Our 17th Anniversary on Valentine's Day!

Steven and I have managed to survive 17 years together! It has sure gone fast. It seems like just yesterday we were getting married. Now here we are living in another state with 5 beautiful children! It also happens to be my Daddy's birthday and my Grandpa Lawlor's too! Happy Birthday Dad & Grandpa!
Steven made breakfast for all of us. When I came into the kitchen there were 2 dozen pink roses with a card. I was thrilled. We had girls basketball games at 11am and noon.. so it was a busy morning. When we got home I opened the Garage door and there was another vase of 2 more dozen roses. Nothing like the aroma of two bouquets of roses to make the house smell so good!

I made 2 large heart cookies for us to all enjoy! A change from the usual cake decorating.

We ended the evening with a night out for just the 2 of us. We had dinner at Claim Jumper. It was of course delicious... check out the size of their brownie sundae... HUGE! We brought most of it home for the kids. Thanks Steven for the best 17 years.. and I am looking forward to 17 more plus an Eternity!

Sierra has her Driver's Permit!

Here it is.. her temporary permit! I made her get her picture taken with the large Valentine Frog inside the DMV.. she reluctantly posed.. only because there weren't many spectators!
I am still trying to grasp the idea that She can now drive! Oh, my!

She had a late start day for school.. so after I got the other kids off we headed to the DMV. It was a snowy morning.. very pretty. After she took the test and passed..whew!! We went to Donut world and got a donut and hot chocolate. It was very fun! Almost as fun as being in the passenger seat while she is driving! (Her actual permit came in the mail already too! Fast!)

Sierra Jessica Lindhorst 2/3/09

15 Candles to blow out!Sierra just loves to be hugged! Especially by her Daddy and his facial hair!
It isn't very often that Sierra will let us take a picture with her.. we have to cherish every opportunity we get!

Here is the picture of Sierra and her friend Savanah wearing their self-designed t-shirts!

Basketball Games!

This year Maddy and Sydnee are on the same team. They combined 4th and 5th grade girls. It really makes it nice for us! The girls have had 3 games so far and have easily won all of them. They seem to have a good group of girls. Sydnee is amazing at defense and rebounds. Maddy is speedy and has the touch. She can handle the ball really well and is great at the quick steal and break down the court for the easy basket! She has scored an average of 16 points per game!
Now Presley... long story short... I ended up being her coach! I love it! I have 10 kids in kindergarten and first grade. We ended up with purple t-shirts so the kids decided on the team name of "The Grape Apes" we have had 2 games so far and they are so comical! We do not have referees at this age.. us coaches are out on the court and we try to keep the kids going the right direction while teaching the basic skills of the game! If you have never watched a game at this level.. I highly recommend it.. it is the best! By the way.. Presley has amazing ball handling skills too... she dribbles very well and has a good shot! We don't keep score at the games but I tell my kids they won... they love to hear that!

Smooth Legs at Last!!

Maddy got her own digital camera for her birthday! It is so much fun to see what an eleven year old finds worth taking a picture of!I however had Sydnee take pictures of this spectacular event! The removal of Maddy's leg fuzz! She was born with lots of it! And she has been anxiously awaiting the moment when I would finally let her shave it off. I gave in a little early when she debated the issue that she is playing basketball and wearing shorts! After all, I let Sierra when she was 11( starting the 6th grade)
It was fun for me... Maddy smiled the whole time and I got a big hug and a thank you!

Now she gets the forever duty of the upkeep! Why do they have to grow up? I wish they could stay little forever!

Sierra is 15!!

If you know Sierra, you know that last school year she made a short video to Hip hop ABS !She has been asking for it ever since!( She recorded the informercial and now I can finally delete it from our DVR! ) Every 15 yr. old needs this for their birthday!Our family message board gets decorated by Sierra! See this is a good sign.. she is actually smiling and letting me take pictures of her!
Sierra and her friend Savanah made t-shirts to wear to school today. Sierra's as you can see says It's My Birthday, and her friends says It's Sierra's Birthday Today! So creative! I am just so thankful she is in a good mood today!

On their birthdays they get to pick what kind of cake they want and how it will be decorated. Sierra left it up to me this year! So I picked this... Sierra is my Super Girl! She is good at everthing! I love you Sierra! Happy Birthday!