HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Hermione, Merida, Chef Drake, and a Genie Mayce

(thanks to Angela Krause for the picture)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYCE!!

We celebrated Mayce's 5th birthday this weekend. She was spoiled by her family and enjoyed having them there with her to celebrate.

Mayce and I often have a battle on her wardrobe. When Payton and Fallyn were her age they must have loved me more because they let me dress them in whatever I wanted. Most mornings Mayce and I are quick to compromise but Sundays are an exception. She always wants to wear a "puffy" dress. So for her birthday both of her grandma's took her shopping for dresses that fit her requirement. She actually has a physical test for the "puffiness" of the dress. She does a twirl and goes down to her kness. If the dress "puffs" up around her when she's down it's a winner. I believe my mom said she tried on about 8 dresses before deciding on the best. So here they are:

Another favorite gift this year is one of those balloon animals that float near the ground so it looks like they're walking. We avoid this booth at the mall but a birthday was a good excuse for her cousins to get her one.

Thank you to our family for celebrating this amazing young lady with us. She keeps my days entertaining and we love her so much!

Nothing too exciting happening around here. I'll post some pictures to keep you coming back!

This year in primary the kids are randomly chosen to take home "CTR Charlie" (I think that's his name) and they're encouraged to take or draw a picture with him while doing some service. So here's Fallyn advertising Crisco and making dessert for FHE. She choose to make the chocolate cookies using Devil's Food Cake mix. Thank you to the Krupp's for introducing us to those via their blog years ago. Yum!

Drake sees a laundry basket and needs to sit in it. And Mayce is a fan of having her picture taken.

The girls are really into making masks. Fallyn randomly surprised us with her dalmatian face and Mayce needed one too. So Fallyn helped Mayce make hers. They crack me up.

Merry Christmas to me! I got an ipad from Dave for Christmas this year. The kids think it was a family gift. But how can I resist them when they're enjoying it together? Here they are watching "Kid History" on youtube. I love them, so they pretty much use it more than me.

So there we are in a nutshell last week!

(We are just going to pretend is hasn't been almost a year!)

My first thought is, "We had a great Christmas this year!" and then I remember it could have been better. The reason it could have been better was because Drake had his first ear infection. It was the first ear infection EVER for our family. Of course the worst day was Christmas day. All he wanted to do was watch movies in the car. So that's where he and Dave spent the morning. Poor Drake just cried and wanted to be held. But Monday we had it diagnosed and with the help of modern medicine we are good. Well, good on the Drake front. On the 28th Mayce started complaining of ear pain. We saw a doctor Friday morning and she had a double ear infection! What is going on? Medicine - check! Worst medicine taker ever - check! You would not believe me if I told you how poorly Mayce takes her medicine. However, if you ask our neighbors I bet they can tell you. Why twice a day for 10 days? Seriously, if the medicine makers had Mayce as a daughter they'd rethink the whole dosage. It sounds like I'm trying to kill her EVERY time. But we still have several days to go so wish us luck. Really, other than the ear infections it was a great holiday. Here are some fun moments:

For Corbridge Christmas we spent almost an entire week in Monterey. It was great weather and we had a lot of fun. We went to the aquarium (need to go back), went hiking, went shopping, exchanged gifts, and played with cousins. We are very fortunate to be able to go away with family every year.


New bikes for Payton and Fallyn

Ice skating with Grandpa

Mayce decorating cookies at her school party.

And can you believe this little guy is capable of this:

This gives you the smallest picture of what he does. I need to lock every cabinet door and bedroom door and bathroom door and . . .

Having a boy is a completely different experience than girls. I wonder if having him last is pay back for something. The girls were the calm before the storm. But he is so fun and crazy. He is spoiled by his big sisters and everyone else.

So here's to hoping the blogging will continue!