Flashback Friday!!!

J.R.'s MTC mailing address always included his departure date (0324).
Elder Macias left the MTC for Peru 11 years ago this week. (l-r) Vicki Fronk, J.R., Derik Taylor, & Amber - SLC airport March 24, 1997.
Derik & J.R. (Who would have ever thought J.R. would leave on a mission first???)
Elder M's plane. If you look real close, you can see him waving out the window! And yes, Amber sat and watched that plane until it was long... long... long gone!
Heather Taylor was there, too (along with many other people who are not pictured).

Through all of my blog-hopping lately, I came across the funnest thing: Flashback Friday! Though I could not find any ground rules for this game, I am assuming the rules are pretty self-explanatory: post a flashback on a Friday.
This week I have been thinking about the date 03/24 and realizing that every year I remember how J.R. had finished his two-month training in the MTC and flew to Peru that day. So for my "flashback" I wanted to post some airport pictures from 11 years ago! This was a bitter-sweet day for me. I was so happy that he had decided to be baptized and especially happy that he chose to serve a mission; but it was also so hard to say good-bye for twenty-two more months! I never thought in a million years that he would ever be a missionary, but he sure made a great one! I am still so proud of him!!!

One Last Easter Posting

Belle with Grandma Crystal.
Belle with Papa Jesse.
Easter dinner with Grandma & Papa.

So I will just include one last Easter posting and then I promise I will be done! The weekend before Easter, J.R.'s parents came to visit us and we celebrated Easter and Isabelle's birthday a little early. We had a nice time cleaning, eating (cake, ham, popcorn, etc.), watching movies, shopping for Easter dresses, and playing with the kids. They try to make a point of visiting us as often as possible so the kids will know them (and love them, too). I'm not the greatest little chef in the world, but we ate some yummy ham (J.R. can take the credit) and potatoes! It was a fun weekend. Thanks for coming to see us!!!

Letters to the Easter Bunny

Izaak's letter to the Easter Bunny. Well done!
Taylor's letter to the Easter Bunny. So Cute!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter to everyone!! I don't know about any of you, but I feel like Easter came waaaay too early this year! I had wanted to take some cute pictures outside in the sunshine, but it was freezing and the snow on the ground didn't make the best "Spring-time" background! Maybe we'll have to take some outside in a month or so. Anyways, the kids had a good day and we tried to make it religious and talk about the "True Meaning of Easter" but all they really cared about was the candy and the gifts they got. Can you blame them??? Taylor & Izaak also wrote some cute letters to the Easter Bunny that they left out last night. They are growing up so fast!

Happy Birthday, Isabelle!!!

Isabelle just turned two! We can't believe our little baby is growing up so fast! She was our little preemie baby born five weeks early on March 18, 2006 and weighed only 4 lbs. 14 oz. She was just a little peanut then, and now she is so big! She spent 10 days in the NICU and we were soooo happy when we finally got to bring her home! She came into our lives at a certain time for a certain reason and she has brought us so much joy! We really enjoy having her around and enjoy her cute little personality. She has a tendency to scatter a little sunshine everywhere she goes. We love you Baby Belle!

Our Little Ballerina

Taylor is slowly but surely becoming quite the little ballerina. She is now in her third year and absolutely loves it! This picture was actually taken at her first recital in May of 2006, but it is still my favorite!!! Isn't she precious?

Daddy's Little Fishin' Buddy

J.R. and Ikes have made a tradition of going fishing together every Saturday morning (the girls and I usually join them around noon when we all finally roll out of bed). This was the big fish he caught all by himself on his birthday last year. He has turned into quite the little angler!

Our Happy Family of Five!!!

J.R., Amber, Taylor, Izaak, & Isabelle

Last July we took our first family vacation in years!!! This family picture was taken along the way! The whole Nelson gang went to visit Barrett & Angela in New York and we had a great time visiting many church history sites, including the Palmyra Temple, the Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah, etc. Barrett also drove us all over the state to every waterfall, hiking trail, or county fair / derby he could find. A good time was had by all!

Welome to the Macias' blog!

We are excited to be up and running!