Echo- Welcome to the family

Sadly enough for our friends- they can not move with their dog. Best news to Steve- he has his DREAM dog. Echo- welcome to our family. He is a 15 month old German Shepard- and is the best. He is well behaved- trained- and great with the kids.

More picture of Echo to come....

February, Family, Friends, and Fun

Well, what else can I say- this weekend was amazing!!!

Aydin got baptized (see earlier blog post), my parents came into town, the Perez family came to town, friends came for lunch after the baptism, the kids played like no time has passed (its been almost a year since we have seen the Perez family), Grandma and the kids made and decorated Valentines cookies, we took a walk on the beach, and more....

With a weekend like this- how can anyone complain? Enjoy all the pictures- there is a lot!!
Kamele and Morgan
Isabella, Jayme, Me, and Jennifer

Papa and Liam


Kamele and Morgan.....
AND the HUGE cupcake Auntie Heather sent-
THANK YOU THANK YOU AUNTIE HEATHER FROM ALL OF US IN THE HOUSE!!
It was AMAZING!

Aydin (and the cupcake)

Nana, Aydin, and Liam
Kamele and Morgan- Kamele LOVED driving!
Kainoa and Morgan
Liam in the backyard- loving the grass
All jumping at the same time
Amy even loved driving....

Enjoying the cupcake!!! Thanks again Heather!!
Steve doing front flips on the trampoline
Papa and Liam
Steve, Echo (newest addition), Aydin and Morgan

Me and my momma

Aydins Baptism

February 12th is a day Aydin will never forget.

For him and all of us- this was a very special day. He made the choice to get baptized and become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My parents flew in for the service (and so my dad could preform the baptism).

Not only did my parents come for the weekend, Kevin, Amy, Kainoa, and Kamele Perez drove 10 hours one way to be here for him. He had a great weekend filled with family, friends, and happiness.

Aydin- I am so proud of you and your decision to become a member of the church. You always try to do the right things and make the right choices, and this was a great one. I love you!

Liam- 7 months

So I haven’t posted much on the blog lately… let alone much on Little Liam. He is already 7 months- where in the world did the time go? He is so much fun! We are so happy to have Liam in our family as he brings so much joy to each and every one of us. Liam these past few weeks is scooting all around the house, has learned how to sit up by himself, and is growing so big- 20 pounds.

Happy Birthday Aydin

Its Aydin's Birthday!!

I cannot believe I have an eight year old already. Yes- you are reading correctly- Aydin turned 8! This year, he wanted his friends to come over to play and sleep over. These boys had a great time. Aydin woke up…. Early as usual and wanted to open presents before the sun came up! Of course… since I love birthdays- I didn’t make him wait.

His new bike.

His friend from school came by around lunch time to take Aydin to the pet store and got him his very own beta fish and tank. He thought this was so cool!

Around 4 his friends starting showing up and that’s when all the fun began. They played on the trampoline, army (nerf wars), ordered pizza, built a fire outside, jumped some more, roasted marshmallows, had a dance party, balloon fights, opened presents, and then finally sat down at around 9:30 to watch Iron Man 2 (Aydins favorite).
These boys had so much candy and snacks- they didn’t even touch the cake I had decorated for Aydin….

Yum... Marshmallows

Balloon wars...

Finally.... They sat down long enough to watch a movie

SO- Sunday night we had friends over for dinner and cake…. To celebrate Aydin some more. We are so happy and grateful Aydin is in our family. He is such a great help, a sweet, loving, compassionate, and caring little man. He loves his sister (most of the time) and brother.

Busch Gardens

The kids had Friday off from school- so we decided to take the kids to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The weather was not the best… off and on rain- but that kept the crowd down for sure! We were able to walk onto every ride we all wanted- all before noon.

Aydin and Steve rode every ride there and loved every one of them! Morgan had a great time at the kid park and even rode the Cheetah Chase. Jimmie Frank (Aydins friend) was a little too short for some rides... but rode all he could. While Steve and Aydin went on some taller rides, we went and did the other ones the two could ride. Morgan is not a huge fan of rides- so getting her on even one was a huge deal!

It started raining around 3:30 so we just packed up… walked as fast as we could back to the car and came home. It was a great day!!

Steve and I took turns on this ride... Aydin went on it again he loved it so much.

Aydin and Jimmie are in the front row.

While Steve and Aydin were riding rides- Jimmie and Morgan were in the kid park- on height appropriate rides :)

Steve took the boys on more rides... so Morgan got to feed the kangaroos

And ride rides all by herself

One of the last rides before the rain fall....

Watch out....

If you live in our neighborhood- watch out.... the kids are on the road!! Over the summer Steve bought the kids a new toy (I think it was more for himself but you know how that goes). Today he look them to an empty lot in the back of the neighborhood and let them loose. Aydin is a pretty good driver and loves to take the corners as fast as he can. Morgan... she just laughs the whole time. It is too fun!!