Okay, so I got the disc of the pictures last week from my photo shoot of Vanessa but have not had time to post so here they are. Emily is the greatest!! She captured not only Vanessa, but the other kids so well too. I feel like I can really see their personalities in the pictures. I am soooo excited to get to do Vanessa's birth announcements and make prints for her room, family, etc. Now it's just deciding which one(s) to use.








Emily is such a great photographer and was so patient with my kids, even Ally who wanted to be involved in every picture. Well, here is proof...


Emily took Andrew and Ally outside while I was giving Vanessa a bottle to get her back to sleep for more pictures.



When Ally saw Vanessa in the basket she went and got her baby and put her in a basket.

12 Years Of Marriage

Friday Jim and I celebrated our twelfth anniversary. It was a great day!! We decided to head to Park City for lunch and lots and lots of shopping. We love the outlets there. My wonderful mom watched Ally and Vanessa so we could spend the day just the two of us. That night we went to our friends' cabin for pizza and games. It's so fun to get together with these couples and their families. We always have a great time just hanging out, talking and playing games. The added bonus...all the kids get along really well too! On Saturday Andrew decided he didn't want to go to the BYU game so Jim's fabulous Mom and sister watched the kids so I could go with Jim to the game (I didn't think I'd get to go to any games this year). It too was a lot of fun. It was so nice to get some time just me and Jim which hasn't happened since we added Vanessa to our family.

It's hard for me to believe that it has already been 12 years since I married the best guy in the whole world!!! It has gone so fast but I really can't remember my life without him. Jim is such an amazing husband and father. He is my perfect other half. He knows how to calm me down when I am getting crazy, emotional, dramatic and extreme (he only makes fun of me a little bit while doing it). He is patient with me even when he has put up with a lot of emotions, etc. He truly is my best friend. I am so grateful to have him in my life and I can't wait for the many, many, many more years we have together.

Gotta Love New Furniture

I love new furniture! It's amazing how getting new furniture can change a room. While finishing our basement a year and a half ago Jim created a 'Man Cave.' No, we don't have a family room downstairs, it's the man cave, the kids even call it that. It really is pretty much his room. He designed it. The only thing I did was pick the tile and paint color. Last December he got his TV and surround sound but we didn't have couches; we were sitting on camping chairs. Needless to say the room didn't get used all that often. We finally got our couches last week. It is so nice to have the couches and to be able to sit down there comfortably. And the good news is that the man cave is now complete, well other than the soda machine Jim wants. Oh, and end tables, wall decorations, fridge, etc, etc. Are things ever really complete??



And, because we got such a great deal, I got to replace my upstairs couches at the same time. Like I said, I love new furniture!!



Yes, the cat pretty much lives on that spot of the couch.

Andrew Soccer, Ally Dance

Andrew is playing fall soccer and LOVING it!! It's amazing to me how much he and his team have improved since spring and how much he loves it and looks forward to playing each game. He takes after his dad and has gotten extremely competitive and gets upset when they lose.



Ally has started dancing at a local dance studio and she loves it!! She asks me every morning if it's dance day. It's fun to watch her dance and see how much she enjoys it. Watching her dance reminds me of when I was young and danced. Last time they danced with scarves which I remember doing when I was little. Ally cracked me up because the other girls just grabbed the scarf that was on top but she had to dig through the basket and find the specific one she wanted. It's a good thing her teachers are very, very patient.



Having the kids in these things keeps us busy but it's fun to do. It's a good thing Vanessa likes her car seat 'cause there are days she is in it for hours.

Vanessa's a Cougar Fan Too

When Andrew was little I teased Jim that he was brainwashing him young...to be a Cougar fan and a Cardinal fan. It worked. Not only is Andrew a Cougar fan, but Ally is too and they are now working on Vanessa. Saturday of the first game Jim took Andrew and Ally out to get 'game day' shirts. They were super sweet and got me and Vanessa one too. I wanted to get pictures that day but after going to get our couches we ran out of time. First thing this Saturday Andrew and Ally put on their game day shirts. They love them! It is so fun to see them get so excited about the games even if they only watch for about five minutes.



And because my kids love having their pictures taken...

Good News

Dixie had her surgery follow up appointment today. The biopsy of her tumors came back negative, one was a fatty tissue tumor and the other one was a type that is caused by the sun hitting bare skin. I don't quite understand the second one, especially since this one was on her chest under her left front leg but I am just glad that neither of them were cancerous. Her incisions are all healing nicely and we go back in next Thursday to have her staples removed. They will take a look at the stitches in her ear then and determine if she can have those removed at the same time. If so, she gets rid of the cone next week also. If not, it will stay for another week or two. She really has done well with the cone, much better than I expected. She has actually figured out that it can be used to push her way through quicker even though she practically knocks us over in the process. I'm just so grateful to have this over with and that everything else looks healthy. Hopefully we can keep her that way for a long, long time.

Today was Ally's first day of preschool. She was so excited to start! She loved school and her teachers. I'm so glad she enjoyed it. She is loving being a 'big girl' and can't wait to go back tomorrow.