A DAY AT THE RANCH!!

Today we were all invited to go the Smoak Ranch for buggy rides and a bbq...what could be better?? We all had a great time relaxing and enjoying each other's company. All of our kids had a blast too!!

This is our last party....

ok, so here we go again with another party! This one is for Mallory's 3rd birthday. We had the family over again , the boys were home from college and Bianca came over with Aubrey! We all took turns holding Aubrey trying to keep her awake (we think she has her days and nights mixed up) , but she pretty much slept the whole day....I guess it will be a long night for B!!!
We had a good time eating all of our "finger foods" , chicken wrapped in bacon, pigs in a blanket, veggie platter, Hokey Pokey is what Gage renamed the Hanky Panky, deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, and BBQ meatballs...and of course we couldn't forget the cake that Josh decorated!! Mallory was so excited to open her presents! She later came out and gave Eric and I a fashion show with her new earrings, skirt and jacket and also sporting her new goggles for the pool!!! What a ham!!!

Still celebrating???

So what can i say??? Mallory and I are still celebrating our birthdays!! Dr. and Mrs Rodriguez treated us to a birthday dinner at the brand new Olive Garden in town! We always have a great time in or out of the office!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

So today is my birthday!! I had a great one too! It started with me going to the Smoak Ranch on Friday afternoon with some great girls for a confirmation retreat. We had a great time doing alot of stuff there and as you can see we even went for a buggy ride!!!
I didn't get home until Saturday late afternoon so you know who had the kids! Eric was great and stepped in as usual to help with the kids as you can see by the picture of them getting ready for bed!!!
Yes, i am very tired as you can see of the picture of Eric and I, but we had a great, great weekend!! I came home to a great dinner waiting for me that was awesome! Eric made ribs, cornbread, salad, and baked beans. My birthday cupcakes the kids made were over the top!! Who doesn't like chocolate!!! Thanks for a great day!! I am off to bed!!!

It's Spring Break 2008!! (hey that rhymes!)

Well, this spring break was great! We were headed up to Orlando to stay at the timeshare at Westgate Lakes...We were to leave on Saturday and return on Saturday..one full week of getting away!
Let me start out by saying Happy Birthday to Aubrey!!! Us girls and the kids headed up to Orlando on Saturday (a little earlier in the morning than planned due to a phone call from Bianca, our niece who was in labor and due to deliver in Orlando!) So we headed up knowing we were going straight to the hospital to meet up with Buddy and Bianca. Can you say "what great timing???" I will get to the good part....Aubrey was born on Sunday March 30! at 08:29am after ummm....around 3 pushes....yeah, you heard that one right! Bianca was a trooper and "ACHOO" ...out came Aubrey!!!....of course Rayne and i have to get on to Bianca about how EASY her labor went due to the fact that poor Rayne and i had emergency C-Sections for our children!!!! No, Bianca will NEVER live this one down!! We will always remind her! :) But none the less....we were so happy to be a part of her birth!!!

So then, with our minds at ease and the Cannon family heading home from the hospital on Monday, we start our week. We had a great time doing goony-golf, sitting at the pool, and having a kayak race: Rayne and I vs. Brian and Eric vs. Josh and Korey...we won't say who won.....

We went to Islands of Adventure on one half of the day ( we sped through the Hulk, Dueling Dragons, and some others) and then went to Universal for the other half of our park ticket and went on E.T., Twister, and i don't recall any other rides due to the following reason: At the park there is a thing called Universal Meal Deal...well, here is how it goes...you pay $20 for all the food you can eat at like 5 restaurants in the park, you pay an extra $5 for a big refillable drinking cup. Well, Eric jumped all over this one! Who in the world came up with this idea??? So we ate our lunch (hamburgers)off of Eric's bracelet. So we pass the next restaurant and then there goes Eric heading to the line to get more food(pizza)...need i say more??? So we get to Universal and he had to pay a $4 "upgrade" to do the same thing....yeah, here we go again...or, there goes Eric again...he comes out with more pizza , jello and chicken strips!! OF COURSE we are riding rides IN BETWEEN the EATING!!!! Our final stop is this smoked chicken with corn on the cob which was excellent, i guess because we all got our fill of pizza & jello ! Anyway, i think all 8 of us did pretty well for $30 as you can see by the pictures...lol....

the rest of the week went smoothly, the guys came back to LP on Thursday night to go to work on Friday and we stayed until Saturday morning. We battled the boys in another round of golf and then we went on a paddle boat...Josh "accidentally" fell into the water which felt like around 70*!!! and somehow Rayne and I ended up in too!

So so long to Orlando, it was very eventful , another trip we won't forget...now back to our regular grind!!!

Easter Day!!!

Happy Resurrection Day!!! We started off on Saturday by coloring eggs , Eric,Josh and Mallory enjoyed that alot! Then it was off to our Resurrection Celebration at our church....they hunted for eggs and had the story of what Easter is all about read to them my Miss Michelle (or Miss Shell as Mallory calls her!!)

Well, any time our family can get together and eat is a celebration!!! Our family is known for "living to eat!", we don't "eat to live". We had a rosemary and garlic stuffed roast leg of lamb, ham, fresh mint sauce (nicknamed "decoupage" from my brother Darren!) garlic mashed taters, cranberry glazed carrots, green beans, roasted vegetables, and angel cake with fresh strawberries and a ricotta cake!!! Yes, we outdid ourselves with food again, but it was all wonderful. Should we start our diet now??? Shawn and Gage had to get back to UF and USF so we ate a little early, we missed Brian and Eric , they had to work .. and Mallory decided to show off her new "big girl panties" at the table...what a sight!

NEW ADDITION!!

Well, we have a new addition to our family! I found Missy at the Animal Shelter. So far she has been a wonderful dog...she is gentle and quiet, and tolerates the kids!!! She hasn't nipped anyone or shown any aggression. I was told she was "fixed" by the animal shelter , but from the picture of her in one of Mallory's diapers you know she isn't!!!!......So her surgery is booked for April18th!!!! YEA!!!

Eric and Josh have a new addiction, okay, me too...GUITAR HERO!!!.....Eric rented it last weekend and we played for almost 2 days straight!!! (except for the hours we went to church!) We had a blast and the competition is fierce!!! The boys are coming over for Easter in 2 days and there will definitely be a showdown!!!! I will keep you posted!