Thanksgiving 2009

Last minute, this year's Thanksgiving turned into a FAMILY REUNION. My sister Julie called and said she was coming out for Thanksgiving with her family which lead to my other family members wanting to come as well. Being one of the youngest of nine children I have always admired my older siblings. They are smart, funny, successful, and most of them are great examples! ha ha :)

When all of us girls get together we can talk, shop, cook, etc all day long. The boys can do the same, but also love to watch football. The BYU/UofU game was of course on that weekend!

My sister n law Jen talked me into getting up before dawn to go Black Friday shopping with her. Don't get me wrong I love to shop, but I HATE going out the day after Thanksgiving. It just doesn't seem worth it to me with all the lines and people. But, we had so much fun and we have some good stories to remember of people out shopping for the deals!

Here is a picture of most of us! We are missing Doug and his family due to work obligations. I have so many wonderful nieces and nephews and it's hard to believe that a lot of them are in highschool or graduated already!
Some of the boys. My brother Steve is standing up, my brother n law mark is giving the "thumbs up", my twin brother is in the middle of the couch, and of course my hubby is holding Tori who is freaking out in this picture!
The cousins having tons of fun!
My sister Julie and my MOM!
The girls! My sister Julie, Karen, my Mom, me, and my sister Janine. My sister Karen might kill me for posting this since she isn't dressed up or wearing make up!

Elf Yourself!

I love making these little videos form Jib Jab! They are so cute and so fun! Check out the link below by copying and pasting it and make one of your own too!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/RuJmwzb5qqYxI02uH9rd

Miss My UOP Girls!

One of my dearest friends from when we lived in San Francisco just sent me this picture to my hotmail! Talk about blast from the past. We took this picture right before our husbands graduated from UOP Dental School in 2006! I think about these gals almost everyday and totally miss these women so much! I couldn't have made it through those grueling years in San Francisco when our husbands were gone all day every day without these girls (and many more gals that aren't in this picture). My Mom always told me that some of her best friends were the ones she had met when my Dad was in dental school. My parents still get together once in a while with old friends that they met while in dental school. I hope MY GIRLS and I continue to get together and have reunions! I treasure my friendships that I made in San Francisco and will never forget these ladies. I just love them to death!

Surprise Birthday!

This year was a pivotal birthday year for my mother n law and I thought we had to do something super fun for it. So I thought how awesome would it be if Joe and his four brothers surprised their Mom, dressed up in suits, and took her to a play and out to dinner. After talking with all the boys everyone was on board and plane tickets were purchased!

All the boys waited on the front door step, with roses in hand and a tiara, they knocked on the door and started to sing Happy Birthday when Susan answered the door!

After the play they all went out for an Italian dinner!
The following day they had a family dinner and my sister n law Julie had one of her friends make this awesome ballerina slipper and shoebox cake. I thought it was adorable!

All FIVE boys grew up obsessed with Star Wars and I found this card that played the "Star Wars" theme when you opened it up. Joe still has all of his Star Wars toys, books, memorabilia, etc. I did not like the message the card said (the front of the card said, "A long, long, long time ago, then when you opened it up it said, "You were born"), but after talking with Todd we agreed that the music it played was too perfect and represented everything the boys remember about growing up. Maybe I should have just gotten a generic card and not tried to go down memory lane!
Joe's Grandma Betty was also there for the family dinner! She still looks exactly the same since the first time I met her when she came to visit Joe and his family back when we were in grade school!

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween this year! Madison chose to be Snow White, Ashley was the Barbie "Thumbelina", and Tori was Minnie Mouse.

We went over to a friends home and had chili and corn bread. Below are some of the kids we went Trick or Treating with. My girls were thrilled to go with some of their friends!

Can't Believe Tori is ONE already!

I really can't believe that my baby girl Tori, is already ONE! She turned one on September 30th, 2009. This past year has totally flown by and makes me sad that I don't have a little baby anymore. Tori is such an amazing little girl! She is always so happy, smiling, and giggling all the time. Even in the mornings after sleeping over 12 hours, she doesn't wake up crying. She snuggles with her blanket and waits for me to come get her. She just loves to play peek-a-boo and laughs so hard she forgets to breathe.

She had her 1 year old doctor's appointment today and is 32.5 inches tall and weighs 26.8 pounds. That makes her 2 inches taller and 5 pounds heavier than the other girls were at this same stage. She is officially our largest girl, or should I say tallest girl!

We had a little birthday party with all the family the Sunday before her birthday where she enjoyed her first birthday cake!

Tori just loves this baby doll that Grandma Holbrook sent!


See the cute finger marks on the cake??? Tori stuck her fingers in the frosting right away!
I took advantage of Albertson's FREE cake that they offer to all children on their FIRST birthday! I thought this pink cake was very cute. Tori grabbed the cake right away and loved it! Her first taste of anything sweet EVER!!!

Ashley has FINALLY started Soccer!!!

Ashley is finally old enough to play soccer. For her age group they practice and play all on Saturdays. After Ashley ran around in the 90 degree heat for practice she wasn't thrilled to go out and play again in the game. After some encouraging from Joe and I, she finally went out and played. She scored a goal for her team and for the other team. So she thinks she scored two goals.

We are so proud of her and I am so excited that she can play and have her own team and uniform. It will be so much fun to go and watch her play too!

This is Ashley showing you that she is #1

You can tell she is very excited to go to her first practice/game!!!

Happy Birthday Jackie!

I couldn't let this day pass without remembering my sister, Jackie (Jacqueline), who would have turned 35 today. She was one amazing gal and fabulous sister who never let her trials ever get in her way. Throughout her entire life she struggled with physical, social and comprehension skills, but yet she powered through it all.

When she was a Senior in High school she experienced her first seizure which led to the discovery of an Astrocytoma (brain tumor, one of the worst cancers to have) located on the left side of her brain. The doctors thought the tumor had probably been there, slowly growing, her entire life. This explained so many things. Why she had so many problems with speech, balance, comprehension, etc!!! She spent the next 14 years undergoing radiation, chemotherapy, and the surgical removal twice. Even up to the very end (died September 8th, 2006) she was always in such positive spirits.

While we lived in San Francisco during Joe's dental school (2003-2006) we would travel home often on weekends. I am so glad we lived close enough so we could visit and so that my girls could get to know their Aunt Jackie. Madison still talks about her and how she now lives in heaven. I was always worried that she would pass away while we lived elsewhere. Luckily she held on until we moved back the summer of 2006 and we were able to visit with her daily for two short months.

I miss her terribly, but I know she is in such a better place now and free from all her pain and ailments. My third little girl is named after my sister, her full name is Tori Jacqueline!!! Love you Sis and Happy Birthday!!!

Soccer Season Has Started

Our Saturdays are going to consist of soccer and more soccer. Madison had her first game this past Saturday and Ashley starts her season in a couple of weeks. Both girls are super excited!

I will post more pictures of Ashley when her season starts up in a couple of weeks!

Labor Day Weekend and Ashley's First Day of School

Ashley was super excited to finally start preschool again. She really likes her new teacher and that her school has birds and a rabbit for pets.

Don't most kids baby teeth become loose and then fall out? Well not for Madison! Her permanent teeth are erupting behind her baby teeth and coming in sideways because Madison has no room! Joe numbed her up with "sleepy juice" and extracted her two baby teeth in our kitchen. Madison wasn't really excited about it at first, but then realized how easy it was and that it didn't hurt! She was thrilled to put her baby teeth under her pillow for the tooth fairy.


Joe's brother Todd, his wife Christianne, and his brother Von came to visit over Labor Day! We took them to see Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch since it is only a few miles away from where we live!
We also spent some time at the pool. The boys showing off their manly muscles!

My brother Gary, Joe, Todd, and Von!

We couldn't let the Holbrook Boys visit without taking them out to a fabulous steak place called AJ Spurs!
I just love this picture. My girls couldn't get enough of their Aunt and Uncles. The girls formed this train and snuggled while watching tv.
We had so much fun over Labor Day and wish our family didn't have to leave! So much food and fun!!!

First day of 1st Grade and Disneyland

We took a quick vacation down to Disneyland this past weekend! We wanted to have one trip before school started. We stayed at a FABULOUS hotel that was recommended to me by sister n law Angie. It was a 2 bedroom/2 bath with a full kitchen and dining area and family room. It was absolutely perfect. We could put the kids down and still be able to keep the lights on and watch tv! If anyone ever takes a trip to Disneyland and wants info on this Residence Inn let me know. Super affordable and very nice!

During this trip we discovered that Madison and Ashley LOVE the big roller coasters. They went on everything that Joe and I could go on. I'm talking the super fast Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, California Screamin, Tower of Terror, to name a few! Joe and I would take turns staying with Tori and then "Baby Swap" or "Rider Switch" and then the girls got to go on all the rides twice! When you ask for a baby swap pass you can go to the front of the line. So awesome!

Today Madison started First Grade! She was so excited to start school again and loves that she can just walk across the street and be at her school.

This was taken in our driveway! You can see Madison's school in the foggy background!
I was so happy Joe could arrange his schedule so he could be there on Madison's first day of school! He missed her first day of Kindergarten and he has regretted it ever since!
I love that my husband is one sensitive guy when it comes to his little girls. They are growing up way too fast for him!
Madison and Ashley on the Matterhorn.
Tori loved riding on the carousel!

I love, love, love dressing my girls in the same outfits. It definitely helps that Tori can wear a 2t. That makes finding matching outfits easy!