy and wish we were there to celebrate with you. Have a fun day and take a picture of you driving for me! (Weird- you can drive now!)

Look Alikes?!

Bryan and Chloe look so much alike. I had to post these pictures so you can see the resemblance. Are they father and daughter or what?! Wasn't Bryan a cute kid?

Interview With Niah

1. What is something mom always says to you? Clean up your room and make your bed
2. What makes mom happy? Doing the dishes
3. What makes mom sad? When I don't be nice
4. How does your mom make you laugh? When you do silly things like funny faces
5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't know
6. How old is your mom? Ummmm 15
7. How tall is your mom? Like 85 inches (holding her hands up to the sky)
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Twilight
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Clean up the house
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Model
11. What is your mom really good at? Somersaults, after the baby comes
12. What is your mom not very good at? Skateboarding
13. What does your mom do for her job? Do the dishes
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Beef (Niah has an obsession with beef these days!)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Playing toys with me and Dad
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Giselle
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play outside together
18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have blue eyes
19. How are you and your mom different? We don't have the same hair. Mine is yellow and yours is brown
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Being kind
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? Kissing and we read
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? To Grandma and Grandpa's house

If you haven't done this with your kids, DO IT! I was laughing so hard.

Easter 2009

The girls and I took a little trip to visit my sister and her family who live in Missouri. My mom, dad, and sister met us there so it was sort of a family reunion. We hadn't seen my sister's new baby yet, so it was fun to go meet him and let the girls play with their cousins. We had such a good time! (We missed you Col, Ashley, Kell, and Bryan!) Bryan was home sick the whole time and is home sick again today. I felt bad being away when he was so sick, but I think it was better to have peace and quiet for a quicker recovery! My sister and her husband live only a couple of hours from Nauvoo, so we took a trip to visit Nauvoo. I love that place. There is such a sweet, peaceful feeling there. My sister and I even went and did a session in the Nauvoo temple. It was nice to be at the temple. I don't get to go very often. Maybe I shoudn't say this in writing, but sometimes I wish I could take a nap in the temple! It's so quiet, peaceful, and a wonderful place to be. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids.

Grandpa Mike let Niah help him drive around the streets of Nauvoo. She was in heaven. Notice how she's not watching the road though!

This is my cute little sister, Kaitie. I love this picture of her! Some say that we could be twins.

It was such a nice day so we decided to hang out on the grass at the temple for a while. The kids loved playing and it felt so nice to be in the sunshine. Most of these pictures were taken while we were just hanging out and relaxing.

Nauvoo, IL temple at night.

Chloe wrestling and climbing on Grandpa.

Grandma and Grandpa with their grandkids, soon to be one more!

We went on a wagon ride that took us all around Nauvoo and told about the sights. Niah and Chloe loved the horses. Chloe really loved the wagon ride, it put her right to sleep and she slept the whole time!

The trees were so pretty. This is a picture of one of the Dogwood trees. (Right, Mom?! I think that's what it is!) It felt like spring. There were lots of flowers and there were actually buds on the trees!

We had a great time with family. My suitcase that had my camera in it didn't show up until a couple of days after we got there. My family is going to send me some of their pictures so when I get them I will do another post. There are plenty more to come! Thanks Tam, Todd, Preslee, and Jonah for hosting us. It was so good to see you. Let's not go another 10 months without seeing each other, that's way too long!

Finished Quilt

The quilt is done! I am so pleased with how it looks. I can't wait to use it for Little Brother. I had lots of leftover fabric so I used it to make him some matching burp rags. I found the idea online and it was so easy! Cloth diapers and some fabric are all you need.

These are just some random pictures of the girls playing outside. I thought I would share. Niah loves to play baseball these days. She's getting really good at hitting the ball. Uncle Colin would be proud!!
Chloe just wanders around while Niah hits. I think this picture is funny. She loves her hat, she can't quite figure out how to get it on though.

First Mason Boy!

Bryan's brother, Jon, and his wife, Sandi, had their fourth baby today! This is the eighth grandbaby on the Mason side and the very first boy! They didn't find out what they were having so this is a big, fun surprise. We are so excited that our little boy will have a best friend for life. Congrats to the Mason family!! I wish we were there to see and hold him. Here's a picture of the little guy.

Stratton Austin Mason

6 lbs. 3 ozs 19" long

Born at 1:30 a.m.