She's 10!

Happy Birthday Audrey!

We were so amazed the day you came into our lives. Our very first sweet little daughter, born May 25th, 1999. The lilacs were in bloom and it was a beautiful Logan spring day. You were born at 7:39 pm in the middle of a thunder and lightening storm. You were also our biggest baby, weighing in at 8lbs 12oz!

Some of my favorite things about Audrey is that she's always loved to have a good time at everything she does. She's very sweet and sensitive and loves to dance, but does not see herself as a "girly girl". It's been fun to see Audrey's silly sense of humor develop too. She loves to spend time with her friends and has been a straight-A student.

Since she was a toddler, she's loved to help in the kitchen and garden, and plant flowers with her grandma Mary. To this day she still loves to cook and play in the dirt. She is a great big sister and is so good to help me, especially with Elle.

Audrey, we're so amazingly proud of you, you are such a joy to watch grow and have so many great talents. We love you!!

She's beautiful, it's true!

The new bike! She likes it because "it's different and isn't all crowded up with stickers.."

How could my sweet little baby girl be in the double digits already?!! Happy Birthday Audrey, we love you so much!

On Our Way

After a brief In and Out Burger stop , it was onward to California! The drive really wasn't so bad.. we left pretty late in the day, but we got to see the sunset on the way down.

Happiest Place on Earth? Quite possibly...

We made it! Let the fun begin!

Elle was actually tall enough to go on most every ride, she even went on

Space Mountain and loved it!

Inside It's a Small World, one of my favorites!

The tea cups make me sick, so I sat them out...


After the girls and I were busy getting their faces painted, we walked over to meet Sam and Reese at the "Jedi Training Camp", which turned out to be one of the coolest experiences of Reese's little life so far...

We were careful to always go to things we wanted to see early which resulted in getting good seats for all the different events, so when Reese got called out of the audience to become a Padawan, we were so excited!!

They called all the kids up, put on their robes, and gave them light sabers, then they practiced special Jedi moves with their swords, only to be interrupted by Darth Vader, Darth Maul and Storm Troopers rising up out of the ground surrounded by ominous music and smoke! I wondered if it would be too much for some of the little kids...

Darth Maul was stalking around being menacing... here he is, growling at us.

Then, fantasy of all fantasies, each young Padawan got their own chance to use their newly learned moves against the villains themselves! Here's Reese, getting ready to fight!




After it was all over, they got official certificates saying they'd been trained in the Jedi ways and were only to use their skills for good. Reese could barely believe what had just happened to him and we left reminded of why Disney really is the best at what they do.



watching the parade at the end of the day, here,
Mary Poppins, being "practically perfect in every way.."

All the partying for three days straight did tucker us out, we were happy to move on to our beach day, till next time Disneyland!


The pose.

How he really feels...
Note, Elle still looks the same...

My Most Favorite, Ever!

The one, the only SHAMU!

How is this possible??!!

How would it be to have that as your job?Disney Land is great but I absolutely love that the kids learn things at Sea World and develop a sense of concern for the animals and the environment they live in.More incredible aerial acrobatics by the dolphins this time Sam, in amazement!Sea World has so many amazing things to see!

This was probably our favorite experience from the entire trip, we were able to get some time with one of the dolphin trainers and meet a dolphin up close and personal. Dolphins are so amazing!

This is Crush, the biggest dolphin in the tank at Sea World. He loved eating the fish and squid we fed him and spoke on command. He even did tricks for us! We couldn't believe how smart he was!
Dolphins also really love being touched and rubbed on their sides, this was Crush almost falling asleep while the kids gave him some love...


It was amazing seeing one of God's creatures so close, I think the kids made a new friend for life!