Daddy Saves the Day

At your request here are some pics of my daughter's beautiful vanity set on Christmas Day. No need to take closeups of the vanity itself because my husband did, of course, come through and there is virtually no evidence at all that anything happened to it. I really had no doubt in his ability to fix it good as new, it was just the time frame that worried me!!! The only thing that would evidence the fact that we had a mishap would be on one corner of the table where there are little traces of red fuzz stuck to it. This would be because that particular corner was still slightly wet at 1:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve when I was adamant that we had to cover it with a red Christmasy blankie so that it would not be visible Christmas morn. Whoops. Bri tried to warn me, but I wanted it the way I wanted it. I'm not worried though. I know we can pick the fuzz off and as of yet Hannah is none the wiser about any of it!!!! Just look at her. She is stoked about this beautiful gift and also the little foam curlers that she got with it were a huge hit. I believe they were the first thing she opened and she didn't waste any time puttin em in. This pic, which I'm actually very surprised that she let me take, was probably taken 20 minutes after all the gifts were unwrapped. Who knew that a 5$ box of curlers would be the most exciting thing for my darling 8-year-old?! More on Christmas to come soon!!!!!

Vavra Christmas Tree '08

I really don't have the time at the present moment to blog all about our holiday festivities, but I just couldn't resist posting this picture of our Christmas tree after Santa visited our home. It's just hilarious to see the teeny, tiny little tree being overshadowed by all those gifts. Personally, I was very pleased with our little tree (about 2.5 to 3 feet) displayed in our bay window this year. I doubt it will fly with the rest of the fam in years to come, however. (One good thing is that it sure does make it seem like we have a buttload of presents doesn't it????)

Merry Christmas!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

So Freakin Upset!

So do all of you remember my prize purchase for my daughter Hannah????? If not, you can scroll down to my post on December 1st for a recap. Well I was extremely excited that it was delivered in a timely manner and even more excited that my husband went straight to work putting it together. AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!!!! This was the one thing that I was truly, truly excited about giving her. Something she would have forever. A beautiful piece to accent a child/preteen/teenager's room.

Long story short, because it has been so cold here, my husband decided to put the dogs in the garage one night when I wasn't home. WITH THE VANITY IN IT. Two edges on the table and one on the stool completely gnawed and chewed. Needless to say, I did not handle the news very well. Brian has assured me that he can have it good as new before Christmas morning, but it still breaks my heart. Hopefully he can fix it to the point that she will never know. (I told him I don't even want to see it till its back the way it was.) UGH. I can't believe it! I think the reason it upsets me so badly is that we don't really have too many NICE things, especially with kids, and it made me so happy to be able to do this for her. :(

SNOW DAY

The view from our front door.
The snow is almost to the top of our gate!!
Right after Hannah jumped off the trampoline.
Noah and Hannah on the trampoline before I could catch them!
At the request of Morgan all the way in Massachusetts I am posting some pics of our latest snowfall. These pics really don't do it justice, but I was forced to take what I could from the snugly warmth of my house, as I don't own a pair of snow boots as of yet. I sent Brian out this morning to find me some, but apparently everybody and their mother is on the lookout for these as well. Not one size 8-1/2 pair of snow boots to be found in the Spokane Valley. (Or even 8 or 9's). UGH! I'm extremely annoyed because I really was looking forward to getting out there and playing with the kiddos and doing some shoveling (although at this point I guess there's really no point in doing that considering the snow is still dumping).

I'm happy the kids are home and safe, just slightly perturbed at what mother nature has given us today because I only had two days left of the kids in school and I'm working on some stuff for them for Christmas. Guess I'll have to pull a couple really late nights sometime between now and Christmas.

Happy Snow Day!!!!!!!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

So I came across a scrapbook that my mom had made and I thought that everyone might get a kick out of some of these old photos. I know a lot of you already did!!!!! I used to hate to pull out the old photos because I really was not the cutest kid around, but now I can look back and chuckle at myself. (Oh yeah, I "chuckle" all the time)!



Not a very good pic as far as quality, but this is one of my senior pictures. The year was 1997.
Early teens here. Look at that hair, holy cow!
This is one of my very least favorite pictures of all time. Thought I'd throw it in for the humor effect. This is definitely me in the "big teeth" phase of life!!!!
Okay, so I actually kind of like this one (although I don't know what my mom was thinking with the dress I was wearing!). I think I was about 7 or 8 and going through the "no teeth" phase. It's all downhill from here!
I think I was about 4 here.
Me at about 9 months old. Not too bad, I guess, but I was definitely not the cutest kid around!

Holiday Shopping Update

I just purchased this for my eldest daughter for Christmas. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. It is absolutely perfect for her. Shhhhhhh, don't tell!!!!!!!

S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E

So I hit the big 3 0 on Friday, November 21st. Woo hoo!! It was actually a milestone that I was trying desperately to avoid, to no avail. My husband, best friend, and countless others came together to throw me a surprise party. W O W. A surprise party for little old me. I have to say that I can't remember the last time I felt that special. Knowing that people put time and effort into doing something just for me is the most wonderful feeling.


Um yeah, so this is my hubby the party pooper!!!!!
Purdy girls, Meme and Kelsie.
Our party animal friends, Ben and Nicole!
My sissy and her hubby.
My Cancun buds!
Me and my two besties!

Election '08

Go Obama!!! I am excited to see what positive changes will come to pass for this country. I am so proud to be an American.

October Festivities

Well here they are, the last of the pictures of all our Halloween festivities. We had some parties, carved some pumpkins, cooked some seeds, and, of course, did a little trick or treatin!! All the usual things you do for this fun holiday. Halloween is fast becoming a not-so-hated holiday of mine. I absolutely love to see how excited the kids get over every aspect of this holiday. My goal for next year is to really go all out in the decorating department. I do have to say though that my all-time favorite holiday always has been and still remains Thanksgiving. I can't wait. Bring on the turkey!!!!!!!


The flapper and the cheerleader. What a great pair!
Me dressed up as a 1920s flapper chick
Trick-or-treat
Noah as Ghostrider, Faith as a little witch, and Hannah as a baby
Derek the clown
Funny eyeballs
My little witch hugging her bestest friend from school, Emily!
Daddy and Hannah scrapin them guts
Papa the Jack-O-Lantern!

Pumpkin Patch '08

So we ventured up to Greenbluff (or Green Buffalo as the kids call it) for our yearly Punkin Patch visit. A lot of my favorite people were there to share in the fun with us, Marshall and Nichole and the kids, Mindi and her kiddos, and Christy and Grant and their brood. Wish we could have spent more time with all of them,but I think all in all a good time was had by all.
Love this one of Sierra and Faith. Wheeeeeeeeee!
Miss Hannah Banana
The sun was not cooperating with us on these poses. Faith kept running away or shielding her eyes.
The biggest punkin in the patch!!!!
Noah and Darian were in charge of pushing the pumpkins around. Look close and you'll see that they both have orange hair.
Quite the poser this one.
Sisters.
We couldn't get the whole family at once, but oh well. I like this one a lot!
Caitlyn and Hannah just chillin!

Thought I'd put up a few more pics from our vacation. (FYI: The guy in the funny hat pic is Marshall, of course)

Gorgeous waterfall at the resort next door. We snuck over there a few times to snap some shots.
The sand took forever to come off. (There might still be some in my ears!)
He he!!!Believe it or not this was my idea and something we just had to do while we were there.
Getting buried alive.
Awesome shot of Brian and Marshall. Couple of handsome fellas.
Probably my favorite thing we did on the island. Super relaxing.
Pic from the island, Isla Mujeras. They have a zip line where you can go from hut to hut above the ocean. Pretty cool!
Brian and the good-natured Mexican.
Coco Bongo is the Vegas-type show they have in Cancun, which features acts like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elvis, etc, etc, etc. So GOOD!
Had to throw in another of my sunrise over the ocean pictures. I could look at that view forever.
There is a video to go along with this one that will have you all rolling on the floor. Hilarious!
I am a HUGE fan of lighthouses.
Brian striking a pose.
Before we were completely covered.