Yearbook

Maddie's school had a contest for the yearbook cover. This year's theme is something along the lines of being a super hero scholar. Since Maddie has such a love for art she decided to enter. This is what she came up with. Pretty darn good don't ya think? Unfortunately, she didn't win. Maybe next year!!

Be Grateful

Many years ago I participated in an activity on Thanksgiving where I had to write down something I was thankful for. I had to write at least one thing per letter of the alphabet. It was a great activity and I've tried to do it every year since then. This year I decided to write it down instead of just thinking about it in my head so.........These are a few of my grateful things.....

This group tops my list!!!

A - Atonement & Allred Dental

B - Brothers, I have 3 of the best!

C - Christ - enough said

D - Dad - world's greatest!

E - Eternity - it's going to be fun

F - Family & Friends - the best of each!

G - Grandparents - I have the best of these also!!

H - House to live in - hmmm, ready for a bigger one

I - In-laws, they are a wild and crazy bunch

J - Jeff - Hard working, happy, husband!

K - Kids - even though I already mentioned them. They rock!

L - Lauren - sweet, sweet girl

M - Maddie & my mom...yep, the best!

N - Neighbors - we have great ones!

O - Oranges - the chocolate ones you get at Christmas...yummy!

P - Parker - my favorite boy!! and Patients - the Allred Dental kind

Q - Quilts - handmade with love by grandma & mom

R - Resurrection - excited to be back pain free

S - Staci - Best Beautician Ever!! She works miracles

T - Temples - Families are Forever

U - Underwear - clothes would be so uncomfortable without them!?

V - mini Van - she's a beauty and I love her

W - Women - so many have influenced my life

X - X-rays - to see teeth, broken bones, etc. Makes life easier

Y - Yesterday - lessons learned from the past

Z - Zippers - clothes wouldn't stay on without them

Dad

Happy Birthday to the World's GREATEST Dad!!

I love you way more than lots!!

oh how this picture makes me laugh!!

100 Dresses

Maddie and I belong to a mother-daughter book club. It is WONDERFUL and we have a lot of fun. Last months reading was The Hundred Dresses. We recommend this book to any young girl. It is a good read and has a great lesson in it. When we met to discuss the book, we were asked to wear dresses. Maddie had the bright idea that she wanted to wear........

My prom dress from 1993. Fushia? What was

I thinking? Sequins? What was I thinking?

All those ruffles? What was I thinking?

It was the style at the time!!

We crafted and drew 100 dresses on the tablecloth

and created our own dresses out of tissue paper

Ate a lite dinner

The girls & their tissue paper dresses

Silly bunch of girls

...and finally, me in 1993.

Please don't laugh or mock me

It was a stylish dress and my very

talented mother made it with her

own two hands. I loved that dress!!!

The story of the not so loose tooth

One morning while getting ready for school, I asked Lauren to put her shoes on. They were tied very tightly so she did as any 6 year old would do. She used her very strong teeth to help her untie the knots so she could put them on. WELL......her teeth weren't as strong as she thought and she started screaming very loudly. I ran to see what had happened and she told me that she hurt her tooth and needed to be taken to Dad's Office to get it fixed. I convinced her to let me take a quick look and I discovered that it was only a little bit loose and then I tried to convince her that she could go to school and be just fine. Lauren was insistent that it hurt badly and only dad could fix it the right way. So, I took Maddie to school and whisked Lauren to Jeff's office. Thankfully he didn't have a patient and was able to rescue Lauren in her hour of need!!

So sad Lauren

Taking an x-ray

Jeff discovered that the permanent tooth

was close to coming in so he decided that

it would be best to just pull the baby tooth

Getting numb before the shot

One last look at Lauren's final moments of

a mouth full of baby teeth.... A "growing up"

milestone is just seconds away..sniff, sniff

Holding on to dad's hand for support

Yes, Jeff can hold Lauren's hand and pull a tooth

at the same time. He's very talented!!

There was an ear-piercing scream followed

by lots of tears followed by a great big bear

hug from Dad. Trauma over, Lauren survived

(whew)

Because there was still blood in her mouth

Lauren wouldn't take the cotton roll out so I

could get a picture of her toothless smile

I had to wait until later that night.

Isn't she cute???

6 years ago

Our sweet little Lauren turned 6 years old on September 6th. She's such a great little girl and I love her so much!! She brings joy to my life every day and I am so grateful she is part of our family. Lauren is sweet and loving and generous and kind and tender and easy going. Much to my dismay, she's growing out of her days of playing dress up and pretending to be princesses and moving on to playing school and learning how to do "teenager" stuff. She is already into the latest fashion trends and has a good eye for it. She likes to be "hip". Lauren is really looking forward to becoming a teenager. Thankfully, Lauren is still hanging on to her childhood because she still plays with her dolls and is a WONDERFUL mother to them. I hope these tender moments last a lot longer!! I don't want Lauren to be a teenager just yet.

The day before her birthday was Labor Day

and we headed to Disneyland for a fun filled day

It was our first time on Star Tours since it re-opened.

Lauren wasn't a fan of the 3D glasses but the

ride was Ah-mazing!! It's Parker's new favorite

It was also our first time on the new Ariel ride.

I must say--it was also amazing!! Disney

sure knows how to do things right

Parker went on the Tower of Terror with Jeff

& Maddie. He didn't know what he was in for

but he really wanted to go. You can tell from

this picture AFTER the ride that he didn't like it

We always seem to find a dog...everywhere we go

Lauren got a birthday souvenier. Another dog..sigh..

Birthday morning Lauren got breakfast in bed

French toast with powdered sugar, strawberries,

and hot chocolate. Just what she ordered

All the goods...

Parker gave Lauren her favorite treat

You only get sugar cereal once a year at

our house....On your birthday...and

you DON'T have to share

Maddie gave Lauren a Monster High Doll

Her new outfit

Birthday treats to share in class

Minky pillowcase from Grandma Georgia

THANKS!! It's just like Lauren requested

Grandpa Karl always sends a sweet treat

Parker Boy started pre-school

WHAT!!?? I am home alone twice a week

for 3 hours. What will I do??

He was excited about it until we got there.

Then he was grumpy and I left him crying

Thankfully the tears didn't last long and he

was so happy when I picked him up

He had so much fun that he had to go

home and take a nap

Grandma Farrell came into town that

weekend & brought a birthday present with her

SURPRISED!!

I love the look of pure excitement!!

Thanks Grandma for the American Girl

Doll horse!! Just what Lauren wanted

...and finally, we went to BJ's for a

birthday pizookie. A favorite tradition!!

First Day of First & Fourth

The girls were very excited to start school. In fact, they were so excited they got up EARLY and got dressed, made their beds, and brushed their hair before I was even out of bed. It was great!! Lauren and Maddie are at the same school this year. YEA!! That makes me happy!! Lauren is looking forward to being with her BIG SIS this year. I don't usually get teary but this year it was hard leaving my kids at school. Who knew first and fourth would be so tough!?

All dressed and ready to go

Lauren is so proud of her Monster High book bag

Love that face! First grade here we come

Maddie was excited to find a Chip and

Dale shirt. She loves little critters

Love that face! Fourth grade here we come

Parker wasn't going to school but he got

a book bag too. He can't be left out!

It's going to be just me and my little

buddy all day

Now that's a good looking bunch!

That's a BIG stack of books!

Maddie has two AMAZING teachers this year

that job share. Mrs. Green and Mrs. Calise.

They are young, spunky, and adorable.

They even wore matching outfits-

Maddie is excited to be in their class

Lauren and her teacher Mrs. Petruzzelli

Lauren was most impressed by her

bright red shoes and sense of fashion.

Parker was so sad when we got home and the

girls weren't with us. He really wanted to

go to school. Little does he know that

we have fun filled days ahead of us

with no sisters to tease us

We headed to the duck pond with friends

to ride bikes and feed the ducks

Enjoyed the fountain

Climbed on rocks

and left soaking wet.

Isn't that face a look of pure joy??