Hotel Fun...

After dinner we headed back to the hotel. These shots are a mix of the time we were there, but here are some fun shots at the hotel...

Cutie cousins...Diggy, Kylie, and Kirsten. The BEST thing about the hotel is the time the cousins get to spend together. It is SO MUCH FUN for me to watch Kylie interact with them. I wish we had SO MUCH more time with them so they could all be best friends! But they had such a good time together. I loved it!!!
Brad and Dana were nice enough to provide this bed for Kylie again. It is a princess sleeping bag with a blow-up mattress underneath it. Kylie LOVES LOVES sleeping in it whenever we visit so HOW NICE were those two to bring it to the hotel?! She just wanted to hang out in it all nice. Too funny. And actually...the cousins wanted Kylie to sleep with them in their room. Bri and I were all for it! :) It lasted a few minutes until we tried to leave the room. :) But it was worth a shot.

Smith Family kids all cozy and cuddle up with each other. TOO CUTE!!!
We celebrated Mike's birthday while we were there as well. His birthday was the 1st of Feb. So we had a party for him and then he and his girlfriend went to the arcade to play. He then took all his tickets that he won and got gifts for all his nieces and nephews. It was SO CUTE! He got little pillows for the girls and soccer photo frames for the boys. It was so thoughtful and cute. Here is Kylie with her Uncle Mike and her pillow he gave her. She LOVED it and carried it around with her everywhere. She called it her sponge and kept asking for it over and over again. :) Too cute!

Alan and Kylie hanging out holding hands. This was the day we left. This little Alan is SO STINKING CUTE! Thanks Brad and Dana for bringing him to our family! :)

CHICAGO HERE WE COME...

Brian's Dad turned 60 this year! On February 4th to be exact. Brian's family was throwing him a big surprise birthday party for the occasion. Since all of Brian's family lives out in the Chicago area, we were the only ones that wouldn't be there. So they flew us there to join in on the fun. We all ended up staying at this FABULOUS place....called Key Lime Cove. It's a hotel with an indoor water park. And you are only allowed to go to the water park if you are staying at the hotel. This was a quick trip and here were the plans....we got there Friday afternoon. We all met up at a restaurant where Brian's Mom and Dad were coming to meet up with us. The story was Brad, Dana, and Alan (Brian's brother and his family) were going to take them out to dinner for his birthday. The SURPRISE was we were ALL there! So they were brought back to where we all were and we gave him QUITE the shock! He was so surprise and I am SO THANKFUL we got to be there to share in the celebrations! After dinner we all went back to the hotel to hang out and play. Then Saturday morning we went to a photo studio and got family pictures taken since we were all together. Then the rest of the day was spent at the water park. It was SO MUCH FUN! Seriously...this place was a blast! Then Sunday we got to hang out with Brad, Dana, and Alan before we headed back that night. (We actually got to hang out longer than we though because we kept getting emails from Delta telling us our flights had been changed to hours later...then it was earlier...than later....than whatever. We'll just go to the airport and hope for the best! :) ) Here are some pics of the surprise dinner...

The birthday boy opening his presents. Brian's mom, Ella, surprised him with a SPEEDO bathing suit. We all had a good laugh at the shock of his face. Then she gave him this letter to ease his mind. This was when we told him the plan that we were going to the hotel/water park for the weekend.

This is Brian's Dad, Doug, with his wonderful sister, Karen. I love this picture of them both.

This picture is just purely precious. Three generations right here! Brad, Brian's brother, his Grandma, and his son, Alan. Too cute!!!!We took up quite a bit of space at the restaurant. Here is just part. We still had a few more tables. :) This was a fun night all together.

THE DAY CAME!!!!

One month and a day after this bright pink thing was put on her broken arm....
IT CAME OFF!!!!! On January 26th, we went to the orthopedic and got her CAST OFF!!!! YEAH!!! I was so excited! We didn't get any pics (sad) but I just have to say....she did SUCH a good job! I was worried sick about how she would react to the SAW that was going to cut it off. (Ok...so maybe I was a little worried sick about how I would react! :) I never had a broken bone so didn't know what I was getting in to but knew I didn't want a saw coming towards my baby's arm!) The ortho also told us that kids kinda freak out most times when you take off the cast because the last thing they remember before they had it was that it hurt. But they were fine with the cast so they don't want it off. Anyway: I prepped her all week and kept talking to her about it. I told her that it was going to be loud, but she would be ok, etc, etc. Well....we walk into the doc's office and she says, "It's going to be loud. But I'm ok." :) So she seemed to remember. :) Anyway: she LAUGHED the whole time it came off. I was SO PROUD of her! She did NOT want to move it afterwards and was a bit upset all day when she would accidentally move it or if we asked her to move it or something. But she did SUCH a great job and I was SO IMPRESSED!!!! Oh....and yes...as much as she loved to show people her cast when she had it, she LOVED to tell them all about it being taken off too! Everyone she saw wherever we went, she would hold up her "special arm" (what we called her broken arm during this whole ordeal) and say, "It went BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ and then CAST OFF!" all excited. :) Too cute. :)

Bored?! Go Shopping!

Around Jan 18th, we were hanging out at the house. Well all got really stir crazy (Brian was home too) so we headed off to the mall. Why not, right?! And I have to say....it is SO MUCH MORE FUN shopping for Kylie than for either Brian or I. So don't ask me how, but we ended up at Gymboree. Brian was on Kylie duty since I get a bit distracted in that store. :) I came to the back and see this.... She loved sitting in those chairs they have and watching their TV. Too funny. A ploy to keep the kids happy so the parents keep shopping?! I think so! :)

I asked her to look up at me and this is the look she gives me. Could she be more annoyed I'm ruining her fun?! :)

"Really, mom?! You have to be doing this now?!" Too funny!

Yes...cast still there!

Our First Pet...

The same day that Kylie put on her Daddy's shoes, she wanted to make sure I got pictures of her first pet. She got this over a year ago but it's recently become her best friend. She had to take it everywhere. So when I had the camera out she says, "Take picture of Doggy!" So I had to snap a picture of her first pet...
Then she had to get a picture of her walking her Doggy....
Then of course she had to hold it...

She was so excited to get these pictures. Of course she had to look at the camera's display screen after each photo to see it herself. She loved this little game and she LOVED getting photos of her Doggy.

Big Shoes To Fill...

Yes...I AM alive! Since I'm getting calls/emails from people wanting to make sure I'm still alive...I figure it's better time to play catch up. See...life got crazy. Then before I knew it I was SO BEHIND in blogging that I just couldn't make myself play catch-up. It was a bit overwhelming. But I'm going to attempt to get it done now! So here we go! :) I'll try to give dates as best as possible so I can keep record of everything myself!
One day in mid-January Kylie walks up to me and says, "Look Mommy! Daddy's Shoes!!!" Kylie LOVES LOVES her Daddy and really misses him while he is at work. So she was so excited to put these on to feel like she was with Daddy at work a bit. :) Here's a close-up...



Now a bit of info on the cast. Kinda hard to see these pics and remember how hard it was to watch my baby girl have a cast. But she did SO WONDERFUL!!!! I can't believe how good she did with it on. She actually liked it and it was the first thing she would tell everyone when she met them. Mom and Dad definitely had the harder time with it than she did. I still can't believe she broke her arm. Poor thing!!! Anyway: she sure looks cute with it on! Oh...and yes I had to cut the sleeves off some shirts so her cast would fit.

Wow...it's been awhile!

Ok...so I have lots to update! So sorry I've been gone for so long. I more need to write this post for myself...I'm not adding pics of anything right now. But we have had a busy January, and I will update soon! I feel like if it's in writing I will do it. :) But we are headed out of town tomorrow morning for a quick weekend trip. Then when we get back I get a few days to spend with my brother before he heads off for 2 years on a mission for our church! So after that....I will get updated so I can remember what has been keeping us so busy! Oh...Kylie got her cast off today! BIG NEWS!! :) I am SO EXCITED. I was a nervous wreck and kept talking to her about it so she would know what to expect. Well she did AMAZING! I was ready for the tears that were going to come for both of us. But when they used the saw to cut it off....she LAUGHED!!! She laughed the whole time! I was amazed! It was loud and scary to me but she was LAUGHING! :) My big strong girl!!!! I'm so impressed with her! The hard part has come after the cast was off. She definitely favors that arm and doesn't want to move it much. By the end of the day she was moving it more, but I'm sure it will take some time. Anyway: will update more soon! SORRY! Hope everyone is doing well!!!